A few minutes after leaving the journalist, Inspector Diego Martinez, Ilona and Rafael were sitting at a café, reviewing together what they knew about the situation. Diego had ordered a black coffee, Ilona a spicy hot chocolate, and Rafael an infusion of Lime. Since he had bound the plant spirit, he only drank water or infusion. Even if the bottled one, or the one from the tap, always had a strange taste. He preferred the rainwater filtered through the soil. He couldn't drink it accompagnied, though.

"So," Ilona said, sipping her hot chocolate. "Dino work with the Church of the Covenant?"

Rafael shook his head skeptically. "Maybe it's just a coincidence, and he's part of a completely different organization. Remember, he's also dealing with the Bodega owner. It could be that he just went to the Church of the Covenant to get in touch with that journalist."

"It's possible," Diego admitted, playing with his cup. "In fact, before last night, I would have agreed with you. Except I did some research, and I found out that the Church of the Covenant was hiding a lot of secrets. It was involved in several unexplained disappearances, and part of the congregation is completely closed to the public. Not to mention that they have a foolproof, high-tech security system in their buildings."

"Really?" asked Ilona curiously.

"Video surveillance, intruder alarms, swipe card access control... that's not the kind of equipment you'd normally find in a religious organization."

"It's true that it's shady," Rafael said, "but why would they want to go public with the fact that we do magic at the Association?"

"Maybe it's a cult," Ilona remarked. "Fanatic Christians like the priest who killed Leonard."

Rafael took a sip of his brew, then said thoughtfully. "That was different, the priest was half-crazy because of the spirit he had bound."

"Still," Ilona replied with a shrug.

Diego, who still hadn't started drinking, stopped their conversation. "There's no point in making assumptions, let's try to summarize what we know. First, Dino wanted to steal the water gun to make the magic public. Second, he didn't want to expose himself, and reveal his powers."

"He was expecting a backlash against the Association," Ilona analyzed.

"Elementary," nodded Diego. "And, third, he was undercover among you for several months. That means this was all part of a well-thought-out plan. There was premeditation."

"But why?" asked Rafael. "We don't hurt anyone by having our meetings, and when Dino joined us, we were still small. We had less than a dozen members!"

"Members who can do magic," Diego said, his eyes shining.

Rafael didn't understand. "So what?"

"I think you have a rival organization," Inspector Martinez revealed. "Maybe Dino Calderón created it himself, or maybe someone else gave him a mission to destroy you."

"To keep a monopoly on magic, that makes sense," Rafael said, widening his eyes. "I can see why your colleagues call you Sherlock, now."

"How do we find this rival organization?" asked Ilona.

Diego glanced at his newly vibrating phone, then replied, "All we can do is follow Dino's trail. It leads us to the Church of the Covenant, and to the Bodega. If you ask me, the two should be linked."

"I could go to mass tomorrow morning," Rafael offered, "snooping around a bit, seeing if I recognize any people, or if I sense that some of the faithful possess the spiritual energy characteristic of shamans."

"I'll go with you!" said Ilona at once.

"I'll follow the money trail," continued Inspector Diego Martinez. "Their security equipment is not donated. Either they received large donations or they have a hidden source of income, I'm going to call in a favor with the finance department and have them take a look."

"I'm curious how the Church of the Covenant justifies these expenses," Rafael remarked.

"A good point," Diego said. "I'll keep that in mind; it can be used to put pressure on them if we need to question them later."

The inspector's phone vibrated again, and he excused himself:

"I have to get home, the babysitter leaves in thirty minutes, and there's no one to watch my girls. We stay in touch."

With that, Diego drank his coffee and threw on his coat. He put a bill on the counter, then left the establishment to go to his car, leaving Ilona and Rafael alone.

Rafael didn't know what to say, he didn't even know if he should say anything. On her part, Ilona didn't seem to share his trouble, and was quietly drinking her chocolate as if the situation was completely normal, but they hadn't been alone like that since they had broken up.

