Devil in Disguise

On the day Thaddeus Kenneth Lynne met the Devil, Professor Milligan had her baby. She was a sophomore religion teacher at the University of Saint Joshua in the United States of America. The campus was large and the architecture was magnificent. Old Gothic spires topped classic marble and granite buildings, the stone carvings of angels and of saints to protect the students made it easy to feel somewhat at home. The campus took up hundreds of yards, trees were all over and a large black gate loomed high and protected the campus from the outside world. There were ten residential buildings, two dining halls, large patches of grass and gardens, beautifully paved walkways mazing through the campus and everyone loved the beauty of it. Professor Milligan was a kind woman who was married to one of the calculus teachers at the college. She was gone for a few weeks so her 11 am religion class had a lot of temporary teachers come in and out for her classes. Thaddeus, who often went by TK, wasn’t very religious, which made going to the school and sitting in his classes a lot tougher. He did not like religion, which was actually the opposite of what his school was about. It was a Christian based school that lived through the ways of Christ and God and he didn’t really get it. He was just concerned with getting through the classes and the years as quickly as he could.

The school was in chapel when the news of Professor Milligan’s bouncing baby boy, Job, came to the school’s attention. Chaplin Matthew Cori told the school about him and how he weighed at the average weight and was a long baby. TK didn’t care. He was playing with the weight in his pocket when the Chaplin introduced a new man. His hair—the new man—was the color of death; his eyes were the color of soulless pits. He had a smile that was so reptilian that he reminded TK of the snake from the Garden of Eden. He spoke to the entire school, moving through the well-furnished isles of their chapel. He had a way of speaking that sounded like a chorus of angry angels. It was like a violent symphony of violins and piano. It made TK nervous. His eyes wandered throughout the crowd and connected with a few students, who nodded and agreed with what he said. When he got to TK’s row, his eyes turned to him suddenly, the shadows of his handsome face illuminating something dark in him. TK stiffened as he spoke. He said it to the entire assembly but they were directed towards him.

“Whatever path you choose, I will guide you as best I can. I want to walk with you down the path you think is best. Whatever way you go, I will try to help you reach the end.” TK bit his lip and looked down at the deep red carpet. He went on to talk to others but as he came back, TK felt his gaze on his shoulders, on the back of his head. He was strange and TK did not like it. Something inside of TK itched to know more about him, just so that he could understand how to unravel his façade and understand why his darkness crept over his skin like water.

After chapel, TK walked into his Theology class and there He stood with a smile and wide eyes for all the students who came into his room. Stiffly, TK walked past him, staring at the ground. He didn’t want to look at him—not yet. He took the middle seat in the middle row in the middle of the room so that he could watch him. TK was going to keep a log of all he did. He had a curse of curiosity and he knew it was going to be the death of him someday but at that moment, it was going to solve this mystery whether he liked it or not. He took out the notebook that had been set up for that class, opened a new sheet of paper, dated it, and turned his cold brown eyes to meet his dark, liquid ones. He smiled at TK, a smile that sent him shivering, and greeted him;

“Welcome to a new you, TK. I’m looking forward to spending time with you.” The fact that he knew TK’s name wasn’t a surprise. Delinquents often get tossed around and teachers from everywhere know their names before they can decide what a student is like for themselves. TK wondered if the man had gotten the same horribly wicked vibes from him, that he had. TK straightened, his broad shoulders squaring under the warm jacket he was wearing. He was wearing jeans as well, not typical for the private school scene here at his school. You may be wondering why he, this delinquent, went to a prestigious Catholic school. Believe it or not, TK was there for a few reasons and academics were one of them.

“Same, Prof. It’s going to be an interesting year,” he replied as he turned his eyes his paper.

“If we make it that long,” he muttered before looking down at his notes, a smile still on his thin, pink lips. TK bit his lip and watched as his attractive face turned upward again to greet the rest of the class. "Hello, Class!" he said enthusiastically. "My name is Lucifer Damian!" TK’s eyebrows furrowed. What the hell kind of name is that? Well, he knew what kind of name that it was so the appropriate question would be "What are the implications behind that name?" TK couldn’t take his eyes off of Lucifer. "I was a business man of sorts before coming here. I ran a company that was...well I guess you could say 'you'd die for'." He grinned and took a glance at each of the students in the class room. "It dealt with making people pay for the bad things they've done. I was a warden at a prison in a few states over." His eyes met mine. "I kept people who were doubters of the good Lord and put them to ease. I brought them the word of God," he said as he moved his eyes away from TK to the other students. "I had them read the Good book every night and when they left my prison, they were happy and wonderful citizens."

