The cabal regroups outside the church as the fire dies down. Colt calls Bourdelle to report on the latest events. Meanwhile Adele heads off to check on Miguel, moving north in Twilight. Colt asks Valkyrie to check if Ravage was influenced by fire spirits or if he was knowingly causing these fires. Mammon joins her as Colt heads after the Seven Conflagrations.
Valkyrie and Mammon head to the Monastery first in their search for Ravage. There they encounter Frost and Lug patrolling the grounds. Neither has seen Ravage, though Lug is eager to see some action. Frost suggests he might be at the fire station he works out of and goes to check that out. Lug meanwhile wakes up Freeflow and convinces her to scry their missing cabalmate. After some failed attempts she finds him in an alley setting an oil drum on fire. She directs them to the location five miles away. The four of them (Valkyrie, Mammon, Lug, and Freeflow) take Valkyrie’s car, leaving One to watch over the sanctum.
Meanwhile Colt spots a flash of fire in the backyard of a home while making his way through the darkened streets. Heading in, he sees a kid in the process of being claimed. Colt tries to toss a magical blast at the spirit to distract it but misses. He invokes gossamer touch and grapples the spirit, shouting at the kid to get out of here. As the youth runs off, Colt successfully controls the spirit, forcing it to stay in place. He then turns a plastic pail into a spirit jar. With the spirit now safely contained he calls Mammon.
Mammon directs Colt to meet them at the alley. They find Ravage there preaching to a group of hobos in front of a burning pile of debris. Mammon disperses the crowd with a few well chosen words, spotting Colt approaching from the other direction. As Colt sees Ravage’s pyromania, he turns to leave. Then Lug knocks the mad Obrimos over just as he tries to blast the pail containing the fire spirit. Mammon joins Lug in holding Ravage down while Colt gets the sealed spirit to safety. Ravage tries to drop fire upon his attackers, but Lug hurls Mammon into the clear. Valkyrie fireproof the area and her allies. Mammon kicks the prone mage and finally Ravage caves in and surrenders. They bind him and toss him into the trunk, breaking up as day approaches.
Colt returns giving the spirit jar to Mammon. The plastic is already melting so Mammon makes sure to surround it in a larger magic container later that morning, this time a ceramic oven. Before turning in he checks in on the Promethean, learning of an upcoming Silver Ladder Caucus that evening.
Adele meanwhile finds Miguel. He explains that he lost the magath that was hunting him. He also talked to some friends of his about the recent events. They seem to think that someone called the Dark Man is returning, someone from the early days of the Chicago. Suspecting a vampire, Adele calls and informs Colt.
Miguel and Adele posit some further ideas, that possibly someone has deliberately routed ley lines into the river, funneling the resonance of fire and violence into it. Adele decides to scry on Kiril and finds him writing a letter to the Circle. He seems to think something terrible is coming. She decides to learn what he knows and asks Miguel to carry a message to him for a meeting that night.
Valkyrie meanwhile gives Ravage to the Monastery where Lealtad digs into his mind seeking answers. Then with Evan waking up soon, she heads home.
Later that day Valkyrie wakes up, finding two messages on her answering machine. One is from Quick who is back in town with Plotimus. They still don’t know where Cicero is but he is well protected. The second is from Eckhart. He is alright but was unable to capture Carbon Zero. The rogue mage is well defended in Shadow. Valkyrie decides to visit Eckhart’s hotel. She finds signs of recent trouble and a strangely evasive clerk. It seems that Red Knight has erased his memory. Heading upstairs, she finds Eckhart’s room damaged, with signs of a large and strange combat in the area. It is unclear if Eckhart was injured but he clearly vanished rather than be captured. Work looming, Valkyrie calls Colt and gets him to look into this and to check on her son.
Mammon heads to the Promethean early to meet with Athaliah. He finds her strangely calm and fills her in on the latest events. He also does some canvasing of the other Caucus attendees and learns Pispir might make an attack on Athlaiah.
The other Ladder members arrive and the Caucus commences. Cocheta starts it off, describing the threat to the city. She convinces Decima to suggest a motion to brand the Neocologist legacy Left Handed at the next Lesser Convocation. As this winds down Pispir lays the blame for the current troubles at Athaliah’s feet. Mammon easily rebuffs his arguments and Decima calls the meeting to an end, sending various members on obscure missions. Pispir and Athaliah are called into a private meeting with her.
As they wait for Athaliah to return, Adele describes her theory that the river spirit is being force fed essence tainted with the resonance of fire, twisting it into a magath. Colt is very intrigued, thinking back to the Chicago River Spirit’s role in his Awakening.
As they contemplate that, Pispir exits his meeting. He is livid and glares at Mammon before storming out. Athaliah comes out shortly after and takes Mammon aside. Decima has decided to have Athaliah take over Pispir’s seat on the Council. She asks Mammon to be her provost. The cabal then joins Athaliah back at their sanctum to examine their captive spirit. Athaliah interrogates it confirming much that they already knew. In the end she banishes the spirit to the Arctic where it will not be a danger.
Planning to meet up with the others later, Colt heads to the scene of the attack on Eckhart. He tracks the elder Arrow’s path through Shadow to the nightclub where Valkyrie works. He finds him at the bar, watching the show. The older mage says that protocol of Nemesis did seem to be observed which would allow the Monastary to legally attack him. Colt says he will look into it. On his way out he talks to Valkyrie and points out that someone needs to talk to Lealtad. Valkyrie arranges a meeting with Quick, asking him to help get the rest of the Arrow solidly behind them in the meantime.
While waiting for the others Miguel and Adele meet up at the university. The werecat has learned more about the Dark Man from his sources. It seems to be an ancient being whose interactions with the Chicago region go back to the Pre-Colombian era. He is said to have been involved with the Fort Dearborn massacre and the destruction of the Circle of Four.
Eventually Mammon and Colt arrive. However as they enter the library, they find Kiril being attacked by some familiar vampires whose flesh is streaked with fungus.