what lies beneath [danna]

[GALEN CROSS]

It wasn't as though Galen Cross had never been caught before.

Galen Cross was one of the more experienced and skilled Aurors working for the Ministry. He did what every Auror did - got rid of the bad guys. Only Galen was a bit of a specialist. He had a knack for blending in with crowds, and moving about unseen in places less occupied. He was a sure shot with a bow and arrow, something that had definitely set him apart from his fellow Aurors, who relied mostly on their wands to get things done. That wasn't to say that magic was a weakness of Galen's. Even an Unforgivable Curse or two wasn't beyond him, although the Ministry preferred to take as many dark wizards and witches alive as possible. When they couldn't, though, that was when they called on him.

Galen had been away for a bit more than half a year from his native Scotland, pursuing this next target. One Jesse Mercer, a very important mark from the DMLE. A tip had come in from some wizard in the UK about the man's crimes and his whereabouts. Galen had done some research himself, once he was given the assignment. Everything he had been told he found to be true. Jesse had killed too many of their order, perfectly good and noble men who had died for their cause. And not only were they honorable, but they were important. Not just a good wizard who had graduated with high marks and not a single detention, no. These men were high-up, influential, and the strategic moves Jesse made on them had the Ministry worried. He had to die, before he struck again. And Galen was the obvious man for the job.

Everything had gone exactly according to plan. Jesse would be meeting someone in an alley at eleven o'clock, Galen would be waiting, out of sight, and Jesse Mercer would die. It was just another job, an important one, but no procedural differences. Galen had killed in more conspicuous places in more challenging ways. And with Jaegar along with him, Galen had been positive that nothing would go wrong.

Waking up in a strange cellar had proven him incorrect.

Galen blinked groggily, his first thought that a dragon had stepped on his skull. The second was that the dim light was far too bright, and finally he realized that he was completely restrained. His eyes widened a bit as he glanced around, exhaling and visibly relaxing when he realized. He'd been caught, hadn't he. A few vague flashes of memory returned, confirming it. Jesse hadn't been working alone, a thought that didn't really surprise Galen, but it did send a twinge of concern through him. But, he'd been captured before, and he'd turned out okay. He was a quick thinker, and had managed to slither out of the hands of any captors before. Galen hadn't met his match yet.

[DANNA DEVILLE]

Love had been the Deville curse as far back as Danna could trace her family. None of them liked to admit it. They all portrayed themselves as heartless and incapable of emotion. But if you looked closely enough, you saw it for what it was. Her parents, Lucius and Victoria, allowed themselves to be destroyed by the other, remaining in the volatile situation, letting their reputations be dragged to hell, for each other. That wasn't even the first. Her grandfather, Andres, had left his homeland of France for America to follow his heart with Annabel Green. Before him, Hector had nearly dispensed of their vast fortune to woo his fickle lover.

Sometimes Danna believed it was a literal curse. She had fancied herself in love with Sivious and Zourok only for them to spur her. Paul had been her first true love, then Jesse...She wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. She didn't want to. It didn't matter now. They had never truly reconciled after their reunion. They hadn't even been together for all that long, just a little under a year. Not enough for anything to really happen, especially with how busy she had been. Not enough for her to figure out where she stood with him after a fourteen year absence.

He was dead now and what bothered her the most was how it felt. She had lost so much already, that it just felt cold and lonely and achy. Too many people were gone, too many allies lost, and another of her most loyal servants dead. The very thought of him being that way made her cringe. She didn't like to think about it at all. Analyzing her emotions and her thoughts about him and her life was something she strayed away from. She had to focus. The more she examined events of the past, the further back she would travel, until all she could do was drown in despair over everything that had ever gone terribly, horribly wrong. All of that pain she was never supposed to know, all of the close ties that should have never existed broken. Danna had an image to protect, one she clung to, wishing with all of her might she still saw herself that way. It was easy to think yourself invincible when you were young with only your ideals driving you forward. She was too old now not to see her own flaws, those chinks in her armor that were more clear to her than anyone else.

It wasn't healthy to deny herself contact with the outside world, but she hadn't left the basement since bringing the Auror here. He had come close to rousing many times the past few days, but she'd always needed more time, and in a panic shoved more sleeping solutions down his throat. He had to pay, yes, but she needed a plan. Going at this unprepared would only make her look foolish. She needed all of the information she could gather, a well formulated plan in mind.

It had been four days since Jesse died, and four days since she had left this room. She didn't allow anyone down here for long periods of time. Christian, Hailey, and Richard alternated between bringing her food and information. Dominic's ghost tried to keep her company, but after throwing a violent fit he agreed to instead help Malachi keep Sadie from leaving. Far away from the basement.

The last potion would be wearing off soon, and there was still much to set up. One last time she checked the shackles around his wrists and feet holding him bound to the wall, all too short to allow his arms or legs to rest on the ground with his body completely. He'd probably be sore upon waking. Good. Grabbing the folder Christian had left behind, she flipped through the various papers until she found the pictures. With spellotape she began to attach them to the wall, eyes darting to the nearby mirror that was trained on Auror Cross.

Most of the pictures were up when he began to rouse. She paused with the picture of Galen and Jolene on their wedding day to glare at him a moment, fingers tightening around the paper before she forced them to relax, pressing the now crinkled picture to the wall among the others. Next up was one of Jolene holding newborn Kirby with Galen on one side of the bed and a young Dylan on the other.

"Galen Jaser Cross," she began steadily, continuing to add more photos. "Fifty six years old. Born on November fourteenth in Scotland as an only child. Pureblood, sorted into Gryffindor your first year at Hogwarts, graduated to become an Auror, the finest the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has ever seen. So good, in fact, that you're given their hardest cases, are you not? Ones that involve assassination of the target almost every time. Which is why you killed my....dear, dear friend Jesse Mercer.

"You married Jolene Harlan before your promotion, with whom you had two beautiful daughters. Dagny Dylan Cross, better known as Dylan, recently graduated from Auror training. She was in Gryffindor just like dear old pops and seems intent on following in his every footstep, am I right? Then there's young Kirby. Pretty little thing, isn't she?" Danna asked, stepping back after tacking a more recent photo of Kirby to the wall of the little girl jumping rope in front of her house, Jolene in the background watching on with a smile. Richard had snapped it just yesterday while he was stalking their home. She wanted new pictures, on the off chance the man would even realize an enemy had taken them after his capture.

"They don't know you're missing yet. Your partner, Jaegar Jazon, was dealt with just before he escaped. The effects will wear off eventually, but for now he's not going to be telling anyone anything. You're on a mission, Galen, one that could take you a while. No one is any wiser at the moment. So I'm afraid you're going to be here quite a while, Mr. Cross. But don't worry...Considering your brief interaction with Mr. Mercer, I've already come up with quite the to-do list for you. It will be a pleasure getting to know you, my dear friend. But first I must introduce myself." Finally, bracing herself, she slowly turned to face him for the first time since he awoke.

