The wind blew the trees and threw leaves to the ground. Shane walked
towards a house hidden in the middle of a large forest. His hair blew into
his face and his eyebrows lowered. He wore two coats and three sweaters,
but he could still feel the cold as if he was wearing nothing. He pulled
the collars of his shirt up and crossed his arms tightly. When he breathed
his breath came out like a long white cloud.
"Next time, I am gonna to hafta wear fifteen coats and thirty
sweaters. Man, I wish I'd checked the weather before I came out here,"
Shane said. He looked to his left and then to his right. There was nothing
but dense trees. As he walked Shane saw a huge pile of leaves. He stopped
in front of it and stared at it. Some of the leaves were moving up and down
slowly. Shane lowered his head and stared straight at it. Suddenly a small
boy sat up out of the leaves. Shane yelled in surprise and jumped back. The
boy yawned and stretched. He had blonde hair and huge blue eyes. He rubbed
his eyes and looked over at Shane. He smiled and then laughed.
"What's so funny?" Shane yelled. The boy stood up, but only came above
Shane's waist. He walked over and grabbed a huge slug out of Shane's hair.
Shane's mouth dropped. The small boy laughed and then smiled at Shane.
Shane just realized that the boy was just wearing a thin coat and jeans,
but he looked toasty warm. The boy stretched and looked at Shane happily.
"Who are you?" Shane asked. The boy's smile faded a little.
"My name is Allen," the boy said. Shane looked at him with wide eyes.
Allen's voice was so deep. Then he crossed his arms. Allen's smile came
back.
"So are you heading for the doctor's house, like me?" Shane said.
Allen shook his head. Shane stared at him curiously.
"I live there. The doctor's my grandfather. I fell asleep on the
grass, but I got buried by leaves. When I heard you I woke up," Allen said.
Shane leaned down to Allen's level.
"How old are you, Allen?" Shane asked.
"I'm 15 years old," Allen said. Shane stood up sharply. His eyebrows
rose. Then he looked down at Allen.
"You're a bit short for fifteen. Are you a midget?" Shane asked. Allen
laughed and shook his head.
"No, I just haven't had my growth spurt yet. You know we'd better
hurry to my grandpa's house before it starts to snow," Allen said. Shane
agreed and they started to walk.
"Hey, Allen. Aren't you cold just wearing that?" Shane asked. Allen
stared at him.
"No, I just don't think about the cold and I keep moving around. I
feel that wearing a lot of clothes just makes someone uncomfortable," Allen
said. Shane looked at his coats and blushed. They both continued to walk
until they saw a tall mansion. Shane's mouth dropped and Allen had to stop
and turn around.
"Whoa! You live here?" Shane asked. Allen nodded and then grabbed
Shane's arm. They walked up to the door of the house and Allen rang the
bell. Snow started to fall and Shane started to shiver. Allen sighed and
then rang the doorbell again. After awhile longer he banged on the door and
started to yell.
"Grandpa! Open the door, it's me, Allen!" Allen yelled. Footsteps came
from behind the door and then the door opened a little and an eye looked
out at them.
"Allen! There you are. I was getting worried," an old man said. He
opened the door all the way and stared at Shane.
"Who's your friend?" he asked. Shane stared at the man. He was the
same height as Allen and he had green eyes.
"This is. uh," Allen thought for a moment.
"Shane Pyre, sir," Shane said. He held out his hand and the old man
shook it.
"I'm Dr. Judo. You already know my grandson Allen. What brings you out
here in such horrible weather, Mr. Pyre?" Dr. Judo asked. Shane was quiet
and shivering.
"Grandpa, can we come inside first? It is kind of cold," Allen asked.
Dr. Judo laughed and blushed. Then he opened the door wider to let them in.
Shane welcomed the warmth happily. He looked around and saw antiques
everywhere. He looked into one room and saw a long table. On it were plates
and glasses. In the middle of the table a beautiful centerpiece and
candles. Shane also saw a beautiful chandelier hanging from the roof. Dr.
Judo led Allen and Shane into the living room. Allen left the room through
another door and Shane sat down in a red chair. Dr. Judo sat across from
Shane and stared at him intently.
"So, Mr. Pyre, what are you doing here?" Dr. Judo asked. Shane turned
to him.
"I heard rumors in town that you are a great inventor. Also I saw
signs around town that you need some volunteers for an invention and I
thought, 'That has me written all over it,' " Shane said. Dr. Judo smiled
and nodded. Then he closed his eyes.
"Yes, I had that notice posted over two months ago. You aren't the
first to volunteer. Only two other people have answered those signs.
Allen's bringing them in," Dr. Judo said. The door Allen went through
opened suddenly and Allen walked in followed by a girl and boy the same age
as Shane. They both sat down, but Allen walked over and stared out the
window. The three guests stared at each other and then looked at Dr. Judo.
"Yes, you three have all volunteered to test my new invention. Of
course, if you haven't realized by now, I only have one invention. There
are three of you. We need to decide who tests it. How should we do that,
Allen?" Dr. Judo asked Allen. When he turned around everyone noticed Allen
was missing. Suddenly the doorbell rang and Dr. Judo left to answer it. The
three sat quietly until Shane broke the ice.
"So who are you guys? I'm Shane Pyre," Shane said. The girl looked at
him.
"My name is Jessica Hamish. You guys can call me Jessie," Jessie said.
The other guy stood up and stretched his arms.
"My name's Josh Jordan. I'd rather be called Joey though," Joey said.
Dr. Judo walked back in followed by a tall man. He was wearing the same
outfit as Allen, except instead of jeans he wore another fabric. His eyes
were purple and his hair was blonde. He walked over and stood behind
Jessie, Joey, and Shane. He stared at Dr. Judo. Then he walked back into a
corner and leaned against the wall. The room was silent and everyone stared
at the new stranger. He closed his eyes as if in deep concentration.
"Anyway," Dr. Judo said, gaining the attention of the room again.
"Dr. Judo," Jessie said.
"Before that small interruption, I was talking about the small dilemma
we have," Dr. Judo said. Everyone sat still and thought.
"We could see who can handle your invention the best, Dr. Judo," the
strange man said. Everyone looked at him. His hands were in his pockets and
his eyes were looking at Dr. Judo.
"That's a good idea, Ariath. Let's do that," Dr. Judo said. Jessie,
Shane, and Joey looked at Ariath. He was looking at the ground. Then his
eyes turned to them. The doctor started to walk out the door. Ariath
followed him, his hands crossed across his chest. Everyone followed the
doctor through the house and then down some stairs. Ariath stayed far from
the other three as if he was afraid of them, but his face was
expressionless. Jessie walked up to him and introduced herself.
"Hello, Ariath. My name is," Jessie started to say.
"Jessie, I know. And those two are Shane and Joey," Ariath said. He
never looked at Jessie. Jessie stopped until Shane ran into her.
