Evabelle stood stunned. Anahalians were good. But they did leave Earth behind. Shaundee's word from back at Kalas Hem came back to her. "They say the Anahalians abandoned the world for the rest of the angel children and those who cared, to pick up the pieces." Evabelle closed her eyes. They're still good. She thought. I have to believe that.

"I've always seen them as the hypocritical pathetic creatures that they are." Averno continued. "That is why I knew I had to find a better kind."

Evabelle's eyes opened and she turned her head to see Averno. "What better kind?"

Averno grinned at her, spreading his black bat wings as far as they could in the small empty room. Evabelle fought back the urge to shrink away as they towered over her. "As you can see, my dear, I no longer have feathers. I gave them up to be stronger."

Evabelle swallowed. "I don't--"

"Demons." Averno's eyes flashed. "Demons who freely use their power. Angels claim they have free will, but they are bound by rules and commandments. Demons are the ones that are truly free. I have made a deal with the Devil, and once my part has been fulfilled I will be a demon king!" The originally calm voice, had a new level of anticipation in it.

"Demon king?" Evabelle whispered.

For the first time, the true Averno took a step towards her. "Indeed. I have fulfilled part of it, but the next step has taken time, but I am a patient man." He had begun to whisper, and it was causing the hair on the back of Evabelle's neck to stand on end. "I must annihilate any and all with angel blood."

Evabelle could feel herself trembling. "You mean..."

"Every elf, every fairy, pixie, mermaid, and anahalian." Averno was now mere inches from Evabelle. "And of course you." He reached out his hand as though to stroke Evabelle's face, while Evabelle herself stood frozen. Just millimeters away, Averno clenched his hand to a fist, his unusually sharp nails piercing his own skin, causing blood to drip down onto Evabelle's face. She flinched away.

Averno chuckled again. "While I gave up the feathers, I also gave up munera, but the demons have given me power far beyond that of Anahalians. How did you think I was able duplicate the appearance of my son? Anahalians can't change form like that, my dear. Deceiving like that, is not within their ability."

Evabelle watched in horror, as the blood dripping from his hand, seemed to slow and crystallize around itself, lengthening into a dagger made of blood.

"Isn't it beautiful?" The fallen Anahalian murmured, gazing at the knife.

Evabelle swallowed, shaking her head. "S-so the w-wings, the tattoos, they're all from the d-demons?" Evabelle hated the quiver that had returned in her voice. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the blade in Averno's hand. Her time was running out.

"It is my new power, my new family." Averno whispered, twirling the blood knife, expertly. "They are far better than the Anahalians."

Evabelle took a small step back again. "W-what makes them great?"

Averno took a step toward her. "Freedom. With them, I've never felt so alive, and so myself."

Evabelle gulped, not feeling so alive, herself. "How are you going to annihilate the Anahalians when their gates are closed?" Her breathing and heart were picking up. "You can't make more Annihilators without them either. You're s-stuck."

Averno never lost his smile. "I'm far from stuck, my dear." His flicked his head to the mirror behind Evabelle as if to tell her something.

She craned her neck. It was a large mirror that went down to the floor, showing her entire body. For just a moment she marveled at the wings on her back. They looked so real. But then her gaze was caught by the frame of the mirror. Kayne had told her the marked gold frames were meant for communicating, but there had to be a silver rimmed mirror at the location on the receiving end. Her eyes narrowed at the silver framed mirror. Evabelle turned all the way around, her mouth dropping in shock. "You're not really here. You're just an illusion!" Evabelle exclaimed, but then she blinked at the smudge of blood on her cheek, crinkling her eyes in confusion.

Averno laughed. "So, you've put it together, have you," He stepped up right behind Evabelle. "You're surprisingly good at seeing past illusions, my dear. Indeed, I am just as much of a lie as these are." Then the wicked man swiped the blade across Evabelle's back, severing the straps that kept Mr. Kendall's wings in place. The beautiful angelic wings clattered to the floor, Calandra's spell breaking, the golden feathers vanishing to reveal the cold, bare metal.

As they fell, Evabelle did too. She screamed in pain, collapsing to the floor. The wings had not been specifically a part of her, but they had been connected to her through her mind. So, it was still as if one of her limbs had been torn off. It hurt so badly. It was almost like the night of her birthday. She had collapsed at the pain as something fought to burst out of her, but now it felt is if something vital had broken away from her. Evabelle screamed and curled into a ball on her side.

