"Your father is trying to tell you that we've tried to contact other Warlock and Witch descendant families for help with that curse of yours. But we can't seem to get through to them," Grandpa Calistro began. "Now, don't give me that crap about technology and trying them on their cellphones because we tried that first and have had no such luck."

"We think something is interfering with electronic and arcane signals," Mr. Calistro concluded.

"When was the last time you contacted them without difficulty?" Talon asked.

"Uhhh...I guess when they were invited to my birthday a couple months ago," Adain replied. Just what was going on? "Wait, they're all within driving distance. Why not go talk to them directly?"

"Precisely what I suggested," Grandpa Calistro pointed out. He sent Talon a sympathetic glance. "I'll cover your gas expenses."

"Much appreciated," Talon stated with a nod. "We still have time to visit at least one of them if we go now."

"Good luck," Mr. Calistro said as they stood up.

"Yeah, let's get going," Adain agreed. He then confusedly looked at his father and grandfather. 'Good luck?' Wait a minute..." Wait, aren't you coming with us? And what the hell was with that look you just gave Tal?" Adain asked, watching as the two older Calistros got up.

"I'm going to try to get a hold of another branch of descendants," Mr. Calistro explained.

"And if I don't cook dinner, who will?" Grandpa Calistro declared.

"That's your excuse!?" Adain hissed at his grandfather before letting out a sigh. He grabbed Talon's hand and dragged him out. "Fine, we're going."

"You remember how to get to your cousins' houses, right?" Talon inquired.

Adain nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. If you drive, I'll navigate."

When they reached the car, Talon gently squeezed Adain's hand, feeling rather pleased with the contact and contrite for it simultaneously. Once again, he opened the door for Adain to enter as if on automatic. He then walked to the driver's side to head towards the highway. "Force of habit," He whispered once again.

"I'll let it slide this time since I was holding your hand for a minute there," Adain replied, his face flustered since it dawned on him what he had done.

"Anyways, let's get going."

::::

Under Adain's guidance, the two made it from the highway to the closest of the imp's family, the Gaiten-Calistro residence. As soon as Talon pulled up the driveway, the two kids playing in the front yard ran over.

"Who are you?" The little boy asked when Adain stepped out.

Adain felt a slight pain in his heart when the kids didn't even recognize him. But he knew it couldn't be helped. His appearance was quite different.
Talon walked out of his own side and let out a snort. The kids recognized him immediately. "Are your parents inside?"

"It's Talon!" The little girl squealed as she shuffled to cling to the blond's leg.

"Yeah, they're making dinner." The little boy supplied before running inside the house and announcing their presence. "Where's cousin Adain?"

When they entered the house, Adain's other cousins were getting ready to split long loaves of sandwiches into quarters. "Talon? What brings you here?" Mrs. Suni Gaiten-Calistro asked upon seeing the blond.

"Forgive the intrusion, but Adain's dad and grandpa have been having issues trying to reach your cell phones," Talon explained. "Long story short, this is Niada." He said as he took hold of Adain's shoulders and gently pushed him closer to his cousins. "Adain's newly discovered 'twin,'" He held up his fingers for the quotations.

"Aid?" The knife fell from Suni's husband, Cesar Calistro's, hands as he gaped. "What the heck happened?"

Adain felt a bit relieved that at least his cousin recognized him. "Umm...any chance the three of us can talk privately?" A few moments later, the missus left with the kids, and they sat down to talk with his cousin, Cesar. "Long story short, you know that room I've always wanted to get into? Well...apparently, it's cursed me. From sunrise to sunset, I'm a girl. Then from sunset to sunrise, I'm a boy again."

Aid's cousin shook his head in disbelief. Whenever Cesar visited his uncle's house, little Adain would try to figure out a way to break into that room despite the countless family members trying to stop him. "I had a feeling something crazy would happen if you ever managed to break through." His gaze shifted towards Talon. "And something's definitely up," He continued, holding his cell phone up. "I can call everyone on my phone list without any difficulty except for our side of the family. And you say Gramps and Uncle can't even send an arcane message to anyone? Damn."

As Suni watched over them, Talon's eyes trailed over to the kids playing in the backyard. "We don't know what's going on," he admitted. "But it would be best to be on your guard. You have a lot more to lose these days."

Cesar followed his line of sight, and his mouth became a grim line. "I'll see what I can find out with the other family members in my part of town. In the meantime, Aid..." He couldn't help the snicker that escaped him. "Learn to answer to the name 'Niada.' You're going to need to."

Adain frowned at the thought of his cousin's wife and kids getting involved. However, his eye twitched when Cesar teased him. "Damn it, I know that! Shut it!" He huffed, folding his arms against his softer chest. His voice fell to a mumble. "It's not funny…."

The two younger men stayed for dinner and returned to the car before it became too late. "At least we have good news to tell your dad and granddad. They seemed to be alright despite the family connection being lost. We should stop by again and let them know before sunset hits."

"Yeah, I'm glad they're all alright. But I'm still worried about all this. Cell phones act up, but...the arcane messages rarely end up like this."

Talon was worried, too. Not only for Adain's sake but for the imp's scattered family. "If there's one thing for sure…when all of you gather together, you're unstoppable." He reminded his friend. "Cesar said he would physically check up on the family living North of I-6, so tomorrow, we should start seeking the family living in the South."

"Sounds like a plan. I just hope this curse is the worst thing about all this…." Adain said softly with a frown. He had a bad feeling in his gut that he couldn't quite explain. Even if he could, the hexed young man didn't want to worry his best friend more than he already was.