Fighting his way out of the coat surrounding him, Gabriel's eyes shimmered in bright silver moonlight. His tense muscles relaxed, and the hysteria taking him over seemed to breathe itself out of every pore, like a balloon deflating. Within his mind a serene peace came across him, and he felt re-affirmed in every fibre.

Picking himself up, he leapt from wall to wall on each side of the alley until he arrived at the rooftops. Sighting the Seven Roses some distance away, he began to jump from roof to roof, bounding at great speed back to his temporary home.

Crashing back through the door to the bar, Gabriel was immediately struck by the stillness of the place. Stefan and Rosiel were upstairs, but they were the only auras he could sense. Mystie was not there; neither was Miss Josephine, not even her cat. He knew it was strange for them all to have simply left at the same time, but there was not even the slightest indication of where they had gone; it was as if they had all decided to run to the hills.