Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2007 13:49:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Silvenfox <silvenfox@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Chosen - 10

The following is a complete work of fiction.

Any resemblance between the characters and any real life person is
completely coincidental.  Please do not copy or distribute the story
without the author's permission.

Disclaimer:

The following story may contain erotic situations.  If it is illegal for
you to read this please leave now. Also expect blood, gore, incredibly
funny scenes and super-powered teenagers with a destiny to save the
world. If you're not a fan of any of these plus strong cursing and
violence than this is not your type of story.



Chapter 10



The wind blew in my face and I closed my eyes enjoying the refreshing
breeze that caressed my face. Trees and Highway 151 rushed past,
with me waving enthusiastically at every passing vehicle. I took my
head from the window and looked around the bus. Disturbed was a prominent
expression that covered everyone's faces.

"What?" I asked, blinking innocently. "So I like field trips."

Ryan and those gathered in the back of the bus snorted. I pouted,
crossing my arms. The pout quickly turned to a scowl when I saw Killian
sitting in the seat in front of me talking. We were finally heading to
the wildlife preserve, for our science projects, and I couldn't even
really enjoy the field trip since my "partner" on the assignment was He
Who Gets On My Effing Nerves.

Since the revelation of me being the leader and prince, three days ago,
Killian had been extra annoying toward me. It was a good thing we hadn't
had any Ever After barriercrossers yet. In a fight I wasn't sure how we
would fair as a team, since Killian barely listened to my orders. I admit
I didn't know the first thing about leading, but I was trying, and the
snide comments weren't helping my skills along either.

I banished that from my thoughts. It was field trip time. Think happy
thoughts. Think happy thoughts. Then you can fly! I shook my head. That
was random. I glanced down at the drink in my hand, then looked around,
and found my bus seat littered with discarded snack wrappers and empty
cans of Jolt Cola. My eyes widened as I mentally added up all the sugar
and caffeine I had consumed.

"Chad? Why are you bouncing in your seat?" asked Ryan, somewhat
fearfully, carefully inching away from me.

I grinned crazily. "That's an easy answer, mate. I'm hyper."

The comment came out louder than I anticipated and those surrounding us
heard it. Those that knew me shared frightened looks, and I just nodded
and smiled evilly. Oh yes. A hyper Chad compared to a normal Chad, was
going to be 200 times the insanity of usual.

"Trust you to go on a sugar binge the day we observe our assigned
animals," Killian quipped, turning around his seat to sneer at me.

I cocked my head at him. "Has anyone ever told you that you have really
pointed features? Like a troll or a goblin?"

"Look who's talking," Killian retorted. "At least I don't look like I've
been bashed across the face with an ugly stick."

I gasped. "Was it that same stick I saw you go off into the corner with
earlier? You were looking awfully intimate with it..."

Killian rolled his eyes. "You should get your eyes checked. That stick I
went off with was actually your mother."

"Which makes you my father," I stated, with mock curiosity. "Man, now I
know where I get my bad looks from."

We had drawn quite the crowd during our verbal sparring match and I
earned a loud round of applause and cheers. Killian turned back around,
scowling at the playful jeering and heckling the crowd was throwing at
him. I smirked. Grumpy loser.

"Are we there yet!" I called out, startling many people out of their
conversations. "Are we there yet! Are we there yet!"

Ryan poked me in my side and I yelped in part surprise, and part pain.
Ow. I glared at him. Sometimes even when his super strength was toned
down he still could do some damage.

"Meany! What was that for?" I asked, giving him my best glare. Since I
was rubbing my side and wincing, with my bottom lip stuck out, probably
took away the heat of the stare.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "You know why. You keep this up and the teachers
are going to make you and Killian hold hands so you don't act up..." He
gave me a sly look and muttered under his breath, "...Or get lost."

I stuck my tongue out and turned my nose at him. He snorted. I proceeded
to annoy the hell out of my fellow classmates for the duration of the
trip. Such incidents of me pulling hair, playing punch-buggie (with any
car that passed us), and throwing paper balls will be remembered fondly
by all I'm sure. When we finally came to the park I didn't understand why
everyone sitting near proclaimed "thank you, God" and made a beeline for
the front doors. I frowned. Some people were so weird.

I jumped off the last step and thrust my arms skyward. "Here! Finally!"

