• Chapter Four

    An Explanation


    Once Adon got back home, it was pitch black outside. Lalita came running down the stairs and hugged Essence.
    "Big Sister!" Lalita said happily. Essence hugged Lalita tightly as Adon flopped onto the couch. Fumiyo smiled happily at the sight of Essence being home safe. At that moment, the phone started to ring. Fumiyo walked over to the phone and picked it up.
    "Hello. Oh, yes hold on a second." she said. Fumiyo turned to Adon and nodded. "It's Mom. She wants to talk to you." Adon walked over and took the phone Fumiyo's hand.
    "Hey Mom. What's up?" said Adon.
    "I am sorry honey but I wont be home for a while." said his mother.
    "What? What is going?" he asked.
    "I am sorry but I am being sent out on a foreign job for the summer vacation. I want you take good care of your sisters and be good okay. I have to go I have to catch my flight. Bye honey. I love you." his mother said.
    "Hey what to do you mean? Wait!" he shouted. But before he could get any answers, she had already hung up the phone. He put the phone back on the hook and simply stared at it. Essence turned to him and tilted her head.
    "What's wrong? What did Mom say?" she asked. Adon turned to her and then looked down at the ground.
    "Mom left for a foreign job. She won't be back until summer break is over." he said. Erica simply nodded at them and turned her face away from them.
    "It is for the best. We don't want to drag innocent people into this matter." she said. Donner looked at Erica with a mad look.
    "Innocent! What about me and Adon's sisters?! Aren't they inncoent people in this now?!" he shouted. Erica looked at Donner with a calm and collective look.
    "No, not anymore. They were until the Zmeu appeared before them. Now they are involved as well." she said. Adon simply looked at her and shook his head.
    "Erica, tell us what is going on. We all deserve to know now." he said. Erica nodded at them and looked up the stairs.
    "Why don't we talk in your room, Adon. There I will explain everything." she said. Erica walked up the stair with Adon, Donner, Essence, Lalita, and Fumiyo following behind her. Erica pulled out a chair as Essence, Fumiyo, and Lalita gather on the bed. Adon and Donner sat on the down on the ground across from the bed. Erica sat in her chair in front of the wall between everyone. Erica straightened her glasses and across her legs. "Where shall I start first?" Adon looked at her and nodded his head.
    "Why don't you start with what my Dad has to with this Doppleganger group?" he asked. Donner looked at him with a confused look.
    "What is a Doppleganger?" Donner asked. Erica sighed and turned to Fumiyo.
    "I'll need your help just to get through this conversation." she said. Fumiyo started flipping through her book and came across the info she need.
    "A Doppleganger is a creature of German mythology. It is said to a being that looks alike to some one of the living. If a person sees there Doppleganger, it is fortold as an omen of death. People who do see their Doppleganger will always die a short time later." she said. Erica simply nodded at her and continued with her explaination.
    "The group Doppleganger is an organization of demons, mythical creatures, and hellish beings that are out to cause trouble for everyone. About twenty years ago, a very powerful demon took hold of Doppleganger and ruled it with an iron fist. Your father, Alston, was what you called a Master of Mythicals." she said. Lalita tilted her head side to side.
    "What is that?" she asked. Erica smiled at her and continued talking.
    "A Master of Mythicals is a title given to certain people who can see, speak, and control mythical creature such as me. They are very powerful and can call on us to help them." she said. Erica soon had a sad look on her face and closed her eyes. "The demon that now runs Doppleganger gave out an order. To kill every last Master of Mythicals that lives to that day. Your father went into hiding shortly after the order was given out." Adon stood up and looked at Erica.
    "What does this have to do with you? Why is my dad your master?" Adon asked. Erica opened her eyes and pulled out a necklace hidden underneth her shirt. The necklace had a bright gold jewel dangling from it.
    "This is my Hoshi no Tama or Star Jewel. Every divine kitsune has one of these with them." she said with a smile. Fumiyo flipped through her book and found her page.
    "A Kitsune is from Japanese folklore. It is a fox spirit with magical powers. It says that there are two types of kitsune. There are the zenko the good fox and then there is the nogitsune the bad fox. Since you said that you are a divine kitsune means you are a zenko." she stated. Erica sinply nodded at her as she continued. "The Star Jewel is is said to be the life force of the kitsune. If the zenko are too far apart from their jewel they will die." Erica place her jewel back under her shirt before continuing where she left of.
