This is a work of fiction – a bit of science fiction and fantasy mixed together in fact.  None of the characters, names or personalities, are based on real people.  Any resemblance to a real person is entirely coincidental and not intentional.  I do live in the Atlanta area and use a lot of places I’ve been in the story. 

If you are offended by sex between adult men don’t read any further. 

If you are not of legal age don’t read any further. 

If this type of story is illegal where you live, for whatever reason, don’t read any further.

This story is copyrighted to me and cannot be reproduced without my express written consent.

 
Also please remember that nifty.org needs your donations to keep providing all these cool and wonderful stories!  You can donate at:

http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html

Nifty Erotic Stories Archive            Over 180000 documents spanning 4.2GB.

Chapter 20

Brad lay back against Ken with his head resting on Ken’s stomach.  One of Ken’s arms was draped over Brad’s chest, with his hand slowly rubbing Brad’s torso and shoulders in a slow lazy movement enjoying the feel of his strong body.  Ken’s other arm was folded behind his head.  They both lay with their eyes closed simply enjoying the physical touch between them, their Minds and Hearts blended together and resting in one another.  The day was sunny, warm, and slightly breezy; the first hint of winter was starting to show up in the mornings but the Atlanta afternoons were still nice and in the mid-to-high eighty’s.  They were both in shorts and t-shirts, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine and being with one another.

          After being apart from Ken for so long while he was on his last mission, Brad had missed this type of connection.  Their Minds were resting in one another, just as their bodies were touching.  Everything about Ken was so… warm and solid.  His body was to die for of course, but the man inside was what Brad truly loved and missed when they were apart.  He smiled and admitted to himself that he missed his lover’s incredible, sweaty, muscled body taking him as often as time allowed these days too.

          Fuck Ken this is nice.  It’s been way to long since we just lay together like this and chilled out.

          You mean since last night on the couch when we watched the movie?

          Brad laughed and he felt that special emotion that Ken got when he made Brad laugh or smile.  Seeing themselves on the inside like they were now never got old.

          Douche.

          Ken got that little kid grin on his face and thought: Now there’s the B I know and love.

          Ken moved his hand up and began gently stroking the short hair on Brad’s head and occasionally ran the back of his knuckles tenderly along his cheek.  Brad was subconsciously broadcasting a Compulsion around them for any gawkers to ignore them.  They weren’t invisible but people weren’t paying any attention to them so they could relax and not worry about people staring or getting offended at their open display of affection.

          Even as relaxed as they seemed to be, Ken and Brad were both peripherally aware of Loy and Ricky doing the same thing not too far away.  They were making sure that their charges were safe; Sally was with Liz, Henry, and Drew a short distance away.

          The group had decided that morning on an impromptu outing to Stone Mountain Park.  The Keenan’s didn’t want to come; the climb up the mountain was just too much for them especially with Tag’s leg.  Kelly - the pregnant girl from Australia that Darren and Pat had rescued - never wanted to do anything and was in one of her usual sour moods.   Bryan was smoking three huge Boston Butt’s for dinner and couldn’t come so Lane of course stayed with him.  Darren and Pat were on duty staying at the Lab with everyone who wasn’t at Stone Mountain. 

          Bill said he and Kevin had other plans and couldn’t make it.  He had stayed out of the link earlier in the morning too, which bothered Ken.  He planned on looking into that as soon as they got back.  But for now it was great just to relax with his partner and love of his life and watch Drew run around excitedly.

          Of course Drew wasn’t tired because he rode up the side of the mountain on Henry’s back.  Drew had gotten in the habit of climbing on the guys in the lab for fun; being so big and strong they were like mountains for him.  Henry was lying down on his back. Drew was sitting on his stomach and Henry was tickling him. Drew was literally squealing with laughter.  His cries of “Stop!” were only pleas to continue; Henry didn’t have to be a mind reader to see that.

          Ken:  It’s great watchin’ Henry with Drew isn’t it?

          Brad: Yeah it is.  They’ve both come so far.  I’m thinking once we get Liz and Henry settled in their own place outside the Lab they’re gonna tie the knot.

          Ken:  You think so?

          Brad grinned and thought:  OK I admit it would be impressive if my powers of Intuition were that amazing, but I have to fess up that Sally clued me in.  She and Liz are pretty tight and Liz told her she’s been thinking about it.  He chuckled and continued:  Poor Henry.  The women are conspiring against him, and he doesn’t have a chance.

          Ken:  And what about Sally?  She’s practically taken over the Lab just like she did at the old company.  The doc can’t live without her now.

          Brad: Yeah that’s great isn’t it?   It’s no surprise that merging with Pat and Dar that night would do wonders for her but she’s really digging into the cause.  She could be invaluable to us.

          Ken: But B, I’m really afraid of her getting hurt if she stays with us.  As a normal human she’ll be so vulnerable.  We won’t be able to watch her all the time and eventually somethin’ll happen and we’ll all regret it.

          Brad:  I’m sure the doc has some thoughts on that.  Let’s talk to him about it.  Albrecht has agreed to start training her if she wants to learn to fight.  It’s her decision Ken; I mean I’m totally with you but if she really wants to do it we can’t stop her.  You know how important Free Will is in our fight. If she’s doing it for the right reasons, we don’t have any right to stop her.

          Henry was happier than he could ever remember being.   After everything in his past, his forced servitude by the Enemy for years, he didn’t think happiness was possible for a man like him.  But the guys, in their unique way, showed him just how possible it was.

          He loved the little boy bouncing up and down on his stomach with all his heart.  Drew had completely taken his heart along with his gorgeous mother.   Over time he and Liz had shared much of their pasts, and he knew about Drew’s dad – Doug - and how he had abused both of them; but Henry and Liz decided that it was best to try and just move forward with a fresh start and take Drew with them. 

The doctor had worked miracles with Drew.  Henry didn’t know if it was a mental thing the doctor did or just good old fashioned child psychology but whatever he did it had worked wonders.  There were occasional bumps; Drew still wet the bed once in a while and had other accidents, but the doctor assured them that would get better with time.  The doctor had gone over how to handle those situations with Henry and Liz to minimize any impact on Drew and to help him get over them as quickly as possible.

          Drew was on overdrive right now; he was totally wound up being out with Henry and his mom and some of the guys.  He rarely got to get out of the Lab and even though everyone paid him a great deal of attention he was still a little boy and loved to be outside.  Even with their busy training schedules and tasks, all the guys carved out some time when they were in the Lab to spend with him.

          Drew was a very physically affectionate little boy and loved to give hugs.  He had the most odd and interesting habits; sometimes he didn’t seem like a little boy at all.  When his Mind slipped open he would take on adult like qualities; something else the doctor was helping everyone to cope with.

          Henry was in ‘tickle monster’ mode, and Drew was wiggling and writhing and laughing so hard he was out of breath.  Henry was good at telling when he had enough and needed a break, and he was just about at that point so he let up.

          Drew looked at him and smiled, and he collapsed across Henry’s big strong chest and put his arms around his thick neck, giving him a wet sloppy kiss on his cheek and a tight hug.  Henry’s arms instinctively wrapped around Drew’s lithe body and pulled him snuggly against him.  Drew went limp and got quiet, content to lay there on the big man.  Henry kept one hand rubbing up and down on Drew’s back until he caught his breath.

          “You OK, Tiger?”

          Drew nodded his head yes but didn’t say anything. 

          Liz took advantage of the quiet to ask, “Hey Drew, did you see the train on the way up?”

          “Yes mommy.  I like trains.  Mister Kevin said he had a train when he was my age.”

          “Well if you’re good, you can have a sno-cone and we’ll ride the train.  How about them apples?”

          Drew popped up like he was on a spring, his eyes wide and said, “Oh boy!  Did you hear that Daddy?  A train ride and a sno-cone!”  The grin on his face said it all.

          Henry was struck dumb with what he just heard.   Drew just called him ‘Daddy.’  The doctor had told him when Drew did things like that to take them in stride and not make a big deal of them; Drew got very self-conscious if he thought he’d done something wrong, and it could trigger self-esteem issues.  With the abuse his natural father had inflicted on Drew his whole life, he had come to believe deep down that he deserved to be punished, and the doctor was working on breaking those barriers in his young mind.

          Henry’s throat tightened and his eyes got glassy as tears threatened to overcome him.  ‘Daddy’ was a word he never thought he’d hear, and the way Drew said it so naturally took his breath away.

          His reaction wasn’t lost on Liz, and she knew Henry needed a minute to get ahold of himself.

          Liz said, “Drew honey, come over here.”

          Drew got up off Henry’s stomach and moved over to stand in front of his mom. She reached out and brushed the hair out of his eyes and commented, “We need to get you a haircut soon Tiger; you’re getting shaggy.  Why don’t you run over to Mr. Loy and Mr. Rick and see how they’re doing?”

          Drew took off running towards the other two men who were laying down on a blanket in much the same pose as Ken and Brad.

          Liz grinned at Henry and said, “All those big strong muscles and the ‘D’ word brings you to your knees.  What do you think about being called ‘Daddy’?”

          Henry sat up and pulled Liz over to him in a hug and he said quietly, “Lady, you and that little boy are the best things that’ve ever happened to me.  I want to be his dad for real…. What do you say?  Will you marry me and let me be your husband and Drew’s dad?”

          It was Liz’s turn to have her breath taken away.  She looked deep into Henry’s eyes and reached up to gently cup his cheek.  He was such a strong and powerful man, and so handsome.   And the more she had gotten to know him in the last months she knew he was a good man; not perfect by any means, but good.  In the world Liz found herself in, a pawn in some Spiritual battle that was going on around her, she spent more time feeling afraid than safe.  Henry used to be a part of that world; he had been controlled and forced to do horrible things and he had scars - mental and physical.   He knew all about being scared and vulnerable, and he did his best to make her and Drew feel safe.

          Sally had told her if Henry asked the question not to cave in immediately; Liz needed to make him sweat a little before she gave him an answer.  It was straight out of the Sally Bisel handbook of man/woman relations.

          Liz karate chopped her inner crybaby so Henry wouldn’t see how badly she wanted to say yes.  “Took you long enough to ask you big lug.  You lost some major points for that.  Isn’t there something you’re forgetting?”

          Henry’s eyes never left hers as he reached down into the pocket of his jeans.  He pulled out the most exquisitely beautiful ring she had ever seen.  They had no money and no home, so she didn’t expect anything like this.  It had three different colors of gold, rose, yellow, and white, and too many diamonds to count; big ones too.  He had shown Lane and Bryan the ring before they left the Lab that morning and Lane had called the diamonds “Wilma Flintstone big!”

          “Oh my God, Henry!” Her hands were shaking and flew to her mouth, and tears started streaming down her face.  “How did you manage this?  Baby you didn’t do anything foolish did you?”

          She knew as soon as she said those words that they were a mistake.  The smile left his face and he looked away. “Oh Henry I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean anything by that honey… I…”

          Before she could say anything else he said, “I get it Liz, but I’m not Doug.  I’m trying to be a man you can be proud to call your husband.”

          Liz put her face against his solid chest and wrapped her arms around him.  He could feel her crying and he was gentle as he stroked her hair.  “I love you baby; I want you to know that.”

          “Yes.”

          “Really?”

          “Yes.  But tell Sally I made you sweat a little first.  She made me promise.”

          Liz looked up and smiled, and she pulled back and held her hand out so he could put the ring on her finger.

          “It’s absolutely amazing.  How in the world did you get it?  I mean we don’t have anything right now.”

          “Albrecht did most of the work but I helped as much as I could.  He’s quite a craftsman and it was fun learning.  We made mine too but it’s back at the Lab.”

          Just then Drew came back over; he was holding Loy’s hand and Loy was going slow, so Drew was pretending to drag him along.

          Loy saw the tears and immediately asked, “Hey guys is everything alright?”

          Liz held up her hand and the diamonds sparkled in the bright sunlight.

          Rick was just behind his partner, and they both got huge grins on their faces, “Way to go Henry!  Congratulations you two!”

          It was a touching moment, and the thought wasn’t verbalized among the guys but they all had the same reaction; it was so nice to see these people happy after the tragedies and atrocities they had all been through in the last couple of years.  It felt like a small win for the good guys.

          Henry reached down and picked Drew up; Drew’s arm instinctively went around Henry’s neck and shoulder.   Henry looked at him and said, “Hey Drew I need to ask you something, and it’s really important.”

          Drew’s eyes got a little wide, and he looked at Henry expectantly.  “I just asked your mommy to marry me.  Do you know what that means?”

          “It means you make babies.  But I don’t want a brother.”

          Everybody smirked a little at his answer, and Henry said, “Well that’s a conversation to have a little later, but yeah that’s a possibility.  But do you know what else it means?”

          Drew shook his head negative.

          “It means I’ll be your daddy for real.  Would you like that buddy?”

          Drew didn’t say anything; he twisted around and put both arms around Henry’s neck and laid his head down on his shoulder and hugged him tight.  That was all it took and the waterworks started again.

          “Thanks little man.  I’ll try to be the best dad in the world.”

          Trying to lighten the mood a little Liz asked, “OK so who’s up for a sno-cone?  I hear they have grape!  I know a little boy who loves grape.”

          Drew’s head shot up. He had a huge smile on his face, and he said loudly, ‘Meee mommy!  I love gwape!”  In his excitement Drew sometimes reverted to ‘baby talk.’  Another habit they were trying to break him of, but in the moment Liz let it slide.

          Henry set Drew down and he took off running to find Sally who had wandered a short distance away to admire the view from the top of the mountain.  He was excited to tell her his news and as soon as he got close it all started coming out in a jumble.

          Drew was practically dragging Sally by her hand trying to get her to hurry up.  He loved having everyone together, partly because he loved to be the center of attention, but he also seemed to have a need for family. 

          Sally immediately hugged Liz and whispered in her ear, “Way to go girlfriend!  I hope you didn’t cave too easily!  You need to establish the ground rules early.”  

          She backed up and took Liz’s hand and ohhh’d and ahhhh’d over the ring.  She truly was impressed at the number and size of the diamonds and the setting.  Albrecht had outdone himself.  Liz felt a pang of grief when she saw the ring; it brought back memories of Carlo and their engagement.  She still missed him but the memories were now just bittersweet and no longer controlled her.

          Forcing her mind back to the present and focusing on her friends and their happiness she said, “Hey guys, if you’re gonna take Tiger here down to the train you better get a move on.  They started the Winter Schedule this week and the last Train is in about twenty minutes.  You’ll have to take the gondola down if you want to make it.”

          Rick and Loy had moved over to talk to Ken and Brad while Drew had run over to get Sally.  Henry said, “Tell the guys where we went Sal.  I doubt they want to ride the train anyways.  We can meet you guys back in the parking lot when we’re back.”

          “Henry you know the rules.  It’s up to the guys.”

          Henry sighed and said, “Yeah you’re right.”  Henry trotted over to where Ken, Brad, Rick, and Loy were now gathered.  He quickly explained the situation.

          “Sorry guys but I’m not sure Liz really thought this through.  I doubt any of you really want to go, but Drew’s got his heart set on it now.  And to be honest it would be nice to have a little alone time with just the three of us.  You know I don’t mean anything by that right?”

          Ken laughed and said, “I get it Henry.  You guys go ahead.  B, you and Loy stay linked with Henry just enough so he can reach us if he needs to.  Henry it’s your family, so don’t take even the slightest chance.  Stay on your toes.  I hate that it has to be this way; I know how much you want a normal life.  We’ll get you there but until then, this is the way it has to be.  Now hurry up, or you guys’ll miss the train.”

          Henry smiled and nodded, and he reached out and gripped Ken’s shoulder in thanks.  He felt Brad and Loy briefly touch his Mind as they activated the link; he was familiar with everyone’s mental touch by now as all of them had spent an exorbitant amount of time in his Mind over the last few months.   Henry felt their friendship and support through the link; even the love they had come to have for him as a brother.  At first it bothered him a little because he wasn’t gay, but he found after being so deeply merged with them on numerous occasions that those feelings were really dumb on his part.  They were men and he loved them back; he loved them deeply, but he didn’t want to sleep with them.  He felt like they were a part of him now, and he loved them, and it was an amazingly comfortable and beautiful feeling inside of him.  Seeing a person for who they were and letting someone else see him was terrifying, but after he got over the initial fear and anxiety, and mortification, he found it incredibly freeing.  He wished that he and Liz could do that on their own without the help of the doctor or any of the guys.

          Henry trotted back over to Liz and he swept Drew up and flipped him up and onto his shoulders.  They practiced that maneuver in the gym frequently much to Drew’s delight; it made him feel like he was training with the big boys. 

          Drew was apprehensive about the gondola.  Henry realized Drew had never been on one; he wasn’t used to being around smaller kids and was always surprised at what scared them sometimes, and also what they braved that would make some adults pee their pants.

          Henry knelt down so he was eye level with Drew and said, “You know your mommy and me will never let anything happen to you right?  I know it looks a little scary but it’s going to be fun!  And we’ll be here with you the whole time.  I bet if we look we’ll be able to see the train from all the way up here.”

          Drew grabbed ahold of Henry’s hand and let himself be led onto the gondola.  He threw himself against Henry’s leg when the car bounced a little as they got on and it bobbed and swayed back and forth gently, but in another minute he was jumping around and trying to make the car bounce.  They were the only ones in the car so Henry let him have his fun.  Drew was quickly enamored of the view, and before he knew it they were down the mountain at the train station.

          The train was really more of an open trolley on tracks.  Business was slowing down as winter approached and there were only a few other people waiting to board. 

          Liz squatted down in front of Drew and zipped up his Iron Man hoodie, “OK honey, I know you’re excited but you have to stay with either me or Henry.  No running around.  Look at me baby.”

          She cupped his cheek and forced eye contact to get his attention, “Do you hear me?”

          “Yes mommy.” 

          They heard the boarding call over the loud speakers and Drew started jumping up and down he was so excited. 

          Even though the day was warm in the sun, the train was open with no windows and the tracks ran in the shade of the forest that circled the base of the mountain.  Liz was chilly, so Henry put his arm around her and held her close; his body was warmer than a normal man’s just like Ken and the others and she snuggled up against him. 

They held hands and watched Drew, who wanted to sit by himself in the seat across from them; he was in the stage of wanting to be a big boy half the time and mama’s baby the rest of the time.   Henry still had a hard time believing how much his life had changed and how lucky he was to have such a beautiful woman and a terrific little boy in his life.  Before he had been taken by the Enemy and transformed into one of their Protectors he had never thought of himself as the marrying type.  He had to admit to himself he wasn’t a very good person back then, but after Loy and the guys broke the Enemy’s hold over him and finally found and removed the deep rooted Compulsions placed in his Mind he was a new man.

For the next fifteen minutes they enjoyed the scenery of the park; Georgia was a beautiful state, and the woods around Stone Mountain were breathtaking this time of year.  The fall colors were showing and the trees were all bright with varying shades of red, yellow, and orange. They both enjoyed watching Drew and how excited and happy he was.  Suddenly Liz felt Henry’s body jerk and she felt something warm and wet against her arm.  She turned to look at him and saw his chest covered in blood.  Before she could scream her head exploded in pain as something hit her.  Even in her dazed state she tried to look for Drew and make sure he was alright, but she was struck one more time, this time with a fist rather that the butt of a gun. 

          Drew was paralyzed with fear at what he saw.  His jeans got a big dark wet spot on them as he lost control of his bladder in terror.  The man he never, ever, wanted to see again was a few feet away and he just shot Henry and hit his mom.  He saw the blood on Henry’s body and the slack look on his face, and blood running down his mommy’s face where she had been hit.

          Drew’s Mind sometimes slipped open; the doctor still didn’t know why or how.  It usually happened in times of severe emotion whether happy or frightened.  This time it didn’t happen and Drew was so terrified he couldn’t do anything but watch helpless as his world was being shattered.  His eyes were big as saucers and filled with hot tears that started streaming down his cheeks.  The man standing in front of him was his father, Doug, and the memories of the abuse he had suffered at his hands were now fresh again in his young mind.

          The last time Drew had seen Doug was the day Brad and Ken had rescued him and his mother in the Mall of Georgia food court.  Brad had taken care of his father and told Drew that Ken was really Iron Man; they had bought him an Iron Man hoodie and made him feel safe.  The police had taken his father away in handcuffs and Drew was told he would never see Doug again.

          He wanted to call out to Ken and Brad more than anything but something wasn’t letting him.

          Doug was even scarier looking than Drew remembered.  He was more heavily muscled and less fat and his hair was long and stringy; he had tattoos on his arms before but now he was covered in them.

Doug pulled a little container out of his pocket that looked like a tin of Skoal.  He opened it up and it was filled with a dark brown paste.  He dipped his finger in and traced a mark on Liz’s forehead just like he had been shown.  The man he shot was still alive but just barely; he must have missed the heart.   He leaned over and traced the same mark on the man’s forehead and said, “That’s what you get fucker for trying to steal my woman and kid.” 

          Doug grabbed Drew and traced the mark on his forehead too and then picked him up exclaiming, “You’re coming with me you little shit.”

He roughly tucked Drew under one big arm and he moved back to the exit.  The train wasn’t moving fast and it slowed even more around curves.  At the next curve Doug hopped off with Drew.  Drew started kicking and was about to scream when Doug’s hand covered his mouth.  He bit as hard as he could and Doug stopped for a moment, his face going red with rage.

          He put his hand around Drew’s throat and held him up so his feet were dangling and he couldn’t breathe.  “Lucky for you, you little fucker, I’m not supposed to do you any serious hurt or I’d snap your fucking scrawny little neck! You ruined my life but now you’re my ticket outta prison, so shut your fuckin’ little mouth and be quiet!”

          There weren’t many people on the train and Liz, Henry, and Drew had the car they were in to themselves, but the train was basically an open layout.  Doug had a silencer on his gun, but the commotion drew the attention of few people in other cars.  There was one man in particular, sitting by himself in the car behind theirs, who was watching intently.   He had a worried look on his inhumanly handsome face when he looked at Henry and Liz.

          He watched as Drew was picked up by someone or something he couldn’t see and jumped off the train at the curve.  He was conflicted about his decision for a brief moment, but his face hardened and he leapt gracefully off the train to follow the boy.  If the rumors he heard were true the boy was crucial and must be saved at all costs; even at the cost of losing his parents.

          Liz’s head was on fire and she couldn’t see straight.  She reached out to steady herself and her hand felt Henry’s hard body.  She fought desperately to clear her vision; she needed to find her baby!  As her eyes came back into focus she saw all the blood and she fought down panic.  Henry had been shot, and Drew was gone! 

          She was confused and terrified; how could this happen?  Tears and blood were streaming down her face.  Her hands were shaking but she was trying to pull herself together.  Liz was a much tougher person now than she was even a year ago; exposure to the doctor and the guys had helped her in ways she didn’t even realize.  Just spending time around them affected her; Rick’s Avatar - and the others with his ability to a lesser extent - constantly worked on her psyche, unravelling emotional knots and hang-ups she didn’t even know she had and strengthened her ego.

          She put her hand to Henry’s neck and felt a pulse; it was terribly weak but he was still breathing.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; Drew was gone and she didn’t know where he was.  Henry needed her help now if he was going to survive.  Her best chance was to reach the guys up on the mountain.  She didn’t understand why they didn’t know they were in danger; she knew Brad and Loy had set up a link with Henry.

          Her hands were trembling so bad she nearly dropped her phone when she pulled it out of her pocket.  The doctor had provided her with the phone and had everyone on speed dial as well as an emergency code set up.  It took her three tries to get it in; her hands were shaking so bad it caused her to mistype the code the first two times.

          Just after the first ring she heard Loy’s voice, “Liz?  What’s wrong?”

          She tried to talk but only a strangled sob came out.

          As soon as Loy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket it appeared in his hand.  He saw it was from Liz and a cold chill ran down his spine.  None of them had felt anything wrong and he and Brad were linked with Henry so something must be seriously wrong for her to use the phone.  He tried to reach her with his Mind and couldn’t find her, Henry, or Drew, and his anxiety level spiked.

          Ken, Brad something’s wrong! 

          Loy’s Avatar flared and every animal from the smallest bird and squirrel to the red tailed foxes living in the park became a part of him.  He saw through their eyes and ears; he sensed everything they did and his Mind sorted it all out.  He began searching for the Train through their eyes and senses.

          Brad reached for Henry; their Link was still active, and he sensed Henry’s presence but it was static.  He had never felt anything like it before and he tried to go deeper into Henry’s Mind, but he couldn’t.  Henry’s Mind was completely unresponsive but that in itself shouldn’t prevent Brad from going deeper.  Something was blocking him or hindering his connection with Henry.  None of the ‘suits’ had that kind of Power, which didn’t leave many possibilities that they were aware of.

          Brad:  Something inside of Henry’s Mind is blocking me from going deeper.  The connection is still there, but that’s it. 

          Loy was already linked with Ken and Brad, but his eyes turned white as he reached out to the rest of the Team.  All of them had learned to scan first to make sure that no one was doing anything dangerous; everyone was available, and he brought them all deep into a Construct of the conference room at the Lab.  He kept the time differential normal so he could talk with Liz and everyone could hear her.  Her voice was coming through the speaker phone in the conference room, but Loy was holding the phone so he was the only one who could talk with her.

