Helena was jittery, like she'd drank a gallon of tea.

They'd set up the Samuels family in the nearby square, and despite Starry's chatter they'd all fallen asleep at some point. Even Alexis, who had been impressed with the sprite's willingness to openly chat with humans collapsed on one of the chairs they'd brought out.

Once all of them were sleeping Helena had called upon her magic to help keep alert and awake, then started as much repair work as she could. She wasn't great at healing or construction, so the damaged furniture was hopeless, but cleaning the smoke smell and soot out of the house was simple.

After that was done she walked back up to her room and began packing. First she stuffed all of Alexis' belongings into the woman's suitcase, then she started packing her own bags. Her ability to summon her possessions would work between realms, but it would take longer. So she wanted any item she needed quickly on hand.

Fortunately she'd designed a traveling kit a long time ago. It contained her favorite spell components, a wand, a knife and two of her most useful tomes. Afterwards she put together another package with her ofuda slips, writing materials and a few more books.

Her supplies gathered she set her room in order, casting a spell to water her plants, smothering her own fire, and then latching her windows shut. That done she went outside to wait.

Starry Breeze awoke just before dawn, ready to chatter about anything and everything. Fortunately Helena had some experience dealing with the exuberance of lesser fairies. She managed to keep Starry entertained while still getting in some reading until the others began to rise.

Shanon and Moses woke up first, a good sign. Helena roused James and Prudence Samuels to explain the situation to their children. The twins were obviously a little shaken to learn how close to death they'd been, but their spirits lifted when Starry butted in and bragged about saving them. And they seemed to recover fully when they learned the price they had to pay for their rescue was a few games of hide and seek. Soon the three were joined by other neighborhood kids, and the group was learning the difficulties in tracking a creature that could turn invisible and fly at will.

Helena was pleased at how well matters had turned out.

She was going over the teleportation spell one more time when Alexis stirred and slowly awoke. The noblewoman blinked several times, then groaned as she shifted in the chair she'd fallen asleep in. "What time is it?"

That was a good question. Helena looked at the angle of the shadows. "About nine." She closed the book and put it away. "I packed your bag for you, I hope you don't mind."

"So we really are leaving then?" Alexis asked.

"Yes," Helena replied. "I meant what I said last night. Besides, it's safer for everyone."

Alexis nodded. "Yes." She stood. "When will we begin?"

"Whenever Starry tires," Helena said. "She'll need to get out of the smog, so I'll be taking her with us."

"I see. I'll get my pack then," Alexis said.

As the noblewoman stood, Mr Samuels walked up, Prudence silently following. "You aren't still thinking this is your fault, are you?"

Alexis bowed. "But it was my fault. I don't know why, but the curse I carry struck out at you. I can't let your family stay in danger."

"Now you can't believe that. Sure it's strange that a possum happened to fall into the chimney just far enough to start that fire, but there's no way that could have hurt you. It's just bad luck," James said.

Helena flinched, but forced herself to speak. "I'm afraid it was the curse. You see, it knows by hurting you we would be driven to move closer to its true target."

Mr Samuels looked both frightened and worried at that, but Prudence stepped forward. "I'll say it plain, I'd feel safer with that curse elsewhere. But you sure you want to give it a victory? Once you run from your home, you'll have a hell of a time getting it back."

Alexis smiled ruefully. "In that case we should hurry back all the faster. I let this curse drive me from my family once. I will not let it hound me across the realms again."

"Besides, I'm not running from it. I'm running towards it," Helena added.

Prudence nodded. "Then I wish you both luck. And the blessings of God for you countess." She sniffed. "I'd offer you prayers as well Helena but..."

"Thanks all the same," Helena said with a smile.

As Alexis started walking towards the apartments Sharon caught sight of her. "Hey! Ms. Countess! You said you were going to play with us!"

"Oh! Another person sounds fun!" Starry said before doing a somersault and losing her glasses.

Alexis curtsied, "Ah, I shall join you in a moment. I need to grab something from upstairs."

"Kay! Don't forget!" Sharon said before returning to the scrum of children.

