After Ghastly had changed out of his gym clothes, they decided to try and call Dexter and Saracen. Ever since both of their near death experiences, they had run off to live a life of excitement. Tanith didn't blame them; Saracen had had a wall collapse on him and Dexter had had a remnant ripped out of his throat. She remembered the killer sore throat she had after her remnant had been evicted, and winced when she realised that she had been healed before she awoke. Dexter had been left there to die, but despite all of the odds stacking against him, he lived.

Ghastly pulled out his phone, "I doubt this will work."

Tanith shrugged, "Worth a shot."

Ghastly dialled Saracen's number. It rang for a good minute and Ghastly was about to hang up when Saracen answered.

"Ghastly?" yawned Saracen, a croak in his voice.

"Hello Saracen. You sound tired."

"Well, I would be. It's eight o'clock in the morning here."

"Well, do you think you'll be able to drag yourself out of bed?"

"Urmm..." Saracen mumbled. Tanith heard the rustle of what she assumed to be bedsheets on the other end of the line. Saracen cleared his throat. "...why?"

Ghastly recounted China's story.

"Oh...oh right." mumbled Saracen, "I'm sure, in theory, I could get on the case."

"Are you busy?"

Saracen was quiet for a moment, "Not busy busy." he said,

Ghastly narrowed his eyes and Tanith smirked.

"Where exactly are you, Saracen?" asked Ghastly.

There was a long pause.

"Saracen?"

Saracen sighed, "Vegas."

Ghastly took a long breath and closed his eyes. He spoke very slowly "So when you've been telling people that you're very busy, you've been gambling, drinking, and flirting. To put it nicely."

"Not really..." he tried, but gave up. "Yes" he said, and Tanith heard him swallow. "I just fancied a...break after everything."

Ghastly sighed, defeated. "Well if you do manage to separate yourself from your 'break' then let me know and I'll give you the list of names."

"I'm sure it'll be soon." Saracen said. He yawned again, obviously stretching.

"It better be soon." said Ghastly, and hung up.

Tanith turned to him, "Well that went well."

"I knew I should of called Dexter instead." Ghastly grumbled.

"So what now?" asked Tanith.

"We track down the sorcerers. When- sorry, if Saracen decides to call back, then we'll divide the people equally between us, but now I think we'll just work our way down."

"Who's the first?"

Ghastly reached into his pocket and pulled out the list. "Somebody with a given name of Kyle Myers."

"And where is he?"

"Luckily for us, he's in Ireland. Obviously right now he's mortal and he thinks he's a mechanic."

"How long with it take us to get there?"

"Not long, about two hours."

Tanith nodded, "Okay. I think I can manage that. Maybe. So what's the plan? Are we just going to shout out names at him until he goes back to normal?"

"Yes...unfortunately we can't really do anything else." he said and shrugged.

"Oh. Cool." said Tanith, standing and swinging her sword strap around her back. "To the van?"

"To the van." Ghastly confirmed.

Ghastly drove while Tanith sat in the passenger seat. She tried to hide her boredom. She had always hated car journeys when she felt like she had somewhere to be and a job to do. They were irritating. She knew that most people found staring out of a window and listening to the radio quite relaxing, but in Tanith's mind it was just a waste of time. She leant back into her seat and tried to go to that relaxing place that people often talked of but, annoyingly,nothing happened. She held back a sigh. The radio was playing a Green Day song quite softly, and Tanith listened to it intensely, trying to take her mind of her boredom. 21 Guns. It was a good song. She hummed along for a while but then sighed as she forgot the next part.

Ghastly glanced at her but then returned his eyes to the road. "You really dont like car journeys, do you?" he said, smiling.

She sighed again. "No...they're just boring. And pointless. I just want to get to the place, get the job done, and move on. It doesn't help when I'm playing out every scenario of what could happen in my head."

"You mean you're impatient." Ghastly said, laughing slightly.

Tanith thought. "I guess that's another word for it." She began to tap her foot. "Will you talk to me?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Talk to me." she said. "I dont care what about. Talking takes my mind off the travelling."

"Oh, right." said Ghastly, looking at her.

"What?"

