Mornings were always the most stressful part of the day back home. Even on a good day, we would tumble out of the door at least a few minutes late, eating breakfast as we walked and sprinting on the last street to get through the gates before the bell. Before Jamie started school, Marty and I passed our school days in terror because we had to leave Jamie alone with our neighbours, who we barely knew. The two of us took as many days off as we dared to stay with him- that's how I knew Marty really was worried, because he hates missing school. Every time he missed a day, he would stay up all night catching up on things he missed, and would be irritable for the whole of the next day. Luckily it was only about two months or so after Mum left before Jamie started, and most of those months were taken up by the summer holidays. Even though it was a struggle to scrape together the money for it, we almost cried with relief when we could get through a school day without worrying about him. However, this did mean that mornings became even more difficult.

Especially when he wasn't cooperating.

"Jamie!" I called on one particularly hectic Thursday, rapping on his and Marty's bedroom door. "Are you nearly ready? Marty's tearing his hair out."

Silence. Well, screw politeness, then.

I threw open the door and stalked into the room. I had to suppress a groan at the sight. Different parts of Jamie's battered school uniform littered the floor randomly, and his school bag had been emptied onto the bed. Jamie definitely wasn't nearly ready.

I looked at the wardrobe just in time to see the door, which had been open a crack, slam hurriedly shut. Normally I would have played along, pretending to look for him around the room, but not today. No time.

I crouched outside the wardrobe and knocked on the wood. "I know you're in there, Jamie."

Silence, then: "How do you know?"

"I'm an unappreciated genius. Now, come on. We have to get ready now. You can't be late today. You have your assembly, remember?"

More silence.

"What's the matter? You were so excited about this assembly before! Miss Hunter gave you some really good lines, didn't she?"

"Maya, I don't want to do the assembly any more."

I blinked, then pulled the door open. My little brother was hunched against the wood of the wardrobe, hugging his knees to his chest, his tear-filled eyes looking at me pleadingly. I clambered in next to him, leaning back against the coats and shirts, ignoring the fact that there really wasn't enough room.

"Why not?"

Jamie bit his lip. "It's a Mother's Day assembly."

My heart clenched painfully. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

"I don't even have a mummy," Jamie continued. "I can't do the assembly."

"O-Of course you can!"

"No, I can't."

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a second. I just needed a moment to calm down, to blink back the tears, to fight away the swarm of memories that attacked me.

"Come on, Jamie, you should get dressed."

"I don't want to."

"I never want to. Unfortunately, the world never sees that as a valid reason to stay in bed all day." I clambered out of the wardrobe, extending a hand to help him out too. He took it reluctantly. "And you'll do brilliantly at the assembly, I promise."

"We never even talk about Mummy."

My heart twinged again. "I know. I'm sorry."

Jamie looked up at me, his lip trembling a little, his eyes shiny. "Maya, why did she go?"

I swallowed back the strangled noise that leaped into my throat. I squeezed his little hand. "I don't know, Jamie. I don't know."

When I wake up today, my vision is once again blurred by tears. I focus instead on my hearing.

From the sound of it, someone is bickering with someone else. Well, that's not such a big surprise. There's been quite a bit of bickering in the past three days, ever since Ash came here.

I groan softly, drying my eyes on my pyjama sleeve. Then I pull myself out of bed. I don't particularly want to, but the world never sees that as a valid reason to stay in bed all day.

Or something.

I pull on a hoodie, then grab the knife on my bedside table- an action that's part of my routine now, even though I'm still not used to it- and walk out of my room, sliding the knife into the pocket of my jumper.

In the room opposite mine on the landing, the door is open and through it there's the sound of cross voices. I walk into the room, blowing my blue fringe out of my eyes.

Eclipse, Jude, Jordan and AJ are all standing, glaring at each other and all trying to talk at once. Unsurprisingly, the younger kids, Teddy and Ash have decided to stay clear of this little discussion- if they even know about it in the first place. I'm just about to follow their very wise example when AJ notices me loitering awkwardly in the doorway and pounces on me.

"Maya! Tell Eclipse that she's being completely unreasonable, she'll listen to you-"

"Good morning to you, too," I back away a little. "Actually, I was about to see if Teddy needed help with breakfast."

"Maya's already agreed to this," says Eclipse calmly to AJ, but her eyes are glinting with anger. "She's a little more open-minded than you. Can't you at least try to give him a chance?"

"What has he done to earn that chance?" AJ challenges. "Look, I miss him too. And I want to believe that the person we used to know is back as much as you do, but nobody can change just like that. And especially not after fifty years."

"Not to mention that only a few days ago, he tried to knock Teddy and Maya unconscious against a tree," Jude says darkly.

