Chapter Twelve

"All things may corrupt when minds are prone to evil."

- Ovid

___

55 missed calls. Dad. Mom. Hailey. Rochelle. Withheld. 7 voicemail.

Izzy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She then dialed up her voicemail.

"Isabel, where are you—"

"When are you coming back—"

"—called the police—"

"Please—"

"Call me."

"Call me."

Call me. All of the messages were nearly the same. Two from her father, three from her mother, one each from Hailey and Rochelle. All of them were worried about Serenity and her, and they all wanted to hear from them both. And the police…she believed her mother on that. Were Romanian authorities looking for them?

Her chest tightened, even as she huddled there on the floor. Modesty meant little to her there, but she still hugged a sheet around her naked body. Marach lay in the bed, still asleep. He wasn't sleeping that death-sleep, but like a regular person. That was incredibly uplifting to Izzy, even as she registered shock at herself.

She slept with him. She slept with a man she'd just met. And it'd been her first time, too! This wasn't like her, although she acknowledged she was anything but herself around Marach. On top of that, it was unprotected sex too. She doubted Carpathians had sexually transmittable diseases, but was there any consequences she had to worry about? They were different species though, right? So it wasn't like she could get pregnant from it.

Right?

Still, even her own worry couldn't dim the sheer afterglow of it. It'd been…amazing, for lack of a better term. She had no previous partners and so she couldn't make a comparison. So often in the past her friends had complained of inadequate lovers who didn't satisfy them. But Marach…he'd touched her in ways unimaginable. He'd made her scream, and she thought that was always a false effect. But when he took her, logic and everything else flew out the window. She'd turned into something she wasn't; something that craved a level of ecstasy that somewhat intimidated her.

No, no, she had to stop thinking about it.

Izzy looked through the list of missed calls. She felt terrible that she'd worried so many people. She hesitated for a moment before dialing Mr. Crane's cell phone number. It was after one in the afternoon in Romania, so Izzy knew it was still early morning back home. But she also knew her father would pick up immediately once he saw her number.

Still…after two rings she hung up the phone. She breathed out a shaky sigh and squeezed her eyes shut. What the hell could she say? That Serenity's behavior was because her soul was bound to an evil vampire? That she was bound to some guy her parents had never met? They'd think she was crazy, too!

Arms slid around Izzy. She didn't fight as Marach pulled her back into bed. "It's okay, dragă."

"How can it be okay?" she asked quietly. Her body seemed to natural burrow itself into his larger frame. "Everyone's so worried about us. And I…I want to go home." The tears were coming too easily now. "I hate this, Marach…"

Marach pulled her in for a tighter hug, flooding her senses with love. He knew not to be offended by her words. She was confused about what was going on between them, but she didn't regret what had happened last night. She was just cut off from everyone she loved, and it wasn't a good feeling. It was a feeling he knew too well.

"Iubita mea…" he kissed her cheek with such tenderness that she choked on a sob. "I am here. Don't be afraid to talk to them. Even if you must lie, they will want to know you're all right. I can have Mikhail send associates to see your parents and make up a story, but it will give them greater assurances to hear your voice."

"…I know." Izzy looked at her phone again. Her stomach was still knotted, but the worst of her despair was gone and she knew it was because of Marach. She looked up at him and managed a small smile. "Thank you."

She dialed Mr. Crane's number again. Marach spooned up behind her and held her tight, each of them looking at the phone. Her heart pounded so strongly, with anticipation and fear. She could lie to her father about all of this, but he wouldn't believe her. And he sure as hell wouldn't believe the truth, especially with his sanguivoriphobia.

His phone rang five times, but he didn't pick it up. It went right to voicemail. "Hello, this is Ferris Crane. Please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you when I can." *Beep!*

Izzy froze. She hadn't been prepared to talk to his voicemail. It seemed so much worse that way. She turned towards Marach, almost looking for an answer for what to do, but he turned her back to the phone.

"…Hi Dad, it's me," she said finally. "I'm s-so sorry for worrying everyone. I just want you guys to know Serenity and I are all right. W-We should've contacted you before, but we left the tour in Romania. You see, I…" she faltered and swallowed thickly. Think, think of something! "We found a…specialist to help Serenity. H-He's had her under surveillance and he's certain he can cure her of her problem. Don't worry about money…er, he's accepting bimonthly payments. I-I'll call you guys again to give you an update as to whether or not he'll let her go.

