Chapter 25

Once I get home, I spend a couple of minutes cleaning Spikes bowl and making sure he has fresh food and water before I head upstairs and dispose of the rat he's left on my desk.

My departure to the dream is complicated by the fact he jumps onto my shoulder and won't leave until I've given him plenty of hugs, and a few scritches.

I eventually have to push Spike off my lap because the phone starts to ring downstairs. I quickly close my door behind me as I hurry down the stairs, but by the time I reach the bottom, Spike's already landed on my shoulder again.

I manage to pick up the phone before whoever it is hangs up, "Hebert."

Lacey's shaky voice comes over the phone, "Taylor, thank god I got you. Kurt and I have looked through that book. Which meditation do I do?"

I pause for a moment as I think through the different meditations, "Uh, I had a lot of anger to deal with, so the flame meditation. It took me a couple of months before I found my inner world though. I think dad took three months to find his."

"What do I tell the other guys? Kurt and I usually go out Saturdays, and we're never home before 2am."

"I don't know Lacey, I'm sorry. I suppose you could go with, 'Hi, I've got powers so I need to get to bed before midnight for a while.' I mean, I can't hide the fact I'm a cape, so I'm not sure how successful you'll be at it."

"Is your dad there?"

I shake my head, "No, I've not heard anything. I was about to go and see how he's doing. You only caught me because Spike wanted to see me."

"Kurt says thank you for Salmon, she'll be a big help during the current dry spell."

I shrug, "Your welcome, and I'm sorry there isn't more work."

"It is what it is, and Kurt takes more dry spells than most because I'm the treasurer. We prioritize those with babies, then children, then renters and the few mortgage holders, then everyone else."

I hold up my free hand as Spike rubs his head against my other ear, "Hey, you don't need to justify yourself to me. I know you do everything you can. Look, give me 10 to 15 minutes to go and see dad, and I'll call you back ok?"

"I… Ok. I just can't help thinking about what that woman showed me."

"Lacey, you didn't lose your cool when Skidmark shot dad, what's different now?"

Lacey snaps at me over the phone, "I know guns and violence, fuck, you can't be a dockworker for 20 years without knowing that shit intimately. But this is a different sort of fucked up. I don't know how to deal with this. I can't… I just don't know."

My heart goes out to her, so I say, "Have you tried praying to Selene, using her full title, and apologizing. Maybe also ask if you can visit dad, or if she has any advice."

As the phone goes silent for a moment, I briefly wonder why I'm the adult in this situation. I mean, couldn't they have worked that out themselves? I get it about the meditations, as I dread to think what would have happened if I'd picked the breathing or conscious awareness meditations first.

"I'll do it. Kurt suggested that the mythological gods liked sacrifices, so I'm going to offer a bottle of my favorite perfume. Do you think that will be ok?"

I hesitate, "I don't actually know. I mean, she seems pretty human most of the time. All you can do is ask."

"What about bringing Kurt with me if she agrees?"

"Lacey, I don't know. I'm not Selene. All you can do is ask her."

The phone goes silent again before Kurt's voice speaks up, "Taylor, what did you say to Lacey, as she's kneeling on the floor like she's in church. And we've only done that twice since I've known her. The first time we got married, the second was Samantha's christening."

"I just suggested praying to Selene and asking for forgiveness, and then asking her questions. I mean, it's not like I can give her Selene's phone number."

There's a brief sound of the phone changing hands, and Lacey says, "I prayed to Selene, and she said to take Kurt and I to the Lake. Apparently you know what that means. Also, she said that if I must pray, to do something constructive with my time, like dancing. You're a teenager, do you know anywhere I can learn how to dance?"

I groan, "No Lacey, I don't know anyone who teaches dancing. Can you not just, I don't know, try talking to her like a normal person? You know, like you're talking to me right now?"

I wait for almost a minute as Lacey doesn't say anything, finally I say, "I'll be over in a couple of minutes." And hang up.

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

While speaking to Lacey, I remembered promising to take more books for Selene, so I take a couple of minutes to use the teleportation method I copied from Spike to get into the loft and grab a box of my old school books, and a box of mum's old fiction books.

While Spike's exploring this new space I showed him, I teleport to Kurt and Lacey's and ring the doorbell with all the stuff I'm taking floating behind me.

I've been standing there for a minute when I hear Lacey shout "Kurt! Grab the bottle of wine from upstairs!"

Kurt shouts back, "Lacey, we don't need to take the wine, and I think Taylor's at the door!"

"Kurt, I pissed off an actual fucking god. I am not taking any chances."

"Get it yourself woman, I'm answering the fucking door!"

A minute later the front door opens to a harried Kurt, "Taylor, come in. Lacey's being Lacey."

I walk through the front door, "What do you mean?"

