• Kite watched Evean walk down the hall, noting his bloodied fingers, before he turned and strode the opposite way. He walked past the maids, the butlers and through the great entrance out onto the lawn and slipped into a black Benz. “Your late.” He commented taking a bottle of water from the floor compartment,
    “Apologies, Kite. I thought you said 4.” The young man sitting opposite him smiled, his blue eye’s crinkling at the corners. With shaggy blonde hair and a surfer’s tan, Thompson Kalthuro looked like the leader of a surf band, not a Yowlai daemon. The Yowlai daemons where a hybrid of a human and a type of large lizard found in the southern coastal region of Australia. While not true demons, they possessed certain traits that were strange, even by vampyric standards. Kite smirked at Thompson then leaned forward and snagged a bottle of water from the small frig set in the floor,
    “You’re right on time as always.” Thompson nodded and leaned back with a sigh
    “So what’s the dear old psychopath up to today?”
    Kite frowned at Thompson and sighed heavily “What’s scariest is how not psycho he is at times. Evean can be completely sane in his insanity, if that makes any sense.” Kite sipped from his bottle and glanced out the window as they winded through the city. “The scariest thing is how Evean feels about others. How he can talk about slaughtering hundreds of humans like you or I talk about the weather.”
    Thompson frowned “What does Raven have to say about this?”
    “Not much. Raven’s been twitchy since he came back from Russia and I haven’t had the time to chat with him.” Kite leaned back, his frown deepening “You know, Ravens even stranger than Evean though not as cruel. Did you know he barely Feeds?” Thompson’s eyes widened as Kite continued “Raven feeds maybe twice a month and yet he’s stronger than any Council member. Strange as that is Evean has more strength than he should, no matter how much he feeds.” Kite glanced at Thompson and noticed a folder lying on the seat. Kite frowned as he noticed the name on it and leaned forward, taking it and flipping it open. Thompson said nothing as Kite flipped through it, his frown deepening.
    “Its Council orders Kite. I’m not doing it because I want to.”
    Kite closed the folder, “Why would the Council be interested in low level Retainers like Kat and myself?”
    “Their not. Its Raven their interested in and why he doesn’t feed but twice a month. And you and Kat are the closest to them, have been for years. Council wants to know all th….” Thompson’s voice faded, sounding more like the social worker who had brought Kite and Kat into the Birchwood Manor.
    “It’s a large manor according to my knowledge of the Birchwood’s home. I think you’ll enjoy it!” the woman’s false cheer seemed to bounce off the silent children in the backseat. Kite, 6, and Kat, 4, still wore their black mourning clothes from the funeral. Their parents had died in a car crash 3 months earlier, leaving the Matinsi-Luciannado children with a huge amount of debt and after the house, car, and all their savings had been taken, Kat and Kite where being sent to live with their uncle. Kite remembered his Uncle Birchwood faintly, a large man who had smiled a lot, his wife, who never smiled, and their 2 baby boys but that had been when he was 2. Kite stared out the window, eyes wide, as the car pulled up to Birchwood manor and Kat sleeping on his shoulder, woke with a start.
    “Alright, let’s go see if anyone is home.” The social worker led Kite, with Kat clutching his hand, up the steps and pressed one finger to the intercom “Hello? I’m here with the Matinsi-Luciannado children.”
    “That doesn’t work no more. Ish broken.” Kite jumped as a small boy crawled out of the rose bush next to the door. Leaves tangled in his hair, small scratches on his cheeks, the boy smiled widely at them as they stared at him. Kat giggled.
    “Who are you, little boy?” asked the social worker politely then gave a shriek as another boy rushed past her, whacking her ankles with a rose stem.
    “Don’t you talk to Raven!” the 2nd boy scowled, standing next to the first and glaring at Kite and Kat. His own hair was filled with mud, had a scratch under one eye and he was an exact duplicate in looks with his brother.
    “I’m Raven and this is my brother Evean. We’re the Birchwood twins! Our daddy sent us to meet you and bring you to the tea party out back.”Raven grinned, oblivious to Eveans angry glare, and Kite wrapped an arm around Kat warily.
    “Well I’ll just leave you children to your new family then.” The worker backed down the steps, keeping an eye on Evean, and ran a little ways to her car, quickly driving off. Kite gaped after her ‘Sh-she just left us here?! With the psycho twins!?’ he thought in shock then jumped as Raven took Kat’s hand
    “I’m Raven!”
    Kat smiled “I'm Kat. Kite’s my big bwother.” She walked down the steps with Raven as he chattered about the tea party