📎A/N. Hello my lovelies. Well it looks like winter has finally set in. :( For those of you in the northern hemisphere enjoying summer. Can you please send some warmth down my way. I am officially over the rain.

Thanks for all your feedback on the last chapter, I am constantly overwhelmed at all your wonderful support...

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PS. Don't forget to vote.

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Keira felt drained. Both physically and mentally. This was not how she anticipated this week would unfold.

I should be in LA, grading papers and listening to students try and explain why they hadn't turned in their assignments – not on the other side of the continent reopening old wounds.

To be fair, she knew this day would come. As much as she denied it, the cards had been dealt a long time ago, and no amount of wishing would delay the inevitable. From her vantage point, Keira stole a glance at Ryker.

His set expression gave nothing away. The sheriff by day and vampire by night had remained silent the entire walk to the car and the subsequent short trip to the hotel. Her only consolation was that with his intense introspection, his normal frantic and unpredictable driving skills were within tolerable levels.

Once they pulled up to the curb, Ryker made no move to exit the car, nor turn the engine off. His fingers gripped the wheel with such force she could visibly see the strain on the steering column as it resisted his unyielding pressure.

"There's more to the story, isn't there." It came out more as a statement than a question.

A dull ache pulsed at her temple. The tell-tale sign a headache was readying itself to wreak havoc with her state of mind. Keira glanced down at her hands which were clenched together on her lap.

Not for the first time she wished Ryker wasn't good at what he did.

"Yes," she said with the smallest of nods.

Ryker sighed and loosened his grip on the steering wheel. "Can I still protect the witches without knowing what it is?" he asked.

She lifted her head and turned to face him. His ever-present sunglasses gave nothing away.

"I get the feeling you're a little too raw at the moment," he said, breaking the uncomfortable silence as they continued to regard each other. "Whatever you're holding back is personal... and I get that, but I have a city to protect, and I can't do it if I am kept in the dark."

"Knowing won't change anything," she said, hoping he wouldn't see through her uncertainty. While technically it wouldn't help him protect the others, it might change how he viewed her. Something she didn't want to face right now.

"I'm not trying to be difficult," she said. "It's just... it's not only my story to tell, and I've spent the better portion of my life trying to forget."

Ryker reached over, placed his hand over hers and gave it a light squeeze. "Give me some credit. I can see how much his has affected you."

His sudden tenderness and lack of judgement toppled her equilibrium. She had been prepared for his scrutiny and interrogation. He had made it quite clear his loyalty to those he protected would always come first.  She had not been prepared for his empathy. Keira gave him an ashen smile and hoped he understood how grateful she was for not pushing the subject.

As she pulled her hand away and unclipped her seatbelt, she glanced towards the hotel. Dayna and Marcus would have returned by now and undoubtedly would be waiting for her.

"I know you've still got things to do," she said as she reached for the door handle. "So I won't keep you. Just let me know when you manage to get what's left of the coven to meet with me."

Keira quickly got out and closed the door. She was surprised to notice Ryker had exited the car as well. "Where are you going?"

Ryker donned his sheriff baseball cap and tugged on the brim. "You're out of your broomstick if you think I'm going to leave you alone without making sure you're safely inside."

"I can look after myself."

A cynical eyebrow rose over the rim of his sunglasses. "I'm sure that's what the others said; and how did that confidence work out for them?"

"You can't just follow me around," she argued as he made his way around the car. "You've got a job to do."

"Yes. To protect and serve. Right now in order to serve the city, I need to make sure you are protected. I'm not leaving until I know you're with Marcus and your sister, and that you will stay that way until I come and get you in the morning."

Ryker leant down till he was only a few inches away from her and pulled his glasses halfway down the bridge of his nose so that she could see his eyes. The flash of steel blue infused with a raging inferno stared back at her. While his compulsion would work on a Natural, it rolled off her like water off a ducks back. However, the sudden display of unbridled power let her know he was deadly serious.

