"Broken Knight"

[dochermes]

"Broken Knight"

7/12-7/18/2015

I.

Late on a muggy July night, Haley Lawson walked along the Long Island shore, next to Demrak Jin. She threw her ankle-length blue cloak back over her shoulders and appreciated the salty breeze off the ocean. Only a week earlier, she had celebrated turning twenty with a small party thrown by the other members of the KDF. Her mother, sister Lindsay, grandparents and a few friends from school had called to congratulate but she had told everyone that the next birthday, her 21st, would be a national scandal that would make the evening news.

Haley's dark blue shorts showed off her long tanned legs, and a white crewneck shirt and white sneakers made a nice contrast. Her most striking feature were her lime-green eyes which stood out vividly under dark brown bangs. Under her clothes, Windcatcher wore the torso version of the flexible Trom armor, and a utility belt around her narrow waist held several tools and gadgets in pouches. The dart gun holstered at the small of her back was concealed under the cloak. Noticing that Jin was no longer beside her, she stopped short and looked back.

The two of them made quite a contrast. Where Haley was five feet eight, Demrak Jin stood barely five feet three. The Gelydran woman was thin and wiry, flat-chested and almost hipless. Her white hair was cut short and bristled up in a strange way. Jin's flat face with its pug nose and deepset light blue eyes was not pretty by most standards, but there was something compelling about her. She had presence. Most people felt nervous and uncomfortable around her.

The Gelydra ["Guh-LIE-druh"] was wearing skin-tight long-sleeved tunic and leggings made of an odd grey material. Haley had learned the hard way not to brush up against that outfit; it was fashioned of sharkhide and would abrade your skin off if you touched it in the wrong direction. Jin was barefoot. Strapped across her back was a sheath holding a machete-like weapon she had crafted herself. It was made of bone, extremely sharp and serrated on one edge.

"Ready to go in?" Haley asked. "This is where that Ulgoran had been reported."

"Yes." Just the one word. They had been working together for two years and still the Gelydra seldom loosened up enough to reveal what she was thinking or feeling. Windcatcher had thought she was getting used to it but sometimes that unyielding silence got on her nerves.

Without glancing back, Jin strode quickly out in the Atlantic and, once she was waist-deep, arched up into the air and dove under. She did not need scuba equipment, of course. Haley watched the surface of the water and saw no disturbance which might give away where Jin was. The Gelydrim were ocean creatures and much more at home underwater than on land.

Windcatcher shrugged and started strolling back and forth along the beach. Not far away was a heap of charred wood where some kids had enjoyed a small bonefire earlier that night. She spotted an empty beer can but no other debris. Haley smiled wistfully but did not really regret having given up a so-called normal life. Being a Tel Shai knight and KDF member had been more exciting and fascinating than that normal life could match. It felt like what she was born to do.

This was not surprising, she thought as she looked up at the barely visible crescent moon in the sullen night sky. Haley's family had been heroes in the Midnight War before she had been born. As the Heirs of Buliwyf, they had wracked up an impressive record and she had grown up listening to their stories. It had been from her mother Lisa that Haley had claimed the Wind Cloak with its powers to summon air from anywhere in the world... tornado-level winds, subzero Antarctic blasts or even a bubble of breathable air around her in smoky conditions. She could have done that to follow Jin into the ocean.

Strolling closer to where the water was lapping up on the sand, Haley felt sticky and uncomfortable. What a humid day it had been. She lifted one foot and unlaced her sneaker and tugged the sock off, then did the same with the other foot. After a second's hesitation, she unclasped the collar of the blue cloak and folded it neatly next to her footgear. This was her big mistake.

Gingerly, a bit surprised at how icy the water felt, she waded out shin-deep. That certainly cooled her legs off, Haley thought. How Jin could feel at home in that temperature was beyond her.

Three times in the past few weeks, another Gelydra had been seen emerging from the ocean. The water-breathing man had terrified a young couple into running for their lives and had also reportedly broken into a beach house and stolen nothing but food before returning to the Atlantic. He had supposedly killed a guard dog with a single open-hand blow to the muzzle.

None of this had made the news. The mayor's office and the police commissioner had ordered a complete clampdown. There had been too many panics already that year from abnormal phenomena like the Goon attacks. Instead, the members of the Kenneth Dred Foundation had been called in as the area's specialists in the weird and inexplicable. The fact that the KDF now had a Gelydra of their own on the team was a bonus.

Halley stood knee deep in the cold water and waded carefully a little further along. She had no idea how Demrak Jin expected to find a countryman of hers out there in that vast dark ocean. Could Gelydra smell each other? Or maybe they had some sensory organs normal Humans didn't. She knew that Jin saw further down the spectrum into ultra-violet than everyone else did.

Off to one side, the surface of the water bubbled. Windcatcher turned to face it, saying, "Hey, Jin, what's the story?" just as a huge blond man in a sharkskin tunic heaved up out of the water and bodyslammed her down on her back.

II.

Even with the air forced out of her by a heavy knee in her chest, Haley instinctively fought back. She drew her right leg up and over, so her ankle was against the Gelydra's neck and straightened it to force him off her. As she leaped up to her feet, the man caught himself and punched her square in the face with murderous force. Her nose missed being flattened by an inch. Haley fell back to a seated position, not unconscious but dazed. Gelydrim were stronger and quicker than Humans, they had adapted to moving against water resistance.

Trying to rise, grabbing for the dart gun holstered at her belt, Windcatcher was seized by the shirt front and backhanded hard across the face. That stunned her. Her arms and legs went limp and everything seemed far away. The Geldydra flung her up toward more shallow water and knelt on her upper body with one knee. Through the pain, she saw vaguely that he resembled Demrak Jin. The same wide flat face and snub nose, the same stiff seal-fur hair. He drew back his elbow and punched her again right in the center of the face with a smacking noise like something chopping wood.

If not for the healing factor given to her by the past years on tagra tea, Haley would have been killed by those blows. Even now, unable to focus or think clearly, all her instincts were still to fight back. She automatically tried to summon hurricane winds to blow this brute far away... but the Wind Cloak was where she had left it, out of range of her control.

Crouching over her, the Gelydra chuckled low in his throat. He was clasping the thin material of her shirt in one hand and now he easily ripped the garment apart. Underneath was the silk-thin Trom armor. The man from Ulgor hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her shorts and began to yank them down.

