Chapter One 

Max~

       There was a small area in between the corner and the book case that was diagonally barricading it. Maxine was an expert at squeezing herself into the space, it being one of her favorite places to hide herself. She usually read one of her favorite books or drew in her sketchbook. Her petite body squeezed into the private area to be secluded from the world in the matter of seconds.  The guards would be looking for her; she was an outlaw to them, always being caught sneaking around in the dead of night. When she was caught, she’d give them an icy stare and return to her dorm, silent as always. Her long black hair contrasted with her white skin and yellow eyes. Many said she had an angel’s voice, especially when she sang but, she chose not to speak even though she could. She actually spoke plenty of languages, choosing to talk to others in a language other than their own in order to confuse them. It was black as pitch in the room and Max had to trade her eyes for her hands. She found her bag crumpled on the floor, and her hand dove into it, feeling for her pillow, blanket and sketchbook. She fumbled around for a moment, placing the pillow behind her head, forcing her blanket around her, and then finally propping her sketchbook on her lap, her legs bent slightly upward in the cramped space.

Instead of letting the darkness and pain swallow her, she, with her eyes closed, started to draw, letting her hand flow lightly over the thin paper. Max had her eyes closed, a picture forming in her mind of her mind of her dove-self. It was from a dream she had had the night before where she was in a dove’s body. She flew high above the world and all the agony that it held for her and into space. There she found a black hole that swallowed her up, taking her away from all the anger and shadows that chased her angrily. It was comforting to have wings and be able to fly away from her fears. Yet, when she awakened, Max was disappointed to be a human again. The dream was so real…

Bang! The doors of the library flew open; only a careless person could have let them just go where they wanted freely. The force of the blow made the books vibrate and Max knew by the strength the night guard had used and the laziness of the steps that it was Ian Larenbacher. He was a hefty man who was antisocial and gruff towards mostly every student but, somehow, Ian grew fond of Max, treating her like the daughter he didn’t have. He let her sneak around and knew she would be grateful. She also had to be even more cautious when sneaking around, because he’d find woe otherwise from his terrifying boss.

“Max?” Her name from his lips made her smile. A light in the library came on and the girl poked her head out to wave to the muscular man but, he just shooed her back into her shelter. She fell asleep smiling until her dream eyes focused on the tundra. She shivered violently in her skimpy yet sinister purple dress and chunky ankle-high boots. She rubbed her hands to her arms hoping to get some impossible warmth. In the distance, she could make-out a building. She started to lumber off towards it, but kept stumbling until she tripped face first into the snow. Invisible arms surrounded her and a faint grin came to her frozen lips. She didn’t care where they had come from; it was the little burning that radiated from the ghost’s embrace that made her completely collapse.  

Byrne~

The window let sunlight dribble into the junk-filled dorm. The soft snoring from the other bed forced a chuckle from Byrne. This side of Abdulkareem Diem Tower had a perfect view of the pretty cafeteria, a wing of the m*censored*ive library and the gl*censored*-arch tunnel walkway from the wing to the lunch room. He got dressed, leaving his roommate alone to sleep in. He climbed his way down the steep stairs. He knew his way around the campus well enough to be travelling alone. The dorm towers were crumbling so many professors and supervisors recommend partnering with someone to be safe even though many didn’t bother. Byrne had a meeting with Jacqueline and her cheerleaders to help with a new recruit. He had liked Jacqui since second grade, but never admitted it. Rumors were that she had liked him even longer. They’ve become best friends over the years, and relied on each other for many things.

When Byrne arrived, he was late. And by the looks on the pretty little cheerleaders’ faces, today was going to be stressful for them, and Jacqui was going to thrust it on him. “Finally, you came! I have a bunch of athletic files for you to look through!” Jacqui pushed a stack of boring typed papers of what Byrne guessed to be at least half of the school. He had to plop down on one of the leather chairs so he didn’t drop all of them. He glanced around to see that every girl on the squad had the same size stack as him except they must have been almost half way through it.

