Disclaimer: Don't own, despite recent attempts. J/k ^.^

*blablabla* means thoughts sent


*************************** Chapter Four******************************

"You're sure?" Jaenelle pressed as they left the room.

Tori nodded, still numb. "Yes." She closed her eyes painfully. "It is him."

Jaenelle placed a hand on her arm as the continued down the hallway. "You're not alone in this battle, Tori. We will help you."

Tori straightened, pushing all emotions behind her walls and rebuilding the ice barrier around her and everyone else. "When the time comes to confront him, I will be."

Then they had reached the dinning room, and Talia jumped up from her spot at the table to rush over. Looking down at her pale, worried face, Tori smiled a little, a bit of the tension easing.

*What happened?* Talia demanded, clutching her hand tightly. *I heard you screaming. You were hurting, but they wouldn't let me go.*

Tori's gaze sharpened as she looked at the two males that were sitting close to where Talia had been. *Them?* Tori asked curiously, already planning their deaths.

*Yeah,* Talia sounded aggrieved. "I'll introduce you."

Tori glided after her sister, pushing herself back from the edge she had been approaching. Talia wouldn't have offered to introduce them if she was afraid of them. And to be truthful, any male that Talia could feel comfortable around, was one she would give the benefit of the doubt to.

"This is Lucifer Saetan SaDiablo," Talia said, pointing to the man closest to them. "He's Jaenelle and Daemon's son." She nodded to the second man, who half-stood, leaning a hip against the table casually. "That's Daemonar. He's the son of Lucivar," she nodded to the grown man that sat beside Jaenelle at the head of the table.

Tori nodded to both men shortly, glancing over them. Lucifer was tall and lean, with black hair that fell to his shoulders in thick waves. A lightly tanned skin tone that could be either from working outside or natural birth. Tori was guessing the latter, since it didn't look like he did anything much more than lift enough weights to keep his body in pristine condition. She ignored the slightly flirtatious smile he sent at her, struggling not to glare.

The other one was different. Daemonar was tall, broad shouldered, and muscular. His black hair was pulled back, out of his face, and his shirt hung indifferently in his hands, leaving his chest, which still held a fine gleam of sweat, bare. Black membranous wings stretched out behind him, adding to the intimidation that he gave off. He didn't smile at her, which only made Tori nervous. More so than she already was, since she had the distinct feeling she knew him from somewhere, and that it was important.

"So," Lucifer said at length, standing in a smooth, cat-like motion at instantly set Tori on edge. "You're Tal's sister. We had a hell of a time keeping her here when you were talking with Mother."

Tori looked at him and simply said, "I know."

Lucifer glanced back at his mother before lowering his voice, suddenly serious. "What were you two talking about that has Witch all upset?"

"I don't believe it is any of your concern," Tori said, taking a seat beside Talia.

Lucifer made low growling noises in his throat as he sat down hard next to her, not noticing the way she stiffened. "If it concerns Witch, then it concerns all of us."

Slightly panicked by his proximity, Tori released her anxiety as anger. "Then why don't you ask her?" She hissed, her eyes burning.

Lucifer looked startled for a moment before smiling arrogantly and leaning in a little bit closer. "You don't like me being this close, do you?"

"Um…Lucifer," Talia said timidly. "I don't think you should do that."

Lucifer ignored Talia's warning and fixed Tori with his molten gold eyes and giving her The Look. The one that his father had taught him and would reduce a whole room of women to nothing but quivering masses of flesh in instants. His smile grew sultry, adding effect to his technique.

"Lucifer," Talia tried again, feeling her sister's carefully hidden revulsion change to fury. "I mean it. You need to stop fooling around, or Tori'll-"

Talia spoke up a half second too late. Biting cold filled the room, making every head jerk up towards the source. Tori's hand was a blur of motion as she darted forward and clamped onto his throat tightly.

"Get. Away. From. Me." Tori gritted out, watching as the cold from her hand turned his neck pale, and then purple.

She flung him away before he had time to react, and the air regained its lost warmth. Tori looked up to see Jaenelle walking over angrily, and scowled at the woman.

"Talia warned him," Tori said defensively. "Repeatedly."

Jaenelle nodded shortly. "I heard. Lucifer. High Lord's office. Now."

Lucifer nodded, careful to keep his posture and tone respectful. "Yes, Lady."

He turned and left the room without another word, confused and more than a little worried. He didn't understand Tori's reaction. The other women of the First Circle would have known he was playing. And Tori was a Queen. Why had she gotten so upset?

Back in the dinning room, a woman sauntered over to Tori's table, grinning. Tori watched her carefully, noticing a slight swing in her hips and the way she always seemed posed for male attention. Looking at her, she noticed that the woman did all of this absently, as if it never occurred to her that she looked like a well-dressed prostitute.

"Well, sugar," she laughed. "That's one way to get rid of unwanted men." She held out her hand in a casual greeting. "Name's Surreal."

Tori covered them with her own. "Tori."

