It had been over two hours since they'd returned to their hotel and Josh could feel his chance of finding Nikki slipping through his fingers.

His new Charge, Joanne, sat snivelling in the corner of the room, her arms wrapped protectively around her body as she trembled uncontrollably. He'd tried hard to focus on explaining what was happening, simplifying it as best he could, but how could someone simply clarify a thousand year old secret war between two demonic worlds? How did you convince a sane person of dead Guardians sent to protect humans with clandestine powers? Yes it was possible, but it all took time. And his time was running out. Josh was losing his patience but he reigned in his temper. Upsetting Joanne more would only further delay his plan to get out there and look for Nikki.

"I know it's a lot to take in but  you're safe now and those things can't hurt you."

Crossing the floor he put his arms around her and coaxed her to lean against him. She gave in to his touch willingly and laid her head against his chest.

"I just don't understand, what did they want with me?" Her timid voice came out as a whisper.

"Try not to worry about that now. Let's get you home and after a good night's sleep things wont look so scary."

She jerked up and fixed her large, tearful eyes on his. "Home? You're leaving me alone?"

Despite his impatience, Josh smiled. "No, of course not and if you'd prefer you can stay here."

"Here?"

"Yeah, I'll sleep on the sofa and you can take my bed."

She rubbed her tired eyes and nodded. "I think I'd prefer that."

Covering his alarm that she'd agreed to stay with three men she only just met, Josh stroked her back. "That's fine, would you like me to swing by your place and get you some clothes?"

From the corner of his eye, Josh saw Sam fold his arms across his chest. He hadn't fooled his friend but it didn't matter, as Joanne nodded and smiled gratefully. Out of all his Charges, Joanne had been the easiest to convince. She'd hardly questioned him at all as he'd explained the situation, instead she nodded her head like a small child and innocently absorbed every word.

He eyed her with a level of discontent. She was far too meek for his liking. Something had to have happened to make this woman submissive and docile and what ever it was couldn't have been good. He felt himself soften.

No! Not yet, I'm not ready.

Gritting his teeth he pulled away from her reach. He didn't want to feel anything for her, yet his attachment was already forming.

"Why don't I go and you stay here with Joanne?" Sam suggested, his brows covering his eyes in a menacing scowl.

Josh glared back but held his tongue. His Charge was delicate enough without witnessing an all out argument between the men, however he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away.

"That's incredibly kind of you Samuel. Let me walk you down to the door." Josh said with false gratitude as he strode to the door of their suite. He held it open with a tight smile and waited for his friend.

Sam took the address from Joanne and left her with Nate, who was already offering the girl a very stiff drink.

"You couldn't even give me half an hour?" Josh snapped as soon as they were in the corridor and out of earshot.

"You've had two years Josh, two long years! And don't you think it's a little strange that the night you collect your new Charge, your old one, the woman that you're still hopelessly in love with, materialises to protect her? You don't find that at all unusual?"

"Don't patronise me Sam!"

"What? You can't seriously think it's coincidence?"

"No, I don't. And yes I've considered that it wasn't her that they were trying to pull some shit to mess with my head but I know Sam, I know it was Nikki. I could feel it."

Sam threw his hands in the air with exasperation. "She died, Josh. Nikki's dead. You went back to the pen and Nikki died. You think you're the only one who wishes things were different? You think you're the only one who has ever felt that way about their Power?" He raked his hands through his long, shaggy hair and shook his head. "I've been where you are. I know how you feel—"

"Sam, please, listen to what I'm telling you." Josh stopped walking and turned to face his companion. "For everything we've seen and done together. For all the times I've saved your arse. For everything you felt and still feel for Elizabeth. Please, trust me. It was Nikki. I know it was and if you make me walk away now, if you turn me away from the only opportunity I have of finding her then..." He broke off and closed his eyes. How could he make Sam understand?

Under the crushing weight of empathy, Sam studied Josh. Dragging his hazel eyes over his hunched shoulders all the way down to his scuffed trainers before conceding. "I can't believe I'm saying this... Fine, but we go together. You get thirty minutes and then we get Joanne's stuff and in the morning, we leave."

Josh nodded enthusiastically, bouncing on the balls of his feet in eager anticipation as he made for the exit. Nikki was out there and he was going to find her. Tonight.

"Not so fast!" Sam lurched at Josh and grabbed his shoulder. "If we're going to do this then we need to do it right. Let's head back to the alley and see if we can't find anything that might shed some light on the situatio—"

Josh had heard enough. He sprinted to the stairwell and flew down the stairs. In seconds he reached the ground floor and pushed out in to the main lobby. As he tore through the exit he had to force himself to slow down to avoid unwanted attention but his tight muscles fought against the sudden change of pace. He needed to run.

