Will lived in a pretty big neighborhood, so it was really annoying when absolutely no one claimed the dog, making him feel like he just wasted all of that time. He didn't want to put Buddy in the pound, (Buddy being the name Will had taken to calling the energetic flower-eating pug) but he also didn't know if his parents would let him keep Buddy, thinking they would think him too irresponsible for a dog. He would show them.

     There was one more house that he hadn't visited; however, it was a very old house, and the last known owners haven't been seen for years. He didn't know what encouraged his feet to walk down the old gravel driveway at the end of a secluded street, but then again, he was bored, and thought it could be a good adventure.

     There was one Halloween a few years ago that convinced a younger Will and Amy that the huge, abandoned manor was haunted. They snuck past the rusty iron gate, taking in the grand magnificence of the decomposing home. Will had imagined the place all fixed up, with the shining quartz pillars and spitting fountains; the glittering windows and trimmed lawn, all prepped and ready for some sort of majestic party. But then, the house was missing a whole floor, it having fallen in from the weather and weak support; windows were busted in, the lawn no longer neat and tidy, but a mess of dead bushes, and creeping, thorny vines.

     "I dare you to go inside." Amy had whispered, her high-pitched voice trembling with fear, and the thrill of adventure. Will narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't want to seem weak. He could still remember the first step he took up onto the rotten porch steps. A sudden squeak, and the heavy flutter of wings made his already shaky heart jump, and he screamed, running away and bowling into Amy who fell to the ground in confusion and terror.

     "Hey! Will, it was just a bat!" She whined, but Will wasn't convinced.

     "You know what Amy, you can go in there! I'm not risking it." He said, crossing his scrawny arms across his chest, the plastic armor of his knight costume clacking together. Amy rolled her eyes and scoffed.

     "Some brave one you are." She said annoyed, and got up, dusting the dirt off of her sparkling dress. She had dressed up as a Sugarplum Fairy, The Nutcracker having been her favorite story at the time of her young age.

     I'm going in, whether you're with me or not. Will wanted to argue, but Amy had already turned on her heels, and stomped her way up onto the porch. He couldn't help but feel as if there were eyes watching him through the busted windows, waiting for the opportunity to sink their claws into him. Will shivered at his own imagination, and scampered up the porch to follow Amy inside.

     He remembered the main foyer being dark, and giving off a foreboding vibe, as if the things that still resided there, didn't want his company.

     "Amy I don't think we should be here. I think we should go." Will stated, fear making his tiny voice quiver. Amy was already halfway up the old, stained marble stairs that led up from the middle of the foyer, onto the second floor. She paused and looked at Will with an annoyed expression.

     "If you're scared, then you can just leave. Otherwise, Im exploring."

     Will opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly, a low, disturbing sound reached his ears.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh.

     "W-what was that?" Will stammered, his eyes wide as the sound faded away.

     "It was just the wind." Amy said, but the sudden fear was evident in her quiet voice.

OOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhh.

     "Are you sure?" Will questioned her.

     "Pretty posit-"

     Will jumped out of his skin as something fell from the second floor, shattering into pieces a few feet away from him. Amy screamed as a vase was thrown at her with force. It missed by a few feet, and splintered into sharp fragments with a loud crack at the foot of the stair case.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH

     "Lets get out of here!" Will yelled, and turned to run, Amy close on his heels as they high tailed it out of the now terrifyingly active manor. Lights were blinking in some of the windows, sounds were echoing all around them, and it didn't help that the wind had picked up, causing the skeleton-like trees to bend and creak, reaching their long fingers for the dark, gloomy sky.

     "Run! Run!" Amy yelled, and pushed Will back past the rusted iron gate, but a piece of his plastic armor got caught in one of the bars, and ripped from his arm. He didn't stop, but kept running down the driveway, Amy following close behind.

     Buddy's low growl pulled Will out of the scary memory, bringing his attention to the front of the abandoned manor. He was standing outside of the rusted gate, though, the doors were now laying on their sides. Limbs and debris surrounded the bent iron frames, evidence of the lack of care this manor once had. A very sudden, small flicker of movement caught his eye; it came from the front porch of the house. Buddy, oblivious to the danger, barked, and took off, ripping the handle of the leash out of the hands of a surprised Will.