We all gathered together and waited orders from the teachers. The
teachers gave us explicit instructions to stick with our partner and we
were ordered in groups of a dozen to see our assigned animals. Our
chaperones would be a teacher and one wildlife preserve officer.
Immediately, I stuck near Ryan and waited for Killian to join me. He
slinked over to join us and Ryan's partner was some emo kid with long
bangs, who stared at us with disinterest. I gave him a hesitant smile and
he rolled his eyes, pulled out his phone and began texting. Bitch.

Our guide was a man in his early thirties. He had a strong jaw and deep
brown eyes that screamed come to my bedroom. His khaki uniform clung in
all the right places to his fit form. I think I made him flush at the
open ogling I was doing, as I gazed at him like a death row prisoner
about to get his last meal.

"Well, uh, just follow me," said `just call me Mike'.

I followed along like an obedient puppy, pushing past Ryan and Killian so
I could marvel at the sculpted ass trapped on this tiny khaki shorts. Oh
this was turning out to be a pretty good field trip. Mike led us past the
gravel parking lot and into the forest where we followed a clearly marked
trail.

"So how long have you working here?" I asked Mike, smiling charmingly.

Mike blinked, confused, but answered. "Well a little over three years
this coming December."

Mr. Collins, our teacher assigned to the group, cleared his throat.
"Chad, I think it would be best if you join your partner. This is for the
`both of you' to observe and study."

I sighed. Damn. I thought I had escaped that bastard. I joined Killian's
side, who was giving Ryan an I told you smirk. I looked up ahead and saw
Mr. Collins start a fast paced conversation with Mike, who was responding
excitedly. Oh so it was like that. Well checkmate indeed Mr. Collins.

"Finally get your hormones in check?" remarked Killian, smiling nastily.

I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out. "I was merely showing an
interest in getting to know our guide."

"Hmm mmm," added Ryan, making a disbelieving noise.

I puffed my chest out and stood tall. "I have you know that I don't need
to flirt anyway. I have a date tonight."

Killian whistled. "Who in their right mind agreed to go on a date with
you?"

I frowned. "Since it's obviously not you, it really isn't any of your
business."

"Thank God for that miracle," retorted Killian, sending a wink upward
toward the sky.

I rolled my eyes. Gee and I thought I was dramatic sometimes. I opened my
mouth to deliver a venomous retort about his face but stopped. A jolt
went down my spine. Power. I looked around wildly. The hair on my arms
and the back of my neck stood on end as the power crawled along my skin.
I shared a look with Killian and Ryan. They nodded at me, their
expressions suddenly serous. We hung back from the group and then slipped
off the trail and through a cluster of trees.

"What is that?" asked Killian, rubbing his arms.

"It's the energy from a portal into the Ever After," answered Ryan, his
voice deeper, more confident as the Executioner showed through his mortal
guise. "The power is unmistakable once you've felt it before."

I agreed. "It's close too. And emitting a lot of energy." It kind of
scared me but I wasn't going to say it. "We need to go and check it out."

Killian frowned. "What about the group?"

Shit. The group. I sighed. An idea formed. "I think I can fix that. Look
like its spell'o'clock time." I gathered energy and formed the intent in
my mind. "Come to me and obey my whim. Shadows near do as I command. Take
form and shape. Take thoughts and words. Act and simulate!"

My words came out hard and harsh, magic flooded the syllables giving them
power to effect and change reality to my bidding. Wind rushed past us as
our shadows rose forth from the ground. They gradually churned and molded
themselves into exact replicas of ourselves. I blinked a little surprised
that it worked. I smiled and gave myself a little pat on the back. Go me.
Our shadowclones were complete and precise copies of us, down to the last
detail. I really do good work. I admired my clone and nodded at me.

"What will you have us do?" asked Clone/Me.

Oookay. A little creepy. Wait? Do I really sound like that?? Focus. I
told myself. Got to get down to business.

"I need you three to go back and join our group. Pretend to be us and
don't get caught. Oh if you guys have time please go by Starbucks and
pick me up a Vanilla-"

"Chad!"

I sighed. Excuuse me. "Nevermind. Just follow the first order. You may go
now." They nodded and as one left to rejoin the group.

We got right down to business. Silently as one we marched toward the
source of the energy. Which was leading us into the thick of the forest.
I was starting to get nervous. I knew the animals were caged in their
designated areas of the preserve but what if one of them got loose. I
would hate to die because I got mauled by a lion or a bear. It would so
suck to die a virgin.

