Chapter Three

A hundred plus miles and a new car later, the trio actually found themselves driving along the scenic coastal highway as the sun was setting low on the ocean horizon. Somewhere east of there they had broken through the monotonous dank of the rainstorms and come across blue skies and cool fall air.

They had stopped near Bend and Jenria, using her alias named driver's license and her bank card, traded in the older Ford Escape for a 2003 F-150 four door at a used car sales lot. Though the salesman had flirted with her almost relentlessly through the buying process, Jenria managed to get them in and out of Bend with their new vehicle flawlessly. Not a single citizen took more than a moment's notice of them. Either news of the strange house fire and missing people had not reached this far down, or the people of this town were simply too involved in their own business to care.

They had broken through the stormy weather and were being treated to the jewels of costal scenery, they found their spirits lifted, actual smiles daring to cross their faces as they felt the foreboding fade along with the distance they put between themselves and their now destroyed Canby home. Eventually they were moving through the tiny community of Yachats, aptly nicknamed "The Gem of the Oregon Coast", which was declared in an expertly made round wooden sign set in to a foundation of round stone that curved along with it.

As they slipped at a reasonable speed through the town, past high set beach houses and ocean front hotels, they each admired how this little dot on the map, more tourist town than home town, seemed to have its own glimmer about it, reflected off the water and the crystal skies above no doubt. As they neared the center of town a large resort with its name boasted in a large lettered wooden sign came in to view.

"The Adobe," Ceilidh commented, leaning forward in the front seat as Jenria drove, "I've heard of them. Supposed to have excellent food, room, the works. One of the more renowned resorts on the coast, next to the Salishan in Depo Bay."

"How do you know all that?" Adian asked, amused that the girl could spout off such information having been stuck in Canby for so long.

"Got a friend that works there," she explained, looking over her shoulder, "Well, did. Haven't seen her since I started living with you guys."

"That's too bad," Jenria said, frowning sideways at her. Ceilidh gave a nonchalant shrug, tilting her head to the side with a small 'Hm' noise.

"I think we're all used to that, losing friends because of...who we are," Adian agreed, "At least we don't have to go it alone, though. It would be a horrid weight, having to carry around all on your own."

All three nodded in solemn agreement as they passed by The Adobe, watching the building as its huge acreage and large beachfront building faded from view. A few miles up a much smaller but nicer looking hotel was spotted. Entirely painted in a green decor and boasting large wooden four leaf clovers on its front, the aptly named Shamrock Inn was set about ten blocks up from the ocean side on a slight incline overlooking housing down below it. Adian pointed towards it, giving Jenria a small smile.

"Maybe not the Hilton, but at least its not so grungy."

"You read my mind, Aiddy."

They found a parking spot and Jenria went to check them in, Adian still too concerned to use anything with his alias on it, even this far down the state. Even with outside doors and small rooms, the place was much nicer than the hotel of the unremembered name back in Albany. The rooms were well maintained, sheets actually white instead of nearly stained yellow, and the slight disinfectant smell was actually for cleanliness and not to simply cover up the horrid odors of previous renters. Adian, having slept a good portion of the ride after getting the truck, chose to take first watch and let the girls sleep. Though she was still being plagued by haunting dreams, even more so since learning of their only home being burned to the ground, she welcomed the chance to rest gladly, even if it was just to lay down and rest her sore body. She loathed driving and avoided it more than either of her companions due to the toll it took on her body, but Adian was also worn from driving, and they worried more about Ceilidh getting pulled over because of her age. Though legal to drive at seventeen years old, some police officers had a bias towards teenagers being behind the wheel and would find reasons to pull them over and possibly take them in.

Sleep never managed to come to Jenria, so she simply laid there for a few hours before rising and bringing up the subject of food to Adian. Though they had managed to stop for a fast food brunch before completely leaving Albany, the day had well passed in to nighttime and Jenria had found herself hungrier than tired anymore.

"I have no idea what this town has for meals," Adian admitted, looking at her from an upside down perspective as he had his head tilted over the back of the chair in order to see her from where he was sitting.

