Kelly Meding - Wrong Side of Dead

But I don’t even know if he’s still here, or if he left with his new playmates.

A familiar Cadillac is parked in front of the office, next to a red sports car with heavily tinted windows. Looks like I’m the last one to the party, so I pick up my pace. Instead of the office, I find them assembled in the diner, chairs clustered around a few pushed-together tables. The entire place is spotless, and the retro chrome gleams under fresh lightbulbs in overhead fixtures. It reminds me a little of the diner where Phineas and I almost had lunch one day.

All of the usual suspects are here: Kismet, Baylor, Phineas, Astrid, Marcus, and Wyatt. The three less-expected faces offer pleased smiles at my entrance. Michael Jenner, despite the heat, is wearing one of his customary suits. As representative of the Assembly, he always shows up to speak for the best interests of the fourteen were-Clans. For a lawyer, he’s not half-bad.

I don’t know why I’m surprised to see Isleen and Eleri, but I am. Isleen has been an ally and a tentative friend since my resurrection—as much a friend as any vampire can be to a human. She stands and walks to me, extending her hand for a firm shake.

“It pleases me that you are alive, yet again,” she says, her voice a familiar, lilting cadence that most vampires possess.

“I’m pretty pleased about it, too,” I reply. My smile is forced. I’m too damned tired for witty banter. I just want to know what’s happening. I shake Jenner’s hand, too, then pull a chair into the circle between him and Baylor. Wyatt is directly across from me, staring intently.

“I was just expressing the Assembly’s sincere condolences,” Jenner says, “on the loss of so many of your people today.”

“I’d think the Assembly would be doing backflips over it,” I say, unable to censor myself.

Astrid makes a startled noise, but Jenner just chuckles. “I admit, there are a few Elders who expressed a sense of justice over the news. However, they’re also intelligent enough to see how this can be a devastating blow to lasting peace. The Triads were far from perfect, but they were effective in their efforts to quell the larger uprisings of the darker races.”

“Effective until now,” Astrid says.

“We might still surprise you,” Kismet retorts.

Astrid folds her hands in her lap, copper eyes flashing. “Your forces are at half strength, the Fey Council is ignoring you, and your protection within the Police Department has apparently committed group suicide. You’d be lucky to manage surprising a house cat.”

Wow. All eyes are on Kismet, who’s in her seat only because Baylor’s hand is on her shoulder. Color rises high in her cheeks. Marcus nudges Astrid in the ribs, and she shifts her glare to him.

“This bickering is unproductive,” Isleen says. She stands, drawing up to her full, lean height. Long white hair cascades down her back, a familiar and stark contrast to her black clothes. Lavender eyes take their turn sending silent messages to various people in our circle. “And if there are no objections, I will begin.”

No one objects.

“After the events at Parker’s Palace, Mr. Jenner approached the royal Fathers of the ruling Families with an offer from the Assembly. Although neither the Assembly nor the Fathers condoned the actions of the man named Leonard Call, we could also not ignore the implications of their organization and their ability to attract members of both our races. We also could not continue ignoring the host of internal problems that have been plaguing the Triads for months.”

Baylor grunts—the only sound in an otherwise silent room. I glance at Wyatt, who’s giving Isleen his full attention. I have no doubt he’s heard all this before; he just doesn’t want to make eye contact with those of us who haven’t.

No one else is asking, so I do. “What was the offer?”

Isleen tilts her head in my direction without actually looking at me. “An alliance between our peoples.”

This time it’s Kismet who makes a noise. “Really? Since when have the vampires and the Clans ever gotten along?”

“Necessity creates strange bedfellows,” Jenner replies.

I glance at Phineas, on Jenner’s right, and he’s staring straight at me.

“This alliance was not offered lightly,” Phin says, addressing the group. “Fourteen Elders means that many opinions were heard and many concerns still remain. However, what Call and Snow managed to do at Parker’s Palace is only one illustration of how ineffective the Triads have become. There are simply not enough of you, and your methods of control through fear no longer work.”

It’s a conversation that Phin and I had weeks ago—words I didn’t want to hear then but am hearing now. I hate that he’s right and that the remains of the Triads are being pressed between a rock and a fucking hard place.

“The Clans and the Families are not your enemies,” Isleen says. “But we can be your allies, and we are offering humans a partnership in this.”

“What is this, exactly?” Kismet asks. The fact that she doesn’t say no outright gives me hope. I don’t know Astrid or Marcus, but I do know Phin and Isleen. And I trust them.

“A multirace security force,” Astrid says, unfolding from her chair. She isn’t a tall woman, but she ripples with the power of her animal half, and it makes her presence in the room that much larger.

Kismet stands as well. “Run by you?”

“No,” Isleen says. “Run by a trifecta, a representative from each of our races. Final decisions go through them.”

“Then let me guess. You and Astrid represent your people?”

“Correct.”

“So who represents ours?”

“That is a choice you will have to discuss if you choose to accept our offer.”

Kismet and Baylor exchange a look I can’t see, then both turn to face me. Asking or deferring, I have no idea, so I shrug and tilt my head. Their call. I’m not against the idea, but I won’t speak for them or the other Handlers and Hunters. It won’t be easy convincing them that this is a good idea, and it won’t go over any better coming from me. In fact, some of the Handlers might nix it outright just because I said it.

“What specifically is this partnership about?” Baylor asks as Kismet sits back down.

“It’s about protecting our peoples and this city from those who would destroy it,” Isleen says. She gives Astrid a look I can’t see—I’m starting to really hate the chair I chose—and Astrid sits. “As you well know, the Families and the Clans have remained mostly neutral in the actions taken by the Triads these past ten years. We do our best to present no threat, and we expect to not be threatened in return, save the most extreme of cases.”

Cases such as Snow—a were-fox—or Kitsune, who helped organize Halfies, vampires, and other shifters in a rally against humans, and who murdered more than sixty of them at an arts benefit last month. Cases such as the occasional rogue vampire who thinks biting and infecting humans is a good idea.

“We wish to see the half-Blood problem wiped out, as well as the goblins permanently disabled as a threat,” she continues. “Humans have their flaws, but evolution has given you this world, and I have no desire to see the dark races reclaim it.”

“Do the Clans feel the same way?” Baylor asks.

“The majority do, yes,” Jenner says. “This city allows the Clans something that does not exist in many other places. It gives us a chance to interact freely with humans, to be part of your world, your culture, and your technology. Because we age more rapidly than humans, it’s difficult for us to establish ourselves in urban areas. It’s why so many of us have chosen to live here, rather than hiding in tiny towns scattered across the country. Or, as some have done, choosing to live as animals.”