004. Fate

Kaylie returns to The Spark with assailants in hot pursuit.

***"We capture one moment where things are more possible than you thought."***

A week has passed: Braum's dreams have been relatively normal; Patches has learned nothing new about the workshop or the Pattern Spider, but is still exploring; Sophia's clurichaun contact in Quebec City has been lost in chimerical combat, with his friends scrambling to find him. Sophia sends off another email to a second expert on chimera, currently living in Halifax.

Incisor takes some time to question Patches about why she "cares" so much about the Spark, given that she is not the true owner. The redcap, though, does show her the 'panic room' function of the workshop: in the event of an emergency, the workshop and balefire, the two most valuable areas of the freehold, can be sealed off for 48 hours.

Upstairs in their office, Braum apologizes to Sophia for the existence of Rick, not knowing what kind of terrors his dreams held. Sophia tells him that she was truly horrified, and is not ready to go back. Braum seems unmoved, noting only that he must be killed in order to unearth more of his past.

At that moment, a red light begins to flash in the freehold: the building's fire alarm has been triggered, and Kyoko's cameras show Kaylie in the lobby, clutching her stomach. Standing over her is a woman in a dark suit with an earpiece, who shoots out each of the lobby cameras in turn. Making their way down to the lobby, Braum and Patches order Sophia to "get Kaylie" while they handle the situation. The lobby has become colder, and everyone has fled save for the woman, training her gun on the desk where Kaylie is hiding, and her partner, standing guard outside.

The woman orders them to leave when Patches and Braum offer to help with whatever "situation" is developing. Braum tries to knock her down as Sophia dives for Kaylie. In the scuffle, Braum is shot in the arm, but manages to crush the assailant into unconsciousness as Patches convinces the other suit that they're undercover as well. It's a longshot, but it works: the man admits that they were sent by "Jonas", and pulls his partner into a red Miata and takes off.

Sophia is repulsed by the blood from Braum's gunshot wound and the knife embedded in Kaylie's stomach, which seems to have split into two inside her. As Claude removes the bullet from Braum, Patches metamorphoses the knife to shrink it, removing it easily. Kaylie introduces herself as Quiet-on-the-Hunt, a Cliath of the Black Furies; a werewolf and long-time friend of Zistor's. She was being pursued by unknown assailants, and didn't know where else to go…. She also tells the Kithain of the Pattern Spider she gave to Zistor: it is a "spirit to be rescued", although she doesn't elaborate further. Kaylie is clearly uncomfortable speaking to Braum & Claude, which she later tells Sophia is because there are no men in her tribe, and so she steps out into the garden with the Sidhe.

Kyoko chides Braum for throwing himself into a fight, when "Patches" was so nervous about his safety. The pooka gives him a game of Tetris as a "quest" to "defeat", something to occupy himself with as he recovers from his wound. Patches and Claude commiserate over military service and combat, and the boggan tells her that "Zistor might be proud of you." Out in the garden, Sophia learns a bit more about Kaylie's origins, and takes a moment to whisper to the large knife that was embedded in the werewolf. She learns that its creator is not human, and resides nearby….

Kyoko takes Sophia and Patches aside to tell them that Zistor arranged for Braum to get a job at their building, and that it seemed to her that Zistor owed the troll something, although what it could be, she has no idea. Further down the hall, Braum approaches Incisor, learning of her passion for classical music. He wants to bring in the two who attacked Kaylie, after taking a few days to recover. Incisor mocks the troll's strength, with both of them unable to see eye to eye. After a particularly vicious barb, Braum leaves, noting that Incisor can "go back to being alone". "That's the difference between you and me", Incisor sneers, "I'm never alone." It's then Patches' turn to knock on Incisor's door: the young nocker is rattled by the day's events, and takes Incisor up on her offer to go "Thrashing"….