

Progeny

Livian Grey © 2009

30/3 Productions Ltd.

ISBN: 9781311532473

Smashwords Edition

The book contained herein constitutes a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or stored in or introduced into an information storage and retrieval system in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.

Chapter 1

Sam knew he was somewhere cold. He knew his wrists were strapped down to whatever he was lying on. He knew this every time he came around. His eyes would open to a sea of white above him. A breathing mask covered his nose and mouth, and his breath echoed inside it. Voices around him would be audible again. His mouth was always bone dry, but he couldn't speak to ask for water. There was incessant beeping all around him. People moved beside him, and some of them touched him, pulling back his eyelids with their fingers and shining lights into his eyes, blinding him. His head was too heavy to lift. Faces sometimes came into view. He knew one of them. Not long before this, it had been the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Somewhere in the fog of his fractured memories, he remembered her singing to him — to many people. He remembered her taking him away from his life. He remembered loving her intensely, but he didn't know why.

The voices near him grew louder now.

'Her vitals are getting worse, Dominic,' said one of the women. Sam often heard her talking to whomever this Dominic was. 'She won't be a viable source soon.'

'Well, she's held up long enough. Ask one of the others to take her out when you get the chance.'

'Sure. I'm getting tired, though. Do you mind if I knock off soon? It's nearly 2 a.m.'

'Of course, Deb. I need you on your feet tomorrow. More will be coming in. Thomas and I should be okay for another hour or so.'

'I don't know how you two do it,' she sighed.

'Sheer bloody-mindedness, I suppose,' replied Dominic, chuckling in his friendly voice that Sam always found so comforting. He knew Deb's face, too. She often smiled down at him and stroked his hair. She was a lot nicer than some of the faces he often saw. The scowling, the contempt. None of it made sense.

Now he was half awake, all he wanted was to spend a day in a warm bath. He wanted his room again, his bed and the feel of clean clothes. He didn't know the day, the season; he wasn't even sure it was still the same year.

He didn't dream when he was asleep, and he never seemed asleep for very long. He felt like someone had poured cement into his veins and now it had hardened all through his body. He coughed a little then.

'He's awake again,' Deb called out. 'Madchen, can you take care of it? I'm going back upstairs.'

Sam's heart rate went up a little, and the beeping beside him became more frequent. That name; he hadn't heard it for some time. She wasn't often near him, but when she was, all he knew was fear. There wasn't any love left.

The beautiful face appeared over him, smiling the wicked smile, as always.

'Oh, Sam. My poor little Sam. We're not done, yet. But it won't be much longer. You won't be here forever, I promise.'

Her yellow eyes gleamed again. Her black hair fell around her thin face. He always wanted to shove her away when she was there. She held his arm again.

'You know the drill, Sammy. Back from ten.'

She hummed softly, and her voice began to lull him. Part of his addled, tortured brain tried not to focus on the sound. It never worked. His eyes closed to another vision of her, standing straight and magnificent on a stage before thousands of people. Her perfect body; her strange, translucent wings — they were all there in his mind now. He wanted her body against his. He wanted her firm, dark flesh in his hands. His fingers twitched a little with the wanting, but soon they were numb again. He didn't count out loud anymore. He never made it past nine now.

The beeping slowed down again as she murmured, 'Goodnight, my sweet prince.'

Three months earlier.

'Don't take it personally, Sammy,' Alissa said during her break up speech. 'You're still a great guy. I just need certain... things.'

Yeah, he'd thought, like a fucking personality.

Alissa the teen goddess, the one that left him battered. The number of times she taunted him with promises of sex, then snatched them away. He was patient nonetheless, more patient than his body was willing to put up with. It took an older guy to turn her head, and suddenly, he wasn't her Sammy. He didn't exactly love Alissa, but the humiliation was no less damaging to his ego.

He had gone home that night and hid in his room for hours, listening to his music and telling himself she had been a waste of time.

That was Saturday night. It was now Thursday morning. Alissa was milling around the entrance at school with some of her friends. He watched them as they hitched up their grey skirts. Girls like them knew what they were up to with their stupid little antics. Guys like him fell for it all the time.

His dad, Peter, had called him that morning, asking if he wanted to come stay for the weekend. He was considering taking him up on the offer despite hating the usual hour-long train ride from Manchester. The only other option was to spend another Saturday hanging about with Alissa by proxy since most of her friends were dating his mates.

Sam was drifting now. His concentration waned through his classes. His final exams were in just over a month. School felt more like a hindrance than a tool for life. He didn't know what kind of job he wanted, or how the hell was he supposed to even make those kinds of decisions at sixteen. The opportunities presented to him were so limited and unobtainable there wasn't any point planning for his future. In the meantime, he was just scraping by, not failing but not exactly excelling either. He kept under the radar with his teachers, figuring being unremarkable helped in not attracting any attention.

'Hey, Sam!' Harry Winters, his best friend, ran up behind him as he was entering the gates. 'You heard this new band, Hidden Agenda? They're really good.'

'No, I've been stuck on my usual stuff lately,' Sam mumbled.

'They're amazing. You should have a listen.'

When they were in class, Harry dug out the CD and tossed it to Sam. It sailed over his desk and clattered on the floor. Sam went to pick it up when a set of cheap bangles slid down a slender wrist in front of him. The hand picked up the CD and he followed it up to where Alissa was standing beside him.

'I love this album, it's so good.'

'Yeah, it is,' said Harry. 'Didn't think you'd be into them.'

'I love Lucas,' she replied dreamily. 'Dunno about that singer, though, she looks like a total slut.'

Sam snatched the CD off her.

'He was handing it to me,' he snapped.

'Oh sorry, Sammy.' She smiled coquettishly before heading to her desk.

Harry rolled his eyes. Sam examined the CD cover while Mr Barrington walked in and tried to settle the unruly crowd. The band was made up of four guys and one girl. She wore what appeared to be rags around her breasts and hips, and her arms were held out by the four guys, who stood two a piece on either side of her. Around her head sat a crown of thorns. He opened the case. Inside was a shot of the girl alone, staring into the camera. She was leaning against a huge apple tree. He thought something in his chest snapped because it was hurting badly and it was hard to breathe.

'Sam!' Mr Barrington yelled. 'Put that away.'

He stuffed the CD into his bag but didn't pay any attention to the rest of what Mr Barrington said.

After school, he checked his flat for his mum then went to his room and put on the CD. Track one started off sounding more like the record his mum owned of Gregorian chants. He wondered what the hell Harry and Alissa were on about until the guitars kicked in and he heard the girl sing.

Sitting on his bed, he listened as the notes of her voice were carried effortlessly over the cacophony of keyboards and drums. He lay back on his covers as the heaviness in his chest grew stronger. When his eyes closed, the image of the girl returned, more vivid this time. She moved towards him slowly, inviting him into her embrace.

'I can give you everything you've ever dreamed of,' she murmured, and he could hear her clear as bells past the volume of the song.

His mum was pounding on his door.

'Turn it down, Sam! I've got a headache.'

'Stay with me, Sam,' the girl coaxed.

'Sam!' Karen finally stormed in and smacked the stereo. The disc skipped then stopped. He didn't budge, so she whacked him on the leg.

'Wake up! I don't know how the hell you can sleep through that noise.'

'I wasn't asleep,' he said, irritated he had been yanked from his daydream.

He watched Karen picking up his clothes off the floor.

'Why am I doing this? Still doing this?'

'Doing what, Mum?'

'Picking up your bloody clothes for a start.' She threw down the bundle in her arms and rubbed her forehead. 'Go and stay with your dad this weekend. I need time to myself.'

'Fine.'

'Keep the music down.'

He waited until the door was closed before he raised his middle finger. Rolling over, he flicked on his computer and clambered lazily into his desk chair.

It wasn't incredibly difficult to find the band's website. There were a number of videos posted of their recent shows, which took several minutes to load with Sam's abysmal connection. He discovered the vocalist's name was Madchen, just Madchen, and he tried not to recoil at the pretentiousness of it. The other members also only went by their first names. There was a picture of the guy, Lucas, who appeared to be in his early twenties and impossibly tall. Alissa's ridiculous fawning passed through his mind, but another shot of Madchen quickly eradicated the thought. The video finally loaded and he hit play.

The crowd was compacted around the stage as Madchen stood at the microphone. The props on her back mimicked bat wings, pointed and translucent, and were expertly attached to her shoulder blades. They extended effortlessly, their wingspan almost as long as she was tall. Her perfect body didn't look older than seventeen. Ebony hair, naturally plump lips and hypnotising curves composed this portrait of immaculate beauty. Seeing her motions now did far more to him than the sight of her photo. She was subtle with her gestures but no less provocative. There was nothing grotesque about the way she swayed her hips. She wasn't like the girls in the rap videos Harry drooled all over. She was enchanting and Sam was too captivated now to look away. He was only partially aware of his slackened jaw and soon found himself wiping the sweat off his upper lip.

After the first video was done, Sam went straight to the second. Meanwhile, he copied the CD to his mp3 player whilst simultaneously saving as many images of her as he could find. His search for more info took him around two hours and was only interrupted when his mother demanded he come out to eat.

'You not hungry, love?' she asked. Sam guessed she'd taken one of her pills, as she was mellow then.

Eating was now another distraction from Madchen. He couldn't bring himself to put any food in his mouth.

'I had something to eat with Harry after school,' he lied.

'And here I am trying to feed you proper food. May as well let the shop up the street feed you two and I can stop cooking altogether.'

Sam shrugged. His mum put her fork on the table, and he knew then her pill must not have quite kicked in yet.

'What the hell is going on with you, Sam? Do I have to start going through your stuff looking for drugs? Don't turn me into that kind of parent.'

He decided against pointing out that that would have been an improvement for her. She was such a catalyst for his angst it was amazing he wasn't shooting up or out taking ecstasy every weekend. She was just being a total parody of a real parent. He shoved half a dozen forkfuls of her disgusting curry into his mouth, chewing and swallowing disdainfully, and washed it all down with a glass of coke. She asked him to do the dishes and walked out.

The phone rang and he took it off the hook on the wall.

'Sam, matey,' his dad piped. 'You still up for this weekend?'

'Yeah, Dad, I'll be there.'

'Right, I'll pick you up from the train station. Make sure your mum gives you money for a train pass.'

'She will, don't worry about that.'

'Oh, other thing is, I got this ticket from work. Some band that's playing at the Civic Hall Saturday night. Thought you might want it.'

'Yeah? Which band?'

'Hidden something? I don't know. Stupid name really. Now the Beatles, that was a clever name...'

Sam's palm became so sweaty he nearly dropped the phone.

'Sounds good,' he breathed, trying to hide his astonishment.

'Great. Liz and I were thinking of going out to dinner if you wanted to join us beforehand.'

'Ah... no, that's alright, Dad.'

'See you Friday night then, will I?'

'Hmmhmm.'

'You alright, Sam?'

'Yeah, Dad.' A flash of Madchen's face appeared behind his eyes. 'Never better.'

She wouldn't cry. Rose hated Logan, but it didn't mean much to her to have him touch her. Rejection worked so badly on her that she was willing to accept any affection now. She let him pull her back past the gate and press her against the wall. The rain kept everyone else inside.

They started kissing, his teeth pushing against her top lip. It wasn't doing much for her, but for a minute, she could pretend someone gave a shit about her. Then the feeling she got in her dark dreams slipped inside her and shifted under her skin. She clutched Logan's arms and moved her face from his. In the less than ample light, he looked at her with terror, but she only smiled. She opened her mouth and her eyes wide while Logan's own eyes went white. Her mouth tasted the white air that was slipping from Logan's lips and skin. She kissed him again and drank it in. Her body was shaking, and she felt so alert and alive she didn't want to stop. The wave of shame she always felt later was yet to wash onto her shores. Logan was convulsing in her hands, which were now bone-white vices around his forearms.

She broke away then, shuddering and completely aware of herself. Logan slumped to the ground, unconscious. Terrified someone would suddenly come looking for him, she burst through the gate and blended into the night.

Rose hated herself when she did this. She never got caught, but that didn't matter. Every time she thought she was in love with a boy, she would end up doing this. It wasn't Logan, it was Jamie who broke her heart this time. So she would run to anyone who would give her anything close to love.

Halfway home, she was forced onto the pavement by an oncoming ambulance.

Logan was drunk, they would say, just like the time with Charlie and Ted and Mike and...

What is wrong with me?

It was the dreams that frightened her more. When she was ten, they made her wet the bed. Nowadays, she woke on sweat-covered sheets, feeling exhausted as if she'd been running for days. People were all over her, twisting around her and touching her where it felt so lovely and so wrong all at once. At fourteen, she was convulsing in her sleep, embarrassing herself at slumber parties by moaning and wailing like a banshee.

Her circle of friends grew smaller as her behaviour grew stranger. Now she was seventeen and alone. Her mother Olivia's reckless absenteeism left her more alienated.

She pulled out her mp3 player, stuck in her earphones and switched on Hidden Agenda's newest song. The din of the keyboard and the singer's voice blocked out the distant siren, which she knew was heading towards the party.

At home, she curled up on her bed and finally released her tears. Pulling out her phone, she wanted to call Jamie, but he was refusing to answer her. He and his family had demanded she stay away from him. She was a freak. A nutcase. A liar. She made Jamie ill, so they said. Given him some kind of disease. He was hospitalised for three weeks with an unexplainable malaise that caused his limbs to become too weak to move. He said the time away from her cured him.

Rose threw her phone across the room and it slid under her cupboard. Ungrateful scum, she seethed, remembering the nights she stayed up with him, pleasing him any way she could. He was satisfied enough until he grew bored of her. She didn't do anything to him. He was the liar. She had only once seen the mists with him, just before he left her. It had terrified him and cemented his fear she was the one weakening him. All her apologies meant nothing.

Around 3 a.m. she was woken by the sound breaking glass in the kitchen. She angrily threw back her covers and went down to find her mother wrapped in the arms of a man. He was pinning her against the wall by the door and her skirt was hitched around her thighs. Rose didn't try to hide, yet neither of them noticed her. Her mother then cackled and slammed the man against the fridge. Rose remained still when his eyes locked onto hers. He became slack-jawed and ceased his attention on her mother, who in turn noticed the lack of response to her sloppy advances. She glared at Rose.

'Oh for god's sake, Rose. Go away!'

'Don't be mean, Liv,' said the man, leering. 'She can stay.'

'Go!' her mother barked. Rose left, unperturbed, and slinked back upstairs. She put her earphones back in and pressed them to her ears, focusing on Madchen's voice as she replayed Lilith's Lament:

For her lost ones, she waits.

Her ancient heart breaking.

Her children will rise,

And they will conquer.

They will avenge her.

End her years of torture...

Dominic snapped closed his mobile phone and slipped it into his pocket. Lately, his mornings consisted of a cup of black coffee and a shouting match with Thomas. This particular argument ceased when Thomas stated he was going over his options and suggested Dominic start looking for another partner.

The TV was on in the kitchen, distracting him. He had left it on some terrible morning show, and they were interviewing a very bored looking girl with long black hair and tight clothes that made him wonder how she could be possibly breathing. The host was holding up an album to the camera.

'This is their debut CD, Lilith's Lament, and with me, I have the radiant lead singer, Madchen.' He put the CD on the coffee table between them as the girl slouched back on the sofa. 'So, the new single's out. How do you feel about the hysteria it's generated?'

'I'm very happy,' the girl said with an ironic stoicism. 'I'm glad the fans like it. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for them.'

'That's right, you've gained a very big following online, haven't you?'

'Well, we wanted to give our fans our music. We don't believe they should have to pay to hear us.'

'But you're enjoying not your earnings now, I hear. That's a lovely jacket, by the way.'

'Thanks,' she replied, clearly not amused by the pathetic jab.

'Well, after the break, we'll be hearing Hidden Agenda's latest track, Hatred.'

Madchen turned to the camera and made a small, faraway smile. Dominic quickly flicked off the TV and was curious how he had managed to tolerate even a minute of the insipidness known as breakfast television.

He picked up his phone again and called his lab assistant, Deborah. He asked her to organise a lunch meeting with his only financial backer, Denis Carver, the son of a media mogul.

Denis was seeking to become independently wealthy by investing his trust fund in Dominic's project. It was an act of rebellion on his part, as relations had soured with his father and he didn't want to be the heir to a multi-million dollar media empire that wasn't interested in improving the lives of others. Losing his mother, Rachelle, to breast cancer, had spurred this determination in him. Denis's father coldly did little to accommodate her in her time of need, which led to his and Denis's estrangement.

Dominic explained his particular research had the potential to eliminate certain cancer genes through a very controlled process of artificial selection, and now the BRCA gene was one of his main targets. Denis was instantly on board before Dominic had even finished his proposal.

Denis now sat at their usual table in the Port Royal. Dominic noticed Denis's solemnity at once, knowing instantly their conversation wasn't going to go well. When Denis saw him, he brightened, but only briefly. The two men embraced, then took their seats.

'We've been working solidly for eight months, Denis. I'm sure we're a lot closer than ever to getting our work approved for further testing.'

The waiter interrupted Denis as he began to speak.

'Can I take your orders?'

'Waldorf salad, mind the dressing,' Denis said absently.

'And for you, sir?' the waiter asked Dominic. Denis usually footed the bill for these meetings, so Dominic always chose the cheapest thing on the menu. Sadly, even that seemed overpriced.

'Garden salad,' said the waiter as he wrote the order down. 'Very good, sirs, I'll have your order in a moment.' He vanished and Denis continued.

'It's not that I don't want to give you more money, Dominic. I've believed in everything you've been doing. My father despises me at the moment. My trust fund isn't as solid as it was. I was expecting returns on this investment.'

'I did explain this was a long-term project and that my ideas,' Dominic sighed, 'well, they're not particularly popular at the moment. The protests haven't helped publicity either.'

'I realise this, Dominic. I thought your case would have been reconsidered in parliament.'

'The member I was speaking with has grown cold. Someone's been talking in his ear again. It's made him fickle.'

'Then, I'm afraid I'll have to pull out,' Denis replied.

'But what about your mother?' Dominic protested, trying to keep his voice down.

'I've thought things over. I was very emotional when I met you. She's been gone a year now. I think I've reached a point of acceptance. Perhaps you should, too.' Denis lifted his eyes.

'Perhaps,' Dominic answered, grimly.

'The least I can do is ask around, see if anyone else would be interested the project. When I have some names, I'll give you a call.'

'I remember you saying it wasn't about the returns,' Dominic said. He didn't want to sound bitter, but the conversation with Thomas had left the taste in his mouth and now his words were tinged with it anyway.

'My life needs to go on. If things become promising again in the future, let me know, and I'll see where I'm at.'

Dominic pushed back his chair abruptly and Denis flinched.

'Don't make a scene, Dominic.'

'I'm not. I need to go back to work. You can call me with your list of names when you have it.'

On his way back to the lab, he called his accountant to advise Denis was backing out. Her response was rather weak and lacked any sympathy he needed then.

'Should I arrange for your accounts to be closed, Mr Stanton?'

'Wait until the money runs out, at least.' He hit the button to end the call. The discussion he was going to have with Thomas wasn't going to be anywhere near as civilised.

He found Thomas in the main office of the laboratory, going over some notes. Dominic very sheepishly gave him the bad news.

'What the hell!' he shouted. 'Slimy little baby. God, I've always hated that Denis boy. That's all he is, Dominic, a boy with too much bloody money and no common sense.'

'Please, Thomas. If you believe in what we're doing enough, you can help me make this work. We just need more time and someone to help us.'

'No one is helping us. You've seen how the right-wing supporters are up in arms just over stem cell research and GMOs. Everything you've said has been twisted by them in the press. Not to mention the pharmacos threatening us. Who wants a perfectly healthy baby? There's no money in that. We don't have any support. No one is on our side, Dominic.'

'I realise this,' Dominic said desperately, 'but we need to keep going. We're so close now.'

Thomas slumped in his chair. Dominic cast his eyes over the room. There were files and books lining the walls, papers all over the desk. So much information and yet they had barely made any headway getting their project off the ground. Years of research and evidence were contained in this small space. He felt suffocated by it.

'My family needs to eat, Dominic. I'm thinking of taking a position at Hull. It's not what we dreamed of, I know. But I need to think of my future now, and I don't see it here with you.'

'Would you consider coming back when things get better?'

'When they get better?' Thomas laughed bitterly. 'You still think they will?'

'I have nothing else, Thomas.'

'And who's to blame for that but you, Dominic?'

Thomas slid his chair over to his set of drawers and began packing up his things. Dominic stood by in a kind of daze and barely registered shaking Thomas's hand when they said goodbye.

'It's nothing personal, Dominic. Really, it's not.'

'I know that,' he said.

Dominic sat in his lab for some time. He always found the cool, clean atmosphere good for his emotions. In this world he was in charge, he had control of everything. He could contain chaos in the smallest spaces.

When he worked for a fertility clinic, going about the mundane routine of testing batches of embryos to pick out the most viable, his mind would be reeling with all the possibilities these clusters of cells presented him. Designer babies were one thing, a huge market in some countries, but why didn't anyone want to design the healthiest child possible? What if he could weed out all the imperfections to make one being completely impervious to any disease imaginable?

His ideas were always met with a barrage of ethical dilemmas. Leaving the clinic to carry on with his theory seemed like the only option for him then. He knew the legwork was needed, but he wanted to invest his whole life into his new project. He was well aware his dream would not be met in his lifetime, but to set the groundwork while he could soon became his obsession. He was laughed out of the office on his last day, and earned the title of the "Genetic Frankenstein."

The name followed him to every conference and lecture. Students asked him about it. One little mousy student, Deborah Stark, was intrigued by his proposal, and happily took an internship at his new laboratory with the hope of learning more about molecular biology. Her interest in genetics hadn't piqued until he spoke about it with such passion.

Thomas had been dubious. When Dominic found him some time after completing their doctorates, Thomas was a teacher at their college. Dominic drew him in with his plan, albeit over several beers, and he was young enough at the time to humour Dominic and agree to assist him. Thomas kept his lecturing job as a safety net while Dominic had more or less given up everything. It became obvious as each hurdle appeared, Thomas was less prepared to jump, and when his involvement with Dominic became well known, he lost his position due to ethical conflicts with some of his colleagues. Dominic struggled to maintain his loyalty after that. Now Thomas was out of the race altogether.

The fading light was passing a shade of grey over the white benches when Deborah arrived at last, her long dark brown hair in a neat ponytail. While she wasn't in the lab very often, she respected his space and helped keep it clean. Eventually, Dominic would have integrated her into his research team. Having her as a secretary on the side helped her pay her own rent and bills.

'I'm sorry, Dominic.' Her voice was small. 'I really thought you were going to get more support.'

He chuckled. 'That's very sweet of you, Deb.'

'I'd like to come back. If you'll have me.'

'Of course. I'll call you if anything changes. Thanks for all your help.'

'It's been my pleasure. I've learnt so much being here.' She walked to him and handed him a piece of paper. 'This woman called for you, by the way, while you were out. She wants to meet you for dinner at her house in High Wycombe. She insisted you go tonight, but I said you might be busy.'

Dominic read the address. He knew it wasn't far. Checking his watch, he figured he had about three hours to make it.

'Did she say what it was about?'

'No. All she said was, she might be able to help, and she's been to some of your talks. Her voice was very strange. Made me feel really uncomfortable.'

'Thanks, Deb. You can head off now. I'm afraid I can't really give you any recompense at the moment.'

'It's no problem, really. The time you've given is enough for me. There's a testing job at a new factory I've applied for. I didn't want to tell you about it in case...'

Dominic smiled, and it almost hurt.

'I can't expect you to follow me forever, Deb. Good luck.'

'Thanks. I'll keep in touch. Let me know if you need any help.'

She left him alone. The sound of the office door closing punctuated the finality of his dream. He didn't have the energy to start packing things away. The heavier glass cabinets and equipment needed some care and he had no idea where he was going to keep it all now. His apartment just wasn't big enough.

Now it was clear he had nothing, he decided meeting this woman wasn't going to make anything worse. He went home, showered and changed into his only suit, and headed out to meet her.

Chapter 2

Rose decided she deserved the ticket to the upcoming show in Birmingham. She needed to see the band. She deserved the money, even if it was taken out of Olivia's tin of savings that she hid in the bottom of her cupboard. Compensation, she concluded. She didn't steal and only lied to protect herself. Maybe if the guys in the band were cool with her, they would let her go on tour with them, and she could sew their costumes or be a stagehand or something...

Olivia wanted her out of the house. Rose was glad of it.

Their fight the following morning escalated from sharp words to a full-blown shrieking match. The man Olivia brought home with her, Paul, was giving Rose much more attention while her mother got ready for work. Rose was sitting on the couch, trying to watch TV, when Paul came and sat down next to her, much too close. Rose shifted away, but Paul ignored her body language completely and closed the gap.

'You're much more beautiful than your mum, Rose,' he murmured. Rose fidgeted while Paul tucked her hair behind her ear. 'Your hair's much darker than hers.'

'She dyes it,' she smirked. 'Says it covers up her greys.'

Paul laughed. 'Yeah, that's why you're more my type, Rose.' She knew the way he said her name would forever make her sick. 'I like younger girls, personally. Such pretty skin, so firm.' He kissed her cheek and then her neck. She clenched her teeth.

'Leave me alone.'

'You don't want that. I saw you looking at me last night.' He gripped her tighter. 'I haven't stopped thinking about you, even when I was with your mum.'

She nearly vomited. Her palms felt itchy. She didn't want to face him, but her head moved despite her wishes. Once she was staring into him, she realised she had the upper hand. The white air slowly seeped from his eyes and mouth. It didn't feel wrong this time when she grabbed his face and the trembling started. She drank the air in hard and really tried to taste it. It wasn't sweet or bitter. It seemed to have a taste all its own, and it filled the spaces in her that constantly felt empty and raw. Paul was petrified. She revelled in the fear; it made the taste of the air stronger and more aromatic. She was lulled by it, full as if she had eaten far too much. Paul slumped on her, completely unconscious. She was trying to shove him off her when Olivia came into the room.

'Rose, you rotten little bitch!' Olivia grabbed Paul's shoulders and pushed him to the back of the couch.

'What the hell have you done?'

'He's been drinking, Mum!' Rose protested. 'Then he started-'

'He didn't start anything, you sick little pest. Call an ambulance.'

Rose went to the hallway and picked up the phone. The operator on the other end asked for her address and Rose spoke slowly. Despite her mother's consternation, her shrill cries for Paul to wake, Rose suddenly felt calm.

When the ambulance came, the paramedics managed to rouse Paul as they lifted him on the gurney. Olivia went with him and demanded Rose stay at home.

She would be dealt with later.

Rose was enjoying that she wasn't being subjected to the usual guilt she felt after pulling her little stunt. She lay on her bed for a while and felt herself writhing involuntarily on her sheets like a cat on its back in the sun. She felt good, really good. It was hard not to think of touching herself. She rubbed her skin and felt how warm it was now, then took a long, hot bath and tried to make sense of the sensations that were running wild through her body.

She remembered how selfish all the boys that she had been with were, and wondered if perhaps they deserved her special punishment. She got out the tub and her hand cleared the condensation off the mirror. Pulling the skin down from around her left eye, she peered at her iris. It was a strange tint of yellow, not its usual dark brown. Her veins were more prominent around her lips and eyes, and the skin on her arms and torso felt firmer. People said she was such an English rose with her pale skin, but now it was noticeably darker like she had acquired a light tan. She examined these subtle changes with a vague fascination before the calm slipped away from her and alarm came in its stead.

Olivia was screaming for her to come downstairs. Rose wrapped a towel around her bust and trotted out.

'Paul's in the hospital. They can't figure out what's wrong with him.'

'I told you, he was drinking.'

'There's not that much alcohol in his system, Rose.' Her mother was perturbed.

'You two were putting it away last night, Mum. I could smell it on his breath.'

'Stop lying, Rose. What did you do to him?'

'I didn't do anything!'

'God, what was I thinking?' Olivia stepped away from the foot of the stairs and shuffled into the kitchen. Rose followed her.

'What are you on about?'

'Wake up, Rose. You think I'm really your mum? You don't look a thing like me.'

Rose paused. 'Excuse me?'

'Some woman gave you to me when you were a baby. She didn't look right, either. I don't know why I took you in. I said I didn't know anything about looking after babies but she didn't care.'

Rose sat at the table.

'And you were going to tell me all this... when, exactly?'

'I dunno. I didn't know what to say.'

'So why didn't you just dump me on someone else, then?' Rose indignantly replied. 'If I was such an inconvenience?'

'The woman said I shouldn't even dare consider it. I believed her. She looked mean, Rose, just the way you look when you're mad. But I've done my bit. You're old enough to look after yourself.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'I want you out, Rose. I've had enough. I'm sick of you. You disappear for hours on end-'

'So do you. I never know where you are.'

'That's different. The things I've heard your boyfriend's mum say about you. And after everything I've done...'

'You haven't done shit, Mum!' It was pointless not to call her that. 'You hardly even cared if I went to school.'

'So ungrateful...'

'Oh shut up!' Rose screamed. 'You're an awful, horrible bag. You don't have anyone else to love you but a bunch of louts you pick up at the pub who just come home and crack on to your daughter.'

'Stop it!' Olivia shrieked. 'You don't have any idea how horrible it's been with you here.'

'And I don't care, either!' Rose shot up from the chair, causing it to fall backwards. 'I don't need you anyway.'

Olivia stormed past her and grabbed her purse. 'I'm going back to the hospital.'

'Fine. You know Paul doesn't give a toss about you. He said as much.'

Olivia slammed the front door hard enough to make the knocker clank. Rose's usual impulse would have been to run to the phone and ring Jamie. There were no options left. She pulled on some clothes and packed some more in her bag. It was then she went to her mother's room and took the money, with a little extra for a train ticket to Birmingham.

Sam's dad picked him up from Birmingham station on Friday night. He didn't bother telling Harry or anyone he was going. If they rang asking where he was, he would tell them, but he never felt he owed any of them any excuses.

'How was the trip?' Peter asked.

'Same as always. Had to stand 'cause someone took my seat.'

'Never mind, least it's not far.'

His dad divorced his mum because she wouldn't stop complaining about everything. Sam considered him fairly flippant, but he preferred him to his neurotic mother.

'Liz is having dinner with us tonight. She's cooking, too. Be a nice change from that slop you get at home. You're looking a bit pale, son. You alright?'

'Yeah,' Sam mumbled. 'Just tired.'

'Up all night studying?'

'Hmhmm. Exams.'

'I can give you a hand if you want.'

'Nah, Dad. It's fine.'

They sailed around the bending streets on the way to his dad's house. Most of the semi-detached houses were well kept, but a lot around the estate where Peter lived weren't as nice. Their lawns were usually covered in rubbish or children's toys and the awnings hadn't been painted for years. There was graffiti on the fences down some of the alleyways. The local children were nightmares and stayed up all hours in the summer months screaming and carrying on.

Liz was in the kitchen when they got in. Sam was pretty indifferent to her. She usually tried extra hard to get him onside, but he didn't consider that a reason to put as much effort in return. Her hair was platinum blonde and cut very short around her head. She was a bit taller than his dad, and a lot thinner. A lot younger, too.

'Hiya, Sam. How ya been?' She kissed his cheek.

'Fine.'

'I've got all your favourites on. And I heard you're going to the Hidden Agenda show tomorrow night. Wish I could go.'

Sam shrugged. Madchen hadn't left his head yet. If it were up to him, he would have had his headphones surgically attached to his ears so he would never have to stop hearing her voice. Peter gave him the ticket.

'I told Liz I'd check if you wanted it first.'

'You can go and get me a shirt, can't you, Sam?'

'Yeah okay,' Sam said to the ticket. Peter worked for a publicist in the city, so he got free tickets every now and then for up and coming bands. Sam went to see them if he felt like it, but this show he wasn't prepared to miss.

Liz and Peter chatted over dinner. Sam couldn't eat. He hadn't been able to eat for the last day or so. He wasn't bothered, but Liz was. She was incensed he hardly touched all the food she'd made. He went up to bed while Liz cried to Peter about how hard she was trying and how mean Sam was to her. Peter didn't bother coming up for another chat about his behaviour, much to Sam's relief.

The morning of the concert arrived after another sleepless night, and the only thing fuelling him now was the anticipation. Liz was all smiles while she served breakfast.

'Feeling better?' she asked.

'Yeah, I suppose,' Sam said.

'I made you pancakes.' She dropped the plate in front of him and she waited expectantly. He felt he was supposed to pat her on the head and give her a treat. Just to make her stop staring, he smothered the pancakes in maple syrup and shoved some in his mouth. Liz sat down with her coffee and grinned. A lump of pancake slid down his throat. He was getting tired of well-meaning mother types making him force-feed himself.

