Am�naelihn had no idea how long she had lain in a state of unconsciousness, nor had she any idea exactly how many times her son had beaten her to take that time from her. All the elven woman knew now was the throbbing of her head as it struggled to hold onto the reality around it rather than slipping back into the dream world which had plagued her. She knew that he had had his way with her, for she knew how Koell was. He was her son, and like his father he took what he wanted. It was just an unfortunate that the two men wanted the same thing, and that same thing was the elven parent sprawled bruised and bloodied on her bed, a single sheet laid over her form, barely even wrinkled. With a small groan she let her tongue out enough to taste the dried blood on her chapped lips.

Her accident in the creek seemed so distant to Am�naelihn now, but it had been that accident that her left her weak and weary and a prone victim for her son who had so much that he wished her to feel; and wished to feel from her. For a wavering moment, she felt guilty; guilty that she was the cause of everything going through Koell�s head now, guilty for not making him the happy son she wished he could have grown to be. The stinging pain making its way down her temple towards her blackened and swollen eye made that moment of guilt pass as quickly as it had came. Koell was Kaehlin�s son; as much as both men would like to deny it, it was true. Rarely did the hereditary link show, but when it did Am�naelihn was always the one that came off the worse from the son�s outburst. This time was no exception.

It was a faltering moment before the elf managed to lift herself from the bed, having to silently will each limb individually to drag itself achingly from beneath the sheet that was her dressing like the untouched icing on a broken cake. One foot met the carpet, followed slowly by a second, yet when she tried to bring herself to stand, Am�naelihn returned to a crumpled heap on the bed. Tears stained her bloodied face, old fluids mixing with the new to fall down her tender face as one, eventually finding rest upon the snow-colored mattress sheets. Golden eyes fell behind closed lids, and Am�naelihn took a single deep breath to calm her trembles. She had faced worse pains that these before and still walked upon them. She would not let the simple fact of whose hands had caused the damage make this situation any different.

Another labored moment found the elven mistress before her mirror, a full-sized one that she cherished for the simple reason that it had lasted so long without being shattered by one demon or another; by father or son. The reflection that met Am�naelihn had certainly seen better days. One eye was almost completely closed beneath a bruise and the puss that had seeped from the tear duct, and she realized that she had subconsciously ceased even trying to open it many moments ago. Both cheeks were swollen red, particularly rounded compared with the usual angle that was commonplace amongst elven cheekbone structures. �No surprise there,� she thought almost bitterly. The mirror only confirmed her suspicion that her nose had been broken, and she flinched from herself as she gingerly touched the end with a shaking finger. The once beautiful facial organ was now a mess, bloodied and bent to one side out of place. Koell really hadn�t held anything back this time. The only thing that seemed relatively undamaged were the ears that poked through her sweat-tangled ebony hair into small elven points, though there was a faint ringing in the left one. Perhaps he had left them intact consciously, knowing the sexual effect the ears could have on an elf. Am�naelihn didn�t doubt this at all, Koell possessed an intelligence and awareness that even she herself had to admire at times. As he had been growing up, she had always hoped Koell might be successful in something in life one day; something other than mindless rape and murder as his father was. The day had failed to come this far.

Her body was in a far better shape than her face, though deep gashes and cuts lined her otherwise smooth skin, where the rocks had tore into her as she fell towards the murky creek in what could have only been a few hours ago. Rubbing her aching head with a hand still burning from where a leather strap had bound her, Am�naelihn moved dejectedly to the wardrobe, unable to bear staring at her battered reflection any longer. Lazily, she threw on a black lace nightgown, wanting only to garb herself in something loose that it would not rub the fresh injuries into causing her more agony than already they did. She looked a bleak picture, a personification of torment and misery and a life bound by the confines of a twisted loyalty, but her priorities were right enough for now; the baby desperately needed feeding.

* * *

It felt as though his every muscle was being stretched like elastic, pinched deep by countless numbers of pins and needles and tugged, dragged over his bulging bones, ripped from the ligament and readjusted loosely. His brain ached, every single thought was a burning chore, if only he could stop thinking, his only desire being to slip into unconsciousness, to end the thoughts that caused him so much distress. He knew that if the pain went on, he wasn�t going to make it. He no longer had the gift of sight, for his eyeballs had begun to tingle like the rest of his body and he closed his eyelids tight and refused to open them, for it was the only thing that, slowly, stopped the ache. His abnormal arm hurt the most though, stinging and burning, throbbing agonizingly and he held it aloft, the simple contact between bristled fur and blood-stained concrete sending tremors to the already hyperactive mind. He didn�t want to make it, he just wanted end. Release. Would nobody listen; could nobody hear his cries? The wails continued from his lips, lips that felt like any moment they themselves might burst aflame, but the endless cries of an aging child�s anguish went unaided.

