EVABELLE

"Wow, this thing is rank!" Faux lifted his head up, holding his nose.

"It's a dumpster," Evabelle said, her arms folded and her foot tapping a dent into the snow.

"Ah," Faux nodded and put his head back into the big metal canister of garbage. "Is that what this is? I thought it was pirates treasure."

"Is that why you're digging in it?" Evabelle reached up and tugged the back of his shirt. His feet slipped on the icy ledge he stood on, so he hopped down to regain his balance.

Faux brushed himself off casually, shaking glittering white flurries from his hair. "They do say 'one man's trash is another man's treasure.'"

"We need to be focused, Seren." She massaged her temples, trying to stem the ache rising behind her eyes.

"That's too stressful," he said. "Clearly it's taking its toll on you, love." Faux booped her nose, making her blink reproachfully at him.

She took in a deep breath of chilly December air. "Would you please go check on the others? Make sure they're in position."

Faux gave a swift salute before leaping and then gliding up the side of one of the tall buildings, red and orange feathers catching hints of silver moonbeams. When he vanished over the top of it, Evabelle returned her vigilant stare to the large manor house.

She stood in an ally in the lower part of town in Norfolk, Virginia, watching the home of Lord Kruor, prince of the vampires. Her vantage point was about three blocks away. It was far enough, but still kept the place viewable.

In her mind, Evabelle rolled through the plan again and again. It was simple. The anahalians, along with Baldwyn and Saya from the Elven Isles were backup only. They were to wait. If things went well, they wouldn't have to do anything at all. But if Kai and Aza got into something they couldn't handle, they'd signal Evabelle and the others. Then the anahalians would fly in, create a diversion to help get their friends out, and make sure to do their best to still make sure the job was completed.

They were prepared, Evabelle told herself. This was still a big risk, but they were prepared this time. This wasn't like what happened when Evabelle had her friends go fight annihilators back in New York to try to find her brother. That had been disastrous. This mission wasn't going to end like that.

She tugged at the cord binding around her wrist that kept the sarentean leather in place. It was a bit loose on the arms. She's have to tell Jameson about that.

They had armor this time. That was definitely a step up. After some major persuading and bribery, Evabelle and Calandra had made a deal with a small ragtag group of dwarves. Jameson was the leader of the pack. He and six others, with Calandra's funding, had been making lightweight armor for the team and others that Evabelle had been accumulating onto their side. It looked and felt similar to regular leather, but they'd tested it against average weapons and it took a lot for them to pass through. They were insulated but didn't get too hot. They were light but sturdy and perfect for movement. Then they also had thin sheets of tirani metal sewn onto the exterior over the chest and back, for extra protection. Even the anahalian blades had a hard time getting through the metal. Evabelle had never heard of sarentean or tirani before, but she acknowledged that they worked.

Just having the few dwarves on their side was a huge help. They just had to keep them away from Aza, who insisted on calling them by the 'the seven dwarves' or one of the many descriptive names, which they all took offense to. The seven men had done more than just armor. They'd also helped Evabelle's little brother, Thom. They'd forged specialty braces for the little boy's legs after he'd being mercilessly tortured by the demon known as the Mistress. He still had a limp and had to take a root drug for the pain, but he could walk fairly well now. Evabelle was eternally grateful to them.

"Everyone is ready and in position, my captain." Faux landed lightly beside Evabelle, his feet sinking silently into the white powder. She looked over to him. He had his own set of the armor—and Evabelle would never tell him—but he looked good in it. He always wore such baggy sweats, so to see him in the sleek leather and metal gave him a strapping roguish look.

"How is everyone dealing?"

"Everyone is pretty good," Faux shrugged. "Save for Del. He's acting all cool, but he's more fidgety than you."

Evabelle crossed her arms. "I'm not fidgety." She stopped tapping her foot.

"Of course not," He smiled. "You're cool as a cucumber. On the other hand, our tall, dark, and handsome angel is just pacing back and forth like he's extra worried about someone it the vamp house." Faux's eyes widened in mock wonder. "Do you think he's got a thing for Kai?"

