EVABELLE

"This plan is the same as the last: risky, reckless and insurmountably stupid."

Evabelle shook her head. "I know it's risky. No matter what I come up with, it's going to be risky. That's the price we all have to pay in this. You can help me or not. That's your choice. But even with Del out of commission, I can't stop trying to get to my little brother."

Calandra swayed over to a chair and stared disgustedly down at all the books overlapping between one another. She began to pull out red ribbon bookmarks from her pocket and placing them in the spots and then closing the books.

Evabelle continued. "There was something you once said to me. You told me that I can't focus on what I've done wrong, because that will hold me back. I know that I screwed up badly. That plan had no ground to stand on. It was an emotional shot in the dark that failed miserably. There were too many risks. This plan of course holds risks as well, but it holds far more potential."

Calandra didn't say anything.

"I'm not sitting around doing nothing anymore, Calandra. I'm not being that helpless princess stuck in the tower. I'm taking a leap out of my own prison. I took one before, but this time I have a rope."

"A very thin rope," Calandra muttered, fingering the book on telekinesis and glancing at the one on familiars before moving on, not closing them. "The risks that you're talking about primarily will be on me."

"You don't have to do it, Calandra. I can talk to your mother--"

"She won't be able to do it." Calandra cut her off. "And neither will I...at least not alone."

Evabelle straightened at that. "What are you saying?"

Max's eyes shot back and forth between the two women.

Calandra snapped another book shut. "I'm saying you're not wrong about there being risks no matter what. I questioned you at first because you took practically zero chances, which prevented you from progressing at all. Running into a fight that was already lost was going too far. Now, you're suggesting a more subtle approach, which I do think has more merit." She looked up at Evabelle. "I'm not going to deny that."

Evabelle waited for more, but Calandra seemed to be waiting for her. "I'm not the best leader yet," Evabelle started. "But there was a moment where I think you might have even been proud of me, and more willing to follow me."

Calandra looked away. "You assume too much," She paused. "However, you have grown and obvious amount." She began to stack the books in ordered piles and organized them by subject. "I am not one of the Anahalians that are technically supposed to follow you, to trust you. But I do not and have not ever hated you."

Evabelle smiled. "Will you help me, Calandra?"

The mage chewed on her tongue for a moment. "Go find Shaundee and bring her here. We need to discuss some things with her."

Evabelle leapt to her feet, feeling more awake than she had in ages. She raced around the table and had only taken one step toward the library exit, when Calandra spoke again. "I think she's in the training room. And don't bring any of her other friends. There's some people that I don't trust enough for this. Some of them might end up telling the Council and that would be catastrophic. No matter what we decide to do, I will not become a demon's slave."

Evabelle gave a curt nod and shot off again, hearing the distant voices of Max muttering to Calandra.

"You trust me...right?"

"Well, she basically said the whole thing right in front of you too. It's not like I could stop that." Calandra grunted in return.

"But Callie--I mean, Calandra. You don't think I would tattle on you. Do you?"

Evabelle could practically hear the eye roll. "Of course not. I've known you for years, Max. I trust that you'd know that I'd kill you before you got a word out to them. You're smart enough to fear what I can do to you."

Max gave a shaky chuckle. "Fair enough."

That was the last thing Evabelle heard as she made it to the doors and left the enormous paradise of knowledge and imagination.

Evabelle took the left staircase that lead up to the piano room, the training room, and the door that lead up another set of steps leading to the roof.

When she reached the floor, Evabelle could hear Shaundee's voice or more accurately, her grunts as the brunette recognized the sound of the mage's fist making contact with the big bag of sand.

"You know," Shaundee gasped. "I could really use a sparring partner here."

A second voice made Evabelle freeze in the hallway. "'I'm a lover, not a fighter' is an excellent phrase that fits me to a T." It was Faux.

Faux had been there, right outside the kitchen that night. How much he had heard, Evabelle had no idea. But the look on his face that night had told her that he'd heard enough that told her she was not ready to look him in the eye again.

"You're an Anahalian. You're literally born to fight." Shaundee pressed him.

"Technically, I'm only half Anahalian." Faux put in.

