The Seventh Sons (Sycamore Moon Series Book 1) by Domino Finn

other and made herself comfortable. "This is a fact that works in our favor. Rabies is easy enough to stave off with contemporary techniques, while lycanthropy remains difficult to spread."
    "But what of modern medicine?" interjected Maxim. "Can't we cure lycanthropy?"
    "Unfortunately not. As with rabies, once the virus reaches the central nervous system and outward symptoms appear, the condition is permanent."
    "The condition." Maxim said the words aloud as he pondered the meaning. "What exactly does being a werewolf entail?"
    "Very much of what the urban legends speak of," replied Nithya. "Enhanced strength and constitution, physical transformation into a wolf when the sun and moon align, even the outward appearance of returning from death."
    Maxim sat there and watched the marshal paying attention to his cell phone, casually disinterested in what Maxim thought was a fascinating conversation. "So they're pretty much strong and invincible—got it." The detective supposed there were worse diseases to contract. But then... "What about silver bullets?"
    Nithya Rao smiled and softly stood up. She moved and sat in the stiff chair beside him. "May I see your left hand?"
    Maxim breathed in her sweet perfume and met her open hand with his. When she looked down, he was taken in by her long eyelashes. "Silver," she said as her eyes snapped up to meet his, "as opposed to modern medicine, is an ancient remedy that has some effectiveness."
    Maxim's gaze wavered under hers. He looked down and saw that Nithya was gripping the ring on his finger, his constant reminder of Lola. Maxim pulled his hand away.
    The CDC agent had an impish look on her face and raised an eyebrow slightly, but then she sat up straight, retreating to a more professional posture. "Silver is bioactive. It kills bacteria and was used heavily for this purpose before the introduction of antibiotics."
    "I thought you said rabies was a virus?"
    "It is," returned Nithya, "but the presence or production of bacteria may interact with or be a side effect of the virus. What we know is that killing this bacteria inhibits the enhanced abilities of lycanthropes." Nithya looked to Boyd. "Marshal?"
    The man opened a desk drawer and withdrew a magazine for Maxim's police-issue Glock. "Fifteen silver .40 caliber rounds." Marshal Boyd tossed the mag over and Maxim snatched it from the air.
    "No shit."
    The detective pushed out a bullet with his thumb. The jacket was made of copper but the slug was indeed the dull color of unpolished silver. Maxim played with the weight of the ammunition as he bounced it in his hands.
    Nithya sat in silence for a moment as Maxim admired the novelty, then continued. "Tagging a werewolf with these will slowly cause it to lose any advantages it has in strength. Left with the same inherent biology as the rest of us, the werewolf would be just as susceptible to damage."
    Marshal Boyd chimed in to translate. "It isn't the silver that kills the werewolf. It's the bullet. The silver just allows it to be killed." Maxim listened intently. "Silver solids in the blood are said to have the maximum impact. Make sure to target the heart."
    Maxim took a deep breath as he let all of this new information sink in. Just two days ago he was being yelled at for monitoring Sycamore Lodge. Now, after questioning the Seventh Sons president, he was being introduced to a CDC agent overseeing them. The responses were disjointed and the detective couldn't make sense of it.
    "So," he said, sliding the round back into the magazine, "what am I supposed to do with this?"

    iv.

     
    "Detective Dwyer," said Nithya, crossing her hands in her lap, "I am well aware of your motivations in this case."
    Maxim looked cautiously at the woman. The last thing he needed was for the marshal to know he was looking for Lola again. In the absence of anything to say, he just stayed quiet and let Nithya keep talking.
    "The Seventh Sons is a tightly knit group. They protect each other, stand by each