She leaned against the doorframe and watched her father's truck disappear down the dirt road, throwing up dust behind it. Where was it he went all the time? She'd worked up the courage to ask him just yesterday and he'd told her he had a job with a local lumber company. 

Even though she had no reason to disbelieve him, she couldn't help but feel he was lying to her. Perhaps it had been something off in his expression or tone. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. 

Then there was the wad of cash in her hand. He'd tasked her with getting supplies again, once more expecting her to walk to town to get it. She sighed. At least she now knew about the secret market. 

Lily grabbed the duffel bag she'd purchased last time and started making her way there. Frankly, she was excited to be going. At least it would be a change of pace from the cabin. The forest was beautiful, but she had very little human interaction except for her occasional phone conversations with Klaus and what little terse communication she had with her father. 

Truth be told, she was lonely. She frowned as she walked, drawn from her internal monologue by a sense of danger running down her spine. She halted where she was and listened harder. She could have sworn she heard something. 

For a long, tense moment she began to wonder if she was hearing things but then, there! A sort of pained whimpering sound. With a furrowed brow, she made her way quietly towards the sound. Once she reached it she stared in shock. 

There, on the ground was a very young girl. She couldn't have been more than twelve. She was covered in blood and it had soaked the ground beneath her. She was pale as a sheet and barely conscious. 

"Oh my God!" Lily ran over to the girl and knelt beside her. "Sweetie? Sweetie, can you hear me?" She tried again in Russian but the girl didn't answer her either time. She looked too far gone, and Lily was no medic. She pulled out her phone. 

"Please have service!" She saw that it did and thanked her lucky stars. Klaus had a truck and could get this girl to a hospital. She knew it would take the emergency service, located in the nearest large town at least an hour or two to get here. She dialed Klaus. "Come on, pick up." 

"Hey, Lily." He sounded lazily tired. 

"Klaus!" Her tone must have alerted him to the fact that not all was right. 

"What's wrong?"

"There's a girl in the forest. She's lost a lot of blood, and my Dad took his truck with him. I was about halfway to the market you showed me."

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Stay with her." 

"I will. Thank you." They both hung up. The girl seemed more aware now and was staring at her with wide, terrified eyes. She was scrambling to sit up and got part way there before falling over again. Lily knelt down and helped the girl to lay on her lap so she wasn't face to the dirt. 

The poor thing was shaking and sobbing. Lily tried to soothe her as best she could, and finally ended up singing her songs from 'The Phantom of the Opera.' For some reason, it was all she could remember right then. Finally, the sound of someone crashing through the underbrush drew her full attention. 

Klaus was at her side in a few seconds and she nearly sobbed in relief. The girl cried out weakly and reached her hands for Klaus. 

"It's alright Natasha." he murmured. He leaned down and picked her up. Lily stood also and followed him to his truck which was at her cabin. He laid her down in the truck bed and turned to Lily. "Can you ride with her to stabilize her while we drive? I'm going to be going fast and I don't want her rolling around in her condition."

"Of course." Lily hopped in the bed of the truck and held the girl, who now clung to her. Klaus meant it when he told her he'd be driving fast. He drove down the main road at alarming speed until he came to a gravel road turnoff that she'd never noticed before. He turned onto it and before she knew it they had arrived. He laid down on the horn several times and finally a woman came running out of the cabin. She had dreadlocks wrapped back in a headscarf and wore a cami and a skirt. She wore no shoes and was covered in tattoos, her ebony skin flawless under the sun. 

She glided rather than run. Lily had never seen anyone so graceful. She hopped up into the back of the truck and when their eyes met she registered shock, but that was quickly replaced by concern when she took in the girl, Natasha. 

"Poor thing. This is serious. Come, Klaus. Bring her into my cabin." Lily followed and stood by the door frame while Klaus laid Natasha on the coffee table in the living room. Klaus made his way over to her and they both watched as the strange woman began to chant over the little girl. 

"Klaus, is she a nurse or something?"

"She's a True Witch. She came here from Nigeria illegally many years ago. She's a powerful healer."

"Wow." 

"I thought you said you believe in magic."

"I do."

"You seem surprised."

"I believe in magic, but as far as I know I've never seen it before, or met anyone who could do it." Klaus moved some of Lily's hair back from her face. 

"You're covered in blood."

"So are you." He smirked but it was strained. He clearly knew the little girl.

She rubbed his arm consolingly. "You okay?" 

"I am very concerned about her."

"Is she your niece or something?"

"No, the child of a long time friend. I've known her since she was a p... baby." 

She wondered at the slip-up but decided it was just stress induced. They both watched as the woman chanted and made some sort of strange motions with her hands, as though drawing some sort of symbols in the air. It was a long process but Lily felt spellbound by it. 

Finally, the woman lifted Natasha and sat her on the couch, covering her with a quilted blanket, and then turned to survey them. She smiled a bit. 

"You two look frightful. Klaus, you go to the guest room and clean up. I've notified Damien and he will be by soon." Klaus's expression closed down, and he seemed almost angry. He glanced meaningfully in her direction. Who was Damien and why didn't Klaus want her to know about him? The woman rolled her eyes 

"Deal with it. I will take the blame." Klaus nodded and moved away. She caught the woman's gaze. 

"What happened there?"

"It is not my place to say, dear. Come, you got the worst of it. I'm afraid those clothes are ruined. Take a shower in my room, and you may borrow some of my clothes."

"Thank you. How is she?"

"Stable. She will need some time to recover of course, but she will live." They walked into the woman's bedroom which was very bohemian chic and she wasted no time peeling off her blood-soaked jeans and shirt.  She felt that modesty in front of other women was not necessary. 

"Who is Damien?"

"You should ask Damien that." Lily sighed and gave up. She didn't want to push the woman. After all, she was a witch. She grabbed a shower, making it as quick as possible. When she came out wrapped in a towel she heard the rumble of a very deep voice. It sent shivers down her spine and what's more, she recognized it. It was that same voice from the guy in her room and the one in the woods. Was this the mysterious Damien? 

She pulled on the skirt and blouse, throwing her wet hair into a braid and very relieved to no longer be covered in blood. Something very fishy was going on and if the source of it was this Damon fellow, then she meant to get to the bottom of it somehow. Maybe she'd grill the guy. Or deck him for scaring the crap out of her before. 

If she couldn't get answers from Damien, she would grill Klaus. And poor Natasha. She wanted to sit with the girl for a bit and make sure for herself that she was okay. She took a deep breath, opened the bedroom door, and walked out.