Chapter 47: Good actions are always rewarded

**Alice’s Point of view**


Everyone rushes into my room as I wake up and I waste precious time reassuring them.
A lame excuse and 20 minutes later, I'm free. My father informs me that Elliot has been poisoned and that blood tests have been done on Derek and me but no trace of any poison. It seems that this time, only Elliot was targeted.
It's incomprehensible and right now, I don't care. I have only one mission: find a witch. In less than 24 hours.
*"So easy."* I say to Cassie with despair.
*"Actually, yes. A witch is waiting for us at the cabin where we took Joey and Gwen years ago."*
*"This is not the time for humor Cassie."*
*"I'm dead serious. The Moon Goddess told me so."*
I stop in the middle of the hallway and Melanie and Sam who were following me bump into me.
"Alice, what are you doing? We have to figure this out." Sam whispers.
"The doctors don't know about this poison, so it must be a plant created by a witch. So I need a witch and Cassie just told me there's one waiting for me not too far from here."
They open their eyes wide. "What? How? Why? How does she know that?" Melanie asks.
"I don't know, but I'm going to go right now. You two go to the hidden library in the school and try to see if there's another book on this subject, you never know."
They nodded and rushed to campus.
Barely out of the hospital, I shift and run as fast as I can to the abandoned cabin. Nearby, I barely slow down and shift back, just putting on a loose t-shirt. 
I knock and the door opens by itself. A very old woman stands on the couch, a steaming cup of tea in her hand.
"To the second ready. Come on in, Alice. It's nice to finally meet you. Sit down, I've made you a cup of tea."
I enter quickly and sit down in front of her. 
*"Is she serious? Mate is dying and she wants us to drink tea and chat a little?"* Cassie gets angry.
*"Calm down. She didn't come all this way to let Elliot die."*
The old lady pushes her long gray hair back behind her shoulder and pushes the teacup toward me. I look at it suspiciously which makes her burst out laughing.
"My dear, if I wanted to hurt you, I would do it in a different way than poisoning your tea."
She has an affectionate smile and she inspires confidence. I have nothing to lose anyway, so I decide to take the risk.
"Wow. This is the best tea I've ever had. What is it?"
She winks at me. "That's my secret."
"What's your name?"
"Gertrude."
"Did you help poison Elliot or are you here to help him?"
"I'm a white witch, my dear, I'm here to help of course. I saw Elliot get sick and I flew over as soon as I could to be there in time."
I stiffen. "Wait a minute. What do you mean by you saw?"
"We don't have much time so I'll keep it short. There are different types of witches. We all have powers to cast spells but then we have a specialty, mine being clairvoyance. These are visions that come to me and then I have to interpret them."
"So you know who did this? Did you see us stop him?" I ask hopefully.
"I don't control it, I don't choose what I see."
"That's not a no."
"There are things I'm better off keeping to myself."
"Do you know what he was poisoned with?"
"No, not yet. But I know I'll find out. As soon as you describe these symptoms to me."
"Uh, fever, vomiting, he is very tired too. He couldn't talk to his wolf anymore." 
"Was he coughing up blood? "
"No, I don't think so."
"Oh, the nasty metal. I think it's scarlet silver. It's a silver powder that's been activated with another plant that's also a crossbreed... well, it's a bit complicated but it's one of the few metals that's deadly to you. It causes fever, vomiting, difficulty breathing and eventually hearts failure."
"It's true that he was short of breath."
She reaches into a bag I hadn't seen and pulls out a vial with a green liquid. She takes it in her hand and closes her eyes, muttering incomprehensible words.
"Here. The best thing is that you inject it directly through the IV, it should take effect quickly." 
She then takes out an old manuscript that looks like the ones I've read and hands it to me.
"Take this too. You're going to need it."
"What for?"
"I don't know." She replies with a big smile.
I grab the vial and the book. "How much do I owe you?"
"Nothing. You've already paid."
What?
*"She's not in her right mind if you ask me."* Says Cassie.
"I didn't so why are you doing this Gertrude?"
"I have my reasons."
"I need to hear them."
She remains silent for a moment and nods occasionally as if talking to someone.
"All right. You have a big heart Alice, you helped a sister of mine in distress, a sister who will play an important role. You helped her without expecting anything in return, so today it is my turn to return the favor."
I frown. "I've never helped a witch. The first one I met was you."
She looks puzzled. "Really? So maybe that's what you're going to do in the future. I don't know, Alice. Sometimes the past and the future get mixed up."
I thank her again and leave the cabin. I run to put the book away in my room, change my clothes and head to the Red Moon pack.
*"Don't you think it's too weird? An old witch coming out of nowhere just when we need her?"* I ask to Cassie. 
*"No, I'm just thankful."* 
I finally arrive near their border and slow down. I can hear their warriors stirring in the thicket and when I am at the extreme limit, grunts can be heard.
The warning is very clear.
It goes against everything I've been taught since I was a child, but it's without hesitation that I set foot on their territory, being immediately surrounded by warriors.  
"Take me to your Luna."