Lazarus povAlister is way stronger than he looks. My boy grabs my arm and nearly drags me into the field without batting an eye. All I can do is gape at him. “Come on, move your big legs, dad,” he mutters the encouragement that sounds oddly like an insult.I choose to ignore his words to keep up the peace. No matter how stressful our life is, I don’t want to argue with my son. He’s just a child, after all. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” I laugh as he keeps tugging on the sleeve of my shirt. Funny how he can barely see past the grass that is nearly as tall as him, but Alister is still determined to reach his goal. All things aside, this, too, worries me. Everyone around us has always insisted my boy is special, but now, I finally see the observations have been more than just a praise to his talents. Alister is special in his own way, in a way I could never understand. And now, as he walks closer to a place I fear as much as I am dying to see it, I wonder how my boy is connected to t

Luka pov“Wait,” Than mutters and runs a hand through his oddly near hair. “Go back a bit and explain the bit about the murderous trees, please.” “Haven’t Lenox mentioned anything about them?” I frown. Deep down, I know that answering his plea with a question is just wasting time. It’s bad, I know, but also, I wish to waste someone’s else’s time for once too. “Perhaps I’m too old and forgetful, but no. Also, I find it a little weird that you mention the gates of hell, but I don’t feel a presence powerful enough to shift the energy in mortal’s realm,” Than explains and mimics my frown. This back and forth conversation won’t go anywhere, so I decide to offer a compromise only a fool would ignore. “How about you tell me everything I want to know and I tell you everything I learned while I was away? Sounds fair, doesn’t it?” I’m really hopeful he will. Dealing with whatever is happening would be so much easier if I got all the details in check. I don’t like addressing the issues I ha

Alister povDad looks so worried, I almost don’t want to go anymore. But I have to. If I want mommy to live and the monster to leave her, I don’t have any other chance. Before I turn my back on dad and the creature in his arms, I look at the thing he calls a baby and huff. Why can’t everyone else see the same things I do? Why can’t they understand the destruction she will bring? “Not everyone has been given the gift you have, some are bound to remain blind to the truth,” the garden’s whispers surround me, both answering my questions and calling for me at the same time. Shaking my head, I spin on my heel and take off, ignoring dad’s voice as he calls after me. I know I’m getting myself in serious trouble by not listening. I know he will tell me I’m grounded once we return home, or even take some of my toys, but I don’t mind paying the price. Perhaps, he will accept that some things have to be done for a greater good and let me be. Whatever the consequences are, I’ll accept them.

Felix povOkay, I might have underestimated how far those bloody shadow forests are. Seriously, it’s already getting dark and I feel like I have been walking for years. It doesn’t help that everything in this part of the forest is starting to merge into one, big mess. I can’t keep track of the times I already tripped on something and I keep doing the same nearly every two steps I take. “Lenox Vincent, where are you? Come here and grab your death tools, I’m tired,” I hiss under my breath but still push forward. If he is already there, doing whatever a crazy person does in the middle of a creepy forest, he needs me to get there as soon as possible. I’m not sure when I changed my opinion of him as someone I need to escape to someone I need to reach as fast as I can, but that doesn’t matter. What does is he can’t do without his tools, the same things I’m carrying around. After another time of nearly kissing the ground, I stop and lean against the tree to rest a little. The water is g

Lazarus povI have no idea how much time has passed and while I sit here, with a baby in my arms, I can’t help but feel completely fucking useless. My son is in a place I don’t trust. The baby I’m holding keeps sleeping as if she’s in a coma - no signs of life other than the obvious raising and falling of her tiny chest. My wife is locked away, parents do whatever the fuck they do and my brothers - I don’t even have any idea what is up with them both. How the fuck did we get stuck in this loop of madness? Another roar of thunder echoes around me, so I look up at the sky. Perhaps Alister is right - it really looks like the sky is raging because it demands something to be returned. Or, more precisely - someone. I pry my eyes off the sky and look back at the calmly sleeping baby. She’s a thing of beauty - perfection, no matter how long I look at her. Ophelia looks like a mix of Sarah and Lenox, in a way, as if mother nature gifted her the best parts from each parent. At one point, I