"What are we dealing with?" asked Rosalie.
Renard laid Mira on the couch. She had passed out during the drive. "I have no idea. She recognized me."
Everyone jerked to look at him. "You mean…" Nick said leadingly.
Renard nodded. "There were five of them about to kill her. I had to."
"So what is she?" Nick pressed. Rosalie started looking her over.
"I have no idea," Renard went on. "Not a Grimm, that's for sure. I didn't see her woge. I asked her how she knew about wesen but she clammed up. She was very worried about it not being safe. Her skin started glowing on the way over, almost like a Glühenvolk. But there is no way a Glühenvolk would have lasted so long in the chase, particularly not while inflicting the amount of damage that she did."
They all quieted, watching Rosalie check her over. Finally Rosalie straightened up. "Monroe, could go start some tea, a nice big pot."
"Anything for you." He kissed her and headed towards the kettle.
"So?" Renard asked Rosalie.
"Well, I don't know what she is. She's not hexenbeist: she doesn't have the mark. Nor does she have any other injuries, either."
Renard blinked. "That's not possible."
"It's true. There isn't a scratch on her that I can see, or broken bones, or even bruises. You three, on the other hand, need some fixing up."
She started gathering jars of ointment and bandages.
"Hold on," said Nick. "We were ambushed by 13 wesen tonight. Thirteen of them, all chasing after her, she passes out from injuries, and you're telling us she doesn't have a scratch."
"Yes," said Rosalie. She spun around and smeared ointment on Nick's face.
"Ow!"
"Shush, ya big baby."
Mira slowly drifted back to consciousness.
"Juliette's on her way" said a far-away voice. Who was Juliette? " ...Chinese food."
Food would be good. Healing always took so much energy.
"… knows we were there. Anonymous caller… gangs." Multiple voices. One of them made her smile. Then the image of a face, changing, skin sloughing off… She shuddered. Where was she?
Her eyes flickered open.
"Shhh! She's awake,"
A sweet face entered her field of vision. "Hi there, Mira, is it?" said a soft voice. "It's okay. You're perfectly safe. My name is Rosalie. How do you feel?"
Mira shifted onto her side and slowly sat up. "Mmmm. I have a killer headache."
Rosalie nodded. "I'm not surprised. I'm told you had a rough night. Would you like some tea?"
"Uh… " Tea would be amazing. Wait!
"I have some herbal licorice tea. It's calming but will also help you wake up a bit. "
"Maybe. First tell me where I am. And who are you?"
The woman, Rosalie, took a seat on the couch. "It's okay. I'm a friend of Captain Renard's. You're in my tea and spice shop. I use natural remedies for all kinds of unusual problems. You passed out at the University. Sean brought you here; he was very worried you might be badly injured. But you seem to be fine, aside from that headache.
Mira sat up farther, looking around the shop. There were a few unusual and archaic devices and books clearly visible even from where she was sitting. Some people might think them just ornamental, but for those who knew… "Is this a wesen shop?"
Rosalie nodded and smiled. "Yes. I help all kinds of wesen."
Mira looked around again. "That's a first."
Rosalie patted her knee. "Well, how about that tea?"
Mira nodded. Rosalie stood and Mira grabbed her hand. "Wait. Is Sean here?"
"Yes. He, Nick, and Monroe, my husband, are just in the other room."
"Oh," Mira said. "Actually, would you mind… is there a back door?"
Rosalie sat down again. "You want to leave? Without saying anything?"
"Please. I can't explain. I know it doesn't seem fair, but I can't talk to them tonight. I need to figure things out before there are awkward questions."
Rosalie frowned, but it was a very understanding frown. "You really shouldn't be going anywhere soon; certainly not alone. But I can tell them you aren't allowed to answer questions tonight.
Before Mira had time to think about that a tall man in a very ugly sweater stepped into the room from what she guessed was a back hallway. "Here you are, ladies! Two mugs of perfect licorice tea. Guaranteed to … ah… I have no idea. But here."
Rosalie looked at the man with the sweetest expression Mira had ever seen. "Oh, thank you, love! You read my mind. Monroe, come meet Mira."
Monroe handed Rosalie a mug then held the other out to Mira. "Pleasure to meet you! Welcome."
"Mira, this is my husband, Monroe."
"Hello," she said, taking the mug gingerly.
Another figure stepped in from the main shop—Detective Burkhardt—followed by Renard. "How are you feeling?" the detective sounded so sincere. What was his role in all this?
"I'm just tired. Really. I just need to go home and rest."
Renard opened his mouth but Rosalie interjected.
"A-a-a! No questions tonight. She's going to be fine, but she is worn out. We need to figure out a safe place for tonight and tomorrow we can think about what happens next."
Mira frowned. "What do you—"
A door in the other room slammed open. "Nick!" a woman yelled.
"In here," Burkhardt said, turning. A tall, thin woman with dark red hair sped around the corner breathing heavily. She unceremoniously dropped a large bag of Chinese food into the corner.
"The shop is surrounded. There are at least ten men watching this place all around the street."
