They all nodded their agreement. Marc and Sarah looked like they wanted to say something but Jade got in first.

"It better not with my bivouac" Jade replied
"Your what?" Kat asked as Leo asked "when are you going on a bivouac?"

Jade laughed and looked at Dazz intently. She wondered how he would take the idea of her in a bivouac.

"A bivouac is when I get to compete against the best of Australian army in live fire exercises. I have been asked by major Brendler to go as one of the enemies in the next bivouac coming up in two weeks time"
"Lucky you" Leo commented

Jade looked and Dazz smiled at Jade. She couldn't tell how he felt. To her surprise though the reaction she was expecting from Dazz came from her parents

"Are you telling me that a best of the army are going to be competing in a game that includes guns with real ammo and they will be all trying to kill you?"
"Basically yes" Jade said calmly then regretted opening her mouth.

As Marc stated how unimpressed he was and Jade sank further into her chair getting angrier by the second. Soon though she felt a strange calming sensation fall over her like a soft blanket. She looked up to see that Dazz was watching Jade rather intently. Even more surprising was the way his amulet was glowing with a soft green. Jade watched it brighten and then felt / heard Darryl speaking to her but not verbally, he was communing with her mentally. At this stage Kat and Leo had noticed and had tapped Nicole on the knee to get her attention.

Don't get angry, he is just protective

Jade visibly jumped and got everyone's attention then including Marc's. The blanket feeling she felt seemed to be ripped of her leaving her feel suddenly naked and very desolate. Dazz's amulet stopped glowing almost immediately.

"You shouldn't break away so quickly like that" Nicole said breaking the silence
"I... umm... I didn't know" Darryl stumbled as he tried to work out what on earth he had just done.
"Dazz hunni relax, your tapping into your powers"
"Now can I tell him he can change form too?" Kai asked

Nicole laughed and chastised Kai half-heartily.

"What do you mean I can change form?"
"I think Kai means exactly that" Kat said then mused for a second.
"If I am correct" Kat continued "then according the chronicles of the gods you should be able to think about the form you want to change into for example a wolf"
"Oh I like that idea" Jade pipes in
"You would" Darryl teased back.
"This all seems so fast for me" Sarah admitted then excused herself and Marc and Maya followed suit

"Can I try it" Dazz said eagerly
"I suggest you try something small first" Nicole said
"You mean a dragon like Kai"
"Ahh no. Dragons despite whatever size are rather complicated. How about a fish"
"What about a bird" Leo said "After all then we wouldn't have to worry about putting him into water straight away"
"Good point." said Kat hugging Leo tightly
"Remember Darryl when you take on the form you will take on the characteristics of that form"

Jade watched nervously as Darryl prepared himself to change form. They all gasped as he turned transparent and slowly slid into the amulet before turning into a Robin. Once again she could feel the blanket descend on her. This time she wasn't alone. As Darryl changed form after form the blanket didn't leave. Eventually Dazz changed back to his form and stayed that way. Slowly and gently this time he lifted the blanket. Everyone was grinning.

"It defiantly gets easier, and the mind meld thing or whatever you want to call it works better if I focus through the amulet."
"Didn't change into a wolf" Jade pretended to sulk

Darryl hugged Jade tightly as the others laughed

That will come later he thought teasingly to Jade
Oh really?

As Darryl got a playful thump for his comment the others wondered what they were missing.

