Autumn's Beginning, Autumn's Breeze

Velna slowly followed her brother through the small town. She kept as close to him as possible when someone got close to her. All of the sudden the ground shook hard and there was a big bang. Trent froze and looked around, but they couldn't see what had caused teh noise.

'I still want to talk to Nathanial about who that kid was.' Crest hissed in her mind.

'Hush, Crest, we have other things to do.' She heard Trent reply to her dragon. He started running towards the noise and Velna followed tiredly.

'That guy said she needed rest, this running around ISN'T rest.' Crest hissed,

'I'm fine,' She mumbled following Trent towards the place the sound had come from.

Nathaniel-

I stood a few feet behind my brother with my arms crossed. I yawned loudly as the questioning continued. My head nodded every once in a while as i nearly fell asleep standing up, but continued pinching my arm to stay awake. It wasn't easy.

All of the sudden a huge, head-splitting bang cut through the air, followed closely by a enormous shock-wave. I was thrown violently against the wall and sat, dazed, for a moment before regaining control of my senses. I pushed myself to my feet, looking around the room and through the windows. A large cloud of dust was rising into the air.

This reminded me of something... something i needed to remember. I got a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach; if i didn't remember, something bad was going to happen. I feared for my children and family.

Then it dawned on me of an instant that was much like this one... and yet much different. My eyes grew wide and my breathing shallow.

"Gerard," i said weakly. "What does this remind you of?"

"I..."

He turned to stare at me and I saw my expression mirrored in his and Alise's.

"What started everything all those years ago... The night the demons came..."

**Ariel, you are amazing! *Claps***

Bella (the adult)~

I heard the bang, and was out the door in mere seconds. Nathaniel was standing outside his brother's house as well, looking just as worried as I was.

"Where are the children?" I called out, looking around.

"I'm not sure..." Nathaniel replied slowly, wishing he had paid more attention to the children when they had left (I read this on his face...it would have been hilarious if not for the thunderous banging around us).

"Well, find them!" I replied, running down the street toward Val's house.

Trent ran quickly along side his sister. He saw several people around their age running in the same direction they were going.

"There is the guy that helped me." Velna said quietly. He nodded as they got closer to where smoke was coming up out of the ground. He froze at the site before them. Several demon looking creatures were coming out of a massive hole in the ground.

"Velna, get out of here now!" He hissed at her as they stopped next to the other people.

"No," She said barely loud enough for him to hear. She was clutching the amulet on her neck holding Crest inside of it until he was needed. "Wh...What are they?"

"I don't know," he replied, the demon creatures were slowly making their way towards the small group. "But we better do something fast before we become their next meal."

*Excuse the tremendously long post. *blushes**

Natan-

We made our way as quickly as possible towards the source of the bang, a little bit shaken. Our life in this town was always so uneventful...routine, almost, that this all seemed so unreal. The most excitement in my life had been the taking of my test (and a few pranks i pulled on my family, but i won't go into details).

Val walked at my side, Isabella at the other, her hand clamped onto my arm tightly. Davnix, Ariana, and Riley trailed behind, Davnix limping slightly. He had taken a lot more of the shock-wave than we who had been inside did. Riley seemed unharmed, but quite a bit frightened. Ariana just looked dazed as she trailed next to her brother.

We rounded a corned and came upon a truly startling sight. A large, blackened hole sat in the middle of the ground with huge, bulking creatures crawling out of it slowly. A few broke away and went off in another direction, heading for two more black figures. I realized they were the brother and sister i had helped earlier.

The rest of the demon-like creatures headed towards us. I stopped, staring, then began to back up slowly, holding my hands out to the side so as to force the others back as well. The creatures kept advancing steadily, although still a good few hundred yards away.

All of the sudden another figure came running from a side street, followed by another. I sighed in relief when i saw who it was, feeling my knees go weak. I forced myself to remain standing.

After a moment, i felt my mother swoop Isabella up in a hug and felt my father's reassuring hand on my shoulder. His voice sounded close to my ear.

"All of you, back to my house, now!"