She wanted to kill him. She wanted to flatten his face with her boot, crush his balls into dust, rip out his heart with her bare hands. The very thought made her tremble with excitement. Wearing her prettiest smile, she stepped closer to him, wanting him to see her very clearly as she did this. "My name is Danna Deville."

[GALEN CROSS]

Galen's discomfort grew the more he awoke. He had no idea how long he'd been out. It could have been a couple of hours, days, weeks. Panic threatened him, but Galen forced himself to remain calm. There was no point, nothing he could do right now, anyway. His captor had gone to great lengths to be sure he couldn't move at all. Heavy shackles encircled his wrists and ankles, pinning him down and holding him in a decidedly uncomfortable position. He shifted, wincing a bit. That only made it much worse, so he decided to just hold still. His wand, of course, was nowhere in sight, much less within reach. Galen could tell whomever he was dealing with was far, far too smart for that.

His head pounded, begging him to close his eyes, which was exactly why Galen left them open. He surveyed the room, surprised to find pictures of himself and his wife and children hanging around. They were being put up by a young blonde woman, who turned to glare at him for a moment while she continued to decorate the cellar. Galen could feel a hard, nauseous lump settle into the pit of his stomach before she even began to spoke.

She knew everything. From his name to where he was born to why he was here. She knew about Jolene, Dylan, and Kirby. She knew about his history at Hogwarts and his career as an Auror. She even knew exactly what kind of mission he was on. No one would find him for a long time if he stayed here, that much Galen had already been certain of. But the fact that she knew it too made his stomach sink just a little bit lower. She turned around, smiling and introducing herself to him, wrapping up her entire speech with a nice little bow. The only thing her performance was missing was a little curtsy. Galen could feel the concern in his stomach turn to disgust.

"Impressive," he gave her, looking her up and down. Danna Deville was not a name he had heard before. Very little had come up on Jesse's record, and most of the investigation the Ministry had done on his criminal past was guesswork. They could only definitively tie him to one or two murders, but there were others that had gone unsolved which were almost positively committed by Jesse Mercer. Galen himself never doubted it. The only thing he was lacking was a piece of paper with a judge's verdict, and Galen didn't need a judge to tell him who had done what. Galen wished he'd had more time for research, asked the Minister himself, but they had been insistent. Jesse must not kill again. As a result, Galen had to do most of his homework on the run. He had a couple of people looking into things for him, but nothing could really beat Galen's own tried-and-true method of researching a target. The only problem was, that kind of thing took time he simply hadn't had in this case.

And it was costing him dearly.

"I wish I could say it was a pleasure, Miss Deville, but somehow I don't think we're going to be quite as close of friends as you seem to believe," Galen replied, flexing his wrists. He wasn't one to beat around the bush, instead asking the most crucial and obvious question. "What do you want?"

[DANNA DEVILLE]

No stranger to dealing with law enforcement, there was nothing Danna was concerned about, even if she did have one of the best on the force imprisoned in her basement. They would never find him, and even if they did, she had enough of an army at her disposal to rid herself of the problem. They would unlikely have the entire unit bursting through her door, not for one man, not when they didn't expect her to have about two dozen or more witches and wizards at her beck and call. There was no Dark Mark to call them with, but Danna had other ways of alerting them to her need of them, none so tacky or obvious as a slave marking. At least not yet, not when she was still so intent on remaining under the radar.

The first word he spoke made her smirk. "Thank you," she said, plucking a set of three keys out of her pocket, twirling them in her fingers before wordlessly and wandlessly sending them upstairs into her bedroom. "Rest assured, you didn't get yourself caught by some amateur. Quite the opposite. I've been doing this for years. You're in very capable hands. Feel free to ask Mr. Echolls if you'd prefer another source."

Here she motioned to the frail man cowering in the opposite corner of the room. Endymion Echolls had been her prisoner for well over a year and a half now. He was emaciated, a few broken bones in his arms, legs, and ribs sticking gruesomely through his papery flesh. Most of his once thick, luxurious, bright red hair had faded and thinned, leaving him nearly bald. There was no more seeing the fear in his wide, pleading brown eyes. She had sown his eyelids shit, as well as his mouth. His mind had broken long ago, but even his body was becoming useless to her. Broken toys would be thrown away once their entertainment value had lessened considerably. Maybe she'd send him home to his wife this way. It would be more fun than sending him home in a body bag.

"Oops. Looks like he's not up for conversations," she said with a shrug, watching as Endymion's head lolled to one side. Smirking, she turned back to Galen as he addressed her. The simple address of Miss Deville was hardly unusual. Plenty of people used it, only Jesse had called her that more often than she cared to remember. Jaw locked, she blinked the memories away, forcing herself to focus on Galen.

"Please, call me Danna," she said smoothly, stepping closer to him. Flicking her hands towards the chains, they maneuvered themselves appropriately, tightening, lifting Galen's body, pulling his arms and legs out straight, holding him so rigid his body was perfectly straight as it hovered horizontally before her, as though he was laying on a table rather suspended midair by chains. It was hard to maintain, but she had been practicing for days, making sure her wandless abilities were better than ever. It was safer to work without a wand. She wouldn't be using too much magic, but she needed enough to leave a lasting impression on him. She was no ordinary witch. Danna Deville was superior to all, her magical abilities brag-worthy. Such things as this were small displays of power, little seeds to plant into his mind, that would make him fear her even more in the long run. "What I want should be very clear, Mr. Cross. I want revenge. You see, my dear," she said, tracing a finger down his collarbone, down his chest and stomach. "No one messes with my family. I don't let it happen. So when the rare occasion occurs where someone actually manages to hurt one of my people, they pay dearly."

Danna hardly knew where to began, green eyes hungrily roaming his body, a million and one ideas flying through her mind. "Your wand isn't here. Nor is mine, so I wouldn't try frisking me if you manage to get free. I'll have to press sexual harassment charges, I'm afraid. Don't worry, though...I don't need magic to torture you. Just ask Endymion. I sowed his mouth and his eyes by hand, the same way I broke his arms and legs...the ribs I had to use my foot for. But I think you get the general idea. That," she said, pointing to the empty, shell of a man across the room. "is your future. Once I find a good place to begin."

His robes had been removed the first day, hanging on the wall beside the collage she had just made. Now she grabbed the white shirt he wore, gripping it tightly and ripping it right down the middle to display a broad, muscular chest. "If you don't mind my asking, do you have a high pain tolerance? You do seem that type," she asked, pulling a pair of black, dragon hide gloves out of her cleavage, sliding them slowly onto her hands.

