Copyright

Draeme Saekyr/Lydia Michele Franks © December 23, 2021

Duran's Dilemma © December 23, 2021

DuransDilemmacovertitle.jpg © December 23, 2021

Description © December 23, 2021

Fifteen-year-old Duran Roma lives in a deceptively quiet countryside with an oversized family. Through hard work and excellent grades, he's managed to enter an exclusive educational institute. However, when he arrives, trouble finds him.

One of his former classmates, Adriana Gloria, happened to show up. They were, still are, rivals in grades. The only difference was, they never dated since he preferred men. Duran never hid the fact that he was gay. Adriana seemed to not care about that and still pursued him relentlessly.

Duran could only hope that Adriana would find someone else to focus her attention on in this new environment. Otherwise, he faced a difficult dilemma in rejecting her soundly that she wouldn't continue pestering him.

Meanwhile, someone new appears on the horizon, Arlon Milton. He's clearly interested in observing the two but only actively helps Duran get used to the area. Whether or not something develops, only time will tell.

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Duran Roma lived in the quiet countryside with an oversized family. He disliked the rural quietness because there was always an undercurrent of resentment and hostility that overrode the quaint, picturesque tranquility. Usually, it was either aimed at him specifically or some of his older siblings due to their suspicious activities in a nearby bustling city.

However, excellent grades, arduous work, and general unwillingness to give up the glimmer of hope for independence elsewhere. At sixteen, Duran would become an adult living in a city versus a village that restricted adulthood privileges until twenty-three. Provided, of course, that any males survived that long in their respective hometown, which most didn't.

Acceptance came quickly from Abalone Academy Higher Learning Institute when Duran lost hope. He packed his belongings and headed for Anemone Port City. He met up with several oddball people with whom he blended pretty nicely.

All was going well until an unwelcome rival from his hometown showed up. Adriana Gloria determinedly pursued him as a love interest. Duran being gay, wasn't interested and rejected her multiple times.

Strangely enough, this time, there was another student, Arlon Milton, who'd given Duran assistance in his first days at the Academy and in Anemone as well. He'd observed how Duran and Adriana interacted and finally interfered when it became apparent that she was a nuisance Duran couldn't handle right then.

With the new session at the academy beginning, Duran would also learn. Whether or not he'd succeed with equal learning peers or have to drop out and work in some other area of Anemone before reentering again. That and would Duran have a relationship with Arlon Milton that went beyond the parameters of friendship and mere fellow acquaintances? He also hoped that Adriana would find someone else to pick on later as a romantic interest. He tired of her shameless antics.

Locations:

Julienne Country is relatively small compared to those surrounding it and constantly under threat of annexation. However, due to its unique positioning and how it functions. It has managed to stay separate and neutral for a very long time. It holds power through its citizenry that is quite unique as well. They come from a mix of backgrounds and races. They're magical and elemental in nature and prefer to remain in Julienne and two other continents that are narrowly linked through portals and bridges connected to Anemone Seaport.

Nameless Alpine Town: The stronghold where Duran grew up all fifteen years of his life. It is a small grouping of buildings. A chamber of commerce, court, jail, general store, blacksmith, tramway and train station, an Inn, tavern, and a few other auxiliary stores. Lastly, there is an executioner's platform and graveyard nearby. Not long after his departure, it became the site of a horrific massacre. Nothing remains now except for the executioner's platform and the cemetery.

Midway Town: This place is where Duran gained his start as a crafter. It is where he also gained academic knowledge. It functions as a conjunction for other villages and towns to reach Anemone Seaport and other cities further below. It has a much bigger population, and its residents reside in cavern-side homes. They have outside facades, but the main areas are inside the caverns. Multiple stores, chambers of commerce, tram and train stations, and inns create a warm festive, and creative location for artisans of all kinds to flourish. This was also the hub for other towns to send their youngsters for education, from age five to twenty-one. Generally, though, children sixteen and older quit schooling to work in various types of mines, blacksmiths, and localized work.

