Tolly let out another pained groan and shoved her head between her legs, gripping my arm tightly.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

I bit back a caustic retort. This was just the subway, for Christ's sake. We'd barely been on the train for two mintues and already Tolly was moaning and groaning, about to vomit.

I had already suspected that I had a problem, but this just confirmed it. I was an idiot for going along blindly with all of these plans thrown out by the CD - and now, Tolly Ramsey. What kind of name was Tolly, anyways?

"You'll be fine," I said, awkwardly thumping her on the back. "Just don't think about it."

"Easier said than done," she grumbled.

I had no idea where we were going. I had no idea what we were about to do. I felt off about this entire thing. Tolly Ramsey screamed weird, kind of like she knew everything that had been going on in my life lately, and that was a little freaky. The sad thing was that I was starting to get used to it.

My fingers itched with the urge to pull my cell phone out of my pocket and repeatedly call Sinclair or Roman until one of them picked up. Tolly Ramsey didn't look like a psychotic murderer or anything, but I didn't know her. For all I knew, she could be in league with the bad guys. And yet I'd gone with her anyways. I definitely had a problem.

"So," I said. "Where are we going?"

Tolly sat up and gave me a sly look. "Nice try. Like I would tell you anything around these simpletons."

"Simpletons as in...?"

"Humans." She gestured around at the subway car. "Y'know, mortals. I don't think their tiny little brains could handle the amount of weirdness we deal with."

I was human. Did that mean I was a simpleton, too?

Probably.

"So..." I slid down the bench a fraction of an inch, away from Tolly. "You're not human?"

Tolly shrugged. "Depends on your definition of human, I suppose. I'm human...ish. But am I a normal human? Most certainly not."

Not for the first time, I examined Tolly again out of the corner of my eye, trying to find something about her appearance that made her seem as weird as she was making me feel.

She looked like any other young woman, dressed simply enough in jeans, t-shirt, boots, jacket. Her shade of brown hair was a little lighter than mine. Nothing was extraordinary about her appearance at all. What could be so different about Tolly? Besides her name, of course.

We rode the subway in silence for about another half hour. Each time the train stopped I was ready to jump to my feet and make a run for it, but Tolly remained seated, drumming her fingers on her thighs the entire time.

My patience was wearing thin as it was, and Tolly's unusual behavior wasn't helping.

When Tolly finally stood up when the train came to yet another stop, I burst out laughing.

"What are we doing in Gramercy Park?" I said. "Does your blood run blue or something?"

Tolly shot me a grin. "Sort of."

That wasn't very reassuring.

But I stood up and followed Tolly off the subway, up onto the surprisingly quiet street for eight in the evening. Wasn't like I had anything better to do on a Saturday evening.

Tolly and I walked quickly down the sidewalks into a fancy square with green lawns and a huge splashing fountain smack dab in the middle. The place was pretty enough, but something was off. It was too quiet, too... serene. Like it was purposely made that way.

I had the same feeling I'd gotten walking out of the police building with Roman last night. It made my skin feel prickly and made the hairs on the back of my neck raise. I really didn't like this feeling.

"It's the wards."

I looked over at Tolly, my face a question mark. "What?"

"The wards," she repeated. "Magical wards placed around an area for protection. They give you that creepy feeling, like you're being watched."

"Magic wards," I said slowly. "Well, that makes so much sense. Totally plausable."

Tolly laughed, tossing an arm around my shoulders and giving me a shake. "I like your skepticism, Holly. It's refreshing."

"Good to know," I said, squirming out from underneath her arm. "I'll keep that in mind."

Tolly shrugged again and said nothing.

We turned the corner around the fountain, and then Tolly began to walk up the steps to the largest house on the entire square. Red brick and Colonial style, with wide windows with white shutters, a sparkling chandelier bolted onto the roof of the porch, right above the bright red front door. Abraham Lincoln could have lived here with how fancy the place looked.

