EVABELLE

Etheldreda's eyes were wide, and she was no longer smiling. Her hand wasn't glowing that iridescent color anymore either. Evabelle took a step up toward the witch, who stumbled back and tumbled unceremoniously into her throne. "Do you understand now?" Evabelle asked.

Etheldreda nodded slowly, still staring, completely dumbfounded.

"Good." Evabelle replied, feeling, once again, like she was watching this whole thing, not actually experiencing it. This terrifyingly powerful witch was cowering before Evabelle. It just couldn't be happening. No one cowered before a coward. "I won't harm you, but you will take me to Averno."

Etheldreda swallowed and hesitantly returned to her feet. She came down from her platform and dazedly started for the doors. "I-" She tried to speak. "It's...it's this way."

Evabelle fell into step behind her feeling almost as shocked as Etheldreda. She was pulling it off. She was managing the hoax well. Evabelle could hardly believe it. With Calandra's help she had managed to help create lifelike Anahalian wings that responded to her. The illusion of wings was complicated. They were the manifestation of angelic power. They weren't like any bird's, though some Anahalians wings could be compared to them. In reality they were far more intricate. Calandra needed a basic outline, that was close to them, as well as just something physical that could respond to Evabelle's thoughts. Evabelle didn't know why she hadn't made the connection earlier. Matthew Kendall had wings and a book about people with wings. It made sense.

Once they had gotten the wings, Calandra had put a spells on them, making it sturdy, but light. There was of course the spell that made the metal look like actual wings with actual feathers. And then there was the illegal magic. Calandra had linked the wings to Evabelle's mind. Using magic on living things was highly dangerous and against mage law. But to make them convincing, Evabelle would have to move the wings like an Anahalians did. The danger was she could not remove them, until Calandra unlinked them. If she tried it would hurt like crazy, potentially killing her. By linking it to her mind, it was more than just a Halloween costume. It was almost a part of her.

The plan was to get them to lower the barrier by Evabelle turning herself in, so that Calandra could slip in with one of the mage's creations keeping her from being detected. The mage was now searching the castle for the captured friends. Etheldreda said they would release Kai and Aza, but Evabelle wasn't leaving without all of her friends.

The plan was going well so far. Her part was to act like the true Anahalian princess, and hopefully keep Averno talking, maybe find out something about the virus (that was hoping for a lot she knew.) Really though, her goal was just to stay alive until her friends were free, and could hopefully come and bail her out.

It was insane, and had very little chance of success, but she had to try.

Evabelle stared at the back of Etheldreda's head as they strode down a corridor. She hoped the witch didn't have any super senses. Otherwise, she would probably hear Evabelle's heart hammering out of her chest. All things considering, Evabelle felt proud of how far she had gotten. She had managed to fool the one who had fooled her. It helped the fear that Etheldreda gave. It helped Evabelle play the part.

Evabelle cleared her throat, and noted the witch, twitch. "Since we are alone, I do have a few questions."

Etheldreda didn't give any inclination that she had heard her.

"CJ," Evabelle began. "How long has he been your familiar?"

Etheldreda was quiet for a moment. "When I was placed to keep an eye on you, I figured it might be good to get a familiar. I had never had a human one, so I started practicing on him. I just did small excursions, enough that, he didn't even realize what was happening. But he became my official familiar just after you left Michael's summer party."

Evabelle licked her lips. "Where is he now?"

There was another long pause. "He's in one of the towers. I've pulled completely out for now. I need to be only myself for a while."

That meant that CJ was completely himself, right now. Evabelle felt a pang of sadness for him. He must be terrified. A thought occurred to Evabelle. Perhaps, Calandra could find him too. They could free him, and then... But what if Etheldreda took hold of him again? Maybe she would have to reestablish the connection with him there. Evabelle shook her head. They would figure it out.

"A human familiar is hard." Evabelle said. "That's why you need a break. You're not powerful enough to keep him under your control all the time."

Etheldreda stiffened, and Evabelle could tell she had struck a nerve. "I'm more powerful than any other witch, warlock, or pathetic mage." The copper hair girl muttered.

"But you couldn't keep hold of CJ even at Calandra's Sanctuary." Evabelle commented.

That brought the witch to a halt, making Evabelle stop as well.

