EVABELLE

'Chelsea is one of the original sanctuaries still standing to this day. It was founded by James Watts and is still held up by his great, great, great, great grandson Malcolm Jay and his wife Tira. This historical haven resides in Layton, California, hidden near an abandoned children's park. The entrance is...'

Evabelle's eyelids drooped and the words on the page blurred. Her head dipped and slipped out of her hand, making her jerk up. It had to be long past midnight. Everyone had given up on trying to get her to bed and gone on themselves. Except Evabelle had the feeling that Calandra was still up and around somewhere, and Faux, of course, never slept.

It had only been two days since the nightmare in Kansas, but Evabelle couldn't rest when they still had yet to find where Etheldreda was keeping her little brother and friend. Plus, the images of the vivid horrors were just too fresh, and they followed her whenever she started to dream. There were severe disadvantages of remembering them. Evabelle had decided.

The exhausted girl rubbed her hands on her jeans. She could still feel the blood, bones and gold feathers under her fingernails.

No one had said much about what had happened that day. Everyone was still stunned. No one knew how to bring up the subject. It was just too heavy. A staggering thing to comprehend. Not another thing to add to the pile of mayhem. But it was there. Everyone just kept silent about it.

Del.

Del's wing.

Del's life.

When Evabelle had awoken from her unconsciousness, she had found herself in the Sanctuary. Aza had slapped her upside the head, then hugged her fiercely. They had at least told Evabelle one thing. 

He was alive.

His wing was attached.

He was alive.

Apparently, Faux and Aza had stepped out a little bit after Del had left to follow Evabelle. The two of them didn't know where'd they had run off too, but they described a brilliant ball of light bursting throughout the entire sky. Afterward, the pair had run over to the source and found Del and Evabelle lying next to each other in the small crater.

They had rushed down to them and found Del's back was still glowing faintly, at the base of his wing, but then they realized that the dark angel had his eyes open. He was staring at Evabelle, his mouth moving, telling them to help her before he was submerged into his own nothingness again.

Faux flew back to get the mages and of course they'd quickly rushed back to check them both over.

Evabelle murmured softly what had happened, and no one had anything to say about it.

Now just a day after that, Evabelle sat in the library pouring over the same information of the registered sanctuaries of the west.

Had she really brought him back from the dead? Evabelle shivered. It was an incredible thing, and yet it scared her a little. She needed to talk to her father, but falling asleep lead to a world where she didn't save him. It was a land where Lucis had torn both wings and sometimes even his head off or like the original, his heart ripped from his chest before diving for her. She'd always wake up before he reached her, but the image was still there and she just couldn't get passed those dreams to reach Zion.

Instead, she did the only thing that could see that would be helpful in her time. Although, Calandra had told her that this was all pointless in the end. The mage's had come to the conclusion that the likelihood of Etheldreda staying in a registered sanctuary was very low, slim to none. The list that they had made back at the Kansas hideout had been scrapped, yet Evabelle had decided to make one of her own.

This 'Chelsea' one seemed promising. It was west. It was underground. She glanced over at her sheet of paper and saw that she'd not only already written it down, she'd crossed it off with a side-note, saying that it was too public. Evabelle glanced back at the book and saw that yes, because the place was from the time of the first mages, it was a tourist attraction to magical figures from all over.

Evabelle groaned and rubbed her eyes, Aza's words from a few hours earlier coming to mind. You won't be able to help them, if you're beyond exhausted. Her friend still suspected that Evabelle wasn't completely back from her bout of healing Del, and her not resting was adding to the pounding on her body. It was bizarre to hear Aza playing the logic card, and even weirder that Evabelle wasn't admitting to it. Because it was true.

Faux had scolded her too, when she'd woken. This was why it was dangerous for Anahalians to use all their munera in one go. It could expend all their energy and power, draining them to potentially fatal levels. He wasn't reprimanding her saving Del, but he had been worried about the risk on her.

It was like the shaky feeling someone got when they hadn't had food for a long time. That empty feeling that made her dizzy, especially when she stood up, didn't go away even though she did eat, granted, it wasn't a lot.

Evabelle pushed back in her chair and stood, that feeling sweeping over her, the fuzzy spots jumping into place as she braced herself against the table. They were right. Even if they found out where they were, she would be no help to them like this.