     "H-hey! Buddy! Come back!" Will shouted, but the pug didn't listen. Instead, he ran up to the side of the inferior porch, and began to gouge himself on the dark, navy-blue Night Lilies that grew from the barren ground.

     "Jeeze dog. You and flowers." Will mumbled to himself, taking a reluctant step past the gate. The house was in an even worse state than before. Some of the windows now were completely missing, and it looked as if one of the dead trees lost its footing, and fell into the side of the manor, a huge, gaping hole swallowing the empty branches.

     "Buddy, Buddy come here!" Will hissed. The dog looked up at him, then at the empty door frame of the house, and bounded up the steps, his little curled tail wagging as he trotted into the manor.

     Cursing under his breath, Will carefully made his way up the rotten steps, and into the main area of the entrance. He fearfully held his breath and waited for something to fly at him. Fortunately, nothing did. Beams of light lit up the space, revealing strange shaped objects, which Will realized to be articles of furniture coated by white, dusty sheets. The floor was covered in layers of grime, which thankfully allowed the pug to leave a trail of tiny paw prints. They led off to the right side of the stair case, and into a dark hallway.

     "Of course, it would lead into a creepy, shady hallway. Just like your normal cheesy horror movie." Will murmured to himself, trying not to think about the horrifying creatures that could be around the corner. He scorned himself for being so childish, telling himself over and over that there were no monsters in this house... At least, he hoped.

     The paw prints led into a door on the left, which was slightly cracked open enough to have allowed an animal to slip through. Will sighed, and placed his hand against the putrid door, pushing it open to reveal a gloomy, and yet spectacular sight.

     A vast, striking ball room was lit up by the sunlight streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling windows all the way on the far wall. Will gasped in awe as he stepped into the magnificent room. Pillars of dusty quartz lined every wall, and the floor, though swathed in grime, was a beautiful black and silver marble tile cut and trimmed into a familiar pattern. As he stepped closer into the middle of the spacious room, the ceiling nearly as tall as a four-story building, he recognized the pattern to be the same one from Jonathan's book.

     Will furrowed his brow in confusion and curiosity. This wasn't a coincidence, was it? What on earth did those symbols mean? Why was this star here, and what did it symbolize?

     A slight tinkling sound reached his ears, and he looked up to see an intricate, crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It cast shards of light across the floor, although the thick layer of filth hindered to much of the light from showing through. The ceiling was also marble, and rose up four times like that of an upside-down stair case. He could just barely make out through the muck the figures of two marble dragons, one black and one white, with their tails intertwined, their heads and bodies mirrored in similar positions.

     "Wow." He breathed, his voice carrying across the space.

     "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

     Will whipped around towards the voice to see a woman standing with Buddy cradled in her arms. Her hair was so yellow, it reminded him of the sun, but the waist-long elegant curls were tipped in a deep burgundy. They almost looked like fire. She had her face turned to where he could only see the right side, her eyes on Buddy as she pets his head. Her skin was pale, though darker in the dim light. Black markings swirled and slashed across her skin from behind her ear, to her chin, and across her cheeks. One particularly large swirl disappeared beneath the collar of her shirt.

     She wore a loose fitting see-through white button up, a snug tank keeping her covered beneath, a pair of dark skinny jeans, and knee high black riding boots to complete the look. She was very pretty from what Will could see, and looked to be in her mid-twenties. Though Will was sure he had never met her before, this woman seemed strangely familiar

     "Who are you?" Will asked, taking a timid step towards the woman.

     "Oh, we've met before." The woman stated, and lifted her face to fully look at him.

     Will couldn't help but take a few frightened steps back as the left side of her face was exposed. When the markings reached her forehead, they were cut off messily as the skin faded jaggedly into bare, shriveled muscle, then into white bone. The bottom half of her skull was exposed from the cheekbone down, her bared teeth shining in the dim sunlight.

     But what disturbed him the most, were her eyes. Her right one was a gorgeous, yet severe golden hue, so bright it almost seemed to glow. The other, however, was a stark, milky white, and gleamed dully like it was made of colored glass. How was this woman even alive with an injury like that?