Anemone Seaport is a bustling portal to several countries, kingdoms, and empires spread over a vast ocean. It is thought to be a centralized locale of an ancient empire, but no one is certain. It is believed that there were initially four enormous continents but, through catastrophic events, were further decimated in size. The seaport has five areas that compose its vast bulk. North, East, West, South, and Central. Within the central area is the Abalone Academy.

Central - the judicial, chamber of commerce, and other official buildings are clustered. This is also where the Academy resides, though it has satellites located in the north, east, west, and south portions.

North - The northern portion of Anemone has all the various crafts, museums, and historical areas for the amusement and entertainment of tourists. It is also where students of the Academy are most likely to hawk their wares under the watchful eyes of instructors within vocational aspects of the Academy. This is where the middle, working-class, and slightly lower economic people base their homes and workplaces in the same space.

East - has many financial buildings that aren't found in the Central location. Other museums are niches and not as eccentric that can be found in the north. This is where other official documents can be secured that aren't always available in the central area. It also contains some other aspects that the native population isn't so pleased about, as the West and South. They all have slums that're scattered around the Academy and central facilities. Therefore, they're practically intermixed when it comes to crime rates. In the following volume, the West and South sections will be clearly defined as to their specialties regarding the Seaport and the Academy.

Initially only an elite women's education center, the Abalone Academy focused on who and what it could teach. It went from sole elite women led to co-ed after a thousand years of existence. In other words, it lasted through a myriad of leadership changes and watched empires rise and fall. It maintained a stance of neutrality, along with the Anemone Seaport, in the neutral country of Julienne. It is this somewhat controversial Academy that Duran will be attending.

Characters

In order of appearance:

**Duran Roma **

15 years old, silvery-gray-white hair, pale crystalline eyes, and lightly tanned skin. He's scarred all over and lucky to have retained his eyes. He's still in the middle of a growth spurt, so he is almost 6 feet but might go taller. Thin as a rail due to unreasonable workloads despite having enough food to eat. He tends to wear too big for him and is always patched every which way with whatever material he could scrounge. Nobody looking at him would know his actual appearance because he can cast illusion magic that he's mastered to almost mythical status.

Lowell Roma

Age? maroon hair, green eyes, muscular and tall. Currently, the favored son bullies Duran by constantly blaming him for anything left undone. He believes he’ll remain the favorite until he rudely disabuses that notion when Andre Roma appears.

Sylvester Roma

Age? silvery blond hair, green eyes, and pale skin. He admires Duran. He’s always the first to challenge Lowell and others who would bully Duran. He’s a scrappy fighter and always getting into trouble. Unlike Lowell, he won’t let Duran take beatings for him. In fact, if he’s able, he’ll take over the responsibility to prevent multiple whippings issued to Duran.

Karl Roma

Age? odd one of the trio. He has slightly lighter maroon hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. He doesn’t have much to say except for Duran’s defense. Then he’ll reveal exceptional fighting skills.

Leonard Roma

Age? he has black hair and black eyes. He doesn’t care much about the household in general. Given his druthers, he’d run away as soon as possible. However, he has a few people he does care about. Duran, Sylvester, Karl, and sisters Ellie, Sina, and Rosie. He would lay down his life for those six and nearly has a few times.

Andre Roma

One of three older brothers of Duran. He's the oldest of them and considered exceptionally talented and brilliant. He was the apple of his parents' eye until Duran was born. Then he became viewed as an insolent, rebellious eyesore. That description, Andre reveled in and took it very far indeed. Now there's some doubt about whether he's actually a blood relative. Since it was revealed that the Roma parents - Matilda and Dougal, acquired and fostered children under their name who weren't even born to them.

Maribel Roma

Duran's eldest sister supposedly. She has similar coloration to him, but that is the only thing. She's wild, talented, and notorious for getting into trouble. Despite the knack for getting into trouble, she's a diplomat often mingling with the elite wealthy and royalty. Her parents often use her as an envoy to promote their businesses with other countries and curry favor.

Maurice Roma

An uncle helped Duran further his education and learn of different fighting types to stay alive in his parents' stronghold. Maurice often took him away from the highly fortified home of Dougal and Matilda to Midway Town so that he could continue learning and growing more intelligent. There he discovered Duran had unique skills above and beyond the typical kid. Maurice was pleased to see that Duran enjoyed tailoring, blacksmithing, wood-carving, and shoe-making. He had a knack for different kinds of magic as well.