Averno put a foot on Evabelle's shoulder blade, right where real wings would have been, causing her to arch back and cry out louder. "You see, to tear an Anahalians wings off is a serious crime. It is murder." He dug his foot in more, and Evabelle felt stinging tears roll down her cheeks. "If you were a true Anahalian, what I just did would have killed you. It would be the equivalent of ripping out your heart. Since your alive, what does that say about you, my dear."

Evabelle clenched her fists, and managed to gasp. "How? If you are an illusion, how can you touch me?"

Averno removed his boot, and Evabelle took a deep shaky breath. "As I told you, I have been given power far beyond your comprehension. I have the ability to harm when I am not truly there. There are of course, limits to this. My flesh cannot touch the things here, but," He leaned over Evabelle and pressed the knife of blood against Evabelle's neck, who felt it with cold reality. "My clothes and my weapon, are free to touch," he pressed deeper, and Evabelle felt the sting as his drew her blood. "And kill."

Evabelle closed her eyes, she was too weak to move. It was true, the pain from her back was quickly ebbing away, but she was already dead.

"It is truly unsatisfying." Averno whispered. "To kill you in this way. As an illusion, I don't get to be at my full power, and you most certainly are not. To kill the great king of the Anahalians was like being a god. This is just disappointing. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted you to be worthy of me, and you getting your wings would be much more satisfying to kill." The blade continued it's slow painful, penetration into her flesh, the warm blood beginning to pool on the ground. "You won't get to watch the world die, and be the pathetic girl who did nothing. But I suppose you are the pathetic, useless, girl that will be the beginning of the end."

Evabelle's eyes opened. "You're scared, not useless!" She didn't know where the sudden strength came from, but she swiped her hand out to touch Averno's hand. Just as it should, her hand passed through, but it did cause the knife of blood to go through his hand as well, which fell to the floor and shattered in crystallized fragments, then vanished completely. Even through the pain, Evabelle rolled away from Averno and stopped, breathing heavily on her hands and knees, blood still dripping down her neck. "I'm not useless!" She screamed.

Averno stood in front of the mirror, looking more curious than upset at Evabelle's outburst.

If only Evabelle could break the mirror and sever the connection. She saw the evil Anahalian pierce his hand once more, and Evabelle's mind began reeling. She couldn't get to the mirror, and she could already feel the brief flash of adrenaline fading.

Something tickled her hand, and she glanced down to see a pure white feather. Lucis. His feather must of slipped from her pocket. She grasped it. The real Lucis, the insane man, who believed in her. He always had. But what am I supposed to do? She hugged the feather, as Averno walked toward her once more. I need you, Lucis! Tears ran down her already drenched cheeks. I can't do this without you! Then the young man's words once again pounded through her head. It was silly, but it made Evabelle smile for some crazy reason. "If you're ever afraid, all you have to do is call my name."

"Lucis," Evabelle whispered, and for a moment the feather seemed to burn in her hand. She looked up at Averno, who raised his knife. Evabelle's hand that held the feather began to shake. "LUCIS!" She screamed and tossed the feather into the air.

A strange ripple in the air was released from the small soft object, that made the deadly Anahalian pause. Then the feather began to glow. It was bright, and continued to grow brighter, filling the room with such light that Evabelle could barely keep her eyes open. The light reached out to Averno, who's expression was masked as he was enveloped in the glow. The last thing Evabelle saw of him was his azure eyes gleaming into her own. Then she succumbed and closed her eyes tight, the brightness burning into the backs of her eyelids.

It continued on for what seemed like ages. Now Evabelle was afraid that she might just go blind from this light, but she slowly sensed it fading, and her eyes fluttered open. She didn't remember completely collapsing again. But when she did open her eyes, she found herself flat against the floor, her cheek pressed up against the cool surface.

Exhaustion rolled over her in an overpowering wave, but she did just manage to stay conscious long enough to see the shimmery golden feather flutter to the floor and turn to ash.

AZA

Aza was just beginning to wonder where a toilet was in this place, and whether they would let her out so she could go, when the dungeon door swung open. Her and Kai blinked at the sudden light. Although it still wasn't especially bright, after being in near complete darkness, it was rather intense on her retinas.

When her eyes adjusted, Aza, still squinting, made out two vagi holding a struggling third individual between them. Both her and Kai gasped in surprise, as they recognized Calandra, her arms tied behind her back, and a gag keeping her from cursing the zombies.

