So… should I keep posting?

Thanks to those who donated, it was greatly appreciated. I didn’t meet the goal for getting COBRA coverage, so we’ll have to figure out something else instead. For anyone who was still considering donating in the future, we have just as much need of it as before (especially since our gas was just turned off on Tuesday).

Again, thanks to everyone who was able to donate. It was appreciated.

“I appreciate it,” Shiobhan said.

“It’s better than sitting around doing nothing. You know me, I get restless… have to stretch my legs and run sometimes.” Patting his bike, he said, “It’s not as good as a true run, but she’s almost as fast as four legs and doesn’t tire quite as soon.”

“See you at the shop tomorrow, then?”

He nodded and slipped the helmet over his head, starting up the bike with a throaty mechanical purr. Inclining his head towards her, he punched it and tore out of the parking lot, opening the throttle and letting the bike soar. I just hope a cop doesn’t see him driving like that.

Shiobhan slid into the car and shut the door, her mind tangled with too many different thoughts vying for attention. Closing her eyes for a moment, she grounded and centered, whispering a prayer to the Goddess for strength and wisdom.

As she drove back to the Wild Rose, her mind kept returning to one thought. I know that I cleansed all the shadow tendrils the other day when I visited Glenn in the hospital. But there was definitely some again today, as if they were feeding upon him.

Thinking on that a bit more, she hit the steering wheel when the answer came to her. “Of course,” she muttered. They were feeding on him. Which means he isn’t just another normal mundane amongst the blind masses. That would explain the attraction I felt when touching him– like calls to like, and power calls to power.

Her thoughts turned grim as she followed that thread of logic. Which means things are possibly worse than I thought, if the attempt on his life was deliberate, and someone’s been draining energy from his talent. He mentioned a migraine, it’s likely that whomever was involved was metaphysically reasserting the tendrils, and that caused a physical response. Hopefully the protection oil should ward him long enough for us to get a better idea of what’s going on, or until I can shield him better.

She pulled into a parking spot near the shop and tossed the keys to Taz as she entered it. “Thanks.” Seeing Kelly was with another customer, she snagged the phone and said, “I’ll be in the back making some calls.”

Drawing in a deep breath, she dialed her father’s number. A few rings and the answering machine picked up. “Hi Dad, it’s Shiobahn,” she said, knowing he usually screened calls.

Sure enough, he picked up. “Hi hon. Is she ok?”

“We’re not sure. I talked to her roommate, and she didn’t come home last night.” She mentally debated for a moment before giving in and adding, “I think someone’s taken her, Dad.”

“What do you mean? Taken her where? How do you know? What can I do?” She could hear the panic rising in his voice as he talked, and raised her empathic shields higher, not wanting to be overwhelmed by his emotion.

“I think someone kidnapped her. She went with some of her friends to help pick up a classmate who’d had too much to drink. But she didn’t come home from the club with them, and one of the bouncers ended up in the hospital. They found him outside the club down the street.

“We found her student ID card a few streets over. It looks like she might have been running away from someone, and the bouncer saw or heard something and they beat him up. He’s ok, but doesn’t remember much from that night. We’re going to go over there with him tomorrow night once he’s out of the hospital, and see if he can remember anything then. But since she didn’t call anyone and no-one’s seen her, it looks like whomever attacked the bouncer likely kidnapped her.”

She heard a muffled curse through the phone and waited for some time before he replied. “I’ll be on the next flight to T. F. Green. Can you meet me at the airport?”

Shaking her head, she said, “No, Dad. It’s best that you stay where you are. If she manages to get away from them, or if she wasn’t kidnapped, she’ll probably call you. She hasn’t talked to me in years, she probably wouldn’t call here. Or if the kidnappers try to ransom her, they’ll probably call you. We don’t know for sure what’s going on right now, but we can’t take any chances.”

“You’re probably right,” he said with an audible sigh. “I just hate sitting here, knowing that she’s not ok, and not being able to do something about it.”

“I know. Remember when I was young and you were still working as a long-haul truck driver? How Mom and I would leave a candle by the window, so you’d have a light to guide you home? That’s what you’re doing for Sorcha. Light a candle for her, and keep it burning. Pray for her. That means more than most people ever realize. Let me and mine work from here to find her, and you just keep home ready to welcome her back.”

“When did you grow up and become so wise?” At a loss for words, Shiobahn couldn’t think of any response. “Probably when I was too busy badgering you for not doing what I wanted you to. I don’t think I said it enough when you were growing up, but I’m proud of you, kid.” Tears formed in her eyes as he changed the subject. “Have you contacted the police yet?”

“Not yet, that was my next call. The bouncer gave me the number of the detective looking into his attack; since they’re likely related, I’ll contact him and handle filing any paperwork necessary.”

“Bring her home safe, Shiobhan.”

“Gods willing, that’s what I intend to do. I’ll call you if I hear anything. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She took a moment to regain her composure, wiping the tears from her eyes. Dialing the number on the card, she spoke with the officer and filled him in on the situation. Detective Ranier took the report with sincere concern, and requested she come down to the station to file a full report.

“I can’t put out an Amber Alert,” he said, “since she’s over 18. We also don’t know who took her or what kind of car she’s in, either. But if you come on down to the station, we can get a report filed right away and inform the NCIC about it. They track kidnapping cases on a federal level, so if someone takes her across state lines, the information will still be in the system.”

“Thanks. I just need to talk to my employees here at the shop and I’ll be right over to do that.”

