by H B Lyne
She stood up and headed for the door, Weaver followed her.
'Be careful out there. I'll relieve you in a few hours.'
'Okay, thanks.' Stalker gave Weaver a hug, then shifted into the form of a grey cat. Weaver opened the door for her and Stalker jogged out into the street.
All was quiet on their eastern border, but the stench of The Witches had never been stronger. Stalker briefly considered marking their side, but now was not the time, an attack could be lurking at any point on the boundary. She patrolled back and forth for several hours, with really nothing to do but run over the events of the attack in her mind. There had been male shifters mixed in with the female ones and she knew that the Witches were all female. So they had had help. The cowards had enlisted the Phoenix Guard to attack the Blue Moon and now they had help with this attack. The Furies were clearly more inclined to cooperate than Caerton's shifters.
She thought of Rhys and felt a stab of anger and suspicion. Could he have been a part of the attack? She paced in one spot for a few minutes, fuming over the thought, before heading a few blocks away from the boundary and shifting back into her human form in the cover of a blind alley. She took out her phone and cradled it in her hands, staring at it for several minutes, trying to decide whether to make contact with him or not.
She took some deep breaths and tried to rein in her anger. It would do no good to be too confrontational. With a little thought and a few changes as she typed, she was finally happy that her message conveyed the important information without being accusatory. She knew it was important not to put anything too explicit in a message, just in case it was intercepted, so made it suitably vague.
We had an incident with an old adversary yesterday. It was bad. Pretty shaken up by it, esp my top bro. His family are pretty torn apart. Really trying hard not to leap to assumptions, thought you ought to know.
Stalker walked back to the main road and wandered slowly towards home, hoping to run into Weaver. Her phone buzzed with an incoming message and she opened it quickly.
So, so sorry to hear that. I understand your feelings. Please believe that I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I've had nothing to do with any of them for years. Are you ok? Were you hurt? What are you going to do about it? Do you want to meet up and talk this over in person? Sorry for all the questions :/
She just managed to form a smile. She was glad to have contacted him, though she had no idea if she could believe him or not.
'Hi.' Weaver's voice was suddenly right in front of her and Stalker nearly walked right into her. She looked up from her phone in alarm. 'Sorry.' Weaver chuckled and Stalker let out a relieved sigh.
'Thank goodness it was you that caught me off guard, and not one of them.'
'You all right? What has you so distracted?'
'Nothing. Don't worry about it. Everything's quiet here but be careful,' Stalker said, changing the subject.
'I will. You make sure you rest.'
Stalker nodded and set off back towards Grove Street. She had no intention of resting yet. She sent Rhys another message.
Can I meet you now? Are you at home?
The reply came immediately.
Yes of course. See you soon.
Stalker found a private place to shift into a cat again and sprinted across the city to his house, leaping over fences and running along rooftops, keeping off the ground as much as possible in order to avoid the humans and keep her scent a little out of reach in case there were any enemies prowling in unclaimed places.
She arrived on Rhys's doorstep in her human form, still unsure what she was doing. She just knew she needed to look into his eyes and see him deny any involvement in the attack.
'Hi,' he greeted her, his face serious. 'Come in.'
She went inside cautiously, but everything was still and normal. The curtains were open, daylight filled the room. On this side of the veil there really was no sign of the mystery that surrounded Rhys. 'Are you all right?' he asked, tentatively reaching for her. She twisted away from his hand and kept looking around, nervous in his presence.
'No, I'm not,' she snapped back. 'My Alpha's family was attacked. His human family, Rhys. They killed his dad and went after his wife and child.'
Rhys leaned against the back of the sofa and watched her as she prowled around his living room. She kept one eye on him at all times but she felt the anger and sadness just under her skin, barely contained and she knew she might explode at any moment. She wanted to be in a safe place to release those feelings and she was filled with frustration at not knowing if this was a safe place or not.
'Were any of your pack hurt?'
'No, not seriously. They broke into our house too!' Her voice was raised and she stood still suddenly, took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. 'They broke in and tore the place apart, stole things, important things. They wrote “Luna's Bitches” on the walls. Why would they do that?'
'They follow Nyx, not Artemis. It's one of the bones of contention between them and the others. They believe they were here first, their mother is older, pre-Olympian. But I don't know why they would write Luna and not Artemis, that is a bit odd. It's more catchy, I guess.'
Stalker stared at him for a moment, he was providing an insight, he was betraying his upbringing by telling her about what the Furies believed. Was he trying to earn her trust? He didn't seem to be wrestling with anything, the truth just flowed easily from him.
'What about you? What do you believe?' she asked, hoping to see beneath his cool exterior.
'I don't believe in any gods or goddesses. It's all just different lifeforms, really, we're all equal with any other shifter or demon or fae. What do you believe?'
Stalker was caught off guard, she opened her mouth to speak but had no idea what to say. She had accepted everything the Blue Moon told her about what they were, who created them and had no reason before now to consider that there might be other ideologies that could have merit.
