by Joe Fowler
“I guess Austin is there doing his spying. Any word yet?” Rosalyn asked.
“Nope. We dropped him off this afternoon near there. We scouted the surrounding area some but we weren’t sure how close we should risk getting. If the wolves sensed us, our chance of surprising them would be lost.” Seth told her.
“So, I guess we wait. Seth, can you spare some blood? I want to make sure I’m at full strength.” She had a point.
Seth nodded and held out his arm for her. Rosalyn fed only from vampires during the war. Now, I guess she needed to get blood where she could. The way Walt was watching her, I am sure he would have been willing to let her have all the blood she wanted. The poor guy was in deep.
Rosalyn looked around after she fed. Seth and I were on one bed, Walt was on the other. She was standing in between. I could almost hear her mental sigh as she sat on the bed beside Walt. I wanted to smile but I knew how much she missed Austin. I couldn’t enjoy her discomfort with Walt knowing I was partially to blame for her sadness. I don’t think I will ever get over what I was forced to do.
It was around two hours of boredom spent watching shows that I didn’t really care for. The best entertainment came from watching Rosalyn and Walt argue over which show we would watch. Finally, Seth took the remote from them and turned on one of the shows he liked. Walt and Rosalyn looked like scorned children. It wasn’t too long after that when Austin returned with news.
“This won’t be easy. They are staying in a large mansion. The grounds are open on all sides with no cover. Even as fast as you guys are, you won’t get through without the wolves seeing you. There were at least thirty wolves patrolling at all times. I watched them long enough for them to change shifts. One didn’t leave until his replacement was there to take his place.” Austin began his report.
“Any humans outside?” Seth asked.
“Four of them were on the roof. One to a side. They were armed with what looked like AR-15’s. The rest of the humans stayed inside. There were some wolves spread through the house as well. Where the witch went, so went her bodyguards. Three wolves and five armed humans were never more than a few feet from her. Also, the Josef guy Gabriel told us about was usually with her.” Austin’s ghost wasn’t enjoying the bad news he was giving us. For that matter, neither were we.
“Is there any good news?” I asked hopefully.
“Not really. It seems we are stuck with trying to lure the wolves away while you attack her on your own, Josh.” Austin shrugged. “Unless we can find something new. I didn’t see a better alternative.”
“Let me think for a while.” Seth said.
We tried to be quiet as we resumed watching commercials interrupted occasionally by a sitcom. Seth was our planner. We all knew we were not his equal in that area. I couldn’t help but try to think of a better plan anyway. I never was much for strategy. Seth and Austin had proved themselves to be far superior. Rosalyn and I were happy enough to give any helpful comments we could think of but Seth was the brains behind our operation.
“Damned if I can think of a better plan. I guess we try this. Rosalyn and I will be the decoys. She can attack one side and I will attack an adjoining side. They will immediately think you are coming from the opposite direction so give us a minute. Then when we have enough attention, come through right between us.” Seth looked at me and Rosalyn to see if we understood. After we nodded in agreement, Seth turned to Austin. “Is there a big window on the ground floor, preferably close to one of the corners of the house?”
“Yes. There is a huge wall of windows on the northwest corner. It is on the northern side.” Austin answered.
“Good. I will take the northern side. Rosalyn, you take the western side of the house. Josh, when you see the wolves concentrating on us, run like hell through the middle and crash through the windows into the house. You will basically be racing to see if you can get to her before her bodyguards can get reinforcements. Remember what Gabriel said, she merged with a demon so she won’t be an easy kill even without being able to use magic against you. Obviously she isn’t as powerful as your father was but she will still be formidable.” Seth took a breath before continuing. “Let’s try not to kill any of the wolves. The humans are fair game since they chose this. If it comes down to kill or be killed, then don’t hesitate. We need to stay alive. Now let’s get going before I start to question our plan.”
“What about me? What do I do?” Walt asked.
“For now, stay here. I am not sure how to use you. The wolves, the witch, or the humans with guns could kill you in a second. Even if you can get in unnoticed, I don’t know how much help you can be.” Seth stood. That was our cue to head for the door. “Austin, we will need you to ride in the car if you can. We will need directions.”
We piled into my Dodge, Seth and I in the front with Rosalyn and Austin in the back. None of us wanted to speak any more than necessary. We were all experienced fighters and could well imagine what was in store for us. It kind of felt like old times from the war. It was just the four of us handling most of the fighting against the vampires. We were comfortable in our silence, knowing that the others were there and knowing what each was capable of in a fighting situation like this one.
I followed Austin’s directions. We were well into the woods trying to come at the house from the rear. The mansion was situated on the side of a mountain. The trees were dominant but there were some rocky crags often enough to remind us where we were. We passed one spot that I wanted to remember. The trees opened up to a fantastic view of the Denver lights far below. I was thinking how much Alicia would like to see this when I remembered another thing about going into a battle. You never want to start thinking about your loved ones. It makes you worry about them and wonder if you will get to see them again. That kind of thinking doesn’t help when you are facing stiff odds.
