Chapter 23

She liked speed, even loved it if her emotions were in the moment.

They hit another speed bump and Rashel was pretty sure that all four tires hadn't been on the ground. For a few moments her knuckles turned white on the latch above her head and her elbows were bruised as she bounced around.

She hoped Timmy was right, not just for his sake but for Mary-Lynnette's as well.

Another jolt and she was bodily thrown into Quinn who barely managed to steady her.

"I thought that you wanted to go unnoticed. Not fly in like a bat from hell!" James steadied himself on the dashboard in front of him. He was starting to rethink his decision to come.

But Ash didn't really listen, his eyes focused dead straight on the road in front of him. Rashel wasn't sure what had happened even now. It had been in the early hours, a knock on her door that she had wanted to ignore.

Quinn had been the one to get up and answer the door. The creature at the doorway waited as Quinn roused her up from sleep. Timmy had told a story that forced her eyes away from him. It was the first time that she had seen the acts that he was accused of. She had heard stories, others had come through the hallway and saw him had left as soon as they had come. But she still had never really believed hose stories could be true. His face had been covered with the fear set by Hunter Redfern.

After this though, could she ever really forgive him? She had lost her brother, she knew that she would never get back that little boy who had wanted so much to catch up to her, now she was even doubting he could even be saved.

Something soothed her fingers, a thumb that began to trace circles into her skin. Fingers intertwined and the storm inside her quieted for the moment. Such a small movement had quieted all that and she couldn't help but think if this situation had been thrown onto them. Quickly Rashel banished it from her thoughts, with things happening with Timmy she had enough to worry about.

The car jolted again and all of them were thrown into one another. "Ash I'm all for speed but don't you think we should try to be a bit more stealthy?" Quinn hissed through his teeth as his shoulder slammed into the car door.

When there was no response James decided to take a crack at it praying that something would get through. "If we keep going like this we'll be spotted for sure and everything will go to waste!"

The words were magic as the speedometer went down to speeds that could be seen with human eyes again. Cautiously all the passengers pried their fingers from each other and heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry. I just—I need to get there now." Ash said this as he began to realize that the world wasn't going as fast as he wanted it to.

They all threw sympathetic glances at one another; none of them could really say anything. After all what if they were in his situation? James remembered his own, the way that he had broken all of the speed limits to reach Poppy.

I think I need to apologize to Poppy's brother one of these days if I ever see him again. James thought absently.

"Might as well stop here. We've got a little less then ten miles between them and us now. Going by foot might be the best way we can reach the hide out without getting noticed." Rashel's cool demeanor radiated through them, even a bit of Ash who had pushed away most reasoning. They decided to listen to her without really any questions.

At the moment they were in unknown territory, without really any plan, and no one had told Lord Thierry where they were going. All in all, they came without backup and no one knew where they were. There would be no help if things got out of hand. Ash was fine with that; his thoughts were only focused on what lay ahead, the bones he would break and the power that he would show if there was a single scratch on her skin. But the others wouldn't let him; they wouldn't let him anywhere near a car or mode of transportation unless they came with him, making him promise that they would all stay together. He had no choice.

They all knew from example, when a loved one was in danger, whether it small or on the verge of death, there was no rational thinking, only a need. Ash had already passed that fine line.

They had been hiking an hour, after the sun had already been at its highest point. They all had fear in the back of their minds. What if Timmy hadn't been telling the truth? The evidence had seemed plausible because both Ash and Timmy had said similar locations. Neither could point out exacts, but they were both sure that the hideout was still by the lake. But after walking for so long without seeing any sign or evidence that there were others here they were all starting to doubt, but no one said anything. None of them wanted to be the first to admit that all of this had been for nothing, that this had all been a wild goose chase. They were afraid to admit if it was anything more.

Rashel, the least patient of them all was about to say something when she saw Ash come to a sudden halt, his muscles tense and his head snapped to the right and then she saw it.

There were tears in his eyes.

Mary-Lynnette

If she could she would have slept forever let herself wander in the world that was mist. Perhaps there she would be able to get the chance to see him again. Even if she waited for a long time and saw his face from time to time it didn't really matter to her. It was better then where she was now, trapped alone, scared and cold. Here the wounds all disappeared, the throbbing pain had been replaced with a kind and gentle numbing. She had felt better then she had in what seemed like such a long time.

But then it happened. This jolt, as if something had reconnected with her. Something inside her snap taunt, tugging and pulling at her. It wanted her to wake up, to start moving again and to leave the land of mist. It was saying to her, "I'm here"

The urge fought with her, form the part of her that wanted to stay to the part that yearned for something that she had started to forget. But to stay here meant that this was a chance to see his face.