"I dont know what to talk about." he said, shrugging.

"Okay." said Tanith, thinking of some of the strange games Valkyrie had made her play. "How about we make assumptions about each other and if the person is right then they get to ask a question that has to be answered honestly."

Ghastly looked at her, "Does that work?"

"Me and Val play it sometimes , it's...interesting.

"What do you ask each other?"

Tanith smiled. "That's our little secret."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll play your game."

"Excellent. I'll start."

"Alright."

"You tell people that your mother was a tailor and your father was a boxer but it is actually the other away round."

Ghastly hesitated. "Correct." he said.

"I knew it." said Tanith, smiling.

"How?"

"I noticed that when you talk about your mother, you talk about how great a warrior she was, but you barely talk about your father during the war with Mevolent."

"Well, he died before war with Mevolent but well done. You noticed that?"

Tanith fought the blush that wanted to appear on her cheeks. "Yes." she said.

"Okay, you get a question."

"Hmm, what is the first bit of clothing you ever made?" said Tanith

Ghastly considered, "That would of been..." he thought hard, thinking back around four hundred years. "A scarf." He decided.

"A scarf?"

"Yes, I made it for my mother when I was five. It was over three meters long, lopsided, and made of every colour I could find. It was ugly but my mother said she loved it all the same."

Ghastly shifted uncomfortably, Tanith could tell he had never told anyone before. She leant over and kissed him on the cheek "That's sweet." she said honestly.

Ghastly smiled but kept his eyes on the road. "My turn." he said.

"Go for it." said Tanith, a smile lingering on her face.

Ghastly thought for a moment. "You had some sort of special training when you were a child that made you into the warrior you are today."

Tanith swallowed and licked her lips. "Yes."

"Time for my question."

"Shoot."

"What was the inspiration for your taken name?"

Tanith decided to answer honestly, despite the fact that it brought back memories she wanted to banish from her mind.

"The name Low came from the people I trained with as a child." she explained softly, "They were always teasing me and calling me highborn because of the proud way I acted. I was supposed to be a shadow. Someone who you would glance at and forget instantly. So because of the way I used to be, arrogant, proud, and highborn, they tormented me relentlessly, They thought I was weak."

"So you took the name Low to contrast against that?"

"Sort of." she said, "I did it because it felt right, and more like me. I wanted to show my parents when I came out that I was different, that I was strong. I thought it made a point. I wanted them to be proud of me"

"And the Tanith part?" asked Ghastly, looking across at her.

Tanith dug her nails into her palm, and took a breath. She paused for the longest time before saying: "She was the first woman I killed."

Ghastly turned to her and she felt the van slow down slightly. He looked concerned.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." said Tanith, and when his face didn't change she said "Seriously, dont worry about it. I've gotten past the guilt, believe me. Its just..."

"Just..?"

"You're the only person I've ever told." she said, and smiled at him.

He smiled back. "I'm honoured."

Tanith didn't ask to continue the game and neither did Ghastly. Ghastly turned up the radio and they both listened to music as rain started to fall from the sky.

Finding Kyle Myers wasn't exactly difficult. He had posters and signs for "Myers Mechanics" up all over the town, and all Tanith and Ghastly had to do was follow them. The roads only had a few cars, and barely anyone was outside. After a few minutes driving through the town and following the signs, they eventually found themselves driving merrily down a gravel road which had deflated red balloons hanging droopily off trees. They came up to the place and it was surrounded by vehicles in various conditions. Some were very shiny and brand new, but others were made half of rust and had pieces that were missing. There was a building made of brick and metal, which was obviously where they did repairs, and then there was also a small section made of new looking brick which looked like it acted as a reception. Kyle Myers, Tanith assumed, was the figure she could see tinkering with a car in the garage. He seemed to be the only one in there. It was a Sunday, and usually that was people's chosen day off.

