12

The first thing I registered was the deafening silence.

The darkness made it hard for my eyes to come into focus when I opened them, and I could feel a biting cold all around me. Even the solid ground that I was becoming increasingly certain was underneath of me felt like ice.

I laid very still as I took in the silence, wondering what in the world was going on. Was I dreaming?

Things slowly became clearer to me as I laid there. The fog in my mind was lifting, and my eyes were starting to focus. Now I was getting my bearings back.

Now everything was coming back to me. Lennox had told me about a special mirror in the basement that might be able to help me locate the power hidden within me. It was something that Jade had hidden because he'd wanted to keep me under his control, so I'd gone there with Lennox and touched the mirror to see if it would help me; but Zane had interrupted us.

And then something strange happened.

My eyes opened wide as I remembered being grabbed through the mirror and the others trying to get to me before I was pulled in. But Lennox had attempted to stop them.

He tricked me! I thought in disbelief. He really tricked me! He lured me in with a nice guy act and used me!

I was sure that it had to be Lennox's father who had tried to attack me in that dream. That was why he'd shielded himself from Zane seeing him. He knew he'd be recognized if he saw his face!

I allowed my eyes to adjust completely and looked around as I slowly sat up. It felt like ice went through my veins as I saw where I now was. I was sitting in that same circle of candles that I'd been in with that nightmare.

This can't be happening! I thought, moving to get up. I've got to get out of here before that monster comes to kill me!

But I couldn't stand. My wrists were being held down to an inch above the floor by two iron chains. You had to be kidding me. They'd chained me to the floor like an animal!

I pulled hard on them a few times, but the chains didn't budge. I had the feeling that unless I pulled my hands off, the only way to get out of them would be by a key. If I had any abilities to melt them or anything, I sure as hell didn't know how to use it. A part of me vowed to get Chris to show me if that was possible if I made it out of this one.

The sound of footsteps coming towards me made me sit still. They echoed in the large room, the hard soles of shoes on the concrete floor. They came to a stop as I looked to my right, and a familiar figure in a white dress shirt and dark pants regarded me.

"It seems you finally awakened."

"Lennox!" I spat.

Lennox smiled at me, although it wasn't friendly.

"Are you that surprised? You did know my reputation for trouble. I must admit that I was amazed that you took my bait so easily. You really are trusting with what you think is your own kind." he went on.

"You mean to tell me that all of this was you this entire time?! You were the Fallen who invaded my dream and tried to attack me?!" I said angrily. I yanked at the chains around my wrists, but they held tight.

Lennox was unmoved by my outburst. He took a step to the left and put his fingers under his chin like he was thinking over my words, or perhaps even my thoughts that he must have heard.

"Come now, you give me far too much credit. I am but a lowly Shadow Wing. I could never invade your dreamscape like that, even if I wanted to. That right was reserved exclusively for my dear father, who seems to have quite an interest in you. Do you really think that what I've done here is such a terrible thing? It's not like your life was that great to begin with; what with your father deciding to abandon you and all. I do admit that I've admired your determination to prove that you aren't one of the worthless ones though. It was something that most cannot keep up."

"My father didn't abandon me, and when he finds out that you took me, he's going to kill you and your father!" I informed him.

"You really think so? I have my doubts. After all, he very well could've prevented this from happening in the first place if he'd just hung onto you like he'd been doing before. Lucky for me that he's suddenly decided that he's not interested anymore. Maybe it wasn't so wise to challenge him, wouldn't you agree?" Lennox countered, a sadistic smile crossing his face.

My eyes widened as that one sunk in. No matter how much I didn't want to admit it, he was right. I had pushed too far with Saffron and drove him away, and now I'd just landed myself in a world of trouble because he was refusing to protect me.

But at the same time, I was determined not to give in so easily, especially when I thought about Chris and the others.

"You know that Chris won't give up. He knows you took me. He saw it and so did Will. They'll probably want to destroy you now." I warned him.

"Hmm, you're probably right. Between those two, I'll probably be a dead Shadow Wing when they get a hold of me. After all, you are quite important to them. I suppose it's a good thing my father tends to set up incredible barriers within his mirror worlds. It's going to be very difficult for Christoff and those others to locate you, even if they decide to try and tap into the entrance of that mirror." Lennox informed me.

A loud whistling sound began to fill the room as he said this. Lennox looked up, listening closely.