A large, jutted rock surface appeared in our line of sight nestled in a
sea of large redwoods. I frowned. The power was stronger now and close. I
spotted an opening in the rock. It had to be coming from that cave then.
I pointed it out and even Killian grudgingly agreed with me. Maybe I had
some sense of leadership after all.

We approached the cave cautiously and entered with a stealth that would
have made James Bond jealous. At least I think we were stealthy. I admit
I was breathing just a tad bit too hard.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I held my hand out, ready to deliver
a fireball at anything that jumped out at us. The power was stronger the
deeper we went into the cave. I could practically taste it. It was
coating my tongue making me swallow the buzzing energy that crawled along
my skin and board deep into my veins.

Light appeared up ahead and I gasped. Cutting through the air was a tear
in the very fabric of space. It was a portal that literally looked as if
someone had stabbed the air and made a long jagged cut into reality. The
edges of the portal shimmered silver and on the other side was a hazy
view of a surreal forest.

"You guys think the Ever After is on the other side?" asked Killian, his
voice quiet, but echoing off the closed in space.

Ryan nodded. "The portal carries the same energy I've come to associate
with the Ever After." He looked at me. "What do you think we should do,
Chad?"

I froze. I wasn't use to people looking to me for direction. This
leadership thing was going to take a while. I drew on whatever insight I
could pull. Well on all those good old fantasy shows the good guys
usually went into the portals to either destroy it or find out why it was
there. I really didn't want to go but a stabilized portal into the Ever
After were unheard of. To hold one open for long periods of time required
energy. A whole of energy. And that source sure wasn't coming from this
side. So that meant it was coming from the Ever After. I had a feeling
this portal wasn't here just for kicks. Whatever the reason we needed to
find out.

"I think we need to go in. We need to know why this is here and answers
sure as hell aren't on this side," I said, trying to sound more confident
than how I felt.

They nodded so I guess my reasoning made sense. Heh. Go figure. With a
thought we wordlessly transformed into our more powerful alter egos. I
felt better at the familiar weight of the cloak draped over my shoulders.
I pulled the hood off and ran a hand through my hair. Taking a breath I
did the hard part. I stepped through the portal. It was like moving from
a desert into an oasis. I didn't feel the change on my skin. I could
sense it in my thoughts and in that part of my brain that told you it was
going to rain soon, to run when in danger, or enabled you to pick up a
car when your child was trapped under it. That primitive part of my
subconscious screamed at me what I already knew. I now stood in a
different world.

The ground rolled on made of deep gray earth. Hard and unmoving as I
kicked at it with my heavy boot. The sky was a curtain of blackness that
had tiny stars netted in. Instead of the usual pale silver I was
accustomed to seeing, jewels of every color dotted this sky, looking
impossibly bright and beautiful to behold.

"Wow!" exclaimed Ryan, staring at the sky in wonder.

I could sympathize. It was stunning to witness. I swallowed. Alright.
Time to go check out locals.

"I think we better not draw any attention to ourselves," I said quietly.
"Remember we aren't too much liked around here."

The Executioner held up a hand signaling to be silent. He closed his eyes
and cocked his head, listening. Ah. It must be handy to have heightened
senses.

"I hear something," said Executioner, opening his eyes. He frowned. "It
sounds like battle cries."

Solaris' eyes widened. "A fight?"

I steeled my nerves. "Let's go find out shall we."

I marched forward. I kept my eyes on alert, looking everywhere at once
body tense and ready for anything. The others were at my side following
my lead. We kept our steps light and again talking was at a minimum. We
marched out the forest with its silver leaves and tall trunks that
towered high above us. Slowly at first, I began to hear the voices and
then they grew louder in fervor in sound. We carefully walked across a
grassy field that seemed to stretch on for miles. Suddenly the ground
dropped ahead of us plunging into a tall cliff that overlooked a dry and
rocky canyon.

Let's not forget about the army of demons. I took a step back in fright
at the host of monsters and demons of nightmare that covered the ground
below the cliff. I couldn't even identify the creatures below us. They
were all ugly, with knotted, slimy twisted skin, and huge bodies. There
had to be over 3,000 creatures. They growled, howled, hissed and made
every guttural kind of noise they could filling the canyon with sound.

"What the fuck," whispered Solaris.

I second that.