"That guys weird, but somehow he seems familiar. Like I've met him
before," Jessie said. Shane and Joey agreed.
"But how could we have possibly met someone we've never seen before,"
Joey asked. Soon they reached the bottom of the stairs and Ariath leaned
against the rail of the stairs. Shane, Jessie, and Joey walked up to stand
next to Dr. Judo. The basement was dark and damp. In one corner there were
more stairs leading deeper into the ground. Ariath looked at the stairs,
then at the doctor. In front of Dr. Judo was a small table. On the table
was a small machine. It looked like a wrist band, but everyone new it
wasn't just a wrist band. Dr. Judo picked up the wrist band and held it in
front of Shane.
"Try this on, Shane," he said. Shane put it on, but as soon as he did
he threw it off.
"That's hot!" Shane yelled. Ariath laughed quietly to himself. Dr.
Judo gave it to Jessie, but the same thing happened to her and then the
same thing happened to Joey. Dr. Judo walked over to Ariath, but he just
stared at the doctor.
"I just came to see Allen," Ariath said. Everyone looked at him. The
doctor smiled and then shrugged.
"He's probably gone down there, Ariath," the doctor said pointing to
the stairs. Ariath smiled and then walked down the stairs. Dr. Judo looked
at his watch and gasped. He put the wrist band on the table.
"Sorry, but I have to make a very important call. Please, excuse me.
I'll be right back," Dr. Judo said. He quickly ran up the stairs, leaving
Shane, Joey, and Jessie alone.
"What do you think is down those stairs?" Shane asked. Jessie and Joey
shrugged. Shane looked at Dr. Judo's invention.
"What do you think this thing does?" Jessie asked.
"I don't know, but did you feel how hot it was?" Joey asked. Jessie
and Shane nodded. Jessie looked at Shane, but he was walking down the
stairs. She ran over and grabbed him. Joey walked over.
"What do you think you're doing, Shane?" Jessie yelled.
"Oh come on, Jessie. Even you must be curious as to why that Ariath
guy wants to see Allen?" Shane said. Jessie's eyes widened and then she
looked at the ground. Shane smiled.
"I can't believe we're doing this!" Jessie said. Shane shone his flashlight over the walls. There were writings and designs all over them. "Hey, you guys! Look at this!" Joey said suddenly. Shane shone his flashlight where Joey was pointing and they saw a picture of a man. There were two rubies as his eyes and they shone brightly. "Who does this look like?" Joey said. Shane and Jessie looked closely. "Oh my God! It looks like Ariath!" Jessie said. "I think it looks like Allen," Shane said. All three of them looked at the picture. Shane touched the rubies to see if they were real, but when he touched them they started to glow red. The wall started to shake and it suddenly moved. It opened to reveal a secret passage. Shane, Jessie, and Joey looked inside and saw Allen lying on the floor. They all ran over to him and rolled him onto his back. In his hand was an amulet. Jessie picked it up and looked at it. It was in the shape of a circle and had an eye in the middle. Surrounding it were gems. Shane looked at Allen and saw that the amulet had burned its design into Allen's hand. Just then Ariath appeared and stared at the group. "Ariath! What did you do to Allen?" Joey yelled. Ariath walked over to Allen and then he disappeared. "Where'd he go?" Shane said. Allen opened his eyes slowly and gasped when he saw Shane, Jessie, and Joey. He jumped up and Jessie handed him his amulet back. Allen stood up and then turned to run through the passage. Jessie, Joey, and Shane ran after him. As Allen ran through the passage black shadows flew past him. Shane, Joe, and Jessie saw the black shadows flying all around Allen and tried to catch up with him. Soon Allen came to a dead end and he turned to the others. He looked around and then smiled. He pushed against a wall and it opened up to him. He ran threw and the wall closed behind him. The others stopped at the wall and then pushed it open themselves. They saw Allen running ahead, but they lost him around a corner. They stopped and looked around. "How does he know this place so damn well?" Joey yelled angrily. Then he punched a wall. The wall opened slowly. Joey's eyes were as wide as plates. Shane walked over and looked inside. "Whoa! Look at that painting!" he said. Jessie and Joey looked inside and on the wall was a giant painting. On it was a picture of Ariath wearing a crown and sitting on a throne and then on another wall was a picture of Ariath wearing clothes that looked Egyptian. Then on another wall was Ariath in his present clothes. Jessie, Joey, and Shane walked into the room and the door closed behind them. Suddenly torches lit up and they saw what else was in the room. There were piles of books. Jessie looked up at the picture of the present-day Ariath. "'Ariath Assay. Known to have been a great sorcerer and a holder of one of the sacred infinite pieces. In 1921 he was killed in an accident, but many claim that he survived by living inside his infinite piece.' That's so weird. If that's Ariath, then who's Ariath?" Jessie said. "Ariath is inside me," Allen said. He stepped out from behind a pile of books. The amulet resting around his neck. He looked at the three of them with his big blue eyes. As they looked into his eyes they flashed purple for a moment. "What do you mean, Allen?" Shane asked. Allen stared at him. "He lives inside me. We share the same body," Allen said. For some reason Joey, Jessie, and Shane believed him. "Does your grandpa know, Allen?" Joey asked. Allen looked at the ground and shook his head. "He. Ariath thought that it would be best not to tell him. We never thought anybody would find out," Allen said. Shane, Jessie, and Joey walked closer to him, but Allen stepped back. They stopped and stared at him. "So whenever Ariath wanted to come out, you would disappear and go somewhere to let him out and then come back. Then Ariath would ask to see you and you would hide somewhere until Ariath went back inside," Shane said. Everyone looked at him. Allen nodded. "But haven't you been lonely? Not telling anyone must've been hard, especially at school. How did you manage?" Joey asked. "I'm home schooled. I never met any other kids my age. I usually help grandpa in the lab," Allen said. Jessie started to move towards him, but stopped when he stepped back. "Allen, when did you let Ariath. inside of you?" Jessie said. Allen thought for a moment. "Well, I guess it was when my grandpa and I found these ruins. Our home was built over it, but we didn't know until last year. I was in the basement putting some equipment away when the floor collapsed under me. I fell pretty far until I hit the ground. I was knocked unconscious for awhile until I came too. I had fallen into a secret passage and as I walked around I found the same picture as you with the rubies. Just like you I touched them and the wall opened. I walked inside and explored for awhile. Then I came to this room. I looked around and saw the piles and piles of books. Then I saw this amulet on top of a chest. Maybe Ariath should tell you the rest of