by Matt Rogers
Chapter 33
The lights flickered briefly, shut off, flickered again and then completely went dark as the Zombie in the closet attacked the only thing he could in order to follow the instructions of his master; the electrical switches in the room he was confined in.
The fight changed as the two weaker Wolves of Satan realized what was going on for Phillip and George immediately went to the shadows of the dance floor when the lights went out. You could see them sometimes, just barely, and I could tell the two weaker Wolves of Satan would sometimes lose track of them altogether but Lucifer never did. He was wary but vigilant as he began backing toward me, always keeping his eyes upon the two Wolves who suddenly beheaded one… then another… of the weaker Wolves of Satan. It was now only Lucifer versus the two Alphas of LeTorque and I could sense by the way his body reacted to the sudden change in circumstance he was going to do the one thing which might possibly give him some satisfaction so I reached behind me, grasped the only thing I could find to ward off what I knew was going to happen, and when Lucifer made his last desperate move, a move so fast I could not see it coming, he ran face-first into the torch of LeTorque held out in front of me like a long-sword of past ages. The shock wasn’t nearly enough to harm the second greatest Wolf ever sired but it did slow him down for a second and, in the world of Superiors, a second is all it takes for as I was staring in fright at the giant maw opened in preparation of tearing my throat out the Wolf’s head was ripped away by the third and fourth greatest Wolves ever.
“The LeTorque challenge for Eldership of Shelter” said George.
“The Council rules the LeTorque are Elders of Shelter Tribe. Whom is the Matriarch, LeTorque?”
Okay, the question obviously wasn’t directed at me because there was no way anyone would believe I was the Alpha of the family and we were all looking at George and Phillip to see which one of them was going to claim the Alpha which, of course, was going to be challenged by the other and everyone was going to get even more of a show than they’d believed possible…
IS THAT WHY THEY NEVER CHALLENGED BEFORE?
Yep, the deal was to get to Clan Elder. They knew once there if they obtained it then all bets were off and the Wolves of LeTorque would indeed find out who was the true Alpha.
WHO DO YOU THINK WOULD WIN?
You know, I don’t have a clue and I’ll probably never find out because right then…
“I choose Johnny Johnson, Wolf of LeTorque, as my mate” came the voice of Melissa from the bleacher seats.
A general hum of activity once again encompassed the nightclub as Werewolf and Vampire alike were wondering just how many things could possibly happen in the space of about two hours in a country-western nightclub on the outskirts of Austin.
“The Wolf in question is already mated to Stephanie LeTorque” replied the Matriarch to the right.
“No, he’s not” replied Melissa as she made her way onto the dance floor.
“State your facts, Unattached one” said the Matriarch to the left.
“He never willingly agreed” Melissa responded.
“Yes he did, the Council asked and he agreed he was willingly my mate” interrupted Stephanie.
“He did not agree, the Monitor agreed for him.”
The hum from the crowd gathered increased as they began asking whether I’d actually agreed to be the mate of Stephanie. The answer was easy to obtain.
“Detective Hallowed?” asked the Matriarch to the right.
“Yes, Mistress?”
“Did the Wolf, Johnson, willingly agree to be mated to the Vampire, Stephanie?”
“No, Mistress, he did not. I answered for him.”
The hum grew louder and reached the level of audible amazement at their good luck of fortune to have been present at such a gossip-making occasion.
“Johnny Johnson, Wolf of LeTorque, whom do you choose as mate?” asked the Matriarch to the left.
I looked at both the lovely creatures of boyhood fantasy and I’ve got to tell you a guy couldn’t go wrong picking either. The fact the guy was me only made the decision more implausible.
“Johnny?”
“Yes, Trudy?”
“Do what you were bred to do.”
“I choose Melissa as my mate.”
“What?” Stephanie replied.
“I’m sorry, Stephanie, but I’ve got to do what’s best for the family” I said.
“But I will give us everything” she said.
“No, I’m afraid you won’t” said Melissa.
“Quiet! You don’t even know what I’m talking about” Stephanie hissed.
“Oh, you mean this?” Melissa responded while holding up what everyone knew was coming but were afraid to face.