"Ah, it looks like he's finally come."

"Who?"

"Who else? Belial."

I followed his gaze upwards and saw a large black mist descending from the high ceiling. It swirled around in dancing patterns, finally morphing and taking on the tall human-like form of a man. He reminded me of Astaroth in some ways. He was a dark, intimidating figure with long black hair and skin the color of polished white stone.

But unlike Astaroth, he had a very long, sharp looking face and completely black eyes that seemed to match that face in sharpness. There were also two huge, curved horns on the sides of his head that came out from under his hair and curled to the back of his head like a ram.

As he floated down to stand beside Lennox, I could see that he was dressed in a long black robe that pooled on the floor over his feet yet was open to reveal a portion of a chest that seemed almost withered. I could even count his ribs where the skin showed.

Lennox looked over at him with what seemed like only mild interest. He wasn't intimidated at all by him. He instead acted offended.

"See? I told you that I could bring her here. There was no need for such extremes as your so-called visit. You almost ruined everything." he complained.

This must have been Belial. I was sure of that by the way Lennox was speaking and acting. But it was odd for me to see him now. He didn't look like he had in that nightmare. Had he changed forms to scare me more? That seemed very possible. These Fallen probably had different forms that they preferred taking when it suited him.

Belial didn't bother looking at his son. He kept his sharp, black eyes on me as he spoke to him.

"You are not one to question me. The ends will always justify the means." he informed him. He had a deep voice, and I could hear a hiss in it as he spoke. He stepped into the circle without making a sound and stood in front of me. It felt like he towered over me as I sat there chained to that floor, "So, you are the child born to the one called Saffron. I did not think that the day would come that one as powerful as he decided to sire a new life."

I mustered up all my courage as I looked defiantly at him, "This is all about my father?! Are you in some kind of grudge match with him too?!" I demanded. I could feel my heart pounding, but I was determined not to back down to this monster.

"I do not carry such grudges with any. I only fulfill my own desires as I see fit." Belial responded.

He knelt down in front of me, and I gasped as he grabbed my head, his hand covering my eyes. His grip was tight and ice cold, and it felt like his fingers were digging into my temples. I started shaking as a surge of power ripped through my veins. I could feel the Heretic Stone heat up against my skin. It was so hot that I was sure it would burn me. The intense heat immediately dissipated when he let go.

"There is it. She is indeed as powerful as you claimed. Just as I would expect from one born to him. But her power will not be easily taken. Not with the precautions he and that other have taken." Belial muttered, standing up and eyeing the stone.

"What do you mean? We have her right here! It's never been an issue for you to remove the power through their eyes before!" Lennox protested.

He seemed very on edge now. He was looking around us like he was worried about intrusion. Maybe he wasn't that certain about his father being able to hold off Chris and Will, or perhaps even Jade.

"Be silent! I decided what will be done and when. This time it will have to be handled differently." Belial growled at him.

"Then do it! I've risked everything against Abass to do this! It's my ass on the line and you're telling me that you cannot take her power?!" Lennox shot back.

Before he could say anymore, Belial moved in front of him and picked him up by the throat. Lennox choked as he held him up several inches from the ground.

"You will not question the likes of me boy! I've warned you about being out of line!" Belial growled.

Lennox fell to the floor as he let him go, holding his throat as he gasped for air.

"What are you doing? He's your son!" I protested.

When I thought about it, I'd never seen Jade or Saffron do such a thing to us, no matter how angry they seemed to get. I suppose I'd gotten myself to believe that there should've been a respect between us and our fathers, at least for the most part.

"He may be of me, but he's never been one to learn his place. He is aware that I can create many just like him, so he must figure out when to keep his mouth shut. He already knows what happens to the ones who don't." Belial informed me.

He looked towards the stained-glass window over the altar near us. I could see some light trying to shine through it, giving an eerie feel to the scene. For the first time I noticed that this was no ordinary looking church. Everything looked darker, and an upside-down black cross hung over the altar. The table in front of it was draped in red cloth and had black candles lit on it.

You've got to be kidding me, I thought. This place is like a church for Black Mass!