'I know I'm not your mum, Sam.'

'It's fine, Liz. Don't worry about it. I haven't been feeling well.'

'You look kinda off, yeah. Want me to drive you to the doctors?'

'No,' he said as he forced down another wad of pancake. 'Like you said, you're not my mum.'

Liz frowned dramatically and went to say something when his dad came in.

'Sleep okay, son?'

'Yeah fine. Look, I'm going into town early. I wanted to look at some things. Then I'll go to the show.'

'You sure? It's not 'til 8,' said Peter.

'I know. Saves you having to find a park. See ya.'

Liz was muttering to Peter while Sam put on his coat. Peter tried to stop him but he managed to get out of the door and out the gate, avoiding the lecture.

It was all part of the plan he concocted while he couldn't sleep that night. If he got there early enough, he hoped he would have a chance to meet Madchen. He didn't feel like he could say he was a fan since he'd only been listening to the band a few days, but he wanted more to be near her. She had infected him already. He was thinking about her constantly; in the shower, on the train there with his headphones at full blast. She was in his mind even when Karen ranted at him about not doing the dishes like she'd asked. He knew it was ridiculous to idolise something so unobtainable, but Madchen was keeping the feeling of hopelessness out of his mind. His daydreams, now so saturated with the idea of being with her, distracted him from the nightmare that was his seemingly endless adolescence. Any thoughts of Alissa were destroyed by Madchen's singing. The goddess was now nothing more to him than just some girl he had seen on the street.

He compulsively checked he had his ticket, which was becoming soft from over-handling it with his damp fingers.

There were too many hours to kill once he got off the bus. He wandered around the Civic Hall until he found the back entrance. A group of overweight stagehands scared him off, so he went for a walk around town.

While he was absently browsing through a rack of CDs in the local HMV, he caught sight of Harry, Mitchell, Jessie and Alissa. Hiding behind one of the taller racks, he waited to get a clear exit and dashed out of the store.

He wondered what they were doing there and realised they probably had gotten tickets, and managed to scab train fares off their parents to go to the show. There was nothing going on that night they would be interested in other than Hidden Agenda. Alissa probably persuaded them not to invite Sam, so of course Harry, despite all his posturing that he was on Sam's side, went along with it anyway. He sulked in the arcades for a few hours, hoping he wouldn't see them at the show.

It was 3 p.m. when he decided to return to the Hall. He went down the back service road and his legs managed a casual swagger in spite of their trembling. There was now a small van parked by the stage door, and the band's logo was professionally spray-painted down the side. He kept his distance and waited for some movement. Nothing happened for some time, so he was startled when the sliding door of the van opened and a flash of black jumped out.

She was a lot smaller than he had imagined her. Her presence onstage seemed to give her height. He barely saw her face behind the hooded jacket she was wearing. She turned slightly and stared directly at him. Her eyes were a piercing and disturbing shade of yellow — which he figured was the result of expensive contact lenses — and her skin was much darker in the sunlight. A couple of guys got out of the front doors, also wearing hoodies. They regarded him as well, and he shrank back, knowing he couldn't pretend they hadn't seen him. Steeling his nerves at last, he took his moment and called out to her, his voice surprisingly louder than he anticipated.

'Madchen-'

'We don't do autographs,' one of the guys said. He was tall and towered over Madchen like a sentinel. When Sam took his own meagre height and build into consideration, he knew he didn't have the muscle to fight these guys off. The guy on the driver's side of the van paced around to their side and gripped her forearm. She lifted his hand off her and stepped ahead of them.

'We have time for one,' she said. Her voice was laced with an eerie chill, but it instantly turned keys to doors in Sam's head, beyond which even he was too scared to venture. Falling at her feet would have been a dumb move, but he could have done it unashamedly then. Her form was concealed under her baggy clothes, but he knew the lay of the land beneath them from the corsets and tight PVC pants she wore in her pictures. She drifted towards him and he carefully approached her, taking a piece of screwed up paper from his pocket. She produced a silver pen and took the paper from his hands. He thought she deliberately stroked his palm with the action. His skin was suddenly peppered with sweat.

'What's your name?' she asked as he watched her lips move.

'Sam,' he croaked, thankful his still-developing larynx didn't squeak.

He was already being driven to insanity at this point, so when she took a step closer to him, he knew he was screwed. He would need a shot of ephedrine to wake him up from the coma she was about to put him in.

Her delicate hands scratched out an autograph, the lettering elegant, almost gothic. Dearest Sam, thank you for your support. Love, Madchen.

She handed him the piece of paper and smiled sweetly. Then he nearly collapsed when she planted the softest kiss on his cheek.

'Hurry up, Madchen, or we won't have time.'

'I'll see you again sometime, Sam. Have fun tonight.' She ran back to the other two, and she whispered to the one who'd spoken first. She hung back by the second guy and smiled up at him.

The first guy came forward with the same strange, ethereal gait. Sam realised this was Lucas. Much gaunter that Madchen, yet still looking like a total rockstar, Lucas leaned into Sam's face and a shot a puff of icy air from his nostrils. His spidery, manicured fingers gripped Sam's chin and tilted his head back. Sam wanted to smack the hand away, but he suspected this would cause Lucas to slam a fist in his face. Another pair of dark yellow eyes stared into him as his head was gently moved from side to side.

He was being examined, sized up. Doctors made him feel less uncomfortable than this.

Lucas asked, 'How old are you?'

'Eight...eighteen,' Sam stammered.

Lucas smirked, bearing his pure white teeth. 'We'll see you 'round, Sam. Now fuck off.'

Lucas letting go then caused Sam to almost topple backward. Lucas went back to the others, but they all hesitated at the stage door and stared back at Sam for a moment. The heat on his cheek vanished as a cool wind shot past him, and the three hooded figures went inside.

Thankfully, there were some crates against the back wall, and he gripped one to steady himself. He couldn't breathe anymore. His heart almost flatlined for a second and he checked his own pulse to confirm he was still alive. He couldn't pinch himself or make any assurances that what had just occurred wasn't a dream. Of course in his most perfect of fantasies, he was the one to kiss her, but to have her actually kiss him, without hesitation, was beyond his capacity to even imagine. So it was bordering on impossible to believe he was awake and this was reality.

He still felt Lucas's fingers on his chin. He didn't want to contemplate what the hell Lucas had been trying to do, other than scare him, which had worked.

Another van pulled up and a couple more black hooded guys jumped out. Their gazes made him equally uncomfortable. Same animalistic yellow eyes, same dark skin. His legs woke up and raced him back around the side of the venue.

Chapter 3

The house was on the outskirts of High Wycombe. Dominic wanted somewhere nice out there for when he retired. The likelihood of that was drastically diminished by Denis's decision. He pulled up to a locked gate that was manned by a tall guard who asked his name. The guard had a young, angular face with sunken cheeks and his suit was much nicer than Dominic's. He leaned down by the car window and peered at Dominic.

'You're here to see Miss Keller?' he asked.

'I am,' Dominic replied shakily. 'She left me a message.'

The guard spoke into a walkie-talkie that crackled an incomprehensible answer and the gates suddenly opened. Dominic headed up the drive to the house. His headlights only covered two of the four apparent storeys. Hedgerows lined the bottom floor windows and stately columns stood either side the front step. He parked near the front door and another young man came out. He was also dressed in a better suit than Dominic's, and he opened the car door.

'Thank you,' Dominic replied, perplexed.

'You can follow me,' announced the young man, who was a clear foot taller than Dominic. In the light of the hallway, his short black hair glistened and his dark skin was tight around his cheekbones. He stopped in the hall and Dominic immediately halted. Examining him closer, Dominic guessed the man wasn't any older than twenty-five, but his towering height made him all the more intimidating.

'My name is Lucas,' he said at last. 'Miss Keller will be down to see you shortly. Would you like a drink?'

'Whiskey would be fine. Thank you.'

Lucas nodded and disappeared. Dominic was left standing at the foot of a wide stairwell. There were two doors either side of the front hall and a large pair of doors ahead of him that was slightly obscured by a twist in the stairwell. The walls, adorned with a rich, dark red paper, were lined with exotic plants and ornate mirrors. The floors were tiled with black marble and immaculately polished. He could see the front parlour off to his left. The fireplace was half encircled by richly upholstered armchairs. There was a very simple looking door to his right, which he imagined led to the servants' quarters, given the age of the house. The sudden presence of the lady of the house made him jump.

'It's so wonderful to have you here, Dominic.'

He turned to the owner of the voice. An olive-skinned face framed with long, dark curls beamed at him. Her lips and nose were thin, and her almond eyes were wide with a strange delight. He caught a strange tint of yellow in her irises. Her jawline was particularly sharp and angular. His throat snatched in his breath and refused to let it out.

'I wasn't sure you'd come,' she said. 'My name is Scarlet Keller.'

'I was curious, I suppose.' A small sigh rose from him but he remained rigid.

'You look tense, Dominic. Please, I don't want this to be all about business. You're here to enjoy yourself, too. Come.'

She coaxed him into the parlour where Lucas had already left Dominic's drink. He sat in the chair opposite the fireplace and loosened his necktie a little in response to the heat as well as his nerves. The fire provided the only light. Picking up his drink, he glanced up at a portrait above the fireplace, which was difficult to make out in the gloom. The pastel colours seemed too pale for the richness of the shades within the parlour.

'It's by Dali,' Scarlet stated when she saw him looking. 'The Madonna of the Birds. Of all man's depictions of the Virgin, I've found this one to be the most whimsical.'

He squinted to further examine the painting. There were two cherubic children lying about a rock in a pale desert. The rock was part of the Madonna's form, but her face was in the sky, composed of ghostly looking gulls.

'I've never known whether to admire or abhor her for her deception. Even two thousand years later, millions of people still believe her lie.'

Dominic dropped his gaze. 'What do you mean?'

'A woman of such virtue would do anything to protect her reputation. I was able to see past her fantastic story at the time. She wasn't as chaste as she'd purported.'

He was completely unsure of how to respond to this, but she didn't give him a chance to interject.

'Did your secretary explain that I've seen you before at some of your lectures?'

'She did,' he said as he swallowed his whiskey. He took another sip to get rid of the dryness in his mouth.

'I've been following your progress as best I can. I understand you've encountered some problems.'

'One of our investors, our only investor, decided to pull out.'

'That's a shame.'

'It is.'

She sat across from him.

'I hope you don't think me too forward in saying I would like to fund your project.'

She crossed her legs and rested her hands demurely on her knee. He furtively glanced at her shoulders and then at her bare neck, then realised what she had said.

'You would?'

'I think your work has more merit than the naysayers are willing to admit. I'm prepared to give you anything you need. I can even provide a place for you to work.'

'Where?' he asked, unable to stop acting stupefied by her words.

'Here. I have the necessary facilities downstairs. Clean rooms, workstations, all the equipment you require. All brand new.'

'I hope you don't mind, but can I ask why?'

Scarlet laughed. His knees suddenly went weak. 'Of course. I have no intention of hiding anything from you, Dominic. Our relationship will not be founded on secrets. You will have to keep a few secrets from the public. That's all I ask.'

'What sort of secrets?'

'We'll get to that. I'm guessing you're hungry. I have a meal waiting for you if you'll join me.'

She gestured to take his hand. He put down his glass and accepted the offer, finding the act beguiling as it was graceful. She wore long dress pants that hugged her small middle, and a simple camisole shirt with a square neckline. While she kept her house well decorated, she didn't adorn herself with any jewellery. Her nails, however, were expertly painted and manicured, and a little too long for his comfort. She took his arm and led him from the parlour to the dining room. She actually pulled out his chair for him to sit beside her, then took her place at the head of the table. The food was already served. Two crystal glasses were filled with a burgundy wine. She rose her glass and he did the same.

'I hope by the time we've finished talking, we'll be long-term partners. And dear friends.'

'That would be lovely.' He panicked. 'I'm afraid I haven't bought any of my work to show you. I wasn't expecting this proposal.'

'I've seen everything I need to see. It's my turn now to convince you.'

Dominic smiled. 'I don't think you'll need to do very much. I just need assurance you're confident in my work.'

'Then perhaps I should start from the beginning.'

'Of course,' he said, already finding himself mildly hypnotised by her.

He sliced off a piece of venison and lifted it to his mouth. The texture and taste were divine and he found himself momentarily distracted as he chewed. He excused himself and prompted her to go on.

'I was in a very volatile and unfulfilling marriage, many years ago. While I did everything I possibly could to make things better, he said I was too... dominating. His father didn't seem to take too kindly to me, either.'

'You're divorced?'

'Not so much that as cast out,' she answered.

'He threw you out? Why?'

'Actually, his father did, and my husband made no objections. As I said, he didn't take very kindly to my dominating ways. It was intimated by others, I supposed as a means of absolving my husband, that I left of my own accord. He was very good at making himself appear blameless. I was alone for a long time after. I'm still alone, in a way. I've been through many trials to come to this point. For some years I travelled the world, learning as much as I could of humanity. I guess I sought compassion in all the wrong places from all the wrong people. I realised after some time, I wasn't like anyone else in the world. Even my husband seemed to believe there was an inherent... darkness in me. A selfishness, he said.'

'I wouldn't think that,' Dominic said. He flushed as she smiled. 'Why did you marry him if he seemed to think that?'

'We were brought together by design, something I've never really understood, and we lived in paradise for many years. But I always felt as though I was his lesser. You know, he even hated when I tried to lie above him.'

Her candour made him choke a little. He swallowed some wine.

'He seems horrible,' Dominic commented, trying to clear his throat without making a scene of it.

Scarlet nodded. 'He was, really. Many think otherwise. I feel much more sorry for his other two wives.'

'What happened to them?'

'Well, the second one, she was just a bit too human for his liking. He recoiled at certain things about her. Then his third wife, she decided to listen to influences other than him and his father. She caused them to be thrown out of their home.'

'How? What did she do?'

'She ate something she wasn't supposed to.'

'That was all?'

'Yes, apparently. And she's been held responsible for their rejection ever since.'

Dominic mused over this. Her story sounded familiar. Then he felt like a complete fool. He asked his next question carefully.

'What exactly did she eat? Do you know?'

'An apple.'

'Right. And it wouldn't have happened to have been offered to her by a serpent, or something similar?'

'Yes, it was. I know you know the story. Everyone knows that story. Whether they believe it or not, that's hardly my concern. They've even tried to blame me for that as well, saying I offered the apple to her. Rubbish. I was long gone by then.'

He put down his fork. 'I'm sorry, Scarlet. I don't think you can help me.' If Denis was a boy with too much money, then Scarlet was clearly a woman with not enough sanity. Neither of them had turned out to be a safe bet. Dominic moved to stand only to have Scarlet grab his arm, tight. He grimaced.

'Please,' she said sharply. 'Sit.'

With all the obedience of a well-trained Labrador, Dominic sat back down.

'I'll continue my story, then you can make up your mind.'

'Very well,' he said, trying desperately to mask his rising fear of her. She removed her hand and used it to prop up her chin.

'I was left with nothing, you see. He got to stay where he was, in a place where nothing could hurt him. He had everything anyone could want, and still he complained. But that's not my problem anymore. He's long since dead, and I don't grieve his loss at all. But I was lonely, too. I wanted a child of my own. So I remarried. We parted ways due to him being more interested in other affairs, but I didn't care. He offered me what I deserved.'

'Did you have a child with him?'

'I've had many. But they were always so weak. My last husband was the only one who was able to give me children. Some are still out there, but hopefully, they'll be coming home soon. I had to abandon many of them over the years since I couldn't protect them well enough. I've spent my time continuing to study humankind as it has developed over the centuries. We've become too dependent on them for our survival. I want a means of propagating my own kind without their assistance. Part of my work has already started. One of my daughters is working on that now. But I need your expertise, your guidance and knowledge, to help me with my plan.'

'What is your plan?'

'I want healthy children. Strong and fertile children, impervious to diseases and genetic weaknesses. Anything a mother would want. You're working towards this goal, and I can give you the necessary means to continue that. If you help me, we can both achieve our dreams.'

'As long as I don't tell anyone about you? Is that it?'

'That is it. You will tell no one of the work I give you. And you will have the freedom to carry on your studies for as long as it takes for you to find your answers. Your holy grail, as it were.'

Dominic's appetite was diminished. She hadn't touched her food at all. She was staring at him expectantly.

'I can give you time to consider all this,' she said sweetly, 'if that's what you need.'

He sipped his wine.

'What you're asking will require test cases, specimens,' he said. 'I'll need mice and rats...'

'I can do better than that.'

'What are you suggesting?'

'No one will come to any harm. I'm only intending on using my children.'

'But I can't guarantee everything I do in my work is perfectly safe.'

Scarlet drank her wine and stood up. 'I know your field of study has gone into malignant territories in the past. I've seen that myself. Since we'll be working here, I can assure you I have all the necessary precautions taken care of. I have medical supplies and equipment. When the others get here, I plan on having some of them learn your skills so they can assist. I can show you everything first, so you can feel you've made an informed decision.'

She led him from the dining room through the hall to the closed door. It wasn't locked and only opened to a well-lit staircase going down. He followed her, still suspicious of her sanity. Curiosity was much a part of his motivation, plus the undeniable attraction he had developed for her over the evening. He kept himself guarded, but he felt a lot of his motions were becoming too automatic. He considered the possibility she had drugged his food and drink. With all that had been lost that day, losing his life seemed the most appropriate conclusion. He fidgeted and glanced back up the stairs while she entered a pin into a control panel on the wall in front of her. A thick metal door opened and she walked through. Despite his trepidation, he still followed her, which worried him more than anything.

'This is the lab. This will be all yours and you will be in charge of operations here.'

A pair very bored-looking young men were leaning against one of the workstations near the back of the room. They glared back at Dominic. Scarlet motioned them both to come to her.

'Gabriel, Xavier, this is Dominic. Be nice.'

Neither of them replied.

'Is your sister home?' Scarlet asked.

'Not as far as I know,' Roman answered. 'She should be soon, though.'

'She's doing an interview with a magazine,' Scarlet said casually. 'My daughter, the rockstar. She's quite a good singer.'

'Really?' Dominic replied. His timidity towards her was giving way to a strange sense of adoration. Her condescending demand for him to sit, plus her ludicrous story about being married to the first human on Earth, seemed completely trivial to him now. He was taken in more by the amazing lab. Her equipment appeared far more reliable than anything he would have been able to afford. There was more than enough room for thirty people. Each station was set up correctly, and some of them included electronic tablets or laptops for direct data retrieval. He marvelled at her attention to detail. Beyond the main workstations were a couple of closed clean rooms, both with gurneys and monitoring equipment. She directed him to one of the stations and he went about toying with the equipment it like a fascinated child.

'This is brilliant. Really, it is.'

'It's all yours for the asking. You can bring anyone you need here, but I'll need them to sign confidentiality agreements first. They can help you with your work, but they'll be on a need-to-know basis for any of the assignments I give you.'

'That's fine,' he said, beaming.

'Then we have an arrangement?'

Without any hesitation, he exclaimed, 'Of course!'

She became delighted, which only made him more excited. She grabbed his hands and kissed his cheek, lovingly.

'I'm very pleased. Come back tomorrow and we'll organise everything for you to begin.' Scarlet embraced him. The two young men were still watching them stoically, but it didn't concern him at all. He clutched on to Scarlet and found himself carefully smelling her, pulling away quickly when he became aroused by her scent. He hadn't been given anything close to this kind of affection for so long. He wanted to kiss her now and dote on her as if she were his queen. He felt so grateful for her even existing.

When he was in his car, he suddenly felt cold, and even the heater failed to properly warm him. He saw Scarlet go inside and his body became slack. His head was a little sore, and he instantly felt tired. He questioned if he would be okay to drive himself home, and wondered if Scarlet would be willing to put him up for a night. It was far too soon to ask for such a favour. He navigated his way to the gate that was opening for a limo. Pulling over, he waited for it to clear the gate and go past. The limo instead stopped beside him and the tinted passenger window lowered to reveal the same girl he'd seen on TV that morning.

'Who are you?' she asked.

'I'm here to help Miss Keller. My name's Dominic Stanton. I'm a geneticist.' He said it even though he guessed the girl probably wouldn't have cared.

She confirmed this with her lack of expression. 'So she found you, then.'

'Ah, yes, I...'

'Bye, Dominic.' The girl nodded at someone and raised her window. The limo almost instantly camouflaged itself within the shadows as it headed towards the house. Dominic shook his head and drove home.

He didn't sleep, though. He couldn't. Another two whiskeys later, he called Thomas.

'Dominic, it's too early for this. Look, I'll meet you for breakfast, I promise. Just-'

'We've got everything we need, Thomas,' he said. 'She's so wonderful. She's the answer to our prayers.'

'Right, right. Just like Denis was meant to be.'

'No, you don't understand. She has her own lab. She'll cover all the expenses, no questions asked. I've already said yes. We can meet her tomorrow.'

'Will you sod off and let me sleep if I agree to this?'

'Yes, of course.'

'Fine. Pick me up at ten.'

Dominic snapped his phone shut and fell lazily onto the couch, falling asleep against the cushions.

Rose wanted to make sure she looked the part so the guys would take her seriously. She wanted something really tight, something like what Madchen wore. She was in Wolverhampton now, delighted to be free to roam around the stores. In one shop, she picked up a few different things along with some thick red lipstick. The woman in the shop offered to do her makeup.

'If you're going to the concert tonight, you'll want to get this right.'

The woman wore lace gloves and had her hair in thick black dreadlocks. She held Rose's face while she put on some mascara.

'Are you going to the show?' Rose asked. She normally never made small talk, but she felt she needed to now with this stranger, whose face was just inches from her own.

'Not into them, really. Some friends are, though.' She ran the red lipstick over Rose's lips. 'Are you all by yourself?'

'Yeah. Why?'

'Just be careful. Funny shit's been going on at some of the concerts, apparently. A few girls your age went missing. I think there might be some perverts out there taking advantage of the big crowds.'

As she had managed to get a heavy lech like Paul to stop touching her, this news hardly worried Rose.

'I'm pretty tough,' she boasted.

The woman snorted and stood back to examine her artwork. 'Bet you are, love.'

Rose hopped off the stool and went to the mirror. Her long black skirt and boots were now accompanied by a tight black lace top, which revealed her black bra. Her lips were blood red and her eyes were surrounded by kohl and black eyeshadow. The woman held up a small pair of silver earrings. Two tiny bats dangled before her. Rose took out her usual sleepers and put them on.

'Much better,' the woman smiled.

Rose thanked her and all but skipped out of the store. She was thankful her eyes were no longer the strange yellow tinge they were the previous day. It took some time for them to regain their colour. She bought a cup of coffee in a café and sat waiting for the show to start.

A boy burst in and sat down at a booth near the window, and said something to the waitress that really pissed her off. He was looking at a piece of paper for ages. She figured it probably had some girl's phone number on it. The likelihood of that didn't make her divert her gaze. She liked him, and she knew she did this whenever she liked a boy. It was the other reason she had been singled out as a freak by Jamie. 'It's creepy,' he'd said to her. 'Stop it or I'll punch your lights out.'

The boy seemed agitated. As he guzzled his coke, she realised a strange mist was emanating from his body. It collected around him in small grey swirls, like the steam off her cup of coffee, yet it didn't rise — it just curled back down then spiralled up again. The second he saw her she dropped her eyes, but she knew the mist still danced around him as he walked out of the café.

She followed him despite telling herself not to.

A few people blocked her view of him as he walked, and she tried to keep at a reasonable distance. It wasn't her attraction to him that was making her stalk him, it was the mist around him. She couldn't see it coming from anyone else but him. And no one else appeared to see it but her.

She managed to get closer and noticed the mist was more white than grey. It was the same strange air she had been drawing out of all those boys. He was covered in it. She was following him because she wanted it.

He was suddenly accosted by a bunch of other kids he knew, causing Rose to dash away from them. She crossed the street and stayed watching as the other kids took the boy away back around the corner.

Dusk was approaching. She checked her watch for the time. 4:45 p.m. There would probably be enough commotion around the backstage for her to slink about undetected and try to see the band. The persistent hollowness inside her grew bigger and more painful. She thought she felt it because she was lonely, but this was worse than loneliness. Watching the boy walk away tore her insides apart. She needed to stop a moment before she had the energy to run to the concert venue.

Some other kids milled around the front entrance taking pictures of each other in stupid poses when she arrived. Finding a service road around the back of the Hall, she saw there were a couple of vans parked by the stage door. She trotted down the alley and hid behind one of the vans, waiting for the stagehands to finish their cigarette break. She was able to catch the door before it closed, just managing to slip inside.

Her eyes had always been able to adjust quickly to the darkness. She walked as casually as she could through the corridors. Signatures written in gold and silver adorned the black painted walls, but she didn't have time to see if Madchen or the others had made their marks. There were patches of light coming from the direction of the stage. She thought she was doing well not to be seen until one guy stopped her.

'I don't think you're meant to be here,' he said as he moved her towards the exit.

She turned to him without a lot of thought and said simply, 'Yes, I am. I'm with the band. I'm their manager's PA.'

The guy paused a moment then took out a pass. 'You'll need this.'

'Thanks,' she smiled as he slipped the lanyard around her neck.

'They're just down there.' He pointed behind her.

She left the guy looking bemused like he'd forgotten where he was and what he was meant to be doing. She was just as confused herself. She had been able to persuade boys to do certain things before, but never as easy as that.

The dressing room wasn't far and the door was wide open. Inside, Madchen was sitting getting her hair done by a chubby woman in tight clothes. Lucas was behind her on a mobile phone, talking quietly. The hairdresser stopped her teasing and held Madchen's locks while she turned to Rose.

'Who are you?' she asked.

'Um, I'm here to see the show.' Rose held up her pass as Madchen tilted her head listlessly in her direction.

'I was wondering when one of you would show up,' she said. Lucas said his goodbyes to the person on the other end and switched off his phone.

'What's your name?' he asked her.

'It's Rose. What do you mean, one of me?'

Lucas took the hairdresser by the shoulders and gently ushered her out while he grabbed Rose's arm and dragged her inside. He slammed the door in the hairdresser's face.

Rose suddenly wasn't so in love with the idea of running off with a band. Lucas picked up her wrist and smelled it.

'It's faint, but it's there.' His hands grabbed her face on either side and he looked into her eyes. 'She's forming. But she's weak. Should we take her home?' He turned to Madchen.

'It's what Mother wants. I don't particularly want to be involved, so the more we find the better.'

'Involved in what?' Rose asked, fretting more.

Lucas stroked her hair. 'Shhh. It's alright, Rose. You're with your family now.'

Rose tried to push Lucas away from her but his grip was suddenly firm around her shoulders.

'I don't need this right now,' Madchen sighed, angrily. 'Figure out what to do with her. They need me for a soundcheck.' She leapt down from the chair and finished preening her hair. 'Shit, we need a new hairdresser as well. That fat bitch is useless.'

'I think Rose here is our priority, Madchen,' Lucas said irritably.

Madchen came to Rose and tilted her chin. 'Pretty. Just pretty. Shame. You're hungry, aren't you, Rose?'

Rose made a small sound with her throat as Madchen leaned in.

'It's horrible, isn't it? The hunger. It can kill you. You're weak because you've been resisting the temptation. Resisting what you are.'

'What am I?' Rose whispered.

Madchen sneered. 'I haven't got time to explain it. Lucas should be able to answer your questions. Maybe even get you something to eat.' She nodded at Lucas and left the room.

Rose again tried to break free but Lucas shoved her into the same chair Madchen had been in. It reclined while he held her down.

'Sit still. I won't hurt you.'

'What are you doing?' She trembled, praying he wasn't going to do anything more than restrain her.

'Ask whatever questions you want. I'll tell you what you are. But you're staying with us now.'

'What was Madchen talking about?'

'Let me guess, you're an orphan, aren't you? Or abandoned?'

'Abandoned, so I've been told.'

'Some strange woman left you in a hurry with some idiot and never came back?'

'Yes. Why?' Now she felt mocked.

'That was our mother, and Madchen's. She needed time to regroup and gain strength. She was being hunted and she had too many mouths to feed. So she left some of you behind in places where you would be relatively safe. She knew you wouldn't grow to be so hideous that they might slay you as well. Each of you would appear human enough for a while, but eventually, you all reveal yourselves. Now she is safe, she is hoping you will come home to her.'

'You're my brother?' Rose murmured.

'In a sense. We all have the traits our mother possesses, and you've used yours more often than you've probably wanted.'

Her mind ran through the list again... Jamie, Mikey, Logan...

'I didn't hurt them. I didn't mean to.'

'Yes you did, Rose. Because you were hungry, and the more you let yourself starve, the more uncontrollable and weak you will become.'

There was a knock. She went to scream but Lucas held a finger before her face.

'Enter,' he called.

The guy who had slipped her the backstage pass came in and was looking over his schedule.

'We need you out there with Madchen for a quick rehearsal.'

'In a minute. Rose wanted to have a chat with you about the hairdresser. Didn't you, Rose.'

Rose didn't take her eyes off Lucas. 'Ah, yeah, she's... she's a stupid fat bitch and we need a replacement.'

'Look, we don't have time.' The guy came forward. 'I've still got the two other bands to rehearse plus my lighting man is running late.'

Without letting Rose go, Lucas stretched out his arm and grabbed the guy's lapel, yanking him to them.

'You'll talk to her about this now. Madchen is very upset. Isn't she, Rose?'

Rose glanced at Lucas, confused, and he rolled his eyes.

'Umm... she's really upset...'

'Joel,' the guy said. In a moment, his frustration slipped away, and he was staring into Rose's eyes as if he were in love. Lucas grabbed the back of his head and Rose found her hands rising to hold Joel's face. She leant forward and gently put her lips to Joel's mouth. He kissed her back, lovingly, while her nails dug into his cheeks. She drew blood, but he didn't flinch. He was actually moving to embrace her. He moaned gently, and Lucas shoved him closer. Rose carefully drew away and began to breathe in the white air that was pouring from Joel's eyes and mouth. She was gulping it in now. It felt as if she'd been drowning all her life and only now she was allowing herself to come up for air. Lucas let Joel go and he collapsed.

Rose panicked.

'What the hell did you make me do?' she cried.

'For god's sake, Rose, I don't have time for this.' He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and hauled her out. She almost stumbled over Joel's body. Only a few of the crew noticed their march out to the vans.

Lucas ripped open the door to the back of the van and hurled her inside.

'There, I've fed you.' He jumped into the back with her and slammed the door behind himself. She shrank away from him as he grabbed a bundle of electrical cables and crawled towards her.

'When we get back home, I'll make sure you're told everything. For now, I'm going to have to get you to stay in here.'

He snatched her up and spun her around. 'Please don't tie me up. I won't try to get out. I promise.'

'Rose, you can't be trusted. The human in you can't be, anyway. The monster in you, however, should know better.' He bound her arms to her legs from behind. She had more energy now; she felt engulfed by it, but Lucas was taller and far more powerful. He kicked open the back doors and leapt out.

'This will be for the best if you don't put up a fight.' He slammed the van shut on her. She screamed out but he only banged against the metal.

'Shut up, Rose,' he warned.

She sobbed as she remembered her words to the woman in the shop. Was she so horrible to have ended up like this, hogtied in a van belonging to a psychotic rock band? Where had her adoration for them come from? She wondered if Joel were dead and if anyone else would realise she was there. How could they not hear her screaming before? Lucas was probably telling everyone he tossed her out. She struggled against the cabling for a while only to become exhausted. She felt dizzy now. The panic and the sorrow ran through her in cycles. Soon, she drifted to sleep.

Chapter 4

Sam wandered around and found a café. He was desperately thirsty now, so he went in and slipped into a booth near the window, then ordered a coke from the waitress.

His pulse-rate was finally slowing when he unfolded the piece of paper and stared at it. Madchen had left her scent on it and it ended up caught in his nostrils as if he'd snorted a line of her perfume. He needed a way to preserve the smell, so he wrapped the paper in a napkin and slipped it in his jacket pocket close to his chest.

As he was doing this, the waitress lowered a tall glass of coke in front of him.

'Goin' to the show tonight?' she asked. She wasn't much older than him and her pert breasts were pushing to get out of her tight little uniform. He was unimpressed by the sight and his dick was completely unresponsive, which was a blessing compared to its usual unwanted behaviour.

'Yeah,' he replied.

'You got an autograph from the singer?' she quizzed. 'I heard she's a total bitch. My friend tried to interview her for his zine and she snubbed him.'

'She's not a bitch,' he snapped.

'Whatever,' she said, probably peeved she no longer had a chance to spit in his coke.

Was he that in love with Madchen now he needed to defend her to a moronic waitress in a shitty cafe? Her words were stuck on a perpetual loop in his head: I'll see you sometime soon, Sam. She was required to play the flirt for the fans. The band wanted attention; she needed to be seductive in her role as the lead singer. It was all part of the act. Stupid as it was to believe her, he did anyway.

