12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Mari and Pricilla were working on some tandem magic for the first time in Mari's office. It was the closest they'd ever been to each other, and part of the problem was that Mari's magic kept drifting off task wanting to rub up against Pricilla's. The other witch smiled with good humor when the complex bit of shielding they were working on collapsed for what must have been the tenth time when chaos broke out.

The klaxon alarms blared. Rather than launching to her feet in a panic, Mari reached out for the wards. Thanks to Pricilla's teaching, she knew where the hooks to the security system were. She scanned through until she found the problem and frowned. Dasher and Dancer were back, along with Karma in wolf form, and someone else. The presence of the unknown person is what had set off the perimeter alarms.

Mari shut the alarm down and reset it, then opened her eyes. Cisco had crossed both of their offices to stand over her, ready to dive to protect her if someone attacked.

"Karma and the twins are back with someone else," Mari said. She didn't recognize the magical signature of the person, so she couldn't be more specific than that.

Cisco's eyes widened, and then he dashed for the front entry with a powerful flap of his wings. Mari shrugged in response to Pricilla's questioning glance, and they both moved off after him on foot.

They met Rio at the door. He was clearly waiting for them, but staring after where Cisco had gone. As soon as they drew even with him he moved off, leading the way, his head scanning the area around them.

Cisco pulled open the front doors as Mari and company turned the last corner. Dasher pushed through, carrying someone who struggled bundled in his arms.

After a moment, Mari recognized Nova by her crown of copper snakes. The snakes were limp and listless, even though Nova was thrashing. Cisco roared, his wings flaring.

Everyone in the entryway but Mari fell to their knees as Cisco's magic struck out. The force of his presence was magnificent, and while she understood the urge, she felt no need to prostrate herself before him. Cisco realized after a moment what he had done and pulled his power back into himself. Without a word, Cisco reached for Nova, and Dasher passed her over with his eyes cast down.

Nova jerked. Cisco leaned close and whispered something Mari couldn't hear, and the medusa eased at once, clutching him as sobs wracked her body.

Dancer was next through the door, with Karma in wolf form right beside him. She growled low when she saw her mate on his knees, but Dancer grabbed her around the neck before she could do something unwise.

"What in the fuck happened?" Cisco said, his voice dangerously on edge.

Dasher shakily regained his feet. "We were casing the house of the next target when Karma caught her scent. We couldn't stop her from charging in, so we had to take the place."

Dancer took over the reporting. "Greta's on her way. We tried to bring her to the club for treatment, but she screamed to come here."

"Why are her eyes covered?" Cisco asked with quiet menace filling his voice.

Dasher rushed to respond, "She was tied up in one of the bedrooms with a hood over her head. When we tried to take it off she panicked and said she couldn't control her magic, so we used Karma's scarf to cover her eyes."

Cisco spoke to Nova in a language that sounded enough like Spanish that Mari assumed it must be Italian. To Mari's best guess he was checking in with her. She answered something about a wolf, her voice shaking, and then hugged him tighter.

"One of you wait here for Greta and bring her up to the guest rooms. The other one, go find Giselle and get Nova some clothes. Karma, you're with us." He moved off as soon as the last word left his lips, hurrying through the house and looking like he wanted to murder someone with the wolf trotting at his heels.

Mari was fairly certain the guilty party was already dead though, from the amount of gore crusted into Karma's dark muzzle and chest. She paused briefly to tell Pricilla that training was on hold for the moment, and then jogged to catch up. Rio shadowed her as if he thought an enemy might jump out of any doorway they passed.

"Perimeter alarm is back up," she said to reassure him. "No one unauthorized is inside except her."

Rio gave her a look that conveyed how very much he wasn't leaving her side no matter what she said, and she shrugged.

They found Cisco in one of the guest rooms sitting on the bed facing away from them with Nova in his arms. They both crowded around the doorway next to Karma without going in.

"I'm going to get that off your eyes," he said with calm certainty.

Nova clutched the scarf with one hand. "You shouldn't," she insisted, her voice uneven and hoarse. "I don't think I can control it."

"You can't hurt me with your glare." Cisco didn't reach to remove the cloth though. "Everyone else is behind me and I'll block them with my wings. Just look at me, okay?"

It didn't seem like she was convinced, but after a few more sniffles she tugged the scarf away. As he'd promised, Cisco spread his wings to block her view of the rest of them.

"That's good," he said softly. "You're okay. Your snakes are a little upset, but once they remember they can't hurt me they'll relax. You're safe."

He hummed quietly to her, not saying anything at all as the tears overcame her fully. Dasher showed up shortly after with a bundle of clothes in his arms, but he didn't cross the threshold of the room.

Rio tilted his head a few minutes later. "Sounds like Greta is here. Is she ready for company?"

"Yeah, she's doing okay," Cisco answered. "Just going to need most of you to stay outside. Karma, you can come on in."

The wolf bounded up from her guarding position and walked inside flicking her tail low and behind her. When she got to the far side of the bed she nudged Nova's leg with her nose. The medusa sighed shakily and reached out one hand to pet Karma's broad, furry head.

Led by Dancer, Greta approached the crowd clustered around the door with a leather bag under one arm. She waved them all out of her way, and the group split to let her through. She paused at the doorway when she saw Cisco's defensive pose. "What's the situation?"

"Nova is hurt and she was having some trouble controlling her magic. She's better now, but everyone needs to be calm and move slowly and most of all, don't look her in the eyes."

"Got it," Greta said. She motioned everyone at the door back, and they all reluctantly moved a bit more away. "Hey Nova. I'm here to help you, okay? I'm going to move into the room now."

Once she was inside, Greta worked for several tense minutes, taking away Nova's pain and healing her wounds. When the pain eased, Nova settled down more, and Cisco lowered his wings.

