"Five"

“That’s my little one, just rest your head for a while.” A mother softly crooned to her infant child.

“Did she finally fall asleep?” the father asked as he entered the room.

“For now, are the boys all tucked in for the night?” she smiled over her shoulder at her husband as he walked towards her.

“Yes, my love, all four were asleep before their heads hit their pillows. They all had a busy day.” He chuckled.

“That they have. Did you talk to our darling sons about not using their gifts to play pranks on the staff?” The mother sighed as she leaned back into her husband’s embrace.

“That I did, we had a long talk, and they promised to apologize in the morning. They also confessed to playing a few tricks on their uncle.” He brushed his wife’s temple with a kiss.

“Those little imps.” She grinned, “Their powers grow with each passing day.”

“They are adjusting well to them, and our daughter’s powers will also show soon.”

That was her one fear as she watched her baby daughter move in her sleep. Her fear increased every time she saw the mark on her little girl’s wrist. “Do you think she can handle her gifts and all the responsibility that comes with them?”

The man peered over his wife’s shoulder to look down at the beautiful bundle of pink. His heart swelled with more love than ever. He knew his wife’s fears for their daughter, for he felt the same. He did not doubt that with their guidance, their daughter could handle her gifts and the legacy she had inherited, all his children inherited. Since the day his daughter was born and he saw the mark of the anointed one, he knew the pressure his baby girl would one day face that all his children would face, for all five made up the five points.

“She’ll be able to handle it, they all will.” He answered, “Don’t worry so much, we will guide them, so when it’s time for them to take over the fight, they will be ready.” He kissed his wife’s slender neck, “And since our children have been so kind as to give us some time alone, why don’t we take advantage of their gift?

She turned in her husband’s embrace, “That sounds like a splendid idea.”

As she went up on her toes to kiss her husband, she heard a faint hissing noise followed by a small pop.

The husband felt his wife tense, he spun around to face the door behind him, and he tried to shield his wife from the intruder. “You are not welcome here. Leave this place at once.” He commanded.

“I am here for the anointed one, give her to me, and I will spare the rest of you.” The intruder hissed.

The mother’s instinct to protect her child was more potent than the fear of the intruder itself. She quickly turned from the intruder, and with a wave of her hand, the satin and lace bassinet vanished from sight. She then turned back toward the intruder as she stepped up beside her husband. She was not one to hide, they would face it together. “You will never lay a hand on any of my children.” She went to raise her hand and suddenly felt a blazing fire course through her body as she fell to the floor. The next feeling was that she was floating over her body.

“No!” her husband yelled as a beam of golden light shot from his hands toward the intruder. That was the last thing that he felt before he, too, was floating over his body.

The intruder had managed to kill them both, but the last blast from the father was enough that he would have to retreat. However, as he popped out, he felt that time was on his side. He gave a mock salute to the now ghost of the anointed one’s parents and vanished from sight.

“Now, what will happen to our babies? How will we protect them?” She spoke.

“My brother and his wife will raise our children, we must go beyond the veil, my love.” He sighed, reaching for his wife’s hand. “We have to cross the veil now, love.

“Not yet, we must find a way to protect our children.” She wept for her beloved children.

“We will, my love, watch over our children for all time, and if my brother or our children need help, we will gently guide them.”

“There is one thing we must do before we cross, my love, while our magic is still within.” She spoke softly.

They stood before the gossamer curtain; the couple closed their eyes. A sparkling silver light with golden light intertwined surrounded them as she gently chanted. Then the lights burst from them, filled the air, then were gone. The couple that loved and mourned for their children, whom they could not care for, joined their ancestors beyond the veil to watch and guide their loves from afar.