 
### The Ward of Castoria

THE CASTORIA SERIES

Book 1

By

Robin Silverglate

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 Robin Silverglate

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial and non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

### DEDICATION

For Mom,

my biggest cheerleader

### CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1: A New Assignment

Chapter 2: The New Student

Chapter 3: Dinner Guests

Chapter 4: Confrontations

Chapter 5: The Strange Walk Home

Chapter 6: The Summons

Chapter 7: Followed

Chapter 8: Unpleasant Discoveries

Chapter 9: Xenther

Chapter 10: Confusion

Chapter 11: Aftereffects

Chapter 12: Nick

Chapter 13: A Change in Duties

Chapter 14: Puzzling Behavior

Chapter 15: Clarity

Chapter 16: Nardoc

Author's Note

Titles by Robin Silverglate

About the Author

### PROLOGUE

The creature paced back and forth along the balcony of the fifth story apartment. Its large eyes studied the foreign terrain. There were no trees. There was no water. Nothing looked like the forest it called home. All it saw were tall structures and bright lights piercing the night sky. Periodically, a rumbling noise would warn the creature to hide back amidst the shadows. It had no idea what those giant, rolling things were, but they did not smell right. Nothing seemed right in this strange place.

A vaguely familiar scent permeated the air. It was the smell of fresh meat. Hunting instincts urged the hungry creature to kill even though it usually steered clear of this animal. It looked over the ledge of the balcony and saw the being that walked upright on two legs. The greedy eyes of the creature took in its prey and thought that it looked smaller than normal. Perhaps that meant it was weak. It decided to get closer and investigate.

The creature jumped down to the ground and winced as its feet hit the unnaturally hard surface. It much preferred the soft mossy terrain of home. The creature's forked tongue tasted the air and found its prey again. Hunger pains drove its legs to quicken their pace and close the distance. Now was the time to attack.

*****

The Protector waited in the shadows of the dark alley. He leaned against the cool brick wall with his eyes fixed on the building across the street. Five hours had already passed and he had long grown used to the fetid smell of the city street. He enjoyed the quiet solitude that could only be found in the city at two in the morning. Most of the people who lived on this block were asleep. Only the occasional passing car disturbed the unusual silence that hung over the city. To keep from getting bored, the Protector watched a rat pick through a nearby trashcan in search of a buried cache of food. He was amused by the animal's determined perseverance and even smiled when it found a discarded loaf of bread.

A movement across the street diverted the Protector's attention away from the rat. His body stiffened and he snapped to attention. He watched his Ward exit the double doors of the office building and begin the trek home. The Protector emerged from his hiding place in the alley and proceeded to follow his Ward. He walked with his well-practiced silent tread and was careful to remain hidden in the dark shadows away from the street lamps. It would not have mattered anyway since the Ward never once turned around to look behind him.

The Protector sensed the creature the moment it landed on the sidewalk. It followed his Ward with the cautious stride of a predator. The Protector took note of the creature's bumpy scales and long, spiny tail. The talons at the tips of its multi-jointed feet made unnatural clicking noises against the sidewalk with each unwavering step. The Protector knew how to destroy the creature. It would not be easy, but he was confident in his own abilities.

He reached for the bow behind his back and shifted his legs into the proper stance. The Protector watched the creature approach his Ward with a stealthy gait and knew exactly what it intended to do. _Turn at the next corner and don't look back_ , he thought as he took aim. It was best that his Ward not see the creature and know how close he had come to a gruesome death.

The Protector released his arrow the moment his Ward safely rounded the corner. It was a direct hit against the creature's scaly back. The creature spun around and made a feral hiss through its double row of sharply pointed teeth. The Protector was undaunted by the vicious display and calmly closed the distance between them. He unveiled a sword that had been hidden underneath the folds of his coat. The creature eyed him suspiciously, but did not yield its ground. The Protector thrust his sword forward to hit its leg, but the hard scales there protected it from harm. The creature hissed and lashed out with its long forearm. The Protector was ready for the counterattack and jumped back in order to avoid its razor sharp claws.

He walked slowly onto the street in order to get a better angle of attack. The creature followed his movements, not allowing him to gain the advantage. The creature continued to hiss and lifted his barbed tail as a clear warning for the Protector to stay away. The Protector, however, had no intention of backing down. He lunged toward the creature and hit his sword against its impenetrable scales. The creature retaliated with a swift thrust of its tail. The Protector easily parried and began another attack. This violent dance between the creature and Protector went unnoticed by the sleeping residents of the city block.

The Protector soon changed tactics and jumped to a window ledge on the second story of the building. The creature followed, as he knew it would and jumped up onto the awning over the building's front door. The sure-footed Protector moved to another nearby ledge and turned to watch the creature propel itself off of the awning. It landed on the window ledge that he had just vacated.

The Protector looked directly into the large, bulgy eyes of the creature and smiled. He leapt back down to the sidewalk underneath them and landed steadily on his feet. The creature jumped down to pursue. The creature's eyes widened the moment it realized its mistake. While its outer body was covered in scales, its soft underbelly was not. The Protector raised his sword and sliced through its exposed skin as the creature fell to the ground. It was a clean kill. The Protector had successfully completed his mission.
Chapter 1

### A New Assignment

Dane Stormwood was surprised that Tetari had seen another attack in the Reflection so soon after the last one. Usually, he had more time between assignments, but it looked like he would have to go back sooner than anticipated. Dane did not mind the continuous work. In fact, he thrived on it. He loved being a member of the Vanguard and Protector of humans who had been targeted for a dismal fate.

"It's the father," stated the elderly woman, but she soon checked herself and said, "No, it's the daughter." Tetari looked frustrated as she stared at the wall behind Dane. Her eyes were glazed over with a silver sheen that showed she was in the midst of a vision.

Dane was worried. He had never seen her look so confused before. "Tetari," he said with respect, "Please stop for a moment."

Her eyes returned to normal. She slowly walked to her chair and exhaled deeply as she sat down. "I'm unsure who will be next. I see flashes of images that baffle me. At times, I'm positive that it is the father. But then, the vision of the daughter is clear to me, as well."

It was unlike Tetari to be so indecisive. Usually, her visions were vivid enough to see the person who was attacked, as well as the location and time of the incident. "Would it help if you start from the beginning again?" he asked as he sat down in the chair next to her.

Tetari sighed and her eyes once again glazed over with the silver sheen. Dane waited patiently as he watched over Tetari. Her wrinkled face puckered even more in the uncertainty of her visions. After several minutes of silence, Tetari finally said, "It is no use. The visions are too fragmented. You and Beckwyn will have to guard both the father and daughter in order to be sure. I also see that you will not have much warning with the attack, so I think you should find a way to stay closer to them than your usual methods."

"Yes, Tetari," Dane agreed. He listened intently while she described the remaining information she could see. One Ward was a thin-framed middle-aged man with graying hair and the other was a teenage girl with long, straight brown hair. Dane was thankful she could also see an address of a house in a middle-class neighborhood in Gaithersburg, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. It would make his job a little easier.

"I'm not sure when the attack will occur," Tetari continued. "I see such puzzling signs. However, I think it could take place anytime this week."

Dane regretted that she could not be more specific with the timeline. The number of attacks seemed to be increasing and for them to allocate two Protectors for up to a week's time was a large commitment. He stood up and moved toward the door. He had to find Beckwyn as soon as possible.

"Dane," said Tetari just before he left the room.

"Yes?"

"You need to watch over the girl."

He was confused. "Does this mean the daughter is the one who will be attacked?"

"No," said Tetari. "It could still be the father just as well. What I mean, is that _you_ must be the one who protects the daughter and Beckwyn should protect the father."

Dane found this order strange. Usually, she did not care which Protector was sent out on the assignment. They were all equally skilled in this matter. But he did not question her methods and simply said, "Yes, Tetari. I swear I will protect her."

Dane closed the door and walked swiftly down the hall. It occurred to him that everything needed to be done quickly lately. There had been six attacks this past week. In fact, one of his Protector brothers was still in the Reflection finishing up an assignment. He wondered why there had been so many attacks recently. As it was right now, the Vanguard was able to handle the situation, but he did not know if they would be able to fulfill their duties if the attacks continued to increase at this alarming pace.

As he left the Main House and walked into the courtyard, Dane heard someone call his name. He reluctantly turned to look at the man who was approaching. He knew exactly why the man was searching for him and tried to stave him off. "I'm busy, Feredir."

"Sorry, Dane," Feredir said in a friendly manner. "She wants to see you."

"Not now," said Dane impatiently. "I just got another assignment."

"Yara won't like that you've refused her again."

"It can't be helped," explained Dane. "Please tell her I'll visit as soon as I get back."

"All right," said Feredir in a dubious voice. "I'll tell her, but I doubt that's going to hold her off for long." He then moved aside so Dane could pass. Dane felt immediate relief when he realized he had successfully avoided Yara again. He couldn't give her what she wanted. Recently, he'd found it easiest to just avoid the problem by being busy in the Reflection. In that respect, he was grateful he had a duty to protect the girl.

*****

Bryn Thorner inwardly groaned when she saw the Evil Stepsisters walking out the front door of school. Kayla, Lauren, and Mackenzie were the most popular students at Lockland Preparatory Academy. Their beautiful blonde hair would often lead people to believe they were sisters, but that was not the case. They were friends who did practically everything together. Boys were infatuated with them and teachers found their pretty Barbie-doll looks charming. Bryn, however, was not fooled by their beguiling outward appearance. She believed they were undoubtedly the meanest people she had ever met.

These three girls never missed an opportunity to ridicule Bryn and they teased her about a variety of issues. Even though Bryn wore the same school uniform as they did, the Evil Stepsisters always found something to target with a snide comment. Sometimes Bryn's jacket was outdated and other times her shoes were too cheap. They even found ways to criticize the light dusting of freckles on Bryn's nose even though Lauren had a few herself. Somehow, they found out she planned on studying to become a doctor and they used that against her, as well.

Bryn was not sure why the Evil Stepsisters had made her the target of their ridicule and bullying. Their attacks had begun during the first week of her freshman year and she did not remember ever offending them prior to that. Bryn got the impression that Kayla was the one who truly had it in for her and Mackenzie and Lauren were just the mindless drones who followed her lead. It was usually Kayla who led the verbal attacks while her two best friends laughed in agreement. However, after four years of listening to their nasty comments, Bryn found it harder and harder to stay strong against their assaults.

"You just made me remember something," Kayla said in a malicious voice. She continued when Bryn didn't respond. "Your flat chest reminded me that I need to get my dress ironed for my date on Friday night."

Bryn rolled her eyes. She would usually ignore Kayla and walk away after a comment like that, but this time she decided to say something. "When are you going to come up with new material? I've heard that one at least ten times."

Kayla quipped back, "I have to repeat everything ten times, because I'm worried that you're too stupid to comprehend what I am saying the first nine times."

Bryn sighed and said, "Whatever, Kayla. I've got to get to work now."

"Ah, yes. Off to the coffeehouse. You need to go make minimum wage so you can afford some nice clothes for yourself. I hear Payless is having a sale this weekend. Maybe you should treat yourself to something special."

Mackenzie laughed and said, "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing bargain shoes."

Kayla placed her hand on Mackenzie's shoulder and said, "Let's stop wasting our time. We've got to get to lacrosse practice." And with that final comment, the three of them spun away in the direction of the school's practice field while Bryn turned and walked down the city sidewalk.

As Bryn descended the steps into the Metro station, she tried to force their comments out of her mind. She wasn't going to take stock in what they said about her. Even though her chest was admittedly flat, she knew she wasn't stupid. She worked hard to keep her grades as high as possible. She had recently been accepted to Johns Hopkins University which was one of the best medical schools in the country. Of that she was immensely proud.

Bryn luckily did not have to wait long on the platform before she saw the train enter the station. It was not very crowded at two-thirty in the afternoon and she easily found a seat to herself. Bryn felt instant relief as the doors closed and sealed her in from the cold windy tunnel. She took out a book to help pass the time, but found her mind wandering instead. Bryn counted the months she had left at Lockland Prep. It was now March and she had three months to go. She only had to endure ninety more days of the Evil Stepsisters. Then, hopefully, she would never have to see them again.

They had made life very difficult for Bryn these past four years. The other students saw how she was treated and usually stayed out of it. She knew it was because most of them were vying for the popular blondes' attention and did not want to risk anything that might associate them with a social outcast. As a result, Bryn ate lunch by herself at the same table every school day for the past four years and not once had anyone joined her. She told herself that it didn't really bother her, but she was glad this phase of her life was almost over. Things would be different once she graduated.

The train pulled into her station five minutes before she had to be at work. She braced herself against the chilly breeze as she walked onto the open platform. Luckily, the coffeehouse was only two stores down from the station, so she was not in the cold for long. She checked in with Joan, her boss, and positioned herself behind the counter. Working the afternoon shift at a coffeehouse was relatively easy. The busiest time for the business was in the morning and she only worked mornings on weekends and school holidays. She and her best friend, Nicole, were usually the only ones needed to work during the afternoons. The two of them had been friends ever since kindergarten. Even though they went to different schools now, they still maintained their close friendship. In fact, it had been Nicole who had convinced Bryn to get the job at the Daily Grinder so they could spend more time together after school.

Nicole slipped in the store a couple minutes late. As she passed by Bryn, she said, "Sorry. Mom needed my help with Ryan after school."

"That's all right," said Bryn, but she didn't have time to say anything else because a customer came in right behind Nicole. She moved quickly to the register in order to take the woman's order. When Nicole returned from checking in with their boss, Bryn asked, "How's Ryan today?" Nicole's brother had been sick the past few weeks and Bryn was beginning to get worried.

Nicole smiled and said, "Better, I think. His fever seems to have broken, but Mom made an appointment to have some tests run just as a precaution."

"That's good," Bryn said as she wiped down the counter. "What day is he having the tests?"

"This Thursday. What about you now? How were the Evil Stepsisters today?"

Nicole was the only person she confided in about Kayla, Lauren, and Mackenzie. More and more recently, Nicole had tried to convince Bryn to tell her father about the things they were saying, but Bryn did not want to worry him.

"Evil as ever," Bryn informed her. She tried to smile to show they weren't getting to her, but it was not easy to do. "They found me on the way to work in order to get their quota of nastiness in for the day."

"What did they say this time?"

"Oh, you know. The same old comments about my cheap clothes and what not."

Nicole sighed and said, "I wish you went to MHS. We're not as obsessed with superficial things." Bryn was technically zoned for McKinley High School, but had chosen to attend the prestigious preparatory academy so she had a better chance to get into Johns Hopkins. Nicole liked her school and often entertained Bryn with stories about her other friends. Bryn knew if she had gone there, those people would be her friends, as well. On days when the Evil Stepsisters were especially bad, Bryn would wonder if she had made the wrong decision in going to Lockland Prep.

"My school definitely seems to have this unofficial competition about who can flaunt their wealth the most. The girls talk about their beach houses and the boys talk about their BMWs. Kayla's parents are sending her on a graduation trip to Paris in July and all she wants to do is go shopping and hook up with a sexy French guy. Not once have I heard her mention a desire to see the Eiffel Tower. If I were lucky enough to go to Paris, I think that would be the first thing on my to-do list."

Nicole smiled and said, "I don't know about that. Shopping in Paris does sound kind of fun to me."

Bryn interrupted, "You know what I mean. If you and I went shopping in Paris, I'm sure we would at least visit a few famous sites afterwards. When Kayla is done shopping, she's probably going to find some unsuspecting French girl to tease mercilessly."

Nicole sighed and then said, "Well, in just a few more months, you'll never have to deal with that bitch again. Ten years from now, you're going to be a super successful doctor and Kayla is going to be as simple-minded as ever. She'll probably have to dye her hair regularly to cover all her gray hairs and wear excessive amounts of make-up to hide the crow's feet around her eyes."

Bryn scrunched up her nose and said, "Why do you think she's going to look so old at our ten year reunion? Kayla's only going to be twenty-eight years old then."

Nicole shrugged. "She made your life miserable during high school and karma is bound to catch up with her."

Bryn still doubted her loyal friend's prediction. She would not be surprised if Kayla showed up to the reunion standing next to her own Prince Charming. She seemed to be able to get whatever she wanted. But Bryn knew that at least by the ten year reunion, she would have exactly what she wanted. She was going to be a doctor no matter what.

Nicole nudged her arm. "You know what we should do?"

Bryn sighed. She knew what was coming. "I'm not really in the mood for games."

"Come on," Nicole pleaded. "It'll be fun."

Bryn shook her head and then relented. "Fine. What do you want to do this time? Tic-tac-toe? Jacks?" Whenever their conversations took a more depressing turn, Nicole would make them play some game from their childhood. She had a theory that kids lived in a more optimistic world and if they played childhood games, then they would feel that same way.

"How about hopscotch?" Nicole suggested.

"Right here? Behind the counter?"

"Yes, right here." Nicole pointed to the floor and said, "See, we can pretend these tiles are the hopscotch board and we can use a coffee lid for the marker. No one hardly ever comes in here at this time of day. Even Joan stays in her office while she watches her shows."

Bryn shrugged and agreed. That's one of the things she loved so much about Nicole. She was always thinking of quirky ways for them to amuse themselves at work. At school, Bryn had to be so studious and serious. But here, it was nice just to have a little teenage fun. Although, in this case, it was more like having preschooler amusement.

They spent the next few minutes figuring out which tiles would count for the hopscotch board and going over the rules. Nicole went first and looked rather foolish as she jumped from tile to tile. Bryn soon followed, laughing as she had to bend over on one foot in order to pick up the coffee lid. The floor was also a little slippery thanks to all the coffee spilled earlier in the day, so every time Bryn balanced on one foot, she had to wave her hands in the air for extra balance. Bryn grinned as her cares floated away during the game.

They were still laughing heartily when a customer entered the store. Since Bryn was closest to him, she moved to the register to take his order. "Good afternoon," she said with laughter still tinting her voice. "May I help you?"

She noted that the customer was about her age, maybe a year or two older. He was very tall and had dark brown hair. His facial features seemed as if they had been perfectly sculpted by a Greek artist. The teenage boy was definitely handsome, but something in his eyes caused her to have an unsettled feeling. His brown eyes appeared to be bordering on a shade of black and they just didn't look right to her.

"I am sorry to take you away from your game," he said apologetically.

"That's all right. What would you like to drink today?"

"I'll have a coffee."

Bryn caught herself before she rolled her eyes. Really, some customers were dense. "What kind of coffee would you like?"

He looked a little surprised by her question and asked, "What different kinds of coffee are there?"

Bryn tried to keep a calm look on her face as she pointed to the back wall where there were the listings of over twenty different kinds of drinks. "Take your pick," she said.

He seemed overwhelmed by the sheer number of coffee styles and after a minute of deliberating asked, "Can't I just have a cup of plain coffee?"

"Sure. Regular or Decaf?"

"Um...regular?" It sounded like he was asking her if that was what he should have. Bryn thought that was weird. Coffee drinkers usually knew exactly what they wanted to drink.

She made his regular, plain cup of coffee and placed it on the counter. The guy reached into his pocket and pulled out six dollar bills and asked, "Is this enough?"

_No wallet_ , thought Bryn. Just another reason to add to his growing list of idiosyncrasies. She took three dollars out of the pile and got the correct change from the register. She placed the coins on the table and pushed the other three dollars back in his direction. When he looked at her with a confused expression, Bryn said, "That's your change."

He put the money back into his pocket, picked up the cardboard cup, and sniffed. "It smells delicious."

Bryn nodded and said, "Uh huh."

"Do you mind if I sit over there?" he asked pointing to a table next to the window.

She almost laughed when she said, "You can sit anywhere you like."

Even the way he walked over to the table seemed atypical to Bryn. The only way she could describe his movements was that he seemed to glide over to his seat. His long legs gently strolled across the sticky floor without making the usual squeaky sounds other customers made. He sat down and took a sip of coffee. His eyes widened and his face puckered. By his reaction, one would have assumed he'd just sampled the equivalent of sour milk. He placed the cup down on the table and shifted his body so he could see out the window. Bryn turned to Nicole and saw that her friend looked just as bewildered as she was. Bryn found a rag to clean up the counters to busy herself.

Over the next half hour, a few more customers came in to buy coffee, but only the guy with the weird eyes stayed. Periodically, Bryn would peek at him and see what he was doing. Every time she looked over at him, she saw that he was in the exact same position. He sat straight up in his seat and stared out the window. That was all he did. Not once did he take another sip of coffee. It remained untouched on the table. Nor did he ever read a newspaper or take out his cell phone to play a game or even text someone. He just sat there, gazing into the city street.

Nicole went into the back storage room in order to put away a few things and Bryn was now left alone with the strange customer. She needed to refill the condiments at the coffee station in the center of the room, so she moved from behind the counter. Bryn was busy for a few minutes cleaning and refilling the baskets with sugar packets. Out of the corner of her eye, she kept tabs on her lone customer in order to see what he was doing. He was still watching out the window and his coffee remained untouched. Bryn had seen customers nurse their java over a long period of time before, but he wasn't even lifting the cup to his mouth. It got to the point where the neglected coffee actually aggravated her.

She decided to ask. "Do you need some sweetener or something?"

"Pardon me?" he asked as he turned away from his window-gazing. He was looking at her again with those queer eyes. She did not know what to make of them.

"Some sweetener?" she asked politely. "For your coffee."

The customer looked at the table and asked, "Do you have some?"

"Of course. White, Blue, Yellow, or Pink?"

He drew in his breath. After a long awkward silence, he finally said, "Pink?"

Bryn walked back over to the coffee station and grabbed two pink sweetener packets. She brought them to the table and held them out for him. He cautiously took them from her hand. "What do I do with these?"

After a momentary pause, Bryn made a pouring motion with her hand and said, "You put them in your coffee."

The boy looked at the packets and then proceeded to dunk them into his coffee like a tea bag. Bryn's eyes widened as she saw the bottom of the pink packets take on a brown tinge as they became immersed in the coffee. "What are you doing?" she blurted out in disbelief.

He looked worried and said, "I'm putting the sugar in the coffee just as you instructed me to do."

"You're supposed to tear open the packets first and then pour the sweetener into the coffee cup." Bryn believed this was possibly the strangest person she'd ever met. She wondered if he had some sort of mental disorder. She went back to the condiment station and grabbed two more pink packets and a stirring stick. "Here, let me do it for you." She tore the tops and poured in the fine granules of sweetener. She then took the stirring stick and mixed the coffee for him. As she did so, she noticed he was watching her closely. This unnerved her a little, so Bryn moved her hands into the pockets of her apron and said, "Try that, now."

He picked up the cup and took a hesitant sip. By the minute puckering of his eyes, she could instantly see that he did not like it, but he worked hard to hide it. "Mmmm," he said with an unconvincing smile. "Much better. Thank you."

Bryn felt it best to end this strange conversation as soon as possible. Instead of accusing him of lying or offering him a different drink, she simply said, "You're welcome," and turned to go back behind the counter.

She started to clean one of the machines that would probably not be used anymore today. A few minutes later, she heard him get up from his chair and a loud thud soon followed as his nearly full cup of coffee landed in the bottom of the trashcan. She forced on a smile and said, "Have a good night."

He was almost at the door when he turned and said, "Goodnight." It looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. In the end, he just shook his head like he was deciding against something and headed out the door.

Bryn was thoroughly baffled by him. He was so strange. She wished Nicole had seen their conversation, but unfortunately her friend had been in the back room the entire time. Bryn would have loved having a second opinion in analyzing his behavior. She deliberated going in the back room and telling Nicole about what he had done with the sugar packets. Nicole would certainly find it comical, but by the time she returned, Bryn had decided the strange customer wasn't worth thinking about any more. That was probably the last she'd see of him since he obviously did not like coffee.

The rest of her shift went smoothly. No more abnormal customers with a strange loathing for coffee. About ten minutes after the store closed, Bryn's father knocked on the locked door. She waved to him and went to let him in.

"I'm almost done, Dad. Do you mind waiting for a few more minutes?"

"Not at all," said her father. He sat down at a table and read a book that he had carried with him. Bryn couldn't remember a time when her father wasn't carrying some book or newspaper. His eyeglasses, which were meant to be only for reading, were now an almost permanent fixture on his face. She often felt that James Thorner could be the prototype for a college professor. His balding hair was in the process of officially turning grey and his tweed blazer completed the ensemble. All that was missing, Bryn thought, were the leather elbow patches sewn onto the jacket.

The irony of it all was that Bryn knew he should have been a college professor in reality. She still remembered how, when she was a young girl, her father was often busy at school working toward obtaining a Ph.D. in History. But that dream came to an abrupt end when her mother got sick. Over the years, Bryn had tried to encourage him to go back to school to complete his degree, but he had always replied, "I'm content with teaching high school for now. Maybe sometime in the future." Bryn knew he was not lying. He did seem to enjoy his job, but she also knew that the main reason why he did not go back to school was because it would have been too difficult for a single parent who was raising a child.

Bryn and Nicole finished cleaning up the shop and said goodnight to Joan. She waved back without missing a beat of counting the money on her desk. Bryn's father put a bookmark in his place and then opened the door for the girls. Outside of the store, Nicole said "Night, Bryn. I'll text you when I get home."

"Goodnight," said Bryn as she went in the other direction with her father.

Her father turned toward her and asked, "How was your day, Brynie Bird?"

Bryn smiled at the childhood nickname her father always used when they were alone. "Fine." Bryn justified to herself that she wasn't entirely lying to him. The part where she and Nicole had goofed around had been fun.

"You got any homework to do tonight?" he asked as he usually did within five minutes of seeing her for the first time after school.

"A little," Bryn said. "I finished most of it in class. I just have some calculus left."

"Good, good," he said as he nodded. "I have some news to share."

"You do?" Bryn asked with great curiosity. "What is it?"

"The school has decided to give me an intern this semester."

"That's great. You've been asking for one for so long that I just assumed it was never going to happen."

"I must admit I was thinking the same thing, as well. I can't even remember the last time I requested having an intern. But today, after school, this young gentleman showed up in my office and told me he was my intern. Well, I immediately put him to work grading some papers. He couldn't have come at a better time. Now, I have more time to look over the textbooks that our department wants to adopt next year."

Bryn was happy her father was getting some extra help. She used to assist him with the more mundane parts of his job, but now that she had a job herself and because her own school work was ten times more demanding, she could not help him anymore.

As Bryn and her father turned the corner, Bryn subconsciously moved closer to him. This was the only section on the walk home that gave her a little bit of the creeps. Fletcher Park always looked so picturesque in the day time with its tall trees and strategically placed benches, but at night, the open space seemed spooky to her. The light from the nearby streetlamps barely infiltrated the dark interior of the park. Bryn was glad her father insisted he escort her home from work whenever her shift ended in the dark hours of the night. It made her feel a little safer as she walked past the park that closed at dusk.

Perhaps due to the creepy feeling she got from passing the park, Bryn looked over her shoulder and thought she saw a shadowy figure paralleling them on the other side of the street. She regarded her father in order to gauge whether she should be worried, but he seemed complacent in their path. She glanced back over her shoulder and told herself that her mind must have played a trick on her. There was no one across the street. Not now.

### Chapter 2

The New Student

Bryn was early to her first period class as usual. Since her father was a teacher at Lockland Prep, she would get there at the teacher's arrival time. She sat quietly at her desk and began to annotate a book she was reading for her English class. Bryn heard the door periodically open and shut as the other students entered the room. Most of them sat as unobtrusively as she did. It was too early in the morning for animated conversations. Even her calculus teacher's voice was hushed as he talked to a student at his desk. Only when the tardy bell rang and Mr. Conrad started reviewing last night's homework did she look up.

About half-way through the period, Mr. Conrad moved on to discussing a new concept. Bryn's quick mind followed every step of the problem, but she did ask a few questions in order to help solidify the concept in her thoughts. The last ten minutes of the class were spent with the students beginning the next day's homework as the teacher sauntered around the room and helped. Some students actually used this time to work while others were finally awake enough to socialize. Bryn tried not to listen to the conversations of the students who sat near her. She wanted to use this time in order to get as much calculus homework done as possible.

A peculiar feeling came over Bryn as she worked on her assignment. She felt as if someone was watching her. She lifted up her head and looked at the students sitting directly next to her. It was not them. They were busy talking to each other about a video game. She glanced over toward the group of girls who sat two rows over, but realized they were quietly whispering to each other about a new cute boy at school.

Bryn continued to peer around the room. There, in the back corner, was the very same boy who had come to the Daily Grinder the night before. Her eyes met his and she gave him a small smile of recognition. He nodded once and then lowered his head in order to continue his homework. Bryn realized he must be the new student the girls were whispering about. She gawked at him as he sat intently working at his desk. Under the fluorescent lights of the classroom, she could see him a little better than she had the night before. He was handsome, for sure, but there was still something about him that seemed out of place. She could not, for the life of her, figure out what was wrong. Everything seemed to be perfect about him.

_Maybe that's the problem_ , she thought. _He's too perfect_.

Not one single hair was out of place. His skin was flawless with absolutely no teenage blemishes marring it. The tie of his uniform was meticulously knotted. This was radically different from the other boys at the school who tried to wear their ties as loose as possible. When the bell rang to end first period, Bryn was not surprised to see him get up gracefully from his desk and head toward the door. To her, it was as if he almost glided out of the room.

_Too bad he's strange,_ thought Bryn.

She collected her books and was the last student to leave. Her second period class was just a few doors down the hall. As she entered the next classroom, she immediately saw the new student introducing himself to the teacher. He must be in her English class, as well. Bryn moved to her desk and pulled out her notebook and pencil. She overheard Mrs. Frank tell him to choose any empty seat to sit in. She was surprised to see him sit down in the desk just next to hers.

"Hello," he murmured quietly.

"I didn't realize you went to Lockwood Prep," said Bryn.

He nodded and said, "I just transferred here."

Bryn noticed some of the other girls in the class were slyly observing him without trying to be obvious about it. Bryn mused that this was probably the one and only time that girls in this school were jealous of her. She was about to ask him where he moved from, but felt a bag knock her lightly on the head as Kayla walked by her seat.

"Sorry Payless," said Kayla in her snide voice as she continued to move toward her desk.

Bryn blushed in embarrassment and lowered her head down to look at her notebook. She told herself to get over it and just concentrate on the class. American Literature was one of her favorite subjects, but she still had to work hard to block out everything but the teacher's lecture. The class had just started studying 1920s American literature and they were analyzing poetry from that era. She listened to Mrs. Frank's nasal voice as she read

The night is beautiful,  
So the faces of my people.

The stars are beautiful,  
So the eyes of my people.

Beautiful, also, is the sun.  
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people

"This poem was written in 1923. Can anyone hazard a guess who wrote it?"

The class sat quietly as the teacher patiently waited for an answer. Bryn shifted her gaze around and saw many students intentionally avoiding eye contact with Mrs. Frank.

"I'll give you a hint: The poet lived in Harlem."

That was all the information Bryn needed, so she raised her hand. "Was it Langston Hughes?"

"Very good," praised Mrs. Frank. "And do you know who he was writing about?"

"Yes," replied Bryn. "African-Americans."

"Good," said Mrs. Frank as she moved over to her computer. She projected a picture of the famous poet up onto the screen and described how he became an integral part of the Harlem Renaissance. Bryn diligently took notes and barely noticed the dirty looks Kayla was giving her. Mrs. Frank, who was totally absorbed in her own lecture, did not notice them either. "Getting back to the poem, entitled _My People_ , what is Mr. Hughes trying to say about African-Americans?"

Once again, the class was silent. A boy who sat in the front of the class took a guess and said, "Was he trying to encourage the African-Americans to participate in the Civil Rights Movement?"

The teacher thought for a moment. "I don't believe so. In fact, that was not a goal of the Harlem Renaissance in general. Mr. Hughes had something else in mind when he wrote this poem."

Bryn said, "He's trying to encourage African-Americans to not be ashamed of the fact that they looked different from mainstream culture. They have a different type of beauty and should be proud of it."

"Exactly!" Mrs. Frank seemed pleased that at least one of her students understood the poem.

Bryn peered over at Kayla, fully expecting to see another dirty look. Instead, she saw that Kayla was applying another coat of lipstick. Bryn wondered if Kayla was even paying attention to the lecture. She felt that if anyone should learn a lesson on the different types of beauty, it should be an Evil Stepsister. Bryn could not deny that on the outside, Kayla appeared to be perfect. Kayla, herself, was cognizant of her own beauty and she seemed to find power in it. Most of the male students sought after her and most of the female students desired to be her friend.

Kayla was unaware of Bryn's scrutiny. In fact, she was trying to catch the eye of the new student. Bryn watched with amusement as Kayla's smiles and small noises became more and more obvious. To his credit, the new guy appeared to be very interested in Mrs. Frank's lecture and did not pay any attention to Kayla. Bryn mused that it probably wouldn't be long before he succumbed to her beauty. Most men usually did.

*****

Dane found Bryn to be a very intriguing Ward.

In all honestly to himself, he could not quite determine what was most interesting about her. Perhaps it was her obvious intelligence. Perhaps it was her soft beauty. Whatever it was, he was actually glad Tetari had given him the assignment of watching over the daughter instead of the father. Guarding Bryn was a refreshing change to all the businessmen and blue collar workers he usually volunteered to protect.

Normally, he would find a sentry spot in an alley from which to guard his Wards and look out for creatures, but here, he was able to sit comfortably right next to her. He knew he probably should have chosen the empty seat at the back of the classroom, but the open chair next to Bryn was too tempting. He was there to protect her after all and it was probably best to sit as close to her as possible.