"What?" said several people.
"I saw them as I was walking in. I sealed the door with a protection spell. They aren't getting in that way."
"Were any of them woged?" Nick asked. "Did you recognize them?"
She shook her head. "No. but just from clothes and…" she struggled to find the right word, "..things we may have several types."
"Aw, shit!" Monroe swore.
Mira put her head in her hands. God, this is all my fault!
A pounding sounded on the front door. "Open up!" shouted a gruff voice. "Bring out the fairy!" said another voice.
"Did he just say 'fairy?'" Monroe asked.
Sean whipped out his phone. "I'm calling for back up."
"Monroe," Nick said authoritatively, "We'll go around from the back. Rosalie, stay with her."
"What about me?" the new woman asked.
"Stay here with Rosalie and Mira.
"Who—" the woman cut off seeing Mira. She blinked. "No problem."
Rosalie nodded. "They won't get through us."
Sean hung up the phone. "I'm coming with you," he said to Burkhardt while rolling up his sleeves.
"Sir," Nick said questioningly. "That's a busy street late at night. People could be watching."
Sean woged. "Let them watch." He growled and stormed out the back hall.
Monroe looked at Nick with wide eyes. "Well, he's strung up about something." He shuddered and woged into... a Blutbad? Since when did they fight side by side with Zauberbeist? "Shall we?"
"Oh, after you," said Burkhardt.
They also hurried out the back.
"Oh, god," Mira said out loud. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." She fought back sobs.
"How is it her fault?" the new woman said gently.
Rosalie put an arm around Mira's shoulders. "Mira called Sean today to report that she was being followed. He, Nick, and Hank went to escort her to a hotel to lay low and they were ambushed. Thirteen wesen!"
The woman crossed over and sat in a chair opposite the couch. "Yikes. Bad day. And I take it she….?"
Mira felt Rosalie shrug. There were some interesting sounds coming from outside. "She saw Sean woge. He, uh, got a bit protective."
"Oh," said the woman in a tone that said all the things she didn't say.
"He says she wasn't surprised but… we don't know anything else."
"So do we think these are some of the same group?"
"No idea," Rosalie replied.
Mira took a deep breath and looked up. The woman frowned at her for a second then smiled, holding out a hand. "I'm Juliette. Nick's wife. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances."
Mira took her hand briefly. "Mira Speigel. I'm so sorry."
"How do you know Sean?" Juliette asked.
Rosalie sent her a glare. "I just told the guys she's not allowed to answer questions tonight!"
"Oh, sorry!" Juliette said, much abashed.
"It's fine," Mira interjected, tiredly. "I'm an interpreter. I helped on a case a few weeks back. We've been running into each other since then." She glanced up at the window, but she could feel the glance the two women shared. "Do you think we should help them?" She asked.
The all looked at the window, through which screams were clearly audible. The two women shook their heads. Juliette shifted uncomfortably. "With all three of them out there? They should be fine."
Mira swallowed. "Uh… not to sound impertinent, but you said there were a lot of guys out there, and with just a zauberbeist and a blutbad…" she trailed off, realizing she didn't know what these two women could do to help anyway, so why was she asking them?
They shared another look. Juliette cleared her throat. "She doesn't know about Nick?" Juliette asked. Rosalie shook her head.
"Why? What is Nick?" Mira asked, worried. This was getting SO complicated.
Juliette took a deep breath. "Nick is a brave man. He is kind, generous, clever, selfless, loving, and really protective. If he thinks protecting you is the right thing to do then he will do it, no matter what happens or what it takes."
Mira blinked at her.
"He is a good man," Rosalie added emphatically.
"He is also," Juliette said holding out a calming hand, "a Grimm."
Mira felt her eyes go wide and her skin ripple. It was all she could do not to let a woge out. She couldn't swear that something may not have shown anyway. "That man," she breathed, "is a Grimm?"
They nodded.
"You let a Grimm into your wesen shop?" she snarled at Rosalie. "You let him around your husband?!" She stood up angrily. "Do you lure wesen here with remedies then send them to him?"
"What? No! Nick is our friend," Rosalie protested.
"He is a good man," Juliette said again, also standing up. "Monroe is his best friend."
"He's saved Monroe's life over a dozen times, and mine" Rosalie added.
Mira backed up to a wall shaking her head. "This is some kind of trick. Stay back!" Oh no! Sean was out there with that Grimm. That was even worse than if Sean found out what she was and… well, that line of thinking would going to lead to dark places. She had to help Sean!
Three wesen burst into the room from the back hall. Before she could blink Rosalie woged into a Fuchsbau and launched at the foremost attacker. A Fuchsbau? But her husband is ….
Three shots rang out; Mira glanced over to see Juliette holding out a handgun. A second attacker fell. The third lunged at Mira.
Mira felt her skin ripple, though she had done nothing to cause it. Oh, shit! What the heck? Not now! The attacker stopped in midair and was suddenly flung against a far wall.
