"Can you hear me? I've always hated these one way convo's, sorry conversations. Can you tell that I've been spending too much time in school?," I laugh. "You'd be happy to know that Jasün is doing well. He finished freshman year with straight A's, sorry I already told you that. Umm… oh, he still doesn't feel comfortable trying out for sports. Which leads to my next topic, Jorge's family is still the only non-blood related humans that know Jasün is the Rogue. Hmm… I believe that's all the non-official business to report. Something that may be concerning, Jasün had a contact vision last night. He had brief communications with a female that he believes to be human. Based on his description, she has most likely been tortured, may not be human, and seems to be young, possibly early twenties based on current fashion trends. The vision happened during an induced nightmare about the day we lost you, contact was made in one of the underground cells of the prison. I'm on my way now to confirm the prison's operational status. Given the deal you made with Madam Edale, it'd be interesting to see what became of the facility." I kneeled down placing the flowers on the ground in front of the tombstone. "I recently learned that I should leave a dime here, don't worry it's polished." I took the shiny coin out of my purse and placed it on the gravestone. I looked again at the writing on the gravestone.

Thomas Combe

The Split Shot Paladin

The first taken by the Rogue

Well it's not entirely wrong, but I wish it was more accurate. I get up and start the peacefully dreadful walk past the rows of graves towards a clearing. The graveyard here has both normal humans and Paladins buried next to their loved ones, friends, and a few Paladins from the South that never revealed themselves to the public. I think that would have been worse, if Thomas never revealed himself and left a gravestone that only memorialized one half of him. But I guess that's what his current gravestone reads. I approach the peaceful clearing. It's always quiet here, even on Sundays after Ruby Saints service ends. I've seen many people paying respects often but I doubt they know of the peace at this archway, or of its alternate purpose. I take a match from my purse and light it. The flame probably lasted for less than a second before the wind extinguished it.

"Oh, c'mon, I haven't even started the spell yet!" I shout… at no one.

I light another match and place it under the archway, as close to the middle as possible. Despite being in dry grass, the flame doesn't spread much. I take a few steps back holding my hand out, reaching for the flame. I slowly make a fist, as the feeling of heat grows in my palm the size of the flame grows to match. The once baby flicker is now a small campfire-like flame as my fist is fully clenched. I quickly raise my other fist, bringing both together to prevent the fire from growing any further. I can feel the heat evenly in both fists, I have full control of my small campfire now. I slowly pull my fists apart, splitting the fire and spreading it to the left and right. The flame stops at each end of the archway, I drop my arms releasing the flame from my control. Depending on the stress this has on the human body, this may be a good workout for the boys, I'm not sure where we would do something like this everyday though.

"Focus!" I whisper to myself, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I open my eyes and plant my feet, focusing on the arch. "Conjuro potentia Ānanda, patefacas a porta ad inferno sic mea deamones transire et urantamos hic mundus." The flame flickers and the once white archway is now a dismal shade of gray...but nothing beyond that. "Um, hello? Knight of Hell here," I said, knocking on the now cracking arch. Did I forget something? I know I said everything right, OH! "Ut inter mundos iter pereamus." And just like that, my door fizzles open. For a moment there I thought I was going to have to hunt down Charon. I zip up my purse and walk through the portal.

Once again I'm in the silent garden, I turn around to make sure the door closes behind me...it's still open. Just as I got ready to step closer and investigate, it snapped shut. I don't know why it stayed open for so long but hopefully it's nothing serious. I extend my wings, it's been so long that it feels like a morning stretch after leg day. I take a moment, flex and flap them a couple times before taking off. I go straight up so I can get a view above the treeline. This place has no clouds to greet you in the sky, only a gray murkiness. I don't like being this high up when in Hell but unfortunately this is the quickest way to find the facility. I spot it on my left and slowly turn towards it, shifting my wings into position. Now facing the right direction I burst forward, holding back only enough to avoid creating a sonic boom.

