by Jan Stryvant
"Your work?" Daelyn asked, though she had a good idea of just who it was.
"If it was my work, I wouldn't be asking about it!" Sawyer chuckled. "Their lycan buyer also disappeared last week. Left a note saying he was going on vacation with some bimbos he picked up at the casino, but now they can't find him."
"So, they think we killed him?"
"Some folks think he just got cold feet and ran for the hills. Apparently he'd cleaned out all of his money before he left. After all, there are a lot of lycans from Gradatim walking around free now, and he either put a lot of them in that compound, or sold their friends and family off to others."
"Yeah, I'd run too," Jolene said with a nod.
"I also heard a rumor that a certain place in Sacramento lost all of their lycans?"
Jolene grinned, "Gee, who would do such a thing?"
"So, anything else you need to know?" Sawyer asked.
"Just if it looks like anybody is building up to attack us."
"Oh," Daelyn interjected, "and if you got anymore landmines for sale. I think we just used up most of what you gave us last time."
"I'll see what I can scrape up and have them brought by tonight. Anything else?"
"Not today," Jolene said. "Let's go Dae."
"How bad is he hurt?" Chad asked the moment that he opened the door.
"Bad," Daelyn said and pushed in past him, with Jolene following close behind. "How long ago did you find out?"
"Ryan stopped by after he left your place. I didn't want to call, because I don't want to do anything that might spread it any further. What happened?"
"Spell backlash," Jolene said. "He did something that was dangerous and it got away from him."
"Maitland thinks that the Vesti's are going to gear up for a second attack as soon as they find out," Daelyn added and dropped down onto the couch. "Hi, Max," she said nodding to Maxine who'd just come out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee.
"Possibly," Chad said with a shrug, "it all depends on that Morgan guy who runs everything. We know that he's pretty hardcore, because of what he did to the Ascendants as soon as he got the chance. Then there's all those troops he sent after Sean. He seriously went after us there, and he took the time to get as much help as could before he did.
"I guess it just comes down to how gung-ho he is, and how he reacts to a loss like that."
"Well, Maitland and the others think he won't do anything until he gets more lycans," Daelyn told him.
Chad shook his head, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. The problem with using lycans against us is that as soon as a lot of them realize that they no longer have to worry about the mages forcing them to fight, they stop fighting. Slave armies only work so long as the whip can be used against them.
"Take away the whip, and the army stops fighting, or worse yet, they turn on you."
"So what you're saying," Jolene asked and took the cup of coffee that Maxine handed her, "is that you think they'll attack without any lycans?"
"Hey, that was my coffee!" Chad said to Maxine as she handed the other cup to Daelyn.
"Guests first, stinker, I'll go put on some more for us."
Chad snorted, but they could see he was smiling.
"I don't know what he's going to do, but if I was him? Hell yeah I'd attack. I would have attacked already, while everybody is still licking their wounds and cleaning up the mess. After all, he only lost a few of his magic users; most of the rest weren't even in the battle and are still fresh. While all of our folks were involved, and we expended a lot of arms and ammo fighting them.
"Plus he's got a lot of magic users, we got what? Six?"
"Won't morale be a problem for them, Chad?" Maxine called from the kitchen, "After all, they just got their asses kicked and we killed like twenty of their combat mages."
Chad shrugged, "I don't know, like I said, it depends on Morgan. How good is he at persuading people? How much is he willing to risk? How good a leader is he?
"Which brings me back to Sean, just what the hell was he doing that he risked himself? He's our figurehead; he's what gives us legitimacy! Hell, I should go up there and smack some sense into him!"
"You'll have to wait in line behind Roxy," Jolene sighed, "and he's unconscious right now."
"When will he be awake?" Chad asked, concerned.
"Two days, hopefully," Daelyn sighed.
"Two days?"
"I said it was bad, didn't I? He's all but dead and they're going to have to do some serious magic to heal him. They say they can do it, but it isn't going to be easy."
