The Shattering of Souls

okay... here we go. let\'s see if i can manage this again. no jokes today, as my list of jokes is still missing in action. i swear, they aren\'t that bad! at any rate, this is to let you know that what you will find within the confines of this spooge of brain matter is not entirely all mine. yes, i know. it is shocking. but its true. part of it is simply my own fanciful imagination. the rest, i\'ve borrowed from j.k. rowling. i promise to return them when i\'m done. well, except for snape, maybe. i\'ll just slip him into my... ~slap!~ ow!!!! ok, ok! ~rubs abused knuckles~ i\'ll put him back, too. i don\'t make any money off this. my only reward is the kind reviews left by my adoring public. oh, wait. i\'m not getting any reviews. no wonder i\'m broke....

yes, there will be smut. there may or may not be anything dark and nasty in this chapter. well, other than the potions master. he\'ll be there. but i\'m not sure about anything else. maybe. maybe not. just act like there will be and you\'ll be fine, no matter what happens.

and please, if you enjoy it, let me know. or, if you find some kind of glaring inconsistency, let me know. be nice about it, though. but i am willing to accept helpful hints and suggestions.

Chapter Eighteen: The Plot Thickens
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Bri stood at the window, staring out through the crystal clear glass into the night at the darker shadows of the trees. Somehow, the darkness was never complete in Otherworld. There always seemed to be a hint of light in the sky, as if the sun had only just slipped below the horizon. It was only when one looked to where the edge of the forest stood between ground and sky that it was truly dark. Almost forboding. Another two weeks had passed since that fateful day when her father had come to her and given her back her memories. Every night found her standing at the window, looking out at the sleeping trees and wishing that she could erase everything.

Since her awakening, she\'d found herself longing for more than she wanted to admit. Yes, she\'d gotten her memories back. That should have been enough. She\'d found out that her father was still alive. That should have made her happier than she had ever been. But it was as if some secret part of her had been drawn to the surface when all of that had happened, had made those two things seem so small and insignificant. The day after he\'d come, when the sense of longing had made itself known to her, she\'d thought it was a reaction to the visit from her sire. But she\'d come to realize that she was wrong as the days passed and the feeling only intensified. And now, two full weeks later, it was all she could do not to run off into the trees and lose herself in the wildness of it all.

Bri wanted to throw everything aside so that she could wander about the forest trails and dip her bared feet into the pools of clear, clean water she was sure were out there. She could almost feel the slide of ethereal, gossamer cloth across her skin as she slipped from one bush to the next. The Faerie blood in her veins was crying out for nature. It had been given it\'s head and it wasn\'t about to back down now, as if it had been repressed and hidden from her all her life. It wanted out. It wanted to be surrounded by the lush greens of the forest. It wanted to bathe in all the colors of the rainbow that sprang up from the ground like richly hued miniature fountains. She could feel the need to do such a thing pouring through her like wild fire. She wasn\'t sure what was worse. Knowing who she was, or knowing what she was.

She knew she should turn away from the window, that staring out at the dark outline of the towering trees was doing her no good. But still she remained where she was. Other than trying to find a way to come to terms with herself after her father\'s visit, the last two weeks had been spent dealing with several things. Firstly was Severus Snape and trying to figure out just what the hell the snarky git was plotting. Secondly was Harry Potter, Izzy and their strange sexual relationship. Bri sighed as she recalled the past fourteen days.

Nearly every night had found her in Snape\'s arms. The man always seemed to find new and unique ways to take her body, mind and soul to never before achieved heights of pleasure and desire. She had never suspected that someone like Snape could be so well versed in the arts of pleasure and seduction. And he had seduced her. Even now, just thinking on him sent her body into shivers and shudders. But he\'d found the key to her heart and he\'d stolen the traitorous organ from her. She\'d fallen in love with him as easily as she\'d fallen off her broom when she\'d first learned to fly. The son-of-a-bitch had made her love him. Had made her love a man that didn\'t exist.

She sighed, pressing her forehead against the cool pane of glass. She was certain that Snape had planned something. His actions and behaviors told her as much. She\'d spent seven years in his class, as well as time with the man outside of the school as a member of the Order. She knew that he was the foulest, most unemotional person she\'d come across. Alright, so he was prone to fits of temper and displeasure that tottered on the edge of complete hysteria at times. He was simply immune to the happier feelings that normal people felt. She didn\'t understand why she felt for him as she did. The man hated her as much as she hated him.