     "Are you done staring?" She asked with a little bit of malice in her voice.

     Will, startled, sputtered and scratched at the back of his neck.

     "Um... y-yes. Sorry Who are you again?"

     A humored light flashed in the woman's golden eye as she pointed a slender finger at the pug in her arms.

     "Is this your dog?" She asked, a smirk tugging at the edge of her lips (what was left of them) as she avoided his question.

     "Um No. I uh... I've actually been asking around." Will tried not to stare at her mangled features. Even with her face being that way, it was still hard not to stare at what remained of her beauty.

     "Soo In order to ask if a dog belongs to someone, you flounce into their home like you own the place, and snoop around?" There a dangerous tone to her voice. Will widens his eyes and lifts his hands in defense.

     "N-no! I swear! The dog ran in and I followed it! I'm sorry I can leave right away! I won't bother you any mo-"

     The woman suddenly laughed, a sound full of humor so dark that it stopped Will's words dead in their track.

     "It's too late for that, Will."

     Will narrowed his eyes in surprise.

     "How do you know my name?" His voice wavered as he took another step back in fear.

     The woman took her own step toward him, copying the gesture from his dream. He knew right then that this was the same woman that he had encountered in his dream, and honestly, that did nothing to calm his pounding heart.

     "I know a lot of things about you, Will. But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you are in grave danger. There will be no going home for you."

     "What?" Will shouted in bewilderment, his head spinning from the outlandishness of this strange woman and her outrageous claim.

     "I have no idea who you are, or what you want, but I am going home now whether you say so or not, and I'm taking Buddy with me!"

     The woman sighed and rolled her eyes, shifting Buddy in her arms as she did so. He seemed to be relatively comfortable in her embrace.

     "As much as I wish I could, I can't let you go home, Will. It's too dangerous, and we are in too much need of you. We can't let Lucius' forces get to you first."

     Suddenly, the woman was in front of him, only a breath's width away. Will gasped as she gripped his wrist, and swiped something sharp across his hand. A sting of white-hot pain shot up his arm. He jerked away, looking down at his palm, which had a horizontal gash across it. Blood began to ooze freely from it, making Will a little woozy.

     "What the- Woman you are crazy? I'm getting out of here!" Will sprints for the door, but again, the woman appeared out of nowhere, and held out her left forearm straight out to her side. Will slammed his neck into her extended arm, and fell onto his back, the wind completely knocked out of him. The woman merely pumped her fist. Buddy grunted as if he was laughing whilst the woman's lips tilted into a slight frown.

     "Dang kid, you hit that hard. That'll definitely leave a bruise." She stated quietly. Will noticed a small glint, and looked to see a dagger in her right hand, his blood gleaming on the tip of it.

     "I can't have you running so why don't you just sit tight right there for now?" She snarled, and flicked her wrist in a graceful wave.

     Will tried to get up, but even as he caught his breath again, he couldn't move any of his limbs. It was as if his body was paralyzed, however, his head was tilted to where he could see the woman as she walked towards the center of the room, and into the middle of the six-pointed star. She set the pug down, who snorted in lethargy while sitting at her feet, and used the same dagger with his blood to slice her own palm. Her bright red blood oozed out of the wound, and onto the floor. The moment it hit the marble, it sizzled and evaporated into wisps of bright light. She then flicked off Wills blood, along with hers, onto the floor, which caused a flash of light to momentarily blind him.

     When he regained his sight, he realized that he also was able to move his limbs again. He quickly clambered unsteadily up onto his feet, ready to sprint for the door, but stopped in his tracks as he saw what he missed while lying on the cold tiles.

     The star in the center of the ballroom was now glowing white, along with the ring and the markings along the outside. What was most intriguing was the small, swirling oval of light that grew from the center of the star, filling up the inner circle and expanding outwards.

     "Close your mouth Will, you'll get drool on the floor." The woman said as she backed away to the outside of the still growing oval.

     Will closed his mouth, ready to start spitting questions at the woman, but her attention was focused on the swirling white portal, and when Will turned to look at what she was so centered on, he just about fell down again.

     This can't be happening, he thought to himself, as the most magnificent thing he could have ever imagined began to emerge from the whirling lights.

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