Evabelle didn't laugh. "So that's it?" She asked.

Faux tilted his head to the side, a terrible knowing look passing over him. "Lucis is fine. He and Saya are just discussing how the elf training is going."

Evabelle nodded, looking away from him. "Alright then." It felt like it had been ages since she'd been anywhere one on one with Lucis. She barely spoke to him anymore. On missions, she usually ended up paired with Del or Faux. She had to wait for him. He had to be the one to make the move. Every time she'd pass a glance to him, he'd give a little shake of his head. Evabelle understood, but that didn't stop the ache in her chest.

"You know it's okay to push him a little bit," Faux said. "Not too much of course. He just doesn't want to hurt you, so he's being extra cautious. But he's stronger than he thinks."

Evabelle watched the snow drift down in front of the large windows of the mansion. Enormous shadows glided across, distorted by the firelight on the inside of the huge house. "I know that."

A few minutes past in silence.

"Do you want to play truth or dare?" Faux broke the quiet.

"No," Evabelle shut him down.

"That was fast."

"Aza's my best friend. I know the dangers of that game."

"We could play another game."

"No."

Faux put his hands on his hips. "You're no fun."

Evabelle was silent.

Suddenly Faux blocked her view to the house. She glared up at him as his eyes poured out their warmth to her. "It's okay to smile, Avelle."

Evabelle's hands trembled and heat started to formulate tears. She shoved that down quickly, but she couldn't stop the words that flowed out of her mouth. "Two of our friends are in one of the most dangerous man's home right now on my order. The rest of us are just waiting out here for them. If things go wrong, they might not be able to signal us, and then they could die. That would be on me. Tell me how I'm supposed to be chipper about that?" She'd been good about not venting. She'd been good about keeping face, but stupid Faux somehow managed to bring it down.

"Pfft," He waved her off. "There's no need to worry. Those two have been doing fantastic in there. We've just got an emotional fallen elf, Turned by those exact monsters, and Aza...sooooo I give them another fifteen minutes before something blows up."

Evabelle let out a huff that clouded up in front of her. And in his unhelpful ways he magically deflated her anxiety a little. "Thank you for making me feel better," she said sarcastically.

He nodded. "It's what I live for."

Yet Faux's timing was scarily accurate. About fourteen and a half minutes later, the light from the 'speck of sunlight' burst out from the big windows and Evabelle's heart plummeted.

"Alright," Faux slid a feather into her hand. "Shall we?"

She nodded without looking at him.

He scooped her into his arms and the two of them streaked for the manor. The flash faded as they closed in, and the red feather in Evabelle's hand burned and glowed. A golden shield grew from it and attached to her arm. She brought it up and Faux ducked down behind it as the they hit one of the windows, shattering it. The impact jarred her arm slightly, but she'd been practicing and preparing for things like this. The pain quickly faded.

Screams rang in her ears. More glass smashing in had her checking to see Del flying in with Baldwyn, and on the other side, Lucis soared through with Saya. Each elf had brought their own shield for the window breaking.

Evabelle's gaze moved on to the room around them. It was in complete chaos. Vampires had fallen to their knees. Angry burns and pale blisters covered those that had been closest to the stone. Others ran around blindly, crashing into each other.

The speck of sunlight was something they'd gotten from Shaundee. It was a charm someone had given to her years before. It very much went with its name. It was like a piece of the sun that blazed out both heat and light. It was the perfect distraction to release into the pit of vampires.

In all the confusion, Evabelle caught sight of Aza standing in the doorway, breathing heavily. Her hair was all over the place and her face was flushed. Evabelle gave her a nod, and Aza returned it with a grin. She mouthed the word 'valkyrie' before turning and dashing back down the hall.

Valkyrie was the name that Aza had come to call Evabelle when she was wearing the armor or standing in front of their growing council. According to the little blonde it was the only proper name for the badass that Evabelle had become. Evabelle remained silent about the fact that in mythology the valkyrie actually had wings.

