It was still some daylight left, so I got hold of a cab. The cabbie wanted to drop me off short of where I wanted to go, but after some very graphical threats he did drive me all the way. He must have believed my threats because he was driving like only a scared cabbie can. The ride even scared me half to death, and I knew I would survive the ride. I even managed to send a text message to Gemini in spite of getting flung around in the back seat like a sack of potatoes.
I didn’t really want to owe anyone any favors, but if they were going after Tony’s family, I needed to get his family some more protection. Gemini was the only contact I had that could make that happen. And she could make sure that Jihan took it seriously enough to step up the protection and give them around the clock security.
I gave the cabbie a generous tip. Not to bribe him, but to make him think twice about reporting the threats to anyone. I had enough problems with Wilson as it was, and I didn’t need for him to have something else to harass me about.
It didn’t take long to pick out where Shaun’s people were. They stood in the middle of the street shouting insults into the alley. Shaun was standing at another corner watching it all.
As soon as I caught his eye, he smiled grimly at me. He sauntered over to me like he had no care in the world and pulled me a little way into the nearest alley on the opposite side of the street. “’dey be quite disciplined. Not a’foot outside ‘de alley, man.”
“I’ll take it from here. Keep an eye on my bag here and make sure no one takes off with it.” I rummaged around for a bit and found that Gordon had been very kind to me. Not only had he made double the number of ceramic blades that I had ordered, he had included several different alloy rounds for calibers I hadn’t asked him for. There were little cans that said “Silver nitrate acid.” Now that was going to sting like a mofo!
I drew out two ceramic-alloy blades Gordon made for my concealed knife sheaths and tucked them up my sleeves and stepped out of the crowd. Shaun gave a signal and everyone disappeared.
A woman’s head popped out of the shadows looking confused, but as soon as she saw me walking toward her, her eyes narrowed in recognition. She was probably from the Dockside pack. Blond smartly dressed, with hateful eyes in a face that had a square quality to it. She was supremely confident in her movements. Her friends stayed. They had their hoods up and their faces hidden.
The woman stepped out of the alley. “So, you’re Maria Smith?”
I nodded. “And you’re dead. ’Cause you’re threatening the Ngyen family.” The growl that followed my statement made her take a step back.
She recovered fast though.
“You can try. Not that you will be killing me out in the open now, will you?” She said, smiling.
“I should. For killing Marc I should blow your brains out and then piss on the remains. No. I’ll let you live long enough to carry a message to Derek. Tell him that I will be coming for him. I'm going to fucking bury him and whoever else comes in my way. As for you and your two friends in the alley, you get another day...unless you’d like to take your chances?”
I looked at the woman with eyes that were not human. I knew she was trying to gauge my strength. “Hmm, I seem to have caught your scent somewhere else. Now where could I have done that?” Her eyes narrowed in thought as she talked to herself.
“I wouldn’t know, but I if you do not walk away, we can walk into that alley and you can all die right here!” I growled.
The woman leaned in and whispered, “You think you can take on three werewolves?”
“No,“ I answered as I felt Gemini’s presence closing in fast. ”I’ll take one, and my girlfriend over there will eat the other two.” With that Gemini walked around the corner.
“Hello, Gina. Fancy meeting you here.” Gemini’s voice was distinctly savage.
“Gemini, what are you doing here?” There was real fear in Gina’s voice.
“Getting a first-row seat for your death.” Gemini shrugged with an evil grin. “Derek shouldn’t have accepted Jacóbi’s offer. It’s going to get him all the way dead. He’s crossed the line this time.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” There was even more fear in Gina’s scent now. “We’re just after the price on her head!” She continued waving a hand in my direction.
“Good luck.” Gemini said with a bright smile. “Would you like to try and cash in on her head right now?”
Gemini’s reaction seemed to throw Gina off. She looked at me suspiciously. She must have picked up something in Gemini’s voice, because her eyes narrowed as she tried to get a feel for me.
I didn’t move a muscle. She could try and assess me how much she wanted. I didn’t care. The longer they stayed, the more of a shot I had to kill some of them. But the night was still several hours away and there was little I could do out in the open like this.
The fact that I would have to let them slither away bothered me. I was itching to rip Gina apart right then and there. She was one of those who threatened my friend’s family, using me for an excuse. She had come here killing people I consider friends and she was going to die for that! This wasn’t something you reported to the cops. She was a fully-fledged werewolf who thought she was untouchable. And as far as the human law went, she was. But that ended when she killed my friends.
It would not take that much more to add another werewolf to my list. If there weren’t any bystanders, I might have walked into the alley just to see how strong they were.
