by Rena Marks
I nodded.
“So far, no politicians, the president included, are jumping to enact laws of protection for the werewolves. Therefore, you’ll need to bring up how werewolves are losing their jobs, and it’s perfectly legal. That’ll put the squeeze on the federal government to take a stand.”
“Understood.”
Giorgio grinned. “I knew you would be great for this. You’ve spoken enough that you know the balance that’s needed. You can get the message across about what we need as far as discrimination laws, and then toss them a carrot with a juicy little tidbit about how your lives work.”
I gritted my teeth. “It really is like tossing me into a pit of writhing snakes.”
“I know. But Leo might lose his cool and suddenly everyone will focus on the violence the werewolves bring. If we have Julian speak, they’ll assume there’s a cover-up going on. You, being a popular councilmember, are the best choice.”
Though he wouldn’t say it, we both knew the other way things could swing. It would be assumed I had been planted in city council. It could damage my political career irreparably. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was taking care of my wolf clan.
“We’ll have Merrick nearby to give you strength,” Giorgio said.
“Good. Let’s get this done,” I said.
Chapter Seventeen
The cameras began to click as soon as I headed out the front door. I was steered by Giorgio to the front porch, which separated me from the lights and kept me in a higher position from the reporters. From behind us came Merrick, to stand slightly behind me.
“Councilwoman Romere! Why were you asked to speak for the werewolves?”
“Anjelia, can you tell us where your son is?”
“How long have you been with both men?”
“Ignore the questions,” Giorgio whispered into my ear. “Take charge by talking on your terms, not theirs.”
I continued to let the bulbs flash and held my tongue until the questions quieted.
“Thank you for coming. As you are all aware, on May 12, 2000, vampires made the world aware of their existence. Other species waited to see how the news was welcomed. It took sixteen years, but we are at the point where laws have been placed to protect the vampires from discrimination.
“That is not the case with the werewolves. Many of them are losing their jobs, and it’s perfectly legal to fire someone simply because you’ve heard they happen to be werewolf. Anti-discrimination laws are in place for humans, so of course if that person files EEOC charges and is proved human, they get their job back. If they are werewolf, however…” I let my voice trail off.
“But the vampires can’t be discriminated against,” someone said.
“Not any longer. It’s illegal to discriminate against vampires, but werewolves haven’t been included in that law.”
“So are you saying Dr. Leo Freedman lost his job?”
I continued on with my story, ignoring the blonde female who called out. “Werewolves did not choose to make their existence known. They’ve made several life choices in order to protect their existence. One of Leo’s was to pretend he was simply a sperm donor for our son, Luc.” Several cameras began to flash again. “Luc is rare occurrence with genetics. We’re not sure how it happened, but he is a little boy with one mother, and two fathers. He exhibits traits of all three species—human, vampire and werewolf. It was a difficult choice for Leo to make, but he knew his services as a surgeon were important for the world.”
“Are you saying he lost his job? Won’t he infect the people he operates on if he should nick himself during surgery?”
I narrowed my eyes at the reporter. What didn’t she understand? “Yes, Dr. Leo Freedman has lost his job. The world has lost a brilliant surgeon. Many werewolves will continue to lose their jobs, but everyone needs to calm down. Werewolves, like vampires, have been living among us since the dawn of time. You’re not in danger simply because you know of their existence. They’re not contagious, and humans are not irresistible as a food source to either species.”
“How does one become a wolf?” Horntrey called out.
“They’re usually born with the gene. There have been a few instances of bitten wolves, but that’s only because there is a dormant gene somewhere in that person’s genetic line which is activated by the virus.”
“Are you a wolf?”
“No. I’m not.”
“Are you a vampire?”
“No. I’m not.”
“Are you just a plain human?”
“Just as vanilla as you.”
“How about your baby? Will he undergo tests to see how he advances as he grows?”
I froze. This was the line of questioning I was dreading. It brought out every maternal instinct I had to protect my son. However, how much more protection could Luc have besides an entire clan of werewolves and vampires?
“Luc is a genetic miracle. He is born of three parents. He has the werewolf gene, the vampire gene, and is also human. We don’t need tests to prove that.”
“Can he go out in sunlight?”
“Yes.”
“Does his bite infect people?”
Not unless he catches rabies. “No.”
“Does he change?”
“Yes, he can change into a wolf cub.”
“Which part of him is vampire?”
“He requires a diet of blood. Only his father’s will suffice. Julian’s.”
“Do you plan on having any more children?”
“Like I said, Luc is a genetic miracle. We’re unsure if the circumstances that brought about his birth will bring another child.”
“Will you try?”
“No.”
“Anjelia, get inside!” Leo and Julian both sounded in my head at once. “Now!”
Somewhere I heard the drone of airplanes. Before I knew it, they came into my line of vision, circling overhead, the flashes of the cameras still recording. Next to me, Merrick created a bubble, invisible to everyone but us. He steered me inside, and at the last minute I grabbed Horntrey, who traipsed up the porch rails, holding back the other reporters who’d gotten the same idea.
