AN-Yay! I finally updated. I'm soooooooo sorry for the wait. I've pretty much worked out the kinks in the storyline, so hopefully it'll be smooth writing from here on out. I'll try to update sooner, but no promises. Thank you again to all my reviewers! Your reviews really do make my day.

What has happened so far: Hannah is plagued by disturbing dreams of a time she has no memory of, however when she's confronted by someone from her past she may be forced to unlock those long forgotten memories. This stranger, Nivar, a man with captivating green eyes, had been searching for others of his kind throughout his life. Now he'd found Hannah, who possesses a power of which he had not seen the likes of for so long. But others have found her as well, and they'd do anything to get to her first. After being rescued from Darshear by Nivar, Hannah loses herself to unconsciousness and fever.
Meanwhile Kierlan and his dangerous companions travel fast with Keller and Galen on their scent.

FYI: as of the chapter: "..."-talking
italics-mind speech

Now on to the story: Chapter Five

Thierry moaned at the pounding at his door. His head already felt as if a stampede of elephants had trampled his brain to mush, and didn't need any more encouragement. So his response might have been sharper than he meant it to be, not that his visitor minded at all.

"My my, aren't we a bit of a grouch this evening." Thierry jerked his eyes up to the see the laughing green eyes of his long-time friend.

"Darius?" Darius gave him a devil-may-care smile; his longish russet bangs framed his boyish face. With a laugh, Thierry jumped up and the two embraced. The years seemed to roll back and they were together again, two careless adventurers with the world at their feet. "How are you? Please sit. Sit." Darius gracefully slumped into a chair. "I didn't expect you to come until two weeks from now, so I'm sorry but you caught me by surprise.

"It's okay. I'm doing fine, and France is absolutely fantastic! Everything's fine." Darius seemed to distance himself for an instant, like a veil had fallen over his eyes and then it departed as quickly as it came. Thierry frowned at his friend's behavior. Things must not be as fantastic with the Court as Darius says. Come to think of it, now that he looked, he could see that the years at Court had certainly taken its toll on his friend. Nothing really marred his beautiful face, but it was his eyes. They may be shining now with mirth, but he could see the wariness underneath. No, things have not been going well in Europe. But, they could talk about that later. Right now all he wanted to do was reminisce with his friend, who he hadn't seen for so long. Damn, it's good to see you! How long has it been?"

"A little over 200 years I believe, mon ami. You know you left Paris way too early. It really was starting to get exciting!"

Thierry gave his friend an incredulous look, and shook his head. "Only you would think bloody revolution exciting."

"I'll admit it wasn't exactly the safest place to be." "I'll say!" Darius ignored him and continued, "But to be there! Ah, Thierry, you missed history in the making!"

"Ah, but I thought you'd left just a few years after I did, and don't tell me that you stayed in France merely for curiosity's sake. You stayed hoping to plunder from the nobles who had fled."

Darius stared at him in mock outrage. "Now that hurts, a knife in the heart, to be called a plundering thief by one of my own bosom pals. You should be ashamed. I was merely relieving those poor, unfortunate sops of their burdensome wealth. You can even say I was doing them a favor. If it wasn't for me, most of their priceless possessions would have been surely destroyed." Darius seemed rather pleased with his logic, and had a smug smirk on his face. "As for my leaving, well at that point I figured I've seen enough history for the time being. Too many heads were rolling for my taste."

Thierry couldn't help but chuckle at his friend, the opportunist. Darius never failed to amuse him, or get him in trouble, with one of his hair-brained schemes. Past memories bubbled up from within. Nights of laughter and tomfoolery came to mind. He could see Darius, the sorrow that would mark his eyes in later years gone. There was Genevieve with her cascade of shimmering red locks; her musical laughter filled the air as she watched the twins dance around like the buffoons they were. And then there was Anora, her soulful grey eyes lighted up with laughter, but when she caught his gaze, love and peace showed back through them and a warm wave spread through his body.

