Allie pushed open the door of Glenwood Manor Apartments and walked into the lobby. She closed her sopping wet umbrella, shoved it into her purse, and approached the doorman at his desk. He glanced up from reading a book. "Hey, Allison. It's after midnight. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Rose," Allie replied. She felt guilty about their conversation over the phone. Rose hadn't given her a chance to explain herself, and she wanted to patch things up before Rose stopped talking to her for good.

"You know the way, but I think she ran out earlier." The doorman smiled as he handed the brunette a keycard for the elevator. Allie rushed toward the elevators, and as she went to swipe the card on the penthouse elevator, she noticed that the doorman had slipped a business card into her hand as well. It was for the craft store, but in pen was a note: 'If you want the truth, go to the basement after 11:30 p.m.' She stuffed the note in her pocket and continued to the apartment.

She was shocked to find their apartment door unlocked. Cracking the door open, she realized it was empty. A note on the counter simply read, 'Going to pick up my new puppy, see you later -Cat'. Allie stared at the paper in disbelief. Rose and Cat were getting another puppy? She found it odd that Rose had never mentioned it. Her fears were slowly coming true. Cat was brainwashing Rose.

Allie thought of all the instances recently where Rose had tried to blow her off, saying she had plans with Cat. Allie had always considered Rose to be one of her best friends, but Rose hardly ever called her anymore. She never visited her house, or invited her for drinks and a movie like they used to do on the weekends.

Her friendship with Rory had also taken a plunge lately; Rory hadn't spoken to her in a few weeks. Allie knew the common denominator in the rift between her and the other girls had to be Cat. She wanted Rose and Rory on her side. Allie couldn't let that happen.

Allie froze as she neared the door to the bedroom. She'd never had the chance to look into Cat's bedroom without Rose in the house before. Rose had gone in to drop a few things off before, but Allie hadn't gotten a good look. Who knew what she would find inside? On the other hand, Rose would only have a real reason to hate her if Cat caught her.

Deciding it was worth the risk, Allie pushed the door open and was hit by a coppery smell that she couldn't quite place. She looked around the room. Cat's bed was neatly made, and she couldn't see a single speck of dust anywhere. Allie leaned down and looked under the bed. She didn't know whether to be upset or relieved to find nothing underneath.

She opened the closet door and flipped the light on, but yet again, it was suspiciously clean. Designer dresses and blouses were hung neatly on hangers, while at the opposite end, several men's suits hung perfectly pressed.

Allie checked every pocket and came up empty, except for a lighter in one of the suit pockets. She was about to give up when she spotted a small box at the top of the closet. She carefully grabbed the box, but a strong electrical charge hit her. Then, everything went black...

She forced her eyes open, unsure how long she had been unconscious. Her ears started ringing slightly and she could have sworn she heard a voice telling her to leave. She heard the front door open and hushed voices as footsteps neared the room.

Bang!

Something hit the wall in front of Cat's room. Allie flipped the closet light off and shut the door almost entirely, leaving only a small crack to peek through. The door to the bedroom opened, and Allie saw Cat and Bane making out as they backed into the room.

"We should get back to the hotel," Bane whispered, but was quickly silenced by Cat kissing him passionately. He pulled away to take a breath. "The council is waiting for us, my love."

"Then I guess we'd better be quick," Cat insisted, jumping up and wrapping herself around the tall, dark-haired man. "I love you so much."

"I love you more." Bane smiled and kissed Cat softly on the lips. Allie was surprised; he seemed so loving. Somewhere under the lust in his eyes, she could see a hint of true compassion.

Bane threw Cat down on the bed and tossed his jacket on the floor. Allie's eyes widened as the scene unfolded in front of her. She looked for an escape, but couldn't see a way to get out now without alerting the demons to her presence. She had no choice but to wait and hope they would just bang and leave.

Allie sat by the door and listened, waiting to hear them leave. Her stomach churned at the thought of what was happening on the other side of the door. She cringed at the moans, giggles, and screams, wishing it would end soon. She did her best to block it all out.

After what felt like half an eternity, the room fell silent. Allie peeked out from behind the door and noticed the couple had vanished. The only evidence that they had been there was the trashed bed and...a single black feather laying on the floor. Allie shoved the feather into her purse. It was too valuable of a clue to leave behind. She rushed out of the room and into Rose's.

A leather-bound journal sat on Rose's desk. Allie opened it and flipped through the pages; they contained detailed accounts of weird dreams and Rose's days since she started pulling away. Allie crammed the journal into her bag and vowed to return it later.

Allie glanced at her watch and realized she had been in the apartment for three hours. She needed to leave. She left the apartment quickly, praying she wouldn't get caught. Hopefully, Rose would forgive her when Allie freed her from Cat's evil grasp.

* * *

Cat stared up at the ceiling in her bedroom, trying to come up with a solution to the Paxton problem. She held a stuffed bear in her arms and absently fiddled with its one remaining eye. The bear was practically falling apart, but Cat didn't care; it was one of her prized possessions.

In her opinion, Paxton was the worst pick to guard Komazzi, but she wondered if that was the point. Bane needed Komazzi to step up before his relationship with Matt clouded his judgment to the point of being useless in the fight against Michael. Cat just worried that Komazzi wasn't capable of what Bane was demanding. He was just a vampire, hardly a match for an angel.

Komazzi's job was research because he was so much more logical than most of the demons they worked with. He'd invented several tide-changing weapons and protection devices, but since Matt entered the vampire's life, discoveries had been few and far between. To Cat's other half, that was unacceptable.

