Chapter 1.

Aeiln was sitting in the corner of the room, sipping her drink with company. It was a lazy sort of day, with only the usual number of people coming into the tavern, and none of them particularly interesting. However, all of that changed when she heard a few people shouting near the entrance, and turned her head to look.

An unkempt teenage boy had just burst into the room, panting heavily, his shoulder-length, straw blonde hair matted to his head with sweat. Slamming the doors behind him, he sprawled his lanky body across them as if to block an outside threat.

Aeiln walked over to him, and rested her hand on the door behind him, right beside his dread-covered face.

"Whatcha doin', boy?" she charismatically asked, shifting her weight to one side, her face cocked close to his, making it so that he would have to look up at her.

"...Nothing," he muttered, trying to slink away and avoid her threatening glare.

"Rrrright. You're obviously hiding something." She backed off a bit, instead starting to sway in front of him from left to right in a blocking fashion, hands behind her back. "Unless you're telling me you really like the feel of that door?"

"Umm, what? No!" he blurted, then realizing that this was way louder then he wanted to answer, continued on barely above a whisper, "I was just resting a bit," his eyes frantically flitting about the room, looking for a way to ditch her. "I mean, you should have seen how fast that cart was going; I barely dodged it."

She scowled. "You want to try the truth?"

"Why would I do that? I have no reason to trust you," came his reply. The people in the tavern looked away and began new conversations with those around them, their interest lost as they could no longer hear what was being said.

"Well, you should... because I can hide you," she told him, her voice devoid of any trace of a stutter.

"Hide me from what?" he inquired casually, raising an eyebrow as his face took on a snobbish look, and his shoulder fell into a dramatic shrug.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she leaned in closer to him, pressing her face right to his ear. "Whoever is chasing you, fool."

Giving her a sly, sideways glance, he whispered back, "All right, but if you try anything you'll be in for a bit of a surprise."

"You should take your own advice. Now follow me," she commanded. Raising her voice back up again with an open wave, she continued, "I might be back late boys, so you just keep right on playing without me." She paused, then added, "But none of you better steal my prize if it lands on five!" (They couldn't really be trusted to do so; she wasn't friends with any of them, but it was her job to socialize with the regulars.) Once again motioning for the mysterious boy to follow her, she led him away from the door and towards the back.

As they walked Gavin noticed that the girl strode proudly, holding her head high as though she owned the place, but her arms lay tight against her body, suggesting that she was on the defensive. *Interesting...* he thought.

She led him to a room, which held a downward flight of stairs, and gestured for him to go down them.

"Uh..why don't you go first?" Gavin challenged. Even as she motioned again for him to go down, he ignored her, shaking his head. There was no way he was going down first. After all, what was to say this girl wasn't one of Them in disguise?

"Fine, since you like doing things the hard way," she sighed. "They always do." Taking him by the back of his cloak, she forced him in front of her as she shut the door behind them, leaving them in the total darkness emanating from the depths of the stairwell. "Now go!"

"What am I? Your meat shield?" he yelled. He continued to stand there, unmoving, until she regained her grip and pushed him down the stairs. He tried to struggle, but her grasp was tight, and the more he pulled away, the more she pulled up.

"I wouldn't yell if I were you. They'll hear you, so if you don't want to be caught, start walking." Choking was not on his agenda today, so he gave up. After all, if she turned treacherous, he was sure he could handle anything she threw at him. He relaxed, and she made an effort to try and push him more gently.

"Fine... but who's They?" he mumbled, almost tripping in the near darkness, unable to see without Eldrazi's help.

"I said, be quiet. Besides, you already know the answer."

Getting to the bottom of the stairs, Gavin found a table with, conveniently enough, two chairs. A few wayward candles clung to the dirt walls, lighting the room menacingly. In the flickering light, he could see an insurmountable amount of barrels, the taverns' secret stash, spread out in front of him. The girl left him standing there, walked over to sit down in one chair, then motioned for him to do the same. He sat down willingly, but continued to glance around the room, trying to calculate a multitude of escape plans that involved only one door and stairwell, just in case.

"If you haven't already guessed, there's only one way out of here. And it's back up the stairs," she dryly explained. "Do you have any other questions, or should I say, better ones?"