He was shaken out of his reverie by Darius snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Hello, anyone in there?"

"Will you stop doing that! You have my attention," Thierry snapped.

"What's got you so cranky, and what have you done to your self? Frankly, mon ami, you look like hell."

"Well, thank you. If you must know, I just met with the other Alliance leaders."

"Ah, that explains it then. Glad I missed it." He laughed at the grimace Thierry made.

"It really wasn't as bad as it could have been, except that King Drache and Lady Ursula kept sniping at each other. Everyone was already tense with everything that had happened and the dragon..."

"What!" Thierry stopped his talking with this interruption, "Hmm? What did you say?"

"What dragon?" Thierry seemed confused, broken from his speech; he became lost in the memories of the past few days. Darius was really close to shaking him, and repeated in clenched teeth, "Thierry, what dragon? What's happened here that you haven't told me about!"

"You mean you don't know at all? I thought that Kesla would tell you everything."

"Well, obviously, she left out a few tiny details," his sarcasm grating on Thierry's already frazzled nerves. Just like old times, eh?

Yeah, humph. Why wouldn't she tell you about the dragon?

"Maybe she was hoping that I wouldn't come here, if I didn't know how serious the situation was. Foolish woman!"

"But why...that doesn't make any sense. I thought that the Court wanted to help, and that they knew how grave things were getting."

Darius sighed, and slump his shoulders in defeat. "The Court knows of America's troubles." "America's troubles!" "Mon ami, listen, I'm just repeating what the Court told me."

"You mean they've already past judgment on this issue."

"Yes, now will you please be silent?" Thierry gave a gruff nod. "Okay, yes these are America's troubles, and as unfortunate as they are, we can't be moved to intervene."

Thierry shook his head in disbelief. "Basically, they told us to fix our own damnmess.Is thatit!"

"I'm sorry, my friend, but the Court has spoken and their word is law. No one is to help you. America, you can say, has been cut off."

"Those smug, self-pleasing, arrogant fools! This is a mistake, you know it is. Do they honesty believe that the war will be contained here? Goddess!" Then he turned to Darius, finally realizing the situation his friend was in. "You've disobeyed a Court decree." His eyes widened as his friend gave a resolute nod. "That's a..."

"I know. That's a crime punishable by death. I know. But I couldn't let you face this thing alone. You're right, they are all fools. There are others though, who feel the same way as I do. If you swear them your protection, then they might come Court decree or no Court decree."

"I swear my protection, contact them. Bring them here."

"It's settled. Now tell me what the hell has been going on here!"

Thierry chuckled at his friend's impatience, and then he sighed. "Everything's been such a whirl these past few days. You know about the Wild Power." Darius solemnly nodded even though it wasn't a question. "A few days ago, another dragon appeared, and he attacked a group of Daybreakers."

Darius squinted, and innate fear flared up in him. Then the questions came. "How? What? Is he still alive? I mean your men killed him right? Don't tell me he's still around. What did he want?"

Thierry was equally grim, and then sadness overcame him. Darius didn't know. He doesn't even know about Hannah, or Anora, being born again. "Yes, the dragon is alive. He was long gone by the time my people got there." He raised his hand to stem any questions that he knew Darius wanted to ask. "There is another thing you must know." Darius waited impatiently, wanting Thierry to just spit out whatever he knew. "Darius, Ani's alive."

Darius felt as if his lungs had the air punched out of them. Then so many different emotions erupted from him. The first was joy. "Anora? Your serious, Ani's back, she's been reincarnated!"

Seeing his friend's happiness just made Thierry more depressed, and guilt started to eat at him. Darius' delight quickly fled from him at the sight of Thierry's despair. "Why the glum face?" Suddenly, what was left of his joy was erased by cold fear as the pieces clicked together. Oh Goddess! The dragon. Ani! His eyes implored Thierry to tell him the rest, even though his heart dreaded to hear his fears confirmed and that the dragon had done something to Ani, or whoever she is in this life. "Thierry, what happened to Ani?"

