Pain throbbed through Eldwin's whole body as he continued down the street. All he could make out was the back of Kirk's jacket. Sirens blared in the distance. It would be a matter of time before he got caught. Eldwin skidded to a stop, causing Kirk to do the same and look back at him. Eldwin fingered the amulet in his pocket as he stared ahead, but at the same time, at nothing. Maybe he could return it. A lump formed in his throat. He felt the world spinning, and his knees began buckling.

"No time to grow a consensus now!" Kirk spat as he grabbed one of Eldwin's arms and pulled him to his feet. Eldwin looked up to him. Kirk pulled his shoulders back and looked away. "Let's just say doing things like this gets easier each time you're forced to misbehave. Now, let's go. I get a message from Terrence saying they went back to the meeting point." Kirk turned toward him again and narrowed his eyes. "Did you get it?"

Eldwin pulled his arm away and looked straight ahead. "No, " he replied, rolling it in his hand. Kirk lowered his eyes for a second. Eldwin bit his lip as he felt him stare into his pocket. Kirk shrugged before turning his back on him.

"It's your funeral. I didn't get much either." Kirk reached into his pocket and withdrew a pocket full of jewelry. "I stole a lot of gems and jewels from what I assumed was a guest bedroom." Kirk shrugged and pushed them back into his pocket. "Maybe they're fake; we'll know when we go to pawn them." Red and blue lights appeared around them. A police car pulled up beside the boys. Kirk crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby lamppost. "Don't say a word." Kirk hissed as the officer stepped out of the cruiser.

 "Good evening, boys." A woman said in a matter-of-fact type of voice. Eldwin glanced up at Kirk.

"Good evening, Sergeant." He nodded, "how can I be of assistance?" Eldwin glanced up at him. He couldn't help but wonder who this was. How could he know who the officer was? They all looked the same in terms of ranking to him. He watched as the woman looked them over and finally rested her eyes on him. Eldwin swallowed a lump in his throat before rising to his feet. He held on to the amulet tight, hoping she wouldn't ask him any questions.

"I saw this one fall and wanted to see if he was okay." She said at last. Eldwin sighed with relief, but from the smirk on Kirk's lips, he could tell he caught a hidden meaning.

"Now, Sergeant. I appreciate the help, but I know that's just an excuse to nose around. You're wondering why my friend and I are out past midnight." Eldwin watched as the sergeant went to respond but was caught off. "You know my mother and stepfather run a legitimate business. I was running last-minute errands for them."

"So you don't mind if I call...?"

"No, you may not. Unless you're arresting us for being out past curfew, which is not in your jurisdiction to enforce, you have no other choice but to let me and my friend use our own devices. Besides, we were racing, preparing for the track team, and my friend needed a breather." Eldwin sucked in a couple of deep breaths. He felt his lungs expand, and coldness engulfed them with a sharp grip. He coughed hard and felt the ice surge through his veins. He hit the ground, grabbing his heart. His head was lowered to the ground. 

Eldwin glanced up as Kirk stepped in front of him. The sergeant had moved closer. Eldwin watched as the sergeant put her hand on her right hip. Kirk was going to get in trouble because of him. Kirk stepped back and grabbed his arm, forcing him back to his feet. "Asthma, " he said. We were headed back to his house to get his inhaler."

"I'll be keeping my eye on you two." She said before heading back to the car.

Kirk leaned close to his ear. "Do you have anything I can give Terrence so he doesn't kill you?"

Eldwin watched as the cruiser drove away. He straightened his back and dug around in his pocket. Kirk looked around. He figured he was looking for more cruisers to come out of nowhere and stop them again. Once he found his wallet, he pulled it out and handed his bully a twenty-dollar bill. "It's all I have." He sighed. Kirk snatched it out of the air and pocketed it.

"Let's hope it's enough then. Go home, Carmichael."

"Why are you being so nice to me after everything we've gone through." Kirk turned as Eldwin spoke to him. The boy ran off without answering, leaving Eldwin alone in the dark with just a street light. The cold began creeping over him once more. He took a step back and looked every which way. He felt cold fingers reach over his shoulders and grab him. He felt anxiety surge through him. His breaths began to swallow and sharp. Eldwin fell to his knees in the light and tried to find his breath. 

