I sighed as I hung up the phone. I'd checked on Lorraine every day since Thanksgiving. She was improving, but it was slow. Peyton had been in the bar a few more times. Seeing him wasn't helping. I went back to the scene I was working on. It was good to be back to work. I’d talked to the therapist about being able to start running again and was told to wait until the next time. Everything was always “wait and see.” They weren't sure how to handle me. "Sean, what kind of spells can you do?" Brandt asked. "Elven kind. I can't do human magic." "There's no such thing as human magic." "Like there's no such thing as elves?" Brandt raised an eyebrow. "There is? Are psychics real?" "Some are. Most are frauds." "What can you do?" "I paint, speak four languages, juggle…" "Magic. What magic can you do?" "I can't answer that any more specifically than I already have. If I can cast a particular spell depends on a lot of things. Some spells can only be cast at certain times of the year or day. Geographic location can affect others, also the environment and the weather. And if I know the spell to be able to cast it, but if you don't need it right away, I can go to the elven library and look it up." "You have a library of spells?" "It's a library of books, like yours. It just has a section with spells." "A woman was found this morning and brought to the hospital. She'd been missing, and we’re trying to determine if she was also involved in the abductions, maybe another victim." "Unless she's speaking Swedish or Danish, and you want me to translate, I don't know how I can help." "She seems to be conscious but is unresponsive. Is there something you could do to help?" "I might be able to help if there is a physical cause, but if it’s psychological, then no. It would be a violation of her rights, and probably illegal. It would also go against Seelie laws and I'm still sworn to uphold those." Brandt nodded. "Will you at least come see her? The tests to see what the problem is will take a while." Nodding, I saved my work and followed. At the hospital, Harris was waiting. "You can help?" "It depends on what's wrong. I’ll do what I can. I won't risk causing or more damage." Harris nodded. He led me to one of the rooms and spoke to the hospital staff. Some of them recognized me from my recent stay, so they agreed. "Ma'am, the FBI asked me to check on you and see if there's anything I can do to help you. Would you object to that?" There was no response. "I'm just going to lay a hand on your forehead. It won't hurt." I focused on what I could sense from her. I could see what was going on. "Thank you, ma'am. We'll let you rest," I told her and led the others out of the room. "That's it?" Harris demanded in the hall. "Yes." "You didn't do anything." "Nothing but reading her. She's awake, sort of. She's been drugged." "And you can't do anything?" "Under other circumstances, it would be a simple matter of increasing her metabolism so the drug gets out of her system faster." "So why didn't you?" "Because she also has other injuries. It would be too hard on her. The drug shouldn't kill her, but it's best to let the medical professionals take care of her." "What kind of drug?" The nurse asked. "I don't know. It's not something I've kept up with." "And the injuries?" "Nothing life-threatening. Bruising, broken rib. It didn't puncture the lung. If I had to guess, I'd say she was beaten. She's also been restrained." The nurse nodded. "Thank you. We'll continue running tests." I nodded. "Well, that was a waste of time," Harris muttered. "Not entirely. You now know she'll likely be able to answer questions later." "It's not much." "You don't even know if it's related. It could be a mugging or domestic violence," I pointed out. "But it could be. We don't know." "We might be able to get an idea," I suggested. "How?" "The same spell I used for the kids. I can cast it where she was found. "Will it be blurry?" Harris asked. "It's always blurry. And you can't use it for grounds for a warrant. But you'll know if it's related. And it might give you a direction to focus." Harris nodded. "Let's go." "I need my bag from the station." I drank the power aide I'd brought. "Do you have stock in that?" Brandt asked. "It has electrolytes. I need those after the spells. The iron here fights magic. That's what's in my bag along with carbs. I need those too. It might be better if Roy's there." "You need to hold your partner's hand?" Harris sneered. "He knows how to help me if it gets bad. He's also used to watching the scenes run backward and can tell what's happening." Harris sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Let's go." We picked up Roy and my supplies and headed out to a picnic area in the forest preserve where the woman was found. I cast the spell to start when the 911 call came in about finding her. I made sketches while Roy narrated what was going on. The woman had been conscious when she was found and passed out later. She'd staggered around some. We followed her to where she'd been shoved out of the car. I was feeling dizzy by this time. I slowed down the time in the spell so we could follow the car. "Can we use our car?" Roy asked. I shook my head. A slower form of travel, like a horse, might work, but the changes would come too fast in the car. I wouldn't keep up. Unlike most spells, I had to keep casting this one to compensate for all the changes. We followed on foot out of the force preserve. There, I lost the spell and went to my knees. I was shaking so hard, Roy had to help me stay up while I vomited. Brandt let off a string of curses. "Are you okay?" Harris asked. "Does he look okay?" Roy snapped. "This is what happens when he casts for too long. Magic and iron don't mix and they take it out on him." He held a drink to my lips. I took a sip. Slowly we made it through one bottle and then another. He pulled out an Almond Joy and broke into small pieces, putting the nuts aside. I couldn't handle those yet. "Did you ever consider getting some Mounds?" He asked as he fed me the candy bar. "The protein helps," I managed. He broke up the next candy bar and I tried to feed myself a piece. My hand shook too much to get the candy in my mouth and Roy had to guide me. "Slowdown. There's no rush," Roy said. I glanced at Harris and Brandt, wondering what they thought. Roy saw my look. "Ignore them. If they don't understand dedication, they aren’t worth your effort." He continued to help me eat and drink until I'd stopped shaking. Then he helped me back to the car. "Are you okay now?" Harris asked. "Do you need a doctor?" "I'll be okay. I just need to take it easy for a bit. There's nothing the doctor can do except to tell me to lay down for a while." "I never realized what magic would do to the user," Brandt said. "Obviously, it doesn't happen every time. Most times, I'm okay with just a sports drink. When people's lives are at stake, I’m willing to do whatever it takes." "Clearly," Harris nodded. "We saw which way the car went when it left, away from town. Did anyone catch the plate?" Brandt shook his head. "Sorry, it was too blurry." I glanced at my sketch of the car. "Nope." "The first number was likely one," Roy said. "That's helpful." "We can't use it for a warrant." "No, but we can stake it out," Harris reasoned. "Assuming it's related to her case," Roy pointed out. Brandt got a phone call. "She's talking now. We’ll drop you two at the station." "Nah, let them come." Harris waved it off. "They’re locals. They might understand something we don't. Are you up for it, Sean?" "Going to a hospital? A place where they can treat me if I relapse? Why would I want to go there?" "Smartass." "When Sean’s acting like that, it's assured sign he's fine," Roy informed him. "He'll probably flirt with the nurses." "I will not. I'm on the clock," I insisted. "I know how to be professional." "Like that stopped you before." "I flirted with one woman once to get her to talk to us. I did not call her." "How many of the nurses did you flirt with when you had your broken leg?" Roy countered. "A few. Only a little. They were working." "Don't flirt with the victim," Harris warned. "What do you take me for?" I asked. "Don't answer that," Roy added quickly. Harris glanced at me over his shoulder in eyebrow raised. "I'm a thousand, not dead," I told him.