"Yeah actually, I do. How about, who are you? Or, where the hell am I? Or, why would you actually want to help me...?"

"Well, my name is Aeiln for starters. And this is clearly the tavern's wine cellar. It's also my room, because where else would I go? As for why I'm helping you, you're obviously being chased by 'Them' and if 'They' find you here, 'They' also find me."

"What would 'They' want with you? You're normal..." Suddenly his eyes widened, and it was quite clear he did not mean to let that slip.

"Normal? Normal am I?" she roared, her harsh laughs filling the room, spiking Gavin's anxiety every time the sound rebounded off the walls.

Gavin gave Aeiln a strange look and did a quick run-down. With her waist-long, glossy brown hair and normal travelers' clothes, she looked like any human girl you would meet on the street, aside from the fact that she was extremely tall. But then again, when you're 4' 11", everyone looks tall. She kept staring at him, giving him a questioning look.

"What?" he shouted defensively. Although he really had nothing against her, and she was "helping him", he was still uncomfortable. What if she started asking him questions... ones he couldn't answer?

"Since you're obviously nervous, what's your name?"

He turned away, refusing to answer; the less she knew about him, the better. He didn't come down here to be prodded.

"Not much of a talker, huh? Hmmm...give me a minute," she paused to think. "Gavin!"

He whipped around to face her, his yellow green eyes shining with fear.

*{And you had the audacity to call her normal,}* Eldrazi quiped from his mind.

"How did you know that?" Gavin demanded, his voice now actually faltering.

"So since you're not normal..." A most unpleasant scowl spread across his face. "-Hey, your words, not mine- what are you? And why are the Inquisitors after you?"

"Well, I would've told you my name is Gavin, but it seems you already know that," he spat, disgust obvious in his tone. "And I'm Human. Why they're after me is none of your business, so stay out of my head!"

"Actually, you wouldn't tell me your name, so I had to get that tidbit of information for myself, and I can keep going, if you like, but I'm not really sure that I care to. I have other methods. I already know you're not Human; I didn't need to pry for that. I'm not a fool, after all.

"Are you sure?" he replied, sarcasm practically dripping off his vocal cords.

"Maybe you're the fool. Why don't you tell me then-" She smirked, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him against the wall. "-what am I, 'Human'?"

"Put me down," he gasped, "before you regret it!" Not that he could do much like this. She was clearly much stronger than him, but it wouldn't be the first time he had had to bluff.

"Answer me, or you'll be the one regretting something!" she bellowed, the force of it causing spittle to splatter across his face. Looking down to the floor, then back up to his eyes with her own crystal blue, she whispered, "I'll put you down if you guess what I am, and if you tell me why 'They' are after you."

"I'm guessing maybe... you're an Angel, and... 'They' are after me... because I'm not normal, okay! Now put me the Hell down!" At least it would make sense if she was an Angel. Then she could glamour herself, and it would also explain her terrible lying and the guessing game. Angels were obsessed with stupid, trivial things like that, an idea that Gavin simply could not wrap his head around.

"Good enough, I guess." Aeiln shrugged, throwing him casually to the dirt floor. Before he could even fully sit up, Aeiln knocked him back to the ground, stomping her foot down onto his chest. "Now you are going to tell me why 'They' are after you. With details," she enunciated, staring down at him with now purple, slitted eyes instead of the blue he had seen before. Oh, he thought, she was glamoured.

Gavin's eyes widened at the blow, but he tried to remain calm in spite of the building situation. "Guess we're going to be here for a while then, because I'm at least stuck somewhere safe." Despite his words, he still struggled, trying the easiest, yet most obvious method of escaping.

Aeiln spoke softly, as she leaned in closer. "Yes, you are entirely right. Somewhere safe, that is, until I bring them down here to see you."

A crooked smile crept up the right side of his face as he remembered her saying before that she didn't want 'Them' to find her either. "And do you think when 'They' come for me that I won't tell 'Them' your secret?"

"Oh, and what secret would that be?" she asked haughtily.

Here we go with the bad lying again. She seemed like an Angel, but if she was, then she wouldn't have to worry about Inquisitors, so there has to be something else to her. A sly idea crept into his mind, maybe he could make her drop a hint. Trying to wash away the smile that came with it, he spoke, confidence flowing through his words.

