XxXPsychic MoonXxX: What's up...again! XD New chap, and remember to review, same as usual.

The next morning, Malcolm woke up in a cold sweat, gasping and twisting, tangled up in the sheets. He fell to the ground with a loud thump, his heart searing painfully, screaming loudly.

“What the heck?!”

Raven yelled in surprise when she yanked open the door and saw him laying there, tangled up in the bed sheets. She was still in her pajamas, her hair flying about, with Vivian on her heels. He lay there stiffly, feeling a bit angry and scared at the same time. That stupid nightmare! He absolutely hated it….

“Dude…” Raven said in wonder as she helped him up. “Does this happen, like, all the time?”

Malcolm grimaced. “It’s nothing, really.”

“You were having a seizure! You call that nothing?! I gotta call the ambulance!”

“No! Really, I’m fine!”

“Yeah, sure, you big fat liar!”

Malcolm glowered. “It’s nothing. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Raven opened her mouth in protest, but Vivian cut her off. “That’s enough!” she snapped. Then she turned to him. “What were you dreaming about?”

Malcolm turned away, facing the window. “It was…just a bad dream. I can’t really remember it.” He winced as his heart throbbed painfully.

Vivian’s eyes traveled from his face, which was mostly hidden behind his long bangs, down to the point on his chest where his heart was located. “What happened there?” She asked, taking a step towards him.

“Huh?” Malcolm blinked. She frowned, kneeling down next to him and placing her hand above his heart. Her eyes closed in concentration.

“It seems…like you’ve got some internal bleeding going on there. How did this happen?”

Internal bleeding?! Malcolm was horrified. “I don’t know…it’s been like this ever since…” he trailed off, wincing again. Vivian’s frown deepened.

“Well…did anything happen that night? Did anyone attack you?” She asked slowly.

Something stirred in Malcolm’s memory...

Sobbing, Malcolm buried his face in his hands. Why them? Who killed them? He jumped, hearing a sudden clattering sound. Looking up he saw something glittering in the darkness of the room...eyes; piercing, burning, deadly crimson eyes that looked directly into his heart. Frozen in terror, he stared back, unable to move, unable to breathe or think. The eyes held him there, and he suddenly felt a horrible white-hot pain seizing his heart. He screamed, writhing on the blood-smeared floor, hearing his screams echoing against the walls. It was all a swirling torrent of pain and misery, until everything went pitch black.

Malcolm gasped, his mind reeling. Vivian instantly held out a hand, keeping him steady. He waited for the spinning to stop before saying shakily, “I remember...seeing these scary red eyes...it was like they were cursing me or something, because then I felt an awful pain in my chest before fainting.”

Vivian’s face paled. “What?” Raven and Malcolm asked in unison.

“You poor dear...this is awful...” Vivian whispered. Her face was filled with sadness. “What monster would want to use that on a child? I wonder.”

“Hey, Gran-Gran,” Raven said worriedly. “Is Malcolm going to be okay?”

Malcolm’s heart sank when Vivian answered, “I don’t know. It depends on what he planned to do with him.”

“Who?” Malcolm asked.

Vivian sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I figure it was time for you to know, anyway. You’re not normal, even for a Fire Magi.” Both Raven and Malcolm’s eyes widened. “I noticed it right away. I can see it. You have two Auras. One is blue, that’s your own Aura, and the other, larger one is red...that’s a demon’s Aura. This also might explain your peculiar eyes.”

“Demon?” Raven exclaimed. “You mean Malcolm’s possessed?!”

“No! If I was possessed I’d know!” Malcolm griped. “But on my birthday, on the way here, a couple of guys in the city were harassing me. The next thing I knew I was out cold, and when I came to the same guys were out cold.”

“Your demon is triggered by anger,” Vivian continued. “And maybe danger. I’m already beginning to suspect who’s behind your parents’ murder, too, and--”

“What?!” Malcolm shot to his feet, his eyes wild. “Who is it? Who’s the killer?”

“Who dun it, ne?” Raven echoed, looking at him in amusement and wariness. “Calm down. You’ll get another heart attack, and then what?”

“It’s alright. It’s to be expected.” Vivian shifted her position so that she was sitting cross-legged on the floor. “But I don’t think I should tell you yet. We should wait for Jerry.”

Disgruntled, Malcolm placed his bed sheets back on the mattress and sat down on it. “When’s he going to come?”

“Hm...Actually, he should be around here any minute.”

