When the door handle jiggled, I crossed my mental fingers and prayed it was Aunt Bea. It wasn't. Alpha Daniel and Kiri entered the room, their clothes and hair slick with rain.

"It's storming in the south, moving fast. I assume you called for help. Will they be able to cure him?" Alpha Daniel didn't spare me a look as he crossed the small living space and knelt beside Nick.

"Aunt Bea will be able to help him and keep him quiet. This isn't going to be pleasant for anyone, especially Nick."

"How long before he's able to move again? I know the history." Alpha Daniel remained in Nick's view. He was aware of the comforts a paralyzed person would look for.

"It shouldn't be long." I curled up on the couch, leaning my head on the armrest. Thunder crackled outside like it was announcing Nick's rescuer. In a way it was.

Kiri curled up next to me, her natural look back. I ran my fingers through her hair, working out the knots. She had to be exhausted, we all were. When Aunt Bea arrived, I would put on a pot of coffee.

"Do you know who did it? Did you see anything?" Alpha Daniel pulled the end table over and perched on it, making sure he was still in Nick's view.

"I didn't see anything. The crowd was thick," Kiri said. "Nick knocked into me, then he was frozen."

"I was behind them," I said. "I wasn't expecting anything like that to happen and suddenly he was down. I'm sorry."

"Where could someone have acquired gorgon blood? They've been extinct since The Silent War."

"It's possible some still exists underground." It was possible, but there would have been a rumor if something like that was circulating. Witches worked in different power levels, so you could always find dangerous materials if you looked hard enough, but gorgons blood was a holy grail of danger. No good witch would dare with the poison. If someone had it, there would have been a full-on battle for it and the Morills would have known about it. A movement of that many dark witches didn't go unnoticed.

"Could we track them down? I don't want this stuff anywhere near my pack, anywhere in general."

"I don't know," I admitted.

The house shook as the storm finally hit the center of town. The scrape of metal on cement mingled with the howl of the wind. With no warning, the door banged open and my aunt barged in, toting her ancient carpetbag over her work cloak.

Kiri shot of my lap, her movements were sluggish but alert, nonetheless.

"Alexis?" Aunt Bea's eyes were wide and her hair was slicked back beneath a pair of aviation goggles.

"I'm here." My knees cracked as I stood. "Do you have everything we might need?"

"I need to see the boy." She waved us all away as she approached Nick, her curly hair bouncing as she began to work. She snapped her fingers and little sparks of light danced between the digits. "Oh, he's fully conscious. Hello Nick, I can't shake your hand, but it's nice to meet you."

From her bag, she drew half a dozen vials of various shades. Their powers were beyond me, but some of the colors looked familiar from my childhood, along with the carpets we had long abandoned cleaning.

"Now Nick," Aunt Bea took on a motherly tone, "this will hurt a little, but I am going to need to flush the blood from your system. It's not as bad as it sounds, and I will give you something so your body can regenerate what it loses, but you are going to feel sluggish and tired."

She turned to address the concerned faces in the room. "Are the boy's parents aware of what's happened?"

"He's mine." Alpha Daniel seemed to reconsider what he'd said and hurriedly added, "My responsibility, that is."

"And you are giving me the go-ahead to help him? Trust me, Daniel, it won't be pleasant for anyone."

"You have permission to do what you need to. Is there anything I can help with?"

"I will need a couple of buckets." Aunt Bea tapped her broken fingernails together. "Maybe some blankets. We want him to stay as warm as possible."

Aunt Bea got back to work, pulling a long, gleaming needle from her purse and a long, plastic tube sealed in an airproof bag. I watched as she wiped off the needle and rubbed Nick's arm. The metal slowly pierced his skin, and a thin stream of blood spouted from the wound.

"Kiri!" Aunt Bea's forceful tone had Kiri jumping beside me "Fetch me the biggest bowl you have while Alpha Daniel is getting the other supplies."

"I have a popcorn bowl, it came with the apartment." Kiri talked as she did my aunt's bidding. "Once the tool starts filtering out, his blood will flow faster and I'll bring him to the tub."

"Will he be comfortable?" Anya asked, her gaze dropping.

