Tyler

by Kathi S. Barton

Chapter 10

  It was time to end this, Jazzie thought. Standing up, she watched Glenda back away. That might have made her feel good if her belly wasn’t so sick and she wasn’t scared out of her mind. Jazzie walked behind the chair she’d been in for something to hold onto, and smiled. Glenda asked her what she had to be so happy about.

  “I’ll get to that in a minute. I want to talk to you about my family. And that would include Joey. There is no little Ryan.” Jazzie smiled again and pointed to Sara, who stepped out of the shadows. “My mother-in-law, Sara—you shouldn’t have taken her. Now you have an entire pack ready to tear you apart. And I do mean tear you apart. From what I’ve heard, no one will be able to find enough of you to do a DNA sample on anything that might be found at the scene. Nothing. Not that anyone would care, but that’s what I heard.”

  “Like I give a fuck about a pack. They have to have good reason to try and kill me, and I think that if any of them have gotten to know you, they’d be happy to be rid of you instead of me. So there.” Jazzie nodded. “So, you agree with me. That would be a first.”

  “No, just letting you ramble on like the fool that you are. I’m well liked, as a matter of fact, but that’s neither here nor there. What I was saying about Sara. She raised her sons with her spouse to be good strong men. They’re polite, good to people that they like and some that they might not care about. I think you should think about how many times you’ve run across one of them and they didn’t kill you. Also, they’re terrified of their mom. I never would have thought that myself, but they are.”

  “You’d better be afraid of me, Jazzie. I’m going to kill you.” Jazzie told Glenda that she wasn’t. “I’m going to make you regret ever coming to be a part of my family. Then I’m going to go and get little Ryan and leave.”

  “I do regret coming to your family, Glenda, except for having my son, Joey. And—well, I have no idea why you think that plan will work when nothing else you’ve tried has worked. I mean, surely you didn’t think that you’d be able to just walk away from this. Well, I’m sure you did, but you’re not.” Jazzie wanted to hold her belly, to calm it, but that would be admitting that she was afraid. “Anyway, you keep interrupting me and we’ll never get this finished. Then there is Quinn. She’s amazing. Pack leader with her husband, she cares for the sick all over town, and has taken in some of the children that were orphans and is raising them to also be good men. And she’s powerful too.”

  “Get on with it, will you?” Glenda jerked the chair out from in front of her and Jazzie nearly fell. Glenda got a kick out of it as she sat down. “Poor little Jazzie. No powers but her flapping gums. As I said, get on with it.”

  She was afraid again, and turned to look at the women. Quinn gave her a thumbs up, then sliced her finger across her throat, and Jazzie laughed. These women, all of them, were good people. Scary as hell, but good hearted too.

  “The Death Watcher. Have you heard of that person? I hadn’t, but it makes sense if you think about it. Anyway, that would be Rayne here.” She appeared and did the same motions with her hands that Quinn had, essentially saying that she was going great and to end this with Glenda. Jazzie was ready. “She and her husband Gabe are the Death Watchers. The dead come to them, and they help them realize that they’re dead. Also, help them if they’re seeking some kind of job. They work, did you know that? Anyway, she sent your son, your only son, away when he released you from jail. He can’t do that.”

  “Where is he? Christ, you idiot. He and I, we’re going to raise his son, the two of us. Wherever you sent him, I want him back here now. Ryan didn’t deserve to die so young, and you’ll pay for that too.” Jazzie told her that he had broken the laws of his kind and wasn’t returning. “What sort of bullshit is that? Fuck, you must be smoking some powerful shit. Whatever it is, I’m betting we can make a killing off it. Tell me more, you fucking lard face twat.”

  “Oh my, that’s nasty. Are you making them up as you go along? Curse words, I mean. That one isn’t very good, just so you know.” Jazzie smiled, knowing that Glenda was trying to find her own way around curse words. What a dumbass. “So, this is Clare. She makes the most amazing murals, and some of them grace the bottom of some lovely pools. Why, the way she makes it look so amazing, it just boggles the mind. She too can see ghosts and has become a very good friend to me. They all have, as a matter of fact.”