Toward the end of the period, the teacher asked the class to silently read the next five pages of their assigned novel. She walked over to Dane and loaned him her copy of _The Great Gatsby_. He dutifully opened the book to the page Mrs. Frank instructed, but he only pretended to read. Dane thought this would be a good time to check in with Beckwyn since he was only a few classrooms away.

He silently sent a thought to his partner. " _How is it going with your Ward?_ "

A few moments later, Beckwyn's answer came into Dane's mind. " _Everything is fine over here. How about you?_ "

" _We're just reading. There's no sign of a creature_."

" _I doubt one would even come inside this school._ "

" _It's highly unlikely, but Tetari told us to stick close because we won't have much warning when the attack does occur. What is the father doing now?_ "

" _He's talking about something called the Thirty Years' War,"_ replied Beckwyn. " _It's actually pretty interesting. He's a much better instructor than our old history teacher. Remember how he constantly hummed to himself even when we were taking tests? And it was always the same song, too. You'd think he would have gotten bored of it after humming it twenty times a day._ "

Dane softly chuckled at the memory of his old, quirky teacher. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bryn looking at him with a strange expression on her face. To cover his error, he pointed to the book and whispered, "This part is funny."

Bryn raised her eyebrows and whispered back, "Which part exactly?"

Dane peered down at the book and his eyes were immediately drawn to the paragraph at the bottom of the page. He desperately tried to find something to describe and eventually said, "Um... the part where Myrtle..." he turned the page and continued, "gets hit...by...a...car." He forced his eyes back down to the book and tried to appear that he was really taking it seriously now. All the time silently cursing himself for looking like a fool again. Eventually, he saw Bryn's attention turn back to her book and he began to relax.

" _Do you remember the name of it?_ " Beckwyn's voice interrupted Dane's embarrassing thoughts.

Dane was confused. " _What name_?"

" _The name of the song he always hummed_."

" _Darfin_."

" _That's right_ ," said Beckwyn happily. " _I haven't thought about that in years. I wonder if he is still singing the same song to his students today_?" Dane just got back to reading the book when Beckwyn's voice popped into his head again. " _You still reading over there?_ "

" _Yes_ ," replied Dane. " _And I am really trying to read. Bryn has already caught me not reading once before._ "

" _Oh, she's an observant one then. I always like protecting the observant ones. They keep me on my toes. What's she like?_ "

" _Smart and beautiful. Now, let me get back to my duties. I'll talk to you after school_."

" _All right_ ," said Beckwyn. " _James is coming over to talk to me now anyway_."

Dane appreciated the peace and quiet in his mind for a few moments before sneaking a look out of the corner of his eyes at Bryn. She was reading again and only gazed up when the teacher asked everyone to stop and discuss what happened. Of course, Myrtle's unexpected death was the main topic and Dane now knew for certain there was nothing remotely funny in the section he was supposed to read.

Class was soon over and everyone started packing up their books. He watched Bryn place her notes in a folder and her pen in her bag. Her back suddenly straightened and he could see she was tense. Dane scanned the room and wondered what could have caused that reaction. Surely, the creature could not be in here without him noticing. Dane did not see anything.

A tall girl walked in the isle between their desks on her way out of the class. She smiled at him as she ran her fingers through her long, blonde hair. Her steps slowed and she appeared as if she was going to say something to him. Dane did not want to get involved in a mundane conversation so he headed toward the teacher's desk on the pretense of returning her book. By the time he was done talking to Mrs. Frank, the blonde girl had thankfully left the classroom, but he saw that Bryn was gone, as well.

Dane soon found her leaving through double doors at the end of the hallway. As he followed her from a safe distance, he noticed that while most of the students were trying to squeeze in a little social time between classes, Bryn did not stop to talk to anyone. He wondered if she was shy, but then he quickly dismissed the idea since she was so outspoken in class. Bryn also didn't seem introverted while serving him that weird tasting drink last night.

In the next class, he was a little disappointed when the teacher directed him to sit at a seat that was as far away from Bryn as possible. The teacher did not even start the class until fifteen minutes in, so he had a lot of time to study Bryn. She didn't seem to notice him since she was intently working on her calculus homework during the free time. He watched her think through each problem and could see her mind hard at work. There was one problem that seemed to stump her and she spent a lot of time writing and erasing. She would periodically scrunch up her nose, close her eyes, and tilt her head toward the ceiling. Dane found this completely charming and smiled each time she did it.

After one more class, it was time for lunch. He followed Bryn to the cafeteria and watched her sit at a small table in a remote corner of the room. It appeared as though she deliberately set herself as far away as possible from every other student in the school. Dane sat two tables down from her so he could still keep an eye on her without making it seem like he was obviously watching her.

Bryn took out a book and read as she ate her sandwich. Her head was bent over the pages and her long, brown hair fell over her shoulder. She pushed her hair back and hooked it behind her ear. Inevitably, the hair would fall back down, thus forcing Bryn to grab the lock and hook it over her ear again. Dane watched the unruly strand of hair with amusement, totally fascinated with it.

His pleasant contemplations were interrupted by the blonde girl sitting down next to him at his table. "Well, hello there," she said in a sultry voice.

Dane continued to observe Bryn, but he nodded to show that he heard the blonde. He hoped that if he did not say anything, she would go away. It would be easier to focus on his Ward when there were no distractions.

The girl did not appear to be daunted by his cool greeting and carried on with her side of the conversation. "I'm Kayla and we are in the same English class."

"Is that right?" Dane asked absently.

"Yes," she said with her crooked smile. "I sat two seats over from you. We could do our homework together now if you'd like. I don't know about you, but I find poetry to be so boring and I would appreciate any help you could give me."

Dane finally decided to end this, so he reluctantly turned away from Bryn and gave Kayla his attention. She had a look of anticipation on her face that Dane knew would go away as soon as he said, "I'm sorry, but I would rather be by myself right now."

A flicker of surprise shot through Kayla's eyes and she said in a terse voice, "I beg your pardon. I thought that with you being a new student, you might want to have a friend in school."

"Thank you for the offer, but I neither need nor want any new friends."

Kayla was obviously confused. Her face turned red and she stood up from the table. "I'll just leave you to yourself then."

"Thank you. I appreciate it," said Dane from years of ingrained politeness. He turned his attention back to Bryn just in time to see the lock of hair fall over her ear. _It fell again_ , he thought in amusement and paid no more attention to the blonde girl who left his table.

*****

After lunch, Bryn walked to her AP European history class. While she really liked the subject, the class was a little on the awkward side for her. Her father was the teacher and he worked hard not to show her any favoritism. Bryn never asked questions in his class and if she did have one, she saved it for the dinner table. As Bryn entered the classroom, she noticed the new student introducing himself to her father.

_How strange_ , she thought. _Is he going to be in all of my classes?_

Her father directed him to sit in an open desk in the front row. Bryn sat in the back row because she didn't want the students to remember that she was there. It was already weird enough for her. She watched the new student get out his notebook and pencil. Once settled, he titled his body so as to sit sideways in his desk. He was next to the wall and most students who sat in that row turned sideways so that they could see the board better.

Bryn took out her notebook and started to copy the quote her father had written on the board. While he took attendance, the students were required to copy a famous quotation in history. Today's quote was, "A question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved?" by Nicolo Machiavelli.

Her father started the class by holding up a small book and saying, "Nicolo Machiavelli is one of the most influential authors of the Renaissance period. His book, The Prince, is very short, yet full of advice to the rulers of Europe. He said the ultimate goal of a ruler was to maintain his country's power and a Prince should expect obedience from all of his subjects in order to make that happen. Machiavelli brought up the question of whether it is better to be loved than feared or feared than loved by his subjects. Before I tell you what he said, let's find out what you think." He then proceeded to lead a class discussion on that issue.

Bryn chose not to participate. Not because she had no opinion, but because she didn't want to appear that she was her father's favorite. She still paid close attention to what others had to say. Most students felt it was best that a ruler be loved by his people. There were a few students, most of them boys, who sided with the argument that it was better to be feared. She noticed the new student did not chose a side. Maybe he was shy or maybe he just didn't want to call too much attention to himself on his first day of school.

Her father brought up the different pieces of advice found in the book and applied them to specific examples in history. The time flowed swiftly by and her father seemed surprised when the bell rang in the middle of his description of Machiavelli's belief in the importance of weaponry. He dismissed the class and all the students started packing up. Bryn hung back and waited until everyone left.

"Interesting lecture," she said as she sidled up to her father.

"I thought so," he admitted. "Machiavelli always seems to polarize the students."

"I'm going to the library after school today," she said to her father. "Come get me when you're done."

"All right, dear," he said as he erased the board. "I'll see you then."

Bryn rushed to her Chemistry class. The pungent smell of the classroom irritated her nose. She guessed that an earlier class had done a lab experiment and the odor was still lingering. The new student was there, of course, and he was even assigned the seat right next to hers. He gave her a small nod of acknowledgement as she sat down. She wondered if he realized they had all the same classes together. There was a test today so Bryn took out her notebook to cram a little.

Mrs. Selyer started the class by passing out the test. When she got to Bryn's table, she handed a test to the new student and said, "Just try it so that you can see what my tests are like. If you don't do well on it, I won't count it."

He nodded and looked down at the questions. Bryn began working on her test as well. The questions were just what she expected and she thought she aced it. The test took most of the period and Mrs. Selyer gave them free time at the end since they only had five minutes left before the school day was over anyway. Most of the students started talking, but Bryn got out her book for English and began to annotate it again.

"How did you do on the quiz?" asked the new boy.

"Fine," she said looking up from her book. "How did you like your first day here?"

"Fine," he said smiling. "I'm Dane, by the way."

"I'm Bryn."

"It seems that we have all our classes together."

"I saw that too," Bryn hurriedly said before she sneezed. Dane just watched her. Bryn expected him to say "Bless you," but he didn't.

_That's kind of rude_ , she thought.

She knew she must have been staring at him with an expectant look on her face because Dane asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just sneezed right in front of you and you didn't bless me," she said as she rubbed her nose with the back of her hand.

"Why would I do that?" he asked with a look of confusion.

Was he serious?

"Because it's the polite thing to do when people sneeze," she said slowly.

"But why would you need to be blessed?" he asked earnestly. "You were obviously sneezing because of the intense chemical odors in the air. That's nothing to worry about."

Bryn opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of the bell. The forced pause made her think better of the saucy reply which was at the tip of her tongue. Instead, she said, "I should get going." She put her book in her backpack and stood up.

Dane did the same and grabbed his folder. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said kindly.

"See you tomorrow," said Bryn as she walked toward the door without a backward glance at the strange boy. She headed in the direction of the library; however, she changed her plans when she saw the malicious look Kayla gave her in the hallway. Bryn could tell she was madder than usual and had absolutely no idea why. Kayla never verbally attacked her in front of teachers, so Bryn decided it best to find refuge in her father's office. She knew that she was a coward for changing her plans, but sometimes it was the wiser move to not give the enemy a chance to catch you.

As she entered her father's office, she saw a stranger sitting next to him in the chair where she usually sat. She was confused at first, but then remembered that his new intern started today.

"Hi Dad," said Bryn.

Bryn's father looked up from some papers on his desk and said "Ah, Bryn. I did not expect you for a while yet."

"I thought I would get a little homework done in here. I forgot you would be working with your intern."

Her father motioned her to come in further. "It's fine. Come on in. Let me introduce you to Beck. Beck, this is my daughter, Bryn."

Beck stood up to shake her hand. He smiled as he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard all about your merits today."

His smile was so infectious, that Bryn could not help but grin back. "Well, my Dad is my biggest fan, but he's prone to exaggeration."

Her father seemed a little confused and said, "I don't remember—"

A knock on the office door forced everyone to turn their heads. The new student stood in the doorway. He glanced at Beck and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Come in, Dane," said her father as he motioned him inside the office. "Were you able to find all your classes today?

"Yes, sir. Thank you for getting my schedule ready for me."

Her father turned to Bryn and said, "I'm sure you have already met Beck's brother since I put him in all of your classes."

The good-natured Beck turned to her and said, "I hope you don't mind, but I asked your father to put Dane in all the best classes."

"And since I put _you_ in the best classes, as well, it was an easy schedule to request. I just told Mrs. Hemmings to give Dane the same schedule as you, my dear."

The mystery of why the new student had all the same classes as her had been solved.

Bryn was having a hard time picturing Dane and Beck as brothers. They seemed so different. Beck's yellowish-blonde hair was in direct contrast to Dane's dark brown hair. Beck seemed to have an easy-going smile permanently etched into his face while Dane's features were calmer and more reserved. Another obvious difference was that Beck was very friendly, whereas Dane seemed quiet and strange.

Yet, upon closer inspection, she could see a resemblance. They both had perfectly sculptured hair and flawless features. Both had roughly the same tall and slim builds. Beck looked just as handsome as Dane. But, Bryn noticed that Beck's green eyes were not as striking as Dane's. There was something not right about Dane's overly dark eyes.

Bryn realized she had never responded to her father when Beck broke the awkward silence in the room by saying, "Well, we should get going now. But we'll see you later tonight."

Her father nodded and said, "Definitely. See you around six."

Beck turned to Bryn and said, "It was a pleasure meeting you."

Dane seemed discombobulated as he followed his brother out of the room.

Bryn waited for the two brothers to close the door behind them before asking her father, "What's happening around six, Dad?"

He looked a little guilty as he said, "I invited Beck and Dane to our house for dinner tonight."

"What?" gasped Bryn. "Why?" She and her father never entertained anyone. As far as she could remember, they had never invited anyone over for dinner since her mother died.

"Well, Beck was talking about how since their parents passed away, they haven't had a good meal. Apparently, all they eat is pizza. So, I thought it would be nice of us to invite them over for dinner."

"I'm sorry for them. But Dad, when was the last time _we_ had a home cooked meal? That's not our thing either."

"I only promised them a good meal that wasn't pizza. I never promised them a home cooked meal. We can order in from Wild Bill's Steakhouse tonight. I'm sure that it will be fine with them. Honestly, I didn't think you would mind. It's all right with you, isn't it?"

The last thing Bryn wanted to do today was to have dinner guests. The house was a total mess and she had so much homework to do, but her father rarely asked her for anything. He was usually the one who made the sacrifices in their relationship. So, she put a smile on her face and said, "It's fine with me. I'm going to go straight home so I can clean up the place."

He patted her shoulder and said, "That's my girl. I'll be home by four-thirty." He sat down at his desk which was covered in stacks of textbooks. He picked up one of the books and started perusing through the pages. Bryn left the room in a hurry. She had no idea if the house would even look presentable by six o'clock tonight.

### Chapter 3

Dinner Guests

The moment Bryn made it home, she began cleaning. There was so much to do and so little time to get it done. She and her father never cared much about the house's status of cleanliness. They usually had a pile of dirty dishes in the sink and the bathrooms would be left untouched for as long as they could stand it. She and her father had so many other priorities in their lives that the house usually came in last. Today, however, Bryn wanted it to look nice. She did not want other people to see their mess and her father seemed to really appreciate her offer to straighten up.

So she cleaned every room that had the possibility of being seen by their guests tonight. The kitchen, family room, and downstairs bathroom were scrubbed spotlessly. Her room, as well as her fathers, became dumping grounds for anything that could not easily be put away. When her father came home, he offered to help her, but Bryn refused. She gave him the task of ordering and picking up dinner. When the house seemed presentable enough, Bryn quickly showered and changed because she did not want to smell like disinfectant while they ate.

She walked into the family room at five minutes to six and plopped down on the couch. Her father looked up from his newspaper and said, "The house looks great, Brynie Bird."

"Dinner smells great, Dad," she mumbled from the couch. "I'm so tired though. Just let me rest my eyes for a few minutes before they get here." The doorbell rang just as she finished her sentence. An involuntary groan escaped her mouth.

Her father gave her a regretful look and said, "I'm sorry. It appears they're a few minutes early."

Bryn forced herself to sit up and walked with her father to open the front door of the house.

Beck walked in and said, "Thank you so much for inviting us for dinner." He turned to Bryn and said, "I'm so sick of pizza. I might choke if I'm required to eat another slice. You have literally saved my life."

Bryn laughed and said, "Death by pizza? There could be worse ways to go."

"Very true, but at the moment, I can't think of one." She led them to the family room where they could sit down on the couch for a few minutes before diving into the food. Dane quietly ambled in and took a seat. Beck and her father began talking about the different textbooks they were reviewing for the school to adopt. Dane looked a little uncomfortable as he sat in the corner of the room. Bryn left them to go set the table and get the food ready for serving. She was glad she did not have to engage in small talk with Dane. Bryn hated having to think of stupid, nonsensical things to say to people she barely knew. She was grateful she had some employment to keep her occupied in the kitchen for a while.

When dinner was ready, they all squeezed around the small kitchen table that usually had plenty of room for the two of them. Beck happily sat in the chair between Dane and Bryn and said, "This smells delicious. I've never had food from Wild Bill's before."

"It's one of our favorite restaurants," explained Bryn. "Dad and I know all the best places to eat since we don't do much cooking ourselves. I'd be happy to recommend a few places for you so you don't have to be stuck with pizza ever again."

Beck looked excited and said, "Thank you. Dane and I are so incompetent in the kitchen. We couldn't even tell you the difference between a pan and a pot so we're always ordering out, too. But being new in the area, I have no idea where to start. Any advice you can give us would be much appreciated."

Bryn and Beck carried on most of the conversation during dinner with periodic advice from her father. Dane quietly ate as the three others chatted about this, that, or the other random things.

After dinner, they moved back into the family room to continue the conversion. Bryn was ready for the night to end. She had so much homework to do and was getting worried she was going to have to be up very late in order to finish it. Worst of all, Bryn started to feel the tell-tale signs of exhaustion from all the fervent housework she had done earlier. She sat on the couch deliberating between not wanting to get up for a while and excusing herself to her room to work on homework. At the moment, her eyelids were feeling too heavy to even think about getting off the couch. She only half-listened to her father's conversation with Beck.

At some point, her father tried to include Dane in the conversation by asking how his first day of school was. He replied that he found his classes interesting. Bryn dozed in and out as they discussed teachers and their various subjects. At first, when she heard them move on to the subject of her father's lecture, she did not take much notice. But something Dane said, forced her out of her stupor and called her to attention.

"I agree with Machiavelli," stated Dane.

Bryn saw her father nod appreciatively. As a trained teacher, he was required to hear all the different viewpoints and try to find ways to show their merits, but Bryn could not agree with Dane. Machiavelli was synonymous with the term, "the ends justify the means." He encouraged kings and princes to do whatever they needed to do in order to keep their countries powerful. No matter what the cost.

"How can you agree with him?" Bryn asked in disbelief. "He was horrible?"

Dane looked over to her. While he looked a little surprised at the challenge in her eyes, he did not back down. "His methods were harsh, but the principles behind many of his ideas were sound."

"But he was an advocate of cruelty to others. Dad, what was that part where he talked about being extra cruel to someone?"

Her father smiled a little and said, "Actually, there were many parts about cruelty. However, I believe the part you are referring to is when he said, _If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe, that his vengeance need not be feared_."

"See!" Bryn exclaimed. "He said when you hurt someone, make sure you hurt them so badly that they don't have the ability to fight back."

"I'm not saying I support that particular statement of his. Your father and I were talking about the part where he said, _Before all else, be armed_. I was merely stating that I agreed with Machiavelli on that quote. He was telling Princes their first priority should be to protect their kingdom. If they are not prepared to protect themselves, then they are an easy target. A good Prince would never risk the safety of his people. They are his first priority. And he needs to be ready for anything that comes his way."

Bryn sighed with frustration. "But wouldn't building up weapons for protection actually encourage the Princes to become greedy with power and then eventually go on the offensive? Especially with Machiavelli guiding the Princes down the path of cruelty, how could they not be tempted by evil?" Bryn did not even give Dane time to answer her question before moving onto her other point. "Machiavelli's advice created nothing but greedy and evil rulers. I mean, he flat out tells the Princes that it is better to be feared than loved."

Dane shook his head and said, "Actually, his exact quote was, _it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than loved_."

Bryn silently cursed him for having such a good memory from her father's earlier lecture, but she was still undaunted. "Ah, even so. He is still an advocate of unleashed cruelty."

"No, he isn't. He's not advocating cruelty for the sake of cruelty. He only advises that a Prince be tough when he is trying to protect his country. That is the only time when cruelty is allowed."

Bryn was unable to come up with further evidence for her dislike of Machiavelli. She sat in silence for a few moments as she composed a new attack. She finally said, "Even if Machiavelli had avid followers during the Renaissance, his advice is too old fashioned for today's leaders. In fact, princes are an entirely outdated concept. Are they even needed anymore? Laws are passed by Parliament or Congress. Princes are nothing but figureheads. They sit in their luxurious castles, dress in fine clothes, and wave their hands while they take a few pretty pictures."

Dane looked frustrated as he explained, "Not all monarchs are like that. Many of them use their power to help their people wherever they can. If they know one of their subjects is suffering, it's their duty to give aid in whatever way they can. You see monarchs as either horrible, greedy rulers or delicate, useless rulers. Most of them are excellent people and only desire the best for their people."

Bryn laughed harshly and stated, "How do you know for certain? Have you had tea with the Queen of England recently?"

"No, but I'm an excellent observer. One can tell what type of person a ruler is by his or her actions," Dane explained in an excited voice. "Monarchs are dedicated to helping others. I say they are not an outdated institution, but an essential part of the government."

Bryn had just opened her mouth to continue her side of the argument, when she was checked by her father clearing his throat. She looked over to him and saw him subtly shaking his head. Acquiescing to his implicit wish, she politely smiled to Dane and said, "I see we will just have to agree to disagree."

While Bryn quietly formulated more arguments in her thoughts, Beck and her father began a conversation about the textbook adoption. Bryn stole a glance over at Dane and thought he looked as if he would have been perfectly happy continuing their discussion. Eventually, she felt it best to end it anyway. She had too much homework waiting for her and decided to use that as an excuse to end her social obligations. As soon as there was a break in her father's conversation, Bryn stood up and said, "If you'll excuse me, I have to go upstairs and finish my homework. Goodnight." Dane and Beck stood up and then she got out of the room as fast as politely possible.

*****

Dane stood staring at the door through which she had left. He could not tell which emotion was the most dominant in him right now: frustration or disappointment. His brows furrowed, but there a definite sense of loss in the abrupt end to their conversation. He would have happily continued their verbal sparring. Dane enjoyed the challenge she presented. He could easily see she was frustrated with him. He wasn't even sure if she thought kindly of him. But if truth be told, he enjoyed watching the brightness in Bryn's eyes as she fought for her beliefs.

" _Dane! It's time to go. Thank the father so we can leave_." Dane jumped at the sound of Beckwyn's voice in his head. He was so caught up in his own thoughts, that he had been unaware of Beckwyn and James staring of him in an expectant way.

Beckwyn had an amused look on his face as he said out loud, "Dane, we appreciate the dinner, right?" Dane reluctantly cleared his thoughts and thanked James for the dinner. Then, he walked straight to the front door and let himself out.

Beckwyn soon followed, but only after giving a more grateful thanks to their host. "What was that all about?" he asked as they moved away from the house.

Dane sighed and said, "I don't know. I guess I was in the mood for an argument. I'm just frustrated with all that's going on right now. The increased attacks puzzle me and I don't how much longer Yara will take no for an answer."

They walked over to a tree that was across the street from the Thorner house. Beckwyn leaped up and effortlessly pulled himself on top of a tree branch in order to sit comfortably. He looked down at Dane and said, "We can handle the attacks just fine. I'm not worried about that at all. As for the matter of Yara, you're on your own, my friend."

Dane grunted and then leaned against the tree. He had a perfect view of the house. He saw two lights on in the top story and wondered which room was Bryn's and which room was her father's. His curiosity was such that he thought about running over and taking a quick peek into both so he could know for sure and then he chastised himself for needing to know such inconsequential details. They were there to protect both of them. It did not matter whose window was whose.

The thought of Bryn being just a few hundred feet away nagged at him. He did not like that she was constantly sneaking into his thoughts. Usually, he stayed as far away as possible from the Wards. But spending all this extra time with the father and daughter was becoming a distraction. He looked up at Beckwyn and said, "Why did you make us eat dinner with them tonight? We could have watched them perfectly fine from out here."

Beckwyn shrugged and said, "I was hungry."

Dane shook his head and said, "You know full well that you and I can go for days without eating. What was up with all that nonsense about 'death by pizza?'"

Beckwyn smiled and said, "I was just helping our cover story about why we were available for dinner. What would you rather me say? 'Hi. Thanks for inviting us over so we can protect you against the inevitable monster that's going to try to kill you or your daughter?'"

Dane laughed and said, "No, but you were laying it on a little thick if you asked me. Have you ever even eaten pizza?"

"No. Have you?"

"No," replied Dane. "But it smells delicious." After a few more minutes of silence between them, Dane asked "What was the _real_ reason why you made us eat dinner with them?"

Beckwyn thought for a moment and said, "I was curious about the girl."

Dane felt a tense sensation in his stomach. "About Bryn?"

"Yes. When you were giving me an update this morning, you described her a little. You said she was smart and beautiful. I've never heard you compliment any other girl like that before and I just got curious about her."

"Oh," said Dane. He had not remembered saying that to Beckwyn, but he must have, because he certainly was thinking it.

Beckwyn continued, "So I planted the idea of the dinner in the father's head. I didn't think you would mind."

"Well, I do mind. I'd much rather do our job from out here." He lied.

Beckwyn looked down at him and nodded. "As you wish. We'll just spend the minimum amount of time possible with them." Dane felt that was the right thing to do, but at the same time, he didn't like the thought of seeing less of Bryn Thorner.

### Chapter 4

Confrontations

The next morning, when the Thorners left for school, Dane forced himself to stay well behind them as they walked to the Metro. Beckwyn wanted to squeeze in next to them on the subway car, but Dane shook his head and indicated they should stay in the back. When they arrived at school, Dane waited outside of Bryn's first period class until the warning bell rang. She nodded to him when he entered the room and Dane nodded back, but he continued to walk by her desk without talking to her. Instead, his eyes scanned the classroom as he looked for potential threats. Even though he did not sense any creatures, he remained vigilant all throughout first period.

The beginning of second period found Dane in the same mindset. He was here to perform his duty and he would not allow himself to get distracted. This task was now made more difficult due to the fact that his desk was right next to Bryn's. It was easier for him to hear the rude comment that the self-obsessed blonde girl said to Bryn as she walked by on the way to her desk.

"Who did your hair? A blind guy who hates you?" she asked in a snarling whisper.

Dane turned in surprise to see what Bryn would do. She did absolutely nothing. The calm look on her face told him she was not surprised by the rude comment. In fact, she looked like she was used to it. He watched the blonde girl sit at her desk and begin a loud conversation with another student. Only then did Bryn let out a soft exhale of breath. She did not look anywhere but toward the front of the class where she appeared to be intently reading the assignment on the board.

Dane wondered what was going on between Bryn and this girl. From what he could tell, there was no reason to say such an offensive comment. Bryn's hair looked beautiful. He liked how long it was and how it rested on her shoulders just before spilling over onto her back. He even loved the rich brown color of her hair. The teacher eventually started the class and Bryn shifted in her seat so she could take notes. Dane suddenly realized he was blatantly staring at her, so he turned his head to face the teacher instead. He really needed to stop getting caught up in looking at her hair. It was too distracting. He didn't know why this was the case, but he knew it was probably not a good thing. There were too many reasons to count.

Dane went back to focusing only on protecting Bryn. She was his Ward and it was his duty to keep her safe. He kept his senses open and tried to detect any dangers nearby. When Beckwyn sent a message to him reporting that nothing of interest was happening with the father, Dane did not choose to acknowledge him. When Beckwyn persisted in wondering what was happening with Bryn, Dane gave a short concise answer in response. Beckwyn seemed to get the hint that he was not in the mood to talk so he gave up.

The rest of the school day passed by achingly slow for Dane. Periodically, he would catch himself staring at Bryn without even remembering what caught his attention in the first place. It was as if his eyes were automatically drawn to her every movement. The hardest part was trying to distance himself from her when they were required to work together on a chemistry lab. She put on the thick, plastic safety glasses and asked in a joking manner, "How do I look?"

He thought that she looked adorable, but he averted his eyes and mumbled, "Fine." Dane forced himself to look toward the front of the class when she leaned close to him in order to read the directions off of the worksheet and he moved his hand back the instant he felt hers when they both reached for the test tube at the same time. Dane kept his comments to things that only dealt with the lab experiment and Bryn did the same. When they finished with five minutes left in the class, he sat back in his chair and didn't attempt to talk to her. Dane, however, was a little disappointed Bryn did not seem to feel the need to talk to him either.

*****

As soon as the bell rang to end school, Bryn said goodbye to Dane and then went to the nearest bathroom in order to change out of her uniform. She was due to work at the Coffee Grinder in an hour. By the time she had left the bathroom, most of the other students had cleared out of the hallway and moved onto other pursuits.

Bryn started to walk in the direction of her father's office so she could say goodbye, but she stopped short when she saw the Evil Stepsisters come out of a classroom. She contemplated turning around and finding an alternate route, but didn't want to constantly change her routine in order to avoid three annoying girls. So, she gathered up her strength and continued on.

It did not take Kayla long to notice that Bryn was in the same hallway. She looked around to see if there were any teachers before saying, "Hey Bryn. Do you need any new patients? I saw some frogs in biology class that could use your help. Then again, I'd feel bad for the frogs if your ugly face was the last thing they saw before they died in the name of science."

Lauren snorted in laughter.

"Don't you have something better to do with your time than to pick on me?" Bryn asked quietly.

"Not really. I was on my way to a meeting to plan the school dance, but I find this much more entertaining. Do you have a date to the dance yet?"

Bryn did not. She couldn't care less about the dance, but she wasn't going to give Kayla the satisfaction of answering her anymore. She tried to walk past the girls, but they moved so they were all blocking her way.

Kayla smirked and said, "Awww. You can't get a date, huh? With your hideous freckles and cheap clothes, no one in their right mind would want to be seen with you."

Bryn took a deep breath to calm herself down and said in a strained voice, "Please move. I have to get to work."

"What if we don't?" Kayla asked as she looked to her friends for support. "Are you going to do something about it?"

A door loudly closed at the end of the hallway and Dane walked in. While he was not her favorite person in the world, he was infinitely better than Kayla. She felt grateful for his sudden appearance.

Dane looked from Bryn to the other girls and said, "Bryn, I'm going to visit my brother in Mr. Thorner's office. Do you want to come with me?"

Kayla's face turned red with anger and she said, "Let's go girls." Then they left through the other end of the hallway.

Bryn walked over to join Dane who was waiting by the hallway's exit. She could feel tears stinging in her eyes. She kept on telling herself over and over to keep it together. Keep it together.

She thought that she was doing a good job of masking her tears until Dane asked kindly, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," said Bryn with a trembling smile. She hoped he didn't hear how her voice cracked on the last word.

Dane stared at her for a moment, but he did not say anything. He opened the door for her and stayed by her side on the way to her father's office. Bryn was grateful she had this time to collect herself and wipe the tears from her eyes. She hated that Dane saw her like this, but she desperately wanted to make sure her father did not find out what happened.

Just before they reached her father's office, Dane stopped and looked again at Bryn. He gave her a small smile of encouragement and then opened the door. Then, he practically pushed her inside where her father and Beck were working.

Beck's look of surprise was obvious as she entered the room. When she realized Dane was not behind her, she was a little confused. _Hadn't he said he was coming here to see his brother?_ Maybe she had heard him wrong.

*****

Dane sent a thought to Beckwyn as soon as he opened the door. " _Don't let her leave just yet. I'll be back in a minute_." He ran quickly back to where he assumed Kayla and her pack of friends would be. He was furious with them. It took all his power to keep himself under control as he had escorted Bryn to her father's office. Bryn was such a strong person and it made him mad that those infantile girls were affecting her that way.

It did not take long to find them standing by Kayla's locker. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Dane asked with controlled politeness.

Kayla turned and her eyes looked hopeful as she put on her dazzling smile and said, "Of course. Do you need something?"

Dane felt disgust at her obvious attempt to flirt again, but he put that out of his mind because what he was about to do required a special type of concentration. Planting a thought inside someone's mind was one thing, but to actually influence the way they behaved took more concentration. Dane swore to himself that he would do whatever he could in order for Bryn to never get in that situation again.

" _Do not ever talk to Bryn in the hallway again. If you see her in the hallway, then turn around and walk away. Nod if you understand me_." He looked at all three girls and smiled when he saw them nod. The blank looks in their eyes verified that his message had taken effect. He was just about to end the thought transfer when an impulse came over him that he couldn't resist. " _One more thing. I want you to spend the rest of the week worrying that you have bad breath and frizzy hair. And when you see Bryn, I want you to blush with embarrassment because you think that you have a large, festering pimple on your nose_."

Dane could not contain his smile of contentment as he made his way back to James' office. He opened the door and found Bryn's hand already holding the doorknob. Dane saw Beckwyn's look of relief. He knew Bryn's strong-willed nature by now and could only imagine how hard it was to try to convince Bryn to stay while she was late for work. Dane nodded to Beckwyn in order to signal that he was back in charge of her.

He held the door open for Bryn. As she left, she said, "Bye Dad. I'm late for work. You can pick me up around seven-thirty." Then she turned to Dane, put her hand on his arm and said, "Thank you." Dane could not tell if she was thanking her for holding open the door or for helping her earlier.

On the outside, Dane looked calm as he made a slight bow of his head. But on the inside, his stomach felt like it was doing cartwheels. He could still feel the pressure of her hand on his arm long after she had left.

### Chapter 5

The Strange Walk Home

Nicole was already behind the counter making a cup of coffee by the time Bryn arrived at work. She checked in with Joan and put on her apron. When she came back into the main room, she asked Nicole how her brother was doing.

