The Angel of the Owl House - Chapter 44 - OwlHouseAngel (2024)

Chapter Text

Luz, King, and the Hexsquad found themselves sat together in the Noceda family’s living room, being watched over by Camila, Vee, and Vee’s three friends; Masha, Gray, and Rebecca. They were huddled together, with Luz holding King on her lap and Amity to her side, while Vee cuddled into her other side and her Mami held Luz on her lap and cradled both Vee and Amity in her wings. Gus and Lyra were hugging one another nearby, with Matt on the other side of Gus and Hunter on the other side of Lyra, whilst Skara was still gently sobbing between Willow and Boscha, who were putting aside their rivalry to hug her and keep her wrapped in a mini-fortress of blankets and pillows. The eight Palismen of the Hexsquad were also nestled together into a big bundle of blankets near the Nocedas’ fireplace, preening each other and resting after a long day. Since they hadn’t ended up being able to help, Vee’s friends were taking the opportunity to use the Angelic Blessings Camila had given them to summon items from around the house, make tea, and generally keep everyone warm and dry, since they’d gotten a little soaked by the rain.

Camila gave the trio a grateful look, then turned her attention back to her poor little girl, who was nearly catatonic as tears streamed constantly from her glassy eyes. While every one of the kids had been separated from family, even Hunter and Lyra, Luz also had the added horror and heartbreak of it being because of Rasiel… the Divider… the man SHE had helped free. King and Amity had helped free him too, but since Luz had also inadvertently helped Belos, the guilt she felt was compounded until it became a tight, dense, black ball of dark emotion deep in her core. It was so thick that Luz could have sworn she physically felt it inside her, and it was further compounded by her relative uselessness during the entire battle on the Day of Unity.

She’d been kidnapped from Belos’ castle, forcing her friends to come to her rescue and completely abandoning the mission there, marking it as a failure. She’d been helpless to fight or escape the Draining Spell, instead becoming a literal vessel for the Isles’ pain and suffering, unable to do a thing as her family and friends fought deadly battles around her. She’d only been saved thanks to Lyra’s personal sacrifice, and her increase in power (as useless as it had ended up being) had only been because of Lyra helping her understand what she was missing from the lightning glyph. By the time she’d gotten to Belos, the battle had basically been won thanks to Hunter’s clever trick and her Mami and Vee coming to the rescue to stop Belos escaping. She’d done literally nothing but destroy one of Rasiel’s stolen wing joints, which had turned out to be more of a bad thing anyway.

And worst of all, she had failed to talk down Rasiel and stop her friend from taking his twisted path to Paradise. Now the Demon Realm was subject to his will, she was helpless to go back and try to protect everyone, and her precious friends, lover, and little brother were all trapped in the Human Realm with no way home and no family of their own. Hunter and Lyra had each other, and King had her, but that was it… and with the Draining Spell and the whole battle happening on the Day of Unity, none of them even knew if their families were okay.

It was a huge, unadulterated mess.

Luz was only barely aware of what had led her to being in her Mami’s lap. After the portal door had closed, Luz had broken down completely and sobbed as it had begun to rain. Her friends had cried too, and Luz had felt like each tear was a drop of acid eating into her heart and soul. Her Mami, Vee, and Vee’s friends had used water magic to keep the rain off them and once it became clear that the portal wouldn’t open again any time soon, they began gently herding the group back to the Noceda home. Luz had briefly stopped and pulled out her Portal Key to try and summon her newly made Portal Door, but it didn’t seem to work when the door and key were in different realms. King had also stopped to pick up a strange piece of glass, which Luz recognised as the same piece that had blown into her face before the Portal closed. He’d recognised it as a shard of the Collector’s broken mirror and had desperately clung to it, hoping to find a way to repair it. Since King had repaired the Titan Trapper’s mirror by assembling all the pieces, the rest of the Hexsquad wasn’t convinced he’d be able to do it with just this thin sliver of glass, but no one was willing to crush the little Titan’s last desperate hope.

After that, they’d finally been taken home and bundled up with blankets after Camila dried them all with a spell, and now they sat together, comforting one another over suffering a defeat whilst on the precipice of victory. They sipped on the provided tea and occasionally shot grateful looks at Masha, Gray, and Rebecca, but otherwise just tried to come to terms with their new situation. They had no way home now, and would have to find a way to deal with that.

There was no talking, at least until the sound of Matt’s stomach grumbling got everyone’s attention and made them grin, while Matt blushed.

“What? We haven’t eaten since breakfast and I’m a growing boy!” he complained.

Camila chuckled; “That you are. You must all be famished! I don’t think I’ve got enough food to cook for…” she did a quick headcount, then gulped as she realised how many people were now in the house. “… fifteen people! I think it’s time to bust out the credit card and order some pizzas.”

Camila summoned her purse and pulled out the little plastic card, which Gus and Matt were immediately excited to see. Gus gave the rest of the Hexsquad a quick explanation of what a credit card was, while Camila handed it to Masha and pointed them to the laptop on the nearby kitchen table. She gave Masha instructions to get a variety of pizzas and to not worry about the price, and so Masha and conspired with Gray and Rebecca to order several large pizzas with the most common and popular toppings, as well as dozens of mini personal sized ones with the other toppings on, to give the Hexsquad a taste of different human foods. They’d even ordered some dairy free ones for the lactose intolerant Luz and Camila, and shockingly, Lyra too. Though perhaps that was less shocking when one considered her origins.

The pizzas had been delivered a while later and the mouth-watering smell had snapped the Hexsquad out of their funk a little; their grumbling stomachs temporarily overpowering their aching hearts. Dinner was a great success, and all the kids ended up flopping onto the blankets and pillows on the living floor once they were done, their stomachs full to bursting and their eyes now feeling heavy.

Camila, Vee, and the Humans were happy to see them all brighten up a bit, with even Luz regaining a bit of spark to her eyes. It was at that point that Lyra had shyly asked to properly introduce herself to everyone. The others had been largely introduced on the way back to the Noceda house earlier, but Lyra hadn’t yet revealed her name to everyone due to still recovering from the Draining Spell. Thankfully Rasiel’s spell had finished its work, and she now felt confident enough to talk and happily introduced herself as Lyra, giving them all the same reasoning she’d told Luz.

Gus and Hunter had been ecstatic for her, and had each given her a big hug, with Hunter also giving her head pats that made her trill adorably. Gus had also blushed when learning that he’d essentially been the inspiration for her new name, resulting in some teasing looks being thrown his way by the older kids. The rest of the gang were happy for Lyra too, and seeing how she’d come to terms with herself definitely gave them some much needed positivity. However, Camila, Vee, and Vee’s friends had never known her by any other name and so didn’t truly understand the situation, nor who or what Lyra even was.

“Mija, I know this might be hard for you to talk about right now, and I am completely happy to wait until you’re comfortable, but I’d really like to know everything that has happened since your last visit. You gave me bits and pieces of the details when we talked on your scroll last night, but there is still a lot I don’t understand. Especially the Grimwalker business.” Camila said, shooting massively sympathetic looks at Hunter and Lyra. She’d been watching them both fairly closely since meeting them, and her eyes would always turn sad and glassy, especially when looking at Hunter.

Hunter and Lyra looked a little nervous at the idea, since they’d been partly responsible for the separation in the first place, and Luz definitely did look exhausted, but she nodded.

“Alright. I’ll tell you everything… I have questions too after all.” Luz said, giving her Mami a knowing look.

“Should we excuse ourselves?” Masha asked as they stood with Gray and Rebecca; “We don’t want to intrude…”

Luz exchanged looks with the rest of the Hexsquad, and they all simply shrugged or nodded, not minding if Vee’s friends stayed. They knew about magic, Angels, and Demons, so there was no need to keep it all secret from them.

“You guys can stay. You’re important to Vee, and I’d like to think we’re pals too. Plus you’ve been really great to all of us since we got back.” Luz smiled kindly.

The humans beamed and Vee hurriedly urged them back into one of the blanket and pillow nests she’d made. Vee was in her true Basilisk form (which those who hadn’t met her yet were still shocked by) and curled up close to Masha, who leaned into her in return.

“Okay, so this is gonna be kind of a long story; the weeks since I last came home have been… eventful. Just remember that no matter how bad it all sounds, we’re all alive and healthy and friends, okay?” Luz began, giving her Mami the best puppy dog eyes she could. She didn’t think her Mami would kick out Hunter or Lyra for their past mistakes, but she wanted to hedge her bets.

Camila saw right through her and huffed good-naturedly; “Mija, don’t forget that I know that Matt and Boscha both bullied you in the past. They made amends and took steps to become better people, so I happily welcomed them. Even if Hunter and Lyra did worse things or have an unfortunate origin, I won’t be cruel to them. I wouldn’t cast children out onto the streets, especially when they’ve turned themselves around.”

Everyone was relieved to hear that, and Matt and Boscha both blushed a little at the reminder of their past bullying, though they also smiled gratefully when Camila made it clear she forgave them. With Luz now feeling more confident and the pain of the day’s events becoming a bit more distant in her mind, she nestled close to her Mami and began to tell her story of the last roughly eight weeks.

It had started rather intensely, with the events at Eclipse Lake and Titan Trapper Island, which had Luz getting sick, then stabbed, and then having the key stolen by Shade. Lyra had made sure to apologise profusely for that and her handing over the key to Belos, swearing she’d only done it because she was afraid Belos would give her and her brother some horrible punishment. She’d even cajoled Shade out of his Oracle Stone to apologise too, which he did whilst warily watching Camila and Luz. Camila had been furious and had to take a moment to calm down, though her anger was focused on Bill and Kikimora. Any anger she might had directed to Lyra was tempered by her saving Luz’s life and having been an abused child in fear of her safety. The fear of abuse from Belos had also made Camila look at the scars on Hunter and Lyra’s faces in an entirely new light… the poor dears didn’t deserve that treatment.

The story continued with the trip to the past, and this time Camila, Vee, and the Human Trio all gasped in horror over Philip cutting off Luz’s finger and being a crazy religious fanatic and Witch Hunter. Camila was actually friends with the current Gravesfield Pastor and thought the man was very kind, so to learn of another of the same faith being so cruel was shocking. However the reveal of who Philip was didn’t happen there, so Luz had kept it to herself so she could tell the story in order. After the trip to the past was the encounter with Lyra and Hettie in Cartilia, and the apparent death of Hettie Cutburn, as well as Luz and Lyra finally reconciling, and Hunter meeting Willow, Skara, and Boscha.

After that part of the story, Willow and Hunter actually spoke up to tell the story of HECK, with brief interludes from Gus, Lyra, and Skara who’d been there also. Willow had looked guilty as she revealed her mistake, but Rebecca had clapped her on the back, sympathising with getting carried away during a good match. Hunter and Lyra had then found themselves being hugged by Camila, who unashamedly praised them for doing the right thing and standing up for the Emerald Entrails. Lyra had just about melted at the motherly embrace, while Hunter had looked almost like he didn’t know if he should beam or cry. Camila made a mental note to give the two a lot of positive reinforcement going forward.

Then of course it was the day of the visit to the Clawthorne Grandparents. King had helped Amity tell part of that story since Luz felt a little embarrassed, though they kept the details of their heart to heart to themselves, since Luz didn’t want her Mami to know about her guilt over her Papi’s death. Gus and Lyra had a more positive experience there, as did Hunter, and they proudly showed off Emmie’s new crest and Waffles, who tweeted happily as she hopped up and down on Lyra’s head. Camila had thanked everyone for being there for Luz on such a hard day, while Luz had thanked Vee for doing the same for their Mami, sharing a sisterly hug.

Next was the story of the Lightning Temple, which King took the lead in telling since it was primarily about his Mama. Camila ended up cuddling him through a lot of it since it was an emotional time for him, and that had evolved to including Luz after hearing of her hard-fought battle with Lars and the destruction of Cassiopeia’s Heart. Vee’s friends had all looked starstruck to hear that Luz had fought and beaten an actual Dragon, though Cassiopeia finally being able to move on had brought tears to their eyes, just as the retelling brought tears to King. He perked up quickly though, since he knew his parents’ souls were happily together in the In-Between Realm.

Amity took over telling the next part of the story, since Luz’s own tale of going to get Cassiopeia’s eye was fairly short and sweet, while Amity’s mission that day had been far more intense. The Blight family drama enraptured Camila, Vee, and the Human Trio, and Masha especially gave a cry of “You go girl!” after hearing of how Amity had smacked Odalia and saved everyone from the Chained Revenant. Skara had also gotten to talk about how she’d convinced her Dad to finally join up with the CATTs.

But after that relatively light interlude, things had swiftly gotten extremely heavy, as Luz and Hunter spoke of the trip into Belos’ mind and the secrets uncovered there. Lyra had quaked through the whole thing, hugging herself and refusing to say a word from the sheer trauma of the entire event. Discovering that Philip was Belos, his genocidal plans, the evil acts he’d committed, his creation of the Grimwalkers including Hunter and Lyra, his theft of Rasiel’s wings using sacrifices, and even his reveal of Camila as Cassiel and Manny as Em to mess with Luz had all left the Human Realm group pale and feeling like their throats were full of sand. Camila especially grimaced at how Belos had revealed that she was really Cassiel, which was made worse by the clear hint of betrayal in Luz’s eyes since that reveal had proven her Mami had lied to her in the past.

The story hadn’t ended there; Luz had spoken of dealing with the Palismen Souls within her (which briefly made an appearance by forming out of a gold and white aura that Luz created around herself), and then handed the story to Gus and Matt, who spoke of the mission to Glandus. Matt hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk much since he and Boscha had been primarily involved with events BEFORE Luz lost the Portal, so Gus let him do most of the talking for the Glandus mission. However Gus did talk about helping Lyra out of her funk, and how the two of them and Hunter had worked together at different intervals during the whole mess.

Finally, the story turned to the events of the Day of Unity itself, and was actually four stories that not all of the group knew themselves since they’d all been split up. King spoke of the trip into the In-Between Realm with Rasiel and his encounters with his parents and the Collector, as well as Rasiel getting his memories back and becoming the Divider. Luz spoke of the mission to Belos’ castle and then her experiences upon being summoned by Belos and forced into the Draining Spell ritual. Boscha (who wouldn’t get to talk at all otherwise) reported their rush to Luz’s rescue and then their battle with Belos at the Skull. Finally, Lyra spoke of her own rescue of Luz, her ascension, and then Rasiel’s rescue.

“And then of course, it all ends with all of us at Belos’ hideout in Orion’s Skull, and you saw what happened from there.” Luz finished up, even more exhausted from the story.

King and the rest of the Hexsquad were also exhausted by the retelling, which had ended up taking a couple of hours. Even Camila, Vee, and the Human Trio were exhausted and they’d just listened! The emotional roller-coaster they’d just been led on had left them reeling and now that it was over, everyone just kind of sat there in silence for a bit, feeling a little numb.

Camila eventually broke the silence by hugging Luz and King to herself tightly and sighing heavily; “You should not have needed to go through all of that.” she said emotionally, before looking up at the rest of the Hexsquad; “That goes for all of you. You are all children… extraordinary children true, but still just children. You should never have needed to experience so much. I am so sorry for what you’ve all been through. Know that you’re safe here for as long as you need.”

The Hexsquad smiled gratefully; “Thanks Mrs Noceda. We’ll be sure not to cause you any trouble.” Skara promised.

“Yeah, we’ll behave. And we can help out around the place too. You’re like a pet healer right? Well I can make potions for you.” Boscha grinned.

“We can all do stuff to help! We don’t want to be freeloaders.” Willow said quickly.

“I’m good with my hands, and I’ve been working on illusions too, so I can fix stuff up without any Humans seeing me.” Matt suggested.

“And I’m practically a human expert, so I’ll make sure we’re all blending in perfectly!” Gus said proudly.

Amity bounced eagerly in her seat; “Ooh, I can make abomination servants to help out too! You won’t have to lift a finger, Mrs Noceda!”

“I-I’m not sure what help I’d be since I can’t really use Shade around you and Luz, but I’m not afraid of hard work so I’ll do whatever I need to in order to help!” Lyra added nervously as she bowed her head.

Hunter nodded enthusiastically and actually hopped to his feet just so he could kneel before Camila like she was his liege. “We will serve loyally. You have our gratitude for providing us with shelter, Lady Cassiel.”

Camila had been a little shocked by everyone’s reactions, but Hunter’s snapped her out of her stunned silence as she quickly pulled him to his feet then hugged him gently to make sure he knew she wasn’t mad when she said what came next. “Please don’t ever do that again. I’m not like Belos; you can just call me Camila. And as I just said, you are all children! I appreciate your offer to help around the house and I might well ask for help with some chores here and there, but you are not my servants and you are not freeloaders expected to earn their keep, understood?”

The Hexsquad looked a little surprised, while Luz just giggled as King gave them all a deadpan look; “This is Luz’s Mami we’re talking about here! Did you guys really expect any different?” he said, before looking to Camila; “But for the record, I want to help too! Though I demand regular belly scratches and hugs.”

Camila giggled; “I think I can agree to that, Sobrino.”

She then noticed Lyra yawning and turned to look at the time; it was getting late and the kids could really use their sleep. Plus Masha, Gray, and Rebecca would need to either head home or call their parents to let them know they were staying over.

When Camila said as much, Masha said; “I’d love to stay, but I’ve got some stuff I want to check out after hearing Luz’s story. I’ll come over again tomorrow before school. I guess you’ll be skipping again, Vee?”

Vee nodded; “Yeah. I want to stay with Mama and Luz until everyone gets settled.”

“Cool. I’ll come hang out too.” Gray said; “I’ve got some old clothes and stuff for your guy friends, so I’ll bring some over.”

“Ooh, me too!” Rebecca chirped; “I got tons of stuff! You girls are all smaller than me, so my old stuff should fit you fine! Hope you like Tomboy chic! Or at least sporty stuff!”

Boscha smirked; “Oh I think you and I are gonna get along great.”

The others chuckled and Camila went to get her car keys; “It’s dark so I’ll drive you home. Vee, can you help everyone get settled? The girls in yours and Luz’s room, and the boys down in the basem*nt.”

Vee nodded with a smile and said goodbye to her friends, with the Hexsquad waving along too. Once Camila left with the Humans, Vee took charge and set about organising everyone. Gus, Matt, and Hunter were given sleeping bags and shown to the basem*nt, which had originally been turned into a second lounge area by Manny, where he had played with Luz on his good days after they moved to Gravesfield. Luz had then turned it into a play room and then Vee and her friends had made it a kind of impromptu club house, so the place was already nice and liveable. Vee had also found an old dog bed that was perfect for King and set it up with the other boys, though King had opted to stay with Luz for the night. Once the boys were left to get comfortable (with Gus and Matt eagerly looking through the human stuff stored down there), Vee turned her attention to the girls. Luz and Vee would share the bunk bed (Vee called top bunk, and Luz had giggled and given it to her), while the other girls were given futons, sleeping bags, and an air mattress. Lyra, as the youngest, had been made to take the air mattress while the rest of the girls took the futons and sleeping bags, though there wasn’t much floor space left with five girls sleeping there. After that, Luz had handed the girls some of her pajamas and showed them were the bathroom was so they could get changed, then delivered some of her Papi’s old pajamas to the boys downstairs, casting a spell to shrink them.

By the time Luz and Vee had handled all that and gotten changed themselves (as well as dealt with a minor problem of the girls destroying an alarm clock that had startled them), Camila had returned from dropping off the Humans.

“Everyone settled okay?” Camila asked softly as she smiled at her girls.

“I just saw the boys, and they’ve made themselves comfortable. Gus and Matt might not sleep for a while though; all our old junk really fascinates them.” Luz chuckled.

“The girls are good too. It’s kinda snug up there though; even with King sharing with Luz, there isn’t a lot of room. Maybe we could ask Boscha or Lyra to move down with the boys after tonight? I think they’d be okay with it.” Vee suggested.

“Hmm, that’s a good idea. I’ll also see about expanding the basem*nt to create some new rooms. It’ll be nice to stretch my magic again, especially alongside my girls.” Camila grinned.

Vee bounced eagerly at the idea, while Luz just smiled tiredly. Once upon a time, it had been a dream of hers to use her magic alongside her Mami! But now she had other things on her mind.

Turning to her little Basilisk sister, Luz said; “Vee, I want to talk to Mami alone for a bit. Do you mind?”

Vee shook her head; “Of course not. Goodnight Mama, goodnight Luz.”

“Goodnight Vee.” they said together, then watched as Vee slithered up the stairs to join the others.

Once the little Basilisk had left, Luz looked back at her Mami with a serious expression, though there was also some trepidation in her eyes.

“What did you want to talk about, Mija?” Camila asked, already suspected what the answer would be.

“I was hoping you’d finally tell me the truth. About you and Papi, and your trip to the Demon Realm.” Luz said in quiet voice.

Even having expected it, the request still made Camila cringe a little. She’d known since last night that the time for secrets was finally over… she just hoped Luz would forgive her.

“Luz, I promise I’ll tell you the truth. But let’s leave it for tomorrow, alright? It’s late and this will be a long story, and you could really use your rest.” Camila replied.

Luz bit her lip and looked at the ground, before answering in an incredibly small voice; “Do you promise?”

Camila scooped Luz up into a big hug and stroked her hair; “I promise Mija. Tomorrow after breakfast, I’ll tell you everything. But for tonight, please go and get some sleep.”

Luz sniffled a bit, then nodded. “Alright. G’night Mami. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mija. Sleep well.” Camila smiled.

With that, Luz turned and went up to bed, leaving Camila alone in the living room. Despite the house being fuller than ever before, Camila felt strangely lonely in that moment. She fixed herself a drink, breaking out some tequila to help take the edge off of a truly difficult day, then closed her eyes at the kitchen table and prayed with all her might that the next day wouldn’t be a disaster. Once her drink was drained, Camila peeked into the basem*nt and saw that the boys were all sleeping soundly, and then a quick look in Luz’s room showed the girls were in the same position, with young King curled up Luz’s arms. Smiling, the older woman went to her own room to sleep, relieved that her daughter was home but saddened by the circ*mstances surrounding it.

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[The Next Day]

Sleep had not come easy to Camila the previous night, so she found herself being the first to rise despite being the last to lay down. Feeling restless, she’d gone down to the kitchen and began thinking about breakfast, though the limited food in the fridge meant she couldn’t really make more than toast. She’d need to start stocking up on groceries if she was going to be feeding nine hungry mouths on top of her two daughters.

Camila decided not to bother breaking out the toaster and instead simply conjured some flames and made the bread orbit around it and begin toasting, while an enchanted knife spread butter, jam, marmalade, peanut butter, and any other appropriate condiment on them, before depositing them all on some plates with enchantments to keep the food warm. The Angel woman had no idea how she’d cope with all this if she didn’t have magic! It would have been a nightmare!

She was soon joined by Boscha, who was a shockingly early riser, and the three-eyed girl had asked for something useful to do, so Camila set her to brewing tea with some tea leaves that were grown and prepared by Camila’s magic. It turned out that Boscha’s brewing skills extended to tea as well, as she made a dang good brew!

The smell of toast and tea slowly roused the others from their slumber and soon all the kids were gathering around in the kitchen, either sleepily chewing on toast or animatedly chatting to one another, based on if they were morning people or not. Camila was relieved to see Luz in a relatively good mood too, playfully squabbling with King who had left an imprint of his foot on Luz’s cheek in his sleep. With food in their stomachs, the kids were all soon properly awake for the day, and just in time as Masha, Gray, and Rebecca came through the front door, being let in by Vee.

“Morning Magic Buddies!” Rebecca cheered, levitating a large box of old clothes with the remnants of Camila’s blessing.

“’Sup guys. We’ve got clothes.” Gray said tiredly, swapping a box of his old clothes for a cup of Boscha’s tea.

The boxes of clothes were opened up and the witches all oohed and ahhed over the contents. They began to pull outfits out and hold them up to each other while Luz watched, preferring to let them have fun and find their own weird styles rather than telling them what would best suit them by human standards. As they did so, Camila thanked Gray and Rebecca for bringing the clothes over.

“You really helped us out there. We’ll still need to go shopping for some essentials, but you’ve saved me a fortune at the thrift store!” Camila smiled.

“Most of this stuff would have ended up there anyway. Might as well cut out the middle man.” Rebecca grinned.

“Sorry I didn’t bring any of my stuff around. My style is kinda witchy anyway, so it’d make them stick out as much as their normal clothes.” Masha joked.

“We appreciate the thought, Masha.” Luz smiled. “By the way, did you check out that stuff you wanted to?”

Masha nodded; “Oh yeah, and it might be a little bit of a shock. Vee probably didn’t get a chance to tell you yet, but I was hired by the Gravesfield Historical Society as an Assistant Curator. That Jacob guy got kicked to the curb for making edits to the exhibits and being a general creep, so I’m filling in until they can hire someone for the full Curator job. And your story last night reminded me that Gravesfield has got a big history of Witch-Hunting back in the old colonial days.”

That caught the Hexsquad’s attention, and King nodded from Luz’s shoulder; “Oh yeah, I guess Belos and Caleb were both Witch-Hunters from here all the way back then. So did you find out about them?” the little Titan asked.

“Oh boy did I. You know that statue in the park of those two pilgrim looking guys? They are Caleb and Philip Wittebane!” Masha revealed.

The Hexsquad gasped; “Belos is a hero in this town!?” Skara cried.

“Sort of. More like they’re the only historical figures of any notability that came from this little town.” Masha replied; “The statue is centuries old and the original plaque is mostly eroded, so I had to dig through the records at the HS. Apparently Caleb and Philip disappeared in pursuit of a dangerous witch that allegedly bewitched the town. They were never seen again and locals assumed they’d died fighting the witch. But since they never had another encounter with that witch, the townsfolk praised the two for their heroic sacrifice.”

Luz frowned bitterly; “But the truth is that Philip became a monster and murdered his own brother for falling in love with a Witch… Evelyn had only been trying to help people and Caleb loved her; it feels wrong for him to be remembered only for hunting her, and that his brother gets praised even though he’s a murderer!”

Masha agreed; “Tell me about it. But we can’t exactly do anything about it; we can’t prove it without telling the world about magic and I’ll be real with you; that’s a bad idea.” they sighed dramatically; “Still can’t believe that this whole mess and genocide plot got started because Big Bro got a hot witch girlfriend and Little Bro got jealous.”

That got a shocked laugh out of Luz and some giggles from the others too; “Oh man, I wish Eve had been here to hear that! She’d have gotten a kick out of it!” Luz grinned.

Masha suddenly gave Luz an odd look; “Eve?”

“Yeah, Evelyn. She told me to call her Eve after we became friends.” Luz explained.

That made Masha go silent for a moment, before the gothic teenager suddenly burst into loud laughter. They ended up laughing so hard that their eyes were running and they had to lean on a giggling Vee to keep themselves from falling to the ground, clutching their ribs.

“Oh the irony! Oh Goddess, it’s delicious! If that Belos freak connected the dots, I bet it drove him nuts!” Masha continued to laugh, much to everyone’s confusion.

“You good, Masha? Or did you finally crack?” Rebecca asked.

Gray snorted; “I’d have thought Vee would be the first in our group to crack, being the token sane and responsible one.”

Vee’s ears perked up; “Thank you! Uh, I think?”

“But seriously, what’s so funny?” Amity asked as Masha wiped a tear from their eye.

“When I was digging through all those records last night, one of the ones I checked was an old Gravesfield Census from 1645. It listed the Wittebane Brothers’ full names and get this; Caleb was actually his middle name. Their full names were “Philip Zachary Wittebane” and “Adam Caleb Wittebane”. Which means Caleb’s real given name was Adam, making him and Evelyn…”

“Adam and Eve!” Luz and Camila gasped, the only non-Humans in the room to get the reference. They briefly explained the situation to the others so they’d understand, though without the cultural background of living in a predominately Christian country, they didn’t fully get the irony of it.

“I know it’s just a coincidence, but it’s still crazy to imagine! Especially with us Angels being involved.” Luz commented; “But I wonder why Caleb didn’t use his first name?”

“In the first century of Gravesfield’s existence, there was a weird custom where people were called by their middle names instead of their first names. The first name was supposedly given by God and you had to earn the right to use it. Women got to use their first names after they married, while Men would choose when they used theirs based on when they felt worthy of it. It was a weird and dumb custom so it died out after a while.” Masha explained. “I guess Caleb just never felt like he’d done something to deserve using his real first name. Either that or he just liked Caleb more; honestly, I kinda agree.”

Luz agreed as well, and gave a glance over to Hunter. The boy looked to be deep in thought over the man that was his origin, though he didn’t look to be particularly sad. He’d largely come to terms with his Grimwalker nature thanks to the Hexsquad’s acceptance, and while he still had some lingering negative feelings about his relation to Belos and the circ*mstances of his creation, he didn’t want to let them rule him. Luz was a little jealous of that… she wished she could cast off the mistakes of her past as easily.

“Thanks for looking all that up for us, Masha. I appreciate it. Belos may be dead and gone, but I’m glad we know a little more about Caleb and his origins.” Luz said gratefully.

“No prob, bob!” Masha grinned; “Always happy to help out the original owner of my second favourite of Vee’s faces.” she joked, earning a blush from Vee and a giggle from the others.

The rest of the Hexsquad gave their thanks to Gray and Rebecca again for the clothes, and Luz rewarded all three Humans with a much more powerful blessing than the ones her Mami had given, temporarily granting all three the same spell casting abilities as a regular Angel (albeit without the wings). The three had then giddily headed off to school, promising to cover for Vee and stop by after classes were done. Masha had also made a point of giving Vee a big hug before leaving, rubbing their cheek against Vee’s sleek and pleasantly warm scales, making the little Basilisk blush before they skipped off with the others.

The rest of the gang grinned at Vee’s reddened face once the Humans were gone, and Boscha couldn’t stop herself from teasing her; “So, are you and Masha going to become the next couple in our little group?”

“S-Shut up!” Vee whined adorably. “I like Masha, but they’re my best friend! I don’t want to make it weird… plus I’m a Basilisk.”

“Oh trust me, I get not wanting to make it weird. But sometimes you gotta just bite the bullet. You don’t want to be dancing around each other for weeks like Luz and Amity.” Boscha smirked.

Luz and Amity both huffed with mock-offence; “This coming from the girl who couldn’t ask out her crush until they were both in a life-or-death battle!” Amity teased right back.

“I still can’t believe you did that. I asked Amity out way more romantically.” Luz agreed, getting a happy nod and a kiss on the cheek from her blushing Sweet Potato.

Skara and Boscha both huffed and cuddled closer together, while Lyra looked contemplative; “I don’t know…” she piped up, “Asking out the person you love because you’re afraid you might die and your feelings for them are so important that you can’t leave them unsaid before the end is actually kinda romantic. Plus I can’t tell you how many spirits in the Demon Realm lingered after death because they never confessed their love and are stuck with the regret.”

Boscha preened at that, while Amity rolled her eyes. Skara and Luz did look pretty convinced though, especially the romance loving Skara.

“Do you like romance, Lyra?” Camila asked as she idly cast spells to wash the dishes.

Lyra shrugged; “It’s nice and I’ve read a few romance novels, but it’s not really my thing. I like adventure stories more. Before I was allowed out of the castle, they used to be the only way I could experience stuff like that.”

Most of the group gave her a sympathetic look, while Hunter nodded along; his own love of Cosmic Frontier had stemmed from wanting adventures and the ability to explore the unknown after a lifetime of being Belos’ minion. However Luz and Amity got a gleam in their eyes.

“Remind us to introduce you to a little series called “The Good Witch Azura” later. I think you’ll love it.” Luz grinned as Amity nodded enthusiastically and the others rolled their eyes good-naturedly.

With breakfast over, everyone headed upstairs to wash up and dress for the day, pulling on the most comfortable outfits from the boxes donated by Vee’s friends. Once everyone was ready for the day, they began to debate what they should do, though Luz already had something she needed to take care of. She approached her mother and gave her a serious and imploring look; “Mami, remember your promise? You said you’d tell me about you, Papi, and the Demon Realm. And Michael too.”

That caught the kids’ attention, whilst Camila nodded with a heavy sigh; “I remember, Mija. And this is a story that I should have told you years ago… I think it would be best if we sit down for it; we’ll be here a while.” she said, gently urging Luz over to the couch in the living room and sitting down with her.

King and the Hexsquad looked a little nervous; “Should we go out for a bit? We could go hang out in the woods until you’re done?” Amity offered.

“That’s up to Luz.” Camila said, looking to her daughter; “I don’t mind if they stay and hear this too. It might be good for you to have the support.”

“I definitely want to stay!” King announced; “I’m the King of Little Brothers, so I’ve got to be there for if my Big Sister cries!”

Luz giggled and gestured for him to fly over and sit on her lap; “You’re welcome to stay, King. All of you are. In fact, I think Hunter and Lyra should definitely stay, since I know this story will involve Belos and the previous Golden Guard.”

The two Grimwalkers gulped but agreed and sat down, wanting to hear about what really happened in the past. The rest of the Hexsquad sat down around the living room too, wanting to both support Luz and Camila, and find out the truth themselves. Once everyone was seated and comfortable, Camila began her tale.

“First off, I should clarify something; the reasons I left the Divine Realm and the circ*mstances around it were not lies. I really did feel like I didn’t fit in and wanted to become a Missionary Angel and move to the Human Realm, but was told I’d need to have a child to replace me in Crest Kindness before I could, which caused me to run away and abandon the Crest Orders instead of becoming an official missionary. However the part I lied about was that I wasn’t 18 when I ran away… I was 13.”

Luz and her friends all gasped; “They were going to make you have a kid at 13!?” Luz exclaimed.

“No! Oh goodness no, they’d never. The absolute youngest an Angel may legally conceive is 16, and even that is considered distasteful. Most Angels are at least 18, if not closer to 20 before they are allowed to conceive children. I simply chose to runaway because I didn’t want to wait at least 3 years, though more likely 5 to 10, before I could live the life I wanted. I found life in the Crest Orders to be unbearably stifling and I hated feeling like nothing but a broodmare who’d have to sacrifice my child for my own freedom. So instead, once I’d been told that was my only option, I began packing my things. Then in the dead of night, I stole a Portal Gate Keystone and used it to flee to the Human Realm. I arrived in hidden coastal cave near New Haven, Connecticut and went to begin my new life.” Camila explained, closing her eyes as she remembered those first moments in the Human Realm.

“I’d made a Concealment Stone and cast extra illusions on myself to make sure I’d blend in as a human, and even went so far as toss the Portal Gate Keystone back through the gate before it closed, as proof to myself that I wouldn’t turn back from the path I chose. I made my way into New Haven itself, but unfortunately a young girl wandering around in the middle of the night with a bag full of clothes and food would naturally draw attention and the police stopped me. They were very kind to me, and assumed I was a runaway. When I told them honestly that I didn’t know my parents and that I couldn’t tell them where I was from, they took me to the police station and then the hospital. Naturally I had no records of any kind, so they had no choice by to send me to a Group Foster Home. It was there that I first met the man I’d one day marry…”

________________________________________________________________________________

[Human Realm 1999

21 Years Ago]

Cassiel looked around nervously at the room she’d been placed in. It was a nice enough room; rustic and simple with three comfortable beds that each had a side table next to them and a chest of drawers at the foot of the bed. She had already unpacked the few human-like clothes she’d collected and brought with her from the Divine Realm into the chest of drawers and had been introduced to the two Human girls she was going to be sharing the room with, and now she sat there, unsure of what to do. The woman that ran the group home seemed agreeable enough, if a little cold and strict. She was more of a professional carer than a parental figure, but Cassiel didn’t mind that… at least she knew this woman didn’t try to soften her up with kindness and false understanding whilst trying to tell her how to live her life.