"If they left at all," TK said. He laughed a deep and rich laugh.

"Not many left," he agreed. "But when they did, they went to spread the word of our Lord and Savior." His long lashes touched his cheeks as he closed his eyes, held out his hands and smiled. "I pray to thee, O Lord, in hopes that we have a good year and we have your grace as we go through this day." He opened his eyes and smiled at them. TK didn't like the look on his face. Raising his hand, TK drew Lucifer’s attention to him. Lucifer’s eyes narrowed and seemed to burn.

"I need to go to the bathroom,” he stated absently. He nodded and pointed to the door. TK bowed to him sarcastically and left the room quickly. He was never a good student or a good Catholic but he rushed quickly to the office of his Chaplin. His office was on the other side of campus so he quickly started to run from the hall to his building. TK’s legs were long and strong and they ate up the ground between the lecture hall and his office. He jumped up the twelve steps from one floor to the next, then the next twelve and burst into the office where he sat, staring at the papers on his desk. He jumped and TK stood in his office gasping for breath.

“Can I help you?”

“What do you have that I can exorcise a demon with?” TK asked while moving around the office quickly looking for something.

“Excuse me?”

“Can you bless something for me?” he asked quickly. “I know how to do the exorcism but I’m not a priest so if I do it with a holy instrument, I think I can make it work. All of my stuff is back in my bag. It’s pointless to try and sneak it out. He’s got eyes like a hawk, the damn devil he is.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked as he rose from his desk. TK looked at him, grabbed the badge from his back pocket and held it to his face.

“There are special people issued to put down demons. We’re called the Holy Communion of Sinners,” He looked down, almost embarrassed with the fact he needed to label myself with that name. “I am here for school but there is a serious problem here. I don’t think you guys have any protection. I was scoping out the place when I got here a while back and yet those damn mirror messages don’t get me anywhere.” He lowered his head to silently curse the infernal system he worked for and the Chaplin stared at me like he was crazy. “Look, it sounds crazy but I need your help. Please. Just come with me and I’ll show you.” He shook his head and started to say something but TK grabbed his collar. “Look,” he growled. “I am not of this world. I was born of a demon woman. Come with me and I will show you that I am not lying.” He stared at me and he knew already that his eyes were turning a horribly disgusting shade of red. He nodded and TK pulled him along, searching his pockets for what he had. TK turned him around and demanded he grab a rosary.

“We don’t use those.” He ground his teeth, feeling the longer canines already poking at his lips. TK swallowed his frustration and flipped open his cell phone. He knew he was going to regret the call but it had to be made. TK threw the phone to the Chaplin and told him to tell whoever was on the phone where they were. He turned around, did the sign of the cross and sprinted back to class. TK burst through the doors and as he did, Lucifer Damian turned to him. TK stared him down and he grinned terribly. He lunged for TK, who jumped out of the way into a barrel roll towards his backpack. He jumped onto the edge of the seats, wobbling as he did. If TK wasn’t trained, he would have been in a dilly of a pickle. He turned around and ran for his backpack. The seats shook under his weight and he could hear Lucifer moving through the chairs and students to get to him. He didn’t dare look back.

One thing TK learned from life was that if you see something you want or need get it before someone else gets you. TK jumped into the isle where he was sitting and scooped up his backpack. He turned around as he thrust his hand into the bag. His hand closed around the one thing he carried that gave any weight to the bag and thrust it out into the air in front of Lucifer Damian. Spurting out lazy Latin, Thaddeus said the only prayer he knew would send a demon back to Hell. Damian fell back and he began to spasm out of control. He shook and fought as TK continued to pray with the giant cross that he held in his hands. Lucifer’s eyes, which were fully black now, held TK’s.

“You cannot escape us,” he growled out in Latin. “We are your kin!” TK growled and screamed out the rest of the prayer and he sizzled and burned where he stood. TK growled at spot where he stood, as if he’d come back. He dropped the cross back in his backpack, wincing at his hand that was bright red. TK sighed and zipped up his backpack before slinging it over his shoulder. He looked at the kids and sighed once more before running his hand through his dark hair.

“Alright,” he said, “Look, what you saw here was a freak accident. The administration and—” Storms of troopers burst into the room, filing in quickly in efficient lines. “Oh great,” he muttered while they all formed lines around the room and isles, pointing guns full of holy water at the students. “Guys those aren’t the demons,” TK said as he lifted his arms to get their attention. None of them listened to TK so he just put his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket and waited for the lead in command.