She had dealt with many a stubborn victim before. They irritated her to no end, but she always got her way in the end. They always broke, always. From all she had heard about Galen, she knew he would be one tough cookie. His presence alone told her he was going to prove a challenge. But she welcomed a challenge. In fact, this would be for the best. He would last longer than Endymion had. In the end, though, he'd be no match for her. None of them ever were. With another smile she turned to her toys. Her box of BDSM toys was tempting, but nipple clamps and piercings wouldn't be hard enough for him and the sounding rod would wait until she didn't feel like she could castrate him with her bare hands. Instead she opted to grab the Beater's bat from beside a row of canes and rods on the wall. She weighed it in her hand for only a moment before spinning around, marching back over to him, and slamming it right into his left knee with all of her strength. She wasted no time at all hitting at the right one. Shifting to hold the bat under her arm, she twisted her hands, willing her magic to twist the chains so that his arms were turned in the opposite direction, displaying his elbows upwards. Letting the bat fall back into her hands she hit each of them, too. It wasn't easy to break knees and elbows, but she was pretty sure she had managed. After all, Danna had plenty of practice with that sort of thing.

Blowing out a deep breath, heart racing in the thrill of it, she grinned enthusiastically at him. "I have plenty of toys, Galen. Endy broke a little too easy for my liking. But you're a big boy, aren't you? Nice and tough. You'll last me a while, won't you, baby?"

outfit

[GALEN CROSS]

Though he had never heard her name before awakening only a few moments ago, Galen already knew quite a bit about Danna Deville. First, she knew what she was doing. That much was obvious by the way she had restrained him, hanging pictures of his family for him to see. Second, she had much more to her than just herself. How else could she have known everything about him that she did? With Galen's own resources, it would have taken him a while to learn everything that Danna knew about him. She obviously had very skilled and quite a few detectives available to her. And thirdly, she was all about power. That fact was more than apparent from the moment that Galen opened his eyes. How she had escaped the detection of the Ministry was beyond him, but she was a big deal, and she wanted him to know it.

She said as much, informing him that she had been doing this sort of thing for a long time, providing him with the assistance of one Mr. Endymion Echolls if he needed further confirmation. Galen blinked at the name, following her gesture to the pathetic being in the corner. Galen's heart sank at the sight of the man, once so powerful and such a good wizard, always fighting for justice and the safety of the public, wizard and Muggle alike. Now he was starving, his body nearly useless, his eyes and mouth sewn shut. This was where he had been all of this time, locked in this very cellar, at the hands of this dark witch and whoever she had with her. Powerful or not, Galen refused to believe that she had managed all of this by herself. She must have many allies, important ones, perhaps even the Dark Lord himself. Was she under his control? Galen glanced at her left arm, but couldn't see anything at this angle. It wouldn't surprise him, though.

Danna came closer, asking him to refer to her by her first name and explaining that what she wanted was revenge. Galen could feel his blood boil. Revenge for the death of the scum he had murdered just before his capture. The world was a far better place without Jesse Mercer, and no amount of torture or whatever else this woman had up her sleeve would change that. Jesse was a disgusting excuse for a human being, and taking him out like the garbage had been a favor to the world. Galen was proud that Jesse was dead at his hands.

Danna was going to do all of this without magic, she boasted. Galen glanced again at Echolls when she mentioned him, feeling the same kind of pity he would if he had found the man dead. There was little hope for poor Endymion. His rescue would be the first order of business once Galen got out of here, but sadly he wasn't sure the man would even last the hour. Galen would do everything he could, of course, but it just wasn't realistic to think that Echolls would come out of this all right.

Danna intended to do the same to him, and even through his bondage Galen lifted his chin from his chest, grinning at her. He would never break, not for her, and not for a wizard twenty times more dangerous and powerful than her. Not for Voldemort himself. Galen said nothing, ignoring her question while she looked him over, watching while she picked out a Beater's bat. This would be no picnic.

She slammed it into his knee first, and Galen could hear the bone crack. Pain shot through his leg like an explosion, down to his toes and all the way up to his neck. He shook with it, and with the force of the blow, exhaling deeply. She did his other knee almost immediately, tucking the bat under her arm to twist his chains. Galen's shoulders protested at the new position, and she cracked his elbows next, breaking them so that they bent the wrong way. Galen's limbs were screaming in agony now, though he himself only hissed in pain.

Danna seemed quite pleased with herself, but Galen was furious. He swallowed hard, feeling sweat break out on his brow from the indescribable pain in his arms and legs.

"You won't bring him back," he replied evenly, his breathing a bit heavy. "You can sew my eyes and mouth shut, break my bones, starve me, kill me. But I killed your "friend," he told her, quite certain from her behavior that Danna and Jesse had been a bit more than friends. "I killed Jesse Mercer, and you will never bring him back."

Maybe antagonizing your torturer wasn't the brightest of ideas. But Galen certainly wasn't going to break down and beg for mercy. Nor would he give her the satisfaction of shutting him up. There were two options - he would escape, which was obviously preferable. He would return to his family and his job, and continue to serve as an Auror. Or he would die here. That's what it would come down to in the end, wasn't it? Echolls was paying for his good deeds, and martyrdom wasn't a strange concept to any Auror. Galen would never quit trying to get back to his family, never accept that it was all over for him, but if he had to die here, so be it. He would die knowing that he had assassinated Jesse Mercer and many more of his ilk, and he would die proud.

[DANNA DEVILLE]

How many people would withstand the agony of having their knees and elbows broken with nothing more than an almost silent hiss of pain? Not many. She would know. Danna could count on one hand how many people could face that challenge, and every other person had irritated her to no end with their stubbornness. Not Galen, though. Instead, Danna smiled. She would make him scream, make him plead for mercy. This was just the beginning. He could act as tough as he wanted, but Danna wouldn't underestimate her own skills again. Everyone was breakable. Even if he didn't think so.

Which he clearly didn't. It was obvious in the defiant gleam in his blue eyes, in the boldness his voice carried as he went on about how he had killed Jesse, how nothing would bring him back. She sneered, having to concentrate on her calm breathing exercises. The anger wasn't as hot and explosive as it should have been, but it was enough to keep the pain at bay. She didn't know what to feel over Jesse, and she didn't want to find out. But by announcing she was after revenge, she had opened herself up to provocation with Jesse as the sore point. Why had she even confessed such a thing? Did she even need to give him reasons at all? What he needed to know was that she had him and wasn't letting him go until he was the same useless rag Endymion Echolls was. It was a slip up, one that was going to test her self control to its limits. She could feel it.

"Galen, I am sixty years old. I have lost four children, countless friends, allies, and lovers, seen more than my fair share of battles and wars. Of course I know he's not coming back. At least not in any useful form," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "You made sure of that. You lost me the aid of one of my most useful, most loyal soldiers." Here, unable to stop herself, she trailed her hand up his stomach, over his chest, wrapping her fingers tightly around his neck. "You will beg for me to kill you, but I won't. I'll drop you off at home in the same condition I'll be leaving Endymion with his wife in. Only I don't guarantee you'll have a family to go home to. I know where you live, Galen. My sons have been watching them for days.

