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The door closed behind me with a loud bang, making us both jump.

Magdalene looked at me "This isn't what it looks like."

"I certainly look so, because it looks like you eviscerated that man.

"That isn't a man." She kicked the man's legs and the shoe came off, revealing the pant leg was filled with twigs and branches.

"What the hell?" I stared at strewed sprigs. It looked eerily like that in the car.

"Look, I know this is going to be tough to understand, but there things in the world beyond your comprehension."

"You mean like a stick man driving a car, and you having claws?"

She looked at her hands in surprise, and the claws shrank until they disappeared. That was creepy as hell.

"Yes, like that." She studied me. "You're awfully calm."

"I'll explain once we're out of here." I looked around for cameras, none that I could see. It would have to be good enough. "So, no dead body for the cops to deal with, right? Just twigs wrapped in clothing?"

She pulled the shirt and pants, dumping the branches out.

"Not even that." She picked up the shoes.

All right, what could be proved? The camera in the front had seen them come in, as well as me. Alice was going to love this. But only the two of us leave, and no body. I could see Alice accusing me of doing it, but I didn't see how she could work out what the 'it' was.

"Lets get out of here."

People were staying away from the store, but they saw us, phones were out, which meant accurate description. Nothing I could do about that. I'd make sure Alice couldn't find Magdee and deal with it.

We headed back to the market. Once away from that crowd she dumped her bundle in a trashcan. I could feel her eyes on me, but she didn't say anything, so I asked the question.

"Is the claw thing new? Or can mom, dad and Tim do it too?"

She eyed me some more before answering. "It's just me. How come you're taking this so well?"

"Which Faction are you with?" What else could it be?

She tripped and almost fell. There was the confirmation. "How?" she started, then pulled away. "Are you church?"

"Oh God no. They're the ones who cost me my job. Yoou ever

heard of the Society?"

"Sure, the guys who fuck a lot."

"I chuckled. "Found out I'm one of them in the Spring."

After a moment she nodded. "That certainly explains why you went through guys faster than I go through baskets of berries."

"So you still devours that when stressed?" Mom couldn't keep berries in the house during exam month.

She shrugged noncommittally.

"So, who's your God?"

"The Green One."

I ran through the God's I knew of. "I don't know that one." Max had given me a primer on the Factions, but I hadn't paid attention. "Does He have an actual name?"

"Baterilmamir."

That sounded familiar. "Right, the Werewolf God." "We are not werewolves," She growled in exasperation.

"That's like saying you're a whore." "I've been called that plenty of times.

She glared at me. "And dad has called you smart. That doesn't make it so."

"Ouch. Okay, no werewolf jokes, but you can shape shift."

"It's only a small part of our powers. We're nature's protectors and warriors."

"So you're with Greenpeace?"

"Not me. Some of out members are."

"Okay, you weren't born in the Faction. How did you join?" Max might have explained that too. I was still as poor a student as in my youth.

"Before we get into that, how about we sit down and eat? I haven't eaten anything since last night."

"Any preference?" I asked, taking out my phone. I requested a list of restaurant in the area.

"Something with privacy. I don't think either one of us wants people to listen in."

That complicated my search. 'Privacy' wasn't something most places included in their tag words. I chuckled. I could always take her to 'La Bouche', where Max had taken me and finally got me to give in to impregnating a woman.

"What's the joke?":

"Nothing. I just thought of a place, but they wouldn't let me in unaccompanied." The Maiter'd had taken one look at me and looked willing to forbid me entry, even with Max, in his three piece suit, there.

"I'd be accompanying you."

"Yeah, that wouldn't work either."

"What kind of place do *you* go to that *I* couldn't get into?"

"It's a place where guys get sucked off as they eat." Hey, I never kept anything for my sister, I wasn't going to start now. Sure, at first it was to weird her out, but she was damn near unfazeable. I looked through the list my phone provided, asking for pictures.

"Is that a Society thing? Or a gay one?"

"I think it's a guy thing. I rich, I have enough money I vcan get away with whatever I want, kind of guy think."

"Sounds like you don't approve."

I quirked a smile. "The guy who took me there is fine, but After living barely in the middle class since leaving home, I'm having a tough time with some of the rich guys I'm interacting with."

"Running onto more rarefied circles are you? Soon you'll be too good for the likes of me."

"Don't joke about that. Just yesterday I had one tell me I had to set my priorities straight, as in, we come before everyone else." I showed her a set of picture for a restaurant. "This one has plenty of booths, and it's still a couple of hours to lunch. It should be quiet, and it isn't too far."

She agreed and half an hour later of walking, fast walking, we were there.

"Did you pick up running?" I asked, opening the door for her.

"No, I adjusted my metabolism to keep up with your crazy pace."

The place was busier than I expected, for an hour an a half before lunch time, but we were able to get a corner booth in the back. The place was quaint, going for an ancient feel. The menus were plastic, the table not smart, and the waiter... took our order.

