Lucy was awakened by a cold wind and the feeling of something moist hitting her hand. With a groan, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked around, shivering lightly as another wind blew through the little camp group. "What time is it?"

Jason glanced up at the gray sky and shrugged. "Morning... sun's rising just now I think."

"When did this storm come up?" Brandon has now awake, having been roused from his sleep by the roughening weather.

"Just came up actually," Jason was holding his jacket shut as protection from the rising wind. "Kinda all of the sudden..."

"What's going on here?" Janet awoke with a shiver as another blast of wind hit the group.

"Come on." Brandon stood up as Ray stirred; the dragon pushed himself into a sitting position and stared in wonder up at the gray sky. "We need to find some shelter before this gets much worse." Drops of rain began to hit the ground around the group as the party pulled themselves up, abandoning their camp in search of some place to get out of the rising storm.

"This is so weird!" Lucy had to shout for her voice to be heard over the howling wind. "Storms usually don't happen this quickly!"

"Well what else has happened to us that isn't weird?" Jason shouted back, drops of rain pelting his face as the group made their way hurriedly through the forest.

"Good point!"

"Come on! The forest is thicker away from the stream! We'll have more protection in there!" Brandon shouted and motioned for the group to follow as he lead them into the thicker foliage of the forest.

"Don't go too far or we'll never find our way back!" Janet cast a glance over her shoulder at the creek as they left it behind. The density of the forest didn't help much, and soon the group was drenched and shivering from the cold and ran.

"I think I see a cave up ahead!" Jason barely managed himself to be heard over the roaring wind as he called out to Brandon. The windian caught a glimpse of what he was talking about and nodded, leading the group to the shallow cavern. Shivering from the cold and soaked to the bone with rain, the group finally worked their way into the small cave.

It wasn't more then a few meters long, and was just barely large enough to hold the group with little room to spare.

"Damn, good thing this place was out here." Jason shivered as he shook some water from his hair.

"It's fr-fr-freezing..." Janet managed out with chattering teeth.

"Everything's too wet to start a fire with." Brandon was gazing outside the mouth of the cave, watching the storm rage on. Wind rushed by,howling loudly as it did and sheets of rain poured down. The group was just barely out of the reach of the weather. Brandon sighed as he leaned up against one of the cave walls.

"Well, looks like we won't be making it very far today."

Hours passed and still the storm raged on. The group sat shivering and huddled in the small cave, doing their best to warm themselves on the little fireball of Jason's Continual Light spell as it hovered above the windian's hand. Morning had gone to afternoon and afternoon to evening since the storm had started up. Now it looked like it was only getting worse.

"Great..." Janet shivered from where she was sitting, back pressed against the wall of the cave and staring at the fireball in Jason's right hand as he sat next to her. "Freezing rain and wind, no food all day, sitting in this stupid little cave... I'd rather fight more demons then spend the day like this."

"I wouldn't." Jason muttered. "And don't say that so loud, they might hear you and take you seriously."

"Actually, it looks like the storm is starting to let up." Brandon was sitting closest to the mouth of the cave and was watching the weather. The rain and wind had seemed to calm down a little, and the cloudy sky was looking less menacing.

"Good, I was wondering if we'd have to spend all night in here too." Lucy rubbed her eyes.

"Maybe it would be better if we did." Ray glanced outside the cave to the darkened gray sky. "It'll be night time soon, and this storm could pick up again. It would be safer if we just stayed in here."

Brandon shook his head. "I at least want to get a little farther today or else these past hours have just been a waste. Besides, it looks like the worst of the storm is over. Should be easy going once the rain stops."

"If you say so." Ray sighed. The windian seemed to know what he was talking about, so Ray had never minded letting Brandon call the shots. Besides, the dragon thought. This group is probably better off listening to Brandon instead of me. No telling how they'd follow orders if I was the one giving them.