    "My jewel was taken by a theif and your father gave it back to me. I promised that I would forever repay him until the day he died." she said. Fumiyo looked up at Erica.
    "What happened to our Dad?" he asked. Erica looked down at the ground and shook her head.
    "The day he left for that business trip, he knew that Doppleganger would come after him next. He summoned me to his side and gave me his request. 'Go to my children and protect them. They must become the new Masters of Mythicals when they are older. Please protect them and keep them from harm.' After that, Doppleganger attack us and we were captured. Just a few months ago, I was able to escape from Doppleganger's headquaters. That is when I shipped myself to you address to avoid detection." she said. Adon was surprised at everything that Erica had told them. Donner tilted his head to the side.
    "What does that have to do with me? How am I involved in this?" he asked. Erica looked at Donner.
    "We will need all the help we can get. After all, we are going to face a formidable opponent." she said. Essence looked at her with a scared look on her face.
    "What about Lalita? You dont expect a seven year old to be able to face a monster like that Zmeu do you?" asked Essence. Erica shook her head and looked at her.
    "No I don't. But you and Lalita will have to help as well. Right now I will explain everyone's roles as Masters of Mythcials. Adon is our leader since is the first born and probably the most powerful of us all. Even if he doesn't know it yet. Donner is our swordsman since he knows how to wield a sword well. Lalita and Essence will be partnered with Familiar spirits. I will explain about that later. Fumiyo will provide the knowledge we will need to defeat our enemies. And me, I have magical powers and knowledge as well. Everyone understand?" she said. Everyone simply nodded their heads at their new roles. Erica stood up from her chair and walked to the door. She turned to Lalita and Essence
    "I will need a minute to set up the summoning circle so you and Lalita can summon your familiar spirits. Fumiyo, you can explain what a familiar spirit is now." she said. She walked out of the room, down the stairs and out of sight. Fumiyo had already found her page that she needed.
    "A Familiar spirit comes from many cultures, mainly English culture. It is to be a creature that takes the form of an animal of some sort. It is said to be very loyal to the summoners and will do as they are commanded. A Familiar will protect their Master to the death." she said. Lalita jumped with joy at thought of her own pet.
    "Yay! Me and Big Sister are going to get a pet!" she said happily. Essence knew that Lalita won't understand fully what a Familiar was. She just let her keep on imagining.
    "I'm all done down here. Come on down." she shouted up the stairs. After hearing Erica's voice come from down the stairs, they all headed down the stairs to see Erica drawing on the wood flooring in the kitchen. Adon stood in shock at the sight of their floor.
    "What on earth are you doing?" he shouted. Erica turned to him and smiled.
    "Don't worry. This will clean right up. I promise." she said. Erica walked over to Essence and pulled her into the circle. She let go of her and walked out of the circle. "Alright Essence, you're first. Now listened carefully. I want you to focus every bit of your energy and focus on summoning your familiar. Once you have summoned every bit of it, I want you recite this spell. 'Come forth! My Familiar Spirit!' You got all that?" Essence nodded her head and Erica smiled. "Alright then. Let's start!" Essence nodded her head again and turned her attention to the circle. She closed her eyes and started to focus. A spirling column of fire surrounded her and the circle as she focused. She opened her eyes and recited the spell.
    "Come forth! My Familiar Spirit!" she shouted. A large flash of light blinded everyone after the reciting of the spell. After the light faded, her familiar spirit sat before her. The familiar spirit looked like a small cat with two tails. Its fur was a dull blue with a white chest. Its eyes glowed a shade of amber as it stared at its new master. Essence looked down at the cat. "This is a familiar spirit? I thought the would be big and vicious looking." Erica shook her head and looked at her.
    "That is only when they protect their master from harm. They remain in a small form so they can easily follow their master around." she said. Erica then turned to Lalita. "Okay Lalita. It's your turn now." Essence picked up her familiar spirit and walked out of the circle. Lalita stepped into the circle and looked at Adon. Adon smiled at her.
    "It's okay Lalita. Go for it." he said. Lalita smiled back at him and then closed her eyes. Just like with Essence, she focused her energy and focus into the spell. Instead of a column of fire, a whirlwind surrounded Lalita and the circle. Lalita opened her eyes and recited the spell.
