*Harmon/Harte cleared her throat and walked towards him, looking rather pale for a human.*

"Uhh..yeah? Well umm I'm not sure how we'd do that but I do know I have to get out of this body. Quite obviously blood is not a delicasy in human culture."

*She looked down at her body, and noticed a bite mark at the back of the neck...*

"What did you do? God I hope I'm not weak when I get back did you take a whole gallon or what??"

'You're welcome,' Jackson said quietly. He stared at Harte's body and watched it breath quietly. His emotions were mixed up, twisted and strange. There was Harte, lying comatose at his feet. Beside was a woman who meant nothing to him, yet contained Harte's soul.

"Uhh..yeah? Well umm I'm not sure how we'd do that ..."

She had said. No shit, he thought.

"What did you do? God I hope I'm not weak when I get back did you take a whole gallon or what??"

'I did what I had to do,' he snapped at her. He didn't mean to, but he saw no other way.

'I drank nearly all of it, yes. I can give it all back as easily as I took it.'

He spoke mechanically, still considering her body. The blood inside him was doing something to him. He could feel it. He could see her memories and her thoughts, he past and her deeds. Something was welling up inside him. Something powerful. He wasn't sure how to deal with it. Suddenly he doubled over in pain, her hybrid blood cooking in his veins.

'Oh god ..' he said as he fell to his knees.

"Oh..hell.."

*Harte/Harmon stated simply as she ran over and kneeled in front of Jackson.*

"Jackson..Jackson this is no time to get all sympathetic on me snap out of it please snap out of it! That's not me! This is me!"

*She patted her chest with a hand*

"Please, please don't let yourself go I need you to help me, I need you..you're my only hope.."

Jackson held his stomach as he leaned over.

'I know, damn it, I know ...'

He vomited a large portion of her blood, it's material much too strong for him. Yet he was her childe. When she sired him she gave him a part of her hybrid heritage. The blood did not kill him, instead it changed him. He screamed.

Suddenly his eyes opened, glowing emerald green and silver. He turned his face to her, his eyes taking on an otherworldly shimmer that had never been Jackson. When he spoke, he spoke with the voice of a demon. Deep, resonant and frightening to a human.

'I understand,' he said.

With one hand he took hold of Harte's cloths around her chest. With the other arm he grasped Harmon/Harte. Behind him a incongruent site appeared. Large leathery, green and obsidian wings, with sharp claws at their ends.

'We go to Scalcathia,' he said in a monstrous voice, 'where all things are possible.' He knew how to get there from her blood and her memories.

As he lifted on powerful wings, the two women in tow, their bodies became shrouded in a deep red and green mist ... until they disappeared altogether.

*Their sight came back to them slowly and Harte/Harmon looked around her in shock. They stood on a cliff overlooking the tell tale Spires, the demons flying in their classic circle, Raziel's office high above...they stood facing Scalcathia. Harte looked over to Jackson with an expression of total bewilderment*

"Jackson...you...you came to Scalcathia...on your own??"

*She wasn't thinking clearly. If she was in her normal state, she might have figured out that her blood was the trick of informing him. But right now, everything was all very confusing to her. She simply stood staring at the new Jackson, feeling a bit of human fear begin to engulf her. She backed a little away from the edge of the cliff and began to shake uncontrollably. For the first time, she was afraid...of Scalcathia.*

Jackson stood looking over the incredible view of a city his eyes had never seen. It was beautiful. Everything about it was beautiful. For the first time he understood Harte, better than ever. Now he could see what she had been telling him for so long. He could see why she must spend so much time here. He could feel it. It felt like home. It felt like his birthplace. Her blood had initiated him like nothing else could have. It was a fortunate side effect of a very horrifying situation. Now, for the first time in his life, he felt powerful and informed. There would be much more to learn. His love for Harte soared even higher, if that were possible. She was beating in his veins, surging in his mind, at one with him and he with her.

He turned away and caught the look of fear in Harmon/Harte's face and instantly, instinctively, wrapped his wings around her to shield her from the site.

'Yes,' he answered her question. 'But not on my own. You brought me here with your blood and your memories.'

As he spoke, his voice returned to the voice of Jackson. Softer yet commanding. He carried Harte's body and ushered Harmon/Harte to the secret chamber entrance. The door opened as if it thought that Harte had stepped before it. They went inside. The door closed.

After setting Harte's body on the sofa and seating Harmon/Harte, Jackson stepped to a tall bookcase and removed a small box.

'You need to help me, here,' he said to Harmon/Harte. 'All I know is this box contains something that can help us. But I don't know what and I don't know how to open it.'

He handed the box to Harmon/Harte.

'Please, help me bring you back.'

*Harmon/Harte took the box he handed to her, and examined it.*

"Oh I know what this is. It's..it's the spell Raziel taught me when I first came down here..."

*She turned it about and sighed aggrivated*

"Damn this human mind! I've forgotten Latin I can't activate it!"

