The portal swarmed, darkness surging within it. I stepped closer and waited for something to happen. Sure enough, a boy about eight years old flung from the portal, tape covering his mouth and ropes tying his hands. His eyes widened, scanning the area for any way of escape. Boy, he didn't know who he was dealing with, did he?

............

I could still remember Zolona calling Mara and I to her room for the assignment.

"What's wrong Zolona? You look stressed like you're needing a mineral bath or two." Mara blinked her eyes, heterochromia showing off her one brown, one blue color scheme.

Zolona had a deep hatred for her younger sister-- the entire reason she was banished. Heck, it was one I couldn't comprehend. According to Mara, Isla gained everything Zolona couldn't-- love and admiration by many people. Zolona blamed Isla for her unhappiness. Ever since, she refused to care for anyone. Even if I tried to talk to her about it, she shoved me away. Every now and again, she acted like the world was crapping all over her, and well, Isla was always to blame.

"We need new recruits. More from outlying villages and other plains on the surface. Isla will eventually send her armies and when she does we must be ready," my mentor paused, "But there's another pressing matter at hand. Isla apparently has two children living on a reserve away from her. I don't know if they even are aware of their origin, but I cannot let the prophecy come to pass."

"Prophecy?" Never heard of a prophecy before.

"None of your concern for the moment 635202," Zolona said.

"Regardless, someone'll have to get Isla's brats," I suggested.

Mara twirled a lock of platinum blonde hair in her hands. "If you don't want the siblings to kill you, why bring them here?"

"I want to kill Isla's brats myself. They're probably just like her," Zolona paused, "But, if they aren't, I'll offer them a chance to survive."

I asked, "What's the likelihood of that?"

Zolona's eyes were grim. "You're right, 635202."

"Who's on the assignment?" Mara's olive skin tone glistened near the fireplace.

Zolona smiled. "You. I'm expecting you to take the blood moon to cross realms."

My eyes widened. Zolona never sent someone like Mara before. It was our best move. Mara took a potion allowing her to gain immortality, or so she claimed. There had to be a catch! God, if I had the opportunity to take a serum like that, no one on my bad side would be safe.

Mara produced a wide smile, jumping with glee. "I'll head to the courtyard."

Mara skipped out of the room.

I sighed. "You're sure she'll come back?"

Zolona spoke, "Even with her supernatural immortality, she might get captured."

We were in the dark other than the messages Mara gave Zolona through a communicator. The surface was a scary place, sometimes scarier than our realm, governed by Isla, guarded by those who abused the ancient law, and possessed with beings of greed, destruction, and love, that was Zolona's phrasing of the surface world anyhow. After all, it was a place unsafe from hiding. She kept telling Zolona she didn't know how to apprehend them. That was just an excuse.

...................................

Damn, Mara came back after all. Six more emerged through the portal— three girls and three other boys. An olive skinned boy with slanted brown eyes looked at me. He was the last of the six, moaning under his breath. The boy was around sixteen years old, the others roughly his age. Mara picked teens to take the journey this go-round. I was thankful. I never bonded with demonic brats... I mean children.

Time passed before the next came through. I didn't want to train rebels, but this boy was a mix between rebel and soldier. His short sandy-blonde hair was in a military cut, though he seemed rebellious all the same with the black jacket he wore. He was the best looking of the bunch.

His hazel eyes wandered throughout the landscape, looking for something. I didn't know what he could be looking for. There were a lot of things to consider, but I didn't understand why he looked as if he'd do anything to get what he searched for.

I kicked the rebel's leg. "Stop searching for something that's not here."

I ripped the tape from his mouth.

"Geez! Not so hard! Where the heck am I?" he asked.

I smiled. "Your new home."

The rebel produced a half-hearted smile. "Never been in a real home."

The next visitor sprung from the portal and collapsed beside the rebel. Her tangled auburn-brown locks were long enough to cover her entire back. Bruises covered her face from fighting, and her fierce blue eyes yearned to fight even more. She, unlike the others, wasn't wearing tape on her lips.

"Where are we, Ember? You okay?" the soldierly boy asked.

I tuned in to their conversation. I didn't care if I was nosy. They were prisoners after all.

The rebel worried about her by his concerned gaze. They seemed like good friends.

Ember rolled her eyes. "You were supposed to protect me, Dusk. You have the skills to figure it out!"

"This is wicked, but I wasn't expecting it to be this creepy," Dusk said.

"I was expecting it to be creepier. Let's just hope he makes it out."

The olive skinned boy rolled his eyes.

"Arvin, cut the crap, okay?" Dusk asked.

Arvin nodded-- what a strange name.

"Quiet," I snapped.

I didn't want them to discuss the surface world. Ember knew something I didn't. Fear coursed through me and burned through my blood. Mara hadn't emerged yet. There could have been a problem on the other side.

Mara finally came through the portal, but she wasn't alone. She dragged a boy who resembled Ember, but more terrified than her.

