In the face of darkness

After a long drive, Heather was awakened by her father at a hideously early hour. She agreed to meet him for lunch. Before he was out the door, she had rolled back over for more sleep.

Later that morning she rose and organized her things, then set off to pick up her sister's birthday present. Pleased with her present, she made it to lunch only a few minutes late. The lunch was quiet; as it wound to an end her father asked for help in selecting a gift for Jennine. With a shrug, Heather handed him the top she had found- it was an excuse to enjoy an afternoon shopping. Her father picked up the bill and they made their way to the door.

Meanwhile, Brian and Christoph lunched at the same restaurant. Christoph mentioned the difficulty in keeping game aficionados, since their company can't get a shipment of the new Red Rabbit video card. They consoled each other that at least business system sales remain good. They were discussing other business aspects when they were approached by Arthur, Heather's father, who wished them a good afternoon. [Christoph hired Arthur for the original incorporation papers a few years back.] Arthur casually indicated his daughter and prepared to return to the office.

Brian and Heather crossed gazes; Heather was struck by a feeling of anticipation... that there was more to Brian than met the eye. Brian was quite taken with her obvious charms and complemented her as he handed her a business card, while she evaded his attempt at a hand shake. Heather and her father left the apparently casual meeting in good spirits. Heather smiled as she drove off to shop for a cute skirt to match the top she'd turned over to her father.

Brian and Christoph finished their lunch, setting an ambitious plan to run down the supplier problem. Brian went to their competitor (Carnage Computers) and bought a Red Rabbit card. Unfortunately, he was recognized in the process- and was slightly humiliated to be discovered buying from his rival.

Later, Apu finished a day of work managing his store. After a brief meal with his family, he changed into his 'evening patrol' outfit. His mother reminded him that it's dangerous out- remember those murders? Apu reassured her that he can take care of himself, and set off for his evening 'walk'.

He wandered the streets, letting fate guide his steps. Early in his walk he came across a prostitute. He suggested that her life is dangerous- what keeps her on the streets? After some discussion, he suggested that she come to his store and apply for a position.

Later that night, he turned down an alley. The feel of the place was tense; far out of scale for the solitary homeless guy he sees. Something seemed odd about the man's posture and bearing. Riding on instinct, Apu touched his turban and got a spill of two separate trains of thought from the man. The first train seemed normal (preoccupied with the cold and hunger), but the second was busy imagining (or replaying?) scenes of brutal slaughter.

Apu: As Apu continues to search the alley looking for the taint of evil, he becomes aware of a car moving by the mouth of the alley. He realizes that what has drawn his attention to the car is a dark presence within and sprints to the corner in an attempt to catch the vehicle. As he rounds the corner he sees the late model luxury car at a red light a block ahead. As he begins sprinting, in an attempt to catch up, the light at which the driver has stopped turns to green and the car begins accelerating. Aware that he will soon lose the car he slows his sprint long enough to cast entropy on the stop light causing the light to suddenly switch back to red. He can almost see the quizzical look on the driver's face and hear him curse as he applies the breaks. Hoping to further delay the man Apu causes the vehicle to spin out on a patch of black ice. The rear end of the car slides right and slams into the curb. A tall dark figure emerges from the driver's side and curses again as he checks for damages.

Walking slowly Apu approaches the driver and offers assistance, but he is rebuffed for his efforts and, so as not to raise suspicion, he continues walking until he rounds the corner a block away. Doubling back he approaches the car stealthily and, again using entropy he disables the starter on the car.

The driver tries to restart his car and is met with a sickly grinding followed by a whir as the starter motor fails to engage. After several attempts at starting the car, the stranger pulls out a cell phone, unlocks the keys and begins to dial. Crouching behind the trunk of the Mercedes, Apu again uses magic, causing the cell phone battery to die, but the man plugs the phone into a car charger and calls for assistance. Apu is aware that he now has a small window of opportunity in which he can run rapidly to retrieve his motorcycle and return in order to follow the man when help arrives.