the story," Allen said. "How do you expect him to do that?" Shane asked. Allen closed his eyes and put his hands up next to the amulet. His fingers covered the top and bottom of the amulet and a strong wind began to blow. Allen's hair rose and started to blow around. Allen opened his eyes and they turned purple. There was a bright flash and Shane, Jessie, and Joey covered their eyes. When the light disappeared they uncovered their eyes and Allen was gone. Ariath was now standing in front of them. "As Allen was saying, he found my amulet and picked it up. I have to admit that when I first saw him I was a bit surprised. He looked almost exactly like me and his mind was very hard to break into unlike other people I had happened to find. Usually I would keep people far from my ruins, but when I couldn't keep Allen away I knew that he was not normal. Allen put my amulet on and I was released, but only as a spirit. When Allen saw me he yelled and tried to leave. I stopped him and showed him that I couldn't hurt him. "Allen and I started to talk and Allen seemed to know everything about me. I was surprised and curious. I offered Allen. okay, I begged Allen to let me share his body with him. He was a little nervous at first, but he eventually allowed me in. It was hard to hide our secret, but somehow we managed it. I tried to talk Allen into meeting some people to tell our secret to. I didn't think that Allen's grandfather would understand our situation," Ariath said. "Did Allen think the same thing?" a voice said. Everyone jumped and turned to see Allen's grandfather. "Dr. Judo!" Ariath said. "You can't fool me. I was there when you and Allen became one, but I didn't want to put you on the spot. Also I knew that you would come out sooner or later," Dr. Judo said. Ariath looked at the ground. "And what if I hadn't?" Ariath said. Dr. Judo shrugged. "So you knew the whole time, Dr. Judo?" Jessie asked. Dr. Judo nodded happily. Ariath's eyebrows lowered and then he looked over at one of the paintings of him. It was the one where he was wearing Egyptian clothes. "Is there something wrong, Ariath?" Joey asked. Ariath looked at Joey and then shook his head. "It's nothing, Joey," he said. Dr. Judo held up his new invention and held it out to Ariath. Ariath looked at Dr. Judo. "Are you offering this to me or Allen?" Ariath asked. "Both. You two are practically the same person," Dr. Judo said. Ariath sighed and took the wrist band from Dr. Judo. He wrapped it around his wrist and stood staring at it. Then suddenly it started to glow brightly and Ariath's eyes widened in surprise. A ferocious wind blew through the room. The books opened and loose pages flew out in all directions. Ariath never took his eyes off the glowing wrist band. Allen's face flashed on top of Ariath's face. Ariath's infinite amulet rose off of his chest towards the wrist band. Joey, Jessie, Shane, and Dr. Judo were staring around the room in amazement. The wind died down and Ariath's wrist band stopped glowing brightly. He blinked and then looked around the room. Every book was open and every piece of paper covered the floor. A single paper floated down from the air. Arian held out his hand and caught the paper. He held it up and read the few sentences on it. "Whoa! That was so weird!" Shane said. He started to talk again, but he saw Ariath's expression. "What is that, Ariath?" Jessie asked. Ariath never looked up from the paper. Jessie asked again, but Ariath still didn't move. Ariath started to change form. Soon, Allen was standing in front of them again. His blue eyes were reading the paper over and over again. Then he folded it up and put it in his pocket. He then looked at the wrist band. "Allen?" Jessie said. Allen looked up at her. He smiled and then blinked slowly. He started to walk, but fell over. Joey and Shane caught him. They laid him on the ground and looked at him. He was unconscious. Then his eyes slowly opened. "Changing forms like that always wears me out. Ariath, too," Allen said. He smiled and then his eyes closed again. He fell asleep on the ground. Joey picked him up and all of them left except for Allen's grandfather. Allen's grandfather looked at the books and saw an interesting paragraph. "'Even though Ariath Assay was said to be a powerful sorcerer he had one enemy. A powerful demon that could possess anything and anyone. His name was Kemah Shiatsu. He was after Ariath's infinite amulet. Ariath was not the only one Kemah searched for, but he was Kemah's worst enemy. Ariath was the only person Kemah could not possess and Ariath was the only person who could destroy Kemah. Ariath captured Kemah and locked him away in Kemah's own infinite piece. The infinite pendant. Ariath hid the pendant and to this day has not been found. Most people still believe the sorcerer Ariath was just a myth and laugh at those who search for Ariath's burial ground. People who did not live during Ariath's time, but were fascinated by the story painted pictures of him. These paintings have been lost, though. Still, those who do search say that Ariath's body carries the infinite pendant. Until people find Ariath's ruins they can not be positive, but no one has come close to finding Ariath's tomb.' That's interesting. So Ariath was very popular in his days," Dr. Judo said. He closed the book and took it with him out of the room. He walked out of the ruins and back into his basement. He laid the book down on the table and then walked up the stairs. He walked into his living room and saw Allen asleep on the couch. Jessie, Joey, and Shane were sitting in the other chairs in silence. Jessie was staring at the warm fire. Joey's eyes were closed in concentration and Shane was looking out the window. Dr. Judo walked in and all three of them looked at him. He signaled for them to follow him into the other room. All four of them walked into the other room and Dr. Judo sat down behind a small desk. "I would first like to say thank you for coming out here, but since I have found someone to test my invention I will no longer need your assistance. Although, I am going to allow you to come here any time you would like. You three are the only ones who Allen has made friends with. Please, do visit often. Thank you again and hopefully I will see you again. Of course I would like your phone numbers if that is possible?" Dr. Judo said. Shane, Joey, and Jessie nodded and they all wrote down their phone numbers. Then they all quietly left the house. Joey, Shane, and Jessie walked silently down the long driveway. "So, what do you guys think of Allen?" Jessie asked. "He's a cool kid, really. He's just a little shy, I think he needs a lot more friends then just us," Joey said. Shane shrugged. "He sure is. I wouldn't really suspect him of having a guy like Ariath inside of him. I wonder why Ariath wants to hide himself from other people," Shane said. Jessie and Joey nodded. They were all quiet again. Dr. Judo was staring out of his window at the three walking away. He sighed and then looked over at Allen. Dr. Judo grabbed a blanket and laid it on top of Allen. He sighed and then heard the doorbell ring.
