Felix was gone the next morning, leaving only a post-it note on the refrigerator that read he was going to be back really soon. But he didn't come back for the next three days in a row and Hansel started wondering what had happened. Did he disappear because Hansel forced him to reveal his identity? Because now there was no reason for someone like him to hang out with someone like Hansel?

But Hansel still couldn't be sure if he really was the king of the Night. Could a big reveal such as that be delivered as a casual bedroom confession? Knowing Felix, it could all just be an elaborate prank.

On the fourth day, however, Hansel arrived at Aurora High to find a huge crowd of students gathered at the school entrance, milling outside the giant wrought iron gates in tight clumps, mumbling and conspiring. But none of them had stepped a foot inside the gates. Hansel tried to squeeze through them to the front so he could figure out what was happening. But then he heard his name whispered among the students and stopped.

"I thought Hansel Schwein was the crazy one, but his brother is crazier."

"True. What on earth is wrong with him? Has he gone mad or has he always been mad?"

"I'm pretty sure he has always been mad. Even McGuire has never pulled a stunt like this. This is overkill."

The moment Hansel heard Felix's name he started moving again. He tried to push through the mass of bodies, found some resistance at first. But when the other students realised who was trying to force his way, they peeled apart to let him through, acting as if he carried the plague with him. Hansel made it to the main gates, he took in the scene before him, his eyes travelling the length and breadth of it, and his mouth actually fell open.

Felix was truly out of his mind.

Several dozen wrecked vehicles had been brought to the front of the school, rusted cars, bashed in vans, jeeps with shattered windshields and folded metal. These vehicles were stacked one on top of the other as if in a junkyard, creating a miniature mountain. They completely covered the front of the school and seemed to be blocking up the entry. A huge white banner stretched from one end of the mound to the other, spray painted with red letters: WORK OF KING FELIX. PAY YOUR RESPECTS.

Dazedly Hansel took the scene in. His eyes roamed up, passing crushed cars and ripped mini-trucks, until they reached the very top and spotted Felix.

Felix sat at the pinnacle of this bizarre hill of metal, legs crossed at the knees, reclining with his back to the door of a tilted black car which had its nose in the air. He looked for all the worlds as if he were sitting on a throne, daunting and regal. Never in his life had Hansel seen a sight like this. What on earth was Felix thinking?

"Hey, Schwein, what are you doing up there?" one of the kids shouted upwards, stepping forward.

Felix peered down from his perch insouciantly. "Look at the banner. It's clear enough. Or are you twits actually incapable of accomplishing even such modest feats like reading? Bow down and pay your respects."

"Who died and made you king?" the boy called back at him. "Get down from there!"

Students started booing.

"Hey, where are the teachers?" a girl asked. "Somebody go get a teacher."

Someone pushed Hansel. "You. Tell your brother to stop this madness."

"He's not my brother," said Hansel weakly, but no one was listening.

Voices changed behind him. Bodies moved.

"Hey, it's the principal."

"The principal is here."

"Let him pass."

The principal, a thin man with a thin nose and thinning grey hair, wearing a loose blue shirt tucked into his pants stepped forth and glared at Felix. Sweat was beading on his brow already. "Young man, come down this minute and meet me in the office."

Felix grinned at him. "Oh, I think I have suddenly acquired a fear of heights. I will need someone to bring me down. Besides, under the current circumstances, it might be a tad difficult for both of us to get to your office. Why don't you tell me what you want here in the open?"

The principal's lips went as thin as toothpicks. "This is not funny. You are being disrespectful and I won't allow that. You will obey me this instant and come down."

"You are right. This isn't funny. This is just boring and prosaic. Why don't I try and liven things up a bit?" Felix straightened up. He rummaged in the pockets of his skinny jeans and pulled out a silver lighter. "Now, let me see. At least a few of the vehicles piled here must have some fuel left in them. What do you say to a nice, little explosion?"

The principal paled. "You have got to be kidding me."

Felix lit the lighter. A lick of flame winked in the wind above the lighter. "Come on, how many times do you think you can see explosions in your lifetime? Aren't you a little curious about what it would look like?"

Students stumbled back in fear.

Sweat ran down the principal's face. "There are tons of vehicles here. It would be like setting off a bomb."

"Oh?" Felix asked casually. "Now that would be quite the sight, wouldn't it?"