Evabelle swung her shield around at a semi-recovered vampire that make a dive at her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a white feather Lucis had given her earlier. It lengthened into a long gold dagger. Behind her, Faux expertly swung his staff around him and caught a vampire in the jaw and another in the gut. "Let the games begin," he said.

"Keep an eye out for Kai," Evabelle called back to him. "I doubt Aza would release the sunstone with him here, but obviously something went wrong." Then she moved forward into the stunned mass, weaving her way through, leaving Faux back by the broken window.

A pale woman leapt at Evabelle. She easily dodged around her and swiped the blade across the vampire's side. The lady staggered back. "Where's Kruor?" Evabelle asked coldly.

The vampire woman hissed and lunged with her fangs out. Evabelle brought her shield down on her head. She collapsed and Evabelle moved on. Kai told her that if she had to come in, that the vampires wouldn't be much help to her.

She swung and arced against the onslaught of burned and dazed people. It was easy, the speck of sunlight having done most the work. She didn't stab straight on, only grazing and bashing. She asked several where their leader was, but as expected none gave him up. Finally, she reached the corner of the room where several humans sat huddled fearfully behind an overturned table, surrounded by spilled food. There was fresh blood dripping down their necks. These had to be the other consorts. Evabelle wished she could free them, but Kai explained that the consorts' minds were twisted into loving their vampire in a creepy idolic dependant way. "Do any of you know where Kruor is?" She asked them more gently than she had to the vampires.

Some shook their heads. A few glared at her. "What makes you think we would tell you where his lordship is?" A good-looking guy with curly hair said. "You monsters have come to harm the master. We would never give him up."

A vampire bounded behind Evabelle and she spun and smashed the shield against him, sending the ashy man crashing into the wall. The consorts flinched.

The ache in Evabelle's back intensified for a moment. She grit her teeth and spun back to the group of the brainwashed. "If your master is so great, where is he? Shouldn't he be defending his people?"

The man just glared silently back.

Evabelle didn't want to threaten them. She spun her short blade around in her hand, the torchlight reflecting off the gold. Their eyes followed its movement.

Luckily, the painful flare from her scars lessoned before the vampire that had hit the wall, shook his head and rose up to his feet again. Then two other men jumped over the table and made for her. Their disorientation was wearing off now. Evabelle's team had to move things along. She ducked as a long-nailed hand swiped out for her head. She swung out her shield, but the vampire dodged around it. She nicked one of them with her dagger, but she was going to have to change tactics. Evabelle slid the knife into her belt and then pulled out another feather. She cried out the shield spell and a golden umbrella of aura bloomed out around her, knocking the men off their feet. One of them toppled over the back of the table and the other hit the wall again. The third man slid back, but advanced once more.

Evabelle's eyes raked over the room. The two elves fought on opposite sides of the space, but their moves almost mirrored each other. Del shot his dark wings back and sent a few vampire flying through the air. His arms moved fast and gracefully with his double blades. Faux ducked and dodged swiftly, swinging his pole out and tripping up the men and women that struck at him.

Then there was the tall, broad angel, his white wings shining like their own pillar of light. He kept a firm stance, but also moved like a dancer. His pearl sword flashed up and down, right and left. Even with such a deadly weapon, he never gave them a fatal wound. Evabelle knew that he wanted to. She knew that his demon heart beat for him to slaughter them all, bring down a massacre in the ballroom.

That wasn't the mission. They were already on thin ground with the Terran Peace Union. Murder on the vampire's own land was not allowed. Breaking and entering was pushing things.

Evabelle had debated about bringing Lucis along. But in the end she trusted him. And just like Faux had said—he's stronger than knows. He proved that now as he struck them down with the hilt and the flat part of his sword, even though she knew a part of him was telling him to turn the sharp edge on their throats.

The vampire bashed his fists against the aura around Evabelle. She grit her teeth and looked back to her current adversary. He gnashed his fanged teeth at her. A burn coursed down his neck from the speck of sunlight...

His neck.

There was a nerve that Del had taught her about. It affected everyone, but it was particularly sensitive on vampires.