“Thaddeus Kenneth Lynne. What have I told you about unauthorized demon expelling?” A voice sharp and crisp demanded from the back of the room. I shrugged, yawned and leaned against the front podium.

“That I’m fantastic at it?”

“You certainly are,” snapped the young man—young being the loose term in this sentence. He looked like he was in his late twenties or mid-thirties. He was a handsome man with sandy blond hair and a flesh-colored beard that began along his jaw. He was lean and tall and was hidden by his stiff black shirt and dress pants as well as a black overcoat. The only accent and color he wore was the bright blue tie we were forced to wear at the Academy. “You are fantastic at breaking the simple rules we put in place to keep you safe!” He marched down the stairs and his hazel-green eyes were almost red with fury—if his eyes did that. “You not only endangered all of these students, but all of the staff, the entire campus and not to mention yourself, Thaddeus. You are reckless and dangerous and the reason we put you here was so that maybe you could learn to be controlled and somewhat civilized.” TK was licking his teeth, trying to get a piece of apple stuck in the back of his teeth.

“Sorry, I missed what you were saying,” he said as he turned to look at him. “What was it?” The look of frustration on his face made TK grin ever so slightly. “Look, I know what I’m doing. I called you this time, didn’t I? Isn’t that an improvement?”

“You should have called us before you attacked him!” Andre Herow, Captain of the Communion of Sinners, decorated war vet, serving the Church in the war against evil.

“He attacked me,” TK clarified as he crossed his arms. “I went to that bathroom, came back, and all of a sudden I had to defend myself and these kids.” TK looked at one student. She was staring at him like some sort of super-human model that walked out of her favorite television show. “You,” he said as he walked over to her. “You saw what happened right?”

“That was impossible.”

“A lot of things can be ‘impossible’ until you try them.” TK gave her a wink and a smile. “Tell the gentleman over there what happened.” She looked from TK to the officer and blushed.

“Well, he stood up, uh this kid,” she looked at him, “and went to the bathroom. When he came back he just stared at Lucifer Damian and he just attacked.” TK stared at Officer Herow.

“Is ‘I told you so’ appropriate right now? Is that okay cause I’m pretty sure you owe me an apology.” Herow scowled and stiffened.

“Collect your things, Thaddeus. We have somewhere to go and some people to meet.”

“What?” he asked as he sighed. “Can you at least call me TK? I hate Thaddeus.”

“Well then I shall call you Thaddeus more often then. Just to make you more upset. It makes me smile when you are angry,” Herow said as he grinned. TK growled and snapped his teeth towards the man, who drew a gun and placed it against his forehead. “Watch yourself, Thaddeus, you push my limits.”

“It makes me smile when you’re angry,” TK said in a voice almost matching Herow’s. He removed the gun from TK’s head and headed towards the door.

“Come on then, Thaddeus,” said Herow. “They will be here soon and you need to prepare yourself.”

“Why?” TK asked as he followed Herow.

“You are going to meet royalty, Thaddeus, and you are going to be escorting our guest so that we can get rid of this horrible problem we seem to be experiencing.”

“Problem?” TK asked.

“It seems,” Herow said as he opened the car door for TK to get in, “there is a very large gathering of demons accumulating in the central downtown area and we’ll need to figure out how to stop it before it gets too much. Thankfully, we finally caught up with the last remaining heir of the thrown and we can get this going. Five years and all I have to show for it is a single priestess.”

“Priestess? You mean like those women that worshiped Gods for people or whatever?” As they drove, TK and Herow sat in the back of the car. TK watched as the familiar landscape flew by as they drove towards the headquarters that was located just a mile or two away from the campus. “Do I still have to go to that school?” TK asked. “And why me? Why not Luke or someone who you actually like?”

“You are…unfortunately the only one with the qualifications to handle this situation.”

“Qualifications,” TK said with an exasperated sigh. “You mean I’m the only one of the ‘Communion of Sinners’ that has any demon blood in him? Like I said, why don’t you get Luke or maybe Jonah? They have saintly blood in them. They can handle this, can’t they? Why send the black sheep to the wool factory when everyone wants white wool?” he snapped as he leaned against the window.

“Thaddeus,” said Herow, “I’m sorry to put this on you and I know how you hate to be put out in the open like this but if it’s any consolation, she’s very pretty. And she’s very vulnerable.” TK looked at Herow with raised eyebrows.

