Seventeen years later

March 23, 2006

Aiden stormed the open doors of her grandmother's compound and raced upstairs. It was the day of reckoning and she was going to take it while the window was open.

For the last four years she had been living in fear and running from the one person who should have been watching over her development as a Supranatural. Instead that person wanted to kill her because of some stupid prophecy type thing. She wasn't really sure what the late Future Watcher saw but it must have been interesting if her own grandmother was trying to kill her.

She fought her way up the grand staircase and cut to the right. What was she going to do once she got up there? It was simple. She was going to challenge her grandmother to a duel for the throne. It was her prerogative as an heir and the sole female of the family.

Seventeen years ago, she had been born in Germany to a wonderful mother who had busted her butt to give her four brothers and her whatever they wanted when she could. It was the way she was and that was all tragically ended when her father killed her mother right in front of her. That had torn their family up. Her twin and she had been torn apart from their other brothers and sent to different families.

Four years after her brother had been adopted, they were reunited. But that wasn't the only thing that had happened to them at that time.

One day they had been walking home from school and they both began to hear thoughts in their head. It turns out it was each other's thoughts and the people's around them. A year later a few weeks after their thirteenth birthday, she literally destroyed the bathroom. Everything started floating after she sneezed. The toothpaste whacked her in the head and left a bruise. Her brother had been gentle and eased her in bed then told her about her lost brothers.

Cole, Andy and Wyatt- her three older brothers- had swooped in and began training them. They got along with their adopted parents and helped them understand why the twins had been split up. Their parents had allowed them to come over whenever they wanted and stay for however long. One night she had heard them discussing something about a prophecy the late Future Watcher had said seventeen years ago about how the youngest in the family would overtake the throne. She had gotten them to spill. That was when they had found out they would be hunted by their own grandmother and she would try to kill them so she could keep the throne. After that, they spent all their time training.

By the time they were sixteen, what Cole had told them was true. Their grandmother was trying to kill them or at least render them useless. They had to go on the run to keep her from winning. Now at age seventeen, it was time to meet the reaper.

Aiden kicked the door down and looked around the room.

'Tell me what you see, Tyler," she said via the telepathic bond she had with one of her friends. She could feel her freshly burned mark- a silver crescent moon at the base of her neck- burn painfully as she used one of her baser powers. Telepathy always came first and it was a wonderful power to have at moments like this.

She felt a rustling in her mind as her friend answered. 'She's in her hidden room. Look behind the panel next to the dressing table. She'll be waiting for you.'

She didn't have to say thanks as she cut her eyes to the side and the panel flew across the room. The doorway was small but wide enough to wriggle through. Through the small opening she saw a rustle of fabric. She smiled as her grandmother's thoughts ran through her head. She wanted her to come racing through. Her plan was to crack her over the head with the scepter she always carried with her. Aiden knew it wasn't the trademark of the Empire. That she wore about her neck because it had been her mother's.

"You know I'm not going to fall for that so you might as well come out here," she said as she propped herself up on the dressing table and crossed her ankles. She grinned as she heard the slow tread across the wooden floor through the door. "You had to know I'd come for you."

"They said you were dead," her grandmother hissed at her.

"That's the beauty of being able to control your nervous system. I can fake my death at any time."

"What are you here for?"

"You should know. You've been hunting me for it for the last two years. I've come to make your worst nightmare come true."

Her grandmother's face took on a green color. "You wouldn't dare."

Aiden lifted an eyebrow and stared at her grandmother levelly. "Wouldn't I? Celia Lowen, I hereby challenge you to a duel for the throne of the Empire. If you should lose, you will give up all claim to the throne and will hand it over to me and my brother. If you should win, I will abdicate my role as heir to the throne. Do you accept this challenge?"

It took all of three seconds for Celia to hold out her hand. "Deal."

The two stepped out of the room and headed out to the backyard. Aiden slid out of her jacket as her grandmother took stance across from her. She felt her friends and family form a circle around them to keep either one of them from fleeing.

"Koen?" her grandmother asked. She looked over where Celia was turned. Her grandfather was completing the circle, making it glow a combination of silver and gold. "What are you doing?"

"Helping my family stop you," her grandfather said.

Aiden slipped along the circle quietly. There were no rules for a duel and she knew her grandmother wasn't as quick as she had once been. She also didn't know what her granddaughter was capable of or what her power was. She had been trained as an assassin and was a good one at that.

"I see you moving, dear." Her grandmother turned and sent a roll of fire towards her. She had to duck and roll across the ground to extinguish the flame. "From what your cousin says, you only have telekinesis and telepathy. What type of woman can only do that?"

She didn't respond as she stood. Good ole Alex. He could always pull strings when he needed to. She had asked him to lie about her powers because she would have a hard time showing them if she needed to.

"You are nothing like your mother. At least she was a Truth Hearer. She wasn't much else but she knew when someone was telling the truth."

That had been the reason Aiden hadn't been around when she had asked Alex to lie. Lies were always hard to hear. They smelled different than truth. Truths held the scent of coastal waters. Lies smelled like rotting flesh and her skin tingled with chills. If her grandmother knew she was the Truth Hearer of their family, she would play dirty to win. Aiden couldn't have that.

Aiden dodged another fireball then flipped as a wall of fire raced towards her. She was making it difficult on her. If she didn't break out the power soon, she was going to get burned and badly.

She watched Celia's eyes closely as she got ready to attack. They widened fractionally and that was when she knew she should attack. The fireball came roaring at her the second she summoned the air to her. It gathered under her feet and lifted her from the ground, spinning her over her grandmother's head until she landed softly behind her.

