The evening starts out with what's basically a calm stroll. Jamie leads the way, and the rest of us trail him, trying to act like we have a place to be and something to do besides following a rather determined werewolf around. It's more than a little amusing, watching him scuttle about the streets, going in one direction, then shaking his head and going in another. He lifts his nose towards the sky, then lowers it again, sniffing the pavement instead. More than a few people give him weird looks as they pass, but Jamie's the kind of guy who'd turn heads even if he was being totally normal.

Rocco and I are a few paces ahead of Midge and Safiya, Rocco having donned his favorite lime green windbreaker, probably because he knows it bothers me. It's way too bright. Everything about him kinda is. As we're walking, he shoulders me gently and asks, "So we're not killing him, right?"

I glance sideways at him. "Who? Ricky?"

"Yeah."

"I'd prefer not to, yes," I answer truthfully. Alright, I'm not one of those people who gets all upset over killing things, who takes a knife to a guy and then has to rethink their whole existence. I'm half-demon. I just don't think that way. What I am thinking is that if we can catch this guy and get him to change back, we can get the first real, concrete clues we've ever had since this whole shebang started. So it'd kinda suck if he was dead, because dead people can't talk.

I mean, besides ghosts, but those are kinda rare over here.

"He's an important source of info, Rocco," I say. "We sorta need him alive."

Rocco nods, zipping his windbreaker up fully. "Good."

I could be imagining it, but I detect an unsteadiness in his tone, and I look at him, a smirk at my mouth. Rocco's anything but soft. He's the cool surfer dude who somehow has beach hair without being at the beach and operates on marijuana levels of chill without ever smoking marijuana, but he's not soft. That's why I'm so surprised. "Rocco!" I outburst, nudging his arm. "You're telling me you were worried about that?"

"What? No," he snaps. "I didn't say that. I was just asking."

"Oh, give me a break. You're a wimp sometimes, you know."

He sputters, "I'm not a wimp. You're a wimp—"

He's cut off by a weird noise. No, really, it's just weird. I don't know how else to describe it. It's sort of like a puppy's bark, but it's coming from the mouth of a very human-looking Jamie, and I just shake my head, about done with this kid already. He's jumping up and down and waving his arms all around, like it's killing him to stay in one place.

I roll my eyes at Rocco to signal the beginning of the end, and then jog towards Jamie, who's paused at a crosswalk. "Jamie? What's up, buddy? Did you find something?"

Jamie nods so fast I'm afraid he's going to break his neck. "He's there," he answers, turning to point in the direction of a park just across the street. "He's everywhere. In there."

My eyebrows draw in. "He's...everywhere? In—"

"No, no," Jamie corrects me. "His scent. It's everywhere, all over the park. So he must be in there."

I nod in understanding, then glance back at everyone else. Midge is already brandishing her wand, twisting it around a few times in her fingers; Safiya's tying her hair back from her face, and Rocco's just standing there squirming. Oh my God, he's actually a chicken. All these years by his side and I've just realized it now. "Are you all ready? You know what to do, right?"

Midge nods, and I turn to tell Jamie we're ready to go, but then she outbursts, "Actually, I have a question."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "A question you didn't think about before we came out here?"

She adjusts her skirt, pressing out any wrinkles. "No, trust me. I've been thinking about it."

"Shoot, then."

"Why do I have to be the one to sedate him? I mean, it's just...there's a possibility the spell won't work. I'm alright, but I'm not—"

"Midge."

She swallows, twisting her wand around in her fingers a few more times. "Yes?"

I smile at her, just to give her additional comfort with the nice, encouraging words I'm certainly about to say to her. "We don't have any other methods of putting this guy to sleep. So the spell had better work, Midge, or I will personally make sure you're the first one of us he devours for dinner tonight. Maybe even with a nice side salad."

Midge squeaks nervously. "Fine. Forget I even asked."

"Gladly," I say, then turn towards Jamie again, waving him forward. "Onward, kid. Let's get this over with."

