Another shrill cry echoed through the square, piercing Nikki's frantic heart. The Hunters were out there in the dark and from the sounds of it, they were on the move. Stealthily, she ran up the stairs, ducking past the windows being sure to keep out of sight. She had no way of knowing if the Hunters could sense her but she was going to find what she had come for, even if it led to her death.

Emerging at the top of the staircase she entered through a doorway into a space laid out identically to the room downstairs. However upstairs held more bookshelves and the majority of texts were still waiting to be plucked from the shelf as opposed to the mess downstairs. Mindful of the assassins lurking outside, Nikki gracefully walked around the room. She trod carefully, stopping every few moments to cock her head and listen to the silence through the heavy thudding of her adrenalin fuelled heart.

Standing on tiptoes she searched the top shelf nearest her, reading what little she could - the majority of the books written in strange words she couldn't fathom and the lack of light mad it difficult to make out the text. Tracing her fingers down the length of a dozen more spines Nikki found her temper shortening. What are you doing? You don't even know what you're looking for. She huffed angrily, frustration and fear eating through her resolve. Damn it Zeke, where are you?

Letting out a sigh, she laid her head against a shelf, the wood course and unpleasant against her skin. This was an impossible task. She was searching for the unknown in a library where the majority of the texts were in a foreign language.

"What am I doing here?" she whispered. Tears threatened to spill but before she could fully entertain her growing melancholy the familiar sound of beating wings pulled her from her slump. As a large telltale shadow passed by the east window, Nikki froze and held her breath. Instinctively she pulled her cloak tighter, straining to pinpoint the Hunters location but once again, silence reigned outside the building.

With her heart thrashing wildly inside her ribcage, Nikki tried desperately to hear something, anything, which might give her a clue where the Hunter was but these creatures were practically ghosts. If it wanted, it would remain undetected until the second it attacked.

A bead of cold sweat dripped down Nikki's neck and her body shivered in response. Her gut told her the beast was near and she fought hard to ignore her natural instincts to run. Then she heard it. Her heart leapt and she bit hard on her tongue to quell the frightened yelp as the door downstairs opened. The bottom of the wood grated slowly along the dirty stone, the sound echoing through the ghost town as a warning. It was coming.

When the scratching of wood on stone ceased, Nikki found herself gripping onto the bookcase as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She was doomed, cornered in a nest of vicious, merciless assassins without any means of escape. The best she could hope for now was a swift death.

But what about Josh? What if the wraith went after him next? What if by giving in, she was signing his death certificate? A shudder wracked her frame as she pictured the Hunter tearing Josh limb from limb. No! She couldn't let that happen, she had to fight, if not for herself then for Josh.

Quickly, Nikki scanned the room, searching for an escape. There was one exit, her only other option was the window opposite the door. As deftly as she could, she navigated around the fallen books to the far side of the room.  Willing herself to stay calm she slid past the last bookshelf and glanced back. The Hunter could appear at any given moment. Keeping her eyes on the door she felt her way, dancing her fingertips along the last of the books until suddenly they found nothing. Peering through the gloom she discovered a tiny alcove between the bookshelf and the wall. At a push she might be able to squeeze into it and if she could fit, it should be just deep enough to hide her, but she would be cornered.

The rest of the building remained silent and Nikki felt the growing urgency to do something. She didn't know how much time, if any, she had left should the creature decide to head up the steps. Making a snap decision she jammed herself into the tiny space between the rough wood and stonework. It was tighter than she'd expected and there was no way she could get out without a struggle, but at least for now, she was hidden. Swallowing her nerves and ignoring the trembling of her hands she forced her mind to try and reach out to Zeke. If she could just get him to feel her he'd know she was in trouble. She simply had to push past whatever was blocking her.

The minutes slid by and Nikki fought desperately to find a connection to her demon companion. Yet more seconds passed and still nothing happened. Huddled in the darkness she shouted silently, begging and pleading for Zeke to hear. As she battled for a connection, the tension in her muscles grew painfully unbearable. But as tempted as she was to move, she knew how patient the Hunters could be. If this one suspected anything, there was every chance it would wait all night.