***

The dawn of the first day of the seminar had a golden glow to it and magick was very strong in the air. Marc and Sarah seemed troubled by a few things but kept it hidden well from everyone but Maya. Despite all that Darryl could sense that something was amiss and decided it best to bring it up with Nicole before anyone else.
She too had noticed the change but couldn't put her finger on it thinking it only to be nervous parents. She had just upset the balance of their lives telling them their children where vessels for Incan Gods. That could throw any ones life into turmoil. However when Darryl approached her she wondered if maybe their was something deeper. She couldn't sense anything of evil and Kai said that nothing evil lurked in them when she asked him. She thought that maybe it was time she had a talk with them, alone. She decided to engineer a situation where she could to them alone, but in the end, she didn't need to. Marc approached her during their lunch break.
"Nicole, can Sarah and I talk to you, please?"
"Sure," replied Nicole. "Why don't we go upstairs?"
The three of them left the others and went up to Marc and Sarah's room.
"Now Sarah and I understand that what's happening is somewhat beyond our comprehension, but we just have a couple of questions. We'd appreciate it if you could give us straight answers."
"As much as I can," Nicole promised.
"These amulets the kids have... How discriminate are they?"
Nicole took a deep breath. They were going to be *those* sort of questions. She briefly tried to explain the history of the amulets and their purpose.
"The amulets select their bearers with great care. They select the best person for the job - the person with the closest attunement to their element. People with natural talent. And then they amplify it."
"So it couldn't be just anyone who did this quest?"
"No."
Marc sighed. "So Sarah and I couldn't take over for Kat and Jade? We're both a lot older and we've lived our lives, but they're both so young, and..."
Nicole laughed. "No, Marc. You wouldn't be able to take the amulets even if the girls wanted to give them to you."
"But they're our daughters, Nic."
"I know that, Marc, and I understand how hard this is for you both - Jade's been growing away from you for years, and this is also pulling Kat away, but believe me, after this is over your relationships with your daughters will be completely unchanged. They may be a little more mature, but they'll still love you just as much."
"That's not what we're worried about. Yes, we're worried that we'll lose them, but in a slightly more mortal way than that," Sarah said, twisting her wedding ring around her finger.
Nicole understood.
"You've been involved with Gods before?"
"We were married by a God, Nic."
"Do Kat and Jade know?"
"No, of course not. And they're not going to know. But..."
"Don't worry. The amulets will protect them."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm positive. As long as they're wearing the amulets, they have full protection from the power of the Gods."
"Good."
Marc and Sarah looked much relieved.
"Do you mind if I ask which Gods you had dealings with?"
Marc and Sarah smiled at each other.
"You can ask."
"But you won't answer."
They merely smiled.

As Marc, Sarah and Nic returned, Marc looked around. Jade was doing a tarot reading for a woman who was Sarah's next client. Darryl was sitting next to her, writing down an appointment for a male who was leaning casually against the stall. Leo was inside, and Kat was laying on a banana lounge in the sun, in a bikini, with Kai sprawled on her stomach. Marc choked a little on that, but whether it was because of the bikini or the dragon you couldn't be quite sure. Nicole also looked around noting where everyone was, and assessing the character of the people around them. Everything seemed to be in order, but the guy leaning against the stall was having some thoughts about Jade that he probably shouldn't have been. Nicole hoped that Darryl didn't reach out and select *his* thoughts. That would cause some problems. He didn't know how to do that yet, but that didn't really mean a thing. Spontaneous learning was the best kind. Nic wondered if Kat remembered how to focus her anger to move things, like she had when Jade had been in danger. If she didn't, Kai would remind her - although it was fairly probable that she did remember, now that she was fully attuned. Nic was very relieved when Darryl finished making the appointment and the guy left. Marc was still watching his daughters, but then Sarah squeezed his hand, and they went back to work.

***

After a couple of days, the routine had become just that, and everyone was working hard - except Kat and Darryl. With most of the appointments made in advance, they had little to do, so they took turns at going to the bar and getting drinks for the others, taking money from satisfied customers, and laying in the sun. Kat did far more of the latter than Darryl. Kat laying in the sun by the stall with Kai on her stomach, both soaking up the sun was a fairly common sight, but Kat complained that Kai was making her tan uneven. The others all took turns at joining her, and Maya joked that Kat and Jade laying together in the sun probably attracted more customers than the tarot readings, word of mouth, and the signs put together. Nicole, however, was getting worried. The demon had done nothing for several days, which was not like him at all. He had to be planning something, and she had no idea what it was - and that always made her nervous.