“Give the front desk my name, and I’ll walk you through the paperwork. Given what you said about events, I’ll handle this as an extension of the case I’m already working, and I’ll ask around to see if any other missing persons fit a similar profile.”

“I appreciate it, Detective. My father’s staying at home in Portland in case anyone tries to call there, but if we need him, he’ll fly down.”

“He’s probably best where he is, but I’ll let you know if we think he should be present. I’ve got another call coming in, so I’ll see you in a few minutes?”

“Yes, sir,” she promised, and hung up. Heading out to the front of the store, she set the phone down on the cradle and sighed, rubbing her temples. Looking around and seeing no customers, but both Taz and Kelly looking at her with concern, she gave them a wan smile.

“As far as we can tell– and this is not confirmed– it looks like she might have been kidnapped. I’m about to head over to the police station and file a missing persons report. I’m probably going to be in and out of the shop a lot over the next however long it takes to find her, so the store is in your hands. Alternate shifts if you want, or whatever, just work it out amongst yourselves. I’ll approve any overtime, just fill out your time cards and I’ll make sure to come in on Thursday to call in the payroll.”

“Take care of yourself and we’ll hold the fort down here while you find your sister,” Taz said.

“Amen,” Kelly said. “If there’s anything we can do… anything… just let us know.”

“Ditto.” Tossing his keys on the table in front of her, Taz said, “Take the Honda until this is sorted out. I know you’re not crazy on driving a lot, but you might need it. And she’s fast.” Sheepishly, he added, “There’s a radar jammer in the glove compartment if you need, too.”

Her eyes misting over again, Shiobhan said, “Thanks guys.” Hugging each of them tightly, she took comfort in their friendship. “I have to run, but I’ll call if I hear anything. It’s also possible that she might come to the shop, so ring my cell if anything comes up. I’ll actually turn it on for once.”

“You mean, for the first time since you bought it?” Taz joked.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She headed back out the door, feeling like she’d been running around all day to accomplish so little.

Opening his eyes was a mistake, he quickly realized, as the light stabbed painfully through his blurry vision. “Yeah.” Running through the mental checklist, he thought, Light sensitivity, check. Dizziness, check. Nausea, check. Massive head pain, check, check, check. Another check for good measure, while I’m at it. Shoulders starting to tighten up and feel like rocks? Migraine, check. “I think it’s just a migraine. I get them from time to time. Have a script for Imitrex, usually does the trick.” Wincing as his own voice hurt to hear, he said, “It’s got all the classic symptoms.” Speaking softer, he related the list of symptoms to her.

“Let me shut the curtains, then, and check your vitals and talk to the doctor. We should be able to get you something a little faster acting than that.” He heard her draw the curtains shut, wincing again as the sound grated painfully to his ears. He kept his eyes closed as she took his blood pressure and temperature again, fighting the temptation to cover his ears with his hands at the sound of her writing on the chart. “Be back in just a moment, hang in there, hon.”

True to her word, she came back in a few moments. “Doctor agreed that it sounds like a migraine. Have you ever had Demerol before?”

“Once, when I was in the service and had a severe migraine, visual distortions and all. Worked fine.” Opening his eyes cautiously, he watched as she injected the syringe into his IV line, the fluid trickling down into the vein in his hand.

“Good. This shouldn’t take too long to kick in,” she said. “I’ll check back on you in 15 minutes or so and see if it helps, ok? Anything else you need?”

“Once my head stops pounding, I should be good. Thanks.” Arching his back, he felt a few joints crack and the tension lessened a bit. Leaning back, he fought off a yawn. So tired… don’t really understand why, since I slept long enough. There are worse ways to shake a migraine, though.

Another yawn, and he felt sleep rising up to welcome him with a soft embrace. Giving in, he fell into the darkness.

“Feeling any better? Checked in on you before, but you were sleeping.”

“Much better, it’s mostly gone at this point. Just after-effects, thanks.”

“Good. There are some people here to see you, if you’re up to some visitors?”

“Certainly. More interesting than watching TV,” he said with a grin.

“I’ll send them on in, then.”

Confusion set in as two unfamiliar faces walked into the room. The man was dressed in leathers, his brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, highlighting his high cheekbones. Probably Native American somewhere in the line, from the looks of it. He didn’t recognize the woman, either, but he was hardly complaining at being visited by someone as beautiful as she was. Light brown hair framed her face, flowing as she moved gracefully into the room. Curvy in all the right ways, his mind whispered, and he didn’t even try to disagree.

“Mr. Chase, I’m Shiobhan McGowan, and this is Robert Jackson.” He shook their hands, still somewhat bemused. “I’m sorry to intrude on you on a time like this, but it’s an important matter.”

“Call me Glenn, please. And have a seat, I don’t mind the company, not at all.” Ignoring the mental comments part of his mind was making, he said, “I’d be glad to help, if I can.”

“We understand that you were recently attacked outside of the club ‘Dancing Shadows’?” Robert asked.

Glenn nodded. “Yes, I was. I’m a bouncer there.” Frowning, he said, “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what happened. I was out by the street, and someone hit me from behind. I’m not even sure why I was outside the club. It’s all a bit fuzzy to me.”

The woman, Shiobhan, handed him a picture. “Do you happen to remember seeing this woman? She was last seen at the club, and we have reason to believe that she was taken from there against her will.”

“Are you guys cops or something?” he asked as he studied the picture. Something tugged at the back of his mind, but when he tried to put his finger on it, it slid away from him.

“No, she’s my sister. We haven’t involved the police yet.”

