The Wolves of Third Clan
Page 33
Chapter 32
The walk back inside was done in almost complete silence. Not a Wolf, Vampire or Alien said anything as they moved to hear the verdict of three Matriarchs ruling if the strange code of Superiors was followed by Vivian when she took the head of Daniel in retaliation for the assassination of Peter North. Nat had decided his presence was warranted considering the unique circumstances and since the Heavens can do as they please the Superiors had no choice but to allow him in. The nightclub remained the same, with no lighting except for the five torches burning but this time I looked around and saw what Nat hinted might be present; a camera set in the ceiling aimed at the dance floor so the lower families could tune in and watch the proceedings. I said ‘almost’ complete silence because as I was about to stand at my appointed location I heard one of the Wolves from an Elder Clan whisper “Can you smell anything?” to another Wolf who responded “Nothing” and a strange look came over their faces as they glanced at me. It wasn’t one of anger, loathing, confusion or any of the other expressions I’d become accustomed to; no, it was one of interest. They appeared to be interested in me and I’ve got to admit it made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. There was no bailiff telling everyone to sit down and shut up. There was no raised bench from which the Matriarchs could sit on high authority to issue their verdicts upon those lower. In fact, there was no formality whatsoever, only a procession of Superiors walking in silence and either sitting in chairs or standing on the dance floor until the leading ladies of terror finally entered, walked to their respective places at the leaning-rail, looked out and said…
“We rule the Ramos own the Occupation” the Queen of Darkness said and an immediate hum began.
“The LeTorque challenge the Ramos for Occupancy” declared George immediately.
“We rule the LeTorque have the right to challenge” the Matriarch of the left said.
“The Ramos accept the challenge” a huge Wolf in their family declared.
“The challenge has been accepted, are the Ramos whole?” the Matriarch of the right said.
“We are not. We ask the council to accept Javier Rosales as Wolf of Ramos, mate to Melissa.”
I turned around to look at what the rest of the gallery were viewing; namely, an enormous Werewolf led down the walkway by the Shadow-Wolf, stopping to stand directly next to me and Nat, reminding me exactly how much size I lacked in comparison.
“The Council accepts Javier Rosales as Wolf of Ramos…” Isabella Satan began from the front.
There was more activity from the Superiors in the background and I was wondering what was going to happen next when…
“… are the LeTorque whole?” Isabella Satan finished.
… I realized it was time for me to be judged.
“We are not. We ask the council to accept Johnny Johnson as Wolf of LeTorque, mate to Stephanie” said George in a strong and challenging way.
“What?” I said.
“Quiet!” said Nat.
“Did you say something, Cloak?” said Isabella Satan.
Have you ever said something you didn’t mean to say?
NO.
I mean, actually say something you had no notion of uttering but for some reason your tongue decided it could not abide by your decision and decided enough was enough, it was time for some verbal sparring?
MY TONGUE DOES AS I TELL IT TO DO.
Well, that’s what happened to me. I had no intention of asking “What?” but before my conscious mind could even process the information my subconscious interrupted and asked the question.
“Um… err… can I have a second, your Mistressness?”
“No.”
“What? What do you mean ‘No’?” I said.
“I believe ‘No’ is an easily understood answer, Cloak, even for someone of your unique stature” she replied.
“My unique stature? Why look here you little…!”
“Mistress?” interrupted Nat.
“Yes, Detective?” she replied while glaring at me with obvious hatred in her eyes.
“If I may be of help. I believe Mister Johnson is not properly acquainted with Superior decisions and I would like to take a moment and inform him of the proper etiquette to follow while in Council.”
“We shall allow it, Detective, but any more outbursts from the Forbidden will be looked upon with grave seriousness.”
“Thank you, Mistress” he said and led me up the aisle so he could speak with me alone.
“Johnny?”
“Yes, Nat?”
“You know what’s going on, right?”
“I believe I’m being married off to Stephanie.”
“Correct.”
“I don’t want to be married off to Stephanie.”
