Story

Part One: And the last shadow slips away.

The fire had burned for several hours and would probably burn for several more. The hillside on which it stood looked out over the plains and fields that made up the land between Leeds and York, an are of good farmland, with low rolling hills that stretched from the mountains of the Pennines and peak district in the south and west, all the way to the wild moor land of the North York moors in the north.
The Hill itself was perhaps the only high point of land for as far as the eye could see, and the fire on its summit was visible as far away as Wetherby and Tadcaster. The easterly wind, cold and blowing in from the Atlantic, cutting its icy swathe across the country, failed to chill the four figures. Who stood around the funeral pyre of one of their best friends.
Raising his head form the flames, one spoke, he was a tall man of pale complexion, his dark hair cut in a fashionable business style, matching his dress, heavy black woollen overcoat over expensive black woollen suit. His eyes, cold, scan the others, examining each individually before moving on.
�We�re born for this moment, each of us.� He paused. �Born for the moment of death.�
The figure across the fire looked down. His creased face, a relic of India�s past, his eyes laughing and a small smile curling at the corners of his mouth. He wore a thick warm jacket of modern materials, designed for hikers and mountaineers. Bundled up in it he was a curios sight, his bent figure, ballooned by his coat. With his laughing eyes sparkling in the fie light he looked up at them all.
�It was inevitable, he has been called back for a new part. Where shall we see his soul next I wonder?� He looked down once more with a rasping chuckle.
The figure to his right, resplendent in long trench coat of black leather, his face painted like a stylish corpse, looked deep into the flames, his hair, far from it�s natural blonde, was near invisible in the darkness. Finally after a pausing fro the perfect drama, he spoke.
�Death comes to us all, we should embrace it as mother.�
He seemed about to speak on when the fourth figure�s voice cut him off, the accent spoke of Ireland, tempered with English.
�When do we find out who did this and make them pay?�
The figure in the suit turned and eyed the fourth figure; he was not impressed by what he saw. Standing in on the exposed hillside, the icy wind blowing through even his expensive coat, he found himself somehow insulted by the young mans seeming ignorance of the elements, Standing hands in the pockets of his long black shorts, that ended just below the knees, leaving a few inches gap before the start of his army boots, the brown haired young man wore a strange half smile. The white t-shirt with a picture of Mickey Mouse seemed very unfitting on this sombre occasion. He opened his mouth to speak but the irreverent little man got there first.
�I mean, the guy was obviously killed.� He looked at the last few remains as they worked their way along the path to fire ash. �It positively reeks of magic.�
The dark faced Indian turned and looked at him. �You have no respect. This is a gathering for the departed, we must honour him in song and prayer.�
Again the young man sneered. �Why bother, he�s dead, we know he�s returned to the wheel. This, this body, is nothing.�
The Gothic one spoke up again, �The traditions of death are essential, to correctly free the spirit so it may embrace its new journey.�
�That is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard!� He paced around behind the mourners. �Look closely, you all know that there�s no soul left in that body, it�s a lifeless bit of meat, now rather charred. He�s not in there anymore so why should he care?�
The Businessman looked across sneering. �The call was to all of our kind, we didn�t expect you. And now I am thinking that the open call was a bad idea.�
The young man turned, the half smile spreading across his lips. �Are you in fact going to do anything about this killing at all?�
All three of the others looked edgy, the Goth was even shuffling his feet. It was in the end the business who gave an answer.
�Well obviously we will have to be cautious, he was the most secure of our number.�
�You mean if it happened to him it could happen to any of you, and you�re all to scared to draw attention to yourselves?�
The three Euthanatos glares at Danial who, shaking his head, turned and walked down the hill.