"Jolene pleasured herself last night. Christian so badly wanted to join in, but he settled for whacking off outside your window watching her. And Kirby? She's seven, correct? Well, he's raped girls younger than her before. I'll drag that little bitch down here so you can watch." Loosening her grip on his neck, she trailed her hand downwards, slipping into his trousers, rubbing firmly over his manhood. "Maybe I'll get little Galen Jr. here nice and hard and let you have the honors of deflowering your little girl. I'll teach her how to ride Daddy's dick good, how 'bout that?"

Wrapping her fingers around him, she squeezed his cock as hard as she could, imagining it would pop off in her hand. It didn't, and eventually she let go, pulling her hand away from him. "Dylan's been such a good girl, too, Daddy. Got her first big case the night you were killed. She and her team walked right into a trap. Lair full of Death Eaters. You'll be pleased to know she made it out alive, just a bit bruised up. And when she went to the bar that night to let off some steam, she had her first taste of firewhiskey. At least that's what she told my Richard. I'm not sure how true that is. After all, she also told him she was a virgin, but he told me that wasn't quite true. But maybe he was too eager to get to the fucking to notice if her hymen was still intact or not."

The story about Dylan wasn't quite true, but how was he to know that? At least not the parts with Dylan and Richard. Her boy had better taste than that.

"But I won't touch them just yet. I think you and I need a better understanding of one another before I bring in any roomies." That said she headed towards a dresser across the room, pulling out the middle drawer where her knife collection was. "You're the essence of what all Gryffindors strive to be, Mr. Cross. Stubborn, proud, 'honorable', and all of that idealistic crap that doesn't make sense in the real world. You're all dreamers, thinking yourselves to be quite the dashing hero. It's all fun and games. You're not into it for the good, you're in it for the glory. You want your name in the paper, the thrill of the chase...You look at people like Jesse and me as scum of the earth, as if you're so superior to us both. You strut around as though you can rid the world of all of its evil. That you are the man to take care of people like us. But you're wrong, Galen. You might be some hot shot to the DMLE, but what does that really mean? The Dark Lord is still on the loose, still gaining power every day. And three teenagers are making more progress than the whole of the Ministry. Unfortunately for them and for you, the good guys don't always win. And even if you do manage to bring down the Dark Lord, which I highly doubt. You will never be able to stop me. I have survived too goddamn much to die. Because good intentions never got anyone but a road straight to hell. It's us who already know where we're headed, who understand true human nature, that thrive.

"That's how you managed to kill Jesse. His head wasn't in the game," she whispered, more to herself than anything. It made her sick to her stomach to say, to even think, but it needed to be done. "He was evil, sadistic, brilliant...but not fully committed. He didn't know himself or the world well enough. That's how people die. That's how people let themselves be murdered. And that's why you're chained in my basement and under my control. That's why when all's said and done, I will come out on top and you will be nothing. Because I know myself fully...because I know more about you than you will ever admit to yourself...and I see more about this world than anyone wants to see. Knowledge is power, and acceptance is the secret to survival. Life lessons I'm afraid you'll never have the chance to embrace."

Selecting a knife, she smiled at her reflection in the blade, closing the drawer with her hip. "And now a démonstration" Within seconds she stalked across the room, knelt down beside Endymion, and began sawing into his left arm. He only moaned, jerking slightly, but otherwise just stared down at his own arm, letting her work. "Richard!" The crack of Apparition alerted her to his presence. "Patch him up when I'm done."

Richard waited silently until Danna managed to remove the arm at the elbow, carrying the knife and the limb with her over to Galen as her son pulled out his wand to stop the bleeding. Endymion needed to survive. It was all part of her game.

"You know Mr. Echolls, don't you? He worked for the DMLE, if I recall correctly. An activist, good, law-abiding man...A real hero. Used to be a rather impressive wizard, didn't he?" Setting the arm down on Galen's chest, she flipped the knife around as she examined it. Where to begin? Ah, there. Pressing the blade to where she had amputated the arm, she drew two long, deep lines on either side before tossing the knife aside. Then, with her fingers, she began to rip the skin off, peeling everything away from the bones until she managed to free one.

"I thought about carving into you with one of my knives, but it seemed too cold to me," she whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. "I thought a more savage, barbaric method was required to get you more in touch with your humanity."

Where the bone had broken was sharp, sharp enough to do something, but no so sharp as to make it easy. Shoving the arm to the floor, she pressed the point of the bone into his stomach, pressing down hard, then dragging it down when she felt it had caught. "Oops. That wasn't hard enough. Let's try that again." There was a thin pink line where she had drawn, so she started at the top and pressed down harder until a spot of blood appeared beneath the point. "There we go."

And she began to carve.

[GALEN CROSS]

Galen felt as though his entire body was in pain, but that wasn't true. The screaming agony of his knees and elbows was deafening, but he knew he was all right elsewhere. He tried to focus on how his other body parts felt just fine to drown out the shrieking pain. He focused on his breathing, and then on Danna's words when she began to speak. The anger her statements roused in him was plenty to get his mind off of his body's distress.

She was sixty years old, she said, bragging all about how much she had been through. Galen just scoffed at her. Everything she said only fueled his theory further - that image and power was everything to this woman. What fickle things to cling to. An image was only that, an illusion, one that was skin-deep and paper thin. And power wasn't much better, far more easily lost than gained. Danna Deville was sixty years old, and didn't look a day over seventeen. The sheer quality and quantity of magic her appearance must require was staggering. Her image was everything to her.

She growled at him that she knew Jesse was dead, and that she knew Galen had made sure he wouldn't be back in any sort of useful form. Body still shrieking in pain, Galen couldn't help but to grin. He'd hunted Jesse down and shot him in an alley like a dog. He was one of Danna's most useful and loyal soldiers, she'd said so herself. And Galen had killed him. The more he learned about Jesse, almost straight from the source (his blonde bombshell had to be close to the next best thing), the more pride Galen took in what he had accomplished. Jesse was dead, and Danna... it was safe to say, in the very least, that she was pretty riled up about it.

She went on about all she knew about his family, and all she planned to do to them. She mentioned having Kirby raped, which made Galen's eyes flash blue fire. Then she decided she might have him do it himself, disgusting witch's fingers sliding over his manhood, and Galen flinched and jerked in fury. No one alive, or who had ever been alive, could make Galen Cross do a thing like that. This woman was seriously underestimating him, something she would find out very soon.

Danna squeezed him, hard, and Galen grit his teeth against the pain that seeped through his body. Every nerve was on fire until she finally let go, carrying on about her son and his oldest daughter. Just the thought of Danna's spawn touching his precious Dylan was enough to make Galen growl deeply, quietly, unable to help himself. Danna made it clear that she had his family in her sights, and was simply deciding not to pull the trigger just yet. Instead, she decided upon another speech, telling him all about how blind he had been and what a fool he was. Of course Galen thought that Danna and Jesse were the scum of the earth. They were. And of course he thought he was superior to them. He was. Hell, Galen's own house elf was superior to this filth. Danna thought herself invincible, thought Jesse had slipped up, and that Galen was no better than them. She thought he was nothing. The very thought made him chuckle, even if the sound was a bit hoarse.