"Oh no you don't," she mumbled through bruised lips. The words were not intelligible. Haley wriggled desperately, managed to get her hand behind her and had started to bring it up with the anesthetic dart gun when the Gelydra seized her wrist and squeezed the bones together in his grip. Windcatcher screamed. She tried to sit up and dimly saw a small grey figure lunge up out of the water next to them.

Still bent over Haley, the Ulgoran warrior began to straighten up as he also caught that movement from the corner of his eye. In a single hissing backhand slash, Demrak Jin sliced open his abdomen with her razor-edged bone blade... and his internal organs poured out in a hot stinking mess directly on Haley's face.

Kicking the dying Gelydra aside, Jin made sure he had no weapons on him. He was harmless now. Only then did she turn her attention to Haley, who had rolled over on her side and desperately propped herself up on one elbow. She vomited forcefully, again and again until nothing remained to come up and she was just dry heaving. Haley coughed and spat and choked, gasped for air and then started again.

Demrak Jim rinsed off her weapon in the water and replaced it to the sheath across her back. She did not seem the least bit affected by the violence of the past few minutes. Grabbing the dead Gelydra man by a leg, she pulled him out into neck-high water and watched him sink. The tide would cover most of the gore on the beach. Not too gently, she hauled Haley down further into the ocean and cleaned her up with sea water that stung painfully.

"That eye is going to swell shut," the Gelydra woman observed without noticeable sympathy. "I don't think you'll lose any teeth. Come, stand up." Seeing that Windcatcher was not responding, Jin grabbed her under both arms and lifted her to her feet. Like all Gelydrim, Jin was much stronger physically than her size would suggest. Supporting most of Haley's weight, she started heading quickly along the beach. She paused only for a second to snatch up the blue cloak with its ensorcelled gem as they passed it.

They reached the dark green Nissan Sentra up where they had parked it by the road. A big semi rolled by way over the speed limit, it was unlikely that the driver had seen them or would have thought anything unusual about them if he had... just one young girl helping her drunk friend home. Jin opened the passenger door and helped Haley into the seat, even fastening the safety straps.

"Haley? Don't you have anything to say?" Jin asked with the first stirring of worry. No answer came. Windcatcher was sitting with her head down, staring at her clasped hands in front of her. Jin saw that her partner was visibly trembling. She hurried around to get behind the wheel and start the Nissan up. "You're okay," she told her friend. "I don't think he did any lasting damage. We'll see what Sable has to say."

It was more than an hour drive back to Manhattan, even with the light traffic in the middle of the night. Demrak Jin was not a particularly good driver but she did her best. Haley said nothing, answered no questions and seemed unaware of Jin trying to draw her out. The sopping wet hair dripped down on the car seat. As they drove through Times Square and neared East 38th Street, the Gelydra remembered to pull her communications Link from its clip on the dashboard in front of her. She patched illegally into the regular phone system and called headquarters. When Sable answered, Demrak Jin explained what had happened and how Haley was acting.

"Park right in front of the building and bring her in," Sable's stern voice answered. "Timothy will get the car off the street. I want Haley in our emergency room immediately."

A minute later, double parking by the ten-story stone building, Demrak Jin ran around to the passenger side and hauled the unresisting Windcatcher out. Amazingly, she simply picked the larger woman up in her arms and carried her like a child up the front steps and into the hall. Behind her, Timothy Limbo trotted down into the street to move the Nissan to their underground garage.

To the right as one entered was a large, brightly lit room with three hospital beds and walls packed with equipment. Standing in that doorway, snapping on blue latex gloves, Lauren Sable Reilly looked more grim than Jin had ever seen her. "Put her on the first bed," she ordered.

Examining the unresponsive girl, Sable drew on her own ability of enhanced sensory perception. She could take someone's pulse without touching them by watching the skin on their throats, she could take their temperature by a pressing a finger to the person's ear, she could diagnose a variety of conditions by smelling trace elements in their perspiration. Haley Lawson watched her do all this with disinterest, as if it were happening to someone else.

"She's not in shock, not in a physical sense," Sable told Jin. "Her pulse is dangerously fast. If it doesn't normalize soon, I might give her something. Her hands are shaking but not enough to need restraints." Seeing Timothy appear in the doorway, she snapped, "Bring me the apparatus in the corner there. Yes, that machine with the tubing. I want to pump her stomach to make sure we get everything out."

When that unpleasant procedure was done and Timothy reluctantly took the tank away to dump it, Sable took Haley's hands in hers and looked in her eyes. "Haley. Haley, it's me, Sable. Do you know who I am?"

The pale green eyes went into focus and fixed on Sable. "Sure," Windcatcher said through swollen lips. "Hi, Sable." Then the eyes closed and she exhaled deeply.

"Pulse is going down," Sable said. She was wearing a simple light blue blouse and dark slacks, but she had tugged a disposable smock on over her clothes. "Heartbeat is steady and strong... everyone should only have a heart as healthy as hers. I'm going to give her a saline IV for dehydration, since her stomach is empty. Help me get her clothes off, Jin."

In a few minutes, they had the sleeping girl in a thin cotton nightgown, with a blanket pulled up to her waist. Demrak Jin seemed uncertain what to do with the sodden mass of clothing and finally piled it in a corner. Meanwhile, Sable had inserted a needle into the bend of Haley's elbow and hooked it up to a saline bag hanging from a metal tree.

"Her vitals are sparkling," the KDF captain decided after another check. "She's sure going to be sore for the next week, though. I wish Ted was available. But when the Teachers are testing you, you can't be reached."

Timothy Limbo had watched all this with deep concern. "Don't we have another doctor we can call?"

"No. Dr Wright lives next door after all. Except for when he's working night shift at the hospital, we can always get him over here in a few minutes. Too bad he's at Tel Shai tonight." She peeled off the gloves and smock and crammed them into a bin. "You two do realize that I myself am not a doctor, right? Legally, I should have just called 911 and let the EMTs take over. I break so many laws every day...."

"But we take care of our own," Timothy said. "I know. Each of us has come in here with assorted injuries rather than let anyone know of our activities. I myself got stabbed in the back with a meat skewer a month ago and got patched up here. But this... this business with Haley seems different somehow."