  “How many more do we have to go through before you finally have someone bring me little Ryan? I hope this is the last one.” She said that there were two more. “Thank goodness. I thought for sure that you were going to start traipsing people from the streets in here too. Finish up so that I can kill you all.”

  Jazzie wasn’t sure how she thought she was going to do that; they not only outnumbered her, but the others were much more powerful. Glenda was nothing more than a human being, much like she was. But she was also as crazy as a loon. Maybe she thought that would help her somehow.

  “This is Addie. You might not know this to look at her, but she’s older than all of us put together. And Christ, is she strong. Why, if she wanted to, I’m sure that she could take down this entire street and not hurt a single person.” Glenda said whoopee. Addie bowed and then pulled armor around herself. That got Glenda’s attention. “You see? You are up against the best of the best here.”

  “Except for you. What is it you have to offer here, Jazzie? Your ability to go on and on about nothing, and then expect people to be proud of you?” Glenda laughed. “I will say this for you, you do have a powerful bunch of people at your back. But you have noticed that they’re at your back, haven’t you? Not out there in front where they can protect you.”

  “I don’t need them to protect me, Glenda. I thought you would have figured that out by now.” She walked to stand about two feet from Glenda. “I’m going to take your fucking ass down all by my human self.”

  Jazzie punched Glenda in the face, knocking her not only back, but out of the chair as well. Picking it up, she took it back to where it had been and sat in it. Glenda sat up and glared.

  “If you’d like to play at being childish, I had it first. If I had wanted you to have a seat, I would have brought an extra one. Besides, I love where you’re at right now. Your head below me and your fucking ass soaking up the mud and shit on the floor.”

  Glenda stood up, and Jazzie swallowed the fear that nearly made her want to run. Jazzie didn’t move, not even when Glenda spit at her. She asked her if this was supposed to be her big show of killing them all.

  “I’m going to enjoy killing you, you fucking cunt. I’m going to wallow in your blood. Then I’m going to go to your home, kill that husband you seem to be so proud of, and take what should have been mine in the first place.” Jazzie asked her what that might be. “My grandson, you moron. He should have come to me the moment my son left you.”

  “I might have to point out to you that when I kicked Ryan out of the house, I was still carrying Joey. Giving him over to you would have been impossible. Unless, of course, you thought to carry him the rest of term on your own.” She looked the woman up and down. “I do believe that your womb has dried up like your intelligence—not that I think you had much of that to begin with. You’re not getting my son.”

  When Glenda attacked, leaping at her like she was some sort of bird, Jazzie stood up and felt her body hum with something powerful. Before she knew it, the walls behind Glenda were splattered with blood and Jazzie was hurt.

  Falling to the floor, she laid there, feeling out of sorts, her arm where she’d been cut burning. When she looked up at the other women, each of them smiling at her, Jazzie started to ask them what they’d done to her when she realized she couldn’t speak.

  “Just rest, honey. And we didn’t do anything. You did that all on your own. My goodness, no one will believe us.” Laying her head down, it felt heavy as Sara continued to talk about how she was glad that she’d been there. “Who would have thought it? Who would have believed that you could do this all on your own?
”

  With no clue what she was talking about, Jazzie just laid there. Closing her eyes, she thought, I just need to close my eyes for a moment. But what she saw at...her hands? She didn’t know what to do. Looking up at Addie, who was sitting right across from her, Jazzie felt sick to her belly.

  “No, you’re not. You’re just overwhelmed. And I knew this would come out sooner or later. I was just surprised that none of the rest of them knew it.” She asked her what through their link. “You’re a feline, a cougar.”

  No, I don’t think so. I’m just a human, a puny one. Addie was handed a phone and she turned it to her to see the pictures. There was a cougar, right there on the front of it. Who is that?

  “You. I thought something was odd when your sister was here with your mom. Ash, she’s not cat at all. Your mom, she has a little bit, about one eighth of one. But you, you have more than any half breed that I’ve ever seen. Like nearly pureblooded. I would put you at about ninety-nine percent. And Joey is about half. He’ll be able to shift too when he’s older.”