"Last night," Evabelle said, feeling awful that she hadn't seen it, hadn't realized that what was wrong was more than just a hurt shoulder. "Last night CJ got control for a moment and tried to tell me that Portel was a trap."

Etheldreda gave a frustrated grunt. "That idiot had to save you at the Sanctuary getting himself injured in the process. I had to feel that blasted pain. It made it hard to focus. CJ knew that. So he fought hard. I kept hold miraculously when we crossed into Oblivion. I was afraid it would expel me from him, but it helped me collect myself so that I could keep control of him. I managed to stay conscious until Aza nearly killed us all in that stupid car, which in some ways worked out rather well. I set the werewolves up by my mother's sanctuary to wait for you. Since the boy was out, I could work things from my own body by keeping an eye on the beasts, but somehow none of you were infected with the toxin. So I had to go back into the boy's dense head." She took a deep breath after her rant and continued. "But then the moron nearly ruined everything. I dropped my guard for one second and CJ got me to slam into the wall with the shoulder, awaking that ragged pain, allowing him a few moments on the surface." She shook her head. "Once I don't need him, he will most certainly die."

Evabelle blinked. She hadn't even thought about when the vampire had nearly killed her and Aza at the Sanctuary. CJ had pushed them out of the way, and taken the creature himself. That had been him. To hear that he was still fighting made Evabelle proud. He never asked for any of this. He had been dragged against his will onto this, and he still fought. Hold on CJ. We will save you!

Evabelle shook herself and realized that Etheldreda had begun walking again. She hurried to catch up. This place was huge. She prayed that Calandra would be able to find them before that magic cloth stopped working, and allowed the vagi to catch her.

There didn't seem to be any other creature besides vagi here, but they knew Averno was working with others. They knew he had some vampires and werewolves working for him, two of the more powerful demonic races.

The two of them passed by pillar after pillar, door after door, all lined up like the bedroom doors at Calandra's Sanctuary. Evabelle wondered if Etheldreda had any nasty creatures staying behind any of them. A sudden thought struck her. "I have another question. How did you manage to drug us? The night before we were attacked by vampires and vagi you drugged us so you could lower the barrier, and actually how did you do that as well?" She remembered CJ being unable to enter her room. Etheldreda flinched and then cleared her throat. "My sister's sanctuary was under a pentagram protection spell. That means there are five posts, known as cuspisis, at equal distances around the grounds. I had to find each of them without using magic, so my dear sister wouldn't find me out. You helped me find two of them, actually."

Evabelle blinked in surprise. "I did?"

Etheldreda nodded. She was being surprisingly compliant. Could this all be from fearing Evabelle to be more powerful somehow? "Yes, the moment we stepped onto the island, you fell on one. And the day we went on our little walk, you nearly fell over the edge because of it."

Now Evabelle remembered it. She had tripped, but had been stopped by an invisible force that first day. And when she had fallen over the side, she had felt something against her upper leg, but there had been nothing there.

"As for getting into your rooms, I admit was a feat." The witch continued. "Calandra had to put that stupid spell to keep opposite sexes out of the bedrooms. My sister has always been old fashioned. Anyway, I had to do some dangerous magic to pull it off. I had to pour almost my entire soul into the boy to make the spell recognize me as female. But I managed." She added at the end.

That made Evabelle think for a moment. But then that meant, she could slip in and kill them all instead of this complicated trap. Evabelle began to ask why Etheldreda had not just done that, but was cut off as the young witch turned to face her.

"He's up there." The witch pointed up a flight of stairs. It didn't lead to a floor, just one solitary door.

Evabelle stared up at it, suddenly feeling very small once again. Etheldreda began to walk away, but Evabelle reached out and snatched her arm. The witch froze. Evabelle prayed that Etheldreda didn't notice her sweaty hand. "This had better not be a trap." She told the witch. "If Averno isn't there--"

"Don't worry about that." Etheldreda said. "If you came with wings, I had orders to bring you to him anyway." Evabelle loosened her grip, allowing Etheldreda to slide free. "But I won't deny that it's a trap." The witch murmured, making Evabelle's blood freeze. Then the witch strode away, already the confidence, returning to her step.

