The air was still and noiseless. Nothing moved, nothing dared to make a peep and it was this that woke me up. Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Opening my eyes, I noticed it was barely morning, the air was cool but not to the point of being uncomfortable though. You would think since it was early morning there would be birds singing in the trees and animal life just starting to go about their day but I sensed nothing of the sort. It was then that I was suddenly met with blurry figures surrounding my vision. But before I could even make a sound, my mouth and nose were covered by a cloth. A sudden lethargy came over me. My eyes were heavy as I tried to struggle against my assailants but to no avail I was soon forcibly dragged down into a cloudy, confusing dream-like state.

******

Muffled voices hummed around me as I slowly pulled away from the darkness and groggy feeling in my head.

"Shh, he's waking up"

Frowning I finally opened my eyes and I noticed I was no longer under my tree I had slept under last night. I shot up only to find my hands and feet had been tied together by a thick piece of rope. Panicked now I noted that I was laying on something hard and cold, with a glance I could make out a grey stone, an altar?

My eyes snapping from place to place, trying to take in my surroundings and who held me captive but all I could see were five strangers covered from head to toe in large dark, red velvet cloaks. Their hoods were all positioned so low it was impossible to make out any faces. All I could make out was a shadowed mouth.

Taking a deep breath I calmed my fear and stilled my racing heart so they wouldn't know that they had gotten to me. I learned from experience if you show that your situation didn't bother you it tended to make other lose interest in hurting you. I don't think, after the lengths these people went through to get me here, it would work the same but it was worth a shot.

"Who are you?" I finally asked the group rather deadpan. If I didn't know any better this looked like some kind of coven or cult with all the hooded figures.

It looked to be maybe midday maybe later but under the cover of all these trees it was well shaded with only sporadic dots of sun seeping through the leaves here and there. Once again I couldn't hear a single sound of nature making the forest deathly quiet. Never a good thing.

"August Dana'Taya" this caused me to narrow my eyes. The use of my last name changed everything. I legally had changed my name the moment I left my grandparents house and began living with my grand Uncle, whose last name was Bale. Everyone knew me as August Bale, for someone to use my birth surname meant big trouble. Gritting my teeth,

"Don't tell me, my grandfather hired you?" this time my voice was hard with rage, a rage that was impossible to hide after all these years. For him to stoop to this after everything I had suffered seem to be the last straw for me.

"No, wait or was it, my grandmother?"

"You will not talk with such disdain when speaking of the Head family." The man who had spoken my name growled.

"You are in no position to be such an insolent brat." This time it was a woman she had stepped up behind the first guy.

True.

"Then can you tell me why I'm in such a position then? I think you kind of owe me that." I asked flatly.

"We owe you nothing you accursed child!" the woman screeched. I had to chuckle humorlessly at this.

"Grandmother is that you?!" I gasped sarcastically. With a dramatic yank to her hood the woman's salt and peppered hair flowed around her and her face came into view. Lo and behold it was indeed my grandmother Danielle. She was a beautiful woman even in her 50's she was striking but it was all a waste since she was such a horrid person who had lost their humanity somewhere along the way.

"My daughtered died because of you! Giving birth to you, condemned her to hell. You're the spawn of Satan himself" The mention of the mother I had never had the chance to meet was a low blow. She marched up to the alter I was helplessly trapped on. I watched her unfazed as her hand came up high and swung down forcefully to connect with my cheek so hard my neck snapped to the side painfully. My faced throbbed but all I did was blow the white strand of hair out of my eyes and look back up at her dully.

"Spawn of Satan? Well, that took a dramatic turn." I said before spitting out the metallic taste that was quickly filling my mouth on the forest floor.

"Those damn soulless eyes!"

"Madam, what would like us to do with him? It is his awakening today is it not?" this caught her full attention as she straightened up and turned towards the new voice.

"Right,"

Awakening? Then it dawned on me, today was my birthday.

Every female heir of the main family had an awakening on their 22nd birthday.

"Wait, you kidnapped me because you think I'm going to come into my powers today?"

This made her glare over at me.

"And if I did, what did you plan to do about it grandmother? Kill me?" I tilted my head in curiously staring her straight in the eyes. Was she that scared of me that she would result to murdering her own grandchild?

"Shut up"

Heat was churning slowly in my stomach at all this.

"You're not wanted August, you were a mistake and I have to correct that. My Issac was too soft-hearted to summon the strength to get rid of you properly. Instead he discarded you to his damn brother and out of my sight. Out of sight out of mind he assumed but ever since you were born I've thought nothing save revenge for our Rose, so it falls onto me to rid the world of our family's greatest sin.

