EVABELLE

The wall of sound hit her before she even saw the building. It took Evabelle a moment to realize that it was music. Tons of different music, turned up to the highest level, all being blared out as one. The ground shook beneath their feet as the contrasting bases fought to overpower each other.

The group came over the last hill, revealing what looked like one of those rich vacation homes where the walls were all pretty much windows and the roof was angled in a way that one might consider quite stylistic. The entire sanctuary was lit with all assortments of flashing lights as the music (if you could call it that) continued. Shadows of beings that were obviously not human jumped and danced to the noise that made Evabelle want to clap her hands over ears.

"We'll go through the side door!" Shaundee yelled over the din, as the neared her estate. Then she brought them to a glass door and slid it open to allow them all to step in. The room they all entered was cluttered with statues, fountains, large banners, and many other ostentatious items. Evabelle eased her way around the grandiose objects to the center of this odd space where an identical star to that in Calandra's Sanctuary was painted on the ground. It was the only part of the floor that wasn't piled high with some strange artifact.

Shaundee put her hands on her hips. "I told Patrick to go get the jackets then to meet us in here. Honestly where is that goof?"

As if on cue, the door on the other side of the room opened, allowing the music on the other side to truly penetrate the room for a moment, before it closed. Then Evabelle heard a grunt and something crash.

"Patrick!" Shaundee exclaimed. "Tell me you didn't break the All Hallows Mirror!"

Calandra shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"No, no!" Replied a man's voice over the ruckus. "It was the stack of those old brass candle holders. Don't worry Shaundee, nothing is broken!" Out of the maze of stuff, emerged a portly, balding man with a pair of large round glasses, carrying a stack of different colored jackets. "Sorry, the pixies are still terribly unhappy about Raoul. They won't stop complaining until he's out."

Shaundee shook her head. "Seriously, I though perhaps since they got that little chance to work together, that they'd just..." She trailed off and sighed. "This is a home welcome to all. If anyone has a problem with that then they can leave."

Patrick nodded. "That's what I told them."

"Everyone this is my brother, Patrick Valentine, the famous, eccentric inventor of magical artifacts, potions, and other bizarre doodads. He's a genius and a complete weirdo." Shaundee grinned.

Patrick pulled a face at his sister. "Yes, well this is my sister, who doesn't know when she-"

Suddenly CJ let out a cry from Lucis's arms. "If you please, Sir, " Said the Anahalian holding the injured boy. "He needs help, quickly."

"Oh, yes of course!" Patrick exclaimed, waddling forward.

CJ's eyes suddenly flashed open and he grasped the round man's arm, nearly knocking the stack clothes from his arms. What came out of CJ's mouth was nearly incomprehensible, but Evabelle could just make out a few breathy words. "When...s-sun sets...m-m-moon... al-already...ris...en..." He barely managed that before his eyes rolled back again and was silent.

Evabelle gasped and ran forward, looking down at her sweet, clumsy friend that had saved her life. She looked up at Patrick. "Please Mr. Valentine. Please help him!"

"What was that supposed to mean?" Tru shook her head, not caring that CJ might as well be dead.

"He's lost a lot of blood." Evabelle felt tears at the corners of her eyes. "He doesn't know what he's saying. Please he needs help."

Patrick stood with his mouth hanging slightly open, staring at the unconscious CJ. Shaundee snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Patrick, did you not hear her? Come on, help the boy."

Patrick shook himself. "Yes, yes of course." Then he eased the boy from Lucis, trading the Anahalian for the jackets. The mage stumbled a bit, trying to support the gangly teen.

Shaundee shook her head. "Oh, for goodness sake," Then she raised her arms above her head and chanted a spell that caused a large gold table cloth to fly out from the sea of décor and zip over to them with the corners pulled taught. "Just lay him on this."

Patrick did as he was told and took over the spell by raising his arms, causing table cloth to rise with CJ on it and began to guide him toward the door as Patrick began to shuffle himself through the maze once more.

"You have no idea how thrilled I am to have you here!" Shaundee clapped her hands again, once the two of them had left. "Why don't I show you around?"

Calandra shook her head. "Pass." She grunted. Instead she held out her hand. "I'll just take my room key and go."

Shaundee's smile slipped as she reached into her pocket. "As you wish, but I warn you that we're very crowded. It's two to a room."

Calandra shook her head. "There's another reason to get out of here as soon as possible." She snatched her key from Shaundee and turned to the other, opening her mouth.

Though still leaning heavily on Del and Tru, Faux's hand shot enthusiastically into the air.

"No." Calandra glared at him.

Tru glanced around at the rest of them, adjusting a bit to her cousin's weight, and then sighed. "I'll room with you."