"Ask the front desk. And before you get all freaked out, it was one incident. Asking for food isn't going to get the police called on us," she assured him, seeing the fleeting moment of panic slide across his face at the mention of 'front desk'.

"And if it by some odd chance does get the police called on us?"

Jenria gave a jerk of her shoulders, hands in the air, "We're already social outcasts, why not run and add fugitive to that?"

Adian gave a groan and stood up from his seat, "Jen, you are going to be the death of me," he muttered while grabbing his jacket and wallet off the table. Jenria took his seat with a chuckle.

"Better me than whatever the hell's chasing us, yeah?"

A snort was the only reply Adian felt like giving her as he exited the hotel room and headed for the office. Once there he inquired of a small red-haired woman about possible places to get take out food. She told him a few places, all within walking distance, she explained, since the town hardly spanned more than a mile and a half area in either direction. He gave her thanks and started on his way to the closest one, only to find it closed when he got there. The sign declared it, but it seemed it had only shut its doors a few moments before as the lights were still on and workers were cleaning inside. He glanced at the business information sheet, finding its shutdown time to be rather early indeed.

"Great, a town where the streets roll up at night," he muttered to himself, shoving his hands in his jean pockets as a soft yet chilly wind wafted up from the ocean. He continued on down the road, remembering that the lady said the next closest was a diner that kept long hours specifically for travelers. Few cars passed by him, so dim yellow cones of light from the spaced streetlamps mostly lighted his path. Only a handful of people were still out and about on the town, and the relative quiet made it possible to hear the hiss and crash of the waves just down the road. A relaxing noise, Adian managed to get swept up in it so much that he almost past by the brightly lit diner.

He turned in to the parking lot just as a sudden wave of darkness swept over him, momentarily blacking out his vision and sending him pitching forward. He regained himself just before hitting the ground and with enough time to put his hands out to keep him from face planting the cement. Grunting at the shock of tingling pain send through his wrists, he rolled on to his back and sat up, gazing around the sleepy town with new eyes. Though spots danced across his eyes, there was no mistaking the feeling that clutched at his chest and raised his heartbeat to a panicked thudding against his ribcage.

They're here all ready. Damn it! I gotta get back to the hotel...

He leapt to his feet and bolted back the way he came, praying that he wasn't too late.

Back at the hotel Ceilidh slept soundly, undisturbed by even the loudest crashing wave outside their patio door or the faintest rustle coming from Jenria as she took pencil to a sketchbook, letting the picture come from her heart rather than her mind, as that was just too tormented to attempt to put on paper.

The room was peaceful, and despite their current situation all seemed right, as if they were merely on a vacation from the ordinary and not desperately fleeing for their lives from some unknown force. It was almost enough to make Jenria pull out her bathing suit and run carefree as a child through the frothing waves of the Oregon coast.

The thought brought a momentary smirk to her face, and a relocation of a time when she still had a conventional family of a mother, father, and brother. She had been born in Shinjuku District of Tokyo, Japan, a well off and respected neighborhood known for its friendly shops and almost perfectly built public parks. It was one of those few areas left in Tokyo that still had a high bike to car ratio on the streets, and though it was relatively close to the bay front, it was more of a port city than a tourist area with accessible beaches.

Being of an American mother, a woman who had traveled to the fair island country as a teenager and simply wound up staying, and a hard working Japanese father proved to be an interesting way to grow up for her and her brother Sakuya, but there was love there, and plenty of it. Despite their busy schedule her parents would find as much time during the year to visit the more costal area of Shirinami, which beaches and oceanfront properties people rented for weeks or months at a time. Up until the time her father's business had to be sold due to lack of profits and they completely relocated to America, Jenria and her brother would see that gorgeous ocean up to four times out of the year.

