+Happy Belated 19th Birthday to me (was wedensday)! Sorry it has been so long since my last update, but you have to love me and not be mad at me because it's my birthday! Anyways, Enjoy! PS. I expect lots of great COMMENTS+

Aria

James leaned his head on his hand, still looking exhausted. Will stood at the head of the table, leaning on its surface, his hands flat against it as if it were the only thing keeping him up.

"We don't know a lot so far," Will began. "They're good at keeping information to a small circle of trusted followers. The rest of their army seems to just follow blindly without knowing anything, not even who they are working for. So far, we know that the operation is running in ranks. Lycanthropes and Vampyres are sitting on top, running the whole thing. Other creatures of the night are simply acting as mindless pawns for them. What we don't know, however, is who is leading them. We can't find out anything about who is at the very top. We've heard whispers, of course. Silly rumors like: 'he is the bringer of darkness', or 'he is the incarnation of evil itself', but nothing concrete. It appears that whoever it is is talking himself up a lot and causing quite a stir."

"I have a question," I commented. "What do they know about us? Are they as in the dark about our forces as we are about theirs?"

Will sighed. "We don't know. That's the problem. We have no idea what they know or how to get more information on them. That's why we need Caspian to infiltrate their forces."

Caspian nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"So, what exactly are the roles the rest of us will be playing?" I questioned.

"For now? We are a central base location. We are here to train troops, work as a knowledge center where we keep all infiltrated information, figure out strategy, and get prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Caspian questioned.

"The final battle," Christian cut in. "Getting the Guardian back no matter the cost."

"So, where do we start? Well, we're getting a new group of 150 troops in today; hunters, angels and Magyk users alike. Our main goal isn't to fight, but to fight back. We don't want to instigate battles, but we will show up and we will be ready to protect any time that a group from the opposing force poses threat to the general public. Axel will be the one training them. Carmen is going to be starting a nursing station where she can teach basic healing Magyk. Although most of her talent is simply natural now because of the Guardian, she does still know many invaluable spells that she can teach to others to create a team of Healers. Christian is going to be our man on the ground, use his old resources to contact people and rally troops. What I need from you is to go into our extensive collection of spell books and start research. We need to know if there is a way to mentally send messages or connect with the Guardian, even without knowing his location. We also need to know if there are any protection or shielding spells we can use- that actually work- that could help us in the final battle. Knowledge of Magyk is so eclectic and sparse these days, it's hard to know what spells actually work and what stuff is just parlour tricks. Many people who claim to practice Magyk these days actually have no idea what they are doing or that what they are doing isn't even close to spellwork."

"My job is to sit in a library all day while a war wages?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You like the library, Ria," Will waved me off.

"Right," I quipped.

"What about James?" Caspian asked.

"I will be working with James. We need to exercise and grow his talents, figure out everything he is capable of. He is an invaluable piece of rescuing the Guardian and defeating whatever greater evil may be at the head of our opposing force."

"Okay. We all have our assignments," Carmen said. "Should we get to work?"

Will smiled. "I like your enthusiasm. Yes, we best get started on all we need to accomplish. The rest of you know what rooms you need to go to; Caspian and Aria, follow me."

Almost immediately, everyone dispersed in different directions. Caspian and I were left alone in the room with Will. It was quiet for a moment.

"We best get started on all we need to accomplish?" I finally broke out, laughing. "Who are you? A stuffy old British man?"

"I'm trying to be professional and serious. I'm not the oldest or the most experienced, but for some reason, everyone has decided that I should be in charge. I have to play the part," Will defended.

I gave him a look. "The part of Giles, the old librarian from Buffy the Vampire Slayer?"

"Shut up, Sweet Cheeks," Will laughed.

"You're so lucky I like you, Will, otherwise I might hurt you for calling my girlfriend that," Caspian joked.

"If Aria was offended by what I called her she could easily beat me up herself," Will shrugged, seeming completely unfazed by Caspian's threat.

