Here Kitty, Kitty - 59. Chapter 22.4

Tristan looked up from his tablet where he’d been emailing the warnings out to everyone he knew in various chat rooms and forums.

Frowning he replayed the question before he felt his brain stall. Healers? Why was Carl asking about healers?

“Um, not much. Healers come in many forms. Mage healers work by using magic to isolate the cause of the illness and pull it from the person’s body. Non-magical healers use herbs and other potions to either cause the illness to leave the person’s body, or to treat the symptoms until the person heals on their own. Why?”

“I just talked to you friend Milly—lovely lady be the way—she told me I had better treat you right or I would find out why I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of a healer. She advised me that they were as good at causing injury as healing them.

Tristan chuckled. “That sounds like Milly, she always was a sassy little…” he trailed off as the rest of what Carl had said registered. Healers could cause illness as well as heal it? It made logical sense he supposed. If a healer wanted to heal something, they would need to know how it was caused in the first place, and once they knew how it was caused they could cause it too. “We need to talk to the others.”

They rounded up everyone and ran through what they’d learned.

Kitryn was the most vocal. “If that bitch tries to use my sister to hurt people it will be the last thing she does.”

Tristan froze. “Um, I think even if Cheryl knows about this option she wouldn’t dare try and use it. If she told a healer to use their powers to hurt us, what’s to stop that healer from using their powers to hurt her? She would have no defense against it. Even if she did. How would she know if the healer was doing as she asked or not? A healer can’t kill someone, that I’m sure of. But also if someone tried to hurt Cheryl, would that trigger something on our end? Maybe she has something in place to make sure if we hurt her then something would happen here. There are too many possibilities at the moment. We can keep this option in mind though, and maybe do some research to see how far-reaching a healer’s magic is. Do they need to be in the same room? Can they reach out across distances? And if so, how far?”

Carl wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed. Tristan relaxed into his mate’s hold and soaked up the comfort. “I can make a few inquiries when I make my calls. There is one other thing that has happened. The female vampire who has been aiding me in running my clan has gone missing, along with another clan member. I am told she left a note but that the only one to see it is the now missing clan member. The high council needs to make sure the warnings get out as quickly as possible before more people go missing.”

A heavy silence descended on the room as everyone seemed to be contemplating the lasted developments. It seemed they took two steps forward and one back.

The meeting broke up with everyone saying they still had calls to make.

***

Carl relaxed back in his chair and stretched until his back popped. Only one call left and he could curl up with his mate for the day.

He dialed the number and waited as the line rang and rang.

Just when he was going to give up the line connected. “Hello.”

“Hi, Mama, how are you?”

“Carl. It’s been too long. You said you’d call more often and it’s been what? Six months?”

“Um, actually it’s been nearer to ten. I’m sorry, Mama, but things are going to hell in a handbasket and I’ve been busy.”

Tristan came in and at his wave came and sat beside him. “Mama, I have someone I want you to meet. Can we change to video chat?”

Tristan’s eyes had gone wide at the mention of ‘Mama’ but Carl ignored his head shaking and tapped the camera icon on his phone. His Mama’s face filled the screen. She was beaming and when Carl adjusted the angle to include Tristan his end, he saw her face light up.

“You found your mate,” She squealed. Carl swore his Mama could squeal louder than Fran and that said something for the young seer.

“How did she know I’m your mate?” Tristan whispered.

Mama heard him, however, and answered before Carl could. “Oh, that’s easy my dear, he wouldn’t have bothered with video chat is you were anyone else. He would have just put his phone on speaker and included them that way. You look like a nice young man. May I ask your name, family, and what you are? Since my son hasn’t had the manners to introduce us properly yet.” Carl’s muttered I haven’t had a chance to speak yet was lost as his Mama kept babbling. “My name is Quin and his father is Donald, but you will call us Mama and Pops like Carl does.”

Tristan looked to be shocked into silence. He was staring at the phone as though Mama was going to lean right through the screen. He shook himself when Carl gently elbowed him and smiled.

“My name is Tristan and I don’t have any family.” Carl squeezed his knee under cover of the desk. “I’m a fire mage and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mama.”

Carl watched his Mama melt and knew his mate now had the family he deserved. Carl would have to make sure Tristan got to meet his parents in person when this mess was sorted out.

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