“A man of the church telling me to make a move on a pretty young priestess who is supposed to be helping us stop a ‘situation’? I do say this is an interesting turn of events.” Herow gave TK a little smirk as the car slowed.

“Come on, we have to get you briefed.” TK nodded as he left the car after Herow.

“So what’s she like?” TK asked.

“She’ll be landing in about ten hours. You could find out then.” TK ran his hand through the dark waves of his hair and shifted his jacket on his shoulders. They approached the headquarters and in all his toughness, TK couldn’t help but admit that the site was beautiful. It was almost like an oasis in the middle of the busy and bustling city. The large campus was almost like the university’s; large plains of grass that separated three buildings that were all made of the same white pillars and sturdy brick walls. The doors arched overhead while angels stood guard. The names of saints and were carved into the white of the pillars, protecting those who called it their home safe. The gates were the one thing that separated the three buildings from the outside city. Herow stood in front of the one piece of the headquarters that was at all visibly revolutionized. He announced his name, scanned his eye and pressed his finger to the keypad that had come out of the brick wall. It recognized him and let the gates open. TK stood and waited his turn.

“Thaddeus Kenneth Lynne,” he mumbled before placing his face in front of the retinal scanner and placing his thumb on the keypad. The gate opened with a loud buzz and TK moved through the bars quickly to catch up to Herow. “Can I get my guitar before we brief? I wanna figure out this melody that I’ve been working on. I got a wave of inspiration during chapel, Row, you wouldn’t believe it!” Herow turned to look at the nineteen-year-old child and nodded.

“I will have the others gather so that we may brief together while I wait.” TK glanced at Herow, who smiled a little at him. “You have been getting better, yes?” TK had to fight the grin that was threatening to break across his face.

“I’ve been working a lot with my guitar and I’ve been working on lyrics more. It’s harder than I thought.” Herow nodded and shooed him away while taking out his cell phone. While he called the other 6 members of the Communion of Sinners, TK rushed up the stairs to the dorm room where he was staying. He had quickly searched his backpack for his keys—the other thing he had in his bag that gave it weight. As he put the key in its home, the door pulled open to reveal his roommate, Kaito. Kaito was a Japanese-American demonologist. He was a second generation American and he had learned the best of both worlds so talking to him was easy for TK. He and TK had a good relationship and were quickly becoming friends. Kaito was, thankfully, a great cook and TK just so happened to have a love of food.

“Oh!” said Kaito. “My bad, TK, I didn’t know you were back yet.” TK smiled a little and pushed passed him to get his guitar.

“Yeah, there was an incident. We need to get to the briefing before Herow has a heart attack.”

“That guy is way too stressed for a guy who’s only 25.”

“Twenty-five years old and taking care of teenage boys. I bet that’s exactly what he wanted to do with his life,” TK said with a roll of his eyes.

“Hey, hurry up,” said Kaito. “I promised Gabe that I’d meet him up before the meeting.” TK nodded and traded his backpack for his guitar bag, placing the silver cross in the front pocket—just in case.

“That angel never seems to do anything around here,” TK muttered.

“He’s very diligent when it comes to training. You know he loves to fly those planes.”

“That’s like saying Josh is charitable because he give away his clothes to the poor and isn’t selfish when it comes to all that new tech stuff we’re supposed to get.”

“Or like how you are patient with all those lyrics you write but you will just as easily bite my head off if I take two seconds to get a shoe on. God forbid I take more than a second to get ready in the morning.”

“I never take that long,” TK said as he crossed his arms.

“That’s because you wear your jeans to bed and change your shirt every day. Speaking of which,” Kaito said, “Why aren’t you in uniform?” Kaito fixed his tie subconsciously, pulling at the bright blue fabric.

“I had class, K, I’m not going to dress in that damn uniform when I have to be around civilians.” Kaito rolled his eyes as they stood in front of the door of Gabriel. Kaito knocked and the sound of fumbling echoed through the door.

“Just a sec,” a meek sounding voice said as the fumbling finally stopped. The door opened and there stood the very tall and very muscular Gabriel Angello. His smile was lopsided as he brushed his hand through his short blond hair that was wet from the shower. “Sorry,” he murmured out of the side of his mouth. “I was getting changed.” His tie was askew and his shirt was half un-tucked.

“Just hurry up,” TK said as he leaned against the door frame. Gabriel nodded silently and looked down at the floor before rushing back into his room to push his shirt into his dress pants, button his black dress shirt and grab a coat and shoes. He pulled them on as he grabbed his keys and closed the door. He nodded to Kaito and TK as he slipped on his last shoe.