Jamie gives an awkward salute before crossing the street at a full on sprint, which I reluctantly match. It crosses my mind that I might want to tell him to slow down a little, but in the end, I'm just as eager. The quicker this is over, the quicker I can go to sleep.

And I'm really missing my bed at the moment.

Jamie's pretty much a white blur in front of me, his hair as pale as the moon above our heads as he clears the park's outer fence in one graceful leap. I just blink for a second, consider doing the same, and then say, "Yeah, no," and start making my way to the front gate.

Youth these days and all their parkour mess. I don't plan on breaking anything tonight.

Something's wrong. I know it the second I'm past the gates, and I'm honestly not even sure how. Maybe it's the way everything seems duller—the moonlight, the rosebushes, even the breeze seems hushed. There's also the fact that no one else seems to be here. Normally this place is chockfull of people trying to act like they're physically fit or like they're trying to be, even when the sun's down. Frankly, I'm puzzled.

Then Midge, behind me, lets out a groan like she's going to throw up. My heart skipping a beat, I turn, slowing my pace to match hers. "Midge? Are you okay?"

She winces. "I don't know. Something's...wrong here. I'm really tired, all of a sudden."

Her eyes flutter and she sways a little, but Safiya nudges her back to her feet, a bit too harshly for my comfort. "I don't think so, Midget," snaps Safi. "Keep it together. As soon as we're back, you can nap, but not now."

Midge nods, gripping Safiya's arm to steady herself. Safiya's clearly put off by it, as there's a scowl glued to her face, but she doesn't shake Midge off.

Ahead of us, Rocco calls, "He's here!"

And now is the point where I should probably start praying and repenting from my sins and all that, because God knows if Midge can't pull this spell off, Ricky's gonna finish what he started at the Lobo bar. But Midge—I saw her, though, at the North Ave Clan's hideout. She's a powerful witch whether she knows it or not.

So we're going to be fine.

Probably.

Hopefully.

Around the corner, Rocco's tugged a squirming Jamie behind a bush. I start to ask what's going on here, but Rocco shushes me and yanks me down beside him, Safiya and Midge crouching behind us.

"Rocco," I whisper, "what's going on? I don't see anything."

He shushes me again, then silently points toward the fountain nestled neatly upon the grass in the clearing. At first I see nothing but the fountain, some maiden wrapped in cloth posing like something out of a magazine (a really weird magazine, nonetheless), but then the wolf seems to manifest itself from the dark. The moonlight's just enough to see his golden coat as he trails around the fountain's edge, pausing to take a sip from it.

Jamie says, "It's Ricky."

"No dip," I say, then glance at Safiya. "You're up."

She mutters something about hating this idea, then says, louder, "If you guys let him eat me, I will cut you."

I decide there's no point in arguing with her, so I just wave her off. She rises from our hiding spot, pausing to cast me a scowl over her shoulder before striding out into the clearing.

Well, there's no going back now.

Any opportunity to just turn and haul tail goes down the drain when Ricky notices Safiya, his snout lifting towards the sky to catch her scent before his jaws open into a snarl. My stomach twists a bit at the sight of it, his wrinkled fur and squinted eyes, the way his dripping saliva follows his footsteps in little puddles.

Beside me, both Midge and Rocco are quivering. Jamie, on the other hand, seems almost angry, his mismatched eyes glaring out from the top of the bush, a low growl emanating from his throat.

"Jamie," I warn. There's no room for slip-ups. Everything has to go according to plan, or we're dead meat. "Tone it down a little, alright?"

Jamie casts me a sideways glance, his teeth still gritted, "But he's going to hurt her. Our friend—"

"No," Rocco intervenes, placing a hand on Jamie's shoulder and drawing him down from the bush's edge, down into the safety of obscurity. I blink, not sure I ever remember Rocco being exceptionally good at comforting people. "Remember? We're stopping him before he can. Don't worry."