Helena chuckled at Alexis' expression. "Don't worry. Today's just the dimensional shift. Tomorrow we'll have a lot of walking though so don't pull any muscles."

"You don't need to tell me that," Alexis replied haughtily as she walked towards the stairs. Helena smiled and returned to her books. It was good to see Alexis' spirits returning.

Helena noted that Alexis had the presence of mind to choose a more subdued traveling dress, which was a good thing, because the children's antics had added a solid layer of dust to it. Still the 'boundless energy' of youth petered out sometime around noon, when the yearning for lunch kicked in.

"Aw, do you really have to leave?" Moses asked.

"I'm afraid so," Alexis replied.

Starry nodded weakly. "Yeah. I'm tired. Your city's kinda dirty."

Sharon pouted. "But today's our day off. I wanted to play more later."

"Now Sharon, they've got an important task they have to see through," James said. The man smiled at them all. "You all take care though. You're welcome back whenever you'd like to drop by."

"My thanks," Alexis replied.

"Sure!" Starry chirped.

Mr Samuels turned towards Helena. "And of course we'll keep your room Helena. We'll let next month's rent slide for a bit if you need that too."

"Hopefully this won't take that long," Helena said. "But I appreciate the offer." She stepped into the center of the small square and opened her grimoire. "In any case, we should be going. We're in sync with the Black Forest right now, which means I can perform a teleport without a full circle."

Alexis and Starry moved to stand near her as the two kids waved. "Goodbye!" "Come back soon!" The fairy waved back. "Sure thing! Uh, just do something about the air here, 'kay?"

"Alright. I'm opening up the portal." Helena waved goodbye, then allowed her mind to sink into itself again. She stared at the sigil on the page, letting the minor details fill the pattern she'd memorized years ago. The symbols grew brighter and brighter until they blazed white, and Helena picked the circle up and threw it on the ground beneath them.

Then they were moving, passing through the glimmering space between realms. There weren't actually stars here, but it was her way of understanding the incomprehensible weirdness of dimensional travel. In reality they weren't anywhere at all, but falling through space seemed far more reasonable than the truth, so Helena created the illusion of both.

Fortunately the trip was short. Just a few moments later they crashed back into reality, Starry and Alexis staggering from the illusionary force Helena had created. Helena just ignored the feeling, now that it was unneeded. It probably made her look more impressive and mysterious, which was nice.

The area they'd dropped into was vastly different from the city streets of the Immigrant Realm. Massive trees, pines and spruce and birch, created a canopy of green above and around them. And before them stood a house that was straight out of a storybook. The paint was clean and perfect white, the shutters and eves lightly covered in beautiful flowering vines, the roof dusted with the perfect amount of moss, and a lazy stream wandered past it just close enough to have a small waterwheel going. Birds flittered about chirping their songs while the usual pests were nowhere to be seen.

It was as fantastic as a painting, and the only way it could scream 'witch' any louder was if it had been made of gingerbread.

"Where are we?" asked Alexis.

Starry looked at her. "Uh, the Black Forest obviously?" The fairy looked around. "Wow the air here is soooo much better than over there. I mean I like playing and all but man did it stink."

"Specifically we're in the Slavic area of the Black Forest," Helena said in German. "You can also switch to your home tongue."

"You speak German?" Alexis asked.

Helena shook her head. "No, but a good translation spell will work." She shrugged. "Anyway, I have friends here, so it's easy for me to teleport to the area. We'll use magic to travel to your home realm tomorrow."

"Friends?" Alexis looked over. "Fellow witches I suppose?"

Helena looked at the house and shook her head. "Yeah. They're kind of flashy in some ways."

Starry started flitting about. "Oh! This is where the other geased kids live? That's cool!"

"Yes. And I imagine they'll be showing up right about-" the door creaked open as Helena finished, "-now. Hello Lyudmila."

Lyudmila looked almost the same as she had the last time Helena visited. She still had a tall lanky figure, and a preference for brown dresses with white long sleeved shirts. The only change was she'd apparently taken to wearing a thin gold circlet in her wavy dark green hair. Helena wondered if it was because Lyudmila had gotten tired of being mistaken for a clockmaker, or if she'd just decided she wanted some accessories.