Brian: Brian walks out of his rival's store with the video card that his supplier has been unable to get for him. He takes it back to his firm's laboratory to check out. The card tests out even better than advertised. In a less that jolly mood he goes to talk to the UPS and, after a little convincing is directed to the supervisor, Mr. Simpson. While they are attempting to work out the problem with the missing delivery, Brian slips Mr. Simpson a $100 bill and asks him to investigate the driver who normally delivers packages to Brian's business. He specifically asks the supervisor to find out if his packages have been rerouted to his competition. He then asks if Mr. Simpson would be interested in working for him and, as a final carrot to dangle in front of him, he goes to Mr. Simpson's supervisor and makes out a glowing report on the service he has received.

Satisfied that he has made his point he returns to his car where he decides to call a dinner meeting. He phones Arthur MacLean, Christoph, Tina, his fiancé, and city council member Ralph Davis and sets up a meeting for that evening. Unfortunately Arthur can't make it because of his daughter's birthday, but extends his regrets. Tina is panicked about throwing something together on such short notice and is slightly distant when Brian gets back to his apartment.

Heather: Heather finishes shopping for her sister's birthday gift ; a leather skirt to go with the peacock blue silk top her father is giving. She decides that things are going so well she will call some of her friends to set up a girls night out for the following evening, to include her sister. After calling a number of friends who are still at work she finally catches Jessica at home. Enthused by Jess' response to her offer she calls and leaves messages for several other friends. She then proceeds to Chelsea's (Button's) house in order to meditate and adjust her Karma for the coming parties. She walks through Button's yard and down an embankment behind the house to a boulder in River Park, which abuts the property. As she settles herself, reaching out for the node which she discovered as a child, she opens her senses and is suddenly aware of a taint which seems to be coming from the river. Forgetting her meditation she walks down to the river and begins to follow the smell of evil up the river to its source. At the waterfall she feels an upwelling of corruption which she believes has tainted her node. At this point she drops her concentration and notices that it is getting dark. She hates to leave knowing that the source of the taint is still further up river but is determined to return as soon as possible. Climbing the bluffs along a well used trail she comes out on Puritas Road, catches a bus to Button's then drives home.

Brian: Brian's party goes over well and, after the council member leaves, Brian, Tina and Christoph converse. He and Christoph continue talking about the intricacies of inscribing a rune which will imbue the rune for power on his staff . To show Tina that he knows the trouble he put her to he goes out that night and comes back with Tina's favorite ice cream, wine, chocolate and flowers. Tina shows him how very appreciative she is.

Apu: Apu continues to hound the darkman. He attempts to "read" him and gets a cold chill which seem to override his sense of confidence and pride. In the middle of this Darkman's ride appears and Darkman locks and sets the alarm on his car. He gets into the other vehicle and they drive away. As stealthily as possible Apu follows the pair but somehow loses them on the freeway. He returns to the car and easily pops the trunk where he finds a briefcase. He quickly takes it and destroys the car by popping a flare and tossing it into the trunk as he drives away. Returning to his office Apu forces the lock on the briefcase and finds 3 CDs, some stock analysis and a calculator. He locks the items in his safe and returns home to sleep.

Heather: Heather spends a great night of clubbing. She meets Todd, a Junior at Case Western College who is majoring in criminal forensics. She easily talks him into giving her his phone number and at 5:00 AM she calls it a night.

Brian heads to the store at 8:00 AM. He arrives before the store opens and takes care of the paperwork and pre-opening details.

Apu, looking for a computer, enters the store just after it opens and talks to a sales woman. Since one of the items Apu wants on his computer is a Red Rabbit video card the woman checks with Brian about how he wants to handle the sale. At that point Brian takes over the sale and has a stockboy go to the competition to purchase a new video card. Brian sells Apu a computer then walks Apu to the rear of the store and into the lab. He tells Bert,his technician to make Apu his number one priority and, though the tetchy is busy on another project he drops it and begins the installations on Apu's computer.