Just as quickly as it had started up, the storm died down again, and the group found themselves in what felt like a new world. There was a sweet aroma in the forest as water dripped from the leaves of the trees lazily. The stillness after the rain seemed less ominous then the stillness that the forest had held earlier. Even the sky, gray and darkened from clouds seemed safer then the darkened skies the group had dealt with earlier. Sore, cold and hungry, the group made their way out of the cave and into the newly washed world.

"Come on," Brandon motioned to his companions. "We'll try and find the stream again and start out from there."

"I know we've been here before already..." Lucy glanced around the small clearing curiously.

"Great, we're walking in circles." Janet complained. "I knew we shouldn't have gone so far away from the stream!"

"We'll be fine." Brandon sighed. "I've been leaving marks so we'll know where we've gone."

"Yea, marks like that one there?" Jason pointed to a notch in the trunk of a nearby tree. Brandon gazed at it in wonder.

"I told you we were going in circles!" Janet groaned loudly. "For the past hour we've just been walking around here!"

"No, just hush a moment, something's not right here." Brandon walked over to examine the mark carefully. It definitely looked like the marks Brandon had been leaving, but something about it didn't seem right.

"So now what...?" Janet shivered lightly and rubbed her arms.

"It's getting dark." Ray glanced up at the sky. No one had really paid much attention to the time since they had begun trying to find their way back to the creek, but suddenly everyone seemed to notice how late it was growing. Brandon nodded.

"Right, we'll just set up camp here then. It's too risky to head out into the woods now this close to sundown."

"There are those birds." Jason sighed as the familiar chittering and whistling sounded off in the distance. "Right on cue."

"Forget the birds, we need to find something to start a fire with." Janet began looking around for wood that wasn't too soaked to burn. The others soon joined her, and slowly they managed to get together enough material to start up a small campfire.

"This isn't much of a fire, is it..." Lucy was huddled between her brother and Ray as she did her best to warm herself by the fire.

"At least it's better then Jason's little fireball." Janet rolled her eyes.

"Hey! I tried, alright?"

"Don't you two even start..." Brandon gave the two windians a warning glance. Conversation died down and soon the sound of quiet chirping and chittering filled the darkness of the forest around the camp.

"We'll have to make up for lost time tomorrow." Brandon stretched as he spoke. "Jason, I'll stay up tonight, you need your sleep."

"I told you, I can't fucking get to sleep." Jason growled out in annoyance as he glared up at Brandon. The windian gave him a set look.

"Well then you can just try really hard tonight, because we'll all need to be rested for tomorrow." Jason's response was muttered and incoherent, and Brandon ignored it as the group did their best to make themselves comfortable on the damp ground and get some sleep.

Brandon was thinking about the marks he had been leaving on the trees earlier in the evening. I know I was leaving signs that we'd been to places, the windian gazed at the trees around him in thought. But I couldn't remember marking that tree like that... something didn't seem right about it. Brandon wasn't sure what, but he knew something was wrong. It's like someone else was out here marking the trees with us, trying to set us off course or something. Brandon picked up a stick from the fire, using it as a torch as he stood up and made his way from the cluster of sleeping people. He headed out into the night to find the tree Jason had pointed out to him earlier.

"Where are you going?" The sleepy voice of Jason made the windian guard stop in his tracks. Brandon glanced back over his shoulder at the red haired teen speaking to him.

"Out to look at something."

"Well don't go too far." Jason groaned and rolled onto his side, doing his best to make himself comfortable. Brandon continued out to find the marked tree.

There was something different about the cut in the tree. The windian guard squinted and leaned forward to get a better look at the mark. Something different, maybe not too different, but different enough. The cut was deeper in the bark of the tree, deeper then any mark Brandon could have made. There was also something in the direction of the cut. He wasn't sure what, but something about how it slanted across the tree. And it's longer then mine. Brandon thought curiously. I know I didn't make this mark. But then that left one question. Who did? The windian made his way back to the campfire, the whistling of the night birds continuing on the forest as he did. Tossing his mini torch back into the fire, the windian sat back down and stared into the flames.