And yet, when she\'d been lost and confused, he\'d been there for her. He\'d been the one to free her from the hell hole of Malfoy\'s prison cell. He\'d been the one who had held her when the nightmares had taken away all reason. He\'d been the one who was there for her when she\'d needed a friendly face the most. He had shown her a side of him that she would have sworn couldn\'t possibly exist. He\'d shown her a caring, gentle man who had taken great pains to ensure she was protected and safe. Granted, she was sure he had his reasons, but that meant that he had some of those characteristics and qualities hidden somewhere with in him. Didn\'t it?

Perhaps she could use them against him. But how was the question that plagued her. Her head ached from trying to figure him out.

Turning her thoughts away from Snape, she let them move on to her other major problem. Izzy. Her friend was on a path of self-destructive behavior that was frightening to see. Never had Bri thought that Izzy would follow such a path. She had the feeling that some of what was happening between Izzy and Harry had to do with her, but she couldn\'t be sure how. Or even if. The only way to find out would be to ask, but that would give away the fact that she had regained her memories. No, she had to pull the two of them back from the abyss some how, and do so in a manner that left them in the dark as to her purpose. Perhaps if she continued dropping little remarks about Harry reminding her of Malfoy, it might help.

Just the other day, she had come across Harry and Izzy in the living room. The two of them had been in the middle of some discussion, Harry\'s words heated. He\'d raised his voice to Izzy and Bri had watched her friend cringe away for a moment. Then an odd look had come over Harry\'s face and he\'d turned and walked away. Both he and Izzy had seemed deflated after that, but Bri was beginning to suspect that the little comments made about Malfoy and his abuse were slowly working. She was beginning to see a less violent air about Harry. His eyes seemed to lose some of the madness daily as his normal personality began to take back control of his body. She found she could look into his eyes and actually see him again without fear of the madness that had clouded the green of them drawing back images of Malfoy in the process.

Izzy seemed less sullen as days passed, but this didn\'t stop her from sending sharp, nasty glares Bri\'s way. It looked to Bri as if Izzy were mad at her for something. She just couldn\'t be sure what. On the one occasion that she\'d tried to talk to her friend, Izzy had been short and snappish with her. Apparently, whatever Bri had done hadn\'t been forgiven yet. It hurt her to know that the one person she\'d been able to rely on for most of her life suddenly, and seemingly without reason, hated her. Her time in Otherworld was suddenly nearly unbearable. If not for the kindness of both Bill and Remus, Bri didn\'t think she\'d be able to keep up her act of being lost.

Oh, Remus still gave her the curiously sad looks, but he always had a smile for her and was always willing to talk to her. She would ask him about his relationship with Tyler and watch his face simply light up with pure, unadulterated joy. The lonely man had found his happiness and she was glad of it. For too long, Bri had seen how unjustly Remus had been treated by people who didn\'t know him. And even worse by some of those who did. And the man had just accepted it as his lot in life. Now, it was a stunning change to see him so relaxed and at home with himself. And others. It made Bri smile and she wished she could tell him that she was happy to see him happy like this. That he deserved it. But she would have to keep those words to herself until she could tell him. And tell him she would.

She was about to wander down the path that held her thoughts on the oldest of the Weasley offspring when hands slipped about her waist. She found herself pulled tightly back against a tall figure and sighed, leaning more of her weight against Severus\' long frame. \'What is it about the trees that draws your attention to them every night?\' he asked her, his hands gliding up over her belly to cup her breasts. Bri closed her eyes and sighed softly.

\' I don\'t know. They call to me,\' she returned. His fingers pinched at her nipples and she moaned.

\'And I do not?\' his voice was dark and thick, liquid honey pouring over her senses and making her limbs heavy with need. She moaned softly, rubbing her backside wantonly across his hardening groin. It was all the answer he needed from her. He turned her to face him, his mouth seeking out hers. She gave it to him hungrily. When their lips met, his tongue plunged deeply into the open cavern of her mouth to plunder it\'s soft recesses.

Bri pressed against him, molding her frame to the length of his. His shaft was hard, bulging in the confines of his trousers. She went to her knees before him, rubbing her cheek against his crotch. His hands curled around her head, his long fingers following the shape of her skull. She sighed, hating herself for wanting him so much when she knew she should hate him. Her hands reached for the buttons at the crotch of his trousers. Her fingers worked deftly at them, slipping them from their holes rapidly.

