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   “We're running out of supplies,” Annetta said, looking around sadly. “I didn't think we'd burn through everything in a week, but then again how could a high school prepare for an unexpected war with the supernatural?”

Riley also looked around at all the people sleeping in the halls. He pretended they were dead, just lying there cold and lifeless. It wasn't difficult to imagine it. He had seen death many times, he knows the way they smell, the way they looked, he would know if one of them was actually dead. But nobody was dead, not yet.

Supplies were short. There wasn't enough food for all of the people in the school, so they had to manage with what they got. The children were first in line before anything, then the elderly, and then the rest.

“I ate two small cups of applesauce today,” Annetta continued, complaining about her hunger. Riley noticed that her hunger was changing her, like she'd kill somebody to get a little bit of food. The worse part was that the other applesauce was his, but since he didn't need food, he'd given all of his to her, and it still wasn't enough. Now imagine everyone else who was starving, would they, too, kill to survive?

“The shield isn't making us prisoners,” Riley told her. “We can leave and return whenever we want.”

“Is that so?” a voice said, coming from one of the halls.

Riley got up to check who was stalking and listening in on their conversations. It was a young man, looked like his age. He reminded Riley of Nicholas, with the same buzz cut, like maybe he was a soldier.

“Yes,” Riley replied.

“How do you know this?” he asked, walking closer to Riley but stopping where he'd cross the line into the forbidden area, as people in the school now called it.

“I just know, he's my brother,” Riley said, staring into the young man's green eyes.

“My name is River and I want to help you,” he said.

“Help me with what?”

“You're thinking about going out for supplies, aren't you? I want to come with. I'm good at fighting and I'm sure you need all the help you can get.”

“I wasn't thinking anything. I was thinking that I need to help my friend here before she gets sick.” Riley waved his hand at Annetta, who was sitting against the wall watching Dexen. “I am not a leader, I am not responsible for anyone. If you are in trouble, then make up a plan and go out yourself.”

“I would if I knew what was going outside of this school. I keep hearing screaming, but it doesn't seem to be coming from people. They aren't screams I've ever heard.”

With their current situation, Riley couldn't afford to be cold. Fights would soon break out and he would be the one people would go to. Not counting Dexen, Riley knew more than anyone in the school. Questions would be asked, people would demand, and humanity would fall because panic will spread faster than wildfires.

Unfortunately for them, Riley still didn't know enough to keep them safe. He didn't know what demons were capable of, he barely even knew anything about hybrid demons, only what they looked like. And who knew what else was out there? If Jocelyn had raised the dead, what else did she bring?

“You might die out there,” Riley told him.

“We have children in this school, children who are beginning to starve, while the adults already suffer. I don't really care if I die as long as I die saving them,” he said.

River was a lot like Dexen, they were both good and put others first. Riley wasn't like that, he only put others first if he cared about them. If they were strangers, he didn't give a damn. But he felt guilty, so he had no choice but to let this man help him.

“Okay, then we need others. Go and get people who you think you can trust, I don't want any brainless people to get us killed. Make sure they know what they're going up against. We need strength and agility, we'll be running a lot, while carrying heavy things.”

River nodded. “I know a few people who can help, I'll gather them and meet you by the entrance?”

“Get some backpacks as well,” Riley told him and sent the man off.

“Am I coming, too?” Annetta asked as he walked back to sit beside her to wait.

“No, I need you to keep watching my brother. I don't trust anyone else in here to do that.”

She looked over at him, her warm brown eyes staring directly into his soul, making him shudder. Her strawberry blonde hair fell over her shoulders as she moved her head lower to look at Riley as he looked away. She poked his chest playfully, and Riley wasn't sure if she was trying to tickle him or not. He didn't laugh.

“What's wrong?” she asked him.

He pursed his lips, chewing on his tongue as he shook his head.

“My life . . . has changed so much in such a short time. So much that sometimes I can't even remember a time before all of this.” He gestured all around him as Dexen's body released another white wave that disappeared through the walls.

“Do you like the change?”

“I don't know. I think it fits me better.” He looked at her again. “It's where I belong.”

“Then why look so down?”

“Because all I think about is what my sister would think of me if she was still alive. Would she . . . would she save me from this evil? Try to protect me from becoming dark? Keep pushing me further into this prison we call society?”

