The moment my foot crossed the threshold that separated the woods from the Chasse property, Carter stood alongside his family. They had been waiting on the back patio in the darkness that was barely kept back by the lighting beneath its canopy. It almost looked like they were there having a family gathering. Like a massive slaughter hadn’t just happened in the immediate area.

  As I looked around the grass and trees, I could see tiny hints of what I had done and all the lives that had ended. I will say they did a pretty good job cleaning up. I wasn’t sure if it was solely the efforts of Autumn and Alex, or if the others had to carry bodies around like they were war medics clearing a battlefield of bodies.

  As I approached the small gathering, I realized all of the surviving Wicklows were present. Shelta sat alongside her cousins: Raven and her daughters, Raine, River, and Rose. Carter’s uncle, Chris, sat right beside Raven, and shockingly, Arthur sat right beside Shelta in a way that seemed closer than it should be. Kayla wasn’t far away, sitting closer to Autumn than anyone else. The shorter blonde cousin seemed quiet but mentally present now, unlike right after her father had died.

  A quick thought passed through my mind. I wondered how Kayla was doing after everything had happened. Patrick had cursed Autumn… the guy Kayla had been pining over for who knows how many years. Not only that, but Autumn had ended up killing him and herself in the process. Now the two girls sat beside each other, much closer than I would have expected. I guess their familial connection and bond from many years of battle surpassed what had happened. But… I was only seeing surface-level stuff.

  They must have known I was coming through the Wicklows’ power. They must have seen an expanse of time that was blotted out from their sight. So they all came out here and waited for me… knowing I was coming. But… was it welcoming a return… or fearing it?

  I made my way through the darkness and was met by Autumn, who sped away from everyone to meet me about twenty yards away from the patio. She slammed her full force into me with a hug that surprised me.

  “Where’s Alex?” she asked quickly, a glint of fear in her eyes.

  I cocked my head to the side at her strange look.

  “She’s at her place,” I said without much thought.

  Autumn pulled back and grabbed onto my left arm desperately. “She’s alive? You saw her?”

  I nodded slowly, seeing Carter and Frank slowly walking out from the patio to us.

  “Yeah… she’s fine, Autumn. What’s going on?” I asked, and started to get nervous myself. “Why are you so worried about her?”

  Autumn pulled back, slowly starting to calm herself. Her dark eyes seemed even darker somehow, but she was reigning in her emotions.

  “She just… when she left me, she was talking weird. It was like… I wasn’t ever going to see her again. Then she left… but I couldn’t follow her. I had to stay here and help clean up after…” she trailed off, not wanting to talk about all the people I killed. “I can’t feel her anymore. When I first woke up like this,” Autumn raised her hands up a little, looking at her altered body. “With all this power… this hunger… Alex was there to help. I could feel her in my mind from the moment all this started. But now… she's gone. I can't feel her anymore. Martin says that if I can't feel her in the bloodline connection, then…”

  I knew what that meant, but it didn’t make any sense. Alex was fine. The only thing different now was that I had killed the relic of power she had. Instinctively, I shot out rapid bursts of my enhanced senses and washed them across the city. I knew where to look, and thankfully, she was right there. I felt the reverberations come back to me with her signature. Alex was still there, inside her apartment downtown. Relief washed over me, and I welcomed the returning pulses, her specific flavor on them.

  “I can sense her right now, Autumn. She’s safe. I think what you might be feeling is that she doesn’t have that same power anymore. That thing she absorbed down in the pits. She…” I struggled to say the next part, as I didn’t want to just tell everyone Alex’s innermost struggles. “She didn’t want that part anymore. She had to let it go… so I destroyed it.”

  Autumn looked relieved, and that was right as Carter, Frank, and Martin all walked up. Martin spoke first.