Evabelle stared up at the door, that sense of wanting to bolt, returning, rapidly. But where was she to go? NO! I will not abandon them! But what if she helped Calandra look for the others. She would have to be careful not to be caught by the vagi.

A movement from the corner of her eye, made her jerk her head around to see one of the zombie, like creatures staring at her.

Evabelle gulped. Well, so much for that. She turned, once more, to the door at the top of the stairs. This had been her idea. What had she been thinking? Did she honestly believe she could pull it off? She doubted Averno would act as afraid of her as Etheldreda had.

It had been many years since I killed your parents. Evabelle wasn't sure why that part of Averno's letter had popped into her head right then. Evabelle's parents. Of course, Evabelle had thought about what her birth parents, but funnily enough, she had never pictured them with wings. The thought that maybe her parents had been great rulers made Evabelle excited, and yet terrified. But it was the thought that they had been murdered that insanely made her take the first step. I watched the angel man scream and writhe at my feet. It was terrifying, but for some reason it pushed her forward rather than back. Your parents with their great legacy left nothing great behind. Evabelle still wasn't sure if Anahalians were her parents, and whether this was going to prove that she was great or not. The words still spoke to her.

Before she knew it, she was at the top, facing the door that lead to the reason behind all of this. It was amazing that this thin piece of wood was all that was between her and a man who wanted to kill her, and it was more amazing still that it was Evabelle who was removing that obstruction keeping her safe. She put her hand on the knob and turned. Then she pushed it open, quickly, before she could talk herself out of it.

***

At first sight, Evabelle found herself confused by what met her eyes. After that, a split second of joy replaced it. The tall muscular form, golden hair, broad firm shoulders, and pure white-feathered wings that made up the man that Evabelle knew stood back to her, facing the only piece of furniture, a long mirror that stretched all the way down to the floor.

"Lucis!" Evabelle exclaimed, a smile beginning to make its way to her lips. "You're alright! I was so worri..." She trailed off as the pale angel turned to her, those familiar sky blue irises, filled something that practically brought Evabelle's heart to a screeching stop.

Horror as cruel and harsh as ice flooded over her entire nervous system at the smile that seemed to darken his eyes rather than light them. "L-Lucis...?" She whispered, feeling as if something inside her was shriveling up, turning to dust.

Lucis shook his head, that cruel smile still glued to his face. "That's what you've known me as, but not this time. You have your wings, I suppose you finally get to hear the truth." It was his voice, but never had Evabelle heard it with such malice. "I am Averno."

Those words hung in the air for several moments. They echoed painfully against Evabelle's brain. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling to understand what was happening. "You a-are Averno?" She stuttered. "But that doesn't make any sense..." Her voice was shrinking back again. Lucis the kindest man, the sweetest, the most caring man that Evabelle had ever known, the man who had sent her the dreadful letter and made the disease that was destroying the Anahalians? No! That couldn't be! He'd saved her too many times to count, if Averno wanted to kill her, he wouldn't rescue her from anything! "You're not Averno!" She shouted out, stepping forward, glaring up at him. "You're Lucis!"

"A name that means light." Lucis murmured. "That doesn't sound like someone who would bring about the fall of the angels, does it?" That heartless leer continued to make Evabelle feel sick to her stomach. "But Lucifer means light bringer, and look where he is."

Evabelle shook her head. She refused to accept this. She refused to believe something so impossible. "That doesn't prove anything. A name is just a name! You are Lucis, the kind, the amazing, the person that I want to be!"

Lucis chuckled, an absolutely awful sound on Evabelle's sizzling nerves. "You flatter me, princess."

"Stop it!" Evabelle screamed at him, her whole body shaking, fear beginning to send icy trills down her spine. "Stop acting like this! Stop pretending to be him!"

Lucis blinked slowly. "My dear, this is the first time you've seen me not pretending. I'm finally being myself."

Evabelle's hands closed into fists as her eyes squeezed shut, unable to look at him anymore. "NO! NO! NO! I refuse to believe that you are him!"

"You wanted to know why everyone hates me, didn't you. Well, here's your answer." Lucis's voice spoke.