That face…his name…kind and gentle. A feeling of complete safety washed over her whenever she was near him. She didn't feel that way now.

His name…

Something tugged at her, it needed her to wake up and find him. Staying here and waiting for him wasn't going to change anything. If I give up this chance to see him once and a while is it worth risking so that I could to be with him? It may not even work, the world she came from had her trapped. Bound together in leather straps with cuts all along her body.

Yet the yearning kept pushing her, it kept saying, "I'm here now." Who was here? What was his name?

He had ever changing eyes, ones that filled with brightness whenever he looked down at her, his hair had turned sandy over the year and half she had known him, no longer bright like the sun high in the sky, out of her reach, but sandy and earthy, where she was. If her fingers brushed against his skin she could feel the lean hard muscles that grew at her touch, a promise that they would always protect her. His smile, though, was what was always made her heart flutter, feel as if she was the most beautiful creature that ever walked, his eyes never left hers or broke promises. They said that they would be there for her. He was waiting for her.

Ash…

For a moment her lungs forgot to fill themselves with air, the force of the mist swirled around her, pulling her away from the world that had been created. It was breaking apart, crumbling under her bare feet.

But she was calm, there wasn't this fluttering panic, the air started to grow more gentle, her lungs started to work again when the last few pieces of ground broke from under her and she fell into the darkness.

What she felt first was the pain, there was never that free falling moment where your stomach starts to fly on its own. There was only the raw scratchy pain and the smell of metal. Body protesting, she sat up carefully afraid to see how her body really looked as the sun started to hit the room.

As her arms pulled her up, there was a clink as the chains fell to the floor. She could barely piece together anything that was going on around her. All she knew was that she woke up, because someone was here, someone was calling out to her. Now that chains were off—the ones that she had painstakingly tried to hack through for days were now in shambles on the floor. "How?"

"It seems as though in his rage Redfern broke your chains. Irresponsible of him." A man—Balthazar stood, leaning in the doorway. Again his face never tells anything of what he is thinking. "That creature never was one for common sense."

She couldn't really think, everything was happening too fast. There was a feeling deep in her chest, wanting to pull her in a far direction. He didn't wait for her either; he walked into the room, the glass crunching on his feet, absently kicking away the chains. He didn't look down at them. Balthazar cleared away the dish that had somehow managed to survive the incident from last night, placed the cup onto and gazed at her sideways. "Belladonna's in town at the moment. Trying to see what other human she can have fun with. You'll have about an hours worth of piece. Make the most of it if I were you. Hunter gave you life, he didn't clarify how far she's allowed to push at it."

Then he walked away, as if it were any other morning; a pair of trauma scissors sticking out of his pocket.

"Thank you" She said.

Balthazar paused only for a moment, "Make use of the time you have. I doubt you will have this opportunity again. I need to fix the window in the bathroom, if you need to use it use it now."

Their eyes met only for the briefest moment and before he shut the door Balthazar could have sworn that there was a spark in her, one that was so much like Amelia. It was as if she was there at that moment, telling him that he was doing the right thing. Sadly he had forgotten how to smile.

When the door closed she only paused a moment before her heart gave another jolt. The name pouring into her, filling her, "Ash" The memoires pouring over her, into her. Tears filled her vision, yet she wasn't sure if it was because she was sad or filled with happiness.

I can't keep mopping around here, doesn't do me any good!

Whether Balthazar would have ever admitted it to her or not he had helped her. The plans that had been formed, perfected, and discarded in her thoughts were now able to come to play. They all started the same, the bathroom window.

Mary-Lynnette remembered all the times that she had spent there, analyzing all the nooks and crevices of the all the rooms she had been allowed in, hoping for something. The bathroom window had been the best choice. The window was stuck shut, but after many trips and an old rusty nail file she'd been able to hack away at the bits and pieces that kept it shut. The roof pulled out from under the window and down to another. The last part was a drop, but if she would make it to the old gate vines along the house she was confident that she could make it.

I can't let Ash get to close to this place. Her fears of Hunter Redfern and Belladonna were enough to push her forward through the window, the raw skin of her knees scrapping against the old chipped paint.

Toes clinging at the grate, she inched her way along, praying the whole time, a mantra in her head. Don't look down. The small pins that crawled up her legs were pushed down as she made her way over. Slowly and quietly she made her way from one part of the roof too another. Finally she was able to jump down and the cool grass that cushioned her feet sang as if welcoming her back into the world. She ran.

With her heart panicking and the slow way that she crawled across the roof she had no idea whether it had only been a few minutes or almost a whole hour for her to make it across. But this was her only chance, there was no way that she could blow it. Mary-Lynnette followed her heart and plunged into the woods without ever stopping.

Ash was so close; she wouldn't stop until she was there, in the warm protection of him. She would make it.