It was merely hours and the screams of agony quiet down into gurgle. There was something violent in her screams as if she lost her mind. Gabriel had grown accustomed to the primal screams of labor, but he never heard a mother scream to get rid of her own child, what sort of vile woman could think like that? the child wondered.

There was silence for a brief moment, right then the door creaked open and down came Johan with a tiny bundle soaked in blood, and Grizelda carrying the young woman whose arm hung limp and her legs dripped with blood. Gabriel only had a few seconds to glance at the face of the woman before Roy’s massive hands covered his eyes, her eyes were soft and bloodshot and her mouth was relaxed.

There was no need to state the obvious. It is not the first time the mother or the child doesn't survive, it is tragically too common. However, it is very rare for both to die during childbirth. “Her child was cursed…” the redhead said softly as he carried the bundle towards the nearby table. “I am at a loss…” Johan choked. “Nothing we did brought her comfort… Only the gentle release of death could…” His armor was covered with the same color of his hair. Johan washed his hands of the dried iron in the nearby basin.

Grizelda was in no better shape but her face hid all of the anguish behind a stone cold facade. She carried the dead mother to the closest examination table and undressed her. The midwife was quiet the entire session, washing her hands in the basin and bringing the tools back to the table.

“What was the cause of death?” Roy asked, still shielding Gabriel's eyes.

“The child,” Grizelda said coldly, and with a clean cloth she soaked up the blood from the skin and brought a knife to the base of her clavicle and made a Y incision. “Had we extracted the baby she could have survived,” she added.

Johan unwrapped the bundle revealing the abomination, the fetus had a tail instead of legs, there were also two torsos and two heads and lack of arms. The heads were fused together and unfinished. The left head was indented. Johan proceeded to fill a jar with a pink tinted liquid and carefully deposit the creature. “We have to do something…” Johan said. “I fear this will be a trend in the near future.”

There was a ghastly sensation that did not escape the four. In silence they all glanced at each other, Gabriel instantly recoiled into Roy’s form.

Johan leaned towards the window, “do you hear that…?”

“No… but I do feel an evil vibe,” Roy said.

A gurgle shook their tense core, the body of the dead woman now reanimated, her hands wrapped around Grizelda’s neck.

“Mother!”

“Grizelda!”

The midwife relaxed and adjusted to the tight grip and with one, two, three, four, five blows to the head with the mallet the body ceased movement. Her face was unrecognizable. Grizelda dropped the mallet and wiped the blood off her face with the back of her hand as she caught her breath.

“Grizelda! Are you hurt?” Johan rushed over to inspect her neck.

“I am fine, the grip was weak for the most part…” she said.

The sounds of ominous women laughing filled the house, Johan’s ears twitched as they tried to pinpoint the source and location.

Grizelda, Johan and Roy calmly and quietly stood back to back with Gabriel between them. “Keep your mind free of thought,” Roy said. “Johan, you especially, ignore their laugh and chants,” the cleric advised.

Gabriel was at a loss at the events that unfolded. In little time, it spiraled out of control. His father and mother kneeled to him and said, “Gabriel, we know you are young and we understand you are scared, but you must keep your guard up.”

“This entire household has a weapon and Roy is protecting us from the wicked craft. Be strong…”

Gabriel nodded nervously, something sank deep in his heart and it worried him. “I promise…” Gabriel clutched at the crucifix around his neck with trembling hands. “I trust you.”

Johan and Grizelda smiled sweetly to their holy prince and encouraged him with a tight hug.

The family gathered in front of the fireplace, Grizelda lifted the wood panel and produced a charred red leather book and a silver bell mace. The midwife rang the bell and prayed in foreign language and a holy circle formed around Johan. Light shone at his hands and a heavy golden longsword formed in his clutches. The sword itself was in the shape of a cross and it was adorned with the depictions of the nine choirs. Gabriel, overwhelmed by the miracle he shed tears. It was similar to that of Roy’s

"You will fall victim to the bridal army,” a witch said, “You dwindle in numbers as the hail grows stronger.”

All of the windows of the house shattered cold winds and ice rushed in along with screaming witches. Grizelda striked a witch with her mace knocking her against the wall, she kicked at the stomach of another who chanted dark incantations immediately shutting her up and swinging down at her face.

Johan lifted the cross and slashed at three witches, many more closed in on him, he stabbed his sword to the ground and a holy fire pulsated across the room shooting the witches against the walls.

A young witch tackled Gabriel, her stomach made her too heavy to escape her. “No!” Gabriel screamed. “Mama! Padre!” The witch covered her ears as the chime of Grizelda’s mace rang all around the house, many witches agonized as their ears bled, many seazuring on the floor.

