Venice's POV:

Three weeks passed by in a blur. Every waking hour was spent in training. The remaining time was spent in planning battle strategies for what we would have to face. Apart from Rain and me, our strategy team was made up of Sky, Pai, Rick, Zander, Pat, Pran, Saifah, Chai, the Guardians, the Archangels, Win Phawin Wanichskarnjonkul and his mate Team Teerayu Siriyothin from the Northern Council, Dean Ratthanon Chatpokhin and his mate Pharm Trivinij from the Southern Council, and Muenfah Pradiphat Phisut and his mate Rak Teerak Nirun from our Council, but from another part of the world. Pai and Zander usually represented any discussions for the European Council, since they had been there until recently.

"Looks like we will have our first battle very soon. There have been several sightings of Jack in Ireland. According to the images that have been distributed, he has been seen in the West of Clare," Pai started. "The Cliffs of Moher?" Rain and Lady Avani asked together. "Yes, how do you know?" Pai asked, surprised. "I dreamt of it. I have been dreaming of it since the past couple of weeks," Rain said, forlornly. "Does that mean that that is our first battlefield?" I asked. "Looks like it," Lady Avani said. In the past three weeks, since we had opened our minds to each other, I never closed that conduit, but I never deliberately reached out to Rain as well. He was always the first one to initiate contact, if and when he wanted to say something. My mind was an open book to him, but I knew there were many things that he was not yet sure if he could share with me. And I honestly didn't want to give him another reason to mistrust me.

But when I saw Rain's face, I could not help but reach out. "Rain," I softly called out him name in my head. He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, looked straight into mine. "I am okay," his voice filtered through. I immediately withdrew, not wanting him to feel like I was putting him under pressure or intruding on his thoughts. I nodded, and looked around. "So what next?" I asked. "Do you have the maps of Ireland Your Majesty?" Rak asked me. He had proved to be an excellent asset when it came to mapping out battle strategies. His mind worked in devious ways, and even Rain was very impressed.

I took out all the maps we had and spread them out. "So we have the cliffs here. On one side we have a sheer drop, or at least almost sheer," Rak began. "Even then, can we let it just stay unattended?" Pai asked. Let him finish," Sky said, hitting him on the arm. Pai nodded sheepishly. "So, as I was saying, we have almost sheer cliffs on one side. However, we will not leave them without forces. We are the ones who have to fight, so we have to figure out a way to get protect our backs at all times," Rak said. "We can help with that," Lord Raejin said. "Okay, so what's next?" Rain asked. "Umm.. are we not going to ask how you all are going to manage that?" Rick asked. "You don't need to know," Rain said, glaring at him. He smiled, waving his hands. "Okay, okay, continue," he said.

"To start with, we need to adjust the battlefield. The cliffs are spread across a large area. We need to make sure that the battle stays contained within a smaller radius. Even more important is to ensure that no one is there at the cliffs that day. We do not want to have any civilian casualties. Another thing, the faster and the harder we strike, the better it is. We need to have the element of surprise on our side," Rak said. "And how do we do that?" Zander asked. "By leaving immediately for Ireland," Rain said. Rak nodded at that. "Yes. For all intents and purposes, the Devil is not aware that we know who the sin is or where the battle will take place," he said. "To our added advantage, he also doesn't know the extent the Queen's powers and his ability to see the future to a certain limit," Muenfah said, continuing where Rak had left off.

"If we forge ahead, and strike when they least expect it, we can harm them more than they can harm us. We need to go to Ireland and figure out exactly what we need to do," Win said. "Then let's go as soon as possible. The sooner we have our strategies in place, the better it is. We may not get a chance to do so if we delay our plans any longer," Team added. "I agree. We can't jump into this without any preparation. I refuse to get blindsided by Jack!" Sky said, with feeling. Even though we all laughed at that, there was a feeling of tension that none of us could deny.

Win's POV:

Coming to Thailand had been a decision that Team and I had not made easily. When our Council had requested someone to travel with our warriors, Team had asked me to volunteer. Knowing him, I was sure it was not something he had said on the spur of the moment, so I readily accepted. I had met Team when we were both 15, when I transferred to a new school. Immediately the mate mark had formed, and we had become inseparable. In the 10 years that I had known him, I had discovered that Team had an infallible gut. He had seer blood and super solid instincts. He was a dream walker and had always had prophetic dreams. He could not enter the dreams of others, but journeyed into his own.

When we got back home from the council meeting, I asked him why he had insisted upon this journey. "Win, do you remember a couple of days after we had become mates, I called you up crying buckets, about a young boy whose pain I had felt as if it was my own?" he asked. "Of course babe, how can I ever forget? I was so scared that day. That's when we had convinced our parents that we needed to stay together," I replied. "It was him. The Queen, Varain. I saw him again. He said it was time. I don't know what he meant. But if he is summoning us, then we have to be there with him," Team said, with conviction.