“Alright let’s go.”

“Did Josh already head down?”

“He was with Genevieve in the library last I heard.”

“Herow probably got the message to him. No need to worry,” TK said as he placed his hands in his pockets. He played with the badge he had placed there earlier and chewed on the inside of his mouth.

“How was school?” Gabriel asked as he looked over Kaito’s spike black hair.

“I fought a demon,” TK said as he sighed a little. “We have a ‘situation’ or something. That’s why we’re calling a meeting. We’re getting a visit from a priestess,” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at his fellow men that lifted eyebrows of interest.

“When?”

“T-minus ten hours,” TK informed proudly. “Herow says she’s very pretty and vulnerable.”

“Herow said that?” Gabriel asked in disbelief.

“On my father’s grave that’s what he said!”

“Your father is still alive in Chicago,” Kaito said with a roll of his eyes.

“He’s gotta be close to death by now. I’m 19 now. He was like 25 when I was born. He’s gotta be pushing 50 at least.”

“You do Genevieve proud, TK,” Kaito sighed. “19 plus 25 is not 50. It’s 44.”

“44, 50, close enough,” TK dismissed. He held open the door of the War room that wasn’t exactly a “war room”. It was a large room that held most of the important officers of the headquarters and a few onlookers give or take one or two. When they walked in, all the important people were already settling down. Joshua Chekhovsky sat next to Genevieve Beau, the librarian in charge of the boys’ education. Parnium Lopen sat next to his mentor Bashov Esveev, the campus’s main linguist. Next to him were Jonah Flora and his roommate Lucas Salazar. Next to them were Rachel McGuiness and her boyfriend Tanto Jamp. They were the campus’s main electricians and technicians. They were almost always together even when they were working. Next to them were Heather and Heath Juvo, the designers for all the clothes and suits the boys and officials wore. Avon Beck and Demitria Alexandria, the main security guards and defense trainers stood next to the Dean of the campus and university, Sauer Thomas. Franklin Khor sat alone, saving a seat for his protégé Kaito. TK stared at Herow, who was on the phone near the windows of the war room.

“Hey, there’s Frank,” said Kaito as he nudged TK’s arm.

“Go ahead and save me a seat, I’m going to talk to Herow.” Katio glanced at Gabe, who nodded and walked away. Kaito was harder to get rid of but he left as well after TK was almost at Herow.

“Good to hear,” Herow said into the phone. “I will be expecting you. We are about to begin the briefing.” He paused and TK stared at him. Herow glanced his way and nodded before turning slightly as if to shield the conversation from TK’s ears. There was a long silence that made TK’s ears strain to hear what was being said over the phone. “Alright,” Herow said softly. “I’ll inform them.” The phone closed with a soft click, which made TK look forward instead of at Herow.

“Bad news?” TK inquired.

“Not bad news, just…new news.”

“All news is bad news,” TK said as he turned towards the group of people. “Are you ready for this?”

“Are you concerned?” Herow asked, an eyebrow rising. TK glanced his way and shook his head.

“I’ll be waiting for you to mess up.” TK said as he stared into the hazel-green of his eyes, wondering if the news was about the ‘situation’, before turning away to sit next to Gabriel. Avon, Demitria and Sauer sat down and waited silently for Herow to start. Herow stood in front of the group and rolled his shoulders ever so slightly before clearing his throat.

“There have been numerous sightings of demons lately. The seal that separates us from them is apparently waning and as much as I’d like to say we have it completely fixed that would be a lie. Right now, we are facing a very serious problem. These demons are bold and smart. The most recent attack was this afternoon at 12:15 p.m. A demon disguised as a teacher at the university no more than a mile away from this very headquarters, penetrated the seals put in place around the university. Luckily enough, we had an agent on the scene, Thaddeus Lynne.” TK glared at Herow, who offered him a small smirk, if only to calm his nerves. “Thaddeus helped a tremendous amount by getting rid of the demon, which turned out to be a very noteworthy demon indeed. He, we found out through some processing that I had brought here to Patricia, was a messenger demon for the one and only evil. Victor François is in Nodame, a small town in Hime, retrieving the one person that can help us. She’s originally from Dwizi.”

“Nodame is a far way from Dwizi,” said Bashov. Bashov Evseev was a fairly large man, his large stomach protruding his khaki pants. His deep blue shirt was in high contrast to his greying hair. His sky blue eyes were locked on Herow.