Gabriel shoved his fist at the witch and purple ice shards pierced through her skull. She fell lifeless on the ground. Roy lifted Gabriel by the arm and pulled him close. “Be more careful,” he said calmly. Gabriel couldn't help but wonder why he wasn’t fighting and how peaceful he seemed.

A shadow loomed in the house as the witches were less and less. The fallen witches stood on their feet, they were very similar to the dead woman from before. They were cursed to fight even in the afterlife. “You can’t escape us…” the witch’s voice said. “We will drag you all down to our fiery dungeon and feed you to our husband.”

Grizelda and Johan fought off the hoard, Grizelda rang the bell rhythmically and Johan’s blade combusted with white flames. The couple switched between of-fence and defense as they cast their miracles.

From the stairs a vile beast came down, he was taller than Roy and Johan and he was covered in gore and fur. “I am sure, you haven’t had the pleasure to meet my eldest son,” the disembodied voice laughed. Johan stared off to the broken window of the clinic, his ears twitched and picked up another sound. Distracted, the beast lounges at the redhead.

“Johan!” Grizelda shouts and rushes at the beast but she was too far away to protect him. Roy stepped in, hands clasped with the beast’s own and held it in place. Grizelda jumped and smashed her mace into the skull of the beast who screeches and backs away tripping into the staircase. Roy quietly muttered and his hands burned with rainbow flame. In unison, Grizelda and Roy fought the beast, Roy threw punches, the fur burned off with each contact and Grizelda shaved at the damaged hide with her silver mace.

Johan rushed through the clinic and jumped out the broken window and rolled onto his feet making a mad dash readying his cross. Gabriel couldn’t just stand there, he needed to help. He noticed the family shield across the room. The little Amesthyn ran and grabbed the shield and also climbed out the window following his father.

Even if Gabriel didn’t understand how his powers worked he will learn how to.

Without losing sight of his father’s red locks in the storm, Gabriel stomped into the dense snow trying to keep up.

Gabriel ran through The Dead Woods following his father when he heard the music from the night before. His heart almost stopped when he heard his father’s war cry and the clash of metals. The boy hid behind a tree, watching his father slash at the ice shards that were thrown in his direction. One shard almost his Gabriel, thankfully the child lifted the heavy shield and hid behind the tree in time to block it.

“I see you are no joke, Johan Amesthyn. But you are one of us, your blood yearns the song of our god.” It was the very witch that caused the storm almost a month ago, floating off the edge with an ice force field protecting her. “We are distant brothers. We are one and the same.”

Johan groaned and casted white fire bolt at the shield but it failed. “Oh? Are we losing strength?” the witch mocked. Johan dropped his sword to shield his ears. The music was loud but not as intolerable as one would think.

“To think the mighty Johan is weak to specific sounds. How ironic...” The witch smiled and casted a spell. Gabriel feared for his father, he had no time to bring his mother or Roy to help. The little one ran to his father with the shield in hand. He needed to deflect the spell somehow, the little Amesthyn’s heart almost burst out of its ribcage as he closed in the witch’s range. “Gabriel…! Stay back!” Johan panicked, the child ignored his pleas and stood his ground in front of his father.

The witch smirked as she shot thousands of shards at them, “Now you will know of our suffering as you lose your child to this war!”

Gabriel braced himself, screwed his eyes shut. “Gabriel!!” his father called. The ice embedded into the shield, the force of the ice pushed the child’s frame back, his feet digging into the snow. The shield he clutched in his hands became a wall of purpled ice.

Gabriel stood in awe at the massive wall before him. He hadn’t the slightest idea how his powers work but he was more than determined now to explore the possibilities.

The witch was annoyed. “Stupid brat… You always fuck everything up!”

Johan, angry, grabbed one of the massive spikes and blessed it with a holy prayer, electricity coursed through the makeshift spear and he tossed it at the witch, breaking through her shield and piercing her swollen stomach.

She stood still as the realization shook her with electricity. “N-no! No!” she cried as blood gushed down her stomach and legs. “No!” Electricity bounced off her skin, barely containing the surge of energy, and the witch exploded.

The storm slowly concluded, the strange music died down, there was finally silence.

Johan stared at the sky below the edge, he grabbed his sword and turned to the boy. “Gabriel… I now understand what is going on… I have some fault in this and I must restore order to our family name and our town…” the redhead kneeled and placed a hand on the boy’s face. “Never forget who you are, Gabriel. The Amesthyn name is more than a wicked secret… I love you and your mother to death.” The doting father kissed his son’s cheek before standing up. “Tell her I will be back soon…” his duo tone eyes spilled with tears.

“Where are you going?” Gabriel asked.

“I am not sure, just remember who you are and never lose sight of yourself… We meant every word we said before. You will be a great man when you grow up.” Johan said as he walked backwards into the cliff. “I love you, Gabriel. Remember as well, never tell a soul of our little secret,” he whispered and smiled before falling back into the abyss.