by Peter Saenz
“No?”, I ask. “Then why can’t you stop it? You’re his family too Nicholas and a high ranking member of your clan. You can speak up and stop it.”
Nicholas angrily shouts at me, “No I can’t! You’re an outsider and know NOTHING about our laws! The trials are in place for a reason. I may hate what is happening but this has been our way for thousands of years!”
“So you’re just going to let him die?” I ask.
Nicholas lifts his arm to strike me, but instead he turns away.
“You’re right.”, I say. “I am an outsider and have no clue what it’s like to be raised in your culture. I know to you I’m just an insignificant human who’s only known, for the most part, an easy life. Up until recently, perhaps you’d be right. But I do know one thing: letting my brother die is wrong. He’s only a teenager and hasn’t had a chance at any kind of real life yet.”
Still looking away from me, Nicholas asks, “What do you care? You’ve never even met him before.”
I reply, “That’s the difference between you and me Nicholas. To me, family is more than just who you allow yourself to know.”
I then turn to the door leading back to Tobias and Mika and reach for the door knob.
“Stop.”, Nicholas says. I turn back to face him. Nicholas is now facing me again but this time I can see that he’s put back on his expressionless face. I’m no longer able to read what he’s feeling. He then lifts the Synoro sword and says, “You took this from me in the woods. It doesn’t feel ‘right’ anymore. What’ve you done to it?”
“I don’t know.”, I reply. “I wish I could give you an answer but I really don’t know. I think I’ve bonded with it somehow. I can’t explain why, but having that sword with me just feels right. If you take it back, I’ll understand.”
Nicholas removes the sword from it’s scabbard and flicks it around in the air a few times. He then visually inspects it, looking for any flaws. “Only the most skilled wolves are given these swords. Just to own them gives you a certain level of status among my kind. By rights you shouldn’t even be allowed to touch one of these swords. It is an insult to the legacy from which they’re made.”
Nicholas then puts the sword back into the scabbard and offers it to me in front of him. “Take it. You’ve ruined it for anyone else somehow. I’ve already had another one crafted for me to replace it at any rate.”
I hesitate a moment but then reach out and take the sword from him. I affix it onto my back and look back at Nicholas, telling him thank you.
“What are you?”, he asks. “Only two wolves can create a werewolf. Your mother was human, but you were able to change the last time we met. How is that?”
Quietly I reply, “I wish I knew. I don’t exactly know why either, only that it was a gift given to me by my goddess Gaea. She blessed me with a way to help me survive. She gave me Fenrus, and with him I’m able to tap into that side of myself and manifest the wolf.”
“Your dog?”, Nicholas asks. “That’s how you change? Where is he now?”
“I don’t know. I sent him away just before we were taken by the Initiators. I was afraid that if they got hold of him that they’d hurt him somehow. As far as I know, he’s still hiding somewhere in the city.”
“So without him you can’t change back into your wolf form?”, he asks.
I look deeply into Nicholas’ eyes, trying to see if his questions are stemming from true curiosity or if they are meant to find a weakness to better reign me in. Nothing.
“No.”, I answer. “My senses are sharper, but without Fenrus I can’t change anymore than Tobias or Mika can.”
The look on Nicholas’ face changes somewhat. I can now see a slight look of sadness in his eyes. Suddenly the jet engines come alive all around us. The plane gently lunges forward, probably taxiing itself over to one of the runways.
“You and your friends should be seated and buckled up. We’ll be at the compound within the hour.” Nicholas then walks past me and back into the next room.
I am suddenly swept with a feeling of complete defeat. Feelings about several things I’ve tried to steel my heart against have now come to the surface after my talk with Nicholas. I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with them emotionally, but now there’s no way to stop it. Knowing my father will be that much closer, possibly seeing my half brother, not knowing where Fenrus was, and now not knowing if I’ve just killed Tobias and Mika along with me...it almost seems too much to bear.
