AUTHOR'S NOTE: I started writing this story in late 2004. That in mind, forgive me if it starts out rather badly. I am in the process of rewriting it, and rest assured that everything has gotten a major reworking. THIS IS JUST A FIRST DRAFT; IT IS NOT PERFECT YET.

I don't really want you to read the first bunch of chapters because they're not that great. If you feel like a bit of masochism go right ahead, but if you want to skip to Chapter 15 that's okay, because here's a brief summary of the first 15 chapters.

Nyte is your typical fantasy boy, only he doesn't want to go out on adventures; he's fine with staying where he is, and he doesn't dream of leaving home. One day, he is whisked away from home by a pair of mages who tell him he is one of them and must travel for the rest of his life; the light-hearted Davri, who he first meets in the form of a cat, and the more melancholy Kassix. Kassix is bound to a demon, who occassionally possesses her body and taunts the other two because no one can get rid of it. Finally, Kassix collapses, her mind unable to take the strain anymore, and binds the demon into her coma with her...

You enter the room, surprised to see that it is empty. Empty save the desk in the center of the room; it’s made of dark, unidentifiable wood, as is the chair next to it. As you approach, you see a leather-bound book on the table, colored so dark a red as to be almost black; there is nothing else on the table except the book, which beckons you to open it. You sit at the table and pull the book towards you; fingering the spine, you search for a title, but there is none. Flipping the book open to the first page, you cannot resist reading the inscription, the only words on the first page, aloud to yourself.

“Once upon a time, long ago and far away…”

An emperor and his wife were blessed with two young boys. The elder was blonde and blue-eyed, the younger with matching blue eyes and black hair: they were named Dey and Nyte.

Dey was a perfectly normal young child, but his brother was different. Some said he was cursed: his ears were pointed at the tips, only slightly, and at times, his eyes would turn amber and a dark red birthmark would appear under his right eye. These traits were shared with youkai, or demons.

Our tale takes place when Dey is seventeen and Nyte is twelve.

---

“You know what they’re saying, Nyte. They say you’ve got demon blood, or that you’re possessed by one, or a demon yourself. If you do this, it’ll just enforce what they say!”

Nyte Malerrida glanced down at his older brother Dey and shrugged. “So? They’d hate me whatever I did.”

Dey sighed and continued to yell at his sibling. “Your yellow eyes are one thing, Nyte; climbing the church’s belltower is another thing altogether!”

“Much less in the middle of the night, I know!” Nyte grumbled and continued his climb. “I hope you realize you didn’t have to follow me.” Just as his brother opened his mouth to speak, Nyte’s eyes flashed amber and he halted. “Hush. Someone’s coming.”

Even though Nyte spoke softly, the golden-haired prince heard, as if the two were using a speaking spell; equally quietly, Dey murmured, “Which direction?”

Nyte’s eyes shone gold in the moonlight, staring into the distance. “The north path,” he replied slowly. “Get into the bushes so they don’t see you.”

Dey obeyed, his hair shining like his brother’s eyes. “What about you?”

“No one looks up,” Nyte pointed out, closing his eyes. “I’ll be fine. Now hang on.”

The wind brought him voices; there was more than one person, and the two seemed deep in conversation.

“He’s a demon, I tell you. He’s out here somewhere, and we need to find him!”

Nyte relayed all they were saying to his brother, who grimaced. “Great, they’re talking about you. If they find you, you’re dead.”

“They won’t find me.”

“You don’t sound too sure about that.”

“Hush!” Nyte silenced Dey and returned his attention to the discussion.

“A stroll?”

“Yes. I take nighttime walks all the time, you know.” Nyte winced as he recognized his father’s voice. “Helps clear the mind.”

“He’s got all the marks of a demon, Kieor! When will you see that he is a menace to society?”

Nyte bit his lower lip as he finally identified the second speaker: Morace Starteller, a powerful mage, friend of the emperor’s, and one of Nyte’s most outspoken adversaries. Whispering the conversation, and the identities of the debaters, the young prince felt his foot slip. He had been clinging to the side of the tower in the same spot ever since he’d heard the two approach, and, glancing down, he found it would be lethal if he fell. Not moving for fear of being heard and found out, he gritted his teeth and clung on desperately.

“Nyte is not a menace to society, Morace.” Kieor’s voice was cold. “Licae and I have been looking for explanations, yes, but we know he is not a demon. Do you have any other ideas?”

Nyte stifled a yelp as he completely lost his footing. His fingers scrabbled at the stone and found holds, but not before he dropped a foot; he hung on the tower with weary fingers and an iron grip.

“No, sire,” Morace replied, voice tight. “I too have searched for answers, even looking through ancient tomes of magic, as have other mages. We cannot find any other reasons for his symptoms except—”

Nyte’s grip finally broke, and with a yell, he plummeted towards the ground.

