Inhuman Heritage

by Sonnet O'Dell

  “Hide now and this time stay there.” I pushed him in the direction of the buffet tables and watched him disappear underneath. It was a shock to my system as the sepia took over my vision again. I could see Seth charging at my turned back and I stepped into the seated area leaving only my leg out. His foot caught on it and he went over on his face. He was going to sweep my legs so I jumped and he missed me. I was being telegraphed his moves before he could do them so when he rose to his feet attempting to slug me in the gut I dodged and brought my leg up in a sharp kick to his exposed side. He grunted, toppling sideways into the chairs and scattering them out of order. I’ve never been much of a fighter. I mean I took self-defense courses as a matter of principal but I’d never thought I really needed to learn how to fight. Perhaps I would have to revise that theory and look into taking a course on martial arts. Seth was dazed enough for me to turn my attention to the fight behind me, the two wolves snapping and snarling at each other.

  “Farir, to the right, quickly,” I shouted. He looked at me but did as I asked dodging an attack that could have rendered him out of the fight but allowed him to grab Sphynx boy by the scruff with his teeth forcing him to submit. This thing that kept happening to me was really, really useful it turned out.

  An alarm bell rang in my brain because I had been ignoring my own fight and Seth tackled me. We both went down, his weight pinning me to the floor uncomfortably. He wrapped his large hands around my neck; I gripped his wrists trying to force them back as he started to squeeze tight on my windpipe. He had a gleeful grin on his face like he was going to enjoy very much forcing the life out of me. I wasn’t about to let that happen. I mean I’d nearly died enough for one day. I could feel the fire within me explode.

  I took my hand from his wrists and placed them on his chest. I brought my knees up placing them on his thighs and thrust power against him with everything I could muster. He flew off me, hitting the stone above the carved entrance and then fell to the floor in a broken heap. I called it a broken heap because I heard several bones snap when he hit. Four men appeared in the door way. DJ and the three candidates were staring at me as I started to sit up. They looked at me, over to where Farir was holding the buff wolf by the neck like he was a pup and then back to me. My sepia vision disappeared and I figured that meant the danger was over.

  “Hi guys, better late than never. Welcome to the party!”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  I was sat in the front row next to LeBron who was in his best suit wearing a very fetching tie that reminded me of ink blot tests; it was white with black splotches on it. I was wearing a calf length green dress that I had a matching scarf for that was wrapped around my neck to hide the bruises that had bloomed on my neck from Seth’s fingers.

  When the candidates had arrived things were soon sorted out. Frank (Sphynx boy) and Seth had been taken away to be dealt with by pack law. Medics had to take Seth away. I’d broken both his legs without really meaning to, I just wanted him off me, hurting him had been an extra bonus. They were so impressed by my part as we explained what had been going on that they had invited me to witness the ceremony and LeBron too, as Simian had told them he might be joining their ranks due to an injury incurred whilst on their errand. Sorin came out from his hiding place while they were putting the room to rights and I’d taken him to a new room where he could sleep until it was time for the ceremony.

  I’d gone in to see him before coming to take my seat. He was dressed very sweetly in what looked a little like a choir uniform in white and blue with a tribal design of a wolf on the front. He was groaning and complaining about having to wear the dress. I reached over and squeezed LeBron’s leg. He looked at me and gave a weak little smile.

  “It will be alright, you won’t be alone in this. You can call me anytime if you need me,” I said quietly as attention was being called and a small band was playing what sounded like entrance music. He nodded at me and his smile got a little brighter. I knew he was worried about the fact that he might become a bitten Were.

  Considering all the trouble a group of them had gone to thinking that the system wasn’t fair on them, LeBron didn’t relish the prospect. I rested my hands in my lap and crossed my legs at the ankle as a door to the left open. The candidates joined us in slow procession, each of them was wearing ceremonial clothing too and they all looked quite handsome to different degrees. Age tended to mature a man’s looks and not in a bad way.

  “We welcome the candidates,” said Simian in a deeply proud voice. He had asked to be the MC for the event and I was assured it was a great honor. Simian looked happy as a clam to be performing the task. They moved to center stage in front of the three thrones and bent down on one knee so that they would be at much the same height as Sorin. The music changed to announce the kid’s arrival. He came in from the back much like a bride on her wedding and strolled down the aisle doing his best to keep in time with the music while tugging at the collar of his outfit. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at him. His necklace hung out in view as he stepped up to stand in front of the three candidates.

  “We will have silence while the anointer assesses the candidates.” Simian backed away bowing a little to Sorin who raised his hand up to touch the forehead of Sam Kinsley, the youngest candidate. I wish I knew what the kid was seeing as he touched him; I wanted to know how he would choose between them. Next he touched Leroy Craven. He closed his little eyes screwing up his face in concentration and then moved to the last, Dustin Torgerson, the retired military man. He stepped back and let the weight of what he had seen pass through his mind; he held his hands out wide.

  “Sam Kinsley, rise,” he said and then turned to look to the other side. “Dustin Torgerson rise.” Both the men rose to their feet looking at each other with confusion. Sorin moved to stand in front of Leroy Craven direct.

