by Erin Hayes
“Wh—”
“Why?” she prompts, and my anger skyrockets at her sneer. “Because we’re going to show how much of a loose cannon even Metas are to their own. You see, Miss Fuchs, when you’re a Human and you see how Metas brutalize each other, it’s hard to believe that there will be any peace between our races when we’re so vastly different.”
“But wh—”
“Because there won’t ever be peace.” Her upper lip curls. “We’re just helping the powers that be force that decision. So that there will be an outcry to either separate our races or change something.”
“And that’s where I come in,” the small human says as he takes off his mask. The Human is younger than I thought he’d be, and acne still dots his face. “I’ve found a way to cure Metas of their…Meta-ness.”
I’m only able to narrow my eyes. Cure us? But there’s nothing wrong with us to begin with!
“It’ll even the score between us,” Janak snickers. He’s going to be the first one I kill when I can shift again.
“Why…” I swallow and concentrate very hard to make my lips work. “Why’s…Ken here?”
Stade lets go of my arm and helps set up a camera. Nothing really makes sense as I watch them work, setting up the feed. I swallow as a feeling a dread settles even further on my shoulders. Like I’m about to witness something horrible.
“We want to send the Complex and the Human presidents a message,” Lewis explains. “Release the shtrigu,” she barks suddenly. “And start the live feed.”
Someone presses a button and the shackles holding Kaleb to the wall release, and he falls to the ground, his head bowed. He’s not unconscious like I thought, and I nearly shout out to him. As he raises his eyes, though, I realize that this isn’t the Kaleb that I know. The molten liquid of his gold eyes swirls on an impassive face.
Kaleb is somewhere else, replaced by this crazed beast.
Then his eyes land on Ken, the being that’s closest to him, and I see the flicker of hunger pass in his face.
They’re going to show a starved shtrigu feeding off my little brother to everyone. To show that we’re unable to fight our base urges. To help the Humans First agenda of Humans first.
I do open my mouth and scream, managing to thrash a little bit. The gas must be wearing off. Bit by bit. But it’s not enough to fight.
“The live feed doesn’t have audio,” Lewis tells me, “so you can scream all you want. It may make you mad enough to fight back.”
My breath comes in shallow gasps, as the fight leaves me. I can’t do anything. I can’t help them, I can’t fight.
All I can do is watch and witness my little brother’s death.
Kaleb lurches forward, crawling on his hands and knees towards Ken. I make a strangled noise deep in my throat as he reaches the boy and puts his head in his lap.
No, no, no, no! I want to scream. “No!”
Kaleb’s eyes flick up to me, and recognition flares for the briefest moment as we watch each other. I pray to the galaxies that he doesn’t follow through. That there’s something left of the Kaleb that I’ve spent the last week with to fight when I can’t.
It’s not enough though, because he lowers his head, the blue light swirling in his mouth. My heart pounds as I can’t help but watch in horror as…
The light from Kaleb’s mouth pours into Ken’s.
He’s giving Ken whatever is left of his life force. I hold my breath, unsure of what’s happening and why, because Kaleb keeps giving and giving and giving. The Humans around us watch with rapt attention, not knowing what’s happening.
But I do. And I know that Kaleb is killing himself. He’s been practicing with me for the past week to give life force gently, and Ken is his first successful attempt.
Don’t, I silently plead. Please don’t, Kaleb.
The light abruptly stops. For a heartbeat, nothing happens. Then Ken shifts and pushes himself on his elbows.
“What the fuck?” Lewis whispers next to me.
“Fight,” Kaleb, whispers before he collapses to the side.
Ken looks around, taking in his environment before looking at me. I feel something akin to both horror and relief as he gets to his feet. And I gasp.
His tails!
Where Ken had three tails before, nine now writhe and twitch. Kaleb, in giving him the last of his life force, must have given him an extra burst of power. That power wraps around my little brother as he shifts into a white fox form, complete with glowing eyes and sharp teeth.
He’s a nine-tailed kitsune!