I often forget this feeling of wind on my face, it's subtle here but it's enough to make me want to fly more. I'm nearing the cliff, I slowly lean into a dive. On my descent I brake with my wings and land feet first, now I have a clear view of the facility...one that seems familiar. I look down over the cliff and see my old dagger still hanging on, I quickly grab it.

"Oh how I've missed you! We'll be able to make people cry again," I say to my dagger as if expecting a response. I put the dagger back in my purse and shifted my focus. I can't tell if the facility is operational from here and if I get too close I run the risk of being spotted.

"Hey! This area is locked down, state your name!," a voice commanded from behind.

I guess I have to get my dagger back out, but at least I don't have to fly over there now. Ugh, I can't believe this, I might actually have to train Jorge now.

"HEY! Can you hear?!," the voice continued.

But if the facility is operational, we don’t know if the girl that Jasün saw is inside, or if she’s even alive. Well here's to hoping this guard goes inside sometimes.

"Ānanda, Knight of Hell, the First Legion," I answered while turning around. "And I don't think I have clearance here, maybe you can help me with that."

"Oh sorry ma'am but the Warden didn't say he was expecting any Knights to visit. I'm sure he will still be happy to show you the progress we've made though."

"He?," I asked while taking my dagger out. The guard’s dark green skin and scars is loosely covered in worn armor and bandages, it makes him look more like a brutish ogre than a demon. Oh gosh, I've been hanging out with those nerds too much. I hold up my old dagger, the runes glow a seering red as if the dagger knew what was to come. It's been a few centuries since I've used my dagger, properly anyway. "Tell me, do you know what this is?," I asked while holding up my blade.

"That's a torture blade right? One of the first I'm assuming."

"That's right it's—wait what do you mean one of the first?"

"Well, I just thought that, given who you are–"

"Are you calling me old?!" I shout at the shivering brute.

"No, no, no! Well wait, aren't you old?" he asked, confused.

"Mmhmm. So I was just going to interrogate you using the blade for intimidation, but now…," I pause for a moment. The blade's glow, a shivering demon, and I'm in Hell again, this brings back some memories. "How would you like to help me make a new memory?"

----------------------------------------

I close the door and walk around the car towards Jorge. "Āna should meet up wit' us after she leaves the house."

"So should we just go pick up the stuff for the summoning then?," he asked.

"It'd be best if we waited on Āna, dealin' wit' the peoples in Black Terra is more her thing. Besides, I thought we were gon' watch tha' Terrion movie."

"C'mon man, you really think she gon' take 'bout three hours wit' Granny?"

"Well it depends on what she has her doin'," as I say that my phone beeps. "Hol' up, this might be her."

"Doubt."

I check my messages, 'im leavin grannys then ill meet u at wcd'. "Āna said she just left, she'll meet us at the Wild Candy Diner."

"Ugh, well at least we can chill for a bit. I finished my list, so we can go over it while we get something to drink."

"How did you do the list?," I was curious how he finished it so fast.

"What do you mean? All I did was write down the names of the ones that seemed helpful."

"Umm...what kinda' names did ya list?"

"You want me to read it now?"

"Naw, let's just head to Wild Candy first," I said, opening the door.

We came in on the food court side, rumor is it's closer to Black Terra Market. The food court here is a pretty decent size I think, about as big as the cul-de-sac near our street. I'm not sure where Black Terra is from the food court though, never been there myself, and the only thing Āna tells me about it are the clothes she gets from there, so gossip is all we have to go on. She shouldn't take long, plus we can get some drinks while I go over Jorge's list.

"Here's the diner," Jorge said, heading in.

"Let's try to get a booth this time, yeah?" I asked.

"Calm down, they added more booths."

"Oh, they expanded backwards… I don't like it."

"C'mon, let's sit here."

