He woke up alone on the couch next to where he had passed out the previous night. His arm was in some sort of make shift cast. The pain was definitely there, but dull so he guessed that Dane had given him some sort of drug to keep it down. Lying there he wondered how badly Damien had reacted when he found Jade. He wondered if she was in the same state as himself or worse.

Suddenly he heard the sound of boots clicking on the stone. He sat up, afraid that it was Damien, coming back to finish the job, but sighed in relief when he saw that it was only Amon. His uncle studied him from head to foot, letting his bored eyes linger on his tightly bound arm as he bit his lip.

"Tell me that Damien didn't-" He began clumsily in his caution as he pointed a finger in the general direction of the cast.

"So what?" Drake snapped angrily, "This isn't exactly something new, Amon."

"No it isn't," Amon admitted, folding his arms and adverting his eyes from Drake for a brief moment, "but he's never gone so far as to-"

"Make me break my own bones?" Drake interrupted him once more this time angrier. "Yes, he does like to stick to punches and kicks, doesn't he?"

Amon sighed and looked the other way a second time, "You see, Drake the thing is to Damien the way he has treated you is incredibly mild compared to how bad it actually could be, but believe me I don't support him any more than Dane does, no matter how I feel towards you."

Drake narrowed his eyes at him, taking all of him in as he tried to read him. Amon despised him, not nearly as much as Damien, but still it was unlike him to speak to Drake like this. His hair was a chaotic mess, spiking up at strange angles, dark circles sagged under those large fish-like green eyes, and gleamed with an earnest look. "Well, then, what did he do to you?"

He looked away a third time with a thin lipped smile, "Not much," he laughed contemptuously, "he just threatened to command me to never drink again."

"For God's sake!" Drake stood up, anger running through his blood, "Why doesn't he just do that for you?"

"Despite," Amon began cooly flashing his wide wild eyes onto Drake, "what you believe, Damien hates to use his power, especially on Dane and myself."

Drake shook his head, "You're just as bad as Dane, defending his every move. Can you really not see what a monster he is? Do I really deserve this kind of treatment?" He held up his arm for emphasis.

"You know what to expect from his temper," Amon snapped at him as the freshly risen morning sun, bursting over the horizon, shone incredibly bright on his face from the window across from him, "it isn't like he treats you like this for no reason, Drake! If you would just stop standing up against him and fighting him and irritating him and disobeying his every request!"

"Even you cannot do that," Drake laughed, tossing his head back, "look at yourself. He asks you to stay sober and you can't, but does he abuse you? No, not even with words."

Amon frowned, running his tongue along his teeth as he thought, but Drake wasn't finished, "And I know for a fact that he didn't do a thing to Jade!"

"Wrong," Amon glared at him suddenly, "she received the same punishment as you, dear nephew. Your father was fair in that."

"What exactly did he do to her?" Drake asked meeting Amon's eyes as the hair on the back of his neck stood straight, upon hearing that dreadful word. He couldn't read Jade's thoughts. She was probably asleep.

"You two share the same body," Amon shrugged with a frown, "whatever injury happens to your body happens to her's and her's to yours."

"Her arm is snapped in two as well?" Drake frowned.

"Yes," Amon smiled and then leaning forwards and raising a hand to Drake's eye to touch the skin surrounding it. Drake recoiled in pain. "Also a black eye." Then his hand moved to the side of his chest and gently prodded him, making him double over in pain, "And a few bruised ribs. Nothing that won't heal in time."

"Where's Dane!" Drake almost screamed, smacking Amon's cruel hands away from himself as he sat back up. "He cannot do this to me! How can the two of you be so unjust?"

"Drake," Amon did scream back at him, "when will you ever get it? You just need to sit down and shut up. Are you not afraid of him yet? Believe me when I say he can do much, much worse. It is his job to torture and kill people for the king, remember?"

Drake shuddered and found himself collapsing back into the deep cushions of the couch, his head falling into his hands. "Then what exactly can I do to avoid his anger?"

