by B N Miles
“Inside with the new girls,” Kerrin said. “You know her. Can’t help herself.”
“Thanks.” Jared stood up and stretched. “Listen, there might be more girls coming soon. I don’t know how many, but… try and do what you can for them.”
Kerrin’s face softened. “Of course we will.”
Olga bashed her fist on the table. “Damn right.”
Jared smiled and waved then headed into the Chapter House.
He didn’t know who first called it that, but a couple of months ago some of the girls started referring to their house and the house across the street as sorority houses, then sorority chapters, then the title Chapter House sort of just stuck. He had nothing to do with it—and generally kept a distance between himself and the girls except when necessary. He wanted them to figure things out on their own, to set themselves up however they saw fit, and he knew that if he stuck around they’d start turning to him to make decisions for them. He saw the way the new girls looked at him, like he was their savior, when really all he’d ever done was lead the charge to help them save themselves.
The house was busy and packed with people. Most he recognized, but he saw a few new faces mixed into the group. It was a riot of Metas from all different races: Plethoaks, Trolls, Elves, Fae, Dwarves, Goblins, Kobolds, and so many others. The diversity alone was staggering, and Jared hadn’t known there were more than just a few Meta races still around, but the proof of that was right in front of him.
As soon as he stepped inside, several girls flocked to him. Two Elves, thin and lithe and gorgeous, wearing tight tops and bottoms, tugged at his arms, smiling at him. A Plethoak joined them, light brown skin and tight curly hair and an incredibly white smile. He slipped through the crowd, laughing, as more girls came to bother him, to tug at his arms, to try and get his attention—until he spotted Cassie sitting in a corner.
“Okay, okay,” he said, shaking off a particularly intense Goblin girl, her green skin spotted with gray birthmarks. “Me and Cassie have some business to discuss.”
He heard a few groans, but Cassie beamed at him. She sat on a couch with a girl he didn’t recognize. She was a Dryad, skin the color of milk touched by green food dye, long dark hair, pretty lips—very similar to Jessalene, so much so that they could’ve been cousins.
“Would you mind if we talked for a bit?” Cassie asked the girl.
She shook her head and gave Jared a shy look before getting up and disappearing into the crowd.
Jared sank down in her seat and sighed. “I hate coming in here.”
“You love it, don’t lie.”
“They attack me like I’m a celebrity.”
“You are to them. You saved their lives.”
“Everyone did. I was just there.” He sat up straighter and glanced around the room. There were eyes on them but the chatter and activity had started up again, which meant he had a tiny bubble of privacy with Cassie. “I went to see my sister.”
Surprise registered on her face. “Really? Was that a good idea?”
“No. But we’re desperate, right?”
“Not that desperate.”
“She wants to help us.”
Cassie let out a laugh. “Come on. Really?”
“I know.” He shook his head. “But she meant it.”
“Your sister was working for the Medlar. You realize that, right?”
Jared sucked in a breath and took Cassie’s hand. Her skin was smooth and pale and she smiled at him, her dazzling smile—and he felt a jump in his chest, a patter of his heart, a shaking of his nervous system, that feeling he always got when she smiled at him like that. Cassie, the first of them, the girl that saved him and brought everyone together. Without her, he’d still be a Meta Marshal, still be driving prisoner transports, still be without a family, without hope, or a future.
“I know, but she had a particular demand and I need to… well, I need to ask you about it.”
She tilted her head. “What could she possibly want from you?”
“She wants me to name my children Bechtel and to teach them magic.”
Cassie was silent for a second. He couldn’t tell if she was stunned or processing or what, but her eyes narrowed, her head tilted, and her lips parted.
“Weren’t you always going to do that?” she finally asked.
Jared frowned. “What?”
“I mean, of course we’ll give the kids your last name, assuming we have kids. And of course you’ll teach them magic. You’ll teach them to be smart about it, to control it, and you’ll help them find a way to deal with the Need without turning into addicts. I never thought there was any other way.”
He felt a sudden, undeniable surge of love for her. He leaned forward and kissed her, holding her there, lost in his tiny pocket of privacy among the noise and the commotion of too many women packed into a small house. He tasted his girl, his beautiful Cassie—then pulled back and stared into her eyes.
“I want to marry you,” he whispered.
“Yeah? You do?” Her smile was mischievous. “About time you said it.”
“Come on, Cassie. Marry me.”
“Of course I will, but you don’t have a ring.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple gold band with a single small diamond set in the top. “It’s not much, but I’ve been carrying it for a couple of months now.”
Cassie sucked in a breath as she stared at it. He slipped the ring onto her finger and smiled as she marveled at the simple stone, the simple gold. “Jared,” she said.
“I know, it’s stupid. I couldn’t help myself though. Jessalene helped and—”
“She knew?”
“She knew.” He smiled a little. “She’s expecting one sooner or later. I think you’ll all get one. If you’re okay with that.”
Cassie touched his face. “I’m very okay with it.”
They kissed again and held each other and for a brief moment, the room dropped away, and it was just her, just Cassie, the way it had been in the beginning. They’d come so far.