Ghastly parked up and they got out. Tanith reluctantly left her sword tucked under her chair. She pulled on her coat and turned her coat collar up against the rain. Sometimes she wished she had a hood, but it would make it more difficult to look around. Ghastly tapped his collarbones and activated his façade. She avoided looking at him, it was unnerving seeing him without the scars and she much prefered him with them. Hurrying towards the garage, she raised a hand to wave at Kyle Myers, and he blinked in surprise. He didn't look like he usually had company on Sunday's. She walked inside and Ghastly followed, his hands in his pockets. Suddenly surrounded by the delicious smell of petrol and warm rubber, Tanith inhaled, thinking of her beloved motorbike back at the Sanctuary. She had always loved that smell. In her own garage back at home, where her motorbike usually lived, it smelt exactly the same. Tanith loved the smell so much that she had put an old mattress in there so she could sit and read surrounded by the fumes. Kyle was wearing a dark navy jumpsuit with several splashes of motor oil on it and a rip on one knee that you could see his normal trousers through. He had dark hair and dull blue eyes that looked at the pair of them curiously. He straightened up from over the engine he was examining and wiped a hand over his forehead, leaving a black smudge there.

"Er, hello." he said, looking at them both.

"Hello" Tanith said brightly, pasting a smile onto her face. "Are you Kyle Myers?"

"Uh, yes." he said, looking ever so slightly bewildered.

"Great!" she enthused. "We have heard so much about you."

"Erm, you..have?" said Kyle doubtfully. His eyes flickered over to Ghastly, who looked slightly intimidating hovering around Tanith's shoulder.

"Yes. I heard you're the best mechanic for miles." She smiled.

"Oh." he said. Tanith could tell that he liked the compliment because he stood a little straighter and his chest swelled. He looked at her through clouded eyes.

"We were wondering if you could take a look at our van for us?" Ghastly asked with what semmed to be a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Kyle's eyes didn't waver from Tanith as he spoke, "Sure...I can find time."

"Amazing! You're amazing." Tanith turned to Ghastly, "I told you he could do it. You didn't believe me."

"I'll admit I had my doubts." said Ghastly.

"I never had any doubts!" laughed Tanith, "Did you, Kyle?"

"Have what?"

"Doubts."

"Doubts?"

"About yourself?"

"Me? Yes."

Tanith's face fell, "Awwh." she said.

He frowned, "Wait, no."

"Excellent!" She strided off, and Kyle followed her like a lost sheep. She tapped the bonnet of the van "This is our van. Please fix it."

"I'll try my be-" began Kyle, but Tanith was already out of earshot. She stood by Ghastly and watched Kyle back as he began to tinker.

"How long do you think it'll take him to realise there's nothing wrong with it?" she asked.

"For any normal person, maybe a minute. For him? Probably about ten minutes." Ghastly replied.

Tanith grinned.

"So how shall we go about this name business?" asked Tanith.

Ghastly shrugged, "Any way we can, I suppose. He'll probably end up thinking we're insane, especially after that performance."

Tanith rolled her eyes, "It wasn't that bad."

"It wasn't that good either." he said, smiling.

"Dont lie to yourself, it was Oscar worthy."

"Of course."

Tanith looked over at Kyle again and frowned, "He looks really confused."

"He does, doesn't he?"

"Do you think he's onto us?"

Kyle stood and looked over at them, the same confused look on his face. He strode over, wiping his hands on his trousers.

"Umm," he said, looking back and forth at them, "What did you say was wrong with it?"

"We didn't." said Ghastly.

"Its the engine." said Tanith, but then she hesitated, "Or at least I think it is. I dont know parts of cars."

Kyle looked blank, "The engine is the bit that makes it go."

"Then yes," Tanith said nodding enthusiastically, "It was the engine."

"There's nothing wrong with the engine though."

"Wait, what bit is the engine again?"

"The bit that makes it g-"

"No, what does it look like?"

Kyle sighed, "It's inside the bonnet-"

"Wait so its not the round things on the outside?"

"You...you mean the wheels?"

"Yes I think so."

"They dont make it go."

"Yes they do?"

"No." he said impatiently, "They dont."

"Oh." Tanith said miserably. "Elliott Fickle."

"Sorry?" said Kyle, looking at her strangely.

"It's what I use for swear words. Elliott Fickle." she said, and scanned his face closely. Nothing. Silly names."

"Yes," chipped in Ghastly, "Names like Elliott Fickle, Oberon Vast, Tyranny Chirp, and Goliath Hearth."

