Kelly Meding - Requiem for the Dead

A light went off for Astrid. "The man responsible for the attack at Parker's Palace?"

"That's him. He was working with Snow, because Snow was Rain's brother. They both wanted to bring down the Triads, and they were willing to do a hell of a lot to make that happen." I looked at the photo again. "Autumn has a past with Snow and Rain. Is she related?"

"Impossible," Astrid said. "We are well aware of Snow's crimes. We would not have allowed a relative into the Watchtower without proper scrutiny."

"They aren't related," Rufus said. "At least, not as far as I can find. But this proves a connection of some sort, and it lends itself to motive on Autumn's part."

"To go after Wyatt, maybe, if she's pissed about Snow and Rain," I said, "but not Tybalt. And why work with Vale?"

"Vale represents the same ideals that Snow and Call did, Evy. Radical change. The Watchtower Initiative was probably the largest shift in paranormal power that this city has seen since the inception of the Triads. It's more balanced, but it is still a system of government, and no government will ever be without its opponents."

"We don't have to understand their motives to stop them," Astrid said.

"No, but it gives us a clearer picture of our enemy," Rufus said. "Vale is our current target, but what if his actions are a small part of a larger organization? What if it's more than simply the Bengals working with a vengeful Kitsune?"

"I say it's worth considering when we have evidence that this organization still exists."

"We've seen it in bits and pieces, haven't we? Call and Snow. Belle and Foss. They're all symptoms of a larger problem."

"Like what, Rufus? Humans and Therians just can't get along? That's bullshit."

"No." Rufus gripped the edge of the table, his face set. He did something then that I rarely saw. He used his powerful forearms to lever to his feet, keeping a strong hold on the table for support. "The larger problem was one designed by the Fey, something they continue to manipulate from wherever they've fled to. They want us to destroy ourselves. I'm sure they'd have preferred the fast method of allowing the Tainted to cross the Break and kill us all in one fell swoop, but we threw a huge wrench into those works.

"The Fey live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. They'll let us break ourselves down, piece by piece, by whispering dissension in our ears, as they have for the last decade. We cannot allow that to happen."

I hadn't seen Rufus get worked into a lather over anything in a long time, and the sight was welcoming. I only wished Wyatt was here to see his old friend getting his groove back. Rufus slunk back into his wheelchair, having said his piece. And he was absolutely right in his words. We were fighting a nearly incorporeal battle with an enemy that would outlive all of us.

"None of this helps us find Tybalt," Kismet said after a moment's silence.

"Something tells me Vale won't stick his nose out again until the duel," Astrid said. "Autumn strikes me as too smart to take Tybalt any place she knows we'd be likely to look for him. We'll be extremely lucky to find them before six-thirty."

"So we sit on our asses for the next three hours, waiting for Vale to call?"

"I won't risk sending anyone else out searching tonight. The city is too big, and we don't know how many other eyes and ears Vale has."

Kismet didn't reply. The tightness in her shoulders, the press of her mouth, was answer enough. She'd lost Felix. She'd lost Baylor. She nearly lost Milo. Tybalt was more a brother to her than a coworker. I could see her pain radiating across the table.

"If Vale calls again in the meantime, I'll let you know," Astrid said. "If he contacts any of you, I expect the same." The final comment was directed at Kismet, who nodded blandly.

I followed Kismet out of Ops and halfway to the infirmary before saying, "We'll get him back, Gina. He's gotten through worse scrapes."

"I know he has." She stopped walking and sagged against a storefront. "We all have, but everyone's luck runs out at some point. We all pay for our choices."

The penny dropped. "You think this is Vale's payback for you not going along with him this morning?"

"Yes, I do. Vale is fucking insane, Evy, and I didn't play ball, so Tybalt gets to suffer for it."

"Vale already had a grudge against Tybalt."

She shook her head, and I saw something in Kismet that I often did myself—taking the blame when a loved one is in danger, even if it's not directly her fault.

I leaned against the wall next to her, so I wasn't hovering over her shorter frame quite so much. I ran a hand through my hair, startled to remember it was cut so short. The ends ran through my fingertips above my shoulders. I was all about trying new things lately, so why not pull out the Supportive Friend Card and play? She was my friend, after all.

"Gina, what was the leverage Vale had over you?" I asked. "Because if it's something I can help you fix, we'll fix it."

She laughed through another harsher sound that was almost a sob. "It's nothing you can fix, Evy, but thanks. It was information."

"That he was holding over you?"

"That he offered to give me." The corridor was quiet, our voices low enough to not echo. Even so, Kismet opened the nearest door and I followed her inside. The interior was empty, freshly painted, its purpose unclear. But it was also private, and this chat seemed to call for serious privacy.

"Vale said he had information on the whereabouts of someone I've been looking for," Kismet said. "Vale knew the information was important to me, but saving the lives of the vampires is bigger than my grudge, so I refused."

"How do you know the info was legit?"

"I don't. I don't know how he found out my connection to the man, since I've kept that a secret from everyone except one person, and he's dead."

I took a stab at that. Kismet once told me about the Hunter she'd fallen in love with and lost about two years ago—that she'd told him details about her past that very few people knew. "Lucas Moore?"

"Yeah. Lucas is the only person who knew certain things about my past, things I've never told Wyatt or Tybalt, or anyone else in my life right now."

"Your past before you changed your name?"

She gave me a shrewd look. "Yes."

"The man you're looking for hurt you?"

"Hurt is a very small word for what he did to me." Hate rippled through her, followed by a shiver. She closed her eyes briefly, opening them again to blink away a sheen of tears. "I was a fifteen year-old runaway, Evy. And he was a grown man."

She didn't need to say more. My heart hurt for Gina Kismet, and for the unnamed horrors she'd endured. I didn't press. I never would. We had both survived terrible things. Gina had reinvented herself, become one of the fiercest warriors I'd ever known. She was my friend, and I didn't have a lot of those.

"I got away with help from a friend," Kismet said after a moment. "I got away, but so did he."

A roar of fury hit me. "He never paid?"

"He disappeared. I pushed it aside, joined the Army, began a new life as someone else. It was almost ten years after the fact before I finally told Lucas everything. But it put the man back in my mind, and I started putting out feelers. Nothing ever came back with results."

"Until Vale."

"Yep."

"Fuck, Gina. I'm sorry you gave up the chance to find that fucker and feed his balls to him."

Her lips twitched. "So am I."

"I won't say anything to anyone."

"I know you won't. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"About Tybalt—"

"Don't say anything because it will upset Milo, right?"

"Exactly."

Milo hated being handled as much as I did, but if he found out Tybalt was in trouble, Vansis would have to sedate him to keep him in bed. He didn't need that stress. I just hoped he slept the night and I didn't have to lie to his face.