"Oh so this is my fault?" Ari protested. "You stubborn unfeeling...I could have spent the night in a warm bed at the Plaza with some even warmer female company, but I know you all too well brother. See, I knew you would cancel the meeting for your annual appointment with Grant's ghost, instead of facing reality and the truth of this rebellion. So I planned to brave hell or high water, or in this particular case, one hell of a snowstorm just to get there." Ari waved his hand at the cabin. "But you can't deny it now. It's not that easy to overlook now, is it?"

"I didn't overlook the matter Ari, I ignored the matter. There is a difference."

"Oh, how could I be so stupid?" Ari scoffed. "You must forgive my ignorance."

"No time now." Asher draped his leg over the side of the snowmobile. "The owner left the keys behind so I suggest we leave."

Ari climbed on in front of Asher, giving him no choice but to scoot out of the way. The loud roar of the motor filled the night as Asher wrapped his arms around Ari's waist and pulled the coat around him the best he could. He pulled off his gloves and handed them over knowing that Ari's hands would be left exposed on the handles. Ari didn't refuse them, however with a worried brow he looked back at Asher.

"Can you hold on?" he asked.

"I'll be all right. Just go. I fear I've made a horrible mistake."

Ari thoughtfully looked toward the cabin and then without another thought, spun around, gunned the motor, and raced the snowmobile over the snow. An icy blast of wind hit Asher in the face, momentarily taking his breath away.

They had to get home...and soon.

Chapter Eight.

All Fall Down.

The long limbs of a weeping willow, heavy laden with ice, stretched down to the snow covered ground directly in front of them. The trees surrounded the east end of the lake and Nixon thought they resembled large ghosts with grasping arms. He couldn't stop the anxiety, the rapid beating of his heart and breath that told him something was following after them. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a shadow pass in the trees and brought the snowmobile to a sudden skidding stop, and then looked down the snowy embankment to the ice crusted lake below.

"Are you out of your mind?" Kennedy exclaimed, gripping his waist tighter. "Why are you stopping?"

Barely able to breathe, Nixon placed a hand over hers and loosened her fingers. Up until the point he nearly plunged them into the artic water, she had been keeping her hands in the pockets of his coat. "I sensed something. Can you pick up anything?" His eyes darted toward the trees. After a few deep breathes he twisted around to look at Kennedy, and her eyes automatically besought his.

"There's nothing there that shouldn't be there. What's wrong Nix?" she asked. Nixon liked to play it tough but Kennedy knew him well enough to know when something was wrong. He weakly grinned at her.

"No one has called me that since Grant. Do you remember what he used to call us?"

"The dueling presidents." She smiled and then let it fade. "Come on Nixon, what's up? You're acting all jittery. There's no one coming after us."

It wasn't like Nixon to get emotional. But what he was currently going through wasn't something his ego felt that he could explain. "Nothing's wrong, I didn't mean to scare you." His gaze fell to where she carried both rats inside her coat. "How is the brat pack?"

"I'm not sure," she shrugged, "at least they're both warm."

Smiling flirtatiously he said, "I would be too if I were inside your coat."

Kennedy rolled her eyes and then tilted her nose upward and sniffed the wind. "I smell car exhaust on the wind. Linn must be close, come on we need to get the twins to her so she can get Casin to the doc. I'm worried about her."

Nixon revved the motor and Kennedy wrapped her arms around his waist again. He liked the way her arms felt around him as they zoomed over the snow. The drive had yet to be plowed so Nixon bounced over a sizable snow drift and headed for the front gate. He geared down the motor and skidded recklessly to the right, yet again.

Kennedy shrieked behind him and laced her fingers together to stop from flying off. She was about to give him a good cussing, he could tell, when her words suddenly broke off. At that point he knew she had looked over his shoulder and seen the wolf too.

In the middle of the road the grey stood staring straight at them. Tipping its head back, the wolf howled a very lonely howl which sent strange vibes through Nixon.

"My jewel, its glowing Nixon," Kennedy whispered. Nixon glanced over his shoulder. In the palm of her hand she held the blue jewel that she always wore around her neck, a gift from Grant, and a light clearly radiated from inside. At the sound of her gasping, he spun around to see Linn's rented Yukon coming straight for them but there was no sign of the wolf.