“Did she fly?” asked Wakely Tiss, whose deep chocolate color hair barely brushed the bottom of his ear. His green eyes were bright and cautious. He, like most of the teachers, wore a deep blue shirt and khaki’s, per Heath’s suggestion. “That would take months on foot.”

“That’s near the sea. She’d have to have crossed the mountains and valleys.” Tanto Jamp said as he looked towards the other two Hime natives. Bashov and Wakely glanced at their fellow foreigner and nodded. Tanto’s hazel—almost yellow—eyes found his comrades and the gold hair that matched his eyes fell in front of his forehead lazily.

“Not to mention the desert,” said Bashov out of the side of his mouth.

“Isn’t Dwizi in the northern part of Hime?” asked Parnium. His hair was shaggy and curled near the bottom of his tanned neck. He wore his uniform, just as the others of the Communion of Sinners did, and his tanned hands were fidgeting on the table. He was nervous and concerned about the whole ordeal. “I thought no one liked the northern people.”

“They are…” Wakely searched for the word.

“The northern people of Hime are very secluded and like their privacy. They do not like to mingle with many and often lack the skills to do so,” Bashov said.

“They tend to be shy and insecure. It’s rare you find a very bold northern Himish. Especially one from Dwizi,” Tanto said as he placed his hand through his deep golden hair.

“Her father,” said Herow as he cleared his throat. “Was the last king of Dwizi and he was the guardian of the seal of Lucifer. Their family has had control of this seal for a long time. They hid it somewhere unknown to us. She will bring us the answers we need and hopefully, she will be able to tell us what is going on with it.” He pointed a clicker to the wall where a picture of a firm looking young woman with brilliant red hair and cool calm grey eyes stared out. “This is Princess Tiri. Do not be fooled, she is much prettier in person and very little is known about her. It is said she was taken from the castle five years ago and she has been living in Nodame as a hostage. She appears to have left the captors either by force or by volunteering. Either way, she is on her way here. We have 10 hours to prepare this place for her. I am assigning Thaddeus to this situation. He is the only agent we have that has any experience with demons and has a basic knowledge of how they work. Though I have confidence in Kaito’s work,” he glanced at the black haired boy, who was about to raise his hand. “I’d like to have Thaddeus on this in case there is an attack. If Kaito would be willing, he is allowed to offer Thaddeus any help he requires. As for the others,” Herow said as he looked down at his folder. “Your folder includes a background of the girl and a series of tasks for you to do to perhaps improve the living area of the campus for our guest. Other than that, I just hope we can get this under control as fast as possible. Any questions?”

“I have one!” said Heather as she lifted her hand high in the air. “May I make her a costume? And may I make some for the boys and others? Are we going to feast for her arrival? I shall make beautiful dresses for the women. Heath,” He rose to his feet and nodded.

“I will do my best to make suits for the boys.” Herow glanced at Thomas, who nodded ever so slightly.

“Alright, go ahead. Khor, perhaps you and Kaito can whip up something delectable for an evening meal. Parnium can help you since he’s learning about the Himish culture.”

“Yes sir,” said Kaito, Khor and Parnium.

“Demitria, Avon, I’d like for you two to go around the campus and check all the ports and seals to ensure that no one will harm our guest. Thaddeus and I will secure the buildings while Jonah, Joshua and Lucas will see to the school.” TK was the only one to look disappointed. Herow glared at him but let him be. “Genevieve, I’d like for you and Rachel and Wakely to clean up the place a bit. If Patricia is all set with her things, she can help as well. See if she needs help first, though.”

“Of course, sir,” replied Rachel, her strawberry blond hair brushing her shoulders as she nodded.

“Let’s get to work. We have 10 hours to make this place secure for the princess.” TK glared at Herow, wondering how he could get out of the whole thing. “Thaddeus, let’s go.” Herow said as he collected his folder neatly and walked towards the exit. TK followed after sullenly, unzipping the container that held his guitar. “After,” said Herow before even turning to look at him. “We must check the buildings so that you will not be attacked in the middle of the night and more importantly; so that the princess isn’t attacked in the middle of the night.” TK sighed and quickened his pace to fall in step with Herow.

“Fine, I’ll do your dumb seals. Then can I play?” Herow looked at him gently before nodding.

“Yes,” he said. “You may play your instrument after we finish this.” TK sighed and placed his hands in his pockets as he skipped down the stairs of the War Building and headed towards the boys’ dorms. Little did he know, he was about to meet his destiny.