Tallow Roma

Age? 6'4", golden blond hair, dark blue eyes, and dark skin. He's the oldest of the surviving males of the current Roma generation. He doesn't care much about anything except for the young siblings he rarely ever gets to see. He's an assassin and does his job correctly. Other times he's just a messenger. He might have a regular job but doesn't advertise it since if it were known, his ordinary life would get blown to bits.

Rafael Roma

Age? 6'2", he has long black hair, piercing dark grey eyes, and dark skin. His personality is surly and distinctly hostile to the world. He doesn't get along with any of his siblings. Despite that problematic attitude on his part, he still cares for them. He detests Matilda and Dougal because they are his biological parents; however, he knows there's something no longer humans possessing their bodies. If anything, what he'd do, if possible, is return their souls back to their bodies. He'd just kill them to end their misery if he can't.

“Ellie” Alessandra Roma

A miniature adult in attitude, manner, and appearance. She does her best to assist Duran in daily matters so that he suffers fewer beatings. Unfortunately, most of her efforts are hampered by other brothers who don't want to see him going without at least two-four whippings daily. As a result, she teamed up with Sylvester, Karl, and Leonard, along with Sina and Rosie, to foil the brothers and parents who routinely battered Duran and tried sabotaging him in every which way possible.

"Sina" Ambrosia Roma

A younger sister with a sensitivity hampers her ability to work around hourly problems. However, when the chips are down, she does her level best to keep a cheerful mask whenever Duran comes around to see if they need anything. She really wants Duran to have a good life somewhere else, where she and her sisters didn't cause him unnecessary grief.

"Rosie" Roselle Roma

The youngest of the trio of sisters do their level best to assist Duran whenever possible. She, Ellie, and Sina learned very quickly. How to run interference when Lowell or other jerks were on rampages designed to destroy whatever progress Duran might've made concerning getting chores done.

Trentham Folsom

Quite the character. Folsom is a craftsman, a proctor, professor, and many other titles within the Abalone Academy. He also witnessed Duran's frightening capabilities but knows the boy hides his true strength. He's going to do what he can to help Duran succeed. Even if it means helping him hide what might be a scarier talent that could upset the balance of Julienne's neutrality that it practices daily.

Adriana Gloria

15 years old, 5'6", and has golden-brown hair, dark blue eyes, and ivory white skin. She dresses flamboyantly and is always cheerful and friendly to everyone she considers her equals.

One of Duran's classmates and an over-exuberant admirer. She's a stalker of his from childhood. Born into a wealthy councilman's family, Adriana believes she should be the center of attention and have whatever she wants, be it an inanimate object or human. In Duran's case, she wants him as a breeder of her children, and he wants nothing to do with her.

Augustina Clements

An old friend of Maurice's. She often hosts him whenever he does business or leisure in Anemone Seaport. In this case, she's willing to temporarily host Duran until he's settled into the academy dormitories.

Arlon Milton

6', 18 yrs. old, and has crow-black hair, maroon eyes, and white skin. He's not the typical male that is known around the area. His origins are utterly mystifying to everyone around him. He's Duran's guide while he's settling into life at the Academy.

Chastain Claude

A crafter and museum curator and, as it turns out, one of Duran's uncles. He had a son who would've been Duran's age had he lived. Though now rumors circulate that he's actually been held in a very nasty part of Anemone Seaport this entire time. Chastain is willing to do whatever it takes to get his son Garou back.

Garou Claude

There is some mystery surrounding him. Is the boy only Duran's cousin, or could he be a twin? They're the same age and look identical. He was recently rescued from a horrific situation with a hostage against the Claude and Roma clans. Now that he's no longer a hostage, the two families, what remains of them, can live life freely with a few restrictions still in place.

Chapter 1 – Strange Noises, Bad Awakening

The early morning in the town where Duran lived started bright and early at 4 a.m. Usually, it would've, unfortunately, for Duran and his siblings in a shared room. They weren't given that luxury, what with all the awful noises, and worse, it was right above their heads.