Aunt Bea regarded her with a kindly smile. "I don't believe I've met you, hun. I'm Alexis's aunt, and I will take good care of your friend. "He'll be as comfortable as I can make him."

"Thank you. I'm Anya."

"It's lovely to meet you." Aunt Bea stood as the first few drops of scarlet blood dripped into the popcorn bowl, the red shining brightly against the faded white. The smell of rusty iron filled the room with the sugary hint of poison. "Alexis, your uncle caught me on the way out of the manor. He'll be here soon. Could you meet him when he gets here? I want to start working on the regenerative potion before Nick has a need."

"He's coming?" I choked out, feeling the eyes of everyone swivel to me.

"Yes, honey. He was worried you'd need help. Apparently, he has some idea of who did it." She waved casually, her bracelets and charms jingling on her wrists. "I hope he does. I would hate to have another person get poisoned."

My mouth turned dry. There was so much going on, a break in the case couldn't have come at a busier time. "He has a lead?"

"Something about it. I really wasn't paying attention to him, I was so flustered."

Leave it to Aunt Bea to space out while talking about one of the most important things she might ever hear. I loved my aunt, but sometimes I wondered why she was the Mother. Her actions were more like a hair-brained teacher who managed moments of discipline and I had to wonder how the Crone and Maiden took her seriously.

Her head ticked to the side before a larger smile broke out. "He's here, honey. Go meet him, will you?"

I never knew how she did it, but Aunt Bea could always tell when one of us was nearby. When I was little, I asked her how, and her only reply was "I don't want you to get lost." I didn't understand then, but she had lost two siblings and her parents. We were her only family. It would have been sweet if it didn't creep me out.

The forceful knock on the door matched my heart. So much for proving I didn't need his help. I had already called Aunt Bea, so what was one more person.

The metal handle felt cold under my hand, cutting to the bone as I pulled the door open.

My uncle stood there, his lips turned down in that brooding way. I was sure even the rain would alter its course to avoid him.

"Hello, Uncle. I was going to call you, but I wasn't sure if there was a need for you skill." My excuse was a half-truth, but he turned his nose up at my words.

"Gorgon's blood," he said. "This could be detrimental to both humans and Coth. This is my business, especially if it's in this town."

"I would have told you...eventually."

He arched a brow. "I suppose your aunt has told you I have information about it?" He stepped inside and pulled off his overcoat, revealing the scarlet shirt he never wore outside the manor. He truly must have hurried over.

"What do you know?" I glanced at Nick, whose skin had grown increasingly paler. "I want to catch the bastard who did this."

"You needn't use such language, Alexis. I agree though." He pulled out a folded piece of paper. "There is an eccentric witch who has recently moved here. I suspect she could be powerful enough to obtain gorgon blood. Or the other issues of the town....the attacks perhaps. You were working on that."

He handed me the paper and I scrambled to open it. I didn't know the woods, but the witch's home was nestled in a clearing upriver. I would just have to follow it.

"I'll go as soon as Nick is healed," I promised. "I hope it is that simple."

"And if she's gone by then?" Uncle questioned. "Your friend will be fine, but I can't say the town will be if she escapes."

I took a deep breath, my nails digging crescents into my palms. My heart was hammering and I prayed my uncle wouldn't question the rush of blood to my cheeks. "I'm sure Nick won't miss me. I'll leave now."

"I would go with you, but I need to speak with Alpha Daniel. I advise you not to get too close. The witch is powerful."

"I'll take that into account." I looked back at the group. "Will you explain to them why I've gone? I don't want Kiri to feel like she needs to come with me, and Anya and Alpha Daniel need to be here for Nick."

"I will take care of it." Uncle handed me the jacket from the hook his now occupied. "Good luck, Alexis."

I spared one last look at the room that had become a sort of sanctuary for us. The storm outside had moved on, but the humid air still lingered around the door. The hellfire outside was nothing compared to the warm friendship inside Kiri's apartment. It was remarkable how we had all come together for Nick, and I was happy to be a part of it. Hopefully, I would return to it. I couldn't lose this. Not after I had just accepted that I could have it.