Calandra gave a nod then whirled around and made her way through the room with much more grace than Patrick and slammed the door behind her.

Shaundee stared wistfully after her. "If I could just talk to my daughter. If only she would listen."

Faux raised his hand again, doing his best to stand a little taller. "I don't know about everyone else, but I know I would love a tour of your magnificent home, Ms. Valentine."

Tru shook her head. "Oh no, you're going straight to bed. You need to rest after that little stunt."

Shaundee nodded. "At least allow me to show you to your rooms, and perhaps I could show you a bit as we go!" She replied, beaming again as if the daughter that she hadn't seen in months hadn't just totally blown her off again.

* * *

Kalas-Hem, Evabelle would later learn meant party home, and that is exactly what this place was. It was the exact opposite of Calandra's and Velrose's Sanctuary. Where theirs had been an older dark Victorian style, Shaundee's was bright and very modern. At the other Sanctuary there had been only the nine of them staying there, while Shaundee's was filled to the brim with every creature imaginable.

Evabelle stared unabashedly at men and women from the waist down had the body of a horse, and miniature people at least half the size of her thumb with straight back wings and pointy features, and some short stoutly creature so covered in hair, it took a moment for Evabelle to realize that there was a man underneath. It was so overwhelming; and the flashing lights of every color didn't help. Evabelle had thought that Michael Richard's party had been crazy, but this was far beyond anything she could have every come up with.

"Duck!" Shaundee warned right as a bottle of some glowing green liquid came streaking through the air only to crash on the far wall, where it began to steam.

"This is insane!" Aza exclaimed from by Evabelle. "And that's coming from me!"

They headed up some clear glass stairs that appeared to be floating in their places with no supports. "These are the rooms." Said Shaundee. The blasting music was somewhat dimmed up here, so they no longer needed to shout.

"I have no idea which room Calandra's in." Tru spoke up.

"Room 402." Shaundee responded. "I know everyone here and exactly where they are staying. Here," She handed out more keys. "You can pair up and find your rooms now, and then I'll show you the rest of my home."

Of course Evabelle paired up with Aza. Del and Lucis were together, and then Kai and Gem. "What about me?" Faux exclaimed.

"You stay with the cat." Tru smirked.

Evabelle glanced down at the little black cat, pacing back and forth through all of their legs, amazed that that creature had come through unscathed. And she seemed relatively calm considering all they had been through. Even the obnoxious music and wild crowd downstairs didn't seem to particularly bother her.

"When the human boy recovers he'll stay with you." Shaundee said, and then clapped her hands together. She seemed to do that a lot. "Alright, now where to start,"

Gem was more or less falling asleep on her feet. After Kai apologized for not coming with them, he took his little sister to bed. Evabelle hoped that Kai would be alright as well. He hadn't looked so great after his battle, which made sense. He probably needed blood, but just imagining taking it from that terrified, exhausted elf girl, sickened Evabelle, and she truly understood why Kai would push himself until he could no longer hold back. It really did hurt him to take his sister's blood.

Calandra was obviously already in her room, and Tru literally forced Faux into his against his will. The blue Anahalian slammed the door behind him and stood resolutely in front of it. "I'm going to stay here and insure this one doesn't kill himself." She said curtly. That gesture reminded Evabelle of a time that seemed like ages ago, when Del had made sure Lucis got his rest so he didn't hurt himself back when he had gotten hurt at the bell tower. That made Evabelle realize though Tru was cold and could be terribly mean sometimes, she did care about her cousin.

Evabelle would have thought she would be exhausted, but adrenaline still had somewhat of a hold on her. And it would obviously thrill Calandra's mother to give them a tour. So in the end, after they washed up a bit, it was the original four that ended up taking Shaundee up on her offer to see the rest of her sanctuary.

***

Evabelle had heard of people having seizures from overexposure to flashing lights. That sort of thing had never bothered her. But after going from room to room, which contained a larger more extravagant party than the last, with louder music, and brighter, more sporadic lights, Evabelle could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on.

Aza was having a blast. Several times Evabelle had to drag her friend away from the craziness. She would start bobbing around to the music, and trying to speak to all the fantastical creatures. Some of them didn't really look too friendly.

Shaundee, their tour guide, was obviously having a great time as well. She had that fun, bright smile glued to her face, as she pointed out all the unique artifacts she possessed and how she got them. It was a wonder as to how Calandra and she were related.

They finally came to the backyard which was shockingly devoid of anyone. The beat of the music still pounded through the ground, but it was the quietest Evabelle had heard it all night, besides when they had first come over the hill to this place. Their group was walking along the edge of an extremely large pool, where the lights were still on, changing colors just like all the others inside of Kalas Hem. There was no one in the pool.

