Chapter 14



Rowen stared as Sage's face drained off all color, "You...you ASSHOLE! You...You're worse than Ryo! Ryo at least had the decency to just say he didn't want me to see her. You, my best friend, instead make up lies about her!"

"Sage..shhh..."

"What, you don't want her to hear what you suspect Rowen?" Sage fumed, "You don't want her to know that you are trying to turn me and the others against her?!"

"Sage calm down, you're shaking..."

"You don't give a damn Rowen, so stop trying to act like you do!"

"Sage, stop, stop this," Rowen grabbed Sage by the arm, and halted his attempted exit.

"Let me go!" Sage struggled against Rowen, "What are you going to do if I let you go?"

"Call my Mom, I want to go home," Sage was beginning to sound more and more like an insolent child.

"Sage you know you can't do that. We have a job to do and we need you, I just wished you trusted me! You always used too, what has changed now? Why the hell would I ever lie to you Sage? Especially about something as important to you as this!"

"Rowen let me go! I refuse to believe what you're saying, and you saying you have proof tells me you're lying! You tell me why!"

"Sage, ever think that maybe I'm not lying, that's why! I'm not saying that she's hurting you, but am saying she is who we are looking for... and that she has marked you. Is that so bad, Sage?" Rowen was still holding Sage, by both arms, but he could feel him calming considerably.

"She would tell me," Sage was saying softly more to himself than Rowen, "She wouldn't just mark me...she had no cause to...I love her. She didn't need to mark me to keep me."

Rowen kept the second part of his theory to himself, for Sage's well being, "Maybe she wasn't as sure as you...Maybe she just wanted no harm to come to you. But you having the mark of a Witch sure would make a Darkling mighty interested in you. And it could be the reason they..."

"Ok...ok enough, I get it," Sage interrupted.

"Sage? Rowen?" Cye, Kento, and Sylvia came into the kitcheh, peering at the peer, "Is everything ok in here?"

"Great, we're great," Rowen said, releasing Sage's arms. Sage gave Rowen a chilly look and brought his arms to his sides.

"What was going on in here, we heard shouting?" Sylvia was frowning, moving closer to Sage, and Rowen couldn't help but move in between the two. Keeping them apart had become his vocation. Sylvia shot Rowen an odd look, and backed away. She looked at Sage, "I have to go now... I've got to get to the hospital."

"Will you come back? Tomorrow maybe?" Sage looked wistful.

"Yes, you should come back," Rowen was nodding his head... After all they were looking for Witches, and they had one right here and now. But they had to discuss how they were going to go about dealing with her. He ignored Sage's dark look, "We could walk to the bus stop and ride together."

Sylvia frowned, she was thinking it over, Rowen thought in excitement. "Come on, Sage would really like to see you. He's been so down lately, and maybe with you around he'll start taking care of himself better."

Sylvia smiled then, and sighed lightly, "I'll think it over.. I'll see how my mom is doing, and I'll...get back to you at school." She seemed happy enough, she didn't suspect anything.

Sage on the other hand looked ready to bite Rowen's head off. His expression of anger fell as in Rowen's excitement he had forgotten to block Sylvia from Sage. Sylvia had planted herself in front of Sage, kissing him quickly on the cheek and hugging him, "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

Sage's face was that of a happy puppy. His grey eyes were dancing, his scowl replaced by a wide smile, "Ok...I...I love you."

"I love you too," Sylvia said, "Come walk me out."

Sage took her extended arm and the couple exited the kitchen.

"Well aren't they too cute for words?" Kento remarked sarcastically, he folded his arms and looked over at Rowen's perplexed expression, "So what's up Genius? What's going on in that brain of yours? I smell trouble."

Rowen furrowed his brow, "Not now Kento... Wait until Ryo gets home." Then Rowen left the kitchen, following Sage and Sylvia at a distance. He watched Sage let her out and watched their last embrace. If she was out to hurt him, it sure didn't seem like it. Maybe she was only lonely wanting for a nice-looking companion. Rowen sighed especially when Sage whirled around, caught him spying, and stormed towards the stairs in a huff.



