"Then stop being jealous of Asher."

Ari sat back and rolled his head so that he was looking at her, and Kennedy was looking back at him. "I'm sorry I didn't know I was jealous of Asher."

"Ari you took care of us even before Grant died, and it's only natural for you to want us to respect you more."

Ari saw the valet had finally gotten around to noticing them but he couldn't blame him since it wasn't everyday someone pulled up in front of the Plaza in a fourteen-year-old four-wheel drive.

"Mr. Lake, I apologize," the older man said, opening the door. "I'm not used to seeing you in this-"

"It's a truck Felix. I crashed my car a few days ago. So you probably ought to get used to seeing it around."

Ari got out and pulled his duffel bag from the back, along with Kennedy and Nixon's totes. After handing them over to the bellboy, he led Kennedy inside the warm lobby. A Celine Dion song was playing over the lobby's stereo system. The song was familiar and comforting. Holly the night clerk was a big fan and she often played Celine's music to help her get through her nine hour shift.

Ari thought about that. The fact that he could tell by the music which employee was working testified to the fact he spent far too much time at the hotel. He quickly glanced around for Nixon, but except for an Asian woman sitting in front of the fireplace sipping on a Starbuck's cup, no one else was present.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Kennedy asked. The elevator doors shut in front of them and Ari shrugged his answer. "That's not much help," she said.

"I'm sorry Kennedy. My minds just a little distracted."

"Are you still thinking about what I said?"

Ari took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He took the keys from his jean pocket and after finding the right one, put it in the lock on the floor panel. The hotel had twenty-five floors, but the top floor belonged to the Lake's alone, and the only way of getting there was with a key. He didn't feel like talking but he answered anyway. "You use to do it to, follow him around. I bet you don't even realize you do it now."

"You're a fool," she exhaled. When the elevator door opened she quickly left him behind and walked to her room and went inside.

After he heard her slide the lock in place, he crossed the hall and did the same, and went straight to his bed. The room was spacious with two large bedrooms, a dining area, stocked bar and two large bathrooms. Ari shared his with Asher but his bedroom was seldom used. Kennedy shared hers with Casin, and Nixon was with Cade. Ari couldn't recall the last time the twins had left Lake Manor. Ari however had spent plenty of nights in his and most of the time he wasn't alone. He plopped down on the bed. This night he wished he wasn't alone.

He thought about calling Trisha. But the last night he had spent with her, Trisha had started asking him all sorts of questions, and Ari got the idea that she thought their relationship was deeper than it actually was. She was a pretty girl and her body was out of this world, but Ari didn't feel anything when he held her close, at least nothing emotional.

Hearing a noise in the bathroom, Ari quickly sat up. By the time he got to the edge of the bed, he saw it was only Nixon.

"Sorry man I had to take a leak," he said.

"You have your own bathroom."

"I needed to talk to you alone." Nixon crossed to the window and looked out.

"Umm, Nixon just out of curiosity, just how did you get in here?" Ari asked. Nixon waved his hand in the air. At first Ari didn't understand but as the meaning set in his jaw automatically dropped. "You're a member of the Pillar Council you little rebellious snot. You know apart from using magic to shift it's not allowed."

"I've seen you use it before."

"Technically I'm not a member of the Pillar Council either," Ari retorted and then added. "Just don't let anyone catch you."

"Whatever man, sometimes the rules of the archives are just ridiculous." For several seconds Nixon continued to look out the window before he asked, "Did you know you could see your office from here?"

Ari nodded. The view wasn't great with the corporate office, a towering skyscraper of a building just across the street, but during the holiday season the shop windows below were decorated and Christmas lights lined the streets. On occasion a horse drawn buggy would pass by and it was then Ari would contemplate taking a girl for a ride, but so far though he had never met one that appealed to his romantic side.

Generally when he started thinking about something other than a one night stand he began to reflect back on his relationship with Tess, and that just hurt far too much. With his feet still planted on the ground, Ari rested back on the bed and turned his head so that he was looking at Nixon.

"You wanna tell me what's eating you up before you bust? If it's what I said below, I really am sorry. I shouldn't let things get to me so much. Kennedy said it's because I'm jealous of Asher," he laughed. Nixon didn't. "Wait, do you think I'm jealous of him to?"

