The New York City alley way was quiet, dead, devoid of any sign of life, apart from her and her...mother. Not her birth mother, but the one that had taken her in and raised her for all those years. Her mother in all but blood. The woman that kissed her scrapes and bruises when she was a child, and the same one that offered a shoulder when she suffered her first break up.

As they traveled, the heels of their boots clacked with each step on the grimy street, and echoed up between the two buildings that created the alley. The sound was almost eerie. Something quiet in the back of her head made anxiety begin to pool in the warlock's stomach. A burning, almost like a warning that they should turn back, go home. She ignored it. Though old, and run down this part of the city was quiet and peaceful. So she pushed it away.

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clackity-clack. More foot steps, more echoes. They neared a dumpster, and the anxiety surged once again. Passed it without incident, and it settled. A little. Her hands felt fidgety, so they fiddled with the buckles on her jacket.

As they continued on, they neared an intersection. The anxiety surged again, and fell over her in a heavy blanket. She hesitated at the mouth of the intersection, and her mother continued on. "Mom, Wait Do-" She reached out, tried to catch her jacket and pull her back. Fingers barely grazed material, and in an instant, a shape blurred at the edge of her vision. Metal flashed, and the shape collided with her mother. The woman cried out, and jerked back, which caused her to stumble, lose her footing and collapse. A mix of fear and adrenaline surged through her, caused a scream to get caught in her throat, and come out as a strangled noise instead.

Cat's eyes darted to the man's almost glowing yellow ones, then to her mother's limp form.

"Mom."

Her voice was a harsh, like she was having issues breathing, processing what had happen.

"MOM."

The word came out in a cry, before she stumbled forward, the man momentarily forgotten. As she reached her mother, what ever strength she had in her legs disappeared, and they gave out on her.

Her fall was stopped abruptly, as the heavy scent of decaying corpses and and death washed over her.

Surprise crawled across her face, and she glanced up to find the man that had stabbed her mother looming over her. But why had she stopped? Her gaze followed the path of his arm up to her middle section, his hand, and the hilt of the knife he held in his hand, which was currently sheathed in her stomach.

Confusion bloomed across her features. She didn't feel the pain. Nothing hurt. How had the night turned into such a nightmare? Was her mother okay? Her stream of frantic thoughts ceased when he jerked the knife back, and pain surged through her body. The reason why became clear when she saw the jagged hooked edge of blade. Her mouth opened and closed with a scream that never made it.

Her hands came up to press against the wound, blood seeped through her fingers, stained them, her clothes and the pavement beneath her red. She curled protectively around her middle as her vision swam with pain.

Somewhere footsteps echoed off the alley walls and their assailant crouched down so that he could press his fingers to the woman's pulse. Once assured that there wasn't one, he stood, and made he way towards her. With little hesitation, he let his foot connect with her side to flip her over, onto her back. Something cracked and she let out a yelp.

"Twenty years ago, I told the witch that I'd make her pay for betraying me. Told her I'd find her no matter how much she ran." As he spoke, he crouched down besides her, and reached out with his blade to clean the blood off of it with her jacket.

She whimpered, and struggled to keep her hands on the wound. There was so much blood now. How much more could she stand to lose? Wait. He'd said something. His words only brought more waves of confusion. She opened her mouth, sputtered, and failed to speak. This time she coughed, and blood bubbled out of the corner of her mouth.

"I didn't think that I'd find her daughter here." The emphasis on her, made it clear that he wasn't talking about the woman that lay dead not even five feet from them. "I'm tempted to just kill you as well. But it would be so much wasted potential. Ah. I know what I'll do. It'd be easy to kill you now, and be done with it. But no! No, no, no. I'll leave you here and let you decide. If you want to live, fight for it, sweetheart."

He patted her cheek as she struggled to suck in more air with at least one lung that didn't care to cooperate. "It's time to grow up and stop relying on Mommy to take care of everything for you. You're all alone now."

The sound of his footsteps fading as he walked away followed on the tail end of those words. How was she suppose to be able to get out of this while she was laying in an alley, choking on her own blood? What about her mother? She had to make sure she was okay, she had to... there were so many things she had to do.

Then, her world started spinning. Her fingertips tingled. The man. He'd gone away, right? Her breathing was shallow, labored. Everything was fading. This was where she would die, wasn't it?

She felt numb. Her vision was dimming, and silence falling.

Who knew darkness could be so terrifying?

With a gasp she came to, stumbled, and dropped the mug in her hand. It shattered when it hit the floor. But her attention wasn't on that. No, she was gasping, and clawing her shirt up so she could see the scar that had been a result of her encounter with her mother's murderer. It burned, and her whole middle radiated with pain, as if it had just happened. Her chest felt tight, and she, like she couldn't breathe. She could still see her hands, stained red and slick, with her blood.

The man. The one that had killed her mother and injured her, she knew that face to belong to the creature that had been playing her mother's husband. He knew who she was when he found them that night. Knew who her birth mother was. The realization hit, and left her more winded than the phantom injuries she was suffering through.

"****." The word was muttered as she sank back against the counter, and from there to the floor, amid all the broken mug bits. They pressed sharp against the backs of her thighs, leaving pinpricks and taking blood.

Her head hurt.

Late evening had settled over the city of New York in the form of a heavy blanket of dark lit with stars, that were dulled by the city lights, and pollution in the air. The streets were almost as crowded as they had been during the day, when she set out to meet up with her mother. Between teaching Raella the basics of portals, and treating her mother out to dinner as they caught up, she had, in all honesty, enjoyed her day, even if it had left her feeling a little drained. She had spent most of her walk back to her apartment in the city, deciding whether or not she wanted to bother heading home, or just crashing at her apartment. She was rounding the corner when she tapped out a message on her phone for Gothrak, to let him know that she wouldn't be making it back to Ryh'din tonight. With the message sent, she glanced up, and shoved her phone back into her back pocket, and continued on for the half a block that she needed to, to get to her apartment.

Her phone would buzz just a few moments later. Dear lord, the demon had been taught emotes. 'Okay, will miss you. Have a good sleep and I will see you tomorrow. :D :) ' At least he was trying to understand technology and kept the phone on him.

The buzz of a response had her pulling her phone back out, and bringing it up so she could read it. The emote made her smile. 'I'll miss you too. Sleep well, and keep safe . <3' The response was tapped out rapidly, and sent.


The street lights gave a low buzzing, a constant white noise that most people didn't notice anymore. Up ahead, the one in front of her apartment flickered and shimmered in a threat to go out. As she neared her apartment, and passed underneath the light, the flickering drew her attention upwards. She rolled her eyes on seeing that it was just the streetlight going out. Dying bulbs. The city always took their time replacing them. She figured it would be at least two months until this one was fixed it. With a soft sigh, she started working her keys out of her back pocket.