"…Daddy?" tears burned at her eyes again and she closed them. "I love you. We both love you. Tell Mom we love her too, and I hope to se—talk to you guys soon. Call me whenever you can, okay? Bye-bye."

Izzy snapped the phone shut and buried her face into her arm. "Marach…"

Marach pulled her back against him, lips gliding across the side of her neck. Her skin grew warm quickly, and she felt the evidence of his need against her thigh. "Marach, wa—"

Her voice broke off in a soft moan. Her fingers let go of her phone and grabbed for a pillow as his mouth, his fingers brought her body back to life. Need slammed into her sharply, wiping away her distress as he pulled away the blanket covering her. "Marach…"

One hand slid down the side of her body, cupping her thigh possessively as he bent her knee and raised it up until it draped over his own leg. He cupped her hips and eased into her with an inordinate amount of control. He buried his face into her copper hair, his soft desperate groaning the only telling sign of uncontrollable need.

Izzy dug her fingers tight into the pillow, nearly tearing it apart as he rocked her body with the force of his thrusts. It didn't hurt this time, not at all. All she could feel was him, and the wonderful spasms of her body. She was soaring, so high and so fast that it took her completely off-guard. She pressed her face into the pillow, but she couldn't stop the sounds she made, her heavy breathing. She didn't want to hide. She wanted to ride on this wonderful feeling of their joining for as long as she could.

It all happened so quickly. They met together in ecstasy. Izzy didn't think she would scream again—she didn't think she could—but she did, slamming back into his body and shaking as each sharp, tingling sensation.

In their aftermath they lay exhausted, even after sleeping so well. Izzy raised a hand to her face, still amazed by everything going on. He took her so quickly so unexpectedly and yet he gave her so much…and she wanted more. She couldn't help but want more.

Marach laughed huskily and pulled her back into his arms. She couldn't but be touched that he wanted to cuddle with her. "You are my life, Isabel. There is no one else for you but me…and there is no one for me but you."

Izzy laughed too, dropping her hand back onto the bed. "If no other man makes me feel this way, then you have nothing to worry about." Even as the words came out, she flushed with embarrassment. That didn't sound like her at all. She almost sounded like…a nymphomaniac.

"I wouldn't mind it in the least if you were such, iubita mea."

"That's because you're a man," she said. Even as the afterglow settled in, she couldn't help but not be completely settled. "You can't get me pregnant, can you Marach? I-I mean, we've had unprotected sex."

"Don't you want to have children, Isabel?"

"I've never really thought about it. I've always imagined Serenity having children, but not me. I…" she sighed. "So you can get me pregnant?"

"Only if you want children. I won't force the issue on you when you're not ready, especially since you haven't changed your mind about converting."

Izzy stiffened, remembering vaguely that he took her blood during sex…and gave her his. "You didn't convert me, did you?"

"No, no. Unfortunately conversion is incredibly painful; most don't survive and those who can't handle it become insane. This is another reason I'm not entirely sure about it. But I won't do it without your permission."

"Good." She relaxed against him, despite her words. "I do like being human. And I've worked so hard to become a neurosurgeon to simply throw it away."

Marach nuzzled her hair. "You know…if you become Carpathian, then you won't need school. You can absorb all the knowledge and skill you would learn in school mentally."

Izzy blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. Here, let me show you." Marach gathered fragments, skills of any surgeons he could sense in the region and transferred them into her mind. She stiffened as her mind flooded with newfound knowledge. She digested the information very carefully, analyzing little details, taking it to memory.

It was a long moment before she spoke. "So I can absorb knowledge? But I can barely remember what I remembered in undergrad!"

"You'll remember all of this, dragă."

"But even if I learn nine years worth of schooling in a day, that won't get me a degree. Or a license. Or physical experience."

"Implanted knowledge will get you the physical experience. As for licenses and degrees, we can create files for you, and implant memories of your schooling. You'd be a neurosurgeon by the end of the year instead of a few years from now."

Izzy was silent for a long moment. She laughed half-heartedly. "Serenity should've found out about this sooner. She'd have saved herself a decade of school." She winced slightly. "Marach."