"I'm not sure jealously is the right word to describe how you feel about Asher but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway. It's me being at that bar. I didn't go to hang out with my friends. I went because I was invited...to the meeting in the back."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Ari asked.

"I've always been mad at Asher without really knowing why, so sometimes I say things when I'm drinking I don't really mean. I said a few things in front of Kurt, Steve's little brother so he invited me. But honestly Ari I didn't have a clue what it really was about until I got there. I just thought-" Nixon exhaled. "Truthfully Ari, I wasn't thinking about anything and that's what got me in trouble. That's what always gets me in trouble."

"So what happened?"

"There were fowlers there. I've never met any before so it was the first time in years I didn't feel so alone." After a brief pause Nixon continued. "Steve started off the meeting and a few guys stood up with the typical complaints against Asher. You know how the song and dance goes. They didn't do anything wrong but because of what they were-meaning fowlers; Asher threw them out of the Union. And then two other guys stood up. They were together, they were fowlers but they were different. I could tell from the moment they took over the meeting that they had their own agenda for being there. These two guys suddenly turned on me."

Nixon turned around and put his back to the window. "They wanted me to use my position on the Pillar Council to spy for them, but that's about the time I started swinging. These guys were tough Ari, real tough. Anyway, I got thrown out so I headed home. End of story until I picked up one of those two guys next to your car-the Asian you pulled the badge off of."

"Yeah," Ari contemplated. "He was tough. He gave Asher a real run for his money until he got a taste of his roundhouse."

"I'm sorry for being stupid. I should have never been there like you said."

"I've been young and stupid many times but we both know you're not stupid Nixon." Ari yawned behind his hand. "Still, from now on maybe you might want to stay clear of places like that, at least for the time being. You're not the only one questioning the rules."

Nixon walked to a high back chair but instead of sitting down, he pulled it over the carpet until it was positioned next to the bed, and to Ari. "Then you're not mad at me anymore for not telling you about Steve?"

Ari shook his head. "I wasn't mad as much as I was disappointed. Remember when you first came to the manor, how every time I got too close, you either kicked or bit me?" Ari arched his brow when Nixon smiled. "You find that funny?"

"Only because you were a pansy that went running to Grant every time I did."

"Well, it's sort of like that now," Ari frowned. "I want you to trust me instead of always going to Asher." Shifting uncomfortably Nixon looked away from him, back to the window. And even though Ari knew he couldn't make anything out other than the big yellow glowing sign that read Lake Inc. across the street his eyes lingered there. "Wow," Ari said looking up at the ceiling, "I guess I am jealous of Asher."

"Ari," Nixon said softly, "I respect you but this thing with Asher and me, it goes deeper than even I fully understand but the second-the very second I can talk about it, I swear I will."

"Ok then. In the meantime I'll try not to be jealous, even though I'm not sure that is the right word either," Ari laughed. He pulled his legs up onto the bed. "My brother has been cold, heartless, bitter and quite selfish since Grant died but I do love him and that's why I gave everything up to serve him. And I do serve him." Thoughtfully Ari touched his ring. The silver felt warm under his finger.

"Then you're not mad at Asher for not telling you about Grant's kid anymore?"

"Oh, I didn't say that," Ari said. "I may not have known about Grant having a child, but I did know about his girlfriend. Actually, a few days before Grant's call he came into my room and asked me to take care of her if anything should happen to him. I didn't think much of it. I was in the middle of studying for an English test and I let the request go in one ear and out the other. The Raven's curse didn't seem real to me then, not like it does now."

Ari sat up and dropped his legs over the side of the bed. His guilty conscience was getting the best of him. "I didn't keep my promise. I got caught up in grief and selfishness. I was angry at Asher for shutting me out and I ran. I'm ashamed of that now. The way I see things is I'm just as much to blame if not more than Asher. Grant knew he couldn't depend on him, but he trusted me and I let him down."

Rubbing his tense shoulder muscles, Ari deeply breathed. "Anyhow, I'm not sure what part Steve Barton plays in this, but I should probably find out." He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was just a little before six. "I think I'll take a shower and then head over to the office to use my computer. I think the faster we find her the better."

"But Martaugh said that she couldn't find any trace of her in the company's records," Nixon reminded him.

"We keep everything. When Asher took over it became a strict law. I've been going over years of financial records, I should know. I guess I'll just have to see what I can dig up myself. You get a little rest and then wake up Kennedy. We'll meet up for breakfast in two hours."