As she neared the front porch, her footsteps faltered. From out of no where, dread settled over her, heavy and thick, anxiety joined, coiled and waiting for the right moment to strike. Like when Xerhnon followed her, the feeling that someone was watching her followed the dread and anxiety. So she made quick work of the three steps up her porch, and turned, so her back was to the door, and thus, eliminated most of the possibility that someone would sneak up behind her. Her phone, was shoved back into a pocket, and her hand dropped, lingering not too far from her hip. Cat's eyes scoured the surrounding area for anything that could serve as the source of her intuiton's call.

It was good she turned around because there just a few steps behind where she had been was a familiar face. He should be in jail but lo and behold he wasn't and was standing rather relaxed in front of her, "...I'll ask you once, girl. Where is it?"

She almost immediately took a step back when she spotted him, mainly because she hadn't been expecting it to be him. Or for him to be right behind her. Understanding what she knew now, it was his words that stopped her from all but flinging herself at him. She fixed him with a long, and confused stare. "I have no clue what you're talking about. Even if I did, I'd tell you to go piss up a flagpole."

"How rude." The man who she knew as Terry, her birth mother's abusive husband chastized. His eyes gleamed an amber yellow color but he stayed where he was for now, "I'm talking about what was taken from me. It wasn't on either of you that night and it isn't in your apartment or with your birth mother....where did your witch hide things?"

"I don't know. She was secretive about all kinds of stuff. I just knew were there herbs and other things were." Another step was taken back, so her back was pressed flush against the door. Meanwhile, she searched for the right key to her door by touch. "I don't know what it is, but I hope you never find it." It was murmured non-chalantly.

He smirked, "I'll find it...and when I do and this curse is broken...I'm going to be free to do whatever I please again...You should consider helping me girl, for your family's sake."

The mention of a curse, and all that happy stuff raised several questions, but the threat that followed made her growl. "I swear to what ever gods there are, that if you touch either of them ever again, I will make your death slow and painful." She shifted on her feet, and finding the right key was forgotten. He was her only focus at the moment.

Terry grinned widely, "See? Would be in both of our best interests then, huh? The item would have to be something personal of your witch's...."

"You are asking me for help, when you deserve none. You also seek something that was personal to my mother. Find your answers elsewhere. Fuck you." The last two words were snapped, as she moved to stuff her keys back into her back pocket.

He shrugged, taking a step back, "...Y'know...it's a shame she had to die so quickly...I would have liked to have drawn it out. Maybe I'll just take it out on you instead...next best thing I suppose. See you around, Zynnara."


The subject of her adoptive mother's death had always been a sensitive topic for her, and what ever restraint she had been clinging to, snapped at his words. Like a clock spring that had been wound too tight, and then taken apart, she moved quick. In one fluid movement, she lunged for him, while her right hand freed the dagger that had been at her hip. There was no finesse to her movements, as they were straightforward and quick, in the way that she aimed to drive the blade into his chest. It more than likely wasn't the smartest thing to do, but her emotions sometimes got the better of her.


It certainly hadn't been a smart thing to do. Even with his power sealed, he was still stronger than her and since he'd already had a taste of her shocking magic, was prepared for that sort of assault. The dagger was new but it wasn't the first time a knife had been pulled on him.
He didn't smile in an infuriating manner as Xehrnon did when she encountered the other dark spot in her otherwise content life. Terry simply kept a neutral face, dodging her swipes and lunges, getting out of the way a hair's breadth before her attack slashed at the same spot.

She had learned how to be fast through practice, but it seemed like he was just a touch faster than she was. But he was also close, Which meant that it wasn't that hard to aim certain abilities she had his way. The air crackled, and it was possible that some, if not all of his hair was standing on end, due to the electricity in the air. Her left hand, the free one, was crackling with electricity, and what looked to be a small ball in her hand, not that he'd have much time to study it, because it was sent straight for his torso. The voltage a little bit more than what she had used to put a certain demon on his ass, in two very distinct cases.


Terry smirked and when the electric ball smacked into him, she got a rather nasty surprise as the energy rebounded back into her. She sure could pack a whollop that was for certain and now she knew just how much of one.

So far, she hadn't ever been on the receiving end of her attacks, and honestly thought she'd be immune to it. She was when using it. But apparently, it was a whole different story if it was reflected back to her. She was tough, yes. But not exactly tough enough to stay conscious when hit with something that generally stunned full blooded demons. Her human half didn't allow it. There was a yelp of surprise given when it connected. Her body jerked, spasmed for a moment, maybe two, before she dropped like to the ground like a ragdoll. Her knife clattered to the ground, and skidded a few feet away.

He chuckled and rubbed the spot where she'd hit him. Oh it had hit him and left a nasty burn...but he had been ready for it and countered. While the majority of his power was locked away, he still had some tricks up his sleeve. Terry took a few steps and picked up the horn carved dagger and turned it over in his hands a little, inspecting it before giving a snort and wandering back over to her, "...I seem to recall us being at this spot before..." He crouched down onto the balls of his feet beside Zynn, tapping her with the blade, "...I think I'll let you live again...let's see how many people it takes for me to take away from you before you break and surrender what I want or simply give up." He wasn't sure if she was still conscious enough to hear him or not but with the message given, he saw no reason to continue to remain and headed off with the souvenir.

They had been in a similar situation, almost two years ago, yes. But at least she wasn't bleeding out on the street this time, and no one she loved was dead beside her. There was a half-hearted noise in response to being tapped with her knife, but she didn't stir. His words didn't gather much of a response from her, or any, rather. It was hard to tell if she had heard his words or not, and even if she had, she couldn't do much about it. He walked away, unhindered.



((Many thanks to Gothrak! ))

((The following events take place late evening of the 6th of May, and carry on into the early morning on the 7th of May. They were made possible by Gothrak's player! <3))

Her night had been a mess. Between the perverts at the bar, and getting into a barfight, and her brother getting arrested for not knowing when to stop. So, while they processed her brother, she wandered, seeking some place that was not so.... busy with people. She had just rounded the corner to the hall that advertised vending Machines, when her phone rang. There was a frantic moment of her failing around in her purse, before she finally found the ringing thing. Her mother's number lit up the screen. Aw, crap. It was like the woman's motherly 6th sense had gone off of something. A thumb swiped across the screen to answer, and she brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hi Mom. We're gonna be back soon. I promise."

An intake of breath from the other end in a hiss came out, "Ooo, so close. But no." It wasn't her mother's voice...it was Terry, "Would you like to buy a vowel?"

Her heart plummeted to her feet when she heard his voice, instead of her mothers. "You sunava-bitch. Where is she?" The words were practically snarled.

"She? Who?" She could hear the smirk in his voice, "Ohhhh, Meredith? She's...ahh..little tied up at the moment."

"Don't-." Her voice cracked. "You hurt her and I'll make sure you never find it. You'll spend the rest of your miserable existence stuck as what ever pathetic thing you wanna call yourself." Anger rolled off of her in waves. The air seemed to almost take on an electric charge of sorts.