"Yes?"

"I…I don't know anything about vampires. You guys have more experience than me. But…I don't think Parn intended to hurt Serenity."

"Isabel—"

"I don't know about him blowing himself up, but he came to her defense when she was attacked. He begged that vampire not to hurt her."

"NO! DON'T HURT HER!"

Marach dissected her memory carefully. It was very puzzling behavior and it didn't make sense. Parn had sounded genuinely concerned for Serenity. And the way he blew himself up…even as setting himself up as a decoy the self-injury was very debilitating.

But…then he noticed something.

"I'm telling Neve the minute we get back! And to hell with you with whatever she decides!"

"Neve…is a woman?" he asked aloud.

Izzy stiffened, and looked at him. "I saw a female figure in the trees. And it was a woman's voice who chanted that horrible spell."

Marach wanted to ask why she didn't tell him sooner, but so much had happened during that time. But now… "I must tell Mikhail. Let me see your cell phone, Isabel."

___

"A woman?" Mikhail asked. "It was a woman who led that assault?!"

"The vampires referred to Neve as a she," Marach said. "And Isabel has said that the one who summoned that ice had a feminine voice."

The warriors stared at him blankly, male and female alike. Nobody seemed to know what to do with this information, least of all Marach himself. He had no experience fighting a woman. Trying to get compliance from Izzy and Serenity itself was hard enough.

It was Gregori who broke the silence. "That's not possible."

"What's so impossible about it?" a dark-haired woman stepped forward. Marach recognized her as Ivory Malinov. "We women always have a few tricks up our sleeves. What's so impossible that this drone of Xavier is in fact female?"

"Because of the vampires," Gregori said. "If they're taking orders, it's not from a woman."

Another woman snorted in disgust. "So why would they refer to their boss as a 'she' then?!"

"Maybe he made a mistake. And maybe the mage who attacked us was a woman. But the vampires aren't following a woman."

"Gregori has a point," Mikhail said suddenly. "A vampire never subservience's easily, and when he does it is only to one of great power. A man of great power. Women are sub-level to vampires, easy prey for food and sex. They would never follow a human woman, especially one who is a mage, even if she represented Xavier." He shook his head. "This woman mage might be important, but the vampires wouldn't answer to her."

"…He has a point." Everyone turned to see Destiny step forward. "Women are nothing to vampires. I witnessed one try to kill his own lifemate. They care for nothing but their own self-gratification. Maybe…maybe this woman mage is simply a pawn? That the real mastermind is controlling both her and the vampires, and they speak of her to throw us off?"

Marach stared at her for a long moment, but not because of her speech about 'Neve'. Izzy's words to him about Parn resurfaced and with it a futile hope. He took a step towards Destiny. It was just a single step, but the young woman flinched and stepped away. Her lifemate Nicolae surged forward immediately, shielding her from view with his own body. "What do you want?"

"I want to ask you about this vampire," Marach said slowly, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. "You all know my lifemate's sister has a lifemate who turned into a vampire."

Destiny relaxed very slightly, as did Nicolae. "I am sorry for her. It's a fate I would never wish upon anyone."

"Can…Can you tell me about that incident? I have an inkling about something…"

"That can wait," Gregori said suddenly. He surveyed the hunters in the room. "We will operate in assumption that this Neve is in fact a woman and is the woman who attacked us in the forest. But, I think we should hold off on implicating her as the leader of this operation." Gregori turned his eyes towards Mikhail. "Keep heed of yourself and your lifemate."

"When have I not?" Mikhail asked, shaking his head. "But you keep heed of my granddaughters."

Gregori's eyebrow twitched as some of the warriors chuckled. "That goes without saying."

Marach watched his Prince direct the warriors, while watching Destiny and Nicolae converse privately. They both nodded and Nicolae stepped towards Marach. He was more relaxed, but his dark eyes held warning to him.

"We will tell you what you need to know."

___

Izzy circled around the bed, staring down at her sister. Serenity was once again in a very deep sleep, almost like a coma. She didn't react when Izzy touched her arm or tucked strands of hair out of her face.

"Marach?" she called out hesitantly, taking a seat next to the bed. "Can we wake up Serenity?"

"I'm afraid not," Marach answered. "Mikhail has deemed her a danger to herself—and us—and she's to be left under until we figure out what to do."