"What happens after two days?" Chad asked, a little warily.
"He dies," Daelyn said glumly.
Chad looked around the room; Maxine was standing in the doorway from the kitchen.
"Who else knows about this?" he asked.
"Well, you two, all of us girls, I don't remember if we told his mom or not, then there's Claudia, her doctor, Grandma Robin, I'm not sure who else, why?"
Chad sighed heavily, "Because if someone finds out that we have two days to do something to save Sean's life, they're going to do everything they can to make it take three, right?"
"So you think Morgan will tell his people to attack before then?"
"If he hears about this? Oh yeah! But it's not just Morgan. What about Gradatim? What about the Ascendants?"
"There aren't that many Ascendants left," Jolene snorted.
"There's about five hundred of them in Sacramento, just because we pulled their lycans, don't think that they may not come without them. Then there's the Gradatim, their stronghold is in LA, they could hop a plane or even just drive up here."
Chad shook his head, "This whole thing could become one hell of a mess overnight. We may have to rope Eruditio and Sapientia in to help us, or their precious 'silence' is going to dissolve rather quickly in the midst of an all-out war right in the midst of Reno."
"Do you really think that could happen?" Daelyn asked.
"It's the worst case scenario," Chad admitted, "but the problem with worst case, is that if you don't move to deal with them, they have a terrible tendency to take place."
"We need to talk to my mom," Maxine said.
Chad nodded, "Yeah, we do."
"Do you think you could detail a few people to keep an eye on the Vesti's, so if they do try something, we'll at least see it coming?"
"I'll get somebody on it by nightfall. Have you talked to Sawyer?"
Jolene nodded, "Yeah, he told us that there's already rumors going around that Sean was hurt. Apparently some of the mages from the Vesti's either saw it, or their lycans told them about it, and the other councils have been hearing about it because they're all spying on the Vesti's now."
"In that case, I better put some people on watching the other councils too," Chad shook his head, "Grab your coat Max, we're going to your mother's now. I definitely need to coordinate this with her."
"What about the Fellowship?" Daelyn asked.
"The less people that know, the better. I'll stop by on the way back from Claudia's, but right now I better get going."
Daelyn stood up and set her mug on the table, as Jolene did the same.
"Alright, I'll let Roxy know what's up, see you two later."
"Bye."
Vestibulum Healing Quarters
Mike opened his eyes with a start, and looked around. He was in a bed, in what looked like one of the healing rooms! The last he remembered was an explosion, a very loud and bright explosion, and then ... nothing.
Looking around, things looked a little off, and it wasn't until he touched his face that he realized he had a bandage over his left eye. He wasn't sure where he was, but the symbol of the Vestibulum was on the far wall, and just then Mabel came into the room, one of the Vestibulum's better healers.
"What happened? How did I get back here?" Mike said, trying to sit up.
"Take it easy, Mike, you almost died out there. Would have too, if your lycan friends hadn't taken care of you," she told hi
m as she raised the head of the bed so he could sit up.
"Did we win?" Mike asked looking around. There were wasn't anyone in the other bed in the room.
"No, we lost, Mike. We lost pretty badly. The only lycan we got back was the one who carried you up to the gates outside. The rest were either captured or I guess died. But that's not the worst of it."
"It gets worse?" Mike groaned.
"We lost nineteen of our own. Four of them were from the folks who came from out of town to help us, the rest were from right here."
Mike shook his head, "We lost?"
Mabel nodded.
"Then how come I'm alive?"
"Like I said, your lycans saved your life and one of them carried you back here. I think he said that they let him bring you home, because you were so badly injured."
"Who?"
"The lycan."
"No, which one, which one brought me back?"
Mabel shrugged, "I don't know. He's with Jerry now."
"Shit," Mike swore, "call Jerry and tell him to bring him here, now!"
"Mike, Jerry said he had a lot of questions for him, it's important."
