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I clutched Ezra's arm as I stated up at Lorin in disbelief. How. . .could he?! He was the enemy - the same person who sent those dead flowers, cryptic note and demon after me! And I had been so nice to him! I had been so oblivious; and he had been too good of a villain.

"Lorin?" I asked in astonishment. Ezra pulled me closer to his side. As he did so, I remembered the unknown unconscious boy that was beside him. Turning my attention away from a grinning Lorin, because I knew Ezra would be watching him, I grabbed the shoulder of the boy and turned him over. I gasped in shock as I realized it was my brother. So he had gone to get the flashlight. The reason my mom sent me was because he never came back.

"You - you. . .as$hole!" I stuttered as I stared at my brothers blank face and closed eyes. He had a bruise the size of a fist - Lorin's fist, I bet - blossoming on his left cheekbone.

"Don't worry. It wasn't hard to knock him out. Just one punch to the face and he was out like a light." Lorin mused, a smug look rising on his face.

"You'll. . .you'll pay for this!" I yelled as I turned around, looking away from my older brother and to Lorin. I lunged at him but Ezra caught hold of me, pulling me back to him. "Let. Go. Ezra!"

"No. Don't put yourself in danger. Especially not for a pathetic, jealous, half-breed like Lorin." Ezra snarled out, never leaving eye contact with Lorin. I saw Lorin's eyes widen a bit, but that was the only indication he gave that Ezra's words had affected him.

"Oh really?" He asked, sounding unconvinced. "You'll know that I'm not unconventional, Ezra. I am dangerous. And I will kill you. You," he pointed at me, "will be quick, so you should be relieved from that."

"Oh, you fücker -!" I yelled but was cut off by Lorin again.

"And you," He said as he pointed at Ezra. "I'll kill you nice and slow. I want to see that pretty golden, angel blood. I want to rip your wings off, harvest your feathers. . .I'll use them as decor."

"You sick bastard!" I screamed. My attention was all on Lorin and Ezra, but, a sudden thought hit me. Why wasn't my mom wondering where me and Jason were?

"Your mother -" Ezra, apparently having heard what I was thinking, blurted.

"Oh, don't worry about her. I knocked her out too." Lorin replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "With magic - I wouldn't dare hurt that woman! She's so kind. . .and she's the one who created you, the one human I have a grudge against."

"Why?" Ezra asked. "Why do you have a grudge against Rachel."

"Because," Lorin replied with a roll of his eyes. "You like her. And she likes you. And I, want to destroy you. Because, I hate you. I want to be what you are. And not take it so easily and advantageously. I need to eliminate you."

"That's a pretty petty reason. I wouldn't expect anything more, though." Ezra replied sounding calm and completely indifferent. This, as Ezra had purposely known, riled Lorin up.

"You won't be talking once I rip that tongue -" Lorin had begun but was stopped as Ezra stood up abruptly, catching even me off guard. I made a noise of surprise and protest and clumsily fell back on my butt. I looked up at Ezra who stood confidently, staring at Lorin with an impassive face and stormy eyes. Lorin, on the other hand looked anything but. Instead, his evil resolve had crumbled away and he stood, one foot outside the shed and the other inside, looking as if he was ready to bolt.

"Coward. . ." I muttered underneath my breath. I said it loud enough that Lorin heard and snarled at me, but, he didn't dare make another move.

"What are you going to do, Ezra?" He leered, almost singing the question. He narrowed his eyes but he didn't remove his left foot from where it was planted on the grass outside the shed.

"Kill you." Ezra shrugged. "If I feel up to it."

"You'll - you'll have to catch me then!" Lorin lamely chanted as he raised his chin in false defiance. With a raise of his eyebrow, Ezra took a step forward, which caused Lorin to laugh giddily in nervous, sick excitement. His eyes moved back and forth rapidly, looking at Ezra's hands, feet and then face, trying to determine or dodge Ezra's attack - of it were to come. Lorin, it seemed to me, had become insane. He looked it at least.

"Come and get me, angel boy!" Lorin growled, his voice warping into something deep and dark - nothing like his old, open voice was before. He reminded me. . .of the Joker.

"You can't kill what you can't find!" Lorin sung with his new, horrible, vicious voice. I realized, just as Lorin disappeared around the door, that along with his voice, something else - his face? His expressions? - had changed drastically as well. As if a layer of paint was being peeled away suddenly, revealing the cracked, broken wall underneath.

Ezra didn't even take a step forward to go to catch Lorin. Instead, he came over to me and, with some grunting, carried my brother back into the house.

"Put him in his bed." I offered as we entered the quiet, dimly lit house. "That way he'll think everything was a dream?"

"Good idea." He replied, and vanished up the stairs. I turned and looked around the living room, finding my mother breathing evenly, with a small smile on her face - as if she was merely sleeping and having a nice dream - on the couch.

The TV was still on, showing a colourful screen with laughing kids and parents; a stupid commercial for a new car played on the screen. I decided to leave it on as Ezra came back downstairs. That way, it'll make it look like my mom fell asleep hastily so she wouldn't have many questions on why her head felt like a hundred pounds when she woke up the next morning. I turned to look at Ezra, seeing he was looking at me with an expression I couldn't read. Then, without saying a word, I walked back to the front door, ready to hunt that fake bastard down. There were no words said, but Ezra knew exactly what I was doing as he followed along right behind me. Either from his mind-reading capabilities, or just from the look on my face, I'll never know.

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Aw :( poor Ray