After watching the young man for a short time Apu asks him to load one of the 3 CDs he has taken from the darkman's briefcase. When the Tetchy opens up the first CD he finds it is a copy of a news clipping about the opening of a new sub-division in the Riverside Bluffs district. Worried that he is seeing confidential information, Bert asks if he should continue and Apu dismisses him and attempts to open the files himself. He tells the young man that the CDs are an attempt by his cousin's son to update the business and bring it into the computer age.

As Apu begins working with the files Brian notices a glow surrounding him. Very quietly Brian attempts to detect any magical energy flowing from Apu and is surprised when he envisions an older Punjab gentleman in the spirit realm. He is wearing the same turban as Apu. Apu feels Brian's magical touch and, at the same time, his papa tells him that Brian is using spirit magic. Curious and a little worried Apu attempts to delve Brian but is brought up short when he opens another of the files on the first disc and discovers a picture of a woman who has been shot in the head. In panic Apu turns the monitor screen away from Bert as Brian suggests that they take the computer upstairs to his office.

Once upstairs Apu opens another file. This one contains an EPA report on the Riverside bluffs area, a three year history of river salinization with an EPA stamp, an Environmental impact report of the same area, a couple dozen stock history reports covering the last five years and a five year history of TAX Chemical Company. This final item triggers something in Brian's memory. He remembers a scandal accusing them of being an Iraqi intelligence front and a supplier of chemical components. The last two files on the disc are encrypted.

Disc 2 contains a memo to someone named Carl regarding an investment opportunity. "Spin complete. Operation TAR successful. Scheduled completion Mar. 17, 2000."

While they are going through the folders on the second disc Brian secretively attempts to clone the CDs telling Apu a story about cleaning or fixing them. Being slightly paranoid due to his nighttime activities Apu catches Brian in the lie. Brian then asks Apu to take his discs away and as Brian removes the second disc from the computer it throws a fractal pattern against the window. The pattern is a writhing figure which then disappears.

After bantering back and forth with Apu about trying to take the computer to a secret location in which to continue to check out the contents of the discs, Brian calls Christoph and tells him about Apu.

Apu decides that what he really needs a more portable computer and asks Brian to set him up with a laptop with the same features as those on the tower model. They take off for Apu's "Quickie Mart" and, as they arrive the fractal pattern appears on the window of the store. Spooked, Brian attempts to view a spirit in the disc and sees a geometrically solid spider with black oozing from large gaps where chunks appear to have been torn from the spider's body. Brian fears that the spider was added to the CD to pinpoint its location. He attempts to bind the spider with help from Apu. Brian fears that someone has attempted to take over the spirit but as his ritual magic continues to grow stronger he feels that the binding ritual is beginning to work. Unable to drive for fear of losing focus on his ritual, Brian asks Apu to drive him to his apartment and gives Apu the phone and the number of his apartment so that Tina will be able to give Apu directions to their home. Once Tina hangs up Brian calls Christoph and tells him he is urgently needed at the sanctum. Shortly thereafter they arrive at the apartment and Brian grabs his staff in order to strengthen his magical hold on the spirit. Both mages continue to concentrate on binding the spirit until they hear Christoph pound on Brian's door. Apu hides before Christoph enters then confronts him with a gun. Convinced that Christoph is indeed a mage who is attempting to help, Apu puts the gun away and the three mages finally bind the fractal spider.

First Christoph, then Brian attempt to get Apu to tell the real story about where the discs were from. Apu knows that the current story about the CDs being related to his business not only won't work, but will actually make it look as if he is involved in serious criminal activity. He finally tells the two Hermetics the true story about taking them from the darkman's trunk but then is confronted about his use of magic. Finally he is forced to admit that he is a mage, but obviously not of the same order.