"What a day!" Shane said. It had been two days since he met Allen and Arian and he was walking towards his school with his eyes slowly closing. He yawned and stared at the tall building. He sighed and walked through the double doors. He crashed into two people and fell to the ground. "Hey, watch where you're going!" Shane yelled. He looked up and saw Joey and Jessie. They looked at him and smiled. "Hi, Shane," Jessie said happily. Shane jumped to his feet and stared wide-eyed at them. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" Shane demanded. Joey pulled Shane's ear and he cried out. "You have probably got the loudest mouth, Shane Pyre. We're new students. Coincidentally we both moved here yesterday, so we're going to be going to the same school as you. You're going to have to learn to live with us," Joey said. He let go of Shane's ear and Shane rubbed it. He glared at Joey and then smiled. "Well, at least you don't have the same classes as me," Shane said. Jessie held out her schedule and so did Joey. "That's what you think, Shaney," Jessie said. Shane read the schedule and grumbled. It was the same as his. "They had to copy a schedule from somebody already on file. We told them that we knew you so, voila," Jessie explained happily. Shane frowned and then slugged off to his first class with Joey and Jessie right behind him. "So, Shane, is that usually what you get on tests?" Jessie asked Shane at lunch. He was holding a test with a big, red F written on it. He sneered at Jessie and ate quietly. Joey slapped Shane on the back. He coughed and then swallowed. He glared angrily at Joey. "I got an idea. Why don't the three of us go to Dr. Judo's house and visit Allen after school?" Joey suggested. Jessie smiled and nodded happily, but Shane hesitated before he said yes. After their school let out Joey, Shane, and Jessie each called their parents and then started to walk towards the Judo house. They walked up the long driveway and looked at the beautiful colors that the leaves had turned since the last time they had been there two days earlier. Shane saw the leaf pile where he had first met Allen. It was smaller and the leaves were more spaced out. "Oh my God! Look at the door!" Jessie said suddenly. They looked and saw that it had been pulled clean off of its hinges. All three of them ran into the house and saw that every room was destroyed. They ran into the living room and saw the couch ripped to shreds. Books were scattered everywhere and furniture was overturned. A chair blocked the basement door, but Joey moved it. Then they ran down to the basement and saw Allen's grandfather on the ground. They ran over to him and Jessie held him up. He opened his eyes and smiled. "Oh, thank God you came. He took Allen," Dr. Judo said. A cut above his eyebrow was bleeding and Jessie took out a handkerchief. She wiped the wound, but some of the blood had already dried. "Who took Allen, Dr. Judo?" Jessie asked. Dr. Judo started to fall unconscious again. "Kemah," Dr. Judo said. Then he fell unconscious. Jessie laid him down on the ground and covered him with her coat. Joey looked at his hand. It was pointing towards an open book on the floor. He walked over and picked it up. "Who the hell is Kemah?" Shane asked. Joey read the same paragraph that Dr. Judo had and his eyes widened. "Kemah's a demon," he said. Shane and Jessie looked at him like he was crazy. Jessie stood up and walked over to him. She read the paragraph he was looking at and then handed the book to Shane. The basement was quiet while he read and then Shane burst into laughter. "A demon, huh? I'm ready to believe in anything. Even demons," he said. "Did you read the second paragraph?" Joey asked. Shane looked down at the second paragraph. "'Even though Kemah could not possess him, he made a very effective hypnosis gas that only affected Ariath.' That doesn't sound so bad," Shane said. He looked up at Joey. "Keep reading, Shane," Joey said. Shane shrugged and looked back down at the book. "'This gas was what cost Ariath his life. Kemah killed Ariath just before his own death. Ariath's soul was sealed in his infinite piece. While Kemah's body and soul were trapped inside of his infinite piece. They buried Kemah's infinite pendant with Ariath's body, but Ariath's infinite piece was lost.'. That ain't good," Shane said. He handed the book back to Jessie and sat down on the floor. "Well, what are we going to do? We came to see Allen and he's been kidnapped," Shane said. Jessie shot a wicked glance at him. "Do you only care about yourself, Shane? We have to save Allen and Ariath!" Jessie yelled. Shane flinched and his eyes widened. He raised one of his eyebrows and frowned. "I know, I know, but do we have to leave right now?" he asked. Jessie raised a threatening hand and Shane raised his hands to his head. Jessie almost hit him, but stopped. "Shane, what's that on your hand?" she asked. Shane looked at his hand and saw a green spot on the back of his hand. He jumped and tried to wipe it off on his coat. "Oh my God, what the hell is this?" he yelled. Jessie grabbed his hand and stared at the spot. She leaned down and smelled it. When she exhaled it instantly blew into the air. "Do you know what this is?" Jessie said. Shane and Joey shook their heads. "Wait, is that the hypnosis gas?" Joey said. Shane looked wide eyed at them and then at the entrance of the ruins. "Look, there's more over there," he said. All three of them walked over to the entrance and stared at the green spots everywhere. They looked at each other and then Joey grabbed a flashlight. "I don't think we'll need that. This stuff glows in the dark," Jessie said. Joey looked at her. "But for how long, Jessie?" he said. Shane grabbed the book and looked at the other two. "You never know how much this could come in handy. Let's go and save Allen," Shane said. "And Ariath!" Jessie said. Shane scratched his head and looked at her. He smiled and closed his eyes. "Sure, whatever," Shane said. Jessie and Joey sighed and then all three of them started to walk down the stairs. Joey kept the flashlight close by and they followed the gas. They didn't know where they were going and they weren't quite sure how they were going to get back. After about an hour they came to an area with a lot more gas. It started to appear in the air besides the ground. They went into a room and the gas was gone. Joey grabbed his flashlight and turned it on. "Oh, great! We're lost!" Shane said. He hit the wall with the book, but the wall made a squishy noise. All three of them froze. Shane removed the book and looked at it. The book was covered in green goop. "What's this stuff?" Shane asked disgusted. He touched it and it stuck to his hand like green glue. Jessie covered her mouth. Then they heard shouting. "Leave him, Kemah!" a voice said. It came from a room close by. Shane leaned closer to the goop and stared into it. He saw two shadows moving around behind it. He touched it with his finger and shivered. "I think. I think we have to go through this stuff," Shane said disgusted at the thought. Joey and Jessie walked closer and they all stared into it. Then it suddenly leaped out and grabbed them. Jessie started to scream, but Joey and Shane covered her mouth. They slipped through the goop and landed on the other side cold and frightened. They looked up and saw the taller shadow punch the smaller one. The smaller one slid on the ground until it hit the wall. "What are you hiding in him?" the taller shadow yelled at the smaller one. Joey looked at the ground next to his hand and saw Allen's amulet. "Guys, it's Allen's amulet!" Joey whispered. The large shadow froze. Then it turned to their hiding place, its red eyes glowed in the dark tavern. It slowly walked over and they all saw who was on the ground. They saw Ariath's purple eyes staring towards them and they gasped. "Who are these three humans?" the tall figure said. Shane, Joey, and Jessie looked up and gasped again. A tall horrible monster stood above them. It looked like a mix between a dragon and a bird, but it was a mangled, horrible sight. Its arms were like humans but had long claws on its hands. A long, scaly tail was moving like a snake behind the beast. All three of them screamed and the monster grabbed all of them. They stared in absolute horror into its horrible red eyes. Then they realized that it had never moved its arms. Ariath gritted his teeth. "Ariath, do you know these three? By the look on your face you do, or maybe your little friend does?" the thing said. Shane dropped the book and it landed on a picture of the monster. "You're Kemah!" he gasped. Kemah grinned and showed razor sharp teeth. Ariath stood on his feet, but