The trip to the car was uneventful. They found the old Honda stored in the auto shop, a secret Derrick had kept for such a time. As soon as the doors opened, Midnight had jumped into the back as if he knew what was going on and they soon were on the road and heading out of the small town they’d briefly called home. Derrick drove the car, the man silent as the sun set and twilight crept into existence. Seth was equally quiet, looking out the window as they drove and half expecting a giant to show up and stomp on them, or a witch to come by and turn them into frogs, or any other random shit to pop out of the forest and do something unexpected.

Midnight stuck his head in between the front seats and, out of habit, Seth scratched him behind the ears without sparing the dog…or whatever it was…a glance. As the sky darkened the forest only became more eerie. After all, night was the time monsters tended to show themselves in stories. Luckily, Derrick drove at a good pace and it was hard to make out the details in shadows between the trees, though at times he thought he saw eyes looking back at him, glowing in the darkness. Monsters. Or it could just as easily be a trick of his mind and the last bits of light that filtered through the leaves.

“So…” Derrick finally broke the silence after they’d been driving about thirty minutes, “Do you want to start with questions, or…?” He left the last a question itself as he glanced at Seth. The silence was finally getting to him.

“I want you to tell me what the hell happened back there, and how you know so much about it.” Seth’s gaze turned to study his friend, his friend who he thought he’d known everything about. His brother in all regards except by blood. It was amazing how little it took to shatter his view and ideas of the man he’d known for so long. And also his views of the world in general.

“Those creatures back there were demons. They were summoned by a Chaotic, and a very powerful one if I had to guess by the number there were and the extra spells that were on them.” Derrick seemed uneasy as he spoke, Seth noticed. Whatever those things had been, it had really spooked the other man. That was a bad sign that whatever these ‘demons’ were would be bad news. “There are only a few known Chaotics that could do that.” Derrick paused and swallowed audibly. “The weird part is, I think they were looking for you.”

“For me? Why would they would be looking for me?” The words caused fear shoot through Seth like it was a physical chill, and his voice to momentarily go up an octave. Yet, despite his fear, he’d known those creatures were after him. It was obvious. But it was scary as hell to actually hear it.

“I’m not really sure. They’ve never come after a half breed before that I know of.”

“Half breed?” Seth asked a bit exasperatedly, no longer surprised by anything he heard after what had happened and the day thus far. “What do you mean by half breed?” Derrick was silent and looked thoughtful yet unsure of his response. Seth was tired of the secrets. “Derrick.” His voice was stern, bordering angry as he stared down his friend.

Derrick finally answered though his voice was soft and strained as if he really didn’t want to be talking about it, his eyes shifting back and forth like he was checking if someone was listening. “You’re half Human and half Earth Mender, or Earthen, as they tend to be called.”

Seth would have driven Derrick straight to a mental facility. Now, though, well he thought he might need to go to a facility instead. “What the hell is an Earthen?” It was very hard to keep the annoyance from his voice as he spoke now. He also recalled the word that he had spoken to midnight earlier and, since he was asking questions, “What’s a Haven?”

A heavy sigh escaped from Derrick and Seth stared at him as more silence settled into place. Seth could tell his friend was thinking, and while he wanted no more then to wring the truth out of him. he knew it would be better if he waited for Derrick to freely offer the information. “Look,” Derrick finally started, then paused a moment and Seth quirked an eyebrow at him. “I know you have a lot of questions, I understand that, but I can’t really answer them all right now. If you just wait a couple of hours we’ll at the Haven and your mother can explain it all.”

Dead silence. Seth felt the world begin to spin around him. “My mother…Is alive?” His voice was halting and soft as shock washed over him like a bucket of ice water. Seth saw Derrick stiffen and that was enough of a response for him. “Pull over,” he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. Derrick only seemed hesitant but wasn’t even slowing down so Seth reached down in between them and pulled the hand break up with all of his strength. A cry of surprise came from Derrick as the car squealed and swerved to an eventual stop with Derrick gripping the steering wheel tightly. Seth didn’t wait for the other man to say anything as he flung open the door and stepped out of the car before it stopped completely, trying to keep his hands from shaking as they balled into fists.

