Chapter Ten

Bo sat at the desk in Lauren's lab, trying her best not to bother her fiancé while she created the serum they needed. It was a struggle because all she wanted to do was kill Aldern and move on with the changes they needed to make. She hoped making an example of the defiant Elder would make the others take her seriously and they could have an actual discussion involving change.

But she needed to kill him first.

"How much longer?"

Lauren looked up from what she was doing and smiled. "You need to learn patience. I've only been working for 45 minutes."

"Sorry," Bo said, smiling so that her dimples showed. "I just want to get this over with."

"I know. I want to get the mixture right because I have a feeling we're only going to get one shot to inject him."

Bo thought about it for a minute. "What about the stuff you used when we were trying to track Vex down? When I assumed he was the one who turned me Dark? Nectar of something?"

"Nectar of violet?" Lauren smiled at what Bo said and Bo immediately thought she looked amazingly cute. "I thought about that, too, but then I figured since the Dark had so much of it that Aldern might have something to protect himself from it. So with that in mind, I'm using nectar of violet as a base and adding to it. Give it a little more pop to really incapacitate him."

"Will the injection kill him?"

Lauren shook her head. "I figured you might want to talk to him before you kill him, just in case he has a change of heart."

"Oh, I doubt he'll have a change of heart but I should probably give him a chance," Bo said. Her phone buzzed and when she looked at it she saw that it was Dyson wanting an update. "I guess I'm not the only one in a hurry. Dyson's checking in."

"Hey, I still have a job to do," Lauren remarked. "One I take seriously."

Bo knew by Lauren's tone that she was anxious. "Hey, we know. Everyone just wants to put all this behind us. Get rid of Aldern and concentrate on what's next."

Lauren let out a breath and looked back at the serum. "You mean have a few days of relative quiet before the next crisis?"

"Something like that." Bo stood up and walked over to where Lauren was working, keeping a couple feet away so Lauren had room to work. "I could get that job I should've had by now if not for all the extra distractions. Maybe we could even look for a bigger place, one that isn't connected to the Dark."

"You mean not in Dark territory or not connected to Evony?"

"Maybe a little of both," Bo admitted. "The territory part shouldn't matter anymore if we're trying to get rid of the sides but I'd be lying if I said I was 100% okay with living in a place Evony bribed you with."

Lauren loaded up a needle and capped the tip, looking at Bo with a smile on her face. "You have to admit, it was a pretty nice bribe."

Bo shook her head, trying not to laugh at the playful look on Lauren's face. "All I'm saying is that we should look for a new place. Maybe think about a date for the wedding."

"You really are thinking ahead," Lauren said. "Tell you what: after today, we look for a new place and then talk about a wedding. Something small, just a few friends?"

"I love the sound of that." Bo leaned in and kissed her. "You're going to use the dart gun for this?"

"It makes the most sense." Lauren loaded two darts into the gun that she had on the table. "I made enough for two shots. I didn't want to use too much more of my supplies. Some of what I used in rare."

"Then why use it?"

"Because if it's rare then there's less of a chance that he'll be prepared to fight against it." Lauren smiled and gave Bo the gun. "Let's get to the Dal since everyone's in a hurry."

The hint of sarcasm was not lost on Bo and she grinned, taking Lauren's hand. "I love you."

"And I love you."

Bo stopped in front of the gate of Aldern's gate, Lauren in the passenger seat beside her. She looked in her rearview mirror and saw Dyson's car pull in behind her, Vex in the passenger seat and Mark sitting in the back. The two vehicles were more subtle than Vex's RV and they needed the space for weapons. They also needed all five of them fighting together. Bo didn't want to leave anyone behind.

The grounds of the estate were quiet and Bo couldn't see anyone roaming around even though she expected to see someone caring to the grounds. Instead, she saw no one and when she turned to Lauren, she could see that her fiancé was thinking along the same lines. "It's quiet."

"Are you expecting people or Fae to just start running towards us?"

"Very funny," Bo said, reaching out to give Lauren's hand a squeeze. "I have no doubt that you know how to protect yourself but please be careful. Aldern knows that the best way to hurt me is to do something to you and that would be right."

Lauren lifted Bo's hand to her lips, placing a soft kiss on it. "I will be careful but I'm going to do whatever I can to help. I know everyone else will be doing what they can to protect all of us."

Bo nodded as she heard a tap on her window. She turned away from Lauren to see Dyson standing beside the car, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Letting out a breath, she let go of Lauren's hand and opened the door.