Kurt closes the door and walks over to sit on the couch with a thud, "Lacey doesn't deal with change well. I don't mean physical changes, like moving the furniture around, though even that can be an argument and a half sometimes. I mean changes to her world view. Last time this happened was after Marquis was captured and all the gang boundaries disappeared overnight. Somehow that ended up with Lacey studying accounting for a few years and being elected as treasurer for the union."

Lacey shouts downstairs, "That's because Marquis used to hire Dockworkers for good, honest, and legal work! Not like those fuckwits in the Merchants who only move illegal shit."

Kurt smoothly carries on, "Time before that was when the Teeth and 88 first brought guns to the docks. Before that it was always crowbars, chains, and bats. Then she went nuts at the gun range for a couple of years until she could shoot better than the instructor."

Lacey shouts back, "I wouldn't have met you if I hadn't now would I?"

I rub my forehead and shout, "Look Lacey, the best thing you could do is learn how to use your magic and be a decent human being. You've already got the second part down, so all you need to do is work on the first."

Lacey stomps down the stairs and into the kitchen. Then she comes back dragging a massive suitcase that's straining at the zip, "No way. I am going to find out what I need to do to apologize properly, and then learn everything I need to know to stop it happening again. Same as I did before. Danny might find the work, but I'm the one that came up with the dry spells, I'm the one that's stopped everyone from starving. Couldn't have done that if I didn't hit the books once I realized that the only other major player in the docks would happily kill half my friends before they'd give us any work."

Kurt sighs, "And while you were doing that, the rest of us drove them out of the docks. Then Lung moved in."

"At least Lung knows how to keep things looking legal enough for us to accept the occasional job from him."

I look aghast at the two of them, "Wait, I thought dad was proud to never work with the gangs?"

Lacey and Kurt share an oops type glance before Lacey looks at me, "Look, it's complicated honey. There's a lot of legitimate companies in ABB territory, and some of those are fronts for the ABB. We all have our suspicions, but we don't actually know which companies aren't legit, and which are. We also know that there's smuggling going on, and whenever we find out we notify the coastguard and get the port authorities involved. It's sort of the understanding between us and the gangs. We do legitimate work, and they try to smuggle bits and pieces past us. At the same time we take no kickbacks, and they take no umbrage. I'm fairly sure that most of what comes in leaves the city by train. We do our due diligence on the paperwork side, and the guys do their due diligence when the freight comes in or goes out. What freight can actually get into the port these days anyway. Things like opening the containers to check that they're full depth, knocking on the walls, and checking labels against the manifest. The cranes also have scales built in, so if the weight doesn't match that's a red flag. Kung Long Imports is a toy importer from what's left of Japan and Korea. We get a lot of exports to Europe through here, and I'm pretty damn sure that it's an ABB front. But it's also a legitimate company, and with China and Africa the way they are, they've got a legitimate reason to send freight across country to the east coast."

"Fine!" I snap, "Lacey, what did you promise Selene?"

Kurt answers, "Her perfume, and I've got that here."

I nod, "Great, then grab a box of books and I'll take us to see dad."

Lacey lets go of her suitcase as I shove the heavier of the two boxes at her, "But what about the other stuff?"

I put a hand on their shoulders and say, "You can take it yourself once you know how."

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

When we arrive on Selene's world we're standing on a hill that's rising out of a forest. In the distance I can see the glittering reflection of water near the horizon and I suddenly develop a new appreciation for directions like, 'Near the mountain that looks like a dog'. A brief moment of concentration we're standing on the lake shore where I last saw dad.

From behind us, dad calls, "Taylor, everyone, over here!"

I turn around to see dad standing in front of a quintessential log cabin right out of the movies. Though that's secondary to seeing his worn but happy face. I run over to see him, and stop a few arms lengths away from him, "Dad, how are… Are you…?"

Dad sighs and closes the distance between us before drawing me into a hug that almost distracts me enough that I lose my grip on Kurt and Lacey. "I'm not better, but I've been dealing with stuff. Not that there's a lot else to do around here since Selene deemed me capable of fending for myself."

From behind me, Kurt says, "Danny, should I be saying 'long time no see' given I last saw you last night."

Dad turns around and leads us into the cabin, "Come on in. And maybe, it's been about a year for me, so."

I look around the bare interior of the cabin, around half the walls have been smoothed out, while the other half are still rounded trunks. As I'm doing so, Kurt asks, "So, what happened. We've heard Taylor's side, but what about you?"

