Alastair's house wasn't too far and Drake couldn't help noticing Erik's bakery when they passed it along the street. It was much more comely and in better business. When they arrived at Alastair's house, Jordan told Drake that they'd simply walk through the front door when no one was looking since they were invisible! Drake tried not to laugh, but couldn't help himself which resulted in a dark stare from Jordan until he had regained control of himself once more.

"Come on," Jordan sighed and then muttered to himself angrily, "not like Damien I said."

He turned around to grin at Drake, devilishly. "Look, I'm gonna play this out based off pure luck so cross your fingers . . . or whatever."

Then he proceeded to strut up to the front door of Alastair McClair's home and open it, ushering Drake in quickly behind him, quietly shutting the door. Drake wanted to scream at him worse than he had at anyone in his life, how could he be so risky, but he bit it back and followed him into what look like a dining room, where he saw Alastair, seated at the head the table, Lyra to his right and Damien to his left. So Lyra's mother either had passed away or had left them, but the former seemed more likely, since Alastair was filthy rich and a powerful man.

"Damien," Alastair spoke out, "are you all right? You haven't eaten a bit."

Damien, who had been slouching over the table with his head in his hands, glanced up at Alastair, "Forgive me," he muttered softly as well as slowly, "her voice won't stop ringing in my head. I can barely hear you over it and I haven't been able to sleep at all."

Drake pursed his lips. He knew that pain all too well.

Alastair nodded, frowning sympathetically at Damien. "I realize this may not very well be the best time to bring this up, but the king wants to speak with you again."

Damien shook off the tired look from his eyes, bristling at Alastair's words, "What? Why?"

Biting his lip, Alastair muttered, "Well, he's very interested in your power. It's not common-"

"You said that you wouldn't let anyone use me for my power," Damien interrupted him furiously, "and of all the people you chose to break that promise . . . the king?"

"Damien," Alastair snapped at him, "I cannot disobey the king. Surely you can understand that. You'll be fine."

"Will I?" Damien hissed. Drake eyed him. The Damien he knew didn't let his frustration and fear show, but this one was letting his emotions just pour out of him for everyone to read.

Alastair stood up, his chair screeching on the wood floor, "You will not defy me, Damien."

"Or what?" Damien snapped at him, throwing his fork down on the table where it clattered to Lyra, who was staring at Damien, intensely.

"Father," she spoke out softly, keeping her eyes glued to Damien, "I'd let it be. Remember he hasn't had much sleep. It's understandable that he's cranky."

Damien turned his head to face her, eyeing her as if this were the very first time she had spoken to him since the day they met. While, Alastair on the other hand sat down, regaining his calm demeanor. "Forgive me," he said, "but you will see the king and hear him out and," Damien laughed, "and Damien." he waited to know that he had his attention, "you will not use your power on the king to get out of this. Not only is it illegal but, cowardly."

Frowning deeply at him as if Alastair had just read Damien's thoughts, he shrugged and reached across the table for his fork. "When?"

Alastair hesitated, "T-tomorrow."

Damien dropped the fork again from complete shock, staring at Alastair, waiting for an explanation. Alastair shook his head, "I do apologize Damien," he sounded sincere, "but you'll have to learn that there are people in authority above you and you do have to do what they say."

Smiling at those words, Damien muttered, "Well, maybe you do, but I shouldn't have to."

Lyra glared at him hard, forcing Damien to look up at her angrily. Drake smiled. So this was he and Jade looked like half the time. "What on earth do you mean by that?" Alastair moaned through a deep sigh. It appeared that just the few weeks that Damien had been living with him had worn Alastair down.

Flashing his eyes from Lyra to Alastair, Damien replied, "I can pretty much make anyone do what I want. From what Malik found out, I will have absolute control over anyone by the time I am fifteen. Why shouldn't I do whatever I want? Why shouldn't I tell the king to go die and make me his heir?"

Alastair looked at Damien with horror. This was the real Damien. The things that separated him from Drake. "A-are you actually asking me that?"

Damien nodded slowly, "Why? Is that a weird question?"

"You are talking of murder!" Alastair snapped. "I could travel back in time and kill the king. I could forge his name on a few papers from various wills and be king tomorrow, but I don't. Damien, don't be quick to think that you are the only one with a power to do evil."

"Evil," Damien smiled, "what's the word even mean? Who decides what it means?"

"Damien," Alastair said his name as if Damien had just cut his very soul, as if he were in pain. "I don't even -" His voice cracked and he was forced to clear his voice, regaining himself, "Would you kill me?"

A frown formed around Damien's face, "No, of course not."

"Lyra?" The time traveller persisted.

"Again no," Damien sighed, "even if she is my greatest burden."