Looking closer at the picture, he shook his head. “I can’t say for sure. She looks somewhat familiar, but I’m not remembering anything definite. I might have seen her in passing, there’s usually a lot of faces there. I’m sure that the police would be able to help you better, with Amber Alert and all.”

Looking at Robert, Shiobhan said, “Can you even file an Amber alert on a college student?”

“I’ve no clue. Not sure what the age cutoff is for that.”

“Well, we don’t have much we can go to the police with at this point. She’s only been missing for some twelve or so hours, which is usually too soon to file a report, I think. But it seems to me that it’s a little bit more than coincidental that she disappeared from your club around the same time that you were attacked. Something tells me that the two events are not unrelated.”

Reaching towards the table by his bed, Glenn snagged the detective’s business card and handed it to the woman, watching the way she moved to take it from his outstretched hand, his skin tingling as her hand brushed his. “Look, that’s the guy investigating my attack. Give him a call, worst case scenario he tells you to file a missing persons report later on. We can only hope that they jump on the ball quicker instead, given everything.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” She slid the card into a pocket in her blouse, and bit her lower lip, obviously in thought. “You don’t remember much of anything about the attack itself?”

“Not really, no,” he said. “I have a few flashes of memories, but it’s like a jumbled up puzzle that’s missing a lot of pieces, and I don’t know how they’re supposed to fit back together. I was thinking of going over there tomorrow night and see if I can put some of the pieces together. Maybe being back at the scene will help me remember. If you guys want to meet me there, you’re more than welcome. I’d go tonight, but the doctors want me to stay overnight for observation.”

His temples started pounding again, and he winced. “Which, given the migraine I just dealt with, I’m not entirely unhappy about, truth be told.”

Shiobhan smiled, and his heart did a little flip-flop as she did so, delighting the way it seemed to brighten the room. “I would appreciate that very much. I have something that might help with that, if you’re not adverse to trying something herbal?”

“I’m willing to try about anything once.” Especially when administered by someone as cute as you are…

She reached into her purse and pulled out a vial, checking the label and nodding in satisfaction. Opening it, she dabbed a few drops on her fingers and moved to the side of his bed. Leaning forward, she placed her fingers on each of his temples and gently began rubbing the oil in. He breathed deep, smelling something crisp and clean, as the coolness of the liquid and the gentleness of her touch seemed to pull the pain back. Realizing that he had instinctively closed his eyes in pleasure, he reopened them to realize he was staring down her shirt at a delightful expanse of soft skin, and closed them again.

He opened his eyes again when she was finished, and looked around in amazement as his vision seemed sharper and clearer. Shaking his head, he felt no remnants of pain or tension, the fog that had been clouding his mind gone. “I have no clue what was in that, but that certainly worked miracles.”

Smiling, she handed him the small bottle. “Here, keep this. Hopefully, you won’t need it, but if you do, you’ll have it handy.”

“Thank you,” he said with sincerity. “I was thinking of heading there tomorrow around nine, I figure it’ll be dark by then and I’ll have a better chance of remembering if it’s as close to the other night as possible.”

“We’ll see you there, then, Mr. Chase– Glenn.”

“Count on it.” He watched the two leave, part of his mind wondering what their deal was, another part concerned that they were right and her sister being kidnapped was the reason he’d been attacked. Neither part objected to watching Shiobhan walk away… only that she disappeared from sight far too quickly.

He sighed to himself and turned the TV on briefly, before realizing he wasn’t in the mood to flip channels. He stood carefully and stared out the window again, thinking. He’d never dealt well with hospitals before, but he was feeling more restless than usual at the moment, wishing that he could go and do something to help find the missing girl.

A soft knock on the doorframe broke his train of thought as he turned to see Melissa in the doorway, her delicate fingers tapping on the door. “Hey hon,” he said with a smile. “Tried to IM you earlier but you weren’t online.”

“Something came up, and I needed some time to think things over without being interrupted by others.” She ran her nails through her platinum blonde hair. “I saw your post and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Yeah, just being held for observation overnight.” Something about the way she was standing didn’t seem right, like she was unsure of herself or her welcome. Holding out his arms, he asked, “So do I get a hug from my favorite woman, or no?”

She crossed her arms, hugging herself, and didn’t respond for a few long moments. A chill ran down his spine, and he let his arms drop to his sides. “I know this is sudden,” she said softly. “And hardly at a good time. But this isn’t going to work.”

“What isn’t going to work?”

“Us. You and me. We… we aren’t going to work.” As he stared at her in shock, she pulled the diamond engagement ring from her finger, toying with it briefly before she walked closer and set it on the bed, glimmering in the light between them. “I cleaned out the few things I had at the apartment.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her key and set it beside the diamond ring.

“‘Lissa… what’s going on? I don’t understand,” he said, his voice breaking.

“No, you don’t,” she murmured, looking away from him. When she finally looked back at him, his eyes pleading for answers, she sighed. “I’ve got a lot going on right now, and this project I’m involved in at work is demanding even more of me than I had anticipated. It means a lot to me. You’ve always known how important my work is to me. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that what has been holding me back has been… us.”

Fingers rubbing the white mark on her ring finger, she added, “I think it’s probably for the best that I realized this now rather than later. My work is just more important than either of us, and that’s what I have to put first.”

As he stood frozen, dumbfounded by words he had never expected to hear, she turned and walked out the door. Great, a dark part of his mind whispered, the bitch didn’t even look back on her way out the door. Part of him wanted to scream, to hit something, anything, but his self-control kept him calm through the fury.

If her job’s more important to her than I am, then I’m better off without her. This is just a really fucked up time to find out. Picking up the diamond ring, he fought off the urge to throw it into the trash, and slipped off his claddagh ring, holding both in his hand.