"SHUT UP!" Evabelle shrieked, feeling the hysterics kick in. She peaked through her lashes to see Lucis moving toward her, wearing something that her friend would never wear on his life. Dark combat boots and dark pants leading up to a long dark coat that flared behind him with the buttons undone and no shirt underneath, exposing a perfectly defined set of pectoral muscles and a chiseled six pack. Evabelle wouldn't have expected less from Lucis, but he was never one for showing off in that way. He was humble, not arrogant as this man carried himself. He was well aware what he looked like and was not hiding that fact. Her eyes slammed shut again. Stop it! Please stop! Lucis please! Her mind screamed. This isn't you!

She felt his breath on her face and found herself reeling backward.

At that reaction, Lucis burst out with laughter, that echoed in the empty room and inside Evabelle's heart like a knife.

"Tell me," Lucis said after that sickening sound faded from him. "Why didn't you release your wings when you were training with me?"

"I-I-" Evabelle tried to push syllables past her mouth. "Y-you-" She swallowed hard and tried to glare at him again without wavering. "If you're Averno then why didn't you kill me while we were training? Why didn't you just kill us at any time at the Sanctuary?"

Lucis took another step forward. This time, with a lot of unstable self control, Evabelle managed to hold her ground. "I wanted to see if you could become something worthy of me. I told you I killed your parents. In doing that, I had accomplished something truly great. It proved to the rest of Jovis that I was far more powerful than they could ever know. I gave them something to fear by doing it. If I killed you as your pathetic little human form, then that wouldn't show anyone anything. I had Etheldreda throw the vampires, the vagi, and the werewolves at you to see if you would ever find those wings, but they all failed miserably."

Every word that left Lucis's mouth stung Evabelle's heart. To hear him say the words 'I killed your parents' made her want to break down and sob. "I...I just c-can't believe it's y-you." Evabelle's voice shook harder. "I c-can't a-a-accept it."

"Ask me anything, Evabelle." Lucis wouldn't stop putting up that terrible grin.

The sound of her name on his wicked tongue, with that voice that had eased and calmed her so many times, burned her insides.

Evabelle bit down on her lip, trying to push past that and focus. She thought for a long moment, trying her best to organize her frazzled mind. "D-Del," she finally said. "What about him? What about all the others? They all kept saying they wanted to stop Averno, but even Tru followed you, though she hated you. That doesn't make sense."

Lucis nodded. "Not many people knew what I really looked like. They believed the character, Lucis was once a follower of Averno, not Averno himself. And Del, the great and powerful Oracle, has been very useful to me. Because of his weak, deeply battered mind, I managed to manipulate him into believing I was his brother, as to continue using that seeing gift of his. Honestly, girl, think about it. We don't look anything alike, but you believe that we're related?" Lucis laughed again. It was the absolute worst when he laughed.  

Evabelle fought the urge to clap her hands over ears and scream again. "Why did you save me?" She shoved forward.

"Which time?" Lucis asked.

"When we were in the tunnel at Portel, you told me to leave, to save myself, only to bring me back to you. That doesn't make sense." She took a deep shuddering breath. "Explain that."

The smile never wavered. "It was your last chance to prove to me that you could be something worth destroying."

Lucis was just a few inches away now. Evabelle stared up at him, hoping her trembling knees wouldn't collapse beneath her. "Do you love me?" Lucis whispered, his flashing eyes telling her exactly what he meant by that.

Evabelle felt as though all the air had been sucked from her lungs with a vacuum cleaner. Her eyes widened and her cheeks blossomed with color. "I-I-I-I..." She stuttered. "I do--" She broke off as Lucis shook with cold, heart-clenching laughter.

Evabelle watched him, feeling her heart breaking. She didn't know if she loved Lucis in that way. She thought perhaps it might be possible someday, but not this Lucis. Not the Lucis that claimed he was Averno. Claimed? How can I think anything different? He looks just like him. He sounds just like him.  How could I think that he's someone else.  I guess I never really knew Lucis at all...but... 

Evabelle's eyes narrowed, and suddenly a voice that was not her own echoed in her mind. "You have to come with me, right now!" Another image flashed in her mind. A young blonde boy, covered in blood, round blue eyes, boring into her. His small hand was outstretched to her. Fear filled those wide eyes, completely clear and open, it's light reflecting back at her.