The sound of Shaundee punching stopped. "Well, you're more like a fourth, if you think about it. All Anahalians have human in them."

Faux snorted. "Thanks for proving my point."

Evabelle slowly crept forward and peered through a cracked door, staying far enough back that the two inside the room would not notice her. She saw Shaundee in exercise garb: a tight tank-top and stretchy pants, with her fiery hair pulled up out of her face.

Faux slouched against the wall, also wearing a tank-top with loose shorts where his hands hid in the pockets. He was arching his eyebrows at Shaundee. "Why are you even doing this? You have powerful magic, so why are you doing this training?"

Shaundee shook her head, taking a swig from a water bottle at her feet. "You can't be that dumb. Come on, I'm nearing my fifties, I need to stay in shape. Plus, it's not good to put all your eggs in one basket. You need more than one weapon in your arsenal. Or whatever people say. Anyway, people say the more stamina you have, the stronger you can hold on with your magic. Calandra is a perfect example. She works herself in all areas. She works harder than anyone, and has proven to be one powerful adversary. She's truly one of the best."

A side grin hooked into Faux's lips as his eyes briefly misted over. "She sure is."

Shaundee's fist swung forward at great speed, directly at Faux's face, which he easily dodged left and grabbed Shaundee's wrist before it slammed into the wall. "Don't go for the face. It's my best feature." Faux smirked and released the mage.

"Maybe you are only a half or a fourth, but you still have naturally better reflexes and strength." Shaundee wiped her arm under her chin. "Come on, I've never had the chance to spar with an Anahalian."

"It really won't be fair of me to fight an old lady." Faux stuck his nose up, and Shaundee dove for him.

"Old lady?!" She exclaimed, coming up empty handed, as again Faux had side-stepped. "What happened to your inappropriate flirting? I've been told I look like Calandra's sister by more than just you."

Faux laughed. "You're right, you do look far too young to be nearing fifty. It really is quite a feat, my dear lady."

Shaundee circled around him. "Choose a side, buddy. Insult me or compliment me, either way you'll go down." She lunged, fists up and jabbed out.

Faux raised his arms and blocked her blows. Shaundee shot again, but Faux continued to shield easily. "No offense?" Shaundee said as she continued to try different moves against the scrawnier Anahalian. "Are you truly against fighting so much? You came and fought loads of those Annihilators, but you won't fight me?"

"That fight was necessary," Faux shrugged. "I'll fight to the death if it's necessary and as long as it's not for me."

Shaundee paused and took a step back. "For you? You won't fight for yourself?"

Faux lowered his arms. "No, I won't start a fight for me. I've done it far too many times before and regretted it."

Shaundee tilted her head. "You're afraid of your own fire."

Faux chuckled. "Interesting wording there."

"You're just like Lucis."

Evabelle stiffened, holding her breath.

Faux looked down, his smile falling away. "I guess we do share that a little bit, except his fear is far more warranted."

Shaundee again thrust forward in with a surprise attack, nearly cuffing Faux's cheek. He danced around her. "You distracted me. You're fighting dirty, Lady Ensign."

"It works, doesn't it?" Shaundee grunted.

"You've haven't gotten me yet."

Shaundee shifted back to the other topic. "Lucis hasn't told her, has he?"

An enormous hand wrapped itself around Evabelle's mouth, making her jab her elbow back to hit whoever it was in the stomach. Another hand stopped her, pulling her back against a large broad chest, that Evabelle could tell was lacking any covering. The man turned her away from the training room and steered her back down the hall.

The arms released her near the staircase, where Evabelle spun around and glared up at Raoul, wearing an unbuttoned shirt, revealing that hairy chest as he wore that horrendous grin.

"What the heck was that?" Evabelle hissed.

"You didn't want to get caught eavesdropping, now did you?" Raoul cocked his head.

"You know, Calandra said that you didn't want anything to do with us. The only reason that you were brought in was to help find Aza, and part of your requirements was that you were not to be involved in our war." Evabelle crossed her arm. "I came to you for help to learn how to use a gun sufficiently, but you wouldn't help. But now you're--"

Raoul put a finger to her lips and Evabelle almost bit him before she remembered his little comment about biting werewolves.

