Chapter 5

The Awakening

Klaus had encountered many different people during his life. As an orphan he got to see the hardness of people, but he also got see the kindness. Unfortunately kindness was shown less often, but when it was, it was beautiful for him to behold. He came to understand that such things are fragile like a flower and people are fickle.

He had also seen how kindness had been taken advantage of. It would continue and continue like a person in a bad relationship just taking and never giving back until there is simply nothing left to give. He had seen it when people invited some of the street kids into their homes. The kids would steel or scout out the house for the gangs to mug.

The kindness that is a flower would then be plucked and unlike with nature where if given enough time would grow again, people don’t grow. Well, he would have to admit that most don’t, or they grow into something else. These people would become the ones that would sneer at them in open disgust. They would go on to tell their children of what happened or their children would already be involved, which led to the people looking at them with apathy. They were the ones that were the most scary. He could take hate, he could take disgust. Seeing those feelings reflected in the eyes of the people walking by would at the least make him feel like he existed.

Those that felt apathy, those that could look at you right in the face and see right through you like you were glass; They affected Klaus the most.

It was with those eyes that he was looked at as the woman stood nose to nose with him and while he thought of these things, these people with apathy. He could feel her read it all. She had discovered his deepest darkest fear in an instant. Just an instant was enough, a mere blink.

‘Please, stop.’ He thought at her.

Her eyes narrowed at him. ‘Why? You could be a spy, an imposter come to hurt my family.’

Images of what happened with Elise danced though his mind along with a slight annoyance at himself. He did not understand at first until he realized it was her sending the images into his mind.

His mine reeled and it was difficult to think straight as she rifled through his memories, so he went with what he had done before. He recited a poem with all his attention and then for the first time he sensed it, truly felt it. It was hard to explain the feeling even to himself. A sudden thought sprang to him.

He imagined it as if you were to take a substance that conducted no heat at all and you left it in the sun, but a small shadow touched the very tiniest corner. If you then took that substance and wrapped your hand in it. It would be difficult, but you would still be able to feel that corner where the shadow fell.

He imagined it would feel foreign, yet the same as it was made from the same material. It struck him then. ‘Is this one of the secrets to their ability, are they naturally able to partially mimic someone’s brainwaves or whatever it is they do?’

As he finished the thought, the strange feeling grew more perceptible. The strangeness retreated and his will, or strand of thought followed along as it did. Suddenly his mind was full of images, feelings and smells not his own. For an instant he was two people at once and then he was just one again. Whatever he had followed, hardened and spat him out.

His mind reeled and he was disorientated at the sudden change. Lilith was next to him an instant later when his legs turned into jelly and buckled under him. When his eyes came into focus he saw the woman looking at him with eyes filled half with terror and half curiosity.

He knew he shouldn’t, he knew it was dangerous, but something drove the notion into his mind and his mouth blurted out the sentence before he could put a guard in front of it. “I like -The Secret Valley- that you painted, Morgose.”

Everyone frowned when they heard that. They had known by the action their Great Aunt had taken that she was probing his mind, but why would she tell him about her hobby and why did he say her name so openly, not even they dared do it.

He saw the corners of her lips quirk, it was so quick it was almost imperceptible. She gestured to Lilith and then Klaus. “You two will follow me.”

Lilith grew pale and she wanted to object, try and defend Klaus for whatever fool thing he had done. However, she recognized her Aunt’s tone and she knew it brokered no response. Then he felt it, another tendril nearly imperceptible trying to wiggle itself into what he now identified as his thought, or brainwaves; he still had not decided what to call it. At first he tried the same thing that Morgose had done, but try as he might, nothing happened so he sent his own sliding along it. Hugging it close like a creeper plant climbing up a tree. The tendril retreated as soon as he reached halfway, but he could already sense the feelings of whoever it belonged to.

They were warm and fuzzy. It was like falling into what he imagined falling into warm liquid silk would feel like. He could feel a large amount of care and worry, which drifted like a small boat on a roiling sea of guilt that was hidden underneath the surface. Lilith looked at him with surprise and only after helping Klaus steady himself said in barely a whisper. “When did you? Nevermind, later.”

