by Ben Reeder
“By accident?” Lucas added.
“You mean, you didn’t mean to free us?” the male sprite said.
“I didn’t know I could,” I said. “The way things were set up, I was only supposed to be able to affect one person. So I chose Ren. I’m not sorry they worked out this way, and I wish I could say that I did it because I knew things would shake out this way, but I didn’t. And could you two stand up or something? You don’t have to kneel or anything. Not any more.” The two shot into the air, beaming at each other.
“I’m Sparo,” the female sprite said.
“Finch,” the other introduced himself.
“Good to meet you both,” I said. “The thing I don’t get is how I could free all the sprites if I didn’t sign the original agreement.”
“When you took over my contract last year, you became part of the whole agreement.”
“He didn’t just start World War II all over again, did he?” Lucas asked.
“No, there were like a dozen treaties signed over that,” I said, remembering my lessons under Dulka. “That way the demons couldn’t weasel out of everything at once.”
“So, Sparo and Finch wanted to meet you and, well…” Ren trailed off.
“We need help,” Finch said, his wings tinting to red around the edges. “And since you started all of this, Ren said you’re the person we should start with.”
“You’re the only human I’ve met who seemed to give a damn about us,” Ren said, his wings going a pale pink.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I sat down. Sparo landed on my knee and looked up at me. She was slender and long limbed, her eyes a pale amber. Up close I could see that the strip of cloth she wore to cover her top was dirty and threadbare, and the skirt she wore was a dirty bandana that she’d tied off around her hips.
“Since we’re no longer slaves, our owners have turned us out, and we don’t have any places yet that are ours. We make homes for ourselves, and we can’t earn any trade silver because no one will trade with us or hire us.”
“I’ll do what I can,” I said. Again,the words came slow, because I had no idea how to fix this. I didn’t want to let Ren down, but I wasn’t sure how to get any of what they needed. “I just don’t know where to begin.”
“Right here,” Lucas said. “I’ll hire them.” When I focused, I could hear both his and Monica’s pulses going faster.
“Are you sure?” Finch asked, his voice half hopeful and half sarcastic. “Hiring sprites doesn’t seem to be very smart right now. And we can’t let your customers see us.”
“There’s plenty of space in the building for you to make a spot to call home, and we can work something out as far as pay. But I don’t need workers for the cowan side of things. I need scouts, messengers...security.”
“What are you talking about?” I said. My eyebrows felt like they were trying to migrate somewhere south of my nose, I was frowning so hard.
“Something I’m working on,” Lucas said, putting his arm around Monica and squeezing her a little closer. “Let’s just say we need all the help we can get.” The two sprites looked to me, and I nodded. If I couldn’t trust my best friend, who could I trust?
“What’s your name, sir?” Sparo asked as she floated down to hover in front of him.
“Midnight,” Lucas answered. I’d heard him using that name before, usually on my side of the Veil.
“So this is mage business.”
“You could say that. Sparo, Finch, get your stuff and bring it here. This is home for you now, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Right away, Mr. Midnight!” they chirped in unison and flew off.
“Now it’s Mister Midnight,” I chuckled. “Good to see all this power and money hasn’t changed you.”
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Lucas asked, sounding a little worried. I shook my head. “I’m going to have to come up with a first name.” Ren drifted in front of me, his wings almost gold with pride.
“Thank you, Mister Fortunato,” he said, his voice wavering.
“Ren, it’s always Chance to you, buddy.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I knew you’d find something. It’s hard for us right now. Ever since the Rending, people have been fighting to keep things like they were. The merchants of the Underground got together and forced an ordinance that keeps us out of any skilled profession, we’re too poor to buy any property or afford the new licenses we need to open our own businesses.”
“New licenses? How do the existing businesses afford them?”
“They’re exempt; grandfathered in as pre-existing..” He sighed and landed on my knee. “Some of us have indentured ourselves. Others are so far in debt it’s impossible to get out. It feels like you’re the only one who even looked out for us. And now you, Mr. Midnight.”
