"You haven't lost anything when you know where it is. Death can hide but not divide."

- Vance Havner

                                                                                 ***

Galloway frowned when she saw Rhys waiting for them in the parking lot of her apartment building. "I called him an hour ago," she muttered.

Caleb parked. "Yeah?"

Shrugging as she opened the door, she said, "He's been staying at a place that's like a two-hour drive from here. If you follow the speed limit."

"Who follows the speed limit?" Caleb asked, walking around to join her. His eyes wandered over to the he-witch, and Galloway hoped it was subconscious when he reached toward the small of his back, presumably for a gun.

Sighing, she knocked his arm away. "Don't. If anyone gets to shoot Rhys, it's me. Besides," she said with a grim smile as they walked toward the witch, "he can read your mind."

Caleb gave her a nervous glance and she sighed. "He says he has a hard time messing with a Hunter's brain. Apparently, we're too stubborn."

He looked only vaguely relieved by that. With another, deeper sigh, she turned her gaze back to the other man. Speculatively, she wondered how long it would take until they tried to murder each other.

Rhys was leaning against a dark blue BMW, his arms crossed, and she wondered where that had been the last time she'd gone to Logan's. They stopped just a few feet away and Rhys grinned, taking off his sunglasses.

Raising an eyebrow, he said, "What? No kiss?"

Caleb blinked and looked at her, like he was verifying that Rhys wasn't talking to him. Galloway just shook her head, then frowned up at the apartment building, swearing under her breath. She turned to Rhys, but before she could ask if he could get them inside, he held up a single key.

"Logan thought you might need that," he said, tossing her the key. "You left in such a hurry last time, he couldn't give it to you."

Refusing to let him make her feel guilty, she curled her fingers around the cold metal and nodded her thanks. Looking between the two men, she said, "All right, the sooner this is done, the sooner I don't have to see either of you."

They gave her identical looks of affront, and she had to fight against an amused smile as she unlocked the front door and let them in. Both of them pretended to look around when they got into her apartment. In reality, she wondered when each was going to catch the other looking.

A small headache trying to grow into something more problematic nudged at the back of her right eye, and she made a beeline for the kitchen. Both Caleb and Rhys watched as she poured, and she said, "Sorry, you'll have to fix your own."

With a small smile, she tipped her glass toward the two, downed it, then announced, "I'm getting in the shower." She motioned for them to sit down. "You two should talk."

Both of them opened their mouths, arguments and swear words chasing her into her bedroom. She slammed the door and paused to hear Rhys say, "Does she ever come home with less problems than she left with?"

Galloway didn't stick around to hear Caleb's response, instead electing to strip out of the torn, bloody, most likely stolen clothes she'd been in for more than a couple days. She turned on the shower, then looked in the mirror.

Shadows under her eyes made them large and spectral. Her cheekbones were more pronounced than she remembered. Had she always looked so sharp?

Galloway braced her hands on the counter and leaned forward, staring into the sink. Closing her eyes immediately provoked memories she didn't care to examine with a telepath in the next room. Opening them left her alone once again.

Stepping into the shower, she remembered Khali's warning—or perhaps threat—and her heart shivered even as the water scalded her skin. Avoiding the mistake of closing her eyes again, she tried to understand what this turn of events meant for her. Wondered if it was just another small move in this chess match of Theron's. He never did anything without a reason.

She certainly felt unsteady. Careworn and badly beaten. It almost surprised her that when she looked down, she didn't find blood rinsing down the drain. But—she bit into her lip—but giving her a new Hellhound didn't seem like the smartest move on his part.

Galloway wanted Sirius. She loved Sirius. Taking him had torn out her heart.

She looked up, frowning as she focused on her chest. Placing a hand tentatively over where her heart would be, she smiled a little at the stillness she felt there. Logically, she knew her heart was beating just as faithfully as it always had. Poetically, she thought that Theron had finally made a true mistake.

Warmth flooded over her skin, and she breathed out a small laugh. Biting her lip to stop what she was sure would be something a little more hysterical, she turned off the water. Getting out, she quickly dried off and dressed before hurrying into the living room, just to stop dead at the sight that greeted her.

Caleb stood leaning against the counter, his arms folded defensively over his chest. Rhys sat on the farthest arm of the couch, his hands clasped together where they dangled between his knees. Neither was speaking, only watching the other warily. Caleb's gun was on the counter.