"Lemme guess," I said flatly. "This is where you live."

Tolly grinned as she waltzed up the front steps. "Pretty neat, huh?"

More like pretty frightening, I thought nervously.

Tolly strolled right up to the front door and slipped a set of keys out of her pockets. I watched with some interest as she flipped through the keys until she came up with a large, brass key decked with what looked like sparkling rubies. She slid the key into the lock and the door gave a quiet groan before it swung open.

"Well, come on, Holly Eberly," Tolly said, reaching out to grab my wrist to pull me forward. "It's time you were properly introduced to the family."

I didn't have enough time to answer before I was pulled into a brightly lit entrance hall with marble floors and yet another chandelier. The place was dimly lit, but I could make out the shapes of very large, very old furniture and several guilded mirrors hanging from the walls. The house's outward appearance did not match the contents inside. It was as if I had just walked into a Victorian museum.

"Tolly Ramsey! What in Moon's sake were you thinking, running off like that? Your father and I were half sacred to death!"

I backed up against the front door out of sheer terror as a woman with long brown hair tied into a bun, dressed in sweeping skirts and dangling earrings, came marching forward, hands on hips, looking about ready to murder Tolly right where she tood.

Tolly flushed bright red and stared down at her feet, appropriately ashamed. "Sorry, Mum. Didn't mean to scare you."

"You're damn right you didn't mean to scare me!" the woman, Tolly's mother, exclaimed.

The woman was really very pretty with her flawless skin and bright emerald eyes, but the permanent flush in her cheeks was probably because of perpetual anger. She did not look like a woman I wanted to cross.

"I was convinced I was going to need to call Burton and send out his men to find you! You understand how dangerous it is to be running about right now, don't you, Tolly?"

Tolly let out an exasperated sigh and threw her hands in the air. "Yes! Yes, I understand, Mum! So excuse me for actually doing something to help us! I just - "

"Wait a moment." Tolly's mother held up a hand for silence when her eyes fell on me. "Who is this?"

"I'm n-n-nobody," I stammered at the same time Tolly said, "Why, this is Holly Eberly, of course."

The woman's jaw dropped and her face paled. "You...oh my. Holly Eberly? Sweet Moon."

I wanted to get the hell out of this odd house and never look back, but Tolly was gripping my forearm with surprising strength, digging her fingernails into my skin, and I was rooted to the spot.

I heard loud footsteps on the winding staircase to the left and then a very tall, very handsome young man was leaning up against the banister, eyeing me with interest. His hair was the perfect shade of midnight black, his eyes were the same color as the woman's in front of me, and his figure underneath his black clothes gave the impression that he exercised religiously. He looked as if he had just stepped out of an Ambercrombie catalog, he was that attractive.

When he noticed I was more or less ogling him, his lips pulled back in a smirk and I felt my skin burn bright red under his gaze.

"What trouble are you in now, Tolly?" the guy drawled, moving his gaze to Tolly.

"Nothing, Zaire," Tolly snapped, embarrassed. "So why don't you keep your fat mouth shut?"

Zaire shrugged, his smirk widening. "Excuse me for being concerned about my little sister. Remind me not to cover for you the next time you sneak out to go see Legend Husher."

"Zaire!"

"Enough, children!" the woman shouted, flapping a hand at her children. "Enough! Agustin! Agustin, I think we need you in here!"

I fought back a groan. More supernatural people to meet?

Just fantastic.

"Holly, I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to meet you." The woman shocked me by vigorously shaking my hand, giving me a frantic smile. "Really, I'm honored. But please excuse my daughter's inappropriate behavior. This really isn't the best time for introductions."

"Maryana, what is it?"

Our group was joined by a towering man with graying dark hair, dressed in a checkered suit and red tie. He honestly looked like a Harvard professor who played golf on the weekends. Not like some all powerful, supernatural being.

"Oh my." The man stopped short in the hallway and looked at me with wide eyes. "Holly Eberly."