"So what were you looking for?" Jason still wasn't asleep yet.

"That mark you pointed out earlier, I went to go look at it."

"Admiring your handiwork?" Jason yawned.

"Nah, just examining the mark. Something doesn't look right about it."

"Oh, Mr. Picky." Jason rolled his eyes. "Doesn't fit your standards?"

"No, I mean I didn't make that mark."

That was enough to make Jason go silent. Brandon spent the few moments of quiet to consider how the mark would have gotten on the tree. His moments of thought didn't last too long, and soon Jason was talking again, quieter this time, and with a sense of honest curiosity and wonder in his questions.

"So... who did make those?"

Brandon shrugged. "Hard to say. Haven't heard anyone else around here, so I wouldn't guess anyone is following us."

"Maybe it was a demon?" Something almost like worry began to hint into Jason's voice. Brandon shrugged again and began tapping the hilt of his rapier lightly.

"Could be, but then again there's been no sign of demons since we left Springton." Brandon motioned to the forest just outside the reach of the firelight. "Plus those birds out there don't seem to be worried about anything getting them."

Jason fell dead silent again, and Brandon could hear him shuffling around. A moment later and he spotted the windian scooting closer to the light of the fire. "Then maybe those aren't birds..."

Brandon gave Jason a curious look. "Maybe you're just paranoid."

"Maybe..." Jason stared into the flames. "But then again I think insomnia can do that to you."

Brandon nodded in silent agreement as he listened to the night sounds around him. He could hear the soft dripping of the leaves as they shook the last bit of water off of them. He could hear the sound of a quiet wind flowing through the forest, and watched the campfire flames dance in its movement. He could hear the sounds of the night birds chittering and chirping and whistling far off in the forest. If they are birds... He wasn't about to just dismiss Jason's idea as paranoia. It was true that many unexpected things had been happening to the group. It's strange that the lack of demons would happen as we slowly moved closer to the source, so maybe they haven't gone away, maybe they're just harder to spot now. Brandon couldn't help but notice that the sound of whistling and chittering was steadily growing closer. It wasn't noticeable at first, but the sounds were definitely closer now then they had been before. A strange feeling pricked the back of the guard's mind, and he peered into the darkness that surrounded the firelight. "Do you get the feeling someone's watching us?"

"Oh, so it's not just me?" Jason rubbed his eyes. "Shit, been awake for the past couple of nights, kept feeling like that." The windian shrugged. Brandon gave him an irritated look.

"And you didn't say anything about it?"

"Fuck! I just thought it was from the insomnia!" Jason stared back at Brandon in annoyance. "You all would have just called me paranoid then anyway!"

"Probably, but this would have been nicer to know about sooner." Brandon stood up and squinted into the darkness. There was no mistaking it this time, something was definitely watching the group.

"Birds have stopped." Jason glanced around with a shrug. "They do this every night. They start up, then they get louder, then they stop, then they start up again and it keeps going on." He sighed and yawned. "And I still fucking can't get to sleep."

"They've been doing this every night?" Brandon stared back down at Jason. "And you never found it strange?"

"Strange, what the fuck is strange now?" Jason rolled his eyes. "Is it strange when a giant floating horse breaks through a building and charges at you over air? Is it strange when a little kid gets sick? Is it fucking strange when a storm suddenly starts up for no reason? I think I've kinda lowered my standards for strange lately!"

"Well, because of that we may have a problem on our hands." Brandon tossed another piece of wood into the fire as he sat down again. "Tomorrow we need to move quickly and try and get out of these woods. It's not worth it to spend another night in here." The sound of chirping started up again from somewhere in the woods.

"Why? Think the fucking trees are watching you?" Jason yawned and stretched.

"Maybe." Brandon tapped the hilt of his rapier lightly. "At least the trees seem to be marking themselves to confuse us."

