Riley's POV

"Margaret! Mom, we have to go", I yelled as soon as I walked into the house I'd called home for 18 years.

Margaret was lying on the couch, with her legs hanging off like she was afraid she'd get it dirty. She seemed fast asleep.

"Mom!" I shouted again.

The sound of my voice startled her. She woke up and almost climbed over the couch to get away from me.

"It's me. It's Riley", I assured.

"Oh oh, thank goodness. I thought it was Isandro coming to get me", she said. You could still see the fear on her face. Clearly the thought of Isandro capturing her again horrified her.

"We have to go. We don't have much time", I said.

"Where are we going?"

"The Darkeners have Casey...my friend. I need to get him back. I can't leave you here alone knowing they are here on earth. Some are bound to come to this house", I said quickly.

"They have your friend? Oh my god!" she said. "I knew it was a bad idea..."

I had just heard about enough. I was wasting time being there when I knew Casey was in danger. I had to find him before I lost the scent. I grabbed mom's hand and instantly transmitted us to a little outside Casey's house. As predicted, the place was swarming with police. I wouldn't have been there if I had a choice, but I needed to follow Casey's scent and this was where it started.

Mom looked at me, looking for an answer as to what happened.

"The house where the police cars are is Casey's house. I got there and found two Darkeners in his room. One was dead and the other unconscious. Casey was nowhere to be found," I explained. "I need to get hold of his scent and follow it to where he is".

She nodded. I was glad there were no protests and crazy behavior. Being on earth was doing her good, though she did look at things like she'd never seen them before.

I left mom on the side of the road and walked over to Casey's driveway, staying in the darkness. I focused hard on the area around me, trying to see it through Casey's eyes. For me following a scent didn't necessarily mean I could smell better than the average human being. It meant I could sense people. That allowed me to figure out where they were.

I could sense Casey in the driveway, and almost immediately, I sensed him move. In my head I could see a dark quiet road. I went over to my mom and grabbed her hand, instantly transmitting us to that dark quiet road.

It went like that for some time. I instantly transmitted to a place I saw in my mind's eye, and when we got there I got another clue. With every place we went, I could sense Casey stronger than before. That meant we were getting closer.

"Ouch", mom cried and stopped walking.

We were treading inside a thick jungle now, where the grass reached our waists. Mom had cried out for the second time since we entered that part of my visions. The first time she'd stepped on a sharp rock.

Admittedly, it was uncomfortable walking in there, but we had no choice. Until I got a vision of where Casey had passed next, we couldn't go anywhere.

"Another rock?" I asked.

"A thorn", she replied. "I'm fine, don't worry".

"I am starting to worry. I can't sense Casey", I said. "We've been walking in here for about a minute now".

"Just...concentrate", she offered.

"That's what..." I said and stopped immediately when I got a vision. It wasn't clear at first but I managed to get a good view of a cabin surrounded by tall trees.

I extended my hand to mom and focused on the picture of the cabin I saw. I instantly transmitted us to the location.

The cabin was lit on the inside by what appeared to be a candle. I could see an orange glow through the small spaces between the logs. It looked old on the outside and like I had seen in my mind, was surrounded by tall trees, making it inconspicuous. You wouldn't know it was there until you stumbled across it.

I could sense Casey more strongly now. If he wasn't there, he'd been there just a few minutes ago.

"Stay here", I said to mom.

I walked to the cabin door, unlocking it effortlessly using my powers. I walked in confidently. Although I wasn't trying to hide, I was surprised I had caught attention. I found myself standing face-to-face with a man in his fifties. He looked too old to be doing Isandro's bidding.

"Where is he?!" I demanded to know.

"Take a step forward and I'll blow your brains out!" he said.

I looked at the rifle in his hand. He had quite a hold on it, but it was no match for my powers. I forcefully removed it from his hands, directing its movements with my eyes. I left it hovering just next to me.

The man stared at me in awe.

"I will not ask again", I said firmly.

"You will have to go through me first", the man said.

"Very well", I said.

Before the man predicted my move, I beat the crap out of him before pinning him against one of the cabin walls with his head pushed in by the hand on his neck. He was gurgling, struggling to breathe.

"I swear if you hurt..." I started but was interrupted by another voice. It didn't come from the man I had pinned against the wall.

"Riley, let him go. It's me you want!"

Casey was standing in the living room behind a couch, looking very much alive. He looked confident too. His blue eyes were challenging me to do as he said. For a moment I just stared at him. He was okay. I could feel birds of joy taking off somewhere in me.

I let go of the man quickly and rushed to Casey's side. He backed away slowly.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you", I said soothingly. "I was so scared. I thought they'd hurt you".

He seemed confused.

"I'm here, okay? They won't hurt you, I promise. I'll keep you safe, even if it's the last thing I do", I said.

"What do you...what do you mean you'll keep me safe? You just almost killed Andrew!" he said.

I turned back to the man I'd just beat the crap out of and then back at Casey. "What...I thought he was holding you hostage. I went to your house and there were bodies there", I said.

"Andrew killed those people. They were going to kill me. I thought you sent them. They are Darkeners", he said.

"I did nothing of that sort. I thought he was a Darkener and took you. This place doesn't exactly scream friendly", I said.

"It's not supposed to. It's a safe place, meant to be undiscoverable", the man who I'd just learned was named Andrew said. "It seems there is some misunderstanding".

I had just one question. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Andrew Mann. I'm a Lightener. You must be Riley, only the Awakener can do what you can do", the man said.

"You're a what?"

"...Lightener, protector of light. Like how Darkeners are protectors of darkness", he said.