His skin was tanned, from obvious work in a field. Cuts on his wrists, scarred from long ago, signified struggle at the roots of his life. Unlike his sister's fierce blue gaze shrouded by smokey makeup, his eyes were a worn blue, similar to the water I got from Zolona's crystal mineral fountain, oak-colored locks falling onto his shoulders. His stature was shorter than that of Ember and me. I was tall, so that last part wasn't surprising.

Guess my height was just like my ego.

Mara held his arm behind his back to secure him; someone almost freed him before Mara completed her mission.

"You're no fun, Echo. You just had to play self-sacrificing hero!" Mara pushed Echo to the ground.

"You're a sickening creature Mara!" Ember clenched her teeth.

"Sickening? Ember, you're a time bomb. You're just waiting to go off!" Mara laughed.

Dusk moaned. "Leave her alone!"

"Please, Mara! Not to her..." Echo looked Mara in the eye.

"You know, he's right. I'll let Zolona talk to you!" Mara clapped her hands.

Trainees who stayed to help with testing cleanup took the prisoners to the throne room in the castle.

Mara cleared her throat and got in the way of the two taking Echo and Ember away. She smiled. "Separate them from the others. Don't let them go in the room until Zolona has talked to the rest of them."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why are they so high-spirited?"

"I got Isla's brats! Suckers! I mean, it was really crazy with a huge religious ceremony for Isla... her brats didn't even live in the same place believe it or not: one a mansion, the other a farm. But, Ha! I still got the job done!" Mara made a 'thumbs up' gesture with her left hand.

Mara walked back to the castle. She wasn't any less talkative, telling me every little detail about she acquired Zolona's niece and nephew-- and I thought I was talkative.

My eyes shot up for a split second. "She'll be impressed."

"It was pretty exhausting if you ask me. It was easier to get a hold of the rebellious girl than the boy who doesn't fight. So many of his friends tried to save him... and for what? He traded himself in anyway," Mara said.

"Sounds stupid to me," I said.

"He considers himself an optimist. Gross if you ask me. Can't wait to tear that apart. Got on my nerves when I captured them," Mara paused. "Come on, I want to listen to what Zolona has to say."

I nodded. "I'd like to see the look on her face."

"She might reward us with something nice. That's the best thing about being an Elite member. You get the fun assignments." Mara nudged my shoulder.

The throne room was decorated with a gold-lined red carpet and a solid gold throne. Mara and I had our own chairs to sit in, but they weren't gold. Instead, the spiral design chairs originated from a quartz-like material from the mines. The room itself smelled clean from how hyper-organized Zolona was. Breathing in too much of the cleaners was enough to get me coughing once in awhile.

I always attended events that didn't happen often, and this was no exception. I couldn't wait to see the look on Zolona's face after discovering the good news.

I looked to Zolona, her head sucked into the pages of a book. Man, she loved books. Her nostrils breathed in the smell of the pages and her mouth exhaled a sigh of relief. I questioned whether her obsession was toxic.

I sat at Zolona's left side and Mara sat at her right.

Zolona raised an eyebrow, taking her face away from the book and towards Mara. "Did you do as I asked?"

"You see..." Mara started.

"The prisoners, Mistress," one of the guards said.

Zolona, Mara, and I leaned in closer to look. Each prisoner's face was laced with fear.

Zolona's brow furrowed and she clamped the book shut. "Mara!? You brought me eight more kids?"

"Not just kids. The tough looking one in the leather? He has potential. He's a fighter; smart one at that. His name's Dusk. The sixteen year old boy next to him is my great nephew, Arvin. He's decent enough in book and street smarts," Mara said.

Zolona clenched her teeth. "I asked you for Isla's children. Not a rag-tag resistance!"

Mara fidgeted in her chair. "But I did bring her kids."

"Where are they?" Zolona asked.

"She asked the guards to bring them separately so you'd focus on one thing at a time," I said.

Zolona smiled. "You could've told me, Mara, rather than letting me think you failed. Your messages weren't promising."

Mara laughed sarcastically. Her face was red like Zolona's irises. "It was supposed to be a surprise!"

Zolona addressed the prisoners below us, "Do you know why you're here?"

"Shouldn't we take the tape off their mouths?" Mara asked.

"Bloody hell, you idiots! What do I have to do to get..." Zolona placed a hand on her forehead, "Remove the tape..."

The guards did what she asked.

"Do you know why you are here?" Zolona asked.

Whispers echoed through the throne room.

"Don't know. Don't care," Dusk said.

"Can we just go home now?" Arvin whimpered.

"This is your new home. If you work hard, we'll take care of you." Zolona smiled.

The prisoners looked to each other with confused glances. We waited for a reply.

Dusk raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"S-She can't be serious!" Arvin said..

Awkward silence refused to step down from its reign.

"Just join up. You're better off," I responded.

"Not the compliance type." Dusk smirked.

"And I won't be working on the same side as anyone so rude." Arvin's lip quivered.