"Jude," I say, ignoring my better judgement and entering the conversation. "That was a mistake, he's already apologised for it." 

"Oh, he's apologised?" Jude's voice, dripping with sarcasm, rises. "Oh, that's great! Let's all just forget that it ever happened then, shall we? Maya, an apology doesn't automatically fix everything. I apologised once to a Minotaur I stabbed and he still seemed pretty ticked off at me."

"I don't believe that for one second," I tell him. "You're not a particularly apologetic person."

"True."

"What's the matter with you?" Eclipse asked him, her relaxed voice beginning to sharpen. "You agreed with us in the woods! You said you'd give him a chance!"

"I am giving him a chance!" Jude fires back. "But I never said I thought it was a good idea. I think it's a terrible idea, actually."

"Look, we've talked about this a hundred times, and we're just repeating the same things as always. Can you just trust me, please-"

"It isn't you we don't trust, Eclipse," says Jordan flatly. "Look at us. So many of the scars we have today were caused by him. We've nearly died, over and over. It's impossible to change all of that."

My gaze drifts to my own scar, an angry red against my pale skin.

Eclipse sighs, the fight leaving her in one exhale. "It's hard, I know. I know. I don't trust him myself, not completely. But I'm trying. At least... I'm trying to try."

"I don't like it," Jude says tightly.

"Neither do I," Jordan says uncomfortably. "But we can try."

Eclipse smiles at him wearily, squeezing his shoulder. "Thank you."

"It'll take something incredible to undo the things he's done," AJ folds his arms. "I suppose I can wait and see if he can manage that. But if he makes one wrong move..."

I smile a little and leave the room before AJ can finish her threat.

And standing outside, leaning against the wall, is Ash.

"Were you listening?" I hiss at him, praying that he wasn't.

He smiles wanly at me, but his eyes are dark with emotions that scare me. Anger. Resentfulness. Bitterness. "Thanks for standing up for me."

"Ash-"

"Teddy has some ideas about what to do next," Ash cuts in. "But he isn't certain. He needs to talk to all of you."

And with that, he stalks off downstairs.

I sigh, then poke my head through the doorway to tell the others what's going on. As she comes out of the door after everyone else, Eclipse brushes against me, her dark eyes troubled.

"Did I hear... Was he... Did he hear...?"

"Yeah," I reply gloomily.

Eclipse's face falls, and we walk downstairs together in silence.

All the same, I can't hold back a flicker of excitement. Teddy might have something, something that might be able to get us out of this cage of helplessness and back into action. Something that can finally help us save Jamie and Marty.

When we walk into the living room, the twins and Coby are squashed up next to Teddy on the overstuffed couch, and Ash stands behind them, watching silently and impassively. Teddy is leaning over the coffee table, scribbling furiously on crumpled paper with his fluffy pink pen. His hair is even more messed up than normal, his eyes are enveloped with purple shadows and his skin is paler than usual. He's chewing his lip, raking his fingers through his ginger locks, and the smile he offers us as we come in doesn't quite reach his eyes. He's sipping something from his spotted mug, and the fact that it isn't hot chocolate startles me.

"I thought you hated coffee?" I ask him, sitting next to him on the sofa.

He takes another sip, and grimaces. "Yeah, it's disgusting. Do you want to finish it? I only made it to try and stay awake."

My eyes widen as I take it. Despite his dislike for it, Teddy makes really nice coffee. "I'm allowed to touch the mug?"

He smiles weakly. "Just this once."

"Are you okay, Ted?" Jordan asks, looking concerned. "You look exhausted."

"I think I found something," Teddy ignores the question. "It isn't good, though. I mean, it is good. It could really help us, but it isn't exactly... Well. I've been thinking, and I'm not sure if it means anything, or even if it's right, and if it's right I'm not sure if it can help us or anything... Then again, it might, mightn't it? I mean, you never know-"

"Ted," AJ cuts in sharply, rolling her eyes a little. "Just tell what you're thinking."

A pink blush spreads up Teddy's cheeks. "Um, right. Sorry. Well... I've been thinking about the alliance the Feallan made with the Venari. It's weird, isn't it? I mean, the Venari aren't usually predators, are they? They're allied with pretty much every type of demon in this realm, so they never usually take sides. They prefer to, you know, stay in the middle of everything. Always in-between. But, this time, they've made it pretty clear whose side they're on, haven't they? They're doing the Feallans's dirty work, supplying them with weapons... So, I started wondering, y'know, um... Well, what is Saleos- You know, the Feallan leader- Well, what's he offering them? What's making them do all of this? And I thought if we could work that out, we'd at least be a step closer to figuring out his plans."

