Titanium-- Horace Somnusson [MPHFPC]

Chapter One-- Better Off Dead

It was a perfect day in Miss Kingfisher's loop. The sun was shining, the breeze was cool, and it was December 25, 1860 here in Australia. Jamie, Adeline, and Phoenix were playing hide and seek. My adopted brothers, Percy and Nico, were lying next to me.

Everything was alright. I let out a deep breath, enjoying the cool air. My best friend Ezra flew over and plopped himself on the branch above me. He had beautiful black wings that spread out behind him, and he could fly with them.

"What's up, Titanium?" He asked me. Titanium was my nickname, hence my ability to turn into the shiny metal.  "Nothing much, Ezra. Don't you think that it's an amazing day today? It feels so different from all the other days."

He nodded. "It's too perfect..." he trailed off. Just then, I heard a scream from the house. Pulling Percy and Nico up, I ran beneath Ezra to the old, rickety mansion that our loop was based around.

Nico suddenly tripped, and he cried out loudly. I covered his mouth, hoping whatever it was that was causing Phoenix's cries for help wouldn't hear us.

The boys were getting tired, and we weren't even halfway to the house! So I did what any sensible guardian would do.

I put them in a tree.

"Stay here. Don't move from this tree and you'll be alright." I had told them. Leaving them in the tree, I ran around to the corner of the house.

Phoenix was being held up in midair, by some sort of invisible force. Jamie and Adeline were lying on the ground beneath her, more still than dead silence.

"It's a Hollow." Ezra told me. Of course, I knew this already; I had had way too many run-ins with them before. A loud screech caused me to jump, and I looked to see Miss Kingfisher standing there, her crossbow in hand. she shot, and Phoenix stopped screaming.

The hollowgast was dead, but unfortunately, so was Phoenix. I ran over to Adeline and Jamie, hoping that they could be saved. Jamie was flat out dead, her arms were twisted at odd angles all over our once beautiful lawn.

Adeline, on the other hand, was still alive. She was rolling around on the ground, moaning softly in pain. I was about to try to talk to her, to get her to calm down, when an arrow went through her chest.

Miss Kingfisher was standing above me, and she looked so incredibly sad. "She's better off dead now." I looked back at my old friends. They were so young, and that had just gotten to my loop. They didn't deserve to die.

A tear ran down my cheek as I held Adeline's small, delicate hand. Ezra noticed and came over, wrapping his strong, black wings around me.

"Iris!" I heard Percy call, all the way from the tree. There was no way I was letting anyone get to them. Ezra flew off as fast as he could, and Miss Kingfisher and I were right behind him.

We found Percy standing over his little brother, who had fallen over. He held a stick, as if it was a sword, pointing towards a man in a black tux.

I ran over to Nico, helping him up. Ezra stood protectively in front of Percy, his black bulletproof wings spreading out menacingly behind him. Miss Kingfisher held her crossbow up to the wight.

"How did you find us?" I just noticed the hollowgast shadow creeping up behind her, but I didn't speak, not wanting to draw its attention.

"Why, my dear, I'm afraid that it's none of your business." The wight chuckled. The hollow lunged at Miss Kingfisher, and I covered my boys' eyes as he tortured and killed our ymbryne.

Nico was grabbing onto Ezra's hand so tightly, I was afraid that it would fall off. Percy was crying hysterically into my shirt.

"You monster!" I had yelled out to the wight. "How could you be so cruel?!"

The wight replied only with a small smirk and five words.

"So long and goodnight, children." And he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a grenade. Before we could react, he pulled put the pin and threw it at us, disappearing.