Kyle's face paled suddenly and he swallowed. He looked at them back and forth, his head swinging from side to side. He didn't look like he had just remembered who he was. He looked scared.

"Um." he stammered, "I should probably- um- go. I have stuff to do...lots. Um..."

"Kyle?" said Ghastly, stepping forward. Kyle stumbled backwards into the garage and fell against a table.

"You're you're with them!" he spluttered, panic in his eyes.

"With who?" asked Ghastly.

"Dont act dumb!" he cried, throwing his hand out. Clutching in his fist was a screwdriver. "Stay away from me! I told your people I wanted no part in it! Get away!"

"Easy." said Ghastly, eyeing the screwdriver carefully. They didn't know what sorcerer he was, but if he had regained some of his memories like it was rumored then they had to be cautious.

"Who?" urged Tanith, stepping forward so she was beside Ghastly. Kyle swung the screwdriver in a wide arch and Tanith stepped back, her hands in the air. Almost in despair, he dropped the screwdriver and placed his hands over his ears.

"Please get away from me." he said softly. "Just leave me alone. I like who I am. I have a wife and two kids and I won't leave them, even if this is a fake me."

Tanith and Ghastly hesitated.

"Okay." said Ghastly after a while, "Okay. We're sorry. We will go now, alright?"

Kyle nodded, some colour returning to his cheeks. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry about freaking you out." Tanith said, smiling apologetically.

Kyle gave a weak smile back, "Your friend with the piercings freaked me out more."

Ghastly nodded like he knew what he was talking about, "Sorry about it him-"

"Her" corrected Kyle.

"Her." muttered Ghastly. Kyle looked at him with wide eyes and Tanith could see some of the fear creeping back in. Thinking fast, she took Ghastly's arm and smiled at Kyle."We'll be going now." she said, and Ghastly nodded.

"Bye" said Kyle.

"Goodbye." said Tanith.

They walked back to the van and got in. Tanith slid onto her seat and did her seatbelt. She turned to Ghastly, who was beginning to turn the van around.

"Well that was weird." she said.

"Yes it was..." he said.

"So he already had some sort of idea about who he is...or was?"

"I think so." he said, "He only started getting scared when we mentioned the names."

"Someone must be tracking them down and trying to bring them back. They're not with us though obviously."

"Remember what he said? 'I want no part in it'? What if they're tracking them down so they can work for them?"

"Who? Ravel's people?"

Ghastly stiffened. He was still metaphorically wounded from Ravel's betrayal, even after he died. Tanith knew he didn't hate him as much as he used to because the remaining Dead Men had gotten justice for Shudder's death. He still hated him, of course, but some of the rage he had felt had been replaced by a numb sort of sadness. How could Ravel betray the people he had spent decades protecting?

"Probably..." Ghastly muttered.

Tanith decided to change the subject, "So what do we do now?"

"We should find him and tell him his name."

Tanith was silent and looked out of the window.

"What it is?" said Ghastly.

"It's just...he has a family. A life. Not an amazing life but a life all of the same. We're taking away a father and a husband. He has a job, friends, family, and a whole personality that are going to be taken away."

"Kyle Myers isn't who he really is."

"I know...but still. It's like Kyle Myers is a whole separate person who exists, and we are just going to change him into someone else he can't even remember being. It just seems cruel."

"We have to do it." said Ghastly, but he didn't sound positive. "There's a sorcerer with a life in there too, and he was always there. Kyle Myers was created to hide the sorcerer away. He's a fake."

Tanith sighed. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I," said Ghastly, "But it has to be done."

She said nothing.

They'd waited for a few hours for Kyle to finish working. He had started off in his car at around six o'clock, heading out into town. Tanith had borrowed a motorbike so she could follow him without him knowing it. Technically, she had stolen it, but it had been taken from a man that had been away for a while and he wouldn't miss it. It took her a while to find a bike suitable to steal because she didn't want to cause any unnecessary hassle. The man she'd taken it from had many soggy newspapers sitting on his doorstep, and that had clued Tanith in. After a closer inspection that she carried out by simply unlocking the back door and walking in, she found letters piled up underneath the letter slot. The motorbike wasn't exactly in peak condition like Tanith's, but it worked. She could tell that it was fairly old and rarely used. She'd put it back later.

