Sera's whole body felt like it was buzzing. Though she had slowly regained use of her body over time, it still felt like her nerves were fried. One of her legs still dragged through the mud uselessly which left Laena to pick up the extra weight.

She felt so tired. Between the recent exertion and her body's attempts to fight off the toxin her body was working itself into a frenzy.

Pain. She remembered what this pain felt like. This uselessness, the lack of control, the sensation of wandering through the cold and the dark not knowing what was coming next. Those feelings had been cast into the shadows when Anjelica and Hound came into her life but in the dark and dreary night those doubts seemed to reach out of every veiled corner.

Groggily, she looked up towards Laena's face which was screwed into a stubborn look of determination. Sweat mixed with rain across her forehead as she single mindedly pulled them both through the mud.

The sound of the rain finally gave way to the familiar sound of a horse's whinny.

Laena had managed to get them across town and back in front of the Bent Nail Inn where Buck was frantically pulling at his reins to try to get nearer to Sera.

As they passed, Sera reached out a hand and patted him on the nose which seemed to satiate him for now despite his discontented snort in response.

Laena kicked open the door and managed to pull Sera into the building before they both crashed to the ground.

Moira Immediately stood up from her stool to greet them as they entered but her eyes went wide as she looked down at the two.

Laena was gasping for air but managed to squeak out a few words.

"Get help please!"

Moira immediately jumped up, rounded the counter, and ran up the stairs. It was only moments before several sets of footsteps came rushing towards them.

Anjelica was first and had evidently changed her outfit since they had last seen her as she now wore a set of green fabrics in place of her blue. Her face looked panicked as she swung around the corner and immediately dropped down to look into Sera's hazy eyes.

"Oh God Sera! What have you done?" Anjelica questioned worriedly.

Hound then appeared, leaning down and scooping Sera off of the floor. He then marched upstairs to their rooms.

"You are going to explain to me exactly what happened," Anjelica said with an icy look at Laena. She then offered her hand to help Laena up.

Taking her hand, Laena stood and cleared her throat. Anjelica did not release the grip on her hand.

"We found some kids who were stealing serum. Medicine they said they got from Dr.Amelia. Sera said that we needed more information to act on so we went to her lab. I found her passed out in a gutter drain some time later."

Laena looked back at her after finishing but Anjelica's pale skin had drained of all color leaving her ghostlike. Her eyes widened in surprise and wordlessly she ran up the stairs.

"She needs serum!" Anjelica yelled as they made it halfway up the first flight.

"Got it!" Quinn's voice echoed down.

The two climbed the last few steps and rejoined the group.

Sera had been laid down on her tiny bed and her head propped up on a pillow. Hound had a vial of serum that he was very lightly pouring into Sera's mouth as she looked at him thankfully.

"Laena!" Quinn immediately burst out. He grabbed his daughter tightly and began to kiss her hair.

"It seems that our girls got into a bit more trouble than we had counted on," Anjelica said with a sharp tongue.

"We were just having a good time with my friends! Then Sera saw those kids and she just...she was incensed!" Laena retorted.

"That does sound like her," Hound said. This caused Anjelica's face to pucker in annoyance for a moment before pressing her glasses up.

"I was very much hoping that you would keep her from doing something stupid, Laena. It seems that not even the good head on your shoulders can prevent her from barging in sword first," Anjelica said mopily.

"Flame first," Sera said dryly with a pointed look at Anjelica as her vocal cords were able.

This triggered another horrified look from Anjelica.

"They saw your flames? And they let you go after that?!"

"Oh yes. Called me a little Fostaine mouse," Sera said. She was quickly recovering and so had taken the vial of serum and drank some to wet her pallet.

"She took a blood sample from me and said that it had more than paid for my life. Had her guards throw me in a gutter which is where Lanea comes in."

"If she is working with Gabriel then messages will get sent out in the morning Angel," Hound said gravely. "The Church is going to know where Sera is. We have a couple of days at most."

"Okay, hold on," Quinn interjected. "Did you say Fostaine? I cannot help but notice how your ward's hair has turned a brilliant red color. Is she...?"

Sera simply gestured towards her boot to which Hound immediately knew to hand her the boot knife. Once it was placed into her hand, the blade began to glow with a flickering violet flame.

Quinn froze in place at the sight of the flames. THe light flickered and reflected off of his dark eyes.

"What did you get me involved in? I told the Cranes that I wanted nothing to do with their little search for a figurehead," Quinn questioned angrily.

"Exactly what we told you. We are going after Gabriel and trying to stop the kidnappings. We have not lied to you Quinn," Anjelica said. She then moved to the window and opened it before sparking up a cigarette with a match.

"You are willing to risk a royal heir on a suicide mission against one of the most powerful men in Astria? You Cranes never fucking change do you?" Quinn continued.

"It was my choice!" Sera piped up. "Just like going into the clinic. It was my choice. I am not afraid to do the work. I was a person a long time before I was the Everburn and I did not ask for this! What a cruel trick to inherit a genetic clot. Like anyone would want this responsibility! I do not want to be a queen and yet everyone treats me like I am some porcelain doll. I have this power for a reason and it is not to hide in the shadows while everything continues to spiral downwards. I refuse. Even if that means that I die."

A silence fell on the room then. Glances were shared around.

Laena finally cleared her throat.

"Well what are we going to do then?"

"It depends on what you all found," Anjelica responded.

"A lot of strange stuff but the main thing is that there are people trapped in there," Sera said but her voice quavered at the end. "People that were too sick to be helped. Amelia has been dosing them with clots to heal their symptoms for a bitand once the side effects get too bad...There are these cages hanging from the ceiling. The people in there were nothing more than blood dispensers trickling what was left of them into filters. It was horrible."

Hound placed a hand on Sera's shoulder and squeezed as a tear leaked from her stern eyes.

"I think that we should leave," Hound announced.

"We are right on their heels though, darling!" Anjelica protested.

"Sera is not safe here if they know she has the Everburn."

"Well, yes Hound but we are in a bit of an advantageous position right now."

"She has a point," Quinn said while taking a swig from his flask. "We managed to draw blood on two of Gabriel's lieutenants tonight. That is closer than anyone has come, myself included. If there is a time to move on him, it is either now or very soon."

"I think that we should kick in the doors of that clinic," Sera added.

"That would be terribly stupid and risky," Hound said, appalled.

"That has not stopped us before," Anjelica said sadly. She then exhaled a trail of smoke out of the window.

"Why is it a bad idea though?" Laena asked. "Are you all not powerful clot users? We have the Everburn and four other clot users plus my dad and I running disruption.It is at least worth discussing."

"I think it is the only thing to do. Either we run and risk getting attacked on the road by the patrols or we make a stand here and now. I know that I would like to pick the option that lets me get some revenge on that snooty psychopathic bitch," Sera said angrily.

"Do you think that we could fight five on five with clot users if it came down to it, Hound?" Anjelica asked in her leader's voice.

Hound leaned back, cupping his chin under his mask.

"We might be able to. It took both of us to take down the Bull and I assume that the others will be of similar strength. We would have to go in blind and win every duel. It is possible but that would just be fifty-fifty chances," Hound pondered aloud.

"I like those odds. All we have to do is play things smart and we can win. A fair fight might be the best chance that we get," Sera chimed in.

"If you say it's doable," Anjelica started. "And the rest of us think that it is the best idea then it must be. We will kick in the doors of that laboratory. We wait for nightfall so there is less chance of being spotted by guards. A straight coin flip may be the best chance this country has had in a while. I am willing to bet on Sera. Those people need help and we are going to do our best to give it to them. Let us play the odds and see how Gabriel likes it."