She took a moment to go to Echolls, sawing off the man's arm with her knife while her son stopped the bleeding. Galen didn't look away, only glaring at her when she plopped the arm on his chest, peeling flesh from the bone before she began to carve into his skin with the sharp point. The skin on his stomach sang with the sharp pain, but Galen was almost too enraged to notice.

"You're the one who's wrong, Danna Deville," he hissed while she dragged Endymion's bone against his skin, drawing thick drops of dark blood. "I am the man to take care of people like you. In fact, you might remember that I did, just the other day. I, too, have been doing this for nearly my entire life. I'm not much younger than you, sweetheart. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you're the only one who has seen things, experienced loss, or endured too much to die. You're a facade. You surround yourself with your precious image and your power, so much so that you blind yourself to what lies beyond it. You have your sons, whom you've obviously brainwashed, and you had your lover before I decided to take him from you, but outside of your little cocoon no one gives a shit about you. Even I didn't know who you were before you interrupted my success. Your darling Jesse Mercer couldn't have done a thing to stop me. There was no way for him to see me aiming right at his throat; I've been around the block too many times for that. And even if he had, he'd still be dead. Because he was a maggot, just like any who practice the Dark Arts. He was less than the toad I brought on board the Hogwarts Express on the first day of my first year, and you are no better.

"You put so much into your image. The potions or spells to keep you young, all the bragging and boasting, this extravagant torture chamber with pictures of my family to intimidate me. You build that image and hide behind it, cowering down here in your hovel while I am out fighting for a cause. That's the difference between you and I, Danna. When you build an image, the right person will come along and tear it down. When you build a cause for something solid, for what is right and true and just, an image is created for you, backed up by something far less fickle than whatever power you have created. All your petty foolishness that you're so proud of only proves to me that you are insecure as fuck, and that you are the one who is nothing."

[DANNA DEVILLE]

If Galen was trying to push her buttons, he was failing. Her anger was normally to easy to set off, but all she could do was continue her carving, trying hard not to smile as he gave his little speech. Even his snide comments about Jesse did nothing more than cause her to slip up, giggling loudly, gripping the bone hard to keep from veering off course with her writing. By the time his speech came to an end, she was struggling to breathe, she was laughing so hard. "Right, true, and just? Are you fucking serious? Oh my fucking God," she cackled, wrapping her arms around her middle, tears streaming down her face. "I've seen some self righteous 'heroes' before, but in all of their bravado I have never heard anyone say something so damned cliche. Did you steal that line from a Superman comic or something?" She wasn't sure he'd know what Superman was. It took her a moment to remember it was an American Muggle comic. "Maybe I'll get you some tights and a cape before I set you on the street again. How 'bout that?"

Now that he was done she could finish her last letter. It only took another minute before she was done, wiping the blood away with her hand, smearing it across his broad chest. The word HERO was now carved into his stomach in large, mostly straight letters. It was a testament to how often she had done this sort of thing for her handwriting to be so neat when carving into flesh.

"You don't know me, and that's the point. I didn't want anyone to know my name when I came here. Don't think for one second that my lack of a reputation in England has anything to do with lack of interest, so much as the control I hold. But you won't believe me, and that's just fine. Hold your head up high, sweetie. It'll be so much fun cowing you, because I know it's going to take a lot," she whispered, twirling the bone around in her fingers, watching the blood slide down it until it dripped onto her fingertips.

"Feel free to think about me being insecure or weak or whatever else you might think. The only thing that will do is inspire me to prove you wrong," she said, gripping the bone, raising her arm, and slamming it as hard as she could into his thigh. "Because at the end of the day, you're the one who wasn't prepared enough to see the attack coming. You're the one who was captured, the one who is going to suffer hell by my hand. I'm not the one who is going to lose everything."

Yanking the bone from his leg, she snapped her fingers, stripping him naked, then waved her hand so that the chains twisted, moving him into an upright position. Slowly she began to walk around, inspecting him. In her peripheral vision she saw that Richard had finished with Endymion and was watching closely. Shadows in the staircase became the figures of Christian and Hailey with Cassie and Brooke right behind them. What on earth was Brooke even doing in England? She'd deal with that later. Shooting them a glare, they frowned, then trekked back upstairs. Richard nodded curtly then followed after them.

"They like to play, my children," Danna sighed, trailing her fingers softly down his spine. "They're not very happy that I told them not to touch you. That you were mine. Perhaps I'll let them have a turn later, once you start to bore me. They're not me, but they'd keep you occupied." From his back, she let her fingers drop down to grope his backside, then sliding around to his thighs while she pressed the front of her body to his back. She'd have to rape him one day, too. But not until she made him want her. For now, though, she would tease him. "Now, I do know it will get awful lonely down here, but I forbade my children from entering this place without permission. Trust me, they won't even try if I'm not here. But if your needs become too out of control, and you'd like Endymion to take care of you, all you need is to ask. Christian's already claimed his ass, and he's very possessive. But you can have his mouth. I'll open his lips for you and sew them back up once you're done. He became very good at giving head when all of my sons were around. But you shouldn't worry. For now, you're mine, and I have no intentions of sharing you for quite a while."

Seeing as how he'd gave to get used to having things shoved up his ass, she slid one glove covered finger between his cheeks, pressing hard against his hole. With no lube it would be a hard enough trip, but with the dragon hide glove on it would be made even more unpleasant. Unless, of course, he was used to this sort of thing. She smiled to herself at the thought, gripping his hip with her free hand as she pushed harder. "Why don't you take a look around the room and choose the next weapon I use against you. A cane, whip, flogger...More makeshift weapons from Endymion? I'm not sure what more I could use besides bones. Even they're pretty useless by now. But for you, baby, I'd try. Go on. Tell me what you want me to do to you next."

[GALEN CROSS]

From the position he was in, Galen could do little more than shake his head as Danna laughed at him. Of course she wouldn't understand the importance of serving a just cause. It was beyond her. She was nothing but another blemish on the face of the world, just like Jesse Mercer and the others that Galen had killed. Voldemort, at least, was a universally influential terror. He was the worst of the worst, but with all his accomplishments Galen had a healthy respect for the darkest wizard. Danna Deville wasn't even that.

But that was the point, she told him. She didn't want anyone to know her, something very contradictory to everything Galen had seen from her this far. She was all about image and power, but she was keeping it locked away, or so she wanted him to believe. It confused him, but he was sure he'd figure out the reason. One thing was for certain, and that was that Danna loved to talk about herself. Galen could easily learn everything before he got out of here. Which Danna seemed to think would happen when he was a shattered shell like Endymion Echolls. Galen knew that would never happen to him, ever. He would die first, holding valuable information or not.

