A/N: I am sorry for the super long wait, but I've been trying to write all my fanfics at the same time. Some took longer than others and time got away from me. I am trying to update faster, so I hope I still have some readers out there. :)

Chapter Five

The Warehouse

Hunter was on his feet even before Alisa hit the floor. Shaunee, the fledgling vampyre who had been standing next to her, caught her before she fell and lowered to the floor. Hunter was grabbed by one of the red fledglings; no one was allowed to move.

Darius had moved at the same Hunter did. Though, of course, he was grabbed, too. However, he easily outmaneuvered the fledgling and made a beeline to the injured young witch.

"Freeze!" Selene said evenly, though her voice echoed through the room. Darius stopped in his tracks, his feet rooted to the floor as he tried to free himself. "Perhaps, you all have forgotten our little arrangement. No one speaks or moves unless you want to die a very painful death."

"Alisa needs help or else she's going to bleed to death," Hunter argued as Shaunee struggled to help Alisa.

Selene ignored Hunter, instead she walked over to Darius. "And what do you think you'll be able to do for her?" she asked, walking a slow circle around Darius.

"I have medical training," Darius explained, following Selene with his eyes. "There's probably little supplies here, but I know how to tend to a wound of this caliber."

Meanwhile, Damien slowly reached up and tugged Hunter's jacket to get his attention. "Sit down. There's nothing you can do right now," he whispered. Hunter hesitated and then sat down.

Everybody else watched Selene with Darius. "Well, you see, I can't let you do that. What will the others think if I allow you to wander and not them?" Selene responded.

"Let him help her," Kalona spoke up. He sat down in the chair, crossing his arms and stretching his legs out in front of him, blocking Rephaim from inching any closer to Stevie Rae. "There is nothing he can really do, except make her journey from this world to the next comfortable."

Selene stared at him for a few seconds and then released Darius. Darius hurried over to Alisa and Shaunee, who moved over to make room for him, grateful that he could take over.

Darius shucked off his jacket and instructed Shaunee to do the same. "We'll need them to stop the bleeding later," he explained. "Right now, the pipe is doing that."

Alisa was lying on her side, her head in Shaunee's lap. "What do we do now?" Shaunee asked, glancing down at Alisa's pale face. She was rather still for someone who was just stabbed with a foreign object; she must be going into shock.

"I check to see if she has any internal bleeding," Darius told her. "That way we know if we should pull the pipe out now or wait." He went to work running his hand over Alisa's stomach, pushing gently with his fingertips. He sat back. "I think we're good."

Suddenly, there was a cry from the center of the room. "She needs to go to the hospital!" Mary K. cried. "She's going to die if she doesn't!" She ended in a sob.

Kalona's head snapped to her. Jack put his hand on Mary K.'s arm to calm her, but it didn't detract from Kalona's attention. "Curb your hysterics or my sons will filet you just like your friend," Kalona ordered, not raising his voice an inch. Mary K. covered her face with her hands, trying to get her emotions in check.

X

"Shaunee," Darius said, bringing the girl's attention back to him. "I need you to hold her still while I pull the pipe out. Be ready with the jackets, there's going to be a lot of blood," Shaunee nodded, reaching for her jacket.

"I'm so...cold," came Alisa's small, frail voice.

Shaunee and Darius exchanged looks. Then, Shaunee looked back down at Alisa. She stroked the girl's black hair in a soothing way. "I'm going to help you," she whispered. "You don't know me, but I can help you." Alisa stared up at her. Shaunee focused on her element, willing it to come to her. Fire's warmth burned through her like a small flame. Fire, this girl needs you. Give her warmth and strength to help her through this. Fire encircled her once more, then left, flowing into Alisa. Alisa gave a small sigh as the coldness left her.

"Alright, on three," Darius said getting into position to pull the pipe out of Alisa. Shaunee gripped Alisa's shoulders to keep her still. "One...two..." Suddenly, Kalona was there, yanking the pipe out with any further thought or hesitation. Alisa screamed, an agonized scream full of pain. Shaunee and Darius rushed to put pressure on the wound, one on Alisa's front and one on her back.

"Three," Kalona stated. He held the bloody pipe in his hand, tossing it up in the air and catching it again. "Drama is only exciting to a certain point and then it gets drawn out and very tedious."

