Night's Omen

 Zaine really didn't like any of this. At all. And that was an understatement. He also didn't like being fucking flash-banged from one place to the other, regardless of what vampire was doing it; and did we mention that Zaine didn't like vampires to begin with? He was pretty much pissed off all around, but somewhere in there, he was legit worried for his friend. He could hear clawing noises coming from the coffin, and he looked at Klaus before continuing inside. He headed up the stairs, while Chandra loudly dictated "DON'T HIT THAT PAINTING" and "DON'T KNOCK THAT VASE OVER" in his ear - to the point where he wanted to slap the living shit out of her, actually, but he knew Chandra was one to hit back, and he was probably not in the mood to start a slap match with someone whose bones he could snap like twigs.

"So how exactly did you think we could pull this off?" he asked, more or less, to the room in general, since Grayson still hadn't shown himself up in the lab yet. Of course, the man's voice suddenly started echoing in the hallway, reminding Zaine that he was scatterbrained, but not stupid.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll come up with something," he said. Behind him was a vampire, Zaine could tell by scent alone, who looked as though he'd just woken up. He was looking at the box with a very odd look on his face, and then glanced up at Klaus with a nod.

"Long time," he said. He had a boyish look to him despite being older than proverbial dirt, and seemed almost shy to the people as they slowly flooded the lab. Just as he turned to leave, Grayson bid him to stay, saying that he would need his assistance. The vampire nodded, then quietly kept to himself until he was called upon again. Recluse, a little.

"How long until we can open it?" he asked. "Can you just pump him full of sedatives, or will one of the vampires need to put him down for a while?"

If Zaine thought that he didn't like any of this, Ethan felt like that every damn day of his life.  He was surrounded by morons and people who weren't what they seemed, which he didn't like any better than the rest.  Actually, he hated it more, because he'd rather be surrounded by stupid people than have the people around him think that he was stupid and fooled by their games.  All in all, the only reason he stayed was because working with Grayson gave him mostly-legitimate work that allowed him plenty of time to do his own thing, and Clover had a place to be when he was off doing whatever without him either leaving her alone or having her trail along with him, which wasn't always safe.  That, and occasionally, Grayson's kind of work was extremely interesting.

Take the dolls for example. 

Ethan thought they were fascinating, but the process was even more interesting.  It was like a scientific way of making a zombie that you could program, which would obviously catch his eye.  He hadn't yet done anything utterly terrible with the technology, but probably only because he hadn't thought of anything that was worth the effort.  When he did, shit would turn ugly, make no mistake.  He was an opportunistic bastard, too, so it could happen on little or no notice.

This situation might almost have qualified if he gave a rat's ass about the guilds or their leadership.  It didn't take much of an exchange of information to understand who was in the coffin (he knew it was a living, mortal person just because of his special talent with the dead and undead, and he could figure out it was a shifter and that whoever it was happened to be totally unstable from his other talents) and how bad the situation was, but Ethan still didn't really care.  This was Grayson's call, in the end, and if he heard anything he disagreed with, he'd speak up.  He was inclined to say 'no' an awful lot, so Chandra had bitched to Grayson until the dodo bird asked him 'nicely' to shut his trap a little better.  He listened, but only because it really was more fun when Grayson accepted a job.

He was all about the carnage candy, let's face it.  Lily blowing up would have been just his style, as long as she wasn't shooting at him.

"He's unstable, his auras are piquing all over the place," Ethan pointed out from a chair in the corner that allowed him to put his feet up on the nearby counter, essentially talking to the room as a whole, but really only concerned with Grayson.  "I recommend having a vampire put him down unless you want to see what retard strength can do."

No, it was not tactful, but Ethan reserved tact for when he felt like it.  After the fight he'd been in earlier and the bad mood it had created, he really didn't feel like it right about then. 

 Orestes stepped forward as Ethan suggested one of the vampires knock him out. He looked at Klaus, then at Grayson. "This one has done enough. If he involves too far, he'll taint the process. Such is the burden of power," he added a little wistfully. He had to be very careful with Lucien, he knew, as he slid a glove off. One touch to put him under; any further, with as weak as he was, he would probably just rot him like an apple.

"Okay," Orestes said. At the signal, the lid went off, Lucien sprang up, and Orestes put two fingers on his horribly burned and scarred chest, pushing him straight back down. The howl that was clamped off as Lucien fell unconscious was horrifying. Orestes only winced. "That... was painful," he said, his soft voice barely audible with the loud buzzings and clicks of Grayson getting things ready.