After a moment looking over the trio, Lyudmila sighed and leaned against the doorway. "You know, normally people send a message before they drop by Helena."

"Sorry," Helena said. "It was something of a last minute decision. I didn't realize we were going to be coming until after midnight."

Lyudmila began to rub her forehead. "Don't tell me someone is trying to kill you again. If you managed to get chased out of the Immigrant Realm..."

"More I'm going to be killing someone," Helena replied sweetly. "I'll give you the full story when Kseniya's around too. In any case, we'll only be staying for the night. We'll leave for the Germanic areas at noon tomorrow."

"Oh good. We'll be out of the blast radius," Lyudmila smiled as Helena scowled. "I bid you welcome. I am Lyudmila Doroshenko, and this is the home of me and my sister, Kseniya. Who are your guests, Helena?"

Helena gestured to Alexis. "This is Lady Alexis von Strausfen. She's my current employer. I'm helping her get rid of a rather troublesome curse." She pointed to the fairy as Alexis bowed. "This is Starry Breeze. I summoned her to help, then brought her here because the Immigrant Realm's a little dangerous for a nature spirit like her."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Lyudmila said. "I'm glad to see someone's helping out Helena's questionable finances, and it's always nice to meet a member of the fair folk."

Starry bowed. "It's nice to meet you too! It's not every day we run into friends of us lesser fairies." The little winged girl yawned. "I'd like to play some more, but I'm a little tired." She turned to Helena. "Anyway thanks for the ride here, but I should get some rest and recover from all that. I'll see you later!" And then the spirit was gone.

"My. Sprites are somewhat hasty," Alexis said.

"You get used to it," Helena replied.

Lyudmila nodded. "At least they're easily amused." The woman pushed herself off the doorframe and beckoned them in. "Anyways come inside. I'm sure you've got quite the story to tell, and Kseniya would hate it if we left her out."

The inside of the house wasn't perfect like the outside. Two magicians living in a house meant rooms filled with books and scattered experiment materials. The sisters did clean often, but the natural chaos that came from long nights of study built up quickly. The only storybook feature here was the flittering birds that zipped here and there within the house. Alexis blinked then gasped as a hummingbird paused to inspect her. "They're machines!"

"Yes. I build clockwork devices," Lyudmila said. "Mostly for recreation. Modern anatomy textbooks are so much more useful than trying to figure it all out myself via constructs."

"But to bring them to life and control them..." Alexis looked at the clockwork menagerie. "That is an impressive feat!"

Lyudmila shook her head. "I just make the creatures. I don't animate them."

"That's me," a soft voice said from down the hall.

Helena looked over to see her other friend, Kseniya. Kseniya had stayed at a more reasonable height than her sister, though she was still taller than Helena. The young woman had changed styles, from her old black and white garb to short sleeved pastel dresses. But she'd kept her witch hat and the flower wreath she'd dropped on it. Her hair was a lighter green than her sister's, and the clockwork birds that occasionally flitted down to her shoulder or hands made her look more like a deranged nature spirit than a witch.

"Your new look suits you," Helena said. "So how many constructs can you control?"

"Fifty seven," Kseniya said. "I'm thinking of stopping at seventy. I don't want my power to increase too much." The young woman smiled at Alexis. "Ah, but forgive us for rambling. I'm Kseniya Doroshenko. I'm sure you've got a lot to tell us, so I prepared some tea and cookies. We can sit in the living room and chat." Alexis nodded and then followed Kseniya into the room, her eyes looking all over at the wonders of the house.

Soon they were all sitting around the cluttered living room table. Further introductions were given, then Helena let Alexis explain her story up until she arrived in the Immigrant Realm, before explaining what had happened with the curse after. Lyudmila offered a few questions, while Kseniya offered sympathy at the more violent parts of the story. Finally Helena reached the end. "So I decided it would be better to track the magic to its source and stop the curse with the one who created it."

"And how are you going to do that?" Lyudmila asked with raised eyebrows. "The best you could do is find the magician who cast the spell. Which won't help you if it was done for money using someone else's hatred. And even that will rely on luck."