"Ready to do this?"

"More than ever," Bo responded. She looked at the gate and noticed that Aldern hadn't bothered to fix it from the last time they were there. "I guess he doesn't believe in quick repairs."

"Maybe he didn't think we'd be back so soon."

"So what's the plan then?" Vex asked as he walked over to them with Mark. "Simply rush the place?"

"I figure we keep it simple. Go in, find Aldern and shoot him with the serum Lauren made. See if he has any last words and then kill him." Bo took the dart gun and gave it to Dyson. "Lauren made two darts so one of them has to stick."

Dyson nodded. "As soon as I get a clear shot, I'll take it. Once he's down, the kill is yours."

"Then let's go."

The group walked quickly up the drive toward the main door, Bo taking the lead. She looked around for any sign of anyone outside but didn't see anything. That seemed very out of the ordinary and then she remembered that Aldern had panic rooms in his vast mansion. "Vex, did you bring anything in case Aldern is camped out in a panic room."

"I have some explosives but I can control him if the walls of the panic room aren't too thick," Vex said. "He would need them to be thin so he can control the Humans around him."

"Good point." Bo put her hand on the door knob, finding it to be unlocked. "Any Human comes at you, nonlethal combat only. They're not in control."

When they walked into the house it was eerily quiet. There didn't seem to be anyone there but Bo knew better than to believe that they were alone. She just knew that Aldern wanted to defeat her because it would most certainly raise his status within the Fae ranks. That meant he was simply waiting for the right time to strike.

"Anyone know where the panic rooms are in this place?"

"I knew this would come in handy," Mark said and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. "I know you don't want any of Trick's stuff wrecked but I figured it would be worth the risk to bring this with."

Bo took the paper and unfolded it to reveal the layout they had found in Trick's lair when they first began looking for something to fight Aldern. "Good call, Mark," Bo said, earning a little smile from him.

"Should we split up?" Vex asked.

"We should stay together," Dyson said. "We want Lauren's serum to weaken him so we can go in for the kill. We can't do that if the group who doesn't have the serum encounters him first."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

The group turned to the end of the front room they were in to see the butler, one that Bo knew was Human. He was flanked by two very bulky guards, men who looked like they could be Bruce's brothers. Both looked like men Bo didn't want to mess with and she sure as hell didn't want them anywhere near Lauren.

"Dyson, Vex, take them out," Bo said. "No killing."

"You are no fun sometimes," Vex commented. "The two Hulky gents are Fae, Bruce's brothers by the look of it."

"Vex."

"Yeah, yeah."

Dyson growled and rushed the pair, Vex not far behind. Vex went for one of the guards first, making him grab a nearby vase and break it over his head. The act made him dizzy but it didn't completely knock him out. He ended up having to break two more vases over his head before he collapsed on the floor, unconscious for the time being. Meanwhile, Dyson jumped and tackled the other guard, taking his head in his hands and hitting it against the ground hard enough to knock him out.

Bo walked quickly toward them, Lauren and Mark following behind her. The butler hadn't moved even with the fighting around him and to Bo, that meant that he was not in control of himself. "I have a feeling he will fight us, too."

"I think I have something for that," Lauren said, reaching into a pocket inside her leather jacket. "We need to shut down the brain waves that Aldern has control over."

She took out a syringe that was filled with a light green liquid and took the cap off. The man stood still as they approached, even as Dyson and Vex righted themselves and were looking to Bo for the next move. "I will fight to the death for my master," he said calmly.

"Yeah, you won't," Lauren said and rushed him before anyone else could. The move made Bo nervous but she knew she needed to trust that Lauren knew how to take care of herself. Sure enough, before the butler could react to someone rushing him, Lauren stuck a needle into his upper arm.

"Lauren, what are you giving him?"

"Something that minimizes higher function," Lauren answered Mark's question, removing the needle and stepping away quickly as the man started to strike out at her. "Give it a few seconds."

"What," the butler started to say but then stopped and almost collapsed to the floor. He righted himself by gripping onto a table against the wall. He stood again and looked around, like he was trying to figure out where he was. "What happened to me?"

Bo looked into his eyes and saw only confusion in them. "You've been controlled but you're okay now. Leave this house immediately."

He didn't question the statement, even though Bo thought he would. Instead, he only looked at her wide-eyed for a few seconds before nodding and running toward the door. It was an easy fix that Lauren hadn't told her about, making Bo wonder what else Lauren had brought with her.

