Paige ended up at the hospital again.

Moments after she had staggered to the ground, bright red and blue lights flashed through nearby broken windows. Somewhere nearby, sirens wailed loudly, on a constant loop. It only caused her already pounding head to flare up again, but she was too weak to do anything about it.

Something grabbed Paige's arm and she was hoisted up in the air. She ended up in a car, no, an ambulance. The bright lights were dizzying vicious cycles of red and blue, but at least someone had switched off those damn sirens.

"It was her magic?" Someone nearby spoke. White walls surrounded her at this point. She recognised the odd texture of the walls. Hospitals always gave off a too-clean scent.

"Apparently," someone else answered. Paige didn't recognise any of the voices and as she tilted her head, she saw two unfamiliar men. One was tightening a pressure cuff around her arm. "She totalled the school. The Council won't be pleased."

Paige didn't hear what the other man said. She lost consciousness at this point and when she finally came back to reality, she was in a hospital room. It was almost identical to the room she spent days in not too long ago.

Her head felt more groggy, more painful than when Aaron slammed her against the wall. What was up with that? Paige tried to sit up but it was as if her limbs wouldn't obey her command.

"Relax," someone said. Hands grasped her shoulders and gently laid her back down on the bed. "You're still recovering, Paige."

Paige blinked through the blotches in her vision. She couldn't make out a face, but she recognised the voice. "Vince?" She tried lifting her head and promptly gave up when her head proved too heavy to lift. She managed to narrow her eyes on the doctor and gave him what she hoped was a fierce expression. "Did you drug me again?"

"Just to keep you contained."

Paige's eyes snapped open. She tried to turn to the side, towards the familiar, unwelcomed voice, but her body protested with every movement. She didn't know whether it was the injuries from Aaron, the aftereffects of using her magic, or whatever these docs injected in her to keep her contained.

Again, she gave up trying to move and Detective Stone's face hovered in view. Of course she was here. Her partner was probably somewhere nearby, standing outside of her view. She hated this feeling of uselessness. "What the hell do you want?"

"To talk. Unlike last time Paige, we will not accept vague answers."

Paige swallowed an unpleasant comment as the detective's previous words sank in. Keep you contained. What the hell did that mean? This time, when she tried to sit up, she fought through the nausea and pain. She forced her limbs to move and she was able to drag herself into a somewhat awkward sitting position. "What the hell did you do to me? You hexed me?"

"We did . . ."

Paige cut off Detective Stone. "You have no right!"

"We had every right." Detective Megi was suddenly at the bedside. "After what you did to that school. We had to ensure you wouldn't use your magic like that again."

"It's only temporary," Detective Stone reassured Paige. "It will just keep a block on your powers for a few days. Then it'd wear off." Somehow, Paige knew that whatever concoction these detectives gave her would be much more effective than the melium imperium Hollie had given her. She could hardly even sense her own magic right now. It was as if it was just gone. She felt like she had been grounded. Magic-stripped for punishment.

She shook the haze from her head. It didn't clear, but at least she could focus on one thing again. Shane stood at the end of the bed, his face pale. He looked much older than he should. Fear or stress related, Paige couldn't tell. She once again caused her dad pain and suffering. She was a terrible daughter. "What happened?"

"You passed out after you used a substantial amount of power," Vince said before Detective Megi could interject. He only scowled and held his tongue. "Your magic took a toll on you." He looked down at the clipboard he held. "Your x-rays look promising, Paige. Nothing broken. I'd like to schedule you for further tests, just to make certain you didn't do any serious damage."

"I'm fine," Paige grunted, the lie slipping out despite the pain that flashed across her face with every breath she took. "I feel worse than last time I was here," she admitted.

"Hmm. Not surprising," the doctor said, double checking her vitals, his fingers roaming over her shoulders softly. Testing the area, probably. Nothing fractured, nothing broken, which was a miracle. Paige had hit the lockers hard enough she was certain something had cracked. Paige flinched at the contact and pulled away.

Her voice was small as she spoke again. "How's Kendall? And Lucas? Oh my god, he was hurt. Really badly." Great, she got her new friends killed. She should have remained friendless.

