As Xander led us around ers and into another se of the structure, we passed a few guards. A few of them said nothing while others watched our every step. Then it was as if we left a low-security zone aered a high-security one. A guard stood at each er. Each looked armed with something that resembled a gun.

  Only these things were not simple things. Parts of the gued light while others were clear. As if those parts were made of some sort of crystal. The guards watched us while their hands tightened around the stocks of their ons.

  “What are those?” I asked Xander.

  While he didn’t respond, -along did. “Those are guns, of a sort.” He sounded a bit smug as he tinued. “Just something I came up with to help bane of the issues the military was having as they tried to do their job.”

  “The military?” I said as I turned my faough to get a look at Pendragon. “Why is there a military?”

  The answer came from someone as they stepped in front of roup. “Do you want the short answer or the long one?” I spun to look at the speaker. While he looked older, his muscles were still well-defined. He looked at Xander and offered a hand to him. “Kai, or should I call you Xander?”

  Xander ighe hand. “I was ordered to take Kyreo see an oracle.”

  “And, let me guess,” the man lowered his hand as he spoke. “You are takio see Philipa?” None of us said a word as we waited for one or the other to speak. “Well, you know the drill. I ot let ao this wing without prior authorization.”

  “I could always…”

  “Get around the security?” He lifted his eyebrows as he chuckled darkly. “Not with the current system in pce. You just missed el Reeds and me debating what we thought would happen if someoried. So, be my guest and try.”

  Xander sounded a bit annoyed as he asked; “I o do this now so what is it you want Marcus?”

  “That is Captain Young to you…” the man looked like something Xander said had pissed him off. He seemed to realize this as he stopped long enough to take a breath before tinuing, “Fine, I make an exception for you but only if you agree to an IOU on behalf of yuild.” Just how much power did Xander have that he could make such agreements without talking to someone about it?

  “That is too open-ended,” Xander shook his head. “You could ask for something that could lead to war. You know that I could never agree to that. How about I personally agree to do one mission for you for free? I will even agree to ighe guild's requirements and rules. The only requirement will be that it must follow the cil’s rules aions.”

  Captain Young shook his head. “I may be o this and but that doesn’t mean that I will let you pull walk all over me. I know just how strict the cil is when it es to missions. I also know how x yuild is on its requirements. I even know that, if the money is good enough, yuild will bend a few of them.”

  “Fine,” Xander sighed as he pihe bridge of his nose, “I agree to owe you one mission, done for free, as long as it follows the rules as set forth by the Shadow Bde Guild.”

  “Good.” Captain Young looked pleased with himself as he gestured for us to tinue. “I look forward to you w for me.”

  As we moved forward, I asked Ginger “What just happened?”

  “And idiot decided to try a one over on my brother.” She smiled.

  The man who held her hand chuckled, “He does know that their restris, while few in number, are even more limiting than the cils, right?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The cil requires that each official request is reviewed for potential issues and sequences before being put onto the market to be bid on by multiple agencies, including guilds from all iarted.

  “uild is one of the few that is allowed to take requests directly,” Xaook over. “We review each of the requests aermihe effects across the city for years to e. There are a few people whose entire jobs revolve around simply making sure that any job we take will never impact us in a ive way. While we have been known to ighis, the pensation must be enough to make it worth any risk or loss that we might suffer.”

  So they were willing to look the other way when it suited them. They were meraries. However, before I could point this out, he knocked on a door. It burst open as a little streak of gold-blond hair flung itself at him. “KAI!” A high-pitched squeal came from the little bundle of energy. “You came to visit me!”

  Xander reached up to pat the tiny person's back. “I told you that I would when I could didn’t I?”

  “Then where have you been?” The voice sounded like it outing. “You have been iy for days yet you only now came to see me.”

  “The reason for that is one of the reasons I came to see you today.” He said as he tried to pull the bundle from where it stered to his chest.

  The thi him go but jumped back as it escaped from his grip. “You think I don’t know that? Is she really so important to you that you would break a promise with me?” It was only as the thing stood up that I realized it was a kid. After being inundated with the non-humans, I found myself face to face with a human-looking boy.