"It's lovely, isn't it?" Belial commented, looking at me with a solemn expression. His features looked a bit more demonic now, "It's ironic how men tend to gravitate towards the ones like us. They can try all they want, but they cannot make their hearts sway completely towards the light. It's much easier for many of them to be tempted with what we can offer in riches and in carnal flesh. You children of all of them should understand such things. Even you are not immune." He pointed to Lennox, who was still on his knees, "Take this fool here for example. No matter what I do to him, he blindly chooses to follow me because he wants to believe that I will keep giving him the power I steal. Even now he's very eager to gain the abilities that are locked within your frail little body."

Lennox remained silent as he sat there. If he felt any anger towards Belial's words, it seemed that he wasn't about to voice it. I had the distinct feeling that he feared what Belial would do to him if he did.

I, on the other hand, felt disgusted with his words and actions, "Maybe that is true with some of us, but we're not born bad. It's the ones like you that try to use us and give us bad reputations! You're the ones who make it easy for those angels to judge us!" I accused.

"You would blame us for such things? I believe that you do not understand your place yet. You all were created simply to benefit us. Thinking that you can redeem yourselves in any way is preposterous. You will always have black blood running through your veins." Belial responded coldly.

"It doesn't matter what we were born to! We're not evil! And even if you do use fear to force us into thinking that way, it doesn't mean that we ever will be!" I declared.

My words angered him. Before I knew it, he'd zipped over and grabbed me by the front of my shirt, lifting me up from the ground. I struggled against his grip, feeling like all of the bones in my wrists were being dislocated by the chains around them. I could feel the skin around them beginning to tear and feared that my hands would be ripped off if he kept this up.

But suddenly, it felt like his arm was being pulled down some. The pressure started easing up. I opened my eyes to see that Lennox had grabbed Belial's arm and was trying to stop him.

"Put her down! You'll end up killing her!" he protested.

Belial took his free hand and pushed him to the floor. I heard Lennox hit it, and he groaned as he tried to get back up. His long bangs hung around his face as he breathed hard and held his left side. I had the feeling that he'd cracked a few ribs when he'd hit.

Belial lowered me back to the floor, relieving the pressure on my wrists, "You useless fool. The only thing you've ever proven yourself good for is giving me what I desire. Even with all the power that I've handed to you, you still cannot bring yourself to even come close to those others!" he sneered at him.

Lennox managed to stand, not backing down now.

"You've given me nothing! You've kept most of that power for yourself and forced me to turn on all of those who may try to befriend me. You've turned me into the same pariah that all of the others became!" he retorted.

Belial's eyes turned bright red, "So that is what has happened here. You truly are a fool. You actually believe that you could care about this girl simply because she chose to give you a chance, even suspecting all along that she knew the truth? You have become pathetic." he growled.

I heard Lennox growl in response. In a flash of movement, he caught Belial off guard and threw him out of the circle.

"Shut up! I've had enough of this!" he shouted. He slammed his left hand down and the black candles lighting the circle around us flared up together in a bright wall of flames.

Belial jumped back a few feet from the flames, large bat-like wings sprouting from his back. His expression was furious now.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded.

"What I should've done a long time ago! I'm sick of being the black sheep among those who are damned! It's time for me to break away!" Lennox retorted, looking defiantly back at him through the wall of flames. He kept them up as he turned back to me, "Let's go. We're getting out of here!"

"What are you doing? I thought you brought me here because you were giving me to him." I said in shock.

"Change of plans. I may want what you have, but I'm sick of sacrificing everyone who's at least tried to give a damn about me." Lennox responded.

He put his hand over the chains on my wrists. They immediately froze with an intense cold coming from his palm and easily broke into pieces with a simple bang on the floor.

But before either of us could stand up, a sudden gust of wind flew at us. I was knocked to the ground again, hitting it so hard that it knocked the breath from me. I managed to lift my head and realized that Lennox was gone.

"Lennox?!" I called out as I scrambled to sit up.

I could see two figures against the wall near the altar. No! I thought as I realized what I was witnessing.

Belial had broken through the barrier that Lennox had set up around us and had him pinned to the wall. Lennox was barely struggling, and his eyes looked glassy. There was blood on the wall behind his head.

"You little bastard! How many times do I have to teach you these harsh lessons?!" Belial rasped.

Lennox managed to smile, blood running down the side of his mouth. I didn't mistake that look he had. For the first time since I'd met him, he looked like he was truly free.

"No more. I'll never forsake myself for you again, so you'd better kill me. I'm sick of this existence." he choked out.

"Lennox, don't!" I called, pushing myself to my feet.

