The days passed slowly. In-between hunts, Jean had secret sessions summoning Elevates with Celezar nearby on Sewanhaka. It was surprisingly easy to come up with alibis since, as he had demonstrated already and in Etheraven, Celezar could "split" himself into more than one form. If Jean wasn't on a hunt, at the very least, it seemed as if Celezar was.

During those slow days, Jean quickly memorized the incantations to summon all three Elevate classes from the Third Sphere—Angels, Chiefs and Principalities—after three attempts. Granted, the times he tried leading up to finally summoning them knocked him unconscious, but he was glad to have gotten those classes out of the way so quickly.

He had high spirits for learning to summon from the Second Sphere.

Along with these sessions, he was also learning Enochian. Despite being fluent in several languages, Enochian was proving to be a challenge. Not every word in Enochian was said within a sentence. A simple word could translate to three in speech, regardless of having one clear definition. This made Enochian sentences concise. There were no shortcuts for words, no contractions or jargon. There were, however, several words that also meant or could be translated into others. He would have to memorize the language thoroughly to understand sentences clearly. Otherwise, he was going to be confused. Very easily.

Standing in the middle of a large, secluded field near some woods, he looked up at the partly-sunny sky of midmorning. He had made a deal with his mate, today. He would be allowed to push himself and attempt summoning the first two Elevates from the Second Sphere...so long as they remained together for the remainder of the day.

Easy deal.

Far too easy...

Their horses grazed nearby, completely unfazed by Elevate summons, Jean learned. Glancing from the sky to them, and then to his mate, he observed the hybrid sitting under a tree closer to the horses with his long legs outstretched. The green eyes twinkled, their owner looking at him with a small, satisfied smile.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward.

Celezar was definitely up to something.

"I'm ready," he said.

"Alright." Celezar momentarily quieted, flicking through the book, then said, "The summon for a Powers is: Gil givi g-macalza."

Momentarily closing his eyes, Jean made the circle and drew the sigil for teleportation in its center with two fingers. "Gil givi g-macalza," he repeated, throwing the feather straight into the air.

From the heavens emanated golden light shining directly upon him. He closed his eyes, stabilizing his body as the warmth and sensation of floating overcame him. But it was different from before. Stronger. More powerful.

Like before, with the Third Sphere Elevates, the feather disappeared in a twinkle of white. The energy that passed through him became stronger, and he swayed on his feet. Deeply, he exhaled, grounding himself with the determination to overcome this trial.

That was the last thing he recalled before he suddenly opened his eyes, staring up at the sky.

He groaned. "It happened, again."

From further away, Celezar slightly chuckled. "Yep."

Jean sat upright, softly grumbling. He was a bit lightheaded. For several moments, he sat there, his eyes closed in meditation. He took in the peaceful sounds of nature around him. The birds. The gentle rustling of the leaves.

The short meditation was what he hoped would help with clearing his mind for summoning this time around. He had declined several hunts of late, using the time to fortify his mind.

After a moment, he stood up and used two fingers to create the circle again, then drew the sigil in the middle before incanting the spell with stout determination.

The rush of energy flowed through him. He felt the warmth within and from the light above. Summoning a feather into his free hand, he threw it up. A jolting sensation tingled through him, and he swayed on his feet, but he did not lower his hand. The circle had to be maintained.

Finally, once he was sure he was about to keel over and lose consciousness, he felt the pull of his summon answered. The sound of flapping wings met even his waning hearing, and he gave a small smile.

This Elevate was much like the other in its simplest form, a marble-white being with a beak-like mask, a large halo, golden eyes, and golden embellishes. However, these embellishes were in the form of golden armor, complete with a helmet that showed only its eyes that matched the mask. It was covered in and wielding golden chains as weapons. It was also much larger than the Angel, as tall as a tree with proportions akin to a human's and had four noticeable fingers.

It looked upon him. "Nor de Alan." It nodded its head, as if aware he couldn't fully speak Enochian, yet. As the Angel did, it raised its arms while looking up at the sky. "Om, Padgze, ecarinu elasa ge nanaeel."