Once they are satisfied with Apu's story, Brian convinces the others that he should be allowed to talk to the bound spirit. Carefully he opens a link with the spirit and is immediately rewarded by a powerful attack from it. The spider, in a flash of speed, penetrates Brian's guard and strikes him in the arm which begins to pixilate. Hoping to fend off the attack, Apu ads his karma to Brian's attack and the fractal pattern explodes into pixels. The dark ooze resolves into smoke but refuses to dissipate. In utter exhaustion Brian drags himself to his node and slumps down to draw quintessence.

The mages realize that the encrypted portions of the CDs must possess even more important information and Christoph is selected to return to the store to ask Bert to get him an advanced encryption program. Bert mentions that he has an excellent one and is asked by Christoph to come back to Brian's apartment to install it on Apu's computer. After the installation Brian writes out a check for $1000 to Bert on the condition that he forgets what he is doing. Smiling the young tetchy cracks his knuckles and sets to work. Soon he has cracked the files and has laid out the contents for the mages to study.

In the first file the mages turn their attention to is a list of stock quotes from a defunct company. The second item contains a document, written in legal terms,for the purchase of Action Software Company. The signature on the document is by one Carl Yorsen. A third item is a memo from Carl to employees about the merger, while the fourth is to a Julie Cresh which simply states, "we're done, burn them!" and is also signed Carl. Still another memo, this one not signed, but written to Carl says, "What are you doing? Where is the help you promised?" The final item in the file is information about the bankruptcy and dissolution of Action Software, Inc.

As they continue, the Hermetics and Apu find geological surveys which seem to show global positioning info about an oil producing area and other technical oil company information. While Apu and Christoph continue to peruse the information on the discs Brian goes to his computer and begins to look up information on Carl Yorsen and finds two articles which seem to pertain to the man. The first is a newspaper article on the acquisition and bankruptcy of Action Software, the second is a picture from the social section in which Carl is shown with Julie Cresh at an MS formal dinner. The global position of the oil is in the West side Riverside district. Feeling that they are progressing rapidly Apu and Brian leave to buy a hand held global positioning system.

As soon as Heather awakens she calls Trudy and invites her to walk with her along the River during her lunch break. She drives to Trudy's and the two of them start to walk upstream. Heather is aware of the taint coming from the river and is slightly surprised when the foul feeling leaves the river itself and heads toward the Riverside Housing Development. They start to climb toward the source of the evil and reach the top of the bluff just as Apu and Brian pull up in his Viper. Unaware that the occupants of the car are anyone that she knows Heather continues searching and locates the source of the taint in the last house of the cul-de-sac.

Satisfied that she has found what she has been seeking Heather turns her attention toward the car and she recognizes Brian at the same time that he remembers where he has seen her. Since both groups have been drawn to the area because of a feeling that it has an darkness attached to it they eye each other suspiciously. Apu, who has gotten out of the car, slides into shadow and is lost from sight. Heather introduces Brian to Trudy, but continues to watch him suspiciously. She is suddenly aware that a power surrounds Brian and decides to casually probe him with the power. She is pretty sure that, if he is who he appears to be, he will notice but decides that the information she will gain is worth the risk. They stand and continue to spar verbally until Trudy notices that it is almost time for her to return to work. Heather turns up the charm and asks Brian if he will give the two of them a ride back to her car and is informed that Brian's car is a two seater. Not to be put off Heather offers to have Trudy sit on her lap and smiles. Brian then mentions Apu who silently appears behind the girls startling them. Brian has just started to introduce Heather to Apu when she interrupts the introduction with, "Whatever your name is I'm going to call you 'Wolf.'" Graciously Apu volunteers to wait in the cul-de-sac until Brian returns the girls to Heather's car. On the ride back Heather confronts Brian about his magical abilities. He hems and haws around and pretends to do a magic show, pulling colored scarves from his sleeve, which only tends to piss Heather off. For the rest of the journey Heather becomes silent and withdrawn, speaking only when she must to give Brian directions to her parked car. As they arrive at her car Heather pushes Trudy out and, turning to stare at Brian's all white outfit, white hat and white car, says sarcastically, "I think I'll name you Peter Pan!" Still fuming she follows Trudy out of the car and once again turns to Brian. "Tell your friend, Apu, I enjoyed his magic show too!", she says venom dripping from each word.

