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Chapter 1

“This is the last thing that I wanted to happen to you,” said Kyle.

“What do you mean by that?” said Julie quietly.

“Ever since that incident in Spain, nothing has been the same with you. You have been acting
differently since we got back and I'm starting to worry about you” said Kyle.

“Think twice before you do something stupid, in the end it always puts us in danger,” said Julie
furiously.

“See what I mean?” he says as he turns to the teen next to him.

“I don’t see what you mean; she acts like this all the time. Plus I’ve known her longer than you
have,” said James.

“What about Spain, James. No one could live through that without going through some kind of
change,” said Kyle raising his voice a bit.

“You do have a point there, but you have no evidence, you can’t just go around killing people
like you do demons. Like Julie says, you have to think first then act,” said James in a calm voice

James is a gentle soul who could never hurt anyone intentionally. How could he hurt Julie when
no evidence showed that she was evil in anyway? The two of them have been close since first
grade, and they shared everything with one another. They trained together, saved each other’s
lives more than they could count, and leaned on each other.

Julie is the kind of girl that ends up in the popular crowd at school. She has the perfect blond hair
that goes down to her waist. When in battle, her hair is an extension of her power. Her beautiful
skin and perfect body makes the guys stare, but what they cannot see the layers of muscle and
power she holds within her. She has the beauty of a goddess and can attract any boy she wants.
Julie is the type of girl that walks all over the guy’s heart and then throws it away. She never gets
close and hides her heart behind layers and layers of walls. At times it seems as if her heart is
made out of stone. Josh, Kyle, and only a few others really truly knew her. At school she always
got the best grades and seemed to be able to party when she felt like it. She made school look
like it was nothing.

James was the type of boy that always got the attention anyone he passed by. He participates in
in the swim, cross country, track, and the baseball team. He was part of the popular crowd. It
helped that Julie was his best friend because when guys looked at Julie the girls looked at James.
The two of them did almost everything together. They went to parties together, the movies, and
walked in the parks. Julie and James were like the yin and yang signs. They had a bit of each
other in themselves.
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The girls always giggled when they think he is not watching and gossip about his looks and
charm. James had the blondest hair in school. In the sunlight it looked like a halo hovering over
his head. He always seemed to have the angelic grace about himself. Everything he says always
sounds thoughtful and never found speechless. His eyes the greenest anyone has ever seen. At
night it looked as if they glowed like cat eyes. Sometimes they blended into a teal when his
mood changed. James was a kind hearted, loving, smart, intellectual kind of guy.

He always knew the right things to say and wasn’t arrogant like most of the guys. When James
spoke, all you wanted to do was listen. His words always sounded smart and well put together.
No one has been able to catch James by surprise. James had a lean swimmers body with slight
larger arms from playing baseball. During the summer he acquired the best tan that stayed well
into late winter and early spring. Even though Julie didn’t try in school, she always did well, but
James always appeared a step ahead of her. He knew how to charm the teachers and his
classmates. He could make anyone laugh and when a friend was in trouble he would be there for
them. He could make anyone feel like a superstar. Everyone at school liked him and somehow
knew him in one way or another.

The two of them had always slept over at each other’s houses. When the other one couldn’t sleep
they always found themselves at each other’s places. Last summer they decided to buy a house
together. The money always seemed to be in their bank accounts when they decided to withdraw.
They figured out that it was coming from the Society of Light. When they were in third grade, a
strange man came to their homes and told their parents that he was from the Society of Light and
that they were decedents of angles.

The society gave us everything, a home, an education, training, food, entertainment, and money
that paid for everything. We always knew how to spend the money, and knew that if we ever
abused our powers for evil or abused the privileges we got, that our powers and life of fighting
demons could be stripped away forever.

The dreadful part of the deal was we had to leave our families behind. We could never see them
again. Julie had left behind a younger sister and two brothers while James left behind 3 older
brothers and a baby sister. It was the hardest thing they ever had to do in their lives. Sometimes
they would sit down in their living room or even on the front porch and talk about the life they
had before all this started. What kind of life they would have lived? This was what really
connected the two of them. They studied together and even went to dances when the school held
them. This was there last year at Oakland high school. Senior year would be everything that they
would hope for and maybe even a little bit more.

When they graduate high school, they can finally live a life of fighting demons and not have to
worry about something as stupid as homework or what to wear to school the next day. Though a
normal teenager would only go to school from 7 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon. The three
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of them would come home and continue their other studies of fighting and learning how to kill
creatures that mortals only dreamed about.

They learn new languages and how to control their manifesting powers. If not taught properly
things could easily go to hell. It was like going from one school to another. By the end of the
day, they would be whipped out. They made each other laugh when the other was down. They
drove each other crazy but in the end, they would still love each other dearly.

When one got hurt the other would somehow know. They would sense how the other one was
doing and could tell when something was wrong. This time was different; she had changed since
that accident in Spain. She started to act more like the deadly queen who has been trying to rule
this world but was all most destroyed in Spain.

“What do you plan on doing to me? I'm still the same person you know James, the little girl from
first grade that beat up those guys for you, and took care of you because you were the only
family I had left. Would you really hurt me because this arrogant, inflated, little pompous, smart
mouth, self-indulgent boy says so?” said Julie furiously.

“This is how I know something is wrong with you Julie, you would never be this cruel to Kyle
who has been my best friend since fourth grade and yours since fifth” said James in a calm voice
while starring into Julie’s eyes, for a second he though he saw something change in them.

Chapter 2

Kyle first met James in gym class while playing dodge ball. It was the two of them verses
the entire class. They were able to defeat everyone because of their divine strength, speed,
accuracy, and power. They noticed they had a bond that was closer than they expected and
connected with each other in more than one way. Over the next few weeks, James noticed it was
surprisingly easy to talk to him but felt he was holding something back. When the two boys were
in the library studying for their AP calculus test, James told Kyle about his unusual talents and
abilities. When he realized that James was talking about being decedents of angles, he confided
in him, telling him that he wasn’t human either.

Ever since the death of his parents, he held up a wall to shut everyone out. The trauma of
his past heavily influenced the relationships that were to come. He thought he could never care
for anyone again. Kyle hated to show weakness and never allowed anyone to push him around.
He kept himself busy by training and pretending like he didn’t care for anything or anyone. He
always played the card of carelessness.

Kyle was on the football team and seemed to have everyone wrapped around his pinky. He had a
toned body and hair that was black as midnight. His carefully styled hair gave him the
appearance of a bad boy type. His piercing blue eyes gave the appearance of staring into your
soul which drove the girls crazy with desire. When he is angry they turn a navy blue and that’s
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when you know to back off. But sometimes they turn into a rare turquoise kind of blue and that’s
when you know he is in a good mood. His entire body was layered in muscle and his hands had
the years of training on them. Scares layered his body but mortals couldn’t see them because of
the invisible barrier that covered all mortals’ eyes. He could easily heal the scares but left them
because it reminded him of what he was fighting for and knew that all scares couldn’t be healed.
He rarely studied but somehow always seemed to pass all his classes. But with Kyle there always
seemed something dark or secretive about him. He was a person you wanted to know more
about. He never told you about his history or background. Something happened to him when he
was younger and hated to talk about it. No one really knew who he was so it was hard to talk
about him.

