"Did you find anything?"

The second they came back from the library Eve demanded to know if they had found anything. After being there for a few hours she had assumed that the two of them had. When they nodded, she wasn't disappointed.

"There are many stories of humans making deals with demons and such but what struck me about Alice's story was how they didn't give a time limit to the wishes they made. They just said you must do this forever when they know full well the human will eventually die," Markus explained.

"That is why we think it's a Jinn," Valentine spoke up, sighing when his sister gave him a blank look. "Eve, I thought you said you were going to study more?"

"Just tell me what the hell a Jinn is."

"Genie," Markus said with a roll of his eyes.

"I thought Genie's grant wishes?"

"In a way this was granting a wish."

She lifted a brow and frowned at Markus. "What do they get out of it them?"

"By purposely making their clients wish for things that will eventually cause them to lose their life enabled them to get their soul. There are many kinds of Jinn's and this one is an evil one. By taking souls he is able to get closer and closer to freedom. Jinn are trapped in objects after all. If they are able to consume a human's soul while granting their wish, they go free. But it takes a lot of souls. One hundred and eight to be exact."

"He will be able to gain freedom if he consumes one hundred and eight human souls? Isn't that going to take a while?"

"Well he still has to play by the rules," Valentine explained. "But this enables him to bend the rules for his sake and eventually he will be able to be free."

"So how do we defeat this Jinn? I doubt it's as simple as stealing his bottle and trapping him inside."

"Not necessarily," Markus muttered as he stood. "All Jinn must have some sort of thing that triggers their power. It's the problem with being one because they are trapped to his item, like I said. It can be a bottle or any sort of thing and they must always keep it close by. The problem is figuring out what it is and getting out hands on it so we can trap him inside. It would be as simple as touching the item and reciting the incantation on the side to make sure he goes back inside. Then he would be stuck until some other stupid human lets him loose."

Eve winced. "How the hell can a genie do all this? If they need someone to let them out, how are they able to make these contracts?"

"It's quite simple. After the last person let them out, they changed their game plan and as long as they are still making 'wishes' then it counts. Sometimes the universe is quite lax."

"The universe it stupid," she snapped at Markus.

It really was.

xXx

Shifting on the barstool seat, Valentine tipped his head back and sighed as he sipped at his beer. At his fifth sigh, the bartender rolled his eyes and walked over to him. "Is something wrong? It's obvious you want to talk and make it quick. I'm not the usual friendly bartender."

"I'm just feeling down. You see I had high hopes of spending my life painting but my talent is fading because of my hands. They just don't stay steady anymore."

Finishing his second beer, the thanked the man after some more talk and then was nearly knocked over when a man suddenly barreled into him and to Valentine, it was obvious it was on purpose.

"I am so sorry. Will you let me buy you a drink?"

"Thank you but I am ready to leave."

"I think you shouldn't. I mean, I may be able to help me with your painting."

He paused. "Are you him?"

"Who sent you?"

"A friend. She said you could make dreams come true," Valentine knew the Jinn weren't stupid but he was being forward. Maybe it had been a long time since he had made a deal and he was getting impatient.

Nodding towards the back, Valentine walked with him out to the back with no one around and the alley being nearly pitch black. "Can you really make my dreams come true?"

He smiled. "You want to paint? I can make that happen. My only requirement is that you must always paint. For the rest of your life you must and if you can adhere to that, your hands will be healed again."

Taking a moment to think it over, he looked over the man and saw a ring on the man's hand. On the side was Arabic and though he could not read it, he recognized the writing from what the inscription should say. The man then suddenly pulled out a pen and he smiled at him as he took it. As he was taking it, Valentine purposely brushed his finger against it. The ring started to glow and he knew he had to say the inscription fast. However, before he got the first word out of his mouth, he was flung into a wall.

Gasping in pain, he struggled to stand and saw the man starting to disappear. He shouted the inscription but it was too late. He was gone. Valentine knew what he had done wrong. He had hesitated to long and the second he brushed his finger against it, he should've shouted the phrase.

"Valentine!"

He heard his sister and Markus coming out of their spots to run towards him. Valentine had briefly heard them trying to stop the Jinn but it was too late. "We failed Alice. What are we going to tell her?"