I walk back into the next room and sit next to Tobias. He puts his arm around me and asks if I’m okay. I look out the window, feeling for the first time in my life truly helpless. I tell him “no”. The rest of the ride ends up as silent as the trip to the airport.
*******
When we land, several soldiers walk over to us and place black blindfolds over our eyes. They then guide us off the plane and into awaiting vehicles. During the drive I can sense that one of the wolves had opened some type of strong smelling oil and had begun dabbing some of it onto different parts of my body. The reaction from Tobias and Mika tells me that they are getting the same treatment. When we finally stop, we are escorted out of the cars. I hear the sound of running water nearby. We are eventually led into what seems to be some type of building. There are a lot of people talking around us, but eventually we are led up a series of stairs and into a room. It is here that our blindfolds are finally removed. We find ourselves in a large bedroom with two sets of bunk beds set against three of the four walls each. On the fourth wall is a window framing what seems to be an endless forest of trees.
Standing beside us are several wolves and Nicholas. “You three will stay in this room until the Counsel is ready to speak with you. There’s a connecting bathroom through there. There is a lot going on at the moment, so it might be some time before we summon you. A guard will be posted outside the door and countless more are scattered throughout the grounds. Just so you know, we are very secluded here. There are miles and miles of forest all around us. You won’t be able to find help anywhere near the compound, so don’t even THINK of escaping.”
Nicholas and the wolves turn to leave but I shout out to them, “Wait!” With a look of annoyance on his face, Nicholas turns back to me. I ask, “Can I please see my father?”
Nicholas barks, “No, you can’t. He has more important matters to attend to. Stay here, don’t make a sound, and DON’T make me regret not killing you earlier.”
Nicholas and the others then leave the room, slamming the door shut behind them. The sound of the door locking can be heard immediately after. Tobias places his hand on my shoulder and says, “At least they didn’t take our swords.”
I reply, “I don’t think they have much faith in us being able to use them.”
Mika asks, “What are we going to do?”
Tobias feels the handle of his sword, then takes Mika’s hand and walks her over to one of the bunk beds. They both sit down on the lower bunk. Tobias then says, “The first thing we’re going to do is put your mind at ease about Anna.”
He then takes off his sword and removes it from it’s scabbard. He rests it on his lap and says, “Do you see this sword? It has the ability to communicate with witches who have died. If Anna really is dead, we’ll be able to communicate with her and find out who is responsible. If not, then we know she’s still out there somewhere.”
The look on Mika’s face becomes stoic. “What do we have to do?”
Tobias takes the sword and moves it onto Mika’s lap. “Simply lay your hands on it and focus on who you want to see.”
Mika bites her lip, looking at Tobias with fear. Tobias consoles her and says, “I’ll be right here beside you.”
I go over and sit on the other side of Mika and say, “Me too.”
Mika mouths the word ‘thanks’ and slowly places her hands on the blade. I look at Tobias and we both place our hands on the sword as well, hoping to help amplify Mika’s request.
After a few moments, a strange feeling overcomes us, similar to the first time
Tobias and I used the sword. Several figures shift in and out of focus in front of us but no matter how hard we try, the spirit of Anna cannot be found. A sense of relief emanates from Mika. At least we know that Anna is still alive out there. We’re about to remove our hands from the sword when suddenly three figures begin to come into view. Two women and a male, all in their late forties to early fifties. Although I’ve never seen them before in my life, something about them seems very familiar to me.
“Mom? Dad?”, Tobias asks in a very shaky voice.
“Mom? Is that you?” Mika also asks.
Suddenly the familiar faces make sense to me. Looking closer, two of the figures look very much like Tobias. They must be his parents, Alex and Chloe. Similarly, the third figure I notice does resemble Mika. They both share the same jade green eyes. She must be Lizzy, Anna’s daughter.
The three specters smile at their children as they become fully formed. I can only imagine what Tobias and Mika are feeling. A gasp of joy escapes their lips.
Tobias shouts out, saying, “What are you doing here?”