“You talk about her as if you're not all related.” Her eyes went to Dexen and back at him.

“I was adopted. I never even knew I had a brother until recently. But no matter what, she was still my sister and my best friend. And she was murdered by the person that I love, that I still love, and for some reason I'm okay with that. Doesn't that make me heartless?”

“I don't know you enough to know for sure where your heart belongs. I think love is capable of tremendous things. It makes us do bad things, but it also makes us do good things. Love is a very powerful emotion that I don't think we can ever fully understand.” She placed her hand on top of his leg and patted it gently. She then withdrew her hand and got up, stretching.

“Where are you going?” Riley asked.

“If you're leaving me here to watch over your brother, I'm gonna need to use the ladies' room at least once, or I'm gonna explode.” She giggled and jogged away into one of the halls.

Riley thought about what she had said. He already knew that love was a powerful emotion that could drive people crazy, but he just couldn't figure out if he was a monster for feeling the way he did. He loved his sister more than anything, he would sacrifice himself to bring her back if he could. He'd do anything for her. Yet he couldn't do the one simple thing any rational thinking person would do in his situation; he couldn't let go of Hart.

Annetta came back a few minutes later. As she sat back down, Riley got up and said his good byes. He looked back at Dexen as he walked towards the front entrance of the school and looked away sadly. When he reach the doors, he pushed back all of his emotions and glared at the people River had gathered. They were all young and looked strong. Some of them nodded at Riley, as if accepting that he was the one in charge and they were ready to do anything he asked.

“There's twenty of us, is it enough?” River said.

“Yeah, it's perfect,” Riley told him. “We're going to have to split into two groups. One group will gather food and water, the other will get supplies we desperately need. The supermarket is too far from here, so we can't go there. We can't risk the distance; we might not make it back.”

“I'll go with you, if that's okay,” said the girl with the pink hair. “You can call me Pink if it makes it easier.”

“I'll come with you, too,” River said.

They made two groups, both consisting of ten people. They had their own weapons, including a gun. Riley wasn't going to tell them. If they felt safe with them, then why would he ruin that? Pink tried giving Riley a bat, but he just showed her his dagger and she just laughed at it. Maybe he should tell her.

The front of the school was now piling up with people wanting to watch them leave. But Riley knew the real reason they were watching; they wanted to see the monsters that wailed in the night, that cried out and roared loudly. It was a way to finally accept the truth.

Riley opened the double doors and was the first one to exit. The rest stayed behind, staring at him, as if waiting for something to happen, for him to drop and die.

“Are you guys coming?” he asked them.

“Yeah, sorry,” River said, slowly walking outside with watchful eyes. The rest followed right behind him, all looking around like they were expecting someone to jump out and scare them.

“Close the doors,” Riley quickly said as he saw someone running towards them. They didn't appear to be running from something, they were running like they were hungry.

“Hey! I think that person needs help!” River said, about to start running to them but Riley grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

“Give me your gun,” Riley told Pink. She checked that it was loaded and gave it to him. Riley raised the gun and aimed straight at the person frantically running for them.

“Are you going to really shoot a person?” someone behind him said.

“Shut up,” Riley replied, pulling the trigger. Everyone gasped and seized the gun from him, but they froze when the person continued to run even after the perfect head shot. “It's a demon.”

Riley dashed forward at full speed and used his dagger to teleport right in front of the demon, stabbing it in the heart and slamming it down on the ground. Riley covered its mouth as it tried to scream. It died after he pulled out the dagger, and he felt its soul enter him, feeding him more power.

“What,” Riley said quietly. He didn't know he could take a demon's soul. This changed everything.

“Dude, that was . . . intense,” Pink said as the rest of the two groups approached him. “So this shit is for real? Witches and demons?”

“Yeah,” Riley replied.

“Cool, very cool.”

“I don't know how to kill them without my dagger, so we need to be extra careful. Don't trust anyone you see. Doesn't matter if they scream for mercy, you do not trust anyone. Demons can possess you, that's about all I know.”

“What if we need help? If you're the only one that can kill them, then shouldn't we all stick together?” said one girl from the second group.

“Fine, but it will take twice as long to finish,” Riley told her.