My lights had been off since I turned off the highway. I made sure not to rev the engine too loudly. Austin was carefully watching how close to the house we got since he was well aware of how sharp the wolves’ senses were. When he felt we were getting too close he told me to stop. I pulled the car off to the side of the trail we were following. It wasn’t enough to really be called a road.
As we got out of the car, I had a thought. What if we need to run? How would we signal each other? I could speak with Seth telepathically when we were changed. Hell, I could hear him even when I was in human form due to a quirk caused by my demon/wolf hybrid status. The question was how to alert Rosalyn?
“If things are going badly and we need to run, how will we let Rosalyn know? You and I can communicate, Seth. How will we tell her?” I asked him.
“Good question.” Seth thought for a minute before he said, “I guess I will go to you and push you toward the woods or something. I can’t say I will use a howl or bark since the other wolves will be doing a lot of that. You wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between me and them. I guess if I come to you and get in your way, then run.”
“Got it. It’s a good thing you’re so much bigger than the rest of them. I won’t have trouble telling you apart from the others.” Rosalyn smiled as she spoke. Her smiles made you feel better if only from knowing such beauty existed.
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road.” I said as I began to undress. Seth began disrobing as well.
I called my wolf form to mind and felt the rush of the change. I wasn’t in a war anymore and seldom went on runs now. It was very refreshing to once again feel the power that I have in this form. I looked and saw that Seth was now an almost horse sized wolf. We started walking into the woods following Austin as he led the way.
After several minutes of making our way through the woods, Austin motioned for us to stop. He was smart enough to have checked out the surrounding woods to mark the distance to the house. I don’t know for sure how he knew where we were this exactly, but we trusted him. I guess this was why he was gone so many hours earlier.
“They can’t hear me at all but th
ey might hear you guys from this distance. The clearing surrounding the house is about sixty yards ahead. When we enter the clearing we will be looking at the northwest corner. Rosalyn, you will be on the right and Seth will go to the left. They were smart in planning their patrols. They don’t go in formation, they are scattered out and roam the grounds. The wolves will see you quickly.” Austin informed us. Seth gave a nod of his giant wolf head to show his acknowledgement.
Seth took the lead and with a brief look to Rosalyn, shot away in a blur with Rosalyn doing the same. I waited, as we had planned, for twenty seconds before I took off at a sprint. I burst into the clearing and focused in on the large window area Austin spoke of. I could see both Rosalyn and Seth fighting off a growing number of wolves as I ran. One wolf saw me and tried to stop me. I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and flung him away. I barely slowed for that and didn’t see where or how he landed. I crashed through the window without any further interruptions.
The interior of the mansion was very extravagant. Even at the speed I was running, that much was easy to tell. Everything in here looked very expensive. I tried to bring to mind the layout of the house as Austin had described it. I headed down the hall that should lead me to another large room that would lead me to another hall and eventually, to the witch’s favorite room. Austin said the witch stayed in a large, mostly open room for much of the day. Her human guards would station themselves against the north wall while the wolves made a loose circle around her. The wolves inside would already know what was happening outside since they have the telepathic communication of werewolves. The witch would know as well since she was able to get inside their heads.
As I ran through the last hall, a robed figure appeared in front of me. He was human so I didn’t even slow down. I decapitated him as I continued on. I entered the room Austin described at a sprint. I took in the twelve or so human guards at their post as well as the eight or so wolves who were braced for my attack. They most certainly heard me coming. The witch sat in a chair on the other side of fifteen wolves. So much for the three wolves and five armed humans.
I stayed at a run as I swept the wolves away with my arms. Upon seeing this, the witch rose at a speed to remind me of her own demon side. She tried to meet my attack head on, thinking herself to be as strong enough to fight me. She crashed into the wall behind her with a thud. I was still in motion and was at her feet instantly. I stopped only to raise my hand for the killing blow. That proved to be enough time for the humans to shoot me about twenty times in the back and legs. They weren’t aiming at my head or heart, thankfully, or I would have been dead. The wolves attacked in force then trying to bite my legs and arms to hold them back. The witch recovered enough to get as far from me as she could in the room. I flung the wolves off of me which brought on another round of gunfire. I made a desperate sprint at the humans but in my weakened state, the wolves were able to cut off my attack. Again I knocked the wolves off of me only to be shot more. I was healing from the bullets quickly enough although they did hurt like hell. I stood still for a moment after the humans stopped firing. The wolves were looking for any opening and the humans were aiming their guns at me. I looked at the witch who had genuine fear in her eyes. During that moment, I realized I would not be successful without killing all of these wolves. The witch saw it too.
“You can’t do it can you? You can’t kill innocent werewolves. You would kill the humans and me, but you won’t harm them. That is why you fail. Josef knew this.” She looked around like she expected to see this Josef she spoke of. With a look one of the wolves separated and ran down the hall that I had used to get here. “No! You killed Josef!”
That must have been the robed human I saw in the hallway. The witch was crying openly now. I was shocked in a way. I thought her to be too evil for such emotional ties. She did manage to regain her composure. She looked at me with cold hatred in her eyes.