  “Does that mean she’s no longer like,” Martin struggled to find the right word, so he just motioned toward Autumn.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. We both assumed she would just revert to her original state, but she hasn’t really done any kind of testing. I figured she couldn’t walk in the day anymore…” I spoke my thoughts out loud. “But I don’t know, really.”

  It felt good to just dive back into stuff like this with them. It felt like I could just walk right back in and not have to talk about or answer for any of the deaths that I was responsible for. A part of me knew they understood. Those asshole had come for Autumn… came for her life. If it were between her and someone else again, I know the family would do anything to protect her. I just think the bloodbath that followed was… surprising to say the least. Especially with humans involved.

  There was a moment of silence that followed the brief conversation about what the effects would be on Autumn, if any, now that Alex had let that ravenous power go that had transformed her, and given Autumn all of her own strange abilities in that same vein.

  As we stood in that lull, I glanced over to Eleanor, who was waiting at the edge of the patio. I could see it in her face… I think she understood why I was here. She could read it on my face… or feel it somehow. There was something with Eleanor… a motherly instinct maybe, or maybe it was something to do with the fact that she was technically walking around with my human lifeforce… my fate… whatever the hell it was. I traded my one chance to return to my human life for her life to be restored… and I think the effects of that were far greater than any of us ever realized. There were subtle things here and there, but I felt it in that moment.

  She slowly made her way out to the small group of us as we stood in that short moment of silence. I think they all sensed her approach as well.

  Eleanor walked right up to me, no fear whatsoever in her face, eyes, or mind as she wrapped me in a hug. It was like a mother who feared for their child finally seeing them again. There was a closeness I felt with Eleanor that I could only compare to memories of my own mother from when I was little. It was… peaceful… and strangely, I felt safe when I was with her. I could just be myself, and that was okay.

  “You’re leaving…” Eleanor knew.

  Her words made everyone shift their gazes amongst each other for a quick second or two before focusing on me again. Autumn sighed quietly enough that no one but me and Martin could hear it. She didn’t say anything, though.

  I pulled out of the hug and stepped back from Eleanor. I looked around at all of my friends that I had made in my time in St. Louis. No, that wasn’t right… not my friends… my family.

  I nodded, “Yeah. I’m leaving… but just for a little while.”

  Before anyone had a chance to speak, Eleanor spoke first.

  “You’re going home… aren’t you?” she asked.

  I smiled weakly, fear of what might happen, or rejection crossing my mind. “Yeah… I think it’s finally time to face them. Show them…” I said as I tried to shake off the fears and what-ifs.

  There was a moment we all stood there. It was a calm and peaceful moment. It didn’t feel like silence, but it felt like recognition. It was something they all knew I wanted for so long, but I was too scared to go. Knowing I had finally made this decision… There was nothing that needed to be said. They all understood the weight, especially Carter. They knew everything. They knew about Vicky… about little Caydee, and they knew my fears. But they were happy for me. They knew that if they were my family back in Texas… they would just want me to come home. It was just like Jane with Frank…Allen after the attack in France… and now just like with Autumn… the fastest of them to come home after the unthinkable had happened.

  It was always harder to see things with yourself, I guess. It's always so much easier to understand things when you're not looking in at your own life. I guess fears, emotions, and all the other shit get in the way… but I knew now that if my family could see me, really see that it was me… they would just want me home.

  I needed it too. I knew more about the strange reality of this world and the minute scale we actually lived on in comparison to what else was out there. I had to have my family back… while I still had the time.

  The night went on as I spoke at length with all of them. Really, in the grand scheme of things, not much had to be said. I was still the same monster they always knew. The big changes were with Autumn. That’s where most of their questions lay, so that’s where most of the focus remained.

  After some assurances to ease a few troubled minds, mostly on Uncle Chris’s side of the family, many of the fears they had were quashed for now. Everyone agreed that anyone who came here, looking for a fight, and to take Autumn’s life… had to be taken out. Even if it was by me… with absolutely no mercy.

