I nodded understanding. "I guess I can always audit the classes too."

  “Yes, if you like the material that much. It just won't get you anywhere towards a career."

  I thought about monster hunting. How long was it going to go on? Up until this point I hadn't thought about how long I would have to fight monsters. But with the rate new baddies kept cropping up, it would never end.

  Did I want to end up like Nehemiah, working a blue-collar dead-end job and fighting monsters all night, essentially working sixteen to eighteen hours a day? I didn't, but what were my options? Innocent people were dying, having their dreams taken away from them because monsters invaded the Bay Area. Whether or not this was a career, it was my calling. I had all the skillset to fight monsters. Gun skills, kenjutsu training, and physical agility, not to mention innate magic that I was still developing. As long as I could make an affordable living and have a roof over my head along with clothes and food, I'd be all right.

  Then I had Charice to think about. What was our future? Did she want a guy who wasn't aiming for a career? Probably not. She wanted a guy that would have some kind of plans and concrete job leads in mind, not some guy who didn't know what he wanted to do in the next five years.

  “I’m going to be late for my job,” I told the counselor. “I’ve got to run.”

  She kept me another five minutes, reiterating things she already said, I guess to drive home a point.

  AND OF COURSE, ALL that talk of school made me late for work.

  Fortunately it didn’t matter.

  "Sean, you're fired."

  My boss, the owner of the chiropractor office offered me his palm. At first I thought he wanted to shake my hand. But why would he want to do that? He had just told me I was jobless.

  I stared at his hand not sure how to react.

  He sighed and shook his head. "Keys."

  Oh yeah. Duh.

  I dug into my pockets. My keys caught on a little hole in my pocket and I had to tug extra hard to get them out. In the awkwardness of the moment I yanked too hard and all the contents of my jeans spilled out. My phone, wallet, comb, a blue pen I didn't know I had, and my keychain. If you didn't know men's pockets are really deep because we can't carry purses. And I don't do murses.

  Crouching down on the ground, I scrambled to gather all my things. My former boss just stood there with his hand out, not even offering to help me, to stoop to my level. Once I gathered everything up I shifted through the keys trying to remember which one was the office key. My mind drew a big fat blank.

  "Come on Sean, I haven't got all day. I need to hire a new janitor."

  The keys were right in front of me the whole time. I tried to get them off the little key loop, but I couldn't get it open because I'd bitten my fingernails extra short that day.

  "Oh. My. Gosh," he said, as if this was more painful for him than for me.

  I got the keys off and handed them to him like nothing had ever happened. "Here you go."

  In exchange he handed me an envelope. It wasn't sealed. I opened it up and pulled out the contents. It was my final check.

  "Don't worry. It's the right amount. I wouldn't shortchange you." He looked offended that I'd even glanced at it. "Good luck with life, Sean. I hope you figure it out."

  Dirt bag.

  I slammed the door of my Fastback and sat in the driver's seat staring at the check. My last check.

  So I'd done it. I managed to get fired from my first real job. Score.

  I tossed the check on the seat next to me and fired up the engine heading for my bank as the sun set.

  6 Breaking & Entering

  I strolled up to my apartment ready to vent to Rob the Hob, but I knew something was wrong right away. Probably because two familiar Raza del Norte gang homeboys dashed out of my front door. To my credit I took a step back and fell into a fighting stance, clutching my fists, but they ran right past me, scrambling to get out the door.

  Barreling down the sidewalk behind them was my dog Tain, except for he was midway through the process of transforming from a German Shepherd into a werewolf. Half growling and half howling at the gang bangers, drool dripped over his oversized canine fangs.

  The homies zipped right past me and the audacity of the moment left me standing in shock.

  I snapped out of it and chased after them.

  The RDN homeboys got into their Impala and took off, but not before Tain clawed one of the fenders. I got back into my ‘Stang and followed them in hot pursuit. From everything that went down when I fought RDN and the Kelpie I assumed that the Glamour effect wore off for these guys. They could see werewolf-Tain and knew he would shred them to pieces.