"This area is usually crowded. I hold some of the best parties out here. I can put up the best firework shows, but currently the pool is being properly filtered. It is mainly for our more aquatic guests, such as naiads, water sprites, merfolk, and so on." Shaundee explained. "And filtering to their standard is a little more complicated."

"I can't even see the bottom." Aza observed, glancing over the side.

"Merfolk and naiads don't swim in shallow waters, you idiot." Del murmured as he passed her, his hands shoved in his pockets. Unlike Aza, he had acted bored the entire tour, as brooding as ever.

"It is deeper for their convenience." Shaundee nodded. "I would not suggest going to the bottom, the pressure on you could be very damaging."

Aza who was still glaring at Del, asked. "So it's okay for us to swim in?"

"I wouldn't suggest doing so with some certain sirens I know. They have a thing for drowning things that don't have gills." Shaundee shrugged. "But yes, it wouldn't do any harm. Just like I said before, though, don't go down too deep."

"What about while it's filtering?" Aza asked.

"I wouldn't recommend it. It will take longer to clean, and you should probably take a shower afterward. There are some pretty powerful magical chemicals at work in there. Merfolk are very nitpicky."

Evabelle glanced around the rest of the yard. Beyond the patio, where they stood, the ground remained pretty flat, even though Evabelle was well aware of the hills off in the distance. It was now quite dark, probably about eleven o'clock. It was amazing how, just hours ago, they had been under siege by vampires and zombies, and that just about a half-hour ago there had been several packs of werewolves trying to gouge out their throats. Distractedly, she touched where the vagi had licked her neck, and shivered.

Behind her she heard Del snapping at Aza. "What, were you planning on taking a dip?"

Shaundee passed by Evabelle. "And now, I will show you my-"

The grunt of surprise and a loud splash made them all turn. Aza had shoved Del into the pool and was now grinning down at him with her hands on her hips. "I wasn't, but you were."

Del splashed awkwardly around. It was the first time perhaps, that Evabelle had ever seen him do something awkwardly. He spat out water and flicked his head trying to get his sopping hair out of his face. He had violet eyes were dangerously dark.

Aza laughed, clearly enjoying this thoroughly. "You're always saying that I have crap reflexes, well what does that say that about you now? I'd say I got you good."

Del opened his mouth to retort, but only coughed as more water flooded into it. "I can't-" He gasped, reaching out his arm. "Swim, my wings-" Now Evabelle saw that his wings, were obviously not helping him staying afloat.

Aza shook her head, her grin just widening. "Is Mr. I can do anything, confessing that he can't? I'm so glad I could be a witness of this monumental moment."

Del continued to reach out his arm for help.

Evabelle started forward, but Lucis caught her arm. "Don't worry," he murmured. "He's just acting. It's true, we're not strong swimmers. We're built for flying, but we can swim moderately fine, they're just being Del and Aza."

Evabelle glanced back again. It was such a strange thing for him to say. They're just being Del and Aza.

"Oh, I don't think so," Aza taunted. "Don't think that I know what you plan on do-"

Suddenly, with impressive ability for someone who claims they can't swim, Del shot up and grasped Aza's wrist and yanked her head first into the water. She fell in with a loud painful splash and popped up coughing and spluttering.

"Hey!" She shouted, thrusting her arms forward to splash Del.

"Hey, yourself!" He said, returning the gesture.

This continued for several minutes with the two of them trying to drown the other.

Shaundee folded her arms, looking slightly irritated. "Oh great. I'm going to have to start the filtering over again. That pool takes forever to clean." She mumbled.

"I'm terribly sorry for my brother." Lucis apologized.

"And I'm sorry for Aza." Evabelle sighed.

Lucis stepped forward. "Come on, you two, that's enough. You're being extremely rude to our hostess."

The two swimmers glared at each other. "See what you've done?" Del snarled.

"What I've done!" Aza screamed. And the two started at it again.

"So, are they...?" Shaundee waved her hand at them. "You know,"

Lucis shook his head. "That is an excellent question."

Evabelle looked at Lucis and Shaundee. What were they saying? Suddenly, she felt a sinking in her stomach. They couldn't be saying that Del and Aza liked each other. No, they hated each other. But, how many books had Evabelle read where two people acted like they hated each other, but in reality it was the far opposite? Evabelle swallowed. Her heart still hammered when she was near Del. Just seeing him dripping wet and his shirt coming up revealing more of what was underneath, made in hard to breathe. Aza wouldn't hurt her like that, when she told her that she liked him, would she?

Evabelle turned away from them, unable to watch it anymore. She heard the two clambering out of the pool, still arguing, just like an old married couple. Evabelle shut her eyes tight.