"Her name is Hannah in this lifetime. She was with the group that was attacked by the dragon." He ignored the half-hearted denials from his companion, and continued. "We're not exactly sure what the dragon wanted. The others think that he may have been after Sarah, the fourth Wild Power's soulmate, and he somehow got Hannah instead. I don't think he would have made that kind of mistake. That bastard wanted Hannah; he wouldn't have taken her otherwise. I don't know why or what for though." In his speech, Thierry felt his control of his emotions break, and his tone echoed the anguish he'd been trying so hard to hide. Darius's own growing despair bleached his face of what little color it had. His forest green eyes no longer held their characteristic mirth, their sparkle dimmed.

Darius jumped from his seat, his raging emotions getting the best of him. "What are we standing around for! Why isn't anybody out there searching for them? Why are you in here, and not out there searching for her also!"

Thierry couldn't take the accusatorial look in Darius's eyes. What straps that held his feelings in check snapped. "Don't you think that I've tried? I had everyone I could get a hold of searching those alleyways for hours for any clues! Damn it, Darius, Hannah's my soulmate! Don't think for an instant that I stood by doing nothing! I had my people stop because they were tired. We all were tired, and we couldn't keep the human police at bay any longer. There was nothing there that could give us any sense of where Hannah may be." They stood there, chests heaving, anger still coursing in their veins.

That was how Marie found them. When two sets of eyes turned to her, she froze like a deer caught in headlights by the intensity of their stares. With her voice trembling slightly, she said, "Mmmilord, Lllupe's wwoken up. The other leaders want to interrogate her at once, but I ttttold them to wait for you first."

Thierry instantly shared a look with Darius. No apology was needed, and they both felt their anger start to drain away by the good news. Back on good terms with his friend, Thierry returned his attention to his nervous secretary, and felt guilty for making her uncomfortable. He immediately gave her a grateful smile, and said, "Thank you, Marie. Come; let's go rescue Lupe before the others wear her out." Marie was immediately relieved and happily escorted them to the healing ward.

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Before the trio had reached the doors of the healing wing of the mansion, the booming voice of the Shapeshifter King could be heard as well as an angry female voice. Thierry shut his eyes when he recognized the voice as Thea's, and by her tone she was pissed. An irate witch is never an easy thing to deal with. Again he shared a look with Darius, who had to gall to be amused by the argument going on inside.

When Thierry entered the ward, he had to struggle to keep from laughing as well. They stood in the doorway, unnoticed by everyone, especially the two in the center. There was Thea, in full healer mode, berating the Shapeshifter King, whose red face clashed with his vibrant red hair. The rest of the Alliance leaders stood around the duo. Some looked shocked; others like him were trying not to smile.

"Absolutely under no conditions am I letting you in to see her! My patient had just woken up from a rather traumatic experience, and you're just going to stress her out! Now if you please, leave this room. You can see Lupe tomorrow."

"Young woman, you have no right to talk to me that way. I am King Drache, and I demand that you step aside. Our business is urgent, and we need to speak to the werewolf as soon as possible!"

"Yes, Thea, I know that the girl is very weak, but we must see what she knows. It is very important that we do this as soon as possible." This came from an elderly witch.

"I'm sorry, Mother Cybele, but Lupe is way too weak to handle your questions right now. She might be stronger tomorrow."

Feeling that this had gone on long enough, Thierry stepped further into the room. When the glaring match between the king and the young witch continued, he coughed to get their attention. He almost wished he hadn't. The forceful glare that Thea sent his way stopped him in his place. He steeled himself for a battle of wills, and said in a calm but firm voice, "What is the problem here?"

"Lord Thierry, Lupe had just awakened. She is still terribly weak, and needs her rest. I assure you that she will be better tomorrow, and will most likely be strong enough to answer any questions that you might have."

