Chapter Eight
The next morning Adalind woke up feeling great. Though she had a lot of trouble getting Kelly to sleep the previous evening, he did sleep throughout the night without incident. She couldn't remember the last time she'd woken up feeling so refreshed. She sprawled out on the bed the Seidels had let her sleep in, extending her arms and legs in all directions letting out a large yawning stretch that felt amazing. It felt so good she nearly forgot that a group of Hexenbiests had attempted to kill her the day before.
Once she remembered the fight she'd been in, however, she got up from the bed, put on a robe and walked over to the bassinet that Kelly was nearly too large for. He was still sleeping. Maybe she'd be able to get some coffee before he woke up.
Adalind picked up the overnight bag she'd hastily packed and sifted through the contents for something she would be comfortable wearing downstairs in front of the Seidels. She pulled out a pink t-shirt and found a couple balled up socks. She reached further into the bag and pulled out a pair of sweat pants. A leg of the pants got caught up in the other clothes she had overstuffed into the bag and she pulled on it too hard. Several of the items shot out of the bag and fell onto the bed and onto the floor. She silently cursed to herself as she began packing the items back into the bag. One of the balled up socks had fallen, landed on her foot and bounced under the bed. After she'd changed out of her robe and stashed away the clothes she wasn't going to wear, she got down on all fours to retrieve the sock, but it had rolled out of reach. She could have easily walked around to the other side and picked it up, but she instead reached out with her hand and with her mind to will the sock to her palm.
Nothing happened.
It was at this moment she realized why she was feeling so good. To quote her daughter, who'd had a similar problem a few months ago, everything feels hollow. Adalind didn't use her abilities often. She'd felt uncomfortable displaying that she was a Hexenbiest around her Husband, even though he'd repeatedly attempted to reassure her she had no need to be self conscious about it. She attempted to reach out with her mind again and felt nothing. She knew it was foolish, but for a fleeting moment, the thought occurred to her that maybe it was the sock that was the problem. Knowing it was illogical, she still couldn't help herself. She stood up and gestured her hand at the pillows on the bed. They didn't budge. She looked down at the robe she'd dropped on the floor before she changed her attire. She waved her hand at it and still, nothing happened.
She walked as quickly as she could to the nearest bathroom. Staring at the mirror above the sink she attempted to Woge. She twisted her head back and forth and up and down, even going so far as making faces into the mirror and, still, nothing happened.
Adalind smiled.
She began playfully gesturing at things around her. Soap, the towels hanging on hooks, the shower curtain. Trying to move any of them with her thoughts and as nothing responded, her smile felt like it was getting bigger and bigger.
When she had moved back to Portland and moved in with the man who would eventually become her husband, she had wished over and over that she could remove her Hexenbiest abilities. The shame and regret that were attached to them had weighed heavily on her. The kindness and understanding that Nick had shown her did very little to alleviate those feelings. But now, through some miracle that she dare not question, her abilities were gone. She couldn't wait to tell Nick.
She ran back to the bedroom to look for her phone but as she passed through the doorway she stopped, remembering why she was staying in someone else's home rather than her own. If she were attacked again now, how would she defend herself? Somehow she had been powerful enough to beat back the attack of a group of Hexenbiests, but now, she had nothing. As the thoughts began to swirl through her mind she began to panic. She turned several times in the doorway, her mind racing to determine what she should do with this information.
She'd lost her powers. She remembered having a conversation with someone else about them having lost their powers.
Megan!
Adalind rolled her eyes.
She was going to have to reach out to Megan whether she wanted to or not. There's no way this was a coincidence.
She walked over and picked up her phone. Not having Megan's personal number she was forced to call the office and ask for her by name only to be told that Megan was in a meeting with a client. She glanced over at Kelly still sleeping in the bassinet as she said, "Please tell Megan that Adalind Burkhardt has something very urgent to discuss with her and that I'll be coming to the office to speak with her as soon as I can."
As she disconnected the line she saw that she had woken her son up. She knew she'd have to do a lot of morning rituals with him. Primarily feeding him and changing him.
