PROLOGUE: Greece, long before the birth of Christ. Life is rough. It is a windy night, cold and dark. Four children, the youngest eleven, the oldest fourteen, are climbing a cliff. Each wrapped in torn cloth. The youngest shivers as the wind blows her hood and blond hair off of her face. They have friends at the bottom praying for their safety. These children all come from the village of Arthren. It was mostly a farming village. But nearly a year ago today, the village was laid to waste by a warlord seeking vengeance for unpaid (and unjust) tariffs. The only survivors were these nine children.

Arnold was left in charge of the five friends at the bottom of the cliff. He is on the roundish side but tall. He is good with his hands, his father was a carpenter. He has the skills to be a good leader, but he’d prefer to be the second or third in command. Hood is a beautiful girl but chooses to hid it under her cloak. Only a few people have ever seen her full face, and they are all dead. Under her cloak she hides more than just her face, she hides her power. She is a witch of sorts. Not the most powerful witch alive, but she will come close, one day. Quido and Deel-Ler have always been best friends. Quido is tall and skinny with short stringy blond hair. He is not a very social person and hates all forms of religion. That never made him real popular with the Olympian fearing children of his village. However, Deel-Ler always found time for him. He is average height with long brown hair. His size is his biggest advantage and weakness. He’s strong but slow. And finally there is the one called Battle Dwarf. His name is actually a misnomer. In fact he is a midget, a midget who stands proud at two and a half feet tall. There isn’t much for them to do, just wait and pray.

As for the four climbing the cliff, the youngest is Mouse. She was given that nickname because when she was born her first noise sounded more like a squeak than a cry. She is only eleven but is given credit for being the most caring in the group. She dreams of being a mother one day, if she survives. The only reason she was chosen to go up to the mountain was because her big brother Pace wanted to look after her. Right above her is Cigretta. She is thirteen and is an incredible fighter for her age. Back in her village she would often fight with the teenage boys- and win. She was instructed to stay at the base of the cliff, but refused when she heard Mouse would be going up there. She also dreams of being a mother one day and is starting out with Mouse. She tries to be her big sister. She looks up and sees the feet of the boy she can’t stop thinking about. Mouse’s older brother, the fourteen-year-old leader of this crew. He has long brown hair and a reputation for trying to be perfect. It is a rather well earned reputation, despite the fact he rarely successful. He and Cigretta are a couple, or at least as close as someone their age can be. He is brave and strong. He knows he is a good leader, even though he would never admit it. He has barely spoken a word in days, unless it was to give orders. Close beside him is his former best friend, Apesin. These two are the same age, and have been best friends for as long as either can remember. They did everything together. Pace was the good one and Apesin was the bad one. While Pace would work on the farm trying to earn his father’s approval, Apesin would be out stealing coins or toys. In fact he and Deel-Ler had a system were he would steal the toys and Deel-Ler would trade them with the other children for what they could steal from their parents. He stole a keg of ale when he was but eight years of age. His proudest moment.

Pace and Apesin, no one knew of closer friends. Pace was the only one to know Apesin’s secret, until recently. But their friendship has become very strained. For these youth life is anything but easy. When their village was destroyed these youth bonded together and began wondering. Their families were dead. Their lives were ruined. They scavenged everything they could from their burned down village. After only a couple weeks of traveling they were taken in by a family of slave owners. They made a deal with the family that they would work on the farms and in the house in return for full room and board. Their oldest daughter was Swhora. She was seventeen. She took what appeared to be a strong liking to Apesin. The feeling was mutual. He even told her the one secret only Pace knew. That he is a descendant of powerful beings. There was a prophecy that Apesin’s children would be the most powerful beings on the planet. That these children will even be able to match strength with the Gods of Olympus themselves. It didn’t take long for Swhora to seduce Apesin into her bed. And before long she was pregnant. But that was the plan. Swhora and her family knew all along what Apesin’s children would be. It was late one night while exploring the Swhora’s home, that Hood over heard Swhora’s parents talking.

"When the child is born we will cast the spells of our ancestors and its powers will be ours."

Hood didn’t know what to make of it. She ran and told Pace, trying to understand. That was the end of what could have been a life long friendship.

"You know what having a kid could mean!" Pace scolded his friend. "You know what having a child could mean. How the hell could you have sex with her!? Look at her! You know you weren’t ready for this."

