Chapter 10

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Danielle was wearing her graduation robe and her cap as she sat among her peers. She was finally graduating. After five years of struggling, studying mythological creature and folklore legends, she saying her goodbyes to college.

"I would like to begin by congratulating the graduates of Locksley University. It is your hard work that has brought you to the finish line of your studies here, and to the starting line of your professional careers and the rest of your lives really." The Dean started. "I know this is a big day and I know you will enjoy and remember it. I also want to congratulate the parents and families of the graduates. Your support of these students is essential to what they have achieved. So, it is your moment, too, to enjoy and remember." Then he paused. "My heart goes to Joshua Hills whose life was shortened abruptly and who will not share this moment with his peers." He remained silent for a minute and the audience followed his example. "To the students that has the opportunity to graduate today, I would say this. Your years in college and your graduation are the first steps on the long journey that life is. A journey that has its trials and hardships, but take courage, because it's a journey worth living. And if you made it that far, you know what it takes. It takes not only courage but also faith. A specific faith, by and large, doing the best you possibly can at what you value doing, will bring you the chances, the opportunities you need. Think hard but not too hard. Don't worry too much about figuring out a precise strategy, a step by step plan." He nodded at the students. "I congratulate you for all that you have achieved and all that you will achieve—This mighty class of 2010. You are awesome. It has been an honor to address you and your families on this special day. Thank you for that honor and the best of luck."i

The crowd applauded as the Dean went back to his seat. The Chancellor took place and called one by one the name of the Graduands. "Danielle Jennings." She called at last. Kenzi, Bo and Gail all stood at once and cheered her loudly. Danielle walked onto the stage, shook hands with the Chancellor, took her cylinder and walked off stage.

The four women walked into the Dal, laughing and cheering. Bo and Kenzi were following Dani and Gail to the bar. Gail had her arm around Dani's shoulders, the latter was still wearing her graduation gown. Her gown was opened and showed her green dress. It was simple and knee length, she also wore a pair of black heels.

"Trick. Old friend." Gail greeted the bartender.

"Gail, it's been a long time." Trick greeted back.

"As you know and see, my little Dani-bear graduated today and we are here to celebrate." Gail said patting Danielle's shoulders.

"Congratulations, Danielle!" Trick smiled at the Banshee.

"Thank you, Trick." Danielle smiled back.

"How about you join in the celebration by serving us and yourself some champagne?" Gail continued.

"Champagne!" Kenzi squealed.

"Save some for us." Dyson said joining the small group at the bar.

"Shapeshifter." Danielle greeted him.

"Banshee." He greeted back.

"Hey, Lil' Red. Congratulations." Hale greeted putting his hand on top of Danielle's head and giving it a little shake.

"Thanks, Hal." Dani slapped his hand away.

Gail handed a glass to Danielle. "Let's all raise our glass for the woman of the day. Danielle Jennings, newly Master Gaduate. Congratulations to you."

"We're proud of you, Dan." Bo smiled at the Banshee. They all raised their glasses before downing their drinks.

"Your father would have been so proud of you." Gail said pulling Danielle to her.

"I really hope so." Danielle replied.

"Trust me. I knew my brother better than anyone and I've seen you grew into yourself. You have become more than he would have ever dreamed of." Gail assured her. "And this is just the beginning."

"Well, let's drink to that then." Danielle said drinking from her glass.

Few days later, Bo, Kenzi and Danielle entered an abandoned building. "He is being such a girl." Bo complained about Dyson for the hundredth time.

"Why, because wolf boy's tired of you life-sucking him whenever the mood hits?" Kenzi sot back sarcastically. "You're right. What an asshole."

"It is not like he's not getting anything out of it. Trust me." Bo countered.

"Okay, didn't need that much details." Danielle said looking around the empty place with her flashlight. "You can't really blame Dyson for being sour over the whole situation and I'm pretty sure Lauren would feel the same way."

"Time to pick a team, dude." Kenzi agreed.

"Teams are stupid."

"Are you sure this is where we are supposed to meet this guy?" Kenzi asked after they roamed the place without meeting a single soul.

"Yeah, but it'll be short meeting." Bo said walking further ahead of them, Danielle following her.

"Why?" Kenzi asked as she finally stopped next to Bo.

"Cause that's him." Bo said as they all stared at a man hanging dead from the ceiling.

Kenzi suddenly slapped Danielle's arm. "You could have warned us. 'Heads up, there's a dead guy in here.'"