  I don’t understand. Addie told her that she could understand that. Are you telling me that somewhere back in my bloodline there was a cougar pair?

  “Oh yes. In order for you to be as much as you are, I would say that there were probably a few sets of them. I’m thinking that up until the time they started finding mates that were humans, they were pure bloods like the Winchesters.” She asked if Tyler knew. “He does now. They’re on their way here, by the way.”

  Jazzie looked to where the body of Glenda was and then back at Addie. I killed her. As a cat. I killed Glenda when she attacked me.

  “Yes. And I’m sure that if you had to do it again, you’d do just what you did. Rip her throat out and then piss on her. That one surprised me, by the way.” Jazzie asked if she’d really done that or had they helped her in some way. “Nope. You did it all on your own. And to be honest with you, Jazzie, there wasn’t any time for any of us to react. You had her dead before any of us got the chance to move.”

  I know that I said that I’d kill her, but I never wanted to. She looked over toward Glenda again and felt something hit her in the nose. What the fuck was that for?

  “Do you know that I can tell a little of the future?” She said no, but it didn’t surprise her in the least. “Yes, well, I can do a great many things that no one knows about. But if you’d not killed her, you would have been a shell of the woman that you’re going to be now. And she would have eventually gotten out of the house for the insane before Joey reached his eighteenth birthday. In an effort to outrun the police, there was an accident in which—”

  No more. Addie nodded. Are you saying this to make me feel better? Because if you did, thank you.

  “I can’t lie to you, Jazzie. To any of the Winchesters. I can fudge a little, but not outright lie. Joey would never have lived had you not killed Glenda the way that you did.”

  She believed her. While Jazzie was sick over killing someone, she was feeling better about it all the time. Jazzie had saved her son’s life. And she’d saved her own too. Because as surely as she was a feline, she would have died without the cat with her.

  ~*~

  Gabe was sitting on his deck when Tyler found him. After getting Mom home and enjoying a nice dinner, though a little somber, Gabe had disappeared. Everyone, including Tyler, had thought that he’d had an emergency. But it turned out, Gabe wanted to talk to him alone and had gone to his house to wait for him.

  “I’ve been here having a—well, I was going to say conversation with Glenda, but she’s just screaming at me and I’m listening. I figured that I’d let her get it out of her system, but that’s not working so far.” Gabe looked at him. “She wants to see Joey. Glenda keeps calling him little Ryan, but I know who she’s talking about.”

  “What have you told her?” He said that he’d said nothing so far, just listened. “I’m sure that she has plenty to say about Jazzie, am I correct?”

  “No, actually. Just her grandson. She claims that other than the one time when she tried to take him, she never saw him.” Tyler knew where this was going and wasn’t sure he liked it. “You got it, I see. I don’t want to go behind either of your backs on this, but I don’t think it would hurt anyone if she were to be granted this one wish.”

  “And what does she want in return? I’m sure it’s something.” He said that’s all she’d asked for so far. “I see. Well, what would you do, if it were your child?”

  “Ah, but he’s not. My nephew, yes, but not my son. And in answer to your question, I don’t know either. I would like to say that I’d say yes, but she’s not been the nicest person I’ve ever talked to.” Gabe laughed. “She just asked me if you’d do that for her. Then she’d be good for the rest of her time here.”

  “I can’t make that decision.” Gabe nodded. “Just give me a moment and let me go and talk to Jazzie. She might have a different view on this than we do. And while he is my son, I think that in this, he’s all hers.”

  Tyler went into the house and found Jazzie and Joey on the floor. He could tell that she was teaching him to rip open packages by giving him empty wrapped boxes. But as soon as she saw him, she stood up, leaving Joey where he was.

  “I was just talking to Gabe.” She asked why he was out there in the cold. “He’s been talking to Glenda. I did tell you that he is the same as Rayne, didn’t I? Death Watcher?”

  “You did. What does she want?” Tyler asked her to have a seat. “No, I think if you don’t mind, I’d like to be standing. What does she want, Tyler? No fudging around here.”

