Phoenix is the master strategist. He plots, plans and works out the details for takedowns. He’s generally quiet, spending most of his time in the shop, building bikes. The only Mephisto to find an Anabo, who was captured and murdered by Eryx, Phoenix lives with guilt and bitter regret, which makes him less than fun to be around. Most of the brothers avoid him, except Jax, who’s closest in age. None of them talk about Jane, always walking on eggshells to avoid reminding Phoenix. This pisses him off because he doesn’t need to be reminded to remember what happened. It’s all he thinks about, even after more than one hundred years since her death.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Losing the guilt.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Vlad the Impaler. He lost his wife and it drove him mad.

Which living person do you most admire?
The living person I most admire is no longer living.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My inability to kill Eryx.

What is your favorite journey?
Jane’s grave in Yorkshire.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Stoicism.

On what occasion do you lie?
When I say I’m not interested in another Anabo.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
No woman next to me.

Which living person do you most despise?
Are you shitting me? I mean, seriously, what kind of dumbass question is that?

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Next question.

When and where were you happiest?
I don’t remember ever feeling happiness.

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to bring her back and change history.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
I want M and my brothers to lay off trying to get me to forget. I’ll never forget. Ever.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
None of your damn business.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A black orchid.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A regular human who can go to Heaven after death. I would see Jane. I could make it right.

What is your most treasured possession?
I don’t treasure things. They never last.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Persistence.

Who are your favorite writers?
Edgar Allen Poe, Somerset Maugham, and Stephen King. I also like Dave Barry.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Spiderman.

What is it that you most dislike?
Silly twits.

What is your motto?
Whatever. I’m done.

Denys, the youngest Mephisto, is a party guy who loves to tell jokes and make people laugh. He sometimes has a chip on his shoulder because he’s youngest and his brothers blow off what he has to say. He therefore blows off a lot of what they say, which frequently gets him into trouble.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
I love girls. I deeply suspect that being with an Anabo would be perfect, primo happiness.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Casanova. Actually, the legendary Casanova. The real man was pretty much a loser.

Which living person do you most admire?
The girl I had last night. I think her name was Brittany. Or maybe Lucy?

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My inability to be alone.

What is your favorite journey?
I can’t say that here. What? I can? Oh, well, okay. The journey from kissing to doing it – doesn’t get any better than that. Awesome scenery.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Modesty. Not the humility kind. The take off your clothes kind. Naked equals good.

On what occasion do you lie?
After I’ve had sex with a girl and tell her I’ll call.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Not a damn thing. Girls like me, so I’ve got no complaints.

Which living person do you most despise?
Eryx, the scum-sucking piece of shit.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
A girl I’ve yet to meet.

When and where were you happiest?
Can’t remember. I was probably toasted.

Which talent would you most like to have?
Think I’ve got it covered. It might be cool to paint – like pictures – but I’d wanna nail the model, so maybe not.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
My brothers would laugh more.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Can’t think of any achievements that matter in the grand scheme of things.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
The ocean. It’s vast, and deeper than anyone knows.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
Dude, if I got to choose, no way in hell I’d come back – as anything.

What is your most treasured possession?
A first edition copy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. She was a cool chick, even if she wouldn’t sleep with me.

What is your most marked characteristic?
I laugh a lot. I don’t necessarily think things are that funny – but I like to laugh.

Who are your favorite writers?
Way too many to name here.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Beowulf.

What is it that you most dislike?
Guys who mistreat girls.

What is your motto?
It’s five o’clock somewhere.

Nicknamed Zee, Xenos is a techy who loves computers almost as much as he loves music. If he’s not on a takedown, he’s fooling around with computers, or at a concert. He attends concerts all over the world and has the largest music collection on the planet. He owns every instrument ever invented and can play each of them expertly. He started a band made up of musically inclined Luminas, but he’s still hunting for an elusive front man, someone to sing the songs he writes and do them justice.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Nothing in life is perfect, and happiness is an illusion.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I don’t identify with anyone.

Which living person do you most admire?
Admiring people isn’t my thing.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My dreams. They’re freakish.

What is your favorite journey?
Waking up.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Sanity.

On what occasion do you lie?
I never lie. Which is, of course, a lie. You do the math.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
I don’t like or dislike how I look. I just am how I am.

Which living person do you most despise?
M’s son, Eryx. Duh.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My brothers, I suppose. What a sappy question.

When and where were you happiest?
If you mean happiest like when was I the least miserable, I’d say when we were boys, on Kyanos.

Which talent would you most like to have?
To write brilliant music. Yes, I write music now, but it’s not brilliant.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
Changing one thing would be like spitting on a forest fire.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Not becoming sucked into the dark side. But it’s ongoing. Time will tell, I guess.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A piano. I’d be played by a beautiful woman with lovely hands.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
I told you. A piano. Aren’t you listening? You insisted on these stupid questionnaires. Least you can do is pay attention.