"We can try again…" Eve assured him.

"He's been doing this for god knows how long. He won't come back here and will find a new place," Valentine muttered as they helped him to his feet, the male crying out as he was forced to stand.

"We need to get you to the hospital."

Later that week, as they were leaving the town, Valentine tried his hardest not to read the article in the newspaper that talked about the suicide of a famous ballerina.

They had all failed her but it was mostly his fault.

xXx

Valentine was in the hospital for a few days and barely said anything. It wasn't the first time they had messed up a case but it had been a long time and never this badly. The end result hadn't been the death of one of the people they were trying to help. That had been an accident. The last thing he wanted was for Alice to die. He had tried so hard but because of his moment hesitation he had caused her to die. They were her last hope and they had failed all because of him.

Eve and Markus told him it wasn't his fault but he couldn't help but blame himself. It was so easy to do that.

"You need to stop blaming yourself," Markus told him as they stopped at a rest stop, Eve going inside to use the bathroom as they waited by the car. Standing outside to stretch their legs, he shifted closer to Valentine and nudged him until the sullen male finally glanced at him. He looked so sad.

"I can't. If I had said it more quickly…"

"That Genie had centuries to perfect that. You had a few hours."

Shaking his head, he opened his mouth to protest but he was caught off guard when Markus pulled him into a tight hug. "Markus?"

"Stop blaming yourself, damn it. I don't like it when you're this sad and I can't focus properly on research if I know you're this upset."

"Should I be insulted or pleased you're so concerned about what you just said?"

"Pleased, I hope."

This was how Eve found them.

Digging her nails into her palm, she purposely bumped her shoulder against Markus and shot him a look. "If you two are done with your little show of affection, I would love to get going. There are more people to help."

Swallowing, he glanced at Markus and smiled faintly as he moved to get in the car. "Thank you, Markus."

Nodding, the male smiled and then it faded as sat in the driver's seat, glancing at the two twins in the rearview mirror. The female of the two caught his gaze and shot him a look. Ignoring her, he turned his eyes back to the rode and started the car. It seemed to him that the hostility from Eve was getting worse. In the beginning, he had tried to be nice to her but when it became clear she was interested in no friendship with him, he let it drop and then this hostile environment formed between the two of them.

He just wanted to get to the next town and forget all about this animosity between him and Eve. The only thing he cared about was Valentine in the end. He could still see that he was upset but hopefully with time, he would be better.

Some deaths just couldn't be prevented.

xXx

"Where is Markus?" Eve muttered late that night as she was searching over the books. They were investigating some suspicious deaths in this small town and after a strange counter at the local supermarket, the dark arts user had taken off telling them that he had to get some fresh air and would be back soon.

"He went out. You can't tell me you forgot already?"

"I just thought you might know where he went."

"Why would I know?" Valentine asked with a frown.

"You two seem awfully close- especially in the parking lot earlier today," she accused.

"Eve, don't do this again," Valentine muttered with a violent shake of his head. "I hate it when you do this! Why do you have to get jealous every time I show anyone attention? Is it so horrible for me to have a friend?"

"We have each other. Why do you even need friends?" she asked quietly.

"Eve, stop thinking like that. We are in our twenties and not children anymore. That kind of mentality is wrong and you're starting to scare me."

"It's just that I don't have anyone other than you and that idiot and I don't get along so I don't have the luxury of friends!"

"If we were to finally settle down…"

Swallowing Ever shifted in the bed and stared at him. "You want to end this life?"

"I love helping people but this is starting to become too much, Eve."

"I'm not stopping, Valentine. I won't stop helping people. We were given these gifts for a reason and the knowledge of this world and we can't just quit."

"I want to and soon I will. If you don't then that's your choice but I will do this with or without you."

"Valentine…" Eve pleaded.

"No, Eve. For most of my life I've listen to you and done everything you had said but I can't do this anymore. I'm not saying today but soon I want to stop and try to live a normal life."

"A normal life with Markus?" Eve spat. "Fine, go ahead and run off with that bastard! See if I care!" she shouted. She left the room in a huff as she slammed the door loudly behind her, leaving Valentine to wonder what had just happened.

