“They’re safe… in another lab further down.”

“Safe? How so? They’re being experimented upon! This is completely immoral, not to mention illegal!”

Marita sighed. “Illegal to whom? There is no longer a Council, Marion. I am the law now.”

“What are you doing?” Marion cried. “This isn’t you. You wouldn’t do this. You wouldn’t torture and experiment upon innocent children!”

Marita flinched. “I’m not torturing them.”

Marion gazed at her aghast. Had her sister gone completely mad? “What do you call putting them in cages?”

Her sister’s shoulders slumped, her marble poise deserting her under some invisible crushing weight. “Certain sacrifices have to be made, sister. Don’t you see? Before Caia, the Midnights were winning.”

“Oh goddess, Marita, if father knew who he had left to the run the Coven-”

“Father!” Marita spat. “He was the one who told me things needed to change. He was the one who told me we needed to be more ruthless in our dealings.” She smirked as if enjoying her latest revelation. “Father was the one who left the plans for the laboratories. He believed that experimenting with genetics was the only way to win the war. And he was right. If the Midnights were winning before Caia… with her… we will be destroyed. But these children are the key.”

Marion shook her head in denial. “How on earth could he think that? How can you?”

“Because he was proven right.”

Marion stared at her blankly.

Her sister smiled. “Jaeden. She has telekinetic abilities, has had ever since her time with Ethan.”

“He tortured her! Do you intend to do the same to these children?!”

The look of outrage she was hoping to see appear on Marita’s face at the mere suggestion did not, and in that moment it felt as if her entire world was shattering into a million unglue-able pieces.

“I am hoping it will not come to that. But if it does… so be it. We need an army of ‘Caias’ to win, and if we can’t have that then the next best thing is an army of ‘Jaedens’.”

“This is madness. We were winning. With Caia on our side we were winning!”

“No! That filthy Midnight bitch was never on our side! She went to the Council to have me killed so she could be Head of the Coven! Head of both Covens, Marion… do you have any idea how powerful that would have made her?”

Marion felt the tears running down her cheeks. “She went to the Council because of what she found down here. She would have saved us, Marita. It was prophesized-”

“It was not! It was prophesized that her birth would bring an end to the war… it didn’t say how.”

Marion shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. She would have saved us. Now we’ll be lucky if she doesn’t turn to the Midnights for what you’ve done. Let them go. Let the Council go. We’ll plead your case. It’ll be OK. I promise.”

Marita’s pinched expression gave way to disgust. She glared at Marion with such rage that Marion knew… for Marita there was no going back.

“You are either with me, or against me.”

Marion straightened, her steel spine suddenly finding itself again. “Then I’m against you.”

For a moment an utter sadness flitted across her sister’s face. And then just as suddenly it was replaced with anger. “Then I’m afrai-”

Marion didn’t give her time to finish. She gathered all her strength and pushed her energy force out at her sister, knocking the witch off her feet and out of the door, only to smash her against the opposite corridor wall. With a sweep of her arm she created a high wall of fire across the doorway and turned to the children, melting each lock on the seven cages.

The children were frightened by the height and heat of the flames at her back and she found herself hurriedly coaxing them out of their cages. What she was about to do no one had ever survived… but the children… the children would be OK. There wasn’t any other way.

“Marion!” her sister shrieked.

“Hold tight to me,” she urged the children, grasping them roughly to her, making sure each little hand clasped her arms.

The pain was excruciating. A communication spell should never be used to transport more than two beings, the kind of power needed to do so could rip a person apart, and that, coupled with the fear of hurting any of the children, only made the agonizing burning in every molecule of her being that much fierier.

At the sudden silence she opened her eyes and gasped in relief. They had made it. Saffron blinked back at her from her perch on her sofa. They were in Saffron’s home, a place she knew for some mysterious reason, Marita could never find in her trace. And Saffron was incredibly choosy about who was invited.

One of the children suddenly brought her attention back to them as he threw up on her boot.

“What?” Saffron yelped and moved towards them. She blurred across Marion’s vision, and the room began to slowly turn itself upside down. She burned like ice all over. The pain. It was just too much.