  “Fudging? Yes, all right. She wants to see Joey.” She started to shake her head when he asked her to wait. “If she gives us any trouble after this, then she can be sent away. You know as well as I, it’s easier to do that now that she’s passed away. But I want you to know that if you say no, your decision is law. I won’t ask you again, nor will anyone else in this family.”

  “She can’t come in here, can she?” He told her then that Rayne had forbidden all the ghosts from coming into homes unwelcomed. “So, if we were to show her Joey, then she’d never be able to see him again?”

  “No, not in the house.” She nodded, then slapped her palm on her head. “Yes, I can see you figured out that he’d have to live the rest of his life indoors.”

  “I can be such a dork at times.” She sat down again, taking Joey into her arms. “What would you do? For that matter, why didn’t you just show her him and not tell me?”

  “I’ll never lie to you. In doing that, it would be the same as a lie to me.” She nodded. “She said that she won’t bother us again if we allow this.”

  “Do you believe that?” He said that he didn’t know, and he honestly didn’t. “And if I let her see him, and she becomes a problem, then they’ll send her away? No questions asked.”

  “Yes, I will make sure that one of them does it for you immediately.” She picked up Joey and wrapped him up in the throw blanket on the back of the couch. “I want you there too. In case—I don’t know, just in case.”

  “I’d never leave you alone to do this, Jazzie.”

  She nodded, and he opened the sliding door that would take them both out to where Gabe was. Jazzie stopped before Tyler could follow her, and he was sure that she’d changed her mind.

  “I can see her. I see Glenda.” He looked but didn’t see the other woman. Instead, all he saw was Gabe looking like he’d just been given the keys to the city. “What do I do now?”

  “She wants to see him, that’s all.” Helping her take the throw off the little boy, Gabe started talking, telling him what Glenda was saying. “Glenda says that he looks like Jazzie. That he has his father’s eyes.”

  “Glenda, I’d like for you to meet my son.” Jazzie held Joey up in her arms, ruffling his hair as she spoke. “He’s going to be two next summer. And has eight teeth so far. Holding onto things, he can walk around the room in his walker, and when he forgets, Joey can take a couple of steps. I think h
e’ll be walking before Christmas.”

  “I wish I could touch him. Just one more time.” Jazzie didn’t snatch Joey back as he might have done, but watched Joey as he smiled. “He can see me, can’t he? He can see his grandma, I think.”

  “He can. As he gets older, unless he inherits the magic from his mom, the ability to see ghosts will fade away. People think that is where imaginary playmates come from.” He knew that as well and was glad that someone had told Jazzie. “He’s a good boy, Glenda. Sleeping all night since I was able to bring him home from the hospital. And there is very little that he won’t eat—he’ll try anything. Especially if his grandda gives it to him.”

  When Joey started to fuss, Glenda asked if she could talk to her. And when Jazzie nodded, Gabe took Joey into the house for them. He could have done that himself, leaving Jazzie there, but since he still didn’t trust Glenda, he stayed with Jazzie.

  “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I’m a changed person. I’m not. I was a terrible person, and I didn’t treat you well. The things I said to you, they’re as true as they were before, you not being able to raise my grandson right. But I’ve just now come to realize, had I been a little nicer to you, I could have held him, couldn’t I have?”

  “Yes, I’d never have denied you that privilege. I wouldn’t have left him with you, never. But I would have let you see him and hold him. You fucked that up when you tried to kidnap him, and then got on this kick about trying to snatch him from me again.” Glenda nodded, and that was when Tyler realized that while he couldn’t see her, he could hear her just fine. “You might have been someone that he could have visited from time to time. When he was older, that is. Old enough to know that what you were telling him wasn’t the way a person treats anyone. Especially not someone that they profess to love.”

  “Ryan was all I had. And I will admit that I did pamper him in ways that I shouldn’t have. But when he married you, all timid and shit, I thought that he was going to become a man. He didn’t, and I was so disappointed in him. Then you got yourself knocked up. He said that it wasn’t his.” Jazzie told her that he’d said the same to her. “Yeah, well, he looks enough like my Ryan to be his kid, I guess. But you didn’t keep him, like you should have done after he grew some balls. And for that, I can’t forgive you.”