Wenris poked her head into the library of the Everium Academy curiously and smiled. “Much better. This is actually worth looking through.”

The last couple of days had been oddly boring for the demon, once she’d gotten over her shock at Sistina’s true identity. That had made everything perfectly clear to her, answering the question of why Her Lady was interfering so much and why the dungeon was so strange in one fell swoop. The problem that had come up was that she didn’t dare use her usual methods of entertainment here, not with so many people aware of what she was, and with the not insignificant chance of upsetting Sistina or her own Lady.

Even teasing Diane and Jaine eventually grew boring, so she’d turned her attention to the libraries. Proofreading the re-written copies of Marin’s Codex had been one way to while away a day and a half, but the dryad had done an excellent job of translating her research into modern text, which had rendered most of the information relatively normal and boring, especially for someone who’d read the original volumes before. Now, the eighth or ninth volumes would have been a different story, as Emonael kept them private, but Sistina had only finished most of the third volume at this point.

This library was decently sized, and Wenris breathed in the smell of old books, magic, and elven students happily. A moment later she frowned as she caught a hint of something different. It was the smell of a human, yet it wasn’t as well. The smell was odd, and she slowly circled the shelves, trying to track down the source.

“You must be the succubus I’ve heard about.” A woman spoke just as Wenris turned the corner, looking up from a book with a humorless gaze. The human had unusual ivory-pale skin, long black hair, and coal-black eyes, but that wasn’t what startled Wenris. It was the scent of the woman, the strange smell of someone caught between life and death. “What are you doing in my Academy?”

“Ah, I was just bored and thought I would peruse the library since it seemed to be the most promising of those in the city. I am called Wenris, and I must ask, your ?” Wenris paused, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes as she asked, “Also, what are you? You’re obviously not a normal human.”

“Hah! I am Kassandra Sunseeker, currently the headmaster of the Everium Academy, as I’m the senior surviving teacher,” the woman replied with a laugh, exposing two fangs as she added, “I also would have thought that a succubus would have seen a vampire before.”

Blinking, Wenris’ eyes narrowed more and she crossed her arms in front of her. “A survivor, hmm? Much is explained, but you most certainly aren’t a vampire. I’ve met them before, and you aren’t one.”

“Then you must be mistaken. I can’t go out in daylight, else I burst into flames, I drink blood for sustenance, I don’t have a pulse, nor do I age. It seems to me like I fit the qualities of a vampire well,” Kassandra retorted, shelving her book and turning toward Wenris.

“Perhaps so, but you aren’t quite dead. That’s why you confused my nose,” the succubus replied, her eyes clearing, and she paused before asking, “How did you become a vampire, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Not quite dead? I had a stake shoved through my chest until this past winter and I got back up! I haven’t heard of any others who can manage that. Though if you’re right…” Kassandra paused, considering before replying calmly. “I’m not certain, honestly. My mother was cursed by a witch before I was born, that all her children would die by the age of twenty. I keeled over of a heart attack just a few hours before my twentieth birthday, and she committed suicide. That night I woke as a vampire.”

“Interesting… must be a generation curse of some type. I’ve read about them, but never seen one involving vampirism,” Wenris replied, staring at the woman in fascination. “Do you mind if I ask you some more questions? This is fascinating… at least to me.”

“Only if you’re willing to tell me about these generation curses. I’ve been trying to cure my vampirism for nearly a century, if you only count the time I’ve spent awake,” the vampire replied, her manner softening.

“Deal!” Wenris replied with a broad smile. “Let’s find a spot to sit, and we can discuss this properly.”

They headed for a table, and Wenris felt her tail sway happily at some form of entertainment. She had been so bored.

* * *

“We’re sure this will work?” Lirisel asked nervously, and Ruby looked up at her, smiling at the other priestess as she set down the tiny cage containing the angel.

“As certain as we can be. There’s no guarantee that we can convince Zenith that she’s been deceived, but at the very least we should try,” Diamond said softly, carefully examining the spell formation that had been chalked out onto the floor.

“That wasn’t quite what I meant. I was more meaning the spells here. I don’t want to accidentally release a hostile angel,” Lirisel explained. “I have no issue whatsoever in trying to restore an angel to her right mind.”

“Although we can’t guarantee that the spells are right, Sistina seemed very confident that they would work,” Amethyst chimed in, smiling in turn. “I’m sure we’ll be fine, as long as no one does something silly, like releasing her.”

