"So." Adrian leaned onto the back of the couch, contorting his face into a conversational smile. "What can you tell me about Master Dark?"

The cultist lounging there regarded him with a disdainful eye. "Well, newbie, if you stuck with the initiation program, maybe you'd know."

"We're on break right now."

"I don't want to talk to you. Go away."

Unwilling to push his luck, Adrian withdrew into the shadows in the corner. He leaned against the wall, contemplating his next move. That evening, he'd have his first meeting with an agent from the angels--even though he'd gotten plenty of information already, a little more wouldn't hurt.

"Can I help you?"

Adrian flinched, bumping his head on the wall, and spun around to face Gale, smirking at his surprise.

"Ah--hello, Miss Gale."

"It's funny how I keep running into you, Erik."
"Um...yeah."

"So...is there something you need to know?"

"Oh...yes." Adrian slid to the left so he wasn't completely cornered. "I was just asking about Master Dark. Everybody mentions him so much, but I don't have any concrete details. I'm just a bit curious, I suppose."

"Well--I've got good news for you, then," said Gale, smiling. "You'll be taught about Master Dark tomorrow!"

"Oh...that's nice." Adrian took a few steps back, ready to exit the conversation. "I can't wait."
"You've been listening carefully to the classes, right?" Gale stepped forward, closing the distance between them.
"Yeah." Adrian moved backward again. "Well, then, I must be going..."

But Gale pressed onward, gray eyes so piercing it seemed they could see right through him. She stared at him like she was searching his soul for treachery, a sensation that sent chills up his spin. "If I may ask, Erik, what do you think of our organization?"

"It's...much nicer than I imagined." Adrian spoke slowly, choosing each word carefully. "Everybody's so kind...it feels a bit like a second home."

"Jax would be glad to hear that," said Gale. Her eyes gleamed as she asked, voice light, "Could you tell me what drove you to us in the first place?"

Adrian crossed his arms--anything between him and Gale helped. "Actually, I'd rather not. It's not something I like talking about. But, Miss Gale, if you'd tell me why you joined, I'd feel more comfortable sharing."

Gale's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Guess we're at an impasse, then. I guess I'll let you run--you seem pretty fidgety. Have a good evening, Erik."

"You too."

With a barely suppressed sigh of relief, Adrian turned and hurried from the room. Gale seemed to be lurking in the shadows wherever he went, ready to swoop in and intercept his conversations. She always had that same piercing stare, leading him to dread their conversations, yet she was also more than willing to divulge information. He appreciated her as an information source, but it was becoming frustrating to have her jump out everytime he attempted to explore on his own.

Making sure Gale wasn't following him, Adrian let the door swing shut behind him and hurried out of the mansion. He'd been instructed to go to a certain spot at a certain time; apparently, the spot had been planted with an enchanted marker around the time the heirs had been sent to earth, in case they needed a quick way to find the location.

The spot was unremarkable, a small clearing in the forest by the city. After taking a winding path to the meeting spot, Adrian leaned against the tree and waited. He wasn't entirely sure how the angels would contact him; it would be incredibly dangerous for one to physically meet him.

His wondering was soon answered, as the the air in front of him shimmered and glowed, strikingly bright in the gloomy forest. The light wavered, then twisted and created a clear silhouette. Features emerged, and, in about thirty seconds, Adrian was standing in front of the glowing form of an angel.

She was a young woman with melancholy gray eyes. Blond hair, glowing brightly, fell past her shoulders. Her gaze instantly fell upon Adrian.

"You are...?" she asked with an edge of caution.

"Adrian Kuhn. Your human spy."

"Of course." The woman bowed. "I'm Alina Tawn. Heir to the throne. Perhaps you've heard of me...?"

"In passing. It's nice to meet you." Adrian held out his hand.

The corner of Alina's mouth slid upward. "Sorry, I can't shake." She swung her hand at Adrian's; it slid through his hand with no resistance or feeling. "I'm merely an apparition. My body is safe in the palace."

"A clever way to avoid danger," commented Adrian, withdrawing his hand. "I suppose nobody was willing to descend to earth to talk to me in person." The remark came out more cutting than he'd intended.

Alina's eyes grew wide. "I--I apologize. We've put you in such a dangerous situation, yet you benefit nothing from it. You've been forced to risk your life for a people you previously knew nothing about. I just want to let you know that your actions put forever in debt to you. We cannot appreciate more what you're doing for us."

"I--it's fine," murmured Adrian. Apart from the occasional surge of disbelief, he'd dismissed most of his bitterness at his situation--if he'd ever felt much initially. There was no time to dwell on the past. He'd committed to this. All he had to do was concentrate on the current task.

