 
Kasadya

Hellhound Awakened

Written by Karen Swart

@ 2014 Karen Swart

Smashwords Edition

# Appraisals for the Kasadya Saga

"Kas was a great main character! She was bold, determined and sometimes stupid.

But she was awesome. She went from a spoiled teen to a warrior! Yes, a great

warrior with BAT wings!! This book as it all.....with action, HOT

males! :)" Derinda Love-Young Adult and Teen Readers for Hellhound Awakened

"Holy crap, I could not put this down!! What a great read this was, although at

the end I was screaming NOOOOO..... I didn't want it to end! If you are looking

for a book with some action in it, THIS is it!! I loved the characters; I could

picture them in my head. That's awesome character building!" Brenda Romine – Hellhound Awakened

"Another great book, written amazingly, with so many great characters! I can't wait for the next book and totally recommend this for all paranormal lovers!!" Carrie Fort – Hellhound Twisted

"I have so many emotions warring with each other- sympathy, anger, sadness, betrayel and more. This author knows how to pack a wallop regarding her writing." Merisha Abbott – Hellhound Twisted

"I've said it before and I'll say it again! Be sure when you start Karen's Kasadya Series you start each book well before you plan to sleep at night! I don't mean that it will keep you up all night with night terrors, but it will keep you up all night turning the pages." Julia – Hellhound Born

"Holy Shit! Talk about an emotional roller coaster." Alyssa Williams – Hellhound Born

"I don't think it's any secret to anyone at all that I love Karen Swart's Kasadya Hellhound series. They are just so much fun! I'm serious, I haven't had this much fun reading in a long time. The premise of the series is more unique that most "Angel" type books and the author throws in enough twists to keep me guessing, and on the edge of my seat." Lori Parker – Hellhound Born

# Copyrights

All rights reserved. Published by Karen Swart. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Copyright @2014

Edited by There For You Editing, MAI Editing & Blue Butterfly Editing

Cover by Melody Simmons

# Dedication

To my husband, family, and friends that had to bear the wrath of my insane writing, thank you and I love you beyond words.

# Acknowledgements

To my amazing fans for supporting me and Kasadya. To my beta readers, editors and proof readers, a huge thank you. To my amazing street team who is always there to help out. A special thanks to Janine for always being there.

# Glossary

Custos \- Guardian Fallen

Apprendo \- Apprentice Fallen

Filiola \- Little Daughter

Dominus \- Master

Salve \- Greetings or Hello

Vale \- Farewell

Puela \- Girl

Caveo \- Take care

Cor \- Heart

Bellus \- Beautiful

Exsilium \- Banished realm

Fillia – Daughter

Bellator – Warrior

# Prologue

There was a time when heaven was filled with peace and serenity. God, Jesus Christ, and all the Angels lived in harmony; no evil and no sin existed. Until one fateful day...

With all gathered to hear their Sire speak, God rose and addressed his Angels. Before all, he proclaimed His Son, Jesus Christ, was equal to Him. That Christ's words should be obeyed as if they were His own. Christ would command the heavens, with the same authority as Him. All the Angels bowed down before Christ and accepted their Sire's proclamation, all except for one...

An Archangel was furious with this proclamation. He was his Sire's right hand, the deliverer of justice, the commander of many legions. He had served his Sire for centuries, and never failed him. It should be to him that God bestow power, not a Son whom had never even seen battle.

With his heart filled with hatred and jealousy, he gathered all the angels in secret. He told them that their days of sweet liberty were at an end. That God has now placed Christ as their ruler and that they should now obey his wishes. Many angels were angered at such a false statement, but many also agreed with the Archangel. He had led them for many years; why should they now question his leadership?

The faithful Angels fled to God and told Him what was happening, and together they prepared for war. With the sun rising on a new day, God and his Angels stood ready for battle against the Archangel and his followers. The battle only lasted a day, the Archangel and his followers defeated before the sun set for the night.

Seeing the angels on their knees before Him, He gave them one final chance... "Repent and declare your loyalty, and I will forgive you, my children." He told his beautiful angels, tears falling with each word. This was His family. This was His love. How could they betray Him? Some of the Angels cried their penance, begging Him to forgive them for their deceit. They claimed that the Archangel deceived them, and they followed him into battle, as they have done for centuries.

God took pity on them, but still believed that their deceit must not go unpunished. He had spoken many times about the importance of punishment, that lessons learned must be earned... "I herewith grant you mercy, but as punishment you will be sentenced to an earthly realm. I will take your beauty as payment for my children lost today. In the place of your beauty, I will give you purpose. In mercy, and because I love you still, I give you life in this realm. Let this be known, that I was merciful this day," God finished.

He placed them in an earthly realm, and called it Exsilium. In this realm they would carry their deceit, and earn their place with him. He took their beauty and replaced them with elements of his earth. Half would be of animal and element, and would resemble punishment. The other, in a humanoid form, and would resemble mercy. He called them his Fallen.

The Archangel, and those whom did not repent, were not that lucky. God looked into the eyes of His once faithful angels and only saw destruction, hatred, jealousy, and heartache. He knew that His beloved ones had died this day, and that others needed to be protected. But how could you destroy one you loved? He placed the Archangel, and his followers, in another earthly realm, but where Exsilium was above the earth, this one was in the center. With one wave of His hand, their beautiful forms were replaced with forms as ugly as their hatred and deceit. Using His word and blood, He sealed this realm from any other.

As He looked into the many eyes of hatred, He spoke his final word... "This realm will be called Hell, and you will be called demons. You, my once faithful Archangel, you will be called the Devil. Your angel name will be erased from the past, present, and future. You will be forgotten," He proclaimed and left them to their demise.

Many years have passed since that day. God created mankind and cherished his new children. The male and female were his new hope; in them he would find peace again. But the Devil had grown strong through the years, and somehow managed to enter God's garden. Here, he found the female God created, using her to strike back. He whispered words of deceit in her ears, and watched as God's new children stepped into sin. With her first bite, a crack appeared in the seal around Hell, and demons escaped to earth.

From that day onward, the Devil and his demons created chaos amongst God's new children, leading one after the other into sin. God looked upon this and decided to fight for his loved ones. He went to Exsilium and spoke to the Fallen... "You, my children, have proven your loyalty in the years that have passed, and so I came to offer you another chance at Heaven. If you slay the Devil and his demons to protect mankind, I will give you a place in my Heaven once again. With your last breath on this earth, you will join me and your brethren in Heaven," He finished. The Fallen agreed and God gave them the power to move in and out of Exsilium to battle the demons. The war between Good and Evil began.

But as mankind spread over the earth, sin became their followers. And with each sin, the demons grew stronger and created more demons to torture mankind. The Fallen were now fighting against millions; they needed assistance to ensure victory. God had watched the battle from Heaven and saw that they were failing because of their numbers. He also saw that the demons grew stronger than the Fallen. He intervened and created a new creature. This creature would have features encompassing the best of both worlds. One half was as strong and loyal as the Fallen, while the other was as hard and enduring as a demon. This was His ultimate weapon. This would be His greatest creation. To ensure that these creatures could not be swayed, He placed Heaven's soul into them. He called them His hellhounds.

The hellhounds delivered justice swiftly, as strong and just as the Fallen. Yet hard and durable like the demons, they conquered the earthly realm and the demons retreated. Not one hellhound could be swayed. All stayed true to their calling. God, knowing that the Devil and many more demons had retreated, gave His hellhounds life, and offered them a place among the Fallen.

Until this day they still watch over mankind, protecting them from evil. Will we be worth it?

# Chapter 1

Looking in the mirror, the face looking back at me had such sad eyes. In them I could only see despair and heartache. With blue eyes, long brown hair, and soft tan skin, she didn't look bad. It's pretty funny how a simple thing like DNA could play into your destiny, that a simple drop of blood could predict your fate. This was my fate, to become what my DNA wanted me to become. Something I wished I never had. Life in general was hard and uncertain, but mine was about to take a very bad turn. The only question was, would I survive it?

Ever since I could remember, my dad was always away on business, especially during the nights. Mom was a landscape specialist and stayed home with me, doing her thing when I was at school. We stayed in a normal town, a normal house, and I lived a normal life. But at the age of twelve, mom and dad filled me in on my destiny, or perhaps I should say my curse.

You see, my parents are Fallen. My dad was a hellhound and my mom a fae. Dad was always away on "business" because it was his destiny to defeat evil demons and protect humankind. Mom was given leave of her service to attend to me, at least until I was old enough to go to The Hellhouse in Exsilium.

It was explained to me that I could never have a regular human life because I wasn't human. I was born a hellhound, thanks to my dad's genes. He was one of the strongest Fallen, created by God himself. It was my destiny to protect mankind from evil in order to earn passage to Heaven. Unlike human children born without sin, I was born with it, and to redeem my soul, I had to serve. That part sucked big time.

To add to my curse, I also had to follow "The Fallen Laws". The first law was that you may interact with humans, but never join them. To make it short, I was allowed to go to a normal school, but wasn't allowed to have friends. The second law was that we were not allowed to take a human partner, so no boyfriends for me. Yeah, sucked really badly.

Apparently there were many laws. That's why The Hellhouse was created, to teach and train us. Wedded couples, like Mom and Dad, were allowed to raise children in the human world, but every childless Fallen lived in Exsilium. They believed that by exposing us to humans from a young age, we would serve better.

I don't think that idea worked out too well. About a week ago, two days before my seventeenth birthday, Mom and I got into a huge fight because I accepted an offer to go on a date with a boy at school. Ranting and raving, my emotions went haywire and the next thing I knew, I was standing on a street, in an unknown town, in the middle of the night. I had no idea how the hell I did it, but there I was.

Just when I was about to go insane, Mom appeared out of the blue next to me, even angrier than before I left. Still screaming at me, she took my hand and then zap, I was back in the living room to find Dad standing there, totally pissed off. I broke a law. Only Dominus and Custos Fallen were allowed to shift in the human world. Apprendos, like me, were only allowed to shift with their consent. Also, Apprendos could only shift after their seventeenth birthday, when their bodies started becoming Fallen.

In total shock, I just stood there and listened to them going off at me. How the hell could I have known what shifting was in the first place, let alone know that I would be able to do it? Dad and Mom decided that my normal life should end immediately and that it was time for me to go to The Hellhouse and start my curse.

So, here I am, sitting in front of a mirror in a hotel in Omsek, Russia, moments away from taking on a cursed existence. What a life. A soft knock at the door made me turn my head, and in came the two of them, to collect and deliver me to my torment.

"It's time, my Filiola," Dad said, looking at me with what could only be called a mixture of sadness and pride.

"Is all your stuff packed?" Mom asked with her poker face. No way in hell would she show any emotion. Too proud, I guessed.

"Yeah, it's all there," I replied while turning my head to look at my three suitcases. Bummer, seventeen years and all I had to show for it was three suitcases.

"Time is wasting, Kas. We need to go." Dad walked over to my suitcases, picked them up, then walked out of the room, heading for the car.

Mom stood there, looking at me. No words came, so I stood up and walked outside to the hallway and down the old stairs. I looked at the humans in the small lobby, envy in my heart. They never had to live a curse just to be able to go to Heaven one day. All they needed to do was go to confession and be forgiven. That's so unfair.

Outside, Dad was already in the driver's seat of the minivan, so I went to the back door and got in, with Mom following suit. We drove for about an hour into the country, until Dad turned left onto a dirt road. A mile in, we came to an old cottage with a man waiting outside. Dad stopped the car in a garage and we got out.

"Salve, Vulcan. Good to see you again," Dad greeted the guy.

"Salve, Troian," he returned, and they braced both their hands on each other's arms. Fallen don't shake hands like humans; they greet each other in an old warrior way. Who gave a damn?

"Vulcan," Mom said and greeted him in same way. Married women - or females as my mom always said - are not allowed to show affection to another male, so a kiss to the cheek was taboo.

"May I introduce my daughter, Kasadya," Dad said, gesturing to me.

"Salve, Kasadya, and welcome," Vulcan replied, but luckily he didn't do the arm thing with me. With long, golden blond hair and blue eyes, he looked down at me with a smile.

"Hi," I said in return, my mom rolling her eyes at my short greeting.

"Shall we get your baggage?" Vulcan asked. We walked back to the garage to get our suitcases. I grabbed two of mine and my mom's vanity case. Since they were getting rid of me, they were also returning to their home inside Exsilium.

"Okay, that's everything," Dad said. We started walking to the cottage, a shifting portal waiting inside. A portal made by fae, like my mom, to gain access to Exsilium. Not all the Fallen need it, of course. It was made for Apprendos like me.

We walked into the old cottage to find it empty. Following Vulcan, we made our way to the kitchen, where Vulcan opened the pantry door and walked inside, disappearing into a green light. Okay, I'll admit, that was cool. Next to go was Mom. Dad and I were left; we stood there looking at each other. My breathing picked up with anticipation and dread.

"Come, my Filiola. Your turn," he gently prodded, nodding toward the open space in the pantry. No escaping, I guess, so I took a step into the portal, stepping out onto a brick road in front of a huge house. I looked back to see my dad standing behind me.

"Welcome home, Kas," he said and started walking towards my mom and Vulcan, who were waiting for us at the gate of the house. I sighed and walked after him.

When we reached them, my mom turned towards the gate and it opened all on its own. One by one, we stepped inside and went up the stairs, only to find the next door doing the same. Wow, getting cooler. It made little things, like opening a door and gate, easier. Walking behind Vulcan, we entered a lobby in the front of the house.

"Freya, Vulcan and I are just going to drop our luggage at home. We will be right back," Dad interjected before placing my big suitcase on the floor to take my mom's vanity from me. He looked at me with a smile and then poof, they were gone. I turned to look at my mom and found her smiling at me.

"You'll find our world interesting. That I promise, Fillia." She smiled, picking up my suitcase and motioning for me to walk with her.

"Yeah, pretty cool so far," I responded, walking behind her into a hallway. When we reached the second door, it opened on its own and she walked inside. I followed into what looked like an office.

"You can place your luggage here for now," she instructed, putting my suitcase down in the corner of the office. I dropped my luggage and turned around to see her sitting on one of the couches.

"So, is this The Hellhouse you guys were talking about?" I asked, looking around at the paintings and stuff inside the office.

"Yes, here you will practice your apprenticeship for about six months. Afterwards, you will live with your Custos until you are a Custos yourself."

"How long will it take?"

"It depends on the Fallen, but the average is about two years."

"So, I guess that means there will be no prom for me?"

"No, my dear, there will be no prom. That is for the humans. We have other balls, and you will need to attend them. It's tradition."

"Oh, just great. I don't even know how to dance, Mom. You wouldn't allow me to go to any of the dances at home, remember?"

"Don't fret about it now. Only focus on one thing at a time."

Rolling my eyes at her, I planted myself on another couch, only to have the living daylights scared out of me when Dad and Vulcan shifted in next to me. Laughing, my dad went to sit next to Mom, while Vulcan walked behind the desk to take his seat.

"Let's begin. Kas, you will be attending here at the house for about six months. From there, you will live with your Custos until he has found you worthy of being one yourself. We have rules for the house, which I will give to you. Learn them by heart," Vulcan finished.

"Okay."

"Your chosen Custos is Chax De Luca. He will introduce himself when he arrives later today."

"You have arranged for Chax?" Dad asked.

"Yes, he is the best and just finished with his other Apprendo," he replied, looking at my dad, who turned his head to me. There was something in his eyes, something like dread. Okay, what's wrong with this Chax guy?

"Then I will trust your judgment. My Fillia will not disappoint me," Dad said finally, getting up from the couch. "If you need anything, Kas, you only need to ask Vulcan. We will only see you once a month from now until you finish. Be good, my Filiola," Dad said and kissed me on the head.

Mom was up next and we just stood there, looking at each other. I was waiting for her to say something, anything. But, just like always, she kissed me on the cheek and joined my father at the bookshelf. Some girls have that best friend mom, I had... well, I had her.

"Be strong, Kas," Dad encouraged before he shifted out with Mom. I turned, really pissed off at Mom, to look at Vulcan. You would think that she would at least say goodbye. But no, too much for Mrs. Perfect.

"Okay, Kas, let me show you to your room and introduce you to your roommates, Nanini and Lada. They will assist you with the rest," Vulcan said, walking over to my suitcases. He picked up two of them, leaving me with the third.

I followed him up the corridor, going up a few stairs, until we finally made it into another hall, which was buzzing with life. As I walked behind him, kids my age were everywhere. In one room, my eye caught a girl completely green from top to toe, dangling in a meditating position in the air. Okay, now that's freaking awesome!

He finally stopped at a room and went inside. Following him, I found two girls in a huge freaking room. A dark haired girl was lying on the bed, and a blonde was jumping up and down in front of her. The moment they saw Vulcan, the one jumping stopped and the other one got off the bed.

"Greetings, puellas," Vulcan greeted, placing my suitcases on the floor.

"Hi, Vulcan," they said simultaneously.

"Kas, this is Lada Facetus," he said as he motioned to the dark haired girl. She had brown eyes and dark tan skin, coupled with long brown hair to complete her majestic look.

"And this is Nanini Dacus." He indicated the blonde girl. She had blue eyes, long blonde hair, and a very petite figure, like a pixie.

"Girls, this is Kasadya Levourne and she will be joining us. Please show her around and introduce her to the others. Her Custos will introduce himself later. Kas, get settled in, and best of luck," he finished, walking out of the room.

"Hi there, so glad we have another American girl," Nanini said, starting to jump on the spot again, like she needed to get to the bathroom or something.

"Yeah, the European girls can really bug the hell out of you," Lada commented, smiling at me.

"Glad to hear. Do you need to use the bathroom? Or something?" I asked Nanini, her jumping totally breaking my concentration.

"Don't mind Nanini; she has an adrenalin disorder and is always jumping or pacing around. Believe me, the moment she plants her butt, it's her mouth that goes off," Lada teased, laughing.

"Yeah, but at least it's a positive when I need to fly," Nanini countered, trying to stop but failing miserably.

"Did you just say fly?" I asked, stunned at her words.

"Yeah, I'm a fae and one of my powers is flying. I had to come live in Exsilium when I was eleven. I had a big problem keeping my flying under control."

"Wow. I could just imagine the human's reaction to that."

"This will be your section of the room, and luckily we have a bathroom to share, so we need to work out a routine. Nanini goes in last because she takes the longest," Lada said, gesturing to a bed in the corner near a window and another door to the right.

"Thanks," I replied, picking up the first suitcase, placing it on the bed to start unpacking.

"I'll help. You stand at the closet and I'll give one a piece at a time. It will go a lot faster with some teamwork," Lada insisted, sitting down next to the suitcase.

"Nice, so how long have you been here, Lada?"

"About two months now. I turned seventeen in March. Don't worry; the place isn't that bad. At least we have sexy guys to keep us entertained," she answered, handing over a pair of jeans.

I took the jeans and placed them in the closet. Sexy guys, yeah right. Then I remembered the two in the hall; they did look pretty yummy.

"So, where are you from?" Nanini asked, pacing around the front of the bed.

"I'm from Ohio. It's a pretty cool town," I replied, taking clothes from Lada and placing them inside the closet

"And who are your parents?"

"My dad is Troian, a hellhound, and my mom is Freya, also a fae like you," I said, directing the last bit at Nanini.

"Wow. That will make you a hellhound. Totally wicked."

"Why would that be wicked?" I asked her, turning around to face her.

"Hellhounds are the strongest of the Fallen, but really rare. I'm also one," Lada said, looking at me with pride written all over her face.

"Have you transformed yet?" Nanini went on.

"If you mean transformed into a hellhound, no. But I shifted to somewhere, and that had my mom and dad throwing a hissy fit."

"Then you are going to have to get a spark to hit the transformation," Lada continued.

"What do you mean a spark?"

"In the old days, we would transform for the first time when we were near a demon, but now we are taken to a spirit fae called Maia. She uses her powers to trigger your hellhound inside. Then you will be able to transform into a hellhound. Afterwards, everything is pretty cool."

"So, this Maia is going to zap me with her powers to turn me into a monster?"

"Basically, yeah."

Oh, just great, not only will I be a monster, but someone has to zap me into one.

"Do you know what I would look like?" I asked Lada, worried over the after effect this was going to have. I didn't want to look like a bull or something.

"I can do more than that," she said, smiling.

Getting up, she walked over to an open spot near the window. When she turned around, she wasn't a girl anymore. She was two feet taller, and was covered in what look like fur. Her brown eyes were now yellow with black pupils. On her forehead were two small horns sticking out. But it was the two black, bat-like wings lifting up behind her that did it for me. Oh my freaking soul! I am going to turn into a huge freaking bat! My legs turned into jelly and I planted my butt on the bed.

"It's not that bad, Kas. We can do a lot cool stuff with our Fallen bodies. Our wings grow stronger as we develop our Fallen nature. We are able to use them to fly and fight. We are just as fast as Harpies, but even better," she told me in a slightly deeper voice, before she transformed back to normal. I didn't see the okay part in this, definitely not the cool part. I don't even know what a freaking Harpy is.

"Come on, Kas. Think positive about this. I know it's shocking the first time, but at least you don't turn pink all over," Nanini said, patting me on the shoulder.

"You turn pink?" I asked her, remembering the girl drifting around in her room earlier.

"Yeah, it's a fae thing. We turn into almost any color on the planet. Even my freaking hair goes pink, so not cool."

"Well, at least you still look human, and not like a huge bat."

"Point taken."

"How do your clothes stay on when you do that?" I asked, worried about my birthday suit making its appearance in front of other people.

"Don't worry. A fae charms our clothing, making it possible to move and stretch. Your clothes are already charmed. Must have been your mom," Lada said, coming to sit next to me again.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a girl with a thick, Russian sounding accent asked. I whipped my head towards the door to find three girls standing there. The one in front looked almost exactly like Kate Beckinsale. The one on her left like Jennifer Lopez, and the last one at the back like Kirsten Dunst.

"Can't remember inviting you into our room, Kali," Lada sneered, clearly pissed off at the girl.

"Since when do I need your permission, dog?" Kali countered while smiling at Lada, who jumped up, ready for a fight.

"Okay, you two cut it out! Save it for the arena," Nanini demanded, but she also looked ready for some action, taking a "just try it" stance at the bed's end.

"And who might you be?" Kali asked, swinging her finger at me.

"Kas."

"So, are you another dog?"

"If you are referring to a hellhound, then yes, I am."

"Perfect, another one to pound down in the arena. Can't wait," the Jennifer Lopez girl said with a French accent while looking me up and down.

"Oh please, like you can talk, werewolf," Lada chimed in, moving forward to stand between the girl and me.

"Don't push me, Lada," the girl replied, a growl escaping from her throat. Oh man, she is a freaking werewolf.

"Come, girls, we have to entertain the boys. Let's leave these losers for later," Kali said and walked out, the other two following her.

"One of these days, I'm going to kill her," Lada declared, turning around to look at me.

"Something I should know about?" I asked. I wasn't really into the diva squad thing, at least not since I was fourteen. Being the odd kid out, I was picked on daily. Soooo over that now.

"They think they are the bomb," Nanini replied, pacing around in the open space in front of the bed.

"So, I guess that will be the local cheerleader squad then?" I asked, still looking at the doorway the girls left from. Man, I hated them in school, but now I'm stuck with the same type of divas all the time. And to add on to the whole thing, they turn into freaking werewolves.

"Yeah, every school has them, right?" Nanini replied. From the look on her face I could see that she had missed out on it because she had to come here when she was eleven. I, personally, didn't think she missed much.

"Come on, let's get you unpacked so we can get some grub before its time for our Custose," Lada instructed and went back to the suitcase.

"Yeah, so who and what are they, just to be on the safe side?" I asked, taking some clothes from Lada again, and pointing to the door the girls were standing in earlier.

"The leader of the pack would be Kali. She's a harpy. Then the werewolf is Nina, and the blondie at the back is Juno, who's a vampire," Lada explained with a displeased face.

"Okay then. We are so not doing a slumber party with them!" I said, making a joke to try and lift the spirit in the room. It worked; both of them laughed.

We finished unpacking and the girls showed me how to get to the mess hall, or as they put it, grub spot. Pretty much like at school; you get in line, take a tray, grab food and look for an open spot, which was easier.

The grub spot only had a few kids, about twenty from what I could see. We went to sit down and I had just taken my first bite when a group of four guys came to sit with us. Lada introduced me to them all, and I must admit it was quite nice to be able to talk to boys for a change, without feeling odd. And man, were they fine! After we ate, we got up to return our trays to the kitchen area, the three divas checking us out with every step.

"You can actually date one of them if you are interested. The "no go zone" is officially over. They are Fallen, so it's permitted. You're going to need a date for the ball," Lada said to me when I placed my tray in the wash bin.

"Really?" I asked, excited and scared at the same time. I didn't have much experience, but hell, I wouldn't mind getting to first base before I was eighteen.

"Hell yeah, it's cool now. So grab and enjoy," Nanini said, very pleased at the idea.

"I'll keep that in mind when a hunk comes along," I responded, smiling back at her.

Laughing, we went outside, still on the guys subject, until they steered me into what looked like a huge entertainment room. A huge TV, two pool tables, and some other stuff were crammed into the room, and kids were playing on them.

"We hang out here until our Custos come and fetch us for our training," Lada explained, going over to the TV to flip it over to MTV. So glad we can watch the normal world from here. I was wondering if they had the same stuff, and so far it was as normal as usual.

"So, who's your Custos?" Nanini asked, grabbing the pinball machine close to us.

"I believe it's a Chax somebody," I replied, looking at her feet moving like they were on fire. The girl clearly had a problem keeping still, but then she suddenly stopped dead, so I looked up to see her staring at me in shock.

"You mean Chax De Luca?"

"I think so. I didn't really pay much attention to the details. One boring teacher to another isn't worth it, right?"

"Boring will be the last thing you call a Custos, but Chax is the worst of them all. Vampires aren't people persons, and man, he is the worst of the lot," Lada said next to me.

"What does that mean?"

"First of all, it means they are not old guys or women. The Fallen never grow old. Haven't you noticed that with your parents? We hit a late twenty stage and that's it for eternity. Second, he is a Dominus Custos, being one of the first original Fallen, and he serves on the council. He is permanently in a bad mood."

"Oh, that's just freaking great! I get Darth Vader?"

"Yeah, you get the most desired, sexiest vampire in existence, but with a really bad attitude to completely spoil everything else."

"Crap, that sucks," I finished, laying my head back on the couch, my hands on my forehead. That's all I needed, an ass training me, and apparently he looked like a god to spoil every dream guy I ever had.

# Chapter 2

With my hands on my head, I was still sitting there hating my life and wishing I was never born. Why do I always get the bad deals in life?

"Nanini, are you ready?" a guy's dreamy voice asked from behind me. I lifted my head and turned around to see a dead sexy guy standing there looking at us.

"I see we have a new Apprendo. Seth De Monte," he greeted, walking over to stand in front of me. Man, this guy was beyond sexy. Dark brown hair reaching his ears, blue eyes, and a smile with dimples and all. But it was his body that completely had me dumbstruck. An absolutely perfectly shaped guy, with muscles too. Lada decided then to save me and gave me a soft push. I snapped out of it.

"Hi, Kasadya Levourne, but Kas for short," I replied, getting up to do the greeting thing. The moment my hands touched his arms, goose bumps broke out all over them. Oh boy, this guy is so hot.

"An honor, Kas," he said smiling, giving me even more goose bumps.

"I presume Troian is your father?"

"Yes, and my mom's Freya."

"Good, your father is one of the best, and your mother is also very talented. I will be looking forward to seeing what their daughter can do."

"Okay, well, that's makes two of us," I countered, and everyone laughed.

"Well, Nanini, shall we be off?" he asked, still looking at me with a smile.

"Hell yeah, let's get this going! I have some adrenalin to work out," she replied, her voice moving behind me.

Nodding at me and Lada, he joined Nanini. They walked out together, with me still looking at him the whole time.

"Oh man, I think you just found that hunk you were talking about," Lada said, patting me on the back.

"Oh, come on, it's not like we can date our Custos."

"Actually, you can. The moment you turned seventeen you are, by Fallen law, declared an adult and can date anyone you want. And he is available, too."

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope, and if you want, you can even do a pactum with him and become mates."

"What?"

"It means you two can bond and become husband and wife, if things work out. You don't even need your parents' permission. And we, being hellhounds, are even pushed into it, to increase the hellhound population."

"Okay, I am so not doing the marrying thing, and children are definitely not in my future plans, but thanks. I wouldn't mind hitting first base with him though."

Laughing, another guy came in and greeted Lada and me. His name was Dagon and he was Lada's Custos. After the introductions they both left, leaving me alone to think about this whole business of marriage and stuff. No way in hell.

I was the last person left, everyone else being collected by their Custos. Clearly mine also had no care for the words "on time." So I planted myself on the couch and watched MTV.

"Kasadya?" another male voice said from behind me. I turned around to see who it was, only to find an even sexier guy standing there.

"Yes," I replied. He had dark brown hair reaching below his jaw, emerald green eyes, and stubble running around his mouth to his chin and jaw. It looked like he hadn't shaved in a while.

"I'm your Custos. Come, Maia awaits," he instructed, then turned around and walked out. What the-?

Jumping up, I ran to catch up to him. Yeah, not even "Hi" or anything, just "Come." Man, I have a really bad feeling about this. I caught up to him and walked behind him to the front lobby, and then outside.

"My Apprendo reports directly to the arena. I will not waste my time on you again, understand?" Chax said, not even bothering to look at me.

"Yes, sir," I replied, anger blasting through me. Okay, this guy was beyond grumpy.

We walked in silence onto the brick street, passing many buildings and houses until we came to a street full of little shops. It looked a lot like the alley in Harry Potter. Reading signs from food to weapons showed me that each shop provided something different. This must be their main street or market.

We reached a little shop, almost tucked away between two bigger ones. He walked in, the door opening on its own. Inside the little shop was something more like a house. A nice lounge greeted us as a warm welcome.

"Maia," Chax called, ignoring me.

A blonde woman came into the room from another door. She had blue eyes, a slim figure, and a beautiful warm smile on her face.

"Chax," she greeted him without even looking at him. Her eyes were on me as she walked over to stand in front of me. "Welcome, young one. I'm Maia," she said, greeting me with her hands on my arms.

"Hi, I'm Kas," I replied, glad to see a happy face after a half an hour of seeing only someone's back.

"If you're done, you need to spark her so we can return and begin her training," Chax said. I looked behind her to see him staring at us. Wow, finally he's at least looking at me.

"Chax, that is the only reason you ever come to me, so keep your pants on," Maia said, still smiling at me and holding my arms. "Now, let's give you your spark and see what beautiful creature awaits us."

Suddenly, I felt a buzz from her hands going into me. It spread through my entire body, giving me goose bumps. She released me and took a step back. From the goose bumps, I felt warmth spread through me, and then I felt the transformation, my muscles and skin stretching and growing. I looked at my hands and saw them turn from normal sized to bigger hands with sharp nails and fur spread all over them. Looking back at Chax and Maia, I saw that I was taller than both of them. Wow.

He was looking at me from top to toe, inspecting me without a word. I saw a small smile on his face and the moment he saw me looking at him, he turned his face to the window and walked away. Okay, so he's a hide-and-seek kind of guy. I turned my eyes back to Maia, who stood there grinning like a schoolgirl.

"Fabulous," she said, looking at me.

"I hope it's not bad," I replied.

"Let me show you," she offered, and moved her hand in the air. A huge mirror took shape in the air in front of me. Okay, now this is something new. Looking back at me was the same thing I saw with Lada, but it looked more like me. My hair was hanging over my shoulders to reach my hips, a lot longer than normal. Then I saw my wings sticking out from behind my back. Concentrating, I moved them. I have no idea how I did it, but I moved them.

They opened gracefully. I closed them again and repeated the action, looking at them with awe. They were definitely bat-like, but for some strange reason they were beautiful to me now. I looked at Maia to see Chax regarding me from behind her. He turned around again, not willing to show he was even a little bit interested in my hellhound form.

Smiling because he was only fooling himself, I turned to look at Maia. "Yeah, not bad."

"You're beautiful, Kas, a rare thing in our Fallen forms, but clearly not in you," Maia said and turned around to look at Chax. "All done, Chax. Now you can continue your training," she finished.

He turned around. "Thank you, Maia. Vale. Kasadya, come. We're already late," he instructed, walking to the door.

"But how do I turn it off?" I asked him, definitely not wanting to walk back looking like this.

"Just imagine it in your head, Kas," Maia instructed, pointing her finger to her temple.

Imagine it in my head. Okay, I can do this. Closing my eyes, I felt my body reshaping, and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I was back to normal. Okay, no problem. I really can do this. I turned to the door to see Chax standing there, looking at me with an expression that said "today," so I quickly thanked and greeted Maia, and then followed him back outside.

We walked back to The Hellhouse. When we entered the front gate, he walked around the house towards the back. I followed again without a word. Don't want to piss off this guy. Reaching the end of the building, I could hear shouts and noise from somewhere behind the building. Rounding the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks. In front of me was the arena everyone had been talking about, a huge stadium-like thing. And there were pairs of creatures everywhere, sparring against one another, with their Custos standing around the fight giving orders.

I saw Nanini in her pink form flying in the air, throwing pink bursts of light at a half woman, half bird creature. The bird thing screamed when the pink light hit her and dove for Nanini, who simply moved out of the way at the last moment. The bird thing flew straight into another fight.

"Today, Kasadya!" Chax demanded. I looked back down to see him standing with two other people, so I quickly moved along and joined them.

"This is Arianna Facetus and her Apprendo Lotan. You will be sparring with him today," Chax said, motioning to the two standing there. Lotan I had met earlier at lunch, so I just nodded at him and greeted Arianna properly.

"Take your places," Chax instructed and I looked at him. What the hell then? So I looked at Lotan, who was taking a spot a few steps away from me before turning around to look at me.

"Begin," Chax said and Lotan changed into a big, red guy with black tattoos running all over him. Oh boy, this doesn't look good. He stood there, waiting for me, so I looked over to Chax, who was already pissed off at me for not doing something.

"Transform, Kasadya, and begin!" he shouted at me. Okay, I imagined the normal thing, so I guess let's try imagining the hellhound thing. Closing my eyes and concentrating, I felt my body change again, and when I opened my eyes I was just a head shorter than Lotan. Smiling, he made the first move and charged at me.

Holy freaking hell! He stormed at me full speed, his arm ready to punch me. Shocked, my body reacted on its own. Using my wings, I lifted myself up a little and moved out of his way a split second before impact. Unlike the bird thing, he turned gracefully and punched me in the face. I went flying back and landed on my back, my wings trapped between the ground and me. Crap! That hurt like hell.

Lotan was on top of me, pushing me down with a smile and pinning me to the ground. He opened his mouth and teeth like a shark's came into view. Moving forward and heading for my neck.

"His bite will paralyze you. Act now!" Chax yelled at me from somewhere behind me. Oh crap, no way in hell is this guy biting me. Digging my feet in the ground and using my wings at the back, I pushed up my lower body with such force I flung Lotan over my head, his head hitting the ground. The moment he was off me, I was on my feet, backing away from him.

"Good, now take him down!" Chax yelled again. But I just stood there looking at Lotan getting back up again. I'm a freaking girl. Girls don't fight like this. Damn, my cheek was thumping from the blow. The moment Lotan was up, he stormed for me again, this time tackling me like a football player. My breath slammed out of me and once again I was lying under him, struggling to take a breath. He pinned me down, and then the shark teeth were heading for me again. With a quick movement I pulled my hand from his grip and went for his throat. I saw his eyes go wide and then he transformed back to normal, my hand still on his throat, squeezing it.

I saw two hands coming into my view, going for my hand. Out of shock, I reacted and went into overdrive. I pushed Lotan away. He went flying through the air, and using my wings, I was up on my feet again and ready for some more sick fun. As I faced Chax, whatever look I had on my face had him changing into his Fallen form. He was two feet taller, and two huge fangs were sticking out of his mouth. The rest of him was still what you could call normal, ready to take me down.

Ready to kick his ass, I started to circle him until someone's voice pulled me back to reality. "Kas, don't. He'll hurt you. Just take a deep breath and calm down." I turned my head to look into Seth's beautiful face, and did what he said. Inhaling deeply and releasing it, I calmed down. Still looking at Chax, I slowly backed off, taking slow steps backwards, straight into Seth's arms.

"It's okay, you're okay," he whispered in my ear, and only then did I notice that my arm was back to normal, and I was shaking like a Chihuahua.

"What in heaven's name where you thinking, Chax?! She just got here and you just throw her into this, expecting her to do what the others have been doing for weeks. Where are your brains!?" Seth yelled at Chax, my head in his chest and still shaking. Boy, I have never been so scared in my life. This is hectic stuff.

"She is my Apprendo. I train her, not you!" Chax yelled back at him.

"Look at her, for God's sake. She is in shock. You don't just throw someone without experience into a fight like that, and against an Impon!" Seth continued.

"Release her now! Protecting her won't help her. She must learn in order to survive!" Chax yelled back at him.

"No," Seth said and kept me in his arms. The next moment I was plucked from him and Chax's face came into view. He was still transformed and looking at Seth. When I looked back at Seth, he had also transformed into what could only be called a werewolf. The same height as Chax, he faced off with him, growling.

"You want a go at me, Seth?" Chax asked, moving me from between them to his back, never releasing his hold on me. Well, this is a great day for a huge embarrassing moment.

"Any day," Seth growled back at him.

"Stop, you two!" Arianna yelled from the left. "Seth, you know we don't interfere with each other's methods. Chax has his own way of training."

"Look at her Arianna! Do you think his methods are acceptable?"

"No, I don't, but she is still his Apprendo and he alone trains her. You and I cannot intervene," she replied.

Without a word they looked at each other. After a while Chax transformed back to normal, turned around, and grabbed me around the bicep, pushing me back towards the building. He shuffled me through a hallway, all the way to a lounge area without saying a word, then pushed me down in a chair and released me.

"If you ever try to attack me, you better know what you're doing. Unlike the others, I will engage and I will hurt you, understand?"

"I didn't mean to," I croaked out, near the point of crying. How humiliating, being dragged away like that.

Without a word we just looked at each other. I felt a tear drop down my face, over my cheek, and I looked down at my lap. He turned around and left me alone in the room. The moment I felt safe, I burst into tears. The guy's insane! I have a freaking insane Custos, and he'll kill me before I even reach week two.

With my hands over my face, I heard footsteps and quickly pulled myself together. A pair of men's legs in jeans came into view.

"Are you okay, Kas?" Seth asked, and then bent down to look at me.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just had the wits scared out of me. Thanks for helping me, and sorry for the trouble."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I've never approved of his methods and that makes the two of us incompatible."

"Yeah, he is a pretty tough guy."

"No, not tough. He is out of touch with normal emotions," he replied. When he raised me up to take me into his arms again, I went without resisting. His arms were very comforting and I allowed myself the moment.

"I wish I could get you transferred to another, but it has never been done before."

"It's okay. I'll survive. Have to, right?"

He released me and we looked at each other, then he leaned closer with his mouth. Just when he was about to kiss me, Chax came into the room. Seth stopped and looked up at him.

"Come, Kasadya. We will train at my house. There are too many distractions here," Chax said and stepped to the side. Opening the door, he waited for me to follow. I looked at Seth and smiled, then turned and walked out.

"Careful, Seth, you play with fire," I heard Chax say once I passed him. Then the only sound was his footsteps as he followed me. I just continued walking until we reached a set of doors where I stepped aside for him to take the lead. He walked by me like I wasn't even there and just continued to storm down the next hall. Oh boy, I'm going to have one hell of a time with this guy. Clearly he is not a people's person.

After a moment he stopped and turned around to look at me. "I can see this is going to take too long. Take my hand," he said as he offered me his hand. Nervous, I slowly raised my hand to his, and the moment we touched we shifted into a lounge filled with antique furniture. He let go of my hand and walked out of the room. I followed him, all the while looking at the paintings and furniture. I followed him out a door to a garden with a wide open patch of grass. On the right side I could see a wide variety of weapons hanging on a wall. Someone needs a hobby. Clearly this guy was taking his job beyond the point of service.

"We will practice here for the next few days. I want to make myself very clear. When you go out in the field, you will meet much more dangerous creatures than here, and they will not stop before they kill you. There will be no one to save you but yourself. You fail here and you will die out there. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good, we will begin with basic battle techniques. I'll show, you follow."

He walked over to a small bench, removed his jacket and dropped it there. Now in just a t-shirt and jeans, he was walking to the middle of some type of ring and looked at me waiting. I moved over quickly; pissing him off even more was not an option.

He started with a basic punch move and I followed. We did a few, and every now and then he had to move my arm or twist my hand to ensure that I get the technique before we continued. I must confess, the guy moved very gracefully. I found myself fascinated with him every time he showed me a move. This guy can fight.

We continued until the sun's final rays peeked out from beyond the horizon, leaving the sky orange and purple. I was totally wasted since he didn't do time-outs during his training sessions. I was either going to build muscles like a gym jockey or I most likely wouldn't be able to move tomorrow, the last one a hundred percent guaranteed.

"Tomorrow after lunch, I'll meet you at the front door. I will shift you here, but by the time we are finished, you will take over the shifting and then be on your own."

"Okay." Like I have a magic wand stuck somewhere.

He offered his hand again and this time I took it without nerves. And, like that, I was standing in the front lobby of The Hellhouse. The moment I released his hand, he shifted out without even saying good-bye or goodnight. Well, have a nice night, you ass.

Walking back to my room, I felt like a train had hit me. Each step was agonizing, my muscles straining from all the exercise they had this afternoon. I made it into the hall to find the three divas standing at the first door, talking to someone. Just moving past them, I ignored them and walked to our room. The moment our door came into view, I sighed and walked inside to find Nanini jumping on a spot and Lada on a laptop.

"Wow, girl, you look wasted," Lada commented.

"You don't want my body at this moment," I replied and walked to my bed, crashing on it.

"Yeah, Chax really packs one hell of a training punch," Nanini said, coming to pace in front of me.

"Yeah, he's what I would call a lady-killer," I replied and tried to roll over to get back up again, without any luck.

"Seth was totally pissed at him the whole afternoon. Arianna had to calm him down a few times," Nanini continued and leaned over to look me in the eyes.

"Yes, he is fascinated with the new girl," Lada said, laughing softly.

"Hey, cut me some slack here. Just went through one hell of a day and it's not even over yet. I'm so sore."

"How are you going to get to the grub spot like this?" Nanini asked, still hanging over me.

"Definitely not going to make it. Don't even think the bathroom is reachable at this point."

"Nanini, go get Lilly. She'll be able to help Kas," Lada instructed, and Nanini ran out of the room.

"Who's Lilly?" I asked, worried that someone was going to help me into an even worse situation.

"She is spirit fae, like Maia. Able to leave you sitting on the ground like a little child in the hot spot corner, or in your case, able to remove the pain from your muscles so that you can get up, go eat, and have a bath."

"You think she will come and visit me every night?" I asked, still trying to get off the bed. Stupid guy, how the hell did he want me to train if I couldn't even move the next day?

"Hello, I hear I have a patient waiting for me," a girl said and came to lean over me, smiling.

"If you can take the pain away, I'll be your best buddy until the end of days," I said, begging her to help me.