Evabelle dropped the magic shield and pulled out her dagger, right as the man launched himself for her. She spun and brought the hilt of the knife down on the curve between his neck and his shoulder. He jerked violently before collapsing in a heap. He twitched a few times, but didn't rise.

Evabelle crouched down by him and held the knife against his throat. "Tell me where Kruor is," she said low and soft.

The vampire blinked, wide eyed. He moved his mouth, but nothing came out. She gave a him a shallow cut, letting beads of dark thick blood ooze out. "Where. Is. He."

Suddenly the table streaked toward her and the vampire. Evabelle sprang up and backed away as the table rolled on top of the man on the floor, some sort of custard mashing onto his face. Four vampires—two men and two woman—marched toward Evabelle, stepping on the table, not caring for their comrade underneath.

Evabelle widened her stance. She did her best to keep her heart from leaping into her throat, but it had already sped up considerably. One of the vampire women chuckled as the others smirked. They could sense it.

Suddenly, the vampire man on the end stumbled into the others. He clumsily reached back for his shoulder, and Evabelle saw the glint of a throwing star wedged into the monster's shoulder-blade. She looked over and caught the eye of Saya, the dark-skinned elf of whom may or may not be in a relationship with Kai. Things were unclear there. The elf woman turned back to her own fight.

Evabelle adjusted her grip on her knife again as one of the vampires yanked out the small weapon and lifted it, about to throw it at her. Then Kai's friend--the captain of the elves' army, Baldwyn--slid across the floor and tripped the four vampires. The burlier elf rose and swiped his dark purple hair out of his face before jabbing his broadsword at the heap in front of him. "What have you done with Kai?" He growled.

"You haven't seen him?" Evabelle asked.

Baldwyn shook his head. "I caught Aza before she got too far down the halls," he said, still glaring down at the well-dressed beasts. "She said Kai broke the broach. He was in trouble, but she has no idea where he is."

"Maybe he got to Kruor," Evabelle murmured.

Baldwyn's lip curled. "And then Kruor got to him." He went in for a lunge, but Evabelle put up her hand and instead dove in herself and grabbed one of the women in a pastel evening gown.

She yanked the lady's arm behind her back and pressed her gold dagger to the vampire's throat. "I've had enough games," she snapped. "Tell me where Kruor is." She set a deeper cut than she had on the others.

"Wait!" A voice from the corner cried. Everyone's eyes darted over to a small Hispanic consort who had risen to her feet. She trembled. "Don't hurt my lady!"

"Silence, Camila!" The vampire in Evabelle's grip hissed.

"I cannot bare you to suffer, my lady." The girl bowed. Then she rose and pointed a shaking hand to the far side of the room to the large black doors, opposite to the ones that Aza had been standing in. "He waits in his chambers with his board."

"How dare you disobey me!" The vampire snarled.

Evabelle tossed her to the ground. She looked to Baldwyn. "Do you have them covered here?"

He rocked back a little, a pained light burning behind his pale eyes. "My prince could be in there," he said. "I must go and—"

"Please trust me, Captain," Evabelle said. "If Kai is there, I'll get him out."

Baldwyn opened his mouth to probably argue, but the huddle of vampires tried to spring him while he was distracted. Baldwyn was not so easily caught off guard. He spun back to them and kneecapped the lot. They wailed out and crumpled. More vampires charged toward their corner.

Evabelle took her chance and hurried away. I'm sorry, Baldwyn. She did her best to avoid more combat, just swinging and batting most of them away as she made her way toward the doors. A large hand shot out and caught hers. She whirled around, bringing her shield up to bash them in, but then she saw the most breathtaking blue eyes with light gold hair fraying into them.

Lucis shook his head to get the curls out of his face. "Where are you going?"

"I know where Kruor is," she said. "We need to know if Kai is with him or what happened to him."

"You shouldn't go alone." He squeezed her hand.

There wasn't much time, but Evabelle took a brief moment to rove her eyes over this wonderful man. His beautiful wavy hair that had gotten quite a bit longer. His stunning eyes that had a few more lines around them. His strong jaw and lips. She was starved of Lucis. Had it truly been so long since they'd been this close? It felt like eons since he'd even touched her. She was highly sensitive to the warmth of his large hand wrapped around hers. Evabelle squeezed back.

