After a long hot shower Kelly felt like a new woman. And even though she had to put on Lauren's frumpy clothes and the jogging pants were so small they looked like a tragic pair of shorts, she still felt great as she skipped down the stairs. It felt good to ditch her heels and go barefoot, but what didn't feel great was going bare faced to their meet-up in the living room.

Kelly didn't go anywhere without her face on. Not that she always went everywhere with a ton of makeup plastered on, but subtle contouring and accents were the cornerstone of anyone's look, so what if she owned so much of the stuff she singlehandedly kept whole cosmetic companies in business. Heck she knew she looked good, but anyone with a little effort can look even better.

At least that was her philosophy-- and after all, wasn't that concept, what the fashion industry was built on?

When she entered the room it was already full. All the seats were taken which normally wasn't a problem as her and Xander usually shared one of the secondary chairs in the room, but nope that wasn't happening. When Donnie got up to offer her the chair she normally sat in. She waved him off and plopped herself down on the floor next to the fireplace.

Kyle and Travis stared for a moment as she took up residence near them, their stares lingered a little too long on her face; until she wanted to scream okay, okay so I'm not wearing makeup get over it already.

When Zach spoke she let out a silent sigh, "Now that we're all here: does anyone have any clue what the heck that was all about?" Zach addressed everyone but directed his gaze towards Donnie.

"Yeah Donnie have you been messing around with something or someone you shouldn't?" Lauren asked pointedly.

Donnie's eyes went wide as he puzzled out what she meant, but then he threw his arms up to object to her theory and announced vehemently, "No, no you have to believe me. I know nothing. I do nothing to no one."

And you know what? She believed him. The guy was just too darn moronic with girls to be a player.

"Well that only leaves one other possible reason for the attack. Guys do you think Liam was able to convince the Cait Sith to join his merry band of lunatics?" Cameron asked the group from his usual spot on the floor at Megan's feet.

Meanwhile Megan ran her fingers through his hair making his eyes roll back in his head, which made here want to scream: Get a room already!

"I certainly hope not, it's bad enough he has the berserkers on his side." Ryan announced from his little piece of the rug in the corner of the room, just as she thought: great I've joined the floor dwellers.

"I don't know guys, "Olivia interrupted, "That doesn't explain why they seemed to be after Donnie." Marley was braiding her hair and normally the sickly sweet scene would just make her want to hurl but this time she wanted to shout. Alright, already we get it you're in love.

Why did it seem like everyone was rubbing her nose in their happiness tonight.

"Dude no way," Travis broke in to her thoughts excitedly, "after you in what way?"

Kyle jumped in and cut off his brother, "Yeah Brah were they looking for the headshot or were they just trying to straight up kidnap you?"

"Judging by the number of defensive wounds I treated, "Brenna announced, "It's my opinion they weren't holding back."

I think you're right. If they were looking to bag and tag him they would have taken off and waited for another chance to grab him when he was on his own." Quinn suggested.

When Kelly looked around she saw a number of heads nodding in agreement. She guessed they must still feel the sting of the Cait's claws too. No the killer felines had meant business.

"Ya'll I don't think they're working with Liam." Kelly spoke before she realized. She certainly hadn't intended to. What she intended to do was to sit through the meeting and go on home.

She should be putting about a million miles between them. She and Xan weren't seeing each other anymore and they were his friends. Besides, if the gosh darn nerd herd continued to put their lives on the line they wouldn't have any.

And she was kind of stuck on the idea of seeing her next birthday.

Xan spoke up then looking at her strangely as he did it, "I don't think they're working together either. If they were, Liam would have had the head of anyone who risked Kelly's life; especially if he still wants to get his hands on the Ankh."

By the look on everyone's face she could tell that most of them had forgotten that part.

As they worked it out in their heads it gave her time to puzzle what Xan's look had been all about. Had he guessed she had mentally moved on from him already? She hoped so, and you know what: she hoped it hurt too.