"Back off, Pace. You’re my best friend but that doesn’t give the right to treat me like you’re my father. We’re the same age, remember?"

"You’re right. We are the same age. We’re both thirteen, and now some evil witch plans on using your unborn child to gain unimaginable power. How stupid are you?"

"You have no----" Apesin’s words were cut short. A storm had a risen and suddenly the nine survivors of Arthren were no longer in the house they were beginning to call home.

A year later and the children have found Swhora. She is atop a tall cliff on a cold and bitter night. It has taken months to find Swhora. The child has been born and it is a girl. Swhora has taken her to the top of a mountain where the ceremony shall take place. The children were lucky to find her. Another day and the child would already have been sacrificed. And this is where the story begins. Pace, Apesin, Cigretta, and Mouse are the first wave. If they fail, their friends are at the bottom are waiting to attack.

"Alright. When we get up there, well I don’t know. Any suggestions?" This is my great pep talk? Pace thinks to himself. He’s scared. So is everyone else.

"We kill her and save my daughter. What more do we need to talk about?" Apesin is not too afraid. But that is what scared Pace the most.

"Alright. Cig, you get the kid. Mouse watch her back and the moment you get the chance you two get the hell down the mountain. Apes, we take care of your former bed mate." Pace takes a deep breath and silently rewards himself for taking charge.

"Whatever," Apesin responds bitterly. He wants to be in charge. He would be if Pace wasn’t here. He knows it. "It’s my kid. My mistake. I should be handling this," he quietly mumbles to himself.

The four youths reach the top of the mountain seemingly unnoticed.

"You’re pathetic. How do you expect to stop me? You think I don’t notice you? I will soon be the most powerful being on the planet and you hope to sneak up on me." Obviously the four were not as successful as they had hoped.

"I’m going to kill you, you seductive bitch!" Apesin draws his sword and lunges at Swhora. Swhora retaliates with a type of lighting from her hands.

"Apes!" Mouse seeing the lighting throws herself in front of it taking the full force of it’s power. She falls to Apesins feet. He so enraged with hatred he does not stop. Swhora does not realize her fatal error. She holds the baby in both hands above her head. But not for long. Apesin stabs his sword through her back out of her chest. Blood not only pours from her wound, but flies. Apesin smiles sadistically as he turns the sword in circles. Swhora drops the child and Cigretta is forced to dive onto the ground to catch her. Even then she barely gets there in time. Apesin pushes Swhora off the blade and she begins to fall to the base of the mountain. Before she hits the bottom there is a flash of light and then darkness. Apesin barely notices the flash but clearly hears Swhora’s body hit the ground moments later. His smile grows wider. Cigeretta holds the child tightly as she gazes at Pace. He is knelt down by Mouse’s motionless body. He pulls her into his arms and feels her cold puffy cheeks as he strokes her hair.

The next few weeks take their toll on all the travelers. Apesin never lets go of his child. Her name is Loona. At one point Pace would have surely been the god-father but instead the honor goes to Apesin’s current best friend, Battle Dwarf The band agrees to stay together to protect Loona. They fear that others might try and steal her powers.

"Man, I can’t believe we’re coming back here after the last time. I mean Scrap is a good man and all, but well his cooking staff tried to kill us with the main course. But then again it is free food and free board. Not to mention I haven’t taken a bath in weeks, and it will be nice to sleep in a real bed." Arnold and Pace are driving the two horse drawn wagons. Arnold drives the wagon with his fellow members of The Circle, while Pace drives the cargo wagon.

It is another cold bitter night. The rain is coming down hard as they see a light ahead. "It’s the tavern!" Arnold begins to wake up the rest of The Circle. "Rise and shine my friends. We’re here!" Arnold and Pace take the horses and wagons into the back stable. The nine travelers quickly run from the stable to the front door. Waiting for them is a short man in a wheel chair.

"Greetings my friends! It’s good to that you were all able to make it." Scrap spent seven years with The Circle. He cherishes his memories of being with his friends, but never really liked the traveling. The only part of traveling he liked was that he could meet as many women as he wanted to and never worry about a long term relationship, but in the end his desire for stability won over. Less than five years ago he purchased an old castle in a town that no longer exists. He turned it into a rather successful tavern and overnight inn for travelers. Scrap was always a short man, even before he lost his legs. He was tough, though. Short hair combed straight back and solid muscle. He never feared throwing a punch at anyone. He grew up fighting. That’s all he ever did. Unfortunately, Scraps over eagerness for a fight cost him his lower legs. He tried to defeat three drunken soldiers. Instead of killing him honorably, they merely cut off both his legs from the knees down. They thought he would die. He didn’t.