His sister had always been possessive of him and he knew it was because he was all she had. She had never been good at making friends and had always been overly attached to him but he couldn't let it stop him from living his life. He simply wouldn't allow it.

xXx

"I never thought I would find Markus Wynn in this old, dinky little town."

"I can same the same about you Dillon," he said dryly. After bumping into him at the market, he had agreed to go to drinks with him but had lied to his companions. Dillon was a fellow dark arts user and they had done quite a lot of damage when they went together. At one time they had been close, passionately so but they grew apart and eventually went their separate ways. The last he had known, Dillon had been in Europe.

"What happened to Europe?"

Dillon grinned. "I got bored and found I missed America. The people here are so amusing. What is with those two people I saw you with earlier today? I didn't peg you to hang out with a couple of hunters."

"I owe the guy. He saved my life."

"Ah, he's a pretty thing," Dillon commented with a grin, holding his hands up when the man's power spiked. "Fine, I get it. You have dibs on him."

"It's not like that Dillon and as irritating as you are, it is good to see you again."

"Likewise," he grinned. "Well as nice as it was to catch up, I am afraid I must be going. See those two women over there?" he asked Markus as he pointed to two dark haired women.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Their witches and kinky ones at that!"

"You never change."

"Well you have and I can't say it's a bad color on you. See you Markus," Dillon said with a laugh, putting both arms around the two women as he left the bar.

Glancing down at the tab, Markus cursed Dillon underneath his breath when he realized that he was stuck with the bill. "Damn bastard," he grumbled. He should've known that Dillon was going to leave him with the bill. That idiot was always leaving him to foot the tab or pay some sort of bill. "That is the last time I get drinks with him," Markus whispered underneath his breath as he handed the man his money.

Leaving the bar, he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed down the street and as he was walking back to the motel, he bumped into Eve. Normally he wouldn't bother with her but she seemed angrier than normal and the second she realized she bumped into him, she said everything was his entire fault. "What the hell are you talking about? Have you finally gone off the deep end?"

"Shut up, Markus!" she snapped. "You have been feeding my brother ideas that he should leave this life and go live 'normally' haven't you?"

"I never said anything like that to your brother. How he wants to live his life is not for me to judge but answer me this Eve: why are you so against him living a normal life and retiring as a hunter? Are you that threatened by him finding happiness and a life that doesn't include you?"

"Be quiet. You don't know anything about what we have been through. For years, we were all each other had."

"I get that, Eve. You were children in the foster care system but you are no longer children. The two of you are adults and you need to find your own adult lives. Living a life as a hunter may be what you want but it's not what he wants. Anyone with a pair of eyes can tell that about Valentine. Look at what happened last time. He was devastated."

"I know this is your doing. He never said anything until we met you!"

"If I finally gave him the courage to stand up to your insanity then good. It's about time someone knocks you off your high horse and makes you realize that you can't dictate your brother's life. He has to be able to make his own decisions and if he wants to stop this life then let him, Eve. He isn't happy."

"He doesn't need anyone but me!"

Markus dodged the blow and aimed one at Eve which she was barely able to dodge as well. "Stop this, Eve. Do you think Valentine wants this?"

"You need to go and never come back," Eve sneered, turning and walking into the darkness.

Leaving Markus behind, the male watched Eve with a sigh. She seemed unhinged and it made him worry. She was beyond possessive and had a dangerous attachment to her brother. In ways, he could understand it because they were twins and they had a bond, going through foster care together after their parents died but it had to stop. He could see this way of life was weighing heavily on Valentine and he didn't care how he came to the decision but he was happy that he was finally standing up for himself.

"Valentine?" he called out as he entered the motel room. Looking around, he sighed in slight relief when he saw him come out of the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

"Did you run into Eve?" he asked with a small smile and when Markus nodded he sat down on the bed. "We got into a fight. Did she say anything especially mean to you?"

"Nothing more than usual," he told him. Markus was lying because he didn't want to taint the image Valentine had of his sister. Despite the strange things she said, she was a good sister and cared about her brother a whole lot. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin the image he had of his sister because their relationship was important to Valentine.

"She'll be back eventually. I just need to give her some time to cool off and then hopefully she'll start to accept the idea that soon I want out of this life."

"I'm sure she will," Markus told the younger male though he didn't think she would.