“Why not?”
“Why not? Well, for starters, they never asked me and, secondly, I don’t know if I like the woman. Maybe she hates football? Maybe she likes to go to the opera? Did you ever think of that, Nat? What If she’s one of those women who like the theater but doesn’t want to go alone so she drags her poor husband along like some accessory or something? What if she’s…?”
“Johnny?”
“Yes, Nat?”
“You have no choice.”
“Huh?”
“You have no choice.”
“What do you mean I have no choice?”
“If you choose not to be mated with Stephanie then you will die.”
“Die? The LeTorque will kill me if I don’t accept?”
“No, but they will no longer be able to claim you as one of their own and thus no longer able to safeguard your life.”
“They won’t?”
“Nope. If you decide you will not be mated to Stephanie then the LeTorque will disown you and then…”
“And then…?”
“The Wolves in this place will rip you to shreds, Johnny.”
“Oh.”
I was contemplating the situation as we returned to our reserved standing places at the edge of the giant dance floor and didn’t like what I was coming up with. I‘ve always been a little shaky when it comes to the issue of commitment, any commitment, whether in my personal or business life. I don’t know what my problem is but I think it stems from the fact life keeps throwing curveballs at us all the time so we really don’t know what’s around the bend and maybe the grass is a little greener on the other side.
OR YOU’RE A COWARD.
That too.
“Have you explained the situation to the Cloak, Detective?” asked the Matriarch to the left.
“Yes, Mistress” he replied.
“And is the Cloak a willing participant?” asked the Matriarch to the right.
“Yes, Mistress” he replied.
“Then the Council accepts Johnny Johnson as Wolf of LeTorque” Isabella Satan, Matriarch to the front said.
I didn’t know what to do so I stood there looking perplexed as the gallery eyeballed me with Wolfish leers and Vampire glares.
“Go join your family, Johnny” Nat said.
“Oh… oh right” I said and went to stand with them on the combat arena which masqueraded as a dance floor whenever challenging families weren’t using it to behead Werewolves.
“As the challenged family the Ramos will set the stage” said Isabella Satan.
“We choose modern” said the largest of their Werewolves and I was wondering what it meant when a switch was flipped and lights illuminated the parquet flooring.
“What’d they do that for?” I whispered to Stephanie.
“So your cloaking abilities won’t come into play, Dearest” she replied.
Okay, the ‘Dearest’ thing was a little forward if you ask me. I mean, we’d just gotten hitched after all. Heck, I’d only met the woman an hour before so you can forgive me if I was a little taken aback by her use of the word.
“Dearest?” I asked.
“It’s a term of endearment, Johnny” she replied.
“I know it is, St
ephanie, it’s just…”
“It’s just what?”
“It’s just… well… a little early to be using pet names and such.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because we just met. I don’t know the first thing about you. For all I know you could be a murdering Sorceress who likes to kill her husbands…”
“I’m not a Sorceress.”
“I know, it’s just…”
“I’m a Vampire.”
“Uh-huh, and I’m sure you’re a darn good one too. It’s just giving someone a pet name usually takes…”
And then I was talking to an empty suit. Seriously, an empty suit, which turned around, walked off the dance floor and fell to the ground. I turned around to get the reaction from my new family members but couldn’t because two more empty suits were following the one Stephanie had been wearing and the two remaining Werewolves were staring intently at the opposing three Werewolves who were also standing around without their Vampires because they’d also done their invisible striptease act on their side of the dance floor.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“The battle has begun, Johnny” said Trudy’s voice from behind the leaning rail.
“What…? Oh, crap!”
The movement was instantaneous and impossible for me to follow. I stood there because I could think of nothing else to do and nowhere else to it. I thought if I moved I might inadvertently trip into Phillip or George who were doing the heavy lifting of three while being confined to the limitations which comes with a third of their Wolf-pack being about as helpful as dust at an asthma convention. The feeling of action was all around me and I could almost make out one of the parties involved when…
“One’s down” said Trudy’s voice.