*Desperately she looked about her, attempting to find another possible remedy. Suddenly, she lit up with an idea and stood approaching the bookcase.*

"Latin...L...L..." *She mumbled to herself as she searched through the shelved literature. After a bit, she seemed to have found something. She withdrew a rather large book from the fifth row of books and brought it to him.*

"Whether you know it or not you can read Latin now. And you'll know the spell when you see it. Look through here and find it then chant it. I promise you this will work.."

I know Latin? He thought. He took the book and found he could read it as though it was English. Well I'll be ...

Jackson scanned the book and found what he was looking for. He read the incantation several times, then spoke the words. He was startled to hear the words he spoke, his lips never uttering them so clearly, so perfectly. What was given him was the secret of the box's combination. He took the box and held it for a moment. Then he pushed, twisted, pushed again and ... *poof* ... the box opened as if it were alive. He gave Harmon/Harte a look of childlike surprise.

'Well. That is just amazing,' he managed to say.

They sat down together and examined the contents of the box. A ring, a couple of talismans, a vial of a strange liquid and a feather, of all things. Jackson looked over the items quickly. He had a dark recollection from Harte's blood that the ring had a purpose, but he did not know what it was. Confused, he handed the open box to Harmon/Harte.

'What do you make of these?' he asked.

*Harte sighed in relief*

"Yes, I know what to do now."

*She picked up the vial and grimaced.*

"Oh man this stuff tastes awful. Oh well bottoms up.."

*With reluctancy, she tipped the vial and swallowed it's contents, not once enjoying the flavor. Strangely enough, shortly after the vial refilled itself with the same mysterious liquid.*

"Ack...uhh okay now this."

*Carefully she took the ring out of the box and placed it on her right middle finger. It sunk into her, and she stood taking a couple steps away from him. A bright light shone, engulfing both Harmon/Harte and the unconcious Harte's figures. After a minute or so, Harte in her normal glory stepped from the light as if she was some kind of angelic figure. She smiled warmly at him and spoke.*

"Welcome..to Scalcathia."

Jackson watched the spectacle of light with a bit of worry mixed with fear. He had not seen such a thing before and his stress left him ill prepared. But when Harte stood before him, in all her glorious animation and beauty, he smiled widely with relief. He looked at her with a certain wonder in his eyes, unbelieving that the horror had passed. Then he gave her a funny look.

'There could have been an easier way to get me to Scalcathia, you know.'

Spontaneously he pulled her near and held her close. He just held her for a minute and might have for much longer if Mrs. Harmon had not screamed.

*Harte instictively jumped and hugged Jackson at the sound of the scream. She backed away and bit afterwards and laughed.*

"Now that was a scare."

*She walked over to Mrs. Harmon and grabbed her underneathe the chin, moving her eyes close to meet hers.*

"What is your disposition and how did you do that? I want answers..."

*Mrs. Harmon simply stared in terror.*

Jackson jumped when Harte jumped. Sympathetic reaction, he supposed. He approached Mrs. Harmon as Harte did and watched, with some strained satisfaction, as Harte began her interrogation of Mrs. Harmon.

'Harte, my dear, I wonder if I might step in on this little chat,' he said quietly.

Harte, somewhat reluctantly, gave way for Jackson. He stood before Mrs. Harmon and put both hands on her shoulders.

'Do you remember me? Do you remember how it felt, how you felt?'

He gazed into her eyes knowing that some part of the memory must remain. He was probably pissing in a sea of beer, but he hoped her memory of what love Harte and he shared might soften her. Maybe, if he was not being completely arrogant, even melt her just enough to state the truth.

*Mrs. Harmon gritted her teeth.*

"Yes, and it was the biggest mistake of my life!"

*She swung and punched Jackson in the face as hard as her human strength would allow her to, and attempted to run but was met by a rather angry Harte.*

"You aren't going anywhere..."

'Well, so much for the soft touch,' Jackson said.

Jackson turned to Mrs. Harmon, grabbed her by the throat, and spoke.

'The biggest mistake you ever made was stealing Harte's body. The rest of the shit that happens follows from that. Now as I see it you are up to some major shit of your own. Your body was covered in hundreds of cuts and bruises. You swapped with Harte because YOU are NOT human. So stop the bullshit and let's get on with the show.'

Jackson surprised himself by slapping her with the back of his hand.

'Let's face it. Harte is back and you're in hell. You don't answer her questions and I'll suck you dry again just for old times sake.'

*Surprisingly, Mrs. Harmon smirked and spoke with astonishing confidence*

"You, my friend will regret this..."

*She stated simply with a scratchy voice. Her eyes gleamed to an odd gold and she laughed.*

"Sorry for breaking up the party, but when you return to the upper world you'll notice others on my side. And they won't be any too happy about your decision to harm me.."

*As Mrs. Harmon continued on with her threats, Harte examined her mind to soul, attempting to figure out exactly what their visitor was. She growled and spoke to Jackson via kinesis*

This woman is nothing to shake a stick at. She's a lycan, of high standards. Why she's torn apart I can't tell. But her blood is powerful. You might want to stick to your promise of draining her. That's the last thing she wants you to do.