"I'll make this quick, the fire at the club was an accident, there was a cigarette, a spilled brandy glass, and a lot of excitement over the fight and the broken door. We don't need to flee for our lives, but Ariana at least, has shown she is willing to make things more difficult for us. If anyone wants to take off and go into hiding until we reach you and let you know the castle is done that's cool, otherwise we are going to go back to the club, clean things up and get on with life. There are things we all need to wrap up before the move. There are people we need to track down, and a large number of loose ends to be-" Kali broke off staring gape mouthed at RG. "What exactly are you doing RG?"

RG looked up innocently. "I'm listening Kali, what should I be doing?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Is that who I think it is?" I leaned around RG and finally recognition struck. The woman who had entered with RG had been the one I had seen him with at the nightclub, the cop! I stared at the petite beauty until Kali spoke again.

"Alright, we can cope with this. We've coped with every other weirdness that has ever happened. Now what exactly is she doing here." Kali's expression was shifting rapidly between anger and interest. Everyone had been following the priest's romance, and now we could at least see the girl upon whom he was so smitten. "RG, you and I will talk in a few minutes." Kali visibly shifted gears and then continued.

"We are working to get the club in town emptied of the day crowd and ready so that we can redirect Ariana's bunch and the rest of the twits there. We are hoping it will take them a few days to realize that they are the only ones in the club. We'll be using our heartiest bouncers to staff the club and opening it to a wider crowd, mostly ravers and rejected members which will make it easier to conceal our absence. We on another hand can go back to the mansion and resume our lives. Devon has ordered every room in the mansion cleaned and aired so there will be lodging for anyone who wants it, and we will be instituting a security check on the door to make certain we don't let in anyone who might cause trouble." She stopped, but I could her eyes flick to RG momentarily.

"That is all for now, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. If anyone is scared, Devon has offered this place up as a retreat for the next few weeks. We do, however, ask that if you decide to stay, you stay the whole time. There is plenty of amusement to be found and the less traffic that comes and goes from here the lower our chances of being found. Thanks everyone, now I'll let you go back to your business." She turned to go through the door and then froze. She turned and looked directly at RG.

"RG, you and I are going to speak now, and we're going to do this in front of whoever wants to listen because what you have done could affect everyone. How do you explain bringing her here? She is not a member, and she is a police officer with an active interest in bringing us down. Was there some method to your madness or are you truly being ruled by your gonads right now?"

RG leaned forward to speak, but the cop jerked something at his throat and he was silent. She leaned forward to speak and Kali cut her off. "I asked RG a question, you are an uninvited guest, a guest none the less, so we will not throw you off the balcony, but be very careful."

RG again leaned forward to speak, and again he was jerked to silence. I looked this time and realized the woman was tugging the end of a reinforced rosary. I was still examining the beaded leash and collar when I realized the woman was speaking. "...Here to request sanctuary. I accepted this assignment when I realized what kind of group you were. I am this close to getting bounced off the force because I keep letting the consenting BDSM crowd go when we raid the nightclubs. Look, I know you're not doing anything wrong, but the Chief and a few of the local lawmakers do not agree with me. I don't want to bust you, I want to join you." She leaned back against her cushions and drew RG to her like a blanket. He curled over her lap and suddenly looked more content that I had ever seen him.

Kali stood with her hands on her hips and her eyes tightened in thought. For a moment I thought she was going to throw the both of them out and just take her chances with the law. When she spoke I understood why she was in such a position of leadership in the club. "OK, this is obviously more complicated than our background checks have shown." Her voice was calm and quiet. "I am going to ask that you and RG stay here in the tree house indefinitely. I can't force you to stay, but I will say this. If you leave it will not help your case any. RG, you are now considered compromised until further notice. And we will have to work out some form of penalty for your rather dramatic and ill-timed breakage of the rules. As it looks like the two of you are bonded in some way it might be smart to make it official while you are being held here because otherwise I will be free to assign whoever I feel like to carry out your sentence." As she turned I could see she was still angry, but there was the faint glimmer of a smile as well. She knew what she was doing, that much was obvious.

[pagebreak]Without another word she turned on her heel and left the room. Everyone began to speak at once, much of it questions directed at RG. For a moment it looked like he was going to ignore them and then his domina, the cop, leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He looked at her cautiously and she nodded. The he opened his mouth and the questions got even louder.

"Wait, wait! I can't hear anything over everyone talking. Let me speak and we'll see how many questions are left when I'm done." I was amazed at the transformation from submissive slave curled in the cop's lap to skilled orator taming the crowd and sending his voice cutting neatly through the noise. I remembered the fact that Kali was Hades' slave as well, the seeming paradox was jarring until I realized that it did not have to be a paradox. Just as I had been told, though not in so many words, submission to one person did not mean submission to the whole of society. Just like I had seen with Bettie, I was able to submit to her, and even enjoy it, but it was not who I was. By extension the fact that I preferred to be submitted to did not mean I wanted to rule the world, far from it in fact. I had no intention of throwing away all the knowledge I had gained and the self-confidence that was growing in me so that I could, in effect serve the planet. I looked at RG and his Mistress and saw them not as sub and dom, not as man and woman, but as two people who were more complex than I could have ever imagined before Dream invited me to the club.

The thought of Dream energized me. I turned to Rose and asked her if she knew where Ariana was holding her slaves. She nodded and began to speak, but that was all I needed to know at the moment. Much as I would have liked to, I didn't plan on running off and demanding that Ariana release all of her servants to me. The fact that I didn't have any form of transportation also helped me keep a firm grip on my inclinations. I looked to Rose again and reassured her. She relaxed as she realized that I meant to get Dream and whoever else would come out. I just needed a plan. A plan and a car, well, to be honest, a few friends wouldn't hurt either.