"Jerry will kill him, he doesn't know shit about questioning lycans, all he knows how to do is torture people. You either get him up here, now, or I'm going to get out of this bed and go down there myself!"
"It's just a lycan, Mike," Mabel said, trying to calm him.
"No, it's one of my lycans! He belongs to me! Now you call Jerry, or I'm going to get out of this bed!"
Mabel sighed, "Fine, I'll call him."
Ten minutes later, Jerry escorted Jerigg into the room. Mike could immediately tell by the state of Jerigg's clothing, plus the way he was panting, that they had been treating him pretty bad.
"See, he's fine," Jerry said. "Now, I need to take him back downstairs and question him some more. I promise not to break him."
Mike could see the pleading look in Jerigg's eyes.
"No, he stays here. He belongs to me, and if you have questions you want answered, write them on a piece of paper and leave them with me!" Mike told him.
"Mike, Morgan ordered me to do this."
"I don't care what Morgan ordered. Jerigg is my property, and more than that, he saved my life. That may not mean spit to you, but it does to me. He stays," Mike turned to look at Jerigg.
"Jerigg, full wolf, and jump up on the foot of the bed."
Jerry blinked as suddenly there was a very large wolf on the end of the leash he was holding. It leapt up onto the bed, its pants dropping on the floor, then laid down looking at Mike as he reached down and patted it on the head.
"Thank you Jerigg," and to Jerry's surprise, Mike undid the leash from the collar and tossed it aside.
"You've worn out your welcome, Jerry," Mike said. "Now, go type up your questions and give them to Mabel, she can bring them back and show me."
"Morgan's going to be mad, Mike!"
"Screw Morgan, Jerigg is staying right where he is."
Jerry looked at him, then grumbling left the room.
Mike sighed and shook his head, then looked down at Jerigg. "Are the others okay?"
Jerigg nodded his head.
"I honestly don't know what possessed you to come back here," Mike sighed, "But thank you for doing it. I need to rest for a while, and then maybe you can tell me just what the hell happened."
An hour later Mabel came in, waking him up. She had the paper that Jerry had given her, along with his dinner.
"How long until I can leave here?" Mike asked.
"Tomorrow you could go home, but I have to warn you that you'll still be pretty weak and you could get very sick if you don't take care of yourself. I'm going to be doing some more healing on you tonight, and again in the morning. Then it'll simply be a matter of your body finishing up."
"What about my eye?" Mike asked, touching the patch.
Mabel sighed, "I'm sorry, Mike. There's nothing we can do for it."
Mike took a moment to digest that as he started in on his food. He was starving he realized.
"Could you bring Jerigg some food too please?"
"Really, Mike, you want to feed him in here?"
"I'm afraid what will happen to him if Jerry or Morgan gets their hands on him. I reward loyalty, Mabel. That's why I'm lying here in this bed, instead of dead out in the desert."
Mabel frowned, "Well you're probably right about Morgan, he hasn't been the same since this morning, and it's bad enough that we lost so many, but now he's whipping everybody up, trying to get them all excited."
"He's probably just trying to put on a brave face, Mabel."
"No, he wants to go back and attack again." Mabel shook her head, "You'd think we were living in the past the way he keeps going on about honor and victory. I tell you, I just spent the last twelve hours treating some of the worst injuries that I've seen a human get in my life, and I don't ever want to see that again."
Shaking her head, Mabel left and ten minutes later she came back with some more food and left it on the other bed. Jerigg shifted back then, and putting on his pants, he quickly ate the food that was there. When Jerigg was done eating, he told Mike about how things had gone after the mortar shell had knocked him unconscious. It wasn't very pleasant to hear; obviously Morgan and the others had seriously misjudged what they were up against.
"So, just why did you bring me back?"
"You saved my life," Jerigg said with a shrug, "I couldn't forget that. The others all helped save you, but I was worried about what might happen to you up there, and they said that their main healer was wounded in the fighting and wouldn't be up for a few days."
Mike sighed and grabbing the piece of paper off of the table besides the bed he handed it to Jerigg. "Can you answer any of those?"