fell against the wall. Blood was dripping down his face and his eyes were glassy. He slipped on excess goop and fell hard onto the ground. He cried out and Kemah turned to him. He walked over with Jessie, Joey, and Shane in tow. He leaned down to Ariath and grabbed his chin. He aimed Ariath's head up and smiled. Ariath looked at Kemah and his head started to fall forward. Kemah's smile faded into a frown. He shoved Ariath's head and stood up. Ariath moved his legs in another attempt to stand. His breathing was hard and his head fell forward. "Too bad. Did you know he used to be a very powerful sorcerer? Now he has to depend upon the body of another. Of course, since he lost his amulet your friend Allen is trapped inside. Did you know that Ariath almost destroyed me? Heh. I thought he wasn't a threat. He surprised me though," Kemah said. Then his attitude changed to that of anger. He turned to face Joey, Shane, and Jessie. "Do you know how long I've been trapped in my pendant?" Kemah yelled. Joey, Jessie, and Shane fell to the ground gasping for air. Kemah walked over to Ariath and grabbed him by the throat. "Over one thousand years. All because of this man," Kemah said. Ariath grabbed Kemah's hand and tried to loosen his grip, but it only got tighter. He stared at Kemah and then felt something fall into his pocket. Kemah squeezed Ariath's throat tighter and tighter. Ariath's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Then Kemah's grip loosened and Ariath fell to the ground. He looked up and saw Jessie holding his infinite amulet. Kemah was staring at her angrily. "Leave him alone and I'll give you his infinite piece," Jessie said. Her voice shook a little, but she looked courageous. "Come, come now. What on Earth could you possibly want with him?" Kemah said. Jessie stared angrily at him. Shane jumped in between them. "He's our friend. It's what friends do for each other. You should try it sometime," Shane said. Ariath stared at them with wide eyes. One of his eyes had turned blue and now slowly changed back to purple. "Was that too gay?" Shane asked Joey and Jessie. They looked at him and shook their heads. "Actually, it was a little bit, yeah," Joey said. Jessie nodded. Shane snapped his fingers. "Oh, well. As long as I made my point," he said. Kemah started to laugh. "You three? Friends with this piece of crap? Don't make me laugh. All who know him will eventually perish with horrible, painful deaths. Even the poor soul he has combined with will hate him when he discovers all of Ariath's dark secrets. You would all be better off without him," Kemah said. Shane, Jessie, and Joey didn't move. Kemah glared at them. Jessie still held the infinite amulet and Ariath looked closely at it. His eyes widened. It was a fake amulet. Ariath put his hand in his pocket and felt the real infinite amulet. Then Ariath noticed that Kemah had one of his hands behind his back. A light started to glow and form into a small ball. Ariath gasped quietly and stealthily scooted over to the side. Then he stood and took out his infinite amulet and put it on. He then placed his hands on the amulet and concentrated. The eye closed and then opened again. It started to glow and Kemah turned to Ariath. He threw the glowing ball at him, but Ariath opened his eyes and it disappeared. A strong wind blew around Ariath and Kemah raised his arms. A bright light was coming from Ariath's amulet and Kemah sneered. "Kemah! Leave this sacred ground or else I will permanently kill you!" Ariath yelled. His eyes were like purple fires and a strange marking appeared on his head. Kemah growled and then smiled. "We shall see who will kill who, Ariath. Don't let your guard down, or it will be you who is killed," Kemah said. He then disappeared and Ariath removed his hands. The wind stopped and the light went out. Ariath smiled and then fell forward. Joey grabbed him before he hit the ground. "Ariath, you really picked the wrong demons to be enemies with," Joey said. Ariath laughed. "I didn't have a say in the matter, Joey," Ariath said. "What do you mean?" Jessie asked. "When I was still alive, Kemah tried to steal my infinite piece. Of course, the only way he could do that was to trap my soul in his infinite piece. He had possessed other infinite piece holders, but when he couldn't do it to me he became angry. You can imagine how I felt when this strange man would follow me around. Eventually he showed himself to me and demanded that I give him my infinite piece. When I refused he tried to take it from me. Of course it was a lot more difficult, because he couldn't possess me like the others. So, he created the hypnosis gas. He made it so it could only affect me, or so he or I thought. Well, you read the book, right? You know the rest," Ariath said. Shane, Joey, and Jessie nodded. Joey held the book out to Ariath. Ariath took it and opened it to a picture. Then he closed the book. He took a paper out from his pocket and read it. "What does that say?" Shane asked. Ariath jumped and then quickly put the paper away. "It's nothing, Shane," Ariath said. "What did you mean 'or so he or I thought,' earlier?" Shane then asked. Ariath looked at him. "The hypnosis gas affects Allen just as much as me," Ariath said.
"I can't believe we're doing this!" Jessie said. Shane shone his flashlight over the walls. There were writings and designs all over them. "Hey, you guys! Look at this!" Joey said suddenly. Shane shone his flashlight where Joey was pointing and they saw a picture of a man. There were two rubies as his eyes and they shone brightly. "Who does this look like?" Joey said. Shane and Jessie looked closely. "Oh my God! It looks like Ariath!" Jessie said. "I think it looks like Allen," Shane said. All three of them looked at the picture. Shane touched the rubies to see if they were real, but when he touched them they started to glow red. The wall started to shake and it suddenly moved. It opened to reveal a secret passage. Shane, Jessie, and Joey looked inside and saw Allen lying on the floor. They all ran over to him and rolled him onto his back. In his hand was an amulet. Jessie picked it up and looked at it. It was in the shape of a circle and had an eye in the middle. Surrounding it were gems. Shane looked at Allen and saw that the amulet had burned its design into Allen's hand. Just then Ariath appeared and stared at the group. "Ariath! What did you do to Allen?" Joey yelled. Ariath walked over to Allen and then he disappeared. "Where'd he go?" Shane said. Allen opened his eyes slowly and gasped when he saw Shane, Jessie, and Joey. He jumped up and Jessie handed him his amulet back. Allen stood up and then turned to run through the passage. Jessie, Joey, and Shane ran after him. As Allen ran through the passage black shadows flew past him. Shane, Joe, and Jessie saw the black shadows flying all around Allen and tried to catch up with him. Soon Allen came to a dead end and he turned to the others. He looked around and then smiled. He pushed against a wall and it opened up to him. He ran threw and the wall closed behind him. The others stopped at the wall and then pushed it open themselves. They saw Allen running ahead, but they lost him around a corner. They stopped and looked around. "How does he know this place so damn well?" Joey yelled angrily. Then he punched a wall. The wall opened slowly. Joey's eyes were as wide as plates. Shane walked over and looked inside. "Whoa! Look at that painting!" he said. Jessie and Joey looked inside and on the wall was a giant painting. On it was a picture of Ariath wearing a crown and sitting on a throne and then on another wall was a picture of Ariath wearing clothes that looked Egyptian. Then on another wall was Ariath in his present clothes. Jessie, Joey, and Shane walked into the room and the door closed behind them. Suddenly torches lit up and they saw what else was in the room. There were piles of books. Jessie looked up at the picture of the present-day Ariath. "'Ariath Assay. Known to have been a great sorcerer and a holder of one of the sacred infinite pieces. In 1921 he was killed in an accident, but many claim that he survived by living inside his infinite piece.' That's so weird. If that's Ariath, then who's Ariath?" Jessie said. "Ariath is inside me," Allen said. He stepped out from behind a pile of books. The amulet resting around his neck. He looked at the three of them with his big blue eyes. As they looked into his eyes they flashed purple for a moment. "What do you mean, Allen?" Shane asked. Allen stared at him. "He lives inside me. We share the same body," Allen said. For some reason Joey, Jessie, and Shane believed him. "Does your grandpa know, Allen?" Joey