I allow myself a smile, but the moment's short-lived. There's a hand shaking my shoulder, and I swivel to see a panicky Midge, shouting my name and gesturing madly towards the clearing. I look where she's pointing, and curse under my breath. Ricky the wolf's lunging for Safiya now, and it looks like we've stayed in hiding too long.

I shove Midge out into the clearing. "Now, Midge!"

She staggers a bit before forming a solid sprint, her pink hair flying out behind her like a sail as she heads frantically in Safiya's direction. Ricky ignores Midge, letting out a howl before tackling Safiya to the ground. Safiya falls to the grass with a grunt, holding the wolf's snapping jaws away from her with her bare hands.

Safiya and I aren't best buds or anything, but that doesn't mean I want her head bitten off by some serial killer werewolf. My breath catches, and I'm about to head out myself, but there's a rustle beside me.

I look up, catching a streak of pale fur as Jamie—or Bullet, really, I have no idea how this works—leaps from the bush, changing mid-jump as he charges towards Ricky.

So much for toning it down.

Rocco and I share an apprehensive glance, and then I just curse and get to my feet. "Stay here, okay?"

I stay long enough to see him nod hesitantly before I'm out in the open, the grass at my feet shuddering in the breeze. Jamie, the impulsive little bastard, has tackled Ricky off of Safiya, and now she's lying there like she's just woken from a nap and no longer knows where she is. Midge, on the other hand, stands with her feet planted, her wand pointed towards Ricky as her mouth moves.

She's scary when she looks all serious like that. I swallow, tiptoeing around her to go towards Safiya.

I kneel down towards her. "Safi, you good—"

Her hand strikes my face, and I blink the stars from my vision, beyond stunned. "The hell!" I snap when I've come back to my senses. "What was that for?"

"You know damn well what that one was for, hotshot. Because you and the rest of those idiots waited too long, I was almost that big hairy guy's dessert. Dumbasses, all of you. All of you, Grey!" Safiya wails, wiping an angry hand across her mouth. As she does, she smears her red lipstick all over her face, but I figure now's not the time to tell her.

"Thank God for Jamie," she mutters, gesturing at the two wrestling wolves, a whirl of gold and white as they snarl and snap at each other. "If he wasn't here, we'd be dead by now."

I frown. She's kinda right, even if I didn't exactly want Jamie to get involved. I don't know why. I think I was just kinda worried he'd get hurt...and he's been hurt enough. "Yeah, well that doesn't matter," I tell her, and she reluctantly lets me help her to get to her feet. "Because Midge will do her fancy magic stuff and we'll be out of here in no time, albeit with a bit of elbow grease—"

"Grey."

I glance over my shoulder; Midge is on her knees, her eyes wide and unblinking, shoulders trembling. Alright, I take it back. This face is way more scary than her serious face. In a second, I'm over there. I hesitate, but place my hands on her shoulders, willing her to look at me. "Hey. Midge. Midge? What's—what's going on? Are you alright?"

Behind us, a lupine wail sounds, followed by the crunch of teeth into flesh. Midge winces. "I'm...fine. But my magic...my magic..."

"What? What about your magic, Midge?"

"It's not working."

Safiya and I glance at each other, then back at Midge. I shake my head, sure I must have heard her wrong. I mean, she's a witch. That's a witch's thing. Magic. It doesn't just stop working. "How can it...how can it not work? Make it work! We don't have time—"

"Don't you think I would if I could?" Midge yelps, pushing me away from her, her cheeks flushed. "Thanks for making me feel more useless than I already do, Grey. What a gentleman you are. It's not working and that's the end of the story. I don't know how, and I don't know why."

As I'm about to reply, Safiya lets out a groan. "Well, I think we'd better figure something out. Jamie's not exactly winning the fight anymore."

I let out a startled "What?" before I turn and see him there. It's a flashback to a few nights before; Ricky's got a hold on him, his jaws locked around Jamie's flank, Jamie's snowy fur swimming with red. Jamie tries in vain to step away, but his balance falters, and he falls with a squeaky whimper, his wolf's eye squinting shut in pain.

