Gayle looked wildly around him. "I am not going anywhere with you all!" he barked at them. "Send me back to my place!" He was done with so much deceit. The deception was now tearing his soul and he was lusting for blood, for war. His eyes read every demon who was flying in the air. Their horns had straightened, fangs had sharpened and their eyes were amber red. In the next few seconds, he leapt high in the air, kicked the demon right in front of him in his ribcage, twirled and held horns of the demon next to him. With all his brute strength, he used his horns to swirl him around in a circle. 

Despite the fact that the demon was flapping his wings with full force to go against him, Gayle was too strong for him. Gayle continued to circle with him. Other demons flew back. In frustration Gayle left the horns of the demon and he hurled in the air only to drop several feet away. Gayle bared his fangs to threaten them to come any near. 

​​

None of them came near him. Sedora coughed and then said, "If their bat-like claws on the wings as much as graze you, you could die. They are filled with poison. Their aíma is laced with venom. You do not want to irk them if you want to get out alive." 

Gayle was so pissed at the woman that he went to her and slapped her across her cheek. "I am in this situation because of you!" 

Sedora's face reeled to the side. She staggered as more pain ripped through her. She clenched her jaws and said, "You can hit me all you want, but you really don't have negotiation powers here." She turned towards the Zor'gans and started walking. They followed her closely, leaving Gayle alone. She called him, "You better come with me because you won't find any portal. I created it. You are trapped in this place, so you better cooperate or if you like, you can perish. No one is interested." 

Gayle gritted his teeth. He knew that his chances of going back were bleak. Sedora had held him a prisoner. She wouldn't harm him, but she wouldn't release him. What was the way out? Think Gayle, think. There was no other option except to tag after her for the time being. 

--- 

9AM. Silver Mansion. 

Dawn fluttered her eyes open in her bedroom in Bainsburgh. 

The place, the air, her sheets and her bed—everything made her feel good, but it was Daryn who made her feel home. She chuckled and then turned to the side. Morning had descended over the gardens. Daryn wasn't there. She knew that he had left for the office already. She stroked the crumpled sheets where he lay last night and a smile came on her lips. The cool breeze of the morning brought in the fragrance of the blossoms of the garden. She sucked in a deep breath and filled her lungs with it. The past few days had been nerve-racking. She decided to take things slowly, very slowly, now. Her tasks for the day—spend time with Cole, go to the gardens and inspect the blossoms and not go to the office. 

'You there, Quetz?' she called her dragon.

'Yep!' came the prompt reply. 

'Hope you have rested well.' 

Silence. 'I am still resting,' he said grumpily. 'You are excused from training for at least two days. I really have to recuperate.' 

Dawn laughed softly. Her dragon was a drama queen. 'Thanks for excusing me. I am so grateful.' 

Silence.

She laughed and got out of the bed lazily and made her way to the bathroom. When she had gone down for breakfast, she found Cole. He was already sitting there and waiting for her. He was looking so nervous that she almost pitied him. He was thinner and there were lines of worry on his face. 

"Dawn!" he jumped from his place and hugged her tight. She hugged him tighter. "God! How I missed you all? I hated staying here all by myself. You have to fill in all details. I am extremely anxious." He removed himself from her and now his expressions were that of anger. He kept his hands on his waist and said, "You are extremely irresponsible. Couldn't you even call me once? And how dare you leave for that place without telling anyone? You just went missing! And I was ballistic! And where is Gayle?" 

Dawn held his hand and dragged him to the chair. "Sit Cole. There's a lot to be told but you won't understand. So I am going to cut the story short."

Cole furrowed his brows. He stared at her waiting for her to speak. 

"I went to find Daryn. His plane crashed in the Amazon jungles. When I went to examine the site, I found that he was abducted by his mother Sedora."

"What?" Cole shrieked. "Are you joking?" 

Dawn shook her head. "No. It took a lot of time to free him from her clutches. We all saved him, but things became worse when Sedora escaped and she took Gayle as hostage." 

"No shit!" His eyes were wide with fear. "We need to find him!" 

"Yes, Daryn and Neal are up to it." She didn't mention that Ileus and Brantley are also in it. 

Cole's demeanor changed. He got up and hugged his sister again. "Let's not have any more adventures Dawn." 

She patted him on the back. "I agree." 

By the time it was afternoon, Dawn had talked to every gardener, every cook of Silver Mansion. In the end she decided that the garden on the south should be landscaped again and be converted into a vegetable garden. By the time it was evening, the mansion had become a hive of activity as the household staff worked relentlessly. Dawn would go in and out of the house to inquire about the progress. When she would go in, Gayle's absence would bite her, so she would come out. 

Neal had mentioned that there was a sorcerer amongst them. She noticed that the head cook was absent. Upon inquiring, she was told that he hadn't returned to work for a week now. 

Daryn had called her every now and then and asked her to relax, but by the time it was evening she was covered in mulch, wet mud, twigs and the smell of pesticides. 

Tired as hell, she wanted to take a bath to wash away the smell. A maid filled her bath and waited for her in the bathroom to help her to wash away the stink. Her nose crinkled when Dawn entered, but she masked her disgust immediately with her politeness. Dawn chuckled. "You may leave. I know I am smelling of urea and sulphur."

The maid smiled and left. 

Dawn stripped off her clothes and soon was naked. In no time, she was sitting submerged to her neck in hot, steaming water. She reclined her head and closed her eyes, savoring the heat that curled around her. She hoped that Daryn had a hectic day because she didn't want him to think about Gayle. The man needed to relax, and relax a lot. His mother had pumped a lot of drugs in him, had given him so much emotional torture and not to mention—his own powers. There was a lot to come to terms with. Her stomach growled and she hastily hurried through the bath and washed her hair. Her twins were eager to eat all they could. 

Dawn was wrapping a towel after drying herself when the door opened and she saw Daryn in the doorway.