"Don't worry. We do this all the time." She placed her hands on my shins, and just like with Maia, a buzz traveled into my body followed by goose bumps. Then the warm feeling spread through me, taking away the pain.

"That feels so good, thank you," I said to the girl who was now green from top to toe.

"No problem, hope you feel better in a few minutes. I'll see you guys. Still have to get ready for supper," she replied and walked out of the room.

"I like her," I said, and we started laughing.

After a few minutes I got up, took a shower, and then we made it to the grub spot. I ate the entire plate. The girls went to the entertainment room, but I called it a night and went straight to bed, crashing on it with such force, I bumped it in into the wall. Holy crap, I hope tomorrow will be better. My first day here totally sucked big time.

# Chapter 3

After I finally convinced myself to get up and start a new day, we went to breakfast. Lotan had been watching me since last night, but made no attempt to confront me or anything. That made two of us still trying to forget my Custos dragging me away like a little girl. Idiot.

Then it was time for "Class," as the girls put it. Basically, we all gathered in a theater type room, with Vulcan talking in the front. We began with a few laws that we needed to get into our skulls. One law that said a male and female pair goes out in the field had me thinking for a while. Yesterday, I couldn't help but notice that all the girls had a guy Custos and the boys had a girl Custos. Why on earth would they do that? Wouldn't two girls get along much better than a grumpy old guy and a seventeen year old girl?

"May I ask a question?" I asked Vulcan, interrupting him while he was explaining a law to us.

"Of course, Kas. Go ahead."

"Why do you pair girls with guy Custos, and vice versa for the boys?" I asked, watching Kali turn around, looking at me with interest. Okay, so I'm not the only one left in the dark here.

"You are the first one in many years to ask that question. Out in the field we have various demons to destroy. Some are more powerful than others, some so powerful a single Fallen cannot withstand them. Many years ago, before the human's 1300's, we had a huge problem with two types of demons. These two types still exist, and have become even more powerful than in those years."

"They are able to trick a Fallen into either killing their partner, or taking them into the underworld, never to return or be seen again. We lost many before we could find a solution. For example, your mother and father are a fighting pair. They go out into the field and fight together. If such a demon should cross their paths, one will be able to protect the other from the demon. That is why we pair you with counter sex Custos. When you go out into the field with them for your final training, they will be able to protect you. You, in return, would be able to either protect them or act to protect them."

Okay, so clearly we are up against two demon types that not even the Fallen could take on without each other's help. Damn, that makes sense.

"What would happen if a fighting pair crossed paths with two of these demons at the same time?" Juno asked, so serious that I almost had a déjà vu moment from Chax. Oh yes, I forgot they are both vampires, not 'people' people. I wonder if they need to do the blood thing.

"None have been able to defeat both of the demons at the same time. They either die or are taken," Vulcan replied, looking at her with the same serious face she had on permanently. Man, that's a bummer. So, pray you never get the two demons in one spot together, or you and your partner are so dead.

"What do we call these demons?" Lada asked, leaning over the seat in front of her, very interested in the subject.

Vulcan looked at us for a minute. "The female is called a Haplai and the male Chiddigul," he finished and kept his eyes on us. Some caught their breaths, a boy whistled, and another girl made a choking sound. I looked at Lada, not understanding what the big deal was. Yeah, sure we were dead if we were alone or came across both of them. But at least we had a chance to take them on and get the hell out of there.

Vulcan then turned around and finished the law he was busy with. The rest of the class went by very quietly, everyone thinking over the discussion we had just had. I just shrugged and paid attention to Vulcan for the rest of the morning.

After we finally finished, we retired to the grub spot to get some food. Everyone walked in silence. Okay, so the discussion had everyone dumbstruck or something? I was just taking the first scoop of food and almost had it in my mouth, when Lotan spoke behind me, scaring the jeepers out of me.

"Can I speak with you, Kas?"

Dropping the scoop of food, half in my plate and half out of it, I was instantly irritated by the guy. Hell, didn't he notice everyone was in a dark, gloom and doom moment? I turned around to face him, and only when I saw him up close, did I notice blue finger marks around his neck. Oh crap, I didn't mean to hurt him like that. Regret and shame taking place of my irritated moment, I replied to him, "Sure, let's take the small table at the back. Will that be okay?"

"Yes, that will be fine," he said. Nodding to Nanini and Lada, we walked to the small table at the back that was always open because nobody liked it. In school, this used to be my spot. I took a seat and Lotan took the one opposite me. We sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to hurt you," I started, just to break the ice.

"Don't worry. I have looked much worse than this before. I should apologize for scaring you like that. Didn't mean to; I'm just used to all the rest going at me full steam that the bite back thing is pretty much built into me. Sorry, it won't happen again," he said looking at me the entire time. He had the most beautiful blue eyes.

"Of course you have to do it again. Who else is going to teach me how to take down an Impon?" I said to him, smiling, and in return got a smile from him.

"Well then, I promise to start with small bites," he joked, taking a bite out of his steak.

Laughing at his comeback, I put the first bite in my mouth and enjoyed it. We talked through lunch, exchanging info and getting to know each other. I must admit, he was really nice, a totally different person than yesterday in the arena. No dangerous smiles, just good ones. When we finished, we walked back to the kitchen and dropped our plates in the wash bin.

He led the way out of the grub spot, and headed for the entertainment room.

"So, you got Chax, hey?"

"Yeah, scares the hell out of me."

"No kidding. Arianna used to be his Apprendo. She says that was the worst time in her life, but that she also wouldn't be what she is today if he didn't do what he did then. He's considered to be the best Custos in the Exsilium, and his Apprendos are a sight in the field."

"Well, in that case, I'll make sure to make enough memories to brag over in a few years," I replied, making him laugh.

"Greetings, Kas," Seth said, and I turned my head to the front to see him leaning on the wall next to the entertainment room.

"Hi, Seth, you're early today," I replied

"Yes, thought I might catch you before Chax starts his training. Would you mind if I borrow her for a while, Lotan?" he asked, smiling at me. My heart skipped a beat.

"No problem, see you later, Kas," Lotan greeted and walked into the room.

"We'll have to walk and talk, I'm afraid. Lord Chax is meeting me in the lobby," I said, gesturing to the front.

"Yes, of course. I'm glad to see you are still in one piece and walking. I was worried that you might not have survived him."

"Believe me, if it wasn't for Lily and her amazing hands, I wouldn't be walking here next to you."

"I'm glad you had some help getting on your feet. I take it the training was as brutal as Chax himself?"

"Oh yeah, he really needs a new hobby. He totally sucks at this one," I replied, making him laugh a little.

"Indeed, he is not a person you invite to a dinner party or something. He'll most likely kill the happy mood in the first minute," he said, making a face, and had me laughing.

"I can just see that. Nope. He'll spoil everything," I replied as we reached the corner leading to the lobby. We both stopped, knowing full well Chax was waiting at the front door.

"May I ask for some of your time tonight, after supper?" he asked, looking at me with a sexy smile.

"Definitely, I'll see you then," I replied, giving him a smile back. Come sore muscles and everything, I wouldn't miss out on this.

"Good, then I'll see you tonight. Vale, Kas," he greeted, and with a smile, turned around and walked back. My heart was beating at a dangerous pace and it took me a minute or two to recompose myself. The moment I walked into the lobby, Chax was on my case.

"I thought I made myself clear yesterday, or did my arrangement with you interrupt a moment in your life?"

"I don't need to declare my life to you. Are we training or what?" I asked, so pissed off at him I felt like smacking him. How dare he pull rank in my personal life. I'm not his daughter, thank God.

Pissed off as usual, he got up, took two steps and grabbed my arm hard, shifting us to his training area at home. The moment we hit the ground, he released me and walked over to a bench, removing his jacket.

Rubbing my arm, I watched him as he turned and walked back to me. My body went into full alert, and I prepared myself on the balls of my feet. No way in hell am I taking his bull today. He reached me and in a freaking fast movement, grabbed my arm again. The next moment we were standing in absolute darkness. He let go of me, and disappeared in silence. I stood there, preparing myself for anything. This guy is so not going to drop me today.

"Shifting takes a lot emotional energy from a Fallen," he said, somewhere to my left. I turned my head and tried to pinpoint his location.

"To be able to shift anywhere in the world, you can't hesitate or be afraid. There will be no time to anticipate a safe place. You shift in the moment," he went on, this time on my right. Oh crap, he was stalking me and shifting while at it.

"So, to help you get over it, you will avoid me by shifting," he continued, somewhere further away in front of me. Oh hell, he is really going to do it! Turning in a slow circle, I tried to listen to any sound he might make. But I only got a freaking push from behind that had me landing on all fours, my knees digging into a hard surface that felt like rock.

Holy Crap, I'm in a freaking cave or something! The next moment he grabbed me around my shoulder and threw me straight into a wall, my head hitting it full force. A scream escaped from my mouth. Slowly, I got up and braced myself against the wall.

"Let me guess, your mother spanked you as a little boy, and now you're taking it out on anything female. Or is this your idea of getting a girl's attention?" I said, trying to provoke him into giving away his position. The air hummed with movement, and I was slammed into the wall, his whole body trapping me, my face squished against the wall.

"Don't try and analyze me. I suggest you start avoiding me or there will be nothing left for Seth to look at tonight," he growled, and for some strange reason I got goose bumps. Imagining my hellhound, I transformed just to feel him transform with me. The moment I felt the transformation was completed, I pushed myself away from the wall, only to hit a solid chest at my back.

"Maybe you need some motivation," he whispered into my ear, and felt his breath on my neck. Every freaking vampire movie I had ever watched came crashing into my mind and I panicked. My emotions went haywire, and I shifted out of his embrace to somewhere else in the cave.

"You are such an ass!" I yelled at him in a deeper voice, a growl escaping after the last word. He just laughed. I felt the air move in the cave so I shifted to another spot, trying to avoid him.

"Well done, some inspiration for a change. Almost thought I had a problem for the first time in my existence," he said, and the air moved again. I did the same thing, ending up smacking into a wall, and then dropping to the floor. Damn, that hurt really bad. Lying on the floor, my head pounding from the impact, he was on top of me, grabbing my hands and pinning me down.

"Now you need to feel with your mind, to ensure you don't end up smashing into a wall, giving them the opportunity to kill you," he instructed, his face pressed into mine. I just struggled beneath him, trying to get out from under him. I tried to shift, but I just couldn't.

"Get. Off. Me!"

"Concentration is everything in our world," he replied, and then I felt his breath on my neck again, goose bumps breaking out everywhere his mouth moved. Concentrate for heaven's sake, Kas. But no luck. He kept breaking my concentration. After a while of brushing his mouth on my neck he stopped, finally getting his huge body off me. I laid there on the floor, gasping like a fish out of water, trying to calm down, but failing miserably.

I felt his hand on my knee and the next moment, light exploded in my eyes. I had to use my hands to cover them from the impact. Tears started to roll down my cheeks, stinging my bruised cheeks along the way. It took me a while before my eyes could open in the light. I looked around to see I was at his house, on the grass outside, all alone. I got up slowly and then looked at my knees. Blood covered my jeans. Then I looked at my hands, which were cut and bleeding as well. I lifted my head and turned around, trying to find him but had no luck, so I walked up to the house, looking for him.

I went into every room I could find but he was gone. Just freaking great! First he beats me up, and then leaves me here all by myself. This guy is such an ass! To hell with him, and I closed my eyes and shifted to my room in The Hellhouse. Luckily the others were still busy with training so no one was there to see me all covered in my own blood. I walked over to my closet and grabbed new clothes.

I stormed into the bathroom, and started undressing at a very slow pace. Every part of me was bruised; my knees, hands, and face were bleeding like there was no tomorrow. Its official. I'm going to kill him. At this rate I won't even have skin left at the end of training. Finally out of my clothing, I turned on the water and got in. I braced myself against the wall, letting the water run down my back, and then my knees and hands.

I watched as the water swirling at the bottom stayed red from my blood. After a while it started to clear, so I got to the very hard part of washing myself. Crap, the soap stings like salt! I hope he gets his ass kicked in the field! Damn, this hurts. After the shower I slowly dried myself off and got back into new clothes.

Seething in residual anger, I walked down to the entertainment room, planted myself on the couch and switched over to MTV. I sat there and tried to watch, but the only thing stuck in my brain was the part where he was breathing on my neck, moving his mouth over my skin. Why the hell would I find the whole thing so amusing? There was no way in hell I was going to let him do that to me again. He can play his sick games with some other girl.

"Kas, are you okay?" Seth asked from behind me.

Yeah, just what I need, the guy I'm interested in seeing me totally messed up. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said, keeping my face on the TV.

I heard his footsteps move to my front and quickly tried to avert my face, but was stopped by his hand. Slowly, he turned my face to look at him, and the moment he saw my face, his changed into complete anger. Closing his eyes, he just stayed like that for a while. I'm going to kill Chax for this!

"Is it that bad?" I asked. I never looked in the mirror; I was too pissed off at Chax.

He lifted his head and looked at me. "Come with me," he said, lifting me up with him. He took my hand and led me down the hall and around a corner. A few doors later, he stopped and opened one. We walked inside to what looked like a medical room of sorts.

"Sit on the bed," he instructed, pointing to the bed. I walked over to it, hopping on with my legs hanging over the edge to the floor. He went to the wall unit and removed some cotton and a bottle of some liquid, then turned around, standing in front of me. Looking down, he dabbed a few drops from the bottle on the cotton and then looked at me. "This may sting a little, but will speed up your healing," he explained, and I nodded.

Slowly and so gently, he dabbed the cotton on my cheek, looking at me the whole time without saying a word. He went to my chin and lifted my head a little, making me look him in the eyes. "How did this happen?" he asked, searching my face.

"His idea of teaching shifting is taking a girl into a dark cave and then motivating her into shifting," I replied, my eyes locked to his.

"Yes, I believe Arianna mentioned something like that to me once. There are more suitable ways, but Chax clearly has no feeling towards his Apprendos."

"At least I got it right for a while, at least until he pinned me down and I was unable to get out from under him," I said. He closed his eyes again, locking his jaws. He stopped nursing me and then opened his eyes and looked at me. No words followed. Slowly, he moved in towards me, gently placing his mouth on mine. My heart started to pound insanely, and I opened my mouth to take advantage of my first kiss.

Our kiss deepened, and he moved his arms around me and pressed me to him. I moaned and kissed him harder, desperate for more. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him to me. This was everything I had ever dreamed about. My body was humming and my heart pounding so hard I could feel it hit my ribs. We kissed for a long time, and when we finally broke apart, we were both breathless. He leaned his head to mine, still holding me, savoring the moment.

"May I be your escort to the autumn ball?" he asked me, still holding me close to him.

"Yes, that will be great," I answered, lifting my head to look at him. We started kissing again, this time devouring each other. After a while we stopped, and he helped me off the bed. Holding my hand, he led me to the stairs going up to our rooms.

"I will release you from our prior arrangement for tonight. Go get supper and then get some rest in for tomorrow," he said, his eyes dancing with delight.

"Okay," I replied, and we quickly gave each other a good-bye kiss. He released me and turned around, still smiling all the way. I turned around, and headed up the stairs, feeling absolutely great after such a bad two days. I came into the hall and passed everyone with a huge smile. Some looked at me like I was insane, and others just stared.

I walked into our room to find Nanini and Lada inside getting ready for supper. "Hi guys," I greeted them, and planted myself on my bed. They turned around and looked at me, confusion written all over their faces.

"Why on earth are you so happy when it looks like you had the crap beaten out of you?" Lada asked.

I just smiled and lay back on my pillows. No way was I going to tell them I made out with Nanini's Custos. I'll tell them later when my heart stops beating so fast.

"Oh hell, you made out with someone. It's written all over that smug look on your face!" Nanini said, and started to jump on the spot.

"Maybe," I replied, still smiling.

"Please tell me it was not the nutcase?" Lada whined, her face full of disgust.

"Are you crazy? I'll kill him before I ever make out with him. He's an idiot!" I replied, totally shocked to find the feeling of his mouth on my neck all of a sudden. Oh, that's so gross!

"Was it Seth?" Nanini asked, jumping onto my bed, excited.

"Yes, and he asked to take me to the ball," I replied, still freaked out a little over the weird mouth feeling.

"Way out!" Lada said, getting up and smacking me on the shoulder. "You two are made for each other," she finished.

"What was is like?" Nanini asked, and I turned to look at her with an Atlantic-wide smile on my face.

"It was wonderful. No dream could even beat it," I replied, and then we went all crazy for the rest of the night. The girls hammered me over Seth, and I must admit it made me so excited to see him again.

We finished supper and hung out in the entertainment room. We played a round of pool with Lotan and another boy, who was interested in checking out my bruises the whole time. After a while we all went upstairs and grabbed a bed, me drifting into sleep with Seth on my mind. Damn, that guy can kiss.

# Chapter 4

Morning came and went with Vulcan giving us a morning filled with demons. With each one he classified he also enlightened us on their strengths and weaknesses.

There are a lot of big scary ones we would have to face. Many of them were also hard to take down. The only way of destroying a demon was by taking its head off. The same goes for us. We might be immortal when it comes to age and health, but all of us die in the end; it was just a matter of how long you could survive.

After lunch, the girls and I were on our way to the entertainment room, or as Nanini called it the "The Zone". She really had a great imagination for the place. Walking up to the zone, we found Seth leaning against the wall, waiting. The moment I saw him, my heart started to pump double time.

"Afternoon, girls," he greeted, smiling at us, his eyes staying on me.

"Hi," we returned, and the two girls looked at me all smiles.

"Nanini, would you mind if I take a walk with Kas to the front door?" he asked her, and she grinned back.

"No, you can take your time. Lada and I are going to go kick butt at the pinball machine," she said, and the two disappeared into the room.

"Come, I'll walk you," he offered his hand. I took it without even thinking twice and started to walk with him.

"Did you rest well?"

"Yes, thank you, and you?"

"To the best of my ability. Arianna and I had field work in Paris."

"Paris, that's nice. So, you and Arianna are partners?" I asked, jealousy rising within me. Wow. This love thing is scary. I never was a jealous person before.

"Yes, we have been for about seven years now," he explained with a smile.

"I see. How do you fit Nanini and field service into one day? Must be hectic."

"Yes, it is, but those who have Apprendos make the sacrifice. We learn how to cope with it. That's why we only train in the afternoons. It gives us the opportunity to get some sleep."

"Ouch, doesn't sound fair just to have, what, five hours of sleep?"

"No, but you get used to it. A single Custos makes such a decision to give the pactum partners some time for a family. A small price to pay for the survival of the Fallen and mankind."

"Yeah, doesn't sound bad if you put it like that," I replied, stopping at the corner leading to the lobby.

He released my hand and placed his hands on my hips, pulling me to him. "Can I make a request?" he asked, his mouth almost on mine.

"Yes," I answered, already breathing hard with anticipation.

"Try to stay safe. I know it's not really possible, but try. Seeing you hurt like yesterday makes me insane," he said, his mouth inches from mine. I could feel his breath on my lips.

"I'll do my best," I promised, and pressed my mouth to his. We kissed deeply, him placing one hand behind my neck and the other on my lower back; mine were on his chest. The kiss was so good, I melted in his arms, letting him take me away before my next punishment. After a long while we released each other.

"Until tomorrow, Kas," he greeted me with a last kiss. Turning around, he walked back to the zone, leaving me there breathless and staring after him until he was gone. Heavens, that guy can kiss. Turning around, I took a step into the lobby, straight into Chax's chest. Immediately I backed away and looked up at him.

"If you're done playing with Seth, and ready to stop wasting my time, we can begin." And then he shifted out. Why the hell must he always have something to say about me and Seth? It's not like I was late. We left the grub spot early to get some rest in before training. I see it's going to be a long day, again. I closed my eyes and used my newfound anger to shift to his garden. I found him not only jacketless, but shirtless as well, in a pair of what looked like yoga pants, waiting in the middle of the arena.

"Today!" he yelled at me, clearly pissed again. So I quickly took off my jacket and dropped it on a small wall close by and joined him, waiting for him to do some crappy thing to me again.

"Fetch a weapon of your choice." He gestured to the walls. Okay, did he lose his mind completely? I just stood there looking at him.

"I'm waiting," he continued, looking at me with his scowling face.

"I don't know anything about weapons. A little help would be appreciated," I replied gently. I didn't want to provoke him again. Maybe if I tried this approach, it would work out better.

He looked at me for a while and then turned around. "Come." He waved, walking to a wall full of weapons. He then removed what looked like the fork-knifes Elektra used in her movie, and turned around to give them to me. "They won't take off a head but can be used to pin it down for you to take its head," he explained, walking back to the middle of the arena. I followed, looking at the two things in my hand. I had no idea how to use the things, so I just stood there looking at him. He drew in a breath and moved behind me and took my hand in his. "You have to hold them like this. Make sure the heaviest part of it stays in your palm. The rest will counter itself out in your hand when you move it."

He was moving the fork things in my hands, spinning them, and I could feel the weight thing he was talking about. As long as the heaviest part stayed in my palm I could move them around in one hand without dropping them. "Good, now when you throw them, lock your two fingers in the grooves like this." He moved my index and middle finger into the bending grooves that start off the fork.

"Then take your arm back like this." He pulled back my arm, bending it at the elbow, and then brought it forward fast. As my hand went forward I released my weapon and planted it inside a nearby tree. Wow, that felt good! Never done it before, but man, it gets your blood pumping.

He walked over to the tree, retrieving the fork. "Good, now practice on this wooden board over here." He motioned to a big wooden board filled with marks from weapons hitting it over and over again. He reached me and placed the fork in my hand, stepping back to give me some space.

I started the swinging movement again, this time using both hands, and just like that I had it. I then withdrew my arm, aimed and threw it straight into the board. Moving quickly, I threw the other one and it landed almost at the same spot. Grinning, I looked at him.

"Excellent, you handle them very well. Now, let's get some swords to practice with," he said, walking over to the wall. I followed, playing with the fork knives in my hands. I stopped the moment I saw him standing and waiting for me to stop playing. I handed over the weapons for him to replace them on the shelf. Keeping my eyes on him, I saw him taking down a sword that looked like a cross between a samurai and an old knight's sword.

"It is very effective and sharp as hell, so don't fool around with it," he instructed, placing it in my hands. I looked at the shining blade and smiled. It felt good in my hands, and I really liked the blade. It was shiny at the top with a darker metal at the edge. Engraved into the metal were the words In Dea Speramus, which meant "In God We Trust". Smiling, I looked up to find him staring at me. I recomposed myself, turned around, and walked back to the middle of the arena. I stopped and turned back to see him removing a very big sword from the wall and then walking back to me.

My heart started pounding in my chest, even worse than when I saw the shark teeth in Lotan's mouth. He's going to cut me into pieces today. There goes the "I'll try my best" part I said to Seth. Crap! He came to stop in front of me, his sword hanging next to him. "Relax, Kasadya. I won't hurt you. It's to show you how to move and use yours. Then we will start off slowly with some sparring," he said, smiling at me.

Oh boy, I still don't trust him. For the past two days I have ended up really hurt. I can't help but feel this is so not a good idea. He then moved his sword up above his head, stopping in the air. "Look at my movements, and then repeat them with your sword." He moved back a step, and then moved the sword slowly for me to see each movement he made with it. Bummer, I got the warrior god with an attitude problem. What a shame. First he moved so gracefully, and then he slammed over to brutal force. I was transfixed by him and found myself looking at his chest, watching how his muscles moved with him. Shaking my head, I turned to start the movement.

Okay, I'm going insane. Why on earth would I be looking at his freaking chest and muscles, when I just kissed a really hot guy a few moments ago? I think I need to ask Lily to withdraw stuff like this from my brain. No wait. That will be so embarrassing. Just push it down, Kas. I repeated the movement to the letter and then looked over to find him standing there, looking at my body and not my hands. My freaking body did the goose bumps again. For heaven's sake, can't I have one normal day, just freaking one!

I moved out of the stance and turned to face him. He snapped out of it and looked at me. "Good, now the next move." Again, my eyes wandered off from his hands to his freaking chest. Irritated with myself, I started to do the move before he was even finished. Trying to push my undesired reaction out of me, I did the move and even more. The next thing I knew, he was in front of me, his sword drawn to attack.

He swung his sword, and I countered it with mine. Adrenalin spiking, we went at it full force, me handling the whole thing like I had been doing it for years. I watched his face and he watched mine. I caught his movements from the corner of my eyes and then countered them. A few blocks and jabs later, he started to smile at me, and that made me even madder.

Our battle lasted for what seemed like hours, and we gave each other hell the entire time. We stopped when the orange and purple horizon made it difficult to see each other's swords. We stood there breathing hard and just watching each other without a word. After we recovered enough to breathe correctly he walked over to me, taking the sword from my hands, his eyes never leaving mine. "Good work, Kasadya. You have a natural talent for weapons," he complimented as he turned around and walked over to the wall, placing the swords back on their places.

I just stood there, still pissed at him and myself. Why on earth do I do this to myself? I have a really hot guy kissing me into obviation, and then I can't keep my eyes of the ass teaching me. Fury pounding through me, I shifted back to my room without even a thanks or good-bye. Lada and Nanini jumped from my shift, totally taken by surprise.

"Hell, Kas! You'll give me a heart attack!" Lada yelled and grabbed her chest.

"Sorry," I replied, and went straight for my closet, grabbed some clothes and stormed into the bathroom. I undressed and went into the shower. Standing there, I let the water run down my face. The whole time I had conflicting thoughts from the great kiss Seth and I shared, to the great sparring session I just completed with Chax. Frustrated, I finished my shower and got dressed. I stood in front of the mirror looking at myself. Why would I feel so good about my session with Chax? Is it because we finally shared something without any bad after effects?

I needed to clear my thoughts and get my head on straight again. So I decided to break a house rule and shifted out, landing in the middle of the busy main street of Exsilium. I walked down the street, still thinking about everything. When I had my bearings back again, I saw that I was far away from the main street and in a street filled with houses and apartment buildings. "Stuff it," I said, and just kept on walking.

After an hour or so, I stopped and took in my surroundings. I was in some park, no one in site. Oh, yeah, I forgot they are all out in the field serving, or in the normal world raising their children. I went over to sit on a bench near a fountain, and looked at the water splashing in the moonlight. After a while, I forgot about my whole world of chaotic thoughts.

The air around me stirred and I knew someone was shifting in close by. I closed my eyes and hoped it wasn't someone looking for me. "Vulcan notified me that you shifted out the house without permission," Chax said from behind me. Oh, just great.

"Yeah, I needed some space," I replied, still looking at the water moving in the moonlight.

"You are not allowed to shift out of the house without permission."

"Yeah, got that part the first time, so sue me," I threw back. He just remained silent for a while. Go pick on someone else! But, like always, he just had to go on.

"Come, you need to return," he continued and walked to block my view of the water.

"I am capable of shifting on my own, as you can see. I don't need your help. I'll go back on my own," I said with a sneer, my eyes going to the ground. I didn't need another relapse of this afternoon.

"Now, Kasadya," he demanded, and moved so quickly I didn't even have a chance of dodging him. The moment he touched me he shifted us to the lobby in The Hellhouse. Enraged with him, I ripped my arm out of his grip, turned around, and started walking. I hit the stairs and the next moment I was pushed into the wall, Chax blocking me in again.

"Let go of me! I'm back, aren't I?"

"You need to get your attitude adjusted. You think this world will be gracious with you? No, it won't. Obey the rules, understand?"

"Yeah, now let me go," I said, pissed off, looking him straight in his eyes. He looked back at me with the same seething look and then released me. Stepping back, he shifted out. I couldn't even go somewhere on my own without his ass showing up and spoiling everything. I continued up the stairs into the hall. Walking to our room, I noticed that everyone had already retired for the night. So I silently walked in our room, got my PJ's on, and got in the bed. Sleep only came about two hours later, but at least it did.

***

My dream started so good. Seth and I were lying on the grass, talking and enjoying each other. Then the sky turned dark and I could feel the grass below me harden. I turned my head to see that the beautiful grass was dead now, and then looked around to see all the other plants were dead as well.

"What's happening?" I asked Seth, and turning my head, looked into a demon's face, smiling down at me.

"You will be joining us soon, hellhound. The underworld awaits you," he said and leaned in to kiss me. He had red eyes, grayish rough skin and long black hair.

Now, in the normal world, I would have pushed him off me and made like a cheetah to get away from him. But in this weird dream, I kissed him back, enjoying every moment of it. I could feel its rough skin on my cheek, and I freaking moaned when its tongue touched mine.

His hands moved over my stomach, and I lifted myself into them, wanting to feel them on me. Okay, it was officially not a dream anymore; it was a freaking nightmare!

"Good, my hellhound. Soon you will enjoy my touch," he continued and kissed me again. I tried to scream but my dream body just kissed him back. OMG! Someone please wake me up!

***

"Kas, wake up, man!" I heard Nanini, grabbed the lifeline, and flew awake. I was gasping like a fish out of water. She and Lada were sitting on my bed, looking at me with concern.

"You okay, Kas?" Lada asked, looking me up and down, trying to find the problem.

"Yeah, just had a really bad nightmare," I replied and placed my head in my hands, trying to get the freaking picture out of it.

"Man, you were screaming and moaning and stuff," Nanini pitched in, sitting still for a change.

Embarrassed, I just put my head back into my hands. No way in hell was I going to tell them about me making out with a demon.

"You want to talk about it?" Lada asked, and I felt her hand on my shoulder.

Pull it together, Kas. I raised my head to look at the two of them. "Na, don't worry. It was just a dream," I soothed with a forced smile.

"Well, at least it's morning, so no worries about sleep," Nanini said, gesturing to our window where the first sunbeams peeked in.

"Yeah, I'll take on Chax any day before another nightmare like that," I replied and lifted the covers off me to start a new day of my freaking cursed life.

# Chapter 5

With the dream still bugging me, I was sitting in Vulcan's class trying to listen to the latest demon's strengths. But I had a really hard time concentrating. Why would a demon be in my dream? What did it mean by 'soon?' I played his words over and over in my mind.

After an impossibly long morning, we had lunch and were walking to the zone, or at least the girls were. I had to go straight to Chax again.

"You are very quiet today, Kas. Everything okay?" Lada asked, stopping me with her hand. I looked up at her and saw that I was starting to bug them out with my internal battle.

"Yes, just thinking. That's all, but I'll stop now. Promise," I replied, smiling at her to alleviate her concern.

"Okay, but if you need to talk, we're here. Okay?" she said, patting my arm.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry; I'm okay. I just have a problem shutting my brain down today. Trust me, in a few minutes Chax will kick it back into place for me," I reassured them and they both laughed, returning the mood to normal. We continued walking to the zone only to find Seth and Chax having a talk at the door. The moment they spotted us, they stopped and turned to look at us.

"Afternoon, girls," Seth said in greeting. Chax only stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. Couldn't even greet someone like a normal person.

"Hi," the girls greeted them and went straight into the zone. Yeah, don't blame them. This looked like a situation I didn't even want to be in.

"Hi Seth, Chax," I murmured, smiling at Seth and nodding at Chax.

"I'll leave you to your Apprendo, Chax. See you later, Kas," Seth said and went in, leaving me with Chax.

"Today we are going to train with the others in the arena. Come, you'll have a chance to warm up before the others get there," he said and gestured for me to follow him. I walked behind him the whole way, looking at his back.

We made it to the arena and he stopped at the first circle, turning to look at me.

"We will start with some sparring," he explained and took a stance. I sighed and moved to stand in front of him.

"Transform," he instructed, and then transformed himself. I closed my eyes and opened them with my Fallen body ready for action. He looked at me and then took the first step, going for me with a kick. I blocked his leg with my arm, and moved forward to punch him. But he just swiped my hand away and turned to bring up his other leg. I brought up my arms, blocking his kick again, pain shooting through them with the impact.

He moved so fast, and the next moment was at my back, grabbing my wings. The moment he had them, I froze on the spot. Instinct told me that this was my weakness, and trying to rip out of his hold would only leave me bleeding and in pain.

"You must protect your wings at all times. The moment someone gets their hands on them, you'll end up in a really bad situation. And usually that ends with your head landing on the ground. Concentrate and you'll find that your wings have built in sensors. You will feel someone near them. Pull them in close to your back and step aside to avoid them getting their hands on them," he explained while releasing them and going to stand in front of me again.

Okay, they have sensors. Let's see if this works.

We started again. A few punches and kicks later, he was at my back again. But this time I felt the moment he was moving at my side and closed my wings, keeping them tight to my back. I turned to continue the sparring.

"Good, now try and use them to help you fight. Just make sure I don't get my hands on them," he said, still punching and trying to take me to the ground.

He bent down, leaning on his hand, and swept his leg to mine, trying to knock them out from under me. But I lifted myself up with my wings at the last moment and then spread them, hitting him in the face the moment he got up. Rubbing the spot where my wing's tip hit him, he smiled and moved again, this time sliding between the gap in my legs. Before I could turn to face him, he had my wings where they came out between my shoulders. I froze for a second, and then opened them and flung them closed, hitting his face in the process. He released them and I continued the fight. We stopped when we heard the first voice coming from inside the door leading to the arena.

"Good, don't forget what I said. Today you take on a werewolf," he told me and went to stand outside the circle. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he looked at the others approaching us.

Okay, so I get a werewolf today. It can't be that bad.

I turned to look at the others, Seth's face making me smile and his smiling back in return. Then I saw Nina and her Custos heading for my circle and my smile dropped. Oh no, not one of the divas!

Nina walked up to me, her face full of absolute hatred. Not a very happy person, is she? She turned and took a fighting stance in front of me, transforming into one hell of a big wolf. Crap! I'm so dead! Still in hellhound form, I braced myself, preparing for anything from this girl. She didn't look like the type to announce her attack.

She had a snout like a wolf. Her eyes also turned yellow with big black pupils. Hell, she had a set of teeth only seen in movies. I had a feeling this was going to hurt like hell. Her entire body was covered with brown fur. Basically, she looked like all the werewolves I had seen in the movies, just way bigger.

Then she leaned back on her feet and burst forward. The moment she was a step from me, I side stepped her, sending her straight into Chax and her own Custos. They all landed on the ground, but she was up and charging at me again in no time. I was too slow and she rammed into me like a bull, lifting me up and then bringing me down to the ground hard. I felt my breath leave me. At the moment of impact, a small scream escaped without my permission, and then I saw her teeth heading my way. Oh, hell no! Not this again. Do I have a 'bite me' sign on my forehead?

I grabbed her throat and squeezed as hard as I could, her eyes trained on me while she snapped her snout open and shut in an attempt to bite me. I just hung on for dear life. No way was she sinking that set of teeth into me. She started to wheeze and I knew that she was running out of air. The moment I felt her body start to go limp, I slammed her with my head, throwing her off me to land hard on the ground.

Jumping up, I moved back, creating space between us. Okay, lesson one. Never give a werewolf enough room to build up speed. Ends very bad. She got up and started to growl like a wolf. Okay, now she is really pissed. Nice going Kas. She stormed again, but this time she couldn't build enough momentum to give her a boost. When she was only a step from me, I stepped forward and brought my arm up with a fist straight into her face. She went flying to the left with the impact and grabbed her face.

Okay, I think I've got the hang of it now. Game on.

I didn't give her the opportunity to regroup. Stepping forward, I brought up my knee, smashing her in the face again. Her head went backwards with the impact, but I was not done. I grabbed the fur of her chest and brought her to her feet. Dazed, and with her head still hung back, I used my wings to lift both of us up in the air, and then slammed down with her below me. Her breath slammed out of her this time. She screamed and lay there motionless.

Nice, I think I made my point. I got up and started to walk to Chax, a grin on my face. I really expected him to at least show some sort of emotion, but he just stood there looking at me. The next thing I knew, I picked up movement behind me with my wings' sensors. I turned just in time to see a huge wolf slam into me once again.

Crap, what do I need to do to keep her down? Again, I used my hands to keep her mouth away from me. Her snout was snapping like a rabies-infested dog in my face, drool dropping on my cheek. Oh, this is so gross. I tried to move my arms in to get her off but couldn't.

"Concentrate," Chax said, and then my brain clicked in. Okay. The cave thing. I need to concentrate. I closed my eyes and focused on the space behind her, and wouldn't you believe it, I shifted out from under her.

Now standing behind her, I looked at her, confused over the empty space in front of her. I grabbed her by the shoulders, digging in my nails, and using my wings, I lifted up and flipped over her. Taking her from a bent down position to her feet, I threw her over me. She flew through the air and landed on the ground with force. She skidded all the way to someone's feet, and then stopped dead.

But I learned lesson two today: Never turn your back on your opponent. So I walked over to her, bent down and picked up her head, looking her in the eye. I had my fist ready on the other arm, just in case she did a "pop goes the weasel" move on me. Oh yeah, she was really lights out, not even a stir. But still I stood up and just looked at her, my sight catching the pair of feet of the person she skidded to. I looked up and found Seth looking at me with a huge smile.

"Well done, Kas," he said, and Nanini started jumping up and down next to him.

"You so kicked her hairy butt!" she yelled, delighted at the whole thing. Smiling, I looked down at Nina, who now lay in her normal form. Her Custos came to stand next to me. Without a word, he picked her up and walked off. I kept my eyes on them and then turned to Chax, who was smiling at me. Proud of me, perhaps? Yeah, a girl can dream.

"Come, your next opponent waits," he demanded and walked by me. I followed him with my eyes as he went to stand next to Seth, who was also still smiling at me. Then my brain kicked in again. Oh hell no, not Nanini. There is no way in hell I'm hurting her like that.

"No," I said, shaking my head and turning around, changing back to normal.

"Is there a problem, Kasadya?" Chax asked me.

"Yes, there is no way in hell I'm hurting her like that, so no," I replied, turning around to face him.

"Kas, I promise you that Nanini would be able to handle sparring with you," Seth said, still smiling.

"I said no. Pick someone else."

"There is no one else, Kasadya. Now stop wasting time and fall in," Chax commanded, his pissed off face back.

"No," I said again, taking a stand against him and Seth on this one.

"It's okay, Kas. I can handle it," Nanini reassured me, jumping on the spot. I just looked at her. She was so small and petite. No way in hell can I do it. I turned around to walk away from this.

"Remember what I said. If you can't survive here, you die out there. Will you leave Nanini to such a fate?" Chax asked, and had me stopping on the spot. "If she can't handle you here, she will die out there," he went on, and at that I turned around and looked at them, my heart torn. I know she needs the experience, but how can I hurt her?

"This will be good for her," Seth said, his smile gone and replaced by sympathy. Drawing in a breath, I walked back to them, my head down.

"Fine, I'll spar but no rough stuff. The others can hurt her, but I won't."

So I walked over to stand off against her. On the other side she turned pink and started jumping on the spot. "This is going to be so fun," she said, delighted. I don't think so, I thought, still pissed at Chax and Seth for making me do this. I transformed and waited for her to do something. Jumping on the spot, she suddenly moved and blasted me with her pink light, hitting me in the torso. I bent over from the hit. Oh that hurts, really bad.

"Focus, Kasadya," Chax advised from behind me. Yeah, easy for you to say! She isn't your petite little roommate, and one of only two friends you have here.

Bringing myself up straight again, she was in the air and moving toward me. I just stepped to the side at the last moment, and she flew into Chax and Seth, taking them with her. I stood there smiling; payback was so much fun. They got up and Chax looked at me with anger rolling off of him in waves. Seth just smiled and helped Nanini up. She shook her head and then returned to the circle, and we started the whole thing again. And we kept it up for a while. I avoided her the entire time without even trying to attack her once.

"Okay girls, that's it for the day," Seth said from the side and we stopped, Nanini dropping to the ground totally wasted. She had given her everything to try to hit me and it didn't work out too well for her. At least she had no adrenalin left.

"Come on," I said, walking over to her and offering my hand to help her up.

"That was so unfair. You kept dodging me the whole time," she complained as she grabbed my hand and I pulled her up.

"I said no way in hell would I hurt you, and I meant it," I replied, and patted her on the back. I turned around only to see Chax walking away from us. I looked at Seth who just shrugged his shoulders.

"I am so not getting into his good books anytime soon," I said, and walked over to Seth with Nanini dragging along behind me. We walked slowly back to the house and helped Nanini all the way to the zone, where she planted herself on the couch.

"I see my Apprendo doesn't have an adrenalin disorder for the rest of the day. Something new for you to discover," Seth told her, as we stood there looking at Nanini, now totally wasted. She remained still without any comeback.

"Mind if Kas and I leave you here to get back your spunk?" Seth asked her, looking at me with a smile.

"No, you can go. I'm not moving here for a long while, she replied from beneath her arm, which was lying over her head.

Seth motioned for me to follow him. We left and walked down the hall that led to the front lobby. "She needed that. Thanks, Kas," Seth said.

"Yeah, I'd rather waste her adrenalin before I hurt her like Nina," I replied, smiling back.

"You interested in a walk in the gardens?" he asked, gesturing to a door when we reached it.

"Didn't even know we had any," I answered, laughing a little, and walked out the door with him. Outside was a beautiful garden with fountains and statues scattered around. I walked over to the red roses and held one in my hand without breaking it off. It was so beautiful, with a drop of water on a petal to give it that extra spark.

"So, what do you think? It's Vulcan's hobby," he said, gesturing his hand over the scene.

"No way in hell! Vulcan?"

"Yes, unbelievable, but he is quite the artist when it comes to gardens. Like your mother, his ability is earth, so he can basically turn the whole garden around in one day."

"So that's how my mom got to be a landscape specialist. No wonder." But thinking back, our own garden was always perfect. It was her special place to wander around in.

"You should have seen her and Vulcan fighting here every night, the one moving in on the other's creation. We used to come and sit here to watch them fight and try to outdo each other."

"I can imagine that. My mom is always right, no matter what, and I think Vulcan is the same, at least from what I have seen so far."

"Oh yes, it's a specialty in the earth fae. Just like vampires, they have developed a personality to fit the job and in this case, it's stubbornness," he replied, laughing. We stopped at a fountain and I turned to look at him. He came to stand in front of me and placed his hands on my hips.

"I must admit, you're becoming a distraction for me," he whispered into my ear as he leaned his head close to mine.

"Yeah, why would that be?" I teased him.

"When I see you, I forget what I wanted to do, and I find myself constantly thinking about you, which is a first for me."

"That's good, because you do the same to me," I replied and pulled his head to mine to kiss him. Again, my world exploded the moment our mouths touched, and when I felt his tongue against mine, I gave a soft moan, pleased beyond words.

He moved his hands down my back, and then placed them on my bottom, pressing me into him. Oh my soul, this feels so good. I sucked in breath to try and stop another moan. He smiled against my mouth and brought his hands to rest on my hips.

I left one of my hands on his chest while the other moved over him, feeling his perfect body beneath. Describing the emotions that go through your heart with such passion wasn't easy. I felt excited, yet shy. His scent was intoxicating, like oranges, making me want to breathe him in. And yet I struggled to take a breath. As his hands moved over me, I hummed to life, buzzing from his touch. His hand moved to my back and he pressed me to him once more. His body against mine felt so good.

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat behind us, and we broke apart. I was blushing, bright red from being caught in the moment by someone.

"Seth, we have a situation. The council calls," Vulcan said turning around and walking off.

Oh man, that's just great. Now he knows too. Not that I was ashamed, but hell, this was a first for me, in all things having to do with the male sex. I looked up at Seth and saw him smiling down at me.

"Bellus, Kas, beyond words," he said and folded his arms around me again.