"I said I would help you if you managed to beat me." His voice rumbled. "But you didn't even try, and it really looked like you could have used some pointers."

Evabelle took in a deep breath and moved out of the way of his hand. "Why are you really pulling me aside like this?" Her father's words of this guy being an alpha and potentially good ally made Evabelle survey him over a bit more. He was just too haughty and no respect for anyone. "Are you actually interested in what we're doing or you just extremely bored?"

Raoul shrugged. "It looked like you could use some attention, because that boyfriend obviously ain't giving you any,"

Evabelle's hand shot up so fast, but Raoul caught her wrist before she could smack it across his cheek.

Raoul yanked her close to him. Evabelle tried to lean away and he bent down so his hot breath beat against her ear. "Not a good idea, princess. I can break your arm."

Evabelle wrenched her hand free and glared at him almost nose to nose. "I'm an Anahalian. I can break yours."

Raoul shook his head and straightened up, chuckling. "Not at full strength. You remember the very first things I ever said to you was that you don't smell like a guardian. The wings give you power. They give you strength. They give you the smell. Without the wings, you're not an Anahalian."

"I have power. I can use the Anahalian spells using feathers. I do have wings,"

Raoul spread his arms. "Well, where are they?" He leaned down again. "Maybe you have that remnant touch of magic, but it's not enough and you know it."

Evabelle clenched her fists then released them. "You know what I think? I think, that you are curious. I think that you might even be interested in the war. You might realize that in the long term, it will end up effecting you. And there's even a slight chance you might care about what happens to other people besides yourself."

Raoul rolled his eyes. "You think that, huh,"

"I can try to give you the benefit of the doubt." Evabelle crossed her arms.

The werewolf shook his head. "I told you that with you at the helm, people would die. That guardian's blood is still stenching up the place. No one knows if he's going to make it through for sure. My point still stands--just as a broken lamp has no purpose, the broken soul cannot lead."

Evabelle blinked, taken aback by both the reference and his insinuation. "Broken?"

A dark shadow passed over Raoul's face. "You heard me. You're broken. You don't have wings. All you have are a few lost memories, while you block out the rest. You're afraid of something; a part of you that you don't want to see.

"When I watched you back at Kalas Hem, I could see the fear, smell it on you. There's a thing called natural insecurities and fear, but you had far more that a normal girl with a fairly standard childhood that you could remember. Your memories at that time of being a guardian had to be slim, so what did all that reeking fear come from? Were you perhaps traumatized by whoever raised you here? Were they the ones that damaged you?"

Evabelle's toes curled. "My mother and brother gave me a wonderful life. I'm not damaged."

"Then it had to come from something in your own head." Raoul raised a hand and pointed a thick finger at her forehead. "Something happened to you that has you holding yourself back, maybe because you know that once it comes out, there will be nothing left of you."

Evabelle vigorously shook her head, feeling a creeping chill along her arms, making the small hairs stand on end. "You're not making any sense." A flickering image beat in the far recesses of her mind's eye. That white flash and the sudden strike of agony and terror.

Raoul gave a bitter chuckle. "Aren't I? Your parents are dead. They were killed by your friends' father. You were sent away from everything you've ever known with this burden of someday coming back and saving your people, unknowing whether it would be possible or not. That right there is enough to put any brat over the edge. But there's more. There's something you're afraid of letting out. There's a purpose you feel useless."

"I'm not useless!" Evabelle stamped her foot. Those daunting words began to flood back up to the surface.

"Why did you feel useless constantly then. That doesn't stem from good parents who teach their child love and compassion. That comes from abuse. That comes from trauma."

"STOP IT!" Evabelle screamed, her head beating an excruciating pulse in her skull. Throughout her life those terrible words pounded in her head. She didn't always tell people, but a voice was continuously telling her she was useless, a nothing. She'd thought about telling her mom, but she didn't want her to worry more about her child that was already suffering from memory issues. Evabelle had done her best on her own, to push it out and find her own way, even if those words still effected her self-esteem and confidence. Evabelle had still managed to force herself to talk to Aza at their old daycare and that had helped, making a friend. But she hadn't even told Aza about this. Never had she flat out told her best friend how she viewed herself. Maybe because she felt dumb for saying it. She didn't know why she felt so strongly that she was worthless, why fear was her stupid co-pilot.