After a virtually silent dinner at which Sage did not join them, Rowen called the others into Mia's study closing the door behind them. Rowen sat behind Mia's heavy wooden desk leaving the others to scrounge for stray chairs from various places in the room. Mia, Ryo, Cye, and Kento crowded around Rowen as he rubbed his weary chin and looked up into each of their eyes endearingly. "Ok, Rowen, what's this all about? I take it you've stumbled upon another key to solving our Darkling/Witch mystery," Cye was smiling at Rowen lightly, trying to lighten his sullen expression. Rowen looked as if he were being led to an execution, his own.

Rowen simply nodded, his eyes went from Cye to Kento and Ryo, the ones most likely to over-react to his news. "I need you to promise to stay calm, do not jump to any conclusions, and most of all please don't do anything that could upset Sage in any way. He knows what I suspect and he's not happy with me, so please don't make him hate me for telling you all because of the way you react to it."

"Are you going to explain your odd behavior from earlier when Sylvia was here?" Cye asked tapping the dark wood desk.

Rowen nodded, bitting his lower lip.

"What is it Rowen? You're scaring us," Mia spoke up from the arm chair she sat in beside the smaller wooden chair Ryo had taken. She leaned forward to try and catch Rowen's eyes. Rowen looked heavenward instead of at his friends then, "Guys... What would you say if I told you that Sylvia is a Witch."

Kento snorted, "Well I've been telling you guys that for weeks."

Rowen groaned and slapped his palms to the desk in frustration, the sound of flesh cracking against wood made them all look at Rowen, pale and sterm, "Can you be serious for one damn minute Kento?! I just said that Sylvia is a Witch! The kind of Witch, we and the Darklings, are looking for!"

There was silence for a few minutes before Mia spoke, "What makes you so sure Rowen?" her voice was hushed.

"She wears the symbol, the very symbol that is mixed with Sage's original mark on his brow on her necklace..."

"Well maybe she found it somewhere. It's not unusual for common people to stumble onto..."

"Think about it Cye... Did we have Darklings and Familiars knocking at our door before Sylvia made her presence here known? No. And the mark Sage already had from Shivoni, even Sage says Shivoni would have noticed a disturbance if a second mark was placed on him...if she had been around. When did Sylvia get here? After Shivoni had gone..."

"But that all can be coincidental..."

"Too coincidental," Rowen said beginning to grind his knuckles together, "Cye, you've always said that Sylvia has a sort of influence over him. You see it, I see it... Well tell me, have you ever known Sage to act that way around a girl? So many girls, smarter and prettier than Sylvia, throw themselves at him...what makes Sylvia so different?"

"Rowen, you don't pick who you fall in love with? Are you trying to attribute Sage's love for Sylvia as Witch Craft...that's so medieval, you're taking something you don't understand and making it into magic and trickery."

"No! Just think about it! Sylvia's a lonely Witch, she sees Sage as companionship..."

"Rowen, you're being ridiculous..."

"She hates stories with women accused of being witches being persecuted. She got herself kicked out of class arguing with the professor."

"So?"

Rowen groaned, he rested his head in his hands. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and he looked up slowly to meet Ryo's eyes, "I for one, do not like to jump to conclusions, but I'm with Rowen. Even if it's not true we need to be cautious. This girl wears the symbol of a Witch....one that we have never seen until she appeared, and suddenly we have a new foe that wants nothing more than to aquire the peopel associated with THAT mark. And now Sage bears it on his brow...who else could have been closer to him than Sylvia to put it on him? I've observed the way he acts around her too, I've seen his will bent, his mind controlled... He's not even the same person anymore, and I do not attribute THAT to love. He's irresponsible, he's forgetful, he's temperamental... And through all this month I have not once seen him lift a sword and go practice like he used to... I mean I guess he's expressed want to do it, but actually seeing him do it... Well, there's always Sylvia he's got to think about. Where does she need to go today? What does she need?"