  They ripped out of my apartment complex and headed west towards downtown Vallejo into the sunset. The horizon faded from deep orange to navy blue in the wake of the burning orb in the sky. I flipped on my headlights.

  The homeboys blew through red light intersections, drifted into oncoming traffic, ran stop signs, and cut off all sorts of other drivers. I did my best to keep up but almost ran somebody down in a crosswalk.

  Every time they attempted to go a different direction, Tain would leap to the side they turned towards and swipe at the car. He would not let them go any way other than West, like he was purposely herding them into a dead end.

  Soon we crossed the Mare Island Bridge. The RDN thugs must have realized on a primal level that Tain was herding them like sheep. As residents of this area, they had to know that once we crossed the bridge onto Mare Island, the only other way off required an immediate right turn. Otherwise it would be a game of cat and mouse throughout the rest of the island.

  The Impala accelerated as they tried to lose Tain. My dog-werewolf matched them speed for speed and his claws latched onto their back bumper. Inch by inch, claw by claw, he made his way up the trunk of the car to the back window. The gangbanger in the passenger seat rolled down his window and stuck his head out firing a 9mm Glock. The first few shots missed and one of them pinged off of my ‘Stang, but my Luck charm held fast. A few of the shots hit Tain. A painful howl escaped his snarling lips, but he only seemed ticked off. My foot mashed on the gas to close the distance between our cars.

  They got off the bridge and were forced to hang a left by Tain, driving through the old Mare Island naval shipyard. Aged manufacturing buildings covered the island, buildings that once used to service the Navy back when the island was active and used by the military. A lot of the buildings were abandoned now, and the few still open showed almost no signs of life. Exposed pipes ran from building to building alongside metal framed walkways intended to make traveling between buildings to the naval docks easier. They only provided more obstacles that I had to dodge and swerve my car around.

  The RDN boys tried to shake Tain off by taking a series of sharp turns, weaving through worn brick buildings. They finally succeeded in throwing Tain from the back of the car. He sprawled, rolling several times before hitting a red wall of stone. He was up and at it a second later and clambered his way up the side of the building. Soon he was over the edge of the wall onto the roof before I even registered that he had the ability to climb stone walls. I lost track of him but kept following the Impala.

  Why had they been in my apartment? They were hoping to find and kill me, no doubt. How had they gotten inside? Perhaps Eddy let them in? Highly unlikely. Eddy slept like a vampire in a coffin, undisturbed until he got up for work. It wasn’t like they politely knocked and waited patiently until Eddy opened the door. Most likely they knocked a few times, kicked the door open, were surprised by Tain, and then fled. Where was Eddy now? Had the RDN gangsters harmed him? Was he lying in a puddle of his own blood on the apartment floor?

  "Oh crap," I said to myself, realizing the ramifications of what could've happened. But no, Tain chased them out. I would just have to trust that Tain fulfilled his duty as a guard dog and took care of the protection of my roommate and friend Eddy before they could do any harm to him.

  Either way, there was hell to pay.

  It would be impossible for the thugs to to lose Tain on Mare Island. After all, as the name implied it was an island, a peninsula really, but there were still only a few ways off the island. There was the bridge we drove over, the overpass that was part of highway 37, and that was it. Unless you had a boat.

  They noticed me in their rearview. Recognition lit up their expressions. I was who they were after in the first place. The homeboy driving slammed on the brakes drifting into a turn, his car spinning 180 degrees. Both of the gang bangers leveled handguns at me and began firing like crazy at my ‘Stang. Though I had a Luck charm on my car, I didn't want to test how long it would last. I took a sharp right heading deeper into Mare Island away from the naval shipyard. I also knew Tain leapt atop buildings keeping up with us somewhere, even if I couldn't see him.

  Bullets pinged off my ‘Stang. Every shot unable to penetrate thanks to the Lucky Celtic knots that flashed and fizzled into existence, protecting me from any damage. All I had to do was drive long enough for them to run out of ammo. Or long enough for Tain to notice.