So the mage had come, but unfortunately had gotten caught. Aza's heart sank lower. But then suddenly a rippling distortion passed through them all, causing the vagi to stumble away from Calandra who kicked one of them good, with her especially sharp heels.

Aza couldn't help, but grin at that. And it took her just a moment to realize that the chains binding her and Kai had turned to dust. She stared at her hands in shock. The chafing hurt like crazy, but what had just... She looked up just in time to see the light growing ever brighter, filling the hallway, encasing around the vagi who crumpled to the ground.

The sound of Kai's cry made her turn. A dark burn was spreading along the side of his face, as the light reached the pair of them. Aza's eyes widened as she made the connection. Whatever this light was, it was taking out the darkness. It was like some holy powered sun. The normal sun killed vampires already. This was not good.

Without thinking, Aza leapt on top of Kai, knocking him to the cold, stone floor. She did her best to shield him with her own body, but she knew she wasn't enough. Aza had never had a problem with her small size, but now she hated it. Kai was going to die, because she was too small.

Suddenly, Aza felt someone beside her. She turned her head to see Calandra there as well. The mage pulled the gag from her mouth and gave her a nod. They could save him together. Sorry Kai, we're probably suffocating you, but we're not going to let Gem lose the brother she chose to be with, die so easily.

The light continued on, and Aza had to shut her eyes. It was the weirdest thing Aza had ever experienced. And that was saying a lot. This light felt tangible with its own sort of substance. It didn't feel bad. No, it didn't feel bad at all. It felt like...Evabelle? Aza knew it was insane, but it felt as though Evabelle was there, protecting her.

EVABELLE

Evabelle felt beaten. Every inch of her ached. She was bruised and bloodied. She longed to be back in the perfectly soft bed at the Sanctuary. The hard floor she was on now was very unsatisfying. Begrudgingly, she opened her eyes, to see she was still in the room where she had stopped Averno. So it had actually happened! Evabelle pushed herself back onto her hands and knees, and blinked around the empty room. She knew it wasn't a dream; she never remembered any of them. But then it was real. She shakily got to her feet, feeling giddy.

"I'm alive," she whispered and glanced over at the mirror. The reflective surface had gone dark. Had she blocked his way back as well? Evabelle shook her head. It was impossible. She glanced back at the fake wings on the floor. They were in several pieces now. Her eyes swept the rest of the floor looking for the feather, or even the ash, it had been reduced to. That had all happened too, right? She had done actual magic. She had made Lucis's feather glow. It sounded ridiculous that something like a glowing feather had stopped an extremely powerful Anahalian. Well, a powerful illusion of one, in any case.

Evabelle turned her head and glanced at her own back, for a moment expecting real golden wings to be there, but it was bare. She reached her hands back and felt the two ragged holes where the fake ones had been. The spots where the wings had been severed were still felt dreadfully tender, so she winced and withdrew.

The battered girl shook her head and made her way to the door. Glancing out, revealed, the few vagi unconscious on the floor. Had she done all this too? Maybe Calandra? Evabelle turned her head, this way and that, as if expecting to see the mage leaning against one of the stone pillars.

Hurriedly, Evabelle descended the stairs. She bit her lip. Should she call out for the mage? In the end, however, she made her back to the throne room. Every single one of the vagi that she came across, lay on the floor in a heap. When Evabelle finally reached the room, she found the large doors ajar. She swallowed and pushed it the rest of the way open, to find it empty.

Evabelle took a step back. What had happened? Apparently a lot more than she thought. Finally, she gave into the urge and yelled. "Calandra! Calandra, where are you?" There was no response. Well, it was a giant castle.

Still with her stinging body, Evabelle began her search. The castle would have been an excellent adventure, and Evabelle would have loved exploring it with Aza, but she felt drained. She wanted to sleep...and something else she admitted. It was selfish, she knew, but oh how she longed to tell the others that she had done it. She had gotten rid of Averno, for now. She had done magic. She could finally prove to the others that she wasn't worthless.

Evabelle marched forward, and continued calling their names. Only when she heard a door grating open, did she freeze. Just up ahead she saw a dark, crooked door, creaking open. Evabelle flattened herself against the wall, and prayed it was friendly.

There were three people, two women supporting a barely conscious man between them. Evabelle's eyes widened and she ran toward them. "Guys!" She exclaimed, screeching to a halt in front of them.

Aza looked up, and gave her a huge grin. "If it ain't my dear friend, Bellzaroo."

