Preface

The cold night's air whipped my hair around my head as we ran as fast as we could toward the fence separating this yard and the next. I glanced over at my brother, grinning when I saw him with his own devious smile plastered across his face.

"Ready?" I yelled over the clacking of our feet on the sidewalk, my hand reaching out for his.

He clasped his hand in mine and we sped up our pace, the distance between us and the flashing lights behind us was growing. He nodded and outstretched his free hand, before waving it toward the fence, a dark spinning hole only big enough for the two of us, appearing. He took the lead and pulled me along by the hand as I looked over my shoulder and watched the lights disappear. I felt the familiar calmness of Lance's world engulf me as I laughed and hugged my dearest twin brother.

We did it again.

Chapter 1: Traitors

We moved through the crowd as if we were just average citizens, one hand clutching a haggard shawl to my chest while the other gripped at Lance's hand. As he shoved through people, pulling me with him, I caught a glimpse of the government ships at the trading ports lining the coast. I checked to make sure that my brother's face was covered before ducking my own head a little further down.

We couldn't be recognized if we wanted to keep our lives.

Lance and I, the Ulrich Twins, were traitors of the High Council, the highest level of our government other than the head honcho himself. If we were to be caught, we would be sentenced to death, which really didn't sound appealing to either of us.

Lance looked over his shoulder and smiled his reassuring smile before motioning with his free hand toward a small alleyway only big enough for a single file line. I followed closely behind him as he weaved through the people out doing their daily shopping. The alley was next to a cart of fish and the vendor tried shoving one in my face but Lance pushed me into the narrow space, sliding in after me. It was a tight fit and I had to press my back against the brick wall to move any further.

"Seems like the High Council knows we're here." He breathed in a whisper as he scratched at the back of his neck, the rough material of his scarf probably scraping against his skin.

"Yeah, why else would they come to the smallest port town in the area?" I mumbled as I adjusted my shawl over my hair, my elbow banging against the side of the alley.

I looked up when I didn't hear a reply and found Lance staring at a half crumpled piece of paper stuck to the alley wall. I leaned in and inspected it for myself and gasped softly when I saw a faded picture of our old ally. I reached out and unfurled the corner of the paper, reading the bold words: "TRAITOR'S PUBLIC EXECUTION." My eyes widened as I turned to blink at my brother who was still staring at the paper, though not really looking at it.

He was coming up with some kind of plan.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered as I watched an elderly couple struggle to carry their basket of vegetables pass the opening of the passage we were in.

Lance ripped the paper off the wall and tucked it inside of his shirt. "We have to go get him out of the holding cells." He rolled up his left sleeve up to the elbow before grabbing my hand again and tugging me back towards the street. "We'll go tonight after all of the vendors are closed."

"There's a fireworks show tonight." I mentioned, remembering the large wooden crates full of colorful explosives I had seen being transported to the dock. "We can use to crowd as cover."

He nodded and grinned at me, patting me on the head. "Exactly." We slipped back into the crowd of people going unnoticed once again, as we made our way back to the old motel we had a room at.

***

The old lady in charge of the desk was nearly blind, knocking things over and running her hand over the counter to find a pen. "Here, kiddies. Checking out?" She blinked at us with unseeing eyes and grinned a large toothless grin.

I took the pen from her and signed the receipt using an alias' name, smiling at her cluelessness "Yes, ma'am." I set the pen back in her hand and slung my old bag over my shoulder. We left our room keys and stood off to the side of the small lobby, checking all of our supplies.

Lance was behind me, rummaging through the bag to make sure I had all of the bandages, food, and water I could fit in it. I pulled the waistband of my pants out a bit and stuck my arm down to make sure my row of knives were secure around my thigh; they'd be easier to get at after night fell when I would change into my battle gear. He took the bag from me and hooked it to himself under the dark cloak he was wearing before grabbing my arm and pushing me toward the door.

"You go first to where our things are and get suited up." He pulled my hand out of my pants and smiled. "None of that right now."

I smacked him on the back of the head with the hand the wasn't just in my pants, before pulling the shawl back over my head and walking into the dusk. I shuffled quickly to the small space between the motel and the next building over, slipping into the dark space. I knelt down and yanked up one of the stones and tossed my clothing to the side as I pulled out our swords, and my bow and arrows. I made sure no one was near before slipping out of the scratchy disguise I had been in and into my battle attire; a knee-length woolen skirt and plated top. I strapped on my belt, which held various small explosives, knives and my sword's sheath, and then laced up boots. Slipping my sword into it's place at my side, I threw my bow and arrows onto my back and buried my old clothes. I grabbed Lance's sword, almost identical to mine, and made my way back out into the open.

Lucky for us, tonight was the festival of warriors and everyone was in their flashy costumes of what they thought heroes to look like. Large shields, chain mail, and the High Council's uniform were everywhere, littering the bodies of the citizens.

