My Salem manor was a hidden place in more ways than one. Not only did it lay at the very edge of Revaliir space; it also veiled anything within its walls. Spooks, murders, sorrows, regrets, and loneliness: all was devoured within this building's presence. Kiyomi's tears that night were evidence of the void around her, because their moisture disappeared as soon as they landed on the carpet. It was as if everything in my study had been constructed from the sands of the Sularian Desert: drinking up any amount of tears or blood.

Of course, a lack of evidence never detracts from the reality of a situation. Just because the walls erased all evidence of the events within them didn't mean that those events hadn't happened. The secrecy of the manor was more of a rose-tinted mask than a sanctuary, in this respect: one that could be used for either end of the moral spectrum. So even if Kiyomi's sadness was hidden away by the shadows, Jack and I still noticed her.

Being the living faux pas that he was, however, the potato dragon didn't really act appropriately in that situation. I left the room because I feared that Katerina's daughter would wake Elizabeth with her distress, but Jack took the pouting approach. He did as he was told, so I can't fault him for that; but still came back with an obvious lack of pity in his behavior. Rather than trying to comfort the pink haired damsel like most decent people would have, he instead tried to distract to distract her from her pain.

This wasn't to say that the man didn't empathize with Kiyomi; far from it. He was simply uncomfortable with human emotions. That's why he acted the way he did in the face of three crying girls, at least once the nightgown fell on him.

"Ooo! This is so silky smooth! The fabric is awesome!" Okay, maybe he also acted a bit like that because he had a fabric fetish at the time, but you get the idea.

Meanwhile, and in a less distraught environment, Adel and Katerina were venturing through the hallways of my estate. The latter was trying to strike up a conversation to break the silence while they searched for Anabelle, but Adel initially just smiled in response. She had never been one for talking about her past, and she wasn't about to start getting caddy with a stranger. In fact, it was rare for anyone to get more than a few sentences out of that woman at a time. Still, the later comment about my family seemed enough to elicit a verbal response.

"Natsumi is cold, for a human," she began with a quiet voice as smooth as honey, "but she also has a soft spot for girls who have been cast aside by their parents or community. Sometimes, they are a danger to themselves, but that rarely stops her from trying if she's set her mind to taking them in. Natsumi, herself, however, has never given birth; even at her age." The two had yet to spot the blonde Anabelle during their journey thus far, and they were only now reaching her room by the time the conversation stalled. Peaking inside slightly, the smaller of the two women caught sight of the sleeping child still tucked beneath her blankets. Her bed was largely undisturbed from earlier that night, so she didn't seem to have moved in quite some time.

Adel refrained from speaking after seeing this, at least until the door was closed. Once Katerina and she were back out in the hallway, however, she let her companion know the next course of action. "Miss Anabelle is asleep, so we'll return for now." But before she even had a chance to turn heel, I appeared before the pairing with Elizabeth still in my arms.

"Change of plans, Adel," I began quietly. "I'll be putting Elizabeth back to bed and fetching our special guest. You take Katerina back to the room. I'll return shortly." Moving past the two without waiting for a response, I opened the door next to Ana's room and then said one last thing before disappearing from sight. "Jack will fill you in, but, if Katerina wishes to take revenge, do it somewhere other than my study. I dislike getting blood out of books."

I didn't say why Katerina might be seeking revenge soon, nor did I tell her what had just happened. I didn't feel that the hallway was a proper place to discuss such things. Adel probably had a sneaking suspicion why I made that decision, but she didn't say anything either. She just bowed her head slightly, and then turned on her heel back toward the study.

"You coming," she asked Katerina before walking off? Back in the study, the last assassin was just waking up. Jack was already sitting on him to keep him from running away, so he would be there by the time the groups reunited. I still have to wonder, though, what Katerina's initial thoughts were when she stepped back into the study. The man she loathed for making advances on her daughter, after all, was now wearing that same daughter's nightgown over his suit while also pinning down her fiancé's murderer by sitting on him. Truly, if the wolf hadn't expected craziness by that point, I have to say I'm disappointed in her.

