by Alex Lux
But that means… "I remember reading about them. God sent the flood to destroy them, but saved Noah and his family. But, that can't be true, can it?"
"It happened a long time ago, and even I am not old enough to remember that," he smiled.
Father Patrick may not be old enough, but shifters could live a long time. Was it possible someone still lived from those ancient days? My head spun as my world suffered a huge paradigm shift, like a psychic earthquake displacing lifelong held ideas of truth and upturning everything. This is how Sam must have felt when she found out the truth about her school and home.
Father Patrick continued. "Some believe that those with supernatural or paranormal abilities are descended from the Nephilim."
"That's why we have powers?" I asked. "Because we're related to angels?"
Father Patrick shrugged. "The Church believes it is so."
"What about you?" I held my breath, waiting.
"Yes, I do believe. I think Sam’s father, Mr. Steele, had found a way to tap into Nephilim power and pass it on to others. That's how he created paranormals."
"Is that why the Bishop and Ryder are here?" The pieces started to click together. "To destroy us like the Nephilim?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "No, I don't believe so."
Another piece clicked into place, and I shuddered. "This lycan, the one murdering people…" I paused. "It's targeting paranormals."
NINE
Is It Not Monstrous
ROSE
O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all the visage wann'd,
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
NOTHING ABOUT THIS experience was particularly comforting. The fact that the drunk, stoned meth head was the only one carrying a weapon didn’t help my nerves. At least I had my own power as a shifter. Still, even a wolf could be killed with a bullet. And Billy didn't seem to like me.
The sun had already set, casting dark purple shadows over us as we walked through the woods. The moon hung high in the sky and white mist hovered around our ankles. I felt like I was in a horror movie.
"Should we call for some help?" Curtis put a hand on my shaking arm.
"No," I whispered. "My shifting and your speed can handle one animal." I didn't tell him that I doubted we'd find anything more than tracks. Why would a killer return to the scene of the crime?
We were in a valley, surrounded by mountains. When we got near the enclave, Billy froze. “The demon’s gonna get us. We should go back.”
I reluctantly put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s our job to destroy the demon, remember?”
His body shook, but he nodded and moved forward, holding his shotgun out with an unsteady hand. I locked eyes with Curtis, both of us more scared of the guy with the gun than any demon, even if the demon thing was real.
Another unbidden memory hit me. Blake, Demon Blake, dying after taking my dark power away, freeing me from my curse. Not all demons were evil.
I wiped at the tear on my cheek and took another step, sniffing the air. Nothing out of the ordinary, just the smell of our companion, normal animal smells, but no wolves.
And then…
I smelled something. Another human. But who would be crazy enough to walk out here this late? Besides us, of course.
Bushes rustled a few feet away from us. Branches snapped.
And then I saw something in the woods. Eyes. Red, glowing, demon eyes.
Billy dropped his gun and screamed, then turned and ran.
I moved to follow, my heart pounding in my chest. Under the influence of the moon, with fear filling my veins, my wolf tried to break through. My body convulsed, tried to change. Got stuck.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. I collapsed to my knees groaning in pain.
Not now. Please not now.
More rustling.
The demon, or whatever it was, drew closer. A growl rumbled through the woods, and I hadn’t been the one to growl.
Curtis had followed Billy, catching up to him in split second, but stopped and dashed back when he saw me fall.
“No!” I screamed, more afraid for him than myself. “Go! Run, Curtis. Run!”
He didn't listen, trying to lift me up by the arm. The thing in the woods closed in, and I saw something that looked like a wolf, but stood on hind legs like a man, covered in fur with long, sharp claws, glowing eyes and a snout full of sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight. My Little Red Riding Hood analogy no longer seemed so funny.
I pushed my wolf to shift and felt my bones and body realigning as the pain ended and my power poured into me. "Run," I yelled, getting ahead of Curtis. "Run!"
The beast turned its attention to him. And charged. And before I could leap to save Curtis, before he could dash away, the beast attacked, biting into him. I heard flesh rip apart. I heard a howl, and the beast disappeared into the night.
I ran over to Curtis, shifting back to human. He lay on the ground, shivering despite the warm night. His shoulder bled, his shirt and skin torn where the beast had bitten.
Billy leaned against a tree, staring at us wide-eyed. He pointed his finger at me. “You’re one of them. You’re a demon, too. I saw you turn into one of them.”
I looked over to Billy, my stomach filling with dread. “I can explain. I’m not the same as what you saw.”
But Billy didn’t wait to hear my explanation. He ran off into the woods, leaving his shotgun behind but carrying my secret with him.