I looked up, staring at my father in bewilderment. His voice sounded strained and panicked, almost to the point of breaking. His eyes were frantic, darting back and forth between us and the advancing monsters. I realized that his grip on my shoulder was tight, too tight, almost to the point of hurting me. It wasn't so much for my support and courage, than his.

"What's going on?" Davnix demanded. "What are those things?"

"I'll explain later! All of you, go, NOW!"

"But dad, those other two people...they'll be killed!" Isabella protested.

"Your mother and I will deal with them and the demons. And Gerard and Alise will be here shortly. We've dealt with these monsters before."

It was then that i remembered the stories my father had told over and over for the entertainment of myself and my two sisters. The story was of when the four of them had joined up, just over twenty years ago, at the old inn. The demons had appeared, kidnapping my father and torturing him almost to the point of death (My father had told me this in private four years ago, so not to scare my sisters who were much younger).

I could understand my father's panic, but my sisters and everyone else (with the exception of Davnix, whom i had told the story to) could not understand. Isabella, Ariana and Val had always known my father to be the collected, always-in-control man who rarely broke a sweat over any situation. Now he was near hysterics.

Yet, as much as i felt bad for him, i could not bring myself to follow his orders. I knew he cared for me...for us, but he was older than he had been last time he had fought against these hellish creatures. Twenty years older. And so was my mother, aunt, and uncle. And even back then they had had a hard time, nearly resulting in my father's early death. I wouldn't run home to cower as my parents and family were slaughtered.

"Dad, we're not going. We are not children anymore to be sent home to cower under the sheets. I am as old as you were when you first fought against these...these things, and although you may not like to admit it, I am more experienced than you had been. Davnix is as strong and courageous as Uncle Gerard had been, and Isabella and Ariana are as ferocious as mother and Aunt Alise had been. Val can help, and so can Riley. You will not win alone. We WILL come."


Nathaniel-

I stared at my son blankly for a moment, soaking in all he had said. And after i had gone over the words in my head time and time again, i knew he was right. We could not win alone.

I looked over the group huddled before me. They looked so pitiful, so helpless. Riley, the Avian, shook slightly, and i knew it was not from the cold. Davnix stood as tall and proudly as he could, but i could see he was putting little weight on his left foot. Ariana seemed only slightly aware of her surroundings, and poor Isabella's eyes went from me to Natan and back again in confusion. She had not heard the whole of the story. Val stood next to Natan, trying to look strong and brave, but i saw the true fear behind her eyes. But i also saw love, as i always did when i looked at her. Love for Natan, although she tried to hide it most of the times.

I started at the cool hand on my shoulder and the smooth voice cutting into my thoughts, reading my mind.

"Natan is right. If you want to fight, you should be allowed. You have more experience than we did, even if most of you are younger. Even so, we had six trained people fighting the demons last time, all of which were older than twenty, and even still we nearly lost."

Trust Bella to speak my mind when i was at a loss for words. I silently thanked her.

"Of course," she went on. "If you don't want to fight, you don't have to. We would understand."

None of the children moved, although the Avian's eyes darted to both sides. I didn't blame the guy. Show up in a town and instantly be recruited for full-out, instant war. It wasn't the warmest welcome.

I felt Natan's hand on my own shoulder and i turned to smile weakly at him.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. After all, we do have two experienced mage healers on hand, and another in training. What could go wrong?" Natan asked jokingly.

A loud roar answered him as the demons advanced at a run. We turned to face death in the face, so i figured.

Velna took her hand off the amulet and pulled her bow and arrow off her back. She shot one of the demons, but it just kept coming.

"Tr..Trent, we have a problem." She gasped as they came closer.

"I noticed." He transformed into a dragon and Crest came out of the amulet. She climbed on his back ready for anything. She had her back sword out as Trent shot into the air.

'Go stay close to the other people, you will be safer there.' He said through their mind connection.

'NO! I don't know them, I am going to stay close to you,' She replied back, 'And don't try tellin Crest to take me over there, I wont let him.'

Merry Christmas everyone! I might be pretty inactive for the next five days, depending on if my grandma has internet. If not, I'll be back on the 30th.

