Taking a seat on the cool, soft leather I swung my legs over the armrest and adjusted the cushion under my head. The office was fairly dark with only the soft white glow of the computer screen and a small desk lamp offering light; I could sleep here. Taking a chance, I closed my eyes and took a long, deep breath.

"So, I've been thinking," I started slowly, pausing to see if there would be some kind of reaction to that statement. Nothing came. "And that's the problem. I think. A lot. I just, I need help. For once in my life, I want, no I need to be told what to do."

Opening my eyes, I looked over towards the desk and for a second I thought I was alone until she spoke.

"I can't tell you what to do, Hunter." Ailin told me softly, moving from her place behind the computer to come and sit beside my legs. "Even if I did, would you really listen or still just do the opposite?"

There was something teasing about her tone now, and it wasn't what I wanted or needed.

"I would listen. Ailin, I can't do this. I can't ."

"Do what exactly?"

"This!" I sighed dramatically and threw my arm over my eyes. "All of it. Life. Fighting. Being responsible for, everything!"

"What is everything?" Her calm, steady tone made me want to strangle her.

"Where do I begin. There is all this god stuff going on, I can't find the stupid gateway to their world. This stupid mark is filling in, look at this, the moon is nearly full! I nearly got a whole coven of dark fae killed. One of my best friends is pregnant and come on, do I need to elaborate more with that one?" I sighed again and looked over at her. "I'm always scared someone else is going to come along and take away my family. Am I picking the right side? Should I kill Cain, is unleashing him in his realm the best thing for everyone?"

"Your parents sent you to me to talk to, as a friend. You trust me, and after the events last time you were to meet with a councilor, I agreed as I too am worried about you, especially after your friends murder. Did you want to talk about that?"

"No."

"Then I guess we have an hour of staring at each other in silence ahead of us." She sighed.

"Can't you just give me some advice, like the kind you should embroider onto a cushion. You're good at that. Then tell me what I should do now in an inspiring and motivational way that gets me back on my feet, ready to kick some ass?"

"No." Ailin answers as stubbornly as I had snapped the same word at her. "You've heard that all before. You've been in this position before. It's never going to get easier Elise, you should know that too."

I sit up, and nod. "See, that's what I'm talking about. I need more of that."

Rolling her eyes, Ailin reached over and pushes my shoulder so I lay back down again as she lets out a big sigh.

"I want to try something with you, if you are serious about actually listening to me. The council seem to think that now I am their president, I should be tortured with PD and leadership courses." Her dislike of this is clear. "I think they forget I have been a leader of my kind longer than they have been alive, and am more than capable without mastering the ten techniques to excellent customer service."

"I dunno about that, your customer service sometimes needs improving." Ailin only glares at me, so I sarcastically continue. "I mean, your kidnapping techniques are much better and holding people hostage. I'd give you an eight out of ten for that."

"Did you want my help or not?"

"Yes." I tell her.

"Well, since you've already made yourself comfortable on my lounge, I just want you to breath. In and out, nice and slow." Ailin put a hand on my leg and breathed loudly, looking at me as she waited for me to join in and I did. "Close your eyes and focus only on my voice."

"If you start telling me that I feel sleepy and try some kind of hypnotizing bullshit, I will not be happy."

"Just do it!" She snapped.

"Fine, I'm breathing. In and out."

We did that a few more times and ever so slowly, I actually started to relax. My shoulders fell back and the heaviness I often feel all over began to weaken. I focused on each breath as if it was my last, and for a second I imagined that it was. Rather than panic, I managed to relax even further. As if sensing that, Ailin removed her hand and as I opened my eyes, she moved to sit on the floor beside me.

"Good Hunter. Now, close your eyes and keep them closed. I want you to imagine that you're in a large, green meadow. There are flowers lining your path, and you breath in the warm, fresh air. You can smell the flowers, roses, and it's beautiful. Look up to the blue sky, and feel the sun on your skin. Enjoy the moment."

