Gatewright (21 page)

“Thank
you for sharing.”  Brandt told me, and he sounded genuine.

Other
than Riven, my companions were dead.  The news anchor had been
right.  Why was
I
alive?  There had to be a
reason, r
ight? 
“I’m worried that the terrorists who attacked us on the fey side might have
been trying to instigate a conflict with humans,” I told him earnestly. 
“I feel like the only reason I’m alive right now is to make sure we don’t let
them succeed.  The deaths of Isabel, Kim, Neville, Erikah, Peter, Hazel,
and Meadow will all be in vain if we let hot-heads run us into a
bloodbath.”  The whole truth, for the first time.

Brandt
met my eyes and nodded in understanding.  “I see that’s very important to
you.”

I
didn’t elaborate further.  My imagination was already overexcited
exploring what a fey-human bloodbath might look like.

He
read my expression.  “I’ll let you rest now.”  He squeezed my
shoulder, and left me alone in the hospital room.

I
found a
Sailor Moon
marathon on the Cartoon Network, and cozied up to
watch until I was ready to pass out.  The familiarity of the shows
distracted me from the dangerous whirlwind of my own mind.  At least,
while I was conscious.  The second time I woke with a hoarse cry from a
nightmare, the nurse put something into my IV.  Only then did I sleep
solidly.

The
next morning, I couldn’t shake off the effects of whatever it was they’d given
me.  My eyes kept wanting to close and my limbs felt heavy.  The weak
coffee they provided did little to remedy the situation.  But, it
was
coffee,
a medicine I’d been too long without.  I was considering hitting the call
button to see if I could get one of the cute uniformed corpsmen to bring me
more when Porter greeted me.  The agent, sharply dressed in a suit and
tie, was followed by two others.  It reminded me of
Men in Black. 
“How are you this morning?” he inquired.

“Fine. 
Do you think you might know where I could get more coffee?  Like, the good
stuff?”

Porter
looked to one of the men, and jerked his head.  The younger man’s
shoulders slumped.  “Cream or sugar?”

“Black,”
I responded enthusiastically.

“The
gentleman taking care of your coffee is Eric Lashley.  As you know, I’m
Agent Porter, this is Agent Baragona.  I hear you had trouble
sleeping?”  Porter asked as his assistant left, pulling up one chair, the
other agent pulling up the other.

Did
HIPAA patient privacy not apply here?  Thanks, nurses.  “Not
really.  But that’s not unusual for me,” I lied.

Porter
nodded sympathetically.  “I hope you don’t mind if we ask you some
questions.”

Nothing
unexpected.  “Go ahead.”

For
all of that day, giving me only a chance to watch snippets of movies and eat
meals in peace, Porter and Baragona asked me every imaginable question about
the fey world, the fey themselves, and the attack.  They asked for an
incredible level of detail, and much of it I couldn’t even remember.  Some
aspects they should have known already, and I suppose they were
cross-referencing it against other sources, but it gave me a chance to talk
about something where I was already an expert.  Twice, they brought in
experts of such-and-such fey thing, and I’d have to repeat my story all over
again.  The Agents tried to disguise their interrogations as polite
conversation, but not well enough that I didn’t feel like a criminal.

I
carefully left out the part about mind control, and the fact I was a
gatewright.  I wanted to defuse a war, not start a panic.  Riven and
Jack would have been very peeved with me for sharing so many of the fey’s
secrets, but I wanted to make sure the Agents thought I was an open book. 
I even ratted out the existence of hellstones, but didn’t tell them my
suspicion they were meteorites.  Nevertheless, I couldn’t bring myself to
tell anyone – least of all Porter – that I’d killed a fey.  I had a hard
enough time keeping myself from scouring my hands and picking at my nails.

The
second night I slept well, helped by a dose of the meds.  Getting it at
bedtime – and not in the middle of the night – made a world of difference when
I woke up, finally refreshed.  Porter and Baragona joined me an hour after
my breakfast of decidedly unhealthy hospital food, but instead of more
questions, they offered to help me craft a public statement. 
“Absolutely.” I grinned at them.

Porter
had always seemed distant from me, a guardian and an interrogator, until we got
working together on the statement.  We were still far from friends, but
our fast exchange of ideas and considerations began to build a partnership
between us.  Baragona sat back, interjecting only here and there, letting
us build a case that would survive the close inspection of the media.

We
agreed on four key elements.  First, my heartfelt condolences for the
friends and families of the deceased.  Second, that outside of the attack
(the actions of a few), we had been welcomed and cared for.  Third, I
begged the world not to judge the fey on the actions of a few criminals. 
Hazel
and Meadow died protecting my companions.  Respect and remember their
sacrifice. 
Fourth, I reassured the world as a whole that the fey
actively sought any others who might have been connected to the attacks and
would be certain to bring them to justice.

