The next village was a simple town with very few people, but it gave everyone some time to relax. They had been travelling for more than two weeks, and it was starting to wear on the recruiters. Every time that Paxton and Goddard ran off with Mini, they wouldn't even bother searching from them anymore.

The other kids were all getting along really well, even Liz who would just smile and listen. They had shared songs, life stories, and even had inside jokes. It felt like they were truly becoming friends, even Paxton and Goddard had fun when they weren't on an adventure.

Their favorite joke was acting like a suicidal chicken, because Samson swears that he once saw a rooster jump from the top of his barn. They would make ridiculous impressions and flap their arms while pretending they were killing themselves.

The journey to Wizeman was getting shorter, partly because of good company. Goddard knew that he had another few days before he would need to get Freddy to join them, but there was something that had been bothering him for a while.

Mini.

The demoness had infiltrated their group so easily, it was almost as if she was trained to be human. The girl might look cute, but Goddard knew that under the illusion, Mini was the same demon that had killed him and his friends. Even though he saw a harmless little girl, he couldn't help but see his mortal enemy.

"Paxton, can I talk to Mini for a minute?" Goddard asked in front of Barrot and Samson.

"What for?" Paxton asked, putting up a front for their friends.

"I thought of something that might help find her parents, but it's kind of personal," Goddard excused his actions.

'Let me talk to her alone. I want to find the truth.' Goddard was saying.

"Okay, but don't stray too far," Paxton agreed with a cheerful smile.

'Fine,' Paxton was saying, 'but make sure the illusion doesn't fall.'

Goddard led Mini into the forest a good distance away, at the very edge of Paxton's illusion capabilities. Once they were safely far away, Goddard's cheerful demeanor suddenly dissipated, leaving only a deep resentment.

"Okay, Mini, it's time to tell the truth," Goddard growled. "Tell me everything you know about hell."

"What do you want to know?"

"Are you planning to invade?" Goddard got straight to the point.

"Yes!" Mini yipped brightly.

"When?" Goddard felt his heart rend as he waited for the answer.

"I don't know," Mini answered, shrugging her shoulders. Goddard's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets as he grabbed Mini by the shoulders and shook her violently.

"Don't lie to me," Goddard angrily groaned, trying to keep his voice down. "Nine years from now, demons invade and kill everyone! They're led by four demon lords: Mephisto, Gremory, Lucifer, and Lillith!"

Mini was about to cry, but her fear turned to confusion as she recognized Goddard's words. Goddard recognized this change, so he stopped shaking Mini even though he didn't let go.

"What is it?" demanded Goddard.

"Mephy, Grem, Lucy, and Lilly... they're my uncles. They... killed my daddy... and they want me!"

Goddard narrowed his eyes at Mini, pondering for a moment whether the kiddy was lying. She didn't know what was supposed to be doing, but Goddard's eyes were scaring her. Mini succumbed to his presence, withdrawing into herself as Goddard loomed menacingly.

"If what you're saying is true..." Goddard considered with still suspicion, "then that means your father... used to be a demon lord. Am I right?"

"Yes," Mini agreed, even though she was often left out of her father's business.

"Then that means..., you're a political target," Goddard stopped talking to Mini and began rambling to himself. "If the four demon lords from the future are coming for you, then maybe, I can be ready for them. It will take a lot of training, and the others will have to really be as strong as they used to be. But just maybe... if it's only the demon lords...."

"Um, Goddard?" Mini was profoundly confused as the big boy lost himself in thought.

"That's all for now," Goddard absent-mindedly shooed Mini away. "I need to think."

That night the recruiters made a resounding announcement. They would have to cut the path to Wizeman shorter than anticipated. They were running low on money and space, plus they couldn't handle another scholarship student. If things continued as they were, they wouldn't reach Wizeman before running out of money. It was a desperate situation, but the recruiters saw no other option.

"We've already recruited the quota, and we have more scholarship students than any previous year," the female recruiter acknowledged. "To be honest, I was hoping we could set a new record for students signed. Well, we'll be heading straight to Wizeman from here. It's a week long ride, but that should give us more than enough time to start the introductions for Wizeman."

"Introductions?" Barrot asked.