"Painful how?" Zaine demanded. He reached for the vampire, but Orestes jerked away quickly.

"You mustn't touch him," came Lilyana's hissed command from Zaine's other side, hands wrapped around his arm to stop him from reaching out and snatching the vampire angrily. "He made a joke about power for a reason."

Orestes smiled a little. "My Lily is correct," he acknowledged. "Even after all this time, it's still hard to control. But, I digress - Mr. Martin, your friend... has endured much at the expense. It may benefit you to know that he was skinned. I realize you will all need to get your story straight in order to ensure the upkeep of this new identity you are gifting him with. It was... " he paused. "I don't know her name. I'm sure we'll find it when Grayson dumps his memories. I warn you, though... the experience is..." he trailed off for a moment, putting a finger to his lips in thought. "Intense," he finished.

"Skinned?" Zaine echoed, his voice shrill and quiet at the same time. He felt nauseous. How was he going to formulate a lie good enough for this to work? Commotion from the hall caused him to turn around, but Murphy was blocking the view mostly - all he saw was a tall, slender brunette with blank eyes being lead by her hand, the woman he knew to be the white tiger in front of her, speaking softly. He - he thought he recognized her, but he couldn't be sure.

From behind them all, Murphy piped in with, "How many men do you belong to, lassie?" which was a remark directed solely at Lily for the men she seemed to have along her string. The fox just shook her head at him, and then nodded to the door. Murphy got the hint. "Anyone who doesn't need to be in here probably should get out. Grayson? What exactly do you need from us?"

Implying, of course, what sort of 'abilities' would Grayson need to help this along.

"Well, he doesn't need me," Lily said. "Klaus? Orestes has a point, but he's also got a problem of his own. Maybe it'd be best if you two took turns on Lucien's mind." She paused, then looked at Ethan as he watched the form of his girlfriend vanish down the hall. "I'll go... check on Clover and help with the repairs downstairs." Better to keep Ethan on her good side. She genuinely liked Clover, anyways.

It was understandable to question exactly how much Grayson knew about what happened around him, or to wonder exactly how much he'd picked up without mentioning.  It was quite possible that he didn't pay any attention whatsoever to most of the powerful people around him, but it was equally likely that he knew what all of them were capable of and just didn't really address it.  It wasn't like Klaus was a total stranger to him, Orestes spent quite a bit of time at the Inn,  and Othello...

"I need Ethan, Orestes, Klaus and Othello," he informed the crowd, already leaning in to examine Lucien's injuries rather closely.  He trusted Orestes to have properly put the man down because Orestes was damn good at what he did (sometimes too good), so he knew that there wouldn't be any unexpected lunges.  "Zaine, you need to be prepared to build his new identity.  If you need to call someone else to help you, do it, but make sure it's someone you trust."

He automatically assumed that Zaine would be very involved in this process, though there was no way to figure out if it was because he'd read Zaine's personality and relationship with Lucien well enough or he just guessed, but in the end, he was right.  The factors he wasn't considering happened to be very important as well, though: anyone who might help was currently busy dealing with Midnight, making this a bit of a bad time.  It was a good thing that Grayson had a lot of work to do before Lucien would be ready for the new identity.

"Alright, here we go."  Nobody who'd been asked to stay in there with Grayson would be seen for awhile.

Dinah pushed open the door to the room Grayson had provided for Lucien post surgery, attempting to be as quiet as she could be. She sat down on the edge of his bed, crossing her legs at the knee and looking over him. She felt like she hadn't seen him in years, but it had really only been a few hours since he'd gone in for emergency surgery - and he'd been lucky, too. Midnight was nothing to shake a fist at. How fortunate Grayson had gotten him in time. Of course, Dinah had no idea about the coffin, or the rebuilding - all she knew was what they told her she knew - he'd been in a fight with more than one operative of the Black Fortress, and he'd gone down. It happened. It was part of the reason Dinah had left Onyx UK and come home to be with him for the long run.

The door tipped open more and she looked up, brown eyes narrowing slightly as she focused on the person at the door. It was only Zaine, though, and she smiled. Old friend, though she couldn't help but feel as though they had grown more distant than ever. They had been inseparable to her recollection, and yet, still.

