"Letti?" Allorian had barely left the room than the distantly familiar voice rang out.

Ruby turned and couldn't help the tears that began flowing, she had never asked to see Clemence before now, Ruby didn't think she had the footing to demand and had been surprised that Allorian had given in to her demands.

"Oh Letti, what is the matter? Everything will be okay, I've been watching you over the years and couldn't be more proud of you and what you've accomplished. You're a far better protector than even I could have imagined." This made Ruby cry even harder, hearing such praise from the woman she had idolized all those years ago.

When she felt Clemence lean in to hug her, Ruby flung her arms around the older woman's shoulders and remembered all those years ago when Clemence had come to comfort her after her first turning. Her feelings then were much the same as her feelings now, she doubted herself, her worth and her abilities.

"Come now Letti, things are not as bad as they seem. Yes, this attack is aimed at you but you have a fantastic team around you, you have your friends with you. Lean on them more, talk to them...share your work load. It's not easy, I know but if you let yourself rely on others it will ease the pressure on you. Trust them as much as I trust you, let them be your equals. But the most important thing is, speak to Mali. Make him understand what happened fifty years ago with Jamieson was an accident, one that you had no role in and yet bore the brunt of the attention and punishment for your friends. We see everything from here Letti, nothing is a secret. Open your heart to others." Clemence had pulled away from Ruby, she was kneeling in front of her now, trying to make eye contact with her.

Ruby flicked her eyes up to meet her gaze for a short moment before ducking her head again.

Hollis.

They had all seen it.

Ruby felt her face redden instantly and buried her face in the crook of Clemence's neck with a groan, what else had they been seeing from here?

"Don't worry, we don't watch you every minute of the day and there are no recordings of what happens. We pop in every now and then, I had a feeling something was going to happen to you. You might not believe this, your beast probably doesn't even realize it...but Hollis is your fated mate. Ask him about his first mate, let him be open and honest with you. The truth might surprise even a seasoned heart like yours. But let others in, closing others out is what warped Nyssa. I tried to warn the others but they wouldn't listen, Nyssa had been invaluable. I'm afraid because of what she is capable of right now that it will bring tighter restrictions to other retiring protectors." Ruby understood, nodding as she pulled away from Clemence...happy to see a friendly and familiar face from her original life. It made her realize just how long she'd hardened her heart against everything and everyone, she'd been so focused on living the perfect protector life that years had passed by before even realizing it.

"So you advise the council?" Ruby asked, narrowing in on one thing that Clemence had mentioned.

"Yes, but they're allowing me one more mission. They realize you can't do this alone, especially not against my sister. Because of my sacrifice and work here for many years I've been allowed this last mission...they don't want to call it a revenge mission but for me, that is exactly what it is. So what do you say? Are you willing to have me be part of your team?" Clapping excitedly Ruby hugged her mentor again tightly and nodded her head.

"Of course I'll have you on the team!" Ruby exclaimed as she pulled away, she was sure the rest of the team wouldn't mind either. Maybe Mali would but most others were accepting of new team members, even if they rarely ever worked together.

"Good because I was coming whether you liked it or not. I need to go and ready myself but I'll be there soon enough, I think Allorian is ready to come back in." Ruby barely had time to ask how Clemence knew that before she left the room and Allorian returned.

This time the much revered woman looked a little less tense, maybe Allorian had been betting on this outcome happening?

"You're ready to return to Samson? You have full use of everything Lettice, we need Nyssa stopped. There is the very real possibility that this may spill over into the human world as we see it. The exposure will do no good for anyone and something as large scale as this must be dealt with swiftly. Do you understand?" Ruby sighed heavily, the weight and pressure being put on her shoulders was enough to make her want to retreat. But remembering that Clemence would be with her as well as her team and everyone else involved helped to ease the burden a little.

"Yes. I understand." Ruby said after some time, lifting her eyes to meet Allorian's gaze.

The woman smiled sadly at Ruby, it was then Ruby understood.

She was paying for Allorian and the council's mistake...the potential for this to be her last mission was very real.

"Good, now wake up." Ruby felt the sudden pull back to her body, she hated the feeling of free falling but that's what happened when your being was sucked from it's shell.

Ruby came awake with a gasp, sitting up for whatever she'd been laying on.

