Chapter 5

How long had she slept? She had no idea; through the window of her room entered the same reddish light from the Blood Moon she remember seeing moments before she fall asleep, exausted. Laying on her bed, staring at nowhere, Evaila's mind wandered. Theronia's battle, her fall from the skies when that starge blast ripped through her right wing, the demons al around her, the chains... the walk through the ridges, the storm and the living shadows, the great, dark city of Nitramneadh... then Norcross, the Hall of Tombs, the crowd of demons - and Narayan.

He was a complete mystery for her. Somehow he seemed not to fit in the Underworld. His simple manners, his smile, cold but somehow warm... every little thing on him seemed different. There was something about him; something that made her fear him, but also trust him... and as a matter of fact, she had no other choice. He had been the one that cared about her - or, at least, that seemed to care about her - in those dark lands.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted bu a soft knock on her door. Instinctively she wrapped herself in the bed's blanket. The door budged a little, and Ysolla's small silhouette appeared in the opening.

"Excuse me", she said. "The dinner is being served. The Master is waiting for you."

"Dinner?", Evaila wondered. "I don't eat... angels don't eat. The air of our world gives us everything we need."

"It might be", replied the servant, smilling as if expecting Evaila's answer. "But you are not in your world. The air here won't be enough for you. You need to eat, as any other living being. And you must, if you want to heal quickly."

The wounds. By instinct, Evaila looked at her right wing. Then she noticed.

Her angelic feathers were losing their light. They used to shine, gifted with a pure, radiant light. They were still shining, but not as brightly as before. Somehow, their glow was fading away. She didn't understood.

Ignoring the angel's indifference, Ysolla entered the room. "Here's something for you to wear", she said, placing carefully in a chair on her left a long black dress. Then she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Narayan. He must know what was happening to her natural glow. She raised from the bed and grabbed the dress. It was a simple design, dark, yet beautiful. She wore it, surprised because it suited her perfectly. He must have guessed that, she thought. Then she turned to a great mirror hanging in the front wall. It was strange, at the first sight. Wearing a black dress, and without her radiance, she looked so different - almost a dark angel. Still she could recognize herself.

He was waiting for her, the old servant said. And Evaila had much to ask him.

* * *

In the castle's dining room, the great table was set for two people - a rare event, that happened only once, perhaps twice in the last three millenia. Narayan sat on the head of the table, staring at nowhere, waiting.

Evaila suddenly entered the room. She looked even more beautiful in the black dress. Narayan was struck by the vision for a moment. Smiling at her, he raised, indicating her the place on his right.

After a second's hesitation, she sat, somehow embarrassed, without facing him.

"You're beautiful", he started with a friendly voice. "I'm glad you joined me."

She turned to him. "Had I any other choice?"

"Of course", he answered, while a servant served the dinner. "As I said, you are free."

She looked at the dish. Strangely, she thought, the food was like the Earth's food - meat, and something that seemed rice. A red drink filled the glasses.

She could' avoid being ironic. "What do you drink down here? Blood?"

Narayan laughed. "Blood? Oh, no. It is just wine. And before you ask, no, that's not demon's meat."

They started to eat in silence. It was not bad, she thought, whatever it was. She looked at him, wondering why was he doing that for her. "Can I ask you a question?"

He looked at her, interrupting his dinner. "Sure."

"It's about me", she said, concerned. "My wings. They are losing their glow. It never happened before."

"There is no light in the Underworld", the necromancer explained, with a glimpse of sadness in his voice. "Light here is corrupted, until it fades away. That's what is happening to you. Your light is fading away."

"What does that mean? That I am corrupted? That I will become... a demon?"

Tears fell from her eyes with that thought.

"I... I have to get out of here....", she said, almost with dizzyness, trying to force herself to believe that she was living some kind of nightmare, that there was a way out of it. "My people... the angels... they will come."

"The angels?", replied Narayan, almost laughing with that thought. "I wouldn't expect that. They wouldn't dare enter the Underworld again. They can't. Just as the demons can't invade Mil'Garion. That's why both keep fighting on Earth."

"Why not?"

"In darkness, no shadow can exist", he aswered simply. "But where there's light, there's shadows. Angels would be corrupted if they crossed the Eastern Gate."

She looked down, crying, realizing that he was right, and there would be no rescue. It was her fate now, to become a demon, a corrupted soul.

"You're not corrupted. I mean, your essence is not corrupted", he said, as if he could read her mind. He tried to somehow make her feel better. "And it won't be, unless you let it happen. Unless we let it happen. You might now be a fallen angel. Your wings might become dark. But your soul... your soul can still shine as it ever shone."

"How?"

He wiped a tear from his face, raising her face and staring at her blue eyes. "Trust me. I won't let it happen. I won't let this world corrupt your soul."

"Why?", she asked, almost whispering. "Why are you doing all this? Why did you confronted Norcross for me? Why are you being so... kind to me?

"Because you are pure", he said. "And because I need you. Evaila... I'm here for many, many time. And you... you are the first pure soul I've seen in the last three thousand years. You remind me the world I left long ago. I can't lose that. I can't lose you."

"So you're not from the Underworld as well", she concluded, wiping the remainings of the tears from her face. "Who are you, Narayan? Where are you from?"

He said nothing.

"You said I could trust you", she said, remembering their first conversation, in the cathedral. "You said you'd be my friend. Friends trust each other. You can trust me as well."

Narayan smiled to her. She was smart, he could say that. "We have time", he replied, "much time. Eat now. Answers will come later."

They resumed their dinner in silence. No more words were exchanged between them - thoough both feel much more could be said. But there was time, Narayan said. There was time.