The beginning

"Every whisper, of every waking hour, I'm," India threw a rock, singing quietly, "choosing my confessions. Trying to keep an eye on you, like a hurt lost and blinded fool. Ooooh nooo I've said too much, I set it up." She stood, humming and tossing another rock further across the city. She sighed and looked at the sun, waiting for the guide to come get her.

"If demons can love, what makes them different from humans or even us?" Cala shook her head. "Forgive me, that was a dumb question."

After 30 minutes of circling the market, William slowly started moving towards one of the butchers. He walked behind small groups, keeping his face hidden. Just one rack. Just a few bites. He licked his lips.

Soren raised his eyebrows. "No, you're right, Cala. You're quite correct. Demons, by our definition, are a vile, dangerous species. However, there are indeed demons that exist that do not want to exist. Some are lost souls that are absorbed into evil; others are not evil at all. Highly rare, but true." He looked at the girl. "Humans adopted the term 'demon' for them many many years ago because they are evil monsters that prey on life. Any nonhuman species that wishes to do coherent harm to humanity is referred to as demon."

As Zander sauntered back into the marketplace, he noticed Ezekiel. "Hey! Rowe!" He called to the boy.

"What are we?" Cala asked. "Are we between human and demon?"

"Ah, Cala, if I knew the answer to that, I would be a very content being." He smiled. "It is unclear as to why we exist or where we come from. We still try to unravel such a mystery even today. I have been researching that question all my life."

"That's very inconvenient," she simply stated. Internally, she suppressed her own opinions.

Five returned to the city and sat on a broken base to a statue. While I wait for the clergyman, I'll knock this off my list.

"Is it?" He asked. "Is it so bad that we don't know our origins? Ah, here we are." They had made it to the outside of the city.

Ezekiel jumped a little, quickly turning to where he had heard the voice from. His eyes were wide, as he had been startled. "Zander?" He asked, recognizing the male as he started to walk over.

"One and only," Zander replied, standing in front of Ezekiel. "I have a job for you."

"I was just looking for something to do," He stated thoughtfully, a small smile on his face. "What is it?"

Five waved the man over, giving the girl a second glance. "Name's Point Five, Five's good enough. You the exorcist?"

"Some bandits ambushed and destroyed the north camp. They need someone to help repair the carts for transporting wounded." He leaned against a telephone pole. "Interested?"

Soren walked over to where the man sat on the base of a once magnificent statue. "Hello, Mister Five. Yes, my name is Soren Lykke, and this is my apprentice Cala Thorn." He smiled politely to the man. "Will you be our guide for this trek?"

Cala stopped a few feet away from the men, giving them privacy.

Five bobbed his head, eyeing the woman. "Cala Thorn? Hm. I will be leading and we don't have a lot of time, so let's get moving."

Soren nodded. "Agreed. Come, Cala, lots of work to do." He followed after the man. "What can you tell me about this particular incident, Mister Five?"

"While I was wandering around looking for a client, I found a summoning circle. The difference between this and most is the person it's summoning isn't dead, but sleeping. Most Misers sleep for a hundred or so years at a time so they can store any power they have and come back stronger than before. This summoning circle was probably placed to keep Athen from reaching that level of power, so we're betting it was a demon. If it is a human, than they're someone that practice witchcraft or some nonsense like that. Ambassador Kallias had wards placed, but I never believed those things worked."

Seth set down the tv he was gutting and ran towards the singing. He stopped behind a busted car and looked at the woman. Snickering, he crawled along side the rusted vehicle. "You look delicious," he hissed from the dark.

Soren mentally cursed the culprit. "Human or demon, they're fools if they believe they can withhold Athen's power with such a weak summon." He had expected that the demons had at least thought to use proper scrolls and spells to withhold Athen in a sober state, but it was wishful thinking on his part.

"There's an old Miser's tale that Athen is actually controlled by his hate and his heart is suppressed by a spell, like a doll. Truth is, all anyone knows about Athen in the world would be hearsay, unless they were alive when he began killing." Five glanced at the woman again. "Let's be honest," he said in a hushed voice. "You hauling her around because she's pretty or what?"

India jumped, turning quickly. "Where are you?!" she yelled. "Stay away or I'll scream, I swear!"

Seth chuckled. "You'd better scream before I get there, or it'll be too late," he sung.