If they followed Kyle in the van, then he would of saw them and panicked. They didn't want him to be scared. Scared people are paranoid people and that makes them difficult to handle. Tanith trailed him on the motorbike, her hair tied back in an attempt to change her appearance. The bike had no helmet by it and there wasn't one in the house, which was disappointing. She wasn't worried about herself of course, she'd fallen off more vehicles than she could bother to remember, but she didn't want Kyle to look in his mirror and see her face. She memorised the path he took, remembering the turns and the landmarks and the street names. He arrived at his house and turned into the driveway. Before he could see her, she sped up and went to the end of the street. She stopped the motorbike and parked in the shadows, hiding. Her eyes were the only thing visible, gleaming in the darkness. Kyle got out of his car, looking tired. He slammed the door with a little too much force than necessary and sighed. He walked to the door and checked behind him before unlocking it and slipping inside.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Tanith set off back to where Ghastly was waiting at the motorbike man's house. She put the motorbike back where she found it, turning off the engine. She had to hotwire the bike to get it working, but she soon managed to turn it off again. She walked over to the van and got in, buckling her seatbelt. Ghastly pulled out onto the road and Tanith gave him clear directions to Kyle's house. They pulled over at the end of the road in the darkness. Ghastly turned off the engine.

"How shall we do this?" he murmured, almost to himself.

"Well we should try to do it without alerting his wife and kids."

"Yes," said Ghastly, pulling out a cloaking sphere, "That's possible."

Tanith went to roll her eyes, but stopped herself. "How long have you had that?" she asked.

"Since the Sanctuary."

She sighed. "Right."

They got out of the van and walked down the streets, their heads bowed. They didn't want to attract any unecessary attention. Ghastly had the cloaking sphere clutched in his fist. They came up to Kyle's house and they could hear nothing from inside. The living room curtains were closed but there was no sound emitted from the room and no light leaking out from behind the curtain. The upstairs curtains were drawn too, and they were also all dark. Tanith motioned for Ghastly to follow her and he nodded, walking close to her and activating the cloaking sphere. He twisted it and they disappeared from view. He adjusted it, making sure that it was as small as possible so that they didn't make any walls disapear. Tanith walked round the back, Ghastly sticking closely to her as she navigated around to the back door. She came to a bush and she thought about hopping over it before she realised that they woulldn't be able to hear her crashing around becuase of the sphere. She mentally slapped herself for that one.

She went to the back door and knelt down, pressing her hand against the lock. She allowed herself to drift into the workings of the lock and then her eyes momentarily closed. She heard the click that told her she had done her job, and then she stood and nodded to Ghastly. Ghastly went first, holding the cloaking sphere carefully in one hand as he slowly pushed the door open with the other. It creaked lightly but Tanith hoped that the sphere had prevented that sound from travelling. The slipped inside, not bothering to turn the lights on. They left the back door unlocked incase for some reason they needed to make a quick getaway.

"Hang on." said Tanith, speaking normally but with a slight hesitation, "I'm going to disable the phone.". She walked over to the knee high table in the hallway and knelt down, Ghastly behind her. She pulled out the cord from the wall. She took out her sword slowly so she would not accidentally cut Ghastly and then she cut the line.

"Cool." she said, sliding her sword back into her scabbard,

"Ready?" asked Ghastly,

"Yup." said Tanith as she pulled out the list of names from her pocket.

"Great." he said, "Let's go."

They walked up the stairs quietly despite the fact that the creaks they made were silenced by the cloaking sphere. Tanith kept behind Ghastly and prepared herself to read off as many names as she could. They walked through the upstairs hallway and went to the first room. They peeked inside and saw what was unmistakably a young boys room. There was a plaque that said "Keep out of Matthew's room!" on the wall. There were nerf guns scattered on the floor along with many foam bullets, which some of them glowed green in the dark. There were green army men placed in position on a small wooden desk and several battered notebooks lying next to them. The ceiling was littered with glow in the dark stars, which were easily visible in the darkness. On the wall there was an A3 drawing of four people, and it was labeled "Mummy, Daddy, Ella, and Matty" Lying on the bed under a camouflage duvet was a little boy that looked around five or six. He was very cute and he slept soundly. He had a small elephant clutched in his fist.

