h4Chapter 148: Chapter 148: The Visitors/h4

    "We have to go after them," ra said, staring at the empty wall where the door had been.

    "How?" Kael asked. "The door is gone."

    "Luna and Phoenix are our babies," ra said. "We can’t just leave them."

    "They’re not normal babies," Frost said. "They chose to leave. Maybe they know something we don’t."

    Before anyone could answer, the house shook. But not from Luna’s screaming this time. This was different.

    "What now?" Ronan asked.

    Darian looked out the window. His face went pale.

    "We have visitors," he said. "Lots of them."

    ra looked outside. Her heart stopped.

    Vampires stood in the front yard. Their red eyes glowed in the dark. Behind them were werewolves from different packs. Their fur was silver, ck, and brown.

    Witches floated above the trees. Their magic sparkled like stars. Dragons circled overhead, breathing rainbow fire.

    "How many?" Kael asked.

    "Hundreds," Darian said. "Maybe thousands."

    "What do they want?" ra asked.

    "The children," Frost said simply. "Everyone wants to see the children who changed the world."

    A knock came at the door. Not violent like the soldiers. This knock was polite but firm.

    "Should we answer it?" Ronan asked.

    "They’re not going away," Frost said. "I can see their thoughts. They’ve traveled from all over the world to be here."

    Kael opened the door. A vampire woman stood there. She was beautiful but ancient. Her skin was like marble.

    "I am Seraphina," the vampire said. "Queen of the Northern Coven. Ie seeking the time children."

    "They’re not here," ra said.

    "I know," Seraphina said. "I can smell their absence. But I also smell their power. It lingers like perfume."

    "What do you want with them?" Kael asked.

    "To offer protection," Seraphina said. "My coven is very old. Very strong. We can keep them safe."

    "Safe from what?" Ronan asked.

    "From those who would use them," Seraphina said. "From those who would cage them. From those who would break them."

    A werewolf pushed past the vampire. He was huge, with scars across his face.

    "I am Alpha Kane," he growled. "Leader of the Mountain Pack. The children belong with wolves. They need to run free."

    "They need magical training," said a witch who appeared beside them. She had silver hair and eyes like storms. "I am High Priestess Morgana. The children’s power is beyond anything we’ve seen."

    More creatures crowded around the door. A dragonnded on the roof. Faeries buzzed through the air like glowing butterflies.

    "Everyone wants them," Frost observed.

    "Everyone wants to control them," Darian corrected.

    "We don’t want control," Seraphina said. "We want alliance."

    "Alliance for what?" ra asked.

    "War ising," Alpha Kane said. "The humans are building armies. They’re creating weapons designed to kill supernatural beings."

    "Dr. Webb’s organization is just the beginning," Morgana added. "Governments around the world are joining together. They call it the Supernatural Elimination Project."

    "Elimination?" Kael’s voice was deadly quiet.

    "They want to wipe us out," Seraphina said. "All of us. Vampires, werewolves, witches, dragons - everything that isn’t human."

    "But the children changed that," ra said. "The great battle six months ago. People saw that we’re not evil."

    "Some people," Alpha Kane said. "Not all people. Fear is stronger than understanding for many humans."

    "They’re building concentration camps," Morgana said. "Special prisons for supernatural beings. They n to round us up."

    "When?" Ronan asked.

    "Soon," Seraphina said. "Within days."

    "That’s why we need the time children," Alpha Kane said. "With their power, we can stop this war before it starts."

    "They’re babies," ra said. "They shouldn’t have to fight anyone’s war."

    "They’re not just babies," Frost said. "They’re weapons. Everyone knows it."

    "They’re my children," ra snapped. "Not weapons."

    "Sometimes children be weapons," Morgana said sadly. "Whether we want them to or not."

    A new voice spoke from the crowd. Deep and rumbling like thunder.

    "The children are gone anyway."

    Everyone turned. A dragon had taken human form. He was tall with golden skin and eyes like fire.

    "I am Pyrion," the dragon said. "I flew here from the ancient mountains. I can smell time magic. The children went to the Between Realm."

    "What’s the Between Realm?" ra asked.

    "A ce outside normal reality," Pyrion said. "A ce where time doesn’t flow correctly. Very dangerous."

    "Dangerous how?" Kael asked.

    "Things that should not exist live there," Pyrion said. "Old gods. Dead spirits. Creatures from the first days of creation."

    "Are Luna and Phoenix safe?" ra asked.