“Where did you get that?” Stephanie asked in a somewhat confused manner.
“From the safe of a great Wolf” Melissa responded as she made her way to stand next to me and the rest of my family.
“Who is the Matriarch of LeTorque?” the Matriarch to the right asked.
And this is where the rubber hit the road so to speak. They didn’t have to do it, they held all the cards after all, but we’d agreed at the beginning and they really do have a strange sense of honor so…
“Johnny?”
“Yes, George?”
“I cede Alpha to you.”
“Johnny?”
“Yes, Phillip?”
“I cede Alpha to you.”
“The Matriarch of LeTorque is Melissa” said the Matriarch to the left.
… and then what had to happen, did.
“The LeTorque challenge for Eldership of Third Clan” said Melissa.
“The Council will rule” said the Matriarchs together and the place erupted in howls of delight.
We walked back outside to await the ruling and I retrieved my Zombie out of the electrical closet where he was still going to town on the circuit breakers and wiring and stuff. I believe I almost had the shortest reign as Alpha because I was about ready to let Steve out of the closet when Vivian stopped me as I was opening the door, which I had partially done, which gave the crazy diapered dead-man the excuse to attack something other than circuitry.
“Holy…!”
“Steve! Stop!”
The Zombie had reached through the crack, grabbed my neck and begin choking before the blonde of my dreams yelled her command.
“Johnny?”
“Yes, Vivian?”
“You’ve got to stop trusting Zombies, Sweetie.”
We were joined by the rest of LeTorque including Melissa and Stephanie who was cradling in her arms the child of Lucifer; the cutest bundle of Werewolf terror you’ve ever seen.
I DOUBT THAT.
Seriously, he really is adorable.
THAT’S NOT WHAT HE WAS BRED FOR.
You know, you’ve really got a one-track mind.
I KNOW.
It wasn’t a compliment.
“Hey, Johnny.”
“Hey, Phillip.”
“So… um… what do we do now?”
“I guess we wait for the ruling.”
“Not about that, about…”
“Phillip!”
“Yes, Mistress” he replied to Trudy.
“Not now. Wait until we’re out of range from…”
“Hello, everyone” said green-man from Heaven.
“Oh, hello, Nat” replied Trudy.
“So you actually pulled it off. I’m really proud of you guys, except for you Stephanie, I’m sorry for your loss of Matriarchy.”
“It’s okay, Nat. Melissa saw an opportunity I didn’t see and ran with it. I can’t be angry at her.”
“Melissa?”
“Yes, Nat?”
“May I please see that piece of paper you’re holding?”
“Oh, this?” she replied while revealing the one document which allowed LeTorque the opportunity to rule all.
“And this is real?”
“Yes, you may verify it, of course” sh
e replied.
“I have to, Mistress, please forgive me for I do believe you, it’s just…”
“It’s fine, Nat. Here, go ahead and do your verifying thing” she said handing over the deed which once belonged to Bob’s mom but now belonged to whoever was Matriarch of the family which ran Commercial Properties Management Incorporated. A deed to the land where a Reformatory once stood, a deed to the land which houses a prison, pumping out oil, allowing occupational overlapization to occur.
REALLY? YOU’RE ACTUALLY GOING TO USE THAT WORD?
Yeah, it kind of grows on you. So green Alien guy disappears and… pops right back in.
“Okay, it checks out. Congratulations, Melissa, you’re in possession of one very powerful document.”
“Thank you, Nat. So, do you think it will go our way?”
“I can’t see why not? You’re going to attempt a merger of the Clans, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yeah” she replied and I swear I saw a smile form on his molecular face.
I BET YOU DID.
Yeah, he’s really been waiting for a long time for this so...
“Nat?”
“Yes, Johnny?”
“Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”
“Sure” he replied after getting approving nods from my Wolf and Vamp family who were standing around gawking at Puppy-boy.
WHY DID YOU DO THAT?
Do what?
ASK TO TALK TO HIM; IT’S DANGEROUS.
It’s fun.
“What can I help you with, Johnny?”
“I was just curious; why do you want the LeTorque to win?”
“Huh? Oh, I don’t want them to win, I’m not actually allowed to want them to win, it’s just…”
“It’s just what?”