She spent the next two hours doing everything she could to make sure that Kelly didn't need anything more than possibly a diaper change after she asked Sasha if she wouldn't mind watching him for a bit while she ran into the office.
Although she had a meeting she had to be at in a few hours, Sasha was delighted to babysit Kelly. She was, however, concerned about what a terrible idea it was for Adalind to leave the house what with there being threats against her life. She said as much, but Adalind waived off the concerns, explaining she had little choice but to go in person.
She changed her attire into something more professional, though through her hasty packing job the clothes were far from perfect. She didn't want to waste time ironing the wrinkles out, opting instead to just deal with it.
She got into her car and drove downtown. She got as close as she could to her office building in the first available space she could park and then walked the remaining distance. The sky overhead was gray, not uncommon in Portland, especially in the fall. The air had a chill to it that Adalind wasn't sure would be as uncomfortable if she hadn't lost her abilities.
As she made her way down the sidewalk she stepped down off of a curb, intending to cross the opening of an alleyway, but as she made it just a couple of steps across, she felt her whole body being violently lifted into the air. She soared swiftly into the alleyway, colliding back first into the side of a dumpster. Her head whiplashed with the momentum and struck the dumpster wall with a sickening thud. Her vision blurred, though she was able to maintain consciousness. She reached back with her hand to feel for blood but thankfully only found a large bump.
She attempted to lean forward to get on her feet, but the pain in her back was too much to ignore. As she lay there wondering how she was launched off of her feet, she saw the answer walking towards her down the alleyway entrance. Megan was walking with what could be justifiably called a strut. Behind her were women that Adalind didn't recognize. They stopped just a few feet into the alley. Adalind saw that one of the women was remarkably older. Difficult to pinpoint her age, but at least in her eighties. Possibly even more.
Megan kept walking towards Adalind and when she was close enough to speak at a normal level said, "You think you can do what you did to me and we wouldn't come looking for you?"
Adalind knew that Megan was angry and wanted to try to explain but the surprise attack had done a toll on her. She took the hand from the back of her head and held it up palm out to try to signal for Megan and the others to wait and to calm down, but they interpreted the movement as an incoming attack and the women all Woged. Adalind's vision was still clearing up but she now realized she was dealing with an entirely different pack of Hexenbiests than the ones who had already attacked her. Were they working with each other?
Adalind put her hand down. She attempted to make a mental count and felt there were at least seven Hexenbiests? Plus Megan, who was apparently still without her powers.
People walking along the street at first paid the group no mind, but when they Woged, those who were Wesen saw what was going on and rushed to leave the area. A couple of Wesen were kind enough to grab their friends who were not and pull them away from the area. One of the Kehrseite spoke loudly enough for Adalind to overhear, "Why are we rushing out of here? What's going on? What are you so afraid of? You're stretching out my sleeve!"
The oldest of the Hexenbiests removed her Woge and stepped out from the group. She walked over to Adalind and knelt down at her side. Megan attempted to say something, perhaps warn the older woman to be careful, but she held up a finger to silence her.
She leaned down and examined Adalind. Adalind felt uncomfortable being leered at so closely and attempted to lean away but was reminded by a back spasm that she wasn't able to go far.
The old woman was so close that Adalind could smell her breath and feel it against her skin. The uncomfortable silence was broken when the old woman stood up and said something loudly in German. Adalind recognized a couple words, but overall had no idea what had been said. The group of Hexenbiest women all removed their Woges and they all stepped deeper into the alley, away from prying eyes.
Megan, who also apparently didn't speak German asked, "What did she say? Are we killing her or not?"
Adalind's eyes widened in surprise. She attempted to put up a hand again to get the attention of someone who she could talk to but Megan, again, interpreted the move as a hostile act. She reared back with her arm as though to strike Adalind but, thankfully, the old woman reached out and grabbed the arm in her own.
Megan was furious, "She has taken everything from me!"
