I sat at my kitchen counter, pressing a towel to my tattered leg while sipping a bottle of Pepto to ease my still-nauseated stomach, the nightstick, and talisman resting on the countertop in front of me. Fortunately, the cuts were not as deep as I had feared, I could manage them without a hospital.

Leo stood behind me while I tried to recoup. During the drive back he talked non-stop about what a victory this had been. I was just trying to process what I'd seen. God, I wanted a drink.

"So," I said at last, screwing the lid back on the bottle, "this is what you are going to make me do. Fight shadow monsters and child abusers."

Leo raised an eyebrow, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

My jaw tightened, "I was inside that kid's head. Why would you make me see that? Make me live that?"

Leo scoffed, "I didn't show you anything. This is the talisman's power-"

I slammed my hand on the counter, "That I didn't want!" I yelled.

I knew it was a bad idea, knew he could torture me with nightmares if he wanted. At the moment, I was so overwhelmed I didn't care. Luckily, however, Leo chose a different tact.

He took the stool beside me while I sat fuming. "Back in the cave, when you heard people screaming, I told you it wasn't your problem, but you dove headfirst into that tunnel anyway. Why?"

I didn't look at him. I just glared at the bottle of antacid.

Leo answered for me, "Because you have a purpose. When people cry for help, you reflexively run towards them. Much as you wish me to be the villain, what you are angry at is your own nature. The talisman wouldn't work for you otherwise."

I looked at the tarnished heptagram pendant, running my finger across its blue jewel. I knew he was right, not that I would admit it to him. I was scared, beat up, and way over my head. But still, even without powers, as a cop I used to do the same thing. I really couldn't blame anyone but myself, and that was frustrating.

"How does it work?" I asked, trying to shift the focus off myself. "I threw that guy through a wall, and my baton lit on freaking fire."

Leo nodded, In response he snapped his fingers. A small blue flame lit at the tip of his finger.

"Aetherfire," he explained, "is a very specific manifestation of Aether. It is the incarnation of the spirit of justice. Unhinged creatures such as Watchers cannot withstand its touch, but it is not earthly fire and so does not burn your world." he shook his finger and the flame went out.

"The fire lit within you when your need to banish the world of evil arose, and your ancestors' weapon provided a strong conduit to that purpose. It will come again when you need it. As for your strength, when you perform your duties as Vessel of Justice you will find your body greatly enhanced. But," he held up a finger, accenting his point, "if you try to use these powers outside of your purpose, they will fail you."

I nodded, picking up the talisman again. My frustration and anxiety notwithstanding, I couldn't help but think of the child and his mother.

"I hope the kid's going to be ok."

The corner of Leo's mouth curled into a smile. "It seems the Watcher was attached to the father, not the boy. You stopped two monsters tonight... He stands a chance now. Get some rest, John."

I turned to him, but Leo had vanished. I was alone in my apartment once more.

Exhausted, I went down before the sun and settled in for a rough sleep. All night I had nightmares of the Watcher's insidious face leering at me from dark corners, or else of the boy's father whipping me with a belt.

I woke up late the next morning, unrested and full of anxious thoughts. All I wanted was to hide under a blanket for the day, but fear of Negasites taking advantage of my vulnerable state spurred me on.

So I rolled out of bed, testing my leg gingerly and pulling back the bandages to check the cuts. I was surprised to see the three long gashes on my thigh had sealed completely. The wounds looked like they were several days old instead of freshly had. I marveled at it as I remembered what Leo had said about my body being enhanced; Finally, a side effect I could appreciate.

I got up and put the coffee pot on. Terrifying as yesterday's events had been, there wasn't much I could do about my supernatural problems at the moment. My eyes fell on the manila folder on my desk across the room. I supposed I could at least get to work on my financial ones.

Once the coffee was done, I poured a mug, sat at my desk, and began reading through everything Jose had on Zacharia Stonewall.

The information he had accumulated was fairly limited. As it turned out, Zacharia had gotten himself arrested on assault charges outside a small convenience store, hence his need for Jose's services. He had put up his car for collateral, but the pink slip was a fake, and the car was stolen.

Flipping through the pages I saw a reference to Zacharia's known associates, all members of the Acolytes, a rough biker gang, and proud one percenters.

The little I knew about the group painted a very bad picture, but the truth was, I was woefully uninformed. If I wanted a lead on Zacharia's whereabouts, I needed to know more about his gang. To do that, I needed to reach out to some old contacts... which was something I really did not want to do.

It took me a full minute to work up the courage to pick up my phone. I scrolled through my contacts list until I came to rest on his number. Even just reading his name made me apprehensive.

My Uncle had not been the only person I ignored in my drunken pity fest, and I had no idea how badly this bridge was burned.