Eve was a ticking time bomb.

xXx

Her brother was all she needed in the world and all she wanted. In her mind she didn't need anyone else. Since they were in the womb it had been just them and when their parents had tried to get in the way of that, she took care of them. 'They were to close' was what they had claimed and it was unhealthy. A summer apart would do them good was what they had claimed but she had shown them that they could never break them apart.

iShe started at the clock, twiddling her small thumbs as she tried to stifle her whimpers. There were only a few more hours until sun rise and then she and her brother would be apart for the whole summer. They were both going to separate camps because it was what those people wanted. Apparently they were too close and being that they were getting older, they should branch out and spend some time with other people.

That year they would be going into fifth grade and it wasn't appropriate to just spend time with just the two of them now. She had promised her parents that they would pay if they hadn't changed their mind and they laughed it off. It was only the angry ramblings of a preteen girl. Slipping out of bed as the clock stroke 3AM, she wandered into her parents room where they lay sleeping soundly.

"You can't separate us," she whispered, quietly leaving the room as she wandered downstairs. Coming upon a candle, she went back into her parent's room and lit it as she wandered over to the curtain. Staring at the flame, she smiled softly and then dropped it onto the curtain. Almost immediately it caught fire.

Watching it for a moment, she began to cough and ran towards the door. Her brother had spent the night with their neighbor which their parents had insisted upon. In their minds it would be more difficult for them to have to spend the last night together but they had been wrong and she was going to show them. Leaving the house, she made sure to walk a good enough distance and watched the house burn until she deemed it had been enough time.

Crying and screaming, she ran towards the neighbor's house and told her that the house was on fire and her parents still inside. She had tried to get to them but it was too hot. Sobbing, she held onto her brother and as she watched her house burn from a distance, she had to stifle a smile.

Her parents had learned their lesson. Nothing was ever going to separate her and her brother and she would make sure of that in future./i

Never had she regretted what she did that night. Her parents were trying to do the unspeakable and they had to pay. Now her brother needed to understand that she was all he ever needed. She knew she couldn't kill Markus. That wouldn't be as easy but she could make sure she got her brother away from him.

Heading back to the hotel that night, she locked eyes with her brother the second she opened the door and gestured towards the entrance. 'A talk,' she mouthed, heading outside as she climbed into the car. Waiting for her brother to climb into the passenger seat, she smiled sheepishly at him and scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. It wasn't right of me to act that way."

"No it wasn't, Eve," Valentine muttered. "You were acting strange earlier and it scared me. I understand why you're upset but can't you see I want to live a normal life?"

She nodded. "I understand. It's just that I don't think I'm cut out for a normal life. Look how well it's worked out in the past…"

"We won't know until we try," he said with a small smile as he lightly nudged her. "I know it's scary but I doubt our parents would want us to live the lifestyles of a hunter. They'd want us to settle down and try to live a life that makes us happy. I'm not happy right now. I love helping people but I don't think I can do this anymore."

Eve nodded, trying her best to hide her anger as she smiled faintly. "I know, Valentine. This life isn't a very glamorous one and it's dangerous to boot but I don't know anything else. It wasn't like foster care prepared us for the world."

"I'm not saying we have to stop at this moment but maybe in a month or two we can finally stop this and try to find some place to settle down," he suggested. "Maybe I can finally go to college and you too. I think it might be a good experience."

"I don't know about that, Valentine. You're the smarter one."

Frowning, he pinched his sister's cheek and shook his head. "Eve you are plenty intelligent so stop saying that."

Smiling, Eve moved to hug her brother and then as she pulled away she sighed softly. "Valentine?"

"Yes, Eve?"

"I'm really sorry about this but there is no other choice," she muttered, ignoring her brother's confused look as she suddenly pushed his head forward and bashed it into the dashboard.

"E-eve…" he stuttered from the hard blow, falling into unconsciousness a few seconds later.

"I'm sorry about this brother but there is no other choice. I can't let Markus take you from me. I stopped our parents and everyone else who's tried to get close to you and I will stop that dark arts bastard if it's the last thing I do."

Pulling out of the parking lot quickly, she drove off, a small smile on her face.

Her brother was hers again and nothing could break their bond this time.

