Dismay flooded through Deadlox as he stared at the two. Sky met the sorcerer's eyes with a broad, determined smile. The demon's gut tightened when they shook hands and he suppressed a growl.

  Instead, his put a stiff hand on Sky's shoulder and said "Can we please speak in the hallway?"

  Sky turned, a surprised look on his features, and glanced back at Seto for a moment.

  You don't have to stare at him so much.

  "Yeah, sure," he said carefully, sliding off of the fine stool. With a quick, emotionless glance at Seto, Deadlox saw that the general knew what he wanted to discuss and what his answer was to Seto's invitation to join them.

  There was nobody in the hall, thankfully, and Deadlox ran his hands through his hair. "What were you thinking?" he asked exasperatedly. "We can't stay here! You've never fought in a war! And neither have I! We'll lose for sure and then what? Jason gets us!"

"Deadlox, you've seen this city," Sky said gently. "And I know you like it, too. We could...yeah, we could run away, find someplace safe, but like Seto said: we're ancient and super-powerful! We can help them win this war!"

  Deadlox scoffed. "'Powerful.' You've never experienced your power with the exception of...once."

  "I can learn. Or help in a different way."

  "That doesn't mean you should. I don't want to be caught up in this mess!"

  "Then you leave."

  Deadlox saw the moment that the words came out of his mouth that Sky regretted saying that. The demon was filled with frustration and that retort had just about tipped the scale.

  But it didn't.

  Deadlox was in control of his emotions—mostly, anyway. He could feel the anger rise up and fought the urge to yell back that fine, he would leave and leave him to fight his own battles. Let him die in a war that Deadlox wanted no part in. But he knew he couldn't do that; Sky would not be okay on his own. He once travelled alone, but the demon saw now that the boy was not fit to be alone (and neither was he himself). With the team they had spent time with and the bond they had created accidentally between each other, they had no longer been able to sustain that part of them that was perfectly capable of going solo.

  He couldn't leave Sky. It wasn't a sudden realization; it was more like he had remembered something from long ago. Of course, he wasn't about to tell the boy that; he wanted to leave and return to their home and bring things back to the way that they were. But the truth was slowly beginning to dawn on him: they were right. Jason would pursue them for eternity if they did not fight him.

  And, he figured, it's better to die defeating him than to die by his hand.

   Sky was incredibly tense, his breathing short. Deadlox studied him for a second—the stiffness of his limbs, the fear on his face—and let out an overdramatic huff. "Fine. I will."

  The brine's breath caught, and as Deadlox pivoted to walk away, Sky caught his arm. The unexpected touch made him jump and he whirled back around to see Sky clutching his wrist. He was shaking and gripped the demon tightly, taking a deep breath.

  "I'm sorry," his whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please—please don't go."

  Deadlox stared at the boy for a few silent seconds before the corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile. "I won't."

  Sky let out a breath, the tension melting out of his body and relief making his shoulders sag. A relieved grin grew on his face and he self-consciously let go of Deadlox's arm. "Thank you," he breathed. Deadlox simply nodded in reply and pushed the spruce door back open.

  Seto sat in the same seat that he had been in previously, having seemingly stayed in the same spot for the entirely of their conversation. He peered at Deadlox almost expectantly, and from the way he leaned slightly forward in anticipation the demon interpreted that the sorcerer had not used his magic to eavesdrop on their conversation. He's honest.

  "I will also be joining you." His voice echoed calmly through the room and Seto's face portrayed his satisfaction.

  "I cannot thank you enough," the general began, but Deadlox cut him off.

  "You can thank me by firstly placing my companion in training and teaching him to hone his powers. He is not at all in control and it nearly resulted in my death." He was a bit amused to see Sky's cheeks flush red. "Secondly, I would like for us both to be educated on immortals and our potential. We also are allowed to visit our friend in your infirmary as often as we wish and we shall also be supplied with weapons and armor."

  Seto stared at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter. Sky giggled along, but Deadlox stood his ground. The general slid off of the stool, walking steadily towards Deadlox to shake his hand.

  "Of course, of course," he chuckled. "I apologize. I have to admit that I didn't expect all of that. Your terms will be met."

  "I should hope so." He would not comply as easily as Sky would and he made that clear to Seto.
 
  Seto's eyes glinted. "I can arrange for it all to begin tomorrow—your education, Sky's training. However," he added, "I have my own set of conditions.