Jason went silent again for a few minutes. "Are you serious? You really didn't make that mark?"

Brandon nodded. "It's too different from the marks I've been leaving. It's too deep, too long for the short little notches I've been making in the trees. I don't even remember stopping at a tree like that in a clearing when we were searching for the creek earlier anyway."

"I just remember passing a few clearings while we were out." Jason cast a glance at the shadows around him. "I guess this does kinda look... holy SHIT!"

"What?" Brandon jumped up, hand reaching for his rapier as he peered into the darkness. "What did you see?"

Jason blinked and shook his head. "Nothing... man... guess I just saw a leaf fall or something. Looked like a shadow moved I guess." The windian sighed loudly. "Scared the shit out of me."

"Didn't help me much either." Brandon fluttered his wings lightly and sat back down. "Next time find a better reason to scream if you're going to scream."

"I didn't scream," Jason rolled his eyes. "I just exclaimed in a louder tone of voice."

"Right. Just try to get some sleep."

The night wore on as Brandon kept the fire going. Jason had stopped talking, but Brandon could tell the windian was still awake. He could hear him shifting around restlessly in the night. The chittering noises had stopped too, for the third time that night. Brandon had been thinking about the sound as he watched the flames dance in the cold breeze that blew over the group. He was trying to remember any type of bird that made the noises he had been hearing. Or any type of bird that sings at night for that matter. There were a few, but Brandon didn't know any that were native to the regions that the group was traveling through. The windian guard felt uneasy as he replayed the sounds in his mind and stared up at the night sky. We'll find the stream again tomorrow, follow it to the next town. We should be reaching the Sea of Trees soon. Soon it would all be over and they could all go back home. Soon they would be navigating their way through the crowded halls of Windian High, instead of the silent forests east of Windia. Brandon felt a breeze ruffling the feathers of his wings and he moved to reposition himself closer to the fire. As the windian shifted to a new spot, a slight movement out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention. Reflexively his head snapped to the direction of where the movement came from and his eyes scanned the spot. There was nothing there. No sounds, no sign of movement, just darkness and the forest beyond the firelight. Probably a falling leave, Brandon thought as he remembered Jason's comment. The rain would have made them heavy, and it is nearing fall. The consideration gave the guard a feeling of false security as he placed another stick on the fire. Another breeze, stronger then the first ruffled past Brandon's wings and the guard gazed up at the sky. Storm's starting up again. If this one's anything like the last, there'll be trouble.

"Shit, hope that wind doesn't get any stronger." Jason voiced Brandon's thoughts out loud. "It'll take the fire out if it starts up again like it was."

"We shouldn't have left the cave." Brandon stood up again, gazing around into the darkness. "Wake the others. We can take some of these sticks and try and make our way back to the cave and out of this wind."

"That's crazy." Jason chuckled quietly. "We could hardly navigate this place in the light, now you want to do it in the dark?"

"We'll have light," Brandon motioned to the fire. "Just not as much. Anyway, it'll be safer in the cave, less out in the open." He walked over to Lucy and began gently shaking her awake.

"This is a fucked up idea, Brandon." Jason watched the guard as he went to rouse Ray and then Janet.

"But it's about to become our only option." The wind started to pick up again and the smell of moisture was thick in the air. Brandon was making sure everyone was up.

"Why's it so dark out?" Janet yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Because it's still night, that's why. Come on, we need to get out of here." Brandon was once again peering into the darkness outside of the firelight. The sound of birds still hadn't started up again.

"Where are we going?" Lucy slowly stood up and stretched.

"Back to the cave." Brandon motioned with a nod of his head. "Come on, grab a stick from the fire and we'll head out."

The group never even got that far.

As if summoned on cue, a large blast of damp wind cut through the camp and the fire died out. Everyone froze. None of the party members seemed to even breathe as they all stood paralyzed in their positions, waiting for what would happen next. It was Brandon's voice that shattered the stillness.