Cat really didn't feel leaving Komazzi to fend for himself was the best plan, but Bane didn't want to hear it. He insisted Komazzi needed a reality check.

A strange noise in the living room snapped Cat out of her thoughts. She had nearly missed it, except Cerberus' hackles were raised as the border collie stared intently at the door. Cat quietly rose from her bed and walked to the door. As she opened it, her seemingly innocent dog crept forward as though stalking prey, teeth bared as he entered the living room.

Cat saw a flash of light and Cerberus darted into action, pulling the phantom from thin air. His bright white teeth glimmered in the lamplight filling the room as he growled at the figure pinned beneath him.

The transparent figure looked terrified of the angry dog holding it down. The ghost appeared to be an old man, but as Cat drew closer, recognition hit her. This wasn't just any spirit...it was Henry Kaliwse. "Cerberus, Break," Cat said quietly, motioning for the dog to move. He immediately backed away, staring at the ghost laying on the ground, ready to engage at a moment's notice.

"Demon!" Henry screeched, scrabbling across the ground. Cat cocked her head to the side as she took another step toward him. "Leave me be!"

"Henry, I would never hurt you," Cat whispered, sitting on the ground beside the terrified soul. She reached out, and Henry flinched away, but she just gently brushed his face. He froze in surprise, realizing that she could feel him as though he were alive. "It's been so long. I tried to keep you safe. I'm so sorry."

"What?" Henry questioned, pulling away from the blonde demon. "You killed my whole family! Why should I believe anything you say, you monster?!"

"A Nephilim always repays their debts," Cat whispered, watching the old man's expression change from panic to anger.

"You're after Rosalia! You can't have her soul!" Henry screamed, causing things in the apartment to shake. He leaped toward Cat, swinging, flailing his fists at her, and while he could feel them making contact, they didn't faze the woman on the floor.

"I'm so sorry I failed you, but I won't fail Rose," Cat continued, ignoring the angry spirit. "You just don't understand." Cat grabbed the ghost's arm. Suddenly, they were both pulled to another time and place.

Cat was trapped in a cage suspended from the ceiling with steel hooks. Approaching the bars caused her immense pain, touching them burned her skin. Flashes of a time long gone swirled into focus, but Cat remained trapped in the cage. She made eye contact with the old man watching from the far corner of the room. As time sped up, many scenes flashed before the ghost. He watched as Cat grew thinner and thinner.

Occasionally, a man he recognized as his father would come in and yell at Cat about needing more money, more power, and more influence over the townsfolk. He would shock her through the bars with a weapon Henry vaguely remembered seeing as a child. His father claimed it was a gift from above. She pleaded with him, saying she needed food to do anything as she grew too weak for her powers to function.

Giovanni eventually tossed some leftovers into her cage, but she refused to touch them, insisting she needed something fresh. That only resulted in her getting shocked with the lightning rod once again.

From the top of the stairs, Henry saw himself at only nine years old. Memories came flooding back. He remembered peeking in and seeing his father torturing the girl in the cage. At the time, he had no idea who she really was. Henry had watched him weeks before finally going into the basement to investigate. As the nine-year-old neared the cage, Cat's eyes lit up. She was nothing but skin and bones; her voice cracked as she spoke the simple phrase, "Help me, need blood."

She looked helpless lying on the floor of the cell. Henry had run from the room out of fear the first time, but one day he caught Jack heading to the basement. He crept behind him, careful to not be seen. What he saw next made him determined to help the trapped girl. His brother released her from the cell; Cat was limp with hunger and exhaustion. He confined her in the shackles on the basement floor and proceeded to tear her clothes off and rape the nearly unconscious girl.

The next day, Henry's father took him on a hunting trip and left him to gut the deer while he searched for more game. Henry stashed the organs by a nearby bush. After dinner, his father left with Jack for a town hall meeting, so Henry snuck back into the woods to collect the organs in an old bag. The girl wanted blood, and while he didn't know why, it made him sick to think of what his father and brother had been doing to her. Henry felt he had to do something.

When Henry arrived in the basement, the girl's eyes immediately locked onto the bag that was now dripping blood. Her lips were chapped, her cheekbones prominent on her pale face. Henry lifted the bag as high as he could, but he was still several feet below the cage. Blood dripped on him. He lowered the bag to the floor and was shocked as it floated upward, out of his hands. The girl in the cage was covered in black lines; her green eyes glowed a gold color.

Before Henry could react, the girl dug into the bloody mess before her. He watched in horror as she feasted on the organs, biting and tearing them apart. Immediately, he could see her features returning to normal. The next morning, his father was shocked to find a much healthier demon trapped in his prison.

After that day, it became a part of Henry's routine to deliver dead animals to her. Mostly it was whistle pigs and rats he managed to kill with his pistol, but over time, he forged a bond with the caged girl. He didn't have many friends, so it was nice having someone to talk to. At first, she didn't talk back, she just feasted on the meal of the day; but eventually, they started to have short conversations, and she thanked him for saving her.

Henry's father couldn't figure out how Cat continued to grow stronger until the day he caught Henry in the basement with her. As punishment, he suffered fifty lashes with a willow switch. The last night Henry came to see her, he apologized for not helping her more and gave her his stuffed bear. He said it would help her stay safe. Cat simply told him he had helped enough, and 'Sarnic' would save her soon enough.

The next afternoon, all hell broke loose. Henry watched as two men freed Cat and stood by as she killed Henry's family. A man hunting nearby ran into town to report the fire that had broken out. After hiding under the staircase, Henry used the thick smoke to escape.

When they returned to reality, tears glistened in Cat's eyes. "You saved me," she cried, and wrapped her arms around the old soul.