The gray wolf attacks, leaping onto the vampire’s back, then biting into his shoulder. Shortly after, four other wolves show up, all different in size, and coloration, and begin attacking the vampire. They grab him by his legs, and even between his legs, and pull in different directions, trying to subdue the brute. The vampire now has each of his extremities being pulled on by a wolf, and the gray wolf on his back. He spins around, trying to fling them off, but they sway back and forth with their grip still strong.
Namon recovers and looks at the sight of the brute trying to swing off the wolves, then he gets a good look at his face, and vision of this vampire’s brutal attacks on Katrina fill his mind. He can see him crushing her with his hands, and slamming her on the floor by her tail. Oz stands up, his head spinning, and then falls back down to the ground, dizzy, as Namon runs in for the kill. The other wolves are still holding on to the vampire, and Namon lunges at his throat, biting it with all his might. He savagely rips back and forth until he tears his throat out. As the flames sprout out of the vampire’s neck, the other wolves let loose their grip and fall back, watching as the brute bursts into flames and burns all the way down to a pile of ashes.
“I'm so proud of you.”
He hears Katrina's voice, looks around at the surrounding wolves, and sees the ghostly image of a solid white wolf that turns and fades away as she runs off.
“I love you, and I will help you the best that I can.” He can hear her voice again.
With the battle over, the wolves finally notice Oz and start to move closer to him, and sniff him. He wakes to see the unfamiliar wolves sniffing at him, and he continues to lie there paralyzed with fear. Namon quickly gets between him and the wolves, letting out a warning growl to keep them from getting him. Oz is the only family he has left and he will protect him fiercely. The wolves slowly back away with their heads lowered to show that they are no threat. They slowly start to change, and Namon can see that they are not like him because they have to focus much harder, changing each individual bone and muscle group into its new placement. All Namon has to do is think about it, and he can just leap into his other form.
They all stand naked in their human forms, all of them very different. They are definitely not related. The gray wolf that Namon first saw turns out to be a man that looks to be in his forties with salt, and pepper colored hair. Namon wasn’t surprised to see the man standing there unclothed; he himself had noticed that his own clothes phased back and forth with him, conveniently.
“We mean you no harm, White Wolf. My name is Eric, and these are my fellow skin walkers. We did not intend to harm your little friend there, we were merely curious. We have never seen anything quite like him.”
Namon believes that he speaks the truth and does not believe that any of them are a threat to him or Oz, so he phases into his human form, fully clothed. Scooping Oz up, and placing him to sit on his shoulder, and then turns his attention to Eric.
“Why did you help me, and where did you come from?”
“We know your godmother, Katrina. She met us at the other White Wolves' funeral, and we paid our respects because they helped us. We aren't from around here, and you see, we offered to move here so that if a necessary day came, we could repay the favor. She sent me a text that it was time for us to come get you and continue where she left off. We were walking the trail over by the river walk when we received the text, and she said for us to meet at St. Joseph. By the time we got there it had burned to the ground, and you were gone, so we tracked you.”
Namon dwells on what he says, and is not sure whether he should believe him or not...so much has happened. He looks hard into Eric's eyes and glimpses of him shaking Katrina's hand at a funeral fill his mind. Then he remembers Katrina sending a text message in the car earlier. He slowly extends his hand in greeting, and Eric shakes it.
“My name is Namon, and this is Oz. We are on the run because Cyrus wants me, and he has already killed Katrina.”
Eric and the others frown from the bad news.
“You have our condolences. She was a very good person and has always had our respect. You are more than welcome to stay with us. We will protect you, and teach you how to fight both as a human, and as a wolf. You did well with these two vampires, but a lot of that was luck, and instinct. That isn't a bad thing, but you also need skill and discipline when in a battle, and must always remain focused.”
“I have to keep moving. They will be looking for me,” Namon replies.
