"I was in love once. . . " Shannon finally said. Wet strands of her dark hair hung in front of her face, blocking it from view. The large trees prevented most of the rain from pouring down upon them, but it also blocked out most of the faint light, leaving them in a faded grey light. 

"With Jason?" Patrick replied, looking into the darkening light between the trees as if expecting to see him come striding out again. Shannon nodded her head slightly.

"It was a long time ago," her voice began to drift off as if she was collecting her thoughts to begin telling the story before she stated in a quick rush, "But you don't need to know about all that boring stuff."

"Just, tell me," Patrick forced out, trying to keep his voice calm and collected. 

Shannon sat on the riverbank, her feet trailing over the edge into the water. She was aimlessly kicking them back and forth as she tried to focus her thoughts. But every time she began to wrap her mind around any one idea, she would find herself thinking about something totally different. It was as if her mind was surrounded in a thick fog, and the rare glimpses of anything real or solid were always quick and fleeting. If she had been able to focus she might have noted that her inability to think straight had begun around the same time that she had first started seeing Jason. But the only thing she was able to keep hold of was the strong desire to jump into the cold water of the river. That was the one fact she knew for sure and was able to hold onto. If she was to return home now, with the scent of Jason still around her, her father would throw a fit, if not kill her. 

Standing up, Shannon prepared to jump into the river, but hesitated as a strong rush of wind wrapped itself around her. Turning slowly on her heel, Shannon looked straight into the red eyes of her father. Foggy mind or not Shannon knew that she was in trouble.

"Where have you been for. . . " her father began, pausing as a new scent reached his sensitive nose. He barely spared his daughter another glance before he was bounding across the river and into the woods on the other side. Shannon stood there for a moment, her mind unable to decide on what to do. It wasn't till a few minutes had passed, more than enough time for her father to have reached the small cabin in the middle of the woods, that she felt a strong desire to follow after him.

All other thoughts left her mind as she focused simply on forcing herself to go as fast as she could towards the small cabin, which, being a demon, was pretty fast. Shannon nearly ran straight into the back of her father as she reached the small clearing that Jason lived in. Shannon slowly looked between the two men who were simply staring at each other. They were both tall, her father having bright red hair and eyes, claws, fangs, and a bushy fox tail that twitched behind him. Jason on the other hand had shaggy brown hair and clear blue eyes. His ears were pointed, a sign of his divine blood, but unlike most gods he did not have wings upon his back.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice that my own daughter was under the spell of a god? A half breed one at that," Shannon's father snarled out. Jason simply smirked.

"I was counting on you finding out actually. I was hoping that we might be able to come to some kind of agreement. . . ."

"And why would I listen to a half breed?" The smirk on Jason's face dropped for a moment to be replaced by annoyance.

"That's hardly any way to talk when your own flesh and blood is a simple half breed." Jason's smirk was quick to return when he saw the powerful fox demon flinch back at his words.

"I am a master of illusions and deceptive spells," Jason began to explain, answering the demons unasked question, "It was easy for me to see that the young demon princess was not actually a full blooded demon. Though I must admit I was surprised to find out that her other half was divine and not human. No wonder you worked so hard to hide it."

"What do you want from me?"

"I think I have a plan that will make both of us very happy." The demon king didn't reply, but his slightly relaxed posture was enough for Jason to realize that he was willing to hear him out.

"Your tribe of elite demons has been at war with the water god's tribe for centuries now. But you have never been able to kill their leader because any one of you that got too close was purified into oblivion. So for hundreds of years your two tribes have fought against each other, neither side winning, and both losing, tens after tens of worthy men and women. Meanwhile, you have been so obsessed with making sure no one finds out your daughters dirty little secret that you have failed to notice that she is the perfect weapon. Her divine blood means that she cannot be purified as easily as any full blooded demon."

"How do you know she is so resistant to purification?"

"Because I tried purifying her after I realized what she really was." The king looked over at his daughter, who was staring blankly off into the woods, the conversation between the two males making no apparent impression on the young woman.

"What did you do to her exactly?"

"I placed her under one of my spells. It as if she was a mere puppet. She obeys my every command."

"Do you really expect me to believe that MY daughter was so weak minded as to fall under the spell of a half breed?" the king growled out, glaring at Jason. Jason allowed himself to glare back, before averting his gaze.

"I admit had she been at full power I wouldn't have stood a chance. But the spell you have put her under, sealing her divine blood, makes her weak, for technically speaking she is only half a person. On top of that, her love for me blinded her to what it was I was doing to her."

"So you plan to command her to kill the leader of the water gods, and in return you want what?"

