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Chapter 144: To Trap a Ghost

Nathanial sat on his chair downstairs in the entertainment area with Micah snuggled in on his lap. Liam had told him to lie down, but he also had to give Ciaran some scrolls.

He'd scried on the Spirits a bit earlier, but Ella was already talking to them. She had hustled them up to the Public Gardens and gotten Aedan, Ciaran, and Si Fu Jim to head that way, too. Ella had sounded really worked up about Zeus approaching her office; the god was probably looking for Nathanial. If anyone got hurt it'd be his fault. It was always his fault.

His morose sigh made Micah lift his head off Nathanial's shoulder. The shift in his brother's weight sent tingles down his leg. Micah was getting too big -- and heavy -- to sit on his lap for very long; his left leg had started to fall asleep. Nick looked over from the computer, too. Fortunately, Ella was just starting to cast her spells.

"Up, Micah. They're on their way."

His brother bounced off. Ella's scrying spell appeared in the ballroom, and a second later all of the wayward adult Spirits stood on the hardwood floor. Dirk rose from the couch and ran up the stairs.

Nick looked back at the screen. He tried to sound indifferent when he queried, "Soo... Thunder-butt was at the airport, and once you left, he floated down toward the agents' offices? Sensei is worried, with reason, and thinks the god might strike at anyone associated with us? Associated with you and him, I mean?" The images of various hurricanes and tornados appeared on the screen in response to Nick's search on 'killer storms.'

Micah skipped over and wrapped his arms around Nick's neck. "Don't worry! We're in the basement, and Hades is Sensei's friend. He won't let ol' windbag get us. That's why Sensei wants us down here."

Nick didn't have time to reply before the earth shook beneath them, rattling every loose object in the house. The vase holding the summer flower display in the hall upstairs fell off its stand and shattered on the floor. The Spirits stopped and looked back at it. Ella, who was already rounding the corner by the music room, pushed herself away from the wall she'd staggered into. "Don't stop! Get downstairs! If Earthshaker is set to confront his brother, then we don't want to be _anywhere_vulnerable."

In the basement, Nick clung to the desk with both paws, his claws biting into the wood. Micah's arms tightened around Nick's neck. Their eyes were as wide as they could go, and every strand of fur stood on end.

Upstairs, Conor turned back to look at the front door. "Where's Geoff? He had football practice at school."

Dirk jogged down the short hall to join Ella by the corner. "Nathanial said Geoff and Faelen were just turning onto this street. They'll be here momentarily." Walter, Geoff, and Faelen had coincidentally met at the gates at the same time, despite approaching from different directions, and were all currently dashing toward the front door. "Where's Avery?"

Ella waved her paws frantically to keep everyone moving. "She refused to come. She's at the CBC, going through the tapes. I bet she's also filming the 'freak storm' in the harbour for her job back in Ireland."

Eirne frowned at the agent as she went past. "And you let her film? It's _obviously_magic. You're one of the _supposedly_all-powerful Society Mages. What are you doing about it?"

Ella's laugh was short and derisive. "What? Do you want me to tell two gods to tone it down? Go somewhere else to fight? Right. With so many cameras everywhere, there's no chance at preventing this from getting out, so there's no point in trying. If we had a bit of advance warning and weren't the probable targets, we might've been able to craft some illusions to hide it, but..." She trailed off, shaking her head, and motioned for Conor to keep going. "Once all of you are safely downstairs, I'll come back up and make sure the boys get in safely. Any word from Walter? He should be here."

Even this far from the water, with a sturdily constructed house overhead and some serious protective warding, Nathanial heard the boom of thunder. He felt a bit of tension in his head, a warning of the potential headache to come. The door at the top of the stairs swung open, and yeah, a searing bolt of pain lanced through his brain. He managed to block most of the pain after that, but tears still swam before his eyes for a moment. The bottom door opened, and Aedan stepped through before he could blink them away to see clearly again.

Soon, all of the adult Spirits stood about the basement. Eirne stopped by Aoife and put her paw on her sister-in-law's shoulder; the other paw drifted toward Aoife's belly. "How are you, Aoife? Do you need to sit?" The large-eared Wolf opened her muzzle to answer, but Eirne kept going in overprotective worry. "Let me get some tea going. You don't want to overdo things. Sit on the couch and put your hindpaws up." She turned to her husband and snapped, "Ciaran! Help your sister get comfortable!" She bustled over to the kitchenette docilely followed by Tuathla.

