"It's okay, hun. You're okay. I'm here. Nothing is going to happen. I'm right here." Athen's words found their way to me just in time.

"What's going on?" I asked him, completely confused.

"You had a nightmare. I'm guessing it is going to begin coming back to you pretty quickly. I think it was a vision and not a good one."

I was doing my best to concentrate and think back to what it could be that caused my body to react like this. Only hours before I was in complete bliss, snuggling next to Athen. Nothing odd had popped into my head. I kept forcing myself to think about what could possibly have caused this. Hoping for any images that could have provoked this kind of physical response.

"How did you know?"

"Your screams alerted us all, sweetie. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. You were hollering for people to run to run from the fire. I couldn't decipher anything else. I kept a hold of you as best I could."

Arie pushed open the door carrying a cup of tea over to me.

"Thanks."

Taking a sip of the burning liquid, shocked me into remembering the horrors from moments before.

I had to stop myself before I uttered something I might regret or wasn't certain of.

They were on their way. How many of them I wasn't sure, but I saw swarms of them in my dreams several weeks ago. Everyone had been alerted, but that didn't make waiting for the first round of attacks any easier. I was so thankful that I had Athen back with me now that I was willing to face about anything in order to keep him with me or more pointedly, near me.

The word of my visions had been spread elsewhere, too, in case the Legions decided to involve more than only our immediate region. According to my vision, their plan was to begin attacking on the night of the Hunger Moon, and the Hunger Moon was tonight.

It was late afternoon now, and the dark skies began rolling in to welcome the night. We had devised a plan to attack in two stages, hoping to surprise the Legion members by having the second batch of us greet them with a renewed energy. Two rounds would be better than one, that was our hope anyway.

The front door was cracked open a tiny, little bit as if the uninvited guest wanted to make his presence known, teasing us some. I took a deep breath in as Athen pushed open the heavy, wood door leading into our home. Once he let go of my hand, I knew he was preparing for whatever fight might be waiting for us on the other side of the door.

What met us, however, was nothing but stale air. Our home was silent. No predators were in our s.p.a.ce. I knew this for a fact and judging by Athen's actions he did too. They had been here, no doubt, but they were no longer here. Our plan was beginning to unravel piece by piece. Legion members were already supposed to be in our home waiting for us. Arie and Cyril were waiting in town and had planned on s.p.a.cing their arrival to the home about ten minutes later than us, attempting to surprise the creatures with more of us than the demons' had initially planned.

Realizing now that things weren't going exactly like my premonition had laid them out, we knew we had better contact Arie and Cyril immediately. Athen dialed Cyril's cell only to be greeted by his voicemail. I looked out our living room window and saw a glow off in the distance and couldn't quite place what I was seeing. The orange glow seemed to be getting larger.

"Huh, that's odd." Athen looked at me with his eyebrows raised in a concerned expression. "You would think of all times to want to stay connected, this would be one of them..."

"Look out the window! What is that?"

He dialed Arie's cell and same thing straight to voicemail.

We moved closer to the window unsure of exactly what we were seeing. Not really wanting to believe what might be in front of us, growing by the second.

"Something's not right, hun. I don't have a good feeling." Athen said leading us to the couch. "Are you doing okay with everything?"

I looked at him in utter disbelief. I should be the one asking him that. He was the one who only recently came back to us. This entire process with him has been screwy from the beginning, so I don't know why I was expecting anything different.

"Yah, I'm doing fine. It's you I should be worried about. You're handling everything like a pro." I said placing my head on his chest. We had sat on the couch near the window so we could see anything or anyone coming up to the house. Neither of us wanted to admit what we thought we were seeing off in the distance until we could deny it no longer. Tiny sparks of orange began flying into the skyline, and I was sure of it now. Fires were being set. There had been small peaceful protests earlier in the day over the decision the game department had made to euthanize the cougars that were suspected in the human attacks, rather than removal and relocation. Unfortunately, only the underworld knew it wasn't the cougars attacking at all and the deaths would be for nothing. Apparently, the protests were peaceful no more.

Athen reached for his phone again and tried Cyril's number on speakerphone.

"h.e.l.lo?" Cyril was breathing heavily into the phone. It sounded like he was running somewhere. I could hear lots of commotion in the background.

"Hey, what's going on?" Athen asked.

"Nothing good. I can tell you that. How are things at the house?" He asked, as I heard Arie's voice coming over the phone yelling to someone to get down.

"Things are going too good here. Absolutely nothing, actually... Do you need our help?"

I could hear screams coming over the phone, sirens next.

"No, stay where you are. Things are getting hectic over here, and I think we'll do better apart dealing with whatever might be coming our way. Ana was right. The attacks are beginning. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it was only us who were the target. We'll get a handle on things and come home."

Arie was in the background trying to calm down a child who was looking for her parents. I had no idea what was going on, but it sounded horrible.

