Cason

I tried to read Coral's expression but it was different somehow, it was as if he'd put on a mask to make himself look easy and confident, hiding on the inside. Maybe he was like how he made himself seem but I knew there was something about him, something big. There was something this recruit wasn't telling us, and I made it my personal mission to find out what.

As we got off the train, I led the way to the Haven of Truth. To be honest, I even disliked this place. I felt like it was unfair for people to have to do this, but it was protocol. And I would follow protocol. This place could save many lives by figuring out if what people said was purely the truth and most importantly if they were a potential threat and could put the home of the witch-hunter in danger.

We were a species that seemed too important for humanity to just go extinct, it would be chaos without us. Witch-hunters brought order to the madness of the world, thwarting the plans of those who are evil from taking over the world and creating utter destruction. Without us, witches would take over and no one would be able to stop them. The army might try but it would be useless, they'd be beaten to corpses. The world would be like being ruled by the devil. Not to mention what would happen when one witch wanted the power that another had. The battles would damage entire cities, killing thousands of people. The world would be reduced to a pile of ashes, the reign of witches the last one.

I shook my head. No, witch-hunters would never be beaten, I would make sure of it. We would keep the world in order forever more. In the future, witches will just be a fairytale, extinct like the dinosaurs that once roamed the earth.

I led them down a path just off the train's platform. Its entrance were two silver trees entwined together like an archway, but anything beyond that was covered by a swath of darkness. I led them down the old path covered in dead leaves. I noticed Coral looking around in awe and couldn't help smiling. I was proud of my home. Tasmania, home of the witch-hunters. I loved to see the look on peoples faces as they saw it for the first time. I put my steeling face back on and remembered what I was doing was serious. This mission would determine whether or not Coral was actually going to hurt us. Whether or not he was a threat.

"Damn," Coral said. "This place looks ancient. When did you first build it?"

I looked back at him. "134 years ago. It was built by one of the first witch-hunters ever known to earth, Judah. He had a power that no one has ever had after him - the power of truth and justice. He powered an altar with his power and had to stay near it to keep the power running inside of it. Judah then sewed his mouth shut, saying that if he talked he would say too much. From there, he developed the idea of the altar being used to make sure people weren't a danger and had the right idea in mind. The stone makes you answer that question, and there will be voice recordings of it all around the place. Even though you can't see it, this is the place most guarded by witch-hunters. There is a security camera on nearly every tree surrounding the altar and they built the cabins close to this place."

"Wait, so if this guy built this 130 whatever years ago isn't he dead?"

"Yeah, obviously," Cammy answered sarcastically. "What do you think, us witch-hunters can make ourselves immortal? You wish!"

"I said Judah has to stay near it," I answered. "Alive or dead. Right now his corpse powers the stone."

Coral cringed. "What a nice welcome to your newest witch-hunters, showing them a dead corpse that's somehow magical."

I rolled my eyes. "It's protocol. And it'll work for the next however many years it takes before the last piece of ash from his corpse is taken by the wind."

"What do you do when that happens? How will you know who's a threat?" Coral asked curiously.

"Well, we're thinking that someone else will come up with that power, otherwise if someone doesn't we've got scientists working on how to preserve the power in the rock." I answered.

Coral frowned but just kept following me through the dark trees. I stopped every once in a while to wait for him and Cammy as they chatted, but I didn't say anything else, I didn't want to disrupt the quietness that seemed to be like a cover over the area. I thought about Coral's question, letting it turn over in my head.

What do you do when that happens? How will you know who's a threat?

I shook my head, I couldn't think about that. Everyone was given a gift for a reason so I was sure that one day someone would get Judah's power and be loyal enough to do what he did. I started to climb up a hill in the forest, following a path I just knew too well. Cammy and Coral were still talking so I shushed them and took a deep breath.

"Up ahead is the stone," I told them. "Cammy, I've been assigned to ask the questions so you don't say a thing." I turned to Coral. "First I will ask you if you mean any threat or danger to the witch-hunters, your response will be recorded. After that, they will stop recording it because the next question is a bit personal. I only tell them your answer to that if it seems dangerous to us, but that never happens."

"Okay," Coral tried to seem confident but I could tell something was bothering him, everyone was worried when you were forced to tell the truth though, some secrets you just never wanted to come out.

Coral began to walk up to the stone, his steps slow and measured. The alter hummed with low grey energy, slowly brightening when he got closer. When he reached the altar he turned and raised his eyebrows at me.

"Kneel on your knees and put your hands on the stone," I told him in a low voice.

With a smirk, Coral knelt and put his head and arms down dramatically, as if he were kneeling to a god or something.

"No, just kneel on your knees properly and touch your hands to the stone," I scolded impatiently.

Coral grinned, "Oh, you should have said that."

He got in the correct position and looked at me inquisitively. A sort of curious look for what I would do next.

I took a deep breath. I had never done this before. Sure, I'd prepared for it but they just said it was easy as anything. You ask one question, and they answer. But was that really it? Wasn't there more to it?

"Do you mean any harm to the witch-hunters or to the land that we stand on?" I recited the words I had practised for ages, it slipped out so easily I reckon I could have said it in my sleep.

Coral tensed, and I could tell he was fighting something, trying to run away from an ugly truth. The silence seemed to stretch on forever, though it was probably only a few seconds before Coral responded.

"No," He answered. He tensed again, trying to fight more words from spilling out. "No, I don't."

I sighed with relief, feeling my muscles loosen again. "Okay, the recordings stopped but we still have to keep going now. As the second part of showing your loyalty to the witch-hunters and being vulnerable to us. What is your biggest secret, or the worst regret you've ever had."

Coral seemed to fight this question even more. He looked like he was on the verge of ripping his hands off the stone, but that would only make him look suspicious. I could see him tensing all over as a drop of sweat rolled down from his forehead. "No..." he whispered.

His eyes glazed over, as if he were somewhere else, somewhere deep in his memories. Then, his face turned steely, as if he were accepting his fate, knowing he couldn't run from the truth. Coral turned and looked right into my eyes, his green eyes glinting with a hint of emotions. Fear. Anger. Rage. Acceptance. He looked like he was challenging me, seeing what I would think. Challenging me to see if I would tell people what I was about to hear. And to be honest, I don't know if I even wanted to hear what he's about to say.

"You really want to know?" he asked me quietly, putting his usual smirk back on. "Fine then. Go off and tell all your friends what a creep I am. Don't even think about what I've done or who I am, because it doesn't matter, does it? Everyone is just judged on their race, they can't be anything else."

I felt my stomach knot as I tried to put together what he meant. Surely he didn't mean that... I felt my heart beat harder. No, surely I was just reading this situation wrong, there was no possible way for that to be true. But part of myself told me that it could be, that so many things could be possible. The single second that passed felt like an eternity. Then I narrowed my eyes as I looked at him.

"What do you mean?" My heart seemed to beat faster still, seconds seeming to stretch for hours as I waited for his answer. Surely it couldn't be too bad, I mean, what is the worst someone could hide? Apparently, I didn't know. Because I was not at all prepared for what he said next.

Coral looked right back at me. He knew he couldn't hide from the truth much longer. It all just came spilling out. "I'm a witch."

A/N: Well, I mean, I probably didn't blow your minds TOO much but, HEHE BE LEFT ON THE CLIFFHANGER AGAIN >:D

Love you guys and please tell me what you thought of this chapter! ^^