Dirk shook his head. "Let me, Ciaran. Nathanial has some things Sensei wanted passed on to you." The Bone Spirit glared sternly at Nathanial. "Then he's going right to bed as ordered."

Aoife sat on the couch, and Dirk hid a smile as he dutifully propped her up with cushions and carefully positioned the ottoman for her hindpaws. "Get used to this, Aoife. Avery was driven to distraction by all the fussing both times she was pregnant. You'll need to learn to pick your battles, and most of the time it's not worth the hassle of fighting."

Ella took out her phone. "I'm calling Walter to--"

Nathanial interrupted, "They just ran in, now."

The front door upstairs opened and Geoff, Faelen, and Walter all bustled in. Walter paused to wipe his hindpaws, but Faelen grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him off the mat. "Keep going! Ella isn't the type to exaggerate a threat! We can clean the hall later."

Ella pocketed her phone. Conor and Ella nearly collided as they all tried to get upstairs at the same time. The agent held her paw up. "I've got them, Conor. It's my duty, and I promised Smith, besides." She didn't wait for an answer. The lithe Felid slipped around Conor and leapt up the stairs two at a time.

Aedan called over to Conor. "Stay down here, Conor. She's the best suited to dealing with any troubles the gods might cause."

The Water Elemental hesitated, but closed the door in front of him. He looked a bit frustrated, but joined Ciaran over by Nathanial. Even though his scowl didn't fade, his voice only showed concern. "How are you, Nathanial? Ella and Aedan both mentioned you were injured, but I haven't had a chance to hear the full story."

Nick bounced up from the desk, nearly knocking Micah over in the process. He trotted over to stand conspicuously close to Conor. He tried to look unconcerned, but his tail still curled between his legs and his eyes were wide. A second, louder rumble of thunder made him flinch. Conor rubbed his ears and put his arm over Nick's shoulders.

The Akita didn't quite curl in, but he looked like he wanted to. "Nats said he took an elbow to the side of the head, and it messed up his magic. He claims_to be fine now, but Dirk said Sensei was concerned about the concussion. He _should be lying down quietly, but you know Nats."

Nathanial held the strips of paper out to Ciaran. The assassin took them quietly and looked them over. "I had to make sure Ciaran got these." Geoff thudded downstairs, followed by Faelen, Walter, and Ella. The agent made sure the doors were closed, and she put a Shield spell over the bottom door, too. She looked almost as spooked as Nick. Nathanial ignored Geoff for a second -- well, as much as he could while his boyfriend tried to haul him out of his chair for a tight hug and kiss. "And, yes, I'm going to lie down right now." He stood and allowed himself to be engulfed by Geoff's sweaty embrace. "Hi, Geoff." Sorcha, Aedan's wife, pursed her lips disapprovingly.

Before Geoff could kiss him, Conor stuck his paw between their faces. "Geoff, you stink. Go shower. Nathanial was injured and needs to lie down. In _peace!"_Conor pulled his paw back.

Lorena added, "And mind proper decorum. It's not my place to instruct the Dark Elemental, but it's improper to be so openly affectionate."

Geoff's beautiful blue eyes filled with worry; Nathanial wasn't sure if he heard anything after 'injured.' "Nathanial? Are you all right? What happened?" Those strong paws began tenderly but thoroughly roaming over him, his actions discounting the O'Conall matron's warning entirely, whether he heard it or not. "Where did you get hurt? I should've been there with you. I knew something would happen if I couldn't be near. I should've insisted--"

Nathanial leant forward and quickly cut him off with a short kiss, ignoring Aedan's muffled groan and quickly averted gaze. Lorena rolled her eyes, too, and Sorcha tsked, but he paid them no more mind than he gave Aedan. "Hush, Geoff. I'm fine; it's just Liam being a worrywart. He wants me to lie down until he gets back and can do a proper check-up. I'll be up and about right after, you'll see."

Dirk growled. "No, you won't. Get to bed." He turned his head to issue an order to his son. "Faelen, drag Geoff to the showers and make sure he's clean_before you let him out." Faelen gently began prying Geoff away. Dirk sternly met Nathanial's eyes. "Nathanial, Liam was emphatic. You _aren't going to school tomorrow. You had a concussion; I saw all the symptoms myself. If you were a Spirit that regenerated like I can, that'd be one thing, but healing it with Light energy probably made Sensei more upset than anything else." Something in Dirk's tone said he thought 'healed was healed,' but there was respect for Liam's opinion in there, too, along with a healthy dose of not wanting to argue with the Ancient One. "You also saw Lily again. That's never been good for your heart." At the mention of his mom's name the faces of his friends and family darkened.