“It’s just a simple contract.” Gina was trying to play it casual.
“No. If it was you would have made sure there was no protection in place. You know the rules.” Gemini leaned against me.
“So. We’ve paid damages.” Gina snarled. “And it cost us!”
“Ah, but that was to the Outfit. And even if you have paid for that you can’t pay off a blood oath.” Gemini cocked her head to the side. “You see, you’ve stepped in it this time. Maria here is going to kill your ass no matter what you say, and Nahanha is a little concerned about Derek’s activities. There are more than a few things that don’t add up here, Gina, and I think Derek is in the middle of it.”
“You’re letting your hate of Derek get the best of you.” Gina snapped.
“Not really, if I had he would have been dead for a long time and damn the consequences. He is no match for me. But if you make a move here, I can kill you, and believe me it will be an absolute pleasure, and I might be able to cite revenge and go after him in person.” Gemini said with voice that spoke of death. “You see, Gina, you being here – in spite of all the money you had to pay – screams that there’s something else going on. Just so you know, Jihan will come after you if you don’t back off now. That’s a promise. You broke the rules, so there won’t be many who will back you after so much open stupidity. And it won’t be war, Gina, it will be extermination!”
Gina snarled.
“Doesn’t impress me,” Gemini said calmly. “But you go back to Derek, and you tell him this: if he wants to dispute this, all he has to do is contact Jihan. And please tell him that no matter what happens; Maria will be waiting for him!”
I stepped forward and Gina’s eyes snapped to me. “Marc wasn't a part of this. You're going around killing people who have no stake in this and you're making waves. For killing another friend of mine, I’ll see you dead!” I said with low growl. “You might think that killing that boy was nothing, but I will see you dead for it!”
Gina turned and walked back into the alley. Her face twisted in anger, but that didn’t give me any satisfaction. I could hear them leaving, running in the opposite direction. It rankled that I had to let her go. No, that was too mild; it tore at me! But it would have been hard to explain to the cops why I stabbed a woman to death and cut her head off in the middle of the street in broad daylight.
I couldn’t really say why Marc’s death mattered so much to me. I couldn’t say why I felt so protective about the neighborhood. I just did. It was right to care. Even if it was in twisted way.
We walked back to the other alley where we found Shaun was sitting on my bag, waiting for me to return.
“It’s full of explosives, Shaun, so sitting on it might do funny things, like blow you up.” I said to him.
“A joke?” He asked.
“Nope, Shaun. Pipe bombs and other fun stuff.” I said evilly.
“Shii-iiit!” Shaun rose fast. “Fuck, Maria! Ya’ could’ah told me!”
“Was a bit preoccupied. Sorry.”
“Who’s da’ boo?” Shaun asked with a grin, eyeing Gemini up and down. “No’ bad, Maria. Ya’ did goo-od!”
Shaun suddenly found himself dangling from Gemini’s hand.
“Ah,” Shaun croaked. “’Dis would be a good time to apologize?”
I nodded. “Very wise of you, Shaun.”
“Damn, woman, I be sorry. No’ meaning to diss ya’, ya know?” Shaun hissed with what little breath he had left.
I glanced at Gemini. “It’s not going to get much better than that. It’s sincere, though.”
Gemini let him down. “Well, then I accept your apology, Shaun. I’m sorry I overreacted but it seemed to me like you were objectifying me like I was some trophy.”
“I Wouldn’ do dat!” Shaun said quickly in a very hoarse voice.
I smiled at Shaun. He was a fast learner. “I need you to keep an eye on things here, Shaun. Can you do that?”
“Sho’ thing. Can you gonna’ kill ‘dat bitch from da’ alley?” Shaun’s eyes turned cold.
“For trying to get to the Ngyen family again and for killing Marc? I’ll do my very best to put her down!” I said with a growl feeling the bones in my jaws change.
I hoped that Shaun could keep Tony’s family safe, because I had no other resources. There just wasn’t anyone else.
“Wish I ‘could do her myself, but as long as ‘dose bastards die, it’d’be good, Maria. U’ sproutin’ fangs ‘dere?” Shaun cocked an eyebrow at me.
“Not contagious.” Gemini said easily.
“Any advice?” Shaun asked.
“This is nightmare stuff, Shaun. Nightmares come true. So big groups, much hardware and as heavy as you can get your hands on...disable first then take their head off! Not much else will work. Light and space is important as well. If you skulk around the alleys, you’ll catch death, unless you’ve enough people around you. Even then I’d put a bet on the opposition. Silver and gold work, so If you're willing to melt some chains, get some electrum bullets and shit – that is a form of white gold, by the way – it will hurt most of them.”