They were in the middle of the forest on a two-lane road that was rarely used. It was an old road covered in potholes where the asphalt had long since disintegrate. There were no other vehicles in sight and chances were there wouldn’t be one for a time if at all. The twilight had faded away but a mostly full moon shone bright on the road, illuminating everything in a ghostly pale light.

After Seth got out he slammed the car door shut and started pacing next to the car, hands balled into fists as conflicting emotions ran through him like free-flowing water. His mother was alive? His entire life he’d thought he was an orphan but his mother was actually alive? And even worse Derrick had known about it this entire time and said nothing? Confusion and anger, even a tinge of hate and a boatload of mistrust. Then sadness and rage. His emotions were in turmoil and he was barely keeping it suppressed. Midnight was sitting a few feet away, watching him. Seth hadn’t even seen him get out of the car.

“Seth,” Derrick called over the car, having exited once it stopped. “C’mon man get back in. We have to keep moving so they don’t find us.” When Seth didn’t get back in or even acknowledge him Derrick came around the car and reached out to grab Seth’s shoulder. Seth didn’t give him the opportunity as he whirled towards him and punched Derrick straight in the nose. Derrick staggered back in surprise, reaching up to his nose and pulling it away when he felt the wetness, eyes widening in surprise when he saw the blood on his fingers.

“You knew.” Seth seethed, the words coming through clenched teeth. “This whole time you knew that my mother was alive and you didn’t tell me.” Seth’s hands were clenching and unclenching as he spoke, the next words coming out in an angry shout. “How long have you known, huh? How long have you been ‘protecting’ me without me even knowing about it? How long have you been lying to me?”

Derrick was shocked. Seth had never acted this way before and Derrick didn’t seem to know how to respond. Seth had never been violent or even angry. Seth was usually the calm one.. “Look it’s not what you think,” Derrick pinched the bridge of his nose and squinted his eyes at the obvious pain, trying to stop the bleeding. It didn’t help much as drops of blood splashed silently on asphalt. “I was born a Guardian, just as you were born a half breed. Neither of us had a choice.”

“How are you born into protecting someone?” Seth snapped, a fire in his eyes unlike anything ever before. There was a passion within him that had never had a reason to be released until now.

“When we were born,” Derricks voice was nasily since he continued to pinch the bridge of his nose, head tilting back. But at least he was still talking. “We were Linked together. Didn’t you ever wonder why we always knew if the other was in trouble or hurt? That’s part of the Link. That’s how I was made to protect you.”

“So what, this whole time, our whole lives the only reason you’ve been my friend is because you were forced to protect me?” Seth kicked at a clod of dirt, sending it flying into a nearby tree and turning away as it burst into smaller pieces.

“Look, I’m sorry that I lied to you but I didn’t have a choice. I can’t explain it right now, it’d take too long to go into all the details and we need to keep moving. I promise I’ll answer all your questions. And,” Derrick released the hold on his nose, the blood having slowed its dripping, “Your mom will answer the questions that I can’t.”

The anger ebbed from Seth as he forced himself to calm down, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. “We’re going to see her now?” When he spoke his voice was calmer, if still a bit strained.

“Yes, she lives at the closest Haven. She’s always lived as close as she could since you were born no matter where you lived.”

Seth processed this information in silence. He was still angry though not as much as before. And even as he thought about it he realized how fast he’d come to anger, something that he was not prone to do. There were still so many questions left unanswered but he believed Derrick that he would get all of those answers. Eventually. The last of the anger faded away and Seth looked up at Derrick before letting out a soft sigh. “Are there any rags or towels in the trunk?” He was no longer shouting and in fact sounded as calm as always. He didn’t wait for an answer as he walked past Derrick to pop the trunk and look inside. Eyebrows shot up as he looked inside the trunk and saw the metal of a number of swords, daggers, and even an axe glint in the moonlight. A slow exhale escaped as he realized it shouldn’t be that shocking, not if Derrick was telling the truth. After a moment of careful digging he found a first aid kit.