Then from the murky doorway a shadow moved inside the room. Gliding to the opposite bookshelves it stepped into the weak light revealing the bony, slouched figure that haunted Nikki's nightmares.  An excruciating lurch inside her chest sent a new shot of adrenalin buzzing through her system but Nikki ignored her speeding pulse and the urge to run. Biting hard on her lower lip, Nikki held her breath and prayed the shadows covering her would keep her hidden.

Across from her, less than four meters away, the Hunter moved leisurely to a point halfway down the last shelf, snatching out a book and stroking the cover. Sliding her eyes from the gnarled hands to the cover, Nikki recognised it at once. It was the book she'd been searching for, the book she'd seen in her dream last night. Berating herself, Nikki cursed. If she wanted the book she was going to have to face the thing in front of her, but how? Yes, her fire was stronger but was it enough? She was alone and had no idea how many of her enemy were prowling through the deathly quiet square. As she contemplated her next course of action, the Hunter suddenly tuned, it's soulless eyes staring through the darkness directly at her. Paralysed with fear, Nikki stared back. This was it; she had no other choice but to fight.

Grunting she squirmed out of her hidey-hole, preparing to attack but instead of reacting to her, the Hunter simply held out the book. She faltered, stumbling away as it's bony hand offered her the thick book.

"Take it," it commanded. "Find the happiness you deserve."

Her mind whirled. What the hell was it doing? She shook her head. It had to be a trap.

It stretched out further, waving the book in midair. "This is what you need, now, please, Nikki, take it. Take it and find the happiness you so deserve with the man you love. Don't let the last two years be in vain. I have seen you suffer and now ... now I get the chance to right the wrongs my former kings made. Take the book. And then, my child, give me what I need. I've lived too long and taken too much. Set me free."

The coarse whisper of the Hunters words ripped through Nikki's stuttering heart, shredding it to tatters as the impossible presented itself to her. Bile burned her throat and she doubled over wheezing with the impact of what had just unravelled.

"No!" she screeched. "No, it can't be. No!" Her legs buckled sending her body plummeting heavily to the floor. "Oh god Zeke, what have they done to you?"

Ezekius crouched before her, his eyes shining in the darkness. "To look upon you through real eyes is an honour I never thought I'd experience. You truly are more beautiful than should be allowed. And you have made me so proud. Look at you! You are magnificent and I am so honoured you shared your life with me. You were my queen, but you grew into so much more ... "

Hot tears spilled down Nikki's face, her throat constricting as he confirmed his identity. Grief, familiar and torturous filled her soul, gnawing away at any shard of happiness it could find, robbing her of the hope she had been carrying. Gasping against the chokehold of misery, she fell forwards onto her hands, unable to look as his form shimmered, the appearance of the Ezekius she was used to breaking free for a moment.

"My Nikki. I have seen many things in my long life, but none as magnificent as you. I am without doubt that you shall be victorious in this task but you must face it without me--"

"No!" The strangled sob tore form her chest but Ezekius didn't stop.

"I have lived too long, seen too much and now I am tired. It's time, time to set me free-"

In a flash of grey Nikki pounced on him, clasping her numb arms around his disgusting, skeletal frame. In his embrace, he rocked her soothingly back and forth, stroking her hair gently. The tattered black robe he wore soaking up her choking tears as she sobbed hard against his dead chest. "I can't live without you, you're my only family, please, please, don't leave me ... " 

Holding her closer still, Ezekius rested his chin on the top of her head and breathed deeply. Her head fell and rose with each breath as he let her cry. For a long time he simply held her, letting her drain the tears and emotion, and listening to her broken, heartbreaking pleas to stay. Eventually he was forced to speak. "My child, my dear, dear child, for that is what you are to me and always have been. I have watched you grow and I have seen you learn. You have flourished against adversity and defeated whole worlds.  You have brought armies to their knees and tears to the eyes of angels. You are more than I ever thought possible. You do not need me--"

"Don't!" she wailed. "I will always need you. I love you." Her voice faltered and she gave up trying to speak. Instead she clung to him, pinning herself to his emaciated body as tightly as she could.