Thierry sighed. "Thea, may I at least see her?" Before she could protest, he continued, "I promise that at the slightest hint of exhaustion on her part, I will leave. Then we'll all wait for tomorrow." The king was to object, but seeing the look Thierry sent him made him hold his tongue, and he grumbled under his breath. Thierry could see that Thea was unsure. On one hand her healer instincts told her that any questions tonight would be too much, however if only he goes in to see Lupe, then he would make sure that Lupe would not be stressed too much. Also, she trusted Thierry with Lupe more than the others, even her fellow witches. Thierry cared about Lupe's health, he wouldn't endanger it. That decided her, and she gave an abrupt nod to him.

"Only for a few minutes though, anymore will definitely be too much for her." Thea stepped aside as she let him pass. He gave her a smile, and went into the room.

When Thierry saw the figure on the bed, he froze in shock. There were bandages all over Lupe's arms, and he bet that most of her body was covered in them, even though the blanket hid her body from his view. Her face had mostly healed, but one side of her face was still slightly bruised, fading from green to pasty yellow. The smell of herbs assaulted his senses. Then he looked into Lupe's weary yellow eyes, and felt intense hatred for the bastard who did this to her.

"Milord?" She said in a small voice.

"Hello Lupe." Giving her a small grin, he sat down next to her bed. "Do you want anything? Are you hungry?" She just shook her head, and then grimaced at the pain that shot up her neck. "Lupe?"

"I'm fine, damn wounds. Is Thea near?"

"She's right outside. Lupe, no you mustn't!" She shrugged off his hand, and sat up, making a face as her body screamed with pain. After a few moments the pain wore off, and she gave him a half-smile. He shook his head at her stubbornness.

"Lupe, if Thea sees you sitting up, she'll have my head. Why don't you just lie back down?"

"I'm fine, and don't worry, I'll make sure you don't get in trouble with Thea. I just need to move around a bit. How long have I been out?"

"Several hours or so."

"That long? What's happened? Everything's so fuzzy." Suddenly, she shot out of bed. "The dragon! Lady Hannah!" Then she cried as pain shot through her. Thierry grasped her arms, careful of her injuries, and made her lie back down. "What happened to the dragon?

Thierry averted his eyes from hers; his face weary and sad. His expression told her enough, and she asked in a dull voice, "He's still alive, isn't he? And he has Hannah. Oh, I'm sorry! I..."

He seized her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "No, Lupe, it's not your fault. You did the best you could. Not many can go against a dragon alone. We're lucky to have you alive at all."

"I didn't even realize what he was until he blasted me. Gods, it felt like an inferno! So much power..."

"Lupe, what happened before that?"

"I'm not so sure, it all happened so fast. We were just looking at clothes. Hannah had gone to see if the people had formal dresses. Poppy was in the dressing rooms. The next moment, I turned around and there's this guy standing over Hannah."

Here Thierry interjected, "What did he look like?"

Lupe moaned, trying to remember. Her memories were like jigsaw pieces, all scrambled almost beyond oblivion. "Red, he had red hair, and his eyes. His eyes were black, no they were blacker than black. It was like looking into a very deep hole. I felt like I would fall in and be lost forever." She didn't even realize that she was shivering, until Thierry wrapped another blanket around her.

"It's okay, he's gone. What happened after that?"

"I told him to get away from her. Then he just blasted me with his power. That's all I know." It wasn't much to go by, but Thierry could see that she was fighting to stay awake, and decided that is was time to leave.

He gave her hand another squeeze, and said, "Don't worry, Lupe, we'll find him and Hannah too. We think that he may not have her. Wherever she is, we'll find her." Her sudden hopeful expression lightened his spirits a little as well, but then he remembered that there was still the question of where Hannah was. However, if Rashel was right and that man did help them, then maybe, just maybe Hannah is somewhere safe, and soon she'll be returned.