Taking in a shaky breath, she shut her book and stacked it on a few others. She would maybe try to read a bit more, but she knew she needed to rest. Maybe she could find Calandra and see if the woman had anything to help her get some good sleep.

There was a lot of library to search for one person, and with her heavy pile rocking the already tipsy girl, she decided to put them in her room and try to find the mage afterward. She slipped out of the enormous spiral room and began to climb the stairs to the bedrooms, only to freeze when she heard a hard knock on the front door.

It was him. It had to be him. He hadn't come back with them. And without him, there was more emptiness. Evabelle knew he needed the space like Del had said. Lucis was still there. She'd seen it, when he'd broken out of the psychotic break. He was there. The slow, quiet tap could only be him.

Calandra dashed into the entry and scrambled for the handle. Evabelle ducked down quickly, peering through the bars of the banister, heart thudding like a base drum.

The red-haired mage opened the door just enough to reveal the tall blonde angel, his head bowed, shoulders hunched, and his wings curled low around his sides. He took in a heavy breath that appeared to take a lot of effort. Evabelle could see his whole body subtly shaking. Gradually, he lifted his head up and she saw the red-tinged eyes. "Del," he whispered. "His body,"

Calandra went to grab his shoulder, but he moved away from her touch. "Lucis, he's alive."

He jolted back, his eyes widening before he shook his head and grit his teeth. "Don't you dare do this." Anguish twisted into his tone.

"It's true. Evabelle sealed his wing back on and healed him. He's not dead. He can't stand yet. he's weakened and it will be a while before he's doing any flying, but he's alive. You can come in and see him." Calandra stepped aside and opening the door further.

Lucis, still shaking his head, staggered and leaned heavily against the doorframe. His ashen face and shaky legs told Evabelle that he might just collapse without the support. "It's impossible," he murmured with a hint of desperate hope.

"It's not. Please just come in and see." Calandra again invited him in.

Lucis was still utterly stunned and couldn't answer. He didn't seem to register what the woman was saying. He stared down at the floor, his mouth agape and his eyes round and far away. It did finally click and his shaking head became more vigorous. "No,"

Calandra sighed. "It's okay,"

Lucis looked back at her and tilted his head. "It's not. It never was and you know that, Calandra."

Calandra stiffened and straightened up. "Do you remember what my father said? We only allow those with good hearts to reside here. And no matter what you say, no matter what genetics or damn curses say, your heart is good."

Evabelle gave a silent, determined nod of agreement. She had watched him, essentially, murder his own brother, and yet she knew better. She knew that the real heart in that man's body was an angel's through and through.

She began to creep as quietly as she could back down the stairs.

"What about actions? Lucis murmured. "They show you a lot more than any of those things."

Calandra shook her head, but Lucis continued. "I can't pretend I'm something I'm not anymore. I can't believe in my own lies and I won't hurt people because I have." His voice cracked at the end and he cleared his throat, but the tears had already reformed. "I didn't just hurt someone. If Evabelle wasn't there, then for all intensive purposes, I kil--" His mouth snapped shut, any blood in his face drained out of it, and he shook his head unable to say it out loud. "I can't stay here anymore. It's not safe for anyone."

"You're an Anahalian. You're--"

Lucis cut off Calandra. "I'm not. I'm his son." Those words echoed back from a that other nightmare still plaguing Evabelle. He is my son. Lucis splayed his hand flat against his chest. "I've got his mark inside me." His fingers slowly curled into a tight fist. "I am a demo--"

"NO!" Evabelle's books fell into a heap at her feet as she stared down at Lucis from the stair landing, burning tears pooling in her eyes.

Lucis jerked away from the door and gaped up at her for a fraction of a second, before reeling around and vanishing into the night.

Evabelle stood there, her whole body quaking all the way down to her toes. She couldn't bear to hear it. But him saying it himself, made it even worse.

Calandra closed the door and rushed up the steps and shocked the done in girl as the mage wrapped her arm around her.

Distantly, Evabelle wondered if she had been about to fall, if her trembling knees were about to finally buckle underneath her, and that was why Calandra was hugging her. It did feel as if the woman was the only thing holding her up.

Evabelle shook her head hard and grabbed onto the back of Calandra's nightdress, as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Her voice was breathy and garbled in her closed up throat. "He's not. He's not a demon. He's not. He's not. He's not a demon."