\' I take this to mean that I call to you as well?\' he asked her, his hands reaching for her arms to pull her to her feet. Bri could only nod in response. He gave her that smile of his, the one that she now knew as his plotting smile. The smile he used when he wanted her to think he was being sincere when he wasn\'t. His mouth took hers again. As he kissed her, his hands deftly removed her clothing, dropping her gown and undergarments to the floor before taking her to the bed behind him.

Severus laid her across the mattress, positioning her in such a way that he couldn\'t help but think of a sacrificial virgin on an alter as she awaited her fate. He watched her watching him as he worked at removing his clothing. She was mesmerized by his hands as they swiftly, without thought, undid the buttons of his frock coat in rapid succession. It didn\'t take him long to completely disrobe and Bri stared to her heart\'s content.

Her eyes swept over the length of his frame, enjoying the physique that his robes hid so well. He was built how she thought a man should be. Hard, but with a touch of softness. At least, she thought there was some softness on him. Somewhere. His abdomen was flat, rippled ever so slightly. His arms and legs were solid with well defined muscles that bulged just enough to make themselves known, but not so much that he seemed to be nothing but bulges and hardness. There was a light trail of black hair that started just below his belly button, trailing down in a vee to drag attention to his groin.

He was hard, the turgid length of his erection an angry red and glistening as pre-cum dripped from the slit. His balls hung low, filled and ready for release. She subconsciously shifted her thighs further apart in silent invitation. She felt his eyes bore into her, knew that they stared right at her exposed core. It weeped with the need of him, her lips swollen and plump. The imagined feel of his eyes boring into her there only served to make her wetter and hotter.

They said nothing, simply stared at one another for several long minutes. The more they looked, the more heightened their need became. Severus watched as her juices flowed, beading up on the swollen edges of her lips before rolling down to stain the sheets on his bed. It was the only invitation he needed. He moved foward, climbing onto the bed with her, covering her body with his own. Even as he was settling his length against her, his hips were already pounding his thick erection into her welcoming flesh.

Bri moaned, wrapping the length of her legs about his waist. Her feet rested flat on the contours of his bottom, pushing against him to drive him further into her body. Her hands snaked into his hair, her fingers curling into the black tresses to pull his head to hers. He obliged when her mouth claimed his, then their tongues were dueling for control. The two muscles danced and slid across one another gracefully, finding a tempo to match that of their pounding hips.

The battle between tongues was a draw. Neither wanted to give up the fight for control. Severus simply cancelled the duel, breaking his mouth from hers to trail fiery kisses down over her jaw and along the column of her throat. She arched her back under his caresses, her hands guiding his head lower. When the hot cavern of his mouth closed over one of her hardened nipples, she let off a long, low moan and pressed his head closer to her flesh.

His mouth moved, his lips pressing shut over her until now neglected nipple. She moaned again, her hips lifting up to meet each of his thrusts. Her mind was awash with pleasure, swirling in ecstacy as his cock drove deep with each thrust. His hips churned against hers while his mouth plundered her tender nipples harshly. She hated him for making her want him like this. For making her love and need him. She hated herself for being so stupid.

Bri transferred that hate, gave it some place to go. She wrapped both her arms and legs tight around him and rolled, pitching him onto his back. Severus looked up at her, his black gaze heavily lidded, but she knew he was surprised by her actions. She gave him a knowing smile, her hips automatically picking up the rhythm that he had set. Her hands slid up over his abdomen slowly, her fingers a featherlight touch as they crept toward his chest. She felt him shiver beneath her, his muscles clenching as she moved her hands up to find his nipples.

Severus watched her through the narrow slits of his eyelids. This was something unusual for Bri, taking initiative as she was. Not that he was averse to her actions, but still. It was strange that she would take the top as she had. He moaned low in his throat as her fingertips found his nipples, pinching the small nubbins sharply. Her hips, with help of his hands, moved up and down on his thick shaft. She was tight around him, clutching at him with fluttering muscles that he knew so well. He could tell she was soon to orgasm, knew it by the feel of her compressing his cock with his pussy.