Not wanting to test just how much mettle he was made of, Keira snorted in disgust and headed to the hotel, not looking to see if he followed.

They were halfway across the lobby when Dayna's voice rang out. "Sheriff I've been very naughty, how about you arrest me, and I can show you just now bad I can be."

Keira rolled her eyes and groaned out loud. "Just once," she said. "Just once can you not make such a public display like that?"

Ryker chuckled as they turned and watched Dayna close the distance, rolling an overnight bag behind her. "I don't know. I kinda like her brand of criminal behaviour. It makes a change from the drunken frat students that streak through the town every spring break."

"Your timing is perfect," said Dayna to Keira while giving Ryker the once over. "We've just gotten back."

Keira glanced over Dayna's shoulder. "Where's Marcus?"

"Returning the rental. He'll be back shortly."

Ryker glanced at the Louis Vuitton luggage bag. "You leaving so soon?" he asked.

Dayna frowned. "No." She then turned to the direction in which Ryker's attention was riveted. "Oh my bag," she said glancing at Keira for help. "I've been shoe shopping, and, you know how it is... Gucci, Louboutin, Jimmy, Steiger. Who can choose just one? I got a little carried away, and it was easier than trudging around town with a dozen bags and boxes."

Ryker cocked his head, and his attention moved from the bag to Dayna. "In Salem? You went high-end shoe shopping in Salem?"

There was a brief silence, followed by Dayna letting out a nervous laugh. "Heavens no. Marcus and I drove down to Boston. It was such a lovely day, perfect really for shoe shopping."

"What was perfect?" asked Marcus as he suddenly materialised beside them.

Keira's eyes shot to Dayna's who looked like she was about to have a coronary. "Shoe shopping," said Dayna a little too quickly. "You know, the shopping for shoes we did today. In Boston. At the shoe shops... for shoes."

Marcus's expression was looking as confused as Ryker's. Keira needed to do something; and fast. Ryker wasn't stupid.

Keira was close enough to Marcus, so without making it obvious, she kicked him and said, "Dayna was just telling us that she brought so many shoes today from your trip to Boston, she had to bring them back in a suitcase." Keira hoped her pointed stare would get through.

Marcus glanced around at them with a blank face. She fixed a glare at him and saw the moment understanding dawned.

He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at Dayna. "Yeah, well it may have been a great day for her. But I was the one who had to follow her from store to store carrying all her crap," he grumbled. "And I was the one having to apologise when the shop owner wanted to kick her out for being too loud. We almost didn't buy any shoes today."

"That's not my fault... that horrible man had no right to tell me I couldn't touch the shoes in any other section of the store," said Dayna.

Marcus rolled his eyes and clenched his fists. "We'd already been over that. It was a special shoe shop. You were only allowed in the women's shoes department. You had to have a special invitation for the men's. They are special, temperature-controlled shoes. Just because you had access to the restricted women's shoes, it did not mean you could try on every shoe in the store."

Keira grimaced. She had a feeling they were no longer talking about shoes. Clearly, something had happened at the library.

"Okay, I don't think the Sheriff here needs to have a play by play rundown of shoe shopping," she said putting herself between her sister and teaching assistant.

"Hmmm, I don't know about that," Ryker drawled. "Much more of that drivel and we might have heard what they were actually up to."

Keira was about to protest when Ryker held up his hands. "Don't even try," he said. "You lot would not make good criminals."

Ryker glanced around. Whatever he was going to say, it was clear he didn't want the conversation to be heard. "Until we know who's behind the killings, the three of you are to stay together. You are all to go to Marcus's hotel, grab his stuff and get back here ASAP. For tonight you are staying in the same room."

Dayna opened her mouth to speak and snapped it shut when he glared at her. "This is not negotiable," he said with a low growl. "I need to organise some protection for you without arousing suspicion. Until I do, you are safer together. Don't you think there have been enough deaths?"