The second he stepped out of the grand entrance and found himself free from wandering eyes, he sped up, heading to the dark gloomy passageway as quickly as he could. He moved with such speed Sam had difficulty keeping up but Josh didn't care, he was on a mission and nothing was going to stop him from finding Nikki.

His hope and heart swelled as he approached the passageway; he had given up on ever seeing her again but she'd walked back into his life. He wasn't prepared to say a second goodbye when the first had completely broken him. He just couldn't do it again. By the time Sam caught up, Josh was motionless in the spot where he'd caught hold of her arm. His eyes were closed and his head tilted upwards.

"I can feel her," he whispered softly.

Moving away from Josh, Sam picked over the grubby space, looking for any sign of her. The ashes that Josh had claimed to be the remains of a demon had washed away in the constant drizzle of rain but there was a residual blackening on the floor, as if something had burnt there. Swallowing, he refused to allow any flicker of false hope. He knew Nikki was dead he just had to prove it to Josh.

Ignoring Sam's inspection, Josh slid open his eyes and drifted forwards to the open street. "She went this way but I lost her."

"Josh, if it was her, she could be anywhere by now."

"Sam!" The force behind Josh's tone startled his friend. "I'm not losing her again so either help me or leave me the hell alone!"

With his mouth open, Sam considered his options before finally nodding. "Okay, so where would she go? Why would she run?"

"I don't know." Josh's eyes roamed the depressingly bland street, glistening in the damp weather, the synthetic streetlight reflecting off the black tarmac. Absently he looked up towards the source of the orange glow and gasped.

"There, on the roof!"

Josh took off again, forcing his legs to run faster than they ever had before. Crossing the street his shape was just a blur and Sam had to work just to keep him in his line of sight. Josh darted around the building and found a black wrought iron fire escape that led to the top floor. Dashing up he came to a door that was wedged partially open by an old house brick. Ripping it open he hurled himself forward, the knowledge that her hooded figure was only a few meters away, pushing him on.

She was almost in his grasp. Two long, hard years were about to disappear along with the heartache that went with them. A smile spread over his face as he navigated his way through the abandoned building to find a flight of stairs that took him to the roof. Bounding up, two at a time, he burst out on to the roof.

Turning the corner his limbs seized jerking him to an abrupt halt, his smile and heart dropping as his eyes raked over the scene in front of him. It couldn't be, it just wasn't possible.

He took a step back.

The person before him was draped in the same tattered, hooded cape and bent over the body of a small shape-shifting demon. The quivering demon was pinned down; the knee of its attacker resting firmly on its chest as they held it's hand beneath the hood.

Instinctively Josh inhaled, his throat constricting thirstily with the scent of the demons blood.

"What is that?" Sam whispered as he finally joined Josh.

"I..."

In a fluid movement the hood turned and the eyes, shadowed by the material, glinted at the Guardians. A face that had been burned into both men's memories glared back at them, fury and shock resonating from the cold, icy stare.

"Nikki...?" Sam breathed.

The glow from the street lamps below illuminated her features but cast eerie shadows over a gaunt face smeared with crimson. Josh gasped, the sight of the liquid dripping down her chin, and the hard revulsion in her eyes, knocking the wind out of him.

Dumbfounded by what he was witnessing, Sam held out a hand towards her, "What are you doing?"

In a flash, Nikki dropped the demons hand and fled gracefully towards the edge of the building. A second later she jumped, disappearing over the side leaving her victim and her old friends behind.

Coming to his senses Josh sprinted forwards. "Not this time," he grunted. Nearing the edge of the building he was just in time to see her bolt down the street. Glancing down he saw the balcony she had landed on which led to an emergency ladder down to the street below. Without a second thought he sprang down and slid to the floor. There was no way he was letting her get away this time.

Determination surged through his coiled muscles as he hurried after her. She couldn't out run him and yet for some reason she was trying.

He closed the gap between them moving at easily twice her speed but something told him to hang back. As much as he wanted to catch her and pin her in his grasp, she was running to a destination and he wanted to know where it was.

Forcing himself to back off, he began to move in the shadows. More than once he stopped running all together and hid as she checked over her shoulder. He was playing a dangerous game but he had to know why she hadn't returned to him, and he knew she wasn't likely to give up that information freely. Eventually, hesitantly her pace slowed to a brisk walk.

