Abduction, maybe, but not rape."Persephone put her coffee cup down.We were having a very late breakfast in the coffee shop at the Glory of Zion, a des...rt resort that lived up to its name a few miles outside the park. So far out of our price range we'd never have stayed here but for Mrs. D, who'd telephoned the day before to tell us she'd booked adjoining suites for a few days of R & R. She and Mrs. H would arrive later, she said."So, what happened, Persephone?" I asked.Persephone shook her. I answered the phone and the wife shouted at me, telling me her card had been refused when the 3 had decided to pay up at the closing of the bar, and I needed to talk to the bar manager. Without further words from her, a mans voice, clam and professional, asked if I would pay over the phone, a third of the drinks - dinner bill. I could not say no without seeming petty so I reached for my wallet and reeled of the 16 digit number and the other usual stuff. It was a heavy night even for these 3,. Claire walked through the door just a minute after Christa had taken out the glass cover of her own songbird clock with the plastic bottle cork."Hey there," Will said, and handed Claire a glass. She took it gingerly and kissed him on the mouth."Hey there yourself," she smiled. "Awesome news." No kidding. I wish we could have this party over in the ICU, but they kicked us out." Party poopers," Claire grinned. "How dare they not let their intensive care patients get hammered with their families.". Had you tried to rob me, or ravish me, well...” She bared her fangs, each one as sharp as a butcher’s knife, catching the light like pearls. “You would have discovered my true nature far sooner.”Iden didn’t reply, glaring at her through the slats in his visor. She rolled her eyes, loosing a sigh that was chased by a plume of black smoke.“How woefully trite. I really thought that you might be different from the others, Iden. There are less dangerous ways to test your mettle, you know.”“Have at.