Sighing quietly, Cassiel stood up and looked out the window at the suburbs of New Haven, where the Group Home was situated; she was happy to find a place to live amongst humans, especially ones who seemed to be decent enough, but she’d wished she had gotten further away from the Portal Gate… What if the Crest Orders sent out search parties? If they dragged her back, they’d never let her slip away again and she might lose the chance to be a Missionary Angel again in the future!

She kept her illusory disguise on and watched the skies outside the window for signs of Angels coming to get her, but found nothing. She’d just have to keep her head down and eventually find a way to slip away and get to another part of the country.

A knock on the door drew her attention; her room mates and the matron wouldn’t knock and the doors didn’t have locks, so it must have been one of the boys. She hadn’t been introduced to them yet, so she called out; “Come in.”

The door opened and in stepped a young man of about 14. He was a friendly looking boy with a big smile, brown eyes, a somewhat wide nose, and short brown hair that was a little bit wavy. His skin colour was a shade lighter than Cassiel’s, and he wore plain black shorts, a shirt with the flag of the Dominican Republic on it, and simple sandals.

“Hola, Camila!” the boy greeted, using the human name Cassiel had decided for herself. He spoke with a slight accent, which Cassiel found rather cute.

“Oh! Um, Hola? I’m sorry, but I don’t know you’re name yet.” she smiled at the boy, who walked over to her. He was a little taller than her, and his big cheerful smile and energetic nature made him seem even larger.

“I’m Emmanuel Noceda, but you can call me Manny!” he introduced, offering his hand.

Cassiel shook it with a small smile; “You can call me Camila.”

Manny beamed; “Great! Say, I really hope you won’t be offended by me asking this, but are you a Latina too? I mean, your name sounds Latina and your features kind of match too.”

“I… I don’t know who my parents are, so I can’t be sure of my ancestry.” Cassiel replied with a shrug. That was technically true as well. She also knew that Crest Kindness Angels like her tended to look like humans of Latin American descent and Missionary Angels from her Crest Order were often sent to that region so they’d blend in, so it was very possible she had Latina ancestry. Her teachers had taught her that all Angels had a little human ancestry somewhere in their bloodline.

Manny gave her a sympathetic look; “I see. We’ve had a few kids here that come from that kind of situation. It’s rough, but you’re not alone any more! I’d wager anything that you’re a Latina! I myself am an Afro-Latino. My family were from the Dominican Republic, descended from people brought over from Senegal by the slave trade.”

Cassiel shuddered; the fact Humans had practised slavery always made her skin crawl. “You sound really proud of your heritage.” she commented, genuinely interested.

“Oh I am! Being in a place like this, you get typecast as just another orphan. But I remember my roots! I was born in the Dominican Republic and came here with my parents when I was 4. They died three years later in a car wreck while I was at school. Been bouncing around Orphanages and Foster Homes throughout Connecticut ever since. It’s not so bad; I like to think of it as just another adventure! A brave new frontier!” Manny beamed.

Cassiel giggled; “You sound like Captain Avery!”

“From Cosmic Frontier!?” Manny suddenly gasped.

“You know it!? It’s my favourite series!” Cassiel cried, excitedly rushing to her side table and pulling out her well-worn copy of the first book.

“Oh man, I’ve never met a girl who likes it! This is awesome! I finally get another Latina for a house mate AND she likes Cosmic Frontier! You’re the whole package, Camila!” Manny grinned with unabashed joy.

Cassiel blushed and giggled; “Ah, I’m not so great. Truth be told, I was kind of an oddball back where I was before.”

“Pfft, who cares about that? Oddballs are more interesting! Say, can you speak Spanish?” Manny suddenly asked.

“Only a few words.” she admitted. She’d begun receiving Spanish lessons when she’d signed up to be a Missionary, but she hadn’t been to many before running away.

Manny got a sparkle to his eye as he ran out of the room, before running back a moment later with his own copy of Cosmic Frontier, Volume 1. He flipped it open to the first page, and instead of the familiar passage Cassiel had read a thousand times, an entirely new one was in its place; one she couldn’t understand.

“Is this a Spanish translation?” Cassiel asked, amazed.

“You bet! How about I teach you how to speak Spanish using this? It’ll be great to have someone to talk to about this stuff, and someone who can speak Spanish like me!” the boy offered, bouncing on his feet like an overeager puppy.

Cassiel nodded immediately; “Of course, I’d love to!”

Getting to learn a new language and discuss her hobby with someone who wouldn’t think she was a weirdo? That was a dream come true!

Manny gave a wide grin, feeding on her obvious joy and letting it magnify his own; “Awesome! Friends then?” he offered his hand.

“Friends!” Cassiel happy replied, shaking the offered hand.

________________________________________________________________________________

[Human Realm 2000

20 Years Ago]

Cassiel, who began to truly internalise her new identity as Camila, quickly got used to life in the Human Realm, slowly forgetting all her fears of being discovered and dragged back. Of course, life wasn’t perfect; her room mates had decided she was weird and now ignored her whenever possible, and the boys in the other room either thought she was a nerd, were too interested in one of her female room mates to want to mix with someone the girls were ignoring, or were honouring some baffling notion they called the “Bro Code”. Camila never did figure out what that was supposed to mean as the girls she’d asked at her new school had scoffed and called it nonsense, while the boys had said a girl wouldn’t get it. Even Manny had blushed when she’d brought it up and told her not to worry.

At least Manny and the Matron were fond of her. The Matron, a rather prickly woman by the name of Judith Prince, had quickly warmed to Camila’s helpful nature and the way everything just seemed to work out around her. The laundry, the dishes, the vacuuming and dusting… whatever the chore, if Camila was assigned to do it, it would be done flawlessly and a lot faster than if the other teens were given the job. Of course, Camila having magic was the primary reason for this. She was also very skilled with subtle healing spells and potions; the number of sicknesses at the Foster Home took a sharp downward turn with her around.

And of course, there was Manny. Since that first day, the two were completely inseparable; they went to school together (a very mixed bag for both of them), they ate their meals together, and they spent every scrap of free time they had together. Manny had stuck to his promise and taught Camila Spanish, and the two almost exclusively spoke in it to each other, resulting in Camila gaining a Spanish Accent even when speaking English. They talked a lot too; originally just about Cosmic Frontier, but that soon evolved into a myriad of other topics like their aspirations for the future, what they thought about the people and world around them, and philosophising about life in general. Some of Camila’s fondest memories were sitting beneath a tree on the hill behind the Foster Home and just talking with Manny until the sunset. It quickly became the best year of Camila’s life.

But then, as the one year anniversary of her arrival at Miss Prince’s Foster Home approached, Manny began to act a little… off. Camila often found him watching her whenever he thought she wasn’t paying attention, and he always had a silly, almost dreamy smile on his face whenever she caught him at it. If he was down in the dumps about something, the mere sight of her would make his smile shine like the sun, and he had a habit of giving her spontaneous compliments, then blushing crimson and trying to brush it off as nothing. It was very odd, but he was still being the sweet, amazing boy she’d called her first real friend, so Camila didn’t mind.

But then everything changed.

Camila awoke on what she assumed would be a totally normal Sunday and dressed in her nicest clothes so she could go with the other kids to church. She found the idea of Humans worshipping Angels to be a little odd, but the priest and the rest of the congregation were good people that Camila liked, so she never complained about going. It wasn’t until she looked at the calender on the wall that she realised what today was.

“Exactly one year since I came here…” she muttered to herself. One year without word from another Angel. It was a little strange to think about, though she was nearly a full grown Angel herself. Her wings had grown a lot in the last year, and Camila wagered they’d be fully grown within 12 to 18 months, meaning she wouldn’t be a Cherub any longer.

Shoving that aside, she went downstairs to help Miss Prince and one of the other girls with breakfast. She immediately realised something was up, as the girls kept grinning at her and the boys were all looking between her and Manny, whose usual morning greeting had been a touch shyer than normal and accompanied by an odd blush. Clearly something was going on, but none of the grins seemed mean spirited, so Camila was left to wonder what was going to happen.

They went to church as planned, then came home and had lunch, before the Matron dismissed them all to do what they wanted for the rest of the day. As they all went to get dressed into more casual clothes, Manny caught Camila’s hand.

“Camila, could you meet me up on the hill in a little bit?” he asked, his cheeks stained crimson.

“Of course.” Camila replied, smiling as her heart fluttered a little. It did that a lot around Manny these past few weeks… she hoped she wasn’t getting sick!

Ignoring the giggles from her room mates or the way Manny’s slapped him on the back as he passed them, Camila changed into some comfy clothes and prepared to head out. She was stopped by one of her room mates however, who shook her head.

“Oh no, you’re not going out looking like that!” she said, looking at Camila’s outfit. It was simple jeans and a nice cream sweater; it was a little chilly out!

“Why? We’re only going to the hill.” Camila frowned.

The other girls shook their heads with exasperation; “Just trust us! You’ll want to look pretty for this.”

“Fine.” Camila conceded; “But no make up! I hate how that stuff makes my skin feel!”

The girls rolled their eyes but nodded, and dragged Camila back over to her bed and began changing her outfit, going through her clothes and donating some of their own. By the time they were done, Camila was now wearing a very nice pale yellow sundress with a light green cardigan and some white boots with short heels. Her long curly hair had been tied up into a pony tail after Camila commented that Manny always liked that hair style, and one of the girls leant her a pair of simple stud earrings. They’d tried to switch out her normal necklace for a different one too, but Camila wouldn’t let the Concealment Stone leave her person for any reason, so the girls had given up. When they were done, Camila really did think she looked the best she ever had, and smiled at herself in the mirror.

“Thank you, girls. But I really don’t understand all the fuss today… is it because it’s been a year since I came here?” she asked.

“Something like that.” one of the others replied.

“Yeah, now get going! Don’t keep Noceda waiting any longer!” the other said, shoving her towards the door.

Camila huffed and laughed at their odd behaviour, then happily went towards the hill as she always did. She found Manny waiting there with his hands behind his back and a nervous look on his face, still dressed in his smart slacks, white shirt, and sweater vest from church… actually, on closer inspection, Camila realised they were different; the same kind of thing, but the vest was dark red rather than the dull brown of his Sunday best, and his slacks were black instead of grey. The colours were a lot more complimentary for him, making him look a lot better.

“Hi there, Manny. You look really nice! Is there an occasion I don’t know about?” Camila winked, being playfully coy.

Manny looked her up and down, his face turning beet red as he gulped; “C-Camila! You look incredible! Wow! I-I mean you always look good but that outfit is really…” he gulped again, beginning to sweat, “Wow.”

Camila smiled, a light blush on her own cheeks. Her heart was fluttering again; “Thank you, Manny. So why did you want to meet so urgently? Did you just want to hang out or…?” she trailed off.

Manny took a deep breath and stepped closer to Camila, his face completelycrimson. He then said; “C-Camila. I want you to know that I really like you. As in like like. You’re my best friend and I always have fun with you and you’re super nice to everyone and make everything so much better and I just…”

He pulled his hands from behind his back and handed Camila a single rose; “I-I wanted to ask if you’d like to go out with me!”

The sight of the rose and the sound of Manny’s voice in her ears caused Camila to turn as red as Manny himself. She was sure that if they held the rose against their faces, it’d be perfectly camouflaged. Manny Noceda, her best friend, was attracted to her!? He wanted to be her boyfriend!? The very thought of it made Camila’s heart soar, and that in itself made her realise just how much she liked Manny back. Romance wasn’t really a thing among Angels so she hadn’t been sure just what these feelings she’d been experiencing were, but now that Manny had confessed to her and it made her so amazingly happy? Yeah, it became quite clear what she was feeling.

She gave a goofy smile and opened her mouth to answer, but then suddenly froze. She hadn’t known what she felt because she was an Angel, and the reminder of that made her heart sink. No one knew what she really was; not even Manny! She was a magical winged being with pointy ears and white hair, hiding beneath a glamour! Assuming nothing terrible happened, she’d live for a thousand years while Manny would be lucky to see a hundred, like any other Human.

As much as Camila wanted to simply accept the boy’s feelings, she couldn’t lead him on. If they were going to have a real relationship, then honesty was required! And that meant revealing her secret and hoping he wouldn’t freak out.

“Before I give you my answer…” Camila began, trying to keep her heart calm as she looked into Manny’s hopeful eyes; “… there is something about me that you need to know. I don’t want to lead you on, and it wouldn’t be fair to answer you without you knowing just what kind of person I really am.”

Manny blinked in confusion; “What kind of person you really are? I don’t understand…”

His confusion only grew when he saw Camila look around urgently, looking for people spying on them. When she saw no one, she subtly twirled her finger and caused a ring of light blue light to appear, shocking the boy. The ring of light produced a strange blue mist that extended across the area, making Manny’s body tingle as it passed over him. Once it was done, Camila made more rings of light with her fingers, this time pointing at her own clothing.

“Okay, the Illusion is in place and my clothes are enchanted… here we go.” Camila whispered, looking Manny in the eye. “Please don’t be scared, okay?”

With that, Manny watched her pull off the necklace she always wore, resulting in Camila’s body disappearing inside a cloud of cyan smoke. When the smoke cleared, it was a very different Camila standing across from him; one whose hair was white, whose eyes were gold, whose ears were pointy, and most shockingly of all, whom had a pair of fairly big white wings on her back, fading through her clothes like they weren’t even there. Manny gaped at the sight in front of him, but he felt only amazement at Camila’s true form.

Bashfully, Camila smiled at him. “This is me… the real me.”

A moment of silence passed as Camila anticipated Manny’s response; she imagined a lot of potential reactions from amazement, to terror, to disgust, but she hadn’t expected the answer she got.

“Are you an Alien!?” Manny asked, his face cracking into an excited smile.

Camila couldn’t help herself; she burst out laughing; “Ha ha ha! No you dork! I’m an Angel!”

Manny blushed, though his smile didn’t waver; “That was my second guess! And honestly, this is way less surprising than you might think.”

“You knew!?” Camila gasped.

“Of course not! I didn’t know Angels were even real!? But it makes way too much sense! You’re so nice and helpful to everyone, even weirdo nerds like me! I figured you were too good to be true! Guess I was half right!” Manny complimented unabashedly. “So what were those circles you drew? I thought that might be Alien tech at first, but I guess it was some kind of Heavenly Power, right?”

“It was magic.” Camila replied; “I put up an illusion so anyone spying on us would only see the two of us talking as always. I also had to make sure my wings didn’t tear these borrowed clothes when I got them out.”

“That is so cool!” Manny breathed, his eyes shining with delight as he looked at Camila with even more affection. He’d known there was something otherworldly about this woman; and now he knew what!

For her part, Camila was over the moon! She told Manny a little about Magic, Angel Society, the Crest Orders, and why she ran away to the Human Realm, and he listened through it all with an understanding and awestruck expression. When she was finally done, Manny spoke;

“I can see why you ran away… being made to pop out a kid and give them up just to have some freedom is awful! Well you don’t need to worry; you’ll always be welcome with me wherever I am! I won’t let any Angels drag you back to the Divine Realm!” he declared, shadow boxing with an imaginary Angel as Camila giggled.

“My hero.” she grinned, before suddenly becoming sheepish; “So… now that you know the real me, do you still want to go out with me?”

Manny’s eyes grew huge; “Are you kidding? I was in love with you when I thought you were an ordinary human! You think I wouldn’t be even more head over heels now that I know you’re an Angel!? In my room mates’ terms, you just went from a perfect 10 out of 10 to like a 15 out of 10! No a 20! No, a 50-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence, as Camila suddenly rushed into his arms and pressed a kiss against his lips. It was sweet and innocent, and left both teens blushing profusely when they finally pulled apart.

Camila looked at Manny nervously, and he looked back with a shell-shocked face before muttering; “Whoa… Crikey!” in a passable Australian accent.

He blushed when he realised what he’d done, while Camila snorted and laughed; “C-Crikey? Did that kiss send you half way around the world!?” she asked between giggles.

Manny huffed, then gave a rather suave smile; “Why yes it did. How about you give me another, to send me the rest of the way?”

Camila swooned and allowed Manny to kiss her, wrapping his arms around her as she wrapped her wings around him. When their lips separated once more and they stared into each other’s eyes breathlessly, Camila replied; “If it wasn’t already obvious, yes; I would love to be your Girlfriend.”

Even with Camila’s illusion up, half the suburbs heard Manny’s excited “WOOHOO!”

________________________________________________________________________________

[Human Realm 2001

19 Years Ago]

The relationship of Manny and Camila was met with satisfaction and cries of “Finally!” from the other Foster kids they lived with, and even a fond smile from Miss Prince (after she’d lectured them about being responsible and not getting up to anything inappropriate under her roof). The two were very happy with the change too, though their actual day to day life changed very little; their time together just included more hugs and kisses than before, and the times they went out to the movies or for meals became “Dates” rather than “Hanging Out”. It was simple, and that’s how they both liked it.

Camila confided in Manny about her Angelic name, Cassiel, and Manny took to calling her that (or some variation, such as Cassie) when they were alone. She’d also repaid his lessons on Spanish and Latino Culture by teaching him all about the Divine Realm and Demon Realm, both of which fascinated Manny to no end. He absorbed her every story like a sponge, and expressed a longing to visit both realms at least once in his life, believing it would be like a new frontier to explore. Camila had been less enthusiastic, but Manny’s energy did make the idea seem less insane than it would have been a year ago.

However, the passing of another year also brought two events that would massively change their lives. The first had been Camila’s Angelic Maturity reaching it’s end; she and Manny had hidden away in the woods near New Haven when Camila had sensed it coming, as the beginning and end of an Angel’s maturity always came with a spike in magic and a large growth spurt in their wings. Camila was quite a powerful Angel (further explaining why the Crest Orders hadn’t wanted to let her go) and the resulting spike of magic had been rather intense. Her wings had also taken their final growth spurt to full size, and she’d immediately fallen in love with flight, as had Manny (who greatly enjoyed being carried in her arms as she practised flying under an illusion).

The second event was Manny turning 16. Such an event would normally be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but for kids in their situation it was a big deal. Miss Prince’s Foster Home was only meant to accommodate children between the ages of 12 and 15, as she wasn’t equipped to deal with younger kids, while the older ones were expected to move into an associated Halfway Home. The problem was that there wasn’t a Halfway Home in New Haven! The closest one was up in the state capital of Hartford, which was an over 40 minute drive away. It wasn’t an insurmountable distance, but it would massively limit how much Manny and Camila could see each other, and as foster kids they didn’t have cellphones or easy access to the Internet. Plus Manny would need to go to a new High School entirely!

The two were desperate to try and find out a solution to this problem, until the matter of Camila’s maturity suddenly became a bigger issue than expected.

It was a pleasant spring afternoon and Manny and Camila had just gotten back from school. As per usual, Camila hurried up to her room to drop off her school things while Manny went into the kitchen to get them both drinks. However this time, he found Miss Prince sat at the kitchen table with an unfamiliar man, and they appeared to be discussing one of the foster kids. They went quiet when he entered, and both smiled at him as he gave the man an appraising look.

He was a man that appeared to be in his mid-fifties, with a handsome face that had aged remarkably well. He had a short white goatee and moustache in a neat and simple style, and had long curly hair that was kept in a simple ponytail. His eyes were brown, and his skin tone was the same as Camila’s, which immediately made Manny suspicious. Camila had told him that Angels from the same Crest Order tended to bear a striking resemblance to one another, and this guy definitely looked like Camila! The features weren’t identical, but they were similar enough that anyone would think them related! He was dressed in a rather fancy suit too, but Manny noticed a tie pin that had a small blue stone on it… a Concealment Stone perhaps?

He gave them both a quiet and polite greeting, then grabbed the drinks and fled the room. However he didn’t go far before creeping back and pressing himself against the wall beside the door so he could listen in.

“… was Manny. He’s Camila’s boyfriend. A shame that he has to leave for Hartford soon, but given the circ*mstances, it might be for the best…” Miss Prince sighed.

“Indeed. I hate to break the lad’s heart, and my Camila’s too, but we won’t be staying in Connecticut once this mess has been cleared up.” the man replied.

“I see. A real shame. Now please don’t be offended, but you realise that both myself and the State are going to need some hard evidence of your relation to Camila. Her being found wandering alone two years ago with no records has left us all rather suspicious of her original home life.”

“That is understandable, and I will of course provide the necessary records and testimonies. My wayward daughter ran off with an unsavoury man and produced Camila. I tried to stay involved in their life, but they suddenly went missing a few years ago. I’ve been searching all over the country for them. I sadly found the death certificates for my daughter and her boyfriend; nasty business, he drove them into oncoming traffic while drunk, but I found nothing on my granddaughter. I’ve been scouring the foster system in every state for the last two years looking for them! We’re from the west coast you see, so it took quite a while for me to work my way to Connecticut.” the man explained, his voice deep and rich, though it had an odd rasp to it after a few sentences.

Manny’s eyes widened, especially as he heard the man take several pauses to drink something and clear his throat. He must have been lying, and burning his throat in the process! It HAD to be an Angel come to take Camila back!

As silently as he could, he ran from the kitchen to the hall, where he ran into a smiling Camila. He opened her mouth to greet him, but he covered it with his hand and shushed her urgently, before forcing her back up the stairs. They got all the way to the girls’ shared room before Manny released her, clearly in a panic.

“Manny, what’s going on!? Why are you freaking out!?” Camila asked worriedly.

“Cassie, an Angel is downstairs! He’s meeting with Mrs Prince right now! He’s claiming to be your grandfather and telling a whole bunch of lies! He plans to take you away!”

The girl turned deathly pale and immediately cast an illusion of an Angel Man. “Is this him!?” she asked urgently.

Manny looked at the illusion and gulped upon seeing he really was the man from downstairs, only with golden eyes and dressed in much more ornate white and gold Angelic robes. The illusion also sported eight wings and a halo, marking him as a much higher ranked Angel than Cassiel.

“That’s him! Who is he!?” Manny asked.

Camila began to pace around the room, practically hyperventilated. “Oh no! No no no no! This isn’t just bad, it’s disastrous! That’s Camael!”

“Camael?” Manny repeated, gently catching his girlfriend mid-pacing and sitting her down.

“My grandfather… the only Angel I know I’m related to by blood. He’s also the Seraphim of Crest Kindness! He’s one of the seven most powerful Angels in our society, and ruler of Crest Kindness!” Camila revealed, trying to calm her breathing.

“Your Gramps is that big of a deal? Wait, why do you know him but not your parents?” Manny asked.

“Family isn’t a big thing in the Crest Orders, and most of us never find out about relatives. But as a Seraphim, he has access to our records and found out about me. He revealed our relation when I tried to leave Crest Kindness to be a Missionary; he was hoping to convince me to stay, but it just made me angry.” Camila confessed.

Manny scowled; “That’s messed up! I guess even the bigwig Angels are just people as well. But it’s been two years; how did he only just find you?”

“I bet it was my maturity.” Camila bit her lip; “The spike of magic must have been large enough for them to detect and when they came to investigate, they found out it was me.”

“Well damn.” Manny cursed, “What do we do now?”

“I’ve got to run.” Camila replied, immediately rushing over to her school satchel and emptying all her non-essentials from it and stuffing in her clothes and valuables, using the expansion spell on it to make sure that she had enough room. “If he takes me back, I’ll never be free again! But if I can hold out until I’m a legal adult, they’ll stop looking for me.”

“That’s still three years! That’s a long time to be on the run!” Manny frowned.

“I’ve got no choice! I won’t go back there to be some tool or broodmare! And I refuse to be lectured and pressured into a life I don’t want! Besides…” she looked tearfully at him; “If they find out you know the truth about me, they’ll erase your memories! It’ll be like I never existed in your life.”

Manny gasped, then growled; “To hell with that! Gimme a second!”

He then ran from the room, leaving Camila to finish packing her clothes. She was almost done by the time Manny rushed back in, dragging along a suitcase and his emptied school satchel.

“I’m coming with you! I was gonna be sent away when I turned 16 in a few days anyway, so I might as well go with you!” he declared.

Camila gasped; “You’d do that for me!? B-But I have no idea where we’d live or what we’d do for food or… anything at all really! I was just going to keep running!”

“Well, now you’ll have another person who can help you figure that stuff out! Besides, I’ve got this!” he pulled a credit card out of his wallet; “I inherited my parents’ whole estate and while it’s not a lot, I’ve still got a few thousand dollars to spend! If we withdraw some cash in New Haven then we won’t even need to worry about them tracking us through the card!”

“Y-You’d really go that far for me?” Camila asked with a watery smile.

Manny grinned and kissed her; “Of course! You’re my Hermosa, and I won’t let anyone but you take you away from me!”

That earned a blush from Camila, who then swiftly enchanted Manny’s school bag and helped him load his things into it from the suitcase. They then carefully put the empty case back in its proper place and used a couple of illusions to make it look like their things were still in place, which would hopefully trick Miss Prince into thinking they were still just hanging out somewhere in the city. With that done, Camila cast an illusion to make them both invisible and a strength-boosting spell on herself to make it easier to carry Manny as they slipped out the window and began to fly away.

Camila could fly at an average of 40mph on her own and 30mph while carrying Manny, so it took them a few minutes to reach the centre of New Haven and one of their preferred hang out spots at a local mall, where Manny could withdraw as much cash as the ATM would let him. It then took them just under an hour to fly to Hartford to grab some dinner and camping supplies (since not many places would rent rooms to two unaccompanied teenagers for a night). They then flew another hour down to Norwich in the south-east of Connecticut, before catching a bus back towards Hartford, stopping off in Glastonbury and then beginning to walk to the north-east, just to thoroughly confuse anyone attempting to track them. They camped in the woods that night, with Camila refusing to use magic of any kind to avoid being detected, and then the next day they continued their travels.

It was nearing the late afternoon by the time they arrived at a small town not far from Route 6; a town called Gravesfield. It was an unassuming little town from the old colonial era, and as it was starting to get dark, Camila and Manny decided to find a spot in the woods where they could camp out. As they searched for a good spot, they discovered an abandoned cabin in the woods and Manny immediately began exploring it.

“Be careful, Love. If you hurt yourself and I have to heal you, the Angels might find us.” Camila cautioned as he eagerly began rushing about the old cabin, exploring its every nook and cranny.

There wasn’t much to be found; everything besides the cobwebs and come old rotten furniture had already been picked clean long ago. It was a little eerie actually; there weren’t any signs of humans coming near the place in decades! Not even the usual graffiti, though there was a strange carving on one of the support beams of the porch that read “Bad Girl Coven 4 Ever!” along with a crude looking bird of some kind.

“Don’t worry Cassie, this place is totally abandoned. It’s pretty sturdy too!” Manny grinned, jumping up and down in the living room to prove his point. Of course, it turned out that not everything in the cabin was sturdy, as his last jump ended with his foot going through a floorboard and making him yelp and fall over.

Camila chuckled at the boy’s sheepish look, then helped him pull his leg out of the hole and made sure he didn’t have any cuts or splinters. Thankfully he was fine, though now that his foot was free from the hole, Manny peeked inside it to see what was beneath the floor and gasped.

“There’s a hiding spot here! The space beneath that floorboard was left hollow on purpose!” Manny grinned, excitedly reaching around inside the hole.

“Mind that you don’t cut yourself on a rusty nail. A spell to cure Tetanus will require a lot of magic!” Camila warned.

“I’ll be fine, besides…” he grinned as he sat up and pulled something out of the hole; “I found something already!”

He revealed the object he’d found; it was a small hexagonal box of bizarre design. It appeared to be made of wood, but the sides of the box were all made of mismatched pieces, giving it a stained glass effect. There was also a strange golden emblem that looked like some kind of bird, though Camila could have sworn she’d seen the design somewhere before. It looked Angelic, but like a bad imitation.

“What is this?” Camila asked, looking at it closely. She then noticed a hinge on one side and opened the box, discovering that it contained some kind of scroll with golden caps on either end.

“Ooh, something secret and ancient! This is so exciting!” Manny beamed, gently taking the scroll and unfurling it after Camila sensed no magic coming from it.

The scroll unfurled to reveal a series of abstract pictures, as well as worn out writing that was no longer legible. The edges of the scroll were red and had golden runes of some kind, and Camila raised an eyebrow upon seeing it was really bad Angelic Script.

“I think this is a Rebus!” Manny declared, “I heard that a whole bunch of these have been dug up all over the east coast, from back in the Colonial Era! They’re like messages that uses pictures in place of words and syllables.”

“So someone buried a message? And part of a map too, judging by the look of it.” Camila said, her eyes glancing over the central part of the Rebus before looking back to the script along the edges. “Did an Angel make this? An Angel with really bad handwriting?” she wondered aloud. The script was worn too, but it looked barely legible from the start; as if someone who didn’t truly know the language had written it.

“What does it say?” Manny asked.

Camila narrowed her eyes and peered closely; this particular kind of Angelic Script was at least a few thousand years old, though thankfully the language hadn’t changed too much in that time period.

“I think it says… “Sight foliage this scroll betwixt mine habitant. If different discover it, knowledge that sight am a Fallen Butcher that has become misplaced betwixt the Fallen Land. Sight linger there to finish mine job and venerate that any of the People may discover mine destiny and sacrifice to assistance to me. Sight plot to performance mine duty and purge the Fallen from this Land in the identity of Power. If you desire-cry to fuse mine job, navigation this drawn-land. Fill-Lips Mind-Poison.” Camila finished, looking terribly confused.

“That makes no sense at all…” Manny frowned.

“It looks like someone who speaks English tried to write in Angelic Script but didn’t quite translate it right and is going off their best guesses. Sight probably meant eye, as in I. Foliage could mean leaves, or leave in this case… so going off that logic, I think it says “I leave this scroll within my home. If others find it, know that I am a Fallen Butcher that has become lost within the Fallen Land. I remain there to finish my job and… pray? Yes, pray that any of the People may discover my fate and offer to help me. I plan to do my duty and purge the Fallen from this Land in the name of… Power? If you wish to join my job, follow this map.” It’s still rough, but that’s the best I can do.” Camila replied; “And I still have no idea what “Fill-Lips Mind-Poison” means.”

“Me neither. What’s a Fallen Butcher or the Fallen Land?” Manny asked.

Camila shrugged; “I’m not sure, but the word “Fallen” when used with these characters literally translates to “Criminal” or “Depraved”. It’s used to denote Angels who’ve committed crimes against the Crest Orders. Also, when he refers to the People, he means Angels; that’s how they refer to themselves in their script.”

“Right… so this must have been written by a Human, right? It was left in the Human Realm and not by an Angel, so it had to be a Human.” Manny reasoned.

“Seems about right to me. From what I can tell, a Human went off to kill criminals for some reason and left this behind so if any Angels found it, they could follow him and help. He left a map and these funny symbols to lead them there.” Camila said, pointing to the pictures. She suspected the writing that was too faded had been more explicit instructions, with the drawings left behind in case the writing became illegible… which was lucky in this instance.

The map, which appeared to be of a fairly simple town, was the second of four images on the scroll. The top one was a trio of symbols depicting a strange eye with a slitted pupil, a rectangle with a dot in the middle of it, and an ear with the letter H next to it. The fact the ear was round was further proof a Human had made it. The third image, beneath the map, was a second trio of images, this time depicting a ribbon, a stretched out animal hide, and a hand that appeared to be releasing liquid from a mark on its palm. The fourth and final image was a blue droplet within a pair of concentric circles. The map also had a red line that went from the side of the town to a certain spot, marked by an X and a picture of a large stone archway.

“Do you want to try and solve it, and find out what happened to this guy? It’d be a fun adventure, and you are an Angel after all!” Manny asked eagerly.

Camila snorted; “I think it’s more that you just want to try and solve this puzzle.” she said knowingly.

Manny didn’t deny it and just grinned; “Please?”

She couldn’t say no to that puppy-like smile, so Camila just smiled; “Alright. But we need to get going in the morning; I’m not comfortable lingering in Connecticut for much longer and there’s no way Camael doesn’t know we’ve made a run for it by now.”

“Woohoo! Then let’s get to it while we’ve still got daylight!” Manny cheered, giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek before pouring over the Rebus. “Okay, so I’m guessing that the location of the Rebus, this house, is where we’re supposed to start, which makes it here.” he pointed to the start of the red line, on the western edge of the map, which also depicted a forest. “But what do the first set of symbols mean?”

“An eye, a rectangle, and an H and an ear. I’m guessing the H and ear means “hear”. But wouldn’t an ear on its own also be enough to mean hear as in hearing?” Camila asked.

“Then perhaps its meant to be the syllable “hear” instead of the word. In which case, it’d mean “here” like a place. The eye could mean I, or mine, considering the guy’s broken Angel Script. I something here…” Manny rubbed his chin, which had begun to grow dark bristles since he hadn’t shaved since the previous morning. “Do you think the rectangle could be a door? And the dot is the door nob?”

“That makes as much sense as anything else. So it means “my door here”. I think that’s just meant to mean that you have to start the trail from this guy’s house.” Camila said.

Manny frowned; “Which was already obvious. Either we’re missing something or this guy doesn’t have a high opinion of other people’s brains. Well whatever, we should follow the map now since that’s the next part of the Rebus.”

Camila nodded and cast an invisibility spell on them both, before grabbing Manny and flying out of the abandoned house and into the sky. Neither of them knew Gravesfield well enough to follow the map confidently from the ground, but with a bird’s eye view they could match the map against the landscape of the town itself and try to line everything up properly. It took a moment for them to get their heads around the differences between the map and the actual landscape (the town had obviously expanded since the map was made), but once Manny was confident he had it, he pointed Camila where they needed to fly to reach the marked spot.

The marked spot turned out to be an old cemetery built on the edge of town hundreds of years ago. The town hadn’t expanded in that direction at all, and it was obvious why as the cemetery was partially in a swamp, and there was no longer a safe footpath to even reach it thanks to a moat of water that surrounded it. Manny thought the graves were creepy, especially since they hadn’t been cared for in a very long time, but Camila was more focused on the large stone archway that marked the entrance to the cemetery itself.

“I can’t believe it… it’s a Portal Gate!” Camila gasped, looking at the archway.

Manny’s eyes widened as he too looked at the gate. It was a simple archway of stone, though it was noticeably thin along the edges, and notably didn’t look it had worn away at all. The stone of the walls around the cemetery were also not fully connected to the arch and looked far more eroded, meaning the walls had likely been made separately. The top of the arch had a strange intricate carving that consisted of multiple stone angel wings, as well as a relief that depicted a carved sigil that prominently featured a bird.

“That top part definitely looks Angelic. What is that Sigil?” Manny asked.

“It’s the Missionary Seal. It’s used to let Angels know what locations are related to the Divine Realm.” Camila explained; “This Portal Gate must have been used to go from the Divine Realm to the Human Realm a very long time ago.”

Manny hummed and began looking more closely at the gate; “Do you think Rebus guy used it and that’s what he was leading us to?”

“It makes sense. He knew Angelic Script and talked about “The People”. But if this gate was where his mission led him, then this gate must also connect to the “Fallen Land”. Which means the Fallen he’s talking about are probably the Demons and Witches of the Demon Realm.” Camila theorised. “They aren’t used any more, but the Divine Realm had a lot of Portal Gates that linked to the Demon Realm, or linked to Travel Hubs that also linked to the Demon Realm.”

“I see… so what do you think we should do now?” Manny asked; “Should we go through?”

Camila shook her head; “No way! The Demon Realm is dangerous! Don’t you remember those stories I told you? Besides, that Rebus is really old so the Human who left it is definitely dead by now.”

“Well yeah, but don’t you think it’ll be an adventure? You said that no Angels have been to the Demon Realm for centuries, right? And those that went never returned. Well that means it’s an entirely unexplored place! A new frontier that we could explore to our hearts’ content!” Manny asked with that infectious grin of his; “Think about it Cassie; we’d be like Captain Avery and Chief O’Bailey! And besides, the Demon Realm might have changed a lot in the centuries since any Angels last saw it.”