          Bill was present in the Link and supportive but was conspicuously shielding himself from the others.  Everyone was aware of it including Bill, but there was no time to bring it up. It was disturbing and uncomfortable for all of them.

          They heard Liz’s strangled sob through the speaker and everyone tensed.

          “Liz, try to calm down and tell us what’s happening.  Something’s blocking us from Linking with you.”

          She took a deep breath and struggled to speak through her tears, “Drew’s gone and Henry’s been shot.  He’s barely breathing.”

          “Where are you?”

          “Henry and I are still on the train.  I can’t find Drew!  I don’t know where he is!”

          “Can you give us a landmark of where the train is now?”

          “We just passed the lake with the big paddle boat and we’re in the woods.  We’re still moving slow.”

          “Liz there should be a cable running up above your seats near the roof.  It’s an emergency stop mechanism.  Pull it and we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

          Ken and Rick vanished from the Construct as they physically took off running.  They moved inhumanly fast and as they ran by the bathroom area Ken saw a large map of the park with a big red ‘you are here’ dot and the layout of the mountain park with the lake and the train route.  He and Rick knew what direction they needed to go.

          B you’re gonna need to cover us!

          Loy found the train through the birds and squirrels that were in the trees close to the tracks.  He also sensed something strange; there was a smell in the area around the train that was scaring them.  He had to enforce his will on the nearby animals to keep them from fleeing.  He was about to teleport down using their sight as his reference point when he heard Ken say in his mind:  Hold off Loy.  Ricky and I are almost there.  You and B stay with Sally and we’ll all regroup in a sec when Ricky and I are at the Train.

          There were no guard rails around the perimeter of the top of the mountain; there were only a few paths to get to the top and the rest was rocky ledges and drop-offs that prevented anyone from going too far down.  Ken and Rick literally took a running dive off the slope in the direction they needed to go. 

          Brad heard some people scream when they saw Ken and Rick run by and leap off, tucking and rolling their bodies on the steep slope.  Just like in the cave when Ken and Bryan were navigating the collapsing cavern to get to Leroy, Ken and Rick saw the angles and their velocity and trajectory and with their inhuman grace and agility they bounded down the side of the mountain.  The trees slowed them down somewhat but they used heavy branches to grab onto and vault around instinctively knowing which branches could support their weight without breaking.  They were near the bottom of the mountain in less than half a minute. 

          As Ken and Rick took off, Brad reached out and put a Compulsion on everyone on the mountain top to ignore them.  In a few cases he had to erase and blur memories and in one case in particular he had to use a Compulsion to erase a video that someone caught of them on their iPhone.

          Ken and Rick both saw the train tracks and the train was just coming to a stop as they caught up to it.  As they approached they saw the animals under Loy’s control flying or scurrying up to the train.

          With the visual guide of Ken and Rick being physically present plus the eyes of the animals, Darren synchronized their Avatar’s and he teleported everyone there.  Bryan barely managed to secure the smoker before he and Lane disappeared.

          Sally was shocked as she appeared with them; Brad had Darren pull her along with them.  There was no way they were leaving her alone on top of the mountain with something like this going on.

          Bill looked pale and was sweating slightly and his face was stony; they could feel he was conflicted about joining with them but he kept himself tightly blocked.  Kevin had a worried look on his face and it was apparent that he and Bill were having a private conversation.

          Pat looked at him wide eyed… his Avatar was going crazy as he looked at Bill.  He was in immense emotional turmoil.  Bill knew what Pat was seeing, but also knew he didn’t know what it meant.  The look on his face and his body language told them he wasn’t prepared to talk about whatever it was.  They had all learned long ago on Spec Ops missions to compartmentalize their feelings to keep them from interfering with the task at hand.  As much as they wanted to stop and find out what was going on with their Brother they had to get to Liz and rescue Henry and Drew. 

          Liz was holding Henry’s hand and stroking his cheek as tears were streaming down her cheeks, “Hang on baby, the guys are coming.  You have to stay with me … Drew and I need you so much you can’t leave us now.”  Her shoulders were shaking as sobs wracked her frame, but she was holding on.  She had to for both Henry and Drew. 

          As the rest of the team materialized in the woods a few feet from the train, Ken and Rick were still in motion and they both leapt through the open windows and came up in a defensive posture. The train car rocked from the weight as they landed inside the car.  Brad took control of the minds of the rest of the passengers who were gathered and just beginning to make their way into the car to see what was wrong.

          They all felt the strangeness right away; Ken and Rick could physically see Liz and Henry, and they could smell her hand lotion and even the blood on Henry’s torso, but to their Minds they were invisible and they even felt a mild physical resistance as they moved forward.

          Liz saw them and relief flooded into her.  “Thank God you’re here!  Please help Henry!”

          Rick replied, “We’re here hun.  We’ll have him fixed in no time and find Drew.”  Rick’s Avatar flared and Liz felt the Conviction of his promise and it calmed her somewhat.

          Ken: Doc! Albrecht!

          The urgency in Ken’s mental voice alerted their beloved Mentor and his partner and they responded immediately.

          Yes Kenneth!  What is the matter?

          At the speed of thought Brad sent the memories of the last few minutes to them.

          The doctor and Albrecht both used the eyes of the team to see and assess the situation.  All of them felt the surprise and shock in the doctor and Albrecht at what they saw.

          Albrecht:  Ken have Liz wipe those marks off their foreheads immediately.  None of you attempt to do it.  Do not touch the paste that made the marks.  She or Sally must to do it!  Hurry!

          Sally was in the Link; she had merged with all of the men now and was used to being in mental conversations with them.  She wasn’t used to situations like this but she was very level headed and rushed forward, pulling off her fleece windbreaker as she did.

          “Liz honey it’s going to be OK!”  As she was talking to Liz she used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe the mark off Henry’s forehead.  As soon as she smudged the mark they felt Henry’s presence back in the link. 

          Lane opened everyone’s energy centers; they were already deep inside one another, but the deep intimacy was still painfully sweet and fresh. A bright white ribbon of power was flowing between all of the men, and Liz and Sally both felt the beautiful strength of their Aura’s.  Since they were linked the women actually saw them as they really were; bright shining stars of power emitting a warmth of the Soul that was nearly overwhelming to them.

As Sally wiped the mark off Liz’s face. Lane opened Henry’s energy centers and assessed the damage.  The bullet had lodged itself in his chest plate and was pressed against his heart.  Henry’s increased musculature had tensed when the bullet hit him, and it literally clamped down on the bullet… if it had been a higher caliber gun it would have destroyed his heart.

The bullet appeared in Lane’s hand, and Henry’s body arched at the sudden influx of healing energy Lane used to knit the tissues back together.  They all gave Henry a portion of their own strength to completely replenish him; the process was sudden and jarring and uncomfortable, but they wanted him back up and at full capacity immediately.  Normally Lane would have been much gentler and given him more time to recover naturally.

Henry sucked in air as his body jerked and tensed with the reaction of the healing, and he was covered with a fine sheen of sweat.  Sally was wiping the mark off Liz’s forehead but as soon as she saw Henry’s eyes fly open Liz launched herself against him and held him fiercely.  He was still trying to get his bearings with what happened; the last thing he remembered was holding Liz and watching Drew, and now his body was on fire and all the guys were around him and he didn’t see Drew.

He felt the trembling of Liz’s body against his and saw the tears streaming down her face.  His voice was still froggy but he asked, “Liz what’s happening?  What’s wrong honey?  Where’s Drew?”

“Drew’s gone… I think someone took him.  Whoever it was shot you and hit me over the head but I didn’t see who.”

Bill was looking intently around with his Avatar while all this was going on.  A strong act of violence especially one so recent should leave a strong impression.  He was confused with what he saw; it wasn’t something he had ever experienced before.  He saw the outline of a man but his image was blank; he had some kind of shield that was making him nearly invisible to Bill’s ability.

He saw the man pick up Drew and jump off the Train as it rounded a corner.  Drew almost looked like he was floating as he was tucked under the man’s arm and carried off the train.  The man said something but even his voice was clouded and Bill couldn’t make it out.

Bill’s temper flared and the others were shocked at the emotional burst that came out of their brother.  Even with everything going on, Ken started to take the time to ask him what was wrong, but Kevin sent him a small private thought:  Please let it go for now Ken.  Something happened this morning and we’ll both fill you in soon but not now.  It’ll just make it worse.

Bill synchronized the Avatars of the other four and he pulled deeply from Brad, Lane, Loy, and Darren.  It seemed harsh the way he took what he needed from them.

They all felt Kevin’s discomfort at the way Bill was acting, but they also got the message loud and clear from him that now was not the time to get into it.  They needed to focus on Drew. 

Bill felt their power meld with his as all five of them fit together like a key.  The level of his ability to read what happened magnified a hundredfold with their support.  Even with that the image was unclear, but now the man appeared as a ghostly image.

Brad’s blood ran cold when he recognized the man:  Doug!  That’s Drew’s father!  But he’s in prison!

They saw Doug walk up to Henry and Liz and it was obvious they didn’t see him.  His body was covered with tattoos that were similar in design to the mark on Henry and Liz’s foreheads.  He pulled out a gun and shot Henry in the chest from only a few feet away.

His voice sounded heavily modulated but they heard him say to Henry, “That’s what you get fucker for trying to steal my woman and kid.”

          They saw him pick Drew and he said, “You’re coming with me you little shit.”

          Ken:  B how can that be?  You put Compulsions in that fuckhead so he couldn’t get close to Liz or Drew ever again.

          Brad: I don’t know but somehow they’re gone and I never felt it when they were broken.  Short of The Master himself I don’t know of anyone in the Enemy that could have done that without me feeling it.  He has some type of protections that are making it hard for us to see him let alone sense him.  Doc?  Albrecht are you still with us?  Something isn’t right here… this doesn’t seem like the Enemy.

          Albrecht:  It might not be Brad.  Those runes on Liz and Henry’s foreheads… I’ve seen them once before a long time ago, and I mean when I was a boy so that tells you how long ago.  They don’t have anything to do with the Light or the Dark from what I understand.  There are many rumors about the beings that use them but the scholars of the The Order have never found any definitive proof of who uses them or what their origins are; or their motivations or allegiances.

          Brad:  Damn!  We don’t need more unknowns. 

Ken: I don’t care who’s behind this.  We’re gonna’ get Drew back.

Ken’s body was tight with anger; he was deeply merged with Brad and the Compassion Brad felt for what was happening to Drew washed over him.  His eyes were glassy with unshed tears of anger; anger at Doug and whoever was responsible and anger at himself for allowing something like this to happen on his watch.

Ken’s emotions were clear as day to Brad:  This isn’t your fault Ken.  There’s some supernatural influence going on here that we’ve not encountered before.  We have to stay sharp and get Drew back first, and then we’ll figure the rest out.  Don’t beat yourself up over this.

I get it B, it’s just the thought of what must be going through Drew’s mind right now.  We promised him he’d never see that shithole of a father ever again. We promised him we’d keep him and his mother safe, and we let him down. He’s got to be terrified.

Brad’s eyes filled with fresh tears, all of their eyes did, as he thought:  Then let’s go get him and make whoever did this pay.  Doug is just a tool for whoever’s behind this. Their Runes, or whatever those marks were, affected even us.   They’re obviously powerful and we know next to nothing about them so we need to stay sharp.

          Bryan asked the question that everyone was thinking but no one had verbalized yet:  What do they want with Drew?  If that douchebag hurts a hair on his head Ken…

          Ken: We’ll figure out what to do about Doug when we find Drew.  He’s our priority, and then we can find out why they took him and what Doug’s connection is with them and how it ties in with us. My guess is they want Drew as some type of bargaining chip. 

          Brad:  None of this can be a coincidence guys.  Even if whoever freed Doug of my Compulsions isn’t working with The Enemy they know more about us than we do about them. This was carefully planned, and our trip here was a spur of the moment decision.  They have some strong magic on their side or the ability to move outside of Time.

          Drew was so hysterical he could barely function.  His five year old mind was filled with fear at seeing the man who had abused him and his mother so badly.  Drew had learned long ago not to push his father when he was drunk or out of control and he was a little older and wiser now; he was crying but not screaming and he stopped kicking and let himself be carried. 

          The paste Doug used to put that mark on his forehead burned; it burned his skin and his Mind.  His stomach hurt where Doug’s big arm had his body pinned against his side as he ran through the woods. The movement was jarring and he had a hard time breathing.

          “Damn you smell you little shit.  You pissed your pants like a baby.”

          Doug stopped and roughly set Drew down.  He yanked Drew’s jeans off, nearly ripping them in the process, leaving him in his Marvel Superhero underwear.  There was a big yellow stain in front and Doug laughed and pulled those off as well.  He tossed the jeans and the underwear aside leaving Drew naked from the waist down.

          His shoes had come off with his pants so he was standing in his socks and a t-shirt with his Iron Man hoodie.  Crying, he crouched down and hugged his knees, trying to make himself as small as he could and cover his nakedness.

          “Stand up kid.”

          Drew was unresponsive and Doug’s temper flared.

          “I said stand up!”  He grabbed one of Drew’s wrists and yanked him up.  Drew didn’t straighten his legs and his body was still curled up so he ended up suspended in the air by Doug’s strong arm.

          Frustrated and angry, Doug slammed him down hard and Drew lost the last of his composure.  He squealed in pain and started wailing; his breath was coming in terrified ragged gasps.  He could barely see from the thickness of the tears streaming down his cheeks.  Memories of the abuse, the bruises, and the burns were running through his mind.  He desperately wanted his mom, or Mr. Henry, Mr. Ken and Mr. Brad, or any of his friends to come get him.

          Doug put his big hands around each of Drew’s tiny biceps and jerked him upright yelling at him and shaking him, “You never do what I tell you to do!  Why can’t you fuck’n listen to me?!”

          Doug always had a temper and the last year while in prison his anger towards Liz and Drew grew every day; he resented them and blamed them for his situation just as Brad predicted it would.  He was forced to send them money once he got on a work detail that offered some small income, and he hated them all the more for that; it was his money not theirs!

          All the pent up anger, as misguided and misplaced as it was, was directed at Drew, who was in front of him.  Doug was under strict orders not to hurt Drew, but his judgment was clouded by his anger and resentment. Doug wasn’t a bright man to begin with, and his temper was out of control.

          He reached out and roughly grabbed Drew’s small testicles squeezing them hard saying, “If you’re gonna scream like a little girl I’m gonna make you one.  I’m gonna’ rip these tiny balls of yours off if you don’t shut the hell up.”  Drew screamed in pain and doubled over as Doug’s hand pinched his scrotum.

          You were told not to hurt the child.   If you go against our arrangement there will be dire consequences for you.  What you are doing to the child will be nothing compared to what we will do to you if he is harmed.

          Doug’s eyes narrowed and he took a deep breath.  Fear of the man whose voice was in his head drove down his anger.  He threw Drew down roughly on the ground and said, “Fuck it!”

          Drew hit the ground hard and his head exploded in pain.  The ground was rocky underneath the leaves and his forehead and both knees were cut on the sharp rocks.  Blood immediately started dripping down into his eyes and running down his legs. Doug didn’t realize that the mark he placed on Drew’s forehead was just destroyed as it scraped across the rock.

          As he lay on the ground curled up in pain and terror, his hands holding his balls, he caught movement from the corner of his eye.  His vision was still blurry from the tears and the blood but he saw a man looking at him.  As soon as they made eye contact a voice filled his mind:

          Oh my child!  Be brave!  I know you are scared and hurt but I am with you!  I cannot reach your friends – there are other enemies near that prevent me from communicating with them.  I will do my best to protect you and keep you from further harm.  I can see you now but I cannot see your captor.  He is hidden from me and I will have to use your eyes.

          Drew recognized the voice; it was the voice from the basement when he and his mother had been imprisoned by the Enemy.  It was the voice that helped to save him.  It was his friend Istariel.

          Do not be afraid little one.  I am sorry you will have to see what I am about to do but I cannot save you without borrowing your sight.  Do you know who this man is?

          He’s my daddy.                                                                                              

          As a Nephelem, Istariel wasn’t a naturally emotional entity; it was not in his makeup.  But with his exposure and involvement with Brad and Ken and the others, and his merging with them while they wore the amulet he had been imprisoned in, had changed him.  He had evolved in ways entirely unexpected.  He felt compassion for the boy and anger at the man who was hurting him; in fact he had never been so angry.

          Doug turned to pick up Drew and was surprised to see a man step out from behind a nearby tree.  He wasn’t a large man but for some reason a chill ran down Doug’s spine.  The man radiated controlled anger.

          “If you touch the child again your life is forfeit.   Move away from him now.”

          “Who the fuck are you, his fairy god mother?  Get the hell out of here, or I’ll kick your ass.”

          Doug was a big man and he had spent his time in prison working out and learning to box.  He was far more dangerous now than he was a year ago.  But he was a man; the tattoos and marks on his body offered Spiritual and Mental protections against the Light and the Dark.  Istariel felt their effect and he knew this was Echsphene magic and extremely powerful against both Powers.  They were the reason Istariel couldn’t see or sense Doug through his own eyes or Mind, or Brad and the others.  He was curious and concerned about their involvement; but based on the rumors and whispers he heard in the Spiritual Realm he was not surprised. 

          Using Drew’s eye’s to see he assessed the situation.  Doug looked formidable enough, and to Drew he must look terrifying, but Istariel was a Nephelem; one of the oldest and most powerful.  Even in human form he had grace and agility and strength far beyond a normal person.  His outward appearance bellied the strength of the body he assumed.

          Drew felt Istariel’s presence in his mind and it helped to calm him somewhat. He was still hurt and scared but there was an adult here now to help him.

          Get behind me little one and stay as close as you can.

          Istariel saw Doug through Drew’s eyes.  His memories reached back tens of thousands of years, and over that time he had lived many lifetimes in human form.  He had been involved in wars and atrocities in human history before his kind withdrew behind the Veil when it was called into existence.  Unbeknownst to Albrecht, Istariel had even trained with him at one point.

          Istariel took a defensive stance in front of Doug, his body relaxed and fluid.  His anger was controlled and focused; he wished to destroy the man in front of him but he knew that would frighten Drew even more and it was not something a child should see. 

          Doug grinned as he watched Drew scuttle over behind the smaller man and he said, “Boy I want you to see this.  I’m gonna kick the ass of this guy and then I’m coming for you.  You’re mine.  You’re never gonna’ see your mom or that other guy ever again.”

          Doug’s continued cruelty and abuse, the same as it always had been, was pushing Drew over the edge; fresh tears started falling out of his eyes. His head was on fire and he was naked, cold and ashamed and his balls ached fiercely.    

          Do not listen to him child.  He means to frighten you but I am here.  I will let no harm come to you.

          Istariel put one hand behind his back and held it open:  Give me your hand.

          Drew was so scared he could barely move but he felt Istariel’s presence in his Mind.  It wasn’t like Mister Brad and Mister Ken; it wasn’t as warm and comforting but Drew knew that Istariel meant what he said; and Drew knew through their mental touch that Istariel was his friend.  Drew also knew that Istariel felt a deep concern and sorrow for him beyond the threat from his father that he didn’t understand. 

          Drew reached out and took the proffered hand, and it made him feel better.

          Doug, seeing what he thought was a distraction, rushed the smaller man.  Istariel lithely moved aside and kept himself between Drew and his father.  He was far more worried about the Eschphene showing up than he was about fighting Doug.  His mind was working overtime trying to figure out a way to bring Brad Wilson and the others to his aid before the Eschphene arrived.

          As Doug spun around to charge him again, Istariel heard a hopeful sound; there was a squirrel chittering in the tree’s above him.  In its corporeal form he had no direct influence over it as his cousin Loy did, however he did have influence over its spirit.  It pained him to use any creature in such a manner but he felt the circumstances warranted his actions.  A bolt of power struck the squirrel severing its Spirit from its body and it fell dead a few feet from them. 

          He saw the small ball of light that was its Spirit and he grabbed ahold of it and commanded it:  Go! Find the Steward with all speed and bring him here!  Fly!

          Brad erased the last few minutes of the memories of the train occupants and implanted a new memory in the conductor of a small fallen tree being responsible for the train stopping.  He effectively made all of the team invisible including Henry, Liz, and Sally.

          B, take us deep for a second please.

          All of them appeared in a Construct of the conference room dressed in full Kevlar assault gear, including Henry.  Henry looked down and was surprised at his appearance, Brad knew it would have a subconscious effect on Liz with what Ken was about to tell her.

          Even with the seriousness of the situation Brad was struck by how handsome Ken looked; in fact how all of them looked.  The Kevlar suits he made in the Construct were form fitting and snug showing off their bodies.  The suits covered up the neck close to the jawline, and with their short hair they looked hyper military, which was the look he wanted.  He wanted Liz to see them as professionally trained soldiers to give her more confidence and trust in their ability to get Drew back to her safe and sound.

          Standing at the lectern, Ken started, “OK guys our first priority is Drew.  We know he was taken by Doug, who obviously had help from someone powerful.  With the unknown of whoever is helping Doug I’m sending you and Sally back to the Lab Liz.  Henry I want you to stay with us if you feel up to it.”

          “You bet your sweet ass I do.  That little boy means the world to me.  I’ll do whatever I have to too get him back safe.”

          Liz shouted, “NO!  I’m going too!”

          Ken looked at her and his eyes softened; he was linked with Brad and even though he felt great affection for Liz and Drew his link with Brad filled him with a level of Compassion beyond human.  Ken’s heart was breaking seeing Liz so distraught… her pain was raw and clearly visible to him on many levels.  His own Avatar flared under his Kevlar suit and he said firmly but gently, “No Liz you are not.  Henry will be with us, but we know he can take care of himself.  You and Sally will be too vulnerable to getting hurt, and honestly we can’t be distracted with protecting you when we need to focus on finding Drew and getting him back.  I know you don’t want to hear that but I’m afraid it’s an order.”

          Sally moved over to Liz and put a hand on her shoulder, “Liz honey listen to him.  They’re trained for things like this and we aren’t.  There’s no one in the world better equipped to get Drew back than the guys.  You need to let them do their job.  They’ll do it better if they know we’re safe.”

          Henry moved over to her as well and put both hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.  His big hand cupped her chin and he gently lifted her face, forcing her to look up at him and into his eyes as he said, “Liz… I love you and I love Drew.  You know that… in this place you can feel it.  I’ll bring him back, but I need to know you’re safe too.  Please don’t argue with me on this.”

          She threw herself into his strong arms and hugged him as tightly as she could.  “I thought I lost you a few minutes ago.  Don’t you dare get hurt again.  Find our son and bring him back.”

          She looked at Ken and said, “Watch over him Ken.  I get it… I don’t like it but I get it.”

          Ken looked at Darren and said, “Dar would you send them to the Lab please?”

          Darren’s eyes turned white and with everyone already linked he synchronized their Avatar’s and Liz and Sally blinked out of the Construct as their bodies disappeared from the woods where they were all standing. 

          Ken said, “OK guys… Drew is one of ours and so is Henry.  No one shoots or takes one of ours and gets away with it.”

          Kevin got a slight grin on his face and asked, “Billy goat?”

          Ken nodded and replied, “Billy goat.”

          Henry looked confused and Lane leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “That’s our code for taking off the kid gloves and kicking ass.  I almost feel sorry for whoever’s behind this.”

          Henry replied, “Well I know that douche bag of an ex-husband of hers isn’t smart enough to pull something like this off on his own.  But I would like to ask a favor… before all this is said and done and once we have Drew back, let me be the one to kick his ass.”

          Bryan replied, “You can have him once I’m through with him.”  They all felt Bryan’s anger towards Doug through the link.   For such a big strong man he had a gentle heart until a loved one was hurt or threatened.

          Ricky said, “OK we can hold a lotto or draw straws for who kick’s Doug’s ass first.  All of us want a shot at him.”

          Ken, bringing everyone back into focus said, “OK ladies.  Let’s find Drew first.  I have a feeling when we get Drew back Doug’s cohorts might not be too happy with him.  There might not be much of him left once we get to him.  B, take us back up.”

          The barest fraction of a second had passed while they were in the Construct, and they were all once again in the woods by the train tracks.

          Bill’s Avatar showed Doug up until he leapt off the train at the last big curve about a quarter of a mile back up the tracks from where they stood.  They all took off running in that direction.

          They had only gone about a hundred yards when a small blue ball of light shot up and was swirling all around Loy.  As soon as it got within a few feet of him its shape became corporeal and the squirrel perched on his shoulder as its tail flicked excitedly.  It was chittering loudly at him.

          Loy instinctively knew it had a message for him; its appearance and behavior were abnormal enough to alert him.  He looked into its tiny mind and saw the image of a man he did not recognize saying:  Go find the Steward with all speed and bring him here!  Fly! 

          Loy felt the Compulsion the stranger had placed on the tiny spirit; it was strong.  It was always difficult to see details through the eyes of small animals because their perspective was so skewed but he could definitely see Drew behind the man.

          He broadcast the image and the voice to everyone through their link.

          Show me little guy.  Take me there.