    "No one is safe in the Between Realm," Pyrion said. "But they might be safer there than here."

    "We need to get them back," Ronan said.

    "You cannot," Morgana said. "The Between Realm only opens for those with time magic. And only when they choose to open it."

    "So we wait?" ra asked.

    "We prepare," Seraphina said. "For when they return. Because when they do, everyone will want them."

    "Including you?" Darian asked.

    "Especially us," Alpha Kane admitted. "Those children are the most powerful beings ever born. In the right hands, they could save our species."

    "In the wrong hands, they could destroy everything," Morgana added.

    "What makes you think your hands are the right ones?" Kael challenged.

    "Because we love our children too," Seraphina said softly. "All supernatural beings do. We understand what it means to be different. To be feared."

    "Humans don’t understand," Alpha Kane said. "They see different as dangerous."

    "Some humans," ra corrected. "Not all."

    "Enough humans," Pyrion said. "Enough to start a war that could end both worlds."

    Frost crawled to the window. Her eyes went white.

    "What do you see?" ra asked.

    "Ships," Frost said. "Flying ships full of soldiers. They’reing from every country."

    "How long do we have?" Seraphina asked.

    "Three days," Frost said. "Maybe less."

    "Then we need to decide now," Alpha Kane said. "Do we fight together, or do we die separately?"

    "What about Luna and Phoenix?" ra asked.

    "They’lle back when they’re ready," Morgana said. "Time children always return to their parents."

    "How do you know?" Ronan asked.

    "Because I had one once," Morgana said quietly. "A time child. Long ago."

    "What happened to them?" ra asked.

    "They saved the world," Morgana said. "And then they disappeared forever."

    "That won’t happen to our children," Kael said fiercely.

    "It might," Frost said. "I can see possible futures. In some of them, Luna and Phoenix nevere home."

    "Why not?" ra asked.

    "Because they choose to stay where they are," Frost said. "To protect us from what they might be."

    "What might they be?" Darian asked.

    Before Frost could answer, the air shimmered. A door made of light appeared in the middle of the room.

    "They’reing back," Seraphina whispered.

    But it wasn’t Luna and Phoenix who stepped through the door.

    It was a woman. Tall and beautiful, with silver hair and eyes like gxies. She wore robes made of starlight.

    "Who are you?" ra asked.

    "I am the Guardian of the Between Realm," the woman said. "And I bring a message from your children."

    "What message?" Kael demanded.

    "They cannot return," the Guardian said. "Not yet. Not until they learn to control what they are."

    "What are they?" ra asked.

    "They are the End and the Beginning," the Guardian said. "They can stop time forever, or they can make it start over again."

    "That’s impossible," Ronan said.

    "So were they, until they were born," the Guardian said.

    "When can we see them?" ra asked.

    "When the war begins," the Guardian said. "When all hope seems lost. When the world needs saving again."

    "That’s not good enough," Kael snarled.

    "That’s all I can offer," the Guardian said.

    She started to fade away.

    "Wait!" ra called. "Are they happy? Are they safe?"

    "They are learning," the Guardian said. "And they miss you terribly."

    "Tell them we love them," ra said.

    "They know," the Guardian said. "And they love you too. That’s why they’re staying away."

    The Guardian disappeared. The light door vanished.

    "What did she mean?" ra asked.

    "She meant the children are more dangerous than we thought," Morgana said.

    "How dangerous?" Ronan asked.

    Frost’s eyes went white one more time. When she spoke, her voice was filled with fear.

    "They’re not just time children," she said. "They’re time gods. And gods should never fall in love with mortals."

    "Why not?" Kael asked.

    "Because when gods love mortals," Frost said, "they do terrible things to protect them."

    Outside, the supernatural visitors began to disappear. Vampires melted into shadows. Werewolves ran into the forest. Witches flew away on the wind.

    "Where are they going?" ra asked.

    "To prepare for war," Seraphina called from the darkness. "And to pray your children choose the right side when they return."

    The house fell silent. But in the distance, engines roared. Human ships wereing closer.

    "What do we do now?" Ronan asked.

    "We wait," Darian said.

    "And we hope," Kael added.

    "And we pray," ra whispered, "that our children remember they’re still our babies when the world ends."

    Frost looked up at the sky. Stars were falling like tears.

    "The time gods are crying," she said.

    "Why?" ra asked.

    "Because they can see all the endings," Frost said. "And none of them are happy."