Klaus rubbed the back of his neck trying to fight away his own emotions. He could never imagine someone feeling about him like that. In his mind such a thing could not be possible. When they reached the elevator, Morgose gestured for them to join her, but held a hand up as soon as Boeithia and two other men aimed to join them.

A smirk that Klaus never knew Boeithia had turned sour in an instant. The door closed and Morgose sighed. “She is going to pester me about this until I leave again.”

Lilith who had been focused on her Aunt looked on in confusion while Klaus just shrugged, what could he say?

Morgose pressed the button to go to the fifty-eighth floor and the zoom of the elevator soon became an oppressive thing in the silence. Klaus was fiddling with his new shirt, torn about what to do. His thoughts could not be spared for Morgose, they were stuck on Lilith and what he had felt from her. To both women’s surprise he suddenly stood up straight and turned to Lilith, his whole body language and aura turning from uncertain to resolute in almost a second.

“Lilith.” Klaus tried to convey everything he was feeling into that one word. His whole being his every thought and everything he felt.

Hearing her name said in that way cause gooseflesh to run up her spine. She took a step back from Klaus, but his eyes stayed determined. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked growing increasingly worried.

Klaus just shook his head and stepped forward. Lilith found herself in a tight hug a moment later. Morgose, seeing what was happening, said nothing. She just stood stoically at the side.

Lilith pushed him away. “Klaus, what are you doing?”

He stood there sheepishly, not hurt at all by her rejection.

Morgose chose that moment to chime in, while looking down her nose at Lilith. “You let your guard down. He must have felt your feelings for him you stupid girl.”

Klaus wanted to interject and defend Lilith, after all, did Morgose not do the same thing right before? The stare the woman gave him made him hold his tongue. Morgose nodded to herself. ‘He has some brains in that noggin.’

A familiar ding announced their arrival at the intended floor and they disembarked. Lilith, for her part was so red she was glowing.

Klaus turned into a gawking peasant as soon as they exited and Morgose was making a bee line to somewhere.

The sheer magnitude and amount of money that must have gone into the place he saw in front of him made Klaus’ brain check out and leave a “faulty, do not use” sign.

Light crème tiles gleamed in a large hall. In the centre was a statue of the same gargoyle like creature sitting on the three towers. Its eyes shone with an almost lifelike gleam and upon moving closer Klaus found that gems of unknown origin were what made up its eyes. The towers were made out of three different materials. The one on the left was a deep purple that reminded Klaus of quartz. The one on the right was obsidian and had silver veins running through it. In the middle was a tower that was ruby red. The statue was nearly twice as tall as he was, the middle tower being just as tall as Klaus. Water bubbled lazily in the fountain around the tower.

Klaus walked forward in a daze until he reached the very rim. Looking down into the pool of water he saw a golden gleam. He squinted and his heart started racing when he saw the gleam was coming from actual coins. He turned to Lilith who was still recovering. “Are these real.”

She managed a nod and walked over. “Very real, the middle tower is a ruby. One of our families greatest discoveries in the Secret Worlds. Even there such a thing is rare, especially one so large.” She looked like she wanted to continue, but something was stopping her so she gave up and simply shrugged.

After a few seconds of just staring into the pool, she said. “Klaus, what else did you see?”

He shook his head looking at the ruby. “I did not see anything I only felt.”

Lilith let out a long shuddering breath in relief. She did not want him to know her greatest shame. She told herself she would tell him when the time was right. Right then, she felt, was not that time.

“Are you two going to stare at the gold all day or are you coming.” Morgose, shouted from somewhere up ahead.

Past the statue the room started to curve inward, ornate stairs with hand carved railings curved along with the wall until they met in the centre. Klaus could see a door up on what he assumed was the fifty-ninth floor.