“Don't you worry about that, skin walkers are immune to any means of detection from vampire or demon, that's a little secret they don't know about us, we draw our power from nature so it makes it very difficult for us to be detected. Stay close up to a mile radius from us, and you will be safe here.” Eric says with a proud grin.
Katrina's voice encourages him to accept the offer.
“Okay, but I need my books and clothes out of the car before I can
come with you.”
Eric nods, and then turns to the man standing by his side. “Get some clothes on, and go get his books. We will have more clothes for him.” Then he turns his attention back to Namon. “It is too dangerous for you to go back.”
Oz taps on Namon’s shoulder to get his attention.
“Oh, and if it's not too much trouble, could you get my bag too? It’s full of snacks and my friend here loves them.”
“Sure, no problem,” Eric says while nodding to the man he sent to claim Namon's items.
“Now, let’s get you out of here before someone else comes to look for you. We have a few vehicles close by.”
Namon follows them as they lead the way out.
At Katrina’s apartment, Drake and Cyrus are both looking through all the drawers and cabinets for some sort of clue as to what Namon looks like. Maybe he could even get lucky enough to find the amulet, but he seriously doubted it. Katrina knew what she was doing, though, and they couldn't find even one single picture. Drake can't form an image of Namon because he didn't get a good look at his face when he was running at them very quickly in the dark. When it is obvious that Cyrus is getting very frustrated, his phone rings.
“What do you want?”
“Sorry to bother you, but one of the deputies found the car. It’s on the right shoulder of I-75 just before you reach exit 171," the mayor says.
“We are on our way,” Cyrus says while hanging up his phone.
Drake and Cyrus get into his car after leaving the apartment. About fifteen minutes later, they show up where the car and the black van are. They get out of the car and Drake points at the bottom of the hill where the deputy car is on its side against the trees.
“I am going to take a guess that they are in that direction, sire.”
The deputy comes out from around the other side of the van with his gun drawn.
“Hold it right there. This is a crime scene!” He aims the gun shakily at Cyrus.
“I'm the mayor’s boss, son, so you better put that gun away because that also makes me your boss.”
The radio in his car starts going off, and he can barely hear the voice on it.
“I have an associate on his way to the scene, so let him have all access. His name is Cyrus Wilmington. Over,” says the mayor on the radio.
“Is that you?” the deputy asks.
Cyrus pulls out his wallet to show the deputy his ID.
“Okay, carry on. Sorry about that,” the deputy says while putting his gun away.
Cyrus puts his ID away before he begins questioning the deputy.
“Have you seen my other associates, the ones from the van?”
“No, sir, after I regained consciousness, I walked down that way where my car is, but didn't see any sign of them.”
Cyrus notices the trunk to the car Namon was in is open and empty.
“Was this trunk open before you went unconscious?”
“No sir.”
Cyrus grinds his teeth together in frustration.
“Thank you for your
time.”
Cyrus and Drake walk toward the direction of the car in hopes they may be able to find some sort of clue. Once they reach the railroad tracks, all they find is a small pile of ashes.
“This must be one of them. The boy is stronger than I could have imagined,” Cyrus says.
They continue along the same direction and eventually make it to the river. They look across the other side and see another, much larger pile of ashes. Cyrus leaps to the other side of the river to investigate further, but all he sees are several sets of paw-prints in the sand, and then several sets of human footprints as well.
“Shit,” Cyrus curses.
“What is it?” Drake appears from a puff of smoke.
“I think our target has met up with a pack of skin walkers,” he says as he kicks the pile of ashes towards the river.
“So what do we do now?” Drake asks.
“We wait. He will surface again eventually. The skin walkers are territorial, so they won't leave too far out of the area one day he will surface. Besides, he will want revenge someday.”
In Jones County, Namon is being brought into a trailer at the end of a small road at a privately owned trailer park. The trailer is right beside a small pond, and has access to the woods behind it. The whole trailer park is surrounded by woods. Eric shows Namon to his room, suggesting Namon stay in the same trailer as he does until he becomes more familiar and comfortable with the different members of the pack.