Mira's head split with pain. She felt a wave of power shoot out of her, shattering the window, and her jaw unhinged, falling low. How could this be happening?
Juliette stepped up and tapped two more shots into the third attacker. She turned around and un woged.
Mira returned to normal. Rosalie stood up. There was blood all down her front. She and Juliette were both looking at her. They had both seen.
"You're a hexenbeist, too?" Juliette said mildly. Rosalie shook her head.
"She doesn't have the mark. She can't be."
Mira took a deep breath. "You," she said to Juliette, "Are not a hexenbeist. You can't be."
Juliette straightened, putting away the handgun. "I didn't use to be. Nick's powers were taken. He needed them back to protect Monroe and Rosalie. This," she pointed at a mug of tea which hovered into the air and shot into her hand, "was a side-effect of getting them back."
Mira relaxed. Slightly. "How recently?"
"Six months," said Rosalie.
"And you already have that much control?" asked Mira, skeptically.
Juliette nodded, even smiled a little, though she looked far from comfortable. "I wanted to get rid of it at first. But it allows me to help Nick, to be part of his life. So I learned."
"And we helped," said Rosalie.
"And you," said Mira. "You are a Fuchsbau. But Monroe is … not a Fuchsbau."
The two women shared another look.
"Yes," said Rosalie. "Monroe is the best man I have ever met. All respect to Nick, of course," she said jokingly to Juliette.
She turned back to Juliette. "And does your Grimm know what you are now?"
"Of course he does."
Mira frowned. "Aren't you worried he's going to cut your head off? That's what Grimm's do best, right?"
"You might be confusing Grimms with Reapers," Rosallie suggested mildly.
Juliette sighed, exasperated. But her voice was not unkind. "I know there's a lot of bad blood between Grimms and most wesen. But not here in Portland. Nick protects them. He fights for them."
"As long as they obey the law," Rosalie interjected.
Juliette continued. "Some wesen are too prejudiced to see past Nick's title."
"Prejudiced?!" Mira said.
"If you let him he will help you. But if you hurt him, I will kill you." She woged in and out. This time Mira didn't woge. She wasn't sure whether or not that was a good sign.
Sirens sounded outside. A door in back banged open and shut. Sean and Monroe walked in. somewhat the worse for wear.
"Oh, this is lovely," said Monroe, looking at the three bodies. "Everyone alright?" he looked around. "Well, clearly alright is relative. I'll just drag these goons outside for the ride to the mortuary." He hefted one over each shoulder and left.
"How's Nick?" Juliet asked.
Sean ran a hand through his hair, pulling out debris. "He's fine. He's clearing things out with the police who arrived for cleanup. I thought it best they didn't know I was here. Turns out we had a hexenbeist outside. She managed to create a spell to get all these goons to attack for her." He looked over at Mira. "She was desperate to get at you."
Mira swallowed. "And is she…?"
"She's dead," said Nick striding in. He walked across the room and gave Juliette a passionate kiss. "I think we managed to leave half a dozen alive. More gang stories?" he said to Renard.
Renard nodded. "I think so. We'll incorporate it into the university attack."
Nick looked over at Mira and shifted uncomfortably. She was staring daggers at him. He glanced around at Juliet and Rosalie. "Was everything okay in here?" he glanced down at the last wesen body.
"Yes," said Rosalie.
Nick looked pointedly at Mira and her death glare. "Are you sure?" he said, laughing and turning to Juliet.
Juliette took a breath. "Mira was worried about whether the three of you could handle things, so I told her about you."
"Oh," he said casually. He turned to Mira. "Well, now you know one of the secrets of our little group."
"Three, actually," said Rosalie.
"No, four," said Juliette.
Nick glanced around as Monroe came back in. "So we're running out of secrets that she doesn't know."
Mira huffed. "For all you call them 'secrets' you aren't exactly secretive about anything." No one said anything for a moment. "Now what?"
Everyone looked around at everyone else.
"Chinese food?" asked Monroe.
There was a general murmur of assent and Monroe left to get plates. "Whoa whoa whoa!" Mira said. Everyone stopped and looked at her. "Sorry, can someone please explain this? Your shop is attacked by a gang controlled by a hexenbeist trying to get at a stranger who was dumped on your couch by the police, and after a Grimm helps you chase them off you just sit down and eat Chinese food?!"
Nick started laughing and soon everyone was joining in.
"Man," Nick said, "put like that our lives sound pretty weird."
"Our lives are pretty weird," said Juliette grabbing the bag of food and dragging it to the coffee table.
"True!" Nick replied.
Rosalie started opening all the to-go boxes. "You two are too adorable to be allowed."
"Speak for yourself!" said Juliette playfully.
"Are we really doing this?" Mira asked.
Sean walked over to her from where he had been lurking in the shadows. "Yes, we are. Dig in. When you're ready we'll take you somewhere safe for the night. I hope that after taking out that hexenbeist all this will be over, but we'll need you to stay out of sight for a few days until we're sure."
Mira crossed her arms, uncomfortable. "And where is 'safe?'"