Green, growing, redolent with the scent of the raw element. All of the elements were here save fire, though the possibility of that one existed everywhere, all the time. Ah, yes, now the human part of her was home .. .finally.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said, her eyes still closed. Emotion rocked through her, stimulating the water magick in her seat.

The heat of him wanned her, he stood so close. "I thought you might like a little nature in your diet. After I felt your magick, with all four elements combined, I figured you were probably dying for some of this."

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air. "And I didn't even know I needed it."

He jerked his head. "Come on, I want to show you something."

She followed him, almost unconsciously locking step with his.

Adam glanced at her, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So what's with the Houses thing?"

Claire frowned, then realized he referred to the expression she used. "The Four Houses of the Universe. It's the primary religion of the daaeman. I was raised on it. There are four houses, each with a spiritual patron, one for each of the daaeman breeds. When daaeman die, they live between lifetimes in their respective house, awaiting rebirth." She pursed her lips. "Where they figure the aeamon go, I've no clue. I suspect they think we're soulless."

He missed a step. "Demon religion. That's wild."

"Why? They have a culture just like you. Religion, laws, art."

"Yeah, that's what Micah keeps saying. It's just strange. I mean, here demons are a part of our religion. They're the bad guys, the devil's pals. They're the ones responsible for all the evil in the world and are the creatures some people blame for their own bad behavior. Demons possess people, make them do malicious things."

Claire went silent, thinking on what he said. "The breeds once dwelt here, a very long time ago, during your biblical times and long before. They coexisted with humans, even had babies with them."

Adam nodded. "That's what created witches."

"Yes. Now, I don't know for certain, but I'd make a guess that because the daaeman were so otherworldly, so like gods, that they became a legend in your culture. Eventually perhaps they were made into these creatures that spread evil. I can see how they would be perceived that way by humans."

"But Atrika really are pure evil."

She nodded. "Yes. The Atrika are living weapons, created only to fight wars on a scale that has likely never been seen on Earth. The Ytrayi, Syari and Mandari lived with the humans in harmony. The Atrika hunted them and occasionally fathered children on the females, oftentimes through rape. The bridge was open to all the breeds back then, before the Ytrayi tried to rid Eudae of the Atrika."

"Too bad they weren't more successful."