In his embrace, Ezekius felt her limbs tremble, her body shuddering with every violent gasp she took. Trying his best to calm her, his lips found her forehead and he pressed them briefly to her hot skin. "It's time for me to move on, Nikki, and it's time for you to go back to where you belong. Not hiding in the shadows with me but side by side with Joshua. "

She shook her head desperately and dug her fingers into his clothes. "No, I need you both. I ... I can't do anything without you, I won't," she gulped down a mouthful of air. "Zeke I can't carry on without you, please don't ... Don't do this."

Grasping her firmly by the shoulders, Ezekius pried her from his chest and stared down into her watery, black eyes, the anguish radiating from their depths almost enough to change his mind. Almost, but not quite.

In the corner of his onyx, glistening eye, a tear formed. It pooled as he searched her face, before braking free, streaking down his unrecognisable face. In response, Nikki's face creased and a fresh wave of agony hit her. Her world had fallen apart and nothing he said would change that.

Biting back his own sorrow, Ezekius cupped her cheek. "Don't cry, my child. You have so much strength within you; I know beyond all doubt that you will survive. You are my Queen, my love and my life but ...  my time has come to an end and I must say goodbye."

Nikki's bottom lip quivered as she choked out a whisper, "No."

Zeke smiled kindly and nodded. "Yes. I have nothing left to offer you that I can't give you in death." Nikki sobbed but Zeke carried on. "You have all I can give, my love, and in Josh you have all you need. I can leave you now because you are where you should be, where you belong. Josh is your future, I am your past, now please, I ask only one thing in return ... Set me free of the shackles I have lived my entire life in. Give me the peace I crave."

Piece by piece, the world around Nikki splintered. The oppressive darkness hanging over her, pressed down, seeping through her scorched skin and into her broken heart. The flame Josh had ignited when he'd walked back into her life snuffed out as a blast of icy air blustered through her ruptured soul.

"I know what I ask is selfish, but I am tired. Tired of fighting, tired of running and tired of living. It pains me beyond that of any wound I've ever suffered to see you hurt, knowing that it is my actions which have cause your agony but please, Nikki, I beg of you, let me go," Ezekius slipped his hand around her cheek, lifting her face to his, "I love you, Nikki, you are the only thing in this world and beyond that matters to me which is why I happily sacrificed my body ... But now you must finish the deed. Set me free."

"I can't."

"You can. Only you can. Please ... Don't make me live as one of these creatures, give me the gift of freedom. Finish what I started and believe in a better world. Carry me in your heart as you end the suffering and do what you must but please, indulge me one last time. Let me go." Ezekius lowered his hand and scooped up the forgotten book. "Everything you need is in this book. The other Hunters will let you pass out of the village but time is running out. Sunrise approaches and as soon as the light breaks the rim of rocks this town will disappear until nightfall. You can't be here for that, you would not survive."

Screwing up her face, she roughly wiped the heel of her palm over her wet cheeks. "H-how do y-you know all this?" she sniffed.

"The Hunter you saw leaving the village was coming for me. From the first time Elizabeth saw us with Sam, they had planned this. It seems that the Guardian's world is not the only one conspiring against Latébris and Mortemb."

"B-but ... No."

He carried on, ignoring her tortured whisper. "The Hunter bit me, drained me and I changed. It happened slowly, outside the existence of time. For me it has been days but for you hardly a second passed."

Nikki had thought she'd dried the reservoir of tears but she was wrong. "Oh Zeke." Her shoulders shook as she hid her face in her hands and wept. How was she supposed to go on without him?

"This book holds the answers you've been searching for, Nikki. It will show you the way to your happy ever after."

"How can it be a happy ever after without you there?" she snapped, suddenly very angry. "How can I think of smiling again when you're g--" Clamping down on her tongue, she refused to finish the word.

"Everything you ever wanted is possible." He shot her a discerning look as she made to argue, silencing her with a single glare. "And everything I longed for too. I have seen the possibilities and they are worth dying for even if I wasn't ready. But child, I am ready; I have been for a great number of years. I did my job but I'm no longer needed here. You have the power and the capability to end it all and you don't need me--"

"I will always need you!" Her tight voice rang through the silence, heavy with desperation and hysteria. "Please, Zeke, please! Don't ask me to do what I can't. Don't leave me."

"You can, and you will because you love me."