Amon sat down next to him, his oddly large green eyes looking earnestly into Drake's, "My sweet nephew," his voice dripping with sarcasm, "you know how Damien gets when he's on trips like this and you how much irritation Jade brings him. Nowadays he is on the verge of breaking down into a fit of rage at any moment, but luckily for you, you might only have to see him once or twice a week. When you do see him don't speak all right. If he asks you something just tell him what he wants to hear. It's not that hard okay? That's what I do and I'm fine."

There was a soft knock and the wooden door at the end of the room. Drake's eyes raised to the spot and Amon turned around. There stood Damien leaning casually against the stone wall with an emotionless, blank face and eyes colored with a blur of passion. Amon stood, patting Drake on the shoulder and then leaving him to Damien's mercy, exchanging devious smiles with Damien as he slid by him. It was as if they could hear one another thoughts. The two of them had to be demons.

Damien's eyes followed his younger brother out the door in an odd way and then slowly let them fall back onto Drake coldly, "I'm leaving now," he blinked a few times as if trying hard to stay awake, "I was exhausted last night," he began slowly almost mechanically, not bothering to move a muscle, "and I was frustrated with Amon and my work and your disobedience. I shouldn't have treated you so . . . harshly."

"You made me break my own arm," Drake hissed at him, unforgiving. Sitting deep in the faded blue cushions of the wooden framed couch.

Damien took a deep breath and let his eyes meet Drake's with a loud exhale, "I realize that," he unfolded his arms and began to walk closer to Drake, spiking his nerves and making his heart race as his breaths became increasingly shorter, "let me have a look," he said as he held out an open hand to him. Was this fear?

"No," Drake recoiled from him, raising his feet onto the couch and protecting his body with his folded legs, "just leave me alone, all right?"

Damien's face immediately twisted with anger as he looked away staring hard at the wall, "I am trying here Drake," he growled.

"It's far beyond too late, for that!" Drake snapped at him, standing up. He realized that he was shaking hard now and not from anger.

"You have no idea," Damien muttered to himself, rolling his pestilent eyes.

"Look I'm sorry that your life is so deplorable," Drake sighed, refusing to sympathize with him. He wasn't sorry in the slightest. He just wanted him to leave.

Damien slammed his eyes back onto Drake with full force, like a person slapping him in the face. "Oh God please spare me," he rolled his eyes again this time with a perfectly curved smile, "my life is perfect except for you maybe. I'm filthy rich. I can have anything I want with the flick of my tongue. What else could I want and if I ever found out I could have it easily."

Drake frowned looking deep into Damien's eyes. He couldn't be sincere. "Then why are you wasting your time on me?"

That stopped Damien's smile and he opened his mouth, but then closed it to think a bit before he spoke. He nodded at his own thoughts and said, "Do you want me to torture you like last night? I'm trying to make amends because we are family and I half way care."

"About what Dane thinks," Drake finished his sentence for him. This all had to be some sort of set up concocted by his dear old uncle. As usual he was trying to keep everyone at peace with one another.

Damien raised an eyebrow at him in irritation and hummed, "Yes, but I cannot keep running in these circles with you. I'm exhausted and frankly I'm worried that the further we go the more I will loose control over my temper."

"You're afraid of killing her then," Drake nodded, looking away unhurt. Damien didn't give a damn about any of this. These words were clearly written by Dane and were being poorly performed by his father.

Damien smiled kindly, too kindly as he reached out and grabbed Drake's chin between his thumb and index finger. Then he drew his face closer to Drake's. "Do you want me to care about you? Is that really it then?"

He was commanding Drake. This was real. This was the most torturous question he could possibly ask. Why would he ask this? Was he insane? Didn't he know what would happen? He fought as hard as he could and he pinched his lips together for as long as he could, but they gave way soon enough, "Of-"

"Shut-up," Damien snapped in a panic ridden voice at him just before the answer could come out. He stood up as his chest pulsated rapidly. He clutched his shirt with his hand were his heart would have been. "It doesn't matter either way," he said more calmly, his hand slowly traveling back to its place at his side, "just," he shook his head, taking a step away, "just let's stay away from one another as much as possible."

"Yes," Drake growled, hearing Dane's words again, "let's."