Giving her a faint smile, his eyes opened and made a show of raking his gaze slowly down over her body. Her eyes were glazed with passion and need, locked onto his face with an almost eerie quality, as if she were trying to see through his very soul. Her mouth hung slightly ajar as she took air through it. Sweat slicked her skin, making it shine in the dim light of the flickering candles. Her breasts bounced up and down in time with her moving pelvis. Her nipples were tight and flushed with color as blood rushed to them. His eyes slipped lower, noting the sweat that rolled down over the flat of her belly into her navel and the tight curls that covered her womanhood. His moving gaze finally stopped when he came to where the two of them were joined.

His shaft was slicked with her juices, the candle\'s light reflecting off the pale, pearlescent white fluid that coated it. Each twist or roll of her hips saw it slide in and out. She lifted up on her knees until only his head remained buried within her, then she drove herself back down and took his cock completely back into her tight pussy. She clenched her muscles down over him as she moved, soft groans and gasps falling from her mouth to creep over his skin like ghostly fingers, teasing and caressing him, enflaming his passions higher.

Severus felt her body tighten, felt her pulse quicken. She was working herself toward orgasm, her efforts taking him with her. His hands tightened on her hips, now lifting her up and pulling her back down on top of him harshly. She didn\'t seem to mind. In fact, judging by her body\'s reactions, she enjoyed it immensely. He drove into her relentlessly, pounding himself into her with brutal force. Her hips only bucked wildly into his. Her head rolled back on her neck until she looked at the ceiling, a low keening sound breaking the near silence of the room.

One of his hands slipped from her waist to move down, over her thigh and across her abdomen. She arched her back when his fingers touched her clit. It was a soft, gentle caress compared to the way his hips and cock pounded up into her. It was the only prompting she needed. She screamed out his name as her body went tight. He felt her muscles clench him, then she came. The evidence of her pleasure flooded his length and he moaned loudly. It was the only thing he needed to push him over the edge. The knot at the base of his spine shattered as his stroking member swelled within her, then he was driving himself into her as deeply as he could go.

Bri felt the thick ropes of hot seed pulse into her as her orgasm faded into an occasional ripple of muscle. She slumped down over him, already half asleep from spent passion. It was always this way with him. He somehow drove her to exhaustion each and every time so that she drifted off next to him on the bed, held within the comfort of his embrace. He reached for her, his hands cupping her cheeks to pull him to her in a deep kiss. His tongue probed her mouth as his lips scorched hers.

Bri slipped her arms around his neck, her fingers twining into the silky locks at the base of his skull. His arms tightened, then he rolled and she found herself on her back beneath him. His hands explored her curves, roaming where they would with almost expert negligence.She was once more hot and wet and aching for him when he pulled back to smile down at her. She couldn\'t stop herself when she returned his smile, her hands still draped decorously around his neck. \' I love you,\' she whispered, despising herself for admitting. For even feeling it.

\'Sleep, pet,\' he told her, stroking a few sweaty strands of hair away from har face with one hand. His fingers were soft and gentle and she couldn\'t help but close her eyes and relish the action. She nodded, feeling the softness of the mattress calling to her. Bri closed her eyes, feeling Severus settle down next to her on the bed. When he lay next to her, she rolled back up onto her side, laying her head on his chest. One arm slid around her, cradling her to him gently. She draped her arm over his abdomen, sighing as she felt sleep tug at her.

~*~

The hour was late when Bri was woken by something. She wasn\'t sure what it was, but she suddenly found herself wide awake and laying in the embrace of Severus\' arms. He slept soundly, which puzzled her. What would have woken her without waking him. He was still a terribly light sleeper, awake with the smallest of sounds. In fact, she was surprised that he wasn\'t awake because she had moved. She waved a candle on the other side of the room to life with one hand absently, turning to look down at his face.

His features were relaxed with his sleep. While he didn\'t have a child-like look to them that most men seemed to have when sleeping and not concerned about anything, he did look more peaceful than when he was awake. Some of the lines earned from perpetually scowling had smoothed out and the evil look he wore when he glared was replaced with something so soft, it was almost human. She was entranced with the kinder looking visage before her and stared happily while he slept on. Unaware of her scrutiny.

His eyes flickered under the closed lids, letting her know he was in the deepest of sleeps, where dreams invaded and ruled. A faint, sneering smile curled his lips up and she couldn\'t help but wonder what it was he was dreaming upon. The thought hit her and she toyed with it, citing all the reasons why she shouldn\'t just invade his dreams. It wasn\'t polite or ethical. It was rude and the work of someone who didn\'t know how to mind her own business. And yet, hadn\'t he done the same to her? Hadn\'t he invaded her nightmare and twisted it to suit his needs?