asked. Allen looked at the ground and shook his head. "He. Ariath thought that it would be best not to tell him. We never thought anybody would find out," Allen said. Shane, Jessie, and Joey walked closer to him, but Allen stepped back. They stopped and stared at him. "So whenever Ariath wanted to come out, you would disappear and go somewhere to let him out and then come back. Then Ariath would ask to see you and you would hide somewhere until Ariath went back inside," Shane said. Everyone looked at him. Allen nodded. "But haven't you been lonely? Not telling anyone must've been hard, especially at school. How did you manage?" Joey asked. "I'm home schooled. I never met any other kids my age. I usually help grandpa in the lab," Allen said. Jessie started to move towards him, but stopped when he stepped back. "Allen, when did you let Ariath. inside of you?" Jessie said. Allen thought for a moment. "Well, I guess it was when my grandpa and I found these ruins. Our home was built over it, but we didn't know until last year. I was in the basement putting some equipment away when the floor collapsed under me. I fell pretty far until I hit the ground. I was knocked unconscious for awhile until I came too. I had fallen into a secret passage and as I walked around I found the same picture as you with the rubies. Just like you I touched them and the wall opened. I walked inside and explored for awhile. Then I came to this room. I looked around and saw the piles and piles of books. Then I saw this amulet on top of a chest. Maybe Ariath should tell you the rest of the story," Allen said. "How do you expect him to do that?" Shane asked. Allen closed his eyes and put his hands up next to the amulet. His fingers covered the top and bottom of the amulet and a strong wind began to blow. Allen's hair rose and started to blow around. Allen opened his eyes and they turned purple. There was a bright flash and Shane, Jessie, and Joey covered their eyes. When the light disappeared they uncovered their eyes and Allen was gone. Ariath was now standing in front of them. "As Allen was saying, he found my amulet and picked it up. I have to admit that when I first saw him I was a bit surprised. He looked almost exactly like me and his mind was very hard to break into unlike other people I had happened to find. Usually I would keep people far from my ruins, but when I couldn't keep Allen away I knew that he was not normal. Allen put my amulet on and I was released, but only as a spirit. When Allen saw me he yelled and tried to leave. I stopped him and showed him that I couldn't hurt him. "Allen and I started to talk and Allen seemed to know everything about me. I was surprised and curious. I offered Allen. okay, I begged Allen to let me share his body with him. He was a little nervous at first, but he eventually allowed me in. It was hard to hide our secret, but somehow we managed it. I tried to talk Allen into meeting some people to tell our secret to. I didn't think that Allen's grandfather would understand our situation," Ariath said. "Did Allen think the same thing?" a voice said. Everyone jumped and turned to see Allen's grandfather. "Dr. Judo!" Ariath said. "You can't fool me. I was there when you and Allen became one, but I didn't want to put you on the spot. Also I knew that you would come out sooner or later," Dr. Judo said. Ariath looked at the ground. "And what if I hadn't?" Ariath said. Dr. Judo shrugged. "So you knew the whole time, Dr. Judo?" Jessie asked. Dr. Judo nodded happily. Ariath's eyebrows lowered and then he looked over at one of the paintings of him. It was the one where he was wearing Egyptian clothes. "Is there something wrong, Ariath?" Joey asked. Ariath looked at Joey and then shook his head. "It's nothing, Joey," he said. Dr. Judo held up his new invention and held it out to Ariath. Ariath looked at Dr. Judo. "Are you offering this to me or Allen?" Ariath asked. "Both. You two are practically the same person," Dr. Judo said. Ariath sighed and took the wrist band from Dr. Judo. He wrapped it around his wrist and stood staring at it. Then suddenly it started to glow brightly and Ariath's eyes widened in surprise. A ferocious wind blew through the room. The books opened and loose pages flew out in all directions. Ariath never took his eyes off the glowing wrist band. Allen's face flashed on top of Ariath's face. Ariath's infinite amulet rose off of his chest towards the wrist band. Joey, Jessie, Shane, and Dr. Judo were staring around the room in amazement. The wind died down and Ariath's wrist band stopped glowing brightly. He blinked and then looked around the room. Every book was open and every piece of paper covered the floor. A single paper floated down from the air. Arian held out his hand and caught the paper. He held it up and read the few sentences on it. "Whoa! That was so weird!" Shane said. He started to talk again, but he saw Ariath's expression. "What is that, Ariath?" Jessie asked. Ariath never looked up from the paper. Jessie asked again, but Ariath still didn't move. Ariath started to change form. Soon, Allen was standing in front of them again. His blue eyes were reading the paper over and over again. Then he folded it up and put it in his pocket. He then looked at the wrist band. "Allen?" Jessie said. Allen looked up at her. He smiled and then blinked slowly. He started to walk, but fell over. Joey and Shane caught him. They laid him on the ground and looked at him. He was unconscious. Then his eyes slowly opened. "Changing forms like that always wears me out. Ariath, too," Allen said. He smiled and then his eyes closed again. He fell asleep on the ground. Joey picked him up and all of them left except for Allen's grandfather. Allen's grandfather looked at the books and saw an interesting paragraph. "'Even though Ariath Assay was said to be a powerful sorcerer he had one enemy. A powerful demon that could possess anything and anyone. His name was Kemah Shiatsu. He was after Ariath's infinite amulet. Ariath was not the only one Kemah searched for, but he was Kemah's worst enemy. Ariath was the only person Kemah could not possess and Ariath was the only person who could destroy Kemah. Ariath captured Kemah and locked him away in Kemah's own infinite piece. The infinite pendant. Ariath hid the pendant and to this day has not been found. Most people still believe the sorcerer Ariath was just a myth and laugh at those who search for Ariath's burial ground. People who did not live during Ariath's time, but were fascinated by the story painted pictures of him. These paintings have been lost, though. Still, those who do search say that Ariath's body carries the infinite pendant. Until people find Ariath's ruins they can not be positive, but no one has come close to finding Ariath's tomb.' That's interesting. So Ariath was very popular in his days," Dr. Judo said. He closed the book and took it with him out of the room. He walked out of the ruins and back into his basement. He laid the book down on the table and then walked up the stairs. He walked into his living room and saw Allen asleep on the couch. Jessie, Joey, and Shane were sitting in the other chairs in silence. Jessie was staring at the warm fire. Joey's eyes were closed in concentration and Shane was looking out the window. Dr. Judo walked in and all three of them looked at him. He signaled for them to follow him into the other room. All four of them walked into the other room and Dr. Judo sat down behind a small desk. "I would first like to say thank you for coming out here, but since I have found someone to test my invention I will no longer need your assistance. Although, I am going to allow you to come here any time you would like. You three are the only ones who Allen has made friends with. Please, do visit often. Thank you again and hopefully I will see you again. Of course I would like your phone numbers if that is possible?" Dr. Judo said. Shane, Joey, and Jessie nodded and they all wrote down their phone numbers. Then they all quietly left the house. Joey, Shane, and Jessie walked silently down the long driveway. "So, what do you guys think of Allen?" Jessie asked. "He's a cool kid, really. He's just a little shy, I think he needs a lot more friends then just us," Joey said. Shane shrugged. "He sure is. I wouldn't really suspect him of having a guy like Ariath inside of him. I wonder why Ariath wants to hide himself from other people," Shane said. Jessie and Joey nodded. They were all quiet again. Dr. Judo was staring out of his window at the three walking away. He sighed and then looked over at Allen. Dr. Judo grabbed a blanket and laid it on top of Allen. He sighed and then heard the doorbell ring.
