A/N: I'M BAAAAACK!! Sorry I was MIA for a bit. I didn't really have time to update junk because I was stu-dy-ing a bunch of crap that I'll probably never use in my life-time but they insist on teaching us anyway. Some hacker changed my account saying that I left for good as well...damn them. Don't worry, I fixed it. Anyway, not much happening with this chapter until the end. To be perfectly honest those 'things' in the forest are starting to creep me out. I had a dream about them last night...gah! Shiver. ENJOY!!!!

Part One

Stage Six: Enter Lilly

Lily leaned energetically out the window, her dark hair blown back over her shoulder by the velocity of the SUV. She swung her arms in the wind; ignoring the dark looks of warning Scott was feeding her from across the seat. "I get to meet Jude!" Lilly sang loudly into the wind, laughing as they turned a sharp corner.

She slid back into her seat, her face flush from laughing. "Scott?" Lilly prodded innocently, pulling her knees up to her chest, "is Jude pretty?"

Scott mumbled something unintelligible and ran a hand over the stubbles clinging to his chin. "Is she tall…or short?" Lilly persisted, "fat…or skinny? I hope she's skinny, and pretty, and fun to talk to."

The brakes squealed as the SUV rolled to a stop at the only red-light in Woolsworth. Scott waved distractedly to an older couple on the sidewalk and turned his attention to Lilly who was still gibbering a useless spill of questions. "Lills?" Scott asked hesitantly, "You have to promise me you won't get in the way tonight, okay? Jude's still a little out of it and she hasn't been around many people before."

Lilly pouted at her feet, "You still haven't told me if she's pretty."

Scott sighed as they turned into Saint Aiden's parking lot, "Yes, okay? She's pretty…pretty much freaked out of her wits. So if you do anything to upset her…Lilly?" His words fell upon deaf ears. Lilly was already at the cathedral's door, her small fists tugging at the large doorknocker.

Scott gritted his teeth and slid out of the car.

Jude stared up at the meek sunlight falling through the painted windows of the cathedral's main hall. She traced a finger across her lips in concentration and tilted her head so the light played against the colors. The murals were beautiful. Most depicting winged beings with bright halos playing above the crown of their heads.

Jude ran a hand over the empty space above her head, a hole pitting in her gut.

She nearly choked as her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden touch, the blood rushing to her ears. Jude glanced down at the dark skinny arms laced around her waist, twisting slightly in the stranglehold to glance down at the small African child clinging tightly to her hips.

"Lilly!" Scott shouted from across the cathedral, a scowl set in his face as he marched down the hall. The girl, Lilly, looked up at Jude with big eyes, a wide grin splitting her face nearly in two. "You are pretty!" she said excitedly, squeezing tighter.

Jude blinked hard as Scott pried the girl away, not quiet sure what to say as he squatted down to her level to scold her. "Um…" Jude interrupted, wringing her hands together nervously, "you must be…Lilly?"

Lilly's face lit up and she tugged at Scott's sleeve, "She know me!"

"Sky came home," Jude blurted, her eyes darting to the ceiling, "I think you should go check on him…he was bleeding when he came back. He wouldn't talk to me."

Scott's face paled slightly as he stood up, straightening his coat out professionally. "Lilly, stay here. And don't cause any trouble. I'll be right back," he ordered in a firm voice. Lilly pressed her lips together and sat down hard on one of the broken pews a few steps away.

Jude watched Scott disappear up the stairs, a cold breeze from the shattered windows worming its way under her feathers and into her skin. Lilly cleared her throat and patted the empty space next to her, "Sit down?"

Jude nodded and sat down, flinching slightly as Lilly spun around and starting running her fingers through Jude hair. "Daddy says you don't remember where you're from," Lilly said bluntly, winding several strands of Jude's hair into a loose braid. Jude nodded mutely, her hands clenching into fists against her knees.

"That's okay," Lilly chattered, "Angel's aren't supposed to remember Heaven."

Jude looked up at her in surprise, "They aren't?"

Lilly shook her head, happy to have an engaged audience, "Nope. If they did, then they might tell everybody on Earth…and that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?"