Alina nodded. "Again thank you. Now, as for what you've learned. Just so you know, I'm fully informed of the events leading up to my retrieval, as well as what transpired while I was gone. Don't worry about explaining these things to me--concentrate on your new discoveries."
"Of course," said Adrian. "Well, firstly--there is an organization. It's dedicated to the downfall of the angels."

"Delightful."

"The organization is large--the base I'm involved with has several hundred members."

"H-hundreds?" echoed Alina. Through her eyes shone with alarm, her face stayed calm. "I--I see."

A trace of pity pricked at Adrian's heart. "I'm sorry--there's more. That's just one of the organizations. There's four more, about as large or larger than the one here."

"There's five?!" Alina ran her fingers through her hair. "Goodness. Goodness." She closed her eyes and muttered under her breath. "Say...three hundred times five...that's--" She shook her head. "No. This...you're sure of this?"

"Quite sure."
"I...I see," sighed Alina, shoulders slumping. "Apparently, their numbers are far greater than we feared. What...what else can you tell be about the organization?"

"Each of the five bases is run by an elite," said Adrian. "They have full control over the workings of the base. Each of the elites has two sub-elites who help carry out more minor duties. The sub-elites don't have any direct subordinates--they mostly carry out their duties themselves, and sometimes have trusted normal cultists assist them.

"Overseeing the whole operation is the head of the organization, who calls himself, 'Master Dark.' He travels from base to base to check up on the elites. I still haven't met him, but based on what I've heard, it seems pretty likely that he's your killer."

"Do they discuss his powers?" asked Alina, leaning forward.

"Frequently."

Alina's eyebrows raised. "Really, now?"

"Though the source of them are hotly debated," said Adrian, "there's little doubt he has magic. There's a number of enchanted tools used by the organization--they say Dark enchanted them. Whenever I pick one up, the tool and the protective beads Astin gave me become hot."

"That would mean they're working," confirmed Alina. "So, how do they say Dark came across his magic?"

"Some say he steals his magical power from the angels he steals. But--"
"Impossible," cut in Alina. "Not even us angels can transfer power, let alone a human."

"...well, as I was saying, most take Dark's explanation to be the truth. They say his parents were murdered by angels, and his desire for vengeance manifested in the form of magic."

Alina scoffed. "Slim chance. Magic doesn't just appear."

"Maybe. Others say that Dark himself is an angel."

Alina nodded. "That's more likely."

"I thought so too," agreed Adrian. "But then, the question is 'why?' Why would an angel want so badly to topple their own civilization? Why would he be on earth?"

"Hm." Alina tilted her head and frowned. "That's the issue. We have no good reason. It's rare that anyone leaves the city for good, let alone to go to Earth."

"Don't you have records on emigration?"

"As a matter of fact," said Alina, a bit proudly, "we do. Records for the entire kingdom, not just the capital. We don't have many leads, though. The Sidereus family hasn't moved for generations. Currently, they're the only family with dark magic."

"How about in the past?"

Alina nodded. "A possible lead. There was another family--a small one--with a few members that possessed the magic. The Tenebris family. But then there was a conflict in a neighboring kingdom, and they took it upon themselves to interfere."

"Sounds like you don't approve of the decision."

"Few did, I hear," replied Alina. "We generally don't get involved in others' business. But the Tenebris did. So they set off--with an escort--and we never heard from them again. The other kingdom said they died."

"Survivors, perhaps?"

Alina shrugged. "Unlikely. This was a couple centuries ago, mind you--if someone survived and passed on the dark magic, we would've caught wind of them. After we confirmed that the killer--"

"Dark--"

"Dark," said Alina shortly, "uses dark magic, we sent out scouts to every corner of the kingdom and beyond to search for a sign of the family. We've come up empty handed."

"Could Dark just be using a powerful enchanted weapon."

"At least, I can definitely say no to that," said Alina. "Both Astin and Saros say that they sensed magic from within Dark. He possesses magic. He somehow made it to our city."

"How do you do that, anyway. Do you fly there?"

Alina shook her head. "Flying is too difficult. Too far and too high. Only the most powerful fliers can even hope to get close. We have a system--a collection of ports enchanted with a special blend of teleportation, dark, and an individual's magic. It's far easier to sense your own magic, so in order to access the port from anywhere, we have to enchant a port first. Only then is it possible to return to the city. Unless Dark som

"And that's not even the biggest reason against it," continued Alina, growing more adamant. "It's easy to leave our city, but near impossible for an outsider to get there. To get to our city, you either fly--which is near impossible, may I add, because it's difficult to find the city, and even more difficult to have enough strength to make the trip. The only other way to is teleport--we have a number of enchanted ports that any angel can grasp onto--even if their magic isn't transport-based--and utilize from great distances to instantly teleport themself to the city.

