June 29, 2001 – 16:20
Coralis and Eva looked at each other. Emma turned around and walked to the locked door leading to the patient and examination rooms.
"What did you do with the blue marble?" said Coralis before turning her attention to Sebastian. "How were the wards? Have they been compromised?"
"Couldn't find anything wrong with the wards. The ward setup is quite intricate, you're the one who did them, right?" said Sebastian.
"Yes, I have done them recently," said Coralis, then turned her attention back to Emma, holding the door. "Does your pack have any type of ward setup around your pack land?"
"I know we had, but I'm not sure anymore. After what happened 2 months ago, with the fays trying to summon wolves, I advised Alpha Collins to look into them, but I don't know if he did. As for the blue marble, I believe Jessica still has it on her. We kept it, figuring it'd probably be something you'd want to see."
"Don't we love these blue marbles?" said Eva, rolling her eyes.
Coralis chuckled.
"I will want to see that blue marble, yes. Do you know if Alpha Collins, or any of your pack members, found more of them? I swear, if fays are involved in this mess, I'm going to offer him free wards when we're done here, but if he does have effective wards covering your pack land, I'll want to inspect them," said Coralis.
As they turned the hallway corner, they saw Jessica staring through a door window. Coralis removed her eyeglasses, pulled a black glove out of her cloak and walked to Jessica.
"I've been told you've got a blue marble for me?" said Coralis.
"Did he vomit more ghouls?" said Emma.
"Oh, yes! And no, he didn't vomit again," said Jessica.
She dug it out of her shirt pocket and handed it to Coralis. She picked it up from her gloved hand and hovered her free one above it.
"Same thing as last year? You know, I want to be glad that this ghoul case isn't related to what we've been working on last week, but I think this is worse. We destroyed the witches responsible for them last year."
"This is definitively worse than Grenville's case, and so much worse than last year's," said Coralis, bringing the blue marble closer to her eyes. "Emma, tell your alpha and all of your staff that if anyone finds any more of these things, NOT to pick them up with their bare hands. Jessica, were you wearing gloves when you picked it up? If so, what type of gloves?"
"Yeah, I was wearing latex gloves," said Jessica.
"I'll need to sanitize you, to make sure none of its content spilled into you. If there is a next time, use your anti-silver gloves. Sebastian, mind to prepare a glowing elixir? I'm sure you'll find salt and thyme in their kitchen."
"On it, boss. Where's the kitchen?"
"I'll take you there," said Stephanie.
"This is like the 2.0 version of what we dealt with last year," said Coralis, lowering her gloved hand. "This is not a blue marble, but a spelled cage. When they're made by witches, you break one, and you get a ghoul. Unlike the ones we came across last year, an elf made this one."
"Hold on, so you think that this time, the spelled cages do not need to be broken to summon its ghoul?" said Eva.
"That's exactly what I'm thinking, yes. It's a similar type of spelled cages that caused the ghoul problem in Côtes-des-Neiges cemetery last year, but there is more to them. There is some volatility coming from its binding agent, and it has an elf signature imprinted into it. Elves would be able to tweak with the coating of a spelled cage so that its content could seep out and enter the pores of the person holding it."
"The question becomes, what are they after? If the rogue wolf transporting them was found within Red Crescent pack land… Emma, do you have any corpses buried within your pack land?" said Eva.
"Yes, we have a small cemetery by the western border," said Emma as she came to a realization. "Alpha Collins said the rogue was found near it. I need to call him right now."
"Yes, please. Don't forget to tell him about using anti-silver gloves if he sees any spelled cages, and to expect me and Eva later. All right, let's go check on the patient."
Jessica unlocked the room's door.
"The glowing elixir you asked Sebastian to prepare, what does it do exactly? Does it kill ghoul?" said Jessica.
"It's like a disinfectant for rotten flesh," said Coralis as she entered the room and went to the unconscious patient lying on the bed. "At school, we learned what to do when ending up on the other end of nasty spells. There are a lot of spells that could cause the flesh to rot, and getting into contact with a ghoul can have some ugly side effects. If your pores have absorbed a ghoul, the elixir will destroy all trace of it."