"It’s good to be here," Battle Dwarf responds as he threw his cloak onto a bar stool.

"I trust the proper measures have been taken to ensure my daughter’s safety, Scrap?" Apesin question as he held Loona closely to him.

"It’s a guarantee. All my cooking, cleaning, waitressing, and whatever staffs have been sent home for the next three days. The only ones in this building, are in this room." Scrap does not mind Apesin’s questioning. He feels it is justified.

Pace immediately pours himself a cup of ale and goes to the corner table. Out of habit and lingering feelings Cigretta joins him with her own cup. They speak but few words, but neither would rather be with anyone else.

"Can I stay up tonight, Father. I promise I won’t drink any ale like last time, pleeease." Loona has grown to be quite beautiful but extremely short. She is only a foot taller than her godfathe,r Battle Dwarf. She is very athletic but lacks common sense.

"Sorry kid, but this is time for the older guys. I’ll take you to bed." Surprising to some, expected by others Apesin, the trouble maker, turned out to be a pretty good father.

As for Deel-Ler, Quido, and the others, they gather around a table with Scrap and reminisce about some of their adventures they’ve had. Of course, Deel-Ler feels the need to tell his story of when he tricked Hades, god of the Underworld, out of death. The most amazing part of this story is that it is actually based on truth. It is several hours before ever one makes it to sleep, but they do. And the sleep is good.

The entire tavern wakes up to the scream. It is on the second floor. Quido and Arnold are the first to arrive.

"By the gods," Quido exclaims. "Loona, come on. Let me take you out of here."

By now the others have arrived, except Scrap.

"What is it? What’s wrong honey?" Apesin, and soon afterwards Cigretta, join Quido in comforting Loona.

Pace is almost afraid to walk in. But he does. This is the room Deel-Ler choose. Pace stares in disbelief. Deel-Ler’s body is hanging on the far wall of the room. His neck and arms are bound by ropes tied to the ceiling. He has what appears to be ridged bones piercing through his eyes. The blood is still fresh as it flows down his face. Pace and Arnold remove the body, and wrap it in some bed sheets. Before long The Circle gathers outside, in the rain to bury his body. No one speaks. Even if they did, no one would be able to hear it. One can barely hear the sound of Pace and Apesin digging a grave over the wind and pouring down rain. It is about noon, yet it is as dark as midnight. Every one gathers inside. Apesin grabs Pace by the arm and whispers in his ear.

"If you can’t figure out who did this I’m taking Loona and leaving."

The circle gathers around a table to discuss what to do.

"First of all, I had every precaution I could possible of had. I’m sorry, but this is not my fault." Scrap sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself more than the others.

"That’s crap! It isn’t your fault!"

"Yelling at him won’t make things any better Apesin," interjects Quido.

"What? How can you defend him? Deel-Ler was your best friend. He defended you when no one else would. You wouldn’t be alive without him. How the hell can you tell me not to yell at him!?!"

"I have not forgotten what Deel-Ler’s done for me. But if Scrap says he did everything he could, then I believe him. It’s jus-"

"Enough, please!" Hood has yet to speak since the discovery of Deel-Ler’s body. She feels something. Something she’s felt for months now that has gotten stronger. She has decided not to saying anything now fearing her worries are misplaced. "We don’t need to argue right now. We need to figure out what to do."

With that, every one turns to Pace. "Alright Pace, this is where you do your thing. What do we do." Battle Dwarf had a good point. This is what Pace did best. He planned and lead.

"Alright...," Pace clears his throat before continuing. "If whoever did this is already gone, then we aren’t going to be able to track him in this storm. Besides, it is nearly impossible to travel in a storm like this. Our best bet is to search the tavern. We split into teams, and stay in them. Understood?"

"Alright. Apesin, Loona, and Scrap. You guys stay here on the main level. Check in every cor-"

"We know how to search a floor, Pace," Apesin bitterly snaps.

