The Fledglings' Mentor

by C L Amos

  Chapter 10 A Call to the People

  Sasha looked at Julia, “There must be something we can do?” We can’t just let people die and not say or do anything to try and stop it!”

  Julia nodded, “I agree, and that is why we are going to record our own video! We are going to agree to peacefully hand ourselves over to the High Council under the first rays of tomorrow’s full moon on the condition that they cease killing innocent wolves … that should give us enough time to prepare.”

  Janey shrugged, “Wait!? They will never agree to that!!”

  Julia touched her nose, “Exactly! And that is why we will use the next 34 hours to drum up support; we will turn the tide against them. Their blood lust will be their undoing.”

  Janey shrugged, “Do you expect us to just hand ourselves over and die as martyrs? How is that going to change anything?”

  Julia reached out and put her hand on Janey’s shoulder, “No, we are not going to die, we are going to give the world their savior… the fiveling will be born tomorrow night, signaling the start of a new era - one of spiritual awakening, with the ways of the old fused into the open-mindedness of the present.”

  Janey shook her head, “No one should have that power.” She stood up… “Your brother is still young and easily swayed… there is no guarantee that he won’t taste power and become drunk.”

  Julia nodded, “But that is not the vision I hold. He will remain humble and kind, he will still tend to the land and he will remain fair and kind to his people.”

  Janey smirked, “I wish I had your certainty.”

  Julia shrugged, “Nothing is ever certain! Each decision we make has long-reaching repercussions. I can only see possible outcomes and the path each of us has to take to achieve a certain outcome. If we stick to the path we are on, we have the best chance of success!”

  She called Vince over, “Would you mind recording the video?” She turned to the rest of the people in the room, “We need to sway the public over to our side! It’s time they got to hear our side of the story … it’s time for the Faction to settle the score and defend itself publicly.”

  Sasha rubbed her hands, “Good! This waiting around doing nothing was doing my head in.”

  Julia turned and pointed at Janey, “Okay you need to sit in the middle. Tell the audience a bit about your life and what forced you into starting the Faction. Sasha, you will go next; tell them how you were tortured as a child and now, on the day you were finally reunited with your mother after 24 years, how the High Council is now forcing you to give yourself up and return to face your certain death. We will then switch back to Aunty Janey, and you will swear on behalf of all of us that we will hand ourselves in under the first few rays of the full moon tomorrow night on the condition that they stop killing innocent wolflings.”

  Janey shrugged, “But what about you and your brother?”

  Julia smiled, “My brother and I will release our video at the same time tomorrow morning. We will plead for them to stop the killing, plead our case of innocence and hopefully sway the last few fence-sitters to our cause.”

  Chapter 11 Steadfast Resolve

  Marcelle stood, staring at the smoke rising from the Blackberg Mountains. Every farm belonging to a wolf had been set ablaze, the cattle slaughtered, and the crops destroyed. Even if some of the wolves in the area had managed to survive, they would have nothing left and be forced into servitude.

  Marcelle’s phone beeped, breaking her daydream. It was a message from Bernard containing a link to a YouTube video. Marcelle clicked on it and made her way to the couch. She watched the heartfelt plea from Sasha and Janey, and if she’d had a normal heart it may have even felt a twinge of compassion. However, her heart had been dead a long time and these two had proven to be more of a bloody nuisance than they were worth. She fantasized about the happy family reunion she had planned for them and Bernard… the final strike that would sever her connection from Bernard and pave the way for her sole regency of the High Council. She texted Bernard back, Glad to see you are enjoying the show! Perhaps we should start charging admission…we could make a killing!! Laughing face emoji.

  Marcelle laughed at her clever play on words, swiped down to Damien’s name and forwarded the link. We have them where we want them … come to my office so we can discuss the plan going forward and bring the good Dr. Dylan with you. I want to make sure he hasn’t had a change of heart.

