"Welcome to our world, Miss Farron."

"Who… who are you?" Brooke Farron asked tentatively, watching the two men standing before her. Karamov, if she properly remembered his name from the Limelight, smiled slightly as he turned to the darkly tinted windows of his corporate office. From the view of the skyline, Brooke could only be certain that they were somewhere in midtown Manhattan; Karamov's driver, the younger man standing near the oaken double doors of the office, had taken a dizzying array of streets to reach the underground garage where they had finally parked. After considering the skyscrapers outside his office for a moment, Karamov turned back on the girl sitting in the black leather captain's chair at the head of the ebony meeting table. Karamov's slight smile remained in place as he studied Brooke for a long moment, but the smile was far more predatory than amiable. "Where are we?"

"Safe," Karamov replied, answering her second question. He clasped his hands behind his back, and walked over to small wet bar set against the opposite wall. He continued speaking as he took a bottle of bourbon from the bar and carefully poured a glass for himself. "Tell me, Miss Farron, what exactly were you doing at the Limelight tonight with Xavier DeLeon?"

"We… we were on a date, pretty much," Brooke replied, hesitant. Despite the fact that she wanted nothing more than to get away from the Russian, there was no place she could go, and the simple recollection of the terrifying werewolf that he had become during the fight in the Limelight kept her rooted to her chair. "What do you want with me?"

"Miss Farron, I don't really want anything with you," Karamov replied, turning around and acting almost surprised that he had to explain that fact to the girl. "But evidently, Xavier DeLeon wants something to do with you, and that I can't allow."

"Why?" Brooke asked. "What's going on?"

"Miss Farron, whether you knew about it or not before tonight, you are now involved in a war that no normal mortal knows about," Karamov replied. "Xavier DeLeon is part of a tribe of werewolves, Garou, as we call ourselves, known as the Black Spiral Dancers. In order to simply things for you, let us consider the Black Spirals to be the enemy."

"Enemy of what?" Brooke asked.

"The enemy of you, of me, indeed of every living thing," Karamov replied. "I am part of a tribe of werewolves known as the Shadow Lords."

"And… you're the good guys?" Brooke asked, a skeptical tone to her voice. Alexei's smile widened ever so slightly, but took on a definitely frightening quality.

"Miss Farron, good and bad are two words that have very little relevance on the situation at hand," Karamov explained. "I do not have the time or the patience for a full theological dissertation on Wyrm, Weaver, and Wyld, so leave it at this. The Wyrm is the destroyer, the keeper of balance between the other two, but recently he hasn't been doing his job correctly. We're trying to stop him from destroying everything on earth. The Black Spiral Dancers, on the other hand, are trying to help the Wyrm to succeed."

"But what does this have to do with me?" Brooke asked. Karamov took a sip from his bourbon before he continued.

"That's what we're going to find out," the Russian remarked, his smile growing slightly more amiable. "Tell me, how long have you known Xavier DeLeon?"

"I… a week or two," Brooke answered.

"And how did the two of you meet?" Karamov asked.

"At… a party," Brooke replied. "I… he was at this party in SoHo, and we just… he came over and asked… well, we kind of… hooked up."

"And this did not seem odd to you?" Karamov inquired. Brooke turned a confused look on the Russian.

"Odd?" the girl repeated.

"Miss Farron, you are fifteen," Karamov pointed out. "Xavier cannot be any younger than twenty-five. Weren't there any other girls at this party? Someone closer to his age?"

"Well, yeah," Brooke answered. "But… I mean, I can get a date too. It's not all that odd."

"Of course," Karamov said in a condescending tone. "So you and Xavier 'hooked up'."

"Well, yeah," Brooke confirmed.

"And what does 'hooking up' constitute?" Karamov asked, continuing the methodical interrogation.

"Excuse me?" Brooke said.

"What does 'hooking up' constitute?" Karamov repeated. "How far did you go?"

"Why… what do you need to know that for?" Brooke asked, her anger with the question tempered by the image of Karamov's bestial werewolf form replaying in her mind.

"The Black Spiral Dancers have many prophecies about people bearing children that will turn the tide of the wear," Karamov explained. "It is possible that Xavier wanted you because you were somehow pointed out to him in a prophecy or vision of some sort."

"You mean… I'm going to have a kid?" Brooke asked. Karamov sighed slightly as he rolled his eyes.

