It was time for a new age of joint, representative, council, integrated with the people, selected from all the races, and designed to enforce the rules that had kept them all safe and hidden from human persecution for so long.
It was a tricky business tracking down the right people for this job - more difficult than destroying the current Council would be. The seers Aaron had been working with were almost there, they just needed to track down Alexia Devon, the most important piece of Aaron's puzzle.
Unfortunately with Ruby and Simon gone they were further away than before. He knew his attitude towards death seemed cold and mechanical, but he didn't have the luxury of time and emotion to waste on the dead - he had learnt a long time ago to focus on the living.
"Did she manage to pass on anything? She was close. I know she was." He said, frustrated.
Ashina rubbed her forehead across her arm, leaving a streak of blood that they both ignored.
"She tried. She really did. She held on as long as she could - I had to get through a few guys to get to her, before she... Passed. She was gone by the time I got there but she wrote something - it was either Ferr or Fern or maybe it was longer. She got almost four letters before..." Ashina let the thought trail off. She didn't really want to remember the horrific scene.
The grazes were beginning to sting now, but she ignored them. The mission was too important.
"It could be anything, a person, a place..." He sighed, knowing he had a lot of work ahead of him.
"We could work with another seer. Put me on protection detail again, give me a new partner."
"How did they get through? How did they find her?" Aaron asked wondering what had gone wrong - Ashina and Simon were good at what they did.
Ashina paused before answering. She really didn't want to reveal what had happened. She knew she had been in the wrong - the deaths weighed heavily on her conscience.
"Faith? What happened? And don't bother lying. I can smell a lie a mile away" Aaron reminded her.
"Simon... Ruby and Simon got too close. They were having a relationship... I'm sorry. I should have made him break it off. I should have told you - he wasn't objective anymore."
Aaron closed his eyes. He had suspected as much.
"Love happens Faith. It's not fair to put it off for anything - not even this. Life's too short."
His expression cleared as if he was realizing something of his own.
"Well this love got them killed. Simon was distracted. He ordered me to give them some time alone, so I went for a walk. I was just outside, but they got in, past me. I couldn't get back inside the house in time. By the time I did they were dead." She explained.
"Their deaths are on the Council's head, not your own. I know you did your best to save them." Aaron said softly.
"I still feel awful. Put me on protection, or tracking or something. I can work on any leads that come up from Ruby's clue. I won't fail this time. We need to know where she is." Ashina pleaded.
"I'm not putting you back on protection. You're needed elsewhere..." Aaron paused thinking for a moment before continuing.
"In light of Simon's death you're going to need a new partner. Fang, come in please."
Ashina stared at Aaron as if he'd grown another head. The door to her balcony opened and the biggest, most dangerous Shifter she'd ever met stepped through the gap.
His eyes were clear blue, and his hair closely shaved, just like always. He had a little more stubble, and another scar over his right eyebrow, but aside from that, he looked the same as he had last time she'd seen him four years ago.
Of course this time he was wearing clothes, which was a big plus.
Not that his body was unfortunate looking. He was hard all over, heavily muscled, and big everywhere. Ashina swallowed audibly.
Fang. The man that had trained her. The man who had made her the 'other woman'. The wolf who had taken her virginity, hurting her, and scaring her so badly that she had never wanted to go through the experience again.
Faith's jaw dropped in shock, before she rounded on Aaron in anger.
"Tell me you're joking." She demanded, horrified. She couldn't work with that monster.
"I don't see anything funny about the situation Faith. I need you to work with him. Simon's death should be more than enough proof that we can't have agents out there alone. The Council is too good. The Joint Council, and finding Alexia is too important." Aaron said calmly.
Smug bastard.
"Faith. We can work together. We've done it before, and it's too important now not to." Fang said, his voice low and persuasive.
His voice was the only part of him that wasn't rough. A shiver of fear went down her spine, but she covered it well, launching herself off the sofa, closer to Aaron, and further from Fang.
Fang watched her appraisingly. He could tell that she was in pain, and tired, and if he wasn't mistaken, she was more than a little scared of him.
He had hoped that she would be over that by now. He'd acted like a jerk and apparently Ashina had a very long memory.
His mind flashed back to earlier in the evening. He'd only seen her cry twice in the time he'd known her, and he'd hated seeing it both times. Knowing he wasn't the cause of the tears this time didn't make him feel any better about it.
"I can't. I can't work with him." Ashina said.
"Well in that case you won't be working. That's your choice. Partner with him, or wait in the wings. I can't have any lone wolves out there. We can't afford it right now."
She stared at the Death Walker in shock. She couldn't sit back and not help him in his quest. It was too important. Her head ached and she brought her fingers to her forehead wincing as the movement pulled at the grazes on her arm. They were beginning to close over on their own now - a bad thing considering she hadn't had a chance to wash the dirt out of them.
The pain brought her mind back to the current situation. She couldn't even look at Fang without her stomach dropping in fear. She couldn't work with him. He'd hurt her again. She had promised herself she'd never go through that again.
"I can't do it." Ashina said