  Other fears cropped up randomly about the future, but that was easily handled for now. I think that was mostly because they saw my reasoning when I said, “I don’t see anything coming to retaliate or investigate what happened here. From my perspective, the only two people who would know what really happened here are on the other side of the world.” I didn’t get into the nitty-gritty details of the two elders so far removed from St. Louis, and thankfully, they just took my word that they existed but weren’t a threat. “They’re a weaker link in that fucked up chain. They’re not going to come over here to see what killed the stronger of their brethren, or the source of their power. The pits don’t exist anymore. Anything aligned with what was down there won't willingly come back just to be wiped out like the rest.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  There was an easy piece that came with that mindset. Essentially, the baddest mother fuckers within and beneath the city had been slaughtered. What had been here for ages was petrified stone, unliving… as dead as fuck! Nobody lesser would come to see why.

  That was when everyone kind of started breaking up into smaller groups throughout the night. Everyone had plans to make and details to iron out.

  I was surprised that the first person who wanted to get me alone was Martin. The old dark-skinned vampire walked up to me and silently motioned with his eyes to step into another room. I followed without question, actually curious about what he might want.

  I was standing in the Chasse family library on the first floor. It was the same place I had spent so many hours with Autumn when I first started learning about this world. I slowly walked the perimeter of the room, sliding my finger along the spines of the books I had read and some I hadn’t even looked at before.

  Martin began as I paced.

  “The city’s going to be a lot different now. A lot of things are going to have to change.” Martin leaned against the central desk where I had done most of my reading. He leaned on his elbows and intertwined his fingers as he looked straight at me, where I stood near the shelves along the wall. “Whatever you did down below… everything has run top side. Most things that came up from there left the city altogether, but some remain. Mostly vampires, but other things too. Vampires are more easily adaptable as long as humans are around. With such a population to hide in, they won’t just up and leave a mass population like this for some small town where they can be found out much more easily.”

  I nodded, stopping my pace around the room to fully face him. I leaned against the stacks of books behind me and continued to listen carefully to his wisdom. I had to give him the credit that he was due. He knew things about the city and how things might play out.

  “With that mindset,” Martin shifted gears, “we need to establish ourselves as the leaders of this city. It’s like you said before, Sam. Nothing’s going to come in here to try and figure out what happened. Anything weaker than whatever was in the pits, or whatever the pits were… no one’s going to come trying to take over. Nothing that values its own life is coming to face the monster that slew everything this city has known for the past countless years. That’s why we need to take control.”

  I cocked my head to the side when he said that last part. It only lasted a second, but for a quick moment I thought he meant me. However, I could soon tell the true meaning of his words.

  “Autumn…” was all I said.

  Martin nodded, “Exactly. I would say Alex, but I have a feeling she won't be as much help on that front. She’s never been one for congregating around others like us. She only worked at the bar as a way to identify her prey more easily. But with Autumn, we have a unique opportunity here to take control and shift this city in a direction for the better.” Martin adjusted himself on the table as he continued, cautiously watching me to see my reaction.

  He knew how deeply I cared for the Chasse family and Autumn specifically, so I knew he probably had worries that I would oppose his thoughts.

  “Next to Alex… well, next to you and Alex, Autumn is probably one of, if not the most powerful creature left in the city. She doesn’t know it yet,” Martin looked over his shoulder out the opening into the rest of the house. He was sensing all of them just a few feet away. “I don’t think any of them do, but she will be key in establishing a new rule of law here, now that the elders are gone. As evil and foul as they were, the elders did hold a bit of value in that they maintained order. They kept the supernatural world hidden to ensure their survival. We need someone to do the same thing, a mechanism that is set in place… absolutely untouchable. We have to ensure the safety of the civilized world. If we don’t, and we just let things happen on their own, we could have anarchy in the streets. Whatever fled up from below will have nothing to check them… keep them in line.”

