xxxii

<i>year 2120</i>

The flashlight did nothing to penetrate the darkness of the forest. The group of friends pushed each other around while the quietest one stayed in the back, avoiding any tree limbs that were hanging down in his way.

"Auryn, come on! I don't want to lose the best looks!" His friend Tobias called out. "I'm coming!" Auryn sighed out, jogging to catch up. His flashlight beam bounced as he ran.

He wasn't running because he was catching up to his friend, though, he was running because he had seen white and red flash in the corner of his eye.

He nearly ran into Fallon as she stared up at the second gate. This gate leads to a round-about. In front of the round-about, was the legendary castle that Tobias had accidentally found while he was exploring one day.

"Woah." Heath breathed out, staring up at the building. For being so old, it was surely in perfect shape. Maybe a bit overgrown.

The group walked to the front door. Tobias tried to push the doors open, but they wouldn't budge. Everyone except Auryn groaned in disappointment. "Let's go, I guess." Tobias grumbled, kicking a rock down the stairs.

While Fallon, Tobias, and Heath turned to leave, Auryn took a step forward with his hand outstretched. "Come on, Auryn, it's not going to work." Fallon called out, turning and looking at him.

Auryn ignored her. He pressed his hand against the door fully. A tingle shot up his arm and a light outlined his hand. Tobias, and Heath both turned and joined Fallon in watching Auryn.

The doors swung inward.

"Alright!" Tobias whooped, running up the stairs. The sun reflected through the stained glass that depicted a history unknown to the group of children.

Auryn turned towards the first door to the right. He pointed his finger at it. "In there, you'll find the thrones." Tobias knit his eyebrows together. "How do you know?"

Auryn blinked. "I-I don't. I don't know why I said that." He reached up and rubbed his head. How do I know that?

"Well, we'll see." Heath responded, brushing past Auryn and Tobias before pushing the doors open. To everyone's surprise, elaborate thrones were placed on the stage. Separating the room where the bigger half was closest to the door, was an iron fence. The ground had small greenery growing up between the cracks. Auryn automatically walked towards the thrones.

"Woah, what're you doing?" Tobias called out. "Auryn, you're scaring me! You're not acting like yourself!" Fallon backed away slightly. Auryn ignored them, continuing towards the thrones. He cleared the gates when a vision clouded his vision.

"There was a fight here." He murmured, turning and looking at a man wearing a black cape. He was yelling something before pulling his sword from the body lying on the ground and slicing through a man rushing at him.

Here, Auryn could tell clearly what he was yelling: Ophelia! He finally made it to the side of a woman with a dagger lined with her wrist for protection. He looked down and noticed a hand resting over her stomach.

She was pregnant?

"Auryn!" The vision disappeared as Heath yelled. Auryn blinked and turned towards him. "What's up?" Auryn asked. They all looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Maybe he has.

"You blanked, then you muttered Ophelia and said something about finding your family." Fallon said. "You know the government takes us from the birthing mothers and gives us to some rich family. There's no way you can go back to your real family." Tobias explained.

Auryn blinked. "I-I know. I don't know what came over me." Auryn swallowed. What's wrong with me?

Air rushed past his ear, causing him to turn around. Nothing was there.

"Are you coming? I heard that someone was murdered in the courtyard. I wonder if the bloodstain is still there." Tobias said. "The courtyard is down the hall. One of the windows will be cleaner than the rest, it always has." Auryn replied without missing a beat.

"Okay... what?" Heath asked. "You've never been here, how do you know?" Auryn blinked. "Know what?" Heath rolled his eyes before walking towards him. "You lead the way since you seem to know where everything is!" Heath jammed his finger into Auryn's chest.

"Okay, geez." Auryn responded. He brushed past the rest of them, leading them to the courtyard.

"See? The courtyard. And no blood. I'm sure they cleaned it up well." Auryn was getting annoyed now. Why didn't they just trust his word on what he said? Cause I've never been here. They probably think I'm just pulling their chains. He thought.

Auryn closed his eyes and rubbed them before following Fallon through the door.

Another vision clouded over his mind. The same man in the throne room was standing above an older man. Blood and chunks of ice were on the ground around him. Staining his chest and the man from the throne room's hands.

Again, he was yelling something before turning and looking down at the man. When the man was dead, Auryn saw his soul lift up. "What the..." Auryn trailed off. The spirit stopped and looked directly at Auryn.

"It's about time you've gotten here, Combattant." He smiled at him. "Ophelia will be glad to know that you've finally come to the place your family's from." Auryn closed his eyes and counted to ten.

Once he opened them, everyone was looking at Auryn like they'd seen a ghost. "You... were speaking French," Fallon said. "You shouldn't know French. We haven't learned it in school."

Auryn closed his eyes. "Let's... forget about it. Continue looking around." He spun on his heel and headed in a random direction. He walked until he found a gapping door. The room was filled with empty shelves.

Auryn knew it was the library. He took a step into the library and ran a hand over the dusty shelves.

"Luckily, Ophelia had gotten all of the books moved before the humans came in and took them all." The same ghost was standing beside Auryn. He stifled a yelp and jumped away from the ghost.

"Who are you?" Auryn asked, ready to run if he has to. "You already know, you said it to your friends by the courtyard." The ghost answered, folding his hands behind him. "You're the king... that died, right?" Auryn answered, his nose twitching.