Dad leans against a wall with a sigh, "I reacted badly to seeing Skidmark manhandling Taylor and I pretty much went into denial of everything that happened over the previous few months. Convinced myself that it was just a fever dream and that Taylor was a normal cape with normal powers. Bit like Jonas did when he got back from Disney world that one time. Except he had pictures, and it wasn't three months squeezed into less than an hour. I mean, that's impossible right? Except, here we are. I'd like to think I'd have pulled my head out of my ass before I got back to work on Monday, but I had to treat Taylor like a child rather than as a young adult. I was on the phone to you guys when Taylor came back, and I was going to ask if I should just sign her up for The Wards there and then."

I hang my head, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I just wanted to talk to you and tell you why I was doing things."

Dad walks over to me and hugs me again, "I know you did. You did everything you were supposed to. Despite your maturity, you're still only 15, no you'd be 16 now. You're still only 16. If Annette was still alive she'd have sat us both down and tore a strip out of us before making us go through stuff line by line."

I giggle, "She would, wouldn't she."

Lacey harrumphs, "So what was that about telling me lies last night then?"

Dad lets go and turns to face Lacey, "Lacey, I am so sorry. I didn't want it to be real, I didn't want to have been shot, and to see Skidmark manhandle Taylor. The only way I could do that was to pretend that it hadn't happened, and that it was all part of Taylors power. After all, if I'd been shot I'd be laid up in a hospital for a while, not at home a few minutes after it happened with nothing to show it actually happened. Did you know that Selene used to be associated with mad people. She says it started because she'd take time to help them get over it, but mortals, I mean other people slowly turned it around to her causing it. It's what she did for me. We've covered a lot, from the situation with Skidmark, to Annette's death, and even my father."

From the doorway Selene says, "And you have been doing well. Once you have seen me training my apprentice with the spear, we will leave you to teach your friends how to use their magic, and not die when they stay out too late."

Lacey quickly reaches into Kurt's jacket pocket and pulls out the bottle of perfume, "Here, I'm so sorry I didn't believe Taylor when she was explaining stuff."

Selene smiles as she takes the bottle, "It is of no moment, while you were quite insulting when you put Berenike into an impossible position. I equally was perhaps less gentle than I should have been. I'm sure you'll hear about how much time Danny spent breaking rocks with a stick."

Lacey nods, "I'm sure I have a few choice words for him myself. But how can I fix this. I mean how do I deal with all of this and avoid pissing you off again?"

Selene looks at Lacey strangely as she says, "We have already resolved our disagreement, there is… Ah, I see. You seek a concrete route to understanding, not some nebulous social contract. Very well, without neglecting your life in the mortal world, make your way to where Gaia meets the sea of magic. Once you have given out at least two marks, and you understand how they work and bind you together. Venture into the sea of magic and survive. Then you shall be a goddess in your own right, and you will be able to see from my vantage point. But push too far too fast, and you will permanently injure or kill yourself. You may ask me for advice, but this is your journey, not mine. You need to understand your own magic if you are to succeed."

Lacey nods, "I will, thank you for your advice."

Selene looks over at dad, "Danny, once we are gone, you should explain just what promises mean to your friends now, and how they could tie them into anything from an unfavorable death to a life of servitude. Berenike, do you have your training spear with you?"

I nod and pull my staff out of my pouch.

"Then come, we will practice at the waters edge until the sun dips below the horizon."

I suppress a groan as I follow Selene outside and spot that the sun is only about two diameters above the horizon. Scratch that I don't have time to groan as I'm ducking a spear aimed straight at my head as soon as I step off of dad's porch.

A few seconds later I find myself backed against the outside wall and Selene shouts at me "Teleport, don't think, just do!"

Desperately I throw myself to one side, and into a roll, to make space between the two of us, but Selene just appears next to me as I'm standing up and starts pushing me back to the cabin. Not so fast that I can't think, but still faster than I could have handled a week ago.

Eventually, I'm able to use Spike's teleportation. I tried using the one I'm most familiar with first, but every time I tried to concentrate Selene hit me around the head. When I finally do it, I just throw my magic out and suddenly I'm six feet behind Selene with a clear shot at her back. Having been taught the folly of hesitation, I immediately lunge forward and strike at her kidneys with my staff, causing her to stumble forward.

When she turns back to face me, all she says is, "Good, again, faster."

After that, Selene increases the pace slightly, and begins to occasionally teleport herself. Never too far into my blind spots, but far enough that I have to just react on my instincts rather than trusting my eyes.

Eventually, teleporting becomes instinctive enough that I'm able to plan out where I'm going rather than just desperately throwing it out as soon as I get it.

The first time I make manage to make space between us, Selene gives me a couple of seconds respite before she's in my face yet again.

Fortunately I don't have to worry about how she's going to make me earn those breathing spaces, as the sun finishes dropping below the horizon, and signals the end of our practice. When Selene puts up her spear, it takes me a couple of seconds to realize that it's over. When I do, I'm barely able to lift my spear in front of my face before my legs give way.