The sudden movement sent panic through the room, Ruby could hear people talking and asking questions but it always took a moment for her sense to come back to her.

Through all the chaos in the room, the shouting and the moving. Ruby felt a single, unmoving presence that seemed to calm her and dimmed everything else in the room. It was nice, she focused on that single presence and found that her senses were coming back faster the more she focused.

Once her breathing had evened out she looked up from her lap to see who it was and wasn't at all surprised to see Hollis standing there, unmoving whilst others shuffled around the room talking excitedly and celebrating. For a few moments Ruby locked eyes with Hollis, she felt something in her heart begin to move and the sensation made her look away for a split second.

"Are you okay Ruby? That was one hell of a scare, we've detained Mali for the time being. He claims to have no memory of what he'd done...were the council any help?" Ruby just wanted to lay back down and sleep, she didn't want to answer any questions, she didn't want to think. She just wanted to rest and regather her thoughts on what happened with Allorian.

But Ruby also knew that they wouldn't leave her alone until she answered something.

"I'm fine, I didn't meet with the council, only Allorian. She's given free reign on this mission." Every protector in the room paused, it was as if Ruby had thrown cold water over the lot of them. Those she did look at were confused or shocked, their eyes round and their mouths hanging open.

When she looked back to Hollis, to his calming presence she found that he was gone and his place had been filled by Jonah.

Had he even been there?

"What do you mean only Allorian was there? That's serious, usually Allorian never comes to hearings...are you able to talk about it now? Do you want to rest? You're safe here, we're in Topher's home. He's barred all pack members from coming in save the pack doctor, the beta and himself." Jonah, he was always so worried when it came to injuries. Ruby figured if he'd lived a normal life he would make a great doctor, teacher or father. His patience in the face of stressful situations always helped to calm her down.

"Can we talk about this in the morning? I need to recover properly first then I'll lay it all out for you, hows everything going and how long have I been out?" Ruby could see Jonah's shoulders slump a little, most likely disappointed. But Ruby wasn't feeling up to doing much other than figuring out what the hell they were going to be doing from here on out.

"Okay Ruby, we'll let you rest. You've been out cold for a few days, freaked Topher and the pack doctor out." Ruby didn't ask after Hollis, no doubt he would have reacted much the same as his alpha. Watching someone die was never pleasant, having to watch over their dead body and watch as it repaired itself was even less of a pleasant. But at least several of them had seen what could happen.

Before anyone could say anything else Ruby saw another person enter the room, she'd never seen this particular human before but when the stranger smirked at her Ruby couldn't help but return the smile. She knew it was Clemence, Jonah also noticed and was instantly on guard. There was no way he wouldn't be as Clemence had effectively walked right through all the spells that had been set around Topher's home.

"Jonah, this is Clemence Vawdrey." The room stilled in that moment, those that had been about to exit stopped and turned to look at the new face. They all knew who Clemence was, they knew her sacrifice and that she had not only trained Ruby but also saved her.

"Ugh yeah, nice to meet you. Come on you guys, lets leave Ruby to rest." The other gob-smacked team members all allowed themselves to be escorted from the room as Clemence moved out of the way, Ruby could see the sly smile growing with each person passing her.

She understood, the awe that others were feeling was the exact same that Ruby had felt when others figured out she was 'Obsidian' though that name now held a different meaning to what it usually did. What the hell were they going to do about Dudley, Nyssa Shipwash, Charlotte Vawdrey and she now suspected Rebecca Fysher too.

Three women scorned and a zombie lycan, the odds weren't good for Ruby. Despite the fact she was immortal and could be revived in an instant there was still two pissed off witches, a lycan that couldn't feel and a young, naive shifter.

"You have an interesting team with you, a mixture of new and old faces. A good mix of ages, skills and backgrounds but most importantly a team that believes in you without a second thought. How brilliant that is." Ruby sat up straighter in her bed, the pain in her neck had eased considerably since feeling Mali's teeth sink into her neck.

"Yeah, I don't know how I ended up with such a great team but we're all here and those that I've worked with several times before I trust with my life." Except Mali, but that didn't need to be said as Clemence nodded her head. Ruby wondered what she could see now, could she see everything on Earth like she could back where the council sat? Where ever the sat?

