Chapter 18

Loki.

“Tens of thousands of dollars…” Reggie said mournfully. “The damages alone will be thousands.” She knelt down and picked up half a painting. The other half was across the room. She looked down at it with heartbreak. “All these artists will be devastated when they’re told. For this alone, those Annihilists will die.”

Asire pat her friend’s shoulder in comfort. “Don’t worry, Reg. I’m sure they’ll die soon enough.”

“It’ll never been soon enough.”

Asire offered another reassuring pat, but ultimately, there wasn’t anything we could do to help. For the last hour, I had been helping Reggie pick up some debris so that there was a path from the front of the building to the elevator and another path from the back of the building to the elevator.

While we were doing that, Asire had made a trip down to the local hardware store and bought a few large pieces of plywood, which she’d been putting over the windows since she got back. Only pausing to speak with Reggie and myself. Asire seemed to know what she was doing too, so I tried to stay out of her way.

Everyone in my Family knew a little about home repairs, just because when you’re a bunch of teenagers living together you try to keep well-meaning adults out of your house as often as possible, but only Billy and Regory worked with the same cool confidence that Asire moved with.

Lixa, the blue haired pipsqueak, had shown up about thirty minutes ago and was still going through the restaurant across the street. Making sure there wasn’t any evidence of a legion fight. She had already turned all the bodies to dust, but she was nothing if not thorough.

Reggie dumped some of the artwork into a large trashcan and looked even more devastated. “I have to get new furniture, the artists have to bring in new pieces— if they’re even wiling to trust me again —I have to replace the tile, tell Jen and JR not to come into work.” She huffed and covered her face with her hands. “I want to do some damage myself.”

She marched toward the back of the building.

“Loki,” Asire said, “Could you follow her to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.”

“Fuck you, Asire!” Reggie screamed.

I followed her, despite my better judgment. Every instinct I had said to move out of the way of a furious woman.

None of us had been too badly hurt. Mostly bruises and scraped knuckles. I had a nick on my arm that had bled some, but ultimately, that was the worst of the damage. If that was the worst that happened until I got my Family home, then I’d be a happy camper.

Reggie and I ended up in the back alley, by a Dumpster. She had her hands on her hips and looked spitting mad. “Pardon me, Loki, I just need to break something really quick. Something that the city gets to pay for. She walked over to the Dumpster and thrust her hand into the side. I felt her power swell and then lash out and suddenly the Dumpster wasn’t in great shape anymore. About a foot across, the entire thing was cracked like glass. The thick metal started to crumble and fall to the ground and inside the container.

I blinked. “Interesting talent you’ve got there.”

She huffed. “Thanks. It’s all I can do, but if I get ahold of those legions and touch their chest?” She held her hand up and wiggled her fingers, making the air crackle. “Bye, bye insides.”

Reggie gazed up at the darkening sky. “Your Family isn’t really what I expected.” Her dark eyes stayed locked on the still rainless clouds. Her brow slightly furrowed. She still wasn’t completely calm, but it didn’t look like she was going to rip apart the alley anymore.

“What’d you expect?” I asked curiously.

She shrugged. “Something more along the lines of what my Family had been. Cold. Structured. Every rule should be followed to the letter. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure you’d show up when Asire called. But she talks about Billy like someone’s supposed to talk about their loved ones.”

“How’s that?” I asked, although I already knew. I just had to think of all the conversations where Billy brought up Asire. She spoke as if Asire would find a way to break out of the city if Billy needed her. So far, I hadn’t any evidence to prove Billy wrong. Asire was strong willed and even tempered. Which means she thinks clearly. But I’ve also seen the look she gets whenever the missing kid is brought up.

She cared deeply. More so than the people who Orphaned her could possibly guess. Because if they knew and still stranded her in this city… That was a level of cruelty that I was far too familiar with.

“She speaks as if Billy would gladly lay her life down for Asire’s,” Reggie finally said. “Like it wouldn’t even cross Billy’s mind not to.”

Without thinking about what Reggie knew of their past, I said, “That’s what happens when you’ve gone through Hell together. You either become closer than anyone could imagine. Or you never want to see that person again.”

Reggie nodded.

She looked away from the sky and back to me. “I’ve heard a lot of things about your Family. That it’s made up of a bunch of abused children.”

“It is,” I said, eyeing her curiously. The subject change seemed to come out of nowhere, but I was sure she had a reason.

“So why wouldn’t you take in Asire?” she asked. “She said it was because not all of you wanted her around. But I don’t understand why, if all of you understand how bad things can be.”

She pegged me with a narrowed glance and I felt it all the way through my body. Her stance was relaxed, but I had little doubt that if I said the wrong thing, I’d be on the ground in agony. Perhaps with a shattered bone or two from that little gift of hers. I pulled out my senses and felt along her power until I came across the seam that would break it down until I felt like stitching it back together again. I didn’t block her yet. I was waiting for her to give me a reason.

“That’s true enough,” I answered. “Though, the person who didn’t feel comfortable with her is no longer with our Family.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Or are you protecting them because you think I’m capable of really terrible things?”

“It’s true,” I said, meeting her eyes with my own. Tension sparked between us as she examined my face for honesty. She wouldn’t get any more information out of me, but I’d gladly stand here while she attempted to figure it out.

