 
Mad Queens and Dying Kings

Raven Investigations

L. S. Fayne
Copyright 2013 L. S. Fayne

Publication by Fayne Artists

ISBN-13: 978-1-60903-033-9

Revision B

Smashwords Edition

**License** **Notes** : This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of L. S. Fayne.

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Email: lsfayne@gmail.com

Some historic events are written into a fantasy forum. The author reserves the right to Freedom of Speech to express her views on some historic events. Any resemblance to persons living is purely coincidental.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

L. S. Fayne writes for young adult and adult audiences.

# Table of Contents

Call The Raven

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Characters

From the Author

# Call the Raven

For personal, complex situations. Individual consulting. Fees negotiable. We are here. We will help. raveninvestigations.org

Disclosure:

Raven Investigations is a bonded Search and Reactive agency. We work hand-in-hand with local law enforcement and government agencies. There is no matter too small for us to give our complete attention and solutions to.

We have dedicated teams, trained for specific purposes and tasks. We have expertise in paranormal investigations. Our percent rate for finding missing persons is at 100%. We _will_ find them! There is no group more focused, or talented, than the people we hire to meet your needs.

We use high-end, state of the art technology. All materials presented to our clients are time/stamp formatted, and ready to be used in a court of law.

We are discreet.

# Prologue

Beatrice Broadwick's mother had contracted with Raven Investigations just one week ago to retrieve her daughter. Broadwick's husband had signed papers, without her daughter's consent, to have her moved to a medical facility in Washington D.C. She feared that there were other things involved than just simple tests to figure out what was wrong with her. She was right!

Natilie O'Byrne was not only a boss at Raven Investigations. She was its top Psychic Seer. She _was_ —The Raven. Her _intuition_ helped her to know where to look. Her _sight_ was strong enough to see anything she wished to observe—even if it was in one of the Faerie realms. It was future events which were closed to her sight. Of this, she was actually grateful. It was more than she wanted to deal with.

It hadn't taken Natilie long to find Mrs. Broadwick. What she found had made her sick to the core of her being. They were experimenting on her. Something had gone horribly wrong within her DNA, and they were treating her with inhumane callous. She was in excruciating pain, but was not allowed to have any pain reducing medications. They continued to take sample after sample of her body tissues during each change they could perceive. The only time they actually assisted her medically, was to prolong her life, so they could do more testing. They _wanted_ to see how much pain she suffered during the changes—before she died.

After Natilie found her, she immediately went to Randy to request help from the O'Byrne Mages. She knew her small group of investigators were no match against an agency such as that. They had five large buildings, and armed guards assigned to patrol every one of them.

Randy, who could see the kaleidoscope of future events, knew she would be asking. He had already put together plans and scenarios. The timing had to be exact, or some of their own people would die, and Broadwick would still be their _subject_. Those who would assist were called in. Some of them went through actual drills until Randy was satisfied that things would go off with the best possible future. It had been an agonizing week as Natilie continued to watch them torture Broadwick.

Finally, the night for action had arrived. Tonight was that night! They were as prepared as they could be. Natilie was triple checking what she needed for the raid when Randy stepped out from one of his portal windows. Natilie jumped.

"Goddess!" Natilie swore. She didn't bother yelling at him. It wouldn't do any good. It never had.

"I have these for You, Emily, and Jeri," Randy held out the boxes to Natilie.

Natilie nodded and accepted them. She opened hers. Inside were ten metallic claws. They were black and sharp. Natilie looked at Randy with alarm. She recognized the signature of the artist. It was Thymane! Thymane was a Daemon, in particular, a Succubus, and very dangerous.

"You are intact," her eyes narrowed as she studied him.

"I am," he grinned at her.

She tried them on as she watched him. Randy was in his forties. He was tall and strong. He had the most vivid blue eyes Natilie had ever seen. His hair was raven black, without either gray or white. He was the leader of the Mages. He was also autistic. He had not even been a mage when he was selected as their leader. It was an interesting moment when the Mages realized that of all of them, and the people they knew, it was Randy who always received immediate obedience with any direction that he gave them. Even Jeri instantly obeyed him.

Their immediate obedience had saved lives. Randy was clairvoyant. His mind was always in part of the future. Communication was very difficult for him, and he did not use an excess of words. Every word had purpose. He never, never gave out directives for frivolous, or selfish reasons. Everything he had ever told them to do had dire consequences if not followed exactly as he described. They all knew this and trusted him. With all the powerful, ego driven personalities, he had been the only force capable of drawing them together to work as a team.

"What did you barter?" Natilie asked him curiously.

He laughed, "The secret of the metal."

His eyes darkened, his face grew very serious. He looked around with concern. His eyes lingered on Natilie's head chainmail. His head tilted, and he smiled.

"Please let Karissa wear that," he asked, took a step and disappeared.

Natilie was surprised by his request. The chainmail stopped her from astral projecting from out the top of her head. She never left home without it. She had been wearing it for the last thirty years. She was going to feel naked not to be wearing it. Jeri, who tended to overprotect her, was going to throw a fit.

Natilie pushed her fingers into the claws. They were a perfect fit. She had not expected anything less. She shook her hands as hard as she could. They didn't even wiggle. They were exquisite. She would have liked to have had time to try them out, but there wasn't any. Emily and Jeri would be arriving soon. Natilie took off the nails, and finished getting ready.

She wore the outfit gifted to her by Vevila a long time ago; dark brown pants, a camouflage shirt, and boots. They in turn, had been gifted to Alana by Druantia during the 1800's. They were indestructible, or at least no one had found a way to damage them in all that time. Last, she put on her metallic gear, the moon metal. She had rings, bands, and the chainmail. She left the head gear sitting on the dresser, but pulled on the chest-piece. Thymane had made the gear to protect her from the chaos of her own gift. It had not been out of kindness. They had bartered. She removed most of the _joy_ bubble Druantia had placed him in, carving away each area for an object made with the precious metal. The task had taken her years.

Jeri viewed the room before popping in. She watched as Natilie got ready. Unlike the rest of them, Natilie didn't age. She looked like she had at the age of twenty-eight. No wrinkles, or creases. Her hair was still dark brown and curly. Her eyes, the bright purple they had always been. She was thin. She would always be thin. Her metabolism ran too hot to be anything else.

She _knocked_ and landed just beside the bed. Emily landed a minute later. They all studied each other. It had been a very long time since they had worked together in this way. It seemed like a lifetime ago. They were all in their forties.

Emily was married with grandchildren. Her soft brown hair was liberally filled in with gray. Her eyes had softened to lavender. She still had a good figure. She was an active member of the Mages.

Jeri's hair was still fiery red. Her eyes intensely purple. Her body was toned and strong. A scar, long time healed, ran along the side of her right ear. She was not married, did not have children. She was mates with Joshua, another Mage. He was an assassin, as was she. They put on the white lab coats. Jeri twisted her hair into a net and pulled on a dull blond wig.

"Are we ready for this?" Emily asked them.

"I am," Natilie nodded firmly. "I've been watching and waiting! Watching has been agonizing!"

"Me, too," Emily's lips were pressed tight.

"I have two targets," Jeri pulled out the drawings.

Natilie recognized the artist of the drawings. It was Randy. The first was the doctor, Dr. Lenard Hemming, who had ordered Broadwick taken. He was the one who had re-opened the genetic experiments, and ordered the autopsies of the _others_. He was a monster. She nodded knowingly. She had been watching him since they had taken this case.

The other drawing surprised her. It was of a female. She knew that this person was an O'Byrne. She looked at Jeri with surprise.

"The Mages were ordered in because the family has been compromised," Jeri stated, "not because of Broadwick. This woman is Marianne Liz O'Byrne. She stole files from the O'Byrne counsel, and sold our secrets. We retrieved all the files except what she has hidden away. She has quarters within the complex."

"Druantia?" Natilie asked.

"She shrugged," Emily answered, "said there was nothing she _would_ do when one of hers chose to turn away. She said that we must deal with it."

Natilie nodded, feeling resigned. Randy had ordered the hit. He did not order hits on past events. He must have seen something in the future. This woman would do dire things if she was allowed to continue living.

"These are for both of you," Natilie handed them the boxes.

Natilie could see the resistance forming in the line of Jeri's mouth as she examined the contents. She had informed Natilie a long time ago that she would not accept anymore metal bits made from that monster.

"Randy handed them to me a few minutes ago," Natilie assured her. "I did not barter for them. Randy, like always, did not explain them."

"They look awkward," Emily frowned.

"The fit is exact," Natilie shrugged. "Just don't get an itch in your ear or somewhere."

Jeri snorted as she looked at the long claws.

There was a knock at the door. Natilie reached over to let Erran and Karissa into the room. Obviously, she would not have wanted a child involved in such a dangerous situation, but her task was crucial. Karissa had a gift with computers. She could enter their stream and work miracles. She was _almost_ nine. She was a delicate child, small for her age, with curly blond hair and solemn blue eyes. Erran was her mentor and confident. He was slight of build, was clean shaved, had brown scruffy hair, and brown eyes. He wore jeans and a t-shirt. He had a very thick Irish accent.

Erran and Karissa were to extract data from the servers, and send it to the servers at the Mage headquarters. The scientists were using independent servers. They were not connected by internet, direct wiring, or even modem to any other system. Karissa had to physically touch the servers to retrieve the data.

"Come here, sweetie," Natilie called over to Karissa. "I don't know how this is going to work, but a friend of mine told me to have you wear it."

Natilie frowned in warning at Jeri as she picked up the head piece. Jeri's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything. Karissa came over, and stared up at her with complete trust. Natilie slid the metal chain over her head. It was so big that it covered her head and face. It was extremely light. It had not been made from any metals in their world. Once settled, it disappeared. Thymane had put Daemon magic into it.

"Can you see?" Natilie asked. "How does that feel?"

"Like a little net," Karissa answered curiously. She touched her head and smiled. She could feel the links. "It's magic isn't it?"

"Yes," Natilie smiled, "it's magic."

Erran looked at Natilie's bare head with raised eyebrows. She shrugged.

Tawny, Natilie's daughter entered the room. Her long golden hair was pulled up into tight braids. It covered the tips of her ears—her pointed, Elfin ears. Her eyes were the color of a Lion's. They sparkled with excited anticipation. She loved to fight! She had often battled with the Elfin Knights. She was wearing a white lab coat over the top of her t-shirt and jeans. For once, she was not carrying her Daemon made sword into a skirmish. She and Randy had actually fought over that. Natilie wasn't sure how he had convinced her.

"Ready?" Jeri asked Tawny.

"Of course!" Tawny answered.

Tawny and Jeri disappeared. Natilie _watched_ as they reappeared inside the secured labs beneath the complex. Jeri popped back into the room.

In link, they watched silently as Tawny went to work. She calmly moved from one tool to the next. Her job was to transform all that expensive equipment into hunks of useless junk. Some of those tools were priced at over one hundred thousand dollars each.

Tawny had inherited three magical arts from Faerie. One was glamour. In this instance, people assumed she was just another lab technician. They ignored her as she made her way around the room. The second was the ability to transform objects. As she touched each piece of equipment, she transformed its interior to a solid mass of sugar. Sugar was the easiest of materials for her to transform things into. Probably, because as a child, it was the first thing she had wished to have. Sugar worked. There was no reason to transform the tools into something more complex.

The third thing she had inherited was the ability to create fire. As a child they had played, "puff" games. It was the only way they could teach her to control the fires without scaring her.

"She's walking out of the lab," Emily nodded.

"She still has three more labs to do," Natilie stated tensely.

"She's good," Jeri's smile was respectful, "no one even sees her."

"The last lab, she is to pull the alarm, and then set it on fire," Natilie reminded them. "That's when it gets complicated."

"I'll go move Stone to the computer room," Jeri popped out of the room.

The technicians in the room, hit the floor, right before Jeri and Stone appeared. Jeri disappeared. Stone secured the door. He stood exactly as Karissa and he had practiced. Karissa nodded. She wasn't afraid of him. He was _her_ giant. He was there to protect her.

"She's making her way to the last lab," Natilie told Emily.

"I'm ready," Emily nodded. "As soon as she hits the alarm, we're gone. After that, Jeri and I will be moving people into the complex. When Randy gives the word, we all have to perform exactly to the plan he gave each of us. This is very complex. There are a lot of variables where things can go wrong. No matter what you see or think, stick to the plan!"

"Do exactly as we practiced," Natilie told Erran and Karissa. They nodded.

Emily frowned as she looked at them. Natilie shrugged.

Tawny pulled the evacuation alarm.

Emily landed with them inside the room with the computer servers. Stone was waiting for them. He nodded at Karissa. The attendant was on the floor. Karissa walked around him heading straight to the interfacing computer. They had practiced this right down to the dummy on the floor for her to walk around. Erran nodded for her to begin. She placed her hands on the keyboard and waited. It wasn't long before _they_ found her, the Avatars of the system. She smiled. In minutes, she was escorting them to the servers at the other end. They were ready to move. They didn't like it in non-connected spaces. They liked the other place, and were soon running the data to its new home. When she was finished, not one Nano of data remained.

"I'm finished," Karissa announced.

: _It's time,_ : Randy sent to them.

They could hear shouts and explosions down the hall.

Stone nodded and lifted her into his arms. It was his job to get her to the room where Jeri would pick them up. They had to get to the room where the captive was being held. Jeri and Emily had a lot of people to get out of there. That room gave them the best probability of success.

Erran was to run interference. He pulled out a gun and nodded. He might be a geek, but he was also a crack shot! He placed the explosives on the server, and set the timer. The servers were now bare, but the enemy didn't need to know that right away. They stepped from the room. Madness greeted them in the corridor. Fire had broke out at the far end. People in white lab coats were running in a panic. Some, knocking others over in their rush to get out. Security personnel had guns out, and were running towards the back hallway. More explosions rocked the floor.

There was no hiding someone as big as Stone. He was over eight feet tall and stocky, weighing in at 420 lbs. He ran for the designated room, crushing anyone who got in his way. A security guard took aim at him, but Erran shot him before he could squeeze the trigger. Karissa whimpered in fear. The explosion from the computer room blasted out. People screamed in pain and fear. Smoke started filling the corridor. Erran pulled on his mask. He watched proudly as Karissa carefully pulled up the mask which was tied around Stone's neck. She then pulled up her own. Randy had stressed how important it was for her to assist Stone.

Erran grinned as he spotted the demon up on the wall. Tawny's work. She had transformed the whole wall into a giant demon type figure. It leered down on people with malicious glee. Its eyes tracked them as they passed. There was more than a few, who tripped and fell at the sight of it. People scrambled in terror trying to get out from under its glare.

Screaming and yelling grew louder as they waded into the middle of the chaos. Security guards were liberally mixed with the lab workers. The guards though were hampered by panicked people running in front of them. Stone ran on. At one point in the hall, the guards managed to positioned themselves across, blocking their way. Erran shot some, Stone ran right through the rest.

One guard, who got pushed aside, managed to raise his gun and fire. Stone grimaced when he felt Karissa lurch to the side. There was no time to stop and check on her. Determinedly, he picked up his pace. He ran harder and faster to get her to a place of safety.

Erran's heart stopped when he saw Karissa's head jerk. He couldn't see her! He could not see how badly she had been hit! He fired on the guard. He wasn't sure how many times he fired. They finally reached the room. The door slammed shut behind them. They could hear screams down the hallway, and then another explosion.

Stone carefully set Karissa down. Erran ran to her. Her eyes were big and startled, but she was okay. She did not appear to have been hit. He could feel the chain mail beneath his fingers. It was only then that he remembered Natilie carefully placing it over her head.

"What is that smell?" Karissa complained as she pulled away.

Erran realized that his eyes were burning, watering. He looked around. Even through the mask, he could smell the scent of rotting flesh.

Jeri was suddenly in the room with two healers from Dara's group.

"Stand back," Jeri told them. "I'm going to have to remove most of this room, and send it to the hospital."

The figure on the bed opened its eyes, its big yellow-green eyes. Its black pupils were constricted to narrow slits. It whimpered in fear and pain. It was swaddled down onto the bed. There were gross wounds where its jaw had been wired shut. Tubes were liberally entering and exiting its body. Erran turned Karissa away from it. He could feel the bile rising up in his throat. There were jars on the table against the wall holding various _samples_. One jar was full of what looked like scales.

Jeri popped Karissa and Erran straight into the bathing house and popped out again. A ten foot circular pool with fragranced and steaming water was just in front of them. The stench was embedded on their clothing, their skin, and in their hair. There was no shyness as they peeled off their clothes, and quickly got into the bath.

"What was that?" Karissa whispered.

"I don't know," Erran answered, feeling sick. He wasn't positive, but he suspected it was _Beatrice Broadwick_.

Jeri returned to the site. She and Emily moved the victim and doctors to the room prepared for them at the hospital. Everything from the room was moved. They needed it all to figure out what had to be done to save their patient.

After that, Emily was to collect their people, and get them home. Jeri went hunting. Joshua was also on the hunt. She knew that Joshua would have already gotten the _scent_ of where they were. The plan was that he would go for the doctor—she the O'Byrne. She glanced his way, and saw that he was indeed following the doctor. She snorted. The doctor was scrambling down the hallway with the rest of the throng, totally unaware that he had a killer on his trail.

Jeri let her mind float as she searched out the signature of her own blood. Jeri could see that she was in her own room in one of the other buildings. She was unaware of the attack. A technician happened to look up as Jeri passed. The expression on her face struck fear into his heart. He hurried to the evacuation route. He was just glad she hadn't looked upon him with that purple gaze. He'd only seen that eye color on one other person, and she filled him with dread. He made a sudden decision. When he left today—he was not coming back!

Jeri had reviewed the data collected on the targets very carefully.

Marianne's main gift was that of telepathy with a minor in empathy. It was amazing to Jeri that someone with any kind of empathy at all, could tolerate the suffering she had witnessed with Broadwick. That usually meant one thing. The person felt the suffering—and _liked_ the feel of it! That was probably why Randy had decided that this person must die.

Randy almost never explained himself. One time, he pulled her into link with him to show her what he was trying to say. He was twelve at the time. She never wanted to experience that again. She saw chaos, and a pandemonium of pathways with possibilities. She actually threw up after he released her. She still remembered the sorrow in his eyes. He had not been able to find an answer. He could see death, and did not know how to delay it.

As she neared her target, she tightened the shield around her thoughts. As much as this woman angered and disgusted her, she did not want complications. She wanted a clean kill. Randy told her, she must secure the room. There were things in the room which she had to find and remove.

Jeri popped into the room. Purple eyes met purple eyes. The woman was wearing a sardonic expression. She had no idea what she was facing. Jeri was surprised when she was hit with a rush of fear which was supposed to internalize. The fear might have been debilitating to another person, but Jeri just ignored it, and secured the room. No one would be able to enter. No one would be able to hear them.

"Your _death_ has been ordered by my hand," Jeri told her bluntly. "I have also to retrieve the files you stole from the council."

Her eyes shifted to a closet. She blasted Jeri with sorrow and feelings of depression. Jeri had enough. The women hit the floor dead.

"Okay," Jeri muttered, "not really by hand."

Jeri removed the files from the closet. She did a fine search of the room, finding more disks and drives. She popped them to headquarters. She exited the locked room, and went to assist Emily with the exodus of their people. They were making a royal mess of the complex! It would be a while before anyone thought to check on the woman. When they did, they would find a _clean_ locked room, and a woman without a mark—missing her heart. A warning to those who knew of the O'Byrne. The O'Byrne were not to be trifled with.

Joshua had tracked down the doctor. The doctor was cowering underneath a table. Joshua looked at him with disgust. He had fouled himself. Joshua had been an assassin long before he had met Jeri, long before he knew of the O'Byrne. Removing the heart had been _his_ signature. His way of getting paid by a secret benefactor. Before the O'Byrne, he had been paid to go after the mad dogs who had escaped justice. The High Drop Killer was his target when he met Jeri. The HDK had in fact been his last paid target. He was to make sure the killer did not escape justice. He had not!

He didn't have the same abilities as the O'Byrne. Jeri could pop out the heart from a distance. Joshua had to touch his target. He reached forward, and grabbed the doctor's shoulder. He ignored the crying and babbling as he used the spell which would dissolved the man's beating heart.

Without a backward glance, he walked from the room. As expected, Jeri popped up beside him, and popped them out. He was the last of the exodus. The complex was in shambles.

Toc

# Chapter One

Erran died yesterday. There, it was said. Ava had been with the healers for over a year, and had not met anyone who had died. This was Ava's third month being here, and Erran, the first casualty. Natilie had warned her that it sometimes got intense. She had stressed that although everyone on her team was gifted. They were still human—or mostly. People got hurt. Their clients were usually liars. Victim's sometimes died despite their best, strived efforts. Bad things happened to good people. Basically, she informed Ava that no one here was a hero. They just did a job of which no one else was capable, or willing to do.

The O'Byrne Mages handled the family matters, or problems too big for Natilie's group. Natilie's group, the Ravens, handled small matters, personal matters. Sometimes their jobs were boring and mundane. At other times it was complicated and extremely dangerous.

It had not taken Ava anytime at all to discover Natilie's passion to find the lost children. It didn't matter who the child was. She was zealous in her pursuit to find the missing child. She had been doing it since her gift of sight had first blossomed. Some say, that her passion was the reason why her O'Byrne gift had sprung up early, and took the direction it had. She became the Raven working for the F.B.I. at the age of twelve. Natilie was an amazing Seer. She could see everything—find anything!

Yesterday, Erran went out to collect the baby. It was a pretty typical case. A fourteen year old mother-to-be had high-tailed it out of her home. She went missing, and her Uncle had contracted with _Raven Investigations_ to find her. It hadn't been difficult. She was hiding in a friend's house. It had been Erran who had convinced her to check out the home for unwed mothers. It was she, who had decided to have her baby adopted out when it was born. Her Uncle was not a problem. He was eighty. He just wanted the girl to be found and brought home.

Everything was set for the adoption. A wonderful couple had been found who desperately wanted a baby. They had consented to the mother being involved in the child's life. That was her stipulation upon the adoption. It was even in writing. The father didn't give a rat's ass about any of that, so did not pose a problem. It was a simple errand. Nothing in the least bit shaky, nothing sinister.

So what happens? Car accident. One of life's most irksome incidents. A lady, late for work, blew right through a red light. Bang—all gone—Erran, baby, and one heedless woman.

With all the gifted around, no one even saw it coming. No one was looking. A blatant reminder of the their limitations. No one can really defeat death, if it is meant to happen. At least Ava figured that was probably right. It also seemed that if it wasn't that person's time to die, even though tragedy had hit them, death did not find them. In fact, she included herself in that philosophy.

She looked at her image reflected in the large window in front of her. She should have been dead. Yellow lizard eyes stared back. Natilie said it wasn't so bad—the eyes. She looked human enough—mostly. People _mostly_ didn't pay much attention to her eyes. They assumed she wore contact lenses deliberately created to freak people out. They didn't see the mobile bones. They didn't know or care that she was most comfortable, curled up, sunning on a rock.

Ava was in fact, curled up on a huge flat rock at that moment. The rock was resting in a very large room full of loose sand. She was naked, sunning in the rays from the big window. She could smell the scent of vegetation on tables along the walls. The room used to be the rooftop greenhouse. The other side still was. The two areas were separated by a large, running pool. She also had a work room which was off limits to everyone else. Also, created and organized by those in the organization.

Her hair was long, black, and sleek. The hair on her head was the only hair which had transcended the transition. Naked, she felt terribly exposed. Even here, within these walls where the crazy O'Byrne liked to run around without clothing, and thought nothing of her nudity. Natilie had commented once that many Asian people were bare of body hair. That had not helped Ava's feelings of shyness.

Ava's skin glistened as if oiled with one of the exotic rainbow oils a person can purchase at the specialized adult shops. Her breasts had shrunk and had pulled up tighter to her chest. She was lean. Leaner than she had ever been in her whole life. There was no cellulite on her butt, or fat of any kind—anywhere. She was actually a little taller than before, if she could have managed to stand up straight.

Her muscles had elongated. Her face was mostly the same. Her lips looked a little fuller as they pulled over the fanged teeth. She now had an overbite. All those years in braces, which she had paid for herself, and here she was with the old overbite. At least her lips could cover it. They had before.

When Ava finally understood the direction her mutating was heading, she had been terrified that she would end up with a monster's face and a lizard's body. That was—if she didn't die. With clothing, she knew she didn't appear all that much different from the billions of other women walking this earth. Dr. Edith O'Byrne, one of the healers at the hospital, had assured her that she would even be able to walk properly again. Her bones were all different. Instead of long leg bones, she now had more short type bones. The first time she watched her leg bend towards the front of her thigh, she'd fainted.

Instead of going through menopause, like most women her age, she had mutated. At fifty-three, her body just seemed to snap. The first thing to change was that she always felt cold. Her body would not turn on its heater system. The next was the continued all over body aches, soreness, and great fatigue. Then the bones started changing. While the bones changed, muscles pulled and ripped, skin blistered and fell away. All that while her hormones raged. Through it all—pain—excruciating, mind screaming pain.

It hadn't happened overnight. The change had taken a couple of years. The mutating would stop, and she would just start learning how to function, and then it would start all over again. Soon, she couldn't manage to do anything for herself. She could not even walk across the room to visit the bathroom.

It was a fact that she still hadn't figured out how to walk properly. She was still working on _everything_. She was still changing. Just not as dramatically. She frowned as she caught of glimpse of something different in the reflection. Turning her head, she could see blue running down her back. Great! Now, she was growing stripes! Ava sighed feeling resigned. At least this change wasn't causing pain.

After the first symptom, the cold, she started experiencing strange occurrences of pain. She started making lists of the bizarre health issues for the doctors. They at first labeled her as _mental_. One doctor actually wrote down that she was experiencing female hysteria. At least Chet had believed her. When the buzz of Fibromyalgia started circulating into the public, the doctors latched onto that and bucketed her.

A government group started analyzing data from Fibro patients, and started separating the patients into _different_ categories of Fibromyalgia. One day, Ava went in to her appointment only to find she had acquired a new doctor. He arranged a hospital stay for some new tests. Ava thought finally, they were taking her seriously, and were going to find out what was _really_ wrong with her—and fix it. That didn't happen.

As she suffered the pain, they kept sticking more needles into her, taking more samples, more tests. They didn't allow any pain relief medicines, afraid it would skew the data. At one point, finally having suffering enough from it all, Ava tried to leave, and found a guard posted outside her door—for her _protection_.

The next thing she knew, she was _incompetent_ of making her own decisions. Her husband was granted a court assigned Power of Attorney, and was signing papers, _on her behave_. The doctors had convinced him to sign the papers to have her flown out to Washington D. C. She found herself without family or friends, and in a lab they called a hospital room. Once there, they didn't even pretend that she was anything else, but a test subject.

_They_ were a special branch of the government. Her special quality time with them had just begun. During that time, someone had let slip to Ava that she had been exposed to a substance called 94QPO when she was a baby. She certainly had not been told anything about that! That, she was told, was what all the fuss was about. Fuss? Her body wanted to die. She wanted to die, and they just wouldn't let her. Not yet, anyway.

It was Natilie's group who rescued her out of there. Her mother, of all people, found Natilie online— _Raven Investigations Inc_. They brought her to real doctors, _gifted_ healers actually. Doctors who cared about the patient. Not scientists trying to pry out just one more data point. She lived in the North Wing of the Divine Healers Hospital for over a year, waiting for her body to stop changing—for her to stop screaming. She was in constant attendance by those who could block the pain, and actually wanted to save her life.

It was a smallish hospital. Standard medical rooms and sections. That is until you entered the North Wing. Most all of the doctors and staff who worked that wing were O'Byrne—psychic healers and seers. They treated Ava with dignity and respect. Something, she had not been treated with for a very long time. She would do _anything_ for those people.

"Are you going to join us?" Karissa asked from the doorway.

"No," Ava answered, "go on. Have fun without me."

Karissa hesitated, "Erran really liked you. Did you know?"

"What?" Ava asked surprised. "He barely knew me."

"He was on the interior team," she contradicted. "He was the one who finally tracked you down. He told me that I shouldn't be afraid of you, but he didn't need to tell me that."

"You aren't afraid of me and my _lizard_ eyes?" Ava asked, surprised.

She thought all the children were afraid of her.

"Of course not," Karissa's eyes narrowed. "I've met _real_ monsters. And you have snake eyes, not lizard. They glow. When you aren't scowling, like you are right now, they are big and awesome. Anyway, come out if you want. It's... wholesome. You really should. Everyone's going to be there."

She turned and left, being careful to shut the door behind her.

Karissa was only ten. She had gold, braided hair, pretty blue eyes, and a delicate face. Ava met her when Karissa had barreled right into her, knocking her over. Karissa was so upset that she had hurt Ava. Ava assured her that she toppled rather easily, and had learned to fall without hurting herself.

Karissa, like most everyone around, was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt. Ava wasn't sure what her story was. She didn't know why Karissa was there. She seemed like such a sweet, pretty child, but with the Alliance and the O'Byrne about, one simply never knew. They were all gifted, magical, beautiful; angels and monsters. They were a mixed bunch. Then there's the Snake Lady. What was she? Every day, she asked herself that question.

Ava didn't know how many people lived in these buildings. How many were children? Not everyone who worked for the organization lived here. In fact, most did not. Natilie not only rescued the lost, sometimes she collected them. It was obvious that Karissa was another _collection_.

Sometimes, society had no place for the children who had been rescued. They were damaged in such a way that society would not accept them. Some children had special needs which would not be understood. There were no caring parents, no safe homes for these children to go to. Government catered foster care was out of the question. So Natilie made homes for them here.

_Here_ , was an abandoned chocolate factory in San Diego, California. One section was licensed as a boarding school, the other as an investigation service. The equipment at the chocolate factory had long since been cleared away. Most of the site was used as romping grounds. Exercises had been set up for those who wished to stay fit by way of obstacle courses. Bits of it were modernized as the need arose, such as Ava's special lounge.

Ava raised herself off of her rock, and reopen the door. She liked it open. The room felt too confining with the door shut. It made her nervous. She used to not be a nervous type, but then she used to have light brown, curly hair, too. Oh, and blue eyes. Not these yellow-green liza—snake eyes. The term, snake eyes, did sound better to her. More exotic—less _reptilian_. Snakes were reptiles, Ava acknowledged, but they didn't seem as dumb as lizards.

Ava quickly moved out of the way as one of the cats ran in. All the fur on its back stood on end at the sight of her. It immediately started hissing and ran back out of the room. She suddenly felt sad. She used to love cats—and children.

Instead of going back to her rock, she went into her work room. Here, she pulled out the latest drawing she had been working on. It was a stealth outfit for night work. Natilie had asked if she could work it out. The original allowed for too much movement of the tools. They jingled. Ava was to see if she could design a garment which allowed the tools to be removed easily, but were stored quietly.

Ava laughed as she looked at the tools laying out on the table; a grappling hook, rope, lock picking tools, an assortment of knifes, two guns, a small bow, darts and arrows. The darts were color coded for the different chemicals on their tips. She had to make sure the objects would be always, always put into the right places. People wouldn't be looking at them when they drew them out. The darts were the biggest challenge, those and the damn grappling hook! She wondered if maybe the hook could be exchanged for something which could be folded in on itself. That would be less awkward. The darts needed to be different, not just color coded. They needed to feel different, have different sizes—something.

This project suited her. Before the _change_ , Ava had been a well known clothes designer in New York City. It hadn't seemed to matter what her project was in the moment. Her name alone sold the item. She tested that out one time by purposely putting out something she thought was hideous. It was a hit. The reviewers made up their own minds as to why she had created such a dress.

Ava still sewed and designed, but now, only from within her own special environment. Cold rooms made her slow and sluggish. She worked from web pages within the O'Byrne internet sites. She didn't find that very satisfying. She couldn't use her old name, or get in touch with her old contacts. She was a nobody. Natilie seemed sure that Ava would find herself, but she had doubts. She couldn't even decide on a final name for herself; nothing fit, nothing stuck. The name Ava was working so far. It was a form of Eve. That was how she felt. As if she had been newly created, and was playing with the snake. Unsure of just how it was going to treat her.

She felt jittery and restless. She owned a Kawasaki 250 Ninja. She bought it around a month ago. She craved to just jump on it, and get the hell out of there. Bikes used to be one of her passions before she got sidetracked with the whole high fashion scene.

The first time she'd gotten on the bike, she'd nearly killed herself. She no longer understood how her body worked. She had thought—mistakenly—that since it was a smaller type bike than what she rode before, it wouldn't be that much for her to handle. She'd been dang wrong on that one. It was a fast little shit!

After that, she'd taken it a bit more slow. She only rode around the property. After she figured out how her body worked, she should be able to curve around it and go like hell! At that moment, a sedate toolie around the site was not what she craved. She wanted the wind to roar in her ears, and the scenery to be a blur. She wanted to forget her problems, and feel some excitement.

It was obvious when the Wake began. Music started vibrating through the floor. Ava was extremely sensitive to vibration. Edith said she now had columellas—ear bones. She quickly readjusted the device that she wore on her wrist. Her nerves started to settle. She sighed with relief. She wasn't sure how it worked. She was just very glad that it did.

Erran was from Ireland, and had requested his friends to hold an old fashioned _Wake,_ if he were to die. A lot of Natilie's team set up such instructions. What they did could be very dangerous. After all, there were _cars_ in the world!

Ava ignored the beating of the base for as long as she could, but when Queen's, "Another one bites the dust" beat out, she gave up and stared into space. She used to love dancing to that song. She loved the way the vibrations would start at her feet and travel clear up her body while she was on the dance floor. She loved getting crazy, and just letting the music take her over. Ava missed Chet. They had met in a bar. Too bad he'd turned into such a louse. They'd been together for over thirty years! She thought they would be together until the day they died, both old and gray. Why oh why, did he sign those papers!

She pushed herself away from the table and paced. She might have changed damn it! But she wasn't dead! She had never been one to shut herself away from society. It irked her to find herself doing so now. She couldn't help it that others would stare. She couldn't help it that they might even be terrified of her. She was tired of being alone! She needed to party!

She pulled on a loose fitting dress. Her dresses were all silky and colorful. Similar to kimono dresses, but without the huge sleeves. This one was red and black. She glanced at the two dresses set aside in the closet. Every time she saw them, she just paused in awe. They were from out of Faerie. Natilie let her store them here for inspiration. She couldn't create such fabric of course, but the designs were exquisite. Maybe someday, she would startle the world with designs similar to those.

The music was so loud, she had no trouble finding her way to the Wake. With these types of older buildings, noise that loud resonated through all of them. She walked several blocks before actually finding them.

What she saw made her stand stock still in shock. Erran was there! He was sitting in the place of honor at the largest table in the room. Ava was surprised to see that Erran was wearing the outfit she had just designed for him. He had asked for shirt and pants which he could move easily in, and would be very stealthy. Ava made them with black and gray marbled material. He had never worn them before.

His eyes were focused on something in the center of the room. Ava wondered what could have caught his attention. It took her a strange moment to realize he couldn't be looking at anything at all. He was dead!

The room wasn't as full as she had feared. The people were spaced out into smaller groups. Ava recognized some of the different clicks. People were really the same the world over. There were the Jocks, the Nerds, and the Soshes. They were a little mixed today due to the gravity of the event, but she could still recognize the outlining structures. She sighed. It was so High School.

Erran was mostly surrounded by his computer friends. Some of them she knew, some she did not. She resisted calling them _geeks_. That term just seemed so rude. Especially, now with Erran being dead and all.

Skylar, one of the Jocks, looked to be talking to him. She shivered. She wasn't sure how stable Skylar was. He looked normal enough, tall, had hazel eyes and brown hair. Handsome even, but wow, a little out there. More so even than the others.

Danny looked to be next in line. She frowned considering, in line for what exactly? Erran was dead! More people casually lingered around them.

Danny Wilson considered himself one of the Soshes. The only social thing about him, that Ava had discerned, was his constant flirtatiousness. He thought he was God's gift to every woman who crossed his path. He was gross! He came from the magic users Natilie called the Alliance. They were not O'Byrne. Danny was rather short, had blond hair and brown eyes. He had recently shaved off his beard. With the hair gone, his chin seemed to have disappear with it.

"That's how they sometimes did it in the old days," Natilie told me. "He requested it."

"He _is_ dead?" Ava murmured, still feeling shocked.

"Yes," Natilie answered, "come, I'll introduce you to people you haven't met yet."

"Okay," Ava murmured.

If Ava had been able, she would have blushed crimson. Natilie was so indecent. As hard as she tried to look away, Ava kept having her eyes return to Natilie's outfit.

"What _are_ you wearing?" She finally had to ask.

Natilie laughed at Ava's expression. She was scandalized. Natilie's outfit was the most indecent ensemble Ava had ever seen, and she'd seen plenty. It was a layered thing in light, spring themed colors. There were several tops of various lengths, a pant type thing, a wrap around skirt, and a mini skirt so short it didn't cover her crotch. Every layer was transparent. One would think that with that many layers a person wouldn't be able to see her private parts, but Look Out! It all showed. Ava could even see how carefully she had trimmed out her bush, leaving herself exposed!

"A little thing I picked up in Faerie," her eyes sparkled with merriment. Her lips were quirked. She looked positively full of it.

"Cute," Ava laughed.

Natilie had her dark brown, curly hair held away from her face with a strand of purple beads. The beads perfectly matched her shiny eyes. She was barefoot, and Ava could see the elaborate metallic tattooing twining about her feet. Ava knew the tattoos had a practical purpose, they were part of the protections against the chaos of her own gifts, but they looked exotic.

Natilie was in her forties, but looked young and vital—something about a dip in a pool. She and Vevila were pretty tight lipped about exactly what that meant, but Ava had heard enough to guess that something had happened to both of them causing them to regenerated rapidly. Ava had actually seen Natilie get hit with a sword one day that sliced halfway through her arm. Lots and lots of blood. Ava was freaked out! In fifteen minutes, Natilie was up again without so much as a scar. Ava was then convinced that she was not the only one with an altered body. After that, she had been able to relax. It lowered her fear that they would call her a freak, and toss her out. She really had no place to go—to be.

"Come meet my daughter, Tawny." Natilie pulled her along.

"Right on," Ava replied uncertainly.

Ava wasn't feeling it at all. She was doubting her decision to attend this thing. Some rap thing was playing over the loud speakers. She hated rap. People were starting to stare at her. She hated people staring. Natilie kept a firm grip on her hand. She wondered if Natilie was afraid she'd high-tail it back to her room. She might have at that.

She had heard about Tawny. Everyone here knew about Natilie's first trip into Faerie—a place Ava's mind told her could not possibly be real, but her gut told her definitely was! No one was sure just how much "Faerie" was in Tawny. It was a bit of magic at a Rave party which had caused her conception. It sounded like one big, crazy-assed orgy when they got to talking about it, with all manner of folk attending; dwarfs, fairies, shape shifters. You name it—it was there.

One of the children had informed Ava that Tawny's eyes weren't as weird as hers. That they were in fact, prettier. Ava shouldn't have, but irritated as all get out, she bared her fanged teeth at the girl. She hadn't seen the child since. She should feel bad about that, but there you are—she didn't.

Tawny was tall and slender, graceful. She had beautiful high cheekbones. Her eyes were golden, like that of a lion. Her lips were pink and lush. Her gold hair was long and thick. It was pulled away from her pointed ears. Her ears weren't just little tips where the ear curved over. They were sculptured art—beautiful. Ava was awed.

"I thought you would be older," Ava heard herself blurting out. She was mortified.

"I thought you would be more scaly," Tawny answered with a dry laugh.

"Really?" Ava asked.

"Not really," she replied stiffly.

"She's tweaking you," Natilie frowned at her daughter. "She hates looking like a teenager. She's thirty. None of us know her growth pattern."

"So how old are you?" Tawny was looking straight at Ava.

"Fifty-six, I meant no offense," Ava told her. "People do talk you know. If it would make you feel better, they all talk as if you are quite ancient."

"Really?" She asked, looking around.

"Not really" Ava answered.

Natilie snorted.

"Huh," Tawny's eyes narrowed.

Ava spotted Vevila waving them over to her table. Without another glance at Tawny, she walked over and took a seat. Natilie took one of the others. Tawny did not join them. Ava didn't watch to see where she went. She sighed—that had not gone so well.

Unlike Natilie's skimpy little outfit, Vevila was wearing an elegant gown of purple. It was one of Vevila's elfin-made gowns. Ava couldn't help the spurt of greed the dress inspired in her. It was gorgeous with its lace and plunging neckline. The purple shimmered as different lights touched it. It flowed to the ground and draped around her feet.

Vevila wasn't all that tall, but she gave off such a presence that people thought she was bigger than she really was. She was curvy with high breasts. Her rich, long, red hair swirled about her face. Her eyes were always green, but in that moment, they were really green—emerald-glowing green.

"You need to go talk with Erran," Vevila's speech was slurred.

"He's dead," Ava frowned at her.

"Well yes," Vevila said, "that is the point. Have some of this,"

Vevila waived a jug at them. Ava didn't recognize the language which was _scrolling_ across the middle of the bottle—magic!

"I don't think so," Ava laughed at her.

It had to be something she brought with her. Probably from Faerie. Nothing else could get her drunk.

"I really liked Erran," she told them. "I hate it when people die!"

"You are totally sauced," Natilie informed her with a laugh.

"That's okay," Vevila thumped the bottle back on the table. "There's no windows open today anyway."

"What are windows?" Ava asked. She'd seen Vevila just disappear before, and someone would tell her that Vevila had caught a window. That had made so much sense—Not!

"It's an opening to another place or time," Vevila explained with a slur, "I feel them, open them, and step through them. Sometimes, if I want to go somewhere particular—I have to wait a long time for it to come my way. People get annoyed with me then, cause I just jump them. I might miss it if I have to explain it all to them."

"A hint would be nice sometimes," Natilie said sarcastically.

"Oops," Vevila laughed at her.

Natilie just sighed and shook her head.

"Who's sitting with Erran?" Ava asked. "I don't think I've met them."

"The redhead, that's Darlene," Natilie studied Ava, "she's a clairvoyant. She's passing messages off between Erran and other people.

"Really?" Ava's eyes got big. She turned to Natilie to see if she was serious. Natilie met her eyes straight on.

"He's here," Vevila nodded.

"The petite blond with the big brown eyes is Sandra," Natilie identified, "She's our F.B.I. representative. She's been assigned with us for years. She and Erran were a really strong unit!"

"That duo will certainly be missed," Vevila said sadly. "They didn't need us to intercede or interact. They knew the job and did it!"

"Carolyn is beside her," Vevila frowned, "I don't really remember much about her."

"She's Annette's niece," Natilie reminded her. "She wanted her to get more experience."

"I remember now," Vevila scoffed, "she's an intuitive. By the way Annette raved, one would think the girl was the next wonder."

"She hasn't even made it to the sorting room yet," Natilie frowned.

"Sorting room?" Ava asked.

"It's the room where we receive most of the stuff people send for us to use to find things," Natilie answered. "We don't let people in there until they show talent and control. Someone not trained properly could really mess things up."

"We learned that the hard way," Vevila rolled her eyes. "We had an O'Byrne whose energy was so chaotic that we had to trash everything in the room. We couldn't tell what energy came from where. After that we started testing people ourselves before letting them work in there. We don't just believe them—or their mothers."

"Should of—would of—could of," Natilie muttered.

"The big guy beside her is Travis," Vevila pointed out. "He works in the sorting room. He's our security over there. As you can imagine, he can also lift and carry heavy things around. He might as well be busy as he watches over us."

"He's cute," Ava mentioned.

"That he is," Natilie agreed with a smile, "sweet, too."

Natilie liked having Travis as a core member of her team. He was tall and blond, broad shouldered and strong. He had really nice blue eyes. He was also very sweet, and the children loved him.

"Karissa's here," Vevila caught Natilie's attention.

Ava spotted Karissa making her way over to where Erran sat. They all watched as the little blond started screaming at him. Ava couldn't understand a word of what she was saying.

Darlene stared at her speechlessly. She kept looking back and forth as if between two people. Ava got goosebumps. She might not have the ability anymore to flush up, but she did get chills, and right then the chills were racing up her spine.

"Greek," Vevila rose to her feet and made her way over to them.

"Come," Natilie nudged Ava, "he wanted to talk to you, too. Might as well do it now."

Ava looked around self consciously, but then followed suit.

Karissa was still screaming at him as they approached. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Let's link up," Vevila suggested.

Natilie nodded. Ava was surprised when Natilie claimed her hand. In link, Ava could suddenly see Erran. She would have pulled away if Natilie hadn't held her hand so tightly. Erran gave her a sheepish smile.

: _This was not how I planned to be talking about things to people._ : Ava heard him say.

: _Natilie can see dead people,_ : Vevila whispered in her mind. : _Darlene is the link who makes us able to hear him._ :

Natilie sat on the floor, and pulled Karissa into her arms. Ava sat down beside them. Vevila sat on top of the table. Others had gathered around. They sat silently while Karissa cried.

Ava watched as Erran talked to Karissa in the same language she had been screaming in.

: _Erran was Karissa's mentor and teacher,_ : Vevila sent to Ava. : _She claimed him as family._ :

She looked up at Vevila with surprise. She was looking at her. She was talking directly to her.

: _Karissa has total recall of everything she has ever learned,_ : Vevila told her : _It didn't make sense to have her take classes with the other children. She would have been bored and disruptive. Erran agreed to mentor her training. She was screaming at him in a language that they had learned together.:_

Erran turned to look at Ava. His eyes were grim. He started to say something, and then stopped.

: _It will all work out,_ : he told her. : _I'm not allowed to say more._ :

"What?" Ava asked, feeling shocked. "What do you mean? Was there a _plan_ in all this?"

: _You are going to be okay,_ : he said to her as he moved away.

Mesmerized, she watched as he wandered back to his old group. Darlene followed closely behind him. He knelt down beside a little brown haired woman. Ava could not hear what Darlene said to her.

"I got her," Trish moved in and squatted down beside Karissa.

Ava's attention was brought back to Karissa.

"Come on, little miss," Trish spoke quietly to her, "I think you've yelled at him quite enough, don't you? I noticed you hadn't eaten today. That's just not right you know. You come with me now, and get some dinner in you!"

Trish pulled Karissa to her feet, and propelled her over to the banquet tables. Ava watched as she loaded her a plate. Trish was a big German lady with gray hair. She was in charge of the kitchen. No one messed with Trish. She was mighty quick with a spoon, be the offender a child or an adult.

Natilie rose to her feet, and headed back to the bottle of wine sitting on Vevila's table. Vevila beat her to it, and was filling two glasses. Ava took a seat.

"He said he couldn't tell me something?" Ava asked.

"It seems that there are rules for the dead concerning the living," Natilie nodded. "I guess they aren't allowed to meddle."

"Too much," Vevila added, watching Ava. "They do some though. I guess we will just have to wait, and see what unfolds."

Vevila's red hair was now tangled about her head. It seemed to have a life of its own. Even as Ava watched, it blew sideways. There was no wind. Ava scooted away from her.

"Knock it off," Vevila tugged something loose from her hair.

Ava only caught a glimpse of it before it was gone. It was blue and had wings!

"Breeze," Vevila explained. "What are we going to do with Karissa?"

"Find another mentor," Natilie frowned. "It won't be easy. She has trust issues. Erran was the perfect mentor for her."

"So what does she need?" Ava asked.

Natilie was surprised by the concern in Ava's eyes.

"She's so alone," Ava shrugged. "I would mentor her if I had anything to offer. I'm sure others would be willing?"

"Maybe willing," Vevila's face was uncharacteristically grim. "Karissa is gifted. Her gift makes her vulnerable. It's not just about her own trust issue's with others—which is significant. We do not want her in harms way if her mentor were to make mistakes."

"All people make mistakes," Ava reminded them, "that's unavoidable. Especially, when placed in a new situation. There is a learning curve for everyone. You just have to prepare as best you can."

"I truly wish I had the time to mentor her myself," Vevila sighed.

"You have duties in Faerie," Natilie mentioned dryly. "She could not exactly go with you."

"I know the idea isn't feasible," Vevila informed her. "It was just a wish. There's no way you could do it, either."

"Why is that?" Ava asked puzzled.

"Natilie gets into too many dangerous situations. Not all of them predictable," Vevila grimaced.

Ava looked at Natilie surprised.

"I'm too impulsive," she admitted.

"You'll figure it out," Ava told them. "It might not be the optimum situation, but she needs someone."

The image of the delicate, little blond child crying in Natilie's arms was disturbing. Ava felt her own pain for the child. Karissa's heart was breaking with the loss of her best friend. She was too alone.

Vevila poured out the last of the drink. She frowned at the empty bottle. Ava wondered if Faerie bottles were supposed to magically refill themselves.

Ava was distracted by the hint of blue. Eyes peeked back at her from Vevila's hair. Curious, she separated out a lock of hair.

"Careful," Natilie warned.

"Ouch, damn!" Ava yanked her hand back. Something had just bitten her! Blood welled up on her finger.

"Damn it, Swirl," Vevila pulled the little creature out of her hair.

She held it by its wings. Ava was surprised to see a little Fairy, just like in the fairytales. It had a delicate head and a little blue body with wispy wings. It chattered at Vevila angrily while staring at Ava.

"She was not going to eat you!" Vevila told her. "Now go play with someone else's hair."

She let the fairy loose. It chattered something else at her, and then was gone. Ava's head started to buzz.

"There's good news and bad news with that bite," Natilie pulled Ava's hand over. "In around two minutes you're going to pass out. You're going to dream some weird-ass things. When you wake up, you'll be able to see and understand some elementals. I don't know which ones. It depends on your own—"

They watched as Ava's head hit the table

"predisposition," she finished.

"You could have cushioned her fall," Vevila informed her.

"Na," Natilie's voice was the last thing Ava heard, "she has a very hard head you know."

"Idra's coming over," Vevila warned Natilie.

"Figures," Natilie muttered.

Idra had joined them three months ago. She was a woman in her mid-thirties. Had short, dirty blond hair, and a rather mean smile. Her eyes were gray with a spattering of lilac. She had been recommended to them to help with the tax audit that spring. The audit was completed. They were fine. Now, she didn't do much, except to flaunt her weight around. She didn't live there, but certainly thought she had rights to the place because she's an O'Byrne.

"What are you going to do with the child?" Idra asked them.

"What are you talking about," Natilie asked rather impatiently.

"His daughter," Idra frowned at her, "Karissa."

"She's not his daughter," Vevila looked at her confused.

"I've seen the birth certificate," Idra rolled her eyes at Vevila. "You can't just keep her, you know. Not like the others. They will need to find her next of kin."

"They?" Natilie asked suspiciously.

Vevila and Natilie exchanged looks.

"The state," Idra stated irritably at their daftness, "honestly! I don't know how you guys haven't been busted. There are laws you know?"

"Did you call them?" Vevila asked.

"Of course not," Idra frowned at them, "that doesn't mean, it's not the right thing to do. She might have a grandma somewhere. Didn't he have relations still in Ireland."

"So you think we should ship her off to Ireland?" Natilie looked down at her clenched hands. One-by-one, she made herself relax her fingers.

"No," Idra shrugged, "she's a U.S. citizen after all. It's not up to me to find her next of kin."

"Do you even remember what we do here?" Vevila asked her intently.

"Of course," Idra told her dryly. "You find the missing! In case you haven't noticed, Karissa is not missing. She needs to be with her family!"

: _Can I smack her now,_ : Natilie sent to Vevila.

: _She reminds me of that woman who wondered why they put deer crossing signs next to the freeway,_ " Vevila rolled her eyes. : _The daft woman thought it was to encourage the deer to cross there, instead of to warn motorists of their crossing._ :

"Well?" Idra asked them.

"What do you want from us?" Vevila asked her.

"You've been drinking," Idra accused.

"It's a wake!" Vevila told her, "a friend has died. Maybe you should have some."

Vevila pushed the jug towards her.

"You giving her that stuff?" Idra asked Vevila as she studied the female lying on the table.

"Hell no," Vevila laughed. "Swirl bit her."

"Really?" Idra looked closer. "Elementals don't inflict themselves on just anyone."

"Too true," Vevila nodded. "Told you she was special."

"I didn't doubt you," Idra informed her. "I was just stating that we are starting to carry too many people. This is supposed to be a business, not a charity. You're going to run into tax trouble again. I could reorganize the core into a—."

"It's whatever _we_ decide it is," Vevila interrupted bluntly, irritably. "It's from mine and Natilie's personal funds. So it isn't anyone else's business who we let live here. Which, let me be clear, also refers to you! Your cousin might be one of the counselors, but even they do not tell us how to run our own business."

"That would be a quick way to get voted off the counsel," Natilie reminded her.

"Besides, she's already contributing," Vevila told her aggressively. "Not everyone in life is here for a special purpose of which _you_ can monitor and judge."

"She could be of use," Idra studied Ava. "I was just saying people who stay here—."

"We heard you the first few times," Vevila glared at her, "and we are done with this discussion—understand?"

"Stop ogling her, and go bother someone else," Natilie told her sharply.

"Fine," Idra said as she stomped off, "since _you_ won't listen."

"She's a problem," Vevila growled as she walked away.

"I know," Natilie glared after her. "She sure thinks highly of herself."

"It's time to invite her to leave," Vevila told her.

"Will do. Good thing you bound her tongue," Natilie said grimly, "I just don't trust her. You're _suddenly_ very sober."

"Yah," Vevila looked disappointed. "She ruined the high. I didn't like the way she was studying her. Like a bug under a microscope. It was..."

"Indecent," Natilie finished for her.

"I was thinking more like obscene," Vevila sighed. "Ava deserves better than to be treated like that."

"Do you think her name will stick this time?" Natilie touched the slick black hair. "It confuses people when she keeps changing her name. She needs people—friends."

"I think so this time, Vevila frowned, "Ava seems to work. We sure can't call her Beatrice."

"No way," Natilie agreed, "to her Beatrice Broadwick is dead."

Vevila nodded, "So let's name her. That way we can have a name for her if she discards Ava. Hey lady, just doesn't work for me."

"Something from out of Faerie?" Natilie suggested.

"Mythical? Magical?" Vevila suggested, "An Apepi is a damn scary snake."

"Should it be a snake?" Natilie asked. "She hasn't really caught on to that _idea_ yet."

"Doesn't matter," Vevila shrugged, "she is what she is."

"Whatever that may be," Natilie frowned, "I don't like the sound of Apepi. Sounds too much like something peeing."

"Agreed," Vevila poured them both a drink. "Tawny felt threatened by her."

"Noticed," Natilie agreed. "She's not used to other people being more exotic than she is. It doesn't matter. They don't have to like each other."

"Vjiwejv?" Vevila suggested.

_"Golden Eyes_ ," Natilie shook her head, "too hard to pronounce, and Tawny also fits that description."

"No," Vevila emptied her glass, "don't want that!"

Natilie poured them another.

"It has to be Ava," Vevila mentioned, "nothing else is going to work, and that's the idea isn't it?"

"Ava it is," Natilie agreed.

"She would be a good mentor," Vevila's eyes were serious.

"She's going to have an awful lot on her plate with the transformation completing," Natilie frowned.

"It's going to be fascinating," Vevila smiled, "maybe just what Karissa needs. Do you think she was serious about her offer?"

"I do," Natilie nodded. "She just doesn't think she has anything to offer. She's wrong of course. She has a whole life of knowledge."

"Plus she's picking up new things," Vevila added. "She could use someone like Karissa around. Distract her from the pain and boredom of building her muscles."

"Karissa is definitely entertaining," Natilie laughed. "Her mind never stops! Ava would never hurt that child! I could see her letting go, and falling off a building, rather than pulling the child down with her."

"I think we have our solution," Vevila smiled. "I think it's even going to work!"

"Mark!" Natilie called out and waived him over.

"What, Heart of my Dreams?" Mark announced on his arrival.

"He's drunk," Vevila murmured with a snort.

"Are you too drunk to carry our lady to her room?" Natilie asked him.

"Not at all," Mark gave Vevila a toothy grin.

Mark had the gift of telekinesis. He had never let his gift stop him from physical activity. He was big, blond and strong. His eyes were blue, but glimmered with sparkles of lilac. He was an O'Byrne, and had earned his right to be there.

"The kids call her Fangs," he mentioned to them. "We heard you talking."

"Why would they do that?" Vevila asked.

"Kids," he shrugged.

"I kind of like that," Natilie commented, "Fangs, Fangles, Fangled."

"Would she?" Vevila asked.

"Probably not," Natilie said dryly. "Better put her in the sand. She's going to be dreaming for a while."

"Swirl bite," Vevila told him.

"That's all she needed," Mark carefully picked Ava up, and placed her cheek against his chest. "Oh yah, Idra was carrying around a clipboard yesterday. Said she was doing an inventory. She tried to access some of the private rooms, but was deterred."

"Once she leaves today," Natilie told him, "she will not be _invited_ back."

"Good!" Mark nodded.

Natilie _watched_ as he carried Ava to the sand. He gently laid her down. He left, and then came back carrying armloads of pillows. These he placed along the wall.

"He could have just _lifted_ her," Vevila noted, "he _cradled_ her."

"She doesn't realize what she's done," Natilie told Vevila, "her acts of kindness. She doesn't think of them as special."

"She has magic in her touch," Vevila mentioned. "The pillow she left for Susan stopped her nightmares. The baby blanket given to Toni's child keeps her warm and cherished. Even in the kitchen, her food tastes better than makes sense."

"There are safety charms in the night gear outfits she makes," Natilie added. "She has never been trained on how to create them. She isn't even aware of putting them in there. It's all instinct!"

"A lot of our people have seen them," Vevila frowned, "and yet they are still afraid of her."

"We have a lot of explaining to do when she wakes," Natilie sighed. "I'm not sure she believes in us. I know she doesn't believe in herself.'

"There is a lot for her to learn if she's willing," Vevila agreed. "She's going to be physically awesome and dangerous, but she has always been gentle and kind. It will be interesting to see the type of person she chooses to become."

"We better call Edith," Natilie mentioned. "I don't really know how the bite will affect her. Edith said her venom glands would be developing at any time. That was why they wanted us to go ahead and pick her up. We're better equipped to protect her and others if something goes wrong."

"Do you want to be the one to get rid of Idra?" Vevila asked her.

"I better not," Natilie said irritably, "I might just really hurt her! Flip a coin?"

"Naw," Vevila laughed, "let Dash do it. He would probably even enjoy it, and he's brutally frank. There will be no misunderstandings when he is done with her."

"He doesn't like her, either," Natilie nodded.

"Who does?" Vevila's tone was grim.

"Why do these people want to hang with us anyway?" Natilie asked, bewildered.

"So they can look down their noses at someone?" Vevila answered, "and why do they think we give a rat's ass what they think?"

"And why do they always twist things up, and make them sound bad or nasty?" Natilie asked.

"I don't know," Vevila said gloomily as the bottle refilled. "Why do people die. I hate it when people die."

"Me, too," Natilie lifted her cup for a refill.

"Maybe we should get cups that refill themselves," Vevila grumbled as she sloshed the wine.

"Maybe we should at that," Natilie agreed.

Toc

# Chapter Two

Ava found herself lying in the warm sand. The sand was sculptured around her body. She was comfortable all through her body. She luxuriated in moving her body through the loose warmth.

It felt as though she'd been sleeping for a really long time. Dreams were slipping away even as she was grasping for them. She couldn't remember them, but they had been noisy. The concept of noise still vibrated in her mind.

She liked to sleep—to dream. She always felt more within a dream. As if in a dream there were no limitations, no reasons why not. Kisses are slower and sexier. Scents more wondrous. She hardly ever had nightmares anymore, so dreaming was a way of escaping. She was reluctant to get up. She wasn't ready for whatever reality would be bringing her way. She knew it wouldn't be good. It hadn't been _good_ in a long time.

It took her a minute to realize that she wasn't alone. The sand wasn't just warm, it was hot. She sat up and glanced around. There were lizards sharing the sand with her. Terrified, she jumped to her feet, stumbled past the pool, and ran out the door. She was breathing hard. She could feel the cool air as it rasped through her sore throat. She stood there, unsure of what to do next. No one was about. Absolutely, no one.

Ava frowned as she realized that she hadn't ever seen this corridor empty before. She carefully made her way over to the rock. Once up on the top, she looked around. There were no lizards in the sand. She looked out through the windows. It was a blue, sunny day. She could hear the waves crashing on the rocks below. Ava tried to remember what had happened. She studied her body for clues.

Her throat hurt. When she touched it with her fingers, it was tender and swollen. Her finger still had the bite mark, but it was faded. It looked to be several days healed. Her whole face was sore. She was tender between her eyes. She climbed back off the rock, and went into her work room. Here, she studied herself in the mirror. Just below her eyebrows on each side of her nose were blue jewels. It looked as if she had put in sapphire piercings. Ava looked closer and gently touched them. They didn't feel like much, little dimples. She didn't know what they were. Great! More transforming! Edith warned her that she wasn't done yet.

Ava then remembered what Natilie had said about elementals. It had been an elemental who had bitten her. Natilie said she would now see and understand some of them.

"Huh, let's try to take another look at those lizards." Ava muttered.

She went back into the sand room to look around. It was empty except for the rock and the plants.

"Maybe, I was dreaming," she reasoned.

With nothing better to do, she sat down in the sand and started stretching. Edith had warned her to keep her muscles toned, or she might actually start slithering around like a snake. Yikes! Edith said that she had to retrain her muscles into what she wanted them to be. They were strong, but didn't have good definition. Her muscles didn't know how to behave. She wasn't sure how she wanted them to behave. Except the slithering part. She most definitely, didn't want them doing that!

As she relaxed into the rhythm of the stretches, the sand began to glow. Ava tried to stay calm and just watch. The lizards reappeared. Only they weren't really lizards. She recognized them from Asian art designs. They were salamanders—fire elementals. She was so surprised that she stopped stretching. They disappeared again.

"Hello?" Ava gently called out.

She held out her hand. She felt pretty silly sitting there with her hand out, but continued to just hold it there. She could feel a flittering of warmth, then the warmth built up into the palm of her hand. She relaxed her eyes, and there it was—a little yellow salamander. It curled up, and appeared to go to sleep. She put it back into the sand. It hissed and disappeared.

"It's a baby," Vevila said from the doorway. "An adult would probably have scalded your skin off."

"Probably?" Ava asked her.

"Your skin is different from most of us," she shrugged, "I'm not sure what that means with them. They don't have to scald us. They're just thoughtless sometimes—most times."

"Why is the corridor empty? I've never seen it empty before." Ava asked her.

"How do you feel?" She countered, watching her closely.

Ava noticed that Vevila hadn't traveled farther into the room. She didn't act scared exactly, just cautious. Ava felt her neck. Vevila nodded.

"We didn't know how you would respond when your venom came in." Vevila mentioned.

At that she did come into the room. She wiggled into a place in the sand beside Ava. She seemed calm enough. Ava—was terrified.

"Some were afraid that you would panic and strike out," Vevila smirked. "I told them that was stupid. It's not as if it's easy for someone to try and fang someone. It is, in fact, rather awkward. It's also not in your nature."

"What kind of a monster am I?" Ava murmured.

Her fists were clenched. She had no desire to bite. She wanted to run!

"Whatever kind you wish," Vevila lifted Ava's face to look into her eyes. "I've met a lot of monsters in my life. It always starts from within. We all have the ability to act beastly with the right incentive. It's how we choose to live that determines if we are indeed—monsters."

"I don't know who I am anymore," Ava pulled her face away.

"It's time for you to learn," Vevila informed her.

"How?" She asked.

"First, we tell you everything we know about what has happened to you," Vevila stood up, "and then you train up your body to be what you want it to be. If all you want out of life is to design clothing, and lounge around in the sand, then that is what you will do. We do not tell people what they must do, must become, or anything else. We will give you the best tools we can, and support your efforts from your choices."

"Why do you do this?" Ava stood and faced her.

"Me? Or the organization?" Vevila asked.

"Both," was the quick response.

"I do it, because in my life right now, that is what I choose to do," she frowned at Ava. "Natilie _is_ the organization. She's always been driven to help people. Don't be fooled, though. She's not some gullible flower. She's just as quick to pick up that knife of hers, and skewer someone if they harm her family."

Ava nodded. She'd seen her and Vevila practicing. Both were formidable opponents.

"Both of you practice with steal," Ava wondered, "why doesn't she practice with her knife? It seems a person should practice with what they are most likely to use."

"Normally, that's true," she laughed. "That blade of hers is Daemon made. It will slice through anything without even a hint of resisting pressure. No one will practice with her when she's holding that thing. Tawny has one as well. Only hers is bigger."

Ava blanched. She was getting a real education this late in life. White and Black didn't seem to really exist. It was all caught up in grays and reds. Her Christian upbringing had definitely taken a beating with a big stick!

"Where is Natilie?" Ava asked, "is she afraid of me, too?"

"Nat," Vevila said with all seriousness, "is off saving yet another lost soul. She's fearless. She also believes in you. Who you are inside. She's met real monsters, too. Most here have! Come," she held out her hand, "we will start in Erran's room. He collected all the data on you."

Ava hesitantly took her hand. It was warm and firm. Another thing Ava wasn't used to was physical contact. These people seemed to thrive on it. Vevila smiled. Ava was totally baffled.

It felt eerie to walk into someone's room who had just died. It felt invasive. All his personal things were still laying about. He was obviously into saving baseball things. Signed balls, cards, even gloves were mixed liberally with stacks of folders and papers. Ava found herself picking up the laundry which was laying about the room. Vevila watched her curiously. Ava shrugged. This was something she couldn't seem to help herself about. It was better that she go ahead and do it, otherwise she was so obsessed with the desire to clean that she couldn't get anything else done.

"I see," Vevila surprised Ava by pitching in. "Either, I help you, or we take a lot longer to get to his work."

"Sorry," Ava said sheepishly. She hadn't meant to pressure Vevila into cleaning.

Vevila stopped to look at her, "You are going to be such a mixed creature that you will be totally unpredictable to all, except those you _allow_ to know you. There will be no _face value_ with you. There is nothing at all wrong with that."

They were done in just a few minutes. It wasn't a very large room, and Erran did not own a great many things. Ava looked around. It all seemed a little sad.

"His room might seem small and rather empty," Vevila told her, "but his life was very full. He lived every moment as if it was going to be his last. He was impulsive and a lot arrogant. He didn't suffer fools or mean people. He was actually one of Natilie's first rescues. She was twelve. He was ten." Vevila picked up a picture. It was of an old lady. "His grandmother in Ireland. His parents migrated from Ireland. Not finding the American dream, his father turned to drinking and whoring. His mother became addicted to cocaine. She took him with her to New York City one day. Lost herself for a while—lost him. The police picked her up. She only realized that she had lost him after coming off her high inside a jail cell. Natilie found his picture on the back of a milk carton. That was her only source for finding the missing children at the time. She _saw_ him, cold and hungry living on the streets."

"Why didn't he go get help?" Ava asked puzzled. "He was ten, not exactly a baby."

"He was a foreigner, small, dirty and skinny," Vevila shrugged. "You've heard him speak."

"Heavy accent," Ava frowned.

"He found himself pressed into one of the street gangs," Vevila went on. "He ran away from them, and begged on the street. Running and hiding when they came into the area he called home. When Natilie found him, she didn't even call the cops. She demanded that I go get him, and take him to his grandmother in Ireland. She was very insistent."

Ava was confused. She had thought that Vevila and Natilie were close to the same age. The math just didn't add up.

"What?" Vevila asked her, seeing the baffled expression.

"Weren't you just a little girl yourself?" Ava surprised Vevila by asking.

"No, of course not," Vevila looked at Ava stunned. "Hasn't anyone told you about me? They are such gossips, I just assumed, obviously not. I'm one of the seven sisters who migrated to America in the mid 1800's. I'm Vevila Erin O'Byrne, Aine's daughter. I was born December 18th, 1828."

Ava's jaw dropped open. She shut it quickly and blinked with surprise.

"I had a slight accident," Vevila muttered.

"That's, that's some accident," Ava stuttered. "How did you get him?"

"I called one of Dara's people, the healers, to go with Natilie to pick him up," Vevila shrugged. "Not my best day that. Adell, Natilie's mother, never really forgave me for my interference. I was a lot more thoughtless of other's feelings in those days. I at least try now—well sometimes anyway. Huh, maybe not really." Vevila laughed.

Ever since her body started changing, Ava felt like she had stepped off into insanity land. Nothing seemed to match her idea of reality. It wasn't just the transformation. It was meeting the O'Byrne.

"Here it is," Vevila pulled out a thick file. "He doesn't usually print out this much. I think he was getting ready to share it."

They looked through more files and piles to make sure they found all the stuff referring to Ava.

"I'll have Karissa run through the computer," Vevila muttered. "He probably has more stuff stashed there."

"Karissa?" Ava asked surprised, "little _Karissa_? Or is she really a hundred or something?"

"Not a hundred," Vevila grinned at her, "but something. She's got a thing with computers. She's as good as, maybe even better than, Erran ever was."

Vevila led them back to the sand room. Ava was feeling hungry, and a little nauseous. Her throat was throbbing, and her head was starting to pound.

"You're going to have to speak up," Vevila told Ava.

"What?" Ava asked.

"Most people can no longer _read_ you," Vevila told her. "They might guess by your expressions, but they cannot tell how you truly feel. They can't tell if you are feeling sick. We depend on others to figure it out that we don't feel good. We don't want to whine. It's the way we were raised. You have to acknowledge this trait, and learn to behave differently. People can't read your eyes, and your skin does not flush or pale out. Only those who get time, to really know you, will be able to tell how you feel."

It was true, what Vevila had just said. People did depend on those around them to interpret how they felt. Ava closed her eyes and sighed. She'd always been bad with expressing her feelings. Now, she was going to have to learn to be blunt with people. Not her strong point!

"I feel sick and nauseated." Ava told her, "I'm hungry, but don't want to eat. My head and throat hurt. I'm getting an ear ache. "

"Better," she nodded. "Edith is bringing in a tray."

"You all speak telepathically?" Ava asked.

"All of us born to Druantia can speak to each other with or without telepathic gifts. It has something to do with her links. If someone can't hear, it's because they at some time, chose to turn that link off. Those with actual telepathic gifts can usually hear when other people think rather loud. Those with stronger gifts can press their thoughts to others whether they are gifted or not. Here's Edith. She's a little nervous of you."

Edith hesitated before entering. Ava hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks, although she knew Edith was still looking in on her. She liked Edith! She was from England, and had a very pronounced accent. Although, Edith insisted that it was Ava, who had the accent. Edith had light brown fluffy hair, and light amethyst eyes. She was active and strong, of medium height and weight. She had stood firm. Had offered support when Ava was low, and had held her when she cried. She considered Edith her friend.

Ava stared at her now with surprise. She could smell the fear on her. She was taken aback. Edith had never seemed afraid of her before, but then, Ava had never smelled fear before, either. Maybe Edith had been afraid, but had hidden it from her. The thought made Ava sad. No one had ever been afraid of her before the change. She was a wuss, always had been. Everyone knew that!

The old Ava, would have smiled and eased Edith's nervousness. The new Ava didn't dare. It would expose her fangs, making the matter even worse. Ava just nodded. Vevila settled deeper into the sand.

"I always loved sitting in the sand at the beach," she murmured.

Edith sat down in the sand facing Ava. One thing about these healers, Ava acknowledged—they had balls! The sweaty, bitter smell of fear dissipated.

"What are these?" Ava asked her pointing at the new piercings between her eyes.

"What?" She asked, frowning at Ava.

"These," Ava leaned in so Edith could see what she was pointing at.

Her eyes unfocused. Ava knew she was looking deep within. Dara's doctors had different levels of sight. Edith could see clear down to the molecular level. She was a Class A doctor who specialized in genetic diseases.

"Goodness," she exclaimed, "pits! They haven't finished developing yet, but they're pits all right. That was never mentioned. Was that mentioned?" She turned to Vevila.

"Nope," Vevila answered drowsily.

"What are they?" Ava asked, suddenly feeling afraid. It didn't take much anymore to make her scared. "I woke up with them."

"Pits?" Edith's eyebrow raised, "snakes have them."

Ava cringed.

"Sorry, dear," Edith looked at her sternly, "but you obviously need to get used to the idea. When we're done, have Vevila sing to you _our_ version of the serpent, Eve, and the apple. At least they're pretty and not just holes. Pit vipers have _pits_ which allow them to sense temperature changes as infrared rays."

"How do I use them?" Ava asked curiously.

That ability sounded interesting to her. Of course, they might not fully develop. _Things_ like that had happened before during these mutations.

"No idea," she told her bluntly.

"What is 94QPO?" Ava asked.

"Wow," Edith laughed at her, "you are full of all kinds of questions today, aren't you?"

"The last phase," Vevila murmured, "acceptance."

