A/N:Sorry it took so long to update, I suddenly got very apathetic about my story. WEll, here you go; chapter six. Enjoy, and don't forget to REVIEW!!!

Disclaimer: Here we go again with the meaningless information everyone knows already: I am not Amelia Atwater- Rhodes. Therefore, the characters and ideas mentioned in her books are not mine. Things not mentioned in her books are mine. Don't take them.

Chapter Six: Round Two

Avia and Arimsa worked diligently in the days remaining until their birthday to create an environment of complete chaos. After Arimsa's chores were done each day (Avia couldn't be bothered to complete them with so much to look forward to), the two would lock themselves in their room and draft their plans. There were the usual harmless pranks; buckets of water above all the doors, animals set loose inside the temple, wigs switched around during the night, and various other pesky behaviors. But in honor of their eighteen birthday, when both would be considered adults in the community, they decided to plan something special. It would need to be large, creative, and disruptive; something to outdo all their previous pranks combined. Of course, neither had any idea what they would do for such an idea.

Meanwhile, many unusual reports had been coming from all around the temple and the villages along the river. Many of the young men and women of the village had fallen victim to a series of unusual attacks. Most had arrived home very shaken but unharmed, telling wild stories of evil spirits, and the community had collectively ignored the incidents. However, three days before the twin's birthday, a village boy had turned up dead on his return from a neighboring town, and his body bore marks of extreme violence. Suddenly, people who had not bothered to discuss the attacks began to whisper on street corners, as accounts of "attacks" grew more and more far-fetched. What exactly was to be done was still largely up in the air, since no one had actually gotten a good look at whatever was harming the young adults of the community. Suggestions of keeping armed guards on the outskirts of town, or even providing self- defense training for youngsters, were not going anywhere, and the district governor had not yet been contacted, with only vague reports and one fatality. So far, the incident was a topic for good gossip, and nothing more.

However, Avia and Arimsa did not take the news as lightly. It certainly could have been a deranged human causing the recent violence, but the twins were more inclined to believe that it was caused by and older, more dangerous threat. Avia also found it curious that men and women in their prime were the targets of the attacks, when it seemed that small children and the elderly would be easier to take down. The situation left them mystified until Avia finally convinced Arimsa to speak to Siete about it.

Arimsa was far from pleased to be deliberately seeking out a man he was so distrustful of, but after two days of Avia sneaking up behind him and asking him in a very loud voice if he wouldn't reconsider, he finally gave in to his sister's wishes. The eve of their birthday found the twins haunting the hallways of the temple, assumedly making sure all their "preparations" were in place, and as the hours of the night grew deeper, the two casually made their way to Siete's door. After a mental conversation with his conscience, warning him he was making a mistake, and a none- too- gentle kick from Avia, Arimsa swallowed his pride (and his sanity, he privately thought) and knocked on the door. After a moment, the door opened, and the twins stepped inside.

Despite their friendship, Avia had never been inside Siete's room before. Due to his obvious importance as Ai's friend, Siete occupied a set of rooms, including a sitting room, a bedroom and a storage room for his belongings. The door opened into the sitting room, where Siete had been reclining on a couch. Motioning for them to sit and make themselves comfortable, he ushered them inside and shut the door behind them.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise. I assumed that you two would be creating a chaotic environment for us this evening. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, the chaos is still on, don't worry" Avia answered. "We just needed to stop in here briefly. We wanted to talk to you about these 'attacks' in the town lately."

Siete's look of polite happiness evaporated in an instant, replaced by a hard look that Avia interpreted as signifying deep thought. After a moment that tension spread into an hour, he looked up at them as thought he had forgotten they were there at all. "What did you want to know?" he asked at length.

It was Arimsa who answered this time. "We were wondering if you knew anything about the reasoning behind the violence. We also thought it was odd that only the young adults were hit, and we wanted to see what you thought of it."

Siete looked thoughtful. "Why me?" he asked.

"Hey, don't look at me. I don't even want to be here. It was Avia's idea" Arimsa hastily defended himself.

Siete turned his inquisitive gaze to Avia, who met him eye to eye. "I thought that you might have some insight on this problem. And I was right, wasn't I? This is concerning you as much as it is us, isn't it?"

Siete sighed softly, then beckoned them into his bedchamber. The room was sparsely furnished, containing only a bed and a desk, and looked as though it was barely lived in. Moving towards the desk, Siete pulled a piece of paper out of the pouch he carried tied to his belt and spread it out on the table.

"This is a map of the town around the temple community" he explained. "You were right in thinking that this concerns me. I asked a friend to map out the land surrounding this place- he's quite good at that sort of work- and then marked off the areas where each attack has occurred. The red marks indicate a disturbance."

Looking at the map, the twins gasped. It was covered in spots of red, hastily marked on the paper's surface. "I had no idea there were this many!" Arimsa cried. "We thought that there were only a few isolated incidents, not a whole epidemic!"

