Night fell, the bright moon illuminated the tips of leaves where sleeping creatures lay. The night crawlers were stalking prey under the cover of darkness below. With no other noise to drown them out they were all visible to me. The low sounds, and feet movements giving them all away.

"I know your dead set on getting there as early as possible, but we should stop and rest for a while."

He was not wrong, even though I was not growing tired, they might be. There was no real place to stop, and teleporting back might make me forget where we landed. An arrow whistled, light emanating from it. I shoved Kalego out of the way, a sharp pain radiated in my wing.

I barreled over him, both of us falling towards the trees. He flipped put, catching himself. Stumbling, my wing was yanked on, sending shooting pains though it and to my back. A pop sound, and I lost control of it, and I was falling. Tears filled my eyes as pain radiated.

The tree line neared, wind whipping my hair. Balam barreled down towards me, arms extended, I reached for him. He caught me, and I wrapped my arms around him as he curved up. He dove into the cover of the trees, landing, and setting me on the ground.

The metal arrow had prongs extended out on both sides, short teeth digging in the membranous skin. The wine colored blood oozed and created a puddle on the ground. I looked at Balam wide eyed. If he was here, where was Kalego? He wasn't going to fight those demons alone, was he? Fighting was not too far off, the flash of a yellow light and deep snarling not too far away.

"This is going to hurt." Balam pushed a button on the arrow, and it retacked. I winced as he pulled it out. "This might hurt." He jerked my wing and it popped; I covered my mouth as I screamed.

I was ready to give up and go home. The village, now this. This world was dangerous, school was cupcakes and rainbows compared to the one day I had out here. I curled up, crying. The fighting in the background fell silent, one person was left. If it were not Kalego alive, I would never forgive myself. This was my idea, and twice now he was there to pull me from my stupidity.

Balam rubbed my head; I pushed his hand away. I didn't deserve an ounce of happiness with all that had happened. All the bad things that had been triggered because of me. If we had not flown this way, if we had left sooner or later. Never left at all. Every decision today led me to this point. Not a thing went well.

I should have left from a different direction, should have never left at all. I was still that good for nothing daughter that would never amount to anything. I lost it all, my life, my son, my whole world. The light at the end of the dark tunnel was growing further away. Eli might be dead before I make it to him, and whose fault would that be?

Mine, if I never talked to that woman. If I ignored her like I did with all the other people, I would not be here. Everything was my fault because I was so dead set on finding Eli again. Useless in this world and the last. Unworthy for all that has been given to me.

"We should be able to camp here tonight." I looked up. "Rest and heal." He summoned a tent and started a fire.

The hole in my wing had almost closed itself, at least there was no poison on the arrow. This trip felt like a bust. Should I just go back and ask Grandpa to teleport me? It would have been safer and more time efficient. Kalego sat next to me on the ground.

"Dose it still hurt?"

"A little."

"Your blood looks odd, but you are healing fast. Has it always looked like this?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Isn't all demon blood like this?" Were they about to tell me I was more out of place than I already felt?

Balam chimed in. "We thought it was poison before, but you are healing now. Rather quickly I might add."

"This is my normal, I have had a hole in my wing before. It was gone within seconds, as well has any scrapes or bumps. I thought my foot would heal, but I was wrong that day. I can still get hurt, but it is usually less, and I heal shortly after. At least to what I can tell."

"Mind if I take a sample?"

"Sure, just don't make any clones. This world could not handle two of me." Balam chuckled. "Should I just ask Sullivan to take me?"

Kalego smirked. "And ruin a perfectly good expedition? This was more entertaining than watching over children. Do you know how long it has been since Lord Sullivan permitted me to be outside the walls? It is almost unheard of for the guardian to leave before retirement."

"Is this why you wanted to come?"

He shrugged. "A little, the other part of me knows what it is like out here."

"Well, I am glad you came. You have helped me trice now."

"Not everything you do has to be independent. At any time you can ask for help, and we would be there. The Netherworld is changing, demons returning to their origins. I think you might be the one to stop it with how you handled that town. You commanded them, and then halted their evil cycle. That was impressive."

"Thanks, maybe a few hours rest and then we can head off again." I went to the tent, taking my shoes off before entering.

The inside was a lot bigger than the outside portrayed. I could stand without the roof touching my head. Three sham doorways, do I pick whichever I want? How would they know? I peeked in each room; they all looked the same.

"They are all the same."

I flinched. "Right."

"I actually wanted to talk to you, alone." He opened one on the right.

"Sure." I walked into the little room.