"Okay. Quido and Arnold. You two check out the second floor. Hood and Dwarf, you two get to face the storm and search the stable. While you’re out there, check out the horses and wagons. Make sure everything’s there. Ready?"

"Ready," everyone says in unison. No matter what, The Circle knows how to work as a team. No matter their opinions, they have agreed to follow Pace and will not steer from that. They are the best there is. Everyone departs to their designated area.

"I guess that leaves you and me for the dungeon," Cigretta says hoping for a no.

"Yeah, hope you don’t mind."

"Why the hell do we get the stable?" Hood could barely speak her lips were so cold.

"Beats me, but Pace had a reason, he always does." Battle Dwarf does not know what else to say. He would prefer to be inside, too.

They ring out their clothes as they enter the stable.

"Hey Hood, the horses, they’re laying down?" Dwarf points out. Had these been other animals he would not be so worried but he knows horses sleep standing up. He quickly looks around the corner of the stall hoping everything was okay. He follows the horse from its nose, to it’s eyes, to the ears, to the neck. to the rats.

"Holy sh*t!" The horses heads had been decapitated. The blood had dried and has stained the hay beneath the horses’ heads. Rats had already began eating everything they could. Hood couldn’t stand the sight. She turns and runs quickly to another stall and regurgitates last night’s feast. She has seen things like this several times before, but has never handled it well.

"You okay, Hood?" asks Dwarf.

"Yeah, I’ll be fine." She wipes her chin with her sleeve and continues to search the stable. She realizes the wagons are gone, but doesn’t bother to mention it. There is no doubt in her mind Dwarf has already noticed.

"I don’t see anything that we could use," Dwarf mumbles quietly. There was not even tracks of the wagons being wheeled out. "This is impossible."

"Battle Dwarf, I gotta tell you something," Hood prepares to tell her friend what she has been noticing. "I’ve been feeling it for a long time. It’s been following us. I don’t know what it is, but it’s powerful and very evil."

"What is it? Some other powers trying to get to Loona? What?" Dwarf has, as well as the others, learned to trust Hood’s hunches. They have always proved to be true.

"That’s it. I don’t know. It’s magic of some kind, but it’s here. It’s--" Hood’s word are cut short. Battle Dwarf’s death sentence had just been signed. The stable walls suddenly collapse on his body. Hood uses her magic to lift the wall off her friend, but it is too late. His little body has been crushed. Blood leaks out of his skull. Hood quickly runs back to the tavern.

As Battle Dwarf experiences his last few moments alive, others reach their fate in the tavern.

"I don’t like this. We haven’t lost one of our own since Mouse, and that was fourteen years ago. Deel-Ler may have been slow, but he was strong and a damn good fighter. It was too quite. There is no way anyone could have done that without the rest of us hearing it." Arnold is not handling this well. He has never really felt that the life he lived was real. Every night he went to sleep almost expecting to wake up the next morning in Arthren. But no this world was becoming all too real. His weapon of choice has always been a mace, a short chain with a spiked metal ball the size of three fists at the end. He holds it with his right hand ready to swing at a moments noticed. With his left hand he slowly opens every door on the floor carefully looking for any sign of anyone.

"I understand how you feel. With everything we’ve gone through the only one of us to ever die was Mouse. Death is never easy but we all know the risks. We can only take comfort in that this is all part of the Gods’ divine plan." The faithful Quido would have never had believed he would grow up to think this way, but people change.

"You take comfort your way, I’ll take it mine." Arnold has no problem with Quido’s way of life, but the only comfort he is looking for is avenging his friend’s death. What’s that?, Arnold asks himself as he feels something rubbing against his leg. He looks down only to see hundreds of rats circling him. "No, no, no! I gotta get out of here!" Arnold runs out of the room he’s in and down the hallway.

Quido quickly runs after him not knowing what the problem is.

Arnold turns down one hallway only to see more rats. It’s like an ocean of rats. He had never told any one of his deep secret. Arnold has a fear of rats. He can handle one or two, but this, this is torture. Arnold pulls out his mace and begins swinging it wildly. Quido looks on in confusion. He stops to try and understand.

"Arnold, calm yourself, everything will be okay." Quido’s words are ignored. Arnold looks down and sees the rats are climbing up his clothes. I won’t let you get me. He thinks. He pulls his dagger from his boot and holds it up. The blade is facing his stomach.