Nick's eyes flashed angrily. "Gods fucking damn it all, Nats!" He swallowed what else he was going to say and grabbed Nathanial's arm. "Just -- bed. Come on." He dragged Nathanial toward the eldest Marks's bedroom. "I'll sit with you until Geoff is clean." Another rumble of thunder made his ears flatten again, but he didn't pause his stride.

Micah skipped along before Ciaran pulled him to the side and quietly asked, "Micah, would you mind helping me with something?"

Micah turned around and clapped his paws once before hopping back. "Sure! What? What?" Ciaran leant in to whisper something.

Aoife stood up, momentarily drawing Nathanial's attention. "I'll get some of that tisane Da made for Nathanial."

Eirne's reaction made Nathanial miss a bit more; Eirne looked like she was about to throw the tea service across the room. "No, you won't! I have your tea all ready and you'll sit quietly and relax. A woman in your condition shouldn't be bustling around over trivialities. I'll make it!"

Dirk grinned evilly and carefully arranged all the cushions again. "Told you."

Aoife sank back down, sighing. "I'm not even a full month along. My 'condition'? What is she going to be like seven months from now?"

Conor chuckled. "Going by Avery's experiences, you'll be much more grateful for the doting. Geoff was a large baby, and she had a rough time in the last trimester. Up till that point, I could tell when she was feeling ill by the _lack_of screams of frustration."

Nathanial managed to catch the last bit of the conversation between his brother and Liam's youngest son, vexed he had missed the rest of it. Ciaran stressed to Micah, "Be sure to use your Fey-sight; Da said it was important if we hope to find it."

Micah nodded seriously. "Yup. I'll be quick." The pup's eyes shifted into blank silver spheres in the dim light, and he changed into his Link costume, complete with sword and shield, before dashing into the gym.

Ella's phone beeped. She pulled it out and read a message before silently mouthing, _'Shit.'_The message said Hugh and Mr. Doull were hurt. She snapped her phone shut. "I'm needed back in the office. Call me the moment there's trouble." Conor nodded tersely. She shook her head. "I'm serious. _Please_call. We can't afford tensions ratcheting up any higher than they already are." Nick closed the bedroom door, and Ella pointedly looked at it. "Please."

Conor sighed. "All right. I will."

Ella released the Shield spell over the door and ran upstairs. She did make sure the doors were closed behind her.

Nathanial pulled off his suit and donned a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He didn't want Eirne, or any of Faelen's extended family, wandering into his room checking on him while he was naked. He crawled into bed and flicked off all the lights except for his lamp. Nick sat beside him.

He watched as Micah dashed around the corner of the gym's showers with his paws skidding over the tile. Geoff and Faelen stared at him, surprised, but Micah's silver gaze flicked around the room, barely pausing at their naked, muscular forms. He turned around and took off at high speed again. Geoff and Faelen looked at each other in confusion before shrugging.

Nathanial felt his eyelids growing heavy.

Outside, he saw that the single storm cloud had grown huge. The normally placid harbour churned. Waves crashed into each other beneath the cloud, sending huge gouts of spray skyward. He could see ghostly timbers from old shipwrecks rising to the surface with glowing, translucent skeletons of sailors clinging to the barnacle encrusted wood before the waters reclaimed them once more. Was that just a side-effect from watching with his ESP, or did they really look like that? There's no way the Furs could mistake that for anything natural.

Nathanial blinked. He'd almost fallen asleep, but he couldn't sleep, not yet. Not until Micah was back downstairs. He was so tired, though. 'Wait. When did Micah get upstairs?' He struggled to move, but the blankets felt so heavy. His arms wouldn't budge. Nick sat beside him reading notes from school, but Nathanial couldn't get his attention.

Micah was on the second floor. A sense of dread filled Nathanial. Weights settled onto his chest. It was getting hard to breathe.

His little brother scampered down the hall towards Lily's old office. Nathanial tried to call out. Micah couldn't go in there! It was too dangerous! 'Dangerous? Mom's dead. It's as safe as anywhere else in the house.' No, he knew it was dangerous. The edges of his vision were going dark.