"When you were in a coma, I started remembering things." He wants to say something now, all this flying time and he was quiet until now? "Wait, let me explain. I was going to say something sooner. After you talked about the ability, I did my own digging. You had been rather busy in the shadows, and everything was partially my fault." His words were straight green with hints of yellow, he was calm but anxious. What did the direction mean? I saw curls, waves and lines.

"Yes, it was, and yet I had looked past it. It was what followed that hurt the deepest. I lost my son, but not his love. I could handle the whispers, the embarrassment of losing rank, and all the slander from the left and right. But I lost you, and everything else with it."

"I am here now, and I will help bring him back to you." Orange and green waves. He's not sure of himself.

"Eli, that's his name. Why, so you can feel better about yourself? I had three people who believed me, you were not on that short list. Instead of believing me or attempting to, you shunned me." Tears threatened my eyes.

"I understand your frustration, I didn't expect forgiveness right away." He's losing his calm, and I was losing my straight face.

Tears slipped. "Frustration? That was not even half of it. I was angry because the one I trusted most turned on me. I was so confused as to why you changed so drastically. Sad, because I had lost everyone, and everything I held dear. There were days I regretted getting close to you."

"I cannot change what happened, but I can atone for those things. Can I at least get a small break, it was not entirely my fault." His words are more anger than regret. You can say what you want, but I see the truth.

I turned away from him. "Your mad at me, I can see it in your words. This conversation is over, please leave."

"Vi…" My eyes darted. "Viola, I am sorry." Pure blue, sadness. I looked away from him, he left the tent.

Could I have been nicer? Possibly, but he flipped on me. You can't flop how you treat someone like a fish on the ground. Even in Balams uncertainty he was there, Soi trusted me. Even Iruma believed in me, he said it felt familiar to him. Which means he cares for Eli, enough to doubt his own memory.

There was no rest for me, pacing my room until the light came up. When I emerged from the tent it vanished. I summoned my wings, teleporting up to take flight. I kept my eyes to the tree lines, searching for anything abnormal in movements. There was not much to this part of the netherworld, it was rather secluded compared to places I have seen.

The forest changed to cliffs, mountains and a valley. We were still a few hours out, set to make it before dinner. Grunts, yells, clashes of weapons poured from the valley. We detoured around, my heart felt pulled on. I could not take on that many people. No matter how powerful I have proven to be. I could still take damage, and I was not one to like that pain.

If they were not in evil cycles, there might not be a thing I could do. A barrier was possible. There would not be enough vibrations in a place like this. The voices in my head begging for me to help. I shook my head, when I looked forward, I had tuned to the source of chaos. Was I drawn to this stuff or something?

I looked at the charms around my wrist. My bracelet of many musical instruments at beck and call. If I was going to head this way, I need to prepare. In a valley noise would echo, if I used many, I could put a pause to the whole fight. I was playing with chances; I did not know the extent of my power. The only way to know was to try.

"Don't, not even we could protect you from this many people."

"I did not ask for that." I summoned my violin, creating a barrier as I summoned more instruments. I was over the field, taking in the scene. It was a small local fight as Narnia had explained. If they were not in this location, then why were there several in the one southern town we stopped at?

They used to ask me to play, but now they mocked me. If only they knew all I could really do with this, and all the things I might be able to do in the future. I had always held it in; the power inside begging to be released. The vision around my outer peripherals darkened. I brough forth more instruments. Cello, piano, flute. Magnifying the sound under a barrier above.

The reverberations thickened, some demons fell, others found it hard to move. I felt the hearts of hundreds from both sides. There beats syncing to the tune I created. If Poro could halt an army, then I wanted to be the one to end a war. Small as it is, it all started somewhere. I descended, activated the sound maker given to me by Dali.

The vibrations were enough to keep all the music going. I had found the infante loophole with my power. At this point I was showing off not only my power but my skill in playing beautifully. Feet on the ground, I walked past them. Two of these demons are in control here.

"Who is the leader of this parade I was missing out on." Their hands shook as they pointed. "Thank you." The hands kept pointing, directing me to one man. A circle of fingers around one demon.

"You, a war over what?"

"We need food, our lands were not prosperous this season due to a fire. The animals had migrated further away, and we suffered casualties. They refused and started attacking us." His voice panicked, the words that flowed were straight.

"I see." I shouted. "Where is the other one?" Hands pointed in the opposite direction. I flew to the other side, landing next to the center of finger pointing. "You, a war over what?"

"They were stealing resources. We told them there was not enough to go around, to look elsewhere."

"I see." My power was weakening. I needed to end this fast. Can I summon a demon? I held my hand out, picturing his face, and how I wanted him to get here, and fast. Pulling him to me. He dropped from the sky, landing next to me. He was vastly taller than I, at least six foot eight.

"I heard you, how?" A black gem was on his face, but he was more in control.