"True," I grinned.

I liked having my two favourite boys back together again. Will often came to visit and we would all hang out, but this felt different. It felt like we had truly finally been reunited. It worried me that I seemed to feel this way only in the midst of disaster. Perhaps it was because it felt a lot like it had two years ago. Will stopped suddenly and opened a large door on our left.

"This is where we'll be dropping you off, Ria."

I stepped into the room to find that it was absolutely stuffed with books. It wasn't exactly a library; most of the books were stacked on the floor rather than on shelves. There also didn't seem tp be any organization to them. They were simply scattered everywhere. The room seemed to stretch on forever.

"They're spell books. All of them. Every spell book that has ever been created or ever will be created is in this room. Most of them we can't even read. We're hoping you'll be able to, though. Ria, you've mastered spells in a day that it has taken other masters of Magyk years to master. You seem to have an innate gift for it. It isn't surprising, though, considering the fact that your grandmother did too. She was powerful in her time, lived to the ripe old age of 235," Will explained. "Some people are simply born more in tune with Magyk than others, and the more exposure they get to the supernatural, the stronger their powers become. You happen to be.. quite intimate with the supernatural, so it would make sense that your power be so strong."

I blushed at the implications behind the way he had said 'quite intimate' and couldn't help my gaze flickering over to Caspian. He was blushing even harder than me.

"So, I get to sit around with a couple hundred stacks of books and tirelessly look through each one in order to find the few spells that you want for protection?" I questioned.

"Precisely."

"Delightful," I replied, taking in the sheer volume of the room once more.

The side of Will's mouth quirked up slightly, "Come on, Ria. Don't pretend you aren't at least a little excited. Every spell known to man in one room, all at your disposal. You love it, at least a little bit."

 I smiled slightly, unable to help myself.

"Knew it," Will laughed.

I gave him a light shove.

"Alright, if you don't have any questions about your task, though, we'll just leave you to it."

I nodded. "Sounds good."

Will smiled and then headed out of the room, gesturing for Caspian to follow. Caspian paused, waiting until Will had left and then stepped up to me, taking me in his arms and leaning down to press his forehead against mine.

"Have fun, learn lots, and remember that we at least have a one-way telepathic link. Also, I'm thinking that tonight, after we've finished working for the day, we should have an in-depth discussion about being quite intimate with the supernatural," Caspian whispered before leaning down and beginning to kiss up and down my neck.

I let out a laugh, delighting in the feel of his lips against my skin. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sir. I'm spoken for."

"Damn straight, you are," Caspian mumbled into my neck. "Do you think Will will notice if I just stay in here with you?"

"He'll notice," Will called from the hall.

Caspian sighed into my neck and then pulled away. "Alright, fine. Be brilliant, okay?"

I nodded.

"Love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," I replied, brushing my thumb across his cheek.

He leaned down and gave me a deep kiss.

"Oh, for the love of- It's not like he's being deployed for a six-month leave, he's just coming with me to a different part of the house. You two will survive being apart for a few hours."

"What can I say, I suffer from PTSADTBT," Caspian sighed.

"From what?" Will questioned, popping his head back into the doorway.

"Post-Traumatic Separation Anxiety Due To Blood-Tie, obviously."

Will rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lover-Boy."

Caspian gave me a wink and then sauntered after Will out of the room. The door shut with a gentle click behind them. The first thing I did once they had left was lower the light in the room. It wasn't coming from any one particular location, but the bright ethereal glow of the white rooms of The Upstairs was starting to give me a headache. I looked around at the stacks upon stacks of books that surrounded me. Some shelves seemed to be two or three rows of books deep, and were completely unorganized. Some books were stuffed in sideways or on an angle, simply shoved in wherever they could fit. Loose papers scattered the floor, possibly having been torn from one book or another.

"Let's get you in order, shall we?" I muttered to the cluttered mess.

I raised both hands and concentrated. 

"Let's go for alphabetical order."