Ben Donovan was dead.

Numb with shock and sick with grief, I ran away. I ran like a scared child to hide under mommy's skirts. What else could I do? Brenna was winning. I had no idea how to find her or how to beat her, no idea who she really was or what she was after. In spite of my best efforts, she had killed the only man capable of loving a broken mess like me, and left me with nothing but fear and self pity.

Where else could I go?

I stood on the doorstep of my old Master's house in Dublin, sobbing in the rain like a lost kitten with my familiars clinging to me, reflecting my emotional desolation. What a mess...what a pitiful, broken mess. Should I even bother ringing the bell? Would they care about my failure? Should I just leave now and try to face Brenna on my own?

No. I'm not strong enough for that, not brave enough or smart enough. The last few days proved that conclusively. Who was I kidding? I needed someone to hug me and tell me everything would be okay.

I rang the bell.

My mother must've been sensing my distress...she was at the door the second my fingers left the bell, pulling her daughter to her in a heartbeat. Flooded with pity and parental obligation, she dragged her lost kitten inside like a trapdoor spider, practically pulling her offspring into her lap as she sat on the couch to hear about her daughter's failure.

My old Master, true to his nature, recoiled from his pupil's weakness and emotional plight. He was an old-fashioned man to the core, never at home in dealing with emotional women, even ones that he loved or pitied as much as his lover's daughter. He retreated to the kitchen with Athena and Artemis to make tea and try to hide his own worry and sadness.

Thus separated, I betrayed them both, the last people in the world capable of loving a wretch like me.

Mommy dearest was cuddling her daughter on the couch, soaking up her helplessness and self-pity like a co-dependent psychic vampire when she heard the tea set hit the floor in the kitchen. As she turned to look, there was a bright strobe of violet light from under the door. She tried to get up, but suddenly her daughter was literally in her lap, wrapped around her like the dead weight she always was...except now she had a vicious, curved knife pressed against her mommy's throat.

She watched helplessly as Athena stalked out of the kitchen, dragging the great Jonathan Tremane's limp body by the hair with one hand, while making an obscene show of licking the blood from the talons of her other.

Oh, cousin dearest…if only you could have seen the look on the old biddy's face! It was priceless. Confusion, terror, betrayal, disgust...it was all there on full display, making herself vulnerable and weak, just like her lover and just like her failure of a daughter. I could have finished her then, but the time was simply not right. Instead, I let my daddy's glamour fall away from us.

My daddy loves me, unlike yours...even though I know I'm not worthy of it. He gives me gifts sometimes, when I'm worthy of something more than punishment. Today, he gave me two gifts, because he loves me so. The first was a Sidhe glamour, as beautiful and subtle and deadly as a jeweled spider.

Mommy watched as her daughter's form melted away like smoke to reveal a lovely black Elevated panther coiled in her lap, one clawed hand clutching her breast while the other held the knife to her throat. My beloved Hecate, my good little kitten, purred with delight as she lapped your mother's tears from her trembling cheek...then forced her to watch as I shook off Athena's piteous form and stood before her in all my wicked glory, licking your new daddy's blood from my fingertips like a lover's touch...not that you'll ever know anything about that now.

Had you going, didn't I? I let my darling pet take your disgusting form, but I was the one radiating all that beautiful self-pity I know you love to soak yourself in from time to time. In close quarters like this, it's hard to tell where it's coming from when it reeks so strongly.

I released my grip on the old man's hair and let his head bounce off the floorboards. My spell hadn't killed him - I hadn't wanted to - but you'd have a hard time telling that from the ruin I made of his face. My fingernails are no match for my beloved pets' claws, but even shallow wounds bleed so beautifully on the face and head. It was hilarious...his distinguished little beard was as red as an ancient Norden berserker's. I couldn't help but giggle, especially when my precious little Hathor padded in behind me from the kitchen and bent to lap up some of the blood.

She's such a darling! I really must take the time to thank you properly for leading me to that dockside shop.

Your mommy didn't like my joke though, not even a little. She has no sense of humor, none at all. I'd thought she would have, with a joke like you for a child, but no. She tried gathering her Anima, but my beautiful, eager Hecate was too smart for that. She felt her fur begin to prickle and let her claws dig in just enough to let your mommy know that she knew. I give the poor old dear some credit though...she hesitated, letting her wrath and fear war with each other before collapsing like a house of Mother's Day cards.

I drank in her terror and rage as I sauntered over, feeling the sympathetic link it formed with my own mind. That's when I used my dad's second gift...because he loves me so, daddy gave me a weapon to strike down the weak and the pitiful. I hardly had to gather any extra Anima, your mommy's emotions were so strong...I lashed out from halfway across the room. Pretty violet fairy lights surged and swirled, lancing out from my hand and into your mommy's heart, riding the burning trail of fear and hate she left for me.