Dipping into a concealed doorway he watched her pause and check her surroundings. As her shoulders rose dramatically he watched her fall back against the wall and drop to the floor. Winding her arms around her shins she touched her forehead to her knees and inhaled. Holding his breath, Josh watched as her frame shook rhythmically. Instinctively he knew she was crying and at the sight of her pain, Josh's heart shattered. He couldn't bear to see her so dishevelled and clearly defeated.

"Leave her."

Sam's voice was only just audible above the background noise of the town but Josh heard him loud and clear.

"You were right to hang back, we need to see what she's up to."

"I don't understand ... Why is she running from me? Why hasn't she tried to find me? She said ... She said she loved me. These aren't actions of love."

"You don't know that. You won't know for sure until ... She's moving, c'mon."

She ran, wraith like, through the back alleys and dense shadows with purpose in her step. Checking periodically over her shoulders she unknowingly led them to a large, abandoned gothic church, it's decrepit spire jutting in to the black sky like an arrow pinpointing her location.

Gracefully she skirted the outside of the building, her head tipping left and right before she hopped up on to a gravestone and climbed in through a broken window.

"What the hell?" Sam's puzzled expression matched Josh's.

"I don't know but I'm going in after her, it's time to find out what's going on."

With unnatural agility Josh vaulted through the shards of glass that clung to the window frame and landed soundlessly on the stone floor. Creeping through the gloom he followed the quiet mutterings and the distant candlelight coming from the front of the cold building. Crouching low he rounded the pews to see Nikki, devoid of her cloak, washing her hands in a beautifully decorated font. Her clothing was as shredded and dirty as the cloak had been and she looked much thinner than he remembered. As he was about to stand up and announce his presence he heard a grotesque, scratchy voice call out.

"You took a needless risk returning back to the alley. What if they'd seen you?"

Josh's jaw dropped as Ezekius swept up to Nikki and clasped her now clean hand in his.

He shook his head, unable to contain his confusion and resentment any more.

"Him?" he bellowed, rising to reveal himself. "You chose him over me?"

As Nikki turned, Josh found himself pulled into her wide, fearful eyes. Looking at her in the glow from the flickering flames a horrified gasp left his mouth.

"Nikki? What the hell happened to you?"

The scars he had noticed in the alley weren't just scars, they were large raised welts that ran from her hairline down to her chin and grossly distorted her features. They mutilated the left side of her face with four matching red, angry marks.

At his obvious repulsion, Nikki's hand flew up to cover her disfigurement and her chin tipped down.

"I... I don't understand," Josh mumbled.

Without attempting to explain, Nikki turned her back to Josh and reached forward to grab her cloak. She threw it on hastily and roughly pulled the hood up. In the safety of it's cover, Josh watched as she steadied her breathing. Keeping her back to him she held out her hand and laced her trembling fingers with the demon next to her.

"Don't do this to him again, Nikki." Sam spoke with authority as he stepped out of the shadows. "Don't leave him in this desperation and misery. He deserves better than this."

The silence was deafening as both Sam and Josh awaited her response. Eventually Ezekius sighed and angled himself to face them.

"She wants you to know that she's sorry," he hissed in his unpleasant voice, "and that she didn't mean—"

Sam reacted with surprise as the previously mute demon began to speak. Josh however was too stung by Nikki's snub to care about the demon. Ignoring all the questions that he wanted to ask about Ezekius, he retuned his attention to Nikki.

"Nikki please." Josh's emotional plea chased the quiet from the church as he begged. "Turn around. Talk to me ... Please!"

Ezekius shook his eyeless skull sadly.

"She wants you to promise that once you know her truth, you'll leave us alone and forget that you saw us here."

"What?"

Nikki twisted around slowly and lifted her eyes, sparkling with unshed tears, to meet Josh's.

"She wants you to promise," Ezekius repeated.

"Why?" Josh asked, his voice cracking with his pain.

"She wants you to promise."

"She can speak for herself!" Sam snapped.

Dropping her eyes, Nikki allowed the hood to hide her once again as she shook her head.

"No, she can't," Ezekius answered harshly. "They took her voice."

Sam squared up to the demon. "What do you mean? Who? How?"

"Latébris, the Prophets. She is cursed. She cannot speak."

Josh's eyes drank in Nikki's bedraggled body and before he knew what he was doing, he had pulled Nikki into a bone crushing embrace, grabbing handfuls of her cloak as he held her shaking body to his.

"Oh God, Nikki," he choked, unable to stop his own eyes from filling and the tears from falling. "What have they done to you?"