TEN
A Broken Voice
DRAKE
Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
A broken voice, an' his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing,
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
THE DAY HAD taken its toll on me and my psyche. I sat under the weeping willow, whose forlorn song whispered to me. It had become my favorite meditation spot, though I knew Sam and Lucy both came out here often, their hearts heavy with the loss of their teacher, Mr. Krevner. He’d been presumed dead but was discovered near a secret research facility run by the organization responsible for our powers. They’d experimented on him until he’d turned into a tree. It sounded crazy, even now, but Sam had mind linked with him before the forest he’d been living in was burned down, leaving only his seed—which resulted in this tree.
Maybe it held the soul of Mr. K, maybe it had something else entirely, but we all knew this tree was more than just a tree.
Still, it gave me a place to release my mind and let go of the emotions that had attached themselves to me today, overwhelming me.
When the vision filled my mind, my heart rate spiked, sweat pouring down my face as terror filled me.
Teeth, dripping with blood. Claws, long, sharp and deadly. And eyes, red eyes glowing with evil. I felt the pain of someone, saw the world slip away into nothing.
I stood on shaking legs, running back to the mansion as Rose’s car pulled up by the front door.
She got out, fear pulsing through her, and ran around to the other side to help Curtis.
I reached her in time to ease her burden, helping Curtis stand and walk into the mansion. He was sweating, his skin too pale and tinged in red. “We have to get Dr. Susie and Father Patrick. What happened?” I asked.
Her breathing came in gulps. “It’s not a shifter killing these kids. It’s something else. It attacked us.” Tears poured down her face as she ran in to find help.
We got Curtis to the infirmary where Dr. Susie hooked him to an IV and took his vitals.
Rose told her story again, then asked, “Where’s Derek?”
I told her what we learned about the Lycans. “Derek went to his family’s house to get help.”
Father Patrick smoothed Curtis’ forehead, and he and Dr. Susie both frowned. “I
’ve got to make a call,” he said. “Bishop Alaric has some explaining to do.”
“You can’t invite them back here,” I yelled, losing all the control my mediation had brought me. “They’re probably the ones behind this. Don’t you find it a bit coincidental that these attacks started right before they allegedly came to town, whereas we’ve never even heard of werewolves before?”
Father Patrick put his hand on my shoulder. “I do. And they might very well be behind this, but they are also the only ones who might know how to save Curtis’ life.”
ELEVEN
The Suits of Woe
DEREK
Seems, madam? nay, it is, I know not "seems."
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forc'd breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within which passes show,
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
MY FAMILY HOME wasn’t quite as magnificent as the mansion we taught at, but it was pretty impressive for a single family home. I’d never fully appreciated the life my parents created for me until I’d met Rose and seen first hand what she’d had to live through.
After that, I’d sworn I’d never take my family for granted again, and it felt good knowing I could go to them for help without my stupid pride getting in the way. My dad had even respected my wishes and backed off of trying to get me to take over the family business. It was enough that Rose and I would lead the pack when the time came.
My sister Tammy ran down the stairs to greet me the moment I walked through the front door.
“Derek! What a pleasant surprise.” She hugged me, her blue eyes shining with joy.
“Hey, sis. How are you?” I didn’t really have time for small talk, but I also didn’t want to be a complete ass.
“Good. Nothing much has changed since you were here for family dinner last week.”
Rose and I came up once a week to be with the pack and have dinner with my family, and it was always a good time to reconnect and get caught up on each other’s lives. “Any word from Jasmine?”
Jasmine, Rose’s younger sister, hadn’t endured the betrayal and death of their coven leader mother as well as Rose had. Tammy’s smile disappeared. “She checks in once a week as promised, but she refuses to speak to Rose or come home. Dad got her into a good boarding school, which she reluctantly agreed to attend, probably because on her own she has no money or place to live if she refuses to come here.”
My family had offered her a home, as had Rose and I, but she was still too angry to be around any of us. I was glad she was at least safe, even if her silence hurt Rose.
“Hey, Tam, I’m not here on a social visit. I need to talk to Dad right away.”
Her frown deepened. “Are you okay? Is Rose okay?”
“Yes, we’re all fine, but we might have a situation on our hands.”
Many said my dad and I looked alike, save for the graying of his temples and a few more life lines around his eyes. David O’Conner, business mogul and one of the wealthiest men alive, sat behind his polished mahogany desk as I paced the library, my hand sliding over our family’s beloved collection of first edition classics. "Did you know about Lycans?" I asked him after filling him in on the happenings at the mansion where Rose and I taught.
“I’d heard stories of them, of course,” he said. “Everyone has. But I’d never seen any evidence of their existence.”
