For the third time since his arrival, Cris woke up in the infirmary.

  Briefly, he wondered where he was. He considered that everything had been a dream. For a moment, he wondered if he would hear David calling out to him. He was too warm, though. Too comfortable. And that comfort was no longer uncomfortable. He'd grown used to it. He'd grown used to it, because this was not, in fact, a dream.

  Sunlight streamed through the clean, clear windows, forcing Cris to sit up to get it out of his eyes. He felt fairly refreshed. He glanced at his hand, remembering how red it had gotten in the Labyrinth. It seemed fine now, though. His whole body felt fine. No signs of burns. His skin actually felt quite smooth.

  Cris couldn't really remember much after the battle with Anna. He'd passed out once he and his friends had finally come across some guards. Fortunately, there had been a search going on, and they were collected fairly quickly once they'd gone back through the doorway or portal they'd been led through. Surprisingly, it hadn't been that hard to find it again, Heidi and Finn managing to seek it out with their abilities.

  It seemed that as soon as Levi and Mara had vanished from the cameras, alarm bells had gone off among the staff. Then Cris' group disappeared as well. Rainier had obviously been on the lookout for something suspicious, but the lower levels of the Labyrinth had been believed to be blocked off and were always guarded. Somehow, this one seemed to have either grown recently or been "tunneled" into. That was Cris' understanding anyway, and he'd been unable to retain any more information before exhaustion took him.

  "Cris?"

  Blinking tiredly, he turned his head, noticing Heidi in a chair beside him. Finn was in another nearby as well, while Elsa was leaning by a wall, appearing fairly fidgety, glancing over at the other bed in the room.

  Cris' eyes widened as he followed her gaze, seeing Levi occupying the chair next to the other bed, and a sleeping Mara under the covers. Levi's gaze briefly drifted up to meet his, fortunately not channeling his magic, before returning his attention to Mara.

  "How long have I been out?" Cris asked, shifting slightly and positioning himself a little more comfortably.

  "Five days," Finn said. "Although you seemed to stir a little bit a few times and mumbled some stuff."

  Cris noticed the other boy appearing to fight back a smirk and he narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Nothing…friend."

  Cris rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah yeah."

  All three of them laughed, and even he couldn't help but allow the corners of his mouth to turn upwards. How quickly things changed. He never would've imagined this before arriving in Babylon. He only wished David could be a part of it.

  "You'll be glad to know the council has officially welcomed you as a student of Daedal Academy and citizen of Babylon," Elsa announced, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Considering you were attacked by a goddamn demon-possessed devil in their games to test you and survived, I guess they had no choice."

  "That's a lovely way to put it, Elsa," Finn said with a grin.

  "No idea who was…you know…?" Cris trailed off, glancing briefly at Levi, although he didn't seem to be paying attention.

  "No idea," Finn said, shaking his head, along with Heidi and Elsa. They knew what he was referring to. So Rainier hadn't been able to find out if a council member had helped Anna.

  "It was Eleanor who sent the bear by the way," Elsa said. "The bull was a teacher's. The wolf as well."

  "She's calling herself 'Mama Bear' now," Heidi murmured with a grimace.

  "Yeah, it's weird," Finn added.

  "Well, good to have one of 'em on our side at least," Cris muttered. "What did they say about Anna?"

  Finn shrugged. "Rainier hasn't really discussed it too much with them from what Rose has said. Seems like they know she's a devil, though, and what that is. Security has ramped up a bit and warnings are out to keep an eye out for her."

  "They don't want to start a panic, though," Heidi pointed out. "Doubt they make any announcements that a devil was in the city and cornered a bunch of us in the Labyrinth."

  Cris shrugged. "We handled her, though. I mean, I'm not even trained much and I was able to get her pretty good with that last heat wave thing I did. Not that big a threat if people are prepared."

  "Er…not quite, Cris," Elsa muttered. "Nothing about that was trivial." She nodded in Mara's direction.

  Levi looked up as their group went silent, and he sighed, appearing a little irritated. "Not sure why they stuck Mara in this room."

  "Rainier wanted to talk to all of us, dude," Finn said. "Made sense. Other rooms are pretty full after the games, too."

  Levi rolled his eyes. "Whatever." His gaze returned to Mara for a moment before he glanced back up. "She's right," he then said, looking Cris in the eyes and then nodding towards Elsa. "That girl…that…devil. I've never seen anything like that. Never…felt anything like that. That was evil in its purest form."

  "But we beat her," Cris said. "Doesn't that mean anything?"

  Levi bit his lip, looking away somewhat sheepishly. "You beat her, Parker."

  "And I'm no S-Rank like you or Rosalyn. Can't move like Elsa either." Cris shrugged. "Figured out a way to fight her, maybe, but if we can get better trained and stronger people to fight like that, we should be fine."