There was shimmer in the air above the army and from it appeared a woman.
She was tall, with long, straight black hair that stopped at her hips.
She wore a long green gown of silk that barely covered her important
bits. It was tight at the waist fitted with a shiny belt equipped with a
long dagger that rested at her hip through a loop on her belt. She was
beautiful with her soft lines and curves but too perfect. It was a false
perfect that marred her looks and reminded me of what she really was. A
demoness.

"The time is come for you to go forth as the first wave!" shouted the
demoness, her deep voice ringing out clearly in the air. "Wash the Earth
of the mortal filth that overruns its surface like cockroaches. You will
make the way for The Lords in Shadow and they will remake the Earth again
into our paradise!"

There was an echoing cheer that split the air. It was so loud that I had
to cover my ears.

"Now march forward and conquer the mortal bugs!"

With that last order the demon woman vanished. The ground rumbled and
shook beneath our feet. The massive host surged forth toward a rocky road
that cut into a path leading forward to the canyon top. Our present
location. I looked at the Executioner and Solaris like a deer in the
headlights. They mirrored my expression. I gulped.

"3,000! We can't possibly take that many!" gasped Killian, panicking.

The Executioner gave him a stoic look. "We can't if you start to panic
and lose it."

They both looked at me with expectant gazes, waiting for instructions.
What the hell were they looking at me for? Oh wait. I was the leader.
Damn. I keep forgetting that. I squared my shoulders. We didn't have any
choice in this matter. It was either stand our ground or let the army go
uncontested into our world. Something we obviously couldn't allow.

"We need to meet this army head on," I said firmly, trying to sound
confident and reassuring. "We can't let them get to Earth no matter what.
We'll fight till we can't no more."

Thank you Battlestar Galactica. Without you I would be at a loss for
words.

We squared our shoulders and formed a line with our back toward the area
we came from. The location of the portal leading back to Earth. The noise
of the army and quaking of the ground grew stronger till the demonic host
appeared in the horizon.

"Here they come," the Executioner murmured.

I looked at both of them grimly. "No matter what hold this line!"

Solaris flicked his hands and light flared around them glowing white. The
Executioner made a motion with his right hand and suddenly his Spirit
Staff appeared twirling in his grip. I pulled my magic to me and gathered
it to use. My palms lit with blue, crackling electrical like currents of
energy. If someone looked at me I'm sure they would see the same currents
sparking within my eyes.

When the army saw us standing in their path there wasn't any moment of
hesitation or halt of confusion. They saw us and they were spurred on
with a speed of whips at their backs. Solaris looked at me and I nodded
giving him permission. It was go time.

"Dawn Bringer!"

Light shot from his hands splitting the air with shocking speed. The
light split into different rays and every demon it hit was vaporized by
the laser lights, killing two dozen. The demons continued forth filling
the gap in their ranks and increasing their speed. I raised my arm
skyward, palm flat.

"Hell wont have you,
neither will Heaven.
To the fog of limbo
I banish thee to."

Light, the color of garnet, filled my palm congealing into a globe.
Within the orb was a cloud of dark, gray circling mist. The mist came
from the sixth dimension, limbo, the place where the power from the spell
stemmed from.

"Soul Reaper Reprise!"

I snapped my arm down and the ball of power launched forward with a loud
whistle accompanying it, as it sliced through the air breaking the sound
barrier. The attack tore up the dirt under it leaving dead earth in its
wake. It hit the mass formation and the first front lines of a hundred
soldiers melted into steaming, smoking flesh of mess.

"Here it comes," whispered Executioner, getting his staff into position.

The army crashed into us and we met the assault with quick moves. The
Executioner's yell echoed loudly through the air as he gave a great swing
of his staff. The metal pole threw back a dozen demons with one swing.
There was no time to recover. A demon jumped onto his back and Ryan
grabbed its arm. He swung the demon around in a wide arc hitting every
monster circling him. He dropped the demon and stomped on its neck
crushing it. A were creature leaped at him and the Executioner kicked it
in the chest sending it soaring clear across the battlefield. I smirked.
I guess it pays to have super strength. Some times I forgot the strength
to bench press a car existed in that body.

I didn't have time to continue watching my comrade. Creatures and demons
from humanity's nightmares bore down on my position with hunger in their
eyes. I swallowed heavily. I gave a small scream as a hissing snake beast
sped at me. Panicking, I threw my hands forward.

"Magic bolt thingy!"