"Thanks," I replied, moving my mouth slowly over his, not kissing, just teasing.

"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, his mouth slowly brushing mine in return, a smile on his face. Man, his mouth is so divine. So beautiful and wow, can it kiss.

"Yes," I answered, almost breathless from excitement again, and he kissed me to make it even worse. A few seconds later we broke apart and he moved his thumb across my cheek, pressing a kiss to my head.

"Caveo mea cor," he whispered and turned around, walking to the house.

My heart was still pounding in my chest like a jackhammer. He really had a talent of leaving me shaken. I sat on the bench for a while, looking at the beautiful garden. Before this, I always wondered what it would be like to love and be loved. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be like this. He was gentle with me, the way he touched me let me feel cherished, not at all what I had seen at school. Those guys were grabbing the girls like they were a drug. I remembered once, I found a couple kissing behind the bleachers, and the guy was holding her neck at an impossible angle, completely dominating her. I so didn't want to be dominated; I wanted to be loved. It felt that way with Seth. No urgency, just enjoyment of every second.

My brooding over Seth was broken by a girl's giggle and I turned around to see who was so happy. Wouldn't you believe it, there was Lada kissing the hell out of Lotan. Oh yeah, she had some explaining to do after this. Seeing that the two of them were getting really frisky with the kissing thing, I decided to slip away and leave them to their business. I'd torment her about it later.

I slipped past a bunch of roses and walked to the front door. Entering the lobby, I stopped in my tracks. Kali and Chax were standing there in what looked like a lover's embrace. His arms blocking her in and their heads inches from each other's. Oh, no way in hell! Wait, this actually made sense. Yep, grumpy and his evil snow white, perfect for each other. Then they both noticed me and turned their eyes on me, Chax backing away from her at the same time.

"Sorry. Tried to avoid another situation outside. I'll get out of your way," I said, moving past them up the stairs so fast I was in the hall in four seconds flat. Oh man, that was going to give me nightmares tonight.

# Chapter 6

"Come on, Kas. Wake up," I heard Nanini say, and opened my eyes to see my dream interrupter.

"I'm awake. What's wrong?" I asked, wondering why she was waking me up.

"It's our day off. Come, get up, and get dressed. Everyone's waiting," she replied and turned around, bouncing her way back to her bed.

I sat up and looked around. Lada was in the bathroom and now Nanini was busy fixing up her bed. "Everyone's waiting for what?" I asked, confused.

"It's our day off, so we get to have some fun. The others are all getting dressed. Here, put this on," she said, throwing me two pieces of clothing. I grabbed them and held them in my hands only to discover that they were a bikini. She wants me to wear a bikini in late autumn? The temperature had already started to drop to such a degree that we had to wear jackets all the time. Had she lost her mind?

"Um, Nanini, why would I need to put on a bikini in this weather?"

"Chill. It's one of Lada's, so it will fit. And to answer your question, we are going swimming today," she answered with a grin on her face.

"Are you freaking crazy? We'll freeze our butts off!"

"Don't worry about our butts, Kas. I have that covered. Just get up and get into that." She grinned, and then returned to her cleaning up job.

I got up and looked at the bikini again. I'm going to freeze my butt off today, most likely ending up going into hypothermia. I placed the bikini on the bedside table and then started to fix my bed. I had just finished when Lada came out of the bathroom wearing a bikini top and "badgirl" swim pants, shaking like a Chihuahua.

"Nanini, you better get a move on. I'm dying here," she complained. She walked up to her closet, removed a jacket, and put it on.

"Okay, I'll quickly change and then you're up, Kas," Nanini replied, rushing into the bathroom. I looked at Lada, who was sitting on her bed, shaking like hell. This is nuts. Who goes swimming in weather like this?

"Did she lose her mind somewhere I should know about?" I asked Lada.

"Nope, she always has a plan for our off days, and it looks like swimming is on her to do list. The others actually love her brainwaves when it comes to our off days. She has a way of really keeping you entertained," Lada replied, teeth chattering and her face almost blue.

"Okay, I get that part, but explain to me how we are going swimming without ending up like frozen lollipops?"

"Don't worry. I've got a feeling she has that covered. The hard part is just to get Vulcan's okay, but she can be very persuasive."

Shaking my head, I turned around and walked to my closet. I picked up a sweater and a long sleeve shirt, and then grabbed a pair of pants. No way was I walking around like Lada, freezing my butt off. Maybe Nanini was planning on going to a warm place, but I didn't think Vulcan would let us shift outside Exsilium. Nope, don't think so.

The bathroom opened and Nanini strolled out wearing the same type of outfit Lada was, her smile almost stretching past her ears. "You're up, Kas. Hurry up. Time's wasting," she said and started to jump on the spot, but this time I didn't think it was her adrenalin.

Shaking my head, I went into the bathroom and got dressed. A few minutes later, I was standing in the hall, looking at everyone shaking like mad, even the divas. Nanini took the lead down the stairs and we all followed. She steered us straight into Vulcan's office, where we all squeezed in.

He was sitting behind his desk looking at us with a smile, until his eyes finally rested on Nanini. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

"We need an okay from you today, to go have some fun," Nanini replied, jumping on the spot.

"Where will this fun take place?" he asked, his smile growing.

"At the beach," she answered, giving him a wicked smile filled with mischief.

"What about the weather, Nanini?" he questioned her, looking at us standing there shaking our butts off.

"Got that covered for the day. I also need an okay to go visit my dad," she replied, looking at me with a grin. Okay, why would she want to see her dad, and how the hell does she have the weather covered?

"Granted, but you will all return before sunset and if anyone shifts out of Exsilium, I will revoke your off day. Understand?"

We all agreed to the terms. He then stood up and walked to stand in front of us. "Get some stuff from the kitchen," he said and gestured to the door. Nanini grabbed him and gave him a hug. Shocked, I looked at them. He was totally cool with it; I have a feeling this is not the first stunt Nanini has pulled.

We all left his office and gathered in the hallway. "Okay, guys, you get the food and drinks, and Kas and Lada will go with me to see my dad. We will meet you at the beach. Don't forget the root beer," she said before offering her hands to Lada and me.

Lada smiled and took her hand, so I did the same. We shifted into a house with a hippie kind of vibe. We heard a voice in the house, and Nanini jumped into action. "Daddy!" she yelled and sprinted out of the room. Lada and I followed her into a kitchen to find a man hugging her.

"Oh, my Filiola, we missed you so much," the man said, hugging her like someone he hadn't seen in ages. We only get to see our parents once a month, and I think it may have been too long for these two.

"I missed you guys too. Daddy, we need a huge favor from you," Nanini said, releasing him, looking into his sparkling eyes.

"I see. You had one of your brainwaves again?"

"Always. We are going to the beach today and hanging out there; it's our off day. But we are going to freeze."

"I see, and you would like to have a pleasant day, I guess?" he asked, laughing at her.

"Yes. Please, Daddy. It's just for the day, I promise."

"Okay, come walk with me," he replied, gesturing to the doorway. We followed him and Nanini outside where he went to stand in the garden. He raised his hand in the air and stood there like a statue. Okay, this is too cool! Her dad can manipulate the weather? On that final thought, I felt the air around us turning warmer, until it was as hot as a summer's day.

I had to remove my jacket at the sudden rise of temperature, and still felt the heat under my clothes. So that was why everyone was wearing swimsuits in fall. Lada and Nanini weren't having the problem I was; they were dressed cool and ready for the warm day.

"There you go, my love," he said and turned around, opening his arms to hug her again, and she jumped into them.

"Oh, thank you, Daddy," she gushed, hugging him like mad. I suddenly missed my own father. Just like her dad, he always saved the day. My dead serious mother, on the other hand, always explained that I needed to suck it up and get on with life.

"You girls take care now. No getting hurt, he said and released Nanini, who came to stand next to us.

"Don't worry, Daddy. We will be super careful," she replied, offering her hands to us again, this time with a huge smile. Greeting her father farewell, we took her hands and then shifted to a beach. The salt air hitting my face, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I always loved the sea. It smelled fresh and alluring.

"Yo, guys, over here!" Lotan yelled at us, and Lada basically sprinted to him. She had a long night with Nanini and me drilling the info out of her. She confessed that they were an item and absolutely loved it.

"So, are we in the human world or still in Exsilium?" I asked Nanini, sprint walking to keep up with her.

"Nope, still in Exsilium. We have all the things a human world has, just a bit smaller to fit into our world."

"That's nice. So, we have mountains and stuff, too?"

"Oh yeah, and really big ones, too. My dad took me hiking in them a year ago, and was totally wasted afterwards," she replied, smiling at me.

Wow, this world is turning out to have a way cool effect on me. We reached the others, who had already set up a camp-like site. Chairs, umbrellas, and the whole works.

"Better get out of your warm clothes, Kas, or you'll end up cooked," Nanini said, grabbing a can of root beer.

I walked over to a chair and started getting out of my clothes. Looking at my bare legs, I suddenly wished I had asked for a pair of swim pants. I felt too naked. I looked up and straight into Kali's pissed off face. She had been staring at me since the incident yesterday.

I had totally forgotten to mention it to the girls. Drilling Lada had been way more fun. I looked away from Kali and went to stand at Nanini's side. I had no idea why she was so pissed. I hadn't meant to intrude, and it's not like it was forbidden to date a Custos. Maybe they wanted to keep it a secret. Well, that was one secret I had to share with the girls. They were as stunned as I had been when I witnessed the event. I mean, Chax and Kali, kissing? Huge news!

Chax really had me surprised. I didn't think someone so serious would go for a girl like Kali. She was spoiled and bragged constantly. If he wanted to keep it a secret, he really picked the wrong girl. I think she had already advertised their romance to everyone by now.

"So, girls, have any great ideas for the day?" Lotan asked, embracing Lada in his arms. She had her back to his chest and a smile like a cat who just got the canary.

"Oh yeah, you boys up for a wicked challenge?" Nanini asked, moving around in the sand trying to pace.

"Always. So what's your great plan?" Lotan asked, smiling at her while the two boys to his left smirked in anticipation.

"Cliff diving, of course," she replied, looking at me with an evil smile.

What? She has really lost her mind. There is no way in hell I'm going cliff diving. "Oh no! There is no way," I said to her, shaking my head.

"Oh, come on, Kas. It's not like we can die," Lotan teased, and I looked at him, shocked.

"Yeah, I know, but it still hurts like hell. I don't really see myself lying in bed for two weeks trying to get my spine all healed up," I replied, looking at them all.

"Such a pity. I really had great hopes for you," he continued, trying to get me to change my mind.

"Not going to work, Lotan, so don't even try. I'll go with you and give my support from the side line, but that's it," I replied, pushing the message so he fully understood.

"Suit yourself, but you're missing out at the greatest rush you'll ever have in your life. I guarantee it," he said, kissing Lada on the cheek, and then walked off to get some more participants for their sick sport.

"Come on, Kas. Just try it! I also thought they were all bonkers when they first mentioned it to me, but after that first jump, you're pretty much hooked on it," Lada reassured me, coming to stand next to me.

"Yeah, it's the adrenalin rush that kicks in, and, in my case, it doubles up. By this afternoon I will be so wasted," Nanini said, skipping in joy.

"You guys are so sick. There is no way I'm doing it," I replied, shaking my head. Then the rest all came walking up to us, even the three divas.

"Okay guys, let's do this!" Lotan yelled and took the lead.

We followed him for a mile or two, the sandy beach retreating and making way for rock foundations. From there we climbed up a huge cliff. At the top, we all stopped and got our breath back. I looked around and then down. Oh my soul, it was freaking high! It must be something like 600 meters or more. No way in hell!

"Okay, who goes first?" Nanini asked from behind me. The next thing I knew, someone came running past me and jumped off. Shocked, I kept my eyes on the person and just before she hit the water, noticed that it was none other than that sick little girl Nanini.

"Oh man, that was awesome," a boy on my left said, so I looked up at him. It was Cam and he was grinning.

"There's something wrong with all of you," I mumbled, turning around to get away from the drop. No way did I trust any one of these sick people enough to hang around near the edge.

"I'm next," Dustin yelled, and started sprinting to the drop. Just before the end, he jumped up into the air and fell, screaming "Yahoo" all the way down. Sick, I tell you.

"Kas, you have to try this," Nanini said, shifting next to me, soaked from her jump.

"You're all mad, totally freaking mad. Do you know how much it's going to hurt if you hit a rock or something?" I responded, looking at her.

"Kas, I don't want to spoil your day or anything, but pain is pretty much part of our DNA code. We are going to feel it, over and over again. At least now you'll have some fun in the process," Lotan said, and at those words he had me dumbstruck.

He was right. We were pretty much doomed for mountains of pain, and I got a feeling a demon would give a lot of it. Ah hell, I hate this.

"You too scared, hound?" I heard a girl ask, and looked up to see Nina and the other two divas standing a few steps from us, smiling at me.

"Yeah, Nina, she is. Some hellhound, huh? Too bad," Kali pitched in next to her. Juno remained silent, but still had her Chax face on, constantly pissed off.

"Oh, go jump off a cliff," Nanini said to them, and they all started to laugh.

"Yeah, Tinkerbell, we are planning on it. Unlike your friend, we embrace our destinies and face them with honor and courage," Kali replied and turned around to face the drop. Then she burst into speed and jumped off, laughing all the way.

"Yeah, hound, leave this to the Fallen worthy of service. Scared Fallen like you only get in the way," Nina retorted and followed suit, her howling echoing back at us. Juno went next, in utter silence.

Oh, that just pisses me off! Freaking divas telling me I'm not worthy. I'll show them. The moment they shifted back to the cliff, I walked over to the drop and turned to look at them all. Lada and the rest were smiling like mad, so I transformed into my Fallen body. If I'm doing this, I'm doing this in style. I lifted myself up about a hundred meters from the cliff, smiling at them the whole time. Then I flapped backwards, to make sure I was away from the rocks at the bottom. I closed my wings and dropped, doing a 360 with my body to put an extra oomph in it.

I transformed back to normal the moment my head was pointed towards the water, and looked down. Seeing the water heading towards you was unbelievable. The rush was phenomenal. Reaching the water, I angled my body just right, gracefully breaking the surface. I shifted back to the cliff, scaring the hell out of Nina when I shifted in behind her.

"Top that, wolf," I said and moved to stand next to the girls who were yelling and screaming in delight.

Lotan gave me a high five. "Now, that was cool," he stated, thoroughly impressed. I turned to look at the three divas, who were just standing there, dumbstruck. Oh yeah, this hound is officially in business.

After that, we took turns going over the drop, me included. We tried our best to out-maneuver each other, and some even made a game out of the whole thing. We continued for a few hours until it started to get boring. We shifted back to the camp site and everyone went their own ways. Nanini ended up at the food, digging in.

I grabbed a soda, planted myself on a chair, and looked at the others having fun in the water. My first days here started out very bad, but looking at all of them having fun, I felt content. Yeah, sure, we had to battle demons for the next ten thousand years, but hey, at least I have some great new friends to do it with. I never had friends like Lada and Nanini. In my "normal" life, everyone avoided me.

But, now I did have some very good friends, and I loved it. For a change, I didn't have to hold anything to myself; I had two friends to tell it to. Looking at Lada and Lotan hugging and kissing in the water, I thought back to the kiss in the garden. Yeah, I now had two friends and one hell of a guy to kiss the daylights out of me.

Life had a funny way of working out, and boy was I glad it worked out okay. I was really lonely in my normal live, but now I know it was over. We continued the day, enjoying the sun and water. By sunset, we were all totally wasted. Very slowly, and with great effort, we started cleaning up and gathering the things to get back to the house. The boys shifted the things back as the girls cleaned and packed them up.

Then we shifted back to the house, some heading for the entertainment room, some going straight for the bathrooms. The girls and I ended up in our room, Lada calling dibs on the bathroom, leaving me with an almost completely drained Nanini. She still moved around and stuff, but a lot slower.

"So, how does your dad do it?" I asked Nanini, still baffled over the weather change.

"He is an elemental fae, and basically he can work the weather and stuff. Really cool, huh?"

"Oh yeah! So, if he is fae and you're fae, then what's your mom?"

"She is a water fae and she can control and manipulate water. That's why she is always stationed at places with a lot of water, like Venice. She can use the water to counterattack the demons, and then when the time comes, eliminate them."

"Wow, now that sounds cool! Wouldn't mind having some special ability or power for myself. So, what kind of a fae are you?"

"I'm a light fae. Basically it's like the yellow one in the Tinkerbell series. I can move light and stuff, but as you know, can also use it to fight with. At this stage, my light bombs are too weak, but Seth says that as I grow stronger, so will they. In the end, one of my bombs will be able to knock a demon down completely."

"Weak? I don't want to burst your bubble there, but they hurt like hell. I just didn't have a choice to go to the ground and cry," I replied and we burst into laughter.

Lada came out and I gestured to Nanini to go next. She looked like she was about to hit the hay and call it a night. I still had some spunk left in me, and thought I might go pick a pool fight with one of the boys. I knew what Lada was going to do just looking at her; she was busy making herself dreamy for an Impon.

Yeah, life was turning out okay. No more just doom and gloom like in the beginning. Made me think of a thing my dad always used to say to me when I was down. "Take life one step at a time and you will find that some steps were worth taking."

# Chapter 7

The next morning we were back in one of Vulcan's classes, but this time I was fascinated by it. He started by bringing in a lot of stuff: weapons, amulets, necklaces and much more.

"Come, young ones. This time you need to feel what I'm saying," he said and gestured for us to come forward. I was up and moving forward before anyone else, because this looked totally interesting. After a few minutes, everyone stood at the table with all the objects on it.

"Chanting and charms are one of our best weapons against demons, but it is also one of theirs. All these objects have been charmed. The question is: which one is a Fallen charm and which one is a demon charm?." he explained, moving his hand over them. Wow, magic. Now, that's cool.

"Does anyone know how we determine the difference?" he asked, looking at all of us, but no one had a clue. He then picked up a small dagger and moved his fingers over it. "When you touch a Fallen charmed object, it will feel cold, and this will be your way of identifying them," he finished and gave the dagger to Cam, who did the same, his face turning into a smile. The dagger was passed from one to the other until it finally came to me. I brushed my fingers over it, feeling a tingle, and then it was replaced by coldness. I passed it to Nanini, who did the same. Vulcan then moved to a ruby necklace and picked it up. I was keeping my eyes on his face to see his reaction, and he really didn't like the necklace. His face turned even more serious than what it usually looked like.

"A demon's charmed object starts with the same feeling, but where ours are cold, theirs are hot. This is where the humans got the idea that hell is a burning pit of flames," he explained and gave the necklace to Cam again. This time he didn't smile. The necklace traveled to each one of us until once again, it reached me. I took it from Lada and the moment my fingers touched it, I felt very uneasy. Another tingling sensation went up my arm and then heat started to replace it. This is so not cool. I quickly gave it to Nanini, wanting the thing out of my hand.

"Does anyone know why objects are charmed?" Vulcan asked, looking at us. No one replied. I was glad I wasn't the only one missing an important piece of this puzzle.

"Weapons are charmed to ensure that they don't hurt the owner, or to ensure that they counter any other charmed weapon in order to kill the owner of that charmed weapon. When an object, like necklaces and other belonging, is charmed, it goes a bit deeper. A Fallen will use charmed objects to help him or her obtain something. For example, if I charmed a pair of earrings with luck and give them to Nanini, she will always have luck to help her through her life. Another example is your clothes. They are charmed to help with the transformation so that they will not tear or trap wings," he finished, picking up a ring and giving it to Lotan.

"See if you can hit Lotan," he instructed Cam, and he in turn walked over to Lotan and tried to give him a light punch to the shoulder. His fist was redirected, as if by a blind hand. Cam punched Lotan over and over, but never once connected. He was getting frustrated until Vulcan explained further. "This is a protection charm. The owner will be protected from any enemy, but a demon can counter it with its own charm, defusing the charm and enabling them to kill you," he explained. He took the ring from Lotan again.

Damn, that sucks! We get magic to protect us, but it can be broken by a demon's charm.

He walked over and stopped at Nanini, picking up a bronze cuff-like thing and again his face turned serious. "This was found on the remains of a Fallen. It is charmed by a demon and we still don't know what the charm does. The power radiating from it is very strong," he finished, and offered Lada the shackle. She retreated and didn't want to touch it. My gut feeling took over. I stepped in her place and took it from Vulcan. This time the tingle was strong, very strong, giving me a strange feeling. Then the heat came and it was just as strong.

I gave it back to Vulcan and he then passed it on to others and then he returned it to the table. "Demons use charms like these to compel or entrance humans to commit sin. A lover's charm given to a married woman will take her into the arms of the first man she meets, committing the sin of infidelity. Another charm is the lust charm, where the human will be consumed with his or her deepest lust. If he desired money, he would do anything to get it. If a woman lusted after a man, she would do anything to get him, even kill if she had to. Charms like these are collected and destroyed when we find them," Vulcan continued as he picked up an object to pass it around, letting us get a feeling for them.

"Why do they need humans to commit a sin?" I asked, confused at why such objects would travel into the human world and land in a human's hand.

"They feed on sin. Each time a human commits a sin, they grow stronger. This is how the "cracks" in the seal came into existence. The moment mankind stepped into sin and did not follow God's laws, "cracks" started to form in the seal God placed around the underworld, and the demons started to escape into the human world. But to ensure that their "cracks" stay open and they obtain their power, demons needed mankind to keep committing sin," Vulcan finished and left me even more confused.

"Okay, so if mankind stopped committing sin, demons would be trapped in hell and the world will be a safe place again?" I asked, wanting to make sure I got this right.

"Yes, but mankind is too weak, so it will never happen. Which means the world will never be without evil. Some even believe in the "Yin-Yang" theory, that a good world without evil will not be a success. They believe that the one is needed to balance out the other."

"That's just stupid. Who ever thought that up didn't see what we see every day," Lotan replied and looked a bit pissed.

"Yes, but can you imagine the chaos if they did see what we see? You have to remember that mankind is a strong species, but in their eyes only. They are not strong enough to deal with demons like we do. Take, for example, mankind's approach towards themselves. They can't even accept one another. They have racism, religion clashes, and many more. They are too afraid to take a step into another's world and see for themselves; they'd rather judge and keep away. The moment a human sees a true demon, they'll run as fast as they can and never look back," Vulcan explained, and I could see the heartache in his eyes. Indeed mankind was not strong enough to take on such a challenge. They couldn't even fix their own world.

"So that means we are the only ones to take on the demons and have a chance of winning. We are born into this service to protect them and repent our greatest mistake," Vulcan went on when silence greeted him.

"Yeah, that pretty much sucks," I replied and walked over to the bronze cuff again. "They keep the seal broken, and we have to protect them," I finished, holding the charm. This is so unfair! There is no hope for a normal existence for the Fallen.

"The humans have a saying: Deal with the devil, and you'll regret it for an eternity. It's our price to pay for eternity, because we followed him and not God," Vulcan said, taking the charm from me and placing it back on the table. "I think that is enough for today." He ended the discussion, and gestured to the door. We took the hint and went to lunch.

Lunch was very quiet indeed. I think everyone was thinking over the discussion we had with Vulcan. After we ate, the girls and I skipped the zone and went straight for the arena. Lada planted herself on the grass, and Nanini started to go through the obstacle course next to her. I went to lean on the tree next to Lada, keeping my eyes on Nanini as she moved around, trying to work out her adrenalin.

"I asked my father once why I should pay for someone else's mistake. His answer was that an oath to God is buried in your blood, making it unbreakable. So, because the first Fallen broke their oath to God and stood with "him", the penalty for it also buried itself into their blood. That's why their children and every generation that follows will have to carry the first Fallen's curse for eternity," Lada said next to me. I listened to her but kept my eyes on Nanini. So that's why we get to serve, because our blood is tainted.

"My mom said that when humans baptize their children, the same oath takes place. But that Jesus died to break the punishment to their children, so human children are freed from their parent's sins," she went on, and I heard in her voice the sadness she felt.

"Yeah," I replied, my eyes still on Nanini. The whole serve and protect thing was running through my mind, a war within myself. Why protect them when they create the problem? Why put our lives on the line when they openly indulge in sin? I was getting angry thinking about it.

"Salve, Lada, Kasadya," Chax said from behind me. I kept my eyes on Nanini. My internal war wasn't over yet and I still couldn't find a good answer to my questions.

"Kasadya, are you ready?" Chax asked, moving into my view. I looked at him and saw him frowning.

"We better get to it then, seeing that it's all we are born to do. What do you want me to do?" I asked in a bitchy way.

"I think I'll go find my Custos," Lada said, and I heard her get up and walk away. Behind Chax, I could see Nanini still going at it, and then my eyes fell on my own Custos, who was glaring at me.

"So, are you just going to stand there looking at me, or are we training?" I asked, now getting pissed off at him. He turned to look at Nanini going at the course, and then turned back and looked past me.

"Salve, Arianna," he said, and then I heard footsteps behind me. I just kept my eyes on Nanini. Looking into Seth's partner's eyes now would not be a good thing.

"Salve, Chax, I see you have the same problem we have," she replied and walked past me with Lotan on her right side to the arena. Chax followed her to the spot she had picked for training. They spoke and I saw Lotan say something to Chax, but I just wasn't interested. Nanini finally stopped and walked up to me.

"Can't get it out," she complained, and paced up and down in front of me.

"Yeah, same here, and it looks like Lotan isn't doing any better. What a way to begin a day, but hey, this is a Fallen life, so we just need to get used to it," I replied to her, watching her move up and down.

"Yeah," she said and looked at me. I could see her internal war in her eyes. I think the question we were all facing was: why bother?

"Salve, Nanini, Kas," Seth said, coming up behind me. He stopped at my left side. I looked at him, his smile lighting up my mood a little.

"Hi Seth," I responded, and Nanini followed suit. I saw movement in the corner of my eye and turned my head to see Chax walking back to me, his face all serious as always. "It's going to be a long day again," I said and looked at Seth, this time with a small smile on my face.

"That bad, huh?" he asked and turned his head to follow Chax as he walked back to us. "I'll see you later. Nanini, let's begin," he said and headed off with Nanini, leaving me alone. Well, for a while at least. Chax made his way back to stand in front of me. He looked at me, but still said nothing.

"So, are we training, or are we just going to stare at one other?" I asked him, getting more pissed off by the minute. He kept looking at me, and then offered his hand. Oh boy, here we go. I placed my hand in his, and the next moment we were standing in a dark alley, a street with moving cars in front of us, music banging in the building to our left. Releasing my hand, he turned and opened a door to the building, the music crashing into the alley. We were in the human world, but why?

He gestured for me to follow and walked in. I followed him into one hallway that led into another, a line of people standing in it. He turned left and I looked down to see it was a line waiting at the bathrooms. I followed him into what looked like a club, people everywhere dancing to metal music. Chax walked up some stairs that led to a second floor, also filled with people. He walked over to a railing and stopped, looking down at the crowd. I followed and stopped next to him.

He just looked down and didn't say a word. "So, what are we doing here. Am I even allowed to be here?" I asked him. He lifted his head and looked at me.

"You are here with me, so it's allowed, and I'm showing you the answer to your question," he replied and looked back down.

My question? I can't remember asking him anything. "What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"Patience," he responded and continued looking at the crowd. I bent over and did the same.

Everyone was having one hell of a time, enjoying their normal life. I saw a couple making out in one of the booths and suddenly felt shy, wondering if that was what Seth and I looked like. Man, they were devouring one another. I then saw a hot guy walking between the dancing people, smiling and greeting some of them. He walked around like he owned the place. He stopped by a girl who appeared to be about sixteen and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled and enjoyed his attention, but something was off. The guy was too good. I looked at Chax and followed his gaze; he was also looking at the same guy. So, it's not only me who was getting a weird feeling about this.

We stood there for an hour or so, looking at the guy and girl. He was whispering stuff in her ear, and she would laugh and duck her head away in shyness. Then they stopped dancing and the guy took her arm and pulled her out of the crowd, leading her into the bathroom hallway.

"Let's go," Chax said and started moving with speed. I had a hard time keeping up with him through the crowd. People were bumping into me and stuff, but for Chax, they simply stepped aside, letting him pass. Maybe it was that look he always had, the one that said, "I'm pissed." We finally made it into the hallway to see people still standing in line, some hopping with need.

Chax turned the corner and doubled his pace. I had to start a light jog to keep up. He reached the door and stopped dead, turned around, and looked at me. Screeching to a halt, I stopped before crashing into him. Just as I was about to say something, he lifted his hand to stop me.

"I want you to stay away as far as possible. Do not try anything. I know it's not always possible for you, but don't, understand?"

"Oh, come on," I replied, throwing my hands in the air and looking at him. What, like I go out of my way to butt in? He looked at me like he was trying to say "yeah right."

"Yeah, okay," I finally said. Satisfied, he turned around and opened the door slowly. I could hear a girl's giggle as he stepped out silently. I followed him, using the same silent approach he was doing, and closed the door gently behind me. Turning around, I could see the couple in the corner of the alley. The girl was between the wall and the guy.

Chax moved along the wall, keeping his eyes on them, one slow step at a time. I looked at him and decided that this is as far as I needed to go. I didn't want to be in the middle of whatever he had in mind. The girl suddenly screamed, and I looked away from Chax to them. The alley was dark, so I couldn't make out what was going on. She was hitting him on the back but he wasn't backing off. The next thing I knew, Chax punched the guy in his side, a growl like a beast escaping into the night. Holy crap, it's not a guy. It's a freaking demon! I took a few steps back. So not ready for this yet.

The demon turned around and faced Chax, who already had his swords drawn as he stood there, ready and waiting. The guy's face changed then, into what can only be described as a cross between a cat and a dragon. He had two large fangs sticking out of his mouth and from his chin downwards, I could see what looked like dark liquid running down. Crap, it was blood! I stopped dead, not wanting to attract attention to me. The demon stormed forward, attacking Chax, who only stepped aside, made two swipes with his sword and then walked over to the girl. I looked at the demon to see why the hell Chax was just leaving it and not killing it, only to see its head missing and the body slumping to the ground.

Something hit my boot, so I looked down straight into a pair of eyes. I jumped away from it. "Oh, that's so gross," I complained and slammed into the opposite wall, keeping my eyes on the head. Yeah, that was quick, just two swipes and the thing was dead. Didn't look that hard, but then again, I hadn't been doing this for ten thousand years, maybe even more.

I looked back at Chax, who was kneeling with the girl. So I walked over slowly to see if she was okay. A step away I stopped. Her eyes were looking up at me, lifeless. Oh my soul, she's dead! I looked at Chax, who was holding her. He then looked up at me, and the look on his face this time was not anger; it was fury. I backed away slowly. I so don't want a training lesson now, especially when he looks like that.

"Do you see now why we do this?" he asked, letting go of her and standing up, his eyes on me. I couldn't say anything; he was scaring the hell out of me. I just stood there looking at him.

"Even if I ripped him away the moment he bit her, she still would have died. Each demon has a unique ability in their bites. This one is poison. So, Kasadya, do you want to leave females like her to the demons' mercy?" he questioned, taking his eyes off me and walking over to the demon's body before crouching down next to it.

"No, I never said I wanted anyone dead," I replied, not knowing where this was coming from.

"I see. What did you think would happen when they get their hands on humans?" he asked, moving his hand over the demon's body, dropping something on it and saying a Latin prayer. Watching him, I saw the demon's body slowly starting to melt. Okay, so this is how they get rid of the evidence then.

"Why did you bring me here, and to this?" I gestured to the scene in front of me.

"To answer your question about why we do what we do. We not only serve to redeem ourselves, but we also protect innocent humans, like her," he said, pointing to the girl. I didn't look. I couldn't.

"Many humans do not deserve our protection, but many do. Will you allow such a vile creature to get his hand on a little girl?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then settle the war going on in your head, and get in back in line. This, as you can see, is no joke. This is the life you will face for an eternity, or until you die," he said as he slowly walked back to me. I was already pressed up against the wall and couldn't back away, so I had to face him. He stopped and looked at me for a few seconds; I just kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to debate this any further.

"Come, it's already late in our world, and you will miss your supper," he murmured, offering me his hand. I had a hard time convincing myself to take it, because his face hadn't returned to normal yet. Let's just say that the usual scowl was preferable to the current state of his face. But I took his hand and found myself in the lobby of the house.

"Tomorrow you will meet me at my house. I have other training in mind," he instructed and shifted out.

Yeah, freaking good night to you too! Man, he needed to lighten up. Maybe I should ask Kali to work on it for me. Nope, I think she might just convince him to do even worse. I walked to the grub spot to find everyone already gone. On one of the tables a plate with food was waiting for me, so I walked over and started to eat.

The girl and demon were running through my head, and at the third bite I totally lost my appetite, so I just got up and left. I walked to our room to find Nanini and Lada already asleep. Were we gone that long? Does time in the human world move extra slow, compared to this one?

Hell, I didn't know, but tomorrow I was asking Vulcan. Getting more details and facts might just be a good thing in the long run. I took a long shower and put on my pj's, walking over to my bed. I reached down to pull away the covers, when I saw a beautiful red rose lying on my pillow. Picking it up, I smelled it and knew that it must be from Seth. I had missed out on another day with him, which was a bummer. But tomorrow I would make sure to get some free time with him, I hoped.

# Chapter 8

I woke up in the middle of the night, frightened to death. I had had another nightmare, but this time I was back in that alley, and the girl was Lada. I tried my best to save her, but in the end, it was Lada's dead eyes looking up at me. I woke up with Chax telling me that I was a failure, that her death was my fault.

Rattled about the dream, I decided to take a stroll in the house and try to clear my mind. Silently, I got out of bed, grabbed a jacket and pulled it on. The temperature was almost at the freezing point. I turned around to look at Lada's bed. She was sleeping peacefully, a small smile on her face, probably dreaming about Lotan.

I walked out of the room and made my way to the zone, where I planted myself on the couch. In total darkness, I sat there thinking about the whole alley incident again. Man, Chax has a way of messing someone up. I got the part where he wanted me to see the importance of the service, but he could have picked another way.

After a while thinking, I decided to get up and see if I could find something to clear my mind on the TV. I had just reached the remote when I heard two voices in the hall. Curious, I walked slowly to the door and pressed up against the wall. Yep, I was spying.

"How many were in the pack?" a guy asked.

"About ten, and their numbers have grown in the past week. Everyone has reported the same," another guy replied. I could tell that they were walking towards me, so I slid back a few steps into complete darkness, just in case they decided to come in here.

"And there is still no more activity on the streets?" the first one asked again.

"No, it's like they disappeared. Tonight I picked up one and followed it for a while to see where it was going. It went into a nightclub, so I followed. This club was filled with them and humans," the other guy replied. This time they were standing just outside the door.

"Humans? Are you sure?"

"Yes, the worst part is, the demons were fully transformed and the humans were interacting with them in that form. The moment one of them spotted me, the attack began."

"So, they started using some of their brain cells. They know that they are easy to pick off one by one, so they travel in packs. Interacting with humans openly is new. Were the humans in a trance?"

"No, and they were enjoying their time with them very much. Seth and Arianna reported the same from Paris. No activity on the street, but a club filled with them. They barely escaped the attack."

Oh my soul, Seth was attacked! I just hoped he was okay. No matter who or what, I was checking in on him the first chance I got. My heart was pounding with fear of what condition he could be in. Wow, this love thing really hurts.

"We need to counter this. Chax, any ideas?" the first guy asked. So it was Chax he was speaking to, interesting.

"Yes, we need to ask the Caponitos to assist us in this. They're the only ones with experience in team hunting. I know you disagree with them on their methods, but this time, old friend, they might be right."

"It would seem so. I will go visit Astin and ask them to aid us in this. But, it would mean that everyone would need to take part." I could finally make out the other voice; it was Vulcan.

"Yes, the best thing will be for all to gather here, at the arena, and start the training. The Apprendos will also benefit from it," Chax replied, and I could hear that they were almost at the corner, drifting away from me. Damn, their conversation was just getting interesting and now I was going to lose the best part.

"So be it. Notify everyone and ensure they are all here as early as possible. Training will start today, even if I have to force Astin, but I doubt it. The fact that they were right will be enough to give his ego a boost and take charge."

"Yes, I believe that this will be their greatest moment. I only hope that they will be able to train fast. We need to get back out there and stop this before it escalates into chaos," I could hear Chax say. The last words were almost gone as they drifted further down the hall.

Alright, so the demons were clearly up to something, and by the sound of it, we were going to get some new training to counter it. I wondered who this Astin guy was, as I'd never heard of him before. When I was sure the two of them were well on their way, I started walking back to the rooms, my mind spinning over the new details I picked up by eavesdropping.

I was just about to take the turn to the stairs when my eyes caught Kali passing from the lobby to the stairs. What on earth is she doing up at this time of night? I followed her in silence, taking one step after another on the stairs; I was stalking her like a cat. She went into the hallway leading to the rooms; I stopped at the top, keeping my eyes on her. She went to her door and then stepped in, closing it behind her.

Okay, maybe she met Chax for some alone time. Shrugging it off, I went to our room and went inside. Lada and Nanini were still fast asleep. I looked at the clock and saw it was three thirty in the morning. Might as well get dressed for the day, and by the sound of it, we were in for one hell of a day. I got my clothes and went to the bathroom, thinking over all that I'd heard. The part about humans mixing with demons freely was spooking me. I mean, that was just so gross. Two hours later the room was buzzing with activity, Nanini the main source. I told them about what happened, what Chax and Vulcan said, and that made Nanini spark to life.

"The Caponitos are a Fallen bloodline; they also live here in Exsilium. But according to my father, they don't believe in our way of training and service, so they keep to themselves. Apparently they have their own hunting grounds and the others stay out of their way," Nanini said, jumping with joy.

"Okay, so they don't like this way of training, and keep to themselves. Got that. But why on earth would they come and train us?" I asked her, trying to keep my eyes on her while she jumped up and down.

"Oh, that's easy! Astin and the majority of the bloodline are werewolves. My dad says that they hunt in packs, like real wolves do in the human world. So, if what you told me is true, they're coming here to train us how to work in packs to kick demon butt."

Okay, so we're going to be trained by a bunch of Ninas. Just freaking great. I had a really bad feeling about this. Somehow I didn't think the level of testosterone here, added to that of the unfamiliar Caponitos, was going to bode very well. I could just imagine the look on Chax's face if someone told him what to do. Damn, wait, this is going to be fabulous. I can sit back and watch someone else get beaten up by him, or maybe vice versa. He gets a butt kicking session. Oh yeah, I couldn't wait to see what today would bring. We ate breakfast and went to Vulcan's class, but there was no Vulcan to give us a class. We stood there, looking at one another, wondering what the hell to do now.

"Let's go crash in the zone," Nanini said and turned around to start in that direction. But she only made it three steps. The moment she turned her head away from us to look into the direction she was heading, she bumped into one hell of a big guy. Behind him six more guys stood looking at us. Vulcan stepped around them to stand in front of us.

"Morning, Apprendos. Today we start something new. Come, we go to the arena," Vulcan instructed and turned around to start the long walk to the arena. The new guys just stood there, arms crossed and looking at us. Okay, so instead of one Chax we now have seven. Just freaking great. Slowly, Nanini was the first to walk by them to follow Vulcan. They just stepped aside and let her walk through them, their eyes watching her every step.

Lotan was next and he was giving them the same treatment, checking them out from top to bottom. I didn't think that was a wise choice. The guys kept their eyes on him for a while, and I could see two biting on their jaws. The rest followed suit, and then it was my turn. I decided to keep my head to the floor and get past them as quietly as possible; I didn't want to be dog chow for the day.

The moment I was at the third guy I heard him take in a deep breath. Did he just smell me? Shocked, I looked at him but kept on moving. He looked at me, his eyes boring into mine. Oh boy, these guys were freaking scary.

We walked down the hallways and made it outside to the arena. The moment I took in the picture in front of me, I stopped. There were a hundred or so Fallen standing around waiting for us, and then I saw my Dad waving at me. Delighted to see him again, I headed straight for him; I didn't even know I missed him so much until now.

"Father," I greeted him and grabbed him in a big hug. One hug from him always made me feel better, and after the sniffing guy, I needed a hug.

"Ah, my Filiola! I'm so glad to see you. How are you doing?" he asked, pushing me back to look at me. His eyes were sad, and yet happy at the same time.

"Still alive. Hanging in there, and you?" I replied, smiling at my father. He still calls me his little daughter, which was pretty funny given the circumstances.

"I'm glad to hear that. Your mother and I are fine, my Filiola. She is somewhere in this crowd, looking for her sister. She'll be here shortly," he said, brushing his fingers over my cheek to show his affection.

"Can I have your attention?!" Vulcan yelled over the crowd, and everyone stopped talking to face him as he stood on a stage-like structure in the middle of the arena.

"Because of the reports of the demon behaviors we have been receiving for the last week, we have no choice but to adapt ourselves to fight this war and win. If we do not adapt our approach, we will die and they will win.

"To aid us with the necessary training and skills to take on our newfound challenge, we have asked Astin Caponito and his Fallen to aid us. As agreed, they will instruct us all, and therefore they will take charge. We will follow. Is this understood?" Vulcan asked, looking over the crowd, his face more serious than ever. Still doesn't beat Chax' face, but he's almost there.

There was a moment of silence in the crowd, and then the first "aye" came, followed by many more. When my father said it, he looked at me to make sure I got the drift. So I said my "aye" and joined them in this newfound hell. Hey, at least this time I wouldn't be the only one suffering. Even my serious mom would be joining the ride. Hell yeah, I want to see her in action.

"Then from this moment I step back and join you in training," Vulcan replied, looking at the big scary guy Nanini had bumped into and stepping aside. The guy walked to the same spot and looked at the crowd. He had black hair that reached past his shoulders, brown eyes, and yep, just like all the other Fallen guys, one hell of a body to go with it. If he didn't look so scary I would say he was hot, but man was he scary.

"The time of pairs has officially come to an end. From today on you will become teams, or as we put it, packs. There are no versions of Custos or Apprendos in our teams. If you wish to still take responsibility for your Apprendo, then do so. This is not about two Fallen; it is about a team of Fallen. You will learn each others' weaknesses and strengths. You will learn to use them to aid your team. There is a team leader and his, or her, team who follows the orders given. There will be no exceptions.

"If a team cannot work together, they cannot survive. I suggest you get this into your heads pretty fast, or the days of the Fallen are at an end," the guy said, gazing out at the crowd. Silence followed him, so he continued with his speech.

"My Fallen have agreed to assist in the training and they will be obeyed at all times. I know you have been serving for years, but they have been doing it as a team for years." He looked at a guy standing to his left and nodded. He then turned back to look at us. "Dontalion and the other team leaders will take lead and begin. We will leave the choice of a team to you. However, there must be eight in a pack, so choose wisely," he finished, and then turned around to stand with the other guys.

I looked around to see what was happening, and found that I was not the only one missing my dad. Nanini had hers still in a death grip, and the look on his face said that he really didn't mind. Nanini's mom was standing next to them, smiling. She was a petite blond just like Nanini. I saw Lada with her mom and dad, also holding her mom and looking at her dad. As my eyes traveled around, all the Apprendos were with their parents, enjoying a short moment with them. But when my eyes landed on Kali, I stopped and looked at her. She was standing alone, no parents in sight.