She cried out so sweetly that it almost sounded like ecstasy to me, before she went limp in my darling familiar's arms. I beckoned my precious Hecate over so I could embrace her beautiful, perfect body and give my cherished pet her reward. Her kisses tasted like tears...it was beautiful.

But, sadly, there was no time to play. That will come later, once we have you. For now, I had to content myself with completing this lovely little one-act parody.

The final touch? Sitting at your fake daddy's lovely old desk, writing it all down like a teenage girl with her precious little heart-spangled diary and nothing better to do than catalog her pointless existence. Except instead of adding one more page to the lexicon of failure, like you no doubt do, I decided to write you this letter instead.

Do come home and see us, beloved cousin...we have so much to catch up on, and the family is just dying to see you.

Love and kisses,

Cousin Brenna

P.S.: My darling little Hathor says your mommy's blood tastes so much sweeter than your fake daddy's.

I stared at the pages, too numb and horrified to even comment on the terrible cliché she chose to end on. I had to go home...now. But first, I had to clear the panic out of my head.

I looked up and realized that Athena, standing across the hall from me and thumbing through the rest of the day's post, had dropped the pile of mail and was staring at me in growing confusion and fear. No doubt she was feeling the emotions swirling inside me and fighting to escape. I handed her the letter and let it explain itself.

Artemis appeared at the top of the stairs and yowled. >

Her yowl brought Hollis from his study and Elsie from the kitchen. They took one look at me and hurried over, Hollis to lend me an arm as my knees started to buckle, and Elsie to pick up the spilled mail.

"Dear girl," Hollis said, his concern flooding his voice, "Whatever is the matter?"

"This," Athena said breathlessly, handing him the letter. Then she leaned against the wall and slid down it to a sitting position. "Sweet gods…" She whispered. Artemis was as her side in an instant, both of them looking up at me for guidance.

Guidance. I had no idea what to do. I looked to Hollis.

He frowned thunderously - his bushy eyebrows were very good for frowning - as he quickly skimmed the letter. Then he grunted. "Cast sendings to Jonathan and your mother. I'll do the same. Once they're away, begin packing what you think you'll need for the trip."

"What about Ben?" I asked. "I need to know if he's…"

The doorbell rang. We all jumped, except for Elsie who moved from the pile of mail she was placing on the sideboard to the door so fast I didn't see her move. I also had no idea where the compact but dangerous-looking revolver in her left hand had come from.

"Don't worry about that right now," Hollis said, keeping half an eye on Elsie as she opened the door a crack to speak to whoever was there. "I'm sure he's safe in the hospital, and we would have heard by now if his test results this morning had been bad. Go and cast your Sendings. You know what the returns mean?"

I nodded, steadying myself as he released my elbow. "No return means the message was delivered or is waiting to be delivered. If the Sending returns, it means the person was unreachable. If the Sending won't leave…" I trailed off, feeling a bit faint again.

"Don't think about that," Hollis said firmly. "Not unless it happens."

I left Hollis and Elsie to deal with whoever was at the door while I went to find out. Fortunately, my Sendings to both Jonathan and my mother departed, meaning they were still alive. Nor did they return - my messages had been delivered. I couldn't decide if I was relieved that Brenna hadn't blocked my Sendings or not. It meant that my mother and Jonathan knew that help was on the way...but it meant that Brenna most likely knew too.

Of course, it's not like she wouldn't be expecting me anyway.

I felt the full set of defensive wards Hollis had in place around his house go up as I was casting my Sendings, meaning that the house was effectively on lockdown. Nobody would be able to get in without his express permission, and it would take a tremendous amount of effort to get through with hostile magics…so much so that even trying might level the entire block and instantly kill the fool who tried. The house had become a fortress.

I took a moment to compose myself and put everything I thought I'd need into my bottomless bag and utility belt before finally coming downstairs. For a moment, I thought about changing into my under-armor…but it seemed to me it would do me little good against magic, and I felt too rushed for time.

I found Hollis and the others in the hall, looking grim faced and serious. We had a brief and heart-wrenching conversation before finally deciding it was time to leave. "We'll be perfectly safe here," Hollis said, resting a reassuring hand on my shoulder for a moment. "Go without fear for us."

Athena handed me my staff, then buckled on her shieldblade's harness and her gunbelt. "Are you sure?" I asked Hollis.

He nodded firmly. "Priorities, girl. We're safe. Your mother and Jonathan aren't. Go. Do what you have to do to save them. We'll make a few calls from here and see if we can get some sort of law enforcement to back you up. Jonathan is the only wizard I know in Dublin, but I'll ask my colleagues if they known of any who could help."

By the time I reached the docks, word of my need for passage had arrived through whatever channels Hollis had used. A fast cargo ship named the Reckless Abandon (how appropriate) that was leaving for Dublin that afternoon had a berth set aside for me. I'd be there before midnight.