Tanith felt some sort of guilt run through her. They were taking away this boy's father. He wouldn't know it of course as they were going to call in Geoffrey to make them all forget about Kyle Myers. However it seemed sort of cruel to take away the memories. All of the happy memories of this boy and his father would be taken away and turned into something else. Geoffrey would probably make the mother believe that Kyle had left her, but Tanith was sure he wouldn't add too much painful details.

Tanith and Ghastly walked out without a word, closing the door softly behind them. The walked up the hallway and they passed a door labeled "Sarah". They didn't look in. Tanith didn't want to look.

They walked towards the last room that looked like a bedroom. Carefully, Ghastly pushed open the door and walked inside. On the double bed was a couple, fast asleep. Kyle Myers was on the left side of the bed and on his bedside table was an alarm clock, a watch, and a lamp. On the woman's side was some glasses, a book, and another lamp. The woman shifted in her sleep and Ghastly and Tanith momentarily froze, wondering if they had somehow awoken her. She rolled over and didn't stir.

Slowly, they walked up to Kyle's side. Ghastly passed the cloaking sphere to Tanith, and she got ready to read the names. Ghastly leant over Kyle and reached forward. He placed his hand softly on his shoulder, not gripping at all. A sleeping person would not of felt that, but Kyle did.

His eyes snapped open and he cried out, blinking up at them for a second before slamming his palm into Ghastly's face. There was a loud ringing sound and a flash, and Ghastly fell to his knees, groaning and blinking. Kyle looked at his hands with terror for a few seconds and ran out of the room. Tanith almost dropped the sphere in shock, she went to her knees beside Ghastly, who was grunting and grimacing.

"Ghastly?" she said, a note of panic in her voice, "Can you hear me?" Ghastly?" She shook him, and he groaned again. Tanith heard the back door open and close.

"Get Kyle." he said quietly, rubbing his head.

"Stay here." she said and sprang to her feet, leaving the cloaking sphere with Ghastly in case the woman awoke.

Tanith went to the bedroom window and looked out. Kyle was quivering behind the bushes at the front of the house, shaking and looking at his hands. She opened the window and quietly as she could, keeping her eyes fixed on Kyle in case he moved. She put the notebook with the names in her pocket. She took the shackles from her pocket and held them in her right hand. She climbed onto the window ledge and jumped, landing with ease on the dewy grass. She landed behind Kyle, who was muttering to himself. He hadn't heard her.

"Impossible..." he was whispering.

She positioned herself behind him silently, readying the shackles. She darted forwards and pulled his arms behind him. She clicked the shackles closed and Kyle gasped and looked at her. As if on instinct he flexed his hand, but nothing happened. He looked as if he was about to scream so Tanith clamped a hand over his mouth.

She dragged him backwards to the wall of the house and placed her foot on the wall, feeling gravity shift and change to her desires. She walked up the wall backwards, her eyes on the street so that nobody would see her. Kyle was thrashing madly and weeping, looking terrified.

"Please..." he mumbled against her hand.

"I'm sorry." she said. She was being honest.

The window was locked. Maybe Ghastly was back on his feet and he did it, but she didn't think so. Tanith walked back down to the ground and went round the back again, but also found that door locked too. And uneasy feeling crept into her gut but she pushed it down. Holding Kyle by his shackles, she unlocked the door again. His eyes widened but he was no longer begging. Tanith saw defeat in his eyes.

Stepping into the living room cautiously, Tanith looked around. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. She tugged Kyle along behind her, like some weird dog. She couldn't hear Ghastly. She couldn't hear anyone.

