The laughter died out prematurely as the three glanced around them.  Candles around the room were all lit, casting jumping shadows that blended and dissolved into each other.  Each of them took a few seconds to take in the light before taking quick looks at each other.<br/><br/>Gale spoke first, his eyes darting between his cousins and the lights that surrounded them.<br/><br/>"Uh," he began, clearing his throat, "just to make sure that my memory isn't shot all to hell, those weren't lit before, right?"<br/><br/>Raine shook her head.  Ember was silent.<br/><br/>Gale moved toward a set of three candles set next to a window.  The flames flickered into each other.  He reached out a hand.  He held it above the three, his eyes narrowing.<br/><br/>"Okay, so they are real.  It's hot."<br/><br/>The other two cousins glanced at each other, Ember raising her eyebrows.  What was he doing?<br/><br/>Gale slowly lowered his hand and then after a moment, yanked it back with a slight yelp.<br/><br/>"Ow!" he said.<br/><br/>Raine opened her mouth to say something.<br/><br/>A loud bang against the windows interrupted Raine, causing the three cousins to start in surprise.  Gale moved back toward the other two.<br/><br/>They all saw that the windows were now blocked by the exterior shutters.  All of the large windows in the room, of which there were a few, now were covered.  The light from the candles glowed against the dark wood grain of the now closed shutters.<br/><br/>The fact that it had happened to all of the windows, at the exact same time, was unmistakable to the three.  This was a virtually impossible coincidence, Gale thought.  Gale took another step backward, bringing the three of them into a line.<br/><br/>"That's...different," he said softly.<br/><br/>All of the flames on top of the candles suddenly shifted their flickering.  In a movement that was impossible to believe, they all bent inward toward the three.  It was as if the flames were reaching out toward the cousins.<br/><br/>There was a shift in the feeling in the air of the room.  Gale glanced up and around.<br/><br/>"I...it feels like someone is watching us," he whispered.<br/><br/><em>But who?</em><br/><br/>Then, unbidden, a worse thought slipped into Gale's mind.<br/><br/><em>Or what?</em><br/><br/>He felt a cold chill run up his spine at that thought.  He kept the thought to himself.<br/>