He tisked at her, "Those sorts of threats aren't good for your dear mother's heart. Or the rest of her for that matter." In the background, Zynn could hear a yelp of pain before he snorted, "You have an hour to find my item...or we're going to play a little game. I'll be in touch, little witch."

She flinched at her mother's yelp of pain. "God damnnit. You're gonna regret everything you do to her." She wished she could reach through the phone and do something right now. Like strangle him. She didn't respond to his mention of a call, or the mention of a game. But what ever energy was coming off her, did. It surged, briefly, with her anger. Up above, lights flickered. Somewhere, one exploded and went dark. Then she twisted on her heel, and started stalking back to the area where she had been told to wait, all the while she was scrolling through her phone. Trying to think, Trying to figure out what to do.


It was about twenty minutes or so before the officer came back out, and found her in the waiting area. Zynn, who had been anxiously waiting for one of the officers to come out and find her, nearly left from the chair she'd been sitting in, and to her feet. The officer heaved a sigh. "...Your brother is under eighteen, I need to contact parents, unfortunately, I get an answering machine when I call. Is there an alternate number?"

"Uh. No not really. I actually just talked to her a few moments ago. There's been a family emergency. Can you let my brother know that she's sorry he's gonna be stuck here for the night, but it's urgent?"

The officer frowned a little, looking back behind him a moment, he was a rookie and it showed, "Uh...I suppose we can hold him for 24 hours...Get your mother to call and come down to the station as soon as she can, alright?"

"You're a doll. I'll make sure she does. Thank you." She forced a smile out, before she twisted, and took off for the door.


Once she was outside, she was dialing Joe's number and bringing the phone up to her ear.

After it rang a couple of times, "Joe speaking." The gruff voice answered, it was getting late...not that it mattered, he sounded like that at all hours anyway.

"Hey. It's Zynn. He's got my mother somewhere. He wants what ever the fuck it is that he's searching for, and gave me like an hour. Which is kinda like thirty minutes because the cops took forever." Rapid words, with very little explanation. The panic in her voice was very evident.

"Wait, what? Slow down, girl. Breathe." He grumbled before it took a minute for everything to catch up, "He's got your mother. Terry? Did he say what would happen in the hour?"

Breathe. That was a good thing to do that she wasn't doing enough of. She sucked in a shuddering breath before she spoke this time, careful to not speak so fast. "No. The president of the united states." The response was snarky. "He said that we'd play a game if I didn't have it."

"No need to be sarcastic." He grumbled back at her before sighing, "How do you know he has her? Does he have your phone number?"

"He called me from her phone. Her hurt her while he was on the phone with him. I wouldn't have called if I thought it was some kind of ruse. I don't even know where he has her. I can-" Her breathing hitched, caught, she had been speaking frantically again towards the end of it.

"Where are you?" He asked after a moment. He could tell she was upset and rightfully so, "Are you safe?" His loyalty was to Zynn, having been Imogen's daughter.

"I'm outside the police station. I'm safe." Kind of. At this point she'd probably just fry the brains of whoever pissed with her. She was just in that kind of a mood.

"Alright...meet me at your hotel and we'll figure out what to do, okay? She'll be alright....you have something he wants, he wouldn't throw away his only bargaining chip." It sucked to call a living person that but it was all Terry would see the woman as right then anyway.

"I don't even know what it is he wants. But he doesn't know that. The moment he finds out he'll kill her for fun. I'll be at the hotel in like. Ten minutes."

"Alright. I'll meet you there." He hung up, leaving her alone again with her thoughts on the busy night time street. Time ticking down to the hour deadline, who knew what sort of game would be played by the demon.
Once she had hung up on her end, she shoved her phone into her purse, and picked up her pace. Time was running out.


Joe met her in the lobby of the hotel her and her family had been staying at ten minutes before Terry was due to call, cigarette hanging from his lips. He got stopped just inside the door by a worker, telling him smoking was prohibited in that section.

The older man leveled the kid with a frown before plucking the cigarette out of his mouth and stabbing it into the no smoking sign to crush it out before meeting up with Zynnara.

Ah. She could have applauded him for doing so. If she had been in a better mood. She was checking her phone when she came into the lobby, more than likely checking how long they had before Terry called. Ten minutes. It wasn't very long. "Come onnn." It was said in passing, as she was heading straight for the elevator, instead of stopping to greet him.

He spotted her and followed, getting there as the doors opened. "...How long?" Joe asked as the button for her room was pushed, another cigarette being pulled from a package and put between his lips now that he was out of sight of the killjoy.

"Ten minutes." It was said softly. The scent of cigarettes that he brought with her was enough to make her crave. Going through her bag in search of her own didn't take long.

He made a noise in his throat as he flicked open a zippo, lighting the cancer stick and taking a deep draw. Seeing that she had a smoke of her own, he flicked the flame to life again, holding it out for her to light up from.

She had been going to light it herself when she realized: '...Wait. Not the smartest idea.' And he was offering a light. So she leaned over and lit her cigarette from the flame. Her first draw was long, and sucked in deep.

Once the cherry blazed, he clicked the zippo closed and tucked it back away into his well worn trench coat. He was quiet as he contemplated what to do...it would help if they knew where Terry was and would help even more if they knew where the hell Imogen had hid the item, whatever the hell it was...


"I'm so at loss as to what to do. I don't know what it could even possibly be. She didn't tell you? Weren't you like... Involved with it or something?" Hr brows drew down, as she continued to puff away.

He sighed, smoke billowing a bit, "...Yes...and no. I helped her locate the spells required and kept the Conclave off her back since they were pretty ancient and pretty restricted items..." Joe sighed, part of the reason he'd been branded a traitor and imprisoned.

He shook his head, "Most of her life was in her apartment and I haven't been able to get in there...I suspect some sort of clue would be there...if not the item itself."

"She must have warded to everyone but me and her." Because she normally crashed there when she didn't want to head home to Rhy'din. "I guess I'm gonna have to check soon." It was said softly, before she took another drag, and pondered things. Like the fact that he'd kept the conclave off of her back, and why. Terry must be powerful, for stuff like that. Right?


Joe didn't seem to be wanting to be forth coming with much information other than that without being prodded. He simply sat down on the foot of one of the beds in the hotel room and puffed, frowning as he too pondered things.

She had flopped down of the bed, sprawled across it, and very quickly smoked her cigarette down to a stub. She started reaching for her purse to dig out another.

Then her phone rang, her mother number lighting up the screen once again. A thumb across the screen answered, and once again, she brought it up to her ear.

Her only greeting he received was silence.

That was all she had managed to get out, before he hung up. If it hadn't been for the fact that she needed her phone because it was the only link to her mother, she would have flung it up against the wall. But she did need it, so Instead, she dropped it on the bed, and whirled around on her foot to face Jospeh. "You should have kept your mouth shut." The words were growled at him, dangerously low. Her anger at him flared with the words, bubbled, and boiled over. The lights over head flickered briefly, then exploded with quiet pops, and left the both of them in the dark. She lingered for about two seconds, before she headed for the door, based on what she remembered from the room's lay out.

