The War of Watchers

Chapter 2

July 18, 1996

Grian and Xanthos darted through the trees. Branches hit the boys faces as they ran past, but they didn't care. A couple of branches was better than facing a furious Xisuma.

Why was he furious, you ask? Well, it was Xisuma and Xanthos' sixteenth birthday, and Grian, being the prankster that he was, decided that it was a good idea to convince Xanthos to switch out Xisuma's present with a gift wrapped block of TNT. Xanthos, being the wonderful brother that he was, agreed almost immediately. So now the older Void brother wanted to kill both of them. Hence the running away.

"Get back here you two!" Xisuma screamed at them. 

"Never!" Grian called over his shoulder. He may have been two years younger than the other boys, but he had no trouble out running the older admin.

Suddenly, Xisuma let out a sharp cry of pain and stumbled, falling to the ground. 

"Xisuma?" Xanthos called, skidding to a stop. "Are you alright?" As much as Xanthos loved annoying his brother, he cared about him. He didn't know what he would do if his brother got hurt and he wasn't there to help.

The only repose was a small rustle in the trees.

"Xisuma!" Xanthos ran to his brother. When he found him, Xisuma was kneeling on the ground in a small clearing, clutching his wrist.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm not sure," his brother told him. "My wrist just randomly started hurting."

He moved his hand away and froze, shocked by what he was seeing. Everyone knew by that point that admins got their powers on their sixteenth birthday, but this was entirely new. A small brown line ran across his wrist. It looked like a tattoo, but Xisuma had never gotten one.

"What is that?" Grian asked. He had walked into the small clearing while the brothers had been talking and now stared at the mark on Xisuma's wrist.

"I have no idea," the admin told him.

"We have to tell dad," Xanthos told his brother.

Moments later the boys were running back to their house, Grian following closely behind. It didn't take long for them to spot their house high on a hill by the edge of the forest. It was a large, two story home, with dark wooden walls and a tall slate roof. One of the rooms looked like a tower coming off of the back of the house. 

The three boys ran up the hill and darted into the house. Despite its old, rustic appearance it was very clean and modern inside.

"Boys? What's wrong?" the Void's mom asked them. She had been standing in the kitchen and saw them run in. She now walked over to them and noticed their worried expressions.

"Where's dad?" Xanthos asked her. "We need to talk to him about something."

Their mother sensed the panic in his voice and pointed to the office door. 

"He's in his office," she told the. "What's going on?"

"We need to talk to him," Xisuma told his mom. Without further explanation, they ran into his office and shut the door in Grian's face. 

Rude, Grian thought, as he stared at the red wooden door.

"Grian," the Void's mom asked him. "What was that all about." 

Grian spun around, not completely sure what to say. He hadn't expected his friend to slam a door in his face and force him to explain everything.

"Well," he began to explain, but hesitated. If his friends hadn't told their mom yet, was it really a good idea for him to? And he didn't actually know what was going on with that mark. "I should probably let them explain it when they get the chance."

She frowned, clearly not satisfied with his answer, but relented. He probably had his reasons.  

"Alright, I'll ask them later." She smiled warmly. Grian was like another son to her. He was a nice boy, albeit a bit annoying at times. "Since they're busy for the moment, would you like some cookies?"

"Yes!"

--------------------------------------------------

"So? What is it?" Xisuma asked his dad.

"I'm not sure," he told the brothers. "It seems like it has something to do with your admin powers, though."

"But why is it there?" Xanthos asked. He was clearly annoyed by his fathers answer. Deep down he knew his father genuinely didn't know, but he wanted answers, not guesses.

"I don't know," their father told them. "If it hurts, tell me. I'll just have to do some research to figure it out. For now, don't worry about it.

"Fine," Xanthos muttered.

Xisuma looked like he was about to say something, but instead turned towards the door.

"Do you guys smell cookies?"