From a distance I watched as Susan came to the door. She laid her eyes on Annabell, returned from the dead and standing on the front porch, and I feared she might faint. But instead, as soon as her fingers touched her daughter's solid, living body, Susan fell to her knees and wailed in astonishment. Frantically she grabbed the girl, pulling her into a bear hug and squeezing as though terrified what might happen if she let go.

I stood back and watched their joyous reunion from under the cover of a large oak tree one house over. Susan sobbed as she picked Annabell up, oblivious to my presence, and carried her through the threshold. As she turned to close the door, the little girl smiled back at me from over her mother’s shoulder and gave a last tired wave goodbye. The door shut, and I couldn’t help but smile myself.

I stayed on the front lawn for a few moments, watching the door. To my eyes, the overwhelming emotions of a family made whole, burst through the Aether, lighting up the house like a blazing fire in the night. A new emotion seeped through my body, starting from my shoulders and rolling down my back, warm and soothing. It was peace...

My job done, I limped down the lawn to McKinney’s car, looking back one last time at the glowing hues of love radiating out from the girls' home. Despite all my physical pain and all that I had endured, what I now saw in that child's return home made it all worthwhile. I climbed into the driver's seat and pulled away.

The drive home was surreal. Given what had transpired in the past few days, the events of my recent ordeal rolled through my head like a chaotic thunder cloud. The Watchers, the Order, the ominous voice issuing from Gambal’s corpse... Eventually, though, my thoughts drifted back to Maria and everything that had happened to bring me here now.

“Well done, Vessel.” Leo intruded on my reflections, appearing in the seat beside me.

I kept my eyes on the road, too tired to be surprised by his usual abrupt arrival. We drove on in silence for several minutes until I was finally ready to speak.

“This... this was Maria’s fight,” I said. “She caught on to what the trio was doing and tipped the Chief. Is that why you came to me? To finish what she started? Was she supposed to be the Vessel of Justice?”

Leo watched the dark shop windows and streetlamps flicker past along the side of the road.

“You aren't going to want to hear this, but in truth I can’t tell you. I have rules to follow, same as you. The biggest one being, I cannot tell you anything you aren't ready to hear. Suffice to say, when you are ready to learn why this is happening, you will know. In the meantime, know this, you are the Vessel. Have faith.”

I snorted, “faith in what exactly?”

He smiled, “Faith in the good we just did. In the people who are alive, and your friend whose duty you just fulfilled.”

I frowned at the steering wheel, unsure what to say. I was never going to accept words like faith, or fate, and I hated Leo’s vague speak. It irked me something fierce.

But then I thought of Susans glowing love for her daughter, the memory of it still burning fresh in my mind. I gave a begrudging sigh as I pulled up to the parking garage outside Old Town.

Maybe Leo was right. Maybe I didn't need to understand why it all worked out the way it did. I parked the car and pulled out Annabell’s now tattered and blood-stained pony drawing from my pocket. She, and all the others like her, had been facing an imminent and brutal end at the hands of the worst kind of monsters humanity had to offer. But now, they had a chance to live their lives again. Maybe, just maybe, that was enough.

For now.

I tucked the drawing away and, groaning, got out of the car. Leo didn’t disappear this time. Instead, he walked with me as I limped through the garage.

“You know one of those fucking Watchers escaped the banishing void.” I told him, “It was down in that pit, taunting me before McKinney showed up.”

Leo frowned. “I was with the girl John. We saw everything. There were no Watchers.”

I stopped, mid-way through the garage and glared. “Then what the hell was down there with me?”

Leo watched me with concerned eyes, “There was nothing in the pit John. Just you…” He started toward home again.

I shivered involuntarily as I watched Leo Walk away. I thought of that floating voice circling my trapped body. Of the cold hand caressing my face. I closed my eyes and tried to shake it off.

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“One thing at a time John,” I told myself, “One thing at a time…”

***

One week later...

I may have survived monsters and villains of the worst sort, but even they did not compare... to teenagers.

A group of young ne’er-do-well skateboarders rolled past at breakneck speeds, laughing maniacally as they went, forcing me to lean back on the park bench, pulling my newspaper in close.

“Hey, watch it!” I grumbled, pulling my toes clear of the danger.

A nearby gaggle of girls giggled at my indignation. I scowled and shook out the pages in my hands.

Seeing so many kids outside in the fresh air this early in the morning felt like a violation of nature. Shouldn't they all be sleeping off their late-night phone-scrolling binges or something? I shook my head and chuckled away my grumpy old-man vibes, turning my attention back to the story.