Now she was on edge. Why was the window and the door locked if it wasn't Ghastly? A thought occurred to her; what if it was the people that Kyle had spoken about this morning? It made sense. She put a careful hand on her sword hilt, scanning around for-

A glowing projectile erupted from the darkness and hit her chest. Tanith jumped with surprise. She didn't feel it hit her thanks to Ghastly's clothes, but the shock made her jump. Adrenaline flooded her veins and she took out her sword, making it glint in the light so that they could see it. She heard a whimper. She took a look at the glowing thing stuck to her chest. She frowned. Wait...was that a...nerf bullet?

A boy, Matthew, leapt out from the shadows, brandishing a plastic gun. He looked scared but determined.

"Put the sword down!" he cried, aiming at Tanith's head.

Frozen with disbelief, Tanith did as she was asked, blinking at the boy curiously. Kid's got balls, she thought. She didn't want to scare him more than she already had. Kyle began to thrash more desperately, shouting at the boy from beneath Tanith's fingers. Matthew picked up Tanith's sword carefully and pointed it at her.

"Let my daddy go." he said, his voice quivering.

"Matthew..." Tanith began, unsure of what to do. Matthew lunged forward and sliced at the air with Tanith's sword. She stepped back, holding up the hand that wasn't preventing Kyle from speaking.

"Okay, okay." she murmured, "My sword is real you know."

Tanith wondered if she could read out some names without the boy impaling her.

"I know." said Matthew, scowling at her. "I'm five, not stupid."

"I apologize." Tanith took a step forward but Matthew brandished her sword again.

"Stay back." he commanded.

Tanith sighed. Ghastly came down the stairs, rubbing his temple. He glanced up and saw the sight in front of him. He froze and looked around.

"Uh..." he looked at Tanith, "Have a missed something?"

"Matthew here has my sword."

"How-"

"Please. Don't ask."

Ghastly raised his eyebrows but turned to Matthew. "Hey, buddy. Can I get that sword-?" he asked. Matthew swung the sword and Ghastly stepped back, his eyes widening in surprise. He looked at Tanith and she shrugged.

"Let my daddy go." he repeated.

"Why don't you let the sword go and we'll talk?" said Tanith, slightly annoyed. Ghastly splayed his hand out in front of him and Matthew turned the sword on him. Ghastly waited for a second, before twisting his hand. The sword flew out of Matthew's grip and clattered to the floor in front of Ghastly,. He picked it up and returned it to Tanith's holster.

"Thanks." she said.

"You're welcome." he said.

Matthew looked at Ghastly with shock, his eyes registering the scars in what looked like fear. Ghastly's face fell a little when he saw Matthew's scared expression, but kept a smile on his face.

"How did you do that?" gasped Matthew.

"Magic." said Ghastly.

"No but how ?"

Ghastly frowned slightly, "Seriously, magic." he said. He clicked his fingers and a flame appeared, sending flickering light across his scars. Kyle slumped against Tanith and she tightened her grip. Matthew looked at Ghastly with mingled awe.

"How did you get your scars?" he asked.

"I was cursed." said Ghastly.

Matthew hesitated. His eyes flickered over to his father who was looking more scared than Matthew himself. He paused. They waited.

"Mummy!" screeched Matthew suddenly, "Help!"

Tanith turned to Ghastly. "Cloaking sphere?"

He shook his head frantically. "I left it upstairs. Damn!"

"We should go-"

"No time." said Ghastly, as Kyle's wife thundered down the stairs. "Read names. Now."

Tanith began to read names as Kyle's wife appeared on the stairs.

"Matthew?" she gasped, her face ashen white. She swallowed at the sight of the intruders in her house. Fear crossed her face. "Who are you?"

"Its okay-"

The woman shook her head as if to clear it. She sprinted to the telephone, stumbling slightly, and cried out as she found it sabotaged. Obviously thinking fast, she ran to the door. Ghastly moved to intercept her. He grabbed her gently and pulled her backwards, kicking and screaming. He clamped a hand around her mouth to smother the noise.

"Sorry." he said.

More footsteps came down the stairs. A girl who looked about three appeared in the hallway. She rubbed her eyes and then saw what was in front of her. "Mummy?" she said.

Matthew went to his sister and took her hand, standing slightly in front of her as if to protect her. Tanith felt a pang for her own brother when he did that, but she soon banished that thought away. The wife was thrashing in Ghastly's arms like she was being electrocuted.