When Kyle met James it seemed like the entire world just stopped. There was something about
James that made Kyle a different person. They became better friends when Kyle told James the
story of how he lost his parents in a house fire in third grade. Kyle had never shared this story
with anyone but for some reason, Kyle couldn’t keep anything from him. The feelings he had
toward James were unexplainable. Kyle felt as if he’d known James his entire life and could trust
him with anything. The way they moved together in battle as one and knew what the other one
was thinking was something of a surprised to him still. It felt like James was the only person in
the world that could understand him. He could see right through Kyle‘s barriers. So many efforts
to try to hide his emotions and when he was with James it seemed futile.

. They all live in the same house and went to the same school and after school they spend their
time fighting demons. Seemed like any ordinary day for them. But lately Kyle has been acting
unusual toward Julie.

“James we need to do something now, before the entire city is destroyed by those demons. For
some reason these demons don’t want to stay dead. The gate to the underworld isn’t closing
which allows the demons and other things to come back to the human would faster than they are
supposed to” said Kyle raising his voice.

“What makes you think Julie has anything to do with that? Julie has been your best friend since
fifth grade may I remind you” said James with a hint of anger.

“It’s just a feeling that I'm getting off her. Something’s not right about her and I don’t like it”
said Kyle with suspicion.

“Kyle, what are you talking about? Julie is the kindest, sweetest, most loving person I know. Plus
you don’t have any evidence to back up your theory” said James with a smooth voice.

“James, we have no time to argue, we can argue about Julie after we get out of here, alive
hopefully” said Kyle with a hint of humor.
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“Why are you talking about me like I am not standing right here listening to you two? I can hear
everything your saying, and Kyle, why can’t you trust me? We have been through a lot these past
few years and now you think I'm working against you. Plus, may I remind you that if I ever
betrayed you or James or the Society of the Light, I could be tried and killed for my actions.
Why would I risk that?” said Julie.

“All I'm saying is that you are different and I have my suspicions” said Kyle

“What are you keeping-”?

Chapter 3

The three teens moved with lightning speed and dodged the attacks of the three hydras.
Their mouths snapped and there claws struck out at then. Venom dripped off there fangs as they
imagined sinking their teeth into the bodies of the warriors. Hydra monsters love drinking the
blood of these warriors. It was like giving a child candy when they did something special or
good. In this case it was the other way around.

Pulling weapons out of their belts, the three young warriors charged themselves at the three
monsters. Julie grabs her two daggers and throws them both at the hydra. The first dagger
impacts the hydra right between the eyes and the second sinks itself into the hydras heart. The
hydra gets thrown back by the force of the daggers and hits the wall behind it. As it tries to claw
the daggers out of its chest and head, they erupt into flames and burn the hydra into pools of
blood, skin, and bones. Black liquid stains the ground turning it slippery and black.

These legendary warriors know that when dealing with a hydra monsters you have to lace your
weapons with runes of fire. The only way to kill a hydra is by burning its head so it can’t grow
another one and then striking its heart. As Julie turned around she saw that one of the hydra
monsters had gotten behind Kyle and was about to pounce on him.

“Kyle, behind you!!” screamed Julie

Turning on his heels he grabs his long sword and swings it with great power, rippling the air.
Kyle had cut off the hydra’s head clean. Expecting the hydra to be dead, he turns around and
starts walking to help James. The next moment Kyle feels a hard shove from the side and goes
flying into the window of a closed shop. Dropping and rolling like he was taught in self-defense
class, he lands on his heels.

Kyle turns around and sees James firing two arrows right into the hydras heads hitting it right
between the eyes. He pulls back hard on the bow with so much power that when the third arrow
flies through the air it hits the hydra and cutes into the skin and comes out the other end sticking
to the telephone pole. The hydra fly’s back from the impact of the arrows and burst into flames.
Julie runs over to the two boys and smacks Kyle on the back of the head.
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“Ouch, what was that for?” said Kyle sounding a bit hurt.

“Why are you so arrogant? Chopping a hydras head off only makes it grow two more heads you
idiot. You always behead them and then strike them in the heart to kill them you moron. You
could learn a thing or two from James” said Julie

“Wow, I’ve never heard so many insults in a sentence before” said Kyle with a laugh.

“You….. You….you could have just been killed because you turned your back to a hydra, if it
hadn’t been for James you would have been dead by now. Didn’t you learn anything in killing
hydras 101 class” said Julie.

“No, I think I slept through that class, had a busy night before and I know how to kill them, see
they are dead “ish” or more or less” said Kyle with a shrug.

“There is no dead “ish”, there is only dead, and you would know that if you ever paid attention in
class you moron’ said Julie angrily.

“Alright, you two are starting to sound like an old married couple, worse than my own parents, if
I remember them correctly and Kyle you do have to be more careful. Plus Julie is right; you
could learn a thing or two from me. How many times have I saved you now? Does this make 12
or 13 times? ” said James with the hint of a smile and a laugh.

“This only makes it 11 not 12, that time in Poland does not count and James, say another word
and I might just have to kill you” said Kyle

“You might as well try, but you could never defeat me in class, what makes you think you can
now” said James challenging him.

Quick as lightning, Kyle kicks James off his feet and knocks the wind out of him has he hits the
pavement. As James tried to get up, Kyle throws his weight on top of him and sits on his chest
holding his hands down. Their faces were inches apart. Both boys were breathing heavily and
they could feel each other’s heart beat pounding. The blood was boiling in both their bodies and
they each turned a right red.

“Well if you wanted to be on top, all you had to do was ask” says James with a smirk on his face.

“I'm sure you would like that too much James” says Kyle laughing.

“Alright you two, you’re going to make me throw up rainbows and unicorns” says Julie with a
hint of a smile on her face.

Kyle gets off James and helps him to his feet and throws him a look only James would know
what it meant. But pretending he hadn’t seen it he instead asked the question he hated.
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“Now Kyle, as I was saying before, what makes you think that Julie here is working for the dark,
evil, sinister queen” says James

“Sorry James can’t answer that question right now for you” says Kyle quickly

“And why not Kyle” says James smoothly

“Turn around and you will see” says Kyle with a smile

Chapter 4

“Why is it that we can never seem to get a break around here? How does she find us all the time”
said James sadly

“I know how she-”

James cut him off and said “Don’t you even dare say that she is using Julie as some kind of home
tracking device. Plus we all have runes that prevent us from being traced” said James

“Alright if that true then Julie can show us” said Kyle with a smirk.

“I’d be happy to show you, it’s not like you would get any excitement out of it” says Julie with a
laugh

She pulls the top part of her gear to show a white ink rune. It was slightly a blaze showing that it
was using its power to protect her from anyone trying to find her.

“I hope you are satisfied” Julie says with a smirk

“We need to leave now” James says

As the three teens run down the street away from the mass of demons waiting to rip them apart
with their sharp claws and teeth, Julie starts chanting a spell to open a portal. In a few seconds a
huge wide blue and green swirling portal opens up and they rush inside it. Once they were
through the portal closed behind them causing the room to go dark.