The old woman turned back to the others and there was much discussion among them in German. After a couple of minutes had passed, one of the younger women stepped from the group and squatted down next to Adalind and, in a German accent, introduced herself, "My name is Heather. The older woman there, that's Johanna. She believes that your powers have also been stripped from you."
Adalind attempted to nod but did so too quickly and she was hit with a massive dizzy spell. Her vision darkened and for a moment she thought she was going to lose consciousness. Her vision began to clear up and she managed to say, "That's right."
Before Adalind could say any more, all the women began talking among themselves again, some talking over others. The older woman, Johanna, let out a loud whistle between her lips and silence fell upon the group. She said something to Heather who relayed it to Adalind in English, "You came here to talk to Megan because you assumed that whatever happened to her is what happened to you, yes?"
Adalind nearly nodded again but stopped herself, "Yes."
Johanna spoke again in brief, terse words with a lot of anger behind them, directed mostly at Megan. Heather, again, relayed the message, "You have our deepest apologies. Whatever disagreement you have with Megan has to be forgotten for the time being. What we're dealing with now is power theft. A crime that no one has committed in centuries and cannot be ignored."
As Heather relayed her message, Adalind took her phone from her coat pocket to find that it was completely ruined. The screen, which she had already cracked on her own some time ago, was coming apart in bits of glass into her hand. She held it up so the others could see, "I need to borrow a phone."
All of the women turned in unison to face Megan. She rolled her eyes, "You have got to be kidding me. Fine! Here!"
Adalind took the phone from her and quickly dialed Nick's cell phone. When he answered he did so in his detective voice, "Burkhardt."
Adalind cleared her throat as she said, "Nick, it's me. Don't freak out, but I've been attacked."
Nick, who still freaked out a little at the news, said a bit too loudly, "What? Where are you? Where's Kelly?"
Adalind's head was pounding, "Kelly is safe. This attack was unrelated to Juliette. Just a misunderstanding. But I'm pretty hurt. Can you bring me the..." She paused here not sure how to say what she wanted. She didn't feel comfortable saying 'the Staff' with the others standing by listening. She finally decided to use the term, "medical stuff," but immediately felt foolish. Her head was hurting too much to think of something more clever.
She gave him her location and when the line was disconnected she handed the phone back to Megan who said, "Who is Juliette? Did she cause this?"
Adalind did her best to explain to the group, through Heather's help translating, that her old rival, Juliette Silverton, had attacked her with a different group of Hexenbiests and that she did suspect that Juliette was to blame for the power theft but only because it was too much of a coincidence to ignore.
Megan was skeptical, "Let's say that it was this Juliette woman, how or why would I have been her victim before you?"
Adalind, who was still sitting on the ground uncomfortably, did her best to shrug, "I have no idea. Practice?"
Adalind's back and head were in a great deal of pain and she was anxious for Nick to arrive when she realized she may have made a huge mistake. She shouted, "Megan! Did you tell them," she gestured at the group of women, "that my husband is a Grimm?"
Heather stepped out of the group and said, "I'm sorry, what? Her husband is a Grimm and you didn't think we would need to know that when you called us to attack her?"
Johanna, the oldest of the group, couldn't follow along with everything that was being said, but she knew the word, 'Grimm.' She wanted clarification however, just in case she was mistaken and asked, "Dēcapitāre?"
Adalind, in a rush said, "Heather, tell them that my husband is a Grimm but that he won't hurt them so long as they don't attack him or me. He's on his way here now. Tell them before it creates a panic."
Before Heather relayed the message she pointed at Megan and said, "We're going to talk about this later." She then turned to the group and translated what Adalind had said.
The women began talking among, and over, themselves again. Clearly arguing about what to do. They would occasionally steal a glance at Adalind. Perhaps judging her for having married a Grimm or maybe were even impressed she married a Grimm.
Heather, the designated speaker for the group wanted reassurances, "We'll be safe here when the Grimm arrives?"
Adalind, whose eyes had been closed in an effort to fight the pain she was in, opened them and said, "He's a live-and-let-live kinda guy. Don't attack him or me and you'll be fine. I already explained to him that this attack was a misunderstanding."