"How is he?" he asked, his voice gruff and tired.

She shrugged her slender form, looking back on Lucien's features. "Sleeping, I assume." Her voice was just a whisper, but he stirred all the same. "Or not." She looked up at Zaine. "You did say the ones who attacked him are gone, correct?"

Zaine nodded. He'd have to sell the lie to them both. He could do that. "Yes. Dealt with. Diamond elected to handle them, but I assure you, they are no more." He had no choice. Were there any questions, the evidence had been fabricated to the best of everyone's ability, which was to say, Diamond was in on it, therefore nobody would ever know the truth. The rumours Lucien had been taken into Midnight were "righted" through the guilds, saying it was only a bluff on Midnight's end.

The lie went on and on.

"Hey," she said softly, smiling as Lucien opened his gem-toned eyes. "Welcome back."

It was like coming out of a fog rather than something as simple as waking up, or perhaps he wasn't waking up at all, but was instead still dreaming.  He'd been having the most terrible dreams, but as his eyes slowly drifted open, the memories of those nightmares began to slip away in the wake of his reality clicking into place.  He didn't know where he was, but the voices, the faces, they helped orient him.  He blinked at them both, putting names and information to the familiar faces, and knew he was safe.  Wherever he was, he trusted Dinah and Zaine.

Welcome back.

It suggested he'd gone somewhere, which seemed unlikely and probably wasn't the way she'd meant it, but he couldn't help feeling the distance.  The details would likely come to him after he'd been awake longer, but for now, he felt like he'd been far away, and for a long time.  He was glad to see both of them.

"Glad to be back," he murmured, voice soft mostly due to the fact that he had a ridiculous level of sedatives (painkillers?) still in his bloodstream and being worked out by his body.  Whatever had happened to him, it had to have been bad if they'd drugged him up that much.  He didn't have to be on top of his game to know that, and though he didn't plan on crying about whatever had happened, he'd have liked to have some of the details filled in.  When he tried to think back that far (it felt like trying to remember what he'd had for breakfast the previous week; did anyone ever remember that?), all he could think of was a fight and two new opponents cropping up for every one that he dropped.  He wasn't surprised by the natural effect of that being that he woke up in a hospital bed with a shaky understanding of where he was, since he had to have been overwhelmed eventually.  It was just the level of damage that he'd suffered during the hole in his memories that Lucien was concerned with.  "Where did I go?"

 Dinah looked at Zaine again, and then turned her body towards Lucien, reaching up to adjust the covers idly, as though she was unsure of what to do with her hands. "Well, you almost went to wherever people go when they die, but luckily Grayson was prepped for surgery." She smiled a little. "And you criticized me for coming home from Berlin early." Because, of course, that was the lie they'd been given - He called to tell her Midnight was on the loose, and she was on the next flight home. And criticize wasn't precisely the memory, it was more like he'd nearly bitten her head off for trying to come back in the middle of the war zone, but honestly, she didn't really give a fuck. Nick and Skye, except not. That was how Zaine had dictated it. That was how it was.

"Anyways, I'm sure it'll come back to you. I got buzzed leaving the airport, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Somehow you managed to go right into the viper's nest. You really are Onyx," she said with a small laugh. Of course, she had no idea that her words were so incredibly true, and they might have even caused a bit of a flicker in his memory if it hadn't "set" yet. The same could happen to Dinah; she'd had a bad dream in the few hours she'd slept before this moment, but it was so far away that she couldn't have told you what it was or why it bothered her.

"I'll have someone bring you guys some food. Dinah, can you check on his vitals?" Zaine asked. When she nodded, he ducked out, but not after casting a lingering gaze to the couple. It was like he was watching them, waiting for something, like something bad was going to happen. They both seemed okay, and he supposed that he'd made the right call. He didn't have a choice anymore, anyways. Zaine wasn't used to leaving life up to the roll of the dice.

He gave the slightest of nods, considering his uncertain condition, at her explanation of where he'd almost gone, and that was it for reaction.  They'd all die eventually, and hunters had a habit of expiring early, so he'd just count himself lucky that he'd had yet another close call instead of going all the way.  It still didn't mean he liked the fact that she was in North America, now that she mentioned it, almost like he needed some hints to get his neurons firing.  The more she talked, the more connected he felt, so even though he'd have never said something as stupid as 'don't stop talking' right then, he hoped she didn't shut up just yet.

