Feeling her hair move Kandra sat up straight in panic, at first she thought it might be a dream but as she moved she saw Malic pull is hand into his chest quickly.

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you." He said quietly. "Your head was next to my hand so I instinctively began stroking your hair." He added looking into her softening eyes.

"You scared us all." Kandra finally said smiling, glad that he was awake amd ok. "You took a serious hit from that explosion you set off, but we managed to deal with all of the Sons of Oris." She took his hand in hers. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad considering the last thing I remember was being thrown against a wall by a blast of fire chasing my ass." He smiled and squeezed her hand softly. "Thank you for waiting here with me. Did I miss much?" He asked as he sat up a little more.

"Not really, Uthar and Yanko have been up all night trying to work something out. I've been here and you, well lets just say you have had a rather life changing night. I best go tell Yanko your awake." She let go of his hand and left the room. Malic watched as she left, hoping she would look back at him, when she did they both smiled and lingered their gaze for a moment, before Kandra turned and walked out of the room.

Running around like a lunatic in one of the upper rooms Yanko threw a book across the room toward Uthar who was carrying an already high pile of books. With reflexes beyond that of a normal man he side stepped and managed to catch the book on top of the pile he was already carrying.

"Do we really want all these book?" He asked as he counted the pile he was carrying again, there was now nineteen.

"Want is a matter of opinion, I Want a good long nap but the Gods saw fit to bless me with a lifetime of sleepless nights. No we do not want this growing mountain of books, unfortunately my good friend we Need them." Yanko rolled the ladder across the floor by yanking on the bookcase and propelling the ladder forward with him holding on. Suddenly grabbing the shelf again he came to a sudden stop. "Ah the last one I should think." Instead of throwing it to Uthar instead the Librarian carried it down the ladder. They walked across the room to a row of tables and put the books down.

'So what are we looking for?" Asked Uthar as he grabbed the last book thrown on his pile. He read the cover with a smile. "The Anatomical Structure of the Human Body and how to beat it. This is beginner's stuff, surely we don't need all this."

Yanko shot him a look, "That man down stairs on the table, may very well be one of us, reborn, how, why I have no idea, but Kandra said she killed him, then he wasn't, I trained her well enough to kill effectively." Looking at the mountain of books "If he is, he needs all this, we had years of study, he has hours."

"He's awake." Said Kandra from the doorway.

"Lets go then." Replied Uthar as he picked up the pile of books again.

Malic was a little overwhelmed when he saw the mountain of books they carried between them. Kandra had to to take some of the books from Uthar as he managed to catch his foot and throw the books to the floor which had made Yanko laugh rather heartedly at his friend. However Malic didn't see the funny side of twenty large books put at the end of his make shift bed.

"No, not a chance." He argued as Yanko tried to convince him that he should spend the day reading the books and brushing up on his figting skills. "I have to go see Layla, they'll all be asking if everything is alright if I don't visit soon." There was definitely some urgency in his voice. Yanko stamped his foot in frustration. "Look you might not like it but I don't belong here, I have friends who are probably wondering where I am already. I have to let them know I'm ok at least." He said finishing his arguement.

"Ok fine, but let me show you something first." Said Yanko and Malic nodded. "Let's go and then we can come to the hospital with you just in case." Malic followed Yanko into the room with all of the gold books. "There is something I want you to read, it's from our oldest book, and it happens to be the only book in this room not made with a gold cover." He pulled a large box from under the desk and unclipped the latches. Pulling the book from the box he placed it on the desk, it's cover was made of what looked like tanned flesh and it looked very old.

Turning the cover then a hand full of pages Yanko signalled Malic to join him at the table. For a few moments the Librarian flicked back and forth through the pages until he found the page he wanted. Malic looked at the page and the text written he had no idea what it was but the hand drawn image of the necklace didn't need translating.

"The text tells the story of the forging of the necklace. Alexicus is here, the winged guardian of the necklace, he was there during the whole process, from the first hammer strike to handing it over to the first Nefilite to carry its burden. I know he said something similar to you, Kandra told me. What he didn't tell you was why and who." With that Yanko flicked back few pages to an image of two men engaged in fierce battle, taller than men, however men clashed at their feet.