Strange that years later she found out her connection with the natural wonder of the ocean wasn't just emotional, but physical as well; she could draw upon its awesome power just as Ceilidh could weave her energy with fire, and Adian with air. It was their gift, given by ancient blood and passed down through generations, originating from a strange race of humans that were once revered and called upon as heroes for their awe inspiring abilities. It was this that made the three who they were, that had caused them and three others, now gone, to form a team of sorts, to live on the outskirts of a culture that, in their time, wouldn't be ready to handle such people living amongst them. It was that very borne ability that had strange forces chasing after them now, wanting them dead because of what they were capable of doing, and because of their connection to ancient people that had never fully been explained.

"Hm," she muttered aloud, "Wonder what would have happened, if Dad hadn't moved us..."

It was a thought that she only received a fraction of a second to dwell on. In a flash of almost white-hot pain, blackness enveloped her vision and she went tumbling out of her chair, sprawling on the floor as her arm and head connected with the seat of the chair, sending it to the ground as well.

The sudden ruckus was enough to jerk Ceilidh out of her sleep with a loud cry. She shot straight up, head jerking around from side to side and hand reaching for the lamp on the bedside table, the only close thing that could be used for a weapon as hers was currently in a bag at the other side of the room. Finding nothing of immediate danger she turned her eyes to the scene of disturbance, seeing Jenria on the floor, hair splayed out from her head and body turned at an odd angle.

Ceilidh cried out her name and leaped off the bed, sliding to her knees at Jenria's side. Carefully she checked the older girl for any visible wound and only found slight redness and bruising on the arm that had taken a hit from the chair. She then checked her pulse and found it strong but rapid, and her breathing strained but there. After that she lifted her up, finding it quite hard due to her currently incapacitated state, and gave her a light shake.

"Jen! Jen wake up!" she demanded of the unconscious girl. Jenria let out a sharp gasp, her whole body quaking with the force of it, her eyes springing open like she'd just been ran through by a blade. Ceilidh threw herself backwards with a yelp; the other girl thudded to the floor again as she barely had enough bearings to sit up on her own. She lay there, twitching and gulping for air as if her very lungs had been removed from her body momentarily and then returned. When she could manage it, she rose her head and stared at Ceilidh, still a few feet away and staring at Jenria like one would a possessed doll, her own eyes wild but clear, free of any signs of a mental hindrance.

"Adian's...in trouble..." she choked out, pushing herself on to her knees, "Down the road somewhere."

"What...?" Ceilidh asked, confused more about how Jenria acquired this information than the actual situation. The older one shook her head, rising to her trembling legs and stumbling for the long weapon sack they'd brought with them. She retrieved a light short sword and broadsword, both in scabbards, a large wooden crossbow, and a bladed long staff in an over the shoulder case. With trembling fingers she tried to work the belt on.

"No time to explain. We gotta help him. They've been following close by the whole time, hidden...we couldn't even feel them, they knew how to cover that somehow," she said as evenly as possible. Ceilidh nodded and got to her feet, walking over to Jenria and taking the belt in her hands. Steadily she slipped the leather through the clasp and secured it to the girl's chest.

"Are you going to be all right?" she asked, looking the girl in the eyes, hands still on the belt.

"If we save him, I'll be just fine," Jenria assured her, handing the girl her crossbow and light short sword, keeping Adian's broadsword with her. They left hastily; exiting the hotel area at the fastest speed their feet would carry them. Jenria guided the way; whatever connection to their leader she'd miraculously developed helping them in their quest for him. What she had seen while unconscious left her both terrified and angry, with anger driving most of her energy right then. She couldn't lose Adian, not even if everyone else in her life was destined to fade away. The two of them, Adian and Ceilidh, were her family now, and she would protect them at any cost.