Calandra's hold tightened and her cold, snappy voice, softened to the sweet sound of a quiet bird as she whispered in Evabelle's ear. "I know,"

LUCIS

He's alive. He's alive. He's alive. The words rung in his ears. He wasn't sure if he was just repeating it because it was still so shocking or because, if he didn't run it over and over, he might just fall the hundreds of feet out of the sky and let the cold, hard ground take him from this world.

He wished he could have seen him. He wanted to so badly. He needed to replace the picture of his brother's corpse with the living breathing thing. Lucis had felt the life plucked from Del like a flower from a field. It was swift and sudden and had given him a rush of endorphins. It was a high that made him giddy. Life was so fragile and beautiful when stolen. Under his hands, tearing off the wing, feeling the bone crack and snap, blood gushing over his hands as he'd easily sheared it from Del's body still gave him shivers of terrible joy. He almost laughed, but then his insides rebelled and Lucis plummeted. His vision blurred and he clapped his hands over his mouth. His feet hit the ground hard and he toppled onto his knees and emptied the contents in his stomach, which was nothing, just acid.

He's never thrown up before. He'd felt the beginnings of it, but Anahalians didn't get sick. But he was sick. He'd been sick his whole life. His heart was ill and wrecked.

Lucis blinked through tears, his throat searing. He pushed back from the bile and got shakily to his feet. He hadn't been flying over anywhere inhabited, thank goodness. There were no people around. It was some national park, he was fairly sure. Normally, he had a good sense of direction, but his mind was scrambled mess, so he didn't know which direction he'd taken off in.

Surrounded by trees, away from the city and human life was what he'd needed, thus he'd found it. He took in a deep shuddering breath and fell back against a large trunk. He'd spent the entire day before and the one that was coming to a close, back in the windy state, reliving what he'd done to his brother. His heart stuttered in his chest as he warred over relishing the reenactment and screaming about it.

He'd tried the normal methods to clear his head, but none of them could wipe away Del's colorless face, nor his own hands that were very much colored.

But Del was alive. He still couldn't one-hundred percent believe it. He didn't think he could until he saw him with his own two eyes.

Lucis closed his eyes. But could he ever see him again? Would Del even want to see him again? He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, feeling the moisture of the clinging tears. He could feel the yell building up from his hollow abdomen. He swallowed hard and slid down the tree until he slumped onto the roots.

Taking in a another breath, he lowered his arms and rested them on his knees. He began to tap them methodically and murmured under his breath. "Think of a wave. A gentle sea, with clear glassy water, pale blue sky. Light foam on the surface of the wave." He breathed in and the waved rolled slowly up the white sand. He breathed out and it washed down, away from him. He inhaled again and repeated, limiting the soft water to be the only thing in his mind. Everything else pulled itself back into the tide. Del's haunting face and limp body faded away. The tension and heat all over him, and the thought of the pretty brunette sunk peacefully beneath the waves. Her blood bubbled up to the surface and spread through the see like black ink, darkening the light to scarlet. Her scream rammed through his head and his laugh chimed alongside it.

Lucis's eyes snapped open and he heard his laugh still echoing in the forested area. He choked and the laugh sputtered out. He flung himself back to his feet, staggering, his teeth gnashing together as he swung his fist around and slammed it the tree behind him sending spray of bark out at him. He brought back his other fist and did the same. Again and again he punched the innocent tree. 'You've created a dam to block everything in, but you must know that the water you hold will only continue to rise, building up, to the point that if you let your walls waver for a moment, cracks and fissures will push you to your limit. Soon your defenses will crumble; no...they will burst,' Again his fist crashed and beat against the hard, meaningless lumber. His father's words that he'd denied were now being shoved back in his face. 'And knowing you, you will scramble, do everything to keep it inside you, but not even the great Lucis Mendax can hold back the tides of Hell.'

A sizable divot remained as he lowered his stinging hands, rasping.

He lifted his fingers and saw, with satisfaction, the blood that was now his. Splinters dug into his knuckles and suddenly he saw the wood as fragments of glass. Del's tiny face contorted in anger, tears rolling down his cheeks. 'They say I look just like him. They're right. But I'm not him. I've never wanted to be him!'

Lucis went down to his knees again.

