Page 97 of Semblance

“Shadowdoesput a lot of trust in him, but…” her voice trailed off.

“But what?”

“He was once a street rat,” she replied. “And you know what they say about street rats.”

“Not particularly.”

“I won’t go into the clichés, but the bottom line, Lincoln’s roots involve lying, stealing, and cheating.”

“How’s that different from the rest of the Midnight Society? It seems like you guys do it under a veil of secrecy while street rats do their dirty business out in the open.”

“A good point,” Calisto said, “But with Lincoln, I just don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy, he’s been good to me, and he knows how to fuck my brains out, but I feel like he’s hiding something too nasty for my liking.”

“Shadow’s the same way,” I said.

“Yes…he is,” she paused. “You do know about our tragic family history and the reason why Shadow’s gone all dark knight on us, right?”

I nodded.

“I’m surprised you can accept something like that so easily.”

“It’s your past that shapes you, really,” I said, “And a part of falling in love with Shadow is accepting all the skeletons in his closet.”

The car pulled to a stop at a red light, and Calisto turned to me, sadness taking hold of her beautiful visage.

“Shadow hides a lot of the knowledge of my parents’ murder from me,” she said. “And sometimes, I don’t know whether to love him or hate him for it.”

“Why would you hate him for wanting to protect you from that horrible night?”

“Because I’m his sister, and they were my parents too,” Calisto said. “Fuck, sometimes, when I’m sleeping at the estate, I wake up in the middle of the night and visit him in the study. He’s often staring out the window like a zombie, and I know that in his mind, he’s reliving those events. I have no idea what he saw that day, and if he’ll ever share it with me.”

“You’ve never tried to figure it out yourself?” I asked.

“I know the basics,” Calisto said. “I know that my parents were murdered and their bodies were found in the study. As far as the gruesome details and the how and the why, I know nothing. Shadow kept that from me.”

“With your resourcefulness, I’m sure you can dig out all the information pretty easily,” I said.

The light turned green and Calisto put her foot on the pedal.

“Here’s the thing as well,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’m also a giant pussy. Fuck, am I ever a pussy. I’m terrified about what I might discover.”

“Well I don’t blame you. Having your parents murdered is a pretty traumatic event,” I said.

“I see what the details of my parent’s death did to Shadow, and I’m scared it’ll be too overwhelming for me to handle. But on the other hand, I want to be there for my brother, to support him in all of this. He’s all alone on this crusade of his. Maybe if I was there to help him, I can ease his burden; distribute the hardships equally amongst the both of us, you know?”

I nodded.

“But I’m too much of a chicken shit to take that on,” she replied as tears began rolling down the curves of her delicate cheeks. “So I wind up hating myself and I’m angry that Shadow shielded me from the truth.”

“Your brother is being the man he thinks you need,” I replied. “He’s taking on all the suffering just so you can be happy and live your life.”

“I never asked him too.”

“If the tables were turned, would you do the same for him?” I asked.

Calisto nodded. “I’d take a bullet for him.” She wiped her eyes with her finger tips and took a deep breath. “Abraham meant a lot to him; he meant a lot to both of us. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that Lucien pays with his life.”

The Benz turned into a ritzy looking plaza, stopping in front of the Velvet Beanery, a trendy café that sold overpriced coffee with the aftertaste of burnt beans.

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