Camila frowned, but Manny could see he’d gotten to her a little. The idea of going and exploring an entirely new place, with new people and new cultures entirely unlike their own was bound to appeal to any true Cosmic Frontier fan, and Camila was a die-hard fan! She was clearly tempted, though she also looked worried.

“I guess it is kind of appealing… but this is purely theoretical anyway; the gate needs power and a keystone. We don’t have either.” Camila pointed out.

That put a damper on Manny’s enthusiasm, but he wasn’t ready to give up just yet. “Well then let’s take another look at the Rebus! We still haven’t figured out the meaning of the second set of pictures.”

He pulled out the Rebus and unfurled it so he and Camila could get a good look. At first glance, a ribbon, a tanning hide, and a hand making some form of liquid didn’t make any sense.

“Ribbon Hide Sweaty Hand?” Manny mumbled.

“That’s silly.” Camila giggled. “I think it’s a bleeding hand. See the little line on the palm that the blood is coming from?”

“So Ribbon Hide Bloody Hand? Ribbon Tanning Blood? Bow Tan Blood?”

The two wracked their brains for a moment, until Camila had an epiphany; “It’s tied up! The ribbon is tied into a bow! It’s Tie Tan Blood! Titan Blood!”

Manny’s eyes lit up; “Ooh, I remember this one! Titans are those super colossal Demons, right? The ones that are like Gods to the Demons?”

Camila nodded; “They’re the opposite of the Ten-Winged Seraphim; super powerful creatures! They’re spoken of in legends in the Divine Realm. Their blood was supposed to be so powerful that it could rend time and space!”

“Powerful enough to power a Portal Gate, perhaps?” Manny questioned.

“Definitely. So the Rebus was pointing us towards this gate as well as the Titan Blood?” Camila asked. The first set of symbols had pointed to where they started and found the Rebus, so it only made sense for the second set to point to where they finished and where the key to opening the gate was!

“The Titan Blood must be buried in one of the graves. I don’t really like the idea of grave-robbing, but I also don’t want to just give up!” Manny said with a conflicted frown.

“We might not have to. Give me a minute.” Camila told him as she went to grab a stick and began drawing some intricate ritual circles on the ground. As she worked, she looked up at the sky and smiled when she saw that it was dark enough for the moonlight to be shining, and there were no clouds in the sky.

“Perfect! Time for some Divination!”

Manny blinked in surprise, then gasped as Camila’s ritual circle began to shine in the moonlight. Camila’s wings and hair began to glow silvery as well, and an aura of silver magic covered her hands.

“Cassie? What are you doing?” he asked.

“A Divination Ritual. In Crest Kindness, we’re taught to use either Sun, Moon, or Starlight to power a special ritual that allows us to pinpoint a foreign object inside the body of our patients. If you make the circle bigger and use more magic, you can expand the area of effect! And if you know what you’re looking for, you can find it even more effectively!” Camila explained, before slamming her palms into the centre of the circle. A wave of silver magic spread out in all directions and began to pulse through the ground. To Manny’s eyes, it looked a little like a sonar or some kind of MRI machine, and within seconds he saw something glowing red about six feet beneath the ground. Thankfully it didn’t appear to be a spot beneath any of the headstones, so it looked like the Rebus guy hadn’t buried it in someone’s grave.

“Bingo!” Camila grinned, using her stick to mark the spot before releasing her spell and causing the ritual circle to disappear. “Now we know where to dig.”

Manny reached into his satchel and pulled out a small trowel he’d bought along with his other camping supplies. “This might take a while…” he frowned at the trowel.

“And it’d be pretty bad for us if someone came along and saw us digging in a cemetery, even if we’re not digging up an actual grave.” Camila laughed, “But don’t worry! I’ve got a better idea!”

With that, she drew a spell circle that caused the tips of her right index finger and thumb to glow orange. She then put the fingers to her mouth and whistled sharply, sending a wave of orange magic into the nearby woods. Manny watched her with interest, then gasped as the ground in front of her began to shift and move as a little mole dug its way out of the ground at her feet.

“Hey little friend.” Camila smiled as she knelt and pet the mole; “Just over there is a small buried object containing a blue liquid that smells like blood. Could you please fetch it for me?”

With unnatural intelligence, the mole nodded and dove back underground, getting a giggle from Camila. Manny was shocked; “Wow, you really are good with animals. Still, I’ve never seen you summon one before! What was that?”

“An Eastern Mole. I’ve always been good at Bestial Magic, and the right spell can detect the desired animal nearby and summon it to you. That little fella will dig up the Titan Blood for us now; much less suspicious than us breaking out the trowels.” Camila explained.

Manny nodded in agreement, then looked at the last part of the Rebus; “So Titan Blood is blue, huh? I guess that explains the last drawing on the Rebus. Guess we’re done with it now.” he rolled up the scroll and put it back in the box they’d found it in, before stuffing the box in his satchel along with the unneeded trowel.

A moment later, the Mole popped back out of the same hole as before with a vial clenched in his big claws. Camila gently took it from him and thanked him with some petting, then cast a spell on him that would allow him to detect the nearest edible insect instinctively. The little fellow immediately dove back into its hole and went digging for its next meal; the reward for his service, while Camila held the vial of blue liquid aloft. It looked like a test tube of sorts, but had a curious stone stopper on top that was spherical but had a bird-like face carved into it. Camila thought it looked like an Owl, though something else about it caught her attention.

“Well, now we’ve got the Titan Blood! So now we just need to find the keystone!” Manny cheered.

Camila shook her head; “No we don’t. I think this stone stopper IS the keystone. I can sense the familiar enchantments from it. It looks like someone carved it into this shape after finding it, but so long as the core of the enchantments is intact, it should be fine.”

“That’s perfect! Then we can go to the Demon Realm!” her boyfriend grinned excitedly.

“I’m still not sure that’s a good idea.” Camila frowned nervously; “Sure it might be fun, but it could also be really dangerous! And you’d be virtually helpless! The monsters there will be way more vicious than Human Realm Animals, and the people will all have magic! Do you really want to take a risk like that?”

Manny could see the fear in his girlfriend’s eyes, so gently took her by the hand; “Cassie, I know you’re scared but so long as we’re together, we can conquer anything! Besides, the Demon Realm is safer for you than the Human Realm is right now. Camael is hunting you, and since he’s a big shot Seraphim, I bet he’s got a tone of minions searching for you too. But none of them will go to the Demon Realm! Stay here and we’ll be running for three straight years, until you’re an adult! But if we go to the Demon Realm…”

“We’ll be free.” Camila finished, her nerves fading a little as excitement set in. “You might have a point. At least there we have a chance of being safe and free; we know we’ll be hunted here. Alright, if you’re willing to take the risk then I’ll agree. But you’ve got to promise to listen to me when we’re there! Without magic, you’ll be a sitting duck so I need to know you’ll do what I say when danger arises.”

Manny gave a flirtatious grin; “You know me, Hermosa; I love it when you take charge.”

Camila blushed and playfully swatted his shoulder, then sighed; “Then I guess it’s decided. We’re going to the Demon Realm!”

Her boyfriend gave his customary “Woohoo!” of excitement, making her laugh as she approached the Portal Gate. Channelling a little magic into the keystone, Camila held it up and watched as a small amount of the Titan Blood was siphoned into the keystone to charge it up, causing it to glow gold and fire a beam of light at the sigil on top of the archway. The sigil began to glow gold as well, followed by the rest of the archway. Then little bolts of golden magic shot from the archway into the open air within it, forming an open portal that slowly expanded to fill the entire gate.

Manny gaped in amazement at the open portal, mesmerised by the swirling colours and sparkles. It looked almost like a nebula in the night sky being reflected on a pool of liquid, and Manny could hardly tear his eyes away. “This is incredible!”

“Just wait until you see what’s on the other side.” Camila said, putting the Keystone and Titan Blood in her bag. The stone had enough charges left to open a gate four more times before it needed to consume more Titan Blood, so she was confident they wouldn’t be stranded. She approached Manny and took his hand, then walked towards the gate. “Are you ready?”

“More than you’ll ever know!” Manny declared.

Camila smiled in return and they both stepped through the portal. They walked out of an identical portal in the In-Between Realm, arriving in an Angelic made stone pavilion. It looked like a large circular structure of white stone, roughly the same size as the abandoned house in Gravesfield, and with architecture that heavily featured wings and angelic figures. Around the edges of the pavilion were numerous portal gates, each with a different sigil on top of them to denote where they lead, and in the dead centre was a golden orb floating above a pedestal with a beam of light connecting the two, and several small crystals attached to the pedestal and facing towards each gate.

“Whoa… is this the Demon Realm?” Manny asked, amazed by the cosmic look to the place. “And what’s that big orb?”

“No, this is a Portal Hub in the In-Between Realm. Normal Portal Gates connect only two places, but Portal Hubs like these allow Angels to travel through one gate and come out of a bunch of other ones. That big orb in the middle will open the gates for us, so we don’t need to waste the keystone’s charge. It’s a fail-safe to keep people from getting stranded in here.” Camila explained, looking around at the different gates. There were only four in total, including the one they’d come through.

“So cool…!” Manny breathed as he began to look at the different gates and note their sigils. The one they’d come through had a stylised tree, while the others had a pair of wings forming a halo, a strange horned skull, and a character of Angelic Script.

“I’d wager the wings and angel letter mean those gates go to the Divine Realm?” he said, pointing to the two in question. “And then the skull must mean that gate goes to the Demon Realm.”

“You’re half right. The Halo of Wings is the City Emblem of Gran Seraphia, the Capital City of the Crest Orders and the biggest city in the Divine Realm.” Camila said, before pointing to the other sigil; “That one is the word for “Outpost”, which means it connects to an Angelic Outpost in the Demon Realm. Judging by the age of the script, I’d wager the outpost is over a thousand years old. The skull indicates that gate leads to one of the Titan Archipelagos.”

“And those are…?” Manny asked.

“A giant Titan Corpse that witches and demons live on.” Camila answered coyly, knowing that would trigger Manny’s imagination.

“They live on the corpses of their dead gods!? These guys are freaking metal!” Manny gushed; “Let’s go through this one!”

“No way, Jose!” Camila retorted; “Normal landmasses in the Demon Realm are dangerous! Titan Archipelagos are that turned up to 11! All the magic in the corpse causes some really wacky stuff! We should go to the outpost. It’ll be abandoned and might still have some supplies, as well as being moderately liveable. Plus, Angels only build their outposts in safe, isolated locations, so we’ll be relatively free from danger.”

Manny pouted and gave his best puppy dog eyes, making Camila roll her own eyes; “Don’t give me that look. At the very least we can use the outpost as a home base while we explore the Titan, okay?”

That cheered her silly boyfriend up, and had him happily trotting along behind Camila as she cast a spell on the pedestal crystal facing towards the Outpost Gate. As she was doing this, Manny looked at the tree sigil above the gate they’d entered through and asked about it.

“Oh that? It’s because it exits into a forested area. There are different emblems for different terrains, so Missionaries know what they need to be prepared for. The one I came through near New Haven had ocean waves to denote a coastal area.” Camila explained.

Satisfied with that answer, Manny watched his girlfriend activate the orb in the middle of the pavilion, causing it to shoot a beam of light at the sigil on the Outpost Gate, just like the keystone had on the Gravesfield Gate. Unlike that gate however, this portal didn’t show the cosmos-like array of sparkles and colours, instead revealing the image of a short road of paved white stones, leading to a three-story stone tower with golden detailing and filigree all over it. It reminded Manny of a fantasy castle tower or a chess rook. Unable to contain himself any longer, Manny picked Camila up and lifted her up so she was sitting on his shoulders, her thighs sandwiching his head. The two teens then giggled excitedly as Manny ran through the newly open portal to a brand new realm.

They arrived in a much smaller pavilion with only a single Portal Gate, and which was built on the beach of a small island. It was night time, yet the two could still see almost everything thanks to the light of the moon and the billions of shining stars, all left fully visible without all the light pollution of the Human Realm. The island itself was very small; large enough only to contain the pavilion, the tower outpost, a short path between them, and some rocky hills that the tower was nestled between. There were a few trees that looked like red needled pines dotted here and there, and some red grass everywhere that wasn’t road or sand, but otherwise it looked like Manny and Camila were the only life forms around.

“This place is incredible… look at the sky! I’ve never seen so many stars! And the grass and trees are red! This is so cool!” Manny gushed.

“Imagine how good it’ll look in the daylight! Just be careful not to touch the seawater; it’s boiling hot.” Camila warned.

One look at the steaming, bubbling water had Manny gulping and taking very special care to stay on the road and away from the tide. He walked the two of them up to the Angelic Outpost Tower, finding the front door to be sealed with Angelic Magic, which Camila easily undid and opened. The inside of the tower was rather barren as the Angels who’d last lived here had taken most of their possessions with them, but there were still a few things lying around. The first floor was largely empty save for a stove built into the building itself, as well as numerous cupboards and a pair of doors; one leading to an empty pantry and one leading out behind the tower to a very overgrown herb and vegetable garden. The second floor appeared to be a storage and training area, with a few sealed chests of items stacked neatly beside the stairs (likely intended to be taken when the owners left, but forgotten about or abandoned due to a hasty retreat). The third floor was clearly the bedroom, and while it had been stripped of any personal effects, it still had some functioning bathrooms as well as numerous beds that looked ancient and filthy, whilst also lacking bedding of any kind; just a frame and a mattress.

“Well this place is a fixer-upper if I’ve ever seen one.” Manny commented; “Still, this is a perfect place to live and use as a base for our exploration! We’ve got bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, and even a garden out back for food! We could really make a home here!”

“It would be nice to have a place all our own. This place reminds me a little too much of the Divine Realm though…” Camila frowned, a very unpleasant form of nostalgia filling her heart.

Manny gently lifted the girl down from his shoulders and kissed her cheek; “Then we’ll just have to make it look like something unique to us. A little Human and Rebel Angel flair!”

Camila blushed and kissed him back; “Sweet talker. All this excitement has worn me out, so I’ll cast some spells to wipe away all the dust, then we can set up the sleeping bags and sleep. Tomorrow we’ll clean this place up, then we can start thinking about exploring beyond the island.”

“Alright, but first we need to name this place! I’m thinking… New New Haven!” Manny grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Camila snorted; “Dork. What do you really want to call it?”

“Neo Haven! Because this place is our Haven away from New Haven, y’know?” the boy replied, still wearing a goofy smile but being genuine this time.

“Alright, Neo Haven it is. Now, bed!”

“Yes Ma’am!”

________________________________________________________________________________

[Two Days Later]

After that first night, Camila and Manny awoke bright and early to their first full day on Neo Haven and in the Demon Realm. After snacking on a breakfast made with the resources they’d bought, the two had gotten down to fully exploring the tower and the little island it was sat on so they knew exactly what they were working with. They found that there wasn’t much more to see in the light of day, as there really wasn’t a lot on the tiny island aside from a path behind the tower, which had been hidden by the overgrown foliage in the garden. The path led through a small tunnel through the rocky hills and came out on the other side, where a small dock had been built. The dock had no boats nor any mooring points, but there were the rotten remains of some very old wooden buckets, as well as spools of wire attached to rotten fishing poles. It hadn’t taken much for the pair to realise the dock had been built for fishing rather than boats, but that suited them just fine; with access to veggies and herbs from the garden and fish from the dock, they’d have plenty of easy food to get. And since the only life forms on the island appeared to be nesting birds and a plethora of bait-worthy insects, Camila was sure they could easily survive on the island for as long as they wanted. However Manny did make a point that they’d need to acquire some new fishing rods.

After the exploration, they’d done a serious deep clean of the entire tower. Camila had started off by working alone and having Manny instead lug any moveable items outside, but once he’d done that, he’d still wanted to help, so Camila had decided to test out her new ability to give Angelic Blessings. Only a full Angel could give one, and once Manny had been blessed, he took to magic like a fish to water (likely due to how much he’d seen Camila using it since they started dating). With Manny’s eager magical help, they had the entire place liveable in no time, and unlike Camila, he was rather good at Earth Magic and so created new furniture out of stone; namely a kitchen table and chairs for the downstairs area, and some seating for the second floor, which they’d turned into a living room/relaxation area.

Once they’d explored the island and cleaned up their new home base, they turned to the few supplies left behind by the Angels of the past. Most of it was junk; rusted armour that was too big for either of them and too brittle for its purpose, a few weapons that had decayed to the point of uselessness, and a few enchanted items that actually did serve some purpose. Once was a Cooling Stone; an enchanted stone that lowered the temperature of the enclosed space it was in and which Manny had put into a stone cabinet he’d made to create a makeshift fridge. Another was an old alchemy kit, containing some still usable glassware, though Camila would need to replace the cauldron and tools since they’d rusted over 1000 years of exposure to sea air. The last item was the real jackpot though; a spare keystone amulet. This was a small amulet designed to contain a Portal Gate Keystone and slowly charge it by absorbing small amounts of magic from the wearer; it was nowhere near as good as the Titan Blood, which could get five uses from a single drop of blood, but it did allow a single use to be charged over a period of six hours, and it was adjustable for different sized keystones. Thanks to that, the duo wouldn’t ever need to worry about using up the Titan Blood and stranding themselves somewhere, so Camila took to wearing it at all times and hid the Titan Blood in a stone chest that they buried in the herb garden.

Finally, they’d finished the day by cutting back the Garden and seeing what was usable; they found some decent herbs for both food and potions, and also plenty of Divine Realm vegetables that were edible to Humans. There were even some Human and Demon Realm veggies too, which Camila and Manny had cooked up together to bolster the food they’d already brought.

When their second day in the Demon Realm came, the two of them agreed that it was finally time to take a look at the Titan Archipelago. But as they sat down after breakfast, Camila made sure to lay down some important ground rules.

“Okay Manny, this is serious. As much as I want to have fun exploring this new frontier with you, the Demon Realm really is dangerous! My identity as an Angel cannot be revealed, or they might try and kill me! And if the people here think we’re humans, we won’t be able to defend ourselves with magic without giving ourselves away, so we’re going to need to pretend to be witches.” she said, handing Manny a Concealment Stone she’d made.

Manny slipped it on and felt a cool breeze over his ears as Camila made him a mirror so he could see his reflection, allowing him to see his now pointy ears.

“That is so cool! So I’m guessing you’ll keep giving me blessings so it looks like I’ve got magic?” he asked with a big excited grin.

“That’s right.” Camila smiled in return, slipping on her own Concealment Stone. It turned her back to her Human Form, before she modified it to allow her pointy ears to be seen. “There! Now we both look like regular witches. But we’re also going to need aliases, just in case. Camila and Emmanuel aren’t exactly very witchy names. I can probably get away with using Cassiel or Cassie, since I can’t exactly lie, but you’ll need a new name too. One that I can say without it being a lie.”

Manny hummed; “So a nickname? I guess Manny wouldn’t work, or else you wouldn’t have brought it up. How about Emil? It’s basically the first and last parts of my name, so it works as a nickname. Or maybe even just Em? Makes me sound like James Bond’s boss; M!”

“Em works. It’s just a shortened version of your name after all. Right; we’ve got our aliases and disguises, and the keystone still has four charges from that first drop of Titan Blood! We can open the gate to the Transport Hub, as well as open the gate back from the Titan without worry! Are you ready to go?” Camila asked.

Manny nodded rapidly; “So ready! I’ve never been more ready!”

Camila giggled at his exuberance, then got to her feet; “Then let’s go! I’ve already packed my satchel with food and some useful camping tools, so we’re all set!”

Manny squealed with delight and after Camila gave him his newest blessing, they both ran to the Portal Gate and left Neo Haven for the Transport Hub, then from there to the Titan Archipelago. They arrived in a forested area completely full of those red pine-like trees, and Manny immediately began seeing, hearing, and smelling things he’d never seen or heard or smelled before. Pulling out a sketchpad and pencil from his own satchel, he began rapidly drawing every unique creature and plant he saw, while Camila, now switching to thinking of herself as Cassiel again, looked at the gate they’d just come through.

The gate looked to have been either built to resemble the architecture of the Demon Realm, or had been remodelled by the locals, as it looks like a fairly regular garden gate, complete with an actual iron gate that had seen better days. Like the cemetery gate in Gravesfield, it appeared to have been incorporated into a wall of some kind, though this wall belonged to a garden that no longer existed, and the wall itself had fallen into ruin. It looked like they’d arrived at the site of a house that no longer existed.

Cassiel turned to Em and called to him; “We should try to find some locals. Once we know what the clothing style is like around here, we can create illusions over our normal clothes.” she said.

Em, who’d been drawing a Demon Bird that had a hand for a head, and an eyeball in the middle of its palm, nodded as he finished up and stowed his book for now. “Magic is great for speed drawing! I’ve got tons of sketches already! So next step is blending in; can’t we just buy some clothes from the locals?” he asked.

“With what money? I somehow doubt they take US dollars here.” Cassiel pointed out.

“Fair point. We’ll just have to find out what they use for money here and make some cash! Onward!” Em said, marching off into the woods. Cassiel had no better ideas on where to go, so followed him until they both heard the voice of a teenage girl.

“I’m heading to school now, Mother!” she said.

Cassiel and Em exchanged looks, then stealthily made their way to the source of the voice. They found a pleasant little house in the woods, not far from the ruins they’d arrived in, and watched as a teenage girl just a little older than them walked out of the house. The girl had thick, dark orange hair that was extremely curly and reached to her hips, whilst also sporting large circular framed glasses and a pale complexion. Her outfit was some kind of grey tunic and mantle with an attached cowl, and her sleeves and leggings were yellow. The girl was clutching a book in her arms and had some kind of white raven resting on her shoulder as she walked briskly down the path leading away from the house. A woman’s voice shouted out from the house behind her.

“Have a good day, Sweet Flea!”

Cassiel and Em watched to make sure no one else was actually going to come out of the house, then slowly retreated back through the bushes to a clearing.

“So that’s the kind of clothes they wear here? It’s all old-timey looking. Definitely a Fantasy world.” Em commented. “She mentioned going to school; do you think her outfit was a uniform?”

“No idea. We’d need to find some other kids in the area to find out. Let’s just illusion up some fantasy style outfits for now, and hope it works.” Cassiel replied, already casting an illusion. Her normal jeans and sweater were disguised as a cute medieval peasant’s dress, while Em’s own illusion gave him a red version of the grey tunic the girl from before had been wearing, only with black sleeves and proper pants, and with the mantle replaced by cloak. It looked like Captain Avery’s uniform blended with something from Lord of the Rings.

Now disguised, the two emerged from the forest onto the path that girl from before had walked down, and began to follow it in the same direction. If she was going to school, then she’d lead them to a settlement of some kind! The path very quickly led into a large town that was absolutely bustling with Witches, Demons, and all manner of magical sights. Em’s hands were twitching with anticipation to draw it all and begin making his own “Captain’s Log”, while Cassiel’s eyes darted back and forth for signs of threats or dangers. Her apprehension soon gave way to wonder however, as even a cursory glance proved that this place was nothing like she’d feared. Sure it was kind of gross and fleshy, and pretty wild and chaotic compared to Angel Society, but aside from the general aesthetic, it wasn’t too different in behaviour from the Human Realm! It certainly wasn’t the pit of chaos and danger that the horror stories she’d grown up with painted it as.

Thankfully, the pairs’ disguises were good enough that no one gave them more than a second glance as they passed into the town and began to look around. Em was having the time of his life, and quickly struck up a conversation with the owner of a market stall who was trying to tempt him into buying what appeared to be some kind of powder that was advertised as Ground Troll Toe Nails. His bubbly and friendly nature and ability to go with the flow left him able to bluff his way through just about any conversation, and soon he was learning a ton of things about the town and the items the stall owner sold. The woman seemed to be humouring him too, as his enthusiastic questions and reactions drew attention from others, turning the conversation into an unconventional sales pitch. Cassiel watched him with a bright smile and a blush, admiring her boyfriend’s people skills, until she suddenly heard something that never failed to make her angry.

A child crying.

Trusting Em to take care of himself for a few minutes, Cassiel followed the sound of crying into an alleyway, which emerged into an isolated courtyard between several houses. Five other kids were present; four around the same age as her and one a couple of years younger. All of them were wearing the same outfit as the girl from before, only with different sleeves and leggings, confirming it was a school uniform.

The four older kids (two male witches, a female witch, and a Minotaur-like Demon whose gender Cassiel couldn’t figure out) were surrounding the younger child, a boy, and bullying him as the poor child cried. The child, having the same yellow accented uniform as the girl from before, also had greyish skin, arms almost as long as his body, a long, thin pointed nose, pale grey hair, yellow eyes with dark crimson irises and pink pupils, as well as what appeared to be bird-like feet with only two talons. His face, twisted with misery, also showed a mouth full of thin pointy teeth that poked out of his lips at different points.

“Aw, is itty bitty Vitty gonna cry?” one of the older kids taunted, holding a dirty black satchel over his head.

“G-Give it back! I need that for school!” the crying child begged, trying to jump up and snatch the satchel back.

“You didn’t look like you were going to school a second ago! You were too busy digging up worms!” the Minotaur student mocked, holding a fistful of wriggling green worm-like creatures. Cassiel noticed that behind the crying child there was an empty flower bed with a little hole dug in it.

“Those are for my potions! I can’t afford to buy them from the apothecary!” the child whimpered, cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

“Aw, poor little Orphan Vitty has to dig through the trash. So sad… Sure you weren’t just digging up your next meal?” the girl of the group grinned maliciously.

The last of the bullies laughed; “Yeah, I bet that’s it! Maybe we should feed the little baby?”

The bullies all laughed at the idea, and the two witch boys grabbed the crying child’s arms while tossing his satchel to the girl. The Minotaur kid then approached with the worms, ready to force them into the sobbing child’s mouth.

Cassiel had seen enough, and her temper boiled over. Drawing a pair of spell circles, she used one to take control of the worms, then used the other to enlarge them to massive proportions, making each one as long and as thick as a boa constrictor. The enlarged worms, obeying Cassiel’s will, wrapped around the startled bullies and bound them tight, squeezing them just enough to be uncomfortable and make sure they knew they were at the worms’ mercy. Cassiel then stepped out into the little courtyard, giving the frightened boy a gentle smile before turning a thunderous expression on the bullies.

“How disgusting. I go for a nice stroll through the town and I come across some disgusting worms. But it seems my new green friends helped wrap them up for me.” Cassiel said, glaring down at the frightened bullies.

“H-Hey! What do you think you’re doing!?” cried the Minotaur Bully.

“Dealing with disgusting worms, or did you have too much dirt in your ears to hear me? I’m also mentally debating if I should find a nice big bird to feed you to, since you seemed so interested in the idea. Or perhaps I can bury you back in the dirt where you belong?” Cassiel answered coldly.

The bullies thrashed and tried to get free, but nothing they did could get the real worms to let go. Eventually Cassiel got bored of their squirming and snapped her fingers, making the worms squeeze the bullies just tight enough to hurt a little, making them go still with a series of whimpers before the worms loosened their grip again.

“You’re crazy! My Dad’s in the Emperor’s Coven; let me go or he’ll really let you have it!” one of the male witches threatened.

“Oh? How are you going to tell him what happened with your lips stitched up?” Cassiel asked ominously, conjuring an illusion of a needle and thread. “Worms really don’t need to be able to talk anyway…”

She slowly knelt down and was careful to make sure her body blocked the other bullies from seeing what she was about to do, whilst their victim could still see clearly. She gave him a playful wink, making the boy blush, before casting a stitching spell. The spell bound the bully’s mouth with glowing blue stitches; it was totally painless, but it ensured his mouth wouldn’t be opening again until someone with skills in Healing Magic was able to undo it, or the “wound” that was his mouth healed up. The bully had made some quite entertaining shrieks and screams as she’d worked, out of terror rather than pain, so when she moved aside and let the other bullies see her handiwork, they were all absolutely horrified.

“P-Please! We’re sorry! We won’t bother him again! Just let us go!” the other male bully pleaded, nearly in tears.

Cassiel decided that was enough, and after snatching the bullied boy’s satchel from where it had fallen, she ordered the worms to release the bullies, who all promptly ran away like the seats of their pants were on fire.

“Good riddance.” Cassiel said, dusting off her hands as she then shrank the worms back to normal size and tossed them back into the dirt they’d been dug up from. She then turned to the bullied boy and smiled kindly as she offered her hand.

“Are you okay?” she asked him.

The boy took her hand and let her pull him to his feet, a fluorescent blush on his cheeks and a look of pure admiration on his face. “I-I’m okay. Thank you so much for helping me! I’m Vitimir Bazamet. What’s your name?” he asked shyly (noticeably not releasing his hold on Cassiel’s hand).

“I’m Cassiel. I’m new to this area. I take it those were school bullies of yours?” she asked.

“Y-Yeah. I’m an Orphan but because I’m smart, I got to skip two years at school. That kid whose mouth you stitched up is a noble who got expelled from St. Epiderm, and now he goes to Hexside and picks on me for not “knowing my place.” He’s real mean, but he won’t do anything at Hexside itself, or Faust will kick him out.” Vitimir explained, before sighing dejectedly; “He’d probably kick me out too, saying me getting bullied was “disruptive” or something.”

Cassiel scowled; “Your teacher would really expel you for getting bullied!?”

Vitimir nodded, and Cassiel’s sense of justice burned; “That’s awful! How could he be so cruel!?”

That seemed to make the boy laugh; “Wow, you’re really not from around here, are you? Principal Faust is the worst; just about everyone in Bonesborough hates him, but for some reason the Emperor’s Coven favours him. He is also apparently pretty strong, so no one wants to take him out, though I’ve never actually seen him do anything impressive. About the only kids safe from him are Clawthorne and Whispers, and Clawthorne dropped out over the curse drama and Whispers tends to keep to themselves.”

“I really don’t like the sound of this Faust guy… I’m also curious about your school. How about my friend and I walk you there? We’ll make sure no bullies mess with you! Maybe in return, you could show us around town and tell us how things work around here. It’d be nice to have a friend in a new place!” Cassiel beamed.

Vitimir’s blush grew even brighter, and he gripped her hand with both of his own. “Someone like you would really want to be friends with someone like me!?”

“Of course! You seem like a nice boy! And what do you mean someone like me or you?” she asked, looking a little worried by his self-deprecation.

“W-Well someone pretty and strong wouldn’t normally want to hang out with “Creepy-Crawly Vitty.” Not even the other orphans like me.” Vitimir said miserably.

Cassiel huffed; “Well then, they’re missing out! I’m guessing you got that name from getting bugs for your potions?”

Vitimir nodded; “I use ‘em as ingredients and test subjects. Though I don’t know if I can use Orc Worms any more, since you saved me with some…”

That made the disguised Angel giggle, which made Vitimir beam, totally enraptured by her smile and laugh. “Truth be told, I’ve got a real affinity with animals. I usually prefer the fluffy kind, but I don’t turn my nose up at bugs either. All life is precious! So no, I’m not bothered by your creepy-crawlies. So if you want to be friends, then I’m all for it!”

Vitimir couldn’t not fast enough; “Definitely! We’re f-friends! I’ll show you and your other friend around Bonesborough after school!”

“Great! Then let’s go find my friend Em. He’s probably still talking that merchant’s ear off… though from what I saw, she had about six spares.” Cassiel grinned, handing Vitimir his satchel and then walking off to find Em. Vitimir kept hold of her hand, but Cassiel didn’t mind; he was just a kid after all and couldn’t be older than 12 or 13. Plus he’d just had a pretty frightening encounter.

They eventually found Em wandering around the market, now holding a bag of different items. When he caught sight of Cassiel, he beamed and hurried over.

“Cassie, you would not believe the haul I got! After I talked to that merchant, people started buying all of her stock! Then she gave me some freebies, and a bunch of other merchants wanted to talk to me too! I learned a ton, and people kept buying what I asked about, while I got free samples! Did I just become a Magic Trendsetter!?” Em asked excitedly.

Vitimir looked at him oddly, while Cassiel giggled; “I think it’s more that your excited questions made for good advertising.”

“Aw… Oh well, at least I got some neat souvenirs! Plus some Ground Troll Toe Nails. Not sure what I’ll do with those though. It looks like sugar, but I’m understandably not in a hurry to put it in my tea.” Em said with a shudder.

Cassiel shuddered too, while Vitimir piped up; “That stuff is a fairly useful ingredient in potions.”

“Oh, really? Cool! So, who are you Little Buddy?” Em asked before realising it might be rude to ask that without introducing himself first; “Oh, I’m Em by the way. Nice to meet you.”

“Vitimir. Vitimir Bazamet. Potions track student at Hexside.” the younger boy replied, eyeing Em a little.

“I helped him out with a problem a little while ago, now I’m going to escort him to school. He also promised to show us around the town when classes let up for the day.” Cassiel explained.

Em smiled; “That’s my Hermosa! Always helping! Good to meet you, Vitimir!”

The older boy offered his hand, and Vitimir reluctantly shook it. “What does Hermosa mean?” he asked.

“Oh, it means Beautiful! Perfect for my awesome girlfriend, right?” Em gushed.

Immediately, Vitimir’s cautious expression became a rather fearsome scowl for a child, making Camila giggle a little. A boy his age was probably still at the stage of finding girls or relationships to be gross. Em just figured that gushing over his girlfriend had annoyed the boy, as it had annoyed his room mates back in the Human Realm, so he didn’t hold it against the kid. Still, he felt a little bad, so offered the ground toe nails to him.

“Here, this’ll be more useful to you than me. In fact, take a look at some of this other stuff; if it’s useful in potions, you can have first dibs!” he offered.

Vitimir’s scowl let up a little as he took the offered ingredients covetously, giving a mumbled thanks after seeing Cassiel watching him expectantly. Still, with ingredients in hand he perked up a little, and led Cassiel and Em towards his school; Hexside.

Hexside was impressive to the two, though as much as they’d have liked to explore it, Vitimir warned them not to. Apparently Principal Faust was not the kind of person to tolerate outsiders in his domain. That was disappointing, but the two accepted and wished Vitimir a nice day as he waved and smiled at Cassiel before rushing off to class, just barely beating the school bell. He’d told them roughly what time classes ended too, so the pair knew when to return.

Now alone again, Em said; “What should we do now? I kinda want to wait on exploring the town until Vitimir comes. It’d put a damper on the kid’s mood if he gives us a tour of a place we’ve already been to.”

Cassiel agreed; “Good point. Then how about we explore outside of town for a bit? Considering there’s a giant skull that way…” she pointed to the Titan’s skull to the east, “… we must be somewhere on the right arm. The forest looked like it went pretty far to the west too, so we could look around there and document some animals and plants?”

Em grinned; “I like the way you think, Hermosa!”

And with that, they went and explored what they would later learn was the Forearm Forest. The place was huge, so they barely explored a fraction of it before stopping to eat lunch; eating some of the strange food items Em had picked up at the market, as he explained to Cassiel that the currency of the realm was apparently snails. Once their hunger was sated, they explored a little more, with Cassiel using her magic to tame various beasts and keep them still long enough for Em to sketch them. He’d ended up filling a pretty good portion of his sketchbook with drawings and observations, and planned to eventually find textbooks from this realm to find out how close he was to the truth.