Heather still wasn't convinced, "No retribution?"
Adalind put her hands together in front of her and with a tone of annoyance, said, "I promise."
Megan was standing near the group with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Clearly unhappy that Heather was believing what Adalind was saying. Heather noticed and glanced at her, asking, "Do you think we're safe from the Grimm?"
Megan looked down at Adalind. As angry as she was, she knew the Grimm's reputation. Without saying anything, she nodded, but then turned her back to the group as Heather relayed the information to them.
Several minutes later, Nick arrived in his SUV. To pull into the alley the women all had to stand up against the wall. But when he had passed, they all stayed there as though they didn't want to get any closer to Nick than they had to.
As he got out of the vehicle, he glanced at the women but then quickly rushed to Adalind, "Oh my god, what happened? How bad is it?" He knelt down next to her and kissed her head. Immediately after he did so, he heard the women whispering to each other, though he couldn't make out what they were saying so he chose to ignore them.
Adalind put her arms around his neck and said, "Help me up. It's my back, head and neck. I can't stand on my own."
Instead of helping her to her feet as she requested, he instead placed his arm under her legs and picked her up. He carried her to the back of his SUV and gestured with his head, "Lift the hatch."
Adalind reached out and pulled on the handle. As the hatch to the SUV opened he turned briefly to the women and said, "Don't go anywhere. I have questions."
Once the hatch was fully open he placed her inside and crawled in after her, closing the hatch behind him. He could feel the women staring at him as he did so.
Beneath them, Adalind could feel the staff under her legs, Nick had wrapped it in bed sheets again. A habit started by Trubel a few months prior.
He unwrapped just enough that they could each grasp it in their hands. He was unsure how the Staff worked, but it seemed as though he had to be the one holding it for it to heal anyone else. As they waited for the healing process to finish, which would take several minutes, Adalind explained what had happened. How the group thought she was responsible for stealing Megan's Hexenbiest abilities but that all signs pointed to Juliette possibly being the guilty party. Though, how she was doing it, if it was her at all, was a greater mystery.
She saved what she felt was the biggest news for last. She smiled at him, "My Hexenbiest powers are gone, too."
Nick was taken aback. He stayed in contact with the Staff as it healed her, but he leaned back, "What?"
No matter how many times he had informed her that he was fine with her being a Hexenbiest, she never truly believed him. She felt certain that once he learned that her powers were gone that he would be even more relieved than she was. But he didn't look relieved at all.
She attempted to smile a little wider and repeated herself, "They're gone, Nick. I can't Woge. Everything feels hollow and it's amazing."
Nick took his free hand and put it to his forehead in evident frustration. Adalind's smile faded a bit as she said, "I thought you'd be happy."
Nick's frustration took over as he snapped, "I have no reason to be happy. You being a Hexenbiest has never bothered me." It looked as though Adalind was going to contradict him until he added, "Not since we've been together romantically. I've done everything I can to communicate to you that I love you as you are. But now that your powers are gone, you can't defend yourself and it's possible they were stolen by a psychopath who may very well use those powers to murder you. If you are happy without being a Hexenbiest, great. I want you to be happy. I love for you to be happy. Your happiness matters. But this isn't the time for you to be without those abilities. We don't even know what we're up against right now."
His entire tone and demeanor shifted to an almost different person as his instinct to protect came forward. It was as though an entirely different conversation had been taking place as he compassionately asked, "How are you feeling? Any more pain?"
Adalind used her free hand to touch the back of her head and massaged her neck for a brief moment, "No, I think I'm okay now."
Nick covered the staff back up with blankets and opened the hatch again. They both climbed out of the SUV and Nick marched over to the women who were still standing at a nearby wall. A few of them were clearly intimidated and unintentionally Woged. As Nick got near enough to speak, those few backed away and winced as though they were anticipating an attack.
Nick spoke up, "Which one of you is Heather?"