"Shit." Zaire, the boy on the stairs, gave me a look that could only be described as reverent. "We have a famed warrior in our house."

"I'm not a warrior!" I exclaimed. "I'm just a normal college student trying to make a decent paycheck!"

"Now is not the time for this discussion," the man said, holding up his hands. "As honored as we are to have you in our home, what are you doing here, Holly?"

I quickly pointed a finger at Tolly. "She was the one who brought me here."

The man turned a very disapproving gaze on Tolly, who immediately looked back down at her shoes.

"Tolly Ramsey, what in Moon's sake were you thinking? You could have brought danger back to this house."

"But I didn't!" Tolly yelped. "Nobody would dare attack an Immune! And, if you hadn't noticed, Dad, this entire park is covered in the strongest wards we can make!"

"You're misunderstanding the point!" Maryana, the mother, fired back heatedly. "You could have gotten killed, and you could have gotten Holly killed! The last thing we want is for our daughter to be murdered! And we certainly don't need Holly dead, either!"

I wasn't sure if I had ever felt as awkward as I did right then. I was unintentionally caught in the middle of one insane family fight that I also happened to be the subject of. I really wanted to leave, but I doubted Agustin or Maryana would allow that, with how dangerous everybody claimed it was outside.

"Hang on, now, everyone," Zaire cut in diplomatically. "The important thing is to stay calm."

"Shut up, Zaire!" Maryana and Tolly both shouted at him.

"Okay, okay, enough shouting." Agustin ran his hands through his graying hair and let out a heavy sigh. "Zaire, get Blaise and Cyra. We're having a family meeting. Now."

Tolly slouched off after Agustin, who headed back down the hallway he'd come from. Zaire disappeared up the long staircase, humming under his breath.

"Um..." I rocked back on my heels, my awkwardness increasing. "Should I go now, or...?"

"Oh, no, no," Maryana said, looking shocked. "No, you're in this family meeting, as well."

That wasn't what I wanted to hear. Damn.

I reluctantly trudged after Maryana, down the hallway lined with oil paintings as old as New York and into a fancy mahogany paneled study. Bookshelves towered in every corner, velvet couches from the Victorian era everywhere that had to be hundreds of years old. The ornate fireplace in the room was decked with rather frighteningly realistic stone gargoyles. It seemed as if their hollow eyes were watching me as I edged into the room.

Hanging on the walls and cascading down from the cathedral like ceiling were long scrolls and tapestries. One of the yards of fabric depicted what looked like a fantastic battle between knights dressed in gleaming suits of amor and fanged beasts that looked suspiciously like crosses between werewolves and dragons. Another displayed the phases of the moon and their correct position in the sky during the months.

The place reminded me of what Albus Dumbledore's office would have looked like at Hogwarts, it was that...cool.

Tolly was already sitting on one of the couches and Agustin was sitting behind the massive desk in the room.

"Have a seat, Holly," Agustin said, gesturing aimlessly to one of the couches.

I took a seat in one of the over stuffed easy chairs, picking at my nails again, an annoying nervous habit left over from when I was younger.

Maryana began pacing the study, running her fingers through her hair, muttering under her breath the entire time. Occasionally she would shoot Tolly disgruntled looks, as if everything going wrong was all her fault.

"Yet another family meeting? By the Moon, I'm getting sick of these things."

A very short boy, maybe my age, sauntered into the room, hands shoved in his pockets, disgruntled expression on his face. He held the same aristocratic facial features as the other boy, Zaire, along with the same dark hair. The only thing that was different was their height. This boy stood as about as tall as a ten-year-old.

"Take a seat, Blaise," Maryana snapped at the boy. "And I'll thank you to keep your mouth shut, young man."

Blaise grunted and shrugged, then tossed himself down onto the couch beside Tolly.

A second later a little girl came skipping into the room with bouncing brown curls and dinosaur pajamas, the spitting image of her mother, Maryana. The last to walk into the room was Zaire. He swung the door shut with a foot and then dropped onto the couch beside the fireplace.

