Head Down

by Jan Stryvant

  That minor in psychology that Roxy had been pursuing as part of her major in game design clued her into it almost immediately. Sean's lion wasn't Sean.

  Oh, they all had their differences between themselves and their beast, which was understood. But Roxy was used to seeing that. Sean had been full lion around her enough since the beginning that she saw the process first hand as he had 'integrated' into 'one' person. Usually when he went full lion now, the differences between lion Sean and human or hybrid Sean weren't all the great.

  Now they were. Oh, she didn't think any of the others were really noticing, but it was there. Lion Sean was a lot more playful than usual, and a lot more engaging in conversations. Talking in beast form was a pain; usually you shifted if you were going to do a lot of it.

  "Penny for your thoughts," lion Sean asked her later, as the others were getting ready for bed.

  "You're more different than you should be."

  Sean's head ducked in a nod, causing his mane to shake.

  "When does Sean get to come back out?" Roxy asked, just a little worried.

  "When he stops refusing to," lion Sean said with a grin. "He's been coaching me a little; it has been a long time since I've been left to my own devices in a family setting. It's so much more enjoyable than I'd remembered."

  "Remembered? You shouldn't...."

  Sean held up a paw, "I've said too much, and Sean wants me to tell you to 'leave it, we can talk about it later.'"

  Roxy sighed and nodded, it could wait.

  §

  Sean opened his eyes, he was in his lion form, but that didn't surprise him, seeing as he'd gone to sleep that way. Looking around however, he saw that he was back in that clearing again, the one from his dream about the past.

  Getting up and stretching, he looked around. Things were different, there was snow on the ground, the clearing looked, older somehow. The pride wasn't there either. Just another lion, which was sitting next to him, waiting.

  His other half, his other side, his lion.

  Only, only he really wasn't.

  "You're not really me, are you?" Sean asked, looking at him.

  "Walk with me," the other lion said to him, standing up on all fours and padding off slowly.

  Sean didn't hesitate, and padded over to walk along side the other lion.

  "Where are we going?" Sean asked as they walked together into the woods.

  "The others have all left, going off to seek their own place in the world. We'd discovered that we can create others like us, but not quite like us. Our children, they have the same gifts, the same abilities, but those animals we bite, that survive our fights?

  "They become were-creatures, like us. But they are wild, feral. They have to be reined in, captured, dominated, enslaved, trained. They don't really have the ability to become more than they are and what they are now is barely much more than an animal that can take human form.

  "They are all beast with no reason."

  Sean watched as they came to a small 'village,' if you could even call it that. There were a handful of crudely built huts, grouped around what looked to be a small fire pit that had someone tending to it.

  "We had been dealing with invaders to our lands, invaders that understood the use of spears and fire, and other things. Things which could hurt us, and maybe even kill us, unlike the other animals over whom we reigned supreme."

  As Sean watched, a pack of wolves, being urged on by a lion crept up on the village.

  "It was during these raids that we discovered that our charges could do the one thing we could not."

  The wolves and the lion broke from the cover and attacked the village, it was vicious and it was savage, the wolves turning into humans, but acting as wild as they would have as wolves. Sean had to look away; it was more than he could bear to watch. But when he looked back, after things had calmed down, he saw that all the men of the village were dead, only the females were left alive.

  "Our lycans could bite humans, and infect them with our condition, whereas any human we had ever bit ourselves, died." The lion continued. "The humans who were thus turned, they were more than just a wild animal, they had reason. They knew language, they could speak, they could think for themselves, and they could be ruled."

  As Sean watched, the survivors were all gathered in one area, while the attackers celebrated their victory, several engaging in the kinds of things that victors had been known to do for thousands of years. When they finally settled down to sleep, the one standing guard shifted into the form of a lion, which then went around and killed all of the original wolves and removed them from the village.

  "And so," the lion said, "we disposed of the first generation, who were only ruled by strength and fear, and bred the next one."

  Sean turned and looked at the lion, "That's pretty damn cold."

  He nodded, "Perhaps. But survival is without mercy. We were young, we only knew that the strong survive and do as they please while the weak die and fill your belly. Modern Man and the Neanderthal still roamed the land together, competing for survival during this time.

  "I've often wondered if we were the deciding factor in man's evolution. We couldn't infect the Neanderthals, so we killed them off. They were competing with our 'children' after all."

  "Your children?" Sean asked, surprised.

  "We discovered that not only were these second generation lycans more intelligent, we discovered we could breed with them as well," the lion told him. "So, being lions, we did."

  "You're not me, are you?" Sean asked, repeating his earlier question.

  "Yes, and no," the lion said turning towards him. "You have your beast, like any other lycan, but you also have me," the other lion turned and gestured with his head towards the lion in the village. More time had passed; the lion-were was living with the surviving women, all of whom were either with child, or nursing babies.

  "That's you?" Sean asked.

  The lion nodded, "Yes, that's me. The others did the same, and over the centuries that followed we roamed the world, settling where we pleased and repeating the scene below, creating more and different breeds of lycanthropes as we did."

  "So if I were to bite an animal, I could infect it?" Sean asked slowly.