“Which one?” asked Vivian’s voice.
“Javier” answered Stephanie’s voice.
… a head came to rest at my feet. It was a large head and its eyes were still open so I don’t know if he saw his death or not but I hope he didn’t because, right then, I heard a wrenching sound and…
“Second one’s down” said Trudy’s voice.
“Which one?” asked Vivian’s voice.
“’I don’t know? They look so alike but I would guess it to be Steven” said Stephanie’s voice.
Now, if you’re wondering what a Werewolf battle-royal looks and sounds like you’ll be disappointed in my description because I don’t have one. That’s right, other than the two heads of the Ramos Wolves I neither saw nor heard a thing. They were going too fast for my eyes to capture the images and apparently when Wolves fight they like to do so in complete silence because neither the participants nor the gallery members were making any noise whatsoever. Now, it might’ve been the fact I was trying so hard to concentrate and pinpoint a location of where the brawl was happening that I heard, after Stephanie’s assessment of who the head belonged to…
“Steve…”
… the voice of my Zombie echo silently through the room from the back wall of the nightclub. It turned out the electrical room he was standing in had thin enough walls for him to hear through and when Stephanie said ‘Steven’ he mistook it for Steve and did what all good Zombies do; he repeated it back.
The activity which had been occurring at such alarming speed suddenly ceased and standing on the opposite side of the dance floor was the remaining Wolf of Ramos, silently gulping air and staring intently at the enormous visages of Phillip and George as they too stood stock still waiting for the inevitable, which happened before I believed the last Ramos Wolf wished for as I was watching him I saw determination settle in his eyes and a resolution to go out like a Wolf should when… the blurs of George and Phillip rushed by which left his torso standing for a moment wondering where its head went.
“And that’s that” said Trudy’s voice as her clothes were lifted by unseen hands and placed back on her body before she became visible again. The other two Vampires of LeTorque followed suit and soon it was as if nothing had occurred except for the fact there were two Werewolf heads lying at my feet and a third across the glossy wooden floor of the country-western nightclub. The Vampires of the Ramos family had reappeared and looked as though they mourned their loss of Wolf-mates about as much as a teenager misses acne. A hum grew in the crowed as those gathered discussed what had occurred.
“The LeTorque ask the Council to judge on their occupation” George said to the Matriarchs.
“We rule the LeTorque have the occupation” the Matriarch to the left said.
“Uh, Phillip?”
“Yes, Johnny?”
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve gotten our occupation back.”
“Oh. That was it?”
“Uh-huh. We just had to kill the Ramos Wolves and we got our tower back.”
“What happens now?”
“Well, I guess everything goes to back to the way it was before…”
He was going to say it would go back to the way things were before Melissa took the head of Peter North when something strange occurred; Stephanie walked over to where her infant child lay in its carrying case, lifted the child up and walked to the middle of the dance floor. The other Superiors in attendance must’ve also noticed the strange behavior because the room once again fell silent.
“Yes, Stephanie of LeTorque, do you wish to address the Council?” the Matriarch to the right said.
“Yes. I, Stephanie LeTorque, challenge Isabella Satan for her mate.”
The room erupted in sound as the Superiors heard what Stephanie said.
“What right do you have to challenge me, Stephanie?”
“Why, Isabella, can you not look upon a child sired by your Wolf and not know it for what it is?”
The child in question was but an infant, not old enough for me to see whether it was Wolf or Vamp, but it had a good set of lungs because at the same time Stephanie questioned Isabella the child decided to wail, and when the child wailed the Wolf rose, standing his full height once again to look upon a member of LeTorque who would challenge Satan supremacy. Another strange thing occurred because for the first time I could actually feel the interest in every single Superior at the sound of the child; as though all of them were hearing something new for the first time, something different, something Superior.
“Is the child yours, Lucifer Satan?” asked the Matriarch to the left.
“The child is mine” he responded.