This isn't so bad and while a part of me is trying to work out her angle with this, my mind is happily sniffing pretend flowers and letting my body feel warm as if the sun really was above me. Ailin should be proud; I'm doing what she asked and letting myself enjoy it.

"Now your path has turned in a different direction and you're left facing a large fence. There is no way to jump over it, and as you look around, it's far too long for you to go around it." She tells me, and somehow my mind plays along and I can see the stupid fence. "There is nothing behind you anymore, and if you want to keep going, you have to go through the fence."

If this is a power of the mind thing, I am already doubting my ability to knock it down. The sun disappears, and I'm left standing in cold, dark nothingness. I'm about to tell her none she had totally killed my relaxed vibe and I don't understand the point of this, when instead she keeps talking and force myself to do what I said I would; listen and do as I'm told.

"Everything you want is beyond that fence. A safe place for your family, the gateway you're looking for. It's all there." Ailin pauses and I actually feel anxious about getting to that other side. "Now, I want you to imagine that in your hand, you have a hammer. It's big enough to break through the wood,but only if you try hard enough. How much do you want this?"

"I want it." I mumble, feeling the weight of the tool in my hand.

"Then go get it." She orders.

I start to smash at the wood. Big, hard hits that barely dent it. The fence groans, it splinters, but I still can't get through. My hands are getting sore; my shoulders stiff from the vibrations each blow sends up my arms. I keep going, I want this. I fucking want it. I have to get to the other side. It's a safe place for my family and friends. I'll know what to do, the answers are there.

Ailin says something, but I'm too focused on breaking through that I don't hear her clearly enough to understand. Again and again, and finally a bright ray of light comes through the paneling and I'm nearly there. I'm sweating, sore and yet I don't feel tired. I could do this all day, I will do this all day if it means going to the other side and finally there is enough a gap for me to get through.

"What do you see Elise?" Ailin asks now and as my eyes adjust to the brightness of the other side, shapes start to fall into place .

I drop my hammer and look around as the shapes turn into people, my family and they're all sitting on picnic blankets by the ocean. Mum has a platter of chicken and she pauses from passing it around to wave at me before Alfie appears to steal it from her. Annipe comes out of the water and seeing Alfie getting something to eat, heads over to demand some too.

"Elise!" I turn at the sound of Raya's voice and see her with Keiran, sitting in the sand, a toddler between them as they try to build a sandcastle. Penny is talking to Drew and Nigel, while Logan and Zane stand on the beach with surfboards - looking out at the non-existent surf.

Heaven.

"They're here. They're safe."

"What else do you see?" She prompts.

What more could I want than that? It's perfect and instead I want to go sink into the warm soft, sand beside Raya and stay here - just for a while. Only I don't and turning around I find myself facing the duo in robes again.

"She wants to know." The old one whispers.

"She already does."

"She doesn't think so." A whisper of a breeze tickles my cheek and slowly I turn around to find everyone gone. "Does that help?"

"Is this it?" I ask, looking back at them only to find theme gone and Cain is now in their place.

"You tell me."

"Yes, it is." There was no doubt in me anymore, I had found it.

"Awake." Ailin's voice made me open my eyes and the dim office was exactly how it had been when I first closed my eyes. "You found it?"

"I- What did you do?" I sat up, and she didn't move from her position on the floor.

"It was hypnotherapy. Are you angry now?" She met my gaze, and smirked.

"No, I'm not. I actually feel really relaxed."

Her smirk turned into a smile. "Good, good. Maybe this old cat, can still learn some new tricks."

"I'm not going to start clucking like a chicken if anyone says the word, lamp, am I?"

Ailin stood and help out her hand, which I took. "Guess you'll have to wait and see. Potato."

My mouth dropped and I quickly let go of her hand, the whole thing making her laugh.

"I guess they taught you a sense of humor too." I snapped, yet I had to laugh with her.

