Raving Moon, Lords of the Night Book One

Chapter 2: Bareburger

We walked back to the SUV in silence. Lost in my own thoughts, I'd barely noticed. I have to admit, the Ty Brewster case was barely on my radar. My job was brutal and we Thrones were called on to do terrible things. We kept the peace between the Vampire Houses, greater and lesser, and we kept humans oblivious to the preternatural world around them. To do either often required harsh decisions and harsh punishment. All this to say, I'd never given Brewster's death a second thought. Hearing Earl speak of Ty and feeling the deep running anger in the air, I couldn't help but wonder if the young man had been wronged.

Earl patted me on the back and climbed into the SUV.

"Stay out of The Wild, my friend. You can only shake a bottle of nitro so many times before..." he brought his hands together then pulled them apart, fingers stretched wide, "BOOM."

As a Throne I could go wherever I wanted, but I heeded his warning.

Rock came through the doors of the bar and rushed over. Miguel growled, blocking his path. Rock raised his hands and looked down at his feet. He was the bigger man, but The Black Brothers radiated far more power. Miguel looked to his pack leader who waved the bouncer over.

"Mr. DeLuna, I wanted to apologize. I didn't want to... he's a Throne, sir. I didn't-"

"It's okay, papa. You did the right thing letting him in." Earl leaned out the window. "But you did nothing to keep the peace in my establishment. If something happened to the officer, there would have been more crows, no?"

Black carrion birds. I didn't take offense to the nickname, not really.

"No... I mean, yes, Mr. DeLuna."

"Yes. That would not have been okay."

Earl leaned back and Rock was silently dismissed.

I hadn't known Earl owned The Wild. It would have been smarter to ask him for help, but then I'd have had to tell him why I needed to speak to Jamal.

Jamal.

I looked around for the young man. I didn't have to look far, he sat on an old milk crate beside the vacant lot. He might've been willing to let me chase him around town, but he didn't want Miguel Negro hunting him.

A honking car pulled up behind the SUV.

"That's you, Blanco Loco." Jay thrusted his thumb towards the waiting car. "I called you an Uber. Kid! You too. It's time to go."

I didn't complain. I didn't like the way things were going, but I was in no position to change it.

"Stay out of trouble, amigos." I said, walking to the car.

I held the door and the kid reluctantly climbed in. I felt a bit like a child being sent to bed by his parents, it rankled. We pulled off and I watched the black SUV. If Earl's legendary composure was being tested by current events, then Gorgon City was truly on a precipice.

We drove through Edgewater, the remnants of the old Stygia still visible despite the relentless encroachment of gentrification. Eventually the aging buildings gave way to fresh and trendy condos, state of the art apartment buildings, and high rises still under construction. The city was changing. The longtime residents were being replaced by young millennials bringing with them their coffee shops and gastro-pubs. In a few years, Stygia would look like Tartarus, the island most people thought of when they mentioned Gorgon City.

A buzzing in the back of my mind, interrupted my thoughts. The kid's nervous energy was impossible to ignore, and I wondered whether I should redirect the driver to one of Stygia's Throne Outposts. At least there, I could get a proper weapon. I took a deep breath. It was fear talking and I buried it away. I'd come to Stygia because I needed to talk to Jamal, not traumatize him.