Perna stood by her car; similar cars lined both sides of the LA Street for about a half a mile. People were with their groups by their cars, but she was by herself. Hector walked up and she smiled.

"Hi Hector." She said, her voice accented with a light Brogue.

"Hey Perna. You racing tonight?"

"No not tonight." She said.

"Aw, too bad. Specially cuz Dom's coming back tonight."

"Yes I heard that." Perna said as Edwin strutted up.

"Yo Perna." He said smirking. "You cuttin loose tonight?"

"Nah. In fact I'll most likely be leaving shortly after 'The King' arrives." She said, as she adjusted her black pleather pants further up on her hips and smoothed down her forest green halter-top, a dark blue Celtic peace knot tattooed on her left arm.

"But you're racing next time right?" Hector asked.

"I don't see why not." Perna said smiling and looking back forth between the two men.

"Sweet, I think we'd all like to see how you stand up against Dom in a race." Hector said and there was a roar of engines making them look over to see five cars in V formation enter the street.

"Shit here they are." Edwin said with a cocky smile, the cars stopped and the lead car's (a red Mazda RX-7 with a silver flame design coming up from the grill) door opened and a man stepped out, causing the surrounding crowd to cheer, this had to be Dom.

"Okay, show of hands." He said loudly. "Who missed me?" he said grinning with his arms out and the crowd roared again. Perna snorted and shook her head.

"Come on Perna, lets go meet the King." Hector said and grabbed her hand lightly. He started to lead her into and through the crowd, stopping in front of Dom.

"Hector! Great to see you again man!" he said and they shared a brotherly hug.

"Great to see you too Dom. By the way Dom this is..." he looked next to him to introduce him to Perna but she wasn't there, he looked behind him and all around but he didn't see her. "Yo Edwin!" he said. "Where's Perna?"

"I don't know man, she was right there with you a second ago." Edwin said and there was a squeal of tires heard over the crowd. They looked in time to see a dark blue Mazda RX-8 drive away fast.

"Hector, what's a Perna?" Dom asked.

"Perna's her name and she's a racer." Mia chimed in and they looked at her. "Quite a good one actually. Might give you a run for your money Dom." She said smiling.

"What's her deal?" Leon asked.

"She moved here from Ireland a couple months after you guys left." Hector said. "She won the first race she did, and she's been wining them ever since."

"And her car?" Dom asked.

"Mazda RX-8, 800 horsepower. No NOS, doesn't need it. There's running joke that she uses her Irish magic to win. Okay now on to business."

"Okay. Three-G buy in; winner takes all. Hector you hold the money as always." Dom said and a couple racers handed rolls of money to Hector. "Alright lets enjoy this thing."

Perna was sitting in her bedroom of her apartment, look out into the night, singing an old tune under her breath. The words were strange and alien sounding. Gaelic, it was old, dating back to when Celtic clans roamed the hills and valleys of her beloved home.

"Words have power Perna, remember that." Her dear grandmother (may she rest in peace) had told her after teaching her the song when she had been just a girl.

She finished her song and looked over at the ancient weapon lying on her dark comforter on her bead, she clucked her tongue in disdain and looked back out the window. She hated that she had to carry the blasted thing around everywhere she went, whenever she went out. And no matter what she had to have it on, with it covered in cloaking magicks so no one would see it and wonder.

She ran to this godforsaken forest of concrete and steel to lose the bounty hunters on her tail, well its better than NYC. She went there and nearly died from the magickal blockage. But the City of Lost Angels was nice sometimes, especially when she was street racing. Going over 140 mph felt wonderful, it made her feel light inside. The only other thing that made her feel that way was forbidden to her unless she wanted the hunters to pick up her scent. She used as minimal magick as possible, only using one kind all the time, and that was low-key. Glamour to hide her true image, making her look like she had long red hair in tight ringlets, it made her eyes appear green and made freckles dot her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. It made her look like a stereotypical Irish girl.

The only authentic part about her was the accent, that and the height, a little over six feet. Perna made herself seem willowy and waif-ish, instead of her true lithe frame with hard muscles formed by years of combat and running. She hated running; she'd rather fight and go down fighting if that was the path that was chosen for her. One of the best warriors of her people and she had been reduced to running, her parents (if they had been still alive) would have been ashamed.