She realized she was about to get that chance as the two of them skidded around a corner in to a strangely dark residential section of the town. On either side of them no lights offered comforting light, and down the road the ocean churned, inky black and furious with high tide. A high, almost howling wind pressed against them, unnatural in its energy and intensity. Adian was causing it just up ahead from them, his hand outstretched as he tried to keep three darkly clothed figures back from him. Each of them wielded two wicked Japanese style swords, too long to be wakatashis but too curved to be kitanas, and they were advancing on Adian despite his best efforts to shove them back with raised currents of wind. They were bizarre in appearance, inhumanly stretched out with long, thin arms that nearly went the entire length of their bodies and legs that bent down as if their full height would touch the havens themselves. Their 'clothing' wasn't really clothing at all, but wispy shadows clinging to thier gaunt forms, slithering around like snakes curling up to a kind master. Heads too small, hands too large, they looked so alien the two girls would have been convinced they'd fallen in to a science fiction show, if they weren't so sure they were already living in one.

One turned its head towards the two intruders, beady dots of red masked by complete blackness burning with hatred and a kind of thick, putrid loathing that could be felt from across the distant. It spoke, its voice raspy and words incomprehensive to them, and turned back on Adian, slowly closing the gap that separated it and helpless Adian. It raised its gangly arm above its head, preparing to strike down the boy.

"ADIAN!" Jenria screamed, stepping back and hurling the broadsword, case and all, with all the might she could muster. The creatures turned to look at her, almost appearing annoyed that she would dare think of interfering. The sword hurled over their heads and landed right next to Adian with a loud clank and rattle. He took no time hesitating despite his obviously weakened state and snatched his weapon off the ground, unsheathing it with a slick shirk noise, the blade slicing across the abdomen of the first attacker. Instead of spouting blood or even making the slightest scratch, it simply disturbed the wispy shadows about it, sending a flurry of black dots in to the air. Adian growled at the ineffectiveness but kept the weapon at hand, sheath in one fist and sword in the other.

The remaining two turned towards the girls, hissing and speaking in their crackling language, their voices angered by the sound of it. Ceilidh raised her crossbow, lined one of them in her sights and fired off three arrows in rapid succession. All three passed through it like it was nothing more than air and gravity. For all they knew, it very well could be.

"Not working!" Ceilidh yelled out, glancing at Jenria with desperation written all over her features.

"Keep trying!" she fumbled back in reply, pulling her bladed staff out and putting herself in a defensive stance. Further up Adian was now going one on one with his attacker, blocking hit after rapid hit with his own weapon.

"I'll just waste arrows!"

"Aim for the head!"

Uncertain but willing to do anything to get them out of their current predicament, she rose the crossbow again and let a small barrage fly at it. This time it simply lifted its strange sword and blocked each of them, sending them back to the ground uselessly with tiny tinks of contact. She tried once more alternating aim between the two of them hoping one would at least get distracted. Again her arrows wound up on the asphalt road.

"JEN! NOT! WORKING!" Ceilidh bellowed in panic, quickly retreating backwards.

"I know!" Jenria shouted, stepping back along with her friend as the two enemies bared down on them, "Shit shit shit shit..." she hissed between clenched teeth, death gripping her weapon before her. Suddenly her eyes were drawn to the ocean further down the street. Her mind clicked in to gear, pushing away fear and throwing logic in her face. She stopped her retreat, much to Ceilidh's surprise, and put herself in an offensive stance, smirking lightly despite her rapid heartbeat. She wiggled two fingers towards herself at the strange beings, and they instantly advanced upon her, a sound similar to laughter coming from them. They seemed to enjoy the thought of slaughtering the girl right where she stood.

That was a chance she wasn't about to easily hand over to them, though. When they were roughly two feet from her, Jenria suddenly ran towards them and stabbed her staff blunt end down in to the ground hard, causing her to launch in to the air and sail directly over them. Looking like an angel coming down from flight, she spread her arms wide upon decent and called forth all the power from the ocean that she could manage, mentally asking the torrid waters for assistance. She felt a rush inside of her, her body welcoming the sensation of the water's energies entwining with her own, making it like a rushing river inside herself. She knew what she was asking the ocean to do was both dangerous for her but for her friends, but it was the only resolution she had. They would not be taking down easily, and excessive force was what she planned on utilizing.