The Wild Candy Diner is a pretty cool place, it looks like someone took a bar from a classic sitcom then changed the menu to cater for kids. The only alcohol here is the rubbing alcohol in the first aid kit. While the menu is clearly for kids, the place has more of a "teen hangout" vibe. It's also run almost exclusively by teens, besides the owner and general manager, the oldest employee looks like the cook, and he’s a college freshman. If I didn't have to train so much, this is the kind of place I'd like to work at after school.

"Hey there Jorge! How are you?," the bartender asked.

"We're good Rudy," Jorge answered, "we're just chillin' for a bit. Waitin' on someone."

"Aight, hey I'ma send one of our new girls your way, go easy on 'er yeah?"

"Yeah, no prob'."

Rudy, is a junior in one of Jorge's classes, or rather Jorge is in one of her classes, statistics II. Jorge is ahead of the curve when it comes to math and science, but he also gets good grades in every other subject too. He's currently taking a junior level science, a junior level math, and the Minor Unholy studies I class which is full of juniors, seniors, and me. Plus the rest of the core stuff and P.E.. Although Minor Unholy studies is a religious science, I only surpass him due to my first hand experience. If I weren't a Paladin, I might not even be in the class this year. We go to sit down and are immediately greeted by a bubbly waitress.

"Hi! My name is Chloe and I'll be your server today!," she said, handing us menus. "I don't have many tables right now, so you can just call me over whenever you're ready!"

As I look over the menu for new specials, I hear wheels rolling as Chloe seems to glide away. I look over to see her in roller skates, I think she's the first waitress I've seen here with roller skates.

"Jorge, are the roller skates somethin' new?," I ask quietly.

"Naw, but not every waitress wears 'em," he answered. "When was the last time ya' were here bro?"

"Uhh…I think that time I summoned a launcher."

"Bro it sounds like you're askin' me not telling."

"Yeah, it's been awhile."

My training has limited my social life to mostly Jorge, but I don't really mind. Āna says I still need the training but I feel more than ready for a real fight. Then again, there is also the issue of exposure. No matter how many hellspawn I kill or people I save, everyone will still look at me like I'm the antichrist. I guess the only fight I'm truly ready for is against Hell. Besides, even if I did save someone they'd most likely run away instead of thanking me. Then there's the ones who won't run… Before Iris I never had a clear image of someone that wanted me to save them. I guess that means we should get to work then.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Yo let me see tha' list you got," I said.

"Uhhh, why don't you order first," Jorge said.

"I'm just gettin' a float, you can order that for me."

"Mmhmm, alright," Jorge said, handing me his phone.

"What?”

"You know you can get something besides shakes and floats."

"I get malts too, besides we're just waitin' for Āna, we don't need to eat right now."

I shift my focus onto Jorge's list, I recognize a few of the names: Bael, Furcas, and Seere. This one, Asmoday, seems familiar but I've never seen the last two, Shan and Murmur. If I remember correctly, to summon any hellspawn whose name you don't know you have to summon from their class and get lucky. Demon classes are just that, a class on how to be a demon. Numerous high ranking demons teach lesser hellspawn magic techniques, combat techniques, and even basic education to raise their skill levels. After graduating the class the demon is likely assimilated into a legion, most of the classes are taught by generals and princes. Those same generals and princes of hell may command one or more legions of demons and typically a legion specializes in some form of warfare. Actually, I should probably explain to Jorge how summoning these demons work.

"Okay so, first of all we won't be summonin' any of tha' peeps listed here," I begin.

"Awww c'mon," Jorge protested.

"Ya' cut me off. We won't be summonin' any of them because we'll actually be summoning one of their students."

"Hi! Are you two ready to order?," Chloe chimed in.

"Yeah," Jorge answered. "I'll have a small caramel sundae wit' pecans on the side and a medium root beer float for my friend."

"Okay and did you want anything extra on your float?"

"Um no, just tha' float," I answered. What extra stuff am I supposed to get on a float, toppings?

"Alright, well your ice cream will be ready in a few, can I take your menus?"