The more she thought on the idea, the more enraged she became. Why couldn\'t she muck about with him in the same manner he had her? She was, after all, skilled in both Legilemency and Occlumency. It was a basic requirement to make it into the service corps. Dumbledore had trained her himself. The lessons had been a strain, but she\'d mastered them so well that not even the wily old Headmaster could slip into her mind with the same ease as he\'d once been able. That wasn\'t to say that she could keep him out indefinitely. But she could hold his mental assaults back for some time before he wore her down. So why shouldn\'t she be able to take a walk into Snape\'s mind?

Positioning herself to sit beside him, Bri cleared her mind. She needed to do this the right way, or she\'d get caught and there\'d be no way to explain to Snape what she was doing without telling him about regaining her memories. She stared down at his sleeping face, knowing that if he could slip into her mind without looking into her eyes, so could she. Blowing out a breath of air, she let her mind go. It soared with giddiness as it expanded and searched out its target.

It wasn\'t easy gaining access to his mind. Snape had natural barriers to overcome, and she couldn\'t just push through them or she\'d give herself away. She had to find ways to work through them without disturbing them. It took her time, but she eventually made it in. His mind, much like the rest of his life, was orderly and neat. She searched out his dream first and wasn\'t at all surprised to find that he was reliving the two of them together for the first time. She pulled from his dream, left him to it to seek out something else to help her.

His memories were stored away in an area that was guarded well. She sighed, knowing it would take time to get in undetected. But she had that. It was still only the middle of the night and he would sleep for at least four or five more hours before rising and seeking out a shower before heading off to his labs. Bri worked tediously, finding her way into the store of his memories. She was certain she could find something here that would be of help. She was almost ecstatic when she found herself on the inside of his memories. She took a moment to bask in her success before giving her attention to the overload of information that assaulted her.

The memories stored here swirled around her, a blur of colors and feelings that eddied like tide pools at the beach. Using a great deal of concentration, she sorted them out. She was treated to a visual of what she looked like when he\'d rescued her. She could feel his animosity for her. His lust, a feeling he hated more than anything, slapped and beat at her, making her crave him as he craved her. She saw so many things that had happened since her memory loss. Her head ached with the flood of information and stimulous. Then one whirled into sharp focus and it was all Bri could do to remain firmly entrenched in his mind.

She saw the darkness of the room as clearly as she saw the darkness of his thoughts. Words reached out to spear her with agony. She\'d known he was trying to accomplish something, trying to hurt her in some manner. But she\'d never thought he\'d try something like this. She read the thought straight from his mind. He\'d make her love him. It was there in his head. He\'d make her love him, then he\'d leave her in the lurch. The fucking bastard.

It took Bri time to extricate herself from his mind without setting off alarms and waking him. When she was once more completely within the confines of her own mind, she scowled down at the slumbering form. Glancing at the clock, she saw it had taken several hours to trip through the corridors of Severus\' mind. She lay back down on the bed, though she was sure she wouldn\'t be able to return to sleep. Her mind whirled over what it had found. He\'d planned to make her love him, then leave her like she was nothing more than dirt under his boot heel. The arrogant bastard. How dare he!

The more she thought on it, the madder she became. Partially because he\'d done half of what he\'d set out to do. She already loved him. She couldn\'t say when it had happened. But it had. She loved him. It hurt to find out that her emotions were nothing more than gratification for him. Revenge for what he considered her crimes against him. A way to use her to fill his own needs. There was no way she could let him get away with it. No way she could let him succeed in his plans. She had to find some way to repay him in kind.

Repay him in kind.... The phrase echoed about the recesses of her brain, bringing a smile to her face. Her lips curled up as she realized just what it was she had to do. She had to make him love her in return. It would be the ultimate payback. She wasn\'t sure how much longer they would be in Otherworld. With her memory returned, she was sure they would be going home soon. She still had a job to do. Malfoy was still on the lose and he neded to be stopped. Not to mention, she had a score to settle with Bellatrix Lestrange. She had to work fast to make sure that the man was as much trapped by his own feelings as she was by hers.

Yes, payback would be sweet. She would make him love her as much as she loved him. She would make him need her so badly that the idea of living without her would be as painful to him as possible. She would do to him precisely what he\'d done to her. She would make him love her and she would walk away from him without a second thought. The smile that curved her lips up was almost as evil as the one Severus wore the night he\'d decided to do the exact same thing.