"You managed to hide from the most elite of demons that your daughter was half goddess. WIth that ability, combined with my own aptness in illusions and deception I believe I can create a spell to deceive even the members of your court into believing that I am just another demon. Once your daughter has killed your most feared enemy, with my help of course, I want you to announce to your people that you are going to marry her off to me."

"You are going through all this trouble just to marry my daughter? You must truly love her then." Jason snorted.

"I am tired of living in exile in the middle of the woods because of what I am. Marrying your daughter will give me power and a proper place in this world. Plus, her love for me means that even if I was to remove my spell on her after the marriage, I can rest assured that she will stay loyal to me." The demon king stood there for a moment, reflecting on the offered arrangement. Finally he brought his gaze back to the young half god before him.

"All right, you have a deal," he said before turning and heading back into the woods, his brainwashed daughter close on his heels.

Shannon dug her claws deep into the rough wooden boards, wincing slightly as sharp slivers of the worn planks wormed their way into her skin. She glanced below her, spotting her men further down the side of the ship, also clinging on for dear life. Her green eyes turned their gaze back up to the nearing rail of the boat. A quick sniff of the air told her that there was only one person on her side of the ship. Tensing her muscles, Shannon pushed herself upwards, flipping over the rim of the ship and landing neatly on the deck. The startled deck hand barely had a chance to turn around before Shannon was upon him, her claws quickly running themselves across his throat. Shannon allowed the body to slump to the ground as she flicked her claws, attempting to rid them of the blood. 

"What are you that you can survived being purified?" asked the God as he collasped before her. 

Shannon's eyes cleared slightly as she looked down at the god she had just killed.

"Don't die," she gasped out, finding it hard to breathe. Blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth as Shannon looked down to see the wooden handle of a blade stuck through her heart. 

She dropped down to her knees,  the empty eyes of the water god staring into hers. 'I didn't even know his name,' was her last thought before she too fell over. 

Shannon opened her eyes to a white light. She looked around, but all there was was the bright light. She tried closing her eyes and opening them again, but nothing changed. 'Could this be hell' the young demon thought, glancing in all directions for a sign of anything other then the pure whiteness. 

"Believe me you would know for sure if you were in hell," came a disembodied voice from somewhere above her. Or maybe it was below. Shannon's senses seemed to be going haywire in the strange environment. 

"Then where the hell am I?" she asked.

"You are someplace in-between."

"And why would I be there. . . here?" Shannon could have sworn she heard the voice sigh. 

"Your unique heritage prevents you from entering either heaven or hell," the voice commented. 

"My unique heritage?" Shannon asked cocking her head to one side.

"I see. So your father has hidden it from you. . . "

"So I have to stay in this place for the rest of eternity?" Shannon could hear what she could only describe as a sad chuckle.

"No. You will be returned back to the world of the living."

"But I died. . . . "

"Until we are able to find some way to deal with you. . . we have no choice but to let you live." With that, Shannon was surrounded by complete darkness. It was as the sound of men shouting, and the creaking of the ship reached her sensitive ears that she realized that her eyes were closed. Snapping them open she could see the blue of the sky above her. Turning on her side she saw what looked like two feet. If the feet had been made of light instead of flesh and bones. Looking up Shannon could make out a whole figure composed of the shining light. 

"What do you want now?" she croaked, her throat sore and caked with what she assumed was her own blood. 

"To offer you a chance to die a normal death one day and go to heaven. . . if you so desire."

"And why would I want that? You pretty much just told me that I was immortal."

"Many do not favor the idea of living forever and watching their loved ones grow old and die around them." Shannon let the words sink in and tried to imagine watching her dad and Jason and all her friends growing old and dying while she stayed the same.

"What do I have to do?"

Shannon looked down upon the small child. He was barely two years old, with bluish green eyes and brownish blond hair. 

"Who is this?"

"A half breed by the name of Patrick, his mother was a human priestess."

"And his father?"

"The man you just killed." Shannon snapped her head up to look at the shining figure, then looked back down at the child.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Take care of him, protect him from those who would want him dead." Shannon growled deep in her throat. 

"You mean my father and our people. . " The god said nothing at first. 

"It is your choice," he finally said, before removing his prescience from the damp room. 

A quick flick of her wrist sent a blast of pure energy at the demon. It wasn't much, but more than enough to turn the weak demon into ashes.

"Just admit it," Shannon growled out, " You need me." Patrick looked at the pile of dust, knowing full well that without her he would have died two weeks ago when this had all started, but his ego refused to admit that.