"First, I'm not a dead body detector." Danielle said walking towards the body. "Second, he's still alive."

"Did you not see the rope from which he's hanging?" Bo pointed out joining her.

The "dead" man gasped as he woke up, scaring Kenzi in the process. The latter pulled out her katana ready to strike the man. "Hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. Relax." He stopped her. "I'm on your side." Danielle pushed Kenzi back. "Can you call off your human, please?"

"Sorry, thought you were dead." Bo told him.

"Told you he wasn't." Danielle chimed in.

"What's with the noose?" Bo asked him, rolling her eyes at Danielle.

"Ugh, unrelated business disagreement." He replied. "Dead." He chuckled freeing himself from the noose. "As if a little lynching could kill me. I'm mildly insulted."

"I mildly apologize." Bo retorted. She dropped the duffel bag filled with blood bags at the man's feet. "So, what's this information I'm gonna be dying to have?"

He opened the bag and took one of the blood bag from it and sniffed it with excitement. He stood up. "What if I said I found your mother? Hmm?"

Bo's reaction was immediate as she grabbed him by the throat and lifted him from the ground. "I'd say you better not be messing with me, Siegfried." She warned him.

"Here." He said giving her a piece of paper. She let him go as she took it from him.

The paper read "Baby killer sentenced." Bo asked "Is this her?"

"For 20 blood bags? You wish." Siegfried answered. "That's as far as I got on the trail. The rest is up to you. She's out of my reach."

"Lou Ann Heidinger?" Bo read out.

"Come on. Short, fat and fangy here is playing us." Kenzi said.

"You know her?" Bo asked her.

"Yeah, she's all over the news." Kenzi replied. "And not only is she on death row, but she's on the other side of the border, genius. Her execution is in, like, three days. That's very convenient."

"I said she had the answers. I didn't say you had a lot of time to get them." Siegfried smiled at them.

Dressed in a navy-blue suit, with a white buttoned up shirt, Danielle walked alongside Bo and Kenzi in the hallway of the prison. Prison in which Lou-Ann Heidinger was waiting for her execution.

"Now, Lauren's acting jealous, I swear." Bo complained once again about her love life.

"What a dilemma." Danielle shot back.

"The three of you should just get a room already." Kenzi exhaled. "Here." She handed them a badge each. "I owe about a million favors for the rush job on these."

"Nice work." Bo commented.

They dropped the badges and the contents of their pockets on a tray, while the guards checked if they had any prohibited items on them. Once they were cleared they walked up to the guard at the entrance of the visits ward.

"Special Agent Krazner and associates." Bo introduced herself showing him her badge. "We're here to conduct a final profile."

He looked at his clipboard, on which the list of the visitors expected was. "No. I don't see you on the list." His answer was expected.

"Sure, you do." Bo said leaning into him while Kenzi and Danielle exchanged a look. "It's right…here;" Bo said touching his hand and using her succubus' charms on him.

"Okay." He said now smiling stupidly. Which was also to be expected. "Head on in, Agents. And if you need anything, um, just call me."

"I bet you've never paid for a single speeding ticket. Bitch." Kenzi commented.

All three of them sat down at a table, as Lou-Ann was let in the room. She sat across Bo. "What do you want?" She asked them immediately.

Danielle knew from the moment Lou-Ann stepped into the room, that the woman was Fae. "Well, first off, for the record, we aren't really cops." Kenzi told the woman.

"She knows." Bo said. "She's fae." They both remained silent staring at each other. "I'm looking for my mother." Bo finally said. "I was told that you might know who she is."

"I don't even know who you are." Lou-Ann replied.

"Surely, you've heard of the unaligned faes. Especially, of the one who was raised by Humans." Danielle told her.

"You're the foundling." Lou-Ann said looking straight at Bo. "They are talking about you, even in here." Kenzi glanced at Bo, worriedly. "Just rumors, though. Nothing that could help you."

"Are you sure you don't know anything?" Bo asked her again.

"Believe it or not, I am the last person that would want to keep a mother from her child." Lou-Ann answered. "Someone's wasting your time and you're wasting mine." She said getting up.

Danielle frowned at that, the woman was surely hiding something. "Siegfried sends his best." Bo called after her as she was being led away.

Lou-Ann looked at her before shrugging. "Never heard of him."

"Well, that was rude and anticlimactic." Kenzi commented.

"Something's wrong." Bo said getting up.

"It's not just me, then." Danielle said following her.

"I just don't think Siegfried would have lied to me like that." Bo continued.