"I'm not about to let Imogen's daughter get herself killed by being a hot headed idiot." He snapped back and stood when the lights went out. "You need to calm down and think! We'll go to your mother's apartment and search for any sort of clue, alright?"

Her calculations were off by a couple of feet. She fumbled through the darkness for a moment. "Screw you." It was growled as she jerked the door open, briefly illuminating the room. It was pulled shut behind her in the middle of his last sentence. She already intended to search her mother's apartment. And he was right. She was being a hot head. But her family was involved.

He grit his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose as he stood there a moment before striding to the door and yanking it open to follow her.

She was almost at the elevator by the time he came out of the room. Woman with a mission moved fast. She didn't bother looking behind her when she heard the door open.

He had long legs but almost didn't make the elevator doors as they were closing. His hand cut through the air, and the doors reversed, opening so he could step in and frown at her, "I'm trying to help you, kid but you certainly don't make it easy." Joe muttered, "My car is out front. Or are you going to be a stubborn brat and bus it?"

The first response he got when he caught the door just before it closed, was a growl. The response to his second statement was a snort. "He's going to keep hurting her until there's nothing left to be broken. " His last question, was met with silence for a moment. "If you think I'm a brat now you should have been around more when I was little." She scoffed. "I'm only accepting a ride because taking the bus takes forever. If I didn't have a time limit I'd tell you to go away, and bus it."

He sighed, shaking his head, looking at his feet a moment but decided it wasn't worth arguing about. He couldn't help her if she didn't want to be helped. "Fine. If you don't want my help, I'll drop you off and disappear, but I'm telling you if you're just going to trade the item and give him what he wants, you'll have bigger problems."

She shot him a withering look at his words, and leaned back against the elevator wall. "Then what am I supposed to do? The longer we take, the more her hurts her. Because of me. It's my fault she's there."

He sighed, "...I'm still thinking on that..." Joe murmured, "...if she had that...whatever the item is...maybe she has other things. I know she kept a journal...maybe check there first?"

"Book of shadows. It's kinda like a journal. But has spells and stuff like that. It is a good Idea. Start there? I know where that is." She nodded a couple of times, and chewed at her lower lip. There was already a hole there. She was just making it bigger.

"Very well." Joseph lead her outside to the parking spot he'd left his car at. An old clunker of a vehicle with paint chipping from it and that sounded like several noise violations just waiting to happen when he started the engine. She eyed the car cautiously when he started it, as she hadn't climbed in yet. "Are you positive that it's safe to be In this thing?'' Her brows arched just a little.

The older Nephilim rolled his eyes, "It's fine. Get in. Like you said, it's faster than the bus. Come on."

"Uh-huh." She didn't sound like she believed him. But regardless, he had a point, and she climbed in, and shut this door. "Is
this one of those cars that will fall apart if you wash it?"

He gave a snort through his nose and put the old clunker into gear and sped down the street, cutting off a rather nice looking car. He was confident the people with nice cars would be careful not to hit him lest they mar they're babies.
"The car runs fine." He muttered. The car rumbled and shook every time he switched gears.

When he hit the gas, she muttered a couple of curses under her breath, and her hands instinctively clung to the armrests. Her eyes rolled in his direction when he said the car ran fine. "You at least need a tuneup. Jesus, this car makes more noise than a busy night at a brothel." She snorted softly,

"How would you know?" Joe snorted back. It would still be about a half hour before they got to her apartment, time would not stand still for anyone.

"I went to one. On a busy night, Halloween celebration. Had a lot of fun, until I thought my boyfriend died." Slooow blink. She was dead serious.

The Nephilim spared a glance over to her, looking confused before giving a 'huh...' of a noise, not wanting to ask questions.

"Long Night. Long story." She shrugged when she caught his look, and relaxed a little. From time to times as her drove, she'd check her phone.

The time ticked by fast as they drove to her apartment to search for Imogen's book of shadows. Joe pulled up front but waited, looking over, "So...am I sticking around or am I pissing off?"

She was quiet for a moment after he asked his question. "Stay. You knew her as a friend. You may be able to pick up on something that I haven't." This was murmured soft, before she opened the door, and climed out, thankful to be on solid ground again.

He nodded and turned off the engine to get out of the car as well. He would stay quiet and let her lead the way. He had a stoic if not slightly sad look on his face as they entered the apartment.

She unlocked the door with quiet, and pushed it open. Then she slipped inside and left the door open for him to shut when he was through. "There's soda in the fridge. And I think the left overs are safe." She made her way to her mother's room, and came back moments later with a rather thick tome.

He simply nodded, slowly walking about the apartment as if seeing things that weren't there. Fingers straying against walls or shelving. His eyes flicked to her when she came back with the book, squinting at it a bit, "...It looks different from what I remember...but...time does do funny things to the mind."

"Stuff got moved around. I know at one point someone gave us a new couch." She paused, and shrugged. "Any clue as to where to start in here?" She hefted up the book in mention, before settling it on the table with a thump.

"Hm...maybe...are there dates in there or just spells and events?" Joe wandered over to the table to look.
She moved to pull a chair out and sit. "They're dated. She was rather meticulous about dating things." It was a skill she had picked up that helped with making sure that she kept her herbs and the like fresh.

He gave a faint smile, nodding once, "Yeah...okay. Uh...would have been about seventeen years ago..in the late springtime I think...."

"So around May then?" She paused, and eyed the book for a moment. Seventeen years was long ago. So she figured she'd flip it open from the front, and started flipping pages until she was in the right year.

There were a few entries for that month. They revolved around a particular old relic of an item coming into Imogen's hands through unknown means. That her friend Terry had found it in the storage room of his wife's apartment building. She paused when she found the entry, and tapped at it lightly. "I think this may be a place to start. Talks about an old relic thing."

"Relic?" Joe frowned and looked at the entry, scanning it then nodded, "Yeah....yeah start there." He scratched his haed as he thought, "I remember a knife...but...I was pretty sure it was just a regular knife. Old but regular...."

"Maybe it wasn't as regular as you though?" It was mused in thought, before she fell quiet in her flipping through the book.

As they continued to search, time ticked away until Zynn's phone rang...it had been an hour already. Joe winced and murmured, "...she'll be okay. He needs her..." Was all he would say, resigning himself to staying quiet this time.

As she read through the entries, she kind of became absorbed, and forgot to check her phone from time to time, so when the phone rang, she flinched. Her eyes ticked towards Joseph. "There's still always Rinn." It was said flatly. She stared at her phone for a long moment, and almost seemed like she wasn't going to answer.

The soft upbeat tune of her ringtone went on.
Five seconds...
Ten seconds...
Fifteen...
Twenty....
Twenty one...
Twenty two...
Twenty three...

"You said that giving him this thing was dangerous, yes?" Her words were still sharp, and there was still energy rolling off of her in waves.

