by N M Thorn
“Hello, sir, how can I help you?” he asked. His eyes were round with fear, his skinny shoulders squared.
“Are you home alone?” asked Aidan, knowing perfectly well that he wasn’t. “Can I talk to your parents?”
The boy shuffled from foot to foot, but shook his head no. “I’m home alone, sir, and I can’t talk to strangers. Would you like to come back in an hour?”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll wait for them here,” said Aidan, mustering a friendly smile. He pulled a chair and sat down.
The boy got agitated. His eyes grew bigger and rounder than they were before, and his face lost all its color. “No, sir, please,” he mumbled. “You’re better off coming back in a while.”
Aidan folded his arms over his chest and jerked his chin in the direction of the closed door. “You can tell your siblings to come out. I’m not going to bite.” No pun intended…
“But we are.” He heard a voice behind him, and the cold barrel of a gun pressed into the back of his head. The door opened and two girls and a boy, all in their teens, walked into the room, staring at him with interest. Aidan started to turn around but heard the click of a cocked weapon and stilled.
“Yeah, you better don’t move, old man,” said the original boy. Surrounded by his family he felt braver and stronger.
Aidan sighed, observing four teens in front of him. By the sound of the voice, the person who was holding the gun to his head was also a young man, possibly a teenager.
“I mean no harm,” said Aidan peacefully, raising both hands in the air. “I just wanted to talk to someone — um — older.”
“Put your hands down and behind your back,” ordered the man with the gun.
Aidan decided not to argue and comply. He knew that he could easily break any mundane restraints and preferred not to take the chance of getting shot in the back of his head. He wouldn’t die, but the pain would be unimaginable, and the self-healing process would take time. Also, he didn’t want to fight with these kids. He would much rather talk to the adult members of the pack to see what really was going on here. He put his hands behind his back and heard the metallic click of handcuffs.
“Drew, come here,” ordered the man with the gun. “Cuff him.”
The older boy went around the chair. Aidan grunted as metal bit into the skin of his wrists.
“Take the duct tape on the table, right there,” ordered the man with the gun again. Aidan heard Drew shuffling something on the table. “His ankles to the chair.”
As soon as Drew was done restraining him, the man with the gun came forward, now pressing the barrel of the gun against Aidan’s forehead. As he suspected, he was the oldest among the five. The young man was in his late teens or early twenties. He had a mop of straw-like blond hair and brown eyes, blazing with fury.
“Okay, asshole, now you’re going to tell me why you are here,” he drawled, pressing the gun harder.
Aidan met his stare calmly. “I already told you. I wanted to talk with your parents or someone older. Just a peaceful conversation without any violence. You should try it sometimes. Quite satisfying.”
“Don’t get smart with me, jackass,” yelled the young man and raised his hand with the gun, ready to strike him.
Aidan turned his head to the side, bracing himself for the impact, but it didn’t come. He heard voices outside and the door opened again. Since he was sitting with his back toward the entrance, he couldn’t see what was going on there. With his second sight he detected at least ten people, all werewolves. And one of them was a purebred, no doubt he was the Alpha.
If these young lycanthropes still didn’t detect his magic, he was positive that the purebred could feel his presence as soon as he crossed the threshold of the house. Possibly even earlier.
“What’s going on here, Chris?”
The voice was deep, with an added growl and without a doubt it belonged to an older man. The man walked around the chair and halted before Aidan, studying him with the golden-yellow eyes of a predator. His skin was dark from working for hours in the open sun and a few old scars marred the left side of his face, running from his cheekbone down to his neck. He was tall and brawny, massive muscles wrapped around his arms and chest.
Unlike the rest of the pack, this man was a purebred, and the cold wasn’t affecting him as much. The body temperature of purebred werewolves was slightly above that of humans and turned lycanthropes. Even in this chilly weather he wore just his cargo pants and a buttoned shirt with rolled-up sleeves. His magical energy washed over Aidan, and he drew in a sharp breath. There were no doubts—this man was the Alpha.