"Mummy?!" cried the girl whose name was Sarah. "I'm scared! What's happening? Why are there nasty people in our house?! Mummy!" she buried her face into Matthew's chest and wept.

Ghastly nodded at Tanith, "Do it..." he said.

She took her hand of Kyle's mouth and he faltered, surprised. She began to read out names while holding his shackles, and tears formed in his eyes.

"Dont..." he begged, "Please. I'll do anything..."

She read on, blocking out the world. I'm sorry.

"Please I'll do anything you ask, just dont..."

Tanith stuttered but read on.

Desperation was leaking into Kyle's voice now, "Please!" he cried, tears falling from his eyes to the carpet. Tanith set her jaw. Has to be done, she repeated to herself. The wife was still struggling against Ghastly but he never let go. Sarah and Matthew were both crying now, confused and terrified. Tanith read another name. Nothing.

"Stop it!" shouted Matthew, his arms around his sister, "You're hurting him! Stop it!"

Another name.

Kyle was sobbing now. He choked as he hyperventilated. He looked at Tanith, his eyes pleading. "You dont have to do this!" he cried, "You dont have to do this! Leave me alone! I'm fine! I'm fine! Leave me alone! Please!"

Matthew whimpered.

"You dont have the right to do this!" screamed Kyle, losing it. "You can't take my life away! It's not fair! It's not fair!"

Tanith didn't hesitate.

"I am a person too! I am a person too!" Kyle screeched.

"Ragnor Omen." said Tanith.

Kyle slumped to the floor, his eyes closed. Sarah and Matthew cried out.

Kyle's wife screamed. Ghastly let her go, a sad expression on his face. He stood by Tanith, who was breathing heavily. He put his arm around her and she leaned into him.

"It's alright." he said.

She shook her head, her face pale.

Kyle's wife threw herself down by Kyle and stroked his hair. Tears were falling from her eyes. She looked at Kyle, and then at her children who were weeping. She swallowed hard and waited. Tanith and Ghastly didn't move.

Ragnor Omen opened his eyes. A curious look was on his face. Kyle's wife whimpered with relief and kissed him, straight on the lips. She looked at him and smiled despite her tears.

Ragnor looked bewildered. "Um, not that I'm objecting or anything..." he said in a different accent to Kyle, "But who are you?"

Kyle's wife gasped and pulled away from him, scrambling away to where her children stood. Sarah had no idea what was going on from the look on her face and Matthew looked confused. He looked at Tanith viciously. Ragnor stood and looked at the family before him, all of them looking at him expectantly. He drew in a shaky breath and ran a hand through his flat hair. It stuck up in several places now. It looked out of character. "Do you know how I got here?" he asked,

Nobody said a word.

There was an awkward pause.

Kyle's wife strided up to Ghastly and Tanith, "What the hell did you just do to my husband?" she said quietly. The venom in her voice made them take a step back. She looked at them like they were monsters.

"Husband..?" murmured Ragnor. He looked at Tanith and Ghastly.

Sarah ran up to Ragnor, not quite understanding, and threw her arms around him, "Daddy!" she said happily. Ragnor stumbled away from her, shock on his face. Sarah was unbalanced by his stumble and she fell over. She began to cry when her Daddy didn't pick her up.

"Sarah..." said Kyle's wife, fighting back her tears. She picked Sarah up. "Matthew..." she said, taking his hand.

"What's going on?" Ragnor said to Tanith and Ghastly as he began to panic. "Why am I with the mortals? What's going on? Tell me!"

Ghastly looked at the family helplessly, and Ragnor understood. He walked forward and placed a hand on Kyle's wife and Matthew's head. There was a soft glow of slight from his palm and they fell asleep on the carpet. He did the same to Sarah, but placed her down. Tanith swallowed as pity clouded her thoughts. It had to be done, she thought as she tried to persuade herself that she had done the right thing. She looked down at the family on the floor, all sleeping soundly. They were peaceful. When Geoffrey got to them, they would lose all memories of Kyle Myers and who he had been. Perhaps that was for the best.

Ragnor Omen turned to them, anger twisting his features. "Explain." he commanded.