“I need to…I can’t go back,” I told Thea as we walked through the night. “You saw her. She can’t…”

“She’s not quite as badly off as you think, but I’m glad you’re concerned about protecting her.” Thea considered that. She was, for a long moment, silent.

I stayed alert, glancing around. The giant bird thing was still around somewhere, I could feel it, but it was a faint, muted presence. Perhaps, being a bird, it slept at night and, thus, its presence was weakened. I wished I could see it. I almost felt as if I should be able to.

I didn’t want to break the silence, though. I almost hoped the cultists would show up, I felt like beating on them some. At the same time I hoped we could get to the bottom of them.

How do you convince people you’re not the anti-Christ? And how did I help Kanesha without dragging her into all of this? Barry would be fine, eventually, but things could have been so much worse.

With no answer from Thea, I moved slightly ahead of her, watching the streets. There were a handful of people out and about, but no more than that. The summer night was warm, though. Pleasantly so, without the heat that beat against us.

Then I saw it. The fight. It was in an alleyway, on the other side of the street, and all I could see were silhouettes. I didn’t know who was fighting about what, and I figured it wasn’t my concern. Nonetheless, I glanced at Thea and then crossed the street for a closer look. I didn’t move my hand towards the gun.

Two guys fighting. A woman in the alleyway behind them. She wasn’t wearing very much – possibly a hooker, possibly a clubber, it was often hard to tell. Maybe that was what the dispute was over. My inclination was to go act like a human shield, but I couldn’t get past them to do it. She wasn’t running, anyway.

In fact, I saw a look in her eyes and realized she was entirely happy with the situation. Some women like it when men fight over them, I guess. I let out a breath. No, it really wasn’t my concern, and as I thought that, one of the guys backed down. He ran past me, calling me something unpleasant on his way past, and didn’t stop running.

I moved before the “couple” could notice me, shaking my head as Thea joined me.

“Not worth beating on them?”

“She egged them into the fight. The three of them deserve each other.” I firmly, in that moment, believed it.

“Who’s your friend?” Kanesha asked, leaning over the table next to us.

“Her name’s Thea.” I had a growing suspicion that was not, in fact, her name, any more than Jane was really mine.

Thea, though, offered Kanesha a slight smile. “Join us.”

I tensed, but it was the right decision. Throwing her out was only going to make a scene. She settled down next to me with her bowl and I looked at what was left in mine. Not much, and I pushed it around a bit before eating it. I didn’t like this at all…but if Kanesha talked to us and then left, she might be the next person to end up like Barry.

Maybe. But she couldn’t fight as far as I knew. Or could she? I realized I didn’t know her that well, that I didn’t know what her hobbies were. I should have fixed that months ago, but it was too late now. “Hey. How’s it been?”

“Not bad. Are you coming back or are you staying with…” Kanesha did a slight double take. “Are you related?”

“No!” I exclaimed. “Just because we have about the same color hair. No. Thea’s a friend, that’s all.”

Thea laughed a bit, but didn’t say anything. There was something about the laugh, though, that made me abruptly wonder if I was wrong. Maybe we were related after all.

Nah. We couldn’t be.

Kanesha laughed. “You have exactly the same color hair. But you’re right…you don’t look that alike other than that.”

I couldn’t resist, “And you have exactly the same color hair as how many people?” Which was unfair. Blonde varied in tones much more than black did.

She laughed again. “I want to…I want to do lunch some time.” Then, softly, “I need to talk to somebody.”

“I’m not a shrink.”

“I know. I just need…” She tailed off. “And you’ve always struck me as a good listener.”

I knew it was a really bad idea. Despite that, I found myself just nodding to her. A really, really bad idea…but she needed me, and it was hard to walk away from that.

Once Thea was back, she gave me permission to leave as long as I took the gun. It was a heavy weight under my jacket. Not just physically, either. I was more keenly aware that I didn’t have a permit for it than I had been before; especially within DC. But I felt naked and unsafe without some kind of weapon.

I walked out onto the Mall, down towards the reflecting pool. It reflected the trees, a few geese floating on the water. The geese liked it…a nice, shallow pool surrounded by tasty grass they could help mow. I liked it too. There was something quiet and meaningful about this end of the Mall, the furthest from the Capitol and everything that went on there. Politics, stupid and otherwise.

