Mel looked over the lab again. Rosa’s pocketbook of sigils hadn’t been touched. Nor had any of the other aprons, only Arthur’s. Was it possible Arthur had been right that he was the sole target?

He seemed to have more sense of his actions than Mel would have anticipated, but she couldn’t be sure to what extent Kit knew what he was doing. For instance, he hadn’t worked out how to open the walk-in door yet. He might not recognize her.

Kit shook off his anger and stalked away to the back room again. Mel slid to the edge of the walk-in, her belly and arms covered in dust. Turning off the walk-in might not be enough to save Rosa. Mel had more to work with than she’d hoped: she had powerfully blessed water, a good chance at recovering one of the freshness sigils, and a poor but extant chance at convincing Kit not to kill her. 

She swung her legs out and shifted her weight to carefully begin lowering herself. Mindful not to make any noise, she swallowed several grunts on her way down. She couldn’t quite reach the floor. There was nothing else for it; Mel had to drop the last two feet.

She hit the ground and rushed to the broken glass to pick up a shard with its sigil intact as Kit ran back to the lab. He halted just inside the door, head low, ears perked, nose working to untangle Mel’s scent from everything around her.

“Kit,” she ventured, her voice gentle. “Kit, it’s Mel. You know me, right?”

He cocked his head, eyes locked on hers. Was there enough wolf that she should look away, or enough Kit that she should hold eye contact? She decided to try the latter. If there wasn’t enough Kit, she didn’t have much of a chance for survival, anyway.

Kit broke eye contact first. He glanced in the direction of the stove, looked back at her, and then stepped further into the room.

Mel moved closer to him as well. She held out the shard of glass for him to see. “I think I can use this to help Rosa. She’s in danger, Kit. I blessed this water,” she explained, indicating the pot, “and I think I can use it to enhance the sigil. See, freshness derives from protection,” she stammered, feeling like an idiot, “and that sigil is in the same family as healing, isn’t it?”

He approached her on all fours. Mel’s grip on the shard tightened and she felt it bite into her skin. Kit sniffed her outstretched arm, sat back on his haunches, and to her surprise, nodded.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Mel dipped the glass halfway into the luminous water and held it there. She could sense Kit watching her. Just as she started to shake her head at herself, a flash of light from the water sent her stumbling back involuntarily. The pearlescent glow of the blessing remained with the shard in her hand. Its sharp edges were smoothed, harmless now. The water looked normal again.

“Almost looks like an opal,” Mel said, showing Kit as though he would have a comment. “Rosa is in the walk-in with Arthur. I think this could work. I’m going to have to go in there to help her.”

She lowered her eyes and her voice at once. “I know why you’re here. I know that there’s nothing I can do to stop you from doing what you want. But I also know that you can’t get that door open without me. Please, just let me get Rosa to safety. You know she doesn’t deserve to get hurt.”

Mel held her hand out to his nose. Kit sniffed, stared into her eyes, then bowed so that her palm was on his head. She pressed it gently and said, “I knew you would help. That’s how it’s always been. We stick together, we look out for each other, we do the impossible. You guys have kept me sane the last few years. I love you.”

Kit pushed past her palm and thrust his head against her shoulder, nuzzling her. She scratched his neck. “Let’s get Rosa.”

Mel went to the walk-in and knocked twice to let them know she was coming in. She eased the door open just enough to show herself.

Rosa had taken off her shoes and rolled her shirt up to her midriff. Mel remembered the term from her first aid class: paradoxical undressing, a symptom of severe hypothermia. She looked in Mel’s direction, confused.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Mel said.

Arthur hissed, “You are paying for every single item in here. Every one. You didn’t care when it was my money, but I bet you will—“

He froze when Mel opened the door wider, revealing Kit behind her. She said, “Rosa, can you hear me? You need to come out of there.”

“I’m sorry,” Rosa mumbled. “I know I shouldn’t be barefoot in the lab. I just got so warm.”

“You’re going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay. Come on out.”

When Rosa tried to roll her weight forward, Arthur threw his arm out to stop her, sending her tumbling back against a box of pickled moss. “Don’t fall for it,” he barked. “She’s working with that thing. Why else would it just stand there like that?”

“No, no,” Mel spoke over him, “it’s not like that. He’s calmed down. We all just need to calm down.”

“He?” Arthur stood, blocking Rosa from view. “It’s a he now? How could you possibly know that if you weren’t working together?”

“Because it’s…” Mel caught herself before outing Kit. Arthur had already proven he couldn’t be trusted with that information. “It’s Gus. I recognized him, and he knows who I am, too. He’s not going to hurt Rosa. Just let her out so I can help her.”

“Gus was arrested over a week ago. He’s long gone by now.”

His cold acknowledgement of the consequence of what he’d done infuriated her. “Obviously, he got away. Move, Arthur. Can’t you see that she’s seriously in need of medical attention?”

“I’m not an idiot. This whole thing was planned. You think I can’t put two and two together? All of a sudden the key goes missing, you can’t get a hold of Kit, you won’t work without it, I have to come here, and all on a full moon? Oh, the twelve foot werewolf must have followed me in without anyone noticing, right? Bullshit. Every last piece was planned.”

“You’re being paranoid,” Mel snapped, exasperated.

“Oh yeah? How do you explain that thing sitting there like a docile puppy when it was ready to rip me limb from limb before?”

“I already told you, this is Gus.”

“Then why did he try to attack me at all? Gus never even raised his voice.”

Squeezing her eyes shut in frustration, Mel screamed, “Because he hates you! We all hate you! You’re a horrible fucking person!”

She braced for the comeback, but none came. It was the first time she’d ever seen Arthur rendered speechless. Knowing it wouldn’t last, Mel took advantage of his shock and pushed past him to collect Rosa.

She helped Rosa stand and guided her out of the walk-in. They moved to a spot relatively clear of glass and debris, then Mel lowered Rosa gently to the ground.

Kit sat staring at Arthur. She’d expected him to attack the moment they were out of his way, but he only waited, watched, breathed.

“Here,” Mel said, holding the shard she’d blessed up to Rosa’s face. “Suck on this. Don’t bite it or try to eat it. Just pretend it’s a lollipop.”

Rosa took the shard, but she couldn’t make sense of it, and eventually looked back to Mel helplessly.

“I’ve got you.” Mel moved the shard to Rosa’s lips, grateful its edges had been dulled. Rosa opened her mouth. “Just like that. It’s candy. Good, good,” Mel encouraged her.

“You’re some piece of work,” Arthur broke his silence at last.

Mel turned to him. He was still in the walk-in, held there by Kit’s intense unwavering stare.

“I’m sure. You can tell me all about it once Rosa’s better.”

“I don’t know WHAT RIGHT you think you have—” Arthur began what sounded like an excruciatingly long tirade, but just as his yelling began to trigger a panic response in Mel, it triggered something in Kit, too.

Eyes flashing, lips pulled back, he growled as he stepped toward Arthur.

“Wait,” Mel tried, but she sensed it was a hopeless effort.

Kit leapt at Arthur.

Arthur ducked and dove under him, sliding along the lab floor until he hit the sink. Kit slammed into the walk-in shelving and yipped. He tried to stand too quickly and fell over. Arthur scrambled to his feet and disappeared through the exit.