Nothing.

xXx

He winced as he finally started to come to and the first thing he noticed as he opened his eyes that he was in an unknown hotel room. Recognizing it as being different from the current one they were staying in, he was confused and feared being captured by a creature they had wronged or something they had pissed off. Then he remembered his sister and her smashing his head against the headboard.

Valentine shook his head and tried to clear the image out of his mind because it was the last thing he wanted to think of. His sister would never do something like that to him but the harder he tried to deny it, the more prominent the image became in his mind. As his vision started to clear, he noticed someone lurking in the background and he felt sick to his stomach. How could his sister do this and most importantly why?

"I'm glad to see you're awake. I was sorry to hit you so hard but I needed to make sure you wouldn't fight be," Eve explained softly, frowning when her brother tugged at his bonds. "Don't bother, Valentine. I've tied those tight so you can't get away."

"Eve what is the point of all this? You can't keep me tied up here forever."

"I only want to convince you that leaving me is not what you should do. We're twins! We need to make sure we stick together and Markus has poisoned your mind."

"He's done no such thing! This was entirely my idea!"

Eve shook her head violently. "Stop covering for him."

"I am not covering for him, Eve. This is entirely my decision. I want to live a normal life and it has nothing to do with living separate from you!"

"I knew I shouldn't have let that bastard travel with us. If I could've gotten rid of him like I did those damned parents of ours then it would've been so much easier but he's strong!"

His heart sank. "What did you just say?"

"No point in denying it," she muttered underneath her breath. "Our parents wanted to separate us, Valentine and I had to stop them. I wasn't going to let them break us apart."

"It was for a summer!" he screamed. "So you set the fire? You're the one who did that?"

She nodded. "I've always made sure to keep us close and never let anyone break us apart."

Suddenly, Valentine felt enlightened but it was a kind of enlightenment that no one really wanted to have. People in his life had always seemed to get into accidents or mysteriously vanish. Once he started getting close to them something would happen and as he looked at his sister, he was able to tell that this was her doing. "So my entire life… you've been killing people because they got close to me?"

"I didn't kill them all!" Eve snapped. "I only had to make sure they didn't try to take you away from me."

"Eve, you're sick and you need help. Please untie me and we can get you the help you need. Please, Eve."

"Let you go?" she laughed. "If I let you go you'll go you'll go straight to that bastard, Markus and I won't let that happen!"

"Eve…" he started to say, gasping when she walked up the bed and slapped him. "Damn it, Eve let me go!"

He couldn't believe his sister doing to him. It was hard to comprehend in his mind and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and pretend none of it was happening because this was his beloved sister. Trying to think of this thing as his sister wasn't something he wanted to accept.

"I can't do that Valentine," she whispered. "Why do you keep saying all these hurtful things? Does Markus really have you that wrapped around his finger?"

"Eve, he has nothing to do with this!"

Climbing on top of him, she leaned close to her brother, lips brushing against his ear. "Valentine, you are all I'll ever need. You don't need Markus and I'll show you that," she whispered, kissing his neck as her hand slid down to cup him through his jeans.

"Eve what are you doing?"

"I'm showing you how much I care," she whispered against his neck, sitting up slightly to glance at his face and when she saw the disgust and horror on his face, she screamed, hitting him hard. "If I were Markus you wouldn't be acting like this!"

Unzipping his jeans, she shoved her hand down his pants, teasing him into hardness as she kissed down his neck. "Just let me show you how good this can be, Valentine. I promise you you'll enjoy it," she whispered into his ear."

"Eve, stop this."

Hearing the fear in his voice would usually cause her to stop whatever she was going but she was too far gone now. "I need to show you how good this can be, Valentine," she murmured. "Shh…"

Wiggling her hand into her boxers, a soft smile played on her lips as his cock started to harden. "I think you enjoy this more than you're letting on," Eve teased, biting lightly down on his neck as she continued her ministrations, relishing in the sounds that were coming from her brother but if she had been paying attention they weren't sounds of pleasure. They were sounds of him trying to stifle his crying and anger.

"Eve, please stop this," he pleaded, trying one last time to get his sister to stop this craziness.

"It's okay, Valentine. I'll make sure you enjoy this too," she whispered, kissing him softly on the lips as she smiled softly at him. "Trust me brother."