It hurt like hell, but I was determined to try and do something. I could feel something cold and dark boiling inside of me before I heard the familiar clink of my pendant cracking again.

Belial barely had time to react as a large, dark mass of shadow came barreling at him. He dropped Lennox and jumped away. The shadow mass hit the wall, actually busting through it and leaving a huge hole.

Lennox had enough sense to shield himself as he laid on the ground and debris fell around him. I managed to bring out my wings, flying over to him.

"Hey, come on! Don't die on me!" I begged, trying to help him sit up. I knew that we probably didn't have that much time before Belial regained his bearings and came after us.

"Go. Save yourself and let me be. I deserve what I get here." Lennox managed, coughing up some blood as he looked away from me. I could see a lot of blood matting the blonde hair on the back of his head, and some of it was dripping down his face as he looked down.

"I can't do that!" I argued.

"You don't have a choice!" Lennox shot back, although his voice remained weak, "I'm truly worthless as it is. Just go back without me and save yourself!"

"Stop it! You're not worthless! You've never been worthless, no matter where you came from. None of us asked for this life, but you shouldn't have to die because you've been making mistakes!" I reasoned.

Lennox looked genuinely shocked, "You really think...?"

But his words were cut off by the loud sound of breaking glass. Before I could even think about moving, Lennox pulled me under him.

"Watch out!" I heard him say as glass rained down over us from the shattered window above the altar.

I felt a gust of wind blow over us as something landed right in front of us. Lennox and I slowly looked up to see Saffron standing there. His large black wings were out, and he stood there like pillar of strength.

"Well, well, well. It seems there was a rat in the nest after all." he commented, glaring at Lennox as he turned.

Lennox chuckled painfully, "You knew damn well what was going on. You took too many chances this time." he breathed.

"I'll deal with you later. But for now, I have other concerns." Saffron conceded. He walked over to us and knelt down in front of me. I stiffened as he reached towards me, fully expecting him to slap me for my stupid decisions. But instead, he gently touched my cheek, wiping away the blood from a cut that I didn't even notice I had, "It seems I ran a bit late this time around."

"You actually showed up." I whispered.

I wasn't sure of whether to feel relieved or anxious. If he was acting this concerned now, then could that turn into more extreme anger later? With Saffron, one could never be sure.

Saffron smiled at me. I felt my breath catch as I saw it. That was the smile I'd known as a child; the one that had always assured me that everything was going to be alright. I think in that instant I had my answer. There was no more anger towards me anymore.

"Forgive me darling. Perhaps I've let myself get lost a little too much this time around. But no more. Allow me to take care of this thorn in your side and be the father you've always known me to be." Saffron requested.

He stood up and looked towards our left. That was when I realized that Belial was standing there, dusting off his robes.

"Ah, so you did show yourself. I was beginning to wonder if you'd decided to abandon what you'd created." he stated calmly.

"Of course not. You of all of them should know that I would never abandon her, especially when I know that the ones like you may aim for her. It's enough that Jade's decided to compete for my spot in her affections. As you may well imagine, it's all put me in an absolutely dreadful mood." Saffron responded. He was still smiling, but it wasn't friendly anymore. I could see him holding up a hand with black flames swirling around it.

Belial didn't look intimidated. He stood up straighter, and I could see black flames whipping up around his feet.

"You'd dare to challenge me? I do not underestimate me like Astaroth and those others tend to!" he hissed.

I gasped as Lennox pulled me back to the broken wall and hid us behind one of the large pieces of debris.

"You must get out of here. If they start to fight without holding back, they may end up destroying everything in their path." he managed to tell me. He held his head and winced again from the pain.

"I told you, I'm not leaving you!" I protested.

I was trying hard to keep myself sounding as defiant as I could, but it wasn't easy when I could hear the crashing and growling near us.

Lennox was exasperated, "You're something else." he muttered, "You won't leave me even though I brought you here knowing that you would be killed."

"I don't care why you brought me here. I can't just abandon someone, and I don't think you're really that bad of a person inside. Belial's just always used you." I told him.

I was wondering where Chris and the others were as I spoke. Did they even know how to get to where I'd been taken? I didn't doubt that they would immediately figure out that Saffron had found it and come after me. But knowing Saffron, he probably didn't bother with allowing them many, if any, clues on how to get here.