A tiny black paw curled around the door handle, and the locked door swung open easily. Two silver eyes peered around the frame, Fey-sight easily piercing through the gloom. Books sat untouched on their shelves. Shattered bamboo staves rested with the patience of tomb guardians in their closet. The bloodstained carpet still lay exposed with the rug tossed aside. Micah's gaze rose from the dark patch and met the murderous glare of Lily.

She sat behind her desk, transparent paws squeezing the haft of her most recent rod. Bits of Nathanial's flesh were still wedged in the cracks that had formed during the vicious beatings. *Hello, Micah.*

Nathanial wanted to scream, but his breathing remained silent. Each lungful of air took so much effort.

Micah pushed the door fully open. "You aren't supposed to be here." One paw rested in his pouch, holding a pair of nuts.

The evil grin Nathanial knew so well crossed her face. It was the same grin that preceded the worst beatings. His mind cried out, but the pup couldn't hear him. 'Get out of there, Micah!'

She rose from her chair. Silvery blood dripped from the wounds that had killed her. *This is my office. You aren't supposed to be here.* Nathanial's blood began leaking out of the carpet he'd soaked many times. The crusty fibres softened, and the brown changed to brilliant scarlet.

Micah's defiant glare filled with anger. "You hurt Nats. You wanted to kill us. You should be in Tartarus. You should be suffering the way you made Nats suffer!"

Lily threw her head back and laughed. *Suffer? You mean like this?* She dug her claws into the bamboo, and Nathanial felt pain lance across his chest. His scream came faintly from the rod in her paws. No sounds came from his body.

Micah's eyes grew large. "You fucking bitch! Let Nats go!" He hurled an acorn into the room, and it exploded in a coil of glowing vines that lashed out at the ghost. She smirked as she puffed into vapour and reformed beside her desk. The vines burst into glittering dust as they hit the wall.

*Pathetic. I shouldn't expect more from a little monster raised by Nathanial, that useless sack of shit. He was as incompetent training you as he was with everything else.* She let go of her rod with one paw and stuck the spectral appendage into the lamp. Flickers of electricity developed in her translucent form, and she shot a bolt of lightning at Micah.

Micah sneered back at her and raised a paw. The electricity dissipated over his Shield_spell. "How incompetent were _you, then, when you couldn't even make_toast_ for breakfast? At least Nats tried and learnt on his own how to care for me and Nick. Who was supposed to be teaching him? You were so pathetic you didn't even _try._And monster? You're the ghost; you can't get a more common monster than that."

Downstairs, the second prong of Lily's attack happened at the same time she shot at Micah. The lamp on Nathanial's bedside table quietly crackled. Ciaran opened the door. "Where's the circuit panel?"

Nick pointed over his shoulder to the box on the wall near the bed. "Th--" The crackling switched to loud sparking. Nick broke off to stare at the lamp and jumped when an eagle made from electricity burst through the shade. The Demon Mage didn't hesitate a second. The lamp exploded in a ball of fire, and the eagle splashed harmlessly against his shield. When it started to reform, Nick chanted a few words before grabbing it with his bare paw through the purple dome. The energy danced over his fur, fading into tiny sparks before winking out.

Ciaran didn't pause either. He held one of the scrolls Liam made between his right index and middle finger while he ran across the room. He leapt over the corner of the bed to land before the box and yanked it open. Arcs of electricity sprang out, but he danced back and threw the piece of paper. It hit the board, plunging the entire building into darkness. Somehow, that little strip of paper blocked the flow of electricity coming into the house. He raised the second strip of paper. Nick created a ball of Mage Light, and emergency lights flared to life throughout the basement.

Upstairs, Lily staggered away from the lamp when the lights went out. Micah seized the opportunity to throw a second acorn. This one exploded into a dazzling burst of pure silvery moonlight. The rod, the blood, and even Lily steamed as something burnt within them. She screamed in pain.

Nathanial screamed too, as his body began to work again. "Micah!" He stumbled out of bed, ignoring the two stunned guys near him.

Blood boiled up from the stain in front of Lily's desk. Splintered rods leapt from their cupboard. The rods latched together in the form of a feline skeleton, and the blood rolled over that to form the flesh. Even the carpet tore off from the floor to fashion a grisly, matted pelt of fur, dripping crimson blood. Lily grasped her rod with both paws and dug her claws in. The golem attacked. Nathanial fell to the floor, face down, clutching his chest.

