"So what happened to Scrappy?" Rika asked Natalie.

She was riding her wolf down the middle of the street, ignoring the gawking passersby. There were a few townspeople out, mostly sullen and dismayed from the events of the previous night, and the town hall Rowan had held that morning. To avoid igniting another riot, no one publically awakened had attended, though Mason had reported it mostly uneventful. The mayor had reprimanded the entire town for their actions, but sentiment hadn't exactly turned in favor of the awakened. Most people were simply in a state of fear, waiting for the next domino to fall.

"He got hurt. He's back at the cabin. I told him to stay there and get better. He wasn't happy about it, but Gwen made him go." She scratched at Gwen's ears. "Gwen's okay though."

"Where'd you come up with that name, anyway?"

"Scrappy was the name of my mom's cat. She died though," Natalie added matter-of-factly. "I think she deserved something to be named after her."

"Uh huh."

"I think it's nice, Natalie," Rachel put in.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Rika asked.

"The closest entrance is the one at the Kettle and Bones."

"That's only a block away."

"I didn't say it'd be a long walk."

Rika groaned. "I think it's time for me to leave then."

Rachel stopped and turned to her. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. But let's save this for sometime we're not in the middle of the street, okay?" Rika glanced around. "People are already looking at us funny. Let's not forget I was recently accused of a triple homicide here."

"I'm sorry for that too."

"You did what you had to do. I'm not exactly up to the forgiving level here, but we can work together." She paused. "How's Will doing?"

Instantly, visions of Will's broken and tattered body sprang to mind. Rachel had to force them down to clear the lump in her throat. "I don't know. He got airlifted to Olympia and that's the last I've heard. No one gave them my number, I guess."

"Which means he isn't aware enough to do it himself," Rika realized, getting right to the heart of it. Rachel nodded. She thought she saw a hint of guilt in Rika's expression, but Rika quickly looked away before she could be certain. "If you need help, call me. Omega or whatever else comes. I'll be there."

"Thank you."

"Fuck him up, Rachel." With those parting words, Rika pulled up her hood and walked away.

Rachel turned to Natalie and gestured for her to continue. It only took them a few minutes to reach the back alley behind the tavern. The door appeared right as she approached.

Natalie rode up close, but her wolf seemed unsettled. As Rachel opened the door, it growled and took a few steps away, prowling around the door defensively. "Gwen doesn't want to go in there."

"It's perfectly safe," Rachel said impatiently.

"I'm not gonna make her go. I'll wait here for you." Rachel shrugged and turned to go in. "Don't you dare leave without me," she added fiercely.

Rachel nodded. "I'll come right back out this door as soon as we're done."

Natalie slid off the wolf to the ground and pulled out her phone again, promptly ignoring her. Rachel walked through the veil into the Market. It was exactly the same as the last time she'd been there, which was reassuring. Rachel walked along the cobblestone path until she reached the portable classroom set off to the side. The staircase was standing on pure black void, with absolutely nothing visible supporting her as she climbed up and opened the door.

As usual for a Council meeting, she seemed to be the last to arrive. Normally it was deliberate, as she liked to make an entrance and catch everyone's attention. Today she was simply running late. She tried to take stock of the room as quickly as she could. Unlike most meetings, there was a much greater sense of urgency amongst the crowd, as well as a great deal less secrecy and concealment. Very few were trying to hide themselves anymore. However, the gathering was much smaller than she'd hoped.

Julian and his two cronies were talking quietly amongst themselves, occasionally shooting guilty looks toward the head table and to Hector. Hector sat in the corner, as nervous as ever and focusing on his phone more than the room. Cinza was there with her triumvirate; Makoto and Ruby flanked her. Ruby looked like she was still on the verge of collapse, and all three were sporting injuries and bandages from the brawl.

To her surprise, there were a few additional attendees she hadn't expected. Jackie accompanied Josh, while either Lily or Kendra was seated near the back. Neffie Bowman had shown up escorted by Boris. Gordon Merrill was in another corner, and his pencil scratchings were audible through the faint murmuring that was the only other sound in the entire Market.

As Rachel walked forward, Josh quickly moved aside and pulled out a chair for her at the front table next to Jackie. Rachel accepted it gratefully.

"Is this everyone?" Josh asked quietly.

"Probably," Rachel replied. "Who actually wants to get involved in something like this?"

"No one sane." Josh cleared his throat. "Listen, I'm sorry I bailed on you yesterday."

She shook her head. "Josh, I would've run too. Don't worry about it."

"You didn't though."

"Don' you two have more important things to talk about?" Jackie muttered.

Rachel noticed the entire room was staring at them intently. She got to her feet. With everyone else still seated, she felt even more like a giant among them. "I'm sorry, but we're actually still waiting for a few more. Thank you all for your patience." There's not much point if we don't have all of them together, Rachel mused. She only hoped Mason would get there soon.

The door cracked open. Rachel got up again, eager to greet Hailey—but it was only Ryan.

"Thanks, I love you too," Ryan cracked sardonically, seeing her face fall. "Am I too late for the suicide pact?"

"No. Have a seat."

"Okay, mom." Ryan scanned the room, and eventually decided to take a seat near Cinza. The silver-haired girl looked surprised, but made room for him in their section of the chairs. Ruby didn't react at all. Rachel wanted to go ask after Cinza and her people, but the timing was wrong. More importantly, the door was swinging open again.

In walked Mason Rhistler, dragging his boyfriend Bryan behind him. The door swung shut behind them.

Bryan was very unsettled. "Did you have to put Natalie out there guarding the door? Scared me half to death."

"She volunteered."

"You're okay, it was just a wolf. Don't get so worried. She has it under control," Mason added.

"Easy for you to say. You barely ever go outside. Those things are terrifying," Bryan retorted.

"Were you able to reach them?" Rachel interjected.

Mason nodded, taking his seat. "They were right behind me. I think they stopped to talk to Natalie for a minute."

The door banged open, thumping against the wall as it swung wide. Hailey floated in with a guilty look on her face. "Sorry! I should've let them open it."

Rachel winced as she landed on a row of empty chairs and scattered them. Hailey looked like she'd been through hell. If her casual use of flight was anything to judge by, she was still pretty beat up and relying on magic to get around. As a result, the entire room was gawking at her, since she was so effortlessly showing off power far beyond what most of them could hope to achieve. Rachel was less surprised than most—but even to her, the ability was breathtaking, the wind rustling through the room with each motion doubly so.

"Is she flying?" Josh murmured.

"You see why I wanted her here," Rachel replied.

"No kidding."

It was so visually arresting that Rachel almost missed the two following her in. One was the girl Rika had mentioned. Jessica Silverdale, by the student records Rachel had memorized. She was the sort of small, mousey girl that would normally be found buried in a book in the corner of a library. Her glasses were slightly askew and she looked exasperated at Hailey's erratic movements, rushing to her side and helping her to sit upright. Alden, Hailey's other companion—and Rika's erstwhile devotee—took her other side.

Rachel got to her feet. "Is anyone else coming?" She waited a minute with no response. Rachel hadn't expected one, and didn't need one. There were a lot of people missing, mostly from her own side, but everyone she needed was there with a few more besides. Her plan was starting to come together.

"Time for your murder conference?" Beverly hissed in her ear.

Rachel ignored her. She took a deep breath. The room fell silent.

"Let's get started."