          The tiny spirit flitted around Loy’s head twice and then took off into the woods with everyone behind it.  It was excitable just like all squirrels and in spirit form it was fast; Loy had to call it back a few times when it got too far ahead.  As inhumanly fast as they all were they had a hard time keeping up with the spirit and keeping it in sight as it darted through the dense foliage. 

          In less than a minute the spirit stopped and hovered.  Ken was the first one there and he saw the tiny body of the squirrel lying at the base of a large oak tree.   Everyone was alert and using every sense at their disposal to be ready for whatever they found.

          Ken and the other four Body’s smelled it right away; urine.  Tracking the source of the smell they found Drew’s pants and underwear and shoes.  They also saw blood on some leaves.

          Bill had the same difficulty seeing what happened here as he did on the train.   A look of intense determination and concentration crossed his handsome face and he synchronized their Avatars.  The intensity of his emotion was again striking through the link and they were all a little shocked.   On top of his deep concern for Drew he was radiating a gamut of extreme emotions; anger, sadness, frustration, and the most surprising of all hate.

          Thunder rolled across the bright sunny sky mirroring his emotions.

          Bill drew strength from all of them including Henry; he knew Henry needed to be included in this and his emotional bond with Drew would make it all the stronger.  An image started replaying in his Mind and everyone else saw it through the link; when they saw Doug rip Drew’s pants and underwear off white hot anger coursed through all of them.  Their eyes watered as they watched Doug grab Drew’s groin and squeeze as he verbally abused him.  They saw him thrown to the ground where he cut his head and his knees.

          They saw the stranger step from behind a tree and interpose himself between Drew and his father.  Drew took the hand of the stranger like he knew the man and a short confrontation ensued.  The stranger had a distinct fighting style and there was something odd about his movements; Brad’s mind put the pieces together.  He was sure the stranger was their Nephelem cousin Istariel and by the way he was moving he couldn’t physically see Doug and must be using Drew’s eyes.

          Istariel, even with the handicap of his secondary vision was more than a match for any human.  Brad could tell that Doug had gotten better at fighting but he was still a redneck with a temper and his emotions were clouding his judgment; he was broadcasting all his movements.  Istariel used Doug’s momentum to send him headlong into a tree knocking Doug senseless.  But as soon as Doug got to his feet they both spun around in surprise and the scene stopped; it literally cut off like a light switch.

          Henry’s eyes were red and glassy but his voice was even and hard as steel as he said, “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.   He’s never touching that little boy ever again.”

          He leaned down and picked up Drew’s wet jeans, underwear, and tennis shoes.  He looked down in his hands at the Marvel Super Hero underwear… they were Drew’s favorite and his breath caught in his chest as he crumbled them up in his fist.  His hands were shaking in anger.

          Through the Link all of the men comforted Henry; they embraced him as brothers and let their emotional support wash over him.  His stony exterior cracked and his voice choked slightly as he begged them, “Guys please… we have to find him.   We have too… he’s been through so much and he’s just a little boy.  He doesn’t deserve this…”

          Lane was closest to Henry and he put his hands on Henry’s heavy shoulders, “We’ll find him Henry.  And Doug will pay.  Istariel is with him and I’m sure he won’t let anything happen.”

         Ken said, “OK guys we need to figure out where they went from here.”

          Loy’s eyes were white and he said, “Already on it boss.  Whatever ability they have to block us is still a dead giveaway now that I know what to look for… or not look for in this case.”

          Loy’s Avatar flared and his Awareness flooded out and into every animal in a five mile radius.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to visibly see Drew, Doug, and Istariel, but he could look for a big ‘blind spot’ among the wildlife.  In just a few seconds he sensed where they must be.

          “I think I have them… just a few hundred yards from here.   I can’t see anything clearly so everyone be on your toes.”

          As they were leaving, Loy looked down at the tiny body of the dead squirrel.  Its body was still warm and he had a thought.  His eyes flared white and the spirit flew back into the tiny body.  A small burst of power from Loy healed and refreshed it completely and it got up and darted away at his command.  A strong feeling of fulfillment washed over him and into everyone in the link.  Kevin’s eyes gleamed with love and pride at his partner and what he was able to do.  The little life didn’t deserve to be snuffed out and used as it had been and Loy was able to correct that act.

          Henry didn’t have their training so Bryan kept him close and coached him on when to move; Henry was a quick learner and mimicked Bryan’s motions as well as he could.  They knew they were in the right place… the woods took on an other-worldly feel much like the Lab did when they were performing a powerful ritual. 

          Loy sensed no wildlife in the immediate vicinity and their vision took on a muted quality; it was as if color was drained out of everything.   It was like white noise was blanking out ambient sounds and not allowing sound waves to carry.  Lane of course didn’t like it at all… it seemed to even carry over to the underlying vibrations inside of Creation.  The Music wasn’t absent but it was muted.

          Pat noticed immediately that the relationship between everything here that he always saw was muted as well.  It was like an entropic force was dampening everything.

          Brad felt a slight oppression on all their abilities.  It wasn’t an effort to maintain his link with everyone but there was enough natural resistance in this place that he had to consciously think about keeping it up.

          They hadn’t shown themselves yet as they were stealthily moving closer, but they heard a voice call out, “Nephelem… show yourselves.  We are aware of your presence.”

          Ken: OK guys, stay alert.  We need to gather as much Intel as we can  on what’s going on before we act.  Remember our first priority is getting Drew out safe and sound.

          They all stepped out from behind the trees and approached the clearing where they heard the voice.  They counted twenty-one men they could see; they seemed like normal men ranging from late teens to middle age and they were all dressed in anything from business suits to workout shorts and tank tops; there were no women.  Doug was standing like a zombie; his face was blank and devoid of any emotion and his body swayed slightly as he stood there.

          Istariel was standing off to one side with two men at his side guarding him.  He looked calm and relaxed but to Ken and the others he was obviously ready to react if he sensed any openings.

          What shocked them was Drew:  he was floating in the air in a circle of stones, unconscious.  His body was horizontal and his arms and legs were hanging; he looked like he was being held up by his chest.  There was a nimbus like a dome over him that was translucent and allowed them to see him but his image was slightly distorted.  His hair was matted to his forehead with dried blood.

          Lightning flared and thunder cracked directly overhead in response to the emotional turmoil the sight sent through all of them.  Henry’s breath caught in his throat and he let out a small, “Oh my God.  What are they doin’ to you?  Drew!”

          All of them wanted to rush forward but their training and discipline held them in place.  Bryan put his hand on Henry’s shoulder again both in comfort and to keep him from rushing forward.

          Ken:  I know it kills you to see this Henry… us too, but follow our lead.  We need to find out what’s goin’ on.  If we rush in we could end up hurtin’ or killin’ Drew without meaning too. 

          I can’t stand seein’ him like that Ken.  Someone’s going to pay for this big time.

          Yeah they will… I promise you they will.

          The Conviction of Ken’s words… the Strength of his Will and the Truth of what he said registered with Henry and he took small comfort in that.  All of the men were holding Henry tight in their hearts through the Link.  He needed their strength and support and he felt how much they cared not only about him but Drew; he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt how much he and his new family meant to all of them.  And he also knew they understood how torn up he was inside seeing Drew like this. 

          After all the Darkness he had experienced in his own encounter with the Enemy he finally found not only redemption with these men but he found something with Liz and Drew he never expected; a family that loved and accepted him, that wanted to be with him.  For so long he didn’t feel worthy of being loved and hated himself and what he had done and what he had become.  In his own mind he had been a monster.   But in that basement when he and Liz and Sally and the others were prisoners they had come into his life, Drew had looked into his Mind and saw how hurt he was and gave him a hug that was the start of an avalanche of emotions inside Henry that changed him forever and led up to this moment.

          Henry took a deep breath and tried to calm himself and stay focused.  He put his own hand up over Bryan’s and squeezed back and managed a nod.  Bryan patted his shoulder and withdrew his hand.  Henry was an open book to them now in the Link but they all knew he wouldn’t do anything to hurt or endanger Drew.  He was on edge but in control and focused and willing to follow their lead.

          Ken stepped forward and said loudly and clearly, “I don’t know who you are or why you took that little boy but we’re taking him back with us now.”

          The leader of the men stepped forward in front of Ken.  He was a middle aged man dressed as a construction worker. 

          “The boy is ours.  His blood father has given him to us in exchange for his freedom so our claim on the boy is Binding.  We have waited and prepared countless years for the chance to break the Cycle.  You are out of your depth Nephelem and our magic is stronger than yours.  Do not attempt to interfere or we will destroy you.”

          We need to talk to Istariel and see if he can shed some light on what’s going on here.    Kevin make sure they don’t sense what we’re doing.  B, bring Istariel in and let’s go deep.  I don’t want them to know we’re talking to him.

          Kevin closed his eyes so none of men around him would see his eyes turn white.  He synchronized his Avatar with Ken, Bryan, Rick, and Patrick and he suppressed their Aura’s completely.  At the speed of thought Brad brought Istariel into their Link and took them all deep into a Construct of the conference room at the Lab.  They were all wearing the full body Kevlar assault suits just like before.

          Istariel’s face registered surprise and he looked down at the suit he now wore in his human form and ran his hands down across the fabric; it felt strange.

          He nodded to them and said, “Greetings to you all cousins and to you Henry Ross.  I was not sure your powers would work.  The Eschphene leader spoke the truth about their magic being strong.  The fact that you can still do this explains much to me.  My own powers are not working in the immediate area.”

          Brad spoke first, “Istariel, please bring us up to speed on how you got here and what’s going on with Drew.  And tell us what you know about these guys.  The doctor and Albrecht don’t know much about them.”

          Istariel nodded and began, “After Ulariel’s death, and the death of Trenton Ashmore there was some opportunity to flush out more Enemy servants across the Veil.  My brethren and I have been busy… and we took advantage of the chaos that naturally occurs among those of the Dark when leaders are removed.  There was much infighting and competition to fill new roles and to claw their way higher among the ranks.

          “It allowed me to discover the identity of another of their leaders.  Before his demise he shared with me a piece of information that was significant.  In the long history of the battle between the Light and the Dark there have always been rumors about the Master’s creation and the story of how to defeat him. That was always a mystery until Greg Wilson returned from Heaven to tell you the secret of what must be done to finally bring about his defeat and destruction.  He must ask and receive forgiveness from his brother.

          “But there is more to the story in regards to his creation.  When the Master killed his brother, the second human soul to come into existence, it set in motion a cycle of sorrow and death for his sibling’s Soul.  To my knowledge the Master himself is unaware of this.  He has buried the memories of his origin and chooses not to remember them.  But every seven years, the Soul of his brother is reborn, and he is doomed never to live past his seventh year.

          “Until the brothers seventh year of life his destiny lies quiet and his fate is indiscernible.  But on the celebration of his seventh year Fate intervenes and he dies a painful death similar in nature to his death at the hands of his brother.  Somehow events orchestrate themselves around him and he succumbs to wounds similar in nature to those that originally killed him.

          “The servant of the Enemy we destroyed believed that Drew is the Master’s brother reborn.  How he came by this knowledge I do not know.  He must have imparted his knowledge to the Eschphene in hopes of somehow furthering his position in the Enemy ranks.  I am sure he had not yet imparted his knowledge to The Master.

          “I followed the boy to find out what I could and to discover as much of the truth of the rumors as possible.  I did not wish to come to you without proof and cause needless worry.  I have been listening to the Eschphene talk and there is a final test they must perform to prove beyond any doubt that Drew is the Soul they are looking for.”

          Brad interjected, “But from what you just said there should be no way for them to do that until his seventh birthday and that’s nearly two years away.”

          “Apparently they have a way.  I do not know what it is or what it will do to the boy.  I must confess my guilt and sorrow to you Henry Ross for not aiding you on the train when the boy’s father shot you.  I was torn, but I had to follow the child and keep him safe.  I put my trust in my cousins here that they would find you and Liz Hastings.  My faith was well founded.”

          Henry’s eyes were red and he sniffed loudly, “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.  He’s just a boy… a boy I want as my own son.  He’s been through so much… and you’re saying he’s going to die on his seventh birthday?!”

          “The tragedy of his existence is further proof of the Curse involved in his bloodline.  It seems my fate is intertwined with the boy’s as well as yours Henry Ross.  It also explains how Brad Wilson heard him the first time when he and Ken Habbersham intervened to protect him from his father that day.

          “The story is making more sense as pieces of the puzzle are being revealed.  There is a vortex around this boy that is pulling in allies to help break the cycle.  The Eschphene sense this as well and wish to break this cycle for their own ends, but I fear they do not have his best interest at heart.  They will use him in unspeakable ways to accomplish their goals.”

          The faces of all the men were stony and solemn from everything they were hearing. 

          Ken asked, “So who are these Eschphene?  I’m surprised that the doc and Albrecht don’t know much about them.”

          “The Eschphene exist outside the Laws of the Light and the Dark.  They are, in essence, a third Power.  They have always existed and so rarely make an appearance in the Physical or the Spiritual planes that little is known about them.  They claim to be a Neutral Power in Creation, and have never interfered in the ongoing struggles between the Light and the Dark.  I do not understand their presence here or their interest in the boy and breaking the cycle of his Curse.  Their Province is Law and they see themselves as keepers of Order in Creation.  The Battle between the Light and the Dark and the Fall of Man has always kept their goals from being realized.  I assume if they find a way to break the cycle they seek a way to bring a true balance into existence.”

          Brad asked, “When they said Doug had given them permission to take Drew that it was Binding.  What does that mean?”

          Istariel’s face was serious when he replied, “It means that they have every right to do what they are doing Brad Wilson.  Magical Laws and Rituals are governed heavily by blood ties and bonds.”

          Henry slammed his fist down on the conference table, “No!  There has to be a way around that?  Doesn’t Liz have a say in this as his mother?”  His distress was palpable to all of them through the link.  Istariel was amazed at the depth of their emotions for the boy.  His own feelings were strong; far stronger than he ever thought possible but the unconditional love they felt for the boy was profound and the ache he felt in their hearts became his own. 

          His eye’s filled with tears and his hands went to his face in surprise; he had never cried before and his confusion was apparent to all of them.

          Brad looked at him with Compassion and gently said, “Welcome to the wonderful world of human emotions Istariel.  I wish we had more time to let you deal with this but we need to figure a way out of this mess.  Your knowledge of them and their magic is all we have to work with here.  Is there some way around this Binding?  Some type of loophole?”

          Istariel thought long and hard, searching his memories and knowledge of the Eschphene.  They were a very legalistic race and his dealings with them were extremely limited, but similar to Brad and his other cousins his memory was perfect.  Every piece of information he had ever heard or come across in his long lifetime he pulled into his conscious mind and a plan took shape.

          “There is a way.  It is actually quite simple and I believe they are counting on our ignorance of their Laws.  Their magic is powerful and if we try and fight them when they are within the proper bounds of their Laws I am not sure there would be a chance.  However the strength of their Laws can also work against them.

          “Liz Hastings can contest her husband’s claim on the child. She can call for an Intercedent to replace Doug Hastings with a new mate.  Doug Hastings must then fight the Intercedent to maintain his right over the boy.”

          Istariel looked at Henry and said, “That would be you.  But I warn you the fight would to be to the death.  This is an old Law and there is Blood involved.  You must be willing to kill Doug Hastings; there is no way around that.”

          Everyone knew how hard Henry worked to put his past behind him; being forced to kill again would hurt him to his core.  But they also knew he was willing to do whatever it took to rescue Drew and get him back safe.  His face hardened and he took a deep breath, “Just promise me that you won’t let Drew see what happens.  I don’t want him to see me kill that son-of-a-bitch deadbeat piece of shit father of his.”

          Lane, trying to lighten the mood as always said, “I think you left off a few adjectives Henry.”

          Henry looked at Lane for a second, his face a stony mask.  Lane was afraid his joke had backfired when suddenly Bryan smacked Lane lightly across the back of his head.  The corner of Henry’s mouth raised in a smirk and he said, “Thanks Lane, but you should think about keeping your day job and leave the comic relief to the professionals.”

          Lane’s ploy worked and it seemed to break the tension.

          Ken gave everyone just a moment before he continued.  He gripped Henry’s shoulder tightly and asked him, “Henry, are you sure you want to do this?  Maybe we can figure out another way.  We both know what killing someone does to you inside.  No matter how much Doug deserves to die it’s not an easy thing to have on your conscious.”

          “I’ll do what I have to do to protect my family Ken, and it doesn’t sound to me like there’s any other way.  I don’t know what they have planned for Drew but I know they don’t care about him.  He’s been through so much… and if what Istariel says is true there’s no telling what else he’s going to go through before all this is said and done.  I have to spare him even the slightest pain moving forward.”

          The gut wrenching emotions Henry felt were present and visible to all of them; their eyes were glassy from the intensity of the emotions he felt over everything that was happening.  Brad spoke up and said, “Drew is lucky to have you in his life Henry.  He couldn’t ask for a better dad.”

          Henry was about to lose it again after hearing Brad’s words and feeling the Compassion in his voice; the Compassion coming from all of them.  They let him know he wasn’t alone in any of this and they would be with him no matter what.

          Ken sent a private thought to Brad:  B can you bring Liz into the link?  We’re gonna’ need to get her here and explain all this.  We’ll have to get her back here physically for this plan to work.

          Liz and Sally appeared in the Lab.  Sally found it exhilarating and even felt a pang of jealousy over what the guys could do.  If she could go anywhere she wanted in the blink of an eye… it was just unimaginable to her.  The money she could save on parking downtown alone would be amazing!  She forced the thoughts out of her head… she needed to focus on Liz.

          “Come on hun, let’s go find the doctor and Albrecht.”

          Liz’s face was red and puffy from crying and her nose was running.  She sniffed and wiped her eyes and replied, “Are we ever going to have a normal life?”

          Sally grabbed her arm and led her out of the room towards the doctor’s office.  As soon as he saw her he rushed towards her and he embraced her tightly. 

          “I am so sorry my dear!  You must not fear the worst; you know Kenneth and the others will do everything in their power to find Drew and return him safely to you.  There is no one better equipped to handle this situation.   Now, please sit for a moment so I can attend to your wounds.”

          The doctor was quick and thorough in his examination.  His hands were gentle as he swabbed her cut and he spent a good amount of time cleaning the residue of the mark off her forehead.

          “Sally, my dear, I hope you are not too attached to that jacket.  I am going to have Albrecht burn it.  That substance that Douglas used to make the mark has metaphysical properties and I am not positive that a simple wash will remove it all.  Better safe than sorry in these cases.  I am going to ask Kevin for his assistance in making sure there are no residual influences on you once they get back.”

          Sally took off her jacket and handed it to Albrecht, who had just come in to join them.  He gave both women a brief embrace in comfort.

          “How are you two holding up?”

          Sally replied, “I’m good, just still getting used to being zapped around in the blink of an eye.”

          Albrecht gave her a knowing grin and said, “Yes… but it’s a bit fun isn’t it?”

          He looked at Liz and said, “And how are you Liz?  I want to reassure you that Henry and Drew will be back soon.  I know you are worried but please try to stay calm.  I’m sure we’ll know something soon enough.”

          Just as Albrecht was saying that they all felt Brad’s mind in theirs:  Guys, I’m sorry but we need Liz back here with us pronto. 

          Brad scanned them to make sure it was safe first and brought them all back into the link.  They appeared in the Construct of the conference room wearing full assault gear.

          The doctor recognized Istariel from his distinct mental and spiritual presence from the time he was imprisoned in the Amulet.  He had never seen him in human form.  Albrecht thought he looked familiar but couldn’t place him. 

          Brad said, “Sally, Liz, meet our cousin Istariel.  He’s helped us in the past and he followed Drew to keep him safe.”  Brad showed the doctor what Bill had put together of Doug taking Drew and what transpired in the woods.  The doctor was livid over what he saw of Doug’s continued abuse of Drew but he kept his outward demeanor calm for Liz’s sake. 

          He also shared the information with Sally and told her:  I’m sorry to show you this, hun.  I’m not sharing this with Liz.  Henry has seen it.  I want you to know what’s going on so you can help Liz.  I also want you to see more of what we’re up against.  I’m not doing this to be hurtful, but there’s so much about what we deal with that you don’t know.  I don’t want you making decisions to join our fight when you don’t know what our enemies are capable of. 

          Sally blanched at what she saw but she covered well.  Brad had to dampen her emotional response in the link so Liz wouldn’t feel it.  She quickly got herself under control and thought:  I get it; or I’m starting too.  We can talk later but now we need to focus on Drew and what’s happening.

          Brad felt her steel herself and he gave her the equivalent of a quick mental hug.  Her thoughts were spinning a little at everything she was taking in but she also felt good that Brad shared what he did with her.  They weren’t treating her like a fragile doll and she felt like she was a part of their team and contributing.

          Istariel nodded to Liz and said, “Greetings Liz Hastings.”

          Henry moved over and put his arm around Liz and held her against him and said, “Liz we need your help.  The men who have Drew have a claim on him because of Doug.”

          Ken quickly explained the situation and Liz’s eyes got wide and started watering as she heard everything.  She was trembling but holding herself together with Henry’s support and the support of everyone around her. 

          She couldn’t help her anger and hatred towards Doug when she realized what he had done.  Her voice was cold and hard as she said, “Kill that bastard Henry.  Doug has hurt us long enough and he has to be stopped.  He won’t ever hurt my baby again!”

          Brad’s eyes softened and he said, “That’s probably going to happen Liz, but think about you’re asking Henry to do.”

          That was like a glass of cold water hitting her in the face.  Brad’s Compassion for both Liz and Henry was palpable and Liz was completely conflicted.  She loved Drew and she loved Henry… she wanted Drew back safe but she realized that Henry wasn’t a killer and never had been; all the time he had been forced to do horrible deeds for the Enemy he was trapped in his own mind and he had to watch himself perform atrocities that ate at his soul. But right now her hatred of Doug was driving her.

          Henry’s voice was shaking too, “I’ll do whatever I have to do Liz.  I’ll get Drew back no matter what it does to me.”

          Ken was furious and his anger, along with everyone else’s, was coursing through the link.  He was angry at the situation the Eschphene had created to put his friends in this kind of dangerous position.  But from what Istariel said having Henry fight Doug to become his Guardian by Eschphene Law was the only way they could get Drew out safely before they did whatever it was they were going to do to him.

          Ken took a deep breath and said, “We don’t know what they’ve done to change Doug, Henry.  Those tattoos all over his body are the reason you didn’t see him.   We can see him now so he must have some sort of control over them.  It won’t be as easy as you think.”

          Henry looked at him and said, “I know.  But I’ve trained some with you guys and with Albrecht.  I’m sure I can take him if it’s one on one.  I know he won’t try and fight fair, but I’ve learned a lot, and I remember a lot of what I was trained to do by the Enemy.  As much as I don’t like remembering those days they trained me well.”

          Ken said, “OK then.  Istariel tell Liz what she needs to say and let’s get this started.”

          Pat spoke up, “Ken I’ve been looking at the Eschphene while we’re talking here.  Their magic is working against our Nephelem Heritage but it’s barely scratching our Avatar’s.  We know from the doctor that our Avatars seem to operate outside the normal bounds of Nephelem magic.  They don’t have a clue about that other part of us.”

          As soon as Pat said those words the doctor was struck with an epiphany and he quietly said, “That makes much sense.  They will not realize that is the case so you must use it to your advantage.  That is how we are able to be here in your Construct Bradford without their knowledge.  You rarely think of your Nephelem abilities as separate from your Avatar’s but they are.  This will give you a tremendous advantage.”

          Istariel spoke up, “Yes it will.  It is more apparent than ever that you need to be Free and Unfettered as you are  Your fates are all intertwined with that of the Master and Drew and you must be able to do what is necessary.  If he is in fact the Master’s brother we must not allow the Eschphene to take him.  Their goals are not ours and they certainly do not care for the boy; he is but a means to an end for them.”

          His words were true but harsh and not comforting at all to Henry and Liz or anyone else. 

          As soon as they all came out of the Construct Darren reached out and teleported Liz out of the Lab.  He targeted an area he could see about a hundred feet away in the trees.  With Pat’s Avatar he was sure that none of the Eschphene would see her appear; the angles and number of trees in between covered her.

          She took a deep breath to steady herself; she was still linked with everyone and felt their support but she was physically alone.  She made her way towards the area where she knew Drew was being held.

          As soon as she saw him floating in the air like a rag doll, as if he were suspended by some wire her breath caught in her chest and fresh tears filled her eyes; tears of fear and anger.  She saw Doug standing like a zombie a short distance from Drew and she wanted to run over and kick him in the balls and claw his eyes out herself.

          Once one of the Eschphene saw her they moved to intercept her immediately.  They had no clue who she was and the man told her, “You can’t be here this is a restricted area.”

          “Like hell I can’t.  I’m Drew’s mother and I claim the right of an Intercedent.  She held up her ring and said, my new husband and I contest Doug’s claim over him.”

          The man escorted Liz into the clearing and took her up to the leader.   He glared at her and it was obvious he was furious at her interference but by his own Laws he had to allow her claim.  He glanced over at Istariel and said, “I don’t know how but you did this.  When this is over you will pay heavily for sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong Nephelem.”