“Cut the feed!” Lewis shouts, turning to the cameraman. He obliges, but I can tell from his shaking hands that this is nowhere what he had expected to happen.
“Kid,” Janak says, dropping my arm as he moves forward to intercept Ken. “Or, fox.”
That’s when Ken decides to attack.
In his fox form, my little brother surges forward and catches the Human by the throat, riding him to the floor as he tears out the flesh there. Janak’s blood sprays him, and the Human opens and closes his mouth, unable to breathe.
Ken whirls on the next Human and hisses with his teeth bared before launching. He catches him by the leg and brings him to the ground. The Human wails in terror as Ken snaps his jaws together, the leg snapping in half.
Blue shots from segifs blast around us, trying to catch Ken, but he’s now too fast. His form flashes as he catches one of the armed Humans off guard, throwing the firearm away before tearing off his face.
Stade lets go of my arm to join the fray. Suddenly left without support, I crumple to the ground. Despite the pandemonium around me, I look up with one objective in mind.
Save Kaleb.
I’m still worried about Ken, but I know that as a nine-tailed fox, he’ll be able to easily dispose of these Humans. Kitsunes may be weak, but the Humans haven’t encountered a powerful nine-tailed fox before.
Kaleb hasn’t moved since he gave Ken his last bit of life force. And I’m afraid there’s no more. No, there can’t be. Kaleb must live. He has to!
I pull myself towards him, inch by painful inch. Control comes back to me, but it’s not enough to join in the fight, only enough to sit up and pull Kaleb’s body towards me.
“Wake up,” I say through my raspy throat. I sound like I’ve spent a week in the Desert Dome without water. “Wake up, Kaleb!”
He doesn’t stir or acknowledge the fact that I’m here. I shake him again but to no avail. Angry tears prick my eyes as another Human screams behind us, a sign that Ken has found his mark. I’m solely concentrated on the shtrigu though.
“Open up your eyes!” I sob. “Please?”
Still no movement. I make a strangled noise before I lean forward, opening his mouth. “Take my life force, Kaleb,” I plead. “Please take it!” I bite my lip before opening my own mouth. “Please? I…I love you.”
I wait for a few heartbeats, and nothing happens. I’m about to scream in frustration when a sliver of red light escapes from me and dives into Kaleb’s open mouth. I breathe heavily, and shake him again. “Keep going! You have to wake up, keep going!”
More light flows from me to him. It’s not a lot of life force—I recognize that now—but maybe it’s enough. Enough to save him.
I lose him as my tears overcome my eyes. This just has to work!
I feel a hand cup my cheek. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t feed on him.”
“Kaleb!” I bat the tears away, trying to see him as best as I can. “Kaleb, you’re alive!”
The shtrigu smiles up at me. “You said you loved me?”
I hiccup a laugh. “Yeah. Crazy as it is…Yeah.”
He closes his eyes for a moment. “Me too.”
My heart swells as we look at each other and I kiss his lips. “Thank you for not leaving me,” I whisper.
Another scream, and we both whip our heads at the sound. Ken has pretty much massacred the Humans. He hasn’t killed them all, I can see, but it’s enough to keep them from fig
hting back. His fox form stands over a cowering Lewis.
“Stop!” she screams. “Please! You’re only proving our point!”
I wanted to tell her that she started this whole thing, that Ken is usually a docile, kind child, and this drove him over the edge. Instead, I call out to stop this madness, “Don’t, Ken.” The fox snaps his head to us, saliva dripping from his fangs. “We’re okay now,” I tell him warmly.
For a second, I wonder if my legs will work enough to walk over to him. I push myself up and teeter over to him, putting a hand on his furry shoulder. He growls at me in protest, but I don’t shy away from him.
“Come back to us, Ken,” I say softly. “You’ve saved our lives. You can relax now.”
Ken looks up at me and lets out a low whimper. A surge of power surrounds him, and he transforms back into a boy, looking dazedly up at me. “You came, Sissy,” he whispers tiredly. “You came for me.”
“Of course I did.” I use the winds around him to wrap clothes around him and tie the sash. “You did well,” I tell him proudly, giving him a hug.