"That all sounds great so far..." Eclipse says slowly. "But how can we possibly know that? The Venari have pretty much the whole of this world at their fingertips. What else could they possibly need?"

"That's what I've been thinking about," Teddy continues. He looks nervous. "I mean, I suppose we can't know for sure. I think... I have a theory, but we can't know for certain, can we? I-It's only a guess, and it might not be a good one... But it fits with everything else that's been happening. There's only one thing I can think of that the Venari don't have. They have every magical artefact anyone's ever heard of, and they're allied with every type of demon here, apart from one. There's... There's one group that they haven't managed to get onto their side yet. A p-powerful group that has a lot to offer them. Do... Do you see what I'm getting at?"

I gasp as his words sink in. His anxiety, his lack of sleep, it suddenly makes sense. Because Teddy's right- There's only one demon group who remain individual in this fight, one group who stay alone and isolated in the woods, one group who don't mix with other demons unless they're attacking them. One group who are powerful enough to interest the biggest dealers of magic in this realm. And only one group who have the ability to makes Teddy look so scared.

"The Neroes," I whisper.

Teddy nods miserably.

"It fits," Eclipse breathes. "We know they're helping the Feallan, don't we? Ash told us that they... Tortured him as punishment for betraying them. We wondered why they would do that, didn't we?"

"Hm," Jordan looks at Ash. "You're sure it was the Neroes who did that to you?"

Ash laughs bitterly. "Still don't trust me, huh?"

"I didn't say I don't."

"Well, you don't. But I was telling the truth about that. The Neroes are working with the Feallan."

"That would explain why the Venari are doing all of this," Jude says grimly. "They want an alliance with the Neroes so they can use and sell some of their power. And if they're allied with the beings of pain... Well, they would be almost as high-status as them. They wouldn't have to worry about any threats. Nobody would ever mess with them."

AJ frowns, her eyebrows furrowing, making her look angry and scary. Then again, she looks angry and scary even when she's laughing.

"But that doesn't explain why the Neroes would be doing this. What can Saleos offer them?"

"That's obvious, isn't it?" Jude says. "Their power grows with every victim."

"So," interrupts Jordan. "This fight between us and the Feallan gives them an opportunity for more power, just like it does the Venari. The Neroes probably don't have many potential victims, living alone in the woods. If Saleos needs information, or a punishment for somebody, I'm sure the Neroes would be all too happy to torture them. And that means more power for them."

"Makes sense," Ash says darkly. "That's what they did to me. It was the worst pain I'd ever felt. It felt like fire and ice and poison were ripping me apart, my blood was-"

"Stop," Teddy squeaks suddenly. When I turn to look at him, he's gone two shades paler and he's shaking in his seat. My heart lurches. I recognise that faraway pain in his eyes... I've seen it in my own a million times. The pain that comes with dark memories. Flashbacks. Coby presses closer to Teddy on the sofa, rubbing his head comfortingly across Teddy's arm.

Ash looks taken aback. "I-I forgot-"

Jude glares at him, then walks around the sofa to grip Teddy's shoulders from behind, grounding him. He rubs them gently, and although the gesture is awkward, as though Jude doesn't really know what he's doing, Teddy relaxes a little.

"I-I'm sorry-"

"Don't be sorry, Ted," Jordan says softly.

"Just... Just go on with the plan. It's nothing, I'm fine."

There's a few moments of silence.

"I don't really understand," Pixie says. "How does all of this help us find Maya's brothers?"

Teddy takes a deep breath, struggling to get the words out. "Well... It means that... That there might be something that can help us at the Nero fortress."

A shocked silence greets his words.

"You mean... We should go there?" I ask. A strange mixture of emotions comes with that idea. Fear. Excitement. Hope. Doubt.

Teddy swallows. "Y-Yeah."

"It's a good idea..." AJ says thoughtfully. "There isn't much security around that place, is there? All the other demons are too scared of the Neroes to try to come close. Besides, not many people even know where it is. Should be easy to break in."

"And there's bound to be something there we can use!" Jordan cries. "The Neroes have all kinds of weapons, don't they? Seeing as we don't have access to the markets anymore, that's perfect. And there might be information there, too, something we can use to defeat the Feallan. Or some way of getting into the Feallan castle!"

"We can do it," Jude says. "It's probably the one thing we can do right now. But..." He looks down at Teddy, who's leaning against him. "It'll be dangerous..."

"Teddy..." Eclipse catches onto his point. "You don't have to come-"

"Yes, I do," Teddy says firmly, but he's still pale. "I know my way around that place. I know the way there, and I know the... The Neroes. I know how they work."

"Ted..." Jude trails off.

"What about your parents?" I ask. "If they catch you..."