"Good," Damien nodded his head. He still seemed shocked from what Drake had almost said, "Good," he repeated himself and then after a cough, "I need you to watch over her though, all right?"

Drake nodded, rolling his eyes, "She won't escape again-"

"Yes, she better not," Damien growled in a deep voice as he turned to leave.

"Damien," Drake stood to take a step towards him. He glanced over his shoulder back at him, raising an eyebrow asking him to say what he wanted. "You don't actually kill people for a living do you."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes hard, "You already know the answer to that, Drake."

"You're repulsive," Drake growled in contempt

His father looked down at him as if studying him. Drake could almost feel his eyes touching him. It made him shiver. "I wouldn't expect you to understand that somethings are just not optional in life."

"No," Drake spoke tartly, "for you I cannot see how a single thing that you do is forced on you ever. You are the most free person I've ever known."

Damien stared at him blankly and then began to laugh hysterically, doubling over and weeping from his laughter. Why was he behaving like this? Drake watched him in horror as he continued for at least five minutes straight and finally through teary eyes spoke, "You," he paused, "you think that I am free? Oh God you have a lot of growing up to do and so much to fucking learn!"

He turned and left the room, happy to have gotten that over with. Dane met him right outside of the door way, thanking him with a smile. "See that wasn't so bad was it?"

Damien raised an eyebrow at his older brother, "Well soon enough the two of them will prove your way of resolving things a terrible failure. You really think that Drake will listen to apologies and pretenses of caring?"

"Hmm," Dane hummed, "well despite the fact that that was the poorest performance you could have put on, I can say that you definitely wouldn't have at that age, but Drake isn't you is he."

"No," Damien laughed as he looked back into the room at Drake, "far from it, my dear brother."

"How are you not upset about this at all?" Amon growled from the shadows, Damien turned to glance at him. "Dane," he added with a hiss. Damien raised an eyebrow at his attitude.

He watched as Dane shook his head at Amon. He thought that he going to explode. He crossed in arms in frustration as Amon continued, "How is forcing someone to break their own arm in punishment any less worse than burning someone's arms for discipline. Tell me that."

"Are you taking his side?" Damien smiled at his younger brother. He was usually a narcissistic grouch.

"Amon this is not the time nor place," Dane pressed his eyebrows close together as he sucked on his lips.

"That's too far and even you know it!" He snapped at Damien, jabbing an accusing finger into the center of his chest.

Damien narrowed his eyes and lowered them onto Amon darkly, "Go get a drink and calm down you stupid boy."

"You cannot just do that, especially when you can simply command them to never run again!" Amon spat at him, literally.

Tilting his head in amusement, Damien grabbed Amon by the chin and jerked him closer so that he could breathe down his neck, "If you have a problem with it then you take care of them and when they do something wrong you take the consequences. What do you think about that?"

"I'm no babysitter," Amon muttered, slapping away Damien's hand and taking a step back. Frowning as he gave a sniff. Had Damien been drinking?

"All right then," Damien smiled, "then shut the hell up about it."

"This won't be a punishment choice in the future though. Right Damien?" Dane spoke with uncertainty like he wanted to believe that Damien wouldn't repeat it, but he couldn't trust him without hearing it from him first.

"For you, no I won't again," Damien grinned with a laugh, tilting his head back.

"Can't you be fucking serious for once?" Amon spat.

"Yes," Damien laughed in a crazed way, "that is when I'm not bone tired and half drunk."

Dane frowned, "You're drunk?"

"No, of course not," Damien laughed harder.

"Just kicking in then," Amon eyed his brother warily, rolling his eyes. He had smelled the alcohol on his breath earlier, but hadn't expected him to be drunk. He was such a hypocrite, "You know what this means don't you Dane?"

"Of course," he sighed, "but we have to be careful. Drake," he shouted into the room where he still sat on the couch, probably reading some sort of book, "get in here and help us out."

"What is it?" Drake groaned as if he were dying.

"Your dear father is drunk," Amon simpered. Of course he would think it funny to see anyone who wasn't himself drunk.

"Nah uh, you couldn't get me within ten feet of him," Drake continued to shout from his post, "you do remember the last time you tried to handle something like this with him, right? I say just leave him alone and let it wear off."