After a moment, he finally asked:

"How was Indonesia?"

"It was amazing," Ilona replied, smiling at him. "It's so different from home. Hotter, more humid, and more chaotic too. Here, you always have to worry about what other people think for everything, but over there they just do what they want."

"As long as it doesn't hurt anyone," Rafael muttered under his breath.

"What?" asked Ilona, who hadn't heard.

"Nothing. Did you get to try any local specialties?"

Ilona nodded. "I went to restaurants where they served typical dishes. I tried Nasi Uduk, it's coconut rice, Nasi Goreng, I prefer the version with shrimp, and I also love their extra spicy Rendang Curry; but the best of their specialties is soccer!"

"Soccer?" asked a surprised Rafael.

"Sometimes the local kids play games with a flaming coconut. This is just crazy. Can you imagine that here? It would be banned in a heartbeat."

"It couldn't work here, anyway," Rafael remarked.

"Why?" asked Ilona, questioningly.

He answered with a chuckling smile. "It's impossible to find any good coconuts!"

Ilona burst out laughing, drawing the attention of the other customers. Rafael noticed that they couldn't help but observe her blind eye with curiosity, or disgust, which made him sigh internally. Before, she was admired everywhere she went, and now... yet she acted as if nothing had happened. Her courage impressed him.

Ilona's laughter died down, and silence settled between them again. Rafael had finished his tea. He wondered if she was waiting for him to ask for the bill so they could leave, but a quick glance from her made him understand that she wasn't. She was as embarrassed as he was, and wanted him to re-engage the conversation.

"Didn't your father say anything about you going to Indonesia by yourself?" he finally said.

Why am I talking about this? I'm so stupid!

"No," Ilona replied. "He's much cooler now, and I was staying at the family hotel there so..."

Rafael couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, which Ilona noticed. She asked:

"Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"No, it's just that..."

Should I tell her? It's her life, she deserves to know.

But, if she gets mad at her dad, it could have serious consequences.

"Rafe?" asked Ilona in a serious voice.

Fuck, I have enough problems as it is.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Your father called me, and ordered me to push you away. He even threatened me. He doesn't want us to see each other anymore."

"He did what?" shouted Ilona angrily.

A blast of hot air passed through the café, rattling the kitchen door. The customers turned around again, this time with a disapproving look on their faces.

"Stay calm," Rafael whispered eagerly. "You can't set fire to this place too!"

Ilona muttered through clenched teeth. "I thought he had changed, I really did. I'm not going to let him do it again."

"Luna?" said Rafael.

"Don't worry, it's okay. I won't lose control anymore," she reassured him.

Rafael wasn't sure he could trust her, but if he'd learned anything in the last few months, it was that saying it out loud only made things worse. New shamans needed confidence above all else, both to keep their minds in check and to control their powers. Without confidence, they quickly found themselves stuck in destructive patterns that could only lead to disaster.

Ilona suddenly asked: "Do you want the two of us to go to the Bodega tonight? You know... to investigate Dino whereabouts."

They had agreed to go on a date later, but she had apparently reconsidered. Talking about her father must have made her impatient. Rafael was tempted to say yes, although he would have preferred that she only wanted to spend time with him rather than trying to provoke his father as well.

Screw this, I'm tired of thinking about the consequences. I'm always the only one doing it.

"Okay, let's do this. We might actually find out something Jazz missed. After all, he was there to dance, not investigate."

Ilona flashed him a big smile. Rafael was happy to have accepted her proposal, but a part of him still wondered if it was a good idea. He also smiled at her anyway, and his gaze stopped on her blind eye with a mixture of pity and guilt. She could never go back to the way she was. Will they ever get past this?

"Come on," Ilona said abruptly, getting up. "Let's go to the hospital. Tiffany and Jay must be on their way out."

"Good idea," Rafael nodded.

She saw me looking at her eye, I should have been more careful.