I was barely aware of the voices yelling, the noises of the planes, and now the flutter of helicopters, even the megaphone that blasted through the air. Soon I was inside, and there was a flurry of activity.
“What the hell is going on?” Horntrey said.
“It’s the President of the United States,” Leo said. “Julian is on the phone with him.”
Just then, Julian headed down the stairs. “They’ve infiltrated the grounds. There are sharpshooters everywhere.”
A laser aimed at the wall between us.
“We can take them,” Leo growled. “Plus, all supernaturals will show up to fight. It’s a full-out war.”
“Over what?” I gasped. I could hardly believe this was happening. I knew the latest president was aggressive, but for everything else, I was dumbfounded.
“He wants Luc.” Leo growled. “He contacted us during your press release. Some pathetic excuse that he’s a new breed and should be studied. Of course Luc won’t be harmed.”
A sheen of red covered my vision. How dare this man think he could study my son like a test animal?
“Let him in,” Julian said. “We’ll make things very clear.”
“Wait a minute,” Jack said. “You’re seriously going to take on the president?”
“Over our son? You bet.” Leo said.
Julian signaled to Johnny, who went to the front door and swung it open. Secret service men filed in, guns drawn.
“Is this necessary?” Leo growled.
“Of course,” the president said. Though he tried to smile, it looked more like a smirk smeared across his face. “You’re stronger, faster, superior to us. But, gentlemen, we have the guns. With silver bullets, I might add.”
The bastard thought he had one on us. He had no idea that we had…magic. I smiled, and caught Johnny watching from the corner of
his eye. He looked concerned.
Perhaps the crone slipped.
But she would protect my son with a fierceness that equaled my own.
“We don’t need the media making a big deal out of this,” the president was saying. “We can keep this civil. But you owe it to humanity to allow us to study him. Of course, he won’t be harmed in anyway. He’s partly us, of course. It will be a totally humane testing.”
“You are insane if you think we’re giving up our son.” Julian’s voice carried a dangerous undertone that I recognized, but the arrogant leader did not.
“Gentleman. You’re citizens of this country. You’re lucky I’m willing to work with you and do things humanely. In any other part of the world, they wouldn’t give you a choice of civility. They’d rip him from your arms and study him, dead or alive. Me? I told you I wouldn’t harm him. We simply want to see what makes him tick. Think about it! He’s a completely new species. A combination of all of us.”
“The entire world watched you invade my property,” Leo growled.
He shrugged. “You’ll find terrorist activity in the form of war weaponry that you’ve been building. The American public will be glad we defended you against them.”
“You’re creating a war between the supernaturals and humans of the entire world. Do you really think a war wouldn’t wipe out millions of innocents?” Julian said.
“That’s a choice you make, my friends. Choose now.”
I chose. The crone burst free in one wave of terror. “No one takes my son.”
I was barely aware of the reactions she conjured from the men around me.
But to emphasize her point, she caressed Merrick’s cheek. As she did so, two of the Secret Service surrounding the president turned inside out.
They collapsed in shock, unable to scream but writhing as they throbbed, the blood oozing from the instantly exposed blood vessels. Organs bounced on the floor as they spilled out of the body cavities that held them. As the bodies wriggled, the crone fed from the pain. She completely took over, invading every crevice of my being with blackness, spreading like a thick black ink oozing through my pores.
“What the fuck?” the orange man in the suit screamed.
Such language! He was the leader of their fine country and he used such crass language. I tsked, shaking my head.
And I was pleasantly surprised. My hair was a violet flame, shaking in a slick fold around my back. It no longer curled as Anjelia’s did, but hung in a thick, shiny curtain.
“Wolf,” I called out. “Did the human woman change her hair color?”
Was this truly mine?
“No, Anjelia,” he said succinctly. Foolish wolf, thinking he could remind me that I was Anjelia? That we were one and the same? Of course not. I was Crone, ancient darkness as old as time. But they often thought they could fool us into believing we were one lifeforce.
“Anjelia, fight it,” the pale lover said, his fangs descended. That alone proved my strength, that my power could trigger the changes in the supernaturals. I turned back to the wolf. Sure enough, his skin was slick and thickened, as if it would burst through with a new form. The growling beast.
“Anjelia is gone, vampire,” I snapped. “Who dares to claim what is mine?” I focused in on the sweating pig surrounded by the two piles of meat.
“Oooh, I exclaimed. “Did Anjelia do that? Did she turn them inside out? I love that move. I also love removing the skeletal frame from one’s body. Do you know what it does?” I whispered this to the one who watched me with huge, unblinking eyes.
I could feel his terror. It tasted of a cold, metallic tang, sharp and sweet.
“Without the frame, everything collapses. You would not believe how much something as simple as skin weighs. But with nothing inside a body to support the weight, everything mushes. Collapses, crushing all those tasty organs humans have. The meaty liver, the yummy kidneys.” I licked my lips, remembering the taste of raw giblets.