"Clearing ghouls out of your patient is the easy part, and we know why he started vomiting ghoul," says Eva, holding the patient's mouth open with one hand, and shoving a flashlight down his throat with her other hand. "The ugly part is the answer to why an elf tried to infiltrate ghouls into Red Crescent pack land."
Coralis removed her glove, wrapped it around the spelled cage, and shoved it into her cloak. She placed her left hand on the patient's chest and closed her eyes.
"I'm sensing more spelled cages in body."
"Damn, how many ghouls would he have puked? He's got a lot of ghoul goo between his teeth. I don't think there is a drink strong enough to kill the nasty aftertaste he's gonna have lingering in his mouth when he wakes up."
"More than you have fingers on your hands."
Jessica was laughing when Sebastian and Stephanie walked into the room.
"What joke did I miss? The glowing elixir is ready," said Sebastian.
"Good, and now, I need you to make a lot more of it, like a gallon. Do they have enough ingredients to make more?" said Coralis.
She took the glass containing the glowing elixir out of Sebastian's hands and gave it to Jessica.
"Drink this as a precaution. It has a very foul taste, but you don't want to be puking ghouls."
"Yes, I'd say they have enough to make a few litres of glowing elixir. You need a gallon?" said Sebastian.
"Can you make about 5 litres? May as well make more of it, for good measure. Jessica, I'll also need a devious moon shot."
"On it, boss."
Sebastian walked out of the room, and Stephanie followed him.
"That shit tasted nasty. That rogue deserves drinking 5 litres of it just for walking into Emma's pack territory transporting ghouls," said Jessica, as Emma got in.
"Alpha Collins said the warriors who found the rogue did pick up two blue marbles next to him but couldn't tell me if they were wearing any gloves when they grabbed them. He also said that he made inquiries to have the wards redone, but local witches asked too much for it. He tried to negotiate, but he didn't hear back from them."
"When we're done here, Eva and I will head to your pack land to sanitize the warriors who touched the spelled cages and look around your cemetery. I'll do the wards while I'm there and won't charge your Alpha."
"Are you sure? Same kind of wards you've done here for us?" said Emma.
"We're dealing with elves wanting something from your pack cemetery, I'll do them a little differently than I've done yours. With everything going on among elementals and other supernatural factions, trust me, I will refuse any dime from your alpha."
"Jessica, does your pack also have its own cemetery?" said Eva.
"Yeah, we do actually," said Jessica.
"Then I'll visit your pack for wards before going home if your Alpha wants new ones," said Coralis.
Stephanie returned to the room, pushing a service cart, Sebastian following her. Jessica gave a devious moon shot to Eva.
"All right, so here is how we will proceed. I will inject this into our patient to force him to wake up. Emma and Jessica, be ready to restrain him if needed. He might try to puke more ghouls as soon as he wakes up, but we need to force him to drink the five gallons of glowing elixir. If we need to pin him and force it down his throat through a funnel, we will," said Eva.
"I'll draw a restraining ward around him to ensure he won't escape until he drinks it all," said Sebastian.
While Eva injected the content of the devious moon shot into the patient's neck with Emma and Jessica on either side of him, Sebastian made a ward around them. Coralis watched the scene standing beside Stephanie.
"Obviously, I'm not one to say anything against your two, that'd be hypocritical. I will admit, however, that I'm kinda jealous that Sebastian doesn't have to hide what he is from you."
"You know, knowing my brother, I don't think he's going to care that you're not human. I mean, not once he realizes you aren't evil and never were."
"Even if he can accept what I am, it won't make me more available for him, and that's the main issue between us. I've been out of the country the entire week and was supposed to see him tonight, but I will instead be spending my evening in a ghoulish mess created by elves. How am I supposed to be able to maintain a relationship like that?"
"His issue isn't so much your busy schedule, but with all the secrecy surrounding it, I think it makes him feel insecure in his relationship with you. Him knowing what you are and do might help with that. He just wants to feel close to you."
"I suppose we'll see when the time comes. In the meantime, if you and Sebastian become a thing and you invite him to your family... he will need to know my civil name."