"What are you even talking about?" Damien smiled mischievously at Dane.

"Should we knock him out then?" Amon grinned, glancing back at the metal poles holding up the transparent purple curtains in front of the many windows surrounding them.

"I'm afraid to do anything else, but I don't think that that should be our first option," Dane stroked his chin with his right hand in thought and then turned to Damien, "feel tired in the slightest?"

Damien laughed a little as his eyes looked upwards with an evil glimmer. Dane and Amon turned around to see Jade slowly descending the stair case to their left.

"Shit," Amon hissed, "that's the last person he needs to see."

Dane's eyes then snapped to where Drake was slowly leaving his room to meet Jade at the end of the stair case.

"What's going on?" She yawned sleepily, "I thought that Damien would have already left."

"Trying to run away again are we?" Amon sneered at her viciously.

"What are you two going to do with him?" Drake laughed at their predicament, "You can't let him loose on the city or it will be in flames by lunchtime and you certainly can't keep him around the two of us or we'll be dead within the hour."

"How much and what did you drink?" Amon turned to his older brother, seeming to be serious for one of the few times in his life.

Damien rolled his glassy brown eyes, "I told you both that I'm not that drunk. So if you'll excuse me I'm going to work."

"Nope," Dane caught Damien as he tripped over his first unsteady step.

Damien began to laugh hysterically as if Dane was tickling him. His writhing and squirming forced Dane to drop him to the floor where he continued to laugh harder and harder like a maniac. Everyone's hair was standing straight up and their eyes wide open.

"Should we plug our ears about now?" Drake whispered.

"Wouldn't do any good unless you covered your eyes as well," Amon muttered, "and I'm sure as hell not about to do that . . . just yet."

Then a miracle happened and Damien fell asleep right there on the floor as his laughter fell to a deep rumble in his throat. Everyone gave a heavy sigh of relief.

"I vote we leave him there," Drake spoke hastily.

"Absolutely no," Dane countered him, "can you imagine the mood he'll be in? I've never once seen him drunk without a terrible hangover when he woke up. We should put him in a room and lock the door until he's calm."

"Although we may risk the chance of waking him up if we touch him," Amon shrugged.

The four of them glanced at one another and surprisingly Jade spoke out, "I think that the right choice is obvious." She looked around meeting each of their wondering eyes, "We take him to a room and lock it."

So Amon and Dane each grabbed an arm and hauled him to his feet, waking him up unfortunately.

"What are you doing?" He asked coldly through narrowed eyes and for a brief second it seemed that he was about his own mind again.

Dane smiled calmly despite the hair standing upright on the back of his neck and his trembling hands, "You don't want to sleep on the floor do you?"

"No," Damien grinned and then gave out a laugh, reassuring everyone the he was still intoxicated.

"C-come on then," Amon stuttered. Drake titled his head, smiling mockingly at him. His fear was more than obvious. Damien had no control over his words or their intentions at the time. Everything he spoke could be a command and they were merely gambling that he wouldn't say the wrong thing.

"Fine," he groaned as if being forced. He brushed both of his brothers off of himself and then tried to walk on his own, but once again Dane had to catch him and Drake's uncles ended up being Damien's crutches after all.

They began to walk towards the stairs with Drake and Jade following out of curiosity. Drake hadn't actually seen Damien drunk before and while he knew it was dangerous. It was just more entertaining to see him trip over the stairs and have his poor brothers jerk him back up than to cower in fear. He wondered how Amon felt about all of this as the drunkard.

"Wait," Damien muttered, trying to stand up straight. "There's . . . a healer in a small red shop down by . . . the look out over port haven, you know over the sea that Dane is so enamored with. . . I want you two to bring him here . . . when this is over with or at least take the two of them down there . . . to meet with him. I don't want to balance their pathetic problems with mine own," Dane stared at him hard. How could he speak so eloquently? Sure there were a lot of pauses, but even then. "But," he laughed a bit, "you two," this was clearly directed at Jade and Drake, "better not get any ideas." These last few words were heavily slurred.

Amon frowned, "Well that'll be fun. Healers aren't the most sociable people. Besides, how are we supposed to convince this person to come here?"