  Marcelle watched the clip again while she waited and couldn’t help but smile; everything was falling into place just as the Great Sharmana had foretold. She would be the most powerful woman, with her reign lasting a thousand years and her legacy the next 10,000 after that. They were on the dawn of a new epoch and she would emerge victorious.

  Dylan and Damien entered the office, Marcelle laughed and walked up to Dylan. She took his face and examined his broken nose and two black eyes, “She really did a number on you!” She squeezed his still tender and bruised face in her hand and watched him wince in pain, “Can you imagine what I would do to you if I found out that you had chosen the Faction over us?”

  Damien interjected, “Once a liar, always a liar… I think we should cut him up and feed him to the traitorous wolves from Silver Moon.”

  Dylan raised his hands in protest, “It was a lapse in judgment! My curious mind got the better of me … but I swear I got it out of my system. I only serve you.”

  Marcelle walked off and stood with her back to him, “I am sure you can understand why a woman in my position would need a little surety. I mean, your messages clearly indicated a deep empathy towards the wolves we have here…” She reached down and pressed the button on the remote and an image of his family locked up in a small cage was being broadcast live from an undisclosed location, while smoke hung thick in the air. She turned to face Dylan and smiled, “I know we can trust your loyalty and discretion going forward.”

  Dylan nodded, “Yes, I will do whatever you want.”

  Marcelle smiled, “I need you to take charge of the main lab. Your first duty will be to clear the cells and prepare them for our new guests’ arrival tomorrow night! They must be able to withstand the power surge of the fiveling.” She raised her finger to her lip and tapped, “Oh, and I need you to come up with a failsafe… something that will render them unconscious at the push of a button. We can’t take anything for granted this time. Expect the impossible to become possible at any time and put plans in place to prevent it. I don’t want a repeat!”

  Dylan smiled and rubbed his hands together feverishly, “I have the perfect thing in mind… Trust me; they won’t know what hit them.”

  Marcelle waved him off… “Well, go get to it … I want a full briefing with security later this evening!”

  Dylan left hurriedly and Marcelle turned to Damien, “I want surveillance kept on him at all times… once bitten, twice shy.”

  Damien nodded and radioed the order down.

  Marcelle walked over to the couch, sat down and looked at the time “Don’t you have to be somewhere soon?”

  Damien smiled, “Yeah, the chopper will collect me at ten to…”

  Marcelle smiled, “And you have prepared your speech?”

  Damien sat forward and cleared his throat, “Do not be fooled into believing the lies of the Faction. We gave a clear and simple directive and we will not back down to their demands and allow ourselves to be dictated to by a group of terrorists. We are steadfast in our resolve! Hand yourselves in now and end the bloodshed!”

  Marcelle rubbed her hands together, “That’s really good!” She stood up and walked him to the door, “I would suggest you prerecord the next few, I want you here overseeing the final preparations. I don’t want any surprises.”

  Damien nodded, “I will be back in an hour. I have requested a meeting with my unit commanders. They are busy studying the blueprints for this building and those in the vicinity… we are leaving nothing to chance. We have also discovered the location of the Faction; I have 5 teams ready to strike a
t a moment’s notice.”

  Marcelle smiled, “Good work, let’s keep that option open!” Just then, Marcelle dashed back to Jim’s desk, “Oh wait… I meant to give this to you earlier.”

  Damien took Jim’s knife from Marcelle and smiled, knowingly, “I will wield it with honor.”

  Chapter 12 The Fruits of Hathor’s Labor

  Julia ran into the lounge, panicking, “Sasha we need to find Tom now!”

  Sasha looked confused, “Why the sudden rush? I thought you wanted him to go out?”

  Julia grabbed her arm, “I was tricked by an evil presence who clouded my vision with a red haze.”

  Sasha shrugged, “Like a red smoke?”

  Julia insisted, “Call it whatever you want; if we don’t get to him, he will be lost forever.”

  Sasha ran off with her and began searching the grounds, calling Tom’s name.

  Sasha turned to Julia, “What is it? What is the red smoke thing?”