As I try to stand up, Selene makes her spear vanish as she walks over and picks me up bridal style. I have just enough energy left to say, "I brought more books, they're in the boxes."

Before I pass out, I think I hear Lacey say something like, "She does this every day?" only with more disbelief and swearing.

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

April 16 Day 2

I ache all over and I can't stand up.

Ok, so the display yesterday was all about showing dad that I can actually protect myself. Thank god that this isn't going to become a normal thing.

WooHoo, Selene just taught me my first spell. It's apparently part of three spells that are used for healing. This one allows you to sense the inside of someone's body, but the motions are horribly difficult with a spear, especially with the words.

Oh great, Selene's just dropped Grey's Anatomy next to me and basically said, learn this. Come on, I mean, I guess it's a good way to really understand the spell, but it takes doctors years to understand this.

Oh, she didn't mean right now. Apparently it's a long term project for me. Anyway, while I was panicking about how much work that was going to be, Selene was getting some wood and seasoning it in a cave closer to the sea. So now we're both sitting together learning how to make a book case using the joints in my book. We also took turns reading from Girl of Fortune, a rather forgettable adventure book that had a playing card halfway through it.

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

Day 3

I can move again!

Ugh, Selene just handed me a white stick and put a copper pot on my head. Then she said 'Use the force Taylor' before throwing stones at me. That lasted all of a couple of minutes before she told me to meditate and try to spread my magic around me in a mist. The closer to the mortal world the better. I think I understand what she means, but I have no idea how to do it.

Ok, stones still hurt even when they're thrown gently. I'm glad I was throwing them gently though, as Selene demonstrated what she wants me to achieve. Oh, and the best news? Whenever we're hunting now, Selene's going to occasionally randomly attack me until I stop freezing up. FML

I just asked Selene why she's pushing me like this, and she said, "First survive, then thrive."

Ok, that wasn't just cryptic bullshit, it was just a plain sense way of looking at things. Basically, she's decided that Earth Bet is exceedingly dangerous, so I need to learn to defend myself ASAP so that I live long enough to learn to do stuff like heal myself and make a new body if I die. That means that I need to be able to detect bullets and return (stones) and fight Oni Lee with my eyes closed. What has dad been telling her while I was gone?

Shadow Stalker just used my name several times in a row. It's really quite odd as this far in the dream the resonance lasts for around an hour each time she does it. I focused on it once and she was complaining about me. I also got a pretty good sense for where she is. Like how I know where to teleport sense rather than the room or street she's in sense.

After doing more woodwork, we went to eat with dad, Kurt and Lacey. Apparently, both dad and Selene agree that my training time should be doubled. I'm not sure whether to be happy about this or not. On the one hand it allows me to spend more time at home with Selene, on the other, more training.

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

Day 8 or so

Fuck that was awful. We just got back from a hunting trip to the next world. Selene managed to make something that absolutely reeks, and she was using it as surprise bombs. Anyway, I've now got another project, work out how to clear the air. I guess one good thing came out of it, I can at least defend myself now. Oh, and I managed to catch something. We're about to dress and butcher it so that it can be shared with dad's cabin.

I asked Selene about my portal while we were butchering the animal. Anyway, she had me teleport around using all the different methods I've worked out, including the portal. Apparently my problem with the portal is with my visualization. Namely that I'm picturing the doorway actually in front of me, rather than just a doorway that I step through. Not sure how I'm going to visualize that, but it gets added to the list.

The teleportation I normally use is related to the cracks between worlds. According to Selene it will be quicker than any other form of teleportation (Portal apparently doesn't count) but it will always take that bit longer to start, as my magic is basically finding a way through the different cracks to my destination. On the flip side, if I can get really really good at it, I might and Selene stressed that word, I might be able to teleport between worlds.

═══════ ೋღ ღೋ ═══════

Day 14

We went hunting again today, without the surprise attacks. Selene explained that it's so that I don't grow to fear hunting. It was nice being able to take our time without the fighting training. Don't get me wrong, I was still training, as Selene was pointing out how to spot tracks and how to feel for residual magic that might give a hint about what sort of prey or predators are around.

We're currently having dinner with dad, Kurt and Lacey, and I've found out that they want dad to make his own way home with Kurt and Lacey once the dream opens up. But I need to spend the night elsewhere so that dad has to accept that I wasn't around to get him home. If I can't find anywhere in the mortal world Earth Bet then I can come back and stay with Selene until Catlin wakes up. Mentioning Catlin made me remember about Stewart and his interview request.

I tried to get out of it, but dad made me promise to try and find somewhere safe to sleep on Earth Bet. I've promised to try, but Selene took me home after that and held me as I cried. Why did he have to make me promise?