Heat . Amy Blankenship

his bloodstream. She would have given him penicillin had he been human, but sadly… human antibiotics did not have any effect on the paranormal.

      Even though were-animals healed very quickly… it didn’t mean they couldn’t be permanently injured… or mortally wounded. She would consider him lucky if he survived the infection.

      She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Michael, who hadn’t left and was sitting very still in his chair. Mrs. Tully decided to leave him alone. She thought a lot of Michael and if he wanted to stay then she would not make him leave. He was another that often came to her but it was mostly to bring her the wounded, never for injury of his own.

      With a sigh, Mrs. Tully packed away her equipment and stood up. With a slight nod in Michael's direction, she quietly left the room.

      Michael knew it was time to leave… he’d only been waiting for his anger to fade. Alicia was a handful, but Damon should have never brought her into the middle of a gun fight like that. He could still see the possessive look on Damon’s face when he’d wrapped his arms around her and wondered if history was setting itself up to be repeated.

      His gaze returned to what was left of Micah and the image of Alicia crying as she held her brother’s hand came back to haunt him. Another image flashed through his mind… the image of Dean grabbing his hand and laying it on Kane to keep him from dying. Between him and Dean… Kane’s injury had healed right in front of them.

      Michael had never thought about it, but he’d seen Syn do things like that in the past. There was one time in particular that stood out in Michael’s mind… so long ago that he had all but forgotten it.

      It was during one of their many traveling excursions and they’d come across an injured child. He smiled softly in remembrance of Damon and Kane’s reactions to the little girl. One of her legs had been broken and she had several bruises that were in various stages of healing.

      The child had insisted she’d only fallen but the guys knew there was nothing in the clearing that could have caused those injuries. When Damon knelt down in front of the little girl and started to compel her to tell them the truth, Syn had pushed him away saying, “You don’t do that to an innocent child.”

      They’d offered to help her get back to her house but instantly smelt the fear that rose within the child. But, it wasn’t fear of them, it was fear of going home that made the little girl's heart pound. Though the child hadn’t said anything, Michael had known that her parents had been the ones responsible for all of her injuries… not just the broken leg.

      Syn had said nothing to the child about it and dried her tears. Instead, he asked about her siblings and she replied that she had none. She started talking about her grandmother who lived in the mountains and her eyes shone with a grandchild’s love.

      While she spoke, Syn had placed his hand directly over the girl’s hurt leg. When she finished her story, not only was her leg healed but all of her bruises had also vanished. That was when Syn had really shocked Michael. While Kane picked the girl up in his arms and started playing with her, Syn stepped closer to him and Damon.

      Looking at Damon he said, “You are never to tamper with a child’s mind… except for this time. She does not need to remember the beatings, but she does remember their deaths.” His eyes had grown so cold as he added, “It was by fire.” With that, Syn had turned and walked down the path that obviously led to the girl’s home.

      Kane made no secret that he wanted to keep the girl and raise her… he’d always had a soft spot for children. They all had soft spots but Kane’s was really bad. He’d buy a whole toy store for them if the whim struck him… and it had… a few times. However, Syn had insisted on doing the right thing and taken the child to her beloved grandmother.

      When the sun rose the next morning, word had quickly spread around the village of a home burning to the ground. The remains of a man and woman had been found but their child, a small girl, was missing.

      The four men had quickly left the village on horseback, heading into what was now known as the Swiss Alps. After delivering the girl to her extended family, Syn had given the grandmother a letter and a sack of gold coins as he exchanged a few words with her. The older woman smiled and hugged Syn tightly before taking her granddaughter up in her arms.

      Though Syn never said anything, they knew that he was the one responsible for the deaths of the girl’s parents. To this day it made Michael shiver when he thought too long about it. Syn’s moral code refused to let any child suffer such misery and, if he could do anything about it… he would. Syn didn’t give a damn who the parent was or what they represented. He believed abusive parents deserved nothing less than what they would eventually do to their children.

      When Michael had asked about Syn’s healing ability on the child, Syn had given him a patient smile.

      “The power resides within your immortal soul. Compared to immortality… you are still a child, so most of your power is dormant. As time passes, that power will grow. As to what power you have… only your soul can choose. If healing is the power your soul calls upon, then all you have to do is want it bad enough.”

      Looking back toward the injured cougar, he understood. Seeing Alicia cry like that was more than enough motivation to make him want it bad enough. Michael slowly stood up and approached Micah. As he moved closer, he could smell the hint of infection that was starting to take hold of the cougar’s body. If anything happened to the cougar, he knew Alicia would cry and he didn’t want Alicia to cry.

      Michael laid his hand on Micah’s chest and recalled the sensations he’d felt when he and Dean had touched Kane. Concentrating on his need to see Alicia smile, he felt that need flow through him into the one he knew could make her happy. Micah started to glow softly and Michael waited to see if he would be able to see Micah’s soul like he had Kane’s. After a moment, he realized that had been Dean’s power… not his.

      Had anyone been in the room with him, they would have seen the differences taking place. Michael’s eyes had started to glow a deep amethyst and his own soul slowly became visible, superimposed within his physical form.

      Michael could feel a part of himself deep inside the cougar’s body… flowing through his blood. He breathed a sigh of relief when the smell of infection slowly faded from the room. He couldn’t see under all of the bandages to be sure, but he watched as the bruises and cuts on Micah’s face healed over then completely vanished.

      Pulling his hand away, Michael took an unsteady step back. Lifting a hand to his eyes to ease the dizziness, he was surprised to feel tears on his eyelashes and cheek. He paused for a moment remembering that he’d also been crying when Dean had grabbed his hand and put it over Kane’s dying body.

      Is that what Syn meant by wanting it bad enough? Did his heart and mind need to be exactly in the same place in order for it to happen?

      Michael looked down at his hands and sighed. How he wished Syn was here to answer his new questions. Syn was awake now, but as long as he could remember, Syn never stayed in one place… always just passing through. He’d asked Syn once what he was searching for, but Syn had only smiled with that distant look in his eyes and answered, “Some secrets are meant to be kept.”

      Perhaps he would find out soon enough… for now he would go home and rest. Healing the cougar had been taxing on him and he needed to rest and regain his strength. Looking back at Micah, Michael decided he had one more thing to do to cover his tracks and reunite the siblings.

      Placing a hand on Micah’s cheek, he whispered his name, compelling the cougar to wake up enough to listen to his words. When Micah’s eyelashes fluttered, Michael told him the information that would keep Alicia's whereabouts secret until he could come for her.

      *****

      Trevor stopped the car in front of Moon Dance before slamming it into park. Seeing Envy injured had taken ten years off his life… or a least that’s the way it felt. Her being shot like that only confirmed the fact that he’d done the right thing by keeping her from knowing the truth about the paranormal world and his