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“And if ‘dose won’t?”
“Then you’re SOL, my friend.”
Shaun nodded. “'Dis be somethin' I guessed already. Anythin’ else we can do? ”
“No, Shaun, that’ll be enough. More than enough!” I nodded at him and picked up my bag.
“We can't let Marc slide, Maria!”
“We won't.” With a short nod, Gemini and I walked away in silence.
My rage simmered below the surface, tainting everything, but there was a numbness to it. Like I was getting used to it, getting used to casualties. Kill or be killed didn't sit well with me. Too many people around me were catching death and I had better get a cure fast. Everything in me screamed for blood, but for now they walked. Tony’s death deserved revenge - deserved retribution. Especially since there was no way of bringing these killers to justice.
Marc's death was another on their tally.
The dead were piling up. Deaths that no normal human could have stopped. But even if they knew it was murder, they wouldn’t know where to look.
I remember the footage Gemini and Dominic had on me at Tony’s shop. It had looked like the recorder caught a glitch and not like I was moving with supernatural speed. It had sort of flickered. I was not surprised that all weird flickering footage you saw on social media were discarded as fakes or as inconclusive. Either that or it was called AI. It would perhaps show up on some tin foil account on the internet that reported alien abductions and other supernatural fake things. No one would take those seriously.
I was beginning to wonder how many of those clips were true. I mean, I had seen some weird stuff lately, and I knew I hadn’t even scratched the surface of the supernatural world.
Gemini followed me home in silence. We did not speak a word for nearly an hour. I hated that I hadn’t been able to do more to make sure that Tony’s family was safe, and that I had to rely on people I didn’t trust to keep them safe. I guessed Gemini had her own problems as she was as quiet as I was.
She just watched me as I did my exercises and stretches on the middle floor that I had cleaned enough to get some training done.
I could sense that she was irritated and edgy. Perhaps she was picking up my mood.
“I have to tell you that Dominic been out and about again. He’s been threatening Gordon, my gun supplier. I’m suspecting that Dominic might do anything to get me dead.” I started on my hand-to-hand exercises. I was doing them a bit more vigorously than I had to. “He’s starting to irritate the shit out of me!
“Gordon Dennis?” Gemini asked.
“You know Gordon?” I stopped my regimen and looked at her. I was certain I was about to have another surprise.
“Of course. His parents are Breed.”
“He’s half-Breed.” I said to myself. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? I’m sure Mike Sunderland and Derek will turn out to be old classmates. Actually, that would explain a few things.”
I‘ve never been good at sarcasm, and it showed. Gemini was giving me a sour smile, stating that she wasn’t appreciating it in the least.
“No, he’s not half-Breed. It doesn’t work that way. He’s human. Butit means that Dominic can’t really lean on Gordon, like he could some norm. Breed, Brood, and Ghîla are all protective of their offspring - even those that turn out human. I use the term offspring loosely here.”
“What about the Others?”
“They don’t breed. Or perhaps it’s better to say that one hasn’t been born in a very long time. There hasn’t been any Other born in a several millennia, from what I understand.” Gemini cast me a glance. “But there are two living Others still walking around; Jack and the Alchemist. Most of the Breeds and a few of the Broods do give birth, but Ghîla does not. There is such a low possibility for a biological offspring to be born a Cursed, that it might as well be zero. They do have a greater number of psychics compare to normal humans though. But sometimes miracles happen.“
I was trying to wrap my head around that. “And the Ghîla-”
“We don’t know exactly how. Not even those who seem to support their different factions will speak of it. And I told you before; no Ghul has ever broken faith with their master. Ever!”
I shook my head. It seemed impossible that that anyone could have that much control over another being, but I took Gemini’s word for it. Just because I couldn’t understand it didn’t necessarily make untrue.
“What are the Ghîla?” I asked.
“Nothing living. We call them the Non-Born, because they have never been born, so they are not the living dead or the undead. Both of those terms imply once living, so we simply call them Non-Born. The terms "undead" and "living dead" refer to different concepts in mythology and fiction, with "undead" typically describing beings that have died and been reanimated, while "living dead" often refers to creatures that appear dead but retain some form of consciousness or life-like appearance. The Ghîla has no equivalent term. We do not call humans they inhabit possessed, they have no self left and cannot be cast out in any way.“ Gemini explained. “Some of the Brood who were alive once have returned after death, and they are the living dead. They will always have a connection to the living in some way. That’s not true about the Ghîla.”