"But we can take care of ourselves," said Keira.

"To be honest, I suspect that between you and your sister, you'd be able to take on any supernatural and come out on top; but it's a risk I'm not willing to take right now. It's bad enough that my whole world just shifted on its axis today without having anything happening to you to add to it."

From his stance, Keira could see he wasn't going to back down. She looked over to Marcus and Dayna, who were watching the unfolding drama with interest.

"Fine," she said, not happy with the situation.

"Fine what?" he pressed.

She leaned forward and spoke in a low voice that only he could hear. "You know, I could cast a spell that would make no amount of Viagra work on you," she threatened.

His resulting grin only further infuriated her. "Go for it Doc, you'd only be hurting yourself there. It'll be your loss."

Not willing to get into a war of words with the man, Keira stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine," she hissed. "We'll stay together tonight."

If possible, his grin only broadened. "I'll be back in the morning."

"Wow, that was hot," Dayna said as they watched Ryker stride out through the front doors. "Gotta love a man in uniform."

Keira let out a frustrated sigh and headed towards the door in which Ryker had disappeared through. "I'm hungry, let's get Marcus's gear and get back here before it gets dark."

"What about this?" Dayna asked.

Keira turned and realised her sister was pointing to her small suitcase. She remembered the shopping conversation and began to laugh. "Bring your shoes with us. We can't leave it here."

***

Despite her dismissal of Ryker's concern, Keira took no delay in retrieving Marcus's belongings and returning to their hotel. Her nervousness must have rubbed off onto Dayna and her TA. For once, neither of them snipped at each other throughout their mission.

However, not once over the next hour did they allow the Louis Vuitton from their sight. It was only once they were safely in Keira's room and had smuggled in extra bedding, they all let out a sigh of relief.

"I really didn't think about the ramifications of bringing that here," Keira said as she slumped down on the bed and stared at the suitcase.

Marcus opened the small bar fridge and inspected its contents. "Well it's too late to take it back," said Marcus. "I'm about to drink, and there's no way I'm going to be in a position to drive."

"How about you have a shower and change into something that doesn't look like it's come from a thrift store," complained Dayna.

Marcus lifted his arm and sniffed. "It's not that bad. I only put it on this morning."

Dayna groaned out loud. "Save me from struggling students with dreads."

"Leave him alone," said Keira, deciding she too needed a drink. "Not everyone can afford designer clothes. Marcus may be scruffy, but there's nothing wrong with what he's wearing."

Keira chose a small bottle of vodka and grabbed an orange juice. "We need to see if we can find anything in mother's grimoire that can help us. It's been—"

She was cut off by a knock at the door. The three of them tensed until they heard the muffled sound of a woman's voice call out, "Room service."

Marcus rubbed his hands together and gazed on the two plates with glee. "I'm starving."

Keira tipped the waiter and closed the door behind him, locked it and placed the chain in its cradle. Confident that they were secure she made her way over to the small table and eyed the large beef burger and fries on one plate and the NY strip sirloin with jacket potatoes on the other. "Are you sure you have enough there?" she asked as she sat down in front of her Caesar Salad.

Marcus frowned, "It doesn't look that much, does it? Do you think I should order something else?"

"You are very lucky you're good at what you do," remarked Keira as she tucked into her meal.

Once they had finished, a natural instinct pushed them towards the suitcase. If she were honest with herself, she had been resisting the urge from the moment Dayna had turned up with it.

"Can you hear it?" Dayna whispered as they stared down at the distinct monogram Vuitton markings on the leather of the trolley case

Keira nodded slowly. "It feels like it's singing to us."

Marcus squatted and leaned in closer to the bag. "What are you two going on about? I can't hear anything."

Keira took a deep breath and reached for the handle. She swung it up onto the bed and began to unzip the case. Once it was open, she took a step back, and they stood over the old familiar book. She tentatively reached forward, and her fingers brushed the rough leather. As her skin made contact with the surface, a warm, comforting fire ran up her hand, up through her arm and the rest of her body. Keira briefly closed her eyes and revelled in the comfort it spread through her.