As Katerina walked down the hall, her eyes scanned the area before them; she wanted to find the little girl. In a big house like this, she didn’t want to imagine what a child could get into. Adel spoke beside her, answering Katerina’s question. The wolf demon didn’t expect the woman to speak; Adel didn’t seem like the talking type, but Katerina was glad she spoke nonetheless. Bright blue eyes glanced over Adel, as she thought of Natsumi. “She is just like me… well almost.” Katerina thought while looking ahead. Katerina, also, couldn’t turn away children that were in need.

It wasn’t until she met Natsumi that her world turned upside down. Katerina was once a cold hearted woman; multiple miscarriages and thinking your parents died for nothing could do that to a woman. The wolf’s heart began to warm after finding a child on her uncle’s ship. If it wasn’t for Natsumi, Katerina wouldn’t have gotten her revenge or gained a daughter. As time passed, Katerina found herself smiling, laughing, and looking forward to the days ahead. Now instead of pushing people away, she helped them if they needed.

A frown curved on Katerina’s lips; she felt sorry for the fox. Being able to birth a child was the most amazing feeling in the world. Yes, it was painful, but the moment your baby is placed in your arms can’t be compared to anything in the world; it is wonderful. Kiyomi soon entered the wolf's mind. Katerina didn’t give birth to her, but the love she felt for the young dragon wasn’t any different.

When they reached a door, Adel opened it slightly. The sleeping girl warmed the wolf’s heart. She couldn’t describe how happy she was to see that Natsumi had grown her family. Nodding to Adel’s words, she started to turn. The first thing she heard was fox’s voice before saw Natsumi. Katerina looked curiously at her, wondering what she meant.

“Revenge?” Katerina repeated; her mind filling with questions. She always hated when Natsumi didn’t fill her in and had her wait; it was very frustrating. Before she could ask, Natsumi was gone. Shaking her head, the only way of knowing anything was to follow Adel. With a nod to the pink haired woman, she followed close behind her, feet moving faster than before.

In the study, Kiyomi looked up to see what the dragon was talking about. He wore her silk lace nightgown around him. A smile lit her face as she watched him show it off. It felt good to have a moment not filled with tears, even if it was only for just a second. The moment didn’t last long before Kiyomi picked up her mother’s scent. She knew that her mother would kill the assassin as soon as she found out. Kiyomi looked down at the girls in her arms. Her mother would be so angry that she wouldn’t be thinking straight. The girls couldn’t see what was going to happen next.

Standing from her spot, she sat the girls on the couch, and covered them. “I will be back soon with mom. Stay here.” She whispered while kissing each of their foreheads. Turning around, Kiyomi just about ran over to Jack and the prisoner. She didn’t want to waste another second. The female dragon had forgotten about the clothes that were scattered about. A white shirt clung to her ankle, and forced her feet out from under her. Falling forward, she half caught herself on Jack shoulders, but that didn’t stop the impact of their lips. This time she quickly pulled away with a gasp; her eyes wide in disbelief.

Being lovestrucked, Jack fell back in a haze, with the help with the struggling assassin that was beneath him. “Stay here with the girls?” Kiyomi asked Jack while she pulled the assassin to his feet with ease. The dragon dragged the man out by his collar and away from the door. Meeting her mother halfway in the hallway by the door.

The wolf looked at the man that Kiyomi had drug out into the hall. Her eyes soon moved to her daughter’s face, widening at the sight of her anger and tear filled eyes. “Kiyomi? What happened?” Katerina said worried. An uneasy feeling started to arise in her. “He killed Jax, Mom.” That was all Kiyomi had to say to light the fire within the wolf. Katerina knew she could believe her daughter’s words.

The dragon shoved the man forward. He was about to speak but his throat was grabbed by the wolf; her nails digging into his skin. Katerina’s eyes seemed to glow a slight red as anger rose within her. She didn’t say a word before trying to form ice spikes. Instead, the man burst into green flames before her. She gasped but didn’t let go of him. Her squeezing palm muffled his screams. She didn’t need the children waking up or Natsumi getting upset.

As soon as the muffled screams stopped, the wolf dropped the black charred corpse to the ground. The flames dissipated as soon as she let go. Her face finally showed the shock she felt. Her heart raced and her eyes started to fill with tears. “How can this be happening..” She thought as she fell against the hallway wall. “Gabby…Jax….No this can’t be happening….”Her words shook as she spoke, unable to keep the tears in. Sliding down the wall, her tears escaped her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Her heart began to break once more.