The kiss was the part he couldn't get past. Poems filled with crap about velveteen lips and satin skin; when he heard them the metaphors seemed so laughable. He was starting to believe Madchen was capable of making the impossible actually happen. She was already painting pictures in his head that made his sickest porn mags look tame. Even his usual fantasies would be rated PG by comparison. His palm tingled where her fingers had brushed his skin. When he put his hand to where the kiss had fallen his heart went up 1000 revs. He pulled the straw out of his coke and gulped the drink helplessly, hoping he wasn't about to have a stroke.

A girl sat at the back of the cafe, staring at him ardently until she was caught and looked back at her coffee.

He left the café and walked aimlessly around the streets, not straying too far from the Hall. He wanted in as early as possible to get a decent spot in the crowd. Maybe Madchen would see him again, recognise him and smile. If he knew he wouldn't be pounded by the crowd control, he would climb up be beside her. She would let him carry her off the stage so they could be alone. Then everyone would drop dead and there would be no one left but the two of them.

Lost in another of his dreamscapes, he rounded another corner to see Alissa and Harry and the others walking towards him, cracking jokes and pushing each other. Alissa squealed and went to him, giving him a hug, and he smelt vodka on her breath. Harry smirked when Sam made a face, then he looked ashamed.

'Sammy!' Alissa kissed the same cheek Madchen had kissed, and he held her off him, disgusted. She pouted, just like she used to when they were together, then stumbled a little before strutting off down the street.

Now he was planning to sneak in the back of one of the vans to wait for the band to load up and take him off to their next show. Madchen would keep him, even if she just wanted him as an adoring puppy. He would kill for that kind of attention from her.

Harry pushed him along when the others filed past him.

'Look, I'm sorry, hey. We got the tickets and you hadn't said you liked the CD I gave you so...'

'Don't worry about it,' Sam grumbled.

'So you're going?'

'My dad got a free ticket.'

'I'll keep Alissa away from you, promise.'

'Whatever, Harry.'

Any more crap and he was about to ditch the lot of them. He would just have to tolerate them for the rest of the night.

'I'm hungry!' Alissa whined. 'There's a caff around here, I think. Let's go there.'

It was the same cafe Sam just left twenty minutes before. The same waitress served them. He ordered another coke, but he took note of the glare she was giving him. Normally he shrunk back from that kind of hostility, but that evening he was so stuffed with contempt for everyone around him, glaring back was about all he could do. He didn't need her attitude either.

Alissa was looking at him, staring drunkenly.

'What's up with you, Sammy?'

'Someone pissed in his coke,' Mitchell giggled. Jessie picked up one of his fries and threw it at Sam. Everyone laughed, including Alissa. His face burned.

'I got an autograph,' he gloated, hoping Alissa and Harry would be jealous.

'Well, let's see it then,' Harry grinned, goading him.

The door of the cafe flew open and a chorus of high-pitched giggling exploded into the room. Alissa's friends stumbled and cackled over to their booth.

'We're here!' Miranda cried. They all looked as smashed as bridesmaids at a bachelorette party. Their clothes were tighter than usual, and their makeup, more excessive. Sam wondered at what point subtlety ceased being a concern for girls.

'I gotta go,' he said.

'We got loads of time,' Alissa said. 'Chill the fuck out, Sam.' The sight of her face was just irritating him now. He told Harry to get up so he could slip out of the booth then dumped a pile of small change on the table.

'I'll see you guys inside.'

Once he was out of the cafe his thoughts were clearer. He didn't turn back to see if any of them was watching.

Some goths and metal-freaks were ahead in the line, and he counted how many he would have to contend with for a place near the stage. He also needed to piss, which annoyed him further.

Luckily a few of the goths went to the merch table so he could cut past them. He went across the foyer and made a quick stop at the bathroom. One other guy was staring at him, three urinals down. Sam's level of self-consciousness rose and he found he was concentrating way too much on the task at hand. The guy zipped up his fly and stared at Sam on his way out. He caught his reflection in the dirty mirror, his dark brown hair for once neatly combed. Past all that, Sam looked angry, mostly due to Alissa. Her flirting pissed him off more than anything else, but he could forget about her as quickly as she dumped him. He washed his hands, smoothed back his hair and walked out of the bathroom.

There were about twenty people up near the stage when he came out into the main hall. He took a spot behind them, hoping when the show started the usual tussling would force him closer. Of course, he was going to have to go through the tedious motions of watching the opening acts. Hidden Agenda were on at ten. He contented himself with fantasising about Madchen getting ready backstage, her temporary nakedness distracting him from the girls who were starting to squeeze in ahead of him. He imagined someone squeezing her into her corset, and that tight little butt in her pants. He started a small debate with himself as to whether or not he was really in love, then felt the phantom kiss on his cheek.

'Did you hear about those wings she wears sometimes?' one girl was saying. 'They're supposed to be huge.'

'How can she not fall over backwards? She's so small,' the girl next to her said.

'I can't wait to see Lucas,' the third girl chirped. 'He's so hot.'

'No way, Gabriel is way hotter,' the first girl said. 'Have you seen those pants he wears? And his eyes. They drive me insane. He's an absolute Adonis.'

The three girls started squealing and jumping up and down as they kept talking. Sam rolled his eyes.

Around eight, the first act came on and half-heartedly bashed through their hour-long set. Their small fan club, a bunch of flannel-clad drunks, were shouting too loud and bashing into the people in front of them. The crowd was still sparse but gradually got larger and more compacted during the second act, which wasn't as bad as the first. They were a bunch of girls who probably worshipped Courtney Love a little too much. The lead was looking like she just got out of bed before they were on, so she didn't have time to change out of her negligee or fix her hair. Finally, they thrashed out their last song and moved off. The roadies had been setting up behind them, so it wasn't long before the houselights dimmed.

Somehow Sam caught Madchen's scent over the acrid stench of the smoke machines. The crowd behind him pushed forward, and he managed to squeeze past the three girls to get just below the microphone stand. The band came out one by one and took their positions. The drummer took his place and counted the beat in. Gabriel slammed out a dramatic chord on the keyboard while Lucas and the other guy took up their guitars. The four of them created a chorus that sounded like the chanting of monks he'd heard on the CD. Hearing it live created a completely new sensation in him. It caused the crowd to cease their cheering for a moment. He glanced back and the three girls stared up at them, looking disturbingly hypnotised. A few other girls were standing around him, transfixed. Further down the line of people, he saw Alissa, who was also captivated by their inhuman voices. She was staring straight at Lucas as if looking away from him would kill her.

Then there was a roar behind him and he turned to see Madchen strut out on stage. The girls were right, the wings she wore were far too massive for her little frame. She was wearing a red lace corset and a floor-length chiffon skirt, which revealed her g-string in the spotlights. The demonic princess greeted her audience with the slightest of nods before opening her mouth to join the chorus around her. His muscles instantly stiffened. He couldn't feel any strain in his neck from staring up at her. Her wings cast shadows over him as her long dark hair fell about her face and over her chest.

Her voice was more pure and captivating live. His speakers ruined the effect. Now he could hear it in person, it made a fist and punched him in the gut repeatedly. Her yellow eyes were cast down on him, her lips stretched into a smile. He felt other bodies around him but remained unaffected. Part of him wanted to call out to her, but his face was solidified. She held him fast in her presence. He belonged to her; no one else would ever get into him now.

Once the song ended, a riotous cheer exploded around him. He still couldn't react.

The rest of their set Sam could do absolutely nothing. Madchen must have known as she was still smiling at him, and he could tell his adoration was feeding her ego and making her performance more alluring and magical. Her hips pulsed to the beat of the drums. Her thin fingers ran through her hair as she began to lilt out more sultry notes. The bass player kicked into the next song straight after the applause and she was at it again, swaying her hips and letting her voice once more unlock the places in his mind where all kinds of evil happened. He was drifting now, seeing them together in nightmarish places wrapped up in each other arms, moving slowly like magma. He saw her mouth on his cock, her sinister eyes looking back up at him. She was making him sweat more than the heat in the room and the press of the bodies. The cacophony the final song created did nothing to shake him from this realm.

His breath came back as the lights went up and the band moved off the stage. The images disintegrated. He took one last look at her back, where the wings sprouted from her shoulders. He could see actual cartilage attached to the prosthetics as if someone had pulled her bones from her back and glued them to the heavy props.

The drop back into reality left him disoriented. A girl's incessant screaming brought him round.

It was Alissa, crying out to Lucas. She was weeping dramatically while Harry held her shoulders. Sam really couldn't care what she was upset about, yet he still moved through the throng to get to her.

'What the hell's up with her?'

'I think she's had a little too much to drink,' Mitchell grumbled.

Alissa wouldn't stop crying, even when they were out on the street. Mitchell took her arm, annoyed at how much attention she was attracting. She turned to Sam, her mascara drawing crooked lines with her tears, and he couldn't be bothered trying to comfort her in this state anymore. She pulled the same crap on those nights they were up late, fondling and kissing, weeping in the end that she was just too scared to go further. He got the point after the tenth time. She wasn't his to pacify.

A car pulled up and someone called out.

'Sam! C'mon. Let's go.'

'Great!' Harry said, all chuffed now. 'It's Sam's dad. Hurry up, he can give us a lift to the station.' Sam had no chance to stop his mates storming the car.

'And your mum is picking you up later, right Harry?'

'Yeah, Mr Wright,' Harry replied as he shoved Alissa in the backseat. Mitchell also needed a ride back. Jessie, Miranda and the others were staying with Miranda's sister and looked happy to be getting rid of Alissa. Sam glared at them from the front seat while they raced off.

Peter was just about to get out of the throng of concert-goers when he braked suddenly. A girl, dressed in goth-garb, got caught in their headlights. Once their eyes were locked, Sam remembered her from the cafe.

'C'mon, love, move out the way.'

The girl continued to stare at Sam until Peter honked the horn impatiently. She raced off and disappeared into the crowd.

Alissa kept sobbing on the way to the station. Peter refrained from asking what was wrong with her until after she got out with Harry and Mitchell. Harry waved to them and led Alissa away.

'She's just being an idiot,' Sam grumbled.

'You used to go out with her, didn't you?'

'Yeah, we broke up.'

'That why she was crying?'

'No, Dad,' Sam said guardedly. 'It's not.'

The conversation ended there.

Rose's dreams were darker and much clearer. The faces of the people touching her were sharper. She was touching them too, and laughing with them. Joel was there. She was making love to him and he was happy. Very happy. She was laughing softly while the white air rose from his pores and she drank it in. Now she could even feel it, and she collected it up to rub it into her skin like cream. Her head rolled from side to side. Heavy, loud music played all around her and the drums matched the rhythm of their movements. She kissed Joel one last time before her whole body evaporated into steam. She could see everything, but nothing could touch her, and she flew across oceans and forests. A woman stood on a distant cliff top and held out her hands. When her essence touched the woman, she was solid again. The woman cradled her and smiled.

'You've come back to me, Rose. How I've missed you.'

Her eyes opened to total darkness. Her face was against the grimy floor of the van. She was aware of the cold but was more agitated by the cabling. She shuffled along the floor of the van and kicked at the door, but it wouldn't budge open. Finally, she rested her head against the window and gave in.

The moment she relaxed, the cables became loose and slid from her wrists. She brought her hands to her front and tried to put them together, only to feel them pass through one another. Her entire form felt light all of a sudden. She let her eyes close and felt the sensation of falling.

'Stop,' she whispered. She managed to float to the front of the van. There was a small amount of light ahead of her then from the end of the service road. She moved to the rearview mirror and saw she wasn't in it. Something was there, though: a cloud of white smoke swirling around. She almost giggled. There was a crack in the windshield where a stone had hit the glass, resembling a spiderweb. She willed herself to slip through the minuscule hole until she rose like smoke out into the air. Concentrating harder, she let herself be carried by the breeze. She feared the air would pull her apart, and when she panicked, she fell to the ground, landing on her hip.

Her hands immediately grabbed her arms. She poked her face. The van was now five feet away from her and she was sitting on the cold ground, prodding herself. She laughed out loud then clambered to her feet.

People were streaming out of the Civic Hall now. The show was over, so she knew she had to run in case Lucas discovered her disappearance and came for her. As she dashed across the parking lot, she was almost taken out by a car. She gazed stupidly into the headlights, just making out the face of the boy from the café. The car's horn startled her and she darted into the crowd.

Chapter 5

Thomas's eight-year-old daughter, Heidi, opened the door to Dominic. He instantly opened his arms to her and she leapt on him, causing him to brace himself before toppling back. She was a little bigger than when he last saw her, but not too heavy to pick up.

'Is your dad home?' he asked her

'He's upstairs.'

'And he's still not happy about being woken up this morning, Dominic,' Sylvia said from behind him. Thomas's radiant wife of fifteen years sauntered into the hallway and took Heidi from his arms. He kissed her cheek.

'Hi, Syl.'

'Coffee?'

'No, thanks. We really need to head off.'

'Thomas said you have a new business associate. Who are they?'

'I'm not sure,' he answered brightly. 'I really don't know much about her, all I can say is she's a blessing to us.'

'Well, your run of bad luck was bound to end sometime.'

Thomas came downstairs, somewhat haggard as he took his coat off the rack. Dominic's cheery demeanour didn't affect Thomas at all.

Sylvia and Heidi waved to them from the front step as Dominic pulled out onto the road. Thomas didn't speak again until they were out of the city.

'I still don't know if I can go ahead with this, Dominic.'

'What do you mean, Thom? Everything's been taken care of. I can cover your salary, we can even get Deb back on board. I'll call her after we've seen Scarlet.'

'Deb might be interested, but what if this woman decides to change her mind? We can't promise her anything.'

'That's just it. She's not expecting anything except closed mouths and good work. I've agreed to assist her staff in her projects and she'll give us free rein of her lab.'

'Did she get to the catch?'

'There isn't one,' Dominic beamed. 'It's perfect for everyone concerned.'

Thomas was quiet for a moment then asked, 'What the hell are these projects she's talking about?'

'She said she's had some very sick children. I'll be doing blood work on them, some analysis and testing, just to see if I can find a cause for their weaknesses and if what we're doing will help.'

'How sick are they?'

'She mentioned something about reproductive issues. I've lost some of it in the excitement I think, but she'll be happy to explain everything to you. She's absolutely lovely.'

Within half an hour they were pulling up to the gate. Thomas was distracted by the man who greeted them. He was as gaunt and dark as Gabriel and Roman. Dominic lowered his window.

'Miss Keller is expecting you,' the young man said.

'He doesn't look too healthy at all,' Thomas commented. 'Did you see his eyes?'

'I don't think he's one of the test candidates, Thomas.'

'We've never needed human subjects, Dominic. Not at this stage. Did you tell her that?'

'She wasn't fazed in the slightest. I can't see her needing us to do anything outside our scope of expertise.'

Dominic refused to allow Thomas to dampen his mood. He was so anxious to see Scarlet again, now completely hardwired with adrenaline. As soon as they stopped, Thomas got out to take in the view of the house.

'Her lab is in there?'

'In the basement.' Dominic hurried him to the door. 'You'll be impressed with that she's done, I promise.'

Scarlet greeted them in the hall, immediately grabbing Thomas's hands.

'It's so wonderful to meet you. I'm really excited about this.'

Dominic hadn't seen Thomas so flustered by a woman in years. Sylvia was the last one to make him really lost for words. Scarlet seemed to practically steal all his senses.

'You're the mysterious benefactor, then,' Thomas said with some difficulty.

'There's nothing mysterious about me, Thomas. As I said to Dominic, I have no intention of keeping any secrets from you. I will, however, have to get you to both sign some documents. But that can wait.'

Lucas was milling around upstairs. Dominic only vaguely noticed him as his attentions remained on Scarlet. The darkness of her skin was more apparent in the daylight and he wondered if she was Mediterranean. She wore her hair up this time, letting the ponytail spill from the band over her left shoulder. Her expensive shoes exposed her impossibly perfect ankles.

She offered them coffee. They both declined.

'I'm interested in seeing this lab,' Thomas said eagerly. Now he was acting like an impatient schoolboy. Dominic refrained from hitting his arm.

'Of course.' She led them to the basement and through the security door. Thomas's reaction caused Dominic to smile smugly.

Scarlet's staff were absent this time, and Dominic was relieved. A part of him also wanted Thomas to disappear. During his restless night, he had debated with himself over whether or not it would be prudent to ask Scarlet to dinner. He would disguise it as a mere thank you for her help, but he figured women like her weren't easily fooled. Her wit was what drew him to her. He couldn't understand now why he had been suspicious or fearful of her, and he chided himself for doubting her intentions. She wasn't just beautiful, or stunning — there really wasn't a way he could describe her. As she spoke to Thomas about her intentions, he realised he hadn't ceased thinking of her since he left the night before.

He asked himself if he was in love, and wasn't able to discount the question once it arose. He figured it was because he had been on the brink of losing everything, and was perhaps delirious from the horrible disappointment over Denis pulling out. He was now susceptible to the slightest idea of happiness. She presented to him all his hopes, so of course he had come to desire her. It all made sense, and yet it didn't. In spite of that, he didn't care. He always used rationality to explain his emotions, but now he was tired of trying to concoct scientific reasons to justify the state of his own heart.

She took them through the remainder of the lab. The place was glowing. He imagined he would be able to see one speck of dust from metres away.

'It's perfect,' Thomas replied.

'I've made sure everything you need is here.'

'We're in. Where are those papers?' Thomas's sudden eagerness was embarrassing, but Dominic was relieved he had been won over.

She went to an intercom and pressed the button.

'Lucas, can you bring those papers in now?'

Dominic heard a girl's laughter coming from the speaker. He figured it was the girl from the limo.

'She has a daughter,' Dominic explained to Thomas. 'She's a musician.'

Scarlet glowered. 'That isn't her.'

'I'll be down in a minute,' Lucas replied.

Scarlet released the button and smiled.

'This isn't the place to be doing business. Come upstairs and we'll get everything organised.'

Thomas lingered a while, spellbound. 'So, all of this will be ours?'

'You'll have access to it whenever you need. Even if I'm away on business, you'll be able to come here. You can even sleep upstairs if you wish. Consider my home yours, gentlemen.'

As they emerged from the basement, Dominic was alerted to the sight of a girl running naked down the stairs, laughing hysterically. Lucas came bounding after her and snatched her up in his arms.

Scarlet was incensed. The girl wouldn't stop laughing.

'Lucas, for god's sake control your guests!'

Lucas smothered the girl's mouth, making Dominic uncomfortable. Thomas gawped, just as perturbed. Lucas's menacing stare didn't make Scarlet flinch, but Dominic felt himself wanting to cower.

'It's taken care of.' Lucas lifted the girl up into his arms and gazed at her. Her face slackened immediately. A flood of auburn curls fell as her neck suddenly tipped back over his arm. Dominic watched her lifeless features drift up the stairs as Lucas carried her away. Thomas continued peering after Lucas as Scarlet politely escorted them into the parlour.

'That's what happens when you let your children become rockstars,' she lamented. 'They bring home all kinds of trash.'

'I thought you said your children were ill,' Thomas said.

'Not so much ill as just plain weak.' She poured them both a drink and sat in her damask armchair. The paperwork was neatly arranged on the table.

'Take your time. Read every single word before you sign. I want to make sure you're both absolutely happy.'

Dominic didn't want to read anything. He pretended to scan the pages, then scratched the ornate pen across the final dotted line. Thomas followed suit without hesitation. Scarlet's eyelids fluttered as she smiled.

Back at the car, Dominic handed Thomas the keys.

'Take the car will you, Thom.'

'What about you?'

'I'll call a cab later. I wanted to have another look over the lab and start making arrangements with Scarlet to begin the work. We'll need to have all our research materials brought over. Maybe you can go gather them up now.'

'Right,' Thomas said, perplexed. 'I'll go get started, then.' He hesitated halfway into the car. 'She's far too young to be that boy's mother, don't you think?'

'She might be a miracle of modern science for all I know.'

'I'd hardly call plastic surgery a miracle, Dominic.'

Dominic put up a hand to wave Thomas off and went inside to see Scarlet.

'Did you forget something?' she asked.

'I think so,' he said listlessly. He was fed up of denying himself. He went to her and kissed her. Expecting her to hit him, he pulled away, but she hardly seemed shocked. Her smile was a little too encouraging.

Kissing her again, he blocked out the sound of the young girl laughing upstairs. He let his hands run over Scarlet's back and then pulled the band from her hair, loving how silky it was as it spilled out around her face. She slipped her straps from her shoulders and he dragged her into the parlour. Slamming the double doors, he shoved her to the floor and fell above her. Her laughter drove a spike into his chest.

'You took a lot less convincing than I'd anticipated,' she said, deviously. 'I might be a little rough.'

'Be as rough as you want, I don't care.' He breathed her scent in as he kissed her neck. 'Your husband was an ungrateful bastard if he couldn't put up with it.' He was saying this more to the skin of her breasts than to her. He couldn't see her really having enough strength, so she startled him when she suddenly pinned him on his back to the floor. His head tilted as his chest protruded and he groaned loudly. She straddled him then, tearing off his belt before yanking off his pants and ripping open his shirt. She scratched his chest lightly, the sensation painfully hardening him.

She was rough and completely unrelenting. When he thought he was spent she summoned more energy from him. He felt like a puddle when she finally stopped. He stupidly fell asleep right where he lay and was awakened by the point of Lucas's boot hitting his ribs. His clothes fell in a heap on his chest.

'Where's Scarlet?' he demanded, irritably. Lucas didn't reply. Dominic quickly dressed and followed Lucas out of the room. The girl from the limo was standing in the hall. The realisation night had fallen startled him. He was embarrassed. The girl looked unimpressed.

'Jesus, she didn't waste any time, did she?'

'Where's Scarlet?' he asked again, now more like a boy who'd lost his mother.

'She had to go out. Shouldn't you be working?'

'My papers haven't arrived. We're going to start tomorrow.'

Lucas opened the front door and gestured to the outside.

'Well, then?'

Dominic straightened his shirt and slinked past the girl. She pulled a face and he couldn't imagine wanting to help her. The only ill thing about her he could see was her attitude.

'Get in the limo,' she ordered.

He wanted to say something really stern, something like, 'I'm telling your mother about this', but he felt like such an idiot and the words didn't come. He slipped into the limo and let it take him home.

Rose spent the morning after the concert wandering the streets, praying Lucas wouldn't track her down. She read a review of their show at the Civic Hall that claimed their next show was in London, and she doubted with relief that he would have stayed behind to hunt her out.

That didn't solve her new dilemma. What the hell am I meant to do now?

Home wasn't an option. She didn't know why she was still calling it home. Olivia never mentioned anything about her family, so there weren't any relatives she could run to. The last of her money only managed to cover her for a room in a hostel. She had to share with a couple of guys who were debating whether to call the parents of one of their missing friends.

'He's taking the piss,' one guy argued. 'He probably just hoped a train home.'

'I haven't got a text from him,' said the other.

'You know he can be a twat sometimes. I bet you'll he'll be there when we get back tomorrow.'

Rose lay on her bed and listened with her back to them.

She had run from Lucas because he had meant to hurt her, yet she regretted it now. He had answers, and she had forfeited her right to ask her questions by escaping. He said they were family. She should have listened to him. If she hadn't been so chickenshit and stayed in the van, she would be getting their story. She castigated herself for being stupid. It was what he made her do to that Joel guy. He was innocent and it wasn't fair. She needed to know he was alright.

The next morning, she went to the Civic Hall. The front entrance was open and there was a woman behind the ticket counter reading a book.

'Excuse me,' Rose said faintly. 'Do you know if there's a boy named Joel around here? I think he works...'

'Joel's in hospital,' the woman said as she put her book down. 'He passed out before the show the other night.'

'Which hospital?' Rose's stomach muscles now felt tight with guilt.

'It's a fair way out, you'd probably have to get a taxi.'

Rose decided not to wait for the rest of the directions. Her anxiety fuelled her; she had nothing else, least of all money for a cab. She followed the street signs to the hospital and was exhausted when she arrived.

There she passed the wheelchair bound and the ill to the front desk and asked for Joel.

'Joel who?' the registrar asked.

'I don't know!'

'Calm down, I'll have a look.' The woman checked her computer, trying not to be distracted by a conversation going on behind her. 'He's on the fourth floor. Visiting hours are nearly over so you'll have to be quick.'

A nurse on his ward pointed her to Joel's room. Inside a girl sat beside his bed while he slept. She was wiping her nose with a tissue.

'Do I know you?' she asked as Rose stepped through the door.

'No,' Rose answered. 'I came to apologise to Joel.'

'For what?'

'I hurt him. I'm so sorry.'

'You did this?' The girl got up and went around the bed. 'You drugged him?'

'I didn't drug him.'

'The doctors have no idea why he won't wake up.' Her frantic state made Rose quiver. 'What did you do? You have to tell me.'

Rose faltered. 'I'm not sure.'

'Joel wouldn't cheat on me.' The girl's heavily charcoaled eyes narrowed. 'He'd never hurt me. You left him unconscious backstage and didn't tell anyone. What was the matter? Couldn't get him wrapped around your finger?'

'Lucas made me...'

'Shut up.'

'Kelsey, stop it,' Joel groaned. His head dropped to one side and his forehead creased. Rose saw the bandage on his cheek that covered the scratch she had inflicted. 'What's she doing here?'

Kelsey dashed to his side.

'Get her out of here,' Joel moaned pitifully. 'Get rid of her. She'll hurt me again.'

Storming back, Kelsey slapped her hands on Rose's chest and pushed her towards the door.

'Go on!' Kelsey shouted. 'Get out, you little freak.'

'I didn't mean it!' Rose shouted back.

'Stupid little slut.' Kelsey's disdain incensed Rose. She was tired of this, of the recriminations, and the running and the loneliness. The hatred. Her reaction should have been to walk, but she didn't. The anger was bubbling in her gut, and she didn't want to leave and have it burn her insides.

Rose snatched both of Kelsey's wrists and flung her at the bed. She fell over Joel. He didn't have the strength to push Kelsey off him.

'I said I was sorry.'

'Look, you little psycho, leave us alone.' Kelsey moved off Joel and stepped forward to retaliate.

The hollowness in Rose was so painful. She couldn't fill it with love or understanding. She kept reaching out only to be slapped away. She begged to be comforted. Respected. So it was pointless now to keep falling to her knees. Suffering needed to be theirs, not hers.

She stalked upon Kelsey then grabbed her by the throat. Joel still hadn't the constitution to stop her. He lay prone and terrified while Rose choked Kelsey with her hand. She dug her nails into Kelsey's neck as she spluttered.

'Rose, stop it,' said a voice. A pair of hands took her shoulders. She released Kelsey.

'Get her out of here,' Kelsey wept. She spun into Joel's frail arms.

Rose was forced away. When her insanity subsided, she finally acknowledged the one who had stopped her.

It was Roman, the bass guitarist.

'Lucas told me to stay in town to keep an eye on you. You all go mad eventually.'

An orderly arrived to check on Joel. Other patients had hobbled out of their rooms to see who was yelling.

'What is this?' Rose shouted. 'Give me some bloody answers, now.'

'I will when you shut up and follow me.'

'I suggest you both leave,' the orderly said. 'Before I call-'

Roman raised his palm and the orderly stopped.

'You'll have to forgive my sister,' he said calmly. 'She took a wrong turn. She's supposed to be in the psych ward.' He snatched Rose's arm and dragged her away.

Once they were out in the parking lot, Rose wrested herself free.

'I thought you were all going to London.'

'If you'd been a little less insubordinate you would already be there, too.'

'Lucas was horrible.'

'We're all horrible, Rose. Even you. When they see you for what you are they can express nothing but horror. Why that matters to you is beyond me, but it's hardly relevant now.'

He started walking away and she followed him, furious.

'I need you to concentrate and mimic my actions. I don't like stragglers either, so you'll have to keep up.'

She watched his back as his shoulder blades started to bulge. Fascination mixed with mild alarm kept her gaze on his transformation. He spouted a set of bony wings and casually rose into the air, then spun gracefully towards her.

'Hurry up, Rose.'

'I can't do that.'

'Yes, you can. You just haven't tried.'

She closed her eyes.

'Don't bother with that, just focus.'

The duress he was placing on her didn't help. Her own shoulder blades were aching as if they had been struck. The sensation of bones pushing out of her skin made her feel sick. There was a popping noise, and her back then felt laden. She craned her neck around to see the point of one wing as it slowly stretched. She reached around to touch the place where they'd grown from. The bones were coarse and the texture sickened her further. The two appendages beat once and then again, and her feet lost their connection to the ground.

Roman grabbed her hand and lifted her higher into the sky. Her new limbs continued to beat rhythmically as she soared. Her animosity finally departed. Now she was ecstatic.

'I told you to keep up!' Roman shouted after he let go her hand. She was too distracted by the rooftops and cars below. Her fears fell behind her as she drifted. The air subdued her.

'Where are we going?' she called.

'Home,' Roman said.

She pushed herself to stay near his feet. Through the spaces in the clouds, she saw the lines the fences made across the countryside. She saw the motorways and the tops of the trees. She wanted to touch the birds that flew beside them, but Roman stopped her.

She soon felt a fatigue in her wings. Roman was moving further ahead of her.

'I'm getting tired!' she shouted.

'I'm not carrying you.'

'Roman, please. You have to stop.'

'There's not enough time.'

She suddenly dipped and let out a yelp. Pushing harder, she tried to regain her previous height, but the effort only wore her out. Her new wings were betraying her. She was like a baby bird trying to fly from its nest, she was too young and too weak to fly for long.

'Roman!' she screamed. Her hands went out above her and snatched futilely at the air.

Roman swooped down and collected her up.

'Lucas said you were weak. I didn't think it was this bad.'

'I'm sorry,' she wept as she slipped her arms around his neck. He let her rest her head in the crook of his shoulder as he carried her to their destination.

The cool air soothed her and she was almost asleep when Roman came to land outside a large manor. He wasn't prepared to carry her inside, so he carelessly let her go and she stumbled to get her footing as her wings retracted. Her legs were too wobbly and she fell to her knees on the loose gravel driveway. Roman didn't even turn around as she pushed herself up and hobbled inside.

She was grateful for the warmth the interior offered. She marvelled at the huge staircase in the middle of the front hall. The tendrils of the weird plants brushed her hair, tickling her.

A woman burst from the room behind her with open arms. Rose gasped and felt a familiarity in the way the woman held her.

'You're home! You're all coming back to me.' The woman was elated. No one was ever this happy to see her.

Roman rubbed a leaf from his hair and threw it on the floor.

'Her newness almost killed her. I had to carry her half the way here.'

'That doesn't matter now.'

'I have to go. The show starts in two hours. I'll tell Lucas I found her.' Roman sauntered out, not even looking at Rose.

The woman took Rose's face and kissed her. Rose wanted to hold on to her as long as she could. She said her name was Scarlet.

'I'm so sorry, Rose, my dear. It hurt me to let you go and leave you with that horrid woman. I promise things will be different now. Your mother will never let anything bad happen to you again.'

Rose fought not to weep, but the tribulations of her day and the excitement of her flight brought forth a bout of sobbing. The woman tenderly led her up the stairs to another room. A bed with silk sheets awaited her tired body. Rose didn't question the woman's kindness. She allowed herself to be doted upon, trusting the stranger completely.

'I believe you.' She gazed up at the woman. 'You really are my mother.'

'Soon we'll all be together, and they will suffer for the years of torment they've inflicted upon me. And you, my precious Rose.'

Her mother bent and kissed Rose into a deep, unabated sleep.

Sam got absolutely no sleep after the concert. He listened endlessly to Madchen's voice all night, and even the whole way back on the train to Manchester. He refused to take his headphones off when Karen picked him up at the station on Sunday afternoon.

He was exhausted enough that night to sleep, and his dream was perfect and terrifying. Madchen was above him, moving slowly and lovingly. She gripped him so tight it was painful, but in a delicious kind of way that made him sweat and moan. She was still wearing her wings, and they spread out gloriously as she pushed down harder on him. His eyes were wide open watching her, but he couldn't move at all, and that was the scary part. He wanted to put his hands all over her; to touch her breasts and grab her small sides. He wanted to taste her flesh. He needed to make her feel as wonderful as she was making him feel, but she wouldn't allow it. Ten tiny daggers dug into his forearms as his whole body went into a fit. In that moment, he could see her sucking in a strange white mist and when he cast his eyes down, he realised his body was covered with it. She smiled triumphantly. The cold wind picked up again and her form evaporated into a vapour that danced on the breeze before floating out the window. Still unable to move, he felt as though his body wanted to wake but couldn't. His chest was heavy and his heart was pounding for ages. When the panic subsided, he felt he was being pulled back into a dreamless sleep.