Nicole smiled and said, "He's had three good days in a row."

"That's great," exclaimed Bryn. "I'm so glad."

"He's doing so well, that Mom was almost tempted to cancel the tests at the hospital today, but she took him anyway. They just got back right as I was leaving for work.

"How did it go?"

"Well, we won't find out the results for several days. Ryan was pretty upset about all the blood samples that they took. Even though he was mad, I was glad to see him with so much energy. It was like he was his old annoying self again."

Bryn smiled and said, "It's a good sign that his energy is returning. Will you let me know as soon as the test results come in?"

"Of course," she said just before she walked over to the register in order to help another customer.

Bryn worried about her friend's brother. He used to be a typical, active boy who played basketball in the driveway and was goalie of his soccer team. However, over the past month, whenever she went over to Nicole's house, it was like she was seeing a different child. His face grew paler with each successive visit and he usually sat on the couch playing video games. Ryan's illness had been a mystery from the start. Bryn hoped with all her heart that the test results turned out well. She knew from first-hand experience how hard it was to wait for the results to come in. Bryn saw Nicole was trying to act like her usual perky self, but she was not fooled. The tense lines around her friend's eyes and mouth were a dead giveaway to how she truly felt.

It was a busy night due to the cold snap that had come through earlier in the day. Everyone leaving the Metro seemed to want to walk home with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. During the short lulls in customer traffic that night, the girls spent their time chatting over inconsequential things because that was what Nicole seemed to want. They discussed movies they both had a desire to see and books they had read. At one point, Nicole asked how it was going with the Evil Stepsisters, but Bryn just blew it off and said, "Don't worry about it." Nicole didn't seem to want to talk about depressing subjects anyway, so Bryn wasn't surprised when she let it go.

They began closing up the coffeehouse a little before seven. Nicole left soon after they officially locked the door because she wanted to get home quickly and see if her mom needed any help. Bryn didn't mind finishing up the rest by herself.

At precisely seven-thirty, there was a knock at the door. Bryn walked to the door in order to let her father in. Dane and Beck were with him and each carried a shopping bag filled with large textbooks.

Her father smiled and said, "Beck and I worked late in my office looking over these and he has graciously agreed to help me bring them home so I can do some more work on them tonight. We found Dane nearby and enlisted his help, as well."

Bryn pulled the mop out from behind the counter and said, "I'm sorry, but I still have about twenty minutes left. Nicole went home early, so it's taking longer than usual."

"That's a pity," said her father. "I really wanted to spend some more time on these books." Bryn thought that was strange. Her father never complained about waiting for her to finish up at work. He was one of the most patient men she knew. Her father's eyes widened as he said, "I just had an idea. How about Beck and I take these books home so I can continue my work and Dane can walk you home?"

"That's fine with me," said Bryn who glanced over at Dane. He was staring at his brother with a chastising look on his face. "That is, if Dane isn't too busy."

Dane said, "I can take you home."

"Perfect," said her father. "I'll see you soon then." He left the coffeehouse and Beck was close behind him.

Bryn found herself alone with Dane. An awkward silence permeated the room and she did not know what to do. Finally, she said, "I'm sorry my Dad gets a little overprotective. He doesn't like me walking home alone in the dark."

Dane shrugged and said, "It's okay." Then he turned to walk out the door and said, "I'll just wait outside."

"You don't have to wait outside." She pulled out a chair for him to sit down. "You can stay in here if you like."

"It's fine," he said with his hand resting on the door handle. "I don't want to get in the way."

"But it's cold out there," she replied. "My dad usually stays in here while I clean up, so you won't be in the way."

He seemed a little conflicted, but eventually said, "I'd prefer to wait outside, thank you."

She watched him position himself in front of the door while facing out to the street. It seemed like he was guarding the place. Bryn tried not to overthink the strange behaviors of Dane too much, so she forced herself to go back to cleaning up. When she was done mopping the floor and wiping down the tables, she moved behind the counter to clean the coffee makers. Bryn peeked outside the window to see what Dane was doing and saw that he was blowing warm air into his cupped hands. She rolled her eyes and muttered something to the effect of boys being stubborn. Then she grabbed a disposable cup and got back to work.

A few minutes later, she braved the chill and opened the door to the outside. Dane turned around to look at her. "All done?"

"Not yet," she said through chattering teeth. "I just thought you might like something warm while you are waiting."

He thanked her and took the cup. She waited for him to take a sip out of it, but he just turned and continued to stare out into the street.

"It's not coffee," she blurted out. "I know you don't like coffee so I made you a hot chocolate instead."

He turned back to face her with a surprised look on his face. "How did you know I didn't like the coffee?"

"It wasn't that hard to figure out," Bryn replied. "You barely touched it the other night." She decided to leave out the part about how he was completely inept with the sugar packets. "I figured I couldn't go wrong with hot chocolate."

He looked dubiously at the cup. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Well, I guess I'll go back inside and finish up cleaning. I'll be done in a few minutes."

Dane had already turned back to face the street. "Take your time," he said over his shoulder.

Bryn returned to the inherent warmth of the Coffee Grinder. She went straight to the back room in order to pack away a few items. She tried not to think about how weird Dane could be, but in the end, that was all she could think about. When she returned to the front counter, she saw Dane take a cautious sip of the hot chocolate. His eyes widened and he soon took another sip. By the time Bryn was finished cleaning the store, Dane had finished.

Joan came out front to tell her everything was done and she could go for the evening. Bryn grabbed her jacket and then went outside where Dane was waiting for her. Now that they were beginning the walk home, Bryn did not know what to say to him. While she was grateful Dane had helped her with Kayla this afternoon, she was still embarrassed he had seen her in one of her weaker moments. She did not want to bring up the subject again, but what else could they talk about? Their conversation last night had ended in disagreement and she didn't even want to think about the first time they met. Every discussion they ever had seemed to end in disaster. She searched for things to talk about and only came up with one relatively safe conversation starter. "Did you do your calculus homework yet?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Chemistry?"

"Yes."

Bryn was getting annoyed at his monosyllabic answers, but she was grasping for straws at this point. "English?"

"We didn't have homework in English tonight."

"That's right," she said quietly. She decided to give up. If he wanted to talk to her, then he should come up with a subject. She was perfectly content walking home without saying another word. Bryn, however, was unprepared for what Dane finally decided to talk about.

They had just reached the edge of Fletcher Park when Dane asked in a hushed voice, "Do you see that?"

Bryn glanced toward the tree in the park where he seemed to be pointing. It was too dark for her to see anything of interest. "No," said Bryn. "What is it?"

He said, "It's a group of bats that are flying around the tree."

Bryn looked again, but still did not see anything. "It's too dark, but I'll take your word for it. I'd rather not get near those things anyway."

"Why not?" He seemed genuinely interested in what her answer would be.

Bryn thought about it and said, "They freak me out a little. I hate their wings and how you can see their bones through their rubbery skin. They're just ugly."

"I find them kind of cute, actually," he said with a smile. He pointed to a bat flying near a lamppost. "Do you see that one?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to change my opinion of it just because I can see it now." Bryn continued down the sidewalk.

Dane fell in step beside to her. "I wonder if that bat thinks it's ugly."

Outwardly, she told him she didn't know, but inwardly, Bryn was wondering where he was going with this strange conversation about bats.

"It's like that poem you were talking about in Mrs. Frank's class yesterday," continued Dane. "It may look different, but that is nothing to be ashamed of. It just has a different kind of beauty."

Bryn was impressed he remembered what she said in class. In fact, those were almost the exact words she had used. "Perhaps you're right about that. I do not deny the creature to have the right to think it is beautiful. It's just that I, personally, don't. From this point on, I'll keep my opinion to myself when bats are within hearing distance," Bryn said jokingly.

But Dane did not find it funny. His face wore a look of frustration. "I don't think the poem was just about encouraging Blacks to find themselves beautiful and for others to keep their opinions to themselves. I think the poet was also trying to convince _everyone_ to see the beauty of his race. The little bat back there, may look strange to you, but don't you think if you really looked at it, you might change your mind?"

"Maybe," said Bryn. She wondered why they were talking about bats so much, and she wasn't even sure if they were still discussing bats or if they had moved onto a larger concept all together. One thing she knew for sure was when Dane felt strongly about something, he was very vocal in his defense of it.

They continued in silence the rest of the way home. The lights were on in both the inside and outside of the house, so she knew her father was home. As Bryn rounded the corner onto her driveway, she saw her neighbor taking out the trash for the morning's garbage collection.

"Hi, Mrs. Crocker." Bryn suspected her neighbor was already wearing her pajamas for the evening and had tried to cover them with her large coat. The pink fuzzy slippers were a dead giveaway.

"Hello, Bryn," said the middle-aged woman who looked surprised at being caught in her informal appearance. Curiosity seemed to get the better of her, however, when she asked, "Who's this young man?"

Bryn sighed and said, "He's a friend from school." Although, she wasn't quite sure how to explain their relationship, she thought it would be just easier to call him a friend. Mrs. Crocker was such a nosy neighbor. She had to know everything about what they were doing. Her father always called her Mrs. Kravitz because he said she reminded him of the nosy neighbor in an old television show called _Bewitched_. She really didn't feel like getting stuck in a conversation with her so she said, "Have a good night, Mrs. Kra...Crocker." _Close one_.

"Goodnight, Bryn," she said in her nasally voice. She turned to walk back up the driveway toward her house.

Bryn led Dane up the front porch steps and fished through her pockets for the house keys. It turned out she didn't need them since Beck opened the front door. He appeared as if he was on the point of leaving. Beck's ever-present smile greeted them as he said "Hello, Bryn. Your father and I just finished up. Are you ready to go, Dane?"

Dane nodded and said, "Yes." He made a small bow toward Bryn and said, "Goodnight. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Bryn thought the bow was a little on the unusual side. It is such an outdated form of saying goodbye. Looking back, however, she realized Dane bowed a lot. _What a strange guy_ , she thought as she went into her house.

### Chapter 6

The Summons

Dane and Beckwyn took their usual sentry spots in the tree across the street. They watched in companionable silence for several hours. Dane was left to his own thoughts and most of them were about Bryn. He thought of her being teased by those blonde snobs and remembered how she'd tried to hide her tears from him afterwards. Dane, however, had to fight against his desire to put his arms around her and comfort her. He had never wanted to hug another Ward like that before. Why was Bryn so different?

At one point, close to midnight, he saw a feminine form moving past a second story window. Dane felt a tightening in his chest and drew in his breath. Just the sight of her form standing in the window was enough to stun him. He wondered why his mind and body were so affected by her. No other girls made him feel this way, yet a look or a touch from Bryn sent his senses through the roof.

His gaze focused on the right window on the second floor and he tried to imagine what she was doing. Suddenly, the light turned off and he knew she was going to bed. He wondered what Bryn looked like as she slept. Would her brows be furrowed in the argumentative way she usually adopted whenever he was around her or would they be relaxed to show her soft, gentle beauty?

He was so consumed in his thoughts that he did not even hear Beckwyn talking to him until his friend's voice popped into his mind. " _Did you hear what I said or are you choosing to ignore me?_ "

Dane looked abashed that he had been caught daydreaming and thought back, " _Sorry, my friend. I was thinking of something. What did you say?_ "

" _Well, I merely said we have been on this assignment for three days and nothing seems to be happening. But, now I'm more interested in what's distracted you so much that you aren't even listening to me_."

Dane did not answer him for a minute, but then finally admitted, " _I'd rather not say_."

Beckwyn was too close to Dane to be put off by that statement and said, " _I bet I can guess_."

Dane made a sour face and said, " _I'd rather you not_."

" _Too late_ ," said Beckwyn with a mischievous smile. " _I've already guessed. I think you like the girl_."

Dane wanted to deny it, but realized he couldn't. So after a long pause of debating what he should say back to Beckwyn, he asked, " _Is it that obvious?_ "

" _To me it is. Only because I know you so well. I've never seen you talk to a girl, other than Yara, for more than two minutes. But I don't think it is obvious to anyone else if that makes you feel better_."

" _Good_ ," replied Dane. " _I'd rather keep it that way_."

" _Don't you think you should tell Yara? It might make her stop pestering you about marriage_."

" _There's no point in telling her. Nothing is going to come of it because of too many reasons to count. Besides, I get the feeling Bryn doesn't like me much._ "

" _Yes_ ," agreed Beckwyn. " _I get that feeling too. Sorry_."

" _Don't be_ ," said Dane. " _It's probably better this way_."

Dane thought he heard Beckwyn mumble, "I don't think so," but he wasn't sure.

The night slowly dragged on and the two men kept their vigilant guard outside the Thorner house. Just before dawn, a dark figure approached the neighborhood which Dane recognized immediately. "Castien's here," he said to Beckwyn. Dane made a quiet noise to draw his attention toward them. Castien was the only other member of the Vanguard who had stayed home. His tall frame and shaggy jet-black hair made him an imposing figure to behold, but it was the jagged scar slashed down his cheek that usually alarmed most people. Dane and Beckwyn, however, were used to his intimidating looks and were not affected by them.

Beckwyn called out, "Good morning, Sunshine! To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

Castien grunted toward Beckwyn and then looked at Dane who was leaning against the tree. "You've been summoned."

Dane drew in his breath. There was no need to ask who summoned him. They all knew it was Yara. He did not want to leave this assignment. While he knew Beckwyn would be able to protect Bryn if she was indeed the target, _he_ wanted to be the one to protect her in the end. "Can it wait?" he asked quietly.

"She insisted you come back as soon as I delivered the message."

Dane looked up at Beckwyn and saw that his friend was giving him a sympathetic smile. It's as though Beckwyn knew exactly what he was thinking. Beckwyn jumped down from the tree and suggested to Castien, "What if you go back and pretend you couldn't find us?"

Castien gave Beckwyn a harsh look. He turned back to Dane and said, "Tetari said it would be all right for me to take your place while you're gone."

Dane still did not want to leave, but what choice did he have? Maybe if he left right away, he could be back before school started. That wouldn't be so bad then. He said to his friends, "I won't be long." Then, without even waiting for a reply, he ran off.

*****

Dane paced back and forth in the richly furnished room Yara used when she conducted important business. The fact that he had been led into this room meant she was serious in her request. This was not an informal visit by any means. He had been waiting for over an hour and he had hoped to get this whole business over in ten minutes. Unfortunately, that wasn't happening.

He heard the door open behind him and turned around. Yara's thick brown hair was pulled back in a long braid. She wore a bronze-colored dress with an intricate beadwork bodice. Her warm smile made him feel a little comforted even though he was worried about leaving Bryn for so long. Dane walked over to Yara and placed each hand on the side of her shoulders. He tilted his head down toward her face and rested his forehead on hers.

Yara took her hands and placed them on each of Dane's cheeks. She lifted his head so she could see his eyes. She smiled as she said, "Dearest Brother, it's been too long. Why is it I have to send an official summons to see you?"

Dane's regret sounded sincere as he said, "My Vanguard duties have been keeping me busy. I'm truly sorry if I've offended you, but Tetari keeps sending me to the Reflection."

"Yes, I know how busy you have been," Yara said as she motioned Dane to sit down with her. "But we live in the same house. I thought for sure I would at least see you at a meal or two. I miss you."

"I miss you, too," said Dane as he reluctantly sat next to her. He decided to get it over with. "I can't stay long though. I need to get back to the Reflection as soon as possible because I've made a commitment to be there. So, why did you summon me?"

Yara gave him a reproving look and stated, "I wanted to talk to you about another type of commitment."

"I'm not interested in any other commitment at this time."

"Dane," stated Yara, "You've entered your Third Age. This is the time when a man finds a wife."

"That is not a definite law, Yara. It is just a general expectation. I know plenty of men in their Third Age who are not yet married."

"And I know plenty of men who are," Yara stated firmly. "I've been more than patient. It was my wish that you find someone from our province in order to share your life with, but I can tell that no young woman here has caught your interest. So, I want you to know I have no further plans on encouraging you to marry a local girl."

"Great," exclaimed Dane, relieved to hear this. Over the past year, he had been forced to attend dinner parties where several single, young females were invited in the hopes that one of them would peak his interest. He was tired of fending off the advances of the overly-eager girls and having to carry on conversations with the extremely boring ones.

Yara held up her hand and said, "Hold on a moment. All I've said is I have given up on finding a local girl for you. There are many girls who live in the other provinces. In fact, a marriage among our family and a foreign family could prove to be very advantageous."

Dane's face turned white with dread. "I don't want to be forced into a marriage with a stranger."

"I would never force you, Dane. But I'm thinking about writing letters to the major families which will 'test the waters' so to speak."

"Please do not go to such trouble."

"Oh, it's no trouble. I assure you."

Dane took a deep breath and said, "Yara, please don't do this. I cannot abide being paraded around to people I don't even know. I abhor the very idea of it." He looked at her stubbornly hardened face and was worried. They had similar discussions over the past few years and he had always been able to convince her to wait, but this time she seemed determined not to back down. He racked his brain in order to think of a convincing argument, but in the end said the only thing he knew could reliably work. "Please, Yary."

At the sound of his childhood name for her, Yara's features softened a little. "It is your duty to marry soon. I don't care whether it is with a local or foreign girl, but it needs to be soon."

"I promise I'll keep looking. Just please promise me you won't write those letters."

After a long moment of silence, Yara stated, "I promise. For now."

Dane sighed with relief and said, "Thank you. Now may I return to the Reflection?"

"No. I expect you to stay for dinner with us tonight. It's just the family."

"I don't need to eat," he said. "I really should get back."

"I insist. The children miss their uncle." Yara gave him a look that he knew meant he could not refuse.

He bowed to show his acquiescence and said, "I'll go spend time with the little ones, clean up, and then be back for dinner."

"Thank you," Yara said as she sat down at her desk.

Dane left the room to go in search of his niece and nephew. He did not like that he had to stay at home for several hours longer, but there was nothing he could do about it. Even though she was his sister, Yara had been the one who raised him as a child and she deserved his respect. When she insisted on dinner, he had to comply. No matter how much he wished that he were somewhere else.

*****

About half way through first period, Bryn realized Dane's seat was empty. She briefly wondered where he was because Dane had specifically said he would be in school today. However, she did not wonder for long because she had to concentrate on the teacher's lecture. When the bell rang, she reluctantly moved to second period. She dreaded seeing Kayla, but knew it could not be avoided. She sat in her desk and waited for the inevitable snarky comment that Kayla usually said when she walked near her seat. Yet it never came.

When the bell rang to start class, Bryn looked over to see if Kayla was absent, too, but saw that she was sitting at her desk. Bryn watched her reach into her pocket and pull out a tin of mints. She popped one into her mouth and sat back in her chair. Then, Kayla looked at her and the oddest thing happened. Her face turned a bright shade of red which sharply contrasted against her pale blond hair. Kayla's eyes widened in fear and she covered her nose with her hand. Bryn was astonished by this strange behavior and watched Kayla slink down in her chair with her hand resting on her nose.

Bryn eventually turned to look at Mrs. Frank who was writing on the board, but in her peripheral vision, she noticed Kayla slowly sit up. She remained a little hunched over her desk and kept her hand over her nose. Bryn thought this was so unlike Kayla. Usually, she exuded confidence and reveled in being the center of attention, but now it looked like she was deliberately trying to avoid it. The time flew by and Bryn was pleasantly surprised Kayla never looked her way again. As soon as the bell rang, Kayla got out of her desk and ran in the direction of the bathroom.

On the way to her next class, Bryn suddenly remembered she had forgotten her economics textbook in her father's office. Her teacher had specifically told everyone to bring it for that day's lesson, so Bryn made a quick side-trip to pick up the book. It was her father's planning period, so he was just settling down at his desk when she arrived. "I need to pick up my book," she said as she walked across the office to get it. She saw Beck in the corner grading some papers so she decided to ask, "Is Dane all right? He's not in class today?"

Beck's eyes tightened a little before saying, "He woke up feeling sick this morning. I'm sure it is just one of those 12-hour illnesses and he'll be back soon."

"Hope he feels better," Bryn said politely. The warning bell rang and she left the office with a quick goodbye. On her way to class, she saw the Evil Stepsisters standing at the foot of the stairs. They looked at her and abruptly stopped their conversation in mid-sentence. They each touched their hands to their noses and walked away in different directions. Bryn couldn't help but laugh at their bizarre behavior.

*****

Dane knew his sister wanted him to be an active participant at the dinner table, so he entertained his niece and nephew by asking riddles. Along with the help of his brother-in-law, Feredir, they kept the children entertained for almost the entire meal. Dane always took the time to talk to his sister's ten year old twins and would listen to their stories by the hours. He found the children to be a little bit of a paradox. Even though they were twins, they couldn't have been more different in both appearance and personality. Quilyn took after his mother in looks with his dark brown hair and striking eyes. His personality, however, was all his father's. Quilyn appreciated a good joke and loved hearing stories of adventure. Elora had her father's fair hair and tall figure, but she took after Yara in her quiet and reserved manner. Dane knew from experience that Elora had a warm heart she gave freely to those she truly loved, yet she was shy around everyone else.

"Can I ask you a riddle, Uncle Dane?" said Quilyn in his scratchy voice.

"I wanted to ask a riddle," complained Elora.

Yara spoke to Elora from across the table and said, "Quilyn asked first, dearest, but you can ask your riddle as soon as he is done."

Elora appeared disappointed, but she waited patiently. Dane was amazed at the skillful way his sister was able to handle her twins. He wondered if she was good at it because of all the practice she had raising him when he was a child. As long as he could remember, it had been Yara who took care of him. She was both big sister and mother to him.

Quilyn tugged on Dane's shirt and said, "Who has blue eyes and blonde hair, is really smart and has a crush on you?"

Elora suddenly became excited. "I know! It's—"

"Shush!" said Quilyn. "Uncle Dane has to guess."

Elora nodded and tightened her lips so the answer could not come out on its own.

Dane laughed and shook his head. "This doesn't sound like much of a riddle. It's really more of a question."

"Well then, can you guess the answer to my question?"

"I'm sure I have no idea," said Dane as seriously as he could while fighting the urge to laugh again. "This is too hard. Let's hear Elora's riddle now."

Yara held up her hand and said, "I would like to hear the answer to the riddle, Quilyn. Who has blue eyes, blonde hair, really smart and has a crush on Uncle Dane?"

"It's my teacher!" said Quilyn proudly.

Elora raised herself up from her chair and said, "When she saw Uncle Dane walking up the steps to visit us today, she blushed and got all tongue-tied."

Quilyn interjected, "And she's always asking questions about what he is doing and where he likes to spend his free time."

"Really?" said Yara with a pleased smile. "She is very smart and pretty, too. Dane, did you know Tsarra liked you?"

Dane brought his wine glass up to his mouth and gave a noncommittal answer. He actually _did_ know Tsarra liked him. She was one of the more obvious girls. She had often made advances toward him which he found himself constantly needing to politely refuse. However, he had now solved the mystery of how Tsarra had found him while he was investigating the North Gate two weeks ago. His nephew must have told her.

"Maybe I should invite her over for dinner sometime?" Yara mumbled to herself.

Feredir loudly cleared his throat and said, "This reminds me of the time when I had a crush on my teacher. I was a few years younger than you," he said pointing to his children, "but I knew she was the only one for me." This statement finally got Yara's undivided attention. "She had long raven black hair and beautiful green eyes. I used to hold up my book and pretend I was reading, when in reality, I would just stare at her for hours. Your aunt used to tease me mercilessly about my crush, but I didn't pay her any mind. I knew we were meant to be together."

"Did you ask her to marry you?" asked Quilyn.

"Of course he didn't," stated Elora in her matter-of-fact voice.

"Oh, I wanted to marry her, but alas, we were not meant to be together."

"Why?" asked Dane. "What happened?"

"A truly unfortunate circumstance. We went on an excursion one day to the Thryllan Cliff."

"Did she fall off the cliff?" asked Quilyn almost too excitedly.

Feredir sighed dramatically and said, "No, nothing like that. It started with my sister. She picked up a rock and threw it over the edge of the cliff as far as she could. Then, my brother took a turn throwing a rock. I wanted to throw a rock, too, of course, so, I found a nice big rock about the size of my fist. Both my brother and sister yelled at me and said I was too young to throw the rock and I couldn't be trusted. I appealed to my beloved teacher and knew she would take my side. My heart nearly broke in two when she as well told me I was too young to throw the rock over the cliff. I could see it in her eyes that she thought I was just a kid. Well, I simply had to prove to her that I was more than that. So I wound up my arm in order to throw the rock anyway. I ran toward the edge and prepared to heave the rock with all of my strength into the air. Alas, my nine year old body was not prepared for such a bold move and I miscalculated the throw. That traitorous rock was thrown directly into my teacher's face. I was mortified.

"She got a black eye and a pretty bad welt on her cheek. She was so mad at me that she refused to talk to me for the rest of the trip. When we got home, my dreams of our future marriage quickly ended when she marched me straight to my father and told him what a little trouble-maker I was. Unfortunately, our love was not meant to be. So, my dearest family, if you put any stock in my advice, I most solemnly recommend you never throw a rock at a person you like. That will kill whatever chance you had. Look at your mother. I have never once thrown a rock at her head and she still loves me."

Yara smiled at Feredir and Dane could tell that her thoughts had been properly distracted.

Feredir turned to Elora and said, "Enough with my tragic memories. Let's hear your riddle, Little One."

As Elora excitedly began her riddle, Dane gave his brother-in-law a grateful look and then turned his attention over to his niece. After they all showed excitement at the appropriate place, Elora continued to tell her parents about something she had learned in school that day. Dane took this moment to send a message to his nephew. " _Quilyn, you need to be more careful about what stories you tell me when your mother is in the room_."

" _What do you mean?"_ replied the childish voice.

" _I mean, you can't go around pointing out which girls like me. First of all, it is an ungentlemanly thing to do and second of all, your mother is going to get the wrong ideas in her head._ "

" _You don't like my teacher then?"_

" _Not in the same way she likes me. I'm sorry._ "

" _Oh, I'm not disappointed. She's really strict when it comes to math anyway_."

Dane smiled and sent another message. " _Let me give you some advice. When you reach your Third Age, your mother is going to be very persistent and insist that you find a wife as soon as possible_."

" _Is that why she's been inviting all those pretty ladies to our dinners? Because she wants you to get married?_ "

" _Yes and she'll probably do the same for you. She will expect you to pay attention to them and hopefully fall in love with one of them_."

" _But girls are gross!"_ came his raspy reply.

Dane laughed and drew the eye of Yara from across the table. When she turned back to Elora, Dane sent another message to his nephew. " _They aren't that bad. My advice to you is to be polite to the girls, but don't let your mother force you into a commitment you don't want. You have to find the person who is right for you, not for your mother. Got it?"_

" _Yes, Uncle. So you don't want me telling you about which girls like you anymore because I know another girl—"_

" _Definitely not_ ," said Dane. " _And especially not in front of your mother. I promise that when you reach your Third Age, I will stay out of your love life as long as you promise to stay out of mine. We Stormwood men have to stick together. Right?_ "

" _Right_ ," said Quilyn in his most grown-up manner. " _I double xeny promise I won't tell you about any more girls who like you._ "

" _What's a xeny promise?"_

" _Oh, xeny is the best word there is. If something is amazing, you have to say xeny. I learned it from my friend, Darcasan. We find it best just to say xeny wherever we can_."

" _I think that's xeny_ ," said Dane.

The rest of dinner took an excruciatingly long time. Dane couldn't believe Yara had ordered this many courses just for a family dinner. He also spent several minutes discussing his work with Feredir and with his sister, he listened to her stories about the doings of their family friends. Toward the end of dinner, however, he became quiet as his thoughts turned to Bryn. He wondered what she had done that day. Did those girls leave her alone? Did Castien wait outside of her classroom or the school? The fact that he wasn't the one protecting her today bothered him immensely. Dane felt his sister's hand on his as she said, "I fear that your mind is not with us."

"Maybe he is thinking of a girl," said Feredir who proceeded to laugh at his own joke.

"I wish," Dane heard Yara mumble to herself.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about work. I really should get back." He felt like he had stayed long enough, so he stood up from the table.

Thankfully, Yara did not try to stop him. She presented her cheek for him as Dane leaned down to kiss her goodbye. "I expect to see you soon. Don't make me have to summon you again."

"Yes, Yara," he said with a smile and as soon as all his goodbyes were said, he practically ran from the room.
Chapter 7

### Followed

"It's so slow tonight," complained Nicole as she languidly rested her head on the counter. "I swear the clock actually moved backwards."

"It does seem kind of dead today," Bryn said as she leaned against the condiment station. Not one customer had entered the Coffee Grinder in the past half hour.

"Do you have to work this weekend?"

"Nope," said Bryn happily. "I have the whole weekend off."

"Me too," exclaimed Nicole.

"Do you want to spend the night on Saturday?" Bryn asked hopefully. "I'm sure that it'll be fine with my dad."

Nicole seemed excited at first, but then caution won over. "I'm in, as long as Mom doesn't need me to help out with Ryan."

"Maybe we could see a movie before you come over." Bryn hoped that seeing a movie might help distract Nicole from worrying about her brother's test results. They were due any day.

"What about Romeo and Juliet?" suggested Nicole. "I heard the new version is really good."

Bryn got out her cell phone and checked the times for the movie. "There's one at eight o'clock on Saturday. How about we meet at the theater around seven-thirty?"

"Sounds perfect," said Nicole, then she suddenly began wiping the counter.

Bryn turned and saw Joan emerging from the back office. Her boss gazed around the room and said, "It's pretty slow tonight. Do either of you want to go home early?"

Bryn perked up in excitement, but she decided to give Nicole a chance to claim it first. "Do you want to go home?"

"I'd rather not," admitted Nicole. "I'm still trying to save up money for college."

Bryn looked out the window and saw that it was still light outside. She didn't think that her father would mind if she walked home by herself now. "I'll go then."

She went to the back office in order to clock out and return her apron. Then she called her father to explain she was coming home early.

"That's fine," he said placidly. "I'll come pick you up right now."

"Don't worry about it. It's still daytime."

"Okay. It's probably better anyway because Beck is over at the house working with me on the textbook adoptions."

"You work Beck too hard," chastised Bryn.

"Beck seems to be a work-o-holic. I assure you _he_ is the one who proposes all the extra work. Every time I suggest he goes home, he simply says he would like to keep working."

Bryn was glad her father had easy-going Beck to work with. "All right. If you say so. I'll be home well before it gets dark. I promise." She hung up and left the store.

After she walked outside, she decided to turn around in order to remind Nicole about Saturday night. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a rather scary-looking man leaning against a building about one block down the road. She could easily see his scowling expression and she wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a jagged scar on his face. Bryn was glad her home was in the opposite direction, because she would have been a little wary of walking near him.

Bryn popped her head back in the store and said, "Don't forget about tomorrow night!"

Nicole smiled and said, "I won't. It'll be nice to have some girl time."

Bryn waved goodbye and then left the store a second time. As she walked home, she reviewed some of today's events in her head. The fact that she had gone an entire school day without some snide comment from Kayla was mind boggling. Kayla rarely missed an opportunity to pick on her. She had no idea why the Evil Stepsisters ran away from her in the hallway. Bryn did not know what was going on, but she wasn't going to question her good fortune.

When she passed Fletcher Park, she turned to look at the tree that had the bats in it last night. She laughed a little as she thought of Dane and how adamantly he defended the beauty of the creatures. She thought about what a puzzle he was. He was taciturn, but there were also times when he was excited and full of energy. Dane was also just a strange person in general. She smiled to herself as she remembered him trying to dunk the sugar packets in his coffee the first time she met him. But there was more to him than his quirky behavior. The most unusual thing about Dane was that he seemed to find ways to get under her skin and annoy her in some way. It wasn't like he was one of the Evil Stepsisters and rude to her on purpose, but she seemed to always find herself at odds with him. Bryn wondered why that was.

As she turned away from the tree, she saw the same scary-looking man standing near the edge of the park. Her heart leapt into her throat as she wondered if he was following her. She decided it best to get home as soon as possible. It was starting to get darker and she knew there was not much daylight left. She quickened her pace and concentrated more fully on her surroundings. Periodically, she would turn her head in order to see if the man was still following. She could not see him, but she had the feeling he was still there. Once, she heard a soft noise come from the area she thought he would be if he was still following her. Her heart pumped fast and she felt a surge of excess energy. Bryn tried to remember what she was supposed to do if she actually was attacked. Poking his eyes and kicking his groin were all she could think of. How heartily she wished she had waited for her father to come pick her up.

She formulated a plan to put some distance between herself and her possible stalker. It would make her look a little foolish, but she thought it was better to be safe than sorry. There was a section of the sidewalk where she would turn around a tall apartment building. When she got to the corner, she planned on looking back one last time in order to see if he was there. If he was, she would run. He would not be able to see her for a while since the building would block her actions.

As she approached the corner, she slightly turned her head. Unfortunately, she saw him. Her footsteps faltered and there was a tightening in her chest.

_Calm down_ , Bryn told herself forcefully.

She needed to stay focused. Bryn calmed her breath and wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead. As soon as she rounded the corner, she sprinted to the next one. She contemplated dropping her backpack since it was filled with heavy books, but she decided against it because if she took it off, it might slow her down. Her goal was to get to the next corner and keep running. Hopefully, the scary man would be confused and not know where she went.

When she made the second turn, a surprised scream escaped her lips as she blindly bumped into someone's chest. Two strong hands grabbed her shoulders and stopped her from toppling over. Her frightened eyes looked up in order to see who held her. Dane's brows were furrowed with worry, but Bryn felt immediate relief.