"Maybe they did. Now, let's get you home."

"Really? No hundred questions about anything?"

"It was to help you relax, become focused. That's your own business Hunter." I didn't buy that, no more than anything I had just seen. "Would you rather I lock you up in a cell and send down an interrogator?"

"Maybe. Yes. I could potentially know the way to end all of this and you, don't want to know? Is this reverse psychology, how many classes have you been taking?"

"You are my friend. I will help you when and however I can. This, drama, is solely focused around you and I also have hundreds of others to think about. While the attack on the dark fae was tragic, and events of the past have been, unheard of, until I have evidence of another disaster about to happen, there is nothing I can do. Permission has been granted to those seeking to join your army, but I still have witches and mages fighting over the last of the golden eggs, vampires wanting to feed on babies and demons set on bringing their own kind of hell to this world. Plus the light fae are struggling to keep the supernatural hidden from the general public these days, with everyone recording everything and it's only a matter of time before we fail and the everyone knows the things that go bump in the night are real." She ranted in a very un-Ailin like way.

"I guess I understand why you've been working on your imagines of calm blue oceans and stopping to smell flowers. I'm sorry, there is more than my drama going on. Did you want to talk about it some more?" I offer.

"No. It's fine. I shouldn't have said all of that to you. When you need me, or the council, all of us, just ask. I believe in you, and those on your side, to handle this. It's called off-loading, something I've never had to deal with until now." Ailin sighed. "Now, let's get you home."

"Did you want to stay for dinner?"

"That would be lovely." She smiled and quickly pushed back a few stray strands of hair that had fallen across her face. "Thank you."

) O (

Breakfast was uneventful. No one mentioned my trip to Ailin the night before, and I wasn't ready to talk about it. What I had seen had just been my mind giving me what I wanted; it was hard to trust something that was simply put in my head by suggestion. You will see the gateway, the one you can't work out where to find and no one knows about. Boom! I did. Nothing is that easy. If it is, it's a trap or fake - either way, it shouldn't be trusted.

Simple.

Then again, what if it was legit?

With not much else going on, and everyone busy, I took a walk around the training fields, pausing to watch the new arrivals that had come to, as everyone was gossiping about - be trained by the gods. Word had really got around now, and I didn't blame them for coming. It was an amazing opportunity; the skills they were being taught more than what anyone could ever graduate with or learn on their own. They were pushing themselves to their limits and beyond, finally flexing the abilities we were born with and destined to use in every way. Demons, vampires, werewolves, none of them would have the advantage on us anymore; my kind were only getting stronger, meaner, faster and could fire a gun as quick and as accurately as what their swords could cut you. A tiny part of me resented that after our creation, Cain never did this. For too long we had been working at a disadvantage as what we could teach and learn from each other was nothing to the knowledge he had, or Artemis and even Hermes.

No matter what happened next, this had already changed all of us and from what I was watching, for the better. A tiny slither of doubt made me want to question the point of it all. My original plan seemed stupid now, and wasn't going to change the inevitable of Cain going home or my involvement. Leaving them behind, I headed into the academy and wandered into a history class as they went into their classroom. I took a seat at the back, unnoticed by a professor I hadn't met before and the students barely gave me a second look too. These kids were nearly in their final year, set to graduate next, and from what I could of preclass conversation, most were determined to head to the training fields once this mandatory part of their schooling was over. I probably would have done the same thing or already gone over there by now.

"Natalie, you seem rather talkative this morning so, congratulations! Please come up to the front and present your project to us." He smiled at someone in the front of the class and sure enough, a rather tall and lanky girl got up looking terrified.

"I- I ah, my assignment was on, the ah..." She mumbled, clearly not feeling so talkative now. "Seers and Oracles and how their claims influenced the society of their times."