* * *

Something was wrong. Like a warning siren, Am�naelihn�s acute elven ears trembled like twin autumn leaves in a winter breeze, causing her breath to catch in her dry throat. She had only just entered the room, yet she knew something was wrong. Her one good eye surveyed the room, but there was nothing that she could determine to be out of place. She took a shaking and wary step forward. There was a crunch underfoot and the elven woman yelped, hopping back, a single clear shard in the bottom of her bare foot, penetrating the subtle sole. Drip. A single droplet of blood matted the floor. Shaking the piece of glass from her foot, Am�naelihn looked down and her fat bottom lip pulled into a small frown. Something had been broken on the tile floor, something made of glass. �What has Kaehlin been doing now?� she wondered with an overly casual air about her. Stepping carefully over the glass, Am�naelihn looked to the bundle on the counter and gave a small sigh of relief. The child was there, exactly as she had left him curled up in blankets, sleeping peacefully.

She stepped towards the counter and carefully brushed aside the blankets that held her second son, emanating a gentleness that would seem strange from such a bruised and beaten figure. She could not, and she would not, harm her second child, Rhaul. He would be different. Stroking just a single finger along the sleeping baby�s smooth arm, Am�naelihn gave a smile of serene satisfaction; the smile faded as if someone had ripped it from the face. The arm. Smooth.

Am�naelihn literally tore the blankets from the bundled child, her eyes falling on its ice white hair, and the arm; no longer covered in the hair of the rakshasa that was cursed upon it by her old mage friend, nor was it tipped with the razor claws of the creature who�s blood she knew to flow within her son. She screamed out and her pained cry, muffled by her sore throat into a whimpered bawl, awoke the child in a moment, its wails joining hers.

�You are not Rhaul!�

She called for Kaehlin. She called for Koell. She called for help.

* * *

Deadman�s Rock was given its name because it was the number one point in the entire town for suicides. On more than one occasion, a grieved soul be it human, elf, dwarf or otherwise, had used the small rock overhanging the violent torrents of the deep sea as their plank to walk, as an escape route from a life that was no longer worth living. The thing about Deadman�s Rock was that the fall alone could kill a man, taking from him the life even before his abandoned body collided with the rocks below and the waves tore the mangled skin and bones apart for the parasites and scavengers that found such a place ideal for survival. A twist of irony, of a sort.

Of all those who had taken the headlong plunge from the Rock, none had visited that were quite like the current visitor. None had bore both the celestial birthright of a pair of feathered wings adorning their backs, coupled with the demonic marking that was a small pair of horns atop their head. Koell was no normal visitor though; Koell was half-celestial and half-demon, a pairing made neither in the heavens or in the layers of hell. Koell was an outcast to both extremes.

He had chosen Deadman�s Rock this night for a number of reasons, most of all its lack of visitors. The area was not devoid of its lost souls, but they were not in an abundance either, and the chances of the retreat receiving a second visitor on this rain-strewn night was unlikely. Part of Koell even urged him to bow to the legacy of the Rock, and to step from it. Did he have anything to live for now? The only person in the world for whom he had cared had rejected him, just like the rest of the world. Koell was alone.

�No,� he told himself aloud, �she is mine. Why should I give her up so easily now. She belongs to me and me alone. And that is how one day it will be.�

So wrapped up in his own thoughts was Koell that he had not realized the approaching figure, wrapped against the rain, and potential attack also, in a full set of darang armor, black and silver in color and including a helmet that covered all but the stern, though handsome, face behind it. Blue eyes blinked out through the rain. The guard carried a longsword invested to him by the council for law, and a shield was on his back as a precautionary measure. It paid to be prepared in the business of town guards.

The guard bravely approached the figure sat on the very tip of Deadman�s Rock. He paused though at a safe distance, wanting to bring no harm to either himself or the strange man sat in the precarious position.

�Sir�?�

The guard called across to Koell, but he got no response. Perhaps the torrential rain had drowned out the sound, so he raised his voice a little.

�Sir, excuse me?!�

This time the calling garnered a response as the winged figure raised a hand, signaling, at least, acknowledgement. The guard took this as a friendly sign, with a certain amount of hope, and moved closer to Koell, choosing to stop at the beginning of the Rock itself.

�Is all well for you this eve, Sir?�

�I�m not going to jump, if that�s the question you imply.�

The guard nodded slowly and gave a smile, despite knowing that the winged man could not see it for he had still refused to look over at him. However, that had not been his reason for being here at Deadman�s Rock.