We
exchanged a grin when we called it done around noon, finishing up the tasty
chicken sandwiches that Lashley had fetched for us.  “Of course, this has
to be run by all the folks at DIDA,” Porter admitted, “but I doubt they’ll see
much to edit.  You’re good at this.”

“Thank
you,” I blushed.  Maybe a career at DIDA wasn’t out of the question after
all.

Baragona
waved a piece of paper at Porter.  “We still have
all
of these to
go over,” he reminded his partner.  Grudgingly, Porter leaned back, and
thus the exhaustive questions resumed once more.

A
few hours after lunch, a nurse passed Porter a note.  He smiled broadly at
me and informed me that my family was finally cleared to see me.  “Your
father is here, so that you know,” he added.  “If you don’t want to see
him, that’s ok.”

Nick
had probably been ever so respectful and had given them the impression that he
wasn’t my favorite person.  I loved him, but awkwardly, and I still hadn’t
been able to shake the rebellious teen from my voice when I spoke. 
“Great!  Are they here right now?”

The
agents left, and I hurriedly tried to make myself more presentable.  I’d
been unchained from the IV and had been given a pair of hospital scrubs and
deodorant as a gesture of kindness.

My
mother, as soon as she came through the door, rushed me and practically winded
me as she hugged me tightly.  “I missed you,” she whispered.  “I’m so
glad you’re ok.”

When
she peeled herself off me, Thomas was next.  I swear, he got taller every
day.  “I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures.”  Now that was
the truth.

I
looked up and thought I was seeing double.  There was Nick, and there was…

“Holy
shit.”  I murmured. 
Your father is here
finally
registered.  I really needed to start listening.

Nick,
bless him, invaded my personal space and gave me a bear hug, breaking my
focus.  “We were so worried about you.”  He brushed an offending
stray hair from my face.  “Did the fey take good care of you?”

“Yeah.” 
My eyes drifted back to my dad, who was staying as far from the rest of the
family as he could.  Hell, I only identified Ishmael as my dad because of
vague memories and my own reflection.  I wasn’t sure how to process
that.  I forced my focus back on Nick.  “The fey have a few loose
nuts who want to create chaos.  Just like humans.”  I gently pulled
away from Nick and my dad moved toward the hospital bed.  Ishmael
Leeman.  At a loss, I offered my hand for him to shake.  Was it
possible to have a more awkward moment?  “Hi.”  He did
not
get
to be called ‘dad’.

“Hi
Jan.”  He shook it, almost shy.  My hand tingled.  “We’ll talk
elsewhere, I’m sure.”

Not
‘later’.  ‘Elsewhere’.  Oh boy, were we going to have one hell of a
talk.  My jaw clenched and steeled my face, for the sake of Nick and Mom.

“For
now,” he continued, “I’m just so happy to see that you are ok.”

I
bit my tongue.

My
father was practically invisible through most of the family’s visit, and my mother
pointedly ignored his existence. I wondered what had happened when he had
originally turned up.  On second thought, I’d rather not know.  How
many awkward waiting-room hours had they been forced to spend with each
other?  Nick was probably keeping her in check.  Thomas seemed
dubious yet curious about the newcomer.

After
a few hours, the nurses insisted everyone leave me alone to sleep.  I
thanked everyone and saw them out of my room.  Ishmael lagged behind the
others, but I glared at him and he followed them out.  I needed some time
to figure out exactly what I was going to crucify him for first.

After
everyone left, I turned on the TV, vaguely unsatisfied, and was rewarded with
seeing my face and the headline: “Breaking News: Jan Leeman Unharmed”.  I
turned it off with a growl.  The chances of returning to a normal life
diminished by the day.

Rose
visited the next morning.  She opened the door carefully, as if afraid
what she would find inside.

“Rose!” 
I scrambled up from where I’d sat cross-legged on the bed and almost tripped
over myself in my haste to bull-rush her and squeeze her in a hug.  She
squeaked.

“Well,
you seem just fine,” she grinned at me, relieved, blonde hair slightly
askew.  “Jack wanted to be here too, but they wouldn’t let him through
because he’s fey.  He’s pissed.  Cooling off in the car outside the
gate.”  She grimaced at the memory.

“How
has he been?” I asked.  Angry Jack?  I felt bad for the guards who’d
had to deal with that.

“Dodging
protesters,” Rose growled.  “Before you came back, it got a little ugly.”