"She lost both her parents about two months ago," my dad whispered in my ear. I turned to look at him and saw the same sadness I was feeling. Poor girl, I know she is a handful but no one deserves to be alone, especially without parents. They can be a pain in the butt, but they are your lifelines. I can't imagine a life without my parents, even if my mom is such a pain in the butt.

"Come, Kas. Chax is waiting," my mom said from behind me and I turned to look at her. Like I said, a pain in the butt. The guy just said that it doesn't work, so why would she want me to continue with Chax?

"But—"

"There is a good reason why we created the system. Even with this situation, you will remain with him," my mom cut me off, and I could see there was no arguing, considering her "I'm the boss" face was up and ready for action.

Knowing full well that to argue with her would be a dead end, I turned to my dad.

"See you later, Dad," I greeted him with a peck on the cheek and then walked past my mother, ignoring her to make a point.

Pissed off with my mother, I walked through the crowd looking for Chax, whom I found leaning against the tree I had been leaning against yesterday. Drawing in a deep breath, I stepped over and went to stand next to him, crossing my arms over my chest. I looked at the crowd and saw the Apprendos saying goodbye and then falling in with their Custos. So our parents are sticking to the old ways then; old people, I tell you.

The scary guys were walking in a group towards the crowd, and then from my right, more Fallen shifted in. They all had the same scary look the guys had, even the girls. They joined the guy who spoke to us. He gave them orders, and they divided up in groups of four and started walking through the crowd, taking up standoff places, waiting for us apparently. I glanced up at Chax. He was very quiet, just looking at all of them.

"Okay, so what do we do?" I asked him, taking the lead, because he certainly wasn't. He ignored me and just kept staring at everyone. One of these days I'm going to hit him, really hard. Ticked, I looked back at the crowd to find some old faces heading for us. Seth, Nanini, Arianna, Lotan, Lada and her Custos, Dagon, were heading our way and my heart took a huge thump. They came to stand in front of us, Seth smiling at me. "Okay, Chax, let's do this," Dagon said. Finally Chax moved and walked up to him.

"Indeed, old friend," he replied. At that, Nanini started jumping around again.

"Oh yeah, we're gonna be one wicked rocking team," she said and everyone except Chax laughed. This was going to be one hell of a team, and it was going to be fun.

"Is this your chosen team?" a guy asked. I looked past Lotan to find the Dontalion guy, with three others, standing there. One of the guys was the one that had sniffed me. I backed up into Seth, who placed his arm around my waist and pressed me to him. When I looked at him he was giving the sniffing guy one hell of a death stare. Feeling safe, I returned me eyes to the Dontalion guy, only to find Chax also giving the sniffing guy one hell of a death stare. Okay, this is new, but hey, I'm not complaining. The more guys keeping the creepy guy off me, the better.

"Yes, this is our team. We may begin," Chax replied, and turned his eyes back to Dontalion.

"Good, let's find some open space. It's too crowed here to practice," Dontalion said and gestured for us to follow. His companions turned with him, the sniffing guy who first smiled at me also turned and walked with them. We followed a few steps behind them. I kept my eyes on the sniffing guy, not liking this one bit.

Dontalion stopped at a spot in the garden. The grass has started to turn yellow from the cold, but at least there weren't any trees or other objects around. We joined them and took off our jackets, dropping them on the ground. Then we went over to stand in front of them.

"Let me introduce you to some of my teammates who will be assisting in the process," Dontalion explained, gesturing to the first guy.

They all looked the same: long black hair, brown eyes, and yep, drop dead sexy. "This is Marcus, his brother Acteon, and my cousin Paeon. You can call me Don; it's easier," Dontalion said, and then they all took off their jackets and dropped them on the ground. So, the creepy guy was Marcus. Well hell, at least I knew his name now. Chax did the honorable thing and also introduced us to them, when he reached me, Marcus's eyes stayed on me. Oh no, this is so not good. I always get the weird deals.

"We will start with a basic test to see what work we have to do, and then we will move over to the advanced stuff. The orders are to get you in full function by tonight, so it's going to be a long day. Let's begin," Don said, and the four of them began to circle around us. Here we go.

Immediately Chax, Seth, Dagon, and Lotan pushed us into the middle, creating a protective barrier around us. Each one picked another one of the scary guys, and started to pace with them. Nanini was jumping like a mad thing next to me, and I wondered if it was her nerves or adrenalin? I knew it was my nerves that were making me edgy. Then the scary guys transformed, all of them to werewolves, so Chax and the rest did the same. Seth was also a werewolf, but they were black, and he was brown. He and the Marcus guy were growling at each other like real wolves. Paeon went for Lotan, sweeping his legs out from under him. The moment he was down, Paeon jumped over him straight for Lada. I reacted. Transforming, I jumped him, my body hitting his with force. Then all hell broke loose.

Chax, and I think Don, were hitting each other like crazy. I could hear each punch land on flesh. I was hitting Paeon with all my might, and then Nanini blasted him with a bomb, missing me by inches. Howling, he punched me in the face, and I went flying backwards. Ouch! This guy can pack a punch! My jaw was throbbing from the blow. I turned my head to look back at him, and was suddenly thrown a few meters through the air, landing face first in the grass.

Damn, that hurt! Spitting out grass, I tried to get back up again, but this time it was Marcus who attacked me. Pushing me down, his mouth was snapping in front of my face, saliva dripping all over me. Oh my soul! This is going to hurt. The moment he transformed, I noticed that his black fur was tipped with gray. I had checked him out so I could identify him from the lot just to make sure I stayed clear of him. Then suddenly he was off me, and I looked to my right to see two werewolves biting and fighting the hell out of each other. It was Seth, thank God. Then I was pushed back to the ground, my mouth stuffed full of grass, again. I could hear screaming and shouting and yep, Chax yelling at me to concentrate, which was so typical of him. We were having our asses handed to us and he wanted to yell orders, the prick.

I was trying to get the thing off my back but it was like trying to move a freaking truck, and he was pressing my wings into the ground. "Maybe you'll do better in a bed, Hellhound," I heard someone say into my ear. Oh, hell no! Pushing my weight to one side, I lifted my elbow and punched him in the face. His weight lifted off me and I took the advantage. Swinging over, I punched him off and got to my feet. Dagon was on him, hitting him with firebombs. I looked around to see that these four were giving us the time of our lives. Arianna was down, Nanini and Lada were trying to take on one, Chax and Lotan were on another, and Seth was on Marcus, just inches from me.

Focus, Kas. I stormed the one the girls were busy with and tackled him to the ground. The moment I was on top off him, I shifted with him and planted him in the fountain a few yards away. Making sure he was in the water, I immediately shifted back and was on the one Dagon had his hands full with. "His legs!" Dagon yelled, so I did a slide kick, taking his legs from under him, and Dagon was on him, hitting him like hell.

"Stop!" Don yelled and we all stopped dead. Dagon had his fist in midair, ready to hit the one below him. "Disengage and get up!" Don went on, so I looked up at him. He and Chax were moving out of their battle formation, Don extending a hand to help Lotan up. Feeling safe, I transformed back to normal; the others followed and we all walked back to each other, forming a group again.

Sucking air, I looked at the others. We were all messed up, blood and bruises everywhere. Arianna had a huge swollen eye that was already turning black. Chax, for once, had a cut lip. But it was Seth's shoulder that got my attention. One of them had taken a bite out of him and blood was running down his shirt. I walked to him and pulled away the shirt to check the damage. Damn, it was deep.

"It's okay, Kas. I heal fast," Seth soothed, taking my chin in his hand to stop me from looking at it. Tears started to form in my eyes. I didn't know if it was anger or fear that put them there, but I had a tough time keeping them back.

"Okay, test over. Now we start with eliminating some errors, and then trying again," Don said, walking over to Seth and me. He pulled away Seth's shirt and looked at the wound, and then glaring at Marcus. Marcus was just smiling at us, pleased about it.

"Your first mistake was dividing your group into two. By protecting your females, you double up the impact of the attack on yourselves, creating a protected atmosphere for your females, which in return lets their guard down.

"You must always remember this is a Fallen world. I know our instincts say that we must protect our females, but they need to carry some weight in this circle," Don said as he moved around, looking at us. As a whole, he motioned to us and I looked to see that he had gracefully, without our notice, herded us into a circle. Wow, this guy was good.

"Second mistake you made was attacking on your own. This is a team. You must work as a team. Think about each one's unique abilities; two hellhounds, two vampires, a light and fire fae, an Impon and a werewolf. These are the elements of your team. Now you just need to use them together as one," he continued.

"We start with your fae. Nanini can create light bombs and fly. How can you use it? Then Dagon, you are a fire fae. You can throw fire bombs just like Nanini, and you can also fly. Now let's put the two together and see what we get. Nanini and Dagon, take a stand, back to back," he instructed, and Nanini and Dagon did what he said.

With their backs to each other, they faced off against Marcus and Acteon. Everyone transformed and where Nanini was pink, Dagon turned orange. Both of them had a bomb ready in their hands. The werewolves surged forward but were blasted by the two bombs, sending them through the air, where they landed on their backs. I looked back at Nanini and Dagon to find them in the air floating, watching their opponents. The moment Dagon's opponent got up, he yelled at Nanini and together they sent two bombs straight into him. He flew through the air and almost landed in a rose bush. Totally wicked!

"Good, now let's add the two vampires. You both have impeccable speed and strength, but you can also create g-force punches. Go join the fae and we begin again," Don said, and Chax and Arianna joined Nanini and Dagon. Again, they all stood back to back, transformed and were ready for the attack. This time, however, all four werewolves engaged. The moment the wolves started forward, Nanini and Dagon lifted into the air, sending four bombs to all of them. Then Chax and Arianna were moving so fast I couldn't see them, just a blur of color, and the wolves were flying back onto their backs. Oh, this was getting way cool.

The wolves got up and transformed back to normal, Don looking at the small circle, smiling. "Good, now the two hellhounds. You have a lot of elements to bring to a fight. Flight, strength, speed, but the most potent of them all are your accuracy and wings. You have dead aim and using your strong wings, you can take down an enemy. Now, let's see if you can fit into the circle," Don said, and I looked at Lada. We both joined the others, Lada next to Dagon and me next to Chax. We all transformed.

Again, all four of them transformed and were storming forward. Nanini lifted up behind me and blasted the two in front of us with a light bomb, and then two fire bombs came at them as well. Chax surged forward and slammed his fist into one of them, and then moved to the other. I moved in to make sure the first one stayed down. I hit him full force in the face, taking him to the ground, but the second one caught my attention. Only a step or two from me, I stretched out my wings and turned in a circle, taking out his legs from under him. He went down and Chax continued the attack on him. The one next to me started moving again, and I stood up, closing my wings. A firebomb flew inches past me and hit him full force, slamming him down again.

"Stop!" Don yelled, and we all stopped in the middle of our attack. Transforming back to normal we regrouped, waiting for our final team members. "Good, now the Impon and werewolf. Lotan, you have a paralyzing bite and brutal strength. Combine it to keep an opponent down for a deathblow. Seth, as a fellow werewolf, I know you have a lot to offer, so bring it to the circle. Join them," Don said and gestured to us. Lotan and Seth joined us, and we all transformed in unison. Nice!

The wolves attacked but we started up the counterattack: bombs, wings, speed, strength, and finally, an almost bite. Luckily, Lotan knew he had to stop or the whole training thing would be over. We went at it for the entire day, with no rest, no food, and no water. By the time a Harpies scream sounded through the air to stop all training, we were totally wasted, or at least the Apprendos were. Chax and the other Custos looked like they'd had a little jog down the street, while sweat dripped down our heads, into our clothes.

We all walked back to the arena, taking a spot near our tree. I saw that we were not the only ones that looked like World War II soldiers. Every one standing in the crowd had a bruise, or a cut, or both. Black eyes were starting to form on a lot of them and Arianna's eye had reached a purple color already. Yep, we got totally wasted by a werewolf clan.

"Good work, Fallen, but we have a lot more to do before the teams are perfected. Tomorrow morning we start again, and there will be no service tonight. The human world will need to bear the weight for one night. Go home and recuperate. Tomorrow we will begin again," Vulcan said, and gestured for everyone to dispatch. Some shifted immediately, and some walked slowly to a friend or family member and talked for a while. Looking at everyone, I felt the day's impact sinking into my body. I was hurt, hungry, thirsty, and man did I smell like a pig. Two arms folded around my waist, and I wanted to protest, but there was just not enough energy left in me to do so. I let Seth take me into his arms, and leaned back to rest my head on his chest.

"Enjoying yourself, are we?" Chax whispered into my ear, and I turned my head and looked up to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Oh my freaking soul, it was Chax, not Seth! What the hell?

"Don't go crazy. See, Seth has Nanini in his arms, so I'm just lending a hand. It is my job to take care of my Apprendo, so relax and shut up," he explained, and picked me up. I was totally shocked to my core. Holy crap, Chax was actually carrying me to my room, in his arms, like he actually had an idea what a feeling was. This was the weirdest day so far in this place. I looked to my right to see Seth carrying Nanini, and Dagon had Lada in his arms. Seth smiled at me, and I felt a little bit better about being in Chax's arms. Okay, it's just a Custos thing. No need to go crazy.

"Looks like our Apprendos had one hell of a good day," Dagon said, and with those words my body did a double-up on pain. Man, it felt even worse than when Chax had a go at me. This was real punishment. I just hoped our fae was around to save us, if she could walk herself.

"Hold on. I'm going to shift to your room, so you might feel a bit off balance," Chax explained. I did what he said and grabbed him around the neck. No way was I taking another fall today; I had had enough. The shift felt totally weird, like half of my body was trying to stay behind and the rest was trying to shift but luckily, my bed came into view.

"Oh, thank God," I mumbled, relieved and wasted at the same time. My bed looked like a bubble bath at that moment.

Chax actually chuckled at my words. Wow, this training may just be what he needed. Never once did I see this kind of behavior from him. He placed me on my bed and backed away. Seth and Nanini shifted in next to him and then he placed her on her bed. Next were Dagon and Lada, who also ended up on her bed.

"You did well today, Apprendos. Maia will be here shortly to relieve you of your pain. Vale," Dagon greeted and shifted out.

I turned my head from Lada to look at Nanini, and found Chax looking at me with a very strange look. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and then he shifted out, not even saying goodbye. Yeah, I knew it was too good to be true, but that look topped my weird scale for this whole Fallen thing. Why on earth did he look at me like that? Seth's face came into view, so I dropped the thought and smiled at him.

"How's your shoulder?" I asked him as he walked over to sit on the side of my bed.

"All healed. I told you I heal fast. You don't need to worry about that in the future. It's one of the werewolf benefits," he replied, smiling at me.

"Still don't like it," I fired back, and he laughed at me.

"Caveo mea cor," he said and kissed me softly on my mouth. Oh, that feels so good, a little tender love after a day full of pain. The moment we started to deepen the kiss, Maia stepped into the room. We stopped and looked at each other for a few seconds. I could see the disappointment in his eyes and felt the same. Seth got up to face her and I was heartbroken all over again. We never got alone time in this place, or was this what Fallen dating entailed? To quickly steal a kiss before something or someone messed it up? I didn't know if I could do an eternity of that. Just when it gets good, we had to stop.

"Salve, Maia," Seth said to her. Unlike Chax, he was always polite and a complete gentlemen.

"Good Lord, it looks like a war took place in Exsilium. Look at you girls," Maia said, walking over to Nanini, placing her hands on her to start the healing.

"Yes, indeed, we had a hard day of training. Take care of them, Maia. Good night, girls, Kas," Seth greeted and smiled at me, shifting out a second later.

Maia fixed us up, and about half an hour later we started moving again. We bathed and then went down to the grub spot to eat and drink. The place was a total dead zone; no one talked, not one sound except for the sound of knifes on the plates and chewing. We all stuffed ourselves and made sure we had enough fluids to go with it. Afterwards, we had a long, slow walk back to our rooms, where we all crashed and went into a deep sleep. I, on the other hand, had another freaking nightmare.

# Chapter 9

I don't know why all of a sudden I got them, considering I had never had a problem before I came here, but now it was almost every night.

***

My face was in the grass again and someone was pressing me down, and then the words I heard earlier were said into my ear. "Maybe you'll do better in a bed, hellhound." But it wasn't the same voice; this was someone else. Struggling, I tried to get him off but with no luck; unlike before, my move to the side didn't work. Then I felt a hand on the inside of my thigh. Holy crap! I was naked. How the hell did that happen?! The hand slowly moved upwards, and the guy whispered, "You'll be my greatest treasure yet." At that I went into insane valley. I transformed and pushed out my wings, pushing him off my back.

I jumped up to look at the guy and the moment his face came into view, I turned and started running. Oh my freaking soul! It was the demon again, the same freaking one! I ran as fast as I could, but he shifted in front of me and grabbed me, taking me down to the ground. My wings were trapped beneath my body; I wasn't going anywhere. "So many surprises. Maybe you will be worth it," he said, and leaned down to kiss me. Frightened to death about what was about to happen, I struggled and screamed.

***

I heard the words, "Wake up, Kas!" and grabbed onto them, pulling myself from the dream. My eyes flew open and Lada's face came into view. My hand traveled to my cheek. It was burning like hell. Did she just whack me? I looked at her, the question on the tip of my tongue.

"Sorry, I had no choice. You wouldn't wake up," Lada explained, and I could see it took her a while to make that decision.

"Nah, don't worry! You saved me from another nightmare," I replied, and lay back on my pillow. Crap, I need to get something to keep this guy out of my dreams. Why on earth is he there in the first place?

"You need to talk to someone about these dreams you're having. Maybe Maia can help?" Lada said, looking at me with concern.

"Yeah, I'll talk to her when I get the chance. It's not a priority at the moment," I replied, my eyes drifting to Nanini, who was still fast asleep.

"Your screaming didn't wake her. I think she really had a bad day yesterday. You go get finished in the bathroom and I'll wake her up," Lada said, getting up and walking over to Nanini.

I took a deep breath and got up. Lada's right, I need to speak to Maia about these nightmares. Maybe she can do something to block him out of my dreams. Hopefully then I'll get some peaceful sleep. I walked to the closet and got out a pair of jeans, a purple t-shirt I had always loved, and my track shoes. My denim jacket was the choice for the day. Next time I see my dad, I'm asking for new clothes. These ones don't seem to fit anymore. I took my shower and got dressed, and then walked back to the room to find Nanini buzzing around again. "Good morning. Sleep well?" I asked her, trying to keep my eyes on her, but she was totally all over the place.

"Oh yeah, never slept that good in my whole life. Had a fabulous dream to top it off," she replied, grinning and jumping at the same time. Well, at least someone in this room gets good dreams.

"So, you guys ready for hell again?" Lada asked, getting out her clothes to take in with her for her wake-up bath.

"Hell yeah, it's tough, but man, I really get drained in the process. Absolutely love to feel all wasted," Nanini answered, brushing her long blonde hair so hard I found myself wincing in pain.

"Nanini, you need help, girl! Sick isn't the word for you," Lada said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

I walked over to the mirror and got out my brush. Standing next to Nanini, I started the process of brushing out my own mane. My dark brown hair was reaching the point where I needed to cut it again. When it got too long, I couldn't keep it under control. After a while my arms started to ache from the effort of getting it into a pony. Failing miserably, I let go and it dropped to my back again.

"I need to get my hands on a pair of scissors," I complained and looked at myself in the mirror. Not only did I still feel tired but I also looked exhausted, even old.

"No way, Kas. The length is just perfect. You just need to find your way with it when you fix it up for the day. Look at what I do and try and follow it," Nanini replied, and I turned to look at her. It was pretty difficult. She was moving her hands so fast I almost couldn't see.

When she was done and it was in a fancy pony twist, she looked at me. "Did you see?"

Nope, not at all. "Yeah, I saw. I'll try it tomorrow. Just going to do the usual one today," I replied and went back to the task of getting my hair into a pony. Finally, and with burning arms, I had it and put my brush back in the drawer. In the meantime, Nanini had made her bed and cleaned her section in a record time. Damn, still have to do mine.

Lada came out and Nanini flew into the bathroom, slamming the door at the same time. "Don't slam the door, Nanini!" Lada yelled at her, and I had to laugh. The two of them made an unusual pair, but they balanced each other out at least. I walked to my bed and started my clean up. The moment my hand touched the covers, I had a flashback of the dream.

For some reason, it was at the beginning again, where my face was in the grass. I know that things in your day could pop up in your dreams again, but why on earth would I put the demon in the werewolf's place? Now, thinking about it, where the hell did he come from? I've never seen a guy who looked like him. Did I make him up? Cleaning up and finishing my section, I ran a few scenarios through my brain but found no answer to my questions.

We went down and grabbed breakfast before our day of hell began again. As I took my last bite, Vulcan came into the grub spot. "Hurry up, Apprendos. The others are already waiting," he said and walked out. At that, everyone started gulping down their food and drinks, me included. We finished up and then started the journey to the arena. Outside, everyone was waiting for us. Boy, we need to get a new wake up time. Looks like we are slacking.

Chax, Seth, Arianna, and Dagon were waiting for us at the tree where we met yesterday. Okay, so my tree became the meeting spot, cool. The four of them were having a conversation and the moment we reached them, they stopped and looked at us. My eyes landed on Arianna's face for some strange reason and for the first time, I saw her pissed off. When she saw me still looking at her, she quickly changed her expression and turned around, looking at the others also gathered in little groups. Okay, did I do something?

"Morning, Apprendos," Seth and Dagon greeted, so I turned my eyes away from Arianna and looked at them. When I saw Seth, I felt a whole lot better. I don't know what Arianna's problem is and I don't care. Walking to Seth, I greeted Dagon and Chax, who just looked at me and nodded. Yep, grumpy Chax is back today; let's hope the werewolves can change his mood again. I looked at Seth and smiled at him. I got one back and that made me totally forget about the dream and Arianna's look.

"Today we must improve on our techniques. We need to combine our abilities more to get the best result," Chax said, and I turned to look at him. Okay, down to business as usual.

"I agree. We can do a lot more damage if we combine our abilities together. It's finding the right recipe that's the problem," Dagon replied.

"Gather around, Fallen!" a guy yelled, so we all turned around to find Astin on the stage. "Dontalion has suggested that we try another approach to aid the training. Together, with their teammates, Dontalion and Annabelle will demonstrate the powers of a fully trained team. Study them well," he finished, turning around to walk off the stage. The crowd in front of us began to separate, creating a huge circle. Standing in the middle was Don and his team. They took formation and transformed.

Don and two others were werewolves, but they also had a vampire, three fae, and a harpy. Four females and four males made up his team, which was nice. A redheaded female and seven others walked out of the circle and took their formation. They ended up in what looked like a triangle form, where Don's team was in a circle. I watched as the redheaded woman transformed into a huge half lion, half eagle thing.

"What on earth is that?" I asked, awed by the female.

"She is a griffin," Dagon replied. "Very rare Fallen species; the last ones are only found in Astin's Fallen. If I'm correct, he has four. Annabelle would be the only female."

Wow, I've seen a lot of griffin's pictures, but this takes the cake. She started to pace slowly to the left, and then her team, consisting of two werewolves, one fae and the rest vampires, began to move with her. Don and his team were keeping still, their eyes on the others. The griffin team kept on slowly moving to the left, just looking at Don's team.

This continued for a few more minutes, and I was starting to get bored. My eye caught one of Don's team members taking a step inward, which in turn left their circle a bit out of place, and the griffin team attacked. The fae took to the sky, holding her hands at her side. The next thing I knew, three vampires were riding on tree roots ripping out of the ground. The roots lifted them up, meeting Don's fae and harpy in the air, where they went over into super speed. Nice, she must be an earth fae.

The griffin stormed forward, two werewolves at her sides. While Don and the others were looking up, trying to help those above, the fae's team attacked them. Wow, not only was the root thing a great attack but also a diversion; that's something to remember. Don's harpy then started to scream and everyone grabbed their ears, trying to lessen the sound. The griffin and the others immobilized by the harpy's scream, Don's team moved in, attacking them. They seemed to be immune to the harpy's scream; it must be a team thing. Don's team members were fast, combining their abilities to take the fae team down. The harpy's scream was starting to hurt my ears, so I took my eyes off the team and grabbed them. Then suddenly, total silence. I looked up and saw the harpy was pinned to the ground by the griffin, who had knocked the harpy out cold, silencing her.

Don and the others were still fighting. A purple fae blasted a vampire out of her way, and then blasted the griffin, who was making her way to a werewolf. The moment the bomb hit the griffin, four roots jumped out of the ground and wrapped around the purple fae. The fire fae on Don's side sent out firebombs all over the place, hitting the griffin, werewolf, and the earth fae. As the earth fae landed on the ground, a werewolf on Don's side jumped into the air, and with one claw swipe, cut off the roots trapping their fae.

"Stop!" Astin yelled, and the battle stopped dead. My eyes trained on them, I watched as they turned back to normal, and then started to help their team members get up. After all of them were up and back in action, each team nodded to each other member and then turned to face the crowd, who stood there in total silence.

"Whoo hoo, that was totally wicked!" Nanini yelled next to me and everyone turned around to look at her. One by one, their faces turned from shock to smiles. The crowd turned back to look at Don and the others, applauding. A few more "whoo hoo's" also followed. Don and the others were looking at each other with shock written all over their faces. They hadn't expected this kind of reaction.

"Well done, Astin. Indeed your Fallen teams are something to witness. I believe I owe you an apology," Vulcan said, walking over to Astin and shaking his hand. Astin took it in return and smiled at Vulcan. Okay, so the moral of the story is don't judge something before you take a good look at it. Like Astin and his Fallen, the outcome could be phenomenal.

Many walked out of the crowd and offered their hands to Don and the other Fallen, talking to them and congratulating them on a good job done. I must admit that the battle I just witnessed still had me dumbstruck. From everything I had to see and endure since my first day here, I was totally blown away by this. Even my dad was shaking the hands of Don and his team, asking questions and stuff. I could see he was really fascinated by their teamwork.

I turned around to look at Seth and the others, to find only Chax and I were still remaining. I turned my head back and saw that our group had also made their way to the crowd and were shaking hands. Nanini was jumping up and down in front of Annabelle, and I could see that she, in return, was having a hard time keeping her eyes on her. A smile broke out on her face, and then she burst out laughing. Nanini stopped her jumping, and the two started talking again.

"For many years I have tried to make the others see the potential Astin and his Fallen had, but it was always a failure. I watched these Fallen take on demons ours haven't even seen yet and walk out victorious. Do you know how many lives could have been saved if they had just listened?" Chax said next to me, and I turned to look at him.

His eyes were on the crowd in front of us, but he turned to look at me. For the first time since meeting him I saw sadness and deep pain. He turned around and walked off to the direction we were training in yesterday. Surprised and worried, I kept my eyes on him as he made his way through the garden. I might have misjudged Chax. He may be a grumpy guy with no sense of interaction between people, but in his eyes, I saw a male that has lived and lost for others. I saw a reason.

"That is one Fallen I would gladly give my life for," Don said next to me, but I didn't turn to look at him. I was too concerned over Chax, unbelievable. "Never in my life have I met someone who equals him. Not only does he serve with all that he is, he also does it with his whole heart."

"Yes, but it would appear to be a broken one," I replied, my eyes still on Chax.

"We all lose something in this war, young one. Some fall to the loss. But some, like him, rise above it and try to save others from the same fate. There will be a day when this fate will cross your path. When it does, you will have to make a choice: fall and be conquered by it, or rise above it to do good for others," Don explained, and started to walk in Chax's direction. I kept my eyes on both of them, his words taking a place in both my head and heart. I will rise above it, I promised myself.

My thoughts were interrupted when two arms circled me and pressed me to a strong chest. After yesterday, I made a mental note of Chax's scent and also Seth's, to make sure I didn't mistake the two again. The smell of oranges came to me so I knew whose arms were holding me.

"Everything okay?" he whispered in my ear, his mouth traveling slowly to my neck and giving me goose bumps.

"Yeah, everything's just fine," I answered, enjoying his affection.

"You looked sad there for a moment. Did Chax do something?"

"No, he didn't do anything. Don and I just had a talk," I replied, rubbing my cheek against his.

"Come on, you two. We don't have all day," Dagon said and walked past us to follow Don. The others joined him, and Nanini turned around and gave us the thumbs up with a smile. Lada took Lotan's hand and the two followed the others.

"We really need to find some time to be alone," Seth complained and kissed me on the cheek. He walked around to face me.

"I agree. This is getting to be too much," I replied, smiling at him.

"Come on. The others will be on our case," Seth said, and I started laughing.

"You mean Chax will be on our case," I retorted, and he started laughing as well. I took a step and found that one foot was trapping the other. I looked down to see my laces were undone. "Damn," I said, bending down.

"I'll wait for you."

"Nah, don't worry. I'll fix them and shift over. You go before the others freak out on us," I replied, shooing him off. Laughing, he turned around and started walking off, so I took hold of the first shoe's laces and got to work. I had just finished them when two guys walked past me. I didn't look up to see who it was; I was concentrating too much on getting the shoes done. Finally, with the last shoe done, I got up and was about to shift, when two arms grabbed me from behind.

"Morning, bellus," Marcus whispered in my ear. My heart stopped at his last word. My nightmare came crashing down on me. My heart was beating so hard I could feel it slam into my ribs. The part where I used my wings to get the demon off me came to mind, and I knew I had my ticket out of here. Dream or not, I'm getting out of his grip. I transformed, pushing my wings out and sending him flying. I turned around, spreading my wings to adjust them, and then snapped them shut again. He was on his butt, on the ground, looking at me, totally shocked.

"If you ever touch me again, you're dead!" I yelled at him. During my dream relapse, my fear had turned into fury, and now I was at the boiling point.

He laughed at me and then with an evil smile said, "So much spirit, so much fire. Indeed you are a trophy for any male, but you will be mine." And then he got to his feet, moving towards me.

There was no way in hell I was ending up with this ass, so I did the inevitable. I waited for him to get about two steps from me before I attacked, punching him in the face. The moment he stepped back from the punch, I used my wings for a little lift-off and kicked him in his face. Dropping down, I watched as he landed on his back, transforming into a werewolf. Okay, game on.

He stormed at me, but at the last moment I stepped aside, bringing up my knee and slamming it into his torso. He bent over from the blow, so I backed away to put some distance between us.

"I'll teach you how to respect a male!" he bellowed and turned around, jumping for me. When his face came into view, I did a turn kick and smashed my foot into his face, sending him to my left.

"I warned you, wolf!" I yelled back at him, trying to get him to back down and stop this. But no, he got up again and jumped me. My back hit the ground hard.

I forced my hand under his snout and grabbed his throat, squeezing for dear life. He started to laugh at me. "You're not strong enough for that, hellhound," he said and licked me on the face. Oh, freaking gross! I slammed my head straight into his and he lifted back just enough for me to get my wings up from under me. Using them, I lifted both of us off the ground, and then turned to the side, pinning him down.

"Now, this is more like it," he leered, and grabbed me around the waist, pressing me against him. I brought up my fist and planted it in his nose. Blood spurted all over my face. Howling, he let go of me and grabbed his nose. Seeing my chance, I got up and stepped away from him, ready for the next thing he threw at me.

"Does is hurt, wolf?" I asked sarcastically. He wanted it? He got it; just not the version he was looking for. But hey, I did warn him. He flew up from the ground and came at me again. This time I readied myself on the balls of my feet, my wings snapping close to my back. He jumped through the air straight for me. But just as I was about to kick the hell out of him again, he was attacked in the air by another wolf, and someone grabbed me around the waist and shifted out with me.

I looked around to see I was in Chax's garden; the circle we practiced in was just in front of me, the wall full of weapons on my right. Well, now I know who shifted me out, so I turned my head to look at him. He kept his grip on me, not letting go. I transformed back and gave him a wary look, so he finally released me.

"Are you okay, Kasadya?" he asked, frowning at the same time.

"Actually, no, I was in the middle of something and you shifted me out. Why?"

"You were fighting a full grown Fallen male, with years of experience. One that lives very close to his Fallen nature. What were you thinking?"

"Hmm, let me think, oh yeah, now I remember. I was thinking that if he grabbed me one more time, I'd kill him. If he said that I was going to be his female one more time, I was going to kill him. So, I pretty much was going to kill him, Chax."

He looked at me and I could see the surprise in his eyes. Yeah, didn't think I'd slam him back with sarcasm. I liked to pick fights with full grown Fallen males, which according to him, embraced the wolf part of himself, dumb nut.

"Did he touch you?"

"I believe I just said that, Chax. Now, take me back so I can finish this. Interfering is not helping."

Now real surprise flashed over his face; I got the message all right. You either fight back and stand your ground, or you're going to be very sorry afterwards. This pretty much slammed into my brain when the dream was running through it. Can't wait for tonight's nightmare. I'm going to go full Fallen on the demon, and kick him out of my dreams, or better yet, kill him in it.

"Yes, you are right, but I can't stand by and watch my Apprendo get hurt by another Fallen. That would not make me a good Custos. I understand that you wanted to defend yourself, but in this case, you would have ended up hurt, or even worse."

"The way I see it, I was winning the battle."

"Yes, you did really well for the first few minutes. But he was playing with you, trying to incite you. The moment blood came into the picture, his Fallen nature surfaced. He was attacking you to kill you. Yesterday, Seth had the same misfortune. Training turned into a real battle, Kasadya."

"For me it was real from the start, so I don't see your point."

"The point is, if Seth and I didn't intervene, you'd be dead!"

"Oh for Pete's sake, what was I supposed to do? Let him touch me and stuff!?"

His face turned into anger, and I could see that he was taking my point of this argument into consideration. But he bit it back and said, "That's why you have a Custos. If you ever have another problem with anyone, you come to me and I will address it. Do you understand?"

Oh yeah, I understood. If I couldn't take the punch I had to run crying to him and he would save me. No more. I had endured enough of this crap. From the moment I set foot in this place, I was told I had to survive or I'd die. Well, so be it. I shifted to the wall, grabbed the two swords he had me practice with and shifted back to the training grounds. My team was standing there talking to each other and didn't notice me. I searched with my eyes and found Don and Marcus talking a few yards away. When my sight landed on Marcus, something inside me kicked into place. I could feel something more, something rising up. I let it spread over me and shifted to Don and Marcus. Don turned around the moment I landed and his eyes went wide.

"Kas, wait," he demanded, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Enough! Get out of my way. NOW!" I replied, and started to move forward so fast he couldn't stop me. I sidestepped him, and using my wing, pushed him away from us to ensure he didn't end up in the middle of the fight. Marcus's eyes also went wide and he shifted. I looked around and found him a few yards away. "What's wrong, Marcus? Don't you want to play?" I asked him, shifting to him on the last word. I could hear Chax yelling at me, but just didn't care; This was my moment. No more will I let someone walk all over me, I had had enough.

Marcus transformed and stood his ground. "Hellhound, back down now, or you'll regret it," he said, taking backward steps. I felt the air next to me move and knew someone was shifting in to stop me. The moment the air stopped, I flung my wings out, sending the person flying.

"No, wolf. Today regret is reserved just for you," I responded, and I attacked him. He dodged my blades for a while, but was too slow and a hit went to his thigh. Howling, he jumped away from me, his paw going to the wound.

"Chax, stop her!" he yelled to Chax. No, not this time, my dear Custos. Chax shifted in behind me and I flung out my wings, again sending him flying.

I moved again, swiping with my left arm. He dodged it but didn't see my right arm coming in for the blow. My blade ended up in his side, halfway to his heart. As my blade pierced him he howled and froze. I stopped the attack and looked him in his eyes. Shocked and in pain, he looked back at me. "What's wrong, wolf? Am I not so beautiful anymore? Still want me as a trophy?" I taunted him as his eyes growing wide with fear.

"Kasadya, stop!" Chax yelled, and shifted in next to Marcus. His hand went to my blade to stop it from going in. Pissed off, I looked at him.

"Is this not what you wanted me to be? What, still not strong enough according to you?" I asked him and at the same time I felt someone shift in behind me. The air stopped and the person grabbed my wings before I could fling them out.

"Kas, please stop. This is not the way," Seth said from behind me. I turned my eyes on Marcus.

"Kasadya, Seth is right. This is not honorable. Stop this," Chax went on. Marcus transformed back to normal, my blade still inside him, and I could see that it hurt him way more than the blade going in.

"You touch me again, wolf, and you'll be looking at your headless body a few steps away. Do you get me?" I said into his face. In pain, he nodded his head, his eyes closing because the movement brought on more pain.

Satisfied he got the message, I quickly withdrew the blade and took a step back, Chax removing his hand just in time. Marcus slumped to the ground and Chax followed, lifting up his shirt and looking at the damage. There was one clean cut where the blade went in, and a lot of blood coming out from it.

"Kas, give me your swords," Seth said from my left side, and I complied without taking my eyes off Marcus and Chax. He took them from me and moved away. Chax looked up at me with confusion in his eyes. Yeah, you wanted a warrior, and at the same time wanted a little girl to come running to you for help. Well, I fixed it. No more little girl.

"Kasadya, go back to my house. I'll be there shortly. Seth, go fetch Maia. It's very deep," Chax said to Seth and me, without taking his eyes from mine. The air moved and Seth shifted out. Angry, I turned around to look at the others. When my eyes met them they took a step back, fear in their faces. I stopped and took in the picture. Why on earth would they do that? What, is this the first time they saw a girl win a fight or something?

Feeling warm liquid on my hand, I looked down to see it was covered with Marcus's blood; then realization hit me. No wonder they were afraid, look at what I had done. In my tantrum to prove myself, I became the very thing I was supposed to hunt. Enraged and disgusted with myself, I shifted out without looking at them again, the look on their faces trapped in my mind. What have I done?!

# Chapter 10

I didn't shift to Chax's place; I was not in a mood for one of his lectures at the moment. Instead I shifted to the fountain he found me at the other night. I knew he would find me here eventually, but until then, I had some time alone.

I looked around to make sure that 'alone' was the case, and luckily no one else was around. I'm sure they were probably training at the house. I walked over to the bench near the fountain, where I was sitting the other night, and planted my butt there, looking at the water again.

How could I have been so stupid? I attacked another Fallen armed and he wasn't? Then I went even further and jammed my blade into his chest, almost piercing his heart? I know we can't die like that, but I bet it still hurts like hell. What was I thinking?

Yeah, sure, the guy pissed me off, but was it enough to do that to him? No, I didn't think so. Chax was right; I should have left this for him to sort out, but no, I had to use my freaking stupid brain. Man, the looks on Nanini's and Lada's face were breaking my heart. Not only did I turn into a monster, I may have lost my friends in the process.

My first and only friends to add to it! I'm a walking disaster. No wonder my mom hates me. OMG, what is my mom going to do when she hears about this? She will eat me alive this time. Oh, and my dad, he will be so disappointed in me. "I know my Filiola will make me proud," were his words and look what I did. Oh no, I totally messed up everything! Crap, why couldn't I listen for a change and think like a normal person?

I sat there for hours, thinking about everything. Soon my view of the water started to fade as the sun went down and darkness took its place. The whole time I was sitting here, I mentally punched myself over and over again. "Stupid girl," I could hear my mom say. "Oh no, baby," I could hear my dad say, and I could picture his face with those words. I let him down. I didn't make him proud; instead I made a disgrace of myself. The air shifted behind me and I knew that Chax had finally found me. I heard his feet hit the ground and just kept my head down.

"Kasadya," he whispered, walking slowly to stand in front of me. I kept my eyes on the ground, too embarrassed to look at him. He was right. I was a little girl throwing tantrums all over the place, and deadly ones at that.

"You have to come with me. The council awaits," he went on, and at those words I looked up at him. His face said it all. Not only was I in big freaking trouble, but also he was disappointed in me, and I already knew Mom and Dad were too. No way this wouldn't reach them; most likely they had already turned their backs on me to leave me to my fate, a well-deserved fate.

Tears started to form in my eyes, and I knew that if I kept looking at him it would turn into a waterfall. I returned my face to the ground and stood up, holding out my hand. "I won't cry," I kept telling myself, trying to take what was coming with some dignity. Face it like a man they always said. He took my hand and we shifted. The next thing that came into my view was a tiled floor with small patterns on them. Chax let go of my hand and walked away, leaving me to my fate. I don't blame him. If I were in his shoes, I'd walk away and never look back.

"Kasadya Levourne, step forward," a man said. I took a deep breath and lifted my head, taking in the room.

I was in some sort of court-like room. In front of me sat Vulcan, another male, a female, and Chax. To my left were my mom and dad. Dad looked at me with sad eyes and Mom didn't even bother to look at me. No surprise there. Now I really was not worth the effort. To my right stood Astin and Dontalion. Astin's face was neutral and Don looked at me, also with a sad face. Okay, so this is not going to be fun. I get it. Bracing myself for the impact, I took a few steps and stood in the middle, looking up at them.

Chax didn't even look at me; he kept his eyes on the bench in front of him. Vulcan finally looked at me, anger in his face but at least he was looking at me. I stood there ready to face my mistake. In a Fallen life you grow up very fast, or at least I did.

"In your absence we have discussed the incident that took place today. We took in everyone's testimony in what lead to it and also what happened. Do you wish to say something before we make our final decision?" the other guy asked.

What could I say? Everything they most likely heard was the truth. I earned a punishment for doing this, so suck it up and take it. "No," I replied, and kept my eyes on him. No use trying to look at someone else; they were either mad or disappointed in me.

"Then it is final. In the charge of disobeying your Custos's direct order to refrain from violence, and to the charge of attacking and injuring a fellow Fallen, we find you guilty. Your punishment will begin immediately," he said and looked at my mom and dad. I kept my eyes on him. "As the Apprendo's parents, do you agree?" he asked my parents, and my heart sank down into my stomach.

A short silence followed then my mom answered, "As her parents, we agree." I felt a tear fall down my cheek. Yeah, that's my mom. Hell, no matter what, I'd never make her proud, so this was not a surprise at all. My dad agreeing hurt a lot, but I deserved it. I sucked back my tears and kept my eyes on him.

"Kasadya Levourne, you will remain in solitary confinement for one month. You will only be allowed to see Dominus Custos Chax and Vulcan. You will not be allowed to interact with any of the other Apprendos living in the house. You will only be allowed to use the facilities within the house after they have used them. As for your training, you will not be allowed to continue training with the teams. However, Dominus Custos Chax's request was considered and you will therefore be escorted to and from his house for training until your month is over.

"When your month is over, we will consider new testimonies about your behavior and hope to find an improvement. If there is none, you will continue with your confinement until you shape up," the guy said, and at the last word he looked at Vulcan, who stood up and walked towards me. I kept my eyes on the guy who just ended my life for a month, maybe even more.

Vulcan came to stand in front of me. "Come," he said and walked past me. I took one final look at Chax, who still wasn't looking at me. I have a feeling "brutal" is not the word for my next few days of training.

So I turned around, my eyes catching my mom and dad as I turned to walk behind Vulcan. My dad looked at me, sadness in his eyes, but my mom didn't even give me that honor. No, she just kept her eyes on the bench where Chax and the others sat. One hell of a mother, huh? I turned my eyes from them and followed Vulcan, my throat burning from the tears I was trying to suppress.

We walked outside the room and then the doors closed behind us, on their own, of course. Vulcan offered me his hand, his face still angry, so I just took it to get this over with. We shifted into a room with just one bed, no widows, and a small bathroom. He let go of my hand and shifted out again, leaving me alone in my newfound home. Well, better get used to it.

