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but it is capable of - immense power, more than one body can possess. When it enters the body, it will be at its weakest point; over time, the body will build a tolerance - and then an immorality will set in,” Perodine answered.
     
    “So we can’t defeat it in the form it’s in now?” Landen asked.
     
    “No more than you could out run your own shadow,” Perodine replied.
     
    “I haven’t heard a reason to be confident yet,” I said, leaning closer to Landen and avoiding eye contact with everyone.
     
    “Well, that depends on the body it chooses to consume - and if we find the weapon we need,” Perodine said.
     
    “What weapon?” Landen asked, wrapping his arm around me.
     
    “There is a symbol that represents a weapon that’s meant to bring harm to Donalt in the flesh – strong enough to defeat the spirit of the darkness as well,” August answered.
     
    “I’m almost certain it is the knife that cut the cord on Willow’s first birth,” Perodine said.
     
    “How do you know?” Landen asked.
     
    “Everything from conception to birth was planned perfectly; I only ate certain foods, wore certain clothes, and at her birth we used the strongest, most beautiful stone, shaped into a blade - a blade made of diamonds. The handle was molded from a small meteor that crashed into the earth; it is the blade that separated us,” Perodine answered.
     
    “Does it show it here?” Marc questioned.
     
    “No, but it says here that what was once coal will divide innocence from sin,” Perodine answered.
     
    “Do you know where the knife is?” Landen asked.
     
    Perodine looked down and shook her head no. “I have searched for it for over four million years as well,” she said bleakly.
     
    “Which room was I born in? Maybe it’s hidden in the walls or paintings?” I asked.
     
    Perodine looked at me, then around the the room. “Right where you are standing, this has always been my personal parlor. My pregnancy was kept secret from everyone; I did not leave these two rooms for eight months. After your first breaths, I carried you to the water in the observatory and let the reflection of the stars bathe over you, giving you the strength and power you needed to stay alive, protected,” Perodine said in a shaky voice.
     
    I was almost certain she was holding something back from us, but it seemed foolish to push her any further at the moment.
     
    “Which language does it say we need a weapon in?” Landen questioned, leaning forward.
     
    “Here,” Perodine said as she pointed to a Scorpion in the center of my chart. “Written in the symbols of Analess, next to Alyainna’s birth time, you see Jayda’s name and blood, and below that you see Willow’s birthday,” Perodine said.
     
    “Alyainna, Jayda, and Willow,” August said. “And here it says that the three will be strong as the darkness overtakes the blood.”
     
    “I’ve already had enough of blood,” I said in a low tone.
     
    Silence filled the room, and I could feel the swarm of emotions: anxieties, fears, tension, and remorse; it was almost too much to bear.
     
    “I think we should send for Drake,” August said into the room. We all looked at him as if he was a fool. “If his life is at risk, he deserves to know. If he’s consumed, his life will be over,” he explained.
     
    “I assure you, Alamos watches the stars very closely on Drake’s behalf. I would even say that they knew this day was coming,” Perodine said as resentment rose in her.
     
    “Listen to me, this darkness feeds on negativity; it’s counting on us being divided. It would be best if we all focused our anger in one direction,” August said.
     
    “I don’t think we need the added stress of having him here,” Landen said under his breath, pulling me closer to him.
     
    August shook his head from side to side. We could feel his disappointment in us; it hurt us, but we couldn’t help being human. Drake had been a source of turmoil - but according to