When it came time for Hexside to let out for the day, they went back and met up with Vitimir, who actually seemed a little surprised that they’d genuinely come to get him. Apparently word had spread around school of the incident that morning, and people were either wary of Cassiel or curious about her, depending on how well they tolerated the gang that had bullied Vitimir. They’d definitely gotten a bit more attention than Cassiel would have liked, but no one confronted them or seemed suspicious, so she’d opted to ignore it. Vitimir actually gave them a pretty in-depth tour of town too, showing them as much of Bonesborough as he could before it started to get dark and he had to head back to the Orphanage he stayed at. He’s been reluctant to go, but Cassiel and Em promised to meet him there the next morning so they could continue the tour before walking him to school, and then continuing again afterwards.

After walking Vitimir home, the two had bought some food by selling some of the freebies that Em had gotten at the market, as well as selling copies of some of his sketches for snails. They then returned home to Neo Haven, ready to rest after their first day on the Boiling Isles.

________________________________________________________________________________

[Two Weeks Later]

A routine was swiftly formed, following in the pattern of that first day. Each morning after breakfast and taking care of any chores needed to maintain the Neo Haven Garden, Cassiel and Em would go to meet Vitimir at the Orphanage he lived in, then walked around Bonesborough with him before taking him to school. While Vitimir was in classes, they would then go out and explore the rest of the Isles, bit by bit. They explored all of the Forearm Forest (though there were a few areas that’d not explored fully, as some strange magic caused them to get turned around and wind up where they started), and then reached the Ash Moth Desert in the palm. They had their first encounter with the Emperor’s Coven at their outpost between the Wrist and Palm, though it was just a warning from some scouts that the desert was off-limits due to the presence of the Goliath Ash Moth. Em had wanted to sneak in and sketch it, sure that Cassiel could tame it, but Cassiel had quickly talked him out of it upon seeing one of its Larvae roaming around near the Outpost, making her see how large it was. They’d also begun exploring eastward too, and had made it to Latissa as well.

After a day of exploring, they’d return to pick up Vitimir from Hexside, where they were becoming fairly well-known by the other students. None had approached them, and the teachers seemed content to ignore them thus far, as no one wanted Faust to get wind of their presence; teenagers not attending his school would not be welcome in his sight. With Vitimir in tow, they’d finished touring the town of Bonesborough over a few days, and the young man had even snuck out at night once after convincing the duo to stay out later, so he could show them the Night Market.

Cassiel hadn’t been so thrilled to be in a place that even Demons considered to be seedy, but they oddly enough hadn’t been the only teens present; Em had sworn he’d seen a girl with an impressive orange mane running around at one point.

As far as Cassiel and Em were concerned, life in the Demon Realm was going well! They were both pleasantly surprised to learn that many of the horror stories Cassiel had learned as a child were just that; stories, and that Demons and Witches were mostly just people like any others, just with different bodies and cultures. It made it a lot easier to blend in with them; Em especially became a popular face in the regular market, and Cassiel was well-loved by the kids in the town as her kind nature meant she’d often been drawn to them and was willing to play with them. The hardest parts of life had been earning money and finding food that Em’s human stomach could digest, as sadly an Angelic Blessing didn’t also grant an Angelic Constitution. Thankfully Cassiel’s skill with animals and Em’s artistic abilities meant they were able to gather ingredients and drawings of rare Beast Demons, which they could sell to apothecaries in Bonesborough and Latissa, which Vitimir had taken to exploring with them after finishing the tours of Bonesborough. The money allowed them to buy food that Em could eat, as well as seeds for more edible plants in their garden and new fishing poles so they had a steady supply of fish too.

However despite their successes and some friendly encounters with shopkeepers and merchants, Vitimir remained the only friend they’d made in the Demon Realm. Vitimir seemed happy with that, but Cassiel just felt it was because he’d spent so long without friends that he wanted to monopolise the ones he’d finally made; even if he still didn’t seem to like Em much (likely due to the older boy’s frequent acts of physical affection towards her grossing him out).

But after two weeks of exploring the Boiling Isles and learning as much as they could, that situation changed.

It was a fairly normal afternoon as Em and Cassiel waited just outside the Hexside gates. Cassiel was watching the clouds closely for signs of rain (they’d experienced the Boiling Rain once already and it had not been fun), while Em idly wrote in his “Captain’s Log” diary about what they’d seen that day. The students were just beginning to come out, carrying that sense of immense relief that always seemed to follow them at the end of the school day, but Cassiel hadn’t seen any signs of Vitimir yet. He was usually one of the first ones out, hurrying out to make sure his friends weren’t gawked at too much, yet today he was nowhere to be found.

“He better not be getting bullied, or I swear I’m going to storm that place and finally give Faust a piece of my mind.” Cassiel growled. Sure Vitimir said Faust wouldn’t allow bullying, but from what else he’d said over the last two weeks, it sounded more like Faust just wanted a monopoly on the bullying rather than preventing it altogether.

Em chuckled at Cassiel’s comment, and he wasn’t the only one either; another boy had heard the comment and laughed as well.

“I’d pay to see you do that.” he said, drawing their attention. The boy appeared to be the same age as Cassiel, being around 15, though he was as tall as Em. They were a dark skinned boy with a handsome face, expressive green eyes, and very dark brown hair tired back into a pony tail, with the pony tail itself being styled into dreadlocks. The boy wore the Hexside Uniform with the pink sleeves and leggings of the abomination track, whilst also having rather stylish black boots. The way he carried himself and spoke also made him seem like the wealthy and noble sort, though his expression was suave and friendly as he spoke.

Cassiel and Em exchanged looks; this was the first time someone had approached them. “If half of what I’ve heard about him is true, I’d wager the entire school would pay me to give Faust a piece of my mind. Maybe I should actually do it; I’d be a rich woman!” Cassiel joked.

Em practically swooned at the mental image; “Have I ever told you how hot your “Mama Bear” side is?”

“Yes, though I’m always happy to hear it again.” Cassiel flirted, making Em blush even more as the abomination track boy laughed.

“You two really are an amusing pair. I’m Darius Deamonne by the way. A pleasure to meet you both.” Darius introduced, offering his hand.

Cassiel and Em accepted the handshake as they introduced themselves too. Darius then said; “I’ve been wanting to speak to you both, but Vitty always rushes off with you before I get a chance. Thankfully today is his day to help the Potions Professor clean up the lab, so I finally get to speak to you both.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you, but why did you want to talk to us?” Em asked.

“Well in truth, it’s more Cassiel I wanted to speak to. Not that you’re not fine company too, Em.” Darius said diplomatically. “You putting that bullying lout in his place has made my life a lot easier. As a fellow noble, he kept trying to get me involved in his little clique and you clipped his proverbial wings. I wanted to meet the woman responsible for that and give my thanks.”

“Oh! Then you’re very welcome.” Cassiel smiled; “I hate bullies; I’ve had a lot of experience as their victim and I won’t tolerate it.”

Darius grinned; “Oh, I think you and I are going to get along just fine. Though I have to ask; what school do you both attend?”

“We don’t.” Em replied. “We mostly self-study while exploring the Isles.”

“Truly? I’m a bit jealous. I’m still two years from graduating and yet I’m already the top student in my track… barring a certain rival I’d rather not get into right now.” Darius’ expression became sullen for a moment, making the other teens smell drama. “My point being, I’m dreadfully bored. Professor Hermonculus has long since run out of things to teach me and I am lacking stimulating conversation.”

“Well you can always hang out with us and talk! We’d love some new friends, and exploring new frontiers is our whole thing!” Em said grandly, though the effect was ruined by his eager bouncing and excited smile.

Darius raised an eyebrow at the boy, then looked to Cassiel; “Your friend here has the energy and general vibe of a puppy.”

“He’s my boyfriend actually, and yes he does.” Cassiel laughed.

“Boyfriend eh? My, you have some interesting taste. Not unpleasant though, mind you.” Darius replied, giving Em an appraising look.

“Um, thank you?” Em said, fairly certain he was getting hit on a little bit. “You’re pretty hot too.”

“I know.” Darius smirked, taking a co*cky pose.

Cassiel eyed the two of them with a grin; “Should I be getting jealous here?”

“He’s not my type.” Em and Darius both said, before chuckling as they realised they’d had the same thought at the same type.

“Oh? And what is your type, Darius?” Cassiel asked.

“Socially awkward nerds with gold eyes.” Darius replied in a deadpan, leaving her unsure if he was being serious our not.

Regardless, Em replied; “Dude, same.”

Darius looked over to Cassiel and noted her gold eyes, then looked back to Em and gave a sagely nod. Em returned the gesture and the two boys clasped hands. Cassiel didn’t really get it, but it looked like her boyfriend and her newest friend had just begun a bromance of some kind.

“I really need to make friends with someone that isn’t a boy for once.” Cassiel murmured to herself.

Her desire would come true almost immediately, as an orange and grey missile came rushing down the pathway from the school to the gate, and crashed head-first into Darius’ back. The boy staggered and groaned, but thanks to his hand being gripped by Em, he managed to stay on his feet.

“Ugh, must you always greet me like this, Eber?” Darius complained, feeling the orange missile hop off his back.

The missile turned out to be another student; some manner of small, orange furred demon child wearing the uniform of the Beast-Keeping Track. They were very short, only coming up to the other teens’ knees, but their hair was a thick, fluffy mane of darker orange, while their eyes were large and set within a furry face. The little Demon looked almost like a puppy, though their cheeky grin showed off razor sharp teeth that matched with the extremely sharp claws on their finger tips.

Em took one look at the little Demon, then glanced over to his girlfriend, who’d just gone very, very still. Her pupils were beginning to dilate, and Em knew exactly what would happen next. The blissfully ignorant Darius didn’t notice her reaction, and said; “Well, since you’re here I might as well introduce you. This is Cassiel and Em, those two friends of Vitimir’s, who dealt with Forceps’ little crew. Cassiel, Em; this is my best friend Eber-”

He was cut off by Cassiel suddenly lunging at Eber and pulling the fluffy little Demon into her arms, hugging them with delight. “¡Ay, que lindo! (Oh, how cute!)”

Darius gaped while Eber just hung in Cassiel’s arms, completely stunned by the sudden embrace. Em face-palmed and shook his head fondly; “Cassie, Hermosa… that’s a person, not an animal. You shouldn’t hug them without asking first.”

Cassiel seemed to snap back to her senses and began to blush. “O-Oh! I’m so sorry!” she cried, gently putting Eber back down as the little Demon blinked in shock; “I shouldn’t have done that, especially without asking. But she’s just so cute and fluffy! I have a real weakness for stuff like that. Please forgive my rudeness!”

Eber looked even more shocked, and barked something that neither Cassiel nor Em could understand. Darius, equally shocked, had to translate; “You realised that Eber is a girl?”

Em seemed marginally surprised too; he’d had no idea what gender Eber was. Cassiel was surprised by the question though, and replied; “Well yeah. Was I not supposed to? “

Eber looked to Darius and barked again, so Darius quickly explained about Eber’s circ*mstances; how she was half Direwolf and due to her being small and a half-breed, her rank in the pack was extremely low. If her gender had been revealed to the pack too, they’d likely have killed her. Cassiel and Em were horrified, and quickly swore not to tell a soul about Eber’s true gender, and Eber decided to thank the two by jumping on Em’s shoulders and rubbing against the side of his face as a show of affection, then immediately doing the same with Cassiel, who cooed and barely stopped herself from squealing in delight. Eber settled on Cassiel’s shoulders and barked again, which Darius translated.

“She says “My name is Eberwolf of the West Ilium Direwolves. You two smell interesting, unlike normal witches. I’d like to be friends.” I’m frankly surprised she’s taken to you so quickly.” Darius commented; “Eber is not usually so keen on strangers.”

Eber barked and Cassiel pet her head, making her practically melt. Darius snorted; “Apparently she picks her friends based on how good they are at petting her and how interesting their smells are. Nice to see you only keep me around for my skilled hands and cologne.” he snarked.

Cassiel and Em giggled, while Eber barked unapologetically, wearing a big cheeky grin. The four of them chatted together for a little while and found that they had a surprising amount in common; all were effectively orphans (Eber’s Direwolf father still lived, but he didn’t take care of her, so he was functionally just her Pack Alpha), and all had a fascination with discovery and exploration, though Darius admitted his was more in the pursuit of science and magic than traditional exploration. Eber and Cassiel also bonded over their mutual love of animals and specialisations (since Angelic Bestial Magic was most akin to Demonic Beast-Keeping Magic), while Em and Eber bonded over their general, puppy-like vibe. Darius bonded with Cassiel over being the “Mom Friend” to their ridiculously energetic older friend (since Eber was a few months older than Darius), while he bonded with Em over his fascination with science.

In the space of only about fifteen minutes, the four had become fast friends and clicked together remarkably well. It was the sight of the four of them laughing together that greeted Vitimir when he finally rushed out to meet them, panting slightly. He stopped to throw suspicious looks at Eber and Darius, then smiled at Cassiel (notably ignoring Em altogether).

“I’m so sorry I’m late! Professor Glug made me stay and help clean the Potions Lab!” Vitimir apologised.

Cassiel smiled and ruffled his hair; “Don’t worry, Vitimir; we’re not mad. It gave us the chance to talk to some new friends! These two are Darius and Eberwolf!”

Vitimir nodded stiffly as he eyed the two; “We’ve met. We’re all the top students in our tracks.” he said blandly.

“Though we don’t really talk. We only interact when Faust insists on bringing us together for some event he wants us to win. I usually try not to get roped into those.” Darius said. “If I know one is coming up, I tend to let my rival surpass me a little so he can deal with it instead.”

“Is that so?”

A deep and sinister voice echoed from behind the group, and they all flinched and spun around to see one of the most terrifying Demons Cassiel and Em had ever seen. The Demon was tall and imposing, and had a bizarre face with tiny glowing yellow eyes that had no pupils, a lipless mouth that showed his teeth in a permanent grimace, and wrinkled peach coloured skin that simultaneously looked too loose for his skull, whilst also appearing to have been pulled back. He had monstrously large ox-like horns too, each with a gold band on them, and he had a flaming tail with numerous tufts of flame throughout its length. His outfit consisted of a grey robe and a golden mantle, as well as a blue stole over his shoulders.

“P-Principal Faust!” Darius stuttered, suddenly looking terrified.

“Mr. Deamonne… did my ears deceive me, or did you claim to be sabotaging our scholastic performances?” Faust asked in a sinister tone.

“N-No! It’s nothing like that! I just think Alador is better suited for such events!” Darius said quickly.

“That is for me to judge. Perhaps detention will make you understand the flaw in your decision making. Or perhaps I should just expel you… I’ve no use for slackers.” Faust threatened.

Darius gulped and began to rapidly pale, while Eber looked to be moments away from mauling Faust and risking her own expulsion. Vitimir just looked like he was trying to go unnoticed, and Em was gritting his teeth and counting to ten in his head. The boy glanced to his girlfriend and once again knew exactly what was going to happen next… Cassiel would never abide a bully.

Faust suddenly shrieked as a jet of icy cold water was sprayed on his tail, before he turned his head so fast that it cracked ominously. He came face to face with Cassiel, who was smiling with faux-innocence as she twirled her finger over a little ball of water she’d made with her magic.

“What. Do. You. Think. You’re. Doing!?” Faust spat dangerously, leaning as close to Cassiel’s face as he could. His breath was hot and foul smelling on her face, but she kept her smile.

“Why, I’m just putting out the flames on your tail! I was always told to put out unwanted fires. Speaking off, I was also taught to brush my teeth from time to time, but clearly you weren’t. Allow me.” Cassiel’s smile became a dark smirk and before Faust could stop her, she shot that ball of icy water into his mouth and began to move it around rapidly, turning the inside of his mouth into a disgusting pinball machine. He recoiled away from Cassiel and tried to swallow the water or spit it out, but her magic wouldn’t allow that and kept moving the water back into his mouth or back up his throat. Eventually Faust drew a spell circle of his own and a burst of fire filled his mouth and evaporated the water, causing steam and flames to come billowing out of his nostrils and mouth.

Now free of the water, Faust levelled his most fearsome glare on Cassiel, who did nothing but subtly prepare another spell behind her back in case he attacked her. Em produced a pair of spell circles himself, though much less subtly, while Eber, Darius, and Vitimir were torn between shock, horror, and admiration at the guts Cassiel showed.

“You will be expelled for this.” Faust threatened.

“Check the clothes, Faust; I don’t go to school here.” Cassiel countered.

Faust then turned his head fast towards his three actual students, though Cassiel caught one of his horns before it could hit her, much to his continued fury. “You don’t, but they do. There are rules against frivolity with bad influences.”

The three Hexside Students suddenly looked even more terrified, but Cassie’s smile quickly became vicious as she pulled Faust closer to her by his horn; “You do anything to them, and I will show you exactly how dangerous a Healer and Beast-Keeper combo can be. My spell is already prepared, and I already have a hold of you… all I need to do is let it do it’s work, and you’re entire nervous system will suddenly think it is under attack from a swarm of Fire Bees.”

Sure enough, a blue and orange glow covered Cassiel’s hand and little sparks of magic were arcing between her fingers, just waiting to be unleashed. Faust looked into the girl’s eyes but could immediately see that she wasn’t bluffing. There was a coldness there that he could almost respect, if not for how much he hated this girl. The Demon yanked himself free and Cassiel allowed him to without resistance. He then turned on his heel and began to stalk back to the school, shouting one last threat over his shoulder.

“You are unwelcome on Hexside School Grounds. Do not return.” And with that, he disappeared back into the school building. In his hasty retreat, Faust had forgotten all about Darius, which was just what Cassiel had hoped for… of course, a mild mind-altering spell cast while in contact with the man’s horn had helped facilitate his retreat and forgetfulness.

A moment passed after he was gone, before the Hexside kids all sighed with relief while Em and Cassiel dismissed their spells.

“You are the most terrifyingly brave woman I’ve ever met!” Darius exclaimed, equally horrified and impressed. “I owe you my thanks.”

“It was nothing.” Cassiel smiled; “I hate bullies.”

“Could you really have beaten Faust? If he hadn’t backed down?” Vitimir asked.

Cassiel nodded; “I wasn’t lying about my threat; so long as I can remain in contact with him, I can make his nerves think I’m doing whatever I want. Besides, guys like that are all the same; they talk big and scary, but they’re never as tough as they pretend to be.”

Darius and Eber exchanged looks; come to think of it, they’d never seen Faust do any particularly impressive magic, and no one outside of his school seemed particularly afraid of him… In fact, he rarely left the school. Maybe he was hiding away in the one place his power meant something?

“Man, I wish bullies and rotten teachers had been this easy to deal with back home.” Em commented. Magic would have made high school so much more bearable.

Cassiel nodded in agreement, and Eber barked something to Darius.

“Capital idea. As thanks for helping me out and giving us a good show with Faust, perhaps Eberwolf and I can treat you to something fun. There are plenty of good restaurants and entertainment venues around Bonesborough.” Darius offered.

Cassiel and Em smiled, but Vitimir cut in; “Actually, we’re supposed to be continuing our look around Latissa this afternoon.”

It was an obvious attempt at a refusal and dismissal, but Darius was undeterred; “Latissa you say? Perfect! I happen to be a native there and would be happy to help show you around. It’s confusingly laid out place, so you’ll get a lot more out of it with a proper tour guide.”

“That sounds great! The five of us can all go together!” Em immediately declared.

Eber and Cassiel both looked pleased with the idea as well, and while Vitimir had a bit of a sour look on his face, he didn’t protest at all. And so with that decides, the little group of friends left Hexside and headed to Latissa, ready to enjoy an evening of fun and new experiences, unaware that they’d just started a friendship that would help change the face of the Boiling Isles.

________________________________________________________________________________

[Demon Realm, 2002

18 Years Ago]

Over the next year, things would change a lot for Cassiel and Em, as well as for those whose lives they became involved with. Darius and Eber had become incredibly close friends with Cassiel and Em, and had joined them every afternoon after school to hang out and show them more of the Isles. Cassiel and Em’s explorations had moved on to encompass the entirety of the Isles, and they now freely explored almost all of it, with even the furtherest regions, which couldn’t be reached and returned from in a single school day, being visited and explored on the weekends. The otherworldly pair had also made Neo Haven into a real home, and had been given plenty of old furniture from Deamonne Manor, since Darius wanted very little to do with most of the stuff there. Em had also created quite an impressive number of Captains Logs, registering all the creatures he’d encountered on the Isles, with Cassiel helping him work out how they ticked or using her magic to make them stay still long enough for Em to draw them. Their friendships with the Hexside group had gotten a lot closer too, though Vitimir still hadn’t warmed up to any but Cassiel, despite having grown up a little more since meeting her.

Speaking of Hexside; the school had become the centre of some drama between Faust and Cassiel. The cruel Principal had issued a blanket rule that students at Hexside were not allowed to fraternise with students from other schools outside of sanctioned events, even if it happened outside of school grounds. Naturally this had caused a lot of strife with the students, many of who had friends and even family at other schools. The rule hadn’t lasted long before even parents and teachers complained (Cassiel had no idea what Faust had been thinking; he was giving detentions to people who simply lived in the same house as a sibling from another school), and the students were given a reminder of how limited Faust’s power really was. When all three of Cassiel and Em’s friends had ended up in detention before that rule had ended, Cassiel had taken it as a direct challenge and decided to be as big of a thorn in Faust’s side as possible.

With help from Vice-Principal Bump, who was as sick of Faust as the students were, Cassiel acquired a revised Hexside Rulebook and poured over it for an entire day alongside Em, until they had the whole thing memorised. They’d then subtly passed it around some of the acquaintances they’d made in town, and news soon spread of the draconian rules being implemented by Faust. The Principal had responded to complaints by claiming Emperor Belos had no problem with his methods and rules, but that blew up in his face when angry eyes turned towards the Emperor. Belos had promptly sent an open letter to the Bonesborough Town Council disavowing knowledge of Faust’s actions and reminding them of their control over Hexside, as it was within their jurisdiction. They’d promptly descended on Faust like the proverbial hammer of God and abolished all his draconian laws. The day the news came down, Faust had watched from his office window as Cassiel met her friends, and the disguised Angel had given him a mocking wink.

Faust turned up his control of the school as much as he could within the boundaries of the original rules, making sure to push the limits of his power just enough to avoid being fired while exerting maximum control. But Cassiel and Em hadn’t just been reading the school rules to get public support against Faust; they’d also been doing it to know exactly what was and wasn’t allowed, right down to the letter. With help from the charming Darius, and the influence of Vice-Principal Bump, soon every student was engaging in the time-honoured tradition of “Rules Lawyering”. If there was one thing an Angel that grew up in the Divine Realm knew, it was how to make the rules and order work for them! Thanks to this Rules Lawyering, detentions went down, other punishments were curtailed, and student rights were restored as Faust was thwarted at every turn.

Cassiel and Em had even taking to hanging out in the school itself, becoming casual acquaintances with a few more students (though Darius, Eber, and Vitimir remained their only close friends, while Vice-Principal Bump became an ally). Faust tried to stop them of course, but Bump was allowed by the rules to give passes for children not currently attending a school to tour the place, and there was no limit on how many he could give or what reason, and Faust couldn’t fire him for doing something within his rights. Of course, this just made Faust even more strict and keen to assert his power over the children in anyway he could, and sadly there were cases where no amount of Rules Lawyering would get people out of trouble.

The turning point came when Faust had seen Cassiel playing with the students of the Baby Class. The kids had gotten rowdy in their fun, and while they weren’t bothering anybody nor falling behind on their classes, Faust had used his authority to kick Cassiel out for the day, calling her a disruptive influence, and withheld snack time from the Baby Class for the remainder of the week. Even though it was technically within his power as Principal, the act sparked school-wide protests. The beast-keeping and healing tracks were upset that Cassiel was kicked out (with the former being whipped up into a frenzy by Eber), and Darius and Vitimir got the abominations and potions tracks furious as well. With four of the nine tracks plus the Baby Class all in an uproar, the other tracks quickly took the opportunity to get involved due to their hatred of Faust, all while Bump and the other teachers did nothing to stop them.

The protests were loud but initially peaceful, until Faust made his final, deadly mistake. Like any other bully whose power had been largely stripped away, and whose words were no longer listened to, he resorted to the final tactic available to him; violence. Using the excuse that the protests were aggressive and an attempt to incite violence, he’d set the school’s abominations on the students to forcibly pacify them. Darius and Bump had dealt with that swiftly, and Faust had fled the enraged students who now intended to get some physical revenge for the attack. He’d fled right into the Baby Class’s home room, where it just so happened to be snack time… only he’d taken the snacks away. Well, the Baby Class were a ravenous group and weren’t very picky in their hunger…

By the time anyone found Faust, all that was left was a horn and some scraps of clothing.

It was then that Cassiel and Em learned that a bunch of young Witches and Demons with hunger-induced Bile Overloads were a deadly threat, which is why snack time was a thing in the first place. They also learned that it wasn’t considered cannibalism unless one was eating the same species of Demon.

The Emperor’s Coven weren’t about to punish a bunch of five year old kids, especially as Belos had already washed his hands of Faust, so the entire affair was swept under the rug. Bump became the new principal and began the task of turning Hexside back into the school he himself had helped build as a student, following his participation in the battle with Fibul Academy.

With Faust gone, Bump in charge, and life at Hexside becoming a lot better for all involved, Cassiel and Em began to hang out there a lot more. They were even given permission to attend Grom, which they did together. Eber was named Grom “King” and faced off against the shape-shifting monster, which took on the form of her Direwolf Father, who spilled her secret to everyone… only nobody but Darius, Cassiel, and Em (who’d been exchanging Spanish Lessons for Direwolf Lessons) could understand. She’d won of course, and the rest of the dance had been a fun time!

However outside of friends, Hexside, and exploring the Boiling Isles, time had brought other changes for Cassiel and Em. The two were older now; 16 and 17 respectively, and their relationship became more serious. They were a lot more physically affectionate, spending far more time kissing and cuddling than before, and had only refused to take the final step to an adult relationship because neither of them wanted to do such a thing until they actually were adults. Darius and Eber teased them over this mercilessly (though all in good fun), whilst Vitimir’s reactions were always… odd. He seemed both disgusted and angry, and had taken to not hanging out with the group as often. He’d begun declining to hang out if Darius and Eber were already around (though he wouldn’t leave if they later joined them) and he never hung out with them or Em unless Cassiel was around. And when they did hang out together, he always got between Em and Cassiel, keeping the disguised Angel’s attention as much as possible in a pretty transparent attempt to keep any lovey-dovey stuff to a minimum.

Cassiel assumed it was because he still hadn’t grown out of the “romance is gross” phase (he was 13, approaching 14 and only recently went through Witch Puberty), but Darius thought it was more likely that Vitimir had a crush on her and was jealous of Em. Cassiel was flattered by the idea but didn’t totally buy it; she couldn’t imagine anyone but Em having a crush on her and besides, Vitimir didn’t seem to get along with Darius or Eber either (or anyone for that matter), and Cassiel certainly wasn’t dating them. Still, the boy didn’t make any comments or fuss beyond the negative expressions when he failed to keep her and her boyfriend from being romantic, so Cassiel didn’t let it bother her. He’d tell her what his problem was when he was ready to.

Besides, with just over a year left before her older friends graduated from Hexside, Cassiel had other things to focus on.

It was a few days into December when something next happened to mess up the groups’ normal routine of hanging out. Knife Season had begun in earnest, so going and exploring the Isles was a bit more dangerous, as Cassiel and Em had learned the hard way after having to spend an afternoon healing cuts and minor stab wounds. As a result, the two were wintering in Bonesborough and making a bit of money from Principal Bump by babysitting the Baby Class, helping out the School Nurse, and doing little chores around the place, mostly to keep themselves occupied.

As Cassiel arrived that morning, she’d been approached by Vitimir.

“Cassiel? You’re alone today?” he asked, a bit of hope in his eyes.

“For the moment, yes. Em is helping Darius carry the pot with his newest abomination in it, and you know Darius will never let me near his creations after last time.” Cassiel shuddered. Her magic had messed up his abomination and ruined it, much to all their horror. Cassiel hadn’t even been able to explain why, since her friends still didn’t know she was an Angel.

“In that case, I was wondering if you’d spend the day brewing potions with me?” Vitimir asked shyly. “I have free study all day since Professor Glug is in the hospital after being caught out in the Knife Hail, and I was hoping for some assistance with some experiments. You’re the only friend I have that is competent in potions.”

Cassiel chuckled; “Most of that is just cooking skill…” plus what she’d learned with Crest Kindness, “But sure, I’d be glad to help! We’ll make a day of it; just me and you!”

Vitimir absolutely beamed, and eagerly took her hand to drag her back to the private lab he was using in the potions track hallway. From there, their day was peaceful for several long hours as they worked on potions; Cassiel primarily helped prepare ingredients or stir the potion, while Vitimir handled most of the more complex stuff, which included some shocking skill with transmutation that impressed Cassiel greatly. Vitimir preened at the praise she’d given, and seemed to absolutely thrive in having her attention all to himself. The hero worship from their first meeting hadn’t abated at all!

The two were together all through the school day, even eating lunch together in the lab so they could keep an eye on the various brews. Aside from bathroom breaks and one moment where Vitimir had to go and collect something he’d forgotten in the classroom, they never left each other’s side. It was nice; Cassiel wondered if this was what it was like to have a little brother? With the white hair, she could almost pretend he was an Angel too.

But just as the school day reached its final period, an alarm went out across the school. Cassiel looked up in surprise at the screaming alarm; “What is that!?”

“It sounds like the fire alarm. I bet someone set it off as a prank. Oh well, at least our potions can be left to simmer for a bit.” Vitimir sighed with annoyance, setting up the in-built barriers on the cauldrons to keep impurities out. “Come on, we need to evacuate to the Grudgby Pitch.”

Cassiel nodded and the two walked as quickly as they could to the nearest exit and went to the pitch. The rest of the school and its teachers were there, and several looked worse for wear; including a few battered and terrified beast-keeping students. Cassiel felt her stomach lurch as she hurried over to help heal them, while Vitimir transmuted some simple healing potions to help her.

“What happened!? It looks like you all went a few rounds with an angry Griffin!” she exclaimed.

“We near enough did!” one of the beast-keeping kids cried. “An Alpha Slitherbeast somehow got into the school! It’s on a total rampage! Not even Professor Gnarl could stop it! We had to evacuate!”

“An Alpha Slitherbeast? Did it migrate here because the region got colder?” Cassiel mused, before shaking that thought off. She rallied the healing track to come and assist her, then went to get some answers from Bump.

As she approached, she heard one of the older students reporting to the man. “We’re missing three students.” they said. “Whispers is apparently playing hooky to go see Clawthorne again, but Deamonne and Eberwolf are also missing. Professor Gnarl said they were helping that Em guy distract the Slitherbeast so the other students could evacuate.”

“What!?” Cassiel gasped.

Bump turned to her; “Oh good, you’re safe. Are the injured being healed?” he asked.

“They are! But what about Em, Darius, and Eber!? They need help!” Cassiel cried.

“I’ve already had reports from Gnarl, before he fell unconscious. Something has caused the Alpha Slitherbeast to go into a violent frenzy! It’s far more powerful than it should be, and it seems oddly focused on Em. I’ve already sent for assistance from the Emperor’s Coven and Beast-Keeping Coven, but they’ll be a while yet.” Bump scowled; “Until then, all I can do is try to keep the other students safe. If even our beast expert wasn’t enough, then it’s far too dangerous to send anyone else in!”

Cassiel looked horrified; “But Em and the others could be killed!”

Bump grimaced; “I’m sorry, but I’ve done all I can. The school abominations were no match for it! Some ne’er-do-well poured Apple Blood in their storage tanks and now they’re drunk AND too runny to properly form!”

“What a rotten time for a prank!” the disguised Angel spat. “I’m going in there!”

“Cassiel, you can’t! You’ll be killed!” Vitimir cried.

“I can’t just do nothing!” Cassiel yelled back, already running towards the school as fast as she could.

Vitimir hesitated for a moment, then cursed darkly and ran after her. Principal Bump groaned, then summoned his Palisman from his head and rushed in as well; as dangerous as it was, he couldn’t abandon three of his students and two young people he’d become rather fond of!

Cassiel had gotten quite the head start though, and while she didn’t want to risk flying and exposing herself just yet, she could still cast spells to strengthen her leg muscles and help her run faster, while magnifying her hearing to track the Alpha Slitherbeast and her friends. Thanks to that, she quickly heard the sound of snarling coming from the gym, and headed there immediately. She burst into the room just in time to see Darius conjure a giant abomination to try and wrestle back a huge Slitherbeast. The Alpha was almost twice the size of a normal Slitherbeast, and had a Rhinoceros-like horn on its forehead as well as two extra arms that were far more muscular than its regular ones. All of this was normal for an Alpha though; the unusual thing was the eyes inside it’s mouth, which were glowing an ominous red. Clearly some form of magic had been used on it.

The Alpha Slitherbeast used its two larger arms to grapple with Darius’ abomination, then used its two smaller ones to gouge the abomination’s slime out of its torso, causing it to lose strength and forcing Darius to melt it back into slime so he could reform it. As he was doing this, Eber used the Wild Heart spell to take on a more feral form and slashed at the back of the Slitherbeast’s ankles, aiming to cut its tendons and disable it. Unfortunately her claws weren’t long enough to get all the way through the beast’s thick muscles, but her slash still distracted it long enough for Darius to reform his abomination and take a swing at the monster with a giant stone axe that Manny had made with his Angelic Blessing. The powerful swing came close to taking the Slitherbeast’s head off, but it turned at the last second and parried the blow with its horn, shattering the axe in the process.

Em cursed, and Darius soon followed suit as the Slitherbeast charged into the abomination, impaling it and then tossing it against the nearest wall, causing it to splatter. Eber then tried to leap onto the creature’s back to distract it, but the beast’s hide was so thick that it barely seemed to notice she was there. Instead, the beast’s glowing red eyes fixed onto Em, making him shudder before the Slitherbeast roared and charged at him.

Em tried to put up a barrier, but what magic he had would never hold up to a force that strong, and he’d almost used up his blessing already! Thankfully Cassiel came to the rescue, conjuring a light blast that she shot into the Slitherbeast’s maw, hitting one of its eyes. The beast shrieked in pain and fell to the ground, writhing and gripping its face, giving Cassiel time to reach Em.

“Em! Are you okay!?” she cried, urgently looking him over for sounds of injuries.

“I’m fine. Just a little tired. What the heck is up with this thing!? It burst through the wall of the hallway I was walking down earlier and has been chasing me everywhere! And I don’t know why, but it’s hide is way thicker than a Slitherbeast’s should be!” Em cried. He should know too; he’d accidentally angered one with a stray fireball while trying to show off and light a campfire on a trip to the Knee a few months back.

Cassiel was relieved; true to his word, Em didn’t have any injuries and neither did Darius. It was harder to tell with Eber, since she had blood all over her, but most if not all seemed to be from the Slitherbeast. Said beast was getting back to it’s feet, and to the shock of everyone present, it’s eye was regenerating.

“What the heck!? Since when could Slitherbeasts do that!?” Darius cried.

“Alpha Slitherbeast too strong. Fur too thick. Heals wounds. Someone tampered with beast!” Eber barked angrily, leaping off the beast’s back as it suddenly flopped backward and began to roll around, finally sick of her interference.

“If we can’t hurt it enough to stop it, we’ll have to knock it out.” Cassiel declared, trying to form a plan. She didn’t have much of a chance to before the beast came charging at her again. She threw up a barrier to protect her and her friends, and while it was strong enough to make the beast and its horn bounce back, the barrier had still been badly cracked. It wouldn’t stand up to a repeat of that!

At that moment, Vitimir finally arrived. He was fairly scrawny and without an athletic bone in his body, so he’d quickly fallen behind. Thankfully that had also given him time to use a Combat Potioneer’s Belt to brew up a quick potion bomb.