I walked over to the bed and planted myself on it, bending my head to my hands and watching the floor again. They were so pissed at me. Chax refused to even look at me, and I must admit that was really getting to me. Don't know why; it was not like he was my favorite person here. Maybe because I tried to prove myself to him and only ended up proving him right. Oh yeah, that must be it.

The look on my dad's face had the tears streaming from my eyes and over my cheeks; he was so disappointed in me. The air shifted, and still crying, I refused to look up. A pair of black boots came into view, followed by my suitcases.

"I asked Nanini and Lada to pack up your things for you. They ensured me that everything is here. I will bring you some food and refreshments in a while. It will give you enough time to unpack," Vulcan said, and at the last word shifted out.

Well, at least I had my stuff to keep me company, but I made no effort to get up and unpack. I just sat there, remembering the whole day. About half an hour later a knock sounded at the door. I lifted my head and looked at it. I'm so not in the mood for this anymore. Another knock sounded, followed by Vulcan's voice, "Can I come in?" Yep, no luck for "leave me alone."

"Yes," I replied and looked back at the floor.

He opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him. Scared I'll try to run? "I have brought some food and refreshment. Seeing that it's already late, we will all retire for the night. Good night," he finished, placing my food next to me on the bed then walking out, locking the door behind him. I wonder if shifting is possible? Nah, didn't think so. They would have blocked me or something. I looked at the food and decided to eat, needing to keep my strength up. A few bites later I placed it on the small table in the corner, not very hungry.

I walked over to the suitcases and picked one up, placing it on the bed to start unpacking. No use in delaying the matter; I was here for a whole month. I placed the first pair of jeans in the small closet next to the bed. Yep, all luxury was gone with the punishment. "Oh, Kas, shut up and get on with it," I scolded myself. I repeated the movement and soon my suitcases were unpacked, and I was looking at an empty one.

My dirty clothes were still not back from the laundry, which by the way was also another secret I wanted to find out. I just hope it reached me here, wherever here may be. I had kept my pajamas on the bed and now took them and my bath goodies to go take a shower. I stopped at the mirror and placed them on a small bench. I then looked up to see myself in the mirror, taking a step back from the sight.

I was covered in blood; my face, t-shirt and everything. I remember hitting Marcus in the nose and how his blood sprayed over me. No wonder Lada and the rest backed away. Not only were my hands covered with his blood, but my whole face and clothes too. Just look at the sight of me, I looked like...like a monster.

Was that what I had become, a monster? Someone who took pleasure in hurting others? My throat started burning again from the tears I was trying to hold back, but I gave in and let them run freely. I felt so bad; indescribable emotions ran through me. Still crying, I turned on the shower, got undressed, and stepped in the water. Freezing cold started to turn slowly into warm water; I didn't even flinch, too shaken.

I looked down to see the water below red from Marcus's blood. I opened up my heartache and let it flow with the water, trying to wash away my awful day. After a long time the water started running cold again, so I sucked up the tears and finished off. I toweled off the water on me and got into my pj's then walked over to the bed. I was exhausted, from fear to adrenalin back to fear and finished off with tears.

I climbed into bed and drew the covers over me, hoping to hell I could fall asleep and try to escape this day. Luck finally came to me. After a few minutes I was pulled into a dream, and for once it started pretty good.

***

I was walking in a beautiful garden. Fountains and flowers greeted me all the way. I looked down to see that I was wearing some kind of red dress. I didn't do dresses, so this was really weird. I started to feel uncomfortable. Why on earth would I make up a dream where I wear such a stupid thing? From the very first moment my mom forced me into one, I felt as if it was demeaning to me, breaking me down into something I wasn't.

I only kept them on for a short while. The moment she turned her back long enough, I would have created an "oops" with it, always making sure it never ended up on me again. Of course my mother always went ballistic afterwards. Telling me that I should start thinking about my future, and that being a lady was honorable and to take pride in it. Well, it never worked. I still hated the damn things.

"Come, hellhound, our feast awaits," a guy said, and I looked up to find my demon standing there, dressed in a black Armani suit with a red shirt beneath. Oh, for crying out loud! Why does he always have to spoil my dreams?

"Go to hell, demon," I replied and turned around, ready to run in this stupid thing I was wearing.

"Wait! I only wish to dine with you. I believe your day already had enough excitement," he said and I stopped, standing there contemplating what to do.

Should I turn around and dine with him? Or should I turn around, dream up a pair of swords and get him the hell out of my life? No, I did enough of that for the day. No more. This was my dream, right? So I just need to out-dream him, if that was even possible. I'd give this a go. Maybe I could get rid of him that way. So I turned around and faced him.

"Why?" I asked, watching him carefully. No way in hell did I trust this demon.

"Please, I promise that this will be a proper dinner with no intentions," he replied, gesturing to his left. I followed his hand and found a table at a fountain, flowerbeds circling it. It had two plates filled with food, and candles added to it.

"If you try anything, demon, you'll regret it," I said, turning my eyes back to him. He lifted his hands in a surrender gesture and stepped aside for me to pass him. I walked past him slowly, all the while watching him, over to the table and sat down, my eyes still on him. He joined me at the table and poured red wine into one of the wine glasses standing on the table, and then the second glass. Placing the bottle of wine back on the table, he handed me a glass. I'd never had wine before; I was too young for that sort of thing, so I took it. I might as well try it and see what happened.

"You're wrong," he said, taking a sip from his wine while looking at me. I slowly brought my glass to my mouth and took a sip. With my eyes on him, I tasted the wine. Well, not too bad I had to admit; it was pretty nice.

"And what would I be wrong about?" I asked him, taking the glass away from my mouth and rolling the taste of the wine in my mouth. I wondered what type of wine it was?

"You're not a monster; the werewolf got what he deserved," he replied, taking another sip.

"How would you know about him?" I asked, trying to find out how the hell he knew what was going on in my life if he only visited me in my dreams.

"My little hellhound, I know everything about you. Your mind is free for me to explore, and I do so with much interest," he answered, a smile forming with the last words.

"How?"

"That, little hellhound, is a secret. But enough about that. The werewolf touched you without permission. Your love and Custos saw it and only stood by, doing nothing to protect your honor. You had the right to defend it."

"Yes, well, I could have picked another way. My choice was bad. I could have hurt him badly, and in return I may have lost the only friends I ever had," I replied, taking my eyes off him. My throat was starting to burn again. No way was I crying in front of him, so I bit back the tears, locking my jaws.

"I believe a true friend would have understood, and in fact supported you on this. Why did your love and Custos not help you? Why leave you in the arms of such a male?"

I sat there thinking about it for a while. He might be right. If they all saw what was happening, why did no one help? If Nanini and Lada saw what he was doing, why would they judge me? Was this one of Chax's training things? If it was, it sucked big time. I have no problem with a punch or kick or that kind of stuff, but grabbing me and telling me stuff like Marcus did was a little disgusting.

"If you were in my care, I would have taken his head for that. I would have kept you safe from such things, but if I did, you would not have found your true self today," he continued, gesturing to the plate of food in front of me.

It was a small steak, rice, and greens and yeah, it looked tasty. So I picked up a fork and scooped up a bite, looking at him. "What do you mean 'my true self?' Do you mean the monster I became?" I asked, taking the bite.

"Are you sure it was a monster? What was the first thing your parents told you about yourself? Was it not that you are a hellhound born?"

Now that caught my attention. What was he saying? That a hellhound was a born monster? No way! I was not a monster. Okay, yes, I lost control today and made a bad decision, but that was just today. "I was not born to be a monster," I threw back at him, pissed off instantly.

"No, not a monster, but were you not born to be the best of all Fallen? Is it not in your nature to conquer? Your Custos has only scratched the surface of what you are destined to be, and many hellhounds don't live up to it. As far as we know, no hellhound has ever again reached that divined destiny; all too afraid to take their true nature and embrace it. Imagine how many of us they could have destroyed if they did. Are you sure that your Custos is not trying to tame you in a way?"

What? "What do you mean?"

"Are you sure he isn't holding you back, because they are afraid of you?"

Where the hell did he get that? No way! Chax pushed me too hard every time. He wanted me to become a warrior.

"Yes, but what happened today when you became one? Did he not ask you to stand down, and let him fight for you? Why would he do that?"

Did he just read my freaking mind? How in the hell did he do that? But something in his words triggered the conversation I had in Chax's garden. Yes, he did ask me to back down and let him take care of the problem. Why would he teach me to fight, and then ask me to let him deal with it? My mind started to run all over the place. I remembered the training, Chax's words, and everything. Confused as hell, I sat there thinking about it.

"Dawn's approaching, my little hellhound, so I leave you with my final question. In a war, would you not use your greatest weapon to win?" he asked, and with the final word, he began to fade away. I woke up in my bed, looking into darkness.

# Chapter 11

I lay there in my bed, the demon's questions running through my mind. I was trying to find reasonable answers for them, but I couldn't. Looking around, I could sense rather than see the sun rising. There wasn't a window to help here, or even a clock.

I got up and went to the closet, grabbing a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and boots. I learned a lesson yesterday beyond the one I was being punished for; I learned about proper apparel for training. I walked to the bathroom. A wake up shower was just what I needed. I got undressed and got into the shower. Warm water greeted me this time.

Washing, I thought about the demon's question again. He was right; in a war like this I would use my greatest weapon. Anyone would. Then why would the Fallen not? What do we become if we fully embrace our true destiny? Would I be like a demon? With all my questions and reasons, I got out of the shower and dressed. I walked back to the bed and planted myself on it, waiting.

After a long while, a knock sounded at my door. I looked up and knew it would be either Vulcan or Chax. "Yes," I answered, standing up and walking to the door. It clicked open and then was pushed inwards toward me, revealing Vulcan.

"Come, your breakfast awaits," he said and gestured for me to follow him. I took the hint and walked behind him. He led me through many hallways and finally we came into a familiar one, the one leading to the grub spot.

He walked into the grub spot and I followed. At a table Chax sat waiting for us, and before him a plate of food and a glass. Vulcan turned around and walked out, so I made my way to the table and sat down. However, Chax didn't even look at me, still mad. I didn't really give a damn, because the moment I saw him, one of the demon's questions came to mind. Why didn't he help me if he saw Marcus grab me? Pissed at him, knowing he might have seen the whole thing and didn't do anything, I sat down and began to eat. One bite after the other, the questions made their way back to me. Why train me to fight and survive, and then ask me to run back to him for help?

"Marcus has fully healed," he said, breaking the silence.

I kept my eyes on my plate. So what? Maybe the demon was right about that too; he did touch me without my consent and maybe he also deserved what he got. I was getting more angered by the moment. How dare he talk to me about Marcus. He didn't even give a damn when I was in his arms, frightened to death! I finished up the plate in record time, stood up and placed it in the wash bin, gulping down my glass of milk and placing it in with it.

I turned around and regarded him; he was, for a change, looking at me. "So, are we going to train?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest. He looked at me for a while, just watching me. He then got up and offered me his hand. I walked over to him and took it, my eyes fixed on his. I believe this would be called a challenge stare. We shifted in to his garden and I released his hand. I walked over to the circle, taking my jacket off and dropping it on the ground. Reaching the circle, I stopped, turned, and looked at him. He was still standing there, looking at me, and then he walked slowly over to me, our eyes still locked.

"So, what would you like me to do?" I asked, getting more angry by the minute. The more I looked at him, the more of the demon's questions came to mind. So, he wants to tame me? We'll see. Two steps before me, he stopped and looked at me, still not saying anything. Let's test the demon's theories then. I moved and transformed at the same time, punching him full force in the face. His head went backwards, but he kept his balance. I moved slowly around him, circling him. He returned his eyes to me, and I could see that I had hit a nerve. Bulls-eye.

"So, Chax. Tell me, what does it mean when they say a hellhound born?" I asked him sarcastically, circling him slowly, almost stalking him.

His eyes betrayed his surprise at my question. I turned quickly, ducking down and spreading my wings, taking him to the ground at the same time. I got back up and looked at him; he was up in a second and now beyond pissed.

"It means you were born a hellhound," he replied, now moving in a slow stalk himself, countering mine.

"Really?" I asked, bringing my fist in for a blow. He used his arm to swipe it away, and grabbed me, locking me to the spot. I jerked up my arms, cutting him off me, and then head butted him so hard I saw tiny stars in front of me. He grabbed his head with his hands, so I slowly walked around him again, watching him.

"Is there something you forgot to tell me?" I asked. I'll force it out of him.

He recovered and looked at me. "No, I don't know where this is coming from, but you need to stop and think like a grown female for a change, not a spoiled little girl," he replied, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

He thinks I'm a little girl, while others are grabbing me, telling me I'm a trophy and stuff. So that's why he wanted me to run to him? Because he saw me as a little girl?

"You know, Chax, for someone that is supposed to be this so called 'Dominus,' you're pretty freaking blind!" I yelled at him and moved in with a high kick. But he blocked it again and this time he punched me, and I landed with my butt on the ground. I was up in seconds. Damn him.

"I see a little girl. Easy to sway or convince, and you're playing right into it," he replied, standing still and watching me.

"Whatever, Chax. But tell me, why wouldn't you let me go back and defend myself?" I asked, stopping as well to look at him.

"You would not have acted with a clear mind, and you didn't. You attacked an unarmed Fallen, and he didn't attack you back, not one time. See what happens when you react on your emotions?" he whipped at me.

He had a point there, but it still didn't change the question. "Are you trying to tame me into something you want?" I asked him, keeping my eyes on his. His face didn't give him away; it was his eyes.

And yep, there we go, a slight movement in them, telling me that he was holding back on something or lying to me. "I'm not trying to tame you. I'm trying to prepare you for service," he replied after a few seconds. He was lying; it was all over his face. The demon was right. How could I have been so stupid not to see this? But then again, I hadn't been around that long, and I didn't really pay much attention to this guy. Still looking at him, I could see his eyes change again, and then he looked at me differently. Stepping forward and now trying to circle me, he looked me up and down, and then locked-in with my eyes.

"Who have you been talking to, Kasadya?"

"No one."

He moved so his face was inches from mine. "You're lying. Tell me who has been planting these ideas into your head now." He sneered, and man did he go all serious on that one, ending it with a growl.

"I said no one. Now back off," I whipped back and then turned around, about to walk away from this. No way am I telling him about the demon; that's just too weird. Suddenly I was grabbed, turned around with my feet going out from under me, and Chax pinned me down to the ground.

"Who have you been talking to?!" he yelled at me, his face very close to mine. The look on his face was the same as in the alley, so I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"N...o o...ne," I answered, struggling to get the words out. He leaned in more; now we were a breath away from each other.

"You need to start trusting me, Kasadya. I'm your Custos. I will take care of you and guide you in this life. But lying to me and trying to protect someone is not the way to go about this. Tell me."

I looked into his eyes, and for some strange reason my eyes dropped to his mouth, which was looking pretty delectable at the moment. I need to go see Maia. There's something really wrong with my head. I lifted my eyes to his, and found him looking at my mouth as well. Okay, now this is new. My breathing had started to pick up, and my chest was pushing against his; each time it touched his, goose bumps broke out over me. Okay, I'm one sick puppy.

"Tell me the truth, and I will help you. This is a dangerous world, and a small mistake like this can cost you a lot. Trust me," he whispered, his mouth inches from mine, and I swallowed a lump again. Then I did something really stupid, lifting my head, I kissed him softly on his mouth. He in return took the kiss and kissed me back. I opened up, wanting more, and he complied. The moment our tongues touched, and I really tasted him, my world went spinning and hit full supernova.

Kissing Seth was great and all, really great, but this, this was heaven. Releasing my hands, he pushed his arms under me, holding me to him. I did the same, wanting more, wanting way more. Our kiss deepened the moment I had my arms around him. Sliding my fingers through his hair, my mind zoomed in on one thing. I want this. I want him more than I ever wanted Seth. I opened up my legs, wrapping them with his, and he ended up between them. He stopped and moved off me with lightning speed. He stepped back a few steps and looked at me, shock all over his face. I was breathing hard, looking up at him and feeling like my world was just stolen from me. Still looking at me, his breathing was also hard, and then he turned around and walked away without a word.

I kept my eyes on him, not moving, feeling like a blade had just been stabbed through me. How could I have done that? He is involved with someone. Oh my soul, and it's freaking Kali! Oh man, she was going to be so pissed about this. On the other hand, I was shocked at what I had felt in his arms, more than I had felt in Seth's. I didn't have a lot of experience when it came to guys, but I didn't think that was my imagination. How the hell did this happen?

Still lying on my back, I shifted out and landed with my back on the floor in front of my new room's door. The hallway was quiet so I just laid there thinking about what just happened. Was it just some kind of "do it and get it out of your system" thing or was it really what I felt? I sat up and looked at the long hallway. I need to go see Maia; I need to get my head checked out now.

So I got up and started walking through the house looking for Vulcan. No way am I just shifting to her; I'll just end up in more trouble. So I'll find him and explain what's going on and that I need to see Maia to get some help. The demon, my doubts, and now kissing Chax; there must be something wrong with me. I reached the corner leading into the lobby to make my way to the hallway that goes to Vulcan's office, to check and see if he was in there. If not, I was going outside to the training arena to look for him; I wanted this done now.

I turned the corner and bumped into someone. Stepping back, I was about to say sorry then stopped dead. In front of me stood Kali, looking at me, but not really looking. Something's not right. Did she already know what happened? Can't be; I just shifted back from it, and isn't she supposed to be in training?

"Kali, you okay?" I asked her, taking a slow step towards her. She didn't reply and took a step to me. In fact, she didn't even register that I was there. Okay, this is freaky. Yeah, sure, she is one of the divas, but her expression is giving me the creeps.

"Kali, are you okay?" I said louder, walking to take a stand in front of her. Still nothing, and she took a step forward straight into me. I grabbed her arms and shook her a little.

"Kali, what's going on?!" I yelled at her, my heart pounding from the creepy feeling I was getting. Her eyes were open but it was like she wasn't there. She had a black eye from the day before, but it was her eyes. They were not normal. My heart started pounding even harder. Still holding her, she suddenly pushed me away from her and I landed on my butt on the floor. She moved so fast I didn't even have a chance to keep my grip on her.

She walked out the door, not even looking at me. Damn, now what? I stood up and looked at her as she reached the gate and turned left. I knew I was going to kick my own butt after this, but I couldn't let her go off like that, so I ran outside and after her. I caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder to turn her around. The moment my hand touched her, I felt the air move and she shifted, taking me with her.

# Chapter 12

We shifted into a room filled with very stylish furniture. Very modern, like something you saw in movies. I turned around to take in my new surroundings. Well, black and red was the theme, and someone needed a decorator. Looking around, I found a small lounge, a bathroom inside another door, and then behind Kali, a huge freaking bed. Kali was just standing there, not saying or doing anything, so I moved in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Kali, what the hell is going on?!" I yelled at her, and started to shake her real hard to get her out of this.

Nothing happened, so I resorted to the last thing. Lifting my hand, I was about to whack her back to real life when the air moved around us. I felt someone shift in behind us, and turned around to find my demon, in an Armani black suit with a purple shirt, standing there smiling at us.

"Well now, two for the price of one," he said and started walking to the left, looking at us with a grin.

"You're not real! You're just in my dreams," I said, shocked that my nightmare was standing there, in flesh and blood.

"Oh, I'm real, my little hellhound, and as you can see, not only in your dreams. But I must admit, when I placed my trance on your harpy friend to come to me, I didn't think she would bring you with her. I was still thinking of ways to get you here, a hellhound being unable to resist and all," he said, walking slowly towards us.

What? She's in a trance? That was why her eyes looked like that. How in the hell did he get her into a trance? His words in my dream came to mind "your mind is open to me." Oh damn, Kali was dreaming of him too, and that was how he was able to put her in a trance. Of course, he even knew what was happening in my life. "Back. Off." I slung out, pissed off that I even sat down and had a freaking chat with him. Oh my God, he played me into thinking Chax was trying to tame me and stuff. Stupid, stupid girl, Kas!

"I'm afraid that is not an option. You see, my little hound, I have great plans for you. When I told you about the hellhound born power, I was telling the truth. According to our sources, a hellhound is ten times stronger than any Fallen or demon."

"So what? I'm not going to participate in your plans. Might as well save yourself a death blow," I slammed back at him. Plans for what?

Laughing, he stopped and looked at us. "My little hellhound, you're going to give me so much power. Harpy, come to me," he instructed, and at the last word Kali stepped past me. Oh no! I grabbed her and pushed her back against a wall, locking her in between the wall and me. Turning my head to look at him, I kept her in place. "Let her go now, or I swear you'll die in this room, right now!" I yelled at him, pissed off and scared beyond words.

"I see that you're going to make this difficult, little hellhound. So be it," he replied, transforming into the demon I saw in my first dream and storming at us. I released Kali and met him halfway, my arm drawn back for a punch. A step before him, I brought my arm forward with all the force I could muster, only to see him dodge it, and then his hands were on me, shifting us out.

We landed in a dark room; one could just make out what was going on in it. The moment my feet hit the floor, I brought my other hand in for a punch and struck home. His head whipped back and he released me. I moved away from him and transformed, ready to kill him. He rubbed his jaw, and looked at me. He smiled, showing off his fangs.

"You have strength and wit, I'll give you that. But I think you're going to need much more to survive this, little hellhound," he said with a smile and shifted out, leaving me alone in the room. I turned around to look at the room, looking for a way to escape. Nothing but solid rock walls greeted me, not even a bed or bathroom. Damn, this wasn't a room; this was a cell, freaking great.

Transforming back, I started to walk down the walls, placing my hands on them, trying to feel for some sort of an escape or weakness at least. Absolutely nothing. How the hell am I going to get out of this? I looked at the ceiling, solid rock there, too.

Damn, damn, damn, Kas, you're in big freaking trouble here. Do something, girl! I walked and felt around for hours, trying my best. Giving up, I tried shifting, over and over again. Nothing. Exhausted and scared, I planted my butt on the cold floor. Oh Kas, what have you done? Why didn't you listen to Lada and tell someone about your dreams?

If I had told someone, they would have been able to help me. We could have found out that Kali also had a problem. What about the other girls? Oh my soul, if he could get his hands on Kali, he could get his hands on anyone! Nanini's sweet, petite face came to mind. No, not her! Then Lada's. I had to stop this; I couldn't let him take them and bring them here, and I needed to get not only myself, but Kali out of here, too.

How was it possible for a demon to reach our dreams in Exsilium? They never once told us that demons could do that? Hell, why didn't they tell us? They could have prepared us for something like our dreams. We would have known that it wasn't normal. We could have enlisted someone to help us. Damn, they wanted us to serve, but they couldn't even protect us in freaking Exsilium! Oh, they suck big time! Wait until I get my hands on Chax.

At the thought of him, guilt took the place of anger. Yeah, I was making out with him while his girlfriend was being tormented by a demon. Oh, that's low, Kas. Damn, now I felt real guilty about the kiss, but I wouldn't lie; it was phenomenal. No dream could ever beat it. But no more. Maybe this was my punishment for kissing another girl's boyfriend?

Holding my legs and bracing my head on them, my mind ran through everything. I was so tired I drifted off to sleep, only to come awake shaking. No, I can't fall asleep; I'll let my guard down. "Don't fall asleep." I repeated it over and over to myself. It felt like hours had passed. Because of the dark cell, I was unable to tell if it was day or night. All I knew was that I was cold, hungry, and running low on hope.

The air around me moved, and I knew someone was shifting in. I jumped up. Weak or not, I'd give them all I had left. I was not going down without a fight. The demon shifted in just in front of me, still in a black suit, but with a red shirt this time.

"Greetings, my little hellhound. Have you changed your mind yet? Are you going to play nice?" he asked, walking slowly in front of me, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I don't play nice, ever," I said coldly. If he wants a fight, I'll give him one.

"If you behave I'll take you to see your harpy friend," he offered, smiling at me. Arrogant prick.

"What have you done with Kali?"

"She's safe and enjoying her newfound surroundings. You can join her, to see for yourself. All you have to do is take my hand," he replied, offering his hand. Warning bells went off inside me. "Don't trust him," they said. But I needed to know if Kali was still okay, and I needed to get to her, to find a way out for both of us.

Moving slowly, I placed my hand in his. The moment we touched, he shifted. The next thing I knew, two other guys were grabbing me and holding me down against the floor. I struggled and fought as hard as I could, but they were strong and held me in place, one taking my arm and holding it in the air.

"I have great plans for you, my little hellhound. Before I give you the pleasure of being my consort, you're going to give me power," he said, and clamped a bronze cuff around my wrist. Oh my God, the same freaking cuff Vulcan had in the class! My other arm was forced out, and the same was done again. The two guys released me after the second cuff was on, and shifted out, leaving me with the demon.

I jumped up and moved back away from him. I knew I shouldn't have trusted him, but no, freaking Kali was still stuck in my conscience. He went over to a chair and table, sitting down, looking at me.

"According to our sources, a hellhound is unbeatable. He created you to destroy anything. Well, seeing that you are the first hellhound to make it into our world, we should test that theory."

"Whatever you have in mind, I won't do it," I replied, contemplating his words. So, I'm the first hellhound to end up in such mess. Well done, Kas, you idiot!

"Not even if your friend's life depended on it?"

Okay, that got my attention. Yeah, I knew there was no love between Kali and me, but I couldn't leave her to this thing's mercy. And the kiss was also hanging over my head. Having another internal battle, I just looked at him in silence.

"If you behave and do what I say, I will not harm her. But if you refuse, I will take her head and bring it to you to look at for days," he went on, evil written all over his face. No joking about that part; he oozed evil from every pore. Crap! If we get out of here, I'm kicking the first Fallen's butt I see.

"Come eat. I have arranged for human food. I know your kind doesn't indulge in our food preference," he said and gestured to a plate of food on the table. My stomach rolled when my eyes spotted it, but I remained still.

"You're going to need your strength, little hound. Believe me, you don't want to be weak later on today," he informed me, crossing his legs and sitting back to look at me.

"Why would I need my strength?" I asked, wondering what great plans this ass had for me.

"You will battle other champions in our domain. You win, and I get more power. If you're good enough, you'll defeat Thalia's pet and become the Bellator."

"You want me to engage in combat with other demons to gain you power? Forget it. I won't do it."

"Then your harpy friend dies," he replied, as if it was nothing to take a life. I just remained silent. Crap!

"I'll leave you to think about it; maybe some time will bring some perspective," he said and shifted out of the room, leaving me alone.

I looked around the room, taking in the place. It was a small room with a bed and a table with two chairs. My eyes caught the bathroom in the corner and I rushed over to it, my bladder already in pain from the lack of facilities in the cell. Afterwards, I walked back into the room and raised my hands to look at the bronze cuffs around my wrists. Why on earth did he put them on me? I moved a hand over one and felt a tingle from them; of course they were enchanted. The question was, for what purpose? Will another body and cuffs be on their way for Vulcan to add to his collection?

I smelled the food and decided to move to the table to get some nutrients in my system. One thing he was right about was that I needed my strength to get us out of here, so I took a fork and scooped some up. The moment I tasted the food, my stomach went haywire. I dug into the plate, finishing it off in minutes. Grabbing the glass of juice, I gulped down the huge bites I had taken.

Stuffed, with my stomach content, I got up and checked out the room. The only door in the room opened a closet filled with clothes in black, red, and purple, of course. Yeah, this guy needed to check out a fashion book. I picked out a black leather thing and opened it to find a pair of leather pants. Silver studs in the sides, and moving it up I saw small slits in it; this must be some kind of kinky outfit. No way in hell! I placed the pants back and closed the closet.

Turning around and looking at the room again, I went over to the bed and planted myself on it. Except for the closet door, the room had no other doors, not even a window. It was just another version of a cell, just freaking great. I looked at the black bed covers and then laid back on them, the demon's words flashing through my brain.

If I don't fight, Kali will be killed. If I fight, I'm sure I would be killed. I hadn't even had a month's training behind me. How the hell would I survive a fight with a demon? Yep, we were pretty much dead, either way. I laid there for an hour, thinking about possible solutions. Maybe try and seduce the demon and then kill it some way? Then we would at least have one less problem. But still I didn't know where Kali was, so how would I get to her and get us out?

I wondered what the demon had done with her; his comment about his consort earlier had me very worried. Was that the fate Kali had met? Oh my soul, I just hoped I never had to face that. I'd take on a million demons before I would get into bed with him. No way in hell would my first time be with a demon, no way. I must have drifted off while still thinking because the next thing I heard was the freaking demon just above my head.

"Wake up, my little hellhound. Its time." My eyes flew open, and I found him looming over me. I pushed him off me and jumped off the bed, backtracking to a safe distance. Laughing, he just sat on the bed and looked at me.

"You touch me again, and I will kill you!" I yelled at him, furious that I let my guard down and fell asleep, giving this ass an opportunity to sneak up on me. Get your act together, Kas, or you're going to regret it, I scolded myself.

"In time, my dear, in time. But now we start our journey to great power," he said, standing up and walking to me. I just kept backing up, staying away from him.

"If you refuse, I'll kill her," he spit out, angry at me for backing away from him. His words stopped me. Damned Kali! I couldn't do that to her. He then walked to me, his hand in offering. "Take my hand," he demanded, and I did.

We shifted into another cell, iron bars coming into my view. The next thing I knew, something snorted on my left and rammed into the bars. I jumped back and looked at my new problem. Standing in the cell next to me was a cross between a bull, dragon, and man. It was snorting like mad, smoke coming out of its nostrils. I kept my distance while looking at the thing. Holy crap, I really hope that this is not the demon I need to fight. It was freaking huge, reaching the ceiling of the cell, and man, it looked deadly.

"Your opponent for today, my little hellhound," the demon said, and I looked at him in total shock.

"Are you mad? I'll die! I don't even have a month's training! I will be killed the first moment we step into the fight," I screeched at the demon, returning my eyes to the bull guy, who now walked up and down the bars like a caged lion, his eyes on me.

"You are a hellhound born. Killing demons is your destiny. It's time to embrace it," he replied and shifted out, leaving me with the thing. Crap, I'm so freaking dead!

I kept my eyes on the demon; it slammed into the bars over and over, trying to get to me. A mixture of fear and adrenalin started to pump through me. How the hell am I going to reach its freaking head? And even if I did get there, how the hell would I take it? No way in hell would I be able to take its head off by just using my hands. I stood there, looking at my own death, feeling my end for the first time in my short life. This was so unfair.

The Armani demon shifted back into the cell and walked over to me. In the bull demon's cell another guy shifted in. I watched as the bull demon was shifted out, and looked at the demon that brought me to my own death.

"Come, little hellhound. It begins," he said, holding his hand for me to take. Well, to death I walk, or shift in this case. I took his hand.

We were standing in the middle of what looked like a battle arena, of sorts. Thousands of demons stood on the side, growling, and shouting. I looked at the crowd, and all I could see were demons. Then my eyes drifted in front of me, where the bull demon was standing with the demon that shifted him out, smoke pouring out of its nostrils.

"Your weapons, my little hellhound," my demon announced next to me, and I turned to look at him. In his hand he held two swords, not as beautiful as Chax's, but hell, who was going to be picky in a situation like this. I walked to stand in front of him. I took the swords, and the moment I touched them I felt a tingle again. Okay, so they are also enchanted. I wonder why.

"To new power," my demon toasted and shifted away. I turned around, moving the swords to get a feel for them. They were the same weight as Chax's swords, so I got them under control very quickly. I lifted my head to look at the bull demon, which now also held two swords in his hands. Oh, I'm so dead.

Transforming into my Fallen body, I said a prayer, hoping God would help me through this. The bull demon stormed forward, the crowd going wild. He moved fast, too fast, and the moment he was two steps from me, he raised one sword, ready to kill. Using my wings, I moved out of its way. At his side, I raised my swords and swiped them over his side. It growled and turned to me. I took a few steps back, waiting for the next attack. He stormed again and I repeated the action, this time bending down and going for its legs. It fell to the ground, howling. Seizing the opportunity, I swiped my right hand down, trying to take its head, but only caught his shoulder.

Using his tail, he had me on my butt and was on me. Keeping his huge head away from my face with my hands, my swords bypassing his face, I tried desperately to remove him but he weighed a ton. Panicked, I pulled back my left hand and cut him in the neck. He flew off me, holding his neck, giving me a chance to get up and compose myself.

If I thought it was pissed before, I was wrong. It was furious after that cut. Storming forward, it swung both swords, trying to cut me. I circled him, trying to keep space between us, but he got me over my arm. I screamed and moved away from him, looking down to my arm to see the damage. I was slammed with brutal force. I felt a rib or two break, landing on the ground. Ouch, that hurts. I looked up to see it moving towards me again. Did it just head butt me?

Using my wings, I pushed myself up and readied myself, my torso pounding from the impact. Breathing hurt like crap. The moment he was in reach, I swiped both swords over him, hitting him in the face and over the chest. He punched me with a fist and I flew back again, but this time I used my wings to steady myself and bring me down with grace. Then something clicked in me. The same strange feeling, like yesterday, but this time I opened up and let it take over completely.

Looking at the creature, I felt power course through me. I felt stronger, faster, and my Fallen body felt indestructible. The bull demon came at me again, storming full force. This time I could see his move, like slow motion on a video, and I watched him come closer. I saw him lift his head with every step, using it to gain speed. Calculating my attack, I moved forward and sliced my sword below his neck. I landed a few feet away and turned to look at it. He was lying on the ground, his head a few meters away.

Straightening up, I looked at the demon. Now I didn't feel like an Apprendo. I was calm, in control, and collected; I felt like a Custos. I looked up at the crowd, which was silent. They just looked at me; no sound, no growl or scream, just silence. I felt the air at my back move, and turned, ready to take the next head, which was the Armani demon. The moment my sword was almost at his neck they stopped in midair. Looking at the swords and then him, I knew now why they were enchanted: to keep him alive.

"Well done, my little hellhound, well done," he said, smiling at me, knowing full well the swords wouldn't kill him. I pulled down my hand and looked at him. The ass knew it; that's why he was standing there all defiant.

"I'll take them back now, little hellhound," he instructed and opened both his hands. My swords went flying out of my hands, straight into his. Angry that I was without a weapon in a place packed with demons, I folded my hands into fists, my nails piercing my skin. But I stayed cool and collected; my confidence got a boost from the fight, and my fear lessened.

"Well done, Draco. Your pet is indeed something to look at," a guy said on my left, and I turned to look at him. Standing there was a very hot guy in black leather pants with a loose white shirt hanging open, exposing his chest. He had blonde hair falling down past his shoulders and pitch black eyes. Next to him were three others, two males and a female. It was the female that caught my attention; beautiful with long, black hair, black eyes, and two horns sticking out of her head. She wore something that was supposed to look like a goddess dress, but she failed miserably. Her breasts were hanging out for everyone to see. Clearly, the word decency had no meaning here.

The hot guy walked up to us and started to walk in a circle around me. He was looking me up and down. The moment I felt him at my back, I slammed my wings shut to my back, keeping them safe and away from him. I turned around following him, alert and ready. As he circled me, I felt a tingle along my skin. He was powerful, and his power moved over my skin, turning up the tingle.

"It is fascinating to see such a beautiful creature in battle. You found a treasure indeed."

"Thank you, my lord," Draco replied from behind me, very pleased as the guy's words. I could hear the excitement in his voice.

"That doesn't mean she will last long enough to take on Caim. She will most likely die in the next battle," the female said, sneering out the words. Well, I'm glad to know she doesn't like me, because I so don't like her. The hot guy stopped when he reached them and looked at her. "Thalia, the sound of envy is in your voice. Are you perhaps jealous of Draco's find?" he asked the female, whose eyes changed to red at the words.

"None have been able to defeat Caim in all these centuries; he is the Bellator and will remain so," Thalia replied, looking at me to carry over the statement. I just kept looking at her, emotionless.

"Your pet is no hellhound, Thalia. They are born to destroy," Draco said, smiling at her, pissing her off even more.

"Be that as it may, she lacks his years of experience. She will fail. Mark my words, Draco," she countered and turned around. Walking away, her hips were swaying like a cat. What a slut.

"The future will be very interesting. Come, Draco. Return your pet and join me. We have much to celebrate," the hot guy said and walked off, the other two following. I turned to look at Draco, who was smiling like a school boy after his first kiss.

"Come, my little hellhound." He offered me his hand; I took it just to get away from all the demons around me. They were becoming too much. The moment the hot guy turned around, the crowd started up the noise. Howls, screams and growling erupted, so loud I couldn't think. We shifted back to my prison and the moment we hit the ground, I pulled my hand from him, backing away, keeping my Fallen body to take him on.

"You have done well, my little hound, and you will bring me absolute power," he said, walking slowly towards me. I went into a defensive stance and made myself ready to kick his ass. Seeing that I was preparing for a fight, he stopped and looked at me.

"I can bring you pleasure beyond your dreams, make you a queen."

"I'd rather die," I replied.

He moved for me, damn fast. I grabbed his arm, which was reaching for me, turned it toward his back, moved him away from me, and slammed him into the wall. He struggled, but I had him pinned against the wall; he wasn't going anywhere.

"Release me or she will die!" he yelled, his face pressed up against the wall.

"You will release both of us now, or I'll rip your head off with my bare hands," I replied calmly, keeping my composure.

"You have much to learn, my little hound," he growled and transformed into his demon body. I felt the bronze cuffs around my wrist begin to burn me. I tried to push away the pain and hold him, but I could smell my flesh burning beneath them. The pain was unbearable, growing more painful by the second. I released him and backed away, rubbing the two shackles and trying to relieve the burning. I looked up just in time to see him slam into me, taking me down to the floor. I felt the ground and brought up my hands in defense, but it was too late, his head was already at my throat and I felt the sting of his fangs.

After the stinging, I felt myself starting to go numb; he was paralyzing me. Distressed, I struggled to escape him, but with no success. He was sucking up my blood like a leech. I felt my strength draining out of me, and knew I was in big freaking trouble. Then he flew off me, grabbing his mouth, my own blood spraying all over my face. Dazed, I rubbed it off, and pressed my hand on the spot he bit into, trying to stop the bleeding. He was going down on his knees, still holding his mouth, but screaming now.

Numb, I just lay there looking at him. He bent forward on all fours and I could see in his face that he was in pain. Good, I hope you die from my blood. He lifted his head and looked at me, furious. I saw his mouth was now bleeding on its own. I smiled at him, pleased the prick got some payback. He shifted out and left me there on the floor.

After a long time I felt the numbness leaving my body, my strength and will returning to me slowly. When I felt strong enough, I got up and walked slowly to the bathroom. I looked into the mirror and saw that my entire face was smudged with my blood, the wound at my neck having bled out, leaving my shirt stained with blood, clearly not charmed enough for blood stains.

I turned around and started to remove my clothes. When they were off, I walked over to the shower and opened the knobs, hoping to hell that clean water would be in them. Clear water sprung from the showerhead, and I placed my hand under the spray to feel if it was warm. Yep, some luck for the day.

I got in and started to rinse the blood and filth off me. In the mirror I could see my entire face was covered with dirt. Turning around, I could see two bottles, so I reached for one and opened it, pressed my nose close and drew in a breath, the scent of a honey mixture running up to my nose. Thank God. Some hope still remained, and I turned the bottle over and pushed some into my hand. I washed my hair and then my body. Everywhere my hand went I could feel the pain from the fight taking hold in my muscles.

After the shower I got out and found towels in a cupboard. I toweled off and walked over to the closet. Struggling to find something suitable to wear, I went through the clothes. I found underwear and a soft, black tank top, and at the back, a pair of yoga pants. Dressed in black, I went over and lay down on the bed, giving my body some rest from the long day. Thinking about the fight and everything I saw today, I found myself missing Chax's pissed off face. Hell, I would do anything to see that face again, and this time I would take his crap with a smile. I lay there thinking about all of them: Seth, Lada, and Nanini. I even thought about my parents and hoped that one day I'd get out of here and see them again, but so far things didn't look good for me.

I wondered if they were searching for us. Then I remembered how often they spoke of Fallen being taken, but never spoke of Fallen returning. So this was it; my life would continue in hell until I died. I wondered if Kali was safe, unharmed. I wondered if she even knew where we ended up, and what we were about to face in this place. Drifting into sleep with my aching body, I finally dreamed of a normal life. No Fallen, no demons, no fear, just me and my wonderful dream.

# Chapter 13

I didn't know how long I'd been here. Unable to tell day from night, I had lost track of time. I knew it had been a very long time, maybe months, maybe even a year or more.

In my time here, I had fought many demons. Some were small, some were big, but they remained ugly. With each battle, I could feel myself changing; I became content and confident, the last fight only lasting a minute before I took the head. Each battle brought Draco more power, and he loved it. He didn't visit me anymore since he tried to suck my blood. Now a guy with no voice brings me stuff and shifts me out. I must admit, I liked it that way. I didn't talk much anymore; there was no need to. With each victory, Draco would reward me with something: clothes, an iPod with awful music on it, and a lot of other stuff. The best reward was a pair of black leathers. Solid, black pants without my ass hanging out anywhere, a corset type of top, but the best was the long leather jacket I got with it. These clothes had become my fighting gear, and I wear them permanently. Draco arranged for the leather to be super charmed. They could not stop a blow, but when it came to claws and teeth, they could not rip, helping me to protect my skin.

Draco and the other hot guy, whose name I still didn't know and didn't want to, can't keep their eyes of me when I wear them. But with each fight, they became warier of me, so they didn't try anything with me, for now.

The other guy with the long blond hair had also become more guarded around me, not circling me anymore when he came to talk to Draco. Now he just stood there from a distance and looked at me. But I could see the hunger in his eyes. It wouldn't be long now; that was for sure, and I couldn't wait. I wanted to test my newfound skills.

I had become what one could only call a killing machine. Where the fights started out as a curse, they now had become my quest. Every time I took one of their heads, pleasure would fill me. Yeah, a killing machine, a true Hellhound. With each fight, Thalia would become more enraged at Draco, and especially me. At least we agreed on one thing; we hated each other. The more I saw her, the less clothes she had on. The last time I could even see her entire package, making her a total slut.

But I could also see her concern. She saw what everyone else saw; I was becoming more powerful by the day. I pushed my Fallen beyond its limits, making it work for me to stay alive. The moment the head rolled, I looked at the crowd. Challenging them, taunting them to come and try me. Draco said I was in bloodlust, and he loved it. Prick.

Standing in the mirror, I no longer saw a little girl. No, in the mirror was a woman now, strong and in charge. A fight for survival had a funny way of sculpting a person. Some grew weak and submitted to their defeat; others, like me, evolved and became the very thing we tried to survive.

Bending my head down, I slipped into my leathers. I watched my legs, no longer skinny and lean, but powerful and well built. Then I put on my top, watching my stomach, which was now a rock solid six-pack. Then my hair, up in a pony, the fancy twist one Nanini showed me once.

Finally, my jacket. Reaching to the floor, it complimented the whole picture, giving me the bad ass look. Wonder what Chax would say if he could see me now. Yeah, I'd even scare the hell out of him, I thought. And that was just fine with me. Nobody would ever push me around again. I turned around and walked to my bed, my skull cracker boots waiting to be put on.

I gave them the name after I cracked the skull of a demon in a fight. It had felt wonderful. I slipped them on and waited. Soon. It was time to end all this; today would be it. The mute guy shifted in, waiting for me. I got up and walked over to him, taking his hand. My favorite cell came into view, iron bars and all, and of course Draco, waiting for me. I knew when I came here another demon was about to die by my hand.