Natan-

We turned to face the charging demons. There were probably about seven in total, one of which was huge.

"You and I will take the mage," my father whispered in my ear before sending flaming darts into the bodies of two of the demons. They howled in pain but kept coming, blood lust burning in their eyes.

"Which is the mage!" I asked frantically.

"Take a guess." Nathaniel said, before he was off, spinning and casting spell after spell at the monsters. I raised my own hand and sent a weak lightning bolt at one, testing it's weakness. It didn't appear fazed.

Which could be the mage!? They all looked the same, except for the big one, but i didn't think that was the one.

I was soon proved wrong. A huge lightning bolt erupted from the hand of the huge demon's hand, striking the ground alarmingly close to me. I glanced back to make sure the others were alright before running off after my father.

"Found the mage," i told him, my voice flat.

"Well, be careful. My last encounter with these monsters told me that they do not fight fair. Keep your eyes open."

I nodded and together, my father and i sent a large bolt of energy hurtling towards the demon mage.

Max

"Look," Alise said, "we're in some trouble here, you're one of the few semi immortal ones, we could really use your help."

I huffed, typical, "no."

"I won't kill you if you help us," Alise said, "and I may even give you a kiss."

That lifted my spirits, "now or later?"

Her eyes darkened, "later, and I said maybe."

I noted how her husband stiffened at the thought, and then I realized that she hadn't said anything about HIM not killing me. But by the time I got my kiss I'd be so far gone he'd never find me if he looked for me the rest of his puny little mortal life. But I'd stay at arms legnth until this was all over, and I'd enjoy the company for a while.

Davnix-

I moved around as fast as i could with my hurt ankle. When i had landed from the force of the shock-wave, my foot had twisted around at an angle it wasn't made to be at. I was pretty sure it wasn't broken, but it hurt...badly.

I drew my sword and swung it at an oncoming demon. It drew it's hand back and out of the way just in the nick of time, snarling at me viscously. I smiled grimly and swung again. This time it wasn't fast enough, and it lost a hand. It howled in pain and swung it's other claw at me, narrowly missing my head. I ducked to the side and took a step back, wincing as i put weight on my foot.

The demon kept advancing, and i kept swinging my sword at it. Every time it came with the same amount of energy and speed, never seeming to be losing energy but instead wearing me down. And it was working. My arms began to burn, my ankle gradually fell into a numb ache that i could very little weight on. And yet the demon came still.

Suddenly i tripped over something with my bad foot and went down on one knee, raising my sword to block the stroke that would've killed me. The blow came, knocking my sword from my hand. It went flying through the air, landing a few feet away.

I hunched down for the next strike, the one i knew would end my life. But it never came. In confusion, i looked up to see my father battling the demon off while my mother crouched next to me, examining my ankle. After a moment, without saying anything, she wrapped her arm around me and hoisted me up, carrying me away from the battle.

"No! Let me fight!"

"Not with that ankle, you aren't."

I glanced back at my friends and family. Natan and his father were still battling against the huge demon, and Bella had joined them. Ariana and Isabella went at another one while Riley and Val took yet another. My father battled one alone. The vampire, Max, ran through the fray, dealing powerful blow after blow that only a vampire could do.

I sighed and let my mother lead me off, feeling guilt run though me that i could not fight with my family. That i could not know what fate befell them.

Isabella~

I fought alongside my cousin, trying to get rid of the large demon in front of us. He was so strong!! I had read up on demons...I knew all their weak spots...yet for some reason I could find none of them when I needed to.

There were loud footsteps behind us, distracting me at exactly the wrong moment.

The demon hit me with a large bout of magic, and I fell backwards, landing hard. I turned slightly, seeing the cause of my distraction.

The vampire...Max?...was standing there, fully prepared to knock the demon flat. He looked down at me, locking his eyes with my own.

---------------------------------
Valentina~

The demon Riley and I were fighting was weak, I could tell because we managed to take it down while the others continued to fight. Riley and I split up, goign to help the others.

I ran to where Natan an his father were fighting, wanting to help. Natan's mother had joined the fight as well, but this demon was too strong.