"Why, did he find vampire Jesus?" Kenzi scoffed.

"No, but he knows I'm gonna turn right back around and kick his ass…a lot." Bo retorted. "There's easier ways for him to score blood. There's something else going on here."

When Bo and Danielle arrived in front of Siegfried's place, they saw multiple police cars parked in front of the building. Danielle knew immediately that something was wrong and that things just got complicated for them. She looked at Bo and just shook her head in the negative. Nothing more needed to be said. Something bad happened and Siegfried was dead. And yet Bo entered the building and Danielle followed her.

Bo went under the yellow tape that was spread in front of Siegfried's door. "What happened?" She asked standing in front of Dyson.

"What the hell are you two doing at my crime scene?" Dyson hissed at them as he dragged them after him.

"Just tell me…is Siegfried dead?" She asked already knowing the answer.

"So, you admit knowing him?" Dyson asked her in his turn.

"He was helping me with something." Bo answered.

"Something what?"

"Something personal." Bo said reluctantly.

"Bo, please don't tell me this was another tip on your mother." Dyson said exasperated. Neither Bo or Danielle said a word. "Jeez." Dyson said pulling Bo with him as Danielle followed them.

"You don't get to judge me." Bo said as they walked down the stairs. "You did not spend the last ten years a raging freak with a body count. I'm entitle to some damn answers."

"Fine. What was this incredible tip?"

"He directed us to Lou-Ann Heidinger." Danielle told him. "Saying that she might have some information about Bo's mother. But it was a dead end."

"Did you know she's fae?" Bo asked him.

"She's dark fae. And whenever they're involved, Bo, you back off." Dyson warned her. "I hope you're dropping this now."

"Well, I would if I got closure from Siegfried, but somebody made that impossible." Bo countered. "Get me Heidinger's police file. If there's nothing helpful in there, I will drop it. Promise."

"Ask nice." Dyson smirked.

"Pretty please, with Siegfried's rushed autopsy report on top?"

"You just used up your last favor, Bo." Dyson answered. "I hope it's worth it."

Danielle had to admit that when it came to favors, Dyson was pretty quick in making them. The reports arrived quicker than she thought it would.

"Siegfried didn't go easy." Kenzi commented flipping through the photos of the crime scene. "Someone made an amusement park out of his pain receptors."

"Yeah, it's pretty gruesome." Danielle agreed while going through the autopsy report.

"There's nothing in Lou-Ann's file that helps me either. There's no connection to Siegfried or me." Bo trailed off. "Okay, so forensics proved that Lou-Ann drowned her stepkids then set the house on fire to cover it." Kenzi hummed at that. "Siegfried wasn't drowned by any chance?"

"Nope." Danielle answered

"Heart was cut out while he was still alive." Kenzi revealed.

"What?" Bo grabbed the autopsy report and read it for herself. "There's no way a human got close enough for this."

"My thoughts exactly." Danielle agreed. "It's definitely fae business."

"Why are they no defensive wounds?" Bo asked them. "The report says anything about ligatures marks, sedatives?"

"Hang on." Kenzi made a quick research on the laptop. "Uh, nope. No restraints, no drugs. Mm, how is that even possible?"

"I have a theory and you can call me crazy for it. But what if Lou-Ann didn't actually kill her step-children?" Danielle suggested. "Whoever killed Lou-Ann's step-children also killed Siegfried as payback? And judging by the autopsy report, whoever did this can control people."

"I was starting to think the same." Bo said looking down at the redhead Banshee. "But why?"

"Siegfried led us to Lou-Ann." Danielle supplied. "As for Lou-Ann it could be anything. I mean they're dark faes, who knows?"

Bo left to visit Lou-Ann again, second day in a row. Danielle and Kenzi remained at the clubhouse. Kenzi played one of her numerous loud video games while Danielle was trying to figure out what type of fae could do such damage. Since her graduation, she got Trick to borrow her some books that were more about the faes than folklores. She was grateful for it.

However, her research was giving her nothing. Well, it did lead her somewhere but it was impossible for that one to be the answer. Mesmer seemed to be the answer. It was a kind of Fae that could control humans and Faes alike but it was impossible for them to have done the deal. Since they had all been eradicated by the Una Mens. So, this couldn't be the answer. Unless, there was more to it that her aunt knew or told her. All she knew is that Mesmer is a dangerous kind. Feared by faes from both sides.