"Nooooo!" Quido without thinking lunges himself onto Arnold, knocking him down to the ground. Normally Quido would enjoy this kind of game, but this is no game.

"This is impossible I’ve never seen a rat this huge. It’s not possible!" Arnold sees a giant rat the size of a man on top of him. It’s tail is wrapped around his arm holding the dagger. He swings his mace as the skull of the colossal rat. The rat falls dead. Just to be safe Arnold stabs the rat with his dagger repeatedly. He closes his eyes to wipe the blood out of them. And when he opens them he does not see the hundreds of small rats and the one man-sized one. He only sees Quido laying lifeless. His skull is crushed and his body is pouring out blood from a dozen gashes in his back. Arnold looks down at his blade covered in blood. He does not know how this happened. Only that it did. He falls to his knees and cries. He looks at his fallen friend and silently asks for forgiveness.

As all this happens Pace and Cigretta have their own problems. The are walking down a long stairwell neither of them have seen before. Cigretta is carrying a long thin torch which does not provide very much light for the warriors. The stairs curve around a wall as it descends to the bottom of the dungeon.

"What you thinkin’ about?" Cigretta questions her former love.

"The last time we lost one of us. The last time I saw Kareena." Pace fights back a tear that forms at the bottom of his left eye. On the outside he blames Apesin for his sister’s death but he truly blames himself. And now he blames himself for Deel-Ler’s death.

"Why do you always call her that? I don’t think I ever heard you call her Kareena while she was alive. Why do you now when she’s dead?" Cigretta is only trying to get Pace to relax. He is too tense to be good in a fight and she knows it.

"Mouse isn’t her name, it never was. Our family named her Kareena and that is the name I will remember her as."

"That’s it. Apesin gave her the nickname Mouse, when you guys were three. Isn’t it? Because Apes gave her the name, you refuse to use it." She’s proud of herself. She generally isn’t this good at figuring things out.

"It’s his fault she’s dead. He doesn’t deserve the right to name her."

"I remember, I was there. But we’ve all messed up. We’ve all been a part of the death of another. I know she was your sister but you should really just forgive him. It’s been fourteen years."

"That’s just it, Cigs. In fourteen years he’s never asked for my forgiven–" Without warning the stairs turn flat and the two warriors fall on their backs and slide down the surface. They manage to slow themselves down by placing their back against the one wall and their feet against the other. Unfortunately, by the time they hit the floor their torch had blown out.

"Cigs, you okay? You hurt?" Pace gets his bearings as best he can and stands up waiting for a reply.

"No, I’m fine. My rear hurts a little, but other than that..." Cigretta does not finish her thought as she tries to stand up. She is amazed when Pace is able to find her hand and help her up. "Thanks," she says a little confused.

"What’s that?" Cigretta hears aloud roaring noise. Pace hears it but is more focused on the ground.

"Shh," is the answer Cigretta gets. "The ground’s shaking. We need to get out of here. I don’t know what’s causing the ground to shake but it can’t be good." The two friends began feeling the wall looking for the stairway they fell down. No luck.

The ground begins shaking more. Pace gives up on finding the stairway which seemingly disappeared. The roar is getting louder. No longer willing to look, he grabs Cigretta’s hand, places his other hand on the wall and runs. He can not even see his own nose, but he does not have time to worry about what is in front of him. He is only concerned about what is behind him.

Pace makes sure to stay a couple paces in front of Cigretta in case of danger. He is moving so fast he did not even notice there was suddenly no ground where he put his foot. He falls down and quickly lets go off Cigretta as to not take her with him.

"Pace!" Cigretta begins tottering over the abyss. "Pace!" She has no clue what she expects to hear. The roaring in the background has ended. Pace’s screams have ended. There is silence. She puts her hand on the side of this bottomless pit and follows it to another wall. She starts to cry but holds it back. I’m going to be strong. I’m going to be tough. I won’t cry. She remembers Pace saying once "Cry more now, live longer later." He and Quido often talked about philosophical sayings. Pace had a lot of those. She smiled, but somehow she knew she would never see him again. She puts her hand on the wall and follows it, just as Pace had done earlier.

"Alright Dad, what’s the plan?" Loona had become very accustomed to this. Pace gives an order, leaves the room, and her father tells her how to follow through.