Dayna reached out, and a moment later she too wore the same expression.

With agonising slowness, they pulled the grimoire from the case and rested it on the bed.

Marcus made a whistling sound through his teeth. "That has got to be the biggest spell book I have ever seen. There must be hundreds in there."

Keira flipped the book open and leafed through a few pages. "You'll find them in the closet," she said glancing at her sister. "Under the towels."

Dayna immediately made her way to where Kiera had indicated.

"What language is that written in?" Marcus asked as he peered at the open pages. "I thought it would be Latin or old English at least."

"Mother preferred Latin, just like her mother before her," replied Dayna as she headed back to the bed with a handful of candles.

"But it's not in Latin," argued Marcus taking another look at the text.

Keira reached into her tote bag and pulled out her small pouch. "That's because it's cloaked and we need to fix that."

She set up the candles while Dayna retrieved her crystals. Once everything was in place, she let out a long breath and turned to her sister. "Are you ready for this?" Keira asked.

Dayna glanced down at the white crystals in her hand, her face reflected the same uncertainty that Keira felt. "I'd rather be back in Ibiza with that DJ, but you can't have everything."

Keira picked up the small knife she had left on the bed and cut into the palm of her hand. She flinched at the sudden pain and handed the blade to Dayna, who repeated the process and then tossed the knife back onto the bed.

Keira reached out to Dayna's bloody hand with her own and clutched onto it tightly. They held out their interlaced hands over the open book, and with one voice chanted the spell they had been taught a lifetime ago.

"Ostende te. Ostende nobis mysteria abscondis."

Through their intoning, she could hear Marcus whisper as he interpreted the spell "Reveal yourself. Show us the secrets you hide."

They repeated the incantation, continuing to plead to the grimoire to disclose and show them the spells that had been handed down generation after generation.

Their lifeblood entwined and pooled. Drop by drop, gravity took over, and the sanguine fluid fell and spread across the old parchment. Colours blended and bled as the words danced across the open pages, dissolved and reformed.

The candles flickered and went out. A moment later, Keira and Dayna stopped and watched as the final words settled into place.

"I've seen some funky shit in my time, but this has to be the coolest," Marcus declared.

"We need to find something that will help us not only identify the rest of the coven but give us some indication on how to find the Order," Keira said as she turned the grimoire to the first page.

She had flipped through a half dozen pages when Dayna's hand reached out and stopped Keira. "The mark of the Ouroboros."

"What's that?" Marcus asked moving closer. "It looks like a snake eating it's tail."

"It's one of the symbols that the order uses to identify their own." Keira turned her arm over and pointed to the fleshy part of her forearm. "When an initiate enters the order they are branded with it here. The pain is excruciating, but a rite of passage for these lunatics. It's also the mark that was cut into each of the victims."

"So does it tell us how to find them?" he asked as he scanned through the page.

"No," said Dayna. "This entry is just about the different levels within the organisation."

They continued to study the old parchments for the next few hours, pouring over each page lovingly as they traded stories from their long locked up bank of memories. Keira was thankful that Marcus was wise enough to remain quiet as she and Dayna shed tears for a life long forgotten. A life that had held promise with a future that was so very different from the one that had eventuated.

Their mother's distinctive hand had added to their legacy and memories came rushing back as Keira recognised her own writing on one of the later pages. She could still remember when their mother had declared that it was her turn to add to the grimoire. Keira had struggled for days to work out what it would be. In the end, after yet another sleepless night, she had decided on a spell that she had come up with to amuse Dayna as a child.

"You know I still use it," Dayna said.

Keira glanced at her sister to discover she too had tears in her eyes. "You do?" she said wiping them away.

"Yes, although I use brighter colours than you did to change my hair colour."