          Istariel met his gaze evenly and replied, “You’re threats against me are idle.  My fate is intertwined with that of the boy.  I realize that now.  And you know who my father is, if you wish to risk his ire by killing me be my guest.”

          The leader harrumphed and turned back to Liz, “Who do you name as the Intercedent?”

Liz pointed to Henry and said, “Henry Ross.  I renounce Doug Hastings and any claim he has on me or my son.”

          The leader’s face was like a thundercloud, “You have no idea what you are doing woman.  You would truly risk the fate of your world over the life of a boy?”

          It was Liz’s turn to get angry and her face hardened.  Any fear she was feeling vanished and was replaced by anger at whoever this being was that was treating the life of her son so impartially.  She shouted, “He’s my son!  And you aren’t going to touch a hair on his head if I have anything to say about it!”

          Eschphene magic was new to them and it was different from anything they had encountered before, but it still operated under its own Laws which were a part of Creation.  Patrick’s Avatar meant ‘to Understand’ and as he was observing everything his Avatar was giving him a better and better understanding of all the enchantments around him. 

          He saw and Understood that Spirits of the Eschphene were occupying the men in the clearing.  He saw the ring of stones around Drew and the dome of energy covering him.  His Avatar was mostly a passive one; he could consciously control it when he needed too but it operated at all times.  When he was with Ken, Bryan, Kevin, and Rick their Avatar’s always seemed to synchronize themselves.  All of them were aware of it, especially now, and the information was feeding into all of them.

          Brad’s Avatar was Intellect, Wisdom, and Compassion, and Intuition.  His powerful mind was absorbing all the information that Pat and the others were feeding into the link.  Kevin was synchronizing their Avatar’s with his and suppressing their Aura’s so the Eschphene had no idea their Avatar’s were working to full effect.

          Brad had a bad feeling as he was observing everything; he was using his Avatar as a lens and he didn’t like what he was seeing.  The Eschphene leader was desperate to accomplish his goal.  They still didn’t understand what those goals were but he recognized the glimmer of fanaticism in the man’s eyes and Brad felt it in his gut that even as legalistic as Istariel said the Eschpene were, he knew the being in front of him was feeling desperate enough to break, or severely bend, his own Laws to succeed.

          As soon as that thought occurred to Brad Doug fell to the ground unconscious.

          “It appears that Doug Hastings is unable to fulfill his role.  As the leader, by our Laws, it is my right to choose a replacement since he is not able to continue. I chose… myself!”

          Ken:  B knock Henry out.  I hate doing it this way but I’m not letting him fight that guy.

          Brad did it gently and Henry never felt a thing, he simple started to fall and Bryan caught him and lowered him to the ground.  Brad had a secondary link going with only the Team and they heard Ken’s thought.  There was relief among all of them; none of them wanted Henry to have to fight Doug.  Aside from the unknowns of how Doug might have been enhanced in some way, they didn’t want Henry to have to kill anyone after all he had been through.  His Soul was finally beginning to heal and he was starting a new phase of his life.  If Ken could help it he didn’t want Henry starting the next part of his life with Liz and Drew with the death of another man on his conscience; even a man as despicable as Doug.

          Brad:  Liz, Henry is fine.  I knocked him out.  Something isn’t right here and we don’t want Henry fighting this guy instead of Doug.  He’s going to be pissed at us when he wakes up, but I hope you can help him understand.  I hope you do too.

          Liz was surprised at the relief she felt when she heard Brad’s words in her mind.  Once she saw past her anger towards Doug, she realized she was afraid for Henry.  She knew they were doing their best to protect Drew, Henry, and her.  Just get my baby back safe.  They felt her gratitude for what they were doing.

          Ken said, “It appears that Henry isn’t going to able to fulfill his obligation either.  As the leader of our group I get to designate a replacement as well.”

          The Eschphene leaders face was like a thundercloud.  He was already walking on thin ice as far as bending the Laws of this engagement.  Even though Ken and the others knew little of the details they could see the various reactions of his followers; more than a few of them looked uncomfortable when Doug fell over.  Brad had a feeling that as legalistic as these beings were that what he did was close to blasphemy.

          “Who will face me Nelphelem?”

          Ken stepped forward; he stood tall and radiated an air of confidence that they all felt through the link.  He projected his deep voice so everyone would hear, “I will.”

          “You are foolish Nephelem.  I don’t know what trick you pulled but your powers will not work here.  Are you so anxious to lay down your life for the boy?”

          “I’m prepared to do what I need to do to protect him.  He’s leaving here with us.”

          “Brave words Nephelem.  Prepare yourself.  Prepare to die.”

          The leader of the Eschphene turned his back on Ken and moved over to the opposite side of the small clearing they were in.  His followers gathered around him in a circle and began chanting in a strange language.

          He stripped off his clothing until he was standing in his underwear.  The man whose body he inhabited was in poor shape for his age and profession.  A few of his followers pulled out small tins just like the one that Doug had on the train, filled with a brown paste.  They dipped their fingers in the dark brown substance and began tracing symbols all over his body.

          The Eschphene leader didn’t care anything for the body he inhabited; it was merely a vessel for his Essence.  He felt the pain that the marks caused; the flesh of the body he occupied burned as the Sigils were traced.  He used the pain as a focus and the Power began to build in him.  The symbols started glowing as they blistered his skin and the blood was immediately absorbed into the Magic.

          His body began to transform as it took on his true form from Beyond the Pale.  The skin of his body darkened until it was almost jet black and it thickened with heavy muscle.  Small protrusions of bone broke through the skin along his spine and at his joints and off his shoulders.  His eyes turned as black as his skin and his features flattened until the nose was practically gone, leaving two small wet slits as nostrils to breathe from.  His mouth was nothing more than a thin lipless slit.  His head was almost boxlike in shape and what features he had were blunt.

          Ken and the others watched in shock at the horrid transformation they witnessed.  They were angered and saddened by what they saw; the construction worker’s body was gone and they prayed that he didn’t feel any of what just happened to him.

          The creature that now stood before them that Ken would have to fight was at least seven feet tall and massively muscled.  Its black skin was shiny as it was stretched over corded muscles; even the slightest movement caused its skin to flex or twitch, showing all the striations of muscle underneath.  Its hands were large with thick fingers tipped with what looked like sharpened bone and its body was completely smooth and hairless.

          It looked at Ken as it flexed his body, causing a massive swelling and the underwear that the construction worker had been wearing ripped and shredded apart revealing a massive black penis and scrotum.  There were no telling how many testicles were inside the sack; it was full and lumpy and there were obviously far more than two.

          His human followers started wrapping his body around the waist with what looked like a dark brown cloth, covering his huge member and sack.   The wrappings were tight, leaving little to the imagination, but seemed completely flexible and unrestricting.

          From deep inside his chest came a sound like crushing rocks as he started to intone another incantation.  All of his followers joined their voices with his deep rumbling bass; he held out a hand palm up and a small vortex of what looked like smoke formed over the outstretched palm and a stone appeared in its hand, slightly larger than a human fist; it was dark from what looked like dried blood.

          Patrick’s Avatar went haywire when the stone appeared.  The connection between the Stone and Drew was as strong and powerful as anything he had ever seen.  He had no idea what that connection was other than it was strong; stronger even than the connection he saw between Bill and the skull when the Enemy tried to eliminate Bill at the time of his Avatar’s Awakening.  Brad thought it first, not in words but his gut feeling was that everything Istariel told them about Drew was probably correct and somehow that stone was the Eschphene’s way of proving it.   If Bill could touch it they would know for certain.

          All of the men watched this; Pat’s Avatar was in full effect giving them an Understanding of everything they were witness too.  They were stunned and horrified at how the construction worker was killed, his body broken and transformed into what they now saw.   His Soul was absorbed along with all the blood in his body into whatever happened, empowering the process.  The atrocity of that was painful for them to see and it caused a deep thread of sadness to run through all of them.  The construction worker’s existence was snuffed out; there was nothing for Uriel to convey to the next phase of the man’s existence. 

          None of them had ever seen anything like what just happened; it was like a scene out of a science fiction horror movie but it was real.  Ken knew that the transformation he witnessed was planned as an intimidation factor and was designed to induce fear.

          The muscular and skeletal system of the creature’s body was incredible… it had underlying pieces of bone that could protrude at will… basically it had spikes over various places on its body that could shoot out at any time to puncture an opponent.  Pat could see how strong it was; it was slightly stronger than Ken but not as fast or as agile and dexterous.  Its body was larger and it would have the advantage of reach.  The one thing he couldn’t determine was how skilled a fighter the Escphene leader was; they knew nothing about the Eschphene culture or way of life and if they were a normally peaceful people or trained fighters.  If Bill could touch him, all their questions could be answered.

          Ken’s face was a stone mask, not giving anything away.  There was nervousness and a little fear going through the Link.  Everyone was concerned for him and what he was going to face, but at the same time all his brothers were with him and he felt their confidence in him.  His Avatar was in full effect and being magnified by Bryan, Pat, Rick, and Kevin; Confidence, Conviction Strength of Body and Will, Bravery, Leadership, even Justice were exuding from him and into the link. 

          They were all calm on the outside, not letting any of their opponents see a reaction.  Brad took them all very deep for the briefest of seconds so each man could hold onto Ken and give him their support and encouragement.  Every one of them had something to offer him; through their training and their Avatars they all saw things and would see more once the fight started.  Ken was the focal point of their knowledge and he took everything they offered gratefully and humbly.  Along with everything they offered he had his own formidable knowledge and experience.  All his training, physical and mental, prepared him for this.  Ken was very humble about his skills and abilities, but every time Bryan or Pat or Kevin or Rick stepped into the sparring ring with him they knew how good he was, and he never once lorded it over any of them. 

          I want you with me Brad.  Stay in me.  Just like when we travelled across the Veil that first time together and you said I had no idea how strong you were when I was with you.  Well it’s the same with me; I’ll be much stronger with you inside me.  I want the rest of you yahoos with me too.  Ten, five, one… I’ll be the Body for all of us. None of you interfere though, and I won’t draw from you.  This is between me and him.  We have to follow the rules.

          Ken felt a small surge of power from Darren and he smiled; Darren was holding his favorite workout shorts.  Ken stripped off his shirt and changed out of his cargo shorts.  Thanks Dar… I wouldn’t want to give you ladies a show by splitting my shorts open in the middle of the fight.

          Ken moved over to Istariel and the two men guarding him glared.  He ignored them and asked, “Any advice?”

          “Give no quarter Ken Habbersham for he will give you none.  Do not hold back.”

          Ken nodded and moved over to stand in the small clearing, waiting on his opponent.

          Brad sent him one private thought:  I’m with you Ken.  Remember together we’re unstoppable.

          Ken’s breathing was steady and even.   Ken opened up all his energy centers and he relaxed and warmed up his muscles; he sent oxygen into his system and the others could visibly see his body swell.  Veins began showing on his arms, up his biceps and across his shoulders and chest as his muscles pumped up.

          The leader of the Eschphene moved over and stopped about ten feet from Ken.  Their eyes met, glossy black and emerald green.  Ken slowed his perception of time down; he was patient and would wait for his opponent to make the first move.  To the normal eye the Eschphene leader moved blindingly fast but to Ken he was moving in slow motion.  He easily dodged the flurry of attacks and he blocked others; he saw the trajectory and velocity and strength behind his enemy’s movements and he knew just how much pressure to apply to maximize and conserve his own strength as he blocked, dodged, or parried the attacks.

          Minutes rolled by as Ken stayed on the defensive; watching his opponent and learning how he moved and looking for any sign of weakness.  He had a few small lacerations on his arms and legs from the bone protrusions as he blocked blows, but he dodged more blows than he blocked.   Blocking the blows hurt; the creature’s body was hard as rock and Ken felt the impact down to his bones every time their bodies clashed.

          By now Ken was sweating; he wasn’t winded but he was fully warmed up.  His brothers were used to seeing him spar with them but none of them could ever push him like he was being pushed now.  Now he was utilizing every ounce of his skill, strength, dexterity, and agility.  His body was a weapon and they were in awe of him.  The grace and beauty he exhibited was so far beyond human.  Bryan, Kevin, Rick, and Pat were exceptional too and far above normal humans but Ken was beyond them.  He embodied his Avatar in a way they had never seen before.

          All that time ago, when Ken, Brad, Bryan, and Lane sat around their kitchen table after their first major Awakening, Ken had made the comment that his body was only getting stronger while all of them were becoming truly powerful.  Bryan, always smarter than most people realized, saw something else in Ken even then and had told him he had gotten stronger in ways he didn’t realize yet.  He saw it in his own insightful way and he was right.

          The fight stretched on in minutes and Ken started looking for more opportunities to go on the offensive.  He started landing blows, but none of them had any major effect.  Ken had to figure out a different strategy or he would eventually tire himself out.  He saw an opening and took a risk and leapt on the Eschphene’s back, wrapping his powerful legs around his opponent’s waist and his arms around his neck.  His body strained with the effort as he squeezed with all his strength, trying to inflict pain and push the air out of his opponent and restrict his oxygen intake at the same time.

          He had positioned himself perfectly so none of the spikes in the creature’s shoulders could puncture him.  A few of the smaller spikes were digging into his flesh and making him bleed and it was painful but he blocked the pain and continued squeezing;  his body was like corded steel as he used every ounce of strength in his effort.

          His tactic didn’t seem to be working.  He didn’t know the physiology of his opponent but apparently the Eschphene didn’t need as much oxygen as a human; the smaller nostrils should have been a clue and he berated himself for not realizing that.  He was just making his opponent angry which was still good but it wasn’t his intent.

          Ken was caught off guard when the Eschphene did something completely unexpected; it put one of its massive fists against its own stomach and a bone spike shot out through its own body and impaled Ken in his stomach.  The pain was excruciating, and it caused his grip to slip.  The Eschphene grabbed ahold of him and slammed him down into the ground stunning him.  He saw the fist coming but couldn’t’ avoid it as it slammed down into his chest.  He was able to tense himself to absorb as much of the blow as possible and minimize the damage, but it still hurt.

          The only other time in his adult life he had been struck like that was by the creature that nearly killed him when he and Brad were first Awakening; the creature of thought and malice that did destroy his mind inside a Construct of the river from Brad’s childhood memory.

          Ken tried to roll out from under his opponent but the creature grabbed ahold of one of his legs and swung Ken’s body like a club and threw him towards a large nearby tree.  Impossibly, Ken twisted his body in the air, fighting off the pain, and he managed to grab the tree and swing himself around, using his momentum to launch his body like a missile and both his feet hit the creature square in the chest sending it flying back.  He could tell the impact stunned the Eshphene.

          Both of them were slow to get up, but Ken was hurt far more than his opponent.  More than anything the Eschphene was even angrier than before; he had never had an opponent last this long against him! 

          Ken glanced down and was relieved to see that his intestines weren’t spilling out of his stomach.  While extremely painful, the bone spike only went in about an inch.  The spine wasn’t long enough to reach through the creature’s body and do any significant damage; but the injury accomplished its purpose and caught Ken by surprise, and he took a wound that would slow him down.

          Ken watched as the wound in the creature’s stomach closed over.  His handsome face scowled slightly in annoyance.   Both of them were drenched in sweat and breathing heavily now, and Ken had quite a lot of blood over his body from his stomach wound and all the abrasions he had received from the various small protrusions on his enemy’s body.

          Unbeknownst to anyone, Michael was watching the fight intently.  He knew that Ken’s Avatar would make him equal to his opponent even if Ken wasn’t aware of it.  Ken would have to find whatever he needed inside himself to overcome his opponent above and beyond the equality his Avatar bestowed upon him.  He knew that Ken was at a disadvantage going into the fight because Michael and all his brethren had removed the knowledge from Brad when he had his epiphany about their Avatars.  That knowledge would save Ken now and Michael felt responsible for what was happening to his grandson, but he also felt confident that they made the right decision; unless, of course, it cost his Ken his life.

          Ken felt Brad’s anxiety at the wound, and the shock and worry of everyone else in the link.  They had been quietly supporting him, not sending direct thoughts and masking any negative emotions so they wouldn’t distract him.

          Ken felt their worry, and of course it touched him.  Bryan was so angry he was almost shaking; he wanted to charge the Eschphene like a rhino and knock him on his ass.  All of Ken’s energy centers were open; he and Brad had made love earlier in the day, and his Mind was still strong.  He breathed in the essence of his lover, the other half of his Soul, and let it refresh him.  He felt renewed strength flow into him and just like the Eschphene all of Ken’s wounds closed up.

          Ken was an honorable opponent, and even though all his brothers were with him he didn’t draw from their strength.  This was a duel between the two opponents, so he drew the strength to heal himself from his own body.  Brad’s presence gave him strength just by being with him, and that would have to be enough.

          The two of them had been fighting for nearly an hour and Ken was beginning to feel the effects, especially after healing himself.  He knew he needed to go back on the defensive to give himself some recovery time.  He started playing cat and mouse trying to build on his opponent’s anger.  The Eschphene was already showing signs of losing control, and Ken wanted to push him over the top so he would tire himself out.

          His plan worked too well.  Ken dodged blow after blow, and taunted his opponent verbally.  Just like that time with Dr. Cromwell when Ken had been kidnapped, he had a knack for being able to piss his opponents off.  He could sense the anger building in the Eschphene; his movements were becoming wilder and more erratic, but he was so strong Ken had to be careful to let none of those blows land.

          Ken lost track of time; his Body was in perfect motion, and he danced and dodged around his opponent.  He had caught his breath again and he felt his own strength returning.  Finally the Eschphene leader went completely ballistic and let out a bellow of rage and did something totally unexpected.  When he missed Ken yet again, he overbalanced himself and fell forward on one knee right beside one of his human followers.  He grabbed the man with both large hands and ripped his body in half, covering himself in blood.  The blood soaked into his body giving him renewed strength and speed.  Seeing into both realms they saw the soul of human host get absorbed as well. 

          They were all shocked, even the other Eschphene.  Apparently that was outside the normal bounds of the Laws. 

          Another of his followers stepped forward and cried, “Hold!  Do you have such little regard for our ways?!”

          The Eschphene leader held out his hand towards the one follower that dared to speak against him, and the man’s body exploded.   Ken saw through Pat’s Avatar that there was some type of connection between the Eschphene… they had assumed it was like their own Link but apparently it ran deeper than that. 

          The leader threw his head back and howled his rage, shaking the trees around them all.  Out of its mouth came a dark grey ribbon of smoke; it looked vaporous but it impaled all the other Eschphene like a spear, lifting their bodies and bringing them all in within arm’s reach.  He swung his massive fists around decapitating most or simply crushing the others.  All of the blood and the Souls of the men were absorbed into him fueling his magic.  His body swelled and enlarged slightly as all the power soaked into him.

          He moved so fast Ken barely saw him; he tried to slow his perception of time down so he could formulate a plan but the creature was on him as fast as his thought occurred.  It grabbed him into a bear hug, its fists against Ken’s lower back and started squeezing trying to break his body in half.  Ken screamed in agony, tightening every muscle in his body to its utmost.   The breath was being squeezed out of him, his arms were pinned, and he was defenseless as his body was being crushed.  Bone protrusions dug into Ken all over the front side of his body that was being squeezed against his opponent.

          Brad and the others knew Ken was dead after what they just witnessed.  They were stunned and struck so severely by what they were seeing they couldn’t react. 

          Ken screamed in agony but his voice turned from pain to rage.  Beyond any hope they had Ken was holding on; somehow he was finding the strength to keep himself from being crushed to death.  His Avatar was glowing as brightly as they had ever seen.  Brad’s subconscious was starting to put the same thoughts, make the same connections, as in the cave when he had his epiphany about their Avatars and how they worked.

          While Michael was watching his Grandson, helpless to intervene, Raphael appeared by his side, and in the blink of an eye so did Uriel and Gabriel.  They slipped out of Time just as the first vertebrae in Ken’s lower back started to crack.

          Raphael said, “Brad is drawing the same conclusion as before.  We cannot interfere again.  I am beginning to have my doubts that we should have the first time.”

          Michael’s face was grim, and he said, “Our interference will not matter if Ken dies now.  The Pattern will be Broken.  None of us foresaw this outcome.  Their futures are too difficult to predict being unbound as they are.”

          They all put a hand of comfort on Michael’s heavy shoulders in sympathy. 

          Raphael said, “I’m so sorry brother.  I know you have come to care for Ken deeply.”

          They all slipped back into Time, knowing full well that if nothing changed in the next few seconds Ken was doomed.  If he had the knowledge of the secrets of their Avatar’s beforehand he would have handled the fight completely differently; they had handicapped him by withholding knowledge from all of the men. 

          Raphael had the thought: We should have followed the lead of Aaron Thomas.  His wisdom in letting them grow on their own and not interfering in their learning and development was correct.  Our interference and lack of trust in them will be all our undoing.

          Istariel stood watching the fight, not believing what he was witness to.  His captors were dead at the hand of the Eschphene leader.   He was stunned as he watched, knowing that if Ken died all the plans of the Higher Order would come to Ruin.

          Whatever plans the Eschphene had for Drew would come to pass and he felt that he would never see the boy again.  The stone that the leader summoned had fallen to the ground not far away where the man who held it had died.  Steam rose from the stone where the fresh blood spilled on it.   Istariel had an idea of what it was and his heart ran cold.  He had no idea how they could have acquired the stone, but if they managed it, he understood how they could discover that the boy was truly the Master’s brother.

          He felt lost and desperate… he had become so attached to these humans as he helped them on their path to become what they now were.  He and his own brothers had serious doubts along the way but Brad Wilson and Ken Habbersham, and the rest of them, had proven themselves to be worthy of the power they would achieve… and now it seemed as though that would be ripped away before they reached their full potential. 

          He leaned down and picked up the stone and he felt the weight of it in his hand.  If it was in fact the stone the Master used to crush his brothers skull, then the Curse of Mankind all started with this rock; such a small thing in the grand scheme of Creation and the history of mankind. 

          He realized, now more than ever, that small acts have always controlled the destiny of Man, good and bad.  Nearly two thousand years ago Istariel’s own Heavenly father called the Veil into existence to separate the Physical and Spiritual Realms.  Most magic stopped working in the world that day, making people rely on faith. 

          Faith was something Istariel was not, as Brad Wilson so aptly phrased it, ‘wired for.’  But in his dealings with his hybrid cousins he had grown and stretched in many unexpected ways.  Before knowing them he had no need of faith, but he learned what it meant though his interactions with these men.

          Istariel fell to his knees and did something he rarely ever did; he prayed.  Prayer for a Nephelem is different than for humans.  Humans are rarely ever still enough inside themselves to hear a response; and all the emotional filters and prejudices they hold, the internal brokenness they exist in, twists whatever they might hear into an answer they want to hear rather than what message is sent.

          Istariel lowered his head and sent his thoughts out to the Heavens, “Father?  Is there nothing to be done?  This seems… wrong!  Help Ken Habbersham!  Please!”

          Istariel was shocked at the feeling that came over him.  His father rarely ever answered him; in fact he had only done so on two other occasions in his long existence, but he recognized the answer as soon as he heard it in his heart.  He suddenly knew, beyond any doubt, that the Eschphene leader was acting alone; he was a rebel among his people and he was working with the Dark One.  In discarding his own Laws he broke the sacred bindings of the Intercedent.  Brad Wilson and the others were now free to act with no repercussions towards the boy.

          Ken was in more pain than he could ever remember.  Shards of bone from the Eschphene’s body were digging into his flesh, tearing at his muscles.  He could feel his back starting to break.

          No matter what was happening to him he held the thought to Brad and his Brothers:  Don’t interfere! 

          The runes that made up Ken’s Avatar were the most complex of all of them.  Many of the Virtues that were a part of him were obvious; Strength, Leadership, Conviction, and Will.  But Justice and Order were also there and just as powerful.  Order meant following Laws and he felt bound to this solo combat for Drew’s sake.  Even though he asked Brad and his Brothers to be with him, he didn’t pull any power from them.  He did draw strength from Brad’s presence but that was not the same thing.

          Brad was in his Mind the entire time and knew him better than anyone.  His heart was breaking over what he was watching Ken endure; he was sharing everything in the fight, all the pain.  Right now there were two things that Ken was fighting for; his Life which meant Brad’s life, because they couldn’t live without each other anymore, and Drew’s life.  Brad delved deep inside of Ken and immersed him in their relationship, their unending love for one another.  He filled Ken up with what they had, hoping it would give him strength.  He pulled up every image and emotion of Drew from the first time they met him in the Mall food court to now.  He knew what would drive Ken the hardest to fight back, and he gave his lover what he needed.

          Ken felt this and grabbed onto it.  That was when his Avatar flared so brightly, and that moment was when Brad’s Mind started reconnecting the pieces of the puzzle about their Avatar’s and how they worked.

          Before Brad could run with his thoughts any further, Istariel’s voice came loud and strong into his their Link:  Cousins!  The Eschphene Magic is broken!  The Leader Ken Habbersham faces has broken the Laws of the Intercedent!  You are free to intervene with no repercussions to the boy! 