He was too weary to pick out words, but he understood enough. It was acknowledging his ability to summon it.

It then looked over at Celezar, its eyes slightly narrowing. Judging.

It didn't seem to see him as a threat, as it eventually looked away before flapping its wings, returning to the heavens. The light faded. The sensations of warmth and power left Jean's body, and he fell to his knees. Placing his hands on the grass, he took a breather.

"You're getting better at this," Celezar called from afar. "Think you can summon another?"

Not hesitating to think about it, Jean moved to his feet, hiding his stumble. "You're asking me that?"

"Oh, just making sure..."

"Uh huh."

A soft laugh was made, but nothing else was said of it.

The Virtues were next. For an hour, he attempted to summon one, failing several consecutive times. No amount of drawing on a feeling led to anything.

When Celezar finally called for a break, they sat together, enjoying each other's company while Celezar lazily taught Jean more Enochian.

After their forty-minute break, Jean walked back into the field. He turned around after moving in a few feet.

Turning a page in the book, Celezar softly hummed. "Argedco a bng."

Closing his eyes, Jean created the circle and signed the sigil in its center. "Argedco a bng."

The power that flowed through him this time was so strong, he grimaced before lowering to one knee. So soon, he failed, but it came as such a shock. His breath came out heavily, and he placed a hand over his chest.

"Are you alright?" Celezar called, readying to stand.

"I'm...I'm alright," Jean breathed. He slowly stood upright again. Once more, he made the symbol, murmuring the incantation.

He grimaced from the pain, but stabilized himself, exhaling through his mouth. As light shone around him, he felt floaty and lightheaded. Used to it, he remained standing. Steadily, as the seconds passed, the sensations were replaced with strength. Power. Opening his eyes, he felt his summon answered.

A great figure emerged from the sky, its body large and magnificent. It appeared similar to an Angel, wearing a long white tunic and wielding a long sceptre that bore small wings. However, the jangling of chains could be heard as it moved. Its own body was roughly the same size as the Powers, and its wingspan was two times the size of its body. It was a glorious sight, and Jean teetered on his feet, but steadied himself.

"Nor ol Alan," it said to him. Son of Alan. "Om, Padgze, ecarinu elasa gi nanaeel."

He nodded, understanding that it was giving him its blessing. Like the Elevates before it, it held out its hands before looking at the sky. With a flap of its wings and the rattling of chains, it returned to the heavens. The light faded away.

Smiling at his triumph, he remained standing for a moment. Then his eyes rolled as he collapsed to the ground.

He fought through complete unconsciousness, floating in a half-asleep, half-awareness that felt almost pleasant. Celezar came to his side in moments, looking down at him worriedly. A few pats to his cheek and he blinked himself awake, if not lethargic. He smiled sheepishly at his mate, who returned the smile with a shake of his head.

"How does it feel, summoning Elevates?" Celezar asked him with a small laugh.

"Tiring," he softly groaned, slowly moving to sit back on his hands.

Celezar hummed, eyeing him. "You're making wonderful progress, love. Just two more ranks to go, and then, Cherubim."

"The most powerful Elevates my family can summon," Jean murmured, glancing to the book in Celezar's hand. "What comes after Cherubim?"

"Seraphim. After Seraphim is the Creator." Celezar shifted so he was sitting in front of him.

Jean's expression morphed into almost horrified surprise. "People can summon the Creator?"

"So it is said."

He waved a tired hand. "That sounds impossible."

Celezar gave a sly smile. "Because it is impossible."

Exhaling with a groan, Jean looked to the sky. "I just want to get rid of the Entity. Will the Cherubim really be enough?"

"More than enough. I'm shocked your blood can summon such creatures, at all. Cherubim, Jean." He closed the book, locking it. "The second to last rank of Elevates. Think about it."

"I'm trying not to."

Chuckling, Celezar slanted his eyes.

A light breeze passed over the field. The leaves within the trees gently rustled. Softly exhaling, Jean closed his eyes, enjoying the moments of peace with his mate's presence near.