“Hold your breath or prepare wind magic! This is gonna reek!” he yelled, before tossing the potion bomb at the Slitherbeast. It shattered against the side of its head, splattering it with yellow liquid that let off a thick sickly yellow smoke. One whiff was enough to make the Slitherbeast howl and begin retching, while clawing at itself to try and get the stained fur off. Principal Bump then arrived, hot on Vitimir’s heels, and upon seeing the beast was distracted, he conjured some abomination tentacles with the aid of his Palismen Frewin and had them bind the creature’s limbs.

“Good job, Vitimir!” Cassiel yelled with a grin, dropping the barrier so she and the others could run over. Poor Eber began to retch though, and had to cover her mouth as the smell got to her too. Cassiel, Em, and Darius weren’t as badly effected, but they could still smell it too and each thought it made rotten eggs smell like roses by comparison.

Seeing Eber in such a state, Cassiel hurried over to help cover her nose so they could escape, while Em tried to help by using the last of his blessing on a wind spell to clear the air around them. Unfortunately, he overdid it a bit and the resulting gust blew the stench away enough for the Slitherbeast to recover. Darius tried to use his own slime to reinforce the Principal’s, but the Slitherbeast pulled itself free with herculean strength and charged at Em, snarling rabidly.

Em couldn’t hope to be fast enough to dodge the charge, so Cassiel decided to take a risk and use her wings (still hidden by her disguise) to fly at him and snatch him out of the way, while Eber was tossed to the safety of Darius’ arms. However as Cassiel grabbed Em and flew out of the way, the Alpha Slitherbeast’s horn caught her shirt just enough to tear one of the shoulders off, causing the sleeve to fall from her arm. Unfortunately, as the horn came extremely close to scraping her neck, it managed to hook the chain of her Concealment Stone necklace, causing it to break and the stone to slip from her body. In a puff of cyan smoke, Cassiel the Angel was fully revealed to Darius, Eber, Vitimir, and Principal Bump, all of whom could do nothing but stare in shock at what they’d just seen. Em and Cassiel paled, but there was no time to panic; they’d worry about the reveal later, once the Slitherbeast had been defeated.

“C-Cassiel!? Are those…!? Are you…!?” Darius spluttered.

“An Angel!?” Vitimir finished, his own expression one of shock and awe.

The young Angel muttered a curse under her breath, then yelled; “We can talk about it later! Darius, Principal Bump; fly into the air with your Palismen! I’ll handle carrying the others; the Slitherbeast can’t get us in the air!” she ordered quickly, seeing that the Alpha had gotten stuck in the wall after its charge. That wouldn’t keep it trapped for long though, so they had to be quick.

Obediently, Darius summoned his Palisman; Abette the Reverbat, and used her staff form to take to the sky, while Cassiel used strength enhancing spells on her arms to allow her to carry both Em and Vitimir into the air too, while Eber sat on her shoulder. Once the kids were safely in the air, Bump finally joined them just in time to avoid the Alpha Slitherbeast breaking free by opting to just smash the wall. The beast ran and jumped at them, but its legs weren’t powerful enough to jump that high, leaving it unable to reach them. Unlike regular Slitherbeasts, Alphas weren’t able to produce the sticky goo they used to hunt prey, as Alphas instead relied on their packs to get food, so the beast had no way of reaching them. It tried throwing some rubble at them, but the fliers were too fast and had too many directions they could move in, and the beast wasn’t smart enough to account for that. However Cassiel did notice that most of the projectiles were aimed at Em, and by extension her.

“What the heck? Why is it after me!? Does it have a taste for Hu-!?” Em cried, before he was cut off by Cassiel’s sharp look.

“Hu-?” Bump blinked in confusion.

“Huge Nerds. That’s what Em is!” Cassiel quickly filled in, just barely skating around outright lying. She then whispered to Em in Spanish; “Em, now isn’t the time for revealing your secrets!”

“Sorry, I just figured if your secret was out, mine would be too. I can’t use magic without your blessing, and I used it up with that last spell.” Em whispered back, also in Spanish. “Besides, it’s worse for them to know you’re an Angel!”

Cassiel groaned as she causally avoided more thrown rubble; “We’ll deal with that problem later; first we need to figure out how to beat this thing.”

“That’ll be hard with four of us grouped together like this.” Vitimir commented, oddly happy to be held under one of Cassiel’s surprisingly muscular arms; “Not all of us are as rich as Deamonne and could afford Palistrom wood, so we’re relying on you for flight.”

“Good point! Eber, I’m going to toss you to Darius! Vitimir, you go on Principal Bump’s staff; he’s a steadier flier so it’ll be easier to mix potions. I’m the best with barrier magic, so I’ll keep Em with me since he seems to be this thing’s target.” Cassiel replied.

Vitimir was a little disappointed, but didn’t argue as Principal Bump flew over and let him onto his staff. Eber was then tossed to Darius, who caught her easily and rested her on the staff in front of him.

“So what’s the plan? We need to either kill this thing in one shot, or knock it out somehow; it regenerates too fast for anything else and it’s too strong for the kind of restraints we can make on the fly.” Darius called out, gulping as Cassiel had to perform another fancy aerial manoeuvre to avoid a chunk of thrown rock.

Cassiel thought about it a little more, then yelled to Vitimir; “Do you think you can make a sleeping potion strong enough to knock it out?”

“With what I have on hand and my limited Transmutation Magic, the best I can do is make it severely drowsy and lethargic.” he replied.

Cassiel nodded; “That’s fine! Make the potion! When it gets weak from tiredness, Darius and Principal Bump can combine their Abomination Magic to bind it’s limbs! Then I can use some Choir Magic to put it the rest of the way to sleep.”

“Eber will help too! Get it’s mouth open!” Eberwolf barked.

The others agreed, and Em added; “It’s focus is on me, so if you keep me away from the others, it won’t see what they’re doing until it’s too late.”

“Got it! Let’s do this!” Cassiel declared, before flying away from the others, remaining on the opposite side of the gym so that the Alpha Slitherbeast’s attention was solely on her and Em. She peppered it with weak light blasts (she was accurate with them, but she wasn’t the best with that kind of offensive magic, so her blasts weren’t very powerful). This successfully kept the monster’s attention until Vitimir had managed to brew a simple potion bomb that contained the most powerful Sleeping Solution he could make with what he had on hand and what he could transmute. Principal Bump then flew over to Darius so Vitimir could hand the potion to Eber, whom Darius clad in some simple abomination armour before tossing her at the beast’s back. The armour suddenly produced dozens of spikes all over its exterior, so when Eber collided with the Slitherbeast, the spikes stabbed into it’s hide just enough to pierce the flesh beneath.

The Slitherbeast roared, the armour making Eber akin to a very large, painful burr, but this worked in Eber’s favour, as she immediately leapt out of the slimy armour and got in front of the roaring beast, allowing her to pull the cork out of the potion bottle and toss the whole thing down its gullet. She then leapt off, and the slime that had made up her armour was morphed into a normal abomination that leapt off the Slitherbeast’s back and grabbed Eber, before tossing her back up to Darius. With the potion in its body, it only took about 30 seconds for the creature to become noticeably slower and weaker, and after a minute it was visibly struggling to lift some of the rubble it had once been throwing with ease. Seeing their opening, Darius and Principal Bump used the remains all the slime they’d used earlier in the fight to create the strongest, thickest manacles they could and bound the beast’s limbs, leaving it totally at their mercy as it struggled and roared. However Cassiel knew the potion wouldn’t last long on a beast this big, so she flew down as close to its face as she dared and began to sing.

The others looked on, enraptured, as Cassiel’s beautiful singing voice echoed across the gym and carried waves of magic with it. The magic didn’t extend as far as the sound itself, so Cassiel limited the effects of her song to just the Alpha Slitherbeast, whose eyes began to droop until it finally fell asleep completely. Cassiel kept the singing up though until Principal Bump made some abomination slime ear plugs to block the creature’s ears, so it wouldn’t wake up to any sounds happening around it. After that and some reinforcing of the other restraints, the group finally began to relax.

“We did it! We beat the Slitherbeast! Oh thank goodness!” Em sighed with relief, finally being let back onto his own two feet (though he promptly sat down as his legs gave out).

“I can’t believe we beat something like this…” Vitimir muttered, looking at the beast with an odd expression.

“I can’t believe one of my best friends is an Angel!” Darius declared.

Eber barked; “Bully Hunter Friend is actually Angel Friend! And Star Friend is Angel Mate!”

“I’d prefer you stick with Star Friend, if I’m honest.” Em laughed.

“We’re sorry for keeping it a secret from you guys, but we thought it would be safer.” Cassiel said.

“I for one am still hoping for an explanation on that.” Bump frowned; “Cassiel is an Angel and Em already knew? I’d quite like to know what’s going on here!”

“I quite agree.”

Everyone spun around as a new voice filled the air, and found themselves face to mask with the Emperor’s right-hand man and the current Head of his Coven; the Golden Guard.

The Golden Guard was a fairly tall individual, being taller than even Principal Bump, and was clad head to toe in golden armour, with a white cape and hood, and a golden mask covering his face. It was the traditional attire of the Golden Guard, and in his hand was a strange magic staff with a red crystal and a white and gold wing-like appendage on top instead of a Palisman.

He slowly approached the group, keeping his staff held in both hands but not otherwise making any aggressive moves. He came to a stop in front of Cassiel and looked her up and down, before bowing his head.

“Well met, Lady Angel. I have been told many tales of your kind; of their virtuous natures and great beauty… I see those tales are downplaying the truth.” he said, remarkably suavely.

Cassiel blinked in surprise, blushing a little at the compliment. Em, Eber, and Bump were all shocked, while Vitimir glared. Only Darius had a verbal reaction.

“Michael! What are you doing here?” he asked with a nervous smile.

Michael the Golden Guard turned to Darius and nodded at him; “Good day, Darius. Principal Bump called for assistance from the Emperor’s Coven and Beast-Keeping Coven. I was in the area, so I answered. My fellows are behind me, though I believe they’re checking the perimeter and the students first.” he then turned back to Cassiel; “Lady Angel, you should know that the Emperor dearly wishes to meet you. Angels are servants of the Titan, and a great reward is offered to anyone who brings one of you before the Emperor.”

Cassiel gulped and stepped back; she’d learned about Belos and his beliefs about Angels, as well as the bounty on them, not long after coming to the Isles, and she had no desire of getting close to the man!

“A-Are you going to arrest me?” she asked fearfully; “B-Because I’m not from this Realm, so I don’t know anything about Angels serving the Titan! I moved here from the Human Realm!”

Michael went rigid, and Cassiel imagined his expression was one of shock. Darius took the opportunity to step between her and Michael and implore his older friend; “Michael, please don’t take Cassiel away! She’s done nothing wrong!”

“Wait, this young lady is Cassiel?” Michael suddenly asked, snapping out of his shock. “You’ve told me a lot about her and your other friend, Em.”

“That would be me.” Em stepped forward cautiously and ready to fight if necessary; “The name is Em; I’m at your service.”

Michael looked him up and down, then tilted his head; “My, Darius wasn’t exaggerating when he called you handsome.” he said, putting a hand to his chin. Em blushed, while Cassiel suddenly agreed with the statement. Em had grown into quite the handsome man, having begun to grow a goatee beard that suited his face greatly (though it was still in the stubble phase). Darius nodded shamelessly; he might not be romantically interested in Em, but he still found the slightly older boy to be attractive and wasn’t shy about saying so.

Growing tired of the flirting, Vitimir growled; “I won’t let you take Cassiel away!”

Eber barked in agreement, also moving between Cassiel and Michael. The Golden Guard seemed surprised, especially when Em and even Principal Bump came between them as well. “I understand your duty, Golden Guard. However I cannot do nothing as you try to arrest the girl who helped this school escape Faust’s corruption. She may not officially be enrolled here, but I still consider Cassiel to be a Student of Hexside!”

Cassiel was touched by their defence of her, and Michael’s unreadable mask moved from face to face, judging their expressions. It was impossible to tell what was going on in his head thanks to the mask, and so a tense silence filled the room. The silence was broken when more voices began appearing from outside of the gym.

“I think the Golden Guard went this way!”

“The scent of the Slitherbeast leads in this direction too!”

The Hexside group began to panic, but then to their surprise, Michael pointed his staff at Cassiel and cast an illusion over her, making her wings invisible and giving her a dark hair colour like Em’s. He also gave her a Hexside Uniform in the red of the bard track, before casting a second illusion on Em to give him a healing track uniform. A moment later, a small contingent of Coven Scouts and Beast-Keepers came rushing in.

“Sir! Oh, you dealt with the beast already.” one of the Scouts said.

“Actually, it seems the Principal and his students dealt with the problem themselves.” Michael said. “I was just about to take them to the nurse’s office for an examination and interview. Please investigate the beast’s condition; even an Alpha Slitherbeast shouldn’t have been this strong, so I want to know what’s been done to it. I will be handling the rest of this investigation personally.”

The scouts and Beast-Keepers nodded obediently and got to work, while Michael allowed Cassiel to subtly pick up the damaged part of her clothes and her Concealment Stone, before he turned to Bump and had him lead them to the Nurse’s Office. Once it was confirmed that none of them were injured, they were instead escorted to Bump’s office. After making sure the doors and windows were warded against eavesdropping and locked up tight, Michael finally dropped the illusions hiding Cassiel’s true form.

“Alright, now that we are safe and alone, I would like some answers from you, Lady Cassiel. The Emperor’s recent missteps have made me a bit more cautious and doubtful of his judgement, so I’m giving you the chance to convince me that taking you to him would be a bad idea. Frankly, defeating that monster and defending the school from it and Faust has already done a good job of convincing me to listen to you, but I want to know more.” Michael said as they all took seats.

Em instead opted to stand behind Cassiel while Vitimir sat on one side of her and Darius sat on the other (he had opted to repair her sleeve while she talked). Eber sat in her lap and Bump sat behind his desk.

“Alright, but it’s not a very exciting story.” Cassiel said. Since she still wanted to keep Em’s true identity a secret for his safety, she gave a truncated story about leaving the Divine Realm for the Human Realm, where she stayed in an orphanage for a while, then moving again to the Demon Realm. She mentioned meeting Em and befriending him, then becoming his girlfriend a year later, but she never mentioned how or where she met Em, leaving them to come to their own conclusions. All Michael knew was that these two had become close and now explored the Isles together, while living somewhere beyond its borders and commuting each day. The only reasoning she’d given was a desire to explore new places and disliking her lot in life back home, which was true if not the whole truth.

When she was done, Michael sat back in his chair and hummed. “I see… so you’re not here on some Titan-given mission. You’re just exploring the world and living your life. It was your own kind nature that saw you protecting Mr. Bazamet, then going against Faust.”

The man tapped the chin of his mask for a moment, then nodded; “Alright. I’ll keep my mouth shut about this; I don’t totally trust Belos’ intentions after learning some of the things he’s gotten up to, and I definitely don’t want to get in a fight with a friend just so I can kidnap an innocent girl. As far as I’m concerned Lady Cassiel, you are just an ordinary young witch that got wrapped up in some local drama. Belos won’t hear a word about any of this from me.” he promised.

Cassiel and her friends all beamed or sighed with relief, with Cassiel and Em even rushing to hug Michael as he stood up to leave.

“Thank you so much! You’re a wonderful person, Michael! I hope I can get to know you better!” Cassiel beamed.

“Me too! You’re kind of like a chivalrous knight! It’s both awesome and kind of hot! That armour is sweet in more ways than one!” Em grinned, as Cassiel nodded beside him, both of them looking at the armour and the man wearing it with very approving expressions.

Michael spluttered for a moment; “Uh, t-thank you. To receive compliments of that sort from two fine citizens such as yourself is a great honour! N-Not that I’m calling you fine just because of your looks! I meant it more as you have fine characters. A-And not that you’re not fine looking as well of course; you’re both extremely fine. More than fine in fact! Actually, I should probably just shut up now.”

The man’s amusing, awkward babbling got some mixed reactions from the others. Principal Bump and Eber seemed amused, Vitimir looked a little disgusted, Darius was rolling his eyes at how transparent his friend was, while Em and Cassiel were both smiling and blushing, while thinking the same thing;

“Oh no! He’s an adorable dork!”

Cassiel was the first to get her blush under control enough to speak without stammering; “We’ll take that as a compliment, Michael.”

“Oh thank the Titan. Sorry, but I’m not very good at talking to people. Belos likes to keep me at the castle if I’m not on a mission, so I don’t get much interaction with others.” Michael said, getting himself back under control.

“That doesn’t sound like much fun. So how do you know Darius?” Em asked.

Darius was the one to answer that; “Michael here is my friend and mentor! I’ve known him ever since I started filling my role as a noble.”

“Really? You never mentioned being the protege of the Golden Guard! Even I know he’s super important.” Cassiel said.

The abominations student just shrugged in response; “Sorry; I don’t like to spread it around. I don’t want people pestering me for a meeting with him or kissing up to me to get closer to Michael and thus the Emperor.”

“And besides, Darius here is my friend, not my protege. He only calls me his mentor because I help take care of him at those stuffy noble dinner parties…” Michael said, both he and Darius shuddering at the mention. “That’s how we met; I was forced to attend those parties too. Since Belos won’t deign to waste his time with the nobility unless he has to, I’m stuck as his unfortunate replacement.”

“During the first dinner party with the Secunas, I ended up cornered by a few nobles with eyes on the Deamonne family’s money and power.” Darius scowled at the memory; “They began shoving their sons and daughters at me in hopes of a match, and I was coming very close to causing an incident by telling them all exactly what I thought of them, but thankfully Michael came to my rescue. A young nobleman with no parents or guardian is easy pickings, but the right hand of the Emperor isn’t so easy to intimidate or manipulate.”

Michael nodded, his voice becoming wistful at the memory; “We became quite close friends after that. I taught Darius a little about how to handle those vultures, and he somehow ended up looking up to me. Personally, I just enjoy having a friend that isn’t interested in my position.”

Cassiel and Em grinned at him; “Well, now you have two more!” Em said happily.

“Three more!” Eber barked, though Darius had to translate.

Michael chuckled, feeling touched; “Thank you. I’m looking forward to getting to know you three a lot better! Darius did tell me a lot about you all after all.” he then turned to Principal Bump; “As I said to my men earlier, I’m going to handle the investigation into the Slitherbeast Incident personally, so I’ll be hanging around here for at least a few more days. I won’t disrupt lessons, so can I count on you for your support, Principal?”

Bump nodded; “Of course. And while I’m sure I don’t need to say this to any of you, but I am asking that you all keep Cassiel’s true identity to yourselves.”

Naturally they all nodded; there was no way Darius, Eber, or Vitimir were going to rat out Cassiel; two weren’t particularly loyal to the Emperor, and one didn’t want to lose Cassiel! The young Angel thanked them all profusely, amazed that they weren’t more upset with her for hiding the truth. In reality, they all understood; after all, Eber was hiding her gender and both Darius and Vitimir had secrets they hadn’t even told their friends.

Michael then looked back to the teens; “I will also be counting on you as eye witnesses to help me with this investigation.” he co*cked his head to the side, and Cassiel got the impression he was smiling beneath that mask; “It’ll be a good chance to get to know each other too.”

All but Vitimir smiled at that, happy to spend more time with their newest friend. Not long after this, a scout came to inform the Golden Guard of the Slitherbeast being successfully removed from the school, and the man excused himself to go and deal with it, saying his farewells to Cassiel, Em, and the others.

Cassiel and Em were a little sad to see him go; he was the Emperor’s right hand and had every reason to turn Cassiel in for the reward and prestige, yet he’d chosen not to. Sure his own issues with Belos had informed his decision, but they still appreciated the kindness he’d shown them… plus, they still thought he was an adorable dork, one they were very keen to get to know better.

________________________________________________________________________________

[One Week Later]

Despite the revelation of Cassiel being an Angel, things had returned to normal shockingly fast for Hexside and the small group of five friends. The injured students had been fully healed, though the damage to the school itself had been left alone as Michael and a small squad of EC members investigated it for signs of what had caused the incident, since everyone agreed the Slitherbeast had acted strangely. Many students were interviewed by the EC, and Cassiel’s group were individually interviewed by Michael himself, but aside from Em stating the beast was weirdly fixated on him, nothing they’d had to say was of much use.

While Michael was hanging around the school for the investigation, Darius freely took the chance to hang out with him as much as possible, and naturally the others did too, with Vitimir being mostly reluctant. Michael was a nice man of 18, making him just two years older than Cassiel and one year older than Em, and he fit in surprisingly well with all of them. He shared Cassiel’s sense of justice, Em’s wanderlust and desire to see the world, Darius’ nobility, and even a little of Eber’s cheeky side. He’d even tried to get along well with Vitimir, but the boy had remained stand-offish, not fully trusting someone so close to the Emperor, or at least Cassiel thought. But while they began to bond a lot more as friends, the investigation wasn’t going anywhere near as well.

It had been determined that the Alpha Slitherbeast had indeed been from the Knee, migrating north as the weather got colder, along with its pack. Said pack was found dead from poison a fair distance from Bonesborough, and several small caves between there corpses and the town had signs of the Alpha residing there. There had also been reports from those who travelled the roads at night, saying that someone had been riding a great beast towards Bonesborough. The description of the beast fit that of the Alpha, but no description of the rider could be found. Lastly, it was discovered that some form of mind-altering magic had been used on the Slitherbeast, but it was impossible to tell what kind; all traces of magic on it had rapidly broken down and disappeared… the Beast-Keepers had only barely had time to determine that much before the last of the traces disappeared.

Michael had determined that this was an intentional attack on Hexside, using the Alpha as a weapon. Someone had killed its pack, captured it, magically altered it, taken over its mind, and unleashed it on Hexside. Since Em was the first person to see it, and the first person to be seen by it, Michael assumed it locked on to him and would have begun killing others once its initial prey was destroyed. Motives and suspects remained illusive however; the other schools were major suspects but everyone who could reasonably have committed the crime had an alibi. A disgruntled friend or family member of Faust was also suggested, but he had no surviving family and no known friends. There had even been a whispered rumour, started by an oracle track girl that Darius hated, that a former student named Clawthorne had unleashed the beast as either a prank or some kind of revenge. Michael had interviewed the oracle girl however and found it to just be malicious fear-mongering against an old school rival; Michael had put the fear of the Titan into her for wasting his time, then sent her on her way.

The mystery got no closer to being solved after that, and Michael began to grow frustrated, especially as he began to get tense Comm-pact calls from the Emperor… one of which would change Michael’s perception of the Emperor forever, and change Cassiel and Em’s perception of Michael.

It had been exactly one week since the attack, and Cassiel and Em were roaming the school when it happened, basically acting as extra security while their friends were in classes. They’d done a full patrol of each floor and decided to go and check in with Michael in the gym, where he was again pouring over the rubble hoping for another clue. They’d just arrived outside the gym door when they heard Michael speaking.

“I understand, Uncle. But this attack represented a very real threat to the students of Hexside! The youth of the Empire! I can’t sweep it under the rug just because no one died! People were still hurt!” they heard Michael say passionately.

Curious as to who “Uncle” was, Cassiel and Em walked into the gym and immediately froze. Michael had his back to them and was talking on a Comm-pact, but his hood was down and he was carrying his Golden Guard mask in his free hand. While they couldn’t see his face yet, the duo could finally see his hair and saw that it was a pale sandy blond and rather fluffy. It looked very soft, and both Cassiel and Em wanted to touch it. The two didn’t hear what the man on the Comm-pact said as they’d entered, but they did here Michael’s upset response.

“Just because they were easily healed doesn’t mean they didn’t suffer, Uncle. We can’t just ignore this. You charged me with protecting the peace of your empire when you named me Golden Guard and placed me in charge of your coven!” Michael argued, barely keeping his voice respectful out of frustration.

Em and Cassiel exchanged looks of surprise; Michael was speaking to the Emperor, and was calling him Uncle!? Neither he nor Darius had ever mentioned that particular relationship! However it did make them feel a little warm inside; that meant he’d chosen to keep Cassiel’s secret despite Belos being his uncle.

That was when the pair heard Belos’ voice for the first time, speaking from the Comm-pact; “I do not need to be reminded of my own decision to make you Golden Guard, Michael. However you seem to have forgotten the meaning of that role; you are supposed to obey me, complete the missions I give you, and run the Coven. As of now, you are doing none of those things by being away from the castle on a pointless exercise.” Belos said coldly.

“But Uncle-”

“No buts, Michael. You have been growing rebellious of late, and I do not like it. Seeing you defy the duty the Titan has given you hurts me deeply, and the sickness that infects me lashes out in response. I do not want the people I hurt to be on your conscience… so do as you’re told and return to the castle. I allowed you to investigate Hexside this long solely because Faust became an embarrassment for me, but this has now gone on far too long.”

Cassiel and Em both gaped; was Belos threatening to hurt people and blaming it on Michael to guilt him into obedience!? Cassiel took a step forward to give the man a piece of her mind, but Em hastily grabbed her and covered her mouth before she could make a scene.

Thankfully Michael didn’t notice them as he hunched his shoulders; “Very well, Uncle. But what should I do about the investigation? Someone was behind this.”

“Then find someone to blame; I don’t care who, just make sure the charges stick. Then return to the castle; you will be back by tomorrow morning, or there will be consequences.” Belos threatened.

Michael went rigid and Cassiel and Em could practically feel the rage wafting off him. Was Belos truly suggesting he frame someone!?

“I will resolve the issue and return, Emperor Belos.” Michael ground out, before slamming the Comm-pact shut. “Titan damn that man! Does he really not care that someone tried to use a monster to kill children!? I should have claimed it was a wild witch! Then he’d at least have considered it worth my time!”

He spun around to begin looking for one of his subordinates patrolling the school and almost walked straight into Cassiel and Em, causing all three of them to freeze completely. For the first time, Cassiel and Em were able to see Michael’s unmasked face and they were certainly not disappointed.

He had a handsome face with a slightly hooked nose, scarlet eyes, and a rather adorable overly large canine tooth on the upper right side of his mouth, causing it to poke out a little from his lips. Both Cassiel and Em found themselves blushing as they looked at the handsome man, but they also noticed many features that disturbed them greatly; his skin was an unhealthy pale hue, his cheeks were slightly sunken, and he had bags under his eyes… but the worst was a very long scar that slashed across his face, starting under one eye and going clear over the bridge of his nose and stopping beneath the other eye. The scar was large but faded, so it was likely an old one… but considering he was only 18, Michael must have suffered something horrible in his youth.

The poor man looked absolutely horrified that he’d been seen, his already pale skin getting paler. “C-Cassiel!? Em!? H-How long have you been there!?” he cried, before realising he was unmasked and hurriedly putting the mask back on his face and pulling his hood back in place. Em gently took his hands and pulled them away from his head, causing the hood and mask to drop while Cassiel cast a few quick spells to warn her if someone was approaching.

“It’s okay Michael. We’ve been here for a bit. We heard everything.” Em said sympathetically.

Michael looked ready to cry; “Y-You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t have heard! You shouldn’t have seen!”

“We’re sorry for eavesdropping on your private conversation.” Cassiel said, bowing her head guiltily; “We were coming to see you and didn’t want to interrupt your conversation. Then when we heard you talking to Belos… your Uncle… well, I didn’t want him to know I was here.”

“You should have left.” Michael whispered, still upset; “Belos doesn’t want people knowing I was raised as his nephew. And he is extremely insistent that no one is allowed to see my face. Every time someone has seen it in the past, Belos has made them disappear…”

Cassiel and Em gulped, but their spike of fear was nothing compared to the anger and sympathy they felt. Cassiel and Em each took one of Michael’s hands and led him over to the bleachers, where they sat him down.

“We really are sorry.” Em said; “It was rude of us to eavesdrop.”

“But you don’t need to worry; you’re keeping my secret, so we’ll keep yours.” Cassiel added with a kind smile.

“Even from Darius and the others?” Michael asked.

They both nodded; “Even from them. It’s not our secret to tell.” Em replied.

In an instant, Michael seemed to deflate entirely and practically melt into his seat as if years of exhaustion had just hit him all at once. He gave the two of them a weary smile; “Thank you. You two really are great friends… even if I’m still a little mad that you eavesdropped.”

“Sorry.” they both said, genuinely feeling bad about it.

He sighed and waved them off; “It’s fine I guess. Man, I feel exhausted all of a sudden…”

“And you look exhausted. When did you last sleep? Or eat for that matter?” Cassiel asked, eyeing his sunken cheeks and eyebags.

“I’m usually too busy to sleep much. Besides, I get nightmares a lot so I’m not a fan. I eat whenever my work is done and well… I’ve got a lot of work.” Michael replied with a heavy sigh. He saw the looks of horror, anger, and sorrow in the eyes of his newest friends, and felt a spike of affection knowing that they cared enough about him to feel something regarding his situation. But he could also see the curiosity burning in their eyes, and perhaps it was because Cassiel was an Angel and he felt like confessing, but he decided to indulge them.

“You’ve got questions. Feel free to ask.” he said tiredly.

“Are you sure?” Cassiel asked.

“You don’t have to if you don’t really want to.” Em said softly.

Michael smiled; “I appreciate that, but you can still ask.”

Cassiel and Em exchanged looks, then the former asked; “We heard Belos threaten to hurt people if you didn’t obey him… has he ever…?”

“Followed through on the threat? Or hurt me? The answer is yes to both.” Michael sighed grimly. Both his friends gasped softly and held him close, with Cassiel practically cradling him against her chest while Em held his hand comfortingly and edged closer too, until Michael found himself sandwiched comfortingly between the two of them.

Taking comfort from them, Michael continued to speak; “Belos has some kind of affliction. A strange rotting curse. It flairs up some times and makes it hard for him to retain his witch form, instead causing him to partially melt. He needs to eat Palismen to keep the curse at bay… He tends to lash out whenever the curse flairs up, and hurts those around him. And the curse flairs up when he’s angry… so if I fail him and make him angry, then people can get hurt. His personal guard gets changed a lot because of that… and when I was 11 and released a Palisman so it would live, he gave me this.” Michael said, rubbing the scar over his nose.

“That man is a monster!” Cassiel hissed; “How could he do that to his own nephew!?”

Michael hesitated in answering, before finally sighing and saying; “Because I’m not his actual nephew… I’m just a copy.”

Cassiel and Em looked confused, so Michael explained; “About a year ago, I went snooping in Belos’ private lab while he was off somewhere else. I discovered that I’m not his real nephew or even a real witch, but a Grimwalker clone.”

The duo gasped; they didn’t know what a Grimwalker was, but they definitely understood the clone part. “So you’re a clone of Belos’ actual nephew?” Em asked.

Michael shrugged; “I don’t know, but I figure I have to be. I look a bit like Belos, and it would explain why he won’t let people see my face. Though come to think of it, no Golden Guards were allowed to show their face… maybe that’s why he gave me the job? So no one would see my face and find out he made a Grimwalker. Especially since he himself made necromancy illegal.”

“And it’s not like you can just ask him.” Cassiel frowned. “And what exactly is a Grimwalker? You don’t look or feel like anything made through necromancy. Believe me, I’d know; necromancy is a big taboo for Angels and the healers of Crest Kindness are especially sensitive to that kind of magic. It’s one of the first things we’re attuned to.”

“You’re right that I can’t ask Belos; I’m pretty sure he’d throw the mother of all tantrums if he found out I knew.” Michael chuckled darkly. “As for what a Grimwalker is… well you basically take a bone from the person you want to clone, toss it into a grave with a Galdorstone, Selkidomus Scales, Stonesleeper Lungs, and Palistrom Wood, then bury it and pump in this primordial soup of creepy potions. Give it nine months and you’ve got a fresh baby clone. From my research, you can make the clones grow faster if you add different potions but the default is basically like making a baby in a really creepy way. I heard that in ancient times, they would make Grimwalkers of important figures to serve as a kind of reincarnation… though more recent research shows that the soul of a Grimwalker is not the same as the original. Heck, you can supposedly make Grimwalkers from still living people.”

Cassiel and Em were a little creeped out by the idea of a baby being “born” from a grave, but they were more horrified by the idea of Belos making a Grimwalker just to abuse them in the way he so clearly abused Michael. However Cassiel was also a little worried about what being a Grimwalker meant for his health.

“So does being a Grimwalker mean you have different biological needs compared to a conventionally born Witch?” Cassiel asked.

“You mean a “normal” witch?” Michael asked with a self-deprecating grin.

Cassiel scowled; “If I meant normal, I’d have said normal. Aside from the manner of your birth, which no one has any control over, I haven’t seen anything that makes you abnormal.”

“Yeah; you’re a unique guy but I wouldn’t say there’s anything wrong with you… aside from not getting enough food or sleep.” Em agreed.

Michael stared at them both in shock; “You two… you really don’t care that I’m not a real person, do you?”

“You ARE a real person, silly!” Em scowled.

“Damn right you are! Don’t let me hear you saying something that stupid again!” Cassiel scolded; “And we care about you because you’re out friend! In fact, if I didn’t think it’d cause a lot more trouble than it would fix, I’d go and give Belos a piece of my mind!”

Seeing the fierce looks on their faces, Michael couldn’t help but feel his heart beat a little fast as he blushed. “You two really are incredible…”

They both smiled in response, blushing a little themselves. Eventually, Cassiel asked her last question again and Michael answered that aside from lacking the ability to use magic on his own, he was basically just like any other witch biologically. Though oddly enough, he also lacked the ability to eat a lot of Demon Realm Foods.

“Huh, it’s almost like you’re a human.” Em commented once he’d heard the explanation. “Speaking of which; since you trusted us with such a big secret, I’m going to trust you with one of mine.”

With that, Em took off his Concealment Stone and allowed his pointy ears to return to normal. Michael gasped in surprise; “You’re a human!?”

“Yep. Cassiel picked me up in the Human Realm while she was there. She’s been giving me blessings to let me use magic and blend in. No one else knows yet; not even Darius, Eber, and Vitimir.” Em explained.

Michael sat up a little straighter; “Amazing… I can understand keeping your true species a secret, since being a human would make you vulnerable, and showing magic as a human would invite questions, but why didn’t you tell your other friends?”

Em shrugged weakly; “I… didn’t really fit in back home. I was always the oddball. The weirdo. The Eccentric… Before I met Cassiel, I had no real friends or loved ones left. But here, I fit in. Cassiel and I both fit in and can be ourselves. Sure we have to hide our real species, but we don’t have to hide our real selves, if you know what I mean. That is important to us. And I guess telling Darius and the others would just be like breaking the illusion… suddenly I wouldn’t be Em, the witch that fits in… I’d be back to being Emmanuel Noceda; the human oddball.”

Michael frowned, but nodded in understanding; “I think I understand… I guess we all have our masks to wear.” he said, before looking to Cassiel; “I’m guessing you do too. I got the feeling last week that you weren’t telling me everything about why you came to this realm, and I don’t think Em being human is all that you left out. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I won’t judge you for it… you’ve been kind to me. I’d like to return the favour.”

Cassiel smiled warmly; “I suppose it would be nice to have someone else who knows and understands… alright, it went like this…”

For the next few minutes, Cassiel told Michael all about her life in the Divine Realm; her dissatisfaction with her role in life, the cost she had to pay for her freedom, and her choice to run instead of condemning her hypothetical child to suffer in her place. Once her story was finished, Michael felt a lot of his gilded views on Angels falling away, leaving only the less than perfect reality behind.

“That sounds awful…” Michael said sympathetically.

Cassiel shrugged; “For me it was. But for those who fit in, life is actually pretty good. Angels may have their own problems and a lot less personal freedom, but they also tended to be happier with their lot in life. I guess some people like not having to worry about their future… but for those of us who’d rather choose their futures, life isn’t that great there.”

Michael nodded understandingly; “I suppose it makes sense. It doesn’t matter if its the Demon Realm, the Human Realm, or the Divine Realm, there are always going to be those that don’t fit in.”