---

“Nyte, what were you thinking, climbing the tower like that?? And in the middle of the night, no less! And Dey! I expected better from you! Why were you two outside at all???” Kieor glared at his sons, both who looked down at the ground ashamedly. Morace, standing behind the monarch, hid a smirk as he watched Nyte, arms crossed over his chest.

When Nyte had screamed, Morace and Kieor had looked up and spotted him falling. Dey had seen too, and run out of the bushes. Morace had used his magic to catch the falling boy and capture Dey at the same time to keep him from running away; both were done without thinking, reflexive actions. Now the two were being questioned by their father, a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Suddenly, Nyte looked up, but instead of meeting his father’s gaze, he looked squarely at Morace with gold-blue eyes. “It was my fault,” he explained. “I wanted to climb it, and Dey did nothing but follow me. He tried to stop me, but stopped short of physical force.”

Kieor stared at the Nyte before turning his glare onto Dey. “Is this true?” he rumbled.

Dey nodded, still staring at the ground. “It was a bet, Father.”

“A bet??”

Both boys nodded. “A boy bet Nyte and a few others that Nyte couldn’t climb the belltower.”

“When was this bet to take place?”

“At noon tomorrow.”

Kieor exploded. “Then why were you doing it just now??”

Nyte shrugged. “I wanted to see it I could do it before I accepted the bet.”

Morace smirked and, laying a hand on Kieor’s arm, interjected smoothly. “How do we know this bet is real? That you two didn’t just…make it up?”

Dey’s head jerked up like a startled horse, and he opened his mouth to object, but Nyte glanced at his brother and mimicked Morace, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. Returning his attention to the adults, Nyte met Morace’s challenge calmly. Narrowing fully gold eyes, he stared at the mage and replied:

“Morace Starteller, I know you think me to be a demon, but I can assure you that I am not. I will not, however, tell you who placed the bet; it is a matter among me and my peers, and none of your concern.”

Morace blinked. “You fell off while attempting this foolish wager, and that IS our concern. If we had not been walking down this path just now, you would be dead. How you even got up that high in the first place is beyond me, unless you—”

“Flew. Yeah, I know,” Nyte snapped. Dey pulled his brother away and spoke to him in low tones.

“Nyte--”

The young prince broke away and ran away into the darkness, yelling over his shoulder, “I’m no demon, Morace Starteller, but for you I can try!”

No one tried to follow him, for which he was glad. He kept running until he reached one of the palace’s elaborate gardens. Sinking down next to a pond, he stared into the water mournfully.

Lit by the full moon’s light, his features were painfully clear on the surface of the water: gently pointed ears poked out from beneath a mass of dark hair, and bright gold eyes were framed by dark lashes in his fair face. Sighing, he touched the reflection, sending out small ripples and distorting the image. He was grateful that only his eyes had changed.

“—he is a menace to society!”

Nyte sighed heavily, remembering the time when he had fully changed, and like the image on the water, the memory was painfully clear in his mind.

“C’mon, pretty boy! Fight back!” The bully pushed Nyte onto the ground, and even though the boys were in full view of everyone there, no one moved a hand to help the young prince.

“Leave me alone!”

“Leave me alone,” the older boy mimicked. “Leave me alone or I’ll tell Daddy on you!”

“Leave. Me. Alone!!” The boy ignored Nyte and whacked him with a stick, hard. With speed that surprised even him, Nyte leapt up and attacked the older boy with a feral yell, appearance suddenly strange: his eyes were a fiery gold and his black hair shimmered with the multicolored fires of a black opal. A strange marking appeared under his right eye, deep blood red, almost black; a mark like that of a demon.

Inhaling deeply, Nyte pushed the memory away and waited for the water to clear. When the ripples had faded, he looked at his reflection again and was relieved to see that it was normal: deep cobalt eyes, inky black hair, fair skin. He could do nothing about the tipped ears, no matter what he tried.

Sighing deeply, he lay down on the dying grass and stared up at the sky. It was very cold, and he hadn’t really noticed until now. It would snow soon.

In the back of his mind, Nyte wondered where the four Embodiments, Zeima, Navus, Rires, and Thedu, were. They were always good for a conversation.

“Nyte?”

Nyte closed his eyes as his brother approached. “Go away.”

“Nyte, back there? You pretty much declared open war with Morace. He might be a crotchety old nag, but he saved your life.”

“He didn’t know it was me when he caught me,” the younger boy pointed out.

Suddenly, Dey leapt upon his younger brother and gave him a bop on the head. “True. C’mon; time stops for no one, and we need to get some sleep, Master Demon.”

Nyte stuck his tongue out at his brother, who laughed in response. The two got up and headed towards the palace.

Kassix watched the two silently from behind a tree. Which one of them was she looking for? She knew it was one of those two, and from the look of it, her news would please neither.