Hector walked down the hall of Perna's apartment building and stopped at her door, he raised a fist and knocked. The door opened after a moment, framing Perna.

"Hi Hector. What's up?" she asked.

"Why'd you leave before you were introduced to Dom?"

"I told you I was going to leave after he showed up, and I did."

"Okay, anyway, Dom always has a party after the race. Wanna come?" he asked and she perked a red eyebrow at him.

"Hector you know I don't 'do' parties."

"Just this one." He requested and she thought for a little while.

"Okay, I just have to get something first." She said and stepped back into the apartment.

"I doubt you'll get laid tonight!" he said after her.

"That's not what I was talking about!" she said from somewhere in the apartment.

Perna grabbed the quiver of arrows and slung in on her back, slipping the bow in a soft leather pouch attached to it. Saying a few words in Gaelic, the objects wavered then disappeared, but she could still feel them against her back, the strap for the quiver across her chest. But if someone touched her back they wouldn't feel them, just her back and her shirt was not dented in the front by the tight strap. She grabbed the keys to her car and walked back to the door, seeing Hector leaning in the doorway.

"You could have come in and sat on the couch or something."

"Nah, I knew you'd be only a minute or so." He said and she stepped out of the apartment, locking the door behind her. They walked down to the parking garage. "Follow me in your car to the Toretto's house." He said and she nodded, getting into her car, starting it up. She followed Hector's car out of the parking garage and onto the street.

They parked across the street from a house with loud music emanating from the window. They got out of their cars and walked up the street and up the front steps. Hector opened the door as if it were his own place and a spike of pain lanced through Perna's head from the loud music and the feeling of so many tainted auras in such a confined space. She rubbed between her eyes and grimaced at the smell of alcohol; suddenly thinking that maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"You okay Perna? You look a little off." Hector asked looking at her with concern.

"This is why I don't like parties." She said scowling.

"Hector!" Someone yelled and she winced at the loud sound. The man she recognized as Dom came over with a smile on his face, and she forced herself to stop scowling. "This Perna?" he asked gesturing to her and Hector nodded.

"This is Perna." Hector said and she forced herself to smile, taking the hand he offered her.

"Nice to meet you Perna." He said.

"Nice to meet you Dom." She said and his smile widened.

"I like your accent, it's very pretty. And your tattoo is very intricate."

"Thank you." She said as they released hands.

"Perna!" she heard and looked to see Mia coming over to her.

"Hello Mia." She said as they hugged.

"I'm kinda surprised that you came, you hate parties." She said as she withdrew.

"I don't hate them, I just don't like them." She said and Mia shrugged.

"Come on lets go get you something to drink." Mia said taking her hand lightly and starting to drag her away.

"Nice to meet you Dom." Perna managed to get out before she was yanked away.

Perna and Mia were in the kitchen, Mia sipping from a Snapple and Perna sipping from a water bottle. All of a sudden flags went up in Perna's mind and her warrior instincts kicked in. She looked around and out the window, but saw nothing but night's darkness.

"What is it Perna?" Mia asked standing next to her and looking out the window also.

"Nothing, and that's the problem."

"How is that a problem?"

"Forget it Mia, its not important." She said and Mia shrugged again.

"Okay, it's forgotten." Mia said as a man who was clearly drunk staggered into the kitchen. He had many tattoos and a beard, a thick scar that was still fading curling around one arm.

"Hello cutie." He said staggering over to Perna with a cocky smile on his face.

"Go away Vince, you're drunk." Mia said but he ignored her.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"None of your damn business." Perna said crinkling her nose at the smell of alcohol on his breath.

"Now come on don't be like that, I only wanted to know your name." Vince said walking closer, but she moved farther away from him, and the smell. The glass of the window shattered as a rock was thrown through from the outside and Mia gave out a small yell of surprise. Perna stepped around Vince and picked up the stone, seeing a small image carved into it.

"Shit." She said throwing it out of the small hole in the window. Dom came into the kitchen, concern written on his features.

"I thought I heard someone scream." He said.

"That was me, sorry. Someone outside threw a stone through the window and surprised me that's all. Isn't that right Perna?" Mia said looking to where Perna had been standing but she was gone. "Perna? Where'd she go?"

"I didn't see her leave." Dom said looking around.

