When Roman arrived back at the house he was sharing with Demetri, he knew something was wrong. Demetri had lost control and rage had taken over. Anything breakable he broke. Anything of value was burned, all the pillows were ripped apart and feathers littered the entire house. A book lay unharmed on the living room table open to a page that had a picture stuck inside. It was a picture of Demetri and Alexia taken three lifetimes' ago. It was the last time that he had won a round in this pathetic game that had been their lives for the past three hundred and fifty years.

Roman sighed and thought to himself that it would soon be over, and he would be with her forever. There was no doubt in his mind that she truly did love him more than she loved Demetri. It had always been him, from the very start. True, she did not choose to be with him in every life, but that was because the Union had control over everything. They were the ones who decided who she would be with. They were the ones who decided how long the winner could be with her for and they decided how to make her die when they got bored. It disgusted him how the Union did this to them over and over, just to be entertained.

Now they had run out of ways to torment him and Demetri. They had punished them enough for what had happened between them so many years ago, and they would finally let them know the truth. She would be the one to choose who she loved, not the Union. Whoever she chose was the person who she actually loved three hundred and fifty years ago when this all began.

"Looks like you had a good day," Roman said as Demetri entered the living room and snatched the open book with the picture off the table. "I hope you're going to be cleaning this up." Roman was being very smug, trying to make Demetri madder.

"Well, we have to make a good impression on the Union, don't we?"

"What do you mean?" Roman was instantly panicked.

"Ha, not so smug now, are you? They are coming here. They have to talk to us, together." Demetri's voice wavered slightly. It was never a good thing if the Union wanted to 'talk'. "Something has gone wrong. That's all they said."

"The whole damn Union is coming here?"

"No, just Ahaz and Astropos."

"Astropos is coming here? Do you know how bad this is? Do you realize she was related to the ancient Atropos, the sister of Lachesis?"

"Thank you very much, but I don't need a history lesson. I know who she is."

"When are they coming?" He was afraid to ask, but he had to know.

"Tonight."

∞

It was Friday night, Alexia, Ellie and Cheri were going to Java Café because a decent band was playing there. Once again, Cheri's sister had pulled through for them and bought them a bottle of vodka to share. None of them had gotten drunk since Stacy's party so they were all looking forward to having a good time.

The girls had decided to meet at Alexia's house because it was closest to the café, and her mom was going to drive them there. They didn't really get too dressed up or anything, since they were going out for a girl's night and there was no need to impress anyone. It was half-past eight when the girls piled into Alexia's mom's SUV and headed to Java.

"What band did you say was playing, Alex?" Her mother was the only person who called her that. She hated it but put up with it simply because she was her mom.

"They are called 'Walking Dead', Mrs. Weiss," Ellie piped up

"No, they changed their name to 'Walking with the Dead'." Cheri looked proud for knowing the band name had changed, but she always knew everything.

"Sounds a little hardcore, don't you think, and don't call me 'Mrs. Weiss'. It makes me sound too old. Call me 'Barb'."

"Well, Barb, they aren't very hardcore at all." Alexia knew it would bug her mother to call her by her first name, but she couldn't help herself. Barb's blue eyes narrowed, and she glared at her daughter.

They looked a lot alike; they had the exact same hair color, and the exact same color of eyes. Barb was decently young, and if they didn't live in such a small town, people would think they could be sisters. "Seriously, Mom, don't worry, it's going to be fine. Cheri's sister is picking us up when the band is done playing and we're staying over there for the night. You never worry like this, so why are you doing it now?"

"I just have a little bit of a bad feeling, that's all."

"Don't worry, Barb, we will take care of your little girl for ya!" Ellie gave her a light pat on the shoulder and laughed. They pulled into the parking lot which was unusually full for the Java Café and said thank you to Alexia's mom as they all jumped out of the car. Alexia gave her mom a reassuring smile.

"Call me if you need to be picked up early, okay?" her mom reminded her.

"Yeah, I will. Thanks again, Mom." She didn't like the way her mom was looking at her. It was like she thought she would never see her again. Alexia pushed her mother's worried looks to the back of her head and went into the Café with her friends. A small stage had been set up where the pool tables usually were. Some lights had been hung from the roof and were pointing right down at the stage. The bowling section was closed, and tables scattered the floor. Alexia's heels made noise on the dark hardwood floor as they walked over to an open table.

"There are so many people in here tonight." Ellie was looking around and waved at a couple of people from school.

"What do you expect?" Cheri responded. "This is probably the best band they have ever had in this town."

Alexia laughed at her friends comment because it was true. It was rare to have a band come to Youngstown, especially a good one. "I'm just happy that they let us in here with our 'pops'." The girls knew they wouldn't be able to bring alcohol into the Café, so they had split it evenly into three empty Sprite bottles. Ellie and Cheri had barely had any of theirs, but Alexia was already halfway done her bottle. She always out drank her friends at parties, which usually backfired on her. She didn't want to get too drunk, but the alcohol was helping her forget all about Roman and Demetri. "It looks like you guys need to catch up a little bit." Alexia displayed her bottle for her friends and both their jaws dropped.

