Kelsie opened her eyes. She was no longer in the study. The room was large, a bed with a young woman propped against the pillows, her green eyes staring blankly at the opposite wall, the round growing stomach showed under the covers. Red hair lay lank against the pillows. Bruises on exposed arms and chest were dark, some a dark green of age and some fresh and turning an array of colours.

"How did she get away?" Anne's voice came on a whisper.

Turning, Kelsie saw her mother chatting with a woman dressed in a white linen dress and flat white shoes. Guessing that was the nurse, Kelsie moved closer.

"She only said she killed her persecutor," the nurse whispered, "since then, she has been silent."

"Poor child," she said, "is it the persecutor's child she carries?"

The nurse nodded, "Apparently. What she experienced has broken Leilani. Not only was she defiled, but they tortured her while doing the act."

Anne shook her head, anger filling her eyes and straightening her shoulders, "We need to find this vile group of men and stop them."

"They keep moving, and you know the last group of the Guard that found them were either slaughtered or captured," the nurse said, "we have few returning alive, yet they are traumatised beyond healing."

Anne wrung her hands, "I need to speak with George; we need to resolve this."

The nurse nodded, moving away to clear away uneaten food and clean the room. Looking toward the bed, she found the young woman staring at her, moving toward her Kelsie waited.

"I am Leilani of the Order," the woman whispered, "what comes from me will divide, covert and consume. To destroy me is to destroy the abomination made from my anguish. Should it live, the Order will rot from the roots."

"Do you know how to stop his father? That knowledge will also stop the child," Kelsie whispered.

"Root out the mountain chamber not far from Jezebel's House and destroy the stone of black," she murmured, "only good may destroy what is bad and kindness overcome thoughts of the self."

Kelsie waited, "Is there anything else?"

The green eyes snapped to hers, "He comes."

Kelsie wanted to ask more but was returned to the study, "Mountain chamber that holds a black stone." Frustration ripped through her, "How am I supposed to find that when he is on his way here?"

Looking out the window, Kelsie noticed the rain was falling softer, the thunder and lightning had stopped some hours ago, she was running out of time. Turning in a circle, she looked at the room. Aunt Jez had said all her answers would be found in this room. Where could she find the mountain with a black stone? Frowning, Kelsie moved toward the wall displaying vintage maps and photos of departed family members from years before, locking her eyes on a picture with two athletic women, both in leather gear, with red hair and green eyes.

"Twins," Kelsie murmured, reading the names at the bottom, "Leilani and Zinnia on their twenty-first birthday. My Great Grandmother had a twin." Kelsie shook her head, "That is why he believes he has the right to rule ... but he never met the criteria. Everett tried to make a place for him when he adopted him, but it was not to be. I need to find the location of the stone."

Browsing the shelves, she found no map book for anything indicating the area, either hand-drawn or from any text. She stretched her neck from side to side, staring at the wall near the window. A map in a large frame met her gaze. Looking over her shoulder, she wondered why that map was out of place.

"Why is it over here?" Kelsie wondered, strolling toward it, reading the bottom left corner, "Black Stone Mountain."

Gently lifting the map from the wall, she placed it on the table; frowning, she glanced up, finding a hole in the wall containing notebooks, a dagger in its sheath and a velvet cloth wrapped around something heavy.

"What is this?" she whispered, carefully taking it out. "Instructions, a hand-drawn map of ... our mountain range. A dagger. What a beautiful dagger," she murmured, laying everything out on the table. "A notebook ..." flipping it open, she read the beautifully written words, glancing at the black velvet cloth bound by a red ribbon and a note pinned to it "do not open", "they found the black stone."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Kelsie sank into the chair, reading a journal of Leilani and Zinnia, their journey to discover the power behind the group of men harming their brethren. A picture fell from the pages. Picking it up, Kelsie looked at an older version of the twins smiling at whoever took the picture. Kelsie frowned. According to the journal, only one other person knew of what they did, Clive, her Grandfather. Was there more to the fight between Connie and Clive? Did Connie kill him for different reasons than just his challenge to rule?

So many questions and not enough answers, "What would they have me do with the stone?"

The now-familiar tug of the House drew her. Settling back in the chair, she waited to hear what it would say.