"So, how did it happen? I asked once he left.

"While I was a ranger at Yellowstone. We'd gotten calls from hikers about animals running about and behaving strangely. I went to investigate and walked into a woman animating a tree. She gave me a solid trouncing befoe the others showed up to stop her. That was my introduction to the Green One's followers.

Turned out I ws the only ranger not already one.

"Did they force you to join?"

"No. You know I always loved nature. That's why I was into paganism, and why I left."

I nodded. Most of her fight with dad had been because he saw he beliefs as being devil worship. Dad was open minded about a lot of things, he didn't even have a problem with me not being Christian, but for his little girl to go into the woods and frolic naked with representations of unknown forces? That was too much for him. That was why I had no intention of ever telling him about my God.

"When I saw I could do more than just make sure campers and hikers didn't destroy any of the flora in the park, I was eager to join. Getting over magic being real, as well as the Old Gods too some time, but once after I had my first visitation, it was easy to accept."

"Tell me about it."

She tilted and ear. "How about you? How did it go?"

"Well, for one thing, I wasn't given much of a choice. In the Society, the power is passed along through the bloodline. The Stentons were part of the Society, so I was too, and because I'm the last of the line, they worked hard at convincing me it was all real. Then the God got involved."

"How?" she asked before taking a sip of water.

I waited until she'd put the glass down. spit takes were only funny in movies. "He fucked me, then I fucked him."

He eyes were the size of plates. "You had sex with one of the Gods?"

"The Society had ceremonies the children go through as they grow up. I'd missed two of them because my parents died in the fire. No one knows why He decided to get involved. Normally other members of the Society symbolically become Him for the ceremonies."

"You sound like you're not entirely happy about it."

I had to take a moment to formulate my answer. "It's complicated. I don't know how it is between you and your God, but I love Him. I finally understand why I've never been interested in getting boyfriend. Even before I knew about Him, it was waiting for me. To claim me, and for me to claim Him. Each time I have sex, He's there. There isn't any need to worship him, He's always there."

"That sounds intense."

"It is, sometime. I'm not expressing it properly. But with Him, comes the rest of the Society, and now I have this huge organization looking over my shoulder all the time."

"The Society watches you that closely? Ate they afraid of you?"

I shook my head. "Not them, the church. Because of how involved with society The Society is, the church watches all of us like a hawk. The way it was explained, to prevent the church from wiping us out, we had to make a deal with them, which includes that we can't hold any position of power. They consider the police a one of those, so they were pissed when they found out about me."

"How did they find out?"

"Last spring, as part of finding out I was Society, things got really crazy. Someone tried to kill me. Did you hear about the house burning down?" Her eyes became wide. "Everyone's okay, but I had to lie low. For a while I let people think I was dead, but I needed information to work out who was after me. I got Alice, my partner, to help me, but at some point I had to tell her I was part of the Society. That's when I found out she was church. She didn't take it well."

"Are mom and Tim okay? How about his wife and kids?"

"They're all fine, the house was rebuilt. The Society saw to it, and all the pictures are back on the wall. It almost feel like the fire never happened. You should drop by, since you're in town."

"No. I'm glad they're okay, but there's no way UI'm setting foot in that man's house."

I sighed. "You have to let this go."

"Has he?"

"Your pictures are still on the wall, he hasn't completely erased you from his life."

"I haven't forgiven him from being such a stubborn reactionary old fart."

"Well, you are his daughter, no doubt about that. If one of you doesn't get off his horse, you're never going to talk again."

"I'm fine with that."

Fortunately for us, the server came with our food then, forcing the building argument to end.

I looked at the food on her plate. I hadn't paid attention to what she'd ordered. "When did you become such a meat eater?"

She had three steaks, with a large salad.

She kept he voice low. "Rearranging my body takes a lot out of me, both in energy and protein. I have to compensate by eating more."

"Can everyone in your Faction do what you do? Grow claws?"

"O, we have different affinities. Mine is with physical bodies. Others have one toward fauna or flora. We're a trinity of sort, although it isn't that clear cut. How does yours work?

I heard you can control the guys you have sex with."

"No, that isn't how it works." I remembered the Orrs and their ability to make any guy they wanted horny beyond reason. They weren't Society, but they followed my God. The stories had to come from their actions.

"Our ability base is more wide spread, we can all do something different." I had a thought. "Can you grow your claws?

I want to try something."

She looked around, then covered her fingers with a hand. I felt for her power as bony protrusion extended from her index and middle fingers. Nothing. I tried harder, to no effect.

"I guess it only works withing the Society," I said to myself.

"What does?"

"Like I said, we all have different abilities. Mine is that

I can tap into those abilities when they are nearby and use them. I tried to sense yours, but I didn't get anything."

"Where does the sex come in then?"

