“This body was found in the woods near the source of the Undine,” Adelaide said into the stunned silence of the room. “As was this one.” She snapped her fingers again and another corpse appeared on the screen, this one without a face.

Frank stood up and moved closer to the screen, the red gore spreading over his own face as he scrutinized the picture.

“Do we know for certain that this was done by an undine?” Liz asked.

Adelaide shot her a cool stare. “My sources tell me they were found nearby where Lorelei was last spotted.”

“Still that doesn’t mean she did this to these men,” I said.

“This isn’t how undines usually behave,” Soheila added, staring at the gruesome image. “Something’s wrong.”

“Yes,” Adelaide agreed. “Something is very wrong. Those woods have become a breeding ground for creatures from the otherworld. These aren’t cute fairies and brownies – these are monsters. Not only has Fairwick failed to control the traffic of immigration from Faerie, it has in fact created an atmosphere in which such creatures can thrive. It has been suggested by some members of this board that the only solution is to shut down the entire town.”

“You mean,” Liz said, blanching, “like Fluges?”

“It’s your own fault for hiring so many otherworlders,” Delbert Winters hissed, his face dyed red from the slide projection. “I’ve warned you about that before.”

“Clearly there should have been stricter monitoring structures in place,” Lydia Markham said, her face also a mask of blood.

“This is what happens when the avenues of discourse are severed due to self-fulfilling paradigm shifts,” Loomis Pagan remarked enigmatically.

“‘Violence is the last resort of the helpless,’” Eleanor Belknap quoted somebody. “These creatures need help.”

“Otherworlders who cannot control their urges – as the rest of us have – need to be escorted from this world and never let back in again,” Talbot Greeley said, adjusting his now crimson bow tie. “Lest they ruin it for the rest of us.”

I turned toward each board member, but saw only bloody, scared faces, their voices mingled with the restless, rustling sound that seemed to be growing and coming from everywhere. It sounded like a stampede – or a flock of angry birds. Frank was standing with his back to the table, still staring up at the slide. The Grove members were talking among themselves, Garnette Davis leaning toward Adelaide, whispering in her ear. She shook her head several times, then nodded once and held up her hand. Instantly the room went quiet.

“My esteemed colleague, Garnette Davis, has another suggestion. If the captured undine is escorted under the armed guard of the Stewarts to the door, and the door is sealed and warded, the majority of otherworldly creatures will leave this world. It may take some time to clean up the woods entirely, but we may be able to save the town and the college.”

The IMP board members murmured their approval.