The ghost I’m assuming to be Chloe answers, “We’re here to warn you. There’s a lot to go over so there’s not a lot of time, but before I say anything else, you have to know that Anna is not dead.”
“She’s not?”, Mika asks with hope in her voice.
Her mother replies, “No, she not. At least, she’s not on the spirit plane with us. We don’t know exactly what’s happened to her, but at least keep in faith that she’s still alive.” Lizzy looks upon Mika with loving eyes. “Oh little girl, how I miss you.”
Mika wipes away her tears and says, “I miss you too.”
Alex then says, “What you should also know is that our car accident wasn’t an accident at all. We were murdered.”
Horrified, Tobias exclaims, “What?”
Chloe answers, “Yes, by the same witch you’re running from now. Malik. He had members of his coven watch over us to see when we would all be together and vulnerable. It was Malik who made the car explode. We didn’t sense his magic until it was too late.”
Choking back tears, Tobias shouts, “No!”
Lizzy says to Tobias, “He killed us so that you would become weaker to him, easier to join his coven. With us out of the way, there is no one to question you joining him. He would be able to sweep in and have his coven take our place as your family.” She sees the emotional devastation on Tobias’ face. “You mustn’t mourn our passing.” Then to Mika, “Neither of you. What was done can’t be changed. It’s the future that matters. You three are in terrible danger. That is what you must focus on. That’s what’s important right now.”
Chloe interjects, “Tomorrow is All Hollow’s Eve. You already know that Malik and his coven were waiting for that day to attack you, but you still don’t know the real reason why he chose that day to begin with.”
I comment by saying, “According to Anna, All Hollow’s Eve is a sacred day for witches. The walls between our world and the spirit world is the thinnest. We make contact with our loved ones who’ve passed on, offering them warm wishes and thanks.”
Alex says, “You’re right. That’s what most witches celebrate that day for. Unfortunately, the walls between our worlds being so transparent, it leaves easy access for other things to enter your world as well. Malik is using All Hollow’s Eve to help bring over evil entities to help defeat the both of you. What he’s bringing over are demons.”
A cold shiver runs down my spine. I look over at Tobias and Mika and suddenly I feel a sick knot forming at the base of my stomach.
Alex continues, “He’s convinced the other members of his coven to allow their bodies to serve as hosts for the demons. In Malik’s mind, the demons will help augment this coven’s power to a level where murdering the two of you would be a lot easier to accomplish. What he doesn’t realize is that demons are master liars. Any agreement they make with Malik will be cast aside once they are given access to the mortal world. The three of you must be on your guard at all times. No matter what happens, you can’t let those demons run free. If they’re allowed to stay in your world, they will literally bring about hell on earth.”
Mika asks, “What can we do to stop them?”
Lizzy replies, “You have to destroy the host bodies. Malik’s people are willingly offering themselves over to these demons. Their physical bodies anchor the demons to your world, and there’s no exorcizing them. The only way for them to be free is if the demons leave on their own accord, and that’s something a demon will never do. With those demons inside them, your former coven will be extremely powerful and savagely dangerous. I’m not going to kid you. It’s not going to be easy.”
Alex includes, “Once the host bodies are destroyed, you need to spiritually send the demons back to their true plane of existence. But you must be sure that it’s done before All Hollow’s Eve ends. Once it ends, the walls between your world and theirs become sealed again and the demons are free to roam, getting stronger every day. They will look for more victims to possess and torment.”
I motion to the room around me and tell them, “But we’re stuck here in the meanwhile. If we try to leave to stop Malik, we’ll not only have Malik and the coven to deal with, but the werewolves will be on our tail all over again.”
Chloe takes a few steps toward me and gets down to my level. “The werewolves are the key to your success Devin. Somehow, you must get them to side with you to help fight the demons. As you’ve already seen, magic has very little effect on them. They are perfect weapons you can use in your fight against Malik.”
Feeling displaced, I say, “Have you seen the way they’ve treated us? Their leaders gave orders to bring us in dead or alive! We’re an inconvenience to them they’d rather not have.”