Power flared into my palms and took the form of a dazzling ray of white
light. It crashed into the beast and disintegrated it with a quiet hiss.
Something struck my head and white spots flared behind my eyes and
dizziness hit me like a bolt. I rolled over and immediately levitated
backward from the Minotaur that swung an axe in the spot I vacated. There
were so many monsters. Everywhere I turned there was another one. I
swallowed. We had to see this through. There was no retreating. I
snatched a hair from my head.

"Champion Chain!"

The hair grew in my hand till it was a glowing cord of gold. I had a
wicked Sailor Venus flashback. I grasped the chain and it whipped through
the air, grazing the bellies of a line of creatures advancing toward me.
The whip ripped open their stomachs and smoking, hot intestines coiled
out as the shrieking monsters fell to their knees.

I screamed as a rotting demon, dripping ooze from its pores, tackled me
hard to the ground, and sending the whip flying away from me. My ribs
felt like they were about to break as the demon dug his elbows into my
sides. I cried out as dagger slit open my wrist. My magic reacted to my
pain and lashed out. My eyes snapped open and I screamed as power built
up inside of me and expanded outward. Light flared from my body and every
creature within a meter of me vaporized before they could scream.

I got to my feet as quickly as I could. I saw bright flashes of light in
the distance and could make out flares of bright intensity. Solaris. He
was still alive and fighting. Good. I rubbed my hands together and raised
them heavenward.

"Ares, God of War, bless me,
empower me, and humble this
warrior with grace and power."

Immediately, a sense of courage and strength not my own filled me. My
very bones felt energized and I felt a confidence flood through me. I
bounced lightly on the balls of my feet. The demons continued filling the
gaps in their ranks and continued forward. A muscled and thick skinned
demon, its pale skin ghostly white, rushed at me. Skills I never before
had, spurred me to plant my heels. I gathered my strength and uppercutted
the beast. It fell to the ground hard its jaw now hanging at an odd
angle. I aimed my palm and fired a fireball at the fallen body watching
numbly as its body incinerated in red, hot flames. I spun around with my
leg, roundhouse kicking a furred beast sneaking up behind me.

I battled on like this, fighting with the will of the Greek god of war
till the foreign power left me. It couldn't last since I was neither god
nor an avatar of Ares.

"Chain Lightning!" I yelled throwing my arms forward. A huge shaft of
blue electricity charged wind came down from a nearby cloud and sped
toward monsters separating me and the Executioner.

The monsters jumped around like broken back snakes as the energy ate
through their skin and organs, frying them into piles of black ash. I ran
to Ryan's side and fired a beam of red tightly controlled fire at the
demon host. My beam went high so I dragged it down and it sliced into the
creatures cutting into their bodies. Some found their heads torn clean
off and others had their bodies were torn in half. Blood rained from the
sky as more exploded.

I reached Ryan's side and we fought back to back. I concentrated on
throwing attacks that would take out large numbers of hundred or more.
Ryan kept close and kept the demons at bay literally tearing creatures in
half as he fought with a viciousness I hadn't seen before.

I caught a flare of light out of my peripheral vision and paused as
demons on my left side turned to dust. Solaris fired another attack
disintegrating another battalion of monsters. He was relentless in his
attacks, not letting up, pushing up the intensity as he neared us.

"You boys miss me!" he yelled over the detonation of an attack that he
set off behind him. He gave a cocky wave as he obliterated a line of
demons with a sweep of his arm, showering their bodies with raining beams
of focused light that melted right through their flesh.

I rolled my eyes. Somebody was sure getting over confident. I opened my
mouth to call this fact out to him but instead yelled, "Watch Out!"

Solaris didn't have time to dodge the big meaty arm that slapped him to
the ground. I yelled out as the hulking form of a large demon, dressed in
armor and decked out for battle loomed over Solaris. He snatched Killian
up and dangled him in the air by his neck. I gathered my magic readying
a thunder bolt. It seemed time slowed to a quarter speed. I saw the
desperation and pain on Killian's face as he clawed at the arm holding
him up. I flung the bolt of lightning just as the demon flung Killian far
off, high into the air, right over the deep canyon beyond. The bolt him
the demon and it fell to the ground blood pouring from its ears. But it
was too late. The Executioner's screams echoed mine as we watched Killian
plummet to the canyon's bottom.

