“Mankind likes to believe that there are no monsters, that they have always ruled the world. It is not so.” I blinked, eyeing the Lady. “What?” We were in my car, an old ford Taurus, dark green in color. We were parked under a street light in the parking lot of a catholic church we’d found with google maps. We'd started out at a regular church, but Lady had said the ground wasn't consecrated. I don't know how she knew. We’d been sitting there for, hell, I don’t know. An hour, maybe. Stephanie’d cried a lot. Gina had comforted her as best she could. Lady had sat in silence, eyes closed, no expression on her face. As for me, I’d just been staring at the steering wheel, replaying the nights events in my head. I was numb. Justin was dead. Troll was dying. Hell, Mike might be dying. He’d been shot, too. But the grief that had stricken Stephanie didn’t touch me, and the thought that Madeline would come for us again didn’t fill me with dread like it should. I felt nothing. I knew I was in shock. I didn’t care about that either. I was just numb. Or, I had been. Now that Lady had broken the silence, I was mostly confused. “The old legends,” Lady elaborated. “They’re not just tales. The Aesir and the Yokai, monsters and magicians, gods and demons. They were real. Are real.” "Oh, you think?" I snapped. A glimmer of anger slid through me. I knew Lady wasn't the one who deserved it, but I couldn't force my voice to be calm. "Tell me something I don't know." I expected to see some anger, or at least annoyance, but Lady looked at me calmly, with maybe just a hint of compassion, as if she knew more than a hint would be more than I could bear. “I know you’re upset. I don’t blame you. But there are things you need to know, and now is as good a time as any.” I almost said something hostile, but forced myself to choke it back. Lady was right. I needed information, and we were as close to safe as we were going to get tonight. I checked the rearview mirror. Stephanie had perked up, though tears still lined her face. Gina was paying attention as well. I took a breath and gave a nod. Alright. "Go ahead." The Lady took a deep breath, and began. "Long ago, before the Age of Man, the world was a place of darkness. Monsters walked the earth. Some could be fought, but others laughed at sword and spear. Spirits wandered freely, and gods did as they willed." "Mankind was crushed beneath the heels of greater beings. Hunted for food, hunted for sport, tormented and enslaved, they cried for succor. Some turned to the gods. Others sought power from the spirits. Many chose darker paths, acquiring magics through bargains or consuming the flesh of greater beings. In the face of horrors beyond their ken, men did as they must to survive." "Thus it remained for millennia. Man labored, and worshiped, and feared, helpless and with little hope. The gods were capricious, often inflicting greater horrors than the creatures they protected against. The few men who achieved power were little better. The mortals persisted, they survived, but they did not control their own fates." "One day, that would change. A woman, terrorized by a god, sought refuge in a far away kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a man named Arthur, who turned the god away." "Arthur?" I interrupted. "As in King Arthur? Camelot Arthur?" "Yes," Lady confirmed. I frowned. "He fought off a god?" "He had help," Lady told me, "from the Lady of the Lake, backed by the Maiden, the Mother, the Crone, and half the Tuatha De Danann." The Lady in Sweats gave a derisive snort. "Romans and their gods were not welcome in those days." "Romans?" I frowned. "Which god was it?" "Zeus," said the Lady. "Stop interrupting." "Sorry." "The woman thanked the king, lamenting she had been helpless against the whims of the gods. She wished that the gods would stay in their own realms, and leave her to find her own destiny. The Lady of the Lake, who had helped give succor to the woman, heard. Together with Arthur, she formed a plan." "The Knights of Camelot quested, and the Priestesses of Avalon sought help from friendly gods. It cost many years, and many lives, but a great Working was formed. The greatest Working ever performed by mortals. The Partition. The Partition locked the gods in their own realms, shunted monsters and powers to worlds created just for them. It closed the veil, banished the spirits, and suppressed the magics of the world to a fraction of their potency. Thus ended the Age of the Gods. The Age of Man had begun." I waited, but Lady didn't say anything else. She sat back, eyes closed. "Ok,,," I prodded. "What does that have to do with what's happening now?" "It's so you know what's at stake." Lady opened her eyes. "I am the Lady of the Lake, High Priestess of Avalon. I am a guardian of the Partition. If I am taken, the Partition will fall, and it will be the end of the Age of Man."