Chapter 4

The Dal Riata upstairs apartment

Bo lifted two suitcases putting them on the bed as Lauren was unpacking another.

'Home sweet home' she said 'Well, for tonight, and maybe another couple more days' 'Dyson said he put the rest of your stuff in the basement for now'.

'Not bad, not bad at all' Lauren said looking around the bedroom 'I mean, we can get lavishly drunk at the bar now, and not have to worry about getting home' 'I could get used to that'

Bo laughed 'I remember you warning me about too much drinking at one time' 'Something about not wanting to be on the receiving end of a drunken succubus booty call?'

Lauren turned around and reached for Bo's hands pulling her in 'Well, you're my girlfriend now' 'I expect' Lauren kissed her lips 'a lot' kissed her again 'of ' traced her tongue and lips in Bo's neck 'succubus' nibbled softly 'booty'.

Dyson cleared his throat' 'Sorry to interrupt, but we have to go.' 'I just got a call, there's been a new attack' 'Looks like the same MO as Jake Sullivan'

'Damn, Dyson, have you no sense of timing?' Bo scoffed.

Lauren pecked the brunette on the lips. 'Continue this later?'

'Always'

Dyson's car

'So you guys are moving in together?'

There was just the faintest whiff of jealousy in Dyson's voice, but Bo could also hear sincere curiosity. It was always an awkward conversation to have with an ex, but what she wanted most of all, was to always be honest with Dyson.

'We are' 'I love her, Dyson' 'I'm also terrified of losing her'

Dyson frowned 'Cause she's human?'

'No, not really' 'I had this dream the day before yesterday' Bo realized as she started to tell Dyson about her dream how much the nightmare had been weighing on her, how much she had wanted to confide in someone, and so she told him every little detail, including how pale and drained Lauren had looked, and how powerless Bo had been to stop whoever dragged Lauren to hell with 'them'.

'It didn't feel like a dream' 'That's the worst part' 'I know the last couple of weeks have been unreal and it would almost be natural to have these types of dreams, but it was more than that' 'It was like seeing the future' 'And, I can't deal with that' 'I can't deal with another death' 'Not her death'

'I swore fealty to you a long time ago, Bo' 'We'll protect her'

Bo nodded.

'You know, I didn't only ask about you and her living together for my own peace of mind'

It was Bo's turn to frown at Dyson 'What do you mean?'

'You're looking for a house, right?'

'Well, yeah' 'If you happen to find one rent free with all the modern comforts like walls and decent plumbing, please let me know' 'Electricity is a plus' 'It's not like Lauren and I are what you call wealthy'

'I don't know about Lauren, I'm sure the Ash never really paid her bucket loads, but you..'

Five minutes later

Bo sat in the car trying to process what the wolf had just told her. There was a lot of frowning involved then the start of a question, resulting in just a vowel coming out and a head that tilted from side to side, followed by a deep inhale, then another failed question…Finally, she landed on the perfect thing to say.

'Shut up!'

Dyson laughed amused 'Bo, out of all the things you've learnt about your family these last couple of years, you're surprised they have money?' 'You're royalty'

'Hey! 'I know Trick was a monarch, but he had to flee and go undercover like eons ago' 'And THAT much money?' 'I just always assumed he'd left everything behind'

'Some of it' 'Though I'm sure if you headed back to Ireland, to Dal Riata, that the Fae there would welcome you as their rightful queen' 'As THE 'Mac Cionaoith'

'THE Mac Cion…' what now?

THE 'Mac Cionaoith, 'Mac Cionaoith is the Irish equivalent of the name McKenna, lass. Dyson said his voice suddenly heavy with his native accent. 'We say you are THE McKenna when you are the head of your house, which you are as Trick's heir'

'Hah!' Bo chuckled and laughed 'I'm not even going to reply to that'

'Trick could never really openly spend his money here'. 'It would have raised too many questions, and he never wanted people to know he was the Blood King.' 'But you, with Trick gone, and you as his rightful heir, there is no reason for you not to claim your birthright.' 'And I don't just mean the money, claiming your birthright means taking your place among the noble families, among our royalty.'

