Stronger Together chapter 138 (Patreon)

Over the last year we had all gotten pretty close to Dalton. Ranier  was working with us on distribution and Dalton was a partner so  naturally he was someone we could get in touch with when we needed to.  Not to mention he had a scrolltech phone of his own. So when I called  him to set something up he was more than happy to meet with us that very  same day. Barb was with Andi so it ended up being Raven and I alone  which I didn't mind. We didn't get time to ourselves so often that I  would be upset to have some more, after all.

However the  downside to having an empath for a girlfriend became pretty obvious  after only a few minutes waiting at our table at Mac's for him to show  up. I of course being the good boyfriend had gotten our food and drinks  and sat down to enjoy only to find a pair of solemn violet eyes locked  on my face. Which made it understandably hard to eat. I put my sandwich  down. "I'm fine." Raven said nothing. "I'm serious, it sucks and he was  my friend but we have other things to worry about." Still just a quiet  stare. "What do you want from me? I can handle it. You know I can handle  it and there's no reason to poke at me and...and...god damn it Rae." My  voice cracked a bit. "I thought I saved him."

She reached  out to take my hand in her smaller softer one but didn't speak, knowing  I wasn't done. "I've changed so much. Some good, some bad, that fucking  monster got loose because of me screwing things up but I always had  that one thing to hold onto right? Things with Maggie are still shaking  out and they look like they'll be fine but Kirby was safe. I did that. I  protected him. Killed his future murderer with my own damn hands and  now...what? It meant nothing? The bad never goes away but anything good I  do gets course corrected by the timestreams bullshit cruise control?  What's the point? Why even bother if it doesn't matter?"

She  finally spoke, her voice soft and low but still easily distinguishable  over the noise of the pub "It matters because you tried. Because you  fought. Because Kirby wasn't the only person that thing would have  killed and now it won't and that's on you. It matters because you care."  She squeezed my fingers, staring into my eyes with almost frightening  intensity. "Kirby dying is awful, but it doesn't mean you saving him was  worthless. Doesn't mean him being your friend meant any less. Because  you fought, and this time you lost, but next time you might not. That's  what it's all about. It never ends. Sometimes things go the wrong way,  but we keep going because of the people we can help along the way."

She  smiled, that soft vulnerable beautiful smile she only shows to me and  Barb "Andi has you and Barb and the rest of us now. We're going to find  this Beast and put him down like the dog he is and avenger Kirby. She  didn't get that before. She never got to know his killer was brought to  justice. Because at the end of the day his death isn't on you, or on the  universe, or on causality. His death is on the person who killed him,  and that person is going to pay." Her eyes glowed, the glasses shaking,  and the tremor in her voice letting me see for the first time that even  her control wasn't perfect. We were snapped back into reality by the  sound of clapping from behind us.

Dalton and Brynn were  there waiting behind us having clearly just walked up. My smuggler  friend gave us both that rakish grin he threw around so casually "Brava  Raven. Couldn't have said it better myself. I heard about your friend. I  never met him myself but any young man who gives up his nights to  patrol the city streets and keep it safe for mortals with no  compensation is someone I would have liked to share a drink with." He  gave a solemn nod and took a seat, gesturing for Brynn to do the same.  "I take it this particular meeting was called in regards to those  events?" He nodded to Brynn who headed up to the bar to get their food.

I  let out a loud breath. "Sadly yes. Kirby was tortured before he was  killed. Specifically for the same information the Song clan was trying  to get last year. Aside from asking a bit about what you know we wanted  to warn you people were poking around again. You might be a target since  you know where...she ended up." I'd learned my lesson about operational  security last year with that asshat Lord Raith. Mac's might be neutral  territory but it was NOT a safe place to discuss sensitive topics. I  continued "We know of at least one person, though I use that term  loosely, in town looking for her and we'll fill you in on what we've  heard."

Dalton's normally carefree face was set in angry  resolution. What happened last year with the Song family still weighed  on him. I didn't know if it would motivate him to help us or keep well  away from our problems but I knew it would motivate him to do something.  When he spoke I was pleased to note he didn't seem angry at us  specifically or at Tera for causing him trouble, just enraged at the  people hunting her. "I'll reach out and talk to some of my sources and  get you guys everything I can information wise. And if you need a place  to lay low the mansion is yours." He gave a wry smile "Those lock down  wards are much more comforting when you activate them on purpose."