I didn't look at the other cell anymore, because it didn't bother me anymore. I'd outlived everything that was ever in it, so who gave a damn. Standing there, I looked at Draco as he circled around me, keeping my eyes in front. He was too scared to try me, and I knew it.

"What a beautiful female you have become, hellhound," he said from behind me. After a few fights, he stopped calling me his little hellhound; I was just hellhound. Perfect. I remained silent as always, pissing him off, so he came to stand in front of me.

"Give in to me, bellus," he demanded, his eyes moving over my torso. In your dreams demon; I'd rather take your head. I just stood there, looking him in the eyes with my no BS face. He knew what awaited him, but was too damn chicken to try.

"What a pity. You were made to be with a god," he went on while still looking at me. Yeah, he now thinks he is a god because he got a power boost.

My opponent and his master shifted into the cell next door. I just kept my eyes on Draco, waiting for him to make a move, not interested in my opponent because we would soon meet. I had learned that Draco was what demon's considered my master, and I was known as his pet. Stupid demons, couldn't even come up with something else.

"Well now, Draco, are you ready to part with your pet today?" Thalia asked from my left. Draco turned to look at her. I just went over to sit on my chair, not interested in their little showoffs.

"My poor Thalia. I will take you to my bed and caress your heartache, I promise," he replied, and I almost burst out laughing. Man, that would be like putting fuel on an open fire. The two of them will kill each other before submitting to the other.

"How do the humans put it? Famous last words, Draco," she fired back at him.

"We will see, Thalia. Your pet's time is over, and so is yours," he countered, returning to stand in front of me. "Your weapons," he said, giving me my two best friends; they had brought me far and I took them from him to start my ritual. He then shifted out, leaving me to my playtime and Thalia with her pet.

"Kill her, Caim, or you will regret it," Thalia said and I felt the air move from her shift. I went to work. Sometime during the battles, I created my own ritual. Taking my swords, I would sit, sharpening them on a slab stone, making sure they were perfect. It also drove my opponents crazy seeing me do it. I slide the first sword over the slab and then felt them, my fingers sliding over the blades to ensure they were perfect, no rough edges, perfection for a perfect kill.

"How did they get their hands on you, hellhound?" the demon asked from next door. I just ignored him and continued on; no use in wasting my breath. This ritual drove all of them insane, and by the time we got into the arena they would try to run. Some even cried. I loved it; it made me calm, enabling me to collect that part of me for the fight.

"Look at me, hellhound!" he yelled at me. I just smiled and went on playing.

"Speak to me!" he kept going. He was disturbing me and in the process pissing me off. This was my quiet time.

"Be quiet, demon. Take your death with honor," I replied, still looking at my sword and feeling it.

"I'm not a demon, hellhound. I'm a Fallen; look at me," he said. I stopped and took in a breath. I have heard a lot of crap from next door all the times I've sat here and waited, but a demon calling himself a Fallen was a first, so I looked up at him and froze.

"I am not a demon. I'm a Fallen male, a vampire Fallen," he said, but I was struck dead on the spot. Standing on the other side of the bars was an almost exact copy of Chax. Oh my freaking soul, how is that possible?

"I ask again, how did you come to be here? It is impossible for them to take a hellhound. You should not have been taken captive," he said, his eyes the same as Chax's but so sad. So, so very sad.

"Wh...o are you?" I stuttered, looking at him in shock. Whereas Chax's hair reached just below his ears, this guy's hair fell below his shoulders.

"My name is Caim De Luca," he replied, frowning at me.

De Luca. That was Chax's name. Is he family? Can it be? I don't recall anyone saying that Chax had a family member taken. Hell, I hadn't even asked such things about him, not that I would have gotten answers.

"Are you family of Chax De Luca?" I asked, still looking at him. He closed his eyes as if in pain.

"Yes, Chax is my brother. Is he well?" he answered, opening his eyes to look at me. Oh my God, he was Chax's brother!

"He was okay before I came here. I don't know if he still is. How did you end up here?"

"I was taken by Thalia in my third year of service. How did they get their hands on you?"

"A girl from The Hellhouse was in a trance, and I was worried for her and tried to help. But the moment I touched her to stop her from walking off like that, she shifted here, taking me with her."

He closed his eyes again and leaned his head against the bars. "How long have they kept you here?" I asked, knowing full well that Chax was centuries old, hoping this guy was not.

"Centuries," he whispered, his eyes remaining closed.

Ah crap! He has been here centuries! Then it's true; there is no hope. I might as well let him kill me and end my torment. I closed my eyes and let my head fall down. So this is defeat. Now I know what it feels like.

"If you ever get your cuffs off while here, you would be able to shift back. I also know that if you can take your masters head, you break their chant and you can shift."

I looked at him. Why give me hope when there wasn't any? I'd tried a million times to get the cuffs off, and Draco didn't give me opportunities to kill him. "Why do you give me advice when it is impossible?" I asked him.

"Because I want you to kill me."

Dread filled me. I can kill a demon any day, but not a Fallen. Never.

"I'm sorry. I can't," I replied and looked as the sadness in his eyes grew more.

"Hellhound, I have lived in this torment for many years. The only thing keeping me alive is that I would not fall by a demon's hand. What I have endured in this place, I would not even give to my greatest enemy. I beg you, end my life and set me free. End this," he begged, his eyes filled with sadness. He looked so old, so tired.

My heart broke into pieces. This male was breaking me. He looked at me with those sad eyes, begging me with them. Is this my future, begging someone to end my suffering? Will I also stay here and fight for my life for centuries? Well, at least I could give him peace, while there is none for me.

"I will, Caim," I replied, and then the mute guy shifted in, offering his hand. I stood up and looked at Caim. This poor male has survived so long just to meet such an end.

"Pax vobiscum, Caim," I said, meaning "peace be with you." He smiled at me, grateful for the mercy I was about to give him. I felt a tear fall down my cheek; this was so wrong. This male deserved so much more.

"Vale, hellhound," he said and stepped back as Thalia shifted in to take him to his death. Taking my swords, I walked over to the mute guy and took his hand, shifting to a fully packed arena. The crowd was mad, the noise deafening. The guy released my hand and Draco came to stand next to me.

"Tonight you become the Bellator, hellhound," he said, and walked to take his seat with the blonde guy and Thalia. Caim stood in front of them, looking at me, smiling. My heart was breaking. The blonde guy took a stand and spoke to the crowd, driving it even crazier. Caim and I just looked at each other.

There has to be another way. I can't do this. I can't kill him. I looked at my swords and tried to think of a plan. I moved my knuckles over one, feeling the tingle, the chant preventing me from killing Draco, but enabling me to kill all those that I have met here. Oh my freaking soul!

My brain finally clicked into place. Of course, I could still kill another demon with them, so far anyone except for Draco. So that meant that the chant was just for Draco. I couldn't kill him, but I could kill her. Or try and take off his cuffs. This might just work.

I lifted my head and smiled at Caim, who smiled back at me. Then the blonde guy stopped talking and the crowd went silent. I transformed into my hellhound and Caim followed suit. During my time here I have also perfected my aim with my swords, using one to throw into a demon's eye then the other to take its head. This time I was going to test my skill to the limit.

I opened my wings and extended them to their full length. They had grown with my body, becoming very big. I lift off and flight was very easy. I looked at Thalia, sitting there a smile on her face. I pulled them close to my back, feeling the tips of them touching my boots. She was too close to Draco, and the chant might stop me. I had to go for the cuffs, so I advanced to Caim, who was waiting for his death.

I moved fast. my adrenalin was pumping in me like mad, excited by my finding and ready to test it. When I was three steps from Caim, he dropped his swords and let his arms hang to the ground. He closed his eyes, waiting for deliverance.

"Fight, you worthless thing!" Thalia yelled at him, but he just stood there, ignoring her.

Sorry, Caim, not today! I raised both my swords, and a step before him, brought them down hard and fast, keeping my eyes on his arms to make sure the glide was accurate and not hurting him. The cuffs broke and fell to the ground. I looked up at him and he looked back at me, totally shocked. "Shift!" I yelled at him, but he was just standing there. The air moved around me, and I knew reinforcements were here to take us down. "Please! Shift!" I yelled at him, tears starting to roll down my cheeks, desperate to get him out of here. He looked at me and nodded, made a graceful bow, and shifted to freedom. I closed my eyes, tears flowing freely now. I did it. I saved him.

A fist slammed into me from the side. Before I would have landed on the ground, but now I just turned my head back and looked at the attacker, who was no other then Thalia. Perfect. "You swine, he was mine!" she yelled at me. I moved so quickly she didn't even have a chance to try and punch me. Slicing her head off with one clean swipe, I kept my eyes on hers. Shocked, she looked back, trying to speak again, and then her head fell to the ground. I looked into Draco and the blonde guy's eyes, standing behind her body, which followed her head down to the ground.

To hell with this. I'll go out with a fight. I stepped back a few steps and braced myself. The only one here I couldn't kill was Draco. The rest were so dead. Demons started to shift in around me, growling and huffing, ready to take me down.

"Stop!" the blonde guy yelled, and everyone stopped to look at him. I just kept my eyes on the circle, watching for the first move.

"Thalia entered the battle arena and challenged the new Bellator. She has failed," he declared, and nodded to Draco, who opened his hands, taking my swords back. Crap! He left me standing there without a weapon, but I still kept my stance. I'll take them down, even if I have to use my hands to do it. The blonde guy came to stand in front of me, smiling.

"Draco, take our Bellator and get her changed. Bring her with you," he said and walked away, the others following him. Draco walked up to me with an Atlantic-wide smile on his face.

"Well done, my hellhound. Two for the price of one," he said and offered me his hand. Well, at least Caim was safe and free now, and hopefully Chax was still alive and well to help Caim get back on his feet. I took Draco's hand, and we shifted back to my room.

# Chapter 14

The moment we were in my room, I let go of him and walked away. I felt him shift behind me and then planted myself at the table. The whole Caim thing was running through my mind. I felt satisfied but my mood changed when I started to picture myself in a few centuries, ending up dead or forever imprisoned.

The air moved and Draco stood to my right. I didn't even look at him. I'd learned that by ignoring him, I could piss him off instead. I took pleasure in it every time.

"Go refresh yourself and put this on. Lord Ballen awaits our company," he commanded, and placed what looked like a dress on the table. Its cloth was hanging over the table edge, and yes, it was black and red, Draco's favorite colors.

"I don't think so, demon. Now it's time for some new arrangements," I replied, and leaned back in my chair, looking up at him.

"Since when do you have any type of power to negotiate arrangements with me? I'm your master, and you are my pet."

I smiled at him, waiting a few seconds for him to take it in. I could see the moment when he started to get freaked out by it. "I believe the terms of your first arrangement have been met. Am I not the Bellator?" I asked, my teeth now filling out my smile. His eyes grew wide and he turned, walking to my bed.

"Yes," he replied, standing with his back to me. I know that all Fallen, even demons, must submit to terms, or in his case, words. I heartily thank Vulcan for that delightful piece of info. For months I had been planning this moment. I knew it would come, and I knew that he would have no other option but to submit, but this time I had the upper hand.

I'd refused a few times to fight until I saw Kali. He would then submit and bring her to me, so I could see her for a few minutes. That's all it would take to get me to fight for him. She was still in some sort of trance, didn't recognize me, didn't take in what was happening around her; she just stood there, looking at me like a zombie. And she was always in one of his black, red, or purple goddess dresses.

"The first arrangement will be that you release Kali and deliver her to me. She will stay with me, in this room, and you will make the necessary arrangements regarding a bed and so on. And the word 'release' means that you will release her from your influence completely," I said, still looking at his back and seeing the exact moment my words hit home.

"And if I do not?" he asked, turning around to look at me again.

"Then I will never fight again. Just like the male tonight, I will submit to my death." I knew full well that would mean that he would lose any power he had gained with me. And that he would have to start all over again, and the chance of him getting his claws on another hellhound was zero. He stood there, looking at me, and he was mad, extremely mad. Don't care. This is my moment; this is why I stayed alive.

"Agreed," he replied and kept his eyes on me. I was smiling at him for once.

"And Draco, if you ever touch her again, the agreement will be broken. Understand?" Now he was pissed, his jaws locking together.

"Yes, is that your only arrangement?" he asked and turned around, trying to compose himself, I suppose.

"No," I replied, now leaning my arm over the chair's back, looking at my nails, which, like always, were in perfect shape. I had never broken a nail again after the third fight, and I wondered why.

"What is your other demand?" he asked, turning around to look at me again.

"I believe that you need me to accompany you to occasions, like tonight, to show off your Bellator pet?" I said, looking at him again.

"Yes, it is required by our customs," he answered, frowning at me.

"If you want me to accompany you on these little trips, I will, first off, not wear demeaning dresses like that. I will dress in what suits me. Second, you will give me my weapons every time," I replied staring at him, my serious no bullshit face in place.

"Your weapons? Why would you need them?" he asked.

"Because, demon, if your friends decide to attack me on these occasions, I will be able to protect myself. It's not like I can kill you, true?" I replied, smiling at him again.

He paced up and down, thinking over the terms. Yeah, I knew I was cruel, but I had to be to survive down here. He stopped and regarded me again, his mind made up.

"Agreed, but you may only use them if you are attacked, understand?" he demanded, looking at me, trying to spook me with a serious face. Oh, please.

"Understood. Now, let's begin. Release her and bring her to me," I said, getting up to my feet to look him in his face. He backed up a step. Yeah, you should be afraid, demon. You're number one on my "to kill" list. He shifted out without a word, and I went to my bed, removing my jacket and sitting down to wait for Kali.

He shifted back in with her, and she was once again wearing one of the stupid dresses. Idiot demon. He then moved his hand over her face and stepped back. She was still looking at me, and I watched as the old Kali came back into her eyes, tears filling them. She closed her eyes and sank down to the floor, where she burst out in full tears and sobbed like hell. I walked over to her, looking at Draco, so mad I struggled to keep myself from attacking him. "Leave us! I will be ready in an hour or so," I said to him slowly, my jaws clamping together, pissed off beyond words. He nodded and shifted out, leaving us alone. I bent down to the floor and closed my arms around her.

"It's okay. He will never touch you again. I promise," I murmured to her, trying to comfort her.

"Oh Kas, just kill me. I can't live with this. Please, just kill me," she struggled to say, her cries drowning out her words.

"I'm sorry, Kali. I can't. I am so sorry for what he did to you, but I promise his head for it."

"No, Kas. I can't go back like this. Who will take me knowing what I've done? I can't, Kas, please."

Don's words came to me again. "We all lose something in this war, young one. Some fall to the loss, but some like him rise above it and try to save others from the same fate. There will be a day when this fate will cross your path. When it does, you would have to make a choice: fall and be conquered by it, or rise above it to do good for others." She has fallen. No, I can't let her do this. She needs to survive or everything so far would have been for nothing.

"Listen to me! You are beautiful beyond words. Any male who gets your attention must get down on his knees and say thanks. No one, but no one, will ever know what happened here. When we leave, all of it stays here. Got it?" I asked her in a reassuring tone. I lifted up her face to look at her. After a moment, she looked at me and nodded.

I'm going to kill him slowly for this; he most likely took something that was meant to be special and wonderful with someone you cared for against her will. Yes, slow, very slow. I'll cut his throat inch by inch and listen to his screams.

"Kas, I'm so sorry. I tried to speak that day and tell you to run, but my mouth would not move. I'm so sorry."

"No, you're not going to slip into that. I chose to help you, and you had no control. We do this together, okay. I promise I'll get us out no matter what," I replied and she hugged me. I think we both needed that hug. It had been a very long time since someone had held me, and I was sure it had been even longer for her. The irony of the situation was not lost on me, considering we started off hating each other. Now, here we were sitting here, hugging each other. This was a step worth taking. A rough one, and really bad, but worth it.

The mute guy shifted in, and Kali jumped out of my arms and backed up against a wall, frightened by him. I stood up and looked at him, taking a stand between him and her, blocking his view. He stretched out his hands to offer me some new leather clothing. I walked forward and took it, and then took a step back. "Now leave," I commanded, and he shifted out.

I looked at the clothes, nice black leather with a red shine. Got to give it to the demon. His style was improving. I turned around and my eyes searching Kali's, worried for her. "I have to leave for a while, but no one will come near you.

"In the closet, you will find some clothes if you want to get into something else," I finished and walked to the bathroom.

"Kas, you can't go with them; it's awful. You don't want to see," she pleaded, trying to stop me from going in the bathroom.

I looked up at her and smiled. "Don't worry, Kali. They won't dare touch me," I proclaimed and patted her hand.

"I know Draco and the other guy talked a lot about you, said that you are the most powerful Fallen they have ever seen, but it's not that," she said with what sounded almost like a sneer, and looked away, walking to the bed to sit down.

So they know I am a huge problem then, but what could be so bad? "Tell me, Kali. I need to know what I'm up against."

"They have clubs in the human world, and in these clubs very bad things happen. Humans mix with them, as if they were gods or something; it's very disgusting."

"I heard Chax once tell Vulcan the same thing, but I need to go and see if I can find our way out," I replied, moving into the bathroom to get dressed. She followed me in and took a stand at the door.

"Don't trust Ballen; he's like a leader or something. I also think he's a Chiddigul, a very powerful one."

"Oh, I'm counting on that. I need someone else's weapon to kill Draco and get these freaking cuffs off. He might just have some lying around," I replied and smiled at her the moment I was in my new pants.

"Look at you," she said, looking at me, her eyes wide.

"What? Is something wrong with it?" I asked and looked down to see what the problem was.

"No, the pants look great. I'm talking about you. Your body, the way you speak and act around them. What happened to you, Kas?" she questioned, pity in her eyes.

"I took the lemons I was given and made them into lemonade, Kali. Don't worry; I'm still myself, just way better. Besides, I needed to change to survive," I answered and then closed up the new top. Wow, this leather really looks freaking great.

"I just hope you know what you're doing," she said, and then turned around, walking out. I only hoped I did, too. Well, no reason to sit around and wonder. I needed to get going.

I walked out and found her on the bed, staring at the floor. Chax's kiss came back to me. For months I had forgotten about it, but now seeing her, it was back in my head and I felt very guilty. Would he have waited for her? I really hoped so; she needed some kind of stability when we got back. I walked over to get my jacket and flung it around my shoulders.

Hell, I wonder if Seth was still around, waiting? Don't think so; don't care. My life wasn't fun and games anymore. I had a mission, and I was not letting anything stand in my way. I also needed to get info out of Draco to know how the hell he got into our dreams, so we could fight back. At that I stopped and looked at her again.

"Kali, in your time with Draco, did you see any more girls from Exsilium?"

She looked at me shocked. "No, there was no one else. Why? Did he take someone else too?" she asked, tears starting up again.

"Not that I know of. I just have to make sure. I need to find out how he got into our dreams to get us here, and then we need to find a way to stop more demons from doing it," I replied, still looking at her sad face. The old Kali had died here too. We both died the day we shifted in here.

"He was in your dreams, too?"

"Yes, I thought I made him up or something, so I didn't worry about it. But yeah, the moment I saw him standing there, in flesh and blood, I did a retake on that. How long was he in yours?"

"From the first night in the house. I told my Custos, and between him and Chax, they were trying to help me. But it didn't work. Chax said that no demon could penetrate Exsilium, and that I was making it up from my ordeal. That it must be because of mama and papa," she replied, her eyes drifting away at the mention of her parents. Poor girl.

Wait, Chax was helping her? "So you and Chax, you weren't, you know, dating?" I asked, just to make sure.

"Oh, dear heaven, no! No one in their right mind would date him," she replied and looked at me, disgusted. Oh, my bad! Well, hell, it looked like it. "What made you think that?" Busted.

"The day I found the two of you in the lobby, it looked like I was interrupting something romantic. Sorry, didn't mean to think something like that."

"Oh no, I understand. I was worried you knew about my problem, seeing that Chax was your Custos. He was trying to penetrate my mind, but he couldn't. Then he accused me of consorting with demons and ..." she drifted off. Okay, that wasn't nice of him, and he could have helped her. Wait a freaking minute!

I hit pissed off again. They knew and could have helped! Instead, he accused her and left her to the demon's mercy. Oh, he is so dead! Good kisser or not, he's dead. All this could have been avoided. We could have had normal lives, freaking idiot! Fuming, I started to pace the room, pissed off at him. Silence followed my pacing.

"Now you look like Nanini," Kali broke the silence, and I stopped to look at her.

I stood there for a few seconds, and we both burst out laughing. Then the mute guy shifted in and we stopped. Time to get back to work. I need answers and a way out of this hell hole, and I'm going to get it. I got myself together and looked at her. "I have to go," I said, and walked over to the guy. Before I took his hand, I wanted to make sure they got the message. "The one that dares to touch her, or try to visit her when I'm gone, is dead," I threatened, looking him in the face. He nodded and offered his hand to me. Taking it, I braced myself for the next step in my life.

# Chapter 15

He shifted me straight into a club. Metal music slammed into me and I looked around to take in the scene.

So gross. Kali was right; this is disgusting. Some demons were fully transformed and some were in a human form. The humans were drooling all over them. Girls and guys were dancing, kissing or clinging to them. Oh, this just pisses me off. We have to go and serve a freaking eternity for this? Oh, I so hope they deem these humans as demons, I would like to take a few heads as trophies, stupid humans.

The mute guy pulled on my jacket, and I turned to look at him. He pointed up and gestured for me to follow him. I nodded, and he started walking, so I followed. We made our way through the crowd. The moment a demon saw me, it would retreat or growl.

Oh yeah. I like this. They are scared and they should be. The moment I got my hands on my swords, I was going to pick a fight. I needed something to work out my fury over Chax's stupid move. We walked to a flight of stairs and the guy went up. Standing on the top were two guys playing bouncer. Oh please, like they're going to stop me.

They opened up and as I passed them, I stopped to look at them, taking my time. I could see that they were not happy with it; one even took a step back. I smiled and continued onwards, reaching a lounge where Draco and the so-called Ballen were sitting with a few girls, some demon and some human.

"Ah, Bellator, welcome," Ballen said and gestured for me to take a seat. I looked at him and remained standing, crossing my arms over my chest and giving him an F-you look. He smiled and looked at Draco, who jumped up and rushed over to me.

"Take a seat, hellhound. You don't throw something back in his face," he whispered in my ear. I stepped back and regarded him, a smile on my face. Like that was going happen.

"Come, hellhound. I assure you it is quite safe," Ballen said again, so I turned my eyes from Draco and looked at him. The human girl on his lap caught my attention instead, and I gave her a deathly glare. Stupid girl! Her eyes went wide, and she climbed off his lap, passing by me, apologizing. Shocked, I turned to look at her. Did she think I wanted her spot? For heaven sake, get a freaking life!

Disgusted with the stupid girl, I returned my gaze to Ballen and saw that he was not happy with me chasing away his entertainment. "Take a seat, hellhound. We had an agreement," Draco demanded of me. I looked at him, my expression making him step back. I walked over to the couch and sat down, dropping one arm on the couch back and crossing one leg over the other.

"That's more like it! Such a fine creature can't stand around and look like an ornament," Ballen teased and gestured to a guy, who came with a bottle of wine and poured some into his glass. But it was not wine that came out of it. No, it was a dark thick liquid. It was blood.

Oh, that's just gross. I kept my eyes on him for a while to check out my new competition. So, this is Chiddigul? Doesn't really look that bad, well in his human form. We'll see what his demon's form looks like. I turned my gaze back on Draco and found him staring at me, again. He did that a lot these days, which was creepy. "My weapons?" I asked him, remembering our deal and feeling a little underdressed without them.

"Yes, of course," he said and nodded to the mute guy, who shifted out and in a flash, returned holding a case in his hands. What? He keeps my swords packed away? The mute guy walked to stand in front of me and offered the case. Taking it from him, I looked at Draco. This must be some sort of trap or something. Don't trust this freak.

"Another gift for your performance of the day," Draco murmured and gestured to the case. Yeah right, we'll see. I opened up the case slowly, just in case something was about to pop out of the thing, and found the two most beautiful swords I had ever seen, rivaling even Chax's. Lifting one up, I looked at it and glided my hand over the blade.

"I had some words engraved on them; I think it fits you perfectly, hellhound," Ballen said from my right so I looked at him. So this was from him and not Draco. Yeah, there's a catch coming. I can just feel it. Returning my eyes to the sword, I looked at the engraved words starting at the base of the blade, Lux Mundi, which means "the light of the world." Okay, now that's creepy. Why on earth would he put those words on it? I was expecting something like 'pet' or 'slave.' I brushed my hands over them to feel the texture, and power slammed through my fingertips, almost burning me. The catch, of course; they were charmed.

So, I got two new swords, which if I get this right, can't kill Draco or this creep. Well, that leaves my hands for Ballen and another plan for Draco. Oh, I'll find a way. "Gratias," I said to Ballen, looking him in his eyes with one of my wicked smiles, but instead of retreating like Draco, his smile grew. Keeping my cool, I looked back at my swords. Okay, it's official. Something gives with this gift. I got up, and placed the two of them in the sheaths at the back of my jacket. Because of the charm, they slid in perfectly and when needed, released just as perfectly, giving me the edge.

Now fully armed, I walked over to the railing and looked down, watching the stupid humans interact with these freaks. Some girls were kissing and rubbing the demons, while some were sitting on their laps laughing. Guys were feeling up female demons and kissing them too. Oh man, this is disgusting, stupid humans. Look what we do for them every day, trying to protect them from these things, and they throw it back in our faces. Ungrateful.

"Humans are such easy creatures. They just need to see something beyond their little minds, and they fall to the ground and marvel at it," Draco said, coming to stand next to me. I said nothing, too pissed off at the moment.

"Are you sure that they are worth it?" he went on, trying to hold a conversation. "Tell me, Draco, how did you get into my dreams?" I asked, my eyes still on the crowd. Silence followed, so I turned my head to look at him. He was standing there, silently regarding me. "Oh, come on, Draco. It's not like I'm about to tell on you. For that, I need to be able to get out of here," I teased, putting on a playful smile to break him. He continued to look at me, weighing his options, returning his eyes to the crowd.

"With a charm placed in the house," he replied. Okay, that takes care of the first half of how, now the rest.

"For that you would need to place it there, which I know is not possible. The truth, Draco."

"It's the truth. With the right price, Lord Ballen had the charm placed in the house. When it is inside, it creates a "wormhole," or as we call it, "gateway" into anyone's dream that is in the vicinity."

"I see, and how would Ballen be able to place it in the house? As far as I know, you cannot enter Exsilium." This is getting interesting.

"Ah yes, Lord Ballen has the service of spies inside Exsilium."

"Spies?" I asked, with a mocking expression on my face, trying to goad him into telling me the whole truth.

"Fallen, my dear. Fallen who are in his service," Draco replied and added a huge smile to it.

Keeping my face neutral, I tried not to show my surprise at those words, so I returned my eyes to the crowd. "I see. I hope they got a good deal for it," I finished and pretended to look at everyone. If I get out of here, their heads are mine. As they say 'a pound of flesh.' Well, I want the real thing.

"Indeed, I am told that their rewards are bountiful," he finished and then walked away.

So Kali and I had to pay the price for traitorous Fallen? Oh, yes, they are so dead. When I find them, they will have the same fate as Draco. "Hellhound, may I have the honor," Ballen asked from my left. He was standing there, offering his hand. No way in hell am I touching it. I could end up somewhere much worse. I gave him a "yeah right" look and added a smile.

"Come now. I promise that you will find this quite interesting," he said, gesturing for me to lead the way.

Interesting, yeah right, most likely a trap or something. Hell, at least I would get some fun in for the day. So, ignoring his hand, I took the step and led the way to the floor below. At the bottom, I stopped and turned to look at him. He smiled and nodded with his head to the dance floor, and then walked in that direction.

As we walked, the crowd cleared the way, either in fear of me or in fear of Ballen. Many dropped their eyes, too afraid to look at him. So, this guy is important. It's too damn bad my swords are charmed. He stopped in the middle of the dance floor and offered me his hand again. Doesn't he learn? I smiled again and gave him a really dirty look, just to make sure he got the message. He apparently got it, and started to dance slowly in front of me.

I just stood there looking at him. No way am I dancing with this freak. I looked around us and saw that everyone had stopped dancing, and were staring at us. Ballen moved closer to me, and I prepared myself for an attack.

"You have come far in this world, hellhound. But Draco and I had a talk last night. You are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to one-on-one combat, but can you deliver the same when it comes to an all-out battle?" he said, his smile growing with each word. Oh, why am I not surprised. They are so predictable. I stepped in front of him, face to face, and looked him in the eyes.

"Bring it on, demon," I replied, and then backed away, removing my swords and taking a stand.

He bowed, and then walked off the dance floor. Demons started to take their places around me, creating a circle of attack. Oh yeah, now this is more like it! Let's see what my newfound skills can do. Game on! I transformed and spread my wings. They stretched all the way to the demons circling me, and while some stepped back, others just looked at me more determined. Snapping them closed, I looked around me. Ten of them were standing around me, and as my eyes fell on them, they transformed into their demon bodies, two standing even higher than me. No problem. I know how to deal with those.

I took in the whole picture, watching, calculating, and then reached within me for that special place. I called it my hellhound place. I gathered my inner strength and took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. As the last bit of air left my body, I doubled up on it, moving at the same time. With one step forward, I took the legs out from one of the big demons, and as he fell to his knees, a clean swipe had his head falling. I felt two demons coming in from my back, so I whipped out my wings, sending them flying into the crowd. Next came a bull-like guy, storming at me with his head down. Stupid idiot, always keep your eyes on your enemy. The moment he was in front of me, I stepped aside and brought up my arm, taking his head. The next to fall was the one standing behind him. Two swipes and he fell to the ground. I used his body to step on before it fell, jumping with a back flip over the two that were approaching me from behind. In the air I took both their heads. Everything was in slow motion; slow, accurate, and fatal. When my feet landed, I brought up my arms to my sides, turning the blades to the back, stabbing the next two at my back in their torsos. Quickly pulling my swords from them, I went for the two in front of me, the last big one behind them. I pushed off the ground with my wings, and landed between them, crouching. First swiping their feet, and then planting my boot on one skull, crushing it. I just loved the sound. My left sword took the head off the other, and then it was just the big guy and me.

Now, the thing with being so big was that you weren't able to move quickly enough. I was jumping around him, slicing at his legs to bring him down. Before he got hold of me, I would already be at the other side. Big also equals dumb. He fell to the ground, and I moved fast, swiping two times to take his head off, as his neck was pretty thick.

I turned around and my eyes fell on the last two. They were standing there looking at me. They hesitated. Never hesitate. Always go for the kill, idiots. I moved forward and they both turned around to try to make a run for it, so I lifted up. With my swords ready, I landed on them both. My swords wound up in their backs. They screamed and tried to remove them, unable to reach the blades. I pulled out one sword and moved quickly, taking one's head before he even had a chance to react. I pulled out the other blade slowly. The demon roared and fell to the ground, trying to escape the pain. I stepped forward and pressed my boot to his back, pinning him down. He tried to turn to look at me. "Misericordia!" he screamed, begging for mercy. Sorry, there is none left in me. I brought down my blade, removing his head from his body. His screaming died the moment my blade penetrated his flesh.

I looked up, and then walked towards the crowd. Looking at them, I tried to entice them to attack. But as I walked in a circle, they all just backed away, too afraid to try me. I stopped when I heard someone applauding the scene. I turned around to see Ballen walking to stand in front of me

"Well done, hellhound. Indeed you are untouchable," he said, smiling at me. "See, Draco, you have misjudged your pet. She is, by far, the best of them all. Look at her, such beauty but also lethal. Not even Caim could deliver such a battle," he went on. The mention of Caim's name had me hoping that he made it home okay, and for all the suffering he had to endure, that he had finally found some measure of peace. Not like we have a chance of that, but hey, one can hope.

I walked over to one of the demon's bodies, and using my sword, cut off some of its clothing. Bringing it up to my hand, I wiped my blades clean as I stared at Ballen. Come on, I want to kill you. But alas, he just stood there, looking at me. Draco joined him, but unlike Ballen he had no smile; instead he looked at me intensely. Oh yeah, Draco, I'll be the one to take your head. You can count on it.

"Come, hellhound. Let's celebrate your victory," Ballen said and turned around, the crowd clearing the way for him as he made his way up the stairs again. I replaced my swords in their sheaths, and looked at Draco, who was still standing there, looking at me.

"Don't you want to play, Draco?" I teased him, knowing he was too chicken to try.

"Come, hellhound," he replied and gestured for me to take the lead.

I looked around at the crowd. Even the humans' eyes were huge, scared to death. Good, see what will happen to you if you continue this course, imbeciles? Transforming back to normal, I walked past Draco and took the stairs. The crowd cleared even quicker than with Ballen. Oh yeah, this I like. Smiling, I looked at them all, waiting for some idiot to try something, but no, they were all too scared. I walked up to the stairs and with my first step, my eyes caught a pair of green emerald eyes, the face darkened by the corner it was hiding in. But the green eyes were clear, standing out like a beacon. Stopping dead, my heart skipped a few beats. I knew those eyes. How could I forget them? Chax.

"Hellhound?" Draco said from behind me. I kept my eyes on Chax. How easy could it be just to run to him and get the hell out of here? But then Kali will be left alone, and in their hands she would suffer alone for centuries. I pulled myself together. I couldn't leave her. So I looked away from his eyes, and started walking up to where I had begun my journey tonight. Each step was a stab into my heart. My brain was screaming at me to turn around and run to Chax, to get the hell out of here, but my heart was reminding me of Kali, and I listened to it.

Reaching the top of the stairs, I was near my breaking point, about to reach that part of me I had left behind a long time ago, my weaker self. I turned around and faced Draco. "Enough, take me back," I demanded of him. The moment my eyes met his, I was back to my new self, back to the killer I had become. Draco looked at me for a few seconds, and then nodded to someone behind me. The mute guy came to stand next to him.

"Return her, and ensure they have what they need," he said to the guy, who in return offered me his hand. I walked forward and reached for his hand. To hell I return then. I took it, shifting back to Kali and my room. Kali jumped up and backed away from us. I let go of his hand and walked over to the bed, taking out my swords and placing them on the bed. The guy shifted out, leaving us alone.

"Kas, are you okay? You're covered in blood!" Kali asked, still standing in front of the bathroom door.

"Yes, I took out ten demons for Ballen's entertainment," I replied, taking off my jacket. I couldn't look at her yet. For some reason I felt guilty for even thinking to go to Chax and leaving her here.

"Oh my God, did they hurt you?" she asked, now moving to stand next to me. I looked up at her face and saw the tears in her eyes. Yeah, Kas, you still have a bit of weakness in you. You need to get rid of it.

"No, they didn't even get a chance to touch me," I replied, smiling to give her some comfort. She turned her head to the bed where my swords lay.

"Swords? Can they get us out of here?" she asked, her eyes fixed on them. Does she even know how to use them? We needed to test that, get her up and fighting. If we want out of here, we were both going to have to make a stand and take the first opportunity we could get. I couldn't have a weakling to protect if that moment came.

"They can kill other demons, but not Draco or Ballen," I answered, feeling the air move and turned around to see who was shifting in. The mute guy shifted in with two others, a bed in their hands. They walked over to the spot still open next to my bed, Kali backing away to the bathroom again. I looked at her. She is too scared, and we need to fix that. I returned my eyes to the demons, watching them put the bed down and shifting out again.

My attention went back to Kali. "Kali, do you want to get out of here?" I asked her, walking slowly to her.

"Yes, of course, how can you ask me such a stupid question?"

"If that is the case, you need to suck it up and find that fighter I met at The Hellhouse. I need her by my side when the time comes. If you can't move beyond this, we are both stuck here for the rest of our existence, or until someone like Ballen gets the opportunity to kill us. Do you understand?" Yeah, I sound like Chax.

Still looking at her, I could see the war she had inside herself. Her scared eyes slowly changed back to those of the Kali with the attitude. "Yes, you're right, but I can't fight like you," she said, and I could see the doubt in her eyes.

"We will fix that. The moment they're done here, our training starts. We need to learn to work together, just like when we trained with the teams," I replied. The air moved again, but this time just the mute guy shifted in holding a stack of clothes in his hands. I walked over to him and took a piece, opening it to find a dress. "I'm afraid this won't do anymore. Get some like mine," I told him. He stood there for a while, looking at me, and then at Kali, then nodded and shifted out.

"Sorry, Kali. I know these clothes aren't what you are used to, but believe me, when the time comes, you will see the benefit they have," I said, turning to look at her again.

"Actually, I must admit, you look pretty bad ass in them. Let's see if I can make them look as good as you. But I think I'll look even better then you," she replied, a wicked smile on her face. Yeah, there's the Kali I know. She's back in the game. Good, we're going to need all we can pull together.

# Chapter 16

So, Kali and I started training. Each day we would spar against each other. I shared my knowledge of what I had learned so far, and as the days passed, she grew stronger, faster, and deadlier.

Now we looked like sisters, with the same clothes and attitudes to pull off the look. Every time we sparred, I would push her harder, like Chax pushed me. I did the same, bringing out her born Fallen. She had reached a point where her scream even breaks the glass in our room, and I in return learned to take it, my eardrums growing accustomed to it. The first time it happened, Draco shifted in to see what was up. The moment he landed he shifted out, unable to take it. He never asked what happened, just gave us both a look.

My nights out were still on Ballen's entertainment list, and some nights I would take on up to fifteen demons. Some nights there were none, because they were all too scared. We moved from one club to another, and in many cases, the humans in the clubs would speak another language, giving away yet another country. The more I ended up in the clubs, the more humans would be attending. I never saw Chax again. I always looked for him or someone in the crowd, but nothing. I came to the conclusion that he believed that I wanted to stay, by continuing on with Draco. It hurt a little, but who gave a damn.

Tonight, Kali and I were getting ready for the night. Last night, I made it clear to Draco that she would be accompanying me on my nights out. If he didn't like it, I would stay or even go further and attack Ballen. After a long while of thinking it over, he agreed, returning to place cuffs on her wrists. I talked to her about them, to assure her that the cuffs could come off. So she stood her ground and allowed them to be put on. I also got him to give her the two swords I used when I started out on this insane mission, and he complied, knowing they couldn't kill him. When he brought them, I took them from him, and found Ballen's power on them. Now the mute guy shifted in, offering both his hands for us. I looked at Kali. "You ready for this?" I asked, making sure the old Kali was still there.

She turned and looked at me. "Oh yeah, let's dance," she replied, a wicked smile on her face.

Our plan was simple: find any weapon and we would work together to steal it to get the cuffs off. No matter what, we would get out of here. During the last fight some of them were armed, but the moment the weapons hit the floor, they would be swooped away from me, Ballen directing them to him. I had to give it to him; he wasn't stupid. But still, with two around, he wouldn't be able to move fast enough.

Taking his hands, we were shifted to a club I knew was in Russia somewhere. Couldn't make out a word they said, so I brought home a word and asked Kali, who could speak five languages. She told me the meaning and explained that it was Russian. The more words I brought to the room, the more I could start identifying the clubs and in which country we were in. Just in case we got lucky. It had to be tonight.

Ballen had been taking a bigger interest in me. He even tried to touch me last night, and I almost took off his hand when I got hold of him. Instead of backing down, he was more eager and excited to try me, the damn freak. It wouldn't be long now, and I would end up with one hell of a problem, and this time I'd puke all over the place.

The mute guy gestured for us to follow. Unlike the other clubs, this one had a spot reserved on the first floor for Ballen. We walked behind the guy, and found Draco and Ballen with their choice of girls for the night. We took a stand a few steps from them, both folding our arms in front of our chests. Yeah, from not so best pals, to twins. Together, we made one hell of a sight. Draco and Ballen looked at us, Draco's face serious, Ballen's almost ecstatic. Oh, gross.

"Welcome, come take a seat and enjoy the night." Ballen gestured for us to sit across from him on a couch. We just stood there looking at him, and I'm sure both our faces said the same thing, "F-You", so he just smiled, looking at us. Something else I noticed was that Draco was starting to take a protective stand when it came to me. Last night he moved in between Ballen and me, shifting me back. Don't know what's up with that, and I don't freaking care.

"I think I'll go see if we can pick a fight tonight. Seeing that we are two now, the game just might bring some more fun to it," I stated and turned around, walking back to the crowd. Kali followed me, the mute guy behind her. He became my watchdog. If I took walks like these, he would follow at a safe space and keep an eye on me. Well, tonight he had two to babysit. I gave Kali a look that by now she knew just what I wanted her to do: check for weapons and get her hands on them. The crowd came into view and the moment they saw us, they started to clear up. Kali took the left and me the right.

Walking around, watching everyone, I looked over at Kali just to make sure no one tried anything. They knew me, but not her. I found that she was having no problems. Just like they parted for me, they were doing the same for her, probably because she was glaring at them with deadly intent. Reaching the middle of the club, I stopped and perused the crowd, looking for weapons under clothes and stuff, but like always, I found nothing.

I started walking again, all the while searching. I looked back and found the mute guy standing at the split point, having trouble keeping his eyes on both of us. Yeah, this is working. I walked around on my side, Kali looking on hers, both of us trying our best to find something, when all of a sudden a huge fight came crashing through the club's doors. I turned around to see what was up, and just like that, Kali was standing next to me.

The crowd parted, and I could see two human guys being pushed and shoved into the club, covered in blood. The demons doing the shoving were herding them to the dance floor, locking them in the middle. Finding this interesting, I followed and took a front seat, the crowd watching Kali and me to make sure we didn't try anything. The humans in front of us were being circled by demons. I stopped and kept my eyes on the scene.

"Are they human?" Kali asked beside me, her voice so low that only I could hear her. We had practiced a lot for this.

"I believe so. Wonder what they did to end up in the middle of what looks like dinner?" I replied, my eyes still on them.

The human guys were back to back, standing their ground. A demon moved in and one of them kicked him back out. Then two more were on them and the humans were giving them a fight. I must admit, for humans they were doing pretty good. Just like Kali and me, they were fighting to survive this; they used each other to punch and kick. But being human in this world had its limitations. One of them was struck by a demon's claw and was kneeling on the floor from the punch, the other trying to protect him from the blows that followed. Something stirred in me when the second one also ended up badly clawed. Now, with both of them down, the demons moved in for the kill. "So, humans, you still think you can take us on?" one asked them.

The guy with black hair looked up and replied, "Till the very end, demon." And then he tried to get in a punch and failed.

I gave Kali a look and we moved into the fight, transforming on the first step. The first two demons in front of me didn't know what hit them, their heads falling to the ground quickly followed by their bodies. Kali and I took a protective stand, the humans behind us. "Hellhound!" Ballen yelled from the crowd, and they parted for him. He walked up to us and stood in front of me. "What are you doing?" he asked, pissed off for the first time. Draco and the bouncers flanked his sides.

"Picking a fight, of course. The winner gets the humans," I replied, giving him a wicked smile. He looked at us for a while, thinking it over.

"And what would you do with them if you win?" he asked, looking back at me.

Damn, that is a good question. I didn't think that far ahead. Okay, what will we do? If I said let them go free, I knew they wouldn't reach the door alive. No, I had to think of something else. I looked at Kali, asking without a word for some help. She looked at me, then down at the one she was protecting. She looked back at me, a wicked smile on her face, even more wicked than usual. Oh crap, here we go. She looked at Ballen.