I smiled at her. "It comes in when I feel like having fun."

She rolled her eyes. "It's how we recharge our batteries."

"I go into nature to get in touch with Him. It invigorates me, but it doesn't take the place of eating."

We ate in silent for a time.

"That case you're working on, what is it about?" she asked.

"It isn't really a case, it's personal. Like I said, I'm the last Stenton alive. A few days ago a guy from a law firm showed up. I guess the Stenton had them on retainer. He wanted to give me a briefcase with stuff from my family in it. I didn't take it."

"Why not?"

"Because the Stentons were big on hoarding secrets, other people's secrets. They weren't liked, and I didn't know if I wanted to be a part of that. I still don't, but he guy was murdered, and the briefcase stolen. I tracked down the killer, only to find him dead. He had a phone number on him that traces to this area."

"You think it's the number of who hired him?"

"I doubt it. He was part of the Society, and they aren't really the kind to work for someone else. It might have been the number of a contact, although if that's the case why was he still hiding at the house? All I know is that the briefcase changed hands again, and I don't like the idea of anyone other than me having it." I finished the last of my salad. "How about you? You're armed and a little too comfortable pulling that thing out in public."

She ate for a while, before answering. "I do security for my Faction, well, my group within the Faction. My job is to track down trouble makers. Anyone who is too visible. The church isn't paying too much attention to us, but that's because we stay under their radar."

She speared the last piece of meat but didn't eat it. "Dent, You're my brother, I love you and I trust you, but I really can't tell you anymore. We're different Factions."

"Magdee, we're family, who cares about this Faction stuff."

"There are secrets I'm bound to protect, Dent."

I sighed. "More secrets, I'm getting tired of all this secrecy bullshit. I'm not asking about that, but who even cares, I can't do what you do. I could show you how to do sigils, and you wouldn't be able to get anything from them, you don't follow my God, I don't follow yours. Your God can't affect me, he can only affect His followers. I want to help you, not get into your inner circle."

She finally ate the piece. "A few months ago we found out one of our people started killing."

"Who is he?"

"I don't know. I don't know what species he is, or even that's he's an he. What I do know is that he's really old. The ceremony site I found have that feel to them. That means power, but it should also mean responsibility."

"Alright, how does he kill?" "He skins his victims alive." I shuddered.

"I don't know why he's doing it. That part of how I know he's old. I know all the current ceremonies, even if I can't use them. I have to so I can track people down. I have never heard of one involving using someone's skin in any manner."

"Could it be something he came up with recently? We can do that, find new ways of using sigils."

"If it was, there would be a sense of familiarity to it. He can't have come up with it whole cloth, he would have been inspired by something, improved on it, changed it, bu I'd be able to tell what that base ceremony was. I can't tell anything about this."

"So you can't tell why he's doing it, without known how. Do you know anything about their victims?"

"They've all been ungulates."

"Like you." The Saracens were ungulates, but he hadn't been skinned.

She nodded.

"Doesn't that mean if you catch him, he might decide to make you one of his victims?"

"Yes, but that's a risk I have to take."

"How long has he been killing?"

"I don't know. We heard about a few victim outside Indianapolis, some of the animals there talked about a sibling doing it. That's how they refer to us, as siblings."

"You can talk to animals?"

"No, I can barely sense intent from them. I have almost no affinity for fauna or flora. One of the local wardens talked to them."

"Did he get a description?"

She chuckled. "Dent, animals don't think that way. They described a scent. They recognized it as a sibling to them, but there was also the scent of rotting meat of prey and rivals in it."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know. That's a translation, so it isn't accurate. I started there. I case across another site near St-Louis, then just outside Kansas City, and Salina. I haven't found on here, but those Strawmen are a good indication I'm on the right track."

"But that means he knows you're close."

"Sure, but it's a good thing."

"No, it isn't. And it means I'm helping you that you want me to or not."

"I don't know how you'll be able to help. Our magic is based on nature, not sex."

"I'm more than a sex machine. I know the city, I haver investigative skills and I have contacts I can go to for information. First off, It sounds like he's a serial killer, or at least he'd register as one on any law enforcement radar. Have you contacted the FBI to see if there's a serial killer that matched your guy?"

"I don't know anyone there, and my employer doesn't like

getting them involved."

"Right, secrecy. Well, are you telling me you think your secrets are more important than protecting people's lives?"

"Dent, it isn't that simple."

"Yes, it is. I can't believe that your God, that any God, would want us to let people be endangered if we could help it.

Their future followers could be one of them."

"Alright, I guess you're right."

"If the situation wasn't this dire, hearing you admit that would be funny. First thing, Do you have qa place in town?"

"No, I just got in this morning."

"Good, if he knows your here, he'd know where you're staying. I have a place you can use for a while." I sent Stefan a message to let him know my sister would use his condo for a few days while she paid the bill.