I had a feeling that - like the ship itself - her crew and cargo were more than they appeared to be. But I was in no mood to find out, and probably wouldn't have tried even if I had been. Sometimes it's better not to know. Instead, I spent most of the trip huddled inside my coat as I sat on the main deck near the helm, staring at the horizon as the sun set.

Athena and Artemis came and went, prowling the main deck restlessly and stopping to check on me occasionally. I knew we should all be resting, but none of us would be able to. Finally, they joined me, Athena sitting pressed against my right side, Artemis against my left. As always, I was warmed by their closeness and affection for me...but for the first time, it failed to dispel the chill I felt inside.

My family was in mortal danger, at the mercy of a young woman who was clearly psychotic. I was rushing - not quite blindly - into a confrontation that was likely to end with either Brenna or me dead. And possibly my mother and Jonathan as well.

I was terrified.

Was Brenna right about me? Oh, I had no doubt that my mother and Jonathan loved and cared about me, and while I had moments of self-doubt and an ongoing sense of alienation from the world in general, I had never really descended into the sort of maudlin self-pity that she had accused me of.

Had I? I didn't think so…

Was I weak? It was true that our first fight on the train from Edinburgh to London had ended in a draw...but I was well aware of the fact that it had done so because I'd acted in desperation. I hadn't held my own in terms of skill or experience - I was clearly outclassed by her in both areas. She and Hecate had kept me, Athena and Artemis off-balance and held us at bay until I'd lashed out as violently as I could in such a confined space. I had not out-fought her or out-thought her...I'd overpowered her, because she'd underestimated me.

Was I leading my beloved Athena and Artemis to their deaths? Had I seen my last sunset? Would I be able to rescue the people I loved, or was she going to be so well prepared for my arrival that nothing I could do would save any of us?

Where had my resolve gone? I was shaken, rattled and disheartened, and I could feel similar emotions from my familiars.

Where had my confidence gone? I'd failed to protect Ben from the mortal danger I put him in, playing bait for the Thames Slasher. Just thinking about what had happened to him because of me made my stomach clench into a ball of pain, and made me wonder for a moment what had happened to the police who'd been shadowing us.

I'd failed to protect my mother and Jonathan, even though rationally I knew it wasn't my responsibility to do so...but I could have warned them. I should have warned them. Damn it, I knew she was targeting people that I knew, people that I cared about...why didn't I warn them?

I had failed.

The self-defense trainer that Hollis had hired for me and Athena had told us, "The more hits you take, the more you will." I had never been more certain that those words were true.

We huddled together on the deck of the Reckless Abandon and waited impatiently, all three of us wondering if we'd see another day.

The Abandon came to rest at the Dublin docks a little before midnight. We said a heartfelt thanks to the ship's captain and went down the ramp at a jog, intending to find a cab and head straight to Jonathan's townhouse.

I don't know how she managed it, but Brenna was waiting for us at the bottom of the ramp. She was wearing an outfit very similar to the one I'd last seen her in...a black velvet and lace dress with a calf-length skirt, tight bodice and belled sleeves beneath an ankle-length black cloak with the hood thrown back. The look was somehow properly offset by a pair of black combat boots, which seemed to suit her better than anything more feminine. Her black hair was neatly trimmed where last time it had been a bit ragged, and she had rather disturbingly cut it in a style that was nearly identical to my own. Her golden-irised eyes, so like my own, looked less sunken than they had...but had the same bright, glittering, slightly crazed quality I'd seen the last time we met.

She was rocking back and forth a little, heel to toe, with her hands clasped behind her back as she beamed up at me. "Good evening, cousin!" She greeted me cheerfully. "Do come along, I have a cab waiting."

I tightened my grip on my staff and felt Athena and Artemis fan out a little to either side of me as I started to gather Anima.

Brenna laughed, delighted. "Oh, come now, dear cousin. Don't you notice anything missing?"

> Artemis noted. >

I held my ground, but felt a quiver in the muscles of my left arm as I gripped my staff.

"That's right," Brenna giggled. "I left my beloved pets with your mommy and wanna-be daddy. If you try to do anything to me, your pretty family dies."

I'd been there less than a minute, and she'd already out-thought me. I was very poorly prepared for this confrontation, and she had taken the opportunity to hammer the point home. It was as if she had known precisely how I would react and what I would do.

She smiled up at me with false warmth. "Come now," she said gently, "They're waiting, and so is the cab."

I released the Anima I'd called up and glanced at each of my familiars. Athena lowered her big revolver, then slid it back into its holster, giving me a look that was as helpless as I felt. Artemis gave one last silent snarl before slinking back to my side, her tail drooping miserably.

Brenna clapped her hands happily, bouncing on her toes. "So docile and pliant. We're going to have such fun together! Come along!" She turned and walked jauntily away down the dock.

We followed her. What choice did we have?