It took him a few hours to get through it all. There were three that stood out to him with enough abilities to be actually able to make the squad. Missy Vale was a former cheerleader and tumbler from her old school. She was preppy though and the type of optimist that drove you mad. She was gorgeous, and that would mean she could camouflage right in with the others but, that didn’t mean that they’d all get along. Karin Tellez was an amazing dancer from five different dance teams and in gymnastics for seven years. She radiated sunshine rays of joy and a frown was rarely on her face. She was a bit hushed but, very sweet from what he knew. Then there was the beautiful Maxine DiNero. She had haunting looks and dead silent. Well, she did have those rare days where she said a one syllable word in her lovely angelic voice. Though klutzy, she had been in five dance squads and in gymnastics since she was two. I had to at least try and get her to try-out for cheer, along with Karin; the two had both experience and charisma. The Siren Squad, as the cheerleaders were called because most were water-children, whipped their heads to see Byrne stand, pushing the stack of files aside. They all knew he was the one thing with the influence to change Jacqui’s mind in a snap.

He was about to go over to her to tell her what he found but, a small shuffling from the far corner made him curious. Whatever was among the towering rows of bookcases, it made him wonder and seemed to lure him to it. Byrne slowly made his way toward that corner of the wing; he could feel the eyes on his back piercing him like knives stabbing into him. Now that he was almost to the windows, he could see the faint light from a library lamp that eliminated the non-fiction section. There a case that cover the corner where the two walls met, making an excellent hiding place for anything; he noticed a blanket, a pillow, and a bag tangled back there. Byrne turned to see a petite girl, about four feet, eleven inches tall. Around her slender body were dark skinny jeans, a dark blue tank top covered by a black wrap-around sweater. She looked up from her thick book to strike Byrne with her golden-yellow eyes. He knew them; they were Maxine’s. She stared at him for a long while as if to tell him to recede but, returned to her book, silent as usual. “Uh, what are you reading…?” Maxine angled her book enough for him to read Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. He shrugged it off and she began reading it again, her ash-brunette hair covering her face. “Maxine-”

“It’s Max.” She looked up at my astonished face gravely. Her voice sounded like wind chimes in a soft wind but, it sent chills down my spine. “I rather you call me Max. Maxine is too formal for my liking. Ne sois pas stupide.”

“Oh, Max, I was wondering if you’d like to be on the cheer squad ever…?” Byrne managed to stammer. He had no idea when she started talking. Her head cocked to the side, Max’s sign language for what, when, why or how. “’Hyacinth’ or, Heather, is transferring to a different school. Try-outs are this Friday. Actually, I think breakfast is in a couple of moments…” His voice trailed and he sniffed the air. Defiantly soon; there was a strong smell of chocolate chip pancakes. A soft giggle escaped Max’s throat but, they were both caught off guard by the bark of his name in Jacqui’s voice. She stormed through the wing, her platinum blonde hair streaming away from her enraged but, gorgeous face. “What the heck?!”

“I’ve chosen her and another. Gosh, all this over cheerleading…” Jacqui let out an irritated grunt and scowled at him.

“Just get me a few new cheerleaders. We’ll talk about this later and alone.” She stormed away lividly, fuming as she went. He chuckled and turned to Max. She just had raised eyebrow but, shrugged unknowingly, muttering something like, “Quelqu’un est fou.”

“To breakfast?” Byrne asked, hoping she would join him so they could talk a bit more about the squad. Though the second language she used, French he guessed, confused him, he was quite fascinated with her. Max nodded.

“I’ll come and try-out. That’s all.” She smiled, only briefly. He followed his nose to the mess hall, going through the gl*censored* walkway with Max by his side. It had white walls with gold outlining it. Many circular cedar tables were scattered throughout the bright build. There windows everywhere with exquisite sunlight pouring in. The two got in line for their breakfast before anyone else filed in. 

Karin~

Sunlight of the cafeteria warmed Karin’s skin pleasantly. There was a burning on her insides that made her want to crawl into herself and bawl. It was like heartburn magnified by a thousand in the pit of her stomach. It had been there for as long as she could remember; she had grown used to the faint pain it caused. When the short period came that she didn’t have it, it felt like she had an empty hole through her middle. She felt desperate to keep herself alive; like that flame inside her was her life source and the way for her to see through the darkness which was cast by the crowd of depression around her.

Karin has always been told that she shone bright and happy when the entire world felt there was nothing but misery. She had a radiant smile, she knew and she wore it all of the time. She had a fascination with how contagious it could be.  It had to with the way people looked at her and they way they seemed drawn to her.