BOOM!

Raven and Malcolm jumped and scrambled to the window, yelling in surprise at what they saw. An enormous, red, scaly reptilian creature crouched in the backyard of the manor, a piercing amber eye fixated on their shocked expressions. It snorted, tiny wisps of smoke curling from its nostrils. A dragon...

“Ahoy there, children!”

A large man with long, spiky blue hair waved from the dragon’s back high above the ground. Vivian soon teleported outside at the creature’s feet, her arms folded over her chest. “Always so dramatic,” she grumbled. “You just had to show him off, huh? Good old Red River.”

“Red River?” The astounded preteens chorused.

“Yup!” Jerry leaped off of Red River and landed with ease next to Vivian. Malcolm could now see that he was dressed in a plain red shirt with long green pants and black boots. “Why don’t you come down here so we can meet properly?”

When they flew down, Jerry grinned. “Oh, yeah. They’re Magi alright. So...I’m Jerald Torche; but call me Jerry. You are?”

“Raven Silvermoon!” Raven did a dramatic stage-like bow. “Daughter of Brian and Yule Silvermoon, and heir to the family, blah, blah, blah. Only child. Discovered talent at age eight. Current age: 11.”

“A Psychic, huh?”

“But of course.”

“And I already know who you are!” Jerry turned to Malcolm, studying him. “You’ve got Bellarie’s hair, you know that? In fact, I think you inherited all your features from her, except those bizarre eyes of yours.”

“Yeah, I know,” Malcolm said quickly, feeling a bit needled by the comment.

“Get over it, kid,” Jerry scoffed, surprising Malcolm. “You’ve got to get used to being a weirdo, now that you’ll be training with me. Accept this trait as part of your heritage, as you would accept your magical talent, or you’ll never get anywhere; not with me, at least.”

Malcolm stiffened, making Raven chuckle. “Come on! Red eyes suits you, like your hair. Keep it that way, will you?”

“Fine. And what’s with the dragon?” Malcolm looked questioningly at Red River, who bared his teeth.

“Hey, punk!” He snarled, surprising Malcolm and Raven. “It’s Red River to you. I’m Jerry’s personal companion, also his bodyguard, and battle partner. And of course I can talk! How else would I know that Jerry’s saying?”

“I’m sorry!” Malcolm apologized. “I’m new to this kind of--”

He was cut off by an alarmed shout of, “What in the blazes is that?! A demon!”

One of the guards stared in numb disbelief at Red River, who simply grinned and licked his lips. “Why, you’re hurting my feelings! I’m no demon! I fight for all that’s good in the world.”

This remark turned the guard even paler than he already was, and he took a step back, spluttering, “G-get away! Stay away from the mistress...”

Vivian sighed and teleported behind the guard, knocking him out with a swift strike to the back of his neck and making him fall limply to the ground in a heap.

“Hey!” Red River whined. “I wanted to play with him! Humans are such funny critters.”

Raven laughed while Malcolm and Jerry smirked. “Harold’s been asking for it. He sticks to me like stars on the night sky; it gets irritating after the first two minutes.” She exclaimed happily.

Jerry smiled and clapped his hands together. “Alrighty! Now that that’s over, both of you get dressed and report here! We’ll eat breakfast, and then begin your training! Now get moving!”

“These pancakes are so flabby!” Jerry commented, poking the meal with his fork. “I like mine crisp and burnt.”

“Um, yuck!” Raven gave him an appraising look. “Why burnt?”

“It’s a Fire Magi thing, I guess.” He put his fork down and pointed at the pancakes, which suddenly caught on fire.

Raven froze, staring at the flames, and Jerry happily turned one of the cakes over, letting it roast. “That’s right...nice and blackened, like that.”

Once the pancakes were burned he pointed at the flames, making them disappear. He picked up a blackened, scorched pancake and bit into it, savoring the horrid taste. “Yep! Absolutely delicious.”

Malcolm grinned and took a swig of his orange juice. Raven stared in disbelief at Jerry and then turned to look at Malcolm. The expression on her face made him laugh. “Get over it, Raven,” he teased. “Soon you’ll see me doing that.”

“Aw, horse crap!” Raven slumped in her seat with a pout, abandoning her meal. “I’ve lost my appetite! Thanks a lot, Jerald!”

They all burst out laughing.

XxXPsychic MoonXxX: Whew...it's hard to type all these X's! I think this one was a bit short, but I couldn't really find a better stopping point. Review!