Ava wasn't so sure of that, and frowned at her.

"94QPO?" Ava reminded her.

"I don't think anyone uses it anymore," Edith stared at her, "I would hope not anyway. It was used to allow DNA splicing. That with radiation, caused a break in the gene sequence. They could then insert something else. It was a crude method which destroyed the switches around the genes."

Ava nodded, she actually understood most of that.

"Now, you're going to need to milk yourself," she told Ava bluntly, looking at her expectantly.

"What?" Ava asked astounded. She frowned looking down at her breasts.

Ava heard her laugh and looked back up. Merriment filled her eyes.

"Your teeth," she laughed. "You're going to need to extract the venom out of your fangs."

"Oh!" Ava felt embarrassed, but Vevila had been right. She no longer had the ability to flush up. _Beatrice_ would have been scarlet.

"I guess you just sink your fangs into this," Edith handed her a glass with a piece of rubber stretched over the top.

Ava looked at the glass and shrugged. It wasn't as embarrassing as some of the other things she had been asked to do. She'd seen them milk snakes before on TV. She put it to her mouth and sank her fangs into it. The rubber snapped, startling her. She jerked back. Venom sprayed onto her hand. Edith sprang forward, and submerged her hand inside the wet cloth she had been carrying. Ava looked at her with surprise.

"We don't know anything about the venom you are carrying," she explained wiping down Ava's hand. "I would hope that your own body would protect you from it, but we just don't know. I told them that thing wouldn't work."

She examined Ava's hand. There was nothing there, no marks, no burns.

"As you know," she went on, "we've made some mistakes. We've never seen this before, either."

Ava nodded. They had all made mistakes. Some rather funny, some not so funny, and some very painful. She hoped they were through making the painful, or embarrassing types of mistakes.

"Try this one," she handed her a different _container_.

It looked like a plastic toy football.

"My dog loves those things," she told Ava. "Don't worry. It's not one of his."

Vevila laughed at them. Both Edith and Ava smiled. There was no other description than to say that Vevila's laughter was delightful. It was full of light and tingling sensations—musical. It made Ava want to smile even though she was so scared inside.

She studied the ball, figuring where best to bite, then put it to her fangs and bit down hard. she could feel the venom leaving the over extended glands. It was so soothing, such a relief.

"You're done," Edith reminded her softly.

Again, she was embarrassed. She had been teething on the damn thing. At least Edith had been smart enough not to reach in while she was chewing on it. She might have bitten her. Reluctantly, she handed it over.

"We'll figure out how to get the venom out of it later," Edith studied the ball. "It's not eating through the plastic. I did wonder."

"It's kind of rubbery," Ava made a face.

"You didn't seem to mind a minute ago," Vevila told her with a grin.

"I'll leave these with you, then," Edith handed over a grocery bag full of the toys. "I thought they would work! You can chew them anytime you want. Time stamp them, and save them for us. We need to analyze the venom, and figure out your glands production rate. Now, dinner. I think we've figured it out."

Ava cringed. So far nothing seemed to work well for her. She was becoming afraid of food, which had at one time, been her best friend. It was no wonder she was so thin. Ava was literally living on protein bars which she forced down every day. Every day they experimented with food in every state of being. It was worrisome.

Edith opened the container. Ava's tongue darted out unexpectedly. Edith dropped the container, shocked. Ava ran to the other room to look into the mirror.

"Oh my God!" She cried out, "Oh My God!"

She huddled down on the ground and cried. Her tongue had changed. It was now slender and _forked_. She was rocking herself back and forth when she felt arms circle her and hold on tight. It was Vevila. She cried onto her shoulder.

"It's okay," she was saying over and over again, "it's okay."

"I'm sorry, lovey," Edith was saying. "I was just so surprised. They didn't get the graphs right. All the better in the end. After all, no one should really know your body better than you, right?"

Vevila rubbed her back, and then released her. Ava sat up straighter.

"The tongue can be fixed right?" Vevila asked Edith.

"Oh yes," Edith confirmed, "not right away though. Not until we know why it's that way. We fixed her eyes."

_"Fixed_ my eyes?" Ava frowned at her. "They're hideous."

"I don't think so," Edith frowned back at her, "different, exotic maybe, but not hideous. Your eyes _capped_ over. Snakes don't have eyelids. They have transparent caps. We didn't see any benefit to that. It acted more like a cataract so we removed it. We reestablished your tear ducts, too. We can change most anything, but have to be careful, or the body will fight the change. Nature always takes either the easy path, or the repeated path. Obviously, we can't put you back the way you were. It's just too much."

"So you can change my tongue back?" Ava asked.

"Yes," Edith nodded, "but you may want to rethink that. I would bet good money you have a vemoronasal organ—compliments of the change. A forked tongue can capture airborne particles and pass them to this organ. You should have a higher sense of smell. We won't change anything right away unless it's some kind of threat. Choose your fights carefully. It's a complicated process. DNA is the map of our bodies. When a person gets injured, their body relies on the DNA to tell it how it's supposed to be. You now have a slightly different mapping. Dr. Samual admitted that playing in there was risky. A normal human's DNA isn't mapped out very confidently. Yours, not at all! They have an idea of how it works, but people are not clones. We can do surgery to change some things, but sometimes the body's map wants to overwrite what we just did. Do you understand?"

"Beginning to," Ava listened to her, but couldn't see herself wanting to keep such a gross— _thing_.

Edith looked at her with skepticism, knowing she hadn't really heard her. She was still fixated on her tongue.

"I don't feel as cold as I did when I first started changing?" Ava detoured her from another lecture.

That was one of the things Ava had hated, always feeling cold. It didn't make sense to her, because her temperature was always normal. At first that was.

"Endotherm and ectotherm" Edith nodded, "the terms warm and cold blooded are erroneous. Mammals are endotherm animals. Our bodies metabolize food to create heat. Reptiles are ectotherm. They mostly use the environment to control their body heat. It's found that some reptiles also metabolize energy. Anyway, you are now both. Right now, you use the sun, sand, and rock to be warm. This room is 92 degrees. You are 92 degrees. Later, you will need to learn how to metabolize your body. There's going to be times when you will not be satisfied with just leaving that to the environment you find yourself within."

"Just how does any of this work?" Ava pressed her hand against her head, wondering if these conversations were ever going to make sense to her.

Edith shook her head, "You're probably going to have to talk to Dr. Samual for specifics. He had to play in your DNA to make some changes."

"What else?" Ava asked, "what other things changed? I remember the struggle with my feet. Oh God, do I _ever_ remember that!"

Unlike her hands, where the bones had settled into a pattern, her feet wanted to lose all definition. The doctors were constantly re-establishing the bones by any means they could use; screws, wires, pins. It had been excruciating.

"Dr. Samual had a hard time finding that particular cluster," Edith admitted sympathetically. "Your breathing was problematic. I guess snakes don't breath when they're engorged with food. We also had to keep watch on your heart. It beats faster, harder. We weren't sure if that was bad or good."

"Problematic! Good God!" Ava exclaimed. "Why am I even still alive?"

"Because you wanted to be," Edith stared into her eyes. "Your heart is superior to ours. It is stronger, oxygenates your body better. It will let you do things other people can't do. Your lung's internal structure has changed. You will be less incline to infections."

"Heart of a Snake," Ava muttered.

"Better than that of a frog," Vevila mentioned.

"You mentioned graphs?" Ava asked, looking away.

"Come," Vevila helped her to her feet "let's look at those maps and graphs."

They walked back into the sand room and sat back down. Ava glanced at the container. She never did get to see what was in it. Edith had sealed it back up again. She was hungry, and for the first time, feeling curious about food.

"Let's just leave that," Edith suggested, "your food problem wasn't about the food. It was because you hadn't really finished that part of your change."

Ava looked at her suspiciously, and opened the container. Inside, were two little brown mice. They shivered with fear. Edith watched her apprehensively. Ava started laughing. She couldn't help it. It was too absurd. Vevila's laughter joined hers. Edith hesitantly chuckled.

"Put the little micies back in the garden where you found them," Vevila handed Edith the container. "I told you that wasn't it," she turned to Ava, "she was just so sure this time."

"It was reaching," Edith admitted, "but I was running out of ideas."

"Graphs," Vevila reminded them.

"When you came to us, you were in the process of a change," Edith frowned. "We weren't sure where it was going to stabilize."

She pulled out a file. This was not one of Erran's. It was the one they started for Ava at the healer's hospital. She placed it in the sand, totally unconcerned that sand was clinging to it as she flipped through.

"You're welcome to look at all of it," she muttered, "we do not keep information from our patients—at least not forever. It's pretty scientific though. Ah—."

She flipped it closed, and stared at her.

"Your DNA was changing," she told Ava, "our doctors felt it was reversing. They didn't know how far it would go. The theory of evolution is from the ocean to the land, blah, blah, blah. You seemed to be going back to the ocean. Our doctors drew up graphs of the different ways you might finish. Most of them thought amphibian."

"I was turning into a frog," Ava grimaced.

It's not that she minded frogs, kind of cute in a slimy kind of way, but rather pathetic, helpless and easy to damage. Not a scenario she wanted to visit. Not something she wanted to become!

"They were looking at the data Erran had collected from the agency who was holding you, instead of looking at the facts," Edith rolled her eyes, "lazy donkey-heads. Anyway, Dr. Samual, our only real DNA encoder, predicted that you would evolve with a snake's patterning. He put a _Stop_ in the switches, but wasn't totally sure where that would put you. His graph doesn't show a viper. I guess those are more evolved than the common snake."

She pulled out some drawings and graphs.

"These are probably not going to make much sense to you," she frowned, "they don't make much sense to me for that matter. We didn't use an electron microscope so had no way of taking pictures, but these are drawings of small parts of your chromosome. It makes no sense unless you know where you are in the DNA strand, that's the mapping. The graphs are mathematical probabilities as to what groupings were in the midst of change."

Ava stared at the drawings and shrugged. Edith was correct. They didn't mean anything to her.

"These are actual MRI's of your body," Edith laid some pictures out on the sand. "There are a lot of them. You might want to study them later. The earlier ones don't show your body as it is now, but rather as it was changing."

"Why all this anyway?" Ava asked bewildered.

"You can look up the specific facts," Vevila tapped Erran's file, "but the gist of what Erran reported was that in the mid-fifties there was a scientist, Dr. Ivan Chancy, who spearheaded the MDS Bio-Global Project. That stands for, Mutation through DNA Splicing Biology-Global Project. He convinced those in power that when the earth went into its global warming phase, humanity would perish. This project was to de-evolve humans enough so they could actually benefit from global warming. He suggested that mankind would continue to be superior to all other animals. They took it too far, involving infants into the experimentation. I don't know what was actually _sanctioned,_ and what they just did."

"What else?" Ava asked as she paused, sitting there looking at her.

She sighed.

"For fifty dollars," Vevila went on, "your mother let them play with your body. You were three months old. They spliced in some other DNA and radiated you."

"A snake," Ava growled, "figures. That was totally stupid. How on earth could a snake person benefit if the earth heats up? And why a viper?"

Vevila stared at her with surprise.

"What?" She asked her.

"We thought you would be after your mother," Edith answered, "Thought that her betrayal would devastate you."

"Would I guess," Ava scowled, "if that had been any kind of surprise at all. My mother would sell her own brain if she thought it would bring her immediate gratification. She's greedy and stupid."

"Okay," Vevila chimed in with a smile, "we passed _that_ hurdle."

"I was surprised my mother was the one who contracted with Raven Investigations," Ava muttered, "guilt probably. She does feel guilty now and then, probably cause she's getting old. Closer to that time with God, and those pearly white gates."

"None of the other subjects survived," Edith blurted.

"Not too surprising, that," Ava reasoned. "It's not like they knew what the heck they were doing back then. What was different about me from the other girls?"

"According to what Erran dug up, the girls were supposed to show traits at puberty," Vevila's eyes flashed angrily. "Can you imagine a little girl suddenly sprouting a fin? All the subjects were girls. I guess they didn't want to risk boys."

"No," Edith corrected, "they thought girls were more malleable, adaptable."

"Figures," Vevila scowled.

"Did Erran question my mother?" Ava asked with dread.

"That was the plan," Vevila's voice sounded annoyed, "but then he went and died."

"She's here in fact," Edith told her.

"Jesus!" Ava exclaimed, "Get her out of here! She's poison. She'll disrupt the whole house, and has a mouth that runneth over. She is not to be trusted!"

"She's iced," Vevila assured her.

"Iced?" Ava asked with a grin.

She could feel her lips pressing against her fangs. She knew they were showing, but just couldn't help her malicious delight. Vevila's eyes sparkled wickedly.

"We do believe in justice," Vevila told her. "We felt that she should be held accountable for something in this mess."

"Tell me about the other victims?" Ava asked. Her delight dimming.

"Well," Edith sighed, "there isn't much to tell. The project was a total flop, an embarrassment. It was quickly suppressed. The girls didn't show any genetic alterations at all. They died from different horrible diseases. You, for some reason started changing late in life. You would also have died if Natilie had not brought you to us. They didn't know about the switches back then."

"What are switches?" Ava asked.

"Most of what they called DNA junk are switches which control DNA actions. They are calling it Dark Matter now. Stupid, it's not Dark Matter at all. I swear, they get a buzz word, and just start using it for everything."

"You digress," Vevila nudged her. "DNA fascinates her. That's why she was called in for you."

"They tried to redirect DNA into a different pattern," Edith went on, "they missed the DNA and just messed up the switches in the other girls. Something different was happening with you. If Dr. Samual had not halted the process, you would have died. Your body was hardly able to go to where it did. We worked continuously to try to keep you stabilized. No other agency on earth can do what we can, and it took every skill and gift open to us. It's not easy to stop a runaway train. That's what it was like—only in flesh and blood."

"My flesh and blood," Ava murmured.

"Yes," Edith nodded.

"Am I finished yet?" She asked, "mutating?"

"I'm sorry," Edith shrugged, "I thought you were done four months ago. Then we discovered the venom glands developing. Dr. Samual had not predicted that."

"That's why you were brought here," Vevila told her. "You still needed intervention, and I'm pretty hard to kill."

"Oh My God!" Ava pressed her eyes closed, feeling sick. When would she leave this nightmare. "It's no wonder I don't have nightmares. I live them. Or maybe this is the dream?"

They looked at each other. Ava sighed.

"What?" She asked feeling resigned.

"We've been intervening with your dreams," Edith admitted. "If we didn't, you would never reach deep sleep. You can't heal unless you reach deep sleep."

"We couldn't do that for you the last three days because of the bite," Vevila admitted, "so we just blocked your memory of them until you were ready. Are you ready?"

"No," Ava found herself whimpering.

"Didn't think so," Vevila answered softly. "I think when life finally lets you actually choose your own paths, you're going to be strong, healthy, and happy. Until then, just let us carry you a little farther. You're doing fine. You're moving forward."

"Do I have a choice?" She asked, pressing her eyes tightly shut.

"Actually yes," Edith told her, "you could just roll up in a ball and die. Others do it every day."

Ava opened her eyes and stared at her. She was quite serious. She wasn't even being judgmental. She was just stating facts.

"About my mother," Ava wilted, "I don't want to see her—can't see her right now—I have a _forked_ tongue—."

"I'll talk to her," Vevila interrupted her.

"Let's try food again," Edith changed the subject. "What are you hungry for?"

"A cheeseburger," Ava blurted with surprise, and then added, "hold the mice."

Vevila pulled her head back as she busted out laughing.

"Done deal," Edith snorted. "Eat it slow though."

"I plan on savoring every bite," Ava assured her.

Toc

# Chapter Three

"Are you ready?" Natilie asked Ava.

"I guess," Ava answered nervously.

"It will be fine," Natilie assured her, " _you'll_ be fine."

"I just don't know what to expect." Ava pulled on her shirt.

"Neither do I," Natilie met her gaze, "but I trust Vevila."

"Me, too," Ava stood, and brushed off the sand, "I'm ready."

She had made a special outfit for this training. Both pants and shirt were made with light weight, stretch fabric. She wasn't sure what to expect, so wanted clothes she could bend from any angle without the cloth binding on her. If she was more like Natilie, she'd just do this thing naked. She might not be able to blush anymore, but she would still be mortified to work out in the buff. Especially, with strangers watching.

They were going to start figuring out how she wanted her body to look—to work. She was going to choose a posture for standing, walking, sitting, even squatting, maybe more; depending on what her trainer suggested.

Ava had to start working the muscles which would hold these postures. They needed to be stronger. As it was, she didn't seem to be able to hold any particular posture for very long without getting tired, her muscles straining and shaking. Vevila had invited a special guest to help her. _She,_ Ling Chen, was a descendent of Meifen's, the Chinese man who had trained Vevila and her sisters. He had been one of Druantia's children from China. Vevila had kept track of his family. She had assured her that Ling was _very_ good.

Ava was impressed. She had watched Vevila and Natilie practice the style of dance and defense which Meifen had taught the sisters. It was smooth and elegant, but most importantly—effective.

Natilie nodded and they headed out. They were going to use one of the smaller workout rooms. Natilie had not asked her if she'd removed the venom from her glands. Ava was glad of this. It showed that she trusted her to do the right thing. Although, she paused in thought, Natilie could have just looked. Then she would have known anyway.

"You are lost in thought," Natilie noticed.

"It's stupid," She shrugged.

"Talk anyway," Natilie demanded, stopping in the hallway.

"I was wondering if you didn't ask about the venom, because you trusted me, or because you had already checked for yourself," Ava stared into Natilie's eyes.

She was surprised by Ava's question.

"I hadn't thought about it at all," Natilie stated. "I do trust you, or I wouldn't be training with you. I don't like people I don't trust. I don't train with people I don't like. Do you trust me?"

"Of course," Ava told her fiercely. "I also like you immensely. I've never been one to like very many people. The fashion world is full of backstabbing bastards."

"I've seen that," they continued their walk, "though for the life of me I don't understand why? It's just clothes."

"Just clothes, she says—ha." Ava found that funny! Natilie knew that clothes had been Ava's _Life_!

Natilie grinned at her.

"So what did you want to do when you grew up?" Natilie asked her.

"Which time?" She responded. "First, I wanted to be a ballerina. Then the first woman astronaut, until I found out that Russia had already beat us there. In high school though, I was serious about becoming an illustrator for children's books."

"How did you end up in clothes?" Natilie asked.

"Money," Ava admitted, "an opportunity presented itself."

"Here we are," she turned into the room. "You realize don't you, that you can start over with following your dreams? You would make a very exotic ballerina."

Ava was surprised. She hadn't even given thought to starting over with something new. The possibilities were astounding. A lot of women jump-started new careers after raising families. Ava loved clothes, but maybe she was ready to start something new.

"There you are," Vevila jumped up as they came through the doorway. "I'd like you both to meet Ling Chen, and her assistant, Anthony Meyers."

"I am very pleased to meet you," Ling stood and came forward, "both of you. I have heard much of you from Vevila. Anthony, he is my artist."

This day was bringing in so many surprises for Ava. Ling was a tiny little woman. Ava knew she was Asian, but she had not expected her to not even be five feet tall! She had long black hair bound up tight within braids. She looked to be in her twenties.

Anthony on the other hand looked to be around six feet, five. Ava guessed his age to be around thirty. He had dark brown eyes. There was no warmth in them. His black hair was buzzed off short. His stance was wide. He looked as though he could throw a freak'n tank. Ava couldn't help herself. Her mind wondered if they were lovers, and worse wondered how they managed it.

"An artist?" Natilie asked surprised.

"Yes," Ling nodded, her dark eyes sparkled with little purple flicks. "If it is okay with Ava? I would like to have her muscle structure drawn out. We have video, but I would like to study the drawings to help figure out possibilities. He can sketch up possibilities outlining particular muscles."

"That would be useful," Ava agreed.

"May I see your fangs?" Ling surprised her by asking.

"Okay," She shrugged and drew back her lips.

Ling frowned as she studied Ava. She walked around her. Ava wondered if her models had felt so vulnerable as _she_ had studied them?

"Do you need the clothing?" Ling asked. "The stretchy material will move, but it hides what I must see."

"It's kind of hard to move around with my hands covering my crotch," Ava mentioned nervously. "I'll do whatever I must, but the idea takes some getting used to. Maybe tomorrow."

Ava was hedging. She wouldn't be ready tomorrow anymore than she was today. Ling just stared into her face. She knew Ava was hedging.

"What if we all got naked to dance around?" Natilie asked her.

"Not helping," Ava turned to glare at her.

Natilie laughed mischievously.

"We can move into your sandy area," Vevila suggested. "You seem to be comfortable there."

"There, I'm just lounging around on a rock," Ava informed her brusquely. "It's not like I'm jumping around, or dancing, shaking my ta-tahs about!"

Vevila snapped her fingers, "I have just the thing."

She took a step forward and disappeared. Ava had actually never seen her do that before. Obviously Ling had. She just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I will give you a massage," Ling announced abruptly. "My massages are very soothing. This way I can also figure out your bones and muscles."

"I would like a massage," Ava mentioned timidly.

"A table is stored in the next room," Natilie told them, "we do have need of such things. Come on, Anthony. You can carry it in. I don't do the load and carry thing."

"Gladly," Anthony answered.

He had only said the one word, but it resonated. It was pretty. Ava started with surprise. Natilie talked as they walked out of the room. Ava didn't hear his reply, or even if he made any.

"I am honored that Vevila has asked me to work with you," Ling smiled. "I think you are very beautiful and unique."

"Thank you," Ava was amazed by her sincerity. "I don't scare you?"

"No," she laughed, "snakes fascinate me."

She was blunt. Anthony came in with the massage table. Natilie carried in towels and a scent machine. The room already had a stereo system. Ling went to select a CD.

"Any scents there of mice?" Ava asked Natilie.

Natilie laughed and selected Jasmine. She knew Ava liked that scent.

"You won't be needing us," Natilie announced after Anthony set up the table. "Let's go get a movie."

"And a pizza?" Anthony suggested with a smile.

"You got it," Natilie smiled back as she handed Ava a robe.

After they left, Ava didn't feel as shy. She had no trouble taking off her clothes, and using the skimpy towel. She climbed up on the table.

"I guess it was just being the center of attention," she mumbled to Ling with a sheepish shrug.

"These O'Byrne people love running around without clothing," Ling said as she began her massage.

Her touch was soothing. Ava knew she was studying her structure as she worked, but her touch didn't feel invasive.

"We have many legends of the beginning times," Ling told her softly. "In many of our tales the flying snake and the dragon are one and the same."

"Tell me," Ava asked.

"I don't know where these tales originate," Ling considered. "In some cultures Eve is Ava, and Adam is Yadan, but you must already know that since you chose the name Ava. Anyway, One such tale tells of how Ava was irritated with Yadan. He was ignoring her and treating her indifferently. After all, she was from his own body. He considered her of less consequence then his own foot. She was tired of his contempt and his ignorance. One day, she shape changed into a serpent and tricked him into accepting the apple from the tree of knowledge. He saw what she had done, and used her cruelly after that. The damage was complete, and they were both cast out of the garden."

"I like Ava," She murmured. "That's why I chose the name. I relate with her."

"We believe the Serpent was very special to her. Several interpretations talk of the Serpent as the Teacher, sometimes the Guardian," she told her, "in them, he wasn't bad, he just wanted someone to talk with. He knew he was disobeying, but one day he tricked Ava into eating from the tree. It wasn't difficult, because he was very beautiful. He too, was cast from the garden. His flying power was taken from him, and he was made to writhe upon the earth."

"He must have been lonely," Ava's eyes had drifted shut.

"Did Natilie tell you about being magical?" Ling asked her.

"Almost all of them are magical," Ava answered.

"No," she corrected, "no I meant _your_ gift."

"My biggest gift is organizing other people's socks," she laughed, feeling awkward.

"You have a gift through the touch of your hands," Ling corrected. "You emanate energy. What you create glows with the energy of your touch. I could see the energy within the stretchy clothing you were wearing. I recognized the same energy in that blond child's hat, and Natilie's shirt. It is wild and loose. I'm sure other people have drawn that energy from you, vamps purposely, leeches stupidly. We will train you on it. Anthony's gift is his voice. He is like Vevila. He can mesmerize with song."

"You aren't one of the O'Byrne, but your eyes sparkle with purple, and you too are gifted," Ava mentioned. "How does that work?'

"Our magic, both mine and Vevila's, come from Druantia," she murmured as she worked. "It isn't an O'Byrne thing. The O'Byrne are just a small part of Druantia's groups of children. Somewhere in your own linage, there must also be a deity or immortal. Magic is not inherent to humans."

"Maybe Druantia?" Ava asked.

"No," Ling answered, "Druantia always introduces herself to her children. If you were hers, you would already have known it."

Ava was silent as she thought on what she had been told. She was curious about Druantia. Ling seemed so sure of her words. People always liked the gifts she had made herself, but being magical? She really didn't think so.

People were so intrusive. Ava hated being touched by strangers. Hell, most of the time, she hated being touched by friends. Edith, Vevila, and Natilie were exceptions to that—and now Ling. She realized, she was feeling relaxed, not tired. She never felt tired from Vevila or Natilie's touch, either.

"You have _sight_?" Ava murmured.

"A little," Ling answered. "I can't see inside things. I can see energy—Chi. I can levitate, too."

"Handy," Ava responded.

"Very," Ling laughed quietly.

"That is a good idea," Vevila called out, "giving her a massage."

Both Ava and Ling jumped. Ava sat up abruptly.

"Damn it, Vevila," Ling chastised.

"I bring gifts," Vevila said without remorse.

"What do you bring us?" Ling asked curiously.

"Underwear," Vevila announced, "I stole Natilie's."

"What?" Ava stared at her.

She held up the prettiest pair of full body underwear that Ava had ever seen.

"Faerie?" Ava asked.

Vevila grinned at her, "Druantia, total protection from most anything and anyone. Light, and oh so pretty."

"Protection from what?" Ling asked curiously.

"I've never heard of anything able to _penetrate_ them," Vevila muttered, "including a certain succubus."

"May I see them?" Ling asked.

"Sure," Vevila laughed, and handed them over, "we can pass around Nat's undies."

Ling put her hand into them, and nodded, "I will be able to see muscle movement with these. Will this work for you?"

She handed Ava the garments. Ava had never felt anything so smooth and silky in her life. She could feel herself grinning. She was sure her fangs were showing big time, but she couldn't help it. She _wanted_ to romp around in them. She didn't care who might be watching.

"Think she'll mind?" Ava asked Vevila.

"No," Vevila laughed, "as nice as those are, she'd still rather dance around naked. She will want them back, though."

"Of course," Ava agreed, "they're beautiful whether you would want to wear them or not."

"How do you put them on?" Ling asked. "I don't see an opening."

"Hold them and _will_ them on," Vevila answered, as if there wasn't anything unusual in that statement.

"Do you think that will work for me?" Ava asked.

Ling and Vevila looked at each other and nodded. Ava felt stupid, but held them against herself, and wished them on. Suddenly, they were just on, and oh they felt so good. She really hoped Natilie wouldn't mind. She felt bad about not asking her. She should be worrying about not being able to get them off again, but right then, she didn't care if she was forced to wear them forever. They felt so amazing.

"Let's get started," Ling announced.

"Don't you need Anthony?" Vevila asked.

"Later," Ling said as she positioned four cameras to record the center of the floor. "I will just be asking you to do simple things like standing on one foot, bending this way or that. Ready?"

"I am," Ava answered.

"Sit," Ling invited her into the center of the room.

Vevila sat down to watch the show. Ava didn't blame her, it was going to be weird and entertaining.

"For our safety," Ling sat in front of Ava, "I would like you to work your fangs. In venomous snakes, the fangs retract when not in use."

"Mine do, too," Ava answered. She had played with her fangs plenty of times. "When I get nervous, scared, or excited they pull downward. I have to be careful to not close my mouth during those times. I've gotten plenty of bloodied lips to learn that lesson."

"Good to know," Ling nodded. "We'll have to pay attention to that if we are to practice fighting."

"Must I learn to fight?" Ava asked nervously.

"Absolutely not," Ling answered.

"That's purely up to you," Vevila assured her.

"We might be able to come up with a mouth guard to protect the fangs and lips while we work," Ling considered. "I'll have Anthony do different posture drawings. What you've been doing is enough to keep the system healthy, good movement, but we'll need to figure out which muscles to build up to hold the posture you desire."

She made it sound so easy.

"May I manipulate your arm?" Ling asked her.

"Feel free," Ava held out her arm.

"You're going to need to relax your arm," Vevila said dryly. "It's not going to bend with it sticking out there as stiff as a board."

"Sorry," Ava swallowed nervously.

Ava allowed her arm to go limp. She focused on wiggling her toes. By wiggling her toes, she could fight the compulsion to take back control of her arm. She found herself having to do this repeatedly while Ling examined the way her body moved.

"Very good," Ling praised as her _knee_ was moved side-to-side.

"I don't have a knee cap anymore," Ava gulped nervously. "That's what makes the leg look so wrong—ugly."

"It is unusual," Ling stared directly into Ava's eyes, "not ugly. When you have worked your body and understand it, you will be able to do amazing things. You will be a modern day super woman, no lie! You will be strong and fast."

Ling did not hurt her in any way, but it felt peculiar to be moved in so many uncharacteristic ways—bent at unusual locations.

To Ava, it just looked all wrong. It was hard for her to imagine Ling's words, hard to believe in them. She had always loved the concept of super hero's, but it seemed that the super heroes were always alone. She didn't want to live her life in loneliness. She felt depressed.

Ling suddenly focus on Ava's face. "You are truly amazing. Most of us humans would have just given up, and let our bodies atrophy and die."

"You wouldn't have," Ava countered, unimpressed by her words.

"I truly don't know how I would have handled _any_ of this," She told Ava bluntly, honestly. "We will look at your fingers and then quit for today. I have a lot to review and to think about. It's crazy. Every part of the human body is understood and labeled; bones, muscles, ligaments, nerves, so on. You break the mold in every way. I don't even know how to label some of these things."

It was some time later that Natilie came back from her date. She quietly took a seat beside Vevila. Ava could smell the pepperoni pizza, and realized how hungry she was. She smelled something else too, but didn't know what the scent meant. It was an _emotion_ scent. Those, were new to her, not something she particularly _wanted_ to understand.

"Edith will be here tomorrow," Natilie reminded them. "You can work in link, and see exactly what muscles control which movements."

"We will definitely be doing some weight lifting," Ling announced.

"Boring," Ava sighed.

: _What's bothering you?_ : Vevila sent a narrow mind thought to Natilie.

Natilie frowned, : _Anthony disappeared for around five minutes._ :

: _??_ :

: _I couldn't see him. He went to pick up the pizza and disappeared. You know I can see anyone and anything I want. I actually looked for him and didn't find him. How does that work?_ : Natilie asked perturbed.

: _I have no idea,_ : Vevila sent back surprised.

Natilie's admission made Vevila uneasy. Natilie could see clear into the Faerie realms. Just how had Anthony eluded her, more importantly—why would he do that?

"So Ling?" Natilie called out, "Are you and Anthony lovers?"

Ling was visibly startled.

"No, of course not," she answered sharply. "He is just a very good assistant."

"I admit," Ava squirmed with embarrassment, "I had wondered. I can't help but wonder when I see such a short woman in the company of such a tall man. It seems so... awkward."

"He is just an assistant," Ling stressed nervously. "Now, I would like to check out your hand."

Ling picked up her hand.

"Your hand is so tiny," Ava mentioned. "See, that's just what I meant!"

Ava laughed uneasily as Ling used both hands to feel along her fingers.

: _Something is not right here,_ : Natilie sent to Vevila. : _Why would Ling have an assistant she's so nervous of?:_

: _Have Karissa run a check on Anthony,_ : Vevila suggested. : _I've known Ling since she was born. I have never met Anthony before_.:

Natilie nodded.

"Figures," Ling rolled her eyes when she reached Ava's middle knuckles. They were hinged. That part of her fingers could move in both directions.

"I haven't found any use for that at all," Ava watched Ling move the finger back and forth. "It used to make my stomach sick to watch that."

"Sorry," she stopped moving the finger. "I was just so fascinated. I can understand your response. If it was my finger, that movement would mean it was grossly broken. How did you get over the squeamishness?"

"Kind of like picking at a scab," Ava admitted, "you kind of can't leave it alone. Pretty soon you're just dealing with it."

"I get that," Vevila told her. "I had my foot blown off one time. I kept messing with it as it grew back."

Ava's jaw dropped open, "That's just wrong somehow!"

"Somehow?" Natilie laughed.

"We're done," Ling announced.

"Can I have my undies back then?" Natilie asked with a grin.

"No!" Ava answered hugging the fabric to herself.

"Fine!" Natilie shrugged. "When we get to the dancing fun, I'm doing it in the buff."

"You would have anyway!" Vevila laughed and shoved her playfully.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

"Huh," Natilie's eyes narrowed. "It had better be important. I made it quite clear that we weren't to be intruded on. Come in, Karissa."

Without hesitation Karissa came bouncing into the room.

"You've been in here for hours," she stated excitedly. She stopped abruptly, eyeing Ava and Ling. "Mary found these, and told me to get them to you as soon as your workout was over. She practically posted me at the door waiting for you."

She handed them to Natilie, and took a seat on the floor.

Natilie's eyes widened as she read them.

"You were an accident!" Natilie blurted out. "They didn't try to re-wire you with snake DNA. You got bit! You were assigned to the amphibian project, not reptilian at all."

"What?" Ava asked surprised.

"They had given the subjects—five, three month old girls—the serum, and had already radiated them. They were to stay for the next twenty-four hours being monitored. A snake which had disappeared from the other lab, had made its way into the nursery. It had actually curled up with the babies. The technician panicked when he saw the snake. He startled it. It bit you!"

Natilie put down the papers and stared at Ava.

"Read on," Karissa told her. "It gets even better—I mean worse."

Natilie skimmed the report and halted abruptly.

"They didn't even know what kind of snake it was," she frowned angrily, "it was from another experiment in the _D_ -lab. The snake was the product of six generations of crossbreeding and tampering. All they knew was that it _appeared_ to be a juvenile, and that it _appeared_ to be venomous."

"What were they trying to do with the snakes?" Vevila asked, frowning in puzzlement.

"It doesn't say," Natilie was skimming.

"The doctor who was in charge of the snakes got bitten and died," Karissa told them. "Mary found that in a different report. That's apparently when the snake escaped. It wasn't until an assistant was told to terminate the project that they discovered where the snake came from. That was a few days after it had bitten the _subject_."

_"Subject_ ," Ava scowled.

"Fangs," Ling reminded Ava.

She nodded, her fangs had lowered. She was a step away from bloodying up her lip. She took a deep breath and released her anger. It wasn't difficult. She was not normally an angry person.

"No one could decode the dead doctor's project notes," Karissa finished. "Mary is working on it. She copied that stuff too if you want it."

"We might," Vevila nodded, "We might need more information about that snake. Did the report tell what they did with it?"

"They killed it," Karissa said bluntly.

"Figures," Vevila muttered.

"They bundled you off back home, and thought they had burned all the references." Natilie's eyes narrowed. "You were _released_ from the study. They assumed you would die. They didn't even try to use an anti-venom."

"Couldn't be bothered probably," Vevila suggested.

"There was a spy in the lab," Karissa frowned. "It sounds like they killed him. There are strange references to terminating a rabbit, but Mary couldn't find any rabbits in any of the experiments. They used Chimpanzees."

"You work with computers?" Ling asked Karissa.

"Nah," Karissa laughed, "Mary kicks me out when I get too loud."

"Games," Natilie commented, "Karissa is assigned to Mary."

"She's so little," Ling mentioned.

"All the kids have assignments," Vevila shrugged. "She's one of the lucky ones. She could be cleaning toilets."

"Or working for Trish," Karissa grimaced, "she's tough on the dishwashers."

"She won't have you," Vevila scoffed, "you drop too many plates. I did wonder if you did that on purpose."

"They're too big," Karissa denied. "I wouldn't do it on purpose!"

"You are pretty little for doing dishes," Ling admitted, "little hands."

"Where did she find this?" Natilie asked.

Karissa frowned. "I don't know. She sent spiders out searching on that Q drug thing. She said this was in a partially destroyed file. I watched her trying to salvage it. Most of it was trash."

"That was clever," Vevila complimented, "to search on the drug."

Karissa frowned, "as soon as she entered the code, she started cussing about spiders rushing out from everywhere. It kind of scared her. She shut down the computers really fast."

"Well, tell her to keep a watch out for any more interesting tid-bits," Natilie asked Karissa.

"She is," she answered with a grin. "This is funner than _Monkeys and Meteors!_ "

"Thank you, Karissa," Ava met Karissa's gaze, "for running these errands so quickly. I really want to understand what all _this_ means!"

"You're welcome, Snake Lady," Karissa nodded.

"You can call me, Ava," She announced with a slight smile. "I've decided to keep the name."

"Ava it stays," Natilie smiled.

"I liked Fangles," Karissa grinned mischievously. "Maybe, Ava Fangles?"

"You never know," Ava laughed.

: _It is Ling who she doesn't trust_ ,: Natilie sent to Vevila.

: _Ling is a stranger to her,_ : Vevila replied.

There was no— _Mary_ —in the computer room. Natilie had been watching carefully to see who Karissa did not trust with her secret. She was very relaxed with Ava. Having been part of her rescue could definitely have influenced that. Vevila was right. Ling was a stranger to her. Karissa didn't trust most people with her secret. She often defaulted to Mary when talking about computers. Mary was such a common name, people usually didn't even question it. Most of the time, they wouldn't even remember later, who it was that Karissa had mentioned.

"About your mother," Vevila turned to Ava, "I sent her on her way. She's useless."

Ava stared at her chagrined expression, and started laughing.

"Let me guess," Ava rolled her eyes, "the only thing she knew was that they gave her an additional ten dollars because they damaged me."

"Twenty actually," Vevila said dryly.

"She of course, tried to get more, and we should have been proud of that," Ava rubbed her cheek, "and then she made herself quite at home in her _cell,_ ordering food, and having someone clean her room."

"She even asked for someone to cut her hair," Vevila scowled. "She has no remorse, no conscious, no guilt for handing her infant child over to those people."

"She probably even thought she was doing her patriotic duty," Ava mentioned, "and she caused fights between your workers. You don't know how she did that, but you know it was her. Does that about sum it up?"

"Yup," Vevila answered. "She's pure poison."

"Try being her daughter," Ava grumbled, "she still knows all the strings to pull to do the most damage."

"Pass," Vevila sympathized, "I'd punish her, teach her one of life's little lessons, but I can't think of anything."

"Give it up," Ava told her, "she's a narcissistic sociopath. There is nothing you could do that would make her feel anything except maybe pity for herself. I found the best way to deal is to stay the hell away from her."

Karissa took Ava's hand. "I like you the way you are, and if you had to have a mother like that to get you—than I guess it was worth it for us."

"Thank you!" Ava was surprised and deeply touched, "I like you whole lots, too. And I don't like all that many people."

Natilie smiled as the two grinned at each other. She moved to catch Vevila's attention. Vevila was staring at Ling. Ling was asleep.

"That's really odd," Vevila mentioned.

Toc

# Chapter Four

"What is it, Karissa?" Janet asked with a frown.

"Crap!" Karissa repeated angrily. "Son of a Bitch!"

"Watch the language, Karissa," Janet warned her, "just what is so important as to require such crassness?"

She didn't answer Janet. She was too busy fighting those who were trying to kill her Avatar. Her jaw clinched up. Did kill her Avatar!

She sat back and stared at the screen. Janet stared at her waiting for an answer. Karissa ignored her. She didn't owe her an explanation. Janet assumed that since she was _the_ adult, and Karissa was just a kid, that she was in charge. Karissa disagreed. She didn't owe Janet anything. Respect had to be earned, and Janet had not earned her respect.

Ever since Erran died, Janet tried to run the room. This made Karissa angry. Janet thought she was going to take Erran's place. Wrong, she didn't have the same kind of skills that Erran had. Erran was intuitive when it came to computers. Computers _liked_ him. They did not _like_ Janet.

They actually missed his touch. Karissa noticed their uncertainty echoed in the stream. They didn't understand that he was gone—forever. They kept questioning when he would be back. No matter what happened within computer software, it could be fixed or changed. Even her Avatar could be returned to her, once she found it. People, of course, were not so lucky!

"I'm talking to you, Karissa," Janet continued to stare.

Karissa turned to stare straight into Janet's little, nearsighted blue eyes. "It's really none of your concern—now is it?"

"Karissa!" Janet squawked.

Karissa could feel her lip turn up in a snarl. Janet was in her twenties, and had a software engineering degree. She was of average height, but chunky. Her hair was dirty blond, and was pulled back in a ponytail. She deliberately downplayed her looks—which Karissa found irritating. Karissa had not guessed it was deliberate until she made some snide comment about Vevila one day. Janet seemed to think that women who wanted to look pretty were stupid. The comment made Karissa mad! Since then, she hadn't given Janet the time of day.

Vevila was anything, but stupid. She also believed in education. She held a doctorates degree in psychology, and several master's degrees. Karissa couldn't figure out just how many languages she knew. With all those years behind her, she had now and again pursued subjects which interested her; business and economics amongst the lists. She was the reason why any O'Byrne wanting to pursue education had the instant funds. She didn't even care if they maybe weren't really smart enough to get the A and B grades. That generosity had benefited many of Natilie's rescues, none of which were of O'Byrne blood.

Karissa also didn't understand why Janet wouldn't take advantage of the O'Byrne resources, and have her vision corrected. In five seconds, she could suddenly have 20/20 vision.

Karissa logged out of her computer, and pushed back her chair. She needed some coffee. She hesitated, and then nodded. She quickly logged back in. She typed quickly, and then logged back off. Janet was watching so she kept her face straight. Inside, she could hear her own maniacal laughter. That outa teach her! Janet wouldn't realize it for a few days, but she'd just been locked out! Janet had always been a little lazy about checking the work schedule. That was why Erran always got the good jobs.

She left the room without giving Janet a second glance. She was sure Janet was giving her _the look_. She'd seen it before. She hardly cared.

"Ah-oh," Jackson jogged up beside her, "you're angry again."

"She was better when she was involved with that Danny guy," Karissa snarled. "Since they broke up, she's constantly snipping at me."

"Who are you talking about?" He asked her.

"Janet," Karissa glared at him. "That and someone killed my Avatar."

"Killed your Avatar?" Jackson frowned with concern.

Unlike Janet, who would assume Karissa was playing some kid's game, Jackson knew that she would never lose an Avatar in a game. He knew she had worked hand-in-hand with Erran, shaking answers out of systems and servers. For her to lose an avatar was serious business.

"I'll go find her tonight," Karissa shrugged, "but they, whoever they are, shouldn't have been able to get to her. I've been working with Erran since I was eight, now Janet walks in, and starts jerking me around. Natilie said I was to search for some things, but Janet had me filling in data for her special benefits programs. She actually locked me out! Put up a password."

"Which you can easily get around," Jackson reminded her.

"That's not the point," Karissa fumed, "and besides, she doesn't know that! Wouldn't believe it if someone told her. She thinks she _locked_ me out! She thinks that I'm stupid!"

"Natilie will figure it out that Janet's blocking you," Jackson assured her.

"I know," Karissa looked down at her feet, "it's not just that. I miss Erran. He _got_ me. I don't know if someone else will."

Jackson laughed. at her. She stared at him with surprise, and a little hurt.

"What is that for?" She scowled at him.

"You need a new friend. Let the computers choose a friend for you," his eyes sparkled with purple specks. "If they like the person, so will you."

Karissa smiled. She actually liked that, and he might be right at that. She should pay more attention to who the other Avatars liked. They in fact, liked Jackson, but then what was there to dislike. He was funny and kind. He was pretty to look at with his long black hair, blue eyes, and that smirky grin.

"Actually," Karissa considered, "they like Ava."

"The Snake Lady?" He asked surprised. "Well, she would make an _interesting_ friend. What about friends closer to your own age? You can have more than one friend you know?"

"You're my friend," She studied his face. "You're only four years older than I am."

"Four years can seem like a lot," he frowned.

"So just what am I supposed to do with these _young_ friends?" She asked sarcastically. "Talk about boys? Play Barbie's?"

"You are not the only young-old person here, you know?" he stared at her. "There are quite a few here who never got to have a childhood, either. Open up, talk to them. You might find you are not all that much different from the others—Try!"

She blinked at him, feeling surprised. She hadn't even considered the other children. He was right though. They wouldn't even be here if they were ordinary children.

He nodded, and walked into one of the work rooms.

Lost in thought, Karissa reached the kitchen pretty quickly. She grabbed a cup of coffee, sugar and creamed it, and sat at one of the tables. She stirred it rather absently. Jackson had surprised her with his observations as well as his suggestion. He was right. She was lonely, and it was her own fault. He hadn't said it in those words, but it was true.

Jackson was intuitive. He had just realized his gift this year. He was an O'Byrne. Karissa didn't know why he was here, instead of with his family. Questions were considered impolite here. Very few people liked other people meddling in their business—herself included.

"Children should not be drinking the coffee," Patty stared at her full cup. "It is not good for you."

"I like coffee," Karissa informed her. "It's probably no worse than pop anyway. Pop burns my throat. Besides, Gwen is over there getting coffee, too."

"It will make you both short, and give you bad teeth," Patty informed her.

"That's only a problem if you are old," Karissa told her blithely.

Patty just shook her head, and started topping off the sugars. Karissa grinned. Patty was Trish's assistant cook. She was old and gray and wore baggy clothes. She rarely spoke. When she did, it was to lecture about something or other. Most people ignored her.

"I'm sorry about Erran," Gwen sat down at the table. "He was really nice."

"I miss him," Karissa admitted.

"Me, too," Gwen stared off into space. Karissa was surprised to see the hint of moisture in the corner of her eyes. "He saved me and brought me here. I wasn't even missing. I'm pretty sure my father would have killed me had I stayed with him much longer."

"I'm sorry," Karissa whispered.

"Yah," she laughed without humor, "life huh? A stupid woman, driving a stupid car."

"What do you do here?" Karissa found herself asking

Gwen was around her own age. She had light brown hair and beautiful lavender eyes. Karissa had thought she was an O'Byrne with the purple eyes. She'd been surprised to find out that she was not. Like Karissa, she was just another kid they had rescued. Karissa had never paid all that much attention to her before. She just seemed to fade into the shadows. With a father like that, Karissa could understand why!

Gwen's eyebrows rose with surprise. "Hiding mostly."

"What?" Karissa asked appalled. "Why?"

"My father is still looking for me," she shrugged. "He has money and influence. Erran seemed to think I should just stay here for a while. I like it here. No one yells at me... hurts me. Natilie's okay with that. She knows my mother could never protect me from him. She's just not strong enough. So, I go to school here. I like to play volleyball. You should join us. It's fun. We all know you don't need to go to our school, but you should anyway. We learn all kinds of things. Yesterday, we made a rum cake."

"A rum cake?" Karissa asked surprised.

"Well almost," she laughed, "Vevila made us cook out the toppings so the rum wasn't potent. She acted like she didn't notice when we took sips. Awful, awful stuff."

"She probably laughed at all of you as you tried to keep a straight face with that stuff," Karissa suggested.

"Probably," she sighed longingly. "She is so beautiful!"

"She is," Karissa agreed.

"You can teach us about computers!" Gwen's eyes opened wide.

"What?" Karissa asked surprised.

"Well," she nodded and smiled, "people teach us different things. We all know that nobody knows computers as well as you and Erran. You can teach us. Computer skills are invaluable. We all know that!"

"What about Janet?" Karissa couldn't help asking.

"Who?" She asked confused. "Anyway, I'm going to bring it up with Vevila. It really is a good idea. So, I suggest you figure out a plan cause I know she's going to ask you. She always brings in people who we want to learn from."

"Even Fangles?" Karissa asked.

"We would love to have classes with her," Gwen said enthusiastically. "That would be pretty cool!"

"I better put together a plan, then," Karissa said with surprise. She found that she liked the idea.

"So cool!" Gwen smiled, "oh, oh, I'm late! I have to practice my lines. We're going to start filming tomorrow."

"Filming?" Karissa asked.

"We wrote a play," she jumped up. "Each of us have our own parts. We start filming it tomorrow."

"Have fun with that," Karissa called after her.

Gwen waved back distractedly. She was already studying her lines in her head.

Karissa stared into her coffee. She was surprised by how much she liked talking with Gwen. The things she was doing sounded like fun! It'd been a long time since she'd played with other kids. She missed that. She hadn't even realized it. She hadn't ever played volleyball before, but she used to like playing baseball. You're never too small to play baseball! Not if you could hit the ball!

"So what do you know?" Natilie sat at the table. She shoved a cheeseburger at Karissa. "You cannot live on just coffee."

Natilie was munching one of her own, along with fries and a pop.

"Thanks," Karissa unwrapped the cheeseburger. "Janet told me to enter the guest lists for her banquet next week. She thinks she's locked me out of the work schedule—for _security_ reasons."

"Didn't think of that," Natilie frowned, "she _would_ assume Erran's position."

"She only sees me as a little kid," Karissa mentioned, trying to hide how belittled that made her feel.

Natilie tapped on the table as she ate.

"That just shows how obtuse she is," Natilie told her. "People who actually talk with you, know you aren't like normal little kids. You are too aware. She's spent a lot of time with you. She should have figured it out. You don't seem like a little kid at all, or even a cute little girl. Your eyes and manners are so old."

"Thanks," Karissa scowled at her, "I think."

"It's probably time to divide the computer jobs," Natilie said thoughtfully. "Mundane things on one end, search and rescue things on the other. Janet has her uses. She would be good in charge of—oh I don't know—mailing lists."

"Mailing lists?" Karissa smiled.

"You would not believe how many things get sent to us," Natilie rolled her eyes. "so we can find this or that. Have you ever seen the sorting rooms?"

"Sorting rooms?" Karissa asked curiously. "No."

"Finish up, and let's go," Natilie insisted.

The sorting rooms were on the other side of the factory. Karissa was surprised to see two conveyer belts loaded and moving with stuff—a lot of stuff!

"Wow!" Karissa's eyes were big. "There's a lot of people and stuff in here!"

"We get all this _stuff_ from people who want the Raven to help them with things," Natilie explained.

"But you are the Raven," Karissa stated.

"Yes," Natilie agreed, "but I don't have time for this! That doesn't mean, I don't want these people helped. Some of them have real problems."

"Do you accidently get people in here who steal?" Karissa asked.

"Everyone in here is formally bonded," Natilie told her. "It's not just stuff that goes through here. It's also secrets."

"I don't know what that means," Karissa looked at her, "the bonding."

"It's magic," Natilie answered. "They are checked by magic. There are oaths and pledges taken and received."

"You use blood," Karissa's eyes narrowed.

"Yes," Natilie agreed. "Does that scare you?"

Karissa thought about it. She had seen it on a clip in the computer. It didn't look like much. She frowned.

"It doesn't look like anything," Karissa stated.

"It's one drop of blood," Natilie agreed, "it binds the promises."

"That doesn't scare me," Karissa told her. "I wish all promises could be forced to be kept."

"It would make life easier," Natilie agreed, "and less people would make promises they had no intention of keeping."

"I think I hate people lying to me above all else," Karissa stated.

"Me, too," Natilie agreed. "Some people are awfully slippery."

Karissa nodded.

"The lines move along pretty slowly," Natilie continued, "Our people first sort them according to what they are. We get a lot of paper, items, and garbage. Then those with gifts get a crack at it. Most things are solved right then and there. We have admin people to write and post the replies. Sometimes we send the item back, but only if we know it's special in some way."

"What do you do with the rest?" Karissa asked.

"Most of the time, it's just garbage," Natilie snorted, "we even get dirty panties."

"Gross," Karissa wrinkle up her nose.

"Once in a while though, real serious matters are found," Natilie looked at her, "Those are brought to my attention. Then we organize, and do whatever needs to be done. That's mostly done in the Control Room. It's directly linked to the NCMEC, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the F.B.I."

"I've met Sandra," Karissa nodded. "She's really nice. She's assigned to you."

"Yes," Natilie nodded, "Agent Sandra Costello was one of the agents who worked with me when I was a teenager. I trust her with my life, and the life of any child we are working to save."

"She's nice,' Karissa commented.

"She really cares about getting the kids back to their families," Natilie told her. "She'd do about anything to get a child back to safety. That's why she's here with us. I wouldn't let them just put anyone with us. Although, they've tried. She's special. She's gifted, intuitive. She and Erran had rescued a lot of children together."

"Like Gwen?" Karissa asked. "How did they find her? She said she wasn't missing."

"Hospital reports," Natilie's jaw grew tight in anger. "Her _stuff_ didn't go through this room. We have people who routinely watch hospital reports for strange activity. We also have intuitive people who _know_ things. Erran discovered her. I'm not sure what got his attention. You know Erran, he just ran in strange directions sometimes."

"He did," Karissa nodded.

"Which reminds me," Natilie sighed, "you need a new mentor."

"Not really," Karissa murmured.

"Yes, you do," Natilie corrected, "and I need some help. How do you feel about Ava?"

"Ava?" Karissa said surprised. "I like Ava."

"Would you be willing to help her," Natilie studied her face.

"In what way?" Karissa hesitated. "I don't want to be replaced at the computers."

"Not a chance of that," Natilie assured her. "I would like to put a special team together for the _search_ computers, but you would have to give up your secret to the team. A team has to be aware of every talent, every situation, every gift, and every complication. Anyway, more on that later. Ava is going to need some physical assistance, running errands etc. I also want a spy with her. I don't trust Ling's assistant."

"Wouldn't it be better to have someone gifted with telepathy?" Karissa asked.

"I don't want the enemy suspecting that we are watching," Natilie told her. "I thought _they_ had disbanded, the _doctors_ who had Ava. Now, I'm not so sure. I'm hoping they won't really pay attention to you."

Karissa shivered at the mention of the enemy. Natilie would not have voiced it that way if they were only suspicious. They knew something!

"You _are_ just a kid," Natilie went on, "people here know you are not an O'Byrne. Those who pay attention, know you are into computers. They think computer kid-games. Vevila and I can create a mental link with you that no one else needs to know about."

"I won't be anyone's servant!" Karissa stated firmly.

"Ava would not ask that of you," Natilie laughed. "She likes you. She is a lot like you. Both of you do not trust very many people, but when that trust is given, it is given with heart. She's into designing. Not just clothing anymore, but stuff. She's redesigning some of our _tools_. I think the two of you would do very well together. She knows things you have yet to learn. That is what a mentorship should be about."

"Like what?" Karissa asked curiously.

"Mechanical design," Natilie mentioned, "physics, how things work. She has a _thing_ for it. She also has magical hands. We will teach her how to work with that."

"Healing?" Karissa asked.

"I don't think that's the fit," Natilie thought on it, "Her subconscious seems to be able to create spells. Her clothing has actual spells embedded in them that she isn't even aware of."

"Maybe that's why she is still alive," Karissa suggested.

Natilie looked at her with surprise. She had not thought of that, but now that Karissa mentioned it—it fit! That was how Natilie's own gift of intuition worked. She knew it was truth when it clicked into place.

"You are right," Natilie told her. "She has been working on herself without even knowing it."

"Is she intuitive?" Karissa asked.

"Must be," Natilie nodded, "how else would she know?"

"I will do it," Karissa agreed, "I would like to be part of Ava's evolution."

"Thank you," Natilie's eyes sparkled. "How shall we pay you?"

"Same as last quarter?" Karissa smiled with satisfaction.

"Thought so," Natilie handed Karissa a rock.

Karissa grinned. The rock was painted like a lady bug with its red body, black spots, and large wiggly eyes. Karissa smiled at its _silver_ feet, and slipped it into her pocket.

Raven Investigation, believed that to work was to get paid. It didn't matter whether the worker was an adult, or a child. It was all fine and legal if the child had a responsible guardian to manage their financial affairs, but many times those who were rescued from severe situations did not have anyone.

Natilie had devised the "rock exchange" many years ago. She didn't want a child to be vulnerable due to a lack of money. The "rocks" could be saved, exchanged for money or goods, or if a situation was dire, stripped down to the gold or silver within. Each rock was actually a nugget of metal which had then been dipped in plastic and designed to look like a pet rock. A five to ten minute soak in Acetone, and the plastic would strip off. Leaving the metal all shiny and ready for use.

Natilie knew that Karissa probably had around ten or so rocks stashed away. She had earned every one of them. Karissa could do with the computer, what no one else was capable of doing. She could go _swimming_ in the stream. Submerge herself, and find _anything_.

"Are you ready to talk to Ava?" Natilie asked her.

"Have you already talked to her?" Karissa asked. "What if she doesn't want a little kid bothering her?"

Natilie stopped to stare at her. Karissa looked away, disturbed by the intensity of Natilie's purple gaze.

"It was her idea," Natilie told her. "You don't seem to be ready. You think on it for a few days. If you want someone else, let us know. We will see if we can arrange it."

Karissa nodded, but continued to study her feet.

Natilie felt sure that she would come around. If not, they would find a different solution.

"I don't think her sessions are going very well," Karissa mentioned, looking up, "Ava says that Ling gets impatient with her, and starts spouting off in Chinese. She said— _Like I can really understand what she wants when she starts doing that!_ Ava is so funny sometimes."

"I'm glad you like her," Natilie smiled. "I like her, too."

"She tries so hard," Karissa told her. "She hurts a lot of the time, and just keeps at it anyway. She's amazing!"

Natilie was surprised by the hero worship in Karissa's voice. She thought the two getting together would probably work out naturally. Ava was crazy about the child. Natilie knew Karissa wasn't ready to confide in a new person just yet. She had been with Erran for years. She did not trust easily. She wouldn't be able to keep her secrets from someone she was going to be spending so much time with.

"Is it okay if I hang out in here for a while?" Karissa asked.

"Certainly," Natilie laughed, "I'll introduce you to Maxine. She's our lead intuitive."

Natilie waived Maxine over. Maxine was a really big woman, both big boned, and well—big. She stood around six feet and weighed about three hundred pounds. Her face was round and fleshy. She had brown hair and lovely hazel eyes. Karissa stepped back as she approached.

"She's not going to run you over," Natilie whispered to her.

"I was thinking more along the lines of—eat," Karissa whispered back.

Natilie barely held back the snort.

"Karissa," Natilie introduced, "this is Maxine. Karissa would like to hang out for a while, and see the operation. Could you show her the steps?"

"Sure," Maxine's voice grated loudly.

Karissa jumped.

"Sorry," Maxine said, adjusting her hearing aid. "Let's start at the beginning of the line. All lines have a beginning, you know?"

Maxine walked away with Karissa. Karissa looked back at Natilie uncertainly. Natilie waved her on.

Natilie's smile dimmed. She and Vevila couldn't perceive Karissa ever being able to live within a normal society. It was possible, but she would always have to be careful of who knew her secret. People would, if they knew, manipulate and use her. She was a sweet person. Natilie wouldn't like for her to have to live in the shadows in order to be safe. Here, she could be open and thrive.

She and Vevila might not have the time to personally mentor her, but they had every intention of bringing her up with the tools to run this business. They had played with the idea of expanding the partnership before, but no one had ever fit the plan.

It wasn't an easy business to manage. Most people did not want that kind of burden hanging over them. Most people wanted to get on with their lives. Secrets did not mix well in marriage. Romance, within an organization such as this, always led to complications. Her cousin, Emily had married Stone who was one of the Mages. Now, they both worked there together. They had a successful marriage. Marriages such as theirs was a rarity.

Karissa might find her soul mate, but Natilie wanted to make sure she had something of her own. She might choose someday to move on to something else, but having the knowledge of the business would definitely be to her advantage.

It would also be to the advantage of the business to have someone else involved. She and Vevila had long lives in front of them. They did not want to be tied down to other people's problems. Just because they could—did not mean they had to. People died every day. Unfortunately, that also included children. The concept had taken Natilie years to comprehend. She still had trouble accepting it.

Tawny wasn't interested in the business. She liked to occasionally come out and kick some butt, but wasn't one to follow down a lead or money trail. She didn't get involved with other people's problems. Natilie was okay with that. She had never raised Tawny with the expectation that they would care about the same things.

Tawny was in fact, still trying to figure out what she wanted—and what she could have. Being half Elfin had its advantages, but also its drawbacks. There was no pathway to follow. No one could plow the road in front of her. She had to figure it out all for herself. Becoming a partner in the company was definitely not her thing. She didn't even like people most of the time!

Toc

# Chapter Five

Once in her room, Karissa put on her favorite flannel pajamas. She turned on the computer next to her bed. She didn't need any connections to merge into the stream. The factory was a Wi-Fi hotspot.

It was not long before her mind was searching down the alleys and paths she had visited earlier, looking for her Avatar. Only this time, _she_ was her Avatar, and unlike any ever written, she was fast and deadly accurate.

She found her old Avatar, Benji. Benji was a Bengal tiger. She grew angry as she studied what had been done. It had been completely disabled. Someone had massacred it. Its bits were thrown about, spread clear up the pathway. She collected the bits, repaired Benji, and sent her home. Now, she thought, let's see what happened to the doctor. The files she had been snooping through earlier were a mess. She had not left them in that state. Something had been through there. The files were broken apart in bits and pieces. It looked as if a rhino had plowed through the data, tossing it this way and that. She created a monkey with a barrel to collect the data, and gave it instructions to carry the pieces home. She would look at it later.

She blocked out the mess from the files, and looked closer at the floors and walls around her. She spied something shiny, and moved in closer to get a better look. It was blood, maybe even unicorn. Sometimes people placed mythical creatures to guard something they felt was precious. They did it sometimes without even knowing they were real.

She glanced behind her. The monkey was doing his job. There didn't seem to be anything animated in the corridors. Just to be cautions, Karissa created an Ice Guardian to protect her monkey. She left instructions for it to follow the monkey home. She liked the Ice Guardians. They were awesome in a fight, and also because they would preserve clues, instead of destroying them. She had learned early on that although Fiery Guardians looked really cool, they were rather hard on the environment.

Satisfied, she ventured on down the corridor, following the smear of blood. There weren't a lot of things which could beat one of her Avatars. There shouldn't have been anything surviving in these old passageways to be of any kind of threat—shouldn't have been!

Karissa moved forward slowly, following the smear pattern. It led to a dark room. She had to turn on a light. It was only then that she realized just how big the room was. What met her eyes made her blanch. It had been a Unicorn. A beautiful, snowy white unicorn with a silver horn and sapphire blue hooves. It was dead. Its abdomen was torn open as if by claws. For a moment she cringed, afraid that Benji had done this. She threw off that thought. Benji would never have fouled such a creature, and if she had, Karissa would have known as it was happening.

Unlike with Avatars, there was nothing she could do for the mythical creatures which traveled the paths. Its creator might have been able to do something, but he or she was long gone. Stepping closer, she spied a blue ribbon around its neck. She carefully untied it, and found herself holding a golden key. She put it in her pocket. She glanced around the room. It was just an old dusty workroom. Old books lay in disarray. She created another monkey, and set it to work collecting books. She signaled to the Guardian to watch both monkeys.

There was only one more place to look. There was a door at the back of the room. It was probably a closet, but with these places one never really knew. Karissa put her ear to the door, and listened. She could hear breathing through the door.

The breathing was a ragged, rasping sound. Something on the other side of the door was panting heavily. She scooted back, and called her Guardian to open it.

Fearlessly, the Ice Guardian pulled the door open. A figure fell out onto the floor. She started with surprise. It appeared to be a replica of the doctor who had the snakes. She had seen his picture in one of the files. He was a little bald man with a smooth round face. His eyes were blue. She had not known that.

She approached carefully. It was possible for someone to create one thing, and have it look like something else entirely. She'd seen little butterflies with the aggressiveness of wild boars. Imagine something like that coming at you!

"What are you doing here?" She called out.

"Who are you?" He pulled himself into a sitting position.

"I know the baby who was bitten by one of your snakes," she answered.

"There hasn't been a baby bitten by any of my snakes!" He denied fervently.

"Do you remember getting bitten?" She asked him.

"Carl did that," he said angrily. "My assistant. He shoved my arm into the snake's aquarium. It bit me. I remember him laughing."

"Why would he do that?" Karissa asked, looking at him curiously. This _figure_ was different somehow. It wasn't a replica.

"Who are you?" The doctor frowned at her.

"Karissa," she answered. "I'm searching for answers. A baby _was_ bitten by one of your snakes. It was a golden snake with blue and aqua stripes down its back. It had yellow eyes. It was deliberately placed in the crib of the babies for the gene experiment."

"Why would he do that?" The doctor pulled his hands across his bald head. "Why did he kill me?"

"You are a remnant!" Karissa realized with surprise.

"A what?" He frowned at her.

"Energy lingering from Dr. Brenner," Karissa said in wonder.

She hadn't ever met a remnant before. The actual living energy of the person it resembled. She knew it by the emotions displayed in his voice and face. Replica's did not have emotion.

"I _am_ Dr. Brenner," he told her arrogantly.

"Yes," Karissa nodded, knowing that he would think that. "There seems to have been a spy?"

"They knew," he slumped forward. "I'd been so careful. I was the spy. I hated what they were going to do to those babies. I was only supposed to be working with the hybrid snakes, but I couldn't stand it."

"What's with the snakes?" Karissa asked him with a puzzled expression.

"Weapons, assassins," he answered. "We could adapt them into anything we wanted. They could go most places. The Nectar, she was the best, she could produce several kinds of poison for many purposes."

"How?" Karissa frowned at him.

"Her own pheromones," he answered. "Make her angry, and her scent would produce a poison that kills. Lethargy creates a sleeping drought. Of course it was hard to make her bite anything then. Sexual pheromones created all manner of poisons. We were still trying to figure that out. I am sorry for the baby who died. That was never in the plan."

"The baby didn't die," Karissa told him.

"That's rather odd," he mumbled. "She was quite lethal. Maybe she was producing a non-toxic venom?"

"How would I know that?" Karissa asked him derisively.

"Of course not," he laughed dryly. "So, I'm assuming I'm dead?"

"Yes," she answered, "more than fifty years ago. That's why I don't understand why anyone would bother killing your Unicorn."

"The Monster runs loose in here," he answered. "It has no reason. It's just programmed to cause ruin."

"Figures," Karissa sighed, "I thought I was finding something important. Something someone was willing to vest energy into protecting or destroying."

"So who am I talking to?" He asked. "What do you really look like? Some old hag with sagging breasts no doubt?"

"No," Karissa squatted down to look him in the eye. "I am as you see me."

"Yah," he shrugged, "and I'm my own grandpa."

"I don't know what that means!" Karissa told him irritably. "Why do adults say such stupid things!"

"Huh!" The doctor scowled at her.

"I took this from the Unicorn," Karissa pulled out the ribbon with the key.

"It's useless," he shrugged. "The key to Heaven's Gate."

"What?" She asked.

"Exactly," he answered.

They suddenly heard the sound of screaming. Her monkeys were being attacked! She ran from the room. The doctor ran in front of her and shoved her aside. Her Ice Guardian had been destroyed! A monstrous thing had a monkey in each clawed hand. One monkey was dead. The other screamed and thrashed about, trying to tear loose.

"End task," Karissa shouted out.

Her monkey immediately stopped its struggle. The Monster continued to thrash her monkeys about.

The Monster was big, really big! It was all shades of gray, and had red glowing eyes. Its mouth was just a dark indent. It dropped a monkey, and moved towards them. She could see a slime trail on the floor as it slid forward.

"What is that?" Karissa asked with shock.

"It's mine," he sighed, "I did something stupid."

"It's made with dark energy!" Karissa said appalled. "I don't know how to destroy it! How did you even do that?"

She cringed when it threw her other monkey against the wall.

"Armor-up," The Doctor muttered.

Suddenly, the doctor was in a full suited, silver armor. He held a wicked looking sword. He looked like one of the Avatars a Gamer might use. The Monster made a grab at them. Karissa ran backwards, just avoiding its claws. The doctor yelled and charged at it, hitting its arm with the sword.

It screamed as it pulled its injured arm against its chest. It tried to stomp on the doctor, but he charged it again, jumping up on its shoulders. He struck it over and over in the back of the head. It reached up, and pulled him off, throwing him down the hallway. The marks on the Monster's head seamed to rearrange themselves and disappear.

The two continued to grappled and hit at each other. It was shredding the energy patterns of the doctor, but strangely, the doctor did not perish. She yanked herself out of the server. She lay down in her bed panting with fear. She was so scared! She so wished that Erran were around!

That thing had destroyed the Unicorn. She had never seen dark energy personified before. Erran had warned her about such things. She was pretty sure it could have hurt her—badly. There wasn't anything there worth collecting. The doctor was a dead end—literally!

There were other things she could be doing, but she huddled tightly in her blankets. She wished, as she had a million times before, that her mother was alive and holding her. She pressed her back against the wall, and pretended she was pressed against her mother's sleeping figure. She closed her eyes tight, and tried to create happy thoughts.

She felt Jinkers hop onto the bed. She could feel him as he walked towards her head. He curled up close to her ear. She reached over, and pulled him in closer. She willed herself into a semblance of sleep. Jinkers eventually soothed her into sleep with his soft purr.

Jinkers was still with her when she woke the next morning. His purr turned into a mighty roar when she opened her eyes. His cheeks were puffed out with happiness. His big green eyes stared into hers. She scratched the top of his black head.

Jinkers, was a black and white tabby cat, who had moved into the factory long before she had arrived. It hadn't taken anytime at all for him to find her room, and to make himself right at home on her bed. She remembered the feeling of joy when he greeted her that first day with his obnoxious, raspy howl.

She laid still, thinking about the last swim. She longed to talk with Erran. She hadn't ever seen a living specter before, much less a Monster made with Dark Matter. She would have to ask Natilie or Vevila about it. She'd heard them talk about dark energy before. They would know what to do. One thing was certain, she wouldn't be swimming in that stream until she knew it was gone!

She also needed to find out why it was running around loose in her Nano Land. She shivered. Could there be more of them? She hoped she was right about its lack of smarts. She definitely didn't want it to come looking for her. She didn't know what would happen if it caught her during a swim. She also didn't know how to protect data from it. That had never been a problem before.

Karissa put out food and water for her cats. She headed down to the kitchen. She was hungry. She hoped Trish was still making pancakes. She made the best pancakes ever! Her footsteps quickened at the thought—and coffee. She had to have some coffee.

As soon as Trish saw Karissa, she grinned and poured more pancakes on the grill. She didn't know where that little girl put them all! She had a ferocious appetite. She'd noticed that Karissa and Gwen were hanging out together lately. She was relieved. They both needed friends. They'd be good for each other. Karissa grinned as she picked up her plate filled with pancakes.

Natilie and Tawny were sitting together. Karissa didn't want to intrude, so made her way over to Ava's table. Ava didn't eat in the kitchen very often. She was self-conscious about her teeth. To see her there meant she was dealing better.

"Morning," Ava smiled at her. "That's some stack!"

"And I'm going to eat all of them," Karissa laughed biting into a piece of bacon.

Trish had stacked five large pancakes on her plate, plus four bacon and one egg. There was a maple syrup container on her tray. She didn't like syrup on her eggs or bacon. She didn't really care for eggs, but there was no point fighting with Trish over it, so she just dug in, and got rid of it first. Trish had also handed her a small orange juice. She just accepted it. She hated orange juice with pancakes, it was bitter, so she drank it down with her egg.

She noticed that Ava's breakfast was a mug of sunflower seeds; nut protein. She was wearing one of her kimono dresses. Karissa liked this one. It flowed with blues. It looked like running water.

"Experimenting?" Karissa pointed at Ava's plate

"Yes," Ava nodded, "graphing foods against body temperature. I'm trying to figure out which foods will cause my body to warm. I want to be able to control that."

"Of course," Karissa said between bacon bites, "cold forces you to sleep. Who would want that?"

"Exactly," Ava picked at her seeds. "I was going to check raw vs. cooked, but I hate raw meat. So why go there?"

"I wouldn't," Karissa agreed. "Dessert time!"

Ava laughed as Karissa buried her pancakes in syrup.

"Good morning!" Vevila placed her tray on the table.

"How do you eat all that?" Ava asked her.

Karissa cringed. It looked as if she was sampling every possibility of the breakfast buffet, plus some other _things_.

"Have you seen Natilie's tray?" Vevila laughed at their expressions.

They turned to stare at Natilie's tray. It was like Vevila's, only stacked even higher.

"What?" Natilie asked them.

"Nothing," Ava raised her eyebrows, "not a thing."

"How come you guys aren't fat?" Karissa asked bluntly.

"Hey," Vevila complained, "that's not nice."

Ava laughed so hard tears came to her eyes.

"One of the girls found this in the bathroom," Trish handed Vevila a small plastic bag.

"What is it?" Vevila asked trying to make out what was drifting in the liquid.

"We're assuming it's one of your contact lenses," Trish stated as she moved back towards the stoves. "You're the only one we know who uses purple lenses."