“Is
it bad in Cville?”  Cville was a common nickname for Charlottesville.

“Slightly
better here than most elsewhere.”  Rose moved into the room, inspecting
the equipment and pushing buttons as she saw fit.  “At least these folk
are generally used to having fey close by.”  The bed went up and
down.  “A couple more Exiles were beaten to death yesterday in
Albuquerque.”

“A
couple
more
?” Sick dread lodged in my stomach.

She
met my eyes.  “So far, the tally is up to 35.”

“Shit,”
I breathed.

Rose
moved on, peeking out the window to take in the view.  “Jack told me to
tell you not to worry, that he has a ‘full tank’…?  What does that mean?”

I
shrugged.  “You know how fey are.”  She raised her eyebrow at me so I
changed the subject to something that would hold her attention.  “So, my
dad showed up.  You know, the one who ran off?”

She
frowned.  “Yeah, I’m not surprised, with all this media attention on
you.  Have you gotten a chance to talk?”

“No,
and that’s intentional.  I don’t want an audience when I rip him a new
one.”

She
nodded, about as much a fan of Ishmael as I was.  “When are you allowed to
go home?”

“Tomorrow.” 
That had been the best news I’d heard all of yesterday.  They’d finally
run out of questions, blood tests, xrays, and MRIs.

Rose
hesitated, scanning my face.  “So, I’ve been talking with Jack,” she said
slowly.  “And we think we should move in together.”

I
burst out laughing.  “Wait, what?  Seriously?”  A second
thought: did he mess with Rose’s head?  That sobered me a little.

“All
of us, dumbass.”  Rose rolled her eyes and grinned at me.  “Think
about it.  Jack’s suspected to be an Exile, and too many people know where
he lives.  It’s safer for him to set up somewhere new, especially living
with other people.  I’m
beyond
ready to move out of my parent’s
place, and I was already talking about moving in with Emma.  Jack’s not
willing to let you out of his sight once you’re off this base, and he keeps
saying something about you wanting to live on the first floor, which beats
me.  And, hate to tell you this, but… I don’t think you have a job right
now. Plus, with all the media attention, it might be a good idea to move you
anyway.”

I
stared at her in stunned silence before I could find my answer.  “You and
Jack are the actual best.  Except, I won’t be able to pay the rent right
away.  I’ll pay you back but right now I owe my mother every dime in my
checking account.”

“Jack
told me.  How he knows, beats me.” She cocked her head. “I really don’t
get you two.  But we’ve got you covered for a while.”

Unexpected
tears stung my eyes.  “How did I get such awesome friends?”

She
walked up to me and clasped my hand in hers.  Concern lingered in her
eyes. “Just hang in there.”

I
gave her a lopsided smile and squeezed her hand. “I don’t know what you’ve been
hearing on the news,” I whispered, “but before the attack, being in Anowir was
actually really cool.”

“I’m
here if you want to talk about it.”  I knew she meant the attack, not
Anowir.

I
decided it was better to give her some information rather than to let her
believe whatever the media was making up.  “Well, it was rather
sudden.  Riven saved my life.”

“Riven?” 
She clearly thought it was an odd name.

I
smiled at the memory of my first reaction to his name, and I winked as
unobtrusively as I could.  I was sure there was at least one camera in
here, monitoring me, but I doubted whoever was watching would pick up on a tiny
wink.  Her eyes widened ever so slightly.  Her self-control was
pretty good, otherwise I’m sure she would have been prodding me to give her all
the details.  I continued.  “Yeah, he’s the fey who finished off the
attackers and protected me until I was able to return here.”

“Uh-HUH.”
Now she just sounded like Jack.

Speaking
of which… “Jack’s still waiting in the car for you, isn’t he?”

Before
she left, Rose had me sign two pieces of paper: one that got me out of my
current housing lease with no penalty, and another, the lease for the new
house.  I asked her how they managed to wrangle that.  My landlady
was not the kind to stretch the rules.

Rose
frowned.  “I’m not entirely sure.  I swear, Jack did a Jedi mind
trick on her.”  She mimicked waving her hand and lowered her voice. 
“You shall free Ms. Leeman from her lease,” she intoned.

“Mmm.” 
I wasn’t sure if I approved of Jack’s use of his returned
nagali
abilities,
but I wasn’t going to complain about it in this case.

Her
eyes danced.  “And just
wait
till you see the new place!”

The
discharge paperwork was extensive, and I was glad that I’d told Rose to pick me
up in the late afternoon.  Out of curiosity, I requested a copy of my
medical record, and piled it into the large plastic bag they gave me to carry
everything out.  Teeth brushed, I felt as human as I could without having
had a proper shower since… oh God, was it a week?