    "Come forth! My Familiar Spirit!" she yelled. The wind surged outward out of the circle and nearly blew everyone away. Sitting on top of Lalita's head, laided her familiar spirit. It was a tiny white dragon with golden wings tips. Its eyes were a bright crimson red that simply stared out into space. Lalita picked up the dragon off top of her head and held it in her arms. Erica looked in awe at the dragon. She summoned a dragon. At her age, that is a pretty amazing familiar to have, Erica thought. Lalita bounced over to Adon and held up her familiar. "It's so cute!" The dragon looked up at her and tilted it's head. "I'll call you Ryu." Ryu wiggled out of Lalita's hands and flew to the top of her head. Ryu laid down on her head, closed his eyes and fell asleep. Lalita giggled at Ryu. "Okay, you can sleep. Good night Ryu!" Erica got to work of getting rid of the summoning circle. After the circle was cleaned up, she turned to everyone.
    "It's gotten late. We should turn in for the evening." she said. Adon nodded at her.
    "You're right." he said. He turned to Lalita who yawned a little. "Time to go to bed Lalita." Lalita rubbed her eyes and smiled.
    "Okay. Night big brother." she said. She walked up the stairs to and went to her room. Essence and Fumiyo followed her up the stairs and disappeared out of sight. Donner looked at Adon and smiled.
    "I'm going to call my folks and see if they will let me stay over tonight." he said. Donner walked over to the phone and called his parents. Adon turned to Erica and looked at her.
    "Hey Erica. I have a question." he said. Erica looked at him with a sense of curosity.
    "What is it?" she asked. Adon looked away from her then looked back her.
    "It's about my father. Is he still alive?" he aked. The look on Erica's face grew sad as she looked at him.
    "No. He risked his life to make sure I got to you and your sisters. But he did tell me to tell you one thing." she said.
    "What's that?" he asked. Erica had a small smile on her face.
    "To make sure he wished you and your sisters a Happy Birthday for all the birthdays he missed." she said. Adon looked at her and smiled sadly.
    "That will be just like him." he said. Donner hung up the phone and looked Adon.
    "Looks like I'll be crashing here for awhile. Hey, what's wrong." he asked. Adon shook his head.
    "It's nothing. What do you mean for awhile?" he asked.
    "My folks are going out on a vacation and they don't trust me home alone. So I'll be crashing here until they return." he said with a smile.
    "So where will you sleep?" he asked.
    "I'll crash on the couch if you don't mind. Mind if I borrow a pillow and a blanket?" he asked.
    "Not at all. There is some spare pillows and blankets in the closet over there. Good night, Donner." he said with a smile. Donner smiled and nodded at him.
    "Good night." he replied. Adon and Erica walked up the stairs and to his room. Adon turned to Erica.
    "Do you intend to sleep here tonight?" he asked. Just as he said that Erica turned into a puff of smoke and back into her orignal form.
    "You dont mind, do you?" she said. Adon shook his head and crawled into bed. Erica jumped onto the bed and curled up into ball beside him. Adon laid there awake for a long time thinking about everything that has happened to him today. I need to go to sleep, he thought. He turned to his side and soon went to sleep.

    Back in that other worldly place, the shadowy man sat in his seat surround by his men and women. The shadowy man rested his head on his arm and looked at them.
    "My men. It seems old Alston sent his little kitsune friend to his children. And now we have a little new threat." said the shadowy man. A young girl with dragon wings spoke.
    "I cant see how a few children could cause any problems." said the girl with the dragon wings. Another young girl with horns out of her head looked at her.
    "From what I heard, that group of children killed the Zmeu. That is no easy task." said the girl with horns. A dark kitsune laughed at them.
    "They had help from that little good kitsune. They're not all that powerful." said the dark kitsune. A final girl with a scythe over her shoulder looked up.
    "Whether the kitsune helped or not, killing the Zmeu is still a difficult thing to do." said the girl with the scythe. A young man walked over to the shadowy man and gave a slight bow.
    "What are your orders, Kane?" asked the young man. Kane stood up and place a hand on the table.
    "Send out Para and her friend. That should take care of this matter." said Kane. The young man bowed again and left the room. Kane turned to the others. "That is all." Everyone else got up a left the room leaving Kane alone. He laughed to himself. "I hope those children of yours knows what they're doing, Alston. Because, I will crush them without mercy."