The sheets were sticky when Sam woke up around 7 a.m. He was annoyed more than embarrassed, thinking he was past this pointless phase. He got up, stripped the bed, and pulled on his shorts, then bundled up the sheets and stuffed them into the washing machine. The inconvenience was still worth it to him, his dreams never felt that real or amazing. He had to push the nightmarish moment of paralysation out of the way.

Madchen was still haunting him in the shower, making him feel like a complete pervert. He leaned against the tiles and shut his eyes tight. There she was, pressing him against the wall while the water meandered down her hard breasts and flicked off her nipples. He opened his eyes to nothing but white tiles. Switching on the cold water didn't turn him off at all.

Karen put down a cup of coffee on the table for him just as he slumped down in his chair.

'You're doing your own laundry now?'

'Yeah, why?' He expected to feel more uncomfortable about his situation, but he really didn't care.

She tousled his hair and beamed at him. 'You're so good to me sometimes. Just wish it was more often.'

Sam didn't want to hate her, but she still inevitably annoyed him no matter what she did. He tried to eat as much food as he could so as not to anger her, but it was hard to swallow. She talked at him while he remembered Madchen moving down over him. He knew he was getting hard again, and Karen's voice wasn't doing anything to distract him. He started fidgeting.

'Yeah, sure,' he said at last, and she seemed satisfied with the response.

He was going to end up hurting his dick thinking about Madchen all day. Walking to school didn't help either. She was there in his head, taunting him so much he almost got taken out by a car. The driver yelled at him as he leapt out of the way.

Harry and Mitchell were kicking around by the entrance when Sam arrived.

'Hey, Sam,' Mitchell nodded.

'You look haggard.' Harry clearly enjoyed pointing things like that out. Whenever Sam was in the dumps, Harry rarely said anything to cheer him up. Sam refused to let it bother him.

'Slept funny. Weird dreams.'

They headed inside.

'Alissa was being a real pain in the arse all the way home on Saturday,' Mitchell grumbled as he recounted the rest of Saturday night's events. 'The whole ride she was all, "Boohoo Lucas. Boohoo." It was embarrassing. People were staring at us.'

'Her mum wasn't too impressed when we got her home,' Harry added. 'She was so drunk.'

'Yeah,' Sam smirked. 'I'm waiting for her to show up and deny it all. Like always.'

But she didn't. Her seat was empty. Miranda decided they all cared enough to tell them Alissa had been acting weird all Sunday.

'She was just really quiet. You know how she craps on, usually. I couldn't get a word out of her. Her mum said she was up half the night when she got home crying and vomiting.'

'Then she was just hungover,' Sam replied.

'I've seen her hungover, Sam. She never stops complaining how sick she feels. Something's not right with her.'

'You think I don't know that,' Sam said. 'She's full of shit, Miranda.'

Miranda rolled her eyes. 'Jeez, aren't you a moody little prick today.'

He wasn't listening anymore. He could see Madchen in the yard outside, leaning against the fence. Someone moved through his view and she was still there. Compulsion brought him to his feet and he went to the window.

'Sam?' Harry asked.

Madchen started crossing the yard towards the window. As she moved, she slipped the straps of her top off her shoulders, baring her breasts. Sam was sweating.

'Hey!' Harry hollered. 'What the hell are you looking at?'

'Mr Wright, I can only hope what I'm about to say is more fascinating than whatever it is you're staring at out there,' Mr Barrington called.

Madchen's spindly fingers went to her lips and she blew a kiss. He touched the glass in front of him. He knew he was being spoken to — he just didn't care.

'Wright! Sit down, now!'

She lowered her head, seductively. Like she had done in his dream, she dematerialised, and the cloud of vapour sailed up into the air.

Everyone was either snickering behind their hands or staring at him when he went to sit. Mr Barrington was fuming. Sam spent the rest of class shooting glances towards the window, hoping to see Madchen appear. Soon as the bell rang he dashed out of the room and went into the yard, thinking she may have been hiding nearby waiting for him.

Why would she be? he argued with himself. She wasn't really there. Like she wasn't really in the shower or in his bed. His daydreams were never this solid, so did that mean they were hallucinations? He hadn't eaten very much, so he figured they were delusions created by starvation. He didn't go to his next class. Instead, he casually wandered out of the school gates.

The park was fairly empty when he arrived. It wasn't his destination — he just felt like walking around in circles whilst trying to find something to alleviate the pain in his chest. He felt detached now, undisturbed by the fact he would normally never walk out of school.

Alissa was there, sitting on a swing. She was moping, and her cheeks were blotchy from crying. Grey bags of skin hung below her eyes. His heart shifted a little and a memory of once caring for her repeated itself.

'What's the matter?' he asked, keeping his tone flat to disguise his concern.

'Everything,' she murmured. 'I've never felt so hollow. He's destroyed me. I miss him so much.'

Annoyed she'd managed to draw any sympathy from him, he said, 'Alissa, you didn't even meet him. You just went to a concert.'

'He came to me last night,' she sobbed. 'Came into my room. He was so wonderful. I felt so loved. Then he vanished.'

'It was a dream,' Sam insisted, realising then he was trying to convince himself his own dream of Madchen was just that.

'No,' she whimpered. 'He was with me for hours. I never slept. He said he'd come back for me.'

'Stop lying, Alissa.'

'I'm not!' she wailed. 'Sam, I'm not lying.'

He couldn't take her bawling anymore.

'Alissa, Lucas is just some ridiculous twat in a band who wouldn't remember you anyway. Get over it.'

His declaration wasn't even finished when Alissa shot to her feet and slapped him roughly in the mouth. She then shoved him hard and he stumbled backwards.

'Don't you dare say another word about Lucas,' she glowered. 'He's my angel.' She moved over him to hit him again and Sam grabbed her wrists.

'You've gone mental,' he spat.

'I'm not the crazy one. What about you? Going after that whore singer?'

His reaction to this was as severe as hers. He pulled her to the ground with him, instantly pinning her.

'She's not a whore.' The words spurted out of him like water from a burst pipe.

Alissa kicked him violently between his legs then shuffled out of his grasp in a strange crab walk to get away from him. She got up and kicked him in the side. He lay in the sand by the swing, coughing from the pain.

'Fuck off and leave me alone!' Alissa cried.

They'd attracted the attention of some guy, who then rushed to Alissa's side.

'Is he bothering you?' he asked her.

'You're all bothering me!' she screeched. 'Go away!' She marched off towards the gates in a big, dramatic huff.

'What was all that about?' the guy asked Sam.

'Fuck off,' Sam said as he got up, his crotch and side singing with pain.

The rage Alissa had created with her words about Madchen would not subside and he considered finding her and putting her in her place. The woods were nearby. He carried on in no particular direction until he got too tired to keep going, then sat beneath a tree and tried to calm down.

He had never once hit Alissa in the entire time he'd been with her. Even her taunting hadn't led him to consider it. He curled up into a ball under the tree and attempted to think through everything that had happened, but it was as if his mind was stuck on a carousel and Madchen was one pony ahead of him, blowing kisses and making him miss her more. She wouldn't disappear, and she was never going to be within his reach. The ache was soon unbearable and he finally wound up crying into his arms. Rubbing his biceps to warm them up made them sting. Confused, he pushed back his sleeves.

Five scratches ran down the back of both of his forearms. They were bright red. He touched the scars lightly. One was still bleeding a little.

He thought an eagle was flying nearby. A shadow blanketed him.

'Sam, don't be sad. I'm here now.'

Through the glaze of his tears, he saw Madchen standing in front of him, her wings spread wide behind her.

'Come with me,' she murmured.

Chapter 6

Music was playing downstairs when Rose managed to rouse herself. The boy from the concert had visited her dreams this time, and they had made love for hours in a garden with a huge tree covered in snakes and apples. They laughed and pawed at each other while plucking apples from the mouths of the snakes and feeding them to one another. She tasted the nectar as it dripped down her wrists. He lapped up the juice and kissed her hard, their tongues moving slowly over each other's lips.

Happiness filled her as she wandered about the room. She picked up the brushes and perfumes that were neatly set out on the dresser. She didn't need to ask if this was her room. She took it as her own. The wardrobe was full of dresses, blouses and skirts.

The bathroom had an ornate tub and she lavishly soaked herself for nearly an hour, washing her hair with the expensive shampoo. Once she was dry, she rubbed some moisturiser into her skin and realised it was a shade darker than before. She clothed herself in a billowy skirt and a loose fitting peasant top that sat about her shoulders. Seeing herself in the mirror as she passed, she felt absolutely beautiful.

She all but danced to Scarlet, who was sitting the front room. The music was much louder there. It was a lone cello playing richly and deeply. The final bars made Rose's heart lift and fall as if it had grown its own pair of wings. Scarlet smiled.

'I'm glad you've made yourself at home, child. Your brothers and sisters will be along eventually.'

'How many do I have?' she asked.

'I've lost count,' her mother said simply. 'There's room enough for all of you, though. Sit.'

Rose obeyed.

'I want to tell you everything, Rose. My journeys across the world have been arduous. I've ruined many lives in my struggle. The descendants of the ones who cast me out of paradise will soon know my power.'

Scarlet's voice lost a touch of its former warmth, and Rose felt her insides freeze. She glanced about the room, expecting to see pictures of family members. There was only a strange portrait over the fireplace.

'Do you know my father? Where is he?'

'I don't know much of him. He and his wife helped me have you.'

'I was a surrogacy?'

'You were. I asked her to carry you, but she got a little attached. I had to take you myself since she wouldn't give you up. She went a little mad. Her family came after me, so I had to leave you with that woman. I didn't think I would raise that kind of wrath again. You see, we were hunted in the older days, and many of us were slain.'

'Who hunted us? Why?'

'They won't ever understand me, or you. What we are — we're not something that humans take too kindly to. They'll call you many names, but it doesn't mean you don't belong on this earth as much as they think they do.'

'I didn't want to hurt anyone.'

'But you did, Rose, and you'll keep hurting them. You won't be able to survive any other way. Don't feel ashamed of it. They've been nothing but cruel to you, my love. You don't owe them any mercy or pity.'

Rose thought of Kelsey and Jamie and all her old friends who just walked away.

'You're right.'

'Of course I am. I'm your mother. Who else can you trust?'

'Where's Lucas? I feel bad for running from him.'

'Hush, it doesn't matter. I need you to meet someone.'

Rose stayed a step behind her beautiful mother as they went through the hall and down a narrow set of stairs. Scarlet had to put a code in to open the door at the bottom. A huge bright light blinded her as she moved forward into a massive white room. There were a young woman and two other men in the middle of the room, standing at a bench. Her mind suddenly clicked to the fact she was in a laboratory, but it seemed so out of the ordinary for something like this to be in the basement of a mansion. Rose tentatively went with Scarlet to greet the three white-coated figures.

'Rose, this is Dominic Stanton.'

The man in the centre of the trio turned around. He had blond hair and a very friendly face. He was quite tall, and his eyes were a bluish grey. Rose wasn't good at guessing ages, so she assumed he was probably in his late thirties.

Scarlet introduced the shorter man beside him as Thomas Harper. He wasn't as amiable, and Rose saw he was shyer than her. He had much sharper features and his hair was reddish-brown. The young woman with the brown hair and pretty face stood at chest height to Dominic. Rose was more certain she was in her early twenties. Scarlet faltered with her name, so she introduced herself as Deborah Stark, and her lovely smile relaxed Rose a little.

Dominic shook Rose's hand. 'Hello, Rose.'

'Hello.' She dipped her head.

'She's another of my daughters,' her mother explained as she turned to Rose. 'Dominic just wants to check you over. Make sure you're well.'

'I feel fine.'

Her mother's laughter was strange and left Rose with an odd chill inside her.

'You're not very strong. You've not been eating properly. He's going to do some tests. They won't be too painful.'

'I just need a little of your blood,' Dominic said as he reached for her arm. Deborah produced a needle. Everyone looked happy. Rose felt small.

'I don't like needles.' She was instinctively protecting her arm as she remembered Olivia standing by, annoyed, as she'd cried during her inoculations.

'Don't fuss, Rose,' her mother murmured.

'But I really-'

Her mother snatched her arm and pulled up her sleeve.

'Rose,' she snapped, 'do as Dominic says.'

Dominic strapped on a band tight around her forearm then rubbed a damp piece of cotton wool on the crook of her elbow. Taking the syringe from Deborah, he carefully inserted the needle into the most prominent vein and she flinched. She watched the vial fill with a black liquid.

'My god,' Thomas murmured.

'Are you alright, Rose?' Dominic asked her, concerned.

She nodded only because her mother was watching her, sternly. Dominic slipped the needle from her vein and Deborah covered it with another cotton bud that she taped to Rose's arm. She bent her elbow and shrank away.

Thomas took the blood over to one of the workbenches, peering at in the light as he went.

'Good girl,' her mother purred. 'Now you can have something to eat.'

'I'm not hungry.' And she wasn't. Rose didn't feel like food anymore. She was pining for the white mist. She missed the taste of it, and the feeling it made all through her body.

Upstairs, Lucas had arrived home and was lounging about the front room with Gabriel and Roman. They were all sweaty and still dressed in the leather pants and tight shirts they wore on stage. There were some other girls with them who were lying on the floor, their clothes half off, drinking from the crystal glasses. They were giggling incessantly. There was one girl Rose recognised instantly. It was the pretty blonde from Wolverhampton who had dragged the boy away. Lucas was stroking her hair lovingly and whispering to her. She looked almost comatose. Rose was sure she was drunk as well, and not enjoying it half as much as the girls on the floor.

'Lucas, take your party into the other room,' Scarlet demanded. 'I don't want those twits spilling wine on the rug again.'

The girls only cackled more. Gabriel and Roman dragged the girls up and hoisted them out. Lucas lifted the blonde girl in his arms and she rested her head on his shoulder. He stared darkly at Rose as he left.

Madchen waltzed in as the others exited.

'Did you bring someone?' Scarlet asked.

'Of course. I'm taking him upstairs now.' Madchen gestured behind her.

'No. Bring him in here.'

Madchen noticed Rose and soured.

'He's mine. I found him.'

'Be nice, Madchen. Your sister is hungry.'

'Then make her find her own food,' Madchen countered. 'I'm the one who brought him all this way. He's not exactly light, you know.'

'Do as I say, Madchen.'

Madchen huffed childishly and walked out. She returned with the boy from the show and Rose's chest stiffened. Scarlet went to the boy and stroked his hair. He appeared passive and lost. Madchen glared at Rose then left to join the others.

'Where's Madchen going?' the boy asked.

'You'll see her later. I want you to meet Rose.'

Scarlet motioned Rose to come forward.

'What's your name?' Rose asked him. She carefully took his hand.

'Sam,' the boy answered blankly. In the dim light, she saw the mist around him. Her mouth actually watered at the sight.

'It's alright, Rose,' Scarlet said as she moved her closer.

The mist was reaching out to her. It grew fingers that stretched and wriggled almost cartoonishly under her nose. She lifted both her hands and cupped his jaw. They almost seemed to be hypnotising each other and her resistance was dying rapidly.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered to Sam.

'Rose,' Scarlet chided. 'Don't ever apologise. Just take.'

Sam's eyes fell closed and he leaned into her. In her heart, she wanted to kiss him more than she wanted the mists. She tasted him for a while. Scarlet stepped away.

She clutched Sam to her, feeling more than smitten. She was so happy to see him but so confused as to how he had ended up there. Then her hunger crushed her affection. As soon as their lips parted, she was drawing the mists into her. She couldn't stop it. He tasted sweeter than the other boys. She pushed him out of her grasp. He didn't react.

'No. I won't do this.'

'Why must I suffer this insolence?' Scarlet complained. She snatched Rose and slapped her. Sam dropped to the floor. Rose pulled away from her mother to help him only to be drawn back and struck again.

'You're still too human. You should have no remorse for him or anyone.'

'You don't understand...' Rose pleaded.

'Stay out of my sight until you're willing to be what really are.' She left Rose and Sam alone. Rose fell to Sam's side and shook him. He stirred and she lifted his head onto her lap.

'I'm so sorry, Sam.'

'Who are you?' he groaned.

'My name's Rose. I'll take care of you. I promise.' She lifted him carefully and helped him to the couch.

'Who was that woman?' he said at last.

'She's my mother.'

'Why was she being so mean to you?' He was acting completely oblivious to the threat she had just placed on him.

'I don't know,' Rose sighed. 'I don't think I'm everything she hoped I would be.'

Sam slouched forward.

'What is this place? Where's Madchen?'

Rose fretted and wondered if he was getting as sick as Jaime and Joel.

'Wait here.' She rested him against the armrest of the couch and dashed through the hall. Roman was standing at the top of the stairs when she headed to the basement.

'You're not to go down there now, Rose,' he warned.

'It's Sam. He's not well. I have to get Dominic.'

'You're not meant to disturb him while he's working,' Roman told her. 'Sam will be fine.'

Thinking Roman would only tell on her to her mother, she obeyed him. She went back to the front room to find it empty.

Deborah gazed at the vial of Rose's blood, disturbed.

'Do you think it's an iron deficiency?' she asked Dominic.

'Far from it,' Thomas scoffed. He was appreciative of Deborah's assistance but made comments behind her back to Dominic about her naivety. Dominic never bothered to remind Thomas he was once a student, just as eager for answers as she was now. He missed having the tenacious need to devour knowledge.

Deb handed the vial to Dominic. He removed a drop and placed it on a slide. The blood itself seemed to be reacting a little to the air already before he trapped it between the second slide. The scope was linked to a large high-definition monitor and the light from the scope illuminated the cells. The haemoglobin had an unusual shape and were completely black. Deb peered closer to the screen.

Something started to smell awful and the glass of the slide cracked. Dominic watched in quiet horror as the cells on the screen swelled. The panel beneath the scope was searing and thin streams of smoke rose around the lens. Dominic stepped away as they saw the bottom of the scope disintegrate until it melted into the countertop.

'What the hell?' Thomas spluttered into his fist. The smoke was thickening as scope fell in upon itself in a twist of molten metal. Deb returned with a fire extinguisher and released the contents. They waited as the cloud of powder eventually settled. Dominic was speechless.

'This isn't good,' Deb said over her wrist as she tried to block the stench.

'The blood is acidic,' Dominic murmured.

'That's ludicrous,' Thomas said, exasperated.

'Why didn't it have any effect on the glass of the vial?' Deborah asked.

'I don't know,' Dominic coughed. 'Everything in here is clean. It was vacuum sealed once it was drawn, perhaps the exposure to oxygen caused a reaction.'

Thomas appeared more than baffled. 'What the hell are we dealing with, Thomas?'

'Scarlet's going to want us to do more tests,' Deborah fretted. 'How are we meant to explain this?'

'Don't worry.' He touched her arm gently and smiled. 'I'll speak to Scarlet. It's not Rose's fault, but we need her back in here for some more tests.'

'How can she survive with something so toxic in her system?' Thomas pondered gravely.

'Unless it naturally occurs within her body.'

'That's not possible, Dominic,' Deborah said. 'There's no way a body could produce that kind of harmful chemical. It's not right.'

'I'll go find Rose. How about you two go home. It's late.'

Thomas gathered his jacket.

'I need to take a few days off. Heidi hasn't been well.' Thomas's attention was more upon the scope than Dominic.

'Thom, we've got so much to do.'

'Syl said she needed my help. I'll be back. Don't panic.' He took off his white coat in exchange for his jacket and left.

Thomas departed and Deb considered the broken scope more closely.

'She's not human,' Deb said at last. 'Rose, I mean.'

'Then what do you think she is?' Dominic quizzed. This wasn't like all the other times he asked her questions to try and tease the answer out of her, knowing she was on the verge of an epiphany. He wasn't taking delight in watching her muse.

'I don't know. I mean, the light of the scope is relatively warm, but not hot enough to cause a reaction like that.' She was visibly strained by the question, but desperate enough to keep searching for an answer. 'Plus, de-oxygenated blood doesn't turn black...'

'You're tired, Deb,' Dominic sighed. 'We'll think about it tomorrow.'

'Aren't you worried about this?' she asked incredulously.

His mind ticked over searching for answers. More questions arose instead. His trepidation was stifled by his curiosity. There was plenty more blood left in the vial, but he would need tissue and other samples to really understand what he was seeing. If Rose's blood cells contained a naturally occurring acid that was powerful enough to corrode metal, and she was immune to the damaging effects of her own blood, what other resistances did she possess?

'Dominic?' Deb urged him. 'Why aren't you even moderately concerned?'

'Concerned? Should I be?'

'Get some sleep, for god's sake,' she chided. 'You'll be no good to us half-crazed.'

He saw her to her car and she stopped to listen to the music coming from inside the house.

'It's a good thing we don't hear anything downstairs,' she said wearily.

Scarlet stepped out into the evening air. She appeared drawn and frustrated. Dominic ignored Deb and went to her. Despite Scarlet abandoning him naked on her parlour floor, he wasn't upset with her, he'd simply forgotten about it. Deb hurriedly got into her car without bidding Scarlet goodnight.

'What's the matter?' he asked Scarlet.

'It's Rose. I was hoping for so much more.'

'I think she's wondrous,' Dominic laughed. 'Her blood... You'll never believe...'

'She's an idiot,' Scarlet declared. 'Damn fool doesn't know half of what she's capable.'

'I can show you,' he assured her. 'I'll need her for more tests.'

'Rip her to shreds. She has to be good for something.'

Her words didn't damage his elation. He went to kiss Scarlet but she held him off her.

'Why are you out here?' she scolded. 'You have plenty to do inside. Go get started with Rose. I'll be checking on your progress later.'

'Of course.' He stopped at the step and went to speak again but she was already gone. He scratched his head and covered his mouth while he yawned.

Inside, he wandered the hallways and called out to Rose. Three more girls ran down the corridor in their underwear, shrieking and giggling. The house was now crawling with teenagers. He wasn't interested in Lucas and his assortment of groupies. Absentmindedly, Dominic walked into one room to find a pretty blonde girl sitting on a couch, crying. Tears dripped on her knuckles while she bit her nails. When she realised he was staring at her, she was outraged.

'Get out,' she cried. 'Lucas! Lucas where are you?'

Dominic was yanked away by Lucas's spindly paw.

'Leave her alone,' he snarled. 'She's none of your concern.'

'I'm looking for Rose,' he stammered.

'She's down the hall.' Lucas blocked Dominic's view of the girl, and he heard her squeal with delight as she ran to him.

Somehow Dominic managed to hear shouting over the din of music playing from down the hallway. Rose was inching out of another room and shouting at someone. Madchen appeared, only to tell her to stay away. Rose was shut out. She slid down the wall across the hallway and wept. Dominic went to her and carefully lifted her to her feet.

'Rose, don't cry,' he murmured.

'She's hurting him,' Rose whimpered. 'He's just letting her. She doesn't care.'

He wrapped the girl into one arm and led her away.

'It's not worth it, Rose. He's not, whoever he is.'

'None of this is!' she cried. 'Why did I come here?'

'I don't know,' he said, feeling stupid all of a sudden.

'I just wanted someone to care for me. Lucas said we were family. Madchen has been nothing but a bitch to me. I thought if I just followed Roman, I would get some answers, but none of them have told me anything. I don't even know what I am anymore.'

'What do you mean?'

'I flew here with wings that sprouted out of my back. It wasn't a dream either. I have no idea what any of this means.'

Her distress was palpable. He held her arms and his tired mind couldn't get a grasp on what she meant.

'Wings?'

She sighed angrily and yanked her arms free. With her fists at her side, she made her shoulders tense and he watched as a pair of jointed bones emerged and spread out behind her. The sound of snapping cartilage made him ill. The joints opened and a film of brown, translucent skin fanned out on each side.

'What the hell...?'

Rose was still wincing a little. She shook out the wings and made a pathetic shrug.

'I don't know what I am.'

He was marvelling at her as she spoke. He gently turned her to see where the wings had developed. He stared at the wings and he wanted to touch them but they were covered in her black, sticky blood.

'I can't even begin to explain this, but I might be able to help you figure this out.'

'How can you help me?'

'Will you let me do more tests? We can answer your questions together, perhaps. If you stay.'

'Scarlet said she doesn't want to see me until I accept what I am, but she won't tell me anything.'

He squeezed her shoulder carefully. 'Come with me. I'll stay here with you, I won't go home.'

'I don't know what else to do. If I stay I can at least try to keep an eye on Sam.' She stopped. 'What other tests do you have to do?'

'I'll try to make them as quick as possible, but you'll have to be patient.'

'If it will explain what the hell I am, I'll do it.'

Chapter 7

Sam watched the two girls shouting in a strange haze of confusion. Rose was desperately trying to get into the room but Madchen was forcing her out. Music was playing down the hallway. The pounding of the bass and the shrieking of the two girls confounded him and he covered his ears.

'He needs help. He can hardly stand up!' Rose cried.

'You had your chance, you stupid bitch!' Madchen yelled.

Rose scratched at Madchen's face. Madchen retaliated with a slap to Rose's cheek and Rose pushed forward once more, reaching out to Sam.

'Don't stay with her. Please!'

She managed to grab Sam's arm and pull him closer.

'Sam, you mustn't listen to her. She's going to hurt you, just like I almost did. I won't do it to you again, I swear.'

Rose's eyes were glistening, and he focused on the tiny crystal lights in her tears. His body felt heavy and his mind was sobering. Madchen was furious and he saw the malice in her eyes. Rose was imploring him to follow. Madchen grabbed Rose by her hair and hurled her out into the corridor.

'Sam, that girl you were with before the concert, she's here too. She's in danger.'

Madchen slammed the door shut and locked it.

Sam clasped his head. It was aching from the noise. He knew he hadn't been drinking but he had been slipping in and out of consciousness for hours.

'What the hell is going on?' he demanded.

Madchen lifted her head. She seemed beyond exhausted, as if she had been awake for thousands of years and just wanted to go to sleep.

'It makes little difference if I tell you,' Madchen sighed. 'You're not going anywhere.'

'Tell me what?' The throbbing in his head annoyed him.

'Do you know the story of Lilith?' she asked, sounding bored. He assumed she had told this story countless times before.

'Should I?'

She gestured to the bed and he sat down. He knew she could have just as easily pointed to a cliff and made him jump off.

'Your people seem to hold on to your little stories about how your world began as if they were truths, and you've created variations on these truths for centuries. If one of you disagrees with these apparent truths, you go off and create your own scriptures. So some of you hold our story to be true and some of you don't.'

'I don't really believe in anything,' Sam replied.

'It's not up to me to make you believe anything, but you asked.'

She sat down across from him in a large armchair, took out an ornate nail file and sharpened her nails as she spoke.

'Lilith was Adam's first wife, and she refused to be subservient to him. She wanted to wear clothes and not lay beneath him when they made love. She wanted to be considered his equal and he refused to acknowledge she was. For this, she was thrown out of the Garden, though it was claimed he wanted her to come back. She later met with the Devil on the shores of the Red Sea and was betrothed to him. She bore children daily. Thousands of us creatures were birthed by Lilith, but we could not continue our race alone. We were born infertile and weak. There are many creatures in this world that use rituals to help propagate their species. Our ritual, unfortunately, required the acquiescence of humans.'

Sam stared at her, trying so hard with his impaired adolescent brain to pay attention to what she was saying. The scent of her alone was unfairly distracting him.

'We cannot produce our kind ourselves. We need human organs to carry our offspring. In the past, we took the seed from human men while our males went on to impregnate the women. What resulted was a flawed child, a cambion. We have tried many tinctures and herbs and incantations to strengthen our aspects in these children, but they always end up deformed or mad and useless to us. We have been hunted and slain by priests and knights, who believed our females ate children and were the cause of many a man's insanity and death. We haunted monks in our more foolish days, and because of this, our total demise was almost brought to fruition. Those of us who were close to Lilith told the others to scatter. She was hiding her remaining children throughout the world.

'We hid from the light, rarely performing our rites to our continuation in fear of retribution, especially in the darker years when humans were more prone to believing in magic. Your stories tended to popularise vampires, witches and other abominations over us, so eventually our concealment was easier to maintain. But our numbers were thinning, and we needed start again. We have been waiting for an era like this one. In this modern world, the young are more susceptible to our charms. In our time of concealment, we learned fame was the easiest way to enrapture the young, who are more fertile and easier to penetrate.'

Sam's head began to loll backwards. He desperately wanted to lie down and had to force himself to keep listening.

'These things I've done to you, to your dreams, I've been doing it for centuries. We all have. The only foolish thing you've done now as a race is to give us your technology to make our own kind as strong as possible. Our rituals are no longer required. Our offspring, our new cambion, will finally be strong and healthy.'

Sam started to process all of this then said stupidly, 'This is fucked up.'

'This is nature, Sam. Death and possession are part of life. Many things make hosts of other species in order to survive. We're no different.'

Nothing of it seemed logical or sensible, and he wanted to leave, but he was too lethargic to stand. He remembered Rose's kiss, and Madchen's. When their lips touched his, he felt weaker. Rose had stopped herself.

'What have you done to me?' he murmured, too exhausted to be angry.

Madchen put her nail file on her dresser and went to him. Her head lowered in the same seductive way as when he'd seen her in the schoolyard.

'I don't know of love, Sam, and I sometimes wish I were human. But I know of sorrow. I know of pain. We're not trying to cause anyone pain. We never were.'

She moved into him and slipped her arms around his neck. His desire went up another unwanted notch. Her beautiful, almost golden eyes were a gateway to a world of madness and wonder that he wanted to be immersed in. It was then he wanted to believe she was nothing but the hapless creature she claimed to be.

His hands still rose and held her middle. He pulled her between his legs and the top of his head touched her stomach.

'We shouldn't do this.' It was the most redundant thing he'd ever said.

'We're not doing anything wrong, Sam. Push me away if you don't want me.'

He moved his hands up her curves, hating their disobedience and loving her warmth all at once. Soon his palms were cupping her hard breasts. His eyes fell shut a moment. Reaching down, she pulled off his shirt.

'Am I going crazy?' His eyes opened, and his hands fell straight back on her hips. She lowered her face to his and he raised his hands to stroke her cheeks like a blind child touching a rose petal for the first time.

'Does it matter if you are? These are your actions, Sam. This is what you want.'

He sighed in desperation, trembling as he stared at her.

'You're with me now, like you wanted.' She continued to stroke his hair lovingly as she spoke.

He wasn't even listening to her. The movement of her lips was enchanting. His fingertips brushed over them and the tip of her tongue slipped out to lick them. The heat of her breath scorched him. She didn't need to do anything. She simply stood there and patiently waited for him to crumble.

Giving up, he clasped the back of her neck kissed her hard, and the last of his dignity rotted away. She clutched him to her, and she breathed and responded as any girl would. So much of him wanted a moment to forget everything; his life, his parents, his existence. Madchen offered such a perfect release from his ennui. He dug his hands into her hair while he kissed her, then undid the ribbon of her corset and slipped it off her. He touched her back and felt two small protrusions on each of her shoulder blades.

'I've no reason to lie to you, Sam,' she said with her lips still close to his.

'I don't care what you are,' he murmured. He was kissing her skin and gripping her shockingly firm body as tightly as he could. It didn't matter to him anymore.

If her intentions truly were to set a trap and kill him, then he was a fool and deserved no sympathy for having taken the bait. That didn't matter when he felt her tongue touch the skin of his neck so lightly. His adoration for her meant he chose to ignore Rose's warnings. This was what he wanted.

Madchen stripped him bare and eliminated the immediate chill on his skin with her caress. He wanted to show her humanity, even if she said she wasn't human herself. She seemed to breathe a confidence into him he would never have displayed with other girls. She tasted so sweet on his tongue. A deep, guttural groan rose from some dark and primal place within him. If this was the true taste of sin, then he would happily gorge himself on her for the rest of his days, no matter how numbered and damned they may have been then. Her fingers moved through his hair again while he lapped her up like a mindless, starving cat.

Her presence destroyed the very idea of time, and nothing outside of her and her body was relevant to him now. So determined to arouse every part of her, he held her beneath him on the bed and kissed as much of her skin as he could before he entered her. She let him do all he wished with a serenity and an unquestioning that he knew no other girl would offer him. More than he wanted her, he wanted to show his foolish love for her, thinking he could break through all she said she was to find something human within her. He slipped her sweat-soaked hair from her temples and kissed her tenderly.

When he came, his mind and soul were wiped clean. He was close to weeping in her grasp and she held his face from her. She touched his eyes and grinned.