“They have you,” I said.
“I’m just another sprite,” he said, his narrow little shoulders slumping.
“You’re way more than that,” I said. I went over to my backpack and pulled my paintball gun, boline, and wand out of it, taking my mask from the side pocket after I’d laid the rest on the table. “Lucas, Monica, get over here.” The two of them got up and came over, never breaking contact with each other.
“Need a witness?” Lucas asked.
“No. I need you two. Now hush, I’m trying to be solemn here.” I cleared my throat and put the mask on, then looked at the three people gathered in front of me, working out what I wanted to say. “Dusk has fallen. The Way is dark. But the Way is safe. The Shadow Regiment protects all who travel.”
“The Way is safe,” Ren intoned.
“I see before me three who are worthy, who love Freedom, three whom I call brother or sister, for I owe you all my very life, several times over. I vouch for your character by pistol, sword and wand. And I declare that any member of the Shadow Regiment shall also call you brother or sister. Within this circle, we are the Shadow Regiment. We are the enemy of tyranny and the defender of those in need. With your oath, you accept the mantle of the Regiment, to safeguard the ideals of freedom and brotherhood among People of good will. We fight not for glory but for liberty. Brother to one…”
“Brother to all,” Lucas and Ren said almost in unison.
“Sister to all,” Monica said in time with Lucas. The same ethereal wind I’d felt the first time I’d spoken that oath blew through us, and Lucas shivered.
“So, we’re part of the Shadow Regiment?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah. Consider it my legacy, since I’m not a mage any more.”
“I think the rules just changed,” Monica said, pointing to Ren then back to herself. “I don’t think it’s mages only any more.”
“It was kind of a school thing, but they didn’t take the oath seriously. We do. So I’m rebuilding it.”
“Sooo,” Lucas said, looking at me with a speculative expression, “how many people are in this Shadow Regiment?”
“Counting you three? Four.”
“Oh, that’s encouraging. Can we recruit?”
“Yes, but only someone worthy, preferably someone you’d trust with your life.”
“We need to induct Wanda,” he said. “She’s saved the day a few times herself.”
“As soon as we see her again,” I agreed. “But I gotta get home. And...thanks, man.” I patted my pocket, and Lucas smiled.
“Dude, I told you before, you weren’t getting away without getting paid. And you really did do a weeks worth of work today.” He clasped my hand and pulled me to him to pat me on the back. “Thanks again, man.”
The drive home was a lot better than the drive out, and when I pulled into the driveway, Mom’s van was already there. When I opened the front door, I heard an exasperated sigh from the kitchen, and only smelled Mom. She was at the kitchen table again, looking at pretty much the same set of bills.
“Do you know where your sister is?” Mom asked as soon as she saw me. “My phone isn’t working.”
“She’s in New York with
Dr. C and Kim,” I said while I pulled out a chair. “Not enough money left at the end of the month?” I asked.
“Too much month left at the end of the money,” she said.
“Will this help?” I pulled the bills Lucas’s grandfather had given me and set them down in front of her. Her eyes went a little wide and I heard her pulse pick up a little when she saw it. ”I did some work for Lucas and his grandfather today.”
“This is five hundred dollars,” she said. She looked up with doubt in her eyes.
“I did a lot of work,” I said. “It’s totally legit, I promise.” She looked down at the bills, reached for one, then closed her eyes and sighed. Tears rolled down her cheeks. and I caught a whiff of the sharp tang of stress from her.
“What’s wrong, Mom?” I asked, my own heart pounding in my ears. “It’s legit I promise.”
“It isn’t that,” she sniffled. “It’s just...this is enough to either make the payment on the van, or the phone payment. But my phone got shut off, so I can’t make the van payment until I make the phone payment.”
“And if you don’t make the van payment, you don’t have a way to get to work.”
She nodded. “You still need to deposit this, right?” I asked. “Then why don’t we deposit this on the way when we go pick up Dee and see if Dr. C will let us use his phone?”