          Ken heard Istariel’s words.   There was a crack of thunder so loud his ear drums hurt as Lane, Darren, and Bill all reached out into the Heavens and pulled down the first thing they heard.  Lane was synchronizing their Avatars and it made a perfect Chord that resounded inside all of them, filling them with Power. 

          At the same time Loy had the other four Mentalists synchronized and he sent out a call to the animal Spirits; the Power came slower, but he could already feel it starting to build.

          A ghostly image of the Tree formed immediately as Bryan, backed by Kevin, Rick, and Patrick started pulling from every living thing in Creation. 

          Ken felt the strength flowing into him and it gave him what he needed to start fighting back, but he was hurt badly.  Lane could see the damage to his body; and he knew it would be harsh, but he wove large heavy powerful ropes of healing energy and thrust them into Ken.

          His Body reacted violently but it also inadvertently broke the grip the Eschphene had on him and his body dropped to the ground.  His wounds healed over immediately with the strength of the healing flows Lane sent into him, but it shocked his system from the sudden influx of power.  All the minute fractures throughout his body were gone, and the lacerations healed over with no scarring. He felt invigorated; which was a good thing because he was able to catch the foot that was descending rapidly onto his stomach.  The muscles in his arms and shoulders bunched and flexed; every striation and fiber in his thick arms were visible as he caught the foot and stopped its momentum.  His face darkened with the effort but he braced himself and literally threw the Eschphene back into the air and he landed about ten feet away; face to face with Istariel, who was holding the stone. 

          His black eyes glanced at the stone and squinted briefly.  Before Istariel could move, even with his own inhuman grace and speed, the Eschphene’s huge hand swatted him like a hammer.  The stone fell out of his grasp and his body flew back in the air.  Before he struck a tree that probably would have shattered his human form he vanished back across the Veil.

          In the few seconds it took for Ken to catch his breath and flip up onto his feet, as the others were calling on all the Powers at their command to strengthen and protect Ken and themselves, the Eschphene leader had the stone in the palm of his hand.  He squeezed the stone with all his strength and black power started oozing out of it and into his body.

          The Eschphene, instead of attacking Ken, moved over to Drew.  Henry was still unconscious and Liz was on the ground holding his head in her lap. Her face was red and puffy from all the tears she shed as she watched Ken nearly die.  Liz and Henry were only a few feet from the ring of stones around Drew and he was still hovering in the air unconscious.

          A dome appeared over the Eschphene leader, Liz, Henry, and Drew.

          He glared at Ken and the others and his voice sounded like grating rocks as he said, “You cannot enter the circle Nephelem!  The boy is mine to test, and if he proves to be the one I seek I will take him beyond your reach forever!”

          Ken rushed forward and the dome felt solid; he slammed his fists into it to test it and it didn’t give in the slightest.

          B!  You’re gonna’ have to figure out a way to break through this thing!  Just get me inside and I’ll finish him!

          Brad coordinated all their efforts; Kevin synchronized their Avatar’s to dampen as much of the magic of the dome as possible to make it weaker in one spot, just like they did to break through the barrier that Trenton Ashmoore had put up over Sydney to prevent Pat and Darren from communicating or leaving Australia.

          Bryan synchronized their efforts with the Tree and its branches started taking on a solid appearance and roots began moving and growing around the base of the dome surrounding it.

          Lane synchronized their efforts to Listen and draw as much power as possible from the Heavens.

          Loy synchronized their efforts with the animals and animal spirits all over the planet; swirling ghostly forms swam around the men and the dome feeding them strength.

          Pat synchronized their Understanding of how each effort affected the dome and in what combination Brad tried as he threw bolt after bolt of white power against it, trying to break through.  He saw clearly that their efforts were not enough.  They certainly had an effect but the dome was stronger than their combined efforts. 

          The black power of the stone, coupled with all the Souls of the human hosts the Eschphene leader had absorbed was stronger than their combined efforts.

          The Eschphene leader moved over to Drew and looked down on him as he hovered, slowly spinning in a circle.  He took the stone in his hand and reached over, holding it out and over Drew’s limp form.

          Liz threw herself against him in a futile attempt to protect her child and shouted, “Get away from him you monster!”

          She was fortunate that he didn’t kill her outright, but he considered her so inconsequential he merely shrugged his body and she went flying back against the dome.  It didn’t knock her out, but it stunned her.

          The leader had an intent look on his face. He had been waiting so long - century upon century - for this opportunity, obsessed with breaking the cycle of death wrapped around the Master.  He realized his actions were those of a crazed fanatic but he didn’t care; if he brought his people back to the forefront of their rightful position in Creation his actions would be forgiven.

          Holding his breath in anticipation he opened his fist and the stone started to fall; and it stopped and hovered over Drew’s chest.  It hovered there for a brief second and then it started to orbit his body, slowly at first but gaining in speed.  Red flashes the color of blood started sparking off the stone.

          The exhilaration the Eschphene leader felt when he saw the stone’s reaction to Drew was overwhelming.  The boy was the one he sought!

          Drew’s small body started to twitch slightly.  In his subconscious mind, memories of pain and blood started filling his young mind as he started reliving his first death at the hands of his brother.

          Brad’s mind was on overdrive.  He had to figure out a way to generate more power!  They weren’t even close to breaking through, and all of them were pushing themselves as hard as they could. Ken’s Avatar filled them with strength of Will to push themselves to their limits.  Brad realized from looking at the dome through Pat’s Avatar that if the dome were simply Eschphene magic they would have broken through by now, but the power of the stone that the leader somehow harnessed coupled with all the human souls he consumed magnified his own powers greatly.

          All of the men felt a slight brush on their minds; it was a comforting familiar presence as Istariel, now in his natural form, appeared close to them.  He added his strength to theirs but it was still not enough.  Istariel’s desperation was evident as he watched the stone’s reaction to Drew.

          When Istariel appeared, Brad and the others felt his presence; the slight feeling of a gentle breeze that touched their Minds.  But this time he was deeply merged with Pat when Istariel and the others appeared.  He knew what it was they felt; when they crossed the Veil it was like briefly lifting aside a curtain and passing through.  It wasn’t like Darren’s teleportation.  In that briefest of time, almost too short to even be measured, an opening existed between the two Realms.

          Brad had tried once to keep that curtain open longer and with Ken’s help he managed it but he now realized he went about it all wrong.

          Guys I have an idea; let me take the lead on this.

          Each couple was tightly merged or this wouldn’t work.  Brad synchronized their Avatars that came from him; his ability to cross the Veil.  When they had spent time in the Valley of the Tree their powers were much stronger because that place existed in both Realms, the Physical and the Spiritual.

          Brad slipped their Souls through and back quickly, before their physical bodies even had time to move.  He felt what he expected; they were all the tiniest bit stronger from even that brief microsecond.  Almost like a strobe effect he flitted their combined Souls back and forth faster and faster. They felt power flooding into them but it was going to take a short time for them to reach their full strength.

          Liz got up shakily, trying to shrug off the impact of hitting the dome.  She could see Drew twitching and he started to scream.  Instinctively she rushed to his side and she nearly fell over as she passed through the interior dome that covered her son.  She was inside the ring of rocks with the sigils, and now the outside world was hazy and unclear.

          The Eschphene leader knew it as soon as she crossed the threshold.  Because she was Drew’s mother and her right was not contested, she had the ability to cross through the area protected by the sigils.  Henry or Doug could not because they were involved directly as Intercendents.  She was the only one who could cross as the only one who currently had a Binding tie to the boy.

          He shouted at her and his rocky voice was even further distorted because of the barrier, “If you touch the stone or your son you will die!  You’re mortal body is too frail and the magic will consume you!”

          Liz heard his words but she also heard a hint of desperation; he didn’t want her to stop what was happening.  “Fuck you!  I don’t believe you but even if you’re telling the truth I’ll die before I let you hurt my baby anymore!”

          As soon as the stone made its orbit back around and above Drew’s chest she grabbed it with both her hands.  The stone exploded with red magic and she screamed.

          Brad was watching and pushing as fast as he could; they were all getting stronger and there were cracks in the barrier starting to show.  Roots of the Tree were starting to dig their way through the cracks and it was beginning to crumble even as Liz grabbed ahold of the stone.

          Liz had never felt anything so agonizing in her entire life; her body was vaporized in a flash, ripped apart by the Blood magic.

          Uriel saw his opportunity and took it.  It pained him, all of them, because they knew what he was doing.  Before Liz’s Soul was obliterated he snatched it out of Time.

          Before Liz could scream from the pain she appeared in front of the four Arch-Angels.  She didn’t know what was happening and was terrified.

          Uriel’s deep voice was calming as he said, “Do not be afraid Elizabeth Hastings.”  He had both of his hands outstretched to her with his palms up in a sign of peace.

          “Where am I!?  Where’s Drew!?” 

          “Your son is where you left him.”

          She looked Uriel right in the eye as the thought occurred to her… her voice quivered as she asked, “Am I dead?”

          Uriel’s eyes were filled with sympathy and compassion as he said quietly, “Yes you are.”

          Liz didn’t know what else to do but collapse on the ground in tears.  Raphael knelt beside her and put an arm around her sobbing shoulders.  “Liz… there is no easy way to tell you this.  What is happening to Drew will change him forever and there is no certainty that it will not break him completely.  The Eschphene leader is insane and he wishes to use Drew for his own ends to kill the Master.”

          “But he’s just a little boy.  He’s my baby… how can that man expect him to do these things?”

          “It is within his means to bring Drew to adulthood prematurely.  Again he has no feelings for your son and Drew, and even if he should accomplish their goals for them, will be changed and broken forever.”

          Liz had an idea of who these men were, she had heard Ken and Brad and the others talking about their ‘grandfathers.’

          “Can’t you stop him?”

          “As painful as it is to say Liz, no we can’t.  We are not allowed to interfere or we most assuredly would.  The act he is committing is reprehensible, and he has broken his own sacred Laws in fighting Ken and his insanity is driving him further down a dark path.  His arrogance was his undoing… he thought he was powerful enough to make a deal with the Dark One and come through unscathed.”

          Liz’s throat tightened to the point where she could barely talk. 

          Michael steeled himself for what he was about to say.  He never thought he would feel this way towards a mortal; he was the leader of the Infinite Host and long ago he had blocked the ability to feel for individuals, but after his encounter with Ken those parts of his Heart were open again after eons of being locked away.  He used to see them as a liability, and there were times like in this moment where he wasn’t sure the ache in his heart was worth it.  “You can save your son Liz, but not without a heavy price.”

          Gabriel felt he should be the one to deliver the message.  It was his Province to be the bearer of good and bad tidings to mortals and he wished to spare his brother Michael any further pain.

          “You have a choice Liz.  Uriel has your Soul in his keeping and is ready to take you Home.  You can go be with your loved ones and spend eternity in peace and contentment.  If you do this Drew’s fate is uncertain at best.  At the very least he will become something unrecognizable to you and that path will surely lead him to the Dark and he will not be allowed Home....”

          Liz choked when she heard his words.   Visions of what Drew would become filled her Mind and she felt a mother’s fear for her child.  She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

          “… or you can sacrifice yourself to save him.”

           Raphael intoned an age old saying, “A Soul freely given, a willing sacrifice, has a thousand fold power of one taken.”

          Gabriel continued, “If you are willing to give up your Soul to save your Son, Drew will be protected from the stone and it will break the barrier that prevents Ken and the others from getting to Henry and Drew.”

          “Will it save Drew?”

          “It will save him today… and allow Ken and the others a chance to discover a way to defeat the Master without turning Drew into a monster.  You would have to trust Henry and the others to love and care for Drew and make the world right again.”

          Two thoughts ran through Liz’s mind.  The first was how much she was looking forward to a life with Henry.  He loved her in a way that Doug was never able too.  He was a good man and he was hers and he was so good with Drew.  She had been amazed at how scared Henry was about being a father but he took to it so naturally and he was fantastic with Drew.  She trusted Henry to look after her son; and she knew that the doctor and the guys would all be there for her family. 

          The second thought was:  Will it hurt?

          Uriel’s presence surrounded her, wrapping her up in his Strength and Warmth and Love:  No Child it will not hurt.  I will be with you until the end and it will be peaceful.  You will simply go to sleep and never wake up.

          How could this be happening to her?  She was a single mom with a convicted felon for a husband.  Her life meant so little and she was insignificant.  It was unthinkable to her that such a decision would come to rest on her shoulders.

          Michael remembered Ken’s words in his own confrontation earlier in the year and said, “There are no little people Liz.  Everyone has a role to play and everyone has a choice.   We will think nothing less of you if you choose to go Home.”

          She didn’t say a word but they felt it inside her when she made her decision.  It had been nearly two thousand years since Raphael shed a tear, but his cheeks were wet at this heroic act of a mother to save her child. 

          Raphael sent the thought to Gabriel:  You will lead the choirs of Heaven in a Song for this woman.  Her sacrifice will be honored and all will know of her bravery.

          Brad’s heart lurched in his chest as he saw the blast of red magic.  As soon as Brad saw her body begin to vaporize he slowed down everyone’s perception of time.  They saw Liz’s body unravel like dust as the red magic washed over her.  Even as their anguish set in and the pain of what they saw started to overtake their Hearts, they saw the beautiful blue light of a human Soul hovering over Drew and they realized it was Liz.

          Through the dome even though it was distorted they heard her voice, “I love you baby with all my heart.  Henry loves you baby… be a good boy for him.”

          “Henry Ross, I wish you had come into my life a long time ago.  Take care of Drew and hold him tight.  He’s going to need you so bad honey, and sooner than you think.  He’s your son now.”

          In their Minds they heard her:  I know Henry’s going to be angry.   He’ll be mad at the world and will probably blame you at first, but please hold onto him and help him.  Protect them and love them.  You’re their only chance.  Find a way to defeat the Master without my son turning into a monster or dying.  I love you guys… you’re the best.  Even with all the bad this year I never would have met Henry if it hadn’t been for you guys.  I was happier this year than I’ve ever been, so thanks for that.  So long fella’s.

          The beautiful blue light exploded, shattering the dome and knocking the Eschphene leader back; the light of her Soul obliterated the black power of the stone he was using.  As her words faded and the light died they felt her Soul simply cease to exist, and it was like a physical blow.

          Ken could hardly breathe his chest was so tight after what he just witnessed.  He felt Brad come up behind him and wrap his arms around him.  He felt Brad’s body sobbing, and heard the same sounds from his Brother’s.  He reached his hands up, grabbed Brad’s arms, and pushed his head back against his partner’s, trying to take and give comfort.

          Istariel moved over, his head bowed low in sorrow, and sat down.  He lifted Drew’s limp body into his lap and cradled him in his arms.  In his natural form he was so large Drew looked smaller than ever, and fragile, lying in his lap.

          As soon as Ken heard the deep rocky grumble from the Eschphene leader the anger came.  It hit him hard and a scowl tore across his handsome features as his body tensed.  He stood and the shaking of his body turned from sorrow to rage.  His Avatar exploded with light and lightning ripped across the sky.

          “You son of a bitch!  You’re going to pay for what happened here today!”

          The Eschphene saw Drew lying in Istariel’s lap with the stone on the ground right beside him.  The woman was gone but he saw Henry and Doug, both unconscious, close by.  He glanced around and saw the dome was gone and the sigil’s destroyed.  His plans were in ruin; somehow the Nephelem had found a way to thwart his plans.  He still held the blood and Souls of his followers and he stood up and pushed back his shoulders, flexing his immense body.  In his mind the Ritual was still in effect and he wanted to kill Ken as the chosen Intercedent.

          “I am going to kill you Nephelem, and once I’m finished with you I will destroy the rest of you!  You cannot stand against me!”

          They were all filled with Power now from both the Physical and the Spiritual Realms.   Ken embraced it all; Brad’s presence inside him along with all his Brother’s.  He shared their grief and took it into himself to use as a weapon and he launched himself at the Eschphene.

          Still overconfident, the Eschphene leader was shocked when Ken’s body collided with his and knocked him back.  Ken’s body was like corded steel and the almost liquid grace with which he moved was astounding as he avoided every blow that the Eschphene threw at him.  Ken’s arms, elbows, legs, and feet were landing blows that he now felt. 

          He screamed in pain as Ken started breaking off the bone protrusions all over his body.  Ken even used some of the longer ones as weapons and stabbed them back into the Eschphene’s body.   He was still strong though and filled with the strength of his followers. 

          The fight continued as all the men watched.  With the Law broken Ken pulled strength and power from them; he became the embodiment of all of them.  The tattoos on their shoulders transformed into the perfected Rune and they were shining brightly spitting off arcs of colorful energy.  In the Spiritual Realm they were too bright to see as white bands of power ran through all of them, joining them together.

          Any small wound or laceration that Ken received healed over instantly.  He didn’t want to be calm, but he didn’t want to lose control either; he used their grief as a focus and was in full control.  Every blow was planned and executed flawlessly, and he whittled away at his opponent. 

          Finally the Eschphene started to show signs of tiring.  Ken was drenched in sweat and his chest was heaving; not in exhaustion but to fuel his body with oxygen.  He radiated a physical glory that even the Eschphene had never seen before.  Ken was patient and persistent, and he kept pressing until he saw his opening.

          He launched his body horizontally, using a large tree to whip his body around and he speared his opponent in the gut with both his knees.  He rolled and continued his movement using his entire upper body in an uppercut while the Eschphene was doubled over, catching him under the chin of his large square head.  The massive black body staggered, clearly stunned, and Ken jumped up and vaulted over his body, grabbing his head and twisting and he came down behind him.  Every muscle in Ken’s body was taught as he strained; veins were visible all over his neck and upper body. His muscles swelled, and his face turned dark red with the effort.

          The Eschphene’s arms flailed at his sides.  He was overbalanced and had no solid foothold, his back arched as Ken had his body bowed back.  He felt fear and his movements showed his desperation.

          Ken’s attack was relentless.  He pushed for more, digging inside himself and all of them.  When they were all so tightly bound together sometimes it was difficult to determine who had a thought first.  The thought of Drew without his mother, just as Christmas was upon them, was the bellows on the forge inside of Ken, fanning the flame inside him until it was white hot.  Drew was now an orphan like all of them.  Some of them never knew their parents, but a few did and felt the pain of losing a mother or a father.  They all knew what Drew was about to go through, and the unfairness of it all struck them hard. 

          That blow went from their Hearts and Minds and into Ken’s Body and the Eschphene’s neck snapped with a loud crack.  Ken released his grip and fell to his knees, truly winded from his final effort. For a few seconds he sat there, his chest heaving, his eyes closed with his head thrown back, coming to grips with what he had just done.

          He felt Brad envelope him; no words were said… Brad just wanted Ken to feel him there with him.  Brad was giving him time to come back to himself and rest in his lover until he was ready.

          The woods were eerily silent except for the soft rustling sound of leaves in the breeze. 

          They all stopped their efforts; the image of the Tree faded along with the spirits.  The Power from Lane and Brad stopped pouring into them; it would fade over time, but for now they were still shining brightly. 

          Ken felt goosebumps as a wave of cold washed over the Eschphene’s body.  He rolled away and came to his feet in front of Brad and the others in a defensive posture.

          The Eschphene’s body lay still and unmoving but a dark grey ball of muted light came out of his chest; it didn’t have the beauty or the light of a human soul, but they recognized it for what it was.

          They didn’t hear the fluttering of wings this time but suddenly Uriel was standing by the body of the Eschphene.   Lane could see the sorrow in his face immediately; it was the same look that Bryan got.

          Uriel didn’t speak but he nodded to all of them.

          After a brief silence, Brad asked, “Where will you take him?”

          Uriel responded, “To the place where Eschphene Souls go.  It is a different place for them.”

          Brad’s handsome brow furrowed and he asked, “Will he suffer? For what he did here today and God knows what else?”

          Uriel’s deep voice was quiet as he said, “Most assuredly.”

          Brad asked, “Does anyone truly deserve that?  He was insane.”

          An uncomfortable ripple went through the Link at Brad’s question.  How could he ask that when the Eschphene was responsible not just for Liz’s death but for her Soul’s destruction?

          Uriel looked directly at Ken as he responded, “Judgment and Mercy are not my Province.”

          Ken:  B take us down.

          They all appeared in a Construct of the conference room.  Most of them started talking at the same time but Ken held up his hand, “Guys hold on a minute.  B what are you getting’ at?”

          Brad took a deep breath and lowered his head and said, “I... fuck guys, I saw everything today that you did.  I know that even though Istariel said the Eschphene are supposed to be a Neutral Power that he was an evil bastard.  I’m sure his motivations probably started out pure and just like Taliesin he lost his way and turned into what he did. 

          “I’m not saying he’s not responsible for his actions either, so don’t think that.  Losing Liz today…” his voice broke when he said, “… fuck guys she’s gone and we’ll never see her again!  Drew lost his mom, and Henry lost his wife!  I get that!  But think about this… we’ve been around now for not even fifty years.  We know we’re Immortal now, but we really don’t know what that means.  Think about what forever means!  And think about sending someone to suffer forever, even someone as deranged and despicable as that bastard.”

          Bill is the one that spoke up, “So what are you saying Brad?  What can we do about it? Wherever Uriel is gonna’ take that shithead is made for guys like him.  I’m sure there are a ton of his kind there that didn’t do anything nearly as bad as this douchebag.”

          Brad sighed again and said, “Yeah I know what you’re saying Bill.”

          Outside the Construct Bill moved over, reached down, and touched the Eschphene Leader’s body.  With their Avatar’s synchronized as they were the knowledge that flooded into all of them was deep and painful.  It was harsh the way he did it and they weren’t prepared for it.

          They saw the man’s life from his birth to his death and everything in between; all his thoughts and motivations and transgressions… the path that made him who he was laid bare to them.  They recognized Luke and realized that Luke didn’t contact him, he tried to manipulate Luke to serve his own political ends, and was outmatched. That was the beginning of his downfall.

          Bill’s face was ashen, and he was crying and in massive emotional pain and turmoil as he shouted, “Now tell me that fucker doesn’t deserve to rot in whatever hell his kind goes too!”  His thoughts were bordering on being irrational in his anger and pain, but as soon as Brad tried to sooth him he flinched back in his Mind.  Brad looked like he had been slapped in the face.

          Kevin went over and tried to put his arms around Bill but Bill shrugged him off.  Bill said, “You all do whatever the fuck you want.  I’m out of here.”  He vanished from the Construct.  He withdrew from the Link and shielded himself from all of them including Kevin so they didn’t know where he teleported too.

          Kevin looked like he had been punched in the gut, and everybody else was dumbstruck at what just happened.  His face was ashen, and he felt empty inside.

          Ken started say, “Kev…’

          Kevin interrupted him, “Ken I don’t know what to tell you.  The timing on this couldn’t be worse.  Let’s just finish up here.  I know we can take the time but in the middle of all this… it just doesn’t seem like a good thing.”

          Ken reached over and cupped Kevin’s thick neck in his hand and embraced him tightly and said, “You know we love you both.  We’ll figure this out.  If you’re sure now isn’t the time then OK, but you know I’ll put the brakes on all this in a heartbeat if you need to talk now.”

          Bryan and Loy were closest to Kevin besides Ken and they both grabbed ahold of him and sandwiched him in between them.  None of them could imagine what happened with Bill that would cause him to react the way he did.  Kevin had whatever it was shut off as well.

          They felt him harden himself and he said, “Guys we’re on a mission and the mission comes first.  Bill can wait.  It’s not life threatening but it is serious, and he needs our help bad.  But let’s finish up here so we can focus on him.”

          Ken looked his friend in the eyes and knew it was best to let it be and not push it for now, and he nodded his assent.

          There was a brief pause but before it became uncomfortable Ken said, “OK B, what are you getting at.”

          “We have a choice to make.  We can let Uriel take this guy’s Soul to whatever damnation Eschphene Souls go to, where he can suffer for eternity…. or we can destroy him ourselves.  He won’t suffer but he will cease to exist just like Liz.  I’m not suggesting that as an act of revenge for her…nothing so shallow.  I’m not sure if it would be considered an act of mercy to kill him… he won’t feel anything because he won’t exist.  That’s deep.”

          Everyone was silent as they grappled with the moral dilemma Brad threw at them.  To ‘end’ somebody so completely… it was final and irrevocable, and yet being trapped in a torturous existence forever was horrifying to think about, but at least he would still exist. 

          If they did nothing Uriel would take him.  Making no decision now was tantamount to making that decision.

          Normally they all would have delved into one another as couples but none of them even thought that in Bill’s absence.  They would do nothing to further Kevin’s embarrassment or discomfort in regards to Bill’s behavior… it wasn’t even a conscious decision Kevin could feel through the Link.  They just didn’t do it because he was their friend, and instinctively they would never do anything they knew would make him feel left out or excluded.

           They debated their thoughts and opinions exhaustively for what seemed like a few hours.  In the end the decision was unanimous; they would end his existence rather than let him suffer for eternity.  Their reasons were all varied as to why, but the conclusion was the same regardless.

          “B, before you take us back up I want to say how proud I am of all of you.  When I think about the path we’re on, and what our goals are… well we still have a long way to go, but we’re growin’ all the time.  We’re the good guys… and I think in this particular case bein’ merciful was the right call.  I don’t like that we have the power to make choices like this.  There are rules in Creation to cover this… but my gut tells me we’re doin’ the right thing.”