"Sure," Jorge said, handing her his menu.

"Actually, I'ma hold this one. We're expecting one more," I said.

"Oh no prob', I'll be back when your ice cream is ready."

I get my phone and text Āna to see where she is. I'm not sure what Granny needed from her but hopefully it didn't drain her too much.

"You textin' Ānanda?," Jorge asked.

"Yeah," I answered with a chuckle, "just checkin' on her. Y'know you could call 'er Āna, right?"

"No thanks, I prefer to not get hurt over a name."

"Anyway, like I said, we would be summoning one of these demon's students. It would be far too dangerous to summon one of these guys directly. You get what I'm sayin'?"

"I think so. So each of the demons I listed are teachers for other demons and we're summoning one of their students?"

"Exactly, so we look at what each one teaches then decide which student to summon."

"Okay bet… so what do each of them teach?"

"I only know what a few of them teach. Beal is an eastern king that teaches sciences and invisibility. Furcas is an old knight that teaches logic, philosophy, astrology, pyromancy and something else. Seere teaches umm... how do I word it?"

"Is it somethin' weird?"

"Naw, just kinda hard to explain. To oversimplify it, she trains demons to be the perfect spy."

"Oh, that's pretty cool. So if we were to summon from Seere we'd end up with a devil spy? Spy devil?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure they'd be more than just a spy."

"Right, right, personality and stuff. 'Human-like is still Human'."

"Well I actually mean that they may have been taught by someone else as well."

"...So we could have a fire-breathing spy that can transform into a dragon-human hybrid?"

"Umm...that's highly specific, but yeah I guess we could," I answered, concerned for what Jorge may have planned for the poor devil.

"Okay, okay, chill."

"Alright boys, here's your sundae," Chloe interrupted, setting the bowl of caramel delight in front of Jorge. "And your float." Chloe set the float and a bottle of root beer down in front of me. She placed a can of whipped cream between the two of us then gave us some napkins and spoons. "Call me over if you two need anything else," Chloe said, rolling away while Jorge started creating a mountain of whipped cream.

"Jorge," he looked up at me like a deer in headlights. "Are we able to get all the prerequisites?"

"What, the soul?," he said, continuing with the whipped cream, "that won't be a problem."

"No, no. Bro this is a magical spell, so that means we'll need prerequisites, A.K.A. the right ingredients."

"So we're basically following a cookin' recipe?"

"If you want to look at it that way, yeah. But based on these demons listed we'll need a binding spell."

"What about Ānanda?"

"I guess she might know a few,"

"Nah, we can use her to keep the devil in check."

"Then what happens when she leaves?"

"Oh…," he answered, leaving his spoon in his mouth.

"Let me see if I can find something," I said, pulling out my phone. Āna should've texted me back already, hopefully we aren't waiting too long. Did we check out that book to reference later? I need the right words to search… maybe just 'binding spell'?

"Could I bloodlink with them?," Jorge asked.

"NO!," I accidentally shouted out. Glancing past him, I notice a group of people look back at us. I clear my throat, "sorry, but that's a permanent thing. Like 'til death type of permanent."

"Alright bro, it's good. You found another way to control 'em?"

"Control who?," Āna asked from behind, shopping bags in hand, "scoot over Jay."

"When did you get to the mall and why didn't you text me back?"

"Wow, I just got here, can't I enjoy my ice cream first?," she asked, pulling a spoon from…where'd she get a spoon?

"That's Jay's," Jorge pleaded as Āna grabbed my float. "...Okay then."

"It's fine bro, I still got the root beer. Anyway-"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," she interrupted. "I'll try to text you back next time so you don't have to worry." Jorge had trouble holding back his laughter.

"Right, not worried 'bout you," I quickly respond.

"What?," she said, looking at me innocently. "You don't care about me?" Looking at her face it's hard to imagine her as one of the most ruthless warriors to come out of Hell.

"Chill, you know I care but we need your help."