That day. That day had been the worst. It had been over a week since their mother died and since Averno had killed the king and queen. The brothers were staying in the castle, while Kayne seemed to be busy with something. Lucis had stayed strong up until that point. He'd run to Del and held him as Evabelle healed his hand. They'd laid Del down and then Evabelle had called Lucis out. She knew he wasn't doing well.

'I'm fine, princess. You don't need to worry about me. I just need to--'

'I'm so sorry!' Evabelle's cry made Lucis flinch, her reserved, quiet demeanor, gone. Her tone held him captive, because he could hear it. She knew. Even still, he played dumb.

'For what?' He'd asked, not looking at her.

'For ever believing that that was true.'

She always knew. She always saw when he was hurting or upset when he hid it. Lucis could fool anyone, even his brother when he wanted to, but her. She always figured it out. She knew he'd been hiding something since the moment they'd met after the Annihilators first came for her. Even when she didn't remember him, she knew him through and through.

But that was why it terrified him. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't lose the one person that saw his weakness and embraced him and comforted him. He loved Del. He loved Del more than there were words to describe, but his brother wasn't someone who could see passed Lucis's thickest armor to the frightened man underneath and reach out and hold him. Del could touch him and strengthen him in his own way. Without him, Lucis wouldn't have made it past the age of twelve. But Evabelle stripped the tarnished metal away from Lucis and let him fall down and close his eyes and not worry about anyone else. It was freeing.

That was why he thought he could handle it. That's why he thought he could build up against his traitorous heart and see her, and everything would be okay again.

Oh, how wrong he had been.

The girl had done what she always did. She disassembled the wall and released the pent up emotions of years of persecution and abuse, of agony, rage, misery, and the dreaded curse that had built itself up over time. It had gotten harder to shove down, but he'd still managed mostly...except until Tru and the debacle of her parents.

He should have known then. He should have known better than thinking he could hold it together after that fiasco. Lucis could still see her eyes filled with terror.

The fair Anahalian shut his own eyes tight again. Don't go there.

"Lucis Mendax?"

Lucis leapt to his feet, drawing his munera and transformed it into a duren-dal blade. He pounced on the creature standing before him, knocking him flat on his back. Lucis hadn't heard this thing approach him. It was true, he'd been distracted, but that didn't mean this wasn't a threat.

It was a skinny teenage boy, maybe fifteen. He had blue-dyed hair with curling ram horns poking through. He had two different colored eyes, one blue, the other orange, though the orange one was puffy and swollen. A large red hole in the lobe of his ear made it look like an earring had been torn out. It matched deep gash along his cheek.

The changeling cried out as Lucis pressed his pearl dagger against his throat. "My arm! My arm it's still recovering!"

"Who are you?" Lucis snarled. He could so easily slice the kid's jugular and watch him twitch and flop as his blood ran dry. It took a lot to restrain himself. The weapon shook slightly, but the stranger didn't seem to notice.

"I'm Klan! I'm here to give you a stupid message!" He squawked. He clearly wanted to struggle, but knew better.

"How did you find me? Who sent you?"

"She said you'd be here in New York, in the Ensign Sanctuary. But I hate that mage. I saw you fly away from it, so I followed." He wheezed as Lucis leaned weight against Klan's chest.

"Who is 'she'?" Lucis growled.

"I can't say. She was afraid of someone intercepting me."

"Is it the witch? Etheldreda? Is she your master?"

Klan shook his head, carefully avoiding the edge of the knife.

Lucis paused for a moment, then slowly stood up. He held his duren-dal steady in case the kid decided to do something stupid. "Okay fine, let's hear it."

Klan pushed himself up, favoring one arm. "The neutrals like their drinks and hearty is their thirst, deep into the earth they dwell, but hide a different curse." He muttered this monotonously, as though he didn't give a crap about the random poem he was spouting. "A secret hides behind the walls, in the back where human's fall. Follow devils is what they do with fire and with blood." He tapped the top of his head. "Believe it all, believe me, the truth." He shrugged and winced. "Ow, well I think that's it."

Lucis almost slapped him. What was he supposed to get out of that garbage? But then one part registered to him. "The truth. You said it like the truth is the one who sent you."

Klan nodded glumly.

The truth. The truth. Or Tru. "Why the heck would she send a message like that?"

"She says the traitors are everywhere. If I said something that made sense, I'd probably be killed." Klan replied.

