I know, it's been forever. You try doing college work and writing. It doesn't work!! _ Talk about a headache, but on the up side, here's a new chapter! I think somewhere this story took a twist for the strange, and not in a good way. Eh, oh well, I'm still gonna finish it.

Dark Ones 2: Taken Away

Chapter 14: Shattered

By: Helena F. Lupin

He crouched low near a thicket of silver tipped thorn thistles, the large purple-blue blooms giving off a scent thick enough to hide his own. He drew a bow from his back and set an arrow to it. Hunting was only a passtime really. And right now it was an escape. His parents had been driving him near to insanity with the plans of the Alananie to move back into the human world and to reset it properly. All that darkness that the humans made was beginning to leak toward their world. That was something they simply could not allow.

A soft rustle drew his attention. A massive white deer strolled into his view. He lowered his arrow. He knew better than to kill a female. He was waiting for the buck he had been hunting for a few hours now. Sure enough, the male came after the female, sticking close to her. He raised his arrow again, drawing it back slowly. He had the perfect shot.

"Retaliation!" The shout startled the deer and sent them flying away. Retaliation cursed and put the arrow away and slung his bow across his back once more. "Retaliation!"

"I'm coming!" he shouted back as he stood, shoving a hand through his short copper hair. His eyes had come out pure black with an odd copper sheen. He started on a fast pace back to the palace before his parents set out to drag him back. When he arrived he went straight into his 'mother's' arms. Malice hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead.

"You're fifteen," Retribution stated, "Don't make your mother have heart attacks." Surprising to all, Retribution made a very good, solid father figure. Which had pleased Malice to no end. Malice kissed Retribution's cheek as he released his son. "Go get your things," Retribution added, "The light was sent out twenty four hours ago on the dot, we're moving in to scare the shit out of the humans and to set things right. A lot of them got wiped out because this time they knew about us and the night and were fighting it the entire way."

They had all suspected the light would kill a lot more this time. The light was meant to run across the earth and to get rid of anyone who might start a rebellion. Already their Dark Towers would be growing from the ground up.

"Alright, I'm already packed," Retaliation muttered and headed up to his room. He got a lot of looks in passing as he went, as usual. No one ever forgot about his mark, the mark that said he would fulfill some big ass prophecy. He would rather stay at his home and go out hunting. Heading over to the human realm and cleaning up their mess did not appeal to him at all.

"There's too much of you in him," Malice noted once his son was out of sight.

"Thank the powers for that," Retribution replied. "He'd be too boring if there was too much of you in him."

Malice gave a snort and shook his head. "You find me plenty interesting."

"Hmm, that I do," Retribution purred as his hands wrapped around Malice's ass. Malice smacked both hands away and laughed.

"We don't have time, remember?" Malice remined and gasped as he was thrown over a shoulder.

"There is always time for sex!" Retribution declared as he carted his husband away to the nearest room for one quick little round of fucking. Malice, of course, did not have the heart, or the coherency for that matter, to say no.

A voice clearing made Retaliation jump as he turned from the bag laying on his bed. He had been doing a final check list of all he had packed to make sure he forgot nothing. He turned and smiled when he found one of his two favorite people in the world standing there. "Hi, Antipathy. Where's Impunity?"

"Impunity was sent ahead to start getting things at our tower ready. Deekon and Aaron are just leaving now," Antipathy replied as he moved into the room and remained standing near the door. Antipathy was always so stiff around him, but Retaliation knew very well that the other was a sweetheart.

"How's Aaron?" Retaliation asked softly.

"That's hard to say," Antipathy replied with a sight. Aaron was a shell these days more or less. He reacted and talked and walked but there was a hallow edge to everything he said and his eyes were dull. Deekon had done all in his power and more to restore their son to them both.

Aaron had died inside the day Deekon had killed Arius.

Arius had been beyond saving. And it had not taken long to figure out why. A special rare happening had come up with Arius; he had found a true mate, someone he bound to soul and all. Too bad that soul had been far too dark to do any good for Arius. It was a known fact that after that incident that Aaron refused Deekon his affections and his bed, but he remained with Deekon because he did still love his Alananie lover.

Retaliation sighed. "I hope..." He was not sure what he hoped really.

"We all do," Antipathy assured. "Well, come on, your parents are...busy...and we have to go."

"Busy," Retaliation muttered and wrinkled his nose. 'Busy' meant fucking like rabbits.

Antipathy chuckled and ushered Retaliation out of the room, carrying his bag for him. "I know, it is a little disturbing to think of one's parents as being activie, but you do have to remember that it is those activities that made you."

"Eww, come on Antipathy, what did I do to deserve that image?" Retaliation said as he gagged just a little. Antipathy ruffled Retaliation's hair gently and led him through the corridors of the palace. It would be Retaliations first time ever seeing the traveling rose mirrors. The first one was beautiful and the river they had to travel to get to the mirror that led to the human world was lovely. Retaliation glanced in either direction when they reached the second mirror.

"Are there other mirrors?" he asked softly.

"Several, yes, but none we should wonder through," Antipathy replied as he led Retaliation through into a dark stone, circular room. "Remember, don't go out without your parents or either Impunity or myself, understand?"