They were nearly at the top of the cold stone stairs, Damien chattering the whole way up in slurred sentences and limitless giggles. Amon was sucking hard on his lips and Dane looked especially pale. They both probably wished he'd just shut up.

"This is going to be so bad when he wakes up," Amon muttered.

"So that's why we'll keep him locked up until it passes," Dane almost snapped, he was obviously irritated and worn down.

Damien turned his head to look back at Drake and smiled in a sort of confused way. "There are two of me?"

Dane groaned as they opened the door to Damien's room. Drake frowned. He had never been in any of Damien's rooms. There was a lush purple and blue carpet washed over the floor and olive green material wallpapers fixed on the walls decorated with swirls of golden designs, but you could hardly see either. The walls were covered in strange pictures of things from mere splashes of paint to carefully detailed flowers incased in large golden frames as well as a few scattered mirrors. Hidden among them in the corner of the wall was a small dart board with a few papers attached to it, many knives were pierced through the cork. His bed was large and scattered with countless fluffy blankets of mostly dark, bland colors headed with two large pillows with gold designs delicately sewed into the fine silk fabric. The most disturbing part of the room was the amount of trinkets and things which were basically junk that consumed the room. Necklaces hung from any and every edge. Swooping opaque sheets of material draped from the ceiling in low curves. Vases with dead and live flowers. Clinking wind chimes, spinning objects, golden toys, books by the dozens, news papers, empty perfume bottles, delicate mobiles of precious stones hanging from the ceiling beside the chandeliers, most all of the objects on the floor were made of gold and seemed to be ticking like clocks. The one that attracted Drake's eyes immediately was a wind spinner which was a large blue blinking eye that rolled around as if it were alive. The place was like a cave and perturbed Drake. There wasn't a single window or at least in sight.

"What is this?" Drake shuddered. It wasn't as if Damien were a hoarder, but rather that these things were specifically arranged in a way that made them seem very necessary and not just like junk littering the room. What was he using them for? It exposed Damien in a way. These things seemed to somehow represent what was in Damien's heart.

"It's Damien," Dane sighed, laying his brother on the bed and wrapping him up in the sheets like a baby. The ticking noises were making Drake's head ache.

"But . . . why?" Drake blubbered, reaching out to one of the wind spinners and flicking it so that it spun faster, making a loud whirring noise.

"All of his rooms are like this," Dane muttered, "he's kept his rooms like this since before I can remember. He despises being alone in the night and these things comfort him."

"Damien White is afraid of the dark?" Drake laughed. His uncle was lying to his face.

"When he's alone, yes," was Dane's simple answer. "Dark thoughts and ghosts haunt him."

Drake stopped laughing. Why did that thought make him seem even more intimidating? "That's very . . . weird."

"I can't," Damien groaned flipping over on his side, letting his hands scrape through a few of the thin, billowing tapestries hanging above him knocking against the metal bells lining their fine edges, sending out a soft jingle, "sleep with all of you in here . . . talking."

Amon smiled that half cocky smile of his and strut over to the bedside and to Jade's and Drake's shock leaned down and kissed Damien on the cheek for what felt longer than a moment. Then he stood and left the room without the slightest hint of that smile.

"What was that?" Jade frowned as Dane and Drake guided her out of the room.

Dane jabbed a golden key into the knob once they had closed door and with a click locked it. He sighed, "Damien may possibly be the only person I've ever known Amon to love."

"Love?" Jade shook her head, slightly discomforted by the word.

"Not romantically obviously," Dane spoke solemnly, "but in a much, much greater sense."

"And you don't" Drake smiled, crossing his arms across his chest.

Dane narrowed his eyes. He disliked Drake that much was already clear to Jade, "Even more so, but the difference is that he isn't the sole consumer of my love."

"Then who else is," Drake's smile dropped as they walked away from Damien's room.

"Blair, Amon, Petra, you I suppose to a fairly small degree, Jade, Rue, Fakir, Ethan, Victoria, Lyra, the list goes on," Dane looked off into the distance in deep thought as they descended the stairs.

"Victoria?" Drake titled his head, "Interesting choice."