I sat up a little straighter, while the bulk of the class immediately lost interest. If only they all knew the truth about their headmistress, I'm sure it would be a different story. Unfortunately, a few minutes into it, I was about as interested as everyone else as Natalie seemed to be reading direct from some lame, old history book. Then again, it would be stupid of me for her to go into anything I didn't know about. I'd read everything I could about them, so of course a lot of it was going to sound repetitive.

"Time is running out, and she hasn't even found the gateway yet." Natalie clucked her tongue in disapproval, and looking back to her, she was staring right at me. No one seemed to notice any of this. "Wasting time Hunter!"

"What?" I stood up, and my stomach sunk as everyone stared blankly at the front. Even the professor had the same empty look on his face.

"You shouldn't be here. You need to catch them."

"Catch who?" Moving around the desk, I kept to the side of the room and moved closer to the front. "Where should I be?"

"You can see all, just not here." Natalie blinked, titling her head slightly as her blue eyes seemed to spark back to life. "Elise Bunting?"

"Yes?"

The professor looked at me then, rubbed his eyes and smiled. "Will you be joining us today Miss Bunting, I'm sorry, I never saw you come in!"

An excited whisper filled the room, as all eyes finally turned my way. "No. I'm sorry. Wrong room."

I couldn't get out of there fast enough and as I got around the corner, I lent against the wall and took a few deep breaths. What kind of message was that anyway - I doubt that was part of a hallucination.

"You can see all, just not here." I whispered to myself, just as Frank walked past.

"Trouble." He greeted as he went by. "No loitering."

"Just admiring the brickwork." I answered, and gave him a little wave.

The second he disappeared, I practically ran to his office. Of course it was locked, and after playing with the keypad, I was disappointed in poor choice of one, two, three, four as the code in. Closing the door behind me, I quickly found him heading into the cafeteria, so figured that would keep him busy for a while. He always had a morning snack since he ate breakfast so early, and clearly that hadn't changed.

Now I looked over the monitors with a little more interest. Here, I can see all. Well, all on campus so I hope I'm not misinterpreting anything. Kids came and went through the corridors, those who didn't have classes lingered around corners before heading back to their rooms, the cafeteria or library. I watched Alfie and Annipe in the pool, and had to laugh as the class that went in to practice diving maneuvers freaked out at seeing them already in the water.

"Well, this was a waste of time." I played with the setting a few times and found Logan with my Dad and Jordan going into the gym behind a rather large group of kids. Deciding to go and check it out, before dragging Logan away to tell him about what happened with Ailin, I started to put the camera's back in the usual spots and that was when I saw Huntington leave her office.

She wasn't doing anything suspicious. I lost her near the science classrooms and then saw her go down into the infirmary. Sitting back in the chair, I twirled around in it slightly before giving in to my urge to snoop, and switched the view on the screen to go to the camera by the door in time to see her go inside. I watched it for a minute, maybe two and just as I decided it was probably someone just messing with me earlier, or distracting me while the end of the world happened outside, another figure appeared in the corridor and quickly disappeared inside.

Coincidence or was something going on between Hermes and Huntington?

I finished changing the camera's back to their original places and left the room, quickly making my way to the lower levels. I'd just made it to the door when Cain decided to appear and instantly he frowned. Talk about bad timing.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, looking at the sign above the door before frowning.

"What are you doing here?"

"I asked first." Crossing his arms over his chest, his frown gave way to tightly pressed lips and suspicion filled his eyes.

"What are you, five?"

"Just answer the question."

"Headache. Just looking for painkillers." I lied.

"A headache. Really?"

"Really." Neither of us moved and so I had two choices. Tell him the truth, or give up and go find Logan like I had originally planned to do. "So, why are you here?"

I guess I had a third choice after all.

"No reason, you've been quiet since last night. I was just wanting to check up on you."

"I don't need to be checked up on." Now who sounded like they were five.

"You have a headache. I can fix that."

"It's a headache, I'm human. It's not going to kill me, so back off!"