The manor was dark, too dark. It had an ominous feel. Not even the light in his office was on-the one Asher refused to turn off, since he was surprised by the key seeking intruder. He climbed off the back of the snowmobile feeling stronger now that he was away from the strange magic draining man. He pushed Ari's extended hand of assistance out of the way, and started walking in the direction of the door.

Midway there he stopped to examine prints left behind in the snow. There were none behind him just the ones a few feet from the porch where the fowlers had shifted and walked right up the steps. Their intentions were preplanned. They weren't fleeing him back at the cabin. They knew that without him inside, Lake Manor was unprotected.

Screaming out in rage, Asher rushed the door and kicked it. The strength of the blow caused the door to bound off the wall and slammed shut once more. Ari stood close behind him. He put a hand on his arm. There was no point in waiting on Nixon and Kennedy now. Asher could sense that there was no one inside.

Pulling away from his brother, Asher stepped into the parlor. Furniture was overturned, a painting of him had been slashed several times across the face, and every artifact on display or hung, had been relieved of their positions, broken or shattered, and thrown to the ground.

Each room on the bottom floor was pretty much in the same disrepair, but Asher didn't care much for anything on the first floor. He didn't care about the antique heirlooms or the million dollar Ming vase lying in pieces upon the marble entry. Instead he headed for the stairs and started up. Near the top he stopped and clutched the wood banister until his knuckles became white. With each deep breathe he took, he searched for focus and strength but none came.

The sound of a snowmobile neared outside, and within seconds footsteps crunched over snow. Kennedy entered behind Nixon, her face ashen white and stricken with the same kind of shock that had incapacitated Ari the moment he stepped into the manor.

"Ari, I need you," the words were spoken in silence but Ari all too clearly heard. Instantly without question, he dropped the remnants of the Ming vase, and started up after Asher.

Together they walked to the office only to stop once they stood on the threshold. Ari took in the wrecked office and slowly started across the room. The couch was on its side, the once locked drawers of the file cabinets were pulled out and the contents-important papers pertaining to Lake Inc. were emptied onto the mayhem that littered the floor.

Asher entered the room, stepping over the papers and the books that once lined the bookcases to reach the other side. Most of the books were first editions and should never be treated in such a manner. The majority of his belongings could be replaced, but it was the things that couldn't that frightened him.

Smoke began to fill the room, something burned in the fireplace. As Nixon and Kennedy hurried to inspect what it was, Ari followed Asher inside the secret archives closet, where the history books pertaining to the Union were kept. The bookcase had been slid aside to expose its location, but unlike the chaos that had befallen his office, this room was untouched.

Ari ran a finger along a shelf that contained the most recent of volumes. "Even the dust is where we left it," he commented.

"And yet someone has been here all the same." Asher could feel it, a threat lingering on the stagnant air. He could sense the danger and the smell nauseated him.

"Someone threw Edgar Allan Poe in the fire and the flue was closed," Kennedy announced from behind them, then after a somewhat surprised gasp continued in the same breath, "what is this place?"

"Wow, it's the room of the ancient volumes, our history," Nixon answered sounding just as surprised.

"I've been told of its existence since I was a girl," Kennedy said, looking around, "but I never truly believed that it did-that in one room contained all the knowledge we could ever desire to know about us, about our history, and here it was all along." Her gaze came to a rest accusingly on Asher.

"You didn't know Kennedy," Nixon retorted, "because despite the fact we are Pillar proteges the Council never believed us worthy or important enough to know-and what is that God awful smell?"

Asher had already deciphered the smell seconds before turning the corner but since they had yet to see the matter of his distress, he gestured over his shoulder. Allowing anyone to see his vulnerability wasn't something he typically did, but then his current condition wasn't exactly something Asher knew how to control.

The case that contained the Keeper's creed was in the far corner of the room. A ray of moonlight shone through a meticulously ornate stained glass window which painted the room in an unnatural red and blue hue. The hair on the back of his neck pricked, goose bumps rose on the surface of his arms, and his heart began to race. With each beat and each step he took, Asher could feel his strength ebbing.