Lance was waiting at the opening for me and held his hand out for his sword. I passed it to him and watched as he slid it under his cloak on the side opposite of the bag. "Okay. Now we make our way to the holding cells." He looked up into the sky just as a firework burst into color, making everything glow blue.

I nodded as I reached back to tie my dark hair up with a strip of leather. "Right. Do we know where they are?" I started out into the street with Lance close behind me, our faces masked by the darkness, the only light coming from the occasional flash of a firework.

He walked up beside me and nodded. "Yeah. We passed them on our way into town." He pointed in front of us. "They're on the other side of that hill."

I sighed and rubbed at my arm absently as I watched a group of children run by in the classic High Council uniform. I shivered even though the salty air was warm, remembering back to the first time I had seen those uniforms

If only they had been on such innocent kids.

Before Lance and I had been forced to live life on the run, we lived in a small hillside village, attended a school with children out own age, and didn't have a care in the world. Except for the fact that Lance was gifted at birth with amazing abilities that allowed him to do things no average human could do. He could manipulate the space around him, make things happen that I couldn't even imagine in my dreams. Our parents told him that it was because he was special and I loved my twin brother even more because of his abilities. Unlike him, I was born an ordinary baby girl, but our parents never showed favoritism between the two of us and for that I was thankful.

We had accepted Lance's power as part of him and loved every bit. But with great power comes a great threat.

The High Council wanted my brother in their clutches. They wanted to raise him to be a killing machine, trained to do the Council's dangerous bidding. Our mother and father were already not fond of the government for it was heavily corrupt and overly strict. The High Council forced certain lifestyles upon people and took down anything, or anyone, in their way. So they didn't take too well to our parents' rejection to their offer; Taking Lance into their hands and away from our household.

I remember it clearly; Lance and I had just turned 10 and were getting ready to start school again after a long, hot summer. We were washing the dishes after dinner when I had heard a loud banging on the door, our mom throwing our father a look of concern before rushing to the back room. Lance and I shared a frightened glance and turned off the water. Our father had come over to us and embraced us tightly.

"Watch out for each other." He whispered before turning to walk toward the door, his eyes filled with an emotion I had never seen before. I now know that it had been fear.

Our mother came running back from the other room, holding a bundle in her arms, her usually pin straight hair was curled up in a way that made me nervous. She tossed the bundle out of the window over the kitchen sink and hugged us both very tightly. Our heads were pressed together as she rubbed up and down my back. "I love you two so much. Always know that." She was crying when she whispered to us. I was so scared that started to cry as well, but Lance looked as if he was determined. He grabbed our mother's hand and kissed it before hugging her back. I did the same and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

"We love you, too, Mother."

She kissed us each on the forehead and left us with a sad smile, going in to stand with our father. I clutched at my brother's hand as tight as I could as my tears ran freely down my face. I had no idea what was happening, but I knew our lives were about to change forever.

Our father opened the door slowly at first before the people on the other side pushed it in, sending him stumbling back a few steps. The men in the doorway were tall and had on black uniforms with a strange symbol on the left side of the chest. We learned later that these men were the drones of the High Council, coming to try and take Lance away.

Our mother helped out father regain his balance before one of the men lifted his arm, the others behind him hurried into the house to surround our parents.

"Where is the boy?"

I pushed Lance to the side and we both peered over the side to watch what was going on between our parents and the scary men in uniform. I heard my mother's voice whisper something before a loud smack echoed through the house. I winced and tucked my face into my brother's shoulder.

"Where is he?!" The man yelled again, grabbing our father by the neck and hoisting him up. Even in those terrifying moments, our father remained unbelievably strong and I will forever remember him like that.

"You really think we would tell you?" He spat in the man's face which resulted in a smack across the face. The man in uniform dropped our father and nodded at no one I could see. I saw a shadow fall over us before we were scooped up and thrown over the shoulders of a large, smelly, man whose head skimmed the ceiling. I screamed and reached for Lance's hand, not being able to reach across to man's chest. We were set down on a pair of our dining room chairs and tied in place by two more of the intruding men, before our parents were pushed in front of us. Our mother had tears in her eyes and our father was holding her hand tightly.

"Hello children." The man, who I was assuming was in charge, greeted us with a sickly evil grin. "You know what happens to people who don't obey the Council?"

I closed my eyes and whimpered, knowing very well that people who didn't follow orders were executed. I heard a low rumble come from Lance's chest as I gripped his hand and tried to shake back the tears threatening to fall again.

I felt a hand grab my chin and pull it up roughly, forcing me to open my eyes and glare back into the dark gaze of the man. "So you won't talk?" He smiled again and took a step back, grabbing our mother by the hair and tilting her head back. One of his men handed him a short dagger which the man proceeded to press against our mother's neck, a small trickle of blood running down into the neck of her shirt. She whimpered and gave us each a final glance before closing her eyes, the dagger slicing through her neck, blood pouring from the gash quickly. I let the tears fall as I screamed out for our mother, Lance's own face was wet with tears as his face turned red with rage and sadness.