Seth returned to Derrick and made him sit on the edge of the car as he pulled out some gauze, wadding it up and pushing it against the bottom of Derrick’s nose to help stop the bleeding. “Tilt your head back. Hold this.” He saw Derrick wincing it pain but he didn’t care at the moment. Bunching another bit of gauze up, Seth dripped saline from the first aid kit onto it, using it to wipe the rest of the blood from Derricks face. Once he was mostly cleaned up Seth said, “Get in, I’ll drive.”

Seth drove in silence for a few minutes, driving slowly to avoid any of the larger potholes on the road. “For someone who’s supposed to protect me you don’t react very fast.”

“I never expected my best friend to sucker punch me.” Derricks voice came out high pitched since he was still babying his nose.

“I’d do it again. Maybe you should be happy that’s all I did.”

“When did you become so evil?”

“When I found out my best friend has been lying to me my entire life. Why don’t you pick up where you left off and I’ll try not to break anything else.”

Derrick lowered the bloody gauze from his nose, the bleeding finally having stopped. He wiped the last remnants of dried blood before dropping the gauze to the floor of the car. “Where was I...my brain is still a little rattled-…” Derricks attempt at humor fell on deaf ears and his grin faded as he saw the hard glare from Seth. “Okay, sorry. Uh, let me see, that’s right. I’m your Guardian, I was born to protect you and I have since we were kids. Midnight was born to protect you too. Though as you may have noticed he’s not a normal wolf.”

“Wolf?” Seth glanced into the back seat to see the dog…no, the wolf. It made sense now with the elongated snout and the gold eyes. Why hadn’t he seen it before? Midnights tongue lolled out and he could almost see it as the wolf smiling. “No I guess he’s not.” He ran over a pot hole that jarred the whole car and he turned to pay attention to the road again.

Derrick wisely didn’t comment on the driving, instead continuing, “I can only tell you what I know. He’s a Spirit Animal. Your Spirit Animal. I don’t know much about them really. All I know is that I’ve never seen anyone else with a wolf before.” Midnights head popped between the chairs as it had before, the wolf staring at Seth. “They’re as intelligent as humans though, or rather their as intelligent as their Earthen.” Derrick reached up to scratch Midnight behind the ears, the wolf’s eyes half-closing in bliss.

“So he’s a smart wolf. I guess that explains some things. I’m glad I never said anything bad about him.”

“He wouldn’t hurt you anyways, though you could have made him upset.” Seth contemplated what he’d heard so far. He was just about to ask Derrick to continue when his friend started again on his own. “As for us, we were born around the same time. That’s why our birthdays are so close. You weren’t supposed to have a Guardian since you weren’t full blooded, but you were a special case.

“There’s a ceremony held every month to see if any Guardian children link with an Earthen. From what I’ve gathered half-breeds can’t Link. But you and I did. Not only was it quick, but it went from the Ceremonial Grounds all the way to your mom’s home. It’s the furthest anyone has linked, according to my trainer.” Derrick paused a moment before continuing, “There was a Guardian trainer in town. We trained any time you and I weren’t together and that’s how I became skilled with weapons. I had to down play my knowledge to fit in.”

Seth was silent as he absorbed what Derrick had said. It was a lot of information. A lot of very weird and unreal information. The world he’d known was only the surface, it seemed. The peace in his life, his normal life, had been disrupted with a vengeance. “How long have you known?”

“Since I was eight. That’s when I started training.”

“Fifteen years?” That was a long time to live a secret life. Seth had no clue how Derrick had managed it. Of course, looking back now he could remember times when something was off, an odd word spoken or a weird action taken. It made more sense now. But there was still too much he didn’t know. The rest of his questions he would ask once he saw his mother. A mother he’d thought long dead.