Even though the group of them would likely destroy a single Grimm in battle it was clear these women were not prepared to be near a Grimm. They weren't terrified, but were so visibly uncomfortable that it made Nick uncomfortable as well.
Heather took a tiny step forward and lifted a hand a few inches to introduce herself. She tried to smile but the worry lines on her face distorted the intent.
Nick nodded at her and said, "Adalind tells me that you're translating for the rest of them."
Heather nodded, "My father is American."
Nick took a step closer to her and she instinctively took a small step back. Nick had to remind himself not to make such aggressive moves. He apologized for making them uncomfortable. Before he could ask the questions he wanted to ask, the oldest woman, Johanna said something to Heather and Heather translated, asking, "How did the Grimm do what he did? How is Adalind all better?"
Nick looked Johanna in her eyes and slowly shook his head at her. It wasn't a threatening gesture, but she nodded her head in understanding. It was none of her business.
Nick asked, "Where's Megan?"
Megan was actually further down the alley, standing by herself. She felt abandoned by the group of women who she had brought to kill Adalind. But if it turned out that Adalind really isn't the one who stole her abilities then she would likely be forced to work with someone she can't stand to possibly get those abilities back. She was attempting to decide if she could do it. Working with a Grimm and his Hexenbiest wife put a bad taste in her mouth. But she couldn't live like this. No more powers? She'd rather be dead!
She walked back up towards the others and said, "What?" as rudely as she could.
Nick raised an eyebrow, "From what I understand you and Adalind had a confrontation the other day. I know what she told me about it and while I'm not happy it happened, for now, it doesn't matter. If it was Juliette and her new band of misfits that have stolen yours and Adalind's powers then we're going to have some major problems. Juliette was already an incredibly powerful Hexenbiest before. Do any of you know how she'd be doing it?"
Heather quickly translated and within a moment all the women were shaking their heads except for Johanna. She spoke to Heather so that it could be translated, "Johanna has an idea. But it's just a guess."
Through Heather, Johanna explained to Nick and Adalind that over the centuries, power theft devices would pop up on the black market from time to time. Most were assumed to be fake. So far as she knew, the Wesen Council would crack down on such things. She assumed that since the Wesen Council is no more, that one of those devices must have made their way into the hands of Juliette or her cohorts. But she had never seen a power theft device with her own eyes and had no idea how they work.
Nick said to Heather, "I'm going to do you a favor and introduce you to a Blutbad named Monroe. He speaks German as well. He can take some of the translating off your shoulders. Though I'm sure he'll be mad at me for that. Would I be wrong to assume that other Hexenbiests would be on your side of wanting to stop more power thefts?"
Heather didn't hesitate, "I believe, with some possible exceptions, that you are correct. But the exceptions may want to use the device for themselves."
Nick nodded, "That's a risk we have to take. Whatever it is they're doing, they've done it at least twice, and we know that Adalind was pretty powerful. So it's not just possible, but likely that we'll need more back up."
Nick took out his phone and placed a call. When the line was answered, Nick said, "Samantha, it looks like we have more Council business that needs to be attended to. But, for this, we're going to need everyone."
Samantha had been in her car driving to a meeting she had already setup with the other Council members when she received Nick's phone call. The meeting was to discuss whether or not to expand the Portland Wesen Council, accepting Alexander's offer of financial assistance but then have the added responsibilities of dealing with Wesen world issues. On one hand, Samantha felt it lucky that she was already headed to a meeting with the Council, but unlucky that there was a crisis to contend with when she got there. She was being met there by Alexander. The intent was that he could field whatever questions the Portland Council had before they voted as to whether to expand their role.
Now, however, they'd likely be relying on his expertise when it came to power theft and dealing with a group of Hexenbiests.
She had reserved space at a local restaurant owned by a Fuilcré, an Ox like Wesen. They have a back room used for private parties and she felt it was an ideal place to hold meetings until a permanent location could be found.
When she arrived, she found Alexander was already there waiting for her. She informed him that the Seidels would be late to arrive due to babysitting duty, but Nick was already driving Adalind to pick up their son.