"I don't know, CJ suggested, "Maybe they've moved it again and it's off planet or in a super alternate dimension that he can't get too and he wants a little pay back."

That sort of makes sense he's been pretty quiet as of late," Ray turned his dark brown eyes in her direction and with a shrewd look he asked her, "What do you think Kelly? Do you think they were taking it easy on you?"

Kelly replayed the events of the attack back again in her head until she came to a logical conclusion and said, "When the three kitties attack two went after Donnie right away and the other didn't seem at all interested in fighting me just keeping me out of the fight."

But after I jumped in and started trying to protect Donnie that changed everything. All three of them were willing to do whatever it took to get to him even if it meant killing me."

She looked Ray dead in the eyes and responded with a resounding, "No they weren't taking it easy on me," Kelly showed off her defensive wounds to everyone in the room. "They would have ripped me to shreds just like the rest of you."

"No, she continued," one of ya'll, probably Donnie, did something to cause a hissy fit in those Caits and I don't know what ya'll been up to this summer but frankly, ya'll need to smarten the heck up or ya'll are going to be deader than dead before you see eighteen."

There she'd said it and for once Xan didn't reprimand her for being her usual blunt self and you know what she was glad for it too. Who did he think he was anyway? Always telling her what she could and couldn't say?

"Me," Donnie objected loudly, "No I did nothing."

Quinn cut off his protests and quipped, "Kelly I think that was a personal best for you. I don't know if anyone has ever heard that many ya'lls in one sentence?"

Zach sat forward to try and get the meeting back on track. A number of the people in the room looked pretty put out by what she'd had to say, but she couldn't care less.

"Okay," he said as he cajoled his crew, "Simmer down everyone," and as he looked around the room he asked, "Can we all at least agree that they looked like they were trying to assassinate Donnie?"

When everyone nodded in agreement Donnie paled and gulped audibly. "Mio Dios, but why?" he whined.

"That's the sixty-four thousand dollar question." Connor said sardonically.

"Looks like we have another mystery on our hands," Megan announced a little too gleefully.

Just as Kelly began to wonder: What in the heck was wrong with these kids didn't they like living.

"I've got a question," Quinn asked, "What the fuck were those black holes? I'm guessing they're portals, but I'm not sure?"

"Oh I know," Donnie blurted out, "They're openings to the Umbra Road."

Kelly thought bless his big dumb heart. He looked so happy he could finally answer question.

"Say what road now?" Quinn sputtered as he cocked an eyebrow.

"The Cait Sith travel using the Umbra Road. It's a road made entirely of the shadows." Lauren supplied.

Kelly almost laughed when everyone's eyes fell on Lauren. The girl was a book worm, if she didn't know it, no one did, and they were looking to her to explain, but for once she just shrugged and said, "I don't know a lot about it, other than what I've read, but here goes."

"The Umbra Road is like a portal however it is perilous to anyone who isn't a Cait. Unlike a portal though they can only be opened on this plane as they are a physical construct, not an ethereal one."

Zach spoke up and said, "Oh I see what you're saying: so you can't use the road to travel to another time or another plane of existence?"

Kelly snickered to herself when she looked around the room and thought well it was a good thing someone was catching on, because by the looks on the faces of the other magical creatures in the room, Lauren had lost them.

When Lauren looked around and notice the same thing, she tried another approach. Digging in her pocket she brought out her spellcard that allowed her to open a port door to portal to other places. Lauren didn't have the ability yet to open one herself.

She told them once that going through a port door of her making would be tantamount to getting in a blender and hoping no one turned it on. And that was a big no thanks in her books.

She held the spellcard up for everyone to see and explained," This allows me to magically open a door, but it has limitations, for example I can't open a portal to Beijing with it. I can only portal in my general vicinity -- in and around the city with it."

"This," she pointed at the card, "only opens the door I have to use my magic to direct the portal. And in using both my gifts and this magical device, I'm bringing something into existence by using magic."