The breath she took then sucked in all his essence and he saw it fall from his skin and eyes as a white mist. Once again he was prone. She was still beneath him but now she held all the control, smiling as the life in him was evaporating. Any scrap of energy he needed to stop her was gone. He was sure at that moment he was going to die and he watched her as she began to turn to smoke in his arms. He fell through the smoke and desperately tried to move his limbs. His eyes were open wide, but his entire body was completely immobilised. Screaming seemed the only solution but he was unable to even make a single noise with his throat. Panic was all he could feel now. His heart fought on inside, and its tenacious pounding surged the roar of blood in his ears. His breathing was shallow.

He felt a spasm in his thigh as he forced himself to start moving again. His arm obeyed first, and his legs slowly followed suit. Like a lame baby deer trying to walk, he lifted himself awkwardly and crawled off the tall bed, slumping to the floor. He struggled to pull his pants on, and his weak arms didn't help the effort of getting his shirt over his head. As he stumbled to the door, the blood suddenly rushed to his head, and he fell to his knees before passing out cold.

Dominic gave Rose some privacy so she could change into a gown. She called out to him when she was ready, and he found her on her side with the base of her back exposed. They were in one of the clean rooms where most of the testing kits were kept. He placed the cutout gauze to isolate the position on her back. He could just about remember learning to do the procedure but was shaking internally at the thought of making a mistake.

'What are you doing here?' Rose asked, breaking their awkward silence.

'Miss Keller has asked me to do some procedures for her, and she's allowed me to work on my own projects without having to worry about other... interferences.'

'What projects?' she went on.

'I'm interested in people's genes. I'm looking into particularly nasty ones to see if they can be systematically removed from future generations.'

'I think I learnt something about that at school,' she said. 'They said they could breed perfect babies and perfect soldiers... What was that word again... U something...'

'Eugenics. I'm sorry, Rose, but I'm going to have to stick you with a couple more needles. Try to stay still.'

Her body tensed anyway as the needle penetrated her flesh. He flinched a little himself, trying to regain his steady hand. If he could negotiate and perform microscopic procedures, a spinal tap should have been a walk in the park.

The needle slid out as she mumbled, 'Ouch. Is that it?'

'No, I'm afraid not. I don't have the world's best bedside manner, do I? Probably why I find it easier to fiddle with genes.'

'Are you a proper doctor, too?'

He chuckled a little. 'I had to get a degree in general medicine first if that's what you mean by "proper".'

'Do you think you can help Sam? He's not well. I tried to keep him away from Madchen but he wouldn't come.'

'Sam's the boy upstairs, right?'

'Yeah. I don't know him. I just know Madchen's using him.'

Dominic smiled, finding the idea of Rose having a crush as almost sweet. 'He's just a young lad, Rose. I don't think he really cares if someone like her was using him.'

Rose lifted her head to face Dominic. 'Madchen was doing things to him. I saw them. He was all weary. Like he was dying.'

'How do you mean?'

'She was... drinking something from him. Like a mist. I did it too. I've done it to other boys. They all end up passing out... or in hospital.'

Dominic picked up a larger needle.

'I really don't understand, Rose.' His puzzlement only annoyed her. She put her head back down.

'Never mind. Just stick me with your bloody needle already.'

He placed his hand on her side, and his touch clearly made her more uncomfortable.

'Try to breathe deeply. This will still hurt a bit. I'll try not to take too long. I need to take out some of your spinal fluid.'

The second needle burrowed down into her spine. She started whimpering.

'Oww.'

'Hold on,' he said gently. 'I'm about to drain some fluid now and you're going to have to keep still or I could damage your spinal nerves.'

He could hear she was spitting through her clenched teeth. His hand gripped her tighter but he knew it wasn't enough to comfort her. Her leg suddenly and violently connected with his stomach and he lurched backwards. She flipped over on the bed and pulled a small plastic tube from her spine then threw it at him before leaping on him, appearing blind with fury. She forced him to the floor and he shouted frantically at her to stop. Her fingernails clawed at his face as he desperately batted at her. When he was able to grab her wrists, she slowly softened. She scrambled off him, knocking the gurney with her back.

He lay on the floor, gasping and staring at her with a weird mix of horror and sick fascination. She stepped away from him.

'I'm sorry...' she whispered. He kept an eye on her as he got to his feet.

'I should have told you it would be painful.' He stayed at a distance from her, which seemed to make her more ashamed.

She sobbed. 'I can't do this.'

'You're right. It's late. We should get some sleep.'

'No!' she shouted. 'I can't do any of this. I don't know what I am but I don't deserve this, do I? I can't help what I do. But I don't want to do it anymore.'

Dominic regarded her gravely. 'I don't know of any other way to help you, Rose. I can't fix you if I don't know how you work to begin with.'

'Maybe it doesn't matter that much. Maybe if I leave to be somewhere all by myself where I can't hurt anyone...'

'But you'd be lonely.' He couldn't help responding to her sudden vulnerability.

'I'm lonely now. What difference does it make?'

'I've worked myself into loneliness, Rose. It's not worth it when you realise you miss people holding you.'

'No one should hold me. I'm a monster.'

'I still want to help you. But I think you should go to bed. We both should.'

He took a bandage from a drawer and asked her to turn around. Once he patched up her wound and he'd let her get dressed, she allowed him to take her by the arm and lead her upstairs.

The music continued to rattle the walls on the second floor. There were howling and laughing coming from nearly every room.

'Where have all these people come from?' Rose asked Dominic.

'I think Madchen and the others brought them home.'

There were other kids falling into the hallways, drunk and half-naked. Boys and girls were everywhere, all behaving like idiots. One boy had a girl pinned against the wall while he kissed her. He groped her, oblivious to Rose and Dominic. Other kids chased each other across the long hallway rug, their feet pounding on the wooden floor. It was like someone had invited half her school to the house. She hadn't even realised the place was turning into a summer holiday home.

Dominic held on to her as they moved through the throng to the third floor. The rooms up there were blessedly empty, and Rose was able to find somewhere else to sleep. Dominic said goodnight and shuffled tiredly off to another room.

She locked herself away and lay down on the bed at last. Whatever Dominic had originally shot into her was wearing off, and there was a relentless stinging behind the bandage.

A hush fell over the house some hours later, save for a distant banging that seemed to be coming from the ground floor. She got up and ventured out of her room. Past the landing, the second-floor corridor was now lined with sleeping kids. She headed further down to the hallway as the music downstairs grew louder.

The doorway behind the stairs was open and laughter was drifting out. A pair of figures stood leaned against either side of the door, watching with their arms folded. They didn't stop Rose walking in. About fifty people lined the room where, in the middle, Lucas had the blonde girl pinned to the floor. They were both completely naked. Rose covered her mouth.

She immediately thought the girl was being raped, until Rose saw her face as it rocked back and forth. She was in a state of bliss, allowing Lucas to do whatever he pleased. Scarlet was watching too, and Rose wanted to be sick. Gabrielle went to another of the girls, who was lying in the arms of one of the men watching. Gabriel snatched the girl away then pinned her to the floor beside the blonde, mounting her. Rose's eyes snapped side to side. The men and women in the room were barely clad. Their bodies were hard and dark and some even had wings like hers sprouting from their shoulder blades. The whole spectacle enraged her, and she wanted no part in it. She knew then she had to find Sam and get out of there.

Roman stopped her from going.

'What's the matter, Rose?'

'What the fuck is going on?' she shouted, annoyed by the jeering around her.

'Alissa has kindly allowed Lucas to borrow her for a while.'

'Borrow her?' she asked, disgusted.

'It's just a small celebration, Rose, to honour our new guests. We're hoping when Dominic has finished his work, these girls will be the mothers of our new and perfect siblings.'

'You're trying to get them pregnant?'

Roman smirked. 'Not possible, not for us. But we have a new plan now. One that has a lot of potential, and it wouldn't make sense for you not to be involved, Rose.'

'I don't care. Where is Sam? I'm taking him home. This place is a madhouse.'

She didn't even manage to take a step before Roman's hand suddenly crushed her neck. She was hauled out into the hall and pushed along the floor. Down in the basement, Roman punched in the code for the lock to Dominic's lab then raised her up and threw her inside.

'You've made your choice, Rose,' Roman said as she flipped herself over to watch him pull the heavy door shut.

Chapter 8

Upstairs in his ensuite, Dominic carefully dabbed some disinfectant on the wounds Rose had inflicted. They weren't deep, but they represented something far more disconcerting: the possibility of psychosis. While he'd been too busy gazing upon her in wonder, admiring her strange wings, he hadn't considered any other possible symptoms of her affliction. Scarlet supposed Rose was ill; perhaps the outbursts were what she had been talking about.

Deborah was right. Rose wasn't human at all.

Rose's psychotic behaviour was apparent when she was placed under any kind of duress, that was obvious. Her attack proved she had more strength than a human girl her age. His limited understanding of psychopharmacology meant he was hesitant to try and treat her with any kind of sedatives. He couldn't bring in another doctor to treat her without running it by Scarlet first. His tests on Rose would have to be limited, or he was going to have to rely on another of Scarlet's children. If Rose was any indication of how they could react to pain, he was already feeling ill at the thought of being grievously harmed. The research on mental illness as a genetic condition was vague at best. Even still, he couldn't help imagining a breed of hyper-strong monsters with no self-control or conscience.

He was going to have to consult his notes and dig a little deeper. Scarlet seemed absolutely fine with him using any means necessary. Restraint was the only option. He would have to strap Rose down very tight in order to get results, and he wasn't happy about it.

Nothing of her suggested Scarlet was a doting mother. Proud, perhaps, but far from loving. Dominic remembered her reaction to Rose's disobedience. His own parents were of the stiff upper lip variety, something he found difficult to tolerate even now. Get on with the job. Don't cry, don't whine. He felt sorry for Rose. He genuinely wanted to help her, but he was hoping Scarlet could suggest another of her children instead.

The facts kept him awake, as did the murmurings of the party. It was after two in the morning. He wanted to speak to Scarlet. Rest would only elude him until he did.

Dominic marched downstairs, practising his apologies for having to interrupt her as he tried not to trip over the sleeping bodies of the teenagers in the corridors. There were empty bottles scattered everywhere. One girl stirred and moaned.

'Hey,' she called. 'Have you seen Xavier?' Her dilated eyes examined her surroundings. 'Where am I?'

'Shouldn't you be going home?' Dominic suggested.

'But I don't remember how we got here...'

'A limo maybe?'

'Nah, wasn't no limo...'

She stumbled to her feet. Dominic gave her his arm to help her up.

'I feel sick,' she declared. Then she vomited all over herself. Dominic refrained from stating his disgust and helped her to the nearest bathroom, where a few other kids had fallen asleep in the tub.

The girl pulled off her shirt and threw it in the sink, then ran the tap and clumsily tried to clean herself. Dominic grabbed a towel and handed it to her. He knew what it was to be in that state, but his sympathy for her was small at best.

'Can you drive me home?' she asked.

'I have to speak to someone,' he said irritably.

'Oh okay... um... shit... Where's my purse?'

She wandered out, bracing herself on the sink a moment. He allowed her to stumble for a little way in her bra and skirt, but she seemed oblivious so he hastily picked up another towel and draped it over her.

'I'll just get my stuff and we can go,' she said. He left her then, half hoping she would forget he even found her.

He found Scarlet in the room behind the stairs, which was full of people all shouting and laughing. She was watching Lucas and Gabriel with a strange look of satisfaction. It took him a moment to realise they were brutally fucking two girls, and the sight of it made him tense and disturbed. The memory of him waking up naked on the parlour floor returned and heightened his discomfort. The press of bodies all around the room was making him hot. He pushed through them to get to Scarlet while he kept his eyes off Lucas. Gabriel continued to thrust himself into the poor girl on the floor. Neither of the girls seemed afraid. They were utterly oblivious to their surroundings, which horrified him all the more. Scarlet came to him, smiling.

'Dominic, I'm glad you could join us.'

'I have to talk to you... What is all this?'

'I decided to throw a party,' she said. 'It's been a long time since we've had such a Bacchus like this. It's lovely.'

'It's disgusting,' he spat, compulsively.

She laughed, and his outrage disappeared. He allowed her to lead him to the chair where she'd been sitting.

'You're tired, Dominic. When's the last time you enjoyed yourself at all?'

His concentration was stolen by her visage. She knelt before him and everything going on behind her was suddenly insignificant. Several people around them laughed as he sunk back in the chair, mystified. Two pairs of delicate hands slipped over his shoulders from behind the chair, belonging to two women of almost other-worldly beauty. Lips caressed his face as Scarlet smiled up at him.

'I want you to feel at home here, Dominic. I wasn't expecting it to be all work and no play.'

He heard his zipper as she pulled it down. By the time her mouth was smothering his cock, he had lost all sense of himself.

***
Sunlight hurt Sam's eyes now. His whole body felt like it was trapped in a vice. Pieces of a very strange dream bugged him as he tried to move. He was lying on a wooden floor. His mouth tasted cottony and his throat was tight. Sitting up slowly, he coughed into his fist and gazed around.

He recognised the bedroom he was in. The four-poster bed was adorned with black gossamer curtains. The heavy drapes over the window to his left glowed red from the light. There was a dresser with a large oval mirror. The walls were covered with black paper with an embossed pattern.

It was too much effort for him to move. He needed a shower. He remembered a lot of yelling and loud music. Some girl with the name of a flower was trying to get him to leave...trying to tell him Alissa was there too...

He tried to sort through all his jumbled memories. There were hangovers then there was whatever the hell happened to him. He preferred the hangovers. He wanted out. Whatever Madchen had done, he didn't want it happening again. If he felt this terrible, he couldn't imagine what they would have done to Alissa.

He stumbled out into the empty hallway.

'Alissa,' he called weakly. 'Alissa!'

After checking a bunch of rooms first, where other kids were passed out in various positions, he eventually found her curled up on a bed in another room, wearing a black satin robe. He shook her awake and she groaned.

'Come on, Alissa. We have to go.'

'No,' she mumbled. 'I'm not going anywhere.'

'This place is fucked up. We can't stay.'

She was afflicted with the same weakness, and all her movements were accompanied by an expression of pain. His stupid hope that Madchen's weird story about the devil children was just a lie died in Alissa's gaze.

'What did Lucas do to you?'

'Lucas didn't hurt me. He loves me. He still does. He treats me like a queen. They all do. They said I'm important.'

He held her up.

'Lucas wants me to carry his child.' She was deranged. Her eyes were sparkling and empty.

Sam couldn't breathe, or for a moment say what he was thinking.

'The cambion,' he whispered at last.

In the light, her once-golden hair looked dull. Her skin was stuck tight against her cheekbones and her limbs were thinner than before. She wasn't Alissa anymore.

'It's gonna be our baby. Lucas's and mine. I love him so much, Sam.' She was rambling now.

Lucas had tricked her. He was keeping her pliant so she would accept a deformity growing inside her.

'Alissa, no. You can't go through with it. Lucas is lying to you. They're not human.'

She shoved him away, violently. Without any constitution to hold himself upright he instantly fell. The rage in her eyes was foreign to him and more frightening than Madchen's powers.

'Stay away from me.'

Love, or rather a fucked-up mimicry of love, had destroyed them both. He pushed himself up off the floor.

'You've got to come with me, Alissa. We're not safe here.' He reached out and clasped her wrist.

'Lucas!' she screamed. 'Lucas, I need you!'

Footsteps pounded the floor outside and Lucas burst in.

'What!'

'He came in here,' Alissa sobbed. 'He grabbed me and...'

Sam wasn't upright anymore. He was flying through the air one second and smacked against the wall in another. Lucas stomped out, picked him up by his shirt and dangled him while he spoke.

'You go near her again, and you're dead. I'll tear off your arms and legs, rip out your throat with my teeth and throw you out the window.'

Madchen arrived.

'Drop him.'

Lucas glared at her. 'You keep him away from her. He shouldn't even be up here. Take him downstairs.'

'I will. Drop him.'

Lucas obeyed and Sam cracked his head on the corner of a small wooden table. Madchen went to him.

'Don't make things worse,' she warned. 'Alissa needs her rest. She'll soon be with child, and we don't want to trouble her.'

She tenderly stroked his hair and gazed into him.

'I should take her home,' he said as he winced.

'She's doesn't want to go home. You heard her. And you don't want to, either. Nothing will happen to her, I promise. Stay with me, Sam. I love you so much.'

His heart seized. He touched her face and forgot what he was so angry about.

'I love you, too.'

She stroked his hair as she murmured, 'My sweet prince.'

The cup of coffee Dominic was offered the following morning went cold while he waited for Scarlet in the parlour. He felt leaden, and the morning was punishing him with a clear bright sky that made the room far too bright. Signs of last night's party had been cleared away, but his own recollections were a mess. And he couldn't find Rose anywhere in the house.

Roman came in then and sat across from him.

'We have something we need you to do,' he said.

'I thought Scarlet would be talking to me about this.'

'She's busy. She's asked me to speak to you. We need you to examine some of our guests. Make sure they're healthy.'

'When?'

'Well, now,' Roman said. 'Hurry up.'

'Have you seen Rose?'

'She's... around,' he said simply.

The pretty blonde girl was ushered down the stairs by Lucas. Gabriel had hold of the girl with auburn hair. Both of them appeared frail but unafraid, and a flash of the previous night stopped him.

'What have you done to them?' Dominic grabbed Roman's arm, but he easily jerked it free.

'They're perfectly fine.'

'Dominic!' Scarlet flounced down the staircase. Her hair was spilling freely over her shoulders and Dominic was given pause to watch her. She came to him and kissed him. 'Come now, there's work to be done.'

They led the girls to the lab.

Dominic stopped her. 'Scarlet, I need to talk to you about Rose.'

'What of her?'

'I may need another of your children to test on. Rose was very distressed when I last...'

'Rose will behave herself next time. Don't think I'm not aware of what she did. I have security cameras set up for your safety, Dominic. She's waiting for you, restrained and ready. I'll take you to her in a moment.'

He felt a twinge of guilt already. 'There's no need for it. I won't use her anymore.'

'I've misjudged her potential, Dominic. I've seen her strength now, she's a worthy candidate for the initial phase. I can't have my new offspring developing the same flaws as before or they'll end up lame and unable to protect themselves.'

Protect themselves against what? he questioned as he touched the scratch on his cheek.

'I need you to examine the girls.' Her menacing glare softened. 'Please.'

The blonde girl was sitting staring vacantly on another gurney. The auburn-haired girl sat beside her. He checked their pupils in turn and both of them barely responded. A sphygmomanometer confirmed their blood pressures were normal.

'They seem dazed,' he announced, 'but I can't find any physical problems'

'That's good. Can you tell me if they're ovulating?'

Dominic coughed. 'Well, I can run a simple blood test. Would be more accurate than a temperature reading. Can I ask why?'

Given what had happened to the girls, Dominic was suspicious now. He didn't even have to question then Lucas and Gabriel had been unprotected the night before.

'Why must you question me? It was a simple request.'

Thomas and Deborah came in then, startling Dominic. Deborah looked perturbed when she noticed the girls.

'What are they doing here?' Deb whispered.

'You know them?' The situation was getting more unbelievable, and Dominic's patience was diminishing.

'You idiot,' Thomas snapped quietly as he could. 'They're two of about thirty teenagers who've gone missing from those concerts recently. The blonde girl disappeared on Monday. There's been reports all over the country the last three days.'

'Three days? Are you sure?' He was prone to oversleeping, but three days seemed preposterous.

Scarlet rubbed Dominic's arm and smiled at Thomas.

'I'm afraid that's my fault. We had a little party a few nights ago. I tried to rouse him constantly after that, but he was dead to the world.'

Dominic was surprised when Thomas suddenly laughed at Scarlet's candour.

'Well, he's been known to pass out drunk a few times,' Thomas chuckled. 'Would be a new record for you, Dom.'

Dominic was more than tetchy now, but the haze around him was refusing to lift. He saw Deb go to the girls, clearly distressed.

'What are your names?'

'Kara,' the auburn-haired girl said flatly.

'The blonde answered, 'Alissa.'

'Are you okay? Has someone hurt you?'

'No. No one's hurt us. They've been very kind to us.'

'Lucas is in love with me,' said Alissa.

Deb turned to Scarlet. 'Why have you got them here?' she demanded. 'Their parents are frantic. The police will find you eventually. What are you doing to them?'

'Everyone here is fine. They're just guests. We look after everyone who comes here.'

Dominic witnessed as Deborah's furious demeanour slipped. She almost seemed to be swooning. She stared up at the Scarlet, transfixed, and his stomach churned. He realised Scarlet's face was just as serene as when she spoke to him.

'I want to show you all something if you'll follow me.'

Deborah and Thomas went willingly with Scarlet as she moved through the lab to the farthest corner. Placing her hand on a seemingly blank wall, a crack appeared, and a secret door moved back. Dominic caught up with the others and found himself in a large room lined with surgical tables. A number of boys were lying still on the tables. He noticed a few girls as well. They were all in gowns, asleep, with their wrists bound by heavy restraints.

Scarlet moved through the room. 'I need you to prepare them for their procedures, Dominic. You know what to do. The lab is ready to begin the fertilisation process. I have plenty of the required therapeutic hormones, and all you will need to run your tests.'

Gabriel and Lucas then ushered in the two girls. Kara and Alissa made no objections to lying down on the tables. Dominic stared at Lucas as he kissed Alissa gently. As his lips parted hers, a strange white mist emanated from her mouth. She was completely still then.

Dominic went to Scarlet, appalled as much as he was terrified. 'You're planning on keeping them down here for harvesting?'

'Yes,' she said simply. 'My means have failed, as I've said, but I feel your technique will be much more beneficial.'

'I can't be a party to this, Scarlet. You have to let them go.'

Scarlet turned to him, almost coquettishly, and widened her yellow eyes.

'It's all in the agreement you signed, Dominic. You will do as I ask, and you will not question me again.'

Dominic blinked several times, completely lost for words. His anger melted away and his adoration for her returned.

'It all starts here,' she purred. 'Now get to work.'

'Of course,' he murmured softly.

Thomas approached then. 'I can get started with the progesterone injections.'

'Wonderful, Thomas. I appreciate your initiative.

'I'm afraid Deborah doesn't have much of a medical background,' he went on to say.

'Oh, I'm sure you and Dominic will take care of that.'

Another gurney was rolled into the room with Rose strapped to it. Her mouth was also covered with tape, and when her eyes met Dominic's, she began to struggle helplessly.

'Rose, here,' Scarlet went on, 'has kindly offered her assistance. You will continue to take samples of her DNA for further testing and integration. She's the first participant in my hybridisation process.'

Scarlet left them then, and Thomas and Deborah set about their tasks, unquestioningly. Dominic stood still and gazed back at Rose, seeing the tears spill down her temples. He approached her in a somnambulistic manner and she started wrestling again against her restraints, her screams trapped behind the tape. Deborah came and stood beside him then handed him a needle. He took it from her without hesitation and put it to the bulging vein in the crook of Rose's elbow.

'It's alright, Rose,' he murmured. 'Be still. I'll try not to hurt you too much.'

Rose banged her head against the gurney as the needle punctured her skin.

Chapter 9

Sam forgot what hours and minutes actually were. He was aware of himself only when Madchen was with him. When she vanished, he didn't believe he existed. He chewed on the food she bought him even if he wasn't hungry. She bought him wine to drink, which put him in a stupor. He drank it from the decanter whenever he needed to sleep, and he would wake up with her all over him, her hair making curtains around his face.

He almost couldn't undress himself to take a bath. She dumped him in the tub and left him soaking for a long time, so when he got out the water was freezing and she was nowhere to be found. He curled up under the blankets, still soaking wet, and slept some more.

Even when Sam was past the point of exhaustion she was still able to arouse him. He immersed himself in her to destroy the hollowness he felt. He was supposed to remember someone who was in danger, but he stopped worrying every time Madchen kissed him. Sometimes she would stay and hold him and rub his back. He was as helpless as a wounded bird and idly thought he was going to die soon. The thought brought no panic to him. He didn't feel alive anymore. He oscillated between pleasure and pain as she wandered in and out. He forgot he had a home to go back to since Madchen told him over and over he was home.

While she sat with him one night, he tried to talk to her while she cradled him between her legs. They both lay naked on the silk sheets and he had been lulled once more by her body.

'Why do you love me?'

'Because you're my everything.' She kissed the top of his head.

'Where do you go all the time?'

'I still have my shows, remember?'

'I miss hearing you sing.'

'That's sweet.'

'Will you sing to me?' he asked. He was frail now, like a sick child, and he needed her to comfort him.

She softly sang something sad to him. It sounded like a lullaby for a dying soul and it dragged sharp knives across his heart.

'Please stop.'

'I thought you liked my voice.'

'I do. You're making me sad.'

'Why are you sad, Sam? You have everything you could ever want right here.'

'But when you're not here, I feel empty. I don't want you to go.'

'I have things to do.'

He slipped his arms around her and rested his head on her chest.

'Please don't go.'

'Shh... it's okay.' Madchen moved to go from him and he latched on tighter. She fidgeted. 'Sam. Stop.'

'Don't go,' he said through gritted teeth.

She slapped him hard and turned to mist in his arms, materialising across the room while he slumped on the pillows.

'It will be so much easier once all this is over.' She pulled on her satin robe.

'When what's over?' he mumbled as he held his hand to his wounded cheek.

'When Lilith finally eradicates you all and takes her rightful place as owner of this earth.'

She rolled her eyes when he showed her his confusion. At that moment, Roman and Gabriel burst in.

'Okay, Madchen. Joke's over,' Gabriel announced. 'He's going downstairs.'

Madchen snorted. 'Fine, I'm done with him anyway.'

As she disappeared, Gabriel grabbed Sam's wrists as Roman snatched both his ankles He started shouting hysterically. They dragged him through the hallways and down the stairs as Sam struggled, certain they were going to toss him out the front door and force him to find his way home again.

Instead, he was forced into a large white room lined with operating tables. Then he was forced into a surgical gown before being slammed onto one of the tables and strapped down.

'What the fuck is all this?' he cried. 'What are you doing?'

Up ahead of him, he could see a couple of other boys and girls lying asleep on other tables with drips and machines attached to them. He was exhausted from resisting, and almost unable to breathe.

Madchen appeared then.

'Don't make this any harder on yourself, Sam. You're just going to rest for a while. When we're done, we'll let you go home.'

'Done,' he croaked. 'Done with what?'

'Shhh, Sam,' she cooed as she bent to kiss him. 'It's time to sleep.'

Once more she was sucking the essence from him, and he knew it was all he had left. His eyes wouldn't stay open any longer. His breathing slowed at last. Then, there was nothing.

There were no clocks on the walls that Rose could see. She occasionally got a glance at Deb or Thomas's wristwatches, but in terms of knowing what day it was, she was no longer privy to that information.

She was kept in another observation room from where she could see the two long rows of sleeping kids. Scarlet knew Rose was capable of escaping just as she had done from the van, so before they strapped her down, the others brought to her a special herb which had been cultivated and distilled into an elixir that they shot directly into her blood. No amount of focus could cause her to dematerialise. Her mouth was kept closed with tape to stop her beguiling Dominic with her voice. She desperately tried to give him the truth with her eyes alone, and at one point she had almost won, but Scarlet then appeared and broke his concentration.

Rose struggled violently against the tests. There were more needles and swabs, and even a section of her tissue was removed. Deb would often smile at her, saying she was a good girl for being so patient. She endured the bloodletting and lymph draining. She tried to stare into Dominic's eyes, hoping he would awaken from his delusion and speak to her again like she was real and present. She knew what they were doing. She heard their conversations with Scarlet, how they were taking her samples to compare with those from the other kids in the room, and finding markers in her DNA they could splice into the healthy human embryos. The girls' eggs were routinely harvested, and they were shot full of hormones to over-produce as many eggs as possible. Meanwhile, the boys were subjected to routine sperm retrieval procedures. Through the tempered window, she had seen the others bring in Sam, and her heart broke watching him strapped to the table.

Some of Scarlet's other children were brought in to continue the procedures when the human physicians were upstairs resting. Scarlet constantly reminded Deborah and Thomas to call their families so no one would be suspicious. Thomas would chat with Dominic about his wife, Sylvia and his daughter, Heidi. Rose couldn't imagine a little girl being happy with her father never around. Not that she'd had the same privilege.

Rose knew the days were passing quickly, even without a source of natural light. She guessed perhaps a month passed, maybe even more, and her own sanity was draining out of her every hour. Each test heightened her anger and frustration. She was losing herself, and sick of smelling the aroma of human flesh whenever it was near her. She sweated profusely but no one came to bathe her or offer her a new gown.

Her hunger became so excruciating she had to squeeze her eyes closed and hold her breath whenever Dominic or the others came near her. They all began to radiate mist and her deprivation slowly destroyed her as the madness built each day.

Deb came to visit her for another blood sample. She wasn't perturbed at all by Rose's near-manic state.

'Scarlet told me you've been a very good patient. You can have your tape off now.'

Rose flinched as the tape was pulled away. She took in a few quick breaths before speaking.

'Deb, you know this is all wrong. Why are you letting yourself be a part of this?'

'Scarlet's vision is extraordinary,' Deb sighed as though she was in love. 'Perfect, healthy children that can live long lives with inordinate strength and beauty.'

'They won't be human, Deb. They'll be like me. Worse. They'll hunt and kill any humans left once they're out of control. They'll be able to breed themselves, they won't have to depend on you anymore. Don't you realise this?'

'Scarlet-'

'Fuck Scarlet,' Rose spat. 'Fuck her and fuck you.' Rose began pulling on one of her restraints. Many of her hours alone were spent trying to break the leather straps, but now her rage was fuelling her. Over in her head she asked, why am I enduring this? Why did my heaven so quickly become a hell?... until there was nothing left inside her but blind fury. The leather strap snapped and Deborah backed away.

'Thomas! I need you.'

Dominic and Thomas burst into Rose's room just as her other restraint snapped. She quickly yanked her legs free and jumped off the gurney, her hunger and wrath rampant within her. She pounced on Deb, pinning her to the floor. Rose's lips moved slowly towards Deb's.

'You don't want to do this, Rose,' Thomas warned.

Rose turned to him, bearing her teeth and breathing hard. Deb whimpered helplessly beneath her. Her veins were screaming as her cells turned to knives in her blood. Almost blind again, she turned back to her victim and smelled Deb's fear.

'Rose, please. Please don't.'

The strangest, most desperate cry came from Rose's throat as she slammed Deborah's arms against the floor in frustration. Her last scrap of humanity came to the foreground, and Rose darted out of her cell into the theatre room as Dominic and Thomas quickly got out of her way. The elixir was too strong in her blood then, but she was still able to sprout her wings and get out of the grasp of a pair of Scarlet's children.

Scarlet's voice came on over the intercom.

'There's nowhere for you to go, Rose.'

She looked desperately around herself as the children below her started laughing. Their wings suddenly stretched out and they surrounded her, four apiece. In that moment, turning about to see their eyes, all she knew was anger and pain. She snarled at the girl to her left. Shooting towards her, Rose swung her fist and hit her jaw hard, causing a bundle of limbs and wings to tumble to the floor. Rose didn't hesitate to watch her and lunged at her other assailants. Two of them were suddenly less confident, and she foolishly put her back to the third, who was incensed and screamed as he tore through the air at her, grappling her instantly. He kept her in the air as he beat his wings and laughed at her, cruelly.

'You stupid little fool,' he sneered in her ear.

'When I'm gone, she'll just use one of you,' she shot back. 'And you know it.'

'It won't be me.'

Rose snapped her head back sharply, butting him in the face and causing him to let her go. She kicked at him quickly to get him out of his reach. Looking above her, she saw the grate for a ventilation shaft. Before any of the others could get to her, she forced herself up and ripped the grate cleanly off.

She knew they would be after her in seconds and she desperately clambered up the vent until she could grasp the edge of the shaft above her. She then scrambled through the horizontal shaft in a panic, hearing the others clatter up the metal behind her, cackling and banging. She futilely willed herself to turn to mist as she crawled, tears of frustration spilling down her face.

Finally, she found another grate above her that would get her to the ground floor kitchen, but a hand grabbed her foot just as she tried to pull the grate down. She kicked savagely at her new attacker, another of her brothers, while desperately pulling the grate. Once it was down she managed to push it aside and crawl up, still kicking down to free herself from her brother's clutches.

She was almost across the floor of the kitchen when he sprung from the hole and crawled towards her. Rose scrambled through the huge kitchen, knocking the large pots of boiling water in her wake to slow her brother down. There had been no reason to lock the kitchen, so she was able to get out into the hall before tearing across the marble and bursting out the front door. She instantly shot up, beating her wings until they were burning with pain.

There was a small lake to the east of Scarlet's house that served as a sump for a nearby farm. Rose landed herself on its banks and tried to get clean as she cried. Dominic and the others were too far gone. She was an idiot for thinking she could trump Scarlet. Of course she was more capable. Rose just wanted so desperately to save Dominic and the others. She stood there in her flimsy smock, trembling and unable to think of what to do next.