"You're supposed to talk," she said with a sigh.

Caleb shifted his gaze to her. His lip curling in a snarl, he said, "It gets difficult when he starts answering questions you haven't asked yet."

Rhys opened his mouth to defend himself, but Galloway held up a hand, surprised when he actually fell silent. "You're just doing that because he's a Hunter," she said, pointing at him. "And I'm sure you brought up more than the Hell gate."

The witch shrugged, unrepentant. Looking at both of them, he said, "Between the two of you, you could support the entire psychological community with all that baggage." He gave her a reproachful look. "His mind is about as organized as yours. Makes it difficult for me to decide if something's been said or merely thought."

Now she shook her head, giving him a dry look. "Well maybe you should concentrate harder. Let him ask his questions, answer them succinctly, then you both should leave before Theron gets here and thinks I'm planning something."

"We are planning something," Caleb pointed out, rather unhelpfully.

Rhys turned to her, eyes dark green and inscrutable. Gnawing at her lip, she let her gaze flicker between the two of them, then walked over and sat on the couch, more or less right in the middle between the witch and the Hunter.

She stiffened when Rhys said, "You think Theron made a mistake?"

Galloway took in a long, slow breath. "Any Hellhound Theron gives me now isn't him," she said, pretending like she was commenting on someone else's actions. "So there's no more draw. What I wanted is gone and it isn't coming back. That's his mistake."

Rhys narrowed his eyes at her, but merely nodded once. Caleb frowned, looking between the two of them. A divot appeared between his eyebrows. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She stared straight ahead and explained, "It's like I told you when we were going to Devils Lake. I have to turn to Hell willingly. Then they can use me for the spell. With Si... With him gone, there's no more temptation to turn to Hell."

Caleb snorted. "Well, as disturbing as that is didn't you already turn to Hell willingly?"

Both Rhys and herself turned to stare blankly at the Hunter. Galloway managed a "Huh?" 

Rubbing a hand over his mouth, he said, "You made a deal, Galloway. You've... already turned to them, right? So what are we missing here?"

"I'll be damned," Rhys muttered, making Galloway turn to him with wide eyes. He met her gaze. "He's right. You've already turned to Hell. You sold your damn Soul. So what are we missing?"

Galloway's breath eased out of her lungs, and she wondered how neither Rhys nor herself had caught that from the jump. That it had taken Caleb to point that out.

Rhys was suddenly on his feet, making her flinch and Caleb stand up straight. He paced along the front of the room, giving the other Hunter a wide berth. 

She could practically see the wheels spinning in his head. "The...whoever they use for the spell," she said tentatively. "They have to be made part of Hell. Isn't that part of it?"

"So why not just turn you into a demon?" Rhys muttered to himself, then more loudly said, "Because you have to be willing. You can't be forced to it."

"Wouldn't a demon be willing to let all other demons out?" Caleb asked. "They wouldn't need to force her if she was demon."

"I have to be responsible for losing my Soul," Galloway said, slumping back into the couch. "Right?"

Rhys stopped pacing to look at her and shrugged. "I was pretty sure. There's some lore about it. But it's not entirely credible. Mostly I just based that off the fact that, for the both of us, they didn't just strip our Souls away with force."

"What if you need a soul to perform the ritual?" Caleb supplied, making both of them look at him again. His shoulders tightened a little, but all he said was, "You keep saying that you have to lose your soul, whether by your own doing or because of the demons. Both of you are still walking around with one, so what if...they need something with a soul to do it?"

Rhys let out a small breath of laughter. "Maybe I need to rethink my opinion of Hunters. Not as stupid as I thought you'd be."

Caleb flipped him off, then to Galloway said, "I see what you mean by kind of an asshole."

Galloway just raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement, but was more preoccupied with rolling this new theory around in her mind. 

Rhys nodded at her. "It does make a lot of sense."

"It's freaky when you do that, you do realize that, right?" Caleb demanded, looking a little unsettled.

"Get used to it," Rhys fired back. He took in an excited breath. "I can't believe I didn't think of that. They made you a Collector, not a demon. You still have a Soul. I still had a Soul. How did we miss that?"

"Because Theron has on multiple occasions threatened to have me de-Souled," Galloway said. She knew she hadn't told Rhys that, but she wouldn't put it past him to already know.

Shrugging, Rhys said, "Demons lie. So you need a Soul." Then he abruptly frowned. "That doesn't help us at all."