"We'll have to see how she feels after some sleep," Sable said. "You two go about your business. Tim, come down here in four hours to relieve me. I'll watch her until then."

Demrak Jin seemed genuinely puzzled. "I don't understand. I have been beaten until I was left for dead, I was tortured by sorcerers and much worse. You get up and keep going."

"You are a Gelydra!" Sable snapped a little too sharply. "From childhood, you have been taught to fight and to kill. Most surface Humans weren't raised that way." Seeing the quick angry response in Jin's eyes, Sable softened her tone. "We come from different worlds. You did get rid of that renegade from Ulgor, that was good work. If he had trapped some other woman on the beach without you to intervene, you can see what would have happened. Thank you."

"I'm going to nap until my shift," Timothy Limbo said from the doorway. "I sure hope she bounces back from this." As he left, Demrak Jin also headed out the door.

"If you need me, captain, I am ready," she said just before exiting.

"Thanks, Jin. Get some rest yourself." Taking a folding metal chair from where it was leaning against the wall, Lauren Sable Reilly wearily dropped down into it near the bed. She settled down to watch Haley sleep.

III.

At eight-thirty that morning, Timothy Limbo entered the emergency ward. He had changed into what amounted to his uniform of biker boots, old jeans and a plain white T-shirt with a leather jacket over it. His mop of butter-yellow hair hung in his face, as usual also. Timothy brought a tray of scrambled eggs, buttered toast and a mug of tagra tea which Sable gratefully accepted.

"How's our girl?" Timothy asked.

"Sleeping soundly. Her vitals are fine, and the damage done to her face is fading fast." Sable chewed slowly and sipped the tea. It was the tagra, available only from the Order of Tel Shai, that made them able to recover from extensive trauma without lasting harm. "I'm not sure about her dreams, though."

"How can you tell she's dreaming? Is she tossing and turning?"

"No. Her eyes are moving under her eyelids. This is when her heartbeat and blood pressure both go up until it stops."

"Beats me how you can tell these things without using any instruments," he said, leaning on the doorjamb.

"That's my gift. I see you haven't showered because your hair is dry and still has its natural oils but you did shave quickly. There's a patch of beard just under your jawline that you missed. You ate some eggs yourself, the pepper is on your breath." She finished the tea and stood up. "Thanks for taking over. I'll be in the office, buzz me at once if she wakes or seems uncomfortable."

"Sure," Timothy answered in a subdued tone. As Sable left, he moved the folding chair closer to the bed on which Haley rested. For the longest time, he sat with his head cocked to one side listening to her breathing before he relaxed enough to lean back in the chair.

An hour crawled by. Timothy Limbo starting fidgeting. Holding up one hand, he materialized one of his caspers. The barely visible tornado of swirling mist spun on his palm. "Hey boy," he whispered, "take a look outside." Like a trained dog, the manifestation shot through the air out into the hall and was gone. Timothy sat and received what the casper "saw," watching the morning traffic on 38th Street. It seemed to be another hot sultry day ahead.

Not even Timothy was sure if these caspers were independent life forms of some sort or if they were energy constructs under his subconscious control. He had decided that it didn't really matter, he had long since treated them as somewhere between pets and little brothers. For a few minutes, he vicariously watched was going on outside. Then Haley Lawson stirred and muttered. The casper blinked out of existence and he gave his full attention to his friend.

When she woke up, Windcatcher was confused at finding herself on a hospital bed with an IV in her arm. She didn't seem to recognize Timothy. "What? Was I in an accident? Where am I?"

"Hi, Haley. It's me. Tim. You're okay now." He stood up and thumbed the button on his Link that would page Sable. Their captain hurried in from across the hall and went over to the bedside.

"I, uh, need to pee," Haley said at last. Sable unhooked the IV, which had emptied anyway, and stood by as Windcatcher got to her feet easily enough and trudged over to the built-in bathroom. Sable and Timothy waited. Haley seemed to have been in there for a long time, but before they called out to her, the girl emerged again and stood by the door to the hall.

"I want to go up to my room," she announced in a monotone. So much of the spark had gone out of her face and voice. The sass was missing.

Sable studied her, taking in dozens of details from across the room. "I don't see why not, if you feel up to it. You're off duty today. Get some rest, watch TV and hang around."

Without saying anything further, still wearing the thin knee-length gown, Haley left the room. A second later, they heard the hum of the elevator machinery. Sable turned her eyes on Timothy and said, "Watch her until she goes in her room."

"Sure." One of the small swirls of mist appeared and flew out through the door. Unless someone was consciously watching for them, the caspers were hard to spot. Timothy Limbo stood with one hand on his chair.

"She's okay, getting out of the elevator. Fourth floor. All right, she's in her room." He grinned wryly as the casper came floating back down to vanish in front of him like a soap bubble popping. "Haley made me swear a hundred times never to let one of my boys into her room."

Sable was frowning more than usual. "Physically, she seems fine. Her vitals are perfect. But she was acting... I don't know, numb."

"According to Jin, Haley had a rough time. That Ulgor boy smacked her around pretty hard and she couldn't defend herself. He was about to pull her shorts off when Jin cut him up."

"And his insides spilled out onto her face," Sable said. "That would traumatize anyone. Have a casper go by her door every now and then, Tim."

"Sure. I'll keep an eye on her." He went over and picked up the still damp cloak and shorts, as well as the torn up T-shirt. Salt encrustation was forming on them. "Guess I'll toss these in the laundry room. Here's her magic gem, though. We don't want to lose that."

Sable accepted the sapphire-blue jewel that had been ensorcelled by Malberon himself ages ago. "No, of course not. Very well, then. I think we will just stand by today. I had a training class for you three scheduled for one o'clock but we'll skip that. I'll tell Jin."

He could not keep the concern out of his voice. "We're going to wait and see how she does, then?"

Sable nodded and turned off the overhead lights. "Yes. Haley has always been like the rest of us, she always bounced back from bad experiences in the field. We're all unusually resilient. I hope she comes back downstairs her usual self."

IV.

As Sable crossed the hall to her office, she found Demrak Jin waiting by her desk. The Ulgoran had changed from her sharkskin combat outfit to regular jeans and a white T-shirt. She was still barefoot because, in the last few months, her feet had been growing dramatically longer. This was part of her maturing as a Gelydra... soon, the webbing between her toes would be noticeable as well.

