by Joe Fowler
I sat on the porch trying not to think of having to fight Seth. He turned me. He taught me. He saved my life when he took over the fight against my father. He became the father I always wanted. He was also the safety net in case my demon side caused me to turn bad. I owed Seth everything.
As I was thinking things through, the back of my neck began to burn. It was like an itch on crack. My arm was lifting to rub it when I realized what it meant. The witch was using her visions to watch me.
“Hello, Tara.” My words caused every wolf to stop what they were doing to listen. I had the bright idea of using my own vision to see her. That way we could talk back and forth instead of it being a one-way conversation.
“Good idea, Josh. Now we can finally talk.” The witch smiled. She was in a hotel room, a nice one by the looks of it. “This voice of yours is much better than that creepy ass voice when you were turned.”
“So I’ve been told. I thought it might be good to hear you too.” I responded. Seth was leaning toward me with a serious look.
“I was expecting you to be in a cell. Instead, here you are sitting on a porch all comfy. That must be Seth sitting beside you. Tell him I said ‘hello’ will you?” Tara tried to act overly confident but I could see she was a little nervous.
“The witch said to tell you ‘hey’.” I would explain to Seth later when we weren’t being watched. Seth smiled. He seemed to understand. “Nice hotel room. Seems to be expensive. Why don’t you come on over and let’s get this over with?”
“Oh no, I’m having too much fun watching the humans you care so much about be the ones who prosecute you. I will be there in time. There is no hurry.” Again, I could tell she wasn’t as sure of herself as she seemed.
“I will be waiting for you. I should have finished the job the first time.” I said this hoping to see fear or anger.
“You won’t get so close again. That failure will haunt you until you aren’t you anymore. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt a bit. When I extract your wolf spirit or when you are taken over by Lucifer, I will be nice and keep you from suffering. Although since you did kill Josef, maybe I should go for excruciating pain.” She taunted.
“You have to beat me first. Those guns won’t get the job done. Neither will a hundred wolves, this time.” I wanted to hear her say she was targeting Seth.
“You are sitting next to your downfall. He will do what those guns and other wolves cannot. You will lose, Josh. It must be clear to you by now.”
“We’ll see. I am ready for you. When you can muster the courage to try, come see me.” I said genially.
I withdrew my vision and after a few seconds, she did as well. I sat quietly for a moment with my eyes closed. Seth and the others were waiting impatiently for me to tell them what the witch said.
“She plans to use you, just like we knew she would.” I opened my eyes and looked at Seth to see his reaction. He nodded and took it in stride.
“It is her only option now. She almost died with the guns and other wolves there. I am her only chance of beating you.” Seth didn’t seem as worried as I felt he should be. Was he so confident in me or was he just acting to keep the pack from worrying too much? I didn’t know. I worried enough for both of us anyway.
Jimmy and Jonathan picked a good time to get back from the store. They stopped for chicken to go along with the beer. That must have been what took then so long. They brought in at least twenty buckets and plenty of bags full of sides as well. It wouldn’t fill all of us up but it would help.
As we sat eating, I told Seth what the witch said during our conversation. I let him know the impression I got from her body language also.
“She might be scared right now. She realizes you almost got to her last time. That is the only way to explain her hesitating now.” Seth said between bites.
“I am fairly sure she was counting on Josef to do the thinking for her. Now she might be second guessing herself.” I said as I continued eating. The chicken was tasteless to me but I knew I needed some food.
“The humans with guns still worry me some. I’m not sure we should risk Rosalyn getting too close to the witch. Strangely enough, the witch is protecting the humans from Rosalyn, while the humans are protecting the witch from the rest of us. Go figure.” Seth reasoned. I couldn’t argue with that.
We ate the rest of our meal silently. Seth seemed deep in thought. My own thoughts were losing cohesiveness. I left half of my meal uneaten. My appetite wasn’t gone but my stomach wasn’t in the mood for the grease. I decided to turn and go for a run. Maybe I could find a deer or something.
Luckily, none of the others wanted to run with me. They might have seen how much I needed some alone time. I reveled in the power of my wolf form. This was the first time I changed since the night I killed the alpha. That night wasn’t an enjoyable experience. It felt good to run and let my senses roam free. The stress left me in waves as I ran.
I came across a fresh deer trail. My instincts put me in stealth mode as I followed the scent. I raced through the forest in a blur. Many of the small animals went quiet from the shock of something so large and dangerous passing so close to them. My spirits were soaring as I entered a clearing and saw my prey. The buck jerked his head around at the sound of my approach but that was all he had time for. Though I could have used my hands, my instincts were to bite behind the head on the spinal column. I closed my jaws with incredible force and felt the deer’s neck break.
Eating raw deer meat didn’t appeal to me at the moment. Thoughts of the chicken made me hesitate before I bit into the flesh. I was rewarded with the taste. My wolf form’s taste buds were definitely different from my human ones. By the time I was full, there wasn’t much left. A few bones, the skin, and a few of the less tasty organs. I figured the buzzards could use a good meal too.