"I should start by going in alone, but I'll need backup close by," she said.

Lucis nodded and followed her through the vampire horde, making the journey much faster and the weight on her shoulders much lighter. There was even a minor sense of giddiness in her chest as she shoved her way past the monsters.

At the end of the room, the doors had been pulled ajar. She threw a look back to Lucis and he nodded. She slipped out of the gap and entered a hallway. There was another set of giant doors with a flowery pattern arching over them. They were also slightly open.

Evabelle heard the door to the ballroom close behind her. Lucis was just on the other side, keeping the vampires around it occupied.

She rolled her shoulder, ignoring the twinge along her spine, and entered the dark room.

There were five vampires inside. The only light shone in from the window through gauzy shrouds. Three of them sat on the floor on cushions, all with oddly bright colored hair. One cushion next to a high-back chair was empty. In that throne, lounged a man with long lilac hair and a black fur shawl around his shoulders. His head rested on his hand, eyelids half-closed as he watched the fifth vampire kneeling in front him, begging.

"Please, my lord! It was a surprise attack. We didn't—" He turned his head as Evabelle came further in. He leapt to his feet, baring his fangs. "Filthy guardian!"

The man in the throne straightened a little, his eyes opening wider, showing off the deep red that glittered at the sight of her. "Leave us, Arkam," he said.

The vampire with the burns running up his arms, whirled back to the man with the scarlet bead necklace. "My lord?"

"You said there was six of them," the leader said coolly. "With this lovely creature in here, there are five. I'm sure the hundred of you in there can deal with them."

"They're anahalians," said the vampire imploringly.

"Two of them are elves." His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you're afraid of them."

Arkam flinched and bowed hurriedly before scurrying out of the room.

The man stood from his throne, an icy smile spreading up his face. "If I'm not mistaken, we are in the presence of royalty for the second time this evening."

Evabelle's heart beat hard and fast. The vampires could no doubt hear it, but hopefully they would only chalk it up to the adrenaline from the fight, not the fear that crawled over her at just being in this room. She stood tall, kept her head up, and didn't move her gaze from the blood red eyes of the man that had Turned Kai. "Lord Kruor," she said, her voice steady.

"I must confess, I did not know that Prince Kairi was working for you," Kruor said. "How very interesting."

At the mention of Kai, she caught her breath. What had this thing done to him?

"He's a fool," said a dark-skinned vampire sitting on the floor. "Who would follow a wingless guardian?"

"Tau," Kruor said without moving his eyes from Evabelle. "Will you and the others go check in the cellar to see if we have anything special enough for our guest?"

The man with the pitch black skin clamped his mouth shut. He stood.

"Take Bruno with you. And Syven, go check and see if Chiyo has returned," Kruor commanded.

A bleach blond haired man stood with Tau. And the last of them a man with a long pink ponytail got up and they all left, leaving only Evabelle and the prince of the vampires.

Kruor tilted his head up and to the side, his tongue running over one of his pointed incisors. "Is it true that you have no wings?"

"Yes," Evabelle with a cold steel. "I have no wings."

Kruor raised his manicured eyebrows. "I heard that they were torn off your back by a demon."

Evabelle took a deep breath, ignoring the heightened pain flaring up from the scars on her back as if they knew that they were being discussed. "That is true."

"Have you mourned them?"

Evabelle twitched back a little. "What?"

"Have you mourned their loss?" Kruor took a slow, deliberate step toward her.

"I know that any other anahalian in my position would be dead." She shook her head. "I am lucky to be alive. I have nothing to mourn."

Kruor's slimy smile grew. "You have everything to mourn." He took another few steps in her direction. "Or you will."

"Where is Averno?" Evabelle said low, pulling into the line of conversation that mattered.

Kruor threw his head back and laughed, the slits of light from outside gleaming off the his long hair. The small red drop on his chest bounced. "That's really all you came for? Information on the dark angel? I'm hurt."

