at smiled as she headed to bed. Jade did the same but could not sleep straight away. She opened her windows and her let her curtians shift about in the soft breeze as she stared at the moon. She felt her mind drift towards Darryl. She shook her head. They were here to work out why they had been summoned. She wasn't even sure she could trust him. He was a follower of her but she remembered last time. She shivered and wished Tim was there. He had been around for several hundred years as Kat and herself had maintained his youth, High Priests of both dieties were simply not commen, especially ones as pure as Tim.

Jade crawled into bed and pushed the quilt aside but wrapped herself in the sheet. She stared out the window til she slept. She dreamt of riding a white horse upon the shoreline with the stars twinkling and the moon casting it's soft glow. She smiled in her dream and in her sleep.

Kat awoke early in the morning and headed outside to watch the sunrise. She was joined shortly by Bree.

"It's beautiful." Bree said softly.
"I try." Kat replied. Bree looked shocked for a moment as she had forgotten Kat's identity, Kat laughed.
"I'm sorry."
"Bree, don't be. I think it took Tim about 50 years before he got used to mine and Jade's presence."
"If you don't mind me asking why Kat and Jade as names?"
"They were given to us many years ago by several Gods and Godessess as names that we were to use and so we have."
"Well I better prepare you breakfast and then I have to go."
"That's right, you have a store don't you?"
"Yes, why?"
"Marc said he knew you. Please Bree, we need you to keep our real identies known."
"I don't understand but that is not important, I will be guided by you in this."
"Thank you."

Bree nodded and headed inside. She made breakfast for Jade and Kat and a pot of tea for Jade, Coffee for Kat. They both came into the kitchen the same time.

"Hmm smells lovely Bree, thank you." Jade said sitting down then pouring herself a tea. Kat sat opposite and before long Bree left. They ate breakfast in silence. Jade stood gathering the dishes and took them to the sink.

"What are you doing?" Kat asked.
"I was going to do the dishes." Jade said running the tap.
Kat waved her hand and the dishes where clean. "Done."
"Sekhmet!"
"What?"
"We are trying to call upon ourselves rememeber."
"Sorry, just it's a beautiful day, we should not waste it."
Jade laughed.
"I was thinking of heading out."
"I have some work I need to do."
"Did you need me to stay."
"No, I'll be fine if I am home alone, I don't need to be white to do my work."
"You sure."
"Go." Jade said laughing.

Kat flounced out the kitchen and got changed before dashing out the door with a scant goodbye. Jade smiled and headed to her room. She gathered some ritual tools that Tim had packed for her and started scrying. There were several potentials she wanted to keep an eye on.

Kat walked down towards the University and turned left a few streets beforehand. It wasn't long before she reached the shops. She walked idly through the markets and then she found Bree's store. She walked into it and looked around, she found Marc by the counter talking to Bree about her. Kat shifted behind a bookshelf and listened in.

"How well do you know Kat?" Marc asked.
"Well enough, why?" Bree said cautiously.
"Well she said she was Pagan and..."
"Yes she is, more than you could imagine."
"Jade?"
"Same. You're up to something."
"Darryl and I were thinking of inviting them to meet the others."
Kat reached out to Bree softly with her mind Tell him we would love to come
"I think they would like that." Bree replied.
"Good. Thanks."

Kat came around the corner at that point and walked up behind Marc. She placed her hand on his arm and a spark of heat jumped from her fingers. She quickly withdrew her hand as Marc span around.

"Kat!" Marc exclaimed surprised.
"Surprised to see me?"
"You could say that."
"Anyone would think you were talking about me." She smiled at him innocently and he looked guilty. "I was wondering if Bree knew anyone who would be able to show me around the sites."
"I can take you." Marc offered.
"I was hoping you would say that."
Kat and Marc waved goodbye to Bree and headed outside.

Jade had put aside her tools after cleansing them and then pulled out her university work. Whilst she could simply cheat with her work as Kat had down with her dishes she just was not inclined to do so. She worked on the coffee table in the lounge sitting on the floor with her legs curled underneath her. The sun shown through the huge glass double doors that lead to the side garden and then the back yard. Whilst sitting in the sun she didn't notice the grey tones to her skin as much. She had written two essays and was now engrossed in a book that she had borrowed from the library. She was interupted by a knock on the door. She hesitated. She was, even in the suns rays a sickly colour. She didn't need guests. She went to ignore it when the knock came again followed by Darryl's voice. Jade went near the door weaving a glamour around herself to cover the colour of her skin. She opened the door.