“Yup! Thankfully we seem to attract each other, so we’re usually in good company!” Em grinned.

Michael and Cassiel chuckled at that, then Michael decided he’d had enough moping around. He felt so much more refreshed after relaxing a little and talking about his feelings and worries with his new friends, that he felt he could give the school at least one more solid look before packing in his investigation.

“I doubt I’ll catch the person responsible before I have to leave, but I won’t be pinning it on someone either. I’ll just tell Belos that there was no evidence pointing at a likely suspect and pass it all off as a bad prank. He doesn’t care enough to question it, so long as I’m back home doing the work he’d rather not.” Michael said, getting to his feet.

Cassiel and Em joined him as the latter said; “Are you sure you want to go back there? Can’t you just quit? You could come live with us for a while on Neo Haven! We have room!”

“Thanks, but I’d rather stick it out. Belos is… well, I think he’s the poster child for the corrupting influence of power. I don’t like a lot of what he’s doing, but at least if I serve him then I can try to curtail his worst issues. Plus if I leave, he’ll replace me with someone that’ll obey him unquestioningly. He’s already got one of his sycophants, Flora D’splora, training up some new girl that has been earmarked for a leadership position and from the rumours I’ve heard, the kid is too awestruck by the Emperor to see his flaws.” Michael said, smiling appreciatively at the thought at least.

“Well the offer is open. All three of us know the others’ secrets now, so we can all trust each other to keep one another safe. And maybe one day we can tell Darius, Eber, and Vitimir; once we all feel comfortable with it.” Cassiel said, before putting a hand on Michael’s chest and giving him a blessing; “Here. A little bit of my magic. With this, you can cast spells without your staff. Use it when you’re in a bind! And make sure you come see us whenever you can! I’ll make sure to get some food in you! Plus I’ll fix those eyebags too, even if I have to put you to sleep myself!”

Michael felt delightfully warm, filled with the power of an Angel, and beamed at the young woman in response. “Thank you, Cassiel, Em. For as long as you want me to be your friend, you can count on me for anything!”

With that declaration made, Cassiel, Em, and Michael shared a short farewell, before letting one another get back to their days. However all three felt it in their bones that they’d be seeing a lot more of each other soon.

________________________________________________________________________________

[Demon Realm, 2003

17 Years Ago]

Another year passed, and the time seemed to fly by for the group of friends. It was Darius’ and Eber’s final year at Hexside, so it had been fairly busy and Cassiel and Em had been unable to spend as much time with them due to their studies. Vitimir had two years left to go before he graduated, but he’d been working extremely hard on his potions, so even he was often too busy to hang out. However they still took every opportunity to go out and spend time together, and have a few fun adventures in different parts of the Boiling Isles, while also continuing to explore the place. They’d ended up going to every major city and seeing all the major landmarks by that point, so Cassiel and Em had taken to more thoroughly exploring the place. They’d gone on a trip to the Knee and found their way into Caplacier, and come face to face with the Enigmatic Black Tomb within, though sadly Cassiel’s power alone couldn’t open it. Even coming back with Darius and Eber one weekend hadn’t been enough; they’d still been missing something.

They had also had a brief run-in with the Bat Queen whilst trying to explore the hidden parts of the Forearm Forest. She’d taken them for intruders come to poach her Palismen wards at first, but after clearing a few trials (and the Bat Queen revealing she knew Cassiel was an Angel from her scent), the misunderstanding had been cleared up and BQ apologised. She’d even given Eber some wood to carve her own Palisman as an apology, and Eber had carved a Deva Tiger named Tigriel after being inspired by Cassiel. Sadly BQ had only offered a single log, so neither Cassiel or Em could carve their own Palisman, and since Vitimir had opted not to come along, the log had ended up going to Eber.

But while adventures with the whole gang together grew rarer, they still spent time together whenever possible. Vitimir rarely had free time with all his experiments, and only ever seemed to be free when Cassiel was alone, so Em, Darius, and Eber began to see even less of the odd boy, who was only just reaching 14. Darius, being 17, was stuck spending more time dealing with the nobility, and Eber was beginning intensive training to challenge her father for the Leadership of their Pack, as the Direwolf had grown more vicious towards her as she got older but barely any bigger. So with all three of their younger friends busy, it was no wonder that Cassiel and Em began to spend more and more time with Michael, who’d stayed true to his word and visited as often as he could. He began to delegate more of his work to others (at Cassiel’s suggestion, since he was technically doing some of his subordinates’ work too), and Belos hadn’t even complained; apparently giving much of the work to the new genius girl that had joined the Coven shortly before Cassiel and Em came to the Demon Realm.

Thanks to his frequent visits, Michael grew much closer with Cassiel and Em, and the three soon became borderline inseparable. Whenever they met up, Cassiel and/or Em would insist on taking Michael to dinner under an illusion so he wouldn’t need to wear his mask, and they’d eat and talk the night away. They also introduced all the things they loved to Michael, who quickly became a Cosmic Frontier fanatic just like them, leading to frequent late-night discussions and debates. Michael had in turn shared his love of architecture and history, revealing quite a talent for Construction Magic and an intimate knowledge of historical events. Em liked to joke that they could take Michael to any place in the isles, point at a building, and have him tell them the entire history behind it.

For the first six months since meeting each other, the trio had danced around a rather blatant attraction to one another. They’d flirt casually; nothing that could be taken too seriously, and were not shy about complimenting one another, but they had otherwise kept to friendship. Cassiel and Em were in a devoted and loving relationship, and while they had their disagreements and moments of bickering, they’d never had a serious fight and their love for each other hadn’t died down even a little. No one wanted to risk messing that up and potentially ruining a great friendship by taking a step into uncharted waters, even if all three had occasionally fantasised about what it’d be like for all three to be together.

But after those first six months happened, something changed. Michael frequently invited them to go with him on his patrols to different parts of the Isles, so they could hang out and have fun together while Michael had an excuse to be away from the castle. But during one particular trip to a small town near the southern reaches of the Snowy Rib Cage, Michael had been tasked with dealing with a rebellion group there. The rebels were extremists so he hadn’t hesitated in defeating them and calling the Scouts in to haul them off to the Conformatorium, but he’d also been ordered to ensure EVERY citizen of the town was branded with a Coven Sigil, to weed out any Wild Witches hiding there. They’d run into a single such witch; a teenage girl who’d graduated from Glandus early due to skipping a few years. As she wasn’t in school and wasn’t in a Coven, she was technically a wild witch, but since one usually had to be 18 to join a Coven and she wasn’t yet, he’d let her go with a warning to join a Coven as soon as she came of age. Cassiel and Em had been proud of him, and the girl had promised to join the Healing Coven as soon as she was allowed to, as she hated the pain the rebels had inflicted whilst terrorising the town.

Michael had been happy; he’d thought he’d done the right thing… but when one of his scouts reported it to Belos, the Emperor disagreed.

Later that night, Michael had called Cassiel on a Comm-pact he’d smuggled to her and Em, and asked for help. The pair had gone to get him and as soon as they opened the portal to the Boiling Isles, Michael had fallen through it, badly bruised and with a nasty gash on his face. Cassiel had rushed to heal him up, and learned that Belos had gone into a “fit” when he learned what Michael had done. Michael’s explanation that he’d followed the law that Belos himself wrote had not calmed him, and Belos’ enraged form had attacked him and the squad of scouts. Michael had saved them all and managed to calm the Emperor eventually, but he’d taken a vicious beating as a result, and Belos had ordered him out of his sight.

The whole experience had left Michael with broken ribs that Cassiel fully healed, as well as a new scar on his lip, and had also made Em and Cassiel agree that from now on, Michael lived with them. The man tried to protest, but they refused to hear of it. They’d only agreed to tolerate Michael continuing to work for Belos because they didn’t want Michael replaced by a sycophant that wouldn’t question Belos’ orders, but the pair of them had still been spitting fire for days about the decision. The three had gone to bed that night and slept in each other’s arms; Cassiel and Em pushing their beds together and sleeping with Michael between them, hugging and comforting the man after his harrowing experience.

The next day, Michael returned to Belos and was met with a seemingly sincere apology from his “Uncle”, who’d seemed surprised that he’d returned to duty. Belos had taken it as a sign of Michael’s incredible loyalty and put more trust in him, not even questioning that he no longer slept in the castle. Instead Michael would return to Neo Haven with his friends each night, and while they’d prepared a new bed for him, the three always ended up sleeping cuddled up in the same one. After a few weeks of sleeping like this, along with Cassiel and Em’s home-cooked meals (a combination of Angelic cooking, traditional Dominican dishes, and Angelic-Dominican Fusion food), and being allowed to walk around with his face uncovered (albeit beneath an illusion), Michael’s health had improved massively. His skin tone was a much healthier colour, his cheeks were no longer sunken, and his eyebags faded into non-existence. He became fitter and healthier, and unsurprisingly, his work for the Coven improved! And as the three got more accustomed to living together, their feelings grew more intense with each passing day.

It all came to ahead on the Graduation Day for Darius and Eber; Cassiel and Em would be attending the ceremony, as would Michael, and after spending almost a full week discussing it between themselves, Cassiel and Em had come to a decision… one they dearly hoped Michael would be okay with.

It was a nice sunny day in Bonesborough; perfect for the Graduation Day (if a little cold, since it was the end of the year). Warming spells had been liberally cast around the stage erected on the Grudgby Pitch, and the bleachers were full of students, while some extra seating in front of the stage was full of parents and family members here to watch their children graduate. Despite not officially being students, Cassiel and Em sat up in the bleachers beside Vitimir, whilst Michael stood on the stage with Principal Bump to help hand out the diplomas and serve as a representative from the Emperor’s Coven.

Principal Bump gave a speech showing his pride in all his students, while the graduating class’s “Scaledictorian” then gave her own speech; her scaly graduation robe looking quite striking compared to the black robes of the other graduates. Each student’s robe came with a mantle and cowl in the colour of their coven track, and had that Coven’s sigil embossed on their backs, so it was easy to spot Darius amidst the sea of pink-clad students (though Eber’s short stature meant she was hidden). Once the speeches were over, each student was called up one by one to receive their diploma and since it was done in alphabetical order, Darius and Eber were among the first. They shook hands with Principal Bump and Michael (who noticeably held his grip on the two of them for a moment longer than normal) and then left the stage to join their families. Darius went to go and see a couple whose own son (something Blight) had also graduated, and after exchanging pleasantries with them, he and Eber went to join Cassiel and Em in the stands.

“Congratulations, Darius! Eber!” Cassiel beamed, hugging them each in turn.

“You two are amazing! You make a couple of drop-outs like us look silly!” Em grinned.

Darius and Eber laughed, and Vitimir gave a more subdued congratulations, before they replied; “Thank you. I think I might actually miss this place. Still, I should hopefully have some more advanced minds to work with in the Abomination Coven. It’ll be interesting to not be the best man in the room from now on. For now, of course.” Darius smirked.

Eber barked; “And Eber is going to challenge Alpha soon! Nearly ready! Hope friends will be witness!”

“You know we’ll be there!” Cassiel promised, before turning to Vitimir; “To think; two more years and we’ll be back here for your graduation!”

“I could graduate now…” Vitimir said sullenly; “But Bump doesn’t want anyone younger than 16 graduating, so like it or not, I’ve got two years to go…”

“It can’t be helped.” Em tried to comfort him; “Joining a Coven while you’re still growing is dangerous. Your magic needs to settle first, or the sigil can mess you up and stunt your powers! That’s what I read.”

Vitimir just huffed, so they decided to turn their attention back to the last few students. The last two were a girl: Odalia Vespan of the oracle track, whom Darius really seemed to hate. Then there was a Raine Whispers of the bard track, who’d hurried off to a woman at the back of the crowd of parents, who was wearing an oversized trench coat and extremely obvious Groucho Marx glasses. The two kissed (which looked very odd) then rushed off together.

With no more students to give diplomas to, Michael spoke up to end the ceremony; “On behalf of the Emperor’s Coven, I congratulate you all on your graduation from Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. You now have your whole lives ahead of you, and I look forward to seeing what you’ll all achieve! Now remember; as you are no longer in full time education, you are now required to enter into a Coven. Those of you who are still under the age of 18, you are encouraged to see a specialist Healer at the Healing Coven to ensure you are healthy and developed enough to accept a Sigil. Those who are, and those over the age of 18 are required to join a Coven within the next 7 days. Remember to think about which Coven you want to join carefully, as while you can change your mind later, your new and old Coven Heads would both need to approve the change. With all that said, I congratulate you all once more! Well done!”

There was a round of applause for the graduating class, who all drew spell circles and shot sparks of magic in their signature colours into the sky, while those that had them tossed their Palismen up there too, catching them with broad grins.

With the ceremony itself over, the stage was vacated and then magically replaced by a series of long tables absolutely loaded with food of all kinds, resulting in quite a feast. Everyone was invited to enjoy it, and with the sole exception of a few less sociable people who left the ceremony immediately, everyone did. Eber and some of her friends from the beast-keeping track tore into the food and began a playful wrestling tournament overseen by Professor Gnarl, Darius began speaking with Principal Bump and leveraging their mutual connections to get a foot in the door on the higher levels of the Abomination Coven, Vitimir had opted to get as much potion practice done in the school labs before they closed until the new Spring Semester, and Michael found himself inundated with students who were trying to get a place in the Emperor’s Coven. That left Em and Cassiel to hang around the edge of the party and keep an eye on Michael, waiting for a moment to slip away with him and have a private talk. When no such moment had come after a full hour, they decided to make their own by using an illusion to disguise Em as a Coven Scout, who came over to bail Michael out by claiming the Emperor was calling for him.

A grateful Michael had followed the disguised Em back into Hexside, where they went up to the top of the school’s clock tower. They found Cassiel waiting there with a nervous smile, and Em dropped the disguise and smiled too, just as nervous.

Michael looked around as Cassiel cast an illusion over them to ensure no one could see or hear them, then took off his mask and smiled with relief; “Thanks you two. I can always count on you to bail me out! Some Golden Guard I am; I can fight rebels, criminals, wild witches, and monsters, but a bunch of new graduates sends me running for the hills!” he joked.

“Oh, I’m sure you could have handled them eventually. But Em and I were getting a little jealous; you were paying so much attention to them and none to us!” Cassiel gave a coy smile.

Michael blushed, then smirked flirtatiously; “Oh? Terribly sorry, my Lady Cassiel. Tell me, what can this humble Knight of the Isles do for you and your Lord Em?” he bowed playfully.

Em and Cassiel both gave him haughty expressions, before all three devolved into silly giggles and began to hug. The three eventually sat together on the edge of the tower, enjoying the view of the school and Bonesborough in the distance, until Em screwed up the courage to say what he and Cassiel had come here to say.

“Michael… we’ve known each other for about a year now, right? We’re close… really close.” he began.

“We are. I couldn’t possibly ask for more.” the man replied warmly.

Cassiel blushed as she said; “W-Well… what if we said we wanted and could give more?”

Michael froze; “W-What do you mean?”

“We’ve been flirting a lot. Pretty much since the beginning. And none of it has been lying or teasing; we both meant every word we’ve said. Heck, you know Cassiel can’t lie without hurting herself, and she wouldn’t do that to give you a compliment she didn’t mean.” Em replied. “And you’ve flirted back… we’re kind of wondering how serious you were about all the things you’ve said.”

Now the older man was blushing brighter; “I-I’ve meant everything I’ve said too.”

“So you find us both a-attractive?” Cassiel asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

“Incredibly so. Inside and out.” Michael whispered, struggling to make his voice any louder due to his nerves. “You are so beautiful and kind and gentle.” he said to Cassiel, then looked to Em; “And you are so handsome and friendly and fun-loving… Plus you both accepted me even though you know I’m a Grimwalker. Heck, you made me feel so safe and comfortable that I was able to confess my biggest secret to you after only a week of knowing you! To me, you’re both… you’re…” he tried to find the word he wanted to fully articulate his feelings.

“You’re irreplaceable treasures. Darius was my first friend and made me feel like I could endure my life… but you two? You’ve made me feel like I can live my life. I…”

He swallowed thickly and closed his eyes; “I love you. Both of you.”

Cassiel and Em stared at him for a moment, their faces aflame. When Michael finally screwed up the courage to look at them, he feared he’d see disgust, regret, or even pity, but he was instead met by two faces full of pure joy and hope.

“You love us… oh thank the Seraphim!” Cassiel sighed with relief; “I was so worried we’d been misreading the situation and we were about to make a fool of ourselves!”

“I told you he loved us back! Have a little more faith, Cassiel; we’re pretty awesome too!” Em teased to hide how relieved he was too.

“W-Wait! “Loved us back”!? Does that mean…!?” Michael gaped.

“That Em and I have fallen in love with you? Of course it does, you big adorably, insanely hot dork!” Cassiel said, wearing a huge smile with tears in her eyes.

Michael couldn’t believe his ears; “Y-You have!?”

“Of course! Like Cassiel said, you’re adorable and hot, but also kind.” Em grinned.

“And smart.”

“And generous.”

“And hard-working.”

“And selfless.”

“And so much more!” Cassiel and Em finished together.

“We brought you up here to try and confess to you and see if you wanted to date us!” Em said.

Michael managed to blush even deeper, and for a moment it looked almost like he’d pass out. His lips wobbled, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to smile or cry. He almost couldn’t believe it, but he knew these two wouldn’t tease him in such a cruel way. “B-But you both already have each other!”

“And we plan to keep it that way.” Cassiel said. “But we also have feelings for you, and you said you had feelings for us too, so that shouldn’t matter.”

Em nodded; “That’s right; You love me and Cassiel, Cassiel loves me and you, and I love you and Cassiel! So it only makes sense that we all date each other.”

Michael felt like he was in totally uncharted waters here; not only had he never been in a relationship before, but even he knew that a three-person relationship was unusual. He certainly wasn’t against it; how could he be? The two people he loved both loved him and loved each other; there was no loser in this situation! But he still had questions.

“S-So how would this work. What exactly would we be?” he asked.

This time, Em and Cassiel both looked unsure; “In truth, we’re not totally sure. In the Divine Realm, relationships are pretty much never anything but friendly, with mating being solely for making children. While not forbidden or even looked down upon, relationships for love are extremely uncommon, and same-sex relationships are extraordinarily rare. Relationships with more than two people are also basically unheard of there.”

“The Human Realm isn’t much better. The idea of same-sex relationships is only just starting to become accepted and polyamory, which is what they call having multiple consenting partners, is still considered rare and not really socially accepted. The Demon Realm is a LOT more accepting; same-sex relationships aren’t seen as anything unusual here, and gender itself is barely acknowledged in a lot of ways.” Em explained. “Cassie and I looked into polyamory in the Isles and found that it’s pretty rare outside of certain species of Demons, but it is perfectly legal and there’s no real social bias against it.”

Michael looked freaked out; “No offence, but your realms are weird. The Demon Realm can be kind of gross and dangerous, but at least people can pick who they love and no one gets weird about it. Unless you’re a noble that wants an arranged marriage, but that’s not really love.”

Em and Cassiel agreed whole heartedly; all the realms had their good points and bad points, but they figured that was just because people themselves all had their good and bad points, and what is a Realm if not the sum of the people living there?

“Getting back to your question; we’re not totally sure how it would work. Em found a three-person relationship living in Manubrium a couple of months back, and they said the key was healthy communication and setting boundaries.” Cassiel said.

“Yep. They called themselves a “throuple” or a Triad, and said that their relationship was a lot like any other, but since it’s got an extra person, everyone needs to turn their communication skills up a notch. But between my openness, your bluntness, and Cassiel’s Angel Honesty, I think we can handle that.” Em said, before looking at Michael expectantly; “That is of course if you want to do this. We’ve established we all have feelings for each other, but it’s up to you if you want to take this to the next level.”

Cassiel nodded, then held Em’s hand as the two looked Michael in the eye as they blushed and said together; “Michael, do you want to be our boyfriend?”

Michael’s heart skipped a beat, and he felt like his face must be lit up like a light house, but he was also wearing the biggest smile he’d ever had. He nodded eagerly; “I do!”

Cassiel and Em squealed with joy and tackled the boy to the floor, where they landed in a heap as they giggled. They were all so incredibly happy! They embraced one another tightly, and then Em turned Michael’s face towards him so he could kiss him. Cassiel watched her two boyfriends’ first kiss with her heart swelling, then when the two came up for air, she gently turned Michael’s face towards her so she could have his second kiss. The older boy was totally breathless when their lips finally parted, and he beamed as he turned Cassiel and Em’s faces towards each other and watched as they took the hint and kissed as well, marking the first full kiss of their new triad relationship.

It was totally new and exciting, and honestly very scary; while Cassiel and Em had been dating for about three years by this point, they were still awkward nerds at their core and only hid it well due to how familiar they were with each other. They were a lot more nervous than they let on, wanting to appear confident for Michael. who despite being two years older than Cassiel and one older than Em, lacked any experience or confidence. Still, all three were in silent agreement on two important things; one, they all loved one another and two, they all wanted to work together and make this new situation work.

It was the dawn of a whole new type of life for the triad, and all three were greatly looking forward to what their future held.

________________________________________________________________________________

[Demon Realm, 2005

15 Years Ago]

Two years passed since the day of Darius’ and Eber’s graduation ceremony, and a lot had changed for them, the Triad, and Vitimir. Darius and Eber had been happy to hear about Michael joining Cassiel and Em’s relationship and had celebrated with them. Cassiel had opted not to tell Vitimir directly, as the boy still seemed irritated and disgusted by all relationships (and most people), and she didn’t want to upset him by bringing up a subject he found uncomfortable.

Their relationship had been going well too; Michael already lived on Neo Haven with them so aside from an increase in romance and cute gestures between the three, their every day hadn’t changed too much. All three were very physically affectionate, as growing up in the environments they did had left all of them pretty touch-starved, so it was rare that they were ever not in contact with one another if they were together. Whether it be holding hands while reading a book, sitting back to back while Em fished and Michael drew, or occasionally bumping shoulders while working together in the garden of Neo Haven; the three were rarely apart. It had taken a few bumpy months to get into the groove of communicating in a three-way relationship, but between Em’s naturally gentle nature, Cassiel’s orderly nature, and Michael being used to dealing with a very volatile temper, they’d come through any issues and arguments fairly easily.

Their communication also ensured all three of the “couples” within the Triad, as well as the Triad as a whole, got equal attention, so no one got left out. They would have “Couple Date Days” every Saturday where one couple would go out for breakfast and spend the morning together, then another would have lunch and the afternoon together, before finally the last one would have dinner and the evening to themselves. For example, Cassiel and Michael might spend the morning walking together in a town, then Cassiel and Em would go exploring in the afternoon, before Michael and Em spent a nice evening out investigating some old ruins. Then Sundays were the “Triad Date Days” and all three would spend the day together. It worked out exceedingly well for them and their relationship grew incredibly strong. When Cassiel finally turned 18 after a year of their new dynamic, they’d also taken the step into a more intimate, adult relationship. The three loved one another, and were already thinking about how they would handle the Belos situation so that they could finally go public, since only their friends really knew about the relationship (as Michael still wore a disguise in public).

Speaking of their friends, they had been succeeding in life too. Darius had rocketed up the ranks of the Abomination Coven and settled into a comfortable position where he didn’t need to worry about commanding idiots or being commanded by idiots, though he did complain about his rival still matching him at every turn. Eber had joined the Beast-Keeping Coven and was apparently already being looked at for a potential apprenticeship under the current Head Witch, though her focus was currently on her pack… she was getting close to feeling ready to take on her father and win the leadership of the pack from him! She’d already had to fight several duels with other wolves due to her small size, but they’d quickly realised that her size hid her true power. Despite both being busier however, they still made time to hang out with the Triad and enjoy spending time with them, occasionally going on trips whenever they had time off from their new jobs.

Vitimir was the outlier due to still being at Hexside, and since he’d never really warmed up to anyone but Cassiel, she was the only one who kept visiting him. Em had gotten the message that Vitimir just didn’t mesh well with his personality and decided to stop pushing his presence on the kid, while the others simply followed his lead. Vitimir seemed to appreciate this too, as he was far happier when just with Cassiel and loved to show her his new discoveries and soak up her praise. He’d even taken to smiling at Em when he saw the older boy out with the disguised Michael, likely appreciating that the boy was respecting his boundaries by keeping his distance.

Now, it was exactly two years following that first graduation ceremony, and the now 19 year old Cassiel had come back to Hexside for another ceremony; this time Vitimir’s. Em had come along too, and Michael was giving a speech again so both were present, though they planned to leave as soon as the ceremony was done and they’d given their best wishes to Vitimir, leaving just Cassiel to hang out with him while the men went on a date in Bonesborough.

The ceremony was much the same as the previous one, and when the stage became banquet tables again, the Triad went to speak to Vitimir together.

“Congratulations on your graduation, Vitimir! Look at you! You’ve grown up so much since that little boy I first met in that alley!” Cassiel gushed, looking proudly at the rather tall and lanky young man Vitimir had become.

“T-Thank you, Cassiel. That means a lot coming from you.” Vitimir blushed.

“It’s deserved! You did great, Vitimir. Congrats.” Em beamed.

“Indeed; you graduated with the best final Potions grade in Hexside history. In fact, I think it may be the best grade on the isles. You’re a shoo-in for a high position in the Potions Coven. Perhaps you’ll even become Coven Head one day.” Michael complimented.

Vitimir gave a thin smile to the men; “I appreciate the compliments. I’ll be joining the Potions Coven very soon.”

Sensing some approaching awkwardness, the men decided now was a good time to leave; “Well, we’ll get out of your hair. Michael and I have a hot date at the Museum!” Em said, winking as he took the blushing Michael’s hand.

The two men began to walk off, with Cassiel giggling and waving; “Have a nice time, boys!”

Vitimir watched the whole exchange with a wide smile, before turning to Cassiel; “Um, w-would you be willing to go somewhere private with me? I-I really want to ask you something.”

“Oh! Of course! Lead the way!” Cassiel smiled.

Vitimir took her hand and began to lead her away from Hexside and back into Bonesborough, leading her to the isolated alley where they’d first met. It brought back fond memories for them both, but as they arrived, Vitimir did not release Cassiel’s hand; instead he turned to face her and grabbed her other hand, placing them both together between his own.

He swallowed thickly as Cassiel looked at him with confusion, then began to nervously speak; “C-Cassiel… you mean so much to me, and you’ve done so much for me that I can’t imagine life without you! S-So I was hoping that maybe… maybe you’d be willing to become my g-girlfriend?”

Immediately, Cassiel froze with a wide-eyed expression as hundreds of odd little quirks that she’d seen from Vitimir suddenly clicked into place. All this time, Vitimir’s weird behaviour had been caused by a crush on her! No wonder he’d always seemed happier with just her, and why he’d never meshed well with Em! The Angel’s eyes filled with sympathy and regret, knowing she was about to break her dear friend’s heart.

“Oh Vitimir… I’m so sorry. I like you a lot, I’d even say I love you, but my feelings for you are sisterly rather than romantic.” Cassiel said gently, trying to soften the blow. Poor Vitimir’s expression fell and he looked so horribly disappointed and sorrowful that Cassiel wanted to hug him, but feared giving off the wrong message. “Besides, I’m still in a relationship, remember?”

That seemed to make Vitimir’s sorrow snap into surprise; “W-What? But I thought you broke up with Em!”

“Broke up with him? I never said anything about that.” Cassiel blinked, confused.

“B-But he’s on a date with the Golden Guard right now! And I’ve seen him out on dates with another guy! If you’re still dating then why are you okay with him cheating on you!?” Vitimir cried.

Cassiel’s eyes widened further; “Y-You mean you still don’t know? Em, Michael, and I are all dating each other. We have been for two years! We never made a big deal of announcing it to you because we thought you didn’t like hearing about romance stuff, but we figured you’d have noticed!”

Vitimir shook his head, a little bit angry now; “No! I just saw your boyfriend dating another guy! And he stopped coming to Hexside with you, so I thought you’d broken up!”

Cassiel almost wanted to facepalm; of course Vitimir would assume they’d broken up if he saw Em dating someone else! And since Cassiel liked to still visit or hang out with Vitimir, she tended to schedule her dates with her boyfriends for whenever Vitimir was busy, so he’d never have seen her dating them too. It was all a big misunderstanding, caused by them making assumptions and coming to the wrong conclusions. Cassiel and her boyfriends had been trying not to upset Vitimir, but since they hadn’t realised what was really upsetting him, they’d accidentally made it worse!

“I am so sorry, Vitimir. I never meant to hurt you like this… you’re a precious friend to me. I hope you’ll forgive me.” Cassiel said earnestly.

Vitimir bit his lip and let go of Cassiel’s hands, then backed off a step; “I… I think I need some time alone. I’ll see you later…” he said, turning and hurrying off.

Cassiel felt the urge to chase after him, but he’d had a pretty dark look in his eye before turning away from her, so she feared she’d only make him angrier. Perhaps it was best to let him cool off for a bit then speak to him again when he’s calm… besides, Cassiel really didn’t feel up to talking about anything too heavy right now; she’d felt a little sick all morning.

With a sigh, Cassiel decided to go hang out in the market until her boyfriends were done with their date… she could use some cuddles, but didn’t want to interrupt them.

________________________________________________________________________________

[Three Days Later]

When Em and Michael found out about the situation with Vitimir, they had been sympathetic. Both had wanted to approach the boy and clear the air, but felt it was likely a bad idea until Cassiel had spoken to him again… besides, they didn’t have the faintest idea where he was!

Outside of the Vitimir situation, Cassiel had been feeling under the weather for a few days. She’d feared she was getting the Mold, but her symptoms didn’t quite add up. While her temperature was a little raised, her sinuses were fine… but she found herself feeling sick in the mornings and nothing smelled quite right. It was odd and a little uncomfortable, especially as it made food a weird experience for her. When she finally awoke one morning and found herself extremely nauseous, Cassiel had finally bitten the bullet and cast some diagnostic spells on herself.

Her resulting scream had both Em and Michael leaping out of bed and rushing to the bathroom, where she’d been performing the spell. When they ran in and saw tears in her eyes, both paled and began looking around for a threat or signs of what upset her.

“Cassie! Are you alright!?” Em asked as Michael glared around the room with his staff in his hands.

Cassiel nodded, and with tears in her eyes, she smiled up at the two men; “I’m fine, but listen… remember how I’ve been feeling off for a few days?”

“Yeah. We’ve been worried; I was going to try and convince you to see someone I trust within the Healing Coven if you hadn’t been feeling better today.” Michael answered. The girl he’d spared back at the Snowy Rib Cage had gone on to join the Healing Coven like she’d promised, and had helped him with a few discreet matters already.

“Well that won’t be necessary now. I used a diagnostic spell I’d learned in my training with Crest Kindness so now I know what’s causing these symptoms…” Cassiel’s smile grew wider; “Em, Michael… I’m pregnant!”

The two men froze and stared at Cassiel, their minds totally shutting down for a bit. It took them a good few minutes before their brains rebooted enough to actually process what they’d just been told, all while Cassiel watched and giggled nervously. The first to react was Em, who promptly burst into noisy tears and rushed to Cassiel’s side and hugged her tightly, now being much more cautious about her tummy.

“Pregnant! You’re gonna be a Mami! Oh Titan, I’m gonna be a Papi! Michael’s gonna be a Daddy! I can’t believe it!” Em cried, the biggest smile splitting his face even as tears streamed down his rosy cheeks.

Cassiel giggled and kissed him, pleased that he was so happy and excited to become a Papi at Age 20. She then looked to Michael, who was still processing.

“A baby… we’re having a baby… a little Cherub of our own… Am I dreaming?” Michael whispered to himself, before slapping himself hard enough to make even his lovers flinch. When that failed to wake him up, tears began streaming down his face. “This is real… you’re really pregnant!” he looked at Cassiel with pure love in his eyes.

“I am! Now come hug us you big dork!” Cassiel laughed.

Michael didn’t need to be told twice and knelt down on Cassiel’s other side to join the hug, as he and Em entwined their fingers and lay them over Cassiel’s belly. “Our child… I almost can’t believe it. We’re going to be parents!” he cried happily.

The three sat there like that for quite a while, before finally deciding that they needed to have a proper discussion about how to handle this new situation. They took turns washing up in the bathroom, then dressed for the day and made breakfast, before sitting together at the kitchen table to discuss how they should move forward with this.

“There’s so much we need to do! We need clothes for the baby, we need a crib, we need diapers and supplies… we’ll need to get toys for them, and eventually sort out what to do about their education… and names! We’ll need to talk names!” Michael began, already making a list on a piece of paper.

“Some of that stuff is still a long ways off, Love. We have a while before the baby is born so we don’t need to panic.” Cassiel soothed him.

Em nodded in agreement then asked; “How far along are you?”

“Nine weeks. So just over two months.” Cassiel answered.

That got some looks of surprise from the men; “Does it normally take that long to notice a pregnancy? I always thought it was a few weeks, a month tops.” Michael said.

“Normally yes, but pregnancies in which the child is the product of two different species can take a bit longer to show signs. I read that it’s not uncommon for the mothers of Half-Angels to not know about the pregnancy until their second trimester, especially if they’re one of the lucky few to suffer mild symptoms.” Cassiel explained; “Supposedly this is because the mother’s magic shields the baby so that it is safe from outside magics until the pregnancy is stabilised, as combining the DNA of two different species can be finicky. It’s not until the foetus is stable and no longer vulnerable to ambient magic that the mother’s magic subsides and the symptoms start to show.”

Michael and Em listened carefully, then did some mental mathematics; it was currently nearly the end of December, so at 9 weeks the child would have been conceived some time in the middle of October and would thus likely be born sometime in the middle of June, making them a Summer Baby. As they were thinking this, Cassiel raised the next point she wanted to discuss.

“Okay, so naturally we know that all three of us are going to be parents to this baby. However because of how standard biology works, only one of you is the actual father. I think that we should use a Bloodline Potion sometime soon, to ensure that the child has all three of us as biological parents.” she said.

The men agreed immediately; while both would love the child even if they weren’t the blood parent, they still wanted to be their blood parent if possible. Em immediately said; “We can buy the ingredients to make one the next time we go to the Isles.”

“Good; the earlier the potion is administered, the less stressful it is on the child.” Michael nodded.

Cassiel smiled; she hadn’t anticipated a problem, but was glad all the same. “Great! Though since we’ll need to add the DNA of whichever parent is not the biological parent, we’ll need to find out which of you actually fathered them.”

This time, the men both frowned. They’d rather not know; they were all supposed to be equal in the relationship, but with Cassiel already doing the lion’s share of the work by carrying their child, finding out which one of them was the “real” father could make the one who isn’t feel subconsciously inferior or less important.

“Can’t we just make a potion with both our DNA in it?” Em asked.

Cassiel shook her head; “That would result in one of you being “doubled” and the baby would be half that father and only one quarter each of myself and the other father.”

“So instead, use one of the more high-end Bloodline potions; one that resets their bloodline entirely and add all three of our DNA.” Michael suggested.

“That could work… but those are usually used on children long after they’re born. I’ll need to do a little research on it… Sadly the best resource we have for that is Vitimir and I don’t think it’d be a good idea to ask him now.” Cassiel said, cringing a little at how awkward that conversation would be.

The men agreed on that whole-heartedly, though that left them with a bit of a problem. While the potion could be researched easily enough in the library, it was difficult to make compared to standard Bloodline Potions and Cassiel doubted she could make it. In addition, only licensed high-level brewers from the Potions Coven could legally make Bloodline Potions, and only high-ranking Healers could order one made, as they weren’t for commercial sale and only available to those with Healer approval. If they didn’t brew it themselves, then buying one would normally be illegal.