“Mom!” Kiyomi gasped as she fell beside her mother. More tears fell from the dragon's eyes as she wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders. She didn’t know if her mother would get through this or if the baby would live with all the emotion she was feeling. Kiyomi held her mother tight trying to hold her together.

After I parted ways with Katerina and Adel in the hallway, I tucked Elizabeth back into her bed. She was fast asleep by that point, like every time she came to find me in the middle of the night. There was a strange homing pigeon quality about that girl that she has had for as long as I can remember, most likely because the two of us share quite a bit in common on the soul level. As I told her for much of her childhood, though, she would have to outgrow that tendency one day and learn to sleep on her own. That's why I always put her back in bed after making sure she was calm, even if I still welcomed her company.

Elizabeth's past is actually quite relevant to this part of the story. She was originally half of an entirely different person related to Katerina: the other part of which was also in my house the night that the wolf visited. Elizabeth's other half was known as our 'special guest' at that point, but I didn't feel the need to mention this to Silverstein just yet. There was no point, at least not until I was able to return her.

I intended to rectify that situation whilst Adel and Katerina made their way back to my study. Meanwhile, Jack was busy punching the lonely assassin underneath him to keep him pacified. He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings during that constant vigilance – ironically – which would explain how Kiyomi kissed him again without him reacting beforehand.

In truly typical fashion, he dropped his guard after that happened, too shocked and infatuated by the girl to do anything else. He couldn't believe that a female dragon – even a half dragon – had taken the time and initiative to embrace him. Mind you, the act was clearly an accident for anyone half-aware of their situation, but that group didn't include Jack. He toppled over after Kiyomi pulled her lips away from his, seeing – as he later described it – miniature figures of the girl floating around his head. He was clearly out of it, but he still managed to respond to his crush's request through the love struck delirium.

"Yes, my vixen from on high~ Anything you want~" Jack didn't even really know what he was agreeing to; just that he couldn't move and wasn't about to stop Kiyomi anyway. Shortly thereafter, the girl dragged her late stepfather's murderer out into the hallway, meeting Adel and Katerina who had just arrived. The latter of that pair swiftly and gruesomely executed the nameless man, setting him aflame with hellfire whilst also choking out his screams. Adel just watched the scene from afar with an amused expression, failing to comfort her guests throughout the ordeal.

"Gabby," Katerina had choked out through tears once her revenge was complete. Fate had a funny way of giving me cues that night, because, just as her mother mentioned her, I appeared at the end of the hallway with Gabby in tow. She was sound asleep in a blanket, and held in a hand woven basket made from bamboo shoots. I calmly placed the babe down in front of her family once I reached their huddled mess, and then moved back to the opposite wall.

"Just Jax," I said in response to the wolf's earlier comments. "Gabrielle was only ever a temporary loss for you: one that was meant to be returned anonymously around this time. However, seeing as you believe you have lost your fiancé and daughter in the span of six months, I figure that my anonymity no longer serves the purpose it was meant for; especially if I went to all the trouble of helping you only for you to emotionally shut down at the end." Pausing for a bit, I considered what to tell my acquaintance. She likely had many questions; but the situation was volatile. I knew, especially then, that anything I said could send Katerina over the edge; so, in the end, I decided that the truth was my best defense, particularly because I was too tired to think up a believable lie at that point. "I'll give you some information for free, Katerina, but only because I'm tired and I don't feel like putting on a show right now. It may not be something you wish to hear, but it is what it is."

Summoning a glass of water, I continued without missing a step. I didn't want to give the wolf time to respond until I was finished, let alone to reject my explanation.

"I'm well aware of how Gabby was conceived, and I know who the other 'parent' was. Gabrielle was, unfortunately, born in such a way that she copied parts of that other parent's soul, an action that can't be left alone without invoking terrible consequences. The normal procedure for dealing with situations like this – which, mind you, nothing is normal about this type of predicament – is to convince the mother to allow her child to be adopted. That was the case for Anabelle, who was actually Gabby's half-sister prior to the last six months. When that doesn't work, or when it is believed that the mother will be too stubborn to hear out logic, my people temporarily borrow the afflicted child in order to 'heal' their souls under the guise of a medical emergency. Essentially, we separate out the target portion of the child's soul and create two separate beings from the resultant halves. We then reconstruct the halves until they are fully functional and capable of being autonomous. Afterward, we return the half that still has a biological relation to the normal parent, usually while claiming to be an anonymous benefactor. The marked counterpart, meanwhile, stays with us, leaving no one the wiser."

