After years of never remembering a single dream, and a large blank space in her memory before the age of seven, Evabelle finally had a dream that she remembered.  It was that very night after talking to Lucis that she had that dream.  That dream she would remember as her first dream that was far more like a nightmare.  A nightmare of blood and death.

            It began with music.  She was in a room full of people, laughing and dancing.  Evabelle turned this way and that, but for some reason, none of their faces were clear.  Evabelle tried to stop someone to ask if they knew where her friends were, but they all ignored her and kept to their party.  Distantly, Evabelle recognized the familiar piano, she always heard before going to sleep.  She made her way through the crowd, to the source, and as she suspected, it was the piano.  At the piano sat a man with dark hair and a dark beard.  He actually had a recognizable face.  It was Velrose.  He played the piano and laughed.  It was so strange.  He had seemed like such a strict man.  Beside the piano was a woman with one of the most beautiful voices, Evabelle had ever heard.  In shock she realized that it was Shaundee.  Calandra's mother was leaning over the piano, grinning at her husband, who returned the smile.  There was love in their gazes, and Evabelle wondered how, those two had fallen away from each other.

            Suddenly another stunning sound rung in Evabelle's ears.  She whirled to see something amazing.  Calandra had the perfect body, the perfect face, at least that's what Evabelle had always seen.  But now it was perfect.  Calandra was twirling around in a dress of shimmery material.  The mage's eyes were alight and her smile was dazzling.  Evabelle had never seen her happy, at least not like this.  Once again, the mage laughed as she danced to her parent's song.  And Evabelle herself, couldn't help, but feel the joy that poured from the room.

            But it only lasted a few moments.  Suddenly a chill swirled through the room, making everyone's laughter fade.  Evabelle turned and saw Shaundee push herself away from the piano and start making her way through the crowd towards the door.  Nobody stopped her.  No one even gave her a second glance.  But at each step that she took, the music grew slower, and sadder.  Evabelle turned to see Calandra.  The mage had stopped dancing, and appeared to be the only one staring after her mother.  "Mom?"  Her voice held fear, but Evabelle didn't understand.  Wouldn't she come back?  Perhaps it was the music, or the look of pain in Calandra's eyes, but Evabelle realized that Shaundee was not just leaving the room.

            Once the door shut on Calandra's mother, the entire party vanished, and there was no music.  Evabelle whirled in a circle, but no one was left, except herself and Calandra, who continued to stare at the door.  Evabelle had never seen the mage cry, and even then, she did not, but her eyes spoke saying, that on the inside, there was nothing.  Evabelle felt tears leak down her cheeks.  She opened her mouth to say something to the mage, but before she could get the words out, the floor dropped out from beneath both of them, and they fell into darkness.

            Evabelle's scream was wrenched from her.  She could see nothing, and hear nothing.  She had no idea if Calandra was still with her, but there was some moment that Evabelle realized that she was no longer falling.  Evabelle blinked in surprise and rose to her feet.  For a moment she felt like she was back in the mirror room.  The walls, the ceiling, the floor was all mirrors, but Evabelle did not see her reflection.  She turned and saw Calandra, once more, standing in the center of the room, but the mirrors did not reflect her either.  There was a figure in each mirror.  It was all the same person.  All of them had the same coppery hair, the same cold smile, and the same eyes that had belonged to Evabelle's friend.  Etheldreda.

            The girl, so young, compared to Calandra, leered out at her.  "My dear sister, look what you have helped to create."

            Evabelle saw Calandra close her eyes, as the witch in the mirror began to laugh.  The laugh echoed throughout the room, growing louder and louder, until Evabelle had to cover her ears. 

            Calandra did nothing but stand there as the room began to tremble.  Suddenly the mirrors began to shatter and explode into deadly shards. 

            Evabelle screamed and fell to her knees as the room fell to pieces.  All the while, Calandra, stood her ground, until one of those large sharp fragments pierced, straight through her chest.  Evabelle could not hear her own voice as she shrieked for the mage, who fell, blood spreading across the glass covered ground.

