Kestrel paced round the small cabin. She hoped everyone would get there soon. She was quite aware that she had sounded more than a little panicked on the phone to Vergil. She hadn't been expecting him to answer it if the truth is told, but then if Dante had been driving it was only natural for him to pick up.

Her blood ran cold as she thought of how stupid she had been. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And she knew she shouldn't be blaming herself for it, but she couldn't help it. Tia was her daughter, her youngest.

She wanted to blame Carver. She wanted to vent all her rage on him. How dare he get her child kidnapped? Why had he not been there last night? What had been so important that it went above her own daughter's safety?

A noise made her start and run to the window. It was only a pheasant. There were many of them in the forest, and they were all free for the taking. She could just imagine Dante shooting one for dinner. She hoped that he didn't. She wasn't too sure how to prepare it. But then again, Vergil would know. With all his experience in slicing and dicing, he would surely know how to do it.

She sniggered as she pictured Dante running around after one of the birds trying to catch it while it was alive. She pictured herself laughing at the picnic table out the front and Vergil frowning in frustration while Dante made strange bird noises.

She almost laughed out loud before she thought that Tia would find it highly amusing and would most likely have been sitting on the table and would be laughing so hard she would almost fall off.

Kestrel clutched at her necklace and pressed her head against the cool glass. Her breath was ragged and it misted up the window. She closed her eyes and sighed. She just wanted her daughter back.

She wandered into the kitchen and put the kettle on. She pulled 4 cups out of the cupboard and put a tea bag in each, a few spoons of sugar in her own and a few in the fourth one. She waited for the kettle to boil while absently mindedly filling up the sugar bowl. She picked a few cushions up from the sofa and fluffed them up a bit.

Dante and Vergil always sat on that one, she knew they would have had a long journey and would want to have a bit of a rest. Its not like they would be able to do anything until Carver was here with the most up to date information.

She flicked on the TV and channel hopped for a few minutes before getting back up to check on the kettle. She hadn't plugged the thing in. She muttered to herself and dug around in the back cupboard looking for the power lead.

By the time she had found it, she had to pull out the iron, the ironing board and the Hoover, she was covered in grime.

She put the plug on the side and glanced at the clock. She figured she'd have time to get cleaned up. A quick dip might do her good. She grabbed a towel and the keys and headed for the nearby waterfall.

It was one of her favourite places to go in the forest. The water was crisp and clean, and it was sheltered from passers by, not that many people ventured into the forest. There was all manner of strange creatures in the forest. Most humans knew better than to wander in too far.

She stripped off and hopped in. The water was cold and took her breath away for a moment, but after a few minutes of bobbing about she found it quite pleasant.

She quickly washed off and climbed back out. She sat on the bank for a few minutes, her teeth chattering from the sudden change in temperature. It wasn't cold out of the water, but the woods were dark and it gave the air a slight chill.

She dusted off her dress and put it back on. The fabric was rough against her cool skin as she shuffled into her overdress. She tied up the lacing and picked up her towel. It was only then she realised she had gone out without any form of weapon. She glanced around the forest suddenly feeling vulnerable and started back off for the cabin.

She looked over her shoulder as she fumbled with the keys. She swore that something was watching her. She quickly got into the cabin and leant with her back against the door, listening for any signs of movement.

When she heard nothing she looked out of the spy hole. Nothing was out there. She glanced out of the large window at the front of the cabin, realising that whatever had been out there may have been looking in at her from there.

She quickly peeked out of the window and stifled a scream. There was feathers and blood everywhere over the grass in front of the cabin. The body of the dead pheasant was hanging from his neck off the bird feeder. Its intestines were trailing on the floor and its eyes were wide and staring.

She looked down at the window, there was blood smeared on the bottom. She thought it might be words, but she couldn't make them out from where she was standing. Kestrel backed to the other wall and stared. She choked back a sob and slid to the floor with her back against the wall.

"Save me Mummy…"