“You will have the same fate. If not tonight, then soon.” I said as I mentally told Seth “Get Rosalyn and run.” I looked to a window in the room and was about to make my run for it when she spoke.
“No. I still know all the plans Josef made. We will hand you to Lucifer. Nothing can stop that.” She claimed.
“I will stop you.” I was through the window and on the run to the woods before the spooky echo of my words faded.
Seth and Rosalyn were at the car when I got there. They took one look at my face and knew I didn’t have good news. We wouldn’t need to run away if I had been able to kill the witch. They understood that. I wordlessly got dressed. They waited until we were in the car and on the road back to the motel before questioning me.
“How bad was it?” Seth asked.
“When I entered the room I stayed at a full sprint as best I could. I knocked her against the wall and was about to kill her when the guns fired. They aimed for my lower back and legs, meaning to incapacitate me. The wolves attacked trying to gain control over me. I knocked them away only to get shot more. Then the wolves would be recovered enough to attack again. You see the problem? The witch would be easy enough to kill, but I can’t get close enough to do it. She is strong and fast but is nowhere near a match for me.” I didn’t enjoy reliving that failure but they needed to know.
“So tonight was a waste of time.” Rosalyn said bleakly.
“Not quite. I did kill Josef.” I stated flatly even though it was good news.
“Well that is something. Gabriel said Josef was the mastermind behind everything.” Seth sounded a little more excited.
“What surprised me was how much his death affected the witch. She was crying hard for a bit before she regained control. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“This could be considered a tactical strike then. We didn’t do what we wanted but we made an important hole in their side of the board.” Seth was thinking logically.
We stayed quiet the rest of the drive. I stopped and got Seth and me some food. Once we were at the motel, Rosalyn returned to her own room saying we could fill her in on any new plans in the morning. Austin went with her. Seth and I decided to call it a night and head to our own rooms. It was only in the last moment that I remembered we needed to tell Walt what happened. I knocked on his door. He opened it immediately and looked around for the others.
“What happened? Where are the others?”
“They went to their rooms. We weren’t able to kill the witch. The wolves and humans had me in a crossfire situation. The wolves would attack then the humans would shoot me some, yada, yada. I did kill Josef so some good news comes from our night. We will be meeting again in the morning to decide what to do next.” I informed him. His look wasn’t a happy one. I don’t blame him.
“Is Rosalyn alright?” He asked.
“She’s fine. She is a little disappointed like the rest of us is all. Good night Walt. I will see you in the morning.” I said as I headed to my room.
After a long hot shower, I lay on the bed resting. I couldn’t sleep which was surprising. Usually after the adrenaline wears off, sleep comes easy. I guess it was the unresolved conflict that kept me awake. It took a while but I finally got some rest. I fell asleep dreaming of Alicia and my unborn child.
Chapter 5
We met in Seth’s room the following morning. Rosalyn was sleeping the day away as vampires must. I sent Walt out to get us breakfast. Seth was sitting on the edge of his bed while I was sitting back resting against the headboard of the other bed.
“There was no way to get to her?” Seth asked.
“The only way would have been killing the wolves. Then I could have taken out the humans. I came to that realization and wasn’t prepared to follow through with it. I know what we risk if we fail but I couldn’t kill innocent beings like that.” I confessed. “If it comes to that again, I will kill them if I need to. I hope we can avoid that if possible.”
Walt returned with food. We ate without talking and still remained silent after the meal was done. No one wanted to say that we were going to
kill werewolves even though that seemed the likely outcome. We spent some time watching the local news as they spoke about the many unexplained disappearances of the local werewolves. I could tell them exactly where they were. That’s when it hit me!
“Why don’t we call the news channels? Do you think the witch would really turn the wolves loose on innocent humans knowing everyone was watching?” I asked Seth.
“Wow, that’s an idea. Let me think about it for a while.” Seth went into his deep thought mode. I tried to think it through as well, even though I knew Seth might see things I wouldn’t. I was deep in thought when I saw him shaking his head.
“Bad idea?” I asked.
“She wouldn’t hesitate. She knows you, me, and Rosalyn are the only ones who could get through the wolves alive. If they brought more wolves they would be adding to her army. Any humans that went to that estate would die.” Seth sighed, echoing my disappointment. “We really are going to end up killing those wolves protecting her. I don’t see another way. It breaks my heart but what choice do we have?”
The three of us lapsed into silence while the television droned on in the background. I once again focused on the options for attacking, looking for any acceptable alternative. The more I thought, the more I realized Seth was right. We would end up killing the wolves the witch gathered to her.
“Josh.” Austin surprised us, making Seth, Walt, and I jump in shock.
“Austin, you scared the shit out of me.” I stated as my heart rate calmed down.
“Do your find-a-thing. The witch is gone.” Austin shocked us again.
I concentrated on finding the witch. I saw her sitting on an airplane. As I looked around at her surroundings, I searched for any indication of where she might be headed. There wasn’t any way to tell. A ticket stub left visible would have come in handy, but there was nothing. The real shock was when I looked back at the witch, she was staring at me somehow even though I wasn’t actually there.