"Can't believe you flew, we knew the airports were a target," he told her, repeating one of his arguments from earlier, though in a much softer tone because 1) it was all over, and 2) it took too much effort and desire to get riled up right then, though he remembered yelling essentially the same words into the phone while en route to...somewhere.  Wherever he'd gotten into trouble, probably.

Right into the viper's nest.  His brows knit together at that, like there was something more to it than just a turn of phrase, something sharp and nasty, but whatever was threatening to bubble up faded beneath the onslaught of Midnight goons he'd walked into.  He couldn't yet remember where he'd been going or why, but the more he thought back, the more into focus that part came. 

Lucien turned to watch Zaine as he spoke and then left the room, watching for a second like something might go wrong, and then he returned his attention to Dinah, actually managing to roll his eyes.  "I'm conscious, my vitals are fine, so don't you dare listen to him," he told her, not about to have her waste her time poking and prodding at him when there would likely be a doctor or mad scientist doing the same thing very shortly. 

After just a moment's hesitation while he glanced at the door Zaine had disappeared through, he frowned at Dinah.  "He's acting strange, what's wrong?  Am I drugged up because my leg was amputated, or is he overreacting?" he asked, though if he were honest, he couldn't remember a time where Zaine overreacted and he was pretty sure that both of his legs were there.  Something had to be wrong.

Dinah opened her mouth to protest his remark about the airports, but he stopped and closed his eyes a moment. Dinah was standing to check the information reading from the monitor, but she paused as he looked like something was coming back. "What is it?" she asked, leaning in a little. Her long, straight chocolate-hued hair brushed his exposed chest, no doubt tickling a little against his slowly un-numbing body. Klaus had done what he could with the healing and accelerated it quite a bit, but it still couldn't repair all of the damage. The drugs were just enough to slow his body down to allow itself the rest it needed to catch up to itself. A lot had happened.

He shook it off, whatever it was, saying 'nnh' because he didn't feel like dealing with it, or her worrying (which wasn't fair, because she wouldn't worry as badly as he thought). She checked his vitals anyways, even after he told her not to, but looked back at him and grinned as she did so. "You're alive, no worries," she said, holding her hands up like it was a surprise. She kicked her shoes off and walked around to the side of the bed he didn't occupy much of, climbing onto it. Dinah slid next to him, propping herself up on one arm.

"He's fine, Lucien. He's just had a long few days. We all have. I'd give you the damage list, but I don't know if you want to get down to business this early in the morning. I will tell you this - Dev has the guild while you're here, and it's in fine shape for the losses we've had. Also, I think he and Miri split up. Not that they were really together, but they got into a huge fight," she said, making hand gestures as her eyes got big on the word 'huge'. "Pretty much, she lost her shit in front of everyone and yoooou don't care about any of this.." she trailed off, laughing.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek lightly, grinning as she did so. "Look, I know you're going to want to get back to business as fast as possible, but can we just have today before you do? I missed you. I feel like I haven't seen you in... years," she said, shaking her head like it made no sense.

Apparently, Klaus had done a remarkable job with the healing and accelerating his own natural abilities enough to help him, but he'd still been out of commission for days.  He certainly felt like he'd been through hell and back, even with (or perhaps because of) the medicated fog he was suspended in; it took a ridiculous amount of damage to require someone with his bloodline to be drugged up like this.  The efforts had not been wasted, however, since the charred flesh that Orestes had touched to put him back down into the coffin was now smooth and regaining feeling quickly enough as his body processed the drugs that he felt her long hair brushing against his skin and smiled just a little at the sensation, as well as her cheeky line when she checked his vitals after he told her not to. 

The nice thing about being a patient at Grayson's place was the fact that it wasn't hospital beds you were set up on, so there was plenty of room for Dinah to crawl up next to him, and the room itself was more comfortable and less sterile.  Obviously, Grayson hadn't decorated the place himself. 