“You’re telling me they’re like demons?” I asked incredulously. “Bullshit!”
“No, Maria, it isn’t. And they are not demons, they are the Non-Born. They were our fore-bearers, the Non-Born. Or the Old Ones, if you like. All our legends are clear on that.”
I gave up on my exercises. I couldn’t train and sort this out at the same time. “So what does the legends say?”
“Eons ago the Non-Born took to the flesh and entered our reality. That is how we describe it. When they did that, they slowly bound themselves to this reality. After a time they couldn’t shift back. They were trapped in one form or another. Most didn’t mind at first, they were enjoying the flesh and sensations they could never have imagined. Suddenly they began to have offspring, that’s where the Firstborns come from. Offspring that sometimes was sane, sometimes mad. Some were immensely powerful and some powerless. There were wars and struggles like this reality had never seen and never will again. The world was almost destroyed as they bent forces and reality to their wishes. It continued for eons.”
Gemini’s voice drew me in. As I was hearing all this I could almost see it in front of me. Some of the legends and religions made sense now, or rather I could see them in a different light.
“Most,“ Gemini continued, “of the powerful beings in the legends, and the gods, were Non-Born. Shiva, Odín, the Aztec gods, demigods, powerful non-human mythological beasts, non-human sentient beings, and so on. We’re talking immensely powerful, totally amoral, and immortal in most sense of the word – or so they thought. After ages their spiritual forms began to fade, their powers weakened, and those who vanished got stuck in-between realities. So, they blamed their offspring, thinking their essence was partly anchored in this reality. In one last desperate cooperation they tried to magically kill all their offspring with, what I guess you could call a single spell. But it backfired.”
I was fascinated and horrified. “What happened?”
“Some of the powerless, who are your regular humans, changed. Most of those with different powers changed as well. Suddenly there were also groups of beings instead of just individuals with different powers. Beings that had inherent powers. So, the living offspring of the Non-Born, those with powers, became fey, elves, trolls, banes, hulders, marors, banshees, weres, shifters, vampires, psychics, and the gods knows what else, took up the fight against their parents.
“Many of the Non-Born was ripped apart when the backlash of the forces they had called upon tore into them. Suddenly there were very few left. And over the ages all of the true children of the Non-Born disappeared. All but two.”
“It sounds insane...but I believe you.” I whispered.
“The eons that followed the cataclysm were plagued with endless wars. Unimaginable wars. Wars between the different factions and between the few Non-Born that were left. Many were driven mad, insane over becoming something they couldn’t control or understand. Some tried to destroy the world, some were trying to preserve it. It took rivers of blood before the Compact was agreed upon. The slaughter that happened was on a scale we cannot fathom, and we believe that the oral tradition of that past have inspired all the apocalyptic myths and descriptions we see in religions today. The more powerful offspring, who we call simply Others, or Firstborns, ruled for even more eons. They’re not Non-Born as such, but they are Firstborn or Powerborn. It is close enough for them to kill the entities that are the Ghîla.” Gemini took a deep breath before she continued. “The Others are what you would know as Old Folk, or being like the Sidhe, Ban-Sidhe, Fae, Firbolg, Bucca, and so on. There are a myriad of other names for them in other cultures, like rakasha, yukai and so on. All but two are dead. There are only two of the Others left in the world. And they live to hunt down and destroy Ghîla that breaks the Compact. They kill anyone who break the compact, but they are the only ones that are powerful enough to kill the possessing spirit of a Ghoul. Except for a Bane, but that’s a different story.”
Gemini got up, opened my little fridge and took out a bottle of water. She took a sip and then continued, “We’re all powerful in some way. Some might even be called godlike in the scope of their powers - or demigod at least. But no matter how powerful some beings are today, it is nothing compared to the forces the Non-Born wielded. The Ghîla can be powerful, evil, amoral, indifferent, and so on, but they are among the weakest of those trapped in-between. Such as it is, humans are too fragile to hold any of the more powerful spirits. A Breed or a Brood could hold much more powerful Non-Born, but that would break the compact and that would bring the Others down on them before they could consolidate and grow in power. The most powerful of those beings can influence the world even without a body, but only infrequently. Something everyone is afraid of – even most of the Ghîla – is that one of the truly powerful Non-Born enters our world.”
“So, what happens with the host?” I didn’t really have to ask.
“We’re not sure, but we think that the soul is destroyed if they take over a living host. They don’t always destroy. Sometimes a somewhat stronger spirit can move in the moment of a natural death. They can also project their mind into others and control humans and animals. The older they are the more power they have. It seems that the body changes with use of powers, growing slowly in capacity as they use their powers.“
I wasn’t sure what to say. To have all of history and the beginning of mankind explained like this was maddening. It sounded insane. But it had the ring of truth. It explained so much of the myth and legends. Even all the contrary parts.