While Apu continues to wait for Brian's return he snoops around quickly noticing the sickness of the house Heather had targeted. The bushes are dead or dying, their are bloody jacks on the front sidewalk and a sick dog in the fenced back yard. Brian returns and he and Apu break into the house through the back door. They are aware of many subtle clues though they find nothing out of the ordinary. The house and the whole area seem to be tainted. As they continue to search the house the owners pull into the driveway and they split through the back door.

James' agent, Maury, puts him on a plane. Heather and Bubbles return home. James was caught up in customs with weapon. Explained away by celebrity and attendance at a martial arts tournament. Heather went to the store for her mom. Her car broke down on her way home. James stopped in his rental car to give her a ride home. Heather felt an odd attraction/link to James, who returned to his hotel after driving her home.

Brian and Apu returned to Brian's to talk and eat. Brian drives Apu home and drops him off.

Kai's mother is missing; his father read the tea leaves and knows she is in town. At 8:30 Kai arrives at an apartment belonging to George Tredwell and attempts to contact him as he is supposed to have info about Kai's mother. Kai gets buzzed in but by the time he gets upstairs no one answers the door, however there is a cold breeze coming under the door. Kai rushes back down stairs looking around sees the window open at that apartment and is able to locate tracks in the snow leading away. He runs after them and they just disappear. Kai stops and uses life/mind to locate a mind nearby but no life (because it's a vampire); it takes a second try to get the location, then he moves off, and lunges at the area tackling the vampire there. They engage in fisticuffs with Kai igniting his hands in fire to burn the vampire. The vampire runs off being hit and burned by Kai. Kai chases it but falls behind, then the vampire makes it to a car and starts off, Kai pursues for quite some time but finally loses it, however he has some idea of where the creature was going. Kai goes over to the side of the road and collapses into a resting meditation.

Apu goes hunting for the night, pushing aside his fatigue. He wanders northeast, feeling drawn by fate. Soon he encounters the meditating Kai, he examines him and notes Kai's perfectly aligned Chi tracks. He pushes to read Kai's mind but hits a wall and reels as his magic rebounds on him. Kai pops to his feet and scans the area for his attacker. He notes Apu but can only make out a dim outline. Fearing it's a vampire he turns the corner. Once out of sight, he sprints toward the next corner, turns and races towards the ladder to the roof. Behind him, Apu trails, circling around the building on the far side of the street. He just sees Kai step over the parapet and onto the roof. Apu pulls out low-light goggles and scans the roof looking for Kai. To gain time he calls upon fate….and is struck down

After dropping Apu off Brian returned home and spoke with Tina. He described a sanitized version of the day's actual events. Then they crashed. The next morning they decided to head out to the cave early, to set up for the regular Saturday night "apprenticeship meeting". After a pleasant picnic lunch, Brian explains some of the symbols he's drawing to Tina. Then in the middle of a lull, he hears a stick crack. He hustles to his cave entrance and looks out, seeing two camouflaged figures with rifles and a man with a tripod, which he sets up. One of the riffle totters sees something so Brian deepens the shadows, concealing himself in the mouth of the cave. The surveyor activates the device, which sets up a subtle vibration. Brian decides to mess with their device, so he traces runes and levels his staff at the device. Unfortunately, his misdrawn runes channel the sonic waves along the staff and knock him for a loop. Giving in to anger he storms out and screams at them to get off his property. The two riflemen cover him as the surveyor packs up quickly. They retreat to a black range rover, toss in their gear and back off the property.

Heather takes her sister out for her birthday party. Sis takes some ecstasy, bought for her by Heather. Heather calls James cell phone from the club and sends a friend to pick up James. Mandy (Heather's friend) picks up James and drags him to the club. The door guard shakes his hand and falls to one knee, covering his eyes, shaken. Inside Heather introduces him around to friends. She sneaks off with James, tells him her life story. They dance together much of the night, then return to group, and everyone gets a dance.