"The parents and guardians of such rural areas are given to suspicion and superstition over common sense. They believe such events to be the work of an angry god, not a physical threat, and so you wont have heard about many strange things that happen in the town. Had not that young man been killed, I doubt that such attacks would have been brought to your attention at all."

Avia had remained quiet throughout their discussion, gazing fixedly on the map. Street blocks divided the town, each squared section marking a district. Avia let her eyes drift out of focus, taking in the whole picture. Before Arimsa could reply to Siete's statement, she spoke quietly but with force. "Does anyone else notice a pattern here?" she asked.

Arimsa looked at the map, then back at his sister. "Not really. Why?" But Avia's gaze was focused on Siete, who smiled slightly. "I might have seen something. What do you think you see?"

Avia gestured to the small farms at the outskirts of town. "We heard the first reports of violence and fright in the center of the town, but I'm guessing that the first attacks occurred here, in the outlands. They simply weren't reported, because the old wives out there are always seeing strange things, and saw no point in telling anyone. So the first incidents were here, then moved towards the center of town. Last week, that boy was killed returning from the next village to the south- coming from the opposite end of the town than where the attacks started. That means that whatever it is that is hurting people is moving systematically, beginning with one end of the town and then working its way towards the other end, until it reaches the temple."

Arimsa scratched his head in confusion. "I don't see anything significant about that. For all we know, it's an animal just moving through the town. What's the pattern?"

"Animals are not systematic, Arimsa" Avia said cuttingly. "Whatever it is, it's intelligent, and what's more- it's looking for something."

Avia woke on her birthday morning early, feeling an unusual humidity to the air. The room was stifling; suffocating her as she quickly dressed for the day. Shoving Arimsa to get him to wake up, they made their way to the dining hall, to await the victims of their pranks. The hall was already filled with the low buzz of conversation, but much of it quieted to hateful glances as the casualties of the twin's birthday noticed their entrance. Anet, a serving girl whose room was down the hall from Avia and Arimsa, was dripping with water from a bucket placed above her door, while Fala, the cook's apprentice, sported a ghostly white face from the flour that had been carefully planted in her makeup container. Soon Ai, the high priest, stumbled into the room looking livid, the remains of several large eggs still clinging to his sandals, just as Amah rushed in with a string of curses, raving about the mess created by a stray cat that had been let into the kitchen. As they took their seats, Anook gave them a congratulatory grin. So far, their custom- made chaos had been a complete success.

Siete strolled elegantly into the room, looking as fresh and clean cut as ever, to the twins' obvious confusion. They had produced several custom made pranks specifically for the elusive character, but it looked as though he had escaped without any harm done. Avia could have sworn she heard him murmur "nice try" as he passed their table on his way to sit with Ai, but after a minute or two she decided she must have imagined it.

The day continued without any significant events, although everything from "how did this oatmeal get into my bed?" to "why are all my clothes hanging in the courtyard?" to "where did all the garlic for dinner go?" could be heard echoing throughout the corridors.

The last comment had Avia slightly befuddled. "Garlic?" she asked. "We didn't hide the garlic." But she soon forgot it as evening approached and Siete invited both her and Arimsa to his room.

Inside, he had provided an assortment of delicious food, along with a large candle that had been artfully crafted to appear as though there were two, when in reality there was only one. As they were finishing the last of their desert, a guard outside the temple sounded the alert signifying the approach of strangers. A chill fell over Avia's back, and she exchanged a look with her brother. A silent agreement passed between the two, and Arimsa cleared his throat softly.

"Siete, I think my sister and I are wanted downstairs…Siete?"

Siete had been gazing towards the open door, but he cautiously turned towards the twins once more at the sound of Arimsa's question. "Yes, I think you had better go down there. In fact, I will come with you." Without further explanation, Siete stood and lead the way somberly towards the main entrance.

Once downstairs, Avia could immediately see the source of the trouble. The guards had opened the gate for the visitors after they had shown themselves to be unarmed, and now the two cloaked figures were insisting to see the head priest. The guard, whom Avia knew only distantly, was trying to explain that this was quite impossible, as Ai had already retired for the night, but the strangers simply shook their cloaked heads and began moving towards the inner reaches of the temple. Avia and Arimsa exchanged glances, then began to move forward towards the intruders. No sooner had they entered the room when both figures snapped their heads sharply around and stared directly at them. A wave of icy cold spread around the room, and the twins shivered in spite of themselves. With deliberate gestures, the figures drew off the hoods of their cloaks, and all hell broke loose.