"We know you work for him," Evabelle said, shifting her weight into a better position.

He straightened again. "I do, it's true. I won't deny my affiliations, but what makes you think I will tell you where he is? You think your sad little five-man army is enough to scare me? It certainly won't be enough for the army that he has." He stopped a few feet in front of her and spread his arms to either side. "My clan alone has connections all over this miserable country and a few beyond that."

Evabelle smiled just a little. "I am an anahalian, trained for combat."

He chuckled. "You think that's enough? I am over a thousand years old." He slunk toward her again, halting close enough to lean down and whisper, "You are a weak, broken, insignificant child."

Her arms shot up and grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down. She brought her knee up and caught him hard in the stomach. Kruor made a satisfying grunt and staggered back.

"You're not even close, Lord Kruor."

The prince's nails lengthened as he grit his teeth. His eyes flashed. But then he closed his fingers into a fist, shortening his claws. He smiled again. "Well done, Princess. You surprised me. It's been a long time."

"Maybe that thousand years is getting to you," Evabelle spat.

Kruor's mouth twitched, almost turning that controlled smirk into a scowl. He moved toward her for a second time, but there might have been a slight wariness in his step. "Do you expect a duel between us?"

"Would you be up to it? You clearly don't like getting your hands dirty," she said, her own hand moving slowly for the knife at her belt. Her shield still rested firmly on her left arm.

Kruor nodded. "It's true. I prefer to delegate, but that doesn't stop me from branching out from time to time." The assuredness returned to his horrible grin. "Like what I did to your little offering you sent in first."

Evabelle's throat closed up. Kai.

"He won't want to come back to you after what he's done. He's such a fragile creature, so easily broken." He leered, getting close again.

She couldn't stop her breath from picking up. "What did you do?" She thought she managed to keep the question from sounding too desperate.

"I tipped him into the abyss," Kruor murmured with a low purr in the back of his throat that sent shivers down her spine. "Perhaps I shall do the same for you." His hands lunged out and snagged her wrists, stopping her from getting her weapon or being able to swing her shield at him.

The vampire's grip was a vice, but Evabelle's strength has grown since becoming a full anahalian. She struggled enough to get one hand free and went to grab the blade, but that's when her ears caught the sound of a bow string snap as something was released.

Ping! Ping! Ping!

Three metallic chimes clanged against the back of Evabelle's armor before the tiny pellets of glass shattered at her feet. Black ooze bled over the dark carpet.

The annihilator virus.

Her eyes widened. She craned her neck back and saw blond vampire that had left earlier, reload the dart gun. She jerked her hand that was still in Kruor's grasp, but he held firm. Her shield jostled just above her wrist, but she couldn't bring it around. She kicked out at Kruor, but he spun her around, yanking the metal disc off, making it vanish from existence, and pinned her arm behind her back.

The dart with the bat poison positioned right at her face this time. Evabelle couldn't breathe. Time slowed as she saw it all end in a moment. She thought they'd been ready this time. She should have known better. At least they knew that the armor did hold up against those things. She should have gotten a helmet.

The beach bum vampire moved his finger over the trigger.

Something large, gold, and covered and white feathers swarmed over the man with the gun. A string of darts shot into the air, shooting over Evabelle and Kruor's heads. The weapon clattered to the floor as Lucis and the vampire rolled.

Kruor's grip shifted in surprise, letting Evabelle get back into gear. She got enough control to stamp her foot on his and twist back fast to elbow his side. He didn't let go fully, but he loosened more and she was able to wrangle away. She pulled out her golden duren and jabbed at him.

Kruor reeled away, hissing. His claws were back and his fangs came to their full length.

"Evabelle!"

Lucis's voice yanked her around and she saw the other vampire with dark skin, Tau, raising his dart gun at her. Kruor lunged at her from behind right as the bow released three darts full of annihilator virus at her face.