*****

Dane had directly gone to Bryn's work, hoping to find her finishing up for the day. She was not there, so he climbed a building and jumped along the rooftops to look for her from a high vantage point. However, when he saw her running down the sidewalk, he knew something was wrong. Dane did not sense any creature nearby, but he was still worried for her. He jumped down from the top of the building and landed on the sidewalk just before she rounded the corner. He held her arms in order to help steady both of them.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone's following me," she said breathlessly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said in between two deep breaths. "He's been behind me ever since I left work. He's very tall and has a jagged scar on his face."

"Let me look," Dane said as he moved her into position behind him. When he peered around the corner, it was exactly who he expected to see. " _I've got her now_ ," he said silently to Castien.

Castien grunted and thought back, " _I'm sorry. I think I may have scared her_."

" _She's all right. I should have warned you that she is very observant. Thank you for taking over my duties today, but I'll take it from here_." He turned back to find Bryn looking at him curiously. To her he said, "I saw someone turning the corner going the other way. He's probably long gone by now. But just in case, can I walk you home? I think Beck is there anyway."

"Yes, thank you." Bryn looked relieved, and Dane felt comforted to be back in his role as her Protector. They walked in silence for a few minutes. Bryn obviously was trying to regain her composure and Dane was keeping a sharp eye out for anything unusual. Eventually, she asked, "Are you feeling better?"

"Pardon?"

"Your brother said you were sick today. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes. I'm feeling better. Thank you." Even though he knew she was talking about his alleged illness, he realized he really was feeling better in general now that he was with her. He had been frustrated all day because he had been so far away. Now that he was standing next to her, he felt happier and charged with energy. He found himself enjoying these sensations, but a small part of him knew these feelings were probably not going to lead to anything good. A voice inside his head told him it would be better if he kept his distance from Bryn. However, right now, he had no intention of listening to that more rational side of himself.

Even though he'd much rather talk about a million other things, he still had a job to do. He needed to know where she planned on being this weekend. On school days, her routine was predictable. Tomorrow was Saturday and he had no idea what she was going to do. He had to be prepared for anything. "Got any big plans for this weekend?" he asked trying to sound casually curious.

"Not that much," she admitted. "I'm going to see a movie with a friend tomorrow night and she's hopefully sleeping over afterwards. That's about it."

He did not like her going to a different part of town in order to see the movie, especially at night. They would be farther away from Beck if he needed help. Dane wished she'd stay at home or at least, someplace closer to home. He tried to find a way to convince her to stay. "I heard there're no good movies out right now. You two should just stay home and watch a movie on TV instead."

Bryn shook her head and said, "Nicole and I really wanted to see _Romeo and Juliet_."

"Never heard of it. It's probably really bad," Dane said hoping this would convince her to stay home.

Bryn stopped and looked at him incredulously. "You've never heard of Romeo and Juliet?"

"No."

"But you've heard of Shakespeare, right?"

The way Bryn was looking at him with those knowing eyes, made Dane realize he had made some huge mistake. "Of course, I've heard of Shakespeare." He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. He had no idea who or what this Shakespeare was.

"So you've heard of Shakespeare, but you've never heard of Romeo and Juliet?"

Dane did not know how to respond, but he figured the safest answer would be, "Yes."

Bryn furrowed her eyebrows and said, "I find that hard to believe. Romeo and Juliet is his most famous play."

At least Dane knew the context now, so he tried to salvage the conversation. "I guess my teachers never made me read it. My brother hated my old school, anyway. He said I was getting an incomplete education. That's why he wanted me transferred to Lockland Prep."

Bryn stared at him some more, but then seemed to decide to drop the dreaded-Shakespeare subject. She finally asked, "Do you miss your old school?"

"Not really," said Dane. "I like Lockland better. How about you? Do you like it?"

Bryn was quiet for a moment as if she was trying to find the right words to say. "I like parts of it."

"Which parts?"

"I like that my father is a teacher there," she explained. "He makes sure I'm put in the best classes. And for the most part, I like the teachers. However, I really like that I only have a few months left until graduation."

"Are you tired of school and studying?"

"No, it's not that," said Bryn. "I'm tired of all the negative parts of high school and I'm ready for something different."

Dane drew in his breath. He wondered if Bryn really meant what she was saying. Would she really want something different even if it was extremely different? He told himself not to read too much into it. "What are your plans after high school?"

"College, of course. I've already been accepted to Johns Hopkins."

"And after college," prompted Dane. "What then?"

"Medical school and then become a doctor."

"Why do you want to be a doctor?"

She gave him a strange look and said, "Because I want to help other people."

"Why do you want to help other people?" he asked even though he knew it would earn him another strange look. _There it is_.

Bryn thought quietly in order to search for her answer. Finally, she said, "Because I want to help people live as long as possible. It's not fair that some people die before their time and I want to make sure that doesn't happen. What about you? What do you want to do after high school?"

"I don't have a desire to become a doctor, but I would like to help others, too."

"Why do _you_ want to help others?" He couldn't help but notice the satisfied smirk on her face.

He thought about all the reasons why he started the Vanguard and said, "Because it's the right thing to do."

Dane was disappointed when they rounded the corner of her street and Bryn's house came into view. He wished they could have walked together for just a few more minutes. Then, something unexpected happened. Bryn lightly placed her hand on his arm. She apparently wanted him to stop and there was no way he was going to move from her grip. So he stopped walking and turned to face her.

"Listen," Bryn said as she moved her head a little closer to his. Dane was having a hard time keeping his breathing steady now. Bryn spoke quietly as she said, "I would appreciate it if you don't tell my father about what happened back there."

Her close proximity was affecting him. His mouth went suddenly dry and he could feel his heart racing. Dane wondered what it would be like to kiss her. She was so close. All he had to do was to lean in a little more. Suddenly, he realized he must not have answered her question because Bryn was staring at him. She did not look expectant of a first kiss, rather, she seemed to be annoyed.

"What?" he finally blurted out.

"I asked you to not tell my father about what happened tonight." Her hand dropped back down to her side, but Dane could still feel the phantom pressure there.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want him to worry about me."

Dane forced his mind to clear of foolish thoughts. He stood up straight and said, "He should be worried about you. You were just chased by someone."

She flattened her lips sternly. "I could have taken care of it myself."

He stood tall to her. "You seemed relieved when I showed up though."

The light from the front porch illuminated the fire in her eyes. "I had a plan to get away before you came along."

"And what exactly was that plan?" asked Dane. "Run away as fast as possible?"

"Yes, but there was more to it than that."

"You shouldn't be walking alone in this city. There are dangerous things out there. Things you can't just run away from."

"Spare me the lecture," Bryn said as she rolled her eyes.

"Everything all right, dear?" came a nasally voice from the yard next door. Her neighbor was standing at the foot of her driveway. She glared at Dane suspiciously.

"Yes, Mrs. Crocker," said Bryn. "We're just going in anyway. Have a good night."

"Goodnight," the neighbor called back, but Dane noticed she did not move from her spot until Bryn walked into the house and Dane closed the door behind them.

*****

Bryn went straight back to the kitchen without even waiting for Dane. Honestly, he could be so annoying. She forced her breathing to calm down so her father wouldn't think anything was wrong. She found him and Beck sitting at the breakfast table. There were stacks of textbooks in front of them and large teacher kits spread out all over the floor. He and Beck were discussing the merits and faults of some of their top contenders.

Neither of them looked up when she walked into the kitchen, so she said, "I'm home."

Her father shifted his eyes over the rim of his glasses and said, "Ah, I'm glad you both are here. We need a young person's perspective on which textbook is the most student-friendly." Bryn turned back to see Dane was standing directly behind her. He moved to sit at the table next to his brother and Bryn soon followed. She was relieved to see he did not mention anything about the man who chased her. She figured if he was going to say anything, it would have been then. Instead, Dane patiently perused through the books that were handed to him. Bryn glanced over his shoulder in order to see them, as well. They spent the next fifteen minutes answering her father's questions about the textbooks until they were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

"Who could that be?" asked Bryn.

"That's most likely the Chinese food we ordered for dinner. Beck and I were getting so much work done I thought it would be a good idea for everyone just to eat here. I called them right after you told me you were coming home early."

As her father stood up to get the door, she saw Dane giving a look to Beck she was sure was supposed to mean something. She couldn't tell what it was though. Could it be disapproving? Beck, however, was trying to appear thoroughly engrossed in his textbook. She stood up from the table to get drinks ready for dinner. Dane continued to watch Beck and then as if by a synchronized decision, they both started stacking the textbooks into neat piles.

When her father came back with the food, they all crowded around the table and filled their plates. Dane seemed distracted and ate in silence while her father and Beck fell into an easy conversation. Her father seemed happy to have an educated friend to talk with and by the end of dinner, she was glad that at least Beck had stayed. His contagious smile brightened up their conversation and even made her feel happier despite the presence of his taciturn brother.

After one particularly funny story her father had heartily laughed at, Bryn decided it was a good moment to ask her father about Saturday night. "Dad, Nicole and I want to go see _Romeo and Juliet_ tomorrow. Is that all right with you?"

"Of course. What time?"

"Well, we were thinking of catching the eight o'clock movie over at the Plaza and then could she come back and spend the night." As she watched her father deliberate for a moment, she saw Dane had suddenly taken notice of her question.

Dane cleared his throat, looked at her, and said, "Are you sure you want to see that movie?"

_Unbelievable_. Dane hadn't paid attention to them all dinner long and _now_ was the time he seemed interested in what they were talking about? She said in a clipped tone, "I'm sure."

"But it's so far away."

"Not really," said Bryn. "It's only about a twenty minute walk from here."

She watched Dane silently deliberate before saying, "After what happened, I thought you would rather stay close to home."

Her father's expression shifted into one of great concern and said, "What happened?"

Bryn could not believe the audacity of Dane! She had asked him not to say anything. She knew her father would become overly concerned if he found out someone followed her today. He might even make her quit her job.

So she glowered at Dane and then tried to downplay it. "It's nothing, Dad. I just got a little spooked when I walked by Fletcher Park tonight. You know how that place gives me the creeps at night. I'll make sure I leave for the theater in plenty of daylight." She continued to babble on hoping the issue would be eventually forgotten. "I just thought a movie would help Nicole take her mind off her brother's health problems and test results."

He nodded and said, "It's fine with me. The movie should help keep Nicole preoccupied. I hope her brother's illness isn't too serious."

"Me too," agreed Bryn.

"What time should I pick you two up from the theater?"

"Ten-thirty. I'll call if we get out earlier than that."

Bryn was relieved her father had agreed despite Dane's attempt to derail her plans. She turned to give him a smug look, but stopped when she saw the frustrated expression in his eyes. Why would he be worried about her seeing a movie with a girlfriend on a Saturday night?

Dane sighed in apparent resignation and then abruptly stood up. "Beck, we should get going. I'm still not feeling very well and would like to go home now."

Even though Beck was the older brother and technically the one in charge, Bryn watched as he stood up quickly as if he had no choice but to comply. "Of course. We'll leave immediately." And then turning, Beck said, "Have a nice weekend. I will see you on Monday."

As her father escorted the two young men to the door, Bryn began to clean up the table. She had to admit Dane puzzled her a little. The fact that he had helped her out of a few scrapes raised him up in her opinion of him, but then his constant stubbornness lowered him even more. And, he just didn't seem in touch with the real world sometimes. He didn't even know who Romeo and Juliet were. Bryn thought Dane was one of the most perplexing people she had ever met.

*****

Around noon on Saturday, Dane was surprised to see Bryn step outside her front door and head down the street. He swapped looks with Beckwyn who just shrugged and then continued to watch the Thorner house. Dane quietly followed Bryn from as far a distance as he could while still keeping track of her. He kept his senses open for any sign of a creature hiding along her path. After about ten minutes, he stopped when he saw Bryn go into a public library. Dane found a bench across the street that gave him a clear field of vision of the building. He sat and continued to watch for any sign of danger.

Dane's eyes were immediately drawn to the sight of Castien moving purposefully down the street toward him. The frown on Castien's face was even more pronounced and did not make Dane anxious to hear what his fellow Protector had to say. Castien sat next to Dane on the bench and said, "Tetari sent me."

Dane was relieved Yara wasn't insisting on his return again. "What's wrong?"

"Tetari believes the attack on the father or the daughter will be soon. And she wants me to remind you there will be very little warning to protect them."

"Don't worry," Dane said while looking around the library. "I have a close eye on her."

With an even more determined look in his eyes, Castien said, "I think you should go inside the library. It would be safer for the Ward if you were nearby."

Dane was used to Castien's over-protective tendencies when it came to Wards. He wouldn't be surprised if Castien went into the library himself in order to make sure Bryn was safe. "All right, I'll go in there. Can you stop by the Thorner's house and let Beckwyn know he should probably find some excuse to stay close to James?"

"I'll tell him." Castien appeared to be relieved, yet he still did not move.

Dane asked, "Is there something else you need to tell me?"

"Yes. Tetari wants you to know she had a vision of a possible attack."

"Can't you handle it?" Castien was perfectly capable of protecting a Ward. In fact, it was originally his idea to start the Vanguard.

"It's not an attack in the Reflection," Castien said in a tone barely containing his annoyance. "Tetari sees the eldest son of Takaron in Castoria and he does not appear to be a mere visitor. She thinks he is trying to take something by force."

This was definitely disturbing news. "Did she see what he is after," Dane asked worriedly.

"Tetari's vision is not clear in that regard."

That was unhelpful. "Does she have any idea when he will be in Castoria?"

"No. Although, she thinks you have some time."

Clearly, Dane was going to have to speak with Tetari in person. Once he completed his assignment with Bryn, then he would go straight to her. He would also have to consult with Aubric, the Head Guard of Castoria. However, it would be foolish of him not to take some precautionary measures immediately. "I am unable to leave right now. Do me a favor and tell Aubric I want him to double the guards and I would also like a report on what is happening on the borderlands. Would you be able to relay his information back to me as soon as possible?"

Castien nodded and said, "As long as I haven't been assigned a Ward, I will come back and let you know what Aubric says."

"Thank you, Castien."

Castien left to go find Beckwyn while Dane headed into the library. His mind was now consumed with two issues and he took a moment to get control over them. He told himself there was nothing more he could do to protect Castoria at this point, yet there was everything he could do to protect Bryn. She was his first priority.

He found her reading a book at a table in the back of the library. He sat down in the open chair next to her and whispered, "Hi."

At first Bryn seemed surprised to see him, but then she quietly asked, "Are you working on the European History paper, too?"

Dane silently thanked her for giving him an excuse to be here. Her father had assigned his students to choose a famous person from the Renaissance and write a brief paper about his or her accomplishments. "Yes, but I assumed you would be working at home. After all, you do have an expert on European history living with you." Maybe that would convince her to go back home where she would be safer.

Bryn smiled and said, "I know. But I find it easier to work on my history projects and papers by myself. My dad always wants to help on the history stuff and it ends up with him basically telling me what to do because he claims he knows exactly what needs to get done. I already worry that people think Dad gives me high grades because I am his daughter. So, I come here to the library to avoid his interference and any unnecessary gossip."

"Anyone who has a class with you would never think you got special favors from your dad to get your high grades. You are definitely smart enough to earn them," Dane said sincerely.

Bryn blushed a bit, which told him she was pleased with the compliment. An awkward lull in their conversation happened in the already quiet library. Finally, she asked, "Which Renaissance person is your paper on?"

"Uh... I picked Machiavelli. He was the only name I recognized."

Bryn squinted her eyes at him. It was clear she was ready to bring up their old argument. Dane decided to avoid that subject and asked, "Who are you writing about?"

Bryn held up the book that she was reading where he saw a picture of a stern looking woman on the cover. "Catherine de Medici."

"I don't remember your dad teaching about her," said Dane. "Why is she famous?"

"I don't think you were in class yet when he talked about her," Bryn said as she shook her head. "Catherine de Medici was probably the most powerful woman during the Renaissance. She was a member of the wealthy Medici family and was married off to the king of France. She had many children with him, but basically had to deal with the fact that her husband had mistresses he preferred over her. When the king died, her son was still young, so she ruled in his stead. When her son died young, her next son became king and she continued to rule. He died young, as well, so another son became king. Catherine, of course, continued to rule. Even though she was never an official leader, she basically controlled France for years. I think she enjoyed all that power and had a hard time giving it up when her children got older."

"Wouldn't you want wealth and power if you were given the opportunity?"

Bryn sat back in her chair and thought for a moment. "I don't think I would. I have no desire to become president or anything like that. I just want to be a doctor."

"But having all that power would mean that you could help more people," said Dane earnestly. "And you said, the whole reason why you want to become a doctor is to help people. You would be doing the same thing, just on a grander scale."

"Good point," said Bryn. "But I am not ambitious like Catherine de Medici. All I want is to do well in college and medical school so I can become a good doctor. What about you? Would you want wealth and power if you were given the opportunity?"

"Of course I would," said Dane in all honesty. "Powerful people have the opportunity to benefit society and wealth gives them the means to do so."

"Don't you think power and wealth can lead to corruption instead of altruism?" Bryn asked. She had the argumentative sparkle in her eyes that he had come to love.

"In some people," Dane replied excitedly. "However, I would... I would hope... if I had that kind of power, I would use it to help others." An elderly man sitting nearby made a loud shushing sound. It reminded Dane that he needed to be paying more attention to his duty even though he would rather continue talking to Bryn. If he stayed at this table, he would be too tempted to talk to her. He lowered his voice and said, "I should probably work on my paper. I'm going to go find some books on Machiavelli."

"All right," whispered Bryn.

Dane stood up from the table and Bryn went back to reading her book. He found a nearby isle from which to watch Bryn. Periodically, he would pick up a book and pretend to read. During the next half hour, he watched Bryn finish writing her paper and then pack up to leave. She stood up and stretched. Then, she caught Dane staring at her and waved goodbye to him. His heart leapt at her simple gesture. He suppressed a smile, yet did allow himself to wave back.

She left the library and Dane was relieved to see her head back in the direction of her house. He followed her home and kept a vigilant watch for dangerous creatures. Thankfully, he did not see any, for if he did, that would mean it would be time for him to leave the Reflection and Bryn.

*****

As promised, Bryn headed out for the theater with plenty of daylight left. She knew she would be getting there early, but she did not mind waiting. The Plaza Theater was already very crowded when she arrived. A new action movie had opened last night and a lot of people were in line to see it. Bryn was glad she and Nicole were seeing _Romeo and Juliet_ because she did not want to sit in a packed theater. She wove her way through the crowd and found a bench to sit on in a less populated area. Nicole wasn't supposed to meet her for another fifteen minutes, so she pulled a book out of her purse in order to help pass the time.

The school-assigned book was not very interesting to her, so Bryn found herself periodically glancing above the pages and watching the people instead. There were a lot of middle school kids being dropped off by their parents and there were many couples out for a Saturday-night date. Bryn watched one couple, in particular, who were obviously in an intense state of pure infatuation with each other. They were always touching in some way. Whether it was holding hands or wrapping their arms around each other, they found some excuse to maintain body contact.

Bryn wondered what that must be like to be so absorbed in someone else. She had never felt that way about another person. None of the boys at school were remotely interesting to her. She wasn't against true love; in fact, it was quite the contrary. She would settle for nothing less than love in its purest form. _That_ was what Bryn wanted, and she was willing to wait for it.

While her thoughts were filled with happy musings, her eyes were suddenly drawn to the scowling expression of a person who was walking toward the theater. When she saw the jagged scar running down the side of his face, she knew this was the same man who followed her the day before. Bryn felt her heart pounding in her chest. She shifted her long brown hair so it would partially conceal her face and then she lifted her book in order to help cover the rest. Bryn did not know if it was a coincidence that he was at the same theater or if he was trying to find her. She did not know what to do. Should she call home and have her father pick her up? Should she run to Nicole's house which was close by or should she stay hidden within the crowd of the theater? For now, despite her fear, she decided to stay put.

Bryn cautiously monitored his movements. He was still far enough away for her not to panic yet. The man appeared to be searching for someone in the crowd, and she desperately hoped that it was not her. When he finally found the person he was looking for, Bryn drew her breath in surprise.

Not because he had found _her_ , but because he had found Dane.

### Chapter 8

Unpleasant Discoveries

Bryn's grip on her book slipped and she stared, wide-eyed, at the unlikely pair. She wanted to brush it off as a coincidence that they were standing next to each other but the mysterious man was actually talking to Dane about something. And what was more perplexing, was that Dane was talking back to him. He appeared perfectly comfortable around the brooding stranger. Bryn sensed they must know each other. After a minute's conversation, the scarred man bowed and then left in the opposite direction of her. Bryn let out a sigh of relief as she watched him round the corner at the end of the block. She was glad he apparently did not seem to be after her again, yet she was now thoroughly confused about Dane's relationship with him.

She continued to watch Dane out of the corner of her eye. She found his actions strange because he just seemed to be standing in the same place. If he was here to see a movie, why was he not in line? Dane often changed his position as if he was looking for someone and she thought she saw him periodically glance in her direction, but she wasn't sure.

Nicole soon arrived at the theater and Bryn walked over to meet her in line. She thought about pointing Dane out to Nicole, but when she tried to find him, he had moved from his spot. Bryn decided not to worry about it anymore. It was not worth her time to concern herself with the motives of a strange boy. She would much rather enjoy her time with Nicole, so she literally banished all thoughts of Dane from her mind.

The two girls bought their tickets and some popcorn. The movie was starting soon, so they did not have much time to chat. They found a seat as close to the middle of the theater as they could get. Even though Bryn preferred seats toward the back, she acquiesced to Nicole's wishes. When they were both situated, Bryn asked Nicole, "Any news yet?"

She could see the worried tightening of Nicole's eyes even in the dim lights of the theater. "No," she said. "But, no news is good news, right?"

"Right," agreed Bryn. She wanted to say more, but the previews started and they were very loud. The first trailer was a generic announcement reminding the audience to buy snacks from the concession stand and to silence their cell phones. Bryn realized she had not done that yet, so she reached in her pocket so she could get her phone. It was not there, so she reached into her other pocket. She only felt her house keys. She had no idea where her cell phone was.

Nicole could sense her panic and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"I can't find my phone," Bryn whispered back.

Nicole bent over to search the floor while Bryn twisted around in order to see if it had fallen out of her pocket and onto the seat. She smiled when she felt her cell phone in the crevice of her chair. Just before turning back, she saw Dane sneaking quietly into the back of the theater. Even though the place was dark, she still recognized his tall frame and the way he practically glided up the stairs.

"Did you find it?" asked Nicole.

Bryn realized she had never finished turning around. Thank goodness it was dark in the theater because she was staring right at Dane. She was glad he couldn't see her watching him. She turned the ringer off on her phone and held it up for Nicole to see. Bryn noticed Nicole did not do the same with her phone. In fact, she held hers in her hand the whole time. She realized Nicole probably did not want to miss a call from home.

During the movie, Bryn could tell Nicole was having a hard time concentrating. While they watched the balcony scene, she moved her phone from hand to hand. In the scene where Romeo killed Tybalt, Nicole actually checked her phone in order to see if she had gotten a text. Bryn wondered if seeing a movie to help distract Nicole had been a good idea. Maybe it would have been better to just find a quiet room to sit down in and listen to her friend's fears with a sympathetic ear.

Then, just after Romeo and Juliet were secretly married, Nicole's phone loudly announced it had a text. Nicole and Bryn both drew in their breath and a woman in the seat behind her actually hissed at them.

Nicole showed Bryn the text from her mother with a trembling hand. It simply said, "CALL ME NOW."

Bryn could see the worry on Nicole's face in the glow of the phone's screen. She grabbed Nicole's hand and led her out of the theater. When they walked near Dane's seat, Bryn could see he was not watching the movie. His whole body had turned to watch them. Even though she never motioned to him, Bryn somehow knew he would follow.

Bryn led Nicole to a secluded corner of the lobby. Nicole turned to Bryn and said in a trembling voice, "I don't know if I can call. What if the news is bad? I don't think that I can take it."

"Think of your mother and Ryan," said Bryn. "Don't keep them waiting any longer than necessary. Be brave for them."

Nicole nodded in agreement.

"Do you want some privacy?" When Nicole nodded again, Bryn said, "I'll go stand over there until you are done."

When she moved further away from her friend, she saw Dane standing by the theater doors. "What are you doing here?" she asked a little more harshly than she meant to. She blamed it on her nerves.

"I wanted to see _Romeo and Juliet_ since you said it's so famous." He seemed perplexed by what was going on.

Bryn heard a loud sob from Nicole. Bryn knew the test results had come back and the news was not good. She ran over to her friend and held her hand as she promised her mother she was coming home right now.

When she hung up, Bryn hugged Nicole as hard as she could. Nicole was crying convulsively, and the only word Bryn could understand was "leukemia." It broke Bryn's heart as well to think of poor little Ryan. His body was in for a tough road ahead and she hoped he was strong enough to fight it off.

Eventually, Nicole's voice became slightly more audible and she said "I need to go home now."

There was no way Bryn was letting her walk home by herself in this condition. She looked over her shoulder to Dane and said, "Can you walk us over to her house? It's not far."

"Of course I can." Dane immediately ran to the door of the theater and opened it. Bryn placed her arm over Nicole's shoulders and led her through it. Even though Nicole's house was only a short distance away, Bryn felt as if time was deliberately slowing down. The news was the worst possible and there was nothing that could change it. Bryn knew exactly how Nicole felt, because she had gone through the same event just seven short years ago. She couldn't make any false promises, because she knew from experience that not everyone has a happy ending. So on the way home, Nicole cried silent tears and Bryn offered silent comfort.

When they got to Nicole's house, Bryn gave Nicole one last hug and whispered, "Do you want me to stay?"

"No," said Nicole. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Bryn knew Nicole needed to be with just her family. Outsiders were unwelcome at times like this. Dane and Bryn watched Nicole go inside and then began the long walk back to her house.

They walked for several minutes before saying anything. Finally, Dane asked in a kind voice, "May I ask what's wrong?"

"Her brother has been sick for a long time. Ryan constantly has fevers and has no energy. They've gone to several doctors, but no one knew for sure what was wrong. A few days ago, they had some tests done and while I am unsure of the details at this point, I'm pretty sure Ryan has leukemia."

Dane was quiet for a moment and said, "I'm sorry he is sick, but I don't know what leukemia is. Is it a fatal illness?"

Bryn stopped in her tracks and looked at him, once again surprised by his, what could only be described as, ignorance. But she was in no mood to argue with him now, so she answered his question truthfully. "Leukemia is a pretty tough illness. There is something wrong with the marrow in his bones. And, yes, it can kill him, but I am hoping that the doctors are able to cure him. I'm not giving up hope."

"Are doctors usually able to cure leukemia?"

"Sometimes. I hear the survival rate is much higher than it used to be. Although, it's not high enough for me to be certain he'll get better."

"Will it be painful for the boy?" Dane asked with true concern in his voice.

A sudden flashback of her mother lying in the fetal position on her hospital bed consumed Bryn's mind. She could still hear her moans during a particularly bad day of treatments. Her voice trembled a little as she answered, "Probably."

Dane sighed and said, "I am sorry to hear that."

They had once again passed the movie theater. The area on the street was much less busy than it had been earlier in the evening. Only a few people stood outside the theater now. Bryn and Dane continued on toward her house. He appeared to be lost in thoughts of his own and did not ask any more questions. Bryn was also distracted by her own thoughts. Ryan's illness had brought back haunting memories of her mother's sickness. She kept picturing her mom in the hospital during her final days when it was obvious the cancer had won. She was so pale and breakable. Bryn remembered how she cried when her mother told her in a weak voice, "Always listen to your father and be a good girl." The fact that her mother never knew her as a teenager hurt her. Bryn hoped her mom would have been proud of her. Especially of the fact that she had gotten into Johns Hopkins.

By the time they reached the edges of Fletcher Park, Bryn was quietly shedding tears. She tried to wipe them away without Dane noticing, but by his slowing pace, she was sure he knew something was wrong. He gently touched her shoulder in order to halt her movement and asked, "Are you all right?"

Bryn sniffed as she said, "No. Not really. I can't stop thinking about my mom right now. She died a long time ago."

"Did she have leukemia as well?"

"Not leukemia. She had breast cancer. The doctors told us that those who get her type of cancer have a high survival rate. I guess she was one of the unlucky ones because she didn't live much past my eleventh birthday."

Suddenly, she felt Dane's arms wrap around her as he drew her to him. She accepted his comforting arms and leaned her head on his chest. Bryn liked the feel of his head resting on top of hers and began to calm down. He made her feel safe and warm. But those pleasant feelings ended when he quietly said, "I wish I could take away all of your sadness."

Bryn stiffened in his arms. She felt he had become too intimate so she pulled away and said, "Dane, you shouldn't say things like that to me."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because you barely know me."

"I know we just met, but—" he stopped abruptly. Dane suddenly seemed unsure of himself.

"But what?" Bryn would later come to regret asking.

Dane looked uncertain, swallowed hard, and slowly said, "But, I know I have never felt this way about anyone before."

What way was that? Annoyance? Indifference? Certainly not... well, that was not possible. She peered into his unnaturally dark eyes and asked, "How exactly do you feel?"

Dane returned her gaze and with determination and said, "I love you, Bryn."

Bryn stepped further away from Dane and shook her head in disbelief. Maybe she heard him wrong. "What did you say?" she asked breathlessly.

"I love you," he said quieter this time, but she could still hear the catch in his voice.

Even though there was now no doubt what he had said, she could not believe it. How could he be in love with her? Dane had known her for less than a week. He'd never once hinted of his affections. This whole situation was absurd. They've never even had a normal conversation before.

She shook her head and said, "You don't know what you're talking about."

Dane grabbed her hands, held them to his heart, and said, "I've never been more certain of my feelings before. I know that I love you."

She observed the long, slender fingers which held her hands and said, "But I don't even like you."

She heard Dane catch his breath at her harsh statement. He released her hands and turned to face away from her. Staring at the dejected way he hung his shoulders, she couldn't help but feel bad for him. She tried to explain herself, so he would understand. "I'm truly sorry if I've upset you, but I don't see how you would expect me to feel differently. Half the time we are together, you barely talk to me."

"I've wanted to talk to you more, but I forced myself not to," he said while staring at the ground.

"Why?"

He looked at the dark sky now and said, "I never thought I would fall in love with anyone like you. I didn't know if I should."

What did he mean by he shouldn't fall in love with someone like her? Was there something inherently wrong with her? This statement hurt more than anything he had ever said before.

"I'm sorry I am not good enough for you," she said in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

"No, it's not that" said Dane spinning back to face her. He rung his hands through his hair in frustration. "You're seeing this all wrong."

"How else am I supposed to see it then?" Bryn demanded. "When you say things like that, I can't help but feel like you're deliberately trying to provoke me. Almost all of our conversations are either too strange to be worth remembering or they end in arguments. You always seem frustrated with whatever I'm saying."

Dane took a step closer to Bryn as he pleaded for her to understand. "I'm frustrated with myself, but never with you. In fact, I enjoyed our conversations. I might not have agreed with you in some things, but it did not mean I found your ideas to be unworthy."

"There is where we disagree again. I find your ideas to be old-fashioned and ignorant." Bryn was upset she was in the midst of another one of their fiery arguments. Why was he forcing her to say such cruel things to him? She knew she should be more considerate of his feelings, but she felt compelled to continue with more reasons. "There is something about you I find disconcerting. I could never be with someone I didn't trust."

She saw him start at her last statement. Dane looked at her incredulously while saying, "You don't trust me? I've done nothing but help you. _I_ was the one who interceded in the hallway when Kayla was talking to you and _I_ was the one who helped you when you were being followed yesterday."

She could not deny his help with the incident with Kayla, but she had evidence to refute the second charge. "I saw you with him."

"Who?" he asked in confusion.

"The man who was following me yesterday. I saw you with him just before the movie."

Dane's eyes widened at her statement. He did not respond. Then he drew in his breath as if he wanted to say something, but didn't. An eerie silence hung over them in direct contrast to their heated words just seconds before.

Bryn continued, "You aren't going to deny it?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell me why he was following me?"

"I can't."

"And you wonder why I don't trust you," Bryn said sarcastically.

Dane shook his head and said, "You _can_ trust me. I would do anything to protect you. You're seeing everything incorrectly and you don't understand me."

Bryn could not find the desire to say anything else. She had said enough and would only cause him more pain if she continued. Unfortunately, the silence that settled between them was worse than their arguing. She watched Dane as he stared at the ground. He seemed so dejected and she wished she had never known about his feelings. She wished he had just walked her home and none of this ever happened. Finally, Dane gazed into her eyes. She felt guilty when she saw that his eyes were filled with pain.

Dane took a deep breath to control himself and said, "I know you don't feel the same way about me, but I'm not ashamed of my feelings. I will always love you."

"Dane, you don't have to say that," Bryn said sadly. She could not return his affection and she felt horrible.

"No, I want to say it," he said a little breathlessly. "Never forget it."

The ache that Bryn heard in his voice made her feel pity for him. She placed her hand on his arm and said, "I'm sorry I have caused you pain. Please know that I—"

Dane's head abruptly turned and he grabbed her arm with a firm grip. She was surprised to see his dark eyes had shifted from a saddened look to what she thought was panic.

"What are you doing?" Bryn demanded. "Let go of me."

Dane continued to push Bryn behind him. Dane glanced around in the darkness of the park and said, "It's too late. It is coming for _you_."

### Chapter 9

Xenther

Dane was furious with himself for getting distracted. His main priority was to protect Bryn and here he was acting the part of the love-sick fool instead. He belatedly realized their loud words had lured the creature toward them in the first place. It was his fault that she was the one about to be attacked. If he'd had his wits about him, he would have been able to sense the creature approaching several minutes ago. If only he had just kept his mouth shut and not told Bryn how he felt, he could have gotten her safely home. Then, he and Beck could have destroyed the creature without her even being aware of the danger she was in.

