I take a quick look back, Khalid is following. Good. The way he was shoving people out of the way it's hard to believe he's as old as he looks.

I need to make sure I reach the train yard. As long as I reach there before he gets to me I'll be fine. That's what the dark lady said, and she's proven she knows how to put a plan together. I should be faster than he is, and I know the train yard is somewhere up ahead, this shouldn't be an issue.

I turn my head back for another split second, I need to make sure he's behind me, otherwise he might be going somewhere to set his own trap. I see him, he looks like he's straining himself sprinting after me, but I can still see the look of determination on his face. I wonder what he's planning. I turn my head back and keep sprinting. I think I'm gaining distance, I should slow down a little bit.

I'm almost tempted to turn around and stop him now. He doesn't have any surprises for me, and I've got a lot for him. The dark lady knows all about his powers, and she told me much. And now that I've spent a little bit more time in the dark I should be able to attack at least a few times before I collapse. I think I could kill him now. He probably doesn't think I would of gotten stronger in such little time, he'll expect me to collapse after my first attack. Khalid can do many incredible things, but combat isn't his miracles strong point. He might be able to convince me to jump off a bridge but he can't force me off one.

But I can't attack him now. The dark lady wants me to wait until we get to the train yard. I tru-..no I don't trust her, but I trust in her planning skills. Look at me calmly thinking about the situation as I'm running away from a man trying to kill me, maybe I should try to spend more time in th-, no, I'm good the way I am now.

I can see the train yard now, I turn back, just in time to see Khalid stop and turn into an alleyway. Just like the dark lady said, he's going to find a vantage point and analyse the situation, he's to smart to walk into a trap. But the dark lady is to smart to set a trap like that.

I turn around and sprint after him, I am going to force him into this train yard. I just have to make sure I don't get within a few feet of him, any longer range attacks are too slow to him me know that I know what to expect. The ability to persuade...control someone almost. What an amazing miracle, but I guess there's only a few people in the word who can take it that far ,like Khalid said most people just make you angry, or a little forgetful.

I catch up to Khalid quickly, I can see the surprise in his eyes. He's starting to understand, he realises I'm not as weak as he thinks I am.

I',m about 15 feet away, but Khalid is going for it. Were in alley now, far from the few people out in the rain that we ran by on the way here. Khalid exhales towards me. If this hits me, I'll go into a state of mental shock, be seized by fear. This is what he tried to throw at me in the hotel. I raise my fist at Khalid, and turn it black. I just need a few seconds, a few more. Yes, I can focus enough to draw a thin line. It's mostly on Khalid's thigh, but good enough. Khalid looks down, he clearly didn't think I could do that so accurately so fast. He turns and keeps running. I release my fist, and the black line goes away. I wasn't sure I could make my lines go away, but I have this newfound sense of confidence, I just knew it would work. The dark...has its benefits. His loss of focus causes his attack to dissipate.

Khalid made a mistake. I won't get close enough to him for him to hit me with his most dangerous attacks, and he won't be able to hit me with his slower attacks before I can hit him with mine. And the dark lady was right about one more thing, it takes barely any energy for me to draw the lines, it's them exploding that drains my energy.

So I can do this all night. Like the dark lady said, we just need our prey to get desperate.

-----------------------------About 15 feet away, hiding behind some stacks of wooden planks in an adjacent alley, Khalid reflects on what went wrong-------------------------------------------------------------------

Khalid is beginning to think he made a mistake. The young man he met earlier that day has been replaced by someone else, or at least that's what it feels like to him. Khalid knows he went through a similar change under the dark's tutelage, but that change took months, years. To Khalid this man went through all that change over the course of day. No one can change who they are that fast not even with the dark's influence. Unless, perhaps his special connection to the dark place, proven by his ability to draw it into this world, accelerates the process. Yes, Khalid is sure of it now, months he spent in the dark place must be the equivalent of days for him. Who knows how much stronger he is now. Who knows what the young man will be like a week from now, a month, a year... Khalid is sure he made a mistake, and he is starting to consider plan B.

----------------------------A few feet from the wooden logs in the alley, the young man sees the end of Khalid's robe sticking out from behind them------------------

In this alley, I can kill him and be done with this. I didn't want to, I still don't want to, but the dark lady was right. He won't stop. He's obsessed. I need to find my mom, what if he hurts her too....I can see his robe sticking out, hear his muffled breath. He's panting, but trying to hide it. He probably knows whats about to happen. Maybe its better he had time to run and hide, he'll get to have some final private thoughts.

I'll do it now, before I lose the will. I just have to focus for one more second, and I can move on to finding my mother.

I see Khalid's head poke out from behind the logs. "Wait, I, know exactly where that boy is. I've been in that office before, met the man who you saw in that vision, many years ago when we were young."

An obvious lie, he's, I would lie too if I were him.

"You in the dark. I am talking to you. Not the man your hiding in."

He's talking to her? She would be even less likely to believe him. Its almost sad to see someone like him beg like this.

"You know I can prove I'm not lying. I used to be connected to your world, we can still share a bond, if only temporary. You'll be able to tell I'm lying. I can take you to that boy. I'll I ask is that you let me live."

Let you live so you can try to kill me later of course. Enough. I let him have long enough, its his fault he wasted his last moments begging. I raise my fist, it turns black. I'm right in front of him, let me try to control multiple cuts at once.

A second later, I see black lines starting to form. None are one me, most are on him, some are in the air around him but not touching. Good progress.

"Wait. Don't kill him. Let me see if he's lying."

"What? You really believe him? Hes obviously lying, he'll stab me the second I turn around. You know him even better than I do and your seriously going to consider this?"

"Exactly. I know him much better. Ask him to hold your hand."

"And if he stabs me with the other?"

"What I'm about to do is going to leave him, lets say unable to do much until I'm done."

"No. I refuse."

"Do you refuse your mother too? She asked you to help me do what she wanted done. And this is what I need you to do if we want to kill that child."

.....

She sends me back to the real world. My silence made my answer obvious.

"Hold out your hand. If you try anything, I'll kill you."

Khalid breaks out into the biggest smile I think I've seen since I woke up in that house. It almost makes him look insane. He knows he trick her. How could she be so gullible.

He grabs my hand. Nothing. No, I feel...empty. I see Khalids eyes turn black, black smoke starts to pour out of his ears and nose, even his eyes. Is she...is she in him?

It goes on for a few minutes. Just like she said, Khalid is as stiff as a stone....should I kill him now. What will she do, fire me? No....what if killing him while she's in him makes her unable to come back, I need her, for now at least. Dammit.

I feel it, it's happeni- Ahhhhh. I feel whole again. She's back. Why does it feel so much better when she's here, I'm growing to attached to the dark.

Khalid's hand goes limp, and he falls over.

"Pick him up and take him with us."

"You read his mind or something?"

"He stopped me from seeing everything, but he showed me enough that I know he's telling the truth."

"He stopped you?"

"He is a master at manipulating the mind, his miracle is suited to it and he's at the pinnacle of his miracle. Don't worry, you could never do that. Look at what it did to him, someone like him passed out, you would die."

But it is possible.

"How do I make sure he won't stab me in my back during my sleep? Turn me into some soldiers a long the way? We know the kids in Talsin, we don't need him."

"Talsin is the a very large city next to a very large military encampment. Maybe the biggest. Khalid not only knows where that room is, he know's how to sneak around there. We wouldn't survive there without him"

Back in the real world. Or should I say this world. Khalid is limp, but breathing. I pick him up and head towards the trainyard. A train is leaving now, the dark lady is silent so I'm assuming she knows from Khalid's mind that it's going in the right direction.

This is going to be a long ride.