"That's the only way Dark could've made it to our city, but he couldn't have used the ports, because you have to partially enchant it to make it usable--it's easiest to hook onto your own magical power. But enchanting is a close-range spell. Dark would've had to start out in our city to be able to come back, and he know from the records that he didn't, so he can't be an angel."
"But how did he ever get to the city at all?"

"Agh!" Alina scowled in frustration. "That's the issue!"
"Could he have forced an exile to bring him there?"
After taking a few deep breaths, Alina was a bit more composed. "Fortunately, we can rule that out. We destroy the ports of our exiles. There's no way for them to return to the city. Really, the only way I can think of..." Alina dropped her voice, glancing around as if even saying it was wrong. "...the only way he could get to the city was if there's a traitor helping him."

Adrian paused, contemplating the possibility. "It does seem the most likely. Do you have any leads?"

"Unfortunately," said Alina, a bit crossly, "no. Really, the only suspects we have are the Ignis family and the Sidereus family, but Lady Ignis freaks out whenever we hint at suspecting her family, and Captain Sidereus is...reluctant to investigate his family. I think he's scared somebody related to him actually is a traitor."

Adrian nodded, recalling Blaise's anger at the meeting. "But can't you check the records--"

"Stupid records," muttered Alina, crossing her arms. "No. there's nothing. Just exiles. People don't usually leave the city."

"Then they snuck out."

"Security is tight," said Alina, "but that's the only possibility." She began to pace back and forth, glowing form leaving a faint trail of light behind her. Her face, scrunched up in deep thought, sent a small pang of guilt through Adrian. He'd have to be the bearer of bad news.

"Dark," Adrian said slowly, "isn't the only one with magic."

Alina stopped in her tracks and stared at Adrian blankly. "Say again?"

"There's another one," said Adrian. "With magic."

Alina strode up to Adrian and ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay. Maybe--maybe this can clear things up. Tell me about them."

"He's a higher-up in the organization," said Adrian. "He's called Malias Lamki. I haven't met him, only heard of him. Apparently, he's quite young, and Dark picked him up in a small village. They say he wields fire magic, and he's the source of all our enchanted weapons. They also say he's human." Adrian drew the dagger from his jacket and held it out for Alina to see.

Alina's eyebrows flicked up. "What's this?"

"The enchanted weapon. Everyone gets one just like this, while some of the higher-ups and more skilled magic users get more advanced weapons. It's got fire magic."

Alina leaned in to examine the dagger, so close that her forehead clipped through the tip. "Can you use it?"

Adrian's hand twitched. "...y-yeah." He swallowed his unease and lifted up the dagger, reaching for the spark of energy within it. He clutched the dagger tightly, afraid his clammy fingers might lose their grip. A few flames leapt from the blade, dancing in the air before winking out of existence. One drifted right through Alina's head. Adrian recoiled from the fire, heart in his throat, and stuffed the dagger back in his jacket.

Alina regraded him with an expression of half-confusion, half-sympathy. "Well...it's magic. That's for sure. Do you have any more info on this Malias?"

"Unfortunately, that's all." Adrian kept his face flat, struggling to bury the small bits of panic welling up inside him.

Alina crossed her arms. "This definitely puts suspicion on the Ignis family. Ugh"--she scowled and bit her lip--"Lady Ignis is going to flip if she hears this."

"Could it be multiple angels?" offered Adrian. For some reason, the thought of Blaise being under suspicion troubled him. "An exile that's helping with the magic, and another that's acting as Dark's transport."

"Possibly," said Alina. Her foot tapped, as if she was longing to pace again. "Right now, there's just too many possibilities and too little information. But--today's been very helpful." Her head ducked in a shallow bow. "Thank you again, Adrian. My kingdom is grateful for your bravery."

Bravery. Adrian almost scoffed. "...right. There's...there's one more thing."

Alina's gaze darted up to him, eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me there's more."

"No. Just a question." A question that had been lurking at the edge of his mind for the entire conversation, a question that had arisen due to some subconscious working deep in his mind. Why it had ever occurred to him was beyond Adrian, but he definitely couldn't let this conversation end without asking. Or, at least, that's what his subconscious said. "How...how is everybody? Brook, and Blaise...and Delta."

"Oh?" Alina tilted her head.

"Wh-what's the surprise for?" A bit of heat touched Adrian's cheeks, a violently unfamiliar sensation. Why am I embarrassed? Don't I have the right to ask about the well-being of my...Friends? Was that the word?