"Since no one will have thought to tell you who's who here, I elected myself." Surreal nodded over to a blond-haired, black-winged Eyrien about seven years old that stood talking with another girl around the same age. "That's Melivian, my daughter. Beside her is Surreal, Jaenelle's second youngest, and my namesake." Surreal blushed slightly when she said that.

Pointing to the front part of the table, where Jaenelle had sat, Surreal continued. "On the right is Daemon SaDiablo, son of Saetan and a Warlord Prince, Jaenelle's Consort and husband. They have two other children, Lucifer's twin sister, Lucia, is off visiting Lorn, but should be back tonight. And their youngest, Auroran is with Draca up in the library. She's only four, but is as smart as I've never seen.

"Next to Daemon is Karla, Queen of Glacia and her cousin, Lord Morton. Karla's daughter, Narla, is with Lucia, accompanied by Daemonar's younger brother, Prothivar. Then its Queen Morghann and Prince Khardeen, from Scelt. Their daughter, Kalush, named after the Queen of Nharkhava, is visiting the Dea al Mon, and their son, Arahn, is off hunting with the wolf Kindred." Surreal pointed directly across from them. "That's Queen Gabrielle, and her Consort Warlord Prince Chaosti, of the Dea al Mon. They have two sons-twins-and a daughter. One of the twins is upstairs with Rori. The other two are with Titan, Queen of the Harpies, also my mother."

Surreal paused and took a sip of water while she waited for Tori to categorize everything she had heard so far. When she nodded, Surreal continued.

"The Eyriens across from Karla are Marian and Lucivar, who is also Saetan's son and Warlord Prince of Ebon Askavi, Daemonar's parents. As I've already said, they have another boy, Prothivar. And last, but not least, is Saetan Daemon SaDiablo, the High Lord of Hell and Steward of the Dark Court."

"That's a lot of people," Talia murmured.

"And not even half of the family," Surreal said cheerfully. "Since Jaenelle is Saetan's adopted daughter, and Queen Teele of the Dea al Mon adopted Jaenelle as well, that makes them family. And the Kindred-"

"Wait, wait," Talia said, scrunching up her face. "So, you're saying that the SaDiablos and the Dea al Mon are linked through Jaenelle, since she's both their daughter?"

Surreal nodded. "Exactly."

Tori frowned at Surreal. "And you are Dea al Mon," she said.

"Well, actually, I came here under the name Surreal SaDiablo, but since my mother is Dea al Mon, and my father claimed to be a SaDiablo, I guess I can claim whichever side I want. Usually I just stick with Surreal, though. Things get too complicated with last names."

Tori grunted, adding her agreement. She was grateful when the food came, and she could do something simple, like eat. Unfortunately, it seemed she was wrong about that, too. Daemonar, who had been silently listening throughout Surreal's lecture, took his seat on the other side of Talia and Lucifer returned to take his place cautiously beside her, as if expecting her to go for his throat without reason.

Tori scowled at him, but didn't tell him to leave, and began loading her plate with the stuffed turkey being passed around and slipped a slice onto her plate. She was reaching for the vegetables when two more slices of turkey were plopped in front of her. She turned to glare at Lucifer, who was getting his own slices peacefully.

Noticing her glare, he said, "You need more meat."

Swallowing her retort, Tori took a deep breath and continued serving herself, with Lucifer going behind her and piling up more than she could possibly eat. When she finally snapped at him and demanded to know what he was doing, he had the audacity to look confused.

"You don't eat enough," he said, as if it were obvious.

"I eat plenty," Tori growled. "If I get hungry, I would have gotten more."

"Well, this way, you wont have to," he pointed out in a very male point of view.

Tori closed her eyes and counted to ten slowly. Then she did it again. When she opened her eyes she looked over at Lucifer, who stared back a little apprehensively. "Okay."

"You're not going to yell?" He asked hopefully.

"No," Tori replied, picking up her fork and knife. "But if you don't let me eat what you've put on my plate, I will."

Lucifer was silent and immensely interested on his plate for the rest of dinner. Glancing to her left where Talia sat, Tori smiled to see that her younger sister wasn't doing much better with Daemonar. If anything, she was doing worse.

*How come you didn't yell at Lucifer?* Talia asked, starting on the mound of food in front of her.

Tori sighed. *Look at the other males, Li. I guess fussing is some sort of ingrown trait. I can't really yell at him for that, it wouldn't be fair.*

Talia frowned into her food. *But, flirting seems to be an natural facet of their characteristic, too. At least, from what I've seen of Daemon, Lucivar, Saetan, and the other males.*

Tori shifted uncomfortably. *I know… I reacted badly. It's one of the reasons I'm letting Lucifer fuss. Maybe he won't think I'm still mad.*

Talia giggled, drawing Daemonar's slightly suspicious gaze. Talia only smiled up at him and continued eating happily. Daemonar seemed to wince and decide that he didn't want to know.

As dinner slowly ended, more people came over to introduce themselves and add a few facts that would make living there easier. Tori smiled politely and thanked them for the advice, trying a bit desperately not to alienate them, since Talia seemed to be getting on so well with their daughters.