Lucis's hand holding the blade lowered slowly, as he tried to translate the wackadoo code. "The neutrals like their drinks," Neutrals made Lucis think of mages. They were the number one neutral party in the magical district. "And hearty is their thirst," Mages weren't known for being heavy drinkers. It didn't necessarily mean some weren't, but it wasn't common. A little light-bulb went off. Dwarves. Dwarves were angel borns technically, but most of their species had fallen away from their initial code of conduct. They had become a far more neutral group as well. And boy did they love their alcohol. That also worked with dwelling beneath the earth. And apparently they were hiding something.

Human's fall. Fire and blood. What the heck did that part mean. He thought of Klan touching his head when he said fire and blood. It had seemed to be an intentional action. He looked at the changeling. "What does this mean?" He touched his head like he'd seen the kid do a moment ago.

"Fire and blood," Klan repeated. "It think there was also something about dread in there. Fire and blood, filled with dread."

"Dread," Lucis murmured. His heart skipped a beat. He had been touching his hair. The color of fire and blood, maybe. Dread. As in Etheldreda. "She's hiding in dwarf tunnels!" He shouted out louder than he expected.

"Ding, ding, ding," Klan muttered dully. "We've got a winner."

Lucis thought of the first time they'd been lead to one of the old dwarf kingdoms, it had been a trap. He had to be wary. "But where in the tunnels?"

"I told you it kind of rhymed with hearty."

"No you didn't," Lucis could strangle this guy.

Klan shrugged with his good arm. "Well, I meant to. Look, dude, I'm done being messenger boy. That chick was crazy, so I did her stupid dirty work, but I'm done." His voice held a fake sense of apathy. There was something riding underneath it all. He turned around and lifted a hand to wave it sarcastically. "See ya,"

Lucis snatched the hurt arm and Klan gasped and grabbed at his shoulder. "Oi! That was dislocated!"

"I can take the 'was' out of that statement very easily," Lucis breathed down Klan's neck, making the scrawny changeling stiffen. "Where did you come from? You must of talked to Tru directly. Where is she?"

"She's there, man. She going in." Klan's voice picked up an anxious edge.

"How did you get here?"

There's an open portal in the sewers that take you straight to the tunnel leading to Bacar--" He cut himself off.

"Don't stop there," Lucis hissed. He didn't have time to figure it all out. His mind was still a mangled disaster, and thinking only increased the climbing migraine.

Klan still didn't speak for a moment, but he finally peeped out. "She's a monster."

An icy wind chilled Lucis's spine. "Who is?" But he knew the answer before Klan said it.

"The guardian girl. The truth. She's scary strong with claws, and long sharp teeth. She's not really a guardian anymore. She's like those bat things that have been circling around everywhere."

Tru had been infected. Lucis had watched it, himself. Back in Etheldreda's lair, the witch had plunged a needle in Tru's neck. She'd been so terrified before she'd ran away. None of them had been able to find her. But now she could infect them all. She wasn't fully transformed yet, but it was clear she was right on her way.

"Take me to the portal." He gave Klan a forceful shake, making him whine. "You'll show me where it is, then you're going back to the Ensign Sanctuary and telling them too."

Klan shook his head. "That mage is the one who hurt my arm. I'm not going back there."

Lucis jerked down hard and heard the pop. Klan crumpled with a shriek. Lucis chuckled, loving that sound. He stepped onto Klan's chest and leered down at the round-eyed kid. "If you're so obedient to monsters, you better be worshiping me, because trust me when I say, I'm the worst one."

EVABELLE

"The power of the angel heart is great, Evabelle,"

It sounded like a cheesy fantasy quote. The force is strong with this one. Evabelle glanced up at Zion.

Calandra had given the girl something to finally get some rest. She'd offered something that would take away dreams entirely, but Evabelle refused that.

She needed to talk to her father.

Whatever the stuff had been, it had helped. Most of the nightmares were pushed back for now, and she could reorient and find Zion.

"But bringing people back from the dead? It just doesn't seem possible." Evabelle leaned her head back against the wall.

Zion sat beside his daughter on a bridge in one of the bigger towns of Jovis. Several Anahalian children ran passed without seeing them. "Angel heart has the power of angel's themselves. Direct power. One of the driving forces of that power is love. They say all Anahalians or really any angel born could potentially tap into it, though it is said to be rare. But I do believe powerful, meaningful love can bring miracles. There's even an old saying that says an angel's kiss brings miracles."

