I may have slept with my injuries longer than I originally thought. I woke up expecting Sage to be next to me, but she was gone; it had me thinking that I might have imagined her sleeping next to me. I sat on my bed, preparing to stand, but I was sore. Sore from lying down for so long. it took me two tries to stand on my own because my legs were not prepared. I managed to get out of my room and down the stairs; as I moved, my limbs started to remember how to function. I saw the boy Damian talking to two other people I didn't know at the bottom of the stairs. When the other two saw me coming, they quickly walked out of the house. 

"Your friends know physical injuries are not contagious, right?" I asked, stopping in front of Damian. 

"They do; it is just most hunters aren't the talkative type" he had a lazy smile that could convince you that nothing was wrong and you didn't need to worry. 

"so an anti-social fight club. Got it." 

"I like that," he laughed and looked me over, probably for more injuries. "It looks like you healed up good; let's get you to the kitchen for some real food." 

"Goddess, yes" the second main motivator that got me out of bed was the desire for food. We walked into the kitchen, and I saw Sage talking with my dad. It looked like a civil conversation which is just weird since it was my dad. Sage, heard us come in. She hopped up and ran to me, almost taking me down. 

"I was sooooooo worried when the Carvalus said that you were having an unusual reaction to the pain medication. We didn't know when you were going to wake up," she said, still holding onto me. I looked at my dad, but he was looking up in relief. 

"Dad, how long was I out" I wrapped my arm around Sage and pulled her to the side of me so I could look at them both clearly. 

"A while, son, too long," he responded. 

"What does that mean?" 

"Tomorrow is my birthday Reed" Sage whispered. I stared at them with wide eyes and slack jaw, even Damian, but none of them had anything to say. 

"tomorrow, seriously" I ran my free hand through my hair and scratched the back of my neck, uncomfortable. What had I missed? Were we ready for tomorrow? Did Hollis attack since the tree, how long was Sage in the tree, did we find a way to claim her, and has Jeremy come back? I didn't have the words to express my questions. They all wanted to come out simultaneously, so instead, a frustrated breath came out. 

"Reed," Damian stated, "don't worry, while you have been down, the team has come up with a plan. We kept our guard hidden, and we are laying a trap. Only two people have been doing patrols, and we have stayed away from windows to convince them that we are smaller in number. We are luring him in, and then we arrest him for an attempt of kidnapping and assault. That was kinda the rundown version." 

"Is this your plan?" 

"Silvia Lightfoot has approved the plan," he responded. 

"That didn't answer the question what about the girl Cerridwen? Did she come up with the plan" I asked again?

"Neither Cerridwen nor I came up with the plan, but our higher-ups approved it, so that is the plan we are prepared to execute," he replied. 

"So are you and her preparing for a fight?" I asked. 

"Cerridwen is always ready for a fight" Damian nodded at me before he went to talk to some of the other hunters that are here. Sage walked me to the island and started to make sandwiches for me her and my dad. 

"Does that boy unsettle you?" I asked my dad. He thought for a moment, then nodded.

"He is sweet as sugar, but it doesn't reach his eyes," Sage said as she handed us the food, "but if you think he is bad, then you should try and talk to his shadow." 

"His shadow?" both of them seemed to be on the same page. 

"The girl Cerridwen," Dad started, then glanced around, "she doesn't talk much, nor do we see her often, but when we do, she appears. She hugs walls and watches people, a calculating look in her eye. She looks wary of us all, and you only see her if Damian is around." 

"I liked her when I meet her," I stated. 

"Yes, well, you were also bleeding internally, so your judgment might have been impaired," Sage responded. 

"I'll tell you one thing, neither of them seems pleased with the plan that we are going with" My dad eyed the hunters that were standing in the foyer. 

"I bet those to have something like 6 backup plans up their sleeves for when this goes south," I said. The hunters kept glancing at us, eating and out the windows that no one was allowed to go near. It got to the point where I had to keep glancing at the doors and windows because the hair on my neck would stand up if I didn't. When a branch moved or there was a sound outside, I started to jump. Sage and my dad were doing the same. "Have we seen Hollis or Hyacinth since the attack at the tree?" 

"Yes, well, not Hyacinth, but Hollis and my half-siblings come around and try to scope this place out. They have been making closer and closer passes every time." Sage answers. 

"But not Hyacinth?" 