"Young man, please come down," said the principal in a subdued voice, trying to make peace. "If there is something the matter, we can talk it out."

"I hate talk."

More people were pushing at Hansel now, shoving him towards the giant pile. "Does murder run in your family, Schwein? Go stop this."

Hansel started forward. Felix's eyes latched onto his the moment he saw him. He grinned fiendishly, and for a moment Hansel felt a chill pass through him. But then Felix's smile settled into one that was more forthcoming and Hansel relaxed. The lighter was put out and Felix leaned forward. "Ah, if it isn't my long-lost brother."

Hansel went to the foot of the junk-pile. He looked at Felix. "Come down."

Felix angled his head downwards. "What? Can't hear you."

Hansel felt too self-conscious to shout up at him, especially when he had a huge audience. So instead of yelling for him to come down Hansel placed his hands on the bonnet of an old Corolla and began climbing up.

Felix made no comments as he watched Hansel climbing. At one point Hansel slipped on the smooth roof-edge of a car and began falling backwards. But right then a ribbon of shadow reached out to him through a broken windshield and caught him by the waist before he could really fall.

"Careful," said Felix, looking slightly concerned.

He had reached high enough, so Hansel stopped moving further upwards. He squinted at Felix. "Come down now."

Felix pretended to think about it. He smiled brightly. "Sure."

Then he began taking quick, calculated leaps down the mound of vehicles, guiding his feet carefully. He touched the grassy ground before Hansel did.

The principal was in his face the moment he was off the pile. "My office. Now."

Hansel got himself down and started walking towards the two of them.

"In a minute," said Felix, flashing a smile at the principal. He turned to look at the gathered students. "You guys still want the explosion?" Felix took out his lighter again and lit it once more. "Sorry to keep you waiting." He threw the flaming lighter towards one of the cars and sang. "Heeere comes an explosion."

The students screamed and ran. The principal fell back onto the grass. Hansel stood unmoving.

The lighter bonked against the side of the car Felix had aimed it at, issuing a muted metallic thump. The flame was put out and the lighter fell into a patch of weeds harmlessly. Felix stared after the scampering students and snorted. "Idiots."

The principal got back to his feet indignantly. He dusted his pants and hooked his eyes on Felix chidingly. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?"

"I do have some idea," said Felix. There was a smudge of soot on his palm. He wiped it away on the front of his shirt.

"What is your name?" the principal demanded. "I believe we have met in my office before?"

"I'm Felix Schwein," said Felix with a grin. "And we have definitely met in your office before."

The principal surveyed the pile of vehicles with judging eyes. "Did you do all of this?"

"Yep," said Felix cheerfully.

"Alone?"

"That's right."

"How did you get all the cars here? How did you stack them up like that?"

Felix shrugged. "I used my superpowers."

"Felix Schwein," said the principal. "I will need to speak with your parents."

"I don't have parents," he answered simply. "I think it will be impossible for you to speak with my parents.

The principal's lips twitched with irritation. He turned to Hansel now. "He's your brother, isn't he?"

Hansel hesitated. What was he supposed to say now? "Yes, he's my brother."

Next to him Felix smiled happily.

"Did you have any idea about what he was up to?" The principal gestured at the pile.

"I didn't," he said honestly.

"What about your parents?"

"They live outside Heart City."

Surprise flitted across the principal's face. "They live outside Heart? Then what about you and your brother? How are you in this city?"

"We came to Heart when our parents weren't looking."

The principal frowned. "Why would you do that?"

Hansel gave no answer.

"Listen," said the principal again. "I have no idea what you boys think you are doing. But I definitely need to have a talk with your parents. Get them to meet me as soon as possible."

"I can't contact my parents," Hansel said abruptly. "They don't pick up my calls."

"Hey," said the principal, now alternating glances between Felix and Hansel. "I don't think that's very convincing. You know what I think? I think the both of you are making up excuses to get out of this situation. Felix Schwein, do you know what you did? Your stunt right now is an obstruction to education. The government is very particular that the schools in Heart maintain their standards. If the activists outside catch wind of what's happening here it's going to cause a lot of trouble for a lot of people."

He looked at the stack of vehicles critically. "You told me you did all of this by yourself? I don't believe you. I'm sure you probably got some help from other unscrupulous individuals. Maybe I'll go easy on you if you gave me their names."