Thankfully, Michael had a potential solution; “There are rumours of a pair of different black market apothecaries in Bonesborough. One is fairly new and shockingly high quality, while the other is older and a little sketchy. I’ll check with some contacts of mine at the Night Market and see if I can get in contact with the better one, so I can buy the potion from them directly.”

Cassiel and Em nodded in agreement; “Great! That’ll be one problem taken care off!” Cassiel said, before rubbing a hand over her tummy and smiling down at it lovingly; “Here that, my little Cherub? Your Daddy is going to make sure he and Papi are totally equal! We’re all looking forward to meeting you!”

Michael and Em both reached over to rub her belly too, each one practically overflowing with excitement… the next seven months couldn’t come quickly enough!

________________________________________________________________________________

[Two Days Later]

Wanting to take a few days to get over her morning sickness phase, Cassiel ended up remaining on Neo Haven Island with Em to keep her company, while Michael went to take care of his work and acquire the Bloodline Potion. His contacts among the Night Market merchants had placed an order for him with the mysterious new apothecary, but Michael would need to pick it up himself, so the next evening he’d gone to the western side of Bonesborough and waited in the woods just outside the town, wearing a disguise to keep himself anonymous as he awaited the apothecary. He’d eventually been met by a tall woman in a cloak that hid her features, who demanded an Everlasting Oath from Michael that he wouldn’t be using the Bloodline Potion for anything nefarious. Michael, impressed by the woman’s conscience, had agreed and sworn that it was only going to be used by his pregnant girlfriend to ensure their child was the child of their whole Triad. He’d also made the woman swear an oath in return that the potion worked and was totally safe, and she’d accepted without argument. She’d then handed over the potion without incident, aside from a brief moment where her hand seemed to detach from her body when Michael tried to pull away after the oath. The disguised Golden Guard had freaked out, but the odd witch had just stuck her hand back on her wrist, grabbed the bag of snails Michael had brought in payment, and high-tailed it out of Michael’s sight. When he’d tried to follow her and see if she was okay, she’d tossed a bag of Hex-Mix in his face, leaving him so bewildered that he hadn’t tried to pursue her any further.

Em had found that story hilarious, while Cassiel had just snacked on the Hex-Mix with a grin.

With the potion in hand, they’d then each added a drop of blood to the Bloodline Potion, before Cassiel cast a spell designed to give potions to children still in the womb. It’d be a few days before they’d have confirmation that the potion had worked alright, and it unfortunately left Cassiel a little bit weak as her magic was siphoned to the baby so it could reinforce them during the change caused by the potion.

All in all, it was one of the happiest times of the trio’s lives… which is why it took them by surprise how quickly everything changed.

The day after Cassiel had taken the potion, she and her lovers had come to an agreement that she could leave Neo Haven and go back to the Boiling Isles for visits again, but she had to remain with Em at all times so the man could protect her until her magic had settled down. Em had been given a blessing by Cassiel and was allowed to borrow one of Michael’s artificial magic staves (which he’d been given a crash course in using), so he’d be able to defend Cassiel as much as possible.

The three returned to the Boiling Isles together, intent on visiting Darius and Eber to left them know about the pregnancy, but as soon as they reached the eastern entrance into Bonesborough where they’d planned to meet the pair, they’d been shocked to find a large contingent of Coven Scouts awaiting them.

“W-What is going on!?” Cassiel cried as the scouts surrounded them. They weren’t pointing their weapons yet, but they did make sure there were no gaps for the trio to run through.

A scout captain leading the group put up a privacy barrier to keep the gawking citizens from hearing them, then asked; “Are you the Angel Cassiel of Crest Kindness? Accompanied by the Wild Witch Em?”

The trio all went as white as snow; how did these people know she was an Angel!? No one outside their friend group knew! Unless someone had spied on her and managed to see one of the rare times her wings were visible while on the Isles. But even then, she’d ONLY revealed her Crest Kindness connection to her friends! Eventually, Em tried to pull the focus from Cassiel onto him by yelling.

“Hey, I’m not a Wild Witch!” he protested, technically telling the truth.

The scouts all ignored him and kept their gazes focused on the frightened Cassiel. “I repeat, are you the Angel Cassiel of Crest Kindness?” the Captain asked, speaking politely but firmly.

Cassiel gulped; they must know that an Angel cannot lie easily, so were expecting an answer from her!

Michael tried to come to her rescue by dismissing his disguise and revealing his Golden Guard uniform to them (his face remaining masked). “Stand down, that is an order! I am the Golden Guard, Head Witch of the Emperor’s Coven, and these two innocent witches are under my protection!” he thundered, summoning his staff and making it spark with magic.

Some of the scouts stepped back fearfully, but they didn’t move enough to break ranks and the scout captain was unmoved; “Forgive me, Head Witch. However our orders come directly from the Emperor himself, and he specifically informed us that we are to ignore your orders in regards to the Angel Cassiel and the Wild Witch Em.”

Michael’s face fell; if Belos himself had given the order, then he already knew about Cassiel and Em, which meant hiding them or denying what they were had just become virtually impossible. Not only that, but the scouts had known where to wait for them to apprehend them, meaning they had insider knowledge. As Oracles wouldn’t be able to use their power on Cassiel, the only option was there being a traitor amongst their friends… and Michael would bet every snail in the royal treasury that he knew who.

“What exactly has the Emperor ordered you to do in regards to Cassiel and Em?” he asked, not bothering to argue any further.

“We are to invite them to the Castle as honoured guests. If the invitation is accepted, the Wild Witch will be pardoned and anyone who concealed his nature will be absolved for not reporting him. If you should decline however, he will be arrested along with everyone who knew about him and tried to hide it. We currently have arrest warrants for Darius Deamonne, Eberwolf of the West Ilium Direwolves, Hieronymus Bump, and yourself: Michael the Golden Guard. We already have people stationed to arrest them as we speak.” the scout captain said.

The trio grimaced; that meant that even if they fought back and escaped, their friends would likely suffer a one-way ticket to the Emperor. Belos was not playing around here, and the notable absence of Vitimir’s name from the list of warrants made it sink in for Cassiel and Em just who was responsible for this.

“I can’t believe this… we’ve been friends for four years, but as soon as I reject him, Vitimir sells me out to the Emperor!?” Cassiel cried, not sure if she was more angry or heartbroken.

Em scowled; “I don’t want to believe it, but he’s the only one who knows and isn’t wanted… he’s also the only one with a motive.”

The scout captain straightened a little; “I’ll take that as the confirmation. We were going to have to take you in anyway to be sure, but at least now we know we have the right people. Please come with us; we will be taking you to an immediate audience with Emperor Belos.”

The scouts moved closer and began flanking Cassiel and Em, making sure the pair would walk with them and not try to escape. Of course, they were fairly certain they still could if they really tried, but it would only end in their friends being arrested, so they had no choice but to accept the situation and hope that things would work out.

Michael growled and snapped; “I will be going to this audience as well.”

“The Emperor said that would be the case. We are under no orders to prevent that. Please come this way.” the scout captain said, before leading the trio out of Bonesborough again and towards an airship that had been concealed with an illusion within the woods. Once the three reluctant guests had boarded and the ship took to the sky, the scout captain pulled out a Comm-pact and called it. Belos himself answered.

“Captain. I assume you have good news?” Belos asked.

“Yes, Emperor Belos. The Angel and the Wild Witch are onboard, as is the Golden Guard. We are on our way now.” the captain replied.

“Good. Make sure they know that my people are still watching their friends closely from the shadows, and will act to summarily “deal” with them for concealing the Angel and Wild Witch should they try anything.”

Hearing this, the Triad all glared at the scout captain, who gulped. “I’ll make sure they get the message.”

With that, Belos hung up and the most awkward and tense flight of any of their lives ensued. It was thankfully not too long, and they soon found themselves landing behind the Emperor’s Castle, where a team of scouts immediately escorted them to Belos’ throne room. Once they’d arrived, one of the guards at the door held his hand out for Michael’s staff.

“My apologies, sir. The Emperor has dismissed his guard detail, so all weapons are forbidden in the throne room at this time.” the scout said fearfully.

Michael sneered and tossed the staff at the scout, then kicked the doors to the throne room open. Cassiel followed close behind him, with Em bringing up the rear and shielding their pregnant lover from behind. Marching into the throne room, both Cassiel and Em were disturbed by the sight of the Titan’s still beating heart behind the throne, before they were distracted by the person sat in the throne.

For the first time, the duo from beyond the Demon Realm laid eyes on Emperor Belos, in all his masked glory. He cut a rather intimidating figure, lounging lazily in a throne in front of the very heart of the Boiling Isles, his sinister golden mask gleaming in the torchlight as two pinpricks of azure blue stared out through the eye holes. Em thought he definitely fit the image of an Emperor, while Cassiel felt like there was something exceedingly wrong with Belos… she felt so many different magics from him, all twisted up into a bizarre knot of mismatched power, that it was honestly a little nauseating. Michael had mentioned him eating Palismen… could that be the reason for the strange feeling?

Finally drawing her eyes away from Belos, Cassiel noticed that there was only one other person in the room; Vitimir, who was skulking off to the side, glaring at both Em and Michael with hateful eyes. Cassiel dearly wanted to say some choice words to him for this, but Belos spoke first.

“Welcome, Lady Cassiel of Crest Kindness.” he greeted, sitting up in his throne and actually managing to look regal; “I am very pleased to finally have a true servant of the Almighty standing here before me. It is an honour to meet you.”

“Emperor Belos… I can’t say the feeling is mutual. You threatened my friends to bring me here, and I know you’ve hurt Michael many times with your “fits”. I’ve been the one patching him up.” she spat.

Belos tilted his head and drummed his fingers on the armrest of his throne, clearly irritated. “You are not the first Angel that I have met, but it seems that like that Angel in the past, you have been overly influenced by the corrupting aspects of this realm. I am disappointed, though not surprised.”

Michael tore of his mask and glared up at the man who’d claimed to be his uncle. “What are you playing at, Belos!? Why did you summon Cassiel and Em like this!? Why threaten our friends!?”

“Ah, Michael… you know, under any other circ*mstances I would have been extremely proud of you for bringing an Angel and a Wild Witch before me. But you instead chose to hide them from me… tell me why I shouldn’t destroy this Wild Witch immediately for his crimes against the Titan?” Belos threatened.

Em stepped forward; “Probably because I’m not a Wild Witch.” he declared, ripping off his Concealment Stone and revealing his true Human appearance. “I am a Human, using magic with blessings from my lover Cassiel.”

That made Belos freeze for a moment, before he leaned forward; “A Human you say… in that case, you have my apologies. But I must confess to being curious… could this be a coincidence, or the plan of the Almighty?” he said, muttering that last part to himself.

Cassiel, removing her own Concealment Stone, stepped up to Michael’s other side and gripped his hand while subconsciously putting the other over her belly, while Em took Michael’s other hand before all three stared defiantly up at Belos. The Emperor’s eyes narrowed behind his mask and he stood up slowly.

“Human… tell me your name. Your real name.” he demanded.

Em considered lying, but decided it was pointless; “Emmanuel Noceda.”

In an instant, the air in the room seemed to shift and Belos went very still, before he tilted his head back and began to laugh. His near-hysterical laughter echoed throughout the throne room in a rather terrifying way, making the Triad and even Vitimir shudder in fear at the unhinged man.

“Oh… oh truly this is providence! An Angel of Crest Kindness… a Human by the name of Noceda… and one of my own blood, however corrupted it is. I can finally see His great plan at work.” Belos declared, despite no one but him understanding what he was talking about. His eyes then glanced over to Cassiel and saw the way she held her stomach, which made him chuckle once again.

“You are pregnant, Lady Cassiel.” he said simply.

The Triad all paled, while Vitimir screamed; “WHAT!?”

That drew Cassiel’s attention back to the lanky, awkward creep that she had once considered to be like a little brother to her; “Yes, Vitimir; I am carrying my child, and the child of Michael and Em. A child whose life you’ve endangered with this foul act of jealous pettiness! You were my friend, and you betrayed me because I was in love with someone other than you!?”

“THEY CORRUPTED YOU!” Vitimir screamed, practically frothing at the mouth. “I bit my tongue when it came to you dating Em, even if I felt he was unworthy of you! But then he turned you into a trophy! Just a part of his little harem whilst he went gallivanting around with other people! You deserve someone to cherish you! Not someone who could have a literal Angel in love with them and still not be satisfied!”

He looked at Em with pure hatred; “I’ve seen you with dozens of other people over the last two years! Different men that you were dating! I’d thought you and Cassiel had parted ways, but no! You were treating her like a loyal pet you could always come home to no matter how often you cheated on her!”

“Cheated!? Are you stupid!? The only person besides Cassiel I’ve ever dated is Michael! You just saw him wearing different disguises, you traitor! And Cassiel is in love with him too! All three of us are in love together!” Em roared, absolutely furious.

Vitimir snarled back; “Don’t you lie to me! I know all about yours and the Golden Guard’s corrupting ways! Once I’d realised what you were really like, I went to the one person I knew that could potentially save Cassiel from your corruption! I may not be a big believer in the Titan, but the Emperor has always preached that Angels served the Titan just like he does! If anyone could save Cassiel from your foul influence, it would be him!”

The deluded Potioneer looked to Cassiel with a manic smile; “I did it to save you, Cassiel! So you could be free from them! So you could be purified, and able to be with someone who truly loves you! Who is devoted to you!”

Cassiel glared at him in disgust; “No, Vitimir… I am not the corrupt one here! You are! I chose to love Michael of my own accord, just as I chose to love Em! The baby growing inside me is proof of the love we share! I won’t let you call them corrupt!”

Vitimir reared back as if slapped, deeply shocked and hurt by the love of his life refusing to listen to him and understand that he was doing this for her. Belos seemed halfway between amused and disgusted by the whole affair, and regarded Cassiel with a curious gleam in his azure eyes.

“Would you be so quick to confess your love to my wayward nephew if you were to learn what he truly is?” he asked.

Michael glared at Belos with so much hatred that it was a wonder the foul man didn’t catch on fire from the sheer intensity of it. Cassiel and Em glared at the Emperor as well, supremely unimpressed.

“If you’re talking about him being a Grimwalker, then we already know.” Cassiel shot back, secretly relishing the shocked horror on Vitimir’s face and the widening of Belos’ eyes.

“Michael told us a week after we met! We knew for a whole year before asking him out, and we’ve known for two years since asking him out!” Em added with a smirk; “We know he’s supposedly some magic death clone of your real nephew or something… and we don’t care! We love him no matter what!”

Belos actually stepped back in surprise, while Vitimir could only cry; “You knew!? The Emperor told me when I reported Em’s corrupting influence, but you already knew!? And you still chose to stay with him!? How deep have they dug their claws into you, Cassiel!?”

Cassiel just sneered angrily, while Michael stared at Belos with a challenging expression; “Yes, “Uncle”, I know what I am and have done for years! Even through your horrible treatment of me and others, and through all the questionable things you demanded of me, I’ve remained loyal to you because I thought that deep down you really considered me to be family to you. That maybe your madness really was all because of that curse on you… but you’re in your right mind at the moment and you still tried to throw me under the Slitherbeast! Do you hate than an Angel loves me that much!? Why!? I’d have thought you’d be happy!”

Belos glared at him; “You are unclean. A Grimwalker born to serve a purpose and nothing more… and that purpose is not defiling Humans and Angels alike with your perversions! The one good thing you’ve done is ensured that our shared bloodline has joined that of an Angel! But now… now you’re just a corrupting influence!”

With those final words, Belos’ eyes flashed and before Michael could react and before his lovers could do anything to help him, Belos turned his arm into a disgusting rotten green slime and lunged it towards Michael. It struck him in the chest at incredible speed, the slime forming a sharp spike as it plunged into his flesh, piercing straight through his heart. Michael felt all the air be knocked out of him as crimson blood began to drip from the stab wound in his chest. He, Cassiel, and Em could do nothing but stare at the wound for a split second, before the latter two screamed in horror.

“MICHAEL!”

Belos pulled back his slime arm, ripping the spike out of his Grimwalker and causing the poor man to flop to the floor, desperately trying to get air back into his lungs while Cassiel and Em dropped to their knees beside him. Cassiel immediately began trying to cast healing spells while Em tried to put pressure on the wound to stem the bleeding, all while Belos watched on with cruel disinterest, casually wiping the blood from his gauntlets as his arm returned to normal.

“Hold on Michael! Just hold on! Cassiel will fix you up as good as new!” Em tried to reassure his lover.

Michael smiled weakly, the coppery taste of blood thick on his tongue. He was trying to appear brave for his loves, but it was difficult with the pain in his chest and the shock he was still feeling. He’d genuinely not expected Belos to outright try to kill him! He’d expected that Belos might lash out or get violent, but to jump straight to a lethal blow with such calmness? That had taken him fully by surprise. It was a line Michael had never thought Belos would cross… and yet he’d just stepped over it like it was nothing. It made the poor man wonder; did Belos’ real nephew meet this fate too? Had there been other Grimwalkers before him that were replaced? Was he even made from Belos’ nephew? Belos had confirmed they shared blood, but that was it… Michael had so many questions, but as he felt his life force slipping away, he doubted he’d get the answers.

Meanwhile, Cassiel was desperately trying to close Michael’s wound. His flesh was knitting back together just fine, as were the ribs that Belos had sliced through, but Michael’s heart stubbornly refused to heal! The organ was surrounded and coated in a mass of light blue crystal of some kind, and the crystal seemed to permeate the heart completely. It was almost like the heart had been carved out from within the blue crystal, and nothing Cassiel could do was fixing it! None of her healing spells were having the slightest bit of effect!

“No no no! Why isn’t this working! Your heart…!” Cassiel cried, tears streaming down her face as her hands, slick with Michael’s blood, cast spell after spell.

“The heart of a Grimwalker is a Galdorstone.” Belos explained casually; “A Galdorstone is the heart of a Witch or Demon that served the Titan and received the blessing of his power in return, causing their hearts to eventually be crystallised by the overflowing power. Placing a Galdorstone inside someone is almost like giving them a heart transplant… though no magic exists that can repair a shattered Galdorstone.”

“No! Damn it, I’ll find a way!” Cassiel said through gritted teeth as she tried even harder. Her magic was fluctuating wildly due to her pregnancy and the Bloodline Potion that hadn’t fully settled yet, as well as her compromised mental state, so even the limited healing she’d already performed had been far more difficult and draining than expected. She began to sob quietly as she tried harder and harder, only to find that the broken pieces of crystalline flesh that made of Michael’s heart simply refused to reform back together. Her magic was barely keeping him alive, and she was fast running out.

Seeing this and believing the trio to be helpless, Belos summoned his own staff and pointed it at his mortally wounded Grimwalker; “Honestly, I think enough is enough. I understand that this is painful… but like cauterising a wound, it is for your own good. Michael has served his purpose; it is time for him to go!”

He shot a blast of red magic directly at Michael, aiming to vaporise his head, but Em suddenly jumped in the way and used the staff that Michael had given him before to counter Belos’ blast. He was nowhere near as powerful as Belos, but he was able to at least bat the blast away from his lovers and towards Vitimir, forcing the creep to dive to the ground with a startled scream to avoid it.

Belos glared at the human, as Em glared right back; he’d had the staff hidden on his person the whole time, within a magically expanded pocket of his tunic, but no one had bothered to search him and once he’d revealed himself as a human (albeit one with an Angelic Blessing), Belos had dismissed him as a threat.

“It never ceases to amaze how tightly sinners will cling to their sins and vices… very well, Human; you have served your purpose as well, so if I need to kill you then I shall!” Belos declared, before blasting more red magic from his staff, this time sending it out as red lightning.

Em gritted his teeth as he forced up a barrier between him and Belos, aiming to protect his lovers as best he can. Belos was annoyed by the defiance, but simply kept up the assault of red lightning, having no need to try anything fancier. His own magic outstripped what Em could get from the blessing of a normal Angel, and Belos knew exactly how much magic could be contained in the artificial staves he created so he knew just how long it would take for Em to run out of power. As soon as the power was gone, the barrier would come down and Em would be hit by the full force of the red lightning. Hopefully a taste of it would keep Em from interfering again, as Belos would prefer not to kill a Human if possible.

However Belos was not the only adversary they needed to worry about. Vitimir, picking himself up from the floor with a hateful expression, looked over to Em; the object of his hatred and the one that took Cassiel from him! The man was totally distracted, and Cassiel’s focus was entirely on healing Michael no matter how in vain it was.

Knowing he’d never get a better chance than this, Vitimir reached into his pocket and pulled out a long knife with a blade transmuted from a metallic poison. The blade looked like it had been forged from swirls of blue and green tinged metal, and as Vitimir gripped it between his hands, he pulled out a small potion vial and gulped down the contents, causing his leg muscles to swell as his senses became sharper. It was his special Retreating Remedy; a potion designed to allow the user to detect danger at the earliest opportunity and then run from it as fast as they could. With that potion running in his veins, Vitimir lowered his head and darted towards Em’s back, taking the older man totally by surprise.

No one in the room noticed him until it was too late, allowing Vitimir to lunge at Em with the knife. Em, feeling something behind him at the last moment, was just barely able to turn and kick back at Vitimir before the stab could connect, but as he needed to maintain his barrier to protect himself and his lovers, Em hadn’t been able to move as effectively as he’d hoped and Vitimir’s blade still managed to sink about an inch into his flesh. Em grimaced, especially as Vitimir managed to turn his stab into a slash at the last second, giving Em a sizeable cut that released an ominous smoke.

“EM!” Cassiel cried.

Belos, bemused by Vitimir’s attempted assassination, stopped his spell so he could watch how this would play out now that both men were badly wounded. Any blade used by a Potioneer was assumed to be dripping with poison, and the smoke Em’s wound gave off was a dead giveaway that this poison was something special. The flesh around the cut began to darken and turn the same bluish green as the blade that caused it, and the man’s blood vessels began to turn black and stand out against Em’s caramel skin. Em collapsed to his knees as his body became wracked with painful tremors, causing his borrowed staff to slip from his fingers.

“You’re dead now, Human! See how well you take my Cassiel from me with my poison pumping through your veins!” Vitimir boasted with a deranged smirk. “It would have been less painful for you if you’d just let my Slitherbeast take you out!”

Em, Cassiel, and Em all gaped at him; “Y-Your Slitherbeast!? That attack three years ago… that was you!?” Em cried in disbelief.

Vitimir sneered; “I spent a lot of time making the potions and poisons needed to control that thing, make it powerful enough to overcome most Witches, and hunt you relentlessly! If I’d known Cassiel was an Angel, I’d have been able to account for it and you’d have been squashed! As it is, I tried to keep her from the fight, but your talons were already deep in her by that point!” the foul man’s sneer became a sad*stic smirk; “Of course, I accounted for her this time! Good luck surviving that poison! Soon, the influence that you both had on my Cassiel will be a thing of the past!”

“NO!” Cassiel screamed, sending a blast of light magic at Vitimir. It burned his chest and knocked him towards Belos, giving Cassiel the chance to pull both Em and his dropped staff towards her with a pair of vines, before she threw up a domed barrier around them all to keep them safe.

The instant they were (relatively) safe, Cassiel began trying to cast healing magic on Em too, whilst Michael weakly gripped the staff and tried to assist her, and Em tried to help him too by applying pressure to Michael’s wound again. Her magic, while still not as effective as it should be, seemed to at least slow and weaken the effects of Vitimir’s poison, enough that Em could move on his own. Still, the wound needed to be properly dressed and disinfected, and a proper cure found and applied or else Em would keep suffering its effects!

“What do I do!? What do I do!?” Cassiel began to whisper in a panic; one of her loves was slipping away right before her eyes, the other was in danger of a similar fate, none of her magic was working well enough to stop it, and they were still surrounded by both Belos and Vitimir! Worse still, her barrier was already flickering! If things stayed as they were, Michael would die, followed swiftly by Em, and Cassiel would be captured! Who knew what Belos would do to her or their baby!?

Thankfully, despite the pain and difficulty he had breathing, Michael was able to focus his mind. He’d been trained to think calmly and rationally no matter how bad things got, so he kept as calm as he could and whispered to Cassiel and Em.

“My loves… listen to me… I know a way out of this… We may not be able to win, but we CAN run! J-Just do… what I tell you…” he said, before coughing up more blood that had Cassiel and Em paling and on the verge of hysterics. They forced their emotions down though and nodded obediently, listening as Michael told them the plan.

Once they heard what they had to do, both nodded and turned their attention back to Belos and Vitimir, who seemed content to watch as they helplessly struggled against fate. But the trio were not as helpless as they appeared, and Em secretly used his blessing to cast an illusion to make themselves invisible while Michael used his staff to cast his own illusion to make it look like Cassiel was giving up on healing and instead dropping the barrier to rabidly attack Belos. The real Cassiel even tossed a few light blasts at Belos to make the illusion seem real, as she and Em put Michael’s arms over their shoulders and lifted him up. However the Emperor casually knocked the light blasts aside all aside, and Vitimir rushed at the illusion Cassiel, hoping to grab her and stop her from fighting and getting hurt. However, his touch caused the illusion to disappear in a puff of cyan smoke, revealing the ruse.

“Trickery!” Belos snarled, slamming his staff on the ground and sending a wave of red magic through the room, destroying the other illusions and causing the fleeing Triad to fall to the ground, their invisibility wearing off. Belos fired another beam of magic at them, but Em quickly blocked it with a barrier as Cassiel lifted Michael up, casting spells on herself to increase her strength so she could carry him whilst flying. Vitimir tried to get around Em’s barrier again and go for another slash of his poison knife, but this time Cassiel was prepared for it.

“You like poison!? Taste some from the Divine Realm!” Cassiel roared, conjuring up a potent green poison. It was one frequently used in the Divine Realm to sterilise medical equipment due to its ability to eat through organic matter like acid, so most Crest Kindness Angels were taught how to make it once they reached their teenage years… in fact, it was among the last things Cassiel had learned before she ran away.

The green fluid splashed against Vitimir’s mouth and throat and began to rapidly burn away his skin. The deranged Potioneer screamed bloody murder and dropped to the floor, writhing in agony as he desperately tried to transmute the poison into something harmless. Cassiel was annoyed to see that it seemed to work too, as the poison changed colour and Vitimir’s screaming gave way to moans of pain, but the damage already done to his mouth and throat was visible and scarring, which would have to be enough for now. Thankfully, Vitimir’s sudden screams had also distracted Belos enough that his spell had lost some of its force, allowing Michael to reach back and grab the staff Em had borrowed from him and add the power of his own Angelic Blessing to Em’s barrier. The two men used their combined power to launch the barrier itself at Belos, smacking him hard enough to knock him into his own throne, stunned.

“We need to go now!” Em cried, quickly straddling the staff so he could use it to fly. Cassiel nodded and lifted Michael into her arms as she took flight, and then burst out of the throne room. As they flew, Belos shouted after them.

“You can flee, but I know your destiny! We will meet again! My eyes see all, including your precious friends!”

That declaration sent a spike of dread through their hearts, but they didn’t have time to stop. The Coven Scouts were now on their tail, so Cassiel and Em immediately blasted through the wall of the castle and flew out into the sky, combining the speed of the staff and Cassiel’s wings to fly westward as quickly as they possibly could. They flew in a straight line, heading directly for the Portal Gate, which they hastily opened and passed through, getting to Neo Haven a moment later and rushing up to their bedroom so they could lay Michael down and Em could get some proper treatment too.

“Just hold on!” Cassiel told Michael as she laid him down on their bed; “I’m going to get our potions supplies!”

She ran downstairs and then swiftly returned with a few dozen potion bottles, as well as several pieces of equipment and bags of ingredients, all levitating behind her. She handed Em a general disinfectant and a general Antitoxin to apply to himself as she began applying healing potions and anything else she thought might help to Michael’s wound. Unfortunately, nothing she tried worked; she could heal everything except the wound in Michael’s actual heart; the Galdorstone inside of him simply couldn’t be repaired and there was no chance of them finding a replacement for a heart transplant, nor did Cassiel feel confident that she could even perform the procedure. In the end, all Cassiel had been able to do was apply a patch made from some healing herbs from the Divine Realm… it stopped the bleeding and slowed Michael’s decline but didn’t solve the problem or buy them anywhere near enough time to find another solution.

All three were forced to accept the grim reality of the situation… Michael was going to die, and there was nothing any of them could do about it.

As that realisation dawned on Cassiel and Em, both were in tears of denial. Em began rapidly flipping through the collection of books they’d acquired in the last four years for any clue as to what they could do to save him, but his eyes were left so blurry with tears that he couldn’t see the pages. Meanwhile Cassiel was trying in vain to cast more healing spells, but between the pregnancy, the Bloodline Potion still doing its work, and the stress and drain of the last hour, she could barely even draw a spell circle and it kept flickering out before the spells could be cast. Only Michael seemed to have accepted the situation; he’d long suspected he’d meet his end because of Belos… he’d just assumed it would be cleaning up after one of his messes or biting off more than he could chew on Belos’ orders, rather than being murdered by the man himself.

Seeing Cassiel weaken more and more, the man gently reached over and grasped her hand to make her stop.

“Cassiel… that’s enough. You’ve done all you can.” he said, smiling lovingly at her. He wasn’t in pain any more thanks to the potions she’d given him, and the damage done to his lung had been healed so he could speak and breath more easily; it was as good as he was going to get.

“No! I can’t just give up on you!” Cassiel sobbed; “I have to save you! I have to! This wouldn’t have happened if not for me!” she began to break down further; “This is all my fault! If I hadn’t come to this realm… if I hadn’t been born an Angel… if I hadn’t saved Vitimir… none of this would have happened!”

Michael shook his head and gently moved her hand to his lips so he could kiss it; “My Love, you and Em saved me that day three years ago. My life wasn’t worth living before that, and if you’d not been here, these last three years would have been empty and miserable. And you had no way of knowing what Vitimir would grow up to become. The Cassiel I fell in love with could never abandon a child in need… I always admired that about you. Please don’t let Vitimir of all people ruin that beautiful part of you!”

Cassiel tried to hold it together, but quickly found that she couldn’t. She broke down in tears and wrapped her arms around her dying Lover, sobbing her heart out as she embraced him and he tried to sooth her with gentle touches and loving words whispered in her ears. Em, forced to admit defeat, dropped the books he’d been trying and failing to read, then hurried to join his lovers. He knelt on Michael’s free side and grasped his hand.

“This isn’t fair… you still had a whole life ahead of you! For Belos to just take it away like this, and for us to be helpless… it’s just not fair!” Em cried.

Michael nodded sadly; “I know, Love. I am so sorry that I have to leave you both… but know that these three years have been the happiest of my life. I will cherish the memories of the days I spent with you for as long as my soul exists. I will never regret an instant I spent in your company; all the time I spent laughing, crying, and living with you both… if you’d asked me a week ago, I’d have called it my greatest treasure, and the best gift you’ve ever given me.”

The man’s heartfelt words began to slur as his body weakened further. He was fading fast; he could feel the afterlife opening up to claim his soul, but he still had a bit more he needed to do and say. Gently, he moved his hands so they cupped the cheeks of his lovers, then moved the hand on Cassiel’s cheek down to her belly. He rubbed her stomach gently and gave the most heart-wrenchingly beautiful and loving smile that either of his loves had ever seen.

“The finest gift I’ve ever received… and my greatest treasure is you, Little One. I am sorry that I have to go away before I can properly meet you… but I will watch over you always. You are loved, Little One. Your Mami and Papi were the Lights of my life… but I know in my heart that you would have outshone them both! My darling child… Mi Amada Luz (My Beloved Light)!”

Cassiel and Em both sobbed harder, and put their own hands on Michael’s cheeks in return.

“We love you, Michael! You’ve made us so, so happy! Our child will get to live, because of you! We will never stop loving you!” Em cried.

“Everything you’ve said about us, we could say about you too! You gave us the gift of our child, and made our lives infinitely better! We can never thank you enough! Never repay you enough for what you’ve done for us!” Cassiel wept.

Michael smiled weakly, tears streaming down his face as the light began to fade from his eyes. “My loves… please do me this one last favour… get out of the Demon Realm. Belos will never stop trying to get you… he’ll use anything he can to take you away… I don’t want to think about what he’ll do to you, or our child… I want our baby to be free from him. So go… leave this world… return to the Human Realm… and live a happy life. Please… my loves… be… happy… I love you… I… love… you…”

Each word took a little more of his strength, until finally his strength reached its limit and Michael closed his eyes, never to open them again. With his final breath, he had professed his undying love, and then slipped beyond the veil.

The wails of Cassiel and Em, the two people who’d loved him most, echoed throughout Neo Haven for the entire night, mourning the man they’d lost until they finally collapsed together, passing out from the sheer stress and drain of the worst day of their lives.

________________________________________________________________________________

[Two Days Later]

The day after Michael passed away, both Cassiel and Em were extremely sick. The stress and overuse of her magic whilst still dealing with the Bloodline Potion had left Cassiel almost entirely bedridden, to the point that she’d barely been able to move or stomach food, forcing down only the bare minimum for the sake of their baby. Em was little better; despite cleaning his wound, taking an antitoxin, and having it healed and closed up by Cassiel, the poison that Vitimir had infected him with had reasserted itself with a vengeance, causing fits of pain and a weakening of all his internal organs. Whatever Vitimir had made that knife from was truly nasty, as while it could be weakened and slowed down with magic and potions, nothing seemed to get rid of it entirely. Em had gulped down the rest of their supply of healing potions to reverse the damage done by the poison, but he had a terrible feeling that the poison wasn’t dealt with just yet. However it would have to do for now.

With Cassiel bedridden, Em had taken the solemn duty of cleaning Michael’s body, wiping away all the blood and stripping off his Golden Guard uniform so it could be replaced with one of the nicer sets of clothing Michael had kept at Neo Haven. It was Em and Cassiel’s favourite outfit of his, which he liked to wear on their three-person date nights. It was far more appropriate as burial attire than the uniform of the man who’d murdered him.

The next day, Cassiel had recovered enough that she could at least move around and eat properly, so she and Em talked at length what they should do next, interspersed with a lot of crying and mourning. Ultimately, they made the only decision they felt they could for the safety of their little family; they would do as Michael said and return to the Human Realm. Now that Cassiel was a legal adult, the Crest Orders couldn’t drag her back without proof she’d committed a crime, and since she’d been careful to take only her own possessions and return the keystone of the gate she’d used before it closed, there were no grounds for them to arrest her, meaning she would be totally safe from them there. Plus, magic made it extremely easy for them to slip back into life in the Human Realm; illusions were great for faking documentation, and they could easily camp out somewhere until they found a place to live and jobs to support themselves, especially with the stockpile of supplies they’d built up at Neo Haven. The pair had even discussed staying at Neo Haven and traversing to the Human Realm as they did the Boiling Isles, but both felt that they could no longer call it home after Michael’s passing… the memories were too painful.

But they still had one thing left to do before they could leave; say goodbye to their friends.

Cassiel and Em returned to the Boiling Isles one last time and used Michael’s scroll to call Darius and ask for him and Eber to meet them in a public place, where they could be seen speaking. Belos had told them that he’d be keeping his eyes on their friends, so Cassiel and Em knew they’d be seen, which was exactly what they’d planned for… because Cassiel would be the one to say they were leaving the Demon Realm forever, and thus Belos would know it was the truth and give up searching for them.

With cloaks covering them to hide their identities, the two went to the meeting that Darius had decided would take place in Nailic, the city located down in the southern reaches of the Swampy Toes, and the closest settlement to his workplace at the Abomination Coven HQ. Since Cassiel and Em had to travel all the way from the Titan’s Right Arm to the Left Foot, whilst Eber only had to travel from the Beast-Keeping Coven HQ in the Right Hip, the duo were the last ones to arrive and found Eber and Darius sat together at a little outdoor cafe near the city square. As they approached, Cassiel immediately noticed several Coven Scouts around the area, many of whom were watching the pair at the Cafe, or turning their attention to them.