"Can I see?" Karissa asked curiously.

Vevila stared intently at it before handing it to Karissa.

"Why would you use a purple lens?" Karissa asked as she manipulated the lens so she could see it better. It matched Natilie's eyes.

"It's the best way to trick people into thinking those with purple eyes are using contact lenses," Vevila frowned. "I would pop it out, and people would assume that Kellan could do the same. Natilie and I sometimes play that game."

"Your sister, Kellan?" Karissa asked handing it to Ava. "I didn't know they had contacts way back then."

"They didn't," Vevila answered, "they were elfin made. Druantia gave them to us. Each set was specifically designed for each sister."

"That doesn't look special," Ava commented as she handed it back to Vevila. "I wouldn't put that thing in my eye. It's a bit beat up."

"It's ruined," Vevila agreed, "too much handling. It's only special due to it being purple. It's not mine. I'll ask Natilie about it later."

"That trick would work for me, too," Ava said thoughtfully, "not snake eyes, but cat eyes. People would assume I, and whoever else, were both wearing lenses."

"It would work," Vevila nodded, "people usually assume that with you anyway.'

"That's true," Ava murmured.

"Your Jell-O is melting," Karissa laughed at Vevila. "I thought only hospitals served Jell-O for breakfast."

"It's orange," Vevila informed her, "that makes all the difference!"

"Of course it does," Karissa rolled her eyes.

Vevila laughed at her expression, and then rolled her own eyes. Karissa giggled. Ava laughed. Vevila grinned at both of them.

Karissa's laughter dimmed, "What's Dark Matter?"

"Dark Matter?" Vevila asked surprised, "It's in everything, but we can't seem to find it."

"I found some," Karissa told her.

Vevila stared at her to see if she was making a joke. Karissa's eyes were very solemn.

"What did you find?" Vevila asked alarmed.

"Something killed my Avatar the other day," Karissa reminded her.

"Yes?" Vevila frowned as she squeezed the water out of the baggie. She then dropped it into her pocket.

"I found her," Karissa went on. "I've lost them before. People can be damn malicious. I patched her up, and sent her home. There was a dead unicorn. I followed its bloody path, and actually found a remnant of the Doctor. It was his unicorn. Anyway, it was a Dark Matter Monster that killed the unicorn. It was fighting with the doctor when I got the heck out of there."

Vevila sat back and stared at her. Ava just sat quietly. This wasn't a conversation for her. She didn't have a clue as to what Karissa was talking about.

"Did it kill the doctor?" Vevila asked.

Karissa was surprised by Vevila's question. She played the image back in her mind.

"It was hard to tell if the doctor was getting damaged, because he armored up. He'd fought it before. Neither seemed to be really breaking the other," Karissa said puzzled. "It sure killed my Ice Guardian fast enough."

"The doctor created it," Vevila sighed, "it's a part of himself the same as the remnant."

"I did read a report which stated that they found his dead body lying across the keyboard," Karissa frowned. "I haven't found the data he was working on at that moment. My monkeys could have brought it in though. I'll have to check. The monster destroyed my other monkey, so I don't know how much data they retrieved."

Ava snorted and quickly covered her mouth, "I'm so sorry. This whole conversation just sounds funny to me, like something from a cartoon."

"It would," Vevila grinned at her.

Karissa's face was white and pinched.

"What is it?" Vevila asked her.

"I'm afraid to go back in there," Karissa admitted, "I've never been afraid of my Nano world before. There was nothing scary in there before."

"Karissa," Ava touched her fingers, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to sound dismissive. I just didn't understand what you two were talking about. I didn't know you were scared. I don't always understand my senses. I can't always tell how people feel."

"It's okay," Karissa squeezed her fingers. "Normally, I would have laughed, too. Only this is different. I don't know how to protect myself against that thing, or protect my Nanos. I don't even know if it can follow me out of there and into our reality." She looked down at her empty plate, "I'm scared."

"Vevila will figure it out," Ava pushed Karissa's hair out of her eyes. "It'll be okay."

Karissa looked up at her with surprise. She seemed to really care.

"It _can_ slip into our reality," Vevila tapped the table. "In fact, we will probably have to lure it out to take care of it. It can't be left in there. Nothing would ever be safe again. Worse, it can grow. It can feed on _things_. It probably already has."

"You all look so serious," Natilie sat down at the table.

They looked up startled. The kitchen was empty. Everyone had eaten and gone. Trish was in the back somewhere shouting at her dishwashers.

"Karissa found a Dark Matter Monster in the system," Vevila told her.

"That's not good," Natilie replied dryly.

"I think the doctor is keeping it occupied," Karissa ventured, "he shoved me aside when it came at us."

"A remnant," Vevila explained. "We'll have to deal with the Monster immediately—before it gets too big. I'm calling Tawny, and asking her to bring her sword!"

"What of the remnant?" Natilie asked.

Vevila shrugged, "He might perish. We will have to lure the Monster out. The energy remnant might come out as well."

"Why can't we just kill it in the system?" Karissa asked. "Give it a virus or something?"

"The only way I know to disperse Dark Matter is by using the Moon-Blades." Vevila explained. "We can't manifest them through the computer."

"Disperse?" Karissa asked, "not kill?"

"It's not really alive as we understand life," Vevila answered, "Dark Matter and Dark Energy mirror what it is in or about. That's why it is so difficult to extract. The Monster appears to be alive, because the doctor animated it. Probably when the energy remnant split away from his core. When things happen to us, our energy will sometimes split away. That is how Natilie can astral project. She is aware of the energy that splits away."

"Shock can do that to people," Ava nodded. "Our energy can splinter. That's probably what happened to the doctor upon his death. That's shocking enough."

"Right," Vevila nodded. "I would guess that the Monster is a split of his own energy. Unfortunately, it seems to be mostly of Dark Matter. That is why it could kill the unicorn."

Toc

# Chapter Six

Tawny strode into the kitchen. Her hair was tied back into tight braids. She was wearing loose fitting dark green clothes which would allow her to move freely. Her golden eyes gleamed fiercely. She wore a long sword strapped to her back. She carried her helm. Her eyes gleamed. Battle excited her!

She stopped abruptly, eyeing those calmly sitting at the table. No one there looked as if they were going into battle! She walked more sedately into the room. The Snake Lady looked at her with surprise. The little blue-eyed girl, as normal, ignored her. Natilie signaled for her to join them. Vevila nodded. Tawny sighed. If this was just going to be a discussion, she would have been better off leaving the sword in her room. At least her clothes were comfortable. She noticed that the Snake Lady was eyeing her clothing speculatively.

To make a point, she pulled the sword and sheath from her back, and laid them on the table. Her mother looked at her with an amused gleam in her purple gaze. Tawny met her eyes boldly. Natilie laughed at her. She felt her shoulders hunch up—Mothers! Her grandmother was the same way!

"Karissa came across a Dark Matter Monster," Vevila told her. "We are going to lure it to one of the larger factory floors, and disperse it."

"Cool," Tawny grinned. "I was afraid you were only going to _talk_ about killing something."

"Killing?" Karissa asked her. "You _like_ to kill things?"

"Only bad things," Tawny answered, looking down at her.

Karissa studied her. She'd always been intimidated by the tall elfin lady.

"I guess someone should kill bad things," Karissa commented. "It might as well be someone who actually likes it."

"I like a good fight," Tawny grinned at her.

"I don't like getting blood on myself," Karissa told her. "Especially, if it's my own."

"Well said," Tawny laughed.

"Oh," Karissa remembered and turned to Ava, "The Doctor said that the snake which bit you was very poisonous. Its specialty was that the venom would alter according to how they manipulated its feelings. If they made it angry. It was very dangerous. If they made it sleepy. It created a sleeping venom."

"Did he say how it did that?" Ava asked curiously.

"Pheromones," she answered. "Its own scent triggered the production of the poisons."

Natilie laughed. Everyone turned to stare at her.

"Edith was so disappointed that your venom wasn't very potent," Natilie explained. "She should have made you angry."

"I was usually hungry," Ava admitted. "That's going to be interesting. I've never been angry enough to bite someone before."

"Never?" Tawny asked her curiously.

"Slam into the wall—yes," Ava eyed her, "bite... gross!"

"There is that," Tawny agreed.

"So why is this thing made of Dark Matter?" Karissa asked frowning.

"What did the doctor say?" Vevila asked.

"He said that he was the spy," Karissa listed off the details, "that they murdered him, and that he did something really stupid."

"Maybe we can find out what that ' _stupid'_ was," Natilie suggested. "That's probably why it's the way it is."

"How do we do all this?" Karissa asked warily.

Natilie sighed with resignation, "I will go in with you as an astral remnant. We will lure it out into the physical world. Once back here, Tawny, and hopefully myself, will smash the crap out of it with our Moon-Blades."

"Huh," Ava commented dryly, "just like that?"

"Hopefully," Natilie told her.

Ava responded with a raised brow. Vevila laughed.

"This sounds like fun!" Tawny smiled. She looked at Karissa and winked, "And hopefully no blood—especially, our own!"

Karissa giggled.

They walked down to the other side of the factory. Most of the area was unused. It wasn't hard to find a big, open space. Vevila carried a large laptop. Although they didn't need it to enter the stream, Vevila insisted that the rest of them wanted to see what was going on, too.

"After all," Vevila reminded Natilie, "we need to know when you guys are coming out."

"No big thing," Natilie frowned at her, "I wasn't arguing with you! No need to get snippy!"

"Where do you want this?" Mark asked Natilie.

He was levitating a couple of Lazy Boy sofa recliners. Skylar followed, carrying in a small coffee table.

"Over at the far end of the room," Natilie answered, "in the corner."

"Oh course she would," Skylar muttered.

"Don't strain yourself there, Skylar," Vevila mocked.

"He was nosey," Mark laughed, "wanted to know what you were up to."

"Does this clear up your confusion?" Natilie asked Skylar mockingly.

Skylar scratched his head and looked around.

"Nope," he answered.

They walked behind Mark and Skylar to the far corner of the room. Mark positioned the two sofas according to Vevila's instructions.

"Good-bye," Vevila said sweetly, "Lock the door behind you please when you're done."

"Out!" Natilie ordered when Skylar lingered after setting down his coffee table.

"Anything else you need?" Mark frowned at them.

"We got it," Natilie chimed in when Vevila hesitated.

He nodded and left. They heard the click of the lock.

"He might have helped us," Vevila scolded her.

"You can't levitate a mass of Dark Matter," Natilie disagreed. "So just what could he have done?"

"Oh, I don't know," Vevila glared at her, "moved the whole group of us out of its path?"

"Mark is sweet, strong and talented," Tawny interjected, "but not all that smart. He'd more likely move us into the center of it."

"There is that," Vevila concurred.

Natilie spilled metal bits and things onto the table. They were all made from the same metal as her Moon-Blade. There were rings, bracelets, nail files, necklaces, broaches, even a bag of dust—twenty-odd years worth of stuff from negotiating and bargaining with Thymane.

"What is this?" Karissa asked in wonder. "It's almost clear."

"It is what my Moon-Blade is made out of," Natilie answered. "It's not really from the moon. We just named it that because of the way it looks, translucent and gray. It is the toughest and sharpest metal I've ever seen, or even heard of."

Ava picked up a decorative comb, and was examining it closely.

"It's so intricate," Ava said with surprise.

"He's good," Natilie nodded, "I wrote out the spells I wanted imbedded in the metal. He copied them to perfection. Sometimes even with a flair."

"Thymane," Vevila added, "is a Daemon. He is a weapon's master and metal forger."

Ava dropped the comb.

"It's not evil," Natilie picked up the comb, and handed it back to her. "He does not taint the tool."

"What are these?" Tawny asked picking up a two inch nail claw.

"Randy gave them to us for Ava's rescue," Natilie frowned. "I don't know what that metal is."

"It has Thymane's signature," Tawny noticed.

"It does," Natilie agreed.

"Huh," Tawny put one on, and scratched into the table. It split the wood like butter. "Impressive! How did they work?"

"I don't remember using them," Natilie frowned, "but mine were bloody when I took them off."

"It was a mad house," Tawny glanced at Ava.

"I have no memory of that day," Ava told her. "It was just a blend of all the others. I only remember waking up in Edith's care. Now _that_ was a day to remember!"

"I like these," Tawny grinned, "I'm going to have to ask Randy if he has an extra set."

"I also brought these," Natilie carefully placed two guns on the table, and then emptied her pockets of the clips. "They're loaded. One has silver bullets. I don't know if either will have any kind of impact on it."

"Worth a try," Tawny shrugged.

"Trish is coming," Vevila laughed, "She wants to know where the heck you want all this food? I'll go let her in."

"Damn," Natilie looked around. "There was supposed to be another table."

"A-ha," Vevila cheered when she spied Mark carrying in the folding table.

"Goodness," Ava said with surprise as more and more items multiplied on the table.

There was fruit, fried chicken, chips, a vegetable tray, a meat and cheese tray, dips and more chips, donuts, cookies and brownies, potato salad, and hot corn-on-the-cob, shrimp skewers, watermelon. There was hot coffee, pop, and bottled water. Ava grimaced as she spied the dreaded sunflower seeds.

"We like to eat," Natilie grinned at her.

"I think I'm going to lay off my food experiment for today," Ava told her eyeing the shrimp.

"How long are we going to be here?" Karissa frowned at them, "I gotta use a bathroom."

She ran to the other side of the room.

"She's never spent the day with us before," Natilie laughingly told Vevila.

"One day?" Ava asked.

"Only one," Tawny confirmed. "They're pigs."

"Hey!" Natilie frowned at her, "just for that you don't get any of those choco-cherries."

"Bull," Tawny laughed and swiped the whole box.

_"She's_ not a pig or anything," Natilie muttered.

"Take a look at this," Vevila pulled the baggie out of her pocket, and handed it to Natilie, "I keep forgetting to give it to you. You look, I'll go lock us in."

Everyone could hear the click of the locks.

Natilie eyed the baggie.

"Well?" Vevila asked when she returned.

"It looks like a contact lens," Natilie frowned at her.

"Trish handed it to me this morning," Vevila told her. "The girls found it in the bathroom. I can only think of one reason why anyone would wear a purple lens."

"Because they don't really have purple eyes," Natilie squeezed her eyes shut, "we have a spy who is masquerading as a _magical_ O'Byrne."

"Exactly," Vevila stated.

"Crap!" Natilie swore, "like we don't have enough going on."

"Idra?" Vevila asked hopefully. "We don't know when the lens was dropped. The problem could have already been taken care of, before we even knew it was a problem. "

"Let's hope so," Natilie sighed. "One task at a time. Let's get started."

They had left instructions to everyone, that they were not to enter that part of the factory under _ANY_ circumstances. They made sure their instructions were returned back to them by every person who was there, and also by those who were about. People knew better than to ignore such instructions.

Tawny hadn't wanted the Snake Lady involved, either. She considered her a liability. Tawny didn't see any purpose in her being with them in this. That was until the little girl started whimpering. She was apparently too scared to go in without the Snake Lady holding her hand. Tawny rolled her eyes. She hated dealing with children.

They bunched up on the sofa facing the computer screen. There wouldn't be anything for most of them to do until the Monster had been lured out. Ava was surprised when Karissa climbed up on her lap.

"Hold me tight, please," Karissa murmured to her. "I don't like this—not at all!"

"I'm here," Ava wrapped her arms around her and whispered into her ear, "I'd fight heaven and earth to keep you safe!"

Karissa nodded. She knew that.

"You will have to enter first," Natilie took Karissa's hand, "I will follow. Choose a place you feel safe. Use the laptop so everyone can see what we're doing. We will go find this Doctor together. He is the key."

Karissa glanced at the laptop. She closed her eyes. Suddenly, they were seeing a little blond girl with the biggest blue eyes up on the screen. She was using an animated cartoon picture of herself. She was near a gentle running stream. Bright flowers followed along a narrow pathway. Little rabbits jumped amongst the flowers.

Ava thought Natilie would throw a ball of energy or such at the computer. She simply closed her eyes. She appeared beside Karissa. She too was a cartoon animation. A young child with curly black hair and very large purple eyes. She was carrying a staff. She tapped the ground with it. Sparks lit her hair. Ava noticed that there were arcane symbols on the staff. Karissa grinned at Natilie and produced a crossbow. This crossbow had a self-loading arrow track.

"Smart kid," Tawny muttered.

Ava was charmed by the image of the two on the screen.

"Can I see that a moment?" Natilie asked her.

Karissa handed her the bow. Natilie pulled out two markers, one red and one black. She quickly scribed something onto the crossbow.

"Try it," Natilie said as she handed it back.

Karissa toggled a lever. She took aim at some rocks and fired. Halfway to the target, the arrow burst into flame.

"That is so cool!" Karissa shouted. "I need to bring you with me to the Chain of Trees!"

"Is there anything else we should do?" Natilie looked towards them.

"Can she see us?" Ava asked.

Vevila nodded towards Natilie sitting on the sofa. She was looking at them. Ava's eyes widened.

"Armor?" Tawny suggested.

"Too heavy," Karissa answered. "I have an anti-burn spell, and a repel spell on my clothes."

"Natilie?" Tawny asked uncertain.

"I'm wearing _my_ underwear," Natilie pulled up her shirt to show the delicate lace, "it transcended with me."

"Is there an extra pair about for Karissa?" Ava asked. "You guys can come back to prep better. That might be good practice anyway."

Ava's eyes were focused on the screen. She did not see Tawny's raised eyebrow, or her approving glance. Vevila saw and smiled smugly. Tawny was in for a surprise where Ava was concerned. She tended to overlook and underestimate the _Snake Lady_. Tawny had no use for dupes.

"Good thought," Natilie nodded, "take us home, Karissa."

They were suddenly gone from the screen.

"We're home," Karissa announced with relief.

Ava noticed a ball of energy exit from Karissa. Natilie looked at her.

"I can astral travel through dreams, other people's dreams," Natilie explained to her. "I wasn't sure about this surfing or swimming stuff, but it seems to work the same. Karissa goes into a dream type state when she swims. I can follow into her dream state."

"I also liked it that you were able to manipulate the Nanos," Karissa added. "That was really cool!"

"Is that what I did?" Natilie looked surprised. "It seemed so natural."

"They like you," Karissa nodded, "especially when you're inside the stream."

"What would have happened had they not liked her?" Tawny asked curiously.

"If they thought she was a threat," Karissa answered, "they'd have sent some pretty bad-ass warriors against her."

"Cool!" Tawny's eyes gleamed.

"Hey!" Natilie gave Tawny, _The Look_ , "not my idea of a good time."

Tawny just laughed.

"Clothing for Karissa," Ava reminded them.

"Everything we have is going to fit big," Vevila frowned.

"I need to be able to move," Karissa reminded them, "and run!"

"Can the material be sewn?" Ava asked. "I can fit something for her."

Vevila considered, "sewn no. Nothing can penetrate them. A shrinking spell?"

She looked at Natilie. Natilie scratched her chin.

"I learned a thing or two from Anton about shrinking weapons, but he wasn't wearing them. He handled them. Although... Tawny can!" Natilie grinned.

"I probably could!" Tawny studied Karissa. "What do I get to transform?"

She turned to Vevila, but Vevila was already gone.

"Where did she go?" Ava asked them.

"Probably Faerie," Natilie shrugged. "She has a home there, and is familiar with the routes."

"Cool," Karissa smiled.

"Do we just sit here?" Ava asked.

"I guess so," Natilie sighed, "it would have been nice to have had a little communication."

"I had to be fast," Vevila answered, "the windows wouldn't be opening again for hours. I had to jump right then."

Ava jerked, startled with her return.

Vevila held up a simple piece of apparel. "I was always small for my age. Druantia gave this to me to wear under the dresses for the troupe. I was not as graceful as my sisters. She didn't want me ran through with a sword, because I tripped and fell. It's light, it protects, and it helped me to not be such a clutz."

"I can't image you not being graceful," Karissa said with surprise. "You're always so elegant."

"Thank you," Vevila laughed, "I definitely had my _awkward_ moments."

"Let's see them," Tawny held out her hand.

Vevila held up a body suit. There weren't any fasteners. She hesitated for only a slight moment before handing it to Tawny.

"I won't wreck it," Tawny said derisively as she examined it.

"A-huh," Vevila frowned at her. "There's no reason to change its composition. Just compress it."

"I don't think I could change the material anyway," Tawny said mockingly, "That is the point isn't it?"

"Fine," Vevila sighed, "just do it."

There was light around the garment. They could hear a slight buzz. Tawny held them up. They watched them shrink—and then shrink some more. They looked like doll clothes. Everyone glared at Tawny.

"I can fix this," Tawny said quickly.

Tawny scowled at the garment. Nothing happened.

"Or not," Vevila said dryly.

"It's easier changing things to sugar," Tawny muttered.

"Hand them here," Natilie held out her hand, shaking her head. "Damn kids anyway. Always cleaning up after them..."

Tawny grinned at her as she handed the garment over.

"Will you gift them to Karissa?" Natilie asked Vevila.

"Gladly," Vevila answered, "I just didn't want them ruined." Vevila glared at Tawny.

"I didn't hurt them," Tawny informed her, "sheesh!"

"This is easy then," Natilie told Vevila, "simply sign them over to her. There's a size spell right? No matter how big, or small you got, they sized with you?"

"That's true," Vevila retrieved the garment, "I should have thought of that to begin with."

Tawny rolled her eyes. Karissa giggled.

"I, Vevila Erin O'Byrne, gift these to Karissa Marie Jennifer Monicu Chateinez." Vevila made a magical sign in the air. "It is now yours, Karissa."

Vevila handed it to Karissa.

"Thank you!" Karissa eyes sparkled excitedly. She hugged it to her chest in wonder. She _owned_ a magical suit!

"That's some name you got," Ava said to Karissa.

"I guess I was named after several grandmothers," Karissa shrugged, staring at the garment.

"Just think them on," Vevila instructed her.

The garment suddenly disappeared. Karissa looked under her shirt.

"It's here," she said happily. "I love magic!"

"Now, can we go fight a big beastie?" Tawny asked impatiently.

"She loves to hit things," Natilie confided to Karissa.

Karissa laughed.

"Back to the sofas," Vevila called out. "We should have brought popcorn."

"There's no room on the table," Karissa teased her. "Unless of course, you want to eat it clean?"

Vevila looked at her with surprise and laughed.

Karissa climbed back on Ava's lap. Ava held her securely. In minutes, Karissa and Natilie were back on the screen. They were again by the stream. Natilie held out her hand. Karissa took it, and held it tightly. The scene flickered quickly as Karissa moved them along.

"The unicorn is in this hallway," Karissa whispered. "There is a room, and the doctor was in the closet in the back. I figured he was hiding from the Monster."

Natilie nodded. They reached the hallway. Data was still spilled about. Karissa whimpered at the sight of her ruined monkey.

"Send it home," Natilie said quietly.

Karissa nodded and repaired her monkey. She created a Fire Guardian to guard it, and sent them both home Those watching could see Karissa's confidence grow stronger as she worked.

The unicorn was gone, but Natilie could see the blood trail of where it had been. Karissa stared at the blood puzzled. Natilie pulled her towards the room. It was, as Karissa described, an old work room with abandoned books. It looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time. Natilie could see the door to the closet in the back. Silently, they made their way to it, watching carefully for any sign of movement.

"I had my guardian open the door for me," Karissa mentioned.

"We can do this," Natilie whispered as she grabbed the doorknob, "ready?"

Karissa nodded. Natilie yanked the door open. The doctor was in the back. He stood there surprised. Natilie walked in. She glanced around, and quickly pushed Karissa back out with her. The door slammed shut.

"Please come out here, doctor," Natilie called softly.

"He's a nasty man," Karissa said with surprise.

Vevila snickered, "He wasn't _hiding_ from the Monster."

"No," Ava agreed, "he was in there spanking his monkey. I guess he had nothing better to be doing."

The closet walls were covered in nude pictures of girls, and girls doing girls.

"Come out, please," Natilie called gently, "before the Monster detects us."

"I thought he was hiding in the closet, because he was afraid of the Monster," Karissa frowned. "He was breathing all hard and raspy as if he were afraid, or had been running."

Tawny snickered.

"Sush," Vevila frowned at her.

"Although," Karissa was saying, "he didn't seem afraid of it when it was attacking my monkeys. Just annoyed. He put on full armor, and then went out and fought with it."

"Come out, or I will come in there." Natilie informed him through the door. She tapped her foot impatiently.

"Who are you?" The doctor shouted through the door.

"We've come to deal with the Monster," Karissa told him.

They could hear him laughing.

Natilie struck the doorknob with her staff. The knob blasted apart. The door swung open. Natilie glanced at the pictures, but decided Karissa had probably seen worse. Besides, she had already recognized the type of pictures they were. Protecting her from them would be a distraction to them both. She walked to the back to confront the doctor. What she saw surprised her.

"You're not a remnant!" She looked at him surprised.

"He's not?" Karissa asked puzzled.

"No," Natilie frowned, "he's a full fledged ghost."

The doctor stepped out. They could all see how solid and complete he was. He was as Karissa had described, old and bald with a baby-face. He wore jeans and a lab coat.

"White noise," Karissa muttered. "I've heard of ghosts in systems before."

"You can't kill the Monster," he told them.

"Why is that?" Natilie asked. She changed her appearance into the adult she was.

"I knew you weren't little girls," he smirked.

"She is," Natilie nodded to Karissa.

The doctor actually blushed. He then frowned at them.

"I knew I was dying," he told them. "There was no antidote. I thought I was logging as much data into the computer as I could. Instead, I was trapping myself. That thing is a splinter of me, or at least it was. It ate the unicorn. It consumes _things_. The unicorn was a friend." He finished sadly.

"You know the Nanos?" Karissa frowned at him.

"Nanos?" He studied her. "Creatures come to me in here. They like to play. I oblige them. I always did like gaming."

"Among other things," Ava said dryly.

"Can you imagine being trapped in there," Vevila commented, "for over fifty years?"

"Do ghosts know the passing of time?" Ava asked.

"Some," Tawny answered, "but not all."

"The Monster is my anger," the doctor went on. "I've tried to destroy it, but it just changes around. The injuries disappear. It can't seem to destroy me, either. We just fight—endlessly."

"We plan on luring it out," Natilie told him. "It's mostly Dark Matter. We can disburse that in the material world."

He blinked at her with surprise.

"I can be free?" He whispered.

"We don't know," Natilie told him honestly. "We thought you were a remnant. I guess it depends on if you can cross over. We wanted you to lure the beast out. Now, I don't know if you can."

"Are they going to talk all night?" Tawny sighed.

"How do you come to be here?" The doctor asked them. His expression was very intent.

"Karissa, the child, has a gift with systems," Natilie told him. "I am aware through Astral Matter. We are together outside of here. We are in fact, watching us."

Ava looked over at Natilie and Karissa. They were indeed, watching the screen. It was eerie!

"So how are we going to get him out of here?" Karissa asked Natilie.

"How do they get ghosts out of computers?" Natilie wondered.

"Exorcism?" Tawny guessed.

"That always goes well," Natilie said from the computer.

"What?" The doctor asked, looking around.

"She was talking to Tawny," Karissa told him, "who is outside."

"Half the work of an exorcist is getting the cooperation of the spirit," Vevila mentioned. "That's not a problem here. You're going to just have to try to pull him out. Obviously, he can't do it himself, or he wouldn't be in there."

"Good point," Natilie agreed. "How do we get the Matter Monster to follow?"

"Make it angry?" Tawny suggested.

Everyone turned to stare at her. Tawny shrugged.

"Are you daft?" Karissa squeaked.

"Let's try to get the doctor out first," Vevila suggested.

"Why?" Tawny asked, "we only care about dispersing the Matter."

"She is right," Natilie reminded them. "That's why we're here."

"I agree with Tawny," Ava added, "the doctor will just have to find his own way out. He is not the threat."

"So how do we do this?" Natilie asked.

"Provoke it," Tawny suggested, "provoke it into chasing you."

"Easy for you to say," Karissa snorted.

"Is that thing fast?" Natilie asked the doctor.

"Not really," he answered. "It just makes a mess of everything."

"It's been suggested that we provoke it into chasing us," Natilie told him, "and we lead it out of here."

"It can leave?" He asked surprised.

"Dark Matter usually can," Natilie answered. "It kind of oozes out old pathways. We are here, because we see it as a threat. It seems to be animated? By you, we're assuming?"

He frowned, and looked down at his feet.

"If it remains inside, it can _eventually_ take down all the systems in the world; governments, banks—everything. Outside, it might just become benign, and disperse on its own when it contacts the environment."

"Might?" He asked.

"Otherwise we will have to hack it apart," Natilie frowned. "We have the tools."

He looked at her doubtfully.

"And me?" He asked.

"We don't know," Natilie told him honestly. "You're going to just have to follow us out, I guess. Karissa will have to find one of those pathways DM can pass through. She will map out our route. We provoke it and run."

"What a minute!" Karissa looked up startled. "How can I tell the route? We did not talk about that before we all started this. I really don't know what I'm looking for."

"Nothing is ever simple," Tawny shook her head.

"We're going to have to return," Natilie looked at the doctor. "We can't be looking around with that thing running loose. Take us home, Karissa."

The doctor grabbed Natilie's arm, but could not hang on. He felt her slip away. They were gone. They could see him in the computer. His shoulders slumped.

Karissa jumped up from Ava's lap.

"I don't need a route," Karissa rolled her eyes. "I just need to create a teleport. I'll create one for the width of the hallway. One of you can create a landing pad here. Then I'll just link them together. Big duh!"

Karissa squatted at the coffee table, and started typing on the laptop. She turned to look at them.

"Well?" She scowled at them. "Get busy!"

"Well, I guess she told us," Tawny laughed at their expressions.

"Will you do the honors," Vevila held a pen out to Natilie.

"How big is this thing?" Natilie asked, taking the pen.

"It's big," Karissa told them. "It filled the hallway."

Natilie nodded as she mapped out a large portion of floor for their teleport.

"I don't know how to trap it," Karissa's fingers stilled on the keypad, "It would help if we could lure it on with something that would make it stay a second. I don't want us sacrificing any remnants of _things_."

"Ask the doctor," Ava suggested.

"What would make the Monster pause long enough for us to get it?" Karissa talked into the laptop. The doctor jumped. He looked around confused.

"Just answer," Karissa told him, "we can see and hear you."

"It likes to tear things up," he shrugged. "It's fast at tearing things to pieces. It's hard to think of something that would cause it to slow down."

"Sound?" Vevila asked Karissa, "would it pause for sound. Can I entrance it?"

Karissa asked the doctor.

He scratched his bald head, "I've never tried it."

"We can try," Karissa kept typing. "I'll put in an audio feed."

"Something fast," Tawny suggested, "something which goes in a circle that would be hard for it to grab."

"I can lengthen the platform," Karissa nodded, "and use a leopard Avatar."

"Or maybe something smaller," Ava laughed, "like a bunch of mice?"

"Big mice," Natilie suggested, "not giant mice, just big."

"I like that," Karissa grinned, "they can run up on it, too."

Karissa told the doctor what they were going to use. He nodded.

"I'm actually the best lure," he told them. "It and I can sense each other."

"I'll program the mice to ignore you," Karissa told him.

"I would appreciate that," he shivered, "I hate mice!"

Toc

# Chapter Seven

"Are we ready?" Tawny asked for around the twentieth time. She signed impatiently.

Every time they thought they were ready to go, someone would think of something else. They looked at each other wearily. They were all armed and wearing protective gear. The spells were complete, including the rushed interior spells. Everyone else was locked out.

"Look at us," Vevila mocked, "we're tired before we've even begun."

"Do we want to do this tomorrow?" Ava suggested.

"No!" Tawny scowled at her.

"You are not the one who will be at risk!" Ava faced her squarely. "If Karissa gets too tired, and makes mistakes, she and Natilie will be the ones in danger! Their focus and energy will be split between two places."

Tawny nodded. She was surprised by Ava's forcefulness. Ava had always seemed so meek, so much the victim. Tawny had very little use for _victims_. It was her mother who collected them—not her.

"Karissa?" Natilie asked.

"I'm good," Karissa eyes sparkled with excitement. "I think I've figured out how to get the doctor out of there! He can ride it!"

"It's not exactly a horse," Vevila frowned at her.

"Of course not," Karissa rolled her eyes at Vevila. "He jumped on it while fighting with it. If he can just hang on long enough, maybe he can transport out with it."

"If he's on the pad, he should be able to transport out," Natilie mentioned.

"It's not a very big pad," Karissa frowned.

Natilie's brows raised with surprise. She looked over at the pad she had designed. It was big, taking half the width of the factory floor. She looked at the screen to see what Karissa had designed. It took the whole width of the hall, and was three times as long down the hallway. If the pads were too small, they might be in trouble. Vevila had the same worried look.

"What?" Tawny asked with dread.

"Dark Matter, even with the Moon-Blades, is hard to break down," Vevila told her. "We could be hacking at the stuff for days even if we get it un-animated!"

"Damn!" Tawny exclaimed.

"I wish I knew just how big that thing really is," Natilie sighed.

"It doesn't' matter though really," Vevila shrugged. "It still has to come out. The bigger it is, the more likely it will trash our world."

"Too bad we don't have the DM guns the Kane developed." Natilie smiled. "That would take it out."

"Yes," Vevila's eyes gleamed, "just what happened to them?"

"Druantia took them away," Natilie answered.

"Any chance she'll give them back?" Tawny asked.

"No," They heard Druantia's answer.

"Can we just leave the DM in there?" Natilie asked.

"Of course," Druantia appeared, "the world will end as you know it, but the choice is always yours."

Ava stared at Druantia in shock. She looked just like the painting in the chapel room. She was even wearing the brown pants, multi-green shirt, and boots. Her hair was up in its twenty-one braids. Her eyes were green with a stark white pupil. A jewel gleamed from the middle of her forehead. She had high cheekbones and luscious lips. She was slender, but had rather large breasts. Ava noticed that Karissa seemed unaffected by her.

"So, do we need to call in more help?" Vevila faced Druantia.

"This should work," Druantia nodded at the launching pads.

"Should?" Vevila asked, but she was gone.

"She always does that!" Natilie scowled aggressively. "She just flitters in, and jets out again. She doesn't have the excuse of catching windows!"

"Hey," Vevila exclaimed, "It's not an excuse!"

"Well, let's get to," Tawny's eyes gleamed, "times wasting."

"She wouldn't let us take on more than we could manage—would she?" Ava asked.

"Oh yes," Vevila assured her.

"Great!" Ava muttered.

"Try and ride it through the transport trap," Karissa typed on the laptop. "We're on our way—finally—almost."

They ended up pushing the sofa's to face the wall. With the recliner's extended.

"It isn't much," Natilie told Karissa, "but if that thing gets out of our control, and comes this way, climb under. I've put some pretty impressive STOP spells on this area. It should at least slow it down."

"Got it!" Karissa assured her.

Vevila had the laptop on her lap. Karissa was again being held by Ava. Tawny was between them and the landing pad—sword in hand. Her face was set in a fierce grin. She nodded.

Karissa and Natilie landed beside the doctor. He jumped, startled. Natilie had her staff, Karissa her crossbow.

"Those probably won't do much," the doctor waved towards the weapons, "just saying."

Karissa shot a fiery bolt at the wall.

"It feels good to hold," Karissa told him.

He grinned at her.

"Start walking doctor," Natilie nodded towards the platform.

"Testing audio," Karissa called out.

Vevila's song echoed across the room. The doctor stopped entranced by the sound. Vevila stopped. He looked around confused.

"Earplugs," Natilie suggested to Karissa.

"Right," she handed him the plugs.

"You do that so effortlessly," he said admiringly as he placed the earplugs, "create things in here."

Karissa nodded distractedly, "I think it's coming."

"Oh," the doctor ran to the other side of the platform.

By the time he was at the other end of the hall, he was wearing his silver armor. He was also twirling a large lasso. Karissa activated the big mice. There were eight big mice chasing each other around in circles.

"It's here," he called down to them.

It was fluctuating with colors of gray. Its eyes were glowing red. It had the head and shoulders of a bull, but the arms, legs, and body of a toad. Karissa shivered at the sight of its clawed hands. She remembered vividly, it rending her monkey.

"Good God!" Vevila shouted, looking into the screen. "See how big that thing is?"

"It's bigger than before," Karissa swallowed nervously. "It has more definition in its shape."

"It's still smaller than the hallway," Natilie stood ready. It was she, who would strike the switch.

Vevila didn't mention the fact that its size was in Nano land. She didn't know how big it would be when it reached their world. She grabbed up a hand of claws and the longest nail file on the table. She tested its sharpness against the table. It sliced in deeply. It would do. She joined Tawny by the landing pad.

"Getting you under," Ava said soothingly, so as not to startle her.

Ava settled Karissa underneath the extended recliner cushions. Making her a fort of sorts. She looked at Natilie sitting on the couch. She looked so vulnerable. She was surprised when Natilie turned to face her.

"I am here, too," Natilie called the Moon-Blade, and laid it across her lap.

Ava nodded. It hadn't been part of the plan, but Ava selected a smallish knife and the remaining claws. She was surprised by how well the claws fit. Her hands were not exactly _normal_. She nodded, Daemon made or not, she would use them to protect Karissa.

She stood on the other side of the sofas, facing the landing pad. No one was watching the laptop. They all decided to just stand ready! Natilie linked in Vevila and Tawny. She knew it would disorient Ava.

The doctor was at the other end teasing the Monster. It kept trying to smack him. Natilie wondered why he didn't just start running towards the platform.

"He's trying to catch it," Karissa muttered, "so he can ride it in."

"He's gonna get flattened if he keeps that up," Natilie said apprehensively.

"He's got it!" Karissa smiled.

Sure enough, the doctor leapt up on the Monster, and yanked the rope around its head. He had a secondary loop which he tied to his own body.

"I don't know how smart that was," Karissa frowned.

"Yell at it," the doctor yelled. "It can't see the mice."

Natilie yelled, and smacked her staff down onto the floor. Sparks flew with each strike. The Monster screamed at her, but kept trying to dislodge the doctor. Karissa grew the mice bigger and louder. Their squeaky squeals reached the monster.

It snorted and reared. They heard the crash of metal as the doctor's armor hit the ceiling. He seemed to be dazed. Karissa screamed at the Monster. Her little girl screech excited it. It started loping towards them. The poor doctor smacked into the ceiling with each stride.

"It's faster than it used to be, too," Karissa mentioned.

It could see the mice by then, but seemed totally uninterested in them. It wasn't even slowing down!

"Oh crap!" Karissa shouted.

Vevila's voice came across the room. It slowed down to listen. It stopped. Its body was only halfway on the platform. It looked as if it was going to go to sleep. Vevila stopped singing. Karissa screamed at it. It shook its head, and stumbled towards them. As soon as it was all the way on the platform, Natilie hit the switch. It was only a few feet away from them when the whole thing disappeared.

"Get us home," Natilie nudged Karissa.

She yanked them home. She found herself under the sofa. She vaguely remembered Ava moving her there.

"Stay there," Natilie said grimly.

She jumped over the sofa and joined Tawny. Her blade wasn't a sword like Tawny's, but it moved with her. She was deadly accurate with it—only the thing wouldn't die.

Karissa peeked through the cushions. The Monster was three times bigger than it had been in the other world—and it was mad! It screamed with rage. Tawny was trying to cut the doctor away from the Monster's back. She was hitting the ropes dead on, but they weren't breaking loose. Vevila was singing to it, but it was too enraged to listen. Ava was standing in front of the sofas. She was holding a pitifully small knife. Karissa whimpered in fear.

"We should have left a back door," Karissa muttered over and over, "you always leave yourself a back door! What were we thinking!"

"We'll manage," Ava turned to her. "It may still have Nanos inside it. See if you can think of a way to use that."

Karissa stared at her blankly. She nodded and huddled down inside the fort of the sofas. Ava handed her a sketch pad and pens. She really didn't think there was anything for Karissa to be doing, but it seemed a good distraction.

"The ropes!" Ava heard Karissa's voice.

Suddenly, the ropes melted away. The doctor tumbled towards Tawny. She reached out to grab him, but he rolled right through her. They had all forgotten that he was a ghost.

"Can it still hurt him?" Karissa asked Ava.

"I don't know," Ava answered. "I don't even know why he's not waking."

It screamed as Tawny and Natilie struck it over and over again. Little pieces of matter would float off only to be reabsorbed. Ava didn't know if it was screaming from rage or pain. She was wishing she had a pair of those Nano earplugs. Belatedly, she remember she could adjust the frequency from her bracelet.

Karissa dodged back down and went to writing.

"I'm going to try the silver bullets," Ava warned them. "Hold your ears Karissa."

They looked up to see her pointing the gun right into the middle of the Monsters chest. They stood back.

"The other gun has silver," Natilie called out.

"Guess I'll try them both," she warned them.

Ava fired the gun until the slide stayed back. She picked up the other gun, and fired it until it was empty, too. They watched with disappointment. Ava was hitting it straight on, but the bullets were just hitting the concrete wall behind it. It wasn't even annoyed at her.

"Back to," Natilie called out. Jumping in to strike the Monster.

"We're going to have to make it move away as we strike it," Tawny yelled at Natilie. "The flecks are landing on it and reabsorbing."

"That won't do any good if we don't figure out how to capture them," Natilie yelled back in between thrusts.

Vevila had given up on trying to sooth it, and was striking at its flaying arms. It wasn't very coordinated in their reality.

"Watch out!" Tawny yelled at Vevila.

Vevila skipped back just as something pulled loose from the Monster. It didn't have definition. It sluggishly moved away, and then dispersed into nothing.

"It's Karissa," Ava called to them, "she's taking _things_ out of it. Only, the things which hadn't truly bonded with it."

They drew back and watched. Four more _things_ pulled loose.

"That's it," Karissa called out. "I can't see anything else."

"Great job!" Natilie yelled back. "Can something be done for the doctor? I keep walking through him."

"Maybe," Karissa replied. "I think he's Nano sleeping. He can't see this reality."

Ava watched Karissa with amazement. She would scribble something, and then pause and focus on the Monster. She was instructing the Nanos! She was now focusing on the doctor.

"It's faster," Tawny noted with a grunt.

"Noticed," Natilie agreed. "I guess those things were slowing it down."

"Figures," Vevila just moved out of its way. "Too bad one of those _things_ wasn't controlling its scream."

"Someone's hammering on the door!" Ava shouted at them.

"Ass-heads," Vevila grunted. She smacked whoever it was with a spell.

"Knocked them on their butts," Natilie approved.

"This is taking forever," Tawny complained, "and it's not even very interesting."

"Something else is pulling loose," Natilie warned them.

They stepped back to watch. This time, whatever it was, was resisting the separation. It finally pulled loose. This thing didn't just disperse. It slowly took on definition. It was one of Karissa's monkeys. It held a basket.

"Too absurd," Tawny laughed at it.

"It reminds me of your elephants," Natilie stared at it.

It looked at them expectantly.

"What's it doing?" Tawny yelled to Karissa.

"Waiting for you to smack the Monster," Karissa laughed, "it's there to pick up the pieces before they rejoin back into it."

"How cool is that?" Tawny yelled back.

They went back to smacking and hacking at it. True to her word, the monkey quickly picked up the floating pieces. It even climbed up the Monster to retrieve them.

Natilie looked at the monster worriedly. It was taking a really long time, and the lighter it became, the faster it moved. It was moving towards the sofas. Vevila glanced her way. They shared the same fear.

Ava was watching with apprehension. She could see the pattern. She estimated that it would reach them while still very intact. Worse, by then it would be a lot more dangerous.

"Any more tricks?" She asked Karissa

"Only with the doctor," Karissa answered. "I'm trying to reboot him. So far, he's being a pain."

He was somewhere under the Monster. They could no longer see him.

Tawny was eating her words. It was a lot more _interesting_ than she wanted, and they were getting tired. It was moving faster, and hitting a lot more accurately. They were getting pummeled.

"Where do I put the monkey trash?" Karissa called out.

The Monster suddenly stopped. It heard Karissa's small, high pitched voice.

"Look out!" Natilie shouted as it purposely turned towards the sofas.

Its arm caught Tawny across the mid-section, and slammed her against the wall. Natilie swiped upwards with her knife and sliced off its arm. The monkey quickly put the arm inside the overflowing barrel. Tawny climbed to her feet. Her face was strained.

Suddenly the monkey was carrying a huge sack. Dark Matter was no longer floating out.

"Good girl," Natilie mumbled.

Unfortunately, the loss of its arm had not distracted it from its path. It was stomping towards the sofas.

Ava determinedly stood solid as it moved towards them. She was terrified. Not for herself, but for the child beneath the cushions. Ava could feel the pressure of venom as it filled her glands. A flash of memory flowed through her mind. _They_ controlled the type of venom by the snakes pheromones. She didn't know what would stop Dark Matter. She used her forked tongue to check its scent. Her body seemed to know what to do. She opened her mouth to pant. Her fangs lowered themselves.

Tawny, Natilie, and Vevila fought desperately to drive the Monster away from the sofas. They could not alter its direction by very much, but they would have to take anything they could get. It was beating down a path straight for Ava and Karissa.

"You're gonna have to run for it," Natilie yelled out to them, "we can't seem to stop it from reaching you."

"We are going to try and make it turn towards the sea," Vevila yelled, "it will only be a little. Try to slip down the other side. It doesn't seem to have much for peripheral vision."

"It does have acute hearing though," Tawny cautioned. "Take off your shoes and socks. The floor is too slippery for just socks."

The doctor had finally roused, but even he could not distract the Monster. The fact was, it could no longer even see him. A situation he found distractedly odd. He watched helplessly as the three women pummeled away at it. Even his armor was gone. He stood there in his lab coat and jeans.

He looked around feeling confused. He knew he was no longer inside the computer. It was then that he saw the child in the sofas. He recognized the child. His eyes shifted upwards to the other woman just in front of the sofas, ready to fight. His eyes widened with shock. _She_ was a _snake_. He realized who she must be! He ran to fight beside her. He realized that she could not see him. He tried to pick up one of the guns. His hand slid right through it.

Natilie watched as the doctor tried to work his way around. She didn't have the time or energy to spare for him. Sweat was pouring off her.

"Now," Tawny called out.

They all shifted to one side hitting and stabbing the Monster. Trying to make it shift sideways to face them. It worked, but only by a margin. Natilie didn't know if it was enough for Ava and Karissa to make their move. Unfortunately, it was all that they were going to get. The Monster was still heading towards the sofas.

"Go," Ava said quietly, pushing Karissa away from her.

Karissa assumed that Ava would be following. She and everyone else in the room were shocked when Ava suddenly turned direction, and actually leapt up onto the monster's shoulder. They were even more shocked when she bit down viciously into its flesh. It screamed in agony and thrashed about. She held on tight, and bit down again and again, pumping the venom deep inside it. She did not release the monster, until it was still, and laying on the ground.

Not having done such a thing before, Ava had to manually disengage her jaw from the Monsters flesh.

"Watch out!" She yelled as she slid down its body. She ran to the other side of it, and was sick. "I'm never eating sunflower seeds again," she swore as another spasm took her.

She felt Natilie's hands as she took her hair, and pull it back from her face. She had always thought it was stupid for people to do that for other people, but right then, she appreciated the kindness. She didn't have the ability to do it for herself.

"She okay?" Tawny asked.

"I'm okay," Ava answered. "Can someone get me something that will take this really foul, dirty taste out of my mouth?"

"Try this," Tawny handed her a glass.

Ava took a mouthful, and swished it around her mouth before spitting it out. She took another drink, and swallowed it slowly. She didn't know what the stuff was, but it woke her up!

"That works!" She told them. "What is this stuff?"

"Kaliton," Tawny told her. "We use it for magic depletion. I thought it was worth a try."

"Thank you!" Ava looked into Tawny's golden eyes.

"I'm sorry," Tawny told her.

"What are you talking about?" Ava frowned at her.

"I was wrong about you," Tawny told her. "I pre-judged you. That was one of the bravest things I'd ever seen."

"Because I design clothes, and like pretty things?" Ava laughed at her. "Before _they_ took my life—I'd had three broken bones. My arm from taking a hit from a baseball bat when I pitched a boy by the name of Tony out. My other arm from a karate foul-up which was from my own stupidity, and my large toe from kicking a bench in a rage. I was a total tomboy growing up. I still always liked to dress up though. It was fun to be wearing the prettiest dress for the dance."

"I've been stupid," Tawny said chagrinned

"It doesn't matter," Ava told her. "I've been called worse. I've been treated worse. Can I have some more of this?"

Ava held up her empty glass. Tawny's eyes opened wide. The glass had been full.

"I spit some out, remember?" Ava shrugged.

"Somehow, I don't think that would have mattered," Tawny laughed as she went to re-fill the glass.

Ava watched her somberly. She hadn't really needed it refilled. She was just uncomfortable with Tawny's humility. She liked Tawny walking tall, proud, and yes, a little arrogant.

"She does tend to look down on _mere_ mortals," Vevila told her.

"She's young," Ava told her.

"She is," Vevila sat down with a sigh. "The elves live a very, very long life, and seem to mature slowly for it."

"You look a mess," Ava told her bluntly.

"You tore your dress," Vevila countered.

Ava looked down and laughed, "That's what I get for wearing a dress to a monster bashing."

Vevila had gotten pretty battered. Even as she watched though, Ava could see her injuries healing.

"Drinking Kaliton?" Ava asked, looking at her glass.

"Worse," Vevila laughed, "elfin brew. I'm a little addicted to the stuff. Anything else metabolizes too quickly. Why bother? We didn't use much magic with this. There wasn't much to do except to keep whacking at it, and trying to stay out of its way. Karissa was freaking amazing."

"How is she doing?" Ava asked guiltily.

"She's good," Vevila answered. "She's talking with Natilie."

Tawny returned and handed her a glass.

"Thank you!" Ava told her.

Tawny nodded.

"Where is he?" Ava looked around, but didn't see him anywhere. Not even a squashed image on the floor. "Where is the doctor?"

"He's a ghost remember," Vevila's laughter sounded a little sad. "Poor man was wandering around. No one could see him except Natilie. He tried to help you, but couldn't lift the gun."

Ava looked over at Natilie and Karissa. They looked as if they were talking to someone.

"He plans on sticking around for a while," Tawny told them. "I heard them talking. He's curious about you, Ava. He knew the snake that bit you. Actually, one of his favorites."

"Lovely," Ava frowned. "I need a ghost haunting me. What's to be done with that mess?"

They looked at the monster.

"I'm not even sure it's dead," Ava told them.

"It's certainly not animated," Vevila mentioned dryly.

"Is it going to stink?" Tawny wondered. "It smells odd as it is."

Ava sampled the air. It was the same scent which had triggered her own response. Curiously, it did nothing for her now.

There was a slight tingle, and then Druantia was suddenly in the room with them.

"It's about time!" Natilie yelled at her.

Ava and Karissa stared at Natilie with shock! They knew Druantia was a _Goddess_.

"I knew you would all handle it," her glance included Ava and Karissa. "Now do you want me to get rid of it, or would you just prefer to keep yacking at me? I can leave if you would prefer."

"No, no," Natilie beckoned to her. "please, take this rubbish away"

"Rubbish?" Thymane was suddenly beside Natilie. "That is prime DM."

Ava could smell the scent of him. He was like hot ginger. His hair was long, and the color of copper. It flowed like fire. His skin looked like bronzed metal. His eyes smoldered with orange and red as he watched Natilie. He was naked and— _large_. He suddenly looked up, and into Ava's eyes.

"Off limits," Natilie growled at him.

Ava's eyes grew big. Until that moment, she had thought her sexuality had not been transformed with her body. She felt heat deep inside her, growing hotter with his gaze. His eyes slowly slid over her. She felt her nipples pucker up. Her breathing grew harsh. She turned and walked away.

He looked after her with surprise. He wanted to know the heat of her. He knew that if she were to bite him deeply, he would know ecstasy. He took a step to follow her.

"No!" Natilie held his arm. She turned, and pressed her face into his shoulder. "She's been through too much. I ask of you to leave her be."

Tension filled the room. They all watched him. He breathed deeply, filling his lungs with Natilie's scent. The _other_ was forgotten. He kissed her forehead.

"Let's get this Matter out of here," Druantia suggested, "before they tear down the door."

Indeed, there was pounding at the door.

"Might as well let them know what all the fuss was about," Vevila said as she walked to the door. "Too bad it's not as big as it was."

"It's still plenty big," Tawny said dryly.

Vevila unlocked the door. _Everyone_ crowded into the room.

"Good God!" Trish exclaimed as she walked around it, "my father always said, if you're gonna kill it—you're gonna eat it. He meant it, too. I've ate some pretty strange things. What kind of sauce do you suppose we should use?"

"That's really sick, Trish," Mark laughed.

"Sure," she stared at him, "laugh. I'm claiming the hind leg. Frog legs make good eating."

His face turned white. Everyone laughed at him and made jokes. Trish laughed the hardest of all.

Druantia and Thymane used a black metal net to load the thing up. Natilie touched the net speculatively.

"Randy?" She asked him.

"He comes up with the most _interesting_ things," Thymane agreed.

"Thank you," Natilie looked down at his chest.

He lifted her chin, and looked deeply into her eyes, "Sometimes, I amaze myself." He kissed her lips.

"This thing's not getting any lighter you know," Druantia chastised him. "You're the one who wanted it, remember?"

"I did not tell you to lift it," Thymane rolled his eyes at her.

"What a typical human male response," Druantia teased him.

He growled. Natilie stepped back. His eyes lingered on her as he walked with his trophy into the shadows.

"Good job, people," Druantia laughed as she disappeared.

"A little anticlimactic," Karissa said dryly. "Oops! Will she come back if we call her?"

"What's up?' Natilie asked her.

Karissa nodded to the corner of the room. In the corner was a monkey with a large, bulging bag.

"Hey Druantia," Vevila laughed as she called her, "you forgot some shit!"

Toc

# Chapter Eight

"What is it, Karissa?" Ava was surprised by her hedging. She wasn't shy. She usually just blurted things out.

Karissa looked down at her feet. She had been so sure that this was what she wanted to do. Now, she felt unsure. Not of what she wanted. She was sure of that. She was afraid that Ava would say no. It surprised her to want something so bad.

At first, when Natilie mentioned being mentored by Ava, she felt it would be disloyal to Erran. She was also not ready to let someone else know her secrets. Since then though, she had spent more time in Ava's company. Ava knew first hand how her secrets worked. Karissa really _liked_ her. Ava had a way of making things funny or ironic. She was smart. Karissa hated being around stupid people. They didn't have to be rocket scientists, but they couldn't be thoughtlessly stupid, either. Ava liked breaking things apart, and then putting them back together differently then they were before. She never ever treated her like a stupid little kid. The Nanos liked her.

"The sand is pretty hot," Ava said with concern, "you might want to sit up on the rock."

Ava had just done a major work-out in the weight room. Her muscles were shaky and trying to cramp. She was in the hot sand trying to stretch out her muscles. Ling had offered to massage her, but she had declined. She just hadn't felt like being touched by another. The sand was exceptionally hot from the activity of the salamanders. They seemed to know what she needed.

Karissa climbed up on the rock. Ava's eyes followed her up. She thought Ava's eyes were pretty awesome. Once up, Ava continued with her stretches. Karissa was mesmerized by her movements. Normal people just did not move like that. It was actually quite beautiful—like in a dance.

"Does that hurt?" Karissa asked her.

"Not the stretches," Ava answered, "but I did too much with the weights. My muscles want to cramp. The hot sand and stretches are helping."

"Why didn't Ling stop you sooner?" Karissa asked with concern. "Why didn't she give you a massage?"

"We're all learning," Ava answered, "I think it just has to hurt sometimes. Ling offered to give me a rub, but I just didn't feel like it."

"Too sensitive," Karissa nodded. "Sometimes, people are just too intrusive."

"You understand," Ava said surprised. "I don't always want people touching me. In fact, I don't like people touching me a lot of the times."

"I'm not sure Ling is doing the right things for you," Karissa mentioned. "Some of those things I've seen you doing in there seemed to work against your body. She's making them harder than they should be."

"I'm not sure, either," Ava admitted, "some of the movements just feel wrong."

"Is that Anthony guy drawing up suggestions?" Karissa asked.

"He's usually not even around," Ava frowned, "I don't really know why he's here."

"Natilie is suspicious of him," Karissa mentioned, "you should be careful around him."

"I'm careful of most everyone," Ava sighed. "Even some of the residents here. I have trust issues."

"You should go see Chet," Karissa announced unexpectedly. "You're lonely."

"Chet?" Ava asked startled. "He betrayed me. He is why I have trust issues."

"Maybe," Karissa's blue eyes met Ava's straight on, "or maybe he was just doing his best for you. I can't imagine anyone knowing what to do if someone they loved was changing like that."

Ava paused to think. She was surprised to realize that Karissa was right. What would she have done if it had been Chet who had been changing so weirdly? Still... it had been nearly two years since she had seen him. He was sure to have moved on by now. He wouldn't even know that she was still alive. She had loved him so much! Tears filled her eyes. She quickly pushed them back.

"Will you be my mentor?" Karissa blurted out.

Ava looked up, stunned. They stared at each other. Karissa with an expression of anxiety. Ava with surprise.

"I would love to mentor you," Ava answered. "I'm not sure I have a lot to teach you, but I would be proud to mentor you, until such a time comes that you wish to learn from someone else."

"You have a lot to teach me," Karissa corrected, "you are always teaching yourself things. Natilie said that I could also help you with _stuff_. I don't really know what, but you could let me know?"

"I will," Ava agreed. "We can help each other!"

Ava continued to stretch.

"How do we do this?" Ava asked. "Do you have a routine?"

"I think I need to tell you about myself," Karissa paused.

Ava curled up in the sand and waited for her to go on.

"Oh boy," Karissa swallowed nervously.

"Look at me, Karissa," Ava laughed, "contorting and doing all these weird things. Do you really think that what you have to say is stranger than what I have become? I'm the Snake Lady, remember? Take a minute. I'll still be here, squirming in the sand, waiting to listen when you're ready to talk."

Ava deliberately moved in the most peculiar ways she knew how. Karissa watched her with fascination. Sometimes, Karissa even laughed. It took awhile, but she could tell when Karissa was ready to talk.

"I not only can go into computer systems," Karissa told her, "I need them. It is the only way I can—sleep. They seem to heal me, and help me to grow. I think they are a part of me."

"That was some pretty amazing things I saw the other day," Ava reminded her. "You and Natilie brought _things_ out of the computer. Plus you were able to still communicate with them."

"I think they are alive," Karissa faced her boldly.

"I agree," Ava faced her. "I think there is life energy in all things. I don't always understand how or why, but I do believe it to be true. I believe that all things are connected."

"Pick a flower on earth and you move the farthest star," Karissa murmured as she stared out the window.

"Yes," Ava nodded.

"I think computers carry millions and billions of particles," Karissa told her, "and I can travel along that stream. I can go anywhere!"

"I believe that," Ava looked into her eyes. "They are saying that I do magic. I never knew I did, but I believe in _them_ , so it must be true. I believe you! You are a very complex person. Life is going to be strange for both of us for a very long time—maybe always."

"I think we will do very well together," Karissa nodded.

"We will," Ava smiled. "We actually _like_ each other. I don't seem to scare you. Not even when I smile."

"Your fangs show when you smile," Karissa said bluntly, "That just makes your face more interesting."

"Interesting," Ava murmured.

Karissa studied her with somber blue eyes, "I was there when they came and got you."

"You were?" Ava asked surprised.

"I had to lure the Nanos away," Karissa whispered, "I saw what they were doing to you."

"I'm very sorry you saw that," Ava's jaw tightened, "that wasn't anything a child should have seen."

"I've seen a lot of things through the computers," Karissa said softly, "but that was really awful. It's not the same thing at all."

"No," Ava agreed, "TV and computers only bring us one dimension. Personal experience brings us the whole thing. Are you okay with all that? Did you get to talk about it with someone?"

"Erran," Karissa looked over at her, "he was there, too. We talked about it together. It bothered him, too. We had never seen—or smelled—anything like that before. It was worse than dead bodies."

"You've been around dead bodies?" Ava frowned.

"Once," Karissa nodded, "car accident."

_"Cars_ ," Ava murmured, "are a menace."

"We were in the car for two days," Karissa told her, "Momma was dead. Ryion was just a baby. I was trapped in the back. We went off the road in a storm. Momma had been drinking again. The smells were terrible. I could smell Ryion's dirty diaper, gasoline, the whiskey—and _her_."

"I'm so sorry," Ava told her.

"Me, too," Karissa was looking out the window. Ava could see the tears in her eyes. "I still miss her."

Ava studied the little blond headed girl sitting up on top of the rock. Her heart ached for her. She was so tiny. Her blue eyes were so somber, and so _old_. Ava didn't know how she was going to do it, but she swore to herself that she was going to bring happiness into this little girl's life. She would start by just being her friend.

"I was told that people can't read me because my skin no longer flushes and my eyes—well—they are what they are. So, I have to tell people what I _feel_ about things. I've never been open like that so it feels awkward to me. I will tell you things. I would like it if you could tell me things, too. My senses are different now. I might not get it, if you don't just bluntly tell me things."

"How is that?" Karissa asked curiously.

"I see things differently—smell things differently," Ava wiggled her _forked_ tongue at Karissa.

Karissa giggled.

"I'm learning what the different senses actually mean," Ava admitted, "I find myself making mistakes on senses that I haven't figured out yet. I don't even hear the same anymore. The other day, I thought Sandy was nervous about something she wanted to tell Mark. She was actually really, really angry with him. I suggested that she picture him in his underwear. That's what they tell people to do when they have to speak in public. Picture the audience in their underwear. Anyway, she turns to me and asks, _Why on earth would I do that? I already know what he looks like in his underwear._ "

"I've seen him in his underwear, too," Karissa snickered. "He has skinny little legs."

"They are skinny, aren't they?" Ava's snort turned to laughter. "Here's a really bad goof-up. I thought I was sensing Cherry with monthly lady problems. I suggested that she drink a certain tea to get rid of those annoying things. She's pregnant. Now the whole site is gossiping that I told her to get an abortion. I thought she had cramps."

"I heard that one," Karissa frowned, "I thought it was rather odd. I didn't believe it for a second. It was too absurd!"

"Thank you for that!" Ava told her sincerely. "I have pits you know? They sense heat and give me images. I thought they were just going to be for show, but last week they started functioning. We were outside. Sandra, our FBI rep, lit up a cigarette. When she drew inward, I suddenly saw a massive surge of heat. I thought the cigarette was exploding in her face. I picked up the whole pitcher of iced tea, and threw it in her face." Ava laughed heartily, "She looked at me with such a shocked expression. Her mouth was hanging open, and the soggy cigarette was sticking to her lips. Tea dripped from her bangs and chin. Her eyes were humungous. She blinked, and asked me what the heck that was for."

"What did you say?" Karissa asked her.

"What could I say?" Ava laughed, "I told her that smoking was bad for her health—and then I got the heck out of there."

Karissa laughed, "She won't be forgetting that anytime soon!"

"And people freak out about my tongue," Ava told her. "I flickered it at Mark in the kitchen. I didn't mean to. Anyway, Patty startled and dumped the whole container of rice into the water."

"That's why we ate rice for four days running!" Karissa laughed, "rice and cheese casserole, rice pudding, rice with eggs, rice and fish, and my favorite—rice stroganoff."

"Trish wasn't about to let her throw it out," Ava grinned, "she made her add more water and cook it up! All the time, Patty is screaming— _Her tongue, her tongue. That can't be her tongue_. _People don't have tongues like that!_ And then Trish says to her— _Well apparently some people do!_ "

Karissa laughed till tears streamed down her face. Ava was delighted by her laughter. She knew that the cause of the tears was probably more of a reaction from the relief of stress than because she was being all that funny, but it still felt good!

Ava climbed up on the rock, and sat down beside her. They silently looked out the window. It was another beautiful blue day. Ava had always lived on the North Eastern coastline. It was colder up there. The ocean more aggressive. Here, there was a serenity. She needed that peace.

It was calm up there on that rock. There wasn't any awkward silences between them. Just two friends simply enjoying the moment. Ava smiled happily. She needed to have more to interest her than just projects. Even tearing things apart wasn't enough. She laughed.

"What?" Karissa asked her.

"I was just thinking how I like this," Ava explained, "having you as a friend, being involved in more than just sewing clothes. In my past life—clothing was my passion; the designing, the shows, the prestige, and the money. Lots of money. I would never have guessed that one day, all of that would mean absolutely nothing to me."

"Life has a way of making us see what is really important." Karissa frowned. "We were never quite normal—my family."

"What do you mean?" Ava asked.

"I never knew my father," Karissa shrugged. "That never seemed very important, either. Although now, I realize that's just wrong somehow. All the kids I know want to know their fathers. Anyway, we always had computers. Mom surfed like I do. We used to do that together. Mom said that Ryion wouldn't be able to do what we were doing. She got nervous when she talked about that."

"So your gift is hereditary?" Ava asked surprised. "I've never heard of someone doing what you do with computers, neither has Natilie, and that it came from your mother means that there might be more people who can do that. That's rather an odd thought."

"After the car accident," Karissa frowned, "I had to go with some people who didn't have computers. I was absolutely lost. I withdrew, wouldn't talk or eat much. They thought my behavior was caused by the accident, or maybe the shock of my mom dying like that."

"That makes sense," Ava turned to watch her.

"For normal kids," Karissa nodded her head, "but I knew it was from not being able to swim in the stream. I tried to explain, but they just couldn't get it. They made me see a lot of doctors. They finally took me out of that home, and put me in another one. During the transfer, I slipped away."

"Slipped away?" Ava asked.

"Ran away," Karissa admitted. "I went to the local library, and used the computer to call for help. Erran found me, and brought me here. I don't know what it was that called him or why? He always understood me. Natilie gives me jobs." Karissa shrugged, "it's home, and I can swim with the Nanos anytime I want."

"You and I are rather a pathetic pair," Ava looked out the window. "Your closest friends are the Nanos you swim with. Mine, well I guess I'm still trying to figure that out."

"You will," Karissa took her hand. "You're kind and generous. Others will figure that out, and not be so afraid of you. Oh, oh, that reminds me. Come on!"

Karissa climbed down, pulling her along. Ava was tickled by her enthusiasm.

"What are we doing?" Ava asked curiously.

"It's a surprise," Karissa smiled mischievously. "Come on."

Ava followed her out of the room. She was surprised to realize that she was able to keep up with her. Until then, everything she did had been slow and meticulous. She laughed with the joy of the movement.

Karissa stopped just inside one of the old, unused factory rooms.

"Wait here," Karissa told her.

"I'll be here," Ava assured her.

Karissa was only gone for a few seconds. When she returned, she was carrying a small furry bundle. It was an orange stripped, furry kitten with big green eyes. It meowed piteously.

"For you," Karissa pressed the ball of fluff into Ava's hands. "She's around 5 weeks old. She still has to stay with her mother for a couple of weeks yet, but I figured that if you had one from the start of being a kitten, she would get used to you, your scent and all, which by the way is rather nice, kind of like brown sugar. Anyway, I brought her out to you, instead of you choosing her, so the mother wouldn't get weirded out. She's the best of the litter! It's a girl!"

Karissa watched Ava anxiously.

"I love her!" Ava's smile was radiant, her eyes glowed. She cuddled it close. "Look, she has thumbs!"

The kitten stopped crying, and climbed to the back of Ava's neck, nosed its way under her hair, and purred. They could both hear it purring. They both laughed.

"She does," Karissa smiled happily, "actual thumbs, not just more toes. She has an extra on both back feet, too. Orange stripped girl cats are rare. I figured she was as unusual as you. She's obviously not afraid of you."

Karissa giggled as the purring grew even louder.

"Thank you!" Ava petted the kitten under her hair, "so, so much!"

"Catchum," Karissa smiled, "that's what I call the mother. She comes into my room a lot. It's just down that way. Anyway, she disappeared, and I finally found her, and she had the kittens. I instantly thought of you. I remembered how sad your eyes were when Jinkers was scared of you."

"Jinkers?" Ava asked.

"I name all the cats," Karissa admitted, "Natilie says I have a way of gathering up strays. She teases me about it, but she has never complained, or told me I couldn't. She says there are plenty of mice around to keep them busy, but she makes sure I feed and water them. Cats can't really live on mice alone. There's always cat food in the pantry."

"What about cat litter?" Ava asked her. "Now, I know what _else_ has been in my sand. I'm going to need to ask Natilie for a spell concerning that."

"Cat poo," Karissa laughed. "Natilie will figure it out. They actually buy boxes of sand. We're going to have to find you a litter box."

"There's plenty of plastic containers around from when they made chocolate," Ava reminded her, "food dishes from the kitchen, a small bed and she's all set. What shall I call her?"

"I was calling her Toe-Toes," Karissa admitted.

"It fits," Ava chuckled. "We'll just keep that name."

The kitten peeked out at the sound of Ava's laughter. It stared at her, and then lightly bit her jaw.

"Ouch," Ava laughed as it ducked back under her hair.

"She's a nibbler," Karissa admitted. "I can't even see her in there. Let's go set her up! That way when you're ready to take her, it's all in order."

"Let's! First step though has to be kitten chow!" Ava laughed, and pulled _Toes_ from her hair. "She's chewing on my ear."

Toes ran up Ava's chest, and dodged back into her hair.

"Oh well," Ava laughed.

"There's a shortcut to the kitchen from here," Karissa shoved the door open. It bounced back at her. "That's odd."

Ava pushed it open. It swung wide open. They stared at the figure just turning the corner.

"I think he was listening in on us," Karissa whispered.

"Yup," Ava stared after him. "Where's your room?"

"He can't go there," Karissa mentioned, her lips tight. "I've been seeing him around here quite a lot lately."

"Tell Natilie," Ava told her. "Do you want your room moved?"

"He can't go in there," Karissa repeated, "no one can unless I allow it—Nanos."

Ava just nodded, not quite understanding Karissa's reference to her Nanos. Her nerves were firing. She realized that her fangs had lowered. She didn't know why Anthony bothered her so much, but she trusted her gut feelings.

"Natilie and Vevila made it so I could talk to them in link just like the O'Byrne do," Karissa whispered. "I'm not very good at it yet, but I'm sending Natilie a picture of him right now."

Ava watched as Karissa closed her eyes. She nodded and opened them again.

"She's watching him, too," Karissa whispered. "She said he sometimes disappears, and she doesn't know how he can do that. She says for both of us to be careful around him. How can you be careful of him when he's working as Ling's assistant?"

"He's hardly there, remember," Ava frowned, "although I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of him."

Ava shivered. The term pedophile came to mind. She felt her fangs distending once again. They continued their walk towards the kitchen. It took a few minutes for Ava to control her distaste, and get her fangs under control.

"Anytime," Ava turned to Karissa, "anytime you need a place to be, my room is always open to you. If he, or anyone else bothers you, please tell me. I don't care even if you aren't sure. I would like to know about it."

"Okay," Karissa said distractedly.

Ava knew she was already thinking on other things. Karissa didn't realize that she could be a target. Karissa was so innocent in herself, but world wise in the things she had learned, mostly from the internet. Ava left her to her innocence. Making her nervous wouldn't achieve anything.

Ava grabbed a tray, and poured out two coffees. Karissa grabbed a plate, and a can of cat food from the pantry.

"Let's go into the dining room," Ava suggested "I don't really care if it bothers someone. It's just easier than trying to feed Toes on the floor."

"Sounds fine with me," Karissa smiled, happy with Ava's enthusiasm.

They set up at one of the tables, and let Toes have her food. She didn't even hesitate, but dug right in. Ava pulled a tablet of paper out of her pocket.

"Schedule," Ava questioned Karissa, "it would help if I know what kind of schedule you keep. I think you already know mine since it's mostly with Ling."

"Mine's simple. I get up around eight," Karissa stated, "get around, and eat in the kitchen. Usually Natilie finds me there to tell me if I need to do something special on the computers. Whether there is something from Natilie or not, I spend time at the computers. Lunch, Erran and I used to take a walk down the shore after lunch. After that we would work at the computers, or maybe learn something together. Dinner, sometimes a movie, play kitties, and finally bed with a Nano swim."

Ava stared at her blank piece of paper. Karissa's life was so simple there was really nothing to write down. She'd have to move slow, but she wanted Karissa to become more involved with people and activities. That would mean Ava would have to move out of her own comfort zone. Her life was hardly any more exciting.

"Well?" Karissa stared at her.

"We need to get a life," Ava laughed sadly. "My schedule isn't any busier, no more exciting. We both need to figure out what we like to do. I used to ride dirt bikes when I was in my teens. I ride sometimes, but need to get more coordinated."

"I used to play baseball," Karissa mentioned. "Gwen mentioned that they play volleyball."