Perna was on the roof of the house standing balanced on the uppermost peak; all glamours and cloaking stripped away. Her long thick brown mane of hair was pulled back by silver fastenings and her metallic silver slitted eyes darted back and forth, looking for the bounty hunters that found her, her pointed ears clearly showing. Her clothes had changed too; she was now wearing a black leather woman's jerkin with silver fastenings and a black leather pleated skirt that hit her knees with black leather warrior's heel-less boots coming halfway up her calf. She was Warrior Fey, the last member of the strongest clan.

Her bow was drawn and strung; an arrow already notched, but relaxed. The arrows and bow were old and inlaid with generations of war magick, short of destruction they always seemed to find their way back to their owner. The arrows were long and thin but strong, the shaft black and so were the feathers on the end, the arrow head was sharply pointed and strong, able to penetrate bone. The bow was also black with silver pounded into it in Celtic designs, the string made of animal sinew and wrapped in magick so it would never fray or break.

Perna scanned the street, looking for them, but not seeing them. She ran soundlessly to the back and looked into the backyard, but didn't see anything.

"Where are you? Show your faces you cowards." She whispered and heard glass shatter again, by the front this time. She ran back to the front and looked down see them, three bounty hunters, also fey, but they didn't try to hide their appearances, they didn't need to. Being Bounty Hunter Fey, they looked exactly like humans. She heard the front door open and watched as Dom and several other came out of the house and approached them.

"Can we help you?" he asked with fury dripping from his voice.

"You're hiding something that is ours, we want it." The lead Fey, Connor said.

"No we aren't. I'm going to tell you this once, leave now." He said and the bounty hunters laughed.

"Not until we have her." Connor said and Perna raised the bow aiming, pulling the string back and letting go. The arrow left soundlessly and buried itself into one of the bounty hunter's chest.

"Holy fuck!" someone yelled and she pulled another arrow out of the quiver, notching it. Connor looked up seeing her and smiled, he didn't try to stop the arrow that killed the other bounty hunter, leaving only him. He turned and ran and she sighted up the arrow as he ran, he can't be allowed to live, he'd bring more to this location if he got away and then innocent humans will die.

Perna led the target a little before letting an arrow loose, it flew through the night air and he was pushed forward as it struck his back. He fell to the ground, dying quickly. The bodies sunk into the Earth, leaving the arrows behind. She waved her hand and they left the ground, coming back to her. She put them back into the quiver after cleaning the blood off of them. Her mind and senses overrun by the thrill of battle, she didn't feel or hear the person walk up behind her. Something heavy struck the back of her head and she fell to the roof. She rolled onto her back seeing Vince standing over her holding a baseball bat. She felt herself falling but he grabbed her and pulled her up. Darkness swept over her senses.

Vince threw the creature over his shoulder after taking the quiver of arrows off it and holding it and the bow in one hand. Seeing one of those people dying with an arrow sticking out their chest had sobered him up. He climbed down the ladder and walked up the steps and into the kitchen using the back door.

"Yo Dominic!" he said and Dom came running into the kitchen. "Found something."

"That would be a someone Vince."

"No it wouldn't." Vince said and walked past him into the dining room. Everybody had left a little while ago once the cost was clear. "Clear off the table." He said and Leon took everything off it. He lowered the thing onto the table and laid it down. "It was up on the roof, putting away the arrows that killed those guys."

"You missed it Vince, those guys, I don't think that they were human. We have nothing on the front lawn, the bodies disappeared into the ground." Letty said.

"Its still a killer." Vince said, Leon got real close to it, examining it, seeing the pointed ears.

"What is it?" he asked and squeezed the tip of one of the ears, checking to see if was fake or not. The creature winced and they backed up. "Ears are real."

"Look at the way its dressed, it looks like a soldier or a warrior." Dom said. "And that tattoo, I swear I've seen it before." He said indicating to the dark blue Celtic tattoo on its left arm.

"Guys, this thing whatever it is, is female." Mia said.

"How can you tell?" Vince asked.

"Well look at the chest, its got breasts, the facial features are delicate and feminine, and the hips are slender. This thing is definitely female." She said.

"Okay, the guys or whatever they were out there said that we were hiding something of theirs, and that they wouldn't leave until they got her. And then one of them died with an arrow sticking out of his chest. She could be what they were looking for." Dom said.