Scarlet was unstoppable. Her plan to ultimately breed the human race off the planet was well into effect. Humans could not withstand her influences. Rose knew her mental powers were weak. Scarlet would always beat her. Her trophy this time was Dominic's admiration. Thomas and Deb were now dutiful slaves. She was going to have to let them go.

In all her time alone, she mourned for Sam the most. He never truly had a chance against Madchen, but he was innocent still. It wasn't fair. She hadn't done enough to get him out. She was furious with herself she had allowed Roman to beat her.

Sam needed her now. She was certain he would never make it out of the house alive. The theatre was filled with missing kids — she couldn't save all of them, but she and Sam would be able to bring someone to help.

She knew the implantations had begun the last time she saw Alissa. Dominic was scanning her belly to check the progress of her child. She looked delirious, and wouldn't shut up about how excited she was. He gave her a picture of the embryo, which she took to show Lucas. The other girl, Kara, miscarried. Deborah held her hand while she wept. Dominic argued with Gabriel that she needed proper medical attention; she required a procedure he hadn't had enough experience in performing. He said she needed to go to a hospital. Gabriel said something to Roman, who dragged Kara away while she was begging him not to hurt her. Rose remembered quaking the whole time as she listened to her screams. Some of the boys became too weak from botched procedures that left them bleeding or from the constant use of anaesthetic. Scarlet simply asked for them to be removed from the theatre and discarded out back.

Later, when more girls came in for examinations, Dominic was kind to all of them, and less perturbed by what was happening to the children around him. The theatre was more like a factory, with newly impregnated girls being tended to daily. She learned this from Dominic's "students", who would come in and taunt her with how well Scarlet's plan was going.

One boy, Xavier, often came to speak to her. He seemed less in contempt of her and was happy to simply prattle away about the progress of their work.

He explained the band's responsibility was to act as a call to arms for Scarlet's wayward spawn. If the band grew enough popularity, then more of the lost children of Lilith would be able to hear the call. He had heard Hidden Agenda in a bar in Copenhagen. The words were like a message to him. It was like hearing the voice of someone you loved for the first time in years. He went to their concert when the band finally toured Europe and met up with Gabriel after the show. Gabriel gave him directions to the manor and told him to drop by. There was going to be a big family reunion. Xavier was an orphan, so the promise of meeting his kin spurred his journey there.

That was why Rose had been drawn to the music. Her sense of loss helped the music find her.

'Lilith is very intelligent, Rose. She knows humans and demons better than they can possibly know themselves. She's had centuries to come up with this plan, and all the humans have done is unknowingly given her the blueprints through their behaviour.'

'All because she was spurned by their God?' Rose had asked.

'What better reason? They're all out to destroy themselves anyway. She's just found a means of assisting them to that end.'

Her bitterness helped her will now. She walked for a while since she wasn't ready to fly. Her fear and remorse were exhausting her more than anything

Rose was supposed to pick a side, but really the decision wasn't hers. She was meant to enjoy it too. She was supposed to find it hilarious. Because she was born one of them: the bad guys. But she wasn't. Not in her heart. So did that mean she was the one who had to stop them?

She spent days wandering the woods, trying to come up with a plan to help Sam. The helplessness infuriated her. She considered returning to the theatre through the vents, but it would've been too obvious and there was no exit for Sam. Xavier had boasted to her that he had learned a new trick. He could change his form to resemble someone else, anyone he wanted. He had tricked a few of the girls into the theatre by appearing as their friends, then conjured them into doomed sleeping beauties, ready for harvesting.

Rose managed to find a small creek in the woods. She peered into the water at herself, hoping for her face to change. It seemed too much of a struggle at first until she considered her cells and her skin. Her will would make them change. She breathed in deep and finally felt the bones within her shift slightly. Her hair grew shorter as her body lengthened. She felt her arms and legs stretch a little more. Rising from the creek bed, she looked down at a new face, hoping it would be enough to trick someone in the house. She knew she would have to wait for Scarlet to leave or, at least be distracted, and for the band to head off to another concert.

Flying back to the manor, Rose found her timing was impeccable. Everyone in the band was packing up to head out. She would only have to contend with Scarlet. Rose kept her distance, hoping for a sign Scarlet would not be present. She peered into the parlour window and saw her making love to Dominic on the floor. He was completely oblivious to the life she was draining from him, and he seemed desperately in love with her now. Sickened as she was, Rose could only hope Scarlet was too engrossed in her feeding to register any intruders.

As soon as she realised she was hardly dressed for the part, Rose flew up to one of the windows at the back of the house and quietly got inside one of the bedrooms. She found some decent clothes and a pair of shoes, then slipped out into the corridor.

Two women walked casually down the hall towards her, laughing as they talked. Rose knew they were her kind. One of the women stopped and sneered at her.

'When did you show up?' she asked.

'I was at one of the concerts. Lucas told me to rock up here. There was supposed to be some kind of party?'

'Apparently there's a party tonight, but it's not going to be fun. They might want you helping out downstairs with those experiments they have going on.'

Rose mimicked the sly smile she saw and went on by.

A number of girls in beautiful satin robes floated ethereally through the hallway towards the stairs. They were coming from the lab, all smiling at one another as they passed Rose.

'Seth will be so pleased when I tell him about the baby,' one of the girls twittered. 'He said he knew I'd be a good mother.'

Another girl sighed. 'I wish Lucas loved me as much as he loved Alissa. She's so lucky.'

Rose had to refrain from cringing as she moved past them and got down the stairs. One of the students was holding the main door open for some other girls to leave. Rose approached him casually, hoping she was able to fool him as well.

'I was told you guys might need a hand? I just got here from out of town.'

The guy examined her with indifference, shrugged, and let her in.

'You'll need a lab coat, surgical gloves and a mask before you go into the theatre. There's not much to it. You just drug the poor little bastards constantly and leave the others to clean them out. It's so fucking boring, I'd rather go party with the band.'

Rose found what she needed and dressed appropriately, even making sure she put on the little shoe protectors. She was glad of the face mask since she couldn't be sure Deb or Thomas wouldn't recognise her.

The theatre was still filled with kids. The students worked on them indifferently, passing each other surgical implements and taking trays to the other room. Deb was checking on another girl beside Sam. Rose went to him and held in her gasp when she saw him.

He was emaciated and pale, and his breath was shallow and slow, barely fogging up his breathing mask. She turned to Deb.

'He's no longer viable,' she told her. 'I'll have to take him out the back.'

Deb shrugged. 'Sure. Okay.'

Rose wanted to slap Deb and only refrained since she knew Scarlet's influence had become far too strong. Not sure what she was doing, she carefully tried to release Sam from the machines and drips surrounding him. She lifted his head and took off the mask. Once he was free, she pushed the gurney through the theatre and out into the lab. He was so light, she could lift him in both her arms with ease. She flung him over her shoulder.

'Another one for the trash,' Rose joked to the guy in the lab.

He held the door open for her and Rose took Sam up the stairs into the hall. She saw movement in the parlour ahead of her, and others were heading in through the main door. Sprouting her wings, she flew Sam up the stairs to the landing, and quickly carried him to another room. She was grateful there was a bed inside where she could lay him down. She was certain he wouldn't wake for some time, but she still had to search for an exit for both of them. She stripped off the gown and surgical protectors, then sat beside him, desperate not to weep. Some of the boys had left their clothes and shoes lying around and Rose was able to get Sam's limp body into a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants, and the shoes she put on him were a touch too big. She let her disguise slip, hoping he recognised her when he woke.

Chapter 10

'I see your point, Dr Reynolds,' Scarlet said as she sipped her champagne, 'but did you consider the possibility your wife's infertility is a perfectly acceptable part of evolution?'

'What do you mean?' Dr Reynolds answered sternly.

Dominic made sure he was witnessing the whole conversation. It was impossible for Scarlet to actually start an argument.

'Well, the current population has reached almost unsustainable limits. Is it necessary for every woman on the planet to have a baby? Now, I more than anyone can understand the pain of wanting a child. It's heartbreaking, I know. But perhaps infertility is perfectly natural means of thinning out the heard and reducing the instances of lameness.'

Dr Reynolds went silent a moment. 'Well, I suppose so...' he mused.

'Far be it from me to judge,' Scarlet went on, 'every woman should have the right to bear a child, but you playing God with your cryo-chambers full of ova and your needles and your microscopes doesn't sound to me as being conducive to what I believe is the grander picture.'

'And what is the grander picture?' Dr Reynolds asked as he was being reeled in.

'It wasn't for me to say at the time. God had other ideas.'

Dr Reynolds chortled. 'You're the most delightful woman I've ever met.' He kissed her hand.

Scarlet smiled. 'Stop it, Doctor. You're embarrassing yourself.'

'I'd embarrass myself for you in an instant,' he leered.

She laughed to mask her disgust. 'I'm sure you would. Dominic, come here, darling. I want you to meet the charming Dr Reynolds. We're having a scintillating discussion on the merits of assisted reproduction.'

Dominic took his glass of wine and greeted Dr Reynolds, who didn't even acknowledge him. He had been requested by Scarlet to attend a party she had arranged.

That evening, before anyone had arrived, Dominic and Scarlet had made love in the parlour again, and he was still giddy and exhausted from their dalliance. The wine and champagne only made him desperately sleepy.

'Dr Dominic Stanton here has been helping me with some work. We're hoping to isolate particular malignant genes to breed them out.'

'That sounds splendid.' He drank the last of his champagne. Some of Scarlet's children were playing wait staff for the evening. A stony looking woman refreshed his glass at Scarlet's command. Scarlet then sauntered off to another man in the room.

'I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Dr Reynolds,' Dominic said, dully.

Dr Reynolds was still eye-balling Scarlet, particularly her breasts, which were barely covered by the slouched neckline of her dress. Some pathetic little schoolboy in Dominic's brain actually got jealous for a moment.

'God, she's stunning,' Reynolds murmured. 'I have to say, when she called my office I was very dubious of her intelligence, but she's the most charming and clever woman I've met.'

'Yes, she's very charming,' Dominic replied, now stuck in a memory of Rose's eyes before she had disappeared.

Dominic wasn't actually allowed to talk. It didn't really bother him. He was tired of talking and trying to convince people he was onto something. Scarlet could be his mouthpiece from now on.

His ego enjoyed watching her charm everyone around her. Dr Reynold's wife sat in the armchair and seemed to be searching for something in the fire. The shadows flickered over a much older face than Scarlet's, and there was a sorrow etched deep in her eyes. Dominic left Reynolds to continue ogling Scarlet.

'Are you alright?' Dominic asked the woman.

She stirred herself and smiled at him.

'Sorry? Oh yes, fine.'

'Can I get you another drink?'

'I'm not drinking. I'm on a course of medication.'

'Ah, yes. Your husband said something about that.'

'I see your wife isn't a particularly big fan of my husband's work,' she said pointedly as she glared at Scarlet.

'Oh no, she is. Really.'

'How did she end up successful?'

Dominic sipped his drink. 'Um, she's not my wife, she's my business associate. She's independently wealthy.'

'Oh. I see... They tell you to keep your spirits up. But the only spirits I'm interested in are the ones they're serving at the bar.'

Dominic didn't really want to indulge her too much.

'When did you meet Reynolds?' he asked.

'Years ago, in college. I thought we were happy. But I really wanted a baby. I'm lucky I married a fertility doctor, but it doesn't make the horrible feeling of utter inadequacy go away.' She sighed heavily, and he found himself almost infected by her sorrow.

Dominic turned to Scarlet and finally recognised the man she was now speaking with. He had spoken to him months before. It was the Minister for Health, Gordon Greenwood. He had practically shoved Dominic out of his office.

Dominic returned to Scarlet's side as she was speaking.

'Wouldn't you think, Gordon, that a control on the populace would be beneficial? The state should really be responsible for the rate at which its people reproduce.'

'But without the babies, there'll be no one to pay the taxes further down the line,' Gordon said condescendingly. 'I've had this discussion with the treasurer. He's a firm believer in encouraging the birth rate to go up.'

'I'm not saying we should stop anything in its tracks, Gordon. I'm suggesting a programme, which will work to isolate particular abnormalities and stop them from continuing into future generations. Healthy, strong women of a decent child-bearing age should be encouraged to have children. Older women who are only going to produce absolute weaklings should be sterilised.'

Dr Reynolds wife gasped as she stood.

'I think I've been biting my tongue long enough, Chris.' Her tone reduced the noise in the room. Scarlet went to Mrs Reynolds and held her arms, almost lovingly.

'Forgive me, my dear. I tend to speak my mind without consideration for who's in earshot.'

Mrs Reynolds was spellbound by Scarlet's sympathy.

'Oh, that's okay,' she said. 'It's none of my business anyway.'

'No, you're right, it's not,' Scarlet stated plainly. 'Would you like a drink?'

'I can't really.'

'Oh please, it's such a shame to let all this fine champagne go to waste.'

Mrs Reynolds took a drink in spite of her vague protestations. Dominic plucked it from her hand and put it on the table.

'She can't, Scarlet. She's taking fertility drugs.' He struggled to remember the last time he had even made a move to challenge her.

Scarlet raised her eyebrow and Mrs Reynolds shyly disappeared out of the parlour.

'I can't have them continuing to propagate when nature is clearly trying to do the right thing,' Scarlet murmured to him. 'Besides, she can't be having children at her age, the mutations are innumerable and it makes no sense.'

'I've been helping women like her have children for years. Why is it good enough for you and not her?'

Scarlet laughed. 'Because my children will be far stronger than hers and will survive much longer. There's no help for her, Dominic. Her age alone belies her problem, so it's blatantly redundant for her to even try. If I weren't here to provide a safe haven for the girls upstairs they'd be at home with their parents who would be making them all abort perfectly healthy children, while twits like Mrs Reynolds desperately try and make up for where God failed them. I can't have people like that ruining my plans.'

She kissed him tenderly.

'Now, I really must get back to my duties, Dominic. Be a good boy and don't stay up too late.'

Dominic went to his lab, putting a more than safe distance between himself and the party. He found Deb slouched at one of the stations with her head on her palm. He went to her and roused her.

'Go to bed, Deb. You'll only make a mistake in this state.'

'But there's so much to do, Dominic. Every day there's more girls and more...' She let out her breath. 'There's always more...'

'Deb,' he murmured, 'It's fine. There's plenty of people here now doing the work.'

'I don't want to disappoint her.'

'You won't. C'mon. Off to bed.'

He felt like he was leading a child to go to sleep. Up in the hall, Deb turned to him as she started up the stairs.

'How long have we been here, Dominic? I thought it had only been a week but my mum said it's been almost three months. She said something about a bunch of kids going missing...'

Dominic just shook his head. As Deb left him and dragged herself upstairs, still in a daze, another young man he recognised from the lab came down to greet her. She smiled up at him as he bent to kiss her before tenderly leading her up with him.

When the guests were gone, Dominic found Scarlet at her dining table. She was shuffling through an assortment of cash and cheques.

'We did well tonight, Dominic.'

'Did we?' He walked to her in a lackadaisical fashion and dropped himself into the seat beside her, blankly gazing at the cheques.

'Why do you even need their money?' he asked. 'I thought you had a fortune from all your other investments.'

She ignored him. 'Everyone's busy downstairs?'

'Hard at work.'

'Have a drink.' She pushed a measure of whiskey toward him and he tipped it down his throat. 'Oh, Dominic. Why are you so miserable? You're doing so well.'

'I don't know. Because it all seems pointless.'

'No,' she sighed, lovingly, 'I can assure you it's not.' She moved to sit on the side of the dining table. As she stroked his hair, his heart crumbled. He knew now why he stayed. It was all for her.

'I think I'm in love with you,' he whispered.

'Of course you are. I'm everything you've ever dreamed of. I am the essence of perfection. God's most masterful creation. Now, if only He recognised that to start with, then things might have been better for me. But He decided you were all his best work.'

'You are perfect,' he said to her, almost robotically. 'Everyone should be like you.' He let her slip into his lap.

'And they will be, my love. One day they will be.'

Sam didn't believe in angels until he opened his eyes to one. She was lying beside him, somewhere soft and so much warmer than where he had been. She stroked his hair and whispered for him to wake up.

'Sam, you have to come with me,' the angel said.

'I know. I'm dead aren't I.'

'No. Thank god. But you don't look far off it.'

The angel was looking at him strangely. The shadows started to have more definition, and the cloud around him lifted. His focus returned and he actually recognised the angel.

'Rose?'

She almost wept then. 'I'm gonna take you home.' She propped him upright and led him carefully to the window. He stopped her.

'I can't. I have to find Alissa.'

'She won't come with you. She's well protected by Lucas and the others. Trust me, she's not going anywhere.'

'Because of the stupid baby,' he muttered.

'Look, I can't do anything to help her. The last time I saw her, she was fine. As long as that baby doesn't die, she'll be okay.'

'What about when it's born?'

'I don't know about that. Please, just come with me. We can get help for her and the others. I can't do it on my own, they're too powerful and they hate me anyway.'

'I can't go home without her. They're going to hurt her.'

'We will come back before that happens.'

'Why did you come back for me?' he asked.

Rose hid her blushing features with her hair. 'I don't know. It doesn't matter anyway.'

A click sounded. Rose went to push on the window and it wouldn't budge.

'Shit.'

They were both shrouded in a greyish mist. Sam stood next to Rose as the mist poured onto the floor.

'Why are you doing this, Rose?' Madchen asked coldly as her form solidified.

'Because I care enough. And...'

'And you're in love with Sam? Is that it? He can't love you, Rose.'

'Leave her alone,' Sam demanded softly. He hated Madchen, more than he ever hated Alissa. He didn't have a recollection of hating anyone this much. 'You're killing me here. I'm not staying.'

'But Sam,' Madchen smiled. 'I thought you loved me.'

'You're insane,' he said. 'You're a demon.'

'Be that as it may, I'm offering you paradise here. What's she going to do for you? Take you home, to your miserable life with your asinine friends and your foolish parents?'

'Least they're not trying to kill me by sucking the life out of me.'

Madchen inched a little closer and lowered her eyes as she grinned.

'At least you would have died with a smile on your face,' she said slyly. 'Isn't that enough?'

Glass suddenly smashed. He spun to see Rose had kicked out the window, splintering the wood. She stood on the ledge and gestured for him to follow and he quickly went to her.

Madchen lunged at him. He desperately reached for Rose, who managed to lift him free of Madchen's grasp until he dangled in the air.

Rose furiously shot upwards. They were a good ten feet in the air when Madchen leapt from the windowsill. She was quickly able to grab his foot. Both his hands gripped Rose's as he kicked frantically at Madchen, who was climbing his leg. He was able to shove his free foot into her chest and propel her backwards. She snarled at him as she lost concentration and tumbled to the ground.

Rose managed to maintain her grip for some time.

'Are you okay?' he called up to her.

'We need to get somewhere safe. Least it's darker now. I might have to land you somewhere in the woods over there. I'm sorry.'

He did the foolish thing of looking below himself. 'That's fine, just don't drop me.'

'I'll try not to.'

They floated off to the middle of a patch of trees. Rose lowered him carefully and let his toes connect with the dirt. Then she let him go and flopped onto a pile of dead leaves.

She was fighting to catch her breath.

'So you're one of them,' Sam said carefully when she seemed rested enough.

'Yeah.'

Despite wanting to trust her, he found himself dubious now. She could have been fighting with Madchen for him for other reasons.

'And now you're going to do to me what she did, aren't you?'

'No, I'm not.' She was obviously hurt by this. He decided not to show her any sympathy yet.

'How do I know that? You can just as easily trick me into going with you. You've already tried once before...'

'I stopped myself. God, it's fucking cold out here.'

His scrambled memory picked up their first kiss, and the moment she'd drawn away. Her wings were gone. Now she was just a girl lost in a freezing wood, so his heartless approach wasn't appropriate anymore and he felt like a shithead.

'Then Madchen was right,' he went on. 'You saved me because you love me.' He wasn't teasing her. At least, he didn't believe he was.

'I don't know,' she said. 'Maybe. I do like you. But bad things happen when I like a boy.'

'Like what?'

'Never mind.'

'Thanks, though. You didn't have to.'

He sat on another mound of leaves and twigs and lay against a tree. She huddled up across from him and hugged her knees.

'Yes, I did,' she said. 'You were going to die in there, Sam. Others will too. Some have already.'

'But you said Alissa...'

'As long as she doesn't lose the baby. If you go after her now, Lucas will kill you. Even if you found her, she won't leave. And if the stress of your intrusion causes her to miscarry, she'll wind up dead anyway. I know her baby is healthy right now, so she's safe. They want her alive.'

'It's a cambion. How the fuck is that a healthy baby?'

'It could be closer to what they desire.'

Lucas's threat sounded in his mind.

'So they'll kill her if she doesn't have the baby, and they'll kill her if she does?'

'I don't think they'll need to kill her if she's successful. She's already completely mad. She'll probably end up killing herself.'

Sam could hardly see Rose now.

'Do you think she would?' he asked.

'I don't know. Lucas and the other guys, they can really mess with a girl's head. They tap into their desires just as Madchen did to you. She's not Alissa anymore. You must know that.'

He did, but people were still going to hate him if he came back without her, and he didn't want her to die. He added up all the stupid fights and times he went home dissatisfied, and they amounted to nothing but a big stack of regret. Because he cared for her. Alissa was never really coming home. They could drag her body back to her parents, but her head and her heart would still be with Lucas. He still wasn't prepared to leave her there.

'I'm such a fucking idiot,' he said at last.

'You're no bigger an idiot than me. I came here thinking I'd be accepted and loved and finally have a mother who cared whether or not I came home at night. Now I've got shit. I can fly, I can change my form. What the fuck does that matter?'

'And I walked out of my life thinking it was nothing and nearly died.'

'It wasn't really your fault, Sam. There were... conjurations involved. Mind tricks. She took all your sense of reason away. It's what she does. She thrives on your essence, on any man's essence. When she wasn't with you, she was probably doing the same to some other poor kid.'

'Madchen told me her story. I think in the end I didn't care if it was true or not, I only wanted her. I know she's not human, none of them are, but not everything she said added up.'

'What didn't you think was true?'

'Well, it just sounded completely ridiculous. Especially Scarlet claiming to be Adam's first wife. There's no proof he even existed, so what evidence does she have to support her case? She could just be some crazy bitch demon who stole the story to convince others like Madchen to help her.'

Rose was completely quiet for a long time before she said, 'You're right. It doesn't even matter if she is Lilith at all. She hates humans and wants to breed them out of existence.' Rose shifted a little and began speaking quickly. 'When things were quiet, and no one believed we were real anymore, she tried to have more children, like me. But the woman who gave birth to me went mad and tried to keep me from Scarlet. So Scarlet hid me with Olivia, and she made Olivia raise me as her own. She's been waiting for this time. She's tired of us coming second to a race that's bent on destroying each other. She stood on the battlegrounds of the wars you've all fought knowing she deserved the land more than you did and hated you all for it. She has no pity for any of you. She wants your demise. They were harvesting you all, to splice your genes with mine. Eventually, demons will spawn pure demons, all by themselves with no need for humans at all. She plans to herd you all like cattle, then erase you from the earth.'

'But that will take her forever. And how does she know she can even do that?'

'She's got all the time in the world. She can't die. Besides, once there's enough of our kind wandering around, she'll probably get them to kill the rest of you anyway.'

'This is completely ridiculous.'

'It's your technology. You've already tried to do it to your own kind. Designer babies, eugenics. All that shit. That's why Dominic's here. He understands how it all works. She's helping him.'

'I vaguely remember him.' This was too much information to process at once. Sam was getting flustered.

'He's the doctor who's been overseeing all the procedures. He's the expert in mucking around with people's genes. He was looking for a way to eliminate cancer genes and other diseases. She's... borrowing him, until she knows everything she needs to know.'

'And he wants to help her do that? What an arsehole.'

'He's not,' she said bluntly. 'He's really lovely, she's just manipulating him. Like Madchen did to you. She only needs to get a few people on her side, then she'll be fine. Because none of them will want to stop her.'

'What are we supposed to do?'

'Call the bloody army in and blow the place up if we have to. I don't know of any other way.'

'You're serious?'

'I don't know. I can't stop her on my own. She's my mother. She's too fucking powerful.'

Rose was nearly sobbing now.

'Don't cry. I don't understand... I'm sorry.'

'What don't you understand?'

'If you're one of them, why do you care what happens to us?'

'Because I thought I was one of you. And now I wish I was.' Her body began shaking as she cried. 'She left me behind. None of us knew we were different until we heard the songs. They meant more to us than to you. I thought they would be nice to me, so I went there.'

'You thought demons would be nice to you?'

'Turns out they don't give a shit about each other, much less a human being. But I can't switch off my own heart, Sam. It doesn't work like that. When I saw you before the concert, I thought I only wanted your life. But I want you. I want you to care for me.'

His mouth went dry. 'I'm sorry, Rose. But I don't even know you.'

'It's okay... It doesn't matter. You're here now.'

'We should get moving.'

'I know,' she sighed. As she helped him up, they were both bathed in the glow a pair of headlights. They kept still as the car moved on.

'We can follow that road to the nearest town,' she said. 'Maybe if we can get the police to raid the place, they can the others out.'

'I'd say we're safer on the ground.'

Sam warned himself that her plan could still be part of a trick. He would play along, but he needed to keep his guard up. He wasn't about to discount the possibility Rose had rescued him for the purpose of feeding off him. Predators in the wild had no respect for their own kind when it came to food and he was sick of being preyed upon. He had gone with her to get away from Madchen, he had been panicked enough to mistake her for an angel then, but clarity brought with it suspicion. It didn't matter she wished she was human. The fact was, she wasn't, and she could turn on him eventually. He made sure she went ahead of him as they walked up to the road.

Rose quizzed Sam on the way about why he was walking behind her. He said the path was too narrow between the road and the slope for them to walk side by side. She turned on him.

'If you don't start to trust me, we can't help Alissa.'

'Why don't you just make me trust you?' he replied.

'I need you to actually trust me.'

'Arguing with me won't solve that.'

His argument was too good. She apologised quickly.

'I'm so used to people thinking I'm tapped in the head. Why should you behave any differently?'

'It's not that, Rose. I have a good reason not to trust you.'

'I'm not Madchen.'

'I'm aware of that.'

'I don't want you to die. Isn't that enough?'

He spotted a set of lights further up the road and told her to keep going. She obeyed, thinking if she stopped trying to make a point he would believe in her.

They finally made it to the village. At the local police station, a drunk man waiting to be locked up for the night yelled out something disgusting to her. A podgy, irate officer asked them what their problem was. He eyed Rose.

'You have to go to Scarlet Keller's manor and search the place,' Rose demanded. 'All those missing kids are there.'

'Right. Let me just go get someone for you.'

'Shit, we should have brought some evidence.' She was always ruining her own plans with her stupidity.

'You brought me,' Sam said.

'Huh?'

'I'm one of the missing kids,' he told the officer. 'You should have a copy of my picture somewhere.'

The officer held up his finger and headed away. The someone was another sergeant, who tilted his chair to see what was going on. They both peered at something on a desk, then the sergeant nodded to the podgy officer and they both returned to the counter.

'Are you Sam Wright?' The sergeant asked.

'Yeah, I am.'

Rose thought it pointless he lowered his voice to speak to the officer. 'Call a couple of cars out to the manor.' Turning to Sam, he said, 'You'll have to stay here, lad. We can call your parents.'

'I'm staying with him.' Rose was suddenly terrified they were about to be separated.

'That's fine,' the sergeant said. 'You found him in the first place. You can keep him.'

He went off to go with his dispatch crew while the podgy officer took them to a phone. He made a call and spoke to someone briefly, then handed the phone to Sam.

'It's your dad, son. He's very happy to hear you're okay.'

Rose craned in to try and hear the whole conversation. Sam was very solemn when he spoke.

'Yes, Dad. I'm fine.... No, I haven't been attacked...The police are going to the house right now... Dad, wait. Okay, I'll talk to her.'

Rose heard a squeal through the receiver and Sam held it from his ear.

'Calm down, Mum. I'm not dead. They're going to get Alissa. Tell her mum she's fine... we think... A girl helped me out... No, I don't know, okay... Yeah yeah... Love you, too. Bye.'

The officer chatted to someone else briefly about getting him home. His parents decided to come and collect him. Rose's heart cracked a little knowing they wouldn't take her with them. The officer went off to make them something warm to drink.

In the back office, Rose's knee jiggled like she was on her first date with Sam and didn't want to make an idiot of herself.

'Your mum sounded really happy,' she said.

'Yeah, too happy. She said there's a whole bunch of people looking for all of us. Some of the parents are out searching while the rest stay home and wait for a call.' He scratched his nose. 'Do you think they'll get them out?'

'I don't know. If they have any sense, they won't go in by the front gate. As far as I know, it's guarded.'

'Don't worry. Least someone believes us.'

The officer came back in. 'Sam, your cousin's out the front. Said she's come to drive you home.'

Rose grabbed Sam's arm. 'Don't move.'

'Do you think...?'

'Shhh.' She smiled sweetly at the officer. 'Excuse me, could you tell the girl out there to wait outside for us?'

'Um, okay. Try not to be too long.'

'Thanks.' Once he was gone, Rose lifted the window and motioned for Sam to crawl out.

Madchen was hollering out in a sing-song voice, 'Get out here, you silly bitch! You're only making it worse.'

Sam leapt up on the cill and crawled out then dropped from the window.

'Run. I'll find you.'

'What about you?'

'I'll have to fend her off.'

'Rose, for god's sake, girl. This is getting embarrassing.'

Madchen strutted in.

'Get the fuck off me,' Sam shouted from outside as she closed her eyes. 'Rose, get the officer! Rose!' She heard Gabriel and Lucas ribbing Sam and laughing.

'Not your night, is it?' Madchen chuckled as she transformed. The officer didn't see the mist go out the window, he arrived only to witness Rose tear up everything around her in a rage.

'Hey! What the hell?'

He tried to grab hold of her. Rose disappeared as quickly as she could, her tendrils of white smoke slipping through the officer's chubby fingers.

Outside she saw Madchen, Gabriel and Lucas carry Sam by his arms and legs to the manor. Her fists clenched as she pushed herself into the sky after them, but they were too fast for her. She fell to the ground as the last of her hope departed her.

Chapter 11

'I don't understand,' Deborah said as she stared at the monitor.

'I've made several attempts to infect her cells with all kinds of viruses. Watch closely.'

Deb kept an eye on the monitor as Dominic introduced a strain of influenza to one of the healthy cells.

'The cell wall is impervious to manipulation. There's no interaction between these cells and the virus.'

Within seconds, the virus disintegrated.

'The blood just seems too toxic for anything to bond with the proteins. The cells themselves aren't going through any kind of life cycle, either. I've been watching other samples for as long as I could and the cell count remains the same. There's no new production to compensate since none of the cells are dying.'

'That's incredible,' Deborah murmured. 'If the cells aren't dying, and the mitochondrion of each cell won't break down to release waste...'

'But it was never proven definitively that was the reason we age, Deb. That's just a theory.'

'Maybe it's not,' she said softly. 'Maybe they can't age beyond a certain point.'

'Are you trying to tell me they're immortal?' Dominic was reeling from her supposition.

'I have no idea,' Deb sighed. 'As far as I could tell the other subjects Scarlet brought in after Rose were all of the same age.'

Dominic glanced up at the observation rooms. They each contained one of Scarlet's more unfortunate children. Some were strapped down to beds, others were pacing, and one had even taken to banging her head against the window until it bled. Deb had asked Scarlet if they needed anything to calm them, but Scarlet insisted they receive no treatment.

'You would need a test from someone older?'

'Yes. Much older.'

Dominic grew tense at this notion. 'There's only one I can think of. Scarlet. I thought she was a mad woman when she told me her story, but I don't think she is. She claims she was the first woman on Earth.'

Deb drew in her breath. 'Do you think she would even let us test her at all?'

Dominic considered the idea a moment, convincing himself he could have some sway. When they made love, she would tell him he would be a god amongst men, that everything would be his and she would stand by him as his queen and slave forever. She was indebted to him, she called him her saviour. His imagination drew him away from Deborah's presence then.

'Dominic?'

He rubbed his eyes. 'Sorry. How about you go up to bed. I'm sure Scarlet will be amenable to helping us.'

They headed to the main entrance and took off their coats, locking them in the cabinets. Deborah wearily pulled back the security door.

'I feel like I've done so much but learned so little,' she told him as they ascended the stairs to the hall. I can't sleep sometimes. All I can see are Rose's eyes imploring me to... I don't know... I think she wanted me to remember something.'

They stopped in the hall by the stairs.