"Nats!"_Nick scrambled after his older brother, and a stampede of Spirits charged toward the teen's bedroom. Ciaran still held Liam's paper as he sprang back over the bed toward the door. Nathanial felt like his body became remote; the pain was still there, but it was almost like it was someone _else's pain.

Micah cried out in surprise. _"Gwaa!"_Wings tore through his tunic, and he sprang into the air. The Changeling zipped into the hall and down the hall toward the stairs. The golem charged after him, leaving bloody paw prints after each bounding stride. Micah held three acorns in his paw and sang quietly as he flew.

Nick rolled Nathanial over. "Come on, Nats! Don't do this to me!"

Nathanial stared into his brother's tearful eyes, beseeching him to go help Micah. "M-Micah..."

Nick seemed to get it. "I'll get Micah, Nats! Just stay with us!" He pulled out his phone and hit the Ancient One's number on speed dial as he ran after Ciaran. Nick didn't pause as he dashed past Conor. "Nats's heart. Calling Sensei. Micah's in danger!"

Conor changed course and pulled out his own phone. "Lorena, do what you can!"

Nathanial's consciousness fully left his body, and he lost all awareness of what was happening to him. It wasn't important, anyway.

Micah approached the stairwell, but Lily pointed her rod at it, and an illusion of horrific, writhing brambles blocked the path to safety. Nathanial knew Micah couldn't be fooled by that, but his baby brother flew past the stairs straight down the hall. Lily seemed viciously pleased and chased after her prey. The sunlight pouring in through the window at the hall's end must mark Micah's destination.

Lily must've figured that was his goal too, and made a wall of burbling blood appear in front of it. Faces of the older two Marks pups formed in the bubbles, faces contorted by pain. Micah didn't alter his flight at all and pulled up short only when he was within arm's reach of the frame. A quick word and the illusion shattered, bathing him in the warm sunlight. His eyes turned from silver to gold. He wheeled about, sang a few words in Fey, and raised a paw holding one of the acorns. "Solar Beam!"

The acorn shone like a miniature sun, and a scintillating beam filled the hall. The construct froze mid-jump. Large chunks of carpet immediately disintegrated. They were quickly joined by the bloody tissue and bamboo bones. By the time the beam flickered out, the monstrosity had vanished completely. Lily, however, disappeared in puff of ectoplasm before the light hit her; oddly, the rod did, too. Micah frowned.

Lily reformed at the edge of the sunbeam bathing the hall and laughed at him. *Such a stupid little fucker. You useless whelp. How can you possibly hope to defeat a servant of God?*

Nick reached the top of the basement stairs, just beyond the basement's wards. He stopped and activated his _Mage Sigil_on Micah's phone, looked up toward his baby brother's location, and chanted an extremely complex spell. Nathanial was in too much pain to decipher it, but when Nick vanished in a gout of flame only to reappear in like fashion four metres away from Micah, what it did became obvious. Nick took in the spectre, the visible storm of emotions on his face lasting only an instant before it smoothed over. "Hello, Mother."

She turned with a smile. "Ah, Nicholas. My favourite son." She drifted toward him with her arms held wide.

He smiled back disarmingly and snapped his fingers. A pillar of hellfire engulfed her, and he said sweetly, "Fuck you." She shrieked in pain and vanished.

Micah turned his head about as he searched for something. His eyes fixed on something and he raised an acorn. A word later and a box of glowing green vines encased the two pups. Small diamond-shaped shards of the Shield spell blossomed amongst the vines in clusters of six, like flowers. "Gotcha!"

Lily appeared by the vines covering one wall partway between Micah and Nick. *Do you think this will stop me?*

Micah dropped an acorn. It broke apart in a cascade of sparkling dust. Glittering motes of light filled the prison. He shook his head. "Nope."

Nick raised a paw toward his mother. She moved sideways to dodge an expected spell, and the edges of her form faded a bit as she tried to step into the ethereal plane. She staggered like she'd run into a wall, and the edges of her form resolidified.