Danna finished her artwork on his stomach, carving the word HERO into his flesh. It had hurt, but it took his mind off of his other discomforts and he much preferred this sharp pain to the aching throb of his broken joints. She buried the bone swiftly into his thigh, and Galen grunted lowly, breathing through clenched teeth while she spoke. "No. At the end of the day, you're doing this for revenge on your precious Jesse Mercer, your lover and soldier that I took from you. Perhaps you have more, but at any rate, you now have one less. At the end of the day, you've already lost," he corrected her, his voice raspy with the pain he was feeling. Warm blood flowed down his leg, which might have worried him, but he was positive Danna wouldn't let him bleed out. She'd just sawed off a man's arm, one in much worse shape than Galen, and made sure he didn't die.

Poor Endymion. Galen did feel for the man, as well as he felt the churning disgust in his stomach as Danna told him about her children who had briefly appeared on the staircase. They'd used Endymion Echolls for their own disgusting desires, and the thought of Galen doing the same was enough to make him want to be sick. How anyone could do such things to another human being was beyond him, but no amount of abstinence or sexual torture would make Galen want to use Endymion in that way. For one thing, the man had suffered enough already.

Danna came around behind his naked body, and Galen tried to press his thighs together, to conceal himself and regain some sort of modesty. But his knees and his stab wound screeched in protest at him, and Galen bit his lower lip hard enough to draw a small bit of blood. He exhaled raggedly, trying not to move too much, though he did shudder in revulsion at Danna's fingers on his spine. When she pressed a finger against his asshole, he jerked away in surprise and immediately released a small shout in the pain of moving his body so quickly. He grit his teeth and pushed back against her, trying to force her out, but to his shock and repulse the action only made it easier for Danna's gloved finger to slip deeper into him. She gripped his hip and pushed harder, asking him what he would like her do to him next. Galen rolled his eyes.

"I thought that much would be evident. Obviously I would prefer it if you stopped your evil, stupid little games and let me out of this stinking hellhole you call a basement. I've been in much better company," he growled, glaring away and trying to figure out how best to get her damn finger out of his virgin orifice.

[DANNA DEVILLE]

Jesse was a sensitive topic, but she'd begun this game it hadn't bothered her as much as it had before. She had other things to focus on, to take her mind away from it. Even the mention of him from this Auror wasn't nearly as painful as usual. But she could only take so much of it, and when Galen continued to remind her that he was gone, it was hard to keep herself in check. But she did. It was a struggle to keep her lips smiling, her movements smooth and confident rather than rigid and wrathful. She laughed quietly as Galen spoke, mentally berating herself further for confessing she had captured him to avenge Jesse.

"One of many. And not the most powerful by any means," she said. "He'll be missed, but he's not irreplaceable. There's always someone else who will step up to the plate. The time I let you leave, I'll likely have not only replaced him, but gathered more allies. I'll be just fine. But you...Well, my dear, you need to be taught a lesson."

She had really fucked up on this one. It was only as she was saying the words that she realized that brushing Jesse off as meaningless would contradict the fact that she had already admitted to doing this for him. What she really needed was to take the conversation away from Jesse and her reasons and everything of the sort that would wreck her image. It wasn't as if she hadn't messed up such things before, saying things that led others to believe she cared too much, allowing them ammo to use against her. It infuriated her to no end, especially since it was her own damn fault. And Danna was not one who was okay with making mistakes.

Not that it would stop her. In fact, a little rage was just what the doctor ordered. If Galen had any doubts about her power, let him piss her off and see how much he underestimated her then.

So she kept talking, hoping to disturb him somewhat with her offers of Endymion. Then further by shoving her finger where he really didn't want it. She smirked, gentle kisses up his spine as she waited for his answer. She already had a general idea of what he would say. No one really gave her a good answer the first shot at this question. They'd tell her none, they'd beg her to let them go, they'd spit in her face or at her feet. She was ready for it all and harshly ripped her finger from the tight aperture then walked around him, kissing his chest before pouting up at him.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," she whispered, then smiled wickedly as she backed away from him. She kept her eyes trained on him until she reached the staircase, then turning to go up. In no time at all she reached the second floor guest room where Jadis had been staying. Danna had yet to make a decision about what to do with Jesse's other progeny, but it seemed she had finally discovered a good use for them.

There wasn't much the six year old could do to defend herself as Danna bound her wrists and ankles then shoving a ball gag into her mouth. With a firm grip on her hair, Danna dragged her all the way down to the basement, shoving her down at Galen's feet.

"This is Jadis," Danna said, strolling towards the wall holding her finest weapons. "Six years old. Just a year younger than Kirby, isn't she? Well, she's just the sweetest little thing and hearing that you were having a problem making up your mind, she agreed to help. So we're going to demonstrate how all of your options work, then you decide. Okay?"

She didn't need to think hard. She grabbed the worst of her whips. She might be starting off small with a whip, but she wasn't going to dally. After all, she doubted a great knight in shining armor like Galen would be able to stand for an innocent being tortured because of him for very long. Striding back over to Jadis, she kicked the girl until she rolled over, far enough away from Galen to keep him from being hit by the whip.

"This is a whip, Galen. And this is how you use it," she said breathlessly, rearing back, bringing it down with all of her strength. Jadis screamed loudly through the gag in response, body squirming on the floor, trying hard to scoot away. "Stop being such a baby," she hissed at the girl, gripping the whip tighter, bringing it down even harder. "Feel free to tell me when you get the picture, Galen. But don't feel obliged to speak up anytime soon. Just keep watching until you understand. I wouldn't want you getting the wrong idea about a whipping, after all."

If she even heard him. Really, the excitement had her ears ringing, heart pounding viciously in her chest. There was little more arousing than the sight of someone so small and so weak sniveling at her feet.

[GALEN CROSS]

Galen glanced pointedly down at himself while Danna assured him that she was just fine with losing Jesse. She had plenty more allies, she informed him haughtily, never losing that smooth smile. Galen took inventory of his injuries thus far. Two broken knees, two broken elbows, a deep stab wound to the thigh, and the word "HERO" carved into his stomach.

"Seems a lot of trouble to go through for just one soldier. Especially one so replaceable," he coughed. The pain was really getting to him. His elbows and knees were turning an angry purple, a greenish discoloration fringing the bruises. They were swelling, too; in his upright position his knees were the size of volleyballs. And that stab wound in his thigh ached terribly, still bleeding quite a bit. Galen was sure if he looked into the puncture head-on he'd be able to see his bone.

Danna tormented him further by asking what he wanted her to use on him next, something Galen refused to answer. There was no way he was going to give her that kind of satisfaction. His heart sank, though, when she turned to go upstairs. Galen grit his teeth and pressed all five fingers of one hand together, twisting and trying to free his hand from the cuff. He couldn't help crying out with the pain of scraping and jerking on his broken elbow. It was no use, his hand was too big. He took a deep breath and tried the other, biting his tongue hard as his efforts met with the same result. The blood tasted coppery in his mouth, and he just hung there, panting a bit with his exertions and pain, and it wasn't long after that Danna returned.

