Moonlight

Chapter 18

Hamish said" Look, Salvador must have Midnight's hide."
Jack said" Well, I can't believe Midnight would bond with her."
Randall said" I don't know if you've noticed, dude, but Midnight is kind of indiscriminate."
" We gotta get the hide back."
Gabrielle said" You have to get your butts to the temple. Vera wants to see you." She came in with Angus, Carter and a few others,
Randall said" Hey."
" Yeah, hi."
Angus said" We're here to escort you back." Angus stepped up, Randall stood,
Jack said" Well, tell her thanks, but we're busy."
" You're liars. And werewolves."
A girl said0 And one way or another, you're coming with us."
Hamish said" Do yourselves a favor. Put those away."
Angus said" Orders are orders."
Gabrielle said" Would you all just put them back in your pants? Foley is dead. Everyone thinks you're responsible." Jack, Randall and I looked at each other.
Randall said" So Vera's throwing us to the wolves? The metaphorical ones."
Jack said" We don't know that."
Gabrielle said" She doesn't want to. But her opinion might not matter much longer."
Hamish said" Is Vera okay?" The three of us looked at Hamish,
Angus said" They're going to vote her out, and once she's gone, so are you."
Gabrielle said" The way I see it, you can wolf your way out of here and force the Order to send an army after you-"
Randall and I said" An army of elitist douche nozzles?"
" Or you could go and face them head on."
Angus said" And you're going in chained." Hamish walked up,
He said" Not happening." Then pushed Angus' shoulder,
Jack said" He doesn't like you." Randall nudged me, and I started walking,
Randall said" We don't like you, either." We walked out the door, Gabrielle following behind us.
——
Jack said" After we learned about the attacks on the Order, which included the capture of one of our disciples..."
Randall said" That would be him." Snapping his fingers to Hamish,
Hamish said" Can you be serious for one second?"
" Not if I can avoid it."
Jack said" We then tracked down Cameron Foley to a Praxis safe house, captured him, and brought him here to the temple."
Vera said" Thank you, and thank you for your work." Something was off, Moonlight could feel it, smell it.
Kepler said" And what special considerations did Vera offer you in exchange for bringing her a scapegoat?"
Jack said" Foley's not a scapegoat."
Hamish said" Look, you're wasting time. If you want to know about Foley, find Salvador Grant."
" We think she's their true leader."
Kepler said" I thought Cameron Foley was the leader of Praxis."
Randall said" Yeah, so did we."
" But now that he's dead, someone else is the actual leader? Isn't that a little convenient?"
Jack said" I'd argue that it's actually inconvenient."
" And is there anything else we need to know about this new villain?" We looked at each other,
" I would-"
" Answer the question."
Hamish mumbled" I mean... no." They looked at me,
I said" Uh, she's... also a werewolf?"
A guy said" Aw, man. This is so sad. The wolves are just trying to do their jobs, and we're treating them like they're the bad guys."
Kepler said" Thank you, philosophus. Please wait until we ask for your testimony." I slightly stepped back, hiding half my body behind Randall's, Moonlight forcing me to do so.
" I mean, come on! What did they do to deserve this kind of treatment?"
Vera said" That will be all, Mr. Brown."
" You're wrong to treat them like this."
Kepler said" Get a hold of yourself."
I mumbled" Something's wrong." The guy stood up and walked towards us, I gulped.
The guy said" There's so much anger in the world. Things would be so much better if we just took a moment to appreciate one another." He tried to hug Kepler, she pushed him back, the guys grabbed him.
Kepler said" What is wrong with you?" He coughed up blood, the guys laid him down,
Vera said" Notas argenteas!"

Randall said" God, how many murder incantations does one secret society need?"
Hamish said" Apparently, all of them."
Jack said" You guys do realize that technically, we're walking murder spell?"
I said" Wow, way to take all the fun out of being a werewolf."
Hamish said" Hey, I think I got something. On the dangers of a ricocheting incantation."
Jack said" Yeah, but the magic half-life rule still applies, so whatever killed Foley wouldn't have killed Robert. It's only going to glow once the vote is unanimous."
" I know."
Randall said" Guys, wait. I think I found something. Look." He turned the book around and showed his middle finger, he laughed.
" Randall, this is serious. People are dying."
" Correction, people who are trying to kill us are dying."
Jack said" Which is why we have to figure out what's happening before anyone else is affected."
" Yeah. Or infected. Wait. What if we're looking at this wrong? Maybe it's not a murder incantation. Maybe it's an enchanted virus."
Hamish said" So what are we talking about here? Magic ebola?"
" Yes! Alexander Hame-ilton for the win!"
" Please stop."
I said" 10 out of 10. Good reference."