BANG! THUD! CREAAAAAK! CREEEAKKKK! BANG! THUMP! THUMP! CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! BANG! CREAEEEAAKK! THUD!

The nearest boy to Duran elbowed him in annoyance. "Argggh, what's that all about!" There was no response as Duran turned over and ignored the prodder.

"Be quiet, Lowell. I didn't get more than an hour of sleep before now." Duran's low voice startled everyone.

Lowell didn't care. An angry curse followed a few seconds later. "Duran! Get the hell up and go look!" He shoved Duran half off the bed. "I'm telling you, you need to get up!"

Duran barely managed to stay on the bed. "I should do what and why, again?" He kept a sheet over his lower body from instinct rather than consciousness. "You're not my boss, boy. Don't even think about pulling rank on me. You're only ten years old!"

There were grumbles at that order. Then laughter at Duran's surly retort. Finally, one of the younger boys demanded. "Why should Duran be the one to do it, Lowell?" Duran identified the first one as Sylvester.

Then a second one, Karl, popped up with the further observation of the situation. "Yeah, it isn't as if this is his fault."

Lowell snapped with another complaint. "Brother Andre and sister, Maribel, came home." He slashed a fisted had dangerously close to Duran's face. "That has to be from one of the allotted rooms."

Duran dodged the near blow. That was deliberate. Evidently, Lowell lost his position as a favored son with the older brother's arrival. Therefore, he was taking it out on Duran, who was the official whipping boy of the parents. He rolled his eyes. "Now you figured out they'd arrived?"

Low mutters of the complaint filed the cramped room. "Why'd they have to return now?"

"We almost managed to get back to normal, and this happens."

"Sheesh, are we even going to have a place to sleep in tonight?"

That last question made Duran shake his head. Well, they did have a point.

*

More banging and thudding happened again.

CRAAAACK! Now a dark area appeared in the ceiling.

Sylvester sat with his head in his hands. His ears rang with all the shouting and noise. Fortunately, by keeping his mouth shut, he only had to endure a bit longer before the cowardly Lowell took off.

BANG! More cracks appeared in the ceiling. Plaster fell onto everyone's head that time.

Bingo, Sylvester knew that was the last straw, thankfully.

"Criminy, I'm getting outta here." Lowell yelped. He grabbed his clothing and ran without a glance backward.

The others sat quietly, contemplating the problem. At last, one of the others who'd spoken earlier tentatively said. "Duran, what are you doing...whoa, put some clothes on!" Sylvester winced as he saw what a stray beam of light highlighted. "The last thing we need is a ghost hanging around in here. That'll scare the girls!"

His comment provoked stifled snickers.

"Oh, for the love of deities on high." Not even Duran could sleep through that racket. "What the hell is that noise all about?" He grumbled as he slowly sat up.

"Duran! This isn't the time for being an exhibitionist!" Sylvester complained.

"Looks like he added on more muscle again," Karl murmured. "What do they have you doing out there?" He stared with envy at Duran's shoulders and arms, the muscles of which flexed with each movement Duran made.

He grunted as he attempted to stabilize his position now that Lowell wasn't shoving him around. "Better close your eyes. This may get graphic."

There were snorts. "As if we've not seen anything you've got before," Leonard commented sourly.

Duran paused at the remark. "True, but as Sylvester pointed out, I am the most grotesque one of us all." His matter-of-fact statement made Sylvester wince when Leonard and Karl glowered at him in remonstrance.

Duran sighed. "Just close your eyes so the ****** irises won't get tainted." The thin sheet covering his upper body fell to his waist. Duran pulled it back to his neck at his younger brother's exclamation. "Sorry guys, Sylvester, Karl, I'm not quite awake yet." He was somewhat embarrassed.

Sylvester stared at the appearance of his brother. He knew some people liked the feral, almost exotic appearance of Duran. Sylvester just found it weird. He grunted when Karl growled. "Quit staring at him like that. It's creepy."

"Oh, shut up, Karl, you're no better than I am." Sylvester snapped.

There were more scars than the norm. Duran's disheveled silvery-white hair was now hanging into his eyes below his chin.