  “You, Leroy Craven will lead these people to the best possible future. Please extend your wrist.” Leroy stuck out his arm, palm up but with his fingers curled in offering up the underside of his wrist. Sorin took the necklace off and heated the brand over a candle that Simian brought to him, the crown symbol began to burn hot. Sorin placed his hand on Leroy’s head saying some words I didn’t understand but I knew they held power to them; they held weight, something that made the next act absolute. Without warning he slammed the hot brand down into Leroy’s flesh, it seared his skin but he didn’t cry out. The magic of the words would stop the brand from healing over, it would be there marked in his flesh until the day he died.

  Leroy stood nodding his head to Sorin who nodded back then he walked backwards taking the throne and held up his hands inviting the two others to take the seats to his left and right. They bowed deeply from the waist to the new king and sat. A cheer went up from the crowd and the ceremony was finished. I knew this when Sorin threw the dress over his head and bounced over to me leaping to sit in my lap. I patted his head and told him that he’d done really well.

  The chairs got cleared away and people stood in groups chatting, drinking and picking from the most extensive buffet I had ever seen. Wolves had big appetites. I stood at the end of the room by myself watching Sorin as he rode around the room on Farir’s shoulders, LeBron was chatting happily with the blonde shifter Brie who was dressed to kill in a very strategically tight red dress. DJ was congratulating the new king but he kept throwing glances my way like he desperately wanted to get out of his conversation to come keep me company. I didn’t really do crowds or parties. A hand touched my arm and I looked to see Simian, he handed me a glass of champagne holding his own in his hand. I took it to be polite and had the smallest of sips. I was going to watch my alcohol consumption for a while.

  “You lied to me you know,” he said but he didn’t really look cross.

  “Hey, I fully intended to come back here and tell you what happened but I got hit on the head. I think that counts as a mitigating circumstance.” He smirked.

  “I was actually going to tell you that I was glad you didn�
�t listen to me because without you things could have gone very wrong here.”

  “Glad I could help.” I took another sip of the champagne. Simian stood at my side in companionable silence while I delved into my thoughts. I had a lot of them. Being shot had led me down a path that Virginia had been deeply afraid of me taking. The bird in my dreams had finally caught me and I felt not really different per say but I felt strangely complete, like something that had been missing had clicked into place. It was strange as I hadn’t been aware that something had been missing to start with. I knew there were a lot of blank spots in this story though, I needed to know more about where I came from, about my mother, about this creature that I was and to what extent my magic would now go to. I’d already won a fight with a werewolf hand to hand, which if you had asked me last year I would have said there was no possibility of. I was still afraid of what it all meant.

  Simian elbowed me in the side and I raised my head to look at him. Leroy Craven was standing in front of us, he had taken off the ceremonial robe in favor of a very nice dark suit with a purple tie. I smiled at him and slid my hand into his as he reached for it.

  “Your majesty, congratulations,” I said with all politeness.

  “Thank you. It seems to be my word of the day where you are concerned Miss Farbanks. We owe you a great deal.”

  “LeBron, don’t forget him, you might be getting to know him very well.” Leroy Craven looked back over his shoulder to where LeBron was refilling Brie’s glass while she giggled and looked like she was getting a little tipsy.

  “I believe someone else is attempting to get to know him. I will have to join the line.”

  I laughed. He smiled at me and it was so strange how much younger that smile made the man seem. I knew good things would be in store for the community with him at the helm.

  “It was a pleasure to help you out.”

  Leroy reached up pulling my scarf away from my skin a little, this startled me and I took a step back from him drawing the scarf wider. The bruises on my neck had gone past being purple and were already starting to yellow and heal.

  “You are already healing your wounds?” he said surprised.

  “I heal fast,” I said fixing the scarf back into place forcing him to take his hand back.

  “As I said, we are indebted for all you went through for our sake.” He was looking at my stomach and I gathered that DJ had given him a full report, including that I had been shot fatally but survived it. I wonder if he had included a description of what I looked like naked. I coughed subtly making sure that he raised his eyes back to my face.

  “Well, when you get a minute, you can send me a check.” He smiled.

  “Of course, Miss Farbanks, you will be paid the exact amount that was promised as well as a very generous tip,” he said but he came closer sliding his arm around my shoulders leading me off to one side. “There is just one more thing we require of you.”

  * * * *

  I was once again sitting in a car with DJ driving and Farir and Sorin sitting in the back seat. We were driving back along the road we had taken the night this had all began. The community had sent people out to clear up as much of the mess they could so that there would be nothing for the police to bring against them. The farmhouse looked deserted now. The bitten wolf that had owned it had fled during the night probably receiving word or guessing that the coup had not gone to plan and he didn’t want to face justice. We sped up the dirt track to the airstrip to find that the white plane that had brought them in was sitting waiting, the pilot leaning patiently against the side. I was still in my dress from the ceremony even though I was desperate to get home and get out of it, get back into some normal clothes. This dress had actually been my mother’s. We were pretty much the same size which was eerie to say the least. Maybe it was an immortal thing. It was something I was going to have to look into. I had Googled Phoenix just trying to gather some basics and had read that they could live from five hundred to a thousand years. I was facing a much longer time on this earth than I had ever imagined. DJ pulled the car to a stop next to the shed that still held the little red crop duster that had been there the first time. He was out his door like a shot and ran around to open my door for me, I let the gesture slide as I was in a short dress and heels. I stepped out into the dim light of twilight, adjust my locket and waited for Sorin and Farir to get out.

