The doctor swallowed past a lump in his throat but said nothing else. He thought about his neat little office and his chubby secretary. He thought about the house he'd just bought with a backyard filled with trees. He thought of the dinner parties he went to on weekends with other doctors and lawyers and their wives. And Silvia's scent enveloped him.

"Who shot Halis?" Mr. Ymel asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't know," Dr. Trarsius said. He wanted to see his house again and live his life, but Silvia's face swam before him. He could see her lips forming the word, please.

"You don't know?" Mr. Ymel said. His eyes were dark behind his smile.

"I'm afraid not. She didn't tell me anything."

"And you did not insist on knowing before you treated him?" Mr. Ymel said.

"She claimed she did it. He claimed she did not," the doctor said.

"And there was no one else there? No...bodies." Ymel asked.

"Not that I saw." He thought about the blue faced man who had lain carelessly outside the door of a bedroom upstairs. He thought of the big burly man with a horrible puncture wound to his thigh.

Mr. Ymel was silent, but his eyes stared coldly at the doctor.

"Where are they, Dr. Trarsius?" Mr. Henton asked.

Outside the window men were beginning to pour inside. More of the women were dancing. They wore or didn't wear anything the mind could conjure. One woman was covered with what could easily have been black tar, it slanted over her body in a neat strip all the way up her neck and covered one eye. Long black silk scarves encircled her wrists tethering them together though not inhibiting her movements. She danced wildly.

"I'm afraid, I can't tell you," the doctor slid his sweating palms on his legs.

"You should be afraid, Doctor," Mr. Henton said.

"We thought you were our friend, Dr. Trarsius," Mr. Ymel said. "I shouldn't like to find out that we thought wrongly."

"If Silvia wished for you she would have sent for you. I gave my word I wouldn't go for help. I gave her my word that I would treat her privately."

"And it was our money that she paid you," Henton said.

"She hasn't paid me," Dr. Trarsius said.

"Are you our friend, Doctor?" Mr. Ymel asked.

"Yes," Dr. Trarsius said. His voice sounded thin and high. He doubted he would ever see his house or his friends again. Silvia's face haunted his mind, her eyes were scared, and he knew what she wanted.

"Silvia and Halis Black are dangerous people. You aren't doing the society a favor by helping to keep them on the loose," Ymel said as he leaned forward. "They could do unspeakable damage."

"And who made them that way?" Dr. Trarsius asked. He stood up. If they were going to kill him, they could very well just do it. He was sick of their game of cat and mouse.

Sondro was at his side in a second and pushed him back into his chair. Sondro's huge and powerful hands like cement weights.

"Think about what you are doing, Dr Trarsius. We will find them with or without your help. Do you really want to be our enemy?" Henton asked.

"I will not help you find her!"

"She will not appreciate your efforts. She has no heart and will not value your love or your loyalty," Mr. Ymel said.

"I will not help you."

"I'm tired of this business," Henton said.

Dr. Trarsius stared at him. The women outside danced.

"Kill him,"Henton said.

Sondro hauled the doctor to his feet. Dr. Trarsius stared up at him. He said nothing. Sondro grabbed the doctor's head and twisted it. Dr. Trarsius heard his neck snap. He felt himself fall to the ground. He saw Silvia laughing and didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Then he saw nothing; he felt nothing.

***

"We should have tortured him," Mr. Ymel said.

"It wasn't worth it. He was scum, and we can find what he didn't tell us," Henton said. "We know why they are missing. Halis' injuries are the reason. Whatever she went out to accomplish is likely completed. Halis got away from the encounter, and I cannot imagine he left any man standing."

"What now?" Mr. Ymel asked.

"We search through the doctor's things. Find addresses, directions anything to lead us to her. We trace everyone who was at Silvia's last show. She left after that damn show. Whatever inspired her to leave happened then. We try the locator spells again. We keep our eyes and ears open. Anything else?" Henton asked.

"Check the local papers and rumors for anything about unusual infestations of spiders. They are said to be drawn to Halis' kind," Mr. Ymel said.

"Monitor the doctors. Especially ones who work in Dr. Trarsius' sector. She may call another when he doesn't show up," Mr. Henton added.

"And then we wait," Ymel said.

"As long as Halis doesn't die before we find her. There isn't another to replace him," Mr. Henton said. He lowered his head into his hands.

"And if we don't find them soon? What then?" Mr. Ymel said. "They must be found. She can't be running loose, with or without Halis, she is a major threat, and it is possible that she could be traced back to us. And him..."

"If we don't find them soon, we call in outside help. We call in trackers," Henton said. He looked toward the window out at the girls. They danced in the crowded room. One girl was walking to one of the side doors. A man followed her through the curtain.

"I can think of few girls I'd dislike losing as much as Silvia...but if we must we'll call in assassins. She mustn't be allowed to roam free."

*Thanks for reading :) Please vote/comment.