And the place went berserk. One second everyone was calm and collected, the next, Wolf and Vampire were rushing the edge of the dance floor as Isabella Satan literally flew over the railing and tried to slit Stephanie’s throat with a dagger she produced from thin air. Okay, obviously she didn’t actually produce it out of thin air but things were moving so fast it appeared she did. The only problem she had with her plan was in its execution for where Stephanie stood one second, nothing remained the next.
“Johnny, we’d better get off this dance floor” said Phillip as he lifted me off my feet and carried me like a football in the crook of his right arm.
“What’s going on?” I asked once we were off the dance floor of death.
“Stephanie’s child, the one we thought was Peter’s, isn’t Peter’s.”
“Whose is it?”
“Lucifer’s” Phillip responded.
“Lucifer’s?”
“Uh-huh.”
“So what’s happening now?”
“Stephanie has challenged Isabella for the right to have Lucifer as her mate.”
“She can do that?”
“Yep. She’s doing it right now.”
I looked out to the dance floor but the only thing I saw were two sets of women’s garments laying on the ground.
“She’s doing what exactly?”
“She’s fighting Isabella.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“How do you know?”
“I can scent and hear them, can’t you?”
I could ge
t a good location as to their general location because, he was right, I could get a scent of where they were on the dance floor but I could hear absolutely nothing; just the silent murmuring of a crowd of onlookers watching an invisible death match between two lovely ladies of the night. I tried really hard to hear what the others were obviously capable of hearing but gave up after a couple of seconds because I was giving myself a headache. It was then I looked around and noticed something quite unusual; Lucifer Satan cradling the infant in his arms and looking on with obvious interest. I had no idea when or how he’d retrieved the child because the last time I’d seen it the infant was wailing in the arms of its mother, a mother who was subsequently attacked by his mate and was now dueling to the death for the right to rule by his side.
DID HE NOTICE YOU?
Who, the child?
NO, LUCIFER.
Oh, yeah, he noticed me all right.
WHAT WAS HIS DEMEANOR?
Indifferent.
“Phillip?” I asked.
“Yes, Johnny?”
“Who’s winning?”
“I have no idea.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then why are you watching so intently.”
“Because I’m waiting to see a head come off.”
“Oh.”
So there we stood, watching air and waiting for a head to materialize which would be unfortunate for the one it belonged to for it would mean the end of their ambitions.
“Vivian?”
“Yes, Sweetie?”
“Did you see this one coming?”
“What, that Stephanie would be having Lucifer’s child instead of Peter’s?”
“Yes.”
“No, I didn’t see this one coming, Sweetie, but it doesn’t surprise me.”
“Why not?”
“Because Stephanie has always been ambitious.”
“Ambitious? I think having another mate’s child and then killing her is a little more than ambitious.”
“Oh, what would you call it?”
“Cheating, adultery, murder; stuff like that.”
“We don’t believe in murder.”
“Okay, cheating, adultery and grossly opportunistic; how’s that?”
“That’s better. Look, Sweetie, I don’t condone what she did but I can definitely understand why she did it.”
“Why’d she do it?”
“For the Matriarchy.”
“Really? It’s so important?”
“It’s all important.”
“Huh. Well it doesn’t seem like such a good deal if all a Wolf has to do is impregnate another Vampire and then you’ve got to fight to keep the lecherous traitor.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t look so good from that point of view but it does have its perks.”
“Like what?”
“Like the most gorgeous mansion you’ve ever seen and a fleet of cars with chauffeurs… Oh!... and a walk-in closet so big you could actually furnish it and a shoe rack with over a hundred spaces. Oh, Sweetie, I hope she wins!”
“Who? Stephanie?”
“Of course, Stephanie. What, did you think I would root for Isabella?”
“Well, now don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to judge but…”
“But what?”
“Well, don’t you find it a little convenient Peter would be killed while Stephanie was presumably in hibernation with his child?”
“Well, yeah, a little bit…”
“And I’m assuming Peter wouldn’t look all too fondly on his mate giving birth to another Wolf’s cub.”
“No, he probably wouldn’t.”
