Loz rode all night into the growing dawn with Tifa thrown over the seat in front of him. She was still out cold when he reached his destination. He turned the bike off and stretched his back, wincing from the punishment Tifa's blow's had done to his ribs. He snarled at the pain and threw Tifa off the bike onto the ground where she lay now at his feet.
He looked up at the building he had pulled up to. It was an abandoned mansion that had seen better days. A sweep of marble steps led up to the grand entrance which was flanked on either side by huge windows. The building stood alone on a plateau high in the mountains with no grass or trees to be seen anywhere. It was, in fact, the only building around for miles, and would have stood out like a sore thumb but for the towering snow capped mountains surrounding them.
It was cold up here.
He dismounted his bike and picked up the girl as if she were nothing more than a bunch of twigs. As he walked with her towards the building, the front door opened and through it walked Kadj.
"Welcome back, brother," smiled Kadj. "I see your trip was successful. Did she give you much trouble?"
Loz chuckled. "Not much at all. She had a couple of babysitters though."
"I'm not surprised," said Kadj in response. "Bring her in here. We have a room ready for her. She should be comfortable, at least for now."
Loz followed Kadj through the house, downstairs to the basement. Kadj opened a door and walked into a windowless room with a single bed in the corner, a small table next to it, and a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The room was cold and damp. In the corner of the room, near the ceiling, a camera followed their movements as Loz walked over to the bed and dumped Tifa down on to it. He stood back, looking at her lay there.
Kadj walked over to the bed and sat down next to the girl. He rolled her on to her back and gently lifted the front of her shirt to reveal her flat stomach. He gasped silently, seeing the faint pulsating glow coming from inside her, and smiled gently. He placed his hand over the light and closed his eyes to concentrate on the being growing there beneath his hand.
"Yes . . ." he said softly.
He gently unzipped her leather shirt and removed it, careful not to let her bang her head. He removed her skirt and shoes in the same way, leaving her with just her g-string and her white singlet. She started to stir, moaning softly.
Kadj stood and looked down at her. The welts left by the battles in the church and the bar were still visible on her body. He covered her gently with a thick blanket against the cold and sat back down on the bed next to her, brushing her hair away from her face.
"Mother," he whispered. "You have no idea how important you are to us."
He stood and walked back out of the room, Loz following on his heels. Tifa came too just as they left and heard the click of the lock as the door closed.