It was dark in the mansion but in the next moment the room was lit with candles. As the three
teens turned around they saw a dark shape in the corner. All three of them drew there weapons
Julie her daggers, James his bow, and Kyle his sword. Their skins blazed with the powers of the
angles.

“Who are you and how did you get in here, answer now and we may not kill you” said James in a
tight voice

“Oh James is that anyway to treat an old friend” said the strange figure
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As the boy stepped into the light, James could finally see who the figure was. He was wearing a
long, blue sleeve shirt and blue jeans. He had a baseball cap on which covered his face a bit. He
had somewhat of long hair that was the strawberry blond hair.

As he looked up you could tell that he had eyes that were the color of blue and green with a hint
of purple in the middle near the pupil. He had a deep tan that covered his entire body. In a way
he had the surfer body type where every time he moved you could see the muscles move. In one
hand he had a spell book and in the other a staff. Where Julie’s magic was used for opening
portals and animating animals and other things, the young man used his magic skills laid in
battle.

“Josh” says James with a stutter.

Chapter 5

“Do you know who this is” says Kyle

“Of course he does” says Julie pushing by Kyle and throwing herself at Josh only to be caught by
him. His spell book and staff seemed to disappear as soon as he caught her.

“What are you doing here Josh, the last time we saw you was in Alaska invading that camp with
all those banshee and you almost died because-

“Yes I remember those days when I would save you remember” said Josh with a laugh

‘What? You saving me, I remember it the other way around” says Julie with a giggle.

“Of course you would, you would never let a guy rescue you. Who would this be?” said Josh
with curiosity pointing at Kyle.

“Oh my bad this is Kyle Wyatt Silverlight and you know who James is” said Julie looking over
at James.

“Hello and can I ask who you are” said Kyle in a tight voice

“Oh my bad, where are my manners, my name is Josh William Morningstar” he said.

“James, why are you being so quite? Is everything ok? Said Julie with a worry, she knew what
happened the last time these boys saw each other.

. Back downstairs everyone was dead silent and didn’t know what to do. But what Kyle wanted
to know was what was up with those two.

Was there history that he didn’t know about? Or was there an incident that happened that made
them hate each other? Should he go up and see if he was ok or should he stay here? With all
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these thoughts going through his head he didn’t hear Julie when she asked him if he wanted
anything to eat.

“Sorry what did you say” said Kyle

“I said was there anything you wanted to eat, I'm heading into the kitchen to make something for
all of us” says Julie

“Yea, make what I always have and same for James. I’ll give it to him and if he doesn’t eat it I
will force it down his throat,” said Kyle trying to lighten the mood.

“Okay, it will be ready in 15 minutes, and then you can come and get it. Josh, you can help me
prepare the food; I know you’re an excellent chef,” she says with a smile.

As the two leave through a set of double doors that lead to the kitchen, Kyle went up the steps
heading towards James’s room. Walking up the steps he saw the photos that they all took
together. Those were the days when things seemed simple and all they did was kill demons and
upheld the laws so the mortals could live in peace. In his heart, Kyle knew that those days would
never come back.

Chapter 6 (Fifty Shades of James)

“Hold your fire buddy, it’s only me!” said Kyle with a startle.

“Sorry, I thought that you were someone else,” said James quietly.

“I have a feeling I know who you are talking about, and don’t worry, I'm not Josh. What is going
on with you two?” said Kyle with curiosity.

“I would rather not talk about that, come on in,” said James.

“Are you sure I'm not going to get shot at again?” said Kyle with a smile.

“Not unless Josh is behind you waiting to come in, I won’t,” said James.

“Well I promise you, it’s just me,” said Kyle smiling.

With lightning speed that James didn’t anticipate, he was lifted off his feet. James felt the hard
muscles that were on Kyle’s arms and looked up to see Kyle smiling down at him. James had
one arm over Kyle’s neck and the other was slowly stroking his perfect lips. James remembered
the very first time that Kyle had ever kissed him. It was raining; Kyle was wounded terribly by a
Mushhushshu dragon.
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His entire armor was ripped to shreds exposing the ragged claw marks on his back. Racing over,
James was stepping through pools of blood. When he reached Kyle he thought he was dead and
it seemed like the entire world had stopped turning and he couldn’t breathe. His heart slowed to
almost a stop and found it difficult to see. But when Kyle opened his eyes to find James right
there, could breathe again.

His heart started to pound and it felt like the entire world could hear it. The world started to spin
in a new light. As Kyle tried to speak, James hushed him and told him to rest and that he was
going to be all right. But Kyle needed to get this off his chest, because the way James looked at
that moment, with this wet blond hair sticking to the side of his face and the way his chest rose
and fell.

The way the light caught the rain droplets and shone onto James was like nothing he had seen
before. If the universe let him, James could have stood up, unfurled his wings and flown into the
heavens above. Looking into his eyes and holding his hand Kyle said, “All I want from you is
your touch and love. That’s all I ask of you. I don’t need any gifts or goods; I don’t need any
demonstration of devotion, only knowing that you love me.”

As soon as those words left his lips, Kyle leaned up and kissed him. It was as if everything
melted away. The pavement disappeared and so did the dead body of the Mushhushshu dragon.
The pain that Kyle was feeling seemed to disappear. The taste of James’s lips was like nothing
before.

Having this memory going through his head only sweetened the moment as Kyle carried him
over to the bed. He gently laid James on the covers of the bed and slowly raised his hands to
bring the helm of his shirt up. Slowly he brought his hands under and felt the hard soft muscles
underneath. James sighed from the touch, sending shock waves through his entire body. James
had always loved it when Kyle touched him. He was gentle, but fierce when he needed to be. His
hands were rough from the training that they both went through, but they had a different kind of
softness to them. Where other people found the scars and battle wounds as imperfection, James
found them to be a thing of beauty and a history that was written over their bodies.

The way he held James was always with care. As Kyle brought his mouth close to James, he
could see his beautiful green eyes. One of many traits that made his heart race and pulse quicken.
Kyle leaned down and kissed his mouth and felt the softness of his lips as they touched. James
brought his hands up and entangled them into Kyle’s thick jet black hair. He pressed his lips
harder to Kyle’s and felt both of their body shape perfectly into each other.

It was as if they were two puzzle pieces coming together. There was a hint of vanilla on James
lips as their mouths locked and the only thing that mattered at the moment was each other. The
kiss became more passionate as both of their bodies pressed together. Heat came off of them in
waves as James pushed Kyle down and rolled on top of him. James kissed him even harder now;
both of their hands explored each other’s bodies.
 11

The next moment both shirts were off and the two were wrapped in each other’s arms. Their
blood was boiling now, heat surged through both of them. Everywhere that they touch, there
nerves jumped all over again. James kissed Kyle’s lips and slowly went down kissing his cheek
and then his neck. James made his way down Kyle’s chest. Kyle moaned and entangled his
hands in James’s light, thick, silky blond hair.

Kyle then brought James’s head back to his own and kissed him with all the love he felt for him.
They moved as one in the bed as they always did in battle. Kyle then flipped James and landed
on top of him and sat on his legs. He leaned in for a kiss and wrapped his hands around Kyle.
James felt the hard muscles that layered his body. The heat and sensation saw starting to
overwhelm him, but it only made the moment greater. The gentleness began to fade and
fierceness took its place.

