Witch Problems (The Josh Thorne Trilogy Book 3)

by Joe Fowler

  “Wait, Dairko created my kind? How?” Rosalyn and Austin were speaking at the same time making it harder for us to understand.

  “To tell that story I have to go back to a time after the witch thing when werewolves were created.” Gabriel smiled knowing what our reactions would be. No werewolf alive today knew how we had been created.

  “You knew this and haven’t told us yet?” Seth said, beating me to the punch.

  “I know a whole bunch of things you don’t.” Gabriel said with a wink. He grew a little more serious and began the story of werewolves.

  “There weren’t nearly as many people back then, as you can imagine. If you notice, I am not giving dates here. You guys don’t need to be aware of the true age of this world. Anyway, there was a breed of wolf that became too skilled, too intelligent. They were the size of horses and were as fast as you three are. The main thing that set them apart was their noble nature. They were the supreme hunter, but as they cleared area after area of animals, they saw the danger they posed to the world. Ost, the alpha of one of the largest packs, prayed to Father. Yes, these wolves knew of God. They asked that they would be taken from the earth to keep from causing it harm. Father was both pleased and saddened by this. These wolves were his favorites along with humans. Father did something different with them. He made them into spirits and let them roam the earth to explore as they wished but took away all hunger and cares of this world. That was how they existed for some time until Ost changed things.

  “Ost was in what is now Eastern Europe. He was near a small village and heard an uproar. When he went to see what was happening he found a young man fighting against marauders. These marauders were killing and raping almost at will. The young man showed incredible courage but was falling to them. He had numerous injuries and was about to die. Ost couldn’t stand to see such a brave man fall to such rabble like this. Without thinking of what he was doing, Ost entered the man’s body. All the wounds instantly healed. The boy was in shock. He saw this huge beautiful wolf in his head and part of him longed to become that wolf so he could fight the attackers. Seth and Josh understand this better than you, Rosalyn. It is how they change form. They see the form of their wolf and they become the wolf. Well, the boy turned and killed the marauders, saving his village. Then as he stood there in wolf form, he wondered if he would ever be human again. The image of his human self, appeared in his head and he reached for it. That is how he returned to his human form.”

  “He was the first werewolf.” I stated simply.

  “Yep. Now you understand why it is called the wolf spirit that lives in you guys. To continue, the young man stayed a young man. Century after century passed and he never aged. It was only much later in his life that he found he could pass along his condition. Some travelers were being attacked on the road outside the city where he lived. He changed form and went to save them. He inadvertently attacked one of the travelers by mistake. The other people were yelling for him to stop since he wasn’t one of the thieves attacking. He heard and let the man go. He had bitten him already which as you all know is how to pass along the trait. This was the first time in the hundreds of years of his life that someone bitten had lived. You can imagine the confusion when the full moon came and the traveler who was bitten turned into a wolf.” Gabriel was smiling again.

  “Wow. All this time and none of us knew how it got started.” Seth seemed deeply moved by the story. I understood how it would mean so much to him. He was the oldest living werewolf and third generation pureblood to boot. Being pureblood means a lot. In addition to being larger, stronger, and faster than normal wolves, his bite is poisonous to other supernatural creatures. He could kill Rosalyn with a bite to her leg, he wouldn’t have to remove her head like the rest of us would. There were only a small number of purebloods since werewolves have trouble reproducing even with a human. Two werewolves together have almost no shot as making a child. So for Seth to be a third generation pureblood, was a miracle. That was one miracle I was truly grateful for.

  “So how does this lead to Dairko creating vampires?” Rosalyn reminded us of why Gabriel told us of the first wolf.