"It all started with the Two Kings or you may call them Gods. Tyther and his brother Woki, they were both strong and proud yet they both wanted to lead the Eternal Host. Tyther was the first and eldest King, the God of Wisdom, and believed that because he ruled with Wisdom and Fairness that he should rule. However Woki being the God of Death argued that all life would one day be brought before him in judgement so he should rule in their lives as well as their deaths. The Eternal Host was torn in two, it was then that Mankind was born. Born from the very loins of the Gods, the first four humans born, Nefi, Oris, Orla and Pria." Yanko took a breath and a drink from a hip flask he had cleverly concealed on his belt.

Malic looked at him confused. "So where does all this fit into the mythology of other religions then?" He asked very confused by it all.

"A long time before I'm glad to say. Whatever you think you know you will have to relearn it all. Medicine was discovered life times before its recorded in history. The first ever writings are found in this library, kept safe under lock and key. The bible talks of Babel and the Great Flood as though it was part of its own history, yet the truth is, they were the end of our history." The Librarian took another drink then carried on talking.

"Woki attempted to cheat his brother by convincing Dysis the Goddess of Earth to have children, he said that by having children the Goddess would be worshipped as a mother and would rise to Queen. However it was a trick and Woki sowed words of deceit in the ears of Fraka the God of Fear and Krill the God of Envy. Dysis gave birth to twins, but it was clear that they had different fathers. Oris was of Fraka's blood and Tyther cursed the bloodline of Oris to be able to only produce Sons, while Orla was Krill's she was cursed to produce a bloodline of only Daughters. Tyther warned that neither bloodline should ever be able to populate the world alone for he feared that they may try to rise up against the Gods."

"So how does Pria and Nefi fit into this?" Malic asked while trying to process what he had been told.

"Well Dysis fell in love with Agirath the God of Tactics, yet Tyther had made her barren so she could not be used to poison the Eternal Host. To prove his worth Agirath was given five tasks, each would lead him to an ingredient needed to restore the womb of Dysis. He completed four tasks with ease and Tyther told him the fifth was to sacrifice himself so that only his seed could fertilise Dysis. Giving some thought to it eventually Agirath agreed and Dysis had to prove herself by slaying her lover. Using his own blood Tyther brought Agirath back from Woki's domain and allowed his union with Dysis. The result was Pria and then Tyther promised that her Bloodline would inherit the world and be allowed to grow beyond number." The Librarian sat down. "This is tiring and I haven't finished yet."

Malic smiled. "The children of Nefi?" He said keen to hear the rest.

"Yes the Children of Nefi, they were not born of Dysis, our story begins a long time after this. Mankind had grown in number, they were ruthless and evil, the Bible refers to it as Sin, but it is simply the nature of the Gods they are born to, corrupted and loyal, dangerous and kind. Mankind is the very best and worst of all the Gods before them, and this lead to unrest, war and no care for others. Tyther saw what was going on and order Alexicus to bring to him Gilard the God of Pride and Valki the Goddess of Hope. Making a deal with them he promised to bless their bloodline near immortality if they would allow their children to carry mighty burden for as long as they survive. Knowing that the fate of mankind rested on it they agreed and Nefi was born."

"So the Nefilites were born to only carry the necklace?" Questioned Malic.

"That is rather inaccurate, our purpose is more than that, we carry the judgement of the world. The necklace was formed to give mankinds fate to mankind, but it could never be given to the bloodlines of Oris or Orla as they carried too much resentment, the children of Pria were too numerous by this time and were as tainted and they were pure hearted. So Tyther done what he thought best, to create a bloodline untainted and born of pure values. Given long life so they could see how mankind grows as well as knowing its history first hand. We haven't always succeeded, Noah as you know lived through a great flood, he caused it, failed on the twelve night. He later passed the Necklace to me, while his children went on to repopulate the world, his wife at the time was of Pria's bloodline so his family grew." Yanko turned a few pages in the book.