"Okay, Scrap you check the bed rooms. Loona and I’ll be in the kitchen and storage room." Apesin likes it this way. Being in charge, giving orders, and spending time with his daughter. It is all he has ever wanted.

Scrap wheels his chair behind the bar and pulls out a large double-bladed ax. The handle is about three feet long. The handle is tightly wrapped with old thin rope. The blade is scattered with dried blood from years past. It’s been too long, old friend. Scrap reminisces about his old times, fighting along with The Circle. He smiles to himself.

The hallway, like the rest of the inn is lighten by candles. He slowly opens the first door and peers in. The room contains one bed and shelves. It is as it should be, empty. He is about to roll himself in when he hears a scratching noise in the room next door. He grabs the handle of his ax before pressing against the door. He quickly pushes it open with just a little bit of strength. He sees nothing but still hears the noise. He enters the room.

Shwoosh! The door slams shut as a gust of wind blows through the room. The candles go out and Scrap listens to footsteps.

"Come on but be warned. Me and my little friend here are ready for ya." He feels his shirt collar being pulled from in front of him. He swings his ax but nothing is there. Whatever force is holding him throws him up and out of his chair. He hears his back crack as it is slams against the wall. Scrap looks towards the only light he can see hoping to find is attacker. The only thing he can make out is the window curtains flowing in the wind. And then he discovers hi attackers. The curtains themselves wrap around his arms and throat. They throw him back and forth against all four walls. They slam him down onto the bed braking the legs and frame under him. His hand losses its grip on the ax and it drops to the floor as the curtains throw his body into the ceiling.

The curtains release their grip on his arms and tighten around his throat. Squeezing so no more air can pass through his throat. He slowly feels himself falling asleep. He tries to pull the curtains off. The light from the window begins to disappear. He keeps his eyes open but that doesn’t keep the room from going black. His last thoughts are of his girl. A waitress at the inn who he had planned to purpose to when she returned. He wanted The Circle to be there.

The door to the room swings open as Apesin and Loona run in. Apesin bends over his fallen comrade to feel for a pulse, there is none. He places his hand over Scrap’s face and closes his eyes. He never really liked Scrap. But he respected him. Loona holds her arms and falls to the floor crying.

Cigretta places her hands on a door at the top of the stairs. She is amazed that she made it this far in total darkness. She never liked the dark. She really is not too surprised at what she finds. It is the same door she and Pace used earlier. It leads to the main bar. There she sees Hood, Apesin, and Loona sitting around a table. None of them look happy.

"Yet one more does not return." Hood sounds almost sarcastic.

"He-he fell down, I don’t even know what, but he’s dead. He has to be."

"Scrap was choked to death by curtains and a wall fell on the Dwarf." Apesin quickly fills his friend in on what has happened.

"What about Arnold and Quido?" Cigretta doesn’t even care. She just wants to think about anything but Pace.

"No word. You wanna go look for ‘em?" Apesin likes the idea of being in command. It feels good, he thinks to himself.

"Yeah, why don’t you and I go look for them. Hood and Loona can stay here." Cigretta is not used to taking orders from Apesin, but she has no real problem with him. He’s just no Pace, she thinks to herself

Apesin and Cigretta walk back to back up the stairs to the second floor. They know how to watch each other’s back. They walk one behind the other.

"Shhh. I smell more blood." Cigretta has always been proud of her ability to smell blood from amazing distances.

"They follow the scent until they find Quido’s body. His skull was crushed and his back had been stabbed over a dozen times. The trail of blood leads to Arnold. He is bent over holding his dagger crying.

"Arnold. Arnold are you okay? What happened?" Cigretta’s concern over Pace quickly fades.

Arnold has never liked death. That is why he took to medicine. He only fought when he had to, and never intentionally killed another. Never. He looks up and makes eye contact with the woman he has known his entire life. Her lips are moving, but he can’t make out what she’s saying. He hears all his friends yelling at him and blaming him. He can’t take it. He takes his right hand and places it on the back of his neck. He draws his dagger with his left, lifts it up to his throat and slits his throat. His upper body collapses to floor.