  “When Dairko returned, he saw the changes with the witches and the appearance of the werewolf. Like I said, he was pleased to have caused us to intervene with the witches. He did not like the werewolves being so much tougher than all other creatures, though. He sought inspiration and found it in the most evil man alive at the time. In Egypt, there was a man who had killed hundreds for the pleasure of it. This man had a fascination with blood. He loved to see blood covering everything. His murdered victims supplied the paint. He would coat the walls and furniture with blood and just sit and look at it. Dairko decided then what he would do. He killed the man but kept the spirit within the body. He catered to the desire for blood by making it the only food the man could live on. He then taught the man how to make others to be like him. Dairko made sure to give his creations enough strength and speed to be a danger to werewolves. As with Ost’s nobility, the evil in this man was passed down through the generations of his descendants. That is why the older vampires were all so evil.” Gabriel sat back and looked around at us.

  “I certainly hope this Dairko doesn’t come back any time soon. All he does is screw with things.” Austin threw in.

  “Actually, the first two times Dairko came to earth, he enjoyed what was already here. He came after the dinosaurs first got huge. He loved watching them lumbering about. When he came back the second time, he went and played with the dinosaurs, even created a few new ones. When he came back the third time and saw that the dinosaurs were still here, he got bored. He believed more intelligent creatures were more fun. He asked Father if he could wipe them away so something more interesting could be made. Dad agreed. Dairko was the one who went and got the asteroid that killed off the dinos.” Gabriel was smiling at his memories. We sat around shocked.

  “And to think, I thought today would be a boring day of grass cutting. Now here I am finding out things that no human has known.” I was shaking my head. It’s funny how things turnout sometimes.

  “You should call Alicia. We need food. I haven’t eaten a hamburger since I left you guys the last time.” Gabriel was rubbing his stomach at the thought. I looked at the clock and saw it was eleven o’clock. The burger places would be serving lunch now. It still felt like early morning to me.

  “Hello?” Alicia’s voice never failed to bring a smile to my heart.

  “Hey sweetie, we need a whole bunch of burgers. Burger King would be best. I’m talking maybe ten to fifteen just for the three of us, not counting what you and the girls will eat. Get plenty of fries too.” I almost laughed, werewolves and angels loved to eat.

  “Wow, y’all must really be hungry. Okay, we will be there soon.” Alicia hung up.

  “Don’t you guys eat in Heaven?” Rosalyn asked Gabriel.

  “There are no wants and needs there. Not even for us. Every need is satisfied at all times. I have been here for several hours now and I’m starving. Funny how that works. Being human, more or less, while I was in Keith’s body was an eye opening experience for me. It was the first time I lived as human. I really loved the food. Burgers and pizza are great, but I might have to make sure I eat some spaghetti and garlic bread before I go back home.” Gabriel always ate at least three times the normal amount when we were growing up. Of course, I only knew him as Keith then.

  We all grew quiet for a few minutes. Seth appeared to be in the planning stage. He possessed a knack for strategy that I would never have. I mostly sat around getting hungry. Gabriel’s talk of food got my stomach growling. The one who drew my attention away from the food thoughts was Rosalyn.

  She went to the window and was looking out on a daylight scene for the first time in around twenty-four hundred years. I could see the amazement in her eyes. Austin stood beside her with his eyes firmly planted on her face. I would always wish there had been another way to save her without killing him.

  “Wh
y don’t you go outside? I promise the sun won’t hurt you. Hey! You could be the first vampire with a tan!” Gabriel started laughing. Rosalyn understood he was laughing with her, not at her.

  Rosalyn looked at Gabriel and then the door. She slowly made her way outside. The rest of us couldn’t help but go and watch as the sun shone down on her beautiful face. Her smile was a sight to behold. It was almost like a mother when she sees her baby for the first time. Rosalyn sank to a seated position on the steps leading up to the porch. Austin’s ghostly figure sat beside her.

  My mind wandered off, like it tends to do. How can ghosts sit down? If they go through everything then wouldn’t they just go through the steps, or the chair, or whatever they were trying to sit on? For that matter, how does their feet know not to sink into the floor or the ground? I hate it when my mind wanders off, it is too small to be out on its own.