Dane saw a slight movement toward the back of the park so he forced himself to save the introspective criticism for a future time. He still had a firm grip on Bryn's arm even though she was trying to squirm her way out of it.

"Stop moving," he said in a low, commanding voice. He hoped if they were quiet, they might be able to buy some more time before the creature decided to attack.

"You're scaring me, Dane. Let go," Bryn said a little too loudly.

He grit his teeth as he hissed out at her. "I'm not the one you should be scared of right now. Keep your voice down."

"Not until you tell me what's going on." Bryn once again tried to remove herself from his grip. It was too late at this point. Dane could tell the creature had crouched its legs into an attack position. Dane's first priority was to get Bryn to a safe place. Running away with her was not an option because this creature was known for its speed. He decided the safest place for Bryn right now would be someplace high up.

He grabbed Bryn and hoisted her over his shoulder while she screamed in protest. She shoved her arms against his back and tried to push herself off of him.

"Dane! Let me go!"

"Stop fighting me!"

He kept a firm grip on her and then sprinted to a nearby tree. He jumped to the lowest branch and climbed up a few more just to be safe. Then he placed her down directly on a sturdy limb about half-way up the tree.

By this point, Bryn appeared to be in a stunned state of silence. He roughly grabbed her hands and placed them around the trunk. "Hold on."

Dane felt bad when he realized he had accidentally scraped her arm against a tree limb, but he knew it was minor compared to what would have happened if she had remained on the ground.

"How—" Bryn asked in astonishment, her breathing labored.

"I can't explain now," he said urgently. "Just hold on as tight as you can." As if on cue, the tree shook violently back and forth. Dane held onto it in order to keep his balance and was relieved to see Bryn was secure in her position for the present. A few loosened branches and leaves fell on top of them as if to attest to the strong jar they had just experienced.

"What's down there?" asked Bryn whose eyes were wide with fear.

"It is a xenther," said Dane. "And a very angry one at that." He looked down at the ground level and could just make out the large, six-legged creature running away from the tree. Dane knew another attack was coming. "He's coming back. Don't lose your grip."

Bryn did as she was told without question now and held onto the trunk as hard as she could. She turned her head into his chest for added protection. Dane watched the ground and held on tighter just at the moment the xenther bashed its head into the base of the tree.

He knew the trunk would not be able to withstand many more attacks. So, once it stopped swaying back and forth, he jumped down to a lower branch.

"You're not going down there," Bryn said in disbelief. "That's insane!"

Dane shifted his eyes up at her and said, "I told you I would do anything to protect you."

Bryn sounded scared for him as she said, "Please don't go all manly on me in order to prove a point. That thing will kill you."

Dane grinned and said, "Don't worry about me. I've killed its kind before." And with that, he jumped the rest of the way down onto the ground.

"Dane! Come back!"

He did not have any more time to respond. He had to concentrate fully now. A xenther was a dangerous animal and was very difficult to kill. There was only one sure-fire way of slaying it and he would have to put himself in an extremely perilous position in order to do it.

First, he needed to lure the creature away from the tree Bryn was in. He could see a giant section of bark that had already been gouged out, exposing the lighter interior wood. Dane looked around and saw the four glowing green eyes of the creature about one hundred feet away from him. Its hind legs were in a crouching position, ready to push off for another attack. Dane moved over to stand in front of the neighboring tree and waved his arms. "Over here!" he yelled emphatically. He saw the xenther slightly shift its legs in his direction.

Dane sighed in relief as the creature sprinted at him instead of Bryn. He could hear a throaty chuffing noise coming from the xenther and its thick feet pounding against the ground as it charged nearer. He would have to stay in front of this tree as long as possible because he did not want it to change course and attack Bryn's tree instead. The timing of his jump had to be just right. If he jumped too late, he would be at the mercy of the xenther's most dangerous weapon. Two razor sharp horns jutted out from where its nose should be. One horn pointed up and the other pointed down. He had been stabbed by a xenther horn a few years ago and had not forgotten how painful it was. Dane had been fooled into thinking he could jump to the left at the last second, yet had forgotten that a xenther could easily twist its head and attack with a side-to-side motion.

Dane was not about to make that same mistake twice. When the creature was just a few feet away from him, Dane hurdled vertically into the air, grabbed onto the lowest branch of the tree and lifted up his legs. The xenther's body was so heavy, that it was unable to stop in time from hitting the trunk. The blunt side of its horns gouged out a chunk of the tree as it smashed into it. Dane held firmly onto the branch as the tree swayed back and forth for several seconds. As soon as it was relatively stable, Dane hoisted himself up to sit on the branch.

From this position, Dane could get a much better look at the xenther than before. Its body was as tall as the picnic table it stood next to and its limbs were thick and muscular. The creature was covered in large brown scales. Dane guessed, by the size of its horns, that it had to be a young male. The only visible part of the xenther's head was its horns and glowing eyes. Dane knew that its mouth and long neck were safely contracted in an interior cavity inside its body.

Bryn called over to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," he called back. "Please don't make any noise. It's not a very smart animal and I'm hoping it will forget you're there."

Dane watched the xenther's eyes slice up at him and then over to Bryn's tree. It was clear it was making a decision on which tree to attack next. Then, Dane silently cursed when he saw the xenther move back to the front of Bryn's tree.

As it loudly snorted, Dane was glad Bryn stayed perfectly still on her branch. She did not scream or try to move in anyway. He was sure she must be terrified, but on the outside, she appeared to be very calm. He needed to find a way to get the xenther's attention back on him and it needed to be soon. Dane slid down to the ground, pulled out his sword that he kept hidden in the folds of his jacket, and began to run. This time, however, he sprinted into the open field of the park instead of to the protection of the trees.

"Hey!" he called loudly over his shoulder in order to divert the xenther's attention.

The creature heard him and began to chase. The speed of the xenther was faster than Dane could run, so he soon heard it on his heels. He leaped into the air and did a back flip over the creature. The xenther's top horn barely missed Dane's legs by inches. It sank its bottom horn into the ground and used the momentum to quickly spin itself around and face Dane again. The creature propelled itself into another attack, yet Dane was too close for the xenther to use its speed to its advantage.

The long neck of the xenther swiftly extended out of its protective cavity. The slimy, pink skin of the neck gleamed in the moonlight. Dane could see two rows of sharp, pointed teeth open in anticipation of latching onto him. He knew xenthers often snapped out their necks in order to surprise their victims in close proximity attacks and he was about as close as he could get. As he leaped up into the air, he swung his sword below him and sliced the exposed neck of the creature.

By the time Dane landed, the xenther's body had crashed into the ground with a loud thud. Dane then took his sword and jabbed it into the open cavity where its neck had been. A sharp spasm shot through the xenther's body, but then it lay suddenly still. Dane let out of sigh of relief as he sheathed his sword. He had performed his duty as Protector. Bryn had been the target and he had saved her. He was truly relieved she was out of danger.

At the same time, he felt a great sense of loss. Bryn would no longer need him. He had no excuse to be near her anymore. And what was infinitely worse was that she did not even want him near her. Bryn had made it abundantly clear in the moments before the attack. Maybe she would trust him now, but hadn't she said she never even liked him? Dane realized he could not just sit here and wallow in self-pity. There was so much to do. For one, he needed to get Bryn out of that tree.

*****

Bryn wondered if she was somehow experiencing a hallucination. How else could the past few minutes be explained? Dane had picked her up as if she weighed nothing and climbed a tree with her hanging over his shoulder. She had seen him pull a sword out of his coat and had no idea how on earth it got there. The most shocking sight, however, was something she felt must have been a creature of her imagination. The six-legged monster, with the thick horns on its head, was unlike anything she had ever seen before or could have even conjured up in her worst nightmare. Yet, Dane seemed perfectly familiar with it. He even called it by its name—a xenther?—and knew exactly how to kill it.

She watched Dane reach behind his back and pull out what appeared to be a bow. The moment he tugged on the string, a glowing purple arrow materialized. Dane released the arrow into the night sky and slung the bow behind his back again. Then, he walked over to the tree with that graceful tread she had come to associate with him. When he looked up at her, she found herself speechless. Not because she had nothing to say to him, but because she had too much to say. She had no idea where to begin.

Dane jumped back up into the tree and climbed the last few branches so he was at eye-level with her. "May I help you down?" he asked with a voice full of concern.

Bryn knew there was no way she could safely get down on her own. Logic told her if he had gotten her up here, he must know how to get her down, so she nodded and held out her arms.

Dane scooped her up into his grasp and made his way slowly down the tree as if he was trying not to frighten her. _Too late_ , she thought. When he reached the ground, he carried Bryn to a nearby park bench and gently sat next to her, watching her with cautious eyes.

She allowed herself a glance over at the misshapen form lying on the ground. It was too dark to make out the details, but she was positive this kind of creature did not exist. Yet, there it was, defying her knowledge of the animal kingdom. Bryn turned back to Dane in order to get some answers. He, however, was staring down at her shaking hand. Bryn clenched her hand into a tight fist and broke the unnerving silence of the darkened park by asking, "What did you call that thing?"

"A xenther," he said quietly.

"I've never heard of it before. Why was it attacking us?"

"It was scared," said Dane with a shrug of his shoulders. "It was very far from home and probably assumed that any other living creature was an enemy."

Bryn shook her head. "Where is its home? And how do you know so much about it?"

He regarded her for a moment as if he was deciding exactly what to say. "Its home is in the Black Forest of Ghrindsmere."

"Where is that?" Bryn noticed he had not answered her second question.

"Very far from here."

"Like on a different continent?"

He turned to glance at the creature on the ground and said, "Yes."

Bryn placed her hands on her hips in defiance. "Well, how did it get here?"

"I'm not sure," he said with a sigh. "If I knew that, then you never would have been in danger in the first place." Dane turned his head slightly in the direction of the park entrance and said, "Beck's here."

Bryn saw Beck running into the park and wondered why he was here. He saw the creature lying on the ground and smiled. "Well, I guess you'll not be needing any of my help tonight."

Dane turned to Beck and said, "I do need your help, actually. Can you please escort Bryn home while I take care of that?" He tilted his head in the direction of his kill.

"Of course," said Beck jovially. He made a motion for her to stand up, so she complied.

Before Bryn followed Beck out of the park, she asked Dane, "What are you going to do?"

Dane shook his head and said, "It is no concern of yours anymore. It's best you go home now." Bryn felt herself get angry at him all over again, but then stopped when she remembered he had just saved her life.

Beck placed his hand on Bryn's back in order to guide her out of the park. "All you need to know," Beck said in a much kinder voice, "is that it will never be able to hurt you again."

She sighed in disappointment that Dane was not walking her home. She had so many more questions to ask him. While she was glad Dane was not going to be able to continue the argument they were having before the attack, she wished things had ended on a better note. She turned to look back at Dane and found him watching them leave. It was too dark to see his face, but she thought that his usually tall figure seemed a bit hunched over and dejected. She regretted that she had been so tough on him earlier in the evening. If he really did love her, then she was sorry for the sadness he must be feeling.

As Bryn walked with Beck, she noticed he appeared to be perfectly fine with the whole situation. She knew Beck had seen the creature lying on the ground, yet he did not seem surprised by its existence. Instead of being worried about how this animal got here, he was walking with a light step as though he didn't have a care in the world. She realized he was probably as familiar with the creature as his brother seemed to be. She decided to find out by asking. "Beck, have you ever killed a xenther before?"

He appeared to be surprised that she knew the name of the animal, yet he said, "Sure. Dane and I have probably killed a half a dozen of them. They can get pretty feisty." He laughed slightly as he said, "The first one I ever fought with actually nicked me with one of its horns." He pushed up his sleeve and showed her a scar on his forearm.

She could obviously tell it was a dangerous animal, but seeing Beck's scar made her realize how lucky she was to be alive.

_Holy crap!_ she thought with a sinking feeling in her stomach. _I almost died tonight_.

Her legs tripped over each other as the realization finally sunk in. Bryn knew without a doubt that she would have been killed if Dane had not been there to protect her. If he had not walked her home tonight, _she_ would be the one lying dead on the ground and not the xenther. She had never even thanked him. Bryn felt horrible because she had just chastised Dane about how she could never trust him and now she knew she would trust him with her life. She would be forever in his debt.

By the time they reached her house, Bryn's nerves had caught up with her in full. She practically stumbled up the front porch stairs and Beck offered his arm to help steady herself. When they reached the door, Bryn gave Beck a trembling, but appreciative smile. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't at my best back at the park. Please thank your brother for me. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't been there."

Beck gave her a sympathetic smile and said, "I'll tell him. Now will you do something for me?"

"Of course," she said.

She heard his voice without seeing his lips move. " _I want you to forget everything you know about the xenther. Do not ever think about the danger you were in. When you think of this night, you will not remember the creature or even how Dane killed it to protect you. Nod if you understand me._ "

Bryn nodded.

"Goodnight, Bryn," Beck said aloud this time. He opened the door for her.

"Goodnight," she said as she walked inside her house. Her stomach growled and she wondered if there was something to eat in the kitchen pantry because she was in the mood for a late night snack.

*****

By the time Beck came back to the park, Dane had already disposed of the xenther's body.

"That wasn't very fair of you. I missed all the fun," said Beck with a smile. "I came as soon as I saw your arrow."

"Sorry, but I sent it after I killed it," Dane explained. "It caught me by surprise. I barely had time to get Bryn to a safe spot, let alone, send you a message."

"That's unlike you to be caught off your guard," said Beck. "Usually, you notice an animal approaching before I do."

Dane chose not to respond to Beck's comment. Instead he said, "Did you get rid of her memory of the xenther?" Dane had silently asked Beck to erase her memory of the xenther just before they had left the park. He knew it would be better for her if she did not remember the creature's attack.

"Yes, but just before I did it, she asked me to thank you for saving her life."

Dane was pleased that Bryn had thanked him. It meant she probably did not completely hate him. "Yes, well, I was just doing my job," he said as he moved to leave the park.

Dane had also been very careful with his instructions to Beck. He had told him to only erase the memories of the xenther. Dane had almost told Beck to erase the entire memory of what had happened at the park, but he had checked himself before it was too late. Even though he had made a complete fool out of himself to Bryn, he did not want her forgetting his confession. He still loved her. Nothing, not even her harsh words, had changed that fact. Even though he was miserable, he was somehow glad she knew how he felt.

"We should come back tomorrow in order to tie up the loose ends," Beck suggested. "Are you ready to go home now?"

Dane nodded and said, "Yes. There's someone I need to see right away."

Beck ventured a guess. "Yara?"

"No. Erudess."

Beck seemed concerned and asked, "Are you injured?"

"Nothing like that," said Dane. "I just have to ask her some questions."

Beck did not press any further and followed Dane out of the Reflection.

### Chapter 10

Confusion

Bryn spent the whole night tossing and turning. Her dreams were full of tense memories and nightmares. She dreamed that Nicole was crying hysterically. Ryan had been admitted into the hospital and she was upset because she wasn't allowed to see him. Then Bryn's dream shifted to her standing outside the park with Dane. She was yelling at him, being even crueler in her dreams than in real life. Suddenly, Dane took out a sword and pointed it to the dark wooded area of the park.

Bryn awoke with a gasp and bolted up in bed. She did not know why her dreams were so vivid. Usually, she didn't even remember them. But these visions had been crystal clear. She turned to the clock and realized she had slept later than usual. She was actually glad to get out of bed and end this long string of unusual dreams. But even though she knew they were dreams, the heavy emotions she experienced within them still lingered.

She went downstairs and found her father reading a newspaper at the breakfast table. "Morning Dad," she said in a sleepy voice.

"Good morning, Brynie Bird," he said as he looked up from his paper. "Have you heard from Nicole yet?"

"Not yet. If she doesn't call me this morning, then I'll call around noon and see if they need anything."

Her father patted her knee and said, "That's a good girl." Then he noticed the pale look on Bryn's face and asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Dad. I'm just worried about Ryan." She decided not to tell him about the argument she had with Dane the night before. Bryn was feeling guilty about what she had said to him as it was. She believed she had rejected him too harshly. Bryn wished she had handled the situation in a better way. Not that she would have given him a different answer. She definitely did not care for him in the same way he cared for her. She had meant what she said last night. He was a little strange and she did not trust him. She felt like he was hiding something, but she wished she had been more polite in rejecting him. Bryn could see she had caused him pain. She heard it in his voice and even saw it in his eyes. Most of all, she wished her manner had been gentler with him.

Bryn did not look forward to seeing him at school tomorrow. It was going to be awkward for both of them. She did not know which tactic would be better. Should she pretend last night never happened or should she find a way to express that she was sorry for what she had said without giving him the wrong impression? Bryn silently ate her breakfast while she deliberated between the two options and was still undecided by the time she was done.

She went upstairs to work on math homework until it was time to call Nicole. Surprisingly, she found herself thinking less and less about calculus and more and more about Dane. Her embarrassment over the whole situation caused her to blush several times. At some point, she gave up the pretense of studying and just went back to her bed to lay on top of the sheets. She replayed the whole event in her mind over and over again. Bryn dwelled on every word that was said and every look he'd given her. She felt compelled to commit it to her memory.

At noon, she got out her cell phone and called Nicole. It rang once and went straight to voicemail. Bryn left a message asking if there was anything that she could do to help. She expected Nicole to call back soon, but no call came. Around one o'clock, Bryn began to text Nicole at regular intervals. Usually Nicole was pretty quick in returning her texts, so she was concerned that she still had not heard from her.

By two o'clock, Bryn became worried about more things than just Ryan's health. Bryn texted: " _im coming over_." She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair. When she gazed at herself in the mirror, she noticed a small red scratch on the underside of her arm. She had no idea how it got there. She turned her arm so she could inspect it more closely. It surprised her to see it because she did not remember injuring herself recently. She must have scratched herself in her sleep. After all, she did have a fitful night.

Bryn went downstairs to tell her father where she was going and found him talking on his cell phone. She politely waited for a break in his conversation, but as it turned out, he was almost done anyway. He hung up and smiled. "Aunt Janet and Nick are visiting us in a couple weeks."

"Really?" said Bryn excitedly. "Why are they coming here?"

"It's Nick's Spring Break and he wants to visit Georgetown. Apparently, he's been accepted and he wants to tour the campus before officially deciding."

"That would be great if Nick came to school here. Even though I'll be at Johns Hopkins, it's still closer than San Francisco." Bryn was excited at the possibility. She and her cousin were the same age and had been close when they were younger. Ever since her mother died, however, it had become harder and harder to stay in touch with her side of the family. Nick lived on the West coast and she lived in the East. Bryn would periodically text or email him, but it had been at least three years since she had actually seen him.

"I'm glad you aren't going to college on the other side of the country. Baltimore is just the right distance," her father said. Bryn saw the typical mixture of worry and pride that appeared in her father's eyes every time they talked about her going to college. He shook his head slightly as if to erase the sad thoughts and asked, "Did you need something?"

"Oh, yeah." Her mind returned to her earlier troubles. "I wanted to let you know I'm going over to Nicole's to see how she's doing."

"That's fine, but don't stay too long."

"I won't."

Bryn left the house feeling full of worries for Ryan and Nicole. However, when she walked past Fletcher Park, her thoughts shifted back to Dane. She dreaded the awkward meeting that was going to happen all too soon.

When Bryn made it to Nicole's house, she saw her mother's car parked in the driveway, so she knew they must be home. She knocked quietly on the door hoping to not disturb Ryan if he was sleeping. As she waited, Bryn could have sworn she saw a small movement behind the window curtain, but no one answered the door. She decided to knock once more and also a little harder this time. After waiting a couple minutes outside, Bryn walked away. If her friend and her family were home they may not be up for company just yet. She got out her cell phone and texted that she stopped by to see if they needed anything and to call if they did. Bryn felt this was all she could do at this point.

She went directly home knowing she really needed to get back to studying her calculus. She had practically wasted the whole morning with her uncontrolled thoughts about Dane and she was now regretting that she had let them prevent her from doing what she should have been doing. When she walked into her house, she heard her father's voice in the living room.

She assumed he was on the phone again, so she peeked inside the room to motion that she was going upstairs. Her heart literally jumped when she saw Dane. He was seated near her father, facing away from her. He probably did not even know she was home. She barely took notice that Beck and her father were in the room, as well. Her face flushed red with embarrassment. She knew this first meeting would be soon, but not now. Bryn still had not decided if she was going to pretend that the whole thing never happened or if she should say something about how she regretted her behavior.

It turned out she did not need to make a decision after all. Dane did not even turn his head around to look at her when she entered the room.

"Hey Bryn," Beck said politely.

"How is Nicole doing?" her father asked.

She barely heard either query as she noted that Dane never once looked over at her. He seemed to be intently focused on gazing out the window. Bryn was relieved he was not going to talk to her, yet she was a little disappointed, as well.

Her father motioned for Bryn to come sit down beside him. "I have some sad news to tell you," he said as he placed his hand on her knee. "Beck and Dane have come to tell us they are moving."

Bryn turned to Dane in surprise, but he was still entranced with whatever was outside the window.

"I was offered a teaching position at a school in New York City," Beck said. "They don't mind that I'm not done with my internship and they want me to start right away."

"When are you moving?" Bryn heard herself ask.

"Today, in fact," Beck said.

Bryn tore her gaze away from Dane and said, "I'm glad that we got the chance to know you this past week. I'm sorry to see you leave."

Beck smiled and said, "We are sorry to go, too, but it is an opportunity we just couldn't turn down. You understand, of course."

"Of course," said Bryn. Bryn was mildly stunned by the turn of events. She was sorry Dane was leaving even if she did not really like him. She listened to her father and Beck finish up their final conversation. They thanked each other and wished each other well. When Beck and Dane stood up to leave, she got up so she could escort them to the door with her father.

As her father shook Beck's hand by the front door, Dane pulled her aside and said in a quiet voice, "I wanted to give you this before I go." He placed an envelope in her hand.

Bryn merely stared at the envelope. She felt like she had swallowed rocks but knew she would regret not saying anything before he left. Instead, she lifted her eyes to his and said, "I shouldn't have said those unkind words last night and I am truly sorry if I hurt you."

Bryn could see the tightening of his eyes, but she also noticed he smiled as he held out his hand to shake hers goodbye. He hesitated for a moment as if he wanted to say something else, but then, he let go of her hand and walked out the door.

Beck said goodbye to Bryn and followed Dane outside. Her father closed the door and went back to his study.

Bryn stared at the door for a few moments and then rushed up the stairs to her room. She sat on her bed and looked at the envelope. It did not look like a typical one at all. Instead, it had a yellowish color and felt rougher than normal. Bryn thought it was made from parchment or maybe even the old Egyptian paper called papyrus. She saw he had neatly written her name on the front in brown ink. The envelope was lumpy in the middle which indicated it probably had more than just a letter inside.

Bryn carefully opened the envelope and dumped out the contents on her bed. She gasped when she saw a necklace fall out onto the spread. There was a small piece of paper lying next to it with writing on it. She picked up the paper and read the note from Dane.

I made a pledge that I would always protect you. As long as you wear this necklace, no harm of evil intent will come to you. Please do me the honor of wearing it so I know that you are safe.

Dane

Bryn did not understand what he had written at all. How could a necklace keep her safe? She read and reread the note several times in order to make some sense of it, but she was still confused. All she could say for certain was Dane believed he must protect her. However, his method of protection left Bryn with doubt of his sanity. She picked up the necklace in order to investigate it further. The chain was not made out of the typical gold or silver. Rather, it was constructed from some dark brown metal she assumed was bronze. Holding it up to the light, the pendant attached to the chain was simply beautiful. It was in the shape of a tree and made out of the same dark metal. Its branches were bare and jutted out in different directions. A ring of metal surrounded the tree as it connected each branch in a perfect circle. Bryn wondered how on earth this tiny pendant could protect her.

As she turned it over and over in her hands, she thought about Dane. He was giving her such a strange request with wearing the necklace. She just did not understand it or even him for that matter. Bryn remembered how he had accused her of just that fact last night. He had said, " _You are seeing everything incorrectly and you don't understand me_." Absolutely right... she did not understand him at all. Bryn tried to remember what he had said after that, but she could not. She could recall every other part of their conversation perfectly, but that was the last thing she could remember with any certainty. She replayed the whole conversation in her mind again, but stopped when he accused her of not understanding him. Bryn was frustrated by this mental block that she was experiencing.

After several minutes, she gave up trying to recall. Maybe if she took her mind off of it, the memory would come back to her eventually. She got off of her bed and moved to her desk. She really needed to end this distraction and study.

Bryn took the necklace and placed it on the corner of her desk. Even though he had asked her to wear it, she really did not feel comfortable doing so. It seemed too much like a romantic gift and she did not want to be reminded of Dane any more than she was already.

*****

The next day was filled with more tensions for Bryn. At school, Kayla's mean streak was back in full force. It was as if she was trying to make up for lost time. Even her father seemed in sad spirits when Bryn visited him after school.

"Is everything okay, Dad?" she asked.

He shuffled the papers on his desk and let out a sigh. "I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed again with work since Beck left."

The most frustrating part of the day, however, was that Nicole still had not answered any of her text messages. There was probably a good explanation for her behavior and Nicole would clarify everything at work. However, when her boss told her Nicole had called in sick, Bryn had reached her limit of patience. She had a hard time concentrating on the coffee and the customers and it was made worse since she had to do double the amount of work with Nicole's absence.

Her father picked her up from the Coffee Grinder to walk her home as usual. She confided in him how worried she was about Nicole. He found it strange as well, but did not feel that there was anything that could be done about it right now. After dinner, Bryn decided to text her one more time. She was in the middle of typing the text when her cell phone rang. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Nicole's name on her phone. Bryn almost answered the phone with an accusation, but then remembered Nicole was probably still really sad, so she decided to just stick with a simple, "Hello."

"Hey," said Nicole in a happy voice.

"Hi. I've been so worried."

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that. We've been really busy the past couple days."

"What's going on with Ryan? How's he feeling?"

"He's actually pretty bored right now," confessed Nicole. "Mom won't let him out of bed."

"Is he feeling sick?"

"Nope," said Nicole lightly. "He's cured."

_What?_ She got the distinct impression Ryan had leukemia. One simply doesn't get cured of leukemia in just two days. She wondered if Nicole was in a state of denial. She did not believe her, so she asked, "What about the tests that were done last week? I thought the news was bad."

Nicole was quiet for a moment and then said, "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I was just relieved that the news wasn't as bad as it could have been."

Bryn thought about how hard Nicole was crying after the movie and still was in doubt. No one cries that much over hearing good news but it was not her place to question her friend in this matter. Instead she simply asked, "Well, what does Ryan have?"

"I can't remember the name of it, but it's nothing serious," she said a little too quickly. "The doctor made him go to the hospital for a couple days in order to do the treatment. He seems to be fine now."

Bryn was upset that she had spent the past few days being unnecessarily anxious. "Why didn't you let me know he was fine? I was so worried."

"I'm sorry. Mom and I were with him at the hospital the whole time. I guess I lost track of the real world."

Bryn privately thought she did not lose touch with all of reality because she made sure to call in sick for work. How hard would it have been to text her at least? "Didn't you see all my texts?"

"I accidentally left my cell phone at home," said Nicole. "We got home a few minutes ago and I just now saw all your texts. I'm so sorry you were worried about us."

"That's all right," said Bryn reluctantly. "I'm really glad Ryan is feeling better."

"Thanks. Me too," said Nicole. "Hey, do you want to come over to my house tomorrow after school? Mom said that since our girls night out was cut short, you could come over and stay for dinner if you want."

"That sounds great," said Bryn. "I'll be over as soon as I'm done at school."

They soon ended their conversation and Bryn was left to think over the strange turn of events. While she was happy Ryan was fine, she questioned how quickly he had recovered. Everything seemed to be slightly fishy. First of all, Nicole _never_ forgot her cell phone. That thing was practically attached to her hand. Secondly, she was almost certain Nicole had said Ryan had leukemia and that was never cured in such a short time. Finally, Nicole couldn't even remember the name of her brother's illness even though she had been at the hospital with him the entire time. The only thing that made Bryn believe Nicole's story was she had been invited over. She knew her mother never would have let her come over if Ryan really was sick. Bryn was glad she would at least get to see for herself how healthy Ryan was tomorrow.

### Chapter 11

Aftereffects

That night, Bryn once again had confusing dreams. Dane was in them. The strangest dream was when he shot a purple arrow into the air. She watched it pierce through the night sky as it flew to a place far away. Then, for some reason, Dane looked up at her. Bryn realized that she must be located someplace high up. A balcony maybe? She wasn't sure.

Bryn woke up later than usual and had to rush to get ready to leave with her father. She spent the free time before first period asking the teacher for help on even functions which they had just learned the day before. The Advanced Placement Calculus exam was not far away and she wanted to be prepared for it. The moment the bell rang, Mr. Conrad began teaching them about odd functions. Apparently, he was feeling the pressure of the impending Advanced Placement exam as well.

Her second period teacher, however, did not start immediately. She was busy talking on the phone. Bryn, having nothing to do at the moment looked around the classroom. Her eyes stopped on Dane's empty desk and she wondered what he was doing right now. Maybe he had already started at his new school in New York or maybe he was still moving into his new place. Bryn's thoughts were interrupted by Kayla's sharp voice saying, "Thinking about the boy you scared off?"

Bryn stared at Kayla and said, "I don't know what you are talking about?"

"Dane actually seemed interested in you. I bet once he realized what a boring dud you are, he moved to get as far away from you as possible."

Bryn shook her head in disgust and turned her attention back to the front of the class. She was so tired of Kayla's comments. Bryn knew she only had to endure them a little while longer since graduation was not far away. But it seemed like the closer to the end of the school year they got, the meaner Kayla was getting and Bryn was finding that her strength was faltering. She forced herself to not look back at Dane's chair again and open herself up to further insults.

The rest of the day, however, flew by quickly. Bryn was excited about going over to Nicole's house. It had been a while since she had last been there. It was well before Ryan's illness. After school, Bryn stopped by her father's office to say goodbye and then walked out of the school as fast as possible. She did not want to meet Kayla again because that was when she seemed to be her meanest. It really bugged her what Kayla had said about Dane today. Was it by design or a coincidence that Dane moved the day after she rejected him? She did not think he would have convinced his brother to pick up and leave town just to get away from her.

The walk to Nicole's house was spent musing over Dane's abrupt departure and also the strange dreams she had been having about him. By the time she got to Nicole's, Bryn was frustrated with herself for allowing Dane to take over her thoughts. There were so many more important things to be thinking about. Finishing up her senior year and getting prepared for Johns Hopkins should be her main priorities.

Nicole answered the door with a large smile on her face. "I'm so glad you could come over. What do you want to do first? Watch a movie? Paint our nails? You choose."

Bryn felt happy to just be doing some girly stuff. Most of the time she had to take everything so seriously, but with Nicole, she could relax and just be a teenage girl for a while. "Let's do our nails first."

"Great," said Nicole as she led her up the stairs. As they walked down the hallway to Nicole's room, they passed by the open door of Ryan's room. Nicole peeked her head in and said, "Bryn is here and we'll be hanging out in my room if you need me."

Ryan's eyes never once deviated from the television screen. He was busy playing a video game. He said, "Okay," to Nicole without disrupting his game. Bryn scrutinized Ryan and thought he looked pretty good. He didn't appear to be as pale as he used to. That was definitely a good thing.

The girls hung out in Nicole's room for the next hour, painting their nails and chatting about various people they knew. Nicole had a lot of friends at school that she talked about. At one point, Bryn thought about confiding in Nicole about what Dane had told her on Saturday night, but she eventually decided against it. It was too personal and she really did not want anyone knowing. In the end, she chose to keep it a secret.

When they were done in her room, Nicole suggested they watch a movie. "What do you have to watch?" asked Bryn.

"My mom just got _Summer in LA_ the other day."

"That sounds fine to me." Bryn could use a little comedy in her life right now.

"I think Ryan already watched it," said Nicole. "Let's go get it out of his room and watch it downstairs."

Bryn liked that plan. She wanted to observe Ryan a little more and see how he was really feeling. This time, when Nicole and Bryn walked in Ryan's room, he was watching a television show. The commercials were on, so he actually looked up at them when they came in. "Ryan," said Nicole. "Are you done with _Summer in LA_? Bryn and I want to watch it."

"Sure," he said. "It's still in the DVD player."

While Nicole was getting the disk, Bryn asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," said Ryan. "Mom says I'm strong enough to play on the soccer team this season."

Bryn could see how excited he was about this. She remembered Nicole had told her how sad he was when he officially had to quit the team because he had missed too many practices. "That's great," said Bryn. She really did think this was a good sign. Nicole's mother wouldn't be talking about him rejoining the team so soon if he was still sick.

The commercials were over and Ryan's attention focused again on the television screen. Nicole was still working on getting the disk out of the DVD player. Bryn could tell by the frustrated comments coming out of her friend's mouth that the machine was a little bit on the temperamental side. Bryn let her eyes wander around the room to amuse herself. She saw a shelf on the wall which held many soccer trophies and medals. She also saw some old stuffed animals sitting over in the corner. Those must be remnants from his early childhood he wasn't quite ready to part with.

On his bedside table, however, she saw a wooden cup. It was tall and cylindrical in shape. There was a beautiful, leaf design that had been carved into the middle of the cup. Bryn was surprised to see something that old fashioned and medieval looking inside the room of a nine year old boy. She picked it up in order to investigate it more closely and said to Nicole, "This is beautiful."

Nicole made a triumphant noise as she finally got out the disk, then turned to Bryn in order to see what she was talking about. A flash of surprise showed on her face and she said, "That's my grandmother's cup. Mom keeps it in her room for sentimental reasons. It really shouldn't be in here."