"Captain! I am sorry to bring you more ill news," she said. Jin's odd accent had lessened as she consciously tried to blend in. To most people, she sounded vaguely Central European. "I know you are worried about Haley but this is important."

Sable did not take her seat behind the desk but simply came over to stand next to the Gelydra. "All right. Let's have it."

"It is extremely rare for any of my Race to leave Ulgor by themselves," Jin said. "I did, I left alone, but I was fleeing for my life because of a palace coup. The countryman I slew last night almost certainly came to the real world with others. At least five is the usual number."

"So they likely found his disemboweled body floating by. How will they react?"

"I believe they will come back tonight, looking for answers. My people are not peaceful explorers or traders, captain. They are raiding for some warlike reason." Demrak Jin leaned closer and tapped Sable in the chest with a stubby finger. "You and the others think I am too violent. That I am a savage. If you only knew..! Believe me, I am a gentle little flower by the standards of Ulgor."

Sable took all this in and crossed over behind her desk. As she dropped down into her chair, she gestured for Jin to seat herself. The Gelydra adjusted one of the straightback wooden chairs and sat facing her. "We could use more members on hand," Sable said. "I know Josef has accepted a bodyguard commission in Egypt. He won't drop it unless I demand his return, his reputation would be damaged."

"Where is Jocelyn?" asked Demrak Jin. "I didn't hear what she is up to."

"She's back in Perth for a while. We have some reports that the Preincarnators have been active in Australia recently. Jocelyn is the obvious member to investigate." Sable unclipped her Link from its holster on her belt. "I'll try to reach Megan and Sheng. They're still on reserve duty, in fact Megan is supposed to be here Wednesday to work on the CORBY."

As Jin waited in silence, Sable contacted the Trom Girl. It turned out that she was at a wedding in Florida with Archie's family. She had planned on catching a late night back to New York after midnight, and Sable let it slide. She had better luck with Sheng. The Chujiran fighter called Argent was sitting idly in his office down on Canal Street; his PI agency, FIST FOR HIRE, had been averaging only two cases a month and he jumped at the chance to help.

"Argent says he can be here in fifteen minutes," she told Jin as she replaced the Link to her belt. "I told him getting here after dark would be fine. We won't be moving out until then."

The Gelydran woman seemed hesitant to speak, but she finally asked, "Sable. Do you think Haley will be ready for duty tonight? I don't know how Humans react to battle trauma."

"I honestly don't know. Haley has always been confident and assertive, but then she really hasn't suffered much in life." Sable propped her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on cupped hands. "She seems so young all of a sudden. She had just graduated high school when she joined the team."

Jin waited, saying nothing. After a moment, Sable raised her head and said, "One of us should stay here tonight in case Haley.. well, to keep an eye on her."

"You are the only one suited to do that, captain. She trusts you. I frighten her and she will not follow Timothy's instructions. It has to be you."

"Yes, I think so, too. You, Timothy and Sheng will tackle these Gelydrim by yourselves." Sable watched Demrak Jin, using her powers to monitor her partner's heartbeat and respiration, as well as pupil dilation. Everything was normal. "Are you going to have a problem fighting your own people?"

"What? Of course not." Jin seemed to think the question was amusing. "I've killed a dozen Gelydrim. Duels, battles, rising in the royal status... it's not a problem."

"Of course. Well, I want you on stand-by today, Jin. Please don't leave the building. When Sheng arrives, we will hold a meeting to plan our moves tonight. All right?"

The Gelydra hopped out of her chair and moved toward the door. "Certainly, captain." She left the office without looking back.

Left alone, Lauren Sable Reilly slowly rose and went over to close the door. She had realized recently she was nearing forty and had spent almost half her life in the Midnight War. When she had joined the second KDF team, she had not been much older than Haley Lawson was now. Sable went into the tiny bathroom in one corner of the office, not much more than a closet with a toilet and sink. She scrubbed her hands and face, then studied her reflection in the mirror wistfully. If she had stayed in college, how much different her life would be today. But her sensory powers had begun to manifest and she had come to Jeremy and Cindy to learn how to control her abilities....

She had been up all night. Sable turned off the standing lamp by her desk and went over to stretch out on the leather couch that stood against the far wall. She adjusted one of the pillows under her head, yawned and was instantly asleep.

V.

Late afternoon sunlight slanted in from the tall narrow windows facing Lexington Avenue when Sable stirred. The clock on the wall by the door read 4:12. She got up, stretched and used her Link to page Timothy.

His voice answered instantly. "Hey, captain. How are you doing?"

"Better. I just woke up. What's the situation?"

"Nothing from Haley," he said. "I've sent a casper past her door every now and then, but no sign of her. I was down in the kitchen and made myself lunch but tried not to disturb you."

"Thanks, Tim. If you want to get out for a while, I don't see why you couldn't." She started for the door, "Just be ready to come when we call."

"I'm fine," he answered. "I have one of my pals floating over Bryant Park, listening to a street band. They're not bad."

"Okay." Sable clipped the Link to its holster again and went out into the front hall. The building was so silent. She missed the days when her old team had been active, and there had always been six or seven Tel Shai knights running back and forth. Sable went to the kitchen at the far end of the hall and got what she needed. She made a grilled cheese on rye with sliced tomatoes, warmed up a big bowl of homemade chicken and rice soup from the day before, and brewed a mug of the tagra tea. Putting everything on a serving tray with silverware and a few paper napkins, Sable added a can of ginger ale and some oatmeal cookies at the last minute.

Using the elevator, she emerged on the fourth floor, opposite Haley's room. Sable extended her perception. She could hear Windcatcher's breathing and decided it was steady and clear. Taking a second to pinpoint its location relative to the floor, Sable decided that Haley was sitting up on her bed. She knocked on the door sharply.

"Yeah?" came a disinterested voice.

"It's me," Sable said. "I'm coming in." Without waiting for permission, she opened the door and stepped through. The layout inside was the same as most of the team's private rooms. There was a queen sized bed over by the window looking down at 38th Street, there was a desk with a computer, a dresser with a big mirror and several comfortable chairs. On its wheeled cart was a TV, which was off. In the far wall were two doors, one for the closet and one for the bathroom.