Nicole had been right he had been planning something. He was busy trying to secure a few more underlings. Kat had destroyed one of his good servants by unleashing her full will on him. He was quite annoyed that she had tapped fully into her powers. He hadn't informed his new recruits that. He was going to have to attack and quickly and preferably on a realm they aren't used to. It's why he had gotten the fresh meat, he needed the power and strength to create a realm that was in a different dimension and time frame at the same time. That would make sure the would have problems fighting back as their weak feeble human bodies wouldn't exactly be able to adapt easily. Unfortunately he also had to get help from a warlock. He hated warlocks. He had been captured by a warlock in his earlier days and was forced into human form. Eventually though he had overpowered that warlock and killed him finally freeing himself of the body he had been forced to live in.
He mused quietly to himself watching the warlock carefully. He wasn't passed killing this warlock after he was done with him. However the warlock had a purpose now so he knew that he should wait. He told a nearby imp to watch the warlock and then took on a human form. He groaned as his shape changed but knew it wouldn't be for long and since he had down it for three centuries a few hours wouldn't hurt him.

***

Jade was about to pack up and join Kat when a gentleman walked up to her. He begged he to read his tarot and was very persistent. Her amulet felt warm and tingly against her skin but against her better judgement she agreed. She lead him to the table and started shuffling her cards while making small talk. She couldn't help noticing that he seemed nervous and fidgety. She looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Kai who was rolling over on Kat's tummy. She gave him a worried look and he soon tapped Kat as he got the message.
Kat slowly opened her eyes and looked at Kai

"What is it?"
"Jade, I think something's wrong"

Kat looked to where Jade was.

"With that good looking thing she has in front of her, nah"

Kai laughed but he knew he shouldn't let it drop. He brainstormed quickly trying to work out how to get Kat to check it out before coming up with an idea

"Kat, how will Darryl react."
"I don't know. Probably not to well"
"Well how about we go over and check it out all the same"
"Will it stop you pestering me?" Kat asked
"Yes"
"Fine"

Kat got up and started heading in Jade's direction. The closer she got the more she noticed that yes he was good looking and that he was terribly shaky. As she drew closer though her amulet started to tingle to. Kat's attitude changed instantly and now she really wanted to know what was happening.
Darryl had gone upstairs to put his stuff away and just reached the foyer. He was looking forward to spending time with Jade now that she was due to finish. She had been reading tarot all day and towards the end of it she looked kind of tired. He stopped short when he spotted Kat and Kai walking towards Jade and Jade giving another reading. He sighed which brought Nicole's attention to him as she was only a few steps away drinking a Pina Colada. She turned to ask what was wrong and then felt him send out a mental probe. She watched and joined his probe secretly. He sent it to the fellow across from Jade and both suddenly understood why the gentleman looked so jittery.
Darryl spotted Nicole and withdrew his probe and went to tell her but she cut him off saying she knew. The both headed towards Jade. Nicole veered of and decided to sneak up on the evil presence she now knew was watching. He was in human form and didn't look to bad either. She couldn't help think that their were so many good looking men and they all seemed corrupt. As she got closer to the demon on human form she stood tall and severed his hold on the guy near Jade. Then reaching out with her right hand which now glowed bright white grabbed the demon.
He demon screamed in pain but Nicole muffled the noise so no-one heard him. Then pulling him really close to her she whispered in his ear

"Play by the rules or I will destroy you myself, destiny be hanged! You know where the fight is to be held so don't you dare touch them before then again"

She let go of him and he shimmered out of existence. She felt the residue of his shimmer and the hold she had on him. She dropped the demon flesh and it sank into the floor. When she had grabbed him she had seen his plans. She know understood a bit more of the chronicles she had been studying and almost felt pity for the demon.
Heading back to where Jade was she waved for Leo to come over. The poor gentleman that had become the demons pawn was going to need healing and quickly.