A stranger tapped me on the shoulder. “Why, hello there, good sir! You must be the new Hallow!”

  It was the lynx. More than a man with a lynx’s face, he was closer to a man-shaped lynx. He walked on hindlegs, though they still retained their natural hindleg skeletal structure, and wore a poncho-cloak that hid most of his body from view.

  He held out his paw, the ‘thumb’ too far up the wrist to be a hand. “I’m Yokocho. A pleasure to meet the talk of the town! Really!”

  I held up my bandaged hand, leaning on crutch with the other. “Uh, sorry. No hands.”

  “Me neither!” His eyes grew large to an unsettling degree, paw on his chest. “How terribly rude of me. I really did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Please, no need to shake my hand. That’s such an antiquated and human way of introductions whereas we have much finer means of establishing trust. Did you know that handshakes were devised as a way to say ‘I mean no harm’? As if! The scallywag could be concealing a weapon in the other hand!” I tried to take a step back from him, but didn’t realize he has already snaked an arm over my shoulders. “A terrible oversight! If I may ask, how did you come by those terrible, horrible wounds? You must tell me. Come, come, sit over here.”

  As he spoke, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and slowly began to edge me towards a chair.

  “You must visit my store sometime! I have some fascinating wares!” He leaned in, cupping his mouh and looking around like we were sharing some tantalizing secret, “And I do specialize in wares that have less than favorable origins, if you get my meaning, Jain. Please, sit! Sit!”

  Wol sped by my feet and took the chair. “Not today, merchant.”

  Yokocho leaned over, one hand on his hip and the other on his chest. “Oh my, are you contracted to this dapper young man? The rumors are true! Scarcely two days has passed and he’s managed to form a contract with Miru’s former familiars! Two of them! I must ask, where are the other–”

  “That,” Wol snapped. “is none of your business, Bakeneko.”

  I looked around. We were starting to gather attention.

  Mina waved and the practitioner next to her grabbed the arm and shoved it back down.

  “Wol’s right. I’m not interested in anything other than this Town hall today,” It was work but I managed to unwrap the bakeneko’s arms off of me. “And next time, you really should start with a different sales pitch.”

  “Such as?” He showed his teeth.

  “Bakeneko has wares if you have coin’.” I deadpanned. I even did the voice and everything.

  He tilted his head and blinked. His smile widened, showing nothing but canines. “Oh, I do hope you stick around long enough to tell me more of your tales, new Hallow.”

  Yokocho didn’t stop us as we walked away. But I could feel his eyes drilling holes into my back. I returned to the same spot and found that it was taken by a pair of fae. They were absorbed in something or other, but one of them kept giving me the side-eye. Like it was my turn to do… something.

  I decided to find a different corner.

  “Wol, you know what he is?” I said once we were far away from the cat-person.

  “He is a bakeneko,” Wol explained. “Japanese cat yokai. A lot of them left the homeland after the war. It seems that this particular bakeneko has decided to settle here.”

  “He tried to get me to sit there on purpose, right?” I swallowed. “This whole place, it’s separated into factions. He was trying to make me make a statement without even knowing it.”

  “I believe so,” Wol said. “Jain, we have to be very careful about every little thing from now. Especially where we sit.”

  Hwari swung by my head. ‘Caller, there are more approaching.’

  I looked in the direction she pointed.

  The shortest of the deer-skull masked men was walking my way with two of the others in tow. Two of the Wickermen –fuck, one was them was the mercenary– were dodging the rest of the crowd and heading here. The practitioners were making a move too.

  The pair of fae I’d left at the wall were stomping over here, fists clenched at their side and looking pissed. One of them pointed at me and said something in french that rhymed with the english word imbecile.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  What the hell did I do?

  But things were happening now. I’d barely gotten here and already, a maelstrom was forming with me at the center of it.

  “Jain, careful who we talk to first.”

  “That matters too?” I answered but couldn’t help look at the empty seat next to Yokocho.

  He was whistling, one eye on the Fae in front of him and trying very hard to look like he was listening in. He saw me looking and tapped the chair with a grand smile. Honestly, I was half tempted to rush across and take it, if only to rob myself of consumer’s dilemma from too much choice.

  Wol brought me back to reality. “The others could take it as an insult.”

  “Those Fae are freaking children. How bad can it be?”

  “Especially the fae,” Wol warned.

  There was no time though. They were all closing in on me and I had to choose quick. Talk to the fae? The practitioners? Say hello to the Wickermen and flip him off? Ask the deer-people how well the grass is growing?

  Luckily, I didn’t have to choose.

  “Jain, I finally found you!”

  Abigail grabbed my non-burnt arm, her eyes completely purple. She stood right in front of me, kind of leaning forward. I’d never realized how tall she was. She was near eye-level with me.