The atmosphere in the Cellar was tense, now that Celezar was around. That was no fault of his mate's. The men were simply trying—mostly failing—to adjust. It was going to take some time to fully adjust. If they adjusted at all.

There was a sound of movement. A warm hand went around his neck, followed by soft kisses. His lips slightly parted as warmth flushed through his body. Something seemed to stir within him. It caused him to slightly startle, which only elicited a chuckle from his mate.

"I sensed that," murmured the hybrid against his skin. "Mm...your scent is...really nice, now."

Exhaling, he made a small smile. His nose twitched as he inhaled, focusing on his mate's scent. "You smell good, too. Better than before."

"I'm glad" Celezar rumbled. A sneaky tendril began to slip up Jean's shirt.

Enjoying the attention, Jean's lips parted even more when the warm lips feathered over them. Slowly, tenderly, he was kissed, and he reached up to wrap an arm around Celezar's body. He then brought them both down to the grass. He slanted his eyes open, unaware the darkness that crept into his mate's eyes mirrored the darkness that inched into his own.

*    *    *

The soft sound of panting resounded in the space between the branches. Sweat poured from his brow, his body hunched over and slightly trembling. His clothes felt heavy, wet from perspiration. It was only the rank after the Virtues. Furthermore, he was almost inhuman now. Summoning one of the Dominions should not be this hard.

"Oh, yes, they can. They're called the Dominions, or Lordships, for a reason, love."

Did he say that aloud?

Groaning, Jean looked over to Celezar, entertained and amused on the other side of the branch.

Only a day had passed since Jean summoned the Virtues. They had moved their session to Hallowed Ground, this time, for no other reason but that they wanted to. Jean was surprised when he learned an Elevate could be summoned without rousing panic, but his mate waved the notion off. The trees of the realm were so large, they didn't even have to bother going to the ground to practice summoning an Elevate.

The hybrid gave an amused smile before poking the book splayed before him. "They rule over all of the lesser Elevates underneath them. First Sphere Elevates don't have time for such trifles," he said. He nodded at him. "Again, Jean."

Moving to stand, Jean took a deep breath. Brows furrowed with concentration, he murmured, "Ge-iad ol baeovib."

Immediately, he let out a groan from the spasm of pain, fingers quavering as he held the circle. Breathing hard, he summoned the feather and threw it into the air. The moment he threw it, he went down to his knees, grasping his heart as it throbbed. He felt Celezar appear at his side, lowly growling at something.

"You've failed eleven times," said the hybrid, running a hand through damp blond hair. "Rest."

"No. Can't," Jean urged, breathing heavily with some effort. "I can't stop."

"Jean, we'll be here for a while. You don't have to push yourself so hard." Celezar helped his mate to his feet but was then gently pushed away.

Jean gave a reassuring nod. "I'll be alright. I'll let you know when I need a break."

Huffing, Celezar leaned to give his forehead a kiss before returning to his spot near the grimoire.

Taking a moment to recover, Jean looked towards the horizon. The dark world was beautiful, in its ways. The moon stared back at him, its illusory closeness one of many supernatural aspects of the realm. There wasn't a sun in the sky, even though, according to Celezar, the sky was the same as the one he would look up at from his world. The sun was banished, he said, by Samhain, and the moon was asked to take its place in their sky.

 Such esoteric wordings made little sense in Jean's mind, but he went with it. Celezar was over fifteen thousand years old. It wouldn't do him any good to discredit the hybrid based upon young, human dogma.

Exhaling, he stood upright again. He came so far, already. This was for his friends who had died, their friends and the many unknown victims to Domien and the Entity's chaos. He couldn't give up so easily.

Once more, he made the circle and sigil in the air. "Ge-iad ol baeovib."

The spasm was painful, but he only pursed his lips, throwing the feather into the sky. There was burning instead of warmth, and he sharply exhaled from its intensity. His heart throbbed, and he staggered, but rightened himself. The feeling of floating was offset by the feeling of a weight bringing him down, and the shining light was the only respite. Shutting his eyes, he felt his body shudder, and he lowered his left hand.