  I nodded, understanding more than he probably realized. To a lesser degree, he was trying to maintain a balance… a balance between the supernatural world and the human world. All-out slaughter was not an option; I knew that was an obvious thought… but I could feel it deep in my bones. And that’s exactly what would happen if the monsters that fled the pits and scrambled across the city ever got brave enough or thought that I was gone.

  Not me specifically, but the thing that had killed all the higher powers down below. Once people stopped being scared of the thing hiding in the dark, thinking it was gone and safe for them to come out and play, innocent people would feel the brunt of that.

  “So, what’s the plan? Set Autumn up as some kind of ruling authority? How would that work? Who would even listen to that? For all anyone knows, she’s just some random person they've never seen before.”

  I strained to try to figure out his exact angle on how he would make any of this work. It seemed more like a high hope with no real execution.

  “I realize that, Sam, but I have several influential contacts in this city, all gained through my bar. That place has been open for a very long time, and I have met a lot of very powerful and prominent people. A lot of people over the years who just want a drink somewhere, and an ear to listen. The bar has always remained a neutral ground, regardless of what you accomplished down below. Now, the dust is starting to settle… and people are returning. A certain number of these figures have come to my bar to talk. Most of them are younger than I, so naturally they are looking to me for answers… guidance. If I bring in Autumn as the muscle… the new mechanism for consequences, effectively, she and I should be able to insert ourselves as de facto elders of St. Louis. We’ll become the new law to maintain the balance between the two worlds.”

  “You think that’ll work? You think people will just bow down and listen?”

  “Not at all. I think we’ll have many people who will challenge us and want their own run at the top. But that’s exactly what we want.” Martin smiled knowingly at this point. “You can't rule over something as volatile as the supernatural world without showing them why you’re in power. We’ll make as many examples as needed. Any monsters that challenge us or get too out of line… they’ll die swiftly. That’s when they’ll start to listen. When they see that they have no chance against the new authority… against us.”

  I cocked my head to the side, feeling a little more emphasis on the us part. Martin could see the question in my eyes.

  “The whole family, naturally. We’ve spoken at length about what comes next. We’ve had time to prepare a little, as I was tipped off by a mutual friend,” Martin said, waiting for me to pick up what he was putting down.

  I shook my head, not getting it right away.

  “Abel,” Martin informed.

  I felt like a dumbass as soon as he said the name. Of course, it was Abel. That old Watcher had his hands in many things, it seemed.

  “We know that a lot will be different, and we have to be ready to make our moves. The Chasse family is large, and the greater whole is spread out across the country. Calls have already been made, and people are coming. Same for the Wick lows. They’re coming here, all their surviving relatives, offshoots of their bloodline, acquaintances with similar… abilities. We’re trying to form something here, Sam. Something that hasn’t been seen for centuries… if ever. You’ve created almost a…” Martin searched for the right descriptive words. “It’s almost like a safe zone. The warding that Carter and his family have been developing across the city for years has become something greater in totality. That alone set the stage for everything else. Then you wiped out the elders, and the power backing them… the pits as a whole is gone…” his words tried to carry the gravity of that fact, but he couldn’t do it justice. It was something no one ever thought possible, and we both knew that.

  “We can have something here… the beginning of a change. It will be a hunting force like no one has ever seen. Hunters and monsters together, so many in one location that will protect this city and anything that ever comes for it.”

  I nodded slowly, grasping the picture he was talking about, though I had to admit it seemed massive in scale. I knew there would be logistical problems and other things that would pop up that would have to be ironed out.

  “This, of course, being possible with you as the backdrop.” Martin adjusted himself as he said it again, but differently, seeing the apprehension on my face. “What I mean to say is, just the knowledge that something exists within this city that can destroy everything that has been here for so long; And it’s behind us, even if it’s unseen, even if it’s not even here. Just the fact that you exist, even though no one knows who you are… or what you are… It will be enough of a deterrent to give us this situation. Any that remain within the city after that, they’ll have to obey our rules, or die. Autumn will be the power up front to quell the common things. But you’ll be the power in the back… the thing that they’ll fear… the thing that they’ll be too afraid of to overstep our new claim.”