Since my hunger was sated, I spent some time exploring this new area. The smells of the other wolves in the two packs were here. Their time in the woods left clear evidence to my nose. I crossed Alicia’s trail and was saddened. She didn’t need all this stress. That stupid witch should get here and get this over with. My run took a backseat to the cares of my wife. I retraced my steps to the house to be with her.
Chapter 10
The throng outside the building were chanting for my freedom. It took several officers to clear a path to the door of the courthouse. The courtroom was full. All the news stations were represented by both cameras and reporters.
The lawyer sent by the President was all business in preparing us for today. He only called me Mr. Thorne no matter how many times I tried to get him to call me Josh. He impressed me from the start. He began asking me and all the wolves present about the entire incident from the time of first contact between our two packs and the rogue pack. The lawyer wanted detailed responses about even minor details. His name was John Smith. I don’t think he appreciated my joking about his name. All in all, I thought the President chose well.
We sat through the D.A.’s opening statement. It was surprisingly short. He stressed that three eyewitnesses told of how I murdered their alpha, it turns out the alpha’s name was Tim Robbins, no, not the actor. He added little bits of how the dead alpha’s pack were only there to try and help the new werewolves to the area. It was total bullshit.
When it came time for my lawyer to speak, I hoped he wouldn’t disappoint. He didn’t. He explained the werewolf curse of a rogue wolf. How all that are bitten by him will turn bad as well. He pointed out the slashed tires and the taunting by the dead alpha’s clan to instigate a fight with our packs. He went on to talk of how rogue wolves had been put down over the centuries so they couldn’t spread this curse. He had already been calling in alpha wolves from all over the country to back our side of the story. He did a really good job.
We were back on the porch after that first day. We drank our beer and talked of anything but court. After we ate a huge meal of pizza, many of the wolves went on a run. Some of them ended up going to bed really early. Others headed of
f in groups of two or three to talk among themselves. I found myself alone on the porch, much to my relief.
Rosalyn joined me after the sunset. She quietly came out and sat beside me on the porch step. She asked how the day in court went. I gave her a brief synopsis, which seemed to be enough for her.
“Do you still want to kill me?” I asked.
“No. Being around you again reminded me of your true nature. I know you did what you felt was best. I still wish the two of you had let me be the sacrifice instead of Austin, though. He was just getting started.”
“I couldn’t refuse him. I am sorry for the pain I caused you.” I wanted to say more but the words seemed too small and insignificant.
“I know. At least now I think I can get over losing him. These last two and a half years were the roughest of my long life.” Rosalyn sighed. “Plus, I think I can start visiting you guys again. It is nice to be around friends.”
“We will love that. Especially after the baby is born. If it is a boy, we’re thinking of naming him Austin.”
“Really? I think he would love that. Have you told him?”
“No. Not yet. I was going to wait until this witch thing was over. I might need to ask him now. I know what Seth has said but I am afraid the fight between us won’t be as close as he thinks.” I admitted.
“I have fought side by side with the two of you. To me, it’s a coin flip.” Rosalyn sounded like Seth.
“If you had been there when Seth took over the fight against my father, you would see more clearly. Seth is an unstoppable force when he gets riled up.” I almost cringed at the memory of that night knowing I was the next to face Seth in a fight.
“Tell us more about that night then.” Austin was behind us and we both jumped when he spoke. “I am curious I admit. You told us the basics but it sounded like the story was much better than you let on.”
I smiled at Austin as he came around and took his seat beside Rosalyn. The wonder of how he could sit without going through the steps hit me again. I shook it off. After her own smile to Austin, Rosalyn turned to me expectantly. I took a breath or two before I began that story. It wasn’t the happiest of my days to say the least.
“You have to know some of the backstory…” I told them all from the first day of the visions through the deaths of the demon and Carl. I highlighted the fight between me and the demon, as well as the fight after Seth faced off with my father. I made sure they understood that my father was a fallen angel turned demon. The fact that Seth could beat someone so very powerful as easily as he did, was truly astounding.
“You should write a book about that. It would make a good story.” Austin said after I had finished.
“No one would buy it.” I said with a laugh.
“You could call it ‘The Demon Heritage of Josh Thorne’ or something.” Rosalyn sounded like she was laughing and serious at the same time.
“Too long and it sounds more like a horror story. Living it was more like a comedy of errors.” I said causing them to laugh more.
“Tell Austin what you told me.” Rosalyn said.
“What?” Austin looked at me with a curious look.
“Alicia and I are thinking of naming our baby Austin if it’s a boy.”
“I think it is a wonderful idea.” Rosalyn said as she looked to Austin to judge his feelings about the name.
Austin looked like he was moved by the sentiment. His courage and resolve during the vampire war had been inspiring to me. He fought side by side with Seth, Rosalyn, and I even though he knew any moment could be his last. He wasn’t as indestructible as the three of us but he never once hesitated or wavered in a fight.
“Thank you, Josh. That would mean so much to me. I hate to admit it, but I would be crying right now if that were possible.” Austin said. By the look on his face, I knew he meant it. Alicia would be pleased.
“I can only hope I live to see him born. Like I said, Seth is unstoppable when he gets motivated.”
