Three hours into our trek the air shimmers and tingles against my skin as we walk through a ward.

“Not too much farther. Just gotta make it through the next stretch of woods,” Kai informs me.

"Not too much farther" turned into another hour of walking through the woods, uphill.

"I'm glad that I actually use treadmills on an incline, otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd want to kick your ass right about now, Kai," I pant when we reach the front of the cottage on top of the hill hidden behind the trees.

Kai chuckles. "Aw, you tired Mercy?"

I shoot him a glare and roll my eyes before pushing his shoulder, making him stumble sideways, laughing. "Shut up."

"Will you guys stop fighting like children?" Talon snaps back at us.

I cross my eyes behind his back while sticking my tongue out at him and flipping him the bird, causing Kai to choke on a laugh. "Some of us aren't old, ya know," I point out.

"We're well aware that you haven't even hit your twenties yet, Mercy," says Talon.

I snort. "Way to make that sound like hitting your twenties is some kind of milestone, Talon. Although, I guess in our world, it can be."

Talon just shakes his head and doesn't respond while he opens the door to let us in.

"Parker, give Hunter a call and see how much longer he'll be and tell him that we're here. If you can't get ahold of him, War, you'll need to go to him and tell him what happened."

Parker and War nod their heads. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Parker puts his backpack down on the floor by the door and steps back outside to call Hunter.

"How long are we staying here?" I ask the guys. Their faces are carefully blank as they meet each others eyes before finally turning their gazes to me. "What?"

"We preferably need to stay here until Hunter gets here. However, if something happens then there's a good chance we won't be able to hang around here and wait," War says.

"Okay, that's the first question answered, now how about the other? Why are you guys looking at me funny?"

"War told us what happened to the demon that you killed before Jerome got there," Kai says.

I raise a brow, waiting for more. "What of it?" I ask when no one makes a move to say any more.

"How can you do that?" Talon asks. "I've known Hunter almost my entire life and I've never heard of a demon having that ability, let alone a half-demon."

I shrug. "It's something that my uncle taught me. He said it was one of my father's skills that he didn't really broadcast. So, it's actually not all that surprising that you haven't heard of a demon using that ability before."

"What exactly does it do?" Kai's eyes show nothing more than an innate curiosity.

I take a deep breath. "Where demons' flames are deadly to all creatures, even each other, a half-demons is considerably less powerful than a full blooded demon. Not all demons can control flames after they're inside someone's body. Usually it'll stay focused on the area that was wounded where the flames entered. My father and I can direct the flames to flow throughout their body as soon as we strike. My flames don't hurt a demon on the outside, but if I can get them inside their body and they're a lower level demon, I can kill them. A higher level demon, I can cause pain to and incapacitate, but I can't kill them with my flames."

The guys are quiet as they absorb the information I gave them.

Parker comes back inside, breaking the silence. Waving his phone, he informs us, "I managed to get ahold of Hunter. He says that we're not going to like what he has to say when he gets back here. He's also extremely unhappy that we got found at Talon's house only a few hours after he left us. He'll be here in a couple hours."

"Well, since that's all figured out, I'm going to go find a shower." I grab my bag and walk out of the large living room. I lift my hand in the air in a lazy wave, not bothering to wait for a response from any of the others.

After opening the fifth door, I finally find the bathroom. The others were closets or bedrooms. It makes me wonder just how big of a cottage this place is. It certainly didn't seem like it was very large from the outside.

I strip off my workout clothes and get in the shower. Instead of washing right away, I tilt my head under the running water and allow it to just soak my hair and body. My thoughts drift back to my conversation with Xena earlier.

What connection, besides me, do Ada and Aiden have? It can't be a coincidence that they both went missing, especially when considering that there are people inside the Order working for Payne and telling him and Jerome where to find me.

While washing my body and hair my thoughts scramble between thoughts of Ada, Aiden, Xena, my mom, my uncle. When I'm done washing I decide that I'll just give my uncle a call and tell him that I want some sort of protection on Xena and hopefully he'll agree or at least put her in hiding.