He nodded, "Absolutely...if the item is still in tact and he uses it, he'll regain his full powers and abilities."

"Then what the fuck do you suggest doing that doesn't have me handing it over or answering another ****ing phone call and dealing with that again?" It was asked bluntly.


Joe sighed, rubbing a hand over his face...he had been trying to think of a plan. "...He won't be able to tell if it's the item until he actually holds it." He licked his lips and looked to the phone then back to her, "...We find something that looks old and tell him that's it...make the exchange and be done?"

She was quiet for a moment, considering his plan, then him. "Do you have anything old, other than you or your car, that we can use?" She arched her brows at him just a little.

"Ha ha." He muttered dryly then sighed, thinking, "...Not anything that would pass for a talisman or something to be used in a ritual." Joe scratched his jaw, "Not here anyway...and not close enough to save you another one of those phone calls..."

"There's an ass load of crystals in the living room. I know those are used for rituals." She drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly. Some of the electricity in the air fizzled out after she had done so. "Uh. What else is there possibly? There's a bunch of old books, And uh. I think she has an athame here somewhere."

"That might do it..." He murmured, "...Call the number and get the location to make the trade..." He sighed, "We'll get your mother away from him then deal with whatever happens next when it happens, right?"

"What Might? The Athame?" She blinked a couple of times. Then she pointed a finger at him. "Not yet. Calling him immediately after he'd just hung up would make him suspicious. Thirty minutes. Enough time to find it, and then call?" She paused, before she nodded. "Getting her away from him is most important. Then medical attention."

He nodded solemnly, "I heard..." Joe sighed, looking around the apartment before standing, "Well...best get to looking then, hm?"

"It's either in her room. Or over there, on the shelf with all the witchy things. It should be in a plain wooden box, I think. I'll look in her room." Which left him with the shelf. Whether he liked it or not.

He nodded, heading over to the shelf to assist in the search. He was a little annoyed the girl wasn't more grateful for his assistance but he understood she was under distress so he wouldn't snap at her. He sighed and searched, trying to avoid the photographs and memories of his friend that was gone too soon.

Once he had started towards the shelf that she pointed out, she turned on a heel, and started back towards the room she had mentioned, and started searching the various obvious spots first. The altar on the dresser, the shelves and dusty bookcases.

It was hard to avoid them. They were everywhere. On the shelves, and just about any other surface viable for a photo frame. It seemed like Imogen had done a rather thorough job in documenting Zynn's progress as she grew.

He sighed, eyebrows pulling down a little. He didn't even know where she was buried to pay his respects. Joe murmured something under his breath before he searched in earnest for the ceremonial dagger.

She may take him if he asked, when all of this was said and done with. He probably had to search several moments, before he possibly came across a box that looked as she described. Plain, wooden, looked big enough to hold an athame.

He nodded and reached for it, dusting it off before checking inside to confirm before he called, "Found it."
A couple moments later Zynn slunk back out of the bedroom, encouraged by his call. "You did?" Murmured softly as she neared him.

He nodded once and held the open box to her, "Yeah..." Joe murmured, "Now we just have to think of a plan...how the exchange will happen...what sort of shape does she look in when you saw last? I mean...I know it was bad, but does she have the power to run from him if she needs to?"

She went quiet at his question, and grit her teeth against the anger that flared up following it, Only this time it was at herself. "No. He drilled her foot. There's no way she can run on that."

He winced then sighed, nodding, "Alright...What about putting the item on the ground and making it the halfway point? We back up, Meredith moves to the knife without him, she throws it to him then continues on her way to us? Because he's not stupid...he's not going to trust you'll hand over the knife if he let's her go first..."

She was quiet, considering his words, before she nodded. "That sounds like a good plan to me." It was probably better than any of hers, because they all included lots of violence. She paused, and let her eyes settle on him. "Can I ask you for a Favor?"

He raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"If he realizes that we tricked him, you get her out of there, before you focus on me. I can take more of what ever he decides to do. Okay? She can't. I can't watch him hurt her any more."

He pressed his lips into a thin line, clearly not liking that idea. He glanced back to the happy pictures of Zynnara and Imogen and the various stages of the little adopted family's life then sighed and looked back to the warlock, "Fine. Alright."

She thought he was going to tell her no when that look crossed his face. But he didn't. "Thank you." The words were breathed softly, and a line of tension melted from her shoulders. "I have a call to make then." She drew in a deep breath, and stepped away from him, and towards the table where she had dropped the phone. Once she had reached it, she picked it up, and brought it up, so she could bring up her mother's number, and hit call. Then the phone was pressed to her ear.

She stood there for a moment, and stared at the phone quietly. A finger came up to swipe the end of the call on her part. Then her eyes ticked towards Joe, who was currently preoccupied with looking through the book of shadows. "Come on. The book stays here. You can read it when my mom's no longer in the clutches of that bastard. And Like I said. She's first priority. You get her out don;t look after me. I am the only one who has an inkling as to where it is. He won't kill me because he knows that." Pause. She hoped. "Or else after what we're trying to do, he said he'll start sending me pieces of her instead."

"Hn....got it...not sure which one is exactly number four but I know the area." The retired nephilim nodded and headed out the door, making his way to the wreck of a vehicle. Zynn's phone buzzed with a text. Gothrak, the demon had no idea what had been going on so it was another one of his goofy emoji messages.

Zynn moved to follow after him, intent on wasting little to no time. As for her phone, when it buzzed and chimed, she was almost afraid to look at it. But she did, and seemed to relax when it was just a message from Gothrak. As she opened the door, and dropped into the passenger's seat, she typed out a message. 'Hey. not a good time. Terry has Mom. going to get her. Love you.' Then her eyes danced towards Joe. "We'll figure out the warehouse when we get there. For now. Lets go. We have about fifty minutes."

Joe started up the rumbling monster of a car. After a moment, the phone buzzed again. 'Oh. Need help? Love you too...be careful.'

'Nah. I got this, plus an old friend of my mother, adoptive is helping me out. And I will be.' Or at least she'd try.

'Alright. <3' And then nothing. Gothrak was bored and lonely.
The Nephilim was quiet as he drove, navigating the busy city streets towards the south side.

She missed him. That much she could admit about the demon. Not going home to him at night was hard, and she probably needed him now, more than ever. But she wasn't going to ask him to be here. Not yet anyways. There was a moment, where her fingers hesitated above her phone, before she tapped out a 'Miss you.' And hit send. Then she checked the time,

'Miss you too.' Not much else to say. He would leave her be to deal with her own problems. He knew Zynn was perfectly capable of taking care of business...but he would still worry of course.

Only 20 minutes had gone by since the phone call and they were over halfway there.

She left his message at that. And didn't type out a response. And noting how well the time seemed to be passing this time, she relaxed, back against the seat of the car, and simply watched as the world blurred by at the moment.