“What would he have done if he were still alive when Stephanie produced the child?”
“He would’ve been honor bound to kill the offending Wolf.”
“And could he have done it? Could he have beaten Lucifer in combat?”
“Possibly, he was a powerful Wolf after all.”
“Then why do you think Stephanie would’ve allowed Lucifer to impregnate her?”
It was a little difficult for her to keep up the conversation because she was constantly watching the dance floor where the invisible vampires were engaged in combat. I know you might be thinking since they weren’t actually invisible, just blended into their environment, it would be possible to get a glimpse of their outlines but you’d be wrong. The nightclub lights were on only above the dance floor, the rest of the place was still in darkness and the ceiling space was beginning to fill with the smoke still coming from the four remaining lit torches burning, the fifth one having been extinguished with the death of the Ramos Wolves. The overall effect was one of gloom surrounding a square of brown polished wood which made it impossible to detect where the Vampires were at any time. My being there also added to the confusion because, except for those with my blood bond, no one had any idea where the combatants were.
“I think she might’ve been hedging her bet, Sweetie” said the lovely blonde Vampire.
“Hedging her bet?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How?”
“Well, if she was really interested in the Matriarchy she could go about it two ways. First, she could challenge the Tribal Elder family for their seat, which in our case is the Satan, or she could entice the Alpha Wolf into giving her a cub and challenge the Matriarch herself for the seat, which is what is going on right now.”
“So you think she enticed Lucifer?”
“Oh, I guarantee it.”
“Why?”
“Because Lucifer’s a Wolf but, more importantly he’s an Alpha; maybe the most powerful one to ever exist save his prodigy, Yin.”
“Why would that lead Stephanie to entice him?”
“Because he’s a Wolf, haven’t you been listening? Wolves like Lucifer are the easiest to entice because they can’t see any consequences of their actions. They think they’re unbound by any moral code because of the belief in their superiority over all. It would have taken Stephanie only a minute to entice Lucifer.”
“But she had to know Peter would find out.”
“Of course, but it would only enhance her chances at claiming the Matriarchy.”
“How?”
“Because of the way our system works, Sweetie. You see, once she had the child she could claim the right to challenge for Lucifer and he could choose to go two ways with it; either admit or deny the child. If he admitted, well, that’s what he did so the consequences are playing out before us…”
“And if he denied?”
“Peter would’ve been honor bound to challenge Lucifer to combat which would then draw in both families and Stephanie would still have the chance at her Matriarchy.”
“Okay, let’s assume Peter was alive and your family…”
“Our family, Johnny, you are one of us.”
“Okay, let’s assume our family won. Why would Peter choose to stay mated to a cheat of a Vampire?”
“Because he would be Alpha of Shelter Tribe.”
“And that would be okay with him?”
“Well, he would’ve probably been a little upset Lucifer’s child would still be alive but, unless it turned out to be a Vampire, he would’ve gotten rid of it.”
“What?”
“He would’ve got rid of the child if it were a Wolf.”
“That’s barbaric!”
“That’s the way of the Wolf.”
“Okay, but Peter’s not alive.”
“No, he’s not.”
“So, then if Lucifer were to have denied the child she wouldn’t have gotten the families to fight because Peter was dead, right?”
“Well, yes and no. If she had challenged and Lucifer rebuked her without her being mated it would definitely have ended her plans but…”
“But what?”
“But you’re her mated now, Johnny, you would’ve been honor bound to challenge Lucifer.”
“Excuse me?”
“You are her…”
“I’m sorry, I didn
’t mean I couldn’t hear you; I meant I couldn’t believe what you said.”
“What’s that, Sweetie?”
“That I would challenge Lucifer.”
“But you would be honor bound to do so.”
“Vivian, I can tell you right now, I would be anything but…”
I was interrupted by a hush which fell over the crowed. It’s weird how a change of background noise in either direction can signify something important is about to occur and, in this case, it was the head of Isabella Satan coming to rest on the floor of the nightclub with an expression of complete surprise on her face.