The medusa was bruised all over, and Mari imagined that meant that Greta had already healed many worse injuries. When Greta asked if she needed some emergency contraception, Nova nodded, but didn't say anything. The growl that shook through the room might have come from the wolf or Cisco, neither of whom left Nova's side for an instant.

Rio was grilling the twins for more information about what had happened, but the details were in short supply.

"Karma ran in before either of us could catch up," Dasher said. "Most of them were dead by the time we got there. We only cleaned up a couple of stragglers."

"The asshole in charge was rightfully torn to shreds," Dancer added. "Karma was scratching at the door where she was being kept. She was too upset to shift back right away."

Rio looked troubled. "One of you is going to have to go back with a few more guards and check to make sure there's no one else in the house."

Both hellhounds nodded in perfect sync. Without pausing to check in with his brother, Dancer said, "I'll go."

"Check in with Kima on who to take with you," Rio said to his retreating back before Dancer disappeared around a corner.

Dasher remained with his armload of clothes, watching his mate with a concerned expression.

"She doesn't usually have trouble shifting back," he said after a few seconds. "This one really got to her." After a few seconds he entered the room to put down the clothes and then backed away with a sigh.

Mari glanced over to where Karma had her muzzle draped over one of Nova's knees in a silent gesture of support. The wolf wasn't sharing any secrets, if she had them.

Greta stood wearily. "That's the best I can do for now. I need to sit down for a bit and I can come back and take care of the scrapes and bruises."

Cisco nodded, reaching to clutch her hand. "Thanks. You can rest in the room next door. It's empty at the moment."

Greta wandered out of the room looking dazed, and Dasher led her down the hallway, asking her if she needed anything along the way.

"I want a shower," Nova said after a few minutes, her voice sounding tired and almost dreamy.

Cisco lifted her easily and headed to the attached bathroom with Karma immediately behind him. There was a brief conversation at low volume, and then the water started. Cisco came out of the room shortly after, looking shattered.

Rio was on his way into Cisco's arms before Mari could blink. She thought that she would wait until they were done, but when Cisco held out his other arm for her, she rushed forward, hugging both of them. Cisco lowered his head, rubbing his face on each of their heads before letting out a long sigh.

Rio was the first to speak. "He's already dead, but I sent Dancer back to clear the house."

Cisco straightened to look down at them without letting them out of his embrace. "Karma shifted back to help her shower, so as soon as we get her settled we may be able to get some more details."

The fragile state of the brassy medusa she remembered from a year ago made Mari's heart hurt. She couldn't stand the idea that anyone else was being treated that way. "How many more are missing?"

Rio frowned. "Two more according to Willow's list. Plus we don't know how many from the top floor."

"Vincent is the guy you said ran the fighting ring. So I assume he's next on our list?"

Rio nodded. "Willow said there were no records at all to indicate where he'd gone. Comemierda had emptied out the whole office as if he'd never been there."

"I want everyone but a skeleton crew out tonight asking if anyone knows where he's holed up." Cisco frowned.

"I'm on it," Rio said and then pushed up on his toes to give Cisco a kiss. "Te quiero."

"Para siempre," Cisco murmured against his mouth and then watched him walk away the way only a smitten gargoyle can. He tightened his arms around Mari and hugged her closer for a few seconds, his wings wrapping around her.

"I'm so glad we found her," she said softly into his shoulder. They stood together that way for a while, just gaining strength from each other.

A few minutes later, Samar ran down the hallway toward them at top shifter speed. "Is she okay?"

Cisco held out his arm when Samar made to charge into the room. "Too soon to tell, but she's here and she's safe now."

Samar looked into the room, his eyes glowing silver when he didn't find her there. "Can I see her?"

"We'll see if she wants anyone else in there when she's done in the shower. Karma is with her now."

His agitation to that response was obvious. "Will it be easier if I'm the cat?"

Cisco frowned. "Probably."

Samar toed off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head. In a flash of magic that smelled like cloves, he shifted into an oversized snow leopard. He sat patiently with his fluffy tail wrapped around his feet, seeming more settled now that he was in his furry skin.

Eventually, Karma slinked out of the bathroom and grabbed the pile of clothes that Dasher had left for them before disappearing behind the door again. They waited until the door opened a second time, and Karma walked slowly out with an arm wrapped around Nova for support.

With a sharp look for Samar intended to keep him out in the hallway, Cisco moved to help get her settled in the bed with the covers bundled all the way up to her chin. When Nova reached for her, Karma slid into the bed next to her and wrapped her in a hug.

"Samar would like to see you if you're up for it."

She glanced toward the doorway, her face easing when she saw him in his shifted form, and then nodded slightly. Samar padded into the room with a little trill and then jumped up on the bed on the opposite side of Nova on top of the covers.

Cisco waited for them to settle before he began, "There are some people still missing from the club. Do you know who has them?"

"Vincent has all of them," Nova said, her voice still hoarse but gaining strength. "He's the one who grabbed me. Traded me away like trash to settle a debt. It seemed like he was headed out of town soon. Something has him scared."

"So that means we need to move fast." Cisco ground his teeth for a moment. "Do you know where he is?"

Nova shook her head. "They kept me hooded the entire time so I didn't see anything, but I know it's near the train tracks and there wasn't a lot of road noise."

Cisco reached out a hand and stroked one of Nova's snakes. They seemed more relaxed since she'd come out of the shower. "I'm sorry it took me so long to find you."

"I thought about trying to get out right after we heard about Basilio, but I worried Argento would take it out on the others."

"Next time worry about yourself." Cisco leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Rest now. Karma and Samar will stay with you and keep you safe."

Nova settled back and closed her eyes, sighing heavily as she nuzzled into Samar's furry form next to her.