They walked forward, their shoes echoing on the domed ceiling that was covered in a large mural of strange beasts and men in combat. In the middle of the domed ceiling and the mural was what looked to Klaus like a beautiful tree. All the men and beasts were reaching out towards it, even as they fought. A chandelier hung from a chain fastened to the ceiling right in the centre of where the tree was painted.

“That is your family crest.” Said Lilith next to him.

Klaus furrowed his brow in confusion. “Why are they all reaching towards it?”

“We can’t tell you at this time.” Said Morgose, appearing from somewhere. Klaus watched as she struggled to pull a thigh high stocking off while bouncing on one leg. She had gone to change into plain white shorts and a tank top. Her dark brown hair was now in a pony tail, it swung wildly behind her while she struggled. For a moment he had no idea what to make of the scene.

Lilith facepalmed and let out a long sigh. “Aunt, we have a guest.” The whole sentence was so packed with intent Klaus thought it would develop its own gravity field.

Morgose, stopped then looked at the two of them. “So? Here, boy help me out.” Standing still where she was. She lifted her stockinged leg straight out in front of her.

‘What is this? Is it a test. Is she not some big shot in the Lacroix family? Why is she acting this way.’ Klaus could not help but wonder as he walked over.

He reached out toward her thigh and swallowed.

Just as he was about to touch it, she said. “Careful now, I bite.”

Klaus hooked his finger gingerly into the strap that hugged her thigh tightly. Her skin felt warm and smooth to the touch. ‘Why am I doing this?’ He pulled lightly and it started to slide down his fingers brushing against her skin as it did. ‘This is crazy.’ He reached her ankle and she lowered her leg, forcing Klaus to bend down. His face was now right next to her thigh. The indent that the strap left behind clear to see. ‘This is, this is kind of awesome.’ A perverted thought came to the fore.

The stocking was off and Klaus stood up straight. Lilith took a few steps forward in anger. “I can’t believe we fell for it.”

Looking between the two, he tilted his head in question.

Lilith gave her aunt a withering stare, before looking at Klaus’ uncomprehending face. “She is in your mind. She can make you do anything she wants you to do now. Did it not occur to you that you did what you did far too easily?”

Looking at Morgose, he saw the truth reflected in her eyes. Her aloofness was back.

“Why aunt?” Lilith said through gritted teeth.

“He knows one of the secrets to our power, figured it out the while I was probing him. It is frankly remarkable.”

Klaus’ heart palpitated in fear and he felt the same hopelessness he did earlier.

“Relax, both of you.” Said Morgose looking at each in turn. “Follow me.”

They did, through two large double doors and then a long hallway with a thick and rich carpet. They entered a room similar to the one Klaus was staying in. Morgose walked up to a closet, opened and stepped into it.

Klaus only paused for a second before following. He was already at her mercy anyway. Lilith was close on his heels.

Klaus found himself in what he could only compare to a panic room. The walls were made from cold steel and there were monitors with images of parts of the place he had never seen and also parts he recognized. On the right was a whole wall covered in a gun rack. He could see guns of every kind. When he spotted a revolver similar to the one he used, his heart clenched and he gritted his teeth.

Morgose, looked at him with surprise as she walked past. “Killed someone, have we?” She stopped at a panel and flipped a switch. “No signals of any kind can enter or exit this room now.” Grabbing a cold steel chair from under a table that had all the different kinds of ammo stacked onto it, she turned it around and basically straddled it.

‘Seems like her unladylike facade was not entirely false after all.’

Her eyes narrowed at him. “You try wearing high heels and acting prim and proper most of your day. I am more than seven hundred years old. I do not care for such things as much as I used to nor will you once you reach my age.” She sighed exasperatedly. “Still, I have to keep it up for the outside world. The Lacroix name must not be sullied. Which brings me to my first question; why did you hurt Clarissa?”

His mind went to the reason and even though he tried he could not do anything as she paged through his memories like one would with a book. “So Clarissa has been approached by an Argent boy, heh. Interesting, why did you hurt Elise?”