Just as she landed the ocean went dead silent, pulling everyone's attention towards it as the whole world seemed to suddenly lose its audio. She turned to Ceilidh who was now in a struggle with one of the other creatures, it pressing a single bladed weapon against her own light short sword. The girl stared at her with furrowed eyebrows and confusion riding most of her face.

"Find something to hold on to!" she called out, her voice louder than she had intended what with the lack of rumbling water behind them. Ceilidh nodded and quickly broke her battle with the creature, rolling to the side of it and finding a small tree to climb up in to. Just as her fingers felt for a hold on the splintered wood of the branch she'd scrambled to a loud groaning came from the direction of the beach. All heads turned to see a pillar of water, thickly dark, rising out from the body and heading in their direction. Water pulled in from the beach at all sides of it, and the noise quickly became a loud crashing din as it pulled its narrow self up to the streets.

Jenria ran for Adian, who was down on the ground once more, holding his wilding arm which boasted a large gash, the instant it hit the very bottom of the road, grabbing his arm and pulling him quickly towards the other side. She hauled the two of them on to a large house porch with a high floor and thick support beams, pressing her body against him and wrapping her arms around them, grasping the pillar for support. The water released its pillar form, crashing down upon the three shocked attackers with incredible force, rushing them up the street to the main road through town. All three of the young humans cried out as the cold costal water hit them, rushing over them at great speeds and almost detaching them from their places. Even Ceilidh up in her tree was hit, but she had managed to get high enough to be spared from most of its power. As much as Jenria could call upon the force of it, she couldn't control the actions of something so large, only ask it to assist them and let it do the rest.

Having completed said task, the ocean quickly receded back in to itself as if had simply experienced a bout of extremely high tide. Jenria sent a spiritual thanks to it and unwound her soaked self from Adian. Dripping wet and pale from his deep wound, he still managed to find a smile for her.

"Thanks," he said softly. She took a shuttering breath, calming her wracked body from such an expenditure, and nodded with an equally relieved smile. Up the street three smoke like forms lay in a tumble on the ground, unmoving and red eyes dulled, possibly unconscious or even dead. Whatever the case, they were defeated and the three heroes thought themselves safe, even dripping wet, bruised, cut and cold.

Ceilidh jumped down from her perch, walking over to her two friends as Jenria pulled Adian down off the porch, giving her body as support since his ankle had also been twisted in his attempt to ward off his attacker.

"That was it? Wow, Andrea really needs to get her priorities straight!" Ceilidh boasted, shaking her head in disapproval at their would be killers.

"Cei..." Adian protested with a chastising look.

"I'm serious! Sure we couldn't hit them if they had targets pasted on them, but a little water and they're out! Ridiculous! We let our home get burned down for this?"

Distant, echoing applause filled the darkness, a single pair of hands clapping together. All three jumped, grabbing their weapons for ready as they all scanned the inky street for a sign of where it could be coming from. A man, or at least a man-like being, emerged from the shadows two houses down from them and crossed the green and damp yards towards them.

Though he looked much more human than his ghostly companions, there was evidence that he was of the same odd race. His arms were much too long, body pulled taught like a rubber band, and his legs didn't quite straighten fully. Almost moonlight white skin glowed in the dimness of the street, his fingers extended just far too long, and, while clothed in a long black trench coat and simple black jeans, he couldn't completely hide the fact that he wasn't a normal human being.

At that moment he was clapping those stretched out hands together, a smirk riding his vampiric features.

"Such boldness for one so young. Tell me child, are you always so…arrogant?" he inquired of her, turning onyx eyes to Ceilidh as he halted about five feet from the trio. Ceilidh's mouth opened to retort, but found herself in a silent shock at this thing's appearance, "I should hope not. Some one of your age has…so much to learn," he added, waving a bony hand about. His voice was much different from that of his alien counterparts. He was obvious able to speak English, and while he retained a certain gravely quality, his tone was almost melodic, lilting and light.

"W-who…?" Jenria managed to stammer out, also afflicted by the strange inability to speak.

