The steady noises of the windmill provided the soundtrack to the silence, its wooden cogs creaking as the five of them deliberated on what had been said. Leo could not decide whether he wanted to be angry, sad, or hopeful. So, he settled on confused.

‘Why didn’t you take me? I saw you twice that day. But you took Sam,’ asked Leo as his friends looked at him in slight shock.

‘I wanted to take you both. But Kaira pulled you under her seat. By that time too many people had gone through, and I was forced to retreat,’ whispered Devolo, averting Leo’s eyes.

‘But why Sam?’

Devolo went to stand, but in a flash Kaira had rushed over and blocked him off.

‘He asked you a question,’ she growled.

‘I told you already, we may already be too late for him. If you want to save your brother, we must go while the light's still dim,’ Devolo squirmed.

‘What are you going to do?’ Kaira demanded, inching forwards and leaning over him.

‘I will take you to Libero. Leo's brother needs a hero,’ Devolo cowered in his chair, his eyes darting around the room, looking anywhere but theirs.

‘How do we get there?’ Bailey asked, her voice calm.

‘The same way as before. The winds will grow, and we will soar,’ Devolo whispered.

‘Do the others take people to Libero?’ Dorian asked, not ready to stop the interrogation.

Devolo went to stand again but Kaira did not budge, and he found himself met by silence as they waited for him to answer.

‘You might have noticed that there have been more and more natural disasters. A mystery to all, especially the weather forecasters. They are not a coincidence, for they were created by us. You have seen how I take people from the time on the bus. Komado takes people under the cover of fire, be warned though, he has always been a live wire. Isla, she will get who she wants from a flood or a pool of water, unlike the others, she does not like it to look like a slaughter. Finally, Arctier will take people in snow, he’s always calculated and likes to put on a show.’

‘How come no one ever sees you?’ questioned Bailey.

‘We’ve been seen many times, but the unexplained will always be explained. We’re given the form of mythical beings, spoken about in legends to keep the world entertained.’

‘Mythical beings?’ Dorian repeated.

‘People think I’m an angel, while Komado’s mistaken for a dragon or the devil in his flames. Isla is often mistaken for a mermaid, and yeti or Bigfoot are two of Arctier’s many names.’

Once Devolo had finished speaking and with Dorian content with the explanations, Kaira looked to Leo.

‘He’s not telling us something.’

Leo glanced at Devolo, who sat hunched in his chair.

‘You realise this is the part you usually pull me to one side?’ Leo whispered.

‘Normally, yeah. But wherever we go he will be able to hear us, so what’s the point?’

‘I guess. But how do we make him tell us something we've no idea about?’ Leo asked, watching Devolo rock slightly.

‘I can think of a few ways,’ Kaira said menacingly, her long ginger hair glinting in the moonlight, ‘how about it, birdman? Let’s see if owls really are as wise as people believe.’

Clings and clangs echoed from outside as the wind let out a howl as it passed through the holes in the roof, making Leo pause for a moment.

‘Ky, stop for a sec. We’ve still got to get Sam back,’ he said as the fan outside began to turn at a more frantic rate.

‘You now have two choices, and don’t be naive. Either come to Libero or take your leave.’

Devolo raised himself from his chair, his wings opening to take up almost the entire room as he left behind the appearance of the frail old man.

‘What about my mum?’ Leo said, remembering that she was unaware of them having gone.

‘You’ve outstayed your welcome, it’s now or never,’ he said, staring at Kaira, ‘this is not the time to try and be clever.’

Leo’s mind raced as he looked to his friends, unsure of what to do, yet knowing he did not really have a choice.

‘You guys go and tell my mum what happened.’

‘We’re not going to let you go alone, Leo,’ Kaira huffed.

‘We’re coming with you,’ said Bailey standing up, as did Dorian a little more cautiously.

‘Bailey, you stay here. Your parents made us promise that we won’t go anywhere without my mum. This really isn’t on the itinerary we gave them!’ said Leo, trying to take the choice away from her.

‘Shut up, Leo. We’re your friends and we’ll come with you to the end of the Earth,’ she smiled, ‘don’t even think about making a smart comment, Dors!’

‘Dorian, you don’t have to come just because they are. You can stay,’ Leo said.

‘My mum did say I should get out more,’ Dorian forced a smile.