"Just because you feel a need to protect me because you are in love with me doesn't mean I need your help," he commented, looking her in the eyes, trying to seem as indifferent as he possibly could. She simply stared at him, with her wide green eyes, before throwing her head back and laughing. Patrick allowed the smallest of frowns to grace his face.

"Don't get me wrong," Shannon finally managed to gasp out, " You ain't that bad for a human, but that's not why I'm protecting you."

"Oh?"

"You're my ticket out of here buddy." Patrick raised an eyebrow, looking at her for a better explanation. Shannon sighed. "I'm not inclined to go into the details at the moment, all you need to know is that it is my job to protect your sorry ass."

"Your job?" Shannon sighed again and nodded, pivoting on her heel and setting off into the trees.

"And who exactly gave you this job?" Patrick yelled at her back as he started after her.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Patrick nearly growled out himself.

The meaning of what had just happened began to seep in, much like the water making its way through her clothes. Slowly, as if she was afraid of what she might see, Shannon turned on her heel, bringing her gaze to rest on Patrick. His eyes were even bluer than before, he appeared taller, and his ears were now pointed like Shannon's. Patrick simply glared at her, waiting for an explanation.

"Why did it seem like you knew this would happen?" he finally growled out when Shannon failed to do anything but stare. 

"Well I didn't expect it so much as . . . " her voice drifted off into nothingness as she tried to figure out what to say.

"Maybe I should explain," came a new voice from behind Patrick. He could see the relief in Shannon's eyes before he turned around to see who the newcomer was. Behind him was what Patrick could only describe as a God. It probably helped that he was one. His wings were a pure white, his eyes a stormy grey, he was at least three inches taller then Patrick. 

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kaze. I am the god of the wind," the man responded.

"And how do you know who I am?"

"Because I knew your father. . . .your true father that is." Patrick cocked his head to one side. This was getting to be too much for him, but the new God continued. "Your father was the God of water, and the leader of the sea faring men that have now become known as Pirates." Patrick felt his legs give way as he collasped onto the ground.

"Pirates?"

"That is correct."

"You are telling me that not only am I a god but that my dad was a pirate?"

"Technically you are only half a god, your mother was human, but seeing as how you are the only heir to your fathers place, and how he has perished, that doesn't seem to matter much anymore." Kaze then turned his attention to Shannon who was slowly creeping away from the two.

"And I must thank you Shannon for protecting him so well, even if it was your attack that made him release his powers." Shannon muttered something under her breathe as she tried to sink into the shadows around her. "You have held up your end of the deal and so I will adhere to our half of it." 

"Now wait a minute," Shannon began, her eyes wide as she saw Kaze raise his hand towards her, "When I said I wanted to die I didn't mean right now!" she finished yelling, her wings appearing to enwrap her in a sad attempt to protect her. Kaze smiled at her as Patrick stared on, wordless for once.

"Death?" he finally muttered out, staring at the girl on the edge of the clearing. Kaze simply let a bolt of light emerge from the tips of his fingers, surrounding the hunched over figure in front of him, consuming her. 

There was silence as Patrick stared at the spot where Shannon had stood only moments before. 

"You. . . you killed her," he finally gasped out.

"She should have died centuries ago, along with your father," Kaze stated, turning away.

"Bring her back!"

"It's not in my place to give life."

"Just as it is not your place to take it," came a gentle, calming voice from behind them.

Patrick looked over his shoulder to see a tall, slender woman coming out from between the trees. Her hair was a deep brown, and her eyes a forest green. She wore a long, flowing green dress that matched her eyes and in her hands was a curled up, sleeping fox. 

"Who are you?" Patrick asked the newcomer, but his eyes were attached to the young fox in her arms. 

"I am Yanamai, Shannon's mother, the goddess of the earth."

"Can you bring her back?" Patrick said finally, looking up into her eyes.

"Her body was destroyed, and it is not in my power to restore it, but I can house her soul in a new body." Patrick stood there confused for a moment, before his gaze was once more drawn to the fox in the goddess' hands.

"You mean THAT is Shannon?"

"It was the best I could do. I needed a body that had died in the same exact moment as she did if I wanted the soul to be able to stay in the new form. It seems fitting that out of all the possible choices it could have been, it just happened to be a fox," Yanamai commented with a small grin on her face.

"But . . . . she's a fox. . . " Patrick stated. Yanamai laughed.

"In form yes. But she is still the same person as she was before, with the same powers. You may not be aware of this but as a fox demon, my daughter had the ability to change her form for short periods of time. I will give her a collar that will absorb her demon power while she is in this form. As long as the collar has power, it will allow her to stay in whatever form she chooses. But once it is drained she will be forced to change back until the collar has reabsorbed enough power."