The door to the room opens and both boys look up to find Josh standing in the entryway. James
slips out of the bed and picks up his shirt off the floor and puts it on. Kyle just sits up and looks
at James and then at Josh whose face went completely blank.

“I hope you do know there is something called knocking before barging in,” said Kyle.

“I'm sorry, I just came up here to tell you guys that dinner was ready,” said Josh in a quiet voice.

“Thank you Josh, can you give us some privacy please?” said Kyle.

“Yea no problem, sorry for disturbing you guys” said Josh. He closed the door and headed back
down the hallway. His steps echoed through the corridor down the stairs as he retreated further
into the house.

“What the hell was that all about?” said Kyle.

“Nothing, we should head down for dinner, before our food gets cold, or Julie kills us for not
coming,” said James with a low voice.

“Hold on James”, as Kyle reached out and tried to grab his hand. “What’s wrong with you, your
acting totally different and you’re not talking to me. I wish you would tell me what’s going on,”
said Kyle with a sad voice.

Without answering Kyle, James stood up and walked out of the room without a signal word.
Kyle just stared at James as he opens the door, walks out, and closes it behind him.

Chapter 7

“Hmmmm, the food smells delicious as always Julie” said James with a smile.

“Awe thanks James, you always know how to charm a lady” said Julie with a laugh.
 12

“Yea Julie, the food smells fantastic, what did you make?” said Josh in a sarcastic tone as he
walked out of the kitchen.

“Well since you helped me cook the food Josh I would hope you knew what you were making,
and where is Kyle?” said Julie

“He said he would be right down” said James and Josh together.

The entire room went quiet and the two boys looked at each other. It was as if a thunder storm
had hit the living room. You could feel the electricity coming and going through the open
windows.

Breaking the tension Julie said, “Ok well someone should tell him to get down here before the
food gets cold and I have to kill him.

“No need” said Kyle as he came into the living room.

There was a big round table in the center of the living room which held at least eight people.
Candles lit the entire room and gave it a mystical kind of mood. The table was made out of dark
oak and was polished well that it shone. The room was layered with photos of the three of them
and little trinkets they collected over the years. There were mask from the western tribes in
Africa, samurai swords from japan, and Russian hates. The windows were open and there was a
slight breeze in the air. The moon was bright tonight and light up most of the room.

As Kyle sat next to James he gave him this look that could only mean he needed to talk to him
and there was no way he was going to let him get out of it. Julie seeing this glance and knowing
what it meant said “Is everything all right with you two and James is there any way you could
actually talk to Josh” said Julie gently.

James looked up and saw Josh for the first time since they walked through the portal. James saw
how he had changed. The way his jaw line was sharper and more angled. His skin had become
softer looking and was tanner then he could recall. His hair was longer than he remembered. It
was a bit darker with highlights in them. The way the candle light bounced off his hair all most
made it look like he had a light yellow, golden blown aura around him.

His eyes had somehow become gentler. They were less intense and not as cruel as he had once
known them to be. He felt as if he could really look into the soul of Josh and see the real him.
With Josh staring back at James all the memories that they had of each other flooded to his mind
and that’s when he felt this eyes sting. He hadn’t noticed that his eyes started to tear up.

“Excuse me, I'm going for a walk, don’t wait up, I’ll be a while” said James as he stood up and
walked out of the living room before anyone said anything. He walked to the hallway that lead to
the front door and grabbed his jacket and umbrella that were hanging on a peg. Then he felt a
hand on his shoulder and knew immediately who it was before he even had to turn around. It was
 13

Kyle, it seemed that Kyle was always there for him lately and all he did was throw it back into
this face.

Before Kyle had time to get one sentence out of his mouth James leaned in and kissed him. This
kiss had totally blown him off his feet. It was the last thing he had expected. He knew that he
should pull back and ask what’s wrong with him. But he couldn’t, he was drawn into the kiss and
couldn’t pull away. The kiss was soft and gentle. As James pulled back he said, “Kyle I just need
some time to think and clear my head. I promise that I’ll explain everything to you once I get
back. But for now I need some time to myself”.

“James I trust you completely, but you’re scaring me lately. I worry about you all the time and if
you need time to think and clear your head that’s fine. Just talk to me, down crawl back to that
place. Oh and if you’re going out at least take this with you” said Kyle as he handed him a small
dagger that had his family crest on it. An arrow with vines and leafs encircling it.

James took the knife and gave a small kiss to Kyle as he went out of the house. When he stepped
outside he noticed that it was drizzling. He didn’t know why he grabbed the umbrella, he didn’t
mind the rain. He loved it in fact. It felt like all his troubles in the world slipped away like the
rain drops off his jacket. He didn’t know where he was going; all he wanted was to get out of the
house.

He had loved living in Michigan, being right by one of the great lakes and feeling the breeze
coming right off of it. James had traveled to a lot of places but for some reason this place seemed
more like home. As James walked on, he started to notice that someone was following him.

He cursed himself that he hadn’t brought any weapons with him. But he noticed that he had the
umbrella and the small throwing knife that Kyle had given him. He would have to thank him for
that when he got back. Sometimes James had the ability to “feel” when danger was near. He
should have noticed it when he grabbed the umbrella. As James walked father into town, the
strange shape continued to follow. James turned the corner and hid behind a set of trashcans.

Waiting for the stranger to walk by, he noticed there was a foul smell in the air. This was no
ordinary smell. It had the strong smell of sulfur and milk that had been left out in the sun too
long. It also smelled of fresh human blood, and only one creature had this kind of smell. James
froze and felt like he couldn’t breathe. It was one of the queen’s personal hunters. This particular
demon never gave up on a hunt once it was given one. The only way to get rid of it was to kill it.

Chapter 8

Sitting there by the trashcans James went through ways these hunters could be killed. Magic had
no effect on it and the thing he needed right now was in the armory. Only arrows dipped in the
blessed water of the church could kill these things. As the demon walked by he stopped and
 14

smelled the air. This type of demon tracked people by their scent. They had terrible eye sight, but
where they lacked in seeing they made it up well in hearing and smelling. These things could
hear up to 8 miles and could smell things 5 miles away.

Hiding from these things was almost useless. That’s when a thought went through James’s head.
He slowly pulled out his umbrella and laid it next to him. Lucky the rain and the stench of the
trash kept his scent from over whelming the area. Then he slowly set his mind to rest and
thought about Julie. In their studies they learned about warriors that could connect with each
other and to be able to send messages telepathically.

The only catch about it was you had to have a personal belonging of them or an object that had
meaning. It was a good thing that James never took his necklace off that he got from Julie for his
twelfth birthday. They were in Alaska on a mission to find one of the queen’s camps. Kyle was
on another mission so it was up to the two of them. They had stopped in a nearby town to rest
and stock up on supplies. They were walking by a small jewelry store and something had caught
Julie’s eyes so she went inside.