  "You don't get it…" Levi shook his head.

  "Cris…" Heidi's voice shook as she addressed him, and when he looked at her, she wasn't looking him in the eye.

  "Dude," Finn said, breaking in. "You were…kind of badass."

  "That wasn't normal what you did," Elsa added.

  "And Anna's power," Heidi said. "The way she could…break our minds…you fought it off."

  "So did you," Cris argued. "I mean…you recovered anyway."

  "I don't think you can recover from that so easily," Finn said. "I still feel shaken."

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  "I haven't been able to sleep," Heidi murmured. "And…"

  Cris followed her gaze back to Levi, who continued to stare at Mara. "She didn't do it on purpose," the other boy almost growled. "I know what she's like. I know what I'm like. We're not like that. That was…that was Hell. And Mara got it worse than all of us."

  "No one blames Miss Keres, I can assure you of that, Mr. Ofkus."

  Everyone looked up in surprise, noticing Rainier and Rosalyn entering the room. They stayed by the door, clearly not intending to stay long. Cris figured they were probably making the rounds to check on all the wounded students from the games.

  "I'm glad to see you're up, Mr. Parker," Rainier said, smiling in Cris' direction.

  "Yeah," Cris muttered. "And I hear I'm welcome here officially now. So thanks, I guess?"

  "So heartfelt," Finn said with a chuckle.

  "Yes," Rainier said with a nod. "The council was most certainly impressed with your efforts to get your friends out of that ordeal." He paused, appearing troubled for a moment, before nodding to himself. "I…do have one other update for you, however."

  Cris frowned. "What is it?"

  "I believe…that we may have puzzled out your Spirit Guide." For some reason, he seemed hesitant to continue.

  Rosalyn coughed, looking away. "You sure about this, sir?" she asked. "It's…er…not certain, right?"

  "It's a starting point," Rainier said, this time a little more emphatically. He coughed, returning his attention to Cris. "Yes…well…it seems as though your Spirit Guide has shown signs of wind and heat control."

  "I noticed," Cris said, feeling the sense of warmth in his chest.

  Rainier nodded. "It is likely not a dragon, otherwise you'd be resistant to the burns you suffered."

  Cris raised an eyebrow. He hadn't even considered that. Now he was slightly disappointed. Although he supposed it still had to be something cool. Some kind of fire breathing bird? Although he hadn't summoned fire had he? So what could it be?

  "For now, I believe it is a black kite."

  "HUH?" everyone asked at once, including Levi.

  Rainier rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. It was the first time Cris had seen him look so troubled. He supposed the man was embarrassed about informing Cris about this. Maybe because it was so unimpressive?

  "A black kite is a kind of bird," Rainier said.

  "It's common in Australia," Rosalyn explained, although she looked distracted. "They're known for sometimes using fire to draw out prey."

  "Some call them 'firehawks'." Rainier added.

  "Firehawk?" Finn nodded, looking a little more impressed. "That's kind of cool. Suits Cris, I guess."

  "I was sure he'd have a mythical," Elsa said.

  "Me too." Levi didn't look convinced. "It doesn't make sense. His powers showed up so quickly when you guys extracted him. Then they died down. Then they flared up. That's weird behavior. It doesn't make sense it would be something so…ordinary."

  "It may not be a mythical, Mr. Ofkus," Rainier said, "But it is still a fearsome spirit. As the games demonstrated." He sighed and then shifted towards the door. "Well…I believe that's all for now. I will check in on you later."

  "Keep training," Rosalyn then said, staring at Cris intently. "I know better than anyone what a non-mythical Spirit Guide can accomplish."

  Cris stared back, seeing Rosalyn give the slightest of nods, before she turned to leave the room. Rainier began to follow her, before pausing briefly and turning back.

  "Our Spirit Guides are important," he said, "but Mr. Parker…Mr. Ofkus…the only stories about them that matter are the ones we create for them."

  Once Rainier was out of the room, everyone was silent for a few minutes. But then, finally, Finn broke the ice, staring at Cris curiously. "That was kind of anticlimactic don't you think?"

  Cris laughed, shaking his head. "A bit, yeah."

  "Are you disappointed?" Heidi asked.

  Cris shrugged, turning to gaze out the window at the strange city that was now his home. "Not really."

  "Happy not to be an uptight mythical?" Elsa muttered, eyeing Levi and Mara briefly.

  "It just didn't matter," Cris said. "Whatever I've got, it was good enough when it mattered." He turned to Elsa, Finn and then Heidi. "Mythical or not, I'll be ready next time to fight for my friends."

  Rosalyn stared at Rainier's back as she followed her teacher out of the infirmary and towards the streets of Babylon.

  She was frustrated. She didn't know why he did it. There were few things she didn't know after all, so it was extra frustrating when there was something she couldn't figure out. And Rainier was certainly hiding something from her.

