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It was the birthday of the newborn twins of the Emperor and his Empress of Aqueousar. As young princes and the heirs each to their own planets, Kevin, Howard, and Alexander were obligated to be there to give their respects. This planet, along with their own and another neighboring one, was a part of the bi-stellar star system, and the greatest of the galaxies, the Mizelio Star System. They all knew it was of great importance that they be here, but such a duty was a harsh one upon a youth.
"This isn't fair! I don't understand why I have to be here! These twins aren't even the heirs!" complained Alexander, ten yer old prince of Luminosic.
Howard's heart went out to the child. He himself was only fifteen and already he thought the weight upon his shoulders was too great. To be going to public affairs and worrying about a whole kingdom at the age of ten would have been too much for him. His older brother had been acting as the heir for a long time before the illness had struck without a warning. Now Howard not only felt the sadness of the loss of his best friend and brother, he also had to deal with the problems of a whole planet. Conflagratio had been thrown into turmoil and civil war had commenced ever since Johnathon had died. The people had never known very much about Howard, and they weren't sure they wanted him as their next Emperor. It was a lot of work and determination for a teenager, but still, he was older than only ten years.
Looking at the boy again, Howard saw the tinge of worry there in the child's eyes. The prince might have been complaining on the outside, but he was struggling to keep strong on the inside. Seeing that look so often in his own eyes while looking in the mirror, Howard could recognize it anywhere. The two of them both were without the possibility for failure. There were no more heirs in line after them. Alexander was an only child, and Howard never did have a younger brother.
"It's ok, Alex," Howard said, placing a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder.
"It's AJ. I'm only Alexander during formal things. And only my father calls me Alex," AJ admitted, with a hint of disgust as he mentioned his dad.
"I'm Howard, well most call me Howie. I prefer it," Howie replied, choosing not to mention AJ's father. "I have heard that Prince Nickolas is around your age. Where is he anyway? This is the celebration for his sister and brother, after all."
"Probably causing havoc," mumbled Kevin, who had stayed silent until now. Howie stared at him in surprise. It was not thought of to speak rudely of a member of any royal family, even you yourself were royalty. Howie decided to change the subject and forget about it.
"I thought I was told Prince Brian would be here, too. And isn't he of some relation to you?" Howie wondered.
"We're cousins. And yes, I'm sure he's here, or somewhere on this planet at least. He's probably off with Nick somewhere. Those two are inseparable. I hear my dad telling my mother all the time about how my uncle wishes he could keep Brian on one planet. It's like he rather be on Aqueousar than home on Zephyria," came the answer, more in an ironic tone of voice rather than the anger Howie had thought he'd heard before.
"But isn't Brian thirteen already? That is a pretty large age gap."
"That's what I thought."
"I wish my father would have allowed me to visit other planets to make friends... but no. Always no," AJ whispered to himself bitterly. Both Kevin and Howie were stunned. The hatred AJ had for his father was obvious and shocking. Their fathers were important to them, always there and always helping. However, they understood that not every dad fulfilled his duties to his children. Before either of them could say anything to make AJ feel better, the first blast hit some trees across the courtyard. Then another and another hit somewhere outside the palace. The loud booms kept sounding all around them. Aqueousar was under attack.
"Nickolas! Nick! Honey, sweetie! Where are you!?" screamed Jane, the Empress of the planet, and Nick's mother. The boys saw her running through the crowd that was pushing for sanctuary inside the palace walls. She finally broke free of the mob to see only AJ, Howie, and Kevin standing there.
"Kevin! Do you know where Nick went? Did you see him with Brian? Oh, Sweet Stars, we must find them!" she shouted toward them on her way over. It wasn't until she reached Kevin that her mind even registered that AJ and Howie were with him. She looked at them unsure of who they were until their dress offered a hint. "Oh my! Prince Howard and Prince Alexander? I know you don't know me very well, I'm Jane, but you must help me find my son!" She turned back to Kevin. "It is very important we find them, Kevin! If those things get to them before we do..." she trailed off, lack of breath and the thought of what would happen making it unable for her to finish her sentence.
"Those things? What's happening?" Kevin asked, still not sure of who was waging war with the planet or why.
"We must find those two. Maybe you could take them back to your home on Terrainasius, Kevin. Anywhere away from here!" Jane said as her panic rose.
"What things?!" Kevin practically screamed in his frustration to understand what was happening and to try and bring the Empress back to her normal self.
"The Glequil." It was the only words Jane could manage to get out of her mouth, but it was enough. All three boys knew about the Glequil. Anyone in the Mizelio Star System did. They were the most feared, yet most disbelieved, enemy that any of them had ever heard of. According to the Books of the Ancestors, the Glequil weren't a race, but a force that would take a person and eat out it's mind, heart, and soul, only to use the now lifeless shell as a weapon against others. A weak mind was the most easily attacked victim, and if you weren't weak in the mind, they used the empty bodies of their other victims to kill you. When Jane had called them "things", it was for the lack of any other word that would fit. The Book of the Ancestors also spoke of them one destroying their Star System, starting with Aqueousar.
There was no time left for any more explaining. Jane knew that there was important information that the boys needed to know, but now it was time to find Nick and Brian. The headed off toward the doors into the building and continued at a run. Racing through one of the halls in the palace, the four of them ended up in the nursery room that was now used for the twins. There they found Brian crouched down and sobbing in a corner. Kevin rushed over to his cousin.
"Brian! Are you alright? What happened? Why are you here... where's Nick?" Brian looked up at the mention of Nick's name and only continued to cry louder. "Brian, you need to tell us where he is! It's important!"
"I told Nick we should have stayed with the rest of the people, but he wanted so bad to see his new little brother! He kept going on and on about how much fun he and Aaron were going to have growing up. I told him he could see Aaron later, but he didn't listen to me! Then they came. I tried to ward them off! I did, Kevin! I tried! They kept coming at me, though, and I'm only thirteen! There was nothing I could do! It wasn't my fault!" Brian bawled into Kevin's shirt, desperately looking for some comfort.
"Who came? Brian, please, you have to tell us. Who came and where did Nick go?" Jane repeated with pleading in her voice.
"They weren't people. They had no eyes. No, they did, but it was like they were empty... there was nothing in those eyes. I looked straight into one of them as I shielded Nick. It made me feel so cold.. sooo cold..." Brian began to shiver uncontrollably. "I saw them drag Nick away. I saw them take him away with them! I couldn't stop it... I tried! I couldn't..." Jane fell back on the floor stunned.
"It's true! It's all happening. He's gone... he's gone. He was only eight! They took my baby and he was only eight! He was still just a child!"
The Child