Suddenly Evabelle was back again, right as the cruel laughing Lucis snapped his head back up, those blue eyes swallowing her in the void of darkness. Evabelle suddenly knew without a single doubt in her mind who this man was. She felt ashamed for thinking anything different.

Evabelle straightened up, putting her hands down, stiffly at her sides. "No. You are not Lucis." She said softly, her voice completely smooth without the slightest hitch or tremor in it.

Lucis raised an eyebrow, that awful smirk still there, but there was question in it. "First I'm not Averno, now I'm not Lucis. Tell me, Evabelle, who am I."

Evabelle's hands clenched into fists. "I was wrong initially. I believe you are Averno, but you are most certainly not Lucis. Perhaps you're a familiar of some kind like CJ, but I know that you're not Lucis."

Lucis swept his arms around, putting them on his hips. "What exactly, has brought you to this conclusion?"

"You're eyes." Evabelle took a deep breath. "I admit that I don't know Lucis fully, but what I do know is that he has a light inside him. Last night I saw that light, and I know that you can't just make that up. I saw Lucis for a moment, a truly raw Lucis. It doesn't matter if he's afraid, or angry, he still has his light that makes him so incredible." Evabelle shocked herself by taking a step toward the man that masqueraded as her friend. "Your eyes have no light. They are open and yet hold nothing but darkness inside them. You couldn't fake having that light, so that's how I know. You are Averno, and you are not Lucis!"

The Anahalian was no longer smiling, but he didn't look angry either. His eyebrows were raised. "The eyes are the windows to the soul." He murmured softly. "I always believed that to be a bunch of ridiculousness, but apparently you see more that one would suspect, my dear." He shrugged. "The game was getting old, anyway." Then to Evabelle's relief and absolute repulsion, Lucis's face began to ripple and change before her very eyes.

The bones shifted under skin that paled to a nearly ice white. The wings darkened to a midnight black as well as his blonde hair. For a moment, Evabelle thought the man was transforming into Del. She opened her mouth to tell him that she would never believe he was Del either, but he wasn't done. The black hair lengthened into a mane that flowed freely past his shoulders. The dark wing feathers fell away to reveal jet black leathery wings similar to the Annihilators. The broad, exposed chest remained the same, except for the dark swirling patterns spreading up it, across his shoulders, down his muscled arms, and up his neck onto his face, like some sort of possessed tattoo.

Just watching writhe across his skin like a poisonous serpent made Evabelle shiver, but the designs they formed, made Evabelle feel sick for some reason. She didn't know what they meant, but there must have been a part of her that did.

The changing man finally stood before Evabelle as what Evabelle would have assumed to be his true self, but the thing was this man was like an older version of Del. His shoulders were broader than the dark Anahalian that she knew, but the shape of the man's face, the size of his lips, his long narrow nose were all identical. There was one obvious thing that was different to Evabelle. When the man had transformed, his entire appearance had changed except for one feature. Those blue eyes, the color of the summer's sky had not morphed at all. They were still Lucis's eyes on this Del-like face.

Suddenly a new realization hit Evabelle over the head.

The man that must be the true Averno smiled again, reminding her so much of Del, that she still felt she was facing down one of her friends.

"You're still surprised by my real form, I see." Averno said. At least his voice was different, as he spoke softly in a disturbingly soothing tone. "You have been spending quite a bit of time with my sons, but being the fools that they are, they neglected to tell you who I was." The man gave a small shrug. "Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to pull off the ruse I just did."

Evabelle blinked slowly, a few things beginning to finally make sense. Lucis and Del were outcasts of their kind because of their father. Tru always hounded on them, perhaps because Averno had hurt her somehow, and now she believed they were like him.

Evabelle knew that the man could be lying again, but looking at him and thinking it all through, this actually did make sense. The terrified, confused girl shook her head, the cogs still turning in her mind, making the switch over. "I..."

"Yes, the oracle and the monster are my sons." Averno turned away from her and began to pace around the room.

Evabelle snapped up at that, finally breaking away from her whirling mind. "Lucis is not a monster!" She exclaimed. "Maybe your portrayal of him is, but the real him is not!"

Averno grinned. "He is my son. Everyone tells him that's what he is."

