“It’s not so simple,” says Storm. “There are severe restrictions on the uses of blood magic. Its use is highly contentious, and due to a case currently being tried in the High Court there is an injunction preventing us from being able to use it to locate a person in any circumstances.”
“But her life is in danger!” Mr Garrett says urgently. “Can’t they make an exception for this?”
“I’m afraid our hands are tied. But we do have a mage amongst those who are searching for her.”
“And a psychic?” says Mr Garrett, as if seeking reassurance. “We heard you have a psychic too?”
“That’s correct.”
“Do you think it was the Wolf-Claw Killer?” says Mrs Garrett in a strangled voice, tears now running unchecked down her cheeks. “It’s what the papers are saying. When we saw the news we felt so far away. Unable to protect them. We told the girls to be careful, but young people will be young people. They insisted on going out to celebrate Rachel’s birthday. They were so excited about being in London. They said it would be fine, that they’d stay with their friends. I thought Rachel would be safe because she’s not blond.” Her voice breaks with despair.
“We’re working to find out who did this,” says Storm.
“I should have insisted they not go out,” says Mrs Garrett. “I should have insisted.”
Mr Garrett pats Mrs Garrett’s hand and then quickly releases it, as if afraid she might pull away.
“But it’s not likely to be the Wolf-Claw, is it?” he demands. “You said our girl was stabbed. Not savaged by a werewolf.”
Storm nods noncommittedly. He does not add to the speculation. “Can you tell us who the girls were going out with that night? Do you know the names of their friends?”
“Charlie,” says Mrs Garrett. “India’s new boyfriend. Two months she’s being seeing him. Him and his friends. I don’t know their names. And Rachel said a couple of girls from her work might come too.”
“And was it a planned decision to go out, or last minute?”
“Planned,” she says. “They mentioned it a week ago. India insisted that Rachel had to go out to celebrate. They couldn’t have a party at their place. It was too small. She said it would be a bar crawl. That Charlie and his mates knew all the best pubs in the city. The boys work in the city.”
“And what was the relationship like between the girls?”
“Good,” says Mr Garrett. “They were so different but they always got along with each other. Rachel was glad to have a foster sister.”
Mrs Garrett shoots him a look from beneath her lowered eyelashes. “There were some spats when they were young,” she says softly but insistently. “They were so different. Rachel wanted to read her books, but India wanted to go out and play. She’d make Rachel go out.”
“That was just teething problems,” says Mr Garrett. “The girls were twelve when India came to us. It’s a difficult age.”
“India was more mature than Rachel,” says Mrs Garrett. “She was always pushing the boundaries.”
“Was India born a werewolf?” Leo asks.
Mr Garrett shakes his head. “It happened a few months after she came to us. The girls were out playing. Our town is safe. So much beautiful countryside. Everyone knows each other. We don’t have any otherkind out there. A vagrant werewolf did it. They never caught him. We were sure she was going to die. But India made it. She was strong.”
“And you decided to keep her after that?”
“Yes,” says Mr Garrett. “We wanted her to have continuity. It’s important for foster children. The attack happened when she was with us. We had to look after her. No other human family would have taken her in after that.”
“What did her biological parents want?” Storm asks.
“That mother of hers was useless,” Mr Garrett says. “Bless her soul. She’s dead now. She’d resorted to selling herself. She never said who India’s father was. We assumed a customer.”
“India could have gone to another werewolf family,” says Mrs Garrett tremulously. “We thought about whether that might be better for her. But there were none anywhere near us. And you hear about all kinds of abuse. And she was scared. She was just a little girl. I wouldn’t have sent my Rachel away, so how could I have sent India away?”
“People didn’t like it,” says Mr Garrett. “They said she might hurt our Rachel or the other kids in town. But we said she had saved our Rachel from the attack. She got in that werewolf’s way so that Rachel could run for help. Imagine being that brave at twelve years old.”
“How did she adjust to the change?” says Leo.
“With her usual bravery. The foster service provided us with all the information we needed. Where to get the equipment she needed, and the wolfsbane potion. She hated the cage at first, and we hated leaving her in the basement every full moon, but she knew it was necessary. She did really well. She learned to control her changes quickly. She learned how to be docile when it happened. She was brave.”
“She had to be,” says Mrs Garrett. “The town hated her after that. There was no way of keeping it quiet. It had been all over the local paper when it happened so everyone knew. Even if she tried to be good, there was no appeasing them. She’d just be acting out like a normal teen, but they said it was because she was a werewolf. It was hard for her.”