The door of the ambulance slammed, and the vehicle left for the hospital. Taking with it Tiffany, Jay, and Ilona. Tiffany was completely healed, and Jay probably just needed some rest, but better safe than sorry. Rafael would have accompanied them himself, he remembered too well what had happened to his uncle in the hospital at New Year's Eve, but he had to take care of the Association, and of the inspector Diego Martinez.

Anyway, Ilona was with them. Rafael had not seen her use her magical powers yet, but the sheer burning intensity of her spiritual energy was enough to reassure him of her destructive potential. She should be able to protect the two lovebirds in case Dino, or any other threat, showed up.

Orphelia came down, followed by all those who had stayed for the meditation class. She walked toward him as the others dispersed.

"Borka explained everything to me. Are they okay?" she asked.

Rafael nodded. "Yes, it was a close call though. She was very lucky."

Then, after a moment, he added, "Thank you for managing the session during that time."

"It's nothing, it's nowhere near enough to repay my debt," Orphelia replied with a shrug. "If it wasn't for you and Jay, I'd probably be in the asylum by now."

It was true. Despite this disaster, he had done good things with the Association. He had to remember that.

"Well, Dino?" asked Orphelia. "Why did he do that?"

Rafael ran a hand over his face, he could feel a migraine coming on. "I don't know. Tiffany said he wanted to take your water gun, but surely he could have done it differently... maybe he just lost control over his mind and went crazy."

"He never seemed to have a problem with that," countered Orphelia.

"I know, I know. Anyway, I asked Hippolyte and Borka to take the water gun, and lock it up at their house. Dino probably won't think to look for it there. I hope you don't mind."

"Do you think he'll come back?" asked Orphelia.

"Trust me," said Rafael, looking into the distance. "They always come back."

Once Orphelia had gone home in turn, Rafael went upstairs to join Inspector Martinez in the storeroom. He had spent the last few minutes analyzing the crime scene with his professional eye, filling several pages of his notebook about various details he had noticed.

"How's it going?" asked Rafael as he entered the room.

Diego gave him a sidelong glance. "Under the circumstances, it's not possible to open an official investigation. I can only help you with my personal resources."

"I know that," Rafael replied, "I'm used to doing things on my own anyway."

"Like last year with Father Cordier, right? I understood that there was something not very Catholic going on, but I never imagined... that!"

"He could make himself invisible," Rafael admitted, "I was afraid you would think I was crazy if I told you the truth."

Diego's eyes widened. "That's how he got into the evidence room! It's been bugging me for months, I just couldn't figure out what happened."

"That's it," Rafael nodded, "And since the chain of custody had been broken, the crucifix dagger couldn't be used to charge him during the trial."

"Does that mean that... that he might do it again?" asked Diego, pressing his lips together. "That he'll use his magic to commit other murders for which we cannot convict him for lack of evidence?"

Rafael shook his head. "No, I made sure he could never do magic again. He's just another human now. It's Dino we have to worry about."

"Okay. I need to know his last name, address, friends, and habits if you know any... um, can you also tell me what magic he can do?"

"His name is Dino Calderón, I don't know his address, or much about him to be honest. Dino is pretty much a loner... I'd still ask Jazz just in case. He's good with people. As for his powers, Dino has bound a Speed Spirit. I know he can speed things up at will, but he can't do it on himself, it's too taxing on the body."

"You don't know his address?" asked Diego sternly.

"I want to round up all the shamans," Rafael defended himself. "Not scare them away by subjecting them to a battery of questions!"

"That's incredibly stupid," Diego muttered under his mustache. "And that's not going to help with my investigation."

"Maybe I should ask for more details..." admitted Rafael.

"And for his motive," Diego continued. "He wanted to get hold of that magic water gun, right?"

"Apparently, but I doubt it's that simple. With the powers he has, this object shouldn't have been of such great interest to him. I don't understand."

"Um, how long has he been at the Association?"

"About four months, he said he noticed us because of our spiritual energy, and that made him curious about our gatherings. It made sense to me at the time, I figured he didn't live too far from here..."

"Okay, I think I have enough for now," Diego said while closing his notebook. "I'll have a friend run his name through the file to see if we have records on him. Let me know if you get any new info on your end."

"Sure," Rafael nodded.

Inspector Diego Martinez stomped out of the room, leaving Rafael alone in the storeroom. He contemplated the floor for a long moment, pensive. Then he realized the obvious. He was the one who would have to clean up all that blood.

He went down to get a bucket and a mop from the janitor. The curious old man had noticed the commotion, and asked him what had happened, but Rafael replied that a member had had a nervous breakdown to minimize the situation.

He had been mopping up for a good five minutes when his phone started ringing. He took it out, expecting the call to be news from the hospital, but he got disapointed when he saw the name of the caller, it was Florent Delacroix, Ilona's father.

What does he want from me? It's been a year since we last saw each other.

He picked up the phone: "Hello, Mr. Declacroix?"

"Rafael," said a deep voice on the other end of the line. "I think it's time we talked."

Rafael sighed as he looked at the half-sponged blood, toying with the idea of refusing, but whatever the problem, it would only make things worse.

"I assume this is about Ilona."

"Straight to the point, I like that," said Florent Delacroix. "Indeed, I want to talk to you about my daughter."

A heavy silence settled. Rafael wanted to say a multitude of things: apologize for the injury she'd suffered, even though it wasn't really his fault; ask him why he hadn't come to the hospital to see her; or open the can of worms and make him admit that he'd never found him good enough for his daughter. In time, Rafael had realized that the old bastard had probably encouraged Ilona to leave him. And hearing his voice again had awakened his anger.