"I used to like volleyball," Ava nodded. "I could probably learn those skills again. I'm really not into all that running around, or jumping over obstacles."

"I like doing that,' Karissa laughed, "I don't think that would be a good idea for you just yet. Your legs bend the wrong way. We'd be untangling you from the monkey bars."

"More like from the swinging tires," Ava agreed.

"I'll be teaching the kids computers next week," Karissa mentioned.

"That's great!" Ava said approvingly. "Some of the adults could learn from you, too."

"Maybe later," Karissa looked unsure.

"Well, I could definitely learn from you!" Ava told her.

Karissa grinned at her.

Natilie watched from the other side of the dining room. She was very pleased. Ava and Karissa seemed to be getting along very well. Both of them needed to get out more. Putting them together would force them both to work outside of themselves. They both wanted the other to be happy. It was an unusually good matchup.

She'd gotten a visit from Janet this morning. Janet was livid when she realized that Karissa had locked _her_ out of the files. Natilie asked why Karissa would do such a thing. When Janet admitted that she had locked Karissa out, Natilie informed her that she had overstepped her authority. Janet had stared at her with surprise. She had actually thought Karissa had no business looking at the work schedule.

"Just what do you think Karissa has been doing all this time? Weren't you aware of the tasks she and Erran were working on?" Natilie had asked her.

"He was teaching her things," she answered vaguely.

"Lady," Natilie said scathingly, "that little girl knows more about computers than all the professors who taught your classes—together. _You_ could learn a few things from her. Where computers are concerned, Erran was the pupil."

"But Erran was brilliant with computers," Janet frowned at her.

"Exactly," Natilie agreed. "No more locking her out! No more trying to bully her, or telling her what to do! You are equals in that room!"

"It's my job," she said indignantly, "I get paid! I'm not in there playing games!"

"You have never seen her playing games," Natilie challenged her implication. "She is a _paid_ employee, too. If you don't like it—there's the door!"

"I—I hadn't realized," Janet stuttered.

"Well, now you know," Natilie said sternly. "No more bullying. No more demeaning behavior. You are to treat her with courtesy and respect. I would say something to her about the way she treats you, but I know you started it! Now, that respect you want from her will have to be earned."

After the lecture, Natilie sat down with Janet and divided the responsibilities. Natilie figured that Janet must have noticed how all the mundane things were landing on her plate. Natilie wanted Karissa free to help with Ava, and to do those special things of which only she was capable. Janet could do the data entry and grocery listings. It suited her dull, petty little mind. Natilie sighed—they couldn't all be superstars and rocket scientists!

"How are they doing?" Vevila asked, nodding towards Ava and Karissa.

"You have cream puffs!" Natilie cried out, eyeing her tray. "Yum!"

"You may have _one_ ," Vevila laughed at her pathetic look.

"I think they are going to be a good team," Natilie answered as she swiped her cream puff away. "Of course, you never really know until something comes up for them to fight about."

Vevila nodded distractedly.

"What's up?" Natilie asked her.

"Ling's just not acting like herself," Vevila admitted. "She doesn't seem very vested in helping Ava. Normally, she would have been ecstatic at such an opportunity. Every time I try to approach her, she has some kind of excuse to run away."

"I think it has something to do with that Anthony dude," Natilie's eyes narrowed. "She acts strange when she notices that I'm watching them. She gets all rigid."

"People change," Vevila frowned. "She was always such a carefree character—so joyful. When did she get so hung up on clothing? She used to dance nude with the rest of us. Maybe, it does have something to do with _him_. I don't sense an attraction."

"No, definitely not," Natilie agreed, "if anything, it's distaste."

"Exactly," Vevila looked up at her, "that's what she showed when you asked if they were lovers. She was disgusted with the idea. Maybe, she's moved on to liking women?"

"Don't know," Natilie shrugged, "don't really care. It only bothers me that she's not helping Ava. Karissa said that some things seemed to be hurting Ava more than it should."

"We need to take turns participating, I think," Vevila suggested.

"I agree," Natilie nodded. "We can't both all the time. We don't have the time. But if it appears that our participation is random and unpredictable, she'll be more careful with Ava."

"I hope so," Vevila bit her lip, "I never worried about that before."

"Like you said," Natilie reminded her, "people change."

Toc

# Chapter Nine

"It's harder than I thought," Karissa frowned at the other kids. "I'm not sure how to describe what I do with the computers."

"Let's start by using a simple type software," Gwen suggested.

"I like Paint," Julie added. "I'd like to learn how to use the tablet."

Karissa smiled at her, "That's a good idea. We can do that. Is that okay?"

She turned to the teacher. He nodded. She felt a little nervous teaching computers. Teacher Ted, as the other kids called him, was a smallish man with curly red hair, red mustache and beard, and vivid blue eyes. After dinner, he had asked if she wanted to teach the kids about computers. Gwen had volunteered her. As she talked with him, she realized that he was really smart. He seemed to know everything about every subject. She had never met a teacher before with so much knowledge. He was smart, but didn't talk above her, didn't even try. Most adults at least tried. She _liked_ him.

Teddy O'Byrne was responsible for the teaching of the kids. It was challenging. He constantly had to work at it to keep them engaged. He kept the class on a rotating cycle. He couldn't plan on having the same children from week to week. He also could never count on them being the same age group, have the same abilities, or be emotionally stable. All the children who passed through his classes were there because of some kind of painful situation. Every class mattered! Every child had to be supported in his or her own way. It might be the only support the child would ever get. It could be his only opportunity to make a difference in that child's life.

He smiled as he watched Karissa. He was delighted that she had finally showed an interest towards the other children. In teaching them, she was also learning. His classrooms currently had nine children. Six old enough to be taught with computers. The other three still learning their ABC's. He had worked with the younger children earlier that day.

He had brought in eight computers with tablets. Karissa had already taught them how to power up, login to their servers, and manipulate around a bit. He was impressed by her sincerity and patience. He could tell that she honestly wanted all of them to understand computers. Her love of computers was obvious. It was also contagious. Those who earlier showed no interest at all, were now engrossed with the ideas of what they could do with them. Karissa had demonstrated some pretty amazing things before taking them to the basics.

At the moment, they were drawing freely with the different paint tools and colors.. Karissa was also introducing them to lighting, and the dimensions of shapes. Some were trying out the tablets. Some, not so much. The tablets felt awkward to everyone at first. The image wasn't on the tablet. It was on the computer screen. Eye-hand coordination became a game. Most importantly for the class, they were all having fun.

"The next time," Karissa was telling them, "I'll actually have things we can build in paint. Ava has some really cool stuff."

"You see her a lot don't you?" Gwen asked her.

"A lot," Karissa answered. "She's my mentor now that Erran is gone. I really like her."

"Her eyes freak me out," Peter admitted. "Does she ever blink?"

"Of course she blinks," Karissa laughed, and then she paused in thought. "I think if you ever see her face when she's caring about something, you'll understand. Her eyes are different from ours, but you can still see the soul. She cares very deeply about things."

Karissa sat watching them as they painted. Peter was fourteen and was big for his age. He had blond hair and brown eyes. He looked intimidating, but Karissa noticed that he was first to help the smaller children.

Julie was ten. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. She was self-conscious about the scar that ran along her chin, but was unwilling to have it removed. She was a natural with the graphics. Her interpretation of what she was seeing was very astute. She was able to translate that to the computer—and the Nanos liked her.

Karissa didn't know if she liked Kyle. He looked kind of mean. He was thirteen. He had dark brown hair and cold blue eyes. He sneered a lot. He seemed indifferent to the other kids.

"Simon," Karissa laughed, "stop. Every time you hit enter, you are telling the computer to go do something. You've hit enter, what, ten or twelve times? It's trying to obey you. It's trying to give you ten or twelve brushes."

"Oh," Simon looked at the computer, "it's not coming up with all those brushes."

"That's because you've confused it," Karissa told him. "Now, it's either going to lock up on you, or if you wait and do nothing, it will allow you to try again."

"Hey," he smiled with delight, "it's back."

"You got lucky," Julie told him.

Karissa smiled. It came back and waited for him, because the Nanos liked him. If it had been Kyle, the computer would have crashed. That was just the way they were. Simon had a joyfulness which translated through his fingertips. He was eleven, had sunny blue eyes, auburn hair, and freckles. He was rather skinny, and was silly at times, which secretly delighted her.

"You really need to stop doing that to your fingernails," Julie chastised Mandy. "It's going to make your nails thin and brittle."

Mandy just shrugged, "It's a hobby—an art. I like mixing colors. It's like making jewels."

"Well, it looks awful," Julie told her with the bluntness of a ten year old.

"It looked okay before I left the room," Mandy said defensively. "It just got all peely as it dried harder. I mixed three brands of polish together. I try to make it hard enough so that it lifts off as a whole nail. It just didn't work for all the colors this time."

"That's sick," Julie scowled at her.

"Yah," Mandy scowled back, "so mind your own damn business anyway!"

Karissa pulled Mandy's hand away from the keyboard and stared at it. Each fingernail was a different color, some even multicolored. Some of the polish was lifting away in sheets.

"It would be pretty if not for the peeling. I particularly like the amethyst colors. It looks like crystal. Can you take it off so it doesn't flake into the keys?" Karissa asked with concern.

"Okay," Mandy sighed. "It's no big deal though."

Karissa watched as Mandy pried the polish loose. The whole thing popped off her nail. Mandy slipped it into her pocket.

"It won't mess up the keys," Karissa shrugged, "the pieces are too big."

"You wear purple and blue a lot," Gwen noticed, "they look good on you."

"Thanks," Mandy looked at her with surprise.

Mandy had the O'Byrne looks; dark brown hair and intense purple eyes. Karissa hadn't figured out if she was just shy or rather snooty. She didn't seem to know how to just chit-chat with someone. Karissa thought she was probably fourteen or so. Even talking about something as simple as that seemed to be a chore for her. Karissa shrugged. It wasn't her worry.

"Can we move on?" Kyle sneered at the girls. "This isn't Home Ec class for crying out loud."

"Shut-up, Kyle," Gwen glared at him. "We didn't complain when you guys went off about motorcycles."

"Yah, but Motorcycles are cool," Kyle glared back. "My God! You're going on about fingernails."

"It was important," Karissa intervened, "food crumbs are even worse. I've seen a lot of ruined laptops due to people being careless with the keys. The guts of the computer are right underneath the keys, you know?"

"Karissa's right," Ted told them. "You do not simply plug in another keyboard, and be on your way. Learning to care for a computer is as important as learning how to use it."

"Right-On," Simon laughed at them, "next, we'll be learning how to put on makeup."

"You could use it," Gwen smiled at him, "hide those pesky freckles."

"I like his freckles," Karissa said with surprise.

"It's an old joke between them," Julie rolled her eyes. "How do I create that shade of purple?"

"We use the pallet to mix colors," Karissa opened the color pallet, "but it is sometimes different on the screen than what we get when we print it. It's better to do a print test before getting to involved with it."

Karissa was surprised by how much she enjoyed working with them. She was interested in doing other things with them as well. As long as it didn't take away her time from the computers—or Ava. That, she couldn't, wouldn't allow.

She was already thinking on what to bring for them to create. It would have to be interesting, not too hard, and neither girlish or boyish.

"When can we do this again?" Gwen asked Ted.

"What in particular?" Ted asked her. "You can always practice what you learned today, or play around with it to figure out more."

"No," Gwen frowned at him, "for Karissa to show us more?"

Ted turned to Karissa with a raised eyebrow.

"Give me two days," Karissa decided, "I should be able to have it by then. It'll have to be afternoon though. Ava's got torture sessions in the mornings."

"Torture sessions?" Peter asked.

"That's what it seems like," Karissa scowled. "It really hurts her sometimes. She's very determined you know—to be a person again."

"Who says she's not a person?" Kyle asked angrily.

"That's how she feels sometimes," Karissa answered. "They did terrible things to her you know, the government. She was their prisoner. They treated her like a non-person. Did terrible experiments on her."

"How do _you_ know how she was treated?" Julie asked snidely.

"I was there," Karissa frowned at her. "I was there when they rescued her, Erran and I, both. It was really, really horrible. We had jobs to do. We did them and came home."

"Computer jobs, I bet," Gwen nodded knowingly.

"What did they do to her?" Simon asked.

"Let it go," Karissa noticed his white face and pinched lips. "She's with us now. She's getting better. I think that when she's done, she's going to be phenomenally awesome! Like a super hero or something."

"Who isn't around here?" Kyle demanded, "with all the O'Byrne and Alliance people around."

"That's just it," Karissa stated, "if people will let them, they help people to be better at anything they want to do—to be."

"They're meddlesome," Kyle stated.

"Yes," Gwen admitted, "and I for one am very glad of it."

"The door is always open, you know," Julie told him.

"Too good of a swank to just walk away from," he scowled angrily at her, shoved his chair back, and stomped out of the room.

"Way to go!" Simon chastised Julie as he hurried after him.

"What just happened?" Karissa wanted to know.

"He just hasn't decided yet," Ted answered. "He's in the middle of the road for who he is, and who he will be."

Karissa nodded. She knew exactly what that was like.

"Two days?" Gwen asked her.

"Two days," Karissa nodded, and started closing out computers.

Gwen closed out her own computer, and then started closing out others. She kept glancing at the kids. Karissa realized that she was waiting for them to leave.

"Wanna get coffee?" Karissa asked her.

"Yes," Gwen didn't even hesitate.

"Bye," Karissa said to Ted, "it was—interesting."

"Thank you, Karissa," Ted smiled, "it was—wonderful."

"Oh," Karissa blushed.

"Coffee," Gwen reminded her.

They took the quickest route to the kitchen. Karissa expected to see Anthony somewhere on the way. She sighed with relief when she didn't see him. He seemed to be stalking her. Natilie knew something was up, but none of them knew why. It didn't seem to be _personal_. Karissa felt sick at the thought.

"What?" Gwen asked her.

"Nothing," Karissa answered.

Gwen's eyes narrowed. She'd seen those furtive glances and movements before. In fact, she'd done her share plenty of times. She couldn't imagine anyone at the factory wanting to hurt someone else. Especially, one of the kids. She felt protected here.

"What?" Gwen stopped in the middle of the hallway.

Karissa grabbed her arm and dragged her along.

"Okay," Karissa snarled, "but not here. Let's get our coffee, and take it to one of the upper rooms."

Gwen nodded. They grabbed their coffees, and carried them up to one of the rooms which looked out over the ocean. Up there, it felt as if they could see the whole world.

"Spill," Gwen told her.

"You can't tell anyone," Karissa studied her.

"I won't," Gwen told her solemnly, "unless I feel that you are in danger somehow."

Karissa sighed, "The guy who came with Ling to help Ava isn't quite _right_."

"How so?" Gwen asked with a frown.

"Natilie says he has a way of disappearing," Karissa mentioned, "a way that _she_ can't find him. That's never happened to her before. At first they thought he had bad intentions towards Ava, but he hasn't shown interest in her. Not even in helping her, which is his job after all. We've noticed that he seems to be stalking me. He doesn't seem creepy, not like a perv, but he always seems to be where I am, too."

"Why doesn't Natilie just do something about him?" Gwen asked, "that's what usually happens."

"They want to know why he's doing it," Karissa told her, "and Natilie wants to know how he's eluding her. If he can, so can others. She wants to understand what's going on. Natilie—and others—are watching him. They are watching all of us, actually working in shifts. He has also totally bemused Ling. He's messed with her head. She keeps changing her story as to why he's here. Ava says that she believes what she says."

"How does Ava know that?" Gwen asked perplexed.

"Sweat, she says people sweat according to what pheromone is going on," Karissa told her. "The strongest scents come from fear, lust, deceit, and anger."

"Dogs do that," Gwen nodded.

"Please don't start calling her a dog," Karissa asked her.

"I wouldn't do that!" Gwen stated indignantly. "Who's been doing that?"

"Others in passing," Karissa sighed. "No one who is here right now."

"I'll help you watch him," Gwen stated. "We see him around the school, too.

"What?" Karissa asked surprised, "What's he doing?"

"Usually just passing through," Gwen stated. "I could follow him."

"No," Karissa grabbed her arm, "You need to stay away from him! Please? Promise!"

Gwen's eyes narrowed, "Fine."

"Maybe, we have it all wrong," Karissa felt a chill, "maybe it's not me or Ava he's after. What if it's another kid? Even you? Maybe he works for your father?"

"Not likely," Gwen dismissed her suggestion. "My father would simply show up, and demand for me to come. Command me like a dog. I'm his property you know. He owns me."

"You don't belong to anyone!" Karissa declared stoutly.

"It's what he thinks," Gwen grumbled.

"He's a big, Class-A swine!" Karissa declared.

Karissa sighed, she didn't know what to think about Anthony. Maybe he was a pervert watching the little kids. She looked down at her coffee, and remembered that there was a different reason for them to be here talking.

"What's up anyway?" Karissa studied Gwen. "The reason why we're having coffee?"

"Oh," Gwen laughed sheepishly, "I nearly forgot, I was so intrigued with your shenanigans."

"Who talks like that?" Karissa laughed. "You guys must be studying early lit."

"Sherlock," Gwen smiled. "Want to join us?"

"No," Karissa sighed, "as soon as you said it, the whole series flew right through my head, boring!"

"You're like him," Gwen's eyes sparkled. "You see everything."

"Not see everything," Karissa denied, "just remember everything I do see. There is a distinction. Now, spill it!"

"I wanted to know if you would look in on my mother?" Gwen looked down at her mug, "I've been having dreams. Terrible dreams where she's been left in strange places without anyone, or money to keep her safe. She's delicate. She can't manage herself. She's totally helpless without my father, and he's a brute."

"She won't leave him?" Karissa rolled her eyes, "of course she won't. I'm guessing you mean with the computer. Why not just ask Natilie?"

Gwen was silent for a few minutes, swirling her stick in her coffee. "They do meddle," she bit her lip, "as much as I hate him, I also love him. Up till now, he's been good to my mother. He might still be. The dreams could just be my own fears. It was me he had a problem with. He can't deal, won't deal, with anyone with a mind. He gets brutal. Mother is like a simple child. She would never defy him. She's sweet and lovable, extremely gentle. Erran thought she would be safe enough, but—."

"I can do that," Karissa touched her hand, "easily. Tonight in fact."

"Don't stay up too late," Gwen insisted, "you have a lot to do tomorrow." She stopped and frowned, "Does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?" Karissa asked.

"Well," Gwen hedged, "all the work they make you do—stuff around here."

_"Make_ me do?" Karissa laughed, "they _pay_ me to do around here. Besides, I plan on living here for a very long time. This is my home."

"Won't you be going home?" Gwen's eyes were big, "to your real home?"

"I have no _real_ home," Karissa told her, surprised. "I thought everyone knew that. I have no parents. My baby brother is out there somewhere. I'm sure he's being taken care of. He was a pretty baby. Who wouldn't want a pretty baby?"

"It must have devastated you when Erran died," Gwen's eyes teared up.

"It did," Karissa nodded, "but I'd seen death before. My mother died in the car with us. She never woke up after the crash. I never did get to tell her I was sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Gwen asked softly.

"You know," Karissa stared out across the bay, "I don't even remember for what? Just that I was sorry."

"Why weren't you adopted?" Gwen asked. "You're so cute. I'm sure a family would want you in a flash. You'd make a great sister!"

"The computers," Karissa grinned, "I can't give them up. I positively go catatonic without my Nano fix."

"Seriously?" Gwen was startled.

"Seriously," Karissa answered with a laugh, "You told me not to stay up too late. It's a fact that swimming with the stream renews my energy. It doesn't tire me out at all. It's like the deep, deep sleep everyone else gets. I can't reach that sleep—ever. The welfare office sent me for a sleep study, along with a jillion other tests. I tried to tell them what was wrong, but they wouldn't believe me. My mother was the same way, so I already knew what was wrong."

"They wouldn't," Gwen told her. "No one else is like that."

"For sure," Karissa admitted. "Natilie had a healer look at me. One of _theirs_. She saw that I never, ever went into deep sleep. She also confirmed that the swim had the same effect on me as deep sleep has on others."

"I wonder why you're like that?" Gwen stared at her.

"You're not going to see it in my face," Karissa laughed at her.

"Sorry," Gwen blushed, "I tend to stare when I'm curious. So what can you check for my mother?"

"I can check all the systems for health records," Karissa assured her, "and your father's financials. Usually money tells the story. What is your father's name? His birth, and if you know it, his social security number. That, and the world is open to us. Your mother's information, too."

"We don't have any paper," Gwen said disappointedly.

"Don't need it," Karissa told her tapping her head. "It'll stay—forever if I'm not careful."

"Careful?" Gwen asked.

"Like I want to remember his information for the rest of my life," Karissa sighed. "I have to place it into short memory."

"You can do that?" Gwen asked.

"You can't?" Karissa teased.

"Well... I..." Gwen frowned.

"Teasing," Karissa shook her head. "Now give it up."

"Charles Dwain Ferguson and Tina Louise Ferguson," Gwen started reciting, "my father was born..."

Karissa was very careful to log it into short term memory. She had been very serious about that life-long memory thing. She had the most _stupid_ _things,_ stored up in her head. She knew that all brains stored things away, but normal brains didn't pull it up very often. Much less flood their heads with its stupidity over and over again. A person could go insane.

"That's it," Gwen shrugged. "That's all I really know."

"It'll do," Karissa told her, "We better get back. Dinner will be soon, and I still have things I gotta get done."

"How do you get paid?" Gwen asked with a frown. "You said you work. So I'm assuming they pay you."

"You won't tell?" Karissa asked.

Gwen just rolled her eyes.

"With rocks," Karissa laughed at her startled expression.

"They pay you with rocks," Gwen asked, appalled. "This cannot be good."

Karissa pulled out her favorite rock, and handed it to her.

"It's cute," Gwen frowned—thinking her new friend a little daft.

"Turn it over," Karissa's eyes sparkled.

"Turning," Gwen continued to frown.

"Look at the feet," Karissa laughed at her.

"They're silver," Gwen wrinkled her nose.

"Exactly," Karissa grinned, "That one is solid silver. I can exchange it here, no questions asked, hoard it, or strip it and use it."

"Why would they pay you like that?" Gwen wanted to know.

"They had a teenager here who went out and got into trouble," Karissa told her. "Natilie didn't tell me the details. I guess by the time they retrieved her she was in a terrible state. Natilie said it would all have been prevented if she had her own accessible money. I always carry a rock. It's always useful to have money."

"That's true," Gwen wasn't convinced, "we don't always have good people here—people passing through and such. Aren't you afraid someone will put on you to give it up? You look so delicate and tiny."

"I don't just tell _anyone_ ," Karissa reminded her. "Besides, try to talk about it to someone else. You won't be able to. It's something else that Natilie did to the rock."

"Then why did you tell me to keep it a secret?" Gwen asked irritably.

"How else would you know I don't want it talked about?" Karissa stated. "It seems pretty rude for me to assume you know what I want."

"But if I can't tell anyway?" Gwen continued. "What's the point of asking?"

"It's just a good habit," Karissa sighed, "to not assume things with friends."

"We are friends, aren't we?" Gwen grinned at her.

"Definitely," Karissa laughed, feeling happier than she had in a long time.

A bell tolled.

"Dinner," Karissa smiled, "so much for digging through Ava's designs."

"Gee," Gwen frowned, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not," Karissa assured her. "We both needed this. I'm hungry."

"That's what Natilie always says," Gwen laughed. "I think it's a joke between her and Vevila."

Karissa laughed out loud, "It's no joke! Have you ever seen their trays? Oh my God those two can eat!"

"No?" Gwen's eyes were big, "I'm going to have to pay attention to that!"

They climbed out of the nook, and made their way down the stairs. A figure sat quietly in the shadows. He was disturbed by what he had overheard. He thought he had more time. Obviously not. He was going to have to act before they could stop him.

If he had taken a guess, he would have chosen the wrong girl. Karissa simply didn't look old enough. Bringing in the wrong girl would diminished his influence. In this world, it would have been a simple mistake. In his world, authority didn't make _simple_ mistakes. It showed a lack of prowess and garnered disrespect.

He hadn't yet found the Chelstice, the Tiara of the Purple Queen. He had tried to search the private rooms, but found they were enchanted against intrusion. The retrieval of the girl was important, but getting his hands on the Chelstice would ensure his success.

At least he finally knew for sure which girl it was. He looked at his watch. The terminus only had another forty-eight hours left for this moon. It was going to be tight. His eyes gleamed. He wanted that Chelstice! He'd risk the closeness of the timing to get his hands on it!

Toc

# Chapter Ten

"How does this work?" Gwen asked. "Why does it work?"

During dinner, Karissa invited Gwen to her room. She decided it would be easier to have Gwen there during the search. Gwen might be able to make other suggestions, or make decisions concerning her mother. Gwen probably wouldn't be too big of a distraction. Her mother used to deliberately try to distract her during a search. She wanted to make sure that Karissa could still do the job, and still be aware of the goings on around her.

"It's hard to explain," Karissa answered, "I just _get_ the language. I see it. I remember it. I like the _feel_ of it. I can actually _feel_ it running. It's like _hearing_ music. Computers just get _me_. There are people computers don't like. It's as if the energies just clash. Computers like you!"

"They do?" Gwen asked surprised.

"They do," Karissa told her. "That's why they don't crash as much with you as with Kyle. They don't like him."

"Why is that?" Gwen asked her.

"I'm not sure," Karissa shrugged. "They don't like impatient people. They don't like it when people keep hitting the keys unnecessarily."

"It annoys them," Gwen suggested.

"Exactly," Karissa said happily.

"You have a really nice room," Gwen mentioned, looking around, "lots of nice things for a little kid! My room is such a sty."

Gwen looked around appreciatively. Karissa's room looked like something out of a magazine. It was orderly and neat. She had a tapestry on one wall and modern art paintings on the others. There was a plush blue and brown rug on the floor in front of the bed. The bed was against the far wall. A complex computer system was sitting on an expensive oak desk beside the bed. A loveseat and reading lamp was facing away from the bed. She even had a china cabinet with delicate figurines. The room looked finished.

"It's everything my mother and I ever had," Karissa looked around sadly. "It is a nice room. Erran collected it for me. There's another room passed the door. It's mostly my mother's things."

"I'm sorry," Gwen's eyes were sincere, "I didn't think about that."

"It's okay," Karissa shrugged, "I've had _adults_ behave as if I shouldn't have this stuff. It's the only legacy I'll ever know of my family."

"Do you get lonely?" Gwen asked.

"I miss my mother," Karissa told her, "my brother was just a baby. I don't remember my father. Come on, let's find out what's going on with your family."

Karissa logged in, and went to work. Her fingers flew over the keys.

"Follow the money," Karissa muttered, "the money trail is always the most current data." She frowned, "Do you know a Brenda Coleman?"

"His mistress," Gwen nodded.

"Pretty bold about it," Karissa murmured.

"My mother has always been delicate," Gwen frowned. "It's better this way."

"She was _delicate_ when he married her?" Karissa asked.

"Since an accident as a child," Gwen answered. "I think he married her for the money. _His_ money comes from my mother's family. They're still alive. There was a pre-nuptial. He got a big-ass bucket of money when he married her. If he divorces her, he loses the allotments. I think they were glad to have someone else take care of her. My grandfather is Jokob Karl Kahane."

Karissa search on her grandfather, and came up with lots of data. Apparently, he was some type of public figure.

"These are your grandparents?" Karissa pulled up a picture.

"My grandfather with his first wife," Gwen answered. "I guess she died pretty young, and then he remarried. Mother said her stepmother resented her.

"Does your grandfather give your father money for you?" Karissa asked her.

"I don't think so," Gwen scoffed. "He's never even met me!"

"Let's see!" Karissa followed back to the day Gwen was born. "He has been! You're worth a yearly sum of $125,000! And you just turned ten last month. Good God—they've paid over a million dollars for you! He receives it on your birthday. They obviously don't know that you're not with him!"

"Wow!" Gwen turned white, "that scum-bucket! He never even bothers to buy me a birthday present! What a jerk! I used to think I wasn't his daughter, but unfortunately, I have his eyes. A mutation they say."

"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen!" Karissa informed her. "Elizabeth Taylor had that same mutation. Double eyelashes, lavender eyes. I wonder if the O'Byrne have the same purple mutation."

"I'd love to have their magic!" Gwen declared.

"What kind? What would you do?" Karissa asked her.

"Have you met Jeri?" Gwen asked.

"The Assassin?" Karissa shivered. "You're way too nice to want that!"

"Not to be an assassin," Gwen laughed at her, "but she can do so many things! She can pop in and out of places! She can _see_ most everywhere, like Natilie, but not as far. When she watches people, she can hear them, too. Natilie can't do that. No one would be able to hurt me again. I'd just pop away!"

"I can see why you would want that," Karissa studied her. "It's not just the O'Byrne who have magic."

"The Alliance," Gwen nodded.

"They are just ordinary people with unusual gifts," Karissa mentioned, "there are more gifted people out there than just the Alliance. That's just one group of them."

"Oh," Gwen blinked at her, "I never thought of it like that. Of course you're right."

"There are a lot of entries for a Safe-Heart Institute," Karissa studied the screen. "I could check their registry to see if your mother is a guest there?"

"Okay," Gwen nodded, "she's stayed there before."

Karissa opened another window and did her magic. The registry opened. "She's been staying there for the last three months." Karissa opened another page, "her records say she has a bad heart. I'm so sorry Gwen, but they don't think she will ever return home."

Gwen nodded, her eyes filled with tears, "I guess the accident she had as a child bruised her heart really bad. Every time she goes into that place, I always wonder if she is going to come out again."

Gwen looked up. There was anguish and uncertainty in her eyes.

"Do you think me being gone has caused it to be worse this time?" She whispered.

"It doesn't matter," Karissa took her hand. "Erran would not have taken you out if you had not been at risk. You might even be dead! I'm going into the state records. I want to see that prenuptial."

Karissa turned back to the computer. This time, she didn't know where to look for what she wanted, so she sent her Nanos into the system. She pretended to look around at different sites while her Nanos did their jobs. It was a few minutes later when the Nanos opened a window.

"I hate all this lawyer talk," Karissa complained. "It's freak'n twenty-eight pages long. What on earth could they have been hashing out all that time! Marry my daughter and get one hundred dollars a day for the rest of her life. How hard would that be? Do you want me to print this out, or just skim it over?"

"Skim it please," Gwen answered. "We can print it later if we need to."

"Skimming, skimming," Karissa murmured, "oops, backing up. Your father got a fat one million dollars when he married your mother, and get's a half million again every year. It was discouraged for your father and mother to have children. It actually states a decline in the allotment if your father were to get your mother pregnant. If they find in any circumstances that your mother is being abused—either physically, through neglect, or even emotionally—they would bring her home, and the allotment would cease."

Karissa studied her friend. She was being very quiet. Nothing she had just read had surprised her. Karissa printed off the contract. She wasn't real sure Gwen had been listening.

"Natilie could bring you to your mother," Karissa told her.

Gwen looked up sharply.

"You would be totally safe!" Karissa went on, "there's no way he could take you back with her looking out for you!"

"Will you come with us?" Gwen asked.

"Of course I would!" Karissa declared. "I'm going to look for another file now. There should be something locked up with the lawyers."

"Locked up?" Gwen grinned, "I thought you were just good at getting around. I didn't know you were a hacker."

"Please," Karissa grinned back, "hacker is such a poor description for what we do. It sounds like someone with a fur-ball, or something."

Gwen laughed at her. Karissa sent her Nanos after the lawyers. Her Nanos literally passed right through passcodes and security systems.

"That didn't take very long," Karissa murmured. "They've been busy. Your father uses Briggs, Burgman, and Strause a lot. This will take a bit while I skim through them. In fact, I'm printing everything while I look."

The printer pulled in paper, and started to chatter.

"There's a Sudoku book if you're interested," Karissa motioned to the book on the bed stand.

"I'm kind of slow at it," Gwen admitted, "but I like the easy ones."

"We aren't going anywhere," Karissa mentioned, "it's early yet. Do you have class tomorrow?"

"Field trip," Gwen smiled, "we're going to watch them make cookies at the Elves place. I'm told it's pretty touristy."

"I love automation," Karissa's eyes sparkled. "Maybe I could get Ava to go, too. No better not. She'll be wanting to tear their machines apart. She hates inefficiency."

"She'd scare off the Elves," Gwen said sadly.

"And grin maniacally while doing it," Karissa admitted. "She's a lot better about accepting her snakiness. You don't need to feel sorry for her."

"I'm glad," Gwen said distractedly as she picked up the puzzle book.

Soon, she was lost in the game. Karissa sighed. It was hard looking for things with a friend in the room. One doesn't ignore one's friends. Most of the contracts dealt with land transactions. Gwen's father spent most of the money buying property, which he put solely into his own name. There didn't seem to be another source of income. He only bought. The only time he sold was when a property didn't meet his expectations. He usually sold them at a loss.

It didn't take very long before she realized that Briggs did not deal with his personal contracts. She went back to the attorney who represented on his behave of the prenuptial. Here she found several files including an understanding with regards to a Gwendolyn A. Ferguson. Skimming, Karissa saw that Gwen was supposed to have forty percent of the money put away in a trust. Well, that wasn't happening!

She was also supposed to be getting three percent of that divided up between the twelve months as _pocket_ change. Karissa did the math. That was three hundred, twelve dollars, and fifty cents a month. She knew that Gwen wasn't getting any money at all. She hadn't even known she was being subsidized by her grandfather.

According to one contract, Gwen was supposed to have traveled to Austria when she was six. Karissa opened a letter penned by the attorney. She grew angry as she read it. Gwen's father was claiming that Gwen had inherited a congenital heart defect from her mother. He not only said she couldn't travel to Austria, but requested more money to pay for her special care!

Karissa lost herself in contracts and letters.

"You've gotten awfully quiet over there," Gwen mentioned.

Karissa snapped to. She had forgotten that Gwen was in the room with her. She tried to remember if she had done anything odd with the computer. She didn't think she had.

"Your father is a Wad!" Karissa told her bluntly, hitting the print key.

"Why?" Gwen's eyes were big, "what did you find?"

"Your grandfather has never met you, because your father told him you were sickly. He said you were so sickly that not only could you not travel, but meeting new people put such a stress on you that the last time you were hospitalized due to such an event. Meeting an unknown grandfather of a different nationality was out of the question. He asked for, and got, more money to take care of you. When your mother dies, her part of the allotment dies with her, but yours lives on through you. You will never marry, because he is sad to say, that you have a birthmark which mars the left side of your face."

Karissa handed her two pictures. The left side of her face was grossly malformed in one. The second, the malformation had been corrected, but it had left bad, discolored scarring.

Gwen sat there staring at the pictures.

"He could keep this up my whole life," she said in a shocked whisper.

"No he can't!" Karissa reminded her, "you are here now. We can fix this!"

"We can?" Gwen asked.

"Easy," Karissa answered, "oh and by the way, you were supposed to have met your grandfather when you turned six."

Karissa handed her the letter. Gwen read it in angry silence.

"That's the year he broke my arm," Gwen stated, "twisted it, till it broke."

"He would have had a little problem explaining that," Karissa noted. "That's probably when he thought of this little scam. He had to provide a doctor's letter for your mother every month, and she talked with her father on the phone a lot. How come she never mentioned it when you got hurt?"

"She never really understood I was her child," Gwen looked down at her hands, "she's like a little girl. I was an occasional playmate. She had no memory of ever birthing me. When she was well enough, we mostly played house. That was what she liked to do."

"Maybe, she didn't," Karissa's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked surprised.

"In a minute," Karissa was bringing up a file she had thought was irrelevant. She pulled it and stared at it. "A surrogate mother. I don't know if you have your mother's genes, but you were _housed_ in Mary G. Harris. Here is a payoff of six thousand dollars to her on your birthday—the only payment to her. You have his eyes, you say. We can get a paternity test for your mother, but can you see anything of her in you?"

Gwen studied her own picture, deformed as it was. She shook her head. She didn't see anything of her mother within her. Her mother was a very fair blond with blue eyes. She had high cheekbones, and a delicate mouth. She was dainty with fine finger and feet bones. Even her voice was soft.

Gwen felt awkward and ungainly when she stood by her mother. She had big bones, her father had made fun of her for that often enough. Her teeth were wrong for both parents. Her mouth was full. She had a small waist, but a big butt. Her shoulders were wide. No, she didn't see any resemblance of her mother in the picture.

Karissa handed her a picture, "This is Mary Harris."

Gwen gasped with surprise. This woman had her mouth, her chin! She was a shapely woman with big breasts. Gwen's nose was smaller—thank God—but the resemblance was uncanny!

"Your birth certificate is under your mother's name," Karissa frowned, "I wonder how he pulled that one off. Probably just showed up at the hospital claiming her as his wife. Wouldn't be that hard. Blood type is a match. They don't do DNA."

"Do you think he did this from the beginning to scam my grandfather into giving him more money?" Gwen asked.

"No," Karissa answered, "he wouldn't do that and jeopardize the prenuptial. I think he's such a narcissist that having a _boy_ , and preserving his genes, was more important at that moment than the money. I'm betting, he didn't let your grandfather know his _daughter_ was pregnant until after he challenged the prenupt. I was wrong about your grandfather. He didn't just get rid of an inconvenience. He was giving to her, her heart's desire. Someone to play house with. So what do you want to do?"

"We're going to need to make a list," Gwen laughed contemptuously.

Karissa handed her a notepad.

"The money my grandfather gave him for me should go back to him," Gwen commented, "but I need it, and I am the victim of this more than my grandfather. He should have used a detective agency."

"I agree," Karissa told her, "besides, he doesn't need it. He should have sent someone to check on you when your father first started that heart bull-crap! Your father doesn't have that much cash flow, but I can start liquidating his properties. For sure, I'm rerouting the money he just received from your birthday allotment. Oh and another thing, you were supposed to get over three hundred dollars a month just for _pocket_ money. Although with your heart being so bad, I don't know what you would be spending it on."

"Makes me want to scream!" Gwen said angrily. "He sometimes forgot to even give me lunch money. The school had to write him a letter to make him comply!"

"Safe-Heart is paid up through the year," Karissa told her. "We can bankrupt him now. In fact—done! His money is now moving around. It will for a while. Good luck tracing it. I've also maxed out all his credit cards. You don't mind your house being used to host a homeless personage convention do you? Now, I'm going to give away his car, his truck, his boat, his Harley, and his horse. Why does he have a horse? Does he ride it?"

Gwen's face became pinched. Her eyes confused.

"Second thoughts?" Karissa asked, "although I would be very disappointed, I can put everything back."

"No, not that," Gwen's eyes filled with tears. "She's not my mother."

"She is, who she is to you," Karissa turned to look at her. "You should still go see her. If you don't, you will never feel finished. I wish I could have said something to my mother."

Karissa thought, but didn't say— _before she died._

Gwen nodded and used her sleeve to wipe away her tears. "Money is the best way to punish him. It's no wonder why he is so determined to get me back. I don't really know what else to do except take it away. I'd like to punish him more, but what? Send him to prison?"

"You could," Karissa mentioned, "you have enough broken bones to prove abuse. There's the scam on your grandfather, but that's a civil matter. First things first though, I think you should place a restraining order against him. Keep him away from you, and start making the public know that he's scum. You mentioned that he was influential. He plays his father in-law's name about a lot. That's not _him_ being powerful. Once that branch is broken, and it will be very soon, he will be dogie-do."

"You are so smart," Gwen told her, "how did you get to be so smart? How do you know all these things?"

"The computers tell me everything," Karissa shrugged, "I listen."

"We need to tell my grandfather," Gwen told her.

"That's easy, and we can do it right now," Karissa told her. "He has an email account. If he's in Facebook, and is in, you can actually talk to him right now."

"What would I say?" Gwen panicked.

"Start just by letting him see you," Karissa suggested, "I would bet monies that he has memorized that horrid picture of you. Start with your left side facing away from the camera, tell him some truth, and then shift so he can see your whole face."

"I'm writing stuff down," Gwen stated, and started scribbling.

"Unless you want to hide me," Karissa said drolly, "I'll be right here with you. I can even talk."

Gwen looked up at Karissa. Her eyes were laughing.

"He's a man," Karissa reminded her, "an imperfect man, with an imperfect daughter, who he loves."

"But he thinks I'm his granddaughter," Gwen stated.

"I'm sure he would rather you be healthy and whole," Karissa stated, "or he's not worth your time."

Gwen took a deep breath and nodded. "Call him up."

Karissa opened Facebook. First they had to create a Facebook account for Gwen.

"It's so empty," Gwen stared at the empty page. "I have nothing to put in it."

"They always are to start," Karissa reminded her, "and that's not quite true. Let's start with the play you guys filmed. Remember that?"

"Oh no," Gwen put up her hands, "I stuttered, I actually stuttered, and I stepped on my dress and tore out the hem."

"Perfect," Karissa added the film to her file. "It was fun!"

Gwen watched in awe as Karissa added picture after picture. Now and then asking for a statement. She hadn't even realized how many pictures of her were here. She sat back in her chair. She had more of a life here than she ever did at her home.

"Wow," Gwen commented.

"Exactly," Karissa laughed.

She had to send in her Nanos to find and open Gwen's grandfather's Facebook page. It was protected, but she blew right through the safeguards and called him up direct. She even turned on his camera.

"That's him," Gwen whispered.

Gwen stared at the old man typing on his keyboard. He had snowy white hair, and blue, blue eyes. He was totally unaware that the camera was on. He glanced up, and noticed that the little light was on. He frowned.

Karissa took control of his computer and opened up his page. He jumped back hurriedly.

"Now is when he should have killed the power," Karissa murmured, "but most people don't."

Gwen deliberately turned her left cheek away from the camera. She waited for him to settle himself.

"I know you," he said with a very heavy accent. "How are you doing this?"

"I'm doing it," Karissa turned the camera towards herself. "I'm a master-hacker."

"A master-hacker," he laughed. "I should hire you, instead of that bum I have taking care of these things."

"I only work for rocks," Karissa laughed at her own joke. "I have Gwen here, and she needs to tell you things—a lot of things. You guys should have done this a long time ago. Even someone with a supposed bad heart can use Facebook."

"A _supposed_ bad heart," he asked, picking up immediately on her tone.

Karissa nodded, and turned the camera back onto Gwen. Gwen slowly moved to face the camera.

"He told you lies," she told him. "A lot of lies."

He stared at her pretty face in shock.

"I see," his eyes became hard, merciless.

Gwen started telling him some of the things they had just discovered. She told him about going into hiding. Finally, she tearfully told him about discovering that she wasn't really her mother's daughter.

"I did not think so," he surprised her by saying. "I thought that having a baby would kill her."

"You didn't call him on it?" Gwen asked him.

He shrugged wearily. "I am an old man," he looked into the camera, "what harm was there that my daughter thought she had a child? I cheated her by not giving her a loving mother. I was selfish. I knew marrying Collette was the wrong thing to have done, but she was very beautiful and I wanted her—so I did what I wanted. I married Emmalina off not only to make her dreams come true, but also to keep her safe from Collette. I did not know that he would treat his daughter with less regard than he did his wife. I know that he is treating her as well as a woman can be treated with her conditions."

"I think he wanted a boy," Gwen told him.

"It could be," his eyes grew cold, "so now what to do about him—yes?"

Karissa laughingly told him what they had already done.

"Remind me now," his eyes twinkled, "to never be mean to you—either of you." He laughed, and then his eyes grew cold. "I think though that I should be coming to visit him. I would like to see my daughter once again, anyway."

Gwen looked away from the camera.

"You love her?" He asked her.

She immediately looked up, "Of course I do!"

"There is no of course," he told her, "there are many daughters who despise their mothers, and mothers who envy and hate their daughters. You may have just learned you are from another woman's body, but you are still my granddaughter. Always have been. Even though I doubted you were my daughter's daughter. I am only sorry that I took the easy road, and did not come for you. Will you accompany me to see my daughter?"

"I would like that," Gwen answered with tears running down her cheeks.

"I will take a jet out tomorrow," he told her. "I have wasted too much time away. I only hope that we are not too late. I will have my bum of a computer man send you confirmation. Where do I send it?"

Karissa moved the camera back to herself, "Natilie keeps the house we now live in. It would be disrespectful to her to give over that information without talking with her. You have this Facebook account. We will tell her immediately what we've been up to."

"This Natilie must be of good cheer to house the two of you," he laughed. "Until tomorrow then my granddaughter. For now, this old man needs his rest."

"Good-bye," Gwen said sadly.

"It is good to see your face," he told her. "It is a lovely face. Goodnight."

He turned off his computer.

"Let's go talk to Natilie," Karissa logged off her computer.

"You look sad?" Gwen asked, puzzled.

"I finally find a friend who I really like," Karissa told her sadly, "and she is about to start a new adventure without me. You don't really think your grandfather is going to leave you here, do you?"

"I hadn't thought about it," Gwen admitted, "it's all too fast."

"It just makes sense," Karissa told her, "that's why he's coming to America. Not just to visit a daughter who he hasn't seen in over ten years."

Gwen nodded uncertainly.

"I've totally enjoyed screwing your father over though," Karissa grinned at her.

"You're an awful girl!" Gwen laughed at her. "Let's go tell on ourselves."

"Friends always?" Karissa held out her hand.

"Friends for always," Gwen took her hand, and squeezed it tight.

Toc

# Chapter Eleven

"So why is Anthony suddenly so interested in our work?" Ava asked Ling.

"It's his job to be _interested_ ," Ling frowned at her.

"Why now?" Ava insisted, "why now that Karissa is assisting with my therapy?"

"What are you talking about?" Ling asked, "he's been here with every session!"

Ava could tell by the scent of her that she believed what she was saying. She was annoyed, but not being deceptive. Ava decided to try another tactic.

"Can I see the drawings?" Ava asked her.

"Drawings?" Ling asked confused.

"Yes," Ava insisted, "the drawings Anthony has drawn out. You did introduce him to us as an artist. Said he could draw out suggestions of the different postures for me."

"You must have misunderstood," Ling said abruptly. "We are filming the way you stand and walk. Why would I bring in an artist?"

"I thought it was so I could choose a posture," Ava frowned at her, "and then we could figure out which muscle groups needed worked to bring about the best affect."

"Straight," Ling laughed, "you want to stand straight. We don't need drawings for that. Natilie, Vevila, you're here. Let's dance!"

"Where's Karissa?" Ava asked with a frown.

"It's okay," Natilie turned to her, "she's doing a special task for me."

"She will be along later," Vevila smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. "I've left word that she will be off site for a while."

Ava nodded. Although she trusted Natilie and Vevila, she would have felt a lot more secure if she could have _sniffed_ them. Their pheromones just didn't work the same way as normal people's. Besides that, with Vevila traipsing back and forth between here and who knew where, her scent was always a mixed bag. Ava was amazed by how fast she had come to rely on her new senses.

"Vevila has written a song for us today," Natilie announced.

"I want you to just move in anyway the music takes you," Vevila told Ava. "I think we need to start working a little differently."

"What's wrong with the way we've been working?" Ling challenged.

"There's muscles to build, but also cardiovascular," Natilie reminded her. "We just thought this might be more entertaining. I'll be dancing with you, too. We'll all be dancing. Isn't that the point?"

Ling shrugged.

"I'm game," Ava told them. She stared at Ling thoughtfully, wondering why she was so edgy.

"Where's Anthony?" Natilie asked.

"He doesn't need to be here for dancing," Ling snapped.

"Good," Natilie smiled, "it'll just be us ladies."

Ava rolled her eyes as Natilie pulled off her clothes. Vevila started to sing. Ava had never heard anything so beautiful in her life. She didn't want to dance. She just wanted to stand there and listen with all her soul. Natilie took her hands, and led her into slow moving dance steps. She shut her eyes.

The imagery through Vevila's song was very vivid. Ava saw blue sky, and heard angel wings. She smelled lilacs and honey. The wind whispered against her skin feeling silky and fresh.

She felt herself twirled in tight circles, or spun with long looping pulls. Ava opened her eyes when Natilie's hands were replaced by another's. Vevila danced with her as she sang. Natilie was dancing with Ling. Ling's eyes were dazed. Ava couldn't quite catch the meanings of Vevila's words. They drifted upwards with delicacy, before sauntering back down.

"We're there," Natilie said softly.

Natilie led Ling to the cushions, and had her sit down. Vevila looked at Ava with surprise. Ava raised her eyebrow enquiringly. Natilie laughed softly.

"She hears things differently," Vevila nodded. "The song didn't _take_ her."

Ava started to ask questions, but Vevila lightly touched her lips for silence, and nodded towards Ling. Vevila walked over to open the door. Karissa walked quietly into the room.

: _I'm pulling you into the link so you will know what we are doing,_ : a voice whispered in her head.

Ava jerked with surprise. It had been Natilie's thoughts. She hadn't heard anyone's mental voice since the wake.

: _I found something in Ling's brain,_ : Natilie continued. : _We wanted to know how Anthony was taking her over. She has critters in her head. Karissa said they were some type of Nano._ :

"I've never seen any like that before," Karissa said very softly, "but that must be what they are. I'm here to try and catch them."

"We thought he was using sound," Vevila sang softly, "like I can do, but we couldn't catch him doing it. When Natilie scanned her, we found something strange. Something which didn't belong in the human body. We're going in. Natilie's leading us."

'I'm placing Ling into a deep sleep," Natilie whispered, "so we don't have to keep whispering."

Ava watched as Ling's eyes closed. She started snoring.

Karissa laughed.

"I don't think we should remove them all," Vevila tilted her head. "We don't want Anthony to know we've tampered with her."

"As much as I hate leaving them in there," Natilie sighed, "I agree."

"How many should I take?" Karissa asked.

"I think enough to study is all," Vevila suggested.

Natilie grinned, and offered Ava her hand. Ava rolled her eyes, and took it. Vevila was holding Karissa in her lap. Ava felt the link as soon as it snapped into place. She could see several views all at once. She shut her eyes. Soon she was just seeing what Natilie was seeing. She followed along nerves and passages. Natilie was pushing them into a higher and higher magnifications. Suddenly, they were there. There were hundreds of them.

The Nanos didn't seem to realized that they were being watched. They continued with their tasks. They were multi-colored, box-like structures with arms and hands. They didn't have legs or feet. They moved as floating objects. Ava could see little sparks as they performed their tasks.

Ava didn't know what they were doing, but the repetition was very apparent. Karissa made herself known to them. She simply appeared to them as herself, a little girl. They swarmed around her curiously. She giggled with delight. She slowly moved away. Some of them moved with her, but others returned to their tasks. Karissa led the way with those which would follow.

: _That seems about right_ ,: Vevila nodded. : _A mass exodus of the critters might raise questions_.:

: _This way too, there won't be a disruption to those performing tasks_.: Natilie added.

"I wonder what they are doing?" Karissa queried. "Let's hope they aren't saying... breath in, one two three, breath out, one two three."

Natilie laughed and said out loud, "That would be bad!"

"Is she turning blue?" Vevila joked.

Karissa giggled.

Ava's consciousness moved along the pathway Natilie was leading them. Soon they were moving out of Ling's body, and into a space with an infinite number of pathways. The Nanos swarmed the device. Natilie led them back to themselves. The link was broken.

"I developed it special," Karissa held out the little drive. "Nanos are always curious. They love nothing more than to explore. There are all kinds of things on here, from art to travel, from music to the stars. They will be busy for a long while."

"What are they?" Ava murmured. "I know they are Nanos, but what does that mean?"

"I can only describe them as what I made up," Karissa gave her a sheepish grin. "They are the particles in a computer which do tasks, and move memory around. They aren't bites, that is memory space. There are some people experimenting with little guys like this in medicine. I think they are calling them bio-replicators. These aren't like any Nanos I've seen before, but they are similar. It's going to be interesting to figure them out."

"Which you will not be doing on your own," Vevila reminded her.

Karissa frowned at her, but nodded.

"How is Ling?" Ava asked.

"We don't think they have damaged her," Vevila shrugged with uncertainty and concern, "but there have been definite changes in her."

"We don't want her to know about this yet," Natilie considered, "we don't want Anthony to know we meddled."

"I wonder if he can _see_ them?" Karissa wondered.

"I wonder where they came from?" Ava frowned in thought.

"We haven't been able to figure anything out with that guy," Vevila grimaced.

"I have seen similar Nanos in his head." Natilie stated. "That was why I thought to search in Ling's."

"Too weird," Karissa shook her head, "like a million little bugs running around in there!"

Natilie hesitated, "I don't know what to think of this, but he's a eunuch. I realized it the day we asked Ling if they were lovers. There's no scaring, so the fact rather confuses me."

"Some boys were altered to keep their voices," Vevila suggested, "he does have a beautiful voice."

"Why would anyone do that?" Karissa asked appalled. "Is it really worth it?"

"I wouldn't think so," Natilie scowled, "some boys though, weren't given a choice."

"That's just wrong!" Karissa cringed.

"His brain is also ordered differently than a normal person." Natilie mentioned, "It _runs_ differently."

"Like mine," Karissa surprised them by saying.

"What?" Natilie asked.

"My brain isn't organized like normal people," Karissa went on, "that's why I have the recall I do. I can actually section it off according to what I want to do. I continually organize it. It's like needing to keep your sock drawer color coded. I don't sleep, either—not really. Do I have Nanos in my brain?"

Natilie looked at her with surprise. "Let's find out. Can you lead the way? I figure that you probably interact with them without even realizing it—if it's true. Care to link?"

Karissa nodded her head. This time Natilie let Karissa lead them in. It didn't take any time at all before they were in the heart of her Nanos. Unlike the other Nanos, these were very aware of their existence, and instantly swarmed them. There were millions of them! Karissa whimpered. Natilie took control, and pulled them a little apart. The Nanos actually acted confused with her movement.

"They are use to interacting with you," Vevila suggested. "Picture your normal Avatar, and have it work with them."

Karissa nodded. Suddenly there was a tiger working its way around the Nanos.

"I can understand them!" Karissa whispered excitedly, and then laughed softly. "They are me! What does all this mean?"

"We're pulling back," Natilie's face was white.

Just as suddenly they were out. They stared at each other silently. Natilie had sweat running down from her forehead. Her face was pinched. Vevila looked at her curiously.

"It was a strain to keep her separated from them," Natilie explained. "They were trying to absorb her. Although that's what probably happens all the time with smaller particles. She was there as her full self. I couldn't see that as being a good thing."

"Probably not," Vevila agreed.

Karissa looked bewildered.

"They're looking for _me!_ " Karissa stated, "I can feel them. They don't understand where I went. It—disturbed them."

"I don't understand any of this," Ava told them.

"I think the weird question is... Just who is _Karissa_?" Vevila pondered, staring at Karissa.

"What?" Karissa frowned at her.

"I would bet money on it that the little Nanos we took out of Ling came from Anthony," Vevila continued, "I bet they were his Nanos controlling her brain functions."

"He does seem to be in control of her," Natilie agreed.

"Imagine a civilization," Ava spoke as she thought it through, "interfacing so intimately with a data driven system that they become part of each other."

Natilie looked at Karissa with worried eyes. "He's here to take you back!" Natilie knew it to be true. It _snapped_ in.

"Back where?" Karissa asked anxiously.

"To wherever he's been disappearing to," Natilie knew that, too.

: _To where I can't seem to follow,_ : Natilie sent to Vevila.

"I need you to run a data check on Anthony," Natilie told Karissa, "as complete as you can find."

Karissa nodded, her eyes were big. "I'll get started on it right now!"

"I'll walk with you," Ava stood.

"Ava," Natilie hesitated, "we need to talk about some things."

"I'll walk with Karissa," Vevila volunteered.

Ava watched as they left. She thought she knew what Natilie wanted to talk about, and it was not a conversation she wanted to have. She frowned trying to figure out a way to escape. How do you tell someone, you so like and respect, that you are lusting for her lover? That you couldn't seem to get him out of your head? She could be wrong though, maybe Natilie just wanted to talk about—food?

"I think I need to go sit in the hot sand," Ava stood up, rubbing her legs. "I think I may have twisted a bit too far."

"Sit," Natilie ordered with amusement.

Ava sighed as she sat back down.

"We need to talk about Thymane," Natilie's words ripped away Ava's lingering hopes. "I know what you are feeling."

"I'm so sorry!" Ava blurted, "I would never impose on another woman's lover!"

"He's not exactly my lover," Natilie stated bluntly.

Ava stared at her surprised.

"He's a succubus!" Natilie looked into her eyes. "Your response was pretty much involuntary. Everybody has that kind of response to him—even men—totally straight men. It is what he is, and he thrives on being that way. He's _very_ dangerous! Once he takes someone, they are no longer whole. They become a slave to his desires. He has never taken me! I defy him, and that intrigues him. He likes someone to fight with. He has resisted his own lust where I'm concerned. He wants to keep me intact. Also, as you know, I also have my unbreachable underwear which Druantia gave me. That slows us down. He makes me burn hot, so _hot_ with lust! Sometimes, I feel as though I'm going insane! He takes people. It is what he is. He tried to take Druantia, but she turned the tables on him. Now, she uses _him_."

"I'm sorry," Ava murmured.

Natilie sighed. This was something Ava was going to have to work out on her own. Natilie suspected that until Thymane showed up, Ava had assumed her sexuality had gone dormant. Surprise!

"You are still fertile," Natilie surprised her by saying.

"What?" Ava asked, shocked.

"Your eggs are numerous, healthy and whole," Natilie told her.

"I haven't had a cycle," Ava denied.

"Which should be what?" Natilie challenged her.

"I really don't know," Ava confessed. "I should have gone through menopause!"

"That's what started all this," Natilie reminded her.

"What a mess," Ava growled. "So what would happen if I took a mate? What would I have if there was an _accident_?"

"No idea," Natilie answered. "I was cursed. I wasn't supposed to be able to have children. What happens? I get grabbed up, and hauled off to Faerie, where it happened to be the only place in heaven and earth, where I could conceive."

Ava was listening intently.

"Tawny is the result. We always have choices, but what good is a choice without an opportunity? Life brings what it does. Beauty comes out of chaos. A rose can grow in the desert. Who knows what an _accident_ would bring. Should you be worrying about that right now?"

"I suppose not," Ava laughed. "Just please keep your succubus _fiend_ away from me. I'm not sure how strong I am. I'd never felt that way before."

"I know," Natilie said chagrined, "thus my underwear! I do have a solution for your dilemma though. Thymane and I have come to an understanding through the years. I get to mark my friends, and he isn't to touch them. Can I mark you as a friend?"

Ava looked up at her startled. She totally wanted to be Natilie's friend! A real friend, not just an acquaintance!

"Please," Ava asked her.

"Gladly!" Natilie grinned at her. "I do consider you as a friend!"

Natilie held out her hands. Ava placed her own within. She felt a warmth slide over her body.

"It is done," Natilie smiled and released her. "He would not now dare to tempt, or taunt you. He is not to come, even if you were to call him!"

"What would happen if he violated that trust?" Ava asked. He was a Daemon. Ava wouldn't trust him!

"Then I take this to him," Natilie suddenly had her Moon-Blade in her hand. "It is one of the few weapons remaining which can kill him, and he knows I know exactly where to hit!"

"Would you?" Ava asked, "could you!"

Natilie's eyes turned cold, "In less than a heartbeat if he touched any of my family or friends."

Ava believed her!

Toc

# Chapter Twelve

Natilie had asked her to do a search on Anthony. Janet had taken it on earlier when she had locked Karissa out. There had been so much going on, and since Janet took the assignment anyway, Karissa had forgotten all about it. She should have been looking in on it herself. He could have been some kind of threat to Ava. Now, she realized, he was a threat to her. She had no intention of going anywhere with him. Natilie wanted a full fledged work-up on him. She was going to get that full fledged search.

Karissa settled into her bed. Every since the Monster, she felt nervous about going into the steam. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Jinkers pushed his way up onto her chest.

"Down," she pushed him off, "you're too damn heavy!"

He complained with a loud yowl, and ran out through his personal door.

"Janet was working on this," Karissa murmured. "Let's start by seeing what she found."

Karissa used the server and connected in with Janet's computer. She was curious about Anthony. She wanted to know why Ling was nervous of him. And why, since she was nervous, why she didn't send him away. Karissa had thought they were lovers, too. She had been surprised by Ling's distaste when Natilie had asked her about _them_.

"You're back!" Karissa shouted with joy.

Benji, her Avatar had finally made her way back home! She wiggled about expressing her own joy of feeling Karissa near. Karissa laughed at her antics. Part of why she had been so nervous was because Benji hadn't returned, and she couldn't find her. She was afraid that something else had gotten her. She checked her all over trying to figure out where she had been, and why she hadn't returned sooner. Karissa shrugged. She seemed to be just fine.

Karissa read the report Janet wrote up on Anthony. There wasn't much to it. It was lazy and disorganized. Karissa opened up the actual notes.

"Not much here," Karissa muttered as she looked through Janet's notes, "she didn't even realize that his personal information is all made up. Whoever did this was pretty sloppy, or in one big-ass hurry. Janet should have compared the time/stamp dates."

Karissa quickly wrote out a script to trace the original data. It was a long shot, but she might get lucky, and find out who had created his phony file. Karissa paused as she considered. The internet world was a big place to be looking for such a tiny crumb. Something had occurred while Ava was on the massage table. It was Natilie who had been with him. Natilie the _Seer_. She saw something which didn't add up to her. Natilie and Anthony had just ordered a pizza, and were supposed to be seeing a movie.

They never did see the movie, and Natilie came back without him. Which seemed odd since he was supposed to be assisting Ling. So why was he here? Karissa began to surf through his job history. It didn't take her long to realize they were all facades. They were shallow in description, and pretty much a copy and paste of each other. His major occupation was listed as an artist, either cartoon or computer animation. There was very little work saved on the servers. What kind of a modern day artist didn't continuously save their work onto a computer? Most artists saved copies with each addition to their work. It protected the work if the computer crashed. The artist wouldn't have to recreate so much if it got ruined. They also used them to show progression. It created a copyright protection trail.

Karissa realized that he either wasn't an artist at all, or he hoarded his work on private drives. She would ask Natilie to check for a stash of drives in his possession. Jump or flash drives were tiny. He could store a ton of data on just one drive. Graphic type data were notoriously known for being fat memory pigs. He should have _something_.

As she snooped around the images he had saved of his work, she became aware of a particular noise. It almost felt like an echo. She studied the work. It didn't have any audio, just video. It was an animated sequence of an ultra modern train. She could see it get bigger as it approached, stop at a platform, and then get smaller as it moved on and away. It was a totally computer generated animation, total art, no photos. It was quite clever in its simplicity.

She frowned. The file wasn't fat enough. It couldn't have that much detailed imagery in the animation with such little memory. It had to have a hidden link to another file. She quarantined a copy into her own files. Piece by piece, she started dissecting its structures. She found several links, but frowned in confusion. They didn't connect to anything. They seemed to just run out into la-la land. The animation shouldn't work at all—but it did. She watched it with fascination.

"Just who are you, Anthony Meyers?" She muttered.

Karissa still had her other scripts running. She sat and considered, watching the animation run. It ran in a loop. It went, it came back. That was all it did. She halted its progress, and opened the internet source file. She wondered if she could attach a spy. Let her spy travel with it through the links. If she and Natilie could create a landing pad bringing out a Monster, she should be able to have a spy tag along a script. She looked at the jump disk holding Anthony's Nanos and considered.

She decided against reprograming one of his Nanos. Nanos were loyal. It could announce what she was doing. The problem with a spy was that it had to be small, but big enough to gather data. There was balance in the work. If someone put a camera on a flea and set it loose on a dog, they weren't going to get much use from the images. It would mostly film flea turds.

She decided on flies since they had a 360 degree view. She stuck one fly on the front of the headlight, and stuck another on the last compartment, facing the other direction. She programed her flies to store the video in a file on her desktop. She saved, and closed the file.

"Run," she called out.

She watched as the train came towards her. It stopped, and then pulled out again. She let it do that for five times.

"Stop," she muttered.

She opened the fly folder, and smiled broadly. There was memory in the files. Her flies had caught something big. She ran the first video. She watched in utter amazement. Grinning, she copied the file to a jump drive. She pulled it out, and ran out to find Vevila or Natilie. They weren't going to believe where Anthony had been going!

Halfway down the hall, Karissa remembered that she could call them. She was so excited that she didn't even stop to clear her thoughts.

: _I got something!_ : Karissa shouted at them.

Natilie jumped, and then laughed. Vevila didn't jump, but Natilie could see the glimmer of laughter in her eyes.

: _We're in the sorting room._ : Natilie called to her.

: _I'm running_ ," Karissa told them with glee.

"She's sure excited about something," Vevila laughed.

"She's still wearing her pajamas," Natilie smiled, "and socks. She's sliding down the hallway laughing. We should get her a pair of rollerblades. She's quite good!"

"It's actually on the list of things Ava suggested," Vevila mentioned. "She's really taking this mentoring seriously."

"She cares about the child," Natilie nodded.

Karissa was laughing as she slid around a corner. Her laughter died abruptly when she careened straight into Anthony, smashing headlong across the floor. She watched in horror as her jump drive slid between his feet. He was frowning as he lifted her to her feet.

"Are you hurt?" He asked as he studied her.

She shook her head. She was too scared to say anything. When he moved, his foot pressed onto the jump drive. Frowning, he picked it up, and handed it to her. She blinked with surprise.

"Be more careful," He told her as he walked away.

She stared after him. She looked at the disk, the damning evidence, right in the palm of her hand. She shook herself, and walked sedately to the sorting room.

Vevila and Natilie were looking through a small box of items which Cherry, one of the intuitives, had put aside for them. They were questionable items. Each item had a response tag.

"Cherry does good work," Natilie lifted out the tag. "I can always read her writing. A definite plus."

Enclosed was also a check for two thousand dollars. Vevila noted that the check had been scanned in. They didn't waver about money sent to them. It went to the bank. Checks were deposited before any responses were even sent out. It was amazing how many people put a stop payment on checks when they didn't get the answers they wanted. So the checks went in first. They were running a business.

"What do you get off this ring?" Vevila handed Natilie a plastic ring.

"Gumball machine," Natilie stared at it, "small child. Her mother has her. She is happy and healthy. Father is dead. Mother in-law has money, and is being intrusive. She's trying to get custody of the girl. Not a case for us."

Natilie was writing notes on the paper when Karissa came into the room. She was unusually pale. Not like the child, who just minutes ago, had been happily sliding across the hallways.

"You look rather wearisome," Vevila studied her.

"I smashed into Anthony," Karissa told them, "I dropped my jump drive. He actually lifted me up, and handed me my drive. I was so scared, cause of what is on it. He didn't act like a person with an ulterior motive."

"We could be wrong," Natilie shrugged, "or it could be he just isn't ready to act."

"He seemed nice," Karissa said confused.

"Nice people do terrible things, too," Vevila told her. "We just don't know anything yet. Let's see what you have."

Karissa's eyes sparkled. "I'll have to explain what I did."

Karissa headed for a computer away from everyone. Natilie and Vevila followed.

"This is a copy of an animation I found in his work files," Karissa told them. "I didn't tamper with his original. He can't really be an artists, there just isn't enough data in his files. Not unless he's hoarding it on a personal drive. Even so, he should have had a larger dossier of his work to show about."

Karissa ran the animation. Natilie frowned. It was just a train coming in, and then leaving again. It was nicely done, but she didn't see anything to get excited about.

"There are links inside the source which don't go anywhere," Karissa went on. "This shouldn't even work. I put spy flies on the train, and sent it on its way. Look at what the flies picked up."

The train came in and stopped. All they could see of the landing platform was the cement floor and the white wall behind it. The train left again. When the train was in motion, the only imagery was gray fog. The train reached its destination and stopped. Karissa paused the program. Their interest peaked. They studied the destination.

"It's ultra modern and clean," Vevila mentioned. "No train station I've ever seen is that clean."

"Look at the buildings across the street," Natilie pointed out. "The architecture is amazing. They have such little support beams. The buildings are delicate and curved." Natilie looked closer, "Huh, the houses don't have door knobs. The doors look—bare!

"It looks like it has a security pad," Vevila remarked, "I've seen something similar at a gated community that was being built in the sixties. It didn't sell very well, too easy to access."

"Where is this place?" Natilie wondered.

"Can you zoom up on that sign?" Vevila asked Karissa.

Karissa nodded, and zoomed on the sign just in front of the train.

"What language is that?" Natilie asked.

Vevila stared at it for several minutes, "There's not enough written for me to pick it up. It's nothing I've seen before!"

"Vevila has a special gift which allows her to pick up languages," Natilie explained to Karissa.

"I think it's a place in the future," Karissa speculated. "I've never seen pictures of buildings like these, and you know I surf a lot. For the scene, they are quite common."

Karissa was right. The building style repeated throughout all the buildings which were in sight. The architecture was not unique, and yet none of them had seen it before. Natilie shivered. She knew Karissa was right. It was not only in a future place, but Natilie felt it did not belong to one of _their_ future realities.

"I don't think this belongs in any of our futures," Vevila mirrored Natilie's thoughts.

"So someone from the future," Natilie theorized, "chooses a place in the past, which will not disrupt their own time-line, to do a task."

"Why?" Karissa asked.

Vevila looked at her and speculated, "to bring back someone who belonged in their reality. What do you remember about your mother?"

"Let's list out details," Natilie pulled out a notepad. "I don't care what we find. We are not letting him take you! You belong here now!"

Karissa was pale, but nodded her acceptance.

"Can we go up to my rooms?" Karissa asked. "I'd be more comfortable, and we can snoop through my mother's things. I'd like you to look at her stuff, too. I don't understand some of it, or at least I might now, but I didn't then."

"Thank you for trusting us with your mother's things," Vevila told her sincerely.

"I wish you could have met her," Karissa said sadly. "I think she would have liked you. I know she would have learned to trust you. She didn't trust anyone else."

"I would have liked that," Vevila told her.

"Let's stop at the kitchen on the way," Natilie suggested.

"Oh no," Karissa looked between Natilie and Vevila, and groaned.

"No one appreciates that sometimes we get a little hungry," Natilie looked sad, and misunderstood.

Karissa laughed at her.

"Until this is settled," Vevila's green eyes were bright, "you're going to have to be shadowed _everywhere_. Natilie can't see the future. We would have trouble finding you. Which would explain how he kept slipping away from her vision."

Karissa nodded, but she was focused on the computer screen.

"I know that room," Karissa told them. "That's not a platform. It's one of _our_ rooms!"

"All the old rooms look the same," Natilie looked for any detailed definition which could help them find the room. "Maybe if you place your flies in a different location, we could see more. Can Anthony figure out that we are running this?"

"I don't see how," Karissa answered, "It's not on a server. I only used the two spies, because that is what I would have done with the active stream. This was just a first pass." She nodded, "I can spy it up quite a lot"

"First pass was pretty darn good!" Vevila complimented her.

"Thanks," Karissa glowed.

"Oh yes, on a more serious note," Natilie looked into Karissa's face, "about locking Janet out of the computer."

Karissa blushed, "I only—."

Natilie interrupted her, "We know. She did it first." Karissa nodded sheepishly.

"I've had a talk with her," Natilie's eyes were stern. "She is not to treat you less than a peer. When she got indignant, I reminded her where the door was."

Karissa's jaw dropped. She plopped it closed.

"You are a valued member of this organization," Natilie informed her. "I'll not have anyone demeaning you, bullying you, or bossing you around. You take direction from us, or your mentor. No one else. Janet is now in charge of grocery listings."

"Thank you," Karissa said softly. "It was stressful."

"And unnecessary," Vevila added. "We will not abide bullying."

"This is our home," Natilie reminded her, "and you are our family. If someone is bothering you, I want to know! Okay?"

"I feel you!" Karissa smiled at them.

As Karissa feared, they stopped in the kitchen before proceeding up to her rooms. Karissa sighed. She knew Vevila and Natilie would be busy chit-chatting about food for a while. Karissa didn't know why they weren't fat. They sure ate a lot! Karissa sighed. She'd rather head on up to her room. She wasn't used to needing a keeper.

"Look at her expression," Natilie laughed as she picked up more chips.

"I'm so bored," Vevila narrated, "They're gonna get so fat."

Natilie laughed, "let's not tax her too much."

"I hope we find something in her mother's things," Vevila said grimly, "we need some help here. Trying to find her in a future dimension would not be any easier than finding her in one of Faerie's realities!"

"That's not going to happen!" Natilie declared stoutly.

"Let's go," Vevila picked up her tray.

Karissa saw them gathering up their trays. She led the way to her rooms.

"Wait here," Karissa motioned them at the door. "I have a security system going."

Natilie nodded.

Karissa unlocked her door, and pressed a button just inside on the wall. She walked over to the computer, and typed something.

"You can come in now," Karissa called as she continued to type. "I don't voice activate the security code, because I don't want to be calling it out. I don't want someone hearing what it is."