"Hi."
"Hello."
"I was hoping you would be home."
"Come in." Jade said stepping aside. Darryl stepped inside and then Jade closed the door. She led him through to the lounge and he noticed the her work on the table.
"Doing some study?"
"Thought I would get it in whilst Kat was out."
"Bulfinch's Mythology, not exactly light reading."
"No. What brings you here?"
"Actually I just wanted to see you."

Darryl moved closer to Jade and reached out to hold her hand. She gasped softly as she noticed that as soon as he touched her, her skin returned to white. That had simply not happened in many years. She mused over it as she remained Kat's comment about Marc. She looked directly into Darryl's eyes and saw in that moment that his soul was fairly old. She wondered the same about Marc.
Kat
Everything okay? Kat's voice came back to her in concern.
Mostly. Look I want you to look at Marc's soul, see how old he is.
How did you know I was with Marc? Nevermind, hang on.
There was a pause and Jade waited patiently.
That's not possible Kat said in shock.
That's what I thought, talk to you later about it, I have Darryl over.
Your skin...
I'll talk to you about that later too

Darryl had chosen not to move as fast as Marc so they shared kisses only and he held onto Jade. He felt like if he was to let go she would simply fade away. She shifted and they ended up just laying in each others arms. They were kissing when Kat and Marc got home. Kat coughed to get their attention. Darryl looked sheepish. Darryl and Jade got up and shortly after Darryl left with Marc.

"I thought we were going to be careful, you were glowing white as anything. It was a good thing you are so good at glamours."
"Sorry."
"I haven't seen you glow like that for a long time"
"I know, and their souls, they were so old. Do you think it's possible?"
Kat sighed wistfully. "It would be wonderful."

***

The next few days flew by, Kat and Jade being careful when with Marc and Darryl. Jade and Darryl were in their Tuesday lecture. They had been assigned into small groups for a study whilst the Proffessor marked some of their assignments. The bell rang and the Proffessor wished them a good day. As Jade walked towards the door her name was called.

"Oh Jade Thornhill, could you stay behind for a moment."

Jade approached the lecturers desk and waited for him as he closed the door and then stood by his desk resting on it slightly.

"I wanted to talk about your essay, the page is blank except for your name and a date. Could you explain why?" "When someone is faced with a choice to do one thing or another they may do nothing. Whether they realise it or not that is a choice. By that same token I choose to write nothing. I could have written pages with scientific formulas or similar babble but the fact of the matter is they either exist or don't and no amount of words will be able to proove or disprove that. So I feel that blank page there holds more than what you can just read or not read."
"A fair statement, I will accept this then. Thank you for your time."

Jade turned to leave and took a few steps before turning back.
"Tell me Sir, do you believe in the existence of a God or Godess?"
He opened his mouth to answer automatically but paused.
"I don't know." He finally replied.
"That is a good start." Jade said looking at him directly allowing their eyes to meet. For a brief moment he saw in her eyes the night sky, the stars, and how vast the universe was. Eventually she broke off with a smile.
"Thank you for your honest answer." Jade said softly and walked out of the room closing the door behind her. He watched bewildered and then sat down at his desk. He grabbed her essay and graded it with a High Distinction.

The rest of the week remained uneventful. Marc and Darryl had spoken to several people and had the all clear to invite Jade and Kat to meet the others who shared their belief. It had taken a bit of convincing but Bree had spoken for both Kat and Jade and that had turned the tide. They agreed to meet on Saturday at Marc and Darryl's house. Bree had already spoken to Kat and she in turn had informed Jade even though they hadn't been invited by Marc or Darryl yet.

Marc and Darryl had arrived to Bree's early to pick up their dates. Bree had shown them in to the lounge room and offered them a drink as they waited. She then excused herself and went back to helping Kat with her hair.

"You really should do something with your hair Jade." Kat fussed. "What's wrong with it?"
"Nothing, but leaving it hang is rather plain."
"Fine, Bree can do something with it if it makes you happy."
"It does." Kat said and smiled at Bree who smiled back.

When they were ready Kat and Jade walked into the lounge room.