Emelia stretched luxuriously, arms arching above her head.

Morning, came the sleepy thought from the other side of the room. Morning, she replied as she inhaled a big, deep breath. The air here was so different to the air in Hell. Fresher, sweeter, easier to inhale. Just lovely. Today it smelled of morning dew, fresh mown grass and pancakes. Wait a minute...PANCAKES! Both Azkadelia and Em bolted upright and looked at each other, awe on their faces. Pancakes, Az breathed in the same tone people usually reserve for their first-born child. Yum, Em agreed, adopting Azkadelias tone. Lets go, Azkadelia said, jumping impulsively up and running for the door, before pausing. Wait. Clothes first. She raced to her bedside and picked up the torn, mud splattered, and demon gore coated clothes shed had on yesterday. Uh, I dont think those are wearable, Em told her. Youre probably right, Azkadelia contemplated, head tilted to one side. She glanced around the room. It was bare to the point of empty, with just two beds, and a set of drawers, both made of cheap looking plywood, which didnt really fit in with the opulent middle ages feel of the rest of the building. Em swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and shivered as her bare feet hit frigid stone. This room needed a carpet. Check the drawers, she said to Az, pulling her feet back up under the blanket. Azkadelia rolled her eyes, but headed to the drawers on her tiptoes, cursing the cold floor under her breath. Pulling the top drawer out revealed black jeans and a black leather jacket in Azkadelias size, and there was also black combat boots and a top in a vibrant shade of scarlet. Upon opening the second drawer, the same outfit was revealed, except with a pale green top instead of a red, and everything was in Emelias size. Azkadelia scooped up Emelias clothes and lobbed them to her. Em held them up to her nose and took a whiff. A bit musky, she deliberated, but clean enough. Theyve probably been inside those drawers for years, Az shrugged. Than why are they our sizes? Em thought. Breakfast time! Azkadelia sang and bounded out the door. A waft of pancake smelling air billowed in after her. Ems stomach growled hungrily. Az, wait for me! she cried, before hurrying after her friend. * The way people ate their pancakes; Azkadelia thought, was an excellent judge of their characters. Just looking at the amount, way, and toppings the aforementioned people had and ate their aforementioned pancakes gave a glimpse into their soul. Would an evil criminal mastermind eat chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate syrup all over the top with a dollop of double cream? She suspected the answer to that question was No. Az, for example, ate as many pancakes as she could with just butter on them. Emilia liked to eat roughly five pancakes, and always ate them stone cold with no toppings. Ophelia liked butter and blackberry jam on her pancakes, and she always ate as many pancakes as could fit in her slim stomach. Aurelia seemed to like her pancakes in a neat, orderly stack; she had maple syrup as a topping, with a handful of blueberries on top, and icing sugar sprinkled liberally over the top.