Nixon started for the door. "Ari," he said turning back, "I really am sorry."

"I know Nix," he said.

Once he was gone Ari headed for the bathroom. Shutting the door, he pulled his shirt up over his stomach and was startled by two blue eyes staring back at him in the full length mirror. Strange, he thought as his heart rapidly thudded in his chest, they appeared to be his own but his eyes were brown. Stepping closer he put a finger on the reflection of the left eye, and noticed it close at his touch. His eye, his real eye was still open. And then he noticed the black ring around the iris. Ari wasn't looking into his own eyes, but instead his brothers.

Sure he was still suffering the effects of hitting his head, Ari started to turn away, but again he was taken by surprise when Grant's image slowly materialized before him. When the image began to fade, Ari panicked. He stepped closer and slapped both hands on the mirror's surface. There was so much he wanted to say.

"Grant, come back please," he begged and as tears fell quickly from his eyes, the words of the wolf were once again impressed into his mind.

"He must call the Raven or my sacrifice will be in vain. You need to help Asher before it's too late and he's lost to himself. Don't forget the promise you made to me. It's more important now than ever that you find her."

Asher stood in front of the mirror gazing into the reflection that was not his own, but instead his brother's. Ari stood with his hands flat against the surface as though he were looking at him through a glass window and not a bathroom mirror. Reaching out Asher placed his palms over those of his brother's. They matched in size down to the very length of their pinky fingers, but on Ari's ring finger he wore the ring of a guardian, which was the very link that bound them together in spirit, and was the ball and chain that had made him a prisoner his whole life.

Asher pulled on his magic, guiding and directing the flow into his left hand, more specifically his ring finger, until Ari's ring transferred to his own. Realizing the ring was gone Ari suddenly pulled back and frantically started to look for it. He searched the floor and the tub next to where he stood, and then feeling its loss, he dropped down onto the tile floor. He pressed his head against the mirror and started to cry. Lowering down before his brother's image, Asher put his back to the mirror and closed his eyes. He could almost feel the weight of Ari's head as though it rested on his very shoulder.

"No longer brother will you be bound to me. Today is a new dawn. Restitution starts here with you." Without looking, Asher put his hand behind him until he felt the coldness of the mirror under his palm and once again he uttered the dreaded words. "The procedure is painless, but some things are better left forgotten..."

Chapter Thirteen.

Her Song Elle pulled Julio's coat tighter and turned the page. The sun was just starting to rise and the batteries in her flashlight were beginning to grow dim. She had only gotten as far as the second chapter and she wanted to read more even though she was starting to agree with Hatori's critics. So far the book was depressing and the main character Pain had gone through a major character transformation, and she didn't like him much.

With just a paragraph left to go the flashlight died and Elle cursed her luck. Getting up she took the book and the flashlight over to a large flower pot where she grew tomatoes in the summer and hid them underneath. After Julio left for work she planned to bring both the book and flashlight inside. Even though it was relatively warm, more snow was in the forecast and she didn't want the book getting ruined. Just beyond the fire escape a light flashed in a window-her bedroom and Elle groaned.

Hurriedly she climbed back in the kitchen window. She removed Julio's coat and hung it over the chair just like she found it and went to the stove. Turning on the gas flame she rushed to the fridge for the carton of eggs and milk. Elle craved coffee but Julio hated the smell of coffee on her breathe. She couldn't recall the last time he had kissed her but still she only poured enough water in the pot for him.

Yawning Julio entered the kitchen just as she finished cooking breakfast smelling strong of cheap cologne and cigarette smoke. Julio usually couldn't wait for a smoke so he lit up even before he brushed his teeth in the mornings.

"It's time you get a job." Julio said. Elle sat the cheese omelet down in front of him. He looked at the plate and frowned. "What is this garbage?"

"I thought you liked cheese omelets?" Elle knew he liked cheese omelets because she had made one for him every Saturday morning for the last five years. As a matter of fact he had insisted she did. But this day Julio pushed the plate away from him like he had never tasted one before.

"Yeah, well sometimes you just get tired of the same ole things."

Elle lowered her eyes. She wondered if the name Becky written on the inside of the matchbook she found inside his coat pocket had anything to do with his sudden dislike of omelets.

"You want something else then?"