“It’s just, well, they’re finally fulfilling their destiny.”
“What destiny?”
“They’re becoming Superior.”
“Okay, that’s pretty ambiguous there, Nat.”
“Johnny, what do you think we’ve been doing on your planet this whole time?”
“I don’t know?”
“What are the Superiors?”
“Werewolves and Vampires?”
“No, they’re the ultimate killing machine.”
“What?”
“They’ve been bred to kill. From the very beginning they’ve been bred to do one thing and one thing alone; dominate. Why do you think we would choose to breed that kind of species?”
“I have no idea.”
“Because we’re at war and have been since time immemorial.”
“Time immemorial?”
“It means a really long time.”
“Who have you been at war with?”
“Hell.”
“Hell?”
“Yes. Heaven and Hell have been at war since before your species was even conceived.”
“Hold on. Are you saying Hell is an actual place?”
“Yes. Well, it was an actual planet, still is in fact, but since the development of space travel Heaven and Hell have been kind of enlarged, as it were. We now consist of thousands of planets and have been at war with each other for so long we cannot remember a time when we were not.”
“Who the heck are the Hell people?”
“The other half of us.”
“The other what?”
“Our other half, Johnny, the other side of my species; the Hellions. They are what we are not.”
“What are you not?”
“We are not them.”
“Okay, that’s being a little dramatic, don’t you think?”
“No, Johnny, it isn’t. My species has existed from the beginning and what you would perceive as normal traits, we do not. The Hellions are aggressive, we are not. The Hellions are possessive, we are not. The Hellions are insatiable, we are not. The Hellions are…”
“Okay, okay, I get it; the Hellions are bad people.”
“Yes, and we’ve been battling them forever.”
“So? What does this have to do with the Superiors?”
“They’re our answer to Hell.”
“Your answer?”
“Yes. We no longer possess the physical properties which allow for warfare, those were lost a very long time ago, so we use surrogates in our place.”
“You what?”
“We use surrogates, Johnny, other species we’ve bred to counter what the Hellions have bred.”
“So, what, you don’t do your own fighting?”
“No, we’re too advanced for that.”
“And the Hellions?”
“They’re too advanced also.”
“So you make other little soldier-species do your dirty work?”
“We give them life.”
“Apparently, you also give them Hell.”
“True.”
“So, then what is going to happen?”
“The LeTorque are going to do what they were bred to do.”
“What’s that?”
“They will combine the Clans and prepare for what must happen.”
“What must happen?”
“The invasion from Hell.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, Johnny, why would I kid you?”
“I don’t know? But this sounds, well, it sounds kind of cruel if you ask me.”
“No, it’s not cruel to allow a species to do what it was bred to do.”
“Why didn’t you just have them fight before?”
“Who?”
“The Superiors and the Hellion’s breedlings.”
“Breedlings?”
“Um, yeah. What else would you call creatures you breed?”
“Livestock.”
“Okay, that’s worse.”
“I’m just kidding. The creatures Hell bred are called the Hoard and the reason we didn’t have the two fight before is our Superiors kept getting better and better at killing. This planet’s been evolving them to the point where they really are the most advanced form of combat species we’ve ever seen. Their evolution has astounded us at times, so much so, we allowed them to develop into what they are now.”
“And what is that?”
“Victory. Victory for Heaven over Hell.”
HE SEEMS TO BE A TRUE BELIEVER.
I certainly hope so because if he isn’t this may not work.
WHY?
Because they have all the time in the world.
“It’s time to go” Trudy said as she walked up to us.
“They’ve ruled?” Nat asked.
“Yes.”
So, we went back inside the honky-tonk nightclub and…
“Nat?”
“Yes, Johnny?”
“There’s only two Matriarchs ruling right?”
“Yes.”
“What if it’s a tie?”
“It can’t be.”
“Why not?”
“Because Melissa is the third Matriarch so if there’s a tie she’ll rule in your favor.”
“Oh.”
So we strolled up to the dance floor, took our places in the torchlight, and…
“We rule the LeTorque are Clan Elder of Third Clan.”
… every Wolf howled.