She rushed off back to the living room and quickly switched on the ancient television set so as to suggest she had been watching the TV instead of snooping around in Amela's magically endless basement downstairs.

"How did you do alone?

Aw making yourself at home with a bit of Star Trek are you?"

She chuckled warmly and Eldona smiled quickly realizing that Star Trek Voyager reruns were playing on the TV.

"Oh yes your favorite.

BBC always has it on there so I decided to watch that.

This is a great episode".

"I never really cared for this one but if you like it that's fine by me".

"Oh you know maybe it's not this episode it's another episode I'm thinking of. The one with Brad Dourif, I really liked that one.

This one has KentWood Smith in it".

"Don't you mean Kurtwood Smith honey?

Now That's not Kurtwood that's Stanley Kamel. Are you feeling alright?

Is everything okay at home?

You aren't having any trouble with that Aunt of yours are you?"

"No, not at all. I'm just mentally busy".

"Okay but you just seem more distracted than usual today.

I worry about you.

You really should get out of the house more.

I've been thinking, well you're aunt as you know isn't getting any younger and she's really getting up there in years, so if anything unfortunate happens to her I'd like for you to stay here with me that is if you it is something you want to. The choice is always up to you"

"Oh that's very generous and yes that would be nice, I really like it here but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

You know I forgot to tell you my aunt called while you were gone.

The dog had some kind of seizure.

She's fine but I really think my aunt needs me for emotional support you know.

I'm doing it for the dog you understand.

I'd really hate for anything to happen to that dog.

She's pretty special.

I better get going.

I'll see you tomorrow."

"Strange".Amella said as soon as Eldona was well out of ear shot.

"Elmira when was the last time you heard from Zerina?"

Amela spoke into the TV after switching the channel to face another youthful woman with white hair.

"No word, not for over 20 years.

She doesn't talk to any of us anymore, you know but there is a possibility that she might have reached out to other unofficial members of our kind like that girl that comes to your home.

Is she acting strangely?"

" She has always been a strange girl but as of late she has been acting very unlike herself.

She was mixing things up that she normally wouldn't, She seems nervous She seemed way too eager to leave this time.

She usually likes to stay anyway between hours to days but not this time.

I even offered her a permanent living situation outside of her toxic one at home, normally she would be thrilled by the idea, but today she seemed distant and distracted.

It worries me better yet she worries me.

Understand she's different, she's different than the rest of us, different like Zerina was.

Unfortunately if she finds that out I'm afraid she'll be out of our hands.

Zerina was lucky, She escaped just in time but what worries me now isn't what worried me back then.

You see what worried me about Zerina, was as pure and innocent as she seemed she had a vast intelligence far beyond any of us expected and her power far succeeded, even that massive brain of hers.

She knew she was more powerful than we were and she left with more than that knowledge but the knowledge of what is truly behind our organization.

I don't think she figured this out on her own even though I've no doubt about her mental capabilities. I think when she escaped she had outside help. Somebody helped her, somebody had to.

Things just seemed to accelerate way too quickly on the day leading up to when she left, She seemed to have tapped into entirely brand new abilities, abilities that I was not even aware that she had.

I know none of us are human but she seemed to have abandoned every human characteristic before she left and when she let out that unholy shriek I couldn't feel a single trace of humanity left in her.

Someone had been helping her, training her outside of our order.

there were times when she would come to our training sessions, her aura was a strange hue of blue and even the smell of her was different.

She smells of that secret passageway which she used to leave this world , dried blood and ground up bones.

She smelled of death.

then there was tiny little details which I did not bring to the attention of the council.

there were often red's splatters on her clothes, her face and sometimes on her shoes, I can tell by the metallic smell that it wasn't any sort of paint or jam.

This wasn't tomato sauce. it was blood, fresh blood that looks of it.

Her whole entire body reeked of human blood, almost like she would have been bathing in it or knowingly being showered with it which if you really think about it that's rather disturbing especially since she really made no indication that she was interested in any type of murderous intent.

There wasn't any murder in her eyes but there was a kind of sick pleasure that I hadn't seen in her eyes before.

Oh Elmira, someone had to have corrupted her in some way.

We never encouraged her to do anything except to use her abilities for good.

She was a good girl but someone took that innocence away from her.

I'd like to know who that someone is.

Now Eldona on the other hand has no idea how powerful she is and she has no idea how powerful our organization is.