Half an hour later, after a motorcycle ride no less strenuous than the first, they had arrived. Tiffany and Jay were gathering their things in preparation for their outing. On the furniture were several bouquets of flowers, as well as a gourmet box with jams and candies.

"The Association members chipped in to buy the flowers for us," Jay said in response to Rafael's questioning look, "and the Omarov brothers brought them to us this morning. The box is from the nurses for Tiffany. They were devastated when Ilona told them what happened."

"I told a redacted version of course," Ilona said.

Rafael nodded, then asked Tiffany, "No complications, everything is fine?"

"It's itchy where I got hurt," she said with a grimace. "But otherwise, it's like nothing happened!"

Does she even remember her transformation?

"By the way," Jay said. "Didn't you have too much trouble yesterday, with the luck I took

from you?"

"I banged my knee three times, it still hurts," Ilona confessed. "And I burned my dinner."

Rafael continued, "A water pipe burst at home, my room is half flooded, and the plumber can't come until the middle of the week."

"Ah uh," Jay replied, running a hand through his hair. "You don't blame me, do you? It was an emergency case."

"We know, don't worry," Rafael reassured him, as Ilona nodded beside him.

"Any news about Dino?" asked Jay, a fierce gleam in his eyes.

"We're exploring several leads, but nothing conclusive on his whereabouts," Rafael replied. "We're going to the Bodega tonight, to see if we can find anything else. Do you want to come?"

Tiffany spoke up, "No, I want to forget about it for now. We're going to spend the evening at the apartment, catching up."

Jay discreetly approached Rafael to slip into the hollow of his ear. "I'll stay with her in case there's any trouble, but tell me where to find Dino when you know. I want to kill that bastard!"

I don't know if this is a good idea, but I understand your feeling, my friend.

----------------------------------------

Sunday night, Bodega nightclub.

Ilona entered the main room with enthusiasm. They had arrived early enough to enjoy the opening show. It was the first time she had gone out with Rafael in a year, and she was determined to make the most of the situation.

Following the other partygoers, she headed to the bar to order, Rafael in tow. Ilona waved to the bartender, and said:

"Two vodka cokes, please."

"I don't think so," Rafael stopped her, "No alcohol in your condition."

"Do you think I'm pregnant or something?"

He didn't let it bother him. "Have you ever seen a drunk shaman? Giving up control of his mind to his spirit? I guarantee you it's not a pretty sight."

Rafael turned to the bartender, and said in a firm voice, "Two simple cokes."

Ilona pouted, but the truth was that she was happy to be with him, and with his confidence in deciding for both of them. Rafael had always been more manly than the others. If all went well, they could get closer to each other tonight. She just had to keep the other girls at bay.

They took their Cokes, and went to sit among the crowd. The show was about to start.

Suddenly, rays of light shot out in all directions, and loud electro music was heard, giving the room a psychedelic dimension. Shadows came on stage, dancing energetically in a synchronized way. Then, lights came out of the dancers themselves. They were wearing LED corsets.

It's a bit kitsch...

Ilona turned her head towards Rafael, but in the dark she couldn't see his expression. Her attention then returned to the show. After a few minutes of dancing, the LED corset dancers withdrew to make room for three others who began to do the Hula Hoop in the middle of colored lights.

This is boring. Do they realize how ridiculous they look?

It doesn't matter. After the show, I would be able to dance with Rafael.

Ilona waited patiently for the dancers to finish, but there was one more performance after that. A man came on stage with a torch, while two women juggled with flaming bolas right behind him.

Ahh, this is much more interesting!

Ilona stepped forward to get a better look. The arabesques drawn by the flaming bolas fascinated her. It was as if fire had come to life, and became a bird.

Suddenly, the man took a step forward, put the torch in front of his mouth, and spat out a huge tongue of fire towards the ceiling. Ilona was startled, her eyes wide open. He did it again, an even bigger one. She couldn't take her eyes off the scene, stunned, the trails of fire printed on her retina.

I want to do that too.

Ilona took a deep breath, threw her head back, then she blew with all her might.

And all hell broke loose.