The angel's words were taken seriously by everyone at the Citadel. They began to pray constantly. The gargoyles prayed that their swords would always be used in a righteous manner to defend Tweldor and all that it stood for. The elf Fletcher prayed with and for his archery students, that they would gain the skills required to deflect the flaming arrows of the enemy, both literally and figuratively. Rhys prayed that he would have the wisdom to teach the candidates exactly what they needed to know about the demons that they would encounter, and together they prayed that they would have the wisdom to know exactly how to protect one another.

No one knew how Asmodeus planned to destroy their sanctuary. Could it be a direct assault in the grounds? Or would the attack involve something more subtle, more sinister? Psychological or spiritual warfare might be even harder to combat... What would happen? All anyone knew was that every one of them would continue to pray. Raphael had promised his aid but he had also requested continual prayer cover, to strengthen him and the other angels. So, everyone worked, and everyone prayed, together.

There was much to prepare, and activity at Tweldor was frenetic. However, the attitude was peaceful, with what they were all achieving. Libuse was proud of her Councillors, candidates and pre-candidates. She wanted everyone within the Citadel's walls to be as organised as possible. That meant classes and training — no exceptions.

The physical training was brutal. Apart from archery lessons with Fletcher, Libuse would not allow Rosemonde to take part in this aspect. She was shortly to return to face trial, and Libuse did not want her to sustain any additional injuries that could not be explained by her encounter with Zoiia and Paul.

Rosemonde was relieved. Mordecai and his team were good teachers and very patient with their students, but she could not even lift a gargoyle's sword, let alone fight with one. She had watched in captivation as Drew and Mairead had quickly graduated from wooden swords to real ones. Now Mairead charged at her practice dummy as if her life depended on it, (and so it might).

"Whoa Mairead is that really you?" Rosemonde gaped, in both admiration and amusement.

"Ah Rosemonde dear, isn't this INCREDIBLE? I feel like Boadicea descending on Suetonius!"

"Er, mum, that ended really badly." Drew laughed.

"Well yes, I know that Andrew." Mairead rolled her eyes. "But I am after all a thespian, and one of the roles I wish I'd been able to play is Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni." She sighed wistfully. "Can you imagine a twenty-something year old me charging into battle? My body dyed blue with woad, my hair blowing behind me in slow motion."

"Sounds like a shampoo commercial for an Avatar franchise product," Drew drawled.

Rosemonde barely succeeded in suppressing a laugh.

"Way to kill an old woman's fantasy!" Mairead moaned dramatically.

"You are not old mum." Drew chuckled before planting a kiss on his mother's cheek. "Just completely mad!"

The sound of the gong signalling the end of the session saved Drew from Mairead's retort.

"You are so saved by the gong." Rosemonde laughed.

Mairead gave her son a withering look. "And the fact that we're sweating like animals and need to shower before our meeting... You my son are lucky indeed!" She winked at Rosemonde and the three of them made their way back inside the citadel together.

Rosemonde headed to one of the common rooms that had been allocated to their group, to wait for them. She and the Wilsons had planned to get together with the others after training and classes ended, to discuss strategies for her trial. All the Luminous Warrior candidates had been divided into groups of twelve. She and Drew had been placed together, with Mairead, Theodora, Max, Ursula, Christian, Gianna, Leo, Vladimir, Renweard and Myrddin.

Max was an established lawyer. Ursula would soon qualify. Despite being her friends, there was no ethical or legal reason that one or both could not represent her in court. Lawyers could even represent family members, provided there was no conflict of interest. Nevertheless, they had all concluded that officially, Morgan would be Rosemonde's lawyer.

"For all we know, Asmodeus may use the court case itself to implement whatever he has planned," Morgan had theorised. Libuse agreed. As an elioud, Morgan could detect glamour or compulsion strategies, which would undoubtedly be used by the other side, and then act accordingly.

"It would make sense for them to push for a bench trial," Max said. "Given the huge media attention they could argue that they would not be able to find a jury that was unbiased."

"But don't forget Rosemonde, you have a right to a trial by jury," Ursula reminded her.

"Given the initial very negative press I received, I'm not completely against a bench trial," Rosemonde said. "It actually sounds easier to try and convince just one person as opposed to twelve."

"And if the judge has been bought by Du Malum Corp?" Drew asked.

"Don't underestimate the demonic. They can influence a jury too, I'm sure," Christian said.

"You're learning Chris," Myrddin replied dryly.

"Alright let's look at the facts." Christian went into cop mode. "There is digital evidence to show that Rosemonde was held against her will and that she acted in self-defence. She will be most likely charged with manslaughter rather than outright murder," he said.

"Agreed," Max and Ursula said together.

"And that is essentially our case. A full acquittal can be achieved if the jury or the judge finds that the accused reasonably believed they were threatened with death, or serious bodily harm and, if so, that the force used was reasonably proportionate to the perceived danger," Ursula summarised.

"It's that last bit that concerns me," Mairead sighed. "There's approximately three hours between the stabbing and Rosemonde leaving Zoiia's house. She could have alerted the police. She was out of danger for three hours and in that time frame, they might argue that Paul may not have bled to death."

"Doubtful. Ros' literally went for the jugular. He'd probably have bled out within minutes," Christian explained.

"Don't forget that I hadn't been discharged from the hospital. I was taken against my will! I'd been admitted for concussion and had not been allowed to sleep through the night so I was exhausted. I had some fluids and a light meal a few hours after being admitted, and then nothing else to eat or drink until I stumbled upon Ben and Liam," Rosemonde stressed.

"Good girl!" Max smiled at her. "You will need to remind everyone of that, constantly. Be prepared to have to repeat it over and over until it becomes so frustrating you just want to scream; but do not add or subtract anything. We will work out the timing of your last meal, and the last time a healthcare professional checked on you, with the hospital."

"Time moves differently here, so at what point are you being returned?" Mairead asked.

Rosemonde exhaled nervously before explaining the plan. "As you've pointed out, I have three hours to account for, and I have to explain why I just ran off and didn't call the police. I won't convince anyone that I had lost my memories if I reappear only a short time after being last seen, with a complete understanding of what had occurred. Also, how would I account for healing my cuts and bruises so fast? Rhys thinks it would be best if I'm found before I eat anything and still a little disoriented, so that my injuries are examined in a hospital setting. The herbs I was given before the flying ointment really hastened my healing, but this time around we don't actually want that."

" Oh Ros', no! You'll experience that pain all over again and...if you forget everything...you'll forget us," Drew said quietly.

"Only for a very short time." Rosemonde reached for his hand reassuringly. "Once I am found and examined by a doctor. I can dreamwalk again. I remembered before, remembered that I was in love with you. I will remember that again."

Drew covered her hand with his and nodded without saying anything. He hoped she was right. He hoped that the demonic world, which he now knew to be very real, would not find a way to take her away from him.

"Do not vorry Drew. Ve vill make sure she remembers us all," Vladimir vowed.

"Definitely!" Leo confirmed.

"He speaks truly," Renweard added.

The same sentiment was echoed around the room. Only Theodora remained silent, pensive....