“This asshole was trespassing on our property, sir. I saw him jumping over the fence on the south side. So, I thought I’d give him a nice meet and greet and find out who sent him here,” explained Chris proudly, returning his gun back to Aidan’s forehead. “And if he is working for Simon—”
“Silence!” hissed Alpha. “And kindly stop pointing your weapon at an ancient god! You can’t kill him or scare him with this useless toy. But he can smite us all in a heartbeat. He doesn’t even need to move his hands.”
Chris gasped, backing away from Aidan. The Alpha kneeled, bowing his head, pressing his fist to his chest. “My lord, please forgive my children’s ignorance. They are still too young to recognize who you are and treat you with the proper respect.”
Aidan smiled. “Recludius,” he muttered, and the handcuffs dropped on the floor with a loud jingle. Then he bent forward and ripped the tape off his ankles. The younger werewolves huddled closer together, gaping at Aidan with fear and curiosity in their widened eyes.
“Please, no need to kneel,” said Aidan, touching the Alpha’s shoulder. “I’m here because I wanted to talk to the Alpha of this pack. Since you’re the only purebred here, I assume, it’s you.”
“Yes, my lord,” replied the Alpha rising, “I’m the Alpha, the master of this pack. What can I do for you?”
“Can we talk somewhere a little more private?” asked Aidan, also getting up, massaging his wrists.
The older members of the pack shifted closer to their pack master at Aidan’s request, but the Alpha raised his hand warningly and they stopped.
“Please give us the room,” ordered the Alpha. “And no eavesdropping. I mean it.” He narrowed his eyes at the teenage girls. They giggled and ran out of the house. The rest of the pack followed them. The Alpha closed all the doors and pointed at the kitchen. “Can I get you anything, my lord? Eat or drink?”
“The name is Aidan. You don’t have to call me ‘my lord’ or bow to me. And thank you for your kind offer. A glass of water would be great,” he said.
His stomach clenched at the mention of food. The last time he ate was when the young guard brought him some food at the Guardians Headquarters. He followed the Alpha into the kitchen and sat down next to the table. The Alpha set a coffeemaker and turned to Aidan.
“Thank you, Aidan. I’m Hawk,” he said, offering his hand to Aidan with a light smile that lit up his face, hardened by time. “It still early enough. I don’t think you would say no to a cup of coffee.”
Aidan squeezed his hand in a handshake, feeling Hawk’s firm grip that was a little stronger than a human handshake would be. “I can never say no to coffee. Thank you.”
A few minutes later, the Alpha placed two cups with hot coffee on the table and sat down across from Aidan.
“So, what can a modest werewolf do for a god?” he asked calmly, taking a sip of his coffee.
Aidan sighed. He didn’t like the flow of events. Everything he saw so far told him that the mage gave him wrong information. Yes, all these people were werewolves, but they didn’t come across as vicious killers.
“You can tell me about yourself and the members of your pack,” said Aidan, having a hard time meeting the old Alpha’s penetrating eyes. “I’ll be honest with you, Hawk. I was sent here to kill you all.”
The Alpha stiffened, his fingers wrapping tighter around his cup. “Then why didn
’t you? I can sense your power, Aidan. You could have wiped us all out of existence without breaking a sweat. What stopped you?”
“I don’t kill just because someone ordered me to do so. I need to know that what I’ve been told is true before I comply with the order,” replied Aidan. “I was told that your pack is killing humans or turning them into werewolves to build up the pack. However, when I came here and observed your property, I started to doubt the information that was given to me.”
“You’re a god, not a human hunter,” objected Hawk, frowning. “Who can order a god?”
“The people who have the power to control me,” replied Aidan through clenched teeth. “Not for much longer though.”
“Oh boy,” mumbled Hawk. He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “I know what you are, Aidan. You’re a god of some underworld realm. I’m old and experienced enough to sense your origin.”
“Otherworld,” corrected Aidan.
“Yes, you’re a god of the Celtic Otherworld. It means you have the power to hear my soul. Even though I’m a purebred, I still have a soul. Listen to it. You’ve been fed lies. Neither I nor the members of my pack are cold-blooded killers. The reason we live so far in the desert is to protect humans from harm. I’m the only purebred in this pack and I devoted my life to finding newly turned people and teaching them how to live more or less normal lives, how to deal with the wolf within and control him. I swear it!”