  The other lion shook his head, "That ability died out when our original bodies died as well. Whatever it was that changed us, that allowed us to change others, was stable in them," the lion nodded towards the village, and Sean could see it had changed again, now there were wolves, people, and even hybrids, existing alongside in a larger and nicer village.

  "All of the lycans that exist are descended from one of us. I was partial to wolves," the lion chuckled, "and even foxes. So most of the wolves here, in Reno, are descended from me, and yes Sheila as well. So while all lycans will feel a connection to you, those that are actually descended from me, will feel it much more strongly."

  "So, what happened with Michael?"

  "Michael had pulled away from his beast; he was trying to be a man. As the leader of the pack he had allowed himself to be swayed more by human things than is good for one of my children's nature. So I took his wolf away for a while, and sent him away to contemplate his sins. If he realizes the errors of his way, the way of forsaking that which is most basic to his being, he will live."

  "And if he doesn't?"

  "He will die," the lion said.

  "Harsh."

  The other lion shrugged, "Life is harsh, Sean. Look at what you're now dealing with, what we're now dealing with. Our creating the lycan race was based in harsh methods, you've seen what I did, the others did the same. It was us deciding that we were gods and acting accordingly.

  "We took no responsibility for our children. We bore them, and then we moved on to find another place to create some more. Biology at it's most basic, we survived and we bred. It wasn't until many tens of thousands of years later until we learned the folly of our ways."

  "And you paid your price?" Sean replied, because wasn't that the way those stories
always went?

  The other lion laughed, "No! We existed long before the concept of morals entered the world. But we did see that our posterity, our children, was doomed to extinction if we didn't act to change what we had done.

  "So we, being who we are, fixed things, but that's another story for another time."

  Sean nodded; there was a lot to think about there.

  "I have one more question."

  "Yes?"

  "What is your name?"

  The other lion laughed, "I've had so many names that I've forgotten most of them."

  "Yeah, but what do I call you?"

  "Call me Sean, or people are going to start thinking you're crazier than they already do when they catch you talking to yourself," the other lion said with a smile.

  "But you said you're not me?" Sean said confused.

  "I said I both am and am not, you. We're still integrating, the two of us."

  "I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Sean admitted.

  "And that's why I've waited until now to tell you about me. There once was a time when I would have just crushed your psyche and taken over, and made you me. I've learned however that doing so is a mistake, and no, not because I have any ethics or morals.

  "It's wrong because I need you; my children need you, you, they need Sean. Not me. You're the one that's going to solve this current problem, I'm here to guide you, support you, and yes," the other lion laughed, "do that 'mystical shit' you keep referring to."

  Sean released the breath he'd been holding and sighed, "Well, that's a relief. Finding out I have someone else living in my head isn't exactly comforting."

  "I know and that's why I've been waiting to tell you this. If it hadn't been for yours and Rox's concerns for your sanity, I would have waited longer.

  "Good night, Sean."

  "Wait! What about that whole extinction thing?"

  "That's a lesson for another night. Go to sleep."

  Sean grumbled, but he went to sleep.

  Hyena Days

  When Sal had left Harkins' company, he'd gone back to his hotel room and immediately started a search on Sean Valens using his computer. Unlike a lot of the other people in the supernatural world, Sal had made a point of keeping up with technology. The only reason he hadn't done it before now was simply that he didn't do anything on a job until he'd been contracted.

  It was more challenging to find out what lies they told him after agreeing to his terms, than before.

  It didn't take him long to find Sean Valens' facebook page, and reading it he had to smile. Sean's page was being updated regularly with updates on the 'game' that Sean was playing. A game that was all too close to the reality that Sal knew Sean was now facing, only the one he was talking about was in a medieval world as part of a tabletop game.

  Then there was the 'gofundme' page that Sean had set up to 'raise money' to try and bring his 'epic fantasy' to life as a printed book. Sal snorted, this kid wasn't stupid, he was raising money right under the mages noses, and they didn't even know it.

  From the amount of supporters Sean was starting to get, however, it appeared that the lycan community in general was starting to figure out that something was going on.

  But that also meant that if Sal just went around asking questions about Sean, it would probably get back to him, and considering that the kid was now both a magic user and a lion, the last thing Sal wanted him to know was that someone was gunning for him.

  Sal stopped and briefly considered the situation. Twelve years ago he'd popped the kid's father, for what he realized later was far too little money, considering the fallout that the affair had generated. Here it was twelve years later and now he was going after the son.

  A lot of promises and several solemn oaths had been made that day twelve years ago, and apparently someone hadn't been keeping theirs. The only question was who? Sal worried about people's oaths, in his line of work they were sometimes worth more than cash.

  He'd have to go make the rounds of the local newspapers, see if there were any weak links among the police forces. He needed to get an idea of what just had been going on, and just what people knew about Sean. Unlike his father, he wasn't going to be easy to find, the kid was obviously in hiding, and again, unlike his father, the kid wasn't afraid to kill.

  Fortunately he had a few contacts living here, friends and friends of friends as it were. He'd reach out to one of them tonight, and see if they could set him on the right path.