What is your most treasured possession?
The key to my storage closet, where I keep weird shit I don’t want anybody looking at.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Is that physical, or mental? Physically, I have a tattoo of a question mark on my neck. Mentally, I scare the hell out of myself.

Who are your favorite writers?
You’re expecting me to say Vonnegut, or maybe Updike, aren’t you? Wrong. I like Greek mythology, and Dr. Seuss, and I like to reread Tolstoy every once in a while. I also read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. Oh, and Star Wars fan-fic.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
No favorite.

What is it that you most dislike?
Nightmares, especially the ones where I have a starring role.

What is your motto?
We’re all here because we’re not all there.

Ajax, who answers to Jax, commands the brothers’ takedowns. He’s always first, and no one makes a move without his order. He likes to read biographies, and collects memorabilia from past wars. His favorite thing to do is play basketball, and once asked Key to recruit Magic Johnson as a Lumina. Key said no, but Jax still manages to find enough Luminas to form teams.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

There’s no such thing as perfect happiness.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Genghis Khan.

Which living person do you most admire?

A gang leader I met in L.A. He’s functionally illiterate, but his guys follow him without question, because he’s fair, conscientious, and has a knack for diplomacy. Only when that fails does he start shooting. Damn shame he won’t go to school.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Too rigid.

What is your favorite journey?

Home, after a takedown.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Humility. If someone’s proud of their accomplishments, they’re proud – acting all humble about it is bullshit.

On what occasion do you lie?

When my brothers ask me if I have all the bases covered before we move in for a takedown. I say yes, because they need to hear my confidence, but sometimes, I can’t be sure.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?

Why?  Is there something wrong with how I look?

Which living person do you most despise?

My father’s first born – Eryx. I dream of killing him.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

I’m not sure what love is, really. It’s girly to talk about it, anyway.

When and where were you happiest?

Growing up on Kyanos, before we knew what was in store for us, when my mother was alive.

Which talent would you most like to have?

Patience.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?

That we’d all find an Anabo, sooner than later, and have a gajillion kids. Hopefully some tall ones who can play b-ball.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

I haven’t achieved it yet.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?

We can’t die. We’re immortal. This is, therefore, a stupid question.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?

This question is more moronic than that last one. Next.

What is your most treasured possession?

My switchblade. Key had it made for me in Spain.

What is your most marked characteristic?

Organization and the ability to lead.

Who are your favorite writers?

Winston Churchill.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

Rick from Casablanca.

What is it that you most dislike?

Assholes. Like, people who are assholes. I’ve got nothing against real assholes. This is a stupid question too. I’ll tell you what I dislike – stupid questions.

What is your motto?

The deed is everything, the glory, nothing. That’s from Goethe.

Titus, who is called Ty, is the tallest of the brothers. An animal lover, he collects strays and looks after the brothers’ livestock, which includes horses, a few cattle, and a small flock of sheep. He takes in the occasional wounded bird or possum. He once brought home an orphaned bear. Ty is pragmatic, but has a special magic with animals.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Perfect happiness would be finding an Anabo girl. Since that hasn’t happened, you’ll have to settle for imperfect happiness – which is probably hanging with my horses and dogs. They like anybody who isn’t mean to them.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals. Ha!  That’s a joke. Why aren’t you laughing?

Which living person do you most admire?

My brother, Phoenix. Actually, I don’t admire him as much as I feel for him. Having his girl tortured and killed by Eryx still haunts him, and it’s been over a hundred years ago. Poor bastard.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

I’m a sucker for a set of sad eyes. An easy touch, you could say. Key’s always getting pissed off at me for giving away money and hauling home strays.

What is your favorite journey?

Across the moors in England, where we lived for a couple of centuries.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Intelligence. So what if a person’s smart?  A brilliant asswipe is still an asswipe.

On what occasion do you lie?

When it benefits me or my brothers.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?

Being seven feet tall is a pain in the ass.

Which living person do you most despise?

Eryx.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Gretchen. She was a mastiff who lived with us in England. Swear to God, she’s still around in spirit. I see her every so often, lying by the fire. Best dog, ever.

When and where were you happiest?

In England in the early 1800s. Those were some good times.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I wish I understood physics.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?

I wish Jane was still here, that she and Phoenix had a lot of children. I’d like being an uncle.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Getting algebra.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?

Seabiscuit.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?

Anything but a Mephisto.

What is your most treasured possession?

Haven’t got a clue. Not any of my animals, because we don’t own animals.

What is your most marked characteristic?

I talk to animals and they understand me. Seriously.

Who are your favorite writers?

Not much of a reader.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

Don’t have one.

What is it that you most dislike?

People who abuse animals.

What is your motto?

Use spurs and I’ll kick your ass.