"That's it, I'm going to bed!" Del shouted. He stormed passed them, grazing Evabelle's arm, making her tense.

"Take a shower first." Shaundee called after him.

A harsh intake of breath finally made Evabelle turn back to Aza. Her friend was frantically combing through her sopping hair with her fingers. "It's gone." She gasped; her eyes were wide and shocked. Her complexion had gone pasty white.

The others stared at her confused, but Evabelle knew instantly what she was talking about. Del slipped from her mind as she asked. "Your charm?"

Aza stared numbly at her and nodded. The little silver flower that was always braided in Aza's hair was her most prized possession. "I must have..." She turned back to the pool and without a second thought leapt back into the water.

"Wait!" Shaundee exclaimed, but it was too late. Aza was diving in and out of the water, in a desperate search for that small little piece of metal.

Evabelle ran forward to help. This was important. But Shaundee caught her wrist. "If it hasn't been pulled into the filter, then it will have sunk to the bottom and we can't go down there."

Evabelle's heart sank. "You mean it's gone? You have magic, can't you...?"

"If there's a chance, I'll do what I can. That pool is magical too." Shaundee promised.

"You have no idea how important it is to her." Evabelle whispered.

Aza continued to search, even with everyone trying to talk her out. They said they would do whatever they could, that there was still a chance, but she ignored them all, and continued diving under for longer amounts of time, until Lucis shot out his hand and caught her when she popped out of the water once more, and pulled her out of the pool.

Evabelle's friend struggled in his grip, but then went limp and he gently let her down on the pavement. Evabelle saw her friend shaking on her hands and knees, her wet hair hanging in front of her face.

"Aza," Evabelle crouched in front of her. "I promise you, we will get it back." She whispered.

"It doesn't matter." Aza grunted through gritted teeth, surprising Evabelle. "It's just a cheap charm, not that important." Then she rose to her feet and without looking at any of them, squelched back into the Sanctuary.

"It's obviously not just some cheap charm to her." Lucis said, quietly. "What was it? Why is it so important?"

Slowly, Evabelle got back up to her feet. "It was a little silver flower charm." She swallowed and looked after her friend. "Aza doesn't talk much about her parents, not even with me. But what I've gathered is that she came from a poorer family with a not very good dad. She hates him, actually, but with her mom, it's a whole other story. She loved Aza, like a mother should, and she had a charm bracelet and her favorite charm was this little lavender lily charm. She gave it to Aza. Now both her parents are dead and that charm was the only thing she had from her mom."

There was a long silence. "We'll get it back." Shaundee said softly. Her face that had been so full of light appeared to have gone out, now replaced with a more mournful expression. "I'll have to wait for it to finish filtering, but then I will find it." She promised.

The glass doors to the house slid open and one of the majestic centaurs galloped out to them, making them all jump. "Madame Shaundee, the pixies have started a fight with the one known as Raoul! And we've tried to stop them, but..."

Shaundee nodded, snapping out of her reverie. "Yes, yes, I'm on my way." She turned back to the two of them. "I think you get the gist of the place. You may now do as you wish. I've got to run now." And without, another word, Calandra's mother dashed back into the house.

The pair stood by the pool in a rather awkward silence. Finally it was broken by Lucis. "I knew Aza's family situation was not the greatest." He murmured.

Evabelle stared at him. "How did you...?"

"Well, she mentioned that she lived with her uncle, and that he wasn't the best parental guardian." Lucis shrugged and glanced down at the brunette. "Should we go talk to her?"

Evabelle glanced up at the higher windows of Kalas-Hem, where she assumed her and Aza's room was. Her friend would be there. Aza wouldn't be in the mood for partying now. Even though it hurt Evabelle, she shook her head. "No, not yet. She needs some time to herself. Sometimes she has to be alone for a bit. I will talk to her in a little while."

The warm California air blew around her. It was the perfect temperature, but she wasn't sure because if it was just that way in the golden state, or if it was because of Shaundee's magic keeping everything comfortable. Evabelle turned back to the pool for a moment and felt Lucis's hand on her shoulder. She looked up into those stunning blue eyes that calmed her, somewhat. "Don't worry," His voice low and soothing. "We'll get..." He paused as something caught his eye behind Evabelle. He narrowed his eyes, but then smiled and looked back at Evabelle. "I can promise you, we will get it back."

Evabelle turned her head, but there was no one there. She narrowed her eyes, but nothing appeared from the shadows.

"Come on," Lucis took her by the hand and began to guide her back into the sanctuary. Evabelle stiffened a bit as his hand slid over hers, but she didn't withdraw from him and allowed him to take her back inside.