Nikki whimpered, biting on her bottom lip and shaking her head. "Please ... "

"I have loved you as a father, a brother, a friend and a teacher. I have loved you since your conception to today and I will continue loving you, just not by your side. And I have asked for nothing until now. So please, Nikki, release me and fulfil your potential."

"How can you ask this? How can you lay this at my door after everything? How?" Nikki screamed but her voice gave way, belittling the impact she'd intended.

"It is because of everything, I know I can ask this of you."

Her vision blurred as yet more tears spilled over her lashes. "But I love you."

He smiled poignantly, forcing her face to his as his thumbs wiped away the many tears. "And I shall always love you, my eternal queen," his voice broke and he swallowed. "My beautiful daughter ... "

Placing the heavy book in her lap, he allowed his own tears to fall. Laying a final kiss to her cheek he inhaled. "Do it now."

Looking out of the window, Nikki saw the warning hues of the night sky turning to dawn. It was disorienting the way time seemed to warp in this god-forsaken place.

"Do it now and travel on to your true destination, with Josh by your side knowing that I shall forevermore watch over you until the day comes when we may meet again."

"I can't."

"Yes, yes you can."

"No, I can't, how can I do that? To you?"

Zeke smiled through his sadness. "Because you love me ... Because I asked you to ... Because you know that you wield the power to give me all I've ever wanted. Use your pain, draw your energy from that and please, set me free."

"I ..." Nikki choked back another sob, the aching in her chest winding her. She couldn't do it, she couldn't bring herself to hurt him let alone kill him. He'd been with her through it all and he'd loved and cared for her. How could she live without him?

But how could she deny him the one thing she knew he'd always craved. As a demon of Latébris the one thing they were never offered was peace. There was always someone inside your mind. But now, she was able to give Zeke the only thing he'd ever really wanted. Peace. Tranquillity. How could she say no?

"Zeke I ... " Her eyes closed and more tears fell. She was selfish for wanting to keep him, but that knowledge did nothing to ease her crushed heart. "I love you," she finished hoarsely, opening her eyes to meet his.

"My child. I will love you for eternity," he replied, extending out his arms.

Through silent sobs she flung herself at him and held him as tightly as her shaking arms would allow. Drawing heat from her torment and pain she pressed her lips to his cheek before whispering through the cracking flames engulfing them both. "You gave me everything! Have your peace now and know that I will always, always love you."

Light filled the room, chasing away the shadows and bathing everything in a stark cobalt glow. At the centre of the illumination a gut wrenching, anguished wail tore through the flames, carried high into the wind circling the deathly quiet town. In the prickling heat Nikki wept, her tormented howling drowning out the last sigh to escape Ezekius lips. She held onto his bony body until there was nothing but ashes left which drifted to the floor around her.  He was gone.

As the light died, Nikki closed her arms around her quaking frame and squeezed her red, swollen eyes shut. He was gone and she was alone. Zeke, her truest companion, the one who had followed her into the depths of her own personal hell and pulled her out, was gone forever.

In the silence and loneliness of the room, Nikki screamed, a blood curdling, anguish fuelled shriek. Pushing out all of her rage and heartbreak she collapsed to the floor, lost to her own grief. Consumed by sorrow she curled up into a ball and turned her eyes to the window. The stars were fading, dawn would break soon. For a long moment she contemplated waiting for sunrise and allowing the town to swallow her whole, carrying her from this torment. But what about Josh?

What about him?

Even as the words flitted through her mind she knew the only person who could help her heal was waiting back at the van. And yet she couldn't will her body to move. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to give up, to lie with her grief and mourn her loss. She wanted to be selfish and stop the world turning, giving herself time to come to terms with what had just happened. But she couldn't. Even in her darkest fantasy she couldn't let Zeke's death be in vain. Slowly she heaved herself up onto all fours. Her body shook violently, protesting, but she pressed on until she found herself upright, clutching the book he'd passed her.

It was time, she could almost hear his rasping voice urging her on, telling her to get out but her legs were too numb for speed. Instead she dragged herself to the doorway. Her eyes swept the room one final time and she fought to see through the tears.

"Goodbye Zeke," her voice gave out and instead of the eulogy she'd tried for, she left to the sounds of her broken sobs.