Evabelle shook her head. "That doesn't prove anything! Blood doesn't make someone a monster." She glared up at Averno. "It's their choices that do."

Averno kept smiling. "Is that so?" He murmured. "But yet, is it not the blood of your parents that makes you a princess, that makes you more angel than the rest of us?"

Evabelle blinked, confusedly. "I...I..." She stuttered again. "W-well...I don't..."

Averno shook his head and chuckled. He paused in his circle around the room to lean against one of the walls. Then crossed his arms and scanned Evabelle up and down, making the girl shift uncomfortably. "So you came. You had dear Etheldreda bring you to me. What was it that you wanted?"

He was playing it off as though the whole Lucis thing hadn't happened. It was just as he said, a game. He was just toying with her! Evabelle began to shake again. This man was a true sadist! A monster that reveled in inducing pain! He had just done it to shake her, to hurt her!

Shifting her weight, back and forth for a moment, Evabelle straightened up again. She had a job to do. Licking her lips, Evabelle did her best to bring back her ever wavering confidence. "It was you who called for me. Your letter said you wanted to speak to me face to face."

Averno nodded. "That it true. I still do wish for that."

Evabelle shook her head, fighting the hyperventilating she could feel coming on. Fear and anger swam through her body like a virus fighting to make her lose focus. "Well I'm here. You don't have to wait any longer."

Averno tilted his head to the side. Now that he was through pretending to be Lucis, he seemed very unimpressed, which worried Evabelle considerably. "If you had Etheldreda bring you to me, when you knew that I wanted to kill you, I feel there must be more of a reason." He murmured.

Evabelle swallowed hard. Well, my purpose is to distract you so you don't kill me, long enough for my friends to come and get me out of here. She bit her lip and sent a thought wave to the wings to rustle a bit to try to keep up her own disguise. How am I supposed to distract him? She took a deep breath. Just keep him talking.

"That's right, I wanted to see the man that I'm up against. I wanted to know the face of one who killed my parents, who has plagued my people to be the monsters fulfilling your desire of destroying the human race." Evabelle spat, hoping that she sounded braver than she felt.

Averno blinked. "What are you babbling about?"

"That's your purpose!" Evabelle cried. "To create an opposite of the Anahalian! A monster made to destroy the hu..." Evabelle trailed off as Averno's shoulder's shook and a laugh burst from his lips, reverberating through the cave-like room. His laughter was better, in some ways, than hearing that spite coming from her friend, but it still sent a tremor through Evabelle.

"My dear, child," Averno leered at her. "You are blind. I have not created an opposite of anything. It is true that my Annihilators are derived from the Anahalian, but the purpose of my beasts is in the name, Annihilate." He leaned in close, eyes glittering. "Tell me, what is the divine purpose of the Anahalian?"

Evabelle's heart pounded in her ears. For a moment her mouth moved soundlessly. She cleared her throat and began to answer. "The Anahalian's purpose is to protect the hu—"

Averno clapped his hands together, interrupting her once more. "To protect the human race. To be the guardian angels to the poor defenseless humans." His grin widened. "While it is true that annihilation and protection are opposing forces, there is more than one opposite to their purpose. An opposite I deem as being much more suitable and appropriate is that of neglect, my darling." He swept around the room, circling Evabelle once more, clearly enjoying himself now; his terrifying smile leeching up his tattooed face. "And which creature has neglected their purpose? Which angelic race left the Earth all together abandoning the things they were supposed to protect?" He spit the word at her and it felt like a slap in the face. "I didn't create an opposite to the Anahalian my dear. I didn't have to. The Anahalians are their own opposite. They are their own demons."

Evabelle struggled for a moment. "But they—"

"Had good reason?" Averno read her mind. "When wars broke out among humans, the precious little "angels" couldn't choose a side. "When humans started beating, kidnapping, torturing each other, they could not stand a place so corrupt." Averno shook his head. "Yet they've been doing those things since the beginning of time and even then is that reason enough? True, there are corrupted, despicable human beings, but are they all so cruel. I know how the world works. I know there are good and bad in all races with human blood. So, are their reasons valid when there are still fragments of good? I believe it was a human who said that one may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel." Averno smiled a softer smiled that scared Evabelle even more. "Apparently the first born of the angels is not that one."