Feeling parched, I took a quick sip of water and rambled on.

"Gabby received that treatment under my supervision. She no longer has any influence left in her from the creature that attacked you, and the missing parts leftover from the procedure were filled in with copies of soul particles from you and your relatives. She is your daughter, through and through. The other counterpart born of that procedure, however, received copies of my soul, so she's essentially my daughter as well as that of the other parent – no relation to you. That would be Elizabeth. And before you even think to ask, no, you won't be getting the identity of the rapist because; not only is she being punished right now for the next couple of centuries due, in part, to the incident; she'd eat you for lunch before knocking you up again if you went after her. I know you would try if given the chance; but you can't beat a deity of madness and lust with your powers, especially when fighting away from your home turf in a place where Revaliir magic wouldn't even work. I'm not going to send you on a suicide mission like that when it would just give me another headache to deal with. I'm too old for that kind of crap, and the woman you hate brings crap by the boat load. It's her damn calling card for the shitty chaotics are us."

That was the most I had spoken, to anyone, in the last several days. I had a feeling I would later regret my forthrightness with Katerina, especially if she decided to try and take Elizabeth from me out of some misguided, motherly instinct. I was prepared to stop her if that was the case, but such an action would likely scorn her for many years to come if it came to that. I hoped it wouldn't.

With her world falling apart around her, Katerina thought about the people who were taken from her. Her daughter Gabrielle was the first to go. The wolf’s baby girl had been taken in the night. All that Katerina found was her baby blanket and an empty cradle. The room had caved in on the wolf after seeing that only child she bore was gone. Her world fell apart that day. With the help of her two daughters, Eden and Kiyomi, they searched for their missing sister, but they didn’t find any trace of Gabby. With every day that passed, Katerina became more closed off, and more broken then the last day.

The wolf’s adopted daughter, Eden, had only joined the family about a year prior. Katerina had welcomed the girl with open arms, and the werewolf soon became part of the family. Eden reminded Katerina so much of herself before the time her parents died: her spirit was strong, her sweet demeanor and how she had a love for life. Even after all she had been through, she wasn’t broken by it. With the search over for Gabrielle, she took the chance to have an adventure. Breaking Katerina’s heart even more, Eden left.

Shutting down was the only thing Katerina could do at that time. It wasn’t long though before Kiyomi knocked her back to her senses, saying she was leaving to a war. Katerina didn’t want to lose another child, so she went along.

Sitting against the wall with a shattered heart once more, the wolf didn’t know if she would come out of it this time; she didn’t want to. When she finally found love, it was taken away. This added to everything she been through. She didn’t know what to do. Jax was gone and there was no way of bringing him back. Warm arms were quick to embrace her. Katerina knew it was Kiyomi, but she couldn’t move or say a word.

Hearing Natsumi’s voice, Katerina didn’t want to look at her; she always talked in riddles. The wolf was finished with riddles. Soon a bundle was placed before her that took her attention. She instantly knew the scent, and the face of the baby that came into view. “Ga- Gabby…” She said with a shaky voice. Her arms shot out to grab ahold of the child and brought her in close. She inhaled the baby’s scent and looked at her sleeping face. For a moment she forgot that anyone was around but Kiyomi and her baby. With her free arm Katerina pulled Kiyomi close to her, so they both could stare at Gabby. Kiyomi cried silent happy tears as she looked at her baby sister. “Gabby…You're back…” The dragon whispered.

It wasn’t until Natsumi started to speak once more that Katerina got to her feet. She grew angry. How could Natsumi had found her baby and not told her? Pausing in her thoughts, she looked down at the baby in her arms then back at the fox before her. “She hasn’t aged…” Katerina’s thoughts were soon answered by Natsumi. Every fiber in Katerina wanted to attack and kill the fox, but as Natsumi’s explanation sank in, she relaxed. Her eyes slowly moved back to the baby in her arms.