"I don't think dirty work is her thing, but she will make her play eventually," my Dad jumps at the sound of the door opening. I can't sit anymore, so I start cleaning my plate from the sandwich. 

"So where are all of us going to be tomorrow?" I asked. 

"I will be back home with Aster and Ruby. Sage will be here," My dad responded. 

"We think you should go with your dad Reed" Sage wrapped her hands around my arm to make me look at her. "It is the safest thing to do." 

"No, if you are here, then so am I." 

"But you are still hurt." 

"Too bad I'm not leaving you." 

"Please, baby, I can't watch something happen to you again. I was so scared last time, and I could feel your pain, but there was nothing I could do." 

"But you did, Sage, you stopped him. You just needed a little time, and I gave that to you. See, we are the perfect team. You don't separate a good team"  I looked at my dad. He was rather quiet about all this. 

"I figured this would be your answer. Just promise that if things get out of hand that you will run," he said when he noticed me looking at him. 

"Of course." 

"They are making a pass, positions!" Sage grabbed my hand and pulled me into the hallway and against the wall where we couldn't be seen. The frantic motion set my heart beating fast as the mandatory silence set in. Sage is pressing me against the wall while I strain to see what is going on; her eyes are squeezed shut, and her face is buried in my chest. Her mouth silently counting until we get the all-clear. 

"What were you trying to do?" she asked, finally opening her eyes "Were you trying to leave?" 

"I wanted to know what was going on," I defended; in my defense, this was the first time I did their shelter-in-place drill. We walked out of the stairs, and I saw Damian ordering people to 'mark that pass' and 'trail their directions' apparently, we were trying to figure out where they were coming from. Damian glanced at the top of the stairs, so I followed his gaze. Cerridwen was crouched there, a knife in hand. She shook her head no at him before her steal grey eye locked on me. I felt like I got hit with a wave of power and anger. I could see why Sage and my dad were not her biggest fans. Then she was gone, vanished before my eyes in a flash of blue. Damian saw where I was staring and made his way over to me. I noticed I was now standing alone since I stopped walking with Sage. 

"She doesn't like to be stared at," he said in a hushed voice. 

"Blue light, we shadowstep in gray shadows?" 

"Who said she was shadowstepping?" 

"Tell me you and she have a backup plan or seven because I don't see this working out in our favor." 

"This plan is based on perception we are trying to appear weak when we are strong then launch the attack on our land." 

"You and I both know that was always going to be the case. He was always going to come to her, and you think he, what isn't going to come prepared?" 

"You are smarter than you look." 

"I'll take that if you tell me my instincts about you are right." 

"Always come prepared to do whatever is required of you to do, that is how I operate. I train my mind as well as my body. That is what a hunter is. If you are asking if I am prepared, then the answer is yes." I nodded, not satisfied, but I think I got what he was trying to say. He spoke again before I walked away, "If you are interested in what hunters are taught, you should also know that we are taught to read our surroundings and predict or acknowledged problems that we see before they happen even in ourselves." 

"Thank you, that was interesting" I walked back to Sage, and now I was eyeing every hunter I saw, and I was beginning to see what Damian was trying to tell me. They looked bored or disinterested, and a few cast Sage dirty looks. They thought that this was beneath them or not their problem; they didn't like Sage since she is a warlock. And worse, there was dissent amongst each other. I stood near enough to a group to hear them talk about 'the steel-eyed monster thinks it can tell us what to do.' I would be willing to bet that steel-eyed monster is Cerridwen. Maybe that is why they picked a stupid plan because she posed the other. 

"Are you ok?" Sage asked, "you look a little lost" I wasn't lost; I was noticing just like Damian told me to do, and I wasn't liking what I was seeing. I looked over at Damian; he shook his head no; this wasn't the time to panic, but he held my gaze, and I realized one more thing. I have to analyze my own weaknesses before they become a problem. When the attack happens, I realized that come tomorrow; I can't be where I originally wanted to be. 

I can't be near Sage. 

******************************************************

Hello Beautiful humans, 

These are the moments before the big play, maybe a bit tense, but that is what happens when you can't trust your teammates. We shall see what happens. 

Who liked the begrudging respect his father is now giving him and Sage? Hard-earned, he just had to get beat up for it to happen, oh well. 

Don't forget to tell me what you thought in the comments and vote!

So mote it be