Daniel Acker had been another beat partner and fellow academy mate of mine. He, Maria, and I used to spend a lot of time together, I was even in his wedding as a groomsman. Maria and Daniel had also been very close, but despite the deep grief I'm sure he had been feeling at her death, he still made every effort to reach out to me after the funeral, putting my well-being above his own.

Daniel was the last person (besides Chuck) to stop reaching out when I pushed everyone away. He was a good cop, a good family man, and a loyal friend. Much more loyal than I deserved.

Steeling my nerve, I wrote him a text asking him to lunch, freezing above the send button. Why was this so hard? I was getting anxious again, I couldn't drag him back into my life...

Why not? Asked a voice in my head. Because you killed his friend, came the answer before I could stop it.

I dropped the phone on my desk and buried my face in my hands. Daniel never blamed me for what happened, never even looked at me with judgment. which only made me feel worse.

As I wallowed, my phone buzzed. I glanced down and saw with fresh horror that I had accidentally pressed send when I dropped the phone... and Daniel had just replied.

"Of course! Our old spot, Meet me at 2."

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Reading the message in mild disbelief, an odd mixture of relief and new fear welled up in my chest. He still answered me like he used to, as if nothing was wrong. But now, I needed to face him. I realized I had been holding my breath, and forced myself to let it out. Get a grip John I thought. I returned a text letting him know I'd be there and put my phone down.

A Negasite cockroach with crab claws slunk out from under my desk, inching toward my legs. I blanched and kicked at It. "Git!" I shouted, and it ran off.

I stood up and shook my head out. Sulking wasn't going to help. I checked the time, I had several hours until I needed to meet Daniel. Sitting still was going to drive me nuts, so I looked about for a distraction.

Walking around the room, I contemplated going for a run when I saw the nightstick and talisman on the counter. I glared at them warily. Slowly I approached the counter and picked them up. I brushed over the blue jewel in one hand while spinning the stick in the other.

The fight with the Watcher had been utter chaos. If there was a chance I was going to be In that kind of situation again, I needed to figure out how these abilities worked. Apprehensive though I was, I supposed now was as good a time as any to test them.

An idea formed. I looked down at the talisman and concentrated. I want to learn to harness my abilities, I thought while staring into the blue stone. A light flicked inside the sapphire, and the metal began to warm in my hand. I blinked, surprised at the response.

Lifting the nightstick in my other hand, I rotated the wood shaft between my fingers remembering what happened when the wicked Watcher jumped me. A recollection of the stick jumping into my hand came to mind. It was worth a try...

I lobbed the baton across the room, letting it clatter to the floor outside my reach. Holding my hand outstretched, I focused on the talisman and thought, I need my weapon. Standing in the silence of my apartment, I kept my thoughts on the baton, willing it to return. After less than a minute, the stick began to rattle on the floor. Excitement coursed through me, and the stick fell still again.

Right, focus. When the beast was on me, the only thought I had was needing that stick to bash the things head in. I reached for it again, keeping focused on what I wanted it to do. Slowly it began sliding across the floor towards me, and then suddenly it leaped into the air and flew straight at my head. Reflexively I reached out and caught it, escaping impact by a mere inch.

"Wow..." wide-eyed, I looked in astonishment at the nightstick and talisman.

I threw it across the room and summoned it again, it responded a bit faster this time. Then a third time. Over and over I practiced calling my baton back, even managing to stop it from hitting the floor once. I was at it for hours before I decided I needed to get ready to meet Daniel.

I went to the wooden chest which I had dragged upstairs and placed by my door the previous night. Smiling to myself, I put the baton back inside and pocketed the talisman. Though the sum total of my recent experiences had been no less than a nightmare, It was hard not to appreciate how incredible these powers were.

My enjoyment in the novelty of the practice lessened slightly as I picked up the file on Zacharia and prepared to leave. My stomach fluttered as I walked out the door, headed towards someone I had spent months intentionally avoiding. I couldn't have articulated why I was so scared, even if I tried. But, beyond needing his help with my case, I knew this was something I could no longer avoid. It was time to see my old friend.

***

At ten-till two, I parked in front of Mike's Subs and walked in. The old sandwich shop had been our go-to lunch spot on patrol. Maria, Daniel, and I had all been on swing shift together. Our Lunch breaks were always preceded by a game of paper-scissors-rock to determine which of us had to handle calls while the other two ate. Daniel always picked scissors... Daniel worked through lunch a lot.

I ordered a pair of sandwiches and sat at the metal table in front of the shop, my leg twitching uncontrollably as I waited. My stomach squirmed and I didn't feel particularly hungry.