He slammed his hand on the table. There wasn’t any anger in Hawk’s words, but there was so much pain and desperation that Aidan cringed.
“If I do it, it’s not going to be… pleasant,” muttered Aidan, putting his cup on the table.
“I don’t care,” replied Hawk with a sigh. “Do it. I have nothing to hide. And if you find that I speak false words, you can kill me and my whole pack. No one will try to fight you.”
Aidan got up, channeling his power. His eyes lit up with white light and his body got surrounded by the brilliant glow of his power.
“Sorry, Hawk,” he muttered, placing his hand on the Alpha’s chest. Hawk tensed and grunted as Aidan started to scan his soul, but fearlessly met his eyes. The soul of a purebred werewolf didn’t feel the same as a human soul. It was a lot harder to read. The images were scrambled and out of focus in places, but Aidan still was getting a clear enough reading to know that Hawk didn’t lie to him. It meant that Ms. Bonneville did. The question remained—why did she lie to him?
Slowly, he removed his hand and let go of his power. Hawk exhaled and collapsed on his chair, breathing hard.
“Whoa… When you said that it wasn’t going to be pleasant, you really didn’t give it justice.” He chuckled, wiping perspiration off his forehead. “I felt like you were turning me inside out.”
“In a way, I was,” said Aidan. “I’m sorry I had to do it to you.”
“Better this than all of us dead,” replied the Alpha with a shrug. “I owe you, god of the Otherworld. If you ever need a loyal pack, all you need to do is call me.”
“Thank you,” said Aidan, meaning it. “I’ll be leaving now. But Hawk, you can’t relax. I don’t know why, but the Guardians want you and your pack dead. I didn’t do the job—they’ll send someone else in my stead. Someone who’s not going to care if you’re good or bad. They will just fulfill their duty.”
“I understand, but if it is Guardians who want us dead, there is nowhere to run.” Hawk dropped his head, his hands balled into fists so tight that the slithering veins popped under his suntanned skin.
“You’re right, there is nowhere to run. But it doesn’t mean that you need to roll over and die,” said Aidan. Then he motioned at the door. “Would you accompany me for a short walk around your property, Hawk?”
Hawk’s bushy eyebrows climbed up under his high hairline that was characteristic to purebred lycanthropes, but he nodded and followed Aidan outside. Once out of the house, Aidan put his hand on Hawk’s shoulder and teleported to the outside fence of his property.
He sent some of his magic toward his hand and drew a glowing white rune on the pole of the main gate, whispering a spell in Dragon tongue. They teleported around the perimeter of the property as Aidan was placing the same rune every few hundred yards. After they made a full circle and returned to the main gate, he drew the last rune and a shimmering dome of light encapsulated the property. The dome glowed for a few seconds and dissipated.
“Hawk, I don’t think there is anything else I can do for you and your family,” said Aidan. “I placed powerful wards and protection spells around your land. You all should be safe inside the protective circle. It doesn’t mean that the Guardian mages won’t be able to break my enchantment, but at least it’ll slow them down and give you a head start.”
“My lord,” said the Alpha, kneeling in front of him, pressing his fist to his chest, “I’m forever indebted to you for everything you’ve done for me and my pack.”
“Don’t kneel, Hawk. It doesn’t suit you. Take care of your family,” replied Aidan with a sad smile and vanished from the ranch.
Chapter 29
~ Aidan ~
Aidan was restless all night. He couldn’t relax in the confided space of the airplane’s coach seating or when he was sitting at the San Francisco airport, waiting for his next flight. In his mind he kept revisiting everything that happened from the moment Ms. Bonneville summoned him, trying to find any fact that would point toward her innocence or guilt.
When he left Hawk’s property, the anger was boiling in him and his first desire was to teleport straight back home. However, he thought of Tessa and what would happen to her if he broke his oath and his anger simmered down. By not killing Hawk and his pack, he already broke the Guardians’ orders and disobeyed their rules. He decided that for Tessa’s sake he shouldn’t aggravate the situation any further.