***

They had been driving for over an hour before Derrick had Seth pull down a small side road that ended abruptly after only a few hundred feet. “We have to walk from here.” Derrick instructed. They took their weapons with them, Derrick gave Seth a sword belt to so he could wear his katana. From the trunk they each took a small dagger though Seth was unsure if he’d want to get close enough to those demons to use it. Then again better to have it and not need it. Derrick pulled a long heavy looking sword from further in the trunk and Seth quirked an eyebrow curiously. “Great sword,” Derrick said simply as he drew a set of buckles over his torso before putting the great sword in the large leather sheath on his back. It would’ve been impossible to carry it at his belt.

Once they were done Derrick closed the trunk and they followed Midnight into the woods. The wolf seemed to know where he was going and Seth followed quietly with Derrick bringing up the rear. Moonlight shone through the trees in patches providing some light, though not enough to move at more than a walk. There was no path, not even a game trail that they could follow, and so there was no choice but to trust Midnights sense of direction. Slowly they went, picking their way over branches, dead trees, and crunching on twigs and leaves.

As they traveled, a throbbing headache began behind Seth’s eyes and he reached up to rub his forehead. “How far is this Haven you’ve been talking about?” He was tired and still moderately confused, two good reasons why his head was likely hurting. As upset as he still was at Derrick, talking might help ease some tension from his head.

“About five miles or so.” Derrick was looking around as he spoke watching the shadows carefully, something that made Seth more worried instead of less. “I expect we’ll be greeted before then though.”

“Greeted?” Seth asked in a somewhat suspicious tone as he narrowed his eyes at Derrick, “By who or what?”

“UnLinked Guardians, Uni’s.” Seth must’ve looked even more confused than before, or maybe Derrick just felt bad because he explained, “Uni’s either never Linked when they were young or their Earthen died. There has always been more Guardians than Earthen. Someone once said the planet had done that on purpose though no one has ever really told me why. They guard the area surrounding the Haven to ensure that no demons or Chaotics try and come in.”

“What about regular people?” Seth paused briefly before amending, “Humans. What if they find it?”

“Well if a regular human comes too close they usually kill them or take them prisoner and use them as slaves for the rest of their lives.”

Seth looked shocked and tripped over a large root sticking out of the ground. Luckily he managed to keep his footing. “What? Are you serious?”

“No.” Derrick laughed and Seth felt stupid having fallen for such a stupid joke, mentally restraining himself before he punched Derrick again. “The Haven is protected against being found by Humans. You have to know how to get in and be an Earthen or Guardian. Otherwise if you walk through the area it takes you from one side to the other. People never even know.”

“That wasn’t funny. I’ve never met these people so I don’t know what they may or may not do. You should be nicer before I break your jaw instead of your nose.” In retrospect the joke had been a good one, but Seth wasn’t in the mood to be joked with at the moment. Not when he was still trying to get a bearing on everything that was going on. It also didn’t help that his headache was getting worse despite trying to distract himself.

“Whoa, calm down,” Derricks hands came up in a peaceful gesture. “It was a joke, alright? You need to relax.”

Derrick was still grinning and Seth felt his anger start to rise again. “Whatever.” He muttered as he picked up his pace leaving Derrick to catch up. Midnight continued to lead, always standing in a stream of moonlight ahead so they knew where to go. When he moved out of the moonlight into the shadows he disappeared and it made Seth feel like he was following a ghost. The wolf was very well named.

After picking their way through the dark forest for almost an hour Midnight stopped, then sat down with his tail wagging slowly in long elegant movements. Seth caught up to the wolf for the first time since they’d entered the forest. “What is it?” He asked the wolf, following Midnights gaze as it looked up into the trees. There was an owl staring back at them from a low branch.