“Well, this just got interesting” said Vivian.
I was going to ask what her definition of interesting was when…
“I, Stephanie LeTorque claim the Wolf, Lucifer as my mate.”
“Does Lucifer, Wolf of Satan, accept?” asked the Matriarch to the right.
“I do” replied the Wolf.
“The Council recognizes Stephanie LeTorque as mate to Lucifer, Matriarch to Shelter Tribe of Third Clan” the Matriarch to the left said.
“The LeTorque challenge” George said immediately afterward.
“What?” I said.
“I told you, Johnny, you’re honor bound to fight for your mate and, since we’re family, we’re bound also.”
The gallery was in complete disarray at what had happened. Werewolves were moving their seats closer to the dance floor and Vampires were whispering among themselves at the numerous changes in circumstances which had befallen the Judgment.
“The Council rule the LeTorque have the right to challenge” said the Matriarch to the left.
“The Satan accept” said the voice of Lucifer without delay and his massive presence arose along with two other Wolves who towered over all save two.
If you’re wondering why he chose to keep calling himself Satan it turns out if a Vampire has challenged another and both are mated then until the final outcome between the two opposing families are settled the previous titles remain in place. So we, the LeTorque, who had no one actually named for it were fighting the Satan, who were in a similar situation.
“As the challenged family the Satan will choose the setting” the Matriarch to the right said.
“We choose modern” replied the enormous creature.
“Johnny, get behind me” said George.
“Already there, big guy” I replied as I watched the five Vampires disappear leaving only clothing on the ground to mark their passage.
The tension in the room, if you can believe it, actually went up a notch or two as the three Wolves of Satan stood silently across the floor from the two Wolves of LeTorque and me, cowering behind the legs of George in an attempt to not only hide myself from the intimidating creatures on the other side of the makeshift ring but, I believe, to shield my own eyes from viewing them because at that point in my life I’d never been so sure of one thing; I was going to die.
The movement, as before, began without me actually witnessing it. I don’t know if it was because of the speed of the combatants or because I had my eyes closed but when I opened them I could sense the general location of the Wolves, I just couldn’t see them. Also, those general locations were really only guideposts because they moved so fast for an instant they would be in one place and the next, across the dance floor. It was a surreal experience because, to tell the truth, no one was in the slightest bit interested in me. Since the lights were on and the actual combat area clean of obstacles except for a few heads whatever advantages I brought to the table were nullified. I was, in essence, a bystander at my own execution. As time went on I began to get glimpses of the Wolves because even they slow down a bit when exhaustion sets in so every once in a while I could see why I’d been ignored. It was obvious George and Phillip together could’ve taken out the two Wolves accompanying Lucifer but with his involvement it became more of a chess match with Phillip or George trying to get to one of the two weaker opponents to even the odds, as it were, while Lucifer was busy either protecting one or attacking with another. I appeared to be safe for the time being because if any of the Satan were to make a move toward me they would be exposing themselves to Phillip or George and their lives would be forfeit.
“Trudy?” I asked the air behind me.
“Yes, Johnny?” she responded.
“Is this one of those exhaustion matches where whoever has the most Vampires wins?”
“It might be, I don’t think anyone can get an advantage.”
“They have three Vampires, Trudy.”
“Yes, I know, Johnny.”
“We only have two.”
“I know.”
“We need to change the odds.”
“We cannot. Vampires are forbidden to enter the Confrontation between Wolves save to give nourishment.”
“I wasn’t thinking about Vampires.”
“What were you thinking of?”
“Vivian?” I asked the air beside Trudy where the scent of platinum held sway.
“Yes, Sweetie?” she responded.
“How are your lungs?”
“My lungs?”
“Yes, can you yell loudly?”
“Yes… but why?”
“Because we have a secret weapon.”
“What’s that?”
“Yell, ‘Attack’, Vivian.”
“Attack?”
“Yes, yell it and yell it loud.”
“Okay… ‘Attack!’”