"Come on, we need to go now." His voice was ended by the long wail of a birdcall, and then the chittering started up again. The party shot confused glances to the forest around them as chirping and whistling seemed to fill the air, closer and louder then they had ever heard it before. Lucy let out a cry and Brandon turned to her.

"What is it?"

"I thought I saw something move!" The raven-haired windian was staring into the darkness, shaking her head. "I don't know what though, it didn't look like anything, just... just something moved!"

"There's something else!" Janet called out as she caught the flicker of a shadow from the corner of her eye. The party slowly backed together, all eyes scanning the dark forest and looking for any signs of what was moving about them. Another movement, this time from within the group as Brandon unsheathed his rapier and plunged it into the ground, folding his hands an uttering a spell.

"FLASH!" His hand shot upward at the call of the command and a bright flash of light filled the room, causing the group to shield their eyes. As the light dulled away, the party could just make out the shapes of shadows darker then the shadows around them. Shadows that had not been dispelled by the light of the flash spell. Shadows that were chittering to each other as they circled the group of five. The light of the spell vanished altogether, and the shadows once again blended into the darkness of the forest. Then the attack began.

"FIREBALL!" Jason's spell shot out into the night and collided with the darkness, exploding as it did. A loud shriek sounded from the night and was echoed by others like it as the darkness around the group suddenly seemed to boil. A cry from Janet and another fireball spell. More bird-like shrieking, more movement. Brandon was busying himself with another spell, finishing it off quickly as he raised his hand and called out, "Dispel Flash." Another flash of light filled the area, this one softer then the first and the group was able to see clearly now their attackers.

About six forms floated around in the clearing, each a shadow barely resembling any shape that wove about through the darkness. Their forms, or what could be called forms of the shadow demons, were long and fluid. They each had two small forearms, each arm being tipped with what seemed to be long, jagged claws. The face of the creature, or what could be made out as a face, was wide and animal-like, almost resembling that of a cat with extremely long, pointed ears, and sharp fangs that hung down over the lower jaw of the creatures mouth. In place of the demon's eyes were small points of red light that barely glinted in the flash of Brandon's spell. As the light of Brandon's spell enveloped each of the creatures, one by one the forms reared back and let out a shriek before their outline scattered and their shadow bodies faded out of sight. As Brandon's spell faded, the group stared in wonder at where the demons used to be.

"Think that took them out?" Janet's voice was shaky as she spoke.

"Honestly?" Jason's eyes darted over to where Janet was standing in front of him. "I'd say no..." His opinion was backed up by the sudden restarting of the familiar chittering noises, and suddenly the darkness around the group seemed to be moving again.

"Get back to the cave!" Brandon barked out his order as he prepared himself for another spell. Instantly the party took off running, Ray leading them as they made a mad dash into the woods, blindly searching for the cave they had stumbled into earlier that day. The sounds of the chittering slowly increased as the demons reappeared, circling Brandon as he finished up his spell. Just before the windian had a chance to call out the spell command, one of the dark forms charged. It didn't get very far before it was met with Jason's fireball spell and dissipated into the night with an enraged cry.

"Dispel flash!" As the spell lit up the area, Brandon could see that the number of demons was rapidly increasing. Almost a dozen of the black forms were taken out by the spell as it faded out, and Brandon knew it was only a few moments before they'd be back with reinforcements. He used this time to face Jason demandingly.

"What the hell are you doing out here Burnhart?" Brandon growled out at the windian. "You're supposed to be with Ray and the others and heading back to the cave!"

"What, and let you have all the fun?"

"Fun nothing! I'm holding these things back until you all are safe." Brandon shot a glance over his shoulder as the quiet sound of a chirp reached his ears. He turned back to Jason with a serious look on his face. "You need to get out there and find Ray and the others, and make sure they're okay."

