XanthiaNightshade: Thanks lol, and okay...I'm no good at threatening not to update anyway, but after this chapter, I am gonna have to leave it for at least a day- sorry :(

The baby was born while everyone was preparing for the mission in which they would hopefully find Keller. Galen wasn't allowed to go, after much argumentation which resulted in Lupe phoning Thierry - who ordered him not to go, whoordered other people to make sure he couldn't go- the result was that he got to hear the woman's screams as she panted and breathed louder than anyone evershould need to, while an imported medical witch soothed her. For Galen, it was sickening,even from rooms away; he gave himself a mental note to inform Keller that he wouldn't be presentat their children's births, not if it hurt this much to even hear.

Still, he was too deliriously overcome with hope to even think about it for long. They had told him not to get his hopes up, that Keller could easily die, but how could he help it? He desperately needed his soulmate, his love, if he gave up hope he'd die.

"Oh My GOD..." he sighed, Elle Panter. Again.

He wouldn't have even let Elle Panter stay if he had any guts. She had destroyed Keller's life for seventeen years - he wanted nothing to do with her - but she would most likely have been killed by the Night World if he sent her away, and no matter how much he despised her, he didn't want her death - or the death of Keller's sibling - on his conscience.

"Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!"

Some music, he thought to himself, I'll listen to some nice, gentle music...or some of Keller's rock...but nothing could block out the screams, not even the howl of Keller's CDs on highest volume.

"Galen, Elle wants to see you a moment." A witch came to him when the noise suddenly ceased, "we've found a tumour, apparently she always knew she had cancer. She wants you to come for the baby."

He went, but only because he was too stunned to even think straight. Why did she want him to come for the baby? It didn't make any sense.

"My Lord," the woman sighed, out of breath, as Galen entered the room, the witch left, "I have cancer – incurable – and I'd given up hope for this baby too," she pointed to a witch, who was washing the child. She spoke as though she didn't have much energy left, "I want you – and Keller too – to name the baby. At least if she gets passed around from foster home to foster home, like I'm told Keller did, she will have a better name than Demon."

"You're giving this kid up too?" Galen asked incredulously, "you make your first daughter up, and then you try to give up your second one too? We don't even know if Keller's alive, if we're going to be able to get her out. Doesn't that make you feel anything? Don't you want to be with this child as long as you can?"

She shook her head, opened her mouth as though to say something, but Galen was already leaving the room.


"We've contacted her parents. They seem to be in huge conflict about their daughter," the police officer said, this one was a woman, "her father says that Poppy had pancreatic cancer but got over it, her twin brother Philip says the same thing. But her stepfather and mother both disagree, they say she died."

"And the cause of death for the girl?" the man asked.

"Completely natural. We have to let the other two girls go, there's no sign of them breaking the system. They didn't unplug the machine. All they left there was a red stone, and that had nothing wrong with it. She died a completely natural death, and they have those bloody good lawyers breathing down our necks. We're gonna have to let them go."

"And this one?"

"There's a girl downstairs, calls herself Nissa. Is willing to post bail for the girl, we're gonna have to let her go too, Henry."

Poppy breathed a sigh of relief. The two police officers didn't think she could hear them, but she could with her enhanced senses.

"How did you explain the stone?"

"It's New Age shit. They believe it has healing powers, probably her friend's – that Thea's, we have no choice but to let them all go, but we're gonna have to keep our eyes on them. Yessiree."

Yes! Poppy exclaimed, remaining calm as they told her that she was able to go. She, Winnie and Jeannette jumped down the stairs and into the car Nissa had waiting for them. She tore out of the police station already above the speed limit.

"Hey!" Winnie screamed, "we've just got out of there, we don't want to have to go back!"

Nissa slowed down a touch, then raced off again, "we've located Keller, if we get back quick enough, we'll be able to go and help them."

"Then why are you going so slow!" Winnie called, "Hurry it up!"

"Whatever you say, Winfred," Nissa laughed, pushing her foot down on the accelerator.


Rashel stood at the North side of the building, an army of vampires and shape shifters – and to a lower extent, witches – behind her. They were about to ram the door, throw themselves through it and kill anything – anything – that stood in their way. She felt strong, exhilarated, with Quinn's blood rushing around inside of her. And now she screamed practically a war cry, "let's go!"

Okay, so she was a few minutes ahead of schedule, she hadn't been given the signal, but so what? They rushed towards the door, already finding themselves face to face with a crowd of werewolves. She dug through them with her silver dagger, clawing at them with fingers and weapons alike.