Or maybe all politics were stupid. I stopped by the pool, regarding my own reflection. Blonde hair, tall, but somewhat more slender than Thea, and it wasn’t just the difference in our ages. For all we had similar coloring, nobody was going to mistake us for sisters. I thought I looked more like Mr. Otter, then put that thought out of my mind.

I wasn’t related to him – and if I was, I was disowning him at my first opportunity. I wasn’t sure, though, exactly why I felt so strongly about it.

Except…and a shadow passed across the sun. I glanced up, but nobody else did. Just a cloud, but it spread chill into me. As if it wasn’t entirely that, or as if it was both that and something else. The firm knowledge that there were monsters out there came back into my mind.

And me without my sword. I somehow felt that would be a more effective weapon if what was up there decided to bother me. The tourists didn’t see it. Literally didn’t. And I couldn’t see it either, I just knew it was there.

A great bird of some kind. Nobody would look up anyway. Bitterly, I knew they’d ignore it even if they could see it. Let it go past their mundane, ordinary lives. Bitter, because I was jealous of that ability.

Instead, I watched the shadow, following it as best I could. It was only a suggestion of a presence, as if it was not quite here. As if it was real but not on…not on our plane of existence.

Maybe it was a ghost. “What are you?” I whispered.

I got no answer.

“I’ll go back for your stuff tomorrow.

I nodded to Thea, looking around. Two small rooms or cells opened off an area which seemed to be set up for card games. There even were cards on a table, a ratty set, much played with. “I’m…”

“Don’t apologize.” She turned to face me. “Jane. I know you want answers. I can’t give you them yet.”

“How do I know I’m not going to destroy the world if I find out?”

“Because that’s ridiculous?”

“So is all of this.” I let out a breath. “But let me guess. You can’t tell me because I’m not ready or it would break my head or you want to let me down easy or something.”

“Something like that.” She lifted a hand. “You’ve trusted me this far.”

I glanced around the room. “I trust you more than Mr. Otter.”

“Then you have some good judgment.” She set her own bag down on the table, opened it, and produced a couple of swords.

“Those might…”

“Not against guns. Not even if you’re as good as I am. This isn’t a Highlander movie.”

It took me a moment. Those movies were before my time. “I’m not immortal.”

“But. There are few things more intimidating than a few feet of cold steel, even today.”

I couldn’t resist. I walked over and picked one of them up. It had a plain hilt with a small guard and a pommel. And it felt right. It felt absolutely right in my hands, as if I had held swords before. Not just once or twice, but every day of my life.

“Keep it,” she said, softly.

I let the point drop to the floor, then turned away from her. “I’m going to need it.”

There were people out there who wanted me dead. Not to mention whatever Mr. Otter wanted.

I should be wanting to curl up in a little corner, away from it all, but it all felt right. As if this was where I really wanted to be. Right in the thick of things, with monsters hunting me.

And monsters to hunt.

Running was clearly not a favorite word in Thea’s vocabulary. But when you’re outnumbered and outgunned?

You run. We made it to the motorcycle and peeled out. At this point all I had was the gun, the horn and my small bag…which did at least have a change of underwear in it. I’d worry about that later. Or she would. Hopefully they wouldn’t put an APB out on us. Heck, they’d try to put me in witness protection or something.

For what that was worth. It had only taken them six months to track me down, and whatever I’d repressed, whatever was in those lost memories was connected. If I moved and changed my name again, it would take them less time, I was sure.

I had to stop them. That was what it boiled down to. I had to stop them. Maybe I would have to kill some people before this was over.

The idea bothered me. It didn’t bother me as much as it should have. I felt it didn’t bother Thea at all. But we were on the road and powering off into the night. Sleep wasn’t going to happen, and I suspected our pursuers were fresher, but they were also in a car. A disadvantage in traffic, and we were heading into the city. Plus, I got that feeling again, that I could trust the bike, that I wasn’t going to fall off. I was almost to asking Thea to tell me if it was alive.

Almost. Another bullet snapped after us. Sirens echoed through the streets. Great. Would they believe us if we said we were the victims here. We were, realistically. We hadn’t killed anyone, but we had rather left a mess behind us.

