Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sanctuary characters.

When she first began taking in the souls, Lilith had felt fine. But, after a few minutes, her belly cramped hard, wrenching a scream from her. She fell to her knees, doubled over, as another knife-like cramp hit. Never had she experienced such pain when feeding. She didn't like it and wanted it to stop.

A third cramp hit, worse than the first two and Lilith began vomiting. She tried to breathe but her body was out of control. Vaguely she was aware of Jaison's and John's concerned voices. She wanted to answer them, but she couldn't get her stomach to stop rebelling.

"What in the hell are you doing, Lilith?"

Her master's roared demand made her flinch but she couldn't respond through her heaves. She wanted it all to stop. After one more violent heave of her stomach, the pain vanished and she fell forward, barely avoiding falling into the pool of her bloody vomit. Panting softly, she tried to calm her shaking body and get her breathing under control.

"Don't you dare ignore me!"

Lilith yelped when Haddock kicked her in her lower back. "Master!" she wheezed and tried to get to her hands and knees.

"Useless! Worthless! I don't know why I even let you live!" Haddock punctuated each statement with blows from his fists to her body.

She howled her pain and attempted to roll away from her furious master. She hadn't tried to ruin the performance. She didn't deserve his rage. Yet, she would feel it just the same.

"Finish taking them in!" he ordered, pausing in his beating of her to grab her hair and yank her head up, forcing her gaze upward to the tent's ceiling where some of the souls still swirled about.

Lilith felt bile rise in her throat. She couldn't take them in. It would be disastrous if she did. "I can't," she whimpered.

"What did you say?"

Panic beat in Lilith's chest at Master Haddock's tone. This didn't bode well for her. She had to get him to calm down or he would really hurt her.

"Master, please, it hurts! I can't take them all in. The pain is too much!" she pleaded.

Her master started laughing and Lilith knew she was about to pay dearly for not obeying. Her fears were confirmed when he pulled her upright by her hair, until she was shakily standing. His enraged gaze bored into her and her main thought was that she was going to bleed a lot before her master's anger was calmed.

"I really need to give you obedience training, pet." Haddock let fly a punch that connected solidly with her belly. Lilith howled in pain and almost threw up again. She tried to hunch in on herself, but Haddock tightened his grip on her hair and yanked hard, forcing her to stand up.

"Take them in, now."

Lilith was sobbing and shaking in terror. Some instinct told her that trying to force the rest into her was a bad idea. "P-p-please, Master Haddock, mercy! It hurts, I can't…I can't!"

"You're such a bad girl." Haddock let go of her hair, stepped back, and backhanded hard enough to send her to her knees.

Her face throbbed from the blow, but Lilith didn't take the souls. She wasn't going to do it. She had never defied Master Haddock this much, but she felt deep in her bones that she had to stand her ground. She stayed kneeling, her breathing harsh in her own ears. She wanted to run, but that also wasn't a choice that would go over well with her irate master.

"Lilith, you're a disappointment. Since you can't follow simple directions, I shall remind your body how to obey."

She heard him come toward her and her head snapped up. The look in his eyes….she backed up. She didn't have anywhere to go. This beating was really going to hurt.

"That's enough!"

Surprised by the interruption from an unknown source, Lilith turned to her left and saw a woman and a man running toward the stage. Why were they still conscious? Everyone in the audience should be dead or nearly there. How had these two escaped her song?

"Who the hell are you?"

"I am Doctor Helen Magnus and I demand that you stop harming that girl this instant!"

Lilith stared blankly at the woman. She had never seen her before. The man either, though something about him made her want to move closer and inspect him.

"Well if it isn't the great Doctor Helen Magnus, champion of the underdog and do-gooder extraordinaire. I don't know how the hell you got in here but you can get the fuck out."

"And leave that poor girl to your tender mercies? I think not."

Lilith stared wide-eyed at the woman who dared to defy Master Haddock. Did the lady not know her Master's reputation? If the woman wasn't careful, Master Haddock would make her disappear like he had so many others who had crossed him.

"You don't have a choice." Haddock snapped his fingers and ten of the more muscular circus performers surrounded the woman and the man.

Lilith cowered as Haddock came to her, grabbed her right arm and hauled her to her feet. He stared intently at her and she felt panic bubbling up. Was he going to hit her again? Or was something worse in store for her?

"John! Get out here and take this worthless pet back to the tent. Do not leave it unattended."

John rushed out to the stage bowed low and took Lilith by the arm. "Yes, Lord Haddock."

Lilith didn't protest being led away. Anything was good as long as she wasn't near Master Haddock's vicinity.

Magnus was fuming as she watched the frightened girl being dragged off. She only had Will with her and trying to save the girl was impossible with just the two of them. She would do research on this Haddock as soon as she got back to Sanctuary.

"...if you come here again, you won't be leaving the same way you arrived." Magnus focused on the arrogant man before her. She really couldn't stand men of his ilk.

"Duly noted. But be warned, I'll not let this matter lie." She turned away from Haddock, clearly dismissing his presence. "Will, let us be off."

Will said nothing as he quietly followed her out. He didn't speak until they were in the car and heading back to Sanctuary.

"Magnus, what is she?"

"I don't know, but I will be finding out, you have my word on that."

He didn't say anything and neither did Magnus, her mind already pondering ways to save the young Abnormal's life.