  Right on time, in my mirror I saw Tain dive from the top of a smoke stack descending onto the car like he was some kind of a werewolf Batman. His muscled body mass crashed onto the Impala, caving the hood. His claws went to work tearing up the metal like it was a wet layer of cardboard. Unable to see, the driver swerved his car, crashed into an old cement bomb shelter. The car came to a crunching stop.

  Before I could stop and call Tain off, he reached into the driver side window and ripped the driver out, gutting him with his claws. Screams of terror laced with multilingual expletives escaped the thug’s mouth as he clutched his torso trying to keep from turning inside out. The other gangbanger managed to scramble out of the passenger door. The driver must have popped the trunk open before Tain opened him, because the second homeboy reached into the trunk and pulled out an illegally modified AR-15. Fully automatic firepower pierced Tain. My werewolf dog went down in a bloodied heap of fur.

  "No!"

  I did not know how many bullets Tain could take, but he was likely dying. Savage werewolf or not, Tain was my dog. I loved Tain. And this punk thug had just tried to put my dog down. I bared my teeth and aimed my car at the homeboy, intending to pin him between my ‘Stang and the Impala trunk. But he dove out of the way just in time. I slammed on the breaks until that disgusting break-check smell hit my nose. I popped my own trunk and went to work with Dad’s old 12 gauge Mossberg in hand. I left my car door open, using it for cover as I pumped shot after shot at the homey. He returned AR-15 fire but the bullets didn't penetrate my car door as it was still charmed for the moment. The remaining spray of bullets that got too close still missed me. I ducked and dodged as my Good Luck kicked in. It guided my body prompting me to move out of the way of incoming lead death.

  Tain writhed in a spreading puddle of were-dog blood. It appeared he would not make it. Anger blinded me, overtook me. I had to finish this jerk first.

  After laying some suppressive fire to keep me at bay, homeboy turned and ran down the alleyway between two old industrial buildings. I tried to keep up, but every so often he would turn and spray automatic fire at me, forcing me to duck behind rusted piping, electrical boxes, or cylindrical metal drums.

  He clambered up an old ladder bolted to the side of a building and I followed close behind. I had no idea what they did to Eddy but I intended to find out firsthand. Claws scraping cement reached my ears. The sour iron smell of blood filled my nose. Tain’s swift silhouette shot past me as he ascended the side of the building. A few seconds later and I heard more automatic AR-15 spray on top of the roof, but it went silent abruptly.

  I reached the roof in time to see the homeboy half behind an electrical box, outstretched fingers digging into the rooftop as he tried to crawl away. Snarling and chomping mingled with the final screams of the homeboy as Tain ended him. Blood splattered on the rooftop, but I knew it was not Tain’s.

  Tain lept on top of the electrical box, threw his head back, and howled into the evening sky.

  Not only was Tain not dead, he did not even appear to be injured. He’d healed that fast. I let out a loud sigh.

  Tain noticed me as if for the first time, the green glow in his eyes erased his pupils altogether. My dog bared his teeth, snarling at me.

  A wave of chills washed over my body.

  His chest heaved up and down as he panted, still exhilarated from the hunt.

  "Hey there buddy Tain. It's me, Sean. Remember?" I tried to speak in soothing tones and not seem like an imposing threat. It was a fine line to walk. I knew from other wild animals that if I seemed too imposing he’d regard me as a challenger. But if I seemed too docile he’d view me as prey and begin the hunt all over again.

  And then, in the worst sick and twisted reverse Old Yeller moment, the family dog turned on me. Dashing into me, he knocked me down to the rooftop. His claws swiped at my face. I tapped into my Good Luck forming a Celtic knotted spherical disk to shield me against the onslaught. His claws clashed against the shield over and over. With each strike, the impact of his attacks reeled against my shield. I lost hold over it and it shattered.

  I kip-upped from a stationary defense to a more maneuverable defense. The Good Luck guided me while I played limbo, ducking and dodging underneath his swipes as they passed right over my face and torso. My game plan was to dodge him until he was worn out. But his energy seemed to know no bounds, his stamina relentless. I wouldn’t survive this fight unless I changed to offense.