Before Evabelle could move in any direction that same mass of golden hair and enormous snowy wings surrounded her and sent her crashing to the ground. Her rescuer grunted on impact and she blinked up him. "Lucis," she gasped. A long shallow gash ran along his jaw. Sweat glistened on his bronzed skin, his longer wavy hair hanging over her. His breathing rapidly moved his broad chest up and down and she really wished they weren't in this mess at that moment. Her heart thudded as she saw the spark of light in his sky eyes. His pupils dilated. I love you, she thought silently.

Lucis wrapped his arms around her and rolled them both back up to their feet. He released her hastily, but passed her another feather.

"Are you alright?" Evabelle asked, taking it and forming her shield again.

"I should ask you that," he said, taking his sword out from a sheathe they'd made for his armor.

"You know it's alright if we both ask each other."

Evabelle saw a flash of a grin on him. "You're right, princess." Then he grit his teeth as his leather on his arm nearly slid off. "Stupid thing." He did his best to pull the cord and keep in position.

"I'm planning on telling Jameson about that," she said and raised her shield as several more darts flew at them. In her other hand, she took the knife by the blade and weighed in carefully. She wasn't great at knife throwing yet, but she was improving. After the darts fell, she shifted the shield and let the blade fly. It spun through the air and scraped along Tau's hand before it clattered to the ground. He jerked back in surprise, but managed to keep hold of the gun.

Kruor after having been knocked to the side when Lucis had protected Evabelle, rose back up, dropped the black fur pelt to the floor, and stalked toward them.

"No killing. No killing," Evabelle heard Lucis whisper to himself. He let his armor sleeve drop to the floor and spun his sword.

They had to get out. Evabelle glanced behind them to the window. She nodded her head toward it. "Now!"

Lucis saw the gesture and shoved the sword back into the sheathe and scooped up Evabelle. She held up the shield again and they shattered through another of Kruor's windows. Snarls and cursing followed after them, but they shot out into the winter night away from them.

"What about the others?" Lucis asked.

Evabelle blinked through the snow that was coming down in sheets, almost blinding her as the cold whipped by, stinging her face. "Stop a little further away and I'll send them a signal." Lucis did as he was told, flying a fair distance, but still within eye-line of the mansion. He set her down, the two of them ducked down behind a snow-bank. "Can I borrow a feather?" she asked. Lucis handed one over to her. She held the little white feather in her hands and whispered, "Lucis." Then she threw it up in the air as the flickering white light flared a brilliant gold. It rose like a star in the dark blizzard, illuminating and reflecting of the crystal snow.

She kept her arms raised above her head, suspending the beacon for her friends that she prayed they would see. After a minute, she lowered them and the feather fluttered back down, crumbling away like the white flakes falling around them. Evabelle glanced over to Lucis who was rubbing his exposed arm. "Do you think that will be enough?" He asked.

"I hope so." She shook any thought that it wouldn't be. "Come on, let's go to the rendezvous point. We'll wait there for ten minutes. If they don't show, we'll go back in."

Lucis nodded. "Alright."

They went to the old broadcast building that had rundown years ago. Before the place could be torn down, mages had gotten their hands on it to use as a portal station. They made sure regular humans stayed away from it.

The moment Lucis put Evabelle down he strode ahead. Her chest ached as she watched him go. Would it always be like this? "Thanks for saving me," she said.

"You don't have to thank me for something I'll always do." He gave her a small smile over his shoulder that made her feel a little better.

She smiled back. "That has to be one of the cheesiest lines I've ever heard."

Lucis turned back forward. "Sometimes the cheesy lines are true."

Evabelle wished to run forward and hold his hand, but she stayed back. Lucis went over to a few beams of wood that lay on the floor and sat down on them. She sat down across from him against a dirty glass wall. They were quiet for several long moments. He kept his eyes on his feet, while she looked at him. There were a thousand things she wanted to say. There always was a thousand things she wanted to say to him. But she pushed those all away. "I didn't get much in the way of Averno," she said quietly instead.

Lucis didn't respond.

"And I didn't find out what happened to Kai." Her hands curled into fists.

He glanced up at that. He licked his lips and opened his mouth.

"I know what happened to him," a female voice spoke from the room next door where the portal was.