Staked on an opened page by a silver dagger was the source of the smell, a pup fetus. Behind him Kennedy let out a startled scream. Blood dripped down the dagger and pooled on the brittle page.

Asher knew the page.

He understood the meaning.

Quickly spinning away, he hurried to his room.

The cook had served him something for lunch he wasn't sure of and regrettably it looked the same floating on the water as it did on his plate that afternoon. And that thought just made him all the sicker. When there was nothing left in his stomach to throw up, Asher flushed the toilet and sat in the corner of the bathroom with knees drawn to his chest, far too exhausted to move.

He need not look up. With the bond reopened he not only sensed Ari coming, he could feel his anxiety. In time Asher would learn how to manage the connection but at the present, his strength of body as well as mind was gone. Ari crossed the bathroom floor and filled a Dixie cup with water and brought it to Asher, along with a wet cloth.

"Drink this brother. It will make you feel better." Lowering down on his haunches, Ari watched him as he drank the water and used the cloth to wipe his face, then mouth.

"I've never understood how someone so tough can be so weak." The expression on Ari's face reminded Asher of the way he looked at him when they were younger, before things got complicated. "You can kick the behinds of ten men by yourself, but then crumble at the sight of blood. It doesn't make sense." With the bathroom suddenly warm Asher unzipped the parka and Ari pulled it off his arms.

"I'm hemophobic Ari," Asher exhaled. "It's not something I can control, nor am I proud of." When Ari remained quiet, Asher peered up at him. "I guess you assumed I wouldn't come." The smile tended to fade on his brothers lips all too quickly with his words.

"Honestly Asher I hoped you would but-"

"You needn't say anything else," Asher cut him off and with Ari's help he stood and went to his room. Sitting down on the bed, Asher put a hand to his head since the room was spinning. With the parka in hand, Ari crossed to the closet. "I know how you feel about me, how everyone feels about me," Asher softly spoke. "You don't believe I'm capable of a generous bone. But I meant what I said at the cabin. You're my brother and I had no intention of not coming. I'll always protect you."

Exhaling, Ari walked back to the bed and squatted down before him and started unlacing Asher's boots. "Asher, you're in that crashing down state you always get in during a magic drain." He pulled off a boot and tossed it in the corner. "And what are you talking about. I'm supposed to protect you but you took that away from me a long time ago."

He pulled off his other boot and then helped him into bed. "You took away my purpose and now you've gone and opened the link again. Don't you know how hard that's going to be for me if you don't let me be what I'm supposed to?"

Ari walked to the dresser. He knew exactly where Asher kept his things. Reaching in the third drawer Ari removed the black shorts that he liked to sleep in and threw them at him. The expression in his eyes was evident. Ari was struggling with understanding.

"I appreciate all that you do for me," Asher told him, "but you're not my servant.

Ari gestured toward his body. "No, I'm your brother and despite your treatment of me I've always taken care of you, but I'm not undressing you, spirit link or not. Now silliness aside Asher, I need to know what's going on...what's really going on here?"

Asher thought about that then slowly shook his head. "I want to tell you Ari but the truth sometimes can hurt people...people we wish to protect...people we care about."

"Asher, please don't shut me out again," Ari pleaded.

"I've never intentionally shut you out Ari. I did what I was told." Asher smiled bitterly. "However, in this matter, I can only tell you what I know and that's not a whole lot. We can talk though," he added quickly when he saw Ari's mouth open, ready to protest, "but first go have Kennedy take care of your head. I have no magic left or I would heal you." With his eyes faltering closed Ari covered him up with the comforter.

"Thank you brother," Ari said. "I'll hold you to those words. Get some rest. I'll be back later to hear what you have to say."

Ari stood with the small of his back to the bathroom sink as Kennedy finished taping the last of his bandage. Ever since she had entered and taken over he had avoided her gaze, but those eyes were determined to be dealt with.

"Ari, I thought I lost you."

"Kennedy please," Ari pushed her gently back by the arms as she moved in even closer. "We've been through this countless times. I see you as-"

"A girl?" she cut him off.

"No, my little sister but yes that too."

