David didn't understand how Gillian had just…disappeared…there was a team out looking for her, not as big as the team looking for Keller, granted, but a rather large team nonetheless, mostly made up of witches. Seen as there were only three Harman girls left now: Illiana, Gillian and Thea, she could be counted as royalty almost as much as Keller, and still they hadn't found her.

He had to wonder whether the same people who had snatched Keller could possibly have gotten to Gillian, whether they were trying to entirely stop the hierarchy among these groups and send them into turmoil. Was Thierry going to be the next to go? But that thought was useless. Thea was the most powerful and most trained witch from the three of them, and Illiana was the Witch Child. Thea was just lying in a hospital somewhere by now, easy to snatch up, and Illiana.

WAIT! He bounded up, Illiana had been captured before Jez Redfern had saved her…

There was a soft tapping on his door and David almost felt like pretending he was asleep, but the knocker just persisted, "Ugh. Come in."

The door opened slowly and Maggie Neely popped her head in, "Meeting in five minutes," she told him, and – when he groaned and pushed his face into the pillow – continued, "not just about Keller and Galen, we have a lot of things to discuss. Holly and Illiana and Keller and Gillian,"

At Gillian's name, he rolled out of bed, reaching for a T-shirt, Maggie averted her eyes as he put it on, "Okay, lets go."


The meeting was being held in the living room, Thierry standing in the middle as everyone else lounged about, Thierry clapped his hands for attention and everyone went quiet – there wasn't a single person talking, "Okay, I'll have to start with Holly and Thea. We all know how James is," he gestured to the vampire sitting on the sofa, almost perfectly healed again, "Eric called and Thea is fine, although they've found out she's pregnant."

There was silence for a moment, no one was quite sure whether this was good news or whether it meant they were going to all have to go charging down to the hospital to look after her. After a moment, James hissed, "my God, I'll kill him…"

Poppy hit him playfully, "no you wont. It wasn't just him, you know Jamie, didn't your mommy ever teach you about the birds and the bees?"

He pretended to think, "No, maybe you co…"

"SO!" Thierry continued diplomatically, "Thea is fine. Holly on the other hand… Eric told me that she has some kind of weird poison working inside her body. We sent her to a human hospital because witches don't have blood that would be strange to humans, so the only thing I can think of is that she was in the process of being changed."

"Blair," Morgead nodded from the other side of the room, "he must have talked her into becoming a vampire…before he died."

A few people noticed Rashel and Quinn share a glance full of anxiety, but no one concentrated on it.

"we don't know, but obviously we need to get some witches over there. I'm not talking anything dangerous, you'll just be her 'sisters,' Winnie, Jeannette and Poppy," he turned to Poppy, "I know you're not a full witch, but you know enough."

She nodded, although she didn't look amazingly happy to be leaving her soulmate, she grabbed James' hand tightly.

"Next, there's the matter of Keller and Gillian's disappearances," he frowned, looking in turn between David and Galen, as though he didn't want to say anything in front of them for fear they might go yodelling to the door looking for their soulmates, "I don't think we can split our resources like we did the last time. Security was breached in head quarters and that is not acceptable. Many lives were the cost, as you all know. And I doubt the two incidents are related since we already know the reason for…"

"I disagree," said David quietly, he had been silent through most of the meeting but now every eye was on him, "I think that its very related. They want the hierarchy from the shape shifters dead so the shape shifters are free to follow the dragon. Maybe they wasn't the witch hierarchy dead so the witches are free to do whatever. You Night People fuss over the Harman's so they must be something important, Gillian's gone and someone has already tried to take Illiana. Grandma Harman is dead, and Hunter Redfern tried to kill Aradia in Delos' kingdom not so long ago," he paused, letting himself breathe, "In fact, the only Harman females we have right now are Thea and Illiana," he paused.

Thierry was thoughtful, they all were, but eventually he shook his head, "that might be the Night World's plan eventually, David. We can't overlook the facts, but the incidents mustn't be related. If these people had Gillian, they would have killed her, you're not a Harman, so they have no reason to lure you to her. Have you felt her die?"

"No," David admitted finally.

"then they must be unrelated events, right now, all we can hope for is that a lead will come up on one of them and…"

The room exploded with glass and brick and there was screamed panic as they all tried to get the humans out of the way. David felt himself being pulled up by Quinn and practically thrown to the other side of the room while those able to fight stood next to the open window.

"Two security breaches," Jez complained, "are you sure it's safer here for us Wild Powers, Thierry?" she was boasting big time after she kicked these guys asses.