Shaking his head, he slid the ring onto his right hand with the crown turned inward. Flipping open his laptop case, he tossed the engagement ring into one of the pockets and slapped the cover closed again.

Now what am I going to do? he thought, as loneliness washed over him.

Walking to the door, she turned off the overhead lights and opened the windows slightly, letting in a cool breeze. Returning to the table, she opened a drawer set in the base and brought forth her athame. Taking a deep breath, she grounded herself, visualizing herself as a tree sending roots down deep into the earth. Centering herself on that image, she walked along the inside border of the circle set into the hardwood floor, white flame answering the call of her athame as she closed the circle.

Setting the athame in her belt, she called the quarters. Touching each stone on the map, starting in the East, she named the direction and asked the blessing of the Guardian. As she did so, the rune set into the stone lit with an inner glow– yellow for East, red for South, blue for West, and green for North.

Meditating within the sacred space of the circle for a moment, Shiobhan let all the tension of the morning flow away. She was reminded again that rushing from one moment to the next separated one from the divine, and rejoiced in the communion of holiness that was magic and worship both.

Grasping the chain, she lifted it until the pendant was upright, still touching the photograph, touching Sorcha’s face. She visualized her sister for several moments, sending all her thoughts and memories into the crystal. Setting the photograph aside, she set the crystal spinning over the map, holding it lightly and waiting for a tug towards one direction or another.

Several tugs she felt, but only feathery touches, each time indicating a place where she had been. Her dorm room was the focus of most of those, but one indicated the shop Shiobhan stood inside. Interesting… I never saw her, but she must have stopped by recently, perhaps just to remember Mom. Or maybe she came to see me, but backed out. I’ll have to ask her when I see her again.

After a half an hour, with no further results, she set the pendant down and released the circle after dismissing the quarters. Stretching, she heard several joints pop from the tension of standing still for so long. She put everything away and headed back downstairs.

Shiobhan shook her head. “Either she’s not in the city, or she’s been magically blocked from being traced. And if she was out of the city, I would still expect to be able to get some idea of what direction she was from the city, so I’m suspecting the latter.”

With obvious hesitation, Robert asked, “Is it possible that she’s no longer–”

“No. I’d know if something serious happened to her. Even if she was on the opposite side of the world and someone was shielding, I’d still know. She’s part of my blood, and you can’t ever block that completely.”

“Good, that’s what I was hoping you’d say. So, what’s the plan?”

“We go hunting for her the old fashioned way… at least partly. You bring the truck?”

“No, traded it in a bit ago. Wasn’t really practical for me anymore. I do have a spare helmet, though.”

Great. As if the idea of him in leathers on a bike wasn’t appealing enough, now I get to torment myself by riding behind him, pressed up against his body? Just peachy keen. Drawing a deep breath, she tried to banish the thought and regain the sense of calm that had filled her moments ago upstairs.

“You can take my Honda if you want, Shiobahn,” Taz offered. “I don’t need it at the moment, not even sure why I drove it in this morning rather than walking over from the dorm.”

“Serendipity, Taz, serendipity. I’d really appreciate it,” she said, with a sense of relief. He tossed her the keys, and she smiled as she caught them. “Ready?” she asked Robert, snagging a bag of trail mix to keep her energy up through the day. Knowing Robert, she tossed him one as well.

“Sure thing. I’ll follow on the bike, in case we decide we need to split up or something later.”

“Ok. She was last seen at a club on Pine Street– not a shock, given how many clubs are in that area.” Robert nodded and followed her out the door, sliding onto a motorcycle parked nearby as she walked to Taz’s red CRX. She rolled the windows down after getting into the car, and it started up with a throaty purr. Taz hadn’t said much about the friend he had bought it off of, but it had certainly been modified from stock several years ago.

It only took them a few minutes to navigate Providence morning traffic past Brown and across Route 44 to Pine Street. Robert pulled up behind her as she parked next to the club, the neon sign advertising “Dancing Shadows” turned off.

“Not sure that we’re going to find much here when the club’s closed, Shiobhan,” Robert said as she got out of the car, setting his helmet on the bike.

“You never know,” she said. Pulling the shirt out of her purse, she tossed it to him. “Intuition told me this might be helpful tracking her. I wasn’t expecting to use you in doing so, but seems like Someone guided me.”

He shrugged off her comment and said, “We use the tools at our disposal.” Waiting for a nearby couple to finish walking past them, he sniffed the shirt before tossing it back to her. Looking around, his nostrils flared as he drank in the smell of the city.

He walked towards the door, then turned back to the street. Walking towards a nearby street, he beckoned her to follow. “She went into the club, and came back out and walked over here.” Nostrils flaring again, he leaned down, smelling close to the ground. A low growl came from his throat, and he moved forward, slowly at first, and then with increasing speed.

Shiobhan hurried to catch up with him, surprised to find him easily outrunning her down a street and across a large parking lot, mostly empty. He stopped at the next street, looking confused as he tried to catch the scent again.

“What’s the matter?”

He growled again, then controlled himself. “Someone hurt her. There was a fight– more than one, actually– but someone hurt her back there. She ran from them, through to here, but this is where I lose her scent. It just stops right here.”

“So she probably got into a car or taxi. That would explain it, right?”

His eyes scanned the ground, back and forth, until something caught his attention. Leaning down, he picked up a dirty piece of plastic and handed it to her. As she turned it over and brushed off the grime, she realized it was a school ID card.

Sarah’s ID card.