Nicole picked up the cup and said to Ryan as she left, "You shouldn't take things out of Mom's room without her permission."

"Huh?" said Ryan. His eyes still never leaving the screen.

Bryn got up and followed Nicole out into the hall. She watched as her friend stopped by her mother's room and placed the cup on the small table by the door. Then she closed the door and suggested they make popcorn before watching the movie.

The movie turned out to be hysterically funny and the girls were even laughing during the credits when Nicole's mother came home with pizza. Ryan practically ran down the stairs and sat at the dinner table. He complained that he was starving and was ready to eat immediately. They all sat around the dinner table and had fun talking to each other. Bryn noticed Nicole's entire family had a carefree and relaxed attitude. Ryan had his appetite back and Nicole's mom no longer looked at Ryan with cautious eyes. Bryn was happy that everything seemed to be going so well for Nicole and her family. Ryan truly seemed to be cured. Hopefully, his illness was a thing of the past.

*****

"This is our little secret," said Dane solemnly. "You can't tell anyone about this."

Elora crossed her heart and said, "I promise."

Quilyn did one better and said, "I xeny promise."

Yara never approved of the children having too many sweets, but Dane handed each child a cookie anyway. Quilyn ate his treat in three bites while Elora slowly nibbled on her cookie as they walked through the crowded market. Dane had promised to take his niece and nephew to market day in an effort to keep his mind off of Bryn. Dane had not told anyone of what had transpired in the Reflection last week and he preferred to keep it that way. However, that did not stop him from thinking about her constantly. The only way to stop his obsessive thoughts was to keep himself busy. Dane had volunteered to go to the Reflection as much as possible and when he was in Castoria, he spent his time working on the border fortifications.

At home in the Main House, he forced himself to act as if his heart had not just been broken in two. He did not want anyone to suspect his true feelings, especially his sister. It was difficult enough acting normal around Yara because she had once again become aggressive in her search for his future wife. With his niece and nephew, their innocent exuberance made it easier to forget for a while. That was one of the reasons why he found himself walking through the crowded market with them one late afternoon.

Elora led them over to a vendor who had a display of necklaces, bracelets, and rings. Dane and Quilyn indulged her and gave her time to look at the pretty trinkets. Elora picked up a small ring and said, "I like this one. It looks just like your ring. See, Uncle Dane, it has the same purple stone in it."

Dane studied the ring and saw that it did look similar to the one he always wore on his right hand. He raised his head and asked, "How much for this ring?"

The woman behind the counter widened her eyes in apparent surprise and she faltered a little as she said the price. "Five cyntels."

Dane pulled some coins out of his pocket and paid her. The woman's cheeks turned a rosy pink as she stammered out her appreciation. Elora hugged Dane and thanked him for the gift. Then, she fell in place a little behind Dane and Quilyn while happily admiring her new ring.

"Uncle Dane, why do you always wear that ring?" asked Quilyn in his raspy voice.

"It's part of my Vanguard gear. Every Protector wears a ring that helps keep track of where we are and it also glows when Tetari is trying to contact us."

"I want to be a Protector when I grow up."

Dane ruffled his nephew's hair. "I'm sure you would make a very good Protector, but I hope the Vanguard would be a thing of the past by the time you are an adult."

"Have you found a way to stop the animals from entering the Reflection?"

"No, but Castien is working on it so I'm sure things are bound to change sometime in the future."

"Why is Castien so grumpy all the time? Did something happen to him or was he just born with a permanent frown on his face?"

Dane lowered his voice and said, "He was not always this way. I first met him when I was about your age and he was actually cheerful back then."

"What changed him?"

"It's not my story to tell. But you don't need to be afraid of him."

"Oh, I'm not afraid of him," said Quilyn proudly. He then stood on his tip toes and whispered in Dane's ear, "I think Elora is though."

"She has nothing to fear. Castien has a very good heart."

When the trio returned home, they saw Yara waiting for them outside of the dining room. "There you are," said Yara impatiently. "I was just about to send someone to start looking for you. Our dinner guest should be arriving soon."

"I'm sorry," said Dane sincerely. "I didn't realize you had set a determined time for dinner."

Quilyn touched his arm and said, "I'm sorry, Uncle Dane. I was supposed to tell you about dinner tonight, but I guess I forgot."

Yara sighed. "No harm done. Just go get cleaned up and ready quickly."

Ten minutes later, Dane rejoined the whole family in the dining room where Elora was proudly showing off her new ring. Their dinner guest hadn't arrived yet, so Dane used the time to inform his sister about the fortifications around Castorshade and the border. He did not take the vision of Takaron's son in Castoria lightly.

"I spoke with Tetari yesterday," said Yara. "I am not sure that her vision confirms Thalien is here with evil intent. She did not see him with a weapon. All she said was he was trying to get something."

"I'm not going to take any chances. His visit may be destructive or it may be harmless. Nevertheless, when Thalien does come here, I want him to see we are well defended."

"I heard that Thalien has a birthmark on his bum in the shape of a flower," said Quilyn before letting out a loud laugh.

Yara gave her son a stern look and said, "Stop making up stories."

"It's not a made-up story," defended Quilyn earnestly. "I heard it from Darcasan. He has an uncle who has a friend who knows the mother of Thalien's former governess."

"You can't believe everything Darcasan says," Elora said primly. "He told me he saw a sarlock in the woods last week and everyone knows sarlocks don't live anywhere near here."

"He's not lying about the birthmark," said Quilyn a little too loudly. "He said it is bright pink and right on his—" Quilyn was interrupted by the entrance of their dinner guest. The little boy closed his mouth and sat straight up in his chair at the sight of his teacher.

Yara stood up from the table and walked over to guest. "Tsarra, I am so glad you were able to join us this evening."

Tsarra's eyes turned directly toward Dane as she said, "The children were very sweet when they delivered your invitation. I am grateful."

Dane looked over at Quilyn and sent a silent message. " _I wish you had warned me_." If he had known Tsarra was going to be here tonight, he would have thought of an excuse.

" _Sorry, Uncle Dane_ ," came the childish reply. " _I guess I forgot to tell you my teacher was coming over for dinner tonight, too_."

Yara told everyone to sit at the table and of course, directed her guest to the chair right next to Dane's. He couldn't help but notice that Tsarra moved her chair slightly closer to his just after she sat down. Yara began to ask questions about her children's progress and inquired about their studies. When Tsarra turned her body to better see Yara, she gently rested her knee against his leg. To avoid giving her the wrong impression, Dane tilted his body away from Tsarra on the pretext of better seeing his sister, as well.

Dane quietly endured the rest of dinner. He only spoke when he was directly spoken to and never initiated a conversation with Tsarra. He could not help but make comparisons between Tsarra and Bryn. There was nothing inherently wrong with Tsarra, other than being a little overeager. Tsarra was smart and pretty, but Bryn was clearly superior in his mind. He much preferred Bryn's challenging intellect over Tsarra's refined knowledge. Dane was not even attracted to Tsarra's long wheat-blonde hair for which he knew many people, including Beckwyn, had a preference. For him, he only saw perfection in Bryn's beautiful brown hair.

Dane saw the irony of sitting next to a woman who obviously wanted him while he spent his time pining away for someone who rejected him. His thoughts soon became only fixed on Bryn. He figured out that she was probably in second period right now. He wondered if she ever thought about him. Probably not, he thought morosely, unless it was to admit relief that he was gone. Bryn herself said she didn't even like him. He lost his appetite just after reliving that depressing memory and rested his fork on the dinner table.

His brief bought of nausea was instantaneously replaced with panic when Yara asked after dessert, "Dane, can you please escort Tsarra home tonight?"

He glanced at Tsarra who had an eager grin on her face and then eyeballed Yara who had an annoyed smirk on hers. He did not see a way to politely get out of performing this simple duty. "Of course," he said pleasantly and then stood up and walked toward the door. Tsarra thanked Yara and Feredir for their hospitality and then joined Dane. He held the door open for her and heard Yara's voice in his head saying, " _Give her a chance, Dane_." His only response was to close the door a little too loudly.

Once outside, Tsarra took her hand and placed it through his arm. He did not pull away from her, but he did increase the pace of his walk so he could get this over with quickly.

"Your niece and nephew are adorable children," said Tsarra and she bumped her shoulder into his.

Dane agreed with her.

"And so smart, too," she added.

Dane agreed with her again.

"They really are a pleasure to teach," she said having no problem carrying on the majority of the conversation. As Tsarra went on to talk about the specific merits of each child, Dane only half listened. He tried to calculate the most direct route to get to Tsarra's house. As she talked about what a pleasant meal she had at his house and how excellent the dessert was, Dane tried to figure out how many more minutes were left in his duty to get her home. Before, when he had strolled with Bryn, he never wanted it to end. He cherished every moment he was alone with her and always felt their walks ended too soon. Usually, the sight of Bryn's nosy neighbor signaled the end of their conversations. With Tsarra, however, every moment dragged by slowly and he heartily wished for a nosy neighbor to come along and take her home the rest of the way.

When they reached her house, she beheld him with expectant eyes. She placed her hand lightly on his arm and asked, "Would you like to come in? I could make us some tea."

"No, thank you," said Dane politely. "I promised the little ones I would tuck them in tonight and tell them a story."

She took a step closer to him. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Especially if I read them an extra-long story in class tomorrow."

"I forgot tomorrow is a school day. I definitely should not intrude then. Good night, Tsarra."

He bowed and left before she could say anything else.

### Chapter 12

Nick

"Don't stay up too late," called Bryn's aunt from the top of the stairs.

"Okay," said Bryn politely as she plopped down on the couch next to her cousin. Nick, however, chose not to respond. Instead, he covertly rolled his eyes so that only Bryn could see. Nick and her aunt had arrived earlier in the evening and they were all settling down to bed now. Bryn's aunt was staying in her room while she and her cousin grabbed some pillows and blankets to use on the couches in the living room.

"Are you going to sleep already?" asked Nick in disbelief when he saw Bryn lay her head down on the pillow.

Bryn checked the clock on the cable box. "It's twelve-thirty."

"But it's only nine-thirty in California time," he said turning on the television. "I'm not even tired."

"Not everyone is on Spring Break like you. I still have school tomorrow."

"You can catch up on sleep during your Spring Break in two weeks. Stay up with me a while longer."

She sat up and said, "All right. You want to watch a movie or something?"

Nick was already scrolling through the channels for a show. He found a movie they both liked and they settled in. When the movie ended at two o'clock, they snuck into the kitchen for a late night snack of ice cream and cookies. Their old camaraderie easily returned as they talked about high school and what their plans for college were.

Bryn rolled her eyes at the clock which brightly shined the offending time. "I can't believe you made me stay up this late. I have to work tomorrow, too."

"Don't blame me, Wookie Head," Nick whispered back to her. "I didn't force you to stay up. You could have said no and I would have watched the movie by myself."

"Wookie Head?" she said while quietly laughing. "I'd forgotten about that nickname." When Bryn was young, she refused to wear her long, brown hair in braids or ponytails. Consequently, her hair was often in a knotted state of disarray. Nick came up with the nickname Wookie Head because he said she reminded him of the large, shaggy Star Wars character.

"No one else calls you Wookie Head here?" Nick asked in feigned disbelief. "It seems like such an obvious nickname for you." Bryn grabbed her pillow and smacked him in the head.

"This is how you treat your long lost cousin?" came the muffled voice under the pillow.

She took back the pillow and said, "Only when you annoy the crap out of me at three in the morning instead of letting me sleep."

"You know you love it," Nick replied with a lazy smile.

Bryn stuck out her tongue at him, but she silently admitted that she loved Nick's teasing. He had always been fun to hang out with. It was like having a brother in her house and she willingly put up with his ribbing.

"Why don't you skip school tomorrow and hang out. You could show me all the touristy spots of DC."

"I can't. There's too much going on." Bryn was starting to get sleepy again, but she remembered there was a test in calculus and an important lab in chemistry that she couldn't miss.

"Come on," pleaded Nick. "It will be fun. I could probably convince Mom to let us go out on our own."

She rested her arm over her eyes and said, "I wish I could. But I really can't."

Nick fluffed his pillow before lying down. "You could sleep in a little longer. We don't have to leave until ten."

After a long sigh, Bryn said, "Tempting, but no."

"I bet you'll regret it," was the last thing Bryn heard before she fell asleep.

It seemed like the alarm went off five seconds after she fell asleep. She groaned as she got off of the couch. As she slowly made her way to the bathroom in zombie-like fashion, she heard Nick mumble, "Sucks for you," and then he rolled over to sleep some more. Bryn somehow got ready without being late, but she made sure to smack her still-sleeping cousin's shoulder on the way out of the house.

When he made a grunt of protest, Bryn playfully replied, "Whoops! Sorry." She closed the door just in time to avoid the flying pillow hurtled across the room.

The school day dragged by agonizingly slow. Nick's warning about how she would regret not skipping school often repeated in her head. She nodded off twice during class and even went inside her father's office during lunch in order to take a quick cat nap. During fifth period, Nick started texting her selfies at all the different monuments he was visiting. She was a little jealous. Not because she wanted to see the Washington and Lincoln monuments. She had actually been there dozens of times. It was just because Nick looked so well-rested and happy. Here at school, she had to deal with a slow moving clock and nasty glances from the Evil Stepsisters.

She perked up a little after school and when she got to work. Nicole greeted Bryn with her cheery smile. "Do you want to spend the night tonight? My Mom said you could."

"Sorry, but I've got family in town this weekend." Her cousin was fun to hang out with and her Aunt brought back pleasant memories for her. Aunt Janet was strikingly similar to her mother. They had the same brown hair and perky nose. Even Aunt Janet's laugh reminded her of her mother's throaty chuckle. It felt like having a little piece of her mother around when Aunt Janet was there.

Nicole, however, was clearly disappointed. "I guess that means you're busy tomorrow night, too."

"Yeah. My aunt and cousin leave Sunday morning. Why? Did you want to do something?"

"I'm going to a party with Marissa and some other friends from school. There will be a lot of cute guys there. I thought maybe one of them might peak your interest."

Bryn raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying set me up with someone?"

"Both of us actually," said Nicole mischievously. "We need to start thinking about prom, you know?"

"Last I heard, you were protesting it on the grounds that it's just a glorified dance that is pointless in the long run. What made you change your mind?"

"Chris."

"Who's Chris?" asked Bryn in an exaggeratedly curious tone.

"A cute exchange student. Come with me tomorrow night and see for yourself."

Bryn thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I could convince Nick to come."

Nicole mimicked Bryn's tone when she asked, "Who's Nick?"

"Ewww. Don't start getting any ideas. Nick is my cousin." At that exact moment, Bryn heard her phone announce an incoming text. She clicked on the selfie of Nick in front of the Capitol Building. Bryn held up the cell phone and said, "That's Nick."

Nicole took one look at the picture and said, " _That's_ your cousin? He's hot."

Bryn regarded the picture again. She had never really thought of her cousin as being "hot" before, but upon an impartial inspection, she could see why Nicole thought he was handsome. Nick had golden blonde hair, light blue eyes, and finely chiseled facial features.

Nicole hadn't stopped talking. "Now you _really_ have to come."

"I don't know," said Bryn hesitantly. "He might want to stay home with the family tomorrow night. He's touring Georgetown during the day."

Nicole grabbed her cell phone and speedily texted:

Do u want to come to a party with me on Sat night?

"I can't believe that you did that!" chastised Bryn.

A ding from her cell phone alerted the girls. Nicole nabbed Bryn's phone and smiled. Bryn grabbed her phone back and opened Nick's response:

Hell yes

Bryn rolled her eyes and smiled as she said, "You win."

*****

"I'm assuming there will be many beautiful girls at this party tomorrow night," said Nick when they finally were alone on the couch again that evening. It had taken half the night to convince Bryn's father and aunt to let them go to the party on Saturday, but in the end, they prevailed.

"I thought you had a girlfriend back in San Francisco."

"We broke up," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"When?"

"Five months ago. Holy Crap! Has it been that long since we last emailed each other?"

"I'm sorry."

"About what? Sorry I broke up with my girlfriend or sorry it's been so long since we last emailed?"

Bryn laughed and said, "Both. I guess."

Nick seized the remote and began surfing the channels again. "What are you in the mood for tonight? Comedy or action?"

"Comedy," Bryn said through a yawn. Nick found a movie they both hadn't seen and Bryn tucked her feet under her legs on the couch. Not surprisingly, after the previous late night, she was asleep within the first ten minutes of the movie.

Tonight, Bryn dreamed she was being chased. She turned behind her to see what was following her. It looked like a dog, but the guttural noises the animal made sounded unfamiliar. Her heart pounded fast as she raced at top speed away from it. Panic overwhelmed her and she heaved large gulps of air. She tried to gain some distance by running in unpredictable zigzag sprints, but the strange animal matched her at every turn.

Bryn saw a deserted building off in the distance that suddenly gave her hope. If she could just get to it, then everything would be all right. She ran as fast as she could toward the safe haven. Tears filled her eyes when she sensed the animal just a few feet behind her. The door to the building was open and she could see Dane standing inside. He watched her with an unreadable look on his face. Was it worry or indifference? She couldn't tell.

"Dane!" she cried out. "Help me!"

Bryn held out her arms as she ran toward him. She sprinted straight into his open arms and felt an immediate sense of relief. He held onto her tightly and she smiled in contentment. Bryn wasn't sure how, but she just knew Dane had saved her from the thing that was chasing her.

If she left the safety of his arms, then the scary animal might return. Bryn had no intention of leaving. She pushed herself even closer into his embrace and asked, "How did you know I was in trouble?"

He rested his chin on the top of her head and said, "I will always protect you."

Her heart did a backflip and she couldn't help but smile in elation. Dane's hands moved to grab her arms. She enjoyed the tingling sensation they produced on her skin. He roughly squeezed one arm and began to shake it.

The jerking movement startled Bryn and she abruptly woke up from her dream. She stared at the image of Nick standing over her. "Lie down, Wookie Head. You'll be more comfortable."

Even though she had just been awakened from a nightmare, she was surprisingly disappointed. She sleepily watched Nick pull the blanket up over him as he got ready for bed. "Was the movie good?" she mumbled.

"Not really," he said with a sigh. "I was much more interested in watching you the past few minutes. You were talking a little."

"Was I?" Bryn felt the pull of sleep dragging her back into a dream.

"Yep," he said cheerily while overemphasizing the last letter of the word. "Who's Dane?"

Bryn's eyes burst open. "What?"

"You said the name Dane and then you sighed like a love-sick school girl."

"No, I didn't," Bryn said defensively.

"Uh... yes you did."

"Uh... no I didn't."

"Fine then," he said sarcastically. "I made the whole story up."

"You probably misunderstood me. That's all. There is no Dane."

He propped himself up on his elbow. "There is just one part of your excuse that bothers me."

"What's that?" demanded Bryn.

"If you don't know anyone named Dane, then why are you blushing bright red?"

He chuckled and reached over to turn off the lamp. Nick laughed a few more times before eventually falling asleep.

Bryn, however, could not go back to sleep for a long time that night.

*****

"It feels so nice out here," said Bryn. "It was getting too hot in there for me." Bryn, Nicole, and Chris, who was Nicole's potential boyfriend, all sat together on the front steps of the party house. Loud music and laughing voices could be heard coming from inside. They had spent most of the evening indoors, but had just moved outside to get a change of scenery.

"It seems like your cousin is having fun in there," said Chris as he nodded toward the window. Bryn glanced over and saw that Nick was indeed having fun. He was sitting on the couch and kissing a girl that he had met only an hour earlier.

She smirked and said, "Nick is definitely not shy when it comes to making new friends." Bryn thought of the pleasant day that she has spent with Nick as they explored the Georgetown campus. "He even convinced some girl on his college tour today to give him her cell phone number."

"Excuse me," interrupted a voice from behind them. Bryn turned to see a tall blonde girl standing at the top of the steps.

The trio moved to the side in order to let the girl pass. "It's only ten-thirty, Maisey," said Nicole. "Why are you leaving so early?"

Maisey sighed and said, "My parents just called and told me to come home now."

"That sucks," said Nicole. "Are you okay getting home?"

She pointed down the road and said, "I'm fine. I just live at the end of this street." Then she turned to walk glumly toward her house.

"Goodnight Maisey," said Nicole politely. She deliberately placed her hand on Chris' shoulder and asked, "How do you say goodnight in German?"

Chris gave her a shy smile and said, "Gute Nacht."

"That's so cute," laughed Nicole brightly. "I love how you talk. How do you say party in German?"

Bryn rolled her eyes and realized that Nicole's obvious flirting could take a while. As Chris answered her friend's questions, Bryn occupied herself by watching Maisey walk down the road. When she finally disappeared into the darkness, Bryn turned her attention back to her best friend. Nicole's hand was now firmly planted on Chris' knee. She could see his dark brown eyes sparkling in excitement.

"I love your real name," said Nicole in an overeager manner. "I'm going to call you Cristoff from now on. Did you know that his real name is Cristoff?" asked Nicole as she turned back to Bryn.

"No," admitted Bryn in an amused tone. It was fun watching her overly flirtatious friend.

Nicole looked down at her empty drink and said, "I need a refill." She stood up and held out her hand. "Will you come with me, Cristoff?"

The German exchange student grabbed her offered hand and Bryn noticed that he did not let go even after he was standing.

Nicole wore an unabashed smile on her face as she told Bryn, "We'll bring you back another drink." Bryn watched the two walk hand in hand back into the house. Just before the door closed, Nicole's head popped out and mouthed, "Oh my God!"

Bryn couldn't help but laugh. Even though she was officially now the third wheel at the party, she was still having fun. She enjoyed listening to the music emanating from the house. They were playing one of her favorite songs and she quietly hummed along as she waited for Nicole and Chris to return with her drink.

She heard the door behind her open and Nick sat down next to her on the front steps. "I don't know if you are aware of this," he said casually. "But there is a party going on just on the other side of that door."

"I know," she said with a smile. "I'm hanging out here with Nicole and Chris."

Nick made an exaggerated display of looking around. "Um... I don't know if you are aware of this, but there is no one else out here."

"Very funny. They just went in to get more drinks. They'll be back soon."

"I actually saw them kissing next to the snack table, so they might be a while," he said with a chuckle. "Never fear though. I'll keep you company until they return."

"What did you think of Georgetown today?" Bryn asked out of curiosity.

He took a deep breath and said, "I like the campus and I like the courses that are offered. But what I like best about Georgetown is its location."

"What do you mean?"

"I like that it is about as far away from San Francisco as I can get."

Bryn was confused. "Don't you like your home town?"

"I do," said Nick putting his arm around her shoulder. He pulled her close to him and said quietly in her ear, "It's my father that's driving me crazy. He has to get in my face about everything. We fight almost every day. I just want to get as far away as possible from him."

Bryn thought about her Uncle Mark. She had never been close to him. He was very cool, reserved, and basically unapproachable at family gatherings. While Nick's strained relationship with her uncle was new information to her, she was not surprised. "I'm sorry," Bryn said sympathetically.

"It's okay," said Nick. "He doesn't hurt me or anything like that. It's all mental with him."

"How does Aunt Janet feel about you possibly coming to school out here?"

"She's all for it," he said happily. "In fact, it was her idea for me to apply to Georgetown. I think she believes if Dad and I have a little bit of a break from each other things will get better for us. Eventually. Part of me wants to go to a California school because that's where all my friends are going, but I've decided that the best thing for me to do is come to Georgetown."

Bryn's excitement caused her to hug her cousin tightly. "I'm so glad. You're going to love it here."

A sudden loud noise caused Bryn to pull away from Nick. It sounded like it came from a few houses down. She hoped it wasn't an angry neighbor coming to break up the party. Bryn did not see anything, so she turned back to Nick and smiled. "Have you told Aunt Janet of your decision?"

"Nope," he said cheerily. "You are the first to hear the good news."

"It's going to be great having you nearby. I'll only be an hour away," added Bryn.

A loud knock from the window suddenly interrupted them. Bryn turned to see the girl that Nick had kissed earlier was watching them with open suspicion. Nick waved confidently back at her and motioned that he would be in in a moment. The girl seemed appeased as she sat down on the couch.

Nick shifted his gaze back to Bryn and said, "It's obvious that your friends are not coming back for a while. Why don't you hang out with me and Emma?"

Bryn shrugged and said, "I think that I will. I'm just a third wheel with Nicole and Chris so I might as well be a third wheel with you instead."

As Nick opened the door for her, he said, "If this Dane-guy were here, I doubt you would be the odd woman out. In fact, you would probably be canoodling with him next to the snack table too."

Bryn shoved his arm and laughingly called him an idiot. However, a few minutes later, when she was sitting on the couch next to Nick and enduring Emma's icy stares, she wondered what it would be like if Dane were at this party.

### Chapter 13

A Change in Duties

Dane followed the red-haired man onto the Green Line subway and sat toward the back of the car. From there, he could keep better tabs on his Ward. He did not sense any creature in the car, so he lowered his guard for the moment and stared out the window. Dane watched the black walls of the subway tunnel rush by in quick succession and was soon mesmerized by the repetitive image.

The darkness of the tunnel suited his mood. Memories from yesterday's visit to the Reflection played over and over in his mind. When he took the assignment to protect the young Ward last night, he had absolutely no idea what the consequences would be. He remembered waiting for his Ward to leave her friend's house and begin her walk home. The sarlock was pacing in a nearby driveway and Dane had to attack it almost immediately. Thankfully, the blonde Ward had rounded the corner in time and did not see the creature lunge for her. He recalled thinking he had been very lucky that night.

As he walked down the street to go back home, he was suddenly struck by a sight that seemed to confirm how lucky he was. Bryn sat on the front steps of a house just three hundred feet away from him. She looked as beautiful as he remembered. She wore a brown silk shirt which deepened the color of her long brown hair. Bryn was all alone on the steps. He did not know why she was there since this house was nowhere near her neighborhood. Dane thought fate had brought her to the exact street where he was. How else could it be explained?

He wondered if he should go over and talk to her. He was technically supposed to be in a different city, but he could easily come up with a plausible reason to be there. His heart thumped against his chest as he debated what to do. At last, he took a deep breath and stepped forward toward Bryn. He abruptly stopped when he saw someone else emerge from the house and join her on the porch. The boy was tall, but not taller than Dane. He exuded confidence and was clearly comfortable around Bryn. _Much too comfortable_ , Dane thought bitterly. The boy put his arm around her and pulled Bryn close to him.

Dane remembered thinking to himself that he should turn away and just go back home. Bryn was not his and she had every right to be with whomever she wanted. Dane found, however, that he could not tear his eyes away from her. He was forced to watch them speak quietly to each other. She looked at this blonde-haired boy in a way that he only dreamed she would look at him.

Dane watched as Bryn smiled and excitedly hugged her companion. He even heard her say the word "love" and felt nauseous just witnessing someone else having what he wanted. Dane blindly turned around and in his haste to get out of there, knocked over a trash can sitting on the curb. He remembered how embarrassed he felt as he ran as fast as he could away from the neighborhood.

As the subway slowed down into the well-lit station, Dane continued to stare out the window. He wondered what Bryn was doing now. Was she with _him_ again? His mind was consumed with those thoughts when he suddenly saw the red-headed man walk toward the escalator inside the station. _Damn!_ His Ward had left the subway car without him even being aware of it. The double doors closed and the subway began to pick up speed. Dane sprang to his feet and ran for the sealed doors. A loud, buzzing alarm sounded when he pried them open. Dane lightly jumped on to the platform just a few feet away from the ending wall of the station.

Dane forced all negative thoughts out of his mind and focused only on the task at hand. He ran up the escalator steps and located his Ward, but he also sensed the creature at the end of the tunnel. He silently sent a message to the red-haired man in front of him. " _Turn around and go out the other exit_." His Ward did a quick turn about and sighed like he had just remembered something. Dane waited to make sure his Ward turned the corner, and then he walked silently in the direction of the creature.

It was a carrath. Its body was covered in a gray slime that glistened in the bright lights of the subway tunnel. The carrath made a wet, snarling sound as a warning to Dane to stay away. Dane took note of its thick curvy claws which it used to tear apart its prey and had no intention of getting anywhere near them. He reached for his bow and aimed for the creature who was now running at him. Dane waited until he had a clean shot and then released his arrow. A small whimper of surprise escaped the carrath's mouth just before it fell dead to the ground.

After Dane disposed of the creature, his thoughts returned to Bryn and the blonde boy that she preferred. He hated himself for dwelling on the sight of them hugging and the tender look of affection she had given him. Bryn had every right to love someone else. But in his innermost heart, he hoped she would somehow miss him and maybe come to appreciate him. He had secretly hoped that, someday, he would accidentally run into her while he was on an assignment, and she would change her mind about him. Seeing Bryn with that other boy, however, firmly placed all those hopeful thoughts into their true perspective. They were just farfetched dreams and they were never going to come true.

*****

Dane silently sulked in his chair as he had to endure another one of his sister's dinner parties. Yara had stubbornly insisted on inviting a few eligible women in the area and her hopes were painfully obvious to everyone. For tonight's dinner, she had summoned the Meadowbrook family. They had two daughters of marriageable age. The oldest daughter was very pretty, but boring to talk to. She just tended to repeat what she had heard other people saying. Dane thought if she ever had an original thought in her head, she would not know what to do with it.

The youngest daughter was almost more annoying than the other. All she did was laugh. She laughed when they were introduced. She laughed when the meal was served. She laughed when Yara told a story about a friend of hers who was feeling ill. Dane truly believed if he had said to her, "My tooth is aching. My nephew tripped and cut his knee. The kitchen cook burned her hand in a freak accident and the Queen has declared war," she would laugh hysterically.

During the dessert course, he felt a slight vibration on his finger. He glanced down and saw his ring was glowing purple. Teteri needed to see him and Yara could not object to him leaving now. This was his duty, after all, and he could not neglect it. He lifted up his ring finger and said to his sister, "I've been summoned. I'm sorry, but I must go."

Yara seemed slightly annoyed, but nodded.

"You must go?" asked the oldest daughter. "What's wrong?"

"Someone in the Reflection is about to get attacked," said Dane. "It's my responsibility to save the human."

"Be careful," said the youngest daughter and then she laughed on cue.

Dane gave his sister a kiss on the cheek and then ruffled the hair of his niece and nephew on his way out of the dining room. He congratulated himself that he was able to get out of the dinner obligation at a relatively early hour. He was grateful for Tetari's summons for another reason, as well. He knew she would have an assignment for him which would help keep his mind off of Bryn and the mysterious blonde-haired boy. As long as he kept busy with work, he would have no time to think about how miserable he felt.

When he entered Tetari's quarters, he saw her sitting at her table with her head in her hands. She seemed so frail. "Are you all right, Tetari?" he asked gently.

Tetari looked up and gave him a weak smile. "Yes, yes. I'm just not as young as I used to be."

Dane had no idea how old she was, but he guessed she must be in at least her Fourteenth Age. Ever since he could remember, she had always had her long, white hair and grandmotherly sweetness. Dane thought she looked just the same as the Tetari from his childhood, yet she did not seem as strong as she used to.

He sat down next to her at the table and placed his hand over hers. "Did you ask for me?" he said kindly.

"Yes. I'm getting glimpses of another attack." She described who the next person was along with what she knew of his location. Dane listened intently and asked, "Do you know when the attack with be?"

"I believe it will happen right after sundown."

That was only six hours away and he should leave as soon as possible. However, manners dictated that he ask, "Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?"

Tetari looked at him and said, "I think either Castien or Beckwyn should take this one?"

Dane was disappointed. He had wanted to go himself. "Why?"

"Because I think you need a break."

He sat tall in his chair and shook his head. "I can assure you that I do not. I need to be in the Reflection."

Tetari eyed him full of sympathy and said, "But that does not appear to be helping you. There is still sadness in your heart."

Dane was taken aback by her comment. He had worked hard over the past few weeks not to let his true feelings show. He did not want anyone knowing about what a fool he was. Dane decided to feign ignorance. "I don't know what you are referring to. I'm fine."

"You're fine?" she asked in disbelief. "Have I only been imagining the sadness in your eyes ever since you returned from the Thorner assignment?"

Dane averted his eyes from her knowing ones and said, "No." After a long moment of silence, he said, "But this hasn't affected my duties as Protector."

"You were distracted in the last assignment."

Dane sighed. "Only for a short time. I still killed the carrath."

"I think it best you keep some distance from the Reflection. At least for the present. Beckwyn and Castien are capable males. They will take over your duties in the Reflection. You will remain the person I contact when I have a vision, but you will only be sent on an assignment when both Castien and Beckwyn are busy in the Reflection."

There was nothing else that Dane could do. She was the final authority in the Vanguard and he had to obey her command. He sighed and said, "Yes, Tetari. I'll go find Castien immediately and tell him of the assignment."

Tetari gave him a gentle pat on his hand and said, "This is only temporary. Just until I sense you are no longer burdened by your sadness."

Dane stood up from the table in order to leave the room. He paused just before the door and asked her a question that had been on his mind. "Did you foresee this happening?"

"Yes."

His legs suddenly felt weak. Dane leaned against the door and asked, "You knew what would happen when you charged me with the protection of her?"

"Yes."

"Then why would you deliberately put me in a situation that you knew would break me?"

Tetari thought for a moment before she spoke. "There may be damage to your heart now, but wouldn't you rather it be there than to have never known love at all?"

Dane shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand."

Tetari slowly got up from her chair and walked over to Dane. "Let me put it this way. Would you rather I had sent Castien to protect her?"

"No," Dane said a little too forcefully.

"Then I did the right thing by sending you." He frowned at her logic. Tetari gently placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "This is just temporary, young one. Take this time to straighten out your thoughts."