Katerina’s daughter, on the other hand, stared at Natsumi with a confused yet shocked expression. The dragon couldn’t understand why her sister needed her soul “healed,” as Natsumi put it. All she knew was she was back and unaged. She had to listen further to understand.

Natsumi had known the monster. That part of Natsumi’s words brought memories back to Katerina. She didn’t remember much, only flashes. She also remembered the woman she tried to save, and how they both ended up pregnant. It had been many days since she thought about the rape. She hadn’t even told her daughters what happened. It seemed like forever ago, but that was until Natsumi brought it up.

She should have known that the beast was someone Natsumi knew. She always had a knack for knowing of or collecting odd…creatures. Katerina had heard of the creature’s the fox kept.

The wolf’s eyes continued to look at the sleeping baby in her arms. She was trying to comprehend how someone could do such things with a soul. Her daughter was essentially split in two. The half of the monster, a monster she had never seen or heard of before, was not in the daughter in her arms. With an internal sigh, she felt… relieved. Gabby was only her, not the wretched beast that raped her. This made her glad, and so thankful to Natsumi. She wouldn’t look at her baby and think of that moment again.

Natsumi continued to explain more, the wolf listened. The little child Katerina saw before was Elizabeth. A smile grew on Katerina’s lips as she looked up at the fox. “She finally has….” Kat thought to herself. Natsumi had never bore a child. Now she had, not physically, but a spiritually. Wasn’t splitting souls apart birth? She knew the child would live a great life with Natsumi and Natsumi would get a chance at happiness. Gabby was hers, and Elizabeth was Natsumi’s.

A gasp was soon heard behind the wolf. “Mom..” Katerina heard her daughter whisper. She didn’t know of the rape, and of course Natsumi would be the one to break it to her. If she didn’t have a baby in her arms, the wolf would’ve face palmed herself. She would have to tell her daughter everything now.

When Natsumi spoke to Katerina of killing the monster, the wolf thought it was a great idea; but Natsumi dashed her hopes with a stern warning to not go after the monster. “Fine..” Katerina whispered while looking away with her eyebrows pulled together in annoyance.

Finally, Natsumi had finished. The silence made her eyes move to the sleeping baby in her arms. “Thank you, Natsumi.” Katerina whispered after a minute, not able to tear her eyes from her baby girl. It seemed like forever since she felt her warmth or smelled her baby skin. Bringing her lips to her baby, Katerina kissed Gabby’s forehead softly, not to wake her. “I think a change of name is in order…” Katerina paused for a moment and smiled. “Evangeline….Katsumi Silverstein.” The wolf looked over to her daughter behind her. “What do you think?” The wolf asked. Her baby needed a name worthy of Natsumi. She had brought her back to her: in an awful way, but Eva was still back in her arms now thanks to the fox. “It’s perfect, Mom.” Kiyomi looked at her mom with soft eyes as she spoke. She was so happy to have her sister back, but was sad about the news she heard about her mother. They would eventually talk about it, just not now.

Thankfully, the truth didn't result in violence. Katerina's anger at the kidnapping was apparent, at first, but it mellowed out as my explanation lay bare for her. She just quietly hugged her daughter during and after that speech, grateful for the babe's return even if she was annoyed at my warning against revenge. In the end, she thanked me, but I wasn't able to understand the depth of her gratitude until the next day.

As much as I had seemed wide awake that night, I was actually running on pure adrenaline. My body could no longer sustain itself for much longer by the time I returned Gabby, and realizing that my family was safe functioned as the last straw. Fatigue started to pull on my eyelids once that realization hit, and the formerly erect posture I held against the wall drooped over time.
   
"Don't mention it," I said as the room started to fade. "You're too soft and squishy to handle so much unhappiness in your life, and I wasn't about to permanently take your daughter if I could help it. I'm a spy with a notoriously cold-hearted reputation, but I don't aim to cause anguish where I can avoid it. "

Suddenly, the glass in my hand dropped to the floor, shattering on impact. The sound reverberated off the walls, detracting from the naming ceremony and calling me to join its source before Adel caught me. Despite her small stature, she hoisted my unconscious body onto her shoulder like a cloth doll, supporting my head whilst still looking at the family in front of her.