"This is something most people believe to be a depiction from the Bible about the end of days, but it was actually drawn by Jesus almost four thousand years before the Jesus you read about was even born." The image was of four riders adorned in armour riding out of clouds into the world. There were men lying slain at their feet, as well as men standing armed against them, yet behind the riders were comets of fire in the sky and a wave of water rising. "It is believed to be the four horsemen of the apocalypse but in fact it is Tyther, Woki, Hespana the Goddess of War and Roa the Goddess of Life riding forward when we fail our task to bring punishment down upon the earth. This is what will happen if we fail to get thirty hearts during the harvest."

"So you said Alexicus was there when the necklace was forged. Tell me about that." Asked Malic now fully interested in what the Librarian was saying.

"Alexicus found a Priest within the Nefilites who had the skill to forge such a tool, it could not be forged by the Gods as it had to respond to mankind, when the Priest was found he was given one reward for completing the task asked of him. Legend says he asked for any Nefilite who would die be reborn back into the world otherwise mankind could be left without its guardians. Tyther agreed but we have never found anyone of the Nefi bloodline born from another bloodline. However the Priest forged the Necklace and when he handed it to Alexicus a Son of Oris stabbed him through the heart. He was the first to die but since that day Nefilites could only die on the last day of the Harvest. Many say that Honsi the Priest asked for his gift to be that his kin could only die on that day to allow them a better chance to survive." Yanko looked at Malic.

"The three of us are sure you are a Nefilite, you have died twice this week alone and recovered. We can't be sure, the three of us are eons old, but you are not. We grew to age and haven't aged since. There were just one hundred of us, now we number ten. If we are right you are the eleventh, what is more worrying we are drawn to our own, there were fifty men and fifty women to begin with, each of us partnered up. Honsi's wife was a born huntress, keen eyed and strong. When Honsi died she went into the world and almost disappeared except she remained returning to me to train. Her name was Kandra, and I sense Kandra is drawn to you, which can only point to one thing, and if sowhat Alexicus said makes more sense, you are Honsi reincarnated." Yanko smiled and slammed the book shut.

Malic looked at him almost fainting everything was difficult to take in as it was, jpw he had to decide if he believed he was this Priest reborn. It was alot and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. "I need some air." He said after a moment.

"Good good, go and see your friend in the hospital, it will give you a chance to let all this settle in. Then go with Kandra try and get todays sacrifice and then come talk to me. It is a lot to take in so I fully understand if you need time and space to think it all over." Yando picked up the book and returned it to the box and when he returned to the table Malic was gone.

Without saying a word to anyone Malic left the library and headed for the hospital, it was mid afternoon already and as he walked across town he could hear people talking about the train crash from yesterday, terrorists and government conspiracies were popular reasons for the attack, yet no one knew the truth, except him.

As the hospital came into view he heard a car beep behind him and Chris pulled his Ford KA up next to him. "Where have you been?" He asked rolling the window down.

"Long story, I'm off to see Layla, is she still on the same ward?" He suddenly felt bad for not letting anyone know where he had been.

"No mate, we've been trying to reach you, she's got worse and is in a side room, the doctors have no idea what's going on, but she keeps asking for you. So get in and we'll get there sooner." He popped the door open and Malic climbed in.

Once they got to the hospital room where Layla was, Malic found her laying in the bed attached to a host of machines. She was awake when they entered and they heard he machine monitoring her heart begin to beep wildly with excitement. "I'm so sorry I haven't been back, I have had a lot going on." He said sitting next to her and taking hold of her hand.

Layla pulled the face mask away to speak and her voice was dry and laboured. "It's ok, your here now." She put the mask back on to get some oxygen before taking it off again to speak to Chris. "Give us a minute Chris." She said before using the mask again. Chris nodded and left the room. Now alone with Malic she smiled and after taking another long intake of oxygen she removed the mask.

"I'm dying Malic, the doctors haven't said it, but the machines say it all. So I want to spend my last hours with you." She coughed and replaced the mask. "Want your help." She said after removing the mask again. "I can't ask the others as I know they won't help but I want my machines turned off." She coughed again this time bringig up a little blood.