“I don’t think she got into the car willingly,” Robert said. “It’s hard to tell, but I think there was a struggle here.” He pointed to several marks in the dirt, but no pattern emerged to her sight. “Add in the fact that she didn’t go back to the college, hasn’t been seen or heard from since, and I think it’s more likely that someone has her.”

“Why would someone want to kidnap Sorcha?”

“I don’t know, Shiobhan… I don’t know.” He scanned the area again, and shook his head. “Nothing more to see here, but there was more back at the club.”

She followed him back to the club, and he took some time going over the area, kneeling down and sniffing several things. Shiobhan watched in amusement as several people walking by gave him strange looks, still in shock at the thought that someone would have kidnapped Sorcha. Why would someone want to take her? Is this something random, someone crazy rapist… Gods forbid… or is this something else, someone intentionally taking her? And if so, why?

I’m not sure which of the two options is worse. And that scares me.

Finally, he stood up and brushed the dirt from his leathers. “Ok, there was more than one fight here. There was one with Sorcha, and there was another around the same time, but afterwards. Scent is that of a man. Maybe he saw something, or heard something, that can help lead us to your sister… or to the people who took her.”

“How do you know it was a man?” she asked.

“Blood scent is different between males and females… at least to someone like me, it is,” he said, pointing to a small spatter of blood on the side of the building.

Acting on instinct, she reached forward, the tips of her fingers just barely touching the dried blood. A vision appeared before her, walking into a hospital room. A vision of the previous night, where she helped cleanse the taint of shadow from a sleeping victim.

A sleeping man, a sleeping man who had been attacked. The same man who had been here, who had been attacked soon after her sister was attacked, and taken.

“I know who he is,” she whispered. Standing, she swayed slightly, dizzy from the vision. “And I don’t believe in coincidences. This has gone from a father’s concern, to something very dark and ugly. Dad was right to worry for her… we all should.”

“Loud and clear, just like the first time,” Robert grumbled.

“Good.” Turning around, she saw Shiobhan and blushed a little bit. “Find her?”

“No, and it’s not looking good.” Looking at Robert, she asked, “You said you needed my help? How were you planning on repaying me?”

Robert blinked, his surprise evident. “I’ll be honest and say that I hadn’t really thought much about that part yet.”

“What a surprise. Well today’s your lucky day. You want help? You get to give it first. Let’s start with the bills you said you’d pay and forgot to get around to it over the last two years.”

He stood up and pulled out his wallet, withdrawing several hundred dollar bills and setting them on the table. “That was the other reason I wanted to stop by. I always pay my debts, even if it takes me too long to do so.”

Shiobhan didn’t bat an eye at the money, but thought to herself, Something has changed if he’s actually got money for once in his life. “Second. You get to explain what happened that night.”

Robert frowned. “I expected as much, but I’m not telling them,” he said, pointing at Kelly and Taz.

“Your call. You can either tell all of us, or you can walk back out that door, no concern to me.” Shiobhan placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You gave up the right to privacy when it comes to my life.”

“Fine,” he growled, staring into her eyes. “Did you ever consider it odd that work always called me in the same nights as the moon rituals the coven organized?”

“Yes. That’s why I went over your place that afternoon, to find out what was really going on.”

“You nearly found out… the wrong way.” He twisted his hands together, looking away from her. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Certainly could have fooled me. You broke my fucking arm when I startled you, and then screamed at me to get out of the house.”

“It’s not what you think,” he whispered.

“Then enlighten us. We’ve been waiting for a good answer since then.” Kelly nodded, staying silent but anger visible in her expression.

“Wolf isn’t just a shamanic totem to me, Shiobhan. He is that, but he’s more than that. Wolf is me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“How could you?” He shook his head. “The best way to explain is to demonstrate.” He stood up and walked to the door, locking it and setting the sign to ‘Private Consultation’. Shutting the blinds, he stood in the center of the room, facing the floor. “I never wanted anyone to see this. It took me the last few years after losing everything that I found the truth. Control can only be found in surrender.”

Raising his arms towards the cieling, he visibly relaxed and exhaled deeply. At first, nothing happened, but then the air began to shimmer around him. Darkness spread on his skin, growing into fur, as his clothing disappeared underneath. He fell to all fours with a soft grunt, both shrinking and stretching as the air continued to shimmer even more violently, making it difficult to see him. Then the air cleared and Robert was gone… a dark charcoal grey wolf in his place.

No wonder I always saw Wolf written in his aura. Walking forward, she knelt down and ran her fingers through his soft fur, scratching under his muzzle as he stared at her with those amber eyes. “I wish you would have told me,” she whispered. “I wish you would have trusted me.” Petting the wolf one last time, she stood and turned away, noting Taz staring with his jaw open, and Kelly looking with a thoughtful expression on your face. Smiling feebly, she said, “C’mon, Taz, haven’t you learned by now that magic is real?”

“But… but… he’s… but…” Taz stammered, confusion evident.

“A werewolf,” Robert answered, having shifted back. Shiobhan kept her back to him, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes… tears she could not afford to shed. “I didn’t want or mean to hurt you, Shiobhan, but it was time to Change. If you had remained… I didn’t know that you would be safe. I don’t know what I’ve done as a wolf, but it’s entirely possible that I’ve hurt people before.”

You should have trusted me more, she repeated in her mind. Brushing a hand over her damp eyes, she turned back to him. “What’s done is done. I accept your apology and your reasons for what happened in the past. It’s over and cannot be changed.” Same as you and I, she thought. I already mourned us once before… I won’t do that again. In his eyes, she saw that he knew what she meant, even as she saw that he still loved her.

