"You had no choice because you are a human," Kai said. "Every human we have given a choice has betrayed us. There have been no exceptions." Not wishing to argue with her, Kai strode out of the elevator, into a small room made of clouded glass. Before he opened the door, he spoke to Mira again. "Don't stare at the doll." He said ominously.<br/>The ceiling was made of light. Not the harsh halogen of the PM hallways, nor the soft glow of the lamps in a higher-up's room. It was warm and bright, like the sun, and it beat down upon a seemingly endless garden, within which grew plants of every kind. Apple trees surrounded the room they'd just left, and in front of them could be seen row after row of grapevines, being tended by a woman in a hooded robe, as a kind looking man with sharp features spoke softly to a group of children, ranging from preteens to young adults.<br/>Kai strode up to the woman with confidence. "Hello, Antra. How are the plants today?" He spoke softly, and with more kindness than Mira had ever heard from him. The woman turned, and it wasn't a woman at all. She certainly had the form and voice of one , but her face was an empty porcelain slate. She had no discernible nose or mouth, and her eye sockets were empty.<br/>Where her sweet-sounding voice came from was anyone's guess. "They are well, Kaienne, though Cil has not been singing to them as much as he should. I am worried they will think he does not care for them anymore."<br/>Kai nodded. "I will speak with him, and possibly put my boot in his ass if need be."<br/>Antra giggled, then her empty eye sockets looked straight at Mira, whom she rapidly approached, her hooded robe swishing around her. A porcelain hand came up to touch the human's face as the empty sockets stared. "Kaienne...who is this?" Antra sounded almost reverent.<br/>"She is my newest student, Mira I have brought her here to learn to take care of our garden."<br/>The doll suddenly pulled the human girl into a hug. Kai patted the air with his hands in a calming gesture to Mira. "Antra and Cil love these plants almost as much as each other, and Antra in particular loves anyone who cares for them." Kai smiled that normal-looking smile again.<br/>"Come on," he said. "Let's go introduce you to Cil."<br/>As they approached the class, for a class it was, two of the younger students broke from the group and ran up to Kai, jumping into his arms for a hug. The shapeshifter laughed and hugged them. The children had what looked like antlers growing from their foreheads.<br/>One of them spoke with a cheerful tone. "Where have you been, Kai? We missed you!"<br/>"I know, Fuji. I've been working. You know Ghost likes to keep me on my toes."<br/>The kid, whose hair was an alarming shade of orange, nodded, but pointed at her brother, who just looked up at Kai with his big green eyes. "Brae wouldn't shut up about seeing you again!"<br/>Kai put on a mock surprised face and ruffled the boy's hair. "Really? Well, why don't you explain to me how a mute boy can't shut up, eh?" He leaned in to talk to the child, as though he were sharing a secret. "I bet it was Fuji who couldn't shut up, wasn't it Brae?"<br/>The boy nodded vigorously and his sister pouted, prompting a laugh from Kai.<br/>Another voice reached them. "Are you done interrupting my class, shifter?" The speaker was trying to sound annoyed, but only succeeded in sounding jovial.<br/>Kai stood with a smile. "Depends, Cil. Are you done interrupting my reunion with my godchildren?" The smile remained as Kai guided his apparent godchildren back to the group, then embraced their teacher. "Good to see you, Cil."<br/>"You too, Kai." The man had long, dirty blond hair that was tied in a ponytail and draped over his left shoulder. His eyes, possessing a bright golden hue, had irises shaped like hourglasses. When they caught sight of Mira, they widened. "Why, Kaienne, I didn't know you had a girlfriend." He said.<br/>Kai laughed again. "No, no. She's just my student. I'll be in teaching her in the Dark Room first, then I was hoping she could study under you and Antra."<br/>The kids collectively made an 'ooooh' noise, and all of them moved to surround the human and look at her in wonder. Among them were vampires with their pale skin and crimson eyes, demons with obvious horns jutting from their heads, an angel who floated slightly above the rest of the kids, and a young man whose lower half was a serpent's tail.<br/>They oohed and ahhed and asked her all kinds of questions, including "Do you really love Mr. Kai?" and, hilariously, "Have you kissed yet?!?"<br/>Kai just looked on with a genuine smile. Perhaps the kids would show her what he couldn't: that PM was a family.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Everything had happened so fast. Raz stood nearby the bar, frozen in shock at the going girl's pitiful cry. His face twisted in disbelief when Kallista pulled what looked like a section of spine out of the shooter.<br/>Silas, to his credit, had rushed to the girl's side, answering his wife. "It won't be fatal." The words were curt, and Raz could hear the fury behind them. "I'll call a Non hospital."<br/>Silas nodded, focused on trying to calm his daughter.<br/>On the way to his office, Raz put a hand on Cherry's shoulder and spoke softly. "You'd better tell them whatever it is you know. I don't think we want them to find out some other way."<br/>He had no real idea what it was Cherry knew, but he could see the fear in her eyes now, and he had seen her tense up when the shooter entered.<br/>As he made it to his office and dialed the hospital directly (it was faster than dialing the emergency number), he could only hope Cherry was still alive when he returned.