"Like I said before, you're an Angel."

"Ha! How old are you, Gavin?"

"...Fifteen," he answered, hesitating for a moment, afraid to get off subject as it could ruin the plan.

"Fine. I'll break it down for your childish ears. What color eyes do I have?" she asked, staring him down so he could get a good look.

Gavin's smile returned as she fell right for his trick. Angels always had blue eyes, and Demons typically had red. If she had purple..."Well, red and blue makes purple so then I guess you're half- Demon, half-Angel. Thanks for pointing that out. I'm sure the Inquisitors will love to know once you drag them down here for me, because that's definitely illegal."

"So is being Demon and Human. But I pull 'normal' off better than you do so, why would they even believe you?"

She's in my head again. He tried to make a mental block to stop her from seeing anything else, although he didn't quite know how. "All right, fine. I get it. How about I just kill you now instead?" he lashed out, wrenching his head to look at her. She could see that his eyes had changed to a greenish-yellow, his pupils now slits that glared at her with enough contempt to kill a mortal. Good thing she wasn't one.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Aeiln paused for a moment, whether it was because she was thinking, or for effect, he couldn't tell. "After all, how else are you going to be able to make a deal with me?" Gavin could tell that that had been her intention since the beginning. It was why she had lead him down here in the first place; why she had introduced herself, and her secret, so readily to him.

"What do you mean, a deal? What do you want from me?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want equality; to not be chased down by the Inquisitors every step I take. I'm pretty sure you want that as well. That's why you came to the Crossroads, isn't it; for shelter? Why do you think I would go out of my way to bring you down here? You've learned how to evade them, to live outside of the walls. With your know-how and my power, we could change all that. What do you say?"

Gavin thought about this for a moment. He could tell that this girl had no idea on how difficult it would be to change the entire system. Who did she think he was? She might be powerful, but this was just a childish wish…

"{Accept the offer.}" He could hear Eldrazi talking from within him. He wondered why. They had always been able to communicate through thought alone; it always made them feel closer.

*What?*

"{Don't think! Talk. She can hear you, remember? Now accept the offer. She's rash, and if her falling for that last trick means anything, she's also gullible. She wants a miracle, and thinks that simply because we're a Devoln, we want the same things. Play along, it'll get us out of here alive.}"

His eyes widened with understanding. Maybe if he "played along", he could accomplish more than just an escape. Maybe, if he was with her, he could... but if he thought about it, she would read his thoughts. It would be better to simply agree for now.

"Uh...oh...right...That's true! I do happen to know all about evasion. After all, I've been doing this for awhile now and I'm definitely tired of being chased too. With the both of us working together, we could do anything; we could change Esternia. Hmmm...I might be willing to help you, but on one condition though", he trailed, as all sincerity drained from his voice, "stop reading my mind."

"Sorry, it's a habit. I do it when I get mad. Or when I want something," she said with an air of whimsy. "I'll try. No promises."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Gavin said, "Fine. Can you get off of me now?"

"As long as you swear on your life, and I do mean your life, that you won't run off."

"Sorry, it's a habit, no promises." He slyly smiled back.

Smirking, Aeiln turned away to hide her elation. "Come on. I'll help you up."

He lifted his arm up in response, his long sleeves slipping back just enough to reveal the black tattoo on the back of his left hand. A Devoln mark.

"Cute," was all she said as she pulled him to his feet. She strode across the room and proceeded to roll a barrel out of the way, exposing a hole in the wall; a secret exit door.

Gavin shot her a look. "Only one way out, huh?"

"Hey, you never know who you're talking to. Give me some credit. You may have more survival skills, but even I wouldn't put myself in a room with only one exit!"

"Oh, I see! It's all well and good when you don't tell me stuff, but when I don't want to tell you things, I get thrown to the floor and my mind invaded. Got it."

"Glad you understand," she looked at him, a fake, sweet smile on her face.

He gave her a quizzical look. "And just how old are you, by the way?" he asked.

"In regular years, I'm seventeen."

"I wouldn't know any other way to count," he replied, walking through the secret door with Aeiln close behind.

"You wouldn't know a lot of things."

"Thanks."