"The Gods have punished us since your mothers disgusting affair with that repulsive father of yours. If he hadn't already gotten his just desserts I would kill him too. You're a stain on this family's divine history and you corrupt the very name we priestesses have held for centuries. I refuse to have you become the next heir. I don't know if it's possible for you to take over or not since you are a male but I'm not going to take the chance." Holding her hand out without taking her eyes off me, a ceremonial knife was placed him her palm.

This caused my heart to skip a beat. My gaze trained on the surprisingly beautiful knife in my soon to be murders hands. It had a silver handle with small intricate carvings, of what I didn't know since it was too far away for me to tell. The most striking part was the blade itself, instead of steel it was a polished but cloudy crystal, sharpened to a finely pointed blade.

"You know how the awakening works I'm sure" Danielle continued catching my attention away from the weapon.

"Yes, I do" I said through clenched teeth.

"And the most important part is summoning your familiar. Which seeing how its," she glanced down at her wrist where her watch was strapped. "Almost past five, once darkness sets in you can't summon anything of the light. Which we all know puts you on the holy path to receive your powers. Summoning anything after dark only calls beings of ill intent. Dark priestesses are killed on the spot for their fall from grace and I'm sure the same would happen to you if you even contemplated the thought of something so blasphemous."

"I don't want anything to do with being heir to the family. I had no intention of summoning anything today. It was the furthest thing from my mind, actually. Why would you even think for a second that I would want to take over my mother's place after I've known nothing but misery being born in the main house? You must think I'm a real masochist." I frowned at her as she snickered, her face twisted and dark.

"Just covering all my bases." She stepped closer.

A heavy breeze rushed past the trees filling the air with the loud crackling sound of rustling leaves. I closed my eyes as my hair was whipped around my face angrily

"It seems the very winds are trying to warn us about you August." Grandmother said her face cautious. She was wrong, they weren't a warning about me. They were angry with her. I didn't know how I knew that but as the winds blew harder and harder I saw her stagger back suddenly as if it pushed her away from me.

It was this moment I took advantage of the situation. Throwing myself from the altar and landed on her. We both fell to the ground and I was awarded with her grunt as she hit the forest floor. Quickly, I swiped the knife from her slack grip. Everyone was too stunned to move and I used this momentary daze everyone was in to cut the rope at my feet with the dangerously sharp blade. It only took one stroke to slice through my bonds. Sadly I knew there was no time for me to do the same to my wrists as my eyes snapped over at the first cloaked figure to move into action towards me. Dropping the knife I scrambled up to feet and took off into the trees.

"Get him!" I heard my grandmothers cry as I ran as fast as I could. As I ran I tried to see if I could spot anything familiar but I don't know this part of the forest. They must have dragged me out in the middle of nowhere, far away from any type of civilization. Which made a successful escape much more difficult. I was use to the wilds, I could survive in the forest for days, weeks even, but with four henchmen and my murderous fanatic of a grandmother on my ass I didn't think I had much of a chance.

Clenching my jaw in frustration as I heard their footsteps behind me crunching in the dead leaves noisily. Quickly I took a random turn jumping over some bushes ready to keep going but my feet didn't meet solid ground, they met air.

'Shit!' I cursed silently as I fell. My feet finally touched the ground but only to crumble under me and I began rolling down a steep hill. Sting after painful sting covered my body till I rolled to a stop. I just lay they facing up towards the darkening sky now gasping for air as my heart tried its hardest to escape my chest. There was something wet dripping down my forehead and trailing down towards my ear.

"I can't stay here, I have to keep moving" I croaked. With a grunt I rolled awkwardly to my side and then to my knees and elbows. Suddenly I saw red drops falling in front of me, landing on my arm and the ground between my bound hands.

"Great" I sighed gathering my strength to lift myself to my feet. But this time I was slower as I lipped to safety. My right knee seemed to be shot as I glanced down to see my pants had been torn from the fall, and it was a bloody mess. Being exposed to the elements like this and crawling around the forest was just a breeding ground for bacteria and an infection to set in.

Setting my lips in determination I pushed harder to get to a place I could hideout till the coast was clear. In the mean time I needed to get my hands free and wrap up my wounds. As I limped as fast as I could I hear a roar above me and closed my eyes in despair.

Could this day get any worse?

Soon the sky released a down pour of rain above me, soaking through my clothes and chilling me to the bone.

Well I guess that answered my question.