Dinah went on to explain that Zaine was fine and drop a few comments about the state of things, including the guild, while still suggesting that they not go into detail so soon.  He was, surprisingly, fine with that because he honestly wasn't so sure he was up for taking command again already.  He wanted to at least be able to think clearly and feel more like himself, first.  The fact that Dev had taken temporary leadership meant that the guild was in good hands, and Lucien trusted the man to relinquish the title again once he was back on his feet.  If he wouldn't (which seemed so unlikely that it was hardly worth the consideration), then Lucien would kill him, but he would rather not.  Devraj (and his wife) were good friends and valuable assets, so losing him would be a waste and a shame.  Dinah continued to explain that Zaine had apparently 'split up' with his little lincei, something about a huge fight, and he hoped to fucking god that she didn't go into details.  He'd pretend he cared because he cared about her and Zaine, but he cared so little about the Miri situation that it was really only Zaine's attachment to the girl that would inspire Lucien to pay her any mind.  Lucien didn't really understand said attachment, considering how much of a weakness she was and how unusual it seemed that Zaine would be so interested in a creature that was so helpless (which was ironic, since her shifter blood suggested she be stronger) and so very good at drawing attention to herself (hello, stripper?); he much preferred women who could take care of themselves, which was why he was with Dinah and not some Sunday School teacher.  Life was hard enough without picking up obvious weak points for his enemies to strike at.

"I care," he started, and it almost sounded convincing, for a second there.  "Fine, I don't care if he stops seeing her, but I don't like that it's causing him trouble."

There, that was more honest, and the end of his intent to discuss the subject.  He didn't really have the patience or interest in gossip if it wasn't something that could be used as a strategic advantage or directly involved him.  His own biggest weakness was curled against him, and he was pleased to know that she wasn't actually weak and wasn't a potentially huge liability for him, even if she could crack his bad moods better than anyone and knew just what to do to drive any and all professionalism out of him.  He could fake it for a few minutes, but she won out in the end.

At least he was starting to feel better.  "It's your own fault.  One of the perks of being guild leader is having the pull to choose not to lend your girlfriend to overseas branches," he pointed out, which she knew.  She'd just been stubborn about it, and then she'd been equally stubborn in coming back when he called to tell her that Midnight was on the attack (it had been a concern that Rajz would follow suit in Europe).  Her fault or not, he couldn't argue having missed her.  It felt like it had been an extreme amount of time to him, as well, which made no sense whatsoever, since he'd been unconscious and unaware of what was going on, and it had only been a few days.

He sighed, more than willing to settle in with her and maybe even nap, which wasn't his usual.  It had to be the medication, though if he'd been injured badly enough, maybe his body was just worn out from trying to heal up the damage.  He didn't remember after a certain point, so if they'd thought he was going to die, then it could have been that bad.  "We can have today.  I'm not sure I want to get back to business just yet, anyway."  It was sure to be a tiring, headache-inducing experience, and if he had an excuse to rest, he should probably take it this time.

 "I'll be honest, I don't much understand the situation either. I intend to have a coming to Jesus meeting with the little furball once I get back to the guildhouse," she promised, which was a testament to how much Dinah really didn't like the idea of someone messing up Zaine's mojo. For all intents and purposes, Dinah generally stuck around the background and waited for a moment to pounce; it was very, very rare she interjected her opinion into someone else's business - but Lucien had a point.

She snorted when he remarked that he hadn't have had to have let her go to Onyx Europe - specifically, the Onyx house in Berlin. "I've got to grow up sometime," she teased him, though they both knew full and well that Dinah was grown up. She was practical but imaginative, sensual but stable, soft but aggressive. Basically, she maintained a rather perfect balance of qualities that allowed her to be ideal for Lucien (and for others, actually, but nobody with any common sense would dare make a pass at Lucien's mate without dire consequences, nor would he tolerate her betrayal otherwise. There was no >possibly pregnant with baby of five other men, loves you anyway behaviour. In fact, if one of them were to cheat on the other, it would probably suggest a wild fight at the very least, and at the most, death or serious injury. Vows were taken seriously to them, hence never making them and never, ever breaking them once made.

"Your brother is alive and well, though his club suffered some losses. Dania's family, typically, was nowhere to be found throughout any of it. She herself was in Diamond custody as a precaution, though it occurred in a round-about sort of way." It tickled her to know that Dania had been called by another vampire and basically had been turned into a glazed doughnut in his presence. She didn't much care for her, though she did like Eden somewhat. It was just that Dania had always seemed fake, and since Dinah hadn't seen her recently, that was all she had to go on.

She updated him further, trying to slide in a joke every now and then. "Capricia was bitten by Bacchus, the cult vampire? She went missing for a while, but returned to the guildhouse - presumably by him. Nobody wants that train wreck," she said, although it was an affectionate sort of comment. Capricia was... a handful, but good to have on your team.