Izzy bristled. "Mikhail may be a Prince, but he's not my Prince OR Serenity's! He's got no right to make such a decision!"

"Isabel, Serenity has continually run off on her own when she's left alone. Her most recent runaway could've ended the lives of many powerful hunters. It's too risky to simply wake her up. Even if she doesn't run off again, she can communicate with Parn freely. She unknowingly nearly exposed Gregori's home to our enemies. That put his lifemate in danger and his baby daughters. I don't like leaving her asleep like this, but unless we can get through to her, she's not safe."

Izzy saw his point, but it only made her more irritated with everything. "So, what did you guys talk about?"

"They accept that the mage who attacked us might be a woman, but they don't think a woman is behind all of this."

"Why not? They called her a 'she'."

"Vampires never take orders from women. It goes against everything that they are."

Izzy snorted in disgust. "Didn't you say you Carpathians also have trouble taking orders from women?"

Marach laughed shortly. "Iubita mea, you aren't comparing us to vampires, are you?"

Izzy laughed back at him, though her eyes were on Serenity. "What else did you find out?"

Marach faltered. "I spoke with the couple who'd had the recent experience of a woman lifemated to a vampire."

Izzy straightened in her seat. "What did they say about it?"

"Destiny said the woman in question was a good friend to her. The vampire was very shocked and horrified to see her—initially. Then he denied their bond, verbally and internally, and tried to kill her. They killed him to save her life."

"Oh, God…" Izzy's heart tightened with fear. So they weren't kidding; Parn would definitely try to kill Serenity. And the woman in question…Izzy couldn't even imagine what she was going through.

"Gregori gave her aid and she was able to pick up the pieces of her life. The same can happen with Serenity if she would only comply."

Izzy took hold of Serenity's limp hand. "How often did they see each other before he tried to kill her?"

"That was the only time they ever truly met."

Izzy froze. "What?"

"The woman was aware he was nearby, but he never sensed her. Or rather, he might've denied she was there until they were face-to-face."

"But…" Izzy looked at Serenity's face again. "That didn't happen with Serenity. I don't think he's even threatened her yet."

"I know." She was stunned he actually agreed with her! "His behavior is completely inconsistent. But unfortunately, they had no answers for me on this."

"So…what do we do?"

"Isabel…" he wanted to be hopeful. He truly wanted to be. But… "Whether or not he spares her doesn't matter. He is a vampire. He is evil. We do not know whatever crimes he committed against mankind before he found his lifemate. We cannot lose sight of that, no matter what."

Izzy said nothing. Serenity looked at peace now, but once she woke up (whenever that would be) she would face that horrible pain once again. "This isn't fair, Marach."

"I know, dragă." For the first time his tone was sad. It tugged at Izzy's heart. "I don't wish this, either. Parn and Cassander were very close friends of mine; Cassander in fact was my best friend. I don't want this to happen anymore than you do."

"I know." And Izzy meant it. Nothing meant more to her than Serenity, but she was becoming more and more familiar with his feelings. And she was truly trying to be mindful of him. "Thanks, Marach. I know you're trying, and I can't thank you enough."

"I don't need your thanks all the time, Isabel. All I need for you is to watch out for yourself, and I'll be fine."

Izzy closed her eyes. "You won't ask for anything else? I mean, we've already…" she deliberately didn't finish her thought.

"Well, I don't think I'll need to ask you. You've seemed very compliant the past two times—"

"All right, enough! Next time, ask my permission!"

"………All right."

___

The sun was starting to rise. Izzy had seen very little of Marach during this time. She mostly sat with Serenity and stared off into space. Occasionally Marach spoke to her, but he was very busy. Without Serenity there to talk to her, she felt very alone.

"You're not alone, iubita mea. I certainly won't ever allow you to be alone."

Still, it was just about time for everyone to go to ground. Izzy felt tired, but not very much. She felt so stressed, and even though Serenity wasn't getting herself into trouble, she found no comfort being there with her.

She wanted…a stress reliever.

"Get some sleep, Isabel. When you wake up, I'll show you something."

It was hard, but Izzy forced herself to go to sleep. She crawled into bed beside Serenity and slept for only two hours. When she woke, she knew it was still in the morning. She reached for Marach instinctively. He was asleep, but he held awareness. If something was wrong, he would wake up and come to her.