Darius barely had to spare Kalona a glance. He pulled of his belt. "Here, lift her up a little bit," he instructed Shaunee. "I'm going to put this around her." Shaunee did as she was told, holding Alisa up as Darius wrapped the belt around her and tightened it.

X

"This is ridiculous," Sky muttered from where she sat on the other side of the room. "What do they even want from us?"

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Aphrodite snorted, sarcasm flowing from every word. She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. "They want our deaths."

"Well, excuse me, if I haven't resigned myself to dying just yet," Sky shot back at her. She watched as Kalona sat relaxed and comfortable in the chair, rolling the bloody pipe between his hands while Darius worked to save Alisa's life. Selene paced the width of the room, occasionally stopping to shoot Kalona a glare.

"I don't see how we could even get out of here," Aphrodite replied, a little more seriously. "If we can get past these two, there's no way we can get by all these damn raven mockers."

"We need a diversion," Sky said matter-of-factly.

"And who will the unlucky person be..." Aphrodite trailed off, as she looked at the red fledglings around the room, then at Alisa and Darius and back again. "The blood has to be driving them crazy."

"I think we just found our diversion," Sky replied meeting Aphrodite's eyes, who narrowed hers.

X

Erin sat on the floor in the front corner of the room, across from Hunter and Damien. She hugged her legs to her chest, moving closer to the hot guy sitting next to her. "This is really scary," Erin whispered. "I don't know how we can get out of here."

"We just have to stay quiet and try not to make them mad," Robbie whispered back to her. "Then we can figure out what it is they want."

"I'll do whatever you say," Erin whispered, sliding her arm through his. Robbie glanced down at it confusedly, then looked back out at the room.

X

"Stevie Rae had said that you lost somebody, correct?" Hunter asked, turning to face Damien. Once Damien nodded, Hunter asked another question. "What is she to you?"

"Besides our friend, Zoey is our high priestess," Damien answered, taking turns looking at Hunter and the rest of the room.

"She's powerful?" Hunter questioned.

"Yes, why?" Damien stared at him, eyebrows drawn together.

Hunter took a deep breath and said, "Morgan, my girlfriend, well she's more than that actually, she's one of the most powerful witches that's come around in generations and she's been taken too."

"That sounds like more than just a coincidence," Damien mused, running a hand over his chin thoughtfully.

Hunter nodded. "A little while ago, Morgan sent me a witch message saying that she was with Ciaran, her father. Which I don't understand because last I heard, he was in Scotland after we stripped him of his powers."

"Could he be working with someone?" Damien wondered, wishing he had a pencil and some paper. Things always seemed clearer on paper.

"Seeing as Selene is back from the dead, I'd say anything is possible at this point." Hunter looked over his shoulder. Kalona was still sitting in his chair tapping a musical beat against the floor with the metal pipe he still held. Selene stood over Darius, watching him with Alisa. Hunter didn't see her gun, but he knew she still had it with her.

"What does Ciaran look like?" Damien asked suddenly.

Hunter looked back at Damien. "Older, mid-forties. Hazel eyes and graying hair." Hunter answered.

Damien's eyes widened as Hunter finished. He said, "I think he's the one who took Zoey."

X

"Is she still alive?" Selene asked Darius from where she stood behind him. Her arms were crossed as she feigned interest and caring.

"Yes, but she needs stitches and a sterile environment or infection is going to set in." Darius told her, unable to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice.

"Oh, what a shame," Selene said. "After all you've done for her, she's going to die anyway. Ah, well, you can't save them all." Selene put her hand on Darius' shoulder and knelt down next him. "Be a dear, and make her journey to the next world comfortable."

Darius would have loved to turn around, grab Selene by the throat, and squeeze until every breath in her body was gone. But he couldn't do that. Acting recklessly in this kind of situation would only get yourself and others killed. So, he only jerked his shoulder out from under her hand and ignored her.

A cry of pain from the center of the room stole Selene's attention from Darius. Everybody else in the room turned toward the sound as well. Rephaim was folded in on himself, his head touching the floor and his hands curled into fists. He was moaning and grunting as an unseen pain shuddered through him.

"What's the matter with you?" Selene asked Rephaim, when she walked over to him.

Rephaim didn't, couldn't, say anything.

"What's wrong with him?" Bree whispered, not really expecting an answer.