Upon reaching an agreement, Devolo walked towards the door. The sound of his talons echoed around his windmill as they tapped on the hard-tiled surface, his wings now folded behind his back.

Cold air rushed in as Devolo exited, leaving Leo and his friends to follow him out of the curved archway and back onto the hillside.

Clouds barricaded the stars and the moon, and so the ground below was basked in a hazy grey light, giving everything a dreamlike quality. Beside the windmill and its fan, which had gone back to gently rotating in the breeze, the scene was silent. All animals either asleep or too scared to come out at night, though Leo could not blame them if they continuously saw a huge, winged man flying the skies.

‘A word before we go. Come this way, Leo.’

Devolo stood before them, his frail and hunched appearance now seeming a different person. Though he still appeared old, he stood boldly upright with his wings spread behind him, his eyes alive. Leo looked at his friends who gave him a questioning look.

‘You can say whatever it is in front of my friends.’

A sudden gust of wind blew Leo forwards, and he fought to keep his footing. As his friends went to rush to his side, they found themselves being forced backwards.

‘What are you doing?’ Leo shouted.

‘I need to apologise to you, Leo. I've lived so long with zero,’ Devolo almost whimpered.

‘Then just let my friends go!’

‘Not for this. I’m sorry for everything. For all you’ll now miss.’

Devolo’s yellow eyes burned into Leo’s, a sorrowful look in each of them.

‘I took your last moments of simplicity from you. And from now on, every decision you make will be one that no one should have to. You will now unknowingly change the destiny of everything and everyone. I hope that one day you can forgive me for all the things that I have done.’

Before Leo could think of something to say, Devolo had risen into the air with a swift beat of his wings, accompanied by gathering winds from all around him.

Kaira, Dorian and Bailey quickly rushed to Leo’s side as clouds circled above them.

‘I’m guessing we don’t have time for a trip to the loo then?’ Kaira asked.

‘What?’ Bailey snorted.

‘Well, I’ve never travelled to another world or by tornado. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get caught short. I don’t want that to be my first impression,’ Kaira winked at her.

The grass in the fields surrounding them started to bend and fold in a single direction before the trees began to do the same. The leaves that had survived the autumn now held on for dear life. The steady tick of the fan got faster, as did the almost manic melodies from the wind chimes.

Devolo held his wings and arms aloft, keeping his eyes closed as he rose towards the swirling skies, towards the centre of the brewing storm.

‘This just gets weirder,’ Leo said, watching everything unfold.

Clouds separated as a funnel formed and reached down towards Devolo, whose wings still moved gracefully amongst the chaos.

Leo could not hear anything around them except the wind that rocketed its way across the hilltop to batter the fan on the windmill until it became a blur.

Bailey and Kaira gripped on to Dorian and Leo respectively, and they gripped them back just as tightly at the appearance of a tornado. As it rotated its way down to the ground, Devolo was engulfed into the eye of the monster that the four of them had met before. This time however, the tornado stayed where it was and span in the exact same spot.

Leo took sideways steps forward as he fought to keep his footing. Kaira followed suit, as did Dorian and Bailey who cautiously joined them. When they were about halfway from the windmill, the tornado reached the floor.

Devolo walked out from the point of contact, his wings wrapped around him and shielding him from any debris.

‘I've opened the gates, and now Libero awaits.’

Leo took a final look at his friends and the world he knew around him, seeing the cottage they had left not that long ago on the adjacent hillside. He felt guilt at the thought of his mum, and about how she would wake up alone with no idea about what had happened. But Leo tried to think of his brother, picturing his mum's smile once she had Sam back in her arms.

Stepping forward, the four of them held on tightly to one another as they headed for the eye of the storm.

Winds battered them, hitting them for six until they felt their feet leave the ground. No longer able to tell which way was up or down, Leo heard Bailey scream as she spun around the belly of the tornado. He gripped onto his legs and braced himself, unable to make anything out except the murky clouds that threw him across the sky.

A balanced and focused Devolo flew through the centre of the tornado. He stopped as he reached Leo and gave him a relaxed smile, his eyes piercing through the grey cloud. Leo did not know how he knew, but he could tell that Devolo was waiting for him to be ready. Swallowing hard and bracing himself for what came next, Leo nodded.

Everything went black.