Nick held out a paw with the pads facing his mother, gathering infernal energies which limned both the ghost and his fingers. "Micah can reinforce the Veils, preventing you from moving to the ethereal plane. That's what you felt just now. The light of his other spell keeps you from becoming invisible. But he can't do much more than keep you here." He grinned fiercely. "However, I can trap you, and it's_not_ going to be pleasant." He dropped his flame-lined paw into his pocket and pulled out a nickel. "I wish I had a penny. This is worth too much to waste on you." He began chanting, and the flames engulfed the coin, as well.

Lily looked furious as she flew toward Nick. Furious and terrified. Micah wagged his finger. "Such a naughty ghostie. You need to learn your place." He drew his sword, and the steel sword burst into golden incandescence, its blade rapidly stretching several metres to pierce Lily through where her heart would've been. Spikes of light burst out from the blade buried in Lily to hold her in place a mere two metres from Nicholas. She screamed in agony, but Micah ignored her pain and shook his head. "That's for what you did to Nats earlier."

The ghost raised the bamboo rod she'd used to torture Nathanial from afar to break it in two. "If I can't kill you two, then I'll kill my _other_useless brat, instead!" Nick's eyes filled with fear, but he kept chanting.

Micah raised a paw. "No!" One of the spikes protruding from her right shoulder pulsed brightly. Before Lily could break the rod, the spike exploded, blowing her right arm off. The stick struck the ceiling and became entangled in the vines, the spectral arm disintegrating in a puff of ectoplasmic smoke. Micah sagged to his knees. The light from his sword flickered and went out, releasing Lily.

Vapour gathered around the remnants of her shoulder, and her arm immediately reformed. She shrieked in triumph and flew at Nick again, but the teen merely smiled.

He raised the coin and loudly said the final word of the spell. Her spectral form looked like it was caught in a vacuum, quickly drawing her into the nickel. A few words of a second spell, coupled with some sigils traced over the coin with a claw, finished Nick's spellcasting. "Bye, Mom; sweet dreams." He tossed the coin up and caught it. "Bitch." Micah panted and smiled over at his brother before waving his paw to cancel his spells. Nick caught the rod as it fell and trotted over. "How you doing, Mikey?"

The little pup's eyes returned to normal, and his wings vanished. "Tired." Micah looked at the bit of metal trapped in Nick's fist. "That was the nightmare spell Nats was locked in, wasn't it?" Nick smiled vindictively. Micah's smile faltered. "Those nightmares were horrible. She... She deserves it after everything, but..." His head drooped.

Nick knelt beside him, ignoring the tromp of pawsteps coming up the stairs. Silent Ciaran had already reached the top when he saw the two and ran over. Nick rubbed his brother's back. "She deserves it and more. Nats just had a heart attack. He screamed your name and tried to get to you, but he suddenly clutched his chest and fell over." Micah looked horrified and guilty, and Nick squeezed his shoulder bracingly. "Hey! It's her fault, not yours!"

Micah scrambled to stand, but his legs wouldn't hold him up. He pointed at the rod in Nick's paw. "She squeezed that stick, and I heard him scream!" Nick dropped it like it had suddenly burst into flames, and Micah managed to catch it before it hit the floor. "She's been using it to hurt him! I need to see Nats!" Micah began crawling toward the stairs crying out, "Don't die, Nats! Please! Don't leave me!"

Nathanial felt like his heart would break. His consciousness finally flitted back into his body. Someone was crushing his ribs beneath their paws like they were trying to force his body into an overfull suitcase. "Ow." He heard some relieved sighs, and a very worried whimper. Opening his eyes, he saw Lorena lean back; she must've been performing CPR or something. Eirne was kneeling beside her closer to his head. His mouth tasted funny. Eww. He had to remind himself that mouth-to-mouth was not kissing. A soaked Geoff and Faelen wore nothing but towels and perched anxiously on the edge of his bed. Faelen held Geoff like he was keeping the white Wolf from leaping on Nathanial.

Liam ran through the door to his bedroom, which meant Nathanial's expanded senses had obviously failed. The Rottie motioned for Lorena to move aside. He began moving his paws around Nathanial's chest. "Report."

Lorena answered. "Nathanial cried Micah's name suddenly, and shortly thereafter, Nicholas ran from the room saying, quote, 'Nats's heart. Calling Sensei. Micah's in danger.' Conor, Dirk, and Ciaran followed Nick upstairs. I came into the room to find Nathanial on the floor, unresponsive."

Nathanial just realized he was still on the floor. 'Huh.'