“Just wait until this gets out!” Lewis shouts. “That a little boy was able to kill a bunch of Humans! All you did was forward our cause! All you did was—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Kaleb mutters as he gets to his feet. Despite his weakened state, he towers over her, and Lewis shrinks back in fear. “Serena,” he says softly, “take the boy, leave this room, and call the Intra—the good kind.” His lips pull up into a menacing smile. “I’ve got some unfinished business to take care of that I don’t want you to see.”
Lewis’s eyes widen in fear, and she looks back at us. “Don’t leave me here with him!” she shouts. “Don’t—”
I wrap my arms around Ken and shut the door behind us as she screams. “Come on,” I tell my little brother. “We have a bunch of kids to release. And there’s one named Jack that I think you’ll like.”
Chapter 11
The Intra arrive about twenty minutes later. I had a damned horrible time trying to get in contact with a branch who would believe me, and I’ll honestly admit that I was relieved when a Meta officer finally answered my call, an incubus that didn’t believe what I told them.
But when they arrived, they found a bunch of terrorized kids, one older kitsune, a revitalized shtrigu, and whatever Humans were left in that room were now nearly a hundred years old. Lewis, apparently, would have had dementia in her more advanced years, and I passively watch as she’s dragged away by the Intra. She looks at me confusedly, her white hair loose and her skin sallow.
She doesn’t remember me.
I’m almost relieved.
Kaleb glows with health and radiance. I give him a knowing smirk, glad that he is all right. They took Jerry away in handcuffs earlier. While he doesn’t look as young as he once did, it looks like Kaleb did give him back some of his life force. Maybe Kaleb couldn’t give it all back, but I’m glad that he kept his promise.
As of yet, they haven’t pressed charges or anything against us. Maybe, if worse came to worst, we could say self-defense. But the baleful expressions of the betrayed Intra tell me that they sympathize with what happened.
The Meta children aren’t all right though. As I watch them being taken in a zipper to a hospital, I see the scars that each of them have received as part of their captivity. The work of Humans First has left them with emotional damage that I don’t know will ever be fixed.
Not to mention that it seems like some of them have lost touch with their Meta selves.
“We’ll see what we can do,” an EMT says to me in passing. “These kids…” He’s a Meta like me, and I can see that this has shaken him up.
“Thanks,” I tell him. “Please do everything you can to help them.”
Ken sits next me with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He hasn’t said much since we emerged from the underbelly of the Intra office, and I don’t press him to say anything. His nine tails curl and twist around each other, like they’re not used to being together.
At least he wasn’t privy to their experiments. Small favors.
“Why did the Humans do that?” he asks softly, his voice breaking. “Why do they hate us?”
My heart breaks for him, and I hug him close to my chest. “They don’t all hate us,” I say softly. It’s even hard for me to believe at this point, though, after everything. My throat closes up and I swallow the lump back. “A lot of people don’t like what they don’t understand. And some act on it.”
Ken bites his lip as he watches Jack being carried out on a stretcher. The poor vampire boy is wearing a field generator to shield him from the daylight, but I’m not sure if it’s needed.
“Jack?” I hear a panicked voice. “Jack?”
The boy looks up as a woman and a man, wearing protective fields themselves, run up to him, sobbing freely as they embrace him. “M—Mommy!” he cries. “Daddy!”
They look him over, kissing him repeatedly, checking that he’s safe. They sob as a collective unit, relief evident on their faces.
How could Lewis and the rest of Humans First not see that we have all the same feelings and emotions? How could they not see that we have as much humanity as them?
“Looks like Jack found his family again,” Ken murmurs softly. The two had briefly met once we let them out and Ken had stayed with Jack until the Intra arrived.
“Yeah,” I say. “Mom and the others will be here soon.”
“I hope so.” I hear the longing in Ken’s voice.
I continue watching Jack and his family interact, and I hope and pray that they’ll be able to fix him and make him a full vampire again. No one deserves to be denied what they truly are.
“Ken? Serena?”
