When Kali returned to the present - so to speak - she almost considered watching this again. So many questions filled her brain. If her mind were a room, it would be catastrophically messy.

This Ephiral kept coming up and was left more confused each time she heard the name. A fallen Seraph, but what was Seraph? A being of fire, she was told. Well, what did it look like? Kali was given about twenty different interpretations.

Not to mention she had no clear motive or consistency of actions. Lack of communication according to reports and book. If Kyrik didn’t know either, then who was she to?

Regardless, that wasn’t the thing she was supposed to take away from. If she were a betting dragon, the Wrathblade was what the shriker intended her to focus on. Not just that, she began to realize, but the implications involved.

Was it possible that Azulia was responsible for the deaths of at least one of the twins? Not much was known about that last few weeks. If she was as deceptive as Kali knew her to be, then it was well within the realm of possibility. It would explain how she had it instead of, say, Jirmen.

There was no way Aurgal, who knew just what type of individual Azulia was, would allow her to take it even after death.

That raised the question of the blade. If it was as powerful as implied, then there was no way Azulia would just hang it for everyone to see. She would keep it private; hidden. If not simply use it for herself.

“Oh.” Kali said aloud, finally putting together the pieces. “Oh no.”

If what she concluded was right, then Kyrik was in danger.

As she walked out of the throne room, another shift happened. There was no way this was coincidental, either. Not after what she had just seen. There was something just so malevolent about this one. Like a deadly premonition. Out of the corner of her eye, she was sure she saw someone moving swiftly down the hall before a wall formed itself.

Glancing ahead, she saw that she was in some sort of…place. Kali had no idea where this was, but it looked like some sort of barracks. More specifically, the medical wing of a barracks. One that was completely clean, which only unnerved her more. Cots finely made. Equipment doctors would use on the walls, perfectly intact. Small desks polished with minimal scratches. Come to think of it, this was similar to where Kali first woke up after crashing.

There was even that steam device. It was called an Exothermic…she forgot the last part of it. Supposed to create heat. Small and compact, it had a small whistle to it. Not enough to hurt her fears but enough to wonder how anyone could tolerate it after a while.

Stepping out, she entered a dim lit corridor. In it, she saw a few abyseans. Much like Lei, they were covered head to claw in thick armor. Steam-powered rifles hooked to their backs with blades on their hips. They talked to each other in their native language; abysean.

They weren’t creative with names from what Kali discovered.

There was one thing she could do to get an idea of where they are. Problem was, if she tried and messed up ever so slightly, they would be on high alert. Either that or knocked unconscious. She would like to avoid both if possible.

Having little choice, she looked at the closest one and reached out with her mind. Like spectral roots, they gently prodded the outer barriers. Most had flimsy ones, not noticing her presence. Kali was a bit dismayed to find it stronger than most, but thankfully not as hard as it first appeared. With a bit of pressure, she was in.

Memories floated before her, all shifting and shuffling around each other. Such as it was in the conscious mind. All she had to do was focus, to find windows that looked into this area. It didn’t take her long to find a few of them, but they were distorted. Lots of blanks before she found one with Lei in it.

“If that dreamtender or Jirmen shows up without the reaper, you are to bring them to me.” Lei had ordered. “If together, they are allowed. So decrees our queen, anyway.”

Well, that was fine and dandy, but where were they?

“Hey, what’s that glow?” A voice questioned. Kali quickly retreated from the mind of the abysean, confused.

How did she understand their language again? She didn’t remember being able to-oh, right. How could she forget? Mind reading usually came with that. It was surprising that she hadn’t run across a need to do that with abyseans yet.

Well great, she was going to have to get her claws dirty. Somehow, Kali didn’t mind. All this anger had to go somewhere. She was too hard on Kyrik earlier. Time to vent.

Knowing their orders, Kali had no qualms in using her powers. The mind was a fickle thing and could be easily manipulated. When she jumped out to confront the abysean, she wasn’t alone. Rather, she had four ‘copies’ of herself in his mind. One of her favorite tricks if she were truthful.

He fired into the air, allowing Kali to deliver a powerful kick. Her flame element activated right before the hit, causing small flames to burst out along the chest. The helmet clinked off, revealing that the abysean was sinking into the shadows.

The other two fired upon her, bullets flying past. With a powerful flap of her wings, she slammed her horns into the chest of the closest one at full speed. The crack she felt indicated they wouldn’t be getting up any time soon.

The shadowed one came lurching out of the wall, an elongated claw slicing at her. Not any of her clones, at her. It was all she could do to avoid the attack, watching it glide through the other wall. The other one seemed to pick up the idea and faded as well, dropping its weapon.

The place was dark, and she could feel the eyes and hear the small shifts in wind. Knowing them, they were going to come at her together. No doubt one will be sent to distract her while the other enclosed.

So, she did the most logical thing and illuminated the entire area with fire. With the shadows completely gone, she could see one of them that was sneaking up behind her. It shrieked, and to her great surprise, could be taken out with a burst of flame. Her tail connected with its shadowy body, throwing it against the wall where it turned back to normal.

CRACK!

Pain lit up Kali’s shoulder like she’d been punched by a train. Blood splattered the floor in front of her, flowing like a river down her arm. With teary eyes, she saw that the last abysean had reformed and was now holding a rifle, the tip hissing with steam.

The next few seconds were a blur. The way it reacted was out of fear, matching Kali’s own. Then, it was on the ground, she standing over it. Panic flooded Kali’s mind, and she was unable to think. Claws clicked from behind her, and without hesitation, she sprang into attack.

Only to have another train smack her in the chest and onto her back. The shock of the blow made her lower body tingle and for a second thought it paralyzed.

“You know,” Lei stood above her, eyes shifting lazily to the unconscious bodies, “I’m almost impressed. Taking out some Saiths and attacking me. I think I may be starting to like you. However,” The vampyric abysean knelt down, the weight of his armor vibrating the ground, “you are trespassing.”

“Tell that to the castle, because I exited the throne room and wound up here.” Kali snarled.

Lei appeared genuinely surprised. “That’s impossible.”

“How else would I end up here?”

He didn’t answer. “Up. We have much to discuss with Queen Azulia.” Kali indicated to her wound as a reply. Her everything hurt again at this point. “Hm. That is a problem. Too bad you aren’t a Vampyr; you could heal yourself by draining back lost blood.”

“I don’t know if my kind can become one.”

“Care to try?”

“No.”