"What happened to Kai?" Evabelle asked worriedly.

The elf looked up at her and she saw a deep burn in the side of his face. "You saved us, didn't you?" He croaked, but amazingly he was smiling.

Evabelle gave a small smile. "Well...I guess..." She shrugged.

Aza's eyes widened. "Wait, are you saying that the big ball of light was you?"

Evabelle gave a nod.

Aza tilted back her head and laughed. "Look at you, growing up and saving the world!"

Evabelle shook her head. "I haven't saved the world yet."

Aza beamed. "And there's that word in there. Yet. Maybe not yet, but you will."

Evabelle actually smiled back. She didn't know about that still, but something definitely had changed today.

"Come on," Calandra readjusted Kai's arm around her shoulder. "We need to lay him down somewhere."

Evabelle shook her head again, feeling like an idiot. "Is he going to be alright? What did they do to him?"

Aza and Calandra glanced at each other. But it was Kai who spoke. "Don't worry about me, Evabelle. Trust me, I'll be fine."

Evabelle glanced at him, but finally she nodded. "I promised Gem I was going to bring you home, so you better be."

The two girls holding him, finally ended up lying him gently against the wall, promising to be back, once they found the others. As they walked away Calandra murmured softly. "He needs blood, desperately so. And not just a little. With injuries like that, he'll need a lot."

"Isn't there anyway he can just have animal blood or like donated blood. We could all put some of our blood in a cup or whatever? Then we don't have to worry about one person losing too much." Aza suggested.

Calandra shook her head. "Vampire's are creatures made by demons. They would never have it be so easy. The blood must have at least some human, and it must come directly from the source of a beating heart."

Evabelle nodded, remembering reading about it from one of Calandra's books.

"Elf blood has fast regenerative cells. Which is why, his sister, is his perfect candidate." Calandra continued. "But even that girl, can't handle the amount that he needs. I will give him some of mine." She resolved. "He'll fight me on it, the idiot, but I will most certainly not let him die after all this." Then the mage stalked off to begin searching for the Anahalians.

The two girls watched her. "She cares a lot about him." Evabelle murmured.

Aza nudged her. "Yeah, I think that we all care about each other."

Evabelle glanced down at her, and the little blonde grinned back up. "Something's changed about you." Evabelle told her friend.

"I could say the same to you." Aza put her hands in her pockets. "But, you could say, through all of this I realized I'd like to give family another shot. I admit it's the weirdest, most messed up family ever, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

Evabelle smiled. "Me too."

The three girls searched high and low for their missing friends. They climbed towers and searched for any secret passageways. Evabelle ran into Calandra again and asked her if they should be worried about the vagi.

The mage shook her head. "No, you cleansed them, dispelled the dark spirits from their bodies. Now, they are just normal men and women. Because they have not had control over their bodies, they're sort of settling back into them. They'll be unconscious for a while." Calandra shook her head, looking down at one of the slumbering men. "Etheldreda, is far more powerful than I thought. To have sealed so many vagi and to have a human familiar is..." She trailed off.

"CJ!" Evabelle exclaimed. "Etheldreda said that he was in one of these towers, and that she wasn't in him at all. Do you think--"

Calandra shook her head. "With a playing chip like him, I doubt she would have left him behind. Your spell banished or destroyed anything of demonic nature. She probably knew she wouldn't survive it so, she fled. I know that girl can't be dead."

Evabelle swallowed, her spirits sinking. There was many things she wanted to ask. But finally she said. "Anything of demonic nature, what about you and Kai?" Then suddenly she thought of the burn. on Kai's face. "Wait, did I..."

Calandra nodded. "Don't be stupid and blame yourself. You saved us. And Aza and I were able to make sure Kai was safe."
Evabelle still felt awful. She had been the one to hurt Kai. She looked up at the mage. "But that still doesn't explain you."

Calandra looked annoyed. "My kind may have originally come to be with the help of demons, but as a mage I have taken oaths. And I do have this." Then she flipped her head upside down, lifting her hair to show Evabelle the back of her neck. A small black star seemed to be branded into her skin. "The mark of the mage." Calandra stood back up.

Suddenly Aza's voice called out. "Guys! Guys, I found them!"

Evabelle felt relieved. She was beginning to get worried that Etheldreda somehow managed to take them with her as well. She and Calandra ran down a staircase and down another hall until they found Aza standing in an open doorway.