Would anyone believe us? I clung to Thea’s back and hoped we didn’t even have to explain. We were across the bridge, though, into the city, and there was no more sign or sound of pursuit.

Thea hadn’t said anything. Neither did I. We lost them in the tangle of streets and buildings as we headed into Southeast. “Sorry. The next safe house on the list isn’t as pleasant.”

“Yeah, and white skins in Southeast?” We’d get killed or beaten up or something.

“We can handle a few gangsters.”

“This has to do with my parents.” I challenged her with my eyes. “Tell me the truth.”

She did not answer. Instead, she turned down a narrow street, locked the bike, and headed through a door, down stairs. A basement. Not uncomfortable, but it felt like a cell. Like a trap. Like a place from which poison would drip from the roof. And she was clearly not about to tell me the truth.

I felt like an out-and-out criminal now. The would be killer was tied to a chair in the kitchen. That was a cliche, but it was proving effective so far.

“So, this is one of them?

Thea sighed. “I think he’s part of a rather crazy cult.”

“So.” I turned to him. “You think I’m going to cause the end of the world.”

“I know you are.” He actually spat at me.

I laughed. “I’m not going to end the world. I’m certainly not going to do so casually, by accident, or just by breathing.”

“Shows what you know.”

Thea back handed him across the face. “Just tell us who you work for. I might even accept your parole, if you promise not to touch Jane again.”

“I can’t give that promise.”

What the heck were we going to do with him? I had no doubt but that Thea would kill him if she thought she could get away with it. I moved over to the window, letting her interrogate while I watched for his buddies, whom I was sure would show up sooner or later. That would seem to be the way of things. So, I watched the window.

Then it occurred to me. The horn. I carefully unwrapped it from my luggage. Thea glanced over.

“Otter said it would be useful. Let’s use it.”

The guy’s eyes widened.

“Oh no. You’re going to drink, and then you’re going to tell us the truth.”

“I can’t. If I tell you, I’ll make it happen. If you know…please…you have to believe me.” He was panicking. “Please.”

Then his bonds slipped. Thea had come over to me, and he ran for the window. As he did so, two shots echoed from somewhere outside. Both hit home and he flew backwards onto the bed.

Thea swore. “Grab your stuff. We’re getting out of here.”

I wasn’t about to argue. She didn’t have a gun. I didn’t have any ammo…maybe one in the chamber at this point. I hit the floor, moving low towards the door, wondering if they’d hit their own guy deliberately or accidentally. Thea was also moving, staying between me and them. I didn’t want her shot for me. Another shot went off, and she grunted, but kept moving, pushing me behind a car. I wasn’t sure where the shooting was coming from. If I could just get close to them, I could kick their butts. As it was, all I could do was crouch behind the car and hope they ran out of ammo.

On the motorcycle, then. With the things that mattered…clothes, the gun, the horn. I did believe Otter on one thing; it might be useful to me. And I still got the vibe that as smarmy as he was he did have some thought and caring for my wellbeing. Just a bad way of showing it. Or, it almost seemed, like he didn’t know how to show it. “I have something Mr. Otter wants.”

“That’s dangerous. He’ll talk it out of you sooner or later. Or, failing that, trick it out of you.”

That was all we could really say, as Thea gunned the engine. I had this vague feeling the motorcycle was alive, as I had before, was somehow cooperating with us. And at the same time I felt that it was an echo.

I waited until we stopped. In Old Town Alexandria, but not the main street. Quite a few blocks from the magic store. “He said it might prove useful.”

“Then it’s definitely dangerous. Anything that old trickster thinks is useful is going to have a blade on the hilt for sure.”

I didn’t need to know what she meant to translate that saying. Something as dangerous to you as the person you wanted to hurt. “It’s a horn. Marked with Tyr’s rune.”

“Oh. He stole it.”

From her tone, it sounded like he did that sort of thing all the time. “And then used it to mess with my head.”

“We really need to tighten his leash,” Thea grumbled. “You’d think…well…that’s the way of things.”

“He does this all the time,” I hazarded, glancing up at the blue sky. Good, no threat of rain.

“Oh, no. Usually he does worse. But the horn…”

“What is it good for?”

“It does interesting things to liquids you put in it. Turns them into truth serums or makes somebody who’s guilty of something break out in hives. It’s for…finding out if somebody’s guilty.”