"You mean one of these arrows?" Vince asked and handed one to him. "I found a quiver strapped to her back and she was holding a bow. This bow." He placed the bow next to the creature on the table.

Perna gained consciousness when Leon had pinched her ear but didn't open her eyes, knowing that the team was standing over her.

"I found a quiver strapped to her back and she was holding a bow. This bow." She heard Vince say and heard the sound of wood on wood as her bow was set down next to her, she could feel its magick lapping against the skin of her arm like waves of an ocean. It missed her.

"Okay, but we still don't know what it is, female or not." She heard a woman whose voice she didn't recognize say.

"Good point Letty, lets find something to tie her up with before she wakes up. The first things we have to ask her when she does is what she is and what she was doing up there." Dom said.

"And what her name is, that could be helpful in the whole interrogation process." Mia said and she felt herself being picked up in strong arms. Dom's she concluded, she remembered his scent from when they had shaken hands and it had piqued her interest. She'll allow them to tie her up; thinking that she's still out, but she'll let it go only so far. She's sat down in a ladder backed chair and her hands are brought behind her back, her wrists tied together with a rag strung through one of the rungs, her ankles tied together the same way. Tight but not too tight, she still had circulation but she didn't have any slack.

Perna faked waking up by snapping her eyes open and trashing against the bonds. They jumped away and she yelled at them in Gaelic, she didn't swear at them, she basically said 'Hi! How ya doin?' with a fierce tone and with a deadly glare.

"What she say?" Leon asked.

"Do I look like I can speak...what ever language she just spoke?" Dom asked. He approached her and she looked at him with furious cautious eyes. "Can you speak English?" he asked but she didn't give him an answer, let them figure it out on their own. "I'll take that as a no. Do you understand me?" she nodded slowly. "Okay, it's a start. Since you can't speak English, but you understand it, We're gonna ask you a few questions. Shake your head for no, and nod for yes. Understood?" she nodded. "Okay. You're not human are you?" she shook her head. "Didn't think so."

"Those guys that you killed. Were they human?" Letty asked and Perna shook her head. "Were they after you?" she nodded. Mia approached but Dom put an arm out.

"Don't want to get too close." He said.

"If I untie you. Will you hurt us?" Mia asked and she shook her head. Mia walked around Dom's arm and to the back, starting untie the knot in the rag.

"Mia, what the hell are you doing?" Dom asked.

"She said that she wouldn't hurt us."

"She didn't say shit Mia-girl, she just shook her head." Leon said and she glared at him from over her shoulder.

"She can't speak English Leon, so she can't say anything at all." Mia said undoing the knot and moving to the front. "Don't try to kick me now." She said and Perna smiled at her. Mia undid the knot, straightened and took a step or two back. Perna stood from the chair and clenched and unclenched her hands, and stretched with her arms above her head and her back bowed forward. She relaxed with a smile on her face and went to the table, strapping her quiver back onto her back.

She picked up her bow and ran a hand down the wood, as if comforting it. Perna closed her eyes and her smiled widened. She unstrung it and slipping it into the leather pouch, winding up the string and hooking it to her belt. She turned and saw them all watching her. Her smile became gentle and she walked forward stopping when she was in front of them. She nodded at them and went to the front door, leaving. Vince moved to go after her but Dom put his arm out stopping him.

"Just let her go V, just let her go and be thankful that you're still alive for the knock to the back of her head you gave her." Dom said.

"Damn why'd she have to hit me so hard?" they heard and went into the kitchen seeing the Perna they knew stumble into the open back door, a hand to her head. "I know she wants to protect me and all, but damn that hurt!" Dom went to her side.

"You okay?" he asked and she looked at him.

"Yeah I'm fine, bleeding but fine." She said taking her hand away from her head letting them see the small cut on her forehead. "She hits really hard."

"Who?" Dom asked.

"Warrior."

"The freaky looking chick with the pointed ears that just left?" Letty asked and she looked at her.

"You guys met her?"

"Vince kinda knocked her out and brought her in." Dom said and Perna looked at Vince in surprise.

"You knocked her out?" she asked and Vince nodded. "Wow, I'm surprised you're not dead."

"She would have killed me for it?"

"She's a warrior and you got the better of her, people who do that usually don't have a long life span." Perna said.