“It's not much, but its home. You’re welcome to everything we have, and if we do not have it, Kaya here can get it for you.”
A beautiful Native American woman steps forward and bows her head slightly, and she appears to be the same age as Katrina.
“Thank you for everything, but I think that I will go lie down for a little while. I haven't had much sleep.”
“I understand. You have had a very difficult time indeed, so rest well. Make sure you keep your little friend close by. The pack will not harm him, but there are many other creatures in the woods or even stray dogs that may try to.”
Namon nods and goes into his room where his belongings have been set on the bed along with the duffel bag full of snacks; which Oz has already gotten into. All the books he needs to learn what he needs to know are on the desk, but he avoids them and lies on the bed. His emotions catch up with him, and he begins to truly mourn for Katrina. He has lost his mother and father already. Now he has lost the only mother figure he has ever had.
“I am so sorry that I cannot be there with you physically anymore, but I am here with you in spirit.”
He opens his eyes, and Katrina sits on the end of the bed as she always did when he was upset. He leans up to hug her, but his arms pass right through her. An ache begins deep in his chest.
“What is going on? How is it that I see you, but you're not really here?”
“Well, sweetheart, that is thanks to another gift, or sometimes curse that we share. When a good soul is murdered or dies in an unnatural way, their soul is not allowed to cross over. So they will come to you to ask for your help because you are a White Wolf, or to help you in times you may need guidance. You will be the only person that they can communicate with and they will rely on you to do whatever needs to be done so that they can cross over to the other side.”
“Let me guess, Cyrus being alive is what is keeping you here?”
“That's part of the reason. The other is making sure that you're going to be safe, so don't get any ideas about trying to take him out you are far from ready. I can't show you everything you need to know, but I can give guidance on occasion until you are ready. If you die, I will never be able to cross over, and you will be stuck in limbo like me because you are the only White Wolf left now. You need your rest, though, so lie down, and sleep tight. I love you.”
Namon lies down, and Katrina leans over to kiss him on his forehead as she has always done before. He closes his eyes, and within moments, he falls asleep due to his exhaustion. A lot has happened to him in his lifetime and there are going to be a lot more trials ahead of him.
Hours later, he wakes up and seeks Eric out.
“So when do I start learning how to fight?” he asks.
“Eager to learn, I see. I like that,” Eric responds with a smile. “We can start today, but first you must know the pack rules. Number one and the most unbreakable rule: No vampires allowed. If you see a vampire, you are to exterminate it immediately, understood?”
“Yes sir, I do not see any problem with that at all.”
Visions of Cyrus breaking Katrina’s leg enter his mind.
“Other than that, pack is family. We will protect you, and you will protect us,” Eric says as he pats Namon on his back.
I will learn everything I need to know to fight and when I do, I will get them for you, Katrina. That is a promise I will keep.
Chapter Ten
Cyrus sits in his chair in the Atlanta mansion’s study, trying to rest, and wait for his migraine to go away. It is very stressful, after all, trying to organize the end of humanity. Aluana is in her studio working on a new song, so he doesn't have to worry about dealing with her at the moment. Tiffany, on the other hand, walks into the room wearing a black, skin tight mini dress with black heels, and holding a wine glass full of red liquid blood. She hands him the glass, and then walks around behind him. He sips from the glass, enjoying the full flavor from it.
“Type O negative?” he asks her.
“Your favorite,” she says while she massages his shoulders.
“I was so close last night. I could smell him in the area, I was just so close, and that infuriates me.” He stops speaking long enough to enjoy another long, slow, sip from his glass. “Now there is no telling how long it will take him to surface.”
She continues massaging his shoulders as she listens, and then offers a suggestion to him.