"Who're you?" Blaise turned his eerie dark eyes onto me and I shivered unintentionally. "Don't recall ever seeing you before."

"Right." Agustin slammed the book shut he was currently turning the pages in and turned to face all of us in the room. "I've called this meeting for a reason, thanks to dear Tolly over there."

Blaise smirked at Tolly, raising his eyebrows. "What'd you do now, sis?"

Tolly shot upright in anger, glaring. "Nothing!"

"Nothing," Zaire repeated with a snort. "It's never nothing."

"Thank you, Zaire," Agustin said coldly. "But back to the subject at hand. Now, I'm sure you all know that Samhain is in two weeks, and we - yes, Holly?"

"Er..." I bit my lip, flushing as everyone in the room turned their eyes on me. "I'm sorry, but what is Samhain?"

"All Hallow's Eve," the little girl chirped from Zaire's lap. "A sacred festival that celebrates the passing of the harvest and the beginning of the dark season. Also when the veil between the spirit world and our world is the thinniest." She beamed up at Agustin, very proud of herself. "Nan Orla told me about it."

"And Nan Orla is very right," Agustin said with a smile for his daughter. "Samhain is one of the most important celebrations in our world, a time to thank the spirits for the passing year."

"Yeah, the bonfires and feasts are fun, but they're nothing compared to the Solstice," Blaire said, looking to me eagerly. "They serve the best ale at Solstice, and I - "

"Enough, Blaire," Maryana said scoldingly. "You don't want to scare poor Holly. She's only just finding out about our world."

The way they kept saying "our world" was making me extremely uncomfortable. I didn't even know these people, yet they were treating me like I was one of them.

I wasn't one of them.

"Be that as it may," Agustin said, drawing attention back to himself. "Holly should know what is to be expected."

I drew in a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut, knowing I was about to really regret asking this question.

"And what should I expect?"

"I presume you've been told about Mitcham," Agustin said. A collective shudder passed through the room at Mitcham's name. "You know just how dangerous he is."

"Wait a moment," I said confusedly. "I thought Mitcham was dead! What about that body they found in Central Park, they said that was Mitcham they found!"

Maryana and Agustin exchanged apprehensive looks. I knew immediately that this was not going to bode well for me. Of course, I should have come to expect that from the beginning.

"Well...." Agustin rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes. "Not exactly."

I felt my insides constrict painfully. It was suddenly too hot in the room, and my head was starting to spin.

"What do you mean?" I said. I sounded winded, like I had just run a mile. "I don't understand."

"The thing is," Agustin started to say at the same time Maryana said, "What you have to understand, Holly - "

"Good heavens people," Blaise said, eyebrows raised. "Why don't you just tell the poor girl and get it over with?"

"Tell me what?" I demanded breathlessly. "You're all saying that I'm some Immune or warrior or whatever, and then you start preaching about Samhain and our world, but I haven't got the faintest idea what that all means! Do you know how absolutely frusturating this is, if not downright unbelievable?"

My heart was beating an erratic rhythm against my chest, and I thought I was going to slip out of my chair in a dead faint.

I didn't know what was happening to me, and there was no denying it, because something was happening to me. I was normally reserved, rarely ever feeling the need to share my opinions or thoughts with anybody except Jamie or Mac or my mom. I certainly didn't ever go off with random strangers into the night, and I certainly never let them into my apartment, either.

What was happening to me?

Was it because of the attack in that alleyway, or was it because I'd met Roman and Sinclair and everybody else in the CD and the Gloam?

I was starting to become desperate. I wanted all of this to go away. The frightening thought was that there was a small part of myself that felt like I couldn't leave, though. I needed answers.

As much as I wanted to deny it, maybe I believed that I belonged here, too.

I had never known who my father was. The subject of my father was such a touchy subject with my mother that I didn't even know his name. Maybe, just maybe...

