Kelly Meding - Requiem for the Dead

I snorted. He thought I was certifiable. Maybe so, but not for this. This was the God's honest truth. "Alex didn't believe me at first either, until he got up close and personal with my life. Shapeshifters aren't the only creatures that exist. Vampires, goblins, trolls, gargoyles, fairies, gnomes, sprites…they're all real. And some of them are very dangerous. The man who was holding you prisoner and threatening to kill you unless I did him a favor? He's a shapeshifter."

Lori made a soft, choking sound behind her hand.

"Alex didn't die in a fire. He was bitten by a half-Blood vampire and he turned. He died from a bullet to the back of his head to release him. To set him free from the monster that had taken over his mind and body. To keep him from killing." My heart pounded hard. I couldn't make myself tell them that I'd put the bullet in Alex's head, and it had been one of the worst moments of my afterlife. Alex had deserved so much more than he got.

And I would forever live with the uncertainty of those few hours he was a Halfie, loose on the streets, free to attack and feed. I wanted to believe that he wasn't, but I'd never know if Alex died a killer.

Stephen was shaking his head. "No. Chal, honey, we can get you help. Professional help."

"Okay, how about a few tricks of my own? Did you know magic is real? Real as you and me, but not all humans can manipulate it. Your daughter, Chalice, was one of those people. She could teleport, but only when she was close to a magic source, like in this city. When she was a kid and you moved away, she lost that ability, and being separated from her source is what caused her depression later. I don't think she ever realized what she was."

"Will you stop? Please stop, for your mother."

Lori was sobbing loudly, clutching at her husband. I felt horrible for her, but I wouldn't recant anything I knew to be the truth.

"Fine, give me a second." I closed my eyes and felt for the Break. Latched onto its static-like caress and let the power rush through me. I drew on my emotional tap, on loneliness, and let myself shatter apart. Everything tingled, sparked, and I focused on a spot six feet to the right. Pulled myself to that spot and let go of the Break.

The world focused in a blink and a snap.

Stephen and Lori stared at me, slack-jawed and open-mouthed. Lori's tears fell silently. Stephen looked like he wanted to vomit.

"That was easy," I said. "I can go further and through solid objects." A tiny headache beat between my eyes. "Look, I'm sorry you lost your daughter. I wish I could say I always intended to contact you, but I didn't. I didn't give much thought to Chalice's old life, to the people who might be missing her. I was selfish in that, but I have spent almost every day since she died battling for my own life. I've lost a lot of friends, people close to me, to a battle that I don't know if we can ever win. But I fight every day, because that's what I do."

Chalice may have lain down and died, but I would never do that. Not while I had breath in my lungs or a beat in my heart.

"I'm sorry," I said because I had no more words for them.

"Will you leave us alone please?" Lori asked, her voice broken and rough.

"Yeah, of course."

I nearly teleported out to drive my point home, but with my luck I'd land right in the middle of Sandburg, and we'd both be fucked. So I walked. Walked out the door, handed Sandburg his key, and kept on walking. Right to my and Wyatt's room, where I face-planted in our bed, too emotionally drained to handle anyone else right now. Marcus could find me when it was time to leave for his epic duel.

The last forty-eight hours had sucked major ass. Something had to start going in our favor soon.

Didn't it?

I don't think I slept. My mind wandered in indistinct ways for a while and my body never moved. I heard footsteps and twisted around to sit up before Kismet found me. "They're discussing location," she said. "Come on."

We quick-stepped it to Ops. Marcus, Astrid, and Kyle were chatting intently and I cleared my throat to get their attention.

"So where's the duel happening?" I asked.

"Black River Ferry port, so we need to leave as soon as possible," Marcus said.

"How'd you determine that location?"

"Privacy and space."

The Black River Ferry hadn't been in use for nearly fifty years. Two passenger boats and one freight boat had been tied up and left to rot, part of the landscape of a dying industrial section of town west of Mercy's Lot. Last month, we'd tracked Walter Thackery to the port and he'd sunk one of the ferries in an effort to kill the Therians he'd kidnapped. It gave us two boats or the Terminal Station as actual fighting arenas.

It also gave Vale several places nearby to stash Tybalt.

"Do we have any teams close by who can scout ahead for us?" Kismet asked.

"Already on it," Astrid said.

"Who's your third?" I asked Marcus.

"Kyle," he replied.

Okay, that answer surprised me. Kismet didn't seem upset about being left behind, and since I wasn't known for my tact— "Why Kyle?"

"Insurance."

"Are you going to expand on that for me?"

"In the car, yes. We have limited time right now."

Too true. "Did Vale happen to put any limits on us bringing weapons?"

"As a matter of fact, no." Marcus smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I need to swing by the armory before we hit the road."

"Did he mention Tybalt at all?"

"No," Marcus said as we headed for the corridor, "and I did not tip him off. If he believes his mole is yet undiscovered, he may attempt to send her back to us."

Good point. I'd have been on the phone demanding to know where Tybalt was and how Vale was planning to use him. I hate surprises, especially in fights.

I strapped myself down with knives—the best use for knee-high boots, in my opinion, is for hiding long blades, and hide them I did. I also selected two guns and backup ammo, just in case. Shooting in an enclosed area was a last resort option, but I didn't want us to be caught without one if the situation required covering fire. Astrid, Kyle, and I were not there to fight, but that meant nothing.

These things never went as planned.

Marcus, Astrid, and Kyle were waiting in the car when I arrived in the parking area—along with almost every Therian in the Watchtower. They stood in a line, at attention, in a silent salute to their brethren. I didn't understand a lot about Therian duels and codes of honor, but this seemed like an even bigger deal than I'd thought. Wyatt stood to the side with Kismet, Rufus, and Alejandro.

I didn't have time to do more than wink at Wyatt. He mouthed the words "Be careful." I gave a thumbs-up before climbing into the backseat with Kyle. I was anxious, but not scared. For once, this wasn't my fight. I was going along purely as backup, not as the primary contestant.

The change was pretty novel.

The drive to the Black River Ferry port took all the time we had. Marcus's explanation of Kyle's presence took about five minutes, and I was totally on board with the plan. Good plan that, again, went beyond my knowledge of Therian politics and cemented the reasons why I was a soldier, not a general.

The hulking glass building of the Terminal Station came into view at exactly six-thirty. A weed-strewn, cracked parking lot spread out around the Station and dock, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. Ostensibly, the fence was meant to prevent vandalism and trespassing, which was kind of hilarious, considering. Even after Thackery sunk one of the ferries last month, police rarely patrolled the area. The security entrance remained broken.

We rolled through the gate at the same moment that a blue SUV with tinted windows turned into the parking lot. It followed us inside. Marcus drove around behind the Terminal Station to hide our vehicles from street view. The SUV stopped a dozen yards from us, at almost the other end of the Terminal Station.