"They'll figure it out soon enough. I can't see Saffron not using them as a backup plan on saving you, but I don't think they can get here in time before those two destroy this place. Neither one is playing this time. This grudge match is finally being settled." Lennox breathed.

"Grudge match?"

"Yes, but never mind that. You've got to get out of here. If you can get to that opening where Saffron came in through that window, then you can leave this world, so stop worrying about me and save yourself." Lennox insisted, trying to sound more forceful this time.

But just as he said that I realized that there was a loud, thundering sound coming from behind us. Lennox reacted quickly, throwing me behind him and covering me with his body and wings. It was just in time too, because a wave of black flames ripped through the unsteady part of the wall that had been covering us. I closed my eyes tightly, crying out in my mind for help. I didn't know exactly who I was calling out to. I just wanted someone to stop this and save us. I didn't want us to die there.

The flames ripped through very quickly, even though it seemed like it lasted an eternity. Lennox slumped against me as it ended, breathing hard. I slowly opened my eyes, the shock within me turning to horror. I knew instinctively that he'd been badly burned in his effort to protect me. I could even smell the burnt feathers and flesh.

"Lennox?!" I whispered, barely able to look up at him.

"Looks like... I really... didn't think this one through." he managed, moving off me and collapsing onto his side.

"Lennox!" I cried as I leaned over him.

I could see where his back was badly burned from the flames. There was nothing but blackened stubs left of his wings. The entire back of his shirt was burned off, and the skin was blackened as well. The smell of burnt flesh was awful, and nearly made me sick to my stomach.

Saffron and Belial had stopped as well. I halfway noticed Belial perched on a high ledge near the altar. Saffron was standing a few feet from us. He looked at our scene with a frown on his face.

"It seems you've made a fatal mistake in this. You reacted without thinking to put up your shields so that you didn't get burned." he noted.

"How could you be so careless?! He's your son!" I yelled at Belial as I held Lennox's head in my lap. He was breathing hard and moaning in pain. I laid a hand over his eyes, trying my best to help relieve the agonizing pain that I was certain he was in.

Belial didn't respond. He just remained where he was.

Saffron let out a disgusted sigh, "So, this is how it is. Expandable children. It is no wonder our numbers have dropped so low."

"Shut your mouth!" Belial suddenly bellowed, lashing out angrily at Saffron with a whip made of black flames. It came out of the palm of his left hand.

Saffron reacted quickly, jumping back in front of us and holding up an arm to block the attack. It didn't even faze him. Either Belial wasn't attacking with everything he had because of his anger at Saffron's words, or Saffron himself was very angry now.

I wasn't that concerned about them though. I was trying to help Lennox.

"It'll be okay. I'll help you." I was telling him through my tears.

I moved my hand off his eyes and over his burnt shoulders, trying to help relieve more of the pain. However, I wasn't that sure that I was doing anything to help. I'd never had to deal with wounds this bad before.

Lennox halfway opened his eyes, looking up at me. I drew in a sharp breath as he painfully reached up and touched my cheek.

"You're not like those others." he whispered, "You're actually kind in your heart. That is why you're the one who can save us."

"Lennox?" I whispered. I was getting scared now. The hazy look in his eyes wasn't a good sign. His breathing seemed more labored too.

Saffron glanced back at us, bringing up a wall of flames around the three of us to keep us shielded.

"You know you don't have much time left. You should've just tried to move her away. Shielding her without thinking was a costly mistake. Your body cannot handle such wounds from a Fallen." he stated with no emotion in his voice as he knelt down beside us.

"I know, but I couldn't... let her die like this. Not when we're so close to being free forever. Sacrificing myself was the best thing I could do." Lennox whispered.

"Stop talking like that. You're going to be okay. We're not going to let you die." I told him.

I was fully aware that I sounded desperate, but I didn't care. I didn't want to see him die. Not when I was beginning to feel like he was a friend rather than an enemy.

Lennox smiled at me, breathing a little deeper, "I'm so sorry for everything. You aren't like the others. You could've... been the one... to be kind to me. Too bad... it took this for me to see it." he managed.

The tears rolled down my cheeks as he closed his eyes. I knew instinctively that he was leaving us.

"Why?" I whispered, even though I knew that he couldn't hear me, "Why would you kill yourself to save me? Why is everyone willing to die to save me?"

I barely noticed Saffron put an arm around me, "It's too late now. There's nothing more to be done." he whispered in my ear.