She also filled him in on the information that Nick had relayed to her regarding the possibility that there was a group of Hexenbiests in the region using a method of power theft.
Alexander brought his hand to his chin as he said, "That is a crime punishable by death. If it's not handled quickly, it may cause panic."
Samantha asked, "Were there any kind of, I don't know, policies or procedures set in place for this kind of thing with the original Council?"
Alexander stood a little straighter as he replied, taking pride in being able to use his expertise, "We'd typically dispatch a mercenary. Probably another Hexenbiest. However, that was to crack down on reported power theft devices, that, to my knowledge, were all fakes. No one has actually done anything like this in recent memory that I'm aware of. The act of power theft exposes them visibly to Kehrseites. That by itself is usually deterrent enough to prevent someone to foolishly commit such a heinous act."
Alexander and Samantha made their way to the private room and sat down. He explained to her the immense downside of power theft and how, with enough of it, it can lead to a full and permanent Woge. Visible for all to see. Obviously such an appearance doesn't go over well with the average Kehrseite and it leaves them exposed to be seen by Grimms as well. He finished by adding, "One's lust for power would have to be very great to risk living that way."
Samantha took a notebook and pen from her purse and sat them on the table they were sitting at. She was barely old enough to purchase alcohol and here she was leading what was possibly going to become a powerful organization tasked with maintaining peace, order and the secret of all Wesen-kind around the globe. Looking now at her spiral bound notebook and pen she felt inadequate in so many ways. She felt unprepared and, moreover, felt she didn't know how to prepare. Like being handed a plunger and asked to perform heart surgery.
She took a breath and reminded herself she is not in this alone. She has eight other Council members, and the added support of Nick, Monroe and Rosalee. She opened up the notebook and was embarrassed to find some doodles she'd drawn in it the last time she'd used it. She quickly ripped out the page, crumpled it up into a ball and stuffed it into her purse.
As the other Council members arrived she introduced them to Alexander. Samantha couldn't help herself but to smile when she saw Bud walk in wearing his refrigerator repair uniform. Probably not the type of attire that Alexander was accustomed to seeing at Council meetings. As expected, the Seidels were the last to arrive, closing the door behind them as they entered.
Once everyone was settled in, it was clear that everyone was looking to Samantha for direction and once again she felt unprepared. She felt she should have found a way to make the gathering feel more official. Like having a gavel for example. She took a breath and calmly advised the group that Alexander was there to discuss finances with them. However, a more important matter has come up that may require their full attention.
"Nick is on his way here with a group of Hexenbiests he met this morning. One of which has had her abilities stolen from her. Nick's wife, Adalind, who can't be here today, has had her abilities stolen from her as well. It's possible, though unconfirmed, that the abilities are being stolen by a group of Hexenbiests that are, as yet unidentified, with the exception of their possible leader, Juliette Silverton."
She paused. She looked at her Council members and saw looks of concern and confusion. Samantha felt a twinge of guilt at having brought what could potentially be a legitimate concern to the first official meeting of their brand new Wesen Council.
Sasha Seidel raised a hand to get Samantha's attention, "How certain are we that the group of Hexenbiests you referenced is responsible?"
Samantha straightened in her seat. She was actually prepared for this question, "The only things that we know for certain is that someone, somewhere is stealing power from Hexenbiests. Juliette Silverton and her group showed up in town around the same time. It could be a coincidence."
Bud was the next to raise his hand, "Sorry. I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes, but I'm really unclear on something. Let's say that a group of Hexenbiests is stealing the abilities of other Hexenbiests. What could we actually do about it?"
Samantha responded, "Well, I think we should hear what Alexander has to say about that. But let's take a break-" Before she could finish her thought about taking a break to find out where Nick and the Hexenbiests were, she saw the door had opened a bit and Nick had poked his head in. Once he saw it was secure, he opened the door the full way and allowed the group of women as well as Monroe to step through.
