Chapter 6

"Has anyone seen Hope?," Keller asked as she walked into the gathering room of safe house seven. They were at the weekly meeting that had started when Lily had burnt down safe house 13. 

"Not since we brought in that 'human'," Mel said, putting air quotes around the word human. No one believed Lily would keep a human around, not since her targets for death were half-bloods. This started to worry everyone, though no one would say it, Hope had been gone for two days. Which meant everyone thought she had either abandoned them or Lily somehow had managed to get her. Since Hope had no mate to keep her here and she was a healer, she would definitely be the easiest to lure out of the safe house. Just make someone appear to be in pain and Hope would come running, it was just who she was. Friend to man and beast.

"You don't think-," Mel started

"No, absolutely not. If she went to work with Lily, she would be tortured for all she knew and then Lily would kill her. Lily's not the type to keep her kills quiet. If she was dead, her body would be hanging in a tree outside, bloody and broken," Keller had a point.

"Who's bloody and broken?," Hope asked, slightly panicked. After all Caspian was supposed to be tortured.

"We thought you might have been," Jaz said from the corner, she was tossing a silver knife, up and down, up and down, up and down. 

"Well I'm not."

"Yet, that begs the question," she stood, spun, and threw the knife so it landed right between Hope's feet, "Where have you been?"

"I went for a walk in the woods, made a few wrong turns, got a little lost," Hope lied. Everyone seemed to buy it- even Jaz apologized for loosing her temper and throwing her knife. - Well, except for Mist. They'd have to talk later, as if reading her thoughts Mist nodded once. 

"Well, then," Laurent started "Let's figure out how to kill Lily," They went through the motions and they talked everything through. Ash didn't look to happy, in fact there was almost a look of pain on his face. He's probably worried that his mate is the only one who can kill Lily freely. Hope thought to herself. Since Keller had announced publicly, -a blood claim since Lily had drawn her blood, and a War claim since Lily had attacked her and people she claimed as family- No one but Keller could kill Lily without repercussions. 

~~~~~

The meeting was over. Hope hurried out of the meeting room before Mist could stop her. She had crawled through the air duct when Caspian hurried her out of his room and when she finally figured her way around, came out through the duct in her room. 

Now that the meeting was over for this week she thought about going back to his room and rescuing him, but what would she do with him? She couldn't keep him in her room, and she wouldn't let him stay in the prison wing, and there was no way she would ever let him leave the safe house because she didn't trust him, didn't believe he wouldn't go back to Lily and try to kill everyone again. So what could she do? She cared for him and didn't want him to be in pain, didn't want him to die, But the torture Jazlyn, Laurent, and Ash wanted to be implemented on him, it would kill him. If he was thought to be a human, and if he actually was, it would kill him. I have to get him out of there! Hope finally yelled at herself. She opened her door to see Mist standing on the other side of it.

"Let's talk about unhealthy practices, shall we?," Mist stepped inside her room and pulled her over to sit on the bed. 

"Mist, I don't want to talk about this, in fact I'm going for a walk in the woods"

"Bullshit, You're going to the 'humans' room again, aren't you?"

"So what if I am, I don't think he deserves torture. And with what's being planned to hurt him, I don't think he'll survive. I can't Let him die!" Hope was getting hysterical and angry, Mist however was staying calm.

"And why do you feel the need to protect him?"

"I don't know!," Hope hung her head. 

Mist knew though. She knew where this was going, what would happen between them. She had to convince Hope to stay away from him. She knew what would happen, and she couldn't let it happen. It would Kill them both. 

"He's trouble Hope, stay away," Mist said shaking her head, she got up and left for her own bedroom and mate.

~~~~

Caspian had made it through the first session of torture. He was Laying on the lumpy mattress in endless pain. He tried to even his breathing, but it wouldn't happen. They had cut him with little knifes, poked him with sharped toothpicks, and the vampires had bled him twice. He was wishing that Hope would sneak in again to heal him, but he was also praying that she stayed away. He drifted into a painful, fitful, sleep.

That night, He dream of Hope. The woman and the feeling, His dreams consisted of her healing him, her laughing with him, and the strangest would be the dreams of love. Her loving an evil soul like him? It would never happen, he couldn't let it happen. His past would taint her future, though she was an angel it would ruin her. He wouldn't let her fall from grace, not for him. Then the most shocking was the vision of dark wings on his back, a tattoo not the real thing, in the center Hope's name. Dear God!, she's mine?

That night Caspian woke in a cold sweat, the pain of his injuries nearly undetectable. He got up and went to the mirror in the small bathroom, taking his shirt off he looked in the mirror, searching for any sign that the vision was real. It was not. He had no claim on the healer, for this he sighed relief.

~~~~

Locket Nightower sat, asleep, tied up in the fold-able chair. She looked battered and beat up, her dark brown hair was matted with blood and her lips looked bee-stung and the bottom one was split. Her eyes were closed, but silent tears streaked down her face, even in sleep. She was dying, they were torturing her, they spat in her face and bled her. She had been food for the vampires, little did they know she was going to escape. She had a plan. And soon she would kill them. They made the mistake of telling her where the nearest safe house was. Taunting her, telling her she'd never make out the door. But they told her who she was, she drew on the strength of her fae line. She channeled her power to warm her wrists, slowly burning away the rope binding her hands. Soon she would be free, soon she would be safe.

~~~~

"She has a plan, she'll get out," Mist mumbled, she was snuggled down in bed with Gallen. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her tightly. Comfortingly. He always did so when she had a vision, they shook her to the core most of the times. Tonight's premonition about Locket Nightower, the fae/empath half-breed.

"Yes, she will. And then we'll be one closer to saving the world," he replied, and she buried her head further into his chest. Soon they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.