From where she leaned against the door frame, Irene Lucas could watch and listen to the tumult in the town hall as the witches and vampires argued and shrieked, as the council tried to restore order. Her mother stood in front of the table on the small stage, arms crossed as she observed the chaos with a practiced, calm but still clearly agitated look on her face. Elias Brooks, the new head of the clan, was sitting on the stage next to her, his brother's slowly decaying head in his hands as he stared down at him. Elias had barely said a word during the meeting, which was unusual - even when Charles had been in charge, Elias had always been the one to speak up and spit out whatever was on his mind. Seeing him so quiet unsettled Irene and she winced as she pushed away from the door, moving over to sit next to her werewolf.

Lenora Mallory, who went by Lee most days, wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder warmly. "We can skip out on the rest of the meeting, Irene." She pressed a kiss against her forehead, listening to the shouting and unable to hide a grimace of her own. At least the town had stopped focusing on the new werewolf pack that had formed after Zoe's demise. While Eugenia and Irene had gone over every werewolf's minds to erase every hint of her magic and given them all charms to protect them from future control, Lee had insisted on staying bound to Irene - that it felt safer for the two of them, like a constant buddy system. 

"I'd rather stay. Mom needs me." Irene rested her her head against her shoulder, wishing so much she could just block out the shouting. Even in the midst of the werewolf attacks, the coven and the clan hadn't fought like this.

"Yes, well, I'm sure she didn't need Elias screaming at her all day yesterday, neither did you, but here we are, all four of us exhausted and sleep-deprived." Lee turned her head, hearing some commotion but not paying it too much mind. She couldn't really talk about losing her mind over the loss of those she cared about - she was still very much mourning her old pack, even as part of a new pack. "It'll be alright. We figured out the problem last time, we'll figure it out this time too."

"But if it's really the old family head-?"

A sudden hush fell in the main hall and Irene turned around, frowning. "That's... not good."

She peeked out of the door, Lee following and peering out over her shorter girlfriend's head, and both of their jaws dropped as their eyes widened. Walking up to the stage, an old and beaten box in his hands, was Joel Lucas. Irene was every bit her father's daughter - same dark skin, same wild and curly hair, same penchant for mischief - except where she was short, her father was tall - taller even than her mother. The alchemist smiled at his wife, not minding the shock on her face, and rested the box on the stage at her feet before climbing up and turning to address the crowd.

"Hello, everyone! Been a few decades, now," he admitted, rubbing his chin. "Glad to see the bad blood still brews, glad to see everyone full of piss and vinegar as always."

Elias stared up at Joel, recognition not quite in his eyes yet.

"When Eugenia alerted me to the situation at hand, I was reluctant to come back. I was advised to leave with all due haste, after all." Joel crossed his arms as he regarded the room. "That is why I did not return alone. Alexia, friend, would you care to join us?"

Necks almost snapped as heads turned to the second arrival, the click of her heels echoing in the nigh-silent room. Seeing her stride in was almost like seeing a ghost - her son, Charles, had been the spitting image of her, same Roman nose and brown hair. She stopped in front of her youngest boy, Elias, and hugged him close, whispering what Irene assumed were words of comfort as Elias cried out in anguish and hugged his mother tightly.

"While I am still wanted for questioning in the death of her husband, Alexia and I have come to the agreement that I will be confined to the Brooks clan homestead." Joel held up a hand to stem the murmurs that threatened to deafen everyone. "It has been long enough, too long in my eyes. I've kept these secrets to myself for the safety of my home, my family, but I see now that that was a grave error on my part." He gestured to the box at his still-stunned wife's feet. "I bring along my journals, my books, every letter I wanted to send but never had the guts to shove in the mailbox. I have nothing else to hide." 

Alexia hoisted herself up easily onto the stage, pulling Elias to his feet too. "It is my intention as the matron of the Brooks clan to bring an end to this divide in Wodenton. This has gone on long enough. I did not leave my family in Charles's hands to let it fall into disarray." She looked over the room for a moment, reading the faces in the crowd, before turning to Eugenia and Joel, then to the council members. "I request a private recess."

"Alexia, no more keeping things in the shadows," Joel sighed.

"No secrets, Joel. I've been away too long and I have far too many questions; I won't get any answers by allowing us to stand around being screamed at." With her arm wrapped tightly around her remaining son, she stepped past the table and into the back room. One by one, the council followed, and the townsfolk began to mill out.

Lee stood back from the door, eyes wide. "That's Alexia Brooks?"

"Isn't she stunning?" Irene sighed, not in a dreamy fashion. "And terrifying. I had the biggest crush on her when I was younger."

"I can see why. Woof." She paused and looked at Irene as the witch snorted with giggles. "Sorry."

                                                               -----

In the quiet calm of the tea shop, Joel laughed as Irene ran up to him and hugged him so tight, ruffling her hair and embracing his daughter. "There's my little tea shop witch." He leaned back and smiled at her before looking up at Lee, surprised that she was on eye level. "Well, well, this is Lenora then."

