Kerrick sulked as he trailed behind his mother and twin sister, moving from stall to stall in the marketplace. With Stephen away sailing, Iona away visiting relatives, and all the older kids away at school, Kerrick had been abandoned with no choice but to go shopping with the two remaining females in the family. He had told his mother that, as a grown-up boy of almost six, he was old enough to hang out at the docks by himself, that he knew some people down there. When she just gave him that enigmatic little smile--that he would one day realize meant she was trying not to laugh--and said she ?didn?t think that was the best idea,? he knew she meant there was no chance, no way, that he was getting out of a torturous afternoon of shopping to spend a glorious one down by the docks. There was steel, often unperceived, in his mother?s voice when she spoke; it was a hidden strength and authority that many admired and respected, and that her children obeyed?most of the time. Kerrick kicked a rock, thinking about how he?d like to disobey now.

Ever since someone had paid a very unwelcome visit to the house in the middle of the night, leaving a mark of blood on the window and trying to lure Devyn outside, Jewell kept strict watch over the children at all times. With the five eldest safely away at school, the main of her attention was constantly fixed upon the two remaining in her immediate care: Devyn and Kerrick. And with Stephen away, Jewell became all the more paranoid, not letting them out of her sight; hence, how poor Kerrick got stuck on this current shopping trip. It was a necessary evil to have him along, although it tried Jewell?s nerves as he kept trying to wander off, annoyed Devyn to no end because she wanted alone time with mommy, and drove Kerrick crazy because he wanted to be anywhere but with them. As Jewell took a glance over her shoulder and saw that her son was in full on sulking mode--a trait inherited, without a doubt, from Alex--she sighed. Directing Devyn to the next stall they were going to, she turned to face her youngest son, who was now glaring at a rock he had just kicked because it had not gone as far as he wanted it to; everything was working against him today! ?Kerrick, sweets, if you stay within my sight you can go wander about and play some while we shop here.?

Despite this concession--this bit of slack on his leash his mother constantly held so tightly--the little boy only shrugged and shuffled off in whatever direction that would take him away from the terrible combination of mother and youngest daughter. Jewell just sighed again, keeping one eye on her moody child as she started to discuss outfit possibilities with the tailor; Devyn kept outgrowing her clothes and was in serious need of a new fall wardrobe, ?I was thinking something in a warm raspberry color??

Kerrick wandered along past the next few stalls before he was inevitable drawn to the center of the small square; like many of the squares in the marketplace, this little one catering to Fey wares had a fountain at the heart of it and Kerrick was inevitably drawn to the water. Straight out of the Lands, the fountain was a work of art and magic; the water bubbled forth from the outstretched hand of a faerie girl, dancing and spinning about on one foot. As it splashed into the basin, it created a musical sound that softened Kerrick?s foul mood. He walked until the tips of his shoes hit the wall of the basin before looking up. With the sun shining reflectively off the stone--a substance not to be found normally in RhyDin, that glittered and sparkled as if alive in its own way when the light hit it--Kerrick stared upwards, marveling at it. Forgetting all about his mother and sister, he started to slowly move around the basin of the fountain, admiring it from different angles.

Kerrick was jolted from his trance, mesmerized by both the statue and the musical sound of the water, when Lain addressed him. She brought a sudden halt to his travel around the fountain and he shrank back, the active result of a learned instinct: a fear of strangers and the evil they supposedly had planned for his family. However, there was no mistaking Lain for anyone else, not for Kerrick at least; after all, he had become the closest to her during the time the children had spent staying with Lain and Alex just last spring. The dress, the white hair?the lingo. Kerrick took all this in, blinking emerald eyes against the sun, in a matter of seconds to confirm that it was indeed Lain standing before him (conveniently blocked from Jewell?s sight, as she looked through bolts of fabric, by the fountain?s statue) , perhaps here to rescue him from the dreaded shopping trip! Only it wasn?t Lain, was it? Not the Lain he knew, at least. However, the discrepancies--the lack of earrings, the general ?feel? of the person standing before him--that would indicate a difference between the Lain he knew and that which was actually standing before him were undetectable to the little boy.