Evabelle closed her eyes. She wanted to cry out, 'Then why aren't you alive?!' But she knew better. She shoved the horrible images of her father being spread over the earth, carnage and blood, his wings nailed down, just to make Averno's cruel, blatant statement, out of her mind.

"You knew, didn't you," She whispered, changing the subject. "You knew about Lucis."

Zion didn't say anything for a minute. "I suspected."

Evabelle whipped her head up and glared at him. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't know for sure," Zion replied calmly. "I don't think you're ready to know everything about the day that I died." Evabelle felt she already knew too much anyway. "But I only found out the truth about Averno, just a day before he came to do it. I had been working with Delaney with his power, when the boy had a vision and he proclaimed the prophesy about all of this."

Evabelle blinked. "What?"

"Averno had been secretly poisoning all three of us for months. It was subtle enough that it wasn't noticeable. And when we recognized it, we kept is quiet as not to alarm the people, since this wasn't something that normally happened. But it had gotten to the point where neither your mother or I could even fly. You were not doing well, but you must have not had quite the same amount, since you could still fly, but it probably wouldn't have lasted much longer. After Del said the prophesy, I knew the truth and set to work to get you out."

"Why not all of us?" Evabelle's voice rose an octave.

"There wasn't enough time," Zion replied. "I knew, I'd have to hide you away. You couldn't stay in Jovis because, I pieced together that Averno must have followers that would be staying there. I knew he would kill us, so I gave Kayne instructions and we put together the plan to send you to earth, hiding any sign of your Anahalian heritage. We used a lot of old magic, obviously the kind that allowed me to talk to you like this, after my death." He placed a hand on Evabelle's shoulder, but of course she couldn't really feel the weight. "You told me about your friends, and the potential for Lucis to have demon heart like his father, was there. They behaved similarly, but differently."

Evabelle lifted her eyes to him.

"I think both Mendax men have dealt with it in different ways. Averno embraced it, but didn't let it spin him into a raving lunatic, but twisted and used it to his own advantage. At least he believes he is the one in control. Lucis fights it. He's done everything he can to reject it and find another way, through sacrifice and patience. I can tell already from what you've told me that he is a very different man than his father." Her father assured.

Evabelle swallowed. "But I'm scared he's starting to think that he isn't different than Averno."

Zion shook his head. "I think he's always seen himself like his father and that's what drives him to fight so hard. It's been an indispensable player in his life, but I do fear that he's seeing becoming the man completely as inevitable. That's where he's slipping."

"He's not a demon," Evabelle muttered again.

"But he can become one,"

Evabelle tensed as she saw the dark swirling eyes flash in her mind. The cruel twisted grin turn to a scowl as he ripped his brother's wing off in cold blood. She thought of his rough lips, bruising and aching. His grip rigid and unyielding, pressing her in harder. She thought of her own hands tugging on him, egging him on.

She'd awakened the beast. She knocked down the walls and released the monster. It was her fault.

Tears sprung to her eyes. "Only if he stops fighting. Only if he stops believing."

It was ages ago, but Faux's words from then came back to her. 'Often, when we do not believe in ourselves, we put all our belief on others.' Even if Lucis hadn't always believed in himself, he believed in her. But did he anymore?  He said he would believe in her until she could believe in herself.  She wasn't the same girl that he had said that to anymore, but did that suddenly mean his faith in her just stopped? 

The world of Jovis suddenly shook around Evabelle, like heat-waves distorting her vision. She leapt to her feet when she realized she was being shaken awake. "Wait, no! I still need to talk to you!" She spun around, but her father was gone. The bridge she was standing on was gone. She was lying down, a small hand shaking her shoulder.

Evabelle's eyes opened and she saw Aza. She almost yelled at her friend. It had been days since she'd had good, genuine sleep and now she was being woken up. There better be someone dyin-- never mind.

"What is it?"

The look in her shiny eyes, helped to wake Evabelle up further. "Calandra knows where Thom and CJ are."

Evabelle bounded up from her bed and the two girls bolted down the stairs. Aza pointed to the kitchen and they dashed inside.

"You know!?" Evabelle gasped, while Aza panted beside her.