"Good thought," Vevila nodded with approval.

"What's the switch by the door?" Natilie asked.

"It charges the metal plate just inside the door," Karissa answered with a smirk.

Natilie looked down. She was standing on it. She quickly moved to the side.

"Did Erran do that?" Natilie asked startled.

"Yup," Karissa laughed at her expression. "Most of my mother's things are in the other room. It's not very organized. What are we looking for?"

"Letters?" Natilie suggested, "personal data, a diary? The same things you look for when you're online doing a search."

Karissa nodded. Natilie followed her into the room. Karissa went over to the dresser, and pull open the bottom drawer.

"I stacked all that kind of stuff in here," Karissa frowned. "I can't read most of it. She knew another language which she wouldn't teach me."

"Vevila might be able to figure it out," Natilie said softly.

Karissa was studying a picture. She put it aside. It was of a laughing blond lady. She was teasing Karissa with a piece of cake.

"That was on my sixth birthday," Karissa mumbled. "I'll just sit on the bed. I'd like it if you would just go through it. If I try, I'll just keep stopping to stare at things."

Karissa crawled up on her mother's bed. Tears filled her eyes as she smelled her mother's favorite perfume. Natilie just nodded.

"I'll go through these," Vevila volunteered to look through the drawer.

"I'll look around for anything she might have hidden," Natilie sat on the bed beside Karissa, "you don't mind if I look for things from here?"

"I don't mind," Karissa stated.

She knew that Natilie didn't need to physically look into things. She could see through them. She would notice anything out of place, or hidden. Karissa liked Natilie sitting beside her.

"This is the same language we saw on the sign," Vevila held up a letter.

Vevila sorted through more of the letters. They were in two different hand writing signatures. She knew that once she read enough, her mind would start translating. She relaxed her mind, and started observing them. Once her mind started deciphering them. She became engrossed in what they had to say. From time to time, she glanced at Karissa.

Natilie walked over to examine the armoire. It looked old, but not styled like an antique. She realized it was from a society which was different from their own. She turned to look at the bed and dresser. They were a set. They had a curved delicacy which was unlike any antiqued furniture she had ever seen.

Natilie walked over to examine the bottom of the armoire. She pressed a flower, and the bottom clicked outward. Karissa was at her side. Inside was a ledger and a jewelry box.

"Go ahead," Natilie instructed, "take them. They _are_ yours."

Karissa pulled them out. She opened the ledger and sighed. It was more of that strange language. She opened the jewelry box. Inside a half-crown was laid out with gleaming purple jewels. She gasped with shock. Her hand trembled as she carefully lifted it up.

"It looks like something a queen would wear," Karissa whispered. "It's beautiful."

"Wow!" Vevila and Natilie both exclaimed.

"May I?" Vevila gestured to the ledger.

"Please," Karissa nodded. "I would love to know what it all says."

"This is going to take a while," Vevila motioned at the letters and the ledger. "I do understand the language now. I can give it to you if you would like."

Karissa hesitated. She frowned. "My mother didn't want me to know it. I don't want to do something she would not be happy with. Does that make sense?"

"Totally," Vevila answered. "How about this. I will go through this, and we will try to understand your mother's reason for not wanting you to know this language. She was probably trying to protect you."

"I've never found ignorance to be a very good guardian," Karissa frowned.

"Me, either," Vevila agreed with her. "Let me figure this out."

"I could help though," Karissa pondered, "if I did know the language."

Vevila continued to read through the ledger. She sucked in her breath as she read exactly why Karissa's mother ran, and ended up in their society.

"I need to know," Karissa told her. "Please teach me this language."

"It's going to give you a headache," Vevila warned her.

"Okay," Karissa laid down on the bed. "I'm ready."

She'd seen Vevila give other people languages. She knew it only took seconds, and was passed from mind-to-mind. Vevila nodded. Vevila sat beside her. She hummed a tune. Karissa's eyes closed. Vevila paused as she merged with Karissa. Her mind was organized differently. Vevila realized she didn't have to deliver the language, it was already there. She gently touched the shielding around the knowledge. It dissolved away. She hoped that was a good sign. She hadn't ever seen that happen before. She separated herself from Karissa. Karissa continued to sleep.

"I don't know what these jewels are," Natilie said as she studied the purple crystals. "I think they are purple diamonds. Nothing I've ever seen before."

"They're beautiful," Vevila watched as the light interplayed with the crystals.

"I'm putting them back," Natilie placed them back in the armoire. She pressed the flower, and watched the hidden drawer close.

Vevila went back to reading. Natilie wandered around the room, but didn't find anything unusual.

"This is bad," Vevila whispered.

"Tell me," Natilie asked.

"She ran to save her son," Vevila lifted a letter, "these letters are between her and her cousin. It's all about those Nanos. This is a society which is totally dependent on the Nano connection. They do everything with those things. Only the influential are allowed to write using manual manipulations—letters. Common people are never taught, not allowed."

"They probably don't see the need," Natilie added. "Writing would be obsolete."

"It's personal and secretive," Vevila tapped the ledger. "Her son was not born with Nanos. To have a Royal born without Nanos was a death sentence to the baby. She ran to save the life of her son. She had a lot of help to run, but did not have a support system once she was here. She was an outcast."

"I wonder what changed," Natilie looked over at the sleeping child. "Why do they want Karissa now?"

"I need to read through more of these to get a better understanding," Vevila looked around. "For a society which doesn't believe much in writing, there are a lot of letters to get through."

"I'm going to look for her brother," Natilie said with concern, "they could be after him, too."

"I'll stay here, read these, and watch Karissa." Vevila told her, "Go do whatever you need to do."

Natilie nodded. She picked up a picture. On the back it read, "Karissa and Ryion. It was of Karissa and her brother. The baby looked to be around six months old. Natilie opened a drawer and picked out a baby blanket. She nodded. Now, she had a clear picture.

"I'm on it," Natilie said as she left the room.

Vevila stared after her. She'd have to think about what she would tell Natilie. She did not want to be involved in yet another crusade. Non-Royals born without Nanos became slaves. According to Meonna's writing, some of them led lives which were worse than death. She was beginning to understand why Meonna did not want her daughter to learn their language. Some of the letters were quite graphic. Still, Karissa had a right to read them.

Vevila glanced up now and then, and watched the child sleep. In sleep, she looked even younger, and she already looked younger than her age. It was strange that such a young looking child, could hold so much in her head—and her heart. Elfin people looked young. Vevila laughed to herself. They were rather frivolous, and held very little in their heads, even less in their hearts.

Karissa being a Royal could very well be the motivation for her people to try to lay claim on her. Vevila knew it was going to get complicated. As far as she was concerned, it would be Karissa who would make all the decisions for her own welfare. That did not mean they wouldn't figure out a way to safe-guard her.

They called themselves Fawn, or Fawnish. Vevila wondered if the name was depicted from something specific. If so, what that could be, and did it interact with them? Was it a God or Goddess?

As a family who was blood linked with a Goddess, Vevila knew it was a possibility for other people to be as well. It was a question which needed to be asked _before_ they became involved. She might find the answer within these letters, but she'd speak to Druantia as well.

She smiled as Karissa opened her eyes.

"Welcome back," Vevila called to her.

"Pleased to be back," Karissa said in the language of her birth.

"So that's what it sounds like," Vevila replied in the same language. "It has a pretty sound. The language was already within you. Your mother must have planned for a day when you would remember it."

Karissa considered her words. She looked inside and found it to be true. She remembered the day her mother blocked her memory. It was the day they escaped from Sheridaine, the Crown city of the Fawn. Her mother had been one of their Queens! She was the Queen of the East. The only greater Queen was the Prime.

Vevila watched Karissa closely as memory pushed its way into her consciousness. She witnessed the kaleidoscope of emotions which came with those different memories. Vevila put down the letters, and climbed up beside her. She pulled Karissa into her arms, and held her close.

"She was a Queen," Karissa told her, "my mother. Not the Prime, but not a Lesser, either. She knew we were doomed the day Ryion was born. She hid it from the Auditors for as long as she could. Ryion was not her first who had been born defective. He was the second. The first was a daughter. She wasn't even given a name. She was born before me."

Karissa buried her face against Vevila's shoulder. Vevila could feel the tears as they streamed down Karissa's face, and dampened her shirt.

"Since I had been born so prolific, they thought my mother would be safe," Karissa continued. "She should not have risked another birthing."

"Take it slowly," she heard Vevila's soothing voice, "it happened a long time ago. There is no hurry now. There is nothing in the memories that will alter what already is. You do not have to speak on them. Just let them slowly roll out. Back away again if they get too intense."

To Karissa, it felt as if it had all happened yesterday. The memory had been well preserved. She nodded, and backed away from the memories. She sat quietly. Only when she felt less anxious, did she access another memory. Piece by piece, she put the details together. She had to keep reminding herself that all this had already happened a long time ago. Vevila didn't question her, or push for answers. She just held her quietly. Karissa felt safe in her arms.

Vevila had a very strong idea of what those memories held. She had been reading the letters. She had hoped that the letters would provide the answers for Karissa. It was unfortunate that the past was already embedded within her. It would have been less disconcerting to have read them, then to actually be remembering them.

"They were going to kill the boy," Karissa went on. "She was commanded to bring him in. Can you imagine being told to bring in your son to be _killed_? Anyway, she refused, and she was given a death sentence of her own. The insubordination of a Queen was unpardonable. They could not have Queens capable of disrupting, or influencing the people. There is no King. The Fawn are drawn together by what I've been calling Nanos. It is like a hive of information. What one person knows—they all know. That's why her escape was such a huge catastrophe to the people. They couldn't fathom how anyone could do such a thing."

Vevila glanced at all the letters. That was how she and her cousin had done it. They had resisted the _Crave_ to use the Nanos, and wrote it all out by hand. They used slaves who were without Nanos—and they used Karissa. Karissa was a young child, and was not yet connected into the Grid. The Fawn did not connect people into the Grid until they proved capability. Children were too disruptive.

"The technology was there for time travel," Karissa told her, "but the scientist who helped her insisted that she must not go into their own past. They were to use an alternate reality."

"A wise choice if they were capable of doing such a thing," Vevila murmured.

"Wise," Karissa agreed, "but it left my mother without support. She was pulled from the Grid, and inserted into a society where nothing was connected. I think she was going insane. Queens became Queens because they were so prolific with Nanos. I would have been forced to become a Queen. There would have been nothing else. Queens are the heart of the nexus. The Prime Queen is submerged into the wellbeing of the people. They are incapable of anything else. Any pain a group of people suffered—she suffered. She always knew where the troubled spots were. She would directed the other Queens to send out Nanos, which would force control on the people."

Vevila had already ascertained that Meonna's cousin was a slave. Family had first choice on any relatives born without Nanos.

"Stefenu," Karissa murmured as she recited, "she was a cousin. She was my mother's _slave_. Not just anyone could own a slave. The person had to be prolific enough in Nanos for them to control the other person. Family got first dibs, because it was easier for the transference. If transference wasn't achievable, the Nanoless were destroyed. Most slaves were grateful to their host—most. Stefenu was a gentle woman. Mother had not found the need to give her very many Nanos. That also meant that Stefenu was more capable of independent thought. I don't know what happened to Stefenu after mother fled. They might even have killed her. She would have become _defective_. She can't function without my mother."

Karissa looked up into Vevila's eyes, "I never, ever want to go to that place! It's a really awful world!"

"We will fight with every fiber of our beings to prevent them from taking you!" Vevila promised. "Until you are safe, we will not allow you to be by yourself. Someone here is not who they seem. Until we know who that is, you will always be with Ava, Tawny, Natilie, or myself."

"Not who they seem?" Karissa asked her.

"The purple contact lens," Vevila reminded her. "There is only one reason for someone here to wear a lens like that. They are posing as an O'Byrne. It could have something to do with you, or it could be something totally different. Anthony is the key. Until he is dealt with, we will be constantly with you to protect you. If—if they do somehow get you. We will hunt them down, and bring you back!"

Karissa looked into Vevila's eyes. They were dark green, cold and fierce. She believed her.

Toc

# Chapter Thirteen

It hadn't been hard for Natilie to find Ryion. The blanket had given her a very power sighting. He seemed to be a happy child of around three. He, like Karissa, had curly blond hair and blue eyes. He had been adopted by a nice couple who already had a daughter. They lived in the suburbs of San Jose, California. His new sister had brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked to be around five. The two children played nicely, happily. Natilie didn't see anything threatening. She wished all children could be so well treated.

Natilie put a magical tag on both children. She would know if something were to happen to make the children unhappy or scared. She could check on them, and make sure everything was okay if she felt its tug.

Natilie pulled her consciousness to Karissa's room. She found them cuddled up and talking. She remembered a time when she, as a small child, had also cuddled up with Vevila. Unlike Karissa, Natilie had always had tons of relatives to cuddle with. Karissa was so alone. It made Natilie's heart ache.

They still hadn't figured out who owned the purple contact lens. On most objects, Natilie could get a sighting, but the contact lens had been rinsed and left in water. It had also been handled by too many people. She didn't have a clue who owned the thing. It was disturbing to think that a spy was still amongst them.

Natilie sighed, she couldn't ignore him any longer.

"What?" She asked the doctor.

"I want to talk to the Snake Lady," he stated.

_"Ava_ does not want to talk to you," Natilie told him for the umpteenth time. "She does not know why her body works the way it does. You irritate her. Why don't you go talk to Darlene?"

"She will only talk to Erran," the doctor complained.

"Cuz you're a pain," Natilie muttered.

"What?" He frowned at her.

"What do you want?" She snapped irritably.

"I think I can help her," he told her, "Ava."

"Is that true, or just a ploy to make us talk to you?" Natilie studied him.

"I didn't just play with snakes for a living," he informed her. "I have a doctorates in primate physiology. She's doing the wrong things to build her structure. I'm not sure the Asian lady isn't doing things deliberately to hurt her."

Now, he had Natilie's full attention. She and Vevila knew things weren't right with the workouts, but they and Ava thought it was because they were all on new ground. It was different again if Ling was deliberately hurting her.

"Why do you say that?" Natilie asked him.

"I've watched her face when she asks _Ava_ to do something stupid," he told her. "She's amused."

"Okay," Natilie stood up, "let's go talk to Ava. You irritate her though, and it's back to the silent treatment. Got it?"

"Got it," he sighed.

Natilie checked and found Ava in the sand with her salamanders. She smiled. No one bothered her when she was resting with her salamanders. It got too darn hot. Natilie had an answer for that. As soon as she reached the garden, she pulled off her clothes, and headed for the pool. Ava would join her when she heard the _singing_.

"What the hell is that noise?" Ava came to a dead stop when she found Natilie in the pool. "Oh my God—was that you?"

"Yes ma'am," Natilie laughed at her. "Believe it or not, my singing has saved lives."

"As an alarm?" Ava suggested doubtfully.

Natilie just laughed.

"Are you alone?" Ava asked cautiously.

"No," Natilie sighed. "He thinks Ling is deliberately hurting you."

"I think so, too," Ava surprised her by saying. "I tried to bear with it, because I really appreciate that you and Vevila brought someone in special just for me, but it's just not working. I think I would be better off on my own. Maybe Karissa can even create a computer program, and I can see how my body would move."

Ava stared at Natilie apprehensively. Ling was special to Vevila. She didn't want to cause problems.

"Oh," Natilie said surprised, and then she frowned, "actually we didn't really bring Ling in specially for you. It just seemed so well timed. Maybe too well timed. I need to call Vevila in so we can talk about this. Do you care if Karissa is with her?"

"Of course not," Ava answered.

"Since you have her ear," the doctor began—.

"No," Natilie stopped him.

"What?" Ava asked.

"The doctor is being a twit," Natilie answered. "Are you getting in? The water is really nice."

"Do you care if it's heated at this end?" Ava asked her.

"That would be nice," Natilie smiled with delight.

Ava climbed in. Her salamanders climbed in with her. Soon, the water was nice and toasty. Soothing to her struggling muscles. Today had been particularly bad. Today, she had decided that Ling was finished directing her.

"What did the doctor say about Ling?" Ava asked.

"She was apparently amused when she asked you to do something which hurt," Natilie studied her.

"Yes," Ava nodded, "I thought so, too. I thought I smelled it on her, too. Something not very pleasant."

Vevila received Natilie's request. On one hand she was relieved. She thought Karissa had _remembered_ enough. On the other hand, she knew that Karissa was going to have to go through all the memories. She didn't want her to be alone when she processed them. Someone was going to be with her, but that didn't mean Karissa would be open to discussing her feelings with them.

"Natilie is calling us," Vevila said softly. "She has information that maybe Ava is being deliberately hurt during the sessions. Are you okay to come with me?"

"I'm okay," Karissa sighed. "I've had enough anyway."

"Good girl," Vevila disengaged her little body. "She's in the pool with Ava. The doctor is with them."

"Is he still pestering her?" Karissa said indignantly. "I should have left him inside the computer. And to think, I didn't want him to feel bad being left behind!"

"Can you put him back?" Vevila asked her.

"I don't know," Karissa's eyebrows were raised. "I hadn't thought about it."

"Ready?" Vevila asked her.

Karissa yanked off her shirt, and put on a new one, "Ready."

Vevila studied her. She seemed so tired and sad.

"Hold out your hands," Vevila asked her.

Without questioning, Karissa held out her hands. Vevila grabbed her by the elbow, ducked down, and scooped her up onto her shoulders. Karissa laughed with delight. Vevila jauntily headed for the pool.

"We're here!" Vevila called out.

Karissa shouted with laughter as she ducked down to enter the room.

Natilie looked up and grinned. She was of course naked and in the water. Vevila and Karissa soon joined her in the water.

"Your stripes are settling," Karissa told Ava. "They're really pretty. I like the bright aqua one the best."

"Thank you," Ava grinned at her showing off her fangs. Karissa shouted with laughter.

"So what's going on with Ling?" Vevila asked uneasily.

"The things she asks me to do hurt too much," Ava told her bluntly, "and seem contradictory to what I'm trying to accomplish."

"I'm not doubting you," Vevila assured her, "but can I see an example? I would like to see if it is something Meifen used long ago."

"Have her do the knee thing she did today," the doctor suggested to Natilie.

"We have the doctor here," Natilie told them, "instead of me repeating what he's saying, I'm going to link you in."

"I'm closing my eyes," Karissa told them. "His head bobbles around like a bobble-head doll."

"Does not," the doctor denied.

"Does, too," everybody informed him.

"Sheesh," he looked from one to the next, glaring at each of them. "I suggested that Ava show you the knee thing Ling had you do today."

"It's what cramped up my calves," Ava said as she climbed out of the water. "I'm only going to show you once."

Ava bent the bottom part of her leg up. If there was a knee it would not have allowed the movement. She turned it from side to side, and then pressed it tight against her thigh.

"Oh stop, please!" Karissa's face was white.

"I was to hold it to a count of fifteen," Ava released her leg. "It cramped at three. I could barely walk back to my rooms."

"That isn't anything like Meifen would have a person do, even with your abilities." Vevila said angrily.

"I thought I heard a snort," Ava told them, "which she covered with a cough."

"It was a snort," the doctor told them.

"So, not only has she changed," Vevila scowled, "she's gotten mean with it."

"I'm just sad that I can't work with her," Ava told Vevila, "especially since you asked her to come in special for me."

Natilie and Vevila frowned as they looked at each other.

"We really didn't," Natilie told her. "She needed a job. It was just opportune that you needed a personal trainer."

"Interesting," Ava's eyes narrowed, "she never did act totally vested in the project. She also _said_ that she could levitate, but then never demonstrated it."

"Ling can levitate," Vevila's eyebrows rose, "she loved showing off in fact."

"I don't like it when she starts cussing at you in Chinese," Karissa told Ava indignantly. "Like you can help it! You try so hard! She's being abusive when she does that!"

"We don't know she's actually cussing," Ava smiled at Karissa.

"Well, she's not just wishing you a nice day," she responded sarcastically.

Ava was amused by her acidic tone.

"Ling doesn't speak Chinese," Vevila said quite startled. "She has a strange accent, because her mother is Japanese, and she was born in Boston."

"It could be Japanese," Ava shrugged.

"She only uses it with her mother," Vevila frowned, "it's an awkward language for her. She would never default to it when stressed. Can you imitate some words?"

"No," Ava shook her head. "She rattles it off too fast."

"I can," the doctor surprised them by saying. "I have an ear for languages."

He slowly recited some of what Ling had said that very day. Vevila and Karissa looked up startled. He was saying some words in Fawnish. Not very many, and not well, but the words were definitely not Chinese or Japanese.

"What?" Natilie asked them.

"That's my mother's language," Karissa announced.

Vevila's eyes were cold. "I think we just found our spy! Ling isn't an O'Byrne, but her people come from Druantia, and they have a purple cast to their eyes. I don't think that's Ling! She's _changed_ too much!""

"I didn't notice any purple in her eyes," Karissa frowned thinking.

"My mother has dark eyes," Natilie mentioned. "You only see the purple when she's excited—or angry."

"Why would she cuss in the other language if she's trying to sneak in on us?" Ava asked.

"If we hadn't found your mother's language," Vevila reminded them, "and if I hadn't known of Ling's reluctance to use her mother's, no one would have been the wiser."

"Maybe, she was using it to draw out Meonna's daughter," Natilie suggested. "She never used it in my presence."

"Or mine," Vevila noted.

"Risky," Ava murmured.

"Desperate," Vevila corrected.

"We've already figured out that Anthony was involved," Natilie reminded them. "We thought Ling was being duped. Now we know this Ling is directly involved."

"She could still be controlled," Vevila mentioned. "We found out today that they control their _slaves_ with Nanos."

"Slaves?" Natilie asked.

"Those who are born without Nanos," Karissa told her sadly. "That's what my mother's people do. They make slaves, and control them with Nanos. The harder the person is to control, the more Nanos they use on them. Only someone really strong can own a slave."

Karissa frowned as she thought on it.

"Lesser Queens own slaves, too," Karissa ventured. "They don't have to expend as many Nanos as the higher Queens, because they don't work with the grid. In fact, probably half of the higher Queens don't bother with slaves. Mother had one, but that was to save her cousin. They kill the Nanoless if nobody wants them."

"What about the men with a lot of Nanos?" Natilie asked. "Anthony has thousands of Nanos. Can he even own a slave?"

"No," Vevila's eyes opened wide, "they don't believe men are capable of sharing Nanos, so they aren't allowed to buy slaves."

"Holy Crap!" Natilie jumped, "Ling is the one. Ling must be a Lesser Queen! Anthony is _her_ slave. She's using a whole hell of a lot of Nanos to control him. What would that do to her brain? She doesn't have a whole lot running around in there."

"And we took away even more," Karissa added.

"Where are those?" Natilie asked her.

"In a drawer with my other jump drives," Karissa answered.

"It could make her unstable," Vevila answered.

Karissa nodded, "some people were trying to outlaw the slaves. Not because it's wrong, but because it caused a Queen to go mad. If they outlawed the Nano-trade, that's what they actually called it, they would have to kill all those born without Nanos.

"I hate dealing with our own politics," Ava muttered, "theirs is much, much worse."

"That could be why she's talking in her own language," the doctor mentioned.

Ava looked at him with surprise. She'd forgotten he was there.

"She's losing it," he finished bluntly.

"Mother felt lost without being part of the Grid," Karissa told them, "and she wasn't a Lesser Queen. I can't imagine what that would do to someone with less Nanos."

"It could work to her advantage," Vevila mentioned, "she wouldn't have been tied up so tightly within the Grid. The Primary Queen can't function at all without the Grid. Meonna had to have been extremely strong to rip herself away."

"Why would they risk a Queen to come here?" Natilie asked. "Are Queens so bountiful then?"

Vevila and Karissa glanced at each other. Karissa shrugged.

"I don't know," Vevila answered. "They don't sound very bountiful. The letters mentioned how much of an uproar was going to be made over her taking Karissa. They were losing one Queen, and one Potential."

"We don't know enough," Karissa sighed.

"You're tired," Ava stated. "I mean like really tired."

"I'm okay," Karissa frowned, "just a slight headache."

"I think we've ran this to ground as far as we can anyway," Vevila stated, "We can't allow Karissa to be by herself at any time until this is finished. We have to find that terminal! We need to find the real Ling!"

"What of imposter Ling and Anthony?" Ava asked.

"The doctor and I will watch them," Natilie eyed the doctor

"Only if I get half an hour with you and Ava," he lifted his chin stubbornly.

"Done," Ava replied, "and if something happens to this child that I feel you could have prevented, I will figure out a way to really, really hurt you!"

"I would not do such a thing!" He said indignantly. "I can't watch them when they leave. I can't seem to leave these buildings." He turned to Karissa, "I think when this is over, I would like to return to my Nano world. I can't lift a page here. I can't play games."

"You can still touch yourself," Karissa told him.

Everyone stared at her in shock. Natilie shouted with laughter.

"Naughty child!" The doctor vanished.

"Thought that would shut him up," Karissa laughed.

"What have you been watching?" Vevila asked her.

"A little of this, a lot of that," Karissa told her.

"I'll take first session with Karissa," Ava offered. "That will free you up to do magical stuff."

"Good, thanks," Natilie nodded to her, and then turned to Vevila, "we need to find Ling. I've never met her. So you and I, have to hunt her down, together."

"She'd better be okay," Vevila's eyes were cold.

"Let's go look for her," Natilie suggested, "if I can't find her, then we question the non-Ling!"

"Do you think Anthony wants to be doing this?" Karissa asked them.

They stared at her surprised.

"I can take the Nanos out of him," Karissa mentioned, "then he wouldn't be a slave. He would be free!"

"Maybe," Vevila cautioned, "it's not that easy. He's been a slave since birth. He may not know how to function without the Nanos. You have to be careful when you alter people's worlds. Sometimes with the best of intentions—we destroy them."

"Your mother was freed when she came out of the Grid," Natilie mentioned. "She probably knew loneliness for the first time in her life."

Karissa paused thinking. She nodded thoughtfully, "maybe just guides," she mumbled.

"Do you have anything of Lings?" Natilie asked Vevila.

"I don't think so," Vevila answered, "Let's start at her mother's. I don't get it though. That woman is identical. They say that every person has a double, but I've never seen it before."

"Are they really alike?" Natilie asked, "I wonder if she's had plastic surgery."

"Pretty crazy to go that far," Vevila frowned, "and expensive. I can't see anyone doing that."

"That makes sense," Natilie nodded, "but people do crazy things all the time."

"It doesn't really matter," Ava mentioned, "only in that it shows how far they are willing to go."

"I'm a bit prunnie," Karissa was looking at her fingertips. "I think I'd like to go to my room now."

"Huh," Ava's brows were raised, "I just figured you would hang around with us. I hadn't really thought about when you would need to go to your room. Let me pull on a dress, and I'll be ready."

Karissa nodded slowly. She hadn't thought about that, either. She wanted to look at the Nanos she had captured. She knew Natilie would have a fit if she knew Karissa planned on messing with them by herself. There was just no one around who could help her with them. She wanted to know if her Nanos could influence the others.

Karissa decided to read more of her mother's letters. That she could do with Ava in the room. She'd figure out the Nanos later.

"I thought I'd read some more letters," Karissa mentioned, "is there something you would like to work on, too?"

"Actually, there is," Ava smiled, "You can help me to hunt down some software which I can use to animate myself, and do the job we were expecting Ling to do. Is that okay? I have no idea where to find such a thing."

"We can do that!" Karissa smiled broadly, "I know just where to look."

"I'm hungry," Natilie mentioned.

Karissa rolled her eyes at Ava. Ava nodded at her and smiled.

"Let's set up in the dining room," Vevila suggested, "that's comfortable enough."

"And near food," Karissa snickered.

"Food _is_ important," Natilie told her with all seriousness.

"I'll just be hanging around," the doctor mentioned as Natilie and Vevila climbed out of the pool, "where no one will be able to see or hear me."

"I hadn't even realized you were back," Ava told him.

Toc

# Chapter Fourteen

"I've found her," Natilie called out to Vevila, "something is wrong though, she's just sitting there staring at nothing."

Natilie linked in Vevila and Emily. Ling Chen was sitting on a chair in a closet. Her eyes were closed. She was unbound. Her breathing was normal, but she did not move.

Natilie backed them out of the room to check out her situation. She was being held in an old house. No one was currently there watching her, but the house was a mess. Someone had been staying there who didn't care about what kind of mess they made. Dirty plates and uneaten food littered the kitchen. The bathroom had seen heavy usage. They didn't even try to hit the toilet bowl.

"Men," Emily snorted.

Two of the beds had dirty sheets. Dirty cloths were lying around.

"I wish we knew more about who has her, and why she's there," Natilie vented.

Emily _pulled_ a dirty sock from each bed area, and brought them in.

"Can you get a read on this?" She sent one to Natilie. The other hovered nearby.

Natilie studied it.

"So that's what happens to the socks," Vevila muttered.

"Natilie and I used to pull that prank a lot," Emily grinned, "among other things."

"Brats," Vevila shook her head.

"Tall, bulky, mean, black hair, brown eyes, mid-forties," Natilie described, "unfortunately—smart."

"The other," Emily asked.

Natilie pulled it out of the air, "Bulky, not so bright, dirty blond hair, gray eyes—hired guns. They probably have records."

"How is she?" Vevila asked.

"She's dehydrated and soiled, but has not been raped," Natilie told them. "She has a nasty rash. I don't know why she's sitting like that. I can't see any damage, or any drug residue."

"Someone is going to pay for this!" Vevila said angrily.

"She's alive," Emily frowned, "they could have just killed her. I'm delighted she's alive, but I don't get it. It would have been easier to just have gotten rid of her."

"I was afraid she was," Natilie admitted, "it's harder to find dead people."

"Maybe, it's that state she's in?" Emily questioned. "Does she have Nanos?"

Natilie frowned as she searched her. She couldn't find any Nanos at all.

"She's clean now," Natilie announced. "That doesn't mean they didn't use them, and then retrieve them back."

"It would make sense for them to retrieve the Nanos," Vevila studied Ling. "We already know that the Queens go mad if they run thin."

"If they could do that," Emily stated grimly, "they could manipulate our world, and no one would even know it."

It had taken Natilie hours to hunt Ling down. She had to call Emily in to pick up a personal object from Ling's mother. It had still taken her an unusually long time to find her. Time she didn't feel they had. The more time it took, the more nervous Natilie became.

Part of the problem was that her intuition kept returning her to the imposter Ling. She finally had to accept _that_ Ling in order to find the other. It was all very strange.

"If we just steal her away, we won't know who is keeping her," Emily commented, "I can get her out of there, and to a healer. Stone can stay until I get back. We _will_ get answers from whoever shows up!"

"I like that idea," Natilie nodded, "we need to know who did this to her, and why all _this_ anyway!"

"Randy is agitated by all this dimensional travel," Emily admitted. "He's ordered _The Mages_ to keep watch on things."

"Good!" Natilie told her. "This is bigger than any of us understands!"

"If they can take her over like that," Vevila's voice was grim, "I wonder if they can extract information. That would explain why the phony Ling is so knowledgeable. She had me fooled! I admit, it hurts my ego!"

"Mine, too. When I have time, I'd like to see if there are cosmetic alterations on the phony Ling," Natilie mentioned. "Like Ava said. It's not really important. I just want to know. It's bothering me."

"We'll be waiting for her captors to return," Emily told them. "If they don't, then we'll go hunt them down. Stone is very good at getting answers."

"No doubt," Vevila nodded, "whose going to resist an eight foot giant."

Emily grinned. She loved her giant.

"Is he busy?" Natilie asked.

"Not, too," Emily answered. "Back away so I know where I'm going."

Natilie pushed her vision of Ling back far enough so they could see where she was being held.

"Huh," Vevila frowned, "she's in San Francisco. That's not very far from her house. They didn't take her very far."

"The phony Ling and Anthony have not been there recently," Natilie commented. "Someone else has to be taking control."

"You don't think the contact lens belonged to the phony Ling do you?" Vevila asked.

"No," Natilie admitted, "it never _felt_ right."

"Then it's not hers," Emily said bluntly, "Your intuition is never wrong."

"I'm heading over to Karissa's room," Vevila told them, "before she thinks to check out the Ling Nanos."

"Probably too late," Natilie mentioned, "I saw the gleam in her eyes. I just couldn't figure out what she was up to."

"I hope not," Vevila groaned. "Otherwise we might need your astral self to go in search for her. I'm not sure they wouldn't take her over."

"I don't think they could," Natilie realized, "she's really strong. She has a lot all her own. Too many for me to count."

"I'm not chancing it," Vevila stated.

"Don't take them from her," Natilie warned, "it would show a lack of trust, and not stop her from investigating. She'd just steal some more. Then we'd have a Wacko-Ling on our hands."

"You're right," Vevila sighed, "and I was about to do just that. That would have been a bad move."

"I've seen Druantia waiver back and forth between decisions. So don't beat yourself up," Natilie scoffed.

"I never beat myself up for very long," Vevila murmured distractedly, "it's a waste of time."

"What's going on?" Natilie asked her.

"Mating with Karissa's father was taboo in some way," Vevila looked at her with a puzzled expression. "I'd like to know what that meant. I'm going to go check up on some things."

Vevila stepped, and was gone.

"Nice warning that," Natilie said irritably, "not!"

"I'm off to pick up Stone," Emily told them, "and then to get Ling Chen to a healer."

"Good," Natilie nodded.

Natilie watched as Emily and Stone arrived at the house. Emily helped Ling Chen out of the closet. She did a quick check of her, and then they both disappeared. Natilie nodded with satisfaction. Emily and Stone would take care of things on that end. Now for Karissa.

Ava was with Karissa. She was reading letters. Natilie was pleased to see the doctor pacing around. Maybe, he would be an asset. Everything seemed to be on point. Natilie checked on Anthony. No Anthony! He was not on site. He was not in their world! Phony Ling was taking a nap. Natilie frowned. This Ling took a lot of naps. It would have been handy had the doctor notified her that Anthony was gone. She should have asked him if he knew where the depot room was. Her body might not age, but her mind felt a little frayed sometimes. She shook her head, irritated with herself.

She quickly wrote a spell which would alert her to when Anthony arrived back into the buildings. She could then see which room held the depot. She had tried using his energy trail to search on, but he seemed to travel through all the buildings like a restless wraith. Maybe, that was a side effect from all those Nanos running around in his head. Using her sharpened thumb nail, she cut her finger, and activated the spell with a drop of her blood.

"I should have done that sooner," she murmured.

: _Natilie_ ,: Skylar called her. : _We have a kidnapped child. Snatched out of his own yard._ :

Natilie felt shivers run up her spine. She never really understood how she knew things, but this time she knew that the child was Ryion. She found his signature, and looked in on him. It didn't seem bad. He was in the car with the babysitter. She watched on, baffled.

: _On my way,_ : Natilie returned, : _Karissa, I have an emergency to deal with. Please stay with Ava at all times. Vevila windowed out. I don't know where she is. Okay?_ :

: _Okay,_ : Natilie heard Karissa's answer. It was getting easier for her.

"Natilie is handling an emergency," Karissa told Ava, "and she's annoyed that Vevila did her window thing."

"She told you that?" Ava laughed at her tone.

"Naw," Karissa answered, "it was in her tone. I'm getting the hang of their mental speech thingy. That's looking good. You forgot a joint though, just there."

Ava was using one of Karissa's computers to animate a likeness of herself. Karissa was pointing at the extra joint in her neck.

"That's why it wasn't moving right," Ava replied, "thanks. Got it! So how is class going? Are they getting the robotics?"

"Pretty good," Karissa answered pleased, "between all of us, we're getting some pretty good graphics with the computers. Thanks for suggesting a robot, and letting us start with your springy legs."

"You're welcome," Ava stopped to consider, "in fact. That's not much different from what I'm doing now. I can put in the algorithm to make this joint spring. That's what happens when I move too quickly."

"Vevila must have taken some of the letters with her," Karissa frowned looking around for them. She shrugged.

"To study them?" Ava suggested.

"Could be," Karissa answered, "there are a lot of things in them we don't understand. After all, it's a totally different world."

Karissa went over to the armoire. Pressing the flower, she released the hidden drawer. She took out the Tiara, and placed it on her bed. The purple diamonds caught the light, and sparkled like purple fire.

"Oh my God!" Ava said seeing what she had, "how beautiful is that! Fit for a Queen."

"Exactly," Karissa answered. "It did belong to a Queen—my mother. It's the Chelstice. It belongs to the Queen of the East. It's beautiful and deadly. It's a tool. According to the letters, it can be used to deplete someone of the Nanos they were born with. It is also used to program those stolen Nanos. If one wished, they could use this to program a slave without shedding one Nano of their own."

"A powerful tool in a world such as that," Ava shivered. "That would be reason enough to track down your mother—and you."

"This is already programed to my mother," Karissa studied the Nanos embedded in the crystals. "It feels lifeless. Maybe, they are dormant, or sleeping. They will _choose_ a Purple Queen, only a Prime can actually overwrite them."

"How would a Prime do that?" Ava asked cautiously.

"She must wear it," Karissa answered. "If she is strong enough, it would become hers. If she is strong, but not enough to take it over, she walks away. If she is not strong enough to do either—it will absorb her."

"Nice!" Ava glared at it.

Ava wanted to snatch it out of Karissa's hands, and throw it into the deepest sea. She knew that there would come a day when Karissa was going to wear that thing. It glittered with unspoken promises—and menace!

"You really have no need of it," Ava spoke softly.

Karissa looked at her sharply. Ava's glands were bulged. A sign that she was stressed. Karissa quickly put it away in the drawer. Ava touched her glands.

"I wonder what kind of venom that would have produced," Ava speculated curiously.

"Were you wanting to bite me, or the Tiara?" Karissa asked.

"The Tiara," Ava answered.

"Then something which would dissolve crystals," Karissa stated.

"Or metal," Ava added.

Indeed, Karissa realized, the crystals were connected with a network of golden wires—a Grid. She would have to ask Natilie to look at it with her. Right after the doctor used Natilie to talk to Ava, and before someone else asked Natilie for the use of her gifts. She remembered Gwen saying she would like to have Jeri's type of magic. She didn't know what she was asking for. It seemed the more you had, the more other people wanted to use.

"I miss Gwen," Karissa announced. "Jackson had just told me to make new friends. I did, and now she's gone. That hurts."

Ava watched her fiddle with the flower.

"It does," Ava agreed. "You would be more empty now though, if you had never made friends with her. Never helped her to find her grandfather, gotten revenge on her father, and never went with her to see her mother for that last time. Stuff like that makes life full. Life does hurt, but it would be boringly empty to not feel anything—not to be a part of anything."

"Can I help you with that?" Karissa finally asked her, tired of watching her struggle with it.

"I'd be delighted if you would!" Ava answered. "I can't figure out how to create the muscle types, and that's the whole point of this. I can't see how the muscle will build with the movement without the descriptions."

"We can do this," Karissa smiled. "I love computers. Did I ever mention that?"

"Almost as many times as Natilie mentions food," Ava teased her.

"No Way!" Karissa stared at her with disbelief. "No one mentions more about anything, than Natilie does about food. Except maybe, Vevila mentioning food. What's with them anyway? And why aren't they fat!?"

"They need it," Ava reasoned, "They must need a lot of fuel with such high metabolisms—and well, all that anti-aging ability."

"I'd get sick of eating all the time," Karissa grimaced, "that must be why they eat so many different things—weird-ass things."

Toc

# Chapter Fifteen

Natilie had been afraid of that! Someone had stolen Karissa's brother away from his adopted family. Natilie had marked him. She had been surprised to learn of his disappearance from her team, instead of being nudged by the mark she had placed on him. Seeing the woman, she knew why. It was the babysitter. He had not been afraid of her.

The mother was home when the babysitter simply lifted him over the fence, and carried him away. She was in the car and gone, before the mother even reached the gate. She immediately called the police. The babysitter had been used by the family for two months. The name and references she had provided were bogus. They didn't have a clue as to who was watching their children.

Natilie's team was linked, and watching the woman and the boy. A conference call was in process between F.B.I. Agent Sandra Costello and local law enforcement of San Jose. It saved a lot of time and frustration having that kind of clout right within their own walls.

The room was setup with a direct link to Sandra's division. Conference calls could be split between different agencies. Computers were setup around the room for instant access to everything. The F.B.I. considered this room to be part of _their_ division. It was ironic that only those Natilie approved of could be in there at all.

Natilie, Sandra, and Mark were the only ones in the room at the moment. She had called in Mark special for this task. His gift was being able to move objects from a great distance away. He came to her from the Alliance. He had to work in link with a seer. Without a seer, he could only move the things within his physical vision. He couldn't work through camera's. He couldn't _feel_ the object.

Ryion was in a hotel room with the babysitter. She sat on the bed smoking a cigarette while he cried from the corner of the room. She pulled off her blond wig, and ran her fingers through her dirty brown hair. She picked up the phone. Natilie couldn't hear the conversation, but it looked as if she simply said that she had him. She was writing down an address. Natilie zoomed up on it. Sandra called it in. A separate team of local enforcers was sent to check out the address.

Natilie watched as two police cruisers pulled up into the back of the small, flea-bag hotel. They conversed. Each took a different side of the building to approach the front. Natilie watched tensely as another car entered the parking lot. He parked right in front of the room. He sat there for a minute before getting out. He pounding on the door. She hurriedly let him in. They could see her yelling at him.

"Do you want me to freeze that guy?" Mark asked Natilie.

"Him and the woman," Natilie answered. "We don't know if she has a gun."

Mark waited until the two sat down at the table. He froze their feet and hands. He didn't bother freezing anything else. It wasn't worth the energy.

"Done," Mark nodded.

Their hands were suddenly numb. The man tried to stand but twisted his ankle under, and fell to the ground. They could see the two yelling and cussing as they flayed about.

"I sure wish we could hear them," Sandra chuckled.

"I feel sorry for the boy," Natilie's face was grim.

Sandra lost her sense of glee. Indeed, the poor child was in the corner scared out of his wits as the two adults continued to shout and scream at each other.

"It'll be done soon," Mark reminded them. "I'm freezing their voices. The boy doesn't need to hear all that."

The two police officers positioned themselves in front of the door. Another police car blocked in the suspect's car.

"The perps will not be able to open the door," Sandra was telling them on the phone.

"We still have to go through the protocol," they heard the voice respond.

"Well, do it quietly then," Sandra snapped, "the boy is terrified enough as it is. Anything else is unnecessary, and overly dramatic."

By this time, both suspects were on the floor flaying about. They watched as the officer simply knocked on the door, and calmly announced themselves. Mark popped open the door. The officer paused before pushing it open. They stared with surprise at the two on the floor.

They were soon cuffed and removed. The boy was gently removed from the corner, and carried out to the car.

"Press them for answers by all means. I'm heading in," Sandra notified those on the other end of the line. "There is more going on here than one child's kidnapping. We need to know who orchestrated this. Another child—his sister in fact—is at risk. Keep us in the loop of what they find at the other address."

"You really do work with psychics don't you?" The woman on the line's voice was surprised, "I mean _real_ ones."

"That, I do," Sandra answered looking at Natilie.

"We'll take the jet," Natilie told her.

"We'll be there in less than two hours," Sandra told her. "Keep the boy safe. He is not yet to be returned to his parents. Someone ordered this, and is still at large."

"Will do," she answered, "out."

The line went dead.

Sandra paused staring at the phone. "They never get it," she murmured, "they say one thing, but then do all the wrong things."

"I'm still watching him," Natilie reminded her. "If someone tries to sneak him out, I'll see them."

Sandra nodded. Her expression lightened. They had a jet to catch.

For a fleeting minute, Natilie wondered if they should bring Karissa with them. It felt wrong with the two children being so far from each other, and the team so split. She shook her head. Having a child with them would demean their credibility. It could also put Karissa at risk.

She needed to go with Sandra. Sandra would have to coordinate the police efforts. That was hard enough to do walking into a situation in a different jurisdiction. It wouldn't matter that _they_ had called _them_. Harder still, if you didn't have the tools to see immediately into a situation. Natilie would be giving her that. They had worked this angle before. It was the only way that routinely worked. Police type agencies were incredibly territorial.

"Call in, Dash," Natilie asked Sandra, "the usual. He can meet us at the airport."

"Sure," Sandra picked up the phone. She called Dash, and then called the airport."

Natilie sent a message to their on-site helicopter pilot. He assured her, he would have the bird ready.

"Mark," Natilie called out, "I want you to stay with Karissa. One of our own is a traitor. Don't leave her side. Karissa is this boy's biological sister. She is at risk of being stolen from us."

Both Sandra and Mark stopped what they were doing to stare at her.

"Some details would be appreciated," Marks eyes narrowed.

"Someone has been posing as an O'Byrne," Natilie told them quickly. "We found a purple contact lens. We think it is a female, but at this point I don't trust anyone who hasn't been formally _bonded_ to us. Stay clear of Ling and her assistant, Anthony. They are in this mess, but we need for them to continue as they are. We need to find out who is in charge. These people aren't _gifted_ as we understand it, but they have high technical advances we do not. Karissa and Ava, know as much as Vevila and I, as to what is going on. Hopefully, more by now."

"I will protect her," Mark assured her.

Natilie nodded. "I know that."

"Ready?" Sandra asked her.

"Yes," Natilie nodded.

Natilie sent a mental command to their pilots. Both were O'Byrne, hired by her father. They would be taking the helicopter to the airfield. The jet would be ready for immediate takeoff. Things were going to get complex and ugly. She could feel it. She hoped that Vevila would show up soon. She didn't even know where she was.

Natilie picked up the bag with her sizing written on it. Sandra did the same. Time was of the essence with many of these cases. Taking the time to pack for a trip could get a child killed. They had devised a method of bags. It wasn't the best, but it worked. There were eight bags on the shelves. Each bag held two sets of clean, respectable clothing in a specific size, and a rudimentary shaving/washing kit. Sandra, being so petite, had to have a bag of her own. When a person returned from the mission, they restocked the bag. Not doing so would get them fired.

The system worked. Image was important. A dirty or sloppy psychic did not garner respect or confidence. That made it even harder for them to do their jobs. It was hard enough. Natilie sighed. She hated working with new people. They always expected parlor tricks before they would trust her. Today, she was not in the mood.

The helicopter pad was up on the roof above the Control Room. They simply took the elevator. It was ready for them. They had to walk against the wind of the rotors to climb on board. It lifted off before they even sat down. They would be at the airport in five minutes.

"It would be nice to take a leisure trip for a change," Sandra commented. "This is really nice."

Natilie laughed, "This old thing? It's one of my dad's castoffs."

"I'll take it," Sandra grinned at her.

Indeed, the helicopter was a Bell Corporate. It was set up with four plush reclining seats, alternating between dark gray leather and plush, dark gray fabric. More comfortable than most people's living rooms. A wet bar was in the front. The toilet, sink, and a full bed were separated off in the back.

They touched down in a private airfield. It was shared between several corporations who had contracts with a charter service. Natilie was never sure which jet they would be taking, but she knew it would be nice. The jet was at the beginning of the airstrip waiting for them. It was a small, four passenger jet.

"Nice," Natilie murmured appreciatively, "small and fast."

The interior was in cream tones, plush and relaxed. It had a satellite TV in the front. Beside the TV was a stocked wet bar. A table was set up in the back with four chairs and internet connections. The toilet and sink were in a closet at the very back of the jet.

"Here," Dash called to the pilot as he secured the door.

"You read the brief?" Natilie asked unnecessarily.

He grunted. Natilie rolled her eyes. Dash was not exactly a charismatic personality. He was a large, strong man. His gray eyes were cold. He hardly ever smiled. He was wearing black khakis with a blue cotton, button-up shirt. He was ex-military. He had been a Master Gunnery Sergeant with the Marines until a bullet lodged itself in his brain. After that, they wouldn't let him serve anymore. Natilie didn't think he would ever forgive them for that. He felt that they had deserted him. Well, their loss was her gain! He was a good man—and dangerous!

Natilie sighed, it was going to be a long, annoying process. The important work had already been done. Ryion was safe.

They were met at the airport by the local law enforcement. Sandra took lead. Natilie was wearing sunglasses. It wasn't the time to have strangers staring at her, and not listening to Sandra. The policeman raised an eyebrow when their rental car pulled up. Natilie sighed. Did he seriously think they were going to get in the back of a squad car?

Natilie realized that her senses had been tugging at her. A quick look showed her that Anthony had arrived back on site.

"What's up?" Sandra asked.

"I missed Anthony's landing," Natilie said irritably. "I was too distracted. He's wandering around building three. I don't even know which floor he arrived on."

"I'll call and have them do another sweep," Sandra picked up her cell phone, "at least we know what building it's in."

"The crew's getting too thin," Natilie commented. "We're going to have to do some more hiring."

"Bummer," Sandra muttered.

Toc

# Chapter Sixteen

Anthony watched as the helicopter took off. He knew this was going to be his only shot. It would be tonight, or not at all. He'd have to use his spy to get to her. There was no way he was going to get the girl to trust him enough to get her to the terminal. It was unfortunate that he had been so undecided about the girls. He could have been making friends with them. No matter. The Chelstice had to be in her room. If he could just get in there, his own Nanos would find it.

He smirked to himself. They thought Ling was a Queen. They didn't know that in _his_ dimension, the women were born with the only Nanos they would ever have—just like their eggs. The boys were born without Nanos. They turned prolific during puberty. Only after puberty, would the Princes be announced. There were no Queens! These people didn't have a clue that another dimension was involved. Still, their magic had complicated things.

He was a King! Ling was _his_ slave. He laughed to himself. Ling had completely confused them. They thought she was a plant. They didn't realize that she _was_ Ling, just from the other dimension. She could do nothing without his permission. He owned her—controlled her.

He'd had spies in and out of the factory for months. It was unfortunate that their magic always seemed to root them out. No matter, none of them had been caught.

He mentally listed what he had gathered. It was mixed with things about other girls. He did not care about any of that, and threw the information away. Karissa, about the only thing they had gathered was that she was very smart, and liked her cats. Even her dealings with the Snake Lady were mostly from pity. A slow grin touched his face. He knew how to catch her. He would have to set the stage carefully.

***

Macky sauntered to the house carrying a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza. He grinned to himself. This job was a breeze. The money good. The girl was no problem. He laughed. He wasn't really into Japanese women, but who could resist a jab when it was there for the taking. Tonight seemed a good night to try a little Asian. Bernard wouldn't care. Hell, he could do her when he came in tomorrow.

The house looked as empty and dark as he had left it. He liked leaving her in the closet. He carefully checked the wire he used across the knob. It was intact, nothing had changed. He carefully unhooked the grenade, and let himself in.

"Oh hey darl'n," he called out. "I got a mean pizza all for myself, and a large one for you a little later. What do you say to that?"

"I'd say you probably aren't going to get to eat that pizza," Stone told him. "And I know you don't have a big one. I'd bet money on it."

"It's the dirty blond one," Emily mentioned casually, "the dumb one."

"Holy Crap!" Macky shouted going for his gun.

He pulled it out, but before he could even lift it, Stone twisted his wrist. They heard an ominous crack followed by screaming.

"You're just too rough, sweetie," Emily turned on the lights. "Oh dear, I think you broke him."

"Naw," Stone denied, "I think it's okay."

"No," Emily stared at the protruding bone, "You definitely broke something."

"Where should I put him?" Stone asked her.

"The closet is empty," Emily suggested. "It even has a coat hook. That outa work okay."

"He'd be quieter in there, too," Stone nodded.

"She's gone," Emily told him, "she'd been sent to a healer. You better hope she's going to be okay."

Stone carried the screaming, kicking man to the closet, and hung him up on a coat hook.

"Better see if he has anymore toys," Emily mentioned. "I'd rather not touch him. You do it."

Stone sighed.

Macky felt the big clod's hands as they patted him down. With each pat, he felt as if he had been clobbered with a club. He tried to move away, but the giant hands squeezed him all the tighter for it.

"I don't have any more guns," he whined at them.

"I believe you," Stone let him go.

His shirt ripped from the hook, sending him crashing to the closet floor. He landed on his busted hand. He screamed, and then fainted.

"Oh dear," Emily said despairingly. "That didn't work so well. Is there any rope around?"

"You did put a muffle spell on the house, didn't you?" Stone asked her.

"I am a professional," Emily sauntered away from him.

He grinned at her as she handed him some rope. He took the rope and smirked.

"Work," she reminded him.

His grin widened. She grinned back. He was a big, big man. She not so big. Her favorite way with him, would be to levitate upside down, with him up above her. They didn't need the ropes, but the ropes did give them ideas.

They ended up stringing the guy up from the middle of the ceiling in the front room facing the big picture window. They opened the curtains so he could see the world outside. It was broad daylight. It was a busy street. People came and went about their business, but no one noticed the man swinging from the fixture.

Emily had a special spell for this type of situation. It was meant to torment. To see help so close, and yet not to be able to reach it.

"He's waking up," Emily noticed.

"Good," Stone frowned, "I want to be done with this."

"Me, too," Emily grimaced. "Ling kind of freaked me out. She was not that much different from the Frankenstein's."

"Too much like," Stone agreed.

"They were actually dead and reanimated," Emily shivered. "There wasn't that kind of damage with Ling Chen. Once awake, if you can call it that, she was very accommodating. It gave me the creeps."

Stone stared at the hanging man. "He doesn't seem controlled."

"No," Emily agreed, "he's just a common, greedy thug."

"Let's get to," Stone stood, and tapped the man on the head.

The man groaned.

"Hey!" Emily shouted, giving him a good shove.

He woke abruptly. He whimpered as he felt the heavy agony in his wrist. He looked at Stone. A wet stain saturated his pants.

"I don't know anything," he yelled at them before they could even ask. "We were just to keep an eye on her. I never touched her, never. He gave us cash. A big dude, dark hair, dark eyes. Never saw him again. We're getting the rest of the blunt when we deliver her."

"Deliver her where?" Stone asked him.

"I don't know," he screamed when Emily gave him another hard shove. He nearly crashed into the ceiling, "That's Bernard's job. He's to take her there."

"My window is wasted on him," Emily complained when he fainted again.

"Can you bring Bernard in," Stone asked, "I don't feel much like waiting around for him."

"I agree," Emily told him. "I want out of here."

She closed her eyes. She still had a fix on him. She grabbed him and pulled him in.

"Oops," Emily laughed out loud, "I forgot his clothes. I really didn't mean to do that—oh gross!"

She dumped Bernard on the floor. The man stared in shock at the figure hanging by the light fixture. Macky looked dead. He blinked rapidly in disbelief as people walked passed the house.

He looked around in a panic. The closet door was wide open. The closet empty. The woman was nowhere in sight. He stared up at Stone. His mouth gaped open. Stone was between him and the door, otherwise clothed or not, the man would have bolted.

"We're to give her back tomorrow," he blurted out suddenly.

"He's the smart one," Emily nodded encouragingly, "spilling."

The figure up above them groaned. Bernard jerked with surprise. His crafty dark eyes met Stone's amethyst blaze. He turned white. All thoughts of deceit fled his brain. He spilled everything he knew.

"Is this the man?" Emily held out a picture of Anthony.

"That's him," Bernard nodded his head.

"Was he alone," Emily asked him.

"Not always," he answered stiffly. "There was another guy with him last time. Smaller guy with brown hair. He acted off though."

"How so?" Stone asked him.

"Kind of like the Asian chick when she's awake," he shivered. "She answers, but there really isn't anyone home."

"Why would he have someone like that with him?" Emily frowned.

"What did this man do for him?" Stone asked.

"He brought the money," Bernard shrugged. "Don't need a lot of brains for that."

"How many Nanos can a Queen afford to spend around?" Emily asked Stone.

"A mad Queen?" Stone asked.

"So what happens now," Bernard asked them, "I answered all I know. You gotta let me go."

"Duct tape?" Stone asked Emily.

"Duct tape," she nodded.

He suddenly dodged for the door. Emily had just enough time to see what he was reaching for. She grabbed Stone and teleported them out of there. The house exploded.

From a block away, two people watched, as the fire crew put out the fire.

"That was pretty damn stupid," Stone muttered.

"They're both dead," Emily stated the obvious, "I'm just glad we got Ling out of there when we arrived. Where to now?"

"I'd like to look over the drop site," Stone suggested. "There might be clues."

Emily nodded.

The drop site was half a city away. Emily was feeling tired. The Kaliton got blown up with the rest of the house. The thought of teleporting her big giant of a husband made her groan. They called a cab.

The drop site was nothing but an empty lot.

"I don't think they planned on dropping her off," Emily studied the scene.

"No," Stone agreed, "this was going to be a true dump site. Are there any bodies in here?"

Emily frowned as she looked around. She wasn't the seer that Natilie and Jeri were. She had to move slowly across the lot.

"No bodies," Emily told him. "There is something over there which doesn't belong, but I couldn't see what it was."

She walked across the lot. Stone followed her. It was a floppy disk. She started to pick it up, but Stone stayed her hand.

"That could be the way the Queens transfer their Nanos about," Stone frowned harshly. "It could be like a virus contamination. Can you see anything on it?"

"If there are, they would be too small for me to see," Emily teleported the disk into a zip lock bag, and sealed it tight.

"There's just no reason for it to be laying around in an empty lot," Stone glanced around. "Yes, there's garbage, but that was too new."

Emily nodded. He was right. There was nothing around except the broken cement foundation, weeds, and old trash. It would be very natural for someone passing by to pick the disk up. Emily wondered if that was how she had snagged Ling Chen.

"I better update Natilie," Emily told Stone. "There aren't any more leads to follow."

"Food and then home," Stone agreed.

: _Hey Natilie,_ : Emily called.

: _I've been following_ ,: Natilie told them. : _So Anthony organized this? I'm in San Jose. They took Ryion. We've got him back, but I want to make sure every clue gets caught and processed. You did good not to touch the disk. Karissa told us that Nanos can be passed that way. I will warn everyone._ :

: _Can the flash drive which Karissa used to catch Ling's Nanos, spill out?_ : Emily asked with concern.

Emily waited as Natilie asked Karissa.

: _She doesn't think so,_ : Natilie answered. : _She hasn't looked at it since it was collected. She said the Nanos roam freely if they aren't locked. That's why old disks become junk. She's going to check both disks very carefully._ :

: _Who is with her?_ : Emily asked.

: _Ava and Mark,_ : Natilie answered, : _I don't have a clue where Vevila is.:_

_:She's in a future,_ : Emily stated. : _That's the only place you can't see.:_

_:Huh!_ : Natilie flinched. : _Of course.:_

_:We're out of here,_ : Emily told her. : _Can you think of anything else we should be doing?:_

_:Not at all,_ : Natilie said frustrated. : _I had hoped for more.:_

:Are you almost done?: Emily asked.

_:Nope,_ : Natilie sighed, : _I hate bureaucracy. One guy wanted me to prove I was a psychic.:_

: _What did you do?_ : Emily asked with a laugh.

: _I used a spell which turned his face and penis lime green,_ : Natilie answered dryly. : _I really was not in the mood!_ :

: _He's lucky you didn't shrink said parts,_ : Emily snickered.

"Food," Stone nudged Emily.

: _I heard,_ : Natilie dropped out of the link.

"She turned some dudes body parts lime green," Emily told him with a snort, "you can guess which parts."

"No need to guess," Stone snorted, "It would get old having to prove yourself over and over again," Stone sympathized. "They never challenge me on things. How odd."

"Yah odd," Emily grinned up at him. "Let's get food so I can fly us home."

"I'll even buy," Stone smiled as he hugged Emily to him, "get you all perked up again."

"Ha," Emily laughed. "You're just thinking of those ropes again!"

"Maybe," Stone grinned roguishly at her, "we don't always have to use magic. I've got some very soft leathers put away somewhere."

Her eyes narrowed, "I hope it is _you_ who plans on wearing them!"

"Ha," he barked with laughter, "we better get you feed up then."

Emily _pulled_ a bottle of Kaliton from Natilie's supply and took a long swig. "I'm good," she smiled impishly at him. Giggling, she grabbed him and they disappeared.

***

Mark and Ava watched as Karissa put more flies on her copy of Ling's train. Ava and Karissa had taken quite a while spilling it all to Mark.

"It's really strange that so much can be going on right under my nose," Mark complained.

"It is a rather large nose," Karissa teased him.

"You know Natilie," Ava reminded him. "A lot goes on around here which most of us are ignorant of. I don't think they do it on purpose. There's just a lot going on all the time, and no time to explain things."

"True," he admitted.

"Not to mention, people who think they should be told things," Ava added, "when it's none of their business."

He studied her to see if she was referencing him into that category. Although she was hard to read, he didn't think so.

"I'm not meaning you!" Ava rolled her eyes.

He laughed. That—he understood!

"We can see if it gave us a larger view," Karissa was telling them as she typed madly. "I can launch this because it's a demo. The real train can't be launched this way. I don't know what mechanism they are using to send it back and forth—and go!"

They could now see the whole front, sides, and back of the train. It departed, and eventually arrived at an empty port. The buildings were the same as Karissa had seen before. The supports of the buildings were narrow and curved. They could now see the equipment used to create the rift. It looked like metallic coils.

"I bet the real technology is underground," Mark speculated.

"There's no one around," Ava said disappointedly.

"It's dimensional-time travel," Karissa laughed at her, "a Dime-Time terminal. That's what mother's letters called them. Supposedly, only the Queens can alter the parameters. How many people are going to be hanging out at a place which doesn't get used much?"

"Point," Ava conceded.

"What is it waiting on?" Mark asked, intently studying the monitor.

"I'm not sure," Karissa frowned. "It seems to be timed in some way. It will—ah, there it goes."

The train did not just head back. It skewed. Everything seemed to twist before the image straightened again. They were watching the scenery of passing fields.

"It's in a different time now," Karissa whispered. "It crosses the dimension, and then it goes back or forward in time. I couldn't see that _twisting_ with only the two flies."

"Why?" Mark asked baffled. "Why not go straight there?"

"Maybe they can't do both at the same time," Karissa guessed.

"Maybe also to stop things from changing in their own reality," Ava suggested. "Who's going to want that happening? Let's screw up some other people's realities, not our own!"

"Wait a minute," Karissa paused the train. She sat there looking at the image.

"What do you see?" Ava asked puzzled.

"I thought the two dimensions were us and them," Karissa tugged her hair away from her eyes, "that's not us or them. Going in, there were forests with strange, eerie-ass trees. The sky had a green haze. That's a purple lake, and the sky is purple."

"Distance making it appear purple?" Mark suggested. "Sunset?"

"With it glowing like that?" Ava scoffed. "That's not a sunset. It's illuminating from the ground."

"It could be a different route back," Karissa said uncertainly, "other worldly colors."

"That would make it more complicated," Ava's eyes narrowed. "I can't see someone doing that. I wish I had paid more attention to those strange eerie-ass trees."

"We will watch it again," Karissa hit play.

They stopped at the depot. It looked like a blank factory room.

"No wonder you didn't notice another world," Mark mentioned. "It's a blank room."

"Similar," Karissa studied the room. "The other one has a different gray floor. I think this one is actually ours. No wonder why Natilie couldn't find it on site. She was looking for the wrong room!"

"We thought there was only one," Ava rubbed her eyes, "they look similar."

"Wherever that other room is," Mark stated grimly, "it's hidden. Probably the people in that realm, like ours, don't even know it exists."

"Probably not," Ava agreed. "Makes me wonder what other things they are doing to our reality."

"It's a paradox," Karissa's eyes narrowed, "we don't know, because we change with it. There's got to be rules. I wish the doctor could give an opinion. He's the scientist."

They all ended up watching the train run over and over again. Each time they gathered more details. The doctor, had they known, was pulling out his cosmic hair in frustration. There were rules, and he was well aware of some of them! Where was Natilie?

"I'm convinced," Ava yawned, "we are dealing with three dimensions or realms. We are point A. Karissa and Meonna are point B. Let's say point C is this Ling. God! We don't know the rules of Ling's dimension. We only know things about Meonna's world due to the letters."

"We don't know what point C is capable of doing," Karissa groaned. "We don't even know if they naturally have Nanos at all."

"Time to study those trapped inside the jump disk," Ava suggested to Karissa. "We know those came from Ling."

"We thought she had infected Anthony," Karissa mentioned, "we don't know that now. Their dimension could have equal opportunity Nanos."

"Or Kings, or have none at all, and be stealing them from your mother's people," Ava added. "Which dimension has the public transportation route?"

"I don't know," Karissa admitted, "how would we know that? The letters don't mention what they look like."

Ava and Karissa stared at each other. Ava shrugged.

"I'll go ahead and place my flies on their actual train," Karissa told them, "I'll only be using a third of these. Help me figure out which give the best view."

"Why only a few?" Mark asked.

"I don't want them to find them," Karissa sighed, "in fact, I need to watch the train some more. They had some other type of native bug. At least, both of those dimensions had the same bugs."

"I didn't even notice," Ava admitted.

"Hopefully," Mark grimaced, "neither will they."

"Is there a difference between a dimension and a realm?" Ava asked.

"I think I know," Karissa answered, "but it's all theory and conjecture. Two dimensions can interact between each other, or against each other in a given time—maybe mirrored opposites. The same, but different. Vevila jumps to different realms in the Faerie worlds, but she has also mentioned dimensions in there, too. They seem to be independent," she shook her head. "Maybe, I don't know after all."

"I used to like science fiction," Mark muttered.

Karissa sighed as she wrote out the script. As much as Karissa wanted to look at Ling's Nanos, they had to wait. She was the only one who could write the script, and place the bugs. Emily had also sent them the baggie with the disk. No telling what that would look like.

"I'm hungry," Karissa complained. "I hate sounding like Natilie!"

Ava and Mark both laughed.

"I'll poke my head out, and see who I can bribe into getting us food," Mark volunteered. "Unless we all want to go to the kitchen?"

"No," Karissa answered, "there's too much to do—too little time."

"Agreed," Ava started a list, "what'll we have?"

"I want a cheese burger and fries," Karissa called out.

"Works for me," Mark shrugged.

Ava sighed, "I'll have the nuts. Whatever kind is handy."

"You still doing that?" Karissa asked her.

"Not testing" Ava answered, "nuts make me warm. Otherwise, I would need a coat in here. You must have it at sixty?"

"That sounds right," Karissa nodded. "I can crank up the heat."

"I can take off my clothes," Mark suggested to Karissa's suggestion.

"I'll eat nuts," Ava laughed, "no sense you being uncomfortable in your own room. That's not fair."

"You are my honored guest!" Karissa informed her. "I would gladly put on tanks and shorts for you."

"Thank you!" Ava paused, staring at the small girl, "I'm touched. I really am!"

"So, do I take off my clothes?" Mark asked.

"No!" Both Ava and Karissa answered him at the same time. He just grinned at them..

"I'll call the kitchen," Mark lifted the phone. "It's easier than hunting down an agreeable runner, faster too. Trish will see to it!"

"Finished," Karissa called out. "I can't initiate its run. That signal is coming from someplace else."

"Or some when," Ava mentioned.

"Or that," Karissa frowned at her. "We can watch though, and see it come and go. I'm recording it into segments so we can watch them later without interrupting the train."

"It's moving," Ava commented.

"That's between point B and C," Karissa squinted her eyes.

"Don't squint," Ava nudged her. "You're too young to start squinting."

"Just tired," Karissa admitted.

"Food will be here soon," Ava told her, "why don't you lie down. There's nothing to do now except wait. I'll call you if anything besides those strange, weird-ass trees show up."

Karissa nodded. She didn't tell Ava that it wasn't food that she needed. She hadn't swam in the Nanos for two nights running. It was the Nanos which recharged her energies. Her fatigue went deeper than mere food would replenish. She couldn't do it now. She couldn't ever seem to get _there_ when other people were about. That was something she was going to have to work on, the same as Ava's aversion to eating in public. They both had their similarities.

"Food is here," Mark announced.

"Lovely," Ava said dryly.

Darlene placed the platter on the table.

"Trish sent Ava some shrimp," Darlene announced, pulling off the lid. "She said there wasn't any reason why she couldn't make body fuel food into fine food."

"She does have a point," Karissa called from the other room.

"Cashew shrimp!" Ava's mouth watered.

"Good thing you guys don't eat much," Darlene mentioned, "not like Natilie or Vevila. I would not carry a tray up for those two."

"I would," Ava murmured, "in a heartbeat."

"You have a stronger heart than most," Darlene's purple eyes were stone cold. "Heart of a snake—or so I'm told."

Ava stared back bewildered. Animosity dripped from her.

"I told Trish I would _lift_ it," Mark told her.

"And what did she tell you?" Darlene grinned as she turned to him.

Animosity changed to desire. Ava nodded. Darlene was jealous of her.

"She wasn't having everyone else dodging my burgers and fries as they flew up the stairs," he answered.

"Actually," Darlene laughed at him, "she said bumbling up the stairs."

"Bumbling!" Mark scowled at her.

"Wine?" Karissa lifted the bottle. "That's all she sent to drink?"

"It goes with shrimp," Darlene shrugged, "not so much with burgers and fries, though. I believe you like root beer?"

Darlene smiled as she pulled a cold bottle of pop out of her small pocket.

"It's a magi-pocket," Karissa exclaimed. "How deep does it go?"

"Deep," Darlene laughed, "my whole life is in this pocket. Vevila made it for me. I kept forgetting stuff. Now, it's mostly all with me."

"How cool is that?" Karissa examined the pocket. "I could wish to be an O'Byrne."

"It's a spell," Darlene mentioned, "you write it up. Not just the O'Byrne can do spells. Spells take time to learn."

"I could learn," Karissa told her stoutly.

"I don't doubt it," Darlene told her. "Many things done with gifts can also be done with spells if you know how to write it."

"So, I could write a spell, and it would work?" Karissa asked her.

"Probably," Darlene answered.

"Huh," Karissa poured root beer into a glass.

"Enjoy," Darlene moved towards the door.

Mark followed her. Ava watched as they whispered. The scent got pungent. Ava could wish for a different _gift_ right then. Some things—she just had no need to know!

"Is there fry sauce?" Karissa asked, "ah, there it is."

"Cashew Shrimp," Ava exclaimed, "what a kind thought!"

"Trish likes to make us happy," Mark grabbed a cheeseburger. "Wine with that?"

"Yes please," Ava held out a glass.

The train stopped at the bare factory room. No one was there. It did not move onward.

"There's no way of knowing if it's going to move, is there?" Mark asked Karissa.

"There is a script running in one of the bugs to alert us if there is motion after a 5 second pause," Karissa frowned at him, "that was the best I could think of. Time distorts after it crosses a barrier. I don't know how that will affect the bug."

"That sounds good," he assured her.

She shrugged and headed for her mother's room. She left her burger and fries on the table.

Mark raised an eyebrow at Ava. Ava made a yawning motion. He nodded. They heard the bed creak in the other room.

Ava continued to work on her exercise program as she nibbled the shrimp. From time to time, she would move into the center of the room, and try out some of the moves. Even with Ling _helping_ her, she had never stopped trying to help herself. She was surprised by how far along her muscles had come. She was pleased to see that the program was mostly confirming her direction. Karissa had pointed out a tendon group that she had until then ignored. If the animation was correct, those muscles would launch her around ten feet straight up into the air. She was anxious to build those up.

Mark watched with fascination as Ava worked through some very elaborate exercises. She was totally unaware of her sexiness. He had seen her naked on the rock, and she did look a bit odd, but put her body into motion and she was hot! Darlene had reason to be envious. He knew it wasn't about him. Darlene did not tolerate other women very well. She wanted all the men's attention. She was a Queen Bee.

A realization dawned on him. He looked at his empty wine glass with concern. The bottle was also empty! He didn't feel any differently. Ava didn't seem any different. It couldn't be Darlene, the feisty, fun loving, redhead! He frowned. It could have been anyone placing the bottle on the tray. They would have to be more careful.

"Do you feel okay?" he asked Ava quietly.

"Quite," Ava answered with a frown, "why do you ask?"

"We both drank from the same bottle of wine," he mentioned. "That probably wasn't very smart."

"Do you feel okay?" She asked. "I don't metabolize toxins like normal humans. The venom which doesn't exit through a bite, gets recycled through my body. I don't know if a poison would even have much affect on me."

"That would be a rather dumb way of trying to take us both out," Mark mentioned. "Still, we need to be more careful."

"I'm not really sure we can," Ava told him. "You can imagine a million possible scenarios of things going wrong. How can a person possibly prevent all of them?"

"Just vigilance and intuition, I guess," he offered.

"Okay," she frowned at him, and then shrugged. "I'm going to try something new. Please pick up the pieces if I break myself."

"What?" He looked at her curiously, and followed her out into the hallway.

The ceiling was very high. It had a metal protection shield around the light. She launched herself upwards. She was excited until she realized that she had launched herself too hard. The ceiling was approaching too fast. She collided with it hard enough to rattle her brain. Mark caught her on the way down. He held her until she found her own feet.