The second group didn't care as long as they were with him. He was the only one with the power to kill them, they weren't going to leave his sight no matter what he said. They kept to the shadows, moving slowly and keeping their heads down low. They walked through bushes, used trees to keep hidden, and walked behind buildings.

For the first ten minutes there was nothing happening. No demons, no Jocelyn and her army, just empty streets and quietness. They found a hardware store and went in, taking things they could use and stuffing their backpacks.

“This is stupid,” Pink said as she balanced a shovel on her hand. “What's the point in taking these weapons if they won't work against them?”

He didn't have to tell them, they figured it out all by themselves.

“You got another dagger?” River asked him. They were probably all thinking about it.

“No, I don't.”

“So what's the story?” Pink asked him as she took a flashlight and tried turning it on, but it didn't work even after shoving a bunch of new batteries in it.

“What story?” Riley replied.

“Is it really your fault all of this is happening? I heard the demons are looking for you.”

“No, it's not my fault,” he told her. “This is all happening because of a witch named Jocelyn. The demons weren't part of it, they showed up unexpectedly. And yes, they are looking for me.”

Pink gave up looking for weapons and went to stand next to Riley. She smiled at him, her dimples showing. She was a little bit taller than him, but that could also be because she was wearing boots that were kind of high.

“So there's two different things happening at the same time?” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Why is she doing this?”

“I really wish I knew,” he replied honestly.

“Guys,” a shaky female said, coming somewhere from the back of the tiny store. “There's a fucking zombie staring at us through the gigantic fucking windows.”

Everyone turned their heads and bodies around to look at the rotten man staring at them through the glass. It was definitely part of Jocelyn's army and not some random person or demon. Its flesh had a disgusting look, slimy and full of pus in some places. It was extremely rotten. It wasn't moving, and it made Riley think if Jocelyn could see through this dead man's eyes.

“We need to leave,” Riley said in a hurried, panicky voice. He had no idea what Jocelyn was truly capable of. She had so much power, she could easily find them and end them right there. Well, everyone but him.

“There's a door back here, I think it leads outside,” someone whispered.

Riley and everyone went to the back. He took out his dagger and made a circle around the knob, as it was locked and no keys were visible. They got out and when they looked back, the zombie was gone.

“This isn't good, is it?” River asked as they all marched down the alley.

“I don't know, that's the problem. I don't know,” Riley said.

“We're not too far from the nearest market, should we keep going?” Pink said.

“Yeah, we need to keep going. We just need to stay out of sight.” Not that it would help. Hart had told him that the demons would eventually find them. It didn't matter what they did or where they hid, the demons most likely had some supernatural sense to spot them. Like how dogs could smell out criminals.

The market place was only a few blocks away and they reached it in no time. The fact that it was quiet and empty scared them the most. The doors were wide open, the store was as dark as the outside, only darker because there weren't any stars to light it up.

Everyone quickly split up and spread out, each having their own list. Some had to find food for babies, others just water. Riley and Pink stayed together, the only ones without a list. They had their own backpacks and filled it with as much items as they could.

Pink grabbed a bag of chips from one of the racks and very slowly opened it, scared to make noise. She almost cried as she shoved the nacho cheese chips into her mouth.

“My babies, I missed you,” she whispered softly into the bag.

Riley walked to the other side of the store and found a bunch of things none of them had thought of. They had many cans, but no can openers. Did they think he was going to share his dagger? Or worse, open all the cans for them?

He took a bunch of them and stuffed them inside a separate bag that he took from one of the counters next to the cash registers. Everyone else joined him, taking more bags and filling them to the very top. He couldn't figure out how they were going to take all of those bags by themselves, until they started taking loud carts.

“SHH!” Pink waved her finger around, looking at them like they were stupid. She was right, they were stupid. But honestly, how else would they carry all of those things? If any demons appeared, Riley would just have to defend them. They could probably run faster with the carts if they used them properly.

“Is there anything else we should get?” River asked.

“We can hear you,” a voice suddenly said, a voice that did not belong to their groups, a voice that came from the entrance of the store.

Everyone dropped to the ground and crawled behind cash registers, tables, anything they could find. Riley's heart was racing now, but not because of fear, he was excited. They were demons, he knew just by how they talked, like they were mocking them.