Evabelle entered what seemed like a nice sitting room. There were comfy looking chairs, along with a few small bookshelves. At first she did not see, where exactly her friends were, but finally she looked up and saw three large cages, with Lucis, Del, and Faux, each staring out one of them.

Calandra entered and looked up as well. Then the mage raised her hands above her head and began to chant. The chains on the cages lengthened until the cages reached the floor. Calandra put a hand to the door of Lucis's cage and there was a ching as she unlocked it. The door swung open.

Evabelle, even though feeling awful after Kai, and sad for CJ, she couldn't help feeling excited. She ran forward and leapt into Lucis's arms, who caught her in surprise, stumbling back. "I did it." Evabelle whispered in his ear. "You believed in me, and I did it." She was surprised to feel fresh tears running down her cheeks. Out of everyone, she had been most excited to tell him, to prove him right, to not let him down.

Lucis slowly returned her embrace, his arms seemed a little shaky for some reason. "I always knew you would." He replied into her hair. The warmth of his arms around her filled Evabelle with giddiness. This was Lucis. This man who protected her, encouraged her, believed in her, was the real Lucis. And there was absolutely no one who could ever convince her otherwise.

Evabelle pulled back, her arms still around his neck, and saw a long fresh slash across his cheek, painting it red where the blood had dripped down. Her heart clenched at the sight of that, but that wasn't the only thing. Lucis was smiling at her, but there was something very sad in his eyes. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Where's Tru?" Aza asked suddenly.

Evabelle turned to see Calandra unlocking Faux's cage. He sat on the floor of his prison, his silly smile, and laughter in his eyes were gone. Evabelle felt a chill sweep over her. "She's not dead..." Evabelle swallowed.

Del shook his head, his arms folded. Evabelle noticed strange rings around his wings, where it seemed some of the feathers had been burned off. "No, that witch injected her with the virus."

Aza blinked. "You mean the Annihilator virus?" She whispered.

Faux closed his eyes and nodded. "She has about three months before she's a full Annihilator." He murmured. Evabelle saw the same rings in his wings as well.

Evabelle slid her fingers from around Lucis's neck, all elation gone. "Then I fa--"

"No!"

Evabelle jumped, and looked back at Lucis.

"Don't ever say that you've failed. Evabelle you must know the war is coming. War means loss. Today was a victory for us, though.' We haven't lost Tru. We will save her, but you must believe." His blue eyes were so much like his father's, and yet totally different.

Evabelle swallowed, looking down. "I tried today. I tried and nearly died. I tried and almost gave into the fact that I was nothing, but then in the face of it all...I...I believed...in you." She whispered.

Lucis blinked in surprise. "Evabelle, I..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Evabelle returned to look back into those beautiful blue eyes. "I believed in you. And for a moment I believed in me, because of you. After I met Averno, and I found out who he was, I realized what you and Del must be going through."

Lucis looked down at his feet.

Evabelle reached up and put a hand on his good cheek, relishing each trace of contact between her and this amazing man. "I realized that you two had gone through so much. I realized just how strong you are, and just how strong I need to be. For so long it was just the two of you, fighting to be a part of the Anahalians. They all feared you because of him." Evabelle shook her head, thinking of what Averno had said about blood, and the vast difference between this boy and that monster. "Well I know, I don't know everything, but what I do know about you Lucis, is that you are not a monster. You are not your father."

Lucis's eyes flashed back up.

Evabelle bit her lip. "I am not the person you want me to be." Lucis opened his mouth, but Evabelle cut him off. "I've been resisting it, both consciously and subconsciously, but today I did something, and it made me realize, that I do want to try. If you promise to stay and help me, then I promise that I will try."

Lucis reached up and took her hand that was on his cheek. "I promise."

~(A/N: Alright you've got to be completely brutally honest here! Was that a good climax chapter???? I'm awful with action scene, which is probably why this chapter didn't have as much as you would think, but please let me know if it still had you screaming at it's intensity or if it just fell too short. If you think there should have been more of one thing or less of anything PLEASE TELL ME!!!! I need to know so I can make it better!! I will not be offended if you say that it was not as satisfying as you were hoping! So don't be afraid to tell it to me straight!!!

Okay Challenge of the day....Make a list of all the things you would like to happen or see in book two! (This doesn't necessarily mean you will see it in there. Hey! I've got to save some stuff for book 3 ;) 

*Oh and don't worry, you still have one more chapter to look forward to that should wrap this one off nicely, I think :D After that I'll put up the playlist and info about book 2 and such :D )~