She doesn't know any of our darker secrets but she will in time and I'm sure if she doesn't escape like Zerina did she will prove to be very reliable and an invaluable member of our society and present order.

anyways, I'm sorry if I rambled, sister you mentioned Zerina would have reached out to other unofficial members outside of our order.

Who would she reach out to exactly?"

" That is simple sister, She will reach out to the last place she was seen and more specifically she will reach out to one that is more like herself, Someone she can connect with, someone like this Eldona you keep rambling on about".

The other white haired woman from the television set smiled surreptitiously.

" You must be joking.

Eldona would gladly listen to the ramblings of my own lectures but not to the ramblings of a traitor like Zerina."

"Don't be so sure my sister. Our organization has been rather unsuccessfully tracking Zerina but from what we've gathered, We have been able to prove that she indeed does not work alone.

Perhaps you've been getting the messages, You know the ones that say I'm stuck in hell,please help me.

They always seem to occur exactly moments after a death, after a death there always seems to be a disappearance and even Zerina as powerful she is, even she can't be in two places at once.

These are two perfectly orchestrated events that are deeply connected consistently which, yes confirms that she does have outside help.

A lot of outside help.

Whoever is helping Zerina has been able to remove all digital security footage any kind of evidence that might lead anyone to believe that these were murders in any way.

Then there's the case with the witnesses. there always seems to be a witness that pops up but every time we seek out that witness they somehow disappear not just from a town or a city, but from the entire face of the earth.

It's like she commits a crime, while another crime is taking place simultaneously and then a third party comes in and just erases all evidence and traces of any foul play, which means blood, fingerprints, hair, fingernails footprints, security footage, any leads whatsoever and some of those leads happen to be people. if you get rid of people that may have witnessed these crimes, You might not even have evidence that a crime took place at all.

This is a entire covert operation, One that perhaps succeeds far beyond our own.

We may be dealing with someone who is far more powerful and cunning than our organization will ever be and whoever the leader of this covert operation, That individual I would very much like to meet but at the same time I would very much like that individual to be destroyed.

Mark my words ,That individual is dangerous,far more dangerous than Zerina will ever be.

They are the one calling the shots and every organization has their leader,

If we find the leader we can shut down the operation.

So this girl Eldona, She may prove useful to us because if she's indeed speaking with Zerina, She could lead us straight to the leader of this dangerous covert operation."

" Well you have a good idea there and I wouldn't be surprised if this individual was one of us actually.

I don't know if Eldona would go for such a deceptive plan like this but if I can confirm that she's been speaking with Zerina, She might confess since she is quite brutally honest and that honesty might work to our advantage.

She might be able to communicate well in this other realm that Zerina escaped to him.

I'll be keeping a particularly close eye on Eldona.

We can't be too careful. There is still a possibility that she may turn on this as well."

"Act quickly sister We don't want another accident and we don't want another incident like with Zerina and I have a feeling that history is going to repeat itself.

Don't mess this up, If you make one more mistake, you may not only face your replacement but you may face something far more terrifying which may lead to a rebel organization forming, a rebel organization that may overthrow our own.

I've seen it happening in many places all over the world now if these rebels find out that they too are capable of creating a better and stronger environment in other realms, they may outnumber us and in doing so they will revolt and they will destroy everything that we have worked so hard for.

Zerina has already figured out how to out smart us. It's almost as if she commits these murders just to mock us.

What's worse is most of the people she's killing are of our own kind and from our own organization but that's not even the worst part. the worst part is the people that are disappearing are those that are unofficial members otherwise they are of our kind but they aren't a part of our order.

This is extremely dangerous if you mess this up, This will be your last mistake and it will be the last mistake for us all, a mistake that may destroy over a thousand years of hard labor and effort.

We built an empire, Zerina is threatening it and she is in turn tearing it down as we speak.

Discipline the child that you have under your care, keep her on a very short leash and make sure she obeys.

I don't care how you do it, threaten her, torture her, seduce her, coherse her, manipulate her, reason with her. whatever you have to do so she does not follow in the footsteps of Zerina.

When you speak with me next I will expect this child to be fully on her side or she will be liquidated.

The choice is up to you."

" Yes sister you don't have to tell me twice. I understand the seriousness and severity of the situation.

She won't rebel against us that you can be certain.

I will make sure of it myself.

She's not really the rebellious type anyway So there's really no need to discipline her.

I'll have her on our side with the end of the week you'll see.

You won't be disappointed".

At that she switched off the TV set and smiled rather smugly to herself.