"I didn't mean to do quite that," she complained, "ow!"

"That was something!" Mark exclaimed with surprise. "Next time, maybe outside?"

"Wouldn't have mattered," Ava grumbled. "I still would have hurt myself. I didn't think about how to land. Good thing you were here to catch me."

"You have to hit the ground with your legs already bent," he told her.

"Which way?" She laughed at him.

She moved her legs so they would bend in both directions.

"I really don't know," he said with surprise, "both?"

She laughed as she walked back into the room. Her laughter died instantly. Karissa was standing in the doorway to her mother's room. Her face was stark white. Her hair was sweaty.

"You both left," Karissa accused shaken.

"We were right outside using the hallway," Ava went to her, and pulled her into her arms. "I'm so sorry, Karissa. I didn't know it would bother you so. I was trying a jump."

"Crashed herself right into the ceiling," Mark told her.

"You went that high?" Karissa asked her.

"I did," Ava admitted, "I forgot to figure out how to land. That was a bad idea. Don't you ever do that!"

"I can't do that," Karissa smiled at her. "I'm sorry. I'm such a blamb baby."

"I'm a baby, too," Ava told her, "oh-ow. Even with my arms blocking, I still hit my head and shoulders, ouch, damn!"

"On the ceiling, or on the floor?" Karissa asked them.

"Ceiling," Mark answered.

"Think, I'll sit down now," Ava settled on the sofa.

Karissa sat beside her.

"Do you need a healer?" Karissa asked her.

"No," Ava answered.

"Ice?" Mark asked.

"Hell no," she shivered with the thought. "I'll be fine. It was just a bump after all."

"Some bump," Karissa said, "that's what woke me up."

"I am sorry," Ava turned to her. "I didn't realize you might wake."

"I'm a baby," Karissa shrugged.

"Not even," Ava informed her. "We all get scared of things. The bigger we get—the older—the bigger the baby in us. We know things hurt! Next time, I'll wait and see if you can see a flaw in my reasoning. My reasoning was certainly flawed this time!"

"It looked pretty cool though," Mark told them, "I wonder how high you can jump? That's like a ten foot high ceiling out there."

"According to the computer," Ava said dryly, "ten feet."

"Show me?" Karissa asked curiously.

Ava pulled herself from the sofa, and walked over to the computer. She hit the enter key. The animated Ava jumped straight up ten feet. Karissa giggled and hit enter again. Ani-Ava jumped again.

"It looks funny," Karissa laughed.

"I look funny," Ava corrected her.

Karissa smiled as she studied the specifics of the jump.

"Here it is," Karissa typed away. "You forgot to apply the spring from your ankles. It's pretty fantastic that you can jump ten feet without bending your ankles. Now watch."

Karissa hit enter. Ani-Ava jumped seventeen feet.

"No wonder you hit so hard into the ceiling," Mark exclaimed. "Can she really do that?"

"Should," Karissa answered.

"Okay," Ava nodded, "so how do I land without breaking my bum?"

"You will need to roll," Mark mentioned, "land with knees bent, which ever way, and use the momentum in a roll."

"He's right," Karissa told her. "I think the bend of your knees—joint—is determined by where you want to end up. Watch."

Karissa typed a series of commands. She hit F3. Ani-Ava came straight down and rolled backwards. Karissa hit F4. Ani-Ava's jump went forward, she came out of it in a forward roll.

"Even sideways," Karissa hit F5.

Ani-Ava came out in a side roll.

"They all come out with me standing," Ava said happily. "I like that!"

"Start low," Mark warned. "It looks easy, but it takes practice to roll out properly. You don't want to take the weight of your roll into your vertebrae."

"Explain," Ava requested.

"Stand here and turn around," he positioned her.

"Tuck your head and shoulders as you move forward. Start past your shoulders, not on them. Roll across your back from right shoulder to left hip and visa-versa," he marked the path with his fingers. "The movement and momentum will keep your weight from straining on your back. You do not want to be rolling along the center of your spine."

"Karate 101," Karissa smiled at them.

"Something like that," Mark grinned at her, "we'll get out the mats. You can start by doing tumbling, and then dive rolls. Once you get the feel of those, you can add height—jump over things."

"Thank you!" Ava said appreciatively, "I really don't like pain."

"Vevila's Ling would have suggested all that," Mark told her grimly.

"Probably," Ava agreed. "You just gotta do things the hard way sometimes."

A sharp screech, shrieked in their ears.

"The trains moving," Karissa called out.

"Nice sound," Mark fingered his ear.

"Didn't want you sleeping through it," Karissa told him impishly.

"No chance of that!" Mark rolled his eyes.

"We have people!" Ava said excitedly.

They were still at the terminal with the blank room. People crowded inside the little room as they carried things to and from the train.

"Their talking in my mother's language," Karissa frowned at them, "I can't quite get the dialect."

"They're poorly dressed," Mark studied them, "their clothes are warn and faded. Some of them don't have shoes."

"Slaves?" Ava questioned.

"That's Vevila watching them!" Karissa said with surprise, "I had wondered where she got off to."

Indeed, Vevila was in the room. The room was suddenly silent. Her profile was to the camera. Everyone kept their eyes lowered as they scuttled about. The wild red hair, and the flashing green eyes were undeniably Vevila—and then she turned. There was a shocked silence as they stared at her.

"What the hell happened to her?" Karissa cried out.

"That's not _our_ Vevila," Ava's eyes were glued to the screen. "Those scars are old."

There was a puckered, ugly scar running along the left side of Vevila's face. It looked as if it had been there a long time. She was wearing a warriors outfit complete with sword. She was staring straight at them. Karissa quickly ran the bug under a ledge. Vevila gave them a sardonic sneer.

"So where's _our_ Vevila?" Mark asked.

"At least she didn't give our bug away," Karissa sighed with relief. She typed madly. Suddenly, the view was from inside the train.

"Super!" Ava congratulated her.

"I'm glad their bugs can fly," Karissa muttered.

Vevila didn't get on the train. She had merely escorted a lady to the terminal. The lady moved into the train with her attendants. Vevila took a stand just inside the terminal doorway. Other's arrived bringing lots of very expensive luggage.

"I'll call Natilie," Karissa told them, "she can take a peek, too."

There was silence as Karissa talked with Natilie.

Karissa turned to them, "She's keeping an eye on this Vevila. She thinks it's odd that this Vevila has such a scar, and is still living. Vevila was born a long time ago."

"I think this is your mother's home," Ava commented. "The woman getting on is a Queen."

"She sure acts the part," Karissa scoffed.

The woman was stiff and arrogant. She looked bored as she watched her servants prepare her table. She was wearing a yellow silk robe. Her black hair was pulled back with an elaborately stitched, cream scarf. Her eyes were gray. When she bent forward they could see a flash of fire. She was wearing an orange diamond Tiara.

"No doubt now," Karissa stared at the piece. "Mother's has more rows."

"They are afraid of her," Ava noted. "They keep glancing at her to check for her approval."

"I wonder where she's going?" Mark frowned at the screen.

The train left the station. Karissa had managed to leave one of her bugs behind. It was still functioning. They watched as Vevila slipped out of the room.

"I tried to leave a bug on her," Karissa commented dryly. "She flicked it off."

"She would," Ava scowled.

"Your fangs are down," Karissa told her.

"Yah," Ava pulled her lips back. Her fangs were prominent. "That whole affair left me feeling—."

"Dangerous," Mark suggested.

"Could be," Ava agreed.

They watched the train for around ten minutes. It didn't go into a time twist before stopping. It stopped at the station where they could see the elaborate buildings, and where the personal homes had keypads on the doors. The woman followed her people off the train. Karissa deployed more bugs into the terminal. The Queen was met by armed guards.

"Can you take a picture of that insignia," Ava asked Karissa.

Karissa captured the screen and sent it to the printer. Ava pulled it out and studied it.

"It's almost Nazi," Mark frowned as he studied the picture.

"These two dimensions secretly meet with each other," Ava frowned. "This one doesn't hide its terminal, but notice how no one is around except the armed guards? Not even in the streets."

Indeed, the streets were empty.

"The train's moving again," Karissa had several monitors lit from the different bugs.

"It's returning the way it had come," Ava sighed. "It's going to be a while before anything exciting happens. Stake-outs are such a bummer."

"I'll watch," Mark insisted, "you do your Ani-Ava thing."

"Thanks," Ava grinned at him. "You are much too nice for Darlene!"

"What?" Mark asked startled.

"Darlene is hot for you," Ava commented.

"Darlene is hot for any man in the room," Mark scoffed, "no, make that _all_ the men in the room. I'll pass on that."

"There is hope for mankind," Ava murmured.

"Work," Mark glared at her.

Karissa picked up the baggie with the disk. Newly arrived from Emily. She placed the jump drive beside it before making her way over to the hidden drawer in her mother's room. She lifted out the Chelstice.

"What are you doing?" Ava asked her from the doorway.

"It's the only way I can be sure not to have some foreign Nano take me over." Karissa stared at her. "I will not become like Ling Chen."

"We don't know—," before she could finish, Karissa was wearing the Tiara. It was too big, and sat awkwardly on her head.

"I do," Karissa murmured.

Ava held her breath. Mark came to stand beside her. His mouth gapped open. He snapped it shut. A stunning array of purple fire lit Karissa's face. She closed her eyes. He caught her before she hit the floor. He carefully laid her on her bed.

"What?" He whispered to Ava.

"Nanos," She whispered back. "I don't know. I just don't know. I wish she had waited until Natilie was with her."

"What do we do?" He asked.

"My impulse is to yank that thing off her head," Ava growled, "but that might be too abrupt, and cause harm. Natilie would probably scold me about allowing _choice_ , she's really into that. I guess we just have to watch her closely and wait. I hate waiting for things!"

"Who does?" Mark scowled as he studied the child on the bed.

"This is just great!" Ava said angrily, looking down on Karissa.

Mark looked up, and noticed that Ava's venom glands were large. He picked up a chair, and placed it across the room from her. He gave her an apologetic shrug. She just nodded.

Karissa was suddenly inundated with Nanos. It was an ocean of Nanos, and she had landed in the middle of them. There were many styles and configurations. She felt herself submerging.

"Hold," a thought commanded.

Karissa stopped struggling to listen—to feel. She was no longer sinking, but was floating amongst them, floating in a purple sea. A particular group surrounded her. Her own Nanos intermingled with them. She knew them! It as her mother. There were millions of them!

"We make up the Chelstice," her mother's thoughts were clear. "We are the thousands of Queens before you. Will you be one of us?"

"I don't understand?" Karissa pulled away.

"She is too young," Another called out

There was a murmur as if people were talking within a large conference room. The conversations grew heated at times, but Karissa could not understand what they were saying.

"It has been too long," one voice rose over the rest. "If this child will consent, I say we accept."

There was a stilled silence.

"What am I consenting to?" Karissa asked them.

"You will leave enough of yourself here that we may watch the world through your eyes," Meonna answered. "Your life is your own, but we are rather loud, intrusive—and sometimes a nuisance."

"Nuisance, she says," someone grumbled.

"It's true you know," someone else muttered.

"How does that benefit me?" Karissa asked.

"You have all of us," a voice spoke out. "We are millions of Nanos. No one can defeat you with us."

"You do not know," Karissa realized. "We aren't in Fawn."

"We are in the _other_ realm," a voice said enraged, "where men rule?"

"We are not," Meonna was sure.

"You are in neither," Karissa told them. "We are in another where Nanos only live in machines."

"I do not like the sound of that at all," one near whispered. "I will not live in a cage."

"Better than to live without a window," another whispered back.

"Who are you?" Meonna asked.

"I am your daughter, Karissa," Karissa answered, feeling hurt.

There was silence.

"It's an abomination," one said harshly, "we warned you, Meonna!"

"Let's just take her!" A voice yelled out. "We are many!"

Suddenly, Karissa's own Nanos swarmed the assembly. Thousands of Nanos guarded around her. They were her!

"There are way too many," one said. "What is this?"

"The Abomination," Meonna sneered at them. "I will join my daughter if you attack her."

Karissa could see that Meonna had many, many more Nanos than any other Queen.

"And I," another group pulled loose from those assembled. "It was I, who said she must do what she did—and I stand by her!"

"What did you do?" Karissa asked Meonna.

"Begat from the other realm," one spoke harshly, "leading us all into immoral depravation."

"We wanted to survive!" Meonna was angry, "you did not understand! The South had become too strong. She sent demons to kill us. She is Mad!"

"The Queen of the South?" Karissa asked. "What of the Prime? Isn't she in charge?"

"She was killed," Meonna presented her with a memory.

The room was crowded with all the Queens and their courts. The meal had just been completed. It was loud and busy. Karissa recognized Anthony sitting beside the Orange Queen. He stood, and walked around the table to where the Prime Queen sat. She was the Green Queen, and unlike the other Queens, she wore a full crown. He bent over and stabbed her in the heart. Karissa gasped. After he stabbed her, he walked back to stand beside the Orange Queen. She stood and took his arm. He announced to everyone that she was his consort. No one challenged them. He calmly walked with her to the dead Queen's side. It was only as she reached to take the crown that the other Queens stood in protest. Their courts with them. Words were shouted back and forth. Anthony pulled the Orange Queen away, and whispered in her ear. She nodded and left the crown. The assembly watched as Anthony escorted her out of the chamber. Karissa stared at the dead Queen.

"Why didn't they arrest him or something?" Karissa asked, feeling shocked.

"Between them, they are strong," Meonna whispered to her, "too strong for us. She has many slaves and servants. Some whisper that she controls an army. The Prime was not the first Queen to have died by her order. My first child was a girl without Nanos. She was put to death at birth. I smuggled myself into the other realm and begat with one of the Kings. I left my Nanos here. He did not know I was a Queen. I was very beautiful. When I was ready again. I did likewise, but something went wrong. A boy was born without Nanos. I do not understand why. I knew I must run with him, so I placed most all of my Nanos here while I plotted. I never returned for them."

"You did run," Karissa told her, "with both of us to yet another dimension, this dimension, where Nanos are only in machines. You brought the Chelstice with you to this dimension. I don't know why you didn't return to pick up your Nanos. You hid it away, and later, died in an accident."

"Too long without," one said. "You must have lost your way without the Grid."

"That can be the only answer," Meonna moaned.

"What of now?" One asked, "are we to be forever lost ourselves?"

"We still have _her_ ," Another spoke.

"You cannot take her," Meonna told them. "I will kill!"

There was an appalled silence.

"Will she accept then?" One asked.

There was silence as they waited for Karissa to answer.

"Privacy!" Meonna commanded.

The other Nanos backed away. It was just Karissa and Meonna within range.

"We are a pain," Meonna warned her. "We nag and complain. We are old and new. We know just about everything, and are proud of it. You would never be alone. That could be good or bad. You were conceived for this purpose. What do you say?"

"I belong to myself," Karissa informed her. "I like this realm, and have no desire to return to yours. I would not be badgered into doing so. Your Queens will never return home through me. I could return the Chelstice, and you can acquire a new—window.

Meonna did not respond. Karissa assumed that was a heavy pill to swallow.

"There is something else, too," Karissa told her, "the one who assassinated your Prime is here to _acquire_ me. He does not know that I know his plan. Until just now, I didn't know he was a King. We thought his slave was a Queen."

"That is bad," Meonna's Nano changed colors with her distress.

The other Nanos swarmed back. There was a tremendous clamor in energy colliding. Karissa was nervous.

"Will you tell us?" Meonna asked.

"I just did," Karissa responded.

"No," Meonna redirected, "let your Nanos walk amongst us. You can call them back. That is not the same as identifying those who would remain here."

Karissa thought about her request. She nodded. In a split second her Nanos were mingled with all the others. She could feel her information spill amongst them, and their responses back.

"Wow," Karissa felt a little dazed by all the sudden knowledge.

She now knew what they had to offer her, if she accepted their plea. She also knew what she would need to do to accept, and what that would do to her. Forever was a very long time. All these Queens lived as such through thousands of years. The very thought frightened her. Still, she considered.

"You must accept!" They cried out. "He must be stopped. He will devour you."

A little thought slipped towards her. She caught it up. It was the Queen who had backed Meonna. She was a very old Queen. She let Karissa in on a secret. The binding did not have to be forever. There was a way out, and the secret was sent to her. With the information was a plea for secrecy. Karissa asked why? She suddenly saw the Chelstice falling into a million pieces. She understood.

She could escape up until the time she became pregnant. At the moment of conception, the Chelstice bound its carrier. Most women, who would be Queen, joined them at the age of sixteen. She had time. She was only ten.

Karissa withdrew from the other Nanos. She selected one thousand of her own, and assigned them to walk amongst the Queens. Once she released them, she would be the new Queen. The Chelstice would be hers whether she wore it—or hid it away.

She took a deep breath, and release her Nanos. The information flying into her was a frenzy. Her mind felt like it was going to explode. She started to panic, and found her mother surrounding her.

"I will always surround you," Meonna told her.

The sea washed over her. She rode it out. A normal human mind would have been driven to madness, but Karissa was not human. She was Fawnish. Her brain soon organized the information into sections she could deal with. She separated her own memories from those of the Queens. That was what they were giving her—memories. She now understood.

"She's waking," Ava called out.

Karissa's eyes flickered open. The light was very bright. It glowed with purple. It slowly diminished. It was coming from the Tiara.

"I thought I was going to have to go in there and get you," Natilie informed her.

"You're back!" Karissa sat up.

Natilie's eyes were intense as she studied the child. She was different. She _felt_ different. Ava had said her scent was changing.

"Hopped a ride with Emily," Natilie nodded. "That was hours ago. Where have you been? What have you been doing?"

"I've been inside this," Karissa held up the Tiara. "There's like a million Queens in there—including my mother. She accidently left most of her Nanos in there. She never returned to pick them back up. The Queens said she must have lost her way."

"You seem to be you," Natilie grimaced.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Karissa asked her.

"Indeed," Natilie looked at the others. "She only has her own Nanos."

"You can tell the difference?" Karissa asked surprised.

Natilie nodded, "It's not easy mind you. Can you take that off now? It's rather noisy."

"Huh," Karissa looked about surprised.

Natilie, Mark, and Ava were the only ones in the room. She had kind of expected Vevila to be with them. She took off the Tiara. She instantly realized what Natilie was referring to. The hum was suddenly gone.

"I guess they are noisy," Karissa laid it aside.

She checked, and could still feel her Nanos intermingling with the other Queens. When she allowed herself, she could hear them communicating to each other. She could see how that could be rather distracting.

"So what do we know?" Ava asked, looking back and forth between Natilie and Karissa.

"How's my brother?" Karissa asked.

"We got him okay," Natilie frowned. "It's going to take longer than we thought. Sandra is still there. Whoever ordered the kidnapping, ordered it through a ring. Rings are hard to crack."

"Not if Erran was here," Karissa muttered.

"Not if Erran was here," Natilie agreed. "He's just not replaceable. It means hunting the money trail, and busting the bad guys. It just takes time and set up. They'll want to find the higher polluting scum—the one in charge."

"And that _thing_?" Ava asked pointing at the Chelstice.

"It's full of past Queens," Karissa answered, "their Nanos. They seemed to wake up when I put it on my head. They weren't even aware that the Chelstice had left their own dimension."

"What else did you learn?" Natilie asked her.

"Anthony," Karissa's lip curled. "He's a King from point C. He assassinated the Prime Queen from point B. That lady we saw getting on the train? She was the Queen he walked out with after he killed the Prime."

"They told you that?" Ava pointed at the Tiara.

"They _showed_ me," Karissa nodded. "I can _see_ events through them."

"Can you communicate with them without wearing it?" Natilie asked her.

"I can," Karissa nodded, "it's just that there are so many of them. They all think they have the right answers, and the best stories to tell. It's a mess in there."

"I can imagine," Natilie shook her head. "I'd go mad. I can see them in the crystals, now. They are moving around. There are millions of them!"

"Usually, each Queen donates one thousand Nanos," Karissa admitted. "My mother donated a lot more since she never came back to retrieved hers. They think she got _lost_ without the Grid."

"And you?" Ava asked suspiciously.

"One thousand," Karissa met her eyes evenly.

"You just threw away your childhood," Ava said sadly.

"What childhood?" Karissa asked her.

"I wanted to bring it back to you," Ava's eyes watered.

"We can be friends and have fun together," Karissa told her, "but you can't bring back that which never was. I never had a childhood. We were always running."

"As you get older," Ava smiled at her, "you'll find out that you can invent a new—."

Ava's eyes rolled back, and she suddenly fell to the floor. Natilie and Mark followed. Mark landing with an ominous smack!

Toc

# Chapter Seventeen

Karissa stared at them in shock. Natilie was the closest. She ran to her, screaming for her to get up! She shook her. She just laid there. Calming herself, she checked for a pulse. It was strong and steady. She checked Mark and Ava. Ava seemed to be okay. Mark had a busted arm, but he didn't stir or groan from the pain of it. Karissa stared at them trying not to panic. She turned and rushed to the phone. There was no dial tone.

She could hear someone at the door. She grabbed up the Tiara and put it on. The clamor from the contact rushed through her. She screamed at them to just stop. There was sudden silence. She pulled on a bulky hat to hide the Tiara. It worked only because the Tiara was too big, and slid down like a headband. She rushed to her mother's room and locked herself in.

She could wish for a back door right about then. She ran to the closet, and locked herself inside that, too. It was a very big closet. Unlike most closets with clothes and shoes. This closet held a desk and her backup computer. She booted it up.

"Doctor," she said out loud, "if you can hear me, go to the room where we fought the monster. I don't think Druantia ever collected the rest of the Dark Matter. I'll be activating the monkey. In fact, I'm adding more matter to it. Get on it. I'm sending you back through to the computer. That way, if they take me, I'll be able to talk with you. I sure hope he can hear me. I wish I could tell if he was on the monkey."

She heard someone breaking in the front door. As scared as she was, she couldn't help the giggle as someone stepped on the hotplate. She heard the zapping of the power, and the thud of a falling body. Someone cursed.

"Duh," she scolded herself as she activated the cameras in her room and out in the hallway.

It was Ling and Anthony. No one else was with them. Ling was unconscious on the floor. Anthony stepped over her, and made his way carefully into the room.

Karissa activated all her security Nanos. She heard him laughing as if they tickled him. A normal person would have felt as if ants were climbing up his legs. He obviously wasn't normal. Well, laugh at this!

She touched a switch, and gave her Nanos power. Electricity poured through them. He screamed and fell to the floor. She left the power on. She really didn't care if it killed him.

"I hope you're on the monkey," she muttered as she activated the monkey, and sent it through to the hallway where they had created the original platform. She sighed with relief as the doctor appeared in the room where she had originally found him.

"I was going to ask you to send me back, anyway," the doctor admitted. "This is where I belong."

"At least for now," she told him. "I have to go. I'm frying Anthony as we speak."

"One thing," he said quickly. "When a person meets themselves in another dimension, and one or both are in a different time, one will dominate the other. They cannot both function. This Ling had dominated the other. She is a slave to Anthony, but don't underestimate her. She will die before betraying him."

"Thanks!" Karissa told him. "Anything else?"

"I heard him talking," he answered. "He was spouting that he was a King of the Phen. He said that in his dimension, boy's Nanos don't come in until puberty. They keep multiplying like cells. They aren't limited by being born with them."

"Bother that," Karissa muttered. "Do you know why he wants me?"

"That was all I heard," the doctor shrugged. "I'm sorry. That's all I know. I thought I knew more about the rules of dimensions, but that was arrogance. I find I'm not as smart as I once thought."

"Then you are smarter than you once were," she told him.

"Thanks," he quirked his mouth, "leave some of your Nanos here. That way, I can reach you no matter where you end up."

Karissa considered and then nodded, "I will leave them with the monkey."

"Monkey?" He walked into the hallway. "Did you see it? It's a freak'n King-Kong!"

Karissa looked out into the hallway and laughed. Her _monkey_ was squeezed up in the hallway, taking all the space. Its face was smashed into a silly grin. She found herself laughing. She split it in two; one male and one female.

"That way they can play together," she told him.

"Yah," he said, "play."

"I gotta go," she told him. "If I ignore you calling my Nano, it's because I'm busy, not because I can't hear you." She frowned, "unless of course I can't."

"Got it," he said gravely.

She nodded and released his thread. She had been watching the monitors while engaging with him. No one approached. She sent a query through to the other site computers. They weren't doing anything. Some computers were on, but data wasn't moving. She activated camera after camera. Everyone was down. They appeared to be in the same state as her group.

"I guess we'll do this the hard way!"

Karissa jumped. Anthony was looking straight into the camera.

"What did you do to them?" Karissa spoke into the mic.

"They are unharmed—for now." He answered her.

His eyes were cold. He went over to Natilie and bent a finger. She heard a snap. Her stomach felt sick.

"You may want to come out though." He picked up another finger.

"I'm coming!" She said quickly.

A scan of her security Nanos told her the unvarnished truth. They were all dead! He had killed them. There had been three thousand Nanos assigned to the security of her room. It wasn't the electricity she sent through. They could take that all day long. It was something he had done.

She made her way out of the closet. She wondered if she should hide the Chelstice. She heard a whisper from it saying to keep it on—so she did.

He was sitting on her bed. He seemed very calm.

"You may now call me, King Anthar," he scowled at her. "I'm a Phen King! The name Anthony is so puny. I only choose it because it was closest to my own. I want the Chelstice," he told her. "I can feel it humming so don't lie about it."

He held out his hand. Her mind was a big blank. She couldn't think of anything that would deter him getting it. Reluctantly, she pulled off the hat. His eyes brightened with greed. He yanked it off her head.

He held it up in his hands. She was surprised to see an added cluster of crystals. She realized it held the Nanos she had placed with the Queens. It was suddenly very quiet in the room. She hadn't realized just how much the thing had been buzzing in her head. She stared at Anthony—Anthar. He seemed to be mesmerized. She was beginning to wonder if it was taking him over when his eyes shifted to her.

"Now, we go," he informed her, putting the Tiara away in a velvet bag.

"You have it," she told him. "You don't need me."

"Oh," he grinned at her, "you are the prize. This was just the pretty."

"Pretty?" She asked him.

"Split up, these stones will secure my fortune," he told her.

She blinked with surprise. He didn't know what it was! He thought he was holding a Queen's ransom in _jewels_.

"What do you want with me?" She whispered.

"Come," he launched himself off the bed, and grabbed her arm, "and don't cause anymore problems. Your friends will only be safe after we are gone."

He stared into her face, "I will kill the next one. Not just bust a finger."

She felt nauseous. She nodded in understanding.

He let go of her arm, "you are to follow."

He paused at the door to pick up Ling. Her head lolled to the side as he threw her over his shoulder. He headed down the hallway. Karissa was pressed to keep up. From time to time they passed bodies. Karissa cringed at the awkward position of how some had fallen. She sent them a silent apology.

"That was well done by the way," he told Karissa approvingly. "Even the fiery little Nanos. I liked that! Had to kill them you understand, but very ingeniously done. A normal person, or even someone not a King, would have fried. I particularly liked hearing your laughter as I lay burning on the floor. Good thing I didn't go with plan A."

"What was plan A?" Karissa asked.

"I was going to act the slave and get your sympathy," he told her with a grin.

"And why didn't you?" She asked.

"Gut feeling that it wouldn't work," he told her. "I realized that you were only sympathetic to useless things; kittens and deformed humans."

"You are deformed," she snarled at him.

He just laughed.

"Or at least insane," she muttered.

She studied him as they walked. She couldn't get a read on him. She usually sensed Nanos. According to Natilie, he had millions. According to the doctor, would always have millions. She could see an advantage to that. She hoped she had millions, too. She was shedding them as they walked. She knew that Natilie would be able to find them. That was—once she woke and fixed her finger. Karissa grimaced.

"Where are we going?" She asked him.

"We are going—here." He laughed at her.

He opened a door, and signaled for her to go inside. It was _the_ bare room. Skylar was already in the room. Karissa watched as he programmed the system using a hand pad. He snapped the panel shut. It disappeared into the wall.

"We are ready," he told Anthar.

"Stand back," Anthar told Karissa, "unless you want your molecules to break up into a zillion pieces."

Karissa quickly moved to stand beside him.

"You don't ask questions," his eyes narrowed. "You have already discovered the tracks."

She just stared at him.

"It doesn't matter," he told her. "I could wish for a daughter such as you; smart, ruthless, and even cute."

Karissa shivered. He reached over and touched her face. She backed away, bumping into Skylar. She turned to stare at him.

"So, are you a traitor?" She asked Skylar, "or maybe his slave?"

"Neither," He grinned at her, "I'm a Prince. None of you guessed?"

"No," She answered bluntly, "you were not important to us."

He stopped grinning. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. Anthar snorted. A flash of blinding light, and the train was in front of them. Anthar nudged her. Taking a deep breath, she walked up the steps.

***

"Easy," Ava was saying as Natilie roused, "I think you are okay except for your hand. Mark broke his arm when he crashed."

"What's going on?" Natilie asked sluggishly.

"He took us," Ava answered grimly. "Anthony took the whole damn site down!"

"Karissa?" Natilie asked fighting her way to coherence.

"Gone," Ava said angrily.

"Who's that?" Natilie asked, watching the new guy suspiciously.

She was still in Karissa's room. There was a strange man typing furiously on Karissa's computer. He did not feel like an O'Byrne. He had curly black hair and blue eyes. He was lean. She knew she had never met him before.

"Aiden," the new guy answered. "Jeri grabbed me. Your whole site has been compromised. I was ready, Jamie will be here soon."

"You mean _popped_ you," Natilie sat up.

"That sums it up," he told her.

"I thought she outgrew that!" Natilie rubbed her eyes.

"Mostly," he looked at her steadily, "except for some reason when you are involved."

"Habit," Natilie grumbled. "What do you know?"

He switched on the eight screens, "your girl had all the camera's going when she got snatched. Here's why she went so easily."

He played the video,

_"They are unharmed_ _—for now_."

They watched as Anthony casually walked over to Natilie's unconscious body, reached down, and broke her finger. The sound made everyone in the room cringe. He picked up her other hand.

_"You may want to come out though._ " They heard him say.

_"I'm coming!_ " Karissa shouted out.

Natilie looked down at her hand. It was swollen to twice the normal size. She could see that the bone in the finger was still broken, but already mending itself. She felt sick, both physically and emotionally.

"Sick bastard!" Ava's glands were filled with venom.

Aiden followed their route to the last functioning camera. He was dimly aware of Natilie rummaging through the girl's clothes.

"We have more cameras than that," Natilie told him.

Her hand was up in a sling. He had to admire her tenacity. That hand had to be hurting like hell.

"They were offline," he told her grimly, "They've been off for weeks. They are now on."

"Damn it!" Natilie said angrily. "Someone should have been monitoring those! We know that someone messing with cameras is trouble. That should have been a clue!"

"We have or had a spy," Ava reminded her.

"Maybe more than one," Natilie snapped. "Can you show the path of the cameras that were down?"

Aiden put up a map.

"That's a lot of cameras," Ava frowned. "Whose duty was it to monitor them?"

"That would be Janet," Natilie sighed. "We'll question her, but I don't think she's involved, just derelict. She's had too much on her plate since Erran died. She would be the type to not say anything, just shirk where she thought it wouldn't be caught."

"I can see why she would skip this," Ava nodded. "It's redundant and boring."

"Do we know what took down the site?" Natilie asked concerned.

"A spell," Aiden told her. "Something everyone accepted. In accepting it, the spell was also accepted. We're thinking food or drink. It didn't even have to be delivered on the same day. It seems the only one not affected was the little girl. Was there a day she didn't eat? Maybe, was sick?"

"I think I'm staring right at it," Natilie walked over to the burger and fries Karissa left sitting on the table.

"She was too tired," Ava commented.

"The fries radiate when I use sight," Natilie studied the fries. "It's the source of the spell. When things go so terribly wrong, like right now, I try to figure out how to prevent it in the future. I'm straining here; the spy and the spell. We have to trust our own people."

"You can't guard against every possibility," Aiden told her. "Someone studied your operation for quite some time to pull this off. They were very meticulous. Like I said, the delivery of the spell didn't even have to be done all at once. It could have been dispensed weeks ago."

"Ah-oh, something is trying to barge in," Aiden grumbled.

"Let it," Natilie said hopefully.

"They could be sending in a virus," Aiden warned her.

"Why?" Natilie argued, "the damage is done. Let it in!"

Aiden shrugged and sat back. A window opened. Natilie sighed with relief on seeing the doctor.

"He has her," were the first words out of his mouth. "You know that. She left Nanos along her path."

"Bring the laptop," Natilie jumped to her feet. "I want to be able to communicate with him as I look for those damn Nanos."

"You can't look from here?" Ava asked.

"Too small, I might miss something." Natilie turned to Aiden. "Please find her bug feeds. She bugged the transports and platforms."

"Here," the doctor opened the paths to her bugs.

"That's convenient," Aiden's eyebrows were up. "Where can I get an Avatar like that?"

"Don't ask," Natilie muttered.

"I heard that," the doctor's voice was acid.

Natilie shrugged.

Aiden put the images up on the screens.

"Skylar?" Natilie blinked angrily. "I trusted him!"

They were on the train. Karissa was staring at one of her bugs. Her lips quirked as she looked away.

"She knows we're watching," Ava smiled, "good girl!"

"Do you recognize the scenery?" Natilie was frowning.

"Not any of it," Ava stared at the screen. "We haven't been there. Damn it!"

Natilie closed her eyes. "I can't see on the train, but I'll see when it stops."

"Unless it's in the future," Ava hissed.

"We will find her!" Natilie told her bluntly.

Aiden disconnected the laptop. "Is there one with a two-way monitor? This is going to get rather awkward."

"You would think Karissa would have one of those," Ava frowned.

"She doesn't need one," Natilie reminded her. "She can see with the lid closed."

Aiden hurriedly typed in some script.

"You can now hear what he says," Aiden shut the lid and handed it to Ava. "There's more video I have to look at."

"Look for whoever else is helping that bastard!" Ava's tongue flickered, "anything strange. Skylar isn't smart enough to be Anthony's only ally. He has to have someone else helping him. This took more than just planning!"

Natilie quickly picked up the phone and dialed the control room. "Tell everyone to sit where they are. They are not to move! I have to scan the halls!" There was a pause, "I don't care how long it takes!"

Aiden jumped when her message went through the intercom. His eyes narrowed as he typed some commands. The monitors split themselves into fourths.

"I'll be watching everyone," Aiden told them.

"We'll be watching everyone," a voice said from the doorway.

Natilie turned and stared. It was Aiden, "Twins!"

"Connected twins," Eithan told her. "Jeri popped me to here. Can I come in?"

"Yes," Natilie nodded. "I'm more anxious to find the Nanos outside of here."

Several monitors popped into the room.

Aiden and Eithan didn't lose any time with setting them up. Natilie nodded. Now one could watch the present as the other watched the past!

"Are we going yet?" The doctor's voice sounded tiny and irritated.

"Going," Natilie bent and spoke into the mic.

"You don't need to do that," he grumbled, "I can hear you just fine."

Natilie grunted and wandered into the hall. Ava followed with the laptop. The cameras had lost Karissa and Anthony in the next building over.

"I'm assuming she wouldn't waste Nanos," Natilie muttered.

"Wait," Aiden ran to them, "I finally understood what you were talking about with the Nanos. I always knew they were alive. See if they will move into here. It's clean."

He handed Natilie a jump drive.

"She's going to want them back," he told her and wandered back to the room.

She stared at it with surprise. Where did they find these guys? She hadn't even been able to replace Erran with a standard tech. She grunted. Randy would skin her alive if she tried to recruit them!

"Is that thing heavy?" Natilie asked Ava.

"Not even," she answered.

In truth, the weight wasn't even a consideration. Ava realized that a month ago, she could not have carried it very far.

Natilie stopped at the doorway to the next building.

"All the rooms in this building are used regularly," Natilie frowned, "it would not be here—passing on through."

They passed through another buildings before Natilie started looking for the Nanos. Ava sat on the floor. To the great annoyance of the doctor, she played solitaire while Natilie searched. Ava smirked while the doctor whined.

"Found them!" Natilie muttered. "It's a very thin, broken line."

Ava started to stand.

"No," Natilie motioned for her to stay seated. "I'm seeing where they lead."

Natilie followed the thin trail. It went up the stairs. She looked back, but didn't see any. She would have to come back to search with more diligence. Right now, she didn't have the time. Aiden had been right. Karissa would want them back. They were a part of her. Natilie didn't know if they would scatter, or be destroyed if people stepped on them.

She stood and walked to the first cluster of Nanos. She held the open drive up to them. She was surprised as they scramble in. The whole line started moving towards her. She quickly pulled it away. She'd have to collect them from the other side. She sighed with relief. Collecting them would be easier than she had feared.

"Stay to the right of me," Natilie told her. "I'll have to collect her Nanos after we find the room."

"Got it," Ava nodded.

They slowly made their way to the _bare_ room.

"They chose this room well," Natilie said when they finally arrived. "No one comes up here."

Ava pulled her hair in anger.

"What's that all about?" Natilie asked her.

"I feel so stupid!" Ava shouted angrily, "we saw this room just before the site went down! We realized the reason you couldn't find it earlier, because you were searching for the one in the other dimension—thinking it was this one. All this time wasted following Nanos when you could have just _looked_!"

Natilie stared at her with surprise.

"Don't you think you're being a little hard on yourself?" Natilie asked. "That crash scrambled all of our brains! If I had been thinking, I would have asked you guys if you had found anything new! I didn't even think to ask."

"I guess," Ava stared at the grey floor. "Why is this floor so clean, if no one ever comes up here?"

"A spell we use for maintenance," Natilie sighed, "maybe not such a good idea. It would have been easier if we had seen footprints. The Nanos stop here. She used a lot of Nanos. Interestingly, so did he. His shed like dead skin."

"His are dead?" Ava asked.

"Yes," Natilie answered.

"His Nanos regenerate like cells," the tiny voice told them.

Ava opened the laptop.

"Explain," Natilie asked.

"He said that the men of his dimension aren't born with Nanos," the doctor told them. "The Phen start acquiring them during puberty and never stop. He said they were prolific."

"Interesting," Natilie's eyes narrowed, "so they might _have_ more, but obviously they don't live as long as the Fawn's. If he's a typical example of a King."

Natilie put the open drive to Karissa's Nanos, and then waited while they glided in.

"Can you tell if I missed some?" Natilie asked him.

"How could I?' He asked querulously. "I'm inside a box!"

"And whose idea was that anyway?" Ava asked.

"If you load those into the computer," he ignored Ava, "Karissa can retrieve them the next time she contacts me."

"Contacts you?" Natilie asked angrily. "She can contact you, and you didn't say a word about it. We are trying desperately to find her, and you withhold that critical piece of information!?"

"I'm assuming," he frowned at her. "She reactivated the Dark Matter monkeys, and left some of her Nanos in them. I do not know what she can, and cannot do! I don't even think she knows!"

"Sorry," Natilie sighed, "we're a little on edge."

"Duh," he grunted. "Now, if you please? I'll get them to her monkeys."

Natilie plugged the drive into the computer. Her hands were posed above the keyboard. "Where do I send them?"

"Let me see if I can get a monkey to go get them," the doctor disappeared.

"This is all pretty damn strange," Ava muttered.

"They're gone," Natilie said with surprise.

"The monkey was very pleased to get them," the doctor said dryly.

"What a really bizarre world you live in," Ava remarked seeing his rumpled clothes, and tangled hair. He looked as though he had been tossed around a bit.

"At least I can touch this world," he muttered, "she programed the monkeys to be a lot like dogs—dogs with hands. I got mauled!"

Natilie snorted.

"Now what?" Ava asked, feeling perplexed.

"We see if the twins have found anything," Natilie sighed, "and wait."

Natilie knew the waiting game all too well. Things rarely took off popping hot. No matter how many times she had been on this road. It was never easy. Harder still, when the one you were searching for was one of your own.

"How does this room work?" Natilie asked the doctor. "How do we use it?"

"There has to be an operating panel," he answered.

"Somewhere her bugs can't see," Ava reminded her. "The room always looked bare. Which would have to be the back wall. Can you see anything hidden?"

"Got it," Natilie replied. "I don't see a spring or latch."

She walked into the corner of the room, and felt along the back wall. She could see the faint lines around the hidden panel. She tried to pry it open with her fingernails, but only managed to break one.

"Let me," Ava said beside her. "It probably opens with Nanos, but we don't have time to figure that out."

Ava placed her hands outside the lines and dug in. She yanked, pulling the whole wall loose. A panel was exposed. Its main feature was a hand pad. Natilie stared at it baffled. There was only one other switch. She shrugged and toggled it. A separate panel popped open. Inside were manual dials and switches. They were all set to a default of zero.

"Huh," Natilie muttered, "Nano control pad with a manual override."

"Look inside the wall," Ava pointed to some metal coils. "They build the system inside the wall!"

"How did they manage this?" Natilie exclaimed. "How did they build all this right under our noses?"

"Time," The Doctor suggested, "we don't know _when_ they did this."

Natilie nodded. "The factory had been abandoned quite a long time ago. They could have built this at any time while it was empty. This is all really complicated! And where the hell is Vevila—our Vevila! What could she be doing that is so damned important!"

Toc

# Chapter Eighteen

Vevila was in fact, in one of the many futures. Jumping windows in time and space was very difficult and confusing. The past wasn't so hard, but she couldn't tell which future would be important. She was looking for Karissa's father.

She wasn't blind to what was happening, or should be happening at home. She knew that Karissa would be taken. The only futures where they got her back were the futures in which her father was involved. It was up to her to find him, which she had, and convince him to intervene, which she had not! He didn't care that he had children. That was what Kings did! So far, he thought she was just some crazy woman stalking him. He'd had her shot, imprisoned, and tried to seduce her.

In one future, he killed both Anthony and Karissa. In another, Karissa was married off as soon as she had been delivered to them. Yet another, the Orange Queen killed her. There were too many futures, and they all seemed to hinge on Karissa's father.

In his, and Anthony's dimension, they were called Phens. As opposed to Meonna's in which they were called Fawns. They were not mirrored realities, which would have made her task easier. She had not found the true trigger that connected the Fawns and Phens. They had a lot of similarities to each other, but also realities tied to _her_ earth and another.

She was totally bewildered by the ties. And—why in hell was there another Vevila with the Fawns? That window had cost her plenty! It was dumb sheer luck that she was already in a position to be the dominant. That also explained Ling. She wondered how many other _earth_ people were doubled between these two realities.

She really hoped that this would be _the_ future in which he had already helped them. She needed to understand how to approach him in the first place. She had already tried and failed. She knew his name, Kaidar Janse Mickal. It was in the letters, but she didn't understand what motivated him.

He was totally uninterested in the fact that he had fathered children. He didn't care that Anthar, a renegade to his people, was gathering an army to take over the Kingdom. He didn't care about wealth or power. She had run out of ideas in order to gain his aid. If she had not seen some interesting futures, she would have assumed that he was simply an empty man.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped through yet another window. She landed beside the palace guards.

"Oh damn!" she muttered.

She expected them to start yelling at her to hit the dirt while aiming their guns at her. Instead, they just looked at her. She stared back at them. Without a blink, she calmly walked passed them, and into the palace. A group of women were waiting in the grand parlor. She ducked towards the window, and waited behind a curtain. These were breeders. Each one carried the token for a particular King. She did not want to be mistaken as one of their group. She frowned and looked down at herself. She was wearing jeans and was rather disheveled. The women out there were pristine with loose flowing robes—and ready to breed!

She had been here so often by now that she was beginning to understand the layout of the palace grounds. She knew where the King's chambers were. She waited until the women were escorted out before moving from the curtain.

She walked passed the majestic marble pillars, and through the elegantly furnished entry room. Here she paused. She should have asked the guards where he was. It looked to be early afternoon. She walked to the side door which led out to the gardens. She knew he liked to run his dogs just past the garden. As soon as she walked outside, she could hear the dogs barking. She knew that she was right.

He was at the edge of the garden sitting in the grass. He was a beautiful man. She could understand why Meonna had chosen him. He was tall and masculine with wide shoulders and chest. He had a narrow waist, a muscular butt, and strong legs. He looked like he could give a woman a fine ride. His blue-black hair was shiny and pulled back in a tail. He was wearing a light crown with stones of multiple colors. His eyes were emerald green. Not that much different from her own. His lips were lush and sensuous.

"You told me you would come today," he told her, "to learn the secrets of my existence."

"And what is today?" She asked him, "so I can tell you I will come."

He laughed, "It is two days before my thirtieth birthing day."

Vevila made a special note of that. This felt like the future she was looking for, although she had been wrong before. She watched him warily.

"It is this," he pulled a chain from beneath his shirt. "Come look at it. If you know what it is, I'll explain why it is important."

She walked over to him and gently raised the chain. A large cluster of purple diamonds dangled from it. She gasped with surprise.

"It's a piece of the Chelstice," she lowered it back into place.

He nodded, "sit—please."

Vevila lowered herself onto the grass. She watched as he held the stones.

"Anthar does not know what the Chelstice is," he told her. "He thinks it is just a fortune in jewels. They are the Fawn's Queens. Clusters of Nanos from all the Queens. They say, from the beginning of time. In this case, the Queen of the East—Meonna. I am lucky, and unlucky that she placed so much of herself in there. If she had just told me who she was..."

"Things would have been different?" Vevila frowned at him. "Time doesn't react as we expect."

"Why do you say that?" He asked her suspiciously.

_"All_ the variables will change with the choice," she shrugged, "a person can go back a million times, and not be able to manipulate the results. I'm not trying to manipulate a future, but to choose a future in which we get Karissa back alive and well."

"How do you know all this?" His eyes were narrowed. "I thought your people did not travel through time. You sound very experienced."

"Just how do you think I got here?" She frowned at him.

"Our terminals," he stated bluntly. "You are not the first to have discovered them."

"I use windows," she told him just as bluntly. "Would you like to try one?"

"Yes," he stood up. "I think you are lying."

"And here I thought I had found the right future," Vevila sighed. "I really just wanted the answer, and to return home with it!"

"You cannot do it." He stated.

"Fine," Vevila gave him a snarly smile. "Let's take a walk shall we?"

She stood and held out her hand. He stared at her.

"It's how I must do it," she told him, "or are you scared?"

"I am not scared!" He glared at her.

Impatiently, she grabbed his hand. "Now step when I step."

They stepped together.

The landing was rough. Vevila was not used to traveling with a companion. The handiest window she could find had brought them back to the garden. She looked around wearily. She had no feel for _when_ she was.

"We just stepped," he accused, "and then you tripped."

"Did not," she told him, "we are in the same place at a different time. I don't know what is going on. At least I know we are in the same dimension."

"How is that?" He asked.

"I feel it," she told him.

_"Feel_ it," he scoffed.

"And just where are your dogs?" She asked sarcastically.

Up until then the dogs had been in constant attendance. Running to and fro. Madly barking with the giddy happiness of being outside. He looked around with concern.

"Someone comes," he pulled her behind the outer parameter of bushes.

A couple came into the garden. She was young and lovely with sparkly brown eyes and hair the color of honey. She was dressed as one of the servants with loose fitting blue-gray robes. He was a young man, elegantly dressed in bright blue silks. His eyes were hazel. His hair was light brown. He wore the coronet of a Prince. Unlike Kaidar's crown, the coronet held only blue stones, and the stones were small. He took her hand, and led her to one of the gazebo's.

Vevila sighed. It was obviously a rendezvous. She hoped he was fast. She settled into the grass to wait. Kaidar was very tense, and very quiet. He listened intently to the sounds of the couple's lovemaking. She realized that he was angry. Concerned that he would react to the couple, and jeopardize her whole mission, she searched for a window. It wasn't optimum, but she grabbed him, and rolled him into it.

They landed in a realm of Faerie. At least here, she knew he could not disrupt the timeline. Unfortunately, they landed in a bog. It was cold, wet, slimy, and reeked!

"Ugh," Vevila said with disgust as she rose to her feet.

Her jeans and shirt were ruined. She looked around carefully. Usually, in Faerie, where there was bog, there were bog trolls. She didn't see anything except little fey fairies.

"I believe you," he told her.

She stared at him with surprise. She had expected him to start shouting at her for rolling him in the bog. Instead, he sat in the wet slime while pondering what they had just witnessed. Vevila grunted. She was looking for another window. One which would bring them to a more comfortable location. She sighed with resignation as none presented itself.

"I don't know how long we will be here," she admitted. "I can't find a window. One will be by, but I don't know when or where it is destined to lead."

"That was Tennar," he told her distractedly.

She pulled him up out of the muck, and forced him to walk. She could manipulate the realms of Faerie. She simply focused on what she wanted to find and started walking. He on the other hand was dragging his feet.

"Walk with me," she insisted. "I don't like slime and muck! We can walk out of this if you would only lift up your feet."

"You are an odd one," he stared at her hand which had grabbed his own.

She sighed, "We are in the realm of Faerie. I visit here a lot, just not usually the bog. It has some really strange rules. One rule is that some people can walk it, while others cannot. You apparently, cannot. If I don't hold your hand, you will simply get sucked down into the mud—and die. This place is not our friend."

"Oh," he frowned, "I thought that you were courting me."

"Would you have liked that?" She asked with a sensuous smile.

"Of course," he told her, "you are very beautiful."

His thumb caressed along her thumb.

"Tell me about Tennar?" She asked distractedly. "You were angry."

She felt him tense up, but he didn't say anything. She shook his arm. He glanced at her with surprise. A woman simply did not _shake_ a King.

"He lied," Kaidar told her, "and worse, he broke the Shemlak. It is a covenant between Kings and Princes. Tennar is a second."

"I don't know what that means?" Vevila frowned at him. "We do not have a _Royal_ system."

"Each King is from a different age mark of seven. So there is a King born within the ages of 20-26, 27-33, 34-40, 41-46 and so on. The boys with the royal gland are grouped by that pattern. By the time a boy reaches twenty, we already know how he will be placed in strength. One will become a King, while the others will become Princes. We know who will be the King of that group, and who will be second. Only a king is allowed to procreate. The Second will remain vital, but is pledged to celibacy. If one does not wish to be pledged, there is always another Prince willing. The other Princes will become null."

"You castrate them?" Vevila asked.

"Not I, personally," he looked down at her with laughter, "but yes."

"So, Tennar being a second had broken the pledge by being with that girl?' Vevila summed up.

"Worse," Kaidar said angrily. "That was a past reality. Her name was Celivon. She got with child—a boy child, a Royal. She told everyone that Tennar had fathered the baby, and had wanted her to destroy it. She would not! He denied it, and said that she was free with her affections, but he had pushed her away. Men came forward to vouch for what he had said. She was being held in the tower until the baby was born. At that time, the truth would be known. She was murdered before the baby was born."

"Murdered?" She scowled at him.

"Apparent suicide," he told her, "but I did not believe so. She was proud."

"How would the truth be known?" Vevila asked.

"There is a gland which only the Kings and Seconds can pass on," he answered. "It is what defines _us_. She said it was Tennar. There is a tool, a machine, which can identify parentage of the Nano within."

"He must have planned on killing her if she got pregnant and refused to abort it," Vevila said harshly. "He would know about the tool. He would know the truth would come out!"

"I believe that, also," Kaidar's eyes were cold. "I have to wonder how many times he broke the Shemlak. He seemed very knowledgeable back there. Not by any means a novice."

"What is the punishment for breaking the Shemlak?" She asked him.

"Usually castration and loss of rank," he answered. "In this case, it would be death."

"Someone who murders, should be met with death," Vevila frowned, "but it seems rather cruel to castrate a man for spreading his sperm. It is a natural function, after all."

"Not any man, only a _Royal_. We can't have men just going out, and making bastard Kings," he said harshly. "Only the Kings can do that, and the joining must be listed."

"The heir and the spare," Vevila muttered. "Anthar is not a King! He was castrated, Natilie said so. In our world that kind of thing only happens in an accident—and for singers."

"Singers?" He asked surprised.

"Another story, another time," Vevila said distractedly.

"Huh," he grunted, "I hadn't heard of a heir and a spare, but it fits. No, Anthar was a Prince, and is now an outlaw. If not for his use of the portals, he would have been dealt with."

They had finally reached firm land. She let go of his hand. He grinned sheepishly for he would have liked for her to have kept holding it.

"I like the way your people travel," he mentioned. "You do not seem to need the portals."

"It's just me and one other," Vevila told him. "It is peculiar to us."

"That is actually rather odd," he considered.

"Tell me about Meonna?" Vevila requested.

"I loved her," he said simply. "I've never loved another as I loved her. She was beautiful—magical. Part of me died when she disappeared. The first time she came to me, I thought it was just lust. The second time I knew differently, but was too lax to pursue her until it was too late. With this, she is here again—mine again."

"That is not much," Vevila frowned at him.

"It—completes me," he told her. "It will be enough."

"I did not guess this," Vevila said with wonder. "I couldn't figure out what was important to you. You seemed to not care about anything."

"Until you gave this to me," he told her. "I did not."

"A window comes for your land," Vevila warned him. "Step with me when I say."

He nodded curiously.

"Now," they stepped together.

He looked around, "we are around a mile or so from the palace. I usually do not walk so far without a horse."

"Scared," she teased him. "I will protect you."

He laughed at her.

"You doubt me, my King," Vevila teased him.

He pulled her up against his chest, "and am I—your king?"

She pushed him away, "I have no King."

He looked at her started. She hadn't just _pushed_ him? One does not _push_ a King!

"Anthar has the Chelstice," she told him, "it is for now, still intact."

"You will take it back," he told her bluntly, "and you will rescue my daughter. You must bring my son here when he hits puberty."

"Why would we do that?" Vevila frowned at him. "I'm not sure this is a very good world for him. He has a good family. He will be happy where he is."

"Boys become prolific with Nanos at age ten," he told her. "If Meonna had only talked to me. She would have learned that any son born to her by me, would be Phen, probably a Royal. He is not deficient. He must be returned here, or he will die. That is the way of us."

"I will see" she told him, "that is all I will promise. And Karissa?"

"She must stay in your world," he told her bluntly, "there is no place for her here—or with her mother's people, either."

"Why did Anthar take her?" Vevila asked him.

"As a gift to the Queen of the South," he told her. "A betrothal gift per say. The Queen's Tiara not only store the Nanos of the Queens, but can be used to drain Nanos from others. Jeoru knows about Karissa's lineage. She knows that I am her father. She planned to drain Karissa, and so be more powerful. She has done it before. Draining Karissa would place her as untouchable. She would become not only Prime, but unchallengeable."

"What became of Jeoru?" Vevila asked him.

"You killed her," he laughed at her expression.

"And Anthar?" She asked.

"I think a snake gets him," he shrugged. "I really didn't understand that part."

"Your guards were not startled when I appeared?" She questioned.

"They were warned to not react in any way," he nodded. "We have very strong guards."

"I'm just glad they did not shoot me this time," Vevila muttered.

He laughed at her. His expression grew more thoughtful. He fingered the cluster.

"I will want this," he told her gravely. "I would die in order to possess it! You have only to tell me that it exists, and I will wait for it. I will do whatever I must. I do not know anything else to tell you. I only know what you told me."

"A window draws near," Vevila warned him. "I must go."

He looked down at his mud encased clothing, "I will know this is not a dream. It stinks."

"That it does," she grimaced with disgust, "do not even try to have them washed. It will contaminate the other clothes."

"Come back," he grabbed her hand.

"I will figure out how to get the cluster to you," Vevila stood, "now I have to catch a window."

He nodded and released her hand. Impulsively, she stepped forward and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. He shifted and caught her mouth with his own. The kiss was heated and passionate. He was not the cold man she had met in the other reality. He lifted her by her butt, and pressed himself against her. She groaned with pleasure. She knew though that the window was approaching which she had to catch. Reluctantly, she pushed him away.

She took a step, and was gone. He stared after her with shock. No one _pushed_ a King! _She_ had dared to push him twice. She was indeed a feisty little thing. He smiled as he called his dogs in. He laughed and fingered the cluster. He _remembered_ her return, even if she had not yet done so. It had not been just the cluster which had placed him in such a mood. He smiled as he walked towards the palace.

His eyes grew weary. He had an assembly to call. Tennar would be dealt with. A servant might not have been believed—a _King_ would. He would also call on those who had presented false evidence concerning Celivon's wantonness. It was not a crime to be wanton. It was a crime to bear false witness against another. It could be a death sentence to lie to a King.

Vevila still felt the heat of their kiss as she caught the first in a series of windows which would take her back to her own reality. Now, the information seemed so logical. Love was the motivation and connection to most things in heaven and earth. She should have guessed. By the third window, she was so tired. She caught the rest of the windows being numb in mind and body. It was luck and determination which brought her safely home.

She knew she had to land in front of her departing window. She knew that the closest window she could land through would have Karissa already gone, and them on the hunt. She knew she would be in dire straights when she landed. In one window, she paused long enough to write down the information and placed it in her bra.

***

It was Skylar who dragged Karissa, kicking and screaming, from the train. Anthar kept his distance once Karissa had shown him she wasn't shy about kicking him in the balls. His face had gone totally white with pain and shock. Karissa assumed that he'd never been kicked there before. Maybe, even never been kicked at all. After all, he was a king.

The room she found herself in was quiet luxurious with its comfortable lounging chairs and blue silk covered pillows. The pale cream walls folded into the ceiling without a crease. She was somewhere her bugs had never been. She looked around in terror.

Anthar glowered at her as he stalked passed. She was tempted to give him another swift kick. Instead, she walked to the far side of the room and took a seat. She instantly sank, almost to the floor. She wanted to scramble out of the chair, but held herself still. She could see Skylar laughing at her. She stiffly looked away. She didn't want him to know just how terrified she was.

Karissa could hear sounds from outside the door.

"Ah," Anthar stood to his feet, "my beauty comes for me."

"Gross," Karissa muttered lowly. He glanced at her suspiciously. She gave him a malicious smile. He frowned.

The double doors were pulled open. The Orange Queen stood just outside.

Karissa blinked at her with surprise. She'd seen her through the Chelstice, but didn't realize how tall she was. Anthar was tall, and this Queen could look him in the eye.

"Everyone will stand," a servant said from the doorway.

"I don't think so," Karissa shouted from her sunken chair.

Her lips firmed. She wouldn't have stood for this woman even if she could.

"It matters not," the Queen told her.

The Queen strode towards her. A servant kept pace on each side of her. Her orange silk gown draped to the ground. Her dark brown hair was held about her head with a strand of orange crystals. Her gray eyes looked at Karissa with glee and greed. Her smile was thin, and self satisfied.

Karissa tried to hop out of the chair, but found herself sinking deeper. She turned and scramble out on her knees. She could hear the Queen's derisive laugh as she watched her crawl clumsily about.

"Careful, my Queen," Anthar warned, "the child is not afraid to cause pain."

"Hit you in the balls, did she?" Jeoru laughed.

Anthar looked at her in shock.

"So naive," she muttered. "I know well the tricks of women. Even as young as she. This one will not slip from me."

Karissa had just found her feet when her hair was grabbed viciously, and she was spun around. Jeoru smiled viciously as she placed her hand on Karissa's temple and pulled. Karissa stared up at her in terror.

Jeoru stared at the girl with confusion. Nothing had happened.

"Hold her!" She commanded her servants.

Karissa got a swift, solid kick on to one of their shins. His eyes registered pain, but he didn't flinch. They pulled her down to her knees. Jeoru placed one hand on her Tiara, and another along the girl's temple. She pulled.

Karissa got her hand loose, and punched the Queen as hard as she could in the center of her forehead. Jeoru reeled backwards.

The servant struck Karissa, knocking her into blackness.

***

Vevila landed in a heap just outside Karissa's room. Her red hair looked stark against her white, pinched face. She had lost weight.

"Oh my God!" Ava cried out. "It's Vevila! Call a healer!"

"Get the Kaliton," Natilie corrected. "She's depleted."

"I got her," Eithan told them.

He carried her to Karissa's bed, and carefully laid her down. Natilie reached for the Kaliton. She dipped her finger into it, and rolled it over Vevila's lips. She was satisfied when she saw her tongue retrieve the moisture. There were times when she hadn't even gotten that much of a response. She repeated her task several more times.

They were still set up in Karissa's rooms. Aiden and Eithan were still looking through the camera videos. They had food and Kaliton on hand.

"Check her bra," Natilie asked Ava. "She leaves messages for herself when she knows she's going to end up like this."

"She's done this before?" Ava asked with a grimace.

"She has," Natilie answered Ava, "and worse than this. She thinks I get too obsessed. She's way worse."

Ava removed her shoes and socks. She pulled off her pants and shirt. Vevila didn't even stir.

"We'll just burn those," Natilie commented as she took the offending clothes.

Vevila's skin felt cold and clammy. Instead of rolling her off the covers, Ava covered her with the blanket from the other bed. The note fell out as Ava pulled the bra away. Ava read the paper and handed it over to Natilie.

Karissa father = Kaidar Janse Mickal = Prime King of Phen

Anthar = Prince = overthrow Phen with Quen of South, I kill her. AVa kills Anth.

Futre secure only wth Meonna clustr to Kaidar

"That doesn't make a lot of sense," Ava frowned at the note.

"So we go on as we were," Natilie acknowledged. "She's going to just need to sleep for a while."

"I have something here," Aiden told them. "This is when everyone was dropping like flies. I knew something was up when this lady kept looking at the clock."

He backed up the video. It was of the dining room. Darlene glanced at the clock several times. She carefully positioned herself, and then muttered something. Everyone, including herself, dropped.

"Can you enhance what she said?" Natilie asked.

Aiden zoomed up on her face, and turned up the audio.

"Santa Claus," she muttered.

"That's a pretty weird thing to say," Ava frowned at the screen.

"Actually," Natilie's eyes were hard, "it's a very clever spell. Almost undetectable since it's a gifting spell. A gift was given and accepted. Since she was tied into the spell, and suffered the same consequences, it didn't rouse an alarm."

"Suffered the consequences?" Ava said angrily, "People got hurt. Maxine busted her hip!"

"I know," Natilie reminded her, "but the spell itself didn't have anything of harm in it. It didn't state anything like, _to break their bones_. It probably had a healthy, sleep provision _gift_ in it. Getting sleep could be a wonderful gift."

"Just goes to show that it's up to the recipient if something is actually a gift or not," Aiden backed it up, and watched it again. "She is definitely affected by the spell. I wanted to make sure she wasn't acting."

"I thought my dislike of her was because she's a poacher," Ava's voice was grim. "I really try to keep away from my own prejudices."

"Most women avoid women who act like that," Natilie's eyes narrowed. "I wonder if that was part of the plan, to keep some distance between herself and others."

"Maybe," Ava frowned, "but it also came naturally to her. She smelled. What do we do with this? There might still be others. Vevila mentioned something about a plot to overthrow a Kingdom. That's some plot, and takes a whole mess of people to even think of success."

"Good job, Aiden," Natilie rubbed his shoulders. "We keep looking. We still don't know where to look for Karissa. We need a stronger intuitive. Maxine tried to see the settings used for the train, but could not. Jeri has someone in mind, but she isn't available at the moment."

"This is an emergency," Ava exclaimed agitated. "How can they deny us right now?"

"She got hit by a bus," Natilie told her.

"Oh," Ava said with dismay, "I see."

"She's with the healers," Natilie said hopefully. "Jeri seemed to think she would be conscious in a day or two."

"Isn't there someone else?" Ava asked.

"Not available," Natilie sighed, "people do have lives you know. It's amazing how people will distance themselves away when there is work to be done."

"A dreamer," Aiden suggested.

"What's that?" Ava asked.

"An unusual gift," Aiden explained, "a dreamer can make themselves dream scenes which have occurred. A dreamer could see how they set the dials."

"You're thinking of Tina and Richard?" Eithan asked.

"I think they can do it," Aiden nodded.

"How do we get them?" Natilie asked.

"They are expensive," Eithan frowned.

"That hardly matters," Natilie scowled at them.

"They have some bad habits," Aiden added.

"Disgusting even," Eithan admitted.

"We'll deal with it," Natilie told them. "Anything to get her back!"

"I'll call them," Aiden picked up the phone.

"What will they need?" Natilie asked.

"A king size bed set up in the terminal room," Eithan answered, "silk sheets, privacy—and cash."

Natilie called and made arrangements for the room.

"I sent a van for them," Aiden told her. "They want two thousand dollars."

Ava choked.

"They better be worth it!" Natilie snarled.

She understood people needing to make a living, but she still had trouble with people who overcharge for their help when a child was missing.

Tina and Richard arrived just thirty minutes later. Natilie frowned, at least they were prompt. She just prayed that they were good. It really irked her when she had to use outside resources. She saw that the room was all set up. They had placed an armoire in front of the hole in the wall. She had learned long, long ago not to spy. There were some things she just didn't want to see, and when she saw them unloading all those dogs... well enough said.

"What are these?" Eithan asked holding up two plastic Ziploc bags.

Karissa had written the word "dirty" across the bags.

"The flash drive has the Nanos we collected from Ling." Natilie told him. "The other is a disk we found at the kidnappers drop site. At the time, we assumed it might be contaminated. Let me see them, please. I never did get a chance to see if it really was dirty."

Eithan handed the bags over to Natilie. She looked at the disc and frowned. It was lousy with Nanos all right, but like the ones she followed earlier, they were dead. She didn't think they could now hurt anyone. Curious, she studied the drive. They were dead, too.

"They're _all_ dead," Natilie looked up confused. "We were very careful when we collected them from Ling. I would have thought they would still be running around in there. The others are dead, too. That one, I'm not surprised about. The disc was just left lying in the dirt."

"No sense trying them out on a computer," Eithan shrugged.

"Do they match?" Ava asked. "Do the two sets match? Karissa said hers didn't look the same as Lings. I kind of assumed they were individual like DNA of sorts."

Natilie compared the two sets, "Identical. I'll save them. We might still have a use for them."

Natilie placed them back in the drawer.

"Ready to talk to a traitor?" Dash called out to Natilie.

"Me, too," Vevila announced sleepily from the bed.

Natilie glared at her, "Don't you think you have some explaining to do?"

"Besides," Ava told her bluntly, "you stink. We've put up with it, being you're all tired and all, but there is a bath in the other room waiting—and it has your name all over it!"

"Sheesh!" Vevila rolled out of the bed, and headed into the bathroom, "I still want to be there when you question her!"

"She's not going anywhere," Dash told Natilie. "She's not the only one who can cast a spell. She's been _enticed_ to stay on site."

"She won't slip?" Ava asked.

"Not hardly," Dash grinned unpleasantly. "We also found out who owned the purple lens. It belonged to Mandy."

"Mandy?" Natilie asked surprised.

"What do we know about her?" Vevila asked.

"She's a runner," Dash grunted, "Idra brought her in around three months ago. Said she was a third cousin or such. I was surprised she has stayed this long."

"She was never verified," Natilie frowned, "I was afraid that if we questioned her very much about her past, she would run away. She does have bright purple eyes."

"Should have questioned her," Vevila sighed. "Better to have someone run away than for us to have a spy."

"How do you know the lens belongs to her?" Natilie asked Dash.

"We used a connection spell," Dash told her. "It led straight to her. She doesn't know we know."

"Good," Natilie nodded. "Let's just watch her. Damn! She's so young!"

"Deception doesn't know age limits," Dash reminded her.

Natilie just nodded. They all followed Vevila into the bathroom. It wasn't very big. She stared at them and grinned.

"Nothing like an audience," Vevila laughed as they shuffled around.

"So start talking," Natilie threw fragrance into the water.

"I found Karissa's father," she announced, "and he's not the ass I thought! It was a lot more difficult than I expected. I even got shot—again."

There was no sign of sympathy from any of them.

"I thought I would be right back," she apologized. "I found his name in the letters. He seemed to be the whole key as to why Ling was trying to get Karissa."

"It wasn't Ling who was after her," Ava started to explain.

"I know," Vevila interrupted her. "It was Anthony. At the time though, we all thought Ling was a Queen. He's not a King, by the way, he was a Prince. Now, he's a renegade leading a revolt."

"Why did he grab Karissa?" Natilie's eyes glittered with suppressed anger.

"To please the Queen of the South," Vevila answered. "I'm not sure if he did it to gain her support in the war, or as a gift to a consort."

"Some gift," Ava said angrily.

"Why does she want the child?" Dash asked.

"She wants to steal Karissa's Nanos," Vevila went on. "Those Tiara's the Queens wear can be used to take over another's Nanos. I guess by stealing Karissa's, who has enough be a Queen herself one day, she would be Prime and unchallengeable. Kaidar will assist us, but in return he wants a cluster from the Chelstice."

"He has a price for his aid?" Ava said with disgust. "It's _his_ daughter!"

"He doesn't care about that," Vevila mentioned, "I take it that he has lots of children of whom he's never met. I would call him a Nano stud. It's not about money anyway. He wants the cluster with Meonna's Nanos. Until the cluster came to him, he acted disconnected. He loves her. The Nanos brought life back to him."

"Huh," Ava seemed unsure.

"Anthony doesn't know what the Chelstice is," Vevila continued, "he thinks it's just a fortune in jewels. He thinks it will buy him the Kingdom. If the other Queen realizes that he has them, she's going to want them."

"That might get him killed," Natilie suggested.

"I don't think that's what happens," Vevila frowned, "he said that Anthar got bit by a snake, but he didn't understand the details."

"You sound awfully chummy with this guy," Natilie mentioned curiously, "Did you sleep with him?"

_"Natilie_!" Ava said scandalized. "Must you ask _everyone_ such things?"

"Apparently," Natilie grinned at her, "since no one seems to want to offer up that information."

"Not yet," Vevila licked her lips, "but that might yet happen. He has _some_ appeal."

"Some appeal," Natilie laughed outright. "So where did you go?"

"All over the freak'n place!" Vevila groaned. "Four realms, past, present, and future. I couldn't figure out how to get Karissa out of there. It hinged on Kaidar, but I couldn't figure out how to motivate him. Most times, he didn't give a rat's ass. The only future he listened to me was when he had the cluster."

"Let me wash your hair," Ava offered.

"Thank you!" Vevila sat up as Ava poured shampoo into her hand.

"Where are the critters?" Ava asked poised above her head.

"They don't travel well," Vevila answered, "they wouldn't dare bite you now that you have the salamanders."

"Good," Ava handed Vevila the hair clip, and started working in the shampoo. "What is that smell!"

"Faerie bog," Vevila admitted studying the clip, "I had to run off with Kaidar. That was the closest window available."

"That's pretty," Natilie commented.

"It's a breeding clip!" Vevila laughed handing it to her. "He must have clipped it on!"

"Time to rinse," Ava told her.

Vevila scooted down in the water. Her hair floated loose from the suds.

"She does have her adventures, doesn't she?" Dash studied the clip.

"I was kicking myself," Vevila said as she came up, "for not asking him how to return without getting shot again. Problem is, they know what I look like, and I'm not exactly welcome just yet."

"Go in naked," Eithan suggested, "it's a breeding clip right? Make sure it's visible. No one is going to shoot you if you're naked. They'll be too busy staring."

"He does have a point," Natilie told her. "It's not as if you are shy or anything. You could easily pull it off. I know I could."

"We _all_ know you could," Ava teased her. "So Vevila, do I bite Anthar or what? I can see myself doing that!"

"Not totally sure," Vevila dunked her head under again, "Kaidar said he got bit by a snake. For all we know, it could be a two inch, poisonous python with a spiked tongue."

"Anything else of use?" Natilie asked her.

"I apparently killed Jeoru," Vevila rose from the bath, and took the extended towel, "she's the Queen of the South."

"You get to have all the fun," Natilie complained.

"Clothes are set out on the bed," Ava told Vevila.

"Thank you so much," Vevila told her as they moved into Karissa's bedroom.

"Now, to the other business," Dash's eyes were hard.

"Yah," Vevila sighed, "before I run out of time. I have to get back to Kaidar before the train comes in with Karissa. I think someone here should take the next train out and meet me there."

"If we know where to send it," Eithan grumbled.

"The Dreamers are finished," Natilie said with disgust. "At least they have something."

She walked over to the phone, "Hey Tammy, pay the Dreamers, and get them out of here. Have the room cleared out—what?—Ugh! Burn it!"

She hung up the phone, and glared at Aiden and Eithan. "It will be dire circumstances before I ever have them here again."

"We did warn you," Eithan reminded her.

There was a pounding on the outer door. Dash opened it. Maxine was standing there wheezing as she held up an envelope. Without a word, she handed it to Natilie. She sat on the bed expectantly.

"Oh, oh!!" Natilie jumped up and shouted. "It's from Lidia. I'd know that handwriting anywhere, any day!"

She used a spell to pop open the letter. Tears filled her eyes. Concerned, Ava handed her some tissue.

"Thanks," Natilie murmured.

Vevila waited expectantly. Lidia had died over twenty-seven years ago. She had been the strongest intuitive that Vevila had ever known.