Either one of them crashed through the large glass windows in the front, or they threw something at it, breaking it loudly.

Riley saw a shadow creep next to him and Pink, the only one who stayed with him, tensed and grabbed his arm tightly. Riley took out his dagger and readied himself, staring at the shadow as it stopped.

“Riley,” a voice whispered, a female. “I know you're there. I want to help you and your friends, but you'll have to stay quiet and not attack. I will get rid of them.”

Pink looked at him, her eyebrows coming together as she mouthed, 'what?'.

The shadow quickly disappeared, but Riley never let his guard down. He kept his dagger in his hand, ready to use it on whoever came at them.

Just a minute after the mysterious woman told him to stay put, people began to scream. The scream didn't belong to Riley's two groups. They belonged to whatever had called them earlier from the entrance. There was many of them, the voices all different and some sounded strange, inhuman.

Pink was shaking as the sound of bones crunching and breaking became louder. There was also water splashing on the ground, but Riley knew it wasn't water. It sounded much thicker than water, and he was used to that sound by now; it was blood.

After it seemed like an eternity, the voice came again, whispering softly like an angel.

“Don't move,” he told Pink. She gave a quick nod and covered her eyes with her shaky hands.

Riley got up slowly and saw the person who had saved them. It was a young woman, older than him without a doubt, but so beautiful that she seemed ageless, just like two demons he knew. She was wearing a black hijab, her eyes touched with dramatic dark make up, and she was holding a human heart.

“Hello, Riley,” she said, smiling and dropping the heart.

“Who are you and how do you know me?”

“You're holding the world's most powerful weapon and you're asking me how do I know you?” she replied, her smile going wry. “My name is Kilani, and I am here to help you.”

“I don't trust demons,” he told her.

Still smiling, she said, “I wouldn't trust us either.”

Riley raised his dagger as a guy walked into the store, blood on his hands and an absent look in his eyes. He spotted Kilani and walked over to her, his eyes going up to meet Riley's. There was no emotion in his facial expressions except boredom. He leaned towards Kilani and whispered something in her ear. She nodded back.

“This is Zharan, we've been friends since we first entered earth hundreds of years ago. He is also here to help you,” she said.

Riley couldn't help but feel flustered as Zharan looked up and down at him. He was . . . hot. He had beautiful eyes, also touched with black make up. Only his looked a little smeared and sloppy.

“What do you want to help me with?” he asked them.

“The dagger, it has more power than you probably think. Do you know its original purpose?”

Riley looked around at all the scared faces watching him. He did not want to talk about this in front of them, he didn't want them to know. But the chances of all of them making it out alive were getting thinner, so in the end, he didn't care.

“It was for Hartheon,” he said.

“Ah, yes. Hartheon and Seraphina. Hell's most beloved,” she said sarcastically, laughing by herself.

“Is there some other purpose for it?”

“Let's just say Hartheon and Seraphina weren't supposed to be a package deal. It was supposed to be one, but nature has its way to fight us off and keep us unbalanced.”

“Huh?”

“Only one child was supposed to be created from the blood of Lucifer. The daggers had to be split so they could work, meaning its power was also split.”

Riley's mouth slightly opened as he took in the new information. It now made sense why the other dagger was no where to be found. Hart knew the power and wanted to keep it away from his mother, because deep inside he knew how crazy she was. And Seraphina knew, that was why she kept trying to ruin Jocelyn's return.

“What happens if the other dagger is found?” Riley asked.

“Nothing. But if you find it and you put them together, a lot.”

“I can combine them?”

“Into a bigger, better weapon. Anything you imagine, the dagger will become. A sword? Great! A hammer? Fantastic!”

“Is that all it does? Turn into different weapons?”

“We don't have enough time to go through the many powers the dagger can have if its combined with its sister,” she said. “We are here to help you destroy it.”

Riley put the dagger back in his pocket and looked puzzled.

“I don't want to destroy it. It's the only thing that keeps me safe from the likes of you. It's my dagger now.” Riley knew better than to trust demons, Hart had even said so. Do not trust them. They wanted the dagger and would do anything to get it. What if Kilani was just lying to him to get it?

“If you don't destroy it, it will destroy you.”