"We are women, you know; we do like to have fun," she replied, and I almost had a heart attack. What the hell?! Shocked, I looked at her. I asked for help, not for her to make it even worse. What the hell made her say that?

Ah hell, it was already done, so I composed myself and looked at Ballen, who was smiling like a freaking schoolboy. "Yes, harpy, I remember you liked to have fun," he said and at that both Kali and I made a step towards him. Draco and the others took a stand in front of him. We stopped, and I looked at Kali to see if she was okay. The face looking at Ballen said that I had just lost a fine trophy. This one is Kali's, and she is going to make him suffer.

"Then so be it. If you two win, they are yours, for pets," he announced, and the demons surrounding us started to attack. We stepped back to the humans, making sure they stayed between us, and together Kali and I started swiping away demon heads. It felt like hundreds storming at us, but we kept our stand, making sure the humans stayed untouched. I was crouching down to take out a big demon's legs, to get to its head, when my human asked me, "Why are you doing this, demon? We will never be your pets."

Keeping my eyes on the big demon, which was falling to the ground, I replied, "I am not a demon; I'm a Fallen taken prisoner by them." I swiped my blade, taking the head off the big demon, his body falling to the ground. I kicked it back as hard as I could and sent it flying into the demons attacking behind him, taking a few with it.

"You look like one," the guy threw back, a rich Russian accent to top it off.

"Have you ever heard the term "fight fire with fire?" We are God's solution to the demon problem," I retorted and ducked from a sword coming my way. Taking the demons head, I kept my eyes on the sword. The moment it hit the ground, it was swooped away. "Damn!" I yelled, pissed off that I couldn't reach a weapon to take off the cuffs. I quickly looked at Kali.

"Any luck on your side?" I asked her, turning my head to take on another demon on my left.

"No, they're taken away too fast. I can't get my hands on one," she replied, taking out a demon in front of her. Our training did her good; she was giving them hell and taking heads like a pro. I returned my attention to the ones attacking from the front.

"What are you looking for?" I heard the guy ask, now standing at my back. So he got back up. Good, he can help.

"I need a weapon from someone else to remove the cuffs on my wrists. Without them, we can get the hell out of here," I replied, my eyes on the demons. I took two more heads, but demons just kept on coming from somewhere. I looked past two of them and saw three more shifting in. So, Ballen had made this an all-out game. Fine, we will kill them all.

I was about to swipe another head when my arm was grabbed from behind. Turning to kill, I stopped myself just in time. The human had a weapon in his hand and was sticking it under my cuff to cut it off. Adrenalin pumped into me at the sight, and I killed two in front of me with one swipe. The moment I felt the cuff fall, I quickly changed hands and the human got to work on the other one.

When the last one fell I yelled to him, "Get hers too, now!" Now going full force and delighted that I was so out of here in a few seconds, I started killing everything that was coming at me.

I just took off a female demon's head when Kali yelled, "Now, the Hellhouse lobby!" And at that, I turned and grabbed the human behind me as she was grabbing hers. With the lobby of The Hellhouse in my mind I tried to shift, but nothing happened. I looked up at her, shocked to the core; her face said the same. We were so screwed. I felt a blade pierce my wing, and then my side. I screamed, biting down the pain. Kali reached for me, and the moment she touched me we shifted out and landed in a dark street, the demon with his sword still in me.

Kali moved quickly and took his head, leaving the blade inside of me. The two humans backed away from us, standing at a safe distance, not trusting us. I looked down at the blade. "Ah, damn, this hurts like hell," I said, trying to pull the blade out but I couldn't. It was agony pulling on it because my wing was locked between it and my body. Kali came to my side and crouched beside me.

"Oh damn. Kas, what do I do?" she asked, looking at the blade sticking out of my side.

"Step aside," one of the humans demanded, and the one with black hair took her place. It was night time where we landed, so I couldn't make out a lot of him when he looked down at the blade. He lifted his head and I started to see his face, still covered in blood. "This will be quick, but is going to hurt," he said, looking at me. I started laughing.

"No, really?" I replied, pissed off that the first shift didn't work. What the hell happened? Why can't we shift to The Hellhouse? He smiled at me and grabbed the blade at my back. With one yank, it was out, and blood spurted out of the wound. Biting down a scream, I tried moving my wing away but failed. He pressed his hands on the wound and looked at the other guy.

"Call for help, now," he said, and the other guy pulled out a cell phone, calling someone. He had dark brown hair, and it looked like his eyes were brown too, but young, too young for this. Yeah, I was only what, eighteen, I think, but at least I had a Fallen body to give me an edge, whereas this guy just had a human one.

I looked back at the black haired guy and found him looking at me strangely. Oh damn, I was still transformed! So I went back to my human form, pain shooting through me. I kept my eyes on him. I could see the doubt in his eyes. Yeah, seeing something like this and believing I'm not a demon is testing your faith. He had blue eyes, and I must say a very nice face, strong cheekbones, and a nice mouth to go with it. Crap, I obviously still have my teen hormones and need to lose them fast.

"So, while we wait for our pickup, want to explain to me what's going on?" he asked, looking at me, and then at Kali, who had also returned to normal.

"It's a long story," Kali replied, and came to my other side, crouching down next to me. "We did it, Kas. We made it out," she said and smiled at me. Only then did it sink in. Oh my soul, we escaped! Relieved, and a little happier, I looked at her.

"Yeah, and we made it look good while at it," I responded, smiling at her. My eyelids grew heavy and I was having trouble keeping them open.

"Kas! You've got to stay awake!" she yelled at me. I was not healing fast enough to stop the blood loss and her concerned face was slowly being replaced by darkness.

The black haired guy yelling at his friend. "Where are they!" was the last thing I heard before darkness claimed me.

# Chapter 17

I woke up and the first thing I saw was a white ceiling. Turning my head to the right, I took in my newfound surroundings. I was in what looked like a hospital room, but no machines or stuff were connected to me. Damn, I was hoping everything had been just some sort of coma thing.

"Kasadya Levourne, if you ever do that to me again, I'll kill you myself," Kali said from my left, so I turned my head to look at her, and started laughing. She was pissed and giving me a deathly glare.

"Kali, you know we can't die like that," I reminded her.

"Doesn't matter. You totally scared the hell out of me. Do you know what it's like to see someone who has become your friend pass out on you because of a wound? Next time, I'll take the punch and you can sit here for five hours and look at my body lying on a bed."

Ah man, had to give it to her. She knows how to get a girl out of bed. I sat up and felt the sheets run over my flesh. Grabbing them, I lifted them up and looked under them to find myself naked, with only underwear on. "Why the hell am I naked?" I asked her, remembering the two guys, and I could feel the red spreading out all over my face. I looked at her to make sure that no way in hell did they undress me.

"Because, Kas, every time Melissa tried to cut open your leathers to get to your wound, they would repair on their own. So we undressed you. Your wound had already healed by the time we got them off, so she only cleaned you up," Kali replied, still sitting on a chair looking at me with a pissed off expression.

"Please tell me the two guys were not in the room when you did it? I swear I'll kill them if they were." I went on, still rattled over the whole naked thing.

"No, Melissa ordered them to leave when she started cutting your clothes, so they left. And by the way, they are not the only two guys. When we landed here, about twenty were waiting for us, fully armed. We were then escorted to the emergency room and then to this room."

"Okay, where are my clothes so I can get dressed? And while I'm doing it, you can fill me in on what we've gotten ourselves into this time," I replied, and got out of the bed. I transformed to look at my wing, but found it completely healed, just like my body. I changed back and turned to look at Kali, who was walking to me with my clothes in her hands. I took them and started with my pants. "Okay, so where are we?" I began questioning, trying to get as much info as I could and get back up to speed with our newfound friends.

"It's some sort of base or facility. They airlifted us out from the street we landed in, which by the way, was my old hometown, and then transported us here. It's still in Russia but I couldn't make out the location."

Okay, so these guys had some resources to help them out, and clearly they had even more by look of the room. Hi-tech medical machines were everywhere. Some of them I didn't even have a clue what they were or did. "Anything else you can tell me about this place or the two humans we rescued? Who is this Melissa you were talking about?" I went on.

"Melissa, I think, is some sort of doctor here, and the two guys I believe are soldiers. All the other guys were suited up in the same gear when we stepped off the helicopter. But believe me, that's the easy part. It's the fae male they call commander that gets me totally confused."

"What, a fae? What the hell is a fae doing here with humans?" I asked her. The moment she mentioned him, I stopped dressing and looked at her, confused at the fae and humans calling him their commander. As Fallen we were not allowed to create such a relationship with humans; it was taboo.

"I have no idea. I was too consumed by fear for a hellhound, who passed out on me, to ask," Kali sarcastically responded, planting her butt back in the chair. Okay, so she had a fright. She needs to get used to it. I'd taken way more than that stab when I started off in hell, and like I said, we didn't die that easily. But man, it still hurts like hell, and we could bleed out. It took a long time for our healing to take place, and in the case of blood loss like mine, even longer. But hey, five hours didn't sound that bad.

"Okay, let's get out of here and see what the hell is going on. Maybe the fae can tell us what's up with the shifting thing," I said to her, fully dressed and sliding my jacket on. She got up and walked over to me. Her face had started turning back to normal, but I could see she was still mad over the whole passing out thing.

"So, where are my swords?" I asked, looking around. I still felt naked without them.

"He took them. He said we don't need them inside the base. He will return them when we leave," she answered, and at that, I turned to stare at her.

"Okay, so we are unarmed, in a facility with about twenty fully armed men. Hey, at least we get to look at something not demon this time. Come on. Let's get the hell out of here and find a Fallen to beat up," I said, walking to the door. I opened it and found two guys with guns jumping to stand in front of me, weapons raised. Clearly we need to do this calmly. Slowly raising my hands, I looked at them. Yep, definitely humans. I could take them but I had just gotten rid of a wound, and wasn't looking forward to dodging bullets.

"Alright, guys, chill out. We just want our stuff, and then we will leave." I said, Kali coming to stand next to me.

"Come with us. Commander Amon will speak with you," one of them instructed, and the other one took the lead. The one who spoke fell in behind us, his weapon ready. Okay, what the hell is going on here? We were led through hallway after hallway until finally the guy at our front stopped at a door and opened it. He walked inside so we followed. Inside a blond guy with blue eyes sat behind a desk, looking at a computer screen. A blonde woman was sitting on the couch talking to him, but stopped when we entered.

The two armed men took positions at the door, so Kali and I walked up to the pair at the desk and stood, waiting. "Where are our weapons?" I asked, already pissed off at the fae sitting behind the desk, and desperately wanting to get out of here.

He glanced up at Kali and me, before leaning back in his chair, still looking at us. "They are safe, but I will only give them to you when you are out of my base," he replied, checking out both of us.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?" I went on, trying to figure out this setup.

"My name is Amon Paganus, and as you know, I'm a Fallen just like you. But in my case, I'm considered to be a deserter or traitor, as so many of you say," he answered, standing up and walking around the desk to stand before us. He crossed his arms over his chest. Okay, trying to make a challenge, I see. No problem. Two can play that game. So I did the same, which only made him smile.

"What are you doing here with humans? You know the law?" I questioned, maintaining my stand off against him. I'd battled demons. Hell, I even took on Ballen, and would have liked to kill him, but alas that would be left for another day. No way in hell was this guy going to scare me off, even if he had twenty fully armed guys. They could still die.

"Okay, you two, that's enough," the woman said, coming to stand at his side but looking at us intently. Amon smiled and took her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Now the two stood there in each other's arms, like a real couple, looking at Kali and me. I turned to Kali to see if she also getting this, and indeed, the shock on her face said it all. This guy was in so much freaking trouble. I returned my eyes to them.

"My name is Melissa Paganus, and I'd be the wife to this insane man," Melissa offered, extending her hand to shake. I was even more shocked that he went so far as to marry her, and I took her hand in silence and shook it. "Come. Let's go get something to eat. I know when Amon gets hurt he needs to regenerate himself with food," Melissa said, taking his hand and leading him out the door. I just stood there, watching the two lovebirds leave the room.

"Kali, I think this guy is so dead when they see this," I pronounced and turned to look at her, only to find her looking at the floor.

"Kas, if someone held me like that and showed such love, I would take it. Even a human," she replied and looked back up at me.

"A Fallen male can also give you that, Kali. You know our law clearly states that what they're doing is wrong," I said and gestured for her to follow as we walked out with our armed men at our backs.

"Yes, I know that, but maybe this Fallen has a real good explanation for it. Just hear them out before you go all crazy on them," she went on.

I just kept my mouth shut and walked behind, following them into a room where a lot of human men were gathered at a table, getting some food. The moment my nose caught the scent my stomach rumbled. Oh man, Melissa was right about that part. Amon gestured for us to take the two spots open across from them, so I planted myself immediately and looked at the food.

"Help yourselves. There is more than enough," Amon said, so I didn't waste any time. I grabbed a scoop of mashed potatoes and then some meat, which looked like pork. Who gave a damn what it was; it was food. My mouth started to water at the sight of it. I looked around the table for a source of gravy to smother the mashed potatoes in, and found it sitting across from the black haired guy from the battle. I looked at him and saw that he almost had no scars to speak of, but he was covered in blood.

He looked at me and smiled. "Want some gravy?" he asked with his Russian accent, which was kind of sexy.

"Yeah, that will be great, thanks," I replied. He lifted up the gravy cup and held it for me to take. I took it from him and poured some over my mashed potatoes, giving it back to him for the others to use. With a hunger burning like a furnace in me, I grabbed a fork and dug into the potatoes, taking a huge bite. I closed my eyes. Man, this tastes so good. I opened my eyes to take another bite and found the Russian guy still looking at me with a smile, and all by itself my freaking body decided to blush. Damn teenage hormones. I dropped my head and continued with my food, ignoring him totally.

"So, let's start over again. Your names?" Amon asked, sitting across from Kali, whom I could see was also enjoying her food.

"My name is Kasadya Levourne, Kas for short, and this is Kali Legkodimov," I replied, looking at him and his human wife, who still smiled all the way.

"So, Kas, how did you end up in the middle of a demon brawl?"

"Well, we were sort of kidnapped by one, and we had to fight for survival or end up as dinner. Or worse."

"How did he kidnap you?" Melissa asked, very keen all of a sudden.

"Well, that's actually my fault, well sort of. You see, this demon, I think he was a nightmare demon, was bugging me and Kas in our dreams. Then, one day, he took me over completely and made me shift to his den. Kas wanted to help me and ended up shifting there with me," Kali answered, taking another bite.

"How did he get into your dreams? I thought they couldn't reach Exsilium?" Amon asked, and I could see the anger on his face.

"By means of traitorous Fallen, he placed a charm in The Hellhouse, enabling him to reach not only Kali and me, but also everyone else in the house. He called it a "gateway,"" I explained. I stopped eating and looked at him. I still need to find the traitors, and I'm not skipping anyone. To me, each Fallen is guilty until proven innocent.

"What? You mean you were in The Hellhouse when it happened?" Amon went on, confusion taking the place of anger.

"Yeah, we were attending there, our first year as Apprendos." Kali answered, and at the mention of our apprenticeship, he looked at the black haired guy and then at me. Okay, now what?

"You were Apprendos when you were taken?" he went on, now sitting back and no longer eating.

"Yeah, I just did a month, and I think Kas was only there a week before we ended up in hell," Kali went on. I looked at her to see that she was still eating and enjoying the chat, not noticing that Amon and the black haired guy were looking strangely at each other. Amon's face changed instantly.

"Which Fallen species are you?" he asked, suddenly all serious. Kali was about to answer him, but I stopped her by placing my hand on hers. I looked at him, and then at the black haired guy. Something's up. I don't know what, but I don't like it.

"I'm a hellhound and Kali is a harpy," I told them while keeping my eyes on them.

Amon stood up and started walking over to our side, the black haired guy and all the rest followed. Kali and I jumped up and stepped away from the table, going back to back, ready to fight. Amon stopped before me and looked at me. "Transform. I must see your eyes," he demanded, a sword now held in his hands.

"Why?" I asked him. What the hell do my eyes have to do with this?

"Transform now," he bit out, locking his jaws. Okay, so the guy wants to see my Fallen eyes, fine. I transformed, keeping my eyes on them. I felt Kali also transforming, our wings touching each other. He stood there looking at me, searching for something. "Your eyes are still yellow. How long have you been there?" he asked, his swords still ready.

"We don't know. The day we were taken it was 8 February 2010, and we could not tell time there," I answered, feeling Kali's wings moving against mine. She was ready, just like me. He kept his eyes on me.

"It's 6 June 2012. What did he make you do?" he went on, but my mind stopped at the mention of 2012. Oh my soul, we were there for more than two years. I felt the blow of that thought hit me, causing my body to go numb. All this time, I thought it would only be like six months or something, not that long.

"Answer me, hellhound," he demanded, making me forget the total blast of realization and focusing back on him.

"I was thrown into battle against demons; Kali stayed by me as a companion," I answered. No way in hell did these guys need to know what had happened to Kali down there. I heard her blow out a nervous breath. He turned his head to the black haired guy.

"Max, are you sure of what you saw last night?" he questioned him.

"Yes, I'm sure." Max answered, and Amon looked back at me.

"Did they not tell you what would happen if you embrace that side of you?" he asked and at that, I was dumbstruck. What the hell? Silence followed his question.

"When a hellhound embraces his or her true born nature, they have a tendency to go into what can only be described as bloodlust. A sign of that to other Fallen is when the hellhound's eyes turn from yellow to red. Yours are still yellow, but I'm afraid that your time is running out." he finished, looking at me with pity. Okay, this is news. So my eyes turn red and I go into bloodlust? Been there, and it didn't end too bad.

"So what's the problem?" I asked him, keeping my eyes on his.

"The problem, hellhound, is that the first hellhounds had to be destroyed to stop them from killing. Their trueborn nature was beyond sanity. The more they killed, the more they drifted into bloodlust, until they reached a stage where they would kill even a Fallen or human standing between them and the demon. They became even worse than a demon." he finished and I felt the strength drain out of me. I composed myself quickly.

"I'm not like that. I kill demons but I don't harm anyone else. I helped save their lives last night; I didn't kill them to get to a demon," I said, pointing my finger at the black haired guy, seething with anger. Amon looked at me for a while and then turned around to gesture for everyone to leave. Kali and Melissa where the only ones to stay behind, each side not trusting the other.

"Kas, it begins slowly and then works into that state. If you don't find your "charm," you'll go insane, just like them. The Fallen will have no choice but to kill you, because you will destroy anything that stands in your way," he explained. Okay, so I need a freaking charm to stay sane, no problem.

"So, where can I get a charm?" I asked him, but he looked at Melissa and then walked over to her, returning his eyes to me.

"It's not an object, Kas. It's a person. Someone who will be able to stop your hellhound from slipping into insanity," he finished, resting his hands on Melissa's shoulders. Okay, so I have to find someone. That can be done, no problem.

"Okay, just give me a name and point me into the right direction. I'll help myself from there," I threw back at him, but he just stood there holding her and looking at me.

"Kas, he's trying to tell you he doesn't know the person you're looking for. Your pactum mate," Kali said from behind me, and I turned around, shocked at the words.

"You can't be serious?" I said, backing away from her. She had transformed back to normal and was standing there looking at me with more freaking pity on her face.

"I'm sorry, Kas. Many hellhounds feel that they were pushed into a mating to speed up the hellhound population, but it was to keep them from such a fate," Amon went on. I hit the wall and pressed back against it. Oh damn, this is so not good.

"Any other solutions? Because I just got out of hell. I'm so not getting back into another one," I threw back at both of them. Kali just looked at him, and so I kept my eyes on him as well.

"I'm sorry. None was ever found. This is the only way, and finding your charm will not be easy. He must be able to calm your hellhound, and not many are able," Amon replied. Oh, just freaking great. I so don't have a life anymore. I dropped my head and transformed back to normal. So, my defeat will be my destiny. What a way to go.

# Chapter 18

After a long time standing there and trying to think of solutions, I gave up in defeat. I looked back up at them and told myself to get over it. I either end up mated, or be destroyed. I didn't give a freaking damn anymore.

"Okay, I got the message. Now, tell me what the hell you're doing here with humans?" I threw back at him. He gestured for us to sit and took his place next to Melissa, continuing with his food. Kali and I sat down again. She dug back into her food, but I was too pissed off. I just looked at him and Melissa.

"About thirty years ago, I was on a hunt, tracking down three demons that were becoming a menace to a small town. I traced them all the way to another town. By the time I got there, they had already started to attack some of the people. But instead of humans fleeing, there were four human males fighting back. They didn't run away; instead they fought until the last one dropped to the ground, but the best was still to come. I was about to move forward to kill the demons, when the entire village stopped running and screaming. When the last human male fell, they all attacked the demons. The three demons were killed by them that day. By ordinary 'helpless' humans, not by Fallen.

"Just like you, I was told that humans had no courage and would not stand to fight off demons to save themselves, but that night I saw a different version of humanity. Humans are strong, not like a Fallen, but together they make a good team. They have courage, more than I can say for some Fallen. But the most important element to them is their love and loyalty to each other. Yes, many humans will run and not stand for a fight, but humans like Melissa, Max, and the others are not like that. After that night, I decided to study humans and found more and more of them were standing up against demons and not running anymore; humanity was fighting back. I returned to Exsilium and addressed what I had seen before the council. I begged them to listen to me and to take some of the humans to train them, to see if we could be assisted by them in this war.

"But like always, they just pushed it aside and clamped down on the law. I went back to the human world and continued my service. One night, I found Melissa's father fighting a demon. Not willing to see another good human fall, I stepped in and killed the demon. Afterwards, her father and I talked. I explained to him about the Fallen and their war with demons. That night he rounded up about fifty men who wanted to train, who wanted to help. I never returned to Exsilium. Instead I started this facility and trained humans to kill demons.

"The men you saw sitting here are the second generation of fighters I command. These are the sons of the first men who started this quest, and the generations to come will continue on," Amon finished and sat back looking at us.

Wow, now that's another point of view. Okay, yes, I agree they have the courage and stuff for the job, but unlike us, they don't make it past fight one alive. At least we have a fifty percent change of going to fight two.

"I understand everything you're saying, and yes, I know there are a lot of humans like your men who do fit the bill. But they also die easily. Don't you think it's a bit risky?" I asked him, leaning back in my chair.

"Yes, indeed, and I can assure you that every time we lose one we feel the loss. Not only as a team but also as a family. But you underestimate my men; they are exceptional fighters."

"Mmm, don't want to puncture that delusion you've got going there, but last night they didn't do so well. If Kali and I hadn't stepped in, they would most likely be dead."

Laughing, he looked at me with a smile. I didn't see the funny point in what I just said. They could have died, and it was pure luck we all got out of there, so I frowned at him. "Kas, it was intentional. Max and Adian were scoping out the place. The entire team was waiting outside for the signal, but they never received it because you two intervened and shifted them across the country," Amon replied, still smiling.

"What? Are you mad? You can't send two guys in like that to do freaking scoping; they were already covered in blood when they were herded in!" I went off on him. That was just such a stupid idea.

Now he was laughing like there was no tomorrow. I looked at Kali and found that she didn't think this was very funny either, so I looked back at him. "Did you go insane somewhere in this great plan of yours?"

"No, my dear, I'm quite sane. The blood they were covered in was from the local butcher. We order about five gallons a week from him. You see, they cover themselves with it and stumble near a club. The demons then mistake them as easy prey and take them inside the club, where they will send back details of how many are inside for the attack to take place," he replied, a huge smile on his face, and Melissa was sharing it.

"You are insane; you can't throw them to the dogs like that!" I yelled, now pissed that this Fallen basically played with fire when he sent these humans out to their deaths. No wonder he was an outcast; the council would have his head for this.

"Oh, it was not my idea; Max came up with it about three months ago. So far, it works just fine. Except when two females try to save them and blow their cover," Amon went on, laughing. Max entered the room and went to sit next to him, and yes, a huge smile was on his face too.

"Dumb nut," I threw at him. Can a human be any more stupid than that?

"Kasadya, I can assure you that we pitiful, cowardly humans can teach the Fallen a lot when it comes to tactical elements of war," Max said, smiling at me.

"Whatever. Amon, can we have our weapons back, so we can get the hell away from your stupid men and their ideas?" I threw back at Amon, ignoring the cocky human at his side.

"Of course, you are free to leave. Come, let's go to my office and I will get them out of the safe. I'll escort you outside," he replied, all smiles gone, and stood up. Melissa and Max followed him, so we all walked out of the room. They walked in front and Kali and I were at the rear.

"I agree. They are cuckoo," Kali said next to me, making a circle at her temple. At least one person agreed with me.

"We just need to check on something. Then we will continue," Amon said and turned into a door. Kali and I followed them in and found a room filled with computers and stuff. Some of the men at the dinner table were working on them; others were looking at a huge screen with the globe on it. I stopped at the screen and looked at it. Green, red, and orange dots were all over it. Each country and continent were covered in them.

"What are these?" I asked and turned to look at Amon, who was now standing next to Kali, looking at it too.

"This is the result of twenty years of hard work. Each dot represents a club or place where demons converge or do business. The green dots are places we already hit and cleared; we evaluate them each month to ensure they don't reopen. The red dots are places still in service, and the orange dots are places starting up again," Amon explained. In the middle of all that I kept the dots in my view.

Almost every continent was covered in red and orange dots. So many. How can this be? I looked at all the dots and found a few purple ones in between.

"And the purple dots?" I asked. He didn't mention any of them.

"The purple are places that were attacked by Fallen. As you can see there aren't many. It makes you wonder what's up with them," Amon replied and suddenly I remembered the shifting problem. Oh my soul, does Exsilium even exist? Are they even there?

"Amon, we tried to shift to Exsilium but nothing happened. Do we need to know something?" I asked, walking to stand in front of him and getting his full attention. I also wanted to see his eyes, in case he tried lying to me.

"I don't know. I haven't tried to shift back to Exsilium since that night. Are you sure you can't shift in?" he asked, concern on his face as he looked at me. I closed my eyes again and this time focused in on the fountain. Nothing. I tried the garden at The Hellhouse, again nothing. It's like it doesn't exist anymore. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"No, nothing." I replied, my voice breaking on the last word. What will we do? Where would Kali and I go?

I turned around and looked at her. I found her in the same state I was in; her eyes were big and I could see tears gathering in them. "Kas, we don't run into Fallen that much, but I don't think something happened to them and Exsilium. It's impossible," Amon said from behind me. I turned around to look at him.

"Like it wasn't possible for a demon to reach us in Exsilium?" I asked him, my father's face in my mind. Was he still alive? What about my mother, Chax, Nanini, Lada, and all the rest?

He looked at me, contemplating my words. Yeah, nothing is impossible anymore. Kali and I are living proof of it. We survived just to get out to find everyone we loved and cared about was gone.

I turned around and walked to Kali when I heard her sob. I reached her and placed my arms around her. I had no words of comfort; I had no words of hope. We were alone. After all we survived, we were alone in this. I closed my eyes and held her, keeping my eyes closed to hide my own tears. Oh, yeah, and there goes my hope to live. Now it's just a matter of time before I go insane and need to be destroyed.

"Kas, you and Kali are more than welcome to stay here until we can find a solution to this. There are more than enough open rooms, and we will accommodate you with everything you need," Melissa said from behind Kali. I looked up at her and saw the pity on her face. Yeah, I'm getting used to people looking at me that way. What a pitiful excuse of a creature I have become.

"That will be great, thank you," I replied, taking the invitation, knowing full well Kali and I didn't have anything to survive on out there.

"Come, I'll take you and show you some rooms. You can pick any of them," Melissa instructed, gesturing for us to follow. I pressed away from Kali and looked at her.

"I'm still here, and we do this together," I soothed her to give her some hope. She smiled and wiped her face.

"No, you have all of us," Amon said. I looked at him.

"Yeah, looks like you got two more additions to your insane crowd, not like we have anything else to do," I replied and smiled at Kali.

"You are free to join us, but you're under no obligation," he replied. I looked at Kali to make sure this was something she was okay with too. She smiled.

"Not like we have big plans, huh?" she said. No, we don't.

"Okay, Amon, we will pick out a room, and then you will need to do a crash course with us," I said, smiling at him, or at least I tried my best.

"Yes, of course," he replied, and so we turned and walked out behind Melissa and followed her as she led the way. We walked in silence. My parents' faces flashed in my mind. I was no fan of my mom but I still loved her in a weird kind of way. I really hoped this was just some glitch or something. Maybe we were in hell too long? Maybe our shifting got screwed up some way or another? Who knows? I haven't been at this very long and the knowledge I do have is mostly about a demon world.

"Here you go. All the rooms in this hall are open. You can choose any that suit you. I'll arrange for some girl stuff to be delivered today; for the rest, you would need to give me a list. I have some extra clothes I can get if you wanted to change," Melissa offered as she walked and pointed to rooms, and then finally stopped to look at us.

"It's okay. The ones we have are charmed so they don't go bad like human clothes do, but if you could bump us a pair of pajamas, that will be great." I replied, walking into a room. Well, it wasn't The Hellhouse, but at least it wasn't a cell. All the rooms had one bed in them, a small table and a chair. Some had books, TV's and other things in them, too. I chose the first one; there was no reason to be picky. Kali chose the one next to me. Yeah, we don't trust that easily, a lesson well learned in hell. With our rooms picked out, we returned with Melissa to Amon's office, where he was waiting.

"Alright, they picked a room, and I have some shopping to do. I'm leaving them in your hands. Don't mess up," Melissa told Amon and walked out, eager to go shopping. Man I miss those days.

"Let's get your swords," Amon said, walking to a wall and punching in a code on a pad mounted on it. A small section of the wall parted to reveal a safe, and he then started on another pad. Finally my swords came into view, and I felt a little better knowing at least I was armed and ready for whatever came my way.

"I removed the demon's charms when I took them. If you leave them on, it's easier for them to find you again. Only Exsilium could block their range," he explained, handing them over to me. Kali's swords were next. I took them and glided my hand over the blades. Yeah, this is better, no charm to stop me from taking a few heads this time. I can't wait to run into Draco or Ballen.

"Okay, now for the fun part. Let's go introduce you to the team." Amon smiled, gesturing for us to follow him. Yeah, let's go meet this insane bunch of mortals.

# Chapter 19

We walked behind him while he led the way down two more hallways and finally stopping at two big double doors. He opened them and stepped in. We followed, but stopped dead in our tracks to take in the picture. Oh my soul.

It was a huge room, more like a basketball court, filled with fighting equipment. From punching bags to weapons, and even a freaking shooting range, wow, Amon didn't hold back. I looked around and guessed about twenty guys were doing some sort of training or practice to keep up their skills. Six pairs were sparring against each other. My eyes caught Mad Max. He was moving at an incredible speed, jabbing, kicking, and dodging his opponent. Yeah, the guy was actually good, for a human. He wouldn't be able to take on a Fallen, but at least he would give a demon a go or two.

"Come on," Amon said, gesturing for us to follow him to the sparring pairs, where he stopped, whistling for everyone's attention. Just like trained dogs, they all stopped dead and turned to face him.

"Okay, guys, I would like you to meet our newest team members. Kas and Kali will be joining the fun, so make sure they get a good reception," he finished and then turned to us, nodding and walking back to the doors to exit. Okay, so here we are. I looked at the guys standing there, looking at us with confusion. Silence followed.

"Um, I don't want to sound like a misogynist or anything, but you girls won't be able to handle this jo..." a guy said, but stopped the moment Kali and I shifted to Fallen form. In unison they all stepped back, taking in their new teammates, all except Max, of course.

"Do we make the team now?" I asked sarcastically.

Another short silence followed until Max stepped in and took over. "Ryan, take Kali as a sparring partner, and Kasadya, you're with Ben," he instructed, turning around and nodding to the guy he was sparring with before they started up again. I turned my eyes from them to try and find out who was freaking Ben, to find two guys standing in front of us, still awestruck. Oh, this is going to be fun. I never got to beat up a human guy before. I looked at Kali and found her with the same wicked smile, and then turned my head back to the two guys.

"So, who's Ben?" I asked, still grinning.

The brown haired guy shook himself out of it and looked at me. "That would be me," he replied, but didn't go any further than that; he just stood there. Oh right, I forgot we were still in Fallen form. So I changed back to cut them some slack. Kali followed but kept her wicked grin.

"Okay, guys, we're all yours," I said, smiling.

"Um, Ryan, you and Kali take number five, and Kas and I will take number seven," Ben said and gestured for me to follow him. I took a parting look at Kali, and we both smiled at each other before walking off with our new sparring partners. Ben walked to an open spot next to Max and his partner, turning to look at me with a confused look. "Okay, I'll show you some basic moves, and then we can practice them one at a time," he said, looking at me with pity. Oh yeah, this is going to be real fun.

"Ben, trust me when I say you're so screwed," I threw back at him with my evil smile.

He took in the message, and when I was sure that he understood, I moved with super speed, kicking his legs out from under him. He landed with an "oomph" on the ground and stared up at me, surprise all over his face. I looked at him and smiled. "Now that the introduction is done, let's play," I said and stepped back for him to get up.

Slowly he got up to look at me. He gave his head a little shake, clearly indicating that he understood my message: game on. He lunged for me, but I just swiped away his punch and pushed him to the other side. I know what my punch did to a demon, and I think giving him that would most likely end in death, so I had to take it slow and gentle. He was human. I looked over to Kali and found her standing over Ryan, smiling like a little girl. She gesturing with her finger for him to get up. Yep, this is fun.

Ben was back up and went at me again. Again, I just blocked him and pushed him to the ground. After a while he stood there dripping with sweat and blowing like a fish, and I was staring at my nails. Fun moved to boredom and I wanted more fun. This totally sucked.

I looked over to Kali and found her looking at me with the same thought; we needed more of a challenge, and these guys were just too fragile. I turned to look at Ben. "Would you and Ryan mind if Kali and I sparred together?" I asked him.

He was bracing his hands on his knees and leaning forward, totally wasted, but nodded in agreement. "Thanks," I said and walked over to Kali to find Ryan also totally wasted. Nope, human guys are so not going to do it for us. "So, shall we spar?" I asked Kali, and her bored look turned to excitement.

"Totally," she replied and we both walked to a huge open spot in the court before facing off against each other.

We transformed in unison and were on each other, kicking, punching, you name it. Adrenalin surged through me, and I felt myself light up like a firecracker. Kali reached the same hype so our sparring went into over-drive. About an hour later we were getting bored with each other and stopped. Breathing a little hard but still in good shape we turned to each other and smiled. "Weapons?" Kali asked, getting excited again. I was about to say yes when I took in the crowd gathered around us. All the guys, even Max, were standing there looking at us. Okay, what now?

"Man, I love my life!" the misogynist guy said, guessing that he must be the youngest by his baby face features. "You girls are awesome!" he continued. I looked at Kali and found her also confused.

"Gentlemen, I think we just found our next stage of training," Max said, so I locked eyes with him.

"What?" I asked, wondering what the hell he's doing.

"In here we can only spar against each other, which means that when we reach demons we are not fully trained to take them on with the necessary skills. But seeing that we have two Fallen here to assist with this problem, we can fix that," he went on.

I took in his words and was shocked to the core. "Are you crazy? We'll kill them!" I threw back at him.

"What do you think will happen if we fight against a demon? Do you think they will go easy on us because where human?"

Damn, he's got a point. "No," I replied, but kept the rest to myself.

"If we train with you, and learn how to work around a stronger body, we'll be more capable of getting out alive."

I just kept my mouth shut and stared at him. What a freaking idiot. So now he wants us to help them train, and then what? The first bone that breaks, the rest will be on us in a flash. No way in hell! Shaking my head, I walked off to the wall covered in weapons, to get me and Kali some toys to play with.

"Are you not part of this team then?" he asked from behind me. I kept walking, thinking over the question. Yeah, sure, we are going to go out with these guys and kill some demons, but I can't be responsible for hurting any one of them. Taking a stand, I was looking over the weapons, which were by my standard boring. He walked over to stand beside me.

"I'm waiting." he said, folding his arms across his chest. I looked at him then and squared off in the same stance.

"I'm not doing it. One punch and someone can end up dead," I replied, taking my stand on this subject.

"One punch out there and they are dead, but you have an opportunity to teach them how to deflect such a punch and walk out alive," Max threw back.

He almost sounded like Chax, and for a moment I was taken back to the time I was in training. Chax also had a way of making me see the importance of survival inside Exsilium, to be able to survive outside it. Too bad I ended up in hell, and had one hell of a crash course in survival. I turned around and looked at Kali, who was standing there, looking at us.

"We'll work something out," she said, understanding what I was asking her without a word.

I looked back at Max. "If anyone dies, it's on your head, not mine," I finished and fury poured over me when he smiled at me. Oh, I'm going to kick his ass big time.

"Okay then, let's begin," he said and walked over to where Kali and the rest stood, turning to look at me. I took in a deep breath and walked over to them. Man, I hate my job. When I reached them, Kali and I looked at each other, trying to find a suitable way to get this over with.

"Maybe you should start the way you did with me?" Kali suggested. Thank the Lord I had her with me. I turned around and faced the crowd.

"Okay guys, let's get started. Pair up and make sure you have enough space to move. This is going to be rough."

Intrigued, they all went off to get spar partners and made sure there was enough space. I took the opportunity to get back at Max. Walking to him, I shooed his partner over to Kali and took a stand against him. "The first thing about demons is that they're beyond dumb. You give them something to think about, and they will stand still long enough for a deathblow," I finished, snapping open my wings, almost sending the two guys on my side flying. Luckily, they reacted fast and ducked.

I used my huge wings to create a distraction, giving Kali what she needed. Moving faster than human eyes could see, she had three guys down on their backs and was facing her partner again, as if it never happened. Dumbstruck, they all looked at us.

Closing my wings and keeping my eyes on Max, I continued, "Never make the same mistake. Regardless of what a demons is or shows you, you never fall for it. Always keep a clean mind, remain focused, and stay on top of the game." Then I moved fast, sending the guy on my left flying through the air into a few of his fellows. Shaking my head, I looked at them. "Okay, this is the part where you guys snap into what I am saying, and start focusing," I demanded, not pleased that they were just standing there, unprepared.

Next, Kali moved straight for Max; he dodged her and pushed her away from him, preparing to fight. She stopped and slowly walked back to her partner. Good, someone listened. I moved next but he was prepared and sidestepped me. Without stopping, I continued on and the guy next to him was on his back. "Focus!" I yelled at them. Damn, Kali was way easier to train than these guys.

Turning around, I walked back to Max, but wouldn't you believe it, they finally got a spark of life, attacking me and Kali. Well, they gave it their best shot. Moving fast, we dodged their punches and kicks. Every time one of us swiped away another's leg or hand, we would lash out at them, telling them what they did wrong.

Bend it more, move in more, use this and use that. We continued for what seemed like hours; the humans started getting tired, so we stopped and called it a day. Some were limping out of the court and others were carried out. I warned Max that our punches packed a whole new level of pain, but no, he had to carry on. Speaking of Max, I turned to look at him.

Unlike the others, he was still standing without any major injuries; he only had a black eye popping out from a blow Kali gave him. "So, are you happy?" I asked him, sarcasm all the way.

"Yes, I am," he responded with a smile and started to walk over to a water fountain at the door.

"So, you enjoyed seeing your team get beaten up and hurt?" I asked. Kali came to stand next to me, watching the two of us.

He took a sip of water and then came back up again before turning to look at us. "No, but I'd rather see them hurt like this, before I have to carry their bodies here," he finished, turning around and walking out. Damn, another freaking Chax! Fury slammed through me and I folded my hands into fists, nails piercing my skin.

"Well, he's got a point," Kali said next to me.

"Yeah," I replied and started for the door. Crap, I felt really dirty by now and needed a bath so bad. "Let's go see if we can get cleaned up in time for supper." I said to Kali, and she nodded. So we strolled through the compound and luckily made it back to the two rooms Melissa showed us earlier.

I went into mine and discovered bags full of stuff on the bed. Opening one up, I found clothes while another one contained shoes. Wow, Melissa doesn't take shopping as a joke. Yeah, the woman can move. I took out the clothes and spotted a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. Pink and gray, of course. Wow, looking at them I almost had a déjà vu moment. Yeah, I used to wear colors like these, until I found my black leathers more comfortable. I stood there for a moment, arguing to myself about the clothes. "Come on, Kas. Just put it on," I kept telling myself over and over. But I just couldn't get myself to do it.

"Kas, I know you like your clothes, but it's time to leave hell behind us, or at least when we're off. Put them on and let's get our butts to dinner. I'm starving," Kali said from behind me. At the first words I had turned to look at her. She smiled and walked back to her room.

She's right. I need to let go and get my life back, well, what's left of it. So I grabbed the clothes and went to the bathroom in the middle of the hall. Unlike The Hellhouse, we didn't have our own; we now had one that looked like school lockers and showers. Walking inside, I found Kali getting undressed.

"Melissa brought a bunch of products; I can see she likes her shopping. My kind of girl." Kali said, smiling. Yeah, I never liked shopping, but I did like hanging out at the mall.

"Good, then you won't bug me about it. Now, you go get her if you want to waste your time in a mall," I played with her, sitting down on a bench to get my boots off.

"Oh, no way in this world would I take you into a mall. You'd trash the place," she went on, getting into a shower. Laughing, I got all my clothes off and joined her in the second stall. I grabbed a bottle of shampoo and held it to my nose. Wow, smells like peaches. Out of nowhere the image of Chax kissing me slammed into me. Shaking my head, I tried to get it out, but no I had to go all the freaking way right up to the point where he turned away and left me there on the ground. Why on earth would this stupid brain of mine go back to that? Then it kicked in full force, because Chax smelled like peaches. I made a mental note of it. Now it's freaking stuck in my head! Damn, I really hope that doesn't happen every time I smell peaches.

I continued washing my head. Kali was talking about some of the guys in the training, but all I could think about was that kiss. Was I that bad that he had to run away? A feeling started to grow inside me, new and strange. I had a hard time putting a name to it; I felt sad, yet angry. Was this grief? No, couldn't be. I didn't know him that well. Maybe it was because they're all gone. At that thought Kali ripped me back to reality by hammering me about not listening to her.

We finished off and went to dinner, where everyone was talking, even Kali. But I still had that strange feeling, and my head smelling like peaches didn't help at all. We finished dinner and called it a night, Amon telling us to get some rest. We would hit New Orleans first thing in the morning.

I said goodnight to Kali and went to bed. Laying there, I had to run a few things through my mind. Okay, first thing, I need a "charm" or I go insane and start killing people and in return have to be put down. Second, we can't reach Exsilium and most likely everyone's gone, so there goes my "charm". Last, of course, I just joined up with a team of insane humans, led by an even more insane fae. Yep, like always, my life was pretty much totally messed up. It took my mind a long time to shut down and give my body some rest. Only to come back to the version of a dream, one of my childhood. One filled with some sort of happiness.

# Chapter 20

I woke up, shocked to death by a freaking siren going off. I was up and ready for battle, only to find myself in my room, all alone. It sounded like one of those sirens they used in the war, and man did it do the job.

Kali came marching into my room. "That's so not funny!" she screamed over the noise, and I could see she was also near the point of a heart attack when it caught us off guard. The siren went dead, and finally we could clear our ears from the buzz. I looked at Kali.

