Chapter Eight

Herald did not bother to glance over when he heard Speedy groan for the seventeenth time.

"Still can't find it?" His voice was unsympathetic, and Speedy only groaned.

"Why the hell does it have to be so hard to find?" The orange-haired superhero complained.

After Robin's explicit orders, the two superheroes roamed the city's bookstores in hopes of finding the Book so that the Titans had leverage over Trigon. After an hour together they spilt up for two hours, meeting back at the local pizza store for some lunch, and then resuming their search together at an antique bookstore nearby. Unfortunately, they seemed to be having no luck at all.

"Do you think an alien book is really here on Earth?" Speedy asked as he scanned a tall bookshelf. "I mean, seriously."

Herald shrugged. "Mmhm." He continued to move through the organized books in front of him. "You could try telling Robin that. I'm sure he'd appreciate the suggestion."

Speedy snorted. "Oh please. He'll probably send us looking for it in space when we're done with Earth or send someone natively alien out to look."

"Yeah, if he hasn't already." Herald replied.

"What I wonder is why he didn't get someone else to search for the Book. I mean, are we really the best people to gather written information? How come Raven isn't out here searching with us?" Speedy wondered aloud. "After all, according to Trigon, she is the one most familiar with it."

Herald scowled. "If she isn't here then she probably has some other task assigned to her, as would everyone else. Don't wonder about it so much."

Speedy glanced at Herald with a raised eyebrow. "Um, okay. Didn't expect that from you. Anyway," here he shoved a book back into place. "I don't think its here. We should check out another store now."

Herald looked at Speedy. "Probably," he agreed. "The owner didn't have any information either."

"Yeah." Speedy suddenly looked thoughtful. "Would you say Raven has a clue on its whereabouts?"

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"For the last time no." Raven's voice was audibly annoyed. "I have no idea where to look for it, nor can I possibly give you any hints regarding that matter."

Speedy made a face at her from his side of the communicator. "Don't be such a meanie Raven. Come on, don't you have any ideas? Or maybe you could just suggest some locations for us. That wouldn't be too bad, right?"

Raven scowled at the idiot before her. She was deeply irritated and it wasn't really anyone's fault. But she should know better to show it like this. She mentally sighed. They wouldn't give up that easily, so she had better just give them something. "Fine. But don't bother calling back after this."

Speedy raised his fist in a silent Yes! gesture off to the side so it was visible to Herald but not to Raven.

"Blathorne Books and Antiqua. Find it by yourself."

"Huh? Wait, are they reclusive? Don't you have any more information?"

Raven shot him a killer glare in response and ended communications.

Speedy stared at his black screen. "That sure went well," he commented offhandedly.

Herald rolled his eyes skyward. "Ya think?"

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Raven leaned back against the side of her bed. She didn't know why, but she felt tired and groggy, for no particular reason at all. 'This is weird. I should be thinking of ways to help out, not want more sleep,' she thought grumpily. But a minute later, her eyes began drooping against her will, and she fell asleep quickly.

"Rachel! Honey, wake up!" A gentle voice said, trying to arouse the sleeping girl into the waking world. The younger girl moaned, unwilling to do so, and thrashed around in bed. "No… Let us go…" she cried, piteously in her sleep.

Arella tried to smooth back the hair from her daughter's head, but was unable to do so as the younger one turned away. 'Why is this happening?' she thought with a frown. 'There should be no nightmares of any sort or remembrance of her father in Hell. I must inquire an answer from Azar later.' Arella turned her attention back to her daughter as the girl began to calm down, her body relaxing.

Trying again, Arella shook her daughter. It was about time for her to wake up, even if she was no longer thrashing in her sleep. She was rewarded when the rhythm her daughter's breathing changed and purple eyes opened, finally awake.

"Ughn… Mom?" Rachel's eyes blinked owlishly at her mom, as she slowly adjusted to the light.

Arella smiled at her daughter. "Ah, Rachel its time for you to wake up." She leaned back and observed Rachel. "How would you like some breakfast? Pancakes with syrups and fresh strawberries on top."

Rachel's eyes widened excitedly. "Really?" Her stomach growled and she blushed, but the image her mom painted seemed too delicious to resist.

Arella nodded. "Yes, it's all ready, so you can eat them now." The two left Rachel's room and entered the kitchen where the girl sat down immediately at the table, reaching for the pancakes. Arella waited for her to have a couple of bites before speaking.

"Sweetie, did you have a nightmare? You were thrashing in your sleep."

Rachel blinked, stopping in mid-bite. "I was?"

Arella nodded, taking careful note of Rachel's expressions. "Yes, something seemed to trouble you. Do you remember anything?"

Rachel thought about it, considering the idea. "No." She said at last with a straight face. "I don't remember anything." And quickly, before her mother said another word, she said, "Can I eat now?"

Arella dropped the matter. "Of course you can. We're going to visit Azar after you eat, so don't take too long. She wants to check up on your health."

"Okay!" Raven eagerly dug into the rest of her pancakes and finished them in no time. After that, they left their room from within the Azarian castle and walked out of the building to the temple where Azar resided.

"Azar? It's Arella and Rachel." Arella told the door, and knocked politely to let the monk know of their presence. The door opened by itself and the two walked inside, the door closing behind them. The elderly monk stood in the center of the room, and she smiled at the two. "Arella, Rachel. How are you?"

"We're fine, Azar." Arella said, giving the other a warm smile.

"You wanted to see me, Azar?" Rachel asked, looking up at the elder woman.

Azar's eyes twinkled. "Why yes. We need to see when you will be healthy again so no others will be sick."

Moving, the three sat down on the cushions of the nearest chairs, and Rachel obediently held out her hand to Azar who took her wrist and checked her pulse. "How do you feel? Anything strange happen?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, I feel okay."