“How original,” he quickly said.

“She is telling the truth,” Zharan said, speaking for the first time, and his voice was dark and husky and it made Riley's body shudder. “The dagger is changing you and you don't even know it.”

“How is it changing me?”

“Did you look in a mirror? We know you didn't look like this before,” he said, once again looking up and down at Riley.

“I can already imagine your previous look. I bet you had nice skin, plenty of color, all warm and pretty,” Kilani said. “Oh, and your eyes! They're so pretty, but I'm sure your chocolate brown eyes were to die for.”

“Hart told me I look like this because I was close to death. Because I died and came back when I wasn't supposed to,” Riley said.

“Oh, and you believed him? I thought you didn't trust demons?” She made a fake sad face, pouting her lips.

“Speaking of the devil,” Zharan said, smirking as he looked through the broken windows.

Riley's entire body froze as he saw demon Hart running past them. He looked larger, scarier, wilder. Hart was crashing against buildings, tearing everything apart like a savage animal. His body was in flames, helping the destruction of everything in his path.

“What's happening to him?” Riley asked as he ran towards the windows, not carrying if he let his guard down. Hart hadn't seen them, he kept walking, only stopping to tear the rooftop of a house.

“The same thing that is happening to you,” Kilani said.

“What?”

“It's a curse,” Zharan said quietly.

“Have you noticed his different eye colors?” Kilani asked Riley.

Riley thought for a moment and answered, “Yellow, blue and brown.”

“Blue is his regular color?”

“Yes,” Riley answered.

“What color has it been recently?”

“Yellow . . . a lot of yellow,” Riley said.

“That's unfortunate, we would've liked a human king a lot better,” she said to herself.

“What? What are you guys talking about? What is this curse?” Riley demanded, walking towards them until there was only an arm's length between them.

“Hartheon and Seraphina are complicated. Because of the circumstances of their birth, they received the curse right away. From the moment they took their first breath, it was a battle inside their heads. They have to maintain a balance between good and evil. If they fall off the balance, they permanently become whatever they have fallen upon,” Kilani said. “Their blue color is neutral, it means they're okay. But if you say that Hartheon's eyes have frequently been yellow, then he's struggling.”

“I don't understand.”

“He's permanently turning into a real demon,” Zharan answered sullenly. “He has done so much evil in the recent years that his balance was starting to shift towards darkness. This is the curse of hell. It happens to all humans when they get put in hell. That is how demons are made, that is how we were made.”

“Have you noticed any change in his strength? Anything at all?” Kilani asked him.

“Actually, yes. He wasn't this strong when we first met. He had to use an ability to even overpower other humans.”

Kilani made another sad face, but this time it was genuine.

“Very sad indeed,” she said.

“Wait . . . if I have the curse . . . does that–“ a powerful roar stopped him mid-sentence. The loud roaring of a demon made everything around them tremble. Aisles began to tip over, some landed on the people, creating panic. Everyone ran out in the open, screaming and trying to find shelter from the falling roof. The roar was continuous, it never stopped and it only got louder.

Kilani looked at everyone with big eyes and a cheesy smile.

“TAKE THE CARTS AND RUN!” River yelled.

“Oh! Great idea, everyone run outside where the big scary monster is at!” Kilani added, jumping in excitement.

They didn't listen to her, maybe they hadn't heard her, but Riley did. He tried to stop them but they were fast, especially when scared. They screamed even louder when the roaring stopped and the sound of giant footsteps took its place.

Riley rushed outside just in time to push Pink out of the way as Hart's monstrous hands wrapped around him. Hart's skin was hot, it was burning Riley through his clothes. He tried to free his arms, to fight and hit him, but he was too strong.

Zharan suddenly appeared, jumping on top of Hart's arm and pulling Riley out. Zharan hugged Riley tightly and jumped down, pushing him back as Hart tried to pick one of them up again. Kilani caught Riley in time, but looked horrified as Zharan was grabbed.

Riley wasn't going to stand around and watch, he ran like hell. He found the others and stayed right behind them, watching the streets and looking out for any demons. He felt useless, because even when his eyes were alert, he missed the demon jumping out of nowhere and tearing the person in front of him apart in a matter of seconds.

