Waving her hand impatiently due to the great smells ing from the order, Heather spoke up. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t tell the ior.” Heather then looked pyfully at Dusty, who just panted with an odd-looking smile ing from him, “Besides, I think he wants you to pet him again.”

  “Absolutely.” Cire opened her hand and a tiny yellow light came from her palm and she floated the three ptes over to Heather. “You weren’t going to say anything, and I figured you should know that you have friends around…” Cire paused a one of the rge pces fall gently as a feather beside Dusty. “...Doctor Addison.”

  fused as to the color of the light ing from Cire’s palm, Heather opened her palm for Cire to see the white rune. “Denise didn’t awaken you.”

  “No, Tatum did.” Cire poio Tatum’s ring, “Something must be really wrong if you have her ring, Doctor.” She slid the twin ptes of food in front of Heather. “I love that Paul knows what to make us. That my dear is the best ba cheeseburger you will ever have.” Cire then poio the sed pte. “That is his famous twice-cooked sagna. Both are filling and…” She leaned forward. “Has kyanite dust sprihroughout.” Cire then poio Carrie. “Milk? Is she awakened?”

  “Not yet, her rune is a shadow. Normal milk, or…” Opening her diaper bag, Heather rummaged for a small bottle with powder itom of the little pstic bag. “...formu. Just mix it with water, if you please.” Heather waited until Cire returned with the formu for Carrie before she asked her question. “Yellow. I don’t know what that signifies. Are your spells different?”

  Tapping her finger oable so Heather would resume eating, Cire began feeding Carrie her bottle and expined what she knew. “Well, I think I cast normal things like Tatum could? I never really tried.” She wiped the formu from Carrie’s lips and waited before resuming, “I found that most of my stro spells were in bolstering others.”

  With her stomach finally settling down after taking the entire giant burger, Heather wiped her lips and finally found the ability to talk intelligently. “Sorry about that. I just spent an … wait… what time is it?”

  “A little after seven and it's still Halloween, if you have lost days.” Cire ughed. “You look a bit ed…” Cire raised her palm and it pulsed yellow for a couple of heartbeats before she nodded successfully. “There, that should make you feel a little more alive. Like a day in the sun, more or less.”

  Suddenly awake and more aware than she’d been in days, Heather felt like a new woman and all her current worries melted to the back of her mind. “This is incredible. I haven’t fotten the mess out there, I just just think past it. I am thinking about the ring, Carrie…Dusty…” She blew her dog a kiss and then looked back at Cire. “This alone would have been enough for Deo cim you. You have inspired me without saying a word.” Reag for the sed pte of food, Heather felt the differen her fingers as they didn’t ache like they had. “Why do I smell es?” Heather ughed and carved the fork through her sagna.

  “I added that to your senses.” Cire picked up the bottle a feeding Carrie. “She is such a dollbaby.” She looked at Heather, “If she isn’t settled after the bottle, then I use…” She wiggled her fingers pyfully, “...this to ease her mind a her sleep. Like a good dose of metonin.”

  “I am suddenly in love with your abilities, Cire.” Heather never looked up from her pte, “Makes people better, makes a kid sleep…you are like a walking miracle. Marry me.” Heather ughed and took another fair-sized hunk of her seeal down. “ you do anything else?”

  Holding the bottle with her normal hand, Cire opened her runed palm and summoned her magibsp; A tiny bright yellow ball hovered above her hand. “I help creativity…” A little cry from Carrie turned her attention from the magic briefly. “Oh..” She pulled the bottle away and waved the little ball gently to Carrie and a few seds ter the infa out a huge beld then smiled. “I bet that feels better, little one.” Rewarded with a set of heavy baby eyes, Cire unhooked the child and put her in the small car carrier. “...Right, creativity. I once helped an artist that I liked create shapes out of metal, her mind just wasn’t allowihe right aspect.” Cire covered Carrie with a b and then looked at Heather. “I added my little push and she’s been pushing out artwork ever sinbsp; Lots of m and evening skyscapes.”

  Watg as Cire tucked Carrie into her bassi, both Heather and Dusty watched the waitress with a protective i in their eyes. It was only after Cire turned back to Heather that Dusty resumed eating. “Good boy.” Heather remarked and sat back, her stomach full. “Mine is white. I mostly heal…” Heather paused, “...though tonight I had to use magic I have almost no experieh.” Taking off Tatum’s ring, she ha to Cire. “ you feel that?”

  Quickly handing back the ring, Cire’s eyes went wide. “You trapped her? How is that healing?” Cire immediately stood up and folded her arms, “Tatum wouldn’t want to be trapped like a rat in some cell. She pined often about Denise harming herself and she wouldn’t be a copy.” Cire shook her head and her ruarted glowing yellow. “See, it’s warning me. I shouldn’t be around you, Heather.”

  First slipping the ring on her pinky, Heather then held up both of her hands. “Cire, I assure you this was the only way and I don’t pn to keep her there much longer. I just o eat and replenish.” Desperate to keep her new friend from getting into a fight with her, Heather kept her voihurried and positive. “How much do you know about what is going on out there? You do know that vampires didn’t cause that mess in ial Heights.” She paused and drew on the positive energy that Cire had given her, “This was mostly due to Denise. Our own kind.” She poio the television, “Shadewraiths are what they are called, and they are all over the pce.”

  A quick run of her fingers in her light-brown hair, calmed Cire enough that she resumed her seat with Heather. “Alright, I’m listening.” Cire ughed, “Since we are getting to be better friends…” She outstretched her normal hand. “Cire Zabelle.”

  “What a lovely name.” Heather ented and gave a little sigh of relief when Cire resumed her seat. “Thank you.” It didn’t take long to figure out that Cire wasn’t going to remain patient for very long. “Seems like a weakness of us all, we want to get to the point.”

  “That would be nice.” Cire offered cautiously. “That is as neantic as I have ever seeher.”