An image of Brian Argent walking away in a daze with his broken arm sprang up in Klaus’ mind, when he heard the mention of his surname. The second question forced his mind towards Elise.

The whole affair with Elise was jumbled up in his memories, but Morgose easily identified the snippets that made sense and parsed through them. “Seems I need to have a little chat with Boeithia, you know, she wants you dead.”

She held up her hand when Klaus and Lilith both wanted to interject.

“I don’t blame you for Elise, but I do share Boeithia’s concerns though. The whole reason why I allowed Lilith to stay away for so long was because if you did awaken you would make a great ally for Elise when she entered the Secret Worlds.” She looked at Lilith who seemed surprised. “Yes, I knew where you were and what you were doing.” Morgose then turned back to Klaus. “I have to be sure, hence this domination. I sense now that you don’t have any ill feelings towards her so that is no longer a concern, but what bothers me is that you lack the drive to enter the Secret World. All you worry about are the answers you seek about your father and mother. I will tell you now; we don’t even know the complete truth, only snippets and rumours of rumours. If you want answers you will have to go into the Secret Worlds and find them yourself.”

If she was lying or not, Klaus could not tell. She had his life in her hands so she had no reason to lie unless she wanted to use him for something. It came to him easily. “You still want me to help Elise.”

Morgose smiled. “Good, you are not an imbecile. In return, the Dalmora will act as your backer and help you stay alive till then. We will give you training and give you a generous monthly stipend to live off of.”

Klaus did not like the idea, Elise had already crossed the bounds before he knew her. Just like he could now be angry with her, she could also be with him. If he were to agree to such a thing, how would he be treated by her? He did not work so hard to stay off the streets in order to not become a lapdog or victim of some gangster only to be forced into a similar situation.

He wanted to be his own person, work towards his own goals. As his thoughts progressed on this tangent, he could see Morgose’s face fall. She had been smug, now, not so much.

“I refuse. Kill me if you want, but I won’t be a dog for anyone.”

Morgose gave him a predatory smile. “You forget, I can just make you.”

Klaus gave his own smile. “You are bluffing. I may not be able to read your mind, but ì have spent a lot of time on the streets and if it teaches one anything; it’s how to read people. You can probably only control me within a certain distance, which means there is some other form or binding contract you wanted to make me take in order to make sure I stay loyal in the Secret Worlds. My guess is that whatever it is. It cannot be forced in any way, shape or form. So kill me and get it over with, or let me go.”

During his speech, Klaus had felt the fury in him grow. Fury at the situation, at Morgose, Elise and his own weakness. He was once again helpless. He was once again the boy standing at the bus stop while everything was taken away from him. Instead of that bastard with the lame tattoos it was just, Morgose. His fear left him completely at that moment and his choice solidified into something unbreakable.

Morgose, had watched, seen and felt how he went through his thought process. She felt a sense of admiration for him, but he was too naïve. She really would kill him.

Another person who knew she would, was Lilith. Lilith felt her heart break at the events transpiring. She would not be able to wrestle control back from her Aunt. She had hoped that her family could look past their own goals and further into the future. They had failed at the task and she had once more failed Klaus.

She took something out of her pocket. ‘How had Klaus’ father known?.’ Thought Lilith as she held the object. When they made the deal she had given her word to his father that he would be well cared for with the Dalmora, she guaranteed it, but he simply gave her a smile that made her feel stupid and then gave her the object she now held in her hand. It had always been there for the last Eighteen years. She had never let it be far from her. A simple key. It did not look fancy or have any jewels, but it was something far more precious at the moment. It was her and Klaus’ way out. It was still hard for her to abandon her family, she loved them, grew up with them and they had offered her the world at one stage- she just had to reach out and take it.

“You leave me no choice, so I hope you will forgive me one day.”

Morgose saw the key and her eyes became as big as saucers. “Don’t-“

The key broke and a high pitched ring, rang out making them all wince. It kept ringing for nearly five seconds, the pitch slowly growing as it did. Klaus thought his head was about to explode when it finally stopped.