          Ken nodded to Brad and they all went back up into their bodies.  Not even a second has passed but Uriel knew where they had been and he asked them, “Did you reach a decision?”

          In response Brad opened their energy centers once more; they were still full of Power and shining brightly.  Chains of white energy flew out from their hands, wrapping around the grey Soul of the Eschphene leader.  The chains sprouted razor sharp edges and they all yanked at the same time and the Soul was shredded.

          Uriel looked at them and nodded his head, “I see.”

          Ken asked him, “Do you disagree?”

          Uriel looked at him intently for a moment as if he were debating on what he could or should say.  Finally he responded, “As I said Mercy is not my Province, however I think you made the right decision.   He was no longer sane, and while that does not excuse his actions, it does explain them.  I am treading on the edge by telling you this… but think about your Enemy.  Not just the Master but the Dark One whom he serves… The Eschphene leader approached him and became ensnared in layers of subtlety and deceit that were out of his depth.  He was twisted into what he became and it was made to look on the outside as if it were his own choices that lead him to where he was today.

          “The Dark One delights in causing these types of situations but today you thwarted him on two fronts.   I am sure he would have taken great pleasure at the thought of the Eschphene suffering for all eternity, and if he was successful here with the child it would have furthered his plans with The Master on this Plane.   You have deprived him of both and he will not be pleased.”

          Brad was sincere when he said, “Thank you for sharing your insight.  Putting it that bluntly makes me feel better, but we still took a Soul out of existence forever, and it’s a burden we’ll have to carry.”

          The corner of Uriel’s mouth lifted ever so slightly and he said, “That is true, but it is a great testament to your natures that it even is a burden.  Life, to you, is precious in all its forms, and I pray that you never lose sight of that.  Now, I’m afraid I have to go.”

          Uriel walked over to Bryan and put one big hand on each of his grandson’s thick shoulders and looked deeply into his eyes.  Bryan was always astounded at the depth of them and wondered if after a few millennia his eyes would look like that.

          Uriel smiled more openly and sent a private thought to Bryan: To me they already do.  He pulled Bryan into a firm embrace, wrapping his grandson up in his thick arms and squeezed tight.  He pulled back slightly, kissed Bryan on each cheek, and with the sound of fluttering wings he was gone.

          They all stood still for a few seconds after Uriel disappeared.  They were dreading what had to be done next.

          Brad reached out and removed the Compulsion he placed on Henry that kept him asleep.  Henry woke up with a start and looked around in a panic.  He saw Drew in Istariel’s lap and the dead body of the Eschphene.  He didn’t see Liz, so he assumed the guys had sent her back to the Lab to keep her safe.

          He realized Drew was unconscious and he immediately said, “Is Drew alright?  What’s wrong with him?”

          Henry knew right away something was wrong by the tone of Ken’s voice, “He’s OK Henry; he’s just asleep.”

          Henry started to go over and take Drew from Istariel when Ken held out his hand and said, “Henry, wait.”

          Henry went cold inside and he looked around at all their faces.  Their eyes were red with tears and he saw the Compassion in their eyes and it hit him that Liz wasn’t at the Lab.  Hot tears filled his eyes and he fell to his knees and he let out an agonizing groan.

          “No!  Oh God no!  She can’t be gone!”  He bent over holding his stomach like he had been punched in the gut and his big frame was wracked with sobs.  Ken knelt down and put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close.

          Fresh tears filled his eyes as he said, “Henry I’m so sorry.”

          Henry grabbed ahold of Ken, latching on to him in comfort, squeezing with desperate strength.  Brad and the others all gathered around him in a close circle, kneeling and reaching out to put a hand on him.  Brad brought him into their Link so he would feel their support and presence.

          At that time they all heard a moan as Doug started to regain consciousness.  He held his head and seemed groggy as he started to sit up.  When he saw Istariel’s huge robed form with Drew in his lap he panicked and shouted, “Jesus!  Fuck!  What the hell is that?!”

          As soon as Henry heard Doug’s exclamation, rage took ahold of him.  He surprised Ken by pulling away blindingly fast, and Kevin barely managed to grab him as he lunged at Doug shouting, “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT YOU SON OF A BITCH!  SHE’S GONE BECAUSE OF YOU!”

          Doug was too stupid to know how much danger he was in.  Of all the words in his vocabulary he chose the worst possible thing to say at the moment.  “Well, whatever happened to her, the stupid cunt had it coming.  Fucking bitch.”

          Kevin was tempted to let Henry go but he knew if he did Henry would kill Doug right now, and none of them could let Henry do that.  As much as Doug deserved it, they couldn’t let Henry have that on his conscience; his main priority moving forward had to be Drew, and he didn’t need Doug’s death hanging over his head.

          They all felt the burst of Power from Brad as Doug said those words; Brad rarely got angry but right now he was as mad as any of them had ever seen or felt.  Ken let out a mental:  Oh shit! at what he felt coming from his partner.

          Brad ripped Doug’s Mind out of his body and into a Construct.  They both appeared in the woods but it was just the two of them.  Doug remembered his last encounter with Brad; but his new friends were powerful, and he ignorantly felt cocky that his tattoos would protect him. 

          Brad felt the slight resistance, but the majority of his Mental strength came from his Avatar and was unaffected by whatever sigils they had placed on Doug’s body. 

          Brad’s voice was ice as he said, “The last time we spoke like this Doug do you remember what I said would happen if you ever hit another woman or abused another child?”

          “Fuck you dickhead!  You can’t touch me now!”

          A lightning bolt hit the ground a foot away from Doug’s feet and his body flew back into the closest tree stunning him.  His whole body tingled painfully, and he crapped in his pants in fear.

          “I didn’t miss Doug.  I’m not going to kill you, but I am going to make sure you never hurt anyone again.”

          He went deep inside Doug’s Mind and realized nothing had changed since the last time he looked.  Doug was too lazy and ignorant to change.  Having Rick and the others reset Doug was too good for him, and as much as Doug deserved to die for what he did they couldn’t kill him outright.  He wasn’t part of The Enemy and as much as it galled Brad at the moment he held true to the onus they had of giving people the right to Free Will.   He tried hard to find unconditional love for Doug and he couldn’t do it.  He felt like he wasn’t living up to his potential by feeling that way but right now he couldn’t help it, and feeling that way made him even angrier at Doug because he was the cause. 

          Brad trapped Doug inside his own Mind, building a prison for him to live in.  To the outside world he would be a vegetable and need to be cared for.  He would see and hear everything around him but be unable to communicate or interact in any way, and he would be completely dependent on others to keep him alive.  Brad set a trigger in his own mind to find Doug in twenty years and see if he learned his lesson.  As powerful and as angry as Brad was in the moment he doubted even The Master could break the trap he built; he layered it with trap upon trap to keep anyone from tampering.

          As Ken and the others watched, Doug shit his pants and his eyes glazed over and his face took on a vacant look.  His posture became slack and docile and he stood there gently swaying. 

          Istariel stood up slowly and moved over to Henry.  Drew’s body looked so small in his massive hands but he was gentle and let Henry take him.  “It seems that my fate is intertwined with his Henry Ross.  I will watch over him to the best of my ability.  Know that I share your grief.” 

          Henry didn’t trust himself to speak, but he nodded his acknowledgement to Istariel, and he hugged Drew’s limp body against his own.  Henry was in shock, but he was trying to stay focused so he could take care of Drew.  Istariel’s big form vanished back across the Veil.

          Bryan pulled off his t-shirt and moved over and tucked it over Drew; it was so big it was like a small blanket and it covered up his nakedness and it was still warm from Bryan’s body. 

          Henry said, “Thanks Bryan, we need to get him warm and dry.”  He looked down on Drew and saw how pale he was.  His body was trembling slightly; Henry wasn’t sure if it was from being cold or some aftereffect of whatever happened to him while Henry was unconscious himself.  He hugged Drew a little tighter, and his voice choked as he whispered, “Fuck Bryan, what am I gonna’ tell him when he wakes up?  How am I gonna’ tell him his mom is gone?”

          Bryan was at a loss for words; he had such a big heart, and he hated to see anyone he cared for hurting so much.  He hung his head and hot tears fell down on his bare chest as his big frame shook slightly from his own grief.

          Brad sent a private thought to Ken:  Ken we need to wrap things up here and get back. 

          Brad was always the practical one and Ken nodded.  Loy call 911 and leave a tip that Doug is here.  Bry and Dar take care of the body.

          Loy stepped a short distance away to use his cell phone to call the police and leave an anonymous tip about Doug.

          Bryan took a deep breath to steady himself.  Lane came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him in a brief hug of support.  Bryan’s Avatar dealt with Life and part of that cycle was also Death and Decay; it made perfect sense to him since his Angelic grandfather was the Angel of Death.  His tattoo flared emerald green, and he held his hands out and ribbons of energy came out and wrapped around the Eschphene corpse.  He accelerated the rate of decay and in less than a minute there was nothing left but a skeleton lying on the ground.

          Darren could, with an extreme effort, heat the bones up enough to turn them to ash, but even with the extra power they all still held it was easier to just send the bones down into the bedrock of Stone Mountain, where they would never be discovered.  He looked down and his eyes flashed white and the bones disappeared.

          Rick gathered Drew’s pants, underwear, and tennis shoes.  He took off his own shirt and used it to pick up the stone, not wanting to touch it with his bare skin and wrapped it up tightly as he didn’t want anything of Drew’s touching the stone.

          There was such a feeling of finality about leaving; none of them were looking forward to telling the doc, Albrecht, Sally, and the others that Liz was gone.

          Kevin saw a glint out of the corner of his eye and he glanced down and fresh tears filled his eyes.  It was the sun shining on Liz’s engagement ring.  He leaned down and picked up the ring, holding it in his hand.  He knew how much Henry and Drew were going to miss Liz; they all were.  She had come to be a part of their lives.  It also drove home the empty place inside him where Bill should be. 

          Darren brought everyone together in one last brief mental hug as he synchronized their Avatar’s and they all vanished.

          The next few hours were hard.  Everyone was quiet and subdued when they got back.  Liz’s absence was noticed right away, as was Bill’s.  Henry couldn’t talk to anyone and he took Drew into their room and shut the door.  A short time later, while Brad recounted everything that happened, they heard Drew wailing behind the closed door.

          Ken was exhausted emotionally.  Physically he was fine, already fully recovered and restored, but he was feeling the weight of everything.  On top of almost dying in the fight with the Eschphene leader, and knowing what that would have done to Brad, he was grief stricken at losing Liz, and he somehow felt like he had let Bill down.

          Ken looked around for Kevin and didn’t see him.  Shortly after their arrival, Kevin had retreated into the room he and Bill shared in the Lab.

          Everyone was dealing with the grief in their own way; Bryan went to the kitchen and salvaged what he could of the Boston butts he had been smoking.  Lane stayed with him, not talking out loud, but he kept the two of them deeply merged.

          Rick, Loy, Pat, and Darren stayed in the common area to be with Sally and the Keenan’s.  Kelly went back to her own room right after she heard the news; her face impassive.

          Brad stayed by Ken’s side through it all, together with him Heart and Soul.  Once everyone had been told, the memories of the day shared with the doctor and Albrecht, and everyone was at least settled for a short time, Brad whispered in Ken’s ear, “Come with me.”

          He took Ken’s hand, led him into their shared room, and shut and locked the door.  Ken sat on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands; now that he was out of sight of everybody he dropped the mantle of Leadership he put on for everyone else’s sake.  He rubbed his hands roughly over his face and Brad could hear the scratchy noise from the stubble on his cheeks.

          Ken.

          Ken looked up and his green eyes were glassy and bloodshot.  As they made eye contact his eyes filled with fresh tears, and he let the emotions of the day pour out.

          Brad immediately moved over to him and put his arms around his lover, pulling Ken’s face tight against his chest.  Brad could feel Ken’s body shake as he sobbed and let out everything he held in.   Brad held him and whispered soothing words, stroking his short hair back off his forehead.  Ken didn’t say a word; he delved into Brad, letting his loving presence wash over him and hold him tight.

          Ken cried for a few minutes and when the worst of it was over, Brad pulled them both back onto the bed and they lay together.  He spooned Ken, and continued to rub and caress his body, trying to wash away the grief with his hands. 

          Ken wasn’t sure when Brad managed it but he realized they were in a Construct of their room.  He managed a small grin and he twisted his head around so he could look into Brad’s blue eyes and said, “Thanks B.  I know you’re hurting too.  Come here.”

          He rolled his big body over and reversed their positions on the bed so he was spooning Brad.  Their shirts disappeared; Brad wanted to feel Ken’s warm solid body against his own skin.  It wasn’t sexual, but he craved the intimacy of being with Ken.  That was the comfort he needed and he opened their energy centers and brought their Souls, Minds, and Hearts together.   Ken squeezed his arms tighter around Brad, wanting Brad to feel his presence in every aspect.

          In the Construct they lay together for a few hours, holding one another, comforting each other, letting each other cry when they needed too.  After a while, Brad felt Ken get hard, and Brad realized it was for him.  When he was filled with Ken’s manhood, with his strong body covering his and their bodies interlocked, it took him to another place. 

          Ken made love to Brad then.  He wasn’t ‘that guy’ this time; he was a lover, and he used all the emotion and experience he had garnered in their lives together so far to comfort Brad and make love to him in the deepest and most passionate manner he could. 

          They both shared a few orgasms each by the time he was through, and the extra release let the last of the tension flow out of their sweaty muscled bodies.

          “Fuck I love you Brad.  You’re everything to me.  I couldn’t do this without you, you know.”

          “I couldn’t do it without you either Ken.”

          They lay together for a few more minutes in silence, letting their hands roam and caress each other as their bodies cooled down, still basking in the intimate physical closeness of being naked and together. 

          After a few minutes Brad said, “We need to figure out what’s going on with Bill.  I can’t imagine how he’s feeling now.  He loved Liz too and I know that’s making whatever he’s going through harder, especially on his own.  He knows he needs Kevin,   and Kevin needs him.  He knows he’s causing himself more pain by acting the way he is, so I can’t fathom what’s going through his mind right now.”

          “Let’s go talk to Kev.”

          Ken and Brad had been in their room for about twenty minutes when Brad brought them out of the Construct.  They went into the kitchen first to get some water and find something to eat.  Their stomachs were rumbling.

          When they came out Henry had Drew at a table; Drew was in a pair of Disney flannel pajamas with footies.  He was eating out of a plain plastic bowl.  It took Brad a second to realize what seemed wrong; normally Drew was all about Iron Man and anything dealing with Marvel Superhero’s.

          Drew was pale and picking at his food; normally he could never get enough macaroni and cheese. 

          Ken and Brad moved over and each knelt down on either side of his chair.

          Ken said, “Hey Drew, how are ya buddy?”

          Drew’s reaction stunned everybody as he looked at Ken and shouted, “Go away!  I hate you!”  He balled up his little fist and hit Ken as hard as he could, which hurt his hand.  He broke into fresh tears and he took off running into his room.

          Ken looked white as a sheet and felt a tight ball of cold deep inside his chest; Drew’s little fist and his words hurt him far more than any blow he ever felt. 

          Henry shouted, “Drew!” and took off after him.

          Ken looked at Brad in disbelief.  It was Sally who broke the silence, “Don’t take it personally Ken.  He’s going to lash out for a while.  He really doesn’t mean it; you know that.”

          Brad helped pull Ken to his feet and said, “I know it hurts Ken, but Sally’s right.  We’re going to have to be patient and let him work through this.”

          The doctor came out of his office at the commotion and took everything in, “I’m sorry Kenneth.  I should have seen that coming and warned you.  You and Bradford come see me later when you have a few moments.”

          Henry came back out of his room and didn’t say a word.  He gathered up Drew’s Sippy-cup of juice and his bowl of macaroni and cheese in silence, went back into his room, and shut the door.  They heard the door seal’s activate as Henry locked it.

          Ken just let out a low, “Fuck me.”  He felt a coldness from Henry too and it made him feel miserable.  Everyone but Kevin heard the exchange and saw what happened, and Ken felt their presence in his mind immediately.

          All of them gave him words of comfort and basically said the same thing: give Drew time and a little space, Henry too.  But more importantly they gave him comfort because they knew how much Drew’s outburst hurt him.

          Ken was their leader; he had been a Captain in the US Navy and was a highly trained SEAL.  He had dealt with men who had lost loved ones, and he knew how it worked. He knew the psychology of the grief process, and he had always been able to compartmentalize it.  But since the changes in the Program he was half Nephelem and an Unfallen Man, and the depth of emotion he now felt was so much more profound than in those days.  His ability to love was greatly expanded, but it also increased his capacity to be hurt.  He felt like Drew stabbed a knife in his chest when he yelled “I hate you!”

          He also knew there was nothing he could do about it in the moment and that they were right; it would take time, and hopefully Drew and Henry would come around.

          Ken took a deep breath to calm himself and he said, “Come on B.”

          Brad’s eyes were wet too at the pain Ken and Drew both felt.   He was well aware of both sides and how much hurt everyone felt; it was a part of his Avatar and he could see it in them. 

          Ken went down the hallway to the room Kevin was in and Brad followed.  The door was shut but not locked.  Ken rapped his knuckles on the door a few times as he opened the door.  Kevin was lying on the bed, wide awake and staring at the ceiling.

          Of all the Team, Kevin was Ken’s oldest friend.  They had gone through BUDS training together, and they were great friends for a few years prior to the Program and meeting Brad.

          “Kev, how’re you holdin’ up?”

          “Honestly Ken not so well.  I’ve been trying to reach Bill since we got back, and he’s either shut down or not answering.”  Kevin’s voice was flat but with a slight tremor to it; Ken knew him well and learned a long time ago how his friend handled difficult situations. 

          Kevin sat up on the edge of the bed and looked at his friends with an almost pleading look.  His handsome face was pale; his black hair and dark eyes made him look that much paler.  They both put an arm around him and just sat with him a moment.  Ken put one of his hands on Kevin’s head and ruffled his hair in a brotherly fashion.

          “So Kev, you need to tell us what’s going on.  Brad, take us down.”

          Brad pulled the three of them completely together.  Kevin saw everything that just happened in the kitchen with Drew, and Ken felt his reaction and sorrow.  They laid themselves bare to one another completely.  Brad and Ken relived the memories Kevin shared of what happened earlier in the morning…

          Kevin woke up first as usual, feeling Bill’s naked body against his own.  Bill was a huge snuggler and always managed, even in sleep, to find a way to wrap his body around Kevin’s.  Bill was the tallest of the men, a solid 6’4” and 265lbs of muscle.  Kevin was 6’1” and 450lbs, the heaviest of all of them so when they were cuddled together and wrapped around one another it was one giant bundle of muscle. 

          Kevin inhaled deeply. The smell of sex in the room and from the sheets was powerful, and he smiled remembering how they got that way before he and Bill finally fell asleep.  He also smelled the coffee brewing in the kitchen.  Kevin stretched his big body, curling his toes and putting his arms over his head; his whole body swelled and his face went red from the stretch.  Bill was a lite sleeper, and Kevin’s movements woke him up.  His eyes didn’t open but his hands started roaming all over Kevin’s furry body.

          Kevin said, “Good morning handsome.”  Bill opened one bleary blue eye and smiled; Kevin sometimes couldn’t stand how cute Bill looked when he was sleepy.  His face was drop dead handsome, but in the mornings with his short hair messed up and his face squinted, he looked goofily cute.  Bill turned his body slightly and leaned forward for a good morning kiss.  As he did he moved one hand down under the covers and found what he was looking for.  His fingers wrapped around Kevin’s thick eight inch member, which started growing immediately.

          Bill’s hands were magic, and he prolonged the kiss as he caressed and stroked his lover.  Bill knew Kevin’s favorite thing to do was get a hand job first thing in the morning from him, and Bill was an expert.  He stroked his lover in all the right ways to take him to the edge, using Kevin’s precum to keep him slick.  He took Kevin to the edge and then kept him there for a few minutes, letting him teeter on the brink of shooting until his whole body was drenched in sweat and trembling from the excitement and buildup.  As soon as he took Kevin over the edge, Bill leaned over and took his load into his mouth, feeling the physical rush as his body absorbed Kevin’s DNA which fueled the supernatural bond between them.  Kevin stayed steel hard as he rolled over and lifted Bill’s legs up and entered him, his erection slick with spit and his own load.  It was his turn, and he knew exactly how to please Bill, taking him to the edge and keeping him there.  Bill was a heavy shooter and Kevin was an expert an aiming Bill’s hard on so the cum would shoot into his mouth.  Kevin plunged against Bill’s prostate over and over until his lover’s whole body tensed and the head of his manhood flared and he started firing volley after volley of semen right into Kevin’s waiting mouth.

          Kevin felt his Mind open and expand and he smiled down at Bill.  They were both shiny and slick with fresh sweat.  Since they were all warmed up they got their running shorts on and went for their morning PT.  The morning was a little chilly, but with their extra body heat they ran in their shorts and t-shirts just fine.

          They ran their usual route of five miles with Kevin setting the pace.  For a few blocks they had to run on one of the main roads that ran close to their house and on their way back they noticed an accident.  A small panel truck was parked just inside the entrance to their subdivision and someone not paying attention hit it as they turned into the entrance.  Everyone in their neighborhood complained about people turning in too fast, but no one ever seemed slow down; it was brought up at every Home Owners Association meeting either one of them had ever been too.

          The wreck was minor and no one seemed hurt, but there were a few boxes in the road with some toys scattered about.  The driver was a young man wearing a ROTC uniform and he looked really stressed out.  The police were getting a statement from the driver of the car and the young man, whose nametag said Peterson on it.  The insignia on his shirt showed him to be a Cadet Ensign in the Marine Corps ROTC, which meant he was a first year Freshman at whichever college he was attending.

           Kevin introduced himself and Bill and Kevin shook the young man’s hand.  Bill nodded his hello; he rarely shook anyone’s hand anymore since his Avatar awoke. He could shield himself mentally from reading people’s thoughts around him, but he couldn’t turn off his Avatar and when he touched people he Read them completely and there was no way to stop it.  He always kept his distance and only on rare occasions that were unavoidable would he take someone’s hand.

          Kevin made some small talk to help Craig relax and asked about the truck.  The young man’s name was Craig Peterson and he was collecting donated toys for the “Toy’s for Tot’s” program that the US Marine Corps ran at Christmas.

          Kevin volunteered their help in picking up the toys that were scattered about; Craig seemed really upset about the wreck even though it wasn’t his fault.  He seemed like a good kid.   Bill reached down and grabbed a toy and froze for a second.  Kevin felt his reaction through the Link they always kept up.

          Bill what’s wrong?

          Nothing Kev… it’s just the kid who had this was happy and left some really nice impressions for me to find. 

          He closed his eyes for a few seconds as images flooded into his Mind of the young boy, Cody, who played with the truck for hours on end.  The purity of the happiness from Cody filled him as he watched him play with the truck he held in his hands.

          Not all the toys had impressions, some of them had never been used, but the ones that did had nice memories and they made Bill feel good.  The emotions of children are strong and they carried over into the objects.  It put Bill in an exceptionally good mood.

          Kevin shook hands with Craig once they helped him get everything back into the truck and they took off continuing their jog back to the house.

          Bill went into the kitchen to start some breakfast, and Kevin started the hot water in the shower.  As Bill walked through their bedroom to take off his shoes and socks he caught a glimpse of Kevin’s big muscled body, already naked, in the bathroom mirror.   Kevin saw him out of the corner of his eye and he grinned and turned around, doing a helicopter with his dick; Kevin was a shower with nearly six inches long soft, and with his enhanced agility and dexterity he had the hip gyrations down pat; his dick was twirling so fast Bill could hardly see it.

          Kevin was just kidding around but the sight of his muscled hairy body, coupled with Bill’s already good mood got Bill’s engine started. He stripped and got in the shower with Kevin, and they had a hot fast round of sex in the shower.  Showering together ended up saving them a little time in the long run, which Bill claimed was his plan all along.

          Bill whipped up some scrambled eggs with sliced tomatoes and dry toast for them.  Darren and Bryan had come up with the idea of scrambling the eggs inside the shell before they were cracked, and Bill even cracked the eggs perfectly with his Mind so he didn’t have to worry about getting any egg whites on his hands.  It was just one of the perks of their powers that was practical. Bryan was always making suggestions for them to do things in the kitchen since Bill and the other Mentalists could handle things without getting their hands dirty or burned.  Squeezing fresh juice from any fruit was another.

          While they were eating, they talked about their schedule for the day.  Bill suddenly changed the subject and said, “Hey Kev I have an idea.”

          Kevin knew that Bill was a smart man, bordering on genius like Brad, Lane, Loy, and Darren, and he was very spontaneous, which is one of the things Kevin truly loved about his partner.  Kevin was more of a homebody, and he needed someone like Bill to pull him out of the house once in a while. 

          He could feel Bill’s excitement through their Link so he smiled and said, “OK let me hear it.  You know if it involves hot sex with you I’m all in.”