When Lucis had come and dumped a whole load of responsibility and greatness on her head, she'd freaked out and more or less confessed her own inner demons to him, which he instantly shut down. Over time forcing herself to swallow this pill of being some savior for the angels, it had helped to stem the tide of crushing dread, but when Lucis, of all people, had turned the tables on her and basically shoved all of it back in her face, she didn't know if she'd be able to stand again.

And now this man. This stranger saw right through her freaking soul.

When everyone at the Sanctuary had first met Evabelle, they knew she was shy and insecure, but it usually took more time to figure out just how deep that went if they did figure it out.

Raoul, whom she had had very few conversations with at all (and the ones that they had had, had been more when she'd thought she'd been hiding her anxiety better) knew instantly there was far more to her self-doubting.

"My parents in Jovis treated me well too," Evabelle said, staring down at her feet, unable to look him in the eye, even though it killed her to be this weak in front of him. She just couldn't. Her heart was practically vibrating, and as a werewolf, he could no doubt hear it. "They never hurt me in any way. I have memories of them. I have more memories than you think."

Raoul didn't say anything, which made Evabelle feel even more panicky. Her own thoughts went to her father. He loved her. There wasn't a qualm in her mind that that was true. The way he looked at her, the way that he tried to hold her, the way that his eyes got so sad that he couldn't be physically there for her all screamed of his love. Even beyond that, the memories from her childhood also never wavered off from being kind and affectionate.

Her Anahalian mother.

Evabelle's lungs constricted. She had yet to ever remember her mother's face. It was something that she'd never caught. Almost it seemed as though she was subconsciously pushing it away. She always preferred to be with her father in his meetings. Her mother was strict it seemed, but never had Evabelle considered that the woman had caused her harm in that kind of way. Was that why she could never completely remember her? Because Evabelle didn't want to? Was afraid to?

Evabelle thought of the faint voice in her dreams, the soft touch of a hand on her shoulder as the lady pushed her forward into spreading her wings. The brunette could see Zion smiling with his eyes glowing bright as he thought of the woman he loved.

No. Evabelle's mother was not someone who would hurt her own child. Evabelle did know why she couldn't remember her mother, and it had nothing to do with that. She stood by her words to Raoul.

The large man gave a grunt. "Well, it doesn't have to be your parents. It could be anyone. It could have been a stranger. It could have been... a friend."

Evabelle looked back up at him. "A friend," she repeated, catching his pause.

"I didn't go on your little mission, but I wasn't oblivious to the drama afterward." Raoul said bluntly. "You two weren't exactly quiet."

Evabelle's cheeks flared. Faux wasn't the only one who had heard. It begged the dreaded question- who else had overheard that fiasco?

"And neither are you two."

Speak of the devil, the messy haired man and Calandra's mother stood outside the training room watching the pair at the stairs. Faux's eyes were narrowed at the big man, while Shaundee struggled to find the best way to ease the tension.

Raoul sniffed, but gave no more acknowledgement to them. He looked back at Evabelle. "My point is that people don't go to the store to get a damaged lamp. If the light doesn't work, it has no purpose."

"Well, it's a good thing people aren't lamps." Faux raised his voice and started to come over.

Shaundee quickly followed as she chimed in. "It's true. The living have the ability that no other thing has, and that is to put itself together after it's been broken. Sometimes we need help from others, but the resilience of mankind can take a man, broken from the trials of life, build him back up, and even reveal a greatness that we had not seen if he hadn't been broken."

The two of them met up with Evabelle and Raoul. "You know what a geode is," Shaundee went on. "At first glance, you see a bland old rock, but crack it open at you find stunning crystals inside. You never would have known about it had you not broken it."

"Are you suggesting we should just break people open so they can sparkle?" Raoul growled.

"Eva-Evabelle?" A small voice from the stairs piped up, making the four look down.