"Um, nothing." Alina quickly shook her head, as if she was discarding her previous response. "It's just that...Delta gave me the sense that you didn't really care about them. I don't really know Lady Ignis, so I can't speak for her, but Brook was really excited when I told her I was meeting you...she's probably waiting for me to finish right now, so she can ask about how you're doing/ But Delta said that whenever you talked, you seemed really interested in what she had to say, and you didn't really care about anyone. So I just figured you wouldn't ask."

Delta's right. I don't care. Or didn't. Or--Adrian bit his lip. What am I doing? A miniature storm roared in his head, and he couldn't make out any coherent thoughts in the whirlwind of water and wind and light. Clumsily, he forced out, "I asked."

Alina frowned at his response, but continued. "Brook--actually, she's doing really well. Better than anyone expected. Walking around. Morale is high. She's trying her best to recover quickly and adjust to her injuries--it's really impressive. Honestly, I think she's recovered from it faster than I have. It was sort of a shock, coming back and seeing her like that."

"...I'm sorry."

"Excuse me?"
"I--" Adrian stopped himself. Thunder roared in his head. The words had slipped out, smooth and seamless as water running down the road. "N-nothing. It's a relief to hear she's doing better. How about Blaise?"

"Blaise and I don't really talk," said Alina, "but she seems well. Chipper. Annoying so, sometimes. I hear she had a breakdown a few days ago and railed at Captain Sidereus."

"She--what?" Had Blaise's frustrations toward the council reached a breaking point?

"I don't know what it was about," said Alina. "I'd have to ask Delta. Blaise is plenty friendly, but Lady Tor and Delta are the only ones she really confides in."

At first, Adrian wondered if he'd misheard. "...Delta?"

"Yeah. She and Blaise are really chummy these days."

"Delta." Cold Delta, distant Delta. Delta that only cared for and about Brook.

"I was surprised too," agreed Alina, eyes lighting up with an unexpected eagerness for gossip. She leaned closer. "Brook told me she wants Delta to live a fuller life. Get out there. Have friends. I'm assuming Brook had something to do with it. I'm impressed, really. Quite proud." Standing in front of Adrian was not a princess on an intelligence gathering mission, but an older sister, eager to chat. "But was Delta already breaking the ice before I came home?"

"Probably not," said Adrian. A million cold stares from Delta burned holes into his memory.

"I thought so. How's Brook been while I've been gone."

"You mean...before the accident."

"Yes, yes. While she was on Earth." Alina looked at him expectantly.

"She was doing fine. Friends with everybody. Happy, I assume."

"That's good." Alina took a few steps back and stared into the forest. A shadow passed over her face. "I missed her. I didn't know it when my memory was erased. But I missed her, every day. I missed so much of her life. Adrian, have you ever been apart from somebody you cared for for a long time?"

"Not really. But--" How would that feel? To return to the towns he'd lived in as a small child and reunite with the friends he'd have. They're entirely different people. But that was almost ten years. Six years isn't something to scoff at, though. "Well--no."

Alina sighed; as she did so, it seemed like some of her brightness faded. "Brook's so different. I can tell she's still the same at heart, but so much has changed. I don't know how to act around her. What to say. What I can do to bridge the gap. She acts like six years meant nothing, but I know she feels the distance too. And with her injury--usually it comes easily to me, but I have no idea what the right thing to say is. I just--I don't know. I want to help her, as her sister, but--I can't fathom how to go about it."

"I--I" Why is she asking me for advice? He wanted to tell her something, make her feel better, because, for some reason, he cared. But no words came to him. He didn't know anything about this sort of thing. "I--well--you--I--" He cut himself off and sighed. "I don't know what to say."

"That's fine." Alina tilted her head up and gazed at the leaves rustling above them. "It's nice to vent. We've saddled you with enough; you don't need to console me on top of it all."

"Don't you have anyone you can talk to at the palace?" Words automatically flowed from his mouth.

Alina let out a harsh laugh. "Of course not! I need to be the strong, confident leader that leads my kingdom to victory through this crisis. I don't have time to be fretting over my siblings. I feel like if I talk to anybody, they'll tell others--that absolutely can't happen. "But here...on Earth..." Once again, her eyes drifted to the obscured sky. "Home is so far away. I can be heard, but not by them. I need to be heard."

"I'm listening."

Alina closed her eyes and smiled contentedly. "That's exactly what I need. Thank you. But"--she opened her eyes--"I must go." In an instant, her posture was straight, her words even, and her face a mask.

Adrian, somewhat taken aback at the sudden change, took a moment to respond. "Of course."

"I'm sorry for holding you up." Alina bowed. "Again, thank you. For this mission...and for listening."

"Of course."

"Well then." Alina stood tall and closed her eyes. "Farewell." Her glowing aura faded away, figure glowing dimmer and dimmer until creeping shadows ate up the last bits of light.