          Bill actually snorted a little as he started to laugh while he was taking a sip of his coffee.  He coughed a few times and flipped Kevin off for making him laugh, which made Kevin laugh at him. Kevin was getting up to clear their plates off the table and he gave Bill a good solid thump on his back to help him clear his throat.  He leaned over and kissed the top of Bill’s head and whispered, “Sorry Bill, let me hear this idea I already know I’m gonna like.”

          “OK… well this really just hit me so I’m still thinking it through but go with me on it.  This will be our first Christmas fully Awakened with all our abilities.  When we helped Craig pick up those toys… fuck Kev when I touched that little pickup I felt how much joy it brought to the kid named Cody that played with it.  And you know the Marines have the ‘Toys for Tots” program for kids in need… and I know all of us were basically orphans growing up… I want to see about doing something special this Christmas for one of the orphanages around here.  I don’t know about you but my childhood was pretty meager at Christmas time, and if we could make some kids feel good like the kid who had that toy truck… well, I’d feel like fucking Santa Claus for real.”

          Kevin was rinsing their plates and putting them in the dish washer while Bill was talking.  Kevin got a small lump in his throat at the passion he heard in his partner’s voice, knowing he was right and wanting to brighten the life of some children who probably had a horrible life.  He walked over behind Bill’s chair and put his hands on Bill’s heavy shoulders.  Bill leaned his head back to look up at Kevin. 

          Kevin noticed first off how handsome Bill looked; he loved it when his neck thickened when he threw his head back like that, especially when Kevin was bringing him pleasure.  He didn’t let his thoughts roam to sex because he really was focused on Bill and what he said.

          “Bill that’s an awesome idea.  Damn I knew I loved you for a reason.  Your heart is as big as my dick, which is saying a lot, and you’re a beautiful man inside and out.   Why don’t we run it by the guys today and see if we can get everyone in on it?”

          “Well we have plenty of time this morning before we have to be at the Lab.  Why don’t we do a little research?”

          They both went into the bedroom they used as an office where they had their notebook charging.  Bill was the better typist and usually ran the search engine of the doc’s when they were running missions, so he sat down and pulled up Google.  A few seconds later he found a list of Orphanages in Atlanta.  There was one not too far away in Duluth.

          “Hey Kev this one is only about 15 or 20 minutes from here… let’s go down there now.  We can see how many kids there are and maybe talk to one of the administrators and find out more info.  That way when we bring it up we’ll be one step ahead.”

          Again Kevin felt a wave of love for this beautiful man he had as a Soulmate.  His enthusiasm was contagious, and he patted Bill on the back and said, “Let’s do it.”

          A few minutes from their house Bill and Kevin both heard Brad’s voice in their Minds:  Hey fella’s how’s it hanging?

          Bill:  Hey Brad not bad what’s up?

          Brad:  A few of us are taking Drew, Liz, Henry, and Sally to Stone Mountain for the morning.  The weather’s nice and we’re hoping you’ll join us.

          Bill:  Sorry compadre, but no can do.  We made other plans this morning, but you guys have a great time and we’ll catch up with you a little later today.

          Brad:  OK guys have fun and we’ll see you later.  Love you.

          Bill and Kevin knew everything about one another but they each recounted a few stories of their early days in foster homes and what Christmas was like.  As teenagers they both came to dread Christmas, and even as adults it never really became an important holiday for them.   Bryan and Lane helped change that, and Ken and Brad.  They all got into Christmas much more and decorated their houses, and there were numerous Christmas and New Year’s get-togethers at one of their houses.

          It would be almost impossible to surprise each other with gifts these days, but they decided they would definitely get each other something special even if it wasn’t a surprise, and they would get a joint gift.  They would get something for all of their Brothers as well as Albrecht and the doctor too.

          All of them were looking forward to Drew’s reaction on Christmas morning this year; he had really captured the hearts of all of them, and he could lite the room up when they showed up and he got to play with them.  With no other children to play with they all took turns with him, and eventually they all sort of competed with each other on who could outdo who on games to come up with.  So far Pat took the cake with the hot wheels track he put together along with Darren.

          They were both a little shocked when they found the entrance to Calvary Children’s Home.  It looked more like a juvenile prison than a home.  The website described it as a ‘beautiful thirteen acre landscape’ but it looked cold and uninviting.   Bill pulled their Explorer up to the main Administration building right inside the entrance.

          There were a few children running out and about who stopped to stare when they pulled up.  Bill’s enthusiasm was dampened slightly as he got a cold feeling about the place immediately.  There were sad memories here that his Avatar immediately started feeding him.  His smile faded as they walked into the office.  Kevin picked up on the change in his partner, and he put his hand on Bill’s shoulder as they walked up to the office.

          On the wall just inside the door was a large framed photo of the six people who ran and maintained the facility.  He got their names, and saw the Executive Director’s name was Benita Willis.  There was a young lady at a reception desk who stood up to greet them; her eyes widened at the two incredibly handsome men in front of her.

          “Hello, may I help you?”

          Bill replied, “Any chance we could talk to Ms. Willis?”

          “Do you have an appointment?”

          Kevin smiled at her and said, “No we don’t.  This is a bit of an impromptu visit for us, but we really would like to speak with her.”  Like all the guys, Kevin was very unassuming about his looks and didn’t realize the effect he had on people.  His big solid frame, short jet black hair, and dark eyes, square jaw, handsome features, and his confident and friendly attitude usually helped people to like him right away.  Now that he was Awake his natural charisma was magnified and his smile almost mesmerized the young lady.

          “She’s in a meeting right now but I’ll see if I can work you in after that.  She will probably be another fifteen minutes if that’s alright?”  The young girl, whose nametag read ‘Candy’ seemed very eager to please him.

          “That would be really nice of you Candy.  Do you mind if we look around a little while we wait?”

          “Sure, that’s fine.  You’ll need to wear these and the only place that’s off limits for unescorted visitors are the dormitories.”  She handed them two laminate necklaces with ‘VISITOR’ printed on them.

          When Bill took his, he felt disappointment and sadness.  The last person to wear it was denied her adoption and he felt the strong imprint of the moment.

          Fuck.

          Kevin felt the impression through his Link with Bill but he thought:  There was probably a good reason she was denied Bill.  These places have to be so careful with the kids to find good people; I’m sure the screening process is thorough.  Turn it around and think about it like some wonderful little boy or girl was saved from going into a bad home. 

          Bill squinted his face and got that goofy grin that Kevin loved.  Thanks Kev.  Sorry to go darkside on you.  You always have a better way to look at it.

          Hey I’m just looking out for you love.  I know the impressions are hard sometimes.  Let me be a buffer.

          How about a fluffer?

          Now now William there are kids present.  Put your dick back in your mental pants at least until we’re done here.

          Bill’s smile widened as he gave Kevin a mental hug. 

          They went down the steps and onto the sidewalk that looked like it bordered most of the grounds.  There was scattered playground equipment around, but they didn’t see any kids playing.

          Bill thought: It’s a nice morning out where do you think all the kids are at?

          I don’t know.  Maybe it’s breakfast time or they’re inside for some reason. 

          They continued their walk and saw some much older playground equipment; the kind they grew up with.  There were monkey bars, a teeter totter, an old school slide, swings, and a merry go round.  The sight of the old welded metal equipment brought back a lot of memories, and they started across the grass to check it out.

          When they got closer Kevin heard voices from behind a big tree.

          “I’m sorry Brett I don’t think I can fix it this time.”

          The voice that answered sounded sad and said, “OK.”  There was a loud sniff and Kevin was sure the kid was crying.

          Not wanting to scare them Kevin called out, “Hello?”

          They got closer and saw two small boys, one about Drew’s age and the other one a few years older.  They looked like they could be brothers.

          Kevin said, “Hey guys.  Is something wrong?”

          The smaller boy had an action figure in his hands; it was a Transformer and it looked like Bumblebee, but it was broken.  The arm had broken off and he was holding it in his other hand.  His face was wet and he had been crying.  He wouldn’t make eye contact and kept his face downcast.  The older boy was extremely thin he didn’t look healthy.  He was pale and boney.  Both of them needed a haircut.  Their clothes were in good shape; not new but not too worn.

          The older of the two answered, “We’re fine thanks.”

          Kevin said, “Looks like you have a small problem there.  Do you mind if we take a look?”

          Neither boy moved.  Kevin and Bill knelt down so they weren’t so tall.  They knew how large they must look to the boys and wanted to try and put them more at ease.

          Bill said, “My names Bill and this is Kevin.”

          “I don’t think you can fix it.  One of the older kids did it to be mean and they really tore it up this time.”

          Kevin said, “Well my buddy Bill here is pretty good at fixing things.  What’re your names?”

          “I’m Tommy and this is Brett.”

          “Nice to meet you fellas.”

          Bill held out his hand trying to coax Brett to come closer and let him have the toy.  Brett never looked up, but he did move forward and held it out.  As soon as Bill touched it he saw and felt what happened.  The toy was Brett’s favorite and in his imagination he prayed for Bumblebee to come rescue him and his brother Tommy and take them away from this place.  The toy was dripping with emotion and Bill’s breath caught in his chest when he felt it broken by the older boy.  He taunted Brett and was mean spirited and told him he would never get out of this place, or if he did he’d be separated from his brother and never see him again.

          Kevin:  Damn kids can be mean spirited little bastards sometimes. 

          Bill learned about human nature when they started reading Minds, and Kevin did later through his partner.  It made sense that kids from broken homes would learn the protection mechanisms faster and put up barriers.  They both realized it was the brokenness in the older boy that made him act that way.  The tragedy of it was the unending cycle it perpetuated.  By hurting Brett, Brett would eventually need an outlet for his own pain and take it out on others.

          Bill delved inside of Kevin, needing a brief refuge and respite from what he just Read and felt.  His Avatar wasn’t like mind reading; it was like Lane’s Dreams, and what he felt became a part of him like he experienced it himself.  It was definitely a two edged sword.

          Kevin wrapped Bill up inside him and let his love for Bill wash away the hurt.  They both felt that painfully sweet intimacy from being so vulnerable and defenseless with one another, and they also felt how much stronger it made them when they were together.

          Tommy and Brett felt something from these two big men.  They had learned not to trust anyone let alone a stranger but they felt drawn to these men.  When the two men’s eyes teared up it surprised them.

          Not understanding what was happening but seeing the tears, Brett put his hand on Bill’s and said, “It’s OK mister.”

          Bill’s Avatar fired off at the skin contact and everything about Brett became a part of him.  Kevin was just as affected since they were so deeply merged; Bill tried never to touch anyone when he and Kevin were together so deeply, because he wanted to protect Kevin from the feelings he often got.

          Brett and Tommy never knew their father, and their mother gave them up for adoption over three years ago.  They had both been in the facility since.  Because they were brothers and didn’t want to be separated it made their adoption more difficult.  All of that was tragic enough, but everything else sent a white fire of anger through both men.

          The people that ran this facility were horrible to the children.  They were strict beyond measure and punished them often for no reason.  Tommy was so thin because he gave most of his food to Brett.  As long as Brett had been here he didn’t remember any kids being adopted.  Once in a while kids would disappear but no one ever saw any adults interviewing them or spending time with them.  The girls had it worse and Brett didn’t understand much of it but many of them were kept locked up and had regular visitors.

          It was clear to Bill and Kevin that it was probably prostitution but it could be more.

          White hot fire erupted from the two men in the Spiritual Realm and thunder rolled across the clear blue sunny sky of the morning at their anger.  Bill kept them both tightly shielded as they flared brighter as his anger grew.  Their faces expressed the anger running through them.

          The two boys looked terrified, their eyes as big as saucers.  Bill realized they were scared of him and Kevin; they saw the anger and thought it was directed at them.  That was like a bucket of icy cold water getting dumped on both of them.

          Kevin’s throat was tight and his voice trembled slightly from his controlled anger and he said, “Oh my God boys we’re so sorry.  We aren’t mad at you.  Come here.”

          Before either boy could react Kevin swept both of them up into a hug; he pulled them against him and wrapped them up in his arms, and he opened up their Minds just enough to feel the Love that he and Bill had for them and what they shared between them.

          It triggered a memory in both boys, more in Tommy than Brett because he was older.  He felt that way once a long, long time ago.  He remembered being held as a baby by somebody, he was pretty sure it wasn’t his mother, but whoever it was loved him.

          The two boys started crying and they clung to Kevin with all the strength in their young bodies.  Bill opened their energy centers and he took strength from himself and Kevin, and he channeled healing energy into the two boys.  Tommy’s complexion normalized and any hint of malnutrition disappeared.  The best thing for them was they felt warm and safe against Kevin’s strong body; they knew nothing could hurt them there.  Neither one of them had felt so safe, and the warmth they felt wasn’t just of the body but deep down… the part of Kevin’s Avatar that came from Rick untied the knots and devastation that had already occurred to them in their short lives.

          Bill knelt down and put his arms around them from behind, sandwiching them between himself and Kevin.  He delved into Kevin deep and let their combined Souls shine over these two small boys, trying to burn out the hurt and loneliness, the feelings of not being wanted.

          Bill kept them in the place where time stood still for as long as it took.  He wasn’t sure how long they were there but he was patient, and he never got tired of being with Kevin in this way.

          Finally Brett started to squirm and his first thought made them both laugh:  What about Bumblebee?  He needs fixing too!

          Bill brought them all back out and Kevin used his hands to wipe the tears off their faces.  Bill took the broken toy and looked at it through Kevin’s Avatar; he saw what was broken and knew what he had to do to fix it.  It would have been far easier for Darren but he could do it.  He breathed deeply and sent out a call to any nearby animal Spirits; he Listened and took what he Heard; Kevin called on the Tree.  It seemed an enormous effort to fix a toy but he needed the strength to meld the metal of the toy back together.

          He laughed when Kevin said:  Fuck me Bill it’s easier to fix these two kids than a metal toy.  They were both sweating slightly from the strain of channeling so much Power on their own.

          Bill handed the fully restored Transformer back to Brett, and the smile on his face and the happiness he felt was all the reward they needed for their efforts. 

          This is the feeling I want to bring to all the kids here Kev.  This is what I’m talking about.

          Kevin reached out and pulled Bill into a tight hug and thought:  This is one of the many reasons I love you Bill. 

          They were surprised when they heard a shout, “What are you doing!?  Tommy, Brett come here this instant!”

          The Executive Director had come to find them and she showed up just as the two men embraced. 

          Kevin groaned and Bill jumped to his feet.  The two boys looked like deer in the headlights and didn’t move a muscle.  They were terrified of the woman, and they knew they were in big trouble.

          Kevin said, “Hey Tommy, Brett look at me fellas.”  It took both boys a second to take their eyes off the Director but they both looked at Kevin. He put his hands on their shoulders so they would feel his solid presence and he smiled at them.

          “You guys are fine.  You haven’t done anything wrong and aren’t in any trouble.”  He could see the relief in Tommy’s face.

          “Get your hands off those boy’s now!  You need to leave immediately or I’m calling the police!”

          Kevin stay with the boys.  I’ll take care of this.

          Kevin could feel Bill’s anger, but he was careful to shield the boys from it. 

          “We’re going to call the police alright Ms. Willis but not before you and I have a little talk.”

          The Director cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted, “ROGER!”

          She turned back to Bill, her face livid with anger and said, “You aren’t wanted here!  We don’t allow your kind near the children!  How could you do that in front of them?!”

          Bill could tell that he and Kevin had struck a nerve when she saw them hug.  The hypocrisy of that astounded him, for all he knew so far she was running a child prostitution ring here, and she was upset about a hug between two gay men.

          “Ms. Willis, I’m going to give you a chance to come clean with me on what’s going on here.”

          “There’s nothing ‘going on’ here.  We take care of these children like they are our own.  Those two boys are troubled and are difficult and lie constantly.  I don’t know what tales they told you but we run a legitimate organization here.”

          Bill and Kevin saw a large man moving towards them.  He was overweight and out of shape and he couldn’t run but he was trying.  He came up completely out of breath.

          “Roger, escort these two men off the grounds.  If they give you any trouble, call the police.” 

          She turned to Tommy and Brett and said, “You two are in big trouble!  If you’ve been spreading lies again you will both be punished.  No dinner for either one of you tonight, and you will get extra chores!”

          It was obvious she was used to people doing what she said; she certainly was overbearing in her manner.  Roger moved forward and grabbed Bill by the arm.   Roger’s hand barely made it over the ball of Bill’s biceps; Bill tensed his entire body, and Roger felt how strong he was.  Bill allowed the touch so he could Read Roger, as distasteful as he knew it was going to be.

          He was blown away at what he saw; Tommy and Brett saw things but as children didn’t understand.  Bill had the names of the six main conspirators in the ring of corruption that ran the Cavalry Children’s Home.  They were scamming Child and Family Services with the GA Department of Human Resources and collecting money for each child that lived there.  They were using some of the older girls as prostitutes and even a few of the boys.  They kept an iron grip on all of the children and ran the place like tyrants.  They worked with a few corrupt State employees and Child and Family Services who handled the paperwork for the welfare checks for kickbacks.

          Many of the kids were unhealthy and their health problems were ignored because of expenses.  The food was substandard in the cafeteria.

          What struck Bill was that none of these people had anything to do with the Enemy or The Master.  They were just mean, despicable, horrible people; the kind of people Bill and Kevin and the others were fighting for so they could be cruel and hateful to children and make their lives miserable… all for money and under the guise of Christianity.  The name and tax status of the Children’s Home was presented as a tax free business with ties to the Church, and they received regular donations from many local churches in the area.

          Bill was breathing hard.  Kevin could feel the tension inside his partner; they shared the anger and the shock of what was going on here, and the uncertainty of how they should proceed.

          I need to know more Kev.  I want to know every detail before we decide what to do.  We have to do what’s right for the kids and make sure they’ll be OK.

          Bill you don’t have to Read any more of them.  I know what it does to you; hell I can see what just Reading Tommy and Brett did to you.  You don’t want to do that to yourself.

          I have to Kev.  And we need to give all the kids here what we gave to Tommy and Brett.  They have to know this isn’t the norm.  Some of them probably don’t even realize they are being mistreated and think this is how the world works.  We have to show them otherwise.

          Bill, you know I’ll support you in what you want to do, but please reconsider.  Let’s get with the guys and have them come help us carry this.

          If this was about the Enemy I’d say absolutely, but this isn’t about the Team.  And I don’t want to put them through this if I don’t have too.  We all have enough on our plates, and I don’t want to add to their burdens.  It’ll be bad enough when we share it with them later.

          Ms. Willis and Roger had no idea that Bill knew any of the truth about what they were involved in.

          Roger’s eyes widened slightly when Bill didn’t move an inch.  Roger was tall but not as tall as Bill; and he weighed upwards of 280lbs but he was fat and out of shape.  He liked to scare and intimidate the kids into doing what he wanted.  He was a bully, and Bill knew that he was really spineless.

          Bill grabbed Roger’s hand on his arm and twisted his arm back into an arm lock.  It wasn’t all that painful as long as he didn’t struggle.  Bill reached into Roger’s pocket with his other hand and pulled out his cell phone.

          He looked at the screen and his eyes flared white.  He knew the code to unlock Roger’s phone and he did it with his Mind.  He sent a text to Candy to send out the emergency lockdown code that would send all the kids into the cafeteria.     

Kevin stood up and said, “Tommy, Brett, would you show us the way to the cafeteria?”

Kevin kept a hand on Tommy’s shoulder and Tommy took ahold of Brett’s hand as they made their way there.

Bill looked at Ms. Willis and nodded his head and said, “Go.  I’m not kidding Benita.  Get your ass in there now.  I’m going to let you go now Roger but only because I don’t want to scare any of the kids.  Don’t try to run or do anything stupid.”

Bill, like Brad, could be extremely intimidating when he wanted to be and his tone of voice let them know he meant what he said.  He let them feel his anger just a little, enough to get their attention and let them know he was deadly serious.

It took about ten minutes for all the kids to make it into the Cafeteria.  The room was too small to seat all of them at once so many sat on the floor.

The Campus and Program Directors rushed over to them as soon as they walked in the door.  Bryan, the Campus Director, said, “Benita what’s this all about?  Who are these men?”

Kevin said, “Benita, gather all your staff over there in the corner.”  He looked at Bryan and said, “No questions for now.”  Bryan started to sputter an indignant response until he looked at Kevin’s dark eyes, and he shut up immediately.

Ms. Willis did as she was told and gathered her staff members together.  Kevin could hear everything they said with his hearing and he knew they were trying to figure out how to get away.  They had an exit strategy planned in case the State or the police ever showed up, and they were scared enough right now to cut and run.

Bill put a Compulsion in all their Minds not to run but to stay and watch.

Bill moved forward and raised his hands and the murmurs among the kids stopped and they all looked at him questioningly, wondering who he was.

He lowered his head to collect his thoughts… he looked out at them and made eye contact with many of them.  He lowered his shields and their thoughts started flooding into his Mind.  He felt their pain and heard everything they were thinking.  He brought them all into a light Link with him and Kevin so they would feel the sincerity of his words.

“My name is Bill.  That’s Kevin.  We stopped by this morning for a visit and we met Tommy and Brett.  While we were here we learned a few secrets about how this place is run.”

His voice started to break a little as he continued, “I’m so, so, sorry for what these people,” he pointed over at Ms. Willis and the staff, “have done to you.  None of you have done anything to deserve the life you have here.”

He knew most of them didn’t believe him.

“I need you to do me a favor and line up for me.  I want to meet all of you, and I want you to tell me your names.”

Bill steeled himself for what he was about to feel, but he knew he had to do it.  Kevin was with him, supporting him and lending him emotional strength and support.

He started around the room and he took the hand of each child and had them tell him their name.  Even with the first touch it was painful for him; he Read them and knew their stories, who they were from the moments they were conceived.  Their lives became a part of him, and he felt their lack of self-worth and their longing to belong and be loved and accepted.  He saw the trouble makers and the ones that had learned to lie and manipulate to get what they thought they needed.  He saw the vicious cycles of unhappiness.

          The most painful were the girls who had been forced to use their bodies to pleasure men.  There were a few of the older boys who were forced to please women as well or occasional men.  He felt everything they did, both physically and emotionally.  His Soul groaned at the abortions some of the girls had repeatedly had, and saw the damage done to their bodies.

          All in all there were seventy seven children at the facility.  No matter how painful each one was Bill went on to the next; he felt an obligation to each one of them to know what they went through.  He was about ready to pass out by the time he got to the last one.

          The anger and bitterness inside him was a storm raging against his Soul.  Kevin was extremely worried for his partner and wished he would stop.  He pushed Bill to stop a few times but was rebuffed, and Kevin didn’t understand where the need to do this came from.  All he could do was try to be a cushion and buffer against what Bill was doing to himself and make sure Bill felt his presence inside him.

          When he finally reached the last child he sounded desperate:  Kev I need you.

          Bill dove into his lover like a drowning man.  He felt like every ounce of Light he had in him had been smothered by what he just took in.  Kevin held him as tightly as he could.  Bill dropped their shields and didn’t bother hiding their Auras, and the children felt the warmth of their combined Souls coming off the two men and even saw a slight glow about them.

          A few of the younger ones thought they were angels and that made Kevin smile:  They’re half right. A few of them were afraid at first, the ones who had started stealing and picking up dangerous and abusive habits, but Bill made sure all of them felt loved and reassured that at least the life they knew in this place was over and would be better.

          Even Bill heard the gasp from Ms. Willis and the other staff members when he amped up their Auras.  He half hoped that they would burn up, but they weren’t part of the Enemy, and somehow that made it worse.  Everything they had done to the children was out of selfish greed and malice.  They chose to do what they did; the children were inconsequential and a money ticket to be used and discarded at some point.

          The more Bill thought about that the angrier he became and they felt it.  Kevin wasn’t sure what Bill was capable of doing as distraught as he currently was.

          Kevin physically pulled back from Bill but stayed inside of him.  He cleared his throat and made his deep voice heard in the cafeteria, “OK kids I need you to do me another favor.   I need you to go back to your rooms for a little while.  My friend and I need to have a talk with Ms. Willis and the others.”

          He knelt down by the door and hugged each one of them on the way out for as long as they wanted to hold onto him.  Most of them had tears in their eyes and were still processing what they heard and felt. 

          Bill stood in front of Ms. Willis and glared at her, his anger and bitterness towards her and her staff continuing to grow.  They were all trembling and nervous and entirely self-centered; he knew their concern was only for themselves, and they didn’t care one whit for any of the children.  Bill was pale and shaking and almost physically sick between what he had taken in from the children and what he saw in the adults in front of him.

          “Do you want to see what you’ve done!?  I want to know if it would have made a difference if you had!”  Bill took all the pain inside of him, from all the children, and he shoved it into their Minds.

          Kevin realized what he was about to do and shouted:  Bill no! 

          Something inside Bill snapped when he did that.  He wasn’t gentle, and he forced them to live through everything the children experienced under their care.  He took their Minds deep so they could live out each experience in its entirety.  They screamed and begged for mercy on the inside but he was relentless.  They heard his thought in their Minds:  You never showed an ounce of mercy to any of the children that were under your care and protection.  There will be no mercy for you.