Kento sat with narrowed brown eyes nodding along with Ryo's words, "She doesn't fit in...not at school, not anywhere. She has no friends but Sage. She's not very nice really, except to Sage. When they talk, what do they talk of? Sylvia has no past, no stories to tell. Sage never talks about any family other than her mother and the fact that she says they come from the States. No mention of friends, having a life, schools, sights they had seen. She's like a flat character created for a sole purpose and can be disposed of like a sheet of notebook paper later when scribbled on and not needed. She's fake. And that's not the Kento that is resentful because he was rejected by the fair Sylvia."

Mia sighed heavily, "Well you boys have certainly stacked the cards up against this girl, that I haven't even met yet. But your evidence does sound convincing...but now my questions go to why? Should we worry about her? Is she dangerous to Sage? And more importantly, is she leading the Darklings to us? That mark..."

Rowen was nodding, "I'm pondering those questions too. Maybe she really has feelings for Sage and simply used her mark as something territorial. He's hers. Maybe she did spell him to fall in love with her. But overall, she probably means no harm at all, and we should get her here and help protect her...or send her on into the next world to hide."

"So you're saying you want to help Sylvia?" Kento was frowning, seeming confused.

"Well....not Sylvia exactly, but her race...Besides we've got to get rid of the Darklings some way. I am not too convinced that they are just going to leave this world without causing any damage."

"So you think if we confront Sylvia she'll help us?" Ryo was now frowning.

Rowen shrugged, "I don't know what to think..but I do know for sure that she is a Witch, and I know what those Darklings wish to do to her...and I know what they can do to this world regardless of whst happens with Sylvia and us. The only thing I feel we can do, is let her know we know. Then we can determine from her reaction whether she is friend or foe. We can inquire about Sage and how she feels about him, and in return we can offer her our protection."

"What if we don't like what we hear?" Kento fired back, "Cause I already don't like this. Who says the Darklings are unreasonable? Maybe we can strike a deal with them, send them a Witch and they leave, no harm done."

"Kento...they're evil. We can't trust them...anad besides, how would we talk to them and get them to understand?"

"Umm..." Kento was quiet and he looked to be in deep thought.

"Well, that shut him up for a while," Cye said he looked to Rowen, Ryo, and Mia, "So what are we to do? Rowen, it seems you've invited her over again tomorrow, I suppose we should all try to be here for the confrontation?"

Rowen nodded.

"Is Sage to be in on this?"

"No way," Rowen said shuddering, "He'd bite my head off with his teeth."

"Ouch," Ryo cringed, "I'd almost forgotten we'd be working around Sage. He knows she's coming tomorrow?"

Rowen nodded, "He thinks she might...and he probably knows what will happen, but I think it best we try to keep him in bed and we go on about this business ourselves."

Cye let out a breath, he looked disturbed, "Do you think she's dangerous? I mean, the Darklings want to wipe out the Witches for a reason...They can do stuff against them. We couldn't lay a hit on these guys and she can. I don't want to imagine what she may be able to do to us if we anger her."

Mia's eyes flew open wide, "I'd almost forgotten..."

"What do we do, and how do we prepare if Sylvia really is a foe? Are we ready to confront her?" Cye pressed on rocking in the small stool he had borrowed from the corner.

Ryo looked uncomfortable, "We'll have to be ready. Besides I think we have something that will keep her at bay."

"What?"

"Sage," Ryo shrugged, "for whatever reason whether it be love, lust, or material possession she wants him. She can't oppose us and keep Sage..."

"She can if Sage is under her spell," Kento snorted, "He looked ready to kill Rowen this afternoon when I bet he told him what he found out about Miss Witch."

"But Sage..."

"Isn't himself," Cye filled in, "we can't trust him."

"This is Sage we're talking about!" Ryo argued, "I know maybe he's loopy and lovesick but when it comes to duty and loyalty..."

"Ryo, she's got him wrapped around her pinky finger," Kento said, "His duty and loyalty never came to questioning her... Notice he wouldn't stop seeing her even when he knew that it was affecting his work. Now do you honestly think he could oppose her, hurt her?"

Ryo blinked, "I don't know Kento. I'd like to believe he's stronger than that. I know he's stronger than that!"