            Darkness spread over Evabelle's vision, but Evabelle could not pass out.  She had to get to Calandra.  But before she could even fight unconsciousness, the feeling faded.  Evabelle uncovered her ears and stared.  She was still in a dark room.  There was still glass all across the floor.  And there was still blood pooling around a body.

            Evabelle slowly stood, and saw that it was not Calandra.  It was Faux.  He lay on the ground, his eyes closed, pain contorting his face, as his back and wings bled from the glass he lay in.  Evabelle took a step toward him, about to call his name, but then realized she could not get closer.  There was a wall surrounding him, made of silver flowers.  Evabelle stared past Faux to see a small blonde girl, placing more charms on the chain that swirled around the two of them.  Aza.

            Evabelle tried to shout her for her friend, but for some reason, her words could not make it past her lips.  There were whispers that seemed to come from every direction.  "Cursed.  That's what you are.  You are cursed.  All of this has happened because of you.  Because of you, she's dead.  Because of you, the world will burn."

            Neither Aza, nor Faux reacted to the words, but they just kept repeating, over and over, filling Evabelle's mind.  She shook herself and stared at her friend.  Aza's expression was blank, almost dead.  It terrified Evabelle.  She began to pull at the chain of flowers that surrounded her friends.  But suddenly scalding pain shot through Evabelle's arms and she lurched back as the wall burst into flames.  Evabelle had her voice enough to scream again as she watch the fire spread to the two in the circle, engulfing them in the fire.  Neither one of them fought, or cried.  They did something far worse.  Both of their faces relaxed.  Both of them smiled as they died.

            "NO! NO! NOOOO!"  Evabelle bawled tears running down her face.  "AZA!"  She sobbed.  The fire was now a blurry flickering image that seemed to be getting further and further away until she was once again in darkness.

            Evabelle did her best to wipe away the never-ending tears, or at least enough that she could see the new room that was no longer littered with broken glass, but it was covered in a lot more blood.  The terrible stuff was everywhere.  The smell of fire was quickly submerged beneath the overpowering smell of metal and death.  Evabelle nearly gagged as she covered her mouth and nose.  She peered through watering eyes up at a highly decorated chair where an extremely pale man sat, more like struggled under the hands that pinned him there.

            Evabelle tried to run to Kai, but slipped on the blood covering the ground.

            Kai was screaming, the red blood was dripping down from his parted lips, staining the front of his shirt, but the horrible shadowy men that held Kai down, forced another human to him, at which, Kai's eyes rolled and turned as red as the blood that they were all drowning in.  Then the long fangs pierced the man and drank, until there was nothing left, but a bloodless corpse.  The men threw the body aside and sent for another.

            "Enough!"  Kai squirmed.  "I've had enough!"

            A dark chuckle sounded, and Evabelle, still sitting in the pool of blood felt goose bumps rise all across her body.  A man in black fur cape, and dark hair with a strange lilac sheen stepped out from around the throne.  Evabelle instantly recognized him as a vampire. The monster grinned, flashing his sharp, deadly fangs.  "That's where you're wrong."  He crooned.  "You will never have enough."

            The shadow men pushed another being forward, and Evabelle instantly recognized the small figure to be Gem.

            "NO!"  Kai cried, and struggled against his captors.

            Evabelle pushed herself to her feet, but she had barely taken two steps before she found herself, once more in the ruby lake.  Some of it splattered into her mouth, and she actually did feel bile rise into her throat at the bitter, salty taste.

            The shadows pushed the small blind elf forward.  "Kai?"  She didn't sound afraid, only slightly confused.  "Kai, what's happening?"

            "No, I won't do it!"  Kai kicked and wrestled.  "I won't!  I won't!  I WON'T!"  He whipped his head toward the dark vampire.  "This is your fault!"  He said through gritted teeth.

            The vampire continued smiling.  "No, wrong again.  This is your fault.  It always has been."