"Ocaoa," he muttered, opening his eye to look towards the light.

Mercy.

He felt as though he was floating, for sure, and his eyes flickered closed.

The sound of flapping wings met his ear next. The sensation of his mate near him also registered to his senses. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see the large, blurred form of an Elevate lowering from the sky. He was resting against Celezar. He could barely hear. The Elevate spoke, but he couldn't understand it. Celezar responded to it, but he couldn't understand it. Lowering his right hand, which had kept the circle intact, he sunk to the ground, blacking out.

Next thing he knew, soft chittering and small chirrups reached his ears. Slowly, he opened his eyes, shifting on his back.

Ethereal white light in an otherwise pitch black location greeted his vision. It took him a moment, after seeing several familiar clues, to realize he was within Celezar's tree home, specifically his mossy, comfortable nest.

As he glanced around, he saw several hybrids smaller than Celezar's Infernal form near him, chirruping and making other noises as they rubbed against him and watched him awaken.

Upon seeing his eyes open, one smiled and loudly cried out, alerting the others to his consciousness. A shadow moved overhead, and Celezar dropped down, also in his small Infernal form. Immediately, he moved his siblings aside.

"Jean," he breathed, pressing their foreheads together with his eyes closed.

Sighing, Jean cracked a sheepish smile. "At least it worked."

Celezar frowned, slightly moving away. "Yes. You were asleep for too long, in my eyes."

"How long is that?"

"Thirty-ish minutes. Hold off until you summon another Elevate, alright? It's going to be the First Sphere from here on out. This time, you really could die."

Nodding, Jean agreed. The summoning took too much out of him. He was perfectly fine with resting, for a while. But he smiled. He had summoned from all six ranks of the Second and Third Sphere Elevates. He was that much closer to acquiring the power to repel the Entity.

Seeing his smile, his mate heaved a sigh. He then made a face at one of his siblings as they crawled up his back, chirruping happily. They reached out to Jean, and Celezar moved them from his back to place them beside him.

The little one made a small cry, snuggling against Jean's side, and he noticed their hide was softer than Celezar's. He didn't try to understand why they liked him but figured it had something to do with his changing scent.

"How would they be acting if I wasn't changing?" he asked his mate.

"They'd try to play with you. You would be food."

Jean made a face. "Ah. No manners, I see..."

Chuckling, Celezar softly agreed, moving to Jean's other side. He rested against his chest, inhaling deeply.

A sudden pain made Jean startle and look at his finger. It was in the mouth of one of the babies. "I'm not food," he said, attempting an assertive voice at them.

The baby hissed and made a low, rather endearing growl.

To his own surprise, Jean hissed back. A real, inhuman hiss. It did what it was supposed to do, and the little one chirruped before letting go of his fingers. They were then licked instead of bitten.

He blinked at what he had done. He then smiled, feeling a strange pride, it widened into a crooked grin when Celezar softly laughed.

"Getting the hang of things already, are you?"

He readjusted himself to rest against the mossy heartwood wall. "I've seen enough inhumans interact. It shouldn't be too difficult to transition..." He may have said that, but he was a little unsure. It wasn't that it bothered him, but he liked to think he was well-prepared for his new life as an inhuman.

A deep hum rumbled through his mate when he ran his hand down the harder hide.

He watched Celezar's siblings snuggle into a pile, rolling atop one another like cats.

They fell into a contented, companionable silence. The distant sounds of flapping wings and chirrups echoed about them. Celezar's siblings yawned, falling asleep in the stillness. Watching them, Jean's mind wandered.

What would his and Celezar's children look like? They would be four-species hybrids—mahre, hallow, devil, and human. Would they be small, like normal children? Would they be large, like Celezar's siblings?

He then closed his eyes upon sensing Celezar's presence grow in his mind. What happened next was difficult for him to discern, but he understood he was learning something. Content, he let himself rest as he and his mate continued a private conversation in his mind.