modern conveniences and, as a society, they hadn't handled
the change well.
There never ceased to be creatures born of both the
light and the dark that would prefer not to be monitored or
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held accountable for their actions. It was imperative they
know how to use the technologies as well but only recently
had his people started to count on the human technologies
to aid them instead of using their gifts, handed down from
the Spirits of their ancestors to aid them in their lives.
They had discounted the Great One and they had
dismissed Abraxas' warnings of the prophecies coming
true.
The Great One had seen it all before it had
happened. Eighteen children would be born to their group
and a nineteenth child born far away.
The last one would be The Darkness, born to
destroy the Outsiders and spread evil to the world, unless
the Eighteen could stop him. For lack of a better
description, this child would be the worst of all demons
brought to humanity through a stupid mistake.
It seemed ridiculously easy; eighteen powerful
beings could certainly stop one. Except this one was more
powerful than any before him and could almost, upon birth,
control his unknowing minions and begin the destruction.
The Great One had feared it was already too late.
This Darkness had been here before.
In the past, it had been in the shape of a monster, a
wolf, and a dragon, but now Abraxas feared it had found its
most terrifying incarnation—a human baby boy.
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Somewhere, perhaps close by or perhaps thousands of
miles away, it was suckling on its mother's breast as she
was painfully unaware she had carried in her womb a
vessel for the destruction of all things pure and good.
His people were human, he always told them,
human but with a twist of magic. They could manipulate
the weather, move things with their minds, bring on great
forces of energy, and even change the course of fate should
they decide to, but only in the effort to save the greater
good. They brought balance to the universe and kept things
in order. Human beings without their powers often wrote of
them in children's stories calling them witches or wizards,
frequently making them the antagonist of the story.
Amongst themselves they simply were called the Outsiders.
It was a term he was fond of and wished they'd
thought more about the day they decided to install the first
refrigerator in one of their homes.
It amused Abraxas how quickly people vilify things
they don't understand. With the death and destruction of his
people, all things would become horrific, an endless array
of death and destruction. It couldn't be allowed to happen.
Without the Outsiders to help balance the inherent
power struggle of humanity, chaos would surely occur. Evil
beings thought only to exist in myths would feel free to
come back to Earth to start destroying things again. Free
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societies would fall apart, and men and women, whose
intentions were initially positive, would find themselves
becoming almost demigod-like in their absolute beliefs that
they knew the best ways to live, worship, work, and even
love on the planet.
It was possible humanity would destroy itself within
a decade of the destruction of the Outsiders.
Humanity's desires for greed and absolute power
were growing stronger and so were the evil beings that
were joining them to help fulfill these needs.
The Outsider's had lost many friends and family
members in the effort to set things right and into balance
once again. But this new threat, this latest evil being who
was now just a baby, was a new problem altogether. He
could not be beaten by the current generation, and he was
already taking control.
Even in infancy the Evil One was growing stronger.
Telepathically ordering his willing minions to seek and
destroy Abraxas' people, especially the children—the only
ones he knew who could stop his plan of destruction. If
only there had been more time to prepare, to figure out
what the children were supposed to do. But, alas, it was too
late and it was up to Abraxas to do what he could now.
As if reading his intent, the clouds above him
swirled in response. Thank you my old friends, he silently
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uttered to the Spirits who controlled the skies. Try as they
might, they could not stop the weather for him but they
were trying to give him every advantage in power. The
swirling moved clockwise, the natural rhythms pulsating
through him as he sent a message to his people that he
prayed would reach them in time.
He opened his mind to reach his people, to
communicate as he had not in a month, telepathically.
" Much as I have tried, I cannot stop what is coming for
you. I know you can feel them moving to where you have
chosen to hide. You are right to suspect the howl of the
wolves and the buzzing of the crickets tonight. It is evil
watching you . There are too many of them and you are
spread out, we are too weak while they grow too strong. I
cannot save you, but I can save your children. I will hide
and protect them. I ask you to give them to me now in the
hope that all will not be forever lost. "
He took a deep breath and heard in his head the
murmurs of horror and comprehension that finally dawned
on the mothers and fathers of his clan. He could feel, as if
in a dream, his own wife begin to sob as she held their child
more tightly. His infant daughter, who already held more
power than he ever could imagine, would never know his
face. Behind him, a branch broke and he sighed with
resignation.
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" They come for me now and I cannot stop it but I
will send our children to where they cannot touch them and
I will keep them safe, hidden until they are strong enough
to fight Him and win. But I will not take them from you
without your consent. They are your children to protect,
yours to cherish, and if you wish them to die with you then
it is not my place to prevent this."
He took a deep breath, pulling out his staff. He did
not need it to use his powers, but on this night, with this
level of urgency, he needed to be focused and he needed
every advantage he could obtain.
Separately and away from the ears of his family, he
sent a message to Veli, his oldest and most trusted friend.
Veli would not want this job; he had lost his own wife in
childbirth the year before and had taken refuge far from his
peop
le to try to heal. It was Abraxas' deepest hope that this
separation had kept him off the radar of the Evil One.
* * * *
" No! " Veli shouted, jumping up from his seat by the
fire he had stared at for hours. He had heard the
proclamation from Abraxas, and his heart had wept at the
thought of such destruction, but even before Abraxas could
speak he knew what his old friend, brother really if he was
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honest with himself, intended to do. He could not become
responsible for all of those children, train them, or care for
them. He was not equipped for such a task, such a
responsibility.
* * * *
" I am sorry to leave this to you. It should be my job
but I cannot shoulder it. I am going; in moments I will be
no more. You will not fail, Veli. Everything now depends on
you, " Abraxas answered Veli, still standing on top of the
hill in their homeland, although standing might be too good
a word for the distressing job he was doing maintaining his
balance against the onslaught of the wind.