            Evabelle stared in shock as Kai arched back, tears of blood adding to it on his face, as his eyes flared scarlet, and his fangs pierced his sister's neck.

            Evabelle closed her eyes and let her tears run anew.  Make it stop.  She thought.  Please, please, please make it stop.

An icy tendril wrapped itself around her, making her shiver violently before flinging her burning eyes open. It was still dark, the blood was dried into the old stained stonework. The metal bars in front of the girl burned so cold, that she withdrew her fingers that she had no memory of wrapping them around. That's when she saw a husk of a boy crumpled to his knees. He was bone thin. His clothes and skin were also blotted with dry blood, that had turned brown like his matted hair that hung limply over his eyes that were covered by broken glasses. His harsh rattling breath was visible in the freezing cell that held no windows, only this wall of bars that separated Evabelle from him.

After the girl had just removed her hands she found them returning to the frostbitten metal. "CJ!" She shouted. It was like some sort of sick game that was impossible for her to win, yet she had to try. "CJ! It's me! I'm here!"

She didn't expect him to look. She'd tossed the dice several times now, but to her astonishment, CJ's hanging head twitched at her voice.

Evabelle's heart leapt right before it was bashed again.

"No, you don't," Crooned another voice right as CJ's head jerked up, his hands flinging up to claw as his throat where a thin almost transparent chain had wrapped itself around it. The clouds of air that had risen from his lips were snatched away and the boy writhed before a tiny red-headed girl.

"Sophie!" Evabelle banged her fist against the cage as the witch's hands coiled around the chain at CJ's neck, pulling it tauter. "Sophie, stop please!"

"You are my dog," Sophie hissed in CJ's gasping face. "Your useless ass belongs to me. I mean you were never anything before anyway. What do you think you would be if you weren't mine?"

CJ's eyes cracked open and he tears leaked out the corners as he stared into Sophie's. His hands fell to his sides and he let the terrible woman continued to strangle him.

"NO!" And again, even though, Evabelle had figured out how this all went she still screamed. "No! Don't stop fighting! I'm here, CJ! I'm right here! I'll get you out, but don't stop--"

CJ swerved his neck around and stared directly at Evabelle. Her heart quaked as the bars vanished, and in surprise, she stumbled in. Catching herself, she bolted forward. Sophie looked up in shock, but it wasn't Sophie anymore. It was Etheldreda's eyes that widened when Evabelle charged in between the two of them, her body collapsing right on top of the translucent chain, shattering it in one enormous bang.

Etheldreda shrieked and Evabelle squinted through the glistening fragments and thought she saw the faint shine of a similar fetter around the witch's neck.

CJ screamed too and Evabelle's attention was instantly averted. She turned as saw his body in a haphazard heap, a ways from her. She leapt up and ran to his side. Lifting his limp body in her arms, she stared horrified down at his vacant eyes.

"She was right," his slack jawed mouth muttered, before his eyes lost the last fragment of light.

It was just a blink the coldness evaporated along with the boy in Evabelle's arms. When she opened her eyes again, she was in a new room. A room, much like the one before, with no windows, and no doors. A room that had nothing but plain white flooring on the ground.

There was no stone. There was no glass. There were no chains. There was no blood. There was only a chair and a black winged boy sitting in it.

Evabellealready felt completely hopeless, so even though, this time there were no wallsand no bars, she was unsurprised by the fact that she couldn't move. She could not speak to the sobbing young man in the chair.  "I hate this!"  Del shouted, his head in his hands.  "Make it stop!  Make these things stop!  Please!  I don't want to see them anymore!  PLEASE!"  He shrieked and curled forward, his shoulders, shuddering as he moaned.  He shook his head and said again.  "I hate this!  I hate being this!  I hate being hated!  I just want...I j-just w-want..."  His voice had never sounded so broken.  "I just want...someone...t-to...."

            "I love you."