Jude glanced up at the heavenly figures on the painted windows, their hands folded reverently in front of them as they prayed to their Lord. "Is that what I am, then?" Jude asked, relaxing at Lilly's touch, "Me and Skyler are Angels?"

Lilly shrugged, "That's what Father Igbi says. He's the head priest, and the mayor, too! Everyone likes him and listens to what he says. He's the one that built the wall around the town…"

"A wall?" Jude interrupted, "Why do you need a wall?"

Lilly looked at her, clearly surprised, "Well…to keep out the Demons, of course!"

"Lilly!"

Lilly looked up sharply to where Scott was standing with his hands on his hips in the doorway. He gave her an emphasized look of warning and Lilly fell silent, her hands retracting from Jude's hair and returning to her lap. "We're just talking," Lilly insisted, "honest."

"I think you better wait in the car," Scott muttered.

"But…"

"Now."

Lilly pouted but obeyed, swinging her pink sneakers over the bench and shuffling dejectedly down the hall. Scott waiting until she was well out of ear-shot before coming to sit next to Jude. He smiled at her faintly, patting her shoulder like a concerned parent. "You okay?"

Jude nodded, keeping Lilly's words to herself. Scott folded his arms and tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling, "Sky's going to be fine…so there's no need to worry about that. He's prone to accident. Probably fell into a tree or something."

Jude nodded mutely, easily picking up on the lie.

"Listen," Scott continued, "later tonight I invited someone to come and meet you. I've told you about Father Igbi? He's in charge of pretty much everything around here and he's going to sort some things out. He wants to meet you…but only if you're comfortable with it. I would never make you do something you didn't want to."

"Yes," Jude said after a slight hesitation, "I'd like to meet him."

Jude pressed the soft pillow tightly against her chest, curling up on the air mattress Scott had brought from his house for her to sleep on. The Tower was quiet in the fading light. The orange suncatcher throwing ghostly shadows over the walls. Jude closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing.

Scott said she could have a few moments to herself before Father Igbi came. He made it sound like the meeting was extremely important…and that worried Jude. Just what kind of person was Father Igbi? Scott spoke of him like he was a parent to the town, always watching over his people and keeping them safe.

Jude buried her face into the pillow.

She wanted to be safe…more than anything she wanted that.

The door creaked open and Scott peered inside, his wire-rimmed glasses sliding off his nose. He smiled and opened the door all the way, letting it bang softly against the wall. "Father Igbi's here…are you ready?"

Jude nodded and pulled herself to her feet.

A ring of white feathers marking where she had sat moments before.

A shadow moved swiftly across the darkening sky. Powerful wings pounding against the stars and the wind, rising higher above the small island and farther from the glowing lights of Woolsworth. The wall fell far behind, shrinking to a thin line as the sky opened up, welcoming the shadow like an old friend.

Nyx banked sharply, shivering as the smell of the ocean hit him full on. He dropped low, the trees rushing up to meet him at an alarming rate. Evening out easily, Nyx let his eyes wander over the treetops, wondering how many of his 'Demons' lay in wait beneath the foliage.

The trees opened up suddenly to reveal a large flat field with an overgrown lawn and a rusted iron-bar fence. In the center of the clearing was a neglected cement building, its foundations sinking into the ground as its own weight pushed the stones into the earth. Part of the roof had collapsed in one area, leaving open a large tunnel like the throat of some hungry animal.

Nyx leveled out and flared his wings, landing with his knees bent next to the collapsed wall of the building. He glanced over his shoulder at the dark trees surrounding the abandoned Itex lab, his sharp ears picking up the sounds that reverberated from within the dark…

Low hissing and high-pitched laughter…the sound of blood gurgling in dead throats. Blood-shot eyes scanning the heavens feverishly for the prey that wasn't there.

"Shut up," Nyx growled, his hands clenching at his side.

The giggling from the trees pressed in, pinpricks of light radiated from eyes that never blinked dotted the shadows. Several flashes of slim figures…starved figures…torn clothes running fixatedly into the night.

"Shut up!"

Nyx's scream echoed through the trees.

The laughter fell silent.