Haley had added two hanging plants by the window, a beautiful poster of the Northern Lights over Greenland, a shelf of magazines and paperbacks. Two photos, one of her family and one of her favorite author, Maya Angelou, were on the wall over her desk. As usual, a few stray items of clothing were draped over the chairs and a sock sat by itself in the middle of the rug.

Sitting up on her bed, still wearing the thin cotton robe from the emergency ward, Haley Lawson watched Sable enter her room. She had pulled her long hair back with a Scungi but not brushed it out. Haley said, "Hi."

"Hey, kid. I just woke up myself. Have you gotten any sleep?" She brought the tray of food over and placed it in front of the girl.

"Yeah." Haley took a sip of the tagra tea and then a bigger gulp. "I'm fine."

"You're off duty the rest of the day," Sable told her. "That was a gruesome experience you went through."

"I don't wanna talk about it." Haley finished the tea and sat there staring at the empty mug. The healing effects of tagra ran through her body like a thrill. Already, the swelling and discoloration of her bruises had lessened on her face to be barely noticeable. Tel Shai knights quickly recovered from injuries that would hospitalize or kill normal people. "It's over."

"I'm not leaving until you eat some of that," Sable said. "I went to the trouble of making it."

As Windcatcher picked up one of the grilled cheese halves and took a bite, she gazed at her captain. Those bright lime-green eyes had always gotten her so much trouble with their impudence, but now they were dim and turned inwardly. Chewing slowly, she said nothing until the silence was uncomfortable.

"The worst thrashing I ever took was from a guy named Avathor," Sable said at last. "You never met him. He was a Melgar, just under seven feet tall. He was furious because we stopped him from stealing some talismans he really wanted." She took a deep breath. "What still bothers me is how helpless I felt. Even with my Kumundu training, he was just too strong to fight. I felt like a little child against an adult."

"Yeah? What happened?"

"He hit me until his arms were tired," Sable told her. "When Unicorn showed up, she called an ambulance. I was actually kept in the hospital for a few days. They couldn't believe how fast I healed and I signed myself out as early as I could."

"I mean, what happened to him?"

"Oh, he's dead now. I didn't do it. Someone shot him not too long ago." Sable watched Haley finish the grilled cheese and smiled. "Now some soup. You know, Timothy cooked that himself from scratch. It's one of his hobbies."

The girl forced a few spoonfuls down, then said, "I'm really not hungry. I just wanna rest."

"I think we need to talk a little first. You know, that Gelydra could not have raped you last night. There's no way he could have gotten your Trom armor off, no one's strong enough to do that. But I want to tell Jin to be more careful how she cuts up our enemies."

Haley forced herself to take another spoonful, then lifted the bowl and sipped some of the soup listlessly. "Oh, it's not her fault. She did save me. I'm really tired, Sable. Can't we talk later?"

"Sure." The KDF team leader pulled one of the chairs over next to the bed and put the tray on it where it was within easy reach. She popped open the ginger ale and stuck a straw in the can. "You've been through a grisly experience."

Before leaving, Sable picked up the remote from the nightstand and put on the Weather Channel... a pleasant, neutral channel that was calm and reassuring with the sound down low. "Beep me if you want anything, honey."

Out in the hall, closing the door behind her, Sable suddenly sagged and lowered her head. Haley was normally so insolent and energetic. Going back downstairs, Sable went into the kitchen and ate some of the homemade soup herself, dipping a sleeve of Salines in it one at a time as she thought things over. She really wished Dr Wright were here. He was a genuine MD with decades of ER experience and his Blue Guide powers would be an enormous help. But they had to do the best they could with what they had.

Rinsing out her bowl in the stainless steel sink with hot water, Sable straightened up. She had heard the front door open. With her enhanced senses, she recognized the footsteps immediately. Wiping her hands and tossing the hand towel on its rack, she emerged back into the front hall just as Argent was about to call out.

"Thanks for coming, Sheng," she said.

Sheng Mo-Yuan was one of her partners from the old team. He had opened his own PI agency but still stayed on reserve duty. An inch or two shorter than she was, Sheng seemed Chinese at first but something about his high cheekbones and beaked nose gave away that he was really from Chujir. Coming from his office, he was dressed professionally in a light summer suit and tie, with polished shoes. When he saw Sable, he frowned. "What's wrong with YOU?"

She filled him in as they went to the office. Argent took a chair in front of the desk, and she turned another one around to face him instead of going to her regular place behind the desk.

"So," she finished. "Haley just ate a little bit but she wants to be left alone. I'm worried she's really traumatized."

"Could be," Sheng said quietly. "I mean, she's a Tel Shai knight but she has only had a year or two in the Midnight War. She's not a hardened warrior like Jin. She was talking and making sense, though? She's not just staring into space."

"No. I hope she'll be back to normal soon." Sable sighed. "You and I are such veterans, Sheng. Do you realize how many years we've been doing this?"

Argent laughed. "Remember when we started? Jeremy looked at us as if he thought we belonged in a nursery. Looking back, it's pretty funny. Say, where is Jeremy? I haven't heard from him in a stretch."

"He's finally closing Dire Wolf Agency," Sable said. "He's been talking about retiring for a while and I guess the way Lt Montez died really tipped the scales for him. He told me he's looking at houses in Forest Hills and has one picked out."

"Really. Wow. I never thought he would actually do it." Sheng's voice had a tinge of sadness. "I mean, he's earned it but still, he's... well, you know. He's Jeremy Bane. I thought of him going on forever. So you don't want to bother him?"

"Not right now," Sable said. "So. Back to business. We think there are a few Gelydrim out there off Long Island and they might be coming ashore tonight to start their usual trouble. Do you feel like tangling with them?"

"Oh, absolutely. I guess I'll be working with Timothy and Jin?"

"Yes. I'd want to go with the team but I think it's in everyone's interest if I stay here tonight. Your field suit, with the Trom armor and helmet and dart gun and everything, is still stored in your old room."

"Hah. Okay, guess I'll go up there and change. I haven't stayed here for months. I think I left my good winter coat up there." Sheng took up and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Try not to worry, Lauren. You know the Teachers accepted Haley as a Tel Shai student and their judgement is really good. She's tougher inside than she seems."

"I hope so." Sable saw him to the door. "I have the usual paperwork to put away before we have our briefing. Say, seven o'clock in the conference room?"