Zander double-checked their preparations for attack and defense, and they were solid. He still had questions but didn't know who could or would answer them—leaning on the porch railing, watching the gentle rainfall. The night was coming, and soon so would their persecutor. Why did he want Jezebel's House destroyed?

"Alyx, I need to check something," Zander called.

Zander strode toward the Guardroom, opening the door. It was all shiny wood, with modern furnishings, books ran along the walls, and a gallery with a couch made the room cosy.

"Very nice," he whispered, closing the door, "I have a question that needs an urgent answer. Why does he want Jezebel's House destroyed?"

A lamp light came on near a section of the bookcase. Zander quickly browsed the spines finding one of interest. He pulled it out and sat on the edge of the chair, reading through the pages. The discovery made his blood chill in his veins? His heart thundered against his ribs, and he started as a knock came at the door. Quickly opening it, he found his father and George at the door. Standing aside, he let them enter.

"You ask the question many before have asked," George said, his expression serious and concerned, "asked, tried to fulfill and lost their lives doing so."

"Don't do this, son," Cal begged, "I have lost many friends and family to this quest."

"I understand your concern," Zander said, "but I feel that Kelsie and I are close to a resolution of not only why but how to rid us of him. Have either of you heard of someone called ..." he looked in the book again, "Hadeon Than Wulfric?"

Both men shifted before meeting Zander's waiting gaze. George cleared his throat while Cal looked at the ceiling, bookshelves, and the floor.

"By that reaction, I'm saying you do," Zander said, "tell me about him."

"Why?" George asked.

"I found a photo in this book," Zander said, holding it up, "on the back is handwritten, my persecutor and defiler with the name Leilani underneath."

Cal muttered a curse while George ran his hands over his face.

"Did no one find this photo until now?" Zander asked.

Both men shook their heads, "We had no idea it was there. She never spoke to us of what happened, and she was a shadow of the woman we had grown up with."

Zander strode away from them before turning and returning to them, "That arrogant wanna-be ruler has tried to destroy our way of life, code, morals, and even our very rulers. Have you any idea what he did to Kelsie? He would not have played with her if he knew who she was. He would have killed her." The men paled as Zander continued, "All of this is happening because whoever the persecutor was or is believes he should have been Leilani's and someone called Zinnia's Guard, having twin sisters to pleasure himself on."

"I think I will be sick," Cal said, shuddering, "he wanted to be an Assassin. Not someone who makes sure the balance stays but someone who had an excuse to kill. He was brutal, mean, cruel and lustful."

"When he applied, he was denied acceptance into the Order's ranks," George said, "Zinnia was Connie's mother and eldest by two minutes and therefore Queen. Leilani took up the position in the Guard, and he must have thought she was Zinnia when captured."

"Then Leilani has written here, something about a quest for the black stone," Zander said, "she found it. She hid it. Was captured the exact day her sister was terminated in front of her."

George groaned, sinking into a chair, "That must have been when they sought a place to destroy the stone."

"Who knew of it?" Zander said.

Cal frowned, looking at George, who shook his head. Zander sighed, rubbing his hand over his forehead.

"If the stone is here," he muttered, "that would be why he wants Jezebel's House destroyed."

"Oh, that would never happen," George shook his head, "she protected this House with her life. She died on the boundary line and is said to be one with the House."

"Who is Jezebel that the House is still hers?" Zander sighed, sinking into a chair, staring at his father and George.

"She is the second Queen of the Order," George smiled, "Connie's Great Great Grandmother."

"Why would that ensure the house be indestructible?" Zander asked.

"That you'd have to ask Kelsie," George said, "we don't know any more than what we have told you."

Nodding, Zander thanked them and left the room, heading for the library. Feeling a little overwhelmed by all they had learned this day, he pushed open the door to find Kelsie cross-legged on the floor with an array of books around her. Notepad in hand, furiously taking notes.

"Kelsie, I have information that may answer some questions," he said, moving forward as she waved him into the room, not taking her eyes from the pages. The door closed behind him.

Turning to see who was there and finding no one, he realised she was chatting with the House. Seating himself, he pulled a blank notepad toward him, opened Leilani's diary, and started jotting down information that may help end the carnage.