"I want you to stop seeing her," ordered Florent Delacroix.

Rafael let out a cold laugh. "You're damn late, It's been a year since we stopped dating.."

"I know, but that doesn't keep her from hanging around you. That girl, when she wants something, it always turns into an obsession... You have to help her move on. Tell her it's over for good. You know you're not meant to be together. Help her to accept it."

Rafael's hand clenched on his phone, what nerve! He had always hated Ilona's father for the way he treated her, as one of his employees rather than as his daughter. It was for him that she had stopped her music studies to go into a business school, even though she loathed it. And now he was doing the same with him?

Alek had often stressed to Rafael the importance of respecting his elders, but now he was having the hardest time not just covering him with insults.

"Ilona is an adult, she does what she wants with her life," he answered while containing his rage.

The silence stretched so long that Rafael wondered if Florent Delacroix had not hung up on him, but no, he was still on the line. Did he expect him to change his mind if he waited long enough? What a joke.

"I shouldn't have expected anything from you," Ilona's father finally said. "You were always arrogant and impertinent, thinking you knew everything better than everyone else. I see you didn't change since then."

Then, after a moment, he added threateningly: "You will learn."

Florent Delacroix hung up, leaving Rafael to deal with the emotions he had provoked. He felt like punching the wall until his joints bled. Arrogant? Impertinent? Florent Delacroix should rather apply these adjectives to himself!

I shouldn't have picked up the phone, I should have known it would end badly.

That was Rafael's biggest flaw, he was convinced that he could always fix things, but in the end it only caused more conflicts. You couldn't do anything when people were unwilling. You couldn't use generosity to fight selfishness.

He pressed his forehead to the wall, breathing slowly to try to calm himself. This was not the time to lose his temper, he had too many responsibilities. He had promised Leonard, and the others were counting on him. It was only thanks to the Association, the meditation classes, and his advice that they were holding up. Without it, it would only take a few weeks for new incidents to occur.

Orphelia had again forgotten she was human last week. And Ilona had bound a Spirit of Natural Disaster. This was crazy. The second she had entered the room, he had felt how unstable her control was.

Tiffany had almost died.

Not to mention that she could have killed Jay as well.

He had to pull himself together, there was so much to do... but he just couldn't bring himself to do it right now.

For a few minutes, in the storeroom still half flooded with blood, he cried.

***

Sitting in Tiffany and Jay's hospital room, Ilona looked nervously down through the doorway, flinching at every sound, and every time a staff member passed in the hallway. Both fiancés were sleeping soundly, and Rafael was counting on her to keep them safe. She was not to fail.

Yet her thoughts kept drifting. She wondered if Rafael would get closer to her after this. Her success with the volcano spirit had not seemed to make him happy, on the contrary he had seemed worried, even disapproving. She didn't know what to do. The first time they had gone out together, he'd been the one courting her, but he was hopelessly distant now. How does a girl go about seducing a man?

Ilona was startled by the passing of a nurse, and an intense heat reflexively built up in her fingertips. Crap, she had relaxed her attention again. She shook her hands to circulate her spiritual energy, there was no way she could unintentionally set fire to the building like she did in Yogyakarta. Thank goodness her father's hotels all had very effective fire safety systems.

Her gaze rested for a moment on Tiffany's sleeping face. Jay was right, she looked like an angel. Yet Ilona couldn't forget how her friend had transformed in the storeroom, how she had drunk Jay's blood like a predator. That had been ugly, it didn't fit the girl she knew.

It might never have happened if I hadn't encouraged her to wear that gym outfit.

All the way to the hospital, she had thought Tiffany was going to have a nervous breakdown. She had come so close to death... but no, what seemed to worry her most was the loss of her engagement ring. Jay had promised to buy her another one, and she had calmed down immediately.

Now that Ilona thought about it, it was probably more the idea of Jay having second thoughts about the wedding that had worried her. There was really nothing to worry about, he was completely crazy about her. Ilona and Rafael could not help but have a backward movement when Tiffany had turned into a vampire, but Jay had not even shivered. He'd offered himself to her as if his life didn't matter.

I'm not jealous, he's just a clown.

They're so happy together, though. Why can't I have that too?

One mistake, just a moment's lapse, and she had lost the love of her life. If only there was a way to repair their relationship. Ilona caught herself dreaming that there was a time spirit to go back a year in the past. She could start all over again, live those last months with Rafael... she wanted so much to go out with him again.

The magma in her core was shaking, running in violent waves. Ilona hesitantly took out her phone. Could she just ask him out? Wouldn't that make him even more distant? She was worried, but now that she had the idea, it was impossible for her to not act.

She searched for his number as the heat rose in her at a dizzying pace, and called.

The phone rang. Her heart was pounding.

"Ilona, is everything okay at the hospital?" asked Rafael in a tired voice.

It's not the right time, I should—

"Luna? Are you okay?"

Hearing him call her by her affectionate nickname made her tremble. The burning magma came in her brain and she couldn't think anymore. She wanted him too much.

And suddenly, everything escaped from her lips.

"I can't get over you Rafe, leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life. How about a date with me after this thing with Dino is settled?"

Rafael didn't answer right away. The silence stretched, awfully long.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Really?" asked Ilona, not sure she had heard correctly.

Rafael laughed softly. "Really."

Then after a moment he added: "I've got things to take care of, but let's talk soon, okay?"

"Of course!" cried Ilona.

She waited for him to hang up and raised her arms in victory. She did it.

"Uh, Ilona?" asked Tiffany who had just half-opened her eyes.

"Ah sorry," she apologized. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, it's not that but... the chair is smoking!"

Crap!