There was blood everywhere...the scent was beginning to sink in. Demon blood had a surprisingly good scent. I knew my thirst was enough to take this Demon down, as long as I got a good shot at the large vien that ran down his neck.

Grinning, I snuck behind the destracted beast, jumping for his neck. I sunk my teeth in the flesh, drinking deeply.




***Remember, most people don't take too kindly to Vampires!!***

Max

I blinked a couple times, wow. For half a minute our eyes counted off a private eternity between the two of us. That moment was rudely interupted when the demon attacked her again. I put out my arm blocking the blow, merde that hurt! With my other hand I pulled her to her feet, handed her her weapon again and took off, knowing that her father would scream at me for being any closer to her, or her uncle.

Isabella~

Curses.

He had looked at me...right at me. For that moment in time, I swear, everything slowed down.

Then the demon attacked. He pulled me too his feet (his skin felt nice on mine...even in that dangerous moment), and handed me my weapon.

How I wished my family didn't hate him so...

Velna watched as Trent flew into the demons incasing them in ice and then destroying them with a powerful blow. She clutched to Crest's neck and he swooped down again tearing into a group of demons. She slashed at one with her sword removing it's head she winced and Crest went back up to the air again and got ready to dive down again.

'You ok?" he asked gently.

'Ya, lets go.' She replied with a chuckle, fake as it was he dove down again. She brought her sword on another demon when Crest suddenly spun around under her and wrapped her up in his wings hitting the ground as a small lightning bolt hit his back. He wasn't hurt bad, but Velna was shaking. He leaped into the air weakly and flew a few feet away and landed again. He slowly shrunk back into the amulet. 'Crest, yo....you ok?'

'I'm fine, just hide.' He replied weakly. She scrambled to her feet and started running to find somewhere to hide. She took a tight turn around a building and saw a guy he toward over almost a good foot. His short dark hair hung messy around his face. He had been in the fight, but had dissappeard, she hadn't seen what had happened. She clutched her amulet and almost turned around to run. 'DON'T!' Crest commanded, 'I dont' want you fighting if I'm not able to protect you!' He hissed, the guy limped a few feet to a bench and sat down looking upset, probably because he couldn't join the battle.

Davnix-

I limped off by myself, my mother having left me to rejoin the battle. I knew she was right, but i couldn't help feeling a little mad at her. I banished the feeling, thinking myself selfish; she should be allowed to fight, even when i couldn't.

I went over to a bench sitting outside one of the houses and sat down slowly, wincing as pain lanced through my ankle and foot. I was positive i had hurt it more in the battle and propped it up on my other foot.

I looked up and around. I was pretty sure i was far enough away from the battle to be safe, but it was always good to be cautious. It was then i saw the approaching girl.

I stood up quickly, drawing my sword. I didn't recognize her, which made me even more wary and suspicious. I knew EVERYONE who lived in this town.

I gasped as pain shot through my ankle again, closing my eyes tightly. I groaned softly.

"Who are you?" i asked through gritted teeth.

Natan-

I started as Val jumped onto the demon's back, sinking her teeth into it's neck. Or were they fangs?

My father stared as well. I turned to see his reaction as the demon collapsed, sapped dry. I knew how much he LOVED vampires...

I saw his expression harden and his eyes grow cold. I turned back quickly to Val.

Velna started at him, he was in pain no doubt. "M..my name is Velna, I was help your friends fight until my dragon was hurt." She replied clutching the amulet tighter. She looked at his sword and her free hand went to the dagger that was hidden in her jacket. She gnawed on her lip and then pulled her hand back away from the amulet.

"I don't see a dragon." he replied shortly.

"He only comes out when he needs to protect me, when he doesn't need to he goes back into hiding." She replied taking a step back. She glanced around for an escape route if she needed one. "I don't plan on bringing you any harm, I'm sorry." She backed up again.

'GO the other way, Velna, not towards the battle.' Crest said barging into her mind. She blocked him out and took another step back.

'No, I will not desturb him, we aren't wanted here so I will get Trent and we will leave.' She replied back gently.