"Yeah, makes your scream sound like a tweet," I teased. I could see the plans turning in her eyes. Oh yeah, come tomorrow morning, these guys are in for one hell of a wakeup call. Damn, she's as evil as I am. Smiling, I went back to sit on the bed. "Guess we need to get ready for New Orleans," I said to her, looking up to make sure that this was still okay with her.

Smiling, she said, "Yeah, those guys need to see us in real action," and strolled out to her room. Its official. I created a monster. Shaking off Kali's newfound spirit, I got up and walked to the chair that my black leathers were hanging over. Look, I'll do the normal clothes when I'm off duty, but when it comes to fighting, I know my leathers are my best asset. I got them and walked out to the lockers to find Kali putting on her pair as well.

I went to sit on the bench. "I thought you said we need to put it behind us?" I mocked her with a smile.

"Yeah, but when it comes to things like fighting, I agree with you. But that's all I agree with," she threw back. I started to laugh. Man, I was really enjoying this girl. Wouldn't guess it was the same old diva who gave me crap back at The Hellhouse.

We got dressed, and then brushed our teeth and did our hair. Finishing up, we went back to our rooms to get our swords. Now fully ready for action, we marched down the hallways to the command room we saw yesterday. Inside, everyone was ready and waiting. Max gave me a once over look and smiled. I gave him a finger to say thanks, and he burst out laughing. Oh, he is such a pain in the butt.

"Okay, guys, here's the scoop. According to our informants in New Orleans, we have a club on the outskirts of the city. We can expect about a hundred demons in it. The plan is simple: get in, kill, and get out alive," Amon said, looking at all of us. Okay he so doesn't have a clue when it comes to things like this.

"May I suggest something?" I asked, a better plan already forming in my head.

"Of course," Amon replied and leaned against the table looking at me.

"If we all storm in like a police squad, most of them will just shift out to escape the attack, which will result in us seeing them in a few days. But what if we can take them out without them knowing about it to alarm the others?" I said, looking at them. Amon and Max looked at each other and I could feel the other guys' eyes on me too, but I didn't care. I just kept my eyes on Amon and Max.

"Okay, you have our attention. How will we be able to do that?" Amon asked, clearly intrigued by my idea.

I gave him my wicked smile. "By using a little feminine touch," I replied. He looked at me, puzzled, but the look in Max's eyes told me he already knew what I meant by those words. And he didn't like it, which was too bad. I looked back at Amon and saw the moment it sank in with him, too.

"No, it's too dangerous," he said, looking back at the table and dismissing me. Time to change his mind.

I walked over to Max and the closer I got to him, the more he took small steps back. I smiled at him, but he didn't return it; instead he regarded me carefully. He reached the wall and was trapped. So I moved in slowly. He kept his eyes on mine, and didn't notice that I had my dagger in my hand. I walked up and lined my body with his; I could hear him take in a breath. Only inches away from him, I looked at him and smiled. His focus was only on my eyes; I leaned in as if to kiss him, and brought up my dagger hand.

His eyes grew heavy, and I could see the battle in his eyes. Should he trust me or not? I answered that question for him by placing the blade against his throat. The moment he felt the blade, his eyes turned to anger. Now I was so close to his mouth I could feel his breath on my lips, but kept my eyes on his. "As you can see, a female is more than capable of using her feminine wiles to get what she wants," I whispered softly to him. He frowned and looked at Amon for help.

"Okay, Kas, that's enough. You've made your point," Amon said behind me. Still smiling, I looked at Max. His eyes were back on me and we were looking at each other. I looked down to his lips and my teenage hormones spiked back in place. Licking my lips to get myself under control, I quickly pulled away and turned around to go stand next to Kali. Who was looking at me totally shocked. Yeah, I know. I have no clue where the hell that all just came from, but damn, it worked. I returned my eyes to Amon, ignoring Max, who was still stuck to the wall.

"Alright, tell us your great plan, Kas," Amon said, and I grinned like a schoolgirl. Yep, fae, you made one hell of a mistake taking on two girls for the job.

After laying out the plan, we all walked outside to some sort of helicopter pad. Max kept his distance from me because he was totally pissed at me. But hey, a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do, right? Standing on the pad I looked back up at Amon. "Please don't tell me you're going to fly us to New Orleans in a helicopter. I need to know that at least you are about ten percent still sane," I mocked him.

He smiled and walked to the middle of the pad, stretching out his hands and looking at me. "No, that will be a waste of time and money," he said, smiling. One by one the guys locked arms. Max and another took hold of his arms, and he gestured for me and Kali to take the last two open spots in the circle. Oh My Soul, he's going to shift us all to the location. He is insane, but hey, let's see how this works. I took the guy's arm, and locked in with Kali, who also locked in with another guy.

Smiling, Amon shifted us all at once. The air shift was huge, compared to the air shift when a single shift takes place. We landed in a dark alley, and he looked at me like he wanted to gloat about it. Yeah, yeah okay, so the guy's got talent, big deal. I ignored him and looked around. A street came into view, but no cars moved on it. It was quiet except for a soft beat I could pick up.

"Okay, the club's around the corner. Kas, show us where you need us, and let's get this over with," Amon said, so I took lead.

Following the music I could pick up, we rounded the corner. I held my hand up for them to stop and give me time to assess the place. It was an old factory or something; various colors of light hit the widows over and over again. Yep, a club. I looked around to see that one alley was next to it, but most likely would be used for dark stuff.

I looked at the building across from it, an old abandoned factory. Great, that would be perfect. I turned around and walked to stand close to them. "Okay, we have an abandoned factory across from it. Take your positions there. Kali and I will lead them there, and then we take them out," I finished and looked at Kali, who now had her game face on.

We parted from the guys and walked up to the club, where two huge bouncers were guarding the entrance. When they saw us they went into a defensive stance. Okay, demons, good, very good. I walked up to them like nothing was wrong. "Hey guys, tell me there are a lot of men inside," I said to them, giving them a cute smile, or hoping so. The two looked at each other and then back at us.

"Fallen, leave now," the bigger of the two said. I moved up to him and played with my cross necklace in my hands.

"Oh, come on guys. Ballen said we could get some action here. Was he wrong?" I asked, still playing nice. At the mention of Ballen's name, they looked at each other, and then back at us.

"You are Ballen's Fallen?" he asked.

"Duh, I just said that." I replied, trying to throw a fit but failing very bad at it. Kali came to the rescue.

"Come on, Kas. Ballen will hear about this," she said in an angry voice and turned around. Fear shot into their eyes.

"No, wait! You can enter," the big one said and moved out of the way.

Smiling, we walked up to pass them. When I reached the big guy, I leaned forward and placed my hand on his chest.

"Now big guy, we're going to have a huge party across the street. You're not going to spoil our fun, are you?" I finished, licking my lips. I saw it on a movie once. Here was hoping it worked.

He smiled and was about to touch me, but luckily Kali moved in. "I'm hungry. Let's get a move on," she demanded and pushed me inside. Laughing like two drunken girls, we entered the building to find a hell of a lot of demons and humans inside; a hundred was an understatement. More like two hundred would do, but I just needed the demons. Humans meant nothing to me. I looked at Kali and we started our plan. We walked around looking for the meanest of the bunch; the others would follow shortly.

We found a group of demons dressed like bikers, holding two human females and drinking. I gestured to Kali, and we moved in. I walked over to the first guy I got to, and planted myself on his lap. "Well, here's a delightful change. Don't you think, Kali?" I said looking at him. The moment I landed, he grabbed me around the hips, locking me down.

"Oh yeah, but the question is, can they actually do something?" Kali went on, sitting on the table looking at another guy. Confused, they looked at each other and the one whose lap was my newfound seat looked back at me.

"Fallen, you play with fire," he warned me.

"Oh yeah, now you're talking. Ballen was so right; the guys here are intriguing," I said, looking him in his eyes. Again, Ballen's name spread fear into them. Okay, so Ballen's a pretty big guy in this demon world, too bad.

"You're Ballen's Fallen?" he asked me. Smiling, I nodded my head and rubbed my hand over his chest.

"He said we could find suitable guys here to quench our thirst," I went on, smiling the entire time. Gross, I was getting sick from all of this. He smiled and looked at me.

"What do you need?" he asked. I continued the playful rubbing.

"About five guys at a time." I said, looking shy. His eyebrows shot up and he looked startled. "Ballen has a wicked way of keeping us in shape," I went on and rubbed my cross again, trying to tell him that I had a lust charm on that made me do it. Hopefully he'd fall for it.

I saw the moment he got the message, and he smiled, looking over at his friends. "Leave the humans. We have a duty to perform," he said, standing up and taking me with him. I expected him to put me down, but no, he held me tight against him. "Where do you need our service?" he asked, looking at me. I looked back at Kali, and she quickly stepped in.

"We saw an abandoned factory across the street. It might make a good place to have some real fun," she replied and dug her nails into the male holding her. Pain shot into his face, followed by one hell of a wicked smile. If Amon and the guys were not there, I'd kick them back to Russia.

"Come on," I instructed, pushing myself away from him and grabbing Kali's hand. We moved to the exit. I looked back to make sure they were following us. Yep, sure as hell, all five demon males were walking behind us, all smiles.

We reached the bouncers, and I stopped to address them. "These will be our first, but we're coming back for way more," I told them, giggling like a schoolgirl and walking off with Kali. I kept looking back to make sure they all still followed us, and was delighted to see they had. One guy was even taking off his jacket. Kali and I pushed open the door and walked in, the guys following us. When the last one was inside and closed the door behind him, Max stepped out of the darkness, taking his head. The head fell to the floor, the body following a second later. The other males looked on as the head rolled to stop at my boot. Looking up, they caught the sight of Kali and me, fully transformed. "Let's play," I said, and we all attacked at once.

I took the head of the one who was still grossing me out, and Kali took the one that she scratched. In seconds all of them were dead. Amon walked over to each demon and opened a small bottle, dropping liquid followed by the Latin prayer to make them go poof. He then turned around and looked at us. "Good job," he acknowledged, and looked around to make sure everyone was still standing.

"We have a problem," I said to him, and at that his eyes grew dark.

"What's the problem?" he asked, ready for action.

"Your hundred is more like two hundred. With this plan, Kali and I will be at it for a day. We need to think out another one." I replied, looking at Max to see the delight he took in it. Yeah, so my plan would have worked if it was just fifty or so.

"Max?" Amon asked, looking at him.

Max kept his eyes on me and smiled. "Just like always, we go in and kill." he finished, still smiling at me. I rolled my eyes. Oh for heaven sake, why do I always get the ass in the pack?

"Then let's go. Lock in and I will shift us inside," Amon commanded, and the guys started to move to him.

"Wait," I said. They stopped and looked at me. "Kali and I can help with the shifting; that way we can get them from more than one angle," I explained, looking at Max to see his smile gone and replaced with a frown. I looked back to Amon.

"Yes, that will work. I'll take the bar. Kas, you take the floor, and Kali, you take the exit. Make sure that we get as many as possible," he said, and the guys started grabbing us. For some insane reason Max decided to grab my arm; I looked at him and saw that he was looking at me real funny. Shrugging it off, I looked at Amon. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three," he finished and we all shifted to our locations. The moment we landed, all hell broke loose. Still in Fallen form, I went into action, using every bit of skill I gained in my life so far.

Moving and slicing my way through the crowd, I almost ended up slicing off a human's head, a demon using her as a shield. "Coward!" I yelled and grabbed the girl from him. She went flying and I took his head, his blood spraying all over me. Ready for the next one, I moved forward, when all of a sudden Max was in front of me. "What are you doing?" I yelled at him.

"Hel-..." He stopped dead and looked down; I followed and saw that a blade's point was sticking out of his stomach. Fear grabbed me and I moved, pulling him forward and out of the blade, taking the human girl's head behind him. Shocked that I just killed a human, I stood there until Max's voice came to me. "You had no choice," he struggled to say.

Two demons came at us, so I went in overkill mode, taking their heads in two swift moves. Crouching down next to Max, I peeled away his hand; his body was covered in his own blood. Oh hell, this is not good. "Leave... me. Get t...hem," he struggled to say, blood now flowing out of his mouth. I have seen many deaths, most caused by me, but I wasn't ready to see this one. I grabbed him and shifted to the compound.

"Melissa!" I yelled as loud as I could to get some help for him. He was semi-awake, there but almost not. "Hold on," I told him. Melissa came running into the room and stopped dead.

"Oh no, not Max," she wailed, her hand covering her mouth and tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Help him!" I yelled at her to keep her cool and save his life.

She snapped out of it and walked over to look at the wound. Her head fell and I could see the answer: he wasn't going to make it. She burst into tears, turned around, and looked at me. "Please, Kas, help him," she begged. Startled, I looked at her.

"I can't. I don't know how," I replied to her, my eyes on him. My heart was breaking for her, and him.

"Can't you give him your blood or something, like in the movies?" she asked. Shocked, I moved away from her.

"No, my blood is poisoned. A demon drank from me, and something bad happened," I told her, backing away slowly.

She looked at me, her tears running over her cheeks. "Kas, he's not a demon. He's a good man. I can't lose him; I've known him from birth. Please, I beg you," she went on. Images of Draco on his knees gasping for air ran through me. Then one interesting thing came to me, the one where Lada and I talked about our blood, our tainted blood. But is my blood tainted in a good way or in a bad way? Is that why Draco was affected, because he was evil, and would it do the opposite to Max? There was only one way to find out.

I moved to him, pushing her out of the way and grabbing the dagger I kept on my thigh. "Max, I can try and help, but you'll be half Fallen or maybe full Fallen. But the worst is that you'll carry our curse and would need to serve to reach heaven. Do you understand?" I asked him, holding his face in my hand.

"Yes," he replied, very weak.

"You need to drink my blood," I finished. His eyes were so glassy from the blood loss; he wouldn't last much longer.

"Fine," he whispered. I almost couldn't make out what he said. Laying back his head, I cut my wrist and held it to his mouth.

God, please let this work. We were not enough to stop them, and we needed him. I said a prayer, hoping this worked. My blood ran down his mouth and he swallowed heavily. A minute later my wound closed by itself, and I took a step back to watch. Nothing happened, and I saw him stop breathing. Feeling defeated, I turned around and looked at Melissa, who still had hope. She was looking at him intensely.

I was about to take her outside when I heard a deep breath inhale from behind me. Shocked, I turned around. Max was looking at me with no glassy eyes, and then he grabbed his stomach, starting to scream and go crazy. Oh my God, I poisoned him. Damn stupid girl! I told myself, and tried to subdue him. It went on for a long while, and then he stopped screaming and went still. Amon shifted in behind me. "Max?" he said, and came to stand at his other side. He looked dead; it didn't work. I've only killed him faster. I turned around and walked out of the room. Kali was standing there looking at me, and without a word I kept on walking to our rooms.

I need to learn to keep myself under control. Stupid ideas like these will cost me dearly one day. Looking up, I noticed the hall was filling up with the other guys. One look at me and they knew Max didn't make it. Feeling my throat closing up, I knew I wasn't far away from tears, so I doubled up on my walk, trying to escape my latest failure. Why on earth would I have thought that it would work? Amon's right; I'm going insane. Just look at what I did tonight. First flirting with freaking demons to get them out just to kill them, and then thinking my blood was only deadly to demons? Stupid, stupid girl!

I walked all the way to my room, went to the closet and grabbed some clothes. My leathers weren't covered in blood anymore, but I felt it on me; I could still smell it. I walked to the lockers and undressed, and then opened up the shower with only cold water. I got in and the second the first cold spray hit me, I took in a deep breath, biting down on the cold. "I need this," I told myself, and branched my hands on the wall, letting the water run down my back.

I was standing there for a while, just letting the water run over me and trying to forget everything. Yeah, Kali was right; I'm one hell of a piece of work. Where ever I go, disaster follows. It would be better if I did go insane and they had to destroy me. At least I wouldn't have to take any more of this.

"Kas, you need to come see this," Kali said from behind me. I turned to look at her and saw her face in total shock. Ah hell, what now?

"Kali, I'm not in the mood," I replied and turned my back to her again.

"Didn't think you'd be the boring type who wouldn't take interest in something new," a voice said from the locker's entrance. Now, in my short life, I've been through much. It takes quite a bit to shock me. When I heard that voice, however, my entire body went into lockdown and I froze. It couldn't be.

"Max?" I said shakily, still bracing against the wall for support.

# Chapter 21

After getting my nerves back and slowing down my heartbeat, I turned around to face the entrance. Luckily, the showers had stall doors on them or I would have kicked myself later. There I saw him leaning against the doorframe, smiling at me.

"Yes?" he replied, still grinning.

He looked normal, like nothing had happened. But then again, I also looked pretty normal until Maia gave me a spark and then my life pretty much went haywire from there.

"Are you okay?" I asked shakily, still trying to get a grip from the shock.

"Except for my favorite shirt being ruined... yes, I feel fine, thank you," he went on. That's so not cool, moaning about a freaking shirt when he almost died. Anger took over the fear part in me.

"If you ever do that again, I'll kill you myself!" I yelled at him, pissed off. But I think it was more a reaction to fear rather than anger.

He laughed at my outburst. "Yes, of course, Kasadya," he replied and turned around to walk off, leaving me there still staring.

"Kas, what the hell did you do?" Kali asked me, her face still in shock. Oh damn, if I think I was in trouble before, I just did a supernova on trouble.

"I had no choice; I couldn't let him die," I pleaded with her.

"Answer me!" she yelled at me, her shocked expression was changing to anger like a light switch; I cringed and looked down to the stall floor.

"He was dying, so I made a choice. I remember Lada and me talking about our blood, and how it was tainted, so I took a gamble."

"What gamble?"

"I made him swallow my blood, like they do in the movies."

Silence followed so I looked up to see if she was still there. Yep, standing there covering her mouth with her hand. She looked at me totally shocked. "Kali?" I asked, scared she'd start running or something.

Her hand dropped away and she stood there looking at me. "I understand, given the circumstances, you had a valid reason. But I fear you just gave Amon the ammo he needed to create his ultimate army," she finished and walked out, leaving me with that thought.

Oh damn, I am so in trouble. If any Fallen are still out there, I just became their number one target. Thinking on a plan of action, I quickly got out and dried off to get dressed. I walked outside to see if I could find Kali or someone, but no one was there. I started running at super speed looking for them, especially Amon. I found Kali and the other guys in the command room, but no Max, Melissa, or Amon. Oh damn. Kali gave me a scary look and I cringed. Damn, I need to move fast and try to defuse this. I turned into the hallway and started running again.

I found them in Amon's office. The moment I entered, they stopped the conversation. Taking slow steps towards them, I looked at Max. He looked okay; his hair was wet from a shower, but he looked really okay. Then I turned my eyes on Amon and saw the excitement on his face. "No!" I said to him, making sure he got the message.

"Kas, you're a genius," he replied.

"I said no, Amon," I pushed out the words to emphasize my resolve. He looked at Melissa, so my eyes followed. Her face was shining and I knew they already decided to do it.

"Amon, we don't know what my blood really did to him; we need to take this slowly and see what's up," I pleaded, returning my eyes to him.

"I don't care; I want to stay with him," Melissa said, so I looked back to her.

"Melissa..."

"No, it's my life. I will decide. And I say he will give me his blood so that we can see what happens. When you find your love, Kas, you'll understand why I made this choice," she said and took Amon's hand into hers. "We do it now," she finished and pulled him out of the room.

"Wait!" But they just ignored me and walked off. I was about to follow them when Max grabbed my arm.

"Kasadya, you won't change their minds," he said, turning me around to face him, his hand holding me in place. "I've been trying since I walked in here," he finished.

"This is dangerous; the Fallen will have my head for this," I replied. His eyes went soft for the first time since I met him.

"Yes, I agree. Thank you for taking that chance with me," he responded, releasing my arm. Damn, he just blew out my flame.

"You were different. What they are doing is wrong."

"I know, but see their point in this. Every day she grows older and Amon doesn't; now they may have a way to delay it, or maybe even cancel out the whole thing."

"At what cost?" I asked him, unable to take my eyes from him. For the first time I saw a man, not a soldier.

He smiled. "We'll take it one step at a time," he answered, still looking at me.

Because some steps are worth taking. Damn, I hate my life. "Okay, we will see where this goes," I replied, and turned around to walk out.

"Kasadya, I won't forget what you did for me today," he promised from behind me. I just nodded and walked out of the command room to find Kali and tell her she was right. I was in huge freaking trouble.

I was about to hit the corner when a woman's scream echoed down the hallway. Not just any woman; it was Melissa. Following the sound, I ran super-fast to see what was up. I reached a door and just put my hand on it to open when she screamed again. I flung it open and walked in. She was on the bed, having the same reaction to the blood that Max had with mine. Amon was trying to help her.

"Yeah, not pretty, is it?" I threw at him. He looked up and then I saw his tears, damn. I went to stand on the other side to help hold her down.

"How long did it last?" Amon asked me, tears running down his face. He must really love her.

"A few minutes, and then Max went into dead mode," I replied, looking at Melissa. Her eyes were huge from the pain, but it was too late now.

We held her down and her screaming started to quiet down. Just like Max, she went into dead mode; no breathing, nothing. This time I stayed put, needing to see this. Minutes went by and I was starting to go into panic. Amon was restless as well; he kept feeling her face and stuff. Losing hope, I decided to get up and kill Amon. The moment I was on my feet, she flew up into a sitting position, taking in a deep breath and scaring the daylights out of me. I jumped away from the bed in shock, and bumped into a hard chest. Without caring whose it was, I stayed put, watching her.

Oh man, that is just freaky. She looked around and the moment she saw Amon, she grabbed him. "Never do that to me again," she blurted out, hugging him. He was kissing her head and anything he could get his mouth on.

"Never," he agreed, a tear falling down his cheek. Okay, I can do the slicing, fighting, and even headless stuff, but this was too much for me. I walked out of the room to go stand in the hallway, bracing my hands on the wall and taking in deep breaths.

"I can see now why you thought I didn't make it," Max said from my left. I looked up to find him standing there, looking at me. Oh, he was the chest. Damn.

"Yes, you have to admit that was beyond scary, not to mention freaky," I replied, straightening up to look at him.

He smiled. "I'm glad I was the first one to scare you," he teased and walked back into the room. Shaking my head at his joking in a time like this, I went to knock on the door.

"Guys, are you okay?" I asked, concerned for Melissa.

"Yes, you can come in," Melissa said, so I walked in to find her standing and looking at herself. "I don't feel different," she told us, looking back up at Amon and then Max.

"Yes, I don't feel a difference either," Max pitched in, and then all of them looked at me.

I held up my hands in surrender. "Don't ask me. I never tried it before," I threw back to get them. They looked at each other.

"So, what are we then?" Melissa asked, looking at everyone.

"It's difficult to tell. In all my years, I've never heard of something like this ever being done. We need to test the limits of this," Amon said, looking at Max, who nodded.

"I agree. We can do it with me. That way Melissa will not be harmed in the process," he replied and walked out of the room, sparing me a smile. I looked at him, confused, and then returned my eyes to Amon again.

"What the hell is he smiling about?" I asked him. Amon smiled.

"He's going to play test dummy and test his newfound body," he answered, and then I heard my name being called in the hallway.

"Kasadya, I can use some help!" Max yelled. Fury pounded through me.

"I'm going to kick your butts for this," I said to Amon and walked out of the room, only to find Max walking a few meters in front of me. I kept my eyes on him, observing him from behind. We walked past the command room, and I gestured for Kali to fall in. She quickly caught up and walked next to me.

"What now?" she asked.

"Amon did the same with Melissa, and now Mad Max wants to test his newfound life," I replied, pointing to Max.

"Kas, you really need to think before you do things like this. You are creating world scale disasters," Kali threw back at me, but man was she right.

"Agreed. No more brain waves from me," I said, and looked at her to find her smiling at me. Yeah, I'm an idiot; I know.

Max led us all the way to the court and walked to stand in the middle, looking at us. I stopped and folded my arms across my chest, looking at him. We stood there for a while until Max rolled his eyes. "Kasadya, I need some help," he pleaded. Oh, I'll help him, back into near death. I just stood there, ignoring him.

"Kas, just get it over with," Kali said next to me. I shook my head and walked up to him. He greeted me with a smile.

I stopped in front of him and looked at him, trying to figure out how to test him. "So, any ideas?" he asked me.

"When I came to Exsilium, my Custos took me to a spirit fae to get a spark. Before that I was normal, but afterwards all hell broke loose," I told him, trying to find a solution.

"Then you're lucky to have a spirit fae around for this," Amon said from behind me. I turned to look at him, incredulous. Of course. He released Melissa and walked over to Max, holding out his hands. Max looked at them and then locked his hands onto his arms. Amon closed his eyes and concentrated. I looked back at Max to see what was happening. I saw the moment he felt the magic. He frowned, looking at me.

"Brace yourself, cowboy. This is going to be rough," I warned him playfully, grinning. Payback can be so nice. His eyes grew wide and Amon released him, stepping back. Just like with a Fallen, Max started to transform, but it took longer than with a Fallen. It also looked painful, more painful than it had been for me to shift. But a few minutes later, and I'm sure a few screams held back from him, a half hellhound and half Max was standing there looking at us. Unlike me, he still had his human flesh and eyes. The only things giving away that he was not completely human were the big black bat-like wings on his back, two horns on his forehead, and of course he was way taller than usual. Yep, I'm freaking Frankenstein!

He looked at himself, and the moment his wings opened up he tried to turn to look at them, which was impossible. I could look at mine, but it was because they were way bigger than his. He looked back to us. "So, what am I?" he asked. I looked at Amon, waiting for a reply but he just stood there, his jaw open. Great, the freaking fae was stunned. I looked back to Max.

"I believe you're a half-breed hellhound," I answered. He made the frown again. "Look, I was born from a Fallen pair, so I'm a purebred Fallen. You came from two humans. So by taking my blood, only a few Fallen elements were brought into you, thus ending up in what can only be called a half-breed," I finished, shaking my head at watching too many stupid movies to come up with that explanation.

"Holy hell." Kali said from next to me, so I turned to look at her. "Kas, if the Fallen see this, I believe you're dead," she went on. I took it in gracefully.

"I'm dead anyway," I replied, and she looked away from Max to me, sorry written all over her face. What the hell. Might as well enjoy the ride until it's over. So I shook off the dead ring and looked back at Max. "Let's see what you can do," I said, transforming to Fallen and walking to take a sparring stance against him.

He looked at me, waiting for me to say something. "Okay, your wings are your greatest weakness, but with the right training, can also be your best asset," I said, snapping out my wings for him to see how I used them. I have mastered the art of moving one without the other, which really helps if you need to knock a demon or two away from you.

So, Max and I started training all over again. I became a Custos and taught him everything I knew. It took a few weeks, but slowly he started to transform into a Fallen. Just like with me, his wings grew bigger and stronger with each training session. Kali took over the training with the human guys, to make sure they are not killed. We were able to convince Amon not to create more half-breeds. He agreed to only use it as the last option. Up until now, we only had four half-breeds, two hellhounds and two fae. Kali refused to give blood, and I didn't push her any further. So, it was between me and Amon to train the half breeds. We discovered later that the fae also just needed a spark, and there you go, magic half breeds.

Unlike the other fae, the only indication of change in the half breed fae was a change in hair color. We all trained hard and made sure they all lived up to their Fallen bodies. I must admit I had some sympathy for Chax after the third day of being a Custos. Man, I wanted to kill Max a few times. But alas, we were still going. Even Melissa joined in on the fun, but we all agreed she wouldn't go out hunting; she accepted and just trained herself at the compound.

Kali and I got to know the humans and half breeds a lot better. Kali was even dating Ryan. Absurd I know, but I wasn't complaining. After all we went through, she deserved some fun. The first time the demons saw Max, they all stood there shocked, so we quickly did some real damage before their brains could kick back into action. From there we stormed club after club, after club.

But we never saw another Fallen again. We did however find a few clubs that were already shut down. No demons in sight. What was strange was that our informant reports that the club was in working order the day before; I could only hope that it was them. I still punish myself by trying to shift into Exsilium, but still nothing.

"Okay, tonight we hit Los Angeles. So, let's get this started," Amon instructed, sliding in his swords. Shifting also got a whole lot easier. Just like Chax showed me, I trained them all. Found a nice cave in Brazil that also helped. I must confess that it took a long time, but we got them shifting and boy did I have fun with Max in the cave. Chax would have been so proud.

The humans locked in with us, ready to shift. Max looked at me and smiled. I returned the smile. During all this training and stuff we became good friends. Kali sensed before me that when I fought alongside Max, he kept me on the calm side. He kept me from going insane. The moment my yellow eyes go red, he would step in and take me down or something. So far I still had yellow eyes and was sane. Let's hope it lasts.

So, we shifted to a new club we learned about in Los Angeles, landing in the alley next to it. "Okay, Kas, Kali, go check out the club and report back," Amon told us. So Kali and I got our girl power out and walked over to the club. We don't flirt anymore. Now we just use our feminine side to get in, check out the place, and report back. Then we all shift in, using Kali and me as the locators, landing in the spots we had picked out.

We got in like always and checked out the vibe. Yep, about fifty demons and a lot of humans. I looked around and stopped dead in my shoes. There, sitting on a couch, was Mr. Ballen and his crew. I looked around and found Kali staring at them. The look on her face said he was so dead. Luckily she looked for me and when we made eye contact, told each other without words to report back, so we shifted out to the others and laid out the plan.

# Chapter 22

"The demon with blonde hair, sitting on a couch, is mine," Kali growled out. Ryan looked at me in question. I just shook my head to tell him to butt out; this was personal.

"Agreed, now lock in, and let's get this over with," Amon said, so they all locked in with me or Kali, who had a wicked grin on her face. She had been waiting for this for a long time; I just hoped the ass didn't shift out before she got to kill him.

We shifted in and as we all trained, started the attack immediately. With Kali going for the kill, Max and I suited up as partners. Between him and me, we were making a killing. Yeah, I've got a sick mind. I enjoyed this part of my life; not the killing, but the team work. I may have lost my family and friends, but I got one hell of a weird bunch of new friends in return. The humans were also very good. Kali's training has given them such an edge that we don't have accidents anymore. And a few have been complaining because they wanted to become half-breeds, but too bad.

Max sliced a demon's head off to my left, and I took out the one coming in from behind him. Yeah, we were on a roll. Every time I had a second to spare, I tried to find Kali to see how her mission was going, but it was chaos as usual. Well, she had a lot of training. No worries.

We went at it, and unlike the other times, demons were shifting in rather than shifting out. No complaining; more fun for us. After a long while of fighting and killing, I felt a strange move in the air. It felt like a shift, but it was like the whole club's air was being sucked out. I glanced at Max and saw the same concern in his eyes. I looked around to see what was up while Max continued slicing any demons coming near me.

This was a huge freaking shift; I could feel the hair on my body standing up. Oh hell, what now? Preparing myself, I yelled at my team, "Regroup now!" They all started to move back to us, creating a huge group of fighters.

"Do you feel that?" Amon asked me, taking a head.

"Yep, do you know what it is?" I asked in return.

"No, this is the first time in my life I've felt this. Whatever it is, its big," he replied. So I prepared myself for one hell of a big demon shifting in. We found two along the way, standing over three stories tall, and as a group we took them down. But their shift didn't feel like this.

I looked around the group and saw that Kali was AWOL. My heart went into overdrive, so I scanned the club to find her, only for my view to be blocked by a huge group shifting in. Everything slowed down, and I was frozen on the spot. In front of me, Fallen were fully transformed and going after demons. Chax came into view, then Caim, a flying Nanini throwing light bombs in the air, Lada with her wings, Lotan behind her, Don and Dagon. They were here right in front of me, after all this time.

"Kasadya!" Max yelled at me, snapping me out of my starstruck moment to take on the demon heading right for me. With one slice his head fell away, and behind him a sword was heading for me, Chax guiding it. I saw the moment he recognized me, shock all over his face. Then he was punched away and went flying through the air, and Max came to stand in front of me, protecting me. "Move into the circle," he said to me, but I just stood there, confused and happy at the same time. Seeing that I was not reacting, he pushed me back into the group with his body shielding me from the fight. "Why did you freeze?" he asked, still fighting.

"It's them, the Fallen," I replied, slowly trying to fit in the whole thing, and to get my brains back to function mode.

"Fallen or not, they try to attack you again, they're dead," he went on, guiding my body to stay in the middle.

"I agree," Ryan said on my left. "Did anyone see Kali?" he asked. That name had me back in action again. Crap, Kali. Looking around, I tried to find her, but nothing.

"I can't find her," I said. Max turned his head slightly to look at me.

"Don't worry; she's good," he replied, trying to calm me down.

I tried looking for her, my eyes falling on one Fallen after the other. There were about thirty I guessed, taking down the demons. After a long while the noise started to calm down, and when the last four demons fell, silence followed. I looked at the door, still trying to find Kali. I turned back to find my group surrounded by Fallen. Oh crap.

"Kasadya Levourne, what in heaven's name have you done?!" Chax yelled at me. I cringed, taking in his anger. Yep, big freaking trouble.

"You yell at her like that again, Fallen, and you're dead!" Max threw back at him, stepping in front of me to shield me. Chax looked at him, his face in a frown; I peered around and looked at Max to see his face also in a frown. Wow, they look alike.

"Chax, my old friend, it's been a long time," Amon said, walking out of the group to stand in front of Chax.

"Amon?" Chax asked in confusion.

"Ah, at least you still know my name, and I see you found Caim. Salve, Caim," Amon said, nodding to Caim, who stood next to Chax.

"Salve, Amon. It's nice to see you're still alive," Caim replied, and then looked back at me. Seeing him, I felt a little better. He looked good, real good. The last time I saw him, he looked tired and old; now he looked young and full of life. "Hellhound," he greeted, making a graceful bow.

I smiled at that, still a gentleman. "What have you done, Amon?" Chax went on, looking at the half- breeds and then at me. I felt my heart turn to ice at that. Kali had warned me.

"Evolution," Amon replied back, and at that Chax's head snapped to him, anger all over his face. Wow, glad to see he lost that cool thing he had going. Now at least you knew what was up with him.

"How?" Chax went on, turning his sword in his hand, still ready for the kill. Silence followed for a while.

"With our blood," Amon answered, and all the other Fallen took in a deep, shocked breath and looked at us. Chax stood there looking at him, and his face said it all. I then saw a young female harpy behind him, and my last problem flashed back into action.

"Kali!" I yelled, and stormed out of the group. All the Fallen went on alert, taking a stand. That made me and my team counter it. Now we faced off against each other, weapons ready. "Where's Kali?" I asked, looking at Chax. He looked around and then back at me.

"She was taken more than two years ago," he answered.

"Yeah, I know that. I ended up in hell with her. But as you can see, we made it out. She's here. She went after Ballen," I replied, angry with him. I kept my eyes on the rest of the Fallen, ready for the first move.

"We saw only our harpy," Caim replied. I looked at him.

"What?" I asked confused. OMG, Kali! I moved forward and the first Fallen went for me, the stupid young harpy. I sent her flying with a wing, and marched around the club towards the couch Ballen had been sitting on. I found nothing. Angered and scared, I looked around, ignoring all of them. "He took her," I said, my eyes landing on Max of all people. "He took Kali," I sneered, and I could feel my throat close up with fear. Max saw that I was about to break and moved to stand in front of me, cutting off the rest.

"We'll find her. I promise," he replied as fear pounded through me.

"I should have gone with her," I whispered, and the image of Kali being released from her trance hit me.

"She's not a little girl anymore. She will be okay until we find her," he said, trying to comfort me, but all I could see was Kali on the floor, totally broken.

"That will have to wait, I'm afraid," Chax said. I wasn't ready to look at him, but Max moved his head to look at him.

"Really, why would that be the case?" Max asked him.

"Because all of you will report to the council, to discuss the situation of your nature, and find a solution for it," Chax went on. I saw Max go tense, and knew the real fight was about to start.

"Chax, I have to go find her," I pleaded. He looked at me, but anger was all that I got back.

"You broke the law, Kasadya," he replied, no mercy written all over his face.

"I know, but I have to help her. I'm sorry," I said, taking a fighting stance in front of him, my team following and taking a stand next to me.

Chax frowned.

"Kasadya, if you do this, it will end badly. Stand down and take responsibility for your actions," he went on.

"I take responsibility for them every day, Chax. But I will not let her be sucked back into their world. You stand in my way, and I will take the necessary action to get you out of my way," I said, gathering strength from my Hellhound place inside me. I knew it was dangerous, but I also knew that a fight with Chax was definitively going to be bad.

"Chax, brother, don't do this," Caim said next to him. I didn't look at him. Taking my eyes off of Chax could have cost me my life.

"Caim, you know as a council member, I can't let this go," Chax replied, keeping his eyes on me too.

"Brother, please, I owe her my life," Caim continued, and I could see his words reaching Chax. Come on, Chax, back down. Time's wasting.

A guy's laughter broke out somewhere to our left. Chax looked away from me to see who was making such a daring move. I kept my eyes on him; I remember my days as his Apprendo. I saw his eyes go wide and his face go into shock. Surprised, I turned to look at what had gotten his rockets up and found my mute guy standing there, smiling at us with huge golden wings sticking out from his back. Where his hair had been blonde, it was now black.

"What the ... now you can suddenly speak?" I said, confused at what I was seeing. Last time I checked this guy was a demon and worked for Draco. Now he had golden wings sticking out from his back, and they looked like Kali's bird-like wings?

"Ah, Kas, nice to see you again. Glad to see you found your friends," the mute guy said, smiling at me.

"Who the hell are you?" I went on, looking over at Chax to see if he knew what was up with the wings. I found him looking at me with shock.

"Kasadya, show some respect," he said to me, and at that I frowned.

"Why?" I asked him and saw his face go into even more shock, his eyes going wide.

"Because, Kasadya, I'm Raphael, the archangel," the mute guy said, and I whipped my head around to look at him.

"Okay, what would an archangel be doing in hell, playing errand boy for a demon?" I asked, confused with his role in hell.

"Ah yes, of course. When word came of a hellhound taken, we thought it best to observe the strength of a hellhound in such a predicament. I must say you really made us proud," Raphael replied, smiling at me.

Now, I know there was a time for fun and all that, but that was just sick. Standing by and watching me and Kali go through that without even trying to help us? So, the first logical thing that came to me as I was walking up to him slowly was giving him one hell of a fist in the face and sending him flying backwards.

"Kasayda!" Chax yelled behind me. I heard him take a step to me but apparently Max felt that I was in my right mind and stopped him, the two of them going at each other. I walked up to where Raphael laid on the floor and looked down to him. "You watched, but did nothing to help? Some archangel you are. You're nothing but a coward." I sneered out at him.

He started laughing again. "Ah. Hellhound, again you do us proud. The first of the Fallen to successfully hit on an archangel. Remarkable," he finished. At that, I turned around to see Caim and Dagon holding Chax, Amon and Ryan holding Max. Ignoring them, I walked over to Amon.

"Let's get the hell out of here; I've had enough of weakling Fallen and angels," I spat out, pissed beyond the point of trying to go on with this conversation.

"Don't you want to save Kali?" Raphael asked from behind me.

"You didn't help much in hell, archangel. I don't think you mean to help now," I threw back at him, and turned to face him.

"True, in hell I have my limitations, but on earth and Exsilium I have none. I could not help you in hell, Kasadya, because I did not have the power. But seeing that Kali is in London at this moment, I can help you," he replied, wiping a small blood trail from his lip.

"Really, and what would you be able to do for us?" I sneered out. It wouldn't have taken power to get a weapon and free us. Two humans showed me that. As an archangel, he had no excuse.

"Well, I can tell you they have her nailed to the London bridge, and have set a trap for you and your half-breed friends. But what they don't know is that you'll have more Fallen and an Archangel on your team," he said, smiling at me.

"You missed the part where Chax didn't give a damn about anything but his council seat," I said to him. I could feel Chax's eyes boring into my back, but didn't care.

He looked at Chax. "Old friend, there is a time for formalities, and then there is a time for new ones. Your young harpy showed you that with time, new things can bring better results. Don't look at this as an abnormality or broken law, look at this as a beginning of something new," he finished. I turned to look at Chax.

He looked at Raphael for a while, and then looked at Caim and Dagon to release him, straightening up he looked at me. "If this is your wish, Raphael, I will comply. But hear my words. If they betray us, they will die," he stated, his eyes boring into mine. Oh please, like you have a chance.

"Wonderful, now let's get this party on the move," Raphael said and walked over to Ballen's couch and planted himself there, looking at all of us.

Well then, this will be an interesting chapter in my life. A crazy archangel, a gang of pure Fallen who hate me, and then me and my half-breed human gang. Yep, this is going to be fun.

# Kasadya Saga:

Kasadya: Hellhound Twisted (Book #2 of the Kasadya Series)

She fought against all odds and became the warrior she was meant to be ... or so she thought. In a world where the rules have changed, can she embrace her destiny and become the hellhound she was meant to be?

Kasadya is back in Exsilium and finds her world a little different. Her half-breed fallen friends join her, and they are ordered to complete their apprentice training in order to obtain the right to be guardians. She must learn that her own fate cannot be denied and that others are set to follow. But most of all, she must learn that to trust is the greatest battle of all.

The tables are turned and Kasadya is put to the test. Will she be able to prevent her own death, or that of a friend? Or will her actions call forth the destruction of Earth and Exsilium?

Book Junkies Choice Awards – YA Fantasy Winner 2013

Kasadya: Hellhound Born (Book #3 of the Kasadya Series)

In a world filled with evil, the Fallen prepare for the ultimate battle against the demon world!

Kasadya is ordered to unleash her crazed born transformation to complete her divinity. But there is a chance that her born will be uncontrollable, and she will be destroyed. There is just one person that can save her; her charm, her destined mate. Left without a choice, she must surrender, and place her life in his hands.

In a race against time, the Fallen must stand together and fight the evil threatening to invade earth. If her divinity was in reach, victory would be theirs. That is until she starts having visions of the final battle, and her true destiny is revealed. She just found her love and place in the Fallen world; will she be able, and willing, to sacrifice it all?

Book Junkies Choice Awards – YA Paranormal Winner 2013

Kasadya: Hellhound Defined (Book #4 of the Kasadya Series)

For centuries his only reason for existence was to destroy evil. But when he finally found his mate, that all changed for the deadly Chax De Luca. When the hellhound Kasadya captured his heart, he surrender it to her, thinking he'd finally found what he'd been looking for. Little did he know that his mate would sacrifice herself to save them all.

His fury is legend. His wrath, merciless. His love for his mate, undeniable. He's going to hell to retrieve his heart, and if that means that he must destroy hell itself, then so be it.

Kasadya awakes to a world in peril, her mate forever changed, and a war filled with evil creatures intending to enter Earth's realm and destroy all that she holds dear. Can she complete her divinity in time to save her loved ones and mankind? Will she have to choose? Or will all be lost in the final battle?

The final battle is here, and with it, secrets are revealed and worlds are changed forever.

# About The Author

I am a complete book addict, and really proud of it. My entire world is made of books. From reading to writing to blogging to helping other authors. A day without my world of books would be impossible. I am a mother of three, two boys and a little princess. Happily married for 8 years with my high school sweetheart. I live in South Africa, just on the rims of the Kalahari Desert in a small town with one shop and friendly faces.

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