“Chance, we shouldn’t impose on him,” she started, but I held a hand up.
“Mom, we can’t afford what we want, right now. We can only handle what we need. And what we need is to borrow a phone. I’ll even do the asking if you need me to.”
“No, honey, I’ll do this,” she said. “You’re right, I can't afford too much pride. But there’s no need for you to sacrifice yours, too.” She stood up and put a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve sacrificed enough for this family, and you’ve given more than your fair share. I’ll go get your sister and take care of things.” She went to the living room and got her stuff, and before long, I heard the van start up and back out of the driveway. As soon as she was on her way, I called Dr. Corwin’s phone again.
“My mom’s headed over to pick Dee up,” I said as soon as he picked up.
“You should come too, Chance,” he said. “We got a couple of pizzas before we left New York.”
“Gods, I’d love to,” I said, my mouth watering at the thought. “But she needs a little...me time, I guess. Or her time, or whatever. Can you keep her there for a while? Help her get her mind off things for a while?”
“Sure, Chance,” he said. “Are you sure you won’t come?”
“Not tonight,” I said. “Helping Mom out is the biggest thing you can do to help me out right now, sir.”
“Then consider it done.” I thanked him, then ended the call and brought up the text screen.
<
>>Shade: Not a good time.Pls dont txt til I txt bac k.>>
Her text had come back too fast, and the bad spelling wasn’t like her. I dumped the phone in my backpack and went upstairs to change into a pair of ugly blue sweat pants I didn’t mind losing if I turned. Then I went out and sat on the back porch, hoping Alpha would call tonight. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long. Less than an hour later, I felt the call, and a few minutes later, I was leaping over the back fence in wolf form. I let my anger and frustration flow through me, and found some peace in the run itself, the feel of the wind in my fur, the smells of the city, the feel of the pavement and turf under my feet.
I hit the park and broke into an all out sprint over the grass, aiming for the trees on the far side. But halfway across, I saw something in the gazebo near the park’s center, and I felt Alpha’s call fade from my thoughts. Just looking in that direction made me feel at peace, and I trotted toward it. The darkness had a different feel, thicker, warmer...inviting. When I was about twenty feet away, a woman emerged from the shadows, and I found myself whimpering while my tail wagged. Dark, beautiful and frightening, with jet black hair and eyes even darker, she didn’t just walk down the steps, she descended, floating down them like some dark angel gracing the earth with her footprint for a moment. She walked toward me with fluid grace, darkness falling from her like mist. When she was only a foot or two away from me, she knelt before me and ran her hand down the side of my face.
“I see you, Chance Fortunato,” she whispered, her voice the sound of a thousand people. Hearing her say my name made my heart leap in my chest, as if hearing it for the first time from my mother’s lips. Who was this woman? I’d met the Goddess, but this woman… she was something different, something...darker. Terrible in her beauty, exquisitely fearful, I knew I was hers, whoever she was.
“I am all around you Chance,” she said. “I am...all of this,” she swept her arm wide. “Soon, you will understand.” She turned and moved away, and suddenly, the night wasn’t as dark or as inviting. It was time to move again, time to answer Alpha’s call. I turned and broke into a run again, the dark woman’s presence like a fading memory. I locked it away in a place where even I would have a hard time getting to it, and focused again on the moment, on the run.
Alpha was waiting for me in his hybrid form again, gray fur gleaming in the soft light. “I sensed you waiting for my call,” he said, sounding satisfied. “You need my guidance, and you know it. His hand came up, and my body contorted into its human form.
“Asshole,” I said when I could speak again, when my bones stopped reshaping themselves and my flesh didn’t feel like melted wax.
“I am your alpha,” he roared, and planted a kick in my ribs. I bounced off the wall and landed on my face. “You will speak when spoken to, and you will address me with the respect I deserve!”
“No better than Kain,” I moaned. My ribs were on fire, and it hurt to breathe.