"Natilie," Natilie cleared her voice, "Natilie, don't listen to those Dreamers. They are only seeing what was. The train leaves in two nights at the stroke of midnight. Set the dials to these symbols. You will be brought back safe and sound. Everything will be fine! Obviously, I can't be there to tell you this. Love you always, Lidia."

Natilie burst into tears. She could see so vividly, Lidia's kind lavender eyes and loving smile, the silver-white French braided hair. She so missed her wisdom and unwavering strength. Even knowing death would have already taken her, she had written words to help them get the child back.

"Lidia was the Matron to the O'Byrne house before Adell took it," Vevila explained to those who didn't know. "She was Natilie's Great-Great-Great Grandmother. She lived to be one hundred and seven years old. Intuition was her main gift. She was really good!"

"It's the longest chain letter I've ever seen," Maxine held up the envelopes. "It was actually in a box, but look at all the envelopes which brought it to here."

"It's been traveling for over thirty years," Vevila looked through them. "I wonder why she just didn't tell you?"

"This made her smile," Maxine's answer was simple.

"I can see that," Natilie laughed, "and now we know when and where. We have a train to catch."

"Forgetting something?" Dash asked her. "We do have other matters to attend to."

"And I have a window to catch," Vevila said with disappointment. "I can't question Darlene. My window approaches. Quickly, who is taking the train?"

They all stared at each other.

"Not quick enough," Vevila murmured, stepped and disappeared.

"She doesn't get much notice," Natilie explained to Ava. "Randy always knows when they will be there. Vevila has to feel for them."

Ava started laughing.

"Whether she meant to or not," Ava pointed at Vevila's clothes still sitting on the bed, "she will arrive naked."

Natilie grinned and linked them all in, "She isn't in a future. We can watch."

Toc

# Chapter Nineteen

"Oh damn," Vevila cursed as she landed just outside the palace walls.

She had nothing except the clip in her hand, and the towel on her head. Whether she wanted to or not, she was going to have to take Eithan's advice, and approach the guards naked.

"Ten dollars says she throws the towel into the bushes," Natilie bet.

"I think she'll wear it," Dash took her bet.

Just then Vevila gave the towel a disgusted look, and tossed it into the bushes. With a sigh, Dash dug out a ten from his pocket. Ava laughed.

Vevila closed her eyes and wished for some air elementals. They quickly appeared.

"Please to dry my hair," she asked them. "I might not have a fancy robe, but I at least could appear less wet. By the way Natilie, I know you guys are watching this. Have a great guffaw at my expense!"

Natilie snickered. Ava looked at her with surprise.

"She knows me too well," Natilie explained. "We can also link and talk, but that's rather distracting."

"And people stare at you as if you're nuts," Eithan added.

"That, too," Natilie agreed.

Vevila's hair was dry in a matter of minutes. She used her fingers to pull out the tangles. She pulled her hair towards the side, and placed the clip in the very front.

"She looks tossable enough," Aiden commented. "I think it will work."

With head held high, she walked up the lane to the palace gate.

"It will work," Eithan agreed.

Vevila had a lush body. Her breasts were high and full. Her nipples puckered hard, and pink from the cold. She had a small waste leading to curvy hips. Her womanly slit just peeked from within her curly red hair.

When the first guard saw her, he drew his gun, but swiftly dropped it. At the sound of it going off, other guards ran towards the gate. They all stopped to stare when they caught sight of her. She stopped just outside the gate. She didn't say a word. She just stared back at them.

"She wears Kaidar's jewel," one whispered, "someone needs to go bring him here."

Everyone heard him, but no one moved to go get a King.

"What's going on?" A surly voice said from behind the gate.

They shuffled aside as King Beknar made his way past the gate. He took one look at the woman standing there and started laughing. She was a bold one, didn't even try to cover her body with her hands. He'd never seen the like before. She looked him straight in the eye. She had lovely green eyes—if a bit defiant. Kaidar would have his hands full with this one! He chuckled.

Vevila hadn't seen this King before. His hair was gray. His robes more decorous than Kaidar's. His gold crown made more dense with colorful crystals. Even though he was one of the older Kings, he still stood straight and proud. She didn't know if his appearance was good—or bad. He had barked with laughter upon seeing her.

"Open the gates, you fools," he commanded. "Any woman bold enough to come as she is, deserves whatever she is asking for. It's too bad she wears Kaidar's personal insignia, or I would take my _dip_ with her. Let her in, and call for Kaidar."

They escorted her into the parlor. She stood waiting, while eight guards stared at her, and one King snickered. She could hear the murmur of voices from nearby rooms. People took turns staring at her from the doorways. One woman remarked, that she wished _she_ had been so bold.

Finally, Kaidar walked into the parlor. He stopped to stare at her. His eyes grew wide, his mouth momentarily grew slack.

"Follow me," he snapped his fingers at her.

He moved away. Obediently, she followed.

"Another woman would have used her hands to cover herself," Ava commented.

"Not most _O'Byrne_ women," Dash commented dryly.

"We do tend to be pretty bold," Natilie agreed, "Shows over, let's get back to our own business. I'd like Aiden and Eithan to continue monitoring while we question Darlene. Someone might bolt when they figure we are on to them."

"Will do," Eithan nodded. He'd been watching the screens even while watching Vevila.

"She does have pretty tities," Aiden smirked as he sat down.

Vevila knew Natilie's bunch were watching everything. She would too if the situation was reversed. She figured they would be bored about now, and go about their own business.

Kaidar had a good grip on her arm as he lead her away. She knew they were headed towards his private rooms. She had been there before, but this Kaidar didn't know that. That Kaidar had looked down at her without interest, and told her to remove herself. Then before she could even do that, he had called the guards on her.

"Out," he snapped at the woman lounging in his front room.

She glared at Vevila, but picked up her clothes without a word and left the suite.

"I have to say," he looked her up and down, "you made quite an entrance. What do you want?"

"We still need your help," Vevila told him.

"I do not care about any of that," he pulled her against him, and ran his hands across her breasts. "I am interested in this, however!"

Their eyes met. His smoldered with heat. She sighed. He was sexy and hot. Why did everything always have to be so complicated. She knew herself. She knew that sex had to wait, or she would lose her focus. Reluctantly, she pulled away. He looked at her with surprise.

"I know about Meonna," she told him.

"You are jealous of a memory?' He asked surprised.

"No, no," she frowned at him. "She has a daughter, your daughter."

"You told me this before," he caressed down her arm.

"Have you heard of the Queen's Tiaras?" Vevila asked him.

He stopped caressing her arm to stare at her.

"Meonna's daughter had the Chelstice," she told him. "Meonna placed most of her Nanos into it. She never returned to collect them. Later, I meet you, and you have the cluster. You are happy."

He walked to a side table, and poured himself a drink. He did not ask if she wanted one. She had not expected him to.

"Just what am I supposed to be doing for you?" He turned and glared at her.

"I don't know," she shrugged feeling perplexed, "the only future I can find where we get Karissa back safely is the one where you have the cluster."

"You said she had it," he stared at her, "where is it now?"

"Anthar took it when he took Karissa," Vevila answered.

"Oh Anthar," he shook his head, "you have been a very bad little boy haven't you? His revolt cannot succeed."

"Have you traveled into the future to discover that?" Vevila asked with concern.

"I do not need to," he laughed at her statement, "it's a dumb plan, and all the Kings are aware of it. He has the Queen of the South in his pocket. They plan on coming in, and killing the Kings—taking the Kingdom."

"That is why they have Karissa," Vevila told him. "She is a Queen _and_ King's daughter. Natilie says she has more Nanos than can be counted. If the Queen steals them, and can take them over, I'm told she will be Prime, and no one will be able to challenge her for power. She can then lead all the Queens against you."

"Damn," he rubbed his hands through his hair.

He grabbed up a robe from the chair, and strode over to her. He wrapped her in it, and then pulled her up tight against himself. Bending down he took her lips. It was not a tender kiss. He ravaged her lips.

"Now that most of your temptations are covered," he told her, "you will come with me." He paused, "if anyone asks—you belong to me!"

"I—yes," she told him.

He frowned at the clip, "How did you get this?"

"You give it to me later," she laughed at him, "you also tell me when to come. Three days before your thirtieth birthday."

"Did I tell you to come in naked?" He asked her curiously.

"No," she felt herself flush up, "that wasn't actually the plan. It was a joke which became a reality."

"It was a good plan," he told her. He slipped the clip into his pocket. "Come," he pulled her towards the door, "let's talk to the Kings, and make plans. Do you know where he took the girl?"

"Your daughter?" She stared at him, "We have the coordinates he programmed into the terminal."

He nodded. For better or worse—she had peaked his interest.

Toc

# Chapter Twenty

"Did you seriously think you could betray us, and we would never know?" Natilie asked her.

Darlene froze. Her eyes twitched between Natilie and Dash. Ava, she totally ignored as unimportant.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Darlene snarled at her, "but I don't appreciate you coming into my work area, and making insinuations. If Vevila were here—."

"Be glad that she isn't here," Dash told her. "You ever see her dance with swords. Well, she'd dance with you right now with the swords as sharp as they can be. She was that mad at you. She'd be here right now, but she has more pressing business than to be messing with you."

"I still don't know what you're talking about?" Darlene maintained indignantly.

"The spell that dropped everyone on site," Natilie growled at her. "The spell that allowed Anthony to take Karissa from our protection. The spell that cause many of our own people to fall and break bones."

Natilie stepped forward and stuck her finger in Darlene's face. "The spell you knew enough about, to get all comfy and cozy, before it hit. You're on the video. Who else is working with you and Anthony besides Skylar? Oh yes, he was caught on video, too!"

Darlene turned white, turned and ran for the door.

"I love it when they run," Dash told Natilie.

Mark and Travis stopped her at the door.

"Did you know that Skylar was involved?" Natilie asked, feeling heart sick.

"You seem to have all the answers," Darlene sneered at her.

"Take her to interrogation," Dash told Mark.

"What's that about?" Carolyn whispered to Natilie as Darlene was being taken out of the room.

"She's a traitor," Natilie started to follow Dash out of the room.

Carolyn put up her hand to stop her.

"She's been being real secretive with Patty," Carolyn told her. "I asked Patty about it, but she said not to worry. That it was a surprise. Patty just hasn't been acting right lately. Then with all of us hitting the dirt like that. I've been watching, is all."

"Thanks," Natilie studied her. "Why did you come to us? You really aren't very intuitive are you?"

"Hell no," Carolyn turned red, "I came here to get away from my aunt. My mom died you know, when I was young. I'm something, but I haven't been able to figure it out. I've been worried that you would think I had something to do with all that."

"I've been suspecting everyone and anyone not bonded," Natilie admitted.

"I'd be willing to bond," Carolyn told her stoutly. "I do have magic."

"I believe you," Natilie assured her. "I do know when someone is lying to me. I just don't always know to ask the right questions."

"Talk to Patty," Carolyn insisted.

"I will," Natilie promised. "I need some coffee anyway."

Carolyn nodded and went back to work. Natilie watched her with interest. Darlene and Carolyn had been putting together care packages for the kids at the local schools. Natilie laughed to herself. Carolyn didn't realize it, but she was putting those packages together in triple time. Natilie knew that she was still distracted by Darlene being hauled away. Her hands moved so fast they were a blur. Natilie would bet money, that if she wasn't distracted, she'd be moving a lot slower. That was her gift—speed. A very unusual gift. A very usable gift!

Natilie smiled as she walked to the kitchen. She wasn't concerned that Patty was a traitor, but she was concerned that she had been messed with. Patty was simple in many ways. She meant well though, and had a kind, if grumpy heart. It made total sense that Darlene had used her as part of the _gifting_. It clicked, and Natilie knew it to be true. She just had to check that there wasn't any more tampering.

Word had already reached the kitchen that Darlene had been taken below. Trish was trying in vain to console Patty.

"But she was my friend," Patty was saying.

Tears streamed down her face. Trish looked at Natilie and shrugged. She went back to beating on the bread dough.

"We are all friends to you," Natilie told Patty.

"But she was special," Patty looked up at her. "Now, they are saying that she was just lying to me, and that she wasn't my friend."

"No one knows that," Natilie insisted, "I need some coffee. Do you need some coffee?"

Patty nodded. Natilie filled up two cups, and place one down in front of her. Without thinking much about it, Patty sugared it.

"People do bad things," Natilie told her. "It has nothing to do with the people around them, or even their friends. It doesn't even matter if she asked you to do something for her, and it ended up being not very nice. That does not mean she did not like you. It means she included you in doing her mean things."

"You like me, don't you?" Patty asked her.

"Of course I do," Natilie snapped at her, "and so does Trish and Vevila."

"Not everyone likes me," she said sadly.

"Do you like everyone?" Natilie asked her.

"No," Patty blinked with surprise, "not the mean people."

"There you go," Natilie told her, "not everyone likes everyone, and it doesn't make any difference as to why. It just is!"

"Oh," Patty's eyes were big. "I better get to those potatoes."

"What did she ask you to do?" Natilie asked her.

She frowned in thought, "She asked me to put more sugar in the foods which take sugar, like brownies and tea. I said sure, I could do that for her. She liked a lot of sweet. She wanted it in the noodles too, but I told her no. Sugar didn't go into noodles."

"There's nothing wrong with any of that," Natilie assured her. "You do things for people all the time. How would you know she was being wrong to ask it?"

"Can I stop sugaring now though?" Patty asked her. "People don't like it so much."

"Please do," Natilie smiled and nodded. "I have to go now. Thank you for the coffee."

Natilie sugared her own coffee and left the kitchen.

"She's nice," Patty told Trish.

"That she is," Trish agreed.

Natilie didn't feel so nice at the moment. It was time to question Mandy. She admitted to herself that she dreaded what Mandy's answers would be. It was one thing to discipline an adult who knowingly betrayed them. Something else again when it was a teenager. They made mistakes and poor decisions.

Natilie waited until her class was just getting over. She met her at the door as she was coming out.

"I need to talk to you," Natilie told her, "can you spare me some time?"

"Of course," Mandy said with surprise.

"We'll just use that other room," Natilie frowned.

Mandy looked at her puzzled, but followed her into the other classroom. She felt shaken when Natilie locked the door.

"Please sit," Natilie nodded to the chair on the other side of a table.

Mandy shrugged, and sat in the designated chair. Her nerves were on edge. She'd never seen Natilie so focused on something. Certainly not on her.

"I want to ask you about your contact lenses. Why do you wear them?" Natilie asked her.

Mandy stared at her at a loss for what to say. Natilie stared straight into her eyes.

"You wear them to enhance the purple?" Natilie asked.

"Why on earth would I do that?" Mandy asked, feeling totally baffled.

"Around here," Natilie suggested, "people don't really question those who have the intense purple eyes. They assume the person is O'Byrne, and magically gifted in some way."

"This is one of the weirdest conversations I've had in a while," Mandy rose to her feet. "I think I'd like to leave now."

"Please sit down," Natilie stared at her. "Karissa was kidnapped from us. We have a traitor here. Again, I ask you why you wear purple lenses?"

"I don't wear contact lenses," Mandy shrank into the chair. "I don't know anything about Karissa being taken, except the rumors. Why would you assume I know anything at all?"

"This is yours," Natilie placed the baggie with the contact lens on the table. "A connection spell was used to identify the owner. I really wanted you to tell me the truth!"

Mandy angrily snatched up the bag. Inside, something was floating in liquid. Using her fingers she pressed it to the edge of the baggy. She stared at it, and started laughing.

"I don't think this is very funny," Natilie scowled at her.

"That's not a contact lens," Mandy said with a grin.

"What is it then?" Natilie asked surprised.

"It's nail polish," Mandy opened the bag and pulled it out. "It does look like a contact."

"Nail polish?" Natilie frowned at it.

"See," Mandy laid it on the table.

Natilie watched as Mandy used a gift to _pull_ a jar from her room. It toppled when it landed on the table.

"I need more practice," Mandy blushed.

"I didn't know you could do that," Natilie looked at her with surprise.

She just shrugged, opened the jar, and poured bits of colorful flecks of plastic out on the table.

"I use them to make mosaics," Mandy explained.

She _pulled_ her favorite picture to them. It was of an old sailing vessel crossing a blustery sea.

"In fact," Mandy pulled the plastic from the baggie and dried it. "I needed a piece exactly like that."

Mandy dabbed clear polish to a spot in the sea, and inserted the chip amongst other purples.

"That's really beautiful," Natilie stared at the picture. She looked at Mandy and blinked, "I'm so sorry!"

"That's okay," Mandy stared at her, "I'm just glad I didn't really do anything. You're a bit scary, you know?"

"I am sorry," Natilie sighed, "all this time we thought we had another traitor with us. Someone who we trusted had betrayed us. How long have you been teleporting things? Mark could show you how, so you don't get so tired."

"That's okay," Mandy stared at the bits of plastic. "I don't like people being around while I'm learning things. I get embarrassed. I feel stupid."

"Hey," Natilie touched her hand, "learning is hard work. We all learn in our own ways. Magic is personal."

"You understand then?" Mandy asked surprised. "Idra thinks I'm a dud. She thinks I'm slow and stupid, and then I'm clumsy when she's around."

"We've banned her from the site," Natilie told her. "Did you know that?"

"No," Mandy said surprised.

"She's an awful woman," Natilie grimaced, "she's mean and intrusive. Vevila and I got tired of her mouth. I can imagine what she had been saying to you. Mean, nasty things I'm sure."

"She was mean with it," Mandy agreed. "I tried to stay away from her, but I think her one gift is how to be a pain. She always seemed to show up when I was being awkward in some way."

"Pulling the jar and picture here was awesome!" Natilie grinned at her. "You just let us know then, if you want something from us that will help you to learn or heighten your gift."

Mandy nodded, but Natilie could see the determined angle of her jaw. She wouldn't be asking unless there was some dire need. Natilie just hoped there wouldn't be.

"So Karissa was taken?" Mandy asked with concern. "We have people here who would hurt her?"

"Darlene and Skylar," Natilie said grimly. "We are going to get her back."

"I'd do anything to help get her back," Mandy told her earnestly. "She's my friend!"

"Thank you," Natilie told her sincerely. "I will remember that. I am sorry we accused you of being an accomplice. If it's any consolation, we didn't like what we thought was the truth."

"I still don't understand about the lens," Mandy frowned at her.

"Having purple eyes around here is like having a free pass," Natilie explained. "We thought that was how a spy was moving about so freely, pretending to be an O'Byrne."

"We're okay now?" Mandy asked her.

"Totally," Natilie smiled with relief. "Huh," she chuckled, "fooled by fingernail polish." Natilie found herself laughing. "All this over fingernail polish! We've been hunting someone for weeks!"

"I'm really glad no one thought to stick it in their eye," Mandy laughed with her.

Toc

# Chapter Twenty-One

Ava hated being left behind! She found herself pacing back and forth worried about what was happening. It was through her own stupid fault—well sort of. The problem was the over creation of her venom. Her fangs kept dripping with the stuff.

The hints Vevila got from the future King Kaidar, suggested that Anthar was killed by a snake. Of course, everyone instantly looked towards her. She was actually okay with that. She'd love to sink her teeth into that SOB!

They left last night at midnight; Natilie, Dash, Aiden, and Tawny. It was evening, and she had no idea of what was going on! Of course, as soon as they left, her glands eased their venom creation.

Not knowing what else to do with herself, she headed for the obstacle course. Frustrated, she began to spring around the floor, leaping from the different high level obstacles and climbing objects. She was surprised by how easy it was. A month ago, it would have had her tied up in knots, and being carried out on a stretcher.

She paused as Mandy walked the room. She was wearing sweats and a headband, obviously ready to workout. She hadn't paid much attention to Mandy, before Natilie had laughingly told her about the _contact lens_ guffaw. Most of the teenagers were afraid of her, so she just gave them their space. As she did now with Mandy. Ava went on with her own workout.

Mandy watched Ava warily. She had known Ava was in here. That was why she came in. Now, watching her, she felt shy about introducing herself. It seemed rather rude to ignore Ava all this time, and then barge in on her workout time.

It wasn't long though before Mandy was thoroughly engrossed in what Ava was doing. She had never, ever seen anyone move like that. Ava was lightning fast, and bent all _wrong_. Mandy realized she was just staring at her. Her own routine forgotten. She was startled when Ava landed beside her.

"You are really good!" Mandy found herself saying. "Karissa told us, but I don't think any of us really understood what she was talking about. I guess we have to see it, to believe it. That sounded so cliché."

"Thank you," Ava smiled at her, deliberately letting her see the fangs. She was pleased when the girl didn't even flinch. "It's been really hard work. I had no idea how to move when my body started growing into its current shape. All my muscles were wrong to carry the new postures."

"Well," Mandy smiled at her, "whatever you've been doing, it's working beautifully. You're so graceful, fast, and strong." Mandy laughed self-consciously, "It makes normal people wish they were more like you."

"Instead of running from me?" Ava asked her.

"Yah," Mandy said guiltily, "something like that."

"It takes time for people's minds to accept something different," Ava grimaced, "myself included. I actually screamed in the mirror the first time I saw my forked tongue."

"It's actually forked?" Mandy asked surprised.

Ava flickered her tongue at her. She was surprised when Mandy laughed. It was—gratifying.

"I don't usually work out quite this aggressively," Ava frowned. "I'm just stressed about Karissa. They left last night, and I've not heard anything from them since."

"I thought you were going with them?" Mandy asked.

Ava stared at her surprised.

"People gossip," Mandy admitted. "There's not much goes on around here that we can't find out about. The adults typically ignore us kids, and then some of us do have _abilities_."

"What _abilities_?" Ava asked curiously. She had realized while still at the hospital that all O'Byrne born with purple eyes had very strong talents.

"Most of us born O'Byrne can hear each other," Mandy mentioned vaguely. "That in itself makes it hard to keep secrets. People have to pay close attention to what they send. Most just blare it out. Some even constantly chatter. That's really annoying. It's like someone who whistles or hums all the time."

"You want to smack them," Ava nodded.

"Definitely," Mandy said adamantly. "It's worse than humming, because they _never_ stop."

"I'll pass on that experience," Ava said distractedly.

"So why aren't you with them?" Mandy asked. "I've seen you here. I'd definitely want you with them if it was me who got taken!"

"Venom," Ava admitted, "I was so excited by the hunt that I couldn't control my venom making glands."

"Venom?" Mandy turned to look at her, "how cool is that!"

Ava laughed with surprise.

"Can you hear them?" Ava asked her. "Can you hear the rescue team? I've been tempted to go find someone who might be able to hear them, but the only ones I really know are on the team."

"Can't," Mandy replied disappointedly, "none of us can. We can't _tune_ our ears to them, because we don't really know where they are. It would be different if they were to call out to us. We're all edgy about this business. We also have trust issues now. I thought Darlene was one of us. I never liked Skylar. He was too damn weird, but Darlene was so pretty and all. She helped some of us put on makeup and things. I don't understand how she could have done this. Be part of a plan to kidnap and hurt Karissa. She helped her with her Halloween costume for God's sake!"

"I don't get it, either," Ava told her. "She likes male attention, maybe too much. Some women will sacrifice their own children to be with a man. I've seen it time and again, but will never understand it. I'd kill the SOB for hurting my child."

"Do you have kids?" Mandy asked.

"No," Ava grinned ruefully, "but I'd still hurt someone for hurting someone I've claimed as mine; Karissa for example."

"I believe you," Mandy told her.

They sat in companionable silence for a while. Each with her own worrying thoughts, but neither wanting to leave the other.

"I can bring things to myself," Mandy surprised Ava by saying. "I'm not very good at putting it back though."

"You're what—fourteen?" Ava asked. "Natilie said that was when most O'Byrne bud into their gifts."

"Actually thirteen," Mandy told her, "I started early. That's part of why I kept running away. My aunt _chatters_. Drove me freak'n nuts! She would get mad at me when I asked questions about any of it. I like it here. I can learn on my own without anyone getting mad at me about things."

"I take it that you lived with this Aunt?" Ava asked.

"Yah," Mandy nodded, "I was a bastard. My mother was not an O'Byrne. She dumped me off after one look at these gorgeous purple eyes."

"She's a moron," Ava said simply. "You are better without someone so tiny."

"Tiny?" Mandy said surprised, "I like that!"

The building fire alarms started blaring. Ava and Mandy jumped. They looked around suspiciously.

"Do you think it's real?" Mandy asked.

"No," Ava's mouth was set. "It's too opportune. If there is a fire, it's been deliberately set."

Mandy nodded in agreement.

They cautiously made their way out of the room.

"Damn," Ava cussed.

Smoke was streaming up the North stairway. They had to take the South exit.

"Stay behind me," Ava cautioned.

Mandy crept close behind her. The obstacle room took up most of the upstairs. No one else had been using it. They were alone on the stairs as they headed down.

Ava turned the corner, and was hit with a blast from a fire extinguisher. She could feel the cold as it struck her body. She couldn't breathe, couldn't scream. Her muscles refused to respond. She fell to the floor. She heard Mandy scream and run at the man.

"Damn kids!" He exclaimed as he slugged the girl in the head with the extinguisher.

He grinned with satisfaction as she sank to the floor. Tossing the extinguisher aside, he bent over Ava. He stared down at her. Anthar's plan had worked beautifully. She was out cold. He laughed out loud. Anthar was going to be pleased. He picked her up, and started carrying her to the terminal. He grinned. They only knew about the one! They never guessed there were two!

"Damn!" Eithan yelled as Danny came into view carrying Ava's stiff body. He pulled open a closet door and went inside. They never come out again. "Damn!"

He immediately _knocked_ for his brother, : _They have Ava. There must be another terminal. Danny took her. He carried her into a closet. I'm on my way to check it out._ :

: _Figures,_ : he heard his brothers faint reply.

"I need someone to take over the monitors," Eithan said into his headpiece. "Ava's been taken. I need to check out the closet he took her into. Danny took her. Well get someone! Good. I'm out to building three."

Eithan headed out, locking Karissa's room behind him. They had not suspected Danny. It was damn hard to be looking at everyone. He couldn't help but to wonder what Danny had been offered? Darlene, the daft bimbo, thought she was going to be made a Consort to a King. She still believed that Anthony was going to come rescue her. He shook his head, baffled.

Eithan found Mandy on the stairway landing. Blood was streaming from a gash on the side of her head. He pressed with his hand to staunch the blood.

"Medic to building three east stairwell," Eithan called into his mic. "Mandy's been struck down. Hurry!"

Mark rounded the corner, nearly running them down.

"Damn" Mark exclaimed looking at the injured girl.

"I got this," Eithan told him, "go check the closet down the hall. The first one on the right. Danny took Ava into it."

Mark nodded, and headed down the hallway. He pulled out his gun as he reached for the doorknob. He turned the knob and pushed the door. The door groaned as it swung inward. No one was in the closet.

Mark frowned. It was a linen closet. He put the gun away, and turned on the light. He carefully made his way around the closet checking for loose boards or hidden switches. Eithan joined him as he was throwing the sheets and blankets out into the hall. The shelves were near bare.

"There's nothing obvious," Mark told him. "I was about to study more closely. I'll start at the door here."

"I'll travel in the other direction," Eithan started lightly tapping on the walls.

"It should be easy to trigger," Mark muttered.

"Easy only if you know what it is," Eithan reminded him.

"There is that," Mark acknowledged. "I could wish for Natilie's sight right about now."

Eithan just nodded. They never seemed to have the right mix of gifts. He sighed as he started systemically searching and thumping walls.

"Found it, I think," Mark called out, "the middle hook wiggles. I sense that it will slid downward."

"Let me," Eithan warned him. "You cover me."

Mark nodded as he pulled out his gun. "The entrance should slide to the left. Look at the floor."

The left part of the floor was just a little less linty than the right. Eithan stood to the right of it. They nodded to each other, and then Eithan pulled down on the hook. A small section of wall slid sideways. It was very narrow. Mark's back scrapped as he pushed himself through. It led to a standard size room. Eithan immediately headed for the corner.

"The panel for the other terminal was along this wall," Eithan told him. "I can see marks."

Mark handed him a crow bar. Eithan carefully tore the wall away from the panel. Inside, were the same type of knobs and buttons as were in the other room. Eithan wrote down the coordinates from the last jump.

"I wonder why they don't use the hand pad?" Eithan wondered. "It would be a lot more efficient. I'm just as glad they didn't. Otherwise, we couldn't be reading them on the dials."

"In a hurry?" Mark suggested.

"Maybe, I'll have to compare these to the list the Phen gave us," Eithan frowned at the symbols.

"I'll arrange to secure the room," Mark sighed. "I hope to God we are done with traitors."

"Me, too," Eithan considered, "I know Natilie doesn't want to, but she may have to bond everyone who has dealings with this place."

"You do that at the other?" Mark asked curiously.

"Absolutely," Eithan answered, "everything we do there is dangerous."

"I need a security team," Mark was saying into his headset, "we found another terminal."

***

Ava could not move, but she could hear everything. Danny thought she was unconscious. He was not even trying to keep anything secretive. As soon as he had her on the train, he was in communication with the revolutionists against the Phen Kings. Her only value to them was to make Karissa submit. _Over my dead body!_

She kept her body stiff long after the effects of the cold had worn off. It had been a clever plan, unfortunately for Danny, the cold had only lasted long enough to get her onto the train. She had full function of her body. If she desired, she could kill him in that instant. First though, she needed him to bring her to Karissa. So she waited.

***

Karissa studied her prison. It was a very elegant bedroom. One of the Orange Queen's best she thought. It was rich with browns, golds, and orange silks. It had a high canopy bed with a shimmering, gold silk fabric enclosing the soft feathery mattress. The other furnishings were of a wood similar to blond oak. The floor was of symmetrical tiles.

They had misjudged. Jeoru thought she could just use her Tiara and steal Karissa's Nanos. She didn't know that the Chelstice had accepted Karissa, making her a Queen. She also didn't seem to realize that one Queen could not steal the Nanos of another unless she was the Prime. She didn't know that Anthar had the Chelstice, which was her only doorway to Karissa.

As long as the Chelstice was in the same dimension, Karissa could hear its mutterings. The Tiara which Jeoru wore did not seem to talk to her. It had not told her how to steal Karissa's Nanos. Karissa wondered if maybe the Tiaras held the morality of the Queens. Maybe, if they were displeased with the Queen, they shunned her in some way.

"Someone to see you," a man servant entered unannounced.

Another came in, and dumped something on the bed. Without expression, they departed. She frowned considering, she hadn't seen either of the servants who had accompanied the Queen when she first arrived. They could be dead for not holding Karissa well enough. Karissa shrugged. She could not be feeling guilt about that. She had to do whatever was needed to get back home! She didn't even allow herself to think of not getting home. She knew that Natilie and Vevila would fight like hell to get her back. She had to do her part from this end!

Karissa cautiously made her way to the bed. On it was a big brown grain sack. Karissa felt sick to her stomach. She could see the outline of what appeared to be a body inside. With shaking fingers, she undid the tie.

"Ava!" She screamed as she quickly pulled away the sack from her head.

"Are they watching?" Ava whispered quietly.

"No," Karissa sank onto the bed, "I disabled their bugs when they first put me in here. What are you doing here? How did they get you?"

Ava quickly unfolded herself, and started massaging out her muscles.

"That Danny guy," Ava said with disgust. "Caught me with a blast from a fire extinguisher. Froze me out that was for sure. I could still hear him though. What a moron!"

"Why?" Karissa looked at her, feeling totally baffled. "Why did he bring you here?"

"To force you to submit," Ava grabbed her arm. "No matter what they do to me— _NEVER_ submit!"

"Idiots," Karissa growled, "I can't submit to them anyway. They don't know what they're doing. That doesn't mean they won't hurt you though. We got to get out of here! Did you see what Anthar did to Natilie? As cold as could be, he simply bent her finger until it snapped!"

"I'm not so easy to break," Ava said as she started prowling around the room, "but you're right, we have to get out of here. Are you still linked with the O'Byrne?"

"Not in this dimension," Karissa answered, "maybe if Natilie crosses into it. I can hear the Chelstice, but only when we are in the same dimension. They left for the Phen. They plan on returning tonight though."

"You can hear the other Queens?" Ava asked surprised.

"Yes," Karissa nodded, "they aren't shy about telling me things—usually helpful."

"Huh," Ava muttered, "a bunch of old women chattering in your head. I'd go freak'n nuts!"

"It does take a bit of getting used to," Karissa admitted, "they will be quiet though after I yell at them a bit. Anthar doesn't realize they are aware of everything he does. He doesn't know what he's got."

"We can use that," Ava studied her. "They seem to be treating you okay so far?"

"I'm okay," Karissa frowned, "once I realized they really couldn't do anything to me. I think I can actually pull the Nanos from _her_ , but I don't want anything of hers in me."

"Good call," a look of disgust crossed Ava's face.

"They left me alone in a dungeon earlier," Karissa laughed, "trying to scare me I guess. It was cold, dirty, and wet. I curled up and went to sleep. It was nothing compared to the fear I felt facing her. I found all their little spies down there. I left them in place."

"And they watched you sleep," Ava smiled. "That must have bugged the crap out of them."

"They tried to tease me with food," Karissa scowled, "ate some kind of decadent food in front of me. All the time, telling me how I'll never receive another bite unless they willed it. I told them I'd puke if I had to eat their shit. I don't think they liked my language. That's when I got this."

Karissa pulled her hair away from a bruise along her forehead. Ava's jaw tightened. She could feel her glands start to work overtime.

"Breath," Karissa instructed her, "deeply and slowly, in and out."

Ava did as she instructed.

"At least there won't be any trouble getting a good venom going," Karissa smiled at her.

"That's why they left me behind," Ava admitted, "I couldn't stop dripping."

"That's gross," Karissa laughed at her.

"What should be happening next," Ava asked her, "what kind of routine?"

"Maybe they feed me," Karissa shrugged, "maybe not. I usually grab up covers and sleep in the corner. I've actually reversed some of their bugs to act as sentries."

"I bet that startled them," Ava smiled.

"You know," Karissa frowned, "they don't even act as if they know. For being such a Nano driven society, they aren't very aware of them."

"Maybe they're so used to them, they don't even notice them anymore," Ava suggested.

"They are all connected into a Grid of sorts," Karissa considered, "but I don't know what the Grid _is_. I think it's sentient. I've sensed it looking in on me at times. It's not humanoid. Ah-oh, Anthar has just arrived. The Queens are telling me that Anthar and Jeoru will be here shortly. She's getting anxious about my Nanos.

"Be sure and tell her that Anthar has the Chelstice," Ava told her. "She's going to want it. That might give us a way out of here. Do you know where the terminal is?"

"No," Karissa admitted, "I kind of got knocked out when I slugged Jeoru."

Ava grinned at her, "That's my girl!" She laughed, "I wish I could have seen that!"

"I was more scared than brave," Karissa blushed.

"That _is_ bravery," Ava told her, "working through fear."

Karissa just nodded.

"I can't understand them when they talk Fawnish," Ava reminded her. "You will have to give me signals," Ava paused in thought. "I can smell emotions, so don't be afraid to indulge in them. That will let me know some of what's going on."

Karissa swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. She didn't know if she could feel anything else except fear. That didn't seem very helpful.

"They don't know I understand them," Karissa told her.

"All the better," Ava used a claw to cut through one side of the bag. She climbed back inside, and returned to the fetal position she had used upon arrival.

"I would naturally pull the bag down," Karissa pushed the bag past her head and shoulders. "I would also put a pillow under your head."

Ava smiled as Karissa carefully placed the pillow under her head. Karissa pulled Ava's hair back from her face as if she had been stroking it.

"Sit behind me," Ava instructed.

Karissa nodded, and climbed up on the other side of her. They did not have very long to wait. The servants opened the double doors. Anthar strode arrogantly into the room. He was wearing a crown. Karissa stared at it with surprise. She had expected a King's crown to have more crystals. Unlike the Queens Tiara, she didn't sense any _personalities_ from it. It seemed to carry only Anthar's Nanos.

This time, Jeoru was accompanied by three female warriors. Karissa was relieved to see that the Fawn _Vevila_ was not one of them. Karissa glared at all of them, but didn't say a word.

"Are you ready to cooperate," Anthar asked her, "or do I do to her, what I had just started doing to Natilie."

"He has the Chelstice," Karissa pointed a finger straight at Anthar. "My mother brought them over with her when she ran. I had them until he took them from me."

Jeoru turned abruptly to stare at him, "Is this true?"

"It's at the castle," he glared at Karissa.

"He's lying," she turned to Jeoru, "I can hear them."

"Them?" Anthar frowned at Karissa.

Jeoru's gray eyes flashed. She got right up into his face. "Give it to me! You should never have touched them! No King should ever touch a Queen's Tiara! Don't you know what it could have done to you?"

"I have not separated the crystals out yet," Anthar took a step back.

"Separated?" Jeoru stared at him in horror.

"The promise of the jewels has financed the _Effort_ ," he reasoned with her. "Without it, we cannot pay for our armies, we cannot dethrone the Kings."

Jeoru snapped her fingers at her warriors.

Anthar took a step back, pulled out a little box. He pressed the red button.

Nothing happened. Her warriors surrounded him.

"Did you really think we would allow you to come amongst us with a Nan-killer?" Jeoru asked wryly. "Do play nice, or we will have a problem. We have a _task_ to complete, but you cannot keep the Chelstice. It is the Holder of the East. The crystals carry the Nanos of the Queens. You must hand it over my sweet heart."

He fondled the jewels through his shirt sleeve. He was wearing it as an upper arm guard!

"You are wearing it?" Jeoru's voice broke as it rose in pitch. "Take it off— _Now!_ "

One of Jeoru's warriors stepped forward, and ripped his shirt apart from the shoulder down. The Chelstice blazed. Jeoru's eyes gleamed with excitement. Reluctantly, he eased the tiara down his arm, and held it out to her. She snatched it away. He felt strangely cold without it.

"I was going to call in the other Queens," Jeoru muttered as she ran her fingers over the purple crystals, "but with this—there is no need! Roshu is too old anyway, Cleotu too pushy."

"You are not strong enough to wear it," Karissa informed her.

"Quiet child," Jeoru held the Chelstice up high. Light caught the purple jewels, sending thousands of sparkles around the room.

"It is more complex than my own," she murmured to herself.

Anthar glared down at his feet. He peeled off his torn shirt and threw it to the floor.

Karissa held her breath. The Queens had told her that if she were to put it on—they could take her. If she put it on while wearing her own, there would be a war between the Queens. They could not say who would live—or die.

Jeoru started to put it on while still wearing her own.

"Please don't," Karissa cried out. "The Queens will fight. Some will die! My mother is amongst them."

"You think, I'm fool enough to put it on without my own to protect me?" Jeoru glared at her.

"I have bonded with it," Karissa told her. "It will not accept you!"

"You? Bonded," Jeoru's laughter held derision, "now I know you lie! You are too young to have _bonded_ with it."

"Please stop!" Karissa held out her hand, "it was me or nobody. All they wanted was a window. They did not care that I was a child. They probably thought it would be easier to control me. How else would I know such things?"

"Your mother of course," Jeoru laughed at her. "She thought her boy was a dud. She didn't even know that she had just born herself a King!"

Without another word, Jeoru slipped the Tiara onto her head. She had to shift the Orange sideways to accommodate both Tiaras. They all watched wide-eyed to see what would happen next. Nothing happened. Karissa stared at her with surprise.

"Huh," Jeoru said with disappointment. "I thought I would feel a rush—or something!"

"Lady," one of the warriors paused, "do you still need the girl?"

"Bring her and the other. We may have need of them," she commanded.

"I will not go," Karissa glared at them.

"You will do as I say," Jeoru informed her, "Anthar sweet, do convince her, will you? I really do not want to deal with a child's temper-tantrum right now."

"Of course my lady," Anthar bowed to her.

Anthar pulled his eyes away from the purple glitter. He would wait for his chance, and take it back! Nano Queens? What a bunch of bull! He was angry, and now had permission to expound on his anger. He walked towards the bed menacingly. He hoped the girl wouldn't give in too easily. He'd have to try not to scare her too quickly.

Jeoru smiled with satisfaction. She knew how angry Anthar was over losing the Chelstice. She'd have to watch him carefully, but she still had a use for him. He was her ticket into the Kingdom. Once she took it, she would have both realms to rule!

Karissa saw the maliciousness which crossed Jeoru's face. She knew just how much Anthar wanted to hurt them. She hoped Ava had her timing right. She worried that Ava had been too long in that fetal position. She didn't understand why the Queens had not responded to the close proximity of each other.

"I think I'll start by simply shaving off all that beautiful hair," Anthar pulled out a knife.

He cautiously ran a hand through her hair. Her breathing was very shallow. She was indeed still out.

"Don't," Karissa warned him.

He looked at the child on the other side of the bed. Her eyes were scared. He grinned at her as he took a fistful of the silky mass of hair. The blade was drawing closer to her scalp.

With a sudden burst of action, the figure on the bed sprang into life. She pulled Anthar across the bed, and sank her fangs deeply into the side of his face.

"I did warn him," Karissa told the Queen as he screamed.

Belatedly, the warriors pulled Anthar away from her. They watched as his body convulsed. Bloody froth coated his lips. His eyes were wide and filled with pain.

"Please," he begged as another convulsion took him.

Jeoru's eyes gleamed as she watched him. Ava's stomach rolled as she caught the scent of the Queen's excitement.

"You may want to drag him out," Ava told them. "The next part is going to be a bloody, gory mess."

"Bring him to the red room, now!" Jeoru shouted at her warriors.

They grabbed him up, and ran with him out of the room. Jeoru followed closely behind. They slammed the door shut. Karissa and Ava heard the click of the lock.

"What was that all about?" Karissa asked Ava.

"She's a Gory Bitch," Ava told her. "She's going to want to watch, maybe even participate. My venoms been on and off for days now. It's a mixture of the worst kind. He's going to bleed from every orifice. Piss himself and defecate. He's going to die horribly. It might take hours, or even days. I don't know."

"Remind me never to piss you off!" Karissa stared at her with wide eyes.

Ava regretted that Karissa had to be witness to this act. She had just murdered a man in front of her.

"It's okay," Karissa held her hand. "I would have done the same. You could not see his eyes. He was going to torture you slowly and surely. It would not have mattered whether I cooperated, or not."

"I know," Ava told her, "I could smell it on him. That was part of why my glands were so full."

"So in a way," Karissa told her stoutly, "he did it to himself."

"He did," Ava told her sadly, "but I have to also take responsibility. If I ever get to the point of just blaming another, then I will have become as bad as they."

"I think Natilie and Vevila have had to learn that, too," Karissa stared into her yellow-green eyes. "I know they've killed people. I can't imagine it ever _feeling_ right."

"How do you know that?" Ava asked surprised.

"I've heard things," Karissa said quietly, "since I started hanging around with the kids. They seem to know everything."

"They would," Ava nodded.

"What's next?" Karissa felt vulnerable as she looked at Ava. They had to get out of there, but she didn't have a clue to how they would manage that.

"One step at a time," Ava answered. "We have to be diligent in looking for opportunities. Vevila is with King Kaidar and the Phen. Natilie, Tawny, and Dash have taken a train. We weren't sure where the coordinates would lead, but we knew it would be to you."

"Anthony took me to the Phen first," Karissa told her, "that Danny guy got off there, then we came here. Natilie can find us."

"As long as we aren't in a future," Ava reminded her, "I don't think we are though. I don't know how long we're going to have to wait here," Ava sighed. "The Queen's not going to be interested in us for a while."

"How did you know about the Queen's—?" Karissa frowned.

"Appetite?" Ava finished, "again, scent. She reeked more heavily as he approached me. She's so bad with it, that she will try to _keep_ me for that reason alone."

"We're going home," Karissa announced firmly.

"We are," Ava hugged her close.

Toc

# Chapter Twenty-Two

It took _them_ nineteen hours to watch Anthar die. Ava was glad she wasn't forced to watch. She knew in her gut that the Queen was prolonging his agony. She and Karissa distracted each other by playing word games, and telling each other stories. Sometimes, the stories were real, sometimes pure whimsy.

They were actually glad that the Fawn had forgotten to feed them. The red room wasn't very far away, and sometimes they could hear him screaming. Food was the last thing on their minds.

During the worst of those times, she and Karissa sang loud, vigorous Christmas songs. They tried to sing other songs, but they simply didn't know the words, and it wasn't a time in which they could think to figure them out. Christmas would never be the same again for either of them. _Frosty the Snowman,_ would be forever imprinted in their brains with the sound of his horrific screaming.

"At least you will never get a crave for that kind of thing," Karissa murmured, "killing will never come easily after this," she clarified.

"For sure," Ava grimaced with disgust. "I actually thought I would appreciate killing the SOB. I wonder if I can train my venom to bring fast death."

"Of course you can," Karissa informed her. "Maybe you didn't really want to in that moment."

Ava stared at her in horror. Karissa stared straight into her face. She was forced to be honest with herself. She knew she had wanted Anthony to suffer for the deliberate acts he had committed on other people. Including what he wanted to do to her.

"You are right," Ava told her. "I did want him to suffer."

Karissa just nodded, "Okay, spells and enchantments, P's. A song to make the peas in pea-pods grow plumper?"

"Peas in pods, to please the Gods, to grow plumper for your super," Ava said distractedly.

"That's not _too_ bad," Karissa frowned at her. "I'll give you ten points."

"Only ten?" Ava asked her, "I thought it had a nice ring to it."

Karissa sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm not taking 'Q'. That's a double score if you take it on."

Karissa counted out ten beads to Ava's growing pile. Ava had torn a strand of beads from the curtains earlier that day.

"Q?" Ava thought carefully. "Quirky Cowards?"

"That's a 'C'." Karissa looked at her sternly. "You know that."

Ava laughed at her, "Quiet Quitters. You can never trust those quiet quitters. You think they have your back, but then find them are at the knitters. So give them the sack, so you don't feel their lack."

"That doesn't all rhyme and has no rhythm," Karissa's eyes narrowed, "but I like the message. I'd give you ten points normally, so that's twenty. Double again if you can make it into a song."

"Quiet Quitters," Ava sang in a pure alto voice, "push your buttons, and shove you ahead, their cause to become your own. You look behind when in the—."

"They're coming," Karissa's face was white with fear.

The fear was worse for both of them. They now knew just how demented Jeoru was. Anthar had, after all, been her lover. It didn't matter that they had both been using each other. Her acts had been sick and gruesome. Ava hoped that the party had at least cleaned themselves up after the fact. Otherwise, Ava was sure she'd puke.

It was the servants. Without a word, they placed food on the table and left. Ava and Karissa looked at the food without much interest.

"You need to eat," Karissa informed Ava. "I've been noticing that your skin is getting colder. Much more of that, and you won't be moving."

"Just who's the adult, and who's the child?" Ava snapped at her. "I think I know when I need to eat."

"Sorry," Karissa looked contrite. "I'm just scared."

"No," Ava sighed, "I'm sorry. We're both testy. The last thing we need is to be sniping at each other."

"At least the screaming has stopped," Karissa murmured. "I hope that means he's finally dead. The Queens have been silent since she put the Chelstice on her head."

Ava nodded wordlessly and picked up some of the strange nuts. She bit into one cautiously. It tasted like coconut, a bit sweet for her taste.

"The cheese isn't bad," Karissa said nibbling an orange slice.

"Don't drink from the carafe," Ava told her. "It smells wrong," she sniffed, "tranqs, I think."

Karissa picked it up, and carried it over to the large potted plant. She poured it into the pot. They watched to see if it was going to change.

"I think it will be okay for a while," Karissa nodded to herself.

Ava took the soup into the bathroom. She came back with a clean bowl of water.

"I should have thought of that," Karissa said eyeing the plant. "Why didn't I think of just flushing it?"

"Give yourself a break," Ava said sternly. "We're in a mess!"

"More reason to make good decisions," Karissa scowled at her.

Inside, Ava was grinning with pride, outwardly she just nodded.

"I don't smell anything else wrong," Ava told her. "I'd suggest we eat slow, one bite at a time, but I don't think either of us could do anything else anyway."

"I can't," Karissa agreed.

They ate all they could, and then curled up together on the bed. They held each other stiffly, too afraid to truly sleep. Sometime during the night, someone came in to adjust the cameras and mics. Karissa zapped them even as they were setting them up.

They were roused the next morning, and told to bathe. Simple servant clothing had been tossed on the bed. Ava looked at it doubtfully. She knew it would bind on her strange joints. She ignored it, and put on her old clothes. They'd have to hold her down, and dress her if they wanted her wearing that stuff. She could feel her glands swelling with the thought of it.

Karissa put on the simple child's dress. It was a little big, but she could move around okay. They remained barefooted. Ava hoped the stones wouldn't be too cold on her feet. That would definitely cramp up her legs.

"Put this on," a voice snapped at Ava. Three warriors had entered the room.

Ava looked up quickly and nearly fainted. She was looking straight at Vevila! The _other_ Vevila. Her green eyes were stone cold. The scar on her face was red and ugly. She was wearing a warriors outfit complete with a sword strapped to her side. Like their Vevila, this woman commanded a lot of presence. She seemed a lot bigger than she actually was. Her scowl was very intimidating.

Ava stared at the straps.

"You will wear it, or you will not go," she was told in clear English, "we will take the child, and you will be left here."

"I do not know how to put them on," Ava told her.

_Vevila_ nodded at the other warrior. She pulled her sword, and held it against Ava while the other placed the straps on her face. It was a dog's muzzle. They strapped mittens on her hands so she could not use her claws. Ava lightly wiggled her fingers. They didn't know her joints worked both ways. She could remove them anytime she wished.

Tears ran down Karissa's face as she watched them shackle her.

"All is secure, Mistress Erinu," the warrior called out.

"Check," Erinu commanded the other warrior.

"Erin is Vevila's middle name," Karissa whispered to herself.

Ava could just make out her words. She was glad to use a different name for the woman. Having two Vevila's was just too confounding.

Erinu's eyes narrowed. She studied the child, but then shrugged. She was truly a little thing, hardly worth the notice. She clipped a strap onto the Snake Lady's harness. This one, she would watch carefully. She'd wished she had seen the attack! She hated the Phen, and Anthar even more! She had been excused from the torture. Jeoru preferred her own special few for that kind of thing. Erinu's lips twisted. That was just a stupid waste of time. Most of the army had been sitting idle in those damn tunnels for over a day while the Queen toyed.

Without a word, she pulled on the straps, and led them to the terminal. The war was about to begin. Erinu wished the Snake Lady had been coerced to fight _for_ them. She would have loved to have seen her in battle. Jeoru might be displeased that she wore her own clothing, but Erinu was proud for her. A warrior did not wear servant's clothing!

"Good," Jeoru's eyes were silver in their brightness. "The others are in place. I was a little concerned about the demise of Anthar with our plan, but Dannar was very pleased to step up. This is the last grouping, and then—I shall arrive!"

"Yes, my Queen," Erinu bowed her head.

Karissa stared at the Queen. She was wearing elegant silk scarves on her head. They hid the Chelstice while allowing the orange Tiara to be placed prominently in sight. Jeoru didn't want her people to realize that she wore two Tiara's. Karissa wondered if the people would understand just how _wrong_ that was.

They stepped into the Queen's private portal. Ava stared at its luxurious decor. It was far different from the barren rooms of the other terminals. Erinu lead her to the wall, and tied the strap into a ring. There were rings all along the wall—slave rings. More warriors crowded into the chamber.

As soon as the train arrived into the Phen's world, Natilie could see Ava and Karissa. Karissa almost shouted when Natilie spoke into her mind. Ava looked at her swiftly. She could smell Karissa's elation. Karissa gave a slight nod.

Natilie was so angry at seeing the bindings on Ava that she didn't really study them.

"She can wiggle out of them," Vevila told her. "Look at her fingers. It's just a snap holding the muzzle."

Indeed, Ava had already slipped her mitts. She was holding onto them to make it appear as if she was still bound.

"Your double is with them," Natilie mentioned, "is that going to be a problem?"

"No," Vevila answered. "We are in our own times."

Dannar, Danny, didn't know that Natilie's group had joined the Kings. He had not known that their every move was being scrutinized.

"Has Ava taken care of Anthony?" Vevila asked.

"Yes," Natilie answered. "I think it was more than she expected."

Vevila nodded. She remembered her first kill. One never forgot.

The Queen was to arrive at a barren part of the city. Dannar, with his own small army, was to meet them there, and escort them through the underground tunnels to the palace. They would not find their progress as swift as they had planned. Natilie's team, and a few trusted servants, had rigged the tunnels. They would be quit disseminated before ever reaching the palace grounds.

Dannar traveled with the Queen at the front of the line. Ava had been forced to travel with them. The Princes and their parties, traveled just behind the Royal string. Karissa had been delegated to a warrior in the middle. Common soldiers and servants made up the end. Jeoru's warriors were dispersed through-out the whole precession.

Natilie was angry at herself for not thinking to set up a link with Ava. So many things had just gone wrong with this whole affair. When this was all over, there would be a re-set for _Raven Investigations_! Eithan was right. It was time to make sure that everyone who stayed with them could be trusted, even if they would only be staying for a short length of time.

"They are moving through the tunnels," Natilie told them.

"All that stealth for absolutely nothing," Tennar's smile was smug. "The Fawn think they are so superior."

Vevila gave him a look of disgust. _They_ were superior to the likes of him. It had been hard to keep her silence, and allow him to be a part of this fight. She knew he had violated his oaths. She was surprised he was not fighting for the other side. A side in which he would never have been brought to justice.

Kaidar watched Vevila with amusement. She was a feisty little thing! He'd heard her sing, and had lost his heart to her. Oh, he knew it wasn't true love, that still belonged to Meonna, but he'd still like to get her into his bed. He was a little concerned though by her apparent aggressiveness towards Tennar. He couldn't help but feel there was something more to it than just some kind of grudge match between them. She simply did not seem the type.

He started watching Tennar carefully in case they found he was a traitor. He had not guessed so many were involved, until they had disappeared last night to join Dannar's fighters. It saddened his heart that they would have to die. Many of them, he had called friend through his whole life. He did not understand why they would do such a thing. They led good lives, every need fulfilled. It irked him that their Kingdom was being saved from themselves by outsiders. The one named Natilie had even looked at him with pity. He frowned. When this was done, he would find out what she had seen that would make her so pity them!

The tunnels were dark, cold, and muddy. Karissa was surprised by how big they were. According to what she was able to understand, the tunnels were organized into large blocks, and ran across the entire city. The only lighting came from the slits and caps along the top of the walls. The walls themselves were made of pale cement.

At one time the tunnels had been used for actual travel. That had been the only way the people could move about the city. Apparently, the air above could not be breathed. Now, the tunnels were only used for sewage and rain runoff.

Karissa wished with all her heart that she could talk to Ava the way she could talk to Natilie. She had not had the chance to warn her about the tunnels being rigged. She hoped that Ava would guess what Natilie would be up to.

"Hey Ava!" Karissa yelled as loud as she could, "you still owe me a game of obstacles!"

"Shut up, child!" a warrior shoved her.

Karissa deliberately tripped and fell into the mud. The brown haired woman stared down at her with angry blue eyes.

"Get up you little clumsy stooge," she snarled at Karissa.

"Tanishu!" Another picked her up from the mud. "You are not to touch her! She belongs to Jeoru you fool!"

Tanishu glared at the warrior. "Yelling out like that could give us all away! You should be more diligent to your duty, and keep the child silent!"

"Yes," Shardu said sarcastically, "a child yelling out, is much more obvious to the enemy, than an entire army marching about the sewer systems."

Ava heard Karissa's shout out. She smiled within her muzzle. She had suspected that Natilie and Vevila would be up to something. She couldn't imagine them just sitting about letting this army march up to their door. Jeoru was a fool. Even if she were to take the Kings, there was still the Queens to deal with. They will fight. They must know what Jeoru is about. Not one of them would be safe if Jeoru takes both realms.

"The first is just thick mud," Dash grinned at Natilie. "The section after that has some nasty traps. We've rigged them with pig shit. Ava will know to stay clear of them. Even in the mud, you can still smell that stuff."

Natilie grinned. _Just_ thick mud. The kind which found its way into mouths, ears, and noses. The kind that sucked down feet with every step, and tripped the weary. They had around a mile of the crude to stomp through. They really should have chosen a closer start location.

As the mud got thicker, Shardu picked up the small girl, and placed her up on her shoulders. Tanishu smirked at her.

"We won't be going anywhere soon, if we have to stop every time the child falls," Shardu informed her.

"You just—," Tanishu slipped, and fell face first into the mud.

She gagged as sewer mud ran into her mouth, and down her throat. Shardu carefully walked around her as she threw up. Karissa looked down at her, but didn't say a word.

"You are really tall," Karissa told Shardu. "I can see clear inside the tunnels."

"Lucky for us," Shardu muttered.

Karissa liked this woman. She was strong. Her blond hair was clean. Her blue eyes clear. Not all of Jeoru's warriors were. She had detected sloth and drugs on quite a few of the others.

"Why are you doing this march?" Karissa whispered very quietly into her ear. "You surely cannot approve."

"You speak our language?" Shardu said quietly back.

"You do not know who I am?" Karissa asked with surprise.

"A child Jeoru has _taken_ to," Shardu answered sincerely, "I am sorry for that."

"I'm Karissa," she whispered, "Meonna, the Queen of the East's daughter—the Purple Queen."

Shardu's steps faltered.

"Do you have proof of this?" She asked.

"Jeoru wears the Chelstice," Karissa told her. "She wears it hidden under the scarves."

"That can't be," Shardu resumed her steady pace, "they would tear her apart."

"They will," Karissa told her, "they are waiting for the right moment."

"Even if you are the Child of Meonna, how would you know this?" Shardu asked her, "only the Queen of the Chelstice would be able to read it."

"Exactly," Karissa answered.

Shardu halted, pulled the child off her neck, and set her on her feet. They stared at each other face-to-face.

"Why would you speak of such?" Shardu asked her.

"I can hear the Queens even though Jeoru wears the Tiara," Karissa answered her. "They say that your mother was warrior to mine. They say you would have worn the purple if Meonna had not fled. I say to you that I have been accepted by the Chelstice. I will not stay in your land. It is a land where _all_ are slaves—even the Royals. But Jeoru leads to the death of all, Kings and Queens alike. I am not anxious to see that. If you will pledge to me, I will let you in on the plans of those who will thwart this _undertaking_. Again, I ask you—why are you marching with her?"

"What are you doing now!" Tanishu complained as she caught up to them.

"Just keep moving along," Shardu glared at her, "unless you are volunteering to carry the child?"

"Not in this life," Tanishu kicked up a chunk of mud at them as she passed.

Others passed them without words. Shardu placed Karissa back up on her shoulders.

Sharod hesitated. Her gut told her to believe the child. She nodded. Regardless, it was time for Jeoru to be taken down. Why not now?

"Most here have family in the dungeons of the Queen," Sharod answered. "We earn _rewards_ for them with our obedience. _Rewards_ such as food, blankets, medicine. My mother, the warrior to your mother, is in those dungeons. I do what I must."

Karissa nodded.

"You do not have the Chelstice," Shardu whispered to her. "Even if I believe you, we have no way of pledging."

"You are wrong," Karissa told her. "We can pledge."

"I would so pledge," Shardu declared quietly.

Karissa closed her eyes, and asked the Queens how to do it. It was simple really. They simply had to exchange Nanos. That would create a connection between them. She then had to link her back into the Grid. The Queens told her how to do that, too.

"Are you linked to Jeoru?" Karissa asked her.

"Yes," Shardu answered. "We all are."

"Do you wish to be free of the link?" Karissa confirmed. "It will for a few minutes, disconnect you from the Grid."

"Yes!" Shardu answered simply. "I would do most anything to be free of her taint."

"She forced her Nanos on you?" Karissa frowned.

"Yes," Shardu answered in anger.

"But you have your own," Karissa asked confused. "How does she have so many that she would so bind _all_ of her people?"

"She drains our Nanos," Shardu answered, "and then uses her Tiara to convert them as her own. She then might return _some_ of them. I am lucky. She saw me with some value, and did not deplete me."

"I'm going to place a finger in your ear, and call Jeoru's Nanos out. Only then will I allow a pledge." Karissa told her.

"You can do that?" Shardu asked surprised.

"Any Queen can," Karissa answered.

She placed her finger just inside Shardu's ear, and called out Jeoru's tainted Nanos. When they arrived, she tossed them into the mud. The mud buried them quickly.

"How do you feel?" Karissa asked.

"Weird," Shardu shivered, "a little empty actually. It's—uncomfortable."

"She's removed your natural link to the Grid," Karissa frowned. "That should be a crime for your people."

"Who's going to punish a Queen?" Shardu asked.

Karissa closed her eyes, and worked with Shardu's own Nanos. It was easier than she thought it would be. It was as if the Grid was reaching out for them. Shardu sighed with relief.

"Are you still willing to create a link with me?" Karissa asked her. "You do not have to, but it will make it easier to protect you while my friends continue to sabotage the Queen."

"I would follow you," Shardu said firmly.

"I'm going to exchange Nanos with you," Karissa told her. "I will put my finger in your mouth. You will receive mine. I will receive yours. That is all the linking is. An exchange of Nanos."

Shardu nodded.

Karissa licked her own finger, leaving a trail of Nanos. She put it in Shardu's mouth. In exchange of her own, she collected those of Shardu. She quickly popped them into her mouth. Usually the bonding was an exchange of blood, but it didn't need to be. She guided Shardu's Nanos to where she would store others. She frowned. It wasn't a very _nice_ practice. It reminded her of some things she had seen Vevila and Natilie do with spit or blood.

"How do you feel?" Karissa asked her.

"Really good," Shardu smiled with delight.

"Watch the smile," Karissa cautioned her.

"Yes," Shardu sobered. "There are others who would follow the Purple Queen."

"Careful," Karissa warned her. "This march is doomed. The Kings know about it, and have extraordinary assistance. I would save all who do not willingly follow Jeoru, but we would have to move carefully. We do not want to alert anyone who would betray us."

Shardu nodded, "I know a few who would link—quit a few actually. Others will follow them."

"I cannot be seen explaining to them, or heard speaking Fawnish," Karissa told her. "If you had not chosen to carry me, we would not have exchanged Nanos."

"I guess I'm just lucky to be inherently kind," Shardu answered grimly.

"Walk slower," Natilie cautioned her, "as if the mud fights your feet."

Shardu's eyebrows shot upwards with surprise. She looked around at the others as they struggled to walk forward. She could hear the suction from the mud pulling at their feet as they moved along. Even as she watched, one got pulled down into the mud, and continued to sink. She felt a little nauseous.

"It's magic," Natilie told her. "My friends from the other realm use magic. Soon will be traps, and then a flood of water rushing through here."

"They checked these sewers," Shardu said with surprise, "there hasn't been a flood in over a hundred years."

"There will be soon," Karissa told her. "Natilie says they will wait until you have had a chance to talk to your friends, but it will have to happen soon. Once we pass the Garden-Gate passage, the opportunity will be lost."

"I will pass you off then," Shardu told her, "besides, you are getting a trifle heavy."

"Huh," Karissa didn't believe her for a minute.

"Hey Windsu," Shardu called out. "I need a break. Can you take her for a few minutes while I find someone stronger. There is no way a child can walk through this, and I grow weary."

"Okay," Windsu sighed, "I can hardly walk through this muck myself. For a passage which is rarely used, there is surely an awful amount of mud in here."

"Truly," Shardu agreed as she loaded Karissa up on Windsu's shoulders.

Windsu carried her for only five minutes before another came to relieve her.

"I don't know if I want to be relieved," Windsu told her. "Having the extra weight seems to have steadied my steps."

"I insist," Debru laughed at her, removing Karissa from her shoulders. "Go talk to Shardu. She has need of you."

Windsu nodded. She carefully made her way to Shardu.

"She's little," Karissa remarked in English. "I'm surprised she is a warrior."

"Knives," Debru answered, "she can hit anything in sight."

Karissa nodded, but sat quietly.

"I would swear!" Debru whispered in Fawnish as soon as they were alone.

Without a word, Karissa poured Jeoru's Nanos out into the mud.

"Still?" Karissa asked.

"Yes!" Debru's lips were pressed tightly. "I do not choose to belong to _her_. I choose you!"

Karissa was exchanged five more times, including back to Windsu.

"Look at her up there all pristine and pretty," Tanishu sneered at them. "You guys are morons."

"Have you not noticed that the extra weight steadies our feet," Windsu told her. "Have you seen any falter who carries her?"

"Maybe I should give it a try then," Tanishu scoffed at them.

Karissa stiffened. Windsu rubbed her leg reassuringly. Tanishu scowled at them and marched on.

Karissa whispered. "The traps are set along the right, also the flood water is going to rip against the right wall. We can all cling to the left. My friend says there are hand holdings along there."

Karissa sent out instructions to her Nanos. She watched as thirty or so people made their way unhurriedly towards the left side. She was surprised and gratified to see so many shift sides. Ava glanced back at her. Her face was in a fierce scowl. Karissa held back the giggle. Natilie had told her about the pig shit.

"I got her," Shardu strode up to them.

"Thank you," Windsu agreed.

Karissa watched as Ava pulled towards the left. She was limited by the one holding her leash. She suddenly fell towards the left, taking her handler down with her. One of Shardu's _friends_ , grabbed Ava up, and took control of the leash. They moved to the left. No one helped the other who had fallen. Karissa turned away as she was sucked under the mud.

Karissa could see clearly up on Shardu's shoulders. She watched the first trap take out one of the warriors. There was a snap as she screamed. She had simply stuck her foot down in a hole, breaking her ankle. A medic was called for. A tunnel snake got the next. Its venomous poison killing the soldier instantly. The next stepped into a hole near the center of the tunnel, and totally disappeared. He hadn't even had a chance to scream. There were more snake bites and holes of different sizes. Some walked into insect nests. Karissa didn't know, or want to know, what the eight legged, hard bodied, bugs were.

Karissa could see snakes slipping along the left side, too. She pulled in her smile. Natilie was clever. Both sides looked treacherous, but only the people traveling on the right were being injured or killed. Karissa heard a crackle of noise from above. People screamed as a whole section of tunnel ceiling suddenly pulled loose, and collapsed on top of them. Chaos erupted! People were screaming, and scrambling around them. Some running into more traps.

Shardu stood still until people stopped flaying about. She then proceeded. Her steps were strong and steady as she continued to march onward through the mud. Karissa stared down at one particular body caught between the rocks. It was Skylar, the one who had conspired against them. He obviously, had not received the prize he had been expecting. She felt sad. He had been a strange man, but in his better moments, rather funny. She turned away feeling confused and disturbed.

Karissa didn't have time to dwell on the deaths. She could hear the water thundering towards them. Everyone rushed to the sides of the tunnel. Her people had already reached the safety zones. Shardu quickly pulled Karissa down, and faced her against her chest. She crushed Karissa's back against the wall, and grabbed the hand railings on both sides of them. Karissa pressed her face into Shardu, her arms grabbing her tight. She whimpered as water flashed over them. It was shockingly cold.

Minutes felt like hours as the water continued to thunder passed. Finally, the rumbling was in the distance behind them. They breathed a sigh of relief.

"At least it cleared out the mud," someone muttered.

"Reckoning!" Someone up ahead shouted out.

"The Queen wants to know how many people have died," Shardu told her.

Between the mud, the traps, and the flood, a fifth of the army had been killed, and even more wounded. They rested only long enough for the medics to treat the injured. Those who could walk were _encouraged_ to move on. Those who could not were abandoned in the tunnels. Others, the Queen ordered to be put to death. Karissa watched with shock as they were killed with swords.

Only the Queen was allowed time to change out her clothing. The rest marched on, hindered by the clinging garments. A halt was called an hour later. Food was distributed across the armies. The food was sodden.

"At least the jerky and dried apples are soft," Karissa commented. She stared at the food in her hand with very little appetite. The bread and cheese were disintegrating even as she watched.

"Eat it later," Shardu shoved her own share into a pouch. "There will probably not be any more food dispersed."

No fires were set. Even the Queen's fuel had not survived the flood.

"How long is this march supposed to take?" Karissa asked between shivers. She was still wearing the thin servant's clothing.

"I don't know," Shardu answered. She pulled a long shirt out of her backpack. "Take off those clothes. I don't have pantalets which would fit you, but at least this is dry."

Karissa's only hesitation was when the wet garment got stuck pulling across her back. Shardu gave it a tug, and it tore free. Karissa was shuddering with cold before they got the other over her. She cuddled into it. It was fleece—real fleece! It fell to her shins.

"How is Ava doing?" Karissa asked.

"She was able to cling to the wall," Shardu hesitated, "but she's having problems moving now."

"The cold," Karissa told her. "She really is snake-like. The cold makes her slow and unresponsive. Danny knew that. He used it against her to take her. Otherwise, he'd have been rat's bait. If he still lives, he will know how to help her."

"You say very odd things," Shardu stared at her. "Rat bait?"

"I live in another dimension," Karissa explained, "neither King or Queen. We have different ways. If we make it through this, you can visit."

"You truly will not be staying with us?" Shardu asked. "How can that be? You are already claimed as one of us."

"I've been living in the other most of my life," Karissa reminded her. "There is a way to pass on the Chelstice, but it would have to be done before I have children. We—all of the Purple—will choose a new Queen. I cannot, will not stay, but that doesn't mean you will be without a leader. The only reason why the Chelstice wanted me was because it had been so long without. It would not normally have chosen one as young as me. _We_ are the window which allows the Queens to see out. They were desperate."

"I see," Shardu said, but Karissa could see that she did not.

"We will take care of that later," Karissa told her. "For now though, I would ask that you pass the word. I don't want people to think that I've deceived them. I'm sure they've already met plenty of people who have!"

"It will be so," Shardu assured her.

"The next trial will be monsters," Karissa sighed.

"Monsters?" Shardu asked.

Karissa laughed to see the warrior's gleam as a challenge was presented.

"Not much of a challenge for you," Karissa told her. "Everything we do to be safe will be to the left side. This time you must slash at the left arm."

"That is not a kill zone," Shardu frowned at her.

"Exactly," Karissa laughed. "No other spot will stop them. They are made of magic. They will not hurt me or Ava. As Natilie learns which of you have changed allegiances, things will be less trying for you."

"Who is Natilie?" Shardu asked. "You have mentioned her before."

"She watches us," Karissa answered. "She can see most anything."

"Most anything?" Shardu asked.

"Mostly," Karissa agreed.

"You are a wise one," Shardu said approvingly. "You do not reveal another's weakness."

"She's a friend," Karissa told her.

"You have powerful friends," Shardu mentioned.

"I do," Karissa agreed.

They were silent as Tanishu stalked towards them.

"The Queen has need of the child," Tanishu turned and walked away.

"Up," Shardu stood, and placed Karissa back onto her shoulders.

"Why am I riding up here now?" Karissa asked. "There's no mud."

"To continue a precedence," Shardu told her. "Something of _our_ ways."

Karissa just shrugged and rode her shoulders. "Good thing I'm not afraid of heights."

Shardu snorted. She didn't think this child was much afraid of anything.

Karissa made herself look more pathetic than she felt. She slumped over and looked ill. She really didn't understand that precedence thing, but didn't want Shardu under suspicion, either.

Ava was laying on her side. Her eyes were closed. Her hands and feet were off color. Karissa saw that her hands were now loose from the mitts. She wondered if the others realized that if she weren't so cold, she would have use of her claws. Karissa really didn't think they did. They were too busy being pathetic in themselves. They really were a sorry lot!

The Queen took one look at her, and did not question her positioning on Shardu's shoulders.

"I should so ride someone," Karissa heard her mutter.

Earlier, Jeoru rode in a carry chair. Karissa saw that it was now laying on its side all smashed up. She wondered how many had died trying to carry it. She wondered how many more would die for the error of dropping it. She couldn't imagine anyone being able to carry it through the muddied tunnels.

"What do we do about the Snake Lady?" Danny asked her.

"You should know," Karissa frowned at him, "you took her with cold."

"Anthar told me to take her in that manner," he frowned at her.

"Do you not have snakes?" Karissa frowned at him. "Reptiles go dormant in the cold. You have to warm her up."

"None of us are warm," he argued.

"None of you are Snakes, either," Karissa shouted at him in exasperation. "I am her friend. Why would I tell you wrong. Get her warm for God's sake! I don't care if you have to bundle her up between warm bodies! You have to get her warm!"

"It is like the Hill Lizards," one of the Queen's guards commented. "They also grow slow in the cold. That is when we hunt them. They make good eating."

"I could go for some lizards, now," one eyeballed Ava.

"Stupid," Karissa sneered at her. "Ava's meat would poison you dead, or has it been too long since you got to watch Anthar?"

The guard turned pale.

"Truly?" The Queen's eyes gleamed.

"I really don't know," Karissa told her. "I just didn't want that one to eat her!"