Calandra had her usual pursed lips, but it didn't seem to be at the girls. "Yes, and I was such an idiot." She looked up, behind Evabelle and Aza. "Did you know?"

Evabelle spun around and stared up at Raoul, who smirked at Calandra. "That you're an idiot? Of course."

"What are you talking about?" Aza blinked between them.

"When you were kidnapped, I went to a dwarf pub, called Bacardi Hole. Raoul was staying there. I got him to help find you. There's apparently some hidden tunnels that have the entrance behind that bar." The mage glared at Raoul. "You could smell it, couldn't you? You knew it was there this whole time!"

Raoul rolled his eyes. "Of course I knew there were more tunnels. But I didn't know who was staying in them. Remember, I'm not involved in your battles, queenie."

"Gah!" Calandra put her head in her hands. "I should have known."

"Well, if we know where they are, let's go!" Aza jumped up and down for attention. "They can't stay another day in there."

Evabelle agreed and amazingly, so did Calandra. "You're right. We're going, but we need to get a few things together. I'm going to make vivi coffee. It'll help give everyone a boost of energy."

Evabelle definitely needed that.

"Aza, go get Faux and get him down here." Calandra flicked her wrist and Aza scampered away. "Evabelle, we need to--"

"Talk to CJ," Evabelle nodded.

Calandra returned the nod and closed her eyes.

"CJ the familiar kid, right?" Raoul asked, sliding onto a barstool.

Evabelle side-eyed him. "Yes. Why do you care?"

"To cut the connection, he has to do it himself," Raoul mused. "But he has to be under her control and break out. He's only been able to do that when he's severely hurt."

He knew way too much for a disinterested party. "What's your point?"

The werewolf shrugged and picked up an apple.

Calandra opened her eyes. "I woke him up. He doesn't know how we're going to get Etheldreda to use him for no reason."

"We'll give her a reason," Evabelle muttered. "We'll attack her with everything we've got. She'll probably summon her vagi and CJ along with them."

"This is another game of risk, you know," Calandra said.

Evabelle nodded. "But it's one we have to play."

Calandra didn't argue.

"Speaking of risk," Raoul swallowed a bit of his fruit. "Aren't there only four of you now?"

Evabelle blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Your league of mages have taken off. Mendax twin, numero one is on a bender. Dos is in his second bout of recovery. So that leaves you two, and the goof-nuts."

Evabelle spun on Calandra. "The mages are gone?"

"Haven't you noticed how peaceful it's been?" Calandra sighed. "Yes, they're gone. Not forever, but they do have their own lives and things they have to deal with. We can wait and try to get them back, but I don't see them getting here tonight. I thought of Kai too, but I'd say the same thing. If we want to get in now, before they pack up and leave, once they realize they've been discovered, we don't have the time."

Evabelle put her face in her hands.

"And I personally think that it's not the best idea to bring the human squirt." Raoul said.

Evabelle almost snapped that no one asked him, that Aza could hold her own. Aza probably could, but at the same time, Evabelle agreed.

Calandra grunted. "Unfortunately, I was thinking the same thing. Del is getting restless. We've already moved him down to the couch, so he doesn't have to spend any more time in bed. But he still needs help."

"Jamie can help him," Evabelle said softly. She felt bad leaving the kid to take care of the brooder, but she could see Aza's exclamation already at the idea of her being left behind.

"Jamie's at Kalas Hem," Calandra shook her head. "Shaundee took him back to help him recover any memories, to help figure out who he is. She figured it'd be safer and easier for them to research away from us."

That was true.

"We're going to have to search for them in tunnels. We don't know how many tunnels." Evabelle sat down too. "I was thinking we would split up and search."

"But everyone should have a partner." Calandra put in. "No one should be alone in this."

"But there's only three of us."

There was a silence in the room that was filled with the sound of Raoul munching away.

The two ladies turned to the man. He smirked at them. "Okay,"

"What?" Calandra stared.

"On one condition," his eyes slipped onto Evabelle. "You stab your friend."

"Pardon?!" Calandra's voice jumped.

But Evabelle understood. "You want me to be the one to hurt CJ, when we see him."

