Sandy was on his rounds spreading dreams over Europe when he felt it and a knot formed in his stomach and he cast his eyes downwards. He sombrely lowered his dream cloud to the level of the houses and went forward. He followed the tendril of sand, which had not been able to perform it's duty, to a small house in a street of identical small houses and up to the top window of number 7. Feeling the cold of night creeping in around him he peered in through the window. Pink walls, shelves of toys, butterfly stickers on the wall, a life machine beeping feebly, a pink bed…and a figure shrouded in black. To small to be Pitch, the figure had a childlike quality and carried a long curved vicious looking scythe.

Beep…beep… … …beep

Sandy's dreamsand curled around him in anger. It was Death, The Grim Reaper. He reached into the room with his dreamsand, trying to find some spark of life in the child on the bed, but Death's sinister form blocked the sand and carried on its gruesome evil work uninterrupted.

Beep… … beep… … … …beep

Sandy's blood began to boil as he watched the hands of this creature move to touch the face of the child. The face turned slack and emotionless as from it came a pale blue spectral image. The image grew larger and Sandy realised it was the child, but only a ghostly image of her as the real body lay, growing paler, underneath the pink duvet.

Beep… … … … … … … …

Sandy's anger boiled over and he burst through the window into the room, startling Death out of It's trance, so it dropped its scythe. But the terrible deed was done and the child now lay colourless and unbreathing on the bed while Death guarded its prize, the image of the child, behind its back. Sandy thrust his dreamsand towards the creature to illuminate its face but the large hood it wore covered its features and it cringed away. Sandy brought up his sand whips to attack and the ghost-child behind Death's back whimpered in fright.

It's okay little one, I'll save you! Sandy thought to himself as he brought his whips down. But Death moved as quickly as thought and was out of the window into the night sky with the child in tow and Sandy's whips came down on nothing.

Sandy growled in frustration and dived out of the window to pursue the demon, but it was no where to be found. He scoured the night sky until the sun rose. Sandy returned to the room with the sombre corpse and growled in anger. He noticed the scythe, discarded on the floor in Death's surprise and picked it up, clenching the wooden pole.

This cannot go unpunished! Sandy thought as he rushed to the pole and activated the Northern lights to gather the Guardians.

This cannot be forgiven.

Sandy watched the Guardians as they entered. It was May so there was no big Easter or Christmas rush and North and Bunny sat patiently around the large wooden table, occasionally questioning Sandy, but he would say (or sign) nothing until everyone was gathered. Tooth was next and she flew around the room, busily giving orders to her fairies. Jack came last and he was not happy.

'This had better be good guys!' He said grumpily as he walked agitatedly to his seat, 'There's supposed to be a big storm over Russia as I speak! Weather doesn't wait around!'

When Bunny rolled his eyes at Jack's complaints, Jack answered with a frosty glare,

'Don't make me tell you again about the way the world's weather works! I have other jobs than being a Guardian you know, I don't just spend all my time painting eggs or crap like-'

Sandy interrupted before Jack could break into a rant about air masses and jet streams by violently shaking an unsuspecting elf. Jack sat back in his chair unhappily but stopped ranting and Sandy glided onto the table. A huge mass of images started to jumble over his head. Bunny rolled his eyes. North muttered something in Russian and Jack sank lower into his chair with an exaggerated sigh.

'Maybe go a bit slower, Sandy.' Tooth said politely.

Sandy nodded.

A picture of himself.

A child.

A shrouded figure.

A swirling mass of sand.

The child again but fainter, with no sure outline.

A gravestone.

And then Sandy threw down the scythe he had taken from the girl's room onto the table before the Guardians. With a face like thunder, he nodded and took his place at the table. There was silence for a second.

'So you saw Death?' Tooth.

'And they killed a kid?' Bunny voice was harsh with anger.

'That is terrible!' North voice boomed and an eruption of voices filled the room as North, Tooth and Bunny all jumped out of their chairs and started talking all at once. But Jack stayed seated and silently stared at the scythe in confusion. Sandy drifted over to him, feeling sympathy for the boy, he was only recently a guardian and this must have come as too much of a shock to him. But as Sandy laid a hand comfortingly on his shoulder, Jack shoved it off roughly and he looked at Sandy,

'Why did you interrupt?' He asked with an edge of anger in his voice.

Sandy stared back, not understanding,

'Why did you interrupt her?'

Her? Who was he taking about, Sandy thought confusedly.

The other Guardians had quietened and where staring at Jack with a mixture of horror and confusion.

'Yah mean Death mate? That monster that killed that poor child?'

'It must answer for It's crimes!' North exclaimed and the Guardians erupted in shouts once more. But Jack rose from his seat and slammed his staff on the ground, spreading frost across the floor.

'ENOUGH! Do you even know what Death does? Have you met her? Her, not It' Jack stared accusingly at the Guardians, 'You have it all wrong, you made assumptions, just like you did with me!'

The fire had left the Guardians eyes but they still looked angry.

'You will have to explain, Jack,' North said taking a seat and motioning to the other Guardians to do the same, 'You have met Death? You know…her?'

'Yes, I met her a long time ago…'

Watch for the next chapter guys!