The following early afternoon, the two young men and Adain's cousin sat in the waiting room arguing about which person should be allowed to go in with Della to question Laeraman Lewis. The hospital only allowed two visitors to see him at a time, meaning they could only go in to see him once. Della's daughters felt they had a right to be with their mother. Rosie claimed to be the most astute. But, it was ultimately Talon that silenced them all.

"Girls, remember that Adain is cursed, too, if the female form you're seeing before you are of any indication," Talon declared.

"Could be dyed hair."

"And contacts."

"Or a padded bra."

Della shushed the complaining girls and motioned for Talon to continue.

"Whether you believe that to be true or not," Talon groaned. "The point is that his mom has the bigger connection here. Shay's the one who did all the work and gathered all the information. If anyone has a right to find out anything more about her, it's Adain, don't you think?"

The grumbling eventually died, and Adain and Della finally stood up to see Laeraman Lewis. As heartwarming as it was that his cousins were invested in their situation, they needed to learn more about what Aid's mother had been up to.

"Thank you for allowing us to see him," Adain said to Nikoal as they entered the room.

"I want answers, too," Nikoal responded as she conceded the room and headed towards the waiting area. "As long as you share what you've found with me, I'm all in."

"We will," Della assured her.

Adain took small careful steps as he approached the comatose Laeraman from the opposite side of Della. He knew that he wasn't really sleeping in the sense of dreaming. However, he still subconsciously felt that limiting any noises other than the ones the machines were already making was better. He watched Della place her hand on the aged man's forehead and hold her flame with the other.

"Laeraman Lewis," she began in a calm and steady voice. "I am here with my cousin, Shay Calistro-Kelly's son. Your daughter brought to our attention that Shay entrusted you with the details of her investigation. It would be of great help to us if you focused on the meetings you had with her and held those moments in your mind."

Della's flames remained blank, and Adain's heart sank. Had they gone this far for nothing? But then, an image began forming in the dark fire, becoming clearer and more precise, like a camera's lens refocusing.

"Those men are all criminals," Shay spoke with conviction. "I just know it."

Adain's eyes were glued to the small image of his mother. He'd almost forgotten the exact shade of her curly copper hair and gray eyes. Those same eyes were furious as they glared at the miniature Laeramen Lewis.

"They were the last ones who saw and spoke with Oleah Calistro. I have witnesses who saw them walk her into the caves and even more who saw them walk out of the cave without her after a few hours. These bismuth pieces were in their hands." She said as she handed the metal over to Lewis. "It's the same metal they gave my husband and father-in-law condolences about her absence. To this day, the only account on record was what the Laeramen told them, that she had abandoned the town in anger. They mention nothing about the caves despite having been seen."

"That they were the last people that saw her is one thing," Lewis responded with a sigh as he turned the metal around. "To accuse them outright of murder without any clear evidence is a dangerous endeavor. They are the most powerful men in the district, let alone just our town."

Shay nodded furiously as she shoved her hands into her back pockets and began to pace. The movements reminded Adain of himself whenever he was overwhelmed.

"Right. Because it's not been proven long ago that Witches are more powerful than Warlocks…by Oleah herself, no less?" She vented. "I've read her journal! She describes in great detail every time the Warlock Council rejected her candidacy. Oleah wanted to be the first Laerawoman, to serve her community with the gifts she was given at birth, with the power that made her Mondria. And she was denied time and time again because, what, they wanted to remain a "brotherhood of men?" She emphasized, holding her fingers up in air quotes. "Get fucking real!"

Adain felt a knot form in his throat as he watched her. Everything about Shay, the way she carried herself and the infliction of her voice…it was how Adain behaved and spoke presently. Had his mother gotten too close to the truth? Had the Laeramen made her disappear just like they appeared to have done with his grandmother?

"I understand your frustration," Lewis replied. "And I am one hundred percent on the side of justice. But we need something concrete. Without it, they cannot only pull us both under but our families, as well." He confessed as he grabbed a kerchief from his pocket and began to dab his forehead dry. "My daughter's barely turned fourteen, and how old is your son now? Ten?"

"Eleven," Shay responded immediately. "Who do you think I'm doing this for, if not for them?" She countered as she pointed toward the direction of the Calistro household. "You said so yourself; you have a daughter. What if she grows to be as strong as Oleah? What if she becomes a Mondria herself? Do you seriously think she'll be safe? She won't want to follow in her adored father's footsteps and become the first Laerawoman herself?"

The dark-skinned man behind the desk paled at the thought. "I'll do what I can to help you," He conceded. "I'll rake through every office in the lyceum if necessary. But, there's still no guarantee I'll find something solid, Shay…."

The image then went blank. Adain's breath quickened as he locked gazes with Della's brown eyes across the way. She rushed over to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Breathe, Day-Day," she instructed firmly. "The last thing I need is you hyperventilating on me. We've still got work to do."