  Julia shook her head, “I don’t know… but what I do know is that it hasn’t been sent by the Mother Goddess.”

  Sasha called out again, “Tom… Tom! Where are you, Tom?”

  Julia stopped in her tracks, “The old tree…” She grabbed Sasha’s shirt, “Quick - this way. I think I know where he went… my Mother took us there when we were still young. It’s through the vineyard.”

  As they arrived at the entrance of the vineyard they were greeted by an orgy of red snakes, lining every pathway leading to the oak tree. Julia didn’t skip a beat, shifted into her Harris hawk form and tried to make a beeline for the oak tree. Sasha followed suit and shifted into her raven. Sasha noticed a shadow just above Julia and screeched out, warning her just in time. Julia banked left and the falcon clipped its wings against the tips of the vines but corrected itself and started chasing her down, gaining a length with each downward thrust of its wings. Sasha tried to shout out again but this time she noticed a shadow descending on her; she copied Julia and banked left, but instead of carrying on straight she flew straight up. The falcon was catching up to Julia and was now less than three lengths away. Sasha pulled her wings up and dove down. She hit the falcon’s back as it grabbed Julia’s tail, the collision summersaulting the three into the sea of snakes.

  Sasha shifted into her Cobra as they hit the ground. Her impressive size and height intimidated the much smaller red snakes as she rose up and looked around, carefully surveying the smaller snakes. Her tongue flicked, tasting the air…she saw the falcon taking flight in the corner of her eye and struck, delivering her venom in a fatal blow. As the falcon fell, it exploded into a cloud of red dust. The fallout vaporized everything in every direction like an atomic bomb, leaving only red dust and burnt stalks in its path.

  Tom was awoken by the commotion, his head thick as if he had drunk all night. He looked up and saw the woman smiling down at him, “I will return for you, my Prince.” She disappeared into the cloud of red dust.

  Sasha shifted back into human form and helped Julia to her feet and ran towards the hollow shell of the mighty oak tree that once stood so strong. Tom lay there, covered in a layer of dust; he choked to clear his lungs. He heard Sasha and Julia calling him and as he sat up, he looked at the dead oak tree and barren fields which only moments before had brimmed with plump, luscious grapes begging to be harvested. “What the hell happened here?”

  Sasha reached him first and knelt down. She wiped the dust off his face and kissed him, “You’re alive!! Thank god you are alive.”

  Julia wrapped her arms around the two, “I am so sorry, Tom, I hate it when we fight.”

  Tom looked around, visibly upset, “What happened? Where did the woman go?”

  Julia stood up, “I’m not really sure. Sasha killed the falcon and everything kinda went poof.”

  Tom placed his hands on Sasha’s shoulders and shook her, “Why did you kill her?”

  Sasha shrugged, “Tom, you are acting crazy. Let’s get you back to the house.”

  Tom let go and jumped up, pushing his face into Julia’s personal space as he stared into her eyes, “Was she right?” He shook his head, “The two of you have been lying to me and manipulating me? Tell me the truth for once, Julia…am I just the scapegoat? The red herring?”

  Julia shrugged, “Tom, I… I… don’t know what to tell you, but this woman has tried to sow doubt in your mind and divide us.”

  Tom shouted, “The mother of my child would never lie to me…” He pointed deliriously at Julia and Sasha… “You two, on the other hand, have done nothing but lie to me…”

  Just then Vince came up behind him and hit him with the butt of his gun, “Hathor has poisoned him with her mandrake-infused grapes. We need to get him back to the house and give him some charcoal; it should counteract the effects of the poison.”

  Chapter 13 The Capture

  Vince closed the bedroom door and spoke quietly to Julia and Sasha, “He needs to rest for a while.”

  Sasha’s voice rose with concern, “Is he going to be okay? You said he was poisoned… what is going on, Vince?”

  Vince raised his arms, “Your mom and Pete are waiting in the study; they have the same questions.”

  As soon as they entered the room, Pete shot to his feet, “Are you okay? What the hell happened out there?”