"Just Lee, sir. It's a pleasure." Lee offered her hand for him to shake and was pleasantly surprised by a firm hug of her own, making her laugh and hug the alchemist back. "Ooof, you've got some arm strength!"

"Have to be able to stir my potions, don't I now?" Joel joked, grinning at her as he let her go. "Let me look at you two! You're a sight for sore eyes, look at the smile on my little girl's face. You've done something good to her."

"Existing," Lee laughed, "Just by existing."

"Oh, shut up you," Irene giggled, hugging Lee around the waist affectionately. "You've done a lot more than that."

"Anyway," Lee turned to Joel, "What's this about you being exiled? Why did you come back at a time like this?" she asked curiously.

Joel shrugged, pulling a folder out of the box. "I made a mistake, years ago, that may have lead us to this point. I aim to correct that." He wrinkled his nose a bit. "I don't like admitting when I've messed up, but the gods know I've ruined things spectacularly here." The man handed his daughter the thick file folder. "This is every note, every scrap of information I had on the day I confronted Edmund about his antics. I'd caught him messing around  Dolores Rutledge's estate at the time, rummaging for supplies. I thought it was suspicious - what did a vampire need white oak for? Why were witches and other alchemists in town reporting that their stores were missing random ingredients?"

"Why?" Irene asked.

"I still don't bloody know." Joel groaned as he leaned against the counter. "I've tested every formulation I can think of involving every ingredient stolen. I'm wondering if that's the trick in itself, that he stole so much just to make it look stranger than it really was. But the fact you ran into your aunt Zoe, and that someone who had easy access to the Brooks homestead was involved with her, alarms me deeply." He rested a hand on her head, ruffling her hair warmly. "I wish so much to ask you to stay out of this, to stay safe, my little ruby. But I know you'll get involved. This is your home, and you're old enough to make your own decisions." He smiled sadly at her.

"Yes, well, those decisions have nearly cost me my tea shop at least four times," Irene flapped a hand, gently setting her father's hand on her head aside. "How's my sister doing?"

"She's well. Tired, dislikes the fact that the northern pole is almost all sunlight for eight months out of the year," he chuckled. "I did warn her."

"Is she coming home with Christopher?" Irene bit her lip as her father nodded. "Good. We'll need his eyes for this too."

"You realize he's as much an outcast as me." Joel chuckled though - he was beyond fond of his son-in-law, even after all the drama they'd been through after the marriage.

"I think Alexia can give one of her fledglings a break. She's soft at heart for her family, Irene. Which is where you'll come in. If Edmund really has come back - has really found a way to manipulate life and death in order to give himself untold power - then someone has to step in and stop her from being merciful. It will either be you or your mother." He leaned down, hugging her tight and kissing her cheek. "I won't force you to act on it, little ruby. More than anything, I'd rather you be safe and tucked away."

"That's never how it works, Dad." Irene chuckled weakly and smiled at him. 

After a short lunch, he climbed into a car driven by a Brooks vampire, most of his papers intact in their box. The handful he'd given her was spread across the counter as she scoured the words crammed into every blank space. Lee rested a cup of tea next to her and leaned over to read a bit, but she could barely read the handwriting. A distinct unease settled over the pair as a set of photographs slid out of a decaying envelope and Lee picked up the negatives as Irene flipped through the final prints. The pictures seemed harmless enough - most of her and her sister when they were kids. 

Lee's breath hitched in her throat and she grabbed Irene's shoulder, shaking her a bit to get her attention. "Irene, this is it- I know this face, it's in my head, my nightmares." She handed it to her and Irene held up the negative, peering and squinting at the minute squares.

The face that stared back at her was that of Edmund Brooks, and at his side was a desiccated form - probably Aunt Zoe, she thought with a grimace. "Well, at least we have our starting point. They were working together after all, this is recent." She tapped the date on the envelope - dated just a few years ago. "Guess Dad still uses those old cameras."

"Surprised he doesn't short them out. You can't even use a cell phone," Lee gently teased her, rubbing her back soothingly. "Look, I know this is important, but you're exhausted. Let's go upstairs and get some rest this afternoon." Irene protested at first, but a wide yawn interrupted her words and she gave an exasperated sigh as Lee laughed in triumph before scooping her up in her arms. "To naptime with you, young lady."

"I'm older than you," Irene yawned, resting against her.

"And yet I'm the one so much wiser," Lee teased sweetly.

Irene unlocked the door once they were upstairs and she froze at the sight of broken glass across the floor, and she pushed the door open fully, aghast at the sight of all the windows in her kitchen being broken. "What on earth-?" She knelt down, picking up a single mourning dove that lay broken and dead amidst the glass shards. "One bird isn't capable of this."

"Stay here-" Lee started to move but Irene grabbed her arm, shaking her head.

"No one is here, Lee. My wards would have gone off." She glanced around. "They're all intact. Probably a magic burst nearby." But she still felt as though a skeletal hand was tapping down her spine.