With that, both sisters began to giggle.

Keira glanced at her watch. "I don't know about both of you, but I could do with some sleep."

After a bit of moaning about the sleeping arrangements—mainly from Marcus, they took turns in the bathroom and were settled in bed a little after midnight.

"So you didn't tell us what happened at the morgue," Dayna asked from beside her. It had been years since they had shared a bed and for some reason, Keira felt comforted by the fact her sister was close by.

"Yeah, I thought you were supposed to go and talk to the local coven," Marcus piped in from his uncomfortable makeshift bed on the floor.

"So did I, but the autopsy results came in early," said Keira. She then proceeded to give them a condensed version of the conversation with the Medical Examiner.

"That's so sad about the girl who was pregnant," remarked Dayna, once Keira had finished.

"I know. Ryker's pretty shaken up about it," said Keira.

Dayna shifted onto her side and rested her head on her hand. "Hmmm... so how was your day with Mr. Vampilisous," she asked.

Kiera made a disapproving noise at the back of her throat. "It's nothing like that so you can keep your X-rated thoughts to yourself."

Dayna let out a giggle. "Maybe it should be, after all, even you can't be blind to that fine—"

"You know I really don't want to hear this," groaned Marcus.

Keira was thankful it was dark. She was sure her face was scarlet from embarrassment.

"I'm not having this conversation, it's late, and I'm tired," said Keira in an attempt to head her sister off from the path she was traveling.

Dayna threw herself back onto her pillow. "Fine, but I think you're missing out there."

Keira was thankful when the room became quiet. Dayna had dropped the subject, and she wasn't about to question it.

She had almost fallen asleep when Dayna's voice broke into her near sleep state. "From his parting words, I assume he knows?"

Keira stared up at the ceiling in the darkness. "We had no choice. Deacon and I told him about the door and the Order."

"Will you two shut up. I am trying to sleep," said Marcus. "So he knows. I don't see the big deal why everyone keeps it a secret. Things would be so much easier if they knew the truth."

"Well, your grandmother should never have told you," said Keira. "She knew better, and she still read you in."

"Yeah, well you don't notice me running off and trying to open it, just because I know it's there," Marcus said.

A wave of tiredness overcame Keira. This was not a conversation she wanted to have at this time of night. "Look, were all tired. How about we deal with it in the morning."

She then rolled over onto her side, hoping they both would get the hint.

"How did he take it?" Dayna whispered.

Keira turned her head into the pillow and let out a low moan. "As well as can be expected. He was pissed but now just wants to get to the bottom of it," she whispered back after coming up for air. Hoping that this was the end of it, she closed her eyes.

"So what do you think of him?"

Keira groaned inwardly. This is why we haven't shared a room in centuries.

***

Keira was ripped out of her sleep without warning. Whether it was the sound of the crack of wood as it splintered or Dayna's piercing scream, she would never know. It took her a second to realise something was going on and another second to scramble out of bed and reach for the nearest thing to a weapon.

A moment later, the silhouette of a man appeared in their room. Marcus and Dayna squealed at the exact same moment as Keira readied her weapon to take a swing.

"I'm not sure that lamp will do much damage."

The light came on, and Keira's shoulders slumped as she recognised the voice and face.

"What the hell are you doing breaking into our room," she demanded. Her heart was thumping so hard she was having difficulty hearing her own words.

Ryker adjusted his baseball cap and had the decency to look apologetic. "You weren't answering, and I was concerned they'd gotten you as well."

Keira looked at him in confusion. "As well as what?"

"Two more witches have gone missing. This time, they weren't from Crossroads." 

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📎A/N... Well it looks like Amos and Randall are at it again.  I wonder why and who they've taken this time?

... and it looks like Dayna wasn't very convincing with her shoe shopping explanation.. what do you think??

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you did, please don't forget to vote. It's real easy.. just click the little star.. you know you can do it... go on ;-)

Till next time, take care and be safe.

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