"Eldwin!" a man's voice called out. His vision went in and out as he began to touch his shoulder. "Kolleeza." He heard the man mumble under his breath. Warmth began flooding his body. He sat back on his knees and looked at his teacher. The professor smiled as he helped him panting—a stro to a standing position. "You're cold. What are you doing out here at two in the morning? Nevermind. Allow me to take you home."

"Thank you, Mr. Del Mastro. I was hanging out with Kirk." Eldwin slid into the passenger side of the teacher's car, watched as he closed the door, and stood there thinking before jumping in on the driver's side.

"Is that so." Eldwin glanced at his teacher as he sped away. "Mr. Carmichael, I want you to stay close to Kirk. He may be a little extra. But he's had a hard life. Given recent events, I swear things aren't how they appear." He gazed at the teacher. His eyes were on the road, yet he felt they were elsewhere. The past, perhaps. "This is danger behind every corner, and he knows how to navigate past them."

"I'll try."

"That's all I ask." 

Eldwin stared out the window as trees flew past. Clearly, the teacher was speeding, but he didn't care right now. He leaned a hand against his neck, hoping to hide his wound from his teacher, but there was no telling what was going to happen at this point. The voice spoke in his mind. "Now that we are together again, we can never be torn about. There is nothing a father can do about it." Eldwin leaned against the car door and looked up at the sky.

"The sky has an ominous blue tint," Mr. Del Mastro mumbled. Eldwin looked at the moon, which had a blue hue. The night, in general, gave him the feeling that it could start snowing at any moment. His mind went back to the amulet in his pocket. Eldwin sat up and looked at the teacher. Mr. Del Mastro looked at him. "Is everything all right, Mr. Carmichael?"

"What do you know about the amulet of Azeal?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Kirk had mentioned it a while ago and was just curious."

"That's a pretty deep subject. Some believed it gave a dark mage his powers, while others say it's a prison for dark spirits." Eldwin looked straight ahead and watched the teacher turn into his driveway. All the lights were left on in the house. "We've arrived. If you wish, I can do more research and let you know. I am very aware of how detail-oriented you are. You could almost be an archeologist when you go to college." Eldwin opened the door and faced the teacher; he had a gleam in his eye.

"If I'm being honest, Mr. Del Mastro," Eldwin smiled, "I was considering it but haven't brought it up to Mom yet."

"She's more open to it than you think. Good night, and she's waiting inside."

"Thank you." Eldwin closed the door and headed to his front door. He watched as the teacher pulled out of his and headed down the driveway. Snowflakes began falling around him. Eldwin reached a handout and watched as a flake landed on his palm. It stayed put instead of melting. Shrugging, he went inside the house. 

When he entered the house, his mother sat on the bottom step with her head on her knees. "I'm home, Mother," Eldwin jolted her head with tears. She flung her arms around him and pulled him into an embrace. "I just went out with a friend," Eldwin smiled and returned her embrace, "I'm safe. Mr. Del Mastero brought me home."

"I know. I asked him to look for you. We need to talk."

"About what?" Eldwin stared into his mother's scared green eyes. She was searching his face for something; maybe she was looking for the words to express what was on her mind. After several moments of silence, his mother just shook her head.

 "It can wait until morning. I want Alfred to join us." Eldwin cocked his head to the side, looking for answers from his mother. As far as he knew, he didn't know any Alfred. He went to ask, but his Mom hurriedly pushed him up the stairs.

"Mom, about tonight..."

"Yes?" He watched his mother spin around and look into his eyes. Anxiety began welling up inside him once more. He couldn't tell his mother what he had been up to tonight. She would be heartbroken, maybe even disappointed. He knew he did wrong tonight but had to find a way to make it all better. Perhaps he could get advice from another friend?

"It's nothing. Good night." 

"Good night." He watched as his mother wandered off into the living room. She was likely to shut down the house before she went to bed. Letting a sigh, he stilled his heart long enough to return to his room and entered. He looked around the room. The darkness around him seemed to weigh down his shoulders. He pushed his back against the door as his heart began beating faster. Wind howled from outside, causing him to wander over to the glass pane. As he watched the snow fall, he noticed a young man walking in the street. He wore short sleeves, left no footprints, and his eyes glowed red

Eldwin watched as the figure arrived in front of his house. A smile broke out across his face as the snow whirled around him. Eldwin took a step back as he watched the figure disappear. His hand grabbed his heart as he stepped backward. Everything within him told him to go out and meet the figure; there was so much left to do. Butean? What did that mean? He fell to his floor and watched as his room spun. Red eyes appeared above him before he lost consciousness.