Cutting off communication before Veli could
answer, Abraxas extended his arms to the universe and
began the transfer. His people needed only to send their
children along the safe link he provided and they would
arrive unharmed and hidden with Veli. How many? How
many would his people send? Eighteen links he felt. His
people had not disappointed him. They understood the
magnitude of what was coming and wanted their children
protected at all costs.
Beneath his feet the earth shifted and moved. The
Evil One was trying to stop him from below; to have the
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earth swallow him before the task was done. Abraxas tried
desperately to hang on to the link he had created. He
clenched his teeth together, his whole body shaking. They
moved so slowly, why couldn't he push them through the
link faster? Just a few seconds more and all would be done.
They could have him then.
Violently, the earth sprung open and began to suck
Abraxas down. As he had done many times in his youth, he
sprang above the ground trying to float of his own volition
and not rely on the ground to support his weight. The trees
swayed and moved. With a crack of lightning a tall branch
came down on top of him, pushing him down to the hole in
the ground. Hitting his arm, he tried to roll and fell further
into the abyss. The link crashed around him. Had he done
it? Had it been enough time to get the children to Veli?
Silently, he begged Veli to answer him.
How many had gotten to him?
* * * *
" Just three!" Veli stared in open-mouth horror as
the link closed around him. "Don't stop, Abraxas. Only
three have come through. Two boys and a girl."
* * * *
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Abraxas screamed at the pain Veli's words caused.
Was it his daughter? Had she made it?
" Find the others!" Abraxas commanded Veli. " They
could be anywhere, and without them all is lost." He could
feel the pain of his people as the Evil One's minions
discovered each in turn. They would fight but they would
not win. Ultimately, he knew they had minutes to live. He
had failed them. Only Veli could succeed now. He had to
find the children. With his last coherent thought, Abraxas
dreamed of Niki and then there was the blackness.
* * * *
Veli Destrand looked in horror at the three small
faces staring up at him from the floor, two boys and one
girl. What had Abraxas commanded him? Find the others?
How was he to do this? How was he to care for the three
infants who now looked up at him? He did not know these
children, did not even know to which parents they
belonged. He had left his people a year earlier before these
children were even conceived. They were so tiny and
helpless and completely dependant on his care.
Turning his attention to the blonde-haired girl, he
almost laughed with the strange absurdity of this situation.
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"Who are you?"
Her hair was a bright shade of yellow, short on top
of her head, although it had already begun to curl. Was this
Abraxas' daughter? How on earth would he ever know who
these children belonged to? What were their names?
The small kitchen in his little cottage seemed even
smaller to him at that moment. He could hear the hum of
the window Unit air conditioner that made the room cooler
in the summer. He had always found it to be pleasant
sounding, like a white noise to drown out the other sounds
of humanity that sometimes, albeit rarely, intruded upon his
quiet life.
Veli had always thought he would have children
one day. His wife, Anahera, had thought that perhaps
sometime in the next five years they would begin trying to
have a family. Outsiders lived so much longer than humans
that there was never any rush to reproduce. They had
believed they had all the time in the world.
Then she had died, and his whole world had ended.
The truth was, he would have preferred to go his entire life
without ever seeing another child. Now he was staring
down at three babies and he had just been instructed to find
fifteen more. How the hell was he supposed to do that? He
stomped his foot, thinking he would step out of the house to
get some air.
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All at once, all three infants started to scream. The
blonde girl rolled onto her side. Reaching out with
remarkable control for one so young, she stroked the top of
the head of the black-haired baby boy. Despite her screams
she seemed to be trying to comfort the other two boys. Veli
knelt down to look more closely at the children.
The darker of the two boys looked like he was
fuming. His cries were not high pitched and sorrowful like
the girl's. It was more like a wail of the furious. "That's
right, kid. Rail to the gods about the unfairness of life. See
if anyone listens." Veli's ears rang from the onslaught of the
piercing baby shrieks.
The third child, still dark but lighter haired than the
other boy, immediately stopped crying. Cocking his head to
the left side, he moved his hand over his head. Veli could
only describe the child's gaze as analytical at best. He knew
enough about children to know this was strange. Babies
who were this little shouldn't be so clear eyed and focused.
Quickly, the child slammed his clenched fist on the ground.
As if on command, the other two babies stopped screaming.
Veli desperately wanted to call out for help. Could
he risk it? Could he put a message out into the general link
/>
they all shared and risk being found by someone working
for the Darkness? He pulled anxiously at his now too tight
shirt collar. He had no choice but to try and immediately
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opened his mind to send out a call.
" I am Veli Destrand. You all know me. I have three
children here with me. Abraxas has instructed me to find
the other children, and I swear to you that I will. But I don't
know who these children are or who they belong to. I
believe one day that I will be able to return them to you.
Please send me descriptions of your babies and what their
names are. I'm picturing in my mind the babies that I have.
If they belong to you please tell me. "
He hoped this would be good enough. What were
some other things he should ask? Should he ask about
specific powers? Temperament? With a sense of dread he
suddenly realized that he didn't even know how to change a
diaper. He was really going to be in big trouble. How did
you feed a baby this small?
All at once, Veli could feel answers piling into his
brain. He needed to write them down because he would
never remember them if he didn't. Glancing once more at
the children, not that he had clue what to do with them if
they actually needed something, he leapt to his feet and
rushed to a drawer to pull out a blank sheet of paper.
My daughter is Charma, the first answer resounded .
She is blonde-haired and small. I am Larissa Monroe and
her father is Morgan. You know us quite well, Veli. Please
be kind to her.
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