"That is what I'm trying to find out," the Russian stated, a hint of irritability sneaking into his voice. "Would you please answer the question?"

"We… nothing, much," Brooke answered, growing increasingly anxious. "I mean, we didn't do that much."

"I see," Karamov stated. "And had you seen him again before tonight?"

"Twice," Brooke answered. "He picked me up from school."

"And, nothing significant happened between the two of you?" Karamov pressed.

"No," Brooke answered. "Nothing significant."

"And was there any significance to tonight's date?" Karamov inquired.

"No," Brooke replied. "Nothing. Just… he said he could get me into the Limelight. And I'd always wanted to go there. But his friends… I'd never… they really scared me. And then you showed up, and then… the werewolves…"

Brooke trailed off, losing her words as the night's details flooded back and threatened to overwhelm her. Brooke wanted nothing more than to go home, or to wake up and find that the whole night had been a dream. Karamov waited for a moment, letting the girl collect her thoughts.

"Do your parents know about this?" the Russian finally prompted.

"No," Brooke answered. "They… never would have let me go."

"Of course," Karamov said. "Tell me, do you know anything at all about your new boyfriend?"

"Well, I…" the girl started. She stopped as she realized that she knew almost nothing about the man. She had been so caught up in the relationship that she had never really taken many opportunities to learn anything about Xavier. On the rare occasions that she had asked anything about him, Xavier had shifted the conversation easily away…

"From your silence, I gather the answer is no," Karamov surmised. Brooke nodded.

"Please tell me you know what's going on," the girl said, praying that she would wake up from this nightmare.

"I know that you will not be going home until I find out why Xavier wants you," Karamov stated.

"You're…holding me hostage?" Brooke asked, a sudden wave of vertigo overtaking her.

"Think of it as witness protection," Karamov countered, flashing his terrifying smile once more. "Mister van der Waal will take you to meet a person that will be able to give you a room for the next two or three nights, until we sort this out. Your parents will be notified that you are being detained by police as a witness to some very sensitive crimes. Your school will also be notified that you will not be in for the next few days."

"Please just let me go home," Brooke pleaded. Karamov shook his head.

"I'm afraid that is not an option now," the Russian stated. He turned back to the windows, swirling his half empty glass slightly as he watched the skyline. "Please, Miss Farron, follow Mister van der Waal."

Brooke hesitated for a long moment, but then finally turned to Karamov's driver. Mister van der Waal, at the least, did not possess that intimidating, predatory smile. In fact, as the younger man gestured for Brooke to follow him, he seemed almost friendly. Finally, left without any other alternative, Brooke followed Karamov's driver out of the office.

___________________________________

Alexei Karamov gazed across the skyline of midtown Manhattan in silence, pondering his brief and ultimately fruitless interrogation. Brooke Farron knew nothing about Xavier in particular or of the Black Spiral Dancers in general, and at first glance the entire situation seemed pointless. But one fact kept Alexei from turning the girl loose without a second thought, and that was her immunity to the Delirium. Most mortals could not even look upon a werewolf in the crinos form without suffering from the paralyzing fear of the Delirium, and afterwards would force themselves to forget that they had seen an actual werewolf. The Delirium had kept the Garou tribes from being revealed to mortal society, allowing them to wage their war in secret and without the witch hunts that would inevitably spring from the knowledge that werewolves did indeed exist. There were only two exceptions to the rule of the Delirium. A mortal with exceptionally strong force of will could possibly break free of the Delirium, but such mortals were exceedingly rare, and Alexei truly doubted Brooke had the willpower to accomplish such a feat. The only other mortals immune to the Delirium were kinfolk, the human relatives of the Garou. As far as Karamov could tell, Brooke was not a kinfolk, but there was still a slight possibility of an unknown genealogical link. Such a link would also do more to explain Xavier's interest in the girl. Kinfolk were more likely to bear a Garou child, and the Black Spiral tribe was rife with prophecies of children that would bring about victory for the fallen werewolves. Alexei took another sip of his bourbon as he considered the possibilities, finally turning away from the windows as he heard the office doors open. Max shut the door behind him as he entered the room, then turned to the Russian.

"I turned the girl over to Tanya," Max said. Alexei nodded slightly. "Do you think she's worth anything to us?"

"To us, no," Alexei answered. He paused for a moment, then continued. "But she must be worth something to Xavier. We need to find out more about her."