  “You don’t think that the Chase family will just want to kill all monsters outright? You think that this is going to be a clean slate and no one will ever get murdered by a creature of the night again?” I shook my head, confused about the ultimate direction.

  “I will give you that, that’s a reality that we all must face. The hunters want to hunt. They want to kill everything that hungers for human blood and flesh. But they know that not all of them are the same. Just look at me, Autumn, Allen… you. We will establish the new law, and it will be enforced from my bar. We will handle any bad characters that pop up to cement that law, and then we’ll continue. Anyone who breaks our rules will be hunted down by Carter and his family. They’ll do what they do best. Hell, they’ll do it even better, because it won’t just be them hunting anymore. Their hunting parties will be merged now more than ever before. It will be the Wicklows, the Talbots, Autumn, and me. We’ll become the new force of this city… what the pits once were… but different.

  I nodded as he continued to explain, feeling more at ease with the subject and like it was possible. Even though I was leaving the city, I was excited to see what it was like when I came back. If I were a betting man, I’d say St. Louis might become one of the safest places in America. Unexpected deaths and disappearances would drop like stock prices in a failing company.

  I thought we were almost finished, but then Martin said one more thing.

  “There’s something else, Sam. Something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Martin stood straight up, no longer leaning on the central table. His dark eyes connected with my blue eyes, and we stood there for a moment, completely serious. “I found Charles. It took me a while, but I was able to find his body. By the time I had gotten to it, he was bloated and almost unrecognizable. The water and other stuff in the storm drains made it hard to recognize him. But the way he died, it was obvious. A hand shoved through his chest and ripped his heart from his body. It takes a lot of strength to do that… Especially considering how strong he was… and how much of a fight he would have put up. Not to mention that most monsters employed by the elders wouldn’t have just left him there to waste. He would have been eaten, consumed. Monsters don’t just kill to kill. They kill to feed. There was also a smell…”

  I interrupted him, knowing that he already knew. I spoke as coldly as I was honest.

  “He had no choice. He told me that the elders had his family, or that they could get to them easily. He had to come and try to kill me to keep them alive. I tried to get him to let me help him. But he said they’d kill them too quickly. He was terrified.”

  I watched Martin as I explained, seeing his face twist with anger, disappointment, and a grief so intense that it was hard to explain.

  “In the end, Charles came at me with some kind of weird weapon that I lost down in the pits. I think it was something special they gave him to try and kill me… or at least they thought it would.” Then I reflected on that terrible moment down in the sewers. “I think… maybe he wanted me to kill him.”

  Martin shot his eyes up at me in confusion and anger.

  “If only to make the elders leave his family alone,” I tried to explain my thoughts. “I know it might be hard to hear, but I think Charles met me down in the city that night… knowing he wasn’t going to come out alive. He just wanted to do whatever it took to make sure the elders thought that he was committed to them. Anything to keep his loved ones safe.”

  That was all I said, knowing I wanted to say a lot more, but it wouldn’t do Martin any good. I watched him carefully, waiting to see if he’d have any kind of violent outbursts or angry words. But there was nothing. Just a slow series of nods. It was an acceptance of a theory he already suspected, finally certified correct and filed away in his brain. Another grizzly death, at the hands of the monster… me.

  We both nodded slowly, glancing at each other from time to time. We knew it was a hard reality… what had happened, and truthfully, it was neither of our faults. Charles had been intertwined with the elders for too many years to know. He played both sides to keep his family safe, and in the end, he had to pay for it with his own life. It only sucked for Martin because he was just now getting to see his once-hated creator in a new light. I didn’t create the situation, but I was the one who ended it for Charles. I think there was a peace in that for Martin, knowing he willingly died for his own adoptive family.