  “Abigail?”

  “I’ve been looking for you,” She was talking loudly. Way too loud. And her face was really really close to mine. “Where have you been?”

  “Uh,” I said.

  Shakespeare, read it and weep. If there ever was a better response to a pretty girl pressed up against a guy, I’d never read it.

  “Assad told me to show you around.” The goth-baddie said in the same volume as before.

  Just for a moment, but I saw her pupils flicker to the side. Towards the practitioners, the deer-cult-dabblers, all of them.

  It struck me. Abigail was running interference for me.

  Over the top of her head, I saw the people heading for me freeze at Assad’s name. A few of them turned back. The last ones to turn around and leave were the Fae and the Practitioners.

  “Are they gone?” She asked once they seemed to be out of earshot. The girl hadn’t even turned around to look.

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  Abigail wiped the smile off her face, turning to a careful neutral. She sniffed and wrinkled her nose, declined to comment and leaned her back on the wall next to me.

  “Assad sends his regards,” she said.

  “Uh huh. Thank him for me when you see him,” I felt my body loosen. “I’m glad you got out okay.”

  I was surprised to learn that I meant it.

  “I was never in any danger,” She said, eyes roaming the room. She gave a slight nod to Wol and Hwari. “Old ones.”

  Wol sniffed. “Girl.”

  “Are you able to identify the different factions here?” Abigail asked me.

  “I think so.” I began to point with my chin, “Wickermen. The vampyr members from the vampyr families, I’m assuming. The Fae–”

  She cut in. “No, that’s too detailed. You need to see bigger for now.” She pointed towards the Wickermen, the Vampyrs, the deer-masks, and then up to the ceiling for the pidgeons. “Table members,” then to the Fae, Yokocho and various preternaturals without obvious relations, “Neutral, and represents a lot of the factionless groups,” lastly she pointed to the practitioners, “Society and human practitioners.”

  I dismissed the deer-masks, knowing that who they were aligned with would be revealed shortly. “Society is here? I thought they were like, a completely separate thing?”

  “They’re people too. They live in places. Just because Society doesn’t call the shots doesn’t mean they’re not represented.”

  That explained why Mina Baek and Victor Valentine were sitting with the hooded cloaks. I saw Mina turn to look in my direction. Our eyes met and she turned back around quickly.

  “Are your competitors in there too?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “They’re there.”

  “I’m going to need to sit on that side,” Abigail said, pointing to the factions belonging to the Table.

  Oh, so it was going to be like that.

  “Okay,” I said, “Thanks for, you know.”

  She bit her lip and nodded. “Not a problem, Jain Shin Hallow. I am obliged to tell you that Assad asked if you’d be willing to sit with me. There are designated chairs for Table factions, and he has reserved an extra seat today.”

  Of course. I didn’t know Assad for too long but this seemed like something he’d do.

  “Ah, I think I’ll stay standing. Practice getting used to these crutches,” I gave it a little wave.

  “Then I’ll leave you be,” She said, “Old ones.”

  “Girl,” Wol said in exactly the same tone as before.

  She went towards one of the chairs and took a seat, dress neatly folded to one side.

  I wondered how much of that had been foreseen and orchestrated by Assad. If he really was a divinator, then it wouldn’t be farfetched to say that he could foresee how things would turn out. Me getting bombarded by all the different forces, and then Abigail coming in to save the day. A lonely, teenage guy saved by the pretty girl from nefarious misfits? It wouldn’t be hard to sucker me into sitting next to her, thinking that I was special, or that she was into me.

  Or maybe it was all just coincidence and I was overthinking things.

  Yeah, and pigs could fly. I meant actual pigs, not supernatural pigs.

  “Wol, do you think there’s a way for me to take a seat without affiliating myself with anyone?”

  “No,” He said.

  I wanted to take a seat. “Shit. That’s what I thought.”

  “There is a chance you may have to stand the whole time, Practitioner.”

  “Not the worst thing,” I said.

  “Agreed.”

  I was about to start pointing at the different preternaturals and ask Wol what they were when the crowd started to go quiet.

  A woman strode out near the desks. Tall, athletic, blonde, and carrying a freaking sword and shield. She took up a position near one side of the desks. Beta came out after, his hand on the holster. He took one look at the crowd and went over to a corner opposite the blonde woman.

  The last person was the most plain looking kid ever. Brunette, average height, baseball cap over average looks, and hands shoved deep into his pockets. He scanned the room, twitching in tiny nervous tics, and gave a imperceptible nod to the woman and Beta. Unlike the others, he took a seat facing the front of the room with the rest of the crowd.

  Alpha, Beta, and Gamma then.

  Wol was right. They worked for the table, not exclusively for Valstein.

  Then the Table came.