Gulping, she pulled Em over to Darius and Eber.

“Ah, there you both are! You had me worried with how upset you sounded on your call.” Darius said, standing up to greet them and looking around for Michael, only to be surprised that he wasn’t with them.

Eber immediately noticed the pair’s sombre expressions and frowned; “Angel Friend and Star Friend sad… really sad… Eber and Purple Brother worry.”

Em’s lip wobbled as he struggled to keep his emotions in check, while Cassiel took care of the talking. She saw a Coven Scout leaning against the nearby wall, pretending to not be listening, so she picked her words carefully.

“Darius, Eber… we’re sorry, but we have to keep this short. Something terrible has happened.” Cassiel began, her voice wavering a little.

Darius’ eyes widened; “Please tell me this has nothing to do with the rumours of the Fake Angel trying to assassinate Belos!”

This was news to Cassiel and Em, who hadn’t been on the isles since they’d fled with Michael; “What rumours?”

“The rumours from the capital are saying that someone claimed to be an Angel to trick Michael into taking them to Belos, and then the fake tried to kill the Emperor. Allegedly, the fake was killed along with an unidentified Coven Head, while other witches loyal to the Emperor were wounded. It’s expected that Belos will give a statement by the end of the week.” Darius explained, growing more worried by the second.

His and Eber’s worry magnified as Cassiel and Em exchanged knowing looks. “Cassiel, Em; tell us what’s going on!? What happened the other day when you were supposed to meet us!? Where is Michael!?”

“Michael is gone, Darius. I’m so sorry…” Cassiel whispered, tears beginning to leak from the corners of her eyes.

Darius looked like he’d just been struck, and staggered back. He would have hit the ground had Eber not shoved one of the cafe chairs beneath him before his legs gave out. “Michael is… gone…? Oh Titan…”

He then registered what this must mean for the survivors of their Triad and looked up with sympathy and horror; “I am so sorry…”

Eber’s ears dropped as she gave a soft woof; “Eber is sorry too. Eber and Purple Brother are here for friends.”

“T-Thank you, both of you. And we are sorry too.” Em croaked.

“We truly are so, so sorry…” Cassiel continued; “But we came here today to tell you that Michael was gone… and we’re leaving too.”

“What!?” Darius cried as Eber gasped. “What do you mean you’re leaving!?”

“We’re leaving the Boiling Isles, and the Demon Realm entirely. I’m going to go back to the Human Realm… a place we can be safe.” Cassiel said, before adding miserably; “We don’t intend to come back.”

Darius and Eber looked even more heartbroken, as Darius leapt back to his feet and gently took Cassiel by the shoulders. “Cassiel, what is this really about!? What happened with Belos!? Who killed Michael!? Was it-!?”

“STOP!” Cassiel cried. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you!”

And it crushed her inside to keep it a secret. To have to look Darius in the eye and keep the truth of his friend’s death from him… but if she told the truth then she just knew Darius would do something stupid. He’d go after Belos and the Emperor’s Coven, and end up imprisoned, petrified, or dead, and Eber would follow alongside him. Plus with the pair being watched, they wouldn’t even stand a chance of catching Belos off-guard! Cassiel needed to keep it a secret and ensure she didn’t paint a target on her dear friends’ backs… and perhaps that would be enough to stop the EC from watching them, and allow them to one day uncover the truth and win some justice for Michael without Belos knowing until it was too late.

“W-What do you mean you can’t tell us!?” Darius exclaimed.

“If Angel Friend and Star Friend in danger, Eber and Purple Brother will protect!” Eber argued.

Cassiel shook her head morosely; “I’m sorry. I can’t paint that kind of target on your back… Em and I came here to say goodbye. Please understand… we don’t want you both to get hurt.”

The two looked at her with forlorn expressions as they realised she was serious and wouldn’t be telling them a thing. They both looked to Em in hopes of answers, but he just shook his head with tears in his eyes. Darius’ expression briefly shifted to one of anger and he was tempted to shout and demand answers, or turn and storm off… but if this was going to potentially be his last meeting with two of his dearest friends, he didn’t want it to end on that note.

Bitterly, he forced down his apprehension and said; “Alright. I don’t like it, but I understand. You and Em need to keep yourselves safe…”

“Thank you, Darius. You were one of the best friends I could have ever asked for, and I know Michael felt the same.” Cassiel said kindly.

“And I do as well.” Em croaked, “I wish it didn’t have to be like this, but for all of our safety, we have no choice…”

The two then turned to Eber, and Cassiel couldn’t stop herself from picking the little Demon up and hugging her one last time; “I’m going to miss you both so much! Eber, you go and kick your jerk Dad’s butt! Prove to everyone that you can be the cutest, fluffiest girl in the world and still be strong!”

Eber gave a quiet howl in response, shedding tears as she cuddled closer to Cassiel. Em took the opportunity to shake hands with Darius and then hug him, before the two switched places and Em hugged Eber while Darius hugged Cassiel. It was with extreme reluctance that they finally let each other go, neither pair knowing if they’d see the other again. But the time had finally come, so Cassiel and Em gave one last wave and heartfelt goodbye to two of their dearest friends, then turned and left the city of Nailic, with Cassiel carrying Em as they flew away.

It wasn’t long after they left the city that they noticed they were being discretely followed by a small airship from the Emperor’s Coven, but instead of trying to avoid it, they simply kept it at a safe distance as they flew back to the Portal Gate. The duo made sure the EC scouts saw them as Cassiel opened the gate for the last time and passed through it, leaving the Boiling Isles behind.

From there, Cassiel and Em finished packing their belongings and carried them and Michael’s body with them as they left Neo Haven and passed back into the Human Realm, with Cassiel tossing the keystone back through the portal as it closed, just as she’d done when she first came to the Human Realm as a young teenager. There would be no turning back now…

The two then found a nice open space within the old Gravesfield Cemetery where they could bury Michael. They’d occasionally come to the Human Realm on dates and exploration expeditions with Michael after Cassiel turned 18, and he’d always loved it and had wanted to one day see what was beyond the Planet Earth, feeling certain that with magic they could do what the Humans couldn’t on their own. As such, it only felt natural for them to bury him in a spot beneath the stars, in the place where he had taken his first steps in this world, and close to the gate that had brought his loves to him.

Cassiel and Em had used magic to create a headstone for him, and put up a few protective enchantments to keep wandering humans from potentially bothering the grave, before leaving the cemetery and Gravesfield, searching for a new place to start their little family.

________________________________________________________________________________

[The Human Realm, 2020

The Present Day]

Luz, Vee, King, and the Hexsquad sat together in stunned silence, all of them staring at Camila as she reached the final chapter of her story; the story of herself, Em/Manny, and Michael. They had kept their silence through the whole thing, with only short vocalisations like gasps breaking their silence. Tears had been streaming down Luz’s face since the moment she’d been told just who Michael was, and who he’d been to her, and she now sat wide-eyed and utterly shell-shocked by it all.

Camila, seeing the look on her daughter’s face and knowing she still had more to say, could only wince as she continued.

“We left Gravesfield that day with the intention of only returning once a year to visit your Dad’s grave. We found a new home to the north-east, settling in a little hamlet in New York State named Old Forge. You might remember it Luz; you were born there. The pregnancy was difficult… I don’t know if it was because of all the stress I went through in those last few days in the Demon Realm, the shock of losing your Dad and being betrayed by a friend, or some quirk of the your unique biology, but we almost lost you several times. But you were a fighter, and kept on hanging in there. You were born two months prematurely, in late April, and in honour of what you represented to myself, your Papi, and your Dad, we gave you the human name of Luz Micaela Noceda, and in the customs of the Angels, I gave you an Angelic name too: Luciel of Crest Kindness. Luz means “Light” in Spanish, while Luciel means “Heaven’s Light” in Angelic Script.” Camila explained.

“Luciel…” Luz whispered, speaking for the first time in hours. Her voice sounded horribly croaky, even with Amity and King occasionally pressing glasses of water to her lips to rehydrate her as she cried throughout the story. “I’ve never heard you call me that before…”

Camila looked down guiltily; “Since we lived in the Human Realm, your Papi and I felt we should only use your human name. We planned to tell you about your Angel name… and about your Dad… when you were old enough to understand. But by the time you were old enough…”

“Papi had passed away.” Luz said, her voice breaking as the tears falling from her eyes grew larger.

Camila nodded; “Yes. You were so little still, and both our hearts were broken by his loss. I couldn’t bear to tell you about another father that you’d lost before even knowing him, especially right after you’d lost your Papi too. Then I told myself I’d tell you the truth about your origins when you became a fully matured Angel, but by that point you were in the Demon Realm and so close to Belos… I was terrified you’d do something crazy. It’s why I made you promise to stay away from him… though I knew deep down it was in vain.”

“That’s why you lied to me about the Demon Realm, isn’t it?” Luz asked, finally getting a bit of life back in her eyes; “You wanted to scare me away from ever going there, afraid of what Belos would do to me.”

Her Mami could only nod in response. Amity, who’d seen how much it hurt Luz whenever she’d forced herself to lie, couldn’t help but gasp; “How could you bear that?”

“One day, you’ll have a child of your own and realise just how easy it is to bear anything if you think it will protect them. While most of the stories I told were just the ones I grew up with, so they didn’t burn my throat when I recited them, others were embellished to make them seem extra horrifying… mostly because Luz started to really like the original stories and became more interested in the Demon Realm.” Camila said, a nostalgic smile on her face; “Your Papi found it hilarious… I think that’s why he eventually bought you that first Azura book. He just knew you’d love it.”

Despite herself, Luz managed a weak smile. The Azura books had been the highlight of her life in the years that followed her Papi’s passing… they’d let her dive into a fantasy world and escape from the reality of what she’d been; a magicless Cherub unable to help anyone.

Lyra, who was working through some of these revelations herself, then raised a nervous hand as if unsure if she should even be talking. However Luz and Camila just looked at her with gentle expressions, so she asked what she’d wanted to; “You said before that Luz was born two months prematurely, and the pregnancy was hard… is that why Luz was born without magic?”

Camila shrugged; “Honestly, I’m not sure. It was my best guess as I couldn’t think of any other reason for it to happen.”

“Actually… I think I might have an idea.” Hunter piped up, having turned very pale. He now understood why Camila had worn such pained expressions when looking at him, so he was reluctant to draw her attention to him, but this was too important to ignore.

“Go ahead, Hunter.” Camila said, making an effort to give him an encouraging look even with the pain in her eyes.

“W-Well… you didn’t know that Belos was once Human, or that Michael was made as a replica of Caleb until yesterday. So you thought Luz was one third Angel, one third Human, and one third Witch, seeing as a Grimwalker is genetically identical to their source. Am I right?” Hunter asked.

Camila nodded, so Hunter continued; “But since Caleb was human and thus all the Golden Guards made from him are human too, minus a tiny modification…” he gently ran a finger over one of his pointed ears, “… then that actually makes Luz one third Angel and two thirds Human. From what I’ve heard from you and Luz, Half-Angels are normally indistinguishable from regular Angels because Angel DNA and Magic is stronger than Human DNA… but if you’re actually two thirds Human, then your Human DNA could have overpowered your Angel DNA.”

Luz and Camila both gasped, while the others looked at each other in shock; “Hunter… are you saying that Luz was actually a Human with Angel features, instead of an Angel with Human ones?”

“It’s just a theory, but it’s possible. She had human hair and eyes, and while she had pointed ears, wings, and a dependency on magic, she couldn’t actually make any magic of her own. It’s like how Viney Leonis has Cait Sith parts because her mother was a Cait Sith even though she herself is a Witch. Then when the Titan gave Luz his magic, it must have kickstarted her Angel Side and caused her to evolve from a Human to a proper Angel.” Hunter explained.

Camila put a hand over her mouth; “By the Seraphim… you might be on to something there, Hunter. I always thought it was partly because Luz was born prematurely after a hard pregnancy… but perhaps her being a Human with Cherub aspects is what caused it!”

“Meaning that thanks to Orion, I went from a Human to an actual Cherub with the light glyph, to a full Angel with the plant glyph, then a High Angel with the ice glyph, and then an Arch-Angel with the fire glyph… I guess it really is fair to call him my Godfather.” Luz allowed herself a small smile, using the new revelation to distract her from the other revelations that still dug away at the back of her brain.

King nodded; “And you’re my big Sister! And my Mama is totally your Godmother! She gave you glyphs too! And I even brought a gift for you from her!” he said, deciding now was the best time to reach into his neckerchief and reveal the glyph note he’d made of the Darkness Glyph. Luz looked at it and immediately found the glyph etching itself into her memory. There was no flash of light this time (though Luz couldn’t imagine how darkness would produce a flash of light anyway), but the glyph remained locked in her mind either way.

Luz gave her little brother a watery smile and embraced him, while the rest of her friends still tried to wrap their heads around all these revelations. Boscha especially found herself fixating on one detail.

“So… Grimwalkers are clones of their source, right? Meaning Luz’s Dad and Hunter were both made from Caleb Wittebane and are genetically identical to him, right?” the three-eyed girl asked.

Camila and Hunter nodded while the others looked at Boscha curiously, wondering where she was going with this. Her face turned a little green as she continued; “Then doesn’t that mean that genetically speaking, Caleb, Michael, and Hunter are all the same, meaning Caleb or Hunter could be considered Luz’s genetic father?”

Luz and Hunter exchanged shocked looks, realising that was true! If humans did a DNA test on them, Hunter would be considered Luz’s Dad! Which means…!

“And Lyra is genetically identical to Luz!” Skara gasped; “Which would make her genetically Camila, Michael, and Manny’s daughter! Meaning she’d also be genetically Hunter’s daughter!”

Lyra joined her brother and Luz in looking shocked and a little grossed out by the idea. She loved Hunter and considered him her big brother, genetics be damned, so the idea of him technically being able to pass as her father just felt bizarre… and despite genetically being Camila’s daughter, she didn’t consider herself to be that closely related to the woman. Camila and Luz were more like cousins to her, and that was all she wanted them to be; cousins and friends. They were still family though, and that was enough for her.

Unfortunately, taking the genetic relationships to their logical extremes meant there was also one other person the three of them were related to… and Amity was the first person to realise it. She turned ashen-faced as the thought occurred to her, and feared saying aloud, but Luz saw her expression and became worried.

“Hermosa?” Luz said softly, “Are you okay?”

“I-I am. But I just realised… Caleb, the genetic source of your Dad and Hunter… his brother was Philip Wittebane. That means that genetically speaking…” Amity trailed off, as every single person in the room suddenly came to the same conclusion.

That meant that Belos was genetically Hunter’s brother… and Luz and Lyra’s Uncle.

“I think I’m going to throw up.” Lyra said shakily, as Gus began to sympathetically rub her back.

“Right there with you, Sis.” Hunter shuddered, being comforted by Willow instead.

However Luz was the one to react the worst; she didn’t react with disgust or horror, but by becoming eerily quiet. Her expression went totally blank and she became as stiff and still as a statue, something that was incredibly disquieting from the usually emotional and energetic girl. It was impossible to tell what was going on in her mind, but for Amity, Camila, and King; who knew her better than anyone else in the room, they could guess what she was feeling…

Utter rage. The kind of rage that was so intense that it turned into a cold hatred in Luz’s heart. Luz was not the type to become furious often, but when she did it was usually the same as everybody else’s anger… but this? This was different.

“Mami… there is one more question I need to ask you. One I’ve asked before, and which you’ve always refused to answer…” Luz said softly, her voice quiet and emotionless, making her Mami flinch.

“What is it, Mija?” Camila asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

Luz looked her Mami in the eye, countless emotions burning within the molten gold orbs. “How did my Papi really die? What illness killed him?”

Camila closed her eyes; it was just as she’d feared. She knew that what she said next would hurt her daughter deeply… but keeping so many secrets for so long had already hurt her precious Luz; the time for truth had finally come.

“Your Papi didn’t die of a disease or illness. He succumbed to the poison that Vitimir infected him with that day in the throne room.” Camila confessed, her voice impossibly small; “When Vitimir said he’d accounted for my magic when making it, I thought he’d been bluffing or he’d made a mistake; the healing worked after all… but I was so, so wrong.”

Luz’s eyes widened even as her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. She didn’t say a word however, her friends weren’t entirely sure she was even still with them… it was almost like she’d shut down completely as she tried to process what she’d been told. However Camila had seen this before; it was the same experience she’d gone through immediately after Manny had passed away… Luz had emotionally shut down for a bit so her mind and heart could accept what she’d just been told. She knew Luz could still hear and understand her, so Camila kept speaking; it was better to get it all out of the way before Luz’s emotions snapped back into place, so the poor girl wouldn’t do anything crazy.

“The poison was made like a modified virus or infection; like the Common Mold. Trying to use my Angelic Magic slowed the symptoms and even seemed to stop it, but the core of the poison was empowered by the magic and infected your Papi’s very DNA. It became like a cancer, infesting his every cell and becoming a part of him, so no matter how much I healed him, the poison would always come back and slowly chip away at his life force. I could slow the effects and managed to give him almost six more years of life, but eventually the poison adapted and became too powerful for me to heal… and believe me, I tried everything! I even went back to the Divine Realm!” Camila revealed.

“You did!?” Willow cried, “Weren’t you afraid they wouldn’t let you leave!?”

“I was, but I was desperate. Besides, as a legal adult they couldn’t force me to stay if I didn’t want to. I was about five months pregnant with Luz when Manny and I returned to New Haven and began trying to catch the Angels’ attention by using a lot of my magic near the Portal Gate. Eventually they took notice and came to investigate, and I was able to explain the situation. They took us to the Seraphim of Crest Kindness; my Grandfather and Luz’s Great-Grandfather Camael. He agreed to examine Manny personally and tried to help him… but he reluctantly admitted that there was nothing he could do. The poison had become a part of Manny and no conventional healing methods would work… so Camael instead offered a deal.” Camila said, looking down at her hands and refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

The Hexsquad exchanged cautious looks, then looked to Vee who carefully moved to sit beside her Mama; “Mama, what was this deal?”

“They offered to use a Panacea Mirror. They can supposedly cure next to anything that is biologically wrong with someone, so I was sure it would save Manny. But they’re difficult to make and the Angel that makes and uses it can never make another one, nor help to make another one. They’re one and done, so the Crest Orders treat them as highly valuable treasures… far too valuable to “waste” on a Human for no gain for their society. In order for them to agree to use one to save Manny, we had to offer something valuable in return…” Camila trailed off, then steeled herself as she looked at Luz.

“We were given a choice; they would use the mirror to heal Manny and then I would remain in the Divine Realm until I gave birth… at which point I’d have to give my child to Manny and send them both to the Human Realm while I remained in the Divine Realm forever to fulfil my original purpose. Or alternatively, I’d have to fulfil the original bargain I’d made as a child and leave my baby in the hands of Crest Chastity while I returned home with Manny. Either way our family would have been broken apart and I’d never see my child again.” the older Angel said, seeming to age even more as she leaned back in her seat, losing much of her remaining strength.

The kids almost couldn’t believe their ears; “How could they be so cruel!? They’d let an innocent man die if he didn’t sacrifice his wife or daughter!?” Skara yelled, utterly outraged.

“B-But if you’d chosen to stay behind and send Luz back with Manny, Luz would have died anyway because she’d have no one to get blessings from! You’d have been forced to sacrifice Luz just to save her life too!” Gus cried.

Boscha shook her head with a scowl; “I bet those rotten Angels would have offered to use a Panacea Mirror to fix Luz too… so long as Camila sacrificed her too! They’d have seen the whole family torn apart just so they could get back one of their precious resources!” she spat hatefully.

Camila nodded, fully believing that the Crest Orders would have done that. They were extreme pragmatists; using a rare resource like a Panacea Mirror in a way that provided no benefit to their society and did nothing to promote their brand of order beyond the Divine Realm was simply a bad deal for them. Using it to instead heal an Angel would have at least provided them with an extra resource that could serve in the Orders, but a human? They had little use to the Divine Realm.

“To be honest, I had resigned myself to accepting the deal and giving Luz to Manny once she’d been born. However Manny walked out of the meeting; he said he’d sooner die than see his family indentured against their will for his sake. Nothing I said could convince him, so we left and returned to the new home we’d made for ourselves. Luz was born, and about four years later as Manny felt the end was coming, he said he wanted to move to Gravesfield. He wanted to be buried alongside Michael, and live what time he had left as close to our old home in the Demon Realm as he could. So we moved, and a year later… he finally succumbed to the poison and was buried alongside Michael.” Camila said, finally finishing her long, heartbreaking tale.

Vee grimaced; “That second grave… the one beside your husband’s… that was Michael’s. I’d wondered why it was so close and why the stone was blank. You used an illusion to hide the truth so Luz wouldn’t find out before you could tell her.”

Camila just nodded exhaustedly, and the entire house fell into dead silence. No one knew what to say after all that they’d learned.

The silence didn’t last long however, as something strange began to happen. The air began to grow thicker as the temperature fluctuated, with sudden flashes of hot and cold air making the entire household begin to sweat and shiver. Then the lights above began to flicker, and the ground began to rumble ever so slightly, making everyone look around in fear for the cause. It didn’t take long to find it as they turned towards Luz, who had screwed her eyes shut and was taking deep, slow breaths to try and calm herself and stave off the explosion that was building inside her. Everyone began to slowly get to their feet and edge away from her, the pressure of her magic simply being too much to bear, before she began to speak.

“I’m sick of this…” she whispered darkly, her voice carrying an unnatural echo as it became distorted by her magic. “I’m SICK of people who claim to be good whilst using it as an excuse to do evil things!”

Luz got to her feet and began to float as her wings spread wide behind her, white and gold lightning crackling between them.

“Belos claimed to be serving God and wanting to destroy evil, but he was just a murdering psychopath who wanted to commit Genocide and murdered my Dad!”

Luz’s eyes flew open, revealing they were glowing a solid gold. A blast of wind surrounded her with those last few words, forcing everyone to back away from her.

“Vitimir claimed to be in love with Mami and just want a family, but he betrayed her when he couldn’t have her to himself, and murdered my Papi!”

The house began to shake as the waves of magic coming off of Luz grew more intense, causing her friends to huddle together to protect themselves, pressing up against the walls to stay as far from her as they could.

“The Crest Orders claim to value order and goodness, but as soon as they have the opportunity to make a genuine sacrifice for the good of an innocent person, they refuse because it doesn’t benefit them and leave me and Papi to die!”

The shaking, the wind, the temperature changes, and the electricity sparking around Luz all grew more intense as her rage built, moving closer and closer from her current inferno to a full blown eruption.

“WHY!? Why is it like this!? Why can’t people just love each other or help each other, or even just NOT KILL EACH OTHER!? Why does it all have to be like this!?” Luz cried, the tears actually steaming out from her eyes due to the heat and intensity of her magic.

However despite Luz seemingly reaching her breaking point, there was no explosion… only a complete and total breakdown. The poor girl fell to her knees, her power still fluctuating around her as she began to weep into her hands. “Is this what Rasiel meant? When he wanted to take away all the evil and corruption… cut the good from the bad and leave people without their flaws… is this why he wants to do it? Did he give up hope that people can be helped? If so… I’m starting to see his point…”

Hearing this shocked the others to their core; seeing Luz cry was painful, but to see her on the verge of giving up entirely… to see her so broken hearted that she could even consider a false paradise… it nearly ripped their hearts out.

And Amity would not stand for it!

With all her might, Amity handed King to Vee, and forced herself to take a step forward. She flared her own magic, wrapping it around her like a protective force to let her push against Luz’s own rampaging power. It was brutal, with every step feeling like wading through a pool of tar, but Amity couldn’t bear to see her beloved in such dire straits. Bit by bit, she edged closer, with every step harder than the last, until finally she knelt down in front of Luz and wrapped her arms around her.

Almost instantly, everything became silent as Luz’s wild magic seemed to freeze, snapping everything back to normal and allowing the others to breathe a sigh of relief. Luz looked up, her eyes still glowing and her tears still flowing as she stared into Amity’s loving gaze.

“Luz, I can’t imagine how painful this must be for you. To find out you had another Father that you lost before you could know him, and to learn how your Papi truly died… it must be indescribably awful. It breaks my heart just to see you suffer like this… but you can’t just give up.” Amity said gently, cupping Luz’s face; “It’s true that all of the worlds are full of bad people, who do terrible things for terrible reasons. Some are even deluded enough to think they’re the good guys… but you’re not like them. You helped people because it was the right thing to do and because you are a good person. I bet your Dad and Papi are SO proud of you! You are better than the monsters who hurt you… and if even one person like you can exist in this world, isn’t that reason enough to not give up hope?”

Luz’s eyes stopped glowing, and she stared back at Amity with the most heart-wrenching expression she’d ever made. Amity kissed her cheeks over and over, literally kissing away Luz’s tears until a slightly startled Luz couldn’t help but giggle and nuzzle against her girlfriend. However this didn’t last long as the reality of the situation crashed into her mind once more.

“I don’t know what to do, Amity… I feel so hopeless. I’m supposed to be helping all of you and protecting you and the Isles, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to do any of that! All the things I’ve done feel like more failures and led us all here… I’m so scared that I’ve ruined your lives by stupidly helping Philip and freeing the Divider. I’m scared that I was right all those weeks ago; that I really did cause my fathers’ deaths by helping Belos. Without me, he’d have died to Godric when releasing Rasiel’s body! What if I really am to blame for all of this!?” Luz buried her face in Amity’s shoulder and sobbed; “I don’t know what to do… I don’t even know who I really am!”

Amity made gentle soothing noises as she stroked Luz’s hair; “Yes you do. You are Luz Noceda-Clawthorne, daughter of Camila, Manny, Michael, and Eda. You’re the big sister of King and Vee. You’re the best friend of Willow and Gus. You’re a treasured friend to Skara, Matt, Boscha, Hunter, and Lyra. And you’re the love of my life and so, so much more.”

The lavender haired girl pulled away from Luz just enough that they could face each other, before giving the forlorn Angel a loving kiss; “And it’s okay if you don’t know what to do. Because you don’t need to figure it out or do it alone. All of us are here for you.”

Luz’s eyes widened, and the others nodded their heads. Camila came over and knelt beside the girls, hugging them both to her chest. “I’m so sorry I didn’t have the courage to tell you the truth sooner, Mija. But know that Amity is right; I am so proud of you and your Dad and Papi would be just as proud! You were the light of their lives! I failed to be there for you like I should have in the past… but I’m here for you now, in any and every way you need.”

King fluttered over and landed on Luz’s back, putting his head on her shoulder and nuzzling with her; “You were with me when I learned about my Dad, and saved my Mama; I’ll always be there for you, big sister.”

Next was Vee, who hugged Luz’s last free side; “Me too. You gave me a home and a family, Luz. I’m proud to be your little sister.”

One by one, the Hexsquad stood around the little huddle of hugging people, and put their hands on Luz’s arms, shoulders, or head as they gave their own words of support.

“We love you, Luz. We’ll support you through anything, just as you did for us.” Willow said, giving her own hug with some gentle vines.

“Yeah! We’re with you no matter what! And hey, you being two thirds Human makes you just that much more interesting!” Gus half-joked, hoping to cheer Luz up a little. Her small smile in response showed that it worked.

“You and your Mami took us in even though I was an awful jerk when we first met; you know I’m gonna stick by you!” Matt said seriously.

“The same goes for me. I was even worse that Matt and you still helped me out. So I’m gonna be the best supporting player you’ve ever seen!” Boscha declared co*ckily.

“I’m with you too! We’ll come up with a plan to get home, beat up the Divider until he snaps back to being a good guy, then break Vitimir’s stupid pointy face! And we’ll do it together!” Skara punched her palm with a fairly bloodthirsty grin.

“I’ll admit, I’m still wrapping my head around technically being genetically identical to your Dad, but it makes me kinda happy to know that I have a relative that isn’t a murderous psychopath! Two in fact, since this also means Lyra really is my relative! Even though she’s genetically my daughter? That whole thing is kinda confusing still, but the point is; I’m here for you too!” Hunter said, bumbling awkwardly. Luz gave him a smile too, showing she appreciated what he was saying.

Lyra was the last to speak and playfully teased her brother by smirking at him before turning to Luz; “What my adorably dorky big brother is trying to say is; we both understand what it’s like to lose family, to not know who your family is, and to not even know who you really are. But you and the others helped us find ourselves. So we’ll help you find yourself too. But personally, I think being Luz Noceda-Clawthorne is pretty cool… I should know, since I spent so long trying to be like you myself.”

Luz took in all their loving words and support, and while it did nothing to shake the deep pit of grief in her heart, it did fill her with a reminder that no matter what she’d lost, she still had so much more that she cared about. Their love and support galvanised her resolve and reaffirmed her original belief; the Divider’s methods were wrong. Because these wonderful people had become wonderful by overcoming their flaws… they were made better by the mistakes of their pasts; the very same parts of themselves that the Divider would cut away. So with both grief and resolve filling her heart and soul, Luz cried. She cried to mourn the Dad she’d never known, and the Papi she’d lost far too soon. She cried for the suffering her Mami had endured, because she missed her Mom and extended Demon Realm family, and because after all she’d been through in her life, Luz just couldn’t remain cheerful and happy-go-lucky any more. The negative emotions that she’d built up and tried to suppress came flooding out in a cascade of tears, and brought the feeling of both pain and relief.

The young Arch-Angel knew that this would not be the end… that she would still need to face her demons and the guilt of her past mistakes, but for now at least, she was letting some of the poison out.

She cried for quite a while, and actually managed to cry herself to sleep for a few hours, with Camila taking her upstairs and laying the girl down in her own bed, then laying down beside her and holding her little girl like she’d often done when Luz was upset as a child. They napped together for a few hours, and by the time Luz awoke and woke her mother by sitting up, it was already the early evening. The two Angels went downstairs to find King, Vee, and the Hexsquad hanging out with the Human Trio, who’d stopped by after school. They hadn’t been told what happened other than it was extremely heavy and emotional, and so the trio had taken one look at Luz and seen the redness of her eyes and the dried tear tracks on her cheeks before letting her know she could talk to them whenever she wanted, but they wouldn’t push her into it. Luz had thanked them, then watched as her Mami began taking orders for the evening’s take-out (since they still hadn’t had a chance to go grocery shopping).

Once everything was ordered, Luz spoke to her Mami; “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to go and visit Dad’s grave. It’s 14 years overdue… Plus I need to pay my respects to Papi since I missed it this year.”

Camila nodded; “We can go now if you’d like? Truth be told, I’m not in the mood for eating.”

“Me neither. Okay, let’s go.” Luz nodded.

“I’ll come too!” King declared.

“Us as well!” Willow chimed in as the entire Hexsquad and Vee hopped to their feet. “Masha, Gray, and Rebecca can answer the door when the delivery humans shows up, and Camila can give ‘em a little blessing again so they can use magic to keep the food warm!”

Luz smiled, but shook her head; “Not this time guys. I kind of want to do this alone.”

“Are you sure? You were with me when I went through something like this! I don’t want you to be alone…” King frowned.

Luz hugged her little brother; “I know King, and I love that you’re trying to take care of me. You’re the King of Little Brothers! But this time, I want to speak to Dad and Papi by myself.”

The others exchanged apprehensive looks, but they each nodded (with varying levels of reluctance) before waving goodbye to the two Angels as they left the house. Casting a quick illusion to hide themselves, Luz and Camila flew to the old Gravesfield Cemetery and landed at the gate. Luz looked up at the old Portal Gate and wondered if she could find a way to open it again… with King they had Titan Blood, but they’d need to figure out how Keystones were made so they could open it up again. Somehow, Luz doubted it’d be easy…

Shaking that thought off, Luz used some plant magic to conjure two large bouquets, creating a mix of Human Realm, Demon Realm, and Divine Realm flowers to offer to her Dad and Papi, then followed her Mami down the familiar path to her Papi’s gravestone. Now that Luz was actively paying attention and looking for it, she noticed the second gravestone beside it, which appeared blank. Her Mami cast a spell and dispelled the illusion over the area, revealing two things. The first was the inscription on her Dad’s gravestone, which read; “Michael Noceda. Born 1984. Passed Away 2005. Beloved Partner and Father. As his Body is returned to the Earth, may his Soul join the Stars.”

That inscription alone almost made Luz cry again, but it was the second hidden thing that made fresh tears spill down her cheeks; it was a large blue barked tree growing from behind the two graves. Luz recognised it immediately as a Palistrom Tree.

Camila saw her expression and gently said; “A Grimwalker’s body is made partially from Palistrom Wood. We didn’t have a coffin to bury your Dad in, so your Papi and I thought the wood within him managed to take root and grow into a new tree. It’s roots now cradle your Papi and Dad together, so their bodies can be together just as their souls are.”

Luz nodded numbly, a sad smile on her face. She reached into her hair and pulled out her Palisman Egg, holding it aloft to the tree; “I don’t know what you can see or hear from in there little friend, but this is just like the tree you came from! I guess that’s something we both have in common!”

She gently lay her Palistrom Egg on a little bundle of roots between the two gravestones, then placed the bouquets in front of them as she sat down.

Luz looked to her Papi’s grave first, wearing a sombre smile as her Mami watched on. “Hey Papi. Sorry I’m so late this year. Things got pretty crazy in the Demon Realm. It’s kind of a long story, but I did stab Vitimir once so there’s that! I’ll be sure to tell you all about it in a second.”

She then turned to her Dad’s grave, her smile growing shakier as the tears in her eyes flowed faster; “H-Hello, Dad. It’s been so long… I-I’m gonna guess that Mami and Papi probably brought me here at least once when I was a baby, so you might have met me before…” she looked to her Mami, who nodded with a tearful smile. “I’ve grown up a lot since then. I’m sorry I haven’t come to visit you properly before… I’ve got even more to tell you than I do Papi! Listen to this Dad; my friends from the Demon Realm beat up Belos, then me and Mami tore off the wings he’d stolen from my friend, then my friend blew him up! That monster is history! So… so I hope you can rest easy!”

Luz began to sniffle as her voice cracked; “Papi… Dad… I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m not doing okay right now, but I’ve got a great Mami, two amazing siblings, an awesome girlfriend, and a big group of friends! And I’ve become an Arch-Angel! I’m still not so good at helping people without messing up… in fact, I think getting more power just made my screw ups worse… But I won’t stop trying my best! You both sacrificed so much so the people you loved could have a happy life… I want to follow your example! I’ll fix what I broke, no matter what.”

Camila felt her worries grow as she heard those words, and knelt down behind Luz so she could wrap her arms around her in a comforting embrace. Luz felt safer and calmer in those arms as she continued to speak to her Fathers.

“A lot has changed for me and Mami these last several months… but I hope you’d be proud of me. And there’s one thing that hasn’t changed at all; I love you. Both of you. And I miss you so much! I wish you were still here. I wish you could have met Mom and King and Amity and all my friends! I just know you’d have loved them! I wish… I wish…” she began to break down in sobs; “I wish this didn’t hurt so much…”

“Oh Mija… they love you too. And they’re infinitely proud of you, just as I am.” Camila said soothingly.

Luz sniffled; “C-Can we stay a while longer? I still have a lot I want to say.”

Her Mami nodded; “We’ll stay as long as you need Mija. As long as you need.”

And so, with mother and daughter wrapped in each other’s arms in front of the graves of two dearly beloved fathers, a young Angel spoke to the grave stones as the stars shone down from above. For one night at least, the rest of the world and the Realms beyond it could wait; an innocent soul needed time to rest and to mourn.