The old school beetle grumbled to a stop, the steel engine warmed up to the point that it no longer cared about the cold. It had taken her longer than usual to get into town after the vacation. Not that anyone blamed her. The weather had started nice, getting up to just over the melting point around noon, only to plummet after a few hours. It was just long enough for the snow to melt and cover the roads in ice. That it was snowing didn’t help either, giving everything a light new coat that this late at night hadn’t been disturbed.

                Shae Cuan was taking everything slow and low, taking full advantage of having a car built for German winters. The light turned green, the woman did a double glance in each direction before rolling forward. She kept to a low gear through the turn, music whispering. Not that it did much good, the only warning she got was the flash of the headlights.

***

                It took the emergency team over 20 minutes to get to the crash, the man who had called them kneeling in the snow, his eyes wide. Behind him lay the wreckage, a red truck that was half caved in, a mangled horse trailer, the blood of at least one animal still dripping into a frosted pool. The worst was the other car, the front of the Volkswagen folded up, half covering the completely shattered windshield, and the pale face of its driver.

                The first responder winced. Leaving her coworkers to deal with the man, the driver of the red truck, and his horse(s) if any of them had survived. She would deal with the young woman, giving herself the privacy to glance up at the storm. She could feel the magic in it, singing to her other form as the power wreaked havoc. It had started up shortly before they got the call, the temperature dropping a degree a minute with no signs of stopping. The wind had picked up too, the barely visible light creaking as it swayed. Like this she could only pray that no one else was out, since they wouldn’t be able to see the wreckage. They couldn’t even do much to prevent another wreck. The weather was bad enough that all they could do was move it out of the way and take the survivors to the hospital.

                Not that this woman was alive. The steering wheel had broken away, the shaft speared through her shoulder and her head bent at an angle that was in no way natural. Smaller cuts covered her body, no longer bleeding. The woman set up a quick prayer as she pulled her glove off. The woman’s skin was starting to ice over, no pulse beneath the skin.

                “Your hand is cold.” The shifter covered an impressive distance as she stumbled back, even when she lost her balance on the ice. The glassed over eyes of the dead woman twitched, and then slid to the side. They had been hazel, the original color giving under the new. She watched gold spread through them, a color that spoke of fire and heat, the heart of a volcano. The young woman sat back in the seat, steering column sliding free to drip blood on her pants. The motion had upset her neck, her head rolling from side to side. “That can’t be good.” Her hands came up, tinted an odd blue color although she didn’t seem to notice or care. They settled on either side of her head, bringing it up to where it would normally sit and holding it there. For a few moments she held it in place. Slowly, she started to take her hands away, replacing them when her head started to tilt. The second time, it stayed.

                The woman rolled her head side to side, naturally this time. Then she looked down, fingers parting the hole that her car had put in her. It had started to seep blood again, color spreading through her skin. “That can’t be good either.” Leaving the wound alone for a minute she looked up, clear eyes on the shifter. “Am I dead?”

                The shifter swallowed, getting to her feet. “I…I don’t know.”

                “Unfortunate.” The woman turned back, poking at the hole in her shoulder that had started to steam. “That’s really strange.”

                Shaking she stepped forward, raising one hand to the creature that could surpass death. “Can I?” She asked, the dead girl glancing up for just a moment before shrugging. The woman pressed her fingers to the girl’s neck. The skin was still ice cold, the heat and she realized after a moment the magic from her body but there was a steady if slow beat. Once she had assured herself she drew back, looking over the woman. “I need you to pretend to be unconscious.”

                The girl glanced to the side, regarding her for a minute before she nodded. “That would be best wouldn’t it?” Her hands went limp, falling across her lap and the remains of her shift column, her head rolled back. Those molten eyes closed, and the shifter started shouting for help.