The Aftermath ✔

21 DECIDE

A hand grazed Slade's and she looked down to it as Eli interlocked their fingers. He was holding on. He was holding on but there was no sense now.

Slade slipped from his grip. She couldn't bear to see his crushed expression.

"Then on the run it is," Slade said. She met eyes with Lomos. "You're not alone. You can't be the only one with a human child. Not if the combination is that direct. There must be more—maybe hiding. Maybe some werewolves have lost their rune to shift, but you're not alone. We'll help you. We'll do what we can."

Lomos didn't calm or otherwise look ready to take her up on the offer.

"Don't you want to save him?" Eli yelled.

"Them." Lomos told them, "His mother's in that manor, too. And she's not walking away from this Scott free."

Eli calmed. "Them," he repeated, "don't you want to save them?"

That look of woe was all the answer they needed—the brigade captain was willing to humor them, but not for long.

"But now that you've come and gone at will," Lomos said, "it's unlikely Sovereign Manos allows you to enter there again. If...if it's even him. Sometimes he loses time. And I know it's that—that thing inside him." The way his skin reddened spoke of embarrassment. "He even told me to keep my kid. But then the next day, he busts in and demands him. Like he's two different people."

Slade supposed that was an accurate depiction. Eli set his mouth to confirm it but there was no point so Slade shook her head and he backed down.

Innocent lives were on the line. They needed to act now. Before that, she needed more information. If Trixie and possibly that...dwarf had a Legion, why didn't Manny already summon them?

The word Legion meant an army, an infinite amount. Weren't they all the same? What if they weren't?

She spun around to ask Davenport, "Is my Legion special? Are they all distinct?"

Davenport worried his lips. Eventually, he cocked his head. "They are all the same."

But he kept on biting his bottom lip like he had more to say but couldn't.

"In every aspect? Even in motives?"

After clearing his throat, Davenport repeated, "They are all the same."

Eli stepped beside Slade but asked the harpy, "Are all werewolves the same?"

Davenport resisted. Eventually, he cleared his throat. "Yes. They're all the same."

Slade regarded Eli in awe. "You're clever."

Eli told her, "At the courthouse, when yours awoke, she told Trixie to keep Mano's Legion suppressed if it awakened. Are they...are they even on the same team?"

"All wolves are on the same team, aren't they?" Lomos called from behind them. "Maybe we don't think the same, but what benefits one, benefits the rest."

Slade tried to think through the confusion. She came to one conclusion, "We need help. And if there's an army of werewolves gathered, that's where we need to be. They think they're acting in their best interest by saving a gorilla. Let them. As of now, that shifted in the womb crap is now our lie, too. We help them get in, get the baby and disappear into the night."

Davenport scoffed. It wasn't loud, or derisive but it was there and even Eli caught it.

"What's so funny?" Eli demanded.

Wearing a weak smile, the harpy shrugged. "Just the ease with which you lot speak. The word Legion is not coincidental. They are insidious. Meaning that every harpy is against you. Every vampire is against you. And as dwarfs carry no Legion, whatever that creature is, its lot is against you. You have a minimum of three races on your heels, metaphorically speaking. And let's not forget everybody else on the opposite side who means to make absolutely sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that man does not return. We are against you."

Eli grabbed Slade's arm, inching her behind him.

The harpy raised his hands. "I mean you no harm. As of this moment, I do not. But look around you. You have no allies. From this way or the other, there is no winning for you."

"Then what choice do we have?" Slade demanded. The fact that he gave no answer meant he had a proposal, one they wouldn't like. "What is it you want from us? You've allowed us to enter your shop twice now. How convenient."

Davenport's body looked bulky when he turned to eye them in profile.

"There is a way to cure...your plight. To ensure that you bear no human child. But you must do something for me."

As Davenport began to circle them, Eli turned to watch him, all while keeping Slade at his back.

"On what condition?" Slade asked. "The human baby—"

"A human baby can be given a covenant as well. That will make everybody happy. He's too young to bear an oath to become a wolf, and besides, wolves turn human, not the other way around. But there are other deities he can be offered to." When Lomos tensed, Davenport added, "Alive. That would make him useless to vampires, and unthreatening to the Children of Rune. Correct?"

He'd almost circled them. If not for that action, Slade would have jumped at the offer. The man reminded her of a vulture.

"I'm listening," said Slade. "What do you want in return?"

"Oh. I think my request is more than reasonable." Davenport came to a stop before her, smiling. "More than reasonable."

With a snap of his fingers, the world went white, when it returned, all four of them stood by a light pole, the last one before reaching the forest.

That wasn't all, the conditions, they pounded in Slade's brain. If the ghostly expression on Eli's face was any indication, he knew it, too. As did Lomos because he wouldn't make meet eyes with them.

"Are we in agreement?" Davenport asked.

Eli reached for Slade's hand but she dodged his hold.

Still with her eyes cast down, Slade muttered, "Agreed."

"Ma'am," Eli gasped. "Let's think about this."

She returned his gaze but told Davenport, "Agreed."

"Good." Davenport waved behind him. "Because I've gathered backup. The werewolves aren't far into the forest. You will bring these fighters with you as your own contribution."

A high-pitched sound closed in. It sounded like unfocused noise at first but grew into an unbearable screech.

Body after body landed. If not for the robes they wore, no one could distinguish them from humans.

Eli bristled. "Banshees."

Long white hair cascading past his shoulders, their leader hurried to meet them.

As with all banshees, he spoke in a whisper, "We have arrived. Are we late?"

"No." Davenport gestured at Slade and company. "And this is your charge."

The banshee turned to them and brought his right fist to meet his left palm as he bowed and greeted them in the old tongue. "At your service." He told Davenport, "Had thought I'd seen the last battle since the end of man. This is rather exhilarating."

He wasn't the only one in flight. The distinct buzzing sound to close in made Slade close her eyes. "Please tell me I'm wrong," she begged.

Eli patted her shoulder, but it was Lomos who swore under his breath, "Not the fucking fairies."