There’s something to be said for southern hospitality. I’d never seen the point of it before, but inviting neighbors, friends, and enemies to mingle in a closed setting was a hell of a way to create a sense of unity where none existed before.

Even if that sense of unity was counterfeit.

The location was the old golf course, around twenty minutes east of the city center. With Kinsley’s help and a courtesy call to the region 18 leader, it was easy enough to secure the area as a small venue, with speakers, tables and chairs quickly unloaded by Kinsley’s ever expanding roster of mercenaries and employees. Grit and Ire arrived shortly after with the catering.

Ire was right. Smokey Jon’s was too good not to share.

Sae and Sara chatted over styrofoam plates nearby. Sae seemed to pick up on Sara’s visible discomfort with her appearance and, instead of avoiding her, appeared to be doubling down and chatting Sara’s ear off.

A line of SUVs drove onto the green and came to a stop. Shortly after, the rear SUV’s passenger door popped open and Iris jumped out. She spotted me and sprinted over, nearly slipping on the grass as she made her final approach, hitting my chair full force and rattling me.

“Are we really going to fly?” Iris asked, her eyes wide.

“After everyone eats and has some time to digest.” I answered. Iris looked around, inspecting the various plates present.

“We can’t just go now?”

“Patience, kiddo.” I ruffled her hair. Then jerked my thumb to Miles, sitting uncomfortably in the lawn chair next to me. “You know who this is?”

“No?” Iris cocked her head.

“He helped save our asses yesterday.”

My sister reacted immediately and tackled Miles in a hug. Miles patted her awkwardly, shooting me a dubious look. “Just… doing my job.”

I gestured towards my ear, then my sister. Miles nodded in oh-right acknowledgement and waited to repeat himself until he could see her. Before he could, Iris quickly pulled away. “Have you eaten yet?” She asked in excitement.

“Uh. No,” Miles said.

I watched in amusement as Iris took Miles' hand and dragged him away. “Come on, the sooner we eat, the sooner we can fly!”

Miles looked back helplessly at me, then followed along as my sister led him to the small line of mercenaries queued up next to the silver serving trays. He’d shown up shortly after Tyler, and never seemed to drop his guard until now.

Before I could respond, I felt a presence beside me. Mom was there, one-hand on my lawn chair, staring after Iris and Miles. “That man. I’ve met him before.”

“Have you?” I asked, clamping down on the immediate burst of irritation.

“He’s the one you mentioned, isn’t he? Miles? Part of the Taskforce?” Mom asked, visibly working through confusion.

“That’s him.”

“What a coincidence. We ran into each other at a restaurant, chatted for a while.” Mom covered a laugh with her hand as she watched Iris railroad Miles through the serving line. Her wrinkles looked more pronounced than they had weeks ago. As annoyed as I was that she’d unknowingly leaked vital information, it was easy to forget that she’d been working tirelessly in the background this entire time.

“That is a coincidence. Was he nice?” I asked carefully.

Mom sighed. “A perfect gentleman. And look how good he is with your sister.”

Hardly. Iris could charm an inanimate object.

There was no mistaking the sigh in my mother’s voice. My immediate reaction was to stomp the brakes. Even if Miles wasn’t a borderline enemy, on the frontline of several dangerous situations liable to get him killed, further entanglement with him was dangerous. Then again, I’d created this situation for exactly that purpose. My mother getting… involved with Miles was unlikely to end in anything other than tragedy.

“He’s been married before,” I hedged.

“So have I.” Mom shot me an eyebrow.

“And he has kids.”

“Explains why he’s so good with them.”

I palmed my forehead. “Isn’t he a little young for you?”

“Matthias.” Mom snapped.

An uncomfortable silence passed between us.

“You’re right” Mom gazed down at the green, crestfallen. “Ellison ran away—”

“—He didn’t run away, he just needs some time.” I interrupted, reiterating what I’d already told her.

“I shouldn’t be pining, like some naïve, star-struck child. Your brother should be my focus right now.” Mom finished. There was enough self-loathing in the statement that I hesitated. For the first time in what felt like years, I felt genuine guilt towards her. No matter how spotty our upbringing was, what was happening with Ellison now wasn’t my mother’s fault.

“How’s the system forum coming along?” I asked, attempting to redirect the conversation somewhere more positive.

The pain in her expression lightened somewhat. “Almost have all the kinks ironed out. Should be ready to go live in a few days.”

I hesitated. “We lost a lot of people in the transposition. Makes it hard to keep track of who’s alive and who isn’t. Miles suggested creating a forum subcategory to gather that information.”

My mother’s eyes tracked towards the serving line. “That’s a wonderful idea.”

“Why don’t you go talk to him about it?” Saying the words was like chewing glass.

Mom smiled, for the first time in a long time, and waggled an eyebrow. “Is that your way of giving me your blessing?”

“He is a cop.” I couldn’t stop myself from adding it as one final, pointless protest.

“I’ll be careful.” Mom nodded, over serious, giving me a small wave as she walked lightly towards the serving line, a skip in her step. I scowled as she left, more than a little unhappy with the unexpected turn.

A short figure walked across the green. Kinsley sat on the far end of the row of chairs, as far away from me and everyone else, while a small cluster of mercenaries milled around her.