Bri slipped off to sleep with a smile on her lips and a plan fermenting in her mind. Life, it seemed, was about to get so much better.

~*~*~*~*~

The sound of the flames in the hearth roaring to life startled Albus out of his fitful slumber in his favorite chair. He lifted his head and stared at the remnants of the green flames as they returned to a soft, golden orange color of banked embers. There was nothing in his hearth. But, laying on the floor before the fireplace was a flat box. There was no writing on the lid to tell him who had sent it. But he didn\'t need the writing to know that. He\'d received so many \'gifts\' from Malfoy that it was almost clockwork when one arrived.

Albus was tempted to leave it there, but he didn\'t dare. He\'d ignored one of Malfoy\'s boxes before, only to have Minerva find and open it. She still had nightmares about what she\'d seen. He pushed himself up from his chair, moving over to bend over and pick up the parcel. It wieghed next to nothing, but that didn\'t mean much. Taking it over to his desk, Dumbledore set it on the top and pulled the string that tied the lid on. The thin cording slipped free and fell harmlessly to the desk. He lifted the lid and stared inside.

A single sheet of parchment lay folded on top of a manilla envelope. He lifted the parchment out, opening it so he could read what little was written there. By the few words, he knew Malfoy\'s patience had come to an end.

\'Deliver Potter and Wallace to me, or my next victim will be sent to you in a box smaller than this!\'

Sighing, Albus lifted out the manilla envelop and opened the flap. Inside were a series of pictures. Too many to count. Each one of them contained a young woman, no more than perhaps fifteen or sixteen. She was slight of build with pale skin and hair dark enough to be black. It was cut short and quite messy. Her eyes were a vivid green, even behind the round spectacles she wore. Every single picture showed a different scene of the girl. Suffering a different form of torture. In vivid, moving color.

One photo, in particular, showed the girl just after Malfoy had taken a sharp knife and carved an exact copy of Harry\'s scar into her forehead in just the right spot. The skin was red and raw, the lightning-bolt shaped cut bleeding just enough to leak down over her pale flesh and into her eyebrow. She wore a torn white button-down shirt, gray trousers and black robes. Malfoy was creating his own Harry. And the pictures were a progression of how he intended to destroy Harry. Each foul and evil deed he did to the poor girl staring out at him from the photos and screaming silently was intended for Harry Potter.

Albus sighed. He had hoped to allow them more time before he had to bring them back, but Lucius would wait no longer. He had to go to Otherworld and show them all the way home. He could only hope that they would be able to defend themselves against the lunacy that had taken hold of Malfoy and infected his brain. He could only hope for the best.

Albus rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. He didn\'t want to do this. He didn\'t want to turn two helpless people over to Malfoy\'s sickness. Bri wasn\'t mentally ready to handle it and Harry wasn\'t capable of taking on both Malfoy and Bellatrix on his own. He was strong enough, true. But he would hesitate. Albus knew this. It was why he\'d assigned Bri to Harry in the first place. He had known, when it came down to the wire, Bri would not freeze up and she would not allow anything to happen to Harry if she could avoid it. But now, there was no hope of both of them surviving a confrontation with the two renegade Death Eaters.

A faint fluttering sound drew his attention and he looked up. There was a shimmering light floating before his eyes. He smiled to see the pixie hovering before his eyes. She smiled at him impishly, then settled down onto his desk top. \'And what brings you here, Lilah?\' he asked her.

\'News for you, Professor,\' the pixie chirped happily, then once more took to the air. She fluttered close to the Headmaster\'s head so that she could whisper in his ear. She didn\'t talk long, but what she had to say put a huge smile on his face. When she drifted back from him, he gave her a smile and nodded.

\' I thank you for telling me, Lilah. It is indeed good news,\' he nods to her. The tiny pixie turns and zips away, out the opening of the window left slightly cracked so he could draw some fresh air into his rooms.

It was very good news...

end chapter eighteen.
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thanks to those of you who are reading this for your patience and understanding. i know it took me forever to update and i apologize. forgive me. i know not what i do some days. not to mention the bunnies have been stingy. as usual.... i am my own beta.. so all mistakes are my own.

please don\'t hurt me.

if you wish to leave some words of suggestion or praise, feel free to.