Adain concentrated hard on his breathing. Della was right. They needed to divulge what they'd just seen with Nikoal. If her father had found any incriminating evidence, she was their only hope of accessing it. Nikoal's words rose to the surface of his mind. "Nikoal said that half of the Laeramen have already fallen due to the curse," He told Della. "That they took the brunt of the curse. And Rosie said this kind of curse needed a conductor, which Talon believes is the bismuth. Della, doesn't that mean whoever cast this curse did it from inside the Bismuth caves?"

Della nodded, following his train of thought. "The caves might very well be the source." She agreed. "Okay, I must borrow Shay's map to check the caves myself. I want you to go with Talon and the girls to Grandpa's and keep an eye on them."

"Wait! No!" Adain complained. "Take me with you."

The older woman took hold of his shoulders and looked Adain in the eye. "Day-Day, we don't know exactly how, but the bismuth affects you, too. I won't be able to concentrate and search the caves well if I'm too busy worrying about you or the girls."

Adain's shoulders dropped, and his face fell when he realized where she was coming from. "But, Della, what if it isn't safe for you, either?" He questioned.

"That's just a risk I'm willing to take," Della insisted. "I promise I will return to let you know what I've found, okay?"

"Fine," Aid conceded. "But you better check in with us by e-mail every hour!"

"I'll even send pictures," Della responded with an amused glint in her brown eyes. "Let's part ways here."

Adain bit his lower lip in anxiousness as Della took a long way around so that her daughters wouldn't see her leave without them. He found Nikoal in the hallway and told her everything her father had revealed in the black fire. She assured him she'd search his office for anything related. With a shaky breath, he then headed back to the waiting room. His cousins and Talon all stood up and rushed towards him, but he held his hands up so they could wait.

"We found out a lot of things. But I'll explain them all when we get to Grandpa's house," Adain explained. "Della's also meeting us over there later. There's something important she has to do first."

"She left us with you?" Rosie questioned.

"Lucky we can all fit in Talon's car," Avery commented.

"You might want to let your parents know where we're gonna be," Aid told Rosie.

The ginger nodded and sent an e-mail to her parents and Lance, who'd been left behind. "I can't wait to hear what you two uncovered," she mused aloud.

"Nothing pleasant," the words slipped from Adain's mouth, drawing everyone's attention. He quickly shook his head. "The sooner we get to Grandpa's, the sooner you'll know."

::

Grandpa Alexander and Adain's father weren't happy to see them at the door after arriving. They were familiar with their course schedules and found out they had been skipping classes. Out of all the things the forgetful curse made them forget, it couldn't be less important things like their class schedules?

Regardless, Adain waited until everyone was gathered in the living room before explaining everything. "I don't know how to break this down," He told his parents. "But, trust us when we say that you're both cursed. Not the same way I'm cursed, but cursed, nonetheless."

"It's not just you," Avery assured. "All male Warlocks in our town have been hit with it."

"That doesn't make us feel any better," Adam Calistro responded as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Does anyone have a time frame as to when such a curse might have been cast?"

Everyone's eyes shifted to Adain, who shook his head in response. "We still don't know who cast it or when it was cast," He explained. "But, Della is taking a look at the site we believe to be the source of the conductor-"

"You let her go there alone?" Avery exclaimed.

"Did she go to the caves?" Rosie asked immediately after.

"Yes," Aid answered as he unlocked his phone and pulled open her last e-mail. "She's checking in through e-mail at least once an hour. Look, she's already taken a picture of the entrance." He said as the girls passed the phone around. "Because the men are all affected strongly by the bismuth, she went in herself. Said she'd be too worried if we were all there."

"Why? We're not affected," Avery countered.

"It's less the cave and bismuth itself, though it's part of the reason," Aid replied. "When Della asked Laeraman Lewis to show us one of the meetings he had with…someone," the young Warlock couldn't mention his mother or grandmother yet. "The two of them were trying to find evidence to prove that the rest of the Laeramen were criminals…that they might have had a hand in murdering at least one person."

"There were witnesses that saw them entering the cave with someone and then leaving it with bismuth mementos, but without the person they had walked in with," Adain continued. "Nikoal is searching her father's office to see if he'd documented anything else regarding the event."

"On the subject of bismuth," Talon prompted. "Is there any of it in the house right now?"

Adam nodded. "One of the Laeramen had given me bookends made of bismuth as a condolence gift after…" he frowned and rubbed his face with a yawn. "What was the question, again?"

Adain shook his head. "They're in his study. The rainbow ones. Get rid of them," he instructed. "What about you, Grandpa?"

"I, too, was given a bismuth gift," Alexander admitted. "I made it a garden decoration out back."

"I'll get rid of it," Avery offered as she headed towards the garden.

Talon took all the bismuth he could find and said he'd take it to a specialized waste facility. Avery accompanied him on the trip. Around twenty minutes after they were gone, Adain's parents began acting differently.

"Mom's room," Adain's dad said as he stood and turned toward his father. "Dad, do you remember who warded it?"

"I-I know who did," Adain spoke up. Chills ran down his spine when he realized it was the first time his dad had brought up the subject all on his own. "Dad, you're going to want to sit back down for this…."