Zack stood his ground as the shadows approached. He could feel the being’s emotions as well as his words, and they were telling him to stay put.

A flash of lightning illuminated the world around him for a split second, but it was just long enough to make out the figures. He recognized the human. He had dirty blonde hair and blue, innocent eyes. At the moment, he was wearing some kind of brown, leathery jacket and an old pair of blue jeans. His name was Glenn. They went to school together, but they had never come face-to-face before. Zack preferred not to come face-to-face with anyone.

The other one was--strangely enough--just as he had thought. Some kind of human/canine hybrid with a gray, tangled mess of fur all over his body. As strange as the encounter with the floating man that he had had just moments ago was, he just couldn't come to terms with this sight. 'This can't be real,' he said under his breath, but as much as he wanted it to be a dream or an illusion, the beast was as real as himself.

Zack was no fool. He had read stories. Werewolves were always evil. It was a plain and simple fact. So he took his only means of defending himself, the being's sword, and adopted a battle stance. Of course, the man inside his head wasn't too fond of this idea.

"Always assume friend until someone is proved foe, my friend."

That made Zack wonder if the being had seen the beast that was approaching them. But he figured the man knew best, and he put down the blade.

Cyrus stopped dead in his tracks. This caused Glenn to halt as well, and he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong. But Cyrus had a clawed finger to his lip, warning his companion to stay silent.

"Look," the werewolf whispered as he pointed towards the smaller section of the park.

Glenn saw the black shape of a person several yards away, and realized why Cyrus had stopped. The man inside of Zack knew why too.

"Zack, stay very still," echoed his voice inside Zack's head.

Zack had an automatic trust in this man. After all, he was beyond human. Zack was pretty sure he was an angel. Like werewolves, he had also heard stories of angels: gallant, intelligent, strong creatures of light. Even if this man didn't have wings or a halo, he was an angel if he had ever seen one.

So Zack stayed as still as he could, pretending he had been frozen in a harsh, Arctic blizzard. Within several seconds, his body was emitting a celestial light--that same light that the angel had given off before he had entered Zack's body. The feeling was strange and frightful. He tried to ask his angelic counterpart what was happening, but the words wouldn't come out. His mouth wouldn't even move. The words just echoed around in his mind. But then his body spoke words that he hadn't said, and he realized what had happened. The angel and him and switched places.

"Werewolf! Do not fear us! We are here to help you!" rang the angel's voice from Zack's glowing body.

Cyrus and Glenn looked at each other. There were several things strange about person. For starters, they had never seen anything glow like the body before them. Let alone seen an angel. Second, the voice didn't match the body at all. It spoke with such maturity and deepness. Third, it kept using words like us and we. Was there another person there that they couldn't see?

Cyrus nervously approached the glowing boy with Glenn right behind him. No matter how strange the situation was, they felt a feeling of security with the boy.

"I realize this must be a little strange, but you must trust me. You are the only definite sign of The Prophecy," said the angel.

The Prophecy? Now this was just getting ridiculous. Never-the-less, the two boys continued to listen.

Zack's body turned to Glenn, standing to the right of Cyrus. "And you," the man's voice continued, "Is it true that you hold The Amulet?"

Glenn blink several times in confusion, but then he realized what that boy was referring to. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a circular, golden disc that was strung to his neck my a thick, black string. It was pretty big, but it could probably still fit into a large hand's palm, and it was about a half-an-inch thick like a very short cylinder. On the surface were several upraised runes like the ones on the angel's sword. This was obviously a very priceless artifact.

"Ah... excellent," the angel said in wonder. "Now tell me, how did you acquire this?"

Glenn remembered back to when he was around the age of five. In those days, his father had been some sort of scientist right there in Brooklyn. But once, he was offered a chance to do some scientific research in Australia. A group of researchers were trying determine how old some Aboriginal cave paintings were. Being so involved with his work, Glenn's father enthusiastically accepted the invitation. Glenn had been so young back then, and refused to let his father leave in fear that he may not come back. His father promised that he'd bring back something special, and that made Glenn feel a little more reassured. His father wouldn't break a promise. That was against his nature.

Weeks went by and there were still only letters and pictures to show that his father was alive. Calling cost too much, and his family couldn't afford to visit Australia. It wasn't until a year later that his father returned with that golden necklace, but it was well worth the wait. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Since that day, Glenn never stopped wearing it. In fact, it was rare that he'd take it off when he slept. There was a strange attachment between him and that artifact like the attachment between someone and they're best friend. It reminded him of his bond with his father.

So Glenn told the boy about how his father had found it in a ancient Aborigine cave, and he nodded his head kindly as if to say that it was the kind of answer he was looking for.

"Come closer," said the boy, beckoning Glenn with a finger.

Glenn did so and walked right in front of the boy. He still felt that strange security and trust.

Now that he was so close, Glenn could see the boy's features clearly beyond his glowing radius. He looked about the same height and age as himself--around 5'11 and 16 years old. He had dark brown hair that was overdue for a haircut. It was just a little above his staring, hazel eyes. He also recognized this boy from school.

"Good," said the boy in his strange, deep voice. "Now... do you see that stone?"

Glenn looked around the small area of the park, and found the strange-shaped stone that Zack had been pondering over earlier.

"Yes," he answered, looking over at the stone.

"Good. Now hold out The Amulet toward the stone, and all will become clear."

Glenn delayed for a moment. This outing wasn't going as he had planned at all. But dispite the unexpected change in plans, he continued to do as the boy told him. He set The Arts of Magic, which he had been holding, on some damp grass beside him and he took the necklace from off his neck. He then positioned it to face the flat side of the stone.

The result was certainly an unexpected one. A beam of white light--similar to the light that the boy was emitting--dived down from the full moon, still uncovered from any clouds, and onto the flat surface of the stone. A similar event occurred with the necklace. The disc created a beam of light that was collected upon the stone. Once the stone was lit by the two sources, strange runes began to etch themselves onto the smooth surface.

Cyrus and Glenn stood still and silent in disbelief. Zack would've too if he had control over his body. But instead, Zack's body gave a satisfied smile.

"Yes, it appears that you are The Savior, young Glenn. What you have created upon this stone is The Prophecy that I spoke of earlier."

Glenn lowered his necklace and put it in his pocket. He then looked at Cyrus, who was still looking, shocked, at the stone. Then Glenn looked back at the stone.

"What language is this?" he asked.

"It's Celestial, same as your Amulet. Both were placed here back when angels still visited this world."

"You're an angel... aren't you?" asked Cyrus, still dazed by the stone.

"Yes, my name is Phoenix, The Messenger. It is my job to direct you in the right direction so you can fulfill this Prophecy and save this world from destruction."

"So are you going to tell us what it says?" asked Glenn.

"I'm afraid the text is meant for angels alone. I can't tell you exactly what it says, but I can tell you what you need to know."

Glenn was a little uneasy about this Prophecy, and he still didn't understand why he was referred to as 'The Savior.' "Can you tell me why we need to fulfill this Prophecy?"

"Yes, but I suggest we go to a more proper place to discus this. Do you know of any place where no one will see us?"

"My parents are gone on vacation," said Glenn. "We can use my house.

"Excellent. You can lead the way then. Oh, and I'll give Zack back his body for the trip."

Within a few seconds, the boy's body had stopped glowing, and it looked a little more human. His face went from cheerful and determined to gloomy and depressed.

'I'm just his host,' he thought to himself. He wasn't Phoenix’s holy warrior like he had once thought. He was his pawn.

After a short discussion with Zack about Phoenix, the three boys set off towards the blue, two-story house at the end of the road.