Undetectable and unimportant. Lain was here and he smiled brightly up to her, bad mood vanished in light of a possible playmate--who was neither mother nor sister--and the offer of ice cream. He was soft spoken, his smile turning almost shy as it had been some time since he had seen Lain, ?Hi? you haven?t come to play in a long time. ? Or ever. Kerrick was aware that it had actually been a very long time, in fact, since he had seen either Lain or his father. His mother had explained to him and his siblings that he probably wouldn?t be seeing either of them anymore, so Lain?s presence now was a pleasant surprise. The ice cream distracted him from the fact that while Lain was present, Alex was not, and he took the offered treat as he sat on the edge of the fountain, presenting his mother with the view of the back of his blue-haired head. He never once thought of the adage to not take things from strangers as he took his first lick of the ice cream cone. It was a moot point, anyways, because Lain was not a stranger at all; Kerrick considered the two of them good friends.

?I am un-schway,? he easily readopted the lingo his mother had drilled out of him after his stay with Lain and Alex, becoming more at ease around Lain with several licks of ice cream, ?they made me go shopping with them and it?s booooooring.?

Kerrick wrinkled his nose--a very Jewell-esque mannerism--at Lain?s counter to his complaint that she never visited. He opened his mouth to object, to assert that his mother wouldn?t let him go even if he had thought of it, but his comment died with the playful tousling of his hair and all was suddenly well again; he once more filled his mouth with ice cream instead of words.

The fight going on within the body of Lain, between Lain and It, went unnoticed by the young boy as he continued to enjoy his treat and smother chocolate all around his mouth. While the tightly clasped hands and the uneven note of Its laughter might have been seen or heard, their meaning and import could not possibly be discerned by young Kerrick. This was especially true now that he had a sympathetic ear to listen to and lament along with his current woes; like most young children, Kerrick was completely egocentric, with the whole world revolving around him and his monumental problems.

"They're fricken janky sometimes. Tell ya what, schway? Why don't you'n I get outta here? Cuz they're prolly gonna be tryin' on every stupid lookin' thing they've got over there. We'd be gone and back before they know it."

?Leave?? Lain held out to him an offer too sweet to refuse and better than he ever could imagine! Why sit around this dinky fountain, waiting with nothing to do while his sister and mother enjoyed themselves for who knows how long, when a responsible adult was willing to take him elsewhere and do something fun with him? Maybe Lain would even take him to the park that had the twisty slide!

?I wanna go!? And up he hopped from the edge of the fountain, ice cream and all, completely negligent of his mother?s orders to stay within her line of sight.

"S'gonna be our little secret, schway?"

?Schway!? He practically shouted the slang word in his excitement, even if Lain had just gestured for quiet a moment before. He liked secrets, especially when he was the only one privy to them and his siblings were not, like when Papa Stephen had let him have an extra cookie when he was supposed to be in bed sleeping two weeks ago.

He was neither troubled by the pause in Lain?s stride nor noticed her suddenly split attention, as she dealt with the poor vendor, or the reason for it. His sole attention was on Lain?s question: "So where do ya wanna go, Lil' Man..? Day's all yers," and answering it as quickly (which meant incoherently) as possible; ?I wanna go on the big slide, it?s really really twisty and it?s in the giant park where they have animals and swings and a twirly board and even a tree house to play in that has a slide from it too! And there?s a big pirate ship there to climb on but all the other kids always fight over who is gonna get the wheel even though I know best?? Most anyone would be clearly able to see that Lain was not listening to Kerrick?s ongoing ramble, but the little boy had deluded himself into believing that Lain truly cared about everything he was saying--even his lengthy story about how the last time he went to the park a little girl pushed him out of the way of the wheel of the pirate ship jungle gym and how Devyn had bit the little girl on the arm to enact revenge on her brother?s behalf--and was satisfied in this belief as Lain had her hand on his back and was seemingly leading him onwards to his declared desired destination. Mother and sister were very far from his mind.

But he was not far from theirs, at least not from Jewell?s. Becoming more and more distracted as she and Devyn looked through piles of fabrics and patterns, Jewell still managed to glance in Kerrick?s direction every few seconds; as long as she could see that curly mop of blue hair by the fountain, her fears and paranoia laid at rest. Unfortunately, the length between glances became longer and longer as the vendor began writing down Jewell?s order and asking her several questions.

?And lastly, you want this pattern to be made with the blueberry and cream fabrics you picked out, M?lady??

She gave a glance in Kerrick?s direction before looking to both the pattern and the fabrics again, ?Yes, and maybe the sash out of a darker blue material??

?Yes, that should be lovely, don?t you think little lady?? The vendor smiled down at Devyn who was practically bouncing in place.

?I wanna hat to go with it too!?