The matron of the O'Conalls continued, "His heartbeat was highly irregular and soon stopped completely. I began CPR, and Eirne performed mouth-to-mouth. He regained consciousness just seconds ago."

Liam nodded curtly and closed his eyes. He ripped Nathanial's shirt open and placed both paws in the white fluff over Nathanial's heart. The healer seemed to be concentrating, but Nathanial didn't feel any signs of chi being used.

Thundering pawsteps on the basement stairs heralded the arrival of Nicholas, shortly followed by Conor carrying Micah. Lorena stopped them at the bedroom door. Liam still didn't move. Nathanial couldn't tell how long he lay there with Liam sitting perfectly still over him before the Rottie sat back. "Someone please have my father prepare some of my medicine."

Faelen stood up. "I'll do it." Nick flicked his fingers; the two teen Wolves suddenly became dry. Nathanial couldn't see the magical flow, but at least he felt the tingle of magic. That was a huge relief. Maybe with a little rest he'd be back to...uh, his _new_normal.

Liam rubbed his muzzle and eyes. He looked exhausted. "Geoff, place him in bed. Let me know the moment you see something to worry you. I still have other patients requiring my attention."

With Liam's administrations over, Geoff sprang from the bed and scooped Nathanial up. His towel fell off, but no one batted an eye, and he seemed blithely unconcerned. Eirne didn't seem at all offended, like Nathanial expected a 'proper,' ladylike woman to be -- or pretend to be -- but her eyes did momentarily run over his muscular form in appreciation. Nathanial thought it was kind of like the way she'd pause to glance a nice piece art in a park as she ran by. Even after many examples of these Spirits being relaxed about nudity, it still took him aback.

Liam held a paw up from his place on the floor to the nearest person, who just happened to be Lowell's ex-wife. "Lorie, dear, I require some assistance."

She took his paw and helped him stand. "I'd tell you to not overdo it, but we both know I'd be wasting my breath."

He chuckled and patted her paw before she released him. "True, true. Faelen will still tell me, though, either as you just have or by very sincerely telling me to be careful." The smile vanished. "I didn't have a chance to count heads; is everyone here?"

Geoff whimpered as he lowered Nathanial onto the bed, removed his torn shirt, and gently put him under the covers. "Nathanial." The heart-breaking fear in that one word made Nathanial's eyes fill with tears. Geoff crawled under the covers next to him and carefully pulled him close.

Conor walked in and put Micah on the bed on the opposite side of Nathanial from Geoff. "Let him sleep, guys." They nodded seriously, even Nathanial.

Nick looked over longingly, but he stayed back. "Sensei, I... I need to tell you what happened."

Dirk's voice came from just outside the door; he was too far back from the door for Nathanial to see, and Nathanial found it disconcerting to not see what he was doing, despite his new senses being...well...new. "It sounds like Lily was using this to attack Nathanial from a distance. Ciaran is checking her office to make sure we get all the old staves. I recommend we get everyone to help clear that place down to the studs tonight. Burn the carpet, the bamboo, _everything_that has a bit of his blood on it or flesh stuck in it."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, I agree, but I have her here, so she can't do anything more." He held up the coin. "She won't get out anytime soon." Liam reached for it, but he jerked his paw back before touching it. Nick grimaced. "Sorry. Élan Imprisonment is the only spell I know that can hold a soul."

Liam didn't look mollified in the slightest. "I question why you would know it at all."

The Akita shrugged. "It's in the grimoire. After what happened to Nats, and seeing how easily it held him, I learnt it to use against Gordon and Beriatana. The reason why I used the Nightmare Prison spell too, well, that's...just revenge. After all she did to him--" He stopped talking when Liam shook his head.

Liam staggered away. "Take your grimoire out of the cupboard and...lock it in the storeroom somewhere. Put that coin in the cupboard instead. Please ensure that the two items do not come into contact or are even in close proximity. Tell Ciaran to place the ofuda I made over the doors. Note I will require my other patients to be placed in your bed and in Micah's. Please ensure your rooms are presentable. I will hear what you have to say after, if I am still conscious." Nick trotted off out of sight. Liam sighed and followed after him. "And good job, to both you and Micah. You have my sincere gratitude. You saved Nathanial's life and saved him much suffering besides."

Micah heard that; Nathanial knew because the pup's tail wagged so ferociously that the bed shook. He couldn't see Nick, but Nathanial was sure his tail was going just as fast.