Joe was quiet for a little while but as they got closer to the docks, he asked, "....What are you going to do?" He didn't look over, watching the road instead.

"I don't know. Fling myself at him. Fight tooth and nail to make sure you two get out of there safe. Be the biggest pain in the ass that I can possibly be."

The older man pressed his lips firmly together, clearly not liking that reckless plan but he really had no others, "...Your mom will suffer more if you end up getting yourself killed, girl."

"I won't die. With just me. I have the information that he needs. He won't Kill me." She paused for a moment. "Just don't leave me with him too long. There's a name under my contacts. Gothrak. If I can't get outta there with you. call him and let him know what's happened. He will be angry. Just a forewarning. He's my boyfriend." Pause. "I'd suggest steering clear of the text messages if you wish to not see things like dicks and boobs." Ever so honest.

He would nod at the information, making note of it then shooting her a double take for the comment about dicks and boobs. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, muttering something about kids and selfies, "Is he a warlock as well?"

His double take, made her smirk. For some reason that felt satisfying to see him do. "No. He's not. He's a demon. He's very big. And incredibly protective of me." Oh so sweet smile.

His face fell into a deep set frown at the mention of him being a demon, "I am not calling a fucking demon." Joe growled, ah good ol' prejudice.

Her eyes narrowed on him. "Ah. Grow up. It's the 21st century. I'm fucking him." She paused. and let her eyes settle on his. "Don't. He finds out you knew and didn't tell you, I think he'd have fun ripping you a new one. Or you find out some way to get my brother out of jail, and have my brother call him." So that it was clear that she wouldn't take any protest. she leaned over and shoved her phone into his jacket pocket.

He made a face, "You are willingly having sexual relations with a demon..." He shook his head, certainly sounding judgmental but he would drop it. There were more important things after all.
They pulled onto the avenue with rows of warehouses with large numbers on top of them. He saw 16 and 15...it seemed that they counted down the further they went.

"Mhhm. He's not like the demons here. Much prettier." She arched a brow slowly, as if she expected him to say more, just based on his face. When he stayed quiet, so did she, and instead, let her attention roll towards the Warehouses. It wasn't until his car slowed, and they finally reached warehouse four, that she was already starting to make for yanking the door open, and getting out of his car. "Keep your doors unlocked. No one will want to steal it anyways."

He nodded, "Alright..." He opened his door to get out as well. The light at the side of the warehouse was one, a chain link fence closed but not locked.

She made grabby hands at him for the athame, when he got out of the car as well. She should probably have it. Right? She figured that was best, considering she was supposed to be the one making the trade.

He held it out for her to take and then gestured for her to lead. He would keep watch, it was her show.

She hoped he missed. Prayed he did. She snarled in response to his words, aimed to tighten the hold she had on him. She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to though, considering several differing factors. "Guess what, Asshole. I'm right here." The words were ground out between gritted teeth.

"Yes. Yes you are." He snarled and the gun went off again before he dropped it. His now free and unmangled hand groping for the dagger that was still embedded into her shoulder.

The gunfire made her flinch. It was loud, and in her ear. With a growl, she aimed to drive her elbow into his ribs. It was shortly after that, he started making grabby hands for the dagger in her shoulder. Her attention ticked that way. "Holy shit." She sucked in a breath, and tried to remain just a little calm still. She twisted away, trying to keep him from grabbing at it, and aimed to elbow the ribs again.

He gave a grunt and wince at the repeated blows to his ribs but kept close to her. It was difficult to wrestle with just one hand functional so he would try kicking at her instep or knee.

His foot managed to connect with her instep. She hadn't been expecting that, and it showed, with the way her leg buckled, and she gave a yelp. Her first and only reaction? Was to cling onto him as she lost her footing and struggled to find it again. If that off set his balance that probably meant they were both going to end of on the ground.

He twisted, grabbing her and falling, attempting to get her to fall under him or at least take the majority of the impact, "You are going to regret this, girl." Terry snarled, once again groping for the dagger in her shoulder.

She had no control over the way she fell. She had not been anticipating to do so, so she more than likely did take the brunt of the fall, if not all of it. The thud of her body was accompanied by the crack of her head hitting pavement. Stars swam across her vision, and the edges darkened, briefly. Her breath left in one great big huff. The look on her face was of someone that was definitely dazed. But he was speaking again. She growled in response.


He straddled her, his hand finally managing to get hold of the dagger and twist it deep into her shoulder before yanking it free and pressing it tight to her throat. She could feel the metal biting into her soft skin but he didn't slash her throat open, just holding it there to keep her down.

There was a muffled shriek that came from gritted teeth when he twisted the dagger deeper, then pulled it free. Blood very willingly oozed out of the hole he left. Her body arched as the pain lanced through it, and she bucked against him, trying to get him off of her some how. Though, the moment she felt the tight pressure of the blade against her neck, she gave a whimper and stilled. Her eyes, when the finally swam back into focus on him.

His eyes were still yellow and half mad with absolute rage. His hand on the blade shook a little with the fury he felt. He snarled down at her, "I gave you Meredith and this is how you deal? Just like Imogen, betrayers in the end." He snapped and pressed the blade harder into her neck, nicking her skin, "I should just slit your throat and be done with you."

Betrayers. She focused on that. Focused on him a little more, when she felt the blade bite into her skin. "B-Betrayers?" When he mentioned just slitting her throat, she have a harsh sound, that could be taken as a laugh. "Y-Your chance... of getting t-that item... dies if I-I ...d-die." She sounded like she was having issues finding the words she wanted to use, and actually speak them.

"Yes. Betrayers. Imogen betrayed me..nn....Betrayed Terrance." He corrected himself, "And you betrayed our deal." He growled and she could feel him trembling, he really wanted to slit her throat...but instead, he sneered, "There are worse things, right? I'll make you suffer them all until you hand it over."

"H-ho-w...The word trailed off, her thought that she had been about to voice had flown away from her. Briefly her eyes lost focus, before she shook her head, and focused her attention on the man that loomed above her, "Good Li.. L-Luck." The words, though struggled with, were defiant

He growled and pulled back, delivering a vicious and powerful punch to her jaw.

Her head snapped back a little with the punch, and there was some kind of strangled noise that escaped her in response to the vicious blow. That couple with the way she had fallen earlier, and connected her head with the pavement. was enough to knock her out, because a couple seconds later he'd feel feel her body go slack beneath him.

He looked around, Meredith and Joe already back at the car. He was tempted to go after them and just remove the problems before they could be more of one but he had what he wanted...well...at least the best chance he had at getting what he wanted. Terry stood and winced at the pain in his mangled hand...that was slowly healing. It would not grow the fingers back but the wounds would heal over faster than a human's should.

He glared down at Zynnara's unconscious form a moment before heaving her up onto his shoulder to carry to his own waiting vehicle. It would be time to find a new hiding place to play a new game.

