“Ghosts of the Past”
Reavers Plotline – Highground Chronicles
By Justin McNeely

Story Notes:

• In early June not long after the passing of Gawayn and Petros Claire decides to leave her group of Ravagers and comes to live at Mary's to be with Jain.
• Throughout the month of June and July Jain receives scattered reports of dreamers being tortured and murdered as well as some changelings being murdered as well. At first, the reports are very scattered. Only two come in in the whole month of June. Come July, however, these reports occur with ever increasing rapidity. At first, Jain does everything he can to hush these incidents. He doesn't believe that they are connected occurrences and sends out people to hunt down and silence those responsible for the crimes.The creatures that are brought back to him no longer look human. They've suffered serious wounds that has scarred their flesh in horrible ways. On the second one, half the skin on the body's face has been completely removed. The wounds are not fresh. Upon learning the truth of the situation from Claire, he can no longer withhold this information from BEE and tells her everything.
• As a note concerning Jain's personality, he has a legendary temper. He doesn't go off the deep end easily, but when those close to him are in real or perceived danger, his unseelie legacy of beast shows through as a desire to destroy completely whatever danger may be rearing it's head. When he is in this state, chimerically his eyes burn a fiery orange and an aura of malice and violence surrounds him. This state is perceivable by anyone who can see him, but mortals simply see a very angry man. Other fae pretty much see a terrifying instrument of destruction. As a matter of course, the entire household of Mary's is instructed to drop whatever they are currently doing and find BEE if they see Jain in this state. Under no circumstance are they to interfere with him lest they run the risk of becoming a target of his fury as well.

The story takes place at the end of June

* * *

I'm sitting in the garden when Claire finds me. She's gotten really good at showing up exactly when I'm thinking about her.

“We need to talk.” She says.

Dammit. That's never a good sign. I know simply by those four short words that I'm not going to like what's coming.

“What about sweetheart? You know you can tell me anything.”

“You've been getting reports of trouble, haven't you? Reports of murders, torture of dreamers, right?”

How did she know about that? I'd been trying to keep that top secret. Hell, even BEE doesn't know about this. Yeah, we've had some trouble. It's fortunately been very localized. Only one or two so far. I've ‘taken care' of the situation when it comes up.

“Yes, Claire, I have. And I'd like to know just exactly how you know about this?”

“I know who's doing it.”

Just like that. So very simple and to the point.

“Honey, it's not a conspiracy, it's only happened a couple of times and they've been unconnected.”

“No, they are connected. And you need to do something about it before something awful happens.”

“What are you talking about? What could possibly happen?”

“You know I wasn't always ‘Miss Sweet-and-Innocent'. Stop laughing at me! This is serious. Before I met you I did some terrible things with some terrible people. We were mad at everyone. At the sidhe for being so damned aloof, at other changelings for dismissing us as children, at society itself for letting us fall by the way so easily. And so we lashed out at those things we were mad at.”

A long pause here. The hurt on her face breaks my heart to see it. I want to just reach out to her, hold her, and tell her it's alright. But she needs to get this out.

“I hurt people, Jain. People who didn't deserve it. I just wanted to hurt them and ease the hurt I was feeling.

“Before I met you, there was someone else. He was like the rest of us. Though they all looked to me to lead them, it was him who held us all together in our cause. He wouldn't let us back down, even when the first doubts were raised. He was so angry. Through his guidance, our attacks got more violent and vicious until BEE stepped in and ordered us to cease our activities. I told her to go fuck herself at first.”

A big smile spread over my face. BEE told me about that little exchange. On her face she showed the proper fury and displeasure that she was supposed to, but inside she had nothing but admiration for this wisp of a girl who dared defy the mighty sidhe noble.

“This man, who was he?”

“He was my lover, before. I knew that we couldn't continue the way we were and survive. So, I used what power I had and complied with BEE's order. Freddie didn't like that. He said I'd betrayed the ideal.

“When I started spending more time here at Mary's it became pretty clear that you and I were together. Freddie took it as a personal betrayal.”

I'm really not liking where this is going. That old feeling that I was going to have to do something very drastic was coming back with a vengeance. With every word she spoke I could feel the anger course through my very being.

“The last time I saw him was just before I decided to stay here with you. He had apparently convinced some of our old comrades to join his way of thinking and they were leaving the group. He called me a cheating slut and slapped me full across the face. He told me that the next time he saw me he was going to make me watch as he tortured you to death.”

Matilda walks by about this time. She merely glances at the two of us talking, sees the expression on my face, and takes off running. Probably to get BEE. I don't care. Nothing else matters now.

“They called themselves Reavers, didn't they?”

I can only nod. I don't think I could make sound right now if I tried.

“Freddie did always have a thing for that show. Just loved Firefly. Couldn't stop watching it. He's insane. He's convinced the more extreme ravagers to cross completely into his insanity. And it's not going to stop until he's killed the one thing that stands in his way. That's you, Jain. He sees you as the thing that stole me away from him. He'll come here, kill everyone, and save us for last.”

She's completely in tears at this point. Never in my life have I seen such fear in a person's eyes.

I can hear BEE and Matilda running down the hallway. Vaguely I can hear my name being shouted. It's all background noise. The only thing I can concentrate on is Claire. I can feel only the need for the blood of the man who can fill her with such fear. Slowly, I stand up.

“I want a name.”

“Freddie Wrightson”

“Where can I find him?”

“I don't know.”

She looks over my shoulder. I know BEE must have arrived finally.

“BEE,” I call over my shoulder, “we need to talk. Now.”