Reggie nodded and turned away. “It’s for the best that you’re telling the truth,” she whispered. “Because you’re right. I’m capable of some truly horrific things.” She glanced over her shoulder while she said this last. “Which is why it was so strange when I first met Asire.”

Another rapid subject change. I was starting to think Reggie liked keeping people on their toes.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I greeted her at the border of the city. Where her aunt, Amanda, dropped her off. She wasn’t happy, at the time. She was angry, sad and very alone. But she was not surprised or in shock. There wasn’t a part of her that couldn’t believe her flesh and blood, who she hadn’t seen in over a decade, made sure that they’d never have to deal with her. She’d been in ratty jeans and an even ratter t-shirt and when she looked at Amanda, you could feel the animosity in the air. Like one wrong move, and they might throw down.

“However, I don’t think Asire would have killed her aunt. From that moment, when I first introduced myself, she was kind as long as I was. She was polite, as long as the person she was talking to was polite. She didn’t get into fights with the other legions, or react when they called her a name and she didn’t care what they thought.

“To sum it up. Asire didn’t belong here.”

Reggie looked sad as she spoke. Her eyes were downcast and her features were soft and real for the first time. That mask that told everyone she had perfect control wasn’t in place. The one that I could practically see through, because Dovie had a similar one. Though Dovie’s didn’t say she was in perfect control. It said that everything was fine in her world. That she was as happy as could be.

“Instead of being put out by having to learn everything about this city, she was grateful that I gave her a place to say. Asire found a job within weeks, but still helped out when we needed her to, because according to her, she had nothing better to do. She didn’t get violent or rant about how unfair everything was.

“She didn’t belong here.

“Now, years later, she can handle all the Orphans. They still get on her case from time to time because she’s stubborn and sarcastic and vulgar when she wants to be. She has a big personality and not everyone likes that. Not everyone likes her because she’ll tell you what you don’t want to hear.

“Yet she still doesn’t get upset. I’ve seen her gently put people in their place. She doesn’t care what they say or think about her. Asire’s unashamed to be who she is. Not once have I seen her kill another without just cause. And I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her kill someone who wasn’t an Annihilist.

“She doesn’t belong here.”

Reggie finally stopped talking and looked me dead in the eyes.

There was nothing I could say.

“Your Family could have kept her away. I was fully prepared to hate you for that, but you’re not a bad guy. And, to be perfectly honest, I’m the kind of selfish bitch that is okay that Asire misses Billy so much because that means I get to have my best friend. I’ve been in this city for the majority of my adult life and I’ve run it for the entire time that I’ve been here. I’m the one who organized it, I’m the one who decided to have the safe house, I’m the one who does it all. Yet, I was alone until Asire showed up.

“But I still think she doesn’t belong here.”

There was still nothing I could say. I knew everything that got her exiled here was a lie. Just from talking with her last night. Violent tendencies? The only violent thing I’ve seen her do was to protect Reggie. Prostitution? I was with Billy on that. There was simply no way. Selling her blood? I couldn’t see her putting up with that. Deliberately not joining a Family? We all rejected her.

Reggie was right.

Asire didn’t belong here.

As if seeing the thought in my head, Reggie nodded. “But people get scared. And the system is corrupt.”

That it was.

“I just wanted to make sure you were aware,” Reggie finally said. “Because, if I’m putting up with you in my city, I needed to know that you weren’t a bastard. I’m sure you understand.”

“I do,” I said. The desire to keep her legions safe was almost palpable, but there was something else about her speech. Something that I could almost see, but was just barely out of my reach.

Reggie smirked and turned on her heel, back toward the door. “Come on then, Loki,” she said. “If we stay out here much longer, Asire will think we’re killing or fucking each other. If I sleep with two of the Herons, she’ll have lots to say.”

The back door swung open and she marched in without waiting to see if I’d follow her. I did, because standing in a back alley in this city seemed like a bad, bad idea. I’m surprised we’d been left alone for as long as we were.

We found Asire and Lixa standing in the middle of the room throwing chunks of furniture debris into the large trashcan. Every time a piece went in they’d say a number. Clearly keeping score. The bigger the piece, the less it was worth. Asire was ahead by four points when we walked in.

Lixa threw a couch leg into the bin and threw a hand into the air cheerfully. “Ha! That’s another two points for the Blue Wonder.”

We finished clearing the space with good humor. Lixa, I discovered, could go from calm and collected to spitting furious with little warning. It hadn’t been directed at any of us, but whenever she thought about her boss, she hit the ceiling. I also learned that this was the third job she’d had since getting Orphaned at seventeen. She shrugged when I looked at her and said, “I don’t get along with people. It’s their own fault when they saddle me with customer service.”

After all the junk was cleared off the floor, Asire swept up some of the dust and smaller bits and we dumped all of that into the second overflowing trash bag. At that point, we were all filthy. Reggie’s suit, previously brown with black stripes, was now covered in dust. She had taken her heels off because they were breaking from all the work. Those curls of hers were in an insane disarray.

The rest of us could get fixed up with a shower and a change of clothes though. Without throwing away our current outfits.

Reggie went upstairs to get another change of clothes, lock her apartment and office and grab her things before leaving. Lixa went with her because she wanted to wash her face off.

“At least your trip isn’t boring,” Asire said.