"Wake up."

Darkness hung in the air around him.

"Wake up, Ethan."

Ethan's head was pounding. He felt like he had been hit by a truck that slammed him over the side of a mountain. His mouth felt dry; his tongue swollen and thick. Where was he?

Blinking away tears and trying to focus his eyes against the harsh light, he realized he was laying against something hard and cold. As his vision adjusted, Ethan began to make out the features of a woman standing over him. She didn't look familiar. Maybe early forties, slight build, blond hair tied back neatly. She wore a doctor's coat. Was he in the hospital?

"How are you feeling?" The woman spoke clinically; cooly.

Her words echoed through the room and he tried to process them. Ethan stared at her. He felt like he swallowed a thousand razor blades that twisted and turned in his gut as he lifted himself off the cold metal table. "I don't know where...who are you? Where am I?"

He scanned the room. It was dark, where they were, almost cave-like. He could see shelves with medical supplies; jars and books and all sorts of reference materials lining them. The smell of mold overwhelmed his senses.

"You are in my village. I found you after one of the leaders of this village tried to kill you. You were unconscious for quite some time. You had a terrible chest wound. I did the best I could, with what I had available to me. Honestly, I wasn't sure you would survive the night."

His memories were starting to return. He was attacked. Mia...was dead. He heard her speak again.

"You can call me Mary."

Suddenly snapping to his senses, Ethan nearly jumped off the table in a panic. "Rose! Where is Rose!"

The woman placed her hand on his forearm, to try to get him to sit back down. He wouldn't budge. She sighed.

"Ethan. They took your daughter. I know it's hard to believe, but – here, sit down." She gently pushed him back down onto the table. This time, he let her.

"There are four of them. They are the rulers of the village. They were born with special...abilities. We lived for so long under them, under their rule, but when they found the power your daughter held...I think they went mad."

Ethan shook at her words; the pit in his stomach bottoming out. He held back the urge to vomit. Power? Did this have something to do with what happened in Louisiana?

She spoke faster now, seeming to understand that he was having trouble processing what she was telling him. "They were able to..." She eyed him as she continued. "...suspend her form. Don't worry, she's perfectly fine – but parts of her are with all four of the Lords. You need to retrieve them. I can revive her. It will be like nothing happened to her. But you must work quickly."

Ethan's head was swimming. Parts? Did she say parts!?

"What do you mean parts?!" he shouted at her, jumping back to his feet and wincing at the pain radiating through his chest. He remember the man slamming metal through his chest, that must have been what he was feeling. Looking down, he was confused to find an angry red incision that ran from the bottom of his rib cage all the way up to the base of his neck. Lined with black sutures, it appeared to be nearly healed. Why was it so big?

Ethan hung his head low and pushed his fingers through hair, lacing together his hands. He could feel the old blood and sweat. "I don't understand...this doesn't make any sense. I need to-"

"I know, this is a lot. But, you need to save your daughter. We. We need to save her." She placed her hand over the one Ethan had draped across the back of his head. He was trying to process what this woman was saying.

"Trust me, Ethan."

He didn't know what to make of this, of her. After a few long minutes, he decided he had no choice. "What can I do."

"You need to kill them and bring Rose back here. I will help you."

"Kill them? You said they had powers."

Mary gestured to the sutured wound in his chest. "Ethan, you are strong yourself. "When I found you, you were nearly dead. It was the only way to save you."

"What..." Looking back down at the incision that looked almost healed, he tried to follow what she was saying. "What is this?"

"A gift."

"A...gift?" He was so confused; this woman wasn't making any sense.

"To save you. To help you. It's like an organism that will give you the strength you will need to return with your child."

With all he had seen, all he had experienced, he knew that there was a chance this wasn't just some unhinged rambling from a crazy woman. He wanted to scream. Claw at him chest. He never asked for this. But it was too late. Whatever she had done, was done. Mia was dead. Rose was gone. He gave in, feeling nearly delirious.

"What will it do? How will it give me strength?"

"Of that, I'm not entirely sure. That you survived the night suggests that we will soon find out. In the meantime, your supplies are in the locker there." She gestured towards an old metal cabinet; paint peeling off the rusted double doors that looked like they had seen better days.

"I'll provide you a map. And this."

She handed him an ornate key; silver and elongated with wings jutting out of the sides. Its wide head portrayed a carving of what looked like an unborn child. It disgusted him.

When Ethan didn't move, she continued; "Take it. You can use it to get through any of the gates to them."

For all the questions that swam through his mind, he asked only one.

"What is his name?" he growled lowly; eyes still cast to the floor.

"Whose?" She asked.

"The man who did this to Rose."

"Karl Heisenberg. He was working with a man named Chris to kill your wife."

xx

As Alcina sat in the oversized chair next to her bed, she repressed a sigh. She didn't blame Daniela...not really. It was her own fault. Daniela was always looking for her next obsession. Daydreaming. She was the softest of them all. She couldn't help but to indulge her. Well, except for the time she found her in bed with that maid. She acted too rashly (she could concede that now) by ripping out the maid's heart and eating it in front of the poor girl. But how was she expected to react? Dallying with the help of all things? How obscene.

After all she had been through to create them. All the failures she had to endure. Had she not given them all of her? Given them life? A home? Protection?

Oh, but she had to protect her children. The girls must be kept from the frigid air. Their bodies were not of flesh and blood but of science. Of gifts from the Black God. Just like her. A twisted, unnatural thing. A thing that shouldn't exist.

No. She pushed those thoughts down. She was as a God. She was as Mother. She should be grateful for the gifts she was given...including her daughters...however ill-mannered they were at times.

She had left Daniela in her bed to recover from the shock she had experienced in the dining room by that little rat who had run through her home and released the Moroaicǎ into the castle and, though she couldn't prove it was her, destroyed her main foyer by smashing her priceless chandelier. By the time she had whisked Daniela away to safety she lost the scent of the intruder. Daniela had kicked and screamed but clung to her all the same.

It was such a pity that she had to dispose of them, all her failed experiments. But her rage was so great that by the time she was done; not one could be recognized by sight from the bloody pulp that remained. Mother would never have to know about that. In fact, it was Miranda's fault she had lost the girl. Her phone call was the interruption that allowed her to escape. She pondered on that call now, on what the woman had asked of her. The request was odd, but of course she accepted. She could not deny Miranda...though it was like for the first time in so long, she felt like the veil was lifted from her eyes. She would have to proceed with caution as this all unfolded.

Unexpectedly, the whisper of Daniela's voice from the bed broke her from her reflections. Alcina glanced up at her. "Mother...must I be forever alone? Devoid of love or touch or anything but blood? Am I damned? And was it you that damned me?" She closed her eyes, and a single red tear slipped down them across her cheek and onto the pillow, saturating the satin and spreading.

Alcina watched the crimson bloom and said nothing. Perhaps, they weren't so different.

[AN: So, who do you think she is comparing herself to? Daniela, or Mother? :)

Also...so sorry about the previous formatting issues and breaks in the sorry. Apparently, though I could see the asterisks in the edit mode, they weren't translating to the published story. I've added "xx" instead and that seems to be working. Also the formatting was showing on a couple chapters I posted via mobile. I cleaned that up too. I really appreciate you hanging on through it!]