            It was not Evabelle who spoke, but she did find enough strength to turn her head and see the one who did.  A humongous, scaly snake slithered into the room from the shadows, rising so that it towered over Evabelle, sending shivers down her spine, noting the three inch long fangs protruding from its mouth.  "I love you."  The long, legless animal repeated.

            Del looked up from his hands, his face drenched in tears.  His violet eyes were wide.  "You do?"  He whispered.  "But my father is Averno.  But I'm the Oracle that they all think was trained by him.  But even him, even my own father calls me weak.  They call me mad.  I..."

            "I love you."  The snake repeated.

            And Evabelle watched, feeling dismayed as she saw Del's eyes glow with relief, as he stretched out an arm to the creature.

            No! Evabelle thought, already seeing where this was going.  She's lying to you!  Can't you see that!

            But Del was so obviously blinded.  "If you love me, then stay with me."  He whispered.

            The snake slithered passed Evabelle and toward the outstretched hand.  Then the she-demon began to coil itself around Del from his leg, up around his arms, and to his neck.  Del seemed oblivious to what was happening.  He just kept smiling, and gazing at the snake.  "Thank you," he said.  "For loving me."

            "I love you."  The snake hissed one last time, before sinking it's fangs into Del's exposed neck.

            Evabelle sobbed, and tried to turn away, as the blood poured down once more.  But her body refused to obey.  The blood pooled onto the floor around her feet.  She stared as she saw so many things in the blood as though it were a reflecting pool.  For some reason Evabelle knew these were the visions of the Oracle.  She saw Annihilators swooping down on cities.  She saw vampires taking the lives of children.  She saw werewolves tearing people to bits without a second thought.  She saw Averno laughing.  And for one moment she saw herself, with great golden wings, before the viper's poison blurred the images to nothing.

            Evabelle looked back at Del, who was long since dead.  Evabelle was so tired of crying, but the tears just kept flooding from her eyes.  All this madness is what he saw.  And his words.  I hate being hated!  Finally Evabelle could move.  She stretched out a hand to the dead Anahalian, just as he faded away into another landscape.

            I'm done.  Evabelle thought.  I'm done.  Just let this be over.  But somehow she knew there was still one more.

            Gray clouds hung in the sky, Evabelle looked up, surprised to see that she was outside.  Once again she was surrounded by faceless people.  They weren't dancing.  They were rushing around in the streets, paying her no mind.

            Evabelle's eyes raked through the crowd.  Where was he?  She knew he was here.  Then her eyes found him, the only clear face.  Evabelle instantly began to shove toward him.  She had lost everyone else, but she would not lose him.

            As Evabelle pushed through the crowd, she heard someone call out.  "Monster!  That's what you are!"

            The tall, kind, Anahalian did not appear to hear him, but Evabelle, gasped as she saw a deep slash, slice itself across his cheek.  And what came dripping down, was not what Evabelle expected.  After all the red, it was a shock to see black drip down from Lucis's face.  It was still blood, but it was black.  Black blood.

            "Murderer!"  A woman screeched, from what direction, Evabelle did not know.

            A second slash, scraped downward on Lucis making a cross on his face.

            Evabelle began to shove harder, but she felt as if she were getting no closer to him, and the insults began to build. 

            "Go to Hell!  It's where you belong, demon!"

            "Why do you even pretend to be something good!"

            "Stop lying to yourself, fiend!"

            Each time someone shouted, another wound was made on Lucis, some deeper than others.  Black blood poured down from both arms, and legs.  His face was dripping blood.  And yet his eyes still shone happily as he offered to help one of the faceless strangers.

            The unknown man smacked Lucis away.  "Don't touch me!"  He screeched, and a deep wound slashed across his chest, drenching his shirt in the foul black liquid.

            "LUCIS!"  Evabelle screamed, standing on tiptoe to see over the crowd.  But he never told them to stop.  He never told them they were hurting him.  He just kept smiling, like he always did.  But he was dying.  It was killing him.  Evabelle saw the weariness in his eyes, that he could no longer hide.  "LUCIS!  PLEASE!"  Evabelle sobbed.