"I'm not leaving you out here." Jason was rubbing his thumb over the tips of his fingers again. His look was just as serious as the guard's as he spoke back to Brandon.

"They'll be back, there'll be more." Brandon was glancing around into the darkness as he spoke. "You need to get out of here, Burnhart."

"They'll be back, there'll be more, that's exactly why I'm still here." Jason's voice began to growl louder with annoyance. "Do you really think you can keep all of those things back forever? You were almost caught by one before you got that last spell out!"

"You won't be handling them any better if you stay out here Burnhart so just get back to Ray and the others." Brandon's voice was becoming dangerously low as he turned his gaze back to Jason.

"It's suicide to stay out here alone!"

"It's suicide to stay out here with me! The only difference is, those demons won't be the one killing you if you chose to stay." Brandon drew his rapier and pointed it at Jason. Caught by surprise from the sudden move, Jason could only stare dumbly from Brandon's weapon to the windian wielding it.

"Man..." Jason held up his hands in defense and took a step back. "Alright, you're fucking insane. What the hell are you doing?"

"Get out of here, Burnhart." Brandon's voice seemed certain and steady as he spoke to Jason gruffly. "Get out of here, and go find the others, or I'll kill you myself, because you're as good as dead if you stay out here with me."

Jason took another uncertain step back. "Fuck... Brandon... what the hell are you doing? Just let me hel-"

"Get out of here NOW!" Brandon slashed out with his rapier as he took a sudden step forward. The weapon missed Jason by just inches as it sliced the air in front of the red haired windian's face. That was enough to get him moving, and Jason shot off like a rocket as he raced through the woods after Ray and the others. Brandon lowered his weapon and watched him go. He waited until he was certain that the windian was gone before plunging his rapier back into the ground and preparing himself for another spell. He didn't have much time. The sound of chittering started up again, and soon flickers of movement were drifting in and out of the shadows. Brandon retrieved his rapier and turned to face the direction of the movement. He just barely managed to spot another flicker again before he felt something brush his arm. Startled, he pulled his arm up to examine it.

Blood was trickling from a long cut across his forearm. Something grazed his back, and Brandon let out a gasp of surprise as he felt a cut along his wings. He turned to face the stealthy attackers, and the sound of chittering grew louder as more flickers began appearing in the night around him. Something brushed his leg, and Brandon could feel a warm stream of blood trickle down his calf. A flicker passed just in front of him, and suddenly his shirt was torn and more blood started to trickle out. A sense of panic slowly began to overtake the guard as more flickers surrounded him. Another flicker, another cut on his hand. Another chitter, blood streaked his other arm. The gaze of two pin-points of red light, and suddenly Brandon could feel something warm running in his eyes. A shrill cry...

Jason shuddered as he ran, the noise of the night-piercing shriek echoing in his ears and the windian pushed himself on, trying desperately to find where the others had gone. If only I had stayed with the fucking group, he thought. They're probably back at the cave by now... I'll never fucking find them out here. The sound of chittering was slowly dying off in the distance as Jason left the clearing and Brandon behind him. He can handle himself. Jason had been repeating this over and over again mentally. He can fucking handle himself, or else he wouldn't have stayed behind...

A new noise sounded suddenly in the night air, and Jason stopped dead in his tracks. Whirling around, he stared back into the forest in the direction of the clearing as he listened to Brandon's cry that rose up in the darkness. The noise was cut off abruptly, and an eerie silence followed it. Jason shuddered and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he listened, straining to hear anything in the air around him. Nothing but silence reached him. And then the chittering started again. All it took was a flicker of movement and Jason was off again, shouting out a quick haste spell as he tore blindly through the night, desperate to find the other three. A soft glow of light in the distance caught his attention, and with a mental cry of joy Jason recognized its source. FIRELIGHT! New hope sprung up in his mind and he pushed himself on, dashing madly in the direction of the light as behind him shadows and the quick calls of chittering followed quickly in pursuit.