She could feel the eyes on her back as she was getting her breakfast. One pair would tear away and another would stab through her. It was obviously two particular people that were staring constantly but, who was watching her with such intensity had her fearful the most. A faint grin stayed glued on her face as she turned with her food and her eyes search the large bright room for the two that were looking at her. Someone nudged her. “Are you gonna move or eat here?”

She snapped out of trance-like state and chuckled nervously to herself as she trudged to her table. Her three friends, Paige Lesley, Moira Kramer and Diane Lang were there waiting for her patiently. Paige was a preppy brunette with her hair up in a ponytail. She was wearing a navy cropped jacket over a light pink tank with a navy and pink plaid skirt underneath and some heels, her whole look looked nice and polished. She had the gossip on everything and anything. The negative auburn-haired girl next to her was Moira whose opinions were infamous. She expressed herself easily by telling the world what she thought of anything. She wore one of her t-shirts of a band no one in the school have heard of and dark ripped jeans. Diane had a baby blue hooded sweatshirt over light flare jeans and slipper shoes over her slim body. She had a unique humor that no one could quite copy but, was quieter compared to the other two. Diane seemed to be silently enjoying an inside joke with herself at all times. Karin always thought she might have that look just to get questioning looks from others. When the three wanted to, they could get into awfully heated arguments and would be already at each other’s throats if it was for Karin’s peacemaking.

“So, I hear Byrne is finding new recruits for the squad.” Paige nodded towards the table where he was sitting with a tiny dark haired girl. “I don’t know why he’d be talking to her though.”

Moira shook her head in disgust and sneered a bit. “Paige, you’re just jealous he’s not asking you to join. I’ve heard Maxine’s a pretty good dancer.” Moira hit home with the remark. Paige always dreamed of being the best dancer in the school though even Karin had to admit that she was far from it.

“That is not true.” Paige crossed her arms, sticking her bottom lip out into a soft pout. That was Paige trying to look innocent but, Moira saw through it. She had a satisfied smirk on her face as she went to gaze back on Byrne and Max, thinking of something devious.

Karin shook her head and turned to Diane. She was daydreaming but, before Karin could interrupt it a cheerleader whose real name she thought was Marisol but the nickname from cheer in which she was known as was Mimosa, come and pull a chair up in between them. Mimosa’s apology was, “I hope I’m not interrupting but, I totally need to talk to you Karin!”

I made a face but nodded. “You see, Byrne gets to pick a girl for the squad and so do we. It’s you so, try-outs are Friday, okay?” Does she think it’s that big of an honor to get on the squad? Karin asked herself.

“Uhmn, okay.” She flashed a bit of a conceited smile and left. We watched her return to her table to talk excitedly with the others. Karin shrugged and looked back at her friends’ astonished faces. Then a burst of joy filled chatting about how happy they were for her ‘dreams taking off finally’. Abruptly, Karin stood from the table, turned and walked away carefully. After throwing away her food, she left to her dorm to study for her big test in history, trying not to think about her friend’s and how they never knew what her real pas.sions were. 

When Karin woke up, she didn’t remember anything. Not where she was; not her past; not what had happened; not even who she was. It then rushed at her, putting her in a dizzy daze as she tried to stand up straight. She held her head for a moment and her vision refocused. She had been worn from the day and p*censored*ed out on her bed straight when she got there without waiting for her roommate. Karin could hear her soft breathing near the window. The digital clock on the desk said it was four thirty in the morning. She hurried to get ready quickly, pulled her polka dotted rain boots over her jeans and head out the door.

Strangely, the stairs were wet and slippery but, the ceiling had been fixed the summer before. Karin paid no attention to it as she got to the third floor. The old floor creaked beneath her, making her more eager to get away. It was the third step the she missed, sending her tumbling down two flights of stairs, the slick wetness of each step preventing her from stopping herself. Even after screaming most of the way to the ground level, she managed to wail in the searing pain in her leg and the intense inferno in her torso. Her sight was leaving her yet, she could see showy figure carefully hurry to her from the stairway. She felt a bit of relief, forcing her voice to die but, couldn’t stop her tears. Her crumpled body couldn’t move much though she could feel their worried touches on her arms, her face, and her long, brown red hair. Their murmurs kind of terrified her; they all taking about getting her an ambulance, how much blood was pooled around her and how many showers it would take to get all the blood and mud out of her hair. Sirens rang in her ears moments later and her vision was fading.  