Helena shrugged. "I have my ways. Once I find the caster I should be able to figure out something."

Lyudmila groaned. "Don't tell me you're going to start another feud? Don't you already have someone after your head?"

"I'm not too worried about that," Helena said. "Though that's the other reason I dropped by. I wanted to confirm a suspicion I had."

To her surprise Alexis spoke up. "Ah, you've discovered something else about the curse?"

She nodded. "I haven't confirmed it yet, but after yesterday I think I can assume that this spell was a curse for hire."

Lyudmila looked quizzical, but Kseniya slowly nodded. "Ah. That's reasonable." The younger magician sipped her tea. "Think about it sister. If you had some hatred strong enough to create a curse this evil, what could keep you from just dropping it on the target?"

"Of course." Lyudmila nodded. "When a witch casts a curse they can use their hatred to boost their own magical power, in addition to the power of the curse." She leaned back in her chair. "And this curse makes Helena's curses seem kind and polite. That means there's a lot of hatred involved."

"I'm not that bad," Helena muttered.

Lyudmila looked at her. "You gave someone leprosy once."

Helena sipped her tea. "In my defense, they deserved it."

Alexis coughed nervously. "What exactly is this about using someone else's hatred to power a curse? Wouldn't a witch's own magic be enough?"

Helena found everyone in the room turning to her, so she sighed and began to explain. "A curse is always formed around hatred. That's the core of any curse, magical or common. Still hating someone is easy. Think back to the last time someone inconvenienced you when you were already annoyed. Think on that flash of rage, the spark of hatred that encouraged you to lash out unreasonably. You suppressed it of course, but if you let it free, fed it magic..." Helena shrugged. "Instant curse.

"Of course, that level of hatred is harder to get if you're casting a spell just for someone else's coin." Helena sipped her tea again. "If you're making the local philanderer impotent for the crime of infidelity at the bequest of a spurned lady? Well maybe you could call on your general disdain for such people. Weaving a death curse on a murderer at the bequest of a bereaved loved one? The witch could find that level of hatred from her sense of justice or sympathy with the victim's plight.

"But a curse that strikes indiscriminately? One that kills everything near it just to sate its rage at one person? That level of hate is something else." Helena frowned. "There's no amount of coin or sympathy that will bring that hatred to life from a sane person. Which means to form the curse you would have to call upon the hatred of the person requesting it."

Helena shook her head thoughtfully. "Honestly some witches use the hatred of their patrons no matter what the circumstances. They find it strange to hate for money."

"And you?" Alexis asked softly.

"If I can't hate a person enough to curse them myself, I'm not going to do it," Helena replied. She shook off the introspection. "In any case, as Lyudmila said, hatred can fuel the power of a spell." She pointed to Alexis. "And while the curse on you is persistent, cunning and vicious, it's also weak. Otherwise there would be corpses in its wake, rather than just close calls. Which means the curse was cast by a weak magician, for someone who really hates their target."

Lyudmila drained her own cup and stood. "Well, we've got a theory. Let's test it." The mechanical birds scattered to the other side of the room and took roost, as Lyudmila flexed her wrist. "This should be completely safe for you Lady von Strausfen. Kseniya could you keep the room balanced?"

"Of course sister," Kseniya said.

Alexis shifted uncomfortably. "What are you going to do?" she asked nervously.

"I have the ability to consume magic. Even magic in spells, unlike other magicians," Lyudmila said. "I'll taste a bit of the magic of your curse, and from that I can learn how it was built. You'll be fine, since you aren't a magical creature."

Alexis gave Helena a look, and Helena nodded. The noblewoman relaxed slightly then composed herself. "Well then, I leave myself in your care." Alexis sat up straight and closed her eyes.

Lyudmila nodded. "Right. This should only take a moment." The woman raised her arm and stepped forward, placing her hand over the noblewoman's heart.

As she did the light in the room seemed to shift. Lyudmila's hand glowed black, and the side of the room she and Alexis were on grew dim and cold. However as the darkness emanated from Lyudmila, Kseniya started to glow as well. It wasn't a light per se, but things seemed brighter, and there was the warmth of a smile on her side of the room.