"Yes, sir," Retaliation nodded as he was led up to his room. The entire tower looked so...dark. He shivered. He liked his home much more. It was beautiful, light and open. If this place gave him the creeps he could only imagine how much it made the humans piss their pants.

Retaliation's room was just as dark but he took in the distinctly sensual edge to it. The walls and floors were black marble and the large bed in the center of it was round and covered in red silk with a black sheer curtain falling around it from the ceiling. "Wow."

"I knew you'd like it," Impunity noted from the other end of the room. He was standing framed by a set of open doors that led to a large balcony.

Retaliation offered a smile. "Thanks you two."

"We're going to head down to a meeting now, you can go ahead and relax, it's not a big meeting," Impunity said as he and Antipathy went toward the door. Retaliation waited until they were gone and the door was shut and locked before he went to the bed, opened the curtains and flopped onto the silk sheets. It was a great room but he would still rather be home.

Retaliation.

He shivered and sat up. He had felt his name breathed along his throat in a warm puff, as if a lover's mouth had been near his skin. He stood up slowly and moved onto the balacony to look out over the mountains their tower had grown out of and at the lights of distant towns and cities.

Retaliation.

He would swear the voice was coming from behind him. He twisted and walked back into the room. He heard the voice call his name again, coaxing him to follow. So, he followed it until he stood before an oval mirror that hung on one wall.

Retaliation, the voice spoke again softly and the surface of the mirror rippled. Retaliation began to back away slowly.

"No need to be afraid," the voice spoke more clearly as the image of a set of pure black eyes appeared in the mirror. "I'm simply a mirror. A special one, but a mirror all the same. One here to serve you since you bare the mark of the red moon."

Retaliation held still now, fists clenched at his sides. He had hearned of mirrors taking on a life all their own if it they felt the whim. Mirrors were strange things. And dangerous. "And what do you need to serve me for, mirror?"

"Why, I need to keep you alive. The world that you have come from, that of the Alananie, is going to disappear for all of them. Dead and gone. It's time has come after so many millions of years it is finally drained to nothing."

Retaliation stood there and he felt his heart trying to break his ribcage it was pounding so hard, his breathing hurt. "W-what?"

"There is no hope for your world, so you best not worry about it. Nor will all of your people come to this world. Less than one hundred of your people will survive. Even less of the Balarma will survive; none of them being anyone you know. Your uncle, Diranus, will die with his Balarma love, and their children. Blood will be let from your world and there is no changing it. But you can bring great things to what remains of your people and to this world. Merge what you are with this world, that is what you are meant for. You were born the heart of your world. Become part of this human world."

Retaliation was backing up now and then he turned and ran out of the room. But not before he heard the last words the mirror spoke, "It is begun."

Retaliation burst out of his room just in time to hear the shouts, the screams. He got down to the main hall in time to see the wounded being carried through. He found his parents quickly. "What happened!"

Malice turned to his son, reaching out to hug him tightly, relieved he was fine. "The mirror to our world collapsed for some reason. People were injured and we have no contact with our world."

"Who made it," Retaliation demanded. He saw tears blurring Malice's eyes.

"Your father made it, as did Impunity and Antipathy. Deekon made it and Aaron did as well but he was injured in the process. Jacob and Re made it, they're in the kitchens now making things for those who were injured."

"What of anyone else?" Retaliation asked, feeling his heart doing that painful pounding again. Malice simply shook his head.

"Help who you can," Malice said atlast.

Retaliation gripped his arms tightly. "A mirror spoke to me," he murmured. Malice stiffened. "It said...it said our world is dead." Malice's eyes shut and he took a moment to collect himself. He opened his eyes again and gestured for Retaliation to help the wounded. One problem at a time.

Retaliation did do what he could for them, he bandaged and stitched and spread around whatever healing items were given to him, but then he rushed back to his room. The mirror was waiting for him of course. It was a mirror, it could not move. Those dark eyes stared out at him calmly.

"Why, why did our world just fall apart," Retaliation demanded. "What caused it? Who?"

"Aiden," the mirror stated. "The lover who took away Aaron's child, Arius. In grief and anger he set into working a powerful magic. He is in this world, with Arius."

"Arius is dead," Retaliation pointed out.

"A part of him is, yes," the mirror agreed. "His body is gone, but his soul survives with Aiden. Aiden taints him. Aiden is further tainted by something else. Both are pawns, nothing more. Both could have been happy long ago had they met under different circumstances. They are trapped, just as damned as your people now. You, marked by the red moon, have the power to sever the ties that a particular creature has over so many now."

"What creature?" Retaliation demanded. His world was falling apart so quickly. His home was gone, millions of his kind gone with many more other beings, and he was about to be told something he did not want to know, he just knew it.

"Lucifer, of course," the mirror said as if it were obvious. "You will need help. Shatter me, and take the smallest piece, make it a charm for a necklace. Burn the rest of the pieces. Then I shall travel with you for I know you will go to seek him."

Retaliation stared for a long moment at the mirror. It was right. He would seek Lucifer. He drew a dagger and moved forward. He twisted and slammed it into the mirror, sending cracks along its surface. He yanked the dagger out of the center and then slammed his forearm across it, sending pieces scattering the ground. He knelt and picked up the smallest piece there was.

"Powers protect me," Retaliation murmured.