The monsters ignored our plight and still attacked us with no mercy.
Tears fell down my face as my soul cried out. We were best friends in our
past lives and I felt the pain as if we were still that close. My brain
knew different but my heart and soul were filled with grief. I gave a
rage filled yell as anger at the unfairness of the situation bubbled deep
within my gut and boiled in my veins. A harsh wind suddenly came to life
throwing back everyone near me and forcing the monsters to stagger
back.

"Warlock!" screamed the Executioner over the loud gale. He gripped my
shoulder and I turned to him. He gasped. "Your eyes!"

I could see my reflection within his gray eyes. My normally blue eyes
were pitch black, like a starless night. They were an inky black from
edge to edge that spoke of the power that I was channeling. The power of
dark magic.

I shook off the Executioner's hand from my shoulder. "Get back, Ryan.
Find some cover."

I turned back to the mass of demons ahead of us. Though we had made a
sizable dent in the army, the host of dark creatures was still more than
a thousand strong. The air got colder and the wind howled louder, echoing
through the air. A door in my mind had been opened at Solaris' downfall.
My soul cried out for vengeance and it opened the knowledge of how to my
mind. Words tumbled forth from my lips, my voice resonating like a choir
of voices speaking as one.


        "Darkness against the moonlight,
        Blight in the souls of all men,
        In the heart of the universe
        is where all great Power breeds."


Sharp slivers of red and black light, the usual colors of a spell of the
darkest magics, began to slide up from a cone around my feet until they
had all congealed in my hand. I shivered as the black magic crawled along
my soul, feeding me energy from the source of its power, a dark god of
destruction from eons gone by.


	"I feed to you my word of honor,
	that the bounty bestowed to me,
	is paid in blood and devastation."


I struggled as the power I was holding together fought against me.
Concentrating hard, I willed the magic to hold together and stabilize.
The power I was drawing from was never meant for mortal hands and here I
was bringing it forth into reality. One wrong word or act and I could
annihilate myself and this world in the blink of an eye. My feet left the
ground as gravity itself twisted and warped around my body causing me to
levitate a half foot. My hair stood on end and the magic gathered within
my hands pulsed in time with my heartbeat. Almost there. Just a little
bit more to go.


	"Destruction is what I pledge to reap
	upon my enemies, that beholds the power
	invested in me. In thy great name. Amen."


The power in my hands solidified and my control was total. Power spiked
and I sent a prayer that Ryan got somewhere safe. I narrowed my eyes and
finished the final incantation with the trigger command.


	"HELL... GROUND... ZERO!!"


Everything went white.


Silence reigned in the area. The Executioner slowly approached the
destroyed region. There was nothing left within the spell area. Nothing.
Where there was once a rocky, grassy plain there was now a deep crater. I
sat in the center of a perfectly smooth sphere of depressed terrain.
Around me eleven hundred meters of landscape was missing. Completely
gone. The Executioner joined me in the crater falling to his knees to my
level. We sat in silence for over five minutes. Neither of us said a
word. There was nothing we could say. We just lost a comrade. A friend.

"Chad, how? They're all gone."

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just did it." I felt tired. Sluggish. The
shrug took more energy than it should have. "I feel like I need a good
nap now. I don't think I can manage another spell for awhile."

There was a sound like air being displaced right behind us. We spun
around and tensed as a man-size orange sphere floated down from the sky.
The sphere popped and in a shower of yellow and orange sparkles formed
Ryan's shape, then became solid.

"Whoa!" he gasped. "Now that was a rush!"

I gaped. Hell we both gaped like fish. The Executioner broke from his
stupor first. He embraced Killian and they laughed a long laugh filled
with happiness and a shared relief. I shook off my amazement. I staggered
to my feet and pretty much fell into Killian's arms. Relief flooded my
senses and I couldn't even muster up a catchy quip at the moment. If I
was at a loss for words then deliriously, emotionally and physically
tired was what I was. Killian true to form didn't let the moment go.

"Wow, Chad. You look horrible."

And the bitch was officially back.

I took the comment for the joke that it was and grinned. "How are you
still here? We saw you fall!"

Killian smiled. "I teleported! I remembered how to do it as I was about
to kiss the ground at ninety miles per hour. I guess I figured how to use
a `forgotten power'."

"Excellent!" beamed Ryan. "Can you do it again?"

Killian nodded. He looked toward the sky and shouted, "Sun Rise!"

The orange bubble materialized around him and lifted his body in the air.
He landed behind us and appeared in the same shower of sparkles, grinning
from ear to ear.