"What the heck is going on over there?" Athen asked.

"Well, let's see, in this area of the town we have fires being set, and across town sounds like mobs are beginning to form."

"Alright, well keep us posted." He hung up the phone and slowly placed it in on the couch arm, balancing it carefully as we were taking in information. Sensing my fear, he kissed the top of my head.

"Guess the plans have changed."

I was wracking my brain trying to think of anything that would have foreshadowed this and was coming up with nothing absolutely nothing. This wasn't part of what I saw in my visions. It seems like the game plan was doing a compete reversal or it was meant as a distraction. Athen tightened his arm around me, and I was so grateful for his touch again. His strength created a calming force that I needed more than anything right now. I had readied myself all week for this encounter with the demons in our home only to be left with nothing of the sort. Instead, humans were turning against each other and creating havoc in their own town.

A large group of people were making their way down the street, pa.s.sing right by our home waving things that were on fire, going who knows where. My hands began to get clammy. I didn't understand what was going on. We were set to fight the Legion members, privately in our home - tonight. Instead, it looked like the Legions were set on messing with the humans, persuading them to take to the streets. Seeing the strangers' images reflecting from the faint streetlights holding up their arms chanting, made me almost more frightened of them than the demons themselves.

"Do we really stay inside and do nothing?" I asked Athen. "I don't like the thought of Cyril and Arie out there in this mess. Lord knows what could happen."

"They will be home soon, sweetie. I think they want to check on everything, scope it out so we know what might be next. They won't put themselves in danger. There is only so much we can do."

His words did little to calm me as I waited for Cyril and Arie to return to our home while watching the mobs of people walking and chanting, with fists full of fire.

Chapter 23.

"Looks like my vision struck out." I announced rather deflated at the breakfast table.

"Doubtful." Arie looked up from her oatmeal. "My guess is the timing was just off. We need to stay vigilant, keep an eye out. I think what you saw, here in the house is still a high possibility. If you saw an attack in the house, I'd count on an attack in the house."

"Not exactly what I wanted to hear."

"Will the city go back to normal?" I was afraid to go into town for what I might see. The destruction that Cyril and Arie described sounded horrible and, in some cases, irreparable. Hearing the screams over the phone and seeing the mobs of flame-carrying people was more than I could understand, especially when thinking about this quaint little area. The worst part was knowing this was all being orchestrated by the demons.

"The Legions know what they are doing. They are definitely stirring it up and keeping us off guard."

"I'd say it was working." I looked directly Athen, hoping he would chime in, and he did.

"You're right. It is working, and it shouldn't be. We've got to stop falling for their traps." His voice was angry. "No more being reactive. We've got to start being proactive, or the battle is already lost."

"Yeah, I get it, but we are trying... Right? Here we thought we were going to trick the demons last night that were supposedly waiting for us to fight me in the house. Well, that didn't pan out. We can only play the game when the rules are somewhat consistent. As of now, nothing is off limits, and the rules keep changing. Hard to be proactive with those factors." I was incensed at being accused of not being proactive. Under the circ.u.mstances, we were all doing our best.

"We've got to figure out what they really want." Athen chided. "Or maybe admit that we already know." He said looking at me.

"Well, yeah." Cyril rolled his eyes. "If it were that easy we wouldn't be talking about it."

"Or are we all gonna keep dancing around things like Ana can't handle the facts. It's her truth for crying out loud." Athen was full-fledged yelling now. Anything to do with me, and his emotions seemed to come unglued. I wasn't sure if it was because of the process he just barely went through or what.

"I thought you guys had told me everything?" My interest level now up tenfold. "What's Athen talking about?" I stood up and went to stand behind Athen's chair glaring at Arie and Cyril.

"What aren't you telling me this time?"

"It's not for sure. That's why we didn't tell you." Arie's voice was almost unintelligible.

"Well, might as well now. Don't you think?" I asked, this time looking directly at Cyril. He looked at Arie and nodded his head.

"It has to do with a relationship of sorts, at least that is our theory."

"My dad? Remiel?"

"Partly, but there's more. It was a complicated relationship and seemed to have far-reaching consequences."

I knew, yet again, I was going to be in for a long conversation. I only hoped it would provide some answers that I so desperately needed.

"You're actually more like your mother than your father." Athen began.

The weight of what he implied hit me hard. Wondering what my mother had to do with any of this, my head began shaking in confusion. We weren't really ever aware of our mortal parents, and I didn't see the significance of what he was trying to tell me. The mortals were often extinguished right after our births.

"I don't understand what you're getting at. There's not a reason in the world that's relevant." Still shaking my head in confusion, I looked over at Athen hoping to see doubt in his eyes about what he was about to say. There was none.

"What we are facing is something deep-seated in the mythology. We were all hoping it wasn't pointing to it, but there is no way around it."