“While I don’t like the plan, I honestly think you will win.” Austin’s words were shocking to me. “I’ve been thinking of how you and Seth seemed almost even when we fought in the war. Everyone keeps talking of how fast your strength and speed grows. If you two were almost even then, after two years you should be able to beat him. That’s my take on it anyway. I hope I’m not wrong. So much is depending on this.”
“He’s right, Josh. I didn’t even consider how much stronger you might be now. I guess it slipped my mind because of how damn strong you were before.” Rosalyn looked back at Austin warmly before returning her gaze to me. “You need to remember how good Austin was at seeing things. Some of his insights were better than what you, me, and Seth could think of. Remember how much we came to trust his opinions.”
“I do remember. You guys are giving me a little more hope anyway. Now we need to pray that I don’t let everyone down.” I said sadly.
Rosalyn surprised the hell out of me. She placed her hand on my arm in a comforting manner and kissed me on the cheek. Just weeks ago she wanted to kill me. Unlike Austin, I am not a ghost. I was the one on the verge of tears now. I smiled my thank you to Rosalyn for her encouragement.
“Austin, did you find out anything new about the witch?” I changed the subject to help avoid thinking of fighting Seth.
“She is worried. The best plan she has come up with is to show up here with her gunmen and take control of all the wolves. She is smart enough to plan on doing this during the day since that would take Rosalyn out of the fight. She will tell the humans to stay ready and aim for anyplace below your heart. She is going to have the packs stay out of it which is a small relief. She is fairly confident that Seth will be able to beat you. The reason she is so worried is because of how much she will have to strain to keep Seth under control. We have seriously underestimated the inner strength Seth has. Tara, the witch, can control a hundred wolves without much thought. Controlling Seth will take everything she’s got. She is also worried that Seth might kill you during the fight.”
“Excuse the wording, but I could live with that. I already decided to make Seth kill me if I can’t beat him.” I confessed.
“That wouldn’t do us too much good. Like Gabriel said, you are the only one who can kill this witch.” Rosalyn reminded me.
“But it would be better to have her running around causing trouble than it would be to have Lucifer here.” I stated. They couldn’t argue with that.
We sat quietly after that. I was thinking of what they said about me possibly being stronger than Seth now. It still boggled my mind to think I could be a match for him. As I thought this, Seth walked out of the woods still in wolf form. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth and he seemed to be smiling.
“On second thought, that is one huge ass wolf.” Rosalyn became Ms. StatestheObvious for a moment. “Sorry, Josh.”
Seth changed form and got dressed. His clothes were on the edge of the porch rail on my side of the porch. He was still smiling in his human form and looked like he had a funny story to tell us.
“Alicia may have just won her first fight.” Seth started. When he saw how big my eyes got and that I was rising from the porch angrily, he hastily added, “Not a real fight, Josh. You know all of us would die before we hurt her. Anyway, she was feeling better today than she has been lately. Jimmy was teasing her about how gloomy she stayed. Alicia lit into him! She was biting and scratching Jimmy to pieces. Jimmy tried to run and Alicia chased him down and attacked him all over again. It was funny to the rest of us. Jimmy might be in pain for a while though. She seemed to need it. She has been so worried about you and needed a way to vent her frustrations a bit.”
“Poor Jimmy.” Rosalyn said. She was laughing when she said it. I must admit, the thought of tiny little Alicia ripping into Jimmy’s huge form was funny.
“I’m just glad he had the restraint not to fight back.” I said relieved.
“I was watching. I wouldn’t have let him hurt her. I still think of her as my daugh
ter for the most part.” Seth looked to Austin. “Any news?”
Austin told Seth what he told us. Seth asked for a few minutes to think. I sat back listening out to see if any of the other wolves were on their way in from their run. I couldn’t hear any of them. I thought briefly of joining them but it wasn’t something that appealed to me. I went inside the house to get us all a beer. In my distracted state, I grabbed four beer instead of three forgetting that Austin was a ghost momentarily.
“Sorry, Austin. I really wish you could enjoy it with us.” I said hanging my head. It still hurt to be the reason he wasn’t alive.
“That’s ok, Josh. Like they say, ‘it’s the thought that counts’.” Austin assured me.
“I’m just glad they are cold. I haven’t been able to stomach warm beer since we left Brazil.” Seth said.
“Brazil. There’s a place I never want to be again. No matter what they do, I will always see those streets full of bodies. Rio is now a no go zone for me.” Rosalyn said. She took a huge swallow of her beer and shuddered.
“When something is bad enough to make a vampire shudder, you know it must be really horrible.” I teased.
“Yeah, like your wolf voice. I shuddered every time I heard it.” Austin said. We all laughed at that one. “Nothing will make me forget that possession in Paris. I was already shaking and then you start talking in that creepy ass voice and I was ready to shit my pants if I could have. It’s funny now but I was scared as hell.”
“I was too. I remember having to hold your hand for strength. I was telling myself not to run and look like a coward.” Rosalyn admitted.
“I wish I could have seen that.” Seth was smiling.
The four of us enjoyed a quiet period. When people face the kind of things we had together, you form a bond that can’t be broken. Well sort of. My killing Austin formed a significant rift between Rosalyn and me for a couple of years. I felt better now that she forgave me.