Vince's face was reassuring. "Kendall is doing great, don't worry. She's in the waiting room. Only a few minor cuts and bruises."

Paige swallowed a nervous lump. "And Lucas?"

Vince's face shifted to one with concern. "He's stable. A couple fractured ribs. Slight concussion. Broken arm."

Paige flinched. Broken bones? Just great. She pushed herself further up on the bed. The nausea remained, along with the block on her magic, but at least the world had stopped spinning.

Thinking about everything that's happened in the last few hours left her disorientated and breathless. She knew the school was on lockdown, heck, the whole town was too. Orders were barked, testimonies given from those that had witnessed the magical showdown.

Detective Stone was no fool. As she watched the memories flick across Paige's face, she seemed to come to her own conclusion. "It was him, wasn't it? The car accident?"

Her thoughts came screeching to a halt and she blinked wordlessly at the detective. Lying to a Council member – again – probably wasn't the wisest thing, so she remained silent this time.

Vince stopped fussing over the nearby beeping machines and turned back to Paige with his eyebrows drawn into a frown. "You were scared last time you were admitted. Enough so you had a panic attack."

"Being attacked by a Feral would certainly leave me a little scared," Megi said.

Hold on. What? Feral?

Paige almost groaned as she flopped back onto the bed. Of course that's what they thought he was. A Feral was possible. Pretty common, actually. A draugr would never even be a consideration. Those monsters were so uncommon, she doubted either detective ever actually crossed paths with one before.

"No." She covered her eyes with the back of her hand. "No," she said again, louder this time. "He's not a Feral. He's a draugr."

Silence. No one said anything, only stared at the teen with looks ranging from confusion to disbelief. Not much of a surprise. Her words wouldn't carry much credibility.

"That's impossible," Stone said. She was filled with disbelief, her tone made it obvious she thought Paige was either confused or lying.

Removing her hand, Paige shot up in bed, her angry eyes landing on the detective. Yep, she definitely didn't believe what Paige was saying. "You're spoken to people who were there, right? He didn't act like a Feral. Because he wasn't. He never was. He was something much more dangerous."

"So you're saying there was an actual draugr in this town, that no one knew about? And you killed it? You expect us to believe that?" Megi snorted. Like his partner, he held a look of disbelief on his face, but probably for another reason than his partner. Draugrs were feared for a reason. There's no way a teenager could survive for long against one, let alone fight one.

No one took her claims seriously. She told them about how Aaron's been following her, no one could fathom why a draugr would show such interest in one person. When Paige finally spoke the truth about the car accident, how Aaron had been there, how she saw his eyes change and his reaper appear, a look shifted on Detective Stone's face. It had been calm and controlled up until this point, but as Paige's words sank in, her concern only grew.

Paige left a lot out of the story, mostly about her magic being so uncontrollable – heck, they might still send her to prison or Solace Academy and she didn't want to give them any more of a reason to than they already had to send her away.

Before Paige could even finish speaking about Joshua and Aaron's role in his death, Detective Stone was already on the phone. She made a series of quick phone calls, speaking too fast and low for Paige to make out many words.

Within the hour, the hospital was surrounded by large, unmarked vans. The FBI came in first and soon after, the Supernatural Council took control over the whole operation. Great, more people like Stone and Megi. People with serious authority and power.

Vince was led away and Shane refused to leave, despite being strongly asked to. Shane was human so the Supernatural Council didn't have much control over him. Plus, Paige was still underaged and he was her legal guardian. His lawyer side reared its head and the Council had no choice but to relent.

"How could a draugr remain undiscovered for so long?" Someone asked. No one would speak directly to Paige at the moment, so she didn't bother to answer him.

Paige snapped back to attention when all eyes turned to her. Before she could defend herself, most likely by insulting the Council members standing before her, Detective Stone spoke first.

"It seemed that this creature, this Aaron Beckett, was fascinated with Ms. Davis. He stalked her. Threatened her and harmed her."

"Why?"

No one could answer that question. Paige remained a silent observer, and she certainly wasn't going to answer that unanswered question. The last thing she wanted was for the Supernatural Council to know about her ability to sense magic and her ability to summon magic without channelling it through a source first. They may view her as a threat. After all, she didn't need supplies to use magic. She could use magic at any moment and there's nothing anyone could do about it.