"Hope he's stronger than that," Mia said quietly, "Maybe I could do some more research, see if I can find anything that might loosen a spells hold on someone, make Sage less open to her suggestion."

"Mia, you against a real Witch?" Kento said incredulously, "You don't stand a chance!"

"Anything's better than nothing Kento," Mia snapped standing, "I'll look for something." She stretched with a groan, "After all this is over I'm going to sleep for a month... What's wrong Cye?"

All eyes went to Cye. Cye sat upright on his stool, his eyes wide open, hyper alert. The hair on his arms and the back of his neck stood on end, and he was unearthly still. "Cye?" He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"There's something outside," Cye shivered, "I feel it...Don't you feel it?"

All the warriors stilled to observe the atmosphere, all felt a chill, "Darklings?"

"I don't know," Cye stood, "We'd better go out."



Rowen went to the window first opening the curtains so he could peer outside, "It is pitch black outside."

"It's not late enough for it to be this dark yet," Ryo commented joining Rowen at the window. He touched the cool pane with his fingers, jerking back in surprise at the actual coldness of the glass. He and Rowen shared a meaningful look, "They're coming."

"For Sage? Or maybe they sensed that Sylvia was here?" Cye was frowning, "We should armor up..."

"What's that out there guys?" Kento pushed himself in between all of them. He pressed his face to the glass to get a clearer view and jerked away, crying out in shock at the wintery texture of the glass. He quickly shook of his shock and let out a loud breath, "It's not Darklings, cause I saw something out there."

"Good...not good?" Ryo gazed at Kento's expression, "What is it?"

"From here it looks like a Familiar," Kento spoke.

"Shit," Ryo was not looking forward to another thrashing. His ribs were still tender from his last tango with the otherworldly beasts.

"Well what's it doing?" Cye asked trying to see what Kento did in the darkness, "It's just standing there it seems."

"Standing there...waiting..." Rowen said, he shifted uncomfortably, waiting for what? Was it challenging them? Was it waiting for them to come out and fight with it? He saw a glimmer of something. Gold, a glint of gold, a flash of green, coming from... "Sage is in bed right? You checked on him Cye, he was asleep, right?"

"Right," Cye said looking confused he studied Rowen's face then gazed out the window at what Rowen was staring at, "My God..." He uttered before bolting to the door with Rowen following closely behind. Ryo and Kento thoroughly confused decided to follow their leads, although not seeing what the other pair had.

"Sage!" Rowen was yelling. The blond walked as if he were half asleep, in a trance. His violet eyes were half sheathed by heavy eyelids. He wore only his night clothes, a pair of gray drawstring sweat shorts and a white t-shirt. His barefeet trod across the cold damp grass with their usual grace. Even in sleep Sage remained poised and graceful. "SAGE!" Cye was yelling, he was running at the blonde, getting to him before Rowen. Rowen who had paused to look beyond Sage to the Familiar, the Familiar that had been calling to Sage somehow... Its eyes glittered red in its flat reptilian face, it was different from the last two Familiars Cye had seen. It was coming forward, moving towards them with an animosity that shook Cye. He saw the flash of light that was Rowen calling on his subarmor, he sensed Ryo and Kento armoring up as well. He wasn't thinking of that at the moment, he sprang closing the distance between him and Sage. He brought Sage down into the wet grass struggling to hold him still. Sage fought to get back up, to get to the Familiar who was calling to him. Cye looked up from the ground briefly to see his friend grappling with the Familiar, were there any Darklings around? They wouldn't be able to tell... Rowen's light contraption..someone had to bring it outside, "Rowen! Rowen you take Sage and get inside, get your machine!" Cye yelled. He felt Sage still beneath him but he did not release him until he saw Rowen backing out of the fight and nearing them. Cye stood pulling Sage's limp form up with him, passing him to Rowen before armoring up. Rowen lifted Sage and ran with him to the house. He lie Sage on the couch, Mia trailing him, "Watch him, I'm gonna get the light projector." Rowen jogged up the stairs and burst into the study. He approached his creation, going to its control pannel and beginning to the activation process. Once it was in stand by, Rowen lifted it and ran back down the stairs, through the door, and back out into the abyss of the front lawn. He set his device down and took it from stand by. A bright light was emitted from the machine, brightneing the sky, making it seem near dawn instead of midnight. The Familiar cringed from the light, but looking around the Ronnins saw no Darklings. They sighed, but wondered if the Darklings would show up as they had the last time.