"She is my mother Drake," Dane responded.

"Yes, well I can say that I'm flattered that my name makes an appearance," Drake twitched a smile over his face in sarcasm.

Jade was also surprised that her name was on Dane's collection of names. They barely knew one another.

"Where is the witch any ways?" Drake laughed as they reached the bottom of the staircase. "Do you ever see her?"

"She's in End World with our father," he rolled his eyes at his own memories probably, "no I do not see her for the sole purpose of not seeing Malik."

Drake's eyes glimmered with curiosity, "Will I ever meet my grandparents."

"Absolutely not!" Dane stopped walking all together to stare at Drake hard and make his point clear.

A smile formed on the skin of Drake's face, "Why not?"

"For one Malik is a demon who wants nothing to do with you because of your likeness to your father and secondly Victoria isn't even . . . well never mind it isn't important. You won't see them, the end."

"Is Damien that afraid of them?" Drake rubbed his eye absentmindedly, ignoring the word as best as he could.

"Not quite," Dane continued to try to answer Drake's questions to the best of his ability, "he just . . . there are no good memories there. He has no need nor desire to ever see them again. He hates them and they hate him. Relatively simple, don't you think?"

"Yes, I understand their feeling completely," Drake growled.

"How long will we stay here, Dane?" Jade asked with a sigh, trying to redirect their conversation.

"Only a week or so more," he replied. "It should be relaxing if you can stay out of Damien's wrath and presence. There's plenty to do and see here. Besides Drake, you have friends here."

"Hmm," Drake hummed to himself, "I don't think that Damien will leave us alone quite yet."

"What do you mean by that?" Dane frowned folding his arms as if Drake had offended him somehow.

"Well, he wants Jade and myself to hide our dislike for one another with affection and we clearly aren't able to do that. I'm sure he's pissed and I'm sure he'll make a comment about it before he leaves tomorrow," he shrugged.

"I really don't think so," Dane shook his head, "you are the last thing on his mind right now that is unless you completely disregard his rules again."

Jade made a small sigh, forcing Drake to turn and look at her. Why was she so silent? He smiled, knowing the answer easily enough. She wanted to exclude herself from their world as much as she possibly could by ignoring it all. It wouldn't work. Eventually she would have to speak and eventually she would have to accept her place in Damien's hell.

What's the matter? Bored? He slipped into her thoughts.

Does everything revolve around Damien? She rolled her eyes.

He grinned, looking down at the floor, moving his eyes around the out line of his boot, Not always, really only a few consecutive days of a month. After tomorrow we won't hear another word about him and when we see him he will probably be silent.

I'm not sure what to think of him just yet, she admitted.

Well you should be his voice was rough with passion, he-

"Hey," Dane sighed, "don't you think that that's a bit rude?"

Drake looked up at his uncle and frowned as he considered his words. "How so?"

Dane rolled his eyes, "You're as bad as your-" He stopped himself short, as he must have realized that that word was a cruel jab and a great way of firing off an argument. "Damien," he finished his comment slowly.

Drake nodded in a snort of disbelief, "You're so critical!"

"Not in the least bit," Dane countered him, "in fact I don't judge a single one of you. I'm merely observant."

"Right, because you're the perfect one, why would you?" Drake's voice drowned with sarcasm.

Jade smiled, "You don't get it? None of you can see it! He's the reason any of you can live with another, the reason Amon hasn't drunk himself to death yet and even now he just wants you and Damien to have a normal father-son relationship."

Drake rolled his eyes onto her. A bit outspoken aren't you dear? "He's foolish if he honestly thinks that those things can be accomplished or held up. Eventually this will all come crashing down and I will be laughing." He even stopped to laugh and look at Dane, "You can't be serious."

Dane narrowed his eyes at him, "You know nothing of what's around you. So please," he put a hand to his head, "don't speak anymore."

"I don't know anything around me!" He exclaimed. "You all keep saying that over and over, but what the hell do you mean? I've been here from the beginning. I know Damien through and through. I know that you're the peacemaker and I know that Amon lost his heart and soul long ago and has very little to live for. It's all clear as water to me! So what don't I understand uncle?"