Paige was scared of herself sometimes.

After a few more questions, and a few deflective answers on Paige's part, the Council surged into action. Paige was left out of the loop – of course – but she was at least permitted to go home. With a few conditions.

No contacting anyone on the outside. No posting online about the current investigation, like she was an idiot or something. No leaving the house. On the bright side, jail didn't seem to be in her future anytime soon. A pardon for all the destruction she's caused due to the special circumstances.

After a few hours, Stone was knocking on the front door. She had a grave look on her face as she and her partner stepped into the lounge. Her intense look remained as she observed Kendall chilling by the open French doors.

"No visitors," Stone reminded firmly, her eyes swirling to Paige who was sprawled out on the couch.

Paige pushed herself up on her elbows. "No. You said no outside communication. Kendall was in the loop long before you were."

"That's what we call a loophole," Kendall called, not turning from the open doors, the late afternoon breeze tugging on her brown strands of hair.

Stone merely rolled her eyes. "I wanted to give you an update, Paige. My superiors were against involving a child in such matters, but when I reminded them that you have much more knowledge about our current predicament, they relented."

Paige sat up fully, her legs swinging over the edge of the couch. "Did they find him?" Paige still wouldn't accept Aaron's death until it was confirmed. A dead body would be good.

Stone shook his head. "The school has been analysed – and before I say more, I've just gotta say you really did a number on that building. Rather impressive for anyone, especially someone your age."

Megi cleared his throat and shot his partner a clear message. It probably wasn't a good idea to praise a delinquent for destroying school property. She might make a habit out of it. Too late.

Stone turned from her partner's glare. "Anyway, our magical analysers determine that a lot, a hell lot of power was used. The school is still buzzing with power that would destroy anything and anyone it was directed at. Most likely, Aaron didn't survive. That's the official story anyway."

"Official story?" Paige questioned. It sounded more like a cover-up. A tale to calm the public. A draugr on the loose would cause quite a stir. Quite a lot of public fear. "So, in other words, you don't actually know if he's dead?"

"If he's not dead, he'll be running," Megi said after a long pause. "His house is under constant surveillance. The entire world knows his face now. If he did somehow survive your attack, he won't last long out there."

"We're hopeful," Stone said. "No one wants a draugr on the loose. Especially one that's already proven to be hostile."

"What do we do now?"

Stone turned towards Kendall, who was no longer by the doors. Her face was sombre as she waited for the detective to speak. "There's a mandatory curfew until the entire town has been searched. The school will reopen in a week or so, once the repairs are done. When that happens, go back to school. You're only children. If Aaron is alive, we'll handle him."

Paige wanted to protest being swept aside, but Stone held an air of seriousness around her that stopped Paige from arguing. Isn't this what she always wanted, anyway? For Aaron to become someone else's problem? The Council will handle him. They have to.

Kendall remained terrified but unlike Paige, she never argued with someone in authority. She only nodded weakly and took the orders in stride.

As the detectives were leaving, Detective Stone pulled Paige aside. "The Council will remain in town for a few more weeks. Mostly interrogations. If Aaron is actually alive, I really don't think he'll remain here. No reason to remain in town when your secret is exposed."

Stone's eyes were watchful. Paige bit her lip to stop her face from expressing her concerns. She didn't want the detectives to know that Aaron was semi-obsessed with her. They'd never leave her alone then.

"We'll be in touch in the meantime until we leave," she added.

"Why do I feel like this is a warning?"

Stone had a small smile. "I guess you can say it is. Stay safe, Paige. Regardless, I don't think this will be goodbye."

Paige had a frown on her face. "Why is that?"

Stone shrugged, her smile gone from her face, replaced with sadness. "You not only uncovered a draugr, but also fought and survived one. I think you're too unusual to live an ordinary life, Paige. You're now on the Council's radar."

The Council's radar was a place no one wanted to be on.

So, definitely a warning.    

***Hey guys, so, we finally come to an end of this story. Thanks to those that stayed tuned for each chapter. I hope you liked Paige's story. Many more to come, but until then, check out my other stories too. ***