“I guess this means you want children.”
“Three, actually, so you’d better get to work.”
He laughed. “I’ve been doing my part for a while.”
“True.” She rested her head against his chest and he held her tight. “We’ll keep your family name going, if that’s what you want. I love you, Jared. I want this.’
“I love you too.”
He felt another sudden surge of hope. This wasn’t ideal—it wasn’t how he’d pictured proposing to her, but it felt right, here in the house filled with women they’d helped save together, in the middle of a conversation about their future, about having children together.
Nothing was settled and nothing was safe, but in this moment, with Cassie in his arms, he felt like he had a reason to keep going no matter what.
7
Jared sat in the living room with his feet up on the coffee table when Nikki returned. She threw open the front door and stomped inside, her face turned down into a scowl, and he watched as she slammed the door shut behind her before turning and glaring at the room.
“I’m guessing you didn’t have a productive meeting,” Jared said.
Nikki let out a breath, walked over, and slumped down next to him. Jessalene drifted in from the kitchen, concern in her eyes. The others were in the Chapter House working with the new girls.
“More obfuscating and bullshit.” Nikki leaned against his shoulder. “I don’t understand what the hierarchy is doing.”
“Did you speak with the Lord today?” Jessalene asked.
“I saw him—briefly.” Nikki made a face then got up and threw her arms around Jessalene, who hugged her back and shot Jared a look. It wasn’t normal for Nikki to seem this distraught, even if it was mostly an act.
“What did they say?” Jessalene peeled Nikki back and looked at her.
“The usual things. That they’d look into it, that there was no clear proof the Medlar were behind any
thing—that if they knew of a threat, they’d act on it.”
Jared grunted and shook his head. “I can’t imagine they don’t know.”
“They have to know.” Nikki peeled away from Jessalene and stalked across the room. Jared watched her pace like a cat and felt a strange stab of worry. He’d never seen Nikki this wound up before, and a part of him worried she’d do something impulsive and stupid. “The hierarchy has eyes everywhere. We’ve infiltrated all the major families and most of the minor ones.”
Jared sat up straight. “What’s that now?”
Nikki waved him off. “Oh, it’s time. We have spies in your household.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“I don’t control them and don’t have access to their information, but I know they’re there.”
Jared rifled back through the people that lived in the Bechtel house, through the staff and the Metas that clung to them like barnacles, and couldn’t think of any Vampires.
“You have your own network though, right?” Jessalene tilted her head thoughtfully.
“Not as robust as the hierarchy’s, but yes, I have a network in the city. The problem is, I can’t pull them from their current duties and assign them to watch the Medlar exclusively without drawing attention.”
Jared grunted and stretched his legs before standing. He felt exhausted from the day. While he hadn’t done all that much physically, he was drained emotionally. “I’m not going to ask for anything you can’t provide,” he said. “Your position is important to everyone.”
She gave him a tight smile. “Thank you, Jared, but if the Medlar destroy the Accords then I have a feeling my position won’t mean much anymore. The world will change in ways we can’t quite comprehend right now.”
He tried to imagine what it would be like for Humans and Metas to be aware of each other but couldn’t quite picture it—the idea itself felt absurd.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said, keeping his voice calm. “If we move forward without Vampire help, then that’s fine. My sister gave me a contact in the Waters family that might be willing to offer assistance.”
Nikki’s chin raised slightly. “Really now? She’s on our side?”
“Well.” Jared hesitated, glanced at Jessalene, then down at the floor. “For a price.”
Nikki drifted toward him. “What did she want?”
“I’m not sure you’ll like it.”
“Jared.”
He cleared his throat. “She wants my children.”
Nikki barked a laughed and put her hands on his chest. “What the hell?”
“I mean, she wants my children to be named Bechtel and to carry on our traditions. She wants me to reproduce.”
“Ah,” Nikki said softly, and he caught the strange, sad look in her eye. Vampires were one of the few Metas that couldn’t sexually reproduce, neither with each other or with Humans. Vampires were created in a very particular ritual, they weren’t born.
Nikki was the only girlfriend Jared had that couldn’t carry one of his children. That hadn’t been an issue before and hadn’t come up, but it’d been something in the back of his mind. Nikki didn’t seem like the mothering type, which was fine, but he still worried she might feel something when she saw him having children with the others.
“And I got engaged to Cassie.” He blurted it out, figuring he might as well get it over with.
Jessalene smiled a bit, but she already knew. Nikki stared at Jared for a couple of seconds then smiled, threw her arms wide, and hugged him tight. He grunted at her strength.
“Congratulations,” she said, “that’s wonderful. That’s so wonderful.”
“Uh, Nikki, you’re going to break my ribs.”
She let up a little and kissed his cheek. “I’m happy for you.”
“It’s okay then? You don’t mind?”
“Of course not. Vampires don’t marry. When you’re immortal, your relationship to marriage becomes much different.”
“I guess I can see that.”
She touched his cheek. “Don’t worry, my love. I don’t need a ceremony to be in your life.”