“Marion!”

Her body began to fall apart, her mind with it, and she descended into the darkest of peace.

Caia almost jumped back in shock as Jaeden rushed at her, but was pleasantly surprised as her friend’s arms tightened around her, pulling her into a suffocating hug.

“Oh gods, am I ever glad to see you!”

Caia smiled and gently pried her back at arm’s length. “Blame Reuben for my sudden disappearance. He’s the one who kidnapped me.”

Jaeden hissed at the revelation and turned to stab Reuben with her ferocious glare. “What exactly does that mean?”

Caia momentarily ignored her to smile at Laila and Vil, who were quietly watching them all. “You guys OK?”

They nodded mutely.

“Caia?” Jae demanded.

“Sit down. Please. This needs to be quick.”

Despite that statement it took a little longer than she had hoped to explain everything, especially with Reuben jumping in constantly to fill in the parts she had missed out. She finally got through the tale when his cell rang and he went off into the other room to speak with Nikolai. When he returned he hadn’t looked concerned so Caia had continued on. While Vil and Laila were looking on with ever-growing fascination, she could see Jaeden turn a shade darker with rage as the tale unfolded. When Reuben explained how he had masked Vil’s trace so Marita couldn’t find them, Caia almost rolled her eyes at the hero worship in their gaze.

“Wow.” Vil smiled widely at Reuben, his pale eyes glittering in fascination. “You masked my trace? Thank you.”

“From us both,” Laila added sweetly.

“Hey, hey!” Jae jumped to her feet, a growl burrowing out from the back of her throat. “Don’t thank him!” She turned on Reuben, her eyes brimming with outrage and hurt. “You tricked me. Lied to me. Used me!”

Caia was completely unsurprised by his stoic nod and matter-of-fact response, “Yes.”

Jaeden stilled.

Oh goddess, Caia groaned inwardly.

“Yes?” Jae whispered. “Yes? That’s all you have to say. I could kill you!”

As she lunged towards him Caia threw up an invisible barrier between them causing Jae to bounce gently back off of it. She snarled and whipped around to glare at her.

Caia shrugged wearily. “Believe me, it was for your own good.”

Her friend snorted. “Like he would dare hit me back.”

I wouldn’t be so sure. Caia raised an eyebrow and they both looked at Reuben who shrugged. “If the attack is unprovoked… I hit back.”

“Unprovoked,” Jae spluttered.

For Gaia’s sake.

“Jeez, Reuben, could you at least try here?” Caia pleaded.

“OK, maybe she’s been a little provoked.”

“You used her. She thought you were her friend.”

“She is standing right here,” Jaeden snapped.

Reuben shrugged again. “I am her friend. It was just… necessary. I don’t apologize for what is necessary.”

Jae snorted. “Oh.” She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “So, coming on to me was necessary was it?”

Well... Caia hadn’t known about that part.

Reuben grinned. “Nah, that was just fun.”

“You’re a creep.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

Sure that if she let them, their argument would continue on into the wee hours of the morning, Caia stood up to interrupt, “If we’re done, may I suggest we get a move on.”

“Please.” Reuben nodded.

Jaeden didn’t look too happy about her grievance being dismissed so casually but she nodded reluctantly along with Vil and Laila and sat back down again. “What’s the plan?”

Taking a deep breath, Caia began to lay it out for them. “First we approach the families of the Council members who have been imprisoned. Believe me they will be happy to help. Second-”

“Wait,” Vil suddenly interrupted, “I know Reuben is masking my trace, but how on earth can we contact all those people without Marita being alerted to it?”

The vampyre’s expression didn’t change. He responded blandly, “I’m masking a number of traces at the moment. Another few shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Another few,” Jaeden grunted. “We’re talking about at least ten magiks.”

“More actually.” Caia sighed. “After we gather some magiks from that group, I’m going to approach the MacLachlans for help. Including Phoebe, they have another four lykans among them capable of fighting. After that we’re returning to Lucien’s, where Reuben will mask the trace of the guards and the entire pack so Marita won’t be alerted to the fact that we’ve taken the guards out and rescued the pack.”

“That’s at least forty people, how-”