"Da da!" he said, throwing out his hands and bowing. "I guess we can we
head back now. We stopped the army and we know why the portal was there."

I nodded. "That demon lady said The Lords in Shadow are pulling the
strings. Whoever they are."

"Probably the same mysterious source that Deathdealer mentioned at
Borders. I remember him clearly saying he was merely the herald of
something much bigger and powerful than him," said the Executioner.

I remembered that too. "We now have a lead guys. I say we leave this
place before more baddies come and realized we cosmic moon powered this
army. And we need to collapse the portal once we leave."

Solaris frowned at me. "Well lets hurry up then. You look terrible.
You're obviously about to faint. Don't need you passing out here,
Warlock."

I rolled my eyes as the Executioner supported me with one arm around my
shoulders. "Gee, thanks, Solaris."


                                *   *   *


	And true to my word I slept the rest of the night when I got home.
I napped during school the next day and was thankful that no one noticed
our absence during the field trip yesterday. We took our shadowclones
places and they resumed their post as shadows. Nathaniel wanted to meet
with us about the fight but he thankfully put the meeting off till two
days. Thank God. We needed a break after the day we just had. Plus I had
plans for the night.

I threw another shirt on my bed. That was the third one. Fuck. I picked
another shirt from my closet and slipped it on. It was blue and tight,
clinging to my upper body quite nicely. I smiled at myself in the mirror.
Nice. My bedroom door opened and Kevin walked in. He gave me a long look
and smiled devilishly.

He wolf whistled at me and winked. "You gays sure love your clothes."

I stuck my tongue at him. "I have a date tonight."

Kevin raised his eyebrows. "Oh. It is Friday. I almost forgot you had
your big date tonight."

I nodded, smiling stupidly. The thought of Danny often made me react like
a schoolgirl. "Yeah," I sighed, dreamily. "It's my first date with the
guy from the arcade."

"Danny right?" asked Kevin, jumping on my bed and sprawling out.

I leaned against my dressed and held out my hands displaying myself. "Do
I look okay?"

Kevin grinned and shrugged. "I'd do you."

I rolled my eyes. "As much as that image filled me with disgust. Thank
you."

"That's what I'm here for. When is he going to be here?"

Quickly, I glanced at the clock. "He should be here within the next ten
to fifteen minutes."

"Ouh. Then I guess I'll just be making my way down the yellow brick
road," said Kevin standing up. "Deuces bitch."

I blinked. Just as I always did when Kevin resorted to using gangsta
talk. Sometimes it was a hit but many times, like this one, it was a
miss. He left and I watched his exit with a fond smile. Kevin really was
a great best friend. I was sorry that I couldn't share my alternate
activities with him, but Nathaniel was adamant about Chosen keeping their
powers a secret. I sighed. I didn't want to go there now. The topic made
me usually either sad or angry. Right now I wanted to be neither. I had a
date.

The doorbell rang as I was doing my hair. I looked myself over in the
mirror. My smile was anxious and happy at once. I grabbed my phone, keys,
and wallet from my bedside table. I went downstairs and was thankful that
both Mom and Morgan were gone this evening. I really didn't feel like
being grilled on who I was going with and where I would be going. I was
not some blushing, Mormon virgin on her prom night.

I opened the door and Danny spun around and gave me a grin. He looked
good, dressed in blue jeans, white shirt with a dark blazer worn over it.
His mahogany hair was in a ponytail and his lilac eyes were twinkling as
they landed on me, looking at me the same appraising way I was going over
him.

"You look good, Chad," smiled Danny, brightly.

I blushed. "You, too, I mean. You look good too."

"Too cute," he chuckled. Danny extended his hand. "You ready?"

I nodded and took his head. He led me toward his car. An old school
Mustang from the 60's painted a gray-blue. I sighed in envy. I would so
love a sports car but Mom always ranted about drag racing and pink slips.
I didn't know what she was on but she definitely needed to come of it.
This was not 1965 and this was not Grease. I looked way better than John
Travolta.

He opened the passenger door for me and I slid in.

"Oh, I guess all that flirting paid off," said a voice from the backseat.

I spun around and groaned. Sitting in the back was Adam. His sunglasses
glinted in the light of the streetlamp and I frowned in confusion. What
the hell was he doing here? I glared at Danny as he got into the driver
side.