"That's unfortunate," quipped Felix, tilting his head. "Because I really did all of it by myself."

"Then clear this place by yourself." He gestured to the side. "Do it. Put things back. I'll just stand over there and watch."

Felix pouted. "I can't work when people are watching."

"See," said the principal, nodding to himself. "This is why I can't have this conversation with you. Call your parents here."

Felix sighed. He went for a pocket in his large black jacket and took out Hansel's phone. "I'll give you my parents' numbers. You can try calling them yourself." He tapped on the phone and showed him the contacts."

The principal took out his own phone readily. "I'll be sure to do that, young man. And until they arrive, you are going to stay suspended from Aurora High."

They principal left after he had taken down the contacts. Only Hansel and Felix remained at school.

While walking back to their house Hansel asked Felix. "Where were you these few days?"

"Why, did you miss me?" Felix asked coyly.

"Just answer me."

Felix quirked his lips. "I was feeling a little under the weather. I don't think walking around in the sunlight is good for me in the long run."

"Then why did you come back?"

"Because I missed you."

Hansel didn't know what to say to that.

"So did you really make that huge car-pile all by yourself?"

"I had a little help from my subjects."

His subjects. The shadows.

"So are all shadows under your command? Do they do things because you ask them to? Do they kill because you ordered them?"

"I don't make them do anything. The shadows are free. They hunt and kill on their own terms. But if I ask them to stop they will stop."

"But you never asked."

"Why should I?"

"The shadows are killing people."

"I don't care about people."

"But you said you cared about me."

"You're not people."

"Then what am I?"

"You are Hansel."

They reached an intersection. They turned left. Felix was walking ahead of Hansel, so Hansel couldn't see his face. He didn't know what to think of any of the answers Felix was giving him. But Felix had promised to never lie to him again. "You," he asked quietly. "Why did you do that thing at school today?"

For the first time there was a break in the rhythm of Felix's footsteps. He pulled the flaps of his jacket together. "Maybe I did it because I thought it would be fun?"

"That's not a real answer."

"Ah, look at the sky!" said Felix suddenly. "The sky looks pretty today! What a pretty sky!"

Guess he doesn't want to say, thought Hansel. So he didn't ask again.

It looked like the principal had been serious about calling Hansel's parents. Three days after Felix's exhibition he and Hansel were called back to the principal's office. Since the heap of vehicles couldn't seal off all the entries to the school classes had restarted. But if one looked out of any of the windows on the front face of the school, all they would be able to see was parts of smashed vehicles. It was the same with the windows on the westside of the principal's office. The only thing Hansel could see beyond it was gnarled metal and darkness.

"Where you disowned by your family, Felix Schwein?" the principal asked from his high-backed chair. He had his hands clasped neatly upon the dark glass surface of his desk. The golden nameplate on the desk read Dr. Friedreich Fen in sharp black letters. The only other object on his desk was a yellow dossier, lying right next to the nameplate. "Why does Mr. and Mrs. Schwein claim they have no son called Felix?"

Hansel felt a jolt in his spine. He sat up straighter. "You called my parents?"

"Of course, I did," said the principal. "They even agreed to meet with me today. Why else would I lift Felix's suspension?"

"What?" asked Hansel dizzily. "They agreed to come?"

"Do you actually want me to repeat what I said?" asked the principal in mild annoyance. "Anyways, what's up with your parents? They don't remember to have a son called Felix. They didn't know you had run off to Heart. I'm starting to wonder if you four are really family."

Hansel's eyes went to his shoes. The principal couldn't be faulted for making an assumption like that. What really made them family? More importantly, why was his parents coming now? Why did they never try to contact him before?

"Hey, when your father comes tell him to give you a case of money," Felix whispered to him from the side. "I heard he's rich."

"What?" asked Hansel again. He couldn't collect his thoughts

"I told you before. I need you to buy me an ice-cream shop."

"What?"

"You told me you didn't have any money before. Ask your parents for money. And stop talking like a broken robot."

Hansel swallowed his words. What was happening? Had Felix pulled that prank three days ago just because he wanted an ice-cream shop? Somehow Hansel couldn't believe that was all there was to it.

Right then someone knocked on the office door from outside, the sound of it loud and precise.

"Enter," said the principal.