"Well, I'm not going to live in fear. Why don't you tell me where you're going with this?"

"Your mother was very captivating, to say the least. Just like you." Athen whispered. Catching Cyril roll his eyes, I couldn't help but chuckle, even though I knew what I was going to be told would change everything.

"Alright, keep truckin'..." My eyebrows seemed to be stuck in a perpetually confused state and the strain was wearing me out. I needed to hear it, whatever it was.

"Your mother was involved with your father. She chose him from many. Their love was like no other. There was one individual who we all have come to find out about recently, who wasn't accepting of that. He felt your mother should have been with him. Your mother never intended for that scenario to even be in the picture. She was quite disgusted by his persistence, and your father stepped in. He had no choice. Your mother's life was in danger."

"Why is that coming back to us now?" I was worried for what was going to come next.

"Because it was Azazel who was in love with your mother. He has never forgiven your father, and apparently you're the next best thing."

The words Athen finished with shook through my body, carrying with it the weight of the world. Things were beginning to make a lot more sense now and at the same time making absolutely no sense at all.

Not wanting to speak the words going through my mind over and over again, I shut my eyes, pretending I was by myself and wouldn't hear the answer. Mind games could always be counted on to cover up for my weaknesses.

My voice left my body. "Can we end it? Do we even have a shot if it's me he's after?"

Athen reached over and pulled me to him.

"We won't give up, if that's what you mean."

That's not what I meant, but the answer would have to do for now.

After roaming our home in a zombie-like state, carrying the burden of the knowledge I now had haunting my every move, I decided a change of scenery was definitely in order. Hoping that a trip back to Whistler would bring me the comfort I longed for, remembering all of the wonderful times I shared with Athen during the entire reintroduction process I went through, and the amount of love that we had shared made me hopeful that was the exact place to be to get my mind sorted.

I was able to convince everyone that a trip to Whistler was in order. It didn't take much effort. We had wanted to check on everything and everyone who was up there. Things had been very rough on us all, but the main excitement it seemed for Cyril and Arie was the thought of more training, flying and shapeshifting. The thought of one, let alone both, freaked me out.

The Sea to Sky highway taking us up to the village was going to be pretty much free and clear of snow. There was still snow on top of Whistler Mountain, and the diehards were up there soaking up every last second of skiing, but down in the village, it would be almost spring-like.

Athen had already gotten what few belongings he had at the other place where he was staying all this time. I wasn't really positive if I wanted to come back to Victoria, but I felt that the away time, even though short, would be good. Maybe, I'd be able to return to the home in Victoria with a fresh slate, Athen by my side. Those words alone were enough to make me float away.

Having him back was my own form of ecstasy. His beautiful green eyes always shining kindly at me along with his amazing thoughtfulness would probably never get old. It was as if we never missed a beat, the last few months were turning into a distant nightmare, or at least that's what I told myself.

Athen had taken Matilda out for a walk at the local park, and I was getting the rest of the things packed up. Trying not to let my mind wander to a place I didn't want to go, I found Cyril and Arie in the living room to distract me. They seemed a little distracted themselves, which struck me as odd, but they had their bags all ready and waiting by the entry.

"Well you look a little nervous." Arie said, teasing me. Not really being in the mood, I glared at her, shoving away the guilt for doing that to such a nice person.

"Too soon?" She asked, grinning.

"Alright, yes, I'm scared to death that Lilith will sink her teeth into him while he's out and about." It felt kind of good to get it out in the open. "Blah, blah, I know I don't need to worry about it, but it's hard not to."

Right on cue, Athen opened the front door with Matilda leading the way. Scanning the room, Athen darted over to me, whipping an entire bunch of white roses out from behind him. My fears instantly melted away, leaving nothing but a dose of foolishness in its trail for letting my paranoia get the better of me. Hoping Cyril and Arie would keep quiet, I did my best at shooting them a stare as Athen grabbed me.

"I thought you needed more than that spindly one you had hanging upside down on the wall." My cheeks immediately filled with the blush that only he could produce.

"Thank you, my love." I whispered.

Matilda was already standing back at the door, obviously waiting for her next adventure, and having missed her for so long, it was fine with me if she got to call the shots as we all proceeded to the door for our trip up north.

Whistler greeted us with the warmth that I'd missed so greatly while down south. The familiarity was plastered all over the buildings, statues, and sidewalks creating an excitement for the days to come. But that was knocked down as we turned onto the drive leading us to our home; that's when, unexpectedly, my nerves began to surface a bit. I wasn't sure what exactly was signaling for me to be so cautious, but I began to feel that a lot of things had shifted far more than we realized.

"You feeling that?" I asked.

"Sure am." Cyril answered.

We pulled into our garage full of uncertainty. Athen grabbed my hand for a quick squeeze before we all got out of the car. Matilda was still sleeping hard so we let her stay behind.