He nodded his head in acknowledgement, then went back to reopen the blinds. “Was there anything else?”

“Yes. My sister is missing.” He froze at her words. “I need your help to get her back. You help me, I’ll help you.”

“I would have helped you anyways. I hope you know that.”

“Does it matter? We help each other and we’re even. When this is over, you go your way and I’ll go mine.”

“Fine.” Looking at the others, he added, “I would like this to be kept private, I’m sure you can understand.”

“Who else knew?” Kelly asked.

“Mom Amanda from the teaching Circle. She really was an old teddy bear, after a fashion, just like she said. She helped me with the Changes as much as she could when they came upon me. Apparently after a certain age, the Change is no longer necessary, and sometimes dangerous given the strain it puts on you. She helped me in so many ways.” All four of them bowed their heads at the mention of the former coven leader.

“As did she with all of us,” Shiobhan said. “Every one of us.”

“Indeed.” Turning businesslike, he asked, “Now, how do we go about finding your sister?”

“Well, I brought some of her things from the dorm. I was thinking that I might be able to scry for her and see if we can find her that way. If not, then I know where she was last seen, and we can go there and try to retrace her steps and take it from there.” As she drew the photo and the t-shirt from her purse, Robert sniffed the air.

“Good choice. That is marked with her scent, and I can use that to help track her. Definitely a family resemblence, too, she smells like you– sunlight, moonlight, and autumn leaves.”

“You can tell that from halfway across the room, in human form?” Shiobhan tried to hide the shock in her voice, but couldn’t manage completely.

He simply shrugged, as if his abilities meant nothing to him. “It’s what I am. I stopped trying to fight it. How long will it take you to attempt the scrying?”

“Not too long, I’ve got a work area permanently set up here for this kind of thing.” The bell over the door rang as a couple entered the shop. “Merry Meet,” she said. “Kelly, if you will be so kind as to help them? And Taz, can you put on another pot of water for the tea?”

Robert made a motion to accompany her upstairs to the work area as the others moved to work, but she forestalled him. Lowering her voice as he came closer, she said, “I don’t need the distraction right now. Now less than ever. Give me a few minutes and we’ll be on our way. And then maybe you can tell me what you’re looking for out of me on the way.”

He shook his head and made a shooing motion. “Sarah comes first. Go on, so we can find her. My problems will keep for a time.”

“Not a problem, boss lady,” Taz said.

“Everything ok?” Kelly asked.

“Yeah,” Shiobhan said. “Apparently my sister is living here in Providence, going to Brown, and neither my father nor her decided to let me know about it. And Dad wants me to check in on her after he had a possibly prophetic dream. It really is a Monday morning, isn’t it?” She shook her head in amusement, a smile tugging at her lips. “Let’s see what else can go wrong, shall we? At least it’s not Friday the 13th.”

“Hey, don’t knock the 13th,” Taz said seriously. “I didn’t buy into that until I broke my elbow one year on Friday the 13th and the next one my girlfriend broke up with me. And the next one my grandfather had a stroke. Once is a fluke, twice is stretching it, three times…”

“Is a pattern. A pattern of coincidence, if you ask me, Taz. Seriously,” Kelly said. “Do you want me to come with, Shiobhan?”

“No, I think this is something best done by myself. Besides, who else is going to make sure that Taz doesn’t eat us out of house and home?”

“I resemble that remark,” Taz said, feigning hurt with his hand over his chest.

“Indeed you do.” Zipping up her jacket, she grabbed her chai from the table and headed to the door. Pausing in the open doorway, she turned back towards them and said, “Thanks guys. I appreciate it.”

They waved her off and she started walking out the door again, anxiously thinking about meeting back up with Sorcha. It had been a long time– far too long.

Four years? Five? Gods, I can’t even remember anymore. It was that last Christmas, when Dad got me the engraved Bible as a present. Along with several tracts about how Wicca was a cult, and what I should do to “recover from the influence of the Devil”. I never felt so humiliated, and said some things I really shouldn’t have. I suppose I should apologize to him– to both of them– for that.

Deep in her thoughts, she just kept walking down the street, taking sips of her chai and staring at the pavement as she walked, avoiding others instinctively. Side-stepping a faded pair of leather boots, she stopped short as the other person moved to match her and the two collided, crushing the cup of chai between their bodies. “Shit!” she said, falling backwards until a pair of strong arms caught her and pulled her back to her feet.

Arms that felt warm and comforting, arms she recognized as her gaze moved upwards to a face she recognized all too well. “What in the hells are you doing here?” she asked her ex-boyfriend frostily.

Chai dripping from his leather jacket, Robert just looked at her, then let go of her arms. “Getting soaked, apparently. Good to see you again, too.”

Tossing the cup in a nearby garbage can, she tried to brush her jacket off. “I wish I could say the same… oh, wait, I don’t.”

He sighed. “I came back here because I wanted to talk to you. I know we didn’t part on the best of terms–”

“What part of me tossing you and yours out on your arse and saying never to come near me again did you not understand?” she asked loudly as she crossed her arms over her breasts, abandoning the attempt to clean her jacket. “I thought I was pretty clear. Apparently not.”

Robert swore under his breath as the two of them gathered strange looks from the other passers-by. “I wanted to apologize. And explain. Can we do this someplace more private? You have every right to be upset at me–”

“Damned right I do.”

“–But I really need your help.”

Fuck. He had to go and say the one thing that might actually make me listen to him again. “Damned if you don’t know exactly how to fuck me,” she whispered.

