Requiem for the Dead (30 page)

"I know you do," Wyatt said. "Has Marcus chosen a third yet?"

"I don't know. Not that he's told us."

"It should be you," he said to Kismet.

"I don't have a stake in Clan politics," she replied.

"No, but you do have a stake in Tybalt's life."

"It's Marcus's choice."

"So put a bug in his ear. He's inside, probably sitting with Milo."

She shook her head. "I don't want Milo to know about Tybalt. And I doubt Marcus does, either."

"Sparing someone bad news often backfires, Gina."

"If Milo could do anything other than lay there suffering, in pain because of what Vale did, then I'd tell him. Milo has a long recovery ahead of him, Wyatt. If something happens to Tybalt tonight, he'll be grieving enough by morning."

Kismet pivoted and walked back toward Ops and the sleeping quarters. I watched her go, wishing I could do something for my friend.

Wyatt sighed heavily, then folded me into a warm, welcoming hug. I rested my cheek on his shoulder, grateful for his heat, his love—every single thing he gave me every day.

"You be careful at that duel," he whispered. "Don't give Vale the benefit of the doubt. Expect him to double-cross you."

"I do, trust me. How are the boys?"

"Comfortable now, but they're worried about John. They can't sense his fear and it's making them a little crazy."

"Vale says he's keeping John unconscious. Maybe that's why they can't feel him."

"Could be. Evy, when are you going to talk to the Frosts?"

I groaned and tugged away, putting him at arm's reach. "What the hell, Wyatt? Now isn't exactly the best time to have a heart-to-heart with my non-parents."

"We both know more than most that tomorrow isn't a promise. They deserve to hear from you, in case tomorrow never comes."

"I don't know what to say to them. The truth is insane."

"Alex believed you."

"Yeah, and then the truth bit him on the ass and killed him."

"What about Leo?"

"The truth tried to bite him, too, in Alex's apartment, if you recall." In the shape of a big damn were-cat. "And then he got the hell out of town."

"Do you blame him?"

"Not a bit." His significant look made something click. "So you think if I come clean with the Frosts, they'll freak, then accept, and then get out of town before one of them gets eaten by something ugly?"

"It's worth a shot. They've been kidnapped once for being in this city."

"Yeah, well, everyone close to me gets kidnapped at one point or another. It was just their turn."

"Don't condemn them for caring about you."

"They don't care about me, Wyatt. They care about their daughter, a damaged and frightened woman who killed herself in the bathtub. I'm not her."

"So tell them that. Tell them the truth and let them decide who they care about. Maybe they'll make tracks for the nearest bus station or maybe they'll surprise you."

"I don't want them to surprise me. I want them out of this fucking city before it devours them too." I wanted Stephen and Lori Frost out of harm's way, period. Even if it meant bullying them out.

We didn't have guest quarters in the Watchtower. Astrid had apparently seized an empty store, installed cots and a pile of books, and left it guarded. The store was on the same end of the compound as the regular sleeping quarters and the main bathroom facilities. Sandburg, a likeable guy whose true form was a ferret, was sitting in a chair outside the store, seemingly bored out of his skull.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," he said.

"Yeah, well, my schedule's been pretty full."

"Mine, too, of escorting people to the toilet. That woman has a bladder the size of a peanut."

I snickered. "Take a break, Sandburg. I'll watch them for a little while."

"You don't have to ask me twice."

He handed me the door key, then scurried off. As I slipped the key into the lock I took a deep, cleansing breath that did shit to settle my jumping nerves.

Here goes nothing.

I tapped my knuckles on the door. A polite warning before I opened it.

The room was lit by a pair of bare bulb floor lamps. The cots stood close together near a wall, and the Frosts were sitting side by side, resting but not asleep. They came to life the moment they realized I'd intruded. They blinked at me from a distance of about twenty feet, unsteady. The haircut and newfound emo goth look was probably throwing them for a loop.

"Chalice?" Lori asked. "Honey, is that you?"

"Kind of," I said, shutting the door and pocketing the key.

She looked like she wanted to rush me, to yank me into a bone-crushing hug, but refrained. She did seem a bit green around the edges. Shock, likely. Next to her, Stephen stared at me like I might attack, pissed off while Lori was simply baffled.

"What is going on here?" Stephen asked. "First we don't hear from you for months. Your records disappear from the face of the planet. You leave the apartment. You don't tell us Alex is dead. You barely spoke to us the other morning, and you were with that strange boy. And then we… we…."

"Got kidnapped by a were-tiger?" I said. "Is that the phrase you were grasping for?"

"No, because shapeshifters don't exist."

"You are so wrong about that. The guy who's been guarding you? He shifts into a ferret. The doctor you saw when you first got here? Grizzly bear."

Stephen frowned. "And I suppose you'll tell me the boy who came to the diner with you shifts into a bald eagle."

"No, Milo's totally human. I've never met an eagle-shifter, but one of my best friends is an osprey."

"Chalice—"

"My name isn't Chalice." I closed half the distance between them in slow, measured steps, stopping when Lori inched away. She was definitely freaked. "Look, I know this is going to sound incredibly insane, but I need you both to keep an open mind and hear me out."

Stephen wrapped his arms around his trembling wife, and I wished I had Wyatt here to back me up. I held my ground, and I held Stephen's distrustful gaze.

"On May 20th of this year, around four o'clock in the morning, your daughter, Chalice Frost, drew a hot bath in her apartment, got in, and sliced both her wrists open. She died before her roommate, Alex Forrester, came home and found her."

Lori choked, a hand covering her mouth. Stephen looked disgusted, like I was making up the whole thing.

"A few days earlier, a young woman was being tortured by goblins and left to die. She was a kind of paranormal bounty hunter, and her death was part of a bigger plan, something I'm not getting into right now. But a man loved her, this woman, and he refused to believe she was gone forever. So he went to an elf, who gave him a spell to bring her back to life. But since her body was gone, she came back in the body of someone else who had just died. She was resurrected in Chalice's body."

"You're on drugs, aren't you?" Stephen said. His voice betrayed grief, though, and less anger than before.

"I wish. I'm the woman who was tortured to death and brought back. My name is Evangeline Stone, and I have been this person ever since. Chalice's wasn't supposed to be my body, but that's how it turned out."

"No. No, Chalice, if you're angry with us, we can fix it. We can get you help."

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?

6:02 a.m.

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.