"Okay. Then let's start getting ready. We will leave as soon as possible," I said. Now as I sat across Rain, the young Queen we had all come to love and respect immensely, I knew why Team had been convinced why our place had been here. Rain was no ordinary person. Even as Queen, the bearer of the Prophecy, one so young, he was supposed to be above all else, someone who we had to imperatively and by law, respect. But he never expected that. He treated everyone with courtesy and sincerity. He gave importance to our opinions and always treated us with extreme dignity. He was excessively casual about his position. He never raised his voice, and showed absolute patience in everything. In the 6 months I had known them, I had seen varied behaviour from everyone but never Rain. And King Venice? Oh my God! I had never seen a man so whipped! I had thought mates were always lovey-dovey and stuff. Team and I, sterling case in point! But with Phayu (as he was called by those close to him) and Rain, it was completely different.

We had all heard stories about what had happened between the two of them. The whole supernatural world had been completely shaken by the events that had come to pass. And how Rain had been gone for 3 years from this world. But there was no inkling of it at all in the way they were with each other. It was so obvious how completely in love with each other they were, so quietly devoted. Usually, Phayu was reserved, an aura of seriousness and sternness around him. But when Rain was around, he was almost literally a puddle of goo. He would go from hard to soft in seconds the moment he would see him, his smile would light up the room, his love a palpable force. But what sealed the deal for most of us was the easy friendship and camaraderie they shared, not only with each other, but with all of us. They never touched in public, sometimes even went hours without seeing each other. But somehow, it was as if they were constantly in contact. Something about the quiet communication was so beautiful, that it was almost intimate to watch.

"How are we going to move an entire army into Ireland, without getting noticed by the world?" Rick's voice pulled me out of my musings. "Well, I am there," Zander spoke up. "But we will need more teleporters." "I agree," Rain said. "The Guardians can help. And I think so can Dean," he continued, looking towards Dean and Pharm. He nodded immediately. "I can also help," Rain said. "Okay. Then let's inform all the warriors to be ready early tomorrow morning. We will need to be fresh. We can train a bit there. We just need to find the right spot," Zander said. "Which will be the best spot you think will be?" Phayu asked. "Why don't we go tonight itself? They will not be expecting that," Charn said. "Rak can take care of figuring out where we land. I will help him. You guys can go ahead and inform the troops to get ready. Let's get this done as soon as possible!"

Muenfah's POV:

Everyone left the room except for the Queen's Guardians and the King and Queen themselves. Somehow I knew that they would definitely take a personal hand in the picking out of the perfect place for us to set up base. It was not that they didn't trust Tinn or me, it was just how hands-on they were. "I think Hag's Head will be the best place to put down our troops and arms. Right! Arms and ammunition! That has go with us. And we need to take more than we need as well. Trunks as well, with all the extras," Rak said. "Hmm.. Why Hag's Head and not O'Brien's Tower?" Rain asked, as always respectful of the opinion of others. That's what we all liked about Rain and Phayu. They were always very mindful, no matter what the situation. A lot of times, Rak and I had faced issues for being together. As mates, who you are with is not really in your control. But some of the elders in our Council had not been happy when Rak had become my mate, mainly because I was from a more affluent background than him. Moreover, they didn't give him much importance because they felt that he was too young to hold a position of the kind he had because he was my mate. They had hoped that one of their kids would end up with me, and had tried to separate us, but Rak and I had held strong.

However, with Rain and Phayu, and the rest of the people here, we had found our first real acceptance. No one had asked us a single question, and if there had been questions, it had been only about our roles and about our warriors. We had received nothing but love and respect here. In fact, we were both contemplating whether to continue staying here after everything was over. This was where the seat of royalty was. But that was not what our motive was. We just wanted to be in a place where we could be happy, and that was here. Rak loved it here and he was in his element as an advisor to the Kingdom. And to be honest, I felt very happy here myself.

"O'Brien's is too central a location Your Majesty," Rak said. "Jeez Rak, stop calling me that already!" Rain and Rak both laughed. "Okay, so Hag's Head it is, then!
P'Phayu? We need arms and ammunition. Raejin, Alizeh? Could you help him?" he continued. "The rest of us will make the necessary arrangements for the teleportation. What do you say?" Everyone nodded and Phayu, Lord Raejin and Lord Alizeh left the room to make sure that everything we needed was ready and set for our journey.

Sky's POV:

The amount of arms and ammunition that we had carried with us could bring down a small country if we wanted it to. But Rain had insisted that we do that. He wanted to be prepared for any eventuality and we all agreed with him. We had no idea what we were going to face. I looked around. All of us seemed to have landed safely. I was about to call out when I sensed a movement behind me. Before I could even turn around, I felt a shield being thrown up as an arrow whizzed past me. I whirled around, sword at the ready and saw everyone taking out their weapons. Only Rain stood, right in centre, no weapons in sight.

We all saw Jack walking towards us, with a large army behind him. His smirk was clearly visible to all of us. We all looked at him, but he had eyes only for Rain. "Your Majesty," he bowed, clearly sarcastic. "Look at you, all grown up. Trying to take Pensri's place?" Rain started laughing. "This was never her place. It never will be," he said. "Better not say anything anymore. Since you are here to fight, let's get to that!" "You will never win 'Your Majesty'!" Jack said. "We have everything going for us. There is an army behind us! And you have nothing going for you. Just these many soldiers? We can defeat you blind!" he raged.

