Love and Other Crisis | Season 1

Episode | 32

The main section of the office was in a frenzy when Kaliope disembarked the elevator. On her way to Sage Tower, she received a call from Inola asking her to come in. The breaking reports about the Falgor attack played on two big screens. One on the Occult news and the other on a Noccult station. The Noccult headline read: Explosion of unknown origin at an upscale residential mansion. No fatalities reported.

Inola surveyed Kaliope's casual attire when she strode into the division. She was wearing slacks, a t-shirt with a rabbit on it, and a thin knitted jacket. It was the weekend, and Kaliope hadn't expected a trip into the office.

"What happened?"

Inola sniffed at Kaliope and shrank away. "Where were you?"

Kaliope gave herself a quick sniff. "I was out."

The fox demon squinted. "Hmm."

Inola strode for her desk and returned with a perfume bottle. Kaliope coughed and swatted as Inola bathed her from head to foot in a scented mist.

"What the heck, Inola?"

The fox demon sniffed and, with a final spritz, nodded, satisfied. "You smell like a Southender."

"A south-what?" Kaliope sniffed at herself.

Ronin exited his office with Gideon, delaying Inola's explanation. Their boss wore casual attire. His clothes fit him perfectly, accentuating his toned physique and the subtle movements of his body. Kaliope dropped her gaze, memories of the glazed orange roll surfacing, convinced she was losing her mind.

"Ms. Barnes. Apologies for calling you out after hours."

"It's fine. The situation at the estate?"

Ronin rubbed his nose, frowning. "Do I want to know why it smells like Inola preened on you?" He glared sideways at the fox demon, who smiled innocently, her perfume bottle tucked away.

"Preened?" Southender? The terms flew over her head. Kaliope fanned off the tangent. "The Falgor estate. Who attacked the mansion?"

Ronin folded his arms, his expression grim. "Zohar Falgor."

~

What do you get when two Pyro Mages and a Hex Mage go full-on witch wars in a residential area? Millions of dollars in property damage and a PR disaster of epic proportions.

In stunned silence, Kaliope watched the live video feed of the mansion relayed by one of the firm's drones. Half the house was on fire, the grounds pitted with crater-sized holes. Parts of the remaining structure suffered damage to the roof, with portions caving into the second floor. Another section succumbed to the damage and crumbled.

Panic fisted Kaliope in the chest. "Oh, my god. What about Lucius Falgor?" Ballister's father was bedridden on the second floor.

"Juniper carried him out in time."

Kaliope was about to ask Inola how it was possible when she remembered Juniper was half-lycan.

"And Madam Falgor? Ballister?"

"Ballister suffered minor injuries, but his mother..." Gideon trailed off.

Ronin picked up the briefing. "Zohar believes the Council and the Assembly are trying to cover for the Main House. He made a scene at a Council meeting before he barged into the estate to confront Franziska and Ballister directly. The butler asked him to leave, and Zohar retaliated."

In their attempt to cover up the breach, the Assembly and the Witcher Council omitted portions of events—like Katerina's proper designation and Ballister not acting on his own accord. They spun and weaved a narrative that exonerated the Minor House, clearing Ballister of any involvement and setting the blame squarely on Katerina alone. Zohar, unsurprisingly, didn't buy it. The history of unfair treatment against the Minor Houses justified his suspicions.