“So you had her here? She was taking a shower. You kissed her and then told her you changed your mind?” Bart asked as we stood on the outskirts of town.

Black Harbor was quiet for the first time in a long time. It could be that Lorna wasn’t somewhere causing trouble, but a part of me wished she were. At least if she were getting into something, I’d have a reason for her to thank me again.

“Yeah,” was all I could say to Bart.

He laughed, cackled even, and loudly, “You’re insane. You were so close. Why did you back off?”

“She’s still dealing with Mig.”

“Are you sure about that? She looked pretty done to me. Are you sure you’re not just scared?”

“Scared? Of what?”

Bart looked at me before glancing back out toward the city, “I don’t know. Argos? Your responsibilities here? It’s a lot to ask for her to come down off that mountaintop to be with you when all you have to offer is this.”

“I can’t even offer her this. Do you know what Grady has planned?” I told him shaking my head.

“Don’t change the subject,” he huffed, “You chickened out of starting something with Lorna when all I’ve heard you do is bitch and moan about how much trouble she’s caused you, to how beautiful she is and how you’ll never meet anyone else like her. You should have just marked her and made her your mate.”

“Yeah because forcing Lorna Ornopolis has worked out great for those who’ve tried that.”

“Well, there’s one thing that’s always worked in your favor when someone’s trying to force Lorna to do anything.”

I stared at him, “And what’s that?”

“You.”

It was short and straightforward.

“I don’t get it,” I shrugged.

“You always show up for her man, so at the very least if you mark her without exactly telling her, at least you know you’ll be there to save her.”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “That is by far one of the stupidest things you’ve ever said to me, about me. Lorna’s not going for that, and I wouldn’t want her to. You want me to treat her like a pet? Don’t you remember our last incident where someone wanted to claim her as a pet?”

Bart nodded, “Yeah, and you showed up! Just like I said! You always show up for her. It’s like you got some weird connection that goes off any time she’s about to get into some shit. And if I ever showed up for anyone as much as you do for her, I’d be mated with three kids by now. I wouldn’t be touring Black Harbor with you.”

“Wow, thanks,” I chuckled.

We spent another few moments talking about my disastrous decisions to pull back from Lorna, and how I continued to hold onto the fact that she was dealing with Mig. Bart didn’t want to believe that, and a part of me didn’t either, but until we knew for sure she hadn’t fallen under his spell, it was as good a reason as any not to push for anything further between us. I’d have to settle for her arching her back, in front of my crotch, on my bike, and memories of the steamy kiss in the bathroom.

“So let’s finish this tour out and if nothing spikes, we call it a night?” Bart asked.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I replied.

Before pulling off, he stopped and stared at me. Curiosity spilled from his eyes, “And what was that you were saying about Grady? What are his plans for Black Harbor?”

With Bart being a Scarlet Wing, I didn’t want to put him or his clan on edge, so I held back until I knew for sure that’s what was happening. The words seemed to flow without much effort, “He wants to tighten the reins and keep Black Harbor just as it is without any newcomers. I think he may want to stop the pet thing too.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Bart admitted, “They taste better when you don’t let them fester in some cage anyway.”

Watching Bart take off into the night made me wonder if I did the right thing by not telling him what Grady had in mind. We’d been through a lot together, and while I believed I owed him my honesty, a part of me had an even deeper loyalty to my fellow Black Sapphire; despite the fact that he had crazy ideas for the city.

By the time I returned to the Towers, they were sitting around my table once again. I wondered if I moved the table into my parents’ place upstairs, would they meet there instead, but my mother had a very public distaste for Grady. I’d begun to see why.

He and my father were in the middle of a debate when I walked in. They turned to me, both with anger in their eyes. My mother stood in the kitchen with Celia having a heated discussion of their own. It looked like I was about to be the tiebreaker.

“Tell them how great your connection is with Skinner and Bart!” my father yelled as soon as I stepped close enough to respond.

“My relationship with the other clans are great. I don’t have any complaints,” I shrugged.