With a shrug, he disappeared and rolling my eyes, I tried to open the door as quietly as I could manage and slipped inside. It was quiet, the smell of disinfectant instantly making my stomach churn and listening for voices, found none. Moving towards the office, a doctor I didn't recognise sat on the computer playing solitaire. Clearly it was all happening down here, and as I passed he didn't even flinch. Checking the few cubicles, all were empty and the only other person I could find, was a nurse down the back, busy putting bed linen into the washing machine.

So, where did Hermes and Huntington go?

"Pretty sure the doctor is back that way if you're after some of the pain relief medication." Cain said suddenly behind me.

With a squeal, I jumped and spinning around to face him, slapped his arm hard. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"Do you need something for that too?"

"Funny, jerk." My heart was racing and shaking my head, the nurse looked our way so I gave her a little wave. "Hello."

She quickly came over. "Did you need something?"

"Drugs to fix a headache." Cain told her dryly.

"Right." I agreed.

"Of course." She glanced between us unsure, and then moved over to a cupboard where sure enough, a small packet of aspirin was found. I patiently waited while she got a tiny plastic cup of water for me too, and swallowed them down like a good girl.

Once that awkward encounter was over, we went back out into the corridor. "So, seen Portia lately?"

"Earlier this morning." He answered. "Why?"

"I was looking for her."

"Is that why you were down here?"

"No." I lied again.

"No?"

"No." We stared at each other for a moment before I caved. "Maybe. It doesn't matter."

"I think it does." Cain mused, following me up the stairs.

"Aren't you a Mr. Know It All?" Instantly he moved so he was in front of me, and since he wasn't transparent and I couldn't just walk through him, I stopped. "What?"

"Wouldn't have anything to do with her and Hermes sneaking around the place would it?"

I prayed I kept my surprise off my face. "No."

Cain laughed so I probably didn't. "I am Mr. Know It All, Elise."

"Did you plan it?"

"No. I sensed something was off this morning with her, and so have been keeping close." He confessed.

"So, you weren't checking up on my health and well-being after all?"

"Believe it or not, I do have other things to worry about apart from you." Cain snapped.

"Ouch." I put my hand over my heart. "Well, if that's the case, can you move now? I got other stuff to do too."

"I'll come with you." He offered.

"Ah, no." I pushed past him and kept walking.

"I wasn't asking."

"What happened to having other things to do?"

"I said worry about, I can still worry about them while being with you." Cain smiled.

"Smart-ass bastard." I muttered.

"What was that?" He asked, still smiling until he saw I'd taken us to Huntington's office. "Why are you here?"

"You wanted to come with me, and this was where I was going." The door was locked, but looking at Cain, he groaned before putting his hand on the handle and sure enough, it opened. Going in, the office was empty. Where ever they went, it wasn't here and so moving over to her desk, I found her computer still on and unlocked. "No one is forcing you to be here."

Cain lingered in the doorway, looking more than uncomfortable with our breaking and entering. Ignoring him, I did the usual things of checking the rubbish bin, internet history and having a snoop of anything that was in an oddly named folder. The one titled, Maps, seemed a little self explanatory and going in it was a little more intense than just maps. It was specific locations, and articles of weird occurrences from aliens to underground government testings - everything anyone with a paranoid conspiracy theory issue would love.

"What are you doing?" Cain demanded, now breathing over my shoulder as he looked at the screen.

"I think they've been trying to find the gateway." It made the most sense.

"We're all trying to find it."

"What if she has and didn't tell you?" He ignored that, and seeing the twenty-fifth of July on one of the names, I opened it to find a picture of a strange cloud formation, and streak of purple lightning that vanished into a blue sky.

"That's a portal, well, the aftermath of one. The lightning isn't actually lightning. It's a tear closing between the realms." Cain pointed out, then at the eagle that was nearly out of the shot.

"The eagle?" I asked.

"This is when they came. She knew and didn't tell me!" He mumbled something as he stood up and moved to stand in front the window.

