by Sheryl Lee
Her pendant stayed cool, no spikes into freezing or hot and that helped too. Axel was shaking the hand of the one in the suit and saying in a pleased tone, “Rusty! I didn’t know you would be here, it’s great to see you.”
The one called Rusty which she assumed was due to his dark auburn hair pulled Axel into a hug and slapped his back with masculine enthusiasm, a sight that made Sunny’s eyes pop wide open. “It’s great to see you Axel, it’s been too long. We should meet more often, and not just for business.”
“You’re right, and we will. And Jake, great to see you too.” Axel moved to Jake and received the same back slapping treatment, as did Marcus and Powers in turn from each of the newcomers.
Male bonding done with, Axel beckoned to Shax, Sunny and Zora. They each stood and approached. Axel smiled and performed introductions. “Rusty, Jake, this is Shax our driver, Sunny, and Zora. Ladies this is Rusty, the Queensland pack leader and Jake, the Brisbane pack leader.”
Rusty shook the hand of each of them in turn, lingering at Zora and staring searchingly into her eyes. “So you’re the defender? It’s great to meet you Zora, I’ve heard interesting things about you. I look forward to working with you.”
Zora swallowed and managed a polite reply, her hand still tingling from his firm grip. Up close he was even more unsettling. She shook the hand of Jake, responding she hoped intelligently to his murmured greeting. Introductions over Axel offered the two men refreshments and conversation turned to the issue at hand. Axel filled them in on Zora’s visions and the two were silent as they considered what they had heard.
Finally Jake addressed the room in general. “I wish I could shed some light on the music and the reason for the increase in brutality. That could be a sign that the werewolf is becoming more unbalanced which is not good, or it could be something else. If we knew why she takes the heart, intestines, liver, kidneys, eyes and blood we would have some explanation for at least part of what is going on. But there is no precedence for this anywhere in our history. We have searched and searched, there is just nothing.”
Rusty nodded sombrely. “We are just as baffled as you. And there seems to be no pattern for her travel either, it appears completely random. And yet I feel it can’t be. The murders are for a reason, she has a purpose even if the victims are completely random. There is a pattern, we just haven’t found it yet. Perhaps the pattern is in the victims, perhaps she is killing in an order that makes sense only to her, and that is why she is zigzagging all over the country.”
Axel, Marcus and Powers looked thoughtful. “That might explain it, if she has a reason for killing the victims and some sort of numbering system.” Although his words gave consideration to the theory Axel didn’t look convinced.
Zora noted that the werewolf was now being called ‘her’ instead of ‘it’. She guessed that was in deference to the other werewolves who had clearly never thought of the creature as an ‘it’. She cleared her throat and raised her hand halfway into the air in a tentative gesture.
Axel looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “You wish to say something Defender?”
A little startled to be called by her title instead of her name, and wondering if that was to remind the newcomers that she was to be taken seriously Zora put her hand back in her lap and nodded. “Yes, um, well you know I see the werewolf in the visions. I can see her thoughts a little bit too, at least on seeing her victims. She didn’t know either of them and she wasn’t interested in them. She didn’t kill them for fun, or because of who they were, she killed them because she needed their body parts. And I think she is becoming more brutal because of whatever she is doing with those body parts. Remember she told the third victim that his blood was changed with his pain.”
The others were silent, nodding in agreement with her assessment. Zora thought through what she had seen. She was sure she was right but she had no idea what it meant.
But Shax seemed to have made a connection. She jumped up and started pacing the room with all eyes following her. “I think I know what it’s all about!” As she spoke there was flash of lightning followed almost instantly by a terrific clap of thunder. Zora realised that the room had been steadily darkening, not only because of encroaching evening but also by the storm that had been building un-noticed by anyone.
“Finally, we might get some rain!” Jake grinned at the prospect.
“Isn’t summer the wet season even this far south?” Even as she asked the question Zora remembered the dry grass and sad looking trees she had seen when they were out in the car earlier.
“It’s supposed to be but we’re in drought. It’s just been the last few weeks, not usually enough to dry things out but there’s also been a really dry wind blowing. It’s quite unseasonal but it looks like things are getting back on track.”
Shax was still pacing the room, making a dramatic sight as she strode around, the lightning casting an eerie glow to her features in the darkened room. “Unseasonal weather, and it has been unseasonal dry weather in Mackay too and in Sydney. And I bet it’s drying out in Melbourne right now. It’s an effect of witchcraft, dark magic. It’s a spell, she’s casting a spell. That’s why she needs a certain quality to the blood and that’s why she’s still killing. She’s trying to cast a spell and it hasn’t worked yet so she’s trying different things to get it right.”
The entire room stared at her in shock for several long seconds. Then Rusty and Jake shook their heads firmly.
“Wolves don’t do witchcraft.” Rusty’s tone of voice was final.
Axel stared flatly at Shax. “It’s a theory that fits except for one thing. As Rusty said, wolves don’t do witchcraft. Not any sort of magic. They can’t.”
