The Keepers

Jagger was grateful when August Gaudin came down the aisle and sat next to him, breaking up the divisions.



He thought back to the war--and the peace. The peace motivated by the deaths of the elder MacDonalds had forced them all to learn patience and tolerance, and to obey the unwritten laws that allowed them to maintain their place in society. Their laws, like the Constitution of the United States, mandated equal rights for all.



But laws didn't always end old hatreds or prejudices.



Even Caitlin MacDonald couldn't let go of her belief that the vampires alone had caused the deaths of her parents. But the vampires hadn't caused the war all by themselves.



It took two to fight. And once two were fighting, everyone wanted in on the brawl, or so it seemed.



He found it especially sad that the war had been started on behalf of perhaps the finest emotion of all: love.



"Shall I open?" August asked Jagger.



"That would be fine," Jagger said, taking another look around the room. It was filling up. It was almost like a wedding where no one got along with anyone else. Vampires to the left, shapeshifters to the right, werewolves in between, the others finding space where they could.



Sean O'Casey came in, nodded to him and took a seat between the vampires and the werewolves. Leprechauns were not in large supply in New Orleans, but as far as he was concerned, they were as welcome as anyone else. Sure, they tended to drink and get in bar brawls now and then, but most of the time they were cheerful, and a big presence in the local art and culture scene.



A well-respected voodoo priestess known as Granny Caldwell, one of the few human beings welcome at a major assembly, came in, greeting friends, and chose to sit next to Sean O'Casey.



Granny Caldwell had to be about eighty, but she had the bearing of a young woman. Her skin was a beautiful copper hue, and she wore a blue turban that emphasized the aristocratic bone structure of her face. She wore a dress in shades of green and the same blue as the turban.



She nodded at Jagger, and he smiled in return. Her eyes sparkled, but she wasn't going to smile back.



"Are we about ready?" David said.



Jagger turned to see their host at his side.



"Yeah, thanks, looks like we're about set to go. You'll introduce us, then August will speak first, and Jennie Mahoney is here--she'll want her turn at the microphone." He turned to August. "Let's make that the order--David, you, Jennie, then me. I have a feeling I'll be trying to hold the peace together by then."



David must have seen Jagger's frown of concern and known what unspoken question lurked behind the expression. He bent down to whisper, "It's okay. Abigail is here--and safe." Then he nodded and went to the podium, where he cleared his throat and tapped the microphone. "Welcome, everyone, to this emergency meeting of our peoples. We all know that we have a dire and escalating situation not only in our community but in our beloved city as a whole. We're here for two reasons. First, to discuss what has happened, all the possible explanations and how we proceed. Second, to see to it that we remain strong among ourselves. To that end, we'll have three speakers, one for each of the most populous, but we're not attempting to exclude anyone, so if...anyone else...wants a say, they're more than welcome to come to the podium."



He paused, looking around the room. When no one seemed inclined to comment or object, he went on.



"First let us welcome August Gaudin."



August was greeted with massive applause.



He flushed and began to speak.



"First, I'd like to sincerely thank all of you for your commitment to keeping the peace between the races. Some of us are young and don't remember what it was like when war broke out among us. The death toll was excruciating, and if two of the finest Keepers I've ever known, the MacDonalds, hadn't used their last strength--indeed, their very last breaths--to subdue the violence, things might have escalated to a point where we became visible and the human population not only felt threatened by our very existence, but determined to erase us from the face of the earth. The MacDonalds have left us their daughters, fine young women in their own right. We must take our grievances to them--not fight each other in the streets."



His words were greeted with more applause.



"I'm calling out now to my own people, the werewolves and all the were-creatures. Thankfully, due to our very nature and powers, we're not suspects in these heinous crimes, but that doesn't change the fact that we're called upon to remember that we are all brothers in a special and tight-knit society that demands we respect one another. I ask you, my brethren, to keep the peace at all times and no matter the costs. Shauna MacDonald is here tonight, not only our Keeper but our mentor and our guide. If one of you has any problem at all, please come to me or to Shauna. Whatever you do, don't let a petty squabble lead to teeth and fangs and more bloodshed."



Shauna nodded gravely to him from her seat in the audience as more applause greeted his final words.