"You should say it, say I care about you, as an apology."

"Fine, Āna I do care about you," I said, bringing a smile to her face. "Now can you help us?"

"Is this about the Iris girl?"

"Her name is Iris, yes."

"Yeah, well she may be in that facility, I didn't have the time to check," she said, quickly shifting her attitude and my thought process.

"So the prison's fully operational?"

"No it's not. Wait were you two lookin' for something else?"

"Uhm, bindin' spells I think," Jorge answered.

"For devils," I added.

"Bindings for devils," Jorge snickered at the remark.

"Dude."

"Oooh, I get it," Āna said giggling. "Anyway, whyyy?"

"I need help wi-"

"WE need help wit' this mission to get Iris," I interrupted Jorge.

"...Mmhmm," Āna moved the float to the side. "Jorge, look at me. What do you need a binding spell for?"

"Uhhh," Jorge looked over at me.

"Don't look at Jay!" Āna snapped. "Look at me, why do you want to bind a devil?"

"Ummm, okay so… We're gonna kill two birds wit' one stone see. We get a devil and bind it then I can use it to help wit' my project and Jay can use 'em to help rescue his new crush."

"Bro…," I said followed by a heavy sigh.

"Crush?," Āna asked, shocked. "So you are infatuated with this mystery girl."

"I don't even know what that means."

"It means you like 'er like that," Jorge explained.

"That can't be the only thing you took from that," I said to Āna.

"Well you'd obvi’ use- ...obviously use a bloodlink," she said.

"Forgot we know your secret?," Jorge teased, Āna stuck her tongue out at him.

"But ain't bloodlinks permanent? What happens when we're done?"

"First, bloodlinks aren't permanent," Āna began, "they're just too hard, and painful, to remove. And were you plannin' on throwin' 'em out after you were done? I thought I raised you better," she said, returning to the float.

"What?!," I blurted out somewhat offended, but she does have a point.

"Yeah bro, that doesn't seem right," Jorge said.

"Yeah, yeah. I didn't think about it like that," I said feeling guilty.

"Calm down," Āna said. "All we have to do is find a devil or demon that won't be constantly trying to kill Jorgie"

"Wait, what," Jorge said.

"Well, not only will you be interrupting whatever someone's doin', you'll be doing so to question them about homework. Afterwards you want them to help us with Jay's girl problems, which we might need. But I doubt they'll turn on their own willingly, or easily, which leaves us with bloodlinking. So basically, you're ripping a potentially centuries old hellspawn from their life to be a, quote on quote, maid or butler to a hormonal teen boy." Āna left us in an awkward silence as we were only now processing the weight of what we were proposing.

"Can I be the link?," I asked.

"No," Āna said sternly. "Paladins can only bloodlink with Angels."

"Angels can bloodlink?!," I asked shocked, "why?"

"Usually for survival," she answered.

"When you say Paladins can only bloodlink with Angels, does that include Jay?," Jorge asked, prompting Āna to look at me as if I were a puzzle.

"Wait, you never tested it with my father?"

"Weeeell," she paused. "Look, even if we did test such a thing, which we had no reason to test, you've already proven to be nearly contrary to him. And I don't know how much you remember about his powers but his fire is nothing like yours. That's excluding the fact that you can play with fire like kids play with their pets."

I rarely think about it, but Āna's right. Not only are my powers almost completely different from my father's, we both don't even know my limits. I'm not entirely sure how well I've developed compared to my father but, Āna has told me a few times that I'm more powerful than him, I just lack experience. Or she could've been saying that to keep me attentive during training. However, she does seem genuinely unsure about the bloodlink. After his transformation, father and her tested numerous spells, weapons, prayers, and some other stuff but, the purpose of it all was to find new strengths and weaknesses not double check his capabilities. That, along with me being considered a "Natural Rogue", creates a shroud of mystery that even Āna can't solve alone.

"Okay then, how do we safely link Jorge?"

-ET Lavillis