"Look, Holly." Maryana sat on the edge of my chair and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "I know this is difficult for you."

"Oh, do you?" I said, rather rudely. "You know how difficult this is for me?"

Maryana gave a sympathetic smile. "Yes. Yes, I do. I was thrown into this when I was fourteen, sort of how you were."

My attention was immediately snagged.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, to begin with, I'm sure you know we aren't exactly normal." Maryana chose her words carefully, as if she didn't want to scare me anymore than this entire thing already had. "Agustin and I and our children - we're what you call Elementals."

I blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"Elementals," Zaire repeated with a roll of his eyes. "People born with the ability to manipulate an element. You know, fire, water, earth, air. I'm sure you've noticed them before."

I let that information sink in for a moment.

"What, so like Avatar?" I finally blurted.

The Ramsey family exchanged looks. Even Blaise, for all his blasé attitude, couldn't keep the baffled expression off his face.

"We're not quite sure what you mean," Agustin said, frowning.

"Avatar: The Last Airbender?" I said. My face was burning bright red again. "You know, the last air bender sent out to destroy the Fire Nation and keep the peace between the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes?"

Zaire and Blaise both burst out laughing immediately, the little girl started giggling, and Tolly stopped looking forlorn long enough to smirk.

"Holy shit, are you kidding?" Zaire snorted. "That's a bunch of malarkey if I've heard it before. They're aren't enough of us in the world to have a fire nation or a...a...what did you call it? Earth Tribe?"

I slunk low in my seat and fought back the urge to hide my face in my hands. That would just make things worse.

Sure, Avatar: The Last Airbender was targeted for kids, but it was still a good show, dammit.

"That's not to say you aren't on the right track, though, Holly," Maryana said, shooting Zaire a scolding look. "I am what they call an undine."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Did the Gloam have an entirely different language just to make things more difficult, as well?

"I can manipulate water," Maryana said with a smile. "So can Tolly."

Tolly twitched her fingers in what I thought might have been a wave, but then I heard a quiet trickling noise, almost like a flowing stream.

"Tolly, don't - "

My head snapped around and my jaw dropped as murky water began to rise from the vase of flowers on Agustin's desk.

The flowers were sucked dry in about a second, wilting over the side of the vase, and the water suspended in mid-air arched across the room to land in Tolly's outstreched palms. She was showing off, making the water swirl around in her hands, a few drops performing wild archs and twists, and then she finally ended it by creating a small wave that flew across the couch to splash in Zaire's face.

"Oi!" Zaire shot out of his seat, sending the little girl tumbling into Blaise's lap. "What the hell was that for, Tolly?"

Tolly shrugged with a satisfied smirk. "I was only demonstrating for Holly, that's all."

Zaire's face had started to turn very, very red. His jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed and he looked as if he were about ready to strangle Tolly. A second later, the grimy water coating his skin began to evaporate into billowing steam, giving him a ghoulish, almost demented look.

"Try that again and I swear I'm going to burn your entire wardrobe," Zaire promised in a threatening voice. "Then let's see you impress the High Court when you show up wearing dish rags."

"Fine," Tolly said coolly. "Just be prepared to wake up under water one morning."

"Alright, that's enough." Agustin's voice rang throughout the room with booming authority. "I believe you've made your point perfectly clear."

"Holly?" Maryana bent down beside me, a concerned expression on her face. "Holly, dear, are you okay?"

"I'm..."

White noise popped and crackled in my ears and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I tried desperately to make some sort of noise, to say anything, but it was pointless.

I fainted.

People were talking. Their voices were hushed, but animated, trying to keep quiet. It was useless. Whatever conversation they were having was obviously a subject of debate, because I could tell by their tones that they were angry.

"What the hell were you thinking, Tolly? You could have gotten the both of yourselves killed."

"Thanks, but I'm perfectly aware of that, Detective Ayers. We weren't killed."

"Goddamit, that's not the point! We need Holly, and we can't just have her murdered because of some careless mistake!"