'Before I changed I was an atheist,' she said slowly, forming her thoughts carefully. 'All of this kind of blew my mind. I just believed what I saw and was told, I guess. I've met an elemental that is probably Thor in Norse myth. I can see why humans who may have glimpsed our world would think they were gods. I think we are chosen, aren't we? Something is making us different.' She wasn't about to betray her own deep secret, about being different from other shifters, but that was all she could think about. Something made her different, she had to believe it was for a reason. Artemis gave them all their own form, except her, she gave her the power to be any animal. She thought of the Alpha of the Witches up on the roof of Eyes' house, changing into a murder of crows and it suddenly dawned on her that there might be more differences between them than their religion. 'If the Furies don't believe they are chosen by Artemis, what forms do they have?'
'What do you mean?' Rhys cocked his head, his expression puzzled.
'Well, all the shifters I've met have a form based on which phase of the moon they change under. Nyx is a goddess of night but not the moon. Is it different for your kind? Are you fundamentally different from Caerton's shifters?'
'At first we just have the Agrius,' Rhys said, shifting his weight uncomfortably. 'The idea is that after we change for the first time we are taught how to control it and then Nyx grants us another form that suits our personality.'
'What happened to you?' She stepped closer to him, curious and slightly sad for him, knowing that he had fled from his dying family when he first changed.
'I think I still just have the Agrius. I endeavoured to never change again after that first time, but early on it was hard, I couldn't control it. I haven't shifted in years.' His eyes flickered up to meet hers, they were so sad, but gave away nothing from beneath the surface, he was working hard to keep his feelings locked up.
'I'm sorry,' she said softly and she meant it. She loved what she could do with her body, she loved running through the night as an animal, she loved the power of the beast, although she was cautious
of it too. She never wanted to lose touch with her humanity, but she wouldn't trade what she was now for her mundane existence beforehand. Despite the bloodshed. If what he said was true, though, it might mean that she was chosen by someone other than Artemis.
'It's okay,' he replied. 'I'm trying to live a human life and keep all of that behind me. That's why I backed off when you changed. I was scared of being pulled in, of being tempted to shift and I was scared of what might happen to you now. That life is dangerous, shifters live short, brutal lives and I didn't want to fall in love with you only to lose you.'
There was a crack in his voice and it touched Stalker, hot tears stung her eyes and her lip trembled. She took a step towards him, torn between wanting to fall into his arms and run for the hills away from his potentially manipulative ways. His eyes latched onto hers and she looked deep into them, they were open to her now, he was willing her to see into his soul and believe him, to trust him. She searched his soul as she stepped closer and took his hand. The physical connection intensified her ability and she could almost feel herself stepping inside him and running through the darkness as flashes of memories flew past her. He was so afraid, that was his fundamental truth. He had been telling her the truth about that much at least.
He reached for her face and caressed it gently, bringing her back to reality. She tilted her face into his touch and closed her eyes as the tears she had been holding back spilled down her cheeks.
'I saw,' she whispered. 'I saw inside your heart.'
'I know,' he whispered back. He drew her slowly into his arms and she felt herself mould against his body, her head nestled into the crook of his neck. He breathed deeply and stroked her still-blue hair and she felt a shiver run through her. Suddenly his hands stopped and his head pulled back from her.
'What is it?' she asked, tilting her head to look at him. His jaw was set, his eyes cold and still. 'What's wrong?' She pulled away and he let his hands drop to his sides.
'I guess I really fucked this up, didn't I?' His voice was hard.
'A little bit,' she replied, cautiously stepping back.
'There's someone else now, right? I can smell him on you.'
Stalker groaned as she thought of First Strike. She rubbed her forehead and nodded slowly.
'Yeah, kind of. But look, my pack was attacked yesterday and I only thought of him just now. It was you that I wanted to run to.' She tried to catch his gaze, after a moment their eyes met and he softened slightly. 'It was a long, lonely winter and I sought out company. It can be over in a heartbeat if that's what I decide. I need time to figure all of this out though, Rhys. I don't know what's going on here.'
'I know, I'm sorry.' He nodded. 'I'll be here for you though, whatever. I don't think I can live without you in my life.'
Stalker's breath caught in her throat. She wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath.
'I think I know how you feel. Just give me some space to work this all out in my head. Okay?'
'Sure,' he said, his jaw set and his face strained.
Stalker turned and went to the door. She opened it and glanced back at him, still leaning on the sofa, not looking at her. She sighed as she left, sadness and confusion flooding her weary body.
Chapter Seven
Fights-Eyes-Open
'We simply don't know yet, Mr Davison. We just have to wait and see. I recommend keeping her here again tonight and reassessing in the morning.' The kind-faced doctor left the room and Eyes sat down next to Chloe. He took hold of her hand and pressed it to his lips. Her eyes stared up at the ceiling, unseeing. He wanted desperately to take her home, perhaps being home would help her recovery, or it would if it were safe. He would have to go back there and assess the damage at some point, but it could wait. Right now he needed to be by Chloe's side. His mother and daughter were sleeping in a room up the hall, they would probably be discharged within a day or two. He had no idea where they would go.
There was a knock at the door and Eyes looked up, his pulse raced at the sudden intrusion. Through the little window in the door he could see a delivery man with a large bouquet of flowers.