A serving girl let out a shrill scream as the two figures rushed forward. They tray she had been holding clattered to the floor and rolled out of sight, quickly followed by the fleeing populace. The guards at the door drew out curved blades and began moving towards the intruders, but Avia could tell instantly that such actions would be useless. Obviously, the guards had not yet gotten a good look at the "guests". Deep set eyes, the same ghostly red as the Seti the twins had encountered at the gate, illuminated deathly pale faces as the figures advanced. One of the beings walked with a slight limp, while the other had a clearly visible scar near the collarbone. Avia recognized them immediately from descriptions in the Book of the Dead; they were the walking Dead, dead bodies being used to house a Spirit under Seth's domain. Mortal weapons would be no good against such a being.

One of the guards rushed forward with a roar, but was repelled by a single hand of the limping one, which slammed the man against the wall, where he collapsed like a marionette with cut strings. The other, far less courageous after the defeat of his comrade, took up a fighting stance and tried to square off with the beasts. Neither paid him any attention, but continued with the same agonizing slowness in the direction of the twins.

"So, what's the plan" Arimsa asked nervously as they approached.

"Er…I have no idea" replied Avia. "I suppose you could try to get rid of them with your mind, but neither of us really has that kind of discipline yet. Such a convenient time for that goddess to refuse to show up."

"Well, we had better get disciplined, and quickly" whispered her brother, eyeing the approaching horrors with disgust. "I doubt they are here to wish us a happy birthday."

Avia felt something being pushed into her hands. "Here" murmured Siete's voice in her ear, "I was going to give these to you with a little more ceremony, but I think they are more appropriate here."

Avia risked a quick glance downward and saw, to her surprise, a pair of beautifully crafted slim daggers, with a wide hilt and deep red garnets set into each pommel. Her name was carved into one of the grips, while the other read "subtle". Despite her inexperience with weaponry, Avia felt an insane strength and confidence flow through her. With a rather savage grin, she stepped forward towards the attackers, with Arimsa right behind her.

Immediately, the creature with the wounded neck leaped forward to meet her challenge. Bearing fangs threateningly at her, it reached out with a long arm and tried to hit her head. Avia ducked under his arm with a whoosh of air, narrowly escaping having her head separated from her body. The wild swing had set the creature off balance, and Avia took advantage of this opportunity to reach under its arm and cut a quick slice across its stomach. AS she had expected, the creature seemed not the notice its wound, and immediately slammed her against the wall. Its eyes glowed menacingly at her as it pulled an arm back for a fatal blow. Thinking quickly, Avia grabbed a torch from the brackets on the wall and pushed it into the Walking Deads face. That seemed to get its attention. With a wounded roar, the body ignited and burned furiously. When the flames subsided and Avia was able to get her bearings, the creature had been reduced to ashes, and the remaining one was on the retreat from Arimsa and Siete. They had worked together to build a wall of fire in front of themselves; Siete grabbing the torches and Arimsa shaping their defense with his mind. Reluctant to let the Walking Dead escape, Avia pointed at the creature and said softly "burn". The fire from Arimsa's wall streamed into her fingers, and from there into the Walking Dead. The beast went up just like his fellow, and Avia made her way towards the other two.

"Not bad Avi" her brother congratulated her. "You seem to be getting the hang of this."

"Hmph. Hardly" she replied, "I only seem to be able to do things like that without thinking."

"How did the knives work out?" asked Siete. "I had them made for you by a friend of mine about a week ago."

"They're perfect. Very subtle." Avia said with a flirtatious smile. Arimsa gave her a hard look and seemed ready to drag the two off to bed when, thankfully, Ai arrived on the scene.

"By all the gods" he exclaimed in a weak voice, "What happened here?"

Avia considered telling the truth, but soon decided against it. "Well, actually its rather hard to believe. Two strangers entered the temple and killed the guards, so Arimsa and I lit them on fire." She informed him with a cheery smile.

"Oh yes. Of course. How ridiculous of me to have not noticed that earlier. Really, Avia, you could at least try to be serious sometimes. Now Arimsa, lets have the real story.

"That is the real story, sir" Arimsa told him. Avia had not presented the best story possible, but it was too late to fix that now. "We used the torches along the wall. Never got a good look at their faces though."

Ai considered this carefully. Finally, looking very weary, he announced that they were to get some sleep and the matter would be discussed further in the morning. With a yawn, the twins made their way up to bed.

After they had washed up and settled down for the night, Avia turned around to face Arimsa, who was in his bed across form hers. "You know what's odd, Arimsa?" She asked him.

"No, what's odd?" he replied.

"That garlic that went missing today. Whenever Amah makes her garlic sauce, the smell spreads all over the temple. But the garlic went missing today- all of it."

"What's so odd about that? Someone probably needed it for something and stole it today because it would just be blamed on us."

"Could be. But you know, Arimsa, one of the best methods of keeping demons and such away is the smell of garlic. Ironic, isn't it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arimsa asked warily.

"Maybe its nothing" his sister replied. "Then again, maybe there's something wrong with this building. Maybe there's someone helping those-things get close. No use worrying about it now though. Good night."

Avia blew out the candle by her bed, and the room was plunged into darkness.