I stiffened at the mention of my name. So they were fighting about me.

I didn't know how long I could pass off still being unconscious - and the saying went that eavesdroppers never heard well of themselves - but I was very curious to hear what they had to say about me.

"Yeah, I get the fact that you need Holly, but you're going about it the wrong way if you think you can use her and not tell her everything that's going on."

What? They were going to use me?

"Watch me. If I can keep her in the dark about the Gloam, then you can make damn sure that's what I'm going to do."

"What for? She's an Immune, for Moon's sake. She belongs in our world."

"Not if I can protect her from us."

"She's not yours to protect, Roman."

Silence.

"I know. She's not mine. I know that."

"Really? I'm not quite sure about that."

"Shut it, Tolly."

I had heard enough.

I sat up, which ended up being a bad idea. I threw out my arms to keep from tumbling onto the floor.

"Whoa, you okay there, Holly?" Tolly caught my forearms to steady me. "You hit your head pretty hard on Dad's desk when you fainted."

"What?" I leaned back against the leather couch and covered my face with my hands. Tolly was probably right. My head was throbbing painfully. "I...fainted. That's not like me."

"Oh, I think you'll be finding out a lot more about yourself as time goes on, Holly," Tolly said.

"Enough, Tolly." 

I dropped my hands and glowered over at Roman, annoyed that he was here, involved with all of this. 

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. "I thought you were busy working on a case. Isn't that what detectives do?"

"It's a quarter to midnight," Roman said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Past experiences say I'm usually done with work by then."

"What?" I looked around frantically and zeroed in on the clock above the mantel piece. Roman was right. "Shit. I need to go, I need to - "

I was halfway to my feet when Maryana walked in, carrying a tray of what looked like a steaming fresh pot of tea and a tray of cookies.

"Good, you're awake," she said with a sheepish smile. "Sorry abou that, sweetheart. We didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, no, it's okay," I said quickly. "It's fine, I just..."

"We'll try not to spring things on you like that again," Maryana said as she placed the tray on the coffee table.

"Thanks for the tea, Lady Maryana, but I really think Holly and I should be going now," Roman said stiffly. "It's late."

"Please, Roman, how many times have I told you not to call me lady?" Maryana scoffed. "That's only for the High Court."

Roman shrugged, pointedly looking away. "Formalities." 

Lady Maryana? I thought. What, are the Ramsey's royal? 

Tolly rocked back on her heels and stood. "Excuse me for saying, but I think we should just tell everything to Holly right now. It'll make things easier, won't it? That way she's in the know and we won't keep having to drag her back into everything like this."

"No," Roman snapped, turning a furious glare on Tolly. "That is exactly what we should not be doing."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Agustin strolled in through the study door and headed for one of the several towering bookcases in the room. "It might prove benefical."

It took him a moment, but he pulled out a huge leather bound book coated with a liberal layer of dust. On the front cover I could make out a fancy script in some unknown writing, probably hundreds of years old. Agustin crossed the room and handed the book to me without a word.

I nearly buckled underneath the heavy weight of the book. I could now make out the words "A History" on the front cover. I found it slightly ironic that reading this ancient book was where I would find the answers to all of my questions.

"Take as much time as you need," Agustin told me. "Everything you need to know is in these pages."

"Thanks," I said. "I appreciate it."

At least now I had plans for the remainder of the weekend.

________________________________________________________

Here, another update. I apologize for how long it took me to update! I've been really busy lately. I leave for vacation in a week and a half, so hopefully I will have another chapter of Face Your Fears posted, like I know how many people are anticipating. Thanks for putting up with my major writer's block. You guys are so cool for that! 

Anyways, thanks for reading, and drop by with a vote or a comment if you're feeling so kind, please and thanks. :) 

Oh, and I just saw Monsters University the other day - it was adorable! Not as good as the first, of course, but I still really enjoyed it. Definitely a good movie.