"So that we're clear, I'm here to help you. I'm not here to take over control of the team, this is all on you as this prophecy is focused on you. But I have words and feelings towards my sister that I want resolved, so allow me to take that pressure off of you...and let me introduce myself properly. Amber Zooda, your mothers younger sister. Benedict has asked that I spend some time with his daughter, so that you may develop and blossom into a beautiful and balanced young woman." Ruby laughed, given her choice of words it was as if Clemence were speaking to someone who should have lived in the 17th century or there abouts.

"That's okay, totally fine. I might just need advice on two or three things, what am I supposed to do about Mali? I haven't even entertained any thoughts on how I'm going to approach him...what am I supposed to do?" When it came to Mali, Ruby had the brain capacity of a walnut. There was very little thought in her mind when she was around him, part of her still wished he'd look at her like he used to but another part of her wished he'd just leave and never return.

He'd brought her torment for fifty years and when his wife and child were killed it made him hate her even more...despite the fact she had nothing to do with the incident.

"We'll keep him immobile, Jonah and I whilst you speak with him. We'll leave the room, he needs to hear what happened Ruby, he blames you for so much. If need be we'll have others come in, namely Catrice. Of all your team members she was most affected by Jamieson's decision, he should respect her view point if nothing else." Ruby hoped that Amber was right, she needed someone to be right for once.

"Okay, we'll do that tomorrow." Ruby said as she tried to push up from the bed, a jolt of pain stopped her however.

Amber pushed her back down towards the bed.

"Maybe in two days, you need to rest...your body needs that rest. Don't push yourself, I'm here now and you have Jonah to lean on. He's quite capable of leading the team in your absence. Rest, heal and try not to over-think things. Sometimes the obvious answer is the easiest to think of." Ruby supposed Amber had a point, she let herself be tucked in and watched from the bed as Amber turned the lights down in her room before exiting.

When the door was closed and Ruby felt her eyelids begin to grow heavy, she turned her eyes towards the wall in front of her and tensed. She wasn't sure what it was but a shadow seemed to materialize out of nowhere, she couldn't move or scream and briefly wondered if this was how she would die.

But the figure that materialized hovered against the far wall and stayed there, it stayed for a few moments. Ruby blinked several times to make sure it wasn't a trick of her eyes but the shape didn't move, it didn't say anything and it made her wonder, just what was this thing?

She was left with that question hanging heavy in her mind as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning dawned clear and bright as Ruby pulled herself from the bed she'd been put in, the room was the same room she'd slept in that first night she'd been here. The night she was first attacked, was the shadowy figure that lingered part of the same party?

When Ruby crept over to the door she cracked it open as quietly and as slowly as possible, her shoulder was almost fully healed and the pain was barely noticeable. When the door was open wide enough Ruby squeezed through, closed it quietly behind her and turned.

A hand came down firmly across her mouth before she had time to scream, for a few short seconds Ruby fought. When an arm locked around her waist, "shh Ruby, it's me." Ruby stilled instantly when Hollis voice rang in her ears, she frowned though when she realized he'd been sitting right outside her door.

As soon as Ruby stilled Hollis pulled his hand away from her mouth but stood holding her.

"You're okay?" Ruby wasn't used to this, wasn't used to being held this closely and especially by a guy that had disliked her only a few days ago.

"I'm fine, what are you doing here?" She asked in hushed whisper, the last thing she needed was for someone to wake and find them like this in the corridor. Though Clemence had seen things whilst watching her Ruby still felt uncomfortable, she'd never once thought about finding anyone whilst on a mission.

"I'm fine, just a surface wound. I can't actually die...I can, but it's never permanent. Not until..." Ruby left that sentence hanging, not until she relinquished the protector role. It made her wonder what would happen if she did give the role up, would she wither away into dust before everyone?

"Are you hungry? Everyone's already awake, Amber and Jonah have been talking most of the morning and Topher isn't really cooperating." Ruby sighed, what was wrong with people?

"Yeah, food and a long discussion sounds good right now." The discussion didn't sound great but it probably needed to happen, but at the mere thought of food the bottom of her stomach dropped out and began growling.

She gave Hollis a smile as he pulled away and led her down towards the kitchen and dining room.

AN: Sorry for the long wait guys, life has been busy. 

But I'm on holiday for a few weeks so hope to finish this story in that time.