He put his hand on hers then leaned forward and kissed her. She lingered in his arms and looked into his eyes, and he felt a flood of relief. Of all the girls, he worried about her reaction the most—not because she was unstable, but because he didn’t know her thoughts on marriage or how she felt about him marrying others. He fully planned on marrying them all, one after the other, and soon their big weird family would be official.
But for now, he’d start with Cassie and go from there.
Jessalene cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment, but we have a planning session with Beatrice.”
Jared grunted, kissed Nikki one last time, and gently parted from her. “What time is it?”
“A little past eight, which means you’re late.”
“Shit, alright. Want to join us?”
“No, thank you,” she said, drifting back toward the door. “I only stopped by to complain, but now I feel better. Tell the little monster that I said hello.” She winked at Jared then disappeared back out into the night.
He stood there and shook his head. “I swear, that woman’s going to kill me one day.”
“I think that might be literally true.” Jessalene drifted over to him and put a hand on his arm. “She means it though. I think she really is happy for you.”
He smiled and turned toward her, tugging her against him. “And what about you? Not jealous?”
“A little bit,” she admitted. “But I understand what you’re doing.”
“Oh, do you?”
“You love Cassie and want to start a family with her. But I think you’re also following through on your deal with your sister.”
He leaned down and kissed Jessalene’s cheek. “That might’ve been the impetus, but I was going to propose to Cassie sooner or later. I’d been carrying that damn ring around for a while now.”
“I know that.” She looked up into his eyes and chewed her lip. “I’m worried about you getting involved with your family again.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m a different man than I was back then.”
“Still, there are a lot of bad memories associated with them and I just… I don’t want to see you get sucked back into that world.”
“I won’t. I promise.” He kissed her again then let her go. “Come on. We’d better get moving before Bea gets impatient and starts breaking things.”
Jessalene laughed but it sounded hollow. He could still see the worry in her expression, even if she tried to hide it with a smile.
He couldn’t blame her. When he was a part of his family, he’d been a very different person and lived a much darker life. He’d been an addict, leaning on heroin to dull the Need and spiraling deeper and deeper into the orbit of his family, doing their bidding, following their orders, acting like a good little Magi son—and through it all slowly losing himself. He left out of desperation and anger and fear because deep inside he knew that if he stayed, he’d end up a dried-out husk of himself and a snack for Carlo.
That wasn’t going to happen now. Back then he didn’t have a support structure—except for his sister, but she was dealing with her own shit—but now he had his girls, his family. They were the outlet that would keep him from spiraling again. He’d keep his promise to his sister and have Bechtel babies, but he’d raise them as he saw fit, teach them that magic was more than power and destruction, that their lives could be dedicated to something other than the accumulation of favors and wealth and privilege.
He’d teach them to be more than Magi, more than he ever was.
Jessalene released him and headed toward the back door. He followed, a smile on his face, picturing a future in which they saved the world—and wondering if that future might ever happen.
8
Jared paced across a small room at the back of the Chapter House. It was dominated by a single large conference-style ta
ble covered in maps and photographs of a squat gray concrete building in the middle of what looked like a forest. He could hear the murmur of the girls in the other room, but he was alone with Beatrice, Lumi, and Izzy.
Beatrice leaned over a map and jabbed her finger down at it. “Scouts say there’s a lot of cover around the place, so we can get up close without them seeing.” She was a small woman, muscular and rough, handsome in her own way. She was a Dwarf, stone mover, leader of a militia composed of former Medlar slave girls.
She was a warrior, through and through. Jared had never met anyone like her before—strong, dedicated, smart, unwilling to back down for any reason, fiercely loyal. He wouldn’t have been able to get as far as he had without her and her fighters. They were the backbone of the whole operation. She led her people and worked closely with Jared, but he didn’t command or control them. He only made suggestions.
They’d been raiding Medlar facilities for the last few months with varying levels of success. Mostly, they’d focused on freeing as many captured Metas as possible and growing their number of freedom fighters. Sometimes they’d follow leads regarding Wade’s whereabouts, but that never quite panned out— they were always at least a step behind the Medlar. But still, it felt good to kill Medlar soldiers, to destroy their buildings and their research, and to save as many of their experiment subjects as they could.
“If Wieland’s there then it must be important,” Lumi said, frowning at the map. “He’s not in the top echelons of the family, but he’s getting up there.”
“He had control of Wade the last we saw,” Jared added. “He could be there again.”
“I’m not so sure.” Lumi let out a frustrated breath. “After what happened in Arizona, he might’ve been demoted for all we know.”
“Either way, we’re hitting it,” Bea said. “I got scouts looking at the region and getting a feel for the building as we speak, and so far, it sounds promising. Big place, like out in Arizona, but without the wards.”
“If they had Wade there, they’d ward it,” Jared said.
“So, what, we shouldn’t attack just because Wade might not be there?” Bea glared at him and pushed her honey-blond hair from her face with a huff. “Come on, Jared, we’re doing this for more than that one guy.”