Galloway and Caleb both raised an eyebrow. 

"How do you figure?" Caleb asked, voicing her thoughts.

Rhys rolled his eyes. "She can't not have a Soul. Unless you want a slightly immortal Hunter with a chip on her shoulder and no Soul to guide her walking around killing everything that vexes her."

"God I'm glad Logan didn't get that dramatic streak," Galloway muttered, making Rhys send her a dark look. "But I see your point. And if it's all the same to everyone here, I vote that I keep my Soul."

Caleb nodded his agreement, and Rhys shrugged once more. "Okay. So, you keep your Soul, they need a Soul to do the spell. Great." Shaking his head, he said, "Theron couldn't have taken the Hound a moment too soon it seems."

The Hunter quickly shook his head, making Rhys look at him with a frown. Caleb's hand went subconsciously to his mouth, but Galloway didn't stir. The words brought a small surge of pain, nothing more. Rhys' lips parted in concern, but before he could say anything, there was a quick rap on the door. 

They all froze for a moment, then Rhys breathed, "That delivery you were expecting."

Her hands trembled as she looked at the two men standing in her apartment. There was another knock, this time more demanding. For a moment, she wondered why Theron hadn't just appeared in her apartment, then just as rapidly decided she didn't care why. It mattered more that she hadn't been caught completely by surprise.

If Hell even suspected what they were doing here, they'd be killed.

She blinked rapidly, trying to think her way out. Then she looked up, a wild idea running across her brain. Rhys was already scowling by the time she thought, Take off your shirt.

"What about the Hunter? He's got that tattoo, right?" he hissed. Caleb frowned, then took about three steps back when Rhys tugged the t-shirt he was wearing off.

His dark eyes went to Galloway and she grimaced. "Don't argue. Just stand there and look pretty. Shouldn't be too hard for you."

Bewildered, he opened his mouth, but then came a third knock. Galloway made sure to make her voice as breathless as possible. "Just a minute!"

She went to the Hunter and said, "Don't talk, just look...ruffled."

"Ruffled?" he whispered, closing his eyes when she ran her fingers through his hair, making it as messy as she could. Rhys, looking disgruntled, fell onto the couch and kicked off his shoes.

Caleb turned to her with worried eyes, then jumped, swearing as she reached down and undid his belt, then the button on his jeans. Pointing at him, she said, "Don't fix it."

He scowled, then made a small choking sound when she took off her own shirt, rapidly followed by her jeans, leaving her in nothing but her bra and underwear. She looked at his split lip, then poked gently at it, making it turn bright red. Making it look fresh.

With a fortifying breath, she messed up her own hair as much as she could, bit hard into her lower lip, then crossed the room. She shared a look with Rhys, warning him not to say anything, then opened the door.

Her heart jumped into her throat when she looked up into Theron's scowling face. Swallowing, she said, "I wasn't expecting you until later."

Theron swept past her, only to pause as he took in Rhys, Caleb and their various states of undress. Galloway put her hand to her mouth, biting briefly on the thumbnail before she said, "I was busy."

"I can see that," Theron said, his voice devoid of emotion. "I'm rather surprised, Galloway. You always seemed like such a good girl." He looked Caleb up and down. 

He frowned at the demon, then turned to Galloway with a puzzled expression.

She shook her head minutely at Caleb, then took a step toward Theron. "Do I need to get dressed or...?"

"No, no," Theron said, turning back to her. His gaze went to Rhys, who was just staring at Galloway's exposed skin. The demon raised an eyebrow. "Feel free to carry on with...all this. I just have something for you."

"The new Hellhound," she replied, crossing her arms over her stomach, goosebumps starting to rise painfully over her body. "Where is he?"

Theron snapped his fingers and there was a blur of darkness, followed by a dull thud as someone fell to the floor between them. Galloway stared at the demon for a moment before turning her gaze slowly to the body on the floor.

Her eyelashes quivered and her vision blurred.

Black blood snaked out from under the prone form. The tips of his fingers were raw where the nails had been torn away. He didn't move.

Her gaze met Theron's, who smiled serenely. "He'll be fine in an hour or so. Probably. It hardly matters since you don't have a Debt any time soon. I'll send you the proper paperwork when I need you. Oh, and try to keep the calls and disturbaces to a minimum. We're very busy lately."

She opened her mouth, but Theron had already gone. Everyone stood frozen, shock on all their faces. Then she shook her head, falling to her knees beside him.

