Free Accession of the Stone Born: The Vigiles Urbani Chronicles by Ken Lange

new life. One with freedom to be who they were, which I’m sure you’re thinking is odd but it’s true. They left the old world out of fear, and braved an entirely new continent in the hopes of building a better life.”
    Leaning back in my chair, I took a healthy drink of my scotch. “I never had the pleasure of meeting them.”
    Andrew let out a long breath, before a wistful thought turned his lips up at some long lost memory. “Mom died when I was ten, from what I can only guess was malnutrition and exposure. Dad didn’t handle it well and just wandered off one summer day a few years later, leaving your father and I to fend for ourselves.” He took another stiff drink for courage before continuing. “That’s when Zachary, your father, got a job working on the reservation and met Jennifer, your mother.”
    I leaned forward, placing my forearms on the table. “What did he do for them, and why did they even consider hiring him? They hate the English.”
    Andrew sat there calmly for a moment looking me in the eye. “Give me time to tell the story and all will be revealed. Afterward I’ll take you for a tour. I think it's time.”
    Tilting my glass in his direction, I fixed my attention on him. “Then by all means tell your story.”
    Andrew returned my toast and he downed more of the scotch. “As I said, that’s when Zack met your mother. They were able to keep their relationship a secret for two years before they decided to come out to her father and the tribe.” He paused to pour himself another drink before continuing. “They wanted to get married, and it was with great reluctance that Aatsista-Mahkan agreed to their union. Your father was too important to the tribe to have him leave, taking Aatsista-Mahkan’s daughter with him when he went. They were very happy together but wanted a family of their own, and fifteen years after their marriage you were born. I’ve never been able to figure out if Aatsista-Mahkan was happy about your birth or not.”
    Andrew shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable at having to tell this story, but he settled back with another swig of scotch and started again. “I need to roll back the clock a little…I got ahead of myself. Your father was a good man and your mother was a wonderful woman, but they were newly married and I felt like a third wheel. Right after my eighteenth birthday, I bought the family car from Zack and moved to New Orleans.” He snickered as he sipped on his scotch. “In case you were wondering, the family car was the one I sold you.”
    That was a surprise but now it made sense why Andrew insisted that I keep it. “The Tucker belonged to my father?”
    Andrew poured us another round. “Yep.” He leaned back in his chair, joy and anger danced across his face before he took another swig of liquid courage and continued. “I wasn’t here a month when I met Walter and we became fast friends. Two years later I met Martha and we married the same year. She was in school at Loyola for occult studies, and Walter and I were her pet projects.”
    And now he’d lost me. “I don’t think I understand. What does one thing have to do with the other?”
    Andrew held a hand out for patience and sat up straight in his chair. “I’m getting to that. Just relax.” He set his glass on the table and his face became serious. “Now that you know a little about our family’s origins, it’s time you learned about your heritage and what makes us truly special.” He never blinked as he spoke. “What do you know about the world of the occult? Magic, sorcerers, wizards, or more importantly, the stone born?”
    Part of me wanted to laugh in his face, but I could tell that he was serious. Over the years I’d encountered some pretty weird shit, but nothing that would indicate magic was real. And in this moment, by his tone and his question, that’s exactly what he was implying.
    Leaning back in my chair, I kept my eyes locked on his. My voice was low but steady, and