"The Kindred seem to for bonds with certain people," Marian warned Tori as she passed by to find Prothivar. "So don't be too surprised if you acquire a four-legged shadow."

Tori nodded, storing the information away, along with her psychic scent. It had become almost reflex, when she met someone, to store away their unique jewel pattern just in case.

"Tori," Jaenelle greeted, her husband beside her. "I want you to meet Daemon, my husband. And Lucivar…" She glanced around, smiling when she saw him making his way over. "Is right there."

Tori arched a delicate brow. "The prickly ones?"

Daemon frowned down at his wife. "Are you still holding that against us?"

"Can't blame her, Bastard," Lucivar said, joining them. "We are what we are."

"Speak for yourself, Prick," Daemon retorted. "I happen to think I'm not 'prickly' at all."

Tori exchanged an amused look with Jaenelle. "Of course not," Tori muttered.

Daemon's gaze sharpened. "Watch it, little witch. Or I'll get Lucivar to take you out to the training circle and have you go a few rounds with the sticks."

"Only a few?" Tori scoffed. "It wouldn't even warm me up."

Lucivar straightened at the obvious challenge in her voice. "Be careful, Tori. I have trained in Eyrien camps for years."

Tori shrugged, still unconcerned. "And I have trained for thirteen. With more than just sticks."

"Then why don't you join tomorrow's class?" Lucivar suggested, a malicious smile blooming. "It's for the ladies of the First Circle, and I've been training with them for years."

Tori answered his smile with one of her own. "And here I thought this trip was a waste of time. I'll be there."

As she turned to leave, nodding politely to Jaenelle and Daemon, Lucivar called after her.

"Don't you need to know what time to crawl out of your oh-so-comfortable-bed, tigress?"

Ignoring the pet name, Tori said over her shoulder, "No. I'm up before dawn anyway."

Caught without an easy parry to her comment, Lucivar let her leave, grinning at her back. Beside him, Daemon smiled down at Jaenelle.

"I think you were right, love," Daemon laughed. "I'm liking her already."

"Me, too," Lucivar chuckled. "She's arrogant, sassy, and clearly has a lot more than basic weaponry skill from the way she walks. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was Eyrien."

Jaenelle laughed for a moment, then her face fell serious. "I'm glad. She'll make a good Queen, once she learns not everyone is her enemy."

"I don't know," Daemon said uncertainly. "It looks like the only one she's loyal to is this little one. Talia."

Lucivar laughed loudly, punching Daemon in the shoulder. "That is how you started out, old son. Give her a time. Our boys will get through to her."

Daemon nodded, smiling slightly. "I wonder which one she'll take as Consort."

Jaenelle snapped her head over to glare at her husband. "Daemon, I'll only say this once, so listen closely. You too, Lucivar. If I hear that you two have been pushing Tori and Lucifer or Daemonar together against their wishes, I will see to it that you regret it. Sorely."

Startled by her abrupt anger, the two men could only nod. Confident that they would obey her order, she brushed by them to go visit with her kinswoman. Daemon glanced over at Lucivar, silently questioning.

"I don't know, Bastard," Lucivar said, shaking his head. "The only time Cat ever got like that was…when…"

Lucivar stared after Tori, his eyes going wide in shock.

"What?" Daemon demanded, grabbing his brother's arm tightly. "Lucivar! When what?"

Lucivar shook himself free of his thoughts. "It was when Jaenelle was healing this one witch, after the Purge, that had been broken on her Virgin Night. She brought her here, and one of the boyos jokingly said that he was going to find her a good lay, not knowing what had happened. Jaenelle warned him once, almost exactly like she did us."

"You can't mean that…" Daemon trailed off, following Lucivar's gaze. "She's broken?"

Lucivar shrugged. "I don't know, yet. Tomorrow, after practice, I'll know for sure."

Daemon closed his eyes. "It would explain a lot of her reactions when they first arrived. Why she went cold with Father." He grimaced. "All that Lady Lyra has suffered has been for nothing."

Lucivar grunted. "Now we'll see how strong the ties of mother and daughter really are."


********** A little late in coming, but here it is. I have two more chapter almost done and ready to be brought out into the harsh lime light of the public ^.~ Questions? Comments? Flatteries to stroke my ego? **********


Reviews:

greeneyes- Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like Tori, since she's sort of the main focus! As to your question, yes. The Darkness is good, but as we all have learned from Anne Bishop, goodness can be warped. Don't worry, everything will be explained as soon as I've established all the important characters!

DejaVu-Yeah! More reviewers! Thanks! I'm so happy you like it! I'll post more if you do!!! ^.^

Starlight-I feel all warm and mushy inside! Oh, wait, that's the internal organs! But thank so much for the confidence boost!! Hope you enjoy my work!

Gray-I'm not sure if this is unique, but I would like to think so! Thank you so much, and I hope you'll keep reviewing, or else I might loose my inspiration!

Chelsi Avalon-Is this soon enough? I'll try to update daily, but no promises! Thanks for the review!

laura-You were my first reviewer! Thank you so much for your support and patience while I sorted everything out! I know it had to seem strange! Please review again!