“That’s odd.” Derricks voice was confused and when Seth glanced at him he saw his friends face wore a matching expression. “It’s an Earthens owl. Why would they be patrolling?” Despite the situation Seth took a bit of sick joy from Derricks confusion, thinking that after all that had happened today it was time for someone else to be confused. They didn’t have long to wait as a person in black clothing appeared from the darkness of the shadows. Seth was immediately unsettled at how the man had approached so silently and his hand reached for the sword at his side automatically, as if he always went straight for weapon. Then again how often did people appear in front of you out of the dark in the woods? At least if they weren’t some kind of serial killer. Before Seth could even begin to draw his sword a twig snapped directly behind him causing him to stiffen and pause. He knew without looking that someone else was behind him, likely with a weapon at the ready. Tension filled the air and Seth wondered which one of them would be skewering him. He fought monsters earlier and now would be killed by people. How fitting.

Derrick had no such tension as his confusion gave way to relief when he saw the man. “Carter!” He smiled widely and stepped forward to shake hands with the man in front of them. “It’s damn good to see you my friend.” Seth felt himself relax at Derrick’s words, at least partially. There was still enough uncertainty about the whole situation that he would never be fully relaxed but it was a small step.

“Haven’t seen you in a while.” The shadow man said when he returned the hand shake. “What brings you up here so late? Is everything alright?” Dark eyes moved past Derrick to Seth and he felt himself tensing back up at the deathly stare. “Who’s your friend?”

“Ah yes. Carter this is Seth, Seth meet Carter.”

“The half-breed?” Carter raised an eyebrow curiously as he gave Seth a careful look over.

“Yes. And my Linked Earthen.” Derricks tone only changed by the slightest amount but it was enough for an unspoken threat if Carter said anything bad. That was something that Seth hadn’t really expected from Derrick.

Seth could sense more tension, this time between the two others, and so he quickly stepped forward extending his hand towards Carter. “Nice to meet you Carter. Sorry to intrude but we were attacked and this is where Derrick said we had to go.”

“Attacked?” The tension left like it had never existed and instead Carter seemed curious as his gaze turned to Seth. They shook hands after only a brief moment before he asked. “By who?”

“Demons.” Derrick interjected before Seth could respond, the Guardian giving Seth a glance to indicate silence for the moment. “We came to report; and also so he could meet his mother.” There was a brief pause before Derrick spoke again quickly trying to pass the sensitive subject. “What are you doing patrolling? I thought they had you in the think tank.”

“They did, until they were afraid I was getting too smart. At least, that’s my opinion. Now I patrol like any other Uni. But enough of that.” Carter pointed to the owl overheard peering down at them idly as it occasionally sidestepped back and forth. “Tess went on ahead to tell everyone you were coming so they’d be ready for you. In fact, we should get moving.” He motioned for them to follow as he led the way. When he passed Midnight he glanced down at the wolf suspiciously but said nothing. The animal only wolf-grinned up at him before following. The mention of another person made Seth turn around only to realize no one was there. Had they left when he’d been distracted talking with Carter or had he only been imagining a second person. Seth knelt down and searched the ground, finding the broken twig after a moment. It was placed so obviously that he knew someone had left it deliberately. They came with the snapping of a twig and then left silently. A shudder went down his spine as he stood and followed after the others, hearing only the last bit of what they’d been talking about.

“-wondering what it could mean.” Carter was telling Derrick. His voice didn’t carry far and Seth could barely hear from where he walked only a few feet back. It didn’t help that the other two walked with near silent steps while just about every step of Seth’s created a crack or crunching sound on the forest floor. “Everyone has their own idea,” Carter continued as neither seemed to notice the elephant trampling behind them, “But for now the Earth is in good shape and there hasn’t been much Chaos to fight against so no one is complaining.” The discussion made Seth’s head spin. He refrained from asking questions for the moment, saving them up for the upcoming meeting. It didn’t help that his headache was bad and only getting worse with thinking.