A cocky grin appeared on his face until he caught the true meaning of her words, and a flash of pain flickered briefly before he just became impassive.

Dammit. This isn’t the place, as much as I might enjoy screaming at him like a medieval fishwife in the middle of the street. Bad for business, and probably my karma. Of all the gods-bedamned timing… “Do you plan to be this disruptive to my life, or is it just something you do accidentally?”

“Ah…” He pondered for a moment, then shrugged and said, “Honestly? It’s a bit of both, I’m afraid.”

“I figured as much. Well, where do you want to do this? I’m not letting you back into the shop, and I’m not taking you with me.”

“You name the place. I can’t think of many that would be suitable out in the open, nor do many buildings have privacy at this time of the morning.”

Shiobhan bit her lip, feeling torn in two between her duty to help those in need and her desire to get Robert out of her life for good… not to mention the feeling that her father was on to something, that something was wrong. Robert appearing again wasn’t exactly an omen of trouble-free times to come, either, if the past was any guide. Bending her head, she whispered a quick prayer to the Goddess and acquiesed to fate. “Fine. I have an errand I need to run– without you– so go to the shop. I’ll meet you there and talk to you when I’m done with this.”

“Ah… does Kelly still work for you?”

Shiobhan smiled sweetly. “Indeed. I hope my help is worth it, because I have a feeling that she’ll make you pay dearly for it in my absence.” Patting his cheek, she said, “Now run along like a good little boy and let me get this out of the way.” Pushing past him before he could formulate a reply, she stalked off, her irritation clear in her poise. Damned if I know what I did to deserve a day like this, but it must have been bad to deal with the type of karma I’m repaying now.

* * *

She made her way to East Andrews Hall without further incident and found Room 110. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door before she lost her nerve and chickened out.

The door cracked open and a girl with purple spiked hair answered. “Yeah?”

“Hi, I’m Shiobhan McGowan. I was looking to see if my sister was home?”

“Jennifer,” the girl said, holding out her hand as she opened the door the rest of the way. “You must be the ‘devil worshiping freak’ my roommate’s talked about. Speaking as one freak to another freak, glad to meet you.”

Shiobhan shook hands with Jennifer and stepped into the room, smiling as she felt the cool embrace of the wards around the room welcoming her. “Indeed. Merry meet, and nicely done,” she said, hands indicating the shields.

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her– the opposite, in fact– and I have to live here, too. But, no, Sarah’s not here now.” A frown crossed her face as she stopped to think. “Actually, I didn’t see her come home last night. I was a little out of it, coming home from a campus GBLT meeting, and was too tired to think anything of it. But it’s not like her.”

“Any idea where she might be?” Shiobhan asked, the uneasy feeling settling in her stomach with an increasing weight. “My father asked me to check in on her, and I’m a bit worried.”

“Not really,” Jennifer admitted. “We don’t exactly run in the same social circle, I’m sure you can imagine.”

“I know the feeling. Any idea who she normally hangs out with, that might have a better idea?”

“There’s one girl she tends to hang with, not exactly sure why… they don’t seem to be the same type, but whatever floats her boat.” Picking up her cellphone, she punched in a quick number. “Hey, Tina, this is Jennifer in 110. Have you seen Sarah? You did? Last night? What do you mean? Oh. Ok. Thanks, talk to you later.” Ending the call, she looked up at Shiobhan. “Apparently Tina and some friends went out to a club. They were too plastered to drive, so they called Sarah and Jessica. Sarah went with them but apparently didn’t come home. I’m not sure why Jessica didn’t say anything to anyone but Tina didn’t think anything of it.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Shiobhan said. “That sounds wrong. Do you have–”

Jennifer pulled out a pad of paper and wrote down two phone numbers and an address, then added a third phone number. “Name of the club is Dancing Shadows down near the Strand. Their phone number’s at the top, Jessica’s is second and mine is on the bottom. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know?”

“Will do.” Looking around the dorm room, Shiobhan spied a picture of her sister and mother on a desk, along with a well-worn t-shirt. “I’ll take these with me, they may be helpful in locating her. I’m just not looking forward to explaining it to her.” She gathered the items and slid them into her purse, then turned back to Jennifer. “I think that should be it. Thank you again for all your help. Stop in at the Wild Rose sometime on Thayer Street, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Just bring Sarah home safe.” The two women hugged, and Shiobhan went to leave. “Blessed be.”

“Blessed be.”

Please continue to spread the word where you can, it would be greatly appreciated.

*hugs to all*

He mentally took inventory of various aches and pains through his body– including his throbbing head– and grimaced. “Not great, but pretty good considering where I am.”

She smiled again. “Let’s check your vitals and I’ll send the doctor around to speak with you.” Pushing up the sleeve of his hospital gown and revealing a tattoo, she affixed the blood pressure cuff. “Military man, I take it?”

“Used to be. Medical discharge after they found a heart murmur on a routine physical.” He stayed quiet while she nodded and took his blood pressure, and continued when the cuff came off. “Then again, I think I might have gotten out at the right time with everything going on these days.”

“True enough. Got a cousin in the Army Rangers over in Iraq, and I really worry about him some days. Your blood pressure is fine, a little on the high side, but that’s to be expected when you’re in pain. Open?” She popped the thermometer in his mouth until it beeped, then wrote everything down on the chart.

“Alright, I’ll send the doctor along in a minute. Feeling up to some breakfast, soldier?”

“Sure thing.” He grinned and said, “Hospital food can’t be worse than military rations, can it?”