  Seth, Gabriel, and I all took seats on the porch. We weren’t speaking since we didn’t want to ruin the moment for Rosalyn. I was glad it was such a great day for this. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky. We might have stayed there watching Rosalyn enjoy the sun all day if Alicia hadn’t brought food to get us back inside. Of course, the girls were amazed by the sun not hurting Rosalyn. We told them we would explain later. Rosalyn and Austin stayed on the porch while we ate.

  We were well into the meal when Alicia pushed away from the table. She acted like she was full after only three burgers. I know for a fact she can put away five without any problem. I was watching her as carefully as I could. She was sick a few days ago even though she tried to hide it from me. She excused herself and I was fairly sure she was sick again. I was about to go after her when Gabriel motioned for me to sit back down. He loved that ‘I know something you don’t know’ look and was wearing it now. He didn’t say anything, just went back to stuffing his face. I knew enough of him to know he would tell me in due time.

  After everyone was more or less sated, we returned to the living room. This time Alicia, Sarah, and Crystal were able to join us. I could see the questions in their eyes but they waited for me to tell them what was going on. I took a deep breath knowing how much Alicia would hate this new danger.

  “Girls, it seems we have a witch problem. There is a witch in Denver who has gotten really powerful. She’s gathered around a hundred werewolves to guard her, as well as around forty humans with guns. She is planning something that has to be stopped. We need to figure out how to stop her without killing any of the werewolves that she has guarding her. She is powerful enough to control Seth if he gets too close to her. Rosalyn can’t be controlled by the witch but she can be killed by the witch’s magic easily enough. It seems I will have to be the one who kills her, but I don’t know how I could do that without either killing some of the wolves, or putting Seth and Rosalyn in the line of fire.” I explained the basics without going into detail. I didn’t want Alicia to know about the witches end goal.

  “Can’t they just draw the wolves away so you can reach the witch?” Sarah asked immediately. “That seems easy enough.”

  “She will have planned for that. I would expect her to keep some wolves by her side, not to mention the men with guns.” Gabriel explained.

  “Who are you? I’m sorry for being blunt but you come here telling us about this danger and I don’t even know who you are.” Alicia said in a tone I was unfamiliar with. She sounded angry and scared at the same time.

  “I guess there’s no way to avoid this easily, so I will just tell you. I am the archangel Gabriel. The whole time you guys were around Keith Goodman, it was actually me in Keith’s body. I changed your memories some before I left. Josh and Seth were the only ones who knew who I really was.” Gabriel told them. I was shocked but relieved at the same time. Now we wouldn’t have to hide his true identity.

  “Wow. That explains a lot.” Alicia said in awe. Sarah and Crystal were staring wide eyed and slack jawed. Alicia surprised us all by laughing. “You won’t be telling Jimmy this right?”

  “No, I don’t see any reason to.” Seth said.

  “Good, then I can tease the hell out of him. The whole ‘I know something you don’t know’ thing.” Alicia was smiling now.

  Alicia’s words brought back Gabriel’s look from earlier. He knows something and I think it is important about Alicia. I have to get him to tell me. This is about Alicia, my wife. I need to know if anything is wrong. I could feel the worry building and it would keep growing until I knew. Damn, why couldn’t he just tell me?

  “Will we be able to help with this? Sarah and I aren’t as tough as you guys but we are willing to fight if necessary.” Crystal stated.

  “No. You three would be too easy for the witch to control and she would use you against me.” I informed her.

  “I was thinking of asking you three to join my pack and go hide somewhere. Maybe a trip to Australia would be good.” Seth suggested.

  “I like the sound of that! The safer the better.” I agreed.

  “Oh great, the women go hide while the men take care of the scary things. Typical.” Sarah chimed in.

  “You can see why, Sarah. If you get within twenty miles of this witch, she will take control over you. The same goes for Seth’s pack. It isn’t a sexist thing, it’s a safety thing.” I tried to explain.