Him not perusing her mother and Joe was exactly what she had intended. So if she had been able to think properly, she would have counted it as a win in her book. The most noise she made when he picked her was was a quiet groan that escaped at some point that he scooped her up. What ever he was wearing was most likely going to be sticky with blood by the time he was finished carrying her to the car. He probably appreciated her being knocked out, as she was so much more compliant when it was so. She wasn't going to stir any time soon.

((Warning. If you do not like blood and torture, do not read))

The spanse of several hours had gone and passed, before she finally started to show signs of stirring. A soft groan. A twitch of fingers. With consciousness came the pain of her wound, the throbbing of her head. "Nhh." The sound was soft, before she let her eyes flicker open, before she tried to sit up. Where was she? What had happened? Why did she feel like she had been hit by a bus? What had been everything she had... seen when she had been out? Her head swam, thick, heavy, and full of confusion.

The warlock would find herself unable to sit up like she wanted. Thick leather buckle strap restraints held Zynnara to an old gurney, the sort that were used on folks that were a harm or risk to themselves in mental institutions. It was difficult to tell where she was due to the pounding in her skull and the bright florescent lights overhead that flickered and blinked.

There was a yank given against her restraints and the lights were squinted against. Her mother had stabbed Terry. The look on his face had said that the man hadn't known that part of the plan. God. Her head hurt. Some of the previous events came to surface. The exchange, hitting her head. The bite of the athame against her neck, and Terry looming over her right before everything went dark. "Nnn...Nn.." She sounded like she was struggling with a word. Another pull against the restraints, this time a bit more frantic than before. "Nnn.. No."

The straps on her wrists and ankles did not give, holding her fast to her prone position. "Oh, awake now are you?" Terry's voice came from across the room before he wandered into her field of vision, holding two knives in his hands. One, a straight black handled anthme and the other an off ivory colored crude blade with a leather wrapped handle.

His voice had her attention rolling his way. He got a soft groan in response to his question. When he stepped into her field of vision, he blocked some of the light from above, and her eyes lessened in their squinting. They came to settle on the two blades in his hand. The Athame, and the one that looked to me made of bone. It was the latter that her eyes settled on completely.

He stabbed the ceremonial dagger into the mattress beside her head, wiggling the bone blade loosely between his thumb and forefinger, "Interesting knife...where'd you get it?"

She flinched when he stabbed the ceremonial dagger into the mattress beside her head, and muttered something incomprehensible. Then her attention focused on the blade again. Where did she get it? She... Wait. That's right. The blade was hers. It had been given to her. "Was... a... gi... gift."

"A gift?...hn.." He inspected it before looking back to her. He gave a shrug and dragged the flat of the blade along her arm then her leg as he made his way down to stand at the foot of the bed, "...I'm torn between asking you questions or just cutting on you for a little while first and let your betrayal sink in."

A tremble ran through her body, first when the blade touched and trailed down her arm, and again when it did the same along her leg. She had been expecting him to put more pressure than that on it. At his words she made a sound that sounded like an attempt at a snort. "Up t-to... you." It was an attempt at dry humor. She knew there wasn't much that she could do to influence his choice either way.

He smirked, "Very true." He placed the blade to her heel, holding it there a moment as he watched her, "I guess I could ask once. Where is the real item that I am owed?"

Her foot twitched at the touch of the blade. Her eyes rolled to focus on him again. "Ss..omewhere... that you w-won't.... find it. Pur... Promise."

He snorted, "...You'd better hope I do or after I'm done with torturing you, I'm going to go and ask Rinn where he might think it is...and then maybe your mother again." He shook his head and began sliding the blade up along the sole of her foot like he was slicing a piece of cheese. From heel to ball of foot, Terry exposed layers of her skin that were never supposed to see the light of day.

"Hn. F- *****.. yo-" What ever else she was going to say was lost in the cry that escaped her when he started slicing the skin on the bottom of her foot. Her body jerked, arched and stiffened against the pain, and her hands, grasped at the bed beneath her in their restraints. It felt like the bottom of her foot was on fire. Soon enough, she gave a whimper.

He let the pain sink in for a little bit. Terry had no clue that the blade was infused with Hellfire considering the material that had been used to create it. Any cut or stab made with that particular knife burned with an added fire along with the usual pain of being cut.

"...You know...there's a sort of entertaining quality to cutting on you with your own knife."

It took several moments for her body to untense and relax against the pain that was shooting up her leg from the bottom of her foot. She merely gritted her teeth against the pain. and growled in response to his words.

He chuckled and tapped her toes of the opposite foot with the flat of the blade before placing it at her heel. Terry didn't ask any questions this time, he just peeled up along the sole of her foot as he had with the first.

Ah. Just as she had started to relax, he started cutting on her other foot. It jerked in the restraint,and another cry escaped her, as the blade left a spanse of burning, sensitive flesh in its wake.

Terry smirked and wiped the blood off the blade on the leg of her pants, "Change your mind yet? Cause this will get a lot worse for you...."

She almost said yes... but the urgency that Joe had insisted in the fact that Terry not get the dagger came to mind. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to focus the stretch and burn of her lungs instead of the pain that lanced up her legs.. "No." The word was growled


He snorted, shaking his head, "Alright." He stabbed the blade between her legs at about the knees so he had his hand free to remove his belt. He stayed at her feet, flipping the belt to fold in half, the leather becoming a useful strap to lay in a beating with. Terry's yellow eyes went to hers a moment and he smirked before his attention returned to her newly bloodied feet. He pulled back and delivered a sharp and hard strike with the strap across the wounds, sending fresh jolts of pain lancing up Zynn's legs.

Her attention strained to see what he was doing, and after a moment or two, she gave up, and simply let her head roll back against the bed. She heard the clink of a belt buckle, but didn't yet realize what he was doing, until the belt connected with the already sensitive bottoms of her feet, and sent a lash of pain through her body that was almost blinding. The shriek she gave choked off into a sob.

He gave her poor abused feet a few lashes with the belt, waiting just a moment between strikes or varying when he landed with them. Keeping her guessing and jumpy but most importantly, in pain.

Each lash that connected with her feet, earned him a shriek, yelp, or some other kind of noise, with broken sobs in between. The pain was relentless, ever growing, and constant, due to each new strike.

After a little while, he stopped, placing a hand on her shin, patting it, "You're a pretty tough nut to crack, little witch. But I don't understand why. As soon as I get what I want, I'll be nothing but a bad memory for you and your family."

"Hnn." Her leg shuddered under his touch. "Trusting...., you... is like trusting... angels." It was followed by a bitter laugh. Her focus swam, before settling and focusing on him. "You... don't."

He growled through grit teeth, his yellow eyes gleaming as he glared at her. Terry fed his belt back through the loops on his pants, sparing her from any further lashes to the feet for now. He stalked off but remained in the room, she could still hear him but due to her strapped down position, it was difficult to twist around to see where exactly he was.
He came back, holding a large socket wrench and without a word, brought it down onto the shin he had patted moments before. Heavy metal met soft flesh and cracked bone.