"The Umbra road is always there lurking in the shadows just waiting to be accessed, and because of that a Cait can go pretty much anywhere in the world, night or day."

"But where did it come from has it always been there?" Marley asked looking fascinated by the idea.

And Kelly couldn't blame her, who wouldn't want the power to be in the blink of an eye be here and then in Paris or London. Anywhere your heart desired without the hassle of travelling or risking losing your luggage.

Someone let out a low whistle, and they all turned to Donnie with a questioning stare.

Donnie chuckled at the looks they sent his way and said, "I do not have this power," and shrugged dejectedly before continuing, "My cousin he tell me maybe some halfblood do it; maybe some don't."

"What makes the road perilous?" Zach asked Lauren: who surprise, surprise knew more than she thought. The girl was a veritable genius, Kelly had to begrudgingly admit.

She seemed to ponder the question a bit before she answered, but then she sighed deeply and said, "I don't know exactly, but I've read that it's completely deadly for humans, and I'm not quite sure, but I don't think other magical creature would thrive there either."

That seemed to satisfy everyone's curiosity. They sat in silence for a moment listening to the ticking of Lauren's analog clock on the living room wall.

Speaking of clocks it was getting late and she was tired after the excitement of tonight all she wanted to do was get home and curl up in bed with a fashion magazine and look at the new fall line until she fell asleep, which prompted her to speak up.

"Why don't we just call it a night? It's the first day of school tomorrow and I don't know about ya'll but I need my beauty rest."

"Besides Lauren can portal Donnie home and he'll be as safe as a bug in a rug behind the wards on his house."

Lauren had warded all their homes last spring after Liam's gang started following them home.

All of a sudden Lauren was on her feet with a look of abject horror on her face, "oh em gee Donnie," Lauren blurted out, "I'm so sorry I can't say whether the ward will protect against the Umbra Road since it can be opened anywhere there's a shadow."

And if they're targeting you they'll surely know where you live." Zach suggested.

Donnie bound off the chair at the realization and announced, "I've got to worn my cousin and his family. They could be in danger."

Lauren reached her arm out to him and said sympathetically, "Showing up there might get them killed. No, until we know what's going on your going to have to steer clear of them for their own sake, and we have to find you somewhere to stay maybe even move you around so that they can't find you."

"You can use my phone and let your cousin know what's happening maybe he'll know what's going on." Lauren suggested as she took the receiver off the cradle of her old landline phone.

"You better stay with me tonight." Lauren offered. I think Cam 2.0 left some clothes here too that might fit you.

Donnie looked Cam 1.0 up and down and seemed to come to the conclusion that he didn't exactly like that idea and she had to hand it to the kid. He did have fine wardrobe sense; she couldn't fault him on that.

With that the meeting was over and everyone went their separate ways.

She called an Uber to pick her up. Xander didn't re-offer his help in getting her back to her Baby and she wasn't going to remind him, nah ah,  and Lauren in her worry over Donnie seemed to have forgotten too.

So she waited outside for her driver, and when he arrived she jumped into his car wearing an old pair of flip flops of Lauren's and carrying her ruined wardrobe and heels in a convenience bag. If she couldn't rescue them she'd at least be able to give them a proper burial. When they pulled away from Lauren's house she had to wonder what Donnie would have done without his friends. Together they could keep him safe until they figured out what was going on, but none of them had her fighting skills. And if they could truly get to him anywhere he didn't stand a chance.

Oh well she sighed as they pulled away. It wasn't her problem anymore, but if they really meant to kill him. Could she really just sit back and let the kid die? 

The Umbra Road sounds really cool a perilous?

But if the Cait Sith can travel anywhere there's no where Donnie will be safe.

Or is there?

Tune in tomorrow to find out.

If you like what you've read and want to know more please: follow, vote, or comment. OR all of the above. More importantly if you could share this story with your followers. I'm sure they'll love it too.