With this, Jeremy faded from view. The shadow that had been Tobias turned towards Oliver and Alyssa and hissed.

“See you…later,â€? it said cackling, and it too disappeared.

Moonlight began to stream down on them as the clouds began to fade away, and Alyssa and Oliver turned to look at each other.

“So this is how it ends,â€? Alyssa said sighing.

Oliver shook his head, and turned to stare up at the moon that filled the sky above them. “As one person dies, another is born,â€? Oliver said, smiling grimly. “As one light is extinguished, another begins to burn brightly. That’s the way it is, that’s the way it always has been, and that’s the way it always will be.â€?

* * *

Iellia woke with a start. She groaned, and pushed her bangs away from her eyes as she rolled over to stare at the glowing numbers on the digital clock beside her bed. 11:57 pm its blinking numbers read, and she blinked in confusion. She had assumed it was her alarm clock that woken her, but it was set to go off at 7:00 in the morning…