Riley was covered in blood and many other things he didn't want to think about. It had happened too fast, he couldn't have predicted it, couldn't have stopped it. He took out his dagger from his pocket and stabbed the demon in the heart when it went after him. It was easier to kill them when they were using people as hosts, he didn't think he could properly kill them if he was staring at their true form.

Once he dropped the dagger back into his pocket, he grabbed the cart in front of him and pushed it, running back to the group. No one had noticed, which he was lucky for, he didn't need them to panic more.

As they turned the corner, people screamed.

“Really? Now?” he whispered angrily as he saw Jocelyn and the hundreds of zombies behind her.

“DEMONS!” Pink screamed as she dropped to the ground. Riley looked behind him and she was right, demons were running towards them.

“Crap, crap, crap,” Riley muttered, looking around.

“INTO THE HAIR SALON!” River screamed and they all followed him, entering the salon next to them. It wouldn't keep them safe, there was no way.

“Look! They're ignoring us!” Pink pointed out as the demons kept running even after passing them, even after they had clearly seen them. They instead attacked Jocelyn and her army. The demons were all over the place, hopping from building to building, tearing zombies apart trying to get to Jocelyn.

Jocelyn tried her best to fight back, but there were too many demons and her undead army wasn't strong enough. She did one last move that threw all of the demons off balance and she disappeared. Then he noticed that the sky was turning back to normal. It was still night, but no stars and galaxies. Clouds even returned and it didn't feel strange to look up.

But that relief didn't last long because as soon as the zombies were gone, the demons turned to them.

As the salon was about to be broken into, Pink pushed Riley aside and lifted her hands. A clear shield appeared at the exact moment that the demons threw themselves at the building. The shield stopped them from coming through, saving them.

Everyone but Riley gasped.

Pink was a witch, a white witch. And Riley was stupid for not thinking fast enough. If the sky had cleared, it could only have meant that magic was unblocked. Jocelyn had cowered, she dropped her guard. Magic was back and he didn't think. If Pink hadn't been a witch, they would've died and Riley could have lost the dagger.

“I'm sorry,” she said quietly.

Riley was going to tell her that it was okay, that he understood why she kept it a secret, but it wasn't why she was sorry. She used her magic to knock out Riley into unconsciousness. Everything moved by slowly as he fell down. He blinked until everything was black.

He could still somehow hear the chaos around him. Maybe he hadn't been knocked out for long, maybe he was coming back again and that was why he could hear the screams and the sound of crumbling. He felt his body rise, it reminded him of the feeling you got from the anticipated drop of a roller coaster. Was he . . . floating?

His eyes opened, and he wasn't floating. He was being picked up by Hart as everyone ran out of the salon with Pink in charge. Zharan first appeared as a blurry figure, but Riley noticed him right away. His looks were too unique to miss.

“Wake up,” Zharan told him as he pulled him out of Hart's hold, causing the giant beast to scream in agony, like taking him from his hands was torture.

Riley saw Kilani jump out of nowhere and drive Hart away from them. She was good at distracting. Zharan gently laid Riley down on the ground and jumped through the large hole on the ceiling, disappearing to help Kilani.

It only took him a couple of moments to fully wake up and process everything. He got up, ignoring the pain in his head. He wobbled towards one of the chairs facing the mirrors and sat down, breathing heavily. His eyes settled on the reflection. He had changed so much that he couldn't recognize himself anymore. His hair was a lot longer than necessary, there was blood all over him, and it bothered him. It bothered him so much.

He took a pair of scissors that were in front of him and with shaky hands, began to cut his hair. He cut it all off, he didn't care if some parts looked funny, he just wanted to get rid of the blood. When he was pleased, he stopped and threw the scissors away. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and looked at himself again.

“I hate you,” he told his reflection.

“GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!” Riley heard Zharan yell.

In a zap, Riley teleported outside of the building as Hart fell on top of it, crushing it completely. Hart got back up on all four and turned his head and looked straight at him. Riley suddenly felt the urge to cry and teleported away. He didn't want to think about it.

Riley couldn't face the reality that Hart could potentially become a demon forever if he lost his war with balance. Riley needed to run away, he couldn't think about that right now.

He was glad he teleported away, because as soon as he appeared again, he forgot about everything relating to Hart.