Arella cleared her throat and said that Rachel seemed to have nightmares and they seemed to be reoccurring ones.

Azar's eyes hinted at interest in this new fact while Rachel herself merely rolled her eyes and pouted. "Mommy! I don't have any nightmares."

"Sweetie, let Azar decide."

Huffing, the child agreed and Azar asked her a new set of questions. They left the monastery and later that night, Rachel fell into a deep sleep. However, her dream was a strange one.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The screaming voice belonged to a young boy who Rachel saw was currently being beaten by an older and more vicious man who was radiating an emotion that went past anger.

"BOY!" The voice boomed, echoing in the near-empty room. "HOW DARE YOU ASSIST IN HER ESACPE!" He landed another hit and his victim cried out in pain. "DO YOU WISH A DEATH SENTENCE? YOU ARE JUST A PATHETIC CHILD I PICKED UP OFF THE STREETS! DON'T FLATTER YOURSELF IN THINKING YOU ARE MY ONLY APPRENTICE! THERE HAVE BEEN MANY BEFORE YOU WHO HAVE HAD THAT PRIVLEGE AND CARRIED OUT THEIR DUTIES WITH MORE VIGOR AND HAVE MORE WORTH THAN YOU!"

Never once did the blows of the man's fists stop its rhythmic pounding on the boy, and Rachel wished with all her might that she could help the victim. No one deserved being treated like that, and she also felt as if the other child was someone very important to her, though she didn't know who—his face was smothered downward and the raging man's fists blocked her view.

Elliot kept his face buried into the ground, letting out a painful scream whenever a particularly hard blow hit his back. He was used to these kinds of beatings, and had delivered the tactic of screaming whenever Trigon hit him so that he would not be given a harsher punishment. As long as Trigon felt he was exacting excruciating pain on the boy, he would not do anything else, believing it was enough. Elliot had used this plan often in the past, and sometimes the range of his vocal cords surprised him whenever he emitted sounds that were louder than he ever though he could produce. Of course, he never screamed during the time that Rachel was with Trigon or anywhere near that castle—he wouldn't be able to stand the thought of her watching him in that state of . . . of weakness. And one couldn't know whether Trigon would decide to exact the same punishment on her if she had seen this. Maybe he wouldn't do something that harsh to his daughter. Well, thanks to her escape, she would never have to experience a more unbearable punishment from Trigon. Only a few slaps across the cheeks, some days cringing in fear, and maybe a blow or two in anger. But not the lash of chains, of whips, of spikes, of clubs and more across her flesh, as Elliot had experienced near the beginning of his apprenticeship when he was foolish and didn't know better. Of course, he had learned from them, and quickly, increasing his chances of survival under Trigon's care. And of course Trigon knew when to stop—he would have to go through the trouble of searching for a new apprentice if Elliot was killed. That's why he always knew where to stop, increasing the agony of the younger boy's pain and submerging the will of his mind and mental state further.

"DO YOU DARE DO THIS AGAIN, BOY?" Trigon pressed tightly on the boy's back, and the latter gasped at the sudden pressure that stole the breath from his lungs. He struggled desperately to breathe, shaking his head all the while as an answer to Trigon's question. "Very well then."

The sudden removal in pressure was overwhelming, and Elliot gasped in as much air as his lungs would take, saying nothing at all, only taking in fresh and desperate gasps of air. He felt himself moving, being dragged across the floor and he kept limp, wondering worriedly and tiredly what he would have to face next. Footsteps were the remaining echo as the two were taken from Rachel's view when the door closed shut and she was left to the darkness of her dream.

Raven awoke to cold sweat, her body chilled as she remembered the last scene of her dream. Her heart felt heavy with aching sorrow, as she knew without a doubt that after Elliot had been dragged away and the door blocked her view, that he would endure more pain, more suffering. After all, it was not just the good parts of her father that she remembered…she also began to recall the more painful and sinister side of him for which he was famous for.

'Everything is starting to be pieced back together in my mind…but for what purpose exactly? How did I loose something important as this? I can only assume that Azar and mother did it… but if so, why are the memories returning now? If it was cast as a spell, then has it weakened or have I become more powerful?' A shiver rocked through her body as she thought of another, more chilling possibility. 'Or has it unraveled due to something else, a different power that has its own agenda…like The Book?'

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Kyd Wykkyd blinked, causing him to snap out of his daze. The flames in the fireplace burned orange and warm, casting a soft glow in the dark living room. The fireplace was a design of old, used in the H.I.V.E. Academy and in the H.I.V.E. Five's first hideout. It had been omitted in their second, third, and fourth ones, hence why Kid Flash and the Titans never knew about it, since they had agreed that might seem strangely sentimental or something emotional like that.

Kyd Wykkyd recalled his thoughts while he stared into the fire. It was a strange, for he had had a flashback of his younger days, while he was in apprenticeship to a more notorious villain. 'Why did I suddenly recall it? Is it because of my irrational fear of being discovered?' He thought, musing to himself. 'Or is it because I was thinking too much of the past than is necessary?' Turning his eyes forward, he gazed back into the H.I.V.E.'s hearth, and had a more sudden, chilling thought that came to him despite the fire's warmth. 'Has something happened to The Book…and is it calling me back to retrieve it?'

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A/N: So, I know that it has been a while since the last time this story has been updated. I'd like to thank the people who reviewed this story, I'm glad that you enjoy it. 1029384756, Sallychan-Stories, and cschik83: thank you for your support. And, to GrathLongfletch, thanks for reminding me that, yeah, I have fallen off the face of the earth with this story and that I need to stop delaying my reader's enjoyment of this story. Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing-I hope you enjoy this chapter!