Her body grew limp, her skin pale, and her once white dress was stained red with her own blood. Our father choked back a sob just as one of the other men in uniform cam over and slit his neck as well. Lance and I were forced to watch the life drain from our parents faces, their bodies completely lifeless. All that was left of the love they shared was their hands, now laying a few inches apart as they were tossed to the floor. I let another sob wrack through my body before the man came over and wiped the dagger covered in my mother's blood across my cheek, smearing her blood along my skin. I gagged and felt the prick of the blade slicing my skin, a salty taste forming in my mouth.

He ran his hand over my throat but before his dagger could follow the movement, I heard a loud burst to the side of me. I screamed again and opened my eyes to see Lance, free from the restraints, and glowing a dull yellow color. I was freed as well and I ran to his side, gripping his arm tightly, my hand swiping at the cut on my cheek.

A blast of air rushed through the room, knocking over three of the men and whipping my hair around. I had never seen Lance's abilities put into action and I wasn't sure if I was terrified or incredibly thankful. Maybe a bit of both.

"Go get that bundle." He whispered and pushed me toward the kitchen before sending another blast of air at the men, sending them tumbling back again.

I bolted as fast as I could to the kitchen, tripping over the uneven floor tiles that our father was supposed to fix the upcoming weekend. My cheek stung, tears running down my face and between my lips, as I slipped out of the house and picked up the bundle, tucking it under my arm.

I turned to run back into the house, but before I could, I felt Lance's arm around my waist, pulling me over a bit more. "Hold on tight." He held onto me tightly and swiped his arm down, a black space forming in front of us. He pulled me in and I felt a strange, unnatural calm wash over me.

That was the first, but definitely not last, time I had truly seen the force of my twin brother's power.

"Sam..?" Lance was standing in front of me, shaking my body gently. "Saaaaam."

I blinked at him and shook off the memory, smiling softly and ruffling his brown locks. "Stop shaking me or I'll puke." I grabbed for his hand again and pulled him forward. It turns out that we has already arrived at the holding cells, the darkness was eerie and silent.

I cracked open the door and peered in, scanning the hall for any movement, before slipping in, letting go of Lance's hand to grab the hilt of my sword, just in case. We moved slowly down the empty corridor, each footstep echoing on the dripping stone path. Lance reached over my shoulder to point to the far corner of the cells.

"He's over there." He whispered before pushing me forward slightly. "Keep moving."

I did as he said and continued on, turning the corner of one last cell before seeing our old friend chained to the bars of his very own holding cell. I ran over and placed my hands on the bars, kneeling next to him and poking him through the space between the bars.

His eyes were closed and Lance shook his head and poked the back of his head. "Zericho. Wake up."

Zericho's eyes blinked open slowly and I smiled at him, patting him on the head softly. We'd known him for a long time, never knowing his true name, so we called him what he wanted to be called: Zericho.

"What are you two doing here?" He grumbled and tried stretching but the handcuffs restricted his movements. Lance reached in and grabbed his hand, picking the little metal lock to free Zericho's hand.

"We're getting you out of here." Lance grinned at the older man as he threw the cuffs to the ground and pulled open the bar door.

"Why don't they lock these?" I asked, running my hand along the cool metal of the bars. You'd figure they would lock the cells of death sentenced criminals.

"They normally do." Zericho grunted as he stood up, rubbing his wrist, trying to return the feeling to his hands. "They knew I wouldn't try to escape."

Lance motioned for us to follow him as he moved back down the cavernous line of cells. "Why not?" He questioned without looking back. I, on the other hand, peered at him over my shoulder.

"No point."

"There's always a point, Z." Lance said with a smile in his voice as he led us to the door. The smell of fresh air was refreshing after being in the musky cold of the holding cells. "Okay. We'll get out through the courtyard."

I nodded and bumped my hip with Lance's, smiling up at him as he chuckled. "That was easier than I thought it would be." I whispered as we made out way pass a patch of waist high grass. The courtyard was large, the ground completely covered in cobblestone and a few stone statues were littered around. Zericho and Lance were looking around, trying to find the way out, the moon was the only light, the fireworks had ended while we had been in the cells. I saw an opening on the far side of the space and pointed toward it, running over and scanning over the distant hills.

"Guys! I fou-…" I was cut off when I saw a shadow start to cast over me. My mind flashed back to the first time I'd seen the High Council's uniform, a cold sweat forming on the back of my neck. I spun around and gripped the hilt of my sword, staring into five pairs of evil, glowing eyes. All of whom belonged to a body dressed in that familiar black uniform. My eyes widened as I felt Zericho and Lance step up to my sides, my heart beating quicker as we all stared at each other.

"Why, hello there, Twins." A tall, tan man hissed at Lance and I before eying Zericho, the dark covering his face. "Trying to take a prisoner, are you?" He was thin and had long black hair pulled into a ponytail that rested on the back of his neck.

Lance already had his hand grasping for his sword as I looked over at Zericho, whose voice filled my head with echoes.

"Give me the sword."

It was time to face the High Council again. But this time, we'd fight back.