The door opened and a man and a woman walked through it. The man had curly black hair swept back from his face and the coldest brown eyes. He possessed an air of supremacy, he walked like a conqueror, wore a dark, well-tailored suit and looked good wearing it. The woman beside him was endowed with platinum blonde hair and starry blue eyes. She wore high fur boots, a long brown dress and a gold necklace. Her lips were cherubic and they were painted to kill. Hansel's breath froze. Luis and Annalise Schwein. It was his parents. It really was them.

His parents had barely walked into the room before Felix shot up from his chair and threw himself at them. "Father! Mother! I missed you both so much!"

Luis plucked Felix's arm away from himself. He peered down at Felix appraisingly. "Hansel?"

"Nope," said Felix, enjoying this. "I'm Felix, your other son." He pointed at Hansel who was still sitting in his chair as stiff as a block of wood. "That is Hansel."

Luis and Annalise looked at Hansel in unison. Their eyes widened. They looked at him, then looked back at Felix. They clearly couldn't explain what they were seeing. It was Annalise who broke the silence first. She placed a hand on Felix's shoulder. "So you are not Hansel?"

"I told you I'm not. Oh, dear mother, I have been wanting to see you for a long, long time. Now my wish is fulfilled. I feel joy in my heart. My long-lost parents. It makes my small existence feel blessed to have you both here. Oh, father. Oh, mother. Don't you remember me? Your beautiful little son?"

Felix kept gushing, spouting more cringey lines until even Hansel began feeling second-hand embarrassment.

Annalise stepped away from him. "If you are not Hansel, then who are you?"

She inhaled deeply and almost started again. "I asked you—"

"Enough," Luis ordered. He looked very irritated. "What is this nonsense?"

"That is what I want to know too," Annalise said, now turning on Luis. "Did you cheat on me? Is that why you have another son that I knew nothing about?"

"Are you being serious?" asked Luis, incredulous. "How can I cheat on you and have a son who looks exactly like Hansel? Has your brain always been this empty, Annalise?"

"Watch your words," Annalise snapped. "If you didn't cheat on me then explain this situation to me!"

"I don't understand this situation myself!"

The principal cleared his throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Schwein, could you have this discussion another time? We are here to discuss another matter."

Luis and Annalise shut up. They sized up the principal as if he were a foreign delicacy they wished to eat. If their stares unsettled him, the principal didn't show it.

"Hansel, wait outside," said the principal. "This meeting is about Felix and your parents. You don't need to be here."

Wordlessly, Hansel got up from his chair and left the room through the door. The last thing he saw before the door closed between him and the others was his parents giving him copies of puzzled looks and Felix rubbing his hands together as if he were about to play a game. Then he walked off and waited in the reception room right next to the principal's office.

There was an incessant buzz in his head. His mind couldn't grasp that any of what was happening right now was happening.

His parents were here.

He wasn't dreaming.

They really, really were here.

The meeting in the office lasted about an hour. Hansel had no idea what sort of conclusions had been arrived at the end of it. Once it was over, however, both of his parents wanted to talk to him.

At first they both wanted to know why he had run off to Heart, why he had never tried to contact him. As it turned out they weren't ignoring his calls intentionally. They just didn't know he had changed his phone number. "Your butler did send me a new number to contact you," said his father. "But I was angry at you for the mess you created. I had to clear things up at your old school so your behaviour wouldn't affect my business. So, I suppose I forgot about it later. You know, I'm a busy man."

"I thought you abandoned me," said Hansel, his skin hot.

"Of course not. You are our son." Annalise tapped one of his cheeks with two of her long, polished nails, her action more sterile than affectionate. "I don't know about the other boy. But I was devastated when they told me you had gone missing."

Hansel wasn't sure if he could believe her words. She didn't look like his disappearance had bothered her much at all.

"I thought I'd have to get a new heir," his father said plainly. "It was slightly bothersome."

"Now do you have something to tell us sweetie?" asked his mother. "Anything you want? If there is something tell us quickly. We will have to leave in an hour."

"You are leaving?"

"Of course, we are," said Luis crisply. "We have our work to do. I already had to reschedule a lot of my appointments for today. Also, we want to be out of Heart City before night falls. We could take you with us, but you'll first have to clear a few procedures with the district government. It will take a while."