Dane merely sighed and turned to leave as if there weren't enough words to express what was in his mind and all he could do was give up. However Drake reached out and grabbed him by the forearm spinning him around to face him, "What aren't you telling me. Is he sick?"

"Is he sick?" Dane repeated his question with a frown. "Damien?"

Drake cocked an eyebrow as if asking who else.

"No," Dane laughed uncomfortably. He rolled his eyes, "Believe me if he was he has every healer available."

"Then," Drake paused, trying to reason what on earth there was that he didn't know about Damien. "What? What don't I know?"

Dane pressed his lips hard together and turned around as if looking for a way out of the question by a physical escape. He whipped back around and opened his mouth to blurt something out when Amon's voice filled the empty air. "Dane, speak carefully."

Dane rolled his eyes as a smile of relief washed over his face. It was clear that he was glad that Amon had stepped in. Jade frowned. They were all so strange. Amon walked closer, slinking out of the hallway he had been lurking in.

"How can you hold me accountable for something that I only do not know, but that you also refuse to tell me?" Drake growled.

"All we mean by that Drake is that you cannot fathom the suffering that Damien has been through and is going through," Dane spoke slowly and when Drake opened his mouth probably wanting specifics, "these are things from our past with Malik, with your . . . mother and so forth. You know the general afflictions I'm referring to. You just don't know how damaged Damien is as we do and you never will even if you were to ever try."

"Right," Drake spoke sharply. "Damien's great and deep sorrow. How on earth could I have forgotten!"

"Again," Amon spoke through that wide mouth of his, "you simply don't understand, my little nephew."

Drake peeled back a smile of irritation, "I am only a year and a half younger than you, Amon."

Amon met his eyes. They were about the same hight. He stuck out his tongue at him pink and wet as if he were a child and then flashed his eyes at him, "Bite me," biting the air mockingly.

"Have the pain drugs warn off yet?" Dane asked after rolling his eyes, glancing at Drake's arm and then Jade's.

"No," Drake spoke looking away from his younger uncle before Jade could open her mouth, but that was fine because she didn't want to speak to any of them. Maybe she was simply in denial, but somewhere deep down she was sure that if she ignored all of the things surrounding her it wouldn't become real and she would be able to escape unscathed. "Our arms are both still numb, but other than that there doesn't seem to be any other side affects."

"No, there shouldn't be," Dane muttered. "Damien wants the two of you healed as soon as possible, but I don't have the time right now and Amon . . ."

"Is also preoccupied," he shook his head giving Drake an evil smile. He was so impish. Drake could all too easily imagine the two little red horns sticking up on either side of his head and that sharply pointed tail curving around his leg. You could almost always expect every word out of his mouth to be a lie. "Damien hurt them. So he can figure out how to get them healed."

"I'd rather go on my own," Drake commented, "than with him."

"Your father," Amon spat out that those sounds that made up that dreadful word carefully using each flick of his tongue to hit Drake, "obviously doesn't want that," he laughed.

Drake's open hands tightened into two fists at the word, but he controlled his thoughts and redirected them. Why did Damien do things like this, hurt people, break things and so on, and then regret it the second after asking others to clean it up? "He's not going to come with us," Drake shook his head, "you know that."

Dane pursed his lips and looked away, "He is right, Amon." He sighed, "Why not do it now instead of waiting for him to force you later?"

"He wouldn't force me-" Amon countered him.

"You'll be roped into it one way or another," Dane sighed, running a hand casually through his dark hair.

"You know what fine!" Amon snapped angrily. "You two come," he hissed walking towards the doors.

Jade glanced at Drake. He turned his eyes onto her to catch her holding back a smile before she burst into a soft, quick fit of laughter, trembling and doubling over. The right corner of his mouth twitched upwards. At least now he had someone to laugh with him. Maybe she would start to accept her fate like he had his and begin to talk more. She stood up grinning and then began to follow Amon, mimicking his "you two come with me" in expressive mocking gestures. However she stopped the second Amon turned around. He glanced between Drake and Jade suspiciously, but shaking his head turned back around and opened the door, letting in a bright shower of daylight into the dimly lit home.