Free Solace & Grief by Foz Meadows Page A

‘Fear, I guess. She still didn't understand what she was doing, how she was doing it. Giving the necklace back would've been like confessing to being something she wasn't. Even the man admitted the necklace had been lost for years; it was just pure bad luck that he recognised it. It wasn't even as if he could prove it was his, you know?’ He laughed, angry.
    ‘One day, he and some other idiots cornered her. He'd got them liquored up, convinced that she'd been robbing them for years. She was poor, he was older and his mob was drunk. They were shouting, waving stuff at her. Like a witch hunt. I was a couple of streets over when I heard the yelling. Didn't even think; just changed shape and charged, fur up, claws out. Everyone screamed and ran off, thank God. Electra was pretty shaken up by it all – me, as well as them. Once they'd gone, I changed back, tried to calm her down. We both explained what had happened; we left together. Ended up here a few years back. There were others at first, but they wandered away. We probably freaked them out. Ran into Jess and Evan at the Gadfly; don't remember when, but a while ago. And here we all are.’
    ‘And Glide? Where'd he come from?’
    Manx scratched the side of his nose and shrugged.
    ‘Glide just… turned up. One day we had a spare room – several, actually – and the next minute, Glide was living in one of them, mattress, crud and all. I'm still not sure what his deal is. I'm fairly certain he knows what we are, and as far as anyone can make out, he's like us, too. To be honest, I've never really asked. But I do know his dreams are vivid.’
    Solace frowned. ‘How?’
    ‘He talks, sometimes. In his sleep. Different languages. Some I can recognise, some I can't. Truth be told, I've listened in more than once. He even muttered a bit today, when Evan and I were drawing on him. He's normal otherwise. For a given value of normal.’
    He fell silent. Solace sat for a moment, taking everything in. Despite having come to terms with her own weirdness, Manx's unexpected honesty had both touched and confronted her. As he watched from the corner of one eye, she realised that it was her turn to speak, and that, what's more, she'd known all along what she was going to say.
    ‘I'm a vampire,’ she announced bluntly. ‘Or the nearest practical equivalent.’ Haltingly, she told him about her abilities, about finding the Gadfly, even recounting the story of Kelly and the table. She did not, however, mention the faceless man in the alley, whose presence had so unnerved her. Throughout her rambling narrative, Manx listened attentively, letting Solace speak on uninterrupted until, quite suddenly, there was nothing left to say, and night had fallen. Behind them, the opening chords of ‘Bohemian Like You’ filled the air, accompanied by plastic crackles as Tryst and Claire discreetly cleared away rubbish. Sensing a Deep and Meaningful in progress, the others had let Manx and Solace talk in relative privacy – relative, in that Evan and Jess had both strolled slowly past, grinning in their direction, while Paige had speculated loudly as to their reasons for sitting alone; private, in that no one had actually overheard anything. It was an occasionally frustrating compromise, but workable.
    ‘You know,’ said Manx, when Solace was done, ‘I wish I knew why people like us existed. I mean, I get why we stay secret – that's only commonsense – but there's got to be some, some reason for everything.’
    ‘You mean, like… God?’
    ‘Maybe.’ Manx shrugged, suddenly awkward. ‘Just because my parents were wrong about me, that doesn't mean they're wrong about everything else, you know?’
    Solace opened her mouth to reply, but thought better of it. What do I believe in? It was strange to realise she didn't know. Instead, she reached across and tentatively took Manx's hand. Flashing a grateful half-smile, he squeezed her palm again, leaving Solace wondering how physical contact could