I look at him, and I could be imagining it, but he seems to be pleading with me.

"It's...it's okay, Midge. I'll handle this."

I get to my feet, but Midge grabs my arm. "Grey? Are you sure?"

I pause, smirking at her. "I'm the son of Alvanor," I say. "I can handle something small like this."

"Grey?" she says again.

"Yeah?"

"That's bull and you know it," she tells me, "but please don't get yourself killed."

I shrug, turning my back on her. "No promises."

I just adopted this kid. He's not dying on me, even if he is a little pest.

Honestly, if there's ever a time for me to be in a fight, it's at night. The dark's everywhere, and there's shadows everywhere, so I can't really run out of juice. You know, unless someone bites my head off. But I'm not planning to get my head bitten off.

It's been a while since I've done anything on this scale, so I'm not sure if I can. But I have to try.

I focus my eyes on Ricky's tawny coat as the hum within me accelerates to a burn, my fingers tingling. Twitching my hands, the shadows slither out from the foliage in thin, serpentine lines, drawing a straight path towards Ricky. When they're close enough, I jerk them upwards.

My body gives an involuntary tremor, but I shake it off. The shadows have done what I'd planned, hardening into spears and basically shish-kabobing the tawny wolf—in nonessential places. With an agonized howl, he shrinks away, detaching his teeth from Jamie.

"Jamie!" I yell, and when he lifts his head towards me, I can see the pain twisted into his eyes. "Get away from him, okay? Midge...Midge will help you!"

Jamie exhales from his nostrils, beginning to drag himself away with his front legs. Ricky tries in vain to free himself and finish the job, but I won't let him. In fact, I'm not really sure what to do. I can't hold him here forever. If we can't get him to go to sleep, we're all screwed.

Damn. If only Midge—

No, no. It's not Midge's fault. I won't think like that.

I take a step forward, and then another, slowly making my approach towards the squirming wolf we'd come here to catch. I'll just have to knock him out. Maybe I'll fasten a hammer, or something. I mean, I've never done that, because guns and swords and knives are way cooler, but there's a first time for everything.

So that's what I'm doing, bringing the shadows up into my hands, when a streetlight flicks on.

Shoot.

Perfect timing, of course.

Alleviated by the harsh light, the shadows dissipate, freeing Ricky.

And like any other pissed off wolf would, he starts charging me.

Midge is yelling at me to run, but what's that going to do? I can't outrun a werewolf. My best chance is to fight him with everything I have—

"Grey! Get out of the way!"

To my surprise, the words are shouted by Rocco. I don't have time to question what he's up to; Ricky's already in front of me. Just as the wolf's lunged, mouth wide open to showcase his set of glimmering, dagger like teeth, I dive to the side, rolling into the ground. A loud pop sounds, and I cover my ears with a grimace as a few more follow it.

The night stills.

I dare to look up, my eyes going wide.

Rocco, his mousy hair tossed in his eyes, stands there with a smoking gun in his hand, staring down Ricky, who lays dead at his feet.

"Rocco...?" I start, barely able to get the words out. I crawl towards Ricky, but stop as he begins to change forms, fur melting back into bloodied skin. There's a man there, a middle-aged guy. I want him to wake up, but when I press two fingers to his neck, there's no pulse. "Rocco, we said we weren't going to—why did you even have a gun? With silver bullets, too?"

I glance back towards Safiya, Midge, and Jamie, who all seem just as put off as I am. Jamie's changed back by now, his hand pressed into a wound at his side, his human face showcasing just how terrified he is.

"I—protection, I guess?" Rocco responds after a beat, placing the gun back in its holster, underneath his shirt. He looks at me, and when he does, it's hard to even recognize him. "I'm sorry. I was just afraid he was going to kill you."

I try to smile at him, but I can't. I'm too confused.

"It's alright, Rocco," I say. It's pretty much a lie. I don't think it's alright. "Let's just...not talk about it, okay?"

Rocco's gaze shifts toward the slain werewolf. "Okay," he agrees shakily. "Okay."