***

They were walking for a good half an hour with Derrick and Carter talking quietly as they went, too quietly now for Seth to hear more than every few words spoken. Seth followed behind, silently going over the day’s events in his mind and thinking about what the next few hours would entail. Or unveil. A world he’d never known, a mother he’d thought long since dead, two keepers that have guarded him for years without his knowledge and one of those wasn’t even human. Midnight walked next to Seth, tail wagging very much like a tame dog when Seth glanced at him. The wolf would occasionally raise its nose to sniff at the air as he walked, sampling the smells for danger Seth guessed.

Seth looked back at his feet, picking his path as carefully as he could in the limited light in a horrible attempt at moving quieter. He was so focused on his feet that he didn’t notice Carter had stopped until he almost ran into the man. He hadn’t heard them stop. but then again he hadn’t heard them while they were moving. Between the pounding headache and the noise he’d been making it was no surprise he ran right up on the pair.

They had stopped in the middle of the forest and as far as Seth could tell there was nothing but more forest beyond. There was nothing special within view, no people, no animals, and certainly no ‘Haven’. While Seth watched, Carter walked forward to where two trees stood a few feet apart, one of them bent oddly in a 45 degree angle at the top and the other leaning at a slight angle. As he watched, Carter reached into his pocket and pulled out a small stone, completely smooth and no larger than his big toe. Carter held the stone up to the angled tree and rested it against the rough bark and...nothing happened. Seth was starting to wonder if Carter was a little crazy like the rest of them when suddenly the bark around the stone began to glow a soft green. It was barely visible with the bright moonlight but it was there. Carter took a step back and tapped the second tree with the stone lightly. The air a foot past the trees started to shimmer as if Seth was looking at it when it was superheated. The shimmer dropped and so did Seth’s jaw as a whole new world appeared before them.

“Welcome to the Haven.”

Surprise was plain on Seth’s face at what world had just opened up before them. Buildings and houses were made of a mixture of dirt, wood, moss and stone and each one was unique. In reality it looked like all the houses had simply come out of the ground as they were, giving them an entirely natural feeling. Leaves covered what would be doors and windows, providing a natural barrier between the occupants inside and those outside. The night was lit up along the walkways by some strange creature that Seth had never seen before. They appeared to be giant fireflies, though the glow they let off was a soft blue that lit the ground and surrounding area without being overbearing.

The people beyond wore clothes that were either entirely made of green leaves crafted skillfully into clothing, or woven of wool or cotton. The colors did not vary much, all of them mainly containing dark and earthy greens, browns, and a few yellows. With the strange earthly garb the people looked like nature had sprung to life and begun walking. If Seth hadn’t been so burnt out by the day’s events he would’ve laughed. They looked funny to him, these people in their clothing made of leaves. Either that or he was more tired than he thought. We’ve been traveling all night, Seth thought, I wonder what time it is. Maybe I’m just getting delirious from lack of sleep. He looked up at the sky but with all the trees it was hard to see anything that might give him an idea of time.

Carter led them along towards some of the earthen looking houses. As they walked Seth’s headache became more painful with every step, pounding like a drum against his skull. It caught him by surprise when one step brought a needle like pain that hurt so badly his vision became blurred. He managed to reach out and catch himself against a nearby house, a hand moving to his head quickly. Eyes closed, he willed the headache to go away but to no avail. Midnight let out a soft ‘yip’ to get the attention of the two Guardians, though even that slight sound drove a nail through Seth’s temple.

“You okay Seth?” Derrick sounded worried as he stepped to Seth’s side, reaching out a hand to lay on his shoulder gently.

“I’m okay,” Seth lied and pushed himself away from the house with a smile of encouragement. “I think I’m just tired is all.” It was easy to say but when he took that very next step the pain spiked once more. Another step and he fell to his hands and knees, then to the ground completely. The last thing he heard was Derrick calling to him in a panicked voice. Then there was nothing but darkness.