<strong>The Kane estate, the gardens</strong><br/><br/>Lucas was about to say he knew someone that could help her in the deciphering when Graymalkin came out of nowhere and had his conversation with the woman. He watched it all with a passive face, even when the cat leaped at him as if to attack or seriously maim him. When he was certain the cat was gone, he leaned forward a bit to look Selene better in the eye.<br/><br/>"Sisters?" Lucas said, cocking one of his eyebrows in reply to what the large cat had said to him after it had disappeared from thin air. He didn't seem fazed or scared by the cat's appearance, as if used to being threatened and warned by spirits from the Courts that could kill him with a single thought or a wave of hand. "I see... you're related to the Fae then? Father Frollo said he knew people of great interest and it looks like he was telling the truth."<br/><br/>He gave a polite smile at the end of those words, though they didn't reach his blue eyes. The young man  leaned into his chair, sipping the drink quietly as he took the information in. His stomach rolled, wondering how the animal (Graymalkin, correct?) knew that he had<em>Fides</em>. Don't tell him that Father Frollo knew the faeries as well.<br/><br/>"How on earth are you related to them?" Lucas asked, honestly sincere in his questions. "Graymalkin mentioned blood sisters... is that possible? Or is it some odd term of endearment that the Fae use for themselves and others? And, I apologize if this seems rude, but can I know if the information I gave to you about the murders... help me in anyway?"<br/><br/>Then, he felt<em>Fides</em>hum. Actually hum and suddenly jerk towards the north, where Selene was sitting. The Knight Templar cried out, crashing against the table when that happened and only stopped there when he braced himself. He was pale now, but not from the broadsword's sudden movements, but from the meaning why.<br/><br/>"That witch is doing it again!" Lucas growled, spitting the word 'witch' out as if it was a curse. "I... I knew coming here was a mistake! Somewhere now, she's using the innocent while I'm just dallying away. Argh!" He smashed his hand against the table, nearly cracking it, as he attempted to control his temper.<br/><br/>He stepped away, fixing himself with shaking hands. "I'm sorry Ms. Kane... it's just while I do know little of Caroline Richardson, I still know things about her. And all the facts are not pleasant..." He looked up, his eyes hard and cold now as his hand on the hilt of<em>Fides</em>was in a death grip. "Tell me, Ms. Kane. Do you know the Ceremony of<em>Mihi quod Mihi Unus</em>? If you do, that is what she is doing right now. And unless I know what she wants, she'll keep doing it again and again."<br/><br/><strong>Meanwhile, in New York at the same time Lucas and Selene were talking...</strong><br/><br/>What was happening in the cellar shouldn't be happening. It should only exist in only the most twisted of daydreams or the most horrifying of nightmares. It should not be seen in the real world or the world of the supernatural, but only seen in the privacy and make believe of one's soul and mind in a deep, dark corner.<br/><br/>But it was here. Real, tangible and horrific.<br/><br/>In the dark, made more ominous with the few lit candles here and there, there a group of women and men there. All of them young and having the look of homeless children. The lost and the ones no one will ever care for. Dressed in tatters and in their own filth. In their hands were large goblets filled filled with a dark, sludgy material that they eagerly consumed to the last drop. Without a thought, they threw the goblets against the walls and screamed with unearthly delight as the glass shattered.<br/><br/>They started to dance, stripping their clothing and the clothing of others off while doing so. Their eyes were sleepy and heavy and their cries, shrieks and howls sounded too high and pitch to be the work of a concise person. When their clothing was all stripped off, it showed marks and cuts, still bleeding even, as they fell to the ground and made love on the dirty, debris covered floor. Moans and cries filling the room as the group started an orgy.<br/><br/>In the corner of the rooms, stones glowed and so did the wall. A steady, low white than a bloody red.<br/><br/>A woman's voice could be heard over the sound of sex, chanting Latin fluidly. She wore a scarlet dress that flowed around her, matching her scarlet ringlets as she threw her head back and chanted louder and louder, her eyes milky white now. Along with the woman, there was a makeshift altar in the center of the room the woman. Made from a large slab of stone with a dark cloth draped over it. On it were withered roses and what looked like stains of fluids.<br/><br/>And on the makeshift altar was a man, who was sadly clear of mind in this nightmarish scene that he was part of. Bound to the stone with barbed wire by his wrists and ankles, he could only look on at the woman as he struggled and cried for help. The people ignored him, continuing to shriek consummate one another as if he didn't exist.<br/><br/>"<em>Mihi quod Mihi Unus</em>," the woman said, looking down at him now. Her pure white eyes and red clothing and hair made him think of the Devil and her actions now only confirmed it. Especially as she raised the dagger she held higher and higher into the air, pointed at his chest. The man screamed, sobbing as he begged her to not kill him. That he had a wife and two children to feed and that no one will help them if-<br/><br/>The woman knew no mercy. She brought it down in a sure, swift motion. Striking in the very middle of his chest and dragged it down. The man twitched and gurgled out blood, watching her with dimming vision reach down as she pulled out his heart and raise it to the air.<br/><br/>Caroline Richardson smiled as the blood splattered on her skin, feeling her dark magic come back and the curse she was forced to have slowly wither away from her soul. She took out her tongue, swallowing the blood that landed on her tongue. She felt herself become lighter, stronger. She was restored. She tossed the heart away like it was trash, looking at the orgy before her with an arrogant smirk. With a wave of her hand and a sound from her lips, she commanded them to go to sleep and they did.<br/><br/>She was left alone now in the room awake. The smells of blood, dust, decay, bodily fluids and candles surrounding her like a wonderful, intoxicating perfume her mother used to wear. She took a deep breathe, enjoying the moment when she felt someone tap her bare shoulder.<br/><br/>"Someone," the person said behind her in velvety voice, "seems to be having fun at the moment. Like the spellbook I<em>loaned</em>to you?"<br/><br/>The redhead turned, smiling at the tall and handsome man dressed in resplendent clothing that was colored dark but, at the same time, seem to shimmer and twinkle. She felt her heart race as she looked at him, knowing well what was truly under that mask of a handsome person. The man who showed her the light. The one she gave herself to and still has been. The man who gave her a choice. Both blessed and cursed her at the same time.<br/><br/>She touched the spellbook (http://www.spellboundsupplies.co.uk/WebRoot/GroupNBT/Shops/fw57jr6ak63g/4A59/C62F/9EE4/CE70/B136/0A0A/33E7/B124/leather_bos.JPG) as it lay on the altar. The pages open to the ceremony she had just performed mere seconds ago. "Why yes, I am enjoying it my dear. And why did you say loan to me? Did I not fulfill my end of the bargain five months ago?"<br/><br/>"You did," he said, reaching out with a gloved hand to caress her cheek. Shivers running up and down her spine. "But I clearly told you that it was for a limited time. While I admire your work, you need to give me more than just sacrifices dear."<br/><br/>"Maybe this?" Caroline said, holding up the dagger casually. "I'm more than happy to trade this dinky little thing for that lovely spellbook of yours."<br/><br/>"<em>Dubium</em>," the man whispered in awe, surprised for once in his long, long lifetime. He stared at the dagger she presented to him, as if not expecting its' presence at all. It hummed and vibrated with power, fueled by the actions that were happening around it. The man took the dagger from her hand, admiring the true iron it was made from. "One of the weapons made in retaliation of the Virtue Weapons. Especially the blasted<em>Fides</em>and<em>Spero</em>. It was supposed to have been destroyed over a hundred years ago during the... I... how... how on earth did you find it?"<br/><br/>Caroline Richardson, former nun, witch and murderer, smiled as she said, "A gift. From Frollo."