"Okay, since you seem to know her pretty well. Would you be willing to answer a few questions about her?" Mia asked.

"Okay. What do guys want to know?" she said.

"How about we take this into the living room?" Dom suggested and they walked into the living room, the team sat down on the couch and chairs, but Dom and Perna stayed standing. "Okay, what is she?"

"I don't know, she's never told me." Perna said.

"How did you two meet?" Mia asked.

"We grew up together. My family has been protecting hers for centuries. Well not really protecting them, more like keeping their existence a secret, and in return they protect my family in definition of the word. She's a couple years older than I am. When I was only nine or ten, my younger brother found a kelpie in our lake." Perna said.

"What's a kelpie?" Letty asked.

"A water demon, they take the form of horses to lure people onto their backs. With the person on their backs, they then dives straight down to the bottom to the lake or river and devour the person, leaving the entrails to float to the surface. Warrior saw the kelpie dive with my brother on its back and dove into the water, swimming down. We all saw this and waited on the edge for her to come back, then the body of the kelpie floated to the surface and she breached a short time later holding my brother. He was still alive and she performed CPR, she saved his life. Believe me, there are more things between Heaven and Hell." Perna said.

"Can you understand her? She spoke a different language." Vince said and she nodded.

"Gaelic, very old language. I can speak it and understand it. Now if you don't mind, I need to get home and get some sleep, and a shower. Not in that order mind you." She said as she dug in her pockets finding her car keys.

"Why'd she hit you?" Letty asked.

"To protect me, she told me that bounty hunters had found her then knocked me out and most likely cloaked me in spells so I couldn't be seen. They wore off when the danger had passed." She said and walked to the front door, Dom following her. She stopped by the front door and opened it pausing before stepping out. "Nice party Dom, hopefully they aren't all like this." She said smiling and he chuckled.

"No, this ranks pretty high on my weird scale." Dom said and she continued to smile. "Her eyes."

"What about them?"

"They were the creepiest thing about her, the pointed ears I could deal with. But not metallic silver, and they were slitted like a cats." He said and she nodded.

"Yeah they definitely take some getting used to."

"She was very pretty though." Dom said and she smirked.

"I'll be sure to tell her that you think so. She's pretty to you because she's mysterious." Perna said and he looked into her eyes. She was only about an inch shorter than he was.

"She not prettier than you though." He said and she blushed making him smile. He leaned forward and touched his lips to her forehead in a short kiss making her gasp in surprise. He pulled back and tucked a piece of her long very curly red hair behind an ear. "Get some sleep Perna. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Will you now?" she asked.

"I'll make it happen." He said winking at her and she smiled, walking out the door. He leaned in the doorway for a little while, watching her get into her car and drive away. He closed the door and went back to the living area seeing the team watch him, smirks on their faces. "What?" he asked and they laughed.

"Nothing bro, nothing at all." Vince said.

Perna locked her apartment door behind her and stripped off the glamours, starting to undo the fastenings of the jerkin. Her torso bare underneath. With the jerkin hanging loosely from her hand she walked into the bedroom and tossed it on the bed, slipping out of the boots and skirt. She hung them up and padded naked to the shower, starting it up and stepping in.

Perna ran her fingers through her thick brown hair as the water started to weigh it down. She washed her hair and body and rinsed, turning off the shower and wrapping a towel around herself. She dried her hair with another towel as she walked back to her bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. She thought of the nights events and sighed, more tired than she realized. Without getting into any pajamas or anything she crawled into bed with her silver blade under her pillow and closed her eyes, going to sleep quickly.

Dom swept up the broken glass in the kitchen and vacuumed the little pieces up in the living room. He'd call a glass replacement company tomorrow; the team had gone to bed after they cleaned up after the wake of the party leaving Dom to deal with the broken windows. He saw a small stone sitting by the TV and picked it up, looking at it. A small Celtic symbol had been carved into the smooth surface and he ran the pad of his thumb over it before slipping it in his pocket. Getting a piece of plastic he covered up the small hole in the glass and did the same in the kitchen.

He sat on the couch in the living room, mentally going over what had happened tonight. It started out normal, he won a race and collected money, had a party. But things started to get weird when Perna showed up with Hector. Not a half an hour after she showed up those guys, whatever they were, showed up. Then Warrior was found, and she wasn't human. All the weird shit started happening after Perna showed up.

