Huzzah for making it to chapter 4! Oodles upon oodles of thanks to SolitaryNyght for reviewing. It made my day ^_^ This should be the last fully flashback chapter. After that we get into the actual story! Hopefully my brain decides to cooperate for that longXD Now on to the fourth chapter!

Tay stumbled into her house, almost tripping over the few steps to her front door. The "invasion", as she had dubbed it, for she couldn't call it what it was, had left her shocked and sick. Tay had to fight her gag reflex all the way home whenever she thought of what had happened in the back of the library. She pulled herself up the stairs to the bathroom where she could go over the events of the past few hours without being sick all over her stuff. Her mom called to her in a worried voice but the buzzing in her ears kept her from hearing her.

Tay lowered herself down floor leaning against the tub across from the toilet. Putting her head between her knees, Tay took deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. Once that had been nearly achieved she went over the events leading up to the "invasion". Obviously that dude knew about demons, and was probably one himself. The things she had seen were way too real but had defiantly not actually happened. The book case had still been standing when she had looked up and she didn't even want to enter the realm of her sister's death.

He had been able to make her see things that weren't actually there…in other words illusions. His tall, dark and creepiness had probably been an illusion as well. And the fact that he had shown up as she was reading all those book probably hadn't been a coincidence either. So putting two and two together brought her to the conclusion that he was there at the library to scare people off the demon trail…something her sister's note hadn't warned her about that. That also meant that this demon had known about her sister's research. Tay spent the rest of the night mentally preparing herself for what she had to do in the morning, before finally falling into a dreamless sleep.

Tay woke up and, for about two seconds, her half-wakened state was blissfully unaware of the events that had transpired the previous day. Then it all came crashing down on her and she had to fight the urge to be sick right there. After collecting herself, Tay made her way downstairs for a quick breakfast before heading to the library for another round with the demon of illusion.

The spacious room once again greeted her as she entered the library. Tay paused at the door long enough to take a look at all the library employees before heading back to the demonology corner. It was just as empty as it had been yesterday so she sat down, pulled out a book and waited for tall, dark and creepy.

As expected, he strode down the aisle a few minutes later, making books appear to fly around in his wake. Tay looked up and suddenly the illusion dissolved. Mr. tall, dark and creepy was no longer tall dark and creepy. He was actually of average height, and not as broad as his illusion had made him. He was pale with freckles splattered all over his face. Mousy brown hair stuck out at all angles and as he stopped in front of her, he tried to pull the imposing look he had pulled on her last night. With the freckles and mousy hair, it actually looked a little funny. She couldn't help but laugh.

The look on his face slid faster than a landslide. He stared at her with disbelief. Apparently his illusions hadn't been as fool proof as he had thought. He sat down across from her, looking stunned and a little saddened.

"How can you see me?"

"Quite easily apparently. Your illusion just kind of…..vanished. I take it that's not normal…right?"

"Ummm, no," he said confused.

"Well then, can you tell me why you scared the snot out of me yesterday? It wasn't very nice ya know," Tay said, becoming more and more confident after seeing the man behind the illusion.

"It's my job. I have to and it's no fun!" He whined. Tay let out a small giggle. She could see that this demon posed no actual threat; he was a just big kid at heart.

Tay stuck out her hand waited for him to do the same. He looked at her hand like it had sprouted five more fingers. Cautiously, as though expecting to be blown to pieces, he took her hand and shook it.

"My name's Tay. What's yours?"

He sniffled. "It's Latham. Why are you being so nice to me? You weren't even supposed to come back."

Tay shrugged. "Call me stubborn. There's some stuff in these books I really need to know. Latham, do you think you could help me?"

"Well," he pondered for a moment. "I'm not supposed to. Humans aren't allowed to know about us, but since you seem to already know…OKAY!" Latham seemed to perk up and shot up to his feet. Sticking his hand out, he pulled Tay to her feet and they took off across the library. Without knowing where they were going, she let Latham lead the way. He stopped at the door to one of the private study rooms, pulled her inside and locked it behind them.

"Okay, Tay, I have a question to ask before we start. Do you have a sister?" As he asked, his eyes lit up with hope.

Tay froze for a moment, shocked at the mention of her sister. Gathering herself, she continued. "I did."

Latham's face fell. Obviously Cara had been kind to him. Her suspicions were confirmed a moment later. "I liked her, she was really nice to me, didn't hate me for trying to scare her." For a moment he paused, thinking and grimaced, then he continued, "Like I did with you."

"Wait, if you didn't know she was dead, then how did you make me see that stuff back in the library?"

"I don't actually know what you were seeing. Whenever I do stuff inside people's heads, it's always what they fear seeing right then." Latham looked at Tay with a worried face. Tay thought for a moment and realized that she was always afraid that Cara has suffered after the crash.

"Oh, well how did Cara get past your illusion?" Tay asked, trying to focus past Cara.

"Well, she said the second time I tried it on her, it just," Latham paused, looking for the right word, "blew up. The only time I've ever had that happen is when I tried too hard."

"So have you ever had your illusion just dissolve like what happened to me?" At this point Tay was very curious. Obviously Latham was practiced with his illusions and he was very confused. Tay shared some of his confusion as well, having experienced the illusion herself.

"Well, it happened once but that was when I was very young and didn't put enough energy into it. It just fell apart, kinda like it did back there." Latham looked at Tay like he was asking her to solve the mystery.

"Hmmmmm, and you're sure that the illusion was strong enough to hold but not explode?" Tay was beginning to piece things together.

"Quite sure," Latham replied.

"Well, then it has to have something to do with me and Cara. We're the only common factor in both situations. Only thing is I don't know how in heaven's name we would affect your powers that much," Tay finished her train of thought, though much more confused than when she had started.

"I can't help you with that, but I have a friend in town that might," Latham replied, his face lighting up at the chance to help. "He's pretty smart when it comes to just about anything, so he should be able to help you." Latham pulled a pen and a slip of paper out of his pocket. It was then that Tay noticed his library employee tag.

"Latham, do you work here?" Tay asked, very surprised.

He looked a little sheepish. "Yeah, I do. It's the only way I can keep an eye on the books and not look weird for being at the library all day, every day." With that, Latham handed her the sheet of paper. "My friend is from out of town so he's staying at that hotel. I'll let him know you're coming. His room number is under that. The telephone number is mine. If you need any more help, gimme a call."

Tay took the paper with relief. She was finally taking a step in the right direction. "Thank you Latham, really. I'll probably come back with even more questions." With a smile Tay unlocked the door and walked out of the library.

Most everything in town comes off of a main road. Tay walked away from the library towards the center of town. The hotel that Latham's friend was staying at was a popular place for the few tourists that managed to find their way into town. Tay walked up to the hotels doors and paused for half a second to let them opened. She walked to the elevator, not sparing a glance for the receptionist. Any hesitation and she'd be escorted out, and not by choice either.

Pushing the button for the right floor, she waited for the few moments it took to reach it. The elevator doors slowly opened to reveal a brightly lit hallway with multiple doors on either side. Tay slowly walked down the hallway, carefully reading each number before finally reaching the door she needed. Taking a breath, she raised her handed and rapped her knuckles on the door three times before bringing them back to her side.

From inside she heard a "One moment" from a familiar voice; she just couldn't place it. Tay heard footsteps approach the door, saw the knob turn and then the door opened. Tay froze and was finally able to place a name to the voice. The red hair and green eyes were unmistakable.

"Kurama?"

Oh the drama! Thanks for reading and reviews are most welcome ^_^