  "Sir!" she finally called out after a minute of walking. "Can we stop for a second?"

  "Miss Leroux…" Rainier sighed, pausing and turning back to her.

  Rosalyn stared at him for a moment, her fists clenching and unclenching at her side. "What's going on?" She didn't really know what else to say.

  Rainier hadn't really updated her on much the last few days. She was essentially his assistant. One of the most senior students and an S-Rank at that. An easy go-between with him and the other students. She was at his side for most things of importance and was even relied upon when he had to leave the school for keeping tabs on matters he'd need to address when returning and dealing with some on her own. When he didn't tell her things, she noticed, and she didn't need her increased intelligence for it, either.

  "I honestly don't know, Miss Leroux," he said.

  Rosalyn frowned, but shook her head a moment later. "You know something. Why did you want to tell Cris…what you told him?"

  Rainier studied her cautiously. "I told you, Miss Leroux. It was best for him to have some kind of idea about his Spirit Guide."

  "But…"

  "I know," Rainier said, likely seeing the frustration in her face. "I have my reasons."

  "And you can't tell me?" Rosalyn's nostrils flared in her frustration.

  "There isn't much to tell," Rainier answered carefully. "And much of what I could perhaps tell, I am not completely certain of, and so cannot say anything of that."

  "A devil attacked our city," Rosalyn said angrily. "You can't keep everything to yourself."

  Rainier nodded, rubbing his eyes, appearing older than Rosalyn usually considered him to be. "Something dark is coming, Miss Leroux. Something very dark."

  "Is this something to do with my vision?" Rosalyn asked. Rainier simply stared back at her, and that was an answer in itself. "So it's worse than we thought?"

  "We have…elements in our favor," Rainier said. "It is something that requires a delicate hand."

  "I can help."

  Rainier shook his head. "The less you know, the better. For now."

  "Why?"

  "Your visions are only going to get worse, Miss Leroux," Rainier said, and Rosalyn was sure she noticed grief in his gaze. "I can't add to your burden."

  Rosalyn couldn't deny that his words made her uneasy, but she still wanted to help. "What do you mean? I'm prepared for that. How would you be adding to my burden?"

  "The more you know, the more powerful…the more forceful those visions will become." Rainier looked up towards the sky. "There is a girl in Camelot who suffers from such a fate. She's been driven utterly mad by her visions. I can't allow such a thing to happen to you."

  "It won't. I can handle it."

  Rainier chuckled lightly. "Perhaps you could. Perhaps you are simply that extraordinary. But as your teacher, I can't let you force my hand."

  "Then…at least tell me one thing."

  Rainier hesitated, raising an eyebrow. "Depending on what you wish to know, perhaps I can answer."

  Rosalyn took a deep breath. "You don't know Cris' Spirit Guide is a black kite, correct?"

  Rainier shook his head. "I do not."

  "So you lied?"

  "I suppose we can look at it like that, yes."

  "Do you know what it is?"

  Rainier narrowed his eyes. "Miss Leroux, you asked if I could tell you one thing."

  "You don't have to tell me what it is." Rosalyn smiled slightly. She could puzzle that out herself with enough information.

  Rainier seemed to suspect her motives, but seemed to feel she'd squeezed enough out of him that he could say just a little more. "I have a suspicion."

  Rosalyn nodded slowly. "All right then…thank you, sir."

  "It is difficult dealing with such an intelligent assistant," Rainier said, somewhat irritably.

  Rosalyn shrugged. "Well you know what my Spirit Guide is."

  "Your talents don't just simply come from your Spirit Guide, Miss Leroux. Don't sell yourself short."

  Rosalyn blushed slightly. "R-Right."

  "Now, please don't go digging too much into Mr. Parker. There is a great deal more to do." Rainier looked out towards the city, the blend of ages and cultures still so disorienting to see together after all this time.

  Rosalyn observed the city as well. It looked so peaceful, but she couldn't help but feel as though an invisible cloud hung over it. The arrival of the devil was bad enough. Her vision was bad enough. But Rainier clearly believed there was more to it all than that. And for some reason, Cris' Spirit Guide was a clue in all of it.

  Wind and heat…and immense power.

  Those were her clues. Perhaps there were risks to her own mental well being, but Rosalyn couldn't sit by and let Rainier, Eleanor, Cris, or whoever else it may be, take on all the burden. She needed to find out what was coming.

  What are you, Cris Parker? What have you…Awakened?

  To Be Continued in Arc 2: Stirring Ashes

  Author's Note:

  Wings of Wax. It's been a long ride, with Cris losing his friend, fighting demons and a devil, entering the world of spirit guides and awakening his own. And there is much more to come! I'm not sure when I'll begin posting the next arc as I'm working on some other stories right now, but be sure to be on the lookout for it. The journey is only just beginning.