Kento threw his body to the ground to break Cye's fall as he was flung by the Familiar. Cye landed hard onto Kento's hard exoskeleton. He stood quickly, "Clear the way, I'm going to use my attack."

Kento rolled out of the way, signaling for Ryo and Rowen to get out of the line of fire, "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!!" Cye cried holding his trident high calling on the power of his armor. A large wash struck the Familiar in its middle. It cried out as it was splashed hard against the thick trunk of the tree behind it. Kento did not hesitate to rise and get ready to make his attack, "IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" An eruption or earth and stone rose from the ground crackling towards the tree the Familiar had landed against. It wailed yet again and the tree itself was uprooted from the ground and it was thrown 10 feet. It screamed with its rage, its red eyes burning in its face. It licked its lip with its forked tongue and charged at them.

"FLARE UP NOW!!" the other Ronnins dove for cover as Ryo threw out his most powerful attack. It struck the Familiar head on, but did no damage. The Familiar did little more than flinch, it continued its charge.

"ARROW SHOCK WAVES!!" Rowen threw his sure kill at the beast trying to help slow it... Nothing took Ryo's attack in the face like that and still stood unfazed.

"It's getting stronger!" Cye yelled backing away. They were backing away from the rushing creature, "What now?"

"We can't call Inferno..we're missing an armor!" Kento breathed winded from their exertions. He braced himself to battle again as the Familiar neared with a newfound ferocity. It did not like being blown up one bit. Kento swung his iron staff at the beast, panicking when he felt he staff being batted away from him. His right arm snapped painfully behind him and his body was whirled and thrown across the lawn. He lie in an agonized heap. "KENTO!"

"Sure kills all together. It can't take all of our hits together!" Ryo was yelling looking back at Kento, feeling relief only when he saw Kento move.

Rowen and Cye nodded, gathering themselves, "ARROW SHOCK WAVES!"

"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

"FLARE UP NOW!!!"

The three sure kills combined together made an impressive blow against the Familiar striking it and tossing it 50 feet into the air. Smoke poured from its body as it hit the ground. Rowen, Ryo, and Cye stood still staring at it...was it dead? Was it dead? It did not move. "Kento?" Cye turned to see his best friend, he began to move towards him, btu as he did Rowen cried out. It had moved, it was still alove and it was getting up! It was getting up! Cye whirled around to be face to face with the creature, its yellowing teeh dripping with saliva, its malodorous breath in his face... He couldn't move...he was going to be killed, he knew it. He braced himself for the pain, heard Ryo cry out for him. He heard Rowen yelling to him. He felt the claw clench around his throat and he shut his eyes, it would be quick.... but then...then came a voice. A clear carrying voice drenched with authority and power spoke firmly, "Stop it!" Cye felt the claws unclenching from his throat slowly, he felt the pressure ease, he felt himself relaxing slightly as air poured back into his system.

"Let him go."

The creature hesitantly released Cye and stepped away from him much to Cye's delight and puzzlement.

"Go back to your master, now. Shoo, get out of here."

The thing cringed, it...it whimpered, like a dog. Cye blinked incredulously. It stepped back again, and again. Soon it had turned its back and was retreating back into the wilderness beyond Mia's home.

"My God.." Cye breathed he turned, as had the other to face...Sage. Sage was standing in the center of the yard staring at the Familiar's retreating backside. His face was one of chiseled stone, his grey eyes were hard and distant.

"Sage, what the hell was that?" Ryo asked he started towards him, as did Rowen and Cye. They stopped right in front of the pale blond. Up close they could see his trembles, his gooseflesh from exposure, he was unarmored, still in his night clothes. "What did you do? How did you do that?"

Sage looked at them, each of them as if he were just waking up and noticing them there. He smiled weakly, "Pets..." he said softly laughing slightly before pitching forward into Ryo.