A few minutes were spent making introductions and explaining that most of the Hexenbiest women didn't speak English and that Monroe and Heather would supply translation as needed. Chairs and tables were moved around to help accommodate the new attendees. Nick walked away from the tables and found a window to peer out of. He felt it was inappropriate to do more than listen unless he was asked something directly. He also felt it important to make sure that they hadn't been followed.
Samantha cleared her throat. She looked back at Nick hoping to catch his eye, but he was intent on making sure they were safe. She decided to keep the meeting going as she said, "Alexander worked for the previous Wesen Council and has made a proposal to our group that we take a more global approach rather than limit ourselves to just the Portland area. I resisted the notion at first, because I felt we didn't have the time or resources to commit to something like that. However, I've come to realize that there may be some problems that come to Portland that may very well require us to reach out beyond our region. If power theft really is going on, then it's possible it's not limited to here. It may be happening in several places around the world and we'd never know because we've insulated ourselves.
"That need doesn't change our lack of time and resources. Alexander says he can help with those things. If we are willing to take on the global responsibilities, then he is prepared to sign over to us all of the Wesen Council accounts. We could use those resources to put a proper network in place."
Alexander leaned forward in his seat and raised a single finger signaling he wished to speak but wanted Samantha's permission first. She nodded at him. He said, "If there is someone stealing power, or even worse, if it's multiple people committing these crimes, there's no telling when or where it will end. Even if the previous Council had never gone away, they would require a menagerie of people to assist with something like this. We all know that Hexenbiests are formidable. But at double or triple their power? I hesitate to imagine what someone would do with that much strength. My suggested approach is to warn any and all Hexenbiests and even Zauberbiests that power theft is happening. To report any victims to the Council. Then, gather up any mercenaries capable of dealing with Hexenbiests and have them on standby once guilt can be established."
Samantha rubbed the back of her neck. The idea of using mercenaries bothered her. Though she was coming to terms with herself that no other viable option was available.
A member of the council named Willomina stood from her seat and intentionally Woged so that everyone could see that she is a Hexenbiest. A few of the guests in attendance Woged out of reflex. Once she removed her Woge she said, "Wars have been fought over power theft in the past. If we can stop it before things get out of hand, we should. If Alexander says he has the resources, then I move that we accept his offer and become a global Wesen Council."
Bud spoke without realizing he was doing it, "Oh my." When he realized he'd said it out loud he began to apologize, "I'm sorry! I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. It's just that I don't know how I can do this and still operate my shop."
Alexander nodded his understanding, "Mr. Wurstner, I don't know how taxing your business is but I can say with some certainty that overall, day-to-day Council business won't require your full time attention. That being said, all of you will be due compensation, and not to be presumptuous, it is rather... well... let's say generous."
He requested a sheet of paper from Samantha's notebook and her pen. He wrote on it, folded it half and slid the folded paper down the table so that each council member could look at it and pass it along to the next. "On that paper is the standard salary that was paid out to previous Council members in what I believe are current American dollars."
Samantha wasn't surprised to see eyes widen in surprise as each person unfolded the paper in front of them before sliding it to the next. Bud had a short coughing fit when he saw the dollar amount. After everyone had seen their potential salaries, Isaac Seidel stood and said, "From what I gather, a major side effect of power theft is the full Woge, right? So this extends beyond just Hexenbiests. This could potentially be exposure to our whole world. I feel like we have no choice. No offense to Nick, but a single Grimm, or even two Grimms, couldn't take on a group of Hexenbiests that are all running at regular power levels, let alone double or even triple."
Samantha, who knew they could talk about this subject for quite a while longer felt all the important points had been touched upon and decided there was no reason for delay, "Alright then, all those in favor of expanding the Council to Global reach, raise your hand."
It was unanimous
Samantha quickly jotted down the time and date in her notebook as the official mark of the start of their new Wesen Council.
"All those in favor of having Alexander go through his contacts and hire some mercenaries, raise your hand." Samantha was less than enthusiastic about it, but still raised her hand as she called for the vote. She saw that, once again, it was unanimous."
The Hexenbiests had been watching the meeting play out with Heather supplying translation for the important parts. They all seemed rather joyous when they'd found out they were going to get help.
