Lauren came to in the Ryu's cozy living room on an overstuffed couch with half a dozen worried faces staring down at her. When she went to ask what had happened her memories flooded back in. Angry tears started streaming down her face again. When Quinn gave her hand a squeeze, she realized that he was holding it. When she looked up she could clearly see Zach pacing back and forth behind the smaller in stature Ryu's. He looked frustrated beyond belief.

She started to sit up and Zach rushed forward in concern nearly taking out Grandma Ryu in his haste. She held her hand up to stop his progress and to assure him she was all right.

She announced in a calmer voice than even she could believe she could muster given her present state of agitation, "I think something we discussed today broke down a barrier in my mind that kept me from the truth about my so-called-deceased brother. He was or is the boy that's been imprisoned on another dimensional plane. But you don't have to worry about me crying about it anymore, because I'm going to find him and bring him back, and the council can go fuck themselves!"

Ray's gran seemed to look shocked, but Ray's dad got a hard glint of determination in his eyes and said, "I too feel the council can go fuck themselves."

Ray's mouth dropped open when he heard his father curse, but his father just nodded his head stiffly and finished with, "Let us know if there's anything we can do."

When his wife looked at him with concern he said, "Kasumi we stood back and let them take two children now and have done nothing. I let them take Aiko, because I thought it was the honorable thing to do. It was not."

His wife went to speak, but he held up his hand, "No my love, my blossom, enough is enough, we couldn't save Aiko, but we can save this boy. Tell me what I can do?"

"I don't have a plan yet, but if I think of one and you can help, I will let you know." Lauren said emphatically.

Mr. Ryu seemed to like that answer, and nodding authoritatively, said, "In the meantime I can give you kids a ride home."

"Come." He commanded.

When Ray made to follow them his father said -- not even looking back, "Not you. Your mother and I need to speak to you there are many things we must discuss."

Ray hung his head, but didn't object: obedience seemed to be second nature to him. Poor Ray to find out your parents had been keeping secrets from you all your life – twice over. This whole stupid magical world was built on a foundation of secrets and lies and she was sick of it. It was time to shine a light on the messed up shit that's been going on for far too long, and she was going to be the one to do it.

***********************************************

The guys insisted on accompanying her home and she had no choice but to agree; they never even gave her the option, and she was grateful for the company. She couldn't imagine the too quiet house. It gave her too much time to be alone with her thoughts -- her irate thoughts. She was mad at the council, mad at her mother, and mad at the world that robbed her of her twin brother and left her with a gaping hole in her heart.

She had half a mind to join the hate filled crew that was going around wreaking havoc on the magical world. They were probably people that the council screwed over too, but she couldn't do that. Even in her rage, and hunger for revenge, she couldn't bring herself to do it, not at the cost of innocent lives. The night school students were using guerilla warfare and her fellow halfbloods were just cannon fodder to them.

Nobody spoke during the drive home not even Quinn. If someone had told her two days ago that Quinn could spend twenty minutes without saying a word, she would have called them a liar and told them to check their head.

When they arrived at her house she was more than slightly embarrassed by the sagging front porch and blistering paint. The overgrown front garden was the icing on the cake of her shame. The only other person of her friends to see her house was Zach, but she trusted him not to judge her harshly for the neglect that had been shown her home since her mother and her had moved in ten years ago.

Was it shallow and superficial of her to wince with humiliation when the busted up screen door screeched as she opened it, maybe, but old wounds run deep?

"Welcome to shez Nash Quinn." Lauren kept her eyes averted.

She was afraid if she made eye contact with him she would see the pity on his face.

It stung more when Quinn didn't make his usual pithy comment to break the ice. OUCH!

Once home she turned up the heat the house was never warm nor would it ever be inviting like the Ryu's. It was too sparsely furnished and only on the rare fogless days in San Fran, when the sun shone at it most brilliant, did the light penetrate her dirty front windows. Everything was layered in a thick coat of dust. Overall what it lacked the most was a family atmosphere, but it made up for in its decrepit state.

Oh what would it be like to have family? She could barely recall, but she'd had one once. She could recall the time before her brother was taken with a little more clarity now. It had always been the four of them -- her, her mom, her brother, and her uncle. How could she have forgotten her beloved Uncle Ulliam he had been like a father to her? What happened to him? Why did the council rob her entirely of his memory?

She needed answers and she intended to get them. She raced up the stairs banging her fist on her mother's door as she went by. She used her fae speed the rest of the way to her room. The guys followed at a normal pace. She could tell they were leery of her mood, but she didn't care.

She flopped on her unmade bed and said with authority, "Get on your phones and text everyone. We need to formulate a plan. Tell them to meet on Skype in an hour until then we have to come up with some ideas of our own."

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Lauren told them everything she knew about what happened to her brother. She told them everything she could remember about her uncle and that he had been magically erased from her memory for some reason. She finally admitted to everyone her circumstances with her mother and her diagnoses. So there would be no help from that quarter. She also told them that Mr. Ryu, the all powerful God of Thunder, was on their side and willing to help in any way.

There were a lot of questions, most of them she couldn't answer but what came from the conversation was that they had all agreed to help including Kelly with a lot of insistence from Xander. She couldn't be certain but she thought that their constant harassment was slowly witling away at her hard core bitchy exterior.

In the end, they formulated a plan, but it would require going to the secret magical market for supplies, and sneaking out to Muir woods -- the closest all natural locations to the hub -- so that Brenna could do a Shamanistic ritual to call forth the spirits. If they did it right they would be able to ask them what plane her brother was on and hopefully how to get him back. When Brenna asked if anyone wanted to know what could happen to them if they did it wrong. Not surprisingly everyone said 'no thanks'.

So not all of them, but most of them, would meet at Coit Tower at Telegraph Hill at noon tomorrow. 

Now all they had to do was come up with a plan to rescue her brother from a dark prison realm. The location of which only God and the council knew.

And neither were talking. 

********************THANKS FOR READING***************

If you liked this chapter Vote, Comment, add, this book to your reading list, or suggest it to a friend. Lots of friends.

A/N I'm still looking for a name for a Were bar for magical shifters. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. And for those that are wondering what name was chosen for the magic shop run by witches. It turned out to by Bats, Brooms, and the Great Beyond . . .

Best suggestion gets a virtual hug.

I want to start recommending books that I've found that haven't got a lot of reads yet and truly deserve it. So here it goes:

But I haven't had much time to read lately. I'm hoping once I get all the boxes unpacked and everything put away; then, I can go back to enjoying all your works.

Guys please I'm reading so many of your fabulous stories that I have completely lost track of the of usual up days if you have one, and I never seem to be able to sift through the feeds to find them. So I ask you please send me a heads up when you update? 

I don't want to miss a word from my favorite authors. Thanks