"I can check with my contact in the Records Office," Max offered. "Maybe we can dig up something interesting about her or her family there."

"Possibly, but I am beginning to doubt that," Alexei replied. "She seems not to be tainted by the Wyrm, and as far as I can tell, there is nothing extraordinary about her in any way. But I also doubt that Xavier is the only person interested in the girl on the other side."

"We only found out about her by chance," Max reminded the Russian, joining him by the windows. "I mean, it was a fluke that we found out about Xavier's date with her through the fomori nest in SoHo. She could be just another random victim, for all we know."

"But if she was, then the fomori would never have known about her," Alexei pointed out. "There's something to this that we aren't seeing."

"Maybe we're looking too hard," Max suggested. Alexei shrugged slightly, and turned back to the skyline. "Maybe we're wrong about this one."

I'm surprised at you, Max," Alexei said with a vague smile, turning to the younger man. "You should know by now that I'm never wrong."

___________________________________________

Xavier DeLeon stumbled into his murky, silent apartment, pushing the door shut behind him with his back. Finally inside the safety of his home, Xavier let out a gasp of pain, and removed his bloody hand from the torn, blood soaked side of his crimson dress shirt. Slowly Xavier felt his way through the darkness of his cluttered apartment, guiding himself along the old, Beaten Zenith that dominated the right side of his living room. On the opposite side of the room, the two tall, narrow windows that looked out over Vestry Street were largely shielded by heavy vermilion curtains, allowing only two narrow slivers of light to fall across the old, worn gray carpeting. Dominating the center of the room, Xavier's battered, black velvet sofa was barely visible at the end of the slivers of light. Xavier dropped back onto the soft cushions of the couch in the darkness, trying to find a moment of respite from the pain. Slowly he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a bottle of pills, hoping that his tranquilizers would take the edge off of his injury.

"My poor, poor Xavier," a silky, soothing voice said from somewhere in the darkness. Xavier tried to stand quickly, but his injuries forced him from moving quickly. Before he could get back to his feet and draw his pitted klaive, a soft hand brushed his cheek from behind him. "I do hope you will be alright, Xavier."

"Nigel?" Xavier gasped out, freezing with the caress. The dark apartment seemed to chill noticeably, and what little light had crept in through the curtains of his windows practically vanished.

"It is," Nigel said, his voice almost hypnotic. "You are alone tonight, Xavier. Did you send the girl away simply for my company tonight?"

"Karamov… took her," Xavier said hesitantly. Nigel's soft caress stopped midway up his cheek. "I don't know how he even knew about the girl, but-"

"Alexei," Nigel said, cutting the Black Spiral Dancer off with a wistful sigh. "Tell me, Xavier, was he as handsome as he always is?"

"He took the girl," Xavier repeated, a bit more forcefully this time. "How did he even know about her?"

"Xavier, did you not have Axelsson, Smiley, Bratzke, and Mercer with you tonight?" Nigel inquired, running his hand through Xavier's hair.

"He… Christ, he moved so quickly," Xavier blurted out, trying to defend his failure. "And Bratzke was worthless! He fucking ran like a coward!"

"I feel your rage, your frustration," Nigel said quietly, whispering in Xavier's ear. The Black Spiral tried to stand, but Nigel's soft caress suddenly transformed into a steely, taloned grip on his neck from behind. "But you, you are an ahroun, a warrior of the Black Spirals, and gifted with a klaive," Nigel continued, his voice remaining silky and quiet. "Alexei is a judge, a philodox, and certainly should not be a match for a mighty warrior of the Wyrm such as you."

"He… is a powerful fighter," Xavier said, nearly choking on the statement.

"Yes, he is," Nigel said. His grip faded away on Xavier's neck, but the Black Spiral did not try to stand a second time. "But we need her, Xavier. You need her, and I need her. We need her."

"I know," Xavier replied, a knot of fear welling up in his stomach. "I'll… get her back. My pack is strong. We can find her."

"I know you can," Nigel said, practically breathing the words into Xavier's ear. The chill in the room heightened as Nigel's lips brushed the tip of Xavier's pointed ear, sending a shiver down the Black Spiral's spine. "Do so."

"I will," Xavier said, his voice quavering slightly. For a long moment the Black Spiral waited, expecting some further comment from Nigel, but his pitch black apartment had gone deathly silent. Finally Xavier stood slowly and nervously scanned his apartment, but the room was once again empty.