Samantha gestured to the group of them and said, "These ladies came here to get justice for Megan who lost her abilities. Ideally we'll try to get Megan's powers back to her. But, regardless, we must do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen to more people. I recommend we take a page from Nick's book and send out notices to any and all Hexenbiests we know and inform them of what's going on and to keep spreading the word."
Manon had barely left her bedroom since the previous night when they'd last used the Siphon. Collette had tried multiple times to coax her out, but other than an occasional trip to the bathroom, she was simply too embarrassed to be seen.
Collette had dictated that the twins not be permitted to use the Siphon due to their early abandonment when fighting Adalind. But also, Nikki's mistake at obtaining the hair of someone that wasn't Adalind's. The twins were unhappy with the decision. They'd argued, but no one in the group came to their defense. They sat back and watched as the remaining four women used the Siphon once again to hopefully, finally, steal all of Adalind's abilities from her. As far as they could tell, the attempt was fully successful and just as painful as it had ever been to do so. The group couldn't be sure, as no one had ever bothered to measure the length of time the process took, but it seemed to take much longer, and therefore, that much more agonizing a process to get through.
When it was over and they'd each pried their hands from the Siphon's spindles, they then removed their Woged appearances. For Collette, the process was difficult and near pointless as so much of her body was now Woged. The patches of skin that weren't, were few and far between. She knew this was an upcoming consequence, though she had held out hope that more power thefts would be needed before she wouldn't be able to appear in public spaces. To prepare, she had purchased various ways to disguise herself. Bandages she could use to wrap her body in when she had no choice but to be around crowds of Kehrseites. She'd also purchased simpler garments like hats with veils and hooded jackets.
Juliette hadn't fared much better. Much of her body was covered in patches of Woged skin. The left side of her face from the jawline to her hairline was Woged. Robin seemed to have gotten off the easiest. While much of her skin was now Woged, it was mostly in places easy to cover up. Long sleeved shirts and ankle length pants would be enough for her.
Manon had done nearly as well as Robin with one exception and it was the reason she would barely leave her bedroom.
After they'd removed their Woged appearance, the twins, who'd been watching from off to the side and were feeling rather bitter about having been left out of the power theft again, caught sight of Manon and immediately had to stifle laughter. If Gail hadn't said, "Well, hello there, scarecrow," they may have been able to keep the laughter contained. But once she said it, she and Nikki began laughing hysterically. Collette, Juliette and Robin all looked to Manon and saw what the twins had thought was so funny. The one area of her visible appearance to become fully Woged was just her nose.
A near perfect triangle of her Woge exposed on the very center of her face.
After reading the expressions on the faces of the others in the room she shouted, "What?! What's wrong?!" She stood from her seat and rushed to her bag and pulled out her compact. She opened it and immediately gasped. Collette had attempted to make Manon feel better by showing how much of her own face was fully Woged. Manon, however, didn't care. The twins were still giggling to themselves about the ever-so-clever scarecrow remark when Manon ran to her bedroom and slammed the door shut.
Collette didn't try very hard to convince her to come out. She knew she'd eventually need to accomplish that goal, but first, they were stuck with how best to proceed. The idea of ambushing Adalind, good or bad, was now moot. They'd completely lost the element of surprise. It was Juliette who knew the lay of the land and the personalities of those involved. Collette didn't like relying on someone she barely knew, but, so far, the information provided by her had been accurate. The intended goal, to get the Staff that Juliette advised is what was used to accidentally steal power, felt more out of reach than ever. The question became, what do they do next? Most likely Adalind had gone into hiding. Her husband, the Grimm, could have put her anywhere. Collette had suggested going after a different ally of the Grimm, but Juliette nixed the idea saying that Nick would have also put them into hiding. Or, even worse, has laid out a trap around them.
With Manon acting like a child and not knowing what the group should do next, it was decided they'd take some time to relax and perhaps they'd lull the Grimm into a false sense of security. They can't stay in hiding forever.