Soon they get tired and head back to Bubble's, shortly after arriving Heather suggests a move to the bedroom. Bubbles and Sis each get tries with James. Heather finishes him off with a little time extension. The next morning, they rise; he meditates and puts aside his sleepiness. Heather, Bubbles, and James drop sister off at home. They continue on to the hotel after changing clothes. In the hotel they rush up to his room and wait while he showers. He puts on an outfit coordinated by Heather. They go downstairs and sign autographs. Because he showed up late James stays a little late.

We return to Kai and Apu's fatal fight.

Apu races for the ladder, ignoring the ill twisting of fate- backlash from attempting to turn fate against a positively focused soul. Kai was unable to see thru Abu's stealth so he looked inward, contemplating the still pool of life. Each became aware of each other as Apu reached the ladder going up to the roof. Kai angles for cover, moving towards the ladder as Apu comes up. Apu hangs, exposing on his head as he scans the roof with his low-light goggles, then with normal vision. Kai throws a slush ball and charges; Apu comes up and unlimbers his cut off 12 gauge. They fight- Kai gets shot with the 12 gauge and later with the .45 derringer. Slowed by his pain, Kai focuses on an accurate strike. Kai's nerve strike paralyzes Apu. Kai strips him down, as Apu uses mind and entropy to communicate simply, making Kai see a stop sign in his mind, and also an ambulance. Kai numbs the nerves, extending the paralysis, and begins tying Apu up with his own clothes and weapons (the garrote) Apu continues to call fate while Kai binds him; however, Kai recognizes the magic being directed against him and attempts to end it by using the garrote on Apu. The garrote breaks, so Kai slams Abu's face into the roof top repeatedly until he is dead. Kai then sits down facing the east and enters a healing trance.

Xiong gets orders to go to Cleveland for Toyota- suspicious timing given his recent burns. He acknowledges the order and settles in. Amongst his belongings he finds a map tucked in his bag. Xiong follows the map, which leads him to a herbalist's shop.

Apu awakens in a dark tunnel. He is led his father's spirit through the tunnel until he stands under a dark sky. Dark winds howl as his father instructs him that he must pledge an oath to Kai or he will have to abandon this turning of the cycle. His father walks to the living world so Apu and Kai can speak to each other, they 'negotiate' and finally work out (at the last second) an oath: Apu swears, "I swear to protect your life with mine and be there to help you whenever I am needed. I will help to protect humanity, killing no more then necessary. Kai adds "and if we are together and I say silence, you will be silent." Apu agrees. Apu and Kai then return to Apu's bike and ride together back to Kai's. There they see police tape on 'George's' window. Kai goes up to investigate the apartment, seeing a corpse outline and spray of blood on the floor. Kai proceeds to investigate, looking for a diary or other information of use. He finds nothing. Kai returns to the bikes. He and Apu drive back to Kai's house. There his father greets them, Kai recounts the tale of the evening (the vampire encounter), as he finishes, his father asks if another will be joining them, as he had a premonition that he should make rice for four. At that there s a knock on the door as Xiong arrives. They discuss vampires and then split, Kai goes to shower and rest. Xiong works out in the dojo and Apu returns home.

Brian calls Apu about investigating the house that they ha wanted to check out. Brian spins a yarn for his fiancée and leaves her. Brian and Apu both approach the house stealthily examining and viewing it. Brian calls realtor about the house for info. After not getting info, Brian moves up to the house and spins a yarn to get time to 'perceive' the man who answers, his 'aura' is washed out seeming, almost like he is half dead.