Galen's eyes widened as she tossed a young girl to the floor beneath him. Her striking blue eyes were filled with tears as she gazed horrified up at him and at Danna, crying behind the ball gag in her mouth. She squirmed and writhed on the floor, but her hands and legs were bound and she only succeeded in looking like a worm. Danna went to retrieve her whip, introducing Galen to Jadis and mentioning that she was a year younger than his own Kirby. The father in Galen cried out for the little girl, and he jerked his arm again against his chains, hissing in agony. Danna explained that she would demonstrate his "options" on the poor girl until he decided what he would choose, and Galen watched in horror as she reared back and brought the whip down on poor Jadis's defenseless body.

Galen had seen some awful things in his career, and some were even comparable to whipping a small child. However, when he came upon his victims they were usually already dead. Once in a while there would be a magical recording of the events leading to the death. He'd never had a child tortured right in front of him, live and in person.

"All right! That's enough!" he shouted. "Do whatever you want to me, you fucking piece of shit coward, but she can't even defend herself. She's six years old, she's not even close to being a match for you! Anyone can overpower a child. And taking advantage of them just makes you weaker than ever, which I hadn't previously thought possible," he hissed furiously. What kind of monster made an example of a child?

[DANNA DEVILLE]

Image was important to Danna. It always had been. So making the decision to leave America, where her reputation had been growing to exponential levels, to another country with the intention of not letting her name become known by the natives was hard. There were many times when she missed people knowing her name, strangers cowering with fear, kneeling in respect, or glowering in hatred. It had been a long time since those days. She had been young, in the prime of her life, enjoying the benefits as well as the downfalls of being so notorious. It was disappointing to capture jackasses like this, have them shove their lack of knowledge of her in her face. But it was the smartest move for now, to build her army while Voldemort was still in power, still the most feared wizard alive. That way, when she did regain her power and her reputation, it would be too late, she'd be too powerful, for anyone to stop her.

So when she made such a slip up as letting on how much Jesse meant to her, she was more furious than the average person might have been. Especially when Galen seemed to realize it, too. It was a testament to how much patience and restraint she had gained over the years that she didn't immediately lose her cool. If she had any hope of putting her carefully constructed facade of heartless invincibility back together, she would have to keep her cool. Not letting anything show, she smiled at him, planning her next words carefully. "Seeing as how he was doing something very important when you killed him, it does bother me. Besides, I can't let people like you go around thinking you have the right to hurt my army and get away with it. If I just let you take out all of my allies, what would I have then? No...It's best to nip this one right in the bud before anything else happens."

Danna would have her way. She always did. So when Galen refused to obey her, to choose the weapon she would use against him, she dragged Jadis down to whip her. Galen didn't like that so much. Not a father, not these heroic Gryffindor types. She smiled when he shouted for her to stop, calling her a coward for beating a child. He thought she was weak. It was nearly enough to make her lose it. She was not weak and the fact that he thought so little of her was starting to grate on her nerves. She was Danna Deville! Days like these made her really miss America. One day, though, she would see fear in his eyes the moment he laid eyes on her. He would cringe at the sound of her name. One day he would see her for what she was: the most powerful Dark Witch of all time. Galen Cross would see Danna Deville as she wanted to be seen and he would rue the day he ever dared cross her.

It was only going to take time, and the impatient woman she was did not like this at all.

"No whip, then?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice even. A few more powerful blows to Jadis and she stepped back, kicking her until she rolled onto her back. "Are you sure?" and struck her face. "I could strangle her with it, too, if you'd like to see that. She's got two other siblings I could use to show you the rest."

Instead she threw the whip down then stalked across the room, grabbing a flogger. "What about this, huh? You ever seen someone use a flogger before?"

Jadis screamed through the bag, twisting and turning, shoving herself across the room. Grabbing her hair, Danna threw her into the wall, raising the hand with the flogger, coming down with it the moment Jadis hit the floor. "It's usually a lot better when I have the bound to the wall like you, but it's still very satisfying."

Kneeling down on the girl's stomach, she continued to flog her, putting more and more strength behind it until her arms were sore with the force she was using, her breathing heavy as she glared down at the sobbing child beneath her. She had raised her arms to shield her face, but she had still managed to get through. Angry welts and bruises marred her once smooth, clear skin. But that wouldn't be the worst of it.

"Oops. I forgot to strip you down," she whispered, summoning her knife to help rip the clothes from her body until she was just as naked as the men in the room. "There would have been more marks if she had been naked this whole time. But no matter. I'll make up for that."

Throwing the flogger on top of her whip, she stood up, summoning her largest cane to her. Jadis's eyes grew wide. Though the gag kept her from speaking, Danna had seen enough victims this way to make out the words she was struggling to say. Help. Please stop. I'll do anything. Please don't.

"I know you hurt, baby," Danna cooed. "But we have to help Galen here. He needs to see what my toys do. He needs to see the consequences of screwing with me. And you? Well, you're no better than your father was, are you?"

She was too exhausted to do much more magically, but sheer willpower kept her going. With what was left of her magical energy she lifted Jadis so that she was upright, hovering just a few inches off of the ground. "This is what a cane does, Galen. Watch closely."

Jesse was gone and the asshole who had killed him was looking at her like she was the scum of the earth. And his children...his useless, hideous, untrained, disrespectful brats were taking up space and reminding her too much of what she had lost. Repressed fury finally got a hold of her and despite her exhaustion, despite the coolness she tried so hard to display, she began to whack the heavy cane at the child's small, fragile body with all of the hatred and anger she held so tightly within. She hardly heard the girl's screams over her own breathing and heartbeat. Bones snapped beneath the pressure, but she hardly knew what she was doing. Smack against her leg, smack against her hip, smack into her ankle, smack into the stomach, SMACK into her chest, SMACK into her arm, SMACK right into her face. Over and over and over again, all of the heat raging through her veins, feeding her strength, numbing any soreness gained from the physical exertion she was using.

"Mother, if you don't want her dead, you might want to stop soon," said an amused voice.

Not pausing in her movement, she spun around, pointing the cane to the ghost of her son. "Dominic Andres, if I wanted that sort of condescending tone I would have asked Galen here to open his trap again."

Dominic frowned. "I meant no disrespect, Mother, I only..."

"Did I give you permission to be down here?" she roared. "You're supposed to be with your siblings! Sadie is not to leave this house..."

"Malachi is with..."

"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! Get out Dominic, before I invent a spell to torture ghosts," she growled.

Muttering more apologies, looking stricken, Dominic disappeared back through the wall. He had a point, though she hated to admit it. Another blow or two would probably have killed Jadis. She looked so close to it now. Ignoring both Jadis and Galen, she dropped the cane and walked across the room, forcing herself to move slowly, to catch her breath, and straighten out her head. Heading back to her knife drawer she grabbed one at random, hardly caring about size or force at this point. Coming up behind Jadis she jammed it right into her shoulder, then shoved her down to the floor, the magic holding her up fading away.

"Pick. One," she demanded. "I have whips, floggers, canes, knives, and various other tools. Tell me which...No, ask me. I want you to ask me, politely, what you would like for me to do to you next. And if you don't then I will decide...and I don't think you or Jadis will like what I have in mind should you refuse."