She had never felt so alive.

There were screams, cries, and she knew some of them probably belonged to her own warriors, but the majority of them were the enemy. The ones who had caused so much trouble. They seemed weak now, vulnerable, now that they were attacked in their own base. It almost made her laugh, until she realised that they had been the same.

Nissa and Winnie were in front of her. They had come just in time to join her team, and now they were so excited about seeing their boss that Nissa was the only one fighting, Winnie was just racing forward, down the stairs. Anyone that came near faced the wrath of Nissa's mighty fighting stick.

Rashel raced forward, she couldn't let an excitable witch and a vampire go on their own. They'd be killed. She tore through the werewolf she was fighting with her silver knife, decapitating him with one sure swipe, then raced after them.

"Oh Goddess, mommy!" a little girl's voice screamed. All action seemed to be going in slow motion now, Rashel herself raced towards the source of the sound and felt all her fighters who weren't currently engaged in hand to hand battle follow her. Grey walls passed in a blur. Witches and vampires alike came out to join the crowd of fighting, but she ignored them, all she was interested in was getting to that little girl who sounded so desperate.

Like she had been when her mother was so cruelly snatched.

She broke through a door, and now everything was moving quickly again. She saw Galen's father: king of the shape shifters, bowed down beside his wife. Or his wife's body, she no longer had a head. Keller was snarling, her head down, the girls who she supposed must have been Galen's sisters were crying, apart from one – she was screaming her brains out. The one Rashel had heard.

Now, Keller looked up and Rashel could see her face. Both eyes were black, her cheeks discoloured with scars and scratches, it looked as though they might even have tried to burn or bite her ear off. The clothes she was wearing were in shreds, a long dagger mark going from her ankle to her thigh and – Oh goddess – the blood was everywhere. Blood and gore and things Rashel couldn't even recognize.

No wonder Galen had been in pain. Not when his soulmate had had to suffer this.

Above Galen's father was a vampire, and at first Rashel thought it was Jez Redfern, but no…she only looked very similar. She held a sword, and now the sword came down…down…further towards his throat. Even though he didn't have the battered appearance of Keller, he seemed battered in soul, he didn't move to even try and fight.

Rashel dived, towards the sword. Keller saw her for the first time and cried out, "Rashel!" but Rashel was still leaping. She missed. The sword came down, right through his throat, and he too lost his head.

"Kill her!" the vampire screamed, pointing a slender finger at Rashel, turning to another set of guards she screamed, "and bring two of the girls'. A Drache and his fiancée…"

Rashel turned screamed, "I need backup!" and started fighting her way through the numerous vampires. Her team followed, and then through the door burst Quinn with his team. Someone was holding the Wild Power Jez Redfern up, and now she was covered with blood. She could use the blue fire, yet she didn't. Rashel heard the cries silenced as a little girl died.

Keller's turn next. Over the rafters came a voice, a voice she had come to recognize: Morgead's. He was screaming, "I'm fine, Jez, use the blue fire!" and someone vaulted over the landing above, bringing down two guards as he landed. Delos. He went to stand beside Jez, cutting himself as he went.

Both of them exploded with blue fire, Jez screaming as she did so, as though it hurt too much. The fire came through the enemy, smouldering them all. Until all that was left was ash on the floor. Luckily, the warehouse still stood. Jez had learnt to control her blue fire. But it wasn't like Illiana's, it didn't have healing effects, and everyone injured was still so. The vampire who looked like Jez ran, and Rashel wasn't sure whether the fire followed her, but she wasn't about to check.

"Wow," Rashel said.

Nissa and Winnie had other worries though; they ran to their friend, who was lying on the floor in a heap, trying to push herself up. Winnie played with the chains around her for a moment and sighed, "we'll need to take her to a Harman. I can't take these things off. Or maybe even the mother or the maiden. They're blocking her shape shifting." She turned her attention back to Keller, "oh, boss, what have they done to you?"

Rashel could hear the croaking, rasping words even from where she was standing, "I think…I might really be dying this time. I'm sorry Winfred," with blind eyes she searched out, reached for Nissa and Winnie's hands, "tell Galen…"

"I wont tell Galen anything," Winnie said adamantly, tears trailing down her cheeks, "because we're getting you to Galen's mansions. We'll get Thea in from the hospital and every other medical witch there is in this damn world. You're gonna be fine."

"Tell Galen that I love him," Keller said, and closed her eyes.

I know, I know, I'm evil, but if you want to know whether Keller's dead or not, you're gonna have to review.

Mwuahahahahahahahaha