  While submitting to the Good Luck, I simultaneously amassed an orb of magical energy in my hands, feeding as much magic into the orb as I could handle. But I sacrificed speed, leaving myself open to attack. He caught me with a strong swipe sending me spinning into the air. As I twisted around through the air cat-like, I shot the Celtic knotted orb at him not wanting to hurt him, but not daring to hold back.

  The Luck orb missed Tain and shattered on the roof next to him instead. As soon as the Luck orb made contact it exploded. Intertwining emerald knots shot out in all directions. Tain dug his claws in to combat the blast. He left deep scores running across the roof as he skidded to a halt. For a brief moment emerald Celtic runes lit up the skin beneath his fur before fading. Almost like my car when I’d charmed it.

  He growled again stepping towards me. I had given nearly all I had of my Celtic magic and it barely even phased him. He reacted like someone who bumped his head and was confused, but not in much pain. The closer he approached, the more he sniffed the air. He looked from me to his claws. I looked down to my torso and realize that there was blood leaking out of my shirt.

  "Dang it!" I hissed. That's one thing I really hate about fighting monsters. How many clothes did I have to go through? Thank goodness for Ross.

  He sniffed it in my direction then looked to the blood on his claws. He brought his clawed free hand to his canine mouth and licked a bit of the blood off of his cloth. Instant revulsion set in. He took several steps back, faltering. Tain tore at the roof trying to get my blood off of his claws.

  His eyes widened and the glow faded. His pupils came back and the eyes were the eyes of the same Tain that I knew and loved. When he looked at me there was a recognition in his eyes that somehow seemed to go beyond pet and owner, and then it was gone.

  Before I could call out to him again he spun around, scurrying away and jumped over the side of the building leaving me sitting there trying to figure out what the heck just happened.

  7 Meddling Crow

  I panted trying to catch my breath at the top of the building before getting down. A circling crow flew across my vision landing on the roof next to me. It croaked as it fluttered its wings stretching into the slim form of a tall woman cloaked in all black, shrouded in shadows. The Morrigan.

  "You sure have impeccable timing," I said.

  "Sean O'Farrell. It's good to see you fared well against the Fetch and the Keening.”

  I grunted. “Hey, next time you offer your ‘help’, how about warning a guy that your plan is to pierce his chest with your four foot long beak.”

  "Are you ungrateful for my aid?”

  One side of my mouth twitched upward. I’d been in a life and death situation fighting a phantom doppelganger while at the same time battling the internal Keening incarnation. “Sure, leaving Asen Scáth inside of me would have killed me, but you separated him from me and then left me double teamed. What kind of aid is that?”

  “I’ve aided you countless times now. I reminded you of the Oak leaf when you stood against Donn in Da Durga. I led you into the Otherside when the gang members pursued you in the car chase. I revealed your sister’s killer. You would never have been able to defeat the Kelpie and avenge your sister's death without that sword. And I separated your Keening incarnation, Asen Scáth so that you could confront him head on."

  "True.” I twitched my lips. "But each step of the way I did most of the work. And I had friends helping me at my lowest points. It wasn't just you. And almost every time you assisted me, you bailed on me while leaving me in a worse situation."

  She pursed her lips. ”You would be a corpse if not for me Sean O’Farrell. Everything I’ve done was intended to strengthen you. The struggle for dominance is the only way to toughen you. There is no better instructor than experience.”

  The Morrigan said it with such certainty and gravitas, I did not disagree with her for a moment. But it still sucked.

  “But who’s saying you really solved my problem?” I asked. “I still got the mark. And Asen Scáth went right back into me after I killed him.”

  “I had no inkling the Fetch would possess the Ban-he and resurrect him,” she conceded. “To be absolutely cleansed of Asen Scáth for certain, you will likely have to quest through Tir na nOg in the near future. But for now you have suppressed the Keening’s curse. We have more urgent matters to attend to.”

 

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