She closed her books, grabbed a beer and sat down next to Kenzi watching her kill Robot hookers. Bo stepped into the clubhouse and found the two girls on the couch focused on their game.

"I have had a shit day." Bo said over the loud music. "If anyone wants me," she continued coming over to the couch, "I'll be in the world's longest, hottest bath." She said before leaving wet kisses on their cheeks.

"And I will be saving the world from robot hookers." Kenzi said as Bo disappeared up the stairs. "You're welcome."

"Watch out!" Danielle screamed as one of the robots ran towards them in the game.

A few minutes later, Danielle felt something was off. As if there was someone behind them. Kenzi and she looked over their shoulders. But there was nothing. Kenzi shrugged it off and went back to her game. Not Danielle. She got up from the couch and looked around her before going up the stairs.

She walked into the bathroom where Bo was drawing herself a bath. She came face to face with the Succubus pointing a dagger at her.

"You felt that too?" Danielle asked her. Bo was suddenly attacked from behind and pulled into the bathtub. "Bo!" Danielle gasped rushing to the Fae that was holding Bo under the water. She pulled the woman off of Bo and was now the new target.

The Fae grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall. Her head slammed the wall violently making her see stars. The Fae did not stop there as she pulled Danielle away from the wall and threw her away on the other side of the room. "Dan!" Bo screamed as the Fae attacked her again. She grabbed the Succubus by the back of her neck and started to slam Bo into the wall, face first. Then in the already crumbling part of the bathroom.

"Bo! Dani!" Kenzi called as she rushed into the bathroom. The Fae snarled at her before she sent Bo flying across the room. "Hey, fugly, over here!" Kenzi called out to the Fae. Distracting her long enough for Danielle to stab the Fae with a rusted pipe, before pulling her to an already crumbled wall and completely running her through with the pipe. Danielle stepped away from her, Bo stood next to her.

However, the Fae was still snarling at them. Not giving any signs of dying, whatsoever. On the contrary, she started to pull the pipe out of her body. "We're not finished yet." Bo said before pulling out an electric cable and drops it on the pipe. Electrocuting the Fae to death.

"It smells like fried bitch." Kenzi commented.

"That wasn't an assassination." Dyson informed them hours later. Bo was pouring herself a glass of scotch while Danielle was holding a pack of ice at the back of her head. "At least, not one sanctioned by the elders."

"So, she wasn't coming to kill me." Bo said putting down her glass. "She was just in my shower to what, loofah me?"

"If that had been an official hit, they would have sent more than just one." Dyson said. "Your powers are too unknown for them to risk anything but a major assault."

"Glad to hear it." Danielle said sarcastically.

"But isn't there some kind of general fae rule about, I don't know, not knocking each other off?" Bo asked Dyson. "Keeping peace between the sides?"

"We don't have one, Bo." Danielle dropped the ice pack on the counter. "We're neither Light or Dark. Unaligned, that's what we are. We won't be protected unless we plead allegiance to one of them."

"So, we have to be owned to be free?"

"No, just to stay breathing." Dyson replied to her.

"Well, I don't accept that." Bo turned away from him. "Maybe you just never tried hard enough for something more."

"I've tried." Dyson answered and Danielle looked at him. His eyes were on Bo when he said those words. The sight of him looking at Bo with some sort of sadness, sent a cruel pang to her heart. She cast down her eyes trying not to feel jealous or hurt by it, she didn't have the right to. "You can stay with me tonight." Dyson suggested. "You need more healing than Lauren's little needles can give you."

"I needed your help tonight, not your pity." Bo replied to him.

He exhaled deeply before leaving. "Banshee."

"Shapeshifter." Danielle nodded back at him.

It was clear that this case had become personal to Bo. It went far beyond finding her mother. It was because of Lou-Ann's choice of life. Choice that had led her to lose her happiness. The punishment for loving a human was to be put on death row. Not only that, but she also lost so much. They made her kill her own children. It was a cruel punishment. Danielle didn't know it but Bo wanted to be able to chose her way of being happy, whether it was with a fae or a human. She wanted to have this freedom.

Danielle, unlike Bo, have had a fae upbringing. She knew the rules, the choice they needed to make in order to survive. Sure, she had loved a human, she lived among them. Her best friend was one of them. And yet, she had to think about the freedom to choose. Even though, she had a fae upbringing, she lived among humans and Gail never made a big deal out of her having human boyfriends or friends. But then again, her touch wasn't a death sentence. Maybe that's why it was that important to Bo.

"Where are you going?" Danielle asked her the morning after.