A third brother intervened at that point. Duran glanced over when Leonard shook his head. "You're going to need to cut your hair again." He started abruptly. "You also lost the glamor." As Leonard spoke, he pushed darker hair out of his face.

Sylvester snorted. "He's not the only one." He frowned. "I heard that we might have more visitors than usual tonight."

"That's not surprising," Karl remembered. "Mom and dad were having a business meeting out in the barn yesterday."

Leonard, Karl, and Sylvester frowned at one another. Lowell was the only one who hadn't gone in there the previous night. No wonder he was so angry with Duran. Then again, Duran hadn't been allowed inside either. Now, none of them knew what to think about the situation.

*

When were they going to leave him alone? All three would've hightailed it outta there as soon as Duran sat up. Instead, they stared at him as if he was a particularly entertaining freakshow. This was not how Duran enjoyed starting his day. Not only that, but that one bright stray light was beginning to irritate the hell out of him.

"Get outta here. Unless you want to fix that?" Duran pointed upward at the ceiling.

He frowned in aggravation when they didn't budge. This was annoying because none of them were taking his hints to leave.

"When are you planning to leave this place?" Leonard inquired. "I know you are expecting more letters."

Duran shrugged. "No idea. I can only leave if I've received an official acceptance letter confirming my entry or inviting me to finish form assessments."

Sylvester, Karl, and Leonard glanced at one another. "We'll go distract mom and dad." Sylvester and Karl jumped to their feet.

Leonard still sat where he could watch Duran with lifted eyebrows. "You really think you'll only receive rejections?" He tilted his head. "That doesn't seem right."

"What's it to you?" Considering that Leonard was merely a slightly darker version of him with blond hair, dark grey eyes, and somewhat tanned skin. "I already know that you're probably going to replace me soon, so don't be too proud of your clean-cut appearance." Duran wasn't impressed with their excuses about his appearance.

Leonard shrugged. "Just don't forget the glamor. You're not a gargoyle despite what you believe about your appearance." He sighed. "I don't want you getting into more trouble than you already have."

Bullshit, he didn't believe a word that Leonard was saying. now thoroughly annoyed and awake, Duran grunted. "Screw the damn glamor. I'm not wearing it overnight. Besides, soon I'll get out of here." He glowered at them. "Go ahead now and leave." He stared irately at Sylvester and Karl. "Otherwise, you'll see worse than just the scars on my front."

The three boys shuddered. They ran away quickly, even as they pulled clothing on their bodies. Leonard glared over his shoulder and flipped him off. Duran returned the gesture because he was just aggravated enough not to care.

"Finally, some peace," Duran muttered. A sigh escaped him as he stared at the ceiling. "Dammit, they will make me repair that later too." No doubt with magic since it was sturdier than actual materials. Well, that would have to wait until later. There was no way he could do anything about it right now.

A sigh escaped Duran. He dressed and assumed a basic glamor. Since it was merely his siblings and parents, he saw no need to go into an unnecessary waste of power. "That is a waste I don't want to indulge in."

Once Duran washed up in the water closet, he felt better. He also applied ointment to the latest cuts and bruises sustained when the business turned sour.

A sigh escaped him.

"Now onto the usual schedule." Duran was pleased to note that he hadn't wasted much time arguing with his brothers. At least they had the brains to realize he wasn't in the mood for their crap. "Those knuckleheads better stay out of my way for the rest of the day." He completed all his assigned chores, made notes of the times, and started breakfast preparations.

*

Sequestered in a plain whitewashed room with barred windows and no curtains, Andre and Maribel sat huddled in one corner. After all the racket they'd made earlier, the five boys in the room below had left? Andre sighed as he rummaged in the box that he'd broken a chest of drawers to get into.

"That had better be worth this hassle," Maribel growled. "I haven't even looked in on the girls yet."

The two siblings were back at the house for various reasons. Their parents demanded that they show their faces. They also received orders specific to dealing with their parents. Of all that was inside that building, Andre didn't feel anything was worth salvaging, except maybe one or two boys, besides Duran.