          Kevin was completely conflicted as to what to do.  He Understood what Bill was doing and why he reacted the way he did; he shared the brokenness through their Link.  He was tempted to shut Bill down until he calmed down some, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that.  He felt, deep down, that these people deserved what they were feeling. 

          The fight Bill and Kevin found themselves in with the doctor and their Brothers was against supernatural forces trying to control mankind.  What were they supposed to do when the people they were trying to protect didn’t deserve it?  He prayed that Bill wouldn’t kill them, and he would do everything in his power to not let that happen, but they weren’t getting off without a penalty.

          Kevin called 911 on his cell phone.

          Bill the police are on their way.

          Bills Mental voice sounded exhausted and distraught and he asked:  Kev what are we gonna do? We have the power to make this right and these kids need us.

          Yeah they do Bill.  I’m not saying this to sound trite, you know that, but the whole world needs us.  I hate it as much as you do; we could lose ourselves in situations like this.  There’s so much tragedy and brokenness in the world; the Enemy isn’t directly responsible for this, but they have created a world where things like this happen easier.  I’m sure The Master would love for us to get overwhelmed with situations like this.  Let’s talk to the guys and the doctor about this; don’t try to carry this by yourself or just with me.  When we finally beat The Master we can start working on making the world a better place where things like this can’t happen.

          We’ve talked about this some already Kev.  Do we have the right to interfere on such a big scale?

          Please come inside me for a minute Bill.  My heart’s breaking for you buddy, and you need me right now just as bad as I need you. 

          Not caring if Ms. Willis and the others saw, Kevin moved over and put his arms around Bill and hugged him tight and he brought their Souls together.  He didn’t bother with shielding them again… he wanted them to know what love really felt like.  He wanted them to know it existed and was real.  He doubted at this stage of their lives they would be able to change but if they could it would start with this.

          They immersed themselves in one another and Kevin did exactly what he knew Bill needed.  They were Soulmates, knowing each other completely, and Kevin Understood what his lover needed in the moment.  He held Bill in his Body, Mind, and Soul and let him cry and rage and wail his anger and frustration.

          Kevin let him vent as long as he needed too knowing it wasn’t directed at him but he was the sounding board Bill needed.  He needed to know that Kevin understood how he felt, and would still love him anyway.

          The hug lasted for a few minutes and Kevin and Bill stayed merged for what seemed to them hours and hours resting in one another.  It didn’t solve their problem, but it gave them both the strength they needed to bear it all and keep going.

          They looked around and realized Ms.  Willis and the others were staring at them and crying; the tears were a mix of fear and shame and disbelief as well as a physical reaction to what they felt.  Just as Bill put a Compulsion on them to confess everything to the police when they arrived in a few minutes he felt Darren reach out and synchronize his Avatar and he and Kevin vanished.

          The silence in the cafeteria was deafening as everyone saw them vanish.  All of them saw the glow and felt the warm Light the two men emitted as they embraced.  They had to be Angels.

          The same thought occurred to Ms. Willis and the others and that struck fear into them as much as anything else Bill had done to them.  If there were Angels that meant that Hell was real and they felt the Fire of eternal damnation licking at their Souls, and they knew that Bill felt like they deserved to be there.

          Ken and Brad both let out a ‘Fuck me!’ when they came back out of the memory.  Kevin’s eyes were wet again with fresh tears, and they could feel the hurt inside of him from Bill’s absence. 

          Brad asked, “So do you think he’s back at the Orphanage right now?”

          Kevin nodded and replied, “Yeah I do, but he’s not answering me so I can’t be sure.  He could be at our house, or he could be at the safe house in Australia… he could be anywhere but my best guess is he’s back with those kids.”

          Ken took a deep breath, and with his hand still on Kevin’s thick shoulder he gave it a squeeze, “I get it now why Bill freaked out so much over the Eschphene leader and what he did.  When he Read the douchebag’s body… well, it would have been bad enough on a normal day, but after the morning with all the kids and taking all their pain inside him… just damn.”

          Kevin got his quirky lopsided grin for a second, the one that drove Bill weak in the knees and he said, “You know what the real kicker here is?  On top of all this?  Deep down Bill is mad at himself and he thinks he’s weak for not being able to handle all this.  I felt it in him just before Darren pulled us with you at Stone Mountain.”

          Just then they heard the building alarm go off.  Ken let out a “Fuck! What now?” as they all took off running to the main area by the door.

          Rick, Bryan, and Pat were already there ahead of everyone else.  The surveillance monitor showed a man they had only ever seen once in the Valley of the Tree the day they met Luke.  It was Jegudiel, Bill’s angelic grandfather.

          The doctor had a slightly smug look on his face; since they warded the building with the Greater Runes out of the Book of Loagaeth the Arch-Angels could no longer just show up unannounced.  He didn’t like their direct involvement with his young charges and made no secret of his feelings.

          Ken opened the door, and before he could say anything Jegudiel nodded his head in greeting and said, “Hello Ken.”

          Still not sure what the proper form of address was for their Angelic relatives Ken resorted to, “What can we do for you sir?”

          “It is pleasant to see all of you and to finally meet you.  I know how close William is to all of you.”  He actually fidgeted slightly and said, “I wish I was permitted to enter, but with your protections I am unable to do so. Is there someplace we can talk?”

          “Are you here to see Bill?  He’s not here at the moment.”

          “Yes I am aware of that.  He needs Kevin and the rest of you desperately right now, which is why I am here.  I wish to explain something to you, and I have a gift for him.”

          Jegudiel had a slight accent that none of them could place and his vocabulary sounded somewhat formal.  He was devastatingly handsome like all the Arch-Angels, tall and powerfully built.  His human form appeared to be in his early forties, with very close shaved brown hair and beard with just a hint of grey.  He looked very tan, and he had blue eyes and was wearing a tweed jacket with suede elbow and shoulder patches with blue jeans and loafers.  He looked like a muscular, studly college professor without glasses.

          Ken and Brad looked at one another and a quick conversation passed between them.

          “We can go to our house if you like.  There’s enough room for everyone there.”

          “Thank you; that would be most kind.”

          Ken looked at Dar and said, “Would you mind Dar?”

          Darren rolled his eyes at the question and grinned, showing his dimples, and shook his head.  Just to try to lighten the mood he said, “You know I got my Taxi license now?  I’m gonna start charging you bitches for hauling your fat asses all over the world.”

          Darren’s eyes turned white as he pulled the image of the safe spot in their house from Brad.  He synchronized their Avatars and they all vanished from the Lab and appeared in the kitchen at Ken and Brad’s house.  It was slightly more of an effort without Bill, but they managed fine, though it made them more painfully aware of his absence.

          Once they were at the house all the couples found a spot to settle in. Bryan and Lane sandwiched Kevin in between them on the couch.  Once they were all seated Jegudiel appeared in the usual Arch-Angel fashion of a ball of light that quickly grew into his human form.

          Brad pulled one of the dining room chairs out and brought it over for Jegudiel.  He seemed extremely polite and humble and said, “Thank you, son.”

          “You’re welcome, sir.  Now what is it you want to talk about?  We’re anxious to find Bill.”

          “Yes, of course you are.  Since that is the case I hope you do not mind…”

          They felt an odd sensation of movement as if they just shifted slightly to the side.  Pat Understood that Jegudiel slipped them out of Time.

          “… there.  Now we are not quite so pressed for Time.”  He got an impish grin on his handsome face and quirked his mouth in much the same manner as Bill did and said, “No pun intended of course.”

          They all felt the slight emotional rush that went through Kevin when he saw that grin.  It was one of those little characteristics about Bill that he found endearing and incredibly cute, and it just pushed home to him how much he missed Bill by his side.  Bryan put his big arm around Kevin and pulled him close for a second expressing his support.

          “Now to William.  I know you all have your various Avatar’s and you are still exploring them and learning about them.  There are subtleties about them you have yet to uncover as well as many aspects of your Nephelem nature.  Patrick and Lane and Bryan I think can relate more to what is happening with William than the rest of you.

          “Patrick, you saw earlier what was going on inside of William.  Your Avatar didn’t tell you what you saw but you realized he was in great distress... you could see it, but your Avatar lacked the knowledge to explain what was going on.  Think of it like putting ink into a glass of water and watching the color change… you would see it and know how the molecules interacted and Understand that… but you would not know how the water felt having its molecular structure altered.  Please do not take my remarks as any criticism towards your ability, or think it is lacking in any way… it is perfect for what it is intended to do.

          “Lane, you have a similar issue to William with your Dreams… they become a part of you as if you experienced them.  When Taggart Keenan felt his leg ripped off in the explosion in Afghanistan and you Dreamt of it, you woke up with the pain and experience as though it were your own.

          “Twice now William has faced tremendous evil or pain… the first was with the Skull of General Zherneboh Mstislav in the moment his Avatar Awoke.  But that time he entrapped his own Mind to prevent it from killing him, and even though his body absorbed the knowledge, his Mind was protected.  All of you saved him through your own valiant efforts, and the evil was eradicated from his body before he came back to himself.

          “This time however is different.  When he took on the pain and tragedy of all those children it became a part of him.  Nearly seventy children, abused physically and emotionally their entire lives, their pain… it is a part of him now and he is changed by it… damaged by it.  His own psyche is powerful as you know, and over time it will heal itself.  He has already begun this process; part of that process is putting up walls to protect himself.  This is a natural reaction, but it is from the part of him that is human… and in this case it is contrary to what he needs.  He is shutting out the other half of his Soul as well as all of you, his Brothers… the greatest source of his strength.

          “You cannot undo this... but you can help him to overcome it.  It is dangerous for you as well… you will not be affected as deeply, but all of that will enter you the next time you merge deeply with him.”

          Bryan’s deep voice cut through the pause, and he said, “I get it.  Fuck, Bill… I felt it too.”

          Jegudiel nodded knowingly, “Yes Bryan, when Uriel took you to visit Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life... when you drank the Water of Life and your Avatar Awoke you felt all living things for a brief time… you saw the Pattern of Life as it was meant to be.  And then you were wracked with pain as you saw and realized the gaping holes that now exist… some naturally, and many unnaturally.  The trauma of that experience was severe as you remember.

          “William is facing something similar.  He needs you all desperately and I am having a difficult time watching him in such pain.”

          As everything Jegudiel said to them sank in, their Hearts grew heavier and their eyes watered.  More than half of them had tears running down their handsome faces for Bill.  It added to the grief they already felt from losing Liz earlier in the day; they were still processing that, and it was fresh and raw inside of them.

          Ken spoke up and said, “Pardon me, sir… but how can you be here asking for our help?  Aren’t you breaking a Rule by coming to talk to us?”

          “I appreciate your concern Kenneth.  I am walking a fine line here yes, but what William is experiencing has nothing directly to do with The Master or the Enemy.  He is facing human tragedy.  Therefore, I can intervene as a concerned relative.

          “I am also here to teach you all a lesson.   Bradford has already touched on this in his own Mind, and it has caused many late night discussions with Kenneth.  It begs the question… is mankind worth saving?  If they can inflict such pain on one another in their Brokenness… do they deserve your Love?

          “William’s outburst over the Eschphene leader and your discussion on whether to end his existence or let him face eternal torment… immediately after facing the staff members of the Orphanage who so horribly mistreated all those children… it pushes the philosophical questions you face to the forefront.  It illustrates how difficult your decisions and your path truly are.”

          Brad said, “It seems as though we’re fighting The Master and mankind at the same time.  But we were also told that if… when we finally defeat The Master and break the Enemy… we can restore mankind to its original state before the Curse.”

          “Yes, that is a choice you will have.  You will not know, none of us know, what you will chose until that time comes.  Since you have come into your Heritage we have all had many surprises.  Being Unfettered and Free as you are… it makes it impossible for any of us to see your path.”

          Pat said, “I bet that really pisses some of you off doesn’t it?”

          Jegudiel threw his head back and roared with laughter.  It took him a few seconds to stop, and he wiped his eyes and said, “Yes Patrick, more than you can possibly imagine.  Not just us but the Dark One as well.  You are quite an anomaly. But I for one see the need for you.  You are all random threads in the great Tapestry of Creation and everywhere you go the Pattern changes in some way.  You cause ripples by your very existence, and that is upsetting too many who are very set in their ways.  Order is nice but boring… I think you were brought into being to ‘shake things up’ a little.”

          All of them were aware of the gamut of emotions running through each of them; it ranged from anxiety to fear to confidence.  Hearing all of this from the perspective of an Arch-Angel was revealing and a little overwhelming.

          It also pushed the idea that the doctor and The Order had been used by outside influences other than the Arch-Angels; influences which continued to this day.   Maybe only to bring about their changes… like Bryan once said, certain events must happen to give them a chance to fulfill their purpose.  They felt like puppets sometimes, and it felt like more than one hand was pulling the strings… which was a paradox if they were supposed to be ‘Free’ and ‘Unfettered.’

          Kevin finally spoke up and said, “Guys, sir, this is all fascinating but what about Bill?  He needs me and us.  Do you know where he is?”

          “Yes I do.  He’s at your house at the moment.”

          “Our house?”

          “Yes.  He went to the Orphanage and it was crawling with Police, reporters, and Social Services.  He plans to return later this evening when things have calmed down, but he is conflicted on what is to be done with the children.”

          “Guys, I’m sorry, but I have to go now.  Can you give me just a few minutes, and I’ll bring him back with me?”

          “There is one more thing Kevin.  William is still processing everything and is not thinking clearly.  He loves you with all his heart, but the walls he currently has up will make his behavior towards you erratic and perhaps even hostile.  I have something I wish you to give him.”

          He pulled a small cloth bundle out of his jacket and said, “This is … Well sort of a Family Heirloom.  It comes from someplace very special, and in times like today, if William is overwrought, this will help.  It is not something he should keep with him at all times… The Enemy would like nothing more than to get their hands on this, so you must keep it safe.  One day I will have to ask for it back so this is a loan but he needs it now and it will help him.”

          The ring glowed softly once it was unwrapped, and then it began to get brighter and brighter until they had to shift their Sight or be blinded.

          Lane couldn’t help himself and he said, “Damn Bill gets the friggin’ Phial of Galadriel, what do I get?”

          Bryan reached his big hand over behind Kevin’s shoulder and lightly slapped him on the back of his head, “You get me you little shit.”

          Jegudiel chuckled and said, “You are somewhat correct Lane.  This is truly a Light for William when all other Lights go out.  This light however is far stronger than what the Lady of Lorien bottled.”

          Lane looked shocked and his eyes were wide, “You know Tolkein?”

          “Yes I do my boy; he is a bit grumpy but we have many good conversations.  The Inklings still meet, and you would be astounded at what they have done these days.”

          Lane’s inner geek couldn’t take it, and his eyes teared up at that thought and he said, “Oh my God, I meant ‘you know Tolkien’ like you read his stuff but you talk to him?!  Fuck!”

          Jegudiel had a twinkle in his eye and said, “Maybe one day you will as well.  It takes a while to warm up to him, but once he gets a few pints in him he mellows out nicely.”

          “Are you shitting me!?”

          “Only a little, it really takes more than a few pints.”

          He turned and looked at Kevin intently saying, “Now Kevin… go.  Go to your partner.  Bring him back where he belongs.”  He slipped them all back into Time and he was gone.

          Kevin looked at Darren, who grinned and said, “OK, OK.  Another freebie, but only because Bill is one of my favorites.  The rest of you douche bags suck.”

          Darren went into Kevin’s Mind and pulled the image of their safe spot in their kitchen.  His eyes turned white and he synchronized his Avatar with Brad’s, Loy’s, and Lane’s and Kevin vanished from in front of them and appeared in his house.

          Bill was shaking and sweating like he had a fever, and his complexion was pale and clammy.  He sat on the floor of their den with his knees pulled up and his chin resting on his forearms.  He was deep inside himself lost in the memories of the children.  The ones that were the worst were those that had been forced to sell their bodies; he felt their shame, violation, and often their pain.  Their sense of self-worth was so low it was almost nonexistent. 

          He felt the way it twisted their emotions as they got older and how they protected themselves; how they started striking back at those they could to make themselves feel better.  All the things that children should have… a good home, a place to feel safe, a loving family… all those things had been denied them.

          He was lost in their brokenness and wanted to make them whole again.  He was so absorbed he didn’t feel or hear Kevin, and he jumped when he felt Kevin’s hand on his shoulder.

          “Hey Bill.  I’m glad I found you.”  Kevin was astounded at how bad Bill looked.  It hit home with him how much all this truly affected his partner, and his heart ached for him.  He had more sympathy than ever for Bill and Lane and the double edged sword that some of their Avatars proved to be.

          He also realized that Brad and Ken were so right early on when they said all of them had to be a refuge for each other as partners and as Brothers.

          Kevin’s eyes were wet as he knelt down in front of Bill.  He leaned forward and, cupping Bill’s thick neck with his warm hand he pulled him forward to press their foreheads together.  “Fuck Bill, you look awful.”

          With the physical contact he pushed through Bill’s resistance and into his Mind; he reeled when he felt the turmoil, but he held his lover tightly and filled Bill with every ounce of Love he had for him.

          Some of the glaze left Bill’s eyes, and he blinked.  His voice was barely a whisper as he said, “Fuck Kev, it hurts.  There’s so much… I’m sorry!”  With that he fell forward and wrapped his arms around Kevin, latching onto him like a drowning man and started crying, his heavy shoulders shaking.  Kevin held him tight supporting him.

          “Hey Bill I have something for you.  It’s a loaner from your grandfather.  He said it would help you.  Hold out your hand.”

          Bill pulled back, his face wet with tears.  He was so distraught he couldn’t talk.  Kevin felt his embarrassment and shame for what he had done and how he reacted; and was still reacting.  He felt weak.

          “Oh my God Bill, you aren’t weak.  You’re fucking brave and strong and kind.  You put yourself on the line for those kids like no one ever has.  You’re a hero; my hero.  Jegudiel explained to us what happened… my only regret is that I wasn’t strong enough for you when you needed me to be.  I let you do too much on your own.”

          Kevin took Bill’s hand and turned it over and slipped the ring on his finger.  Bill sucked in his breath and his eyes turned white and went wide.  Kevin was in Bill so completely he saw and felt everything is partner did.

          He was surrounded by tiny balls of light, fresh newly created Souls waiting to be born.  They resided in a place called the Hall of Wings in Heaven and it was never empty.  The purity of each one was breathtaking and there were more than he could count… he bathed in them and they filled him up driving away the darkness.  No…not driving it away… it was still there… but it counteracted the Darkness he took and held inside of him… balanced out the bad with the good, the ugly with the beautiful, and the brokenness with perfection.

          Kevin sat with him, and took everything in. He marveled at what Bill’s Avatar was showing them and putting into them.

          Bill looked Kevin in the eyes and leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips and said, “Thank you Kev.”

          “The guys are waiting for us at Ken and Brad’s.  Will you come back there with me?”

          His apprehension was still there; he was embarrassed after his behavior.

          Bill, Jegudiel showed all of us what you went through.  You know everyone there loves you, and Brad, Lane, Loy, and Darren all get what you went through more than anyone.  Jegudiel explained a lot to us and we get how your Avatar affected you; each of us in our own way has a downside to what we are now.  There’s no shame or embarrassment about that.  Lean on me and on them. 

          What you did was profound beyond words and powerful as shit in its own way.  You aren’t weak man.  Never, ever, think that.  And I’m always going to be with you no matter what.  We’re in this together, you and me and the guys.

          Kevin said everything Bill needed to hear, and he took it all to heart.

          Alright let’s head back.  I’m gonna need Darren’s help getting you back with me.

          Kevin shared Darren’s new running joke about being a taxi, and Bill smiled and chuckled as he wiped the tears out of his eyes.

          Kevin had only been gone about five minutes when Darren heard a piercing whistle in his Mind:  Hey Taxi!  It was Bill’s voice. 

          Darren laughed and his eyes turned white, and suddenly Kevin and Bill were standing in the living room with all of them.

          The first thing Bill noticed was the relief on their faces.  Brad pulled him back into their Link and he felt not only their relief but their support; and one thing that no longer surprised him… their contentment when all of them were together.

          Ken smiled and said, “Welcome back Bill.”  He embraced his Brother and slapped him on the back.  Everyone came up to him and did the same thing.

          It touched him deeply and he started to cry again.  Brad brought them all together, ten to five, and five to one.  They swam in one another’s Souls, and all of Bill’s Brothers shared in what he did and what it did to him.  He felt their pride in him, and he felt their teasing chastisement as they gave him shit for what he did and it made him laugh.

          They stayed together for a long while, each of them bringing their unique perspective to what happened that day; everything that happened with Ken’s fight, losing Liz, how Henry and Drew were reacting, his experience at the Orphanage… all of it.  There was more sorrow than anything.  It was more apparent than ever that the world needed them and that they needed each other.  And what Bill saw when he put on the ring, and continued to feel while he wore it, proved that mankind had the potential to be pure.  It all started out that way until the Souls entered the world and came under the Curse. 

          They felt the pressure of that on their backs… but Ken’s deep voice said:  One thing at a time fellas.  Even when we defeat The Master we can’t rush blindly into doing something of that magnitude.  We’ll figure it out but for now let’s hold to our current task and not lose focus.

          Once they were back in their bodies and sitting around the den, Brad and Ken got drinks and snacks together and they were all talking.                                              `

          Bill suddenly asked, “Guys did I do the right thing?”

          It was a heavy question and it was Ken who answered first.  He and Brad had discussed this privately and extensively in a private construct.

          “Yeah Bill, you did.  Those kids needed to be saved.  B and I still have our suspicions about what led you to find them.  I’m not sure it was a coincidence that you and Kevin ended up there.  It could be entirely coincidental and we have no proof otherwise other than B’s gut feeling; but that’s a feeling I’m comin’ to appreciate more and more.

          “But here’s the deal.  When situations like this land in our laps we can’t ignore them.  We have our abilities and we’re fighting for Mankind, whether it’s against their own nature or The Enemy.  But we can’t go lookin’ for things like this yet.  If we do it’ll bog us down, and we’ll lose sight of our main goal of defeatin’ The Master.

          “With what we learned about Drew today… it seems we have to figure out how to beat The Master in the next two years or Drew’ll die.  And we know that’ll continue every seven years until we figure it out.  If he does die and is reborn… at least we have the stone now and can use it to find him but to me that’s not an option.

          “For more than eighty thousand years that boy’s Soul has been reborn and died brutally every seven years.  That’s…” he looked at Brad for the number.

          Brad said, “at least 11,428 times.”

          There was a smattering of “Oh Shits!” and “Fuck me’s!” around the room at the number.  When it was that black and white it was almost unthinkable.

          Bill asked, “Why do you think Pat and I can’t see it?  I mean we play with Drew all the time and I’ve held him in my lap and he’s ridden on my shoulders.  Why didn’t my Avatar kick in and tell me who he is? Why can’t Pat see the connections?”

          Brad said, “Pat did see the connection between the stone and Drew, but without your Avatar to fill in the meaning it’s not enough to go on.  Istariel had no idea how they came across the stone.   I’ll have to talk to the doctor and ask his opinion, but I think it has to do with the Curse and how Drew is part of it.  He is unaware of who and what he is… and the Supernatural element doesn’t come into play until his seventh birthday.  My guess is that on his birthday you and Pat will see a light show like nothing you’ve seen yet, and that’s saying something.”

          Ken continued, “That also means our window of opportunity will be small; maybe even the day of his seventh birthday.  I hope the doctor and Albrecht can help us figure out more about that.”

          Once again the enormity of what they faced was before them, and it was staggering how one small boy could help determine the fate of mankind.  A boy they loved and wanted to protect; a boy they felt like they let down by letting his mother sacrifice herself.  Ken had a bruise on his heart where Drew hit him, and it hurt like nothing had in a long time.

          The questions in all of them were unanswered… how would they get The Master to ever ask for Drew’s forgiveness… and if that impossible task came to be how would Drew bring himself to do it?  He was just a small boy; and his life had been hard - abused by a horrible father; and the one person he loved and had been with him his entire life, his mother, was just ripped out of his life in a way his five year old mind couldn’t possibly understand yet.

          Ken felt Henry’s coldness towards him too.  Liz, in her last words, said Henry would be angry at them for her decision and to hold him tight and take care of him.  They would do that because they loved Henry too… not because they needed him with Drew but because he was their Brother.  But his anger hurt.

          “We’ve all had a long day fellas.  Let’s draw straws at who gets to stay at the Lab tonight, and everyone else go back home and get some rest.”

          Rick and Loy volunteered but so did Pat and Darren so they played Rock, Paper, Scissors to settle it.  Rick was the champ… he won so often they were beginning to think it was somehow a part of his Avatar.

          “OK ladies, let’s all get some rest and meet first thing in the morning.  We need to debrief the doc and Albrecht.”  A group hug ensued, and Darren’s eyes flashed white and they all disappeared into the safe spots in their houses.

*************************

Ok that’s it for Chapter 20… I hope you enjoyed it!  Now to get started on Chapter 21!  What could possibly happen next?

Also please remember that nifty.org needs your donations to keep providing all these cool and wonderful stories!  You can donate at:

http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html

Nifty Erotic Stories Archive            Over 200000 documents spanning 4.6GB