"Oh my gosh, Alexia, what are you, an alcoholic or something? Slow down, I don't want us to get into my sister's car completely wasted. She'll never buy liquor for us again."

"Don't worry so much, Cheri, I am fine."

"You know how you are, Alexia. All that alcohol is going to hit you at once and you're going to be wasted." Ellie snatched the bottle away from her. "You can wait a while before having any more. Let Cheri and I catch up with you."

Her two friends took a chug of their drinks, although they weren't even close to catching up to her. Suddenly everyone in the Café was cheering and clapping. The owner had gotten on stage and was getting ready to introduce the band. He was a short man with fiery red hair and a bright green suit on. Alexia couldn't help but be reminded of a Leprechaun. It took everything she had not to burst out laughing.

"Thank you all for coming out tonight! It's not often we get live talent in this town so everybody give a warm welcome to Walking with the Dead!" Once again everyone cheered and clapped. Four guys with a hardcore rock look about them walked onto the stage and reintroduced themselves.

"Hey everybody, we're Walking with the Dead and we got a great show for you tonight. Are you ready to rock?"

The crowd answered back with a loud, 'Yeah!' and the band started to play.

"They are pretty good!" Alexia shouted to her friends. "I didn't think it would be this loud, though!"

"Me either!" Ellie shouted back.

"Do you guys want to move to a table closer to the back?"

"What?!" Ellie and Alexia shouted back. Cheri made a gesture meaning she wanted to move to a table farther back. Alexia nodded, and they grabbed their bags to move. They were just about to sit down at a table as close to the back as they could get when Demetri and Roman walked in.

"Oh no." Alexia pushed her friends into the bowling booth right beside them.

"I saw one further back than this." Ellie got up to move but Alexia pulled her back into the seat.

"Demetri and Roman just walked in!"

"Both of them?" Ellie questioned.

"Together?" Cheri added.

"Yes, both together." Alexia was ducking down low, hoping they wouldn't be seen. Her friends, on the other hand, were poking their heads up over the booth trying to see if she was telling the truth. Alexia took her chance and snatched her Sprite bottle back from her friend and gulped the rest down. Immediately, she thought she would be sick, but she held it down and the burning in her throat from the harsh alcohol subsided.

"I'm going to kill you, Alexia!" Cheri lashed out. "My sister is never going to trust us again!"

"Give me a break, the biggest drama of my life just walked through the door."

"More drama," Ellie warned. "They're walking this way and they are with a girl."

Great, Alexia thought to herself, they figured I would be here and now they want to make me jealous. If she wasn't drunk, she probably would have cried.

"Talk to me, act like you didn't even see them." Alexia let out a loud fake laugh just as they reached their table. The girl they were with was stunning. Alexia had never seen her around town before, and she would have remembered somebody that pretty. Her skin was tanned and flawless and she had brown eyes that were unlike any eyes Alexia had seen. They weren't beautiful like Demetri's or Roman's, but instead were kind of sad and had no life in them. Her brown hair was long and tightly curled, her slim body was emphasized by the tight black top and pants that she wore over an odd long cloak. If it hadn't been for the cloak, Alexia would have called her perfect, and it killed her to see the guys she liked with this girl.

"Alexia, my name is Astropos. I know this is strange but you're going to have to come with us." Demetri rolled his eyes and Roman slapped his right hand on his forehead.

"Okay, that is why I said we would do the talking; you can't just walk up to people and tell them they have to come with you," Demetri said while sounding frustrated. Roman simply rolled his eyes. Demetri now directed his attention to Alexia. "What she means is, can you please come with us, we have to tell you something."

Alexia was doing everything she could to look away from his eyes because she didn't want to listen to him. "No, I'm having a girl's night with my friends." She sounded rude, but she was drunk and didn't care. "Whatever it is can wait until Monday."

Roman bent down and looked her in the eyes. His eyes were sad and not bright at all. The blue colors that usually gave her a calm feeling were making her feel anxious and scared. "Please, Alexia, you're not safe. Come with us."

Not safe? How could I not be safe, I'm fine, she thought to herself.

"Alexia, follow us out of here," Roman insisted. "Ellie and Cheri can come with us, too. They have seen you with them, so they're not safe, either. If you won't do this for us, do it for them." He was practically begging her to come with him, and he looked scared, as did Demetri.

"What's going on?" Alexia looked from Roman to Demetri to the girl they were with. "Tell me or we won't go with you." Demetri shoved Roman out of the way and grabbed Alexia's face and made her look right into his green eyes. She felt it right away, the urge to kiss him and to be in his arms, and then she wanted to leave with him. More than anything, she wanted to take her friends and go with them.

"Give in, Alexia, don't fight it." Instantly, she shot out of the booth and was standing between the two boys.

"Let's go." She reached for her friends who had stayed quiet the whole conversation.

"You're kidding, right? You have no idea what they are talking about Alexia, and you just trust them?"

"Please, come with me. I want to know what is going on." She would leave without them if she had to. She didn't want to leave her friends, but she really wanted to leave with the trio before her. "They are saying it's not safe, you guys, so come with me." Cheri looked over at Ellie who was sitting on the inside of the booth. Ellie rolled her eyes and motioned for her to get up and do what she wanted.