  "You both will have to stay in a certain set of barracks. Yes, you will probably share it with others, but if I'm in a generous mood that's where your friends will stay with you. In addition, you must follow any order I or another superior give to you. This is a city; please remember that it is an orderly civilization and not like the wildlands and cities on the mainland. There will also be no fighting outside of the training arena," he finished, and Deadlox stared in surprise at him. He may have underestimated the general.

  He still remembered the proper response. "I accept." They shook hands once more, and Sky copied. Seto waved his hands and in the air appeared a small bird made of purple light. It literally flew through the closed door and out of sight and Deadlox stepped back, eyes narrowing. "What was that?"

  "A messenger," Seto replied calmly. "I'm sending for Brice."

  About two seconds later, there was a huge golden flash and Brice tumbled onto the office floor, panting heavily. "I'm here, I'm here." He gulped down a breath of air and straightened up, brushing off his tunic.

  "Why?" Sky asked Seto, and Brice answered.

  "I'm taking you two and Ian to the barracks, of course." He held the door open and motioned for them to leave.

  This is very unceremonious, Deadlox thought as he stepped through the door, refusing to glance back at Seto's smiling face. Only minutes ago had he been telling them that they were ultra-powerful beings. Now they were being dismissed like soldiers to live in barracks like soldiers.

  But when Brice led them out of the huge building and out of the city, to a mass of tents and wooden buildings around a huge, elegant arena and Sky spotted his lost friend and barreled into Ian's arms, he decided that maybe being a soldier wouldn't be too bad after all.

-

  That night, as Sky lay in a hammock strung up in a tent isolated from the rest, he dreamed again.
 
  He dreamed of the field of grass. It swished gently around his waist and the soft breeze blew strands of hair into his eyes.

  "Sky," a voice said, and he whirled around to once more face Jason.

  "I told you to stay away!" Sky cried, taking a step back. Even in the dream he felt fear.

  "I know, but Sky-that's your name, right?-I'm not with you." At the boy's confusion, Jason sighed. "I'm-I don't know where I am. I just know I escaped. Sky, it's not me. It's not me. I'm not the one killing immortals!"

  "I don't believe you," Sky breathed, shaking. "I saw-"

  "You saw something possessing my body," Jason interrupted. "It-it wants everything to die. Particularly immortals because they possess more life and are a greater enemy." He ran his hands through light brown hair. "It..." He choked, a small son racking his body. "It killed my sister."

  "Ashley." Sky said the name without thinking and Jason nodded mutely. "She saved Deadlox and I, didn't she?"

  "Yeah," Jason replied quietly. "She did." They both fell silent for a few heartbeats, listening to the rustle of the grass and the faint rumbling of the black mist at the edge of of the field.

  "I found trees." Jason broke the silence. "I touched one and suddenly there was fire around me and I appeared here and somehow I just knew it was you. Then you just...appeared here. This is the second time it's happened. When you ran into the mist, I was back at the trees.

  "I think I'm in your dreams. Is that correct?"

  "Yes," Sky said, bewildered. "How?"

  "I don't know. I really don't know. I think I can only visit you when you're dreaming. I haven't touched any other tree yet. While I'm here, though, I can warn you about the monster."

  "Does it have powers?"

  "Oh yes," Jason smiled grimly. "Powers to rival yours and your friend's. Ashley w-was a Blaze, which meant she had power over fire. Any kind except for Brine fire. A very powerful type of immortal. I was able to keep at least that a secret from the thing. But it was able to...kill her." He wrapped his arms around himself. "Its powers depend on the life energy around or in it. It can no longer feed from my energy, so it has to deplete the life of things around it. Like...imagine a flower withering. That's what it does."

  "But without life energy, it can't survive?" Sky asked carefully.

  Jason gave a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah, but there's no way to completely remove all of the energy from around him without killing everyone within a quarter of a mile."

  Sky was quiet for a moment and then opened his mouth to reply, but then suddenly it felt like the world was splitting apart and there was a lurching feeling in his stomach and everything disappeared. He snapped awake, rocking the hammock violently. Deadlox stood over him, violet eyes literally glowing in the dark.

  "You were muttering in your sleep," he whispered. "And you're burning up, Sky. It feels like you have a fever."

  Sky indeed felt like he was surrounded by fire and he was sweating. He shook his head anyway.
 
  "I'm fine," he murmured. "Thank you, though."

  In the dark, he saw Deadlox nod and retreat to the hammock right next to his. It was only about two feet away, but Sky wished that it was closer.

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I've been trying to stop author's notes, but I'd just like to know if the playlist for this story should be published and updated with each chapter or published when the story is finished? gracias

and guys this thing is receiving so much support im going to cry thank you all so much omg