  “Whatever.” Sarah wanted to fight. She enjoyed the vampire fights she had taken part in. She wanted more but since the vampires were behaving lately, she wasn’t getting a chance. She would have to sit this one out.

  I looked over at Seth. He was smiling. I know he has been putting up with this kind of thing for a long time. I think he enjoyed seeing me have a hard time dealing with my pack. He doesn’t feel so alone. His smile was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.

  “Hello?” Seth looked bothered when he saw the number.

  “Seth, I need you to take care of a problem. There’s a town in Alaska that is being overrun by vampires. There’s at least one hundred of them.” We all heard the exchange since everyone in the room possessed incredibly heightened senses.

  “Sorry Mr. President, Josh, Rosalyn, and I are dealing with a much bigger threat right now. You can call Eliada. She can take her group and deal with the problem. If you need backup, call Ekram in India, he owes us a favor.” Seth explained.

  “What is so important it takes all three of you? That sounds like something I need to know about.” The President was getting worried. We had all become familiar with the President’s tones and reactions well enough to judge his moods.

  “I won’t go into too many details but there is a witch in Denver who is causing problems.” Seth replied.

  “Wait, you said witches weren’t that powerful and wouldn’t pose much of a threat.”

  “This one found a loophole and merged with a demon. She is extremely powerful now. I am sure you’ve been told of the werewolf problem in Denver?” Seth sounded exasperated but knew he couldn’t refuse to explain things to the President.

  “Yes, but I didn’t know if it was serious or not. There was just a report saying some wolves were missing.”

  “They are missing because the witch called them to her. She is using them to protect her from Josh. He is the only one who can get close enough to kill her without either being killed or controlled by her. She also has armed humans guarding her as well.”

  “Um, okay. So you guys are handling this right?” The President was at a loss.

  “Yes sir. We will find a way to take care of it.” Seth was smiling again.

  “Let me know how it ends up.”

  “We will Mr. President.” Seth hung up then. “Well, at least this keeps us from having to go to Alaska.”

  “I wouldn’t mind seeing Alaska, as long as it is warm, like it is now.” Sarah said with a dual purpose. I caught her true meaning.

  “No! You, Crystal, and Alicia will be away from any fighting.” I gave her my serious look which only made Sarah stick out her tongue at me.

  We spent much of the after
noon and early evening going through strategies. We didn’t make any progress though. Whatever we suggested would be shot down by one of the others. I didn’t like the way this was heading. Rosalyn came inside after the sun had set. She gave us a break from our planning.

  “Thank you, Gabriel. It was wonderful to see the sun again.” Rosalyn said. Austin was right behind her nodding in agreement.

  “You are very welcome, Rosalyn. I’m glad you enjoyed it and got the chance to spend some time with Austin as well.” Gabriel said sincerely.

  Rosalyn and Austin both smiled. I couldn’t help but think back to when I first met them. Austin was only a week or so along as a vampire. Rosalyn was so sure of her strength and speed that she asked to test them against me. I bested her on both points, although the speed was close. I never told her that my strength was a great deal more than hers. She would have been heartbroken. I can almost understand that. She has lived for over twenty-four hundred years and for most of that time, she seemed all but invincible.

  “We are going to need more food.” Gabriel said with a big smile. “Can we order a bunch of pizzas?”

  “Sure thing. Sarah, you and Crystal find out what everyone likes on their pizza and order two larges for each of us. Get a lot of breadsticks too. You can drive the Challenger to pick them up.” My words cheered everyone up.

  “Rosalyn, do you need any blood?” Alicia asked.

  “No, thank you though. I fed last night.” Rosalyn took a seat after answering Alicia, but was scrambling for her phone immediately. “Hello?”

  “Where are you? You went into your room this morning and weren’t there at sundown. How did you do that?”

  “Walter, I have told you to back off.” Rosalyn was rolling her eyes.

  “I can’t, sorry. If you would only give me a chance, I will show you I’m worth the effort!” Was his response.