Ellie winced. It wasn't as easy as that. Because she didn't age like humans, she had to rotate through the hospitals where she worked. There were very few that actually did any good work for children. She'd been to all of them in the past fifty years, and she couldn't go back to them anytime soon. "I may have to work on my own for a while, Gram, maybe work at a small clinic or something. But before we figure that out, I had a phone call from Kari Delaney right after I left the hospital."
"The corporate girl?"
"Yep." Ellie added three packets of sugar and a lot of cream to her coffee. "She's in Noctem Falls now."
Marjoram stirred her coffee. "Is that the same girl you told me hated Noctem Falls with a passion?"
"Yeah, seems she went there because of the recent murders."
Marjoram clucked her tongue. "I told you we should have gone to Lycaonia. It isn't safe any more. I know there haven't been any deaths around here, but why tempt fate?"
"Actually, Kari asked if I could go to Noctem Falls."
"Why on earth would you go to the vampire city?"
"Kari said that some of the children there are sort of sick."
"There aren't any children in Noctem Falls." Her grandmother snorted. "As if those stuck up, dried up, old vampires could do anything other than stab each other in the backs."
Ellie laughed, and Marjoram chuckled. "You know what I mean. It's been a century since a child was born there. I think all of their reproductive organs have shriveled up."
"Gram, your prejudice is showing." Ellie wagged a finger at her grandmother. Marjoram just shrugged. She continued. "Prince Magnus has taken in a wolf pack. Evidently they lived close to where some of the murders took place, so he opened the city to the wolves."
Marjoram blinked. "The prince of the vampires allowed a wolf pack to take refuge in the city of the night? I never thought I'd see that happen."
"The wolf pack is the one with the children. From the symptoms Kari described, they sound sick, but it's probably something they ate."
Ellie sipped her coffee to hide her grin. Before staying home to take care of her, her grandmother had been a top-rated nurse. Marjoram frowned. "What symptoms?"
"Low-grade fever, achiness, and temper tantrums. They are fussy and can't seem to get to sleep."
"That sounds like what happens when a human child gets ill, but shifters don't get sick."
Ellie nodded in agreement. "You're absolutely right; shifter children never get sick, ever."
"What are you going to do?" Marjoram asked.
"If the children need me, I'll go. With any luck, I'll get there just to identify that they are all going through growth spurts. It's not like I have a job go back to anymore."
"It would be a nice break for you," Marjoram paused. "What about the caves?"
"Kari said there are no caves, that they have large open caverns sometimes twenty to twenty-five feet high. She assured me there were no small spaces."
"Well, that's comforting. When do we leave?"
Ellie felt a wave of relief wash through her. Marjoram chuckled. "You honestly didn't think I was going to let you traipse across the country, to a city of vampires all by yourself, did you? That meeting with your director must've upset you more than you're letting on."
"Thanks Gram. I didn't want to assume you'd go, but I am very glad you are. I told them we would be ready by tomorrow. Their doctor is supposed to be emailing me a list of equipment they have on hand. I'll try to bring whatever else I can to supplement, including medicines, although, I have no idea what to bring to treat shifter children." Ellie chewed on her bottom lip.
"I suggest you stop thinking of them as shifter children Ellie, and start thinking of them as sick children. Treat the symptoms."
Ellie smiled at her grandmother. "When did you get so smart?" she teased.
Marjoram winked. "Someday I'll tell you."
CHAPTER TWO
The next morning, Ellie and her grandmother stood in an open field outside Chicago. It was one of the few portals in the country and could only be opened by the fae. Beside her on the frost covered ground were cases and cases of medicine and equipment. She'd only brought a small suitcase of clothing for herself, as had her grandmother. Just as she checked her p