The ground soon turned in to a muddy marsh as I trudged through it. The trees were a life saver as I leaned on them along the way to keep myself upright. A chill was starting to set in, and slowing my movements giving my pursuers all the time in the world to eventually find me now. Is there a cave I can crawl in around here I wonder?

With my next step my foot landed on a while of wet leaves making me slip and fall into the mud.

"Awesome!" I growled spitting out the gritty dirt from my mouth pulling myself up to my hands and knees.

It was then I heard a splash from behind me and I shot up to my feet in seconds. They found me! Turning around, expecting to see my evil grandmother but instead it was a buck. I stood in utter confusion. He was huge as he pawed at the ground again. No way.

"You want to help me?" I asked softly in awe. He bucked his huge antlered head as he approached closer till he was standing beside me. Lowering himself to the ground he looked over at me expectantly.

"I'll get you dirty" I joked but all I got was a flat look in return.

"Point made"

Slowly I swung my leg over his body and laid my upper half against his shoulder blades and neck. Wrapping my arms around his thick neck I held on tight. Getting to his hooves he ran off with me. The scenery was a complete blur as he ran. The rain hit hard against my body and the wind was freezing but I held on. This has got to be the most interesting and weirdest thing I've ever done.

Animals have always seemed to flock to me since I was a child. When I would roam the forest by myself at my grandparents' house I would notice that small animals would trot behind me as I walked. Some of the bigger animals were a lot timider but over time they would come over to me and lay at a healthy distance if ever I was sleeping outside or just sitting there. At first, this would scare me. Its not every day you see a bear, wolf and a mountain lion just sitting next to you all at the same time after waking up from a nap.

I never told anyone about it though. I wasn't very well liked already and if I told my family that animals attached themselves to me I thought they would think that they were right all along and I was a bad person. It wasn't till after I left that house and started living with my grand Uncle that he told me it was a good sign to see so many different animals all assembling together like that because of me.

"It's a sigh that you harbor a pure beautiful soul, August." He used to say and those words had put me to ease back then. I wasn't so self-conscious of it anymore. Even Chad had accepted it and would laugh if he found one of my furry friends wandering his halls sometimes. That was one of the reasons I would sleep outside a lot so I didn't bother him with my weird ability.

And now here I was being rescued by a buck in the rain, saving me from my crazy relatives.

Then it dawned on me. Why was I fighting so hard to survive? Wouldn't it be better if they did just kill me now? I mean, who would care anyway? I'll just be forgotten soon enough and everyone can go on with their lives a lot easier without me around. My family won't have to stress about if I would ruin their lives anymore.

Glancing up through the rain I saw that the light was fading in the sky. They won't be able to find me once darkness falls so all I had to do was hold out for maybe another hour. Then I can take care of my wounds. But just as I started to relax at the steady pace the stag was running when I heard shots behind me. Gasping I ducked lower on the animals body and glanced back with wide eyes.

"They have guns now!?" I exclaimed. I shut my eyes tightly as I realized that if I stayed on the stag any longer he was going to be hurt. With erratic breath I waited a moment before letting go. Soon I was tumbling painfully in the mud hitting roots and rock along the way. By the time I stopped I could do nothing but lay there.

The pain was excruciating and I knew there was no way I was going to get up. The squishing sound of feet on the ground approached me and all I could do was close my eyes.

"Seems like you're at the end of the line" a click echoed in my head as the hammer of a gun was cocked back.

"Looks like it" I strained through the pain vibrating throughout my whole body. Scrounging up all the strength I had, I finally got my knees and hands underneath me.

"You're more trouble than your worth August" Danielle's' voice came from behind.

"Do it" she commanded.

I guess this was it, grandmother gets her wish.

The crack of the gun echoed deafeningly throughout the trees, birds scattered from the treetops and all I could do was close my eyes and wait for the impact.

"What the hell!?" there was an exclamation.

Wait what? Was I hit already? Opening my eyes I waited for the burning of the bullet but it never came. Quickly I glanced up and was shocked to find none other than Ulis, his long red hair was plastered to his head, water dripping down the strands in his face and chest. He was standing over me his hand held out inches from the cloaked figures gun. I just stared in shock. I would ask what he was doing here but the bigger question was, did he just catch a bullet with his bare hands?

"Who are you?" my grandmother demanded. He just glared at her with dangerous red glowing eyes which in turn made her gasp and back away. Instantly his face softened as he turned to me and knelt down, extending his hand.

"I'm sorry I'm late" his deep voice vibrated throughout my whole body. I reached out dazed, placing my hand in his big warm one.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I was lifted to my feet.

"To make the contract"