He would never trust her again.

xXx

"Valentine, I love you…" Eve professed as she curled up next to her brother, naked underneath the sheets. "I want you to know that I love you despite all I've done. I was only trying to protect you and I know you'll see it my way eventually," she assured him, climbing out of bed as she reached for her shirt.

He lay there for some time, staring at the wall as his brain tried to process what had just happened. His sister had… no. Valentine couldn't even say that out loud. He felt numb inside and tugged at his bonds and to his surprise they were no longer there. Ironically, his sister had untied him. Staring at his wrists, he felt the tears coming and swallowed as he rolled onto his back.

Everyone in his life had gotten hurt because of her. His parents were dead because of his sister and so was everyone who got close to him. Looking back, it all made sense. Feeling the bed dip down, he tried to hide the wince when his sister wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his neck. "I need to use the bathroom," he said quietly as he climbed out of bed.

Seeing his sister nod, he towards the bathroom and paused as his sister told him to hold on.

"I love you, Valentine. I'm glad you see it my way."

"I don't see it your way, Eve. How could I ever see it your way? You raped me."

"Don't ever say that!" she screamed as she sat up in bed. "I only showed you how much I loved you!"

"I will never love you again, Eve. You've hurt me too much and I don't want any part of you. I am leaving here tonight and I never want you to contact me again. If you ever try, I will kill you."

"Valentine!" she sobbed. "Please don't talk like that! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I know exactly what I am saying. You are no longer my sister. I should turn you into the police but I won't. All I want is for you to leave me alone…" he said, gasping when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. During his speech, he had failed to notice his sister reaching for the gun she always kept in the nightstand of the hotel rooms they stayed at. "Eve!"

"If you don't want me anymore in life then we'll be together in death," she whispered, sobbing softly as tears ran down her cheeks. "I won't allow you to be apart from me, Valentine. We came into this world together and we will leave this world together."

Clutching his shoulder, he moved backward and tripped over one of his shoes on the floor. Wincing as he fell, he struggled to get to his feet as his sister slowly walked over towards him and placed the gun against his temple.

"Valentine, I love you. Please remember that."

"Don't this, Eve. Please."

"I love you," was the last thing she told him before he heard the sound of a gunshot.

xXx

He felt nothing after he heard the gunshot and was confused when his sister gasped, eyes rolling to the back of her head as she collapsed on top of him, unmoving.

"Valentine, its Markus. I'm here."

Shaking, he pushed the unmoving body of his sister off him and ignored Markus as he shook her. "Eve?" he called out, reaching his hand out to touch the bloody wound on her head. "Eve?"

"Valentine, get up," Markus murmured, pulling the man away from the still body of his twin. Pulling him close, he tried to comfort the trembling man and then, without warning, he started hitting him.

"You killed my sister!" he screamed.

"She would've killed you if I hadn't stopped her," Markus insisted softly, trying to calm the younger man but it was nearly impossible. "We have to get rid of the body, Valentine. I know you don't want to hear this but we can't leave her here. If you want we can give her a proper burial."

"A proper burial?" he repeated, calming down some to lean against the man, as he tried not to cry. His sister was dead and Markus had caused it but she couldn't be his sister anymore after what she had done to him. Sisters don't do that.

"Yes, come on, Valentine."

"How did you find me?"

"I followed your aura. I'm a little rusty on it which is why it took me so long to get to you. I'm sorry."

"My sister killed our parents."

"Valentine…"

"She sick and she even…" he started to say, trailing off because he couldn't admit t to Markus.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want too."

He was quiet in the car ride and his eyes were glued onto the body of his sister. She was dead now and would join their parents in the afterlife. "You do it and let me know when you are done," he muttered, wincing as he touched the wound. Markus had wrapped a bandage around it for him and told him the bullet had only grazed him. He was lucky but not as lucky as his sister.

Stepping out of the car as he heard Markus walking towards it, he stared at the freshly dug spot and crouched down next to it; placing his hand on top of the dirt ad he closed his eyes. "I am done with you, Eve. You've hurt me to much but I'll be damned… I still love you. Why would you do all this? Why?" he sobbed.

Markus had to practically force him out of that field because Valentine couldn't find the will to leave his sister.

He would never understand why she had done what she had done.