The strange human stared at me without blinking, the usual terror stricken across his features.
“You cannot answer?”
A slow darkened stain spread down his pants. Men loved to lose control of their bodily functions around me.
“Let me show you. There are two of your uniformed officers upstairs, dangerously close to my son. Watch them.”
Even as I spoke, they came floating, and fighting my force as they were dragged down the stairs. One had his hand on his gun still, which made me laugh.
“I suggest you have your men drop their weapons. If one keeps a hold of a gun, I will have him shoot you in the head,” I said confidingly to the one they called the president. He didn’t respond to me, but he shifted his eyes to someone behind me and nodded slightly. I felt the release of the weaponry, which was funny that they had held it. They had no power to shoot.
“Now, watch and learn, humans. Watch and learn.”
I lovingly caressed the spine of the man who wriggled in front of me. He screamed piteously, and I laughed as it fed me. My laughter cackled as it bounced off the walls and echoed with the high ceilings. But then it stopped.
This man wasn’t the one that had been closest to my son.
No, it was the other.
I turned my gaze to that one, who looked back, terrified.
“You were the one near the nursery,” I said. “One of your lasers was focused on my child.”
He never had a chance to respond. I flung the one I had away from me, and used a magnetic force to bring the other to me. At the last minute he turned, his back to me. I ripped out his spine, and instantly, the bones inside his body melted.
At once, he mushed. He collapsed into a pile of formless human man, a lump of hair, fabric and skin.
“Aww. You can’t see him.” His clothing piled over him. “Let me undress him.” It wasn’t difficult to pull the clothing away, since he had no form to bind it to him. I flung them onto the other male.
There was a high pitched, keening wail coming from the lump on the floor.
“Oh, yeah.” There was supreme satisfaction in my voice. “Did I mention he’s still alive?”
There were gasps all through the room.
“That’s why I like this move. Now of course he’ll die. The beats of his hearts are being smothered. His lungs are not able to pull air in. Skin—it’s like a thick, heavy, immovable blanket. But to him, it’s going to feel like forever.”
The terror in the room was palpable. I’d missed this plane. It had been a long, long time since I was here. The terror was so sweetly flavored in this existence.
“I am sorry that Anjelia is missing this,” I said to the vampire. “I really am.”
“She should be here.”
“Yes. However, she’s not,” I sang. For some reason, when I sang, the terror unfolded even further. Have I mentioned how sweet terror tastes?
I did hate that my attention was diverted so easily on this earth. I refocused my attention back on the threat to my child. The one they called the president with some sort of reverence. He should be powerful.
I sniffed. His power came from money. Stupid third dimension. Did they not realize money did not follow you into any other reality? Power originating from wealth was completely useless.
“You are not a worthy opponent,” I said, confused. “Why do you have a right to threaten my child?”
“I—I’m the President of the United States.”
“Pshaw!” I exclaimed. “I am the maiden. The mother. The crone. The one and the same in one delightful package.”
“Per—Perhaps we made a mistake. We simply meant to protect the child, not harm him. I thought I had made that clear—”
“Oh, you didn’t,” I commiserated. “You don’t have as much power to gain by fighting me. Therefore, I will simply eat you and ingest the power you think you have.”
“Anjelia,” the wolf spoke. “My love, you cannot. It will send a bigger message to others to allow him to leave intact. His is a death we cannot cover
up.”
“I do not care to cover it up, wolf.”
“Think of Luc,” the vampire urged. “He will spend his entire life on the run. Never able to settle in one place, hunted by everyone outraged that we harmed the president.”
“But we didn’t,” I said gently. These creatures in this dimension were so utterly…stupid. “I did.”
“At least bring Anjelia back so she might enjoy the surge in power,” the wolf said.
My head angled slightly as I pondered his advice. Perhaps if Anjelia tasted the power, she wouldn’t be so opposed to my visits. We could work as one being.
I nodded, and allowed her to slip through.
Goody-two-shoes. She looked at the fallen bodies with disgust instead of the glee I felt.
“Anjelia,” I said, floating across the room and looking into a mirror. “I wish to eat the president. Are you with me?”
I shook my head back and forth, watching the violet hair disappear and the original, honey-blond hair of the vampire mistress appear. It bounced up shorter, curled into spiral ringlets.
“We cannot do this.”
I shook my head again, bringing back the violet sheen. “Of course we can. I control this body.”
I advanced to the shivering man, my toes dragging across the floor as I drifted. “No. No!” he gasped. “I’m important. The leader of this country.”
Then Anjelia, the tricky bitch, invaded my presence and whispered something mentally to her wolf and vampire lovers. I shook her out of my head.
My mouth salivated at the thought of the bloodshed here. Now that I’d fed on the terror, the horror as the humans watched two of their own die, now I would feed on the actual blood. The metallic tang, and the taste of sweet meat tearing through my fangs. Yes, I would release my wolf and vampire fangs for this treat, even though Anjelia cannot do so in this body.