When the applause died down, he said, "And now I give you Jennie Mahoney."



Jennie, as regal as ever, rose and walked to the stage. The shapeshifters applauded her loudly, and the rest of the room politely followed suit.



"I, like my dear friend August Gaudin, am here to ask that we remain calm and rational in these trying times. These are the facts. Two human women were murdered and drained of blood. We are all aware that they rose as vampire, and we are all also aware that only the bite of a vampire--or a shapeshifter in vampire form--could be the cause. Therefore we must take great care not to look at each other with suspicion, or let our fears lead us to violence. We must put our faith in our own Keeper, Caitlin MacDonald, along with her sister Fiona, Keeper for the vampire community, and Jagger DeFarge, not only one of this city's most respected vampires but an upstanding officer of the law. I hope you'll all join me in being grateful that Jagger DeFarge was put in charge of the investigation into these murders, because we know he won't let personal bias get in the way of his search for the truth. He's lucky, because he'll have the help of the entire New Orleans Police Department, including several members of the underworld who also carry a badge. I want to finish by asking all of you to be open minded, to recognize the fact that we all have weaknesses and emotions but can't let ourselves act on them. In particular, I'd like to ask my fellow shapeshifters to understand that we may fall under suspicion. We must not let ourselves fall back on resentment, but instead answer any questions willingly and honestly, out of our desire to end this horror as quickly as possible."



After the applause that followed her speech, she said, "And now Jagger DeFarge would like to speak."



Jagger stood, grateful to realize that the explosion of applause came in equal amounts from all the races.



He looked around the room when he reached the podium, then started to speak.



"Like you, I've listened to my colleagues' words, and they've spoken the same truth that I see. We have to take the high road now. We can't be afraid of each other, and we can't blindly attack each other. However, I believe we have to go even further. I would bet that every one of you can say with complete honesty that you have at least one friend whose race is different from yours. But what hasn't happened since the war is a real combining of the communities, and I think that's going to prove crucial now. We need to mix, to mingle, to merge into one whole with the same goal in mind: apprehending the killer whose viciousness has put all our lives in jeopardy. And the easiest way to become a community is simply to act like one. Vampires, go to werewolf restaurants. Werewolves, I charge you to shop at shapeshifter-run stores. We need to get past looking at one another for what we are biologically and embrace one another as if we were all the same."



He was pleased to see the attendees start looking around, to see realization on their faces as they noticed that they had come into the room and automatically segregated themselves by race.



"At the same time, feel free to just dislike someone now and then. We have to get past the idea that somebody doesn't like so and so, it has to be because of what they are. Sometimes you just think someone is a jerk--and maybe the rest of us have to learn that you just might be right."



He was glad to hear the rise of real laughter at his words. Their situation was serious, but that only made laughter more necessary.



After that he went on to recap what little the police knew about the two murders, with the additional information that, as all those in attendance already knew, both women had risen from the dead, and the revelation--greeted with a gasp--of the real fate of Abigail's corpse.



"Now I'm going to open the floor to questions and comments," he said when he was done, wincing inwardly at what he knew was to come.



Jennie Mahoney stood immediately. "Jagger?"



"Yes, Jennie?"



"Frankly I can tell by looking around that most of us are disturbed about your decision not to stake Abigail. Would you care to explain yourself?"



He took a deep breath. "When Abigail rose at the morgue, I was faced with a swift decision. She was a student, bright, sweet--raised by nuns. I chose not to end her existence."



"And what does Miss MacDonald say to that?" Jennie asked primly.



Fiona stood. "I was there," she said. "And I approved the decision."



"Really?" Jennie said, sounding doubtful. "I don't mean to find fault--"



"Then don't," Fiona said pleasantly.



Mateas Grenard stood up, and Jagger wondered what was coming next.



"I'm new to this community, so I don't know most of you yet," he said, addressing the room. "But the longer I'm here, the more amazed I am at how much a part of the city you are, not just as businesspeople, but in government and, of course--" he nodded toward Jagger "--in the police force. Which does make me wonder, Detective DeFarge, since you're in charge of the investigation, doesn't it concern you that you have to make a show of searching for a corpse you know doesn't exist when you should be searching for a murderer?"