"See you then, captain." Argent raised a hand in a casual salute and started up the wide staircase. Returning to her desk, Sable went through some of that day's mail and reports, but could only concentrate on the most pressing matters. Finally, she put everything in a file folder for the moment and just sat there thinking.

VI.

At ten past seven, the team went down into the basement and left in the Nissan. The plan was to have Timothy summon five or six of his caspers and have them fly up and down the shore until some of the Ulgor invaders were spotted. At that point, Jin and Sheng would handle the rough stuff. They were all angry enough about what had happened to Haley that it seemed the Ulgorans would be lucky if any of them survived.

Standing by the windows of the conference room on the second floor, Sable held a curtain aside and saw the Nissan go by. There had not been a peep from Haley. She was debating whether to prepare a supper tray and sit with Windcatcher trying to chat when a familiar tall slim figure appeared in the doorway.

Haley Lawson had showered and washed her dark brown hair, it was brushed out and gleaming. She had changed into plain dark blue pajama bottoms, slippers and a baggy grey sweatshirt that said STONYBROOK UNIVERSITY on the front. Her mother had gone there. Not saying anything, Windcatcher just stood silently in the doorway.

"Well," Sable began at last. "You look a hundred per cent better. Feel like a cheeseburger? I'll whip a few up for the both of us."

"Where is everyone?" Haley asked in a flat lifeless voice that gave Sable chills.

"Off on a mission. Sheng went with Jin and Timothy to keep an eye on them. Come on, down to the kitchen with you."

"Not hungry," Windcatcher muttered and went over to plop gracelessly down in a chair beside the long oak meeting table. "I drank that ginger ale and ate a cookie."

Lauren Sable Reilly had no confidence in her own ability to handle this situation. She lowered herself not at the head of the table but in the chair next to her friend. "Haley. Do you feel like you're traumatized? Do you want to go to the hospital? I'll take you there right now if you want."

"What could they do?" the girl answered. "I'm fine. Nothing even hurts. The bruises are gone."

"But you're not acting like yourself, honey. That was a horrible experience." Sable reached over to place her hand on Haley's. "I don't know what I would do if that had happened to me."

Haley did not answer for such a long time that Sable was uncomfortable. Then the girl looked down at their hands and shuddered. "I have to go."

"What? What do you mean, go?"

"I mean, I can't take any more of this. I have brushed my teeth until my gums bled and I used up a whole bottle of Listerine and I can still taste.. taste..."

"I know," Sable said. "You've already been through a lot in the past two years." She stood up and patted the girl on the shoulder before starting to pace back and forth. "From what I understand, hardened soldiers get PTSD in combat from less than we have seen and done. Sometimes I wonder why we all haven't just, well, fallen apart. We face the creatures of the night and the atrocities they commit."

"You're stronger than I am," Haley said in a voice much more like her own.

"I wish. No, I think it's just the way some people's minds work. Some people enjoy stress and anxiety. Sheng certainly does. He goes looking for trouble if he has a quiet day. And Jin was brought up in a warrior culture, ferocious fighting doesn't affect her any more than sitting in a park would. It's normal for her."

Haley leaned way forward, staring down at the floor. "I couldn't bear to put that armor on again. My hands shake when I try to touch it or to pick up the dart gun. I'm not even sure I can go outside right now. Thinking about it makes me sweat."

In her most emphatic tone, Sable told her, "Haley, we are your friends. We love you. You can stay here forever if you want, never go on another mission and we will bring you whatever you need. You must know that."

The Windcatcher stood up, her shoulders rose and fell once. "I feel like I'm about to cry but nothing comes out. I'm broken inside, Sable. I don't know what I want to do."

"Well, you certainly don't have to decide right now. Come with me. I can hear your stomach gurgle even without my ability. Even if you're not hungry, I am." Sable headed for the door. It was incredibly difficult not to look back to see if Haley was following but a second later the soft footsteps fell in place.

Down in the kitchen, all dark wood and gleaming stainless steel, Sable got Haley to sit at the round table under the room's lone window. She washed her hands, heated up a frying pan and fashioned two rather small hamburger patties. As they sizzled, the aroma definitely seemed to perk Haley up.

"They do smell good," she admitted. Picking up a straw from where they sat in a holder, she began toying with it. "So. What's the worst thing that ever happened to you on a case, Lauren?"

"Not while I'm cooking food! Jeez, you want me to lose my appetite too? I'll tell you the funniest thing that happened."

"Sure."

"Okay. Trolls at best are not geniuses, you know that. They can speak in sentences and they make simple tools, but that's their limit. So. I was in Okali with Jeremy, this was when the second team had just been formed. A Troll saw me in the hills and I ducked up in a crevice in the rocks where he couldn't reach me. He was holding a club thicker than your body, with a long spike driven through its end."

"Yeah. And?"

Sable flipped the burgers and began toasting the buns in a smaller frying pan. With one hand, she reached way over to open the refrigerator door and fish out the ketchup. "Okay. So he tries to stick his arm in the crack and can't get anywhere. He thinks it over. Then, I swear, the Troll says in this completely serious deep bass rumble, 'Come on out, the Troll went away, it's safe now.'"

With a snort, Haley broke out in a grin. "Oh my God. He thought you would believe him?"

"I was laughing so hard that he got mad! I heard him actually stomp off grumbling to himself, and after a while I peeked out to see no sign of him. Hey, we have pickle chips."

"Yeah, one or two sounds good. I've got a story. Listen, remember that one time we were investigating a werewolf sighting in Kentucky? I was so nervous. It turned out to be the sweetest sheepdog you ever met. When I talked to the old lady who had reported it in the first place, she tried to convince me that the werewolf had turned into a sheepdog to fool us. So I showed her the dogtags on the mutt's collar and she slammed the door in my face!"

Sable chuckled and they both devoured the hamburgers. As she licked her fingers, Haley leaned back. "Oh that's better. Thanks for everything, Sable. You've been so good to me. I don't have any aunts, you know."

Picking up the plates, the captain sighed. "Reminding a woman that she's old enough to be your aunt doesn't win points, young lady. But I'm glad to see you get something in your belly."

"I think I'm going back to my room for the night. Really, don't worry about me." Haley got to her feet and gave an attempt at a brave smile. "We get over a hundred channels here and I never ever watch TV. Tonight is a good time to catch up."