Morgose simply sat on the chair and stared at the two halves of the key that slowly started to turn into dust. “Why?” She finally asked while looking at Lilith’s now crying face. “Did we not give you enough? Where did we go wrong that you would turn out like this?” She stood up while saying the last sentence, her voice rising until she screamed these last words. “You have doomed us all!”

The lights started to flicker and the acrid smell of brimstone filled the room. Klaus had no idea what was going on, but the other two did.

The legend goes that the people with Bloodlines came from a higher place. That they “fell” from there to where they are now and ever since they had been trying to get back. There is also another part to the legend, a legend of creatures from the dark. Creatures that came from the lower realms; demons, abominations; the lords of darkness. They had many names and titles, everyone had their own idea about them, but the families who rarely agreed on anything agreed on one fact. Demons were bad news. No one knew how to go to the lower worlds, some only knew how to summon the creatures that resided there.

Klaus’ father was known to be such a person and it caused many to fear him because of one simple truth. People from the bloodlines were not allowed to give birth in the Secret Worlds, they were forced to come to the “Normals” to do so and in doing so they were forced to dig in and to try and make themselves as safe as possible from mortal weapons, by accumulating wealth and keeping themselves secret. If not for this fact, they would never return and stay in the secret worlds.

It is no secret that the “Normals” were catered towards protecting mortals. Those from the bloodlines could not exert their arcane powers without paying a great cost or dying. There was one positive to it though. Your physical body was considered a part of you unlike the powers of the arcane. Other abilities like the Dalmora’s mind reading and controlling prowess was also considered as such, so they were not limited at all.

There in resided the problem Morgose now faced. Demons were notorious and so feared because their bodies were virtually indestructible without the use of the arcane. Summoning one in the “Normals” was considered a death sentence and breaking that key had done just that.

The lights continued to flicker, the smell growing worse. Then he appeared. There was no sound when he did. Klaus’ vision had gone dark when the lights flickered off and in the next moment when they flickered on, he was there.

To Klaus, it looked like a cultured old man. He had a neatly trimmed goatee and was dressed in an old-ish style tuxedo that was all black. White, spotless gloves adorned his hands. Said hands rested on a cane that had a large jewel at the top.

A top hat completed the ensemble. Klaus, still not knowing what was going on, just stood there and looked at the grey haired old man that had appeared out of nowhere. The man felt familiar to him somehow.

Just as he was taking in the old man, the man was observing him too. It was when he smiled that everything changed. Unlike a normal person, each and every tooth was sharpened to a point and the smile was unnatural; too wide nearly splitting his face in half. It was a macabre thing. The smile coupled with the top hat which cast the top of the man’s face in dark shadow, gave Klaus the willies.

“Good Afternoon.” It said.

Morgose jumped at the voice. He had appeared behind her. She got up and backed away towards the entrance.

The man paid no attention to her. His head stayed riveted in Klaus’ direction. “The terms of the contract have been met, I am now charged with your protection and training. In return you will allow me to live in your estate and handle all matters concerning your assets until I deem you competent enough to do so yourself. Young master Roth, this one greets you. He gave a little bow.

He turned to Lilith. “You who have summoned me, do you care for the young master?”

Lilith nodded numbly, she had expected a thing with horns breathing fire and rending claws. Not an old man in a suit.

He nodded and gave that same smile that made Klaus’ heart stop. “Good, then you are welcome to join us. The young master will need your help in training his… inferior abilities.”

The top hat then turned towards Morgose and the smile disappeared. “You will release the young master and allow us to leave or this… hovel will be covered in the blood of your kin.” Saying so, he ran his finger along the wall and looked at the tip like one would when inspecting a room for dust.

Lilith and Morgose’s minds were racing. This was unprecedented; no one had ever gotten a demon to serve them. All the stories, the warnings and taboos said, if you summon a demon in the “Normals”, you die.

Apparently the time it took for them to think this was unsatisfactory for the old man. His hand dipped and the next moment it appeared he was holding five more keys. These looked even more, worse for wear than the one Lilith had used, but the meaning was clear.