'Why would I want to do that?'

'To effect change?' 'As soon as he went undercover, Trick only ever did that from the shadows. 'But, he did it for the good of the Fae' 'He knew that you would be able to take up an active role if you wanted to' 'I think he would of liked that'

I'm not political, Dyson. I have no tolerance for bullshit and no patience for endless discussion.'

'Well, I'm sure you would carve out your own special way of being political' 'Just think about it' 'Whether you want to take on that role or not, just remember that you ARE the McKenna now' 'Meanwhile, there's nothing wrong with spending some of that money on a house.'

Fifteen minutes later, the Stewart Residence

Bo and Dyson arrived at the scene of the crime, and all thoughts about buying a house instantly fell away seeming superficial and irrelevant. The Stewarts had been a family of 5: Paul Stewart, a 40-year-old social worker, Tina, a 37-year-old doctor and their three daughters; Molly, Danny and the youngest, who had just learnt how to walk, Meghan. When Bo and Dyson entered the house, the amount of blood covering the walls and the floor was enormous. It seemed that Paul Stewart had been assaulted at the door, his throat slit, but somehow he had managed to fall and then crawl his way to the living room, probably in a desperate attempt to warn his wife who lay beside her husband in an equally large pool of blood. The bodies themselves were drained like Jake Sullivan had been. The sight in the upstairs bedroom had been even more horrendous. The three girls had been murdered in much the same way their parents had been. Their beds one large stain of blood, but instead of having been completely drained, their faces were left untouched, as if they were simply sleeping. Bo couldn't utter a word, instead, she had to use every ounce of strength she had in her body to fight back tears, rage and nausea.

Dyson's place

Lauren used Dyson's spare key to get into the gym, and headed straight for the kitchen. She placed the heavy bags of groceries on the kitchen table and started unloading them. Jenna's head popped in from the living room.

'Lauren'

'I thought you could use some groceries' 'Dyson did tell you, I would be stopping by, right?' 'I didn't scare you?'

'No, no, I just didn't know it was going to be you.'

'I wanted to check up on you.'

Jenna nodded, visibly moved by Lauren's visit and walked up to her friend to give her a tight hug.

'How are the kids?' Lauren asked after they broke their embrace.

'They are as well as can be expected, I suppose.' 'Neither slept much last night, they…' 'Hold on, lemme help with that' Jenna started unpacking one of the other bags.

'They think about their dad' 'I do too' 'It keeps us up' 'Maybe you can ask your friend Bo to use her magic touch on them later?' 'I would really love for them to get some sleep'

'Of course.'

'And, wow, you really got us everything!'

'Well, I did remember that you're partial to Cheetos, and then I also remembered you were always ordering lemon chicken when we'd eat out.' Lauren pulled out a chicken and a couple of lemons. 'I actually have a good recipe for that.'

'You learnt how to cook?' 'Wow, I would not have guessed that' 'Not after you almost burnt our kitchen down trying to make us breakfast one time.'

Lauren laughed out loud 'Those were the days.' 'Not like you were all that great behind the cooker.'

'I was always better at cooking something up in the lab.' 'Jake was the cook at our house.' 'Ally too, she makes us dinner twice a week.'

'I was wondering about that.' 'She moved with you?' Lauren opened the fridge, stocking it with the sodas she'd gotten the family.

'When we had to flee, I had to tell Ally.' 'She's the only family I have ' Lauren nodded. Allison and Jenna had lost their parents to a car accident only a few years into studying at Yale, it had been a hard time for the two sisters, but the experience had brought them closer together. 'So she decided to come with us' 'She always had her own house and all, but she wanted to be near the kids'

'Where are the boys?'

'They're downstairs in the gym' 'Ally thought that if she could spar with them, it might take their minds off of things, and Dyson said he didn't mind.'

'Allison spars?'

'She did, she took some self-defense classes after the first time Jake and I had to move.' 'She was pretty good it seems.' 'But, that's Ally for ya, whatever she starts, she excels at.'

