laws.”
“With an iron hand,” Nick said. “Or maybe that should be with an iron claw.”
“The Wesen Council feared the Woge Plague, as they called it, would spread out of control if they didn’t act swiftly. So they sent an agent to stop the disease.”
Nick had a sinking feeling he knew where this was leading. “This
agent
was really an assassin, right? He or she was sent to kill the Wechselbalg and Soffya.”
“Yes,” Juliette said. “As well as all the infected Wesen. And after that, this assassin—who’d also become infected—committed suicide. The incident became known as
die Zeit Totzuschlagen
: the Killing Time.”
The phrase sent a chill through Nick. “Do you think it’s happened again? Am I carrying this… whatever it’s called?”
“
Ewig Woge
,” Juliette said. “According to the entry, it’s German for ‘perpetual wave.’ And there’s no way to know until Wesen you’ve come into contact with start to show signs of being affected.”
“You were around Monroe and Rosalee,” Hank said. “Bud, too.”
“And Bud was going to visit more Wesen to drop off his wife’s thank-you gifts,” Nick said. “If he had the
Ewig Woge
, he might’ve given it to all of them.”
He thought of how Monroe, Rosalee, and Bud had all complained about how hot it was in the spice shop, even though none of the humans had been uncomfortable with the temperature.
“They’ve got it,” he said.
Juliette’s eyes widened. “They kept talking about the heat.”
“That’s right,” Hank said. “And Monroe mentioned being bothered by how warm it was when we were trying to find the shapeshifter’s trail. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but …”
Nick took out his phone and called Monroe. As it rang on the other end, he waited impatiently for his friend to answer, but eventually it sent him to voicemail.
“I don’t want you to panic,” Nick said, “but there’s a chance that you and Rosalee were exposed to a disease that makes Wesen lose control of their ability to woge. Sit tight. I’m on my way.”
He disconnected and put his phone away.
“Maybe he and Rosalee are busy researching and he didn’t notice you were calling,” Juliette said.
“Maybe.” But he doubted it. Monroe would’ve kept his phone close by since he and Rosalee were helping him with a case. The fact that he hadn’t answered was more than a little troubling. “Come on. Let’s get back to the spice shop and check on them.”
Juliette grabbed the book that contained the account of the Killing Time, and the three of them left the trailer. Juliette decided to ride with Nick and Hank. She’d come back for her car later.
As they left Forest Hills Storage and pulled onto the street, Nick prayed that another Killing Time wasn’t beginning in Portland, but if the
Ewig Woge
was already spreading, what could they possibly do to contain it before the Wesen Council got wind of what was happening? And once that occurred, would any of the city’s Wesen survive? And if the disease spread outside the city limits, would it eventually affect Wesen worldwide?
They had to do whatever they could to prevent that from happening—if it wasn’t already too late.
* * *
“Want some tea?” Rosalee asked.
Monroe didn’t look up from the book currently open in front of him. “Better make it coffee—and strong. We might be at this for a while.”
But as Rosalee started for the back room, Monroe looked up from the page he had been reading—an entry on Siegbarste foot fungus—which was precisely as interesting as it sounded—and gestured to catch her attention.
“On second thought, skip the coffee. It’s too hot in here for coffee. Same for tea.”
Rosalee frowned at him. Actually, it was closer to a scowl. But then her brow smoothed and she smiled.
“I think we have some regular soda in the back. Chock full of sugar and caffeine.”
“
And
calories,” Monroe said, patting his stomach. “How about energy
“With an iron hand,” Nick said. “Or maybe that should be with an iron claw.”
“The Wesen Council feared the Woge Plague, as they called it, would spread out of control if they didn’t act swiftly. So they sent an agent to stop the disease.”
Nick had a sinking feeling he knew where this was leading. “This
agent
was really an assassin, right? He or she was sent to kill the Wechselbalg and Soffya.”
“Yes,” Juliette said. “As well as all the infected Wesen. And after that, this assassin—who’d also become infected—committed suicide. The incident became known as
die Zeit Totzuschlagen
: the Killing Time.”
The phrase sent a chill through Nick. “Do you think it’s happened again? Am I carrying this… whatever it’s called?”
“
Ewig Woge
,” Juliette said. “According to the entry, it’s German for ‘perpetual wave.’ And there’s no way to know until Wesen you’ve come into contact with start to show signs of being affected.”
“You were around Monroe and Rosalee,” Hank said. “Bud, too.”
“And Bud was going to visit more Wesen to drop off his wife’s thank-you gifts,” Nick said. “If he had the
Ewig Woge
, he might’ve given it to all of them.”
He thought of how Monroe, Rosalee, and Bud had all complained about how hot it was in the spice shop, even though none of the humans had been uncomfortable with the temperature.
“They’ve got it,” he said.
Juliette’s eyes widened. “They kept talking about the heat.”
“That’s right,” Hank said. “And Monroe mentioned being bothered by how warm it was when we were trying to find the shapeshifter’s trail. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but …”
Nick took out his phone and called Monroe. As it rang on the other end, he waited impatiently for his friend to answer, but eventually it sent him to voicemail.
“I don’t want you to panic,” Nick said, “but there’s a chance that you and Rosalee were exposed to a disease that makes Wesen lose control of their ability to woge. Sit tight. I’m on my way.”
He disconnected and put his phone away.
“Maybe he and Rosalee are busy researching and he didn’t notice you were calling,” Juliette said.
“Maybe.” But he doubted it. Monroe would’ve kept his phone close by since he and Rosalee were helping him with a case. The fact that he hadn’t answered was more than a little troubling. “Come on. Let’s get back to the spice shop and check on them.”
Juliette grabbed the book that contained the account of the Killing Time, and the three of them left the trailer. Juliette decided to ride with Nick and Hank. She’d come back for her car later.
As they left Forest Hills Storage and pulled onto the street, Nick prayed that another Killing Time wasn’t beginning in Portland, but if the
Ewig Woge
was already spreading, what could they possibly do to contain it before the Wesen Council got wind of what was happening? And once that occurred, would any of the city’s Wesen survive? And if the disease spread outside the city limits, would it eventually affect Wesen worldwide?
They had to do whatever they could to prevent that from happening—if it wasn’t already too late.
* * *
“Want some tea?” Rosalee asked.
Monroe didn’t look up from the book currently open in front of him. “Better make it coffee—and strong. We might be at this for a while.”
But as Rosalee started for the back room, Monroe looked up from the page he had been reading—an entry on Siegbarste foot fungus—which was precisely as interesting as it sounded—and gestured to catch her attention.
“On second thought, skip the coffee. It’s too hot in here for coffee. Same for tea.”
Rosalee frowned at him. Actually, it was closer to a scowl. But then her brow smoothed and she smiled.
“I think we have some regular soda in the back. Chock full of sugar and caffeine.”
“
And
calories,” Monroe said, patting his stomach. “How about energy
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