"Walk between us, please. We don't want them to get an opening on any of you." It was Astropos who spoke now, and Alexia could tell Demetri didn't like the way she was handling the situation.

When they walked out the front door, they were hit with a gust of cold wind. Alexia's hair went flying all over the place and so did her friends. When she looked at Astropos, she was shocked to see that her hair stayed completely still.

"Where are we going?" Ellie looked at Alexia and she could tell her friend was scared. Alexia shrugged and looped arms with her friends, pulling them in as close as she could. They walked right behind Astropos, with Demetri and Roman right behind them. Alexia spotted Roman's car and turned to ask him where they were going to take them, but before she could get the words out, they were shoved to the ground and Demetri was over top of them like a shield.

"Alexia, don't talk." He barked the words at her and she was terrified, so she obeyed. She felt around for her friends' hands and squeezed them hard. "Roman, pull the car around now!" Alexia hadn't even heard him running away from them before she heard the roar of the engine and suddenly the car was in front of them. Demetri stopped being a human shield and practically threw the three girls into the back seat, hopped in the front, and told Roman to floor it.

They peeled out of the parking lot at such a fast speed that the girls' heads whipped back painfully. Cheri was in tears and Alexia was getting the spins and thought she may be sick. It was Ellie who spoke first. "Can she talk now?" her voice was trembling, and she was clutching to her purse and her sprite bottle like it was the only things keeping her alive.

"Yes, you can, as long as you promise you're not going to freak out and make Roman crash the car." Demetri was turned completely around in his seat looking back at the girls. His face was flushed, and his always perfect hair was a mess.

"What the hell just happened back there? Why did you shove us to the ground like that?" And then Alexia realized Astropos wasn't even in the car. "Where did that girl go?"

"She is making sure we aren't being followed by what just tried to attack you back in the parking lot."

"When you say, 'what tried to attack us', you mean 'who', right?" Cheri was choking on her tears and was starting to hyperventilate.

"No, I meant what I said. It wasn't a human that tried to attack you, it was a member of the Union."

"I don't know what that means, Demetri," Alexia's voice shook. "What's going on?"

"I'm not the person to be telling you this, so you'll have to wait until we get back to our house."

"What do you mean 'our house'?"

"He means where Demetri and I live," Roman said from the driver's seat.

"What? You live together? But you guys hate each other." Ellie was confused; they all were confused about what just happened. Alexia, however, was not confused about the two boys living together.

"This is your brother, Roman? The 'Dee' you told me about at the ice cream shop, this is him, isn't it?" Demetri looked surprised and turned to face Roman.

"Are you stupid, Roman? Dee? That's damn close to my actual name. What if Amarantos never turned and she put two and two together, and realized I'm your brother? You would have lost, you know that, right? You're so careless, you don't even deserve her!" Alexia was barely hearing what he was saying because she was too focused on Demetri's eyes. Roman was about to retaliate when Cheri screamed. Roman slammed on the brakes and Demetri covered his face.

"Your... your eyes... they were black," Cheri stuttered.

Demetri lifted his hand from his face and his eyes were once again their beautiful green. "It's dark in here. You can't even see my eyes."

"Yeah, Cheri, you're seeing things," Roman reassured her.

"Don't lie to her, I saw it too." Alexia's voice was fierce. She didn't want to be lied to, not when she already had no idea what was going on. Demetri looked at Roman and motioned for him to keep driving.

"Now who's careless?" He pushed hard on the gas and they took off again.

The rest of the drive was silent, and Demetri kept his back to the dashboard while watching the girls in the back seat. Cheri could barely look at him, she was so scared, and Alexia, who was sitting in the middle, was staring at Demetri and then at Roman. She couldn't believe she didn't see it before. They didn't just look alike, they were almost exactly alike. Their face structure, eyebrows, nose, and ears were identical. The only thing stopping them from being identical was their eyes, hair, height, and personality.

After driving for about fifteen minutes, they finally turned into a long driveway. When they pulled up to the house, Astropos and a man were standing outside. Demetri was reaching into the back seat to help Alexia out and Ellie, who had gotten out first, reached for her hand as soon as she stood up straight. Her hand was trembling as she clung to Alexia. Cheri who had gotten out on the other side of the car, raced away from Roman, who had helped her out, to take Alexia's other hand, and she was trembling worse than Ellie was.

She could tell the house was old, and it reminded her of a stone castle, except much more beautiful. There was a balcony on the second floor with snow piled on top of it, with long razor-sharp icicles hanging from it. Before Alexia could take in any more of her surroundings, Demetri gestured for the girls to hurry up and get inside the house. As they got closer to Astropos and the unknown man, Alexia's heart started racing, and she started to get the déjà vu feeling again. This time it was stronger than ever, and several images flashed in her mind. They were so fast she could barely tell what they were, and they made her very dizzy. They were right in front of the two strangers now and she knew it was this man she had seen in the images, and somehow, she knew him.

"Hello, Alexia, my name is Ahaz. Perhaps youremember me?" A smile snuck across his face right before millions of imagesflashed in Alexia's mind, and then everything went black.