"How dare you!" Zolona's voice raised, "Guards, give them fifty lashes each. They'll learn."

Arvin and Dusk were grabbed by two guards, Arvin taken away with little force, his small size able to do nothing against our trained guards. Dusk, on the other hand was a pain in the ass. He headbutted the guard taking him away and used the guard's knife to undo his bonds. He slashed the guard's throat for good measure, grabbed a gun, and pointed it at us.

Not a sound was made but the ticking of the giant clock on the wall.

'Holy crap...'

Zolona sat upright in her chair and turned her face to Mara.

"Where did you find him?" Zolona's expression lit up.

"He kind of came to me," Mara giggled.

"This lifts my spirits. I've never had someone fight me back after I take them in. With a lot of work on getting him to comply we..." Zolona said.

"Shut up and tell me what you did with Ember! I'll shoot," Dusk said.

Zolona chuckled. "Can I hold him to that?"

"He's served in the military since fourteen. I'd say so," Mara whispered.

"Fourteen? Crap! Most people here don't hold a candle to that!" My eyebrows shot up.

"If you don't include the years his father trained him alone..." Mara rolled her eyes.

Typical Mara: always jealous of someone stealing her spotlight. Not like it was hers to begin with.

Zolona motioned for a couple guards to come forward. Dusk shot them with ease.

"Aww... seriously? I'll have to clean this up!" Mara whined.

Dusk pointed the gun at Mara. "I wish I could take you out first, stupid immortal, but I guess the head will do."

"Oh?" Zolona pulled out a pistol, "You? Kill me? That's laughable."

"Go and fight!" I gave a death glare to the guards.

"He just killed 3845 and two other men!" one's lip quivered.

"Must I do everything myself...?" Zolona shot her weapon, which let out a small bullet coated in a blue substance.

Dusk's weapon fell to the floor dismembered. "What the..."

"I don't leave the house without 'Integrity'. It shoots bullets with my essence in it. Magic, if you ask me. It was designed for me a long time ago. Once you comply, I might let you touch it." Zolona smiled.

Ten guards carried Dusk out of the room, despite the flinging of his arms and legs.

"Anyone else, oppose?" Mara's crooked smile stretched across her face.

The other prisoners remained silent.

"Excellent. Since you're old enough to remember your names, you'll keep them. Those two will learn discipline the hard way," Zolona smirked.

"Get them ready for training." I clapped my hands and the guards took them away.

"Now, the children?" Zolona asked.

"Are right outside the door," Mara fidgeted in her chair.

"Someone open it," I commanded as two guards went to open the door.

The double doors creaked open to reveal two children, same age as me about, both white with fear as their footsteps echoed as they walked forward. They gazed at their aunt and Zolona raised an eyebrow.

Ember looked with anger and fear, while Echo looked with what appeared to be curiosity and fear. I didn't understand what he was be curious about. Didn't that blockhead realize we were going to punish them?

"Untie them," Zolona smiled.

Ember was untied, and Echo was released from the guard's custody. The guards closed the huge red doors and shoved the siblings in front of their aunt. Echo looked to the dead bodies, eyes widened before turning his head away from them and to his aunt.

"Well done, Mara." Zolona looked at Mara.

Mara let out a chuckle, her pale face flushing with red.

Our remaining guards blocked Ember from escaping.

"Cute, she thinks she can escape," I said.

Zolona smiled. "So, these are Isla's children. You remind of your mother."

She was followed by an awkward silence.

"Isn't this where we die?" Ember pointed to the body on the floor.

"I'm not killing you two," Zolona said.

"You aren't?" Echo smiled, interrupting Zolona.

"Of course not," Zolona lied.

"Guess my goody-two-shoes brother was right," Ember's sarcasm showed in her voice.

Echo wiped his forehead. He obviously believed the fib.

Zolona laughed. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll be begging me for death."

Ember's eyes widened. "What are you planning to do?"

"Torture you until you break, and send you to the mines. Monsters down there will be happy to torture you further," Zolona paused. "But there's a way to escape punishment."

The siblings looked at each other with confusion.

"And what would that be?" Ember asked.

"You'd join me. I'll teach you everything you'd ever wish to know. You'd have real family," Zolona's tone was gentle and sincere-- a surprising reaction to her sister's brats.

They both were quiet.

"I'll show you love's your greatest weakness-- a never ending sickness. Kindness, friends, and love... there's no place in a cruel and dark world," Zolona said.

Echo interrupted. "Love's not weak. What you love decides whether it's a weakness or a strength. I don't know how my parents hurt you, but they didn't mean it. I'd give anything to be like them."

My eyes widened. He blew it; he was done for. Zolona wouldn't give another chance.

Zolona clenched her teeth. "Bring him to my room. Lock her up. I want to have a chat with the brats, separately!"

The guards separated Echo and Ember from each other, dragging them away to their destinations.

Zolona tapped me on the shoulder. "Come with me. You know lying when you see it."

I nodded. One of them had to be lying-- one way or the other.