"What a day!" Shane said. It had been two days since he met Allen and Arian and he was walking towards his school with his eyes slowly closing. He yawned and stared at the tall building. He sighed and walked through the double doors. He crashed into two people and fell to the ground. "Hey, watch where you're going!" Shane yelled. He looked up and saw Joey and Jessie. They looked at him and smiled. "Hi, Shane," Jessie said happily. Shane jumped to his feet and stared wide-eyed at them. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" Shane demanded. Joey pulled Shane's ear and he cried out. "You have probably got the loudest mouth, Shane Pyre. We're new students. Coincidentally we both moved here yesterday, so we're going to be going to the same school as you. You're going to have to learn to live with us," Joey said. He let go of Shane's ear and Shane rubbed it. He glared at Joey and then smiled. "Well, at least you don't have the same classes as me," Shane said. Jessie held out her schedule and so did Joey. "That's what you think, Shaney," Jessie said. Shane read the schedule and grumbled. It was the same as his. "They had to copy a schedule from somebody already on file. We told them that we knew you so, voila," Jessie explained happily. Shane frowned and then slugged off to his first class with Joey and Jessie right behind him. "So, Shane, is that usually what you get on tests?" Jessie asked Shane at lunch. He was holding a test with a big, red F written on it. He sneered at Jessie and ate quietly. Joey slapped Shane on the back. He coughed and then swallowed. He glared angrily at Joey. "I got an idea. Why don't the three of us go to Dr. Judo's house and visit Allen after school?" Joey suggested. Jessie smiled and nodded happily, but Shane hesitated before he said yes. After their school let out Joey, Shane, and Jessie each called their parents and then started to walk towards the Judo house. They walked up the long driveway and looked at the beautiful colors that the leaves had turned since the last time they had been there two days earlier. Shane saw the leaf pile where he had first met Allen. It was smaller and the leaves were more spaced out. "Oh my God! Look at the door!" Jessie said suddenly. They looked and saw that it had been pulled clean off of its hinges. All three of them ran into the house and saw that every room was destroyed. They ran into the living room and saw the couch ripped to shreds. Books were scattered everywhere and furniture was overturned. A chair blocked the basement door, but Joey moved it. Then they ran down to the basement and saw Allen's grandfather on the ground. They ran over to him and Jessie held him up. He opened his eyes and smiled. "Oh, thank God you came. He took Allen," Dr. Judo said. A cut above his eyebrow was bleeding and Jessie took out a handkerchief. She wiped the wound, but some of the blood had already dried. "Who took Allen, Dr. Judo?" Jessie asked. Dr. Judo started to fall unconscious again. "Kemah," Dr. Judo said. Then he fell unconscious. Jessie laid him down on the ground and covered him with her coat. Joey looked at his hand. It was pointing towards an open book on the floor. He walked over and picked it up. "Who the hell is Kemah?" Shane asked. Joey read the same paragraph that Dr. Judo had and his eyes widened. "Kemah's a demon," he said. Shane and Jessie looked at him like he was crazy. Jessie stood up and walked over to him. She read the paragraph he was looking at and then handed the book to Shane. The basement was quiet while he read and then Shane burst into laughter. "A demon, huh? I'm ready to believe in anything. Even demons," he said. "Did you read the second paragraph?" Joey asked. Shane looked down at the second paragraph. "'Even though Kemah could not possess him, he made a very effective hypnosis gas that only affected Ariath.' That doesn't sound so bad," Shane said. He looked up at Joey. "Keep reading, Shane," Joey said. Shane shrugged and looked back down at the book. "'This gas was what cost Ariath his life. Kemah killed Ariath just before his own death. Ariath's soul was sealed in his infinite piece. While Kemah's body and soul were trapped inside of his infinite piece. They buried Kemah's infinite pendant with Ariath's body, but Ariath's infinite piece was lost.'. That ain't good," Shane said. He handed the book back to Jessie and sat down on the floor. "Well, what are we going to do? We came to see Allen and he's been kidnapped," Shane said. Jessie shot a wicked glance at him. "Do you only care about yourself, Shane? We have to save Allen and Ariath!" Jessie yelled. Shane flinched and his eyes widened. He raised one of his eyebrows and frowned. "I know, I know, but do we have to leave right now?" he asked. Jessie raised a threatening hand and Shane raised his hands to his head. Jessie almost hit him, but stopped. "Shane, what's that on your hand?" she asked. Shane looked at his hand and saw a green spot on the back of his hand. He jumped and tried to wipe it off on his coat. "Oh my God, what the hell is this?" he yelled. Jessie grabbed his hand and stared at the spot. She leaned down and smelled it. When she exhaled it instantly blew into the air. "Do you know what this is?" Jessie said. Shane and Joey shook their heads. "Wait, is that the hypnosis gas?" Joey said. Shane looked wide eyed at them and then at the entrance of the ruins. "Look, there's more over there," he said. All three of them walked over to the entrance and stared at the green spots everywhere. They looked at each other and then Joey grabbed a flashlight. "I don't think we'll need that. This stuff glows in the dark," Jessie said. Joey looked at her. "But for how long, Jessie?" he said. Shane grabbed the book and looked at the other two. "You never know how much this could come in handy. Let's go and save Allen," Shane said. "And Ariath!" Jessie said. Shane scratched his head and looked at her. He smiled and closed his eyes. "Sure, whatever," Shane said. Jessie and Joey sighed and then all three of them started to walk down the stairs. Joey kept the flashlight close by and they followed the gas. They didn't know where they were going and they weren't quite sure how they were going to get back. After about an hour they came to an area with a lot more gas. It started to appear in the air besides the ground. They went into a room and the gas was gone. Joey grabbed his flashlight and turned it on. "Oh, great! We're lost!" Shane said. He hit the wall with the book, but the wall made a squishy noise. All three of them froze. Shane removed the book and looked at it. The book was covered in green goop. "What's this stuff?" Shane asked disgusted. He touched it and it stuck to his hand like green glue. Jessie covered her mouth. Then they heard shouting. "Leave him, Kemah!" a voice said. It came from a room close by. Shane leaned closer to the goop and stared into it. He saw two shadows moving around behind it. He touched it with his