Stevie Rae was watching Rephaim, concern written all over her face. She wanted to go over to him, comfort him, but she was afraid of what Kalona or Selene would do if she did. "You remember when Hunter asked if Rephaim was one of them," She nodded toward the raven mockers. "and I said that it was a long story?"

Bree nodded, encouraging Stevie Rae to continue.

"Well, he was one, but he chose Light over Darkness, betraying his father," Stevie Rae explained, nodding at Kalona. "The goddess gifted him with a human form, but because of his past actions, he's cursed to turn into a raven every sunrise to sunset."

"Wow, he must really love you to go through all that," Bree replied, wide-eyed.

Stevie Rae looked down for a second, blushing, then back up at Rephaim. "I have to help him," Stevie Rae said. She uncrossed her legs and started to move toward Rephaim.

Sensing her movement, Rephaim's head snapped up, his eyes locking with hers just as Kalona's leg swung out in front of Stevie Rae, blocking her path.

"Don't." Rephaim mouthed to her. Then, he turned his head slightly to where Selene was standing before him. "Take me out of the room," Rephaim said, as his body convulsed violently once, twice. "Please, I don't want everybody to see this."

Some of the hostages were turning away instead of watching his painful transformation. Selene didn't say anything for a moment, and then she said to the raven mockers. "You heard him. He can have his very own private quarters for this momentous occasion." She turned away from Rephaim as two raven mockers came forward to collect him.

"Goddess knows we have enough birds in here," Selene muttered, though everyone heard her. "We don't need to add to the flock."

XXX

The two raven mockers dragged Rephaim out of the main room into the hall, pulling Rephaim deeper into the warehouse. They stopped at the end of the hall, and one of the raven mockers swung open a door. Rephaim was thrown inside right before the last torrent of pain hit him before the change. This room was small like a closet and the silence was deafening. The darkness was the last thing he saw as a human.

Cal

Cal cursed silently for about the tenth time after yet another branch scratched his arm. The forest had gotten thicker and the trees grew closer together making it seem even darker than it already was. The person he'd been tracking had long since disappeared off his witchly radar, and he wondered why he was even still in the forest. But something told him to keep going, so he did. Cal had nearly fallen over a tree root when he felt it again.

The person he had sensed the presence of earlier. They were close, really close. Cal slowed his footsteps, not wanting to scare them away. They weren't moving, so Cal got the feeling that they knew he was here too.

"Show yourself!"

Cal stopped where he was when the other guy spoke. He stood there a moment, considering his options. The guy didn't sound pleasant, and Cal wouldn't be surprised if he was holding a gun. Cal wasn't interested in fighting tonight, but it couldn't just be a coincidence that this guy was in the same neck of the woods as him. Decidedly, Cal stepped through the branches and underbrush.

A young guy around the age of seventeen stood in a small clearing. He had brown hair and brown eyes with red, arrow-like tattoos on his face. Vampyre, Cal thought, remembering one of the things Selene had taught him when he was younger. Cal was right about one thing; he was armed. He stood poised with a bow and arrow, ready to shoot.

"Drop you weapon," Cal told him. "I'm no threat to you."

The guy didn't lower his bow. "I don't know that," he retorted. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm not," Cal said calmly. "I sensed someone in these woods, someone who could help me. Someone, who I just now realized, is not human at all, but a vampyre."

"What do you mean you sensed me?" he kept his aim on Cal. "How could I possibly help you? And how do you know what I am?"

"I'm a witch, my mother taught me a lot, some about your kind," Cal explained. "I know you lost somebody. I might know where she is."

The other guy had started to lower his weapon, but raised it again when he finished. "Is that because you're part of the group that took her?" he shot at Cal.

"No, but my mother is," Cal said. "She's allied herself with two other evil forces. I've turned my back on her, but I may be able to use what I know to find them." Then, much quieter, he added, "They've taken someone I love too."

"I'm not saying I trust you, but I know a little something or other about turning your back on evil," the guy replied. "I don't need any help; I've got my own way of finding her. It's very reliable."

"Are you sure about that?" Cal asked him. "Because knowing my mother, she's probably spelled wherever she's at and anywhere within a ten-mile radius of it. But as long as you know where you're going, that's the important thing, right?"