"Look, I don't know what type of party you think this is," I said
harshly. "This aint no gangbang or freaky threesome or whatever you got
planned. I'm not down with the kinky stuff. You can kiss my-"

I trailed off seeing their gaping faces with their dropped jaws. I shut
up and looked back and forth between the two. Uh oh. I think I just
messed up. Fuuuck.

"Wow. I always knew you were as dumb as a-"

Grinning, Danny cut off his cousin who was smirking at me evilly. "Oh,
stop Adam." He looked at me. "This isn't some `gangbang'" They both
snorted. "I'm merely dropping off Adam someplace near the restaurant
we're going to. He's meeting some people there and needed a ride."

I wonder if people could see me from space. I'm sure my face was so red
that people in orbit could probably see. I chuckled nervously and mumbled
a quiet apology feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. You know like
Killian.

The car started up and we drove forward a heavy silence filling the
inside of the car. I suddenly became very interested in my hands.
Anything would be better than this awkward situation. Wow were those
hangnails getting long. I really needed to clip them.

"Now isn't this just the most pleasant evening," said Adam sarcastically
from his seat in the back.

I snorted. "Understatement of the year."

"Now that you mention it things could be a little bit livelier," added in
Danny, grinning his usual bright smile.

I smiled in relief glad that things would be getting on back on a happy
track. I steered the conversation to mundane things. Things I really had
no interest in but just anything to keep the conversation going. Then the
conversation turned to home life and I told them about my parents, my
dad's death, and Morgan's Satan loving ways.

"Adam here is the closest thing I have to a sibling so I feel your pain,"
said Danny, nodding solemnly.

Adam delivered a slap to his head. "Ha ha, ass clown. You aren't the
easiest to live with either what with your whorish wa-"

"Adam!" snapped Danny, clenching his teeth angrily, his stop at a red
light coming just a bit too hard.

Oookay. That was kind of freakily weird. I was totally getting a whole
secret vibe. What was that Adam had been about to say. I looked in the
mirror to see Adam sit back in his seat and cross his arms, his lips set
in a thin line. He looked pissed. I couldn't blame him. He did jut get
verbal slapped down.

The car parked in front of a café and Danny turned around. "Hey Adam
we're here in front of the coffeehouse," he said, his voice gentler and
lacking the harshness of his earlier tone.

Adam got out without a word to Danny, moving expertly without the use of
sight. He extended his cane and made his way into the building without
saying goodbye. I frowned feeling something stir in my chest at watching
him leave so sullenly. His feelings must have been really hurt. I glanced
at Danny as he sighed and started to drive the car again, taking off from
the coffeehouse.

"You alright?" I decided to ask.

Danny nodded, giving me a small smile that lacked its usual brightness.
"Yeah. I didn't mean to snap at him. It's just that Adam has a mean
streak sometimes and I didn't want our date to be ruined. I could tell he
was getting ready to start saying some nasty stuff."

I nodded. I didn't know what to say. I was touched that he cared so much
about our date though. I felt the familiar dumb grin spread across my
face and I wanted to slap myself. Cleanup aisle three, I need someone to
clean up the mess my hormones are about to make all over my pants.

"You're really sweet," I smiled.

Danny parked the car in the parking lot of a restaurant that sat at the
end of a busy strip. He ran a hand down my cheek and I almost melted at
the look he was giving me. It was soft and the little smile that played
at the corner of his lips made me want to kiss him till he couldn't
breathe.

"It seems you just bring out all the sweetness in me," he whispered,
leaning in for a short and deep kiss.

I sighed happily as he pulled back looking deep into my eyes. I
swallowed, my heart beating wildly in my chest. I felt like I could fly
to the moon right now.

"You ready for the best date of your life?" he asked, that roughish grin
back.

I nodded, smiling bashfully.

This was already the best date of my life.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well that's it for chapter 10. The next one won't take me 2 months I'm
sure. Ha. You guys know how it gets during the last semester of school.
I've done some plotting and I think this book of the story will be
wrapped up in maybe seven more chapters. Then there will be a book 2
which will follow a different plotline. Next chapter: a meeting with
Nathaniel, more Chad and Danny.


I've been having some issues with yahoo and mail. It spazzes out and I
get angry. I apologize to everyone that has wrote me and I haven't got
back to. Yahoo mail is just not working very well with my computer. If
you want to write me you can email me at Batmanhater@aol.com