Rose
brought some of my own clothes with her.  As much as I appreciated the
borrowed scrubs, getting back into my worn jeans felt like I was stepping back
into my old life.  I clung to the tiny sense of normalcy.

We
negotiated the maze of Ft. Belvoir’s hospital, out into the fresh air. 
Emma, a tall blonde that most dudes tripped over themselves for, was waiting in
the car.  She’d been dating Rose for not quite six months, and so
far
,
I approved.  I hadn’t spent that much time with her, but from what I’d
heard from Rose, she had a promising career at the Virginia Department of
Emergency Management and was a wickedly good cook.  My personal
impression?  She was graceful, kind, and head over heels for my friend.

Emma
brightened when she saw me.  “Jan!  I’m so glad you’re ok!”

I
grinned at her.  “Me too.  Now let’s get me home, eh?”

Getting
back to Charlottesville was a two-and-a-half-hour drive, and while Rose and
Emma sang along to pop songs on the radio, I dug out my medical record, paging
through it to find my test results.  Good to see that my cholesterol was
normal, although my sugar levels hinted at pre-diabetes.  Iron levels were
low, but the fey hadn’t been feeding me much meat or spinach, so that was to be
expected.  There.

“Fucking
hell,” I breathed.

Rose
snapped off the radio almost instantly.  She had the wicked ability to
multitask and eavesdrop.  “What is it?”

“I
do
have fey blood.”  I struggled with the strange emotions that
threatened.  Grief?  Joy?  Dread?  Relief?

“Seriously?” 
Rose was confused.  “I thought you always wanted that.”

I
sighed heavily.  “Right now it just… muddies things.”  I peered at
the paper. 
Sample is positive for Azry Beta markers, negative for Azry
Alpha, Azry Gamma, Azry Delta, or Azry Omega markers.  Sample is also
positive for Azry Beta variant of unknown significance.

Unknown
significance.  Well, there was all the proof I needed that being a
gatewright was in my blood.  What I found most interesting was that I
tested for Azry Beta markers.  Alpha markers were connected to the fey of
the African continent, Beta to the European, Delta to the Asian, Gamma to the
American, and Omega only in Exiles (a recessive gene that is wiped out in human
descendants).

If
the gatewright gene was a European variant, did this mean that gatewrights
sprang up there?  Could this be why Europe had an overwhelming number of
fey legends compared to the rest of the world?  If a number of gatewrights
suddenly appeared,
why
?  Did something happen?

I
fell in love with my new home at first sight.  As usual, Rose had
immaculate taste.  She, Emma, and Jack had found a
real
home, not
an apartment or townhouse.  It was a little off the beaten path, on the
opposite side of town from the university. Blue shutters framed each of the two
broad windows that looked out on the front lawn, on each side of an aged
concrete porch with wrought-iron railings.  On the far side of the house
from the rough asphalt driveway, a series of bushes threatened to swallow the
house.  Two smaller windows stuck out from the pitched roof, promising a
roomy loft. 

When
we pulled up, Jack, Darren, and Shawn were unloading a rental truck with a
number of boxes.  “Wow, who’s already moving in?” I commented.  I’d
expected us to be living out of sleeping bags for a few days until all the
paperwork got settled.

“You
are.”  Rose grinned at me, parking the car.  “It didn’t make sense to
rent a truck more than once.  Emma’s the mastermind behind all this. 
She could explain it all in a color-coded spreadsheet.  Essentially, we
packed everything ahead of time, and we’ve spent the last day and a half just
moving everything over.”

“You
packed all my stuff?”  I wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or horrified.
Oh, the blackmail material that Rose must have snagged… “Thank you,” I told
them belatedly, and exited the car before I could hear any more details about
the process.

Darren
and Shawn had both put down their boxes and sprinted to see me, each wrapping
me in an enthusiastic hug.  “We’re so glad you’re back!”  Darren
ruffled my greasy hair.

“I’m
sorry about the store.”

“Me
too.  But we got to stick together, right?” He nodded to me as if that was
that.

“Most
of us managed to get jobs at the mall,” Shawn clarified.  “But some folks
went back home, since they didn’t want to be around the gate anymore.”

That
was to be expected.  “I’m glad you’re both ok.” I breathed a sigh of
relief.  I hadn’t even realized I’d been worrying about them.

“Help
us carry in the couch?”  Shawn suggested.

Darren
scowled at his former employee and waved me inside. “Go in and take care of
yourself.”  He gave my shoulder an encouraging squeeze.  “You’ve got
the downstairs master bedroom.  We’ve got this.”