“But we’re all connected? All related?” I asked.
Gemini nodded. “Sometimes there’s a pure human that regresses, if you like, and becomes one of us. There has always been an ebb and flow in our numbers, but I don’t think we’ve ever been more than one tenth of a percent of the total population since the Sumerians. Even then we were only about a percent.”
“My brain is about to explode. For every new thing you tell me I have ten more questions. And for every question you answer I get ten more. Shit...” I rubbed my face tiredly. “Why does everyone want to kill mimics? I mean if other throwbacks are tolerated?”
Gemini looked at me seriously. “Because most go mad eventually, like the Ghîla who can’t contain their own power. Not all, but with very few exceptions. And when they go mad, they kill a lot of people. Not only supes. And they usually grow too powerful too fast.”
I shuddered. I had an inkling how bad it could go if I really lost it. I hadn’t seen much of the supe world, but it was enough for me to understand how bad it would be if someone like me had no restraints. “I hope you’ll take care of it, if it becomes necessary.”
“I will.” Gemini whispered.
“Because I know that whatever else happens, I could never kill you...I...it would destroy me.” I rose and went to get some water. I was thirsty.
The tears streaming down my face had nothing to do with why I was turning my back to Gemini.
I stood by the fridge for several minutes.
“What is happening between us, Maria?” Gemini asked in a tight voice, from behind me.
“You’re the one with the experience here, Gem, you tell me!” I hadn’t meant to snap at her. I would be stupid to take it out on the only one who was trying to help me, but I felt so raw.
“I don’t know anything about this! I have never heard anything like this happening,” Gemini snapped back, eyes flashing.
I went up to her and pulled her into a hug. “Sorry, Gem. I don’t feel altogether sane right now. I have so much rage and hate in me that I’m having a hard time keeping it inside. I wasn’t expecting to live this long, Gem. And now that I have a shot at succeeding, however small, time keeps slipping away!”
She leaned into me. “I want to know it what we have is real. You know?”
I hugged her tightly. “Why question it?”
“Because there is no sane reason for us to be so attracted to each other. I like my girls tall and blond, for one thing!” I could feel her smile against my breast.
“Ouch!” I said. “Again: does it matter?”
“Yes, it matters!” Gemini snapped. “I want no fated love. No damn magic in my relationship! I want you to love me for me! For me!”
“I do!” I responded.
“You don’t know me well enough for that!”
I slowly pushed her against the wall. “It doesn’t matter! I don’t give a damn about magic, fate, or any of it! I would have chosen you anyway! I want you! I want everything about you. You’re the only thing that keeps me sane! Do you hear me, Gem? You’re the only reason I’m not going on a killing spree drowning myself in blood and revenge!” I was sure my eyes were flashing between blue and amber-gold as hers were flashing between her gray, black and electric blue. “Love isn’t only about knowing! It can be intuitive and surprising. You think you can reason yourself out of this?” I kissed her hard and demanded that she acknowledged what was between us – that unbreakable connection. And she responded.
“How can this be real?” She panted.
“I don’t care! For me – there’s only you! And you’re mine! Mine!” It was as much of a love declaration as a threat.
“I don’t know what to do, Maria.” Her voice was shaky.
I put my chin on her head. “To tell you the truth, Gem, I don’t have a fecking clue either. I’m scared to death, Gem! I don’t what I’m doing, but I’m willing to trust my feelings – even though they seem impossibly strong. I don’t know why this happened or how. I don’t understand it, but I’m willing to trust what is there.”
“But what if it goes away?” She asked.
“No!”
“But-“
“No!” My voice was pure steel. “Nothing is going away! Nothing! Will! Go! Away! I will not give you up! Do you hear me, Gem?”
“Don’t try to intimidate me!” Gemini growled and I found myself dangling in the air.
I locked her arms and leaned in against her. “That’s not what I’m doing!”
We were flying. Well, we were levitating.
“Then why the hell are you growling at me?” Gemini’s mouth was a bit wider, and her teeth seemed to grow and separate somewhat.
“I’m trying to get into that thick head of yours that I’m not going away! Not voluntarily anyway. The only thing that will really stop me is death, or you telling me to fuck off! And I’m not ready to check out just yet.” I leaned in and kissed her hungrily. “I intend to let you have your way with me again. Just for the hell of it.”
When Gemini looked at me, I knew it would be a long time before there was any more talk.