We all made a motion to move forward, but Rain stopped us with one gesture. "Darling," he drawled, "have you never heard of the saying, 'Pride comes before a fall'? Looks like you have perfected your sin." "YOU!!" Jack screamed as he rushed forward. Rain raised his hands into the air and pulled out his sword and his battle axe. Jack stopped for a moment, stunned. As Rain pulled his sword towards himself, he pulled with it a bolt of lightning from a clear sky. Everyone stood dumbfounded for a second, not expecting this level of power from him. But only for a moment. Jack moved forward again, soldiers from both sides moved at the same time and the whole area rang with sounds of clanging and gunshots. I could see Phayu try to reach Rain, who was fighting 5 demon minions at the same time.

I saw Raejin move forward and whisper something to Phayu, who bowed his head slightly and continued to fight. We were still fighting, unable to get to Rain, but he clearly did not need our help. He fought like he was in a dance class, graceful, poised, yet completely lethal. Finally he reached his target, as he and Jack stood face to face. Rain's inner circle formed an outer circle around him as we continued to fight the minions, so that they would not be able to touch Rain. All our backs were to him, but he remained in our peripheral vision. "I am going to be the one to kill you," Jack roared. Both their swords clashed. As we all fought our own battles, I kept Rain in my vision. As his guardian, I had to. I was not worried about him. I knew he could handle whatever came his way but I had to my duty and look out for him.

I motioned to P'Pai to take my place. I wanted to be near Rain. He immediately moved to where I had been standing just as I shifted towards Rain. I just wanted to make sure he was safe. I stood beside him, sword on the ready, giving him enough room to manoeuvre around. I kept a lookout all around as I watched Rain hit Jack's sword with his battle axe, breaking it into two. Jack bent to the ground and picked up a sword that was lying there. He continued his attack, but Rain stopped every parry. I could see Jack becoming angrier and angrier, making him lose focus, and starting to make mistakes. I could also see him getting tired, whereas Rain stood as fresh as a daisy. Jack was bleeding from various cuts and nicks, but Rain didn't even have a scratch on him.

"Tired yet Jack?" Rain taunted him. "No," he screamed. "Never!" "Okay, then let's go on!" Rain stepped back. "Sky," he said. I immediately understood what he was asking. I stepped up and as Jack brought up his sword, I brought mine up as well, giving Rain the time he needed. All of a sudden, I felt a chill run up my spine. I shuddered, saw Jack doing the same and felt more than saw that others did the same. I knew it was Rain, and also knew I had to keep Jack distracted so that he wouldn't know what was happening. But I wanted to see, so I moved in such a way that Jack's back was towards Rain, and I could see him clearly. As he raised his hands gracefully into the air, it was like the whole battlefield was stunned into silence.

From Rain emanated such power, that it was a sight to behold. Everyone watched in fascination as blades of grass rose and flew into the air, twining themselves into a very thin rope and slipped into Rain's hands. Jack used my distraction to rush towards me, but suddenly Rain stood in front of me. Jack was completely exhausted, and to be honest so was I. "Jack? Do you surrender?" Rain asked. "No! Never! I am never going to do that!" "Then I hope you find peace soon," Rain said. As he said that, he threw the rope towards Jack. He could not evade it and it fell around his neck. Before he could pull it off, Rain twisted his own hands, and to our shock, the rope twisted itself around Jack's neck and in front of our very eyes, it went tighter and tighter as Rain kept turning his hands. The rope had literally turned into a garrotte and Jack's jerky movements and bugged out eyes were a clear indication that the life was slowly being choked out of him.

I looked at Rain, and what I saw on his face left me flabbergasted. I looked around at the rest of us. Even the demon army was completely still as they watched the horror unfold. Everyone single person was staring at Rain, with their mouth open. There was an aura around him that I don't think I had ever seen him with. His hair flew around him in thick ropes, a light emanating from his body. His eyes were burning, a deep orange flame in them. He was literally floating a few inches above the ground. I was seriously scared. I had never seen him like that. Somehow, only Phayu showed no reaction at all. It was as if it was something he had seen and was comfortable with.

We all turned back to look at Jack. He was still choking as the garrotte turned tighter. We could see his nails digging into his throat, trying to dislodge it from his neck. But Rain was absolutely relentless. The rope twisted and twisted, until Jack's head lay separated from his body. All of a sudden, there was complete silence. It seemed exactly like the storm had quieted. The very air stilled. Rain slumped towards the ground, but even before his feet could touch the ground, Phayu was there, sweeping him off into his arms in a bridal style carry. It was almost as if he knew exactly what was going to happen before it even did. "Let's go," he motioned. "He needs to rest." It was clearly an order from the King. Gabriel and Michael swept their hands and the battlefield cleared, almost as if nothing had happened there, and we found ourselves back at the Royal Mansion.