I know I've said this in every chapter I've posted over the last couple of weeks, but I've been struggling lately a lot and I'm REALLY sorry for not updating as much as usual. I'll try and get back into that routine, ideas have been running a little slowly.


"STOP THE CAR!" Lilly screamed. She was pulling at the lock, the pin buried in the door. "THEODORE!" He continued to ignore her, braking hard and snapping the wheel to the right. The back wheels screeched and the car fishtailed. Theo jerked the wheel to the left and stomped on the accelerator, switching into fourth. Lilly made a fruitless grasp for the controls, hitting him a couple of times. Angry, frightened tears flooded her cheeks as she pleaded with him. "LET ME GO HOME!" When he said nothing, she scrabbled for her bag, fumbling for her phone. It was in her hand for a second; he reached over and plucked it from her fingers, tossing it out the window. She saw it bouncing in the wing mirror and sobbed. "Why are you doing this? Why do you need me?"

"Eris is after you."

"Probably a great deal safer than your driving!"

"No."

"Let me go!"

"I can't."

"Why?" His jaw clenched, knuckles white on the steering wheel. "ANSWER ME!" He rolled his shoulders stiffly, grimacing. The light faded in and out of his eyes and he flexed his fingers. Lilly tried the lock again, roughly wiping her face on her sleeve.

"That won't work." He grunted.

"Make it!"

"I can't."

"WILL-YOU-GIVE-ME-A-STRAIGHT-ANSWER?" She shrieked, smacking him again. He recoiled, the car swerving. Horns blared and some very choice words were yelled. Theo straightened the vehicle, shifting into fifth.

"You really wanna know?" He challenged thickly.

"Why else would I be screaming at you?"

"Eris will kill you." He paused, the same stiff tremor passing through his head, shoulders and arms. "She'll use me to kill you." He said through gritted teeth. Lilly frowned at him, squinting slightly. He was in pain. "She's still set on the... whole..." He didn't finish his sentence, the affliction warping through him. The car sped up.

"Theo! What's wrong? Is she doing this?" Her questions only seemed to make things worse. He growled, whipping both hands from the wheel to clutch at his head. Lilly squealed and grabbed it, dodging oncoming traffic at the last second. From the corner of her eye, she saw Theo reach out again, a fierce look of determination darkening his expression. Lilly gripped his arm, digging her nails in unintentionally. "Let me go home, please. I'd be safer there." He shook his head. "Why?" She cried.

"The locket." He managed.

"What locket?"

"I found it." Lilly watched him dubiously. "Ugh." He groaned. "Eris got hold of your life string. Destory the locket, destory you. Blame me, use me. Make it look like I did it. Start... start the fight... between Callum and... Max..." He moaned in agony, smacking his forehead against the wheel. When he sat up, he looked a little dazed. "Here." He muttered, smacking the brakes. Lilly, despite her seat belt, still took hold of the handhold above the door. Theo swerved into a gap untidily, flicking the locks and jumping out. Lilly scrambled after him.

"Theo, whatever you're thinking, don't do it!" She pleaded. He darted up the steps two at a time, kicking open the door and running inside, drawing something from the waistband of his jeans. Lilly caught up as the door smacked shut, tripping on the carpet as she crossed the threshold. "Theo!" She saw his shadow disappear around the corner and sprinted after it. A loud thud followed and then screaming. "Theo!" She stumbled to a halt, grasping at the door frame to steady herself. A man in his late forties was standing opposite Theo, a girl a little older than them hovering anxiously in the doorway. Theo was pointing a gun at the man, keeping a wary eye on the girl. "Theo! What are you doing?"

"Stay out of it, Lilly!"

"Ah, so this is Lilly, is it?" The man looked her up and down, his salt and pepper hair thinning, malicious brown eyes glittering triumphantly. "I take it you want this then?" Something fell from his hand, something previously concealed. It swung on a golden chain, a crystal hanging from the end encased in a golden rim. Something glowed inside, a little coiled something. It throbbed; scarily in time with Lilly's heartbeat. "Drop the gun, boy." The man warned. The girl stepped forward; Theo turned the gun on her. She smirked, eyes like her father's, hair dark like her mother's. She had a sharp face, wicked and beautiful, long fingers that danced with trouble and chaos. Theo fired a warning shot, the bullet searing across her cheek and sheering some of her hair. Neighbours started screaming.

"THEO!" Lilly yelled. She took two steps forward when sheer agony exploded through her, crippling her. Black spots flitted across her vision as shards of glass ground into her nervous system, jagged edges scraping across her bones. Another shot fired, leaving her ears ringing. Someone cried out. She felt as though she were falling. A dull thunk as something smacked onto the carpet and Lilly rolled onto her back, unaware that she had fallen but feeling every inch of added pain. A third bang and she whimpered. Seconds later, Theo loomed over her, worried. "Theo..." She croaked. The gun was smoking in one hand and he held the locket, covered in cracks and out of shape, in the other. The light of her life string flickered weakily. He carefully prised open the case, removing the string with gentle fingers, kneeling beside her.

"It's OK." He soothed, throwing aside the damaged locket and smoothing her hair back. Her life string was wound around his fingers, the glow steadily getting stronger as he transferred their inheritated legacy status into it. Lilly's head stopped spinning so much, the torment whittling away.

"The gun... did you-?"

"No." He looked back. He hadn't killed Eris's mortal family, just disabled them. The bullets were a special kind, injuring and putting the victims into a coma-like state. He handed her a bit of ambrosia and rose, examining her life string. He smiled feebly, waggling it at her. "Lookie what I got."

"Eris isn't going to be happy." He hummed.

"We should go then. Now I've got this... I won't keep it. It's not safe with me." He glanced at her. Lilly bit into the godly food. "I can take you home now."

"Are you going to be OK?"

"Probably not. She's still there. She's always been there." His eyes were wide, pained and scared. "I've just been trying to keep her at bay."