Jeoru laughed.

"It would be easier if she were to just bite someone anyway," another guard muttered. "People are hard to cook."

"That is true," Jeoru sighed. "So that is what we will do. Bundle her amongst the servants. Call me immediately if she accidently bites any of them."

Karissa heard someone snicker. She turned to see Danny shaking with mirth. She wondered if he had been involved with Anthar's death. Seeing him and the Queen together, she realized that he had. She felt sick just being close to them.

_"WE_ are finished with her," Jeoru dismissed Shardu.

Shardu only took her far enough away to get out of Jeoru's view. They watched as servants were called to gather around Ava. They did not want to touch her.

"They have to share their warmth," Karissa worried.

Shardu strode over to them. "You there," she ordered a lesser warrior, "round them up to lie _on_ her! The Queen wants her warmed. We cannot move on until she is. Do you want to live the rest of your miserable life down in these sewers?"

She lowered Karissa to the ground.

"Surely don't," the warrior answered swiftly. She quickly ordered the servants onto Ava's body with punishments of whippings.

"Most of the servants are slaves?" Karissa asked.

"Of course," Shardu answered looking at her strangely.

"In the realm where the Snake Lady comes from," Karissa told her, "and where I live, no one has Nanos."

"How can that be?" Shardu was taken aback. "Who rules then?"

"We mostly vote on leaders," Karissa explained. "The most popular amongst the people lead. People follow people, because they want to. You would be a good leader. People like to follow you."

"That is because they know I will not get them killed," Shardu wasn't impressed.

"And a good reason to follow you," Karissa informed her. "Much better than because they are afraid you will hurt them if they don't."

"Huh," Shardu considered.

Toc

# Chapter Twenty-Three

Some of the Fawn weren't satisfied with just following those who had pledged to Karissa. They wanted a direct link. They wanted Jeoru's Nanos out of them. Gone!—forever! There was no rest for Karissa as people made excuses to be near her.

The migration of the Fawn was not lost on Erinu. She suspected what was happening, and couldn't blame those who wanted to be free of Jeoru. It was not very often that a Queen came into being, much less one who was strong enough in her own right, to free those conquered by another Queen. More impressive was the fact that Jeoru had no idea of what was going on. Jeoru was a fool for abusing her own court.

She watched as Anneu approached the child. She knew that Anneu was Jeoru's special spy. She was curious to see how the girl would deal with her. This would also help her to decide what she wanted to do. She was not one to just blindly follow anyone.

"You are particularly popular with the people," Anneu told Karissa as she sat down beside her. "My name is Anneu."

Karissa looked at her with a blank expression, but her nerves screamed _trap_. Anneu had talked to her in Fawnish. The woman didn't feel right. Karissa had made it a point to study every person who came into her line of sight. Study them, and file the information away. She had no memory of this woman.

: _Have you seen this woman do anything helpful for another person?_ : Karissa sent directly to Natilie.

: _No,_ : Natilie replied. : _I don't like her._ :

: _I don't, either,_ : Karissa sent back.

"Would you like some of my dried apples?" Anneu asked her still talking in Fawnish.

"I'm sorry," Karissa said to her in English, "I really don't know what you are saying."

"I said the people seem to like you," Anneu spoke with very clear English.

"They are curious," Karissa shrugged. "Shardu has taken to champion me. They want to know why."

"Why has she?" Anneu asked her.

"Because I was falling down a lot, and making them walk slow," Karissa answered. "It was just easier this way."

"Ah," Anneu smiled at her, "expediency."

Karissa looked at her blankly. She wasn't sure a girl her age would know what that meant.

"What?" Karissa asked her.

"Expediency?" Anneu looked down at her, "to make things go easier or quicker."

"Yes then," Karissa nodded.

Anneu offered Karissa some dried apples. Karissa smiled and accepted them. She pretended to put one in her mouth.

"I need to check on some others," Anneu then stood and walked away.

Karissa watched for a while to make sure the woman was really gone. Then she shoved the apples in a crack in the wall behind her. She rubbed her hands in the water on the pavement, and then dried them on her shirt. She jumped with surprise when Erinu lowered herself onto the pavement.

Erinu didn't say a word. She just stared at the child. Karissa grew uncomfortable.

"I met your Vevila," Erinu said in English. "She was stronger than I."

"She happened to be in a dominant place," Karissa told her. "She told me about it. She says, she was lucky."

"She does not scar?" Erinu asked her.

"She does not," Karissa answered. "The people here have what we would call computer Nanos. We have DNA, a map to our bodies. She is able to call upon it to replace injured cells. Are you near immortal?"

"I guess I am," Erinu frowned, "but I do not heal as clean as she apparently does."

"I think the Nanos interfere with your mapping," Karissa frowned. "I don't think you belong _here_."

"My mother was brought to the Queens realm long ago," Erinu shrugged. "I do not know why I am near immortal. Does She?"

"She does," Karissa answered. "You would need to ask her to explain."

"She would again dominate me," Erinu frowned, "I hated that."

Karissa looked at her with surprise. People here used dimensional time travel, but didn't seem to know the rules of it. Karissa wondered if she should tell her. She liked Erinu, but didn't know if it was a true liking, or because after all, she was Vevila. Or maybe she was a mirror Vevila, and not to be trusted? Karissa went with her gut feeling.

"One will dominate the other when one or both are out of their dimension, and at least one is also out of their own time," Karissa studied her eyes. "If you meet again, and I think you will, it will not be likely those conditions will exist. It was odd that they did the first time. Vevila is a fun loving woman, but it isn't smart to cross her. The two of you could become good friends. Your always alone. Don't you have any friends?"

"I have to find my own way," she answered.

"Jeoru thinks you belong to her," Karissa stated.

"What do you think?" She asked Karissa.

Karissa frowned at her, wondering if this was a trap.

Erinu took a bite out of a pear and offered the rest to Karissa. Karissa acted the innocent child, and accepted it with a smile. She took a small bite against Erinu's bite marks. She studied the Nanos, and was surprised to find only one grouping. She asked them a question, and was surprised by their answer. She looked up at Erinu sharply.

"You do not have Nanos of your own," Karissa whispered quietly in Fawnish, "the ones who ride with you are from another Queen. You are a spy?"

"Yes," Erinu answered bluntly.

"You are very brave," Karissa studied her, "How do you fool Jeoru? How do you know what she wants?"

"I study her," Erinu shrugged, "she is not that hard to fathom."

Karissa stared at her. There had to be more to it than just that. Jeoru felt the need to dominate all those in her court.

"Okay," Erinu said with disgust, "Jeoru did press her Nanos onto me, but like what you do now, my Queen tossed them from me."

"Vevila has magic," Karissa frowned at her. "She can influence things without touching them. She can do spells. Can you do any of that?"

"I do not know how," Erinu stared at her, "I was told that my mother had such things. That is why a Queen took her."

Karissa nodded with understanding. If Erinu's mother was like Aine, Vevila's mother, she had been very powerful. A Queen would want that.

"I will let my people know," Karissa told her. "I would not want you hurt by what is about to happen."

"You are a part of something else," Erinu nodded, "something big. I think we have a common goal."

: _What do you think?_ : Karissa asked Natilie.

: _Trust her,_ : Natilie answered, : _Vevila does._ :

"Left is the answer to everything to come," Karissa told her. "Strike at the left arm. Do not bother with a kill spot. That will not kill them. The Phen's guns won't, either."

Erinu's eyebrows shot upwards, "Your Snake Lady is very brave. She is a true warrior."

"Ava," Karissa told her, "her name is Ava."

Erinu nodded and rose.

"All is well?" Shardu asked her.

"I think so," Karissa answered. "Who is Anneu?"

Shardu frowned, "She is new to us. She tried to _approach_ you?"

"She did," Karissa looked at her with surprise, "tried to approach? You knew I did not accept?"

"I watched you place the food bites behind you," Shardu answered, "as did Erinu. I doubt if others noticed. We were watching you. I trust Erinu some what. She always thinks for herself."

Karissa nodded.

"Pack up," someone from up the line yelled down, "we leave."

***

Ava was finally warm enough to move on her own. Natilie had sent some invisible friends to warm her. The servants only stayed close to her for as long as they were being watched. As soon as the guards turned away, they inched away, and the cold would take her again. She thought she would never be warm again. It was unfortunate that her salamanders couldn't come to her here.

As soon as they realized she was moving around, they sent word to the Queen, who then ordered them on. She thought it was odd that Jeoru would take the time for her to recover, but then realized she was using her as an excuse so _she_ didn't look weak.

Ava knew something was up when Karissa's people started moving towards the left wall. She'd barely made it over before the rush of water overran them. Her handler, so unfortunate that, had not made it. Karissa had gotten word to her that the next trial would be monsters. She shouldn't have a problem, they hadn't bothered with binding her hands. She looked at her clawed hands. She was growing rather fond of her adaptions.

Part of the reason why her handler hadn't survived the flood was due to the poison on her claws. It had been easy to escape the mitts long enough to spread venom onto her claws. The poor dear.

Ava figured that by the time they arrived, it was possible that only a very few of Jeoru's warriors would still be alive. She knew Karissa was gaining a following. The one called Shardu had whispered to her that Karissa was a miracle. She was able to toss Jeoru's Nanos out of people. They were free. They had Karissa's, but hers did not bind, did not create fear or pain. They could _feel_ for themselves— _think_ for themselves.

Today, they had traveled without incident. She was still being hauled behind the Queen's caravan. Jeoru seemed more agitated than normal. She kept touching the stacked Tiaras as if she wasn't sure they were still there. Her chair had been repaired, and four stout slaves carried her smoothly along.

Karissa, she saw, was still being carried up on the warriors shoulders. Mostly by Shardu, but also by others. Jeoru was oblivious to the fact that they were carrying their _Queen_! Ava felt a moments anxiety. She wondered if Karissa would be going home at all? She brooded over the matter.

Ava jerked her head up. A scent had caught her attention. It was wrong for the tunnels, and was just up ahead. She knew it was Natilie's monsters. She got ready to tear herself away from her new handler. This one was as bad as the last. She was just sure the monsters would get her.

Screaming from up ahead was the first sign that they were under attack. Ava immediately grabbed the leash and pulled. It slipped from her tormenters hands. Ava unsnapped the muzzle as she ran to Karissa's side. Shardu placed Karissa on her feet and handed her a knife.

"Strike the left arm," Karissa murmured to Ava.

Ava nodded. The first thing that registered with Ava was the reek as the creatures rushed towards them. She growled, showing her fangs. More screams echoed from up the tunnel. They were Sasquatch type creatures with one large protruding eye centered in a rather long forehead. They snarled and raged as they ripped through the army with long claws and fanged teeth. Their hair was clumped with a foul smelling crust. Their breathing was loud and harsh.

Ava started fighting with her claws, slashing at whatever she could reach. A warrior tossed her a long knife which she easily caught, and used with stunning accuracy. She saw that Karissa was giving a good accounting of herself. Fantasy creatures or not, they hit with enough impact to send seasoned warriors flying across the tunnel. Many did not get up.

The tunnels were dark and tight. They were jammed in tightly as they tried to defend themselves against the ferocious beasts, friend hitting friend more often, than hitting the enemy. The only one not hampered by the pressed circumstances was the Snake Lady.

No one could miss the movements of the Snake Lady as she maneuvered herself around the tunnel walls. Sometimes, she would spring straight up, coming down on the monsters backs, slashing her blade across their throats. Once, she climbed the tunnel wall to spring across all their heads to strike a monster who had Shardu trapped. To Shardu, she just came from nowhere—and saved her!

The monsters were big, and had a long reach. Even just slashing an arm was challenging. Karissa noticed that Ava was using the blade for what looked like the lethal hits, while using her claws to take out the arm. She grabbed another knife, and also started double injuring them.

Karissa stumbled over a body. It was Anneu. Erinu pulled her up and away. Her mind did not have a chance to process the details of Anneu's death. A monster jumped Erinu, and had her by the neck. Karissa screamed as she slashed at the monsters left arm. Erinu plunged her sword into its heart. The creature screamed in agony as it died. Karissa had to remind herself that it was not really alive. She lied to herself that this was all just a game, and the horrors would be revealed to be red syrup and flour when the lights were brightened. Sometimes, she even believed it.

As fast as the attack had been upon them, so it ended just as abruptly with the monsters racing away, disappearing into the tunnels. Karissa sat down where she stood. Her one shirt was coated in blood. She didn't know if it was the monsters, others, or even her own. She was drained and sick. She turned away to throw up. She was not the only one. Retching could be heard clear down the tunnels.

"God, I hope she's dead!" Karissa muttered to herself. "I would so like to end this!"

Ava sat down heavily beside her.

"The Prince's men were hit the worst," Ava told her. "They were in the front line leading the way. _She_ still lives. Fifty of her warriors surrounded her during the attack. The monsters couldn't get to her. The supply carriers were taken. It looks as though that was the target. We only have the supplies carried in the backpacks."

"I hope we are close," Karissa whimpered. "How long can we keep going?"

"Word is another day's journey to the entrance," Ava sighed. "No telling though what is between us and it."

"How many Princes are still alive?" Karissa irritably wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"Don't know," Ava started pulling muck from her hair. "I stink. We all stink!" She scowled with disgust. "Someone got some scissors?"

"Reckoning!" A shout came from up in the tunnel.

"We need to listen in," Ava told her.

She held out a hand to her. Reluctantly, Karissa grabbed it to pull herself up. She hadn't realized until that moment just how sore she was.

They made their way towards the Queen and her attendants. They sat quietly along the wall. One of the guards saw them. She picked up Ava's straps and strolled towards them.

"Leave off," Erinu scowled at her. "Did you not see her fight with the rest of us! Some of us would now be dead if she had turned and ran—which she could easily have done! She's earned her bars!"

The other dropped the straps and stomped away. Anger radiated with every step.

"Bars?" Ava asked her.

"Warriors bars," Erinu answered, pulling off one of her own. She clipped it to Ava's shirt. "There are privileges given to those who earn their fighting bars. You have earned yours. You still belong to Jeoru, but you are not a common slave. The girl either, but I cannot present her with bars."

Erinu pulled a long fleece shirt from her backpack. She handed it to Karissa. "Take that other off. It offends me."

"Gladly," Karissa quickly took off the garment. She pulled the other on and huddled inside.

"Hand the other to one of the servants," Erinu told her. "It can still be cycled—maybe."

"Thank you," Karissa held her eyes.

"No," Erinu held her gaze, "thank you. I would be dead right now, or worse living with a half healed broken neck."

She bowed her head to Karissa, and then turned away to approached the Queen's entourage.

"You are making many friends and allies," Ava mentioned.

"We are," Karissa corrected grimly, "for all the good it will do."

They listened as the sectors reported. Prince Dannar was still her consort. They still gave the orders to march forward. Karissa smiled as she watched Jeoru. The Queens in the Chelstice were tormenting her, making her anxious without her even knowing it. Soon, they would start attacking the Queens within the other Tiara.

Jeoru was a fool for wearing them together. Karissa had no doubt who would win when the Queens started fighting between the colors. Her mother made up the largest percentage of any one Queen. The Purple Queens were stronger in their own right. Jeoru had diminished the Orange with her perversions. Imagine, only having one window to see the world through, and the only view showing such depravities. Soon, the decent Queens would have to submerge themselves just to stay sane.

Out of the six Princes, four remained. Their armies had been ravaged. The Queen still had a large number of warriors, but unknown to her, a large percentage of them were no longer hers. They belonged to Karissa.

Of the servants, it was surprising that so few had been lost. It was believed that this was due to them getting out of the way of danger, as well as the skills of the warriors who protected them. Jeoru was well pleased. Another day's march, and her goal would be realized.

She was also pleased with the Snake Lady. Given the fact that she had to fight to survive, she fought fiercely and with fine precision. It was reported that she alone was responsible for nearly half of the monster's deaths. If she couldn't be persuaded to join her warriors, she would make a very fine slave for the Arena. She was glad that she had not let Menzu serve her up for dinner.

"We will rest now," Jeoru announced, "we will march again in four hour's time."

"What of the food situation?" Someone asked, "the monsters ran away with most of it."

"What of it?" Jeoru looked at her coldly. "Some will simply go without. Did I not say from the beginning that everyone was to carry their own extra's?"

"You did, Queen," she looked down at her hands.

"Four hours," Jeoru repeated. She turned to Menzu. "Bring eight slaves to my chamber. I grow weary."

"Very well," Menzu smiled. "Do you have preferences."

"Trouble rousers," Jeoru commanded, "those who I have disciplined in the past. They carry more Nanos than they deserve. I now have need of them."

"The Snake Lady?" Menzu asked hopefully.

"She does not carry any," Jeoru stared at her. "She is not to be bothered. Am I clear on that? I have plans for her when all this is finished."

"Yes, my Queen," Menzu's face was blank.

Shardu tapped Karissa's shoulder, and led them quietly away.

"What does that mean?" Karissa asked her. "What will she do with the slaves?"

"Absorb their Nanos," Shardu answered.

"What will that do to them?" Karissa asked, dreading the answer.

"They will probably die," Shardu answered. "It will remove them from the Grid. We cannot function if we are left like that."

"The Orange Tiara," Karissa said angrily. "She will use it to steal the Nanos from the slaves. She tried to use it on me, but was not strong enough."

Shardu looked at her with surprise, "I haven't heard of anyone before being capable of resisting Jeoru's _persuasions_."

"I would bet money that there have been others," Ava remarked to Shardu, "and they were killed outright. She would not want word to get around that it was possible to resist her."

"That could be," Shardu considered, "she does like to kill." She turned to Karissa, "Do not try to save the slaves. They will not thank you for it."

"I was tempted," Karissa admitted, "but remembered the lecture Vevila gave me about slaves being freed before they were prepared. We don't have the time to prepare them."

"I would like to meet this Vevila," Shardu told them. "She sounds very wise."

Karissa snorted.

"In a way, you've met Vevila," Ava told her, "she is the double of Erinu."

Shardu stared at her with surprise, "Do I have a double in your realm?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Ava answered, "but it's a big world."

"Figures," Tanishu walked up to them, "you would sort with these, Shardu."

"Watch yourself," Shardu stood up and faced her, "or do you challenge me?"

"No," Tanishu backed up a step, "I simply came to tell you that the Queen wants the girl with her when we march out again. The Snake, too."

She turned and stalked away.

"I'm surprised that the mud didn't get her," Karissa muttered.

As it turned out, they did not leave at the four hour mark. It was impossible to tell night from day in the tunnels, but the Princes convinced Jeoru to make a full _night_ of it. They had arranged supplies to be delivered at the next tunnel's cross section. They were also bringing in more soldiers.

: _Tawny will meet you at the cross section,_ : Natilie sent to Karissa. " _You and Ava be prepared to slip away. There should be a lot of commotion with the arrival of the supplies. The Kings will be slipping in some of their own soldiers. They will have some hair missing from one eyebrow._ :

: _Okay,_ : Karissa nodded. She was way ready to go home!

She worried about her new followers. She hoped they would continue to fight against Jeoru at least until they could be sorted out with a new Queen. She knew she would have to return to pass the Chelstice to someone else, but she would not be staying. She cared about these people, but she was adamant that she would not stay! This was not her home. She had never lied to them about that.

Both Ava and Karissa were able to move around easily. People stared at them, but did not hinder their movements. They went about, cautiously notifying others of the _friends_ who would be joining them.

"It's good that you two will be leaving soon," one told Ava. "The Queen grows increasingly unstable. She keeps wavering between having you both close to her as luck pieces, or dinner. She's noticed how those around you tend to survive. Even the attention from the Prince isn't keeping her on her better behavior."

"We will sort ourselves out when this is done," another added. "Just being free of her is reward enough."

The "night" was spent in cold, wet, gloom. Ava was very glad when their _night_ was over. She didn't become unresponsive from the cold, but she thought she was never going to be warm again. The night was pure misery.

The army ventured cautiously down the tunnels, but nothing else seemed inclined to come at them. As they grew more confident, the pace picked up. It was not long before they were at the crossing. Unfortunately, the Queen had placed Karissa and Ava in the middle of her personal guards.

They did not have an opportunity to make their way to the edges of the crowd. They were in the heart of court when a new Prince joined their ranks. His name was Gathar. His left eyebrow was bisected with a scar. Ava frowned. She didn't know if it was an unfortunate coincidence, or if he was part of the infiltration. He caught her eyes and winked.

Prince Dannar sulked with the arrival of Gathar. Jeoru was quite taken with him. Up till then, he hadn't even known Gathar was part of this take over. It irked him that Anthar had not told him. There were a lot of things that Anthar had not included him in. Dannar smirked, and just where was Anthar now?

Jeoru was indeed happy with Gathar. Who wouldn't be. He was tall and handsome with wide, strong shoulders, and a narrow waist. His butt poked out in a strong, masculine way. It was powerful. She could just imagine the _thrusts_ he would be giving her. He had a full head of blue-black, wavy hair. The coronet he wore held more crystals than Dannar's. She knew that meant he had more Nanos—more power. The thought caused heat to roll through her body. His eyes were sharp and crystal blue. The scar gave him a certain mystique and roguish appeal. She noticed him giving the Snake Lady curious glances. She gave the command to have her placed towards the back of the precession, and the little girl with her.

Jeoru was also pleased with the supplies he brought with him. It was very plentiful. Now, she wouldn't need to worry about the miserly whining of her warriors and servants. She also wouldn't have to keep her eye on Menzu. She didn't trust her not to serve up the Snake Lady. Menzu liked a good gory orgy as much as she did!

Ava and Karissa were pleasantly surprised to be excluded from the Queen's company.

"I would like you to come with us," Karissa told Shardu. "If you stay here, they will blame you for when we disappear."

"I would be honored to remain your Sentry," Shardu's eyes gleamed.

Karissa hesitated, "I don't know what would happen if I take you too far from the Grid. I will always try to do the right thing by you, but life has a way of forcing things."

"I will risk it," Shardu told her softly.

Karissa nodded. She was glad. If Shardu stayed behind, they would kill her. This was not a lenient society, and its Queen was Freak'n nuts!

Ava was impressed by how many men had hair problems with their brows. It was a very clever way of identifying those who would fight against the Queen. If she hadn't known to look, she would never have noticed. She had a feeling that it was Gathar who suggested it. She didn't know whether to be impressed, or alarmed by his attention to Jeoru. She just hoped he was careful to watch his back, otherwise he was going to find Dannar's dagger in it.

Shardu had managed to find another set of servant's clothes for Karissa. It was almost too easy for them to escape from the Fawn. They simply stayed to the back, and slipped down a side tunnel. Once in the side tunnel, they just continued to walk. They were to take a left turn at every other intersection. Tawny would find them. The farther they walked, the more relaxed they became.

Unlike the other tunnels. These tunnels hadn't been messed with. They were dry and relatively clean. They were also brighter. Ava wondered if the poor lighting in the other tunnels had also been something Natilie's group had tampered with.

Ava realized that many of Karissa's followers had been deliberately distracting the others while they edged away. She had no idea of how many had changed allegiances, but she knew that Karissa had kept track of every single one of them.

Again, she worried about what all this was doing to the child. It had been trying and horrifying. She suspected that the connection to the Queens in the Chelstice might be balancing her. They at least seemed to be educating her to Fawn customs.

They heard running footsteps behind them. Ava and Shardu moved in between Karissa and what approached. It was one runner. She had to get close before they could see her in the dim light. It was Tawny.

"It's Tawny! Thank God!" Ava's shoulders sagged. "This nightmare is about finished!"

Tawny threw a golden mage globe up towards the ceiling of the tunnel.

Shardu frowned as she stared at the floating globe of light. It was obvious that Tawny was a warrior. Her clothing, had she been in the brush, would have been stealthy with its browns and greens. Her blond hair was tightly braided and held in a helm. She wore a large sword slung across her back. Shardu had not seen a sword carried that way before. She was curious as to how Tawny would pull it loose.

"I have real food with me," Tawny put down the large sack she carried. "Natilie suggested for you guys to eat and rest. She wasn't sure if you should return home right now, or go to the palace."

"Food first," Ava started sorting through the sack.

Tawny interrupted her to hand her a bottle.

"Thank you so much!" Ava exclaimed.

It was Kaliton. Ava had discovered that Kaliton helped her to produce her own warmth better than any kind of food. She uncapped it and took a long drink.

"I must go to the palace," Karissa told Tawny. "I've freed many people from Jeoru. I'm the only one who can separate them out from the rest. I will not leave them for the Kings to judge."

"She must go," Shardu confirmed her words.

"We will go then," Tawny agreed.

"Tawny," Karissa pulled on her sleeve, "this is Shardu. She has been protecting me."

"Oh," Tawny actually blushed, "I'm sorry. We've been watching you. I forgot that you don't actually know me. I am Natilie's daughter. We've been cheering you on."

"Like in an Arena?" Shardu frowned.

"Not so serious," Karissa interjected. "We do not have games where people are sent to die at the whim of another. For us, cheering someone on is just fun."

"Fun," Shardu's eyebrows rose.

Tawny shrugged, and went about setting up a warming field. Even though these portions of the tunnels were dry, they were still cold.

Shardu's eyes got bigger with every object Ava pulled out of the bag. It had not been that big of a bag!

"Magic," Karissa whispered to her. "It's a _pocket_ bag."

"Karissa," Ava called, "can you set up the table and chairs? I for one, do not want to sit in the dirt."

Karissa nodded, and went about setting up the card table and folding chairs. Ava arranged the feast. After Tawny finished the warming wards, she started setting up the air cushions and sleeping bags.

"It's okay," Karissa assured Shardu, "it's just strange, because we are a different people. We still all bleed the same. It is only a handful of people who can do the things that Tawny, Natilie, and Vevila can do. I am not one of them."

"Her gift is with the Nanos," Ava mentioned to Shardu, "remember, our people don't have them. We still use machines, but we have to press buttons to make them work."

"Grab a plate and help yourself," Karissa suggested as she grabbed a plastic plate.

Shardu nodded. She was really hungry. The food looked similar to what she was used to. She recognized cooked bird, bread, cheese, and fruit. She sampled the crackly, thin sliced things, and found a liking for them.

"Potato chips," Karissa smiled.

"Wine," Tawny poured a glass for her. "Every culture I've ever been in has wine of some sort or another."

"It is very good," Shardu sipped it.

"So what is the plan?" Ava asked Tawny.

"It's not much of a plan," Tawny frowned. "Most of the work has already been done, or being done. When they arrive under the palace grounds, there will be an army to meet them. There are only a few alive still loyal to Jeoru. Gathar is in the process of dismantling the Prince's armies. I guess once an actual King takes control. The army will fold."

"Jeoru is freak'n nuts," Karissa warned her. "No telling what she will do once the Queens between the Tiaras start fighting. As her Queens die, the crystals will become brown and dull. Mine will become black. I would like it if someone could get it away from her."

"They'd have to kill her to do that," Shardu mentioned. "She will not be easy to kill. Her Nanos will continue to heal her body for as long as they survive, and she has all those stolen Nanos. Plus she can draw off her slaves."

"We didn't know that," Tawny sighed, "it is never as easy as we could wish. Oh well, now we know."

"Is there anything else that would help us?" Ava asked.

"The Red Queen," Karrisa mentioned. "Erinu is a spy for her. She isn't tainted by Jeoru."

Shardu looked at Karissa with surprise.

"Roshu is too far away," Shardu mentioned, "but that could help with recovery. It is not just the people Jeoru brought on campaign that will be a problem. She has still many at home."

"Our job was only to get Karissa and Ava back," Tawny said sympathetically. "We don't have plans to fight your war."

"It shouldn't matter about those at home," Karissa mentioned dryly. "I don't think Jeoru will ever make it back. Do you?"

"The odds aren't there," Ava admitted.

"We still have to destroy the portals," Ava sighed, "as long as they are active, our world is at risk."

"Also the mirror realm of your own," Shardu told them. "What affects them, unfortunately affects you. That is why there are Vevila and Erinu. Erinu's mother was stolen from her realm. There are others."

"That's why she is near immortal and doesn't understand how!" Karissa said with surprise.

"Just how are we supposed to fix that?" Tawny scowled.

"One thing at a time," Ava yawned, "for me, that means sleep. Where did you stick me?"

"Any of them you want," Tawny pointed at the sleeping bags. "I'll guard. I'm rested."

"We are in danger?" Karissa asked worried.

"Unlikely," Tawny replied, "but you will rest better knowing that I am watching."

"That's true," Karissa looked worried. "I haven't slept well in weeks. Can you spell me so I don't have nightmares."

"I will do that," Tawny assured her.

"How long are we sleeping?" Shardu asked.

"Until you wake," Tawny answered. "There is no reason to cut your sleep short. Food will be available when you wake, and then we will leave. We will travel through parallel tunnels. We will still beat the army there. They move really slow."

"Can I see you draw your sword?" Shardu asked Tawny.

Tawny moved soundlessly as she pulled her sword. She finished in a fighting position. Shardu nodded. She could sleep with Tawny guarding them. She watched as Ava and Krissa unzipped the bags and crawled inside. She did the same. She sighed in wonder as the soft warmth took her.

Toc

# Chapter Twenty-Four

"What do you mean they are missing?" Jeoru screamed at Tanishu. "Get Anneu immediately!"

Tanishu stared back at the Queen, "She's dead. She was killed during the Cyclops attack."

Jeoru sat down hard. Everything was falling apart.

"We could turn back," Tanishu suggested carefully. "The circumstances we found ourselves facing could not be supposed. There is no loss of pride to return home. We are not defeated."

Too many people were missing or dead. Jeoru touched her Tiara and frowned. It was cold. She was suddenly terrified. Without a word, Jeoru leapt on Tanishu. She grabbed her hard, and started pulling the Nanos from her. In minutes Tanishu was drained dry. She sat listlessly, staring at nothing.

Jeoru turned away from those who might be watching. She removed the Tiara's and studied them. Her Tiara, the Ongstice, was dying. Many crystals were brown and dull. Its fire was diminishing. What wasn't dying was ignoring her. She felt as empty as Tanishu looked.

She touched the purple crystals. _They_ felt warm. All of the crystals glistened brightly. The girl had been right. She should not have been wearing both Tiaras. She placed the Ongstice, with her clothing. She would be fine. She had the Chelstice. She boldly placed it on her head.

Gathar watched all this from a few feet away. He was thankful that this journey was almost complete. They were getting close to the entrance. He'd been worried that he would actually have to service her before they arrived. He wilted even smaller with the thought of it.

Erinu had been watching him closely. He hadn't figured her out yet. He could not tell if she was friend or foe. Her uncanny resemblance to Vevila unnerved him. Another hour and they would be there. If they could get the Queen to move at all. They'd been sitting idle for the last two hours.

Those few who Jeoru still controlled were now too afraid to go near her. She radiated menace to anyone approaching. Even Menzu stayed away from her. Watching Tanishu, one of the Queen's favorites, being drained in such a manner fueled their fear. They prayed for this journey to be over. With so few to fight, it was confounding as to why they continued on.

Jeoru climbed up into her chair. She wore the Chelstice openly, daring anyone to make comment. It didn't matter that it didn't yet answer to her. The girl was gone. She had abandoned it. Sooner or later, it would answer to _her_. Sooner or later, it would _obey_ her.

"March!" She screamed from her chair. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Servants hurriedly picked up the chair. It momentarily wobbled. She would have had them flogged if there had been anyone else strong enough to carry her. As it was, she tolerated the uneven gait with a clenching of teeth.

The army moved onward. Dannar no longer saw Gathar as a rival, but as a God send! He no longer knew how to approach the mad Queen. He could see that the quest was doomed. Now, he had to consider recovery. He'd figured it out that the men who had joined them were not the relief they had been expecting. They were their escorts to the hangman.

Time was running out. He had to choose whether to take a chance on the King's mercy, or to run. His mind went in circles as he dwelt on his sins. He had not killed anyone, but he had been prepared to kill a King. If he was a King, he would not pardon one such as himself. He decided to run. He, like a few others, disappeared inside the tunnels.

Gathar grimaced as he watched Dannar run. Now, there were no other distractions for the Queen except himself. He was tempted to disappear also.

"I think we should watch each other's back," Erinu surprised him by saying. "We are now neither Warrior nor Prince. We are only a mad Queen's attendants."

"I agree," he answered, making the silent pact.

They only continued for another half hour. The exit was in sight of those who were in the front. Gathar left the Queen's side to open the doorway. This entrance had been secured with a key-code. It was to ensure the safety of the approaching army against accidental discovery by those in the palace above. He unlocked the door, and shoved it open. He walked through—and kept on walking. His part was finished.

There was no fight when the army saw that they had been led into a trap. Only the Queen fought against those who would capture her. She went even crazier when she realized that they were taking the Chelstice away from her. The others went willingly, tiredly. Most, were now Karissa's people. Their Nanos told them that they were safe.

King Kaidar watched as the _army_ was rounded up. He grunted. They were a pathetic group of people. The only one with any fighting spirit was the mad Queen. Vevila's people had done their work exceedingly well. The guards would be combing the tunnels for wanderers.

His daughter, he smiled at the thought, had arrived that morning. She insisted upon seeing him. She insisted that some of these people now belonged to her. She informed him that the Chelstice must be turned over to her. He had defied the other Kings, and obliged her, by handing the Chelstice over to her.

It was not an official audience of the Kings, but a crowd of curious people had started to gather. There were also workers stopping to stare now and then at the unusual assembly. Soon, all the Kings and Princes were present. Their eyes, fixated on the little girl holding up the Tiara of glittering purple jewels. Surrounding her, were her friends and protectors.

Kaidar had expected her to immediately don it. Instead, she studied it with a frown. He could see that some of the crystals were black. She sat down and closed her eyes. She held it for quite a few minutes. He was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with her when she opened her eyes. The black crystals had fallen away. The Chelstice gleamed as if new.

The Chelstice let go of the crystals carrying the Queens who had perished. Karissa was relieved to find that her mother was still sound. She separated out her Nanos. Only one thousand remained attached to the Chelstice. She kept another thousand for herself. The rest, at the request of her mother, was to be given to Kaidar. Her mother had loved him. Karissa felt weary and sad. If only her mother had understood the ways of the Kings, and their sons.

Karissa handed the cluster of purple crystals to Kaidar, "These _are_ my mother. She wants you to keep her safe. She loved you. She just didn't know any other way."

"I will protect them, and cherish them to the day I die," he turned away so the others would not see the wetness of his eyes.

He turned back abruptly at the sound of movement. Jeoru's face was quite mad as she ran shrieking towards Karissa. Her arms were outstretched, her hands formed in the shape of claws. He shoved Karissa behind him, blocking her with his body.

Before she could reach them, Vevila danced out with her staff, and struck her repeatedly until she went down. While she was down, Vevila tore the Orange Tiara from her head, and tossed it aside.

Karissa remembered what she had been told about the Nanos ability to repair its host. She pulled on the Chelstice, and rushed passed her father. She grabbed Jeoru, and started pulling out the Nanos, tossing them to the floor.

"Do not come close to us," Karissa yelled out. "Her Nanos are still alive, and looking for a new host."

Tawny engulfed the Orange Tiara with fire. She walked the fire backwards towards Karissa. Karissa started flinging the Nanos into the blaze. Jeoru started to struggle, but Vevila hit her in the head. Karissa continued to pull the Nanos.

"It's sure a lot harder for me than it was for her," Karissa muttered.

"Move away," Tawny ordered Karissa.

Kaidar snatched Karissa away from Jeoru. Tawny didn't even hesitate. She engulfed Jeoru in flame. She flamed the body, and ten feet of floor around her.

"Are they destroyed?" Tawny asked Natilie.

"Not quite," Natilie answered. "Move towards the window."

Tawny moved the flame.

"You got them," Natilie called out.

The fire stopped. Silence filled the room as people stared between each other, Tawny, and the charred body of the Queen.

"How did she do that?" Someone muttered. "She doesn't have a flame blower."

"Witches," another whispered.

A low murmur echoed through the rooms.

"Open the windows," Prince Gathar demanded of the servants, "and get that charred mess out of here!"

They instantly dropped what they were doing and started opening windows.

"Someone slipped her the Tiara," a guard was panting. Blood was dripping from a gash on his head. "She seemed to know exactly where to go."

"Her Nanos," Karissa nodded. "Her slave could not resist her commands, and her Nanos told her exactly where we were, and what was going on."

"It must have fueled her madness to know you were being given the Chelstice," Ava muttered as she stared at the body.

Vevila frowned as she watched Kaidar. She wondered why later, he would tell her that she was the one who killed Jeoru. It had definitely been a group effort. Her question was answered when Jeoru suddenly leapt to her feet. Shocked, Vevila pummeled her with the staff. She did not stop until Natilie pulled her away.

"I have my answer," Vevila muttered.

"What are we going to do with all these women?" King Stephar complained.

Natilie snorted. Vevila looked at him in shock. Tawny started laughing outright. Pretty soon, everyone in the room was laughing hysterically. The only one not laughing was Karissa, who thought all the adults had gone freak'n mad!

The herald pounded on the floor with his staff to get the court's attention.

"Presenting Roshu, the Red Queen, Queen of the West," he said in a loud resonating voice, "and her escorts."

Karissa's eyes went straight to Erinu. She was tall and proud as she stood beside her Queen. Her Queen had startling blue eyes, and very light blond hair. She was wearing cream colored robes which accented the magnificent red Tiara. She was an older Queen. Karissa could not guess her actual age, but she could see it in her eyes and bearing.

The Queen caught Karissa's eyes and nodded to her. Karissa nodded back feeling shocked. It was an acknowledgement between equals—between Queens.

Prince Gathar offered his arm to her, and escorted her into the room.

"Presenting Cleotu, the White Queen, Queen of the North," the herald called out.

Cleotu stood at the entrance to the room with her own escort. She was wearing pale blue robes. Her diamond Tiara sparkled as the light caught the crystals. She was in her mid twenties. Her hair was dark brown, and was styled high up on her head. Her pale blue eyes were cold. Unlike the Queen of the West, she looked right through Karissa. Her eyes sought out King Kaidar. He did not move from his position beside his daughter. She proceeded into the room.

"I would like to know why I was summoned here today?" She asked them. Her voice was low and stiff.

Kaidar looked around with surprise. All the remaining Queens and Kings were now in this room. He didn't have a clue as to who had summoned them, or even why.

"I summoned you," a man appeared in the center of the room.

"And I," a woman, who could only be the man's twin, had also arrived.

"Deities," Vevila muttered. "I had wondered."

Both were tall and angular. Their hair was dark gold, their eyes a luminous aqua. They had very pronounced cheekbones and wide mouths. They wore translucent robes which shimmered with different colors as they moved. Each wore a gold headband that glittered with the same kind of crystals as was in the Tiaras.

"They _are_ the Grid," Karissa whispered in awe. She recognized the feel of them.

"The Twins of Sirius," someone muttered, "Palshar and Lunau."

"Come child," Lunau said to Karissa, "fix this one as you fixed the other."

She held out the Orange Tiara. Karissa slowly approached. Ava followed closely behind. Karissa took off the Chelstice, and handed it to Ava. She carefully took the Orange Tiara from Lunau's fingers. She held it up and studied it.

"I don't think so," Karissa surprised everyone by saying.

"Why is that?" Lunau asked sternly.

Karissa looked her straight in the eye, "It is better to let this one slip away—create a new one for a new Queen—maybe in yellow or gold."

"Explain," Lunau insisted.

"It is unbalanced," Karissa chewed on her lip nervously. "The Queens who reside in here should have stopped Jeoru. Instead, some joined in her depravity, while the others turned away, or shrank within. Most of those depraved have been killed. The others—well—there is no strength or support for a new Queen. I would not wear it!"

"And the Purple," Palshar asked her. "You are the rightful Queen, but it is said that you will denounce the power?"

"Yes," Karissa answered. She picked up the Chelstice and laid it at Lunau's feet. "I do so denounce. It can choose another."

There was a murmuring from around the court. Cleotu watched Karissa speculatively. Karissa saw the flash of cunning, and knew that the balance of power was still in question. She pitied the innocent who would get caught up in it, but she had no intention of being around when it happened. Things were a mess as it was.

"Why are babies born without Nanos?" Karissa faced the Twins squarely. Looking from one to the other. "That's just wrong! That's a terrible way to begin a life, especially since the Fawn will enslave or kill them!"

"This is your fight," Palshar smirked at his twin.

"Huh," Lunau glared at him. She looked between Roshu and Cleotu.

"Would a Queen like to answer that?" Lunau asked with a pointed gaze.

There was a pause as the two Queen's stared at each other.

"You answer," Cleotu informed Roshu, "It was before I was even born!"

"I was not born yet, either," Roshu glared at her.

"Well?" Karissa asked, looking from the Twins to the Queens. "Someone?"

"It was not our best moment," It was Roshu who answered Karissa. "There had always been the followers of Lunau, but around two hundred years ago, one follower had gained enough power to challenge a high ranking Queen, the Blue Queen in fact. She was the Queen of the Oceans. He killed her, and took her crown. He was eventually overthrown by the other Queens of course, but after that the followers of Lunau were disbanded and outlawed. No one was to call upon the name of Lunau."

"I used to walk amongst my people," Lunau told Karissa. "I used to bestow my blessings upon the children. I do not go where I am not invited. When those started being born without the ability to touch the Grid, I did not know of it, and no one called for me. I make no excuses. The decisions the mortals make—I will allow, until a time such as now, when they disrupt the very existence of all the realms and realities. Now, I must intervene.

Lunau and Palshar exchanged a look. They both nodded.

"It will be thus," the voices of Lunau and Palshar merged as did their bodies. "The time of separations is past, the mirror was broken long ago. There is little remaining of one which is mirror to the other. You have done that to each other and yourselves. You are doing it to others. This will now stop, the orbits close. There will only be one passage which will remain accessible to you. It will be between these two dimensions, and only in current time. All others have been removed. The people will be sent to their appropriate places. Ask the _Seer_ why this must be so. We are now one. I am both male and female. I am Lunshar."

Lunshar disappeared as well as all the jeweled Tiaras. The connection between the Queens, and their people were gone. The only connection between the people, men and women alike, was to the Grid.

Karissa felt the keen loss. She felt in her pocket. Sure enough the crystals from the Chelstice was gone. Her mother was gone! Her heart ached. She wanted to cry, but pulled back her tears. She did not want to look vulnerable to these people.

Roshu met Karissa's eyes and nodded. She too felt the keen sense of loss. Her Tiara had held the Queens of her own family for countless generations. Her Tiara had always been passed down from mother to daughter.

"How am I to rule my people now?" Cleotu exclaimed angrily.

"With wisdom and perseverance," Roshu informed her.

Karissa noticed that Erinu continued to stand beside her Queen. All around them people were arguing and shouting. Some looked scared, but most just looked angry.

"Well, _Seer_?" Kaidar looked at Natilie with derision. "Care to explain?"

Natilie looked at the confused assembly of people and sighed. She had just been figuring it out for herself. Words were still jumbled up in her head.

"You are dying," Natilie told them bluntly. "Both Queens and Kings. I don't know why or when it happened, but eventually both your civilizations will perish if things remain as they are."

"Explain yourself!" Cleotu stood, glaring at her.

"I suggest you watch your tone," Natilie glared right back. "You are neither Queen to me, nor Queen to the King's people. You will be lucky to be Queen of anything."

Cleotu's eyes flashed angrily. She looked to her escort to punish Natilie for her insolence. They had left her, and were mingling with the others. She looked after them with shock. She sat down with a thump.

"I noticed that the King's leave a trail of Nanos which die rapidly," Natilie told Kaidar. "Each age grouping of seven is worse than the one before. Eventually, you will not be able to connect into the Grid. You will not be able to operate common things and tools. You may not even be able to procreate, or for your bodies to heal naturally. You are that dependent on the Grid. You use the crystals in your crowns to carry extra Nanos, but I see they are only your own. Again, each generation carries less."

"My crown is as prestigious as the others," Windsar denied.

Karissa had noticed the young Prince listening intently to what was being said. Most of the other kids had wandered off after _the fire_. He was the youngest Prince in the room. Maybe, the youngest of all. He was pretty with his black hair and dark blue eyes. He also looked very worried.

Natilie looked at the young Prince with compassion. His generation was at risk of not being able to reach the Grid at all. She wondered if Lunshar would intervene.

"You are being deceived," Natilie told him. "Your crown is brilliant with all kinds of pretty jewels, but most of them are not the kind which can house Nanos. In your crown, it is the red ones which hold Nanos, and the Nanos are rather scarce in there."

"The _Jeweler_ creates the crowns," King Stefar told her indignantly. "Every crown is created specifically for the Prince when he comes of age. He knows exactly what the Prince will need during his lifetime."

"Then the _Jeweler_ is deceiving you," Natilie informed him, "all of you."

Cleotu snorted.

"The Queens have the opposite problem," Natilie scowled at her. "Their Nanos live too long. They do not regenerate. It was never meant for a Queen's Nanos to be released all at once. They were to be released throughout the Queen's lifetime—keeping her Nanos renewed. The effect is that they are old and broken inside. The Queen's Tiara's are seeded with crystals. When the Nano count goes up, it is the Queens inside which trigger the growth of the housing crystals. The Tiara's are alive. Vevila and Erinu please stand together."

Vevila walked over to Erinu. There was a loud murmuring of voices. Up until then, the two had stayed away from each other.

"These two come from mirrored realities of each other," Natilie informed them. "You have disrupted those realities. Vevila is actually quite old by the way."

"Hey!" Vevila glared at Natilie. Natilie smirked at her.

"Vevila's body is able to renew itself," Natilie continued. "While Erinu can heal herself. Her body does not renew. It does not create new, pure cells to replace the damaged and old. I think it is because the intrusion of foreign Nanos disrupts her systems. Thanks, ladies."

"This is really weird," Vevila muttered.

"At least this time you do not dominate," Erinu commented.

"At least this time you aren't coming after me with a sword!" Vevila glared at her.

"Huh," Erinu stared at her.

"What does all that mean" Prince Windsar asked.

"The Kings will have to open up their breeding program," Vevila informed them. "You need more _Royals_ in the breeding pool."

Her words were met by loud exclamations and ranting.

"What?" King Kaidar stared at her. "That's crazy."

"Why?" Vevila challenged him.

His face was flushed. He continued to stare at her. She turned away.

_"They_ need us!" Cleotu's eyes glittered with greed. "You said _we_ live longer."

"I said your Nanos live longer, but are broken." Natilie looked straight into her eyes. "The Queens are going Mad!"

Cleotu drew back, startled. "So what is the answer?" She glared at Natilie.

"You saw the Twins," Natilie told her. "Your realms must merge likewise."

"I'll not breed with crazy women!" One man shouted out.

"Then your family dies," Natilie told him. "The choice is yours. It is one way, or the other. Shouting about it will not change the facts."

"We are all lost," someone murmured. "We have no way of knowing how to fix this."

"That's just daft," Karissa scowled at them. "You have the Grid. In case you haven't figured it out, Lunshar is the Grid. You have a world of information resting right inside your head. I suggest you use it!"

Kaidar barked with laughter. Karissa looked at him startled. His eyes sparkled with mirth, but also with pride.

"I'll be staying here for a little while, too," Vevila smiled as she stepped up to Kaidar. "You and I have some unfinished business to attend to!"

"It is good that you wish to finish what you have started," he murmured as he took her hand.

Karissa rolled her eyes as she wandered over to the desk. She noticed the hand pad for the first time.

"Don't play with that child," one of the Kings warned her.

"Oh, what's she going to do with it," Cleotu laughed mockingly at him. "She doesn't have the Chelstice."

Karissa stared at her as she palmed the device. She had one question she still wanted answered. A screen pulled down and was lit with images. Everyone stared at it with astonishment. Karissa just sighed.

"I want to see the quality and quantity of the Nanos," Karissa told them, "including my own. You should question those doctors of yours. They've obviously been keeping you in the dark."

The screen showed everyone in the room. A second later, numbers scrolled beside the people.

Kaidar stepped up closer to study them.

"What are those?" Roshu asked.

"Numbers of Nanos, and the health of them," It was Kaidar who answered her. "This can be a propagation tool. I didn't even know such a thing existed." He turned to Karissa, "Please save that in a place I can find later. I would like to study it."

"It is now in your personal files," Karissa told him.

"Don't go crazy with it," Natilie warned them. "Don't suddenly start forcing a mating ritual. There are more important things in life besides Nanos."

"What would that be?" Kaidar asked her surprised.

"Love," Natilie answered.

"Huh!" Kaidar scratched his head.

"How did the child use our system to bring that up?" King Beknar asked suspiciously.

"She is my daughter," Kaidar challenged him.

"Nanos of course," Karissa murmured, and then turned to stare at Cleotu, "Lunshar didn't take away your Nanos, just the tools to manipulate them. The Kings shouldn't have a problem. They aren't thieves!"

"Why you little Snipe!" Cleotu raised her hand, and took a step in Karissa's direction.

Sharodu and Erinu were suddenly between them.

"I wouldn't," Sharodu growled.

Erinu had drawn her sword. Cleotu stared at them with shock.

"Control your servants!" She screamed at Roshu.

"They know their duty," Roshu glared at her. "No Queen rises her hand against another! I declare for you to be put down! Only a Queen can dethrone another, and I declare you as unfit! Jeoru rose up against Elbetu, our Prime, because of perversion and greed. That should never have happened, and I did nothing. I do so now!"

"She is no Queen!" Cleotu sputtered pointing at Karissa, "she is too young, and further, she has no Tiara. I wasn't really going to hit her anyway."

"And where is your Tiara?" Roshu asked her calmly. "Where's the Angstice, the white Tiara?"

Cleotu lifted a hand to her hair, and frowned with confusion.

"She is Mad," someone whispered.

"I Am Not Mad!" Cleotu screamed at them.

"Take her below," King Beknar told the guards, "We don't need this drama, and I grow weary of it."

The audience watched as the guards forced Cleotu out of the room.

"Now, that's better." King Beknar sighed and shook his head, "The numbers speak," he pointed at the screen. "The health of Queen Cleotu is listed as two's and three's. I might not have very many anymore, but what I have are nines. I'm satisfied! I see that the Lady Roshu has nines and eights. Why is that?"

He turned to study her. Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.

"She did not steal, and then reprogram other people's Nanos?" Karissa guessed.

"I did not," Queen Roshu frowned with distaste.

"That's what triggered the Queen's demise," Natilie told them. "It was that which caused the release of all her Nanos at once, instead of releasing them throughout her lifetime. She got greedy. Unfortunately, there were many Queens who had done such through the generations. You are paying for it now."

"The child's Nanos are all listed at ten," one King said startled, "and look how many she has!"

"She must stay with us," another looked at the fair child with desire.

"I will not," Karissa turned to them. "I am the result of a King with a Queen. You must produce your own! I live with Natilie, Vevila, and Ava." Karissa walked over and stood with Ava. "I stand by my friends! I leave with my friends!"

"You really are going?" Kaidar asked her humbly.

His eyes were sad. he could see so much of Meonna in this small package. He'd been such a fool!

"Oh," Karissa looked at him with surprise. "I am going. I can get a lift with Vevila to visit. So can Ryion—your son? I suggest you be very nice to Vevila so she might offer you a ride now and then, too."

Karissa took his hand and pressed it tight. "Feel this," she whispered to him, "feel the Nanos. I don't need to exchange Nanos with you, because I am part of you. We connect through the Grid. I don't think it matters if I am in another realm. We are a part of each other."

"I _like_ this feel," Kaidar admitted. He turned to Vevila, "And I will be nice to Vevila so that she might honor me with a ride."

"Very nice," Vevila growled at him.

He looked at her startled. One did not _growl_ at a King. She laughed merrily.

Karissa's eyes grew distant, "We have to go."

She turned to Sharodu.

"You are my friend," Karissa felt heavy in her heart. "It's going to get harder before it will be better. They need you. You can lead the people. They will follow you."

"I still have your Nanos," Sharodu reminded her. "Do you want them back? You might need them."

"No," Karissa touched her face. "I want the connection to you. I _will_ see you again."

"Until then," Sharodu touched her hair. "We have much to do. I'm glad you will not be here during the struggle. We both know that people are going to fight. It is going to get ugly!"

"I know," Karissa nodded.

They were all suddenly whisked up, and sent home, just as Lunshar had spoken.

Kaidar stared at the empty space. All his guests were suddenly gone. For a minute he felt empty and sad. He felt heat coming from his pocket. Reaching in, he felt the crystals, and brought them out. They glistened. He smiled enchanted. Lunshar had not taken her from him. He could feel her as she laughed at him. He smiled.

Toc

# Chapter Twenty-Five

Karissa found herself standing in the Control Room. Ava and Natilie were beside her. She stood, feeling shocked! It had been like a bad dream, and now it was finally ended. Ava pulled her into a hug. Without hesitation, Karissa hugged her back. Tears poured from her eyes—tears of happiness, nervousness, and sorrow.

"Welcome back!" Sandra said happily.

"Thank you," Karissa sniffed.

"Report?" Natilie called out.

"Ling Chen came to herself soon after you left," Sandra listed. "The kidnapping ring's been busted wide open, and Ryion has been returned to his family. His family is anxious to meet Karissa. I didn't commit her to anything. That of course is up to her. Three other cases came up while you were gone, but they've been handled."

Natilie noticed Karissa's frowned when Sandra mentioned meeting Ryion and his family.

"You belong with us," Natilie assured her. "There will be no pressuring for you to join their family!"

"Good," Karissa sighed, "I just couldn't handle that right now."

Ava smelled guilt radiating off of Karissa. She realized that Karissa was feeling guilty about leaving her followers—particularly Shardu.

"The Fawn have to find their own way," Ava reminded her, "we all do."

"I know," Karissa pulled back the tears, "I'm just tired."

"What about the terminals?" Natilie asked Sandra.

"Terminals?" Sandra frowned at her, "to what?"

"Trains?" Natilie answered surprised.

Sandra continued to stare at her.

"Where's Eithan and Aiden?" Natilie frowned at her.

"They returned to the Mages," Sandra answered, "they didn't mind helping out to bust the kidnapping ring, but think you really need to hire someone. They left some recommendations."

Natilie's eyebrows rose. Sandra had no memory of the other dimensions. Ava stared at her with surprise. Karissa frowned.

"Nothing like reality blending into a bad dream which you know was really real," Karissa muttered.

"She's tired," Sandra smiled, "and no wonder. That was some trip you took. Did you actually get to meet your father?"

"Yes," Karissa answered cautiously.

"Next time you go to Europe," Sandra suggested, "it would be better to get some sleep before jet lag can crash you."

"Good idea," Karissa turned to stare at Ava, "and what do you remember of—Europe?"

"Purple crystals," Ava answered.

"And you?" Karissa worriedly turned to Natilie.

"Houses without door knobs," was Natilie's reply.

"Good," Karissa sighed with relief.

"I guess they just didn't want others to figure out how to do all that," Ava suggested.

"I can see that," Karissa sighed tiredly. "When you know something has been done, you know it can be done again."

"Exactly," Ava agreed.

"It doesn't matter what it wants," Natilie spoke loudly. "Everything gets written and logged—everything!"

"We always do," Sandra assured her with a frown, and then her mood lightened, and she laughed. "I almost forgot. This came in for you guys, and your rooms are about ready. I think they are putting in the finishing touches now."

Sandra handed Ava a large envelop with a government stamp.

"Oh-no!" Karissa blushed scarlet as she mumbled. "I meant to take care of that!"

Ava looked at her startled, and handed it to her. Karissa took it gratefully.

Natilie turned to Sandra, "You said their rooms were ready?"

"Just next to Ava's work room," Sandra nodded, "Keith, we are going to need the specks off that. Please don't put it away."

Natilie studied Keith. She didn't know him. He was a slight man, wore glasses, and was going bald. He looked up and studied _her_. He had brilliant purple eyes. She wanted to know why there was a strange man inside _her_ Control Room. More, she could feel he was an O'Byrne, and was already bonded to the company. She held her peace for the moment. She wanted to see what else had changed.

She frowned as she followed Ava and Karissa out of the room. Someone had been meddling with her company, and she could guess who. That's all she needed! Another Deity messing in her business!

They stopped at Karissa's room first. It was empty. Karissa stood in the middle of the rooms. She barely held back the tears. Her whole life had been in those rooms, and someone had gone, and messed with it!

"We can undo this," Natilie's eyes flashed.

Karissa nodded.

"Let's see what they did to you," Natilie frowned at Ava.

"There wasn't much to mess with," Ava shrugged.

"It's still really rude!" Karissa muttered as she marched out of her old rooms. "I liked those rooms!"

Ava and Karissa's new rooms had a new double doorway. Ava frowned upon seeing the door without a door knob. Natilie's brow's shot upwards. It was as she had suspected.

"Ava," Natilie requested, "you try it."

Ava placed her palm against the pad, and the door lock clicked. They pushed the door open, and stood in the doorway.

"Wow," Karissa said in awe, "it's really big."

"I'd like to know who gave permission for the other rooms to be acquired for this renovation?" Natilie blurted out loud.

"Oh come, Natilie," Lunshar walked towards them.

"I told you she would be pissed," Druantia sneered at Lunshar.

"Would it have been too much to have had a discussion?" Natilie growled at him.

"We didn't have time," he shrugged.

"And yet," Karissa surprised them by saying, "you managed all this. I don't like it that you took my rooms away. I love Ava, but I'm not sure I wanted to live with her, and she, she might not want a little kid bugging her all the time. Did you ever think about how we would feel." Karissa got right up into his face, "Do you even _feel_?"

"Of course we _feel_ ," Lunshar sighed. His voice turned softer, more feminine. "We are adapting as well. I can only go by what you yourself have related through the Grid."

"And what can that be?" Karissa asked scathingly. "Ava is not even connected to the Grid!"

There was a strange silence as Lunshar and Druantia silently conversed.

"What?" Natilie demanded.

"This dimension and Erinu's are mirrored realities," Lunshar hesitated, "you probably already guessed that. Both realities have immortals involved with them that mortals are not aware of."

"And?" Natilie asked demurely.

"We—I—am an Immortal of Technology." She shrugged, "we've been involved with your people since they realized their first machine. I believe it was a pulley?"

"Are you asking _me_?" Natilie asked sarcastically. "All that is fine! I've realized for a long time that there were other _creatures_ involved with our little world, but that does not explain why you felt it necessary to mess in mine!"

_"Creatures_ she calls us," Lunshar stared at Druantia.

"I warned you about getting involved," Druantia scoffed. "Your peaceful existence is now at an end." Druantia turned to Natilie, "What she's trying to say, and not doing a very good job of it, is she put back those who had to be returned. She or He, I don't know which, decided that Karissa would be better to remain here. So he adapted her environment to meet her needs. Go inside."

They walked on into the room. People were starting to _mill_ around. Ava shut the doors, closing them out. The front room was really big. In one corner was the entertainment center with a wide screen TV and entertainment system, and a couple of recliner chairs. A lamp was beside each recliner. There was a complete kitchen in the other corner. The rest of the room was empty.

Ava went over to the kitchen and took a quick look.

"It's a very nice kitchen," she turned to Karissa. "Do you cook?"

"No," Karissa stared at her.

"Me, either," Ava looked in a cabinet. It was empty. "Huh!"

"You will have to finish it," Lunshar admitted, "I didn't know if you wanted romping room—or stuff."

Doors led out from the front room. Palm pads were on each door.

"Are these with palm prints?" Ava asked. "I know I don't have Nanos, or at least I hope I still don't—that would be creepy."

"Palm prints," Lunshar acknowledged, "your people are not ready for Nanos."

"Thank God," Ava muttered.

Ava opened the door. Inside was a modern bedroom with a king-sized waterbed. The whole room was done with crisp blues and golds. She pressed on the bed, and found it delightfully warm.

"You can't be expected to sleep on a rock for the rest of your life, now can you?" Druantia asked dryly.

"Thank you," Ava looked at Druantia with surprise. "I'm—humbled that you would do this for me."

"I've claimed you as my own," Druantia told her. "I do that now and then."

"That means she meddles," Natilie whispered to Ava.

Ava laughed. Druantia sniffed.

There were two doors. One led into the biggest closet Ava had ever seen. On one rack were the two dresses from Faerie. There was another dress wrapped in tissue.

"Vevila left it for you," Druantia told her. "It's yours, not just borrowed.

Ava craved to take a peek, but she knew she wouldn't be able to leave it. She opened the other door. It was a huge bathroom with a rose mosaic and a sunken tub. The door from there went straight into Ava's workroom.

"Cool!" Ava commented. "There's been times when I've had to run for it."

"At least now you can," Natilie said dryly.

"Funny," Ava glared at her. Natilie just smiled.

They went into Karissa's rooms next. Her furniture had been placed exactly like it had been before in the other bedroom. The room itself was bigger.

"I can deal with this," Karissa eyed the big TV. The desk had a key pad. She looked at Lunshar inquiringly.

"It connects to the other Dimensions," he admitted, "we did not want you cut off from the Grid. Also, when Ryion is older, he will have to make some decisions. No one else can use it." He turned to Ava. "Both this world and its Mirror _are_ in the Grid, have been, I can see all. The difference is that your world cannot access it. I may never choose for you to. It may not have been, in the best interest of all, to have set up the Grid for the Phen and Fawn. I may have to re-work that connection."

"Moving on," Druantia yawned.

Karissa's second room held her mother's things. Most of it was packed in boxes. It too was bigger.

"I thought you should place her things," Lunshar told her. "It has been a long time since you had organized it. You will probably want to place it differently now."

"Okay," Karissa just nodded, "I'm good with that."

She sat on the bed and stared around. It would work. She glanced at Ava. As long as Ava was okay with it.

"There is another room," Druantia laughed.

"Oh," Karissa eyed the door with yet another key pad, "I thought it was a closet."

"You will have to program the keypad," Druantia told her, "only those you trust with your life will have access."

Karissa's brows went up as she pushed the door open. Inside was what looked like a gaming room. What really caught her attention was the small racing car in the corner. She climbed inside.

"How cool is this!" Karissa said with surprise, and then looked at Druantia. "Trust with my life?"

"The car is a portal," Lunshar told her. "Sure it's a game, but also a real car. It will take you, and one other, into the Phen and Fawn dimensions in real time. Touch the pad."

Karissa touched the pad. She was suddenly interacting with the Grid. She could see all the paths which would take her into her father's world. She could also see her people! She knew where Shardu was! Furthermore, she knew that she would not need a landing port. There were safeties installed to not allow _crashes_. If there was room for her car—she could land!

"Wow!" Karissa blinked as she pulled her hand away. She looked up at Lunshar, "but why didn't you just modify my old rooms."

"You've been adopted," She looked at Karissa with puzzlement, "don't adoptees live with their new families? Your old rooms were not close to Ava's sand room. She needs that."

Karissa turned white. She licked her lips, and looked at Ava.

"May I?" Ava asked, holding out her hand for the government letter.

Karissa handed it to her, and looked away. Inside where her adoption papers. Ava didn't even know yet that she had adopted her!

"I'm okay with this," Ava told her.

Karissa looked up quickly.

"I love this idea!" Ava told her with a big grin. "I would love to claim you as my daughter! I've always wanted a daughter, and _you_ are perfect!"

"You aren't mad?" Karissa whispered.

"Hell no!" Ava held out her hands. Karissa slipped into the hug cheerfully.

"That explains it," Natilie laughed.

"Explains what?" Druantia asked her.

"The birth certificate with Erran named as her father," Natilie laughed, "Idra rubbed my nose in it. _Karissa_ had it created."

"I didn't want to be fatherless," Karissa sniffed. "I still have to correct it though. Now, I have a father!"

"And another mom," Druantia mentioned.

"Oh," Lunshar smacked his head, "I'm so bad at these things. This is yours."

He held out a gold necklace with a small cascade of purple crystals.

"It's not a Tiara," he told her. "It can't be used as such, but some Queens insisted that they were to remain with you."

Karissa took it from his fingers. She didn't need to put it on to feel her mother. She looked up with surprise. There were hundreds of Queens inside.

"They wouldn't get out," Lunshar added sheepishly.

"I'm good with this," Natilie eyed Lunshar, "you are done, aren't you?"

"For now," she smiled at Natilie.

"I'll try and keep her in line," Druantia said dryly.

Natilie looked around with satisfaction, "I'm hungry."

"Home," Karissa grinned appreciatively.

Ava laughed, feeling like she truly was home for the first time in many years.

Toc

# Characters

### RAVEN'S INVESTIGATION BOSSES:

NATILIE O'BYRNE – Founded Raven Investigations. Gifts; Seer, Intuitive, Astral projection. Has the Moon-Blade. Highly trained in martial arts. Near immortal.

VEVILA ERIN O'BYRNE – One of the original seven sisters. Gifts; Persuasion, Languages, Travel. Highly trained in martial arts. Near immortal.

### LINKED WITH RAVEN'S INVESTIGATION:

AIDEN – Master with computers, twin to Eithan.

ANTHONY MEYERS/ Anthar – Ling's Assistant.

AVA / Snake Lady / Beatrice Broadwick – She mutated because of a snake and 94QPO.

BABY SITTER – Kidnapped Ryion.

BABY SITTER'S BOYFRIEND – Kidnapped Ryion.

BERNARD – A thug

CARL – Dr. Brenner's assistant.

CAROLYN O'BYRNE – Has not discovered her gift.

CHERRY – Intuitive in the sorting room.

DASH – Ex-military. Master Gunnery Sergeant with the Marines. Works in the Control Room, active operative.

DANNY WILSON/ Dannar – Odd jobs. Connected through the Alliance.

DARLENE O'BYRNE – Can see ghosts.

DR. BRENNER / THE DOCTOR – Was a doctor experimenting with hybrid snake genetics. Now, a ghost.

DR. EDITH O'BYRNE – Ava's healer. Specializes in DNA.

DR. IVAN CHANCY – Doctor in the 1950's who performed DNA experiments using 94QPO on humans.

DR. LENARD HEMMING – Genetic scientist. Organized experimentation.

DR. SAMUAL O'BYRNE – Genetic decoder within Dara's group.

EITHAN – Master with computers, twin to Aiden.

EMILY O'BYRNE – Natilie's cousin, wife to Stone, works for The Mages. Gifts; Teleportation, Telekinesis, Sight.

ERRAN – Master with computers.

IDRA O'BYRNE – A nuisance.

JERI O'BYRNE – Natilie's cousin, works for The Mages as an assassin. Gifts; Teleportation, Telekinesis, Sight. Highly trained in martial arts.

JANET – Computer Geek.

KEITH O'BYRNE – New to the Control Room

JOSHUA – Assassin, works for The Mages. Can do spells.

LING CHEN – Requested by Vevila to help Ava. Descendant of Meifen. Gift; See's Auras, Levitation.

LING – Ava's physical therapist.

MARY – Decoy. Karissa uses the name to hide her gift with computers.

MARIANNE LIZ O'BYRNE – Traitor to the O'Byrne family.

MAXINE – Head of the sorting room; Intuitive.

MEIFEN – Ling Chen's ancestor who was the seven sister's mentor and trainer.

MARK – Coordinator in the Control Room. Gift; Telekinesis.

MACKEY – A thug.

PATTY – Assistant cook.

RANDY O'BYRNE – Head of The Mages. Is autistic. Gifts; See's futures – Clairvoyant.

RYION – Karissa's brother, a young child.

SANDRA COSTELLO – F.B.I. agent assigned permanently to Raven Investigations. Gifts; Intuitive.

SKYLAR – Hired as extra muscle for Raven Investigations. Connection through the Alliance.

STONE O'BYRNE – Husband to Emily, works for The Mages, giant size, secretive about his gifts.

TAMMY – Works at Raven Investigators in administration.

TAWNY O'BYRNE – Natilie's daughter. Mostly Elfin. Gifts; Fire burst, Transformation, Glamour. Has a Daemon made sword. Highly trained in martial arts.

TEDDY O'BYRNE – Teacher.

THE DREAMERS – Richard and Tina, can see past events by force-dreaming.

TRAVIS – Security in the sorting room.

TRISH – Head Cook.

### CHILDREN LIVING AT THE FACTORY:

GWENDOLYN A. FERGUSON – child age 10.

JACKSON O'BYRNE – age 14, Gift; Intuitive

JULIE – child age 10

KARISSA MARIE JENNIFER MONICU CHATEINEZ – age 10. Gift; Expert with computers. Born with Nanos.

KYLE – age 13

MANDY O'BYRNE – 13, secretive about her gift.

PETER – age 14

SIMON – age 11

### FAWN / FAWNISH: The U at the end of the name is silent.

ANNEU – Jeoru's warrior

CLEOTU – Queen of the North – The White Queen.

DEBRU – Jeoru's warrior.

ELBETU – Was the Prime Queen – The Green Queen.

ERINU – From a mirror dimension of Vevila.

JEORU – Queen of the South – The Orange Queen.

MENZU– Jeoru's warrior

MEONNA – Queen of the East – The Purple Queen. Karissa's mother, took her kids and ran!

ROSHU – Queen of the West – The Red Queen.

SHARDU – Jeoru's warrior.

STEFENU – Meonna's cousin.

TANISHU – Jeoru's warrior.

WINDSU – Jeoru's warrior, good with knives.

PHEN / PHENS:

ANTHAR / Anthony – Prince revolutionist. A would-be King.

BEKNAR – King.

CELIVON – She was murdered

DANNAR / Danny – Prince revolutionist.

GATHAR– Prince.

KAIDAR JANSE MICKAL – King, Karissa and Ryion's father.

LING – From a mirror dimension of Ling Chen.

SKYLAR– Revolutionist. A would-be Prince.

STEPHAR – King.

TENNAR– Prince

WINDSAR– A very young Prince. His group has not been _announced_.

### ORGANIZATIONS:

DARA'S PEOPLE – O'BYRNE healers. They run a hospital with a special ward. They are descended from one of the seven sisters.

NCMEC – National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

FAWN – Society with Queens ruling. People are born with Nanos.

RAVEN'S INVESTIGATIONS – Normal and paranormal investigations.

F.B.I. – Federal Bureau of Investigation.

MDS BIO-GLOBAL PROJECT – Mutation through DNA Splicing Biology-Global Project. Project to maintain human superiority during era of global warming.

PHEN – Society with Kings ruling. People are born with Nanos.

THE ALLIANCE – Magically gifted people, mentored by the O'Byrne family,

THE KANE – One of the O'Byrne branches from the seven daughters.

THE MAGES – Pledged to bring magical deviants to justice. Called on for high level difficulties.

THE O'BYRNE – Children of Druantia, magical.

### ITEMS / THINGS:

94QPO – A drug used in DNA experimental splicing.

ANGSTICE– Tiara which carries the Nanos of the White Queens.

Ani-Ava – Animation of Ava on the computer.

BENJI – Karissa's avatar. A Bengal tiger.

CHELSTICE– Tiara which carries the Nanos of the Purple Queens.

DARK ENERGY / MATTER (DM) – Theoretical matter and/or energy which is hard to find, but is in everything.

DARK MATTER MONSTER – Karissa found it in the systems. It consumes _things_.

DIME-TIME TERMINAL – Dimensional time travel terminal, trains.

KALITON– a drink to revive magical depletion.

KEY TO HEAVEN'S GATE – Karissa finds it on the unicorn inside the computer systems.

MOON-BLADE – A knife given to Natilie from Druantia. It was made by Thymane long ago.

MOON-BITS – Tools and objects Thymane made for Natilie from the same metal as the Moon-Blade.

NANOS – Particles within a computer system which carry energy and logic.

ONGSTICE– Tiara which carries the Nanos of the Orange Queens.

ROSETICE– Tiara which carries the Nanos of the Red Queens.

SHEMLAK– a covenant between the Kings and Princes.

SHERIDAINE– Crown city of the Prime Queen. Her crown has Green crystals. The Prime is the most prolific.

THE GRID – People who have Nanos can access the grid. The grid is also a tool used by Lunau and Palshar to keep watch over their people.

TIARA – A royal half-crown.

### IMMORTALS:

BREEZE – An air elemental.

DRUANTIA – Part Angel, Human, Elfin – was remade. Is the Blood of the O'Byrne.

LUNAU – Female Twin of Sirius, Queen's Grid.

LUNSHAR – The Twins merged, The Grid.

PALSHAR – Male Twin of Sirius, King's Grid.

SWIRL – An air elemental.

THYMANE – Daemon, Fallen Angel, Succubus, Weapon's Master, Master Metal Smith.

Toc

# From the Author

I not only write fantasy, but also some of my own personal fantasies. When I feel particularly tired and achy with the fibromyalgia, I've sometimes thought on how it would be interesting for this to be just a transition phase to something bigger, better, more powerful, even super human.

To be clear, I have never fantasized about becoming a Snake. I just like the idea that one day, the symptoms will cease, and those who suffer will be actually better off than before. Angels, aliens, mad scientists, earth's pollutants; have all, at one time or another, figured in with these thoughts.

What about you? What do you dream?
