“How bad is it?” Johnny asked from somewhere outside of Holly’s line of sight.
Cah gently pressed his fingers against Holly’s neck. She braced for pain, but it didn’t hurt as terribly as she expected it to.
“Not as bad as it looks,” Cah said. “Bad bruising, but I can take care of that in my sleep.”
“Do you prefer to work privately?” Lucien asked.
“Not at all.” Cah smiled. “I love an audience. Besides, there’s no one on the continent who heals the way I do. You should watch. You might learn something.”
“Gladly.” Holly couldn’t help but feel excited.
Cah closed his eyes and lifted his arms, palms up.
He began chanting in a language Holly had never heard before. He started softly, but his voice quickly grew stronger, louder, and faster. A breeze skittered over her cheek and picked up her hair. Her eyes darted to Loch, who watched Cah, awestruck.
Wisps of…something caught Holly’s eye, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. It wasn’t until one of the wisps brushed over her face that she realized she was looking at the wind. She was literally seeing wind.
The wisps morphed into shapes. Some easily recognizable like birds and leaves. Other shapes were far more complex. Holly couldn’t begin to guess what they were, but they vaguely reminded her of the runes the bear shifters occasionally used, only far more complicated.
The pain in her throat slowly abated. Breath came easier. Her tongue no longer felt like it was three sizes too big for her mouth.
The wind died down. The wisps vanished. All fell silent.
“Remarkable,” Lucien gasped. “I’ve never seen wind-healing before.”
“You healed her with…wind?” Johnny asked slowly.
“I did.” Cah looked rather pleased with himself. “The wind does far more than most people think. It simply prefers to keep its ability to itself.”
“And you,” Holly added.
“And me.” Cah nodded. “How do you feel?”
“Like nothing happened in the first place.”
“Excellent.” Cah clapped his hands together and got to his feet. “There is still wind within you. You might hear some faint howling, especially when you try to sleep. That should go away in a day or two.”
Goosebumps rose on Holly’s skin. “How did you learn to do that?” she asked.
“I didn’t.” Cah smiled. “The wind is not a tool I use. It’s a friend I ask favors from. Did you learn how to use your shifter friend for support?”
His eyes darted to Loch then returned to Holly.
“No, you didn’t learn to use him. You built a relationship with him. Because of that relationship, he supports you when you need it.”
“The wind is your friend?” Holly smiled.
“My oldest, dearest friend.”
“I thought that was me.” Lucien chuckled.
“You’re a pesky neighbor, at best.” Cah laughed. “Is there another patient?”
“Below,” Lucien said.
“Will the wind heal him, too?” Holly asked.
“It depends,” Cah said. “The wind likes you. She healed you without hesitation. The one below is the one who harmed you. The wind might not be so kind to him.”
“And if the wind doesn’t heal him?” she asked.
“I have other methods.”
Holly nodded.
Lucien took Cah down to the basement.
“I can’t believe Johnny put Keller in his studio.” Holly frowned.
“I didn’t.” Johnny walked around the couch and took a seat beside Holly. “There’s another room below mine. Technically, it’s a dungeon.”
Holly blinked, surprised. “Why did Grandmother Pearl have a dungeon?”
“Storage, mostly.” Johnny shrugged. “Though I occasionally heard screams coming from down there in my teen years.”
Holly’s face must’ve blanched because both Johnny and Loch burst out laughing.
“I’m kidding,” Johnny said. “Pearl never used the dungeon. It was built with the house.”
“Makes me wonder who built this house.” Holly shuddered.
“All I care about is who owns the house now.” Johnny pressed a kiss into her forehead. “How do you feel?”
“Not going to lie, I’m a little freaked out.”
“Understandable.”
“Can we see what’s happening to Keller?” she asked. “I want to know how the wind reacts to him.”
“Sure.” Loch nodded. “Let me help you.”
Loch gently pulled Holly to her feet. She expected pain or, at least a little bit of soreness, but she felt nothing. She felt great, actually.
“That wind is some kind of miracle.” She grinned. “Now, where is this dungeon?”
Johnny led her into the basement. On the far side of the room was a small, hidden button Holly had never noticed before. When Johnny pressed it, a door appeared in the wall.
“That’s creepy.”
“But also, really cool.” Johnny winked. “It’s the ultimate secret hideout.”
“You never grew out of the fort-building phase, did you?” Holly asked.
“Nope!”
Johnny descended the dark stairway first, followed by Holly. Loch brought up the rear.
“Where are Elise and Garret?” Holly asked.
“They went to Garret’s store to get better first aid supplies and probably alcohol,” Johnny answered. “They wanted to make sure you were covered in case Cah’s methods didn’t work.”
They reached the dungeon, which was just an empty stone room. Holly was relieved to see her grandmother didn’t keep instruments of torture lying around.
Keller laid on the ground, bound in chains with what looked like a pillowcase tied around his mouth.
“How is it going?” Johnny asked.
Cah frowned. “The wind doesn’t want anything to do with him.”
“What?” Holly blurted. “Why not?”
“Holly, he tried to kill you,” Loch said. “I don’t want anything to do with him, either.”
Holly couldn’t deny the truth in his words, but when she looked at Keller, she didn’t see someone who had tried to kill her. She couldn’t forget the vacant look in his eyes when he had his hands around her throat.
As terrifying as it was, the person strangling her didn’t feel like Keller. It didn’t feel like a person at all.
“His eyes didn’t look right,” she said.
“What?” Johnny