“I drank from it.”

“Oh, it would be harmless enough to drink from in private. It’s only a problem if somebody hands it to you.”

“Would the person behind all this recognize it?” I couldn’t help but grin.

“Oh, I see that glint in your eyes. If it’s who I think it is, yes. But he may be working through people who don’t even know who they’re working for…so, he’s right. It could be useful. Either way, don’t break it. It’s rightful owner wants it back.”

“It’s in my duffle. I wrapped it in, uh, underwear.”

She flickered a grin.

“I see he’s still around,” Thea noted.

“Not any more. I think he’s worried you’ll kick his butt.” I flickered a grin at her. She felt so much safer than he did, even though I knew she could beat me up with a blindfold on and one hand tied behind her back.

“Only if he does something. Just watch it. He’s very persuasive.”

“Barry got grounded. They don’t believe he didn’t take that stuff on purpose. And they’re watching me.”

Thea nodded. “Figured. Probably the point of the exercise. But we’ve got something more serious going on.”

“And you came looking for me. What, am I your sidekick now?” I actually didn’t really mind the idea of being exactly that. If I was honest, I was developing a bit of a crush on her…and I wasn’t sure it was a schoolgirl BFF crush either.

“No, but you might be in danger. The people who took Barry.”

“So, they’re probably behind that hold-up too.” I frowned. “They want me dead.”

“Apparently. I’m not sure exactly who they are, but they definitely want you dead. Barry was bait..”

“I was thinking it was Mr. Otter.”

“He doesn’t want you dead. That’s the last thing he wants. He wants you on his side, serving his agenda. And I’m not sure what that is right now.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t trust him. So, what can we do?”

“You’re in a very insecure position. Far too easy to find. Not nearly enough protection.”

“I have a gun.” I admitted that very quietly.

“With you?”

“No.”

“Then go get it. Can you use it?”

“I think so.” Our eyes met. “I don’t remember.”

“Get it anyway. And anything else that might be useful. We’re moving tonight.”

“Moving? If you plan on hiding me in an undisclosed location, I won’t be happy.”

“I plan on keeping you out of their hands, in one piece. Alive would be good, too.”

I laughed a bit. “I’ll get the gun. But I’m not going to be some package for delivery here.”

“You will never be that.”

I wrapped the horn carefully and hid it in my underwear drawer. It wasn’t anything magical after all, and I’d get into a ton of trouble if anyone found out I’d stolen it. Mr. Otter had tricked me.

Or maybe just annoyed me into doing something he wanted done, but I couldn’t imagine what he’d want with it. And maybe he was responsible for Barry’s problems too. And…the bastard was waiting for me when I left school.

“Give me one good reason I should give it to you,” I said flatly. “For all I know, you’re why Barry’s grounded.”

He actually…smiled, hands clasped behind his back. “Now why would I have done that?”

“I don’t know. To mess with my head. To get what you want…which isn’t a shabby old drinking horn.”

“Oh, somebody I know is rather attached to it.”

“So, you’re using me to prank another person.” Somebody who would put a rune of justice on a drinking horn…that had to mean like a cop or something. Or just somebody who followed Tyr. “A follower of Tyr.”

Except that didn’t explain the appearing, disappearing, appearing horn. Nothing did, really, except magic or insanity or him slipping drugs into my drink.

“Close. It’s harmless. Give it back to me and I’ll return it to the person it belongs to. No harm, no foul.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” I wanted to…but that wanting to was so strong it, alone, made me suspicious of the man. I kept one eye on him. Long grey hair. Hints of red in it. And there was something about him that reminded me, oddly, of an elf from Lord of the Rings.

“Because nobody ever does,” he said in an obviously-teasing woe is me voice. “Never mind. Keep it, then. It’ll find it’s way home eventually, and I suppose you might find it useful.”

I started to say it didn’t do anything, then thought better of it. If he thought I would find it useful then maybe it was, in some way I didn’t know about yet. I also felt that it was best not to mention that I’d drunk from it.

And right at that point, I saw Thea. “Uh oh.” The two of them in the same place struck me as a bad idea.

And him, too, because when I looked back from her, he was gone. And Thea was striding towards me.