Turning his back to her, Ari collected the unused bandages and antiseptic ointment and placed them back inside the medical kit. When he started for the door, Nixon suddenly appeared in front of him. His hands were covered in blood. Ari had plans to return the kit to the cabinet in the hall, but tossing it aside, he turned on both faucets knowing perfectly well what Nixon had done.

"Get over here," he ordered him. "I told you I would clean it up."

"I know but I had to check something out." Nixon crossed directly to the sink, but instead of putting his bloody hands under the running water, he held them up before Ari. "Take a whiff," he insisted.

Ari had no problem smelling them. They smelled strong of blood and something else-something of a chemical nature which he assumed was getting the best of Nixon by his current behavior.

"Nixon whatever you used to clean that up is affecting you. Just wash up-"

"That smell is what I'm trying to get you to notice. Come on Kennedy, you should know."

Kennedy wrinkled her nose in disgust. Nixon stood between them, hands up, dripping blood droplets on the white tile floor. His eyes glistened and a small knowing smile was fixed on his lips. "Nixon, have you lost your mind?" she gingerly asked before Ari had the chance to.

"Well since you've felt the need to ask me that question twice in the last couple hours, I'd have to say there's a strong chance that I have." Nixon thrust his hands in her direction. Kennedy let out a yelp and headed for the door. At that point he looked at him. "How about you Ari or did I interrupt something more important?"

Ari watched Nixon, how his brow curved upwards in wait of an answer, while behind him Kennedy came to a complete stop. Slowly she turned around just as Ari breathed in. The smell was familiar but he couldn't quite place it.

"Bleach?" Ari shrugged. Nixon disagreed with a shake of his head. "Look," he said, "since I get the distinct feeling you already know. Why don't you just go ahead and tell us, Nixon."

"I wasn't the best biology student but I do recognize the scent of formaldehyde. The pup fetus was taken from a lab somewhere, not from its mother."

"Well that's a relief," Kennedy responded. "However, I was a good student. Formaldehyde might explain the chemical smell if it was preserved but not the blood. There should be none."

"Yeah, and you being the huntress should have recognized the fact it was not only fresh, it was human. Those two factors, the pup fetus with human blood tells me, the message most definitely was for Asher."

"Well maybe I could have had it not been hidden behind chemical and smoke," Kennedy argued, clearly not understanding.

Nixon didn't reply back which was the first indication that something bothered him. Instead, he became engrossed in washing the blood from his hands and avoiding eye contact. Nixon was there in the room. He washed away the blood from the book and got rid of the mess.

He understood the message.

Ari not being a member of the Pillar Council wasn't allowed to read anything from the archives, even though, unlike Nixon and Kennedy, he knew about the room. Nixon, on the other hand, who was a member of the Pillar Council could read the page with the Keeper's permission of course, but Asher had never felt lead to do that.

"What is it Nixon," Ari asked. "Did you discover something in the book?"

Nixon nodded. "The page talked about Asher's lack of a protege heir-a successor. Apparently if none is provided he's supposed to take a wife to produce one."

"Well we both know that's not going to happen," Ari said. "What else did it say, why would Ross and his men leave that fetus behind as a warning?"

"That I'm not sure about but I do know this. If Asher isn't called and he doesn't have an heir by the time he's thirty-five, the wolf's reign falls to the tiger. I can't see my-Ross caring much if the wolf's leadership comes to an end."

When Ari's eyes fell curiously on Nixon with the near slipup of words, Nixon turned around and started washing his hands again. Crossing the room, Ari gently pushed Kennedy out the door and shut it behind her. He took a towel from the cabinet and sat it next to Nixon. "When did you get your memory back?" he asked.

"I found a badge, a Raven's crest next to your car."

Ari smiled. "I pulled it off an Asian kid. I hoped you would."

"Then you've always known about my father...that he's in on this rebellion?"

"I wasn't sure who was behind the rebellion until he walked into the cabin, but the day Grant kicked Zareth Ross out of the Union, I was in the room. As Guardian to all Keepers it was my duty to protect Grant, even though technically I was just there for moral support, and to act as a witness since I was just fifteen at the time."

"And Asher, you know about him?" Nixon asked.