Shax stared back, hands on hips, expression defiant. “Maybe they don’t, maybe they can’t, but this one is trying to. It all fits. It’s some sort of physical spell, she’s trying something big and it’s dark magic.”
Zora tried to follow everything that was going on. She could see that Shax was certain about witchcraft and also that the werewolves and Axel were equally certain she was wrong.
“Why can’t wolves perform magic?”
Axel replied without taking his eyes off Shax who had begun pacing again. “They can’t because they are wolves. They can’t be werewolves and witches as well. It’s an elemental law. One type of magic cancels out another. A werewolf can’t do magic, a witch can’t become a werewolf. If Shax here or Sunny were bitten they would not become werewolves because they are witches. You can’t because you are a defender, which is your magic. So while the theory seems to fit it simply cannot be correct.”
Shax stopped pacing again. “You’re wrong Axel, there is witchcraft here. There is dark magic at work here. If not your werewolf then she has an accomplice.” Both Rusty and Jake blanched at her words and exchanged glances.
Everyone looked at them and Axel raised an eyebrow at Rusty. “You have something to say?”
Rusty sighed, “Not exactly, it’s a theory we have. For the most part we live in packs, certainly those of us born wolves do. Some of the made wolves prefer to live their lives separate from the pack, but they still attend gatherings. We keep track of the made wolves, we have found from experience that they struggle the most with the change. Where possible we assign a mentor to the made wolves to assist them in assimilating.”
Zora interjected. “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but what do you mean by made wolves?”
“Sorry Zora, I mean simply people that have been bitten and turned, as opposed to those of us born wolves.”
Zora nodded, “Ok, sorry, I should have realised.”
“That’s ok Zora, you have a lot to learn in a short space of time. Anyway, there are some factions of wolves that believe the made wolves are not proper werewolves, and should be destroyed. We have had problems with this attitude before and have been able to bring it under control. In contrast, some of the made wolves feel that their human part should no longer exist. They wish to be a wolf only and never cha
nge back to human. The power can be intoxicating to those not brought up with it.”
Zora started as she remembered Powers telling her much the same thing. Rusty was still talking so she pushed her thoughts away and concentrated on what he was saying.
“Lately, there have been a high number of made wolves – which is a concern in itself - and we have not been able to keep track of them all. I don’t know if they are all still alive even.” He addressed his next comment to Zora. “Sadly, some of them do not survive the first change.”
She nodded her understanding, thankful that Powers had given her more information earlier.
Rusty continued, “We have had no reports of any of our number missing, so we have believed this rogue to be a made wolf that we have no information on. But as I said, at this point in time there are several we know to have dropped out of sight, and that has not happened for many years. The last time it happened was when a group of wolves came together. They attempted to enforce their belief that werewolves should be allowed to prey on whatever they wished, humankind included.”
“That’s right, it was a bad time but we were able to eradicate that threat.” Marcus was looking very serious. “Are you saying that you believe that this is another group of wolves?”
Rusty nodded. “We hoped not, we hoped it was all just coincidence, but Shax here is making me think that perhaps we have another renegade group.”
Axel interrupted. “It still doesn’t explain witchcraft. Made or born, a wolf can’t do magic.”
Jake spoke up. “True Axel, and it worries me because if that is the case the wolves have a magic wielder helping.”
Shax stopped her pacing. “That’s not good, not good at all. If someone versed in the dark arts is assisting a group of wolves with a grudge it has to be for something big. That’s why the spell hasn’t worked yet, it needs exact ingredients with exact properties. It could take some time to perfect which gives us time to catch them.”
“And gives them time to kill many innocent people too,” Axel said in a dry tone.
Shax looked a bit sick. “And that too,” she agreed.
Sunny spoke for the first time. “So where does all this leave us? What should we do?”
Zora had been wondering that too.
Axel shrugged. “For right now, we will have dinner and get an early night. Tomorrow we will go to Melbourne. Rusty, Jake, would you care to join us for dinner?”
Both wolves agreed with alacrity, neither wishing to brave the storm raging outside Zora surmised. Or was that just because she was thinking of them as wolves which were like dogs and so probably didn’t like storms? That was politically incorrect. She panicked slightly, afraid the wolves would see what she was thinking. However Axel was grinning, and waved her off with a wink. Zora hoped that meant he wouldn’t tell them her convoluted thoughts.
Everyone except Axel and the wolves began to disperse, Zora going to her room. She was relieved to see that Powers was not there. Shax and Sunny had walked off together, she guessed they had a lot to talk about. Sinking down into one of the wing chairs Zora tried to put together all that had happened that afternoon.
Shax seemed to know Axel very well, there must be some sort of history there. Or perhaps Shax was from another family that came under the umbrella of the fairies. Then there was Frenchie and Sabrina - who knew a witch’s familiar was a real thing and could mind speak to its chosen human companion? And yet Sabrina could mind speak to Shax and possibly to her as well. Did that mean they could choose who they talked to, or did there have to be some kind of connection? Zora sighed, it seemed the more she learned about the supernatural community the less she knew.