I recognize that voice. Both Ken and I look towards it, and we see our mother stepping out of a zipper with our siblings pouring out. All of them. Mom has brought the whole litter to be reunited.
“Oh galaxies,” Mom cries, seeing us.
The kits reach us first. “Ken!” one cries, barreling into him, knocking him over. The other nine kitsune children jump into the dogpile, crying and hugging each other, glad that we’re a family again. The litter was always a tight-knit group.
I hang back to stand next to my mother.
“You found him,” she whispers, not taking her eyes off her children. “You brought my Ken back.”
“I told you I would,” I say to her.
She looks at me then—really looks at me—before wrapping me up in an embrace. “Thank you,” she whispers. “Thank you, Serena.”
I hold onto her, glad to have her smell back in my life, a sense of familiarity when there wasn’t one before.
She pulls back and gives me a hard look. “You smell…different,” she says suspiciously as she looks me up and down. “Like you’re…in love?”
I let out a surprised laugh, and lick my lips. “Well,” I say softly. I reach behind me and take Kaleb’s hand. “Mom, I’d like you to meet Kaleb. He helped me find Ken. And saved his life.”
I see the recognition flare in Mom’s eyes as she looks up at him. She knows that he’s the shtrigu that I had originally pointed out as the kidnapper. During one of my calls over the past week, I mentioned that he was innocent, but I’m not sure how she’ll take him now.
I don’t have to wonder for very long. With a cry, she wraps Kaleb in a hug, and I hear his surprised whoosh of breath as she squeezes his chest. Mom may be a short woman, but she’s strong. I raise my eyebrow and give him a playful smirk.
“Thank you so much,” Mom whispers. “For bringing my son back. For taking care of Serena. For bringing my family back together.”
At first, Kaleb is too stunned to respond. Then he chuckles and hugs Mom. “You’re welcome,” he says softly.
I look back at my pile of siblings and smile. There may be a long road ahead of us to get past this incident. But everyone’s here.
A week ago, I would have given anything to be anywhere else in the galaxy. Now, there�
��s nowhere else I’d rather be.
Epilogue
“Uh, Sissy?” Mitsy tugs on my shirt, and I turn away from one of our regulars to look down at my little sister. Mitsy always seems to interrupt me when I’m taking orders.
“What is it, Mitsy?” I ask irritably. “I’m helping Lexi.”
“It’s fine, Serena.” Lexi waves good-naturedly, while the male next to her—some brand of Meta that I can’t quite place—grins widely.
Mitsy looks frightened, though, which gives me pause. “There’s a Human at table seven,” she whispers.
I look up to see a young female sitting in a corner of the restaurant. She flips through the pages of the menu, oblivious to everyone’s eyes on her.
We haven’t had any Humans at the restaurant since it reopened a week ago. I guess word got out about what happened with Humans First and Ken, and I can understand why Humans would avoid this place. If the tables were turned and Metas were responsible for such a heinous act, I’d be avoiding Humans myself.
Just too many broken bridges and miles of pain between our two races. I think if Mom didn’t have to worry about caring for eleven kits with the second half of her S-Co payout at the end of the Complex experiment, she would have forgone the last payout and left.
I doubt this grand experiment is going to work now.
This Human must have either not heard about the news or she doesn’t care. Either way, I feel my gut twist with the tension behind me. Should I kick her out? How is Ken going to react to seeing a Human here? He’s been quiet ever since we got back, and Mom’s been keeping him in the kitchen, away from customers.
“Want me to take care of it?”
I gratefully glance up at Kaleb, who looks a little ill at ease in an apron on his long, lanky frame. He’s been helping out at the restaurant since we were released from custody and Ken’s been back.
Also, I’ve continued staying at his place every night. Practicing, if you know what I mean. We’re trying to figure out how he can feed off life force in a different way—not what he used to do with San. It’s very much a work in progress, but we’re spending our nights exchanging our life forces along with some great sex. For now, he always takes a little more than he gives back, for sustenance, but we’ll have to figure out something for the long term. We’re not too worried. Like San, I don’t mind losing seconds off my life for him, and that seems to be enough for me.
