Josh walked in with a scuttle full of coal, wincing against the volume in the kitchen. He was beyond fed up of the carousel they'd been mindlessly riding as they rehashed the same issues over and over. From the corner of his eye he noticed Nikki's empty space and sighed. What had they said to her now? A snippet of conversation rose above the din, grabbing his attention.

"Who says she didn't do it on purpose? We can't just accept what you've been told, I don't care what you say, she's manipulated you before and she could have easily done it again." Roxy was clearly annoyed and her voice had risen to painfully high tones to convey her anger. Josh watched Sam with intrigue.

"This was nothing to do with Nikki! If she was planning anything she would have told us."

"Oh like she did last time?"

"Are we talking about the same time Jake told you what would happen and you chose to keep it quiet?" Sam roared, his temper finally snapping.

Josh crouched down and busied himself with the fire, he was sick and tired of these arguments, Roxy wasn't going to forgive and forget and Josh wasn't about to either, in his mind there was no way they could progress. Poking at the embers he sighed, what ever someone had said or done it was enough to send Nikki from the room and that was unacceptable to him.

"So who said what?" he asked, dropping the poker.

At once silence claimed the room as every pair of eyes turned to stare at him. Sam pulled his hand nervously through his hair and flicked his eyes to Juliet.

"Oh, I should've known!" Josh bit, squaring up to the old woman. "What did you do now?"

Looking anxious, Sam cleared his throat. "Nikki disappeared. She was sat in her chair one minute and gone the next - chair and all. We've no idea what happened she just ... vanished."

For a split second Josh's mind went blank before his instincts kicked in. "No! No, no, no, no, this can't be happening. What do you mean she disappeared, where? What the hell? She can't just vanish into thin air." He ran around to where Nikki had been sat to see for himself that her chair was indeed missing. "Where the fuck is she?"

"We don't know--" Sam started but Juliet interrupted.

"There's a possibility it might not have been the demons doing."

Sinking down into her seat, Juliet wrapped her bony fingers around her teacup and sipped at the cooling liquid. "It could have been Scarlett."

"What could have been Scarlett?" Mikey's calm question cut through the confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Josh hissed, glowering at Juliet.

"Scarlett, she's, well, she's special. She's ... " Her words trailed off.

"Have you any idea where they may be?" Mikey questioned, taking over from Sam who was obviously wrestling to control his temper.

"They could be anywhere but I can call her back ," Juliet hesitated. "Only, if she's not touching the demon, she'll come back alone."

"When you say they could be anywhere?"

"I mean they could be absolutely anywhere, Mikey. Upstairs, Russia, even Mortemb for all I know."

Josh opened his mouth to curse but Mikey cut him off, gesturing for him to sit down.

"Okay Juliet, tell us what you know."

"You all know I'm a Guardian but none of you thought to question what exactly I'm guarding. You see, Scarlett isn't just here by accident and neither am I. She was a Charge and she's been passed down through the generations of my family along with this house. What?" Juliet pulled her eyebrows up and glared at the faces staring back at her. "You think I like living here, all alone and shut away from the rest of the world? You think I chose this? Huh," she huffed loudly. "I'm a Guardian but I'm not like you lot. I age and I'll die, I've never been to the pen and I never will. My job is to keep Scarlett inside the house and away from prying eyes."

"Why?" The question fell from Sam's lips with force.

"Does it matter? All that we need to know right now is where the hell Nikki is." Josh growled.

"Oh, she could be anywhere." Juliet replied with a shrug.

"You said you could call her back," Will, Mikey's Power, spoke up in his gruff tones.

"Yes I can, but --"

Sam crashed his hand to the table, making Nate who was sat next to him jump. "Why didn't you do that as soon as they disappeared?"

"Because you're not supposed to know about her, about me. And because I was shocked. Out of all the people who have been able to see Scarlett, your demon is the only one she's gravitated towards. She's never teleported before, I doubt she even knows she can, but I'm sure it's something to do with her. I was hoping they'd return but I can see that's not going to happen now."

"What exactly, is Scarlett?" Will murmured, voicing the question running through Sam's head.

"She's ... Complicated." Juliet muttered.

"Whatever, just call them back!"

The older woman pinned Josh with a withered expression. "I can only call Scarlett home. If she's not touching your demon then she'll come back alone."

"But at least then we'll know where Nikki is." Mikey reasoned.

From the end of the table, Roxy pursed her lips clicked her tongue. "A few days she's been back and look at all the trouble we're in. Damn it when will you all realise she's more hassle than she's worth? For the last two years it's been relatively quiet and then all of a sudd--"

Josh rounded on her, gripping the edge of the table as he bolted to his feet. "And why was that? Why has it been so quiet the last two years? Could it have anything to do with the fact that Nikki killed a substantial amount of our enemies? Did you ever consider that?"

"Josh." Sam caught Josh's eye and shook his head slowly. "Roxy, why don't you and Jake--"

"What? Leave? Gladly, I told you over the phone I wanted nothing to do with this in the first place. Come on Jake, we're going."

It was Juliets turn to raise her voice. "No! Sit yourself down and play nicely."

"Why?" The younger woman's eyes were ablaze with fury.