"Hm," the thing mused, shifting his gaze over them to the heap of strange creatures behind them, "They spent months searching you out. I have to admit using the phone lines was a bit unconventional but it did the trick," he said, uncaring to their questioning stares, "You'd think with the world so connected these days, it would become easier to track down a group such as yourselves, but I underestimated technology a great deal. It, in fact, hides you. Hah! How convenient for you, too, to have the annoying spirit of your friend notice what I'm up to. If it hadn't been for her silly warning, I would have demolished you along with your house back in that redneck spot on the map you dare to call a town."

Adian let out a growl, fist clenching at the mention of his close deceased friend. He was the first to get over the strange affliction, snarling at the strange one in a threatening voice, "You'd better leave her Andrea. She's dead, let her rest in peace."

"Mm, mm, mm," their adversary tsk'd, moving closer and taking Adian's chin in his eccentric fingers. Adian winced, finding the milky flesh cold and almost scaly to the touch. Incapacitated at Jenria's side, though, he was unable to do much more than try to twist his head away, "Adian, correct? I had a feeling you might just open that mouth of yours about her," the thing seethed, leaning in close as the young man desperately avoided those odd blackened eyes, "She's been taken care of, so to speak, so you'd best not worry your little head about the woes of the dead. It's the ones of the living around you right now that should be at the top of your list."

"Who…are you?" Ceilidh finally demanded with her voice so meek compared to her usual self.

"Oh, dear. I do apologize for the lack of for introduction!" it said in a creepily cheerful voice, releasing Adian's face suddenly, "While I don't have a conventional name like you, I have become quite partial to the name Lionel, so that is what I shall be called!" he paused a breath, turning to walk back the way he came in an almost pacing fashion before continuing on, "As for what I am, since that is no doubt on your mind, I am of the Deaengel race, not that you would know who they are. Let us just say that your ancestors and my own have been at odds ends for some millennia now. And while I have so much enjoyed this conversation of ours," he paused, turning back on them and withdrawing a long, thin, yet still lethal looking blade from the inside of his coat. A deep purple and black aura slithered about the length of metal, twisting up to the strange one's arm, an obvious extension of his own dark power, "I do regretfully have to eliminate you now and thus negating the line of descendants from this realm of existence."

All three of them cried out, going for their weapons simultaneously. They were all stopped short as the other three, Lionel's possible minions, suddenly grabbed each one from behind, restricting their access to their weapons with amazing power for their spindly forms.

Lionel was on them in a flash of a second, having risen about ten feet off the ground to strike at them with an aerial shot. His weapon was raised above his head, energy and darkness swarming about him like locust in a windstorm. Ceilidh screamed out while Jenria simply turned her head away, preparing herself for the blow. Adian, on the other hand, was still fuming from what he had said about Andrea and wasn't willing to go down without one last fight.

"NO!" he screamed out, stretching out his fingers from where his hands were pinned down and calling forth the still air in to a sudden circular flurry from the ground up, creating a miniature tornado on the fly. Though lacking in size, he made sure it wasn't lacking in strength and sent as much power as he could bring up to the inside of it. The force of the tornado shoved the trio back, causing their captors to lose their hold on them and go rolling away like so many tumbleweeds. Lionel himself struck the top of the tornado with his sword, both the wind drawn cone and his energy crackling outwards as the two made an electric contact. Adian was sitting on the grassy lawn on his knees, continuing to send his energy in to it as the stranger pressed down hard on it from the air, trying to break his resolve.

"Give it up!" Lionel's crackly voice boomed suddenly, "Your fate is inevitable, child, there is no use fighting like this!"

"NEVER!" Adian screamed back out, shoving back harder.

At that moment something strange and all together wondrous occurred. Adian's energy swirling within the wind tunnel latched on to Lionel's darkness and tugged it inside, spinning both around and around until they had oddly blended together within the confines of the wind. Lightening shot out from all angles, striking the ground repeatedly and sending chunks of ground and road hurling in to the air.