"What happened could have been stopped?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Maybe. I can't tell you that for certain Elise."

Hermes would know when these, things, were coming through from his realm. Huntington had been gathering evidence. No one stopped me from going out, I was surprised at how easy it had all happened. If I had known to expect another threat, would I have stayed home and skipped on the party - would it have changed the outcome and left Hazel and her sisters alive? Yet that wasn't even the question that bothered me. No, what really got to me was wondering whose side, the pair of them were really on.

I spun around in the chair, and stood up as Cain turned slightly to face me. "Why do I think I'm not going to like what you're about to say?"

"I think I know where-" I started, before stopping myself. It felt, wrong to say it out loud. He didn't move, blink or even breath for a second. "I'm done with these games and trying to work out who to trust. I want it finished."

"Okay. Let's finish it then." Cain agreed. "Tell me what-"

Yet before I could say it, Alfie appeared and with his tail whipped around my waist, Cain and Huntingtons office vanished only to be replaced by one Hermes dining rooms and Portia in her true form.

"What is this?" I ask instantly as Alfie abandons me to help himself to the buffet.

"What she said." Cain says from behind me and Hermes practically falls of his chair as he stumbles to stand up.

"How did you- You can't be here!" He stutters.

"Do you think you can stop me?" Cain screams now, and Alfie pauses, finally looking at me. "Tell me what is going on, now!"

"I don't understand!" Hermes mumbles, more to himself as he looks around the room before focusing on Cain. "It's not possible."

I'm frozen as an invisible force has Portia and Hermes by the throat. Their hands start to claw at a something that isn't there as they gasp and gag for air. Slowly Cain raises his hands, clearly the one doing it and the duo rise from the floor so they're left hovering and at his mercy. Portia tries to say something, but she can't, not like this and I finally move to stand beside Cain.

"Let them go, they can't talk!"

"They can." He growls.

"Not like this!"

Portia falls to the ground and yet I hesitate in moving to help her. She rubs her throat and turns to glare at the pair of us. "The Fates asked us to bring her here. She wasn't in danger, your precious key was safe!"

With a wave of his hand, she goes flying across the room and hits the wall hard. Hermes is dropped then and he makes the same gasping sounds as Portia did as he rubs his throat.

"They said you can't know yet. It's too soon." He coughs. "They told us she knows and we had to stop her from telling you."

"What?" Cain's tone is deadly and I slip away to check on Portia. She sleepily opens her eyes as I touch her, a smear of red boldly standing out against her pale skin.

"I was going to tell you, then him once I worked out what to say." She promises before narrowing her eyes at me. "Why were you in my office?"

"Least of your worries right now." I tell her, helping her stand.

"You were supposed to find us. You saw on the camera's!"

"Then he had to get involved." Looking at Cain, none of this is going to calm him down. "Next time, leave a note or something!"

"We can't risk anyone seeing it. If they know you know, it's over."

"Over how?" Cain demanded.

"It's not Dias that is behind this." Hermes cautiously stood up. "He's just doing what he was told."

"Who is Dias?"

"Zeus." All three said impatiently in response.

"The big guy? Isn't he the all powerful or something?"

Cain rubbed his forehead before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes. In our realm, he is the supreme leader as he is the most powerful."

"Except for you." Portia added and Hermes quickly nodded.

"Right. So who is behind it all then if not him like you all thought?" I ask, trying to ignore the tension in the room.

It was Hermes who looked away first, his skin looking suddenly pale as he focused on the hem of his shirt. Portia wasn't much better and if one of them didn't answer now, I was pretty sure Cain was going to lose his shit completely. Instinctively I reached out to touch his arm, and the surprise of my touch distracted him, so I asked again before he could explode.

"Who?"

Hermes turned to face Cain, swallowing nervously before taking a step closer to him and as Alfie came to my side and Portia dared to come closer, even I found myself holding my breath in anticipation of his answer.

"Cain, it is your sire."

_______________