            "You're just like him!  You're just like your father!  He made you to be just like him!"  One last voice shouted, and Evabelle watched her friend's eye's roll into the back of his head and fall.

            Evabelle pushed through, at that moment, finally reaching him, but of course it was too late.  She fell to her knees beside him and slowly reached out to brush away his blonde hair, that was stained black, away from his face.  Her tears were silent this time.

            Footsteps sounded and Evabelle looked up to see the man with demon tattoos and black batwings step into the light.  He stood over Lucis, a cold grin making Evabelle's heart go still.  He spoke the same words he had said to Evabelle back at Etheldreda's.  "He is my son."

            Evabelle finally allowed herself to pass out.  Maybe when she woke, she would forget, like she always did.  This nightmare would be forgotten right? 

            She was wrong.

            Finally her eyes fluttered open to broad daylight.  She blinked in surprise.  She lay on a pale gray stone floor.  Light was flooding in from everywhere.  Evabelle was fairly certain she had not fallen asleep here.  The place, for one horrifying moment, reminded her of Etheldreda's castle.  But the stone was different.  The light that shone in from the sheer curtains were definitely opposing to the dark, nearly windowless place owned by the witch.

            Evabelle pushed herself to her feet.  The images of all her bloodied friends were still ingrained into her mind.  She did her best to push them aside.  I have to pull myself together.  Slowly, Evabelle examined the room, taking in the emptiness of the small space.  It did not feel confining, but it was rather bare. 

            There was a door that Evabelle decided to go to.  Throwing it open, revealed a tall spiraling staircase.  She began to ascend, praying that whatever was at the top, would be something good, and not make her want to cry.

            It seemed to go on for some time, but Evabelle did finally reach a peak.  It was a castle that overlooked a vast city.  There were green and mauve trees.  There were houses, some modern, some old-fashioned from any era.  There was a mountain range a ways off that had a rather odd shape, curving in upon itself.  There were shining rings glimmering over everything, and Evabelle watched in amazement as a young girl with beautiful brown speckled wings, soared up and through the floating hoops, and as two boys followed suit, chasing the laughing girl through the sky.

            Evabelle stepped forward to get a better look, and that was when she saw him.  She did not know how she could have missed him.  The man leaning forward on the wall just in front of Evabelle.  Dark brown waving hair fell around his ears.  He wore nothing fancy, just a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, as he stared over the scene as well.  But what Evabelle was really staring at was the large pair of shining gold wings that sprouted from his back.

            Evabelle made a surprised squeak, and the man turned, his honey brown eyes landing on her.  Once there gazes met, those identical eyes to her own, filled with tears and a smile grew on his face.  "Evabelle, oh how long it's been."  The man whispered.  He cleared his throat and wiped the tears from his eyes.  Then he outstretched a large forearm to her, his expression lit with a giddy sort of excitement.  "So, you've finally decided to remember."      

~(A/N: *Porky Pig bursts through the screen* "And th-th-th-that's all folks!" Well, at least for book one! I hope you liked it!! Please tell me what you thought of it as a whole! Was it good? Did it drag too much in the middle? Please tell me everything!!!!

*Okay this challenge is for me and my improvement. I really want you to tell me three things that I really need to work on. I know I'm not a perfect writer, so don't just say that I am. Tell me if my characters are lacking or if the world itself doesn't feel real enough. Tell me if my word flow is off, or if I use the same word or phrase way too much. PLEASE tell me where I'm struggling so I can work to become better!! (And it would be super nice if you guys could tell me where you think my strengths are too ;b)

*Bonus Challenge! If you guys have any songs that make you think of this story or it's characters, please let me know! I'm putting together a playlist for this book that I'll post sometime this week! I've already had a few people mention a song or two, and I must say thank you so much!! They're amazing songs and will most certainly be going on the list!

And last but not least I must say thank you again to all of you wonderful people who read this! You guys are absolutely amazing!!! I love you guys!!!! :D )~