“Well, you should!” Grady shot back, “That Skinner guy is as sick as they come. He doesn’t want the Anthros simply as tools of pleasure. He intends to keep them to torture!”

“I’m sure we can talk him down from that idea,” I assured him.

“This is why we need to kill them all!” Grady shouted slamming his hands on the table.

“Now wait just a minute!” My mother charged in from the kitchen, “We’re not talking about killing our brethren, not fellow Scalers! That was not a part of your plan!”

“It wasn’t, Grady,” I told him, “You said that they’d bow down to us if we had the numbers to enforce our authority. I believe that if I can bring Skinner and Bart together, we can form a council of sorts to govern this city. We can break it into quadrants and keep the Black Sapphires in charge of it all. There’s a way to do this without too much bloodshed.”

“You’re despicable!” Grady hissed.

“Calm down, honey,” Celia whispered to him.

He flung the chair out of his way, shaking the table, as he got in my face, “You’re refusing to acknowledge the power burning inside of you. Lucas is a fool to have never told you what you’re capable of and now you babysit it as if anyone cares what happens to this hole in ground town! BURN IT DOWN, PRESTON! Watch it burn and take your place by my side since your father is hellbent on holding back!”

“Grady,” I grabbed him by the shoulders, nudging him a few steps back, “You need to calm down and truly think about what you want to do. I don’t want this. None of the other Black Sapphires want this. Why don’t you and Celia go and figure out your grand plan and how it will work somewhere else? You’re going to have one hell of a fight on your hands if you decide to take on the other clans, plus the Anthros.”

“Anthros?! The Anthros?” he scoffed, “Their ants! Vermin to be devoured and used for sustenance!”

“Maybe we should go Grady,” Celia whispered to him, “It’s not a bad idea to leave and find Black Sapphires who can and will be loyal to you, to us, to our cause. We bring them back here and show them that it’s a better way. Leave Lucas in charge, and we can come back.”

“Fine, maybe you’re right,” Grady sneered. Turning to my father, he told him, “Get a hold of your boy, Lucas. Prepare these Sapphires for a new type of order once we return. We’ll head out within the next few days.”

Grady grabbed hold of Celia’s hand and led her out of my apartment. Insane was the only words that crossed my mind to describe Grady and his tyrannical goals.

“Dad, you can’t be considering this,” I looked at him and then to my mother. She turned away from us both.

He didn’t have much to say in his defense, but instead gave me orders, “You will get together with the other clans and decide on members to have a point of contact in each. I don’t want Skinner though. He’s too much of a weird one. We need a level-headed Onyx Skull to ensure that we can discuss the beginning of a true way to govern this city. I don’t want to do it anymore. I never actually wanted to do it in the first place, but Argos insisted. I’d rather leave it up to you as my hands off attitude has allowed the likes of Grady to slither into a position where other Sapphires might take up his cause. We need to regain total control, and if we band together with the other clans, it doesn’t matter how many Scalers Grady brings back with him. It won’t be enough. I'll phase him out, but let him believe he’s still in charge. In the meantime, get to work on finding a replacement for Skinner within the Skulls.”

“What if I can’t?” I asked him.

“Try!”

“What if there isn’t anyone better? I mean, I know the Onyx Skulls fairly well, Dad. They’re not too bright, and they’re not exactly cooperative under anyone else’s command. We run the risk of having to negotiate with someone power hungry like Mig,” I explained.

“If it has to be him, make him your last option. Just see who else could be a possibility. If he weren’t so creepy, I wouldn’t be so adamant about an alternative.”

“I understand, but-”

I was cut off by the sound of something colliding in the sky. While I wondered if it was Lorna, I couldn’t be sure. The only thing I could do was my job and go check it out.

“I’ll look into it, Dad,” I promised him with my eyes darting out into the night.

“Go on and check it out, Preston. We’ll discuss this later.”

Leaving the Towers and heading toward the docks left me anxious about what I’d find. Wherever the sound came from, it was gone.