  The three of us walked together towards the plane while DJ hung back by the car. Farir greeted the pilot leaving me alone with the boy. I bent down carefully smoothing my skirt down and hugged the little boy tight; I’d gotten strangely fond of him. I wasn’t even aware at first that he was touching the bare skin of my arm powering up ever so slightly. He read me and I still wonder what it was he saw because he smiled at me very brightly. I hope that meant he saw that I was going to do good with my very, very long life.

  “Cassandra, can I ask you something?” he asked looking at me unsure whether or not I would give him an honest answer.

  “Sure, Sorin, anything you want.”

  “You’re not really my mother are you?” I gave him a sad little smile.

  “No, I’m sorry but I’m not.”

  “I’m kind of glad you’re not,” he said beaming at me. I didn’t know quite what to make of that. He hugged me again and I stood up to shake Farir’s hand. He lifted Sorin into the plane and climbed in after him. I stepped backwards as the propellers whirled to life kicking up dust and waved goodbye. I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last I saw of the boy. DJ smiled at me sliding his arm around my shoulders. He was looking up at the sky watching the plane disappear into the distance.

  “I think someone has developed a little crush on you.” I smiled a little to myself.

  “Do you always refer to yourself in the third person?” I slid my shoulders out from under his arm rounding the bonnet back to the passenger side door and pulled it open. He looked at me all red-faced.

  “Come on, I need to get back before sunset. I’ve got a lot to do tonight.”

  Chapter Thirty

  I let myself into my apartment an hour before sunset figuring that I would have enough time to change into something more comfortable and head over to Dante’s to have a talk with Aram that I was not looking forward to. I unwrapped the scarf from around my neck and examined the bruises in the mirror. Even now I could see they were fading much faster than normal. I would still have to wear something that would cover them because Aram might overreact when he saw them.

  The light on my answer machine was blinking. I reached over to press it down and froze when the voice came over the line. I reached for the delete button.

  “Cassandra, I know I am the last person in the world that you want to hear from please just listen okay.” I curled my finger back and decided I could listen to Nancy’s message, didn’t mean I had to do a damn thing about it. “I’m not calling for me, it’s Magnus. I don’t know what happened between the two of you the other night but it really upset him and I know most of it was my fault. He’s been much nicer to me than I know I deserve after what I did to you and I am really sorry about that.”

  I grumbled wishing she would just get to the fucking point already.

  “Magnus is leaving. He’s packed up most of his stuff and he’s going away somewhere. He won’t tell me where and although he’s said I can stay in his empty house for as long as I want, I can’t help but think that you need to talk to him, maybe talk him out of it but please, he can’t just leave without…” The message cut off with a beep because she had run out of space and she hadn’t called back. I felt something in my heart twitch. Magnus was going away. He was leaving Worcester and it was because of me. I doubted I could change his mind; he was one of these people that when he made up his mind he was damn stubborn.

  I walked into my bedroom and found myself changing into my motorcycle pants and a high necked long sleeved top that had a purple-eyed black cat on it. I was going to go see him. I was riding myself into more emotional turmoil than I
had planned for the evening. I grabbed my keys, changed my phone and wallet over to my jacket before heading down to get on my bike.

  * * * *

  When I pulled up to the curb outside Magnus’s place I found him on the drive packing boxes into his old car. There was no sign of his sleek new car. A snide part of me hoped that he hadn’t swapped it with Nancy. He stopped holding a box in his arms when he saw the bike pull up. I yanked the helmet off shaking out my hair and left it sitting on the seat. As I approached he slid the box into the back of the car.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “A little birdie told me you were skipping town.” He shut the car door with a loud slam but I didn’t jump. He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. There is an old theatre up in Manchester that needs some serious renovation but it’s a classic and I either go up there and fix it up and get it running again or it gets torn down.”

  I knew Magnus was big into keeping culture alive and restoring a grand old theatre sounded just like the sort of thing he would do but there was more to it then he was saying.

  “Who’s going to run the Swan while you’re away?”

  “I hired in a replacement, she’s got experience and I’m sure the place will do fine. I mean I still own it and the money that comes in from that will really be a help on my new project.” I put my hands on my hips; he was stonewalling me, not with silence but with optimistic busy talk. I found there were a lot of people that smiled to hide their pain.

  “What does your sister and step dad think of this?” His face got a little stormy like I had kicked him below the belt.

  “Aziel doesn’t seem to care one way or the other. Bethany is upset of course, she’s been pleading with me not to go. Did she call you? Does she think that maybe you can talk me out of it?”