  “She was…”

  Whatever Xander was about to say was interrupted as the boy turo look at me. As our eyes met, he started to speak. His voice was not the happy, excited voice from earlier. It deepened as his eyes turned into a kaleidoscope of color. “In a forced sleep after the gods tampered with their own spell. Pushing it to do what it was never desigo do. Mixing both demonid heavenly magi a single vessel without care for the sequences.”

  “What do you see?” Xander’s voice was as full of awe as it was soft. It was as if he was trying not to scare the kid.

  “I see a flicted love. Between two who battle for your heart, even if one does not realize it.” The boy took a breath before tinuing. “I also see death arayal in your future. I see the graves that liwo paths. Between whiust choose. The choice of which will help tip the baween two worlds. Dooming one while saving the other.”

  My heart stuttered at his words and their potential meaning. flicted love? Who did he think was fighting for my love? The only person that came to mind was Xander but his sister already warned me about him. Who else could there be?

  And what was with the rest of that? The baween two worlds would be affected by something I did? I wao call bullshit. There was nothing I could do that could affeany people. The thought of my decisions having su impact was enough to turn my stomach.

  “What group does she belong in?” Ginger asked.

  “Mysticism would do well to teach her to use her heritage but her css would do best in the Magiations branch. Slippery Shades could help her hone her skills as a ing fox but her impulsiveness and skills might make her an asset to the IPAS group. Then again, she might be best used in the tral gover as a mediator with various non-human groups.”

  “So you are saying that she could be a part of any group?” Xander asked as he threw his arms up in exasperation.

  The boy paused before answering. “Yes.”

  “What the hell am I going to put in the report to the cil?” Xander ra no one in particur.

  “Put Om non. They will uand. If they ask you to expihem to e see me.” Without another word, the boy slowly turned and walked bato his room. As soon as he was ihe door shut and the loicked into pce.

  “What just happened?” I was utterly fused by everything that just happened.

  “Yeah,” Pendragon’s brows were furrowed as he looked at Ginger. “That was not normal. Just what is going on? Who is this chick?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Xander’s voice was hard and ung. “We got the information we came for. If you want to back out, feel free. I am sure I find someone else to help Kyren for the short bit of time I am gone.”

  Suddenly a soft thump was quickly followed by a loud wailing hat filled the hallway. My heart stopped as the hairs on my neck lifted. The world around me seemed to slow down as I spun to look in the dire it came from. While the wail was muffled, it sounded as if the kid was in a massive amount of pain. I moved toward the door but Xander was much faster. He smashed through the door. Redug it to splinters with his shoulder as he charged in. The other two were just behind him, leaving me alone in the hall as I tried to catch up.

  All I could smell oher side of the door was blood and an odd metallic aftertaste. It was odd enough that I nearly stopped to try and find its source. But the sight of the three of them kneeling on the ground pulled my attention away from that and to the fact that Xander was cradling the boy in his arms.

  The golden locks that had seemed so alive earlier looked dead as they fluttered in the air around the two of them. My world turned cold as I realized the boy was no longer bleeding. That there was more blood pooled on the floor than inside his tiny form. From where I stood, I could see that his body was riddled with holes.

  A chill ran down my spine as a deafening silence pressed in on me, broken only by the distant echo of an arm. My eyes sed the room for the source of the damage to find that the room was in an even worse shape than the boy’s body. Holes were torn into every item as if an army of something was desperate to find their way out.

  Moments ter, a squad of heavily armed soldiers rushed through the door. They took up station around us, ons at the ready, as Captain Young strode in. He looked pissed. His expression darkened further as he took in the se. His eyes met Xander’s as he spoke. “You know I am required to take every one of you in for questioning.”

  Xander didn’t say a word or even nod. Instead, his arms tightened around the boy’s body as he rose to his feet. He walked slowly and deliberately as he made his way toward one of the soldiers. The soldier slung his on behind him before he accepted the body.

  No one spoke as we trailed the Captain out of the room. But I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings. My eyes were locked on Xander. He looked calm but I could practically feel the waves of ahat festered beh the surface. I had the feeling that if he ever found out who had killed the boy, they would find themselves wishing for death.