Apu creates a feeling of death and everyone runs out. Brian and Apu go up and walk in, Brian summons a spirit of courage to assist him and a 'corrupted' spirit appears. Appearing as Benedict Arnold. He realizes it is not what he had wanted, so he releases it, however it stays and watches. Brian scribes a protection rune and the spirit backs off. He recognizes that there are many spirits here, all of them twisted and dark. Smashing his staff to the ground, he scares the Benedict Arnold off. The other spirits are mumbling something like 'He seeks to interfere with our source of strength. Let us gather our strength and stop him' Brian realizes how many spirits are there and that they will attack, he turns and exits hastily telling Apu to follow, they return to Brian's house and call Brian's friends and Kai to come over.

Heather and James note a stange man poised in a car, apparently ready to fire a riffle. He's poised, facing the door to James' hotel. The park around the corner and disarm the sniper. The car starts to move and James snags the sniper from the car. As the car speeds off, the sniper is struck into unconsciousness. Xiong Zang sees this, parks, and approaches. The three of them discuss what happened. Xiong goes to the hotel and Heather and James stay and talk with the cops, they leave with the sniper in the trunk. Heather drives to Brandy's place and parks in her garage. Heather talks Brandy into letting them keep the prisoner there.

Kai arrives at Brian's, followed shortly by Tina and Christoph. All of us are discussing the 'raid' we are going to go on for the spirit house.

Heather is trying to explain her "new life style" to Brandy as they sit drinking in Brandy's apartment. She gradually becomes aware that the thumping which had come from the trunk has stopped and that the garage is suspiciously quiet. Fearing that the assassin has somehow opened the trunk and is out, Heather gives Brandy her phone and whispers to her that she is to go to her room and lock the door. She further cautions her to dial 911 if she hears noises inside the house and Heather doesn't yell out that she's OK. Brandy grabs the bottle of scotch and retreats.

Putting her ear to the door leading to the garage Heather listens but hears nothing. She knows that leaping into the garage could be tantamount to suicide if, somehow, the man has found a gun or other weapon and is lying in wait. From between her cleavage Heather pulls the peacock feather and brushes it sensually back and forth across her lips all the while envisioning becoming more and more sexually excited and riding a muscular god faster and faster to orgasm. Looking outside to gage the effect, she watches as a bird glides, in slow motion, coming to rest on a tree branch. She judges that she has sufficiently evened the odds by increasing her reaction and silently turns the handle of the door, stepping through. To Heather's amazement the garage appears empty except for James' rental car. She quietly approaches the car and, looking through the driver's window, she sees the wrist and arm of the prisoner holding a knife as he tries to carve his way through the back seat. Looking around the garage she finds a hammer in a toolbox and returns to the car, quickly and quietly opening the back door. She hears ripping sounds as the hand disappears and the hole in the back seat grows. The next time the hand appears Heather swings the hammer, and is rewarded by an angry howl as the knife drops onto the back seat.

At the hotel James receives a call from Maury, his agent, asking, "What the hell are you trying to do? You're ruining your career with these interviews you're giving!" Not wanting to deal with Maury, James hands the phone to Xiong who pretends that he doesn't understand English. Maury insists on speaking to James and is met with "No understand" in heavily accented pidgin English. Finally, in frustration and disgust, Maury hangs up.

Brian and Apu compare notes on what they know about Nephandi, enumerating types general traits and other lore they have heard. When Kai tries to join the conversation Brian accidentally rebuffs him. Christoph appears and Brian introduces him to Kai, adding the fact that Kai is a Nephandi hunter. After some polite conversation the four mages attempt to understand who or what Apu's homeless derelict might have been. Although they can arrive at no consensus they begin to draw up a battle plan involving the destruction of the house on the Riverside Bluffs.

Leaving Kai and Apu upstairs to continue making plans, Brian and Christoph retreat to Brian's sanctuary beneath the apartment to plan a ritual to enchant Brian's staff. Taking his staff from beneath his trench coat, Brian asks Christoph to aid him and begins chanting in Latin and drawing runes of power in the air. Soon the room hums with magical energy and Brian is convinced that they have succeeded.