Dane nodded and left to find Castien. He found his friend staring absentmindedly into the fireplace with a frown etched on his face. Dane wished he could sit down next to him and frown into the fire as well, but he couldn't think about that just now. Dane informed him of the details of the assignment and Castien grunted that he understood. He swiftly left the room in order to collect his weapons.

Now that Dane was done with his one and only duty, he felt it was his obligation to go back to Yara's dinner party. He really did not want to go back though. Dane knew his sister would assume he was on an assignment, so she would not expect him to return. He decided to take Tetari's advice and straighten out his thoughts. He ran to the first place he could think of.

*****

"I thought I would find you here," said a familiar voice.

Dane peered down from his perch in the tree and saw his best friend. Beckwyn's concern was evident to Dane even from so high up. "How did you know I'd be here?" he called out.

As Beckwyn began the climb up, he said, "Because this is where you always came to sulk when we were children. Remember that time when Yara wouldn't let you travel with her to the Crystal Cavern? You were up here for days, if I remember correctly."

"That's right," said Dane with a light laugh. "And you kept me company until your mom finally lured both of us down by offering us sun cookies."

Beckwyn found a place to sit next to him on his branch and said, "So how long do you plan on staying up here this time? Do I need to tell my mother to start baking?"

"That does sound good. But I'm fine. I only came up here because I didn't want to go back to Yara's dinner party. And that has long been over."

The dinner party had actually ended eight hours ago. The first beams of sunlight were just beginning to shine through the western side of the forest. Dane had spent the entire night in his favorite tree. He and Beckwyn had often climbed the Braided Tree as children and he felt more comfortable here than in the small bedroom that he had in his sister's house. Throughout the night, Dane thought about the things Tetari had said to him. He had come to terms with his altered duties in the Vanguard. Dane knew that as soon as he learned to hide his emotions better, Tetari would put him back in the Reflection on a more permanent basis.

In regards to what Tetari had said about Bryn, he knew she was right. Even though he keenly felt the pain of rejection, he was still glad he had fallen in love with her. He was thankful for every moment he had spent near her. To be able to know he had protected her and saved her life was a great point of joy for him. Even though she did not love him, he loved her enough to want her to live a long happy life. Unfortunately, it was just not going to be with him.

Beckwyn sat quietly next to Dane and whittled on a piece of wood. Dane valued his friendship so much. He knew Beckwyn suspected what had happened between him and Bryn, but he never brought it up. Beckwyn probably came here to sympathize about the change in the Vanguard today anyway. Dane turned to his friend and said, "Did Tetari talk to you?"

"Yes. Once Castien came back, she summoned us and told us about the changes. Are you all right?"

"I'm disappointed. Since things are so busy lately, I feel bad that I'll be unable to do my share of the work."

Beckwyn shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily true. The way Tetari explained it to us is we get first priority on the jobs. If, at some point, a job comes in and we are not available, then you get to take it. It's really not that different from before."

To Dane, it felt vastly different. He usually claimed the first available job and that always kept him busy. He hated the thought of sitting around and waiting. He needed to be doing something or else his mind would be forced to dwell on negative feelings. He was proud of his role as Lead Protector. It gave him a sense of purpose during a time when he felt that part of himself was detached. He did not want to burden Beckwyn with thoughts such as these so, instead, he stood up and said, "You're right. I should get back home now. Thank you, my friend, for keeping me company."

Beckwyn smiled and said, "Anytime."

They moved down the tree jumping from branch to branch. When they landed on the ground, Beckwyn turned to Dane with a playful grin on his face. "How about we stop by my mother's house and see if we can convince her to make us some sun cookies?"

"That sounds perfect," Dane agreed.

"Race you!" Beckwyn said as he used to in their childhood days. As they ran home to Beckwyn's old house, Dane felt some of his cares falling away.

### Chapter 14

Puzzling Behavior

Bryn was treating herself to a Jane Austen book. The last of her Advanced Placement exams had taken place a few days ago and her teachers had not assigned homework for a week. She read while lounging in her favorite chair in her father's study. They had spent the evening in comfortable silence, each engrossed in quiet activity. Bryn with her book and her father on the computer. Even when she finished reading, she had little desire to get up from her comfortable seat and go to bed.

She perused the books on her father's shelf in order to see if there was something else that peaked her interest. His tastes were more eclectic than hers. There were books on history, but there were also mysteries and science fiction. Her eyes fell on one she had not thought about in over a month. _The Prince_ had once been the subject of much discord between Dane and her. She remembered how he had so vehemently supported Machiavelli's advice to the princes. She opened to a page in the book and decided to re-read a section or two. It was such a small book that it didn't take long. She found passages which definitively showed Machiavelli's cruel nature. Bryn felt even more confident in her harsh opinion of the author when she read them.

But as she continued to read, she was able to more clearly see Dane's opinion as well. She reluctantly admitted that Dane was correct when he said Machiavelli was not giving the princes a blanket approval to be cruel. He had definitely said it was best to be feared only if being loved was not an option. Bryn tried to recall every point Dane had made that night long ago. He had said something about being armed is a good thing, too. She wondered if that was why he was usually holding a weapon whenever she dreamed about him.

Even though she had not seen him in over a month, he had never left her thoughts. He appeared in her dreams several nights a week and they were always perplexing to Bryn. She felt she wasn't remembering the entire dream. She was only able to recall bits and pieces of it. The underlying theme was that she was terrified of something, but she had no idea what or who it was. Even though Dane usually held either a sword or bow, she never felt afraid of him. Bryn felt he was trying to protect her in some way. In her dream, she saw him as a hero rather than the annoying person she thought him to be in real life. In fact, whenever she thought about him now, she would usually picture the Dane of her dreams.

Over the past month, Bryn would often wonder how Dane was doing in his new school. Had he made any friends? She hoped so. Were he and Beck settled in their new apartment? Probably. But whenever she wondered whether Dane had a girlfriend, she would quickly move onto another question before answering it. And when she wondered why she did that, she told herself it was because she did not want to think about how hurt he had looked when she rejected him.

Her quiet thoughts were interrupted by her father saying, "I just booked our last hotel." He had spent the evening finding places to stay on their vacation. They were planning a New England road trip during the summer break. Her father had called it their "Last Hurrah" before she went off to college.

"That's great," Bryn said with a yawn. While she was excited about the family outing, she really didn't care much about the preparations for it.

"You look tired. Why don't you go to bed?"

Bryn stood up and stretched. "I think I will. Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Brynie Bird," said her father before returning his attention to the computer screen.

When Bryn was upstairs in her room, she fell asleep within minutes. Her dreams were mostly the same as before. She still could not figure out where she was hiding. All she could ascertain was it was someplace high up off the ground. However, in tonight's dream, there was a new element. She was hanging onto something while being violently shaken back and forth. Dane sat right next to her and told her to hold on as tightly as she could.

She woke up with a start soon after that. Bryn saw from her alarm clock that it was a little past four in the morning. She did not have to wake up for school for another hour and a half. Even though Bryn felt sleep pulling her back into unconsciousness, she forced herself to sit up and turn on the light by her bed. She made herself recall the new parts of the dream over and over again. She did not want to risk forgetting them. Around five o'clock in the morning, she asked herself why she was losing sleep over a silly dream, but, deep down, she felt it was important that she remember. It was her obligation to piece back together this fractured dream that seemed so real.

When it came time to officially get ready for school, Bryn hopped out of bed and got dressed. She grabbed her backpack and went to the desk to get a textbook she needed to return. Since the class had already taken the final exam, there was no point in keeping it anymore. Something caught her eye when she picked it up. The necklace Dane had given her had been pushed to an out-of-the-way corner of her desk. Bryn picked it up and looked at its unique design. She really did like the circular line which surrounded the leafless tree.

She held it in her hands for a few moments and then made a decision to wear it. Dane had been so much in her thoughts lately that she believed it was the right thing to do. He had asked her to wear it even after she had been so mean to him. This is what he wanted. And, for some reason, she was feeling very grateful to him.

*****

Second period was still the class Bryn dreaded going to. In the final weeks of school, Kayla was becoming bolder and bolder with her spiteful comments. Bryn continued her policy of ignoring them and told herself it would be over soon. In the minutes before class started, Bryn pulled out a book and waited for the inevitable comment as Kayla strolled near her desk. When the bell rang, Bryn realized something was different. She saw Kayla quietly talking to her friend. Kayla must have walked right by her and not said a thing.

Bryn spent the entire period in a perplexed state. Not once did Kayla look her way. Not once did she say anything mean during the free time toward the end of class. When the bell rang for dismissal, Kayla got up from her desk and Bryn braced herself for a rude comment. Instead, she left without saying a word.

Bryn saw Kayla one more time that day and was even more surprised by the result. After school, she had decided to spend some time in the library before going to her father's office. Bryn wanted to check out a few more novels to read so she found a step stool to sit on as she looked at covers which interested her.

After a few minutes, she heard Kayla's voice quietly talking to Mackenzie and Lauren in the next aisle over. They were discussing a club car wash they were in charge of organizing. Bryn tensed up even more when she realized all three Evil Stepsisters were rounding the corner and entering her aisle. Kayla was eyeing the books on the shelf, apparently trying to find a specific one. Bryn thought that at any moment, the three girls would begin their usual attack on her. She was amazed she had remained unnoticed this far.

Kayla took a few steps in Bryn's direction. Suddenly, she knelt down and was eye level with her. Even though Bryn's heart was pounding a mile a minute, she found the resolve to look at Kayla with an expectant expression on her face.

Kayla grabbed a book off the lower shelf, stood up, and said, "I have a couple buckets at home I can bring to the car wash. Do you have any?"

Lauren whispered back, "I have no idea. I'll ask our maid later."

Then the girls left the aisle without even a backward glance. Bryn watched them leave with wide eyes and a disbelieving smile. She was stunned by her good fortune. She had absolutely no idea what brought about this unusually inattentive behavior.

### Chapter 15

Clarity

Dane hated his new role in the Vanguard, yet he did it without complaint. The attacks were spread out enough that Beckwyn and Castien were able to take turns going into the Reflection. Only once in the past three weeks had Dane been allowed to go on an assignment because the other men were already in the Reflection. He had been forced to stay home for most of his time.

To everyone he met, he was always polite and respectful. Even at Yara's dinner parties, he tried to take over his share of the conversation. Dane honestly thought he was doing a good job of hiding his true emotions, but that delusion ended one night when he was sitting by himself next to the fireplace in the family room. Dane had tilted his chair so he could just stare into the flames. He did not even notice Yara had come in until she placed her hand on his shoulder. She gave him a light squeeze and said, "Are you ever going to tell me what is bothering you so much?"

Dane turned his head to the side and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm no fool, dear brother. It saddens me to see you with such a sober face."

Dane sighed and said, "I'm just upset about the change in my role as Protector. I miss being in the Reflection."

Yara caressed his face just as she used to do in order to comfort him when he was a child. "No," she said thoughtfully, "I don't think that's it. You were like this even before Tetari changed your job."

Dane did not know what to say. He shook his head and continued to stare into the fire.

Yara moved to sit down next to him on the couch. "Why will you not confide in me? I have loved you longer than anyone else in this world."

Dane shook his head again and watched the orange blaze popping onto the grate. After several silent minutes passed by, he could see Yara straighten her back. He knew she was bracing herself up to say something unpleasant. "My darling, I'm sorry you are sad but I am tired of patiently waiting for you to get better. What you need is a change in your life. A change will make you forget your troubles."

"What kind of change?" he asked suspiciously.

"For one, I am no longer going to have dinner parties where I invite all the single girls in the area."

Dane agreed this was a good change. He always hated going to them. But he knew his sister too well to think she would give up like this, so he stared into the fire and waited for the blow.

Yara continued, "Second, I want you to help me with the strengthening of an alliance."

Dane knew his sister had never given up on the idea of him marrying a foreign girl. He shook his head at her and said, "I told you I did not want you writing to other provinces."

"Hear me out," Yara said as she placed her hand on his arm. "I didn't initiate this in any way. Today, I received a letter from Khidell in the Northern Province. You know how strained everything has been between us since father's death, so when he asks for a favor, I think it best I comply. Well, he has asked me to allow his daughter to visit us for a while since she has expressed an interest in our province. She apparently wants the grand tour. Her father is someone that cannot be refused, so I wrote back and told him we would be happy to have her stay with us for as long as she would like."

"What does this have to do with me?" asked Dane.

"I would like you to be her tour guide and show her all the principle sites," said Yara pleasantly.

Dane gave Yara a sarcastic grin and said, "I assume she is of marriageable age, as well."

Yara did not appear surprised at all by his question. "Yes, I believe she is."

Dane knew Yara was hoping he would end up marrying her. He couldn't stand the thought of being coerced into a union with this girl. "No," he said adamantly. "My job is with the Vanguard. I will not babysit some foolish girl who wants to go sightseeing."

Yara flattened her mouth. "Your role has been significantly reduced in the Vanguard. If need be, I can officially end it."

Dane bolted upright in his seat. "You can't take away the one thing that gives me purpose in this life, Yara."

"It doesn't seem to be making you very happy right now. Maybe you need a different purpose? This girl could be the perfect match for you. I'm sure if you work your charms on her, she will agree to marry you before her trip is over."

"I don't want to marry her," he said roughly. "I don't even know her."

"But you will get to know her eventually. You remember how I originally felt about Feredir when he first visited Castoria. But I continued to spend time with him and got to understand his strange idiosyncrasies better. Then, one day, I realized I actually enjoyed his company. I opened my heart and fell in love with him. He makes me happy even though at one point, I thought he never would. Give this Northern girl a chance."

Dane ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I do not want to spend time with her."

Yara stood up and said in her most authoritative voice, "I'm tired of waiting for you to fall in love."

Dane blurted out without thinking, "I already have, Yara."

This statement seemed to stun Yara into silence. Dane watched her face go through a series of emotions: from confusion to excitement and then back to confusion again. After a while, she asked, "Who is the lucky girl?"

Dane wished he had not said anything at all, but he could not turn back now. "You don't know her."

"Of course I know her," said Yara. "I know everyone here."

Dane glanced back into the fireplace and said, "She's not from here."

"How is that even possible? You spend all your time either here or in the Reflection?"

Dane glared at her intently when she said the word Reflection. He could see the exact moment when the comprehension hit her. The disappointment on her face was clear. Yara attempted to say something, but then stopped herself. Dane would have found Yara's behavior amusing if he didn't feel so pitiful.

Finally, she asked, "How long have you been in love with this girl from the Reflection?"

"Two months." Dane watched Yara close her eyes as if he had actually caused her pain by admitting this.

"What is her name?" she asked when she was able to control her voice.

"Bryn."

"How did you two meet?"

"She was one of the people I was assigned to protect."

"How can you fall in love with one of them?" she asked through gritted teeth. "They aren't like us."

Dane felt compelled to defend Bryn. "She is smart and kind-hearted and beautiful."

"Ah," said Yara. "Of course she is beautiful. I understand now. I'm sure you have been unfairly swayed by her loveliness." She waved her hand in the air dismissively. "This feeling will wear off once you look past her superficial attractiveness."

"Do you think so little of me? Bryn is so much more than that."

Yara's eyes were mere slits as she glared at him. "Have you thought this through carefully? She's not allowed to be on this side of the Reflection."

Dane decided to put Yara out of her misery. "There's no point in continuing this conversation any longer. She does not love me back, so you have nothing to fear."

Yara snorted and said, "I find that hard to believe. I'm sure she's just waiting for the right opportunity to sink her claws into you."

"Stop talking about her like she's some sort of opportunist," Dane said as he abruptly stood from his chair. He moved toward the fire and forced himself to take two calming breaths. With his back toward Yara, he lowered his voice and said, "She is nothing like that. I would know if she was. Because frankly, half of the girls you've been inviting to dinner over the past few months were just that. I am telling you truthfully, Bryn wants nothing to do with me. I told her about my feelings and she did not feel the same way. End of story."

Yara's face softened somewhat and she moved to place her hand on his face. "My Dearest. Is this the reason why you have been so sad lately?"

"Yes."

"How can I help you?"

Dane took a deep breath and said, "You can help me by never talking about this again. Tetari knows and Beckwyn suspects, but does not know the details. No one else is the wiser and I prefer to keep it that way."

"As do I," Yara agreed.

Dane stood up from his chair and said, "And you will have to find someone else to babysit the Northern girl. I'm in no mood for sightseeing."

"She will not be here for a little while. I'm sure we can come to an agreement by then."

"I'm serious, Yara. I don't want anything to do with her," said Dane impatiently.

Yara did not answer him back, but kissed him on the cheek instead. Dane did not have any desire to carry on this conversation further, so he said goodnight and excused himself from the room.

*****

Bryn awoke from her terrifying dream in a complete state of clarity. "That's it!"

She finally realized that what had been scaring her in her dreams was an animal about the size of a large dog and it had two sharp horns coming out of its head. Unfortunately, this mysterious creature was bent on attacking her. She even knew the name of it. It was called a xenther, and, in her dream, she watched Dane fight it off with his sword. She saw him jump over the animal and kill it.

Most importantly, Bryn knew this was not a dream at all. This was a memory.

She got out of bed and paced her room. Bryn could not explain how this was a memory. She just knew it was. The creature was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She was pretty sure it did not even exist. But apparently, it did, and it had tried to kill her.

She went over to her desk and turned on her computer. As she waited for the computer to warm up, she put on the necklace Dane had given her. He had said it would protect her and it made her feel safer to wear it even if it was a little preposterous. She knew Dane had saved her life and she trusted him now. If he said the necklace would protect her, then she could not question it.

The computer took an agonizingly long time to warm up, but as soon as the little hourglass disappeared from the screen, she logged on to the internet. First thing she did was type in the name of the animal. She had no idea how to spell it, so she tried several variations: Zenther, Zenthar, Xenther. But each time she typed it in, she could never find anything that remotely sounded like the animal she was looking for. Then, she tried typing in the characteristics of the animal. She remembered it had pointed horns and it ran really fast. A rhinoceros often came up in the search, but even though it was similar, she remembered it being smaller than that.

Bryn finally gave up the search on the internet. She really wanted to talk to Dane, but she had no idea where to find him. He would have the answers to what she was looking for. Bryn wished she knew what school he was going to in New York or even if she could remember his last name. She went downstairs to see if her father could remember.

He was eating a bowl of oatmeal at the kitchen table and looked up at her when she entered. "I thought for sure you would sleep in today. There's no need for high school graduates to get up early on a weekday."

"Bad dreams," she said as she served herself a bowl of cereal.

"Sorry to hear that," he said as he turned the page of his newspaper. "Hopefully, our trip will chase away the cobwebs. Are you packed yet?"

"Not yet. I was going to finish the last of the laundry this morning and pack before work."

"I'll be home early today to pack, too." He had one last teacher workday and then he was officially on summer vacation, as well. Their plan was to get in the car early tomorrow morning and start driving north.

Bryn tried to sound casual as she asked, "Dad, are we driving through New York City by any chance?"

"Not through it, my dear, but nearby. Why? Do you want to take in a Broadway show?"

"No," she said, although the idea did sound appealing to her. "I thought it might be nice of us to stop by and visit Beck and Dane. See how they are doing."

"I got the impression you didn't even like Dane. Why would you want to see him?"

She could not explain to her father about the real reason why she wanted to see him, so she said, "I just thought you might want to see Beck. You seemed to have become friends while he was here."

Her father peered over his newspaper and said, "Yes, it was nice having him around. But I don't even know where to reach him. He never left any contact information."

"Do you remember Beck's last name?"

He thought for a moment and said, "That's odd. I can't remember." He put down his paper and got up from the table. "I'm sure it will come to me later, but I need to get to school and finish up the grades."

Bryn tried not to show her disappointment. "I'll be at work by the time you get home. I get off at seven-thirty."

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"It should still be light then. You just worry about packing and getting things ready for the trip."

"All right. I'll see you tonight." He gave her a kiss on the head and left for work.

Bryn stood up from the table and began to pace back and forth. She had no idea how to get in touch with Dane and right now, he was the only one who could explain her strange memory. Parts of it made sense to her and portions of it made no sense at all. She had never been able to recall what had happened right after she had the heated conversation with Dane that night. The memory had always abruptly stopped. Now, she remembered what came after. She wondered how it was possible that she had forgotten such an important memory. Had she repressed it and buried it deep into her unconscious mind? That seemed unlikely.

Bryn realized she could not spend any more time thinking about this strange memory. She needed to pack for the trip, so she spent the rest of the morning getting everything together. When she was done, she left her suitcase next to the back door. She knew her father planned on packing up the car tonight so they could leave as early as possible in the morning.

She left for work in plenty of time to get there. Bryn did not want to be late on her last day. With the trip taking up much of the summer and her going off to college in August, she had decided to give her notice. She would miss working with Nicole, though. Nicole was going to continue working throughout the summer in order to raise money for college. She had made plans to attend a community college that was not too far away from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. While Bryn was excited they were going to be roommates in the fall, she was sad because this would be their last normal day together for a while.

Nicole was already behind the counter when Bryn arrived. She said in a dramatic voice, "I can't believe this is your last day. It's going to be so boring here without you."

"You'll survive. I'm sure you'll be able to convince the new girl to play all of your quirky games," Bryn bantered back.

Nicole pouted her lips and said, "It won't be the same. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you, too," she said as she started to set up behind the counter.

Nicole moved to the cash register in order to help a customer. Bryn looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see that the customer was Kayla. She turned around and watched Nicole take her order. The past few weeks had been highly unusual for Bryn in regards to Kayla. The girl, who usually never missed an opportunity to criticize her, had apparently decided never to talk to her again. Bryn assumed Kayla must be ignoring her on purpose and that was fine with her. Bryn, thankfully, had been able to graduate high school in peace.

Since this may be the last time Bryn ever saw Kayla, she decided to be a little bolder and let the chips fall where they may. When Nicole moved over to the coffee machine, Bryn walked to the register and stood right in front of Kayla. Her face showed no sign of recognition. She appeared to be calmly waiting for her drink. Bryn spied at the amount on the register and said, "That will be $2.64."

Kayla did not move. She just stood there and watched Nicole make her drink.

Nicole shrugged at Bryn. She put the lid on the drink and said to Kayla, "That will be $2.64."

Kayla reached into her wallet and gave her the money. She thanked Nicole for the drink and turned to leave.

Bryn smirked as she said loudly, "Have a nice day." Kayla's step did not even falter. She just continued walking toward the door. Bryn nudged Nicole and whispered, "Say something."

Nicole looked confused, but eventually said, "Have a nice day."

Kayla turned her head a little as she said, "You too." Then she left the store.

Bryn stared out the window for a moment and said quietly, "Unbelievable."

"What was that all about?" asked Nicole.

"I'm not sure. But you just met Kayla."

" _That_ was Kayla? Evil Stepsister Kayla?" asked Nicole in disbelief.

"The very one."

"I assumed she would be horrible to you. She just flat out ignored you. That's so rude."

"Kayla has never been nice to me so I'm not surprised," confessed Bryn. "She's been ignoring me for the past few weeks. I actually prefer aloof Kayla to verbally abusive Kayla."

"Well I'm glad I finally got a chance to see her," said Nicole. "But I wish you had told me it was her before she left. I'd have given her a Loogie Latte."

Bryn hugged Nicole and said, "You're a good friend. Don't worry about me though. I probably won't have to see her again until the ten year reunion."

Nicole smiled as she said, "And by then, you're going to be an incredibly successful doctor who is married to some mesmerizing and sexy guy while she will be a boring old nobody."

For some strange reason, an image of Dane flashed in her mind. She did not know why. Bryn assumed it was because she really needed to talk to him about the xenther. She wished she knew how to get in touch with him because she had absolutely no idea what happened to her on that night.

### Chapter 16

Nardoc

Dane knew he was not going to be sent to the Reflection this time since both Castien and Beckwyn were home. He tried not to let it bother him too much as he walked to Tetari's quarters. Dane found her sitting at the table with her eyes glazed over. She was obviously seeing the future, but the frustrated look on her face bothered him. He had not seen her like this in a while.

Tetari was whispering to herself statements that were too low for Dane to hear. After a few minutes of respectfully waiting, he asked quietly, "You summoned me?"

Tetari's eyes focused on him. Her vision abruptly ceased. She had a worried expression on her face and motioned for Dane to sit next to her. She sighed and said, "This one perplexes me."

Dane sat at the table and said, "I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have a name I can tell Beckwyn?"

"Yes and no," said Tetari.

"What's wrong?"

"The last name is Thorner."

Dane felt as if he had been punched in the chest. "That's impossible," he whispered.

"I'm afraid it's true," she said sympathetically. "Once again, I see both of them being attacked."

"I've never heard of a creature attacking the same person twice." Dane could not stand the thought of Bryn being in danger again.

"The father was never attacked before. This could just be an odd coincidence that different creatures attacked two members of the same family. Perhaps that is why I have two different visions when it comes to the Thorner family. My guess is the creature will be after the father. But the other vision of the daughter is so clear, I cannot be sure."

"Are you able to tell me when the attack will take place?" Dane asked.

She reflected for a moment and said, "I believe it will be very soon. You must send them immediately."

Dane grabbed Tetari's hand and said, "Please allow me to go and protect her. I cannot be easy waiting here for news."

"I'm not sure that it is wise," she said regretfully. "You were distracted last time when you were around her and it was almost too late then."

Dane pleaded with her. "I will not make that mistake again. Please, Tetari. I can defend her better than any of my Protector brothers."

She raised an eyebrow and said, "I never thought you doubted Beckwyn's and Castien's abilities before."

He ran his hand through his hair and was impatient to go. Dane got up abruptly from the table and paced back and forth. "I don't mean it that way. She means more to me than she means to them. I would die to protect her."

"I am sure your Protector brothers are willing to die for any human in danger as well," said Tetari.

"I beg you, Tetari. I _must_ be allowed to go."

Tetari thought for a moment and said, "Very well. Take Beckwyn with you."

Dane flew from the table and left the room without even a farewell to Tetari. He was worried about Bryn. He had never heard of the same person being attacked twice, but he did not doubt the possibility of it. He would feel better, however, if he could be certain Bryn was wearing the necklace. He knew her stubborn temperament and was not sure she was. All Dane knew was that he could not let anything happen to her.

*****

As Bryn mopped the floor and Nicole cleaned up the counter, she told her friend about all the various places she and her father planned on visiting on their trip. Boston, Acadia National Park, and a cabin on Lake George were some of the highlights.

"That sounds like fun," said Nicole. "My mom is taking Ryan and me to New York City for a few days. But that's about it for my summer plans."

"I think that's great," confessed Bryn. "My dad and I were just talking this morning about maybe making a stop in New York City, too. We have friends there that I want to look up." Even though she didn't have a clue of how to find Dane.

Bryn went in the back room to say goodbye to Joan and to make arrangements for where her final paycheck should be sent. When she was done, the girls made their way outside to where the sun was beginning to dim on the horizon. Bryn knew she had just enough time to get home before it set. She turned to Nicole and said, "I'm going to miss you."

Nicole hugged her and said, "You won't have time to miss me because I plan on texting you a lot and letting you know what's going on here."

"You better," said Bryn. "Tell your mom and Ryan that I said goodbye."

"Will do."

The girls slowly walked apart from each other and held up their hands to wave goodbye. Bryn felt a little sad ending this chapter in her life. The Coffee Grinder had been a fun place to work. As she headed home, she mused over how much her life had changed in just the past few days. She was now a high school graduate and currently unemployed. She was probably not going to see her best friend for most of the summer and the person who hated her the most, was ignoring her. But the change that eclipsed them all was the fact that she now knew her recurring dream was not a dream at all. Even though she could not explain how she knew it, it was now a fundamental belief that she was really attacked by some strange animal. She did not remember all the details yet, but she was confident she would figure them out soon.

As she ambled by Fletcher Park, her steps slowed to a stop. This was the last place she remembered being that night. Bryn and Dane had stood on this very sidewalk. She wondered if the attack had taken place around here. It could have happened in the park or near the houses across the street. She saw that several houses had balconies on the second story. Maybe she had somehow hidden on one of them. It didn't make sense to her how she could have gotten up there unless she had run through the house and up the stairs. Unfortunately, she did not remember doing anything like that. She moved across the street to more closely check out the houses. Even though the attack happened a few months ago, she looked around for hidden clues. She boldly stood on the sidewalk directly in front of the houses and craned her head up. Bryn wanted to see if there was any damage to the balconies. She didn't find anything unusual.

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself, you know," a voice from behind her said quietly.

Bryn drew in her breath and turned around to see who was talking. Dane was standing three feet away from her. She had not even heard him approach. He was exactly the same as she remembered him. His brown hair was perfectly combed over and his eyes still had that strange, dark color to them.

"What are you doing here?" Bryn said roughly. As soon as she said it, she immediately regretted it. She saw the miniscule downturn of his mouth. She really was glad to see him. Hadn't she wanted to find out the answers to her questions? "I'm sorry," she said in a kinder voice. "I didn't mean to sound rude. It's just that you scared me. I thought you were in New York."

Dane peered over into the park and then turned back to her. "My apologies for scaring you. I didn't intend to. I just think it's safer for you to be home right now."

"Why?" asked Bryn. "Is another animal going to attack me?"

She saw the surprise register in his eyes with her last statement. He must not know she remembered. Dane placed his hand on the small of her back and led her down the sidewalk. "Please, Bryn. It's best you get home."

She moved away from his guiding touch and faced him. "No. I'm not going anywhere with you until I get some answers."

Dane checked the area all around them. She felt drawn to look as well, but could not see anything. When Dane faced her again, his eyes stopped on the necklace she was wearing. He sighed and said, "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"First of all, what are you looking for? Is it a xenther?"

"Probably not," he admitted. "They are rare."

"But that was what attacked me."

"Yes."

"And you killed it."

"I had to. It was trying to kill you," he said defensively. "Do you remember that part?"

Bryn shook her head and said, "I only remember bits and pieces. I remember you holding a sword and I remember being scared of the xenther."

Dane nodded. "I'm sure even more memories will come back to you."

She stomped her foot and asked, "Why is it you seem to know all the details and I barely recall anything?"

He did not seem to want to answer at first, but then with a resigned look said, "I had your memories altered to forget the attack."

Bryn scrunched up her face and frowned because none of this made any sense. "How is that possible?"

"It's too difficult to explain. All you need to know is that we have the ability to make people forget things."

"I still don't understand," said Bryn. "Can you try to explain?"

"No," he said in an authoritative manner.

Bryn clenched her fists in anger. She had hoped Dane would answer her questions. Now it seemed that some of his evasive answers made her even more confused than before. "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in New York?"

"I came here to protect you."

That simple statement of his made Bryn catch her breath. After an endless moment, she asked, "Is another animal going to attack?"

"There's a possibility," he said as he monitored the street again. "That's why it's best you get home." He put his hand on her back again.

She shrugged off his hand and said, "Wait. What kind of animal is going to attack this time?"

"I don't know, but the most common animals that attack people are sarlocks and grunth."

Bryn shook her head and said, "Do you realize how crazy you sound? I've never even heard of these animals. I tried finding information on xenthers, but they apparently don't exist in this world."

"That's because they are not from _this_ world," Dane said quietly.

"How do you know so much about them then?"

Dane took a deep breath and said, "Because _I_ am not from this world either."

Now Bryn had confirmation that Dane was officially crazy. She knew he would have answers to the puzzling xenther attack, but she never expected something this preposterous. She was torn between feeling pity and anger for Dane all at the same time. She wanted to get to the bottom of her memory and Dane was not helping.

He had to be mentally ill. His face was full of concern and his eyes seemed earnest in his belief. But that was the problem. If he really was crazy, then he wouldn't see anything wrong with the delusional things he said. In the end, pity won out. She placed her hand on his arm and said, "Dane, you don't know what you are talking about. Let's go find your brother. Is he here in town, too?"

Dane frowned at her, appearing hurt that she did not believe him. He shook his head and said, "Listen to me very carefully, Bryn. There is a creature that has escaped from my world and is loose in yours. It is very dangerous and I have been sent to protect you from harm."

She wanted to laugh, but didn't. "This all sounds so ridiculous."

He put his hands on his hips. "If you remember me fighting a xenther, then how could another creature chasing after you sound so unbelievable?"

"Because creatures from other worlds just don't go around attacking unsuspecting humans," Bryn said vehemently.

Dane laughed harshly as he said, "They do all the time. You just don't know about it."

Bryn wanted to say more, but she was stopped by a high pitched whistling sound traveling in the air above them. She saw a green strip of light illuminating the night sky. It was losing altitude and it looked like it would land near them.

She wanted to run away, but Dane grabbed her arm and said, "Don't move."

Together, they watched the green arrow land on the sidewalk by their feet. Bryn looked down at the light in disbelief. It was in the shape of a thin cylinder and it had pierced the concrete layer of sidewalk. She bent to inspect it more closely and reached out to touch it. Dane stopped her hand and held it back with his. The light dimmed and eventually dissipated into nothing. The only remnant left of its existence was a burnt black indentation on the sidewalk. "What was that?" asked Bryn in disbelief.

"That was one of Beck's arrows," said Dane in a worried voice.

"What's the deal with the arrow? I remember you shot a purple one that night."

Dane leveled his eyes on hers with such concern it was palpable. "It means he has seen the creature."

She shivered from head to toe as she took a step closer to Dane for protection. "Where is it?"

Dane blinked hard and said, "Your house. Beck was sent to protect your father."

"No," she said in a thin, frightened voice. The thought of her father being attacked by a xenther-like creature caused Bryn's heart to skip a beat. She had to help him in some way.