The Sacred River Bee had published a new piece on the mayor's corruption. Katherine had come forward with even more horrifying details, recounting the torturous abuse she and her son had endured. It turned out the boy had been away the night the mansion fell, of all things, because he was recovering at a private hospital from injuries inflicted by his father. Katherine’s statements coupled with Chase’s diary were set to put the remaining members of the Order away for a very long time.

As I read on, someone tapped my foot, and a cup of coffee hovered above my face. I folded the paper and looked up to see Daniel standing in front of me.

“Thanks for coming,” I said, taking the cup.

He sat on the bench beside me, “Glad you called. Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“Hm,” I grunted as I drank.

“How's Chuck?”

I set the newspaper aside, “I finally got him home yesterday. The doctors want him to take it easy obviously, but the stubborn ass already has me scheduling our next boxing sessions.” I rolled my eyes to hide the gratitude I felt for my uncle’s unspoken forgiveness.

Daniel laughed, “You can’t keep a good man down.” He held out his paper cup and I tapped it with my own.

“Did you hear the final count on how many victims they recovered?” I asked.

Daniel nodded as he sipped, “yeah. They opened every container in the trainyard. Found a total of two hundred and thirty missing people from across at least ten states. Sixty of them are locals, mostly homeless.”

I gave a low whistle.

Daniel gazed thoughtfully after a growing throng of families gathering at a church across the street. “I still can’t believe it was Maria who started all this. She really was a good cop.”

“Yes, she was...”

“You know, the chief never filed my suspension paperwork after we hit Aces?” Daniel said, “Finnick told me they thought I was going to be a target like Maria was. They were protecting me and my family.”

“The chief’s a good man,” I said.

Daniel nodded, “Now everyone thinks he’s a hero.”

“Did I hear the city is giving him some kind of award?” I asked.

“Yeah, for ‘actions of valor beyond the call of duty.’ Mostly I think the city council is just trying to save face.”

I chuckled, “still, he earned it.”

“Him, and that Knighstick character by the sounds of it.” Daniel added. “The things I heard that guy could do... it has to be an exaggeration, right?”

“Smoke and mirrors, I’m sure,” I said, avoiding his eyes.

Daniel grunted and leaned back, turning to look at me, taking in my bruised face.

“Are you really going to keep bounty hunting?” he asked, changing the subject. “Going after fugitives alone, it’s not smart John. Looks like that last one messed you up pretty good. You could just come back to the force?”

I laughed, “I'll be alright thanks.”

He eyed me skeptically, “Dude, you look like a building fell on.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” I said to my cup.

“You’re as bad as your uncle.”

I grinned and Daniel shook his head.

Across from us, the crowd of churchgoers began to file up the cathedral steps.

“Looks like it's starting,” he said, “You want to go in? I can go with you, even though it would make my grandmother turn over in her grave.”

I watched as a father entered the church, hand-in-hand with his wife, his young son riding his shoulders. I remembered my own father bringing me to mass on Sunday’s and thought about what it would be like to sit in on a sermon once more. My heart fluttered and my stomach squirmed.

“Maybe next time,” I said, draining my coffee.

Daniel patted me on the shoulder, “When your ready brother.”

We sat and enjoyed the morning for a while longer before Daniel said he had to get home. Apparently, his wife was going to start worrying if he was out with me for too long. She had barely forgiven me for the last time we were together... Harsh, but understandable.

We got up to say our goodbyes, when a pang of sadness rippled through me. It wasn’t mine; the emotions were coming from the environment. I searched over Daniel's shoulders briefly and found a young man, a teenager, sitting across the park at a rickety wooden table with his head in his hands.

“So, dinner tonight?” Daniel asked, recalling my attention. “Nicole makes a mean lasagna.”

I tore my eyes away from the boy and looked back at him, “Maybe some other time. I think I’ve got some things to take care of tonight.”

With a final farewell, my friend walked away. I watched him go a distance before turning back to the distressed boy.

Crouched beneath the table near his legs, licking its monstrous lips like a hungry predator, sat a long-nosed, gnarled-faced goblin. In the back of my mind, the sense of a coming vision rose up, foretelling the now-familiar summons to duty.

The boy was desperate, nearing the end of his rope. And the Goblin Watcher was there to push him over the edge.

“What do you see, Vessel?” Leo asked from over my shoulder.

I pulled out the warming talisman from my pocket, peering into the glowing sapphire as I let the young man’s lived torment pass across my mind's eye. Having captured his Aether scent, I turned away and headed in the direction of home.

“Trouble,” I reported to my Handler. “We’ve got work to do.”