The two held that position for about a ten count, before Lyudmila lowered her hand and the lights seemed to return to normal. "Well, that's an odd spell. But I can tell it is a death curse. And it's aimed at Holdst von Strausfen." Lyudmila considered things for a moment. "And it's pure hedge magic. Honestly I'm kind of insulted that someone from our realm used such a spell. It's just a vehicle for someone else's hate. The only reason it's cunning at all is because of the curse's parent."

"So the target was my father," Alexis said grimly.

"So it seems," Kseniya said.

Alexis frowned at the ground for a bit before looking up at Lyudmila. "Forgive me if I am interpreting your ability wrong Miss Doroshenko. But if you can consume magic, can you consume this curse?"

Helena winced. "It's not that easy."

"No," Lyudmila said. The witch shook her head. "I can't." She walked back to her seat and flopped down. "Understand, this is both a power, and a weakness. The more magic I eat, the more I need to eat. If I increased my power to handle something like that curse, I'd consume all the magic in this house within the week." She sighed. "The only reason I don't have to live as a wandering magician is because of my sister's power."

Kseniya smiled. "I create magic rather than consume it."

"Which is also dangerous," Helena said quietly. "As any story about an apprentice losing control of their magic should attest to. At low levels they balance out."

"I see." Alexis bowed her head to the two sisters. "I apologize for asking something so dangerous of you." The noblewoman looked at Helena. "So if I may ask, do you have a special power?"

Helena started. "Uh, well-"

"Helena's power is to be a force of entropy," Lyudmila said with a smirk.

Kseniya chuckled as Helena growled. "It's actually the power to create ill fortune. Curses act by using hatred to attract bad luck. Helena can create ill fortune on her own, meaning her curses are always as potent as possible."

"She literally makes the universe less lucky," Lyudmila added. "Though as she constantly reminds us, the universe had it coming."

Helena folded her arms in frustration as Kseniya and Alexis laughed. "Are you finished casting aspersions against my character, or should I start firing back?"

"Aren't you a little out of the loop for those kinds of threats, Helena?" Lyudmila said with a smile.

Helena narrowed her eyes, then smirked. "So how's business going, Kseniya?"

Lyudmila's smile vanished as Kseniya giggled. "Terrible! We had three customers this month, which covered about half of our food expenses. The rest we made up for in toy sales."

"Ah you sell some of those clockwork creations?" Alexis clasped her hands. "They are wondrous. I could see how you could make a small fortune with that."

Helena folded her hands. "What was that about me being out of the loop?"

"Getting help from my sister is cheating," Lyudmila muttered. Kseniya just smiled wider. Helena had learned neither sister could fail to take advantage of the opportunity to tease their sibling.

"It seems you are close friends," Alexis said.

"We have to be. It's the only logical reason why Helena's still alive," Lyudmila said.

Helena sniffed. "You keep calling me a force of destruction and then claim you'll win a fight? That's some boast."

"Very close friends," Kseniya whispered to Alexis. The noble nodded sagely, and a giggle rang out from behind the witch.

Alexis blinked. "Is... someone there?"

Kseniya looked at Alexis quizzically then realized what the noblewoman meant. "Ah, you must have heard our house spirit."

"That didn't sound like a domovoi," Alexis said.

"Shizuka is a zashiki warashi," Kseniya said. "We became friends in the lands of illusion, and she followed us to our new home." The young magician smiled brightly. "She's a dear friend, and my familiar."

Alexis seemed impressed. "An amazing meeting. I would be interested in hearing stories of your travels to the orient. Helena is sadly tight lipped on such matters, doling out her stories rather piecemeal."

Kseniya nodded. "I would be happy to, though I should start dinner if it is to be done. If you're willing to listen in, I can tell you some of the tales."

"Would it not be better to listen from the kitchen? I'm no stranger to an oven," Alexis said. "My father did not want his children growing up knowing only the names of their relatives." She held up her hand to catch Kseniya's refusal. "And I should pay you back for giving me hospitality on such short notice."