"We may not be the ones to see him, but if we do, you're going to save him by hurting him." Raoul nodded. "I'll be your partner on this mission, princess, and this is where you prove to me that you're all in. You're not so naive as to believe that you can win a war without getting your hands dirty." He reached down to his hip and pulled out a cold steel dagger and held it out to her. "And if he's going to be cutting his bond, you're probably gonna' want to give him the knife."

* * * * *

Aza was frustrated with her situation. She didn't react the way Evabelle thought she would, though. She definitely wasn't happy about not going, but she didn't throw a fit as the darker girl had expected.

The small blonde sat with her arms crossed in a seat next to Del, who lay on the couch in the living room. His back was to them all. A blanket covered up his wings. He hadn't said much since the incident, but now he seemed more peeved that he wasn't being involved either.

"You get them back, okay," Aza said, stiffly.

"Of course," Evabelle gave Aza's shoulder a squeeze, then she went over to Del. She leaned over him and whispered softly. "I'm going to get him back too."

Del didn't say anything, but his eyes were open, so she knew he was awake.

Evabelle rocked back and was about to go out to the entry where Calandra had the portal ready. Faux opened the door and stepped in before she could head out and she watched him go over to Aza and hand her a small wooden box. He murmured something in her ear and then straightened up and strode back to Evabelle. He draped an arm over her shoulder. "Come, my sweet, the battle awaits us," he turned over his shoulder. "Now don't get into anything naughty, you two."

Aza jumped up. "And what's that supposed to mean?" Her cheeks flushed and Evabelle almost laughed. Seeing Aza embarrassed was always a sight to behold.

Faux and Evabelle left them and found Calandra and Raoul waiting. "Are you ready?" The mage asked.

With a handful of Faux's feathers in her pocket and the vivi coffee burning her blood, she was beyond ready to face all the armies of the underworld to get her brother back. Evabelle gave and affirmative nod. "Let's do this,"

~(A/N: Whoo! Now this was a fun one! I have to confess my favorite part of writing this chapter was Lucis's point of view. It's been so long since we've seen through his eyes. And now you all know why. Lucis is the very first perspective in book one, and he had very few pov's after that. Of all four leads (I consider them to be Evabelle, Lucis, Del, and Aza) he has the least amount of pov. But now you know it was for spoilery reasons. If I had too much it would give it away. But now, you know the secret, and it was so exciting for me to write out what's going on in his head. You can see his real struggle with himself. You see just how utterly broken he is. Please let me know what you thought of that, and what you think is going to happen to him.

And poor Del. He's taken so many hits lately. He really needs a break. But hey, at least he's alive and he has both wings! But how does he feel about his brother now...?

We finally got to know what's going on with Tru a little bit! I've done her and a few other characters, a real injustice. She's always been a part of this story, there's just been so much going on, so she kind of just disappeared completely. I need to mention her more in the rewrites, but yes she's still around. She's turning into an Annihilator, but she's also helping them. SHE FOUND WHERE THOM AND CJ ARE!! YAY!!! FINALLY!!!!! It's been so hard for the others having no idea where they were, but finally we know and finally they're off to save them. It's risky, but it's riskier to wait, so we'll have to see how it all goes down.

I'll tell you right now, the next chapter is the climax! Guys, we're finally almost done with Demon Heart!! AAAAHH!!!! This is AmAzInG!!!!!! There are only two more chapters!! We've got the climax and our rundown chapter, so be prepared guys!

As always please tell me all of your thoughts on this chapter! I love love love comments!! :D

Quick side note: Due to my family and I heading out on vacation today, I won't be able to write as much as I have been lately, for the next few days. I wrote this chapter instead of chapter 2 of The Fate's Chosen because I was on a role with this, but I'd still like to get that up. I'll still do my best to write while away, but I warn you that chapter 2 will probably be up a little late. I'll also work on the next chapter of this as well, so I'll hopefully be able to get that up on time. *crosses fingers*

***CHALLENGE TIME***

If you've noticed, my friends, I've said the word "finally" so many times in this author note. I'll tell you that it's because the next chapter is literally called "FINALLY" So the challenge is a prediction question.

What do you guys think is "FINALLY" going to happen in this next chapter!?!?! ;)        

(There's actually several correct answers to this, but since this is a question about what 'you' think, there's not really any wrong answers either.)

I can't wait! The next chapters have me buzzing! I hope you're excited too!! I love you all!!! See ya, soon! :D)~