"She pushed herself too much, it seems," the temptress began with a quiet whisper. "We'll have to let her rest." The glass shards from the goblet animated of their own accord just then, as if sweeping themselves off to the side of the hallway. Jack burst through the doors of the study soon after, running straight for his pink haired lover.

"Kiyomi," he shouted! His eyes were practically heart shaped as he ran, but he also barely made it two steps out into the hallway before Adel kicked his head through the wall. She was surprisingly nimble during the attack, able to move past Kiyomi whilst still carrying my limp body and without making a sound. Jack never saw what hit him, but suspected that his petite coworker was to blame for the newfound predicament.

Katerina's other daughters came through the door in the meantime. They went straight past Adel and flocked to their mother's side, reuniting the whole family in the strangest of places. So it was that the unwelcome guests congregated at long last.

The wolf’s day had been eventful: her hair was turned red, her fiancé was dead, and now she had her child back in her arms. As the wolf looked at her daughter the moments from today were forgotten. She didn’t even notice the smile crossing her lips. Only her family mattered to the wolf demon, nothing could disturb that moment.

Soon her moment with her baby was interrupted by the fox, forcing her eyes to look up at Natsumi. She was about to give a retort, but, before she could say a word, the fox fell. The glass of water fell from the fox’s hand; shattering on the carpet.The pink haired woman caught the fox then spoke to Katerina. The wolf nodded in response.

Kiyomi’s eyes stared at the sleeping fox until she remembered the glass falling. Her eyes turned to see where it landed, but instead of retrieving the glass shards, they moved on their own. Blue eyes grew wide for a moment, never seeing that before. “Natsumi’’s house is sure enchanted…I want a house like this one day.” Kiyomi thought to herself with a smile. “Mom, we need a house like this.” Kiyomi whispered. Her voiced pulled Katerina’s eyes to her. Katerina smiled and nodded in agreement. They needed a place to call home. Occasional cabins to sleep in were not homes.

When the wolf thought of the cabin, Jax came back into her mind; her eyes filled with tears. “We’re moving out of that house as soon as possible.” The wolf thought; she never wanted to step foot in there again. It was all too much for her, but Eva calmed her. Katerina wouldn’t let the events from today overwhelm her.

Jack running through the door made Kiyomi and her mother’s thoughts disappear. As soon as, he called Kiyomi’s name, Katerina eyes narrowed. He disturbed her moment with her daughters. Suddenly, Adel put him through a wall, and Katerina had to hold back her laugh. “Thanks Adel,” she said up to the woman with a smile. “Mom!” Kiyomi said annoyed at her mother.

Kiyomi’s feet ran before she could think against it. “Jack!” She called to him while she placed her hands on his shoulders; she pulled with all her might. It took a few pulls before he gave way. A sigh of relief passed through her lips. The sigh quickly turned into a gasp as she tripped backwards onto the ground.

While Kiyomi tended to the fallen dragon, Eva wiggled in her mother’s arms, and snuggled her face into the wolf’s chest to fall back to sleep. Suddenly, two little girls ran over to their mother, their arms circling Katerina. “Oh, my sweet girls.” Katerina said as she put her free hand down to hold one of them. “Everything will be okay.” She soothed them kneeling down to see red eyes. A frown crossed her lips, they were so sad. Quickly, the wolf replaced her frown with a smile. “Meet Evangeline, your sister.” As she spoke, she turned the baby slightly, so the girls could see her face. Annette and her sister's eyes lit up and a smile crossed their faces. “We have a baby sister!! Yay!” Annette cheered. They just about jumped up and down. “Shhh…You’ll wake her.” Katerina couldn’t remove the smile on her face. Her family was happy!

The commotion behind her made Katerina’s eyes looked. Her eyes shot to Jack who was about to fall because of her daughter. “What the hell did you do to my daughter?” Katerina’s stern voice was towards the dragon. Standing, she looked at her daughter’s nightgown that was around his neck.

Turning back to Adel, she didn’t want to hear his excuse. She just wanted a quiet room to lay her head down, and keep an eye on her daughters. “Is there a room we can stay in for the night?” She paused then remembered how they couldn’t leave. “Also… How can we get back home?”

