Alexander stepped into the small clearing where his bound brothers stood in a small circle. Their faces were lit up by the brightest full moon.

“Are we all ready?” Zachariah asked. Nathanial nodded excitedly while Jeremy muttered something unintelligently.

“What is that, Jeremy? Have you changed your mind?” Zachariah asked.

“I suppose not. My choices are either going along with your stupid, pointless curse, or die.”

“Yes, those are your choices. Have you decided to unbind yourself from us?”

“Ha, nice wording. Unbind. You speak of my murder so casually. And no, I do not wish to die, however I would like to make it clear that I think this whole idea is absolutely pointless, and we are wasting our power.”

“Jeremy, just go along with it,” William said.

“Very well, then. If you are done voicing your opinion once again, we must get along with this.”

“Now, I think it’s time to concentrate on the focal point, which includes you, Jeremy. You will have hell to pay if I find out that you are not focused—and I mean that literally.”

The five brothers joined hands and once the circle was closed, a shiver ran down their backs and their hands burned together for a brief second, welding their circle of brotherhood shut. A flash of an icy cold sensation froze their fingertips and their hands flew apart from each other as every bound brother gasped from the cold.

Thousands of miles away, a flower unfurled.