Gently, she rolled Sirius onto his back, bile rising in her throat when she looked at the sloppy mess they'd made of him. His stomach was shredded, blood pouring steadily from around the exposed viscera, his guts shiny and wrong in the daylight.

He was unconscious for the moment, and she prayed that he would stay that way until he had healed a little.

Looking up at Caleb, she whispered, "Is this real?"

"Yes." The sharp answer came from Rhys rather than the Hunter. Galloway looked back down, her hands fluttering uselessly over him as he bled.

A sheen of sweat covered his deathly pale face and there were puncture marks in his lower lip where he must have bitten it as they tortured him. Taking another catalog of his wounds, Galloway finally determined that the only thing to do was wait for his body to repair itself. She wasn't skilled enough to be of any help when his wounds were this severe.

"Well, that's unfortunate," Rhys said and she exploded to her feet. Quickly grabbing his discarded shirt and shoes, she shoved them into his arms, then grabbed Caleb's elbow, dragging one and pushing the other toward the door.

"Galloway—," Caleb started.

"This is just part of it—," Rhys was saying.

She just continued to move them toward the door. Trying to smile, she nodded and said, "Look, you two can discuss this all more since Caleb's smarter than he looks and Rhys obviously doesn't know everything. But you can do it at Logan's."

When Caleb resisted, she tapped her foot to the back of his knee, making it give before she shoved him, then Rhys out into the hall. They stared at her and she closed the door halfway before sticking her head out. "It'll be great. You can ride back in uncomfortable silence, thinking about how a demon believes you two were in bed together. Rhys, leave me your car. Mine was totaled."

An uproar ensued after that with much swearing involved and several creative names thrown her way. She didn't care as long as they left her alone with him.

Poking her head out one last time to find both of them with pissy expressions, she said, "Fine, ride separately, I don't care. Just tell Logan to come and pick me up tomorrow afternoon if you won't leave me your car. I need to go see Milo about my Chevelle. Okay, bye."

Her chipper tone immediately abandoned her when Rhys said, "He's a mistake."

"I could say the same about you," she said coldly. "Go before you piss me off. Work with Caleb. He's good at what he does and can obviously offer some new perspective on this. I'll see you both when I can."

With that, she slammed the door, then turned back to Sirius. His eyes were open, but just barely, his fingers trembling with the residue of the agony he must have suffered. Her feet padded across the wooden floor until she was kneeling beside him again.

Gently, she brushed his hair out of his face. He smiled, making a small sound in the back of his throat. Hoarsely he whispered, "I guess all dogs do go to Heaven."

She frowned until he trailed shaky fingers over her bare thigh, leaving black streaks like war paint over her pale skin. Carefully she took his hand, ignoring the exposed, bloody nail beds where claws or fingernails should have been.

Not quite willing to believe this was real, she pressed the back of his hand to her cheek and whispered, "Why?"

He closed his eyes. "Because there comes a point when the pain is useless. It's just a state, nothing that can drag out any more answers. I seem to reach it faster every time." He laughed, then groaned and she watched in consternation as his diaphragm seized. "Pisses Theron off," he gasped.

His teeth were stained black like he'd been drinking ink. His eyes wandered down to his torso, and he whined softly as he took in the wretched mess. Tremors ran through his body and she scooted around, tugging carefully at him until his head rested in her lap.

Sirius let his eyes drift shut as she asked, "What answers did you give?"

He swallowed, grimacing. "Only the ones I could afford to."

"Khali said you talked about me," she blurted out, then bit her lip. Now didn't seem like the best time to hash all of this out.

Sirius smiled, but it was obvious he was less than lucid when he slurred, "Of course I talked about you. You're all there is."

Unsure if she should be flattered or afraid, she smoothed back his sweat soaked hair one more time. She jumped when he sighed. 

"Would you kiss me?"

She blinked, everything in the world spinning sideways around her except Sirius. And he was most likely shocky with blood loss and trauma. His eyes were still closed as he said, "If I asked, would you do it?"

Galloway let a breath slip softly away, then bent over, pressing her mouth to his. He tasted like sulfur and, under that, mint. Another breath burst out of her, a gasp that released every shard of agony that had collected in her chest over the past seven or so days, making her press her mouth harder into his.

After another lingering moment, she pulled away and he mumbled, "Thank you."