Morgose who had been trying to think of a way to turn the situation around immediately relinquished her domination over Klaus.

The smile returned and he crushed the keys. Ringing filled the air and Morgose turned pale. “It does not feel good, does it? Having your life and fate not be in your hands, knowing it’s hopeless no matter what you do.” The man grew unnaturally taller as he leaned forward in an arc that would cause any person with a normal anatomy to fall over.

His face was right next to Morgose’s ear and he whispered. “Your people are going to die and there is nothing you can do about it.”

It was a whisper, but it hit home like thunder. Lilith, grabbed Klaus’ hand. “Please, stop this Klaus. Not for them, nor for the Dalmora, but for me. They are my family no matter what they have done and a lot of them are innocent in this.

The demon turned to her. “There is no such thing as innocents. You, who could not even carry out the instructions of my Master. I can see into your soul, I can see what you fear most. We have seen what you have done.”

“Please stop.” Klaus interrupted from the side. His feet shuffled uneasily. He did not want to anger the person that just showed up to save him. He also did not want to be the cause of a massacre. One death was already too much on his conscience. Two days ago he was a normal student, albeit with some strange abilities, but he wanted a normal life. He wanted to help others like him.

The demon sighed. “The young master is still too soft. We will change that. For now, this one will listen.”

He snapped his fingers and the next moment five more people joined them.

The demon banged its cane on the ground. “We will now leave.” It was a command that brokered no objection.

A tall and overly muscular man with a bald head walked over to Klaus and pointed towards the exit. “You want me to go out?” The man nodded.

Klaus did so and the others followed. Before the old man exited he stopped next to Morgose. “The young master may have shown you mercy this time, but I am not beholden to his words. My duty is to protect and care for him even if that goes against his wishes. This time I will spare your lowly life, but listen well. Should my young master come to harm in any way I will be visiting you first. It will not matter whether you are guilty or not. I will eat the hearts of your children while you watch. Then I will blind you; just so you can better hear the screams when I butcher their parents.”

He smiled that smile at her then. “Remember that, every time your thoughts even start to drift towards the young master.”

Then he was gone and Lilith was left alone with her.

Morgose sighed in relief. “Why did you do it?”

Lilith swallowed the lump in her throat. “You would have killed him.”

Morgose frowned. “So, is that such a terrible thing- protecting my family, looking out for our interests?”

Lilith laughed, but it was a sad thing- filled with regret and bitterness. “Did you not say that you knew why I was there? You knew the old me before Klaus was thrust into my life. You know I was self-absorbed, selfish and only my goals mattered. When Klaus’ father saved me and gave me a second chance at life, he did it without expecting anything. Then one day he took off while we were traveling back and returned a week later, carrying Klaus.”

Lilith’s arms hugged her sides. “He offered me a deal I could not refuse. He would double my physical strength in return for me taking care of Klaus until he awakened or passed the age of eighteen. I was then to break the key and summon the demon. I argued with him and told him that breaking the key would mean my certain death. He laughed and replied with something that infuriated me. He said that if I were to rely on you, his son would surely die. So I staked my life. I made a binding oath that would take my life; if Klaus died before he awakened by my family’s hands. With your powers I am sure you would have sensed the brand on me and you surely would have done everything in order to figure out why I was there. You already know; if you kill him, you kill me.”

Morgose was tongue tied.

Lilith shook her head. “Looking back, in my heart I knew that Klaus would not be safe even though the family thought highly of me, that is why I never came here with him. The twins being born only cemented my and Klaus’ fates. I was just too stupid and hopeful to know that.” Lilith’s sadness faded and her countenance hardened. “Stop being a hypocrite, you brought this on yourselves. You were willing to kill me and Klaus so that Elise would have just one less rival. What you do not realise is that Klaus is very protective of those he cares about and he is loyal to a fault. If you had moved to befriend him from the start things would have been a lot different.”