'So annoying sometimes'

Jenna laughed ' Look who's talking, you were EXACTLY the same!'

'No, no, I'm horrible at anything physical, that was always Ally.' Lauren offered with a smile. It felt good to banter with an old friend like this, to feel normal.

'Hmm, maybe, but you were always better at the science' Jenna stated, then paused… 'She still misses you, you know'

Lauren had just put away the last of the groceries, a roll of Oreos and a bag of Cheetos, and raised a brow.

'She broke up with me, remember?'

'I know, but I think she regrets it' 'She's never really been with anyone else after you.' 'Nothing serious at least.'

'A lot has happened since then, Jenn' 'I'm sure she's fine with the way her life turned out.' 'Ally has always been a bit of a lone wolf'

'True.' 'So, tell me about you.' 'How did you get involved with the übermenschen?'

'It's a long story' 'Basically, they blackmailed me, got me to work for them for a long time'

'Sounds like them'

'You worked for them too, didn't you?'

Jenna sighed and then reluctantly nodded 'It's the only reason they kept us safe' 'Not like we had any money to offer them. 'Or, not the type of money the Fae are used to' 'So I did research for them' 'Jake designed houses for the rich and powerful' 'The last three years or so were actually not that bad'

'Did you know about the Chimaera project?' Lauren eyed her friend

'I'd heard of it' Jenna admitted 'Experiments conducted, top secret, before my time'

Why didn't you tell Bo and Dyson that you worked for the Dark Fae?

'I didn't know it was relevant, and I wasn't about to bite the hand that has been feeding me for the last three years by divulging classified information' 'I have a family I need to protect, Lauren' 'What is left of it anyway' 'That succubus is unaligned, and Dyson is Light' 'What did you expect me to do?'

The Stewarts' Garden

The sight of the three children upstairs in their beds had been too much for Bo's body and mind to cope with. She ran out of the house to the garden and steadied herself on a huge oak tree as she saw the whole world swirl before her. She couldn't breathe, and she felt like she was going to vomit. Right before the world went dark, time slowed down. She could hear every rabbit rustle in the grass, every bird flap its wings and she could even hear water coursing through the oak tree's trunk to the branches and up to the leaves. Her eyes flashed a shade of blue and then she collapsed.

'Bo?' Dyson's voice sounded insistent

'Bo?' Her eyes fluttered open.

'Dyson'

The sick feeling in her stomach hadn't dissipated yet, so she turned and sped for the bushes.

'Are you okay?' she heard Dyson call.

'I'm alright' she shouted, wiped her mouth, and walked back to where Dyson was standing next to the oak tree 'As alright as people can be after this' ' We need to get this psycho, Dyson' As the succubus and the wolf headed back to the car, Bo saw that one of the big branches of the tree was dead, dried out….she could have sworn the tree had been completely green before.

The Dark Fae Lab

Lauren peered at the 53rd solution she had tried today. As she stared at its structure a sigh from deep within arose. She closed her eyes, shook her head and moved on to the next sample. After half an hour she gave up. Science was getting her nowhere. She grabbed her keys from the desk, and headed for the Dark archive. If she couldn't geek this one out over a microscope, perhaps she would be able to nerd this out over the archive books'

Outside the Stewart's Residence

Bo stood with the police report in hand

'Tina Stewart' 'That's the Light Fae doctor who replaced Lauren'

'Are you sure?' Dyson asked startled.

'Pretty sure' 'Somehow these people are all connected' 'My guts tells me that that arrogant asshole Descamps is right in the smack middle of this'

'Mine too' 'He's got an alibi though' 'His 27-year-old secretary likes to work long hours with him' 'They were there from 9.30 to 11.15pm'

'If what Lauren says is true, then he could also have the ability to be in two places at the same time' 'Didn't Evony say that some of the families actually funded the research? 'What if the Descamps did, and somehow they kept experimenting?' 'If they truly do descend from Hermes, then they've been around for millennia, they must have had access to Glimmers' 'I'm starting to think they were being hunted for more than just sport'

Dyson was nodding 'It's still's a big if'

' I know.' We need to figure out how the victims are related to one another' 'I'll head back to the lab, see what Lauren has uncovered, and what she knows about Tina'

'Okay, I'll follow up here' 'Take my car, I'll catch a ride back to the police station.'