She watched as he drifted back into unconsciousness, then touched her fingers to her mouth. They came away sticky and black. Carefully, she stood and got dressed, then did what she could to make him more comfortable, afraid to move him until the gaping hole in his abdomen had closed up.

Laying down next to him on the cold floor, she just stared, watching his chest rise with every shallow breath. She ached to touch him but didn't dare to, afraid of accidentally hurting him more.

Horrified, she realized she'd fallen for Theron's gambit. Taken the bait hook, line and sinker. Because now she knew what it felt like when he was gone. Knew what it was to miss him so fiercely it created a hole right through the middle of her. 

Taking Sirius hadn't been a mistake at all. The mistake had been on her part, thinking that it was safe to loosen the reins on her feelings for him once he had been taken.

Sometime later that night, her phone rang. Peering through the darkness, she could just make out Caleb's number. She lay her head back down. He could wait until she had adjusted to the rapid beat of her heart again.

Slowly, flesh knitted itself together, hiding the things that should be hidden. She watched as his body put itself back to rights. Closing her eyes for just a second, she wished momentarily that she'd never met him.

A small scuffling noise had her opening her eyes again to find Sirius raising his arms to look at his wrists. A small, confused frown was on his face. She sat up quickly and he flinched, shrinking away from her. Biting her lip for a moment, she whispered, "Sirius?"

He blinked, still frowning down at his arms until he dragged his gaze up to her. His eyes were glazed for a second, then suddenly sharpened, narrowing with menace. Galloway tilted her head and opened her mouth, then shut it as he rose to his knees. She could still see strands of muscle, but could no longer see anything that seemed vital.

Sirius looked around and growled, snarling at her. Her breath caught as he lunged, pinning her to the ground. His hand was pressing into her throat, but his claws still hadn't grown back. He growled again, the sound vicious, and said, "Did you think this was going to stop me from killing you, you son of a bitch? I told you that if you let me go you were going to die."

She tried to say his name again, but couldn't get it past the pressure on her windpipe. His fangs lengthened and his eyes were mad, brimming with a malicious insanity she'd only seen hints of before.

His hand slipped and she was shocked to feel his teeth sink into the side of her neck. She had the moment to think that she hadn't expected this, another moment to wish he wasn't the one about to kill her, but then he stopped moving. Every muscle was held so violently still it quivered. His fangs slipped out of her skin.

He kept his face buried in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply several times. Galloway didn't dare to move as blood trickled down her skin, but couldn't help the little shiver that ran through her when his tongue flicked against the small, bleeding holes he'd created.

Sirius took a final, shuddering breath before he threw himself away from her. She stayed on the floor for a moment, lips slightly parted, staring up at the ceiling, a little afraid to move. Fingers touched the side of her neck, and she flinched then scrambled to her feet, looking down at him.

He returned her gaze, then rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth, frowning at the red that streaked across the skin. Tentatively, he put it back to his mouth, tasting it. A soft sound of disbelief gusted out of him, and he staggered to his feet.

"Galloway?" he asked, the expression on his face like he was seeing the sun for the first time.

He took a small step forward, then another when she didn't back up. Before she could stop him he swept her into his chest, his blood leaching through her shirt. His breath was ragged in her hair and he muttered, "Is this real? Are you real?"

Stiffly, she nodded, and his arms tightened around her. "They let me out. They let me come back to you."

"Why?" she asked and his hands stopped where they'd been stroking her back.

He took a step away, but she darted forward as his legs tried to give out. His eyes were wide when he looked down at her and said, "I don't know."

She stared up at him for a moment, but couldn't bring herself to suspect that was something other than the truth. He was in too much pain to lie effectively, judging by the sweat beading up on his forehead.

Swallowing hard, she nodded, then helped him into his bedroom. He collapsed into the soft blankets with a choked on moan. Galloway hovered for a moment, then tried to draw away.

His hand shot out, wrapping tightly around her wrist. She looked down to find him giving her a raw, pleading look she'd never seen before. Like the word cost him something, he whispered, "Stay."

She pressed her mouth into a thin line and he said, "Please."

Her phone trilled distantly in the other room. His eyes were as wounded as his body. Slowly, she lay down next to him. Sirius sighed, losing about a millimeter's worth of tension as he buried his face in her hair.

It didn't take long for his breath to turn slow and deep.

Galloway reluctantly closed her eyes, wondering what other horrors were in store.