"Lauren, how much of that did you bring?"

"I only have three shots left," Lauren answered. "I didn't make much and once Aldern is dead the hold he has on any of the inhabitants here will go away. If we concentrate on finding Aldern and not on fighting anyone, we shouldn't need that many."

"Okay, then where to next?" Mark asked. "I think the map said he had a room near the kitchen."

Bo nodded but didn't respond, only looked down at the map before moving through the walls toward the other side of the large house where the kitchen was. The rest of the group traveled behind her silently, all of them likely staying aware of their surroundings in order to make sure no one snuck up on them. Bo was also concerned that Aldern had set traps. He obviously was prepared for them to show up, if the guards Dyson and Vex had just knocked out were any indication.

"Leave my house right now," a voice said over a loudspeaker.

Bo looked up toward the ceiling and noticed a camera mounted in the corner of the kitchen as they entered it and pointed directly at them. "Why you come out and face us then? Instead of hiding like a coward!"

"Being smart doesn't make me a coward," Aldern said over the speaker.

"Hiding scared in a room while controlling others to fight for you definitely makes you a coward," Bo countered. "Now come out here or we'll tear this place apart."

"You'll do no such thing."

Bo had an idea then and turned to the group. "He's probably pretty materialistic and shallow, right?"

"Likely," Vex commented. "Everything in this estate is screaming money. Old money."

"Destroy everything that looks valuable," Bo said. "If he's not going to come out here, make him suffer."

"A little destruction, I like it," Vex said as he smiled and walked over a painting on the wall. "You know, I never liked this painting. It was the previous Morrigan's." He hoisted it off the wall before punching a hole through it and dropping it to the ground. "That's a better look, yeah?"

Bo grinned at the action and walked over a case in the kitchen that proudly displayed antique china. All it took was one dedicated push and the whole case fell over, causing a large crash, glass spilling out onto the floor. She was about to move to another cabinet when she heard Aldern's voice on the loudspeaker again.

"How dare you?! Just one piece of that was worth more than your pathetic life!"

"Come out here and stop me!"

Mark jumped up and snatched the camera off the ceiling, crushing it with his bare hands. Bo opened her mouth to say that wasn't the plan but then she noticed why he had destroyed the camera. A painting Dyson had taken off the wall revealed what looked like a safe but it wasn't. Instead, it was a simple keypad. Once Bo moved closer, she could see the faint outline of a door.

"I thought he didn't need to see this part," Mark said. "If he's in this one, he doesn't need to know we're coming."

"Agreed."

"Is it Fae or Human technology?" Bo asked.

Dyson and Lauren were looking it over but Dyson turned his head to look at her. "I think it's a mix of both. The keypad is simple tech but it might be enchanted."

"Well, can we break the code?"

"I'm not sure, Bo," Lauren said, her expression showing that she was thinking of all the possibilities. "We don't know the combination."

"Maybe there's a way around that," Dyson said and punched the keypad as hard as he could. Most of the pad broke apart, its pieces falling to the floor. He reached in and pulled out the wires, ignoring the obvious sparks that came with the destruction.

The door began to move and Dyson pulled out the dart gun, checking that the darts Lauren placed in it were ready to go. It only opened a crack so Mark and Vex moved in, opening it enough for Dyson and Bo to squeeze through. What they found was a dim room, mostly lit by TV monitors that displayed views from the cameras around the property.

Bo felt a hand on her arm and turned around to see Lauren at her expectantly. "Listen," she whispered.

She did and noticed that there was mumbling coming from room that was connected to the one they were in. It didn't sound like English so Bo figured that it was a chant or spell of some sort. She couldn't even tell if it was Aldern doing the chanting but thought it was a likely possibility. With a nod toward Dyson, she let him take the lead into the next room since he had the gun.

When they entered they found Aldern, eyes closed and sweating, swaying as he chanted. He was shirtless, wearing only tan slacks as he sat on the floor. Without any warning, Dyson pointed the dart gun and shot him in the arm. It was then that he opened his eyes, looking down at the dart before looking at the group.

"Do you really think anything your Human pet cooks up can really hurt me?"

"I think you should know by now not to underestimate Dr. Lewis," Bo said. "You should be happy we didn't just come in guns blazing."

"I knew you wouldn't do that," he said, smiling in a way that made Bo think the serum was working. He didn't look like he was in his right mind. "I might have a Human shield. That's all they're good for."