"I can't help you, if there is anyway you can pull through this then I have to believe you'll pull through." Tears began to well up in his eyes and he squeezed her hand.

"Listen Malic, I'm dead anyway so I want to choose when. That scum bag has taken everything from me, he has caused large tears which are not holding, I am still bleeding and this cough is because of blood in my lungs. I want to go when I want to go. If you don't help me then I'll do it myself." She was getting angry, clearly distraught at the idea. He placed the mask on for a moment to breath before she coughed and blood splattered on the inside of the face piece. Removing it quickly she hit the help button.

A momemt later a nurse was in the room and saw her holding the mask. Without a word the nurse replaced the mask and left.

"That's my third mask in an hour. I can't keep this up."  She said looking up at the ceiling. He knew he was going to lose her, and she wanted to die, then he had the idea, it may not have been the best idea but it meant helping her and Kandra.

"Ok, I'll help, but I have to go somewhere quickly. Trust me I'll be right back and then we can spend the last few hours together. Deal?" He squeezed her hand and she squeezed his in return. She was breathing heavily into the mask. "I wont be long." He kissed her head before leaving and grabbed Chris. "I need you to drive me some place."

Chris agreed and soon Malic was rushing into the library to find Kandra. He bumped into Yanko first and asked to borrow the book he had shown him, when asked why Malic explained quickly and Yanko disappeared into the secret vault. When Malic found Kandra he explained what was going on and she threw her arms around him and agreed to go with him. Then armed with the book and Kandra at his side he got back in the car and was back at he hospital in less than twenty minutes.

When they all entered the room Layla smiled, she saw the book and nodded at it. "I'll explain in a moment, Chris sorry can you give us a few minutes."

"Sure I need to eat anyway so I'll be down in the cafe." He left the room saying good bye to Layla as though he would see her again soon.

Layla removed the mask. "It's nice to see you again, Kandra isn't it." She said holding out her hand. "Why has Malic brought you along, not to talk me out of things I hope." She laughed a little before coughing again and replacing the mask over her face.

"No, in fact he's asked me to help." She smiled and took hold of her hand. "I might have an idea but it may take some explaining which is why we have the book?" She looked at Malic holding the book.

"Layla this is going to sound crazy but please understand that we are not nuts." Malic watched as she nodded and he opened the book to a page Yando had shown him earlier, Kandra retold the story and Layla listened her eyes lingering on the book, then on Malic and so on until the story was finished. "So what do you think?"  Malic asked worried his friend would think they were both insane.

"Can you give us a little time together?" Asked Layla to Kandra as she sat waiting for an answer.

"Sure, I'll be outside." She said leaving without a fuss.

"Malic, I love you, I have for a long time now." She stopped to cough and Malic thought she would start saying he was crazy, how could he believe in such rubbish, but she smiled as she took a few deep breaths from the mask. "If you think this will help you deal with it better, thinking my heart is being used for some ancient doomsday sacrifice then I'll do it." Her eyes looked sad as she breathed in through the mask again. "Will it be quick?" She asked between taking another breath.

"Yes and painless." Malic replied with a forced soft smile.

"Then I'll do it, that way I get your help and you can believe you are saving my soul or whatever it is." She gave him a wink before coughing up more blood. "Malic, I've always wanted to know what it's like to kiss you." She smiled and her eyes lit up.

"Just for you." He leaned over and kissed her like there was no one else in the world. Within the hour doctors had declared Layla dead, they told everyone her heart simply stopped which was rather accurate. Kandra was back at the library while Malic sat with Chris, Kate and Rose, a few hours later Layla's family arrived and the house mates left them to it. Back at the house Malic kept playing those last few minutes over in his head. She had told him she loved him, and would do so even in death. She gave him the key to her lock safe, and that kiss, Malic curled up on his bed and began to cry, he didn't want the kiss to end. She never said good bye, and as he drifted off to sleep her final words repeated in his head.