Carlos had his head buried in the old books in the library. The building was massive, and it was easy to get lost within its walls. How much joy he had when he found somewhere quiet to sit and read. It made him laugh, the idea of enjoying any sort of text.
Before, during school, reading was always a chore.
Maybe it was the power he felt brimming inside his blood. All the excitement of spilling Takabi's blood soon, watching the light fade from his eyes and proving he's better than the normal human. It was a dream come true, one that hopefully will make itself known to all soon.
Carlos touched his chest, his heart ramming impatiently against his ribs. His blood boiled, and eyes shined brightly in the dimly lit room. The doors swung open, and he was expecting to see Lukas come strolling inside.
What caught his eye left him with a growing curiosity.
Nana peered at him. Her brown eyes, that were dim before, developed an intense color of anger and hatred. Air burst around her, whipping about, slicing through scattered book after book. Carlos closed the novel in his hand and placed it on the table he was leaning against, the old redwood creaking weakly under the book's weight. He stepped towards her with a calm and collected movement.
Carlos, in his mind, was as fluid as water.
"How'd you get out?"
Nana responded with a wiggle of her nose. Air rushed under her arm, cutting Carlos' cheek instantly. Blood oozed, but the wound closed quickly in a thin layer of steam.
"Right to the point then? Don't you want to talk at least, Mami?"
"Screw you," She spat out. "And don't call me that. Where are the others?"
"Anywhere," He replied. "I had Lukas put you all away. Had to catch up on my reading personally." Carlos rolled up his long sleeves, stretching wide and yawning loudly.
Nana narrowed her eyes, darkness slowly oozing from her pores.
Once finished, Carlos noticed her change in attitude, the growing anger that was clearly bubbling up within the Angel. "What's with you? I thought Angels weren't capable of holding Darkness inside? Evil Intent kind of clashes with who you are."
Nana cracked a smile then. It was a cold smile, one that sent a chill through Carlos. "People can change. I have, and I welcome it."
"Change." He repeated the word so cautiously. His eyes looked over Nana closely, until he noticed the faint change in her hair. A couple of white strands towards the end. The corner of his lips rose in a smile of satisfaction. "So, you too then?"
"Yeah. Me too."
Wind gathered around her hands, hair flowing in the breeze. Her hardened eyes glowed faintly, a mixture of brown and violet. Heat escaped her pores, more than she was used to feeling naturally. "This power. His power will help me put you down."
"Do you even know who's in the right here? You've been following him blindly because of what? Love? Open your eyes Nana." Carlos pulled up a chair and sat down. "He tainted you. Made you like him. Like Kairas. Like me. You're not pure anymore. You're a defect from Heaven. Are you sure you can live with that? Live with God and your parents looking down on you and turning their backs?"
She was quiet as he spoke. Nothing would break her resolve. She knew herself, what she wanted and what to do with her life. Tainting herself, turning into something different, using his strength.
It was needed, and bound to happen.
After all, Nana developing these traits, only meant she was closer to raising a family with him. Being his bride meant becoming a Fallen Angel, and Nana wouldn't hesitate to do so. "Enough, Carlos."
The boy shrugged and slicked his hair back. "Yeah. I was bored of just talking anyway."
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Takabi narrowed his eyes. Landing on a branch softly, his vision scanned over the rundown structure before him. Frannie stepped through the bushes at the bottom of the tree with Porrelth, followed by Shine and Garuga. The three young ones allowed themselves to scan for entrances and exits, guards or anything they could use to their advantage. The more they studied the mansion, the more questions rose in their minds.
A place removed from the rest of Dreulara. Someone's home, who Takabi assumed to be Julius'. How wrong he was. There was something scribbled on the inside wall, visible from the window on the second floor. A wing, scaled, broken and red paint oozing down like blood.
"What is that," Hailey asked. She approached behind Garuga, who was visibly tense and disturbed.
"It's a warning," Shine replied, looking back at her and then approaching Porrelth. "No idea who for. Think they know we're coming?"
"Of course they do." The group looked at Takabi. "Carlos is expecting me. I can feel it."
"Let's find a way inside then," Shine said. "No sense in standing around."
Takabi leapt down from the tree, landing in the middle of everyone. Garuga coughed into his fist, noting the faint specks of blood on his fingers. Hiding it to the best of his ability, he began to speak, voice strained and hoarse.
"We'll split up to cover more ground. Hailey, tag with Takabi and try to find the others. If you see Carlos, kill him without hesitation."
Takabi twitched. Hailey glanced at him quickly and nodded.
"Shine, Frannie. Search this house. I don't know if you guys can feel it, but there's an intense cloud of Mana flowing out from underneath. No doubt it's coming from the basement. Find out what it is, and shut it down." He paused for a moment, looking around and upwards. "I think there's still an elevator shaft on the roof. Climb up top from the Garden 'round back."
The teens looked at one another, before eyeing Garuga and Frannie asking, "Have you been here before?"
He chose to ignore the question, turning his attention to Porrelth. "We'll go find that Shadow. If he really is a Dragon, it's our job to put him down." Porrelth nodded, smiling and bumping his knuckles against Garuga's chest. "If all goes well, we'll meet back here. Understood?"
Nodding, everyone bumped their fists together in a circle, before bodies flickering and vanishing into thin air.