Risen: Beginning of a Legacy

Chapter Thirty Three: Evangeline

                                       ....DeeDee is much prettier than you.                         -- like she didn't know that?Your uncle kept all this from you, let you grow up isolated...                                               -- she should want to hurt him.

Evangeline scrunched up her face, the pain in her mind intensified and the multitude of voices grew louder, their words a bitter, soul deep agony.
     'Stop.' she whispered.
Her eyes were hot with tears and as she brought her fists to her temples to try and rub away the thoughts, the dark voice, her voice, merely laughed. It was all her deepest fears and concerns made real in a poisonous version of her own voice giving reality to her subconscious weaknesses, flaws, doubts.

           I am pathetic, barely able to trust. How can this world be part of me?
                               ...Simple virgin girl, playing at a heroine...
Your stranger parents would be ashamed of your struggles.
                Her parents...

The ones that had died protecting her and countless others. Evangeline opened her eyes, seeing through hazy vision Alecto and Adonis; their fight much less strong and determined now. She forced herself up, stretching out a hand. Behind them she could almost see another figure beyond the balcony doors, stood in the darkness, looking in.
     The outline shifted and the swirling madness whirred with greater force. With an almighty roar and crack, the stone wall behind Adonis split apart. Stone upon glass, upon stones shuddered and crashed together as the side of the wall and balcony came undone and plummeted to the ground. The wailing howl of wind rushed in and met the already swirling current within.
     Evangeline felt the two parts collide and as the floor shook and more stone fell away, down into the dark night she lost balance, having to struggle back up from her sore knees that had taken the impact of the fall.
     'Adonis, take my hand!' she screamed.
Only in this close range could she see the deep gouges in his torso and down his shoulder. The claw marks marred his otherwise perfect body and in seeing the ugly horror Evangeline's heart ripped apart.
     This was a descendent of Herakles and Venus herself! One of the few close relations she had left. His leg looked mangled, and yet he fought on, the pain not besting him.
     Evangeline was not losing him to Darklore. Not while she had strength left. She heard Alecto cry out beside her as a desk upturned in the chaos and collided with his head. He went down and the Phantom tendrils began to inch closer to his prone form.
     A Pheral Horde appeared in the jagged rubble once standing as the east wall of the library, his hand, tendrils of Darklore, not quite corporeal stretched out and gripped Adonis by the ankle. Others around them chuckled and Evangeline shook. They were targeting Adonis, why?!
     As an aftershock rumbled through the floor, Adonis lost his footing, and in the confusion the Horde gripping his ankle aided the vortex whipping about them and with a final tug Adonis tumbled out of the gaping hole behind him.
     'NO!'
Evangeline didn't think, slashing the Darklore coiling around her waist with her quarterstaff, she sprinted across the few last steps of remaining ground and flung herself out the library. Adonis was plunging towards the ground. A mosaic of rubble, jagged and deadly seemed to stretch out in hopes of catching him.
     'Ostende mihi alas permisit eos exire, liceat mihi CONSCENDO!' Evangeline exclaimed.
     As her arms closed around Adonis' midriff, she felt warm heat drench her back and shoulder blades. 'Show me my wings, allow them to come forth, allow me to soar.' Evangeline whispered the words again, the English version of her summons feeling right on her lips.
     For the briefest of seconds nothing else happened but then light exploded from behind her and a fluttering warmth filled her from her core outward until she felt it everywhere. Silk strength filled the length of her shoulder blades as if sensing a part of her body for the first time after waking. The sensation ran on, further and further until glorious white wings surrounded Evangeline. With a fluid beat of power and purpose; she and Adonis rose from their fall and almost death upon the ground.
     On reaching the rough opening that had been created by the Darklore, Evangeline placed Adonis gently on the now quiet library floor. The tendrils of poison seemed to be subdued, and scurried away like the vermin they were as the Elysium light filling each feather, banished them. The immediate area around her remained bright and warm.
     Evangeline barely registered her new acquisition, that part of her so responsive it arched up protectively without her really thinking on it. It was like a muscle she had never noticed before but instinct promised she'd know how to use it now she remembered it was part of her body.
     The Horde began to recover from her blast of Elysium, phantom Horde grasping out and probing closer. Evangeline dipped to where she'd placed Adonis' battered body, she dug into her jeans pocket for the summons ink stick each angelus candidate had been ordered to carry with them and drew a rough circle into the ground around Adonis.
     A circle of protection.
     A circle promising his fight would be repaid.
     A circle of safety, at least if she summoned it correctly.
The tendrils recoiled, feeling the new strength in her protection summons. Then scoring a lightning styled line in the northern most area of the circle she locked in the protection. The markings glowed a little in obedience and she murmured.
     'By the grace of Elysium, protect him.'
The feathers rustled behind her and the light intensified around Adonis. Evangeline finished the mirrored marking on the back of her hand, rose and turned to the next problem. Alecto was surrounded, his body crawling with Darklore. Evangeline scored two symbols onto her palms and brought her hands together.
     The vortex around them rumbled, the darkness whipped at her but the sting of the lashes was minimal, her wings beat most of it back. A roar from Horde in the area made her skin crawl. She wasn't sure what to summon. Fear sliced her mind for a moment but she ignored the voices, and yelled intuitively over the racket.
     'Release Alecto! Light of Elysium, of Angyali before me, help me now.'
The beam of light tore through her muscles but Evangeline held firm and the light manifested as a laser of strength that shredded the tendrils crawling over Alecto.
     In her focus, she missed the danger. In a howl of vengeance, the skӧll Evangeline thought defeated launched himself at her and his jaws crunched down on her forearm.
     Evangeline screamed. Pain exploded from the point where sharp teeth punctured her skin and raced up, spreading throughout her body. Evangeline fell to her knees as the wolf daemon snarled, refusing to relinquish her arm. Please gods, Evangeline prayed, don't let me die. . .


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