But nothing was wrong. At least not right at that moment.

Izzy pushed aside the covers, knowing that she didn't need to worry about Serenity waking up. She was surprised to feel a weight at the end of the bed. Her eyes made out a familiar outline, but…it couldn't be.

She flipped on the lamp. And gasped. A perfectly good pair of roller blades rested at the foot of the bed. Beside them was a new helmet, and elbow and knee and wrist pads.

Giggling to herself, Izzy grabbed the roller blades and shoved them on her feet. They fit perfectly; not too big and not too snug. She laced them up and stood up. She vaguely wondered how Gregori might react to the scratches on his hardwood floor, but she calmly skated a figure-eight around the room. The wheels glided nearly soundlessly on the floor, only the soft rumble of the friction created by the movement on the wood.

They were perfect. Even her beloved blades at home were a bit old, too big and wheels very squeaky. It was such a thoughtful surprise that she felt like crying.

"Marach…thank you." she skated to her side of the bed and sat down, calmly pulling off the skates. This must have been what Marach had meant. She couldn't wait to truly try them out.

"You're welcome, dragă." Marach tired voice answered her. "Only…you'll have to wait until later to truly try them."

"Later? You don't mean…at night?!" Izzy felt very disappointed at this. "I can't skate at night! That's dangerous!"

"I will be with you, Isabel. And for the time being your hearing and sight are stronger because of my blood."

"But I always skate during the day! Can't I do it now?!"

"It's dangerous, Isabel."

"But—"

"Confirmation of the mage proves they will attack us during the day when we're most vulnerable. If you go out and skate, she will come after you."

Izzy didn't like to be ordered around, but even with her joy she had to see logic. She certainly wasn't looking to be the target of some crazy witch. She piled her new skates and accessories in a nearby chair and left the room. Would she ever be able to do anything normal again?

"Please, go to ground."

Izzy had been climbing down the stairs when she heard this new voice. It was a man, and he sounded like he was arguing with someone. A woman, and it was in a nearby room.

"Must you go out now?! Everyone's asleep! If you're hurt, nobody can help you!"

"Vampires don't scare me. I've fought my fair share of them. I'll be all right, I just need to buy a few things."

"But…"

"Gregori said it was okay. I'll be okay."

Izzy paused at the doorway. Yes, it was a man and woman. For some reason, Izzy could immediately sense that the man was human. He seemed different somehow, even though as a human herself Izzy knew she shouldn't think of him as 'different'.

"Just let me go with you," the woman demanded, wringing her hands in open frustration. "You can't go alone!"

"Gabrielle…" he reached out and touched her shoulders gently. "You can't go out. The sun's too high. I'll only be gone for an hour. But you need to get to sleep. It'll be noon soon and you'll be very vulnerable."

Gabrielle shook her head. "I…"

Izzy suddenly had an idea. She cleared her throat and stepped into the room. "Excuse me?"

The couple jumped and the man turned towards her. "Y-You're Izzy Crane, correct?" there was a peculiar tone in his voice. Almost…awing.

"Yes, I am," Izzy answered uneasily. "You mentioned going into town, didn't you Mr…"

"Gary," he supplied. He was looking at Izzy, but he hadn't let Gabrielle go. "And yes, I need to buy a few things."

"Could you take me with you?"

___

"Put on sun block and wear sunglasses."

Gary had given her fair warning. But Izzy was still squinting behind her sunglasses, even with the dark tinted windows, and a light layer of sunburn had marked her arms for being in direct sunlight only a few seconds. As they'd started driving though, clouds had appeared and covered the sun, taking away some of the hurt.

Marach had let her go with great reluctance. Only Gregori's unwavering support of this human man, Gary Jansen, did he put his confidence in him to take his lifemate away from the security of Gregori's home.

"Just for one hour, okay Isabel? You're only allowed one hour."

"Marach, why in the hell would I wander away from Gary?! I don't know how to get back to Gregori's house and I sure as hell don't want to run into that mage!"

"Just remember that just in case you become too involved in skating."

"Oh, go to hell."

Izzy looked at Gary, who was concentrating on the road. He hadn't tried to strike up a conversation with her, as though knowing she would be talking to her lifemate. "So, when's the wedding?" she asked conversationally.