I looked to RG, but realized he wouldn't be much help locked up as he was, here with his dommina. I looked around the faces of the crowd. I saw Bettie and Raven; there was no sign of Sketch or the others. I wondered where Francis had gone, and as if by magic he plopped down behind us and began to speak.

"I know what you want. I know what you need." His voice was lilting. I could almost recognize a song in what he said. "I know where she's hiding." He continued. "I know where she bleeds."

At that I turned and grabbed Francis by his startlingly purple lapels. "Where is she? Is she hurt?"

"Your slave knows where she is young Xeno, and of course she's hurt. She is ensorcelled by the evil queen. Don't you know evil queens take captives to hurt them?" Francis leaned back when I released him, almost out of range but not quite. My fists ached to grab him again and choke the information out of him, but I knew he would only talk when he was ready. "Patience Xeno, you must learn patience. Today is not the time to save your faerie princess. Care for the one you have and be patient. The time will come soon."

I grumbled and resisted the temptation to reach for him just to see if he would jump. "But what if we're too late? What if-"

"What if what? The evil queen has no power over life and death; her slave is no good to her dead. Your Dream will survive the torments for a few more days." I wondered if Francis knew that every time he opened his mouth he was building on my need to run into the night and rescue her immediately. "She will survive, I cannot say for certain she would survive were you to charge in today while the queen is nursing her wounds. Her pride is her biggest friend and we have dealt it a number of blows. Wouldn't you like to hurt her just a little bit for all the pain she has caused Dream?" I nodded mutely. "Then imagine what it would be like if you were unfettered by human decency. She has no allegiance to decency or kindness. She will strike just because there is a target. Exercise some self control and rise above her level Xeno!" He was emphatic and when he finished speaking, he spun to his feet and left.

[pagebreak]I rocked back on my cushion and automatically pulled Rose to me. She looked up at me and asked questions with her eyes. "I'm Ok Rose, he's right. If we charge in immediately, there is no saying what might happen. We need a plan and we need to lull her into a sense of security. Let her think we are too wimpy to retaliate. Don't worry Rose, we'll have her back before the boat leaves for the island, or the plane, whatever it is; we'll have her back." A sudden thought struck me. "You do want to go to the island don't you?" I looked down at Rose realizing that by agreeing that I was going so shortly after swearing her to me I had effectively ordered her to come with me to a rather remote location about which I still knew very little. What seemed like an adventure to me could well seem like a form of hell to her. To my relief, she was already nodding.

"Yes Master, I wanted to go when they made the first announcement, but Ariana swore she would not let any of us leave unless she was in charge of the island."

I smiled, and caressed her hair while she lay in my lap. "That is marvelous, then we shall go together." I slipped a finger through the O-ring on her collar and tugged her to me for a kiss. She came to me happily and I could feel her body pressed against mine, but I held down the rising arousal for a few more minutes. I still wanted to hear what RG was saying. I told Rose to rest for a bit and let her sink into my lap where she snuggled into the hollow between my legs and my stomach and began to sensuously kiss the skin just above my waistband. I smiled and turned my attention back to RG who was speaking at great length not three feet from where we sat.

"She is one of us I tell you! She was trained to be a part of the new vice squad. She was given every bit of information they had about us, and about the lifestyle in general. The only problem was that the more she trained, and the more she heard and learned; the more sense it made to her." He was gesturing wildly by now and his voice had hit a stride that made me almost expect to hear an 'Amen' from the crowd. "We must show her the same compassion we do to every member who has been placed in our care by a society that seeks only to shun them and turn them against themselves." Someone interrupted his flow.

"But if she's here to hurt us, what then?"

"Then I will take her and we will go." He hung his head for a moment. It wasn't a great reassurance, but it spoke volumes about his conviction. He raised his head and turned it back and forth, catching each eye in turn. "Sometimes we have to trust our instincts, we have to believe in the goodness we see in front of us. I believe Rowenna is here to join us, not to gather information to use against us. I believe she is here to add to our ranks. And I will put my reputation and membership behind that belief. I don't ask anyone else to do so, we will be staying here in the tree house while her story is more deeply checked and she can be observed. If any of you wish to speak with us," And here he paused and waited for a slight nod from Rowenna. "We will be glad to answer any questions you might have."

"Well, if that is true, she will be a valuable source of information. We don't know how close the police are to fabricating charges in their frustration. No Rowenna." Devon had entered and he interrupted Rowenna before she could speak. "Do not speak yet. I want, we want to give you every chance we can, and if you are still unsure of your allegiance you may tell lies. I do not want those lies to haunt you or keep you from believing we are not the felonious law-breakers your infiltration squad would have you think we are. Take a few days and get to know us. There will, I am sure, be plenty of people wandering through here for the next few days that you will have ample opportunity to question them and draw your own conclusions. And before you jump to any conclusions, if we decide you are untrustworthy; you will not be shot at dawn or anything so dramatic."

Devon paused for breath and looked her straight in the eye. "If you are deemed a risk, you, and your slave, RG, will be taken from here at midnight, brought to a remote location in the city and left there. We will keep you there in comfort until a few days after the majority of our members have left and then you will be released with nothing more than empty buildings and a wild story of luxurious captivity to tell your superiors. I tell you this now because I want utter honesty from all our members and I cannot expect that if I do not first give it." Devon crossed his ankles and sank, cross-legged onto an overstuffed cushion, he brushed his waist length hair out of his face and smiled disarmingly at them. "Now, let's be done with this crap, have fun. I know I plan on it." He turned and smiled over his shoulder as Krista and MD slipped out of the doorway to join him.