I released a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. I’d feared this was another secret my dad had kept from me, but I believed he didn’t know much more about them than me. “Do you know of any stories that link them with shifters? After all, we both turn into wolves.”
“True, but if Father Patrick is right, then Lycans serve the Church. We don’t. We never have.”
“How did our kind come to be?” I asked. You’d think this was something I would have inquired about long ago, but I’d spent most of my life running away from my destiny. I didn’t really want to know more about the history of the Druid Shifter.
“There are stories—myths—that some believe about our creation. The most popular is the one about a woman named Liana.”
Something tickled at the back of my memory. “That name is familiar.”
Dad nodded. “It’s a story we told you as a child, an old tale, more like a fairy tale than history. Once upon a time a woman named Liana fell in love with a man. But their love was forbidden, for he came from a great family and she was poor and reviled.
“Still, the man loved her just as much and gave up everything to be with her. They ran away together, but they were attacked by a wolf. A beast with red demon eyes, some say. The man died, and it crushed Liana’s heart, who was heavy with his child.
“She wept over his body, praying for a miracle to protect their child, and his blood and her tears mingled, and a rosebush grew in its place, with roses of all colors, glowing with the magic of another world.
“She ate the petals and the magic in them transformed her into a beast of the forest, a wolf. From then on, the wilderness became her domain, and she and their child, and all their lineage after, were safe.”
TWELVE
This Be Madness
ROSE
Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't.
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
RED GLOWING EYES come for me in the dark, attacking me, coming after those I love. My shifter power stirs in me, but I don’t turn into a wolf. I look down and see claws, but not the paws of a wolf. The claws of a bear. I fight the beast, tearing into him, but he’s unnatural, and strong. Too strong.
He grabs me with his human-like claws, his muscles rippling as he twists my neck.
Snapping it.
I woke, my heart pounding, disoriented as I looked around. I had fallen asleep on the couch while reading and waiting for Derek to come home.
I heard someone in the hallway and the fear from my dream took over again, but I forced it back down, calming myself as I took comfort in the familiar library where I’d fallen asleep.
Derek walked in, and I jumped up and ran to him. He pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “I just heard what happened,” he said. “Drake stopped me on the way in. Are you okay?”
I didn’t answer, instead finding his lips with mine, taking comfort in the strength of his arms wrapped around my body, his hand holding my head as our kiss deepened.
Someone cleared their throat behind him, and I pulled away and smiled at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. “Dean, Tammy, what are you two doing here?”
I left Derek’s embrace to hug them both. Seeing Dean so alive and healthy always cheered my heart, especially since I’d been responsible for sending his soul to a hell dimension and nearly killing him.
Dean smiled his boyish grin. “My brother came to beg for help. Looks like you have a werewolf on your hands, and we thought having a few shifters to help out might prove useful.”
My smile at seeing them faded. “Curtis was hurt badly. Dr. Susie says he’s not getting any better.”
I reached for Derek’s hand and led him to the infirmary. This hunt had just gotten personal.
THIRTEEN
This Above All
DEREK
This above all: to thine own self be true
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
I CLENCHED MY fist, released it and grabbed Rose's hand. She shook from unshed tears, smiling despite her pain as we watched Curtis waste away before our eyes. Sam, Drake and Father Patrick stood on the other side of his bed as Dr. Susie checked his vital signs and kept an IV going.
She
looked up, her soothing energy settling us as a tear slid down her face. "Curtis… "
He coughed up blood. "I'm dying, aren't I? It's okay, I can feel it."
His fiancé, who stood next to me, grabbed his hand. "No, you're going to make it. I won't let you go."
I tried to imagine what I'd be feeling if it were Rose in that bed, but that just made me see red. I'd already come too close to losing her. I knew what it felt like, and my heart broke for Paul and Curtis, for the pain they were in right now.
Everyone looked dejected, ready for the end, but there had to be a way to save him.
As if in answer to my thoughts, Serena entered the room followed by her white cat, Angel, who ignored me as she passed by.
Dr. Susie frowned at the young girl. "Serena, we talked about this. You can't attempt this level of healing."
A tear trickled down her cheek. "I have to. How could I live with myself if he dies and I do nothing to stop it?"
Paul looked torn, but finally backed away from his fiancé to give Serena room next to him. Her small hand disappeared in his much larger hand. "Curtis, I'm going to try healing you, okay?"
"You shouldn't," he said. "If Dr. Susie thinks it's a bad idea, then I don't want you to risk it."
More tears filled her eyes, spilling down her face. "We can't lose you. You're the heart of this place. You're my friend. So I'm going to try."