She looked around and that’s when something caught her eye. She saw two small bears on a
chain and couldn’t resist the urge to buy them. The unique part of the bears was one was white
with a few black spots and the other was black with a few white dots. Walking out of the store
she gave the one that was black to James and the white one she kept. Very slowly James brought
he hand up to the chain and grabbed the bear. Slowly he set all this thoughts on Julie, the way her
hair smelled, the way she fought, the way she would smile and laugh and even the day they first
met. Then he sent all his thoughts to Julie. All of a sudden James felt his pant pocket vibrate.
That moment he knew he was dead. The demon looked over and threw one of the trash cans at
James. Jumping straight into the air, he grabbed the throwing knife from his back pocket and
threw it right at the hunter. Hitting it in the middle of his forehead and throwing it back a couple
steps from the impact of the knife he only made the hunter angrier.

Landing back down on the ground the demon charged him. Running straight at the thing, James
jumped in the air and did a summersault. Though the demon predicting what he was going to do
he grabbed James’s leg and threw him right at the hard pavement.

James saw black spots in his eyes and tried to get up but the demon was already on him. He
picked him up by the waist and threw him at the wall. As James smashed into the wall, he tasted
blood. Be brought his hand up to his forehead and saw blood on his fingers. As the demon came
in for another blow James rolled out of the way, summersaulted off the wall and grabbed the
knife out of the hunters face. As the drizzling rain turned into a down pore his vision became
worse. The demon charged James again. James ran at it, but this time instead of going over him
he hit the pavement and slid under the demon while stabbing it in the leg. Black thick tar came
oozing out of his thigh. James got to his feet and flipped kicked him sending him flying into the
side of a building. Annoyed and angry, he grabbed the knife out of his thigh and threw it at
 15

James. James grabbed the trashcan lid and used it as a shield. The dagger hit the trashcan lid and
sank in. The blade was inches from his face. James threw the daggers at the demon to distract
him from what he was about to do. Throwing the lid on the ground he jumped on it using it like a
sled. The demon dodged the blade but was not expecting what came next. Flip kicking the lid,
James sent it flying at the demon. Not seeing this coming the lid hit the demon in the arm taking
it cleanly off.

The demon screaming in rage and angry as the hot fires of hell he started to chant. This was not
something that James had remembered from his studies. James was sore, tired, and bloody and
didn’t know how much of this he could take.

The next moment the ground opened up and three demon hounds and two demon warriors sprang
out charging James. James disarmed the first demon easily and high kicked him back into hell.
Using the sword from the demon he uppercut the other demons hands and feet off. Still the
demon came after him. Taking the sword he swung it with lighting speed and cut off the head.
The body disintegrated before his eyes. Being distracted, one of the demon hounds launched
itself at James and knocked him to the ground. The sword went flying in the other direction. He
hit his head on the pavement and saw stars. Before the hound could devour him he grabbed the
head and twisted it until he heard unnatural snapping. The dog went limp. But two more took his
place. Getting to his feet he ran for the nearest building. The demon hounds were on his heels, as
one of them launched itself at James, James jumped into the air and punched the hound in the
face. James landed on his feet but the hound landed on the ground with his face smashed in.
slowly the hound disintegrated. The hunter then yelled at the last hound to back off. Slowly it
went to his master. James was wondering what was going on. Why would he call off the attack?
Then before he could realize he saw the silver of a dagger flying at him. Moving with lighting
speed he moved out of the way, but just barely. What came next was not the end but only the
beginning. As James moved out of the way of the flying dagger, the demon launched itself at
James and plugged the sword into James. James took a step back and fell.

Blood and dirt clung to him and he looked like the living dead. His blond hair was smeared with
blood and dirt. His clothes where ripped everywhere and he was slowly losing consciousness. He
was slowly losing the feeling in his body. All he saw now was the rain pouring down on him and
the grey sky that covered this world.

Chapter 9

“James! James! James!” screamed Kyle as he shook James. When Julie told Kyle and
Josh that James was in trouble, the three of them raced to find him. When Kyle found James on
the ground, clothes ripped, body smeared with dirt and what he thought and hoped was not
blood, was. His blooded boiled and he charged the demon. But not before Julie grabbed him and
told him that the demon could only be killed by an arrow blessed by the churches water.
 16

While Julie raced back, Josh distracted the demon with his spell casting, while Kyle raced to
James side. Tears fell down his cheek, while he screamed in agony. He knew that James couldn’t
be dead. It was impossible. Just then he felt his chest rise. But his breathes were weak and
shallow. He knew that he was hanging on. He had to get him out of here before the demon
noticed that he didn’t finish James off.

“Hold on James, hold on for me” said Kyle in a raw voice. Kyle slowly tried to lift James but
when he heard him moan he put him back down.

“Kyle please don’t, just leave me here, I'm not going to make it” said James in a shallow raw
voice.

“NO!! don’t talk like that James. I'm going to save you, if it’s the last thing I do. I will not lose
you, not after I just got you” said Kyle in a strong confident voice.

The next moment Kyle screamed out in agony and was lifted off his feet and thrown into the
tailors shop. Instinct kicked in and he rolled landing on his feet. The demon was standing over
James with a smear look on his face.

“You can’t save everyone young warrior” said the demon in a deep rough voice as if two sand
pieces of paper were grinding together.

“Watch me” said a voice

As the demon turned around, an arrow went clean through him. He groaned and fell to his knees
dropping James. Standing behind him was Julie herself. Wet hair flying behind her as the storm
raged on. She looked like the avenging angel herself. With her red gear and high heel boots that
could kill a moral with on kick. The long bow in her arm, arrow knocked and ready for fire.

The demon stared to rise again, but not before another arrow flew and stuck into its head, right
between the eyes. The demon went limb and fell forward snapping the arrow in half. Josh, Julie,
and Kyle ran toward James. Julie put her fingers on his neck to check for a pulse. There was one
there but it was weak.

“We need to do something now” said Kyle in a shaky voice.

“Here let me try something, I am specialized in magic” said Josh.

“Yea, in combat and fighting and cursing magic” said Julie and Kyle at the same time.

“If you did anything you would most likely make it worse. For now stay out of the way and let
Julie try” said Kyle in a harsh tone.

“What makes you think I can do anything” said Julie to Kyle.

 17

“James told me that you practiced healing magic a long time ago until something went wrong
and you swore never to use it again” said Kyle softly.

“Kyle I haven’t practiced it in years, I would do more harm than good” said Julie

“Julie you have to try, this is James we are talking about” said Kyle in a pleading voice.

“I'm sorry Kyle I can’t. My magic betrayed me a long time ago and I swore I would never rely
on it again” she said in a sad voice.

“Then you doomed James to a terrible fate and hopefully he can fight his way back to us, and
fight his way back to me” said Kyle furiously.

“You are not the only one who cares and loves James. Don’t you think I would do everything in
my power to save him if I could? I don’t want to use a magic that would most likely kill him then
save him” said Julie with frustration on her voice.

“We need to leave now, before we attract attention and more demons come, I'm guessing he
wasn’t alone” said Josh

“At least open a portal for us, or are you afraid you will kill us all” said Kyle in a harsh tone.

“We need to move NOW, the demon is rising again. And I doubt he is happy about getting an
arrow in the face” said Josh.

As Kyle picked up James, Julie opened a portal and they raced through it. When they were all
through it, Kyle raced to the infirmary. Kyle could tell that James didn’t have much time. He had
to call upon the brothers and sister for assistance. He slowly put James on one of the beds and
raced off to the information room. Racing into the room he noticed that someone was already
there.