Jamie stood frozen in the middle of the staircase. He cast his eyes around the small group at the top, looking nervous. Ever since returning from the Isles, the kid had kept to himself, primarily in his room, that had used to belong to Kai. He had wanted to get information about who he was since he couldn't remember anything personal about his past, but he'd unfortunately been pushed to the back burner with Evabelle's brother missing.

Evabelle, who'd been feeling a resurgence of strength from Faux's and Shaundee's words, instantly felt the guilt. "Hey, Jamie. How are you?"

"Um," The boy's eyes were having a particularly difficult time tearing away from the towering giant that was Raoul. "I was just looking for, Katarina--or Collinda," He said hesitantly.

"You mean, Calandra," Evabelle smiled. "Yeah, what do you need her for."

Jamie swallowed. "Well, she said that she might have a little bit of time to search for where I came from."

A crushing mass bore down on Evabelle's ribcage at that look in those darting eyes. "Right, well she's in the library right now, but..." She trailed off.

"Oh, I'm not actually sure how to get in there." Jamie glanced behind him where the secret door that lead to the great room was.

Evabelle shook her head. "Don't worry, buddy, I'll be going back in there myself in just a minute. I just need to deal with a few things." She turned her head to look up at Raoul, who was watching Jamie in silence.

The werewolf put a large hand on her shoulder, making Evabelle rock a little with the sudden weight. He gripped her hard and leaned down by her ear again and snarled. "Don't get that kid involved in this." Then he pulled himself up and descended the stairs, passing Jamie without another glance at any of them.

Jamie's eyes followed him though. "There's a lot of you guys here." He murmured. "And that guy's huge."

"Yeah, a huge pain." Faux stuck out his tongue as Evabelle inwardly agreed. However Raoul's words just then had surprised her. They were the first true indication that her father might have been right about him--that there was definitely more to him that Evabelle did not know or understand.

"Yeah, but be careful what you say. He's a werewolf and has extra good hearing." Evabelle warned him.

The kid's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" He lowered his voice. "He won't eat me or anything, right?"

"If you give me the right incentive, squirt, I'd roast you on a spit." Raoul's gravel tone rose from downstairs, making Jamie jump up a few steps. "So I suggest you stay out of my way."

Jamie glanced up at Evabelle. "He is kidding...right? That sounded like he was kidding."

"Do I look like someone who'd kid?" Raoul said.

Evabelle shook her head as Shaundee leaned forward, putting her hands on her knees and spoke. "Yes. Don't worry, sweet muffin that no one has introduced me to," She gave a pointed look to Evabelle and Faux. "Raoul won't hurt you."

Jamie narrowed his eyes at Shaundee. "You look like Calan--"

"Yep, I'm both Katarina and Collinda's gorgeous mother." Shaundee winked.

Evabelle swallowed hard and addressed Shaundee, pulling her attention from the boy for a moment. "Shaundee, I think I've come up with another idea to get to my brother. I've told Calandra, and she told me to get you to go through it."

The thin woman straightened up, her eyes widening. "Really? That's excellent!"

Faux stepped closer, Evabelle still not looking in his eye. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Evabelle looked back at Jamie. "Come with us and after we get a few things smoothed out we can look at what we can do for you."

Jamie nodded and Evabelle lead the way back into the library, an uncomfortable tightness still resounding in her chest.

* * *

"Kansas."

"What?" Evabelle stared at Shaundee who'd been silent as Evabelle and Calandra had run through the basic plan. Her one-word response made everyone goggle at her in confusion.

Calandra was the only one to seem to understand. Her eyes narrowed. "You don't mean--"

"I do," Shaundee nodded.

"I thought all the depots had been shut down by the Council." Calandra sat with both her arms and legs crossed tight. "They were banned over ten years ago."

Shaundee shook her head. "There were some mages that came together to hide a few of them from the Council's eye. I personally think they must know about some of them, but they don't want to get too involved and feel overbearing. Who knows, some of the members might have even use them, themselves."

Faux raised his hand. "Someone care to share for the rest of your very confuzzled audience?"