He moved to stand but was a little shaky on his feet and couldn't hide it, even though it looked like he was trying. As he stood and turned to face them, Bo could see he had a gun sticking out of the waistband of his slacks and that made her nervous. She couldn't have anyone getting shot, especially not Lauren. The estate was far from any hospital and while Lauren had brought some supplies, nothing wound perfectly patch up a gunshot wound.

"Dyson." Bo nodded her head at him.

He was already looking at it though and the pair moved to the other side of the room quickly, making sure they blocked the rest of the group from Aldern. The serum was affecting him quickly though and in the few short seconds it took to reach him, he was already struggling to stand.

Bo pushed him down to the ground and stood over him. "We're not going to stop working to change the colony. Are you willing to stand aside or work with us?"

Aldern let out a sarcastic chuckle. "I will never allow Humans to think they are equal to Fae. I will always work to restore the old ways. I will start by making sure all of you are punished." He started laughing, almost as though he was drunk. "I bet your Human pet will enjoy serving me."

"You're going to be an example of what happens to Fae when they think the old ways are what's best," Bo said, looking down at him.

She reached a hand back, hoping that Vex would know what she wanted. Sure enough, she felt the handle of the sword in her hand. She brought it forward and looked it over, noticing that it had been sharpened. Aldern laughed again when he saw the weapon, feeling the full effect of the drugs in his system.

"You don't have what it takes, Bo," he said, slurring slightly. "You'll never really kill me."

"And that's where you're wrong," Bo said, lifting the sword up then bringing it down hard, decapitating Aldern quickly.

"Well, that was unsettling," Vex said. "That serum really packed a punch."

Bo ignored the comment and turned to Dyson. "Did you bring the bag?"

"It's in the car."

"What's going on, Bo?"

Looking to Lauren, Bo saw the concerned look on her face and knew she needed to explain. She was also aware that they needed to leave the estate quickly, just in case there were more traps or if Aldern sounded some sort of an alarm. "We need a show of power for when we see the Elders next. I'm going to call a meeting for tomorrow and we're taking his head."

"Isn't that a little extreme?" Lauren asked.

"We need to prove he's dead and that we did it because of what he was trying to do," Bo explained. "Sometimes we need to show force. That's what Daphne insinuated."

Lauren looked uncertain but she nodded anyway. From the look, Bo knew they would be discussing the topic later and she only hoped that Lauren would see the logic behind her actions. She knew she needed to let that go for now and instead helped Dyson get the head into a bag and then all of them walked out of the panic room.

"Do you think they're going to show up?"

Bo looked up from her slice of pizza and at her fiancé. "If there's a chance they can undermine me, they'll show. Besides, I bet someone will try to contact Aldern and when they can't they will show up to the Dal to get answers."

Lauren nodded. "Did you really need to take his head?"

"I needed to do something drastic, Lauren. I don't want them to come after any of us and they can't get their way and go back to the way it was before."

"I understand that, Bo," Lauren said calmly. "I just don't want you sink to their level or begin to do things that will make you lose that Human part of you that I love so much. The humanity you feel is what sets you apart from many Fae."

"And you think beheading Aldern wasn't justified? He wanted to enslave Humans, Lauren. Hell, he was one of the Dark Fae that wanted to punish you, make you suffer because you didn't serve in the right way."

"I know, Bo," Lauren said. She leaned back in her chair, the remaining food on her plate forgotten. "I realize what some of the Elders think of me but I also have become very resourceful and I have you. I only worry that we'll cross a line if we fight at their level."

"I won't use Humans like they will." Bo let out a sigh, looking around the apartment. They had left Aldern's head at the clinic and then all of them had went their separate ways. Lauren and Bo had gone back to their apartment but there had been an uneasiness hovering over them until now. This seemed to be a conversation they needed to have. "I don't want to kill anyone, Lauren. I won't unless I have to but I want them to think I will kill all of them if I have to."

"Keep the Dark Queen alive in their minds?"

"I might as well make use of it," Bo said, letting a small smile show. "They are afraid of the power I have and Aldern did terrible things. One big example hopefully can prevent any other killing."

Lauren looked uncertain for a moment before reaching across the table and taking Bo's hand. "I know you'll do the right thing."

"Thank you for believing in me."

"Always."

A/N: sorry about the delay. I was sick last week so I couldn't finish this chapter up. Plenty to come now that Aldern is dead. Please let me know what you think. I'll be working on New Rules next and I don't travel next week so I hope to write a lot more. Until next time! Twitter: hayley128. :)