'Come in,' he called out and the man entered, his face set in a suitably sympathetic expression.
'Delivery for Mrs Davison,' he said as he entered the room.
'Thank you,' Eyes said, getting to his feet and taking the flowers. 'Who are they from?'
'There's a card,' the delivery man replied. He held out a clipboard with a form attached to it, which Eyes dutifully signed. The delivery man placed the flowers in Eyes' arms and left. Eyes looked more carefully at the colourful bouquet and found a little silver card nestled in amongst the stems. He opened it and quickly skimmed the carefully handwritten message.
Dear Chloe,
Wishing you a speedy recovery and all the best for your family at this difficult time.
Martin, please let me know if there is anything I can do.
Best wishes,
Theodore Harris
Eyes wrestled between gratitude and suspicion as he placed the flowers delicately on the table next to Chloe's bed. He was grateful to Theodore for his assistance in getting the house cleaned up before the arrival of the police, and touched by the flowers, but he couldn't help wondering if the man had a hidden agenda.
There was a cough behind him and Eyes turned sharply to see a police officer standing in the open doorway. He sighed, he knew this would be coming and had thought of little else since climbing into the ambulance. He knew what he needed to say, he just hoped he could make it convincing.
'Mr Davison?' the officer asked. He was a late middle-aged man with slightly greying hair under his hat, and carried a little extra weight.
'That's right,' Eyes replied. 'You need a statement, correct?'
'That's right. Is now a good time?'
'As good as any.'
The officer closed the door and took a seat in the corner of the room. He took out a notebook and leafed through a few pages. Eyes watched him carefully and waited.
'So, all we have on record so far is that your home was attacked yesterday afternoon. Your mother has so far declined to make a statement. Can you provide us with some details please?'
'Of course.' Eyes sat down and crossed one leg over the other, going into lawyer mode. This was business, he had to think of it that way in order to keep his cool and make this tale believable. 'It was my daughter's birthday, we had just had lunch when there was an explosion in the street, which shattered the front windows of the house. I did what I could to ensure my family's safety before going out into the street to investigate. I was accosted by several assailants, I believe they were members of the Knights of St. Catherine's. I was able to fight them off and when I returned to the house there were others inside. My father was…' Eyes stalled. The memory of his father with his throat hanging out shot to the forefront of his mind and he swallowed hard as he pushed it back.
'I understand this must be hard,' the officer said kindly, pausing in his note-taking for a moment. 'The more detail you can manage the better.'
'My father's body was in the kitchen. My mother was with him and the assailant had moved on through the house. I ran up the stairs and found him in the doorway of my daughter's bedroom, she and my wife were huddled inside. He had a knife, it had blood on it. I grabbed him and threw him down the stairs. He ran out through the front door. Next thing I knew, police were there and paramedics were seeing to my family.'
'I see. Do you have any idea why a gang from across the river would come for your family?'
'I'm a barrister,' Eyes replied smoothly. 'I've prosecuted members of the Knights in the past. I'm guessing this was a grudge attack.'
'I see. One of your neighbours reported strange noises,' the officer said with a leading tone.
'They had dogs with them, Alsatians I think. I saw them in the street, they were growling.' Eyes felt beads of sweat on his forehead. This was where the lies began to strain against reality, with the other witnesses.
'Did you see dogs in the house?'
'No, but there could have been. I wasn't seeing very clearly.'
'Of course. Initial findings suggest that your father was attacked by an animal.' The officer looked at Eyes carefully, his pencil poised over his notebook. Eyes felt a ripple of relief, he had been right to mention dogs, now everything was clicking into place.
'Really? That's awful.' Eyes allowed his feelings to surface again for a moment and gaped at the police officer. The news had to appear to be a shock. 'I didn't see his injuries closely.'
'When you arrived here you had blood on your clothes,' the officer stated.
'That's right. They were taken for evidence. It was my father's blood. I went to him once the attack was over and tried to check for a pulse but I couldn't find one.'
'But you didn't look closely at his injuries?' the officer asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
'Of course not,' Eyes snapped. 'I couldn't bring myself to look closely. I saw the blood and that his throat was injured. I'm not accustomed to seeing my loved ones in such a state, I averted my eyes.'
'I understand,' the officer replied hastily and Eyes reined in his temper with a steadying breath. 'I think that's all for now. We'll be in touch if we have any further questions. We should be releasing the scene by the end of today, so you'll be able to return home tonight, if you want to that is.' He looked genuinely sympathetic for a moment and Eyes let go of the defensiveness he had been exhibiting towards the officer, who was only doing his job.
'Of course.' Eyes stood up to see him out and closed the door behind him. He let out a huge sigh of relief. The worst was over, but there would be more questions. He didn't know if pinning it on the Knights was going to work, but he had no other choice. He looked back at Chloe, she was still staring at the ceiling but a single tear had fallen and left a wet track down the side of her face. Eyes closed his eyes and rubbed his coarse hands over his face, angry with himself for almost forgetting that she was conscious and must have heard every word he had told the police. He brushed her hair and leant to kiss her forehead. 'I am so, so sorry.'