The hospital was more blindingly white then Southward Academy. The beeping of her IV and the strong smell of antibiotics already made Karin homesick. There were also gorgeously giant flowers in colorful vases all around her room. Her brother, Elijah, entered the room bitterly merry as ever with a smug look on his face. In his arms he balanced more vases, they all having a carved S on them. He set them with the others with S’s and huffed. Gesturing them, he said, “They’re all from those cheerleaders from your little private school. They even brought them themselves. They actually brought the whole greenhouse of them, all of them from your fellow teachers and students.”

“Your sarcasm is getting more formal and less noticeable, you know. Thanks, by the way. For bringing all of these, I mean.” Elijah gave a wave of his hand to dismiss the deed. He shoved a packet towards her from of the little coffee table. “What’s this?”

“Your school newspaper,” He answered with amusement. “Thought you’d like to know what you missed. It’s pretty good news to know, if you’d like to enter or something.”

Karin marveled at Elijah’s rare kindness, even if it was a bit dark in its own way. She took the papers lightly and began to read. The headlines were “Southward Annual Realm Exploration Starts Saturday”. Karin’s first year had been hard and she wasn’t allowed to go near the games. It was where ten students, instead of cl*censored*es, got to leave to a strange and different world to explore the realms to find an *censored*igned Magick item. Our district was the only ones allowed to participate in the secret practice. “What day is it?”

“Wednesday. They’ll let you out tomorrow. Guess you won’t be my little cheerleader after all.” His smile mocked her greatly.  She just wanted to get back. Maybe she could escape to that bizarre world. She wanted to. Elijah patted her head, making her notice she was both clean but, painfully sore. He told her to rest as he began to leave her. She faintly smiled as her eyelids slid closed. She dreamt of the stairs moving, trying to trip her. She almost woke up but, the steady beeping of the machines put her in a more peaceful sleep. 

 Gauntlet~

His first kill. It was a huge deal and he almost messed that up. His nation lived in the Realm of Deceivers, the darkest realm in the whole world of Zheu. They all lived off of suffrage, pain, anger and every other negative form that radiates from others, bloody food in desperate times made a substitute. They were called the Onslaughts, the banished, half-dead democracy. His grandfather had got them banished by sucking the life out of Pahlin’s, the king of the Realm of Mounts, daughter. We are now forced to scavenge for anything to survive.

Pendulum, the new king of the Onslaughts, took his son into the village Orissa, the two wearing dark hoods and not talking to anyone. Pendulum left his young son, only ten, to find someone to feed off of and become a true prince. It took him a couple days of wandering to find her. She was the most beautiful child he ever saw, having to be a year or two younger than he. He led her away from the other children to a secluded spot in the forest, she drawn to him like a moth to a flame. It was easy to contact her soul and to take it from her. Her fear made it the all the more delicious. Gauntlet saw her memories come onto him in a large wave. Her family and her life, everything would be taken away. He pitied her, falling in love instantly. He tried to stop taking, to leave a bit of her soul in her body but, he couldn’t. Blythe’s corpse fell limply in his arms, her breathe gone.  He promised himself then, as a prince, not to make any connections to any victims. The fourteen-year-old Gauntlet has mastered and perfected his breathe-stealing and many other techniques of death.

At sixteen, his father tried to disown him. His stepson, Beauregard, seemed a better heir than his direct bloodline whose quiet and secretive nature made him seem vulnerable. Though Beauregard’s physical skill was above his, Gauntlet has mastered the Magick art, Dark Arts and The Murderers’ Arts, an uncommon and mysterious skill he had kept to himself. Gauntlet saw to it the Beauregard had come down with several deadly diseases and that he died within a week, forcing his father to both accept that Gauntlet was his heir and that Gauntlet  shouldn’t be underestimated for his power is more overwhelming the his father’s. The eighteen-year-old prince was deadly, feared by all from all realms in which he earned more knowledge and fear. The time was coming soon that Zheu’s dimension will be pierced by another and new creatures disguised as the ones of Zheu’s, will walk, searching for Magick items. Gauntlet was determined to find knowledge from them and to be all powerful. With that knowledge, he’d find their weakness and have more followers. His scheme had to follow through so people would be restored to greatness.