As they sat down together at breakfast, she glanced around at the other teenage Bellators that were stationed throughout the room. The twins, Katie and Sienna, had identical dishes. Three pancakes apiece, with honey drizzled over the top and a hefty amount of fruit salad. Spying, Princess? Connors voice broke her out of her reverie. Turning around in her chair, Azkadelia fixed her glare on him. Please, she said stiffly, dont call me that. Connor stared at her. Well, its true. Arma is practically queen. Youre her daughter. Princess. Shut up, Connor, Lia said, rubbing her temples like she had a headache. Azkadelia focused in on her sharply. Her face was white as a sheet, and pinched, like she had eaten something sour. You kay, Aurelia? Ophelia asked. Cause, you know, you never turned up last night. Connor stared at Aurelia in open astonishment. You were in the library all night?!? Okay..., Az thought. It was very important research, Lia said, voice stiff as a rod. Care to share this incredibly important research with us? Connor said, relaxing back in his chair. Em glared at him. For Gods sake, dont you have friends of your freaking own to hang out with? she demanded. Connor shifted his gaze to the airspace behind and to the right of her. Speak of the devil, he drawled. Em glanced over her shoulder and cursed. The twin Bellators Az had noticed before were approaching. The first to sit down was Sienna. Az recognized Sienna purely because of her scent roasted vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, lavender, and sandalwood she was really identical to her sister. The other twin Katie smelled of rosewater, musk, and citrus. Hi, she smiled at the Particularum Bellators. Im Katie. Its lovely to meet you. Her twin snorted. Ignore every single word my twin says, Sienna told them. She lies. So, its not lovely to meet us? Emelia asked sweetly No I mean, yes I mean...oh, God, I give up. Sienna sighed. Ive gotta go. See you later. She jetted off. That was weird, Connor commented. Katie seemed uncomfortable as she shifted in unease. Azkadelia could practically smell the damp metallic scent of her discomfort as she rose from her chair. I should go, too, she murmured, before running away at a pace that wouldve left an Olympic sprinter in the dust. That, Connor said, was also weird. I dont know why theyre acting like that, he added to the girls. Normally, theyre nicer. Especially to other girls. In case you havent realised, there is rather a shortage of females around here. Yeah, I can see that, Opal commented as she surveyed the Dining Hall. Az joined her in her people watching, and saw they were right. The crowd was easily divisible about seven eighths guys, one eighth girls. Why so few girls? Em queried of Connor. Girls are usually healers, not warriors, Connor said. This is the training facility for warriors. Theres a test to see what you would be best at and only a few girls are chosen to fight. What other jobs are there? Aurelia wondered aloud. Connor seemed to be thinking hard for a moment. Um, Warrior, Healer, Tracker, Safety, Spell Worker, Apprentice, Scribe, Apprentice. A Warrior is, well, a warrior. Theyre trained to fight, kill, maim, defend, all that. Usually its just tradition I dont think theres been a war for years but, lately, Ive been hearing whispers of a battle coming. Hopefully Ill be

able to fight in it, if it does come. A Healer, also a pretty obvious title. They heal. Im pretty sure the training base for that one is in Europe. Trackers train in the Amazon, believe it or not I think its to make it more challenging. A Safety is like a safe house operator. If a Bellator is in trouble, and near a Safety, the Safety is bound by oath to help them in any way they can, including and up to sacrificing their own lives. Em whistled. Pretty heavy stuff. Connor ignored her. Spell Worker is the title given to a Bellator who doesnt have a particular gift and just has base control over several aspects of the three basic types of Bellator power defensive, offensive, and healing. They set up wards of protection, perform rites of healing, curse enemies with acne, that sort of thing. Opal snorted inelegantly while drinking orange juice and inhaled half through her nose. Connor continued to talk while handing her a napkin. A Spell Workers Apprentice is basically a Spell Worker in training. They follow the Spell Workers around all day and try to gain some golden nuggets of knowledge from being theyre personal slaves. Spell Workers are found at every base, but the training base for that one is in Vegas, Im pretty sure. Scribes are like librarians, sort of. They record history, and teach it. An Apprentice Scribe is like an assistant librarian. I think their training base is somewhere in Australia. How do you choose what you want to be? Aurelia asked; intrigued. Connor levelled a gaze at her. You dont, he said in a voice as cool as winter frost. On the first day of training which is today, I might add; you guys arrived right on time the older Bellators get you to demonstrate your powers, and then they decide which group you would fit into best, depending on your skill set. A crackly announcement came through what was obviously an ancient speaker system. Ophelia, Emelia, Aurelia, Azkadelia, Connor, Zara, Katie, Sienna, Daniel, Leon, please go to the lawn out back. Azkadelia jumped and glanced around, looking for the speaker. The Dining Hall looked like the rest of the mansion opulent and vaguely medieval, tapestries against the walls. Except in this room, the modern greeted the ancient in a head-spinning time-warp fusion. Long, shiny tables of surgical steel, and cutlery and plates to match. What, are we getting detention? Em asked, amused. Connor didnt smile. Were being called to the lawn for testing. He gestured in front of him. Ladies first? Azkadelia asked him snippily. Prexactly, Connor said. Also, Im kind of nervous. It would be better if you could go first. Az rolled her eyes but walked in front of him. Thanks, Princess. Az felt tempted to slap him, but instead satisfied herself with thinking, After the test I will set your pants on fire.