"Very well then," Kseniya said with a nod. She turned to Helena and Lyudmila. "Have fun chatting you two. And if you do get in a fight, please take it outside."

Lyudmila rolled her eyes while Helena sighed. "I'll need all my power for the trip tomorrow, so I can't enjoy a spar even if we wanted to." Kseniya chuckled then led Alexis into the kitchen.

Helena stretched and relaxed in the chair as her patron exited. She'd done everything she could for today, and now she could get down to the serious business of taking a break. Lyudmila seemed to relax as well, and for a moment Helena could pretend that they were just having a visit like they used to right after Lyudmila and Kseniya had moved into the cottage.

"Hey, Helena."

Helena looked over to see her friend staring down at the living room table, her hands steepled together. "What is it?"

Lyudmila looked over at her. "Apollo has probably stopped looking for you. Why not move in with us? I know you consider our realm to be a frozen wasteland, but the Immigrant Realm is just as cold, and you've got no one there to watch your back. At least no one with magic skills."

Helena was surprised. Her friend had made that offer long ago, but had regretfully retracted it when she'd told them that helping her meant fighting a fully powered god. To hear Lyudmila offer again was... touching.

Still she shook her head. "You know it's not as simple as that Lyudmila. Apollo might not be hunting for me. But there are plenty of people who would sell me out in a heartbeat to get on Apollo's good side." Helena sighed and leaned back in the chair. "All me staying here would do would be to put you in danger. In the Immigrant Realm I'm protected by the law. Here I'm only safe until someone realizes I'm a ticket to wealth."

Helena sighed, then smiled at Lyudmila. "Thanks though. And I'm sorry. I should visit more often, now that I'm not in immediate danger."

Lyudmila's frown did not dissipate. "You need powerful friends. You may think I'm hesitant, but you know you're reckless." Lyudmila raised a finger as Helena started to protest. "If you weren't reckless you wouldn't be on the run right now!" She sighed. "But you aren't going to stop. That's one of the things that makes you... you, Helena." Lyudmila shook her head. "You were always thinking about how to battle, even when we were kids.

"Still, you can't win every fight on your own." Lyudmila looked over at her. "Yeah it's dangerous to stay here, but you look for danger. Why not do it with friends?"

Helena sighed and closed her eyes. "Because I don't want you to get hurt." She felt Lyudmila's glare boring into her, and she squirmed under the pressure. Her friend was good at hitting her insecurities.

In the end all she could do was look away. "I've got some friends who I can count on. And I'm trying to make more." She managed to bring her gaze back towards Lyudmila. "And the Immigrant Realm is easy to get to. If I ever have a big problem, I promise I'll ask for help."

Lyudmila glared at her a bit longer, then slumped back in her chair, annoyed. "I suppose that's the best I'm going to get," she said. "But you better keep that promise, or I swear I'll break out some of your necromantic spells and yell at you when you're dead."

"Noted," Helena said with a weak smile. She managed to look Lyudmila in the eye. "You make sure to call me as well if you need some more firepower. I know you and your sister are skilled, but there's got to be something out there that can challenge you."

"I'm not the one who thinks kicking in the door and shooting everyone who talks back is a valid strategy," Lyudmila said. "Just because someone's a hedge witch doesn't mean they don't know a few tricks. We were taught by a hedge witch, remember?"

"Hmph." Helena shrugged. "Exceptions are obvious. Just look before you blast."

Lyudmila sighed. "Why do I bother?" She placed her hand over Helena's. "Please, try to be careful."

Helena intertwined their fingers. "I will. I promise."

Lyudmila stared at her for a while, before finally relaxing. "I'll take what I can get. Anyway do you need anything from me right now?"

"A few charms against danger would be nice. I've been slapping those wards on Alexis for a few days now, but I think it's learning how to outwit my magic." Helena frowned. "Having some of yours will let me buy time if I need to."

"Alright, let me get my paper," Lyudmila said giving Helena's hand a squeeze before releasing it. "Hopefully you can get through this with only a little destruction."

"From your lips to Nike's ears," Helena muttered.