Shaundee turned. "Sorry. As you know, mages created Sanctuaries hundreds of years ago, using powerful spells and artifacts to keep them well hidden and protected. There were a few lower mages that were not as powerful after they gave up serving demons. So they instead went out and gathered more powerful objects and more or less built them into a foundation, creating several depots across the globe. It helped to increase their own power while standing on the property, drawing strength from their surroundings, rather than their inner selves." She glanced at her daughter. "Mages would sometimes go to them to do increase the power of certain spells. The Council sort of outlawed them and deconstructed many of them, but as I said, I know of a few that remain."

Calandra rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What she is suggesting is that we go there, I use the amplifications to use the telepathy spell to basically mind-sweep the US and see if they're still on this continent. If they're not, we might have to find another one in other countries."

"While Calandra does the Google search, I will be putting on a distraction." Shaundee continued breezily. "The Council would notice the massive bout of illegal magic being put out, so I'll be creating a sort of smoke screen with many different spell flooding around hers so that they don't see anything out of the ordinary, if that makes sense."

"Kind of," Evabelle murmured. "I think I get what you're saying. You'll be protecting Calandra from being caught, while she looks for CJ."

"This could potentially work," Calandra conceded. "As long as he's still alive."

Those words hit Evabelle like train. "What are you saying? Why would he be dead?"

"People run out of usefulness." Calandra didn't sugarcoat it. "Once they do, Etheldreda and Averno will see him as worthless and toss him aside. They have your brother. Etheldreda could just turn him into her familiar instead if she wanted."

"No," Evabelle shook her head. "CJ's not dead. She could still use him to toy with us."

"Right," Shaundee nodded, inserting herself between the two girls. "We've got a plan. We can head out in a day or two, but until then," she pointed at Evabelle. "You got to bed!" She shouted dramatically before pointing at Calandra and repeating. "You go to bed!" Then on to Faux. "You go to bed!"

"Pardon me?" Calandra glared at her mother.

"Every single one of you is exhausted. No one can perform well with your body barely functioning. You know that," She stared determinedly at Calandra. "All of you have been stressed and weighed down with current events. We'll get through this as long as everyone is well-rested."

"Well, I happen to run on my power of sexual magnificence," Faux grinned. "So I'll of course be absolutely--"

"Nope, you too." Shaundee cut him off. "I won't hold back and will really kick your butt if you don't go to sleep for a few hours."

Faux opened his mouth to object, but Calandra spoke. "What about Jamie? We promised after we discussed all this I would work with him to help--"

"I'll take care of the precious little strawberry. I've rested enough, I can help him." Shaundee replied.

Jamie had not been allowed to be a part of the meeting, due to Calandra not completely trusting him not to be some sort of spy, and had been wandering around the library until he was summoned.

"Max, would you please go find him?" Shaundee asked the rounder mage.

Max nodded and went off.

"The rest of you go rest, and we'll get through this." She smiled warmly at Evabelle, which did manage to comfort the girl.

With their session at its close, everyone separated off. Calandra slipped off to her room, apparently too worn out to rebel against her mother's command.

Faux headed in the opposite direction of the bedrooms.

"Faux?" Evabelle finally spoke to him directly.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder with a side smile. "I'm just heading up to the roof. It's nice and sunny after the storm."

"You should get some sleep," Evabelle murmured.

Faux gave a small chuckle, his shoulders bouncing. "I really should." He didn't say anything else before walking off.

Evabelle sighed and ascended the stairs back up to her room. She felt better having a direction she was moving toward again. Shaundee's confidence helped override her own brain's panicking. This was a better plan. It would work. She had to have faith in her own words.

Well, she would go to Zion again and actually tell him about her plan this time and hear him out too. Just the thought of seeing her father made her even happier. There wasn't anything hanging over her head that was preventing her from going to him like before.

Each step felt lighter and lighter. She actually felt good for a moment, but then that moment was sucked from her in a heartbeat as she reached the top of the stairs just in time to see the door to Del's bedroom flung open, and Aza burst from it with tears in her eyes as she obliviously ran past Evabelle with a choking sob breaking from her throat, dowsing Evabelle in cold horror.