  Vince raised his arms again and motioned for everyone to be seated.

  There is only one power, or should I say deity, powerful enough to have created this havoc, and that is Hathor the Sekhmet. If our enemies have invoked her like I suspect, then we are all going to have to be on our guards. This is no longer a simple dispute between changelings … there are powers at work that threaten to destroy the very fabric of existence.” He leant in close, “Listen to me carefully. The only way to stop Hathor is to kill the one who invoked her…”

  There was the faint sound of whistling as the window shattered. Vince was mid-sentence when the bullet hit him square in the head, silencing him forever and dropping his enormous frame to the ground.

  Pete grabbed Janey and threw her to the ground, “Everyone get down!” The whistling reached a fever pitch as splintering glass and wood from window frames were flung forward by the wave of bullets. Sasha covered her head and tried to look around… her mom and Pete had taken cover behind the large desk. Pete motioned for her and Julia to find better cover as the fine glass sprayed over them like dust. He shouted, “Get to the basement!”

  Sasha crawled through the debris, splinters cutting into her hand as the barrage continued. She put her arm over Julia, “We have to try to get out of here! Do you know where the basement is?”

  Julia nodded and they started crawling towards the door, when suddenly the shooting stopped. Sasha looked back and as she did, she heard three distinctive thuds behind her, followed by a bright flash and an ear-piercing explosion not once but three times, filling the room with a fusion of toxic gasses and smoke. Julia was only a few feet in front of her, but the smoke obscured her vision. Sasha sat up and tried to feel her way towards the door when suddenly she saw a boot rising quickly to her face. Sasha grabbed it and twisted it, throwing the soldier off balance. She pounced on him in the confusion and wrestled the gun away from him. She took aim at the second soldier coming through the door and fired, killing him instantly. She tried to turn and make sense of the room; her eyes were teared up, her lungs burning and her ears buzzing. She tried to focus on a shape moving around in the smoke, and she called out, “Julia? Julia… is that you?” Suddenly something smacked into the back of her neck. She reached up and felt the feather tip as her body collapsed forward.

  The soldiers flooded the house and secured the property. The young security guard watched the monitors with the unit commander, his heart heavy with guilt. When Vince rushed out of his office to investigate the commotion in the vineyard, he had taken the opportunity to switch off the perimeter defenses and sensors, making the soldiers’ approach undetectable to those distracted by the events in the house. He dug his nails into his hands a
nd took a deep breath as he tried to remind himself that his actions had saved the lives of hundreds of innocent wolves and would bring an end to the unnecessary bloodshed. He looked down at his watch; it was nearly 6pm, “Hey, you have them… call it in… no more wolves have to die today!”

  The unit commander slid off the desk and laughed. He broadcast his phone to the screen, “This is the 6pm message…” he skipped forward… “the 7pm” … he skipped forward… “the 8pm” he smiled… “Would you like me to continue?”

  The youngster was flustered. “You lied… you lied to me!” He tried to move for the door, but the commander side-stepped him, caught him around the throat and started to squeeze. “How does it feel, Judas? Your mentor lies dead on the floor and the people you were charged with protecting have been captured. You have no loyalty and will die the lonely death of a traitor…you worthless fucking dog.”

  The young man tried to fight. He hit down on the commander’s arms, but they were like beams of steel. The air slowly escaped through his collapsing windpipe, his face flushed red and foam frothed from his mouth as he slowly succumbed to the pressure. The commander’s eyes flashed red as Hathor the Sekhmet prepared to receive her prize. He drew his knife with his free hand and twisted it up into the youngster’s solar plexus. The young man wriggled like a worm on a hook for only a moment before his muscles spasmed for the last time and he fell, lifeless, to the floor. The unit commander laughed as he stepped over the body to exit the room, “The High Council thanks you for your assistance!”

  He walked out as the large Sikorsky S-61 helicopter landed in the red dust where the vineyard once stood. He pulled the medic over, “Are you sure the tranquilizers will last the 3-hour flight?”