And what were those guys? Some kind of law enforcement? Bounty hunters? What did they have to do with Warrior? Had she done something wrong to get a price on her head? She seemed nice enough, she didn't kill them at least, and if Perna had been telling the truth, she saved her younger brother from a water demon. Water demons, inhuman women, people that when they die their bodies sunk into the ground. It was starting to sound like a fairy tale. Or a Grimms fairy tale.

Still thinking about it, Dom got ready for bed and when he crawled under the covers he made a connection. The tattoo that had been on Warrior's arm was the same that had been on Perna's. Oh well, they did grow up together after all.

Perna woke up the next morning to hear someone knocking on her door. Grumbling she got up getting a bathrobe on to cover her nakedness. She quickly glamoured herself and looked through the peephole in her door seeing Dom. She turned the lock back and opened the door just as the last lock of brown hair turned red and curled and the last freckle appeared.

"Good morning." Dom said and she smiled tiredly.

"If you say so. Wait a minute...how did you find out where I live?"

"Hector, you two seemed pretty tight so I asked him." he said.

"Ah, I'll have to have a talk with him about giving away information about me." Perna said.

"Can I come in?" he asked and she stepped aside, opening the door more.

"Sure, come on in." she said and stepped back allowing him to enter. Dom closed the door behind him and watched as she walked away and further into the apartment. "I'm just going to get dressed."

"You like fine just how you are." Dom said grinning and she looked over her shoulder as she walked.

"Funny." She said and walked into a room, closing the door behind her. Dom sat down on her dark green couch and waited for her to return.

Perna got dressed and went out into the living room after dragging a brush through her gnarled hair. Dom was sitting on the couch looking completely at home.

"How do you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Look relaxed no matter where you are."

"Practice, lots and lots of practice. Is Warrior around?" he asked and she quickly thought of something.

"No, she's out looking for a new pair of boots."

"She out in public, looking the way she does." Dom said carefully.

"She wears my clothes, keeps a pair of sunglasses on and keeps her hair down, and she looks like a normal person. Except for the way she walks, she tends to glide instead of walk."

"Glide?"

"Yes, it looks like her feet aren't even moving, as if she's just sort of floating. But then again certain type of dancers can do that, so I guess its not all that strange." Perna said. "Why did you want to know if she was around?"

"I wanted to ask her some more questions."

"Such as?"

"Like where she's from."

"Dom, she and I grew up together remember? Obviously she's from Ireland." She said looking down at her feet.

"Okay, now a question for you."

"Fire away."

"Why don't you have mirrors in your apartment?" he asked and she looked at him. Mirrors cannot lie, and since glamour is a lie her reflection is of her true form. She couldn't risk having someone over and seeing her reflection. Same thing with cameras and having her picture taken.

"I never found a use for them." She said quickly.

"Not even to know if you looked alright?"

"I know what I look like, and I know what I look like in all my clothes." She said shrugging.

"Fair enough. Now why don't you come over and sit next to me on this nice comfy couch?" Dom asked smiling and she couldn't stop the smile tugging at her own lips, he was after all very attractive, but far too human.

Look but don't touch. She thought as she walked over and sat next to him on the couch.

"When will she be back?" Dom asked.

"I don't know. She usually just comes back when she feels like it, but she never stays away more than a day, she's always back before night fall." Perna said.

"Good, that gives us some time then." He said looking at her.

"Time for what?" Perna asked looking back at him and he kissed her, lacing his fingers into her hair behind her head and pressing her mouth harder into his. He pulled away after a little bit.

"That." He said grinning and kissed her again. She pressed back against his lips, kissing him back. Perna wrapped her arms around his neck and he growled against her lips, parting them and exploring her mouth with his tongue as he pushed her back on the couch so she was laying down. For him it's only been a matter of weeks, but for her it's been a matter of years.

"They'll never accepted us Perna, we're different." Her grandfather (may he rest in peace) had said when he found out that she had been dating a human boy from town.

"Ewan said that no matter what I was, he'd still care about me."

"Did you tell him?"

"No of course it I didn't."

"Perna, humans will never accept us. No matter what they say. Find me a human man that will accept you whole-hearted and I will accept him into the family."

