~ Helick found the wolfsbane tucked away in his brother’s room and knew immediately the situation was dire. Not only was his brother attacking innocent people, but he had the presence of mind to ensure no signs led to him. That was the action of a man with intent. Yes, things were dire indeed. If the others had visited the first site, they would have known it was Garrick. After that slip-up, he employed countermeasures to not repeat the mistake. It was all premeditated. There was no excuse now for his brother’s actions. If his twin had gone off the rails, gone rabid, Helick would assume the responsibility of taking him down. He prayed it wouldn’t come to that. Prayed they could figure out a way to help Garrick. Dammit, Helick swore. If Garrick had confided in him from the start, they could have avoided all

~ Dempsey advanced-lunged towards his opponent. In two fluid moves, he disarmed the other man, his epee falling to the padded floor. This was the third rematch. “Seems you’re healing,” Alex Vescovi said, raising his hand in surrender. “Or you’re just letting me win.” Dempsey took his fencing mask off. He knew the young man had been holding back. Dempsey could hold his own, but Alex Vescovi was a fencing prodigy. He was the reigning National Champion four years in a row now, along with two Olympic titles under his belt.  Alex shrugged, taking off his mask. “That is also a possibility. Or,” the young Vescovi started as he walked towards a low bench to the right of the room, “it could be because you’re a werewolf and I am a mere human. Hardly a level match up.” He picked up his water bottle, opening the to

~ Anabella was the first one to leave. Philippe went after her, using her door. Salvay stood to interrupt the argument between Vescovi and Passerini. He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, whispering something into his ear. Salvay looked back at Dempsey before walking off while Passerini gave Vescovi a last look before following. The men went through the Salvay door. Dempsey waited until the door closed to move closer to Vescovi. “I think Salvay is planning to side with Sven.” “Bah. Do not be ridiculous. The man is many things, but he is not a fool. To side with Sven would be foolish. Opening that portal is death for all of us. Salvay loves nothing more than his money and he needs to be alive to spend it.” Ves

~ The ringing of the doorbell had Sven looking towards the door. A dreadful night had turned into a worse morning. In the middle of trying to wrap Patrice’s dead body in plastic, the chef came in for his duties, using the key Sven gave him. There was no way for Sven to explain why he was wrapping a dead woman in plastic, so he did not bother. Not that he felt the need to. He dispatched the chef as well. Now he had two dead bodies. Barabbas was miles out of reach and there was someone at his door.  On a heavy sigh, he stopped what he was doing. He hooked the security latch before opening the door. Through the crack, whoever it was could not see the bodies. Sven caught himself before peeking through the peephole. He was feeling his old self again—more or less—so he no longer needed to hide. The superintendent of the building was standing on the other side.

~ Marx was having a hard time accepting the casualties. He felt each of their deaths and each death left an aching space. Dempsey’s death had come as a shock to him. They had all figured Pentorium had been the safest place under the circumstances. Sven’s reach and influence had not reached so far, but there were others like him.  Ciro, Vescovi’s butler, had come to them with information about Dempsey’s death. They accused two of the five families of orchestrating his murder to delay his report about his suspicion. Vescovi also sent his sincerest apologies and swore that his family, the Ungaros, and the De Reges had nothing to do with it.  “Do we believe them?” Shea had asked. She was itching for a fight and they knew it. She had her own demons to wrangle and