The Dark Fae lab

Bo leaned against the doorframe and glanced over at the beautiful blonde who had her nose stuck in a book oblivious to anything but the page.

'Hey'

Lauren turned and smiled.

'Hey, yourself.'

'Any luck on the samples?'

'Nope' 'None' 'That's why I'm reading these' Lauren picked up one of the heavy, leather bound books she had lying on her desk 'And actually, I might have found something'

Bo walked over and took a seat on the desk next to Lauren's 'Great, we can use some good news right now.'

Lauren frowned.

'I'll tell you in a second.' 'What ya got, doc?'

'Well, I couldn't find anything out from the samples, so I went to our working theory that this creature we are fighting is some sort of hybrid. It occurred to me that if our chimaera has some of the Glimmer's powers, it might also have some of its weaknesses or greatest weakness'

'Okay, but I thought you said they've been extinct for centuries.' 'So no research I would think then?'

'Correct!... and incorrect!' Lauren replied.

Bo raised a brow.

'They've been extinct for Millenia, actually' Lauren smiled, taking gleeful pleasure in correcting Bo.

Bo chuckled 'And the part I correctly assessed, my brilliant doctor?'

'That would be the research part.' 'You're right, there wasn't any done, BUT, you do remember Evony saying that some Fae used to hunt them, like as a sport?'

'You went looking for somebody's hunting diary?

'Precisely.'

'Brilliant!'

'Well, it's only brilliant if my working theory is correct'

'What is their weakness?'

'Direct sunlight' 'Glimmers are forest creatures, they live in indirect sunlight only, and they are extremely sensitive to very bright sunlight.' 'My guess is though, that our Chimaera is only sensitive to light when he is in glimmer mode, so it's tricky.'

'Sunlight, really?' 'Like a Vampire?'

'Actually, Vampires grew a tolerance to sunlight long ago'

'What?' 'Vampires exist?' 'They're real?' Bo asked incredulously.

'Babe, you're a Succubus.' 'Why would you question the fact that vampires exist?'

'I dunno' 'They're creepy!' Bo cringed a little 'With the fangs that shoot out and all that…' Bo gestured with her hands, trying to mimic the fangs. 'And the blood..'

Lauren rolled her eyes amused. 'They are perfectly integrated members of the Fae community'

'Yes, until they invite you to one of their blood-drinking soirees, and they suck you dry!'

'Babe' 'I've told you to stop watching those DVD's Kenzi left behind'

Bo scoffed. 'Pfttt' 'What else am I supposed to watch when I can't sleep?'

'Hmm' 'Let's revisit your sleeping issues at a later time, shall we?' Lauren said with a look that was equal parts glare and concern. Bo nodded, and redirected her focus to the task at hand.

'So…. I need artificial sunlight, no way he's going to glimmer during the day'

'Yes, and we don't know what else type of powers he has, so the sunlight is our best bet, my best bet' 'Fortunately, we had a couple of flashlights converted to artificial sunlight for experiments a couple of years back' 'I had them brought over' Lauren pointed to a wooden box in the corner of the room

'Okay, sunlight it is then'

'What's wrong?' Lauren asked seeing the worried look in Bo's eyes

Bo forced a faint smile 'You're getting too good at reading me' 'It's this case' 'We, eh…' Bo reached over for Lauren's hands and took a deep breath 'We found Tina Stewart dead' 'Same M.O. as Jake Sullivan'

'Tina?' Lauren repeated not completely comprehending. 'You mean Dr Stewart?'

'Yeah, your replacement with the Light Fae'

Lauren blinked, trying to process the information.
'She had a family, three girls I think'

Bo nodded and bit her lip, the terrible images of the house flashing in her mind making her nauseous again. She felt Lauren's pulse racing as she read Bo's expression.

