"Why? Don' tell me that the Gate's not open!?" Izhmayel asked.

The elder shook her head and replied, "It won't open for another ten minutes. So, until then she will hide." She paused and turned to the villagers. "And if we must fight, we will."

"BUT–" a few of the villagers protested. A crowd was gathering around them while they made their way to the small building.

"DO NOT FORGET!" the elder interrupted the protests, "That the Gates help keep us safe...AND that the Travellers come from those Gates, whether they are ordinary ones or Walkers. So, it is our duty to keep them safe!"

Izhmayel nodded then added under his breath, "Even if Walkers do seem teh grab the attention of 'em Shadows more so than regular Travellers." Lin gave him a confused look, which Izhmayel took as an angry glare. "Hey, it's true...believe me. I've been a Keeper for ah...a few years."

"But, there's too many of them!" a villager exclaimed.

"Mr. Keeper will help fend them off, right?" The elder turned to look at Izhmayel.

Izhmayel nodded slowly. "Those aren't yer ordinary Shadows...and they look like they are gettin' ready for a battle." He paused and glanced back over to the amassing shadows that were getting closer by the second. Then took out the small pouch containing the glittery dust and dumped it out over Lin's head. "That will at least keep ya somewhat hidden, I s'pose."

Lin coughed then looked down at her body which slowly started to become a bit transparent. The elder opened the door to the same hut she had previously come out of and ushered Lin, Izhmayel, and a few other villagers inside then gave orders to the rest to set up their defenses and prepare to fight.

Lin stared open mouthed at her surroundings. She wanted to dash back out of the building to make sure it was really the same one she had entered. On the outside it had looked like a small run down cottage, maybe with two or three rooms, but the inside was enormous. It looked like a sort of ware house, with piles of bags and crates stacked up in neat rows. In the middle of the room was a shed. It looked like one of those lawn mower sheds that are found in someone's back yard.

The elder motioned towards the shed and said, "Go stand by it, dear...As soon as it opens, go through it, alright." Lin nodded and made her way through the rows of stacked crates to the shed with Izhmayel.

Suddenly, the temperature dropped and an eerie hissing, almost screeching voice called out, "I sssmell magic..."

Lin looked over towards the sound; it had come from the direction the elder was at. The room seemed to turn darker as well, as if some sort of filter were trying to block out all the lights. The shadowy creature that had spoken was partially hidden from Lin's view by a stack of crates, but what she could see of the creature terrified her. At first glance it looked almost like a human, but the longer she stared at it the less human it became. Curling black horns jutted out like tree branches all over the top of its head. The top half of the creature was humanoid, but the bottom half turned into a bird-like creature with a tail that looked like it came from a spiked lizard.

The older woman did not flinch when the creature drew out a large sword. "Ssspeak! Why do I sssmell magic here?"

"Of course, you would smell magic, there are sacred trees here," the elder woman stated.

The creature smiled. "Were...you mean there were sacred trees here."

The elder whipped her head up to look out the nearest window. An orange glow of flames and ash could be seen from all the windows.

"I mean, I sssmell more than one magic."

"Leave us in peace! Now, be gone!" the elder yelled then threw something at the creature.

It laughed a horrible sound that grated against Lin's ears. "That has no effect on me," the creature said then slashed its weapon upward and cleanly through the elder cutting the old woman in half.

Lin gasped, wide eyed and terrified at the scene that had just played out. Everything seemed to move in slow motion after that. Villagers and other dark creatures swarmed into the building. The villagers fought for their lives while the creatures laughed at them, slowly hacking away at their flesh.

Izhmayel jumped out in front of Lin with his knives raised up in a defensive stance. He had blocked a blow from a shadow creature that would have landed on her had he not been there. And he was yelling at her. The door to the shed was open behind her. "GO!! GO NOW!! IT'S OPEN! GO!!"

"But, what about you?!" Lin yelled back.

"Don't worry 'bout me!" Izhmayel replied and slashed at a shadowy creature before him. "Help is on the way!" He threw a fist full of dark powder into the face of the shadowy creature and it reeled back, giving him enough time to turn around and shove Lin through the open door and into the dark shed. Just before the doors shut and the world faded to black, Lin saw a flurry of ivory colored wings and glimmering streaks of gold and platinum.