He glanced at Maribel. "Found it. They were determined that it wouldn't make it to Duran." A sigh escaped Andre. "Now, we'll have to figure out what to do with the boys and girls here."

Maribel shrugged. "The girls still seem somewhat normal." She frowned. "Though only three of them expressed regret that Duran might leave." She shuddered. "I couldn't believe what Matilda and Dougal did to Duran last night."

Andre felt nauseated. "Yeah, that was downright inhumane." They exchanged glances.

Their parents didn't know how close to death they were. Several empires and countries had huge bounties placed on their heads. Not only that, Andre and Maribel exchanged frowns. Now all of the children were under threat of death because of their relationship with the selfish couple.

"Why couldn't they have just remained under the radar when they were actually honest influential business people?" Maribel grumbled.

Andre shrugged. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were possessed by a very nasty demon." He'd looked around the stronghold and the town the previous day.

Maribel's head snapped up, and she looked at him. "Now that you mention that, I was also given some interesting additional information." She showed him the diary that Duran handed over earlier yesterday.

Andre looked at it carefully. "Yes, I remember seeing this one." He cautiously paged through it, and his nose wrinkled occasionally. "Written in blood?" He shook his head. "I suppose at some point it was necessary to record whatever he'd seen, and that was the only medium available."

That type of thing could quickly turn into a curse, though. Troubled with what the diary contents held in hands, Andre sighed, that read of such a horrible thing settled into that small nameless town. "So, there is some power source through which they became this crazily insane, eh?" It also explained why all the bad weather shunted elsewhere for the past twenty to thirty years. "Damn them for this flagrant flaunting of power wastage." His hands clenched at his sides. "Does this tell where the power source is?"

Maribel nodded. "It does. it also details where he managed to crack it." She shuddered. "He almost died doing that. he was only three years old."

Andre winced. "I take it he hasn't done it since."

Maribel shook her head. "It evidently affected some of his mental functions and eyesight. There's no telling what else it did to him on deeper levels."

Andre grunted. "He actually became much physically stronger," He tapped his jaw. "I saw that he maintains a better control over the innate elemental magic he was born with." That wasn't too bad, all things considered.

Chapter 2 - Forced Participants Arrive

Fifteen hours earlier...

Whistling noises cracked through the air.

SNAP!

A red line appeared across Andre's left shoulder because the whip missed his face by a narrow margin.

"You were supposed to arrive yesterday!" Matilda snarled. "How dare you defy my request for your arrival at the stated time."

Andre's emerald eyes narrowed menacingly, making her back away warily. Shoulder-length maroon hair whipped around his shoulders as he regarded her hostilely. "The weather is absolutely horrible elsewhere. I find this little paradise of yours utterly nauseating." He spat at her feet.

Crack! This time a second whip snapped and marked his face. "Don't be rude to your mother, Andre," Dougal growled. "You know very well why you were returned here." His visible sneer made Andre's eyebrows snap together. Did they know about the assassination hit placed on them?

Maribel exhaled. She wasn't faring much better than him. All of her neatly bundled silvery-white hair tangled in bloody skeins around her face. Angry crystalline silver eyes regarded Matilda and Dougal with murderous intent.

Their parents sure hadn't held back their wrath once the business deal met with failure. They opted to reward some further wrongdoing of Duran's by venting their anger on him. As a result, Duran had received an even worse punishment. He'd been locked in with the now ex-business partners. They shuddered upon hearing the noise emanating from the barn. Later, Andre snuck into the building and retrieved his unconscious brother. What he'd seen made him sick, literally, throwing up all over the satiated business partners. That turned out to be an unwise decision, which resulted in further unpleasantness that was completely unwarranted. Andre scowled in recollection. Unfortunately, that led to another beating for Duran, who could barely move earlier. Andre sighed. He was tired of this toxic atmosphere.

Surprisingly, Matilda and Dougal ceased their activities when something chimed in the immediate vicinity. "Who is it?" Matilda snapped.

A tall man made his entrance. He had long maroon-colored hair neatly corralled in a long braid, tucked into a high-collared jacket. His cold green eyes made Matilda and Dougal recoil. His very aura radiated contemptuous fury and dangerous intent.