Using his power of a god to teleport back to Chicago or leave completely and go back home would certainly make it worse. Besides that, he wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to Ms. Bonneville and see if she was misinformed herself.
When he walked out of the airport, ready to order an Uber, he found the same young guard waiting for him next to the gate. A shy smile lit up his face as he waved at Aidan.
“Mr. McGrath, welcome back,” he said as soon as Aidan approached him. “Ms. Bonneville asked me to drive you straight to the HQ. She’s expecting you, sir.”
“Is there a problem?” asked Aidan carefully as they walked through O’Hare airport in the direction of the parking garage.
“Not that I know of, sir,” replied the guard. “But I’m just a guard and pretty new to all this, so I wouldn’t know.”
Aidan nodded, thinking that he was going straight into the lion’s den, armed with no information whatsoever. He sat down on the front seat, even though the guard opened the back door for him. They drove in silence, Aidan focusing on controlling his emotions and taming the fury that was burning within him. When they finally parked in front of the Guardians’ HQ, the only thing Aidan felt was exhaustion.
The guard led him toward the Assembly Hall and opened the door for him. Aidan walked inside and halted, surprised to see the Guardians Council in full assembly. Ms. Bonneville was sitting at the center of the main table, reviewing some documents. As soon as she saw Aidan walking in, she got up.
“I apologize,” she addressed the Guardians Council, “but I need to talk with Mr. McGrath and it’s urgent. This meeting is adjourned. Kindly give me and Mr. McGrath the room.”
Aidan stood still next to the door, watching the Guardians walking by him, leaving the Assembly Hall. As he heard the sound of the door shut behind his back, leaving him alone with the Head Mage, for a split-second he felt helpless and vulnerable, and the anger that he was trying so hard to suppress all this time, broke through. He took a deep breath, clenching his jaw.
Ms. Bonneville stopped in front of him, looking up, and put her hands on her hips. “So, Mr. McGrath, how was your trip?” she demanded. “I need a full
report. Did you clean up the area?”
“There was nothing to clean up,” said Aidan calmly. “I met with the pack and I believe you were misinformed, Ms.—”
“You didn’t kill them?” hissed the Head Mage, taking a step closer to him.
“No, I didn’t,” replied Aidan. “Like I was trying to tell you, you were misinformed. The pack is not vicious and dangerous. They are trying to live their lives away from humans, and they didn’t harm anyone in the area. There was only one purebred among them. He is the Alpha, and he’s a decent man.”
Ms. Bonneville threw her hands in the air, fury coloring her face in a deep shade of magenta. “Did I send you there to make an assessment? No, I did not!” she hissed, slowly and deliberately spitting one word at the time. “I don’t give a damn about your opinion. You disobeyed my direct order!”
She snapped her fingers and an all-consuming pain erupted in Aidan’s head. The chain lit up, burning his skin. Aidan grunted and swayed, wrapping his arms around his head. As the pain intensified, he dropped to his knees and bent forward, now his forehead touching the cold tiles of the floor. The Head Mage leaned forward and pulled on his hair, lifting his head up.
“When are you going to learn, Aidan? You can’t fight me. For as long as your oath stands, you must obey my orders! You have no choice! I must teach you a good lesson that you’ll remember for the remaining time of your service to the Guardians.” She let go of him and clapped two times. “Guards!”
Two guards rushed inside the room and stopped on either side of him, waiting for Ms. Bonneville’s order.
“Guards,” continued the Head Mage, pointing at Aidan, “take him to the confinement chambers. Use the special one—the one which was built to contain the power of any god. I will deal with him in a few hours. Make sure he doesn’t enjoy his stay.”
As Aidan heard her words, a fury like he never experienced before took hold of him. His power responded to his emotion and the floor trembled. Fighting the effects of her spell and the blinding pain in his head, he got up to his feet and let his full power of the god of the Otherworld consume him. Blinding white light filled the room as he assumed his true form. The guards gasped, shielding their eyes and backed away.