Gary started slightly, and glanced at her. "Excuse me?"

"Your girlfriend and you. You two look very close and you had a hard time leaving her behind." Izzy shrugged simply. "It's none of my business, but I thought you two might be…"

Understanding crossed Gary's face before it fell away. "Gabrielle's not my fiancée. She is my girlfriend, but…" he took a deep breath and let it out shortly. "I…don't think we'll be together for very much longer."

"Why not?" Izzy asked, feeling a little distress. They seemed so close and comfortable with each other. Why wouldn't they be together?

"Gabrielle isn't human. She's a Carpathian, and that means she's lifemated to a Carpathian male." His hands tightened on the steering wheel suddenly. "I'm only human, so…I don't really have a chance. Gregori hasn't said much about it, but I know Mikhail and him have been talking. Even if her lifemate doesn't come along tomorrow, they might force us to break up."

"That's terrible! B-But you two love each other, don't you?! They can't do that!"

"Please, don't condemn Mikhail and Gregori because I don't. Both men have a great amount of pressure on their shoulders. If a male does come along and claims Gabrielle, they'll have no choice but to give her up…and so will I."

"Marach, this can't really happen, can it? Even if he's human and she's not, they love each other. That means they might be lifemates, right?"

"Isabel…" his tone grew reluctant again. "I have told you that a Carpathian female is bounded to a Carpathian male, not a human. She may love Gary now, but her true love is out there, no doubt searching for her."

"But you haven't told me why a Carpathian woman can't be bounded to a human man. I'm a human, aren't I? So is Serenity, and yet we have lifemates. Why can't Gary be his lifemate?"

"Because Carpathian women don't ever lose emotions. They are the light to our darkness, and so they can love freely. That's why Gabrielle loves Gary, because he's the one who's here, not her lifemate."

Izzy bit her lower lip in frustration and folded her arms over her chest. Marach sensed something from her. "Isabel, don't—"

"I don't see why it's so impossible," she said loudly. "I mean, I'm a human and I have a lifemate. It probably works for you, too!"

Gary's hands were still clenched on the steeling wheel, but he glanced at Izzy carefully. "I'm not a psychic, Izzy."

"Neither am I. All I have is regen—" she paused, hesitating about this secret she rarely told other people.

"Regenerative blood," Gary finished. "Gregori told me," he quickly added when he saw her stunned face. "And I was wrong before. I'm not entirely human, but I appreciate your kind words. I'm going to cherish the time I have with Gabrielle now. But…but if that time comes and someone claiming to be her lifemate comes for her…I'll fight him. And I won't care what sort of Carpathian laws I'll be breaking."

Izzy stared at him for a long moment. She tried to smile, but her chest ached. "I'm rooting for you," she said quietly.

"…Thanks," he said. He focused once more on the road. "I don't know why I told you all of that, especially since we've just met. Perhaps…I emphasize with your sister. Because she has someone so close that she can't be with. Only…she has no chance."

Izzy decided not to say any more, and Marach said nothing. They reached the town a short time later. Gary pulled up to the curb next to a thrift store and turned off the engine. "This shouldn't take me too long, but I was thinking of getting a bite to eat at that restaurant over there." he pointed to the establishment across the street. "Could we meet there in a half-hour?"

"Sure," Izzy said, smiling a little even though the thought of food twisted her stomach. A half-hour wasn't nearly enough for her with rollerblading. She could usually stay out for hours, basking in the sun and feeling the wind on her face, imagining she was flying.

"You've flown for real. I'm surprised that's not enough."

"Shut up." Izzy would take whatever she could, even if it was only for a half-hour. She strapped on her helmet and her pads before sliding into the blades. It felt wonderful, though she wobbled slightly as she stood.

She received a lot of stares as she skated alongside the sidewalk, but she ignored them. The sunlight wasn't hurting her so much now, but she still wore sunglasses. It felt so wonderful to do this. She skated moderately at times, and very fast at others. She heard Marach yell out in alarm in her head as she wound fluidly around a parked car. But she'd been rollerblading since she was nine. Nothing fazed her on them.