finger and shivered. "I think. I think we have to go through this stuff," Shane said disgusted at the thought. Joey and Jessie walked closer and they all stared into it. Then it suddenly leaped out and grabbed them. Jessie started to scream, but Joey and Shane covered her mouth. They slipped through the goop and landed on the other side cold and frightened. They looked up and saw the taller shadow punch the smaller one. The smaller one slid on the ground until it hit the wall. "What are you hiding in him?" the taller shadow yelled at the smaller one. Joey looked at the ground next to his hand and saw Allen's amulet. "Guys, it's Allen's amulet!" Joey whispered. The large shadow froze. Then it turned to their hiding place, its red eyes glowed in the dark tavern. It slowly walked over and they all saw who was on the ground. They saw Ariath's purple eyes staring towards them and they gasped. "Who are these three humans?" the tall figure said. Shane, Joey, and Jessie looked up and gasped again. A tall horrible monster stood above them. It looked like a mix between a dragon and a bird, but it was a mangled, horrible sight. Its arms were like humans but had long claws on its hands. A long, scaly tail was moving like a snake behind the beast. All three of them screamed and the monster grabbed all of them. They stared in absolute horror into its horrible red eyes. Then they realized that it had never moved its arms. Ariath gritted his teeth. "Ariath, do you know these three? By the look on your face you do, or maybe your little friend does?" the thing said. Shane dropped the book and it landed on a picture of the monster. "You're Kemah!" he gasped. Kemah grinned and showed razor sharp teeth. Ariath stood on his feet, but fell against the wall. Blood was dripping down his face and his eyes were glassy. He slipped on excess goop and fell hard onto the ground. He cried out and Kemah turned to him. He walked over with Jessie, Joey, and Shane in tow. He leaned down to Ariath and grabbed his chin. He aimed Ariath's head up and smiled. Ariath looked at Kemah and his head started to fall forward. Kemah's smile faded into a frown. He shoved Ariath's head and stood up. Ariath moved his legs in another attempt to stand. His breathing was hard and his head fell forward. "Too bad. Did you know he used to be a very powerful sorcerer? Now he has to depend upon the body of another. Of course, since he lost his amulet your friend Allen is trapped inside. Did you know that Ariath almost destroyed me? Heh. I thought he wasn't a threat. He surprised me though," Kemah said. Then his attitude changed to that of anger. He turned to face Joey, Shane, and Jessie. "Do you know how long I've been trapped in my pendant?" Kemah yelled. Joey, Jessie, and Shane fell to the ground gasping for air. Kemah walked over to Ariath and grabbed him by the throat. "Over one thousand years. All because of this man," Kemah said. Ariath grabbed Kemah's hand and tried to loosen his grip, but it only got tighter. He stared at Kemah and then felt something fall into his pocket. Kemah squeezed Ariath's throat tighter and tighter. Ariath's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Then Kemah's grip loosened and Ariath fell to the ground. He looked up and saw Jessie holding his infinite amulet. Kemah was staring at her angrily. "Leave him alone and I'll give you his infinite piece," Jessie said. Her voice shook a little, but she looked courageous. "Come, come now. What on Earth could you possibly want with him?" Kemah said. Jessie stared angrily at him. Shane jumped in between them. "He's our friend. It's what friends do for each other. You should try it sometime," Shane said. Ariath stared at them with wide eyes. One of his eyes had turned blue and now slowly changed back to purple. "Was that too gay?" Shane asked Joey and Jessie. They looked at him and shook their heads. "Actually, it was a little bit, yeah," Joey said. Jessie nodded. Shane snapped his fingers. "Oh, well. As long as I made my point," he said. Kemah started to laugh. "You three? Friends with this piece of crap? Don't make me laugh. All who know him will eventually perish with horrible, painful deaths. Even the poor soul he has combined with will hate him when he discovers all of Ariath's dark secrets. You would all be better off without him," Kemah said. Shane, Jessie, and Joey didn't move. Kemah glared at them. Jessie still held the infinite amulet and Ariath looked closely at it. His eyes widened. It was a fake amulet. Ariath put his hand in his pocket and felt the real infinite amulet. Then Ariath noticed that Kemah had one of his hands behind his back. A light started to glow and form into a small ball. Ariath gasped quietly and stealthily scooted over to the side. Then he stood and took out his infinite amulet and put it on. He then placed his hands on the amulet and concentrated. The eye closed and then opened again. It started to glow and Kemah turned to Ariath. He threw the glowing ball at him, but Ariath opened his eyes and it disappeared. A strong wind blew around Ariath and Kemah raised his arms. A bright light was coming from Ariath's amulet and Kemah sneered. "Kemah! Leave this sacred ground or else I will permanently kill you!" Ariath yelled. His eyes were like purple fires and a strange marking appeared on his head. Kemah growled and then smiled. "We shall see who will kill who, Ariath. Don't let your guard down, or it will be you who is killed," Kemah said. He then disappeared and Ariath removed his hands. The wind stopped and the light went out. Ariath smiled and then fell forward. Joey grabbed him before he hit the ground. "Ariath, you really picked the wrong demons to be enemies with," Joey said. Ariath laughed. "I didn't have a say in the matter, Joey," Ariath said. "What do you mean?" Jessie asked. "When I was still alive, Kemah tried to steal my infinite piece. Of course, the only way he could do that was to trap my soul in his infinite piece. He had possessed other infinite piece holders, but when he couldn't do it to me he became angry. You can imagine how I felt when this strange man would follow me around. Eventually he showed himself to me and demanded that I give him my infinite piece. When I refused he tried to take it from me. Of course it was a lot more difficult, because he couldn't possess me like the others. So, he created the hypnosis gas. He made it so it could only affect me, or so he or I thought. Well, you read the book, right? You know the rest," Ariath said. Shane, Joey, and Jessie nodded. Joey held the book out to Ariath. Ariath took it and opened it to a picture. Then he closed the book. He took a paper out from his pocket and read it. "What does that say?" Shane asked. Ariath jumped and then quickly put the paper away. "It's nothing, Shane," Ariath said. "What did you mean 'or so he or I thought,' earlier?" Shane then asked. Ariath looked at him. "The hypnosis gas affects Allen just as much as me," Ariath said.