He was quiet for a minute, thinking. Finally, he spoke, "Prove you are what you say you are." He lowered the bow to point at the ground, instead of at Cal's heart.

Cal sighed and dropped his backpack to the ground. He cleared his mind and took deep, even breaths, focusing his energy on the other guy. After a moment of silence, the bow ripped itself out of the guy's hands. Cal wrapped his own hand around the bow with a satisfied grin.

"Maybe I need your help," the guy said, reluctantly. He went over and snatched his bow out of Cal's hand, but he stuck out his other hand. "James Stark, but I mostly go by Stark."

Cal took his outstretched hand and replied, "Cal Blaire."

XXX

Cal and Stark trekked through the woods side by side, Stark leading the way. They were quiet majority of the time, only really speaking when the silence got awkward. They talked about what they were and what they each knew about the situation.

"You still haven't told me your special way of finding your priestess," Cal commented as he moved hanging branches out of his way.

Stark hadn't planned on telling him, but Cal has already released more information than he has. If they were going to trust one another, they couldn't have any secrets. "She and I have a special bond," Stark explained, ducking his head under a low-lying branch. "I gave her my Warrior's Oath and she accepted it. It's a sacred oath that binds us together in an intimate way. When her emotions are strong enough, I can feel them and hear her thoughts. They tend to get stronger the closer I get to her." Stark stared straight ahead as he spoke, barely glancing at Cal.

They lapsed into another silence, Cal not knowing what to say to what Stark just revealed. It definitely wasn't anything he'd expected Stark to say. Cal looked up at the sliver of sky he could see through the canopy of trees and realized the sky was starting to lighten. Dawn was coming. Stark was watching the darkness on his skin get lighter as the sun began its ascent. He could already tell there wasn't going to be enough shade to keep up the search for Zoey. He was going to burn to death in this forest if he didn't do something.

"Shit," Stark muttered to himself, then out loud he said, "I need to find shelter. Now." He walked ahead of Cal, with a determined stride.

"And where do you expect to find shelter, warrior? In case you haven't noticed, we are in the middle of the woods." Cal pointed out. "Oh, wait, I think I see a knothole in one of those trees. Do you think it'll be big enough for the two of us? It might be a tight squeeze, but who knows, it could be cozy." Cal shook his head, laughing quietly to himself. "Besides, we can't stop. We have to keep going."

"Believe me, no one wants to keep going as much as I do, but I'm no good to Zoey as a pile of ashes," Stark replied, biting back a sarcastic remark. Stark continued, "You have no reason to help me, but if your girlfriend is being held with Zoey and I die, you're screwed." He glanced nervously up at the sky.

"Well, if you insist on being dramatic about it," Cal said, taking his backpack off and putting it on the ground. He knelt down and started rummaging through its contents.

Stark glared at him, curling his hands into fists and contemplated how good it would feel to send an arrow straight through Cal's heart. Then, he saw the sky turning a singe of pink. He saw Cal still on the ground, playing with his bag. Sighing, he walked away, mumbling, "I don't have time for this."

Finally, Cal found what he was looking for. A rolled-up tent. "Here," he said, throwing the bundle at Stark.

"Thanks," Stark accepted, catching the tent. He put it on the ground and began to set it up.

XXX

After the tent was set up, Cal sat down on a log he had pulled over and started taking out stones, quartz, and his athame from his bag. He picked up a blueish-gray quartz, held it between his hands and murmured a spell over it. When he finished, he looked up at Stark and held out the quartz. "Take this," Cal told him. "Keep it with you at all times. I've spelled it to cloak your essence. We don't need anyone sneaking up on us when you're...napping."

Stark narrowed his eyes at the stone, but he took it anyway and put it in his pocket. He would have said something had he not started feeling the fatigue that the sun always brings to him. Stark nodded his thanks and crawled inside the tent. I'm not leaving you, Z, he thought as he laid down to sleep. I'm coming for you.

Cal sat outside, fiddling with his athame. He was going to put protection spells around their campsite, but he just couldn't concentrate. His thoughts kept going to Morgan. I am sorry, Morgan. For everything I've ever done to you. He didn't dare say the words aloud, in case Stark was still awake. I love you, Morgan.


A/N: Well, how was it? I promise I won't make you wait a long time for the next chapter. I am hoping to post the next chapters for all my stories this month. Anyway, please review!