Boston's March weather was in fine form: lacking the heat for a proper thunderstorm or the cold for a blizzard, it spitefully settled for a frigid, dingy drizzle. The sky was a gray reminiscent of overused dishwater; the thirty-five degree rain pouring out of it and pounding against the window panes of the falafel shop looked somehow less appealing. A strong wind was just potent enough to send water sweeping underneath all but the broadest of umbrellas.

If it weren't for the incentive of strong coffee and the heavy burden of duty, Idessa Elswythdottir was quite certain that she wouldn't be getting out of bed at all, especially on her day off. No doubt the passersby trudging miserably through the rain felt the same way. Nonetheless, the siren song of sleep would have to wait, and walking in the rain was nowhere near the hardest thing she would have to do for the day.

"I know why you're here. I was wondering when you were going to do something. Though I have to admit, I'm surprised you didn't call Sanjit first."

Idessa looked up from the dark depths of her coffee to glare across the table at the second most powerful witch for ten miles in any direction. "You don't know why I'm here," she answered out of pure contrariness, ignoring the all-too-knowing look in sharp brown eyes. "Maybe I just wanted to see my childhood friend Malina at one of our shared favorite restaurants. Is that so wrong?"

Malina eyed Idessa for a long moment, then broke her ramrod-straight posture to lean back in her chair. As always, she was immaculately put together: a pressed white blouse and matte black skirt had somehow escaped the oily atmosphere of the shop. A taupe jacket and matching striped scarf were her sole concessions to the weather; that, and a mysteriously dry umbrella that was suspiciously not dripping onto the linoleum. Her glossy black hair was pulled back in a neat bun from whose iron grip no strand dared escape.

A cup of ice water sat in front of her-- an early riser by both habit and nature, Malina abstained from caffeine, processed and sugar-rich foods, and alarms, all of which were necessary to get Idessa out of bed at a reasonable hour. She took the cup in her hand and drained a third of it in a long pull. Perfectly manicured nails tapped the glass. "All right. I'll play along. How's your job going, Dessa?"

"Well enough," Idessa replied. "Dr. Yu is a grouchy old bastard but he pays well enough and doesn't keep me late on the nights of the full moon. I thought I would have to look for longer before getting steady, well-salaried work, even as a physician's assistant. How are your students?"

"As always, a charming mix of very astute and astonishingly short-sighted." A real smile touched Malina's lips, though her gaze was no less piercing for it. "The boys are as always disappointed to learn they won't be getting any French girls with a heavy American accent. My Latin class is the same blend of aspiring lawyers, aspiring doctors, and Catholics whose families never quite got the spirit of Vatican II."

The coffee was very strong and very sweet. Idessa finished the last aromatic swallow and smirked at Malina. "Sounds familiar to me."

Malina sipped her water primly. "Nonsense. I never had aspirations to law or medicine. And it's certainly not my mastery of the French language that got me girls."

"Of course not," Idessa snorted. "Neither did Hindi, for that matter. Nor two types of sign language. Nor 'a variant of northern Algonquin' or whatever it is you said I speak."

"We're in agreement, then." Malina stared Idessa down. "So Idessa. How's your family?"

If Idessa avoided flinching, it was only by the skin of her teeth. Malina had always seen and heard far too much for anyone's comfort. She looked down at the dregs of her coffee and didn't answer for a long moment.

"So you've heard."

"Heard is the wrong word. Felt would be closer. I pass a hospital on the train every day to work. You think I wouldn't recognize his aura there getting stronger by the day? I'm shocked you haven't gotten the same reading from the patients in Dr. Yu's clinic."

Idessa swallowed. "Dr. Yu doesn't really work with infectious disease. I heard about it in the news, but figured it was just a worse-than-average flu season. Maybe a rabies outbreak, or a new coronavirus strain at worst. Keegan's been gone so long I didn't realize it was him until one of Yu's regulars was hospitalized."

There was pity but no softness in Malina's eyes. "Didn't realize, or didn't want to realize?"

"Distinction without a difference." That part came out distinctly bitter. "Don't get all high and mighty with me, Lina. Would you have guessed he would do something like this? Would any of us have guessed?"

"Octavian would have."

She had nothing to say to that. Idessa realized her tiny cup of coffee had lost its warmth. She set it back on the table with a clink.

Malina sighed. "I'm sorry. That was a low blow, and you're right. I certainly didn't expect your brother to unleash a plague, and we would have stopped him if we saw it coming."

That elicited a bitter chuckle. "It's not a plague. Plagues I can cure. Plagues are something I've spent years studying until I could wipe them away by snapping my fingers. No, this is a curse--real old-world, Elder One level stuff. I have no idea where Keegan learned how to do something like this. If there's anyone not strictly vanilla mortal in the hospital they'll know about it already, and it's only a matter of time before even the mortals start to smell a rat.. Part of the reason I asked you here."

"You think I can break whatever spell he put on these people?" Malina actually looked surprised. She took a sip of her water and pursed her lips in thought for a moment. "That's...a tall order. I'm better with wards, enchantments. You know, the things that stop you from getting cursed in the first place. I haven't been able to examine anyone afflicted by it, either. If there's not a central nexus, or if I can't examine one of the afflicted myself...I'm not sure I can do anything."

Finally, a problem Idessa could solve. "They know me at New England Baptist. I can get you in, no problem, and throw in a patient of Yu's to boot. I can tell them you're his niece or something."

Malina still looked doubtful. She pursed her lips and swirled the ice water idly in her cup. In desperation, Idessa blurted: "And you can have as much power of mine as you need to break the curse. I swear to give you whatever aid you nee--"

In a flash Malina's hand was over her mouth. "Idessa, for fuck's sake," she hissed. "You know better than to make that kind of promise, even to me. What on earth are you thinking?"

Idessa pulled away from the grasp and gave Malina a pleading look. "He's my brother, Lina. He's a dick, and he's bitten off more than he can chew with this curse, but he's still my brother. If the Foremost catches wind of this curse and figures out who caused it, Keegan will suffer. And if Octavian hears that he was responsible..."

She didn't have to finish the sentence. Malina exhaled slowly through her nose.

"Even after all this time, you're still cleaning up his messes." It wasn't a question, and invited no response. Idessa took the hint and kept quiet. "What will you do if I can't break the spell? Or if I can break it on one person, but more people fall to it in the meantime?"

"Then we figure out what to do next. But I think you can do it. You were always better than Keegan at the Craft. Better than me, too."

Malina shook her head sharply. "You didn't answer my question. What if I can't break it? What then?"

"Then we find my idiot brother and beat him until he cleans up his own mess for once. I'll let you have the first crack at him. Aim for the balls."

That didn't earn the smile that Idessa had hoped for. The wind shifted, the rain intensifying and drumming incessantly against the glass of the window. In time, Malina shifted in her seat.

"After all this time, I wouldn't do it for him," she said slowly. "Keegan made his bed years ago and as far as I'm concerned he can lie in it. Even if it brings the Foremost down on his head. Even if Octavian decides he's a monster and puts a silver bullet in him. But I will try to break the curse for the sake of the men and women afflicted by it. And even if I think you'd do better to cut your ties with him, I'll help you find him."

Idessa exhaled, not even realizing she had been holding her breath. "Lina, I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"I already know how much it means to you," Malina answered, returning to her usual breezy confidence with a grin. She stood up from the wooden chair and picked up the still entirely-too-dry umbrella. "Pay for your coffee, Dessa. It's Saturday morning, and I have grading to finish by Monday. Let's get to work."