He squatted in front of me. “Kain is no fool. He hasn’t taught you because he’s spending all his time trying to train Shade to be his bitch.”
“You haven’t... showed me... shit,” I managed to get out. “I could learn more from...Sinbad.” Another kick bounced me off the wall and back into his arms. He caught me, pivoted and threw me across the room to bounce off the far wall.
“I told you never to say that traitor’s name in my presence,” he yelled. He crossed the round chamber in a few strides, then he had me by the arms, shaking me with each word before he tossed me away from him. I hit the ground like a ragdoll, unable to move my legs or feel anything from the hips down. Something in my spine moved, then pain reignited in my back and legs like a spike down both limbs.
“You obviously haven’t met me,” I said, getting up with careful, small movements. “Beating the crap out of me isn’t the way to get me to respect you.”
“Fear is the beginning of respect,” Alpha said, closing the distance between us.
“That’s how demons think,” I said. “And you know what happened to the last demon who tried to beat me into submission? I have one of his horns on my wall.” Without a word, he threw his will at me, and I found myself on my hands and knees, whimpering and groveling, overwhelmed by the sheer power of him.
“Acting like an alpha doesn’t make you one,” he said. “You’re just a beta, no matter how loudly you try to bark. You know the price of defiance, now learn the rewards of obedience.” He put his hand out and closed his eyes. Seconds later, my body started to twist and change again. Talons grew from my fingertips and my skin turned itself inside out to reveal thick, black fur.. My face elongated into a snout and my teeth grew into fangs. My legs bent backwards as my feet elongated, so I ended up walking on my toes. One advantage to my hybrid form, it made me about a foot taller.
“Not much of a reward,” I said.
“This is only the beginning.” He turned and jogged down one of the passageways, and I found my feet moving without my direction. We ran for what felt like miles under the city, through massive sewer pipes, up into train tunnels, through steam tunnels and through abandoned brick passages whose purpose was long forgotten. Finally, we came up throug
h a manhole in an alley. The smells of stale beer, urine, sweat and sex assaulted my nose as we emerged from the underside of Night City. I could hear the sound system of a bar on one side of the alley, and I could smell the produce, meat and alcohol of an all night grocery on the other side. Alpha leaped into the air and grabbed the side of a fire escape on the building the store was in. I tried to imitate him, and ended up flailing wildly to keep myself from bouncing off the building. My hand caught the edge of the metal frame and I pulled myself up without too much noise. Alpha shook his head when I crawled up onto the rooftop.
“Hopeless,” he growled, before he ran for the edge and leaped into the air. He soared up then dropped out of sight. I went to the edge to see him standing on a rooftop across the street, looking back at me and shaking his head again. My goal set, I backed up and took a run for the edge, then jumped. For a few seconds, I was flying, then the roof was coming up at me. I couldn’t see Alpha as I descended, so I used one of the tricks Kim taught me when I landed. Instead of letting my legs take the impact and stopping in place, I turned it into forward momentum and sprang for the far edge of the roof. I hit the precipice with my hands and propelled myself to the next rooftop using the extra momentum from a push with my arms and a kick off with my feet.
When I hit the next roof, I rolled and pushed off to my right. My efforts were rewarded with a thump in the spot where I’d just been. Alpha’s growl of frustration was music to my ears, though I knew I was going to pay for my success at some point.
“Where to now?” I asked, turning to face him.
“There,” he pointed to the edge of the roof. I followed him to the side and looked down into the poorly lit parking lot below. A black Suburban was flanked by a pair of sedans in the same color. A man in a dark colored suit stood at the back of the truck. Behind him was what looked like two guys stuffed into one pale gray suit, complete with prominent bulge under the left arm. Four more men flanked them, and another pair stood between the two cars and the truck, facing the opposite direction. The security team wore black shirts and jeans, and all of them were openly armed with little submachine guns that I recognized as something from the H&K MP-5 family. Odds were good that they’d bought them from my father or one of his associates.