Julie was the kind of person that would never cry or show her true emotions to anyone. She hated
to show her weak side and always thought she had to look tough to everyone. When she noticed
that someone was in the room she turned around and Kyle could read everything on her face. He
didn’t even have to ask. He could just tell. He went over to her and hugged her. They stayed
there for a couple minutes taking in the silence.

“Come and see James with me while we wait for the brothers and sister to come” said Kyle
gently.

Julie shook her head, not trusting her voice to hold if she spoke. She left like the worst person
ever. She betrayed her best friend and felt like she, in a way killed him. Why was she afraid of
her power, she could never understand this. She just remembered that one day when she needed
it the most and it let her down.
 18

Ever since then she didn’t trust it and that made her stronger because she learned new skills and
didn’t rely on something as much as magic. Even though the only magic she ever did was open
portals because she had been learning that old magic since she that guy came to her and told her
who she truly was.

“All right then, you will know where I’ll be if you need anything. Plus where is josh”?

“I’ll go find him” said Julie and then she was gone.

Kyle walked back to the infirmary and when he turned the corner to enter it he noticed that
something was different about the room. It was in a sense lighter and less dark. As if the tension
was gone and replaced by light and purity. He had only felt this once before and that was at his
mother’s and father’s funeral. Knowing and not wanting it to be true, he raced over to James and
grabbed his arm. He tried to find a pulse but he couldn’t. James was dead.

Chapter 10

James woke up to find himself in a room. There were no windows or doors in this room
and he felt trapped and helpless. He tried to find anything he could to use as a weapon. The room
was plain and was lit by candles. The walls were made out of stones and in a way it seemed
familiar. But that could not have been possible because he knew that he was dead. So many
thoughts were going through his head. What would happen to Julie and Kyle? How would this
affect the tam in general?

And would the queen feel less threatened now that the prophecy was averted. The next moment
one of the walls came sliding out to reveal a man standing in the doorway. But James swore that
there was no door there before. Were his eyes playing him? The man came up to him and it
seemed as if all the light in the world was soaked up by him.

“Do you wish to see your friends and family again?” said the strange man

“What? Who are you? What am I doing here? Where am I? I have so many questions” said
James confused.

“Just answer the question and everything will be fixed” said the strange figure. There was
something about him that made you want to crawl into a hole and think that there is no hope left
in this world. The figure looked as if was surrounded by darkness and even the clothes he wore
didn’t seem like clothes but dark shadows.

Then, as if a new day was starting, the sun started to rise and in the center of the light was a man.
It looked like the bright light would just burn him up and turn him to ashes.
 19

As the man came closer the feeling of darkness and helplessness was gone. The feeling in his
body was coming back to him. As he got closer the man that was standing there looked familiar.
Someone that he hadn’t seen in a very long time and thought he would never see again. Tears
rolled down James’s face as he ran to the young gentlemen.

“James it’s great to see, it has been too long brother” said Peter with a smile.

The two boys hugged and for the first time in a long time James felt like everything in the world
was right.

“What are you doing here” said James.

“I’m here to help you either move to the world beyond or go back to the life you had before” said
Peter.

“How can you even think that I could go back to the other world when I can stay here with you?
Are time together was torn apart and it wasn’t fair. Why must I leave you again?”

“James, I want you to know that you have a bigger destiny then being here with me and you have
people that love you and want to see you and hold you again. You know of whom I speak of”
said Peter.

“And what about the time that was torn apart from us? You and I made the perfect team and you
left me, you didn’t even fight” said James raising his voice and cracking toward the end.

“James I didn’t leave you on purpose-”

“You said you would wait for me before you left and you lied. I blamed myself for your death
for years. Every time your death anniversary came, I was broken. I would lock myself in my
room and not talk to anyone for the entire day. It felt like my entire body was breaking, my heart
could not take all the sorrow. I felt as if I couldn’t breathe” said James as tears began to roll
down his face.

He had started to back away from Peter. It felt as if the entire room was closing in on him and he
felt short of breath. It was like he was dying all over again. That’s when he felt it, the blacking
and the lightheadedness. The next moment he was on the ground and unconscious.

Julie walked in with Josh and the brothers and sisters of healing to find Kyle on his knees with
his hands covering his eyes. She knew before she even had to ask what was wrong. She could
feel it in the air, the sense that a soul has left the room. The dead silence when you see a body
just lying there. Whenever you look at a body you can tell when they are alive or dead. They
have a sense of living in them and the sense of beauty of peace. She walked over to Kyle and put
a hand on his shoulder. Kyle looked up and Julie saw the rage in them and bent down to hold
him. But when she tried to, he pushed her away and stormed out of the room. No one even had a
chance to say anything.
 20

“Can you all please give me a few minutes with him” said Julie as her voice cracked.

“Yes” said Josh

“Of course” said the brothers and sisters.

As everyone left the room and the door closed behind them, Julie sat down next to James dead
body. All she could do was staring at the body in front of her.

“You can’t leave me James. You promised me you would never leave. You’re breaking your
promise. Come back to me James” said Julie.

Tears trailed down her face. She laid her face on James’s chest and let loose the tighten feeling in
her chest. Once the tears came she couldn’t stop them. She heard a knock on the door and
realized that everyone was still outside. She wiped her face on the sleeve and went to the door.

“Can you do anything” said Julie with a scared voice.

“We can try and bring his soul back from the underworld, but it uses powerful magic and a great
cost must be paid” said one of the bothers in a dry soft voice.

“We will pay anything to have him back” said Julie quickly.

“Ok, we will see what we can do, but you must know that to bring one life back you first need to
give up another in its place. The keeper of the souls doesn’t like having them taken without
giving one back” said the hooded man.

“Are you saying that in order for us to bring back James, we have to kill someone in his place.
Like a soul for a soul?” said Julie in a scared voice.

“That is the way it works. You cannot mess with the power of the cosmic universe and not have
it kill you instantly, it is why only angles have that kind of power” said the man.

“Is there anything else that you can do, don’t you know some spell or something. You’re
supposed to be the legendary brothers and sisters of healing. I’ve heard stories about you guys,
how you could heal a person just by looking at them. I heard about how you guys saved all those
people from the blight in Egypt with one wave of your hand, or how you cured all the people in
the Middle East hospital by just saying a single word. Are you saying that you can’t do a single
thing for James who has been giving his life to serving your kind and the Society of Light” said
Julie raising her voice on very other word until she was screaming and yelling.

She had finally broken down. Her knees could not hold her up any long and she buckled to the
ground. Josh swooped down and grabbed her before she could hit the floor. Julie just screamed
and held onto Josh. She screamed until her throat was raw and she could yell no longer. The
 21

world didn’t feel the same. It was hopeless, what did she have to live for now. All the plans they
had were gone. It was all her fault and she was never going to let herself forget this.

“Julie you should shower and get some rest” said Josh quietly.