She chuckled as she placed the chart back at the bottom of the bed and turned to leave. “Oh, I almost forgot… someone sent you flowers, but it looked like you were having an allergic reaction to them last night, so we disposed of them. Are there any allergies that you know of we should record?”

“Not that I’ve ever encountered… weird. I’ve never had problems with allergies at all, even as a kid.”

“Ok, hon. Rest up and I’ll send the doctor in in a moment.” He caught himself staring at her as she walked out the door and reminded himself, You’re engaged now… stop checking out every chick you see.

Yeah, right, like that’s going to happen, his more rebellious side argued, and he sighed. He took stock of the room, standard hospital issue, white walls, uncomfortable chairs, TV tuned to some morning talk-show. Politics… not something he really cared to listen to anymore. He picked up the remote and flipped through the channels, finding nothing but more of the same old early morning crap he never bothered watching. Can’t they get a bloody TiVo in here or something? Christ.

An older doctor entered the room, sunlight illuminating the silver in his hair. He offered his hand to Glenn and said, “Mr. Chase, I’m Doctor Rogers.” His grip was firm, and after they shook hands he pulled out a penlight from his pocket and examined Glenn’s eyes. “I understand you had a bit of a rough night. Can you tell us what you remember?”

“Not much, doctor. I was at work, at the club, and I saw something in the alley… after that it’s just a blur. Images that don’t fit together… being hit on the back of the head is the only thing that stands out clearly from them.”

The doctor put his light away and jotted some notes on the chart. “It was a substantial blow, blunt force trauma to the back of your skull. You were unconscious for some time, but luckily, you seem to have a hard head. All your vitals are fine, within normal healthy parameters, and it does not appear from any of the tests last night that there was any swelling of the brain. Mild memory loss is quite common in this type of injury, indicating a minor concussion.

“All that being said, given the injuries you sustained, I would be more comfortable with you remaining overnight for observation to ensure that there are no further complications. Especially when coupled with your heart murmur. Do you have any objections?”

“None at all, that’ll be fine. Today’s my normal night off from work anyways.”

Dr. Rogers nodded and wrote some further notes on the chart and set it back down. “I believe Nurse Andrea is bringing you some breakfast. I imagine you still have some strong pain from the trauma, so just ask her to bring you something for that and she’ll see to it. Also,” he said as he drew a business card from his jacket, “a detective asked me to give you this. I believe he is the one assigned to investigate your assault.”

“Thank you, doctor. I’ll give him a call right after I eat.”

“If there’s anything further you need, just ask the nurses. I’ll check back in on you again this afternoon.” As the doctor turned to leave, he nearly bumped into the nurse on the way out the door. Glenn chuckled as his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten in far too long.

* * *

After breakfast, he had the nurse help him set up his laptop and got online. Thank God for whomever put my pack into the ambulance with me. I think I’d go crazy if all I had was the TV to ‘entertain’ me all day, he thought. A quick post to LiveJournal letting folks know that he was ok, and then he disconnected and gave a call to the police officer.

The detective was personable, but with no eye-witnesses at the club and Glenn being unable to recall most of what happened, was not very optimistic about finding the attacker. Apparently not long after Glenn had gone to check the alley, someone else had heard something as well. They arrived in time to see someone fleeing the other end of the alley, but given that the far streetlight had been broken for weeks, didn’t see anything worthwhile… other than Glenn sprawled out on the ground.

After he hung up with the detective, he stared out the window for a while, trying to go over the events from the night in his mind. Trying to see if there was anything else he could dredge up, feeling that there was something that he was subconsciously missing. He gave up when he started getting another headache and brought the laptop online again and updated LiveJournal again. Several friends had sent him emails, wishing him a speedy recovery, and he took the time to write each of them back thanking them for their support.

He signed on to his instant messenger account, and noted that Melissa wasn’t online. He rubbed the stubble on his cheek absentmindedly as he frowned. That wasn’t normal– she usually had it running all day long, even when she was working. Shrugging, he dropped her an email to let her know that he was ok. She must be out on a field trip or something for the school. I don’t remember any scheduled, but maybe she just forgot to tell me.

Maybe. Setting an away message, he pushed the table with the laptop to the side and stood up carefully, anticipating the wave of dizziness that swept over him. When it passed, he carefully stretched and rolled the IV with him over to the window.

I just wish I could make sense of this. It’s not like I like picking fights, and I certainly don’t remember trying to yesterday night. Didn’t even have to throw anyone out of the club, either. Maybe someone I butted heads with from before, but that’s just a risk of the business.

Maybe it’s time to find a new line of work. Could be worse, I guess, I’m not over in Afghanistan with people trying to kill me. But try as he might, he couldn’t shake the feeling that things weren’t that much safer here, and there was something larger going on that he wasn’t seeing yet.

Just another mushroom, fed bullshit and kept in the dark, he thought grimly. If something bigger was going on, the way his gut told him it was, then last night was no accident. The cops might not be inclined to follow up on one more random act of violence, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t. He promised himself that he’d look into things as his head started pounding and he gagged with sudden nausea. Bright lights appeared from out of nowhere, swirling and strobing with a painful intensity.

Staggering, he made it back to the bed– barely– and hit the call button before the darkness surrounded him. His vision faded from him, first grey, then black, deepening until a pindrop of red exploded within and he felt no more.

I don’t have a lot of time on my hands with the new job, but I’m aiming to post 1-3 chapters a week until I hit chapter 17. After that point, things will slow down. Feedback is welcome, as I will consider alternative suggestions. My main concern is I don’t want to post the entire batch I have on hand currently, and then have you guys wait a while for me to add new content.