It almost gave her the illusion that her life was back to normal. Skating in the gutter, passing by the aging buildings around her, she could almost imagine she was back home, waving to neighbors and friends. Cutting off traffic and doing giant jumps over knee-high barricades. And Serenity…she would be following, or just ahead of her, trying to talk to her and laugh. Oh…it was a nice thought, but it wasn't reality. This was a hard pill to swallow, but Izzy was able to ignore it as she skated all around town, forgetting that she had any problems with her life.

"I'm glad this pleases you, dragă. I want you to be happy and have some peace, even if I can only give it to you for a little while."

Izzy couldn't help but smile. "I won't thank you again, but I do appreciate this. Maybe you won't have to wait for my permission?" she didn't know what possessed her to say that, but the idea itself was almost…fun to her.

Marach, himself, was a little taken aback. "……I'll keep that in mind." His voice was full of heat, and promise.

Twenty-five minutes later, Izzy skated back to the restaurant. She reluctantly removed her gear and headed inside. Her Romanian was still shaky, even with Marach's guidance, but the waitress seemed to understand her. Gary hadn't arrived yet, but with a promise he would be brought to her she was taken to a table. Food seemed revolting to her, even now, but she knew she had to order something since she was there. She ordered some broth and a glass of soda and calmly waited for her meager food to arrive. How long would it be before this revulsion faded? She wanted to eat meat again!

"It'll fade in a few days. But you don't need meat."

"Not this argument again!" Izzy ignored him and fiddled with her glass of water. Where the hell was Gary?! He was getting late now!

Izzy noticed motion across the table. A well-manicured hand rested on the back of the chair. It pulled it out, and Izzy looked up, noting the pristine white ladies suit this individual wore.

It was a woman. A very beautiful woman, at least ten or twelve years older than Izzy. Light traces of makeup marked her otherwise perfect face. Her expression was blank, although her blonde eyebrows seemed both raised and knitted. Her hair wasn't just blonde, though; it was the color of white champagne, and it was tied in a super-tight bun at the back of her head, not one loose strand sticking out. Her eyes were light brown and they held Izzy with an unspoken authority.

"Um…" Izzy cleared her throat awkwardly. "Can I help you?" she didn't know if this woman spoke English, but she was uncomfortable by her.

"…Perhaps," the woman said after a moment. She had a British accent, or at least it sounded British to Izzy. "May I sit down?"

"I—" but before Izzy could finish, the woman took the seat. Izzy watched her cross her legs slightly, and she noted with growing unease the condition of the white suit. It was perfect, no signs of stains or wrinkles or ruffling. The woman even calmly smoothed out potential wrinkles on the pant seam.

Izzy knew something seriously was wrong.

"I have come here with a proposition for you," the woman began. She raised a hand to finger an idle glass of water. "I intend to pay you handsomely if you agree."

"L-Look," Izzy said, raising her hands slightly. "I-I think you have the wrong per—"

"Isabel Lindsay Crane," the woman interjected, her eyes on the glass of water. "Your birthday is on May 17th and you are twenty-four years old. You're a med student majoring in neurosurgery. Your sister is Serenity Maura Crane, birthday on March 13th and twenty-nine years old and is a doctor. Neither of you are married and both of you live at home. Your parents, Ferris and Andrea Crane, are college sweethearts."

Izzy gaped at her, a tight knot of fear forming deep in her core. The woman looked at her then and continued, unabashed. "Recently, your sister has suffered a psychological breakdown, resulting in numerous suicide attempts, and you two began touring Europe to avoid having her committed." She leaned forward slightly, towards Izzy. "Am I warm?"

"You…" Izzy pressed her hands onto the surface of the table. "Marach, I need help! Have somebody get in contact with Gary!" "Who are you?" she asked aloud.

"Gregori is speaking to him right now. He'll be right over to help you." Izzy was greatly relieved for his assurances, even though her nerves were still on edge.

The woman was silent for a long time. She picked up the glass of water and took a delicate sip. She paused, looking at the glass for a moment, before setting it back down. "I have many names, Isabel Crane. If necessary, I can create an entire false life on a whim or on orders. My boss is quite…exceptional at watching out for his own."

She pressed a finger to the side of the glass. Izzy felt her jaw drop as frost crusted over the glass. It overtook the water inside, turning it into a thick sheet of ice.

"But for situational purposes," the woman said calmly. "You may call me…Neve."