I looked at him skeptically. "Miguel said Lighteners don't exist".

"Of course he'd say that. Darkeners are not exactly known to give people choices", Andrew said. "There's something I don't get. If you didn't send those Darkeners after Cass, who did? Last I heard you were in Lands of Azuria preparing to fully become a Darkener".

You have just been rejected. There can only be one reason .The blood of an awakener lies in foreign territory!

Isandro's words that fateful day I tried awakening Darkeners came back to me. I hadn't just been rejected because I couldn't accept darkness. I had been rejected for another reason.

Put in simple words son, you have a child with someone that is not the chosen one.

Is...was it possible? It would explain why Darkeners were suddenly interested in Casey. If he had my child, in the eyes of Allric and Cairo I was impure. It would explain why Isandro had sent Darkeners to his house.

"I think Isandro did. I had nothing to do with that", I said.

"Why would he want Cass out of the way?" Andrew asked.

I shrugged. "A couple of days ago we tried doing the awakening ceremony but I got rejected. Isandro said it was because the blood of the Awakener lay in foreign territory".

Andrew looked at Casey.

Casey shook his head. "No".

"What...what's that about?" I asked.

Andrew shook his head.

"Anyway look, I ran away from Lands of Azuria. I don't want to be a Darkener. I quite like my crappy life. I came back here because this is where I belong. And Case, every second I was there I missed you. When I didn't find you, my heart nearly broke in two. I'm sorry I put you in this", I said.

Casey did something I didn't expect and ran over to hug me. What was supposed to be a hug turned into something more. The moment our skin touched, the world around me dissolved. I heard voices that didn't come from the room.

"He's got blue eyes". Casey.

"No he doesn't. Those eyes are green". Me

"These eyes are totally blue...oh no wait...did his eye color just suddenly change?" Casey.

"He takes after me". Me.

"Well, he has my lips. Going to break hearts with those," Casey.

The voices stopped abruptly as Casey tried to get out of the hug.

"You're pregnant", I whispered in his ear.

This time he pushed out of the hug.

"I am what?"

"When you hugged me just now, I got a vision of you holding a baby boy. We were arguing about the baby's eye color. You said they were blue and I said they were green. His eye color changed from blue to green spontaneously", I explained. I was adding unnecessary detail, but I felt like I needed to give Casey the full story for him to understand.

"That means nothing. I mean...maybe it's just...I don't know. Maybe it was someone else's baby", he was in denial.

"Casey..."

"No!" he shouted and ran off into what I presumed was one of the bedrooms.

I tried running after him but Andrew stopped me, putting a hand on my arm.

"Let him come to terms with it. It is shocking", he said.

The man was rather too accepting of a guy being pregnant, like it had happened before. He seemed to know a lot about unnatural things.

"You could take a seat and tell me more about why you left Lands of Azuria", he said.

"No wait, I left my mom outside", I said and stepped outside the cabin.

Mom was pacing up and down.

"Hey um, Casey is here. He's safe. You should come in, it's cold out there", I said.

She smiled at me and followed me into the cabin.

"This is Andrew..." I started the introductions, but abruptly stopped.

Mom was looking at Andrew as if she'd seen a ghost. It was no different on Andrew's side.

"Margaret", Andrew finally said. His voice was full of surprise.

"Dad", mom said.

I gasped.

"I thought I'd never see you again. I thought...I thought Isandro killed you", Andrew said walking over to mom.

She backed away. "You abandoned me!"

"Margaret I'm sorry. I realized only too late that it was you and not Anna", Andrew said. "I looked for you, but I couldn't find you".

"Um...what's going on?" I asked.

"Growing up, your mother was a rebellious teenager. She did drugs and hung out with the wrong crowds. After her second pregnancy, we kicked her out. She met Isandro. When she discovered who Isandro was and came to tell me, I thought she was high on something. I chased her away. When the dreams came, I thought the chosen one was Anna. I only realized too late that Margaret was telling the truth about Isandro and that he was the Awakener. She was the chosen one. By then I had no idea where she was", Andrew explained. "Margaret, I can only say I'm sorry, and I'm proud of you. Please forgive me".

Mom shook her head. Her eyes were tear-streaked.

"So you are my granddad?" I asked.

Andrew nodded.

"It's obvious you two have a lot to talk about. I'll just leave you to it. I have to talk to Casey", I said quickly and left before any of them could protest.

The passage to one of the bedrooms was poorly lit. I realized as I walked along it that the single candle in the living area was the only one lighting the cabin. The rooms were probably dark. Darkness encroached as I walked on to the first room. I knocked and waited.

The door opened slowly. Casey was standing there looking like someone who was lost. He also looked like he hadn't slept in days. A quick peek into the room revealed that it was totally dark.

"Hey", I said slowly.

"Say there was a baby, where would it be in me? I don't have a uterus. How would I even give birth to it?" he pelted me with questions.

He was serious. There was no mirth in his voice or on his face. He was trying to find logic in the whole thing. This was the Casey I knew- the problem solver. It was what made him a good adviser. He looked at all sides. He analyzed things. He found the pros and cons.

Things were different now, and a rational mind was the last thing he needed.

"I don't know", I said truthfully. "All I know is Casey, you are pregnant. A part of me – all of me – feels you are and so far I've never been wrong".

"You could be w...!" he shouted quietly. I saw his composure break. "For the last couple of days I've been feeling...pregnant. I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. Is this really happening?" His voice showed the desperation he felt.

I offered my chest and he crashed against it. His head lay perfectly against my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him and whispered in his hair, "sorry" over and over again.

*