"Saffron..." I managed, leaning my head against his shoulder to keep him from seeing the tears steaming down my face.

Saffron gently kissed my temple, "Tell me, what do you wish to do about this?" he whispered.

I didn't mistake his words. This was an offer, but I could feel the anger boiling within me. Lennox had died to save me. He'd been killed by his own father.

"Make him pay. Make him suffer for what he's done." I whispered back bitterly.

I could feel the smile cross Saffron's face as I said that. "As you wish."

He let me go and stood up. The flames around us died down as he turned to face Belial, who stood just a few feet away.

"Looks like you've made your biggest mistake in this. You've killed your own out of anger. Now it's my turn to make you feel his pain."

"Cause me pain?" Belial hissed.

He began to change right before our eyes. His entire body turned black, and his arms and legs grew very long. Bright red eyes glowed over bulging sharp teeth and the size of his body actually doubled.

Saffron wasn't intimidated, "So now you have shown your truest colors." he commented.

As he spoke, his hands changed into large black claws and the black tattoo crawled up his neck and cheek. Now he was being just as serious as Belial.

I looked down at Lennox's body and touched my pendant. Could there have been a way to stop all of this? Could I have saved Lennox if I'd been able to use this stone or at least gotten past its barrier on my power? It just wasn't fair.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the fight currently going on between Saffron and Belial. Looking over as I heard a loud crash, I realized that it was Saffron hitting the wall near me. Apparently, even in his most angry state, Belial's power was too much for him. Without thinking, I got up and raced over to him.

"Saffron, that's enough! I don't want to see you die too! Let's just get out of here!" I yelled as I helped him sit up.

Saffron was breathing hard, and I could see him holding his chest. There was an open, bloody wound there. With a sickening feeling in my stomach, I realized that it was the one from before. The one that Lucifer had caused, and that I had made worse.

"Well, it seems I'm too weak to handle any of this yet after all." he muttered, coughing up some black blood.

"Then we've got to get out of here." I insisted.

I didn't want to see anyone else die. It was enough that I felt like it was my fault that Lennox had.

"No one's going anywhere." Belial interrupted.

He towered in front of us. His menacing aura was so cold that it felt like it was piercing through my soul. Looking up, I realized that there was no way we could get past him to get to that opening to leave this realm. We were trapped.

Saffron pulled me against his side as Belial reached a large hand towards us.

"There is no choice. Forgive me my darling. This is all that's left."

My eyes widened as he reached up and grabbed the Heretic Stone. Before I could say a word in protest, he wrapped his claws around it and smashed it into dust.

It felt like a tidal wave unleashed itself from deep within my soul as the stone was crushed. The heat of the power was unbelievable. A wave of black energy churned up from my wings and flew out like the winds of a category five hurricane. Belial was immediately swallowed up by the black flames that billowed within that wind, his screeching drowned out just as quickly as they took him.

I could feel myself getting lost within my own mind in the hot torrent. Memories flashed like visions on a television screen. My childhood with Saffron coming and going, my meeting Chris, my battles with both angels and monsters.

And the deaths.

Mama had died because of me. She'd lost her mind to the illness that had been plaguing her before Saffron had brought me to her, and Zane had to kill her to end it all. But even in death, she'd still suffered because of me. My birth mother had to die to give birth to me too.

And Lennox had died protecting me.

Was that how my life was? Was I destined to kill all of those who dared to care about me? Even Saffron didn't seem immune to the suffering.

I could feel him against me, breathing hard as his wound was bleeding out, creating a large, dark pool on the floor around us. Soon he would die as well. If Fallen Angels could die.

"Ariana!"

I barely heard the voice through the sound of the loud wind and flames. Yet there was a small piece of me that knew that it had been there. A familiar voice, calling out in terror. Could I make myself place this voice? Or was it just a memory that haunted me like all the others?

"Ariana, stop! You have to snap out of it!" another voice suddenly shouted.

I blinked, realizing that the voices were getting closer. How was that possible? All I could see was the hurricane of black flames.

But as I sat there, I realized that the flames were now trying to part. They billowed and shook inwards with the force that was trying to break through them.

A figure finally managed to break through completely, a familiar figure with sandy blonde hair and different colored eyes. I felt Saffron move away, kneeling near me with one hand on the hard ground.