Morgose shook her head. “I could not take that risk. I knew you had the brand, but I did not know for what. Don’t blame me for your stupidity!”

Lilith walked toward the exit. “Don’t blame me for yours.”

Exiting the building was a rather anti-climactic affair. They simply walked out. No one barred their way or tried anything. As they walked Klaus observed the new arrivals and labelled them accordingly since he did not know their names yet. The bald man wearing a tank top and cargo pants, was Strong Man. After him came an average looking woman with a constant soft smile playing at her lips. She was dressed in a maids outfit. Not the sexy kind, but the proper one. Following behind her was a man as fat as he was tall. He kept ogling the people walking by and Klaus got the distinct impression that he wanted to eat them. He was dressed in a chef’s outfit that was strangely spotless, since he gave off such a greasy aura.

He was freaky, but the one that freaked him out the most was the lady sticking to his side. He found her attractive in a naughty librarian kind of way, but something just felt…off to him. When he heard a sniffing sound right behind his neck and looked back only to see her walk normally for the third time, he realized something was not just off, but was seriously wrong. So he did what he thought was the smart thing.

He aimed himself to walk beside the most normal approachable one. It was a young man that did not look much older than himself. He was dressed in overalls and had thick leather gloves on. A slight slouch to his walk made Klaus think he was more easy-going, but when he got closer he saw the guy was actually asleep. That’s when he heard the sniffing sound in his neck again.

He turned to the old man who was walking to the side and in front of them.. “Umm, sir?’

He watched in horror as the old man kept walking forward, but his neck turned and turned and turned until the face or more accurately mouth was in his direction. He could still only see the mouth since despite being out in daylight the shadow cast by the top hat still hid the top half of the mans face. Despite the head being turned so grotesquely, the body still walked with a dignified gate.

Then the old man smiled.

‘Oh…’

Klaus was pretty speechless and creped out by that and then he heard the sniffing again.

He turned towards the woman, who was once again walking normally as soon as he turned. “Would you stop that?”

Her eyes grew wide and she looked away, muttering. All he could hear before it became unintelligible was. “Young master talked to me, he talked…”

When he turned back the top hat was right in his face. That smile big enough that if he wanted to, the old man would be able to bite off a large portion of his head. “You wanted something, young master?” It asked.

Klaus did all he could not to start running. “Well, I was umm kind of wondering where we are going?”

The top hat snapped back to its normal position along with the head it was attached to. “How silly of me for not telling you, we are going to your father’s estate.”

Looking up and down the sidewalk they were on, Klaus did not see any form of transportation waiting for them. As if reading his mind the top hat said. “We are not driving, but flying.” He pointed towards a nearby open field which doubled as a park; people were playing with their dogs and having picnics, it had a very nice atmosphere. The top hat then pointed up into the air. It was too far for them to hear at this point, but Klaus could see a small dot making its way over to them.

“The helicopter is going to land here?” Klaus asked in disbelief. “What about the people?”

Everyone turned to him except the sleepy head and the woman copping a sniff now and then.

Top hat gave his brightest smile yet. “What about them?”

‘These people, no things are nuts!’ All he could do was shake his head. He felt empowered when they simply walked out. He could see the men in suits standing around corners and down hallways. There were always a few nearby, but none approached.

Thinking about the last few days, it felt like nothing other than a roller coaster of emotions and happenings. His life at school felt like it was ages ago. The only constant thing had been Lilith.

Klaus looked back the way they had come, but could not see Lilith anywhere. It made him worried. What she did had clearly made things tense between her and Morgose. After another minute, he finally saw her. She was carrying a bag, bigger than he was- slowly making her way over.

“Why are you just standing here?” She asked and put down the large bag.

Klaus pointed at the helicopter that was now a lot closer. He guessed that the face Lilith made as she looked at the people in the park and then the approaching helicopter was pretty similar to his own.

A part of Klaus felt aghast and apprehensive, but another part felt incomparably excited.

‘Maybe the people were right, maybe my birthday will truly be an awakening.’