"Holy shit…" Ceilidh mumbled, staring at the cyclone, as it became a swirling mass of purple and yellow that grew brighter and less wind like by the second.

"Not normal…" Jenria muttered, shaking her head in disbelief and worry. The girls could only stand and watch it occur, their hair and clothes whipping about them and fear etched in to their faces.

Suddenly the tornado began to shrink inwards, flattening out in to a disk shape that hovered in the air, spinning wildly and throwing off sparks in every direction it could manage. Lionel was tossed off backwards by the intense force of it, causing him to land flat on his back a good twenty feet away. Adian, on the other hand, had energy coming at him instead of putting it out, and the backup caused him to scream in pain as every nerve ending was sent some kind of momentary but still painful shock. Jenria, seeing that he couldn't break free of the strange cyclone's hold, darted forward and tackled Adian to the ground, pulling his connection from it.

Lionel, meanwhile, had recovered from his throw quickly and had started to make his way around it, behind the three while they were distracted with staring in confusion at the creation now whirling above them.

Said object had slowed its speed only to lean downwards until it stood at a diagonal angle. The wind shifted, as well, pulling things inward instead of pushing it outward. Grass and other loose objects were instantly pulled inside, yet the might of it was not enough to pull the three of them inside.

"A portal. It's a damn portal," Ceilidh observed as she kneeled down next to Jenria and Adian. Adian, while in significant pain now, was still coherent enough to understand and nod in muted agreement with her.

"Where does it go?" Jenria questioned. Ceilidh turned to her, seeing the three strange creatures rise from their last landing place out of the corner of her eye.

"At this point it could lead to the ninth circle of hell and I wouldn't care, just so long as we weren't here!"

"But…this is a random phenomenon that can't possibly happen again! How will we get home?" Jenria demanded, eyes going huge at the thought of crossing that threshold. Adian grunted and struggled to get to his feet against his friend's protests.

"We stay here, we're dead anyway!" he called out, the wind picking up a little, causing enough din to make it difficult to hear, "I say we take it!" Ceilidh nodded and rose as well, moving to stand next to him. Jenria glanced over her shoulder, now seeing not only the creatures but also Lionel as well advancing on them.

"Fine! Go! I'll cover you!" she called out after her friends, getting behind them.

"What about you?" Ceilidh asked, worry taking over briefly. Jenria just shook her head, placing a hand on either of their backs and giving a rough shove to both towards it. They stumbled and were lifted in to the air, spinning about and flailing from the sudden lack of gravity that tugged them slowly towards the whirling portal. Just as Ceilidh was faced towards Jenria once more, her expression became terrified and she pointed down at the older girl, screaming as loud as she could manage, "JEN, LOOK OUT!"

Just then yellow light engulfed both her and Adian, causing them to vanish in a flash and a crack of energy.

Jenria spun around and ducked an inch only to have a burning ache tear through her upper shoulder. Gasping for breath as her lungs and heart stuttered from shock, she stared down in gaping horror at the long, thin blade that was jutting through her very body, dripping crimson with blood that also bloomed on her white cotton shirt. Just as her mind registered that there was a sword through her, Lionel removed it just as quickly, sending another jolt of electric pain through her. A gurgling cry escaped her lips as she fell to her knees.

"Oh…oh…god…"

"I'm afraid you are not in God's favor tonight, child," Lionel informed her with a sadistic chuckle as he walked around her, wiping his blade clean with a once immaculate white handkerchief, "While your friends may have survived, I assure you it won't be a permanent state for them. They will join you, soon enough," and with that he gestured to his followers to come forward with their own blades. Jenria swayed on her knees, vision dancing between black and focus, helpless, about to meet her end in a horrible manner.

She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the final blow nonetheless, only to be surprised by a yellow light enveloping her even though she was on the ground.

"NO!" she heard Lionel cry out as she felt her body rise off the ground and ascend towards the portal.

The last thing she could recall before complete blackness took over her physical senses was a view of the ocean through a haze of blur and swiftly moving yellow swirls, and a disturbing feeling of peace.