"Well, that's easy," Teddy says, but his nonchalant tone is ruined by the slight tremor in his voice. "We won't get caught."

There's another tense silence.

"Sounds like fun," Ash says humourlessly. "So, when do we go on this suicide mission?"

"'We'?" echoes AJ. "Who's 'we'?"

Ash stares at her for a second, then laughs his sullen laugh again.

"Oh, I see. You don't want me to come. Because, what? You think I'm going to hand you over to the Neroes? Is that it?"

"That's exactly it," AJ says sweetly.

Ash's eyes narrow. "Hasn't it occurred to you that, if I wanted to kill you, I could've done it by now? I could've done it at any point in the past three days. Hell, I could've done it at any point in the last fifty years. I could do it right here, right now. But I'm not."

He suddenly lunges forwards, his hand outstretched as though he's ready to cast a spell. Everyone, including me, flinches back, expecting some spell or other to hit us, but nothing happens. Ash lets his hand drop, his lip curling. 

"Typical. Absolutely typical."

He looks around at us all. He's not even trying to conceal his anger any more. 

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" he asks suddenly. "You all carry weapons with you at all times. You never did that before I came. Even though we've hardly left the house for three freaking days, you all carry knives all the time. Style statement, is it? Or is it because you're scared you'll end up alone in a room with me?"

My fingers slide guiltily over the dagger in my pocket.

"Ash," Eclipse says hesitantly. "We're sorry, it... It's just a precaution. We're not actually using them, and... Look, even if we did, they're just stunning-weapons. They can't actually hurt anyone. You don't have to worry about them."

"Really?" Ash asks, his voice dangerously quiet. He lunges suddenly towards Jude, who's closest to him, and snatches the knife out of his belt. Everyone tenses up again. Ash laughs, and starts playing idly with it, his eyes glinting. He spins it lazily in his palm and catches it by the handle, so the blade is pointing towards us.

"Relax," he tells us, his voice malicious. "It's just a precaution. I'm not actually using it. And even if I did, it's just a stunning-weapon, isn't it? It can't hurt  you."

He spins it again, then holds it out threateningly, stepping closer. Everyone freezes up again. He moves the blade towards Jude mockingly. He guides it teasingly, centimetres away from his skin, close against his neck. Jude doesn't move an inch, but his eyes are dark with anger. The rest of us watch, frozen in horror, afraid to breathe in case it somehow moves the knife. The dagger may not be very dangerous, but it's still frightening to see it inches away from Jude's neck, in the hands of a boy who's just bragged about his ability to murder us all. Besides, Ash has pretty powerful magic. In his hands, the stunning-knife can probably be a lot more deadly.

"This doesn't seem safe, does it?" Ash says conversationally, as though he was having a nice discussion about the weather. "I'd better not let the knife slip or anything..."

The blade wobbles dangerously. Teddy starts fearfully, his hand moving to cover one of Jude's that still rests on his shoulder. Jude slides his fingers through Teddy's, but beyond that he's still a stiff, rigid statue.

"Stop it!" snaps AJ suddenly, making everyone jump.

Ash grins, and moves the knife even closer. Only millimetres away...

"Stop it!" shouts Eclipse.

Ash moves the knife away, his expression suddenly cold.

"I see," he says. "Holding this knife means something different for me than it does for you."

He slams the knife point-down into the sofa so that the blade sinks into the cushion, the handle sticking out at an awkward angle. Then he storms out of the room.

The silence hangs over us for a while after that.

That night, I lie in bed, unable to sleep. My mind is fizzing with apprehension. We spent the whole day planning for the break-in, which we've decided to put into action tomorrow. We went over different routes, different methods, different places to search and different things to look for. Ash remained in his room for the rest of the day -in fact, we haven't even seen him since he stormed out of the living room- so we decided that he wasn't coming. After a lot of arguing we persuaded the twins to stay too, with Coby. However, we didn't quite feel safe leaving the three of them alone in the house with Ash- it feels horrible to admit, but it's true. We never know what he could do, especially after today. After a heated discussion between AJ and Jordan, Jordan reluctantly agreed to stay. To avoid sitting around all day doing nothing, he and the kids are going on another boat trip along the shore, going in the other direction this time to see if there's another way to travel somewhere without being attacked. 

The others asked me if I wanted to stay too. I'm pretty sure they were hoping I would agree. I'm still not very experienced with fighting or breaking-in, and I can tell they're worried about what could happen to me. But this is my fight, even more than it is theirs. No way am I letting somebody else fight it for me.

My pencil scratches over the paper of my sketchbook. I draw an indistinct figure staring out of the page with conflicted eyes. Shadows are swirling across their skin, as though the darkness runs through their veins. They look like the shadows are about to consume them completely.