'Have you called your parents lately? Maybe that's all it was.'

'I don't think so. It seemed bigger to her, more drastic. I wanted to ask Xavier about it but he told me to stop worrying so much.'

Dominic gave her another reassuring smile. 'I don't think Scarlet would get us involved in any wrongdoing. She's given me such a gift now. Rose had so much potential. Think of the possibilities an older subject could present us? Immortality has been the one true desire of mankind for centuries. We could have the key right here.'

'I don't think I'd want to live forever. It sounds exhausting.'

Deb left him then, dragging herself up the stairs as she did nearly every night. He saw the light was on in the parlour, and he went into to see Scarlet with a group of girls who were sitting on the rug while she lazed on the couch by the dead fireplace.

'What you must understand,' she told the girls, 'is that you're all part of something much bigger than yourselves. You've been living your lives as selfish beings, constantly vying for the attention of others. Now, your lives have meaning. You will be wonderful mothers, I don't doubt that.'

The girls were listening attentively. They turned to him en masse when Dominic entered the room.

'Go and rest,' she told them.

Each of the girls got up and left. He saw how lifeless they had become. Each one he vaguely remembered performing the implantation procedure upon, and he knew they all had tested positive. He hadn't seen much of them after that, but he knew the house was much quieter, and the general activity was almost regimented. A group of Scarlet's children prepared food for the girls and made them eat their meals at specific times. They were allowed to go through the house as they pleased but were not to go outside. Most of the men in the house made sure they were seen to and had everything they needed, and Deborah and Thomas regularly scanned them to check their progress. Dominic had made a comment that Scarlet was perhaps being a little scrupulous with their scans and tests, but she insisted weekly examinations be carried out on the girls

Dominic slumped on the couch.

'Yes, my love?' Scarlet asked without him prompting her.

He tentatively said, 'I know it seems like a tremendous ask, but I was wondering if you would be willing to give me a small sample of your blood.'

'And why would I do that?'

Dominic fretted instantly. 'It doesn't have to be blood. A simple cheek swab would suffice.'

'Again, Dominic, why?' Her smile remained but her eyes darkened.

'It's just a theory Deb and I wanted to look into further and we need an older specimen to support...'

She stood up and paced slowly over to him, leaning down and tilting his chin.

'You should know you're not to ask me for such things; it's in our agreement.'

Dominic cleared his throat. His mouth was now tasting like a desert.

'Then perhaps you have someone just as suitable. Madchen or Lucas, perhaps?'

'Hush, Dominic. You've been working far too hard.' Her fingers moved up his jaw and he began to swoon again. 'I have somewhere I need to be. But I've asked a couple of my daughters to tend to you tonight. They're very eager to be in your presence.'

'Can't you stay?'

'Not tonight, my love.' She went to the parlour doors and opened them to allow two young women to enter. They were dressed only in chiffon skirts and their nakedness beneath was still apparent in the dim light.

The sweat began to bead all over Dominic's body. Scarlet only had to nod and the two women were at his feet, pawing at him and laughing softly. One moved up his side and licked his cheek, her hot breath almost scolding him. The other, a darker beauty with large yellow eyes, moved between his legs and reached up to kiss him full on the mouth. He knew Scarlet watched for a moment before she left.

'What were you talking about?' the woman at his side murmured against his ear.

'Nothing important.' He was watching the darker woman open his shirt and kiss his chest. He grabbed the neck of the girl beside him and started kissing her deeply as she slid her hands into his pants and began to stroke his cock. He let them both toy with him before he became so hard he slammed the dark girl against the couch and pushed up her skirt. The other girl obligingly removed his pants while he put his lips to the cunt of the dark-skinned girl. She wasn't as sweet as Scarlet, but she dripped her honey onto his lips just as eagerly. While she panted, the girl behind him kept stroking him hard. Unable to hold himself back, he pushed her hand away and forced himself into the girl beneath him, loving her sudden cry of ecstasy. As he kissed her, the same sensation he felt with Scarlet took over, and the weakness returned despite his need to continue his pleasure. He grabbed her sides and pushed his hands over her breasts.

'You've had enough, Isabella,' the other girl said. 'It's my turn now.'

Isabella ceased her kissing and glared at the girl.

'I'm not nearly done with him, Madeleine. You can wait.'

Dominic didn't see Madeleine's reaction — he only felt himself ripped from Isabelle's arms and thrown to the floor on his back. Madeleine stalked over to him and lowered herself to mount him then, forcing herself down on him harder and faster. Somewhere in the haze of his own pleasure was a sudden and primal fear of Madeleine.

Isabella was livid and she lunged at Madeleine, yanking back her hair and pulling her from Dominic. He scuttled backwards until he hit the wall behind him and watched as the two women began relentlessly attacking each other, falling back over the sofa in their struggle. They scratched and bit wildly as two other men stormed in and separated them. Dominic could barely catch his breath. One of the men began laughing cruelly.

'You know he can't be killed. Lilith has forbidden it.'

'He wasn't even close to death, Michael,' Isabella spat. 'We know the rules.'

'Get out of here, both of you,' Michael ordered. Madeleine sneered as she left. Isabella only smiled seductively at Dominic, and his own skin went cold in fear.

The other man picked up Dominic's pants and tossed them to him.

'We were told to keep an eye on you,' he said flatly. 'Don't expect us to work for you downstairs.'

'Of course not,' Dominic breathed.

He was left alone then, too weak to move and very close to weeping.

Rose woke in the middle of a field. There were some cows in the distance, and a horse grazed by a wooden fence. The night had robbed her of her sense of direction. The noise of a car passing by helped her find her way back to the road, but she wasn't sure which way to go.

A truck pulled over without her having to thumb it to stop and a man called out to her.

'Get in,' he told her. 'You must be freezing.'

She didn't care if he was someone who was going to hurt her. She knew now he'd be making a costly mistake if he tried. Even still, she was too tired to keep walking, and her wings were now refusing to grow.

'What's your name?' he asked. She noticed he had very hairy fingers.

'Rose,' she answered.

'Something happen out in the fields?'

'I can't remember,' she lied as she got in.

He was trying to size her up while driving, so his head constantly turned from her to the road and back again. She wanted to snap at him to stop staring.

'I think I better take you to a hospital,' he ended up saying.

'No. That's not a good idea.'

'Where you headed?'

'Dunno.'

'I can drop you at the nearest train station if that would be of any help.'

She grunted and shrugged, thinking the gesture wasn't going to make a difference.

The man said his name was Harley. Rose wasn't listening as he prattled on about his business and his family. She was thinking of Sam, and how she'd let him down.

Going to the manor was pointless. They'd always managed to get him. Madchen's hold had probably been reestablished. And he wasn't going to trust Rose now she had failed him so miserably. She was numb with desperation.

Harley dropped her at a train station. The train would get her closer into the middle of the city. What she was going to do from there, she couldn't even think.

She avoided being checked for tickets easily by simply telling the attendants she didn't need one. She was exhausted by the time she got to the Underground. She had trouble following the complex maps that were stuck up on the walls everywhere, and she resorted to meandering through the pedestrian tunnels until she found a staircase up to the street.

The nighttime crowds didn't notice her. She was another street kid, lost and helpless. A shadowy statue of four horses kicking their hooves in the air startled her as she rounded another corner. She was supposed to be the scary one, but she was trembling at the sight of anyone who looked remotely menacing. She didn't think she was entitled to have a sense of faith, least of all in herself.

She was growing more tired with each step. She thought all her movements were pointless, and after a few hours of wandering, she curled up in another pedestrian tunnel and drifted to sleep.

Her stomach no longer churned in its need for food, but she longed for something to fill her. She spent another few hours replaying her failures and pitiful moments. Her hopelessness gnawed at her. She considered Thomas and Deb, and how much she wanted to save them and Dominic.

The pavement was hurting her feet. She was dizzy now, and slightly delirious. She scooped water out of a fountain to drink. A group of men and women stumbled towards her. She involuntarily attracted one of the men, who swaggered up to her. His friends continued on, but he came to her without any consideration for them. They weren't that far up the street when Rose grabbed him tight to her and started to breathe. Without any thoughts in her head, she drained him, bringing him to his knees by the fountain. She let his body slump into the water, drowning his head. One of the women noticed him and was laughing at him to get up. Rose quickly vanished as the woman's laughter turned to screaming.

She sat on a curb and wept as her strength returned to her. Clarity greeted her as well. Her limbs were rigid. Furious that Madchen had been right that denying herself nourishment would kill her, Rose desperately searched for a plan that would finish Scarlet at last. She held her head, begging her own brain for an answer. Then a name sounded like a bullhorn in her head.

Sylvia Harper.

If Rose could find her and tell her everything, there was no way Scarlet could stand an army coming to her door.

The phone books in the booths were all torn or missing. There was a small Internet café that was open late. She went in and sat at a computer. The boy behind the counter told her she needed to pay.

'No I don't,' she told him flatly

He agreed with her, apologised and went back to reading his magazine. The other people were too absorbed in the blue glows of the screens to notice.

She typed in Sylvia's name into the online directory then printed the address, snatching up the paper before she left.

'The only reason you hate me, Sam,' Madchen told him, 'is because I hold mirrors up to the parts of yourself you've always hated.' She inched closer into him and placed her lips lightly upon his before she spoke again. 'I can reflect love just as easily.'

'But it isn't real,' he muttered.

'It's as real as you need it to be.'

'I don't need it. And I don't need you.'

He needed water badly. The thirst came second to the need to escape her.

'Oh, Sam,' she sighed. 'I've tried so hard to please you. What else can I do? How could you not want to stay here?'

'It's just a prison. We're all just slaves here.'

'We've been depending on your kind for centuries. We can't survive without you. If anything, we're slaves to you.' She moved away from him and rose to glide over to her dresser. Taking out her ornate nail file, she began to manicure her small talons again.

'I should have listened to Rose,' he said spitefully. 'You don't have to justify any of this to yourself. You don't care at all about Alissa.'

'Of course I don't care about her, and neither do you. I only care about her child. Does it matter to you if she's safe or not? Really?'

'It matters, Madchen. I care.'

'But she hurt you so badly. And she doesn't love you. She never did.'

'It's because I'm human.'

'Lucas is tending to her. He's treated her far better than her parents would, given the circumstances. We cannot chance returning her knowing they will undo everything.'

He made another pointless attempt at loosening the ropes around his wrists. As he writhed, his spine dug into the leg of her heavy and monstrous canopy bed. She watched him almost vacantly as if his performance was boring her.

'I won't ever understand you, will I?' she said at last. 'All my devotion; all the time I gave you, and still, you're unhappy.'

'I'm thirsty,' he grumbled as he settled again.

The wooden floor was cold. That she refused to give him a shirt meant his skin was now covered in goosebumps. The fires she created inside him could not be quelled, and they had once warmed him in even the most freezing of rooms. He missed those fires, even now as she was torturing him with her presence. The ropes were a burden and a blessing. He knew if he were set free, his first move would be to grab her and have her again right there on her bed. She would make him falter. If she would only leave long enough for him to regain his concentration, he would have no distractions from her and could make a run for it.

'Be still, Sam. I'll get you the water.'

'Madchen!' Gabriel's voice almost rattled the door in its frame. 'We need you here, now.'

'I'll come back, I promise.' She put on her robe and moved towards him. 'If only you'd behaved, you wouldn't be in this position now.'

She knelt down and tilted his chin.

'You can have those moments again, Sam. Just say you'll stay, and you won't ever try to leave again.'

Her fingertips were so deliciously warm. He almost couldn't believe she was making him hard again with her stare. He shivered as she planted a kiss on his cheek and softly sighed against his ear.

'You know you're my favourite, don't you?'

'Shut up,' he whispered in desperation. He turned his face sharply from her gaze and she smiled.

'Madchen!' Gabriel roared.

Her movements created a painful chill around him as she sauntered out.

Sam had spent hours tied to Madchen's bed. She had taken all his clothes besides his boxers and had been taunting him like a cat with a piece of string, more as a punishment for humiliating her by escaping so easily with Rose. He was grateful she'd been ordered off elsewhere.

There were voices outside Madchen's room. Sam strained to listen but they were too soft to hear.

Madchen proved she wasn't the smartest of captors. When Lucas called for her she'd neglected to lock her door and someone wandered in.

'I don't think I'm supposed to be in here,' was all the girl said when she saw Sam's bonds. She had short, cropped brown hair and was wearing a thin, elegant robe of pink satin.

'No, wait,' Sam whispered. 'Shut the door.'

She obeyed. Her movements were stiff and slow. 'Were you playing a game? Is that why you're tied up?'

'Yeah. But I really need a drink of water, and the person I've been playing with has forgotten about me.'

'That was silly.'

'I know,' he laughed, trying not to lose his patience. 'Can you untie me?'

The girl considered this. 'Um, okay. I'm not playing, though. Roman said I have to be careful now I'm going to have his baby.'

Sam's gut went tight. 'How long have you been here?'

The girl knelt by him and pulled on the ropes. 'I can't remember. There was this show in Leeds, I think. Hidden Agenda. Me and my friends decided to go. I thought they came to the party here afterwards. I'm sure they did. But I haven't seen them around. Maybe they went home. I dunno. I asked Roman and he said they weren't needed anymore.'

She pressed herself up against his shoulder as she strained with the knots.

'I can't undo this. It's too tight.'

'Maybe there's a knife around here.' Knowing Madchen, it was very likely.

'I'll go and have a look.'

'Try not to take too long,' he warned her. The girl got up.

'What's your name?' she asked.

'Sam. What's yours?'

'Tasmin.'

'How about you find a knife to cut me loose and then we'll go look for your friends.'

'Okay.' The idea didn't change her expression. She left him alone.

Sam knew he wouldn't be able to coax her out of the house. He was hoping Rose had still managed to get help.

He felt sorry for Rose now. Helping him to a police station was a waste of her time if her intent was to kill him, and he felt like an even bigger moron for not having trusted her. She was so unsure of herself, that was all he managed to learn of her in their short time together. She was prettier than Madchen as well. Being around her had helped the fog in his mind go away, and somehow it had made it a little easier not to be swayed my Madchen again. But the idiot sex maniac in his brain was still tempted by Madchen, and he hated that part of himself as much as he hated her.

Madchen hadn't laughed along with Roman and Gabriel while they'd dragged him to the manor. She was pissed off more than anything, not that Sam had cared. He didn't really get how they had tracked him and Rose down, other than the possibility Rose had an internal homing device that made it easier for her kind to be traced. Rose had been smart to stick to the ground, but not smart enough by their standards.

He let out his breath when Tasmin returned with a heavy pair of scissors. She chopped at the rope as hard as she could. Her hands were small and she struggled, but she managed to fray the rope enough for it to snap and release him.

'Thanks.' He used the post of the bed to pull himself up. His muscles were still ridiculously weak. Walking with Rose had exhausted him. 'Should we go look for your friends now? You're going to want to go home eventually.' He felt obligated to help her then since she had helped him.

'Not really. Roman said if I go home my parents will be sad and make me get rid of my baby.'

'They can't make you do anything. They'll be happy to see you.'

'I don't need them anymore. Everything I want is here. Everyone's nice to me. I don't get bullied like I do at school. I want to stay and take care of my baby with Roman.'

She was being completely honest. Trying to make her go would be like flipping an alarm. He didn't like himself for leaving her, but he couldn't be responsible for her now. This was too much for him.

'Why do you want to go?' Tasmin asked. 'It's nice here.'

'It hasn't been as nice for me.'

'Well, I'll tell everyone you said goodbye.' She smiled and turned to go and he grabbed her, tensing in expectation of her screaming for help.

'No, don't tell anyone. I don't want...you can't.'

She scrunched up her face. 'Yeah, alright.' He let her go and the panic her expression gave him subsided. She was able to casually wander the hallways. He wasn't so lucky. Madchen's room was on the second floor. The broken window had been boarded up. He considered kicking it out but didn't want to make any noise. He called to Tasmin.

'You don't know where I could nick some clothes, do you?'

'I think there's a bunch of stuff all over the place,' she said. 'Heaps of people just took off and left all their crap behind.' Tasmin got distracted by another girl coming up the stairs.

Sam snuck into an empty room that reeked so badly he had to cup his hand over his mouth. He found a light switch.

A naked body lay on the bed, facedown. Its skin had greyed. Sam realised it was another boy and desperately tried not to vomit while he picked up the clothes on the floor. He trembled as he pulled on the dead boy's shirt. His cap was left on the chair by the bed. Sam didn't want to go anywhere near the corpse, but his wants were irrelevant, he needed something to cover his face. He dashed over to the chair, snatched a cap and paused at the sight of the boy.

He was smiling.

Sam puked almost relentlessly. Trembling and trying desperately not to cry, his eyes misted over as he slouched the rim of the cap down and crept out.

The vomiting and the fear in him had induced a weird delirium. He tried to concentrate as he stumbled through the hallway. Girls in the same flowing gowns walked past him, but none of them offered to help. His vision blurred a moment and he had to hold the bannister at the top of the stairs. Lucas and Gabriel were heading up to the second floor. He wanted to hide, but his legs refused to crouch. He pretended not to notice them and dropped his head, lowering the brim of the cap.

When he went to take a step, he faltered. He just managed to balance himself as he stooped down. Not watching where he was going from there, he smacked into Lucas.

'Fucking hell.' Lucas steadied Sam.

Gabriel sighed. 'Christ, how are you not dead yet?'

Lucas shook Sam then belted the cap off his head.

'Why the hell are we still bothering with you?'

'He can barely walk,' Gabriel laughed. 'He's useless.'

'Yeah,' Lucas scoffed. 'Yesterday's junk.'

He let go of Sam then put out his ankle. Sam couldn't avoid tripping over it. They were cackling as he tumbled down the staircase. Everything around him somersaulted over itself and a sharp pain hit his leg when he came to rest on the landing.

'Go get the fucking shovel,' Lucas groaned as Sam finally blacked out.

Chapter 12

When his strength had returned and he was able to get off the floor, Dominic found Thomas working his way slowly up the staircase. He joined his friend, putting his arm around his shoulder.

'I don't remember being this tired in all my life,' Thomas told him.

'I know, but we're doing important work here, Thomas. Finally, the world will see we were right.'

Lucas and Gabriel came back in the house, laughing. Gabriel tossed a shovel across the hallway and dirt scattered over the floor. Dominic stared at them a second too long, and Lucas almost growled like a guard dog.

Back in Thomas's room, Thomas sat on the bed as Dominic slumped into an easy chair beside the bathroom door.

'When's the last time I called Syl?'

Dominic shook his head. 'I don't know. Yesterday?'

'I keep looking at my watch but it doesn't seem to mean anything anymore. I better call them now, I suppose.'

'Probably a good idea.'

'Heidi would probably love to hear from you.'

Dominic only made a small smile. He wasn't sure he could handle a conversation with a five-year-old at this point. Thomas lifted the handset from the ornate phone as if it was a five-pound free weight and put it to his ear before dialling his home number.

Sylvia answered. Dominic could hear her clearly.

'Oh, Thomas. Thank god. Where are you?'

'I'm still at the manor.'

'I haven't heard from you in two weeks! Heidi's beside herself. Please come home.'

Thomas rubbed his face. 'I don't think I can. I have so much work to do.'

'Heidi's awake now. Can you at least speak to her?'

A frail little voice came on the line.

'Daddy, please come home. I miss you.'

Thomas's eyes began watering. Dominic watched as the muscles in Thomas's face became slack. He glanced at Dominic.

'We have to go. We can't stay here.'

'What do you mean?'

'Something's not right. I don't know what. I just...'

There was a click on the line suddenly, and Scarlet's voice was audible.

'Heidi, listen to me. Your daddy cannot come home now. He's far too busy. You'll see him when he's finished with his work.'

Dominic heard Heidi let out a pitiful sob just as the line went completely dead. Thomas put down the phone and sighed. His resolve had completely vanished.

'What was I saying?'

Dominic glanced up. 'Something about leaving.'

'Not now. It's much too late. God, I hope I didn't wake Heidi up.'

Leaving then, Dominic dragged himself back to his room and collapsed on the bed. He normally had a shower before he bothered sleeping, but the malaise was almost palpable and he had no strength then to even remove his clothes. He drifted off into blackness.

The strength of Rose's vision was heightened now, so she was able to see a lot from her distance. The city was full of lights to guide her. She tracked the street names and finally drifted carefully onto the street opposite Sylvia's house. A slender woman with blonde hair was coming up the road with a cardboard box under her arm. Rose dashed up behind her.

Sylvia almost dropped the box when she turned around. 'I don't have any money.'

'I'm not after money. I'm looking for Sylvia Harper.'

'That's me. And you are?'

'I'm a friend of Thomas. I need your help getting him out of that place.'

'You met Thomas?'

'I did. He's gotten involved with a woman who's kidnapped all those kids. He's been helping her.' Rose didn't want to reveal her true self to Sylvia. 'I was one of the kids. I managed to escape.'

'Oh god, it was that awful woman who was on the phone. She's been calling me the last two weeks saying Thomas has been too busy to speak to me. He and Dominic left almost three months ago and never came home.'

'I need you to come with me to the police. I can't get them out on my own.'

'Of course. Just let me put this box inside. We'll go straight there.'

Rose waited while Sylvia dropped the box inside her house then went into collect her daughter. Heidi was rubbing her eyes, still in her footy pyjamas, as Sylvia brought her out and put her in the car. She told Rose to get in the passenger seat then drove away from the house.

'God, I cannot believe Dominic roped him into all this. I'm so furious with him.'

'It wasn't his fault, Sylvia. He was...' Rose wanted to say tricked and realised another word would have carried more weight. 'Blackmailed.'

'By that woman? Who is she?' Sylvia asked.

'Someone who's very intent on making sure everything goes her way.'

Arriving at the police station, Rose hoped she wouldn't be foiled again by another appearance from Madchen. Sylvia carried Heidi in as she and Rose approached the front desk.

'My husband has been kidnapped,' Sylvia told the clerk at the desk.

'He's with all those missing kids from the concerts,' Rose added. 'Up at Scarlet Keller's house.'

The clerk turned behind herself. 'Sarge! Woman here says she knows where all them kids are.'

Rose waited impatiently for the sergeant. A tall, austere-looking man came up to the counter.

'We've already sent someone in the area to check out the house, there's no one there. Dead lead. I'm not wasting my man hours on another hunch.'

'It's Scarlet,' Rose shouted. 'She influences people. Of course they believed her. You have to send someone else.'

'We've already got men all over the place looking for these kids. If they're not there, they're not there.'

'But my husband is,' Sylvia said quickly. 'If I put in a report, you have to check it out, don't you?'

The sergeant sighed. 'Wait here, I'll get someone to help you.'

Rose was disgusted at the sergeant's apathy and knew if he faced Scarlet it would take nothing for her to convince him Thomas wasn't there. She took Sylvia's arm and pulled her aside.

'We're wasting our time. We should just go there.'

'Not without the police, Rose.'

'What did he say when you last spoke to him?'

'He called tonight, said he had to stay, but when Heidi spoke to him he was suddenly saying they had to leave immediately. Then Scarlet got on the phone and disconnected the line.'

Rose turned to Heidi.

'I think Heidi can help us better than anyone else here. If I can get you to the door to speak to Thomas, we might be able to get him out.'

'What are we dealing with, Rose?'

'Abominations. But some of them are less cunning than others.'

Rose heard the Sargent return just as she left with Sylvia and Heidi.

Dominic woke and his room was still filled with darkness. His first instinct was to get back to work, but his limbs were aching and his head felt compacted with cotton wool. When he was able to stand, he awkwardly stripped off his clothes and got into the shower. The warmth felt almost unfamiliar and he washed thoroughly, wondering when he last bothered to even shave. He rubbed his face and the long stubble prickled his fingers.

Once he was out, he dried himself with an Egyptian cotton towel and pulled on the expensive satin robe. At the mirror, he wiped away the condensation and nearly gasped at the sight of a man with hollow eyes and a sunken face. His skin was almost grey and he felt worn out and hopeless. It seemed pointless to even shave at that point, but he forced himself to regardless, thinking Scarlet would be ashamed to see him in that state.

His only comfort then was pulling on the clean clothes that had been left for him. He knew he was eating well, Scarlet's staff saw to that, so his he assumed his malaise was only from working himself ragged. Occasionally, he and Thomas had enjoyed a few brandies when they were off the clock. Deb was reluctant to join them, and he was never sure where she was on her breaks away from the lab. He had only seen her a few times with the young Xavier, who had become strangely attentive of her. Dominic could hardly discourage any romance she may have had with him, given his own connection to Scarlet.

Those moments with Scarlet usually involved sneaking away to her master bedroom to have her lavish him and treat him to intoxicating ecstasy. He wanted her forever now, he was hopelessly in love. He was close to asking her to marry him, but they were so engrossed in their work and she never seemed to be around when he had gathered the nerve to ask. He was amazed he got any work done after their moments together.

But he realised then his passion for her had eclipsed his passion for his own work. He didn't want to be downstairs with the others anymore. He was even having trouble remembering what their objective was. All he did day in and out was collect and fertilise and implant. He was scanning embryos. He was doing the drudgery he had wanted to run from in the first place. It didn't seem fitting, and he knew he had to speak to Scarlet. Now he was awake enough, he went out to find her, hoping she was home from wherever she had been.

Out in the corridor, Dominic came across one of the girls. He knew her name and struggled to get it out as she passed.

'Alissa, have you seen Scarlet?'

The girl turned to him, practically zombified. It chilled him to see such a visage. He had been checking on her in the beginning, and now she was in the care of the others in the upstairs bedrooms, but her eyes were completely vacant and she had not a spark of life in her.

'I have to go to my room now,' she said blankly before turning from him and walking away.

Dominic's head ached then, and he wasn't sure where any painkillers were. Figuring Scarlet would know, he continued his search.

Down in the hall, a beautiful blonde woman was in the front doorway with a child in her arms. She was talking to a girl at the door, and when he listened closer, he could hear the visitor wasn't welcome. Before the door was slammed completely, another name shot out of his lips.

'Sylvia!'

The girl turned to look at him, giving Sylvia a chance to push her way inside. Dominic almost stumbled over himself to get to Sylvia. The girl became panicked and dashed off.

Dominic went to Sylvia and hugged her and Heidi.

'You have to get Thomas and Deb, and we must go now,' Sylvia whispered. 'We don't think that woman is here. If we don't go right now...'

'Everything's fine here, Syl. We're all doing well, we're just incredibly busy, that's all.'

'Dominic, listen to me. You and Thom have been missing for nearly three months now. There's kids all over the country, vanishing. I met Rose. She knows you. She's told me everything. Please, we have to go.'

Heidi tugged on his sleeve. 'Please,' she begged.

Dominic's gaze met the tiny girl's eyes and he almost crumbled to the floor, just as Thomas had done before.

Deb emerged then. 'Oh, Sylvia. I'll go get Thom.'

'Hurry, Deb, we're leaving,' Sylvia told her.

'Why?'

Dominic smiled weakly at Deb. 'It's just a quick drive to get some air. Heidi wants to go out with us.'

'Lovely,' Deb beamed.

Rose appeared then, frantic. She clearly didn't want to go any further into the hall.

'I think Scarlet is close,' she told them. 'I heard that girl telling the others she's let an outsider in.'

Dominic went to Rose. 'What have I done?' he murmured. 'What the hell have I done?'

'Not now, Dominic. We'll work this out but we need to go before Scarlet returns.'

Thomas finally arrived and Heidi wriggled from her mother's grasp to run into his arms. He was almost weeping when he gathered Heidi up. Deb covered her mouth in shock and looked away. Sylvia and Rose were ushering them all to the door when Scarlet made her presence known.

'This is all very touching,' she declared. 'If I could cry, I would. But none of you are going anywhere.'

The front door slammed. Rose turned to Scarlet.

'You will let them go NOW!' Rose shouted.

An audience of Scarlet's children began collecting in the hallway. Some were bearing their teeth, others were flexing their fingers. Sylvia shrank back with Heidi and Thomas while Dominic grabbed Deb protectively. Rose stepped forward.

'What is this, Rose?' Scarlet laughed. 'How could you even begin to have sympathy for these creatures, the ones who have done nothing but torture you for months?'

'You condemned me to that place. This wasn't their doing. You will let them all go and you will end your disgusting plan. Now.'

Two figures shot across the hall, and a second later, Heidi and Sylvia were in the grasp Lucas and Roman to be dragged away up the stairs, screaming. Xavier then appeared and tore Deb from Dominic's arms.

Dominic couldn't stop Thomas running at the horde in front of him to get to his family. The retaliation was quick and horrifying. Thomas was held prone while one of the demons savagely bit into his arm. The gnashing of teeth sickened Dominic and he couldn't turn away as Thomas screamed in pain. His flesh was searing and turning black as the creature gnawed through his bone. His arm was completely severed and it dropped to the floor the moment before Thomas did. A chorus of inhuman laughter rose from the horde.

Rose edged forward, growling, then hunched and sprang. The wild fury in her eyes petrified the horde and they dispersed, leaving her free to grab Thomas's assailant. Straddling the creature's hips, she bit into its bare chest and tore away a piece of muscle. Dominic could see its ribs now. The creature grabbed Rose's shoulders to force her off, but her legs were gripped tight around its middle. With one hand on its neck, Rose made a fist with her other hand and thrust it into the hole she had made. Shattered bones sliced her wrist as she punched again and again into the monster's chest. Black blood soaked her clothes and her hair, but her skin was impervious to its toxicity. The body of the creature fell across Thomas with Rose still straddling it. Rose gasped for breath as she lifted the dead body off Thomas and slumped it against the bannister.

Thomas wasn't moving.

Scarlet was laughing at the disaster before her. Dominic managed to see Rose ascend the stairs towards Scarlet. Before Rose could charge on her mother, another figure flew down from above and wrestled Rose to the foot of the stairs. Madchen was clambering over Rose, pulling at her hair and spitting at her. Rose kicked and struggled, only to be taken over by her siblings when they were certain Madchen had her in check.

Dominic could see Sylvia weeping silently as she gazed down at her husband. The coldness in him then caused Dominic to step forward.

'Let them all go, Scarlet. I'll stay. You don't need them.'

'You're right, I don't,' she replied with a sickening nonchalance. 'You're the whole reason they're here. It's all your fault, Dominic.'

'I know. Why punish them for it?'

'Because it amuses me. Your humanity amuses me.' She sighed and shook her head, irritably. 'Let them all go. But not Rose. Madchen, you can take care of her.'

Rose was dragged away by Madchen and some of the others while Lucas and Gabriel brought down Sylvia and Heidi. Thomas groaned then, and Deb went to him as Xavier released her. Dominic gazed at Thomas as he rose, his one arm still lying close by, smouldering. He saw the sinews hanging from the middle of Thomas's forearm. Sylvia and Deb led him out while Heidi followed in tow.

As Deb moved past him, Dominic whispered for her to get all the help she could. She only nodded solemnly. He stood still as the door closed behind him.

'I really didn't want it to come to this, Dominic,' Scarlet said to him. He couldn't see a trace of regret or sadness on her face that would have suggested she meant her words.

She motioned for her children to grab him, and the horde now stormed towards him. He screamed out for Rose as they lifted his whole body and carried him into the drawing room.

The choir of unholy laughter all around him made him weep with fear. There was a hammering going on somewhere near him, but the forest of legs blocked his view. The women scratched at his skin whilst tearing off his shirt and shoes. They cackled like witches while they bit their tongues and spat on him. The blood stung his flesh and he screamed in agony. He was lifted again only to be laid upon a plank of wood. His arms were stretched out and he watched in abject horror as his wrists were nailed to the plank. The pain burned through his muscles and he nearly passed out as they bound his feet to the base of the vertical post. More nails were driven through his ankles.

His throat stung as he kept desperately screaming for Rose. He was hoisted into the air and over the fireplace, where the beasts beat their wings as they attached the wood to the wall with heavier nails. The laughter settled into murmurs as Scarlet approached the fireplace and looked up at him. He saw his blood trickle from his wrists and drip onto the floor.

'My martyr,' Scarlet smiled. 'Your betrayal has brought you here now. I knew in my heart you weren't to be trusted. And now you will die like this, with all the time in the world to think about your mistake.'

Chapter 13

'Where is he? Where's Sam?'

Rose struggled again against her captors as they dragged her out into the night air. She could hear her name being screamed over and over inside.

'He's dead, Rose,' Madchen announced with a shrug.

'What did you do with him?'

'He's buried out there,' she said as she nodded towards the garden. 'He was dead when Lucas found him. I thought he was going to hang in there a bit longer, you know, for me.' She smiled and Rose bit down on her tongue hard, spitting on Madchen's shoe. A hole formed in the leather.

'You fucking little bitch,' Madchen said, more annoyed than angry.