A chorus of agreements echoed through the room from the other Jewels, and Ruby stepped back, examining her own segment of the spell before nodding. Sistina had claimed that the spell would only allow them to communicate with the angel while within the room, nothing more. That was more than enough for her, and she was fairly sure that Sistina was right.

Finally Lirisel nodded, giving a slight smile. “I suppose. I’m sorry for always being a worrywart where Sistina’s concerned, but I don’t want to have something go wrong again.”

“Far better to be cautious than to jump into a disaster without thinking,” Ruby replied, smiling at her and nodding in approval. “Shall we?”

Taking their positions around the formation, the Jewels readied their magic just to be safe, then nodded to Lirisel. The other priestess took a deep breath before speaking the command words they’d been given.

The cage shimmered for a moment, and rapidly grew in place until it was twenty feet tall and the angel within was her normal size as well. Ruby looked at the angel in surprise, just barely able to recognize the face of the woman from their trip to Westgate with the Enforcers, but the rest of the angel was far different, and not just because of the armor she was wearing.

Zenith’s hair, body, and even her halo and wings were different enough that if she hadn’t been warned Ruby might have mistook her for another angel. As it was, Zenith was something of a shock. Her armor was cracked, and she had a look of fury on her face as she strained at the cage’s bars.

“Release me or suffer Tyria’s wrath when she discovers what you’ve done!” Zenith exclaimed, hammering at the unyielding bars. The sounds were strangely muffled, as if they were passing through a wall, which probably was all that was making them tolerable.

Seeing that the angel wasn’t about to escape, Ruby relaxed as Lirisel spoke, her voice much firmer than before. “No. You were once an angel of Medaea, and the goddess herself is threatened by others. How can you have aligned yourself with her captors?”

“You fools! The goddess herself was deceived into the state she was in, robbed of her proper place and power. I cannot allow you to blaspheme by claiming she is some… some other goddess!” The angel’s voice was filled with shock and anger, and Ruby winced as she hit the bars with all the force she could muster.

A blow which could have shattered a city wall had absolutely no effect, seemingly absorbed effortlessly by the cage. That seemed to anger Zenith still more, and Ruby heard Opal speak softly. “It looks like this is going to be a long, painful process.”

“Agreed. At least the cage is solid,” Emerald replied, and Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. She was right, after all, and so was Opal.

* * *

“How does it feel, knowing that you were a legend?” Phynis asked curiously, looking in the mirror at Sistina. The dryad looked up from unbraiding Phynis’ hair and shrugged, smiling.

“No different. I am myself. That is long past and explains my knowledge. Nothing more, nothing less,” Sistina replied, her voice soft and her fingers gentle as she carefully undid a tangle. “Far more interesting was word of Emonael. I had forgotten her.”

“Who was she? I mean, if you’ve remembered anything more about her.” Phynis couldn’t help herself as she flushed and asked, “I-I suppose I also want to know who she was to you, I guess.”

“She was a succubus. As a demon lord… weak, but strong for mortals. I could have slain her, but did not wish to. Emonael helped with my research. She believed in it, unlike the others.” Sistina paused, her fingers still, and she smiled more warmly, embracing Phynis from behind. “That is all she was.”

“But… but she was a succubus? Don’t they seduce anyone they can? I’ve heard they collect the souls of magi to grow more powerful,” Phynis protested, her cheeks coloring, but her hands rising to stroke the dryad’s. “I can’t believe that anyone would doubt your research.”

“It was another time. My theories were radical, unproven.” Sistina’s voice trailed off, and she shook her head, her voice betraying sadness. “I was old, my life spent in research. Sick, tired, and near death, yet driven. I had no one, and she feared to push me over the edge before I finished. I died alone.”

The words made Phynis’ eyes go wide, and her fingers froze in stroking Sistina’s. “How old were you?”

“Does it matter?” Sistina asked, shrugging.

“Of course it matters! No one should die alone!” Phynis protested, turning abruptly to face the dryad, and she could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “Even when I nearly died, I had my guards, and you were waiting for me. Don’t tell me it doesn’t matter!”

“I don’t remember, Phynis. Old enough, and weak,” the dryad replied honestly, her brilliant eyes bright and clear. “Besides, it does not matter. I met you. That matters. Nothing else.”

Phynis’ breath froze again at the soft, sincere words, and she blushed deeply. She had no words, and instead leaned forward until her lips met Sistina’s. Wrapping her arms around the dryad, she put all other thoughts out of her mind. Worries could wait until the morrow, for now she had the one she loved, and that was what was important.