?Can that be done?? Jewell looked from Devyn to the vendor.

?Certainly M?lady, if you will just look at this book of hat designs?yes, on this page are our latest fall designs that should go nicely with the dress.? He flipped open to a page and presented the book to her.

Jewell glanced towards Kerrick before taking the proffered book and flipping through the pages, ?And you make the hats on sight??

?No, M?lady, we take your order for the fabric and the material and use a milliner across the way.?

Jewell nodded, sending a distracted glance in Kerrick?s direction before looking back to the book and pointing out a hat, ?That one will do, I think.?

?Yes, M?lady, that will look absolutely charming on the little girl. With that done, would you like any enchantments sewn into the garments? I know you are familiar with our usual ones, but we are offering several new ones if you would like to take a look at the list.?

?Certainly,? and Jewell took one more look at her little boy before she was given the list and started to pour over the enchantments that could be sewn into her daughter?s garments along with the descriptions. That list certainly proved distracting, as she had to ask the vendor several questions regarding the newer enchantments he was offering, ?I?m not quite sure if I understand how this enchantment of Finding is any different from your old one, sir.?

Thus sparked a conversation that withdrew her attention from Kerrick long enough for Lain to tempt the boy with a getaway to the park and to lead him thither without his mother noticing. When the enchantments for each garment were finally decided upon, and Jewell?s attention was free to turn upon Kerrick as the vendor totaled up the price for all that had been purchased, the little boy was no where to be seen.

It was caught between two extremes: usher the boy forcefully, or wait for Jewell to inevitably catch up with them. The former proved useless. It wanted Jewell to see that Kerrick trusted It, no, trusted the face that It was hiding behind. That would evoke indefinitely better entertainment. That and It didn't want to turn the child away. Its skeletal fingers tensed as It gently patted Kerrick's back. Only an idiot would have been unable to hear Jewell's screams. It tracked her progress through the crowd, becoming suddenly thankful for every insane woman who just had to buy the latest fashions today.

"Hey, Lil' Man.. I bet'cha can't beat me there.." It smiled wickedly at this wager, stepping strategically in his line of vision, blocking him from the sight of his nearing mother. It didn't want to turn around, not yet. Though, Jewell was probably able to see It. Shock white hair stood out amongst all other colors. That is, before the shadows along the ground began to twist and turn, becoming sticky, and started to turn the expanse of ground between them into tar.

"On your mark..?" It was a long shot, but It was willing to prolong Jewell's worry as much as It could.

"Ahh, Lain.. Lain, you've been caught.. Your plan backfired and now, child, you shall reap the consequences, henhenh.. I'll enjoy your turmoil immensely.."

It gagged when Entity forced Lain into the forefront. Air rushed into Its chest and It nearly toppled forward onto Kerrick. Lain was surprised at the lack of pain she experienced. She could breathe again without the aches in her chest, emotional and physical.

"Mamma?"

Lain had realized she'd made a mistake. She shouldn't have gone through the children, least of all one of His children. She couldn't stand the thought of even one of them hating her. And she didn't want to hurt any of them. Despite the years of self and outside conditioning, tears sprung up in Its eyes, and suddenly, Lain found it nearly impossible to breathe all over again.

"Kid, I want'cha t'listen t'me very carefully, schway?" It said, kneeling down and placing Its hands on Kerrick's small shoulders. Lain could see the doubt in his eyes, and even the underlying fear that Jewell was going to be pissed at him for running off with her. "I want you to get as far away from this place as you can, okay? Run. Just run until yer little legs can't run anymore, I dun' want'cha seein' any'a this.."

"This is it, child.. your last connection to the thing you hold most dear.. Sometimes I wonder if you really need me, Lain.. Lain, you tear yourself apart even without my help.."

"Can it.."

"How does it feel, Lain.. Lain.. to be completely alone..? This can't be what you wanted.."

"It's not, but that's all I am now."

"You hear me? Fricken go. Move!" Lain wasn't sure whether or not he would obey, being completely tied to the fact that Jewell was flying at them. But she had to try. It roughly turned the boy around and shoved him away from It around the same time Jewell had extended her arms. The swirl in Its eyes became a tornado, black overtaking crystal blue instantly.

Without a second thought, It pivoted on Its heel, fingers pulled back, and the heel of Its hand was sent directly towards Jewell's face as she flung herself towards It.

"Glad you could join us.. Jewellsie.."

?How dare you? how dare you!"