"This Maurice Roma. I'm here for Duran as scheduled." Maurice snapped. "Don't even think about denying me entrance, either." His fury was evident when he appeared on the scene and surveyed the damage. "Up to your old tricks again, I see. Or rather, I should assume you never quit using blood sorceries?" He glanced at Mirabel and Andre briefly, missing nothing of what happened to them. "You really ought to quit this nonsense before someone puts a hit on you two."

His seething ire made Andre and Mirabel cringe. If what he said was true, they'd been grossly negligent in their duties. The brother and sister signed in resignation. Great, it was evident that Maurice came on a separate mission entirely.

*

It was a chilly, damp, and relatively frustratingly barren sight to Maurice's eyes when arriving at his brother's stronghold. It was just typical of his timing to arrive in time to witness yet another collective beating.

Maurice sighed as he removed his hat from his head. "This is becoming redundant. Must I order a bounty on these fools to get them to quit?" His outrage built when he noticed Duran lying off one side in an unconscious, bloody heap.

Concerned though he was about his nephew, Maurice opted to hold off on examining him. Right now, he had to curtail all of Matilda and Dougal's activities so that they'd be presentable when the other visitors arrived.

Which they would in the next half hour or so. "What a waste of magic and materials." He shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe this. Why should I have to clean up after their messes after all this time?" He fumed.

As far as Maurice was concerned, there wasn't anything worth salvaging from this place. Well, not quite. There was Duran and a couple of the kids. Some of them might be tamable after going through physiological evaluations. He shook his head. From what he could tell, others were too entrenched in Matilda and Dougal's twisted views of how the world should work.

"At least I managed to avoid making promises to those leeches hovering by the tram site." He shuddered in revulsion. "None of them will come near my vehicle after the barriers I placed on it this time."

After a few delays through interfering councilmembers who hadn't wanted Maurice to arrive at the house until after Matilda and Dougal finished their bloody business, Maurice arrived. "Those slimy bastards actually thought they could deter me from arriving here? I don't think so." He'd received word about Duran having been sent an acceptance letter. It should've arrived today. Nothing reported from Duran prompted Maurice to enlist Maribel and Andre's assistance. "I should've known those two would do something drastic to keep Matilda and Dougal occupied."

This wasn't an approved method, but Maurice discovered they were just as twisted and crazy as their parents. However, they'd learned some form of ethics and used them in their assigned tasks. Maybe they were also here on a mission in addition to what he'd asked of them? It would make sense from all the mayhem he'd discovered up to the stronghold. Fantastic, at least it would give him the excuse to haul Duran out of this blood-infested demonic lair that the citadel had become.

Maurice glanced around comprehensively and shook his head in disgust. As he suspected, they only wanted to ensure that the two completed their latest blood offering. His nose wrinkled in acute disgust.

Even he could see the barely disguised magic equation inscribed in the ground where blood dripped continuously from the ones being whipped. "Good grief, now they're attacking Maribel and Andre. Are they that starved for new blood to fuel their latest activities?"

Hmm, well, he had arrived with dispatch. Maurice turned his attention to the errant couple who'd gone too far overboard for redemption in his view. "Time for you to quit this now, or I'm bringing in other authorities."

Maurice held up his phone as he spoke. He was already pressing numbers into a sequence that alerted the highest elders of the world. They needed to get off their a$$es and do something about this situation.

That threat was sufficient to make Matilda and Dougal stop in their tracks. "Release them, or I make calls. You know I will do it in less than a heartbeat." He rarely threw his weight around, but in this case, Maurice felt justified. Not only that, but he outranked them when it came to controlling all kinds of nifty magical skills and elements.

*

Several hours later, the two woke up in an unfamiliar room at roughly 4 a.m. in the pre-dawn. There was only moonlight shining through the one mostly blacked-out window in the room.

Neither Mirabel nor Andre recalled why they'd reappeared in their old home, much less the room they'd shared with four siblings. Now it was just the two of them. They sat on opposite sides of the room and looked around.

An awful stench emanated from both of them. "Huh?" How had they gone from the outside to here? Mirabel looked at Andre. "Is it just me, or do we also stink of alcohol?" She didn't remember drinking anything.