Her eyes followed him as far as her head would let him, before she gave a shuddering sigh, relishing in the brief respite his moving gave her. Her eyes moved to find him again when he came back into view, and to the socket wrench in his hand. She realized what he was going to do when he raised it, and struggled fruitlessly against her restraints. She screamed when it connected, and bone cracked. Her stomach lurched,

He sneered at her when she screamed, "Trust me, little witch...you're going to wish you were dealing with an angel when I'm finally done with you."

She stopped struggling, and her scream settled into huffy pants of breath. What ever response she had planned to say came out as a growl from clenched teeth, before she closed her eyes, and rocked her head back to rest against the mattress. This was most definitely worse than being shot, on her levels of pain experienced.

He set the heavy ended wrench down with the knife on the bed between her legs, heading off for a moment again to grab a new tool. It seemed he had a toolbox nearby as when he returned, he had a pair of needle nose pliers with him and waggled them at her head, "I don't think it's a matter of trust really, I mean...if anything, I should be doubting anything you say. You're the one that went back on the deal after all, I've been nothing but honest." He chatted as if talking about the weather with an old friend as he slipped the pliers tongs into one of the loop earrings that lined the cartilage of her ear and clamped down on it, "But, you know...pain can be a good motivator." Terry smirked and with a sharp yank, tore the clasped earring from Zynnara's ear, leaving a bloody gash where it had torn through her skin.

"Ha." The sound was soft. She felt him sent the wrench down near the knife, heard him walk off again to get what ever else it was that he was going to use next. When he approached again, she opened her eyes again, and blinked at the pliers he waggled before her. "Go.. Good luck." The words were scoffed softly, right before he took and earring with the pliers, and ripped it out. With a whimper, she closed her eyes.

"You are a silly girl. You may not live through this, you know? And for what? Just to delay me getting what I want for another day? Week? Maybe years, who knows, but I will get it and you will have wasted your last day." He shrugged and grabbed another earring to rip from her ear. She certainly had a lot of them.

"It.. would be... bad." She was trembling in her restraints, thanks to the pain. "Mm... Mm-Mom risked... it all.. to d-do what she did.... Not... gonna... play in undoing... it." Her teeth snapped together this time when he ripped another earring free from her ear.

He rolled his eyes, "Loyalty to a woman that destroyed your family. Honestly, because that's what she did....she murdered her friend, trapping me in here. He was so looking forward to having a family, even if two of them weren't from his seed. If it wasn't for Imogen, you could have grown up knowing your mother, sister and brother."
Of course, it was the demon's fault but hey, it was in his nature to try to blame it all on Imogen. Perhaps he really did believe it.
Another earring torn and discarded.

"Nn... No. Something... went wrong. Mah.. Mal-Mal...functioned It..Ah." What ever else she had been intending on saying floated away from her mind, leaving her with a half formed thought, and nothing to back it up with. So when he ripped the next earring out? She growled against the pain, and in frustration.

He paused a moment, waggling the now bloody pliers at her, "How would you know? You were what? 4?" Terry snorted and went to grab another earring, "Whatever. Believe what you want. You can believe your adopted mommy was a saint. But if she was so kind and good and it was an accident, how come she didn't let your birth mother know she had you, huh?" He tsked and tore out another earring.

"S-saw it." she sucked in a deep breath and held it when he ripped this earring out. She let it all out in a hiss afterwards. "Nnh. Not that.. you... you care." Her eyes moved to find him and facus, before she forced a half smile against the pain. "You still ended... up trapped... and powerless." She paused as she considered his last question, "B-Because of you.."

He snorted, "You're right...I don't care about how you grew up. If you had stayed with me, I would have figured out some way to get rid of some other demon's spawn like you. Terry loved you kids, poor guy. I almost feel...felt sorry for him." The demon inside snorted and it stood to reason, did part of Terry still exist, trapped with the demon or had the ritual to banish the entity inside gotten rid of the human soul? If there was anything left of the human man, it was so buried and forgotten, as the demon was in full control.

"She was quiet for a long time after he spoke, almost looked like she was thinking on what he had said, and was coming up with a response. In all reality? She had been trying to focus on one though, and each time she did, it danced away. Then finally, she spoke, asking a question that had been itchy for a while. "Why.. My mother?"

He watched her for a moment, he had noticed her hesitant and halting speech and while he could attribute it to pain...he pulled back, holding the pliers up in front of her face. "Follow this with your eyes, don't move your head." Terry sounded annoyed, not answering her confusing question for now.

"But..." She started to protest, and stopped. Following simple instructions like that meant that he was't hurting her. Her eyes moved to find the pliers, and took several seconds to actually focus. She had little issue when they were still, however when he started moving them? Her eyes had trouble keeping up, and staying focused on them.


He sighed, rolling his eyes and put the pliers down, "Oh for fuck sake..." He grumbled, "You have a concussion...."

At his statement, she snorted. "What.. Messes... with your plans?" She let her eyes flutter shut, before she drew in another panty breath. "Don't see how... it can cause... is...Isssues."

"It makes you less aware of things going on around you and recalling important information." Terry frowned down at her, "...for crying out loud." He muttered to himself as he paced slowly, grabbing Meredith's phone from his pocket, he'd kept it.

"Sucks.. to be you." No. In all honesty it sucked to be her at the moment. But she wasn't trying to focus on the pain that still radiated from the bottoms of her feet, and her cracked shin bone. Nope.

He rolled his eyes and took a few steps away, pressing a button to call someone. His voice was quiet as he spoke for a few moments before returning to her. He held the phone out to her ear, "They want proof you're still alive." Terry muttered.

She didn't bother opening her eyes until he spoke. Then her eyes ticked open, groggily swam between his face and her mother's phone. "Who.. want's proof?" Slowly, her brows pulled down on her face.

She found out soon enough when she heard her mother's shakey voice on the other end of the phone that was pressed to her ear, "Zynnara?"

It was her mother's voice that swam through the fog of her mind. There was a soft groan given, before she spoke. "Mom. Mm. Hi." The woman would probably be able to hear the pain in her voice, along the the slower, halting way most of her words were being spoken.

The woman started to cry and whimper and was clearly rather distraught. The phone was taken and Joe's voice murmured, "Hang in there, kid." She could hear her brother asking what was going on, confused to the whole situation since he'd just been picked up from the police station and not yet informed of the evening's ordeal.

A wave of guilt washed over her when her mother started sobbing over her. "D..Don't... C.. Cr-" She was still struggling to say the words when Joe spoke, then fell silent for a moment. "Jooe." His name sounded like half plea, half demand. "H-Hurry up." Rinn's panicking voice in the background had her wanting to say something to him as well, but she kept quiet.

"We're working on it...just hang in there." He murmured but then the phone was taken away so she didn't have a clue if he said anything else. Terry walked away with the phone and chatted for a little longer before ending the call. "...I guess we get to play a new game, little witch. Which is stronger? Your will, or theirs?"