�I am glad of that, Sir � how- .. however, I have to take you in for questioning in front of the Council sir� in relation to the murder of a Miss Belet-�

Koell realized the guard had stopped midsentence as he had stood up, and that in itself amused him just slightly. Perhaps he was marveling at Koell�s large figure as he was drawn up to his full height, his wings purposely spread out on display behind him, droplets of water falling from every individual feather. Koell knew exactly what the guard was talking about.

�Ah yes, the elven whore.�

Apparently a statement so crude and so blunt took the guard off-guard; and left him wondering if that was enough to constitute a confession. He shifted the longsword from one hand to another, rubbing the back of his neck with the now free hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as the strangely soft voice of the large figure retorted.

�Please tell her family I am sorry. Apologize to them from me, offer my condolences to her parents and siblings.�

And with that said, Koell folded his legs beneath him and returned to a seated position on the edge of the Rock. The guard blinked and then rubbed his brow; this was more difficult than he had expected. That was as good as any confession, he had no choice by law now, he had to take this character in for official questioning. Moving forwards with his sword ready, the guard explained the situation to Koell as the rain pattered off both of their shivering forms.

�I�m going to have to take you in, Sir, the procedures will not take any longer than a few hours if you are found innocent, but the decis-�

He placed his hand on Koell�s shoulder. He regretted it in a split second as the huge figure moved like lightning, gripping his armored arm in both of his and using it as leverage on tossing him over his shoulder. The move was almost casual to Koell, his thick fingers holding tight and then releasing. Before the guard knew what had happened, he had taken the plunge over Deadman�s Rock where many before him lay, his heavy armor and shield carrying him down at twice the usual velocity, his sentence lost forever with him. Koell, however, returned to his otherwise undisturbed ponderings, during which he was not in the mood for interruptions.

* * *

Only a person of impaired hearing would have been unable to hear Am�naelihn�s cries of terror when she discovered that her second-born son, Rhaul, had been replaced with a duplicate that did not even look like the original. As such, Kaehlin had come storming into the room in which she stood, a single hand-axe clutched tight in one gray-skinned fist and raised ready for striking. There was even a hint of disappointment in the huge tiefling�s crimson eyes when he found nothing worthy of striking dead. Tears were already falling down Am�naelihn�s bloodied cheeks but she paid them no heed, looking frantically from left to right in a lost state. She didn�t know what to do; she didn�t know where to start.

Upon seeing Kaehlin she instantly leapt at him, completely ignoring all the broken glass that ripped up the bottom of her feet as she trod down. She fell into his arms, the hand-axe resting on her back as he gathered her up, and before he could even grunt a question the explanation fell from her lips like scattered seeds.

�Kaehlin! Kaehlin! Where�s Rhaul, Kaehlin? Rhaul�s gone he�s not here! Find him Kaehlin, Kaehlin find Rhaul! Find Rhaul for fuck�s sake why are you fucking standing there, Kaehlin, find my baby, our baby!�

Kaehlin blinked, growling in the pit of his throat as his eyes surveyed the room. He saw the baby bundled in the blankets, squirming and wailing now and he narrowed his eyes and looked down at the panicking elf in his arms with a patronizing look.

�The fucking baby.. is in � the fucking blankets��

Am�naelihn scowled, curling a lip at him and lightly smacking his bare chest, tears still in her eyes, her moments-ago pale cheeks now turned rosy red.

�No no, no, that�s a fake, Kaehlin, fucking hell they stole the baby.. fuck�s sake� oh Goddess what are we going to do?!�

She had practically melted into his arms by now, the fatigue and exhaustion of her injuries taking over as well as the overwhelming horror that was assaulting her mind. He could feel every emotion open to him through their psychic link, as though they were not obvious enough. She was frightened, horrified, sickened for the child�s safety and welfare, she cared about Rhaul so much. He could feel her breaking down; and then her raking mind found hope.

�You can find them, Kaehlin! Kaehlin, you can follow their scent, lead me to them! Let�s go get Rhaul back.. Kaehlin? Kaehlin?��

He snorted at her and pushed her off, shaking his horned head and turning, moving away in the direction he came without bothering saying a word. Am�naelihn sank to the floor, sitting in a heap staring after him.

�Kaehlin?�

She heard him going back down the stairs to his armory, and it dawned on her. He wasn�t going to help her, he wasn�t going to go after Rhaul, he was going to abandon the child to its horrific fate, whatever that might be. There was a moment of silence. Am�naelihn was helpless, lost, alone, and on the floor amongst broken glass, she wept in a way she had not wept in a long time.