"Because it's a magical school for children around puberty, there are some things about Wizeman that you might find... disturbing."

"Like what?" Paxton had to ask.

"Well, we have a number of rooms and open areas for students to release... tensions," the recruiter awkwardly answered.

"Like fighting?" Samson guessed.

"Yes, among other things."

"As long as there's a kitchen," Barrot harumphed, and Liz grinned.

"Goddard," Paxton whispered to his brother, "are these rooms for what I think they are?"

"Oh yeah," Goddard answered with an enormous smile.

"From what you've told me, I seem to be a frequent visitor to these rooms," Paxton elaborated.

"You!? You had your own room, with a queue out front and a line down the hall! They even put a plaque on it to commemorate your achievements."

"Achievements? Like what?"

"You're the only student in history to have sex with your entire female class. Also, you did it with a succubus and a druid at the sime time."

"What's so special about that?"

"Both of them drain life energy, enough to kill twenty normal humans! Some guys can do one, but never both."

"I sound like a horny animal," Paxton mentioned with mixed feelings.

"Oh, it's not any fault of yours," Goddard whispered back. "It's something to do with all of the magic in your body. It intensifies hormones, or something to that effect. Also, I should warn you about the Talot."

"What's that?"

"It's when your adult magic grows in. It's a widening of the spirit and broadening of the mind.... It's also extremely painful."

"How painful?"

"On a scale of one to ten," Goddard thought for a second, "six thousand. But if you can bear with the pain, then you become even more poewrful."

"Really?" Paxton said, intruiged at the premise.

"Well, it has a lot of qualifying factors, but the longer someone holds it, the stronger their magic becomes. The research behind Talots didn't come to full fruition until a few years into the war, but it gave humans the edge we needed to start pushing the demons back."

"How does it work?" Paxton asked, listening intently.

Until Paxton and Goddard went to sleep, they talked about the Talot. It would always start as a headache, then it would branch into seven different categories of pain. Their was stabbing, crushing, burning, breaking, freezing, electrifying, and draining. Each of these pains offered their own traits for increasing magic, including proficiency and efficiency.

The pain would gradually grow until it was all consuming. There was no cieling, no upper limits, the pain never stopped if it was not stopped. The longest anyone had ever held it was Samson, who held the record of four days and six hours.

He had beaten the previous record by four days and two hours.

Samson described the experience as: 'being torn into pieces, melted down, poured into a mold, frozen solid, then cut into pieces again'.

That night, when the brothers lay to rest, Goddard had an itching feeling at the back of his mind. There was something nagging him, something very important that he must have forgotten. Goddard turned in his bed, facing up at the ceiling with an introspective gaze.

From the ceiling dropped an invisible person, falling onto the bed with a dagger in it's hands. Goddard barely had time to roll away before the knife was plunged into the mattress. Goddard landed on all fours, putting up a defensive shield before taking a moment to try and find the invisible intruder. The only telltale sign was that a knife was pulled out of the bed by an invisible force.

"Who are you?" Goddard demanded, his mind tracking the position of his sword. The invisible assassin started towards Goddard, keeping the knife close without making it too obvious. The knife suddenly stabbed towards Goddard, but the boy was prepared for it. He grabbed for the handle, expecting to feel an invisible hand around it.

Goddard grabbed the hilt with no obstruction, which meant that the assassin had let go.

The instant Goddard had this realization, there was an arm around his neck that squeezed tightly. Goddard reached back, trying to get to the face of the assassin, but the hand that held the dagger was grabbed by an invisible force. The point of the dagger was brought down over Goddard's chested, then plunged into his magical defenses. The dagger pushed past his magic, breaking the skin underneath.

"I win," came Paxton's voice, and Goddard realized who was attacking him.

"Damnit, Paxton," swore Goddard angrily, "I thought you were going to stop this!"

"Not until you can survive me," Paxton said with a smug grin. He withdrew the dagger, putting it into a sheathe on his belt that then turned invisible. "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

Paxton returned to his own bed where he crawled underneath the covers, leaving Goddard sitting on the cold foor catching his breath.

"I've gotta put a bell on that kid," Goddard mumbled as he crawled back into his own bed.