Her styrofoam plate was piled high with large enough serving of premium, five-cheese macaroni from Smokey’s to feed a small family. Kinsley continued the dead-eyed stare and slowly raised a fist, middle-finger extended.

Fair enough.

/////

Iris shrieked as she flew through the air. I caught her beneath her arms and sent her flying back towards Mom as we floated together. Mom caught her, laughing as the momentum pushed them both back, spinning Iris around in a gravity defying dance.

On the return trip, Iris flew directly at me, shifting direction right at the last moment, curving around me and flying out the opposite way like a slingshot.

“Be careful!” I called after her.

Something clipped my feet, nearly sending me spinning before I corrected my trajectory.

I glared at Miles. “Really?”

“Fancy a dogfight?” Miles came to a stop with a graceful barrel roll.

“No.” I said, moments before I lashed out with a leg and caught his ankle.

Miles spiraled, the green of the golf course, hundreds of feet below us. “Bastard!” He called back.

“Don’t pretend like you weren’t asking for it.”

When he regained control, he gave me a serious look. “Thanks.”

“It was already happening.” I shrugged. “Adding a plus one was simple enough.”

“Not just that.” Miles surveyed the fliers.

As a whole, the group was dealing with the nausea far better than I had. Tyler was the only one to lose his dinner. Kinsley was struggling not to follow in his footsteps. She floated motionless in the air, supine. “It’s fine. No big deal. Just like… floating… in a pool. I’m a cloud. And clouds don’t—” She suddenly writhed in the air and turned to the side with an audible hurk, making the near-fatal mistake of glancing down, slapping both hands over her mouth and closing her eyes tightly.

“Sure you don’t want to turn on your stomach?” I asked.

Kinsley opened one eye and glared at me. “Go away. Let me be a cloud.”

I scanned the sky for Miles. He’d joined my mother and Tyler, and was laughing loudly at something Sara had said. Iris swooped around them, and Miles snatched her out of the air, launching her higher. Iris whooped, giggling with a freedom and lightness I hadn’t heard in years.

It was so easy to forget how young she really was.

“You okay?” Kinsley asked, one-eye open again.

“It’s just… I don’t know. I can’t remember the last time I saw Iris this happy.” The words came tumbling out. “Mom too. All I want is this. But the good days are harder and harder to come by.”

“It’s okay to enjoy them. You get that, right?”

I swallowed. “It’s not that simple. I’m underwater. Small chance in hell it’s getting any easier. Luck’s the only reason I’m still alive. I can reduce risk, take strides to mitigate probability, but in the end, it’s down to luck. And eventually, luck runs out. I have to make sure they’re safe when it does.”

“Jesus. Family outings always make you this bleak?”

“Did you find our makeshift prison?” I asked. I hadn’t decided on how to deal with Buzzcut yet, but I needed somewhere to take him if it ended up being less final.

“Yeah. Abandoned building, north end of the region. Basement is solid and securable. Had a few mages reinforce the door and whip up a fancy lock. Added the modifications you asked for. Everything else should be fine as is, unless he can tunnel through concrete.” Kinsley avoided eye-contact throughout the report.

“Ok. Great. Gonna tell me why cranky’s been your default state lately?”

Kinsley looked down at where mom and Iris had gathered. My sister’s braids flew back and up, at an unnatural angle, and mom cradled her, slowing her downward momentum.

“It’s not rational.” Kinsley said.

“Doesn’t have to be.” I shrugged.

“It’s not fair to you.”

“Things rarely are.”

“I miss my dad.” Kinsley exploded. “And I know it’s unreasonable, and maybe makes me a total bitch, but every time I see you with your family—which is often, us being neighbors—I can’t help but think about how my dad is stuck, in hell, made to do god knows what. And contrast that to what you have.” She tugged at the back of her head. “And yes, I know exactly how shitty that makes me sound.”

“Kinsley. You know we’d get Vernon out now, if we could.”

In the middle of biting her nails, Kinsley said something indecipherable.

“What?” I asked, reaching out towards her back.

“Leave it.” Kinsley spat the words, and I pulled my hand away.

Her lip firmed. “Let’s just get through the next few weeks. I’ll do everything I can to cover on my end. But my dad needs to get out, Matt. As soon as there’s an opportunity.”

I frowned. “That was always the plan.”

“Right.” Her confirmation came with a side-eye. “So long as it stays that way.”

There was a flash of motion as a pair of dark chitin feet slammed into Kinsley’s backside and shoved, sending her spinning, swearing incessantly, towards the opposite end of the of the golf course.

“That seemed like way too serious a conversation for a party.” Sae rotated to face me, smoothly shifting herself in a diagonal roll.

“Is everybody better at flying than me?”

“No idea. When are we moving on Cameron?”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “That’s a lighter topic?”

“Don’t get lost in the weeds.” Sae prodded me in the ribs. “You said you only have a couple days left.”

“We recon this evening. Act tomorrow.”

“Really want to push this to the last minute?” Sae’s mouth turned downward.

“From the dossier and character sheet, we don’t want to go into this half-cocked. Especially if there’s an advantage to be had.” I smiled widely.

Sae looked slightly perturbed. “Oh?”

“All we have to do is get within range. Azure will do the rest.”