I dig through my bag and find a bra, panties, a tank top, and a pair of blue jean shorts to throw on, shaking my head in disgust at my meager choices. I didn't have enough room for all of my clothes that I had bought yesterday so I had to choose clothes that would be easiest to move in.

Grabbing my phone, I dial the familiar number and wait for the answer.

"Mercy. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Roderick, I have a favor I need to ask of you."

He lets out a heavy sigh. "What do you need kid?"

"I need you to get Xena protective detail."

He's quiet for several long and agonizing minutes. So long, that I thought he was about to deny me my request. "Why exactly do we need to get Xena into protective custody?"

"You haven't heard then?" I ask, more than a little shocked that he hasn't heard.

"Heard what?"

"The guy, Aiden, that you had meet me when I got to the Order is missing and so is a girl that I got into a fight with that night. The only connection Xena and I can see is that they had something to do with me."

"Mercy, that's kind of stretch," he starts but I cut him off.

"I'm aware of that, but I'd seriously feel better if there were someone at the Order to help look out for Xena. She didn't get as much training as I did, Uncle. She disappeared before we could teach her very much."

"Why are you really pushing for her to have protection?" He asks.

"Because she needs it. I'm really worried, Roderick. Jerome finding us at Talon's club was one thing, but he found us at Talon's house today. Warwick got hurt and all because he was stopping Jerome from getting to me. I can't have anyone else get hurt because of me," I whisper into the phone. "Please."

"Alright," he sighs. "I'll get someone to stick with her."

"Just one? Not a team like me?"

"I know she's important to you, Mercy, but you're important to me. The Order is already extending more than they have by allowing you to be protected by Hunter's team, they can't afford to have another entire team focused solely on protection."

"Alright," I concede. "One is better than none I guess."

"That's the best you'll be able to ask for right now with everything that's been happening."

"What do you mean?"

"You mentioned that Aiden and another member of the Order is missing. They've more than likely got most of their teams working on finding their missing members. They aren't going to want to be stuck babysitting," he explains.

"Now he admits that it's babysitting," I grumble making him chuckle.

"Yes, it's babysitting and you know it. You knew it when you first came to the Order. It hasn't suddenly changed overnight."

I lean back against the counter and tilt my head back to stare at the ceiling. "Thank you Roderick."

"Don't thank me yet, girl. We don't know if it'll do any good or if there's even a chance someone could be after your friend."

"Well, either way, it makes me feel better to know she's not alone." I pause and bite my lip. "How's mom?"

"Pissed that she's stuck in hiding but otherwise she's doing just fine. Don't worry about her, you've got enough to worry about. You know she'd be telling you the same thing if she were on this phone instead of me," he adds before I can say anything. I wince, knowing he's right.

"I can't help it." I admit quietly.

"Well, you need to start focusing on you, Mercy. There's things that'll be happening in your life that you won't be able to change or stop. Being worried about others is a surefire way to get yourself killed."

"I'm not heartless," I point out, trying not to get offended.

"I'm aware of that. Your mother and I just need you to stop worrying so much about others and just worry about yourself. I'll take care of your friend and your mom. You take care of you."

"You take care of you too. You matter to me too."

He chuckles. "I know Mercy. I'll catch up with you later. Let me know if anything else happens." He hangs up without waiting for my response.

Rude. I roll my eyes and leave the bathroom, almost walking face first into Talon's fist as he went to knock on the door. Thankfully, he stopped the movement before actually making contact. That would have seriously hurt like a bitch.

"Did you need something?"

Talon studies me for a minute before shaking his head. "There's food made. I was just letting you know. Hunter should be here shortly."

"Okay. Thanks. I'll be out there in a minute. I just want to put my bag away." I lift up my bag in my hand, pulling the strap over my shoulder.

"Just put it in the room across the hall. There's no telling if we're actually going to be staying here tonight."

"You got it."

Without another word or look in my direction Talon turns and walks back down the hallway toward the other room where the other guys most likely are, if the noises are anything to go by. I sigh and put my bag in the room he told me to before making my way down the hallway where Talon disappeared.