"Get some answers." Bo replied walking to the door.

"I'm coming with you." Danielle started towards the door.

"I'll be fine." Bo said shortly going through the door and closing behind her.

She exhaled deeply. Bo definitely wasn't doing okay, and yet she didn't want her friends to be there for her.

Lou-Ann had dropped her appeal and Bo was clearly disappointed about it. Kenzi and Danielle tried to drag her to the Dal with them but she refused. They were about to stay with her but Lauren arrived and Bo assured them that she'd be fine with Lauren. So, they left.

Sitting on the stool at the bar, watching Kenzi and Hale playing pool., her back against the bar, she was still worried about Bo. Thinking that she probably should be with her friend.

"Penny for your thoughts." Dyson said standing next to her.

"My thoughts are worth more than that." Danielle answered.

"How's Bo doing?" Dyson asked her.

"Not good as you can imagine." Danielle replied. "She really wanted to help Lou-Ann but no one wanted to help her do it. On the contrary, they tried to kill her, shut doors on her. So, yeah, she isn't really feeling good about that one."

"We can't help her without risking…" Dyson started.

"War. Yeah, yeah, I know." Danielle interrupted him. "It's a whole political thing or something."

"Something like that." Dyson sighed.

"I'm afraid she'll get hurt in the process." Danielle confessed.

"She will. They know what she wants and they will use that against her." Dyson retorted.

"You know she won't stop, Dyson." Danielle retorted.

"I know."

Her fingers were lightly touching Dyson's. Her eyes went down to where her hand rested on the bar, near Dyson's. She took a deep breath before looking up at Dyson. The latter was looking back at her, intently. They stared at each other longingly before Danielle turned her gaze away and took a long gulp of her beer. And walked away from the bar to join Kenzi at the pool table.

"What the balls, Man?" Kenzi groaned as Dyson pocketed another ball. "Are you cheating?"

"Nope, just genetically superior." Dyson bragged.

"Cheating." Danielle nodded at Kenzi.

Lauren suddenly appeared at Danielle's side. "I didn't know where else to go. It's Bo. I made a huge mistake." She said in a rush. Danielle got up and stood in front of her.

"What did you do?" Danielle asked her.

"She knows who framed Lou-Ann. It's a Mesmer named Vex." Lauren told her.

"So, it was one." Danielle said, hating herself for not taking it more seriously.

"He's too strong for her, Danielle." Lauren continued.

"Where?" Dyson asked Lauren, now standing behind Danielle.

"Uh, we…we think the strip club on prospect road." Lauren answered.

Danielle, Kenzi and Dyson left the Dal immediately.

They rushed inside the strip club only to see Bo standing over Vex, holding a blade to his neck.

"Bo." Dyson was the first one to call.

"No more games." Bo said. "You tell me who I am or I will cut it out of you."

Dyson pulled her off of Vex. "You! Go" He ordered to Vex.

"To be continued then." He taunted Bo mockingly.

Dyson pushed him away. "I said go." He roared at Vex's back.

"What are you doing?" Bo yelled at him.

"Saving your ass!" Dyson answered as Vex walked past Danielle and Kenzi.

"Let me go."

"No!"

"Let me go!"

"If you kill him, they won't stop until you're dead." Dyson tried to reason with her.

"I don't care." She said pushing her sword under Dyson's chin. Danielle unconsciously took a step forward.

"I do." Dyson told her.

"Bo." Kenzi called her.

She finally took away her sword and Dyson wiped the blood off of his chin "He was the only lead that I had left to her."

"He was lying to you, Bo." Dyson told her. "I wish I could tell you there was some grand conspiracy but there isn't. Vex, Siegfried, Lou-Ann…they didn't know anything about your mother. Nobody does."

"Somebody knows." She said back as Dyson left the strip club. "Somebody knows!"

Kenzi and Danielle glanced at each other before joining Bo. "Let's go home." Kenzi said to her soothingly.

"Come on." Danielle said draping her arm around Bo's shoulders.

Danielle handed Bo a hot mug of coffee and sat down next to her. "I won't use the usual 'If you need to talk…' thing on you." Danielle started. "It's probably the last thing you want to do right now."

"I don't even want to think about it." Bo said.

"Then don't." Danielle replied. "Look, Dyson is wrong." Bo looked up at her friend. "The answers you're looking for, you'll find them."

"You think?"

"I know it." Danielle assured her. "I'll help you find them."

i Dean Steele's commencement speech at Tufts.