All she could do was nod. She didn’t have any strength in her left. Josh put his hands under her
legs and one hand was under her arms. He picked her up and carried her to her room. It felt like
she was in a trans, like she was on auto pilot. She closed the door to her room and went into the
bathroom that was attached to her room. She stripped her dirty clothes off and let them fall to the
ground. It was chilly in the bathroom. She opened the sliding door to the shower and stepped in.
The hot water hit her right way. Julie just stood there and thought about all the good times she
had with James. The memories overwhelmed her and she slid down the wall and crouched on the
shower floor and cried. She felt like all the pain and agony was washing down the drain, the
blood, dirt, and all the sorrows in the world.

After an hour had past, she turned off the shower and dried off. When she walked into her room
the steam from the shower poured into the room. It was like fog descending upon an open field.
The towel was the only thing that was keeping her body warm. She walked over to her dresser
and pulled out a hoodie and a warm pair of sweatpants. She walked into the bathroom again and
let the towel fall off her body. She saw her reflection in the mirror and thought she looked like
the bridesmaid from hell. She put on the sweats and hoodie; she pulled her hair back into a pony
tail and walked back into her room. Everywhere her body ached and she felt like she was going
to pass out any minute. It must have been three of four in the morning. As she was getting into
bed she heard a knock on her door.

“Yes?” said Julie.

“Can I come in” said the person on the other side of the door.

The voice on the other side of the door sounded so much like James. She knew that was
impossible and it must be her mind playing mind games on her. It must have been Josh or Kyle
checking up on her. She always saw the three boys as her older brothers and loved the thought of
it. They were always there for her when no one else was. Since they all had to leave their
families she had to make a new one and was happy that she did it with them. Now thinking that
she had lost one member of her family members brought tears to her eyes. She had to stop,
someone was at the door and she had to get out of her warm bed and tell Josh or Kyle that she
was fine and wanted to be left alone. She got out of bed and her feet touched the coldness of the
floor. She shivered and went to open the door. As she turned the doorknob and swung the door
open she saw the familiar slim body of a boy. Her eyes took in the scene in front of her and when
her brain finally started to register that the person in front of her was not Kyle or Josh but James
himself she froze.
 22

Chapter 11

The first couple of minutes all she could do was stare at the boy standing in front of her. She
thought it was her mind playing tricks on her. She had seen his limp body lying in the infirmary.
In her heart she knew it was James, but it was impossible. The dead don’t come back from the
underworld. Having her battle instincts kick in she grabbed the knife off the dresser by the door
and kicked James off his feet. When James realized what was happening, he was on the floor
with a knife at his throat.

“What the hell are you doing Julie” said James in a grunt.

“You can’t be alive; we all saw your dead body. There is something wrong with you. Only the
brothers and sister have the power to bring back the dead” rage had boiled up inside her.

“Julie I swear to you on all creation that it’s me. I can always tell about that night that you all
most-”

“Oh my god, please stop, stop, stop, I don’t need to relive that memory. But how is this even
possible? We must talk to the brothers and sisters now” said Julie as she helped James to his feet.

“Julie, I’m sorry for what happened. I know the kind of-“

“James please do not do this now. When I saw the life go out of you, it was like my world had
come crashing down on me. You promised me that you would never leave me, and you almost
broke that promise. I’m overjoyed that you came back, but whom or whatever brought you back
must have had a reason” said Julie looking into James eyes.

Slowly James reached for Julie and felt the warmth of her arm and pulled her into his embrace.
Julie put her head on this chest and could hear the beat of his heart like anyone living person.
They stood there in the entryway of her door.

“We need to go and see them James. Only they have the answers we are looking for” said Julie
lightly

“Stay with me” said James quietly.

“Always, through life and death” said Julie with a smile.

She took James’s hand slowly they walked down the halls to the infirmary room. The brothers
and sisters where standing over an empty table. There was no sign of Kyle or Josh in the room.
The hooded figures looked over and saw James standing there in the entryway of the infirmary.
Suddenly James let go of Julies hand and was on the ground holding his head and screaming in
agony. The screams echoed down the hallways, and when Julie looked down at James there was
a pool of blood that had started to form. They were gradually torturing him from the inside out.
 23

“Stop it your killing him” screamed Julie as she raced towards the clothed figures.

Suddenly she was lifted off her feet and thrown against the wall where she was pinned up against
the wall. Opening her eyes she saw black spots and blacked out.

Through the agony and pain James opened his eyes and saw Julies limp body against the wall.
Anger swelled up inside him and felt a rage more powerful than he ever thought was possible.
Suddenly he felt the pain slowly release and lightness he never felt before. The room had
suddenly become brighter.

“What is this magic?” said the brothers in a hiss.

When James looked over at Julie, she was surrounded in a brilliant white light. As the light died,
James ran over to Julie as her body slide down the wall. When he reached her, her eyes were
bright white. She stood up and held out her hand. In her palm of her hand there was a small ball
of light. James knew right away what it was. It was the orb of light. The first light that began the
group the “Society of Light”, only the angles had this. The brothers and sister started to chant the
words of power.

“How dare you speak the words of power to me, you puny, pathetic, arrogant, indulgent, piece of
earth crap. If you wish to speak and spell me then it shall be.

The next moment the bothers screamed in torment. As James looked over at them she saw their
mouths melt together and there features distorted.

“Never shall you speak the words of power again. Never shall you see the day of light. For you
shall always live in the city of the dead. Banned to watch and keep the dead from crossing into
the living world. You shall be feared by all, and never will your powers be used for hurting but
only for healing. You have been exiled for hurting my children. Even you know the legend of the
three. Three shall be born, for only three will know. Power of evil grows in the lands of the
unknown, for one will try to stop thy three, but only in the eyes of the beholder they shall see.
Love will only set them free, or will despair break the three” said the voice that came out of
Julie.

With the snap of her fingers the figures were gone and Julie crashed to the floor steaming.

Chapter 12

Hearing the commotion in the infirmary room, both Josh and Kyle started running to where all
the noise was. As soon as they had entered the room, the first thing they noticed was the
disfiguration of the brothers and sister. The second was Julie lying on the floor steaming. What
caught Kyle by surprise and nearly made him faint was the figure that was over Julie’s body. It
seemed as if time had stopped. Everything was moving slowly, even his heart. Before he knew
 24

what his body was doing he started to walk over to Julie and the other figure. It seemed as if it
took years to get to them, but also only seconds. His head was spinning and he felt as if he
couldn’t hold himself up any longer. Before he could hold the words back he was whispering.

“James, James, is that really you” said Kyle in a whisper.

James realizing that he had not told anyone else that he had returned from the dead turned around
and saw Kyle for what seemed the first time. Everything around them seemed to disappear and
melt away as the boys saw each other for what seemed like the first time in a hundred years.
Hearts were pounding and the blood running hot in both of the boy’s veins. Kyle, just standing
there and looking at someone he thought was dead. James realizing the hesitation reached for
Kyle’s face. His body closed the distance and the boys were looking into each other’s eyes once
again. Kyle hadn’t realized that he had started to tear up until a drop of tear fell from his eyes.
Not being able to hold it back, Kyle’s tears came faster and faster. Everything that Kyle tried to
hold back earlier came rushing to the surface. His mouth opened and before he could say a word,
James’s lips came crashing down on them. The heat was unlimited and like wild fire, they could
have been their own sun. Passion, love and everything else that James and Kyle hadn’t know
they were holding back came to the surface of their kiss. The kiss seemed to last a life time but
also only seconds. James being the first one to pull away from the kiss looked over at Josh who
was standing there watching them. It was only a split second, but in the second James saw Joshes
face change.