Thierry closed the door gently so as not to wake the sleeping girl within. With tired eyes he looked at Darius, who instantly came to him. Thea also came to him. Before she could speak, he said, "She's okay, Thea. Right now she's sleeping soundly."

"Did you learn anything new?" Thierry could hear the urgency in Darius's tone. The others looked at him expectantly.

"I suggest that we all go to the parlor, and leave Thea to her patients. I'll tell you what I've learned there, but it's not very much." When everyone had settled in their seats, Thierry began, "We at least now have a kind of picture of what the dragon looks like, but other than that, there's not much else."

"So what do we do now?" Queen Drache asked.

"There must be something that we can do." King Drache said, impatient that they weren't doing something that to him was productive.

"King Drache, I believe we've done all we can until we have some more information." Darius said, trying to placate the monarch.

"That might be so, Lord Darius, but I still hate all this waiting around. What do you consider, Thierry?"

"I'm waiting to hear back from Keller. She and Galen have traced the Wild Power to New York City. Hopefully, they'll be able to gather some clues about who the men are that are with Kierlan."

"That's all well and good, but what do they have to do with the dragon?" Darius looked curiously at his friend. "You think that they're related somehow?"

"I'm not sure. It might be a stretch, but still. We had no idea who's waking up the dragons, now we find out the existence of this secret order. It's just an inkling, but I wonder if this order does have something to do with the waking of the dragons and if I'm right, then let's hope to Goddess that Keller and Galen find out what that connection is."

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"Any sign of them?" Galen asked as he wrapped his arms around his soulmate, who was staring down at the building across from them. The Dark Menagerie, one of the hottest spots for Night Worlders and any humans unfortunate to be invited to such a deathtrap. It was definitely a favorite among the Night World elite, who had their pick of entertainment and an easy meal.

"No, no sign of Dominic either. Where is he! He told you that he would meet us here tonight right?"

"For the thousandth time, yes, he said he'll be here at eleven. He has a few more minutes, and you know him, Mr. Punctuality." Keller gave a snort at that. Dominic Forenza was the model agent, always acute and professional, which could get down-right annoying sometimes. However, it also meant that he was exceptionally good at his job. But not as good as me, which is why he's second-in-command.

She sank into Galen's embrace, weary after days of watching the night club. They'd tracked Kierlan's movements down the coast. It finally ended here when they got a tip from an agent, who worked at the club. When she heard the description of the men who were with the Wild Power, she knew that they were the ones who attacked Sarah's family, and she felt white, hot rage boil within her. She felt as if she'd waited enough, and just wanted them to make their move. When she'd caught them, she'll teach those torturing sons of bitches what it's like to be sliced up and gutted.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

"Eleven on the dot. How do you do that?" Galen asked as the dark vampire came into the room, followed by Nyssa and Winnie.

"Never mind that everyone's in position and the targets are in sight," Dom said in his usual succinct manner.

"But how, we didn't see anybody."

"I think there's a separate section under the building, and the enemies have been using underground passage ways to go to and from the building. That's where we'll find our Wild Power." Winnie said bursting with energy at the thought of finally busting the bad guys. She also had her own vendetta against them.

"One of my guys always saw the targets coming and going through the back rooms, so maybe the entrance is there. Everything's ready."

"All we need now is the word, Chief."

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's move out." With Galen behind her, Keller walked out of the room.

Winnie turned to the others with a grin. "Well, you heard her. Let's go clubbing!"

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Voices. Where are they coming from? Where am I?

Hannah's eyes saw only hazy images.

"She's out of danger now. However, she needs plenty of rest." Who's that? Where am I? I feel nothing.

"Where am I?"

"Hush now, you're safe. Go back to sleep." There was a woman looking at her. Brown hair, warm eyes. The image got foggier as Hannah slipped into unconsciousness. Then the woman's face changed. Brown hair became black, and warm eyes became cold as ice. The face that stared back at her sent Hannah's mind screaming.