Tenderly Alex tells me, “But you’ve already shown that you have some sway with them. The werewolves would have easily killed all three of you but look at you now...still alive and well. Don’t sell yourself short Devin. You are a bigger piece to these wolves’ lives than you give yourself credit for. We have faith in you.”
Chloe then stands up and adds, “You’re being held just outside of Portland, Oregon on the outskirts of Tryon Creek State Natural Area. You won’t have time to return to Los Angeles. You’re going to have to make your stand here. That works in your favor though. Malik will have to waste energy trying to locate you here. Take advantage of that time. Convince the werewolves to help you. It’s your only chance.”
I think a moment, mulling over different scenarios. “We have to find my father. If we can convince him and my brother to join us, we might have a better chance at getting more of the wolves to help us too.”
Mika says, “It’s a start, but how are we going to get out of here? There’s too many wolves around, and we don’t even know where your father is.”
Tobias agrees, saying, “Mika’s right. Even if we could somehow locate your dad, we can only teleport a few feet at a time. Once we’re outside this room, the wolves will spot us. If that happens, then we’re dead. They’ve scent marked us too, so we can’t even glamour ourselves to look like other people.”
A smile comes across my face. “Actually Tobias, there’s one person we know that has the ability to teleport however far he wants without hitting a wall.”
Confused, Tobias says, “The only person I know of who can teleport great distances is...Devin, you can’t mean Luke. He’s part of the coven coming after us.”
Lizzy interjects, saying, “Not anymore. We’ve been keeping a close eye on you AND the coven. The boy you call Luke has left Malik very recently.”
I include, “She’s right. Right before I saw Mika being kidnapped by the Initiators during my spirit travel, I saw Luke attempting to leave the coven. Zack caught him trying to escape and attacked him. I helped him escape.”
Shocked, Tobias asks me, “You helped him escape?”
Remorseful, I answer, “I couldn’t help it. You know the hell he and the others put me through. I kno
w I should have just let him meet his own justice, but I couldn’t stand by and let those bastards step on anyone else. Luke or not, no one deserves what I had to go through.”
With a tinge of shame in his voice, Tobias says, “I’m sorry. You’re right. But what makes you think Luke will help us?”
I say, “Luke is on the run, just like we are. I have a feeling that as soon as Malik is done with us, they’ll be going after Luke too. If we can somehow get Luke here and convince him that he stands a better chance fighting Malik with us rather than alone, perhaps he’ll be willing to help us get to my dad in time.”
Mika asks, “But if he’s trying to hide from Malik, what makes you think we’ll be able to find him? And if we do find him, how are we going to get him here?”
Suddenly defeated, I answer, “I have no idea.”
Tobias then says, “Wait a minute... Aren’t Luke’s devotional gods Erebus and Nyx?”
Surprised, Mika asks, “Erebus and Nyx? The Greek gods of darkness and night? Those are gods rarely called upon in Wiccan devotion.”
Tobias says, “Exactly. Devoted followers like Luke ought to be VERY rare and special to them. So special in fact that they might be willing to pass along a message to him in order to keep him safe.”
“So how do we contact these gods?”, I ask.
Lizzy replies, “We might be able to help you with that. Erebus and Nyx also have strong ties to the Underworld. Since we’re already dead, we can travel to their realm to see if we can reason with them to get Luke to join you here.”
Chloe says, “We’re going to have to act fast though. All Hollow’s Eve is tomorrow. I’m sure Malik and his coven are preparing as we speak.”
The three spirits then stand close to one another, looking at Tobias and Mika longingly. Noticing that both Tobias and Mika are about to protest their sudden departure, Alex says, “No matter what happens, we’ll be with you two. Always.”
As the three spirits begin to vanish, they say in one voice, “Blessed be.”
Tobias gets up from the bunk and begins pacing in the middle of the room. The look on his face is pure fury. “He killed our parents! That bastard killed our parents!”