No word is spoken. Not even a moment of eye contact. Apesin and Cigretta simply turn around and walk back to the bar. There they simply shake their heads to communicate to their friends. Drinks are poured for the only four survivors on ten. The wind blows hard. It is now night time, not that it is any darker outside. It has stormed for over three days and has not shown sign of disappearing. Cigretta walks to the window. She can hear Loona walking up behind her.

"You were always such a great mother to me, Cigs. But then again, you to kill me. Now it’s time to return the favor." Loona’s voice no longer sounds like her own. Cigretta is confused. She recognizes the voice but can’t quite put her finger on it. But that thought does not last long.

For but a brief moment she feels her back being pierced. The blade flows fast and smoothly up and out of her chest. She begins to choke on her own blood but shortly afterwards her arms collapse and she is dead.

"Loona, what!?" Apesin cannot believe his own eyes. His baby girl just killed the closest thing she ever had to a mother in cold blood. He can not move, he can not think, he can barely breath.

"What’s a matter, Father? Can’t believe your little girl is a cold blooded murderer?"

"Swhora." Hood finally realizes the presence she’s been feeling. Swhora’s soul.

"Very good. How ever did you figure it out?" Swhora smiles as she ponders her question.

"I don’t know. But I do know how you did it. When we killed your body you sent your soul into Loona’s body. She was too young to fight you off. You’ve spent the past fourteen years living her body. Loona’s soul has been dead the whole time. You’ve been controlling her every move her entire life. You evil witch."

"Me evil? You don’t know that half of it." Swhora snaps her fingers and Pace appears on the floor in front of her. His body is bleeding all over. His nose and lips are busted. He is curled over on his side. "I’ve been a prisoner in this body for way too long. I’ve had nothing better to do than figure out how I was going to kill every single one of you. It’s been fun. But now it is time for the games to end."

Pace crawls over to his friends. Apesin picks him up and wipes the blood off his friend’s face. "You okay buddy? Speak to me. C’mon man. You gotta speak to me."

"Didn’t know you cared you asshole." Pace smiles for the first time in hours.

"Both of you stay here. Wait for me to tell you what to do and do it. Don’t hold back. We only have one chance." Both Apesin and Pace stared at Hood in amazement. Neither can believe she just gave an order to them. Even more amazingly she runs at Swhora. The two witches lock hands and began to fly. They take off into the sky. The storm stops and the weather becomes calm.

Apesin and Pace move as fast as they can to the window. They still can’t believe their eyes, but more important things cross their minds.

"Why? Why the hell could you never say sorry? How the hell could you be the reason my little sister died and not even apologize? You were my best friend." Pace realizes he probably will not survive. His only request before dying is to know why.

"You are arrogant asshole, you, know that Pace? You can blame me all you want but Mouse should never had been up there. You thought you were Mister Perfect and you could handle everything. But you couldn’t. She died because you refused to let her out of your sight. Or at least that’s what I told myself. I am sorry, brother. More than you know. But it doesn’t matter. If it wasn’t that, it would have been something else. We never would have lasted as friends."

"I may be arrogant asshole brother, but at least I can take responsibility for my mistakes. Something you always had a problem doing. You’re a reckless fool. But even now, there is no one I’d rather have by my side to die with." Pace’s words are cut short as he gazes up. He cannot make out what’s going on up there, but he knows it cannot be good.

"I could take that as both a good thing and a bad thing, ya’know that?" Apesin almost starts to laugh as he wonders if what he said about their friendship never meant to last. He is beginning to doubt a lot of things, but those doubts come to sudden end. Loona’s body drops between these two comrades-in-arms. They both quickly feel for a pulse. She is dead. They look up and Hood quickly falls back to the ground.

"Kill me, she- she’s inside of me. She’s too powerful. She could take over anyone of us. We have to die, it’s the only way." Pace and Apesin look at each other and nod. They understand. They each draw their blade of choice. Apesin draws a short dagger his daughter had given him for his birthday years ago. Pace pulls a sword from its sheath. Its blade is about three feet long. Pace use to joke that it was taller than Battle Dwarf, handle included.

They jump onto Hood as she takes to the sky. Both men cling to her. Pace drives his sword through Hood’s skull and Apesin slits her throat. With Hood dead, neither Pace nor Apesin can fly. They fall nearly eighty feet to their deaths. The last two of The Circle die. They did not know it but this was what they had spent their lives training for. The Gods hand picked them all to stop Swhora and they did. They will all rejoice in the after life.