Bryn pushed herself away from Dane and stumbled through her first steps toward home. She eventually gained control of her footing and ran at full speed down the street. Suddenly, she felt her legs lift off the ground. At first, Bryn had no idea what was happening, but then she realized Dane was carrying her in his arms while he ran. He ran faster than anyone she had ever seen. The neighborhood houses were practically blurred in her eyesight. However, she was so worried about her father that she did not question the method of travel. At this point, she was grateful for it.

They arrived at her house in less than a minute. From the outside, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. The lights were on in her father's room and the front porch was illuminated. As soon as Dane put her down, she sprinted for the door. Dane grabbed her shoulders and said in an authoritative voice, "Let Beck and me handle this. You need to stay out of the way and make sure to keep that necklace on."

Bryn watched in stunned disbelief as Dane ran down the driveway and around to the back of the house. She followed him, but at a much slower pace. In no time at all, she could hear the tell-tale signs of a fight taking place. She hoped with all her heart that her father was safe inside the house.

When she rounded the back of her driveway, she was shocked by what she saw. Dane had already drawn his sword and was pointing it toward the creature while Beck had taken a more defensive stance with his sword near her father's car. The clothes from their suitcases laid scattered across the ground nearby. Beck, however, was standing next to something laying near the car that was much bigger than a suitcase. It was hard to see, but she saw a glint of light reflected on what must be glasses. With a burst of terrifying realization, Bryn knew it was her father on the ground. Her chest constricted with the thought that they may have been too late. That terrifying thought almost overwhelmed her until she told herself if her father was dead, then there would be no reason for Beck to still protect him.

Bryn glared wide-eyed at the creature. She had never seen anything like it before. It was even more terrifying than the one which had attacked her. The creature was the same height as Dane. In the light from the porch, she could see that it was covered in wiry brown fur. A long tail rose up above the creature and swayed as if trying to distract Dane. A menacing hissing sound came out of its hooked beak as it warily watched Dane.

The creature moved back and forth on its four thick legs. However, Dane did not step back or falter as Bryn would have done. Instead, he appeared calm and viewed the creature as if this kind of occurrence happened every day. Bryn gasped when she saw the creature push up on its hind legs and grow even taller than Dane. It stretched its front legs out and she watched in terrified awe as they expanded into two large wings with its bones clearly visible underneath the tight, brown skin.

The creature flapped its wings twice and lifted itself into the air. When its hind feet pushed off of the ground, Bryn saw they stretched into large wings, as well. If Bryn hadn't already been so scared for the safety of her father, she would have been fascinated by what she was witnessing. The creature hovered over Dane for an endless moment. It opened its mouth to draw in air and Bryn watched in fear as the creature's chest expanded. She heard a whooshing sound as something sludgy was spit from its mouth. Dane jumped to the side and out of the way of the foul goo.

He reached behind his back and drew out a bow that had clearly not been there earlier. He pulled on the string and a glowing purple arrow materialized. Dane aimed at the creature flying above him and released the arrow. The animal veered to the right and the arrow missed it by mere inches. When the creature flew so high into the sky that Bryn could no longer see it, she took a hesitant step toward her father. Dane's attention was intently directed at the night sky, but he still held out his hand and said, "Stay where you are, Bryn."

"But Dad needs help," she pleaded.

Beck turned to her and said in a gentler voice, "It's not safe out in the open."

Bryn listened to him and stayed in her spot next to the house. She was extremely worried since she had not seen her father move since she had arrived. Her attention returned upward when she saw the pointed beak of the creature as it nose-dived toward Dane. Its chest once again expanded and it spit out the pink sludge. Dane stood his ground until the last second before jumping out of the way. The creature spread its wings wide in order to slow itself down before landing on the ground. Dane loosed another purple arrow. This time, he did not miss. The shot pierced through the front wing of the creature. It lurched to the left and shrieked in pain.

Both Dane and Beck hurled arrows at the creature as it unsteadily propelled itself back in the air. The night sky was practically lit up with green and purple lights. It looked like fireworks over her house. One of Beck's arrows ripped through the bottom wing of the creature and it could no longer stay airborne. It landed awkwardly on the ground. Bryn watched in fascination as its wings crunched up to convert back into thick legs. It was like something straight out of a science fiction movie... but this was _real._

Dane sprinted across the driveway and jumped directly onto the top ledge of her back porch. She drew in her breath and wondered how he had propelled himself so easily. Even though the creature was disabled from flying, it was still on the offensive. It ran with its stroppy gait at the porch and Bryn tensed in fear as it moved past her father.

Dane was apparently the creature's new target because it raised its front legs onto the column that held up the porch. It hoisted itself up with the sharp, finger-like talons at the end of its legs and began to climb up toward Dane. Bryn was shocked at how long the creature was when it stretched out its body. Its front legs were almost at the top of the column, while its tail still touched the ground.

Beck ran in the same direction with the same speed Dane had shown moments earlier. He took his sword and stabbed it into the creature's tail. The beast cried out in pain and Beck held on firmly to his sword in order to keep the creature pinned to the ground. Bryn watched in horror as its chest began to expand as it turned to face what had halted its progress. She knew if Beck did not move soon, he would get hit by the sludgy substance. Suddenly, a glowing purple arrow shot through the head of the creature and it fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Beck removed his sword from the creature's tail and stabbed it in the chest. A moment of unnerving silence followed and then Beck turned to Bryn. "It's over," he said quietly.

Bryn took that to mean she could safely go to her father. She ran over to him and knelt beside his body lying on the ground. Her hands covered her mouth as she gasped in horror seeing a gooey pink substance all over the right side of his face. The creature must have spit on him before she had gotten there. She did not know what the stuff was or what it did, but it couldn't be good. It didn't appear that he was breathing. Bryn reached out her hand to take off his glasses.

"Don't touch him," Dane commanded.

"What is this stuff?" asked Bryn as tears began to form. "Is he okay?"

"It's a type of venom that paralyzes a person on contact. If you touch it, the same thing will happen to you."

Bryn blinked back her tears as she asked hesitantly, "Is he dead?"

Dane's face softened and said, "Not yet."

"Wake up, Dad," Bryn said in a trembling voice. She clutched her hands into fists in order to avoid the urge to wipe the waxy venom off of his face. Bryn felt utterly helpless as she watched for the tell-tale rise and fall of his chest. "I don't think he's breathing," she said as she reached for Dane in wide-eyed panic.

"He is, but it's hard to detect," Dane said. "The venom slows down the actions of the body so the victim can no longer fight back. The nardoc likes to kill its victims at its leisure, but we stopped it before that could happen. So for now, your father is still alive."

Bryn began to shake in the face of all of this. "Will he regain consciousness soon?"

She saw Dane look doubtfully over at Beck. Bryn didn't want to hear his answer so she fumbled in her pocket for her cell phone. "I've got to call 911."

Dane grabbed her hand and said, "Your doctors won't be able to help. They've never seen anything like this before. And if anyone touches his face, they'll suffer the same fate."

Bryn felt a tightening in her chest that made it hard to breath. Her eyes filled with more tears as she gazed at her father. She couldn't lose him. Bryn turned to Dane and desperately grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. In a rough voice she said, "If you really are who you say you are, can you help him?"

Dane bore his dark intense eyes into hers. He was clearly torn between conflicting thoughts.

"Please," she said as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "I'm begging you. If you know of a way to help, please help him."

Dane seemed to be waiting for a cue from Beck, but when none came, he glanced back at Bryn and softly said, "I can take him to someone who may be able to assist, but we must act quickly. The venom will be active for the next three hours. If it doesn't get off his face before that time, then I'm afraid it will be too late for anyone to help him."

Bryn smiled weakly through her tears and said, "Thank you." Even though she knew her father was still in danger, at least there was hope now. She stood up and said, "What do you need me to do?"

Dane checked out around the area and said, "I need some type of blanket to wrap him in. We can't let the venom touch us."

"I'll get one."

As Bryn sprinted into the house through the back door, she felt the wind cool her face where her tears were. She ran directly to the family room and grabbed the large blanket draped over the couch. When she got back to the kitchen, she halted when she overheard Dane and Beck talking about the situation.

"Are you bringing Bryn, too?" Beck asked in a hissed whisper.

"I don't think she'll let me just leave her here," said Dane in a resigned tone. "Besides, I'm already breaking the rules by bringing one human. Might as well bring two."

"Yara's not going to like this."

Dane did not answer for a moment, but then added, "Let me deal with her."

"As you wish," said Beck with a sigh.

"I'll take them back by myself. This was my decision so I'll accept the consequences."

"Don't be a martyr, Dane," Beck said firmly. "I agree with your decision."

"I'm sure you do. But we both know that, in the end, Yara's going to be a lot nicer to me than she would be to you."

Bryn wondered who this mystery woman was they were talking about. She had never heard Dane talk about another girl before and wasn't sure if she liked it. Bryn did not have time to worry about it so she forced the thought out of her mind. She was glad she would be allowed to stay with her father. The thought of leaving his side had never even occurred to her, but at least it wasn't going to be an issue. She opened the door and stepped out onto the porch.

Dane directed his query to Beck. "Will you take care of everything here?"

Beck nodded and said, "Of course."

Dane held out his hand for the blanket. Bryn gave it to him and watched as he carefully wrapped it around her father's face. He made sure to keep it loose enough in order to allow space to breath. Dane then hoisted him onto his shoulder and said to Bryn, "Let's go."

"Who's down there?" asked a familiar nasal voice. All three of them turned to see Mrs. Crocker standing at the end of her driveway. She took two steps closer and said, "Bryn, is that you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Crocker," Bryn said in a strained tone.

"Who's with you?" Mrs. Crocker asked suspiciously.

Bryn opened her mouth to say something, but found that she had no idea how to explain... _this_. She turned to Dane for guidance. He tilted his head in the direction of Mrs. Crocker and said politely, "Ma'am, please do not be alarmed."

Mrs. Crocker stepped backwards, apparently terrified, and shouted out, "I'm calling the police."

Bryn was scared as well, but for a different reason. If the police came, valuable time would be wasted and her father might not make it.

Dane, however, stepped deliberately at her neighbor. "There is a perfectly good explanation for what has happened here," he said calmly. Mrs. Crocker's face suddenly became void of expression. Bryn had never seen her appear so dumbstruck before. Dane continued to stare at her with an intense gaze and Mrs. Crocker nodded her head once.

Her eyes soon brightened and she glanced over at Bryn. "Good night dear," she said in an upbeat voice. "Have fun with your friends."

Bryn did not know what to say, so she simply said, "Umm... okay. Goodnight, Mrs. Crocker."

Taken aback, she wondered if this was how her memories were altered. Bryn remembered how stupid Mrs. Crocker appeared and wondered if she looked the same when she forgot about the xenther attack. She hoped not.

As soon as Mrs. Crocker's retreating figure rounded the corner into her yard, Dane headed down the driveway. Bryn saw Beck attending to the slayed creature, but she ran to catch up with Dane. He was already turning onto the sidewalk. She marched next to him at a brisk pace. Even though she knew he could move significantly faster than she could, she noticed he kept his speed to match hers. They walked in silence for several minutes as he led them in a weaving direction through the streets. She was too stunned by all that had happened to talk anyways.

Bryn was so worried about her father. She had never heard of his type of injury before, but Dane seemed to know enough about it. She had no choice but to trust him. But she _did_ trust him now. He had saved her life and she hoped he would be able to save her father's, as well. She did not know what she would do if she lost her father. She took it for granted that he would always be there for her. This was an idiotic assumption given the fact that she had lost her mother at a young age. Nothing in this world could be depended on for certain.

All that Bryn could see of her father were his feet dangling out from the blanket as he hung over Dane's shoulder. Dane did not look fatigued from carrying him at all. She was surprised by his obvious strength and the fact that he didn't even seem even a little out of breath. Not to mention he had also just fought and destroyed a dangerous creature.

"Are you doing all right?" she finally asked.

Dane raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"How did that monster not hurt you?" she asked. "It was terrifying just watching you fight it."

"I appreciate your concern," he said politely, "but I'm fine."

"Is my father too heavy for you?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" she asked a little out of breath. "I can't believe you can keep up this pace even while carrying him."

"Where I come from, people are stronger," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

She gave him a sideways glace as she asked, "And where are you from exactly?"

"Castoria."

She frowned at the unfamiliar place. "Is that where we are going right now?"

"Yes."

"How are we going to get there?" Bryn asked cautiously. As far as she could tell, they were heading to the center of town.

Dane did not answer her right away. "There is a portal that connects our two worlds," he finally stated.

A laugh suddenly erupted from her throat. "This is crazy, Dane," she said as she shook her head. "How could there possibly be a portal connecting Gaithersburg to some secret world?"

"You saw the creature that attacked your father," Dane said in a calm tone. "How else could you explain its existence in your world?"

"I don't know," Bryn said as she shook her head. "Maybe it's an undiscovered species of a mutant bat?"

"What about me, then?" Dane asked as he glanced over his shoulder at her. "My strength... my abilities... even my weapons."

Bryn realized that he did have a point. She had never seen anyone do the things that Dane could do. Still, they were all too outlandish to fully believe. "Genetically altered top secret government agent?" she guessed weakly.

"I'm afraid not," he said with a sigh. "You'll have to believe me eventually if you intend to come with us to Castoria."

Bryn dreaded that he would probably be proved right. She went through the list of amazing things she had seen. Dane ran with super speed and could jump to the top of her roof. He convinced Mrs. Crocker to leave them alone just by staring at her. And that monster... where did it come from? Bryn massaged her temples in order to relieve her rising headache. "This is crazy, Dane."

"You've already said that."

"I know," she said quietly. "I'm trying to believe you."

Dane nodded his head in acknowledgement. Bryn got the feeling that he was allowing her some time to process this information on her own. A thought popped into her mind that if Castoria wasn't a real place, then walking with Dane was a waste of valuable time. Her father was injured and required medical attention. If Dane was leading them on some wild goose chase, then all hope for her father would be lost. She wanted to believe that Dane was right. She _needed_ to believe in Castoria.

If Castoria was real, then where was it? Better yet, where was this mysterious portal that Dane mentioned. All she could see around her were empty streets and sidewalks. It suddenly hit her how strange it was for the city to be so deserted at this time of day. She was not wearing a watch, but she guessed that it was somewhere between eight and nine o'clock at night. It wasn't that late, yet she had not seen a car or another person since they had left her house. She was grateful there was no one around since they looked very suspicious as they carried a lifeless body down the street.

"Where is everyone?" she asked quietly.

"I've made it so no one comes near us."

"I don't understand."

"It's hard to explain," said Dane.

"Try."

Dane sighed and said, "I'm sending out a telepathic message that discourages people from coming here. Anyone thinking about driving down this street will decide to take a different route. Anyone wanting to look through the window or step outside will suddenly realize there is something else they need to do."

Bryn blinked hard at this new revelation. "So you can alter people's thoughts?"

"Yes. It's similar to how we can make people forget things. Like I did with your neighbor tonight."

She was beginning to understand. "And how you made me forget the xenther attack?"

"Yes, but I had Beck make you forget on that night?"

Bryn was surprised. "I don't remember Beck being there."

"He came after I killed the xenther," Dane stated. "I had him take you home and erase your memory."

"Why didn't you do it?" she asked with intent curiosity.

He stopped and turned to face her. "Take you home or erase your memory?"

"Erase my memory."

Dane started moving again. Bryn thought she saw a hint of a blush in his cheeks as he said, "It just didn't seem right for me to do that to you." He seemed relieved when he pointed at something across the street and said, "We're here."

Bryn squinted to see what he was pointing at. _How on earth can this place be Castoria_ , she wondered. It was just a plain, ordinary park. Usually during the day, it was populated with kids playing on the swings or running around the large water fountain. "I don't see it," she said in confusion. "Am I looking in the wrong place?"

Dane shook his head and said, "No, you're looking in the right place."

She was even more confused now. "The park is Castoria?"

"No, but we are close," he said as he headed to the water fountain. "It's in here."

Bryn shifted her eyes to take in the large marble water fountain before her. It certainly seemed normal to her as it burbled and sprayed a stream into the air. Thick sheets of water cascaded over the top level and down into the pool below. It wasn't exactly how she imagined a different world to be. Lights from beneath the water shone brightly in order to illuminate the fifteen foot fountain. "Castoria is in a water fountain?" she blurted out in disbelief.

"There is a portal inside that connects my world to yours."

She pointed with a bit of disdain. "Inside the fountain?"

"Yes. Follow me." Dane stepped over the ledge and into the shallow water. He waited a moment to make sure she was following. She still had her doubts, but cautiously stepped into the fountain, as well. Her shoes were completely immersed as she waded toward Dane.

"This way," he said with a nod of his head at the falling water. She thought she heard him say something else, but she couldn't tell what. The pounding waterfall drowned out his words. Her breath hitched as she watched him carry her father through the wall of water. It was so dark and she could no longer see either of them. Dane's hand sluiced through the glass-like cascade and reached out for her. She hesitantly grabbed his hand and allowed him to lead her. Bryn hunched her shoulders over and was momentarily stunned by the pounding of cool water on top of her.

Dane let go of her hand as soon as she emerged. She touched her hand to her hair, expecting to push back the wet strands, but her hair was fine. She should be soaked to the bone, but she was completely dry except for her shoes from having walked in the pool. She stared at Dane and saw that he was bone dry too.

"Why didn't we get wet?" she asked curiously.

"I used a repelling spell," he explained. "It kept the water off of me and since I was holding your hand, it kept it off of you, as well."

Now that that mystery was solved, Bryn could take in her surroundings. She did not know what she had expected, but the typical inner workings of a water fountain was an utter disappointment. This was not a portal to a secret world. There was nothing here but pipes and water. She wanted to kick herself for being almost gullible enough to believe him about this mysterious world.

"This can't be Castoria," she whispered as she gestured toward the pipes on the wall.

"No," said Dane as he spun in the opposite direction. "But _this_ is."

Bryn faced the falling wall of water she'd just come through and was very confused. The cool liquid rushed over the top ledge of the fountain so much that she felt the soft spray of it on her face. Nothing seemed unusual, though.

Dane slid his fingers against the inner wall and then said with a confident smile, "Keep watching... it will be here soon."

She blinked and blinked really trying to see something. She stared intently at the deluge of water and hoped something would appear. And then, all of a sudden, Bryn thought she saw a hazy image through the water. It was hard to make out at first, but as it began to get clearer, it seemed as though she could make out a small room.

"Ready?" he asked her and then reached for her hand.

Bryn swallowed down any fear or trepidation and nodded.

He took a step into the water and Bryn followed him. Even though the water once again pelted at her, she did not get drenched. She squinted her eyes and followed Dane without hesitation as he led her under the falls. Once she sensed they were through, she opened her eyes and saw that she was, indeed, standing in the small room she had seen before.

Upon further inspection, she realized it wasn't a room in the typical sense. The walls glistened from the spray of the water fountain and were made up of jagged gray stone. Was this a cave? There was a door imbedded in the wall that was made from a dark, solid wood and reminded her of an entry that would be found in a medieval castle.

"Is this Castoria?" she asked, not quite understanding how they got here.

Before he could respond, Bryn drew a surprised breath. The Dane she knew was no longer standing next to her. It was still him, but many of his features had changed. The most obvious difference was his clothing. Gone were his t-shirt and jeans; replaced by clothes that seemed as though he had come straight from a Renaissance Fair.

He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt with a brown vest that buttoned down on the left side of his chest. His pants were well-fitted and tucked into a pair of knee-high boots. Hooked over his shoulder and around his chest was the strap of his bow.

But it was Dane's face that left her breathless. The neatly combed hair over his ears was now in a spiky disarray. His face was still the one she knew with only two exceptions: the dark eyes, which had previously bothered her, were now a startling and vibrant shade of purple and the other drastic change was in the shape of his ears. Instead of the rounded top of a normal ear, Dane's ears were most definitely pointed at the tip.

"Wow..." was all she could get out as her heart hammered away inside her chest.

Bryn could see the uncertainty in his expression and knew he was watching her closely for her reaction.

Finally, he took a hesitant breath and said to her, "Welcome to the Elven land of Castoria."

### CHECK OUT A SNEAK PEEK OF
### BOOK 2 IN THE CASTORIA SERIES:

### CASTORSHADE

### Chapter 1

Castoria

Bryn Thorner wondered if this was another one of her terrifying nightmares. A demonic-looking flying creature had just attacked her father and he was now rendered unconscious from the gooey pink venom that covered his face. Dane Stormwood was with her, as well. He always protected her from the feral danger in her dreams and tonight was no different. Dane had even taken them back to his homeland in order to find a way to save her father.

Something about this situation made Bryn think that perhaps this was not a nightmare, but something altogether more terrifying. Her sanity was now in question. With her father's lifeless body propped over his shoulder, Dane had just led them through a portal hidden inside of a water fountain. Now, they were somehow magically transported to a place she was pretty sure did not exist on earth.

Even in her wildest dreams, she never could have pictured Dane as being from another world. What had Dane called it? The Elven World of Castoria?

Her heart pounded loudly as she gazed upon the sudden change in Dane's appearance. Gone were his unusually dark eyes and neatly combed hair. Instead, Dane had deep purple eyes and spiky brown hair. His ears had changed, too. Bryn doubted she was even seeing them properly, but they seemed to be pointed at the tip. This was most definitely not the Dane she had known last March.

Bryn stumbled over her words as she spoke. "You're an... an..."

"An elf," finished Dane.

"Elves aren't real," Bryn said more to herself than to Dane.

"In my world, elves are very real," Dane said without sounding offended.

"In my world, elves are storybook creatures," stated Bryn.

"As are humans in Castoria," Dane replied as he moved toward the door. "We need to hurry if we're going to help your father."

That statement called her to action and she followed Dane out of the cave-like room from which she had entered via the portal in a cascading water fountain. She found herself in a small passageway which was a continuation of the underground cave. It was quite dark and she could barely see a thing. Bryn reached out to touch Dane's shoulder so she could follow him. As he led her down the hall, they passed several more doors. Bryn wondered what was behind them. Were they more portals to her world? What if they were portals to other worlds that she had never even heard of?

At the end of the passageway, Bryn saw a ladder that led to an upper level and to a level below. She watched as Dane secured her father a little better on his shoulder and then he proceeded to climb down the ladder. When Bryn could no longer see him or her father, she sped along and followed behind Dane down the ladder.

Dane waited patiently for her at the bottom. When Bryn reached the ground, he turned to lead them down another passageway. There was a door at the end of the tunnel that appeared to be made of a dark wood. She ran her hand against the cold, damp wall in order to help steady herself on the uneven floor. She watched Dane walk effortlessly down the tunnel. It amazed her that he could be so balanced on his feet even while holding her father. When Dane reached his hand out to open the door, Bryn noticed that he wore a large silver ring on his finger. He placed the ring in a circular indentation just above the door knob and she heard a clicking sound which signified that it was unlatched.

Dane held onto the handle of the door and turned to Bryn before opening it. He looked at her with his piercing eyes and asked, "Are you ready?"

Bryn nodded and he opened the door.

At first, she was blinded by the intense sunlight, but once her eyes adjusted, she could see there was a lush, green forest outside the cave. She walked through the door and was overwhelmed by the sights and smells of the woods. The trees were taller than any she had ever seen before. Their branches were thick with leaves that ranged from pale to dark green. The trees' close proximity to each other created a dense canopy overhead. There was a greenish tinge to the sunlight in the forest which she thought made everything even more attractive. She couldn't help but take a deep breath in order to inhale the woodsy scent. It kind of reminded her of the lot where her father always bought their Christmas tree, but the smell was ten times better than that.

"It's beautiful," said Bryn as she fell into step next to Dane.

"I know," he said with a wistful smile. He continued walking down a well-marked trail. There was not enough room for Bryn to continue next to Dane, so she moved behind him so he could lead. Bryn found herself looking more and more at Dane and less and less at the striking scenery which surrounded her. His dark brown hair had an almost wild appearance to it. The spiky disarray of his hair seemed so unlike him. But then, she realized she never truly knew him so maybe this was what he was really like. This was the real Dane she was seeing now. Bryn wondered why she was never able to see him this way before. She broke the silence that had fallen between them by asking, "Why do you look different now?"

"We're in my world. There's no need for me to disguise myself anymore."

"So this is what you really look like? Not the way you appear in my world?"

"Yes. I'm sorry if I scared you back in the tunnel," Dane said kindly. "I probably should have prepared you better."

"You didn't scare me," explained Bryn. "I was just surprised, that's all."

They walked for a few more minutes in silence while Bryn studied the other changes in Dane. His ears were fascinating. They were in the shape of a small magnolia leaf: smooth around the edges with a small point at the top. But his ears didn't look silly as if he were dressed up for Halloween. They seemed exotic somehow. "Why was I was unable to see the real you before?" she asked. "Did you change your appearance with some kind of magic?"

She saw him give a little smirk as he said, "I wouldn't call it magic, but you might see it like that. I used a technique called projection. I created an image in my mind of how I wanted to appear and sent it out constantly. Everyone who saw me, saw me as I wanted them to see me."

Bryn felt that it explained how bows and swords seemed to magically appear out of nowhere. "So you always looked like you do now," Bryn clarified. "I just didn't see the old fashioned clothes and different eye color?"

"My clothes aren't old fashioned," said Dane feigning insult.

"I'm sorry," Bryn stammered. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't," said Dane. "I've had worse things said to me before."

Bryn blushed when she realized that _she_ had said horrible things to him that night two months ago. She vividly remembered telling Dane she did not like him after he admitted he had loved her then. Bryn had even gone farther and cruelly told him she did not trust him. Now, she thoroughly regretted saying those things especially since he had saved her life and hopefully her father's, as well. Bryn was completely embarrassed by her unfounded behavior on that night. She bent her head to stare at the ground on the pretense of keeping an eye out for tripping hazards.

Dane stopped and turned around to face Bryn. She forced herself to look up into his bright purple eyes. He seemed sad as he said, "I shouldn't have said that. It was wrong of me and I'm sorry."

"That's all right," Bryn said quietly. She felt like she deserved it anyway after everything that Dane had done for her. Bryn found herself gazing into Dane's eyes. They were a deep shade of purple with small green flecks in the middle. She had never seen anything like it before. Once, she had seen a picture in a magazine showing a girl wearing purple contact lenses and thought it had appeared strange. But Dane's eyes were strikingly beautiful.

Bryn suddenly realized that she must have been staring at him for far too long after Dane turned away and said, "We should keep moving." He continued to walk down the path and she followed him feeling more awkward than ever. She silently chastised herself for wasting time staring into Dane's eyes when her father's condition was so serious.

The trail widened and then ended at a dirt road. Dane turned onto the road and Bryn was finally able to walk beside him again. "It's not much farther now," he said when she moved next to him.

"Can you tell how he is doing?"

"I can still hear him breathing. But that is all that I can say for certain."

"Where are you taking him?"

"To a friend's house," Dane replied. "Her name is Erudess and she is the healer in Castoria."

"Do you think she'll be able to help my father?" asked Bryn.

"I'm not sure," he confessed. "I don't know if she will choose to help him."

"Why wouldn't she help?" Bryn was surprised that a healer would not help a patient in need. Her own goal in life was to become a doctor and she told herself that she would help anyone in need when that time comes.

"I'm sure she will want to help," he said. "Technically, humans are not allowed to be here. When the Vanguard was first given permission to travel to your world, we were expressly forbidden to bring humans back with us. Even if they were injured."

She couldn't give up hope now. She had come so far and her argumentative nature took over. "Let me get this straight," she said. "You come all the way to my world to protect humans, but if we get hurt, you can no longer help us?"

"I know it sounds cruel, but the Queen felt it was enough to just kill the creatures. Usually, we're able to kill them before they can attack the humans. In fact, the humans never even know they're in danger. Once in a while, we don't get enough notice and we are unable to get to the human in time. It's regrettable when that happens, but the Queen will not allow us to bring them back. She feels we already have done far more than is necessary."

Bryn gave a sideways glance toward Dane and asked, "Are you going to get in trouble for helping us?" Bryn was selfish, however, and knew that no matter what his answer was, she would still want him to save her father.

Dane smirked as he said, "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." He stopped and indicated to the right side of the road. "We're here."

Bryn turned her attention toward where he pointed and was once again amazed by the picturesque view. A small stone cottage was nestled in the woods just off the road. Smoke came out of the chimney, making everything seem so warm and inviting. There was a lush garden next to the house filled with colorful flowers and plants. Floating pieces of dandelion petals sparkled in the air as they caught the light of the setting sun.

"It's beautiful," she said in awe. "It's like a fairy tale cottage."

"I've always liked her house, too," said Dane with a smile. "When I was young, Erudess would let me play in her creek over there." Bryn craned her neck a little further past the garden and saw a sharp ledge which must lead down to the creek bed.

"It's absolutely perfect here," Bryn said in almost a whisper.

When they reached the part that could be considered her front yard, Dane turned to her and said, "Let me do all the talking with Erudess, all right?"

Bryn nodded. Then, Dane studied her face with an intensity that made her forget to breathe for the moment. His purple eyes were so beautiful. "There's nothing I can do about your clothes right now, but you should put your hair down at least. Try to cover up those ears," Dane said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Bryn reached her hand behind her head and took off her ponytail ring. Her long brown hair cascaded around her face. Dane hesitantly moved his hand to position the strands over her ears. Bryn felt a tingling sensation as his fingers lightly touched the nape of her neck.

"There's no need to cover them now, Dane. I could see those rounded ears all the way down the lane," said a woman's voice from the doorway of the cottage. Bryn turned and saw a grandmotherly female regarding them. Erudess wore a long, brown dress with an apron on top. She held a broom and had the appearance of being in the middle of house cleaning. Her long white hair was braided and twisted around her head in an intricate knot. But even from where she stood, Bryn could see her pointed ears, as well.

Dane turned to Erudess and approached her slowly. "Erudess, I have a favor to ask. I need you to heal a friend of mine. He was attacked by a nardoc."

They were both silent for a minute as they stared at each other. By the meaningful looks on their faces, Bryn got the feeling they were somehow having a private conversation she was not included in. Finally, Erudess sighed and placed her broom against the side of the house. She beckoned them inside. "When was the attack?"

"About an hour ago," replied Dane as he brought her father into the cottage.

Bryn was relieved Dane's friend was at least going to try and save her father. She followed Dane inside, but stayed near the door, not wishing to get in the way.

Erudess pointed to a small cot in the corner. "Place him very carefully down there. Do not try to take the blanket off. Let me do that."

Dane did as he was told and then walked back toward Bryn and stood next to her.

Erudess moved over to Bryn's father and lifted her hands in front of her face. As she said, "Thaylemin," Bryn saw a hazy white substance appear over her hands. She drew in her breath and looked over at Dane.

He leaned over to quietly say, "She is putting a barrier over her hands so she does not touch the venom."

Bryn nodded and turned back to watch her father. Erudess knelt over him and carefully pulled the blanket off of him. She stopped when she saw the pink substance on his face and asked, "Is this the only place where he was infected?"

"As far as I could tell," stated Dane. "I didn't see the attack though. I only arrived after he was on the ground."

Erudess quickly examined the rest of her father and then went to work. She took a wooden tool and used it to gently peel the pink goo off of his face. She scraped the excess substance into a wooden bowl. When all of the venom was off, she took the bowl over to the hearth and placed it in the fire. Erudess then walked to a large cabinet and took out several glass bottles filled with different colored liquids. Bryn noted the intricately carved leaves that adorned the cabinet doors, but then turned her attention back to Erudess. She poured the contents of each bottle into a new bowl and mixed them together to form a brown paste. Bryn watched with apt interest and could not resist the urge to ask, "What are you making?"

Erudess glanced up from mixing and said, "It will neutralize the remaining venom. I'm going to spread this on his face and it will eventually harden. Then, tomorrow morning, I will peel it off."

"So, is he out of danger?" Bryn asked.

"It's too soon to tell," Erudess stated as she moved back to her father. "He was exposed to the venom for a very long time. However, his breathing is steady and that is a good sign."

Bryn allowed herself to hope even more. She saw that her father's chest was indeed expanding and contracting regularly now. Bryn was fascinated by the whole medical process as she watched Erudess generously spread the brown paste all over his face.

When she was done, Erudess grabbed a nearby cloth in order to wipe her hands clean. She turned to Bryn and said, "He should not be moved for the next twelve hours or so. You may go to him now. Do not touch the paste though." Bryn nearly ran to be by her father's side and she sat in the chair Erudess had just vacated. She listened to his steady breathing and let out a sigh of relief.

Erudess went to Dane and said, "I would like to talk to you outside." He nodded and followed her out the door.

### AUTHOR'S NOTE

I would like to start by thanking you, dear reader. I am truly grateful that you read my book and hope that you enjoyed reading about Bryn and Dane as much as I enjoyed writing their story. My editor, Marley Gibson, gets a huge shout out for all her insight and inspiration. I love Andreea Barbulescu's amazing cover design and want to thank her as well. I would like to thank my sons, Schuyler, Bennett and Graysen for fending for themselves whenever I was in my writing mode. There were many days when they had to put up with cereal for breakfast, lunch, and yes, even dinner. A big thanks goes to my Mom and Dad for their unfailing support. I am especially grateful to my Mom for being an early reader of my book and for always telling me to go write more. Finally, I am forever indebted to my husband, Dan. His help and support in every stage of writing this book was invaluable to me and I am daily thankful that he is in my life.

### TITLES BY ROBIN SILVERGLATE

TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE

A Date in History

YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL FICTION

The Ward of Castoria

Castorshade

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ROBIN SILVERGLATE loves being both a writer and high school teacher. She lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband and three sons. You can connect with her online at:

https://www.facebook.com/RobinSilverglateBooks

http://robinsilverglate.blogspot.com

 http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RobinSilverglate