"Hey," Lyra snapped before her father could speak him again, "I don't like you either."

"Of course my dear," he smiled. Drake frowned. Damien looked down on her. He didn't love her at all, at this point in time at least. He actually thought that she was insignificant that she was useless and a pain.

She stood up to look down on him, "I hate you!"

Drake eyed her as she began to cry, turning to leave. She was throwing a typical tantrum for a child her age. She was only nine. "Stop," Damien's young voice shot out clear and succinct.

"Don't you dare," Alastair growled at him, watching his daughter beginning to stop.

"I apologize," Damien looked down. Again he had't meant to do it. "All I wanted to say was . . . was that well that I am sorry. We are in this together and even though you're a lot younger than me. I'll try not to treat you like a child."

"You are a child," she hissed through her tears.

He smiled at her. "In years, yes, but years don't mature you, experiences do," he said, pulling on the end of his sleeves.

She smiled back at him sarcastically, "And then so will I be, Damien White, living with a monster like you!"

Drake held back a laugh. Damien hadn't been lying when he had said that Jade was like Lyra in every sense. He almost expected her to give Damien a curtsy.

"Now, Lyra," the time traveller chimed in with a disapproving frown.

"I'm sorry father," she said lowly, her eyes shooting darts at Damien. "but you don't know the hellish things that run through his mind."

With wide eyes Drake watched her. She was quite mature for a nine year old, despite the tantrum.

Damien laughed, tilting his head at her, "I hope we like each other someday. You're quite interesting."

She made a sound in her throat as if she were offended and then stuck her nose in the air and left the room.

Alastair, sucking on the inside of his mouth, eyed Damien. "Tell, me. How is it that you talk as if you were some rich aristocrat boy when you do in fact come from rubbish trash like Malik White?"

A grin spun onto Damien's face as his hand found the end of his sleeve, "I read what books I can come by."

"But why?" Alastair asked.

Damien rolled his eyes, "My power is to speak so I should do it properly, right?"

Alastair nodded, "It's your life Damien, but if everything you do is targeted to simply acquiring and retaining power, if your entire world revolves around yourself the results will be tragic."

With a slight laugh, Damien asked him, "How?"

"What will you do when you catch yourself caring about someone so deeply that you would put yourself in harms way for their sake?" Alastair answered him with a question.

"Don't worry, that won't happen," Damien said more comfortably as he leaned into his chair casually.

"Right," Alastair laughed at him.

"Hmm," Damien murmured, resting his chin on the table.

"What?" The time traveller asked him curiously.

"Nothing," he replied with a frown, "I'm just thinking about what will happen when I have to go back to Malik."

"Forgive me if this is too intruding, but," Alastair began, "whatever happened to your mother? Do you have any siblings?"

Damien lifted his head, "No, I don't mind answering. My mother was some tramp Malik got pregnant. She overdosed on drugs when I was a year old and Malik was forced to take me, but technically I have a step mother, Victoria," he spat the name out, "she's the mother of my three siblings, Dane, the oldest, Blair, whose seven years younger than me and her twin, Amon. "

Drake had never been aware that Dane and the rest were only related to Damien by their father.

"Are any of you close?" Alastair asked cautiously as if he thought that Damien might explode at any moment.

"No," Damien growled, "I am why Victoria and Malik are constantly at each other's throats. I am their father's sin and I have taken him away from them for five years because I am the grace. They despise me and rightfully so."

"Do you have any friends?" Alastair said, his voice rising quickly.

Damien smiled softly, "Yes. There is one person who gets my pain, Petra De'Vore."

"Ah, the daughter of the king's treasurer who lives as a peasant," he smiled to himself, "how do you know her?"

"Malik and I have been through half of the worlds," Damien began, "we happened to run into one another, when she was being attacked. I saved her. Malik got some sort of reward money."

"And you said she shares your pain . . ." Alastair urged him on.

"Yes, she has a hated power as well as an influencing one, you might say," Damien replied.

"And that would be?" Alastair stepped even further, just touching a line.

"Her power is to seduce men into doing whatever she wants them to, but it seems that she only seduces them into wanting her uncontrollably," Damien sighed. "She is a danger to herself. She can't very well escape herself can she?"

"No . . . then are you attracted to her?" Alastair leapt over the line.

Damien laughed uncomfortably, glancing at Alastair to make sure that he was actually asking him such an intrusive question. "I . . . actually no, she made me command myself long ago to never see her in that way."

"You can command yourself?" Alastair persisted with he questions.

"Yes," Damien snapped, he was clearly becoming fed up with the questions.

However Alastair dared to ask one more, "The De'Vore's live here in Monorail, don't they? Would you like to visit her?"