"All right, Haley. I'll be on duty tonight. Come back down if you just want to chat. I would be happy to sit and talk."

"I know you would," Windcatcher said quietly. She left the kitchen and a moment later the hum of the elevator sounded. Cleaning the pans and dishes and placing them in the drying rack beside the sink, Sable felt a bit more sanguine but she worried that the girl was only better for the moment. She cracked open a bottle of club soda and took it with her. At first, her plan had been to wait in the office for the mission team to return. But, thinking it over, she quietly went up the stairs to the fourth floor, went past Haley's door and entered her own rooms at the end of the hall.

The team would contact her on her Link anyway, she did not have to sit right by the door for them. Lauren Sable Reilly kicked off her shoes, stretched out gratefully on her bed and rolled over to reach toward her nightstand. Patiently waiting there was a copy of GUNS GERMS AND STEEL she had started months ago but never seemed to time for. She had heard historians had savage criticism for the book but she loved the clear lucid writing style. Turning on the lamp, propping herself up with pillows, she started reading about why Africa had no suitable beasts of burden. It seemed zebras could not be domesticated even though they looked like horses....

VII.

Sable jolted awake with a start. The book slid off her chest as she automatically checked the time on her clock-radio.. three thirty-eight in the morning. She had no idea when she had drifted off to sleep, nor did she know at first what had awakened her but she immediately rolled off the bed and ran out of her room into the hall. Turning up her hearing, she caught a soft thump from down the corridor, near the elevator. Haley's room.

Listening with auditory senses that could follow a moth in the dark, Sable heard faint whimpering and the scrape of flesh on carpeting. She knocked loudly, "Haley? What is it?" but opened the door before she could have gotten an answer and flipped the light switch just inside.

Still fully dressed, Windcatcher was on her hands and knees by her bed. She was crawling around across the room, head down and hair hanging in her face. Despite the light flickering on, she seemed unaware of her friend's entrance.

Sable dropped to one knee in front of the girl and took her by the shoulders. "Hey, it's all right," she said. "Wake up. It's me."

"Get OFF me!" growled Haley, slapping the hands away. She got up and swayed, almost falling, then seemed to suddenly be aware of what was going on. "Sable..?"

"It's okay, Haley. You were having a bad dream. You're safe, you're in your own room and I'm right here."

Windcatcher grabbed the smaller woman in a tight embrace. "Oh. Wait. Give me a minute. It seemed so real..."

"Nightmares do," Sable told her, hugging back. "I've had dreams where I wasn't sure for a few minutes after waking up whether they were real or not. You're safe. I'm right here."

Drawing back a little, Haley looked at her captain and her face screwed up as if about to burst into tears. "Oh. This is rough. I'm having a hard time, Sable."

"That's no surprise. Come on, sit in a chair for a minute. There. It's the middle of the night." The television was still on, set to a local news station. Taking the remote, Sable flipped a few channels and found the Disney Channel.

That's better, she thought. All bright colors and smiling young faces. Then she went to kneel beside Haley, who was sitting in the chair by the bed with her hands clasped together in front of her.

"Whew," Windcatcher said after a moment. "That never happened before. Did I wake you up?"

"I was going to check on you anyway," Sable lied. "Your pulse sounds normal. Might as well sit up for a while. I haven't heard from the team..." But even as she said those words, her head cocked to one side. "They're back. They pulled into the garage just now."

"Sometimes your enhanced senses are hard to believe," Haley said. "Hah. We soon found there was no use trying to sneak past you."

"I need to get their report. Are you going to be all right?"

"Me? Yeah, sure. I'm going with you. I want to know what they found." Haley rose and followed her captain out into the hall, taking the elevator together to the first floor. They emerged just as the mission team were coming out of the walk-in closet with its panel that led down to the basement. Sable detected at once that none of them were injured or showed signs of having been in a fight.

"Hi, captain," Sheng said breezily. "Not what we expected at all. There was no action."

"They wanted to give me a message," interrupted Demrak Jin. She was scowling and seemed more intimidating than usual. "The royal court wants me to come back and prove my loyalty. It seems the prince has usurped old King Wengar and is establishing himself."

"What did you tell them?"

The Gelydra snorted angrily. "I refused. I have been living here with surface people for more than five years now. And, to be honest, you have treated me better than my own kind ever did. I sent them back with that message."

Standing behind the others, Timothy Limbo grinned at Haley. "Say, babe. You look better than the last time I saw you."

"Hi, Tim," Windcatcher said. "I'm glad there was no trouble-" She broke off as she saw Demrak Jin unfasten the baldric across her chest and take the sheathed bone blade in her hands. When she got a look at that weapon, Haley went pale and her knees wobbled under her. Only catching hold on Sable's shoulder kept her from falling.

Jin saw this and immediately placed her weapon in the closet next to her, closing the door. She gave Haley a quizzical and slightly annoyed look, as if to say 'is that better?'

Watching all this, Sable announced, "The debriefing can be held tomorrow. We've all had a full twenty-four hours and I suggest everyone just take a break until around noon."

VI.

The next two days passed without much change. Sheng Mo-Yuan went back to his agency and immediately landed a wealthy client who wanted protection against some threats he had received from an ex-business partner. Timothy and Jin went out to the Long Island shore again that night and used the caspers to search but found no signs of the Ulgorans returning. Jocelyn Garimara returned to the States and was filled in on what had happened. She was sympathetic but couldn't do any more to help than the rest of them.

Still staying mostly in her room, Haley Lawson did come down for meals and meetings but then went right back up. Once she went outside for a few minutes to the corner newstand for a few magazines but was visibly unnerved after doing it. She seemed fine physically but her usual snarky attitude was gone. Haley acted meek and timid, which upset Timothy. He had come to expect her wisecracks about everything he did.

At one in the afternoon on the third day since the incident, the doorbell rang. As it happened, Timothy Limbo was in the front hall getting his leather jacket to go out, so he thumbed a button on the outside speaker and said, "Come on in, I'll be right with you." He opened a sliding wooden panel on the wall next to the door to reveal the new monitor screen and its bank of controls.