  Sal walked into the bar and looked around; the place looked like a sixties bordello, pure retro, only in the case of this place, Sal suspected it was more a case of the owner just being too cheap to remodel.

  "Hey," Sal said to the bartender as he walked up to him, "Is Tony 'C' here?"

  "Mister 'C'?" the bartender asked looking Sal over, "Why?"

  "Tell him Sal from Chicago wants to buy him a drink."

  "Why would he want a free drink?" the bartender asked, confused. "He owns the place!"

  "Just tell him, wise guy," Sal sighed.

  The bartender shrugged and went over to the house phone and picked it up.

  Ten minutes later, Sal was sitting in a corner booth with Tony, sipping a cocktail.

  "So, what brings you here?" Tony asked.

  "Work," Sal told him.

  "Not me or anybody I know, I hope?" Tony asked.

  Sal shook his head, "Nah, looking for a kid. Apparently he's angered some people and they want to get their hands on him."

  "Doesn't sound healthy for the kid," Tony chuckled.

  "Nah, it won't be, I'm sure."

  "Ain't it a bit of over kill having you come out here to deal with some small problem?"

  Sal shook his head, "This kid ain't a small problem. He's going to be one tough nugget. He's already gone to ground and he's got resources. If I start asking the wrong people about him, he's going to hear about it, and I don't want him to see me coming. They want him alive."

  Tony nodded, "So, what do you need from me?"

  "Any cops I can bribe for information? Same for reporters, any coven members who don't keep their mouth's shut about coven business. Maybe even some lycan staff members who like to wag their tongues?"

  "Yeah, I can get you a list of all those. The rumor mill is pretty strong here in Reno, and lately there's been some unrest with the local lycans from what I've been hearing."

  "Oh? What's got them riled?"

  "Eh, who knows? Somebody is always pissed about something, ain't that always the way of it, Sal?"

  Sal laughed, "I wouldn't be working so much if it wasn't."

  "So, got a name on this target?"

  Sal nodded, "Sean Valens."

  "What?" Tony said looking shocked, "What the hell did he do?"

  Sal started a bit, looking at Tony in surprise. "You know the kid?"

  "Yeah, he worked for me like five years ago as a busboy. Hardworking kid, always asking for more work or overtime. Broke as fuck, real hard luck case. No father and no money, just him and his mom living in an old singlewide. What the hell did he do? I can't picture him as the kind to cause problems for anybody, always kept his head down and stayed out of trouble."

  "Any idea where I can find him?"

  "I'm sure I still have his home address and phone number. Come on up to the office and I'll give it to ya, along with those other names." Tony got up, "So, what he'd do?"

  "Magic user politics," Sal sighed.

  "Sean? Magic user?" Tony laughed, "That kid was completely blind to the supernatural, didn't know a thing about it. Sure you got the right kid?"

  "How blind is blind?" Sal asked following Tony.

  "Totally. Anything magical that happened? Kid couldn't see it. Had a couple of the fey in here once, some fairies from up north, kid couldn't even see them."

  "Well, that's interesting. Five years ago?"

  "About that," Tony nodded and leading him into the office he logged into his desktop and gave Sal his address, then wrote down a list of names, with conta
ct information, for Sal's other needs.

  "You know, Sal," Tony said. "He was a nice kid. Kinda sad to hear that he got himself mixed up in something bad."

  "It always is," Sal agreed, and saying goodbye to Tony he went out to his rental car and entering the address into the car's navigation system he drove out to Sean's house.

  Fifteen minutes later he was looking at two burned out trailer shells in what was definitely one of the poorest trailer parks in town.

  "Can I help you?" asked an old lady, coming up to him as he stood there looking at the ruins.

  "How long ago did this happen?" Sal asked her.

  "Oh, it must be six weeks ago now," she told him.

  "And they still haven't cleared this out?"

  "Well, the police were investigating it as arson up until a week ago. Turns out it was just a problem with some dogs chewing on the gas lines or something," she shook her head, "Those coyotes are getting to be more of a problem every year."

  "Oh," Sal nodded; apparently someone had already tried to get this kid a couple of times now. "Was anybody hurt?"

  "Oh, no. No one was living in either house, though," the lady sighed and shook her head, "Sampson, the man who lived in that one was found murdered over near Sparks, and Louise, poor Sean's mother has been missing as well."

  "What about Sean?" Sal prompted.

  "Well, I haven't seen him since the fire. He was here with his fiancée a few days before, but I know he was busy with college and all. I think he'd been hoping to move back here, but I guess he's just living at school."

  She looked up at Sal, "Are you a friend of his?"

  Sal shook his head no, "Actually I was hoping to talk to Sampson," Sal lied to her. "I had no idea that he had been killed. Thanks for your time, Mrs.?"

  "Brently, Mrs. Brently. And you are?"

  "Miles," Sal lied, "Miles Davis."

  "Oh! Like the trumpet player?"

  Sal rolled his eyes, just his luck he'd find a jazz fan in a place like this, "Yeah, I guess. Well thank you Mrs. Brently, I need to go," and with that Sal extracted himself and returned to his car. Harkins hadn't told him about this, but then Sal was starting to suspect that Harkins hadn't told him a lot of things.