Her thoughts shifted to the two werewolves, Rusty and Jake. Her initial fear had faded but she still felt anxious about them. They were both large and strong men, with an air of impatience about them, as though they did not usually spend much time staying still. She wondered if that was due to the wolf in them. They seemed so much more unpredictable than Powers, yet he had a similar ability. What had he said about the differences between shifters and wolves? Oh yes, wolves were tied to the moon and shifters were not. So maybe that was why Powers seemed more solid and dependable than the two wolves.
Zora snorted in disbelief at the direction of her own thoughts. Since when had she believed Powers to be either solid or dependable? Her mind flashed to her disturbing reactions to him. Was that attraction, or was it a result of their bond? Since she had not felt any sort of attraction to him before this started, it seemed reasonable to assume it was a result of the bond which meant it was not a real attraction. She needed to remember that and not become involved any further than she already was.
Abandoning her line of thought she focused on the main issue, the rogue werewolf. It had been frightening enough when she thought they were dealing only with one, but if there were more how were they going to be able to deal with them without more lives lost and without humankind learning about the supernatural population? She hoped Axel was making good use of his centuries old brain because she was fresh out of ideas.
And now Axel had decided they would go to Melbourne, instead of onto Sydney. Zora worried about that too, wondering why he had made the decision. Perhaps he knew more than he was letting on? Powers had said the fairies sometimes withheld information. She sighed again, her life was so complicated now with all these problems. Just for a while she allowed herself the indulgence of wishing her life was just as it was a few days ago. Then all she had to worry about was remembering to meet Sunny for coffee and she was quite happy to ignore Powers for long stretches of time. It was certainly much better for her equilibrium.
As though she had summoned him Powers chose that moment to walk through the door. He smiled on seeing her and threw himself into the chair opposite. “I’m really pleased we have Rusty and Jake, they are good men.”
Zora shrugged. “They seem to be, but I don’t know them yet. Did Axel say anything to you about why we are going to Melbourne instead of Sydney?”
Powers shook his head. “No, but I assume it is because of what we have learned. The situation is far more serious than we at first thought. Axel probably thinks there is nothing more to be learned from going to Sydney and wants to be more proactive.”
“Well I guess he’s right. It’s getting pretty serious now isn’t it? Has there been anything like this before?”
Powers shook his head again. “There have been times when groups of rogue wolves banded together but we have always been able to control the problem. But if there is magic involved that’s a whole new level of trouble.”
Zora sighed. “Yay me, I get to be in the middle of a busload of trouble.”
Leaning forward Powers caught and held her gaze. “Zora, you are far stronger than you think. And you are not alone, we all have our parts to play and dangerous though it will be, we will find a way together to win this.”
“You’re not making me feel any better Powers. Isn’t that part of your guardian job?”
Powers just grinned. “I believe I’m to protect you and keep you alive for as long as possible. Telling you fairy stories, as it were, is not in the handbook. Don’t worry Zora, we have a real fairy on our side!”
Zora sighed, conceded that they did indeed have a fairy and maybe that would prove as good as the Avengers having The Hulk.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dinner, with five fairy guard, a fairy prince, two witches, a shapeshifter, a vampire, two werewolves, a dog and a cat was a lively evening. Zora supposed she should have expected it, with the variety of – what did one call different types of supernaturals, were they species? – anyway whatever they were called it was a variety of types at the dinner table. They all seemed to know each other pretty well, even the fairy guard appeared to be acquainted with the two werewolves.
She and Sunny were the only newcomers it seemed. By the look of uncertainty on Sunny’s face Zora felt reassured she was not the only one feeling a little out of place. But at least Sunny had t
he comfort of Sabrina who was curled up in her lap and moved only to raise a paw to snaffle a particularly choice looking morsel every now and then. Frenchie was sitting under the table in front of Shax – Zora was pretty sure Shax was feeding him her vegetables.
The conversation flowed easily, friendly chat almost like at any dinner table, except of course for the frequent references to topics no ordinary human would even think to talk about. The wolves questioned Marcus about where he was getting his ‘red wine’ and Marcus indicated Sunny with a flourish of his glass (of white wine). Sunny smiled and launched into an abbreviated explanation of her family. This led to the wolves asking about her being a witch, a topic which was of great interest to everyone there.
Sunny looked anxious to be put on the spot, but Shax leaned forward and captured their attention. “We did a little bit this afternoon, really this is not the time to be going into anything in depth. However Sunny is a natural and very strong witch. I don’t know why she thinks she is a dud. Give her a little time and she is going to be an amazing witch!”
“We have two newbies, I believe Zora is also new to her abilities as a defender?” Rusty speared a chunk of steak and chewed it with relish as he stared assessingly at Zora.
Zora cringed internally but tried to keep her expression neutral.
It was Axel who came to her rescue. “It’s true little Zora is new, but she is the strongest defender I have ever seen. Although she has only recently had her abilities unlocked by me, she has all the skill she needs. When the time comes she will prove worthy, I have no doubts about her.”
Rusty swallowed his mouthful, gave her a hard stare and then smiled. “If Axel says you’ll do, then you’ll do Zora. Right Jake?”