"You are dumb, of course I want something else. I'm going to work and when I get home I want this place clean. You need to carry your weight, and from the looks of you lately you have enough of that."

Elle sat her fork down and took several long deep breaths. She had worked until midnight cleaning the apartment while she waited up for him, and that was the thanks she got...to be called fat? Julio grabbed his coat off the chair and put it on. The comment wasn't the first one he made concerning her weight. Yes, she had gained weight but that was to be expected. She was still brooding over the comment when she realized two things, one-she was alone in the apartment and two-the little girl downstairs was repeatedly calling her name.

"What do you want Mary?" Elle leaned out the kitchen window. She could see her, leaning out the window below.

"My mom's acting funny Elle," Mary cried, "could you please come down?"

"If I come down will you promise me you'll take a bath?"

Julio had her stomach in such knots and mixed with Mary's repulsive smell the two often didn't get along. Mary gave her a nod so Elle gathered up the omelets and made her way downstairs. Julio wouldn't return until late evening, if he returned at all. The instant the door opened, Mary's eyes landed on the omelet in Elle's hand.

"Remember Mary you promised."

"Can I at least eat first?"

"Yes, just do it at the table." Elle waved her on.

Mary's mother was lying on the couch. Her glazed eyes stared straight ahead. Her mouth was moving but the words were too faint for Elle to hear. Crossing over to the coffee table Elle pushed aside several empty bottles of beer and sat down in front of her. Not even being in the woman's line of vision stopped her from the sightless staring. Elle could tell that at one time Mea Carter had been a beautiful woman but that was before drinking and depression had taken its toll.

"She keeps doing that, saying those words," Mary said.

Elle looked to where she sat at the kitchen table shoving the last of the omelet into her mouth. The girl's hunger was insatiable. Reaching into her pocket Elle removed her apartment keys and dangled them in the air.

"Here Mary, I left two more omelets in the skillet. Bring them down here and grab that instant coffee out of the cabinet above the stove. Your mom needs to get sober."

Mary walked over and took the keys but instead of bolting upstairs for the proffered prospect of food, she looked down at her mom instead. "What's she saying?"

Elle leaned over and listened. "She ain't got no money, her clothes are kind of funny." Laughing, Elle sat back. "Oh yeah, I used to like that old song."

"What?'

"She ain't got no money. Her clothes are kind of funny, and her hair is kind of wild and free." Again Elle laughed as she tried to recall the words. "Well, at least, I think that's how it goes but I do remember the chorus. It was real catchy." Elle started to sing the rest, "But love grows where my Rosemary goes and nobody knows like me."

Mary looked confused. "She's singing a song about me?"

"My guess is that's where she got your name." Elle reached forward and took the skinny blonde by the arm and pulled her to a sitting position. She started to slump back over but Elle quickly propped her up with couch cushions. "Go get that coffee Mary."

When Mary returned Elle was standing outside the bathroom trying not to listen as Mea heaved her guts out on the other side of the door. Taking the coffee jar from Mary, Elle went to the kitchen.

"Is she all right?" Mary asked.

"Yes, I believe so," Elle told her as she put a mug of water in the microwave. She punched the buttons and pressed start. Three cockroaches scurried from the back and disappeared into a mountain of dirty dishes, trash and clutter on the countertop. "You know it wouldn't hurt you to clean up in here. Your mom may be sick but that doesn't mean you can't help her out."

"When I help her out it just makes her slip further away because she's not forced to be responsible...not even for herself."

"You know you talk way older than any ten-year-old I know." Elle took the mug from the microwave and sat it on the counter. She spooned in two teaspoons of coffee and glanced over at Mary. The girl was staring off like her mother but unlike her mother, Mary's eyes were alive with feeling. "But I suppose you've been through a lot. It tends to age you."

Mary solemnly nodded. "Should I go take my bath now?"

"Yes, and use lots of soap." Elle took the black coffee to Mea. When she dropped down in front of her Elle noticed the woman's pale blue eyes focus on her. She had been in the apartment for almost an hour but Elle got the distinct impression that Mea Carter was just seeing her for the first time.

"I'm Elle and I live upstairs. I think you should drink this."

Mea accepted the mug. She took a large gulp and her face instantly twisted. "That's really bad stuff."

"And this stuffs not." Elle picked up a bottle of vodka. "This stuff could strip paint off a piece of furniture and you're pouring it into your gut like water."