Hansel felt like laughing. They had come so far to leave so soon. He didn't even get to have a proper conversation with the two of them. They weren't even going to have a meal together. But still, for some reason, it didn't make him feel as dejected as it would have normally made him feel. He wondered what had changed. Had he grown out of needing his parents' attention? Why did he feel like he would be just fine even if they abandoned him for real?

"Tell us if there is something you need," said his father, his words concise, business-like. "If it's something within my power to satisfy I'll do so promptly. After all, you are my only son."

Is that what diplomacy sounds like?

Hansel inhaled deeply. He straightened his expressions and looked his father right in the eye. "I need some money."

Luis quirked his eyebrows. "What for?"

"I can't find a job in Heart. And the money I brought with me has all been spent."

"Fine," said his father. He searched in his pocket and brought out a blue credit card. He handed it to Hansel. "Use this. Draw as much money as you want."

"Thanks," said Hansel, imitating his tone of detachment. "I'll use it well."

"So long, Hansel," said his father. "We will meet again another day."

"Keep well, sweetie," said his mother vapidly. "I will miss you."

Was this goodbye now? Just like that? Hansel realised he didn't mind anyways.

His parents left, walking down the hallway side by side, leaving Hansel behind them, staring after them. After a minute they disappeared around a corner and Hansel could no longer see them. He slipped the credit card into his pocket. Then he released the breath he had been holding all this time.

"That was very quick, wasn't it?" Felix asked from behind.

Hansel felt relieved to hear his voice. He turned and looked at him. "Yeah."

Felix yawned and stretched his arms. "Come, let's go home."

And they did.

While walking down the dirty street together Felix asked casually. "So did they give you money?"

"They did."

A pause, then Felix said, "hey, now that I think about it, I don't want to buy an ice-cream shop. I just have this feeling that it's going to be a lot of hassle."

Hansel said nothing and stared at him blankly.

All of a sudden, Felix dove towards the side of the street with a little cry of excitement. He crouched down by a cluster of clovers and exclaimed. "Look Hansel, I found a four-leaved clover!"

Hansel followed him to inspect. Felix plucked the leaf and passed it to him. "Take it. It's a good luck charm."

Hansel accepted the leaf from him and turned it over in his hand. "It's not a charm. It's a mutation."

Felix hissed. "Don't take the magic out of the moment, Hansel. He stood up and dabbed at his knees. "Now, Hansel, aren't you glad you are alive to see a four-leaved clover?"

"Uh-huh," mumbled Hansel. What was Felix getting at?

But Felix only smiled. "Keep the leaf safe for me. It's my good luck charm too."

A flicker of movement caught the edge of Hansel's eye. His gaze skipped sideways, scanning the pavement, the asphalt and a lone triangular sign post. The street was empty, so what did he see moving? A rat? A cat?

Then he saw it again, the shadow of the sign post trembling, as if it were trying to lift itself off the ground. "Felix are you doing it?" he asked in an urgent whisper.

"What?" Felix asked brusquely, poking at an anthill he found near the clump of clovers. His mind was clearly engaged elsewhere.

"That shadow—"

But when Hansel looked again the shadow had stopped moving. It lay still on the ground, giving an appearance of deceptive innocence. Hansel scrutinised the shadow for a full minute, his lips set in a frown, but the shadow did not stir again.

"What?" Felix repeated, glancing back at him with a puzzled look.

"Must have been a trick of the eye." Hansel shrugged. "It's probably nothing."

They reached home and whiled the rest of the time away doing separate things—Felix watching horror shows on TV and Hansel trying to bake a cake, only to burn it. He took it out of the oven and put it aside, intending to throw it out later. Felix must have had no idea what a normal cake tasted like, because when Hansel wasn't looking he snuck into the kitchen and ate all of it.

Having nothing else to do Hansel went to his room and began rearranging his bookshelf. In the process, the picture book of the ten kings caught his eye. He pulled it out and started leafing through it with a pleasant curve to his lips. So it turned out Felix was really a king. No wonder he picked a name from this book.

However, before he could get to the page about King Felix's story, he was distracted by something falling out of the book. He stooped towards the floor and retrieved the small square thing, only to discover it was his lost SIM card.

He picked it up and inspected it in the half light.

So that was where Felix had been hiding it.

Hansel pushed the SIM into his phone and turned it on.

He got his first call that midnight.