She heard it before she felt the heat. Sliding one foot back, she turned and brought her hands up. As her hands came up, a wall of rock followed. The fire came to a roaring halt. When she was certain her grandmother had tired, Aiden went on the offensive.

She leapt over the rock wall and lashed out with a funnel of wind. Celia lost her balance and stumbled over a rock. She tried to use her pyrotechnics but they were doused with water. Aiden stomped the ground once and rock encased Celia so she couldn't attack.

"It's not fair! You're a Spirit Wielder. You can channel anyone's power. That's against the rules," Celia said hotly.

"Did you establish any rules?" Koen asked from his spot in the circle.

"No, we didn't. All we said was we were having a duel. There were no other rules," Aiden replied as she tried to catch her breath. Siphoning energy from the circle holders was exhausting but since her friends had opened themselves up, it made it a little easier.

Koen's face softened with pity. "Celia, you were always taught never to accept a challenge unless there were rules in place."

Celia fought against her restraints, growling in anger when she couldn't. "Let me go! Fight fair!"

"She did fight fair, Mum Mum," Alex said in his thick German accent. "Without rules, Aiden was allowed to use whatever means necessary to defeat you. She did and she won fairly." He turned. "Pop Pop, I hereby petition that this challenge be over and the terms fulfilled."

Koen looked at Aiden then at his wife suspended in air by solid rock. He sighed. "Yes, the duel is over. State your terms, challenger."

Aiden stepped forward and dropped the rock so her grandmother could look up at her instead of down. "I hold you to our deal. You will step down as Empress and hand the title over to me and my brother."

Celia's eyes blazed hatred as she looked up at her youngest granddaughter. "I hereby abdicate my throne."

A murmur went around the circle as it was suddenly broken up but no one moved. Koen stepped forward and held his hand out for his wife. She took them but she still glared at her granddaughter.

"You have fought well, Aiden, and seeing that makes me feel better about this announcement." He looked at everyone and smiled. "After this weekend, I will be stepping down as Emperor of the Empire. There will be a coronation in three days." He escorted his wife back into the mansion as the others milled about talking amongst each other.

"Mikey, can I talk to you?" Aiden asked when everyone decided they were cold enough and ready to head back in.

Her older twin hung back and waited until everyone was gone. "What's up?"

She looked up at him. "I won't lie and say that I want this. I don't but I couldn't take her ruling anymore."

He tilted his head slightly and looked at her. She was never like this unless it was important. "What is it?"

"I don't want to rule these people. I am not ready for that responsibility. There's too much I want to do. I want to explore all of this. I want adventure. You're better suited to this than I am."

He sighed and nodded. "I know what you're saying. You want me to take over the Empire as sole heir."

She nodded. "Yeah, I do. Keep me as your heir until you have your own child if you want, but I don't want to rule."

Mikey snorted and pulled her into a hug, feeling her come out of the jitters that always followed immense power surge. "Come on. I'll tell everyone your decision."

~~~~~~

Three days later, Aiden watched her uncle coronate Mikey as the Emperor of the Empire. Their grandmother had put up a fuss but there was nothing she could do. It was Aiden's decision to step down and she had. Mikey was no Emperor and no one was going to challenge him for that position.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tyler asked as she stepped out of the mansion.

She smiled as she looked at the car before her. "I am. Let's go home."

Home was wherever they would end up. At this point it could be Antarctica, but as long as they held firm to their friendship, they would survive. This weekend had proven just that.

She listened to her friends bicker as they walked away from their friend and brother as he celebrated with his new family and girlfriend. They wouldn't see him for a while, but he was safe. Right now, they all were. She was going to have to start keeping up with all of the things she did in the meantime.

~~~~~~~~~~

Aiden's Journal

August 19, 2008

This is the start of a brand, new journal. Like I said, I was going to start keeping tabs on all of our adventures, or misadventures. We have a little bit of both. This book smells the same as the others; paper, ink, and life. Oh, how I love books! But that's not why I'm here.

Well, fifteen minutes ago it was made official.

Austin, Keldin, Tallyn and I are now Exiles. We decided to step down from the Council and the Empire. We couldn't handle what they wanted us to do.

After Mikey was coronated almost five months ago the twenty-third of this month, we stayed around to make sure he was situated then go back to work. We took a couple of jobs to keep our shapes. We are the best Hunters in the Empire and the newly formed Association (more about that later). So, we did what we do best; we brought people in for their punishments.

But one of our captures was sentenced to death for petty theft. We watched as his family begged for mercy but received none from the Council. Mikey hadn't really had anything to say so he went with his men and women. We didn't agree with that way of thinking. Petty theft doesn't deserve death.

We discussed it. We didn't want to live a life that way. We only had one option. We signed the papers and turned them in, banishing ourselves to exile.

Now for the Hunter's Association. A few months before Mikey took the throne, we formed a group known as the Hunter's Association. We were irritated by the way the assassins in the Empire were doing things so we wanted to do things differently. It took us a few months to select people who had knowledge of everything we dealt with. In the end, we decided that we didn't want it to be just us, but people needed to know they could come to us for asylum or to train as a Hunter. I think it's the perfect place for all of us to disappear now that we can.

Luckily the Association is an entity all on its own. No one can control it except for the five who were elected, easily known as the Five. We made it the Five because of the titles me and my friends held in the Empire, the Royal Flush. Since there are five cards in a flush, we went ahead and made it five people as the ruling body of the Association. It made sense to us. If one person decides to go against the majority, it comes to a vote. If he or she is morally corrupt, he or she will be replaced. It is a fair deal.

Now to figure out what we want to do for the rest of our lives. I know we all want to finish high school, maybe even go to college. We don't know what the future holds yet, but as of right now it's away from this hell hole.