After thwarting the prisoner's escape attempt, Heather decides that they must find out why they were targeted and by whom. She phones James giving him Brandy's address and urges him to hurry over in a taxi. James agrees and he and Xiong take Xiong's car, arriving at Brandy's a half hour later. The three mages take the prisoner, George, from the trunk and into the house where they question him. Astonishingly, the prisoner tells them a friend saw them in a vision. The friend, Donnie, a bouncer at the club James and Heather had gone to, had seen them kill both he and George in a fire fight at a chemical plant. George assured the three mages that Donnie's visions were never wrong. Badly shaken, Donnie and George had decided on a preemptive strike to remove the threat. Heather is mystified but she believes that George is telling the truth. She finally convinces George that she needs to "see for herself" and asks him if she can "read" him. Frightened at first, George finally agrees and Heather searches his futures for confirmation. Although there are many paths which show things just as Donnie foretold, Heather sees that there are now other paths which have opened too. She convinces George that, between them they can work events around to change Donnie's vision.

Council of War: The crowd at Brian's apartment continues to grow as Reynald Zumgoa, a powerful Hermetic, arrives and is introduced to everyone. They all file down into the basement and begin to lay out the details of the attack. Apu states casually that the occupants of the house must die. His explanation is that sometimes the tree must be pruned of diseased branches in order for it to continue to grow straight and strong. Kai, hearing Apu's casual mention death storms off up the stairs with Brian in close pursuit. As they reach Brian's living room he attempts to calm Kai down and succeeds, although Kai wants nothing to do with the planning after that. Brian returns to the sanctuary and, in an effort to change the direction of the plans suggests that he might be able to get the city planning commissioner to help by condemning the property. As Brian details what he and Apu found at the house a question arises concerning how they had stumbled onto the house in the first place. Trapped, but feeling more comfortable about his newfound friends, Apu finally admits how he acquired the CDs.

In the midst of planning the phone rings. Two other Hermetics, Suzette and Petrovitch, call and they inform Brian that they will be delayed. It seems that they were attacked by a "freedom force", who disabled their car. They ask Brian if he can come get them and he responds affirmatively. Brian enchants the car to handle the terrible road conditions.

Apu and Reynald head off into the night with Brian, obviously concerned about the delay to the war council, clearly pushing his Viper too fast for the road conditions (from an observer's point of view). Close to their destination an Ohio State Trooper, hits the red lights and Brian pulls to the side of the road. Frustrated and angry, Brian waits for the officer to approach his car then speeds off down the road.

James, Heather and Xiong are finally able to convince George that they won't harm him. They get reassurances from him that he won't try to do anything foolish and Heather decides that she trusts him enough to let him go home. She and George leave for his house after tucking a very intoxicated Brandy in. James and Xiong follow in his car. On the ride to George's Heather mentions Donnie driving the "getaway car" and is startled to learn that a third man, Tony, was actually driving. Worried, she pumps George about Tony and Donnie and their whereabouts. Finally, after receiving assurances that George will contact the others and get back to her, she lets him off. The mages head back to James' hotel.

Reynald knows that a police radio is much faster than Brian's viper and has him pull off the road. Bending the light, Reynald makes the viper appear to be a Jeep Cherokee and they pick up the stranded mages without further incident. On the return trip Suzette becomes fascinated with Apu and attempts to draw him into a conversation about his beliefs and how he "does magic".

As James Heather and Xiong attempt to unwind from the traumatic last few hours they remember that they haven't eaten in many hours. James orders room service but when it arrives the bellhop says that there is a paparazzi who has offered her a lot of money to take her place bringing the food. Afraid of another assassination attempt James allows Heather to approach the photographer and see if he is legit. Convinced that he is no threat Heather allows him to interview James. As the interview progresses the man becomes insulting and Xiong pulls a sword and asks him to leave. Sensing a great opportunity, the paparazzi snaps a picture of Xiong standing threateningly holding the sword. As the man attempts to use the picture as blackmail James grabs the camera out of his hand and exposes the film. With nothing to barter with the photographer doesn't even put up a fight as he is thrown from the room.