"Look at this. It seems that the prince has come to save his princess after all." he whispered, smiling to himself.

Chris either didn't hear him or ignored him. He hurried over and hugged me tightly.

"Ariana, snap out of it! You've got to make this stop before you kill yourself!" he begged me.

I blinked in shock at all of this. How in the world had Chris gotten in there to me? Was I dreaming?

"But he died because of me. They're all dying because of me." I heard myself say.

"It wasn't your fault. You only did what you were able to."

"But I..."

I felt at a loss as he held me. His hold was firm and felt desperate.

"Please Ariana, no more. You're going to kill yourself if you don't make this stop." he begged. I detected a hint of him starting to cry.

Hearing that made me let out a long breath. The winds and flames slowly started dying down as my head began clearing, and I could comprehend where I was and what was happening. This was all real, and Chris was there, holding me tightly.

Everything felt so empty and silent as I sat there in that revelation. What had I done? What had just happened to me?

But despite all of this turmoil within me, I could only voice a little tiny bit.

"Chris, what... happened to me?" I heard myself say.

"You lost control because this fool decided to destroy your stone." I heard Jade say.

Chris pulled back a little and looked over his shoulder. I followed his gaze to see Jade standing near us with his arms crossed as he regarded Saffron. Near him were Zane and Will. But the one who really caught my attention was the one who stood away from them all.

Israfel.

Looking at him then, I knew that something more had happened here. There was no way that he was an ordinary Shadow Wing. I was sure that he had helped Chris get through that surge of power that I couldn't completely control.

Saffron remained kneeling, holding his chest, "You stopped her after all, and here I thought we could end this cycle completely with this." he breathed.

"You know better than to take the cowardly way out of this, and you will not take her life with you. Not as long as there are the ones like them around and me." Jade told him. He sounded angry as he spoke to him.

"You've grown soft, but perhaps that has come with what you've allowed in." Saffron commented.

Jade just shrugged, looking back at Israfel, "Perhaps the jig is up, as the humans so like to put it. However, I do not consider myself at all soft because of you."

"Perhaps so, but this seems like good timing as well." Israfel responded, taking a step forward. His appearance began to change as he did. His brown hair turned to a dark ash and his eyes became violet. The black hue of his wings changed as well, also becoming violet.

Will looked shocked, "It can't be. You're him!"

Tears filled my eyes as I stared at him. Yes, I would've known this kind face and those beautiful eyes anywhere. It was the face and eyes of the one who wanted to bring all of this bloodshed against us to an end.

Kinsley Martell.

Chris remained calm, but I had the sense that he felt the same surprise as the rest of us.

"So, you stepped in yourself this time. You even took the time to try and fool all of us." he noted.

"All but me. I could see right away when he came with Zane just who he was. Besides, only a Violet could heal such a wounded mind so completely. It was easy for me to put two and two together." Jade bragged, looking squarely at Kinsley.

"So that's how you figured me out so easily. I found it ironic that another Shadow Wing would just happen to stumble onto me as I was about to take my own life." Zane admitted.

I felt my heart beat harder as I heard those words. Zane had been about to commit suicide? Even though I'd been suspecting it, hearing it said out loud was heart breaking.

But I couldn't really think that straight about it either. My head suddenly began to pound, and I felt so dizzy that the room was spinning. Chris had to hold me up to keep me sitting.

"Hey, we need to get her back. Something's very wrong with her." I heard him say. He sounded extremely worried.

Footsteps hurried over to us, and through the haze in my eyes I could see Will kneeling beside us. He seemed to reach up and I halfway realized that he'd laid a hand over my eyes.

"This is bad. She's managed to stop those powers from raging, but she doesn't have enough strength to maintain them inside of her. She's far too young to have to do it herself, so her body can't take the fight." he was saying.

"Then you don't have a choice anymore. Stop stalling and do the transfer!" Chris ordered.

Silence filled the air around me. I could feel a burning in my chest as I struggled to keep my consciousness against the haze that was threatening to pull me under. I closed my eyes as I felt the pain beginning to branch out across my collar. It literally felt like I was burning from the inside out.

"Isn't there anything else? I didn't want to link her forever." I halfway heard Will say.

"Just do it! She'll die if you don't!" Chris yelled.

That would be the last thing I would discern in words as I felt someone put a hand over my eyes again, and all I could hear in my mind was the roar of flames as they engulfed my soul.