Rose refused to show any weakness by crying.

Madchen turned to the others and gestured towards Rose. They pulled Rose to the ground before holding up her wrists and chaining her to one of the statues. She struggled against the bonds, knowing they wouldn't break as easily as the leather straps. In her stress, her body was refusing to turn to smoke.

'We have some unfinished business to attend to inside, Rose. If you don't mind. I'll deal with you later.'

The others cackled at her as they wandered back inside. Dominic's screaming was maddening, but Rose was suddenly distracted by another voice crying out for help from the garden. The light from inside barely touched the grass at the bottom of the stone steps, but her keen vision saw someone moving in the darkness.

'Somebody, please!'

Rose was beyond frantic as she wrestled with her shackles. Biting hard on her tongue again, she spat on the manacle above her and it began to smoke. The metal weakened and snapped, releasing one wrist. Spitting on the other manacle, she snapped it off then ran out into the darkness to find Sam struggling to sit up in a shallow grave. She went to him.

'I'm so sorry,' she wept as she brushed the dirt from his cheeks and hair.

'I think my leg's broken.'

'That's okay, I can carry you now. But I have to help Dominic first.'

Sam latched on to her arm. 'Don't.'

The torment of her dilemma almost paralysed her.

'I don't want to do this,' she said. 'Lie down. I'll come for you once I've freed Dominic. I promise I won't lose you again.'

'Rose...'

'I've got to help him.'

He looked up at her desperately as she helped him back into the hole. She covered him with enough dirt and kissed his brow.

'You're not going to die here, Sam. I won't let that happen.'

She wasn't going to creep through the halls to get to Dominic. She was going to barge in there. She was going to destroy whatever kept her from him. She followed his screams, then steeled herself as she charged into the room. Scarlet stood in the centre, smiling up at Dominic. The sight of him pinned to a shoddy cross over the fireplace took the wind out of Rose's newly raised sails, but only for a second. The scene then birthed a rage so pure and unfamiliar to Rose that holding it in would have been as useless as lying on a powder keg to contain the blast.

Rose roared as she jumped on her mother's back. She clawed at her masses of dark hair and the pair of them shrieked in unison. Her brothers and sisters came to Scarlet's aid, and Rose slapped and bit at them while she rode her mother, who was spinning in circles and tearing at Rose's arms to get her off. The pair of them became buried in bodies as the others tried frantically to pull Rose from Scarlet. They hauled her off, but not before she kicked Scarlet savagely in the back. Scarlet collapsed, and the crowd around them went quiet. They released Rose and shuffled away, once more afraid of her.

Furious, Rose flipped her unconscious mother over. She raised her eyes to see Dominic's head had drooped to one side. The blood from his wrists and feet had painted the wall.

She regarded her mother a moment, allowing the hatred for her to build. The hunger was eating her and fighting with the anger as it all coalesced in her belly. She got down and crawled over her mother's body, then stroked her hair. She imagined herself as a child, trying to wake her sleeping mother in the morning. Scarlet was supposed to love her. To cherish her and protect her from evil. Rose knew then this thing beneath her wouldn't do that. It wasn't able to. So she possessed no remorse as she bent down and kissed her mother's lips to draw out her essence.

Her siblings gasped in shock as a blackish mist drifted up from Scarlet's open mouth. Rose swallowed it. It tasted awful, but she suffered the taste to take as much life as she could. Scarlet's eyes suddenly opened as a freakish, guttural roar came from someone in front of them.

Rose looked up as a ball of fire shot towards her. The ball hit her in the chest, propelling her away from Scarlet. Rose fell into the others as her clothes and hair burned. They darted from her as she desperately slapped the flames to put them out. Lucas stood with a plank of wood clasped in his hand. It was still burning.

'You dare condemn our mother Lilith to this,' he shouted. 'This will end now, Rose.'

She smelt her singed hair. Someone grabbed her from behind so Lucas could finish her. The pain that ripped through the nerves in her skin didn't matter then. Scarlet's essence slipped into all her weakest places and galvanised her.

When Lucas was close enough, she tore herself away from the one who held her and gouged Lucas with her nails square in the stomach. Her claw was now wet with his guts. He couldn't scream. His shock was perfect and satisfying to her. She brought him to his knees, then pulled her hand from his stomach. She gripped his shoulder and with her other hand, then grabbed his hair and tore his head from his neck.

The others were quiet again. She picked up the torch and paraded Lucas's head around the room, carrying it like a lantern.

'You're all pathetic,' she shouted. 'You could have taken this from her just as easily as I did. You worshipped her but she was prepared to sacrifice any of you for her own ends.'

She went to her mother and stood over her, dripping the blood from Lucas's neck onto her. Scarlet was gasping for air.

'It's all come undone, Lilith,' Rose told her.

Scarlet pushed herself to her knees and Rose drove her foot into her side. Seeing her weak and helpless now gave Rose a pleasure she hadn't felt before.

'Should I show you pity like you showed me?' Rose asked her, enjoying the taunt. She belted her mother with Lucas's head before tossing it aside.

Scarlet managed to rise. Her height didn't frighten Rose.

'You would do this to your own mother?' Scarlet asked. Her frailty had no effect on Rose, either.

'No,' Rose said. 'I'd do it to you. I don't care what happened to you, or if any of it is true. I don't want to know if there's a God or a Heaven, or even a Hell. None of that bothers me. Your existence bothers me. And that I thought I couldn't stop you bothers me even more.'

Scarlet's scream made her children cover their ears as Rose rammed the torch into her chest. Rose reared back then kicked her mother into the fire. The entire fireplace exploded and the flames licked up at Dominic. The horde scattered from the room, screeching and crying. Rose dropped the torch and flew up to Dominic to rouse him.

'Rose.' She could hardly hear him over the snapping wood below them. The heat touched the bottom of her feet.

'I'm going to get you down now.'

'No. There's no point, Rose. I've lost too much blood.'

'I can pull the nails out.'

'Don't,' he murmured. 'There's no point.'

'Dominic, please.' She grabbed his face. 'Why are you giving up like this?'

'Because my good intentions got the better of me. I've failed you and Thomas and Sylvia. If my work could aid a demon, putting it the hands of man could still do as much evil.'

'You're not evil, Dominic.'

He smiled. 'Thank you, Rose.'

The smoke curled up around them and Dominic began coughing and spluttering.

'It's okay. Go. The smoke will kill me before the fire does.'

She kissed him as she wept. Another flame lapped her ankle as she flew away from him. The flames grew bigger and she watched Scarlet's body feed the fire. Dominic was breathing in deeply, swallowing the smoke in the same way she'd swallowed Scarlet's life. Unable to bear the sight of the pair of them destroying each other, Rose flew out of the room and went to get Sam, hoping none of the horde had found him.

The house was burning and Sam watched the smoke drift through the night sky above him. He listened to the walls collapsing and didn't want to move. There were people running like maniacs across the field. They leapt over him and some even took off into the sky. Others were carrying the girls in their arms. The crying and the screaming kept him prone more than anything. He was trying not to even breathe in case any of them saw him alive.

'Sam!' Rose was next to him then.

'What the fuck is going on?'

'We have to go.' She gathered him up effortlessly and he wrapped his arms around her neck.

'Did Dominic get away?'

'No.' Her face was black and her hair, matted.

He didn't ask her anything else as they lifted off into the air. She didn't follow the others. She went the opposite way and they drifted through the freezing night. Her body warmed him as she soared. Memories of his journey there with Madchen returned to him.

Rose flew on through the night without needing to rest. She was distant, and he wanted to know why she was so sad. He thought of Alissa and was too weak now to panic for her. He felt lost and almost weightless.

'I don't know where to take you, Sam.'

'My mum lives in Manchester.'

'I think I know the way.'

It was dawn when Rose floated over the rooftops of the city. Sam fought to stay awake all night, and his eyelids were heavy. He carefully looked down scanned balconies, looking for his mum's collection of plants she kept out there. He pointed it out to Rose the second he saw it.

She landed on the balcony railing with perfect balance, her wings shrinking into her back, then gingerly sat him on an old plastic chair

'I don't know if she's inside. The door's probably locked.'

Rose said nothing and pulled the sliding door, breaking the lock as if it were a twig. She helped Sam walk to his room and even lay him on his bed. Then she brought him water to sip and he thanked her.

'You'll stay with me?'

'Of course I will. I need to clean this blood off first.' She only seemed aware of it then, after the terror and confusion had slipped away. She cringed as she looked down at herself, then disappeared.

In the light, Sam saw the blood had stained his shirt. He quickly stripped it off and tossed it into the corner of the room. Remembering he was wearing a dead boy's pants caused him to pull them off as quickly as he could with his broken leg. He'd been too terrified to focus on the pain until now. Rose returned and helped him under the covers. He lifted the blanket to let her crawl under.

'You're not going to tell me what happened to that guy, Dominic, are you?'

She shook her head. She was devastated.

'I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I don't know what happened to Alissa.'

'I saw them grabbing the girls right before the fire got out of control. I didn't see her.' Rose went quiet.

'I should have done more to save her,' Sam murmured. Tears stung his eyes and Rose gripped him tighter as they both wept.

There was shouting in the flat when Sam woke. Rose was asleep beside him. The sun now showed him how badly she had been burned. He gently pushed the blackened hair off her temple. Right then, the shouting outside got louder and someone burst into his room.

Karen stood there with a gaping mouth, Peter just behind her.

'Sam!' Karen was too happy to see him to notice Rose, who was climbing out of the bed in a flurry while Karen leapt on him and hugged him. In her enthusiasm, she knocked his thigh.

'Argh! Careful.'

'He's broken his leg.' Rose folded her arms across her stomach. Peter cast her a look that made her fidget.

'Are you one of the missing girls? Do you want us to call your parents.'

'Yeah, I helped Sam. Don't worry, I'll call my mum soon.'

'God you're filthy,' Karen fussed. 'What did they do to you?'

He turned to Rose for help. He didn't want to talk about any of it; not about Alissa, or Madchen, or how he had nearly died. He didn't want to mention the dead boy and the shallow grave where he had woken up, choking on dirt. No amount of insistence that it would help him could ever get him to speak about it.

'He's safe now,' Rose said. 'That's the main thing.'

Sam rested against the headboard and smiled at her.

'Mum, can you leave us alone for a second?'

'Okay, but we're taking you to the hospital after we've cleaned you up. Then we'll give Alissa's mum a ring. She's in a state since she heard about the fire up at that house. We were all prepared to raid the place but the police insisted you weren't there.'

'We're not sure what happened to Alissa,' Rose told them. 'I think they've taken her somewhere else.'

'It's alright, love,' Peter said to her. 'You can have a shower first then we can call your parents.'

Peter managed to get Karen out while she continued to pester Sam. Rose sat beside him and let out a shaky breath.

'Are you okay?' he asked her.

'I've never had anyone worry about me like that. I've killed my mother, and the other woman who said she was my mum didn't give a shit about me. Dominic was nice to me, though. I think he was the closest thing I'll ever have had to a dad.'

'Yeah. I'm sorry.' Sam realised he'd been a brat to his parents for all the wrong reasons. Even Liz too, and she didn't deserve it. He was going to apologise to them, and then to Alissa's mum for having failed to save Alissa.

Karen drew a bath for him, something she hadn't done since he was small. He felt pathetic having to get her to help him into the water. While he lay staring at his swollen leg, he thought about Alissa and the times they'd laughed together. He was desperate for her to come home, just to know she was safe. He tried to remind himself that she chose — no, demanded — to stay with Lucas. Even if her reasons were completely fucked up and wrong, it wasn't his fault. The fact didn't make him feel any less guilty.

Rose snuck into the bathroom. She wasn't as embarrassed as he was but she put him at ease by kneeling by the tub smiling at him.

'How did you get burnt?' He carefully put his wet fingers to the scar. She didn't flinch.

'Lucas did it.' She went to the bathroom cabinet and took out a pair of scissors, then cut off the burnt clumps of hair and dropped them in the bin. She didn't stop there. Her hand grabbed more chunks of her long tresses as her cutting got more violent. He watched her clean her face, and she lightly touched the cloth to her skin. She didn't seem to be in any pain at all.

'It doesn't hurt?'

'It does, but I don't care. I guess it will heal. So what if it doesn't?' She looked like a pixie to him. She lifted him out of the tub and wrapped a towel around him, and he leaned on her while she dried him.

'You don't want to go, do you?' He was trying not to sound like he was teasing her.

'I've got nowhere to go. I'm not following them. They're not the same as me.'

'No, they're not.'

They stared at each other a moment, and he had no idea what he was supposed to do. He leaned in to kiss her, but she put her fingers to his lips and shook her head.

'Probably not a good idea,' she said sadly.

'Sorry, I thought...'

'Of course I want to. I don't want to kill you.'

He kissed her on the cheek instead.

'I won't let you.'

Sam appreciated clean clothes like he had never done in the past, and he was able to drink a cup of cocoa. Rose didn't drink hers. She was wearing a skirt and blouse Karen had lent her, both of which were too big for her.

His parents took them to the hospital where they waited for ages until his leg was x-rayed. The break wasn't bad but would take some time to heal. The doctor said he was malnourished and had to stay in for a few days. They were more concerned about the incisions around his groin. He sheepishly said they had been performing surgeries on him. He didn't think explaining anything else would make a difference.

The hospital asked Rose where her parents were as they filled out her details. She lied and said they were in Russia for six months and she had lost their number.

'Do they even know you were missing?' one of the nurses asked her. They were sticking to their story that she was one of Hidden Agenda's numerous kidnap victims.

Rose shrugged. 'They don't even notice when I'm out at night,' she said. 'I don't want to worry them.'

The same doctor went to examine Rose's burns and she tensed.

'It's not that bad,' she insisted.

He peered closer at her cheek. 'You've got a bad burn, Rose. I need you to let me have a look at it.'

She gripped the edge of the bed, tight. Hating to see her so panicked, Sam said, 'He's not going to hurt you. He's trying to help.'

Rose smiled as she softened. She kept her focus on Sam while the doctor dressed her wound, the bandage covering her jaw and neck. The decision was made that she was to stay in as well.

'You're not going to do any tests on me,' she said flatly to the doctor. 'You're not going to x-ray me, or take my blood.'

The doctor blinked a few times, baffled. Sam's parents were equally perplexed but said nothing. Regardless, the doctor agreed.

Karen kissed Sam goodbye and promised they would be in the next day. Later that night, he and Rose whispered to each other in the dark of the ward while the other patients slept.

'I have to keep an eye on you,' she murmured, 'otherwise you'll get into more trouble.'

He was thankful he still had his angel with him. He wanted to hold her hand but she was too far away.

Karen ended up agreeing to let Rose stay with them. Sam went home with a cast on his leg, and Rose was to sleep in the spare room at Karen's flat. Peter was reluctant to leave, but he had to get back to Liz. Sam wasn't to go back to school until he put on some more weight and his leg had healed.

Harry and Mitch showed up the next day and bugged him about the whole thing. Sam introduced them to Rose, who managed to smile weakly as they stared at her.

'What was it like getting nabbed by rockstars?' Harry said first. 'Bet it was fucking awesome.'

'Yeah, the cops are out to get the whole band for nicking off with those girls,' Mitchell said. 'There's a search out for them all over the country. Man, they even said there was a body on a crucifix in the house too, all burnt up and shit. Were they making a video or something?'

'No, they weren't.' Rose glowered at Mitchell, instantly terrifying him. 'He was a real fucking person and he's really fucking dead.'

She stormed out, and Sam only wanted to follow her but he couldn't get up fast enough. He glared at Mitchell.

'Sorry, Sam.'

Harry fidgeted. 'I think we better go, hey. Glad you're back, Sam.'

'See yourselves out, would you.' Sam waited for them to leave then pushed himself up. He struggled down the hall and found Rose on his bed, weeping.

He sat beside her and rubbed her back.

'I'm sorry, Rose. They're a pair of twats.'

She rolled onto her elbows. Her face was covered with pain and her yellow eyes were now rimmed with red.

'I have to go somewhere for a little while. But I promise I'll come back.'

'Where?' His heart faltered.

'Dominic's funeral. I read in the paper it's being held in London tomorrow. I want to tell his family it wasn't his fault. He told me to leave him there. I should have saved him.'

Sam cupped his hand around her cheek. 'You can't torture yourself with this forever.'

'I know. But it's not fair. He shouldn't be remembered as a bad person. Dominic didn't know this was going to happen. It isn't fair people will remember him that way.'

'You'll come back?'

'I will. You're all I've left to hold on to. I need you near me so I don't end up like Scarlet.'

'Why would you?'

'I took her powers. Her life. Then I ripped Lucas's head from his neck. You're the only thing I have that keeps me from becoming her. You still treat me like a human being.'

'You won't become like her. You're more human than she could ever be.'

She clasped on to him. They were alone in the flat, and a horrible desperation had him wanting to fall into the spell Madchen had cast. He didn't ache for her now, just the fog she drew him into where no one could get to him. He wanted Rose to do that for him, but there would be something more there between them than lust and debasement. He softly kissed her neck and she stiffened.

'Wait...'

'It's okay,' he murmured. 'You don't want to hurt me. So you won't.'

He kissed her lightly at first, allowing her to trust him and herself. When she opened her mouth, he kept his gaze on her. Her teary eyes fell shut and she pushed harder on his lips. Gripping her arms, he lay her back onto his covers. He flinched from his leg and she helped him lie down. For a while, they simply kissed, and he was grateful to be shown something that resembled love. He didn't want to use Rose, and he knew she wanted nothing from him but basic, harmless affection. The more he gave her, the deeper her kisses became, and he couldn't feel the weakness Madchen had subjected him to now.

Negotiating his cast was tricky, but she decided he would be better off if she took over. She carefully stripped him and pulled off her shirt. Falling over him she whispered, 'I've never done this before.'

His eyes widened a little.

'Really? We don't have to...' All the times he'd tried to convince Alissa it was a good idea made him realise how selfish his intentions had been. Satisfying an urge was one thing, but he wanted Rose to have something more of this moment now he knew she was a virgin. He hadn't made any previous assumptions she wasn't, but was still surprised to hear her admit it.

'I refused to give it up for my last boyfriend. Not that I didn't do other things...'

'Don't need to know.' Hearing that she'd done anything with anyone else created a jealousy in him he'd never felt with Alissa.

She kissed him again.

'I'm glad I waited now.'

He regretted not waiting too, but at the bottom of it all, he was tired being pummelled by his own regrets and doubts. He wanted to allow himself something to ease his pain. He let Rose take her time and she mumbled her apologies for her lack of experience. It hardly mattered to him now he knew what it was to be desired by someone like her. She moved slowly with him, slipping him inside her when she was ready and not before. Their eyes locked and for a second and she grew scared. He remembered that look from when she first kissed him. He covered her mouth with his palm and told her to keep going. He wasn't going to allow anything to happen. He told her to concentrate on how she felt now. She wouldn't take anything from him if she truly loved him. When he told her he loved her, she softened and her fear vanished. He took his hand from her mouth and kissed her.

She lay in his arms for some time and he listened to her breathe.

'Are you okay?' he asked her.

'Yeah. I'm just thinking I never really thought what I wanted that to be like. But it was still perfect anyway.'

He kissed the top of her head. The sound of his mum coming home broke their moment in half. Sam felt a chill where Rose had been when she got up to quickly put on her clothes. He didn't care about getting into trouble really, but he hated the idea of her being embarrassed by Karen coming in. She kissed him and slipped out while he covered himself with his blankets.

Rose told Karen the next day she needed to go to see a friend about a place to stay, and she'd be back in a few days. It was easy for her to just state her case and go. If he'd been as bold to suggest disappearing for an hour, Sam would have most likely been put under house arrest.

'I'll be back as soon it's over,' Rose told him. He didn't see her take to the sky this time. She wanted to make sure she was concealed enough.

When he went back into the flat, Karen was in the living room, watching TV. He slumped in the big armchair, trying not to worry about Rose. There was another news report about the missing girls. The bodies of the boys were still being recovered, and funerals were all happening all over the country.

'I can't believe they almost killed you,' Karen muttered. 'I don't know what I would have done if they did...'

Sam pushed himself up by one of his crutches and hobbled over to her.

'It's over, Mum. I'm okay. There's no point thinking like that.'

'Alissa's mum's gone absolutely spare with fear. She's up all night drinking. All I keep thinking is, thank god it's not me anymore.'

Sam knew if he had fought harder, Alissa would have been home, and Karen wouldn't have had to think like that at all. Unable to sit still from the guilt, he went to his room and blocked out as much daylight as possible, wanting to sleep until Alissa and Rose came home.

Chapter 14

The funeral was held in a church in the middle of the city. Dominic was going to be buried in the churchyard. His parents, Ursula and Charles, sat nearest the pulpit and said little to those who came to offer their pointless words of comfort. Rose edged closer to them, waiting as patiently as she could for everyone to have their turn. A hand stopped her from going forward.

'I didn't think I'd see you again.' Deborah was wearing a sedate black dress. Her face was pale and her eyes looked permanently tinted red from her tears. 'I can't believe what they did to him. No one believes me. Thomas has told me to keep quiet about the whole thing. He thinks Scarlet will find him and kill him.'

'She's dead. You don't have to worry about her anymore.'

'How?'

'I killed her when I saw what they did to Dominic. I wanted to help him but he wouldn't let me. He told me to leave him to burn. I don't want people to think the worst of him.'

Past Deborah, Sylvia, Thomas and Heidi appeared, silhouetted against the light in the doorway. Thomas tried to cover his injury with his jacket, but one sleeve hung loose and empty from the shoulder. Sylvia approached Deborah and Rose shrank back. When Thomas noticed her, he carefully took her elbow and led her away from his wife. The little girl watched them with hollow eyes that seemed to show an understanding beyond what was reasonable for a child her age. Rose was certain Heidi knew she had seen demons, but no one would ever believe her.

'She's coming back for us, isn't she?' All of Thomas's arrogance was gone. He was trembling and drawn.

'No. No one's going to hurt you now, Thomas. It's over, for you anyway. You and your family are safe.'

'Deb told me you killed the thing that took my arm. I'm never going to understand what you are. I don't want to.'

'I'm starting to think the same way.'

The priest presiding over the service took his place and asked everyone to be seated. Rose sat beside Deborah. Heidi leaned forward and stared down the way at her. Trying to smile only made Rose feel sick and useless.

Charles went to the pulpit later to deliver the eulogy. His hair was snowy white, yet his age hadn't diminished his height. He cleared his throat. Even from where she sat, Rose could see Dominic's resemblance to Charles. She could see the old man Dominic should've been.

'I've tried as much as I could to make sense of all this. And I suppose I may never do. While I'm prepared to accept that...' Charles dropped his head as his voice started breaking. 'They say a father shouldn't have to bury his son. I'm only sorry I have to do this...'

Rose stood and went to him.

'I'll speak for you if that's okay.'

'Who are you?'

'A friend.'

Charles seemed too distraught to argue. He took his seat beside his wife. Rose only glanced at the large statue of Jesus on his cross, knowing if she kept staring she would only see Dominic there, gulping in the smoke to end his life before the fire got to him. His coffin sat behind the pulpit, covered in white and yellow flowers. She didn't care she was a demon speaking in a house of God. She would have her say in this place.

'I didn't expect anything from Dominic. As much as he said he wronged me, he gave me more than he realised. I know in the end he truly believed he had failed everyone. But I won't fail him by allowing the ones who did this to him to get away with it.' She turned to Thomas and Sylvia. 'He was truly sorry for what happened. His intentions from the beginning were only to help. He was led astray, coerced into believing he'd found someone who wanted what he wanted. In his desperation to save humanity, he fell prey to something inhuman, and her diabolical intentions are the reason he's dead. If you're unable to forget or forgive, at least accept that.'

She marched out of the church then, not wanting to stay and speak to anyone. She was aware of the murmuring around her but she ignored it, staring ahead of herself. Deborah ran out and stopped her.

'Where are you going now?'

'I need to figure some things out. I don't really know what to do next. I just know I'm not finished with Madchen and the others.'

'Thank you for saying what you said. I don't think I could ever be that brave.'

'I'm not brave. I'm stronger than I was, but it's not the same thing.'

Deb's voice croaked as she spoke. 'I can't believe I did what I did... and that I kept doing it. God, I even slept with one of them...' More tears fell from her eyes as she stared horrified at Rose. 'What does that make me?'

'No, it wasn't you. None of it was. It was all her. Don't ever think otherwise. Dominic would never have agreed if he'd known what she truly was.'

Deb gave Rose a small squeeze and Rose reciprocated, feeling almost nothing. As Deborah turned to go back inside, Rose flew on to one of the turrets of the decaying church and mimicked the stance of the gargoyles that lined the roof. She waited for them to bring out Dominic's coffin, wondering why they didn't just cremate him. She witnessed the burial without tears, but when everyone was gone, she stayed and let them trickle onto the broken stone beneath her feet. Dusk moved in slowly when she flew off back to Sam.

As soon as Rose returned, Sam encouraged her to convince Karen it was a good idea she stay with them. She said she hated doing it, but at least Karen was nice to her.

Several more weeks passed. Sam's cast came off. He and Rose became more or less inseparable. Harry and the others were more mindful of their questions. Sam took his deferred exams, just passing by the skin of his teeth. Rose spent some time looking for work since she felt awful staying with them and living off his mum, who hadn't even noticed she never ate anyway. Her mind was always fixated on darker things, and Sam was learning to keep a distance from her and to read her subtle signs when she needed him near again.

Summer came. The missing girls got less coverage in the news. Their parents continued to appeal to the public. Sam's parents stayed in touch with some of them, listening to their pain. Alissa's mother was eventually hospitalised. Sam and Rose hid away from everyone, trying to diminish each other's guilt as much as they could. It didn't work, and Sam became miserable as the warm days passed. Rose, in turn, grew enraged. She talked about hunting the others down, but Sam kept her with him. He wasn't sure she could take them all on by herself.

Three more months passed, and by then, everyone had more or less given up hope. Sam went back to school, dejected, and refused to speak to anyone. Rose enrolled herself to elicit a distraction from her own dark musings and to stay close to Sam. Everyone around them knew they were the only kids to come back alive from the manor.

Then Alissa came home. All the girls came home. They sprung up all over the country. People found them in motorway cafés and shopping centres. They just appeared. The news was saturated with stories of the girls being reunited with their families. While the parents were crying tears of joy, their daughters stood motionless before the cameras, staring out into the crowds, blankly.

Alissa's mum was beside herself with elation at first, but this died with Alissa catatonia. Alissa didn't get out of bed for days and had to be taken to a psych ward for evaluation. Rumours were thick around the neighbourhood that she'd been raped, that the band was really a cult and that she'd been brainwashed. Sam was furious and Rose had to beg him not to get angry. They went to see Alissa as soon as her doctor said it was okay for her to have visitors.

They found her in her room on her bed, hugging her knees under the window. She looked worse than when he had seen her last. Rose offered to leave Sam with her, but he'd taken her there for a reason.

'Do you think you can get through to her now?'

'I don't know, Sam. My powers might not mean anything.'

'Please, just try.'

Rose tentatively approached Alissa. Sam stayed away, trying not to get too hopeful.

'Alissa,' Rose started, gently. 'Are you okay? Lucas is gone now. He can't come back for you.'

'I know,' she said to the glass beside her. 'Someone killed him. Then they took my baby. They ripped it out of me.' She hugged her knees as she trembled.

Sam didn't know what to do. He'd gone over their fight before they ran from each other and felt sick when he remembered wanting to beat her up. The bigger curse Madchen had left him with was that of the bottomless sense of remorse for his idiotic behaviour.

'I'm sorry,' he said at last. The weight he hoped would be lifted with those words went nowhere, and Alissa didn't seem to hear him say it.

'Doesn't matter,' Alissa muttered. 'I miss him. I feel like I'm just skin walking around with no insides. I thought it hurt after that first night when he left me... This is worse.'

Rose sighed. 'He didn't love you, Alissa. Lucas couldn't love anything. It simply wasn't in his nature. Any adoration he showed you was a construct, a lie, to make you do what he wanted. There were other girls.'

Sam waited for Alissa to explode at this. She only continued staring out the window.

'I knew that. They were there, then they weren't. I remember one of them screaming. Then Lucas said everything was fine. He made all the screaming and the senselessness go away. And that woman, Scarlet, she was so nice to me... Kept telling me my baby was important. They were mad she got killed.'

'They can be mad all they want.' Rose was tensing. 'They're not important.'

Alissa lifted her head and turned to her. The malice in her eyes nearly killed Sam.

'He was important to me. My life was a joke until I met him, and suddenly I was important to someone other than myself.' She glanced over at Sam. 'I mattered. But they took my baby, and then I became nothing again. Gabriel left me by the road and told me to walk home. Now I eat, and sleep, and take the stupid pills they bring me, but it doesn't mean anything.'

Sam finally went to her. 'It does. We're alive now and we're free of them. I still care about you. I'm sorry I didn't do more to save you.'

'I didn't want to leave. You knew that, so why are you sorry? It really doesn't matter. I'm not mad at you. They ruined my life and I still want Lucas here with me now. I know it's stupid, but I don't care anymore.'

Rose took Sam's hand and pulled him aside. 'There's nothing I can do. It's like he's branded her. She'll always be his, no matter what I say.' He couldn't tell if Alissa was listening in or not. If she said she didn't care, their conversation wouldn't matter either.

'I'll come by and see you again,' Sam told her, feeling pathetic and more responsible for her pain than he had before.

'I remember you now, Rose. They told me about you. They said you killed Scarlet and Lucas.'

It was obvious to Sam Rose's patience was diminishing.

'Yes, Alissa. I killed Scarlet, right after I ripped Lucas's head clean off his body.'

Sam couldn't stop Alissa pouncing on Rose from her bed. He was still unsteady on his leg and he stumbled back against the wall behind him. Rose didn't need his help at all. She snatched Alissa's wrists and Alissa struggled and screamed in Rose's face.

'You fucking whore. Why did you do it?'

'Alissa, stop. I could break both your arms right now with no effort whatsoever.'

Sam was too afraid to tell her not to do it. Alissa kept struggling and Rose stared into her eyes.

'Lucas was prepared to let you die there. You only survived because your baby did. He didn't care for you or any of those girls. You're alive while some of them weren't as lucky. That matters. Get over yourself.'

Alissa went still before her body slackened. Rose released her and she tottered backwards while Sam regained his balance. Alissa then shuffled back to her bed and curled up by the window. He went to say something but she was vacant and listless, as if she'd never even moved. He turned to see Rose had vanished.

He stopped her in the corridor as an orderly jogged in to check on Alissa.

'You knew she wasn't coming back all together,' Rose said. 'Why did you expect anything different?'

'I don't know. I hoped if she was okay, I'd stop feeling like shit.'

'You're not to blame, Sam. She gave into Lucas. She wanted to believe him. Have you already forgotten what Madchen did to you? I'm sorry she ended up this way. It isn't fair, but you must know now there's nothing you can do for her.'

They went out onto the grounds of the hospital. Sam realised the distance Rose was creating between them was something he couldn't be patient with anymore. She seemed conflicted and afraid of the evil she believed existed in her.

'Would any of them come back for her?' he asked.

'I doubt it.'

'So she's safe?' His only consolation was to be made certain of that. Safe and alive and completely devoid of emotion was the best they would ever get as far as Alissa was concerned.

'She is.' Rose wasn't even looking at him now. She stopped by a small pond and he took her hand.

'It doesn't feel finished to you, does it?'

'No. I've been looking out at the sky at night, expecting to see them circling the cities, waiting. What happened may drive them into hiding again, but they have forever to bide their time and wait for another chance.'

'How long do you think they'll wait?'

'I have no idea. But I can't let them do this again.'

'What are going to do?'

She hugged him tight. He ran his hands over her shoulder blades and felt them bulge under his palms.

'Rose, don't be stupid. You can't.'

'I'll come back.'

'They'll kill you.'

'If they wanted me dead, they would've found me by now. They know I'm stronger.'

The spreading of her wings forced him to release his grip on her. He kissed her quickly, knowing then he couldn't stop her.

'Be careful,' he told her.

'They're the ones who will need to be careful.'

She gave him a solemn wave and he watched her rise and drift towards the setting sun. Sam started limping towards home. His leg hadn't completely healed, and he wasn't sure then his heart would either.
Rose's newfound strength allowed her to carry on for miles. She had spent weeks terrified what she'd taken from Scarlet would rob her of her kindness and her love for Sam. Leaving him was the right thing to do, however wrong it felt to her then.

She needed to hunt them out, like she should have all along. She imagined they would have spread out for safety, and when the time felt right, they would usher out another call and reunite. They didn't have humans to fear this time. If they had centuries to reform and return, she had as much time to find them and destroy them, one by one, if necessary.

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