Evabelle and Lucis leapt to their feet and dashed into the room. A tall, thin woman with long black hair that swayed around her waist stood in front of the dark star that was open back to the Sanctuary. Sharp angled eyes, the color of blood narrowed at them.

Lucis pulled out his sword. "Who are you?"

"My name is Chiyo." She nodded her head at someone behind them. "And that's Tyko."

Evabelle whirled around as a man as pale and ghostly as Kai stepped in front of the doorway. That wasn't the only thing that he had in common with their vampire friend. Pointed ears and hair that was long like Kai's used to be. "An elf!" Her eyes widened.

"Former elf, obviously." He gave a nod. As expected he shared the elven accent.

"What do you know?" Lucis raised the blade, pointing it at Chiyo.

"I know that if you don't put down that sword, I'm not going to tell you anything." She put her hands on her hips. "Put it down, boy."

"You don't mean to hurt us?" Evabelle asked. Her own hand hovered at the hilt of her duren.

Chiyo shook her head. "No, that's not my intention."

Evabelle glanced back at Tyko, who leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded. He didn't seem particularly threatening. She put a hand on Lucis's wrist. He flinched away from her touch, but he did lower his weapon.

"What do you know?" Evabelle asked.

"Kruor cursed Prince Kairi with the bloodlust. The bloodlust is the necklace he always wears. It was formed by a drop of blood from each of the purebloods, and only one of them can use it. I joined his clan to get my own hands on it, but that's a separate thing." Chiyo waved offhandedly.

"What does this bloodlust do?" Lucis didn't put his sword away, keeping it ready at his side.

"It heightens the desire for blood to an insufferable level," Chiyo replied.

"It can make any vampire a savage," Tyko spat. Lucis and Evabelle turned to him. "It empties the vampire's stomach of blood, wiping it clean and then some, making the need for blood intense, driving them mad. When we got to him, he was scrambling for control."

"Is there any way to cure it?" Evabelle asked, her mouth going dry.

"He needs a lot of blood before it goes away," Chiyo said. "Enough to drain a few people at least."

"When you got to him?" Lucis's mouth parted. "What do you mean, 'when you got to him?' Where is he?"

Chiyo tapped her heel on edge of the portal. "We sent him through here. We hoped he'd get enough strength to lock himself up for now. But this thing closed after he went in, so I'm going to guess that he got to whoever was holding it open."

"No!" Evabelle shouted right as Lucis exclaimed, "Calandra!"

Evabelle dashed past Lucis and Chiyo and over to the star. She jumped onto it, but the old broken building didn't vanish. She didn't appear back in the Sanctuary.

Chiyo turned to her, her expression slipping into one of sympathy. "I'm so sorry. It's been too long now. Unless there's someone over there that could stop him, the mage or whoever her got his hands on is dead.

Evabelle stumbled off the portal, struggling to take it all in.

Calandra wasn't the only one there. Thom and Gem were too. They couldn't fight off a vampire gone savage. Some of Shaundee's friends came from time to time, but none of them were there now. Raoul the werewolf had been going in and out of the place, claiming to be searching for somewhere new to stay. He kept telling them that war was not his thing, yet he still eavesdropped on their meetings from time to time.

Evabelle remembered he'd gone out just a bit before they'd left to go on this stupid mission. She shook her head. This could not be happening. Not again. No! She covered her mouth with a shaking hand. There was no one there to stop Kai. Calandra was dead and...her brother, Thom... No! There had to be someone. There had to be someone who could stop this.

((A/N:  Hey guys!! I hope this chapter was interesting for you. It had a lot of action, and I know I'm not always the greatest at that. Also, I didn't edit this one as much as I probably should have. So everyone, please don't be afraid to let me know where things feel clunky, weirdly paced, or just plain confusing. A lot happens in this one, but sadly we never found out if Calandra truly was killed by Kai or if he was stopped. What do you guys think?? Any guesses? 

Next chapter might be late. It's nowhere near done, so we'll see if I can get it up in time. I'm also starting school next week, so it's hard to say. 

Thank you all for reading!!))