The ghost king nodded his head. "I'm Abraxas. I know all about you, Auryn. You exactly like your family on my wife's side." Abraxas smiled. Wait? Family? Wife? "You mean..." "We're related? Distantly, yes, but related nonetheless." Abraxas smiled.

Auryn looked ready to pass out. "Why am I the only one to be able to see these visions? Why do I know things I shouldn't? Why was I the only one able to open the door?" He asked, rapidly.

Abraxas blinked, before laughing. "I'll tell you one, but that should answer your questions. You have demon blood flowing through your veins. You are a descendent of one of the greatest monarchs of all time. You're a part of one of the greatest races, if I do say so myself."

Auryn shook his head. "There's no way. I'm just dreaming. This is a dream. A bad dream!" He started hitting himself on the temples. "Stop!" Abraxas said, gripping his wrist tightly.

Abraxas let go just as quickly, as if Auryn just burned him. "My gods..." Abraxas trailed off, looking at Auryn as if he were shined in a whole new light.

"I can show myself to other demons. But the only ones I can touch and not go through are the ones who are necromancers."

"Necro-what?" Auryn asked, dropping his hands by his sides. "Necromancers. They're witches who can communicate with the dead." Abraxas explained, leaning down to become eye level with Auryn. "Listen to me, and listen to me closely. Do not ever let your necromancer power exceed what you can handle."

Auryn looked at him, confused. "I'm not a witch!" He yelled. Fallon peeked into the library. "Are you okay, 'Ryn?" Auryn sighed. She looked as if she didn't believe him but didn't want him to start yelling at her. "Alright. Whatever you say."

Auryn waited until her footsteps disappeared before talking. "How can you be so sure I'm a necromancer? That I'm a part of this secret royalty?" Abraxas frowned. "They told you nothing about the great demon kingdoms?"

"No," Auryn responded. "They only talk about the history humans went through." Abraxas chuckled. "Of course they would try to erase us from history. No, my boy, we helped the humans thrive."

Auryn shook his head and turned, walking farther into the library. He came upon a table with a journal underneath it. It almost blended in with the floor. "What's this?" Auryn bent down and picked it up and set it on the table.

When he turned around, the man and woman from the throne room were running towards him, laughing. Abraxas clearly could see what Auryn was seeing because he smiled sadly at the two.

"I haven't been able to talk to Eli since they sealed the door with a ritual to their god." Abraxas stated. Auryn knit his eyebrows together before looking up to him. "Who are they? The people who just ran past." Auryn followed the couple as they sat down at the table and flipped open a journal each.

"That's Ophelia and Caspian. The king and queen of the kingdom." Abraxas replied, reaching towards Ophelia before stopping and dropping his hand. The vision soon dissipated and Auryn looked at Abraxas.

"What's upstairs?"

Abraxas looked down. "I cannot tell you that. Ophelia made me swear not to tell." Auryn raised an eyebrow. "Why?" Abraxas shrugged. "You have to find out on your own. With your wonderful senses, you'll be able to find it no problem."

Auryn sighed. "Okay. I'll go find this mystery item." He turned and started walking away when Abraxas called out his name. "Auryn."

He turned and looked at Abraxas. "Yes?" "You cannot tell you friends anything about this." Abraxas said, face stern. Auryn saluted and started making his way towards the staircase across from the throne room. His friends had gone into the dining hall.

Auryn made his way up the stairs and looked down both ways of the hallway. He closed his eyes and turned left. He followed the hallway to a large set of double doors. He reached out and turned the handles and pushed it open.

Dust flew up, causing Auryn to go into a coughing fit. He waved his hand in front of his face as he walked into the dark room. Sunlight slanted through the ruined curtains, illuminating the dust particles flying through the air.

The large bed that was in front of the room had long since been broken. He looked around, not seeing anything of importance. He turned on his heel, walking back the way he came.

He passed a door, and stopped. He went back to it and pushed it open. The room was a study. The chandelier was on the ground, shattered and covered in moss. Auryn stepped around it, moving around to stand behind the desk. Once his hand connected with the wood, he was launched into another vision.

Abraxas was pacing back and forth, hand in front of his mouth. Caspian was standing by the door, back ramrod straight. They were arguing about something. Abraxas had become fed up with it and tossed his hands up. Caspain bowed lowly and left the study.

Auryn backed up a little and shook his head. Get a grip. He told himself. He yanked open all of the drawers, and didn't spot a journal of any kind.

How do I know it's a journal?

Auryn shook his head and headed from the study. He shut the door and walked across the staircase. Fallon looked right at him, but didn't seem to notice him. Huh, strange.

He stopped in front of another set of french doors and opened them. This room seemed like the least destroyed. The doors and windows had been broken.

Auryn walked farther into the room, looking at everything he could. He closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw Ophelia standing at the table beside him, scrawling something into a journal and shutting it. He followed her as she walked over to the far side of the large bed and stuffed the journal underneath the mattress.

Auryn reached underneath the mattress where he'd watched Ophelia put it. His hand brushed something leather and he pulled the journal out.

Uneasiness gripped his stomach as he set the journal onto the bed and flipped it open. There was only a few sentences written: <i>You are the chosen one, come home. </i>