Andre blinked. "Give me a second, would you?" She shrugged, and then blurry memories hit her from what happened. She began recalling everything in minor blips.

At last, Andre scrubbed the back of his neck. "Oh right, we were forced into a drinking contest to assuage the remnants of Matilda and Dougal once some other folks arrived." He shook his head. "Now, all we need to do is find that damned letter."

Maribel pondered. "It should be somewhere in here." She sniffed the air and grimaced. "Hmm, there is a slight unfamiliar tint, but I can't quite locate it."

Andre glanced at her. "Start searching your memories. That might jog an unexpected location loss."

Maribel grunted. "Back at you." She shook her head. "I think I'm just worried about who else is set to arrive."

Andre's mouth compressed. "Right." He sighed heavily.

***Brief Flashback***

Dazed and bewildered, Mirabel idly wondered just how much stamina Duran possessed to have held out this long under an unreasonably insane environment. When she and Andre were released at Maurice's demands, she was shocked. Typically, he ignored what happened to her and Andre since they were adults. However, he was short-tempered and ready to kill. That was what she read in his aura. "He's got some plan hatching," Mirabel muttered to Andre.

"Yep, and he expects us to finish what we started here." Andre glanced at her. "That means no more fooling around. We have to find that letter." They exhaled in frustration. "Not to mention now we have to provide a distraction that'll keep Matilda and Dougal busy." Andre grimaced.

Mirabel understood his feelings completely. Given their druthers, they'd rather be anywhere but there. however, orders such as the sort Mirabel received, she couldn't ignore them or fail either. "Hmm, we or someone else needs to remove the girls from here as soon as possible." She tilted her head. "What about the boys?"

Andre shrugged and shook his head. "I think at least two, maybe three, have some empathy for Duran. I could be mistaken, though."

He watched as Mirabel stiffened and frowned as her wrist communicator went off. "Damn." Her low mutter presaged further bad news.

"Now what?" Maybe the information could be leveraged to salvage something of the situation. Even if everyone was reported dead, at least it meant some kids could survive with new names, appearances, and lives elsewhere. To Andre, that was a best-case scenario out of this horrible mess.

Mirabel's expression turned pinched. "Rafael and Tallow are coming." She stated tersely. "I don't know about you, but I want to wrap this mess up before they set foot on the property."

Andre's shoulders twitched. "Damn all of this situation to hell, indeed." He agreed abruptly with a sigh. "Do you have something to wrap up in?" Her clothing was shredded.

Mirabel waved a hand. All signs of whipping, shredded clothing, and blood were gone. Now she remained very pristine indeed. That is, if no one smelled the scent of blood coating her. She caught his skeptical stare. "I can't do much about the blood scent. I do need to take a shower."

Andre sighed. "Go deal with that then." Maybe he should track down the three boys and see if they were worth salvaging or not from this horrific situation. "I'll stay here and think of something to do." Of the two brothers soon to arrive. He preferred dealing with Rafael.

Mirabel grunted. "Good luck with finding them." Her nose wrinkled. "I'm afraid that Matilda and Dougal already did something with the trio before we arrived."

Andre shook his head. "Why did mother and father command those two to arrive?" He and Tallow had had some severe misunderstandings in the past. Neither Andre nor Tallow wanted anything to do with the other.

*

Andre shuddered. "Oh right, we hid here because Tallow and Rafael showed up." He shook his head in disgust. "I think I remember Tallow saying something about a hidden compartment in one of the drawers of the bigger chest beneath the window."

They looked at it and at each other with a wince. "This is going to get real noisy fast," Andre muttered.

"The floor isn't stable either." Maribel hoped nothing would break beneath their weight.

"Where is Duran's room that he shares with his brothers?" She couldn't remember.

When Andre extended his hand and pointed right below their feet, Mirabel swore furiously. "That just figures. Well, let's look for it."

They set about it with extreme speed and a lack of patience. Maribel felt bad for Duran, unable to sleep. However, what they were doing would make the difference between life and death for him and any younger children who were halfway decent in attitude and manners.