But Dom didn't accept her for what she truly was, and she couldn't risk taking away the glamours and letting him see that she and Warrior was the same woman. He might overreact and do something stupid, like tell someone. So that's why she took her arms from around his neck and pressed her hands against his chest pushing him back. He looked at her for a second in confusion and watched her as she stood.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked and she turned her back on him, hugging herself and suddenly missing his warmth.

"I can't do this Dom." She said and heard him stand, feeling his warmth on her back and his hands on her shoulders.

"If you're worried about protection, believe me I've got it covered. Or I will, if you let me." Dom said and she snorted.

"Like you could get me pregnant anyway."

"What do you mean? You sterile or something?"

"You could say that, yes." Perna said and the truth was her people and humans weren't chemically compatible. A male of her kind could not get a human female pregnant, just like a human male could not impregnate a female of her kind. "Dom could you please leave?"

"What?" Dom asked incredulously.

"You heard me. I want you to leave, now in fact." Perna said and Dom left. After the door closed and she heard his heavy footsteps go down the hall she sat back down on the couch. She could still feel his warmth on the cushions. She hated being alone, but it was only way to keep those she cared about safe. Hector, Edwin, Mia, and now Dom, if they really knew who and what she was, they would die and it would be on her hands. No she won't kill them, the Bounty Hunters would but it would be her fault. That's why she has to be alone, completely alone.

Dom got back to the house, his mind going over recent events. He kept remembering the tattoo, the Celtic tattoo on both Perna's and Warrior's arm, and she never kept mirrors in the apartment. It was strange that she didn't, Mia had at least three, and Letty had one or two. In fact every woman he had ever known had at least two mirrors. But not Perna, she didn't have any mirrors at all. As his mind went over her apartment, he also noticed that none of her things had a reflective surface, they were all dull. It was as if she didn't want to see her reflection, as if she didn't want anyone to see her reflection. Like she didn't have one.

What? That's insane. Of course she has a reflection, she's not a vampyre. But...what were her words? There are more things between Heaven and Hell. Dom thought as he got out of his car and walked up the steps. She's human.

Of course she is, you just keep telling yourself that.

Who are you?

I'm you Dom, just you. The voice of reason inside your head, we haven't spoken in a long time. How are you?

Can't complain. Now what do you want?

Just to talk, Perna's something special isn't she?

Sure is.

And so is Warrior. Don't you think?

Yeah.

Okay, enough of this. I'm not your voice of reason. I was put here.

By who?

The real question you should be asking is 'by what?' Perna, Dom. Perna put me in here. Or more specifically, Warrior.

Why?

Because Perna told her to. They aren't friends; Warrior is Perna's slave. She's just an attack dog, and Perna holds the leash. Now I want out of here, it's far too cluttered. You're going to help me get out.

What do I need to do?

Kill Perna, you kill her and I'll go away. But first you have to kill Warrior. Warrior will try to protect Perna, get rid of the protection and she'll be vulnerable.

I couldn't kill anyone.

You wanted to kill Kenny Linder for killing your father and you almost did too. And Johnny Tran, you wanted to kill him for killing Jesse. Kill Warrior and Perna and I'll be out of your nonexistent hair. You can do it tonight, while she's asleep and vulnerable. Warrior will be guarding her of course, but catch her by surprise and you can kill her. I'll even walk you through it. Step by step by step. Will you do it?

I'm going insane, I must be. I didn't come back from Mexico one hundred percent. It's the strain, that its. It was all the stress of Vince getting hurt, my fault. Of Letty getting hurt, my fault. I tore my family apart. They don't need me anymore. Mia doesn't need her older brother anymore; she can take care f herself now. Vince resents me; Leon and Letty hate me for not listening to them when they said that the job was a bad idea. But I didn't listen. I was stupid. They hate me; I should just kill myself and let them get on with their lives.

Don't think that Dom! Your family loves you. If you're going to kill anyone, kill Warrior and Perna. They are the ones that are making you feel like this. Perna isn't the innocent little girl she makes herself out to be. She's an evil, vindictive, plotting little whore. She's jealous of everything you have, while you were gone she tried to take over your family, she made friends with your sister and has been trying to get her to turn against you ever since you got back. Kill her and all your sorrows, all your pain will go away. Now will you do it?

Yes.