From what Adel told me after I woke up the next day, the events that followed my blackout went about as well as I could have anticipated. Jack, in his love struck state, tried to embrace Kiyomi while still dressed in her nightgown, but was stopped by Adel's ruthless methods. Katerina thanked her for her brutal roundhouse, but Kiyomi proved to be far less vindictive. The young, pinked-haired girl immediately went to the stuck dragon after his head had been embedded in the wall, and helped him get free at the cost of her balance.
 
"Kiyomi," Jack asked as he shook his head after being pried loose? He turned around like a drunken man, still suffering from the effects of his concussion. His plan was to help Kiyomi back to her feet, but, when he finally caught sight of her, he found he couldn't even figure out which one to help. He was seeing multiple copies of his crush, to which he said, "I didn't realize you were a triplet." It took him a while to realize that he had been hit hard enough to affect his vision, but he was swift to accuse Adel when the realization hit him. Turning his head to look at his colleague's six copies, he asked, "Why you hit so hard?"

Quite expectedly, Adel only gave Jack a coy smile. She adjusted my limp body on her shoulders without bothering to give a verbal response, and then continued to watch the scene unfold around her. Events were getting a little out of hand by that point, what with the family reunion and all, so she decided to take the opportunity to catch up to speed. She realized she was out of the loop on what had happened thus far, and, in order to rectify that lack of information, she scanned the minds of those present.

Adel's aura extended, touching the minds of Katerina, Kiyomi, Jack, Anette, Freya and myself. She saw the events that led up to the death of the man whose charred corpse still lay silently in the hall, and left behind pleasant thoughts in her wake. Everything became clear once the memories were collected, just in time for Katerina to reprimand Jack.

It is worth mentioning at this point why Adel stopped using spoken words to address our guests. You see, Adel doesn't normally speak through vocalization. That technique, which is mundane to most people, is actually quite difficult for her kind: a race that, before its extinction, had long relied on telepathy as a primary means of conversation. Adel never really escaped that limitation of her kind even long after she joined my employment, and so she reverted to telepathy whenever she wanted to speak for anything longer than a few sentences.

There is a great deal of trouble with that approach, however. Of chief concern, Adel's telepathy has a tendency to come on stronger than is ordinarily safe for recipients. When races that are not naturally dependent on psionics – like humans, for instance – learn the art of telepathy, they are typically more mindful of intonation and volume in their thoughts. They behave like they are actually speaking because they are used to vocalization, and that quiets what might be referred to as their telepathic frequency. The minds of those they try to communicate with cannot usually be harmed by this frequency, and so telepathy is generally a safe practice for them so long as they know what they're doing.

But, unlike members of these races, Adel didn't have very fine-tuned message control. Her telepathy could sound like a person speaking, but it also disoriented the people she was talking to if they were exposed for too long. "Too long," depended highly on the mental fortitude of the listener, but Adel had been known to induce vomiting even in other psionics before. She had to be mindful of timing to avoid situations like that, but sometimes she simply had no choice but to speak as long as required: like with Katerina's reprimand of Jack.

 As soon as the wolf demon was done asking what the dragon had done to Kiyomi, Adel dropped her silence and responded in telepathy to the adults in the room. ~Depends which daughter you speak of. If you mean the two in front of you, Ms. Silverstein, he's the reason they didn't die with your fiancé. If not for him, you'd need three coffins instead of one.~ Her voice was smooth, but with a definite bite of wit to it. Adel was letting a portion of her true personality show through in that moment, though she maintained her politeness when addressing all further concerns. ~Natsumi doesn't believe that our house is prepared to hold guests at this time, but we will grant you a room at an inn of your choice. You need not tell me which one, since I already know.~

Adel and I had secretly been conversing before this point. Though I didn't possess enough energy to open my eyes or move, I could still make decisions in my sleep. As proof, I told her to say that second bit above; and I even talked in my sleep in order to free Katerina from the slave collar that was still around her neck.

"She can take that collar off once she's not in our home anymore." I mumbled that while still strewn on my stewardess's shoulders, and then quickly returned to silence. As Katerina's owner, only my voice was required to break the spell. Adel could handle the rest, and so she did.

~So she says, Ms. Silverstein,~ the diminutive temptress continued in my absence. ~I will allow you to say your goodbyes, and then we will begin the transportation process.~