'They were all killed' Bo struggled 'We need to stop this guy, Lauren' 'He needs to die'
'Jake was killed, you were attacked, and now your replacement has been murdered' 'What do you guys have in common?'

'The research' Lauren said almost immediately 'Tina was already on staff when I joined the Light Fae, she was one of Dr Shaughnessy's assistants like I was' 'And, I don't think Jake was ever the target, I think Jenna was' 'I talked to her earlier on' 'She's a molecular biologist, Bo, she's been working for the Dark Fae for God knows how long…'

'That's why they sheltered her' 'Another one of their human slaves'

Lauren nodded 'She must have known about the research too'

'But if Jenna was the target, why didn't the creature kill her when he had the chance at the house?' 'That still bugs me' 'It kills Jim, it kills Brad, but not Jenna while she's human, sleeping on the couch'

'I think that's the point...' Lauren said, a theory developing in her mind. 'She was no threat' 'When Faes shift, their instinct takes over. It's why you have a hard time …

'It's why I'm the skank of the family' Bo offered with a grin ' I get it'

'Don't put it that way' Lauren chided seriously.

Bo chuckled and offered Lauren a sympathetic grin ' Please continue'

'This creature becomes a predator when it shifts' 'I think it automatically targets the biggest threat first before moving on to the lesser threat.'

'So you think it took out Jim first because he was the strongest and then it moved to Brad..' 'Then it came back for Mark?'

'It's flimsy, I know. But, it's my best guess, I think this thing is very irrational, instinctual and rage driven during its shift' 'Come to think of it, this thing might be a 'regular Joe' during office hours, but at night…'

'He might be Mr. Hyde?'

'Exactly'

'Alright, so who is the next victim?' 'Who else would have known about the research?'

'Kenneth is dead, I can't think of any other scientist involved'

'Maybe we shouldn't be looking for a scientist' Bo sighed as her heart sank.

'Evony' Lauren muttered.

Bo looked outside, daylight was already fading.

'Call Dyson, call Vex and Mark and tell them to head to Evony's house!' 'Call Evony, and tell her to get out of the house to a public spot. '

'I'm going with you.'

'Babe, please don't.' ' I need you safe.' Bo said pleadingly.

Lauren was already putting flashlights in her bag. 'Look, that creature scared the life out of me, I'm not going to lie' 'But you need me, and Jake, Jenna, the kids, Tina...they all deserve me fighting for them' 'If the flashlights don't work, maybe I can improvise' Lauren said holding up five syringes. 'There is some very nasty stuff in there' 'If this stuff doesn't kill that thing, it may give you a fighting chance.'

Bo knew not to argue with Lauren.

'Lead the way, Dr Frankenstein.'

The Marquise Manor

Evony? Bo shouted, as Dyson, Mark, Vex and Lauren trickled in behind her. There was no answer from the former Morrigan. Bo hoped that meant she had gotten out in time' They were inside of Evony's large entrance hall, the entire manor seemed deserted, but there was something in Bo that told her they were being watched. Mark and Dyson had felt it too and the two shifters were flaring their inner animal. Bo's sword caught the moon's reflection throwing patches of light in the room. Bo couldn't see anything, but she heard Mark's growl next to her.

'COME ON OUT, PSYCHO!' 'I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE' ' COME PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE'

A high pitched laugh resonated through the entrance hall, bouncing off the walls creating a debilitating pain bringing the entire party to its knees.

'The creature jumped down from the rafters and shrieked

'OWN SIZE?' The creature laughed maniacally. 'YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I AM! It raged. 'NOW BOW AT MY FEET!' The creature's voice droned in their heads. His order was compelling, compulsory. Unable to stay standing, Bo, along with Mark and Dyson fell to their knees completely, and involuntarily obeyed by the creature's demand.

The only one able to resist, Vex gathered his strength and waved his hand, throwing the creature to the other side of the room. There was a loud thud and then moments later another high pitched laugh filled the room.

'IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?' The thing's voice was now low and menacing, Bo had barely recovered from the Siren attack when she saw a pair of green eyes narrowing on her. She tightened the grip on her sword, ready to lunge, but the creature, now a huge black panther jumped over Bo and came down on Mark burying his razor sharp claws and fangs in the boy's neck. Dyson jumped on the creature in an attempt to free his son, but it dematerialized in front of them only to laugh again from yet another corner of the room.

'LAUREN' Bo shouted 'GET MARK OUT OF HERE!' 'WE'LL DEAL WITH THIS!'

'BO!' Lauren shouted back, and threw one of the artificial sunlight flashlights she had with her. The Succubus caught it with one hand.

'YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR ME!' the voice rang out.

'NO MATCH?' 'YOU'RE A COWARD!' 'YOU ONLY COME OUT NOW BECAUSE YOU THINK THERE IS NO ONE LEFT TO CHALLENGE YOU' 'FOR YEARS YOU'VE BEEN HIDING, AND EVEN NOW YOU REFUSE TO FIGHT ME!'

Bo shouted as her eyes flared a deep blue and she sucked the chi from Dyson and Vex who collapsed next to her. She had drained most of their energy, powering herself up but not all. If anything the encounters with her father had taught her a thing or two about control.

'As you want,…girly' Louis Descamps singsonged.

There was a kick to her stomach that sent her flying across the floor, the flash light tossed out of reach.

'Son of a …' Bo muttered as she scrambled to her feet. Descamps materialized in front of her, his skin was translucent, his eyes bulging' Bo lunged to grab him but she only caught air which made the Chimaera burst into laughter again. 'YOU CANNOT CATCH ME!'

'I AM A GOD!' 'AND SOON YOU WILL ALL BE DEAD!' he raged this time materializing mere inches from Bo's face. ''THE ONES WHO OPPOSE US, THE UNDERFAE, THE HUMANS AND…'

This time it was Bo's time to laugh. 'YOU'RE NOT A GOD, DESCAMPS!' Bo spat, clutching her stomach. 'YOU ARE A PATHETIC LITTLE MAN WITH AN OVERSIZE BANK ACCOUNT WHO HAD TO HUNT DEFENSELESS CREATURES TO MAKE YOU INTO 'WHATEVER' IT IS YOU ARE NOW' The Succubus chuckled while wincing. 'BY THE WAY, HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU, YOU HAVE SERIOUSLY BAD BREATH?'

A kick to the head and a sharp pain in her temple followed immediately and seemingly out of nowhere. 'Damnit, that hurt' Bo cursed as she found herself on the floor again

'SUCH FILTH' The rafters spat in delight.

'I HEAR PEPPERMINTS CAN GO A LONG WAY WITH HALITOSIS' Bo offered up to the vast darkness around her. The brunette knew her taunts would not go unpunished, but Lauren had told her this thing would be susceptible to its most basic instincts and rage. Right now she needed to rile Descamps up enough so he'd get careless.

'WHACK' Blood exploded from Bo's nose. Another blow to her side, another rib broke.

'How DARE you?!' ' YOU ARE A TRAILER TRASH WHORE! A DEGENERATE, VERMIN!'

Her succubus pulled at the energies around her. She found none but Dyson and Vex' and immediately cut the flow.

'PATHETIC!' The rafters scorned' YOUR SUCCUBUS POWERS WONT WORK ON ME, WHORE!' 'SUCH A SIMPLETON YOU ARE, BO DENNIS' 'I SUPPOSE THAT HUMAN OF YOURS IS THE BRAIN OF THE OPERATION' 'HOW I WILL DELIGHT IN KILLING HER'

'YOU'RE DELUSIONAL, DESCAMPS!' Bo angered quickly at the mention of Lauren's name. 'I WILL KILL Y…'

Bo couldn't breathe…Descamps' hands were around her neck. She felt strength seep out of her, as if he was sucking her Chi. Descamps' eyes flickered blue. He picked her up without effort, Bo's legs kicked the air hoping to find purchase, but he threw her away without effort.

'NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND, VERMIN?' 'I AM THE NEXT STEP' Descamps' voice thundered in Bo's head as she lay broken on the floor. Bo's heart rate sped up, she'd underestimated Descamps and the power he wielded. Her breathing was shallow, ribs pressing against a long, or perhaps they'd already perforated one.

Tunnel vision made the succubus dizzy, but then her dizziness inexplicably lifted. She spotted the flashlight Lauren had given her. It was busted, but perhaps it would still work. It was worth a shot. Bo lifted her head.

'You're despicable' Descamps was again only inches away, he was whispering now. 'Filth' Bo knew she had to make her move, she needed to take him out, she knew he was about to land his final blow. Her body struggled, resisted, only requesting inches of movement when she was asking for meters.

'EVERYONE YOU KNOW WILL DIE, WHORE' 'I WILL SEE TO THAT'

Bo's blood boiled, her eyes flickering to blue.

'I will personally squeeze the life out of that human girlfriend of yours' 'I will make my way through the ranks…' he was close by, Bo felt the words almost graze by her cheek.

Bo's hand reached for the flashlight. Pain momentarily forgotten; she remembered what Lauren had told her. She needed to get the light on him when he was shifting back and forth in glimmer mode. But how in hell was she supposed to do that when she had no idea where he was?

The flashlight was her secret weapon, once revealed, the jig would be up.

One shot….No pressure… What's new right? Bo winced…the Succubus took over, her eyes a steady blue, her muscles suddenly listening to the request of standing up.

'NO MORE GAMES' Bo said not recognizing her own voice. Finding Descamps suddenly became a question of feeling as Bo gave full control over to the creature inside of her. She did not feel him brush by, she did not catch a glimpse of him or heard him, but she was aware of him; his darkness was palpable, trackable now.

Fingers closed…she noticed him passing….light flicked on.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGH! The Chimaera screamed as his skin riddled with burn masks.

The Succubus' hand wrapped around Descamps neck; he was now a toy to her, a rag doll like she had been only minutes earlier. She lifted him up by the neck kicking the air, choking.

'WHAT ARE YOU?' He managed to croak.

'HAVEN'T YOU HEARD?' I'M HADES' BEAST!' The Succubus said then snapped Descamps' neck, and threw him down the hall. Bo's eyes almost immediately returned to their normal brown. She turned towards Vex and Dyson and let her energy flow back to them before she collapsed.

Outside Marquise Manor

The creature stood grieving over the body of his father feeling his loss deeply. But his father's sacrifice had not been in vain. The master had foreseen this. The master had foreseen it all and the father had gladly donated his life for the cause. For now the creature would have to retreat to the shadows, and the gentleman would have to rise. But, the creature would be waiting, he would be anticipating, he would wait for the right moment to strike and when he did, he would relish and bathe in its bloody glory.

Several minutes later

Bo slowly heard sounds come back to her and shades come into view. When her eyes fluttered open completely Lauren sat beside her, holding her hand. 'You're a sight for sore eyes' she said softly smiling, and then asked

'How's Mark?'

'He's fine' Lauren replied, making a full recovery. 'How are you feeling?'

'Bit low on energy, but I'm okay'

Lauren nodded, and stated manner of factually 'I've talked to Dyson about that, I'll call him' 'He can help with that'

'No' 'He should be with his son'

'Bo, you need to heal'

'I do, but not with Dyson'

And that concludes chapter 4 and Chimaera. Thanks for the reviews!I'm super stoked about them! Please keep 'em coming cause they inspire me to keep writing :) With regards to the interaction between Lauren and her ex, there will be more of that, but the thick of it won't be right away. What I basically wanted to do with this first episode/story was set out some plot lines and create some characters that would pop up throughout the continuation of these stories. Creating a 'Lauren ex' was a given for me for a number of reasons, and she'll be there to 'muck' things up in due time :) But, for now there is more Bo and Lauren 'love, adventure and drama' coming up.