He cracked a bit of a smile at the 'coming to Jesus meeting' reference, and the fact that she called Miri a 'little furball', just because the entire situation sounded amusing and he didn't disagree with her decision.  They were on the same page in that they cared about what Miri's actions did to Zaine, and if Zaine was having problems, they needed to be fixed.  Lucien needed Zaine to be thinking clearly and free of distraction, especially while he was hospitalized (or whatever this actually was, since he wasn't in a hospital and Grayson wasn't a typical doctor).  There were very few people that Lucien truly trusted and depended on, including Zaine, Dinah and Devraj, so having one of the few out of whack wasn't an option, if they could help it.

'Grow up.'  He rolled his eyes and didn't comment on her tease because it wasn't necessary and they both knew it.  He thought that she was more than just 'grown up', and in all of the ways that mattered.  If she looked young sometimes, it only helped her be more dangerous.  All in all, he thought she was wonderful, and though he didn't shower her with praise and adoration, he made it clear how important she was to him in more subtle ways.  The fact that she could curl up onto the bed with him now, when he was injured and vulnerable, just went to prove how much she meant.  

She went ahead and continued being fantastic by offering information that he cared about without making it sound like a guild-related update, which he appreciated.  He wanted to know what he'd missed, but she had been right to ask that they take this day to themselves.  He was better off not jumping right into the fray, he just didn't know the extent of it.  "I'm sure Eden's pissed about the club," he remarked, glad to hear that his brother was alright.  He didn't really give a shit about the club one way or the other, though he kept telling himself that he should go there and see what Eden had built for himself, and he certainly didn't like Dania anymore than Dinah did.  Apparently, he didn't see in her what Eden did, since his brother had always been rather fond of her and all he'd ever seen was a snooty little rich bitch with her nose in the air.  That she'd ended up in Diamond custody was interesting, even without him knowing how 'round-about' that way was.  He'd have found it amusing that she was called by a Diamond vamp putting out the equivalent of Avian FM, but he would NOT find Sasha's grip on Eden to be nearly as entertaining.  

The Capricia incident wasn't too funny, either, though he couldn't argue with Dinah's joke about 'that train wreck'.  Capricia was certainly a good hunter and even a good trainer, but he failed to understand how she and Connor hadn't killed each other long enough to conceive a child, carry it to term and raise it for as long as they had.  The idea of her mad with Bacchus' influence?  "Have they decided what to do with her?"

 Dinah sighed a little, cuddling up to Lucien. She couldn't get over the nagging feeling that it had been years since she had seen him. He'd asked what they'd decided to do with Capricia, and she felt that she owed him an answer, even though she didn't like to really get into it right then. She looked over at him, now that her head was rested on the pillow next to his, and offered a small smile of reassurance.

"Christian is handling it to the best of his ability, but it's.... scary. I've never seen anyone bitten by him directly. His little followers can give a nasty bite, one that allows him to control them, but only temporarily until he's able to either finish them off himself or until it just wears off on its own. Since he went after her personally, she was pretty rolled over." Tortured may have been a better word.

"I didn't see it myself, but... Connor is pretty broken up about it. It's as though she doesn't even know who he is. She certainly didn't know her daughter, and no matter how hard some of the older vampires they have in their employment tried, they couldn't break his hold. He's simply too old, and too powerful." She paused. "I'm beginning to think he's not a Silver. I suspect he may be enough, at this point, to have his own line. If that's the case, there may be few alternatives they're left with."

She meant to say, they may have to kill her. Bacchus' bite put someone in the middle of a transition phase, almost. Because they so rarely found people bitten by him directly, Dinah found their Therrayans had little information to go on. "I've been told that they've got her in a safe room," she informed him. A 'safe room' to a hunter would be a room with a lot of firestone in order to keep their prisoner at bay. "Though for some reason, Darren seems to believe he may have an idea of how to help. He didn't say how. He just told Connor to have faith in him, and he left. He's been gone some time now from what they tell me."

It had been days since the Midnight attacks had stopped and the two companies had called a shaky truce. She had no idea that Darren had managed to make friends with powerful allies inside the walls of the Black City. "I'm sure by the time you're back on your feet, she will be, too. I hope," she added, though it seemed useless.