When the black and white pulled into the parking lot, I started to sweat a little. The car parked next to mine, and Daniel's short, wide-shouldered frame and curly-haired bespectacled head hopped out of the driver's seat of his patrol car. As he walked up to me, I let out a nervous sigh. He was smiling.

I stood to greet him and held my hand out. He bypassed it and slammed into me with a bear hug. I felt a hitch in my throat as I awkwardly patted his back.

"Hey man."

He let go and took a step back, still grinning, he looked me up and down. "Look at that, still alive and with a working phone too!"

I grimaced and cleared my throat, trying to save face, "Yeah, sorry I've been such an ass."

Daniel waved a hand, dismissing my apology. "We all do things in our own time, I'm just glad you called." he looked down at the second sandwich, "that for me?"

"Yeah, tuna melt.”

He laughed, "Good man!"

We sat down and unwrapped our subs. Daniel didn't give our reunion a chance to feel awkward. He dove into his food and started casually conversing, telling me about the call he had just come off of (a homeless guy standing naked on top of a gas station, pretty standard stuff), and about his plans to take his wife out boating that weekend.

It felt good to listen to him tell stories again. His demeanor was infectious and I found myself pulled out of my shell. I told him about training with Chuck again, and taking on a job as a bounty hunter, (leaving out the bit about being blackmailed by a psychotic spirit to fight monsters.) It felt right, like I was almost normal again. But as we talked my eyes couldn't help but fall on the empty seat between us.

Daniel was laughing amidst a harrowing tale of dodging his infant son's rouge stream during a diaper change when I interrupted him.

"I'm sorry about Maria," I said abruptly before turning my attention to my soda cup.

Daniel stopped laughing. He chewed his food and watched my face, his expression unreadable. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said.

I kept my eyes lowered. He smacked his fist on the table, shaking our food, though It wasn't an angry gesture. I raised my gaze to meet his.

"None of us would have done better," he said. "Maria was not some damsel. She was a cop, and a damn good one. She knew the risks and took them anyway, just like I am doing today. We do what we can, and give the rest to God. That is all anyone can ask of us. Can ask of you."

I tried not to roll my eyes. I could see the chain poking up from his shirt collar that I knew held his Star of David. Daniel tried to take me to his synagogue with his family after Maria's funeral. I never went. I couldn't get behind the idea there was some all-powerful guy up in the clouds. Not after Maria, or my dad... I nodded to him to end the conversation and rubbed my eyes.

Daniel gave me a moment to compose myself. "So," he said, breaking the silence, "Bounty hunting huh?

I shook out of my reverie, "Yeah, actually I was hoping to get your help with that." I took out the file and passed it over to him. He took it and looked it over curiously.

"It's part of the reason I called. I'm looking for a guy who runs with the Acolytes. Any idea where I might catch a lead?"

He slurped his soda as he looked it over. After reading the file he shook his head. "I don't know, these are bad dudes. They've gotten more active since you've been out. Drugs, prostitution, guns... they do it all. Even our gang unit steps lightly around them. You sure you want to get involved with this?"

"I just need a lead," I said, "I'll wait till he's on his own before I take him. I don't plan on busting down their club doors."

Daniel frowned. He got up and walked to his patrol car. I watched him open the door and dig through his patrol bag in his front seat before he walked back with something in his hands. He passed me the packet of papers he had retrieved.

“We just had a briefing on them. This covers their territories, known affiliates, and whereabouts. Your guy Zacharia is no pledge, he's the sergeant-at-arms. It's going to be difficult to get him alone."

I scanned the briefing packet, "thank you, this is a huge help."

Daniel leaned in, pointing his finger at me. "You did not get that from me, and you will not do anything reckless. If you get a line on him, call it in. You can still collect your bounty if we are the ones who cuff him."

I nodded my understanding.

We finished our lunch and I walked Daniel back to his car, running my hand over the push bar on his front bumper.

"You miss it?" he asked.

"Nah," I lied, looking over the cruiser.

I held my hand out, but Daniel just smacked it away and grabbed me in another rough hug.

"Stay in touch now, yeah? Nicole would love to see you."

I pushed him off, "I will." Daniel got back in his car and pulled out of the stall. I watched my friend drive away, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from my chest.

Standing in the parking lot after he departed, I looked through the packet again. As I flipped through the papers, I stopped at a printout of the gang's logo. It was a cracked skull over folded wings. In the center of its forehead was a black pyramid around a swirling eye with a vertical slit pupil. I couldn't explain it, but something about the symbol made me uneasy... it was as if the eye was watching me. I shivered and closed the packet.

I was probably just nervous about going after a felon again. I tucked the briefing packet into the folder with the rest of Zacharia's file and returned to my car.

Creepy symbols or no, Jack's deadline was ticking closer. It was time to bring in a bounty.