There was blood everywhere and the screams would not stop. The school was open and the shield was down.

His blood pumped as he ran inside, pushing past people who were trying to escape the building. He reached the area where he had left Annetta and Dexen and they were both missing. He saw a white light and quickly ducked as something shot towards him. He looked to his right and saw five people staring at him.

They were old, which only meant one thing; witches.

Riley got back on his feet and ran as the witches shot him with their magic. He summoned his black shield but it was too weak and they broke through it. He shouted the spell to bring back the shield, hoping it would be stronger this time, but it wasn't.

He kept running back until he tumbled. He wasn't thinking, why couldn't he think? Something was wrong with him. His brain wasn't working right, it was leaving him clueless.

As the witches created their last spell that would kill Riley, another white light pushed them towards the wall. It was so strong that when the witches touched the wall, they were instantly crushed to death.

Dexen appeared and he looked weak and sick. He was pale and he was drooling blood. Riley crawled towards him as he collapsed.

“DEXEN!” Riley screamed as his brother closed his eyes. Riley shook him until he opened them again.

“Hey,” Dexen said, smiling.

“Dexen, what's wrong with you?!” Riley asked.

“Infuri lux,” Dexen whispered. His soul appeared and it was black, just like Riley's.

“What? No! Why is it black?!” Riley screamed.

“Because I saved you,” Dexen replied weakly.

“It's okay, it doesn't mean you're evil. You're not evil,” Riley told him.

“Exhaste inmi mind,” Dexen quietly muttered. His tattoo's began to glow and move. They were moving in one direction, towards Riley. The tattoos traveled through where his arm was touching Dexen, they were leaving his body and jumping onto his.

“Dexen? DEXEN? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Riley shouted at his brother, tears beginning to fall from his eyes.

“I'm giving you my knowledge, my power,” he said.

“W-why? Why are you giving it to me?” But Riley knew, he just . . . he didn't want to hear it.

“Take care, brother. I'm sorry about everything, I hope we see each other again one day.” The life drained from his eyes as the last tattoo jumped over to Riley.

And just like that Dexen was dead.

“No, please. Dexen, please don't,” Riley said, rocking back and forth as he held him. His heart was hurting and his thoughts were all over the place. He still couldn't think, but he could act.

Riley screamed and got up, forcing himself to walk away. His dark aura, his soul, appeared all around him bigger than before. For some reason, he knew what his tattoos meant. He knew every spell that Dexen knew. All of his knowledge was passed on and now Riley knew everything about magic.

He saw people coming at him with glowing hands and he pulled them closer to him with his new magic. He stared at them once and then bent their bodies, crushing them in mid air. He ripped them in half when he separated his hands and continued to walk.

The tears were still falling, the memory of his sister and his brother were taking over his mind. He was hurting and it was more painful than physical pain.

Every person that walked close to him was killed instantly, he killed them all. Old or young, witch or human, they were all either split in half or slowly dismembered. Enraged, he gathered all of the blood in the halls and commanded it into a stranger's mouth. It filled him up until he exploded, creating more blood.

He was losing everyone. Soon he'd have no one but himself. Fiona was gone, Dexen was gone, his parents were gone, and Hart would soon be gone. There was nothing for him anymore, nothing to inspire him to be better. He was going to let it all go.

As he took the last step outside, he let out one last scream that began to destroy the school from the inside. He stopped screaming and listened to the sound of people dying, and just when he thought it was over, someone ran out of the building and pushed him away as the building crumbled to pieces.

“RILEY!” Annetta said, hugging him. “It's okay, it's gonna be okay, Riley.”

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[Author's Message]: Um, wow okay. So that was intense and I kind of cried when he died. You guys are lucky, I held back on his death. It was originally gonna be a lot more painful to read, SO YOU'RE LUCKY. But my feels hurt. I cannot even. What the heck just happened honestly. Wow. So much to write, so much to take in. Anyway, I wrote this chapter and I did NOT re-read it, and I know there are mistakes, so PLEASE point them out if you see them. It helps me a lot when you guys spot grammar mistakes. Thank you a lot and I hope you enjoyed this chapter :( I'm so frigging sad, I hate killing my characters. Sigh. RIP Dexen. He was too good :\

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