"Because you're all part of this. And this book," gnarled, weathered hands gripped Nikki's book tightly, "this is important."

"What do you know about it?" Sam asked, his tone guarded and wary.

Juliet sighed before crossing the room. With fluid movements she refilled the kettle. "I only know the stories that my mother told me, ones she'd heard from her mother before her and so on and so forth."

"Go on."

Josh dragged his hand through his messy hair. A growing sense of impotence choked him. "Shouldn't we be trying to track Nikki down instead of listening to stories?"

"She could be anywhere, you'll never find her." Putting tealeaves into a strainer, Juliet poured the boiling water into her cup. "Your only options are to wait for her to contact you or let me call Scarlett home and hope they're still together."

Crashing his open palms onto the table, Josh cursed loudly. "Fine, call her back."

"Josh--"

"What? At best we'll get them both back, at worst we'll know where Nikki is." Josh was fighting to keep his head. Pushing down the swell of anxiousness in his chest he struggled to think clearly. "Or does anyone else have any better ideas?" He searched the faces of his companions, the small flicker of hope extinguishing with each of their expressions. They were all as lost as he was.

"Fine, do it." Sam nodded once.

Acquiescing, Juliet bowed her head and began to mutter quietly to herself. Her tongue found its way around sounds foreign to Josh's ears. He listened intently but the whispered words made no sense. A slight breeze fluttered through the kitchen, caressing his hair and making it dance in front of his eyes. Pushing the wayward locks firmly away Josh startled to find Scarlett looking up at him.

"Scarlett!"

Spinning around he searched the dark corners, waiting for Nikki to step out and smile but she was nowhere to be seen. Opening his mouth to call her name, Josh found himself rendered mute.

"Scarlett," Juliet chided, "What have you done?"

"Juliet." The small child sobbed, covering her face with her tiny hands.

The rest of the group eyes the room, watching Josh and Juliet carefully. 

"Where's the demon?" Juliet questioned, her tone altogether softer.

In response, Scarlett fell to her knees and sobbed harder.

"It's okay, Scarlett, if you tell us, we can help."

The ghost child raised her watering eyes and met Josh's gaze first before moving to find Juliet's. "She's somewhere horrible."

Josh gripped the back of the chair he was next to until his knuckles turned bone white.

"What's going on?" Sam grumbled.

"It was horrible. People were screaming and crying but Nikki said," a hiccup fell from Scarlett's lips and she shivered, "she said if I wished hard enough it might come true."

"You're okay Scarlett, you're back where you belong now." Juliet, still by the kettle, crouched down. "You're safe now so can you tell us where you were?"

Covering her face again, Scarlett, sobbed louder. "They're going to hurt Nikki."

Josh stopped breathing, his hand splintering the chair as he deciphered the words through her tears. "Who? Where were you?" His voice had returned but it sounded nothing like him. It was cold, detached and menacing. Ignoring the lead weight in his stomach he stared beseechingly at the small child, willing her to answer his questions. He needed her to confirm what he was thinking. Cruel images flashed through his mind as he imagined the worst. If she had somehow ended up back in Latébris, he knew Nikki would be made to endure the worst physical pain imaginable, but the Prophets wouldn't stop there, they'd shred her, physically, mentally and emotionally. If they didn't act fast there's be nothing but a broken shell remaining of the woman he loved.

Scarlett shook her head and gasped. "I want Nikki!"

Crossing the room slowly, Juliet kneeled down and gathered the child into her arms. Caressing her head through the golden ringlets, Juliet muttered soothing noises until Scarlet had calmed.

"You can touch her?" Sam observed quietly.

"Yes, so can he now." Juliet jerked her head towards Josh but he wasn't listening. "Since she touched Nikki she's found solid form, but only for those who can see her."

As Juliet explained, Sam rounded the table and joined her on the cold, stone floor. "Why? What's going on? What does this have to do with the book? Who is she?"

"Not who." Juliet whispered, closing her eyes.

Regaining control, Josh fell to his knees and clasped his hands around Scarlett's tiny hands. "Scarlett, please, I know you're frightened and upset - so am I - but I have to know, where is Nikki and who wants to hurt her?"

The shining green eyes hiding behind tiny palms peeked out momentarily before darting into the comfort of Juliet's open arms.

"Scarlett, please, do you know where you were? Were you in Latébris?"

The child visibly cringed as Josh spoke. "They're going to hurt her."

It was Sam's turn to panic. Unable to hear or see the ghost he relentlessly switched his gaze from Juliet to Josh. "Josh?"

"You're safe now, Scarlett but if we are going to help Nikki, you need to answer Josh's questions. There's no need to be afraid, certainly not of him, he loves Nikki, you know that, he only wants to help her." Juliet rocked the child back and forth. "It's okay, it's not going to happen again. You wont go back there."

"Please, sweetheart, I need your help. Please," Josh begged, "tell me who wants to hurt her."

"The scary people and the woman with the red hair."

"The scary people?" Juliet glanced at Sam. "Scarlet, do you mean the Prophets?" The girl whimpered and clung tighter to the old woman. "Okay, and who's the woman with the red hair?"

Through tight lips, Josh rose up with a snarl. "Joanne," he growled.