“Well, I have been doing a little research in my spare time. Why don't you have Drake summon seeker demons and have them scattered across Macon? That should speed things up at least a little bit, don't you think?”
“Seeker demons?” he asks.
Tiffany stops massaging him, walks over to the bookshelf, and removes a book entitled “Demonica Britanica”. She turns it to a page labeled “Seeker Demons” and reads the information to him.
“Seeker demons seem human by appearance. They are commonly used as infiltrators to seek out people, relics, or any creature that the conjurer wants to acquire. When confronted with their target and they will change into their true demonic forms, and are nearly unstoppable.”
She shows him a drawing of a woman, and then a comparison drawing that shows the woman in an alternate form with her face split open from the forehead down to her gum line, the skin peeled back revealing a larger mouth lined with razor sharp teeth. A thin membrane is shown beneath her arms to make wings. The wings appear to be coming from her wrists down to her side where her skin opens up sort of like a zipper. Her talons have extended from her human like hands.
“As lovely as she is, what good will that do for me if I do not even know what he looks like?” he says with a slight bit of sarcasm to his voice.
“Yeah, that's why you have them search for a person wearing the amulet. With him being so young, and knowing that it is so important, do you think he will risk hiding it anywhere or trusting it to anyone? Just make sure the demons know what it looks like, and they look for that. I know it may still take a good while, but it's a lot faster than what you have now.”
Cyrus grins at her, thinking to himself. Wow, she is very smart, and has thought this through.
“You are cleverer than I have ever given you credit for. Well done, my dear.”
Tiffany starts glowing at the compliment he gives her.
“Now would you mind leaving me in here alone? I have this terrible headache I need to tend to,” Cyrus says.
Tiffany puts the book away and walks over to the door. Instead of opening it, though, she locks it, and then turns to face h
im. He looks at her curiously, wondering why she didn't do as he asked. Usually she is so very compliant, and now she is doing the opposite of what he said. He doesn't fear her because he knows that he could kill her without blinking if she tried anything.
“I do have other talents that could be a great deal of help relieving your...stress, my lord, and your headache along with it.”
“And what talents are those?” he asks with a suspecting grin.
She slides the straps to her dress over her shoulders and slides the dress down to her ankles. As she steps out of it, she kicks it aside and walks over to him. Wearing nothing, but black lace, see-through lingerie, she straddles him in the chair and cups his face with her hands.
“These talents,” she boldly states.
She pulls his face to hers and kisses him intensely. He returns the kiss while dropping the glass on the floor, not caring that its contents spill out onto the floor. No longer concerned with his problems he becomes lost in the moment and reaches around her, and grips her rear end, and firmly as their passion builds. She reaches behind her back and unhooks her bra, slowly slipping the straps down in a teasing manner before throwing the whole thing on the floor toward her dress.
Minutes later, Aluana wraps things up in her studio, leaving the room, and walking down the hallway. She heads to her bedroom, but stops when she reaches the study due to the loud noise coming from inside. No clue what it is, she puts her ear to the door, and was not prepared for the sound of moaning. She covers her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly, but continues to listen. There is only one other woman in the mansion besides herself, and she knows that there are very few people who use Cyrus's study. Drake doesn't seem to be Tiffany's type, but she has always had been hot for Cyrus. It’s pretty obvious to her who is in that room, and even more obvious what they are doing.
Bored, she stops listening, and returns to minding her own business, walking down the hall to her room. Once there, she turns the light off and the radio on before lying down in her bed. She stares up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that she stuck on the ceiling many years ago. They may be a little bit childish, but they are slightly comforting, and reminded her of all those nights in Europe that she would just walk out and gaze at the stars. It was a much simpler time back then and not so much craziness in the world. Of course, that was also before humanity became so smart they went dumb using up resources like fossil fuels, and always coming up with machines, internet, and cities that are always alive with light that blocks out the light from the stars...
Blood Stained Lives (The Blood Stained Saga Book 1) Page 11