Jerigg looked it over, "Actually, I answered all of these already."
"Did you tell him the truth?" Mike asked and taking the piece of paper back, he read the list of questions.
"Yeah, I didn't see much while we were there; I was with you the whole time. I didn't go looking around at all, or talking with the other people there."
"So, this Valens guy got injured in the fighting?"
"I heard them say he destroyed all of the silver around him, turned it into something else, and the backlash knocked him out."
"Why'd he do a thing like that?"
"Because all of the lycans that were fighting him then stopped."
"Why?"
"Because he's a lion."
"So there really is something to that old myth, huh?" Mike said with a chuckle.
"I saw Ashley's team there, Master."
Mike stopped and looked at him, "The team we lost at Sawyer's?"
Jerigg nodded, "He captured them all, didn't kill any of them, even though he could have. Missy told me he took them all out one by one. Then made them his. She said he's like a god, Master."
"There aren't any gods walking the Earth, Jerigg."
"Maybe not for you humans, Master, but for us lycans, I'm not so sure anymore."
Mike pondered that a moment, he'd seen the effect that just the rumors of there being a lion taking on the councils had done to the lycans. He and Nick had spent a lot of time downplaying all of it.
"Well, let me get that collar off of you, I think I'm strong enough to nullify the spell on it. Then I want you to change back to wolf form and sleep here. Jerry's the type who won't be happy until he gets the answer he wants to hear, and I'm not going to let anyone mistreat you."
"Yes, Master."
"Jerry, got a minute?" Morgan asked as he ran into him in the hall. He and Al were just coming back from a meeting with their supply people.
"Sure," Jerry nodded and they ducked into Morgan's office.
"So," Morgan asked Jerry as he closed the door behind him, "were you able to get anything else out of Mike's pet?"
Jerry shrugged, "Not much more than we already knew, it's confirmed that Valens is down, for how long though, no one knows. We also kno
w that they don't have a lot of healers up there, one was wounded, and apparently the other one was off on some task."
"Well, with almost everyone up there being a lycan, I don't see that they would need many healers," Al pointed out.
"True," Jerry agreed and Morgan nodded along with him.
"We also learned Valens' mother is back up there and she brought some relatives."
"Oh?" Morgan inquired.
"The fae that are up there are her kin. Apparently Louise Valens is half faerie."
"Damn," Al swore, "well, at least she only has two of them accompanying her."
"Also, with Valens down, they have a shortage on collars and those amulets now. So all of the new troops that they just got from us aren't protected."
"You weren't able to get anything more out of Mike's pet?"
Jerry shook his head, "Mike was rather angry and won't even allow me to talk to him anymore. He was rather hostile about it."
"His pet did save his life," Al pointed out, "he could have been free, but instead he brought Mike back to us, alive. Mike would be dead if it wasn't for him."
Morgan nodded, "Loyalty like that isn't something you want to lose."
"Well, I did glean from him that more might have helped bring Mike back, but they only allowed the one to go."
"Huh," Morgan pondered that, "I wonder if we might be able to count on any of that loyalty for them to at least not fight us when we go back up there?"
Jerry shrugged, "Nick thinks so, I didn't ask Mike."
"You know," Al said, "we're going to need a lot of collars to control those lycans. Odds are their pellets aren't in them anymore, so we're going to need something to get them under control."
Morgan nodded, "That's a good point. I'll stop back over at the supply office and talk to Carol about it. What's going on with the other councils, Jerry?"
"Well, Eruditio is still uninterested in anything other than their own studies. Sapientia is still getting used to having a lot less lycans, having capitulated to Valens without a fight. Gradatim is still getting reorganized; Richard Sorother is consolidating his hold. The Ascendants," Jerry grinned, "best I can guess, they're still not sure which way to jump. I think two of the survivors have already left town, as their houses are up for sale. Word has gone around about what happened last night, but no one is in any condition to do anything about it."