I  chuckled at that and I imagined it was completely true. Those wards  were tough as nails. "I'll keep it in mind, man, thanks. The guy who  killed Kirby is some asshole who calls himself The Beast. He might be a  freeholding lord of the accords from what we hear which makes him  serious business. Some kind of old crazy werewolf badass. You heard of  him?" I was figuring anyone as dialed in as Dalton must have at least  some info on the unseelie signatories. If The Beast was half as infamous  as Bob had mentioned him being we might be able to get some info on him  at this meeting. Knowing what to look for even before Dalton looked  into things would give us a head start.

The  immediate pale that stole across Dalton's face at the mention of this  guy did not however, fill me with confidence. His voice came out a bit  shaky when he finally responded. "The Beast...of Gevaudan?" I nodded and  he put his head in his hands and groaned. "That's very bad. Like, nuke the city bad. The Beast is a fucking psycho and he's damn near  unkillable. Magic rolls right off him, physical damage heals in seconds  and he has some sort of weird ass animal stalking power that makes it  impossible to notice him when he's following you. That's just the  confirmed stuff too. The Beast is the kind of thing assholes like Lord  Raith check under their bed for at night. I heard the Denarians keep  track of him specifically so they can avoid him."

I  winced. That was pretty fucking bad yeah. One the upside at least we  knew Nicodemus wasn't going to be around hunting Conner. Brynn came back  to the table with their food and Dalton filled her in. Raven was eating  while I thought over the problems at hand. No magic wasn't a deal  breaker in a fight, not with all our muscle, but The Beast was part  spirit being according to the books, at least if he was like other  Loup-Garou, pretty much demigod level of scary and he would tear through  Kara like tissue paper if he got those claws on her. Which I normally  wouldn't worry about except the stalking ability Dalton mentioned. I  cleared my throat, getting his attention away from his food "So who is  The Beast when he's at home?"

Dalton  blew out a breath after he finished swallowing. "God these sandwiches  are good. Anyway, his name as a human was Jean Chastel, but he's like four hundred years old or something and he uses fake IDs mostly. He's  hard to spot or catch because he knows how to blend in but there are  always signs hes there. He eats people for one. Not as a wolf either,  like in his human form. He's got some sort of addiction to it. He  drops bodies in town a few at a time because he keeps them and eats them  over a few days. You might be able to catch him like that." He shot  Brynn a worried glance and I got the impression those lock down wards  might be going up with or without us.

He  shook of the moment of protective fear and continued on "He's strong as  a person. Like vampire strong, and he can transform damn near instantly and at any time. His control is lperfect after all these centuries as a wolf. The  full moon makes it a bit shaky actually, but it also seems to make him  stronger, so I wouldn't go with that angle of attack. Other than that  it's the usual rules. Inherited silver can kill him anything else is  pretty much a mosquito bite. I heard a rumor that someone tried to bomb  him during the London Blitz because he was in town and he just shrugged  it off. Most importantly though he doesn't attack head on if he can help  it. He likes to target loved ones. Take your life apart piece by piece.  Be careful and watch your people."

I  blew out a dazed breath "That's a lot of information I really wish I  didn't have, but it helps man thanks. We'll call if we find anything out  hopefully you guys can do the same. Otherwise lay low for a while,  we'll let you know when it's clear. I'm glad I sent the Alphas into  hiding, everyone else should be pretty well protected because we're so  close to each other. You guys are always welcome at our place if you  need a safe house. I know your place is the be all end all of hidey  holes but it's also big which means lots of area to look for holes."  Plus I wasn't sure how a super werewolf would fare against his wards.  Loup-Garou were magic proof it might be able to punch through.

He  seemed to get my worry because he smiled "The Beast is a creature of  spirit and flesh, which means he can't cross our threshold without  breaking it and with the wards bulking them up it's basically  impenetrable. Besides, you caught us at a bad time last year, we have  other contingencies in place for siege's that can't be used on people  inside or during lock down. Trust me, attacking our place from outside  is a whole different beast, pun intended. What about your place? I know  you work with Dresden and Raven is a big shot but this is a serious  hitter, will he be able to get through your defenses?"

I  looked over at Raven and cocked my head but she just shook hers. Our  defenses were anchored with godsteel ward anchors and were the work of  months of enchanting and research. I had been pretty sure they would be  fine, and if Raven didn't think it would be a problem either we were  good. I shot him a smile "No we'll be fine. The bastard will get a nasty  surprise if he tries to breach our place by force." He nodded in relief  and we went back to our meals. I just hoped I wasn't lying to him.  After we are it would be time to go visit another friend. If someone was  eating people in Chicago and it wasn't on the news chances were they  were transients. If they were homeless in town Henry was the best place  to start asking.