[GALEN CROSS]

Galen wasn't sure whether or not to believe Danna when she told him that she just didn't want anyone coming after her "army" without consequence. Maybe that was the reason, or maybe Galen's original theory was right - Jesse Mercer had been more than just a soldier to Danna Deville. Right now, it was impossible to tell. Galen didn't have much time to think on it, anyway, before Danna dragged a little girl down to the chamber.

It was all because Galen had refused to participate in his own torment that Danna had apparently decided to display all of his options, using little Jadis as a guinea pig. She didn't look much like Kirby, but she was still someone's helpless little girl and Galen couldn't help being affected by her torture. Danna used a whip on her, and Galen yelled for her to stop, doing his best to deflect her rage back on him. Danna kept going, though, picking up a flogger next. Soon the girl's entire body was covered in angry welts. Not to mention that Danna had just thrown her into a wall. Galen's chest physically hurt at the terrified, pleading look in the little girl's eyes as she sobbed and cried. Danna stripped her naked, then crooned mockingly over her before summoning her cane.

Galen shouted again as Danna began to beat the girl. He could hear bones breaking, see bruises immediately forming, and the smack of the cane and the shrieking and crying of the six-year-old was deafening. He screamed and yelled for Danna to stop, but she didn't seem to hear him. He didn't realize it, but he was rubbing his wrists and ankles raw on the chains, coating them in a thin layer of blood. That poor, innocent child, in the hands of such a monster.

A strange voice caused Galen and Danna both to turn and look. Galen blinked at the sight of the ghost, quickly gathering from the exchange that this was one of Danna's children. She ripped him to pieces, sending him immediately on his way. Then she stopped, leaving a battered and unrecognizable Jadis on the floor, breathing heavily and stalking across the room to a drawer. It took a moment for Galen's speechlessness to fade.

"That's your army?!" he roared. "A bunch of ghosts of your dead children who go out and bring back defenseless little girls for you to beat to make you feel better about yourself?!" This was an all new low. Galen was in shock at the sheer twisted insanity of this disease of a creature that stood before him. She demanded him to pick a weapon to use on him, an edge very evident in her voice now. She promised that neither he nor Jadis would like the other option very much.

Galen just stared at the almost lifeless body Danna held up at knife point. This little girl would die because of him. She could barely move, only making the smallest little whimpers and groans. She must be in so much agony, reminding him of his own singing pain. She didn't even look like a human being anymore. She was as good as dead. There was no way she'd come out of this okay. Why make her suffer any more?

"No," he said firmly, growling through clenched teeth. "If you're going to torture me or worse, you can decide for yourself how you're going to do it."

[DANNA DEVILLE]

That was her army? Danna raised an eyebrow in response to the question, eyes following where Dominic had disappeared through the wall. "That was my fourth son, Dominic," she replied. "Yes, I have the ghosts of my three dead children here. But no, they are not my entire army. And no, I don't beat small children to make me feel better about myself. But it is a good means of feeling better. Stress relief or what have you." Thoughtfully she continued to stare at the wall.

When Christian and Hailey had brought the ghosts of Sadie, Dominic, and Malachi with them, she hadn't thought too much about the fact that they were dead. They were just ghosts. But it was true. They were dead. Her poor brilliant babies with all of their promise and power. Particularly Dominic. Perhaps now was a good time to look into the possibilities of full resurrection. All previous attempts had failed, but if they had stolen the Resurrection Stone before, they could do it again and use it as a basis for developing a potion or a ritual that would bring them back. She could have her babies back...and Jesse...

Shaking her head, Danna returned to her work. Jadis was near death, but if she didn't do the trick then maybe Xavier or Viola would. Galen, of course, had something smart to say, still refusing to play along. Taking a deep breath, Danna stood tall, staring him down.

"You're not very smart, are you?" she asked, turning around, picking Jadis up by her ankles, then spinning around, slamming the young girl's body into Galen's. Jadis continued to scream, but she had been doing it so much it was hoarse, not as loud as it had once been. For several minutes she swung the girl around, using her to whip Galen. When Jadis's struggle weakened further, she dragged the girl away further then slammed the young girl's body repeatedly into the floor until she stopped moving. Once she was sure Jadis was dead, she dropped the body then kicked her to the side.

"Innocents dropping dead doesn't bother me, but how many lives are you willing to risk to play your little game?" she hissed. "You still listening in, Dom?"

"Of course not, Mother." His head popped in through the wall.

"Tell Christian we're going with Plan C. Kill Jolene Cross and bring young Kirby to me," she commanded, walking around to pick up her various weapons. Dominic nodded slowly then disappeared back through the wall. "I'd play with your wife, too, but that's not nearly as interesting as going straight for the offspring. If other people's children don't matter to you, maybe your own will."

Fuming by the lack of progress, though she had anticipated it, Danna stalked across the room, grabbing another set of chains as well as a small pink dog collar, its tag reading COCKSLUT, and a leash. Hooking them around her arm, she walked over to set the chains up, connected to the ceiling and the floor right in front of Galen. She'd give him a great show of this.

"You'll learn one day. Maybe you won't have to lose everyone that matters to you before you do," she whispered, glaring heatedly at him.

[GALEN CROSS]

Galen just glared while Danna explained about Dominic, and how she had been using Jadis as "stress relief." "Stressed, are we? I certainly hope I didn't hit a nerve," he replied sarcastically. "Wouldn't want you butchering all the London kids because the DMLE got wind of what a great and powerful witch you are," he sneered at her. Galen swore he'd never met anyone more repulsive or despicable.

He stared defiantly right into her eyes, refusing again to choose which weapon she would use on him. She wasted no time in calling back her son, who poked his head through the wall to carry a message. One that would end the life of his Jolene, and most likely the life of his young daughter. Everything in Galen froze.

They were going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it. The Ministry kept a bit of an eye on them, but there was so much going on that Galen doubted they would pick up on anything. They were the reason that Galen had to get out of here; he'd promised them both that he would return safely. And now it had all gone wrong. This evil witch was sacrificing them to make Galen feel guilty.

Galen didn't want his daughter to see any of this. She was too young to understand what was happening, and this place would be terrifying to her. He certainly didn't want her to see him now, his limbs grotesquely twisted out of shape, blood running from various wounds on his torso and on his lip and tongue. Sweat was running in rivulets down his skin, and he was completely naked. Not to mention poor Endymion Echolls. How would Kirby ever survive seeing the things she would if she were brought here?

Galen had never in his life felt more hatred than he did right now, glaring up into the burning green eyes of this horrible abomination. She hissed at him that he needed to learn his lesson, and that if he did so quickly he might not lose everyone he loved in the process. But Galen would never break, not for Danna. His wife would rest, never having to worry again about whether or not he was coming home, and without ever having to see everything that was happening. Galen could hope that her death itself would be merciful, but he knew better. His poor, precious Jolene, who he loved with all of his heart.