"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Kendall replied heavily. "I know his father. Excuse me a moment."

He got out of his chair and walked out, probably to call the Dawsons. Katie looked at the screen again, but barely registered what it was showing.

"Do they know why he was killed?" Gideon asked.

Helaena shook her head.

"If they did, it would probably help identify who did it... I know we're not on the best of terms, but I do feel sorry for the Silverwolf clan..."

There were four major warlock clans: The Starchild, the Hearthstone, the Blackthorn and the Silverwolf. There were a dozen others around all over England, but Katie knew very little about them, as she'd focused mostly on the four primary ones. The rivalry was clear between the four of them, but the worse was between the Silverwolf and Starchild. The main reason for this was probably the fact that the Silverwolf clan had been the most respected clan until its leader was Dispelled for abusing his powers. The position had then been given to another family in the clan, though Katie didn't know which.

"Me too," Katie agreed.

Her father returned at that moment.

"That boy was just a few months older than you, Gideon..." he said heavily.

"... I remember meeting him a few times, but I don't think we got along that well.."

"That would have been because you're from different clans," Kendall explained.

Gideon then stood up with a sigh.

"Well, I just wanted to check you were all okay, so I'll be on my way."

"I'll walk you to the door," Katie offered, getting up too.

"No!"

There was a slightly stunned silence. Helaena was looking at them both, eyes wide.

"No, I don't want you going outside, it's dark. Why don't you spend the night here, Gideon? And Katie, I think you and Hazel should stay home from school a few days..."

Katie and Gideon stared at each other, then at their mother.

"Mum, are you putting us on lock-down?" she demanded.

Her mother fidgeted in her seat slightly, as though she hadn't actually expected resistance.

"I would feel much better if you stayed close, yes," she admitted.

"Mom, me missing a few days school is one thing, but you can't ask Gideon that!"

"She's right, darling," Kendall said to his wife, resting a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Cooping them up will help no one. It will only lead to frustration and tension. And as a matter of fact, if they stayed locked in so soon after the incident, it might raise suspicions."

He turned to his children.

"However, I expect you two to be extra careful, understood? And watch over your sister."

"Yes, sir," Gideon and Katie said together.

"But Kendall, really..."

"You worry too much, Mum," Gideon said. "We'll be fine."

Gideon and Katie went to his car outside. The wind had gotten stronger, colder. Katie tightened her coat around her. She then noticed Gideon looked somber.

"Are you okay?" Katie asked him. "You seemed so... shaken when I saw you arrive."

"I only knew one of our kind had been killed. I didn't know if it was one of you or not, so I had to make sure you were okay. And even without that, someone ending up like that is horrid."

"Yes, it is..." Katie agreed quietly.

She then realised he had probably taken off from his job at the music store near his university. Their parents could pay for his tuition, but he'd wanted to earn his own living, even partially.

"You won't get into trouble, will you?"

"No, my boss is a really understanding bloke." Gideon assured her. "I said I had a family emergency and needed to skip out an hour or two. He said that was fine, and that he hoped it wasn't anything serious."

Katie smiled, relieved.

"What do you make of all this?" she asked him.

He leaned against his car, arms folded, pondering.

"Honestly, I don't know. At this point, with no more information, it could be any number of things. A drunk accident, a heart attack, a head injury that made him fall, a gang settling a score, a fight gone wrong..."

"It's funny, though, isn't it? How he just happened to be a Silverwolf?"

Gideon's frown deepened.

"Now that you mention it, it is unusual..." he commented. "I mean, of course, other of our number have died, and there must a part of that number that was caught up in shady stuff... but they didn't usually have a magic symbol on them, we just knew who they were..."

Katie glanced towards the house, hugging herself to keep warm.

"Mum seemed completely spooked... it's actually giving me the willies, too..."

"Well, you know how she is. She'd take us to the hospital for a papercut if she had her way."

Katie couldn't help a small smile.

"That's true."

"One thing, though, Katie," Gideon said. "If you notice anything suspicious, anything strange, tell Mum and Dad, okay?"

Katie nodded.

"I will," she promised.

"Good. Tell Hazel to, as well."

Katie frowned.

"You don't think whoever killed Victor Dawson would go after a twelve year old, do you?"

"I don't know what to think, so I want us to be ready for anything. Magic or no magic, there are quite a few dangerous characters out there."

Katie couldn't help peering around, as though expecting said "dangerous characters" to charge up the street any second. She shook her head. She was being silly.

"I'm already late, I should really get moving," Gideon said.

Katie nodded. She wrapped her arms tightly around her brother, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"You be careful, okay?" she told him.

"You too," Gideon replied.

Katie wanted to tell him she loved him, but Gideon, while a stellar brother, was uncomfortable with expressing his affection. Hugs, he could handle, but that was about it.

"Be safe, big brother," she finally whispered.

"Always am, little sis," he answered, a small smile in his voice.

They broke apart, and he set off, blue and grey eyes watching his car drive away.

******

Hmm, more and more questions!

Do you think the Silverwolf's death is a coincidence? What else do you think it could be?

Will they figure it out? Let's find out!