It smirked, Its outstretched hand shaking with withheld force. There was only so much space between them. A few steps and..

"To think you would sink so low as to attempt to get at me by using him. He trusted you, Lain? or whoever you are, whatever you have let yourself become. He trusted you! And you? you are a selfish, conniving little??

"Bitch?" It had no issue with language on front of kids. In fact, It had forgotten that Kerrick was even there. His sniffles and sobs were completely ignored. If but for Its own sake.

A heckle escaped Its sickly blue lips then. "It's funny, Jewell.. you're funny.. you make me laugh." To prove Its point, It started to. A great many laughs were expelled, then air sucked in with a wheeze, Its chest puffing out. One would think It was dying. "I do not have to stand here and take this berating from you. An idiot that can't so much as keep an eye on her own child has no right to tell me what scum of the universe she thinks I am." The wicked knife-like smile didn't even touch Its eyes, now inkwells of shiny black. No white, no blue.

"It's been a long time.. Jewell.. I hardly remember the last time we met.. And it's true, he trusted Lain.." a step forward was taken, and Its head cocked dangerously to the side so that vertebrae snapped into alignment, "But I wonder.. has she given you any reason to believe she would hurt his children..?"

It wanted to. Oh, It wanted to. Jewell wasn't on Lain's list. Even moreso, Jewell was Its supposed 'only' target now. Apparently, It had been overzealous in Its efforts, although It hardly thought Hasim had anything to worry about. He didn't know the Ravenlock's views on Lain. Short of Alex, none had really expressed anything towards her but hostility. All of her behavior aside, of course.

Its fingers cracked as It lowered Its outstretched hand, digits rippling as unnaturally as the rest of It. The sticky tar-like shadows swirled towards that hand and rested before Its knuckles in a compact rotating orb of deep black. Without their dank addition, the alley they were in brightened considerably, and the grotesque details of what It was came into focus. There was very little, if any, Lain left in the face It presented to Jewell.

"She wants to have.. a few words with you, ngyahha.." another wheeze was made, and It gnashed Its teeth like an animal. "She says.. you're sloppy.. because this isn't the first time someone has gone after your children. You'll learn.. oh yes, you will learn.."

There was a snarl in Its head unlike any other - a cross between an enraged lion and a scream.

"Mhmhm.. careful now, child.."

"Loyalties.. fucking loyalties. Lemme out, I want to talk to her."

"Ih-hi-hit's soooo funny, Jewell..? Very good to see you think this is the extent of me and my stores. Although, I must thank you," It said with a flourishing bow, "Without your stupidity, I wouldn't have succeeded. Thank you, Jewell, most kindly, for your failure." Spikes of dark black exploded from the orb before Its hand, turning it into the equivalent of a puffer fish dunked in ink. The whole thing began to whir like a top as It pulled Its crunching and jerking way upright again.

"Did you hear that, Lain..? Lain, I am only the messenger, how sad.." Whatever Entity said next was drowned out by wheezing snickers.

"Let me out. Now."

As It continued to speak, Its voice no longer echoed with duality. Eyes never changed from fathomless pits, but there was no mistaking who was in control of the sharp upnod It gave to Jewell. "Always liked how you could twist a situation to fit yourself. Lies, lies, lies. Just how many fricken ways will you make that word work for you? I hope you break your neck when you fall from your high horse because it bucked you the hell of. They dun' like heavy weight, see, and yer head's just balloonin' out to kingdom come.

"Let's not make you seem stupider than's been already proved by making you go on and on about how highly you thought of me. Seriously. Come back to me when you don't have scars cuz you spent hours cutting yourself and bawling over your prissy ass boytoy." Its voice had become a hiss. Memories from their last actual battle on Skyler's grave flashed in Its mind. Its teeth were clenched together so hard, it would have been painful if It could have felt such a thing.

It squared Its shoulders, Its feet sliding shoulder width apart. Its dingy white hair rippled and began to float, sprinkling black dust into the air. The spikes protruding from the orb grew and shrank and the fingers behind it shook.

"We. Are. The same. Jewell. I'm just not afraid to show it. I actually felt sorry for you.. hell, I still do. You dun' have half th'strength you pretend you do. Talk about disappointment, look in th'goddamned mirror first!"

It didn't give any space for a response for It had already whipped out Its arm. The orb's spikes soon became saber-like ribbons, exploding outwards and snaking their way at warp speed towards Jewell.