Standing in the tiny foyer with its bench, a shelf holding a ceramic lamp and a few old magazines, with the restored oil portrait of Kenneth Dred on the wall, was a young woman. Advanced Trom sensors instantly hummed and buzzed but she had already been identified. Lindsay Ruth Lawson was twenty-three, five feet five and one hundred and eight pounds. Dark brown hair, medium brown eyes. She only looked a little bit like Haley, mostly around the nose and jaw since she took after their late father's side of the family.

Timothy had never met Lindsay, although he had seen photos of her. She was dressed in heels, tan slacks and a loose long-sleeved beige blouse that buttoned down the front and had one breast pocket. Over one shoulder was slung a small leather handbag on a gold chain. The Trom sensors reported no weapons, no suspicious chemical signatures, and her trace perspiration was in the normal range as far as signs of drug levels went.

He smiled his lopsided smirk that people found either endearing or incredibly annoying. This might be just what Windcatcher needed. Sliding the panel shut over the monitor screen, he opened the inner door. "Hi! I think I recognize you from Haley's pictures."

The young woman presented him with a warm smile. "I'm Lindsay, her older sister. Is she here? This is the address she gave us."

"Sure. Let me page her." Taking the Link from the back of his belt, he called Haley's individual number and a second later that distinctive voice grumbled, "Now what?"

"That's her all right," the sister laughed. "Hey, cranky little girl, come meet your visitor."

"Lindsay?" said the voice. "I'll be right down."

Timothy Limbo found the sister attractive enough but he liked women as friends not lovers. "You haven't been here before. My name's Tim, I work with Haley at the KDF here."

"Yes. Psychic research, investigating the paranormal, all that. I'm interested in that sort of thing but honestly I'm skeptical by nature. I'm not sure there's a good future for Haley in this."

Timothy shrugged. "The pay is decent and she gets free room and board. I've had worse jobs." He didn't mention the real nature of their work. "We disprove almost every sighting we investigate, you know. I think we're actually more skeptical than the average citizen..."

Galloping down the wide staircase in the center of the hall, Haley made a dramatic entrance. She was wearing her Windcatcher outfit for the first time that week, the long-sleeved white pullover and snug Royal blue shorts with matching blue sneakers. With a throaty laugh, she seized her sister in a big hug.

"Whatcha doing in the city?" Haley asked. "I thought you never left Glenville!"

"Meeting Emilie for lunch at Ciccoria's," answered Lindsay. "The three of us used to have so much fun when we were young and wild. I thought if you're not chasing a ghost today, you might join us."

"Oh, I think so. I do need long pants though for a place like Ciccoria's. BeRightBack." With that, she spun and raced back up the stairs.

Seeing Timothy's pleased smile, Lindsay gave him a dubious look. "So, you work with my little sister, eh?"

"Everyone here thinks the world of her," Tim said simply. "There's always something interesting going on when Haley's around."

"That's so true. Our mom misses her but then I moved out too when I got married, so the house must seem awful quiet. The two of us were always yelling and arguing, even wrestling and wrecking furniture."

Hurrying back down, now wearing black pants and a light windbreaker, Haley rushed up to her sister. "Oh, what a surprise. I'm ready. Let's go."

"Whoa, settle down, junior. We have a half hour before we meet Emilie." The sister smiled at Timothy again. "Nice to meet you. Maybe I can talk to Haley's boss when we come back... a Miss Reilly?"

"Sure. I'll mention it to Sable. She's out right now." Timothy watched as the two young women passed through the foyer and out onto 38th Street. "Have fun, guys."

Lindsay had come into Manhattan by the LIRR and hadn't brought her car with her, so they took a taxi to Rockefeller Center where they met their friend at Ciccoria's. The restaurant had an open courtyard with wrought iron chairs and glass-topped tables under parasols. The women ordered bay scallops with angelhair pasta and a bottle of wine. The next three hours were packed full with updates on what everyone was up to, juicy gossip and personal anecdotes. The laughter came in waves.

Haley realized after a while how relaxed she had become. The tension had left her neck and her shoulders, her headache had gone away. She was hearing names of friends she had not even thought about in months. Lindsay casually mentioned that their mother had just closed the door to Haley's room when she had moved out and not gone back in there since, and Haley felt a potent twinge. Poor mom.

Twice, she caught a glimpse of one of the barely visible caspers drift by, and she knew that Timothy must have sent them to make sure she was safe, but that hardly registered. She described her job as doing research for the Kenneth Dred Foundation, a non-profit organization that investigated reports of the paranormal. This was true as far as it went, but she wished she could have told them more.

All too soon, Emilie had to leave. She was working the night shift at a nursing home and had to punch in at six. They all hugged fiercely, promised to stay in touch more, and walked to where Emilie had left her Hyundai at a municipal parking lot. Lindsay and Haley walked all the way back to 38th Street, but their conversation had gotten more subdued and thoughtful.

As they neared the headquarters building, Lindsay sighed. "I'm really tired, Hales. And my feet hurt in these shoes. I'm going to split. Think about the community college. You need to come back home and visit once in a wile, don't you think?"

"Absolutely," she said and watched as her big sister waved down a taxi and hopped in. Lindsay waved from the back window and the cab went around the corner out of sight. Haley stood gazing at the front door of the building where she lived for long silent minutes. She suddenly did not want to go back in there. Her family, her friends, her plans to go to a community college while she decided on a career... all that seemed real and solid and reassuring. Her adventures with the KDF team, the studies at Tel Shai, felt like a dream that was increasingly becoming a bad dream.

Haley Lawson flipped open a concealed keypad by the door, punched in her individual code and entered the building. She felt resistance pushing her back outside. It felt like she was walking against a stiff gale. Windcatcher went across the front hall, lined with bookcases and decorated only by a few paintings and hanging plants. The door to the office was wide open, and Sable was sitting at her desk with a newspaper spread open before her.

"Oh my God, you look so much better," Sable said. "I was glad to see your sister turn up."

"Did you call her to come see me? Just wondering."

"No. I hadn't even thought of doing that," Sable answered promptly. "But it would have been a good idea."

Haley took a deep breath, stood up straight and stepped into the office. "Captain, I know my mom will take me back home. I want to go back to the real world." She paused and cleared her throat, then finished, "Maybe I can stay as an associate to help out once in a while. I don't know. But I am stepping down from membership in Tel Shai and the KDF."

4/15/2016