When the final bell rang, Dane exited quickly, jumping out from his seat but Zion was swarmed over by overly friendly students who wanted to know more about him, his interest and hobbies and life. Being the perfect host, Zion interacted with them all, eventually writing down his number on the blackboard for everyone to contact him.

Ahsid stood off to the side, amused by his actions.

"You should get going,"said a voice.

Ahsid whirled around. But, no one was speaking to her.

"It's me, in your mind,"laughed the voice.

"Oh, Zion! How are you mind linking and talking to all of them at the same time?"

"It's difficult but Dane said he'd bury me alive if I didn't convince you to get out of this madhouse. Moreover, I'm a genius."

Ahsid chuckled to herself. "What about you, Mr. Debonair?"

"Ahhh...I will stay for some more time. Futo is really missing this."

Ahsid laughed at the thought of the vampire whom she had so boldly slapped. She saw Ethan waiting patiently for Zion to come out of the crowd. When she passed him, he gave a small smile but she didn't return it. Keeping her head low, she shuffled out quickly.

"Do you have any tuitions?"

"No."

Dane tilted his head and asked,"Want to go to the Coetus? We could do something fun."

"Does fun include magic training and sword fighting?"

Dane gave a small frown, thinking she would not agree. But it was music to his ears when she said,"That's my idea of fun."

Grinning broadly, Ahsid grabbed Dane's wrists excitedly,"Come on, open your portal."

"Ummm...about that. We need to walk a little. Mana is really weak around here."

Ahsid raised her eyes.

"Well, the concentration of mana varies from place to place. Around your school, there is hardly any mana, thus magic is difficult to do here, making this place safe from supernatural beings. We need to get away for me to muster enough mana to open one."

"Right. Just let me make a phone call."

Ahsid stepped to a side and talking animatedly on her phone, hung up after a good ten minutes. Dane raised his brows.

"I called my Mom to tell her about me going out to have lunch with Ethan, Macy, Tasha and Kyle."

"And Ethan will cover up for you?"

"More than ever,"said Ahsid confidently.

Shrugging, Dane answered,"Just don't get into trouble."

"Funny you say that when it was your idea to go to the Coetus."

Dane rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched, trying to suppress a smile. Ahsid felt glad. It was the second or third time today that he had smiled.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Sorry, just zoning out."

"I wish I could hear you."

Ahsid looked surprised.

"Did you forget that us Wielders can somewhat read minds but I can't read yours?"

Ahsid remembered, secretly thankful as she was in no mood to let him know her so intimately. Some lines needed to be drawn.

As they walked into a nearby dark alley, Dane stopped.

"This will do, but I will need to enter the portal first to stabilize it for your entry."

Ahsid nodded. Arching his shoulders and swinging his torso, the familiar green energy sputtered out. His brows knitted in concentration, Dane stepped through the portal first. Ahsid followed and the portal had almost closed when a hand reached out, yanking Ahsid by grabbing her schoolbag out of the closing portal.

"Ahsid,"yelled Dane but it was too late.

The portal snapped close and she found herself face to face with a guy with dead purple eyes in a black coat with a purple triangular crystal embedded in his chest. He held a kukri in his hand.

"The blazes...Ahsid! Ahsid,"cried out Dane, stuck inside the space between two portals.

He slammed his hand against the closed portal of energy, creating ripples. His calmness lost, Dane quickly opened the portal to his original destination, the Coetus and burst out. Time was of the essence as he had no idea what was happening with Ahsid. Swiftly, he opened another to get back to Ahsid's original location, desperately hoping that the fiend had not moved her somewhere else.

As he stepped out, his heart skipped a beat to see Ahsid, her face contorted in fear as a kukri was raised to her neck while Jubel, a former Fae stood behind her, his eyes hollow and dead.

"Get back, Wielder,"he sneered.

"Let her go or you will face the full force of my wrath,"threatened Dane.

Fear gripped him as he held his katana in the forward position, ready to strike.

Jubel gave a sadistic grin,"I see you have not lost your pride. Maybe if you request, I could think of freeing this mortal."

"Leave! Now, Jubel. I am in no mood for your jokes. You are far away from your territory."

"Does your dignity mean more to you than her life?"taunted Jubel, flicking his tongue across his lips.

He twisted his hands deeper into Ahsid's hair and wrenched her head back, pressing the kukri closer to her throat. Dane resisted the urge to flinch as Ahsid cried out.

"Dane..."she gasped out pleadingly.

Dane swallowed hard, his eyes darting away.

"Do it,"hissed Jubel, sliding the knife up under Ahsid's chin,"Beg on your knees for her to be spared and make it convincing."

His face taut, Dane flung his katana away and bent to his knees. Jubel's eyes widened at this and his grip loosened for a little on Ahsid.

In a flash, Ahsid headbutted him and whirling around, drew out the blade from underneath her blazer and slashed at Jubel. Stunned, he could not move away fast enough and struggled to back off. Dane ran to attack but Ahsid went berserk. She slashed again and drove the knife through the crystal embedded in Jubel.

Pink liquid sprayed out as she screamed and continued to stab his crystal. She yelled nothing in particular, her body shaking, her breaths loud and in sync with the plunging of the blade.

A strong shoulder steadied her. "Ahsid, it's over. Please stop now."

Suddenly, a huge weight began to crush her. She fell to her knees, sobbing in fear. Dane was suprised to find a single tear trickle down his cheek. The bloody mess of Jubel lay in front of her, his face ashen and the color of life drained away. The blade lay stuck within his body, pink blood splattered on the road and on Ahsid's hands and face.

Muttering, he made the mess disappear into a void, allowing the blood to clear up. He then approached Ahsid.

"I killed him...I killed him! I was so scared..."

She stared at her hands, coated in pink, then looked up at Dane.

"See this Dane? I am a murderer. A murderer with no conscience. I am crying not because of grief, but because of relief. I am a murderer,"said Ahsid.

"You are not. You did it to protect yourself."

"I am dangerous. I killed him!"

Dane grasped her shoulders, shaking her,"Now listen to me. If you cannot bear to be a murderer, you can never be a part of our world. You have to fight and kill. It is a part of our lives just like we need air to breathe. It's time to accept that to survive."

She looked up dumbly at Dane but didn't say a word. The look which she gave him made him guilty....guilty that it was because of him that she was stuck here, guilty because of his inability to perform a simple memory spell and it tore at his heart.

Quietly, he whispered,"Sleep Ahsid."

Before she could crumple to the ground, Dane caught her in his arms and hoisted her on his back. It was easier to deal with a person when he was calm rather than in a hassled state of mind. Giving one last look, he opened a portal to get to the Coetus, Ahsid's soft, yet laboured breaths for company.