Realizing that they had forgotten that Julie was lying on the floor, James picked her up and put
her on one of the infirmary beds. James pulling her hair back from her face saw that her eyes
were moving.

“Julie, Julie, can you hear me?” said James in almost a whisper

The only noise Julie made was a low grown and then her body went still. James putting his head
on her chest to see if there was a beat, luckily there was, but it was faint. Whatever the Angel
had done to her, it almost took her life.

James turned around to find both boys staring at him.

“We need to give her time to rest and recover” said James.

“Recover from what?” said Kyle and Josh together.

“It is complicated to say, things happened so fast and things kind of went in a blur” said James
while looking down on the ground.

“How are you alive? What happened to the brothers and sisters? Why is Julie like this? James we
need answers and right now and you are the only one that can give them to us” said Josh in a
harsh tone.
 25

“Dude leave him alone, he is in as much shock as you are in right now. What we all need is some
rest and to figure this all out tomorrow” said Kyle with as much gentleness as he could muster.

“I’ll stay here and watch over Julie, in case she wakes up” said James as the two boys were
leaving the room.

“James you need sleep too, we all have been through so much today that a clear head is needed
for tomorrow” said Kyle.

“Kyle is right, no offense, but you look like the living dead right now” said Josh with a bit of
humor in his voice.

“Josh, can you give Kyle and I a few minutes alone please” said James with as much kindness as
he could muster”.

“Yea sure thing” said Josh and walked out of the room.

Before Kyle had time to say anything James walked over to him and kissed him softly. The kiss
was powerful but gentle all at the same time. James moved his hands up to tangle them in Kyle’s
hair. As the kiss drew on it became more powerful and more passionate. Strangely James had a
new smell about him that Kyle had never realized. He smelled less of Vanilla and more of a
stronger smell that he had never smelled before.

James pulled back from the kiss, knowing that if it went any further that they would head up to
his bedroom and do things they know they shouldn’t right now.

“Kyle, right now I need to be next to Julie, I can’t explain it, but I need time to think and make
sure that she is fine. If anything happened to her, I would never forgive myself” said James as he
stared at the floor.

Kyle taking his finger took James’s chin and raised it so he could look into his eyes. They were
the same eyes he had stared into a thousand times. Soft, kind, and full of love, but this time there
was something else in them. A sort of sadness and darkness you only saw in certain people.
There was a darker tint in his eyes as if battling something dark inside of him. A lot changed
when he died and seeing it in his eyes made him worry even more.

“James, all I want is to be with you and I want you to know that you are never alone. You will
always have people here who love you and will die protecting you. I know you feel as if you
have to do everything by yourself and that it is easier hurting yourself instead of the people you
love, but James know that when your heart stopped beating, so did mine. I love you like I have
never loved anything else in this world. I would do anything for you, I would protect you with
my life and I want you to lean on me when you feel weak. James, you are my world and I can’t
live in it without you” said Kyle with a softness that James had never heard Kyle use before.
 26

Tears had started to sting at the corners of James eyes. Kyle took his finger and wiped the tear
that had escaped from James’s eye.

“I love you too” said James in almost a whisper.

“You will know where I’ll be if you want to talk or just be with someone” said Kyle as he
reached over and kissed James and left the room.

It left like the kiss was the last thing James could feel as he went over to Julie’s bed, grabbed a
chair and sat there holding her hand as the night turned form pitch black to a lighter hopefull sky
blue.

Not being able to get much sleep, Kyle woke up in a tussle of sheets. The window was open and
a slight breeze was coming through the window. It looked to be about 7 in the morning. Giving
up on sleep, Kyle walked over to the bathroom that was attached to his room and turned on the
shower. Closing the door behind him, he waited for the shower to heat up. Looking in to the
mirror he noticed all the bruises on his face and the shadows under his eyes. Stripping off his
shirt and pants he saw how much damaged his body had really taken from last night. Stepping
into the shower, the hot water poured over his body and the heat soaked his cold chilling skin.
The sensation was almost too great. He closed his eyes and felt the water pour all over his body.
Once he was satisfied and the water ran cold, he turned off the shower, grabbed the towel and
opened the bathroom door to his bedroom. Steam rolled into the room, causing the mirror next to
the door to fog up. Ditching the towel for a pair of jeans and a warm sweater, Kyle made his way
down stairs to the kitchen where he found Josh already up and making breakfast. The kitchen
smelled of fresh coffee, bacon and eggs with waffles. Kyle had always loved the smell of coffee
and so did James. He remembered how in the mornings he would bring two cups of coffee from
the kitchen to the bedroom and the two of them would spend the morning in there talking and
laughing about things they had done.

Having the thought of James pop into his mind he asked Josh if James was still in the infirmary
looking after Julie.

“I don’t know I only just woke up. I assume he is still there. If I know James the way I do, he
would never leave Julie’s side” before he could hold the words back, they were already said.

“What do you mean that you know James the way you do?” said Kyle in a questioning tone.

“Don’t worry about it” said Josh as he tried to brush the subject aside.
 27

“Alright then, well I am going to check on James” said Kyle as he grabbed two cups of coffee
and left the kitchen. As he left the kitchen, he could tell that Joshes’ eyes were staring into the
back of Kyle’s shoulder blades.

As Kyle walked down the hallway towards the infirmary, he felt as if he were having a de ja vu.
Before he could really think on it he had walked into the infirmary and saw James lying in the
chair looking very much uncomfortable and holding Julie’s hand. He had to chuckle a little,
remembering that James had told him that he could almost sleep anywhere and that is one of the
many things that Kyle loves about him. He walked over to him and shook him a bit, James
stirred in his sleep and Kyle couldn’t help but move the hair that had come into his face to the
side. It seemed like James had felt the touch and woke up.

“Hmmm, please tell me that one of those cups of coffee is for me, and if not I think I would have
to kill you for it” said James with a bit of a chuckle.

“Morning there handsome” said Kyle as he handed the other cup of coffee to James.

“Hmm, well doesn’t someone look beautiful this morning? Is that the sweater that I got you for
Christmas like four years ago? I do have to say, it makes you look sexy” said James with a smile.

“Ha-ha, you are too kind as always, but James, you do look awful. Why don’t you shower and
fix some of those bruises that you have with a couple runes. Don’t worry about Julie; I will look
after her while you are in the shower. You know I treat her like she is my own sister. I would
never let anything happen to her” said Kyle with as much sympathy as he could.

“Alright, I’ll be fast, but not before you give me a kiss” said James as his lips smirked into a
smile.

“Ha-ha, you don’t even need to ask” said Kyle laughing.

Kyle leaned over and cupped James face as their lips connected. Their lips parted and
reconnected, it was as if they were dancing with their lips.

“Alright there love birds, before you make me vomit” said Josh as he entered the room.

As the boys separated they laughed and smiled at each other. James talking his cup of coffee and
leaving the room looked quickly at Josh and for once could read his face. He finally knew that
Josh was jealous and that meant things were about to get heated up. But knowing that Josh would
never do anything stupid he left the room and head to his bedroom to shower and get ready for
another day.
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