I touched his face, holding my hand out. The gem fell from his face, and the contact on my skin filled the reserves a little. The Evil inside the gem gave me a sip of energy like a caffeinated beverage. I crushed the gem between my fingers.

"We will be talking sensibly." I summoned two chairs. "Both of you sit."

"I am General Firey." He was a red-skinned demon, with short black horns on his bald head.

"I am General and leader Gespar." Short blonde hair with short, rounded horns nested on his head.

"Now I have heard pieces from both sides of the story. There was no give or pull in any direction. Now you both are out here killing each other over resources. How many lives were lost over this trivial matter?"

"One was to many." Firey answered.

"Decent answer. You two are killing each other for food. Is there not an area you can move to?

"We have lived in that area for hundreds of years, before Gespar's tribe was ever established."

"It's a town now." Gespar sneered.

"It was fruitful land we let you settle in." Firey yelled.

I held my hands up. "Stop. How long ago?"

"About a hundred years." Firey replied calmly.

"Did you have to move for him?"

"We used those lands to hunt and get vegetation. We took seeds and planted them near us and let them have that portion of land. We asked for help, and they denied us."

"We have our own territories, stick to them." Gespar turned his head.

"I'm annoyed already. Gespar, you suck, Firey you are not out of the wrong either. Listen Gespar, his village had a fire, the least you could do is give aid to the other. They gave you a decent area to live in, give them food, and then they can begin to cultivate more. I will even help with that. We can end all this blood shed right now and everyone can go home."

"We do not have enough food after they poisoned the forest around us." I tilted my head, looking at Fiery.

"That was not us."

I rubbed my chin. "Both sides affected, leaving no food. I think you guys were used by someone else trying to drive you both out." If this were the case, it makes more sense. If they fight it out and weaken themselves, one could essentially kill two with the same stone.

"So, you're saying this all could be a set up?" Gespar asked.

I nodded. "Think about it, how long ago was the land poisoned?"

"Shortly before he came asking for help."

I held my hands up, shaking them. "See what I am saying? Poison takes longer. They hit you, then they burn you. You two butt heads and then this happens. Sounds suspicious to me." They both looked at each other.

"Truce?" Gespar asked.

"Truce, I think we may have a bigger enemy on our hands. We can scavenge for a new spot if you help cultivate." He winked.

"That sounds like a plan." I did not understand that, but it was good for them.

I released the whole battlefield, pulling my instruments to me. They attached themselves to my wrist. "There was another town more south that was also burned to the ground, demons infected with crystals. If there are any here, I need to correct this. It's not right to force an evil cycle in such a manner. As I stepped through the field, I saw them on both sides. Where do they come from?"

They both rubbed their chins, Gespar spoke. "I cannot remember, they just showed up, it was wrong, but we were defending ourselves." Firey nodded in agreement. It looks like Wett might be one busy man.

A crowd formed around us, their eyes on me. Kalego and Balam landed on either side of me. "Back it up." Kalego growled.

"Wait, I think I know what they want." The black crystals were somewhere attached to them, from their face to their hands. "They might need me to do what I had done at the small town."

"That is a lot of people." Balam stated.

Firey leaned down to my level. "They do not remove themselves from the host, eventually I noticed the weaker demons would die of fatigue."

I rubbed my temples. "I can't let them die. I will remove them, you two put them in a bag. Do not touch them with your skin. I hope Narnia will understand if I am tarty. Alright, back it up. One at a time and we can get through this together."

They spread out, one by one I touched them, and the stone fell to the ground. I did not understand how they could listen in unison. Why was I able to do something like this and touch the stones with no problem? I was diving deeper into the Netherworld, into parts that seemed darker than I wished to know.

How many new things will I learn about myself? The controlling demons in evil cycles, when did that come up. I knew I could influence others, control bodies, but commanding demons in their evil cycles was different. I hoped this was the last new thing I would learn about myself. The last piece I must discover of my power.

While I knew I might not be blamed for what was happening, I felt the blame of fingers pointing to me. I was the one who could control them and that was a scary thought. Demons in there cycles were far more dangerous and powerful. If I could control them, then why wouldn't I do something so I could build an army.

I was ready for the allegations; I just hope there would be enough alibi to get me through. Between the town and here, I hoped they would vouch for me. I needed less eyes on me, and even fewer enemies. It felt the more I pursued this path the more I gained. My energy was spent, but I could not show them what the crystals did to me.

The first one looked like I crushed it. A hope that they did not notice nor care what had happened. With most faces to the ground, it was unlikely anyone saw. The way I commanded them, they all had to know now. I was just waiting for the finger pointing, and the title of terrorist to be bestowed to the long list of labels given to me.