“What was that shit you were saying, calling me a bitch?” I demanded.

The shower took about ten minutes longer than it would have, and thirty minutes longer than his normal showering routine, because he broke down halfway through and huddled in the floor of the shower, unable to look at Dakota’s body or touch it, turning the temperature and pressure up as high as he could stand it as though it would wash off this soft feminine shell and leave the real him.

The party was sprawling down the lawn towards the harbor, splashes of bright colors against blue skies, scudding white clouds and a crystal clear view of the Boston skyline. It reminded me of the dream I had taken across the threshold into morning. It had been years since I had seen that dreamscape, but there it was, whole and healed and perfect: me, making a graceful dive from a wooden pier into a deep, pristine lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, pine forests and the clearest air in the world. Wearing a lime-green one-piece and curves that were, finally, all my own.

While the boys went to the opposite side of the cafeteria to get their food, I went with my friends to our usual counter and glared at the cat woman. “Let's try this. Give me anything you have.”

“I'm not a mind reader kid, give me something a bit more specific,” she replied.

“Oh for the love of!” I screamed. “Give me a piece of bread!”

“All out.”

-24-
Blood on the Plaza

According to the sun it was around the middle of the day when Oliver, as tired as he was, followed me into the center of town. I had set a blistering pace after the bandits had ambushed us, and Oliver, though he struggled, had managed to keep up with me. Oliver was covered in blood, not his blood, but blood from the bandits that had tried to ambush us. The boy's long brown hair was matted with sweat and his feet were blistered and bleeding.

Chapter 5

Outside, I could see that Sammy was itching to look at the list.

“Not here, Sammy, when we speak to Inspector Mason and I have the proposal you’re offering, in writing. I’m still part of Jocks’ defense team, remember.”

We went to the police station where Mason was poring over a heap of paperwork.

The birth of the Umbra Knight part 2