A Werewolf's Saga Books 4, 5, & 6 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 2)

by Michael Lampman

  “He felt lost. He thought he could bring the humans into our fold. He thought we could share this world with them. They bewitched him with those foolish thoughts.” Devish looked back up. “But now, you have come. You have come to join me. The sons of Satar can now stand as one.” He watched him walk to him and stop. He watched him take his shoulders into both hands and felt him grip him firmly. “What do you want from me?”

  “I want the truth.”

  Devish growled. He turned and walked to the other side of the room. “You are just like him. He too asked me this. He too wanted what you want.”

  He watched his blue eyes sparkle within the orange glow of the room. Behind them, he saw more than this. He saw something more there that he did not say. He saw his own fear. He saw Devish’s fear for him. “You fear me. You long to have what I am. I see it in your eyes.”

  Devish took a deep and long breath. He then nodded with a smile. “You do have something that I do not have. With you by my side, I will have it. I will have your strength.”

  “Then tell me the truth Devish. Tell me what you did.”

  Devish scoffed as he dropped his eyes. “I did what had to be done.”

  With this, he now knew the truth. He now knew what he did. He felt it. He saw it in his own mind, but there was more there. He truly felt for him. He truly loved him even though he could not bring himself to say it. In that moment, he knew what Devish would do. “You cannot destroy the humans Devish. They are stronger than you think. They will defeat you.”

  Devish scoffed again. “Will you let them, brother?” He looked up with his red eyes sparkling. “Will you help them destroy me?”

  He opened his eyes. He looked to the bottom of the windowsill and saw the memory fade. But there was more to it than that. “He fears me, but there’s something else. He couldn’t kill me when he had the chance. Why? Why couldn’t he do it?” He looked up to the trees, and suddenly felt a heavy breeze on the wind. A deep black shadow crossed the moon. He saw it, and instantly, he knew what it was—or more importantly—who. “He’s here. He’s just outside.” He took a deep breath and smelled a heavy decaying scent of the air. He remembered the smell. “I have to see him.”

  He turned and left the room, moved across the living room, and then headed outside.

  Sharlia saw him come. “Kalima? Is there something wrong?” She could see it on his face. She could see his eyes looking like they were a thousand miles away. If she did not know him better, she would have sworn that he looked lost. He looked lost as to what to do next.

  “No.” He smiled. It felt forced, but he kept it. He knew that she would never understand what he had to do, so he said nothing. Instead, he made something up. “I’m having trouble sleeping and thought that I would go for a walk to clear my head some.”

  She didn’t buy it. Something else was going on and now, more than ever, she wanted to know what that was. She feared him and all that he could do more than she would ever admit it, least of all to him. “I will come with you. You should not be out alone. It is dangerous.”

  He watched her turn to come with him, and this he feared. He feared what she would think if she knew the truth. “I’ll be fine, really. I won’t be long.” He smiled again. He did a better job of it this time.

  She thought so too, without even knowing that he did it. “All right. Just be careful.” She gave him a nod.

  He huffed some with seeing it.

  She watched him leave her and head to the trees. She then watched him vanish into the dark.

  As soon as he was, she turned and headed into the house. She had to let everyone know that Kalima was gone.

  25

  He walked through the trees. He kept going until he reached a small clearing by an equally small creek. Once there, he moved to the creek’s edge and kneeled down to the water. With both hands, he reached down, took some of the water and splashed it to his face. Feeling the cool water splash over him, he stood back up.

  Someone was now standing on the other side of the creek.

  He knew who he was without seeing him. After all, this was why he was here. “Devish.” He flung both of his hands out in front of him and shook them off. He also took a heavy breath.

  Devish bowed his head. “Kalima. It is good to see you again.”

  Jimmy put his hands on his hips. “I wish I could say the same.” He felt calm surprisingly, but also stood cautious. He did not truly know what to expect, but at the same time, he did. As for seeing him again, he felt the same way. It had been years since he has. In all that time, he noticed that he had not changed at all. He looked just as he always has. “What did you want to see me about?”

  Devish smiled. “You knew?” He took a solemn step towards the water but kept it at only one. “You were always special, and I guess you always will be.”

  Jimmy pouted some, long and deep. “What do you want?” It was time to get to the point. He had no more time for games.

  Devish chuckled some under his breaths. “Right to the point, good. You have not changed, I see.” He watched him closely. He watched him carefully. He did not know what to expect. “I of course want you to end this. I wish that you would.”

  It was his time to chuckle some after hearing this. When he finished it, he bowed his head some but kept his eyes locked on to his. “That’s simple. Stop this fight. Give it up.” He shrugged with it.

  Devish shook his head. “What has happened to you, my brother? You have changed so much.”

  He took a deep sigh. “And you haven’t.”

  Devish’s face truly turned sad. “You know this is right. You know how wrong this has become. You know it, but refuse to see.”

  He noticed his look, but did not buy it in the least. He knew him better than that. “I see the truth. I see the pain. I see and have felt the hurt that you have caused.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I know what you did.”

  His eyes turned solemn, even sadder than he looked. “You do not believe that do you?”

  Jimmy shook his head. “I do. I know you did it.”

  “Why would I? How could I hurt my brother like that?” Devish slapped his hands to his sides.

  Jimmy could not believe any of this. He of course knew the truth. “You have always hated humans Devish. You knew what she meant. You knew what it would do to me.” He shook his head as he spoke. He kept it at that. He had to remain calm. He had to stay collected. This was not the time to finish this fight.

  Devish again scoffed. He also saw his anger. He feared this, so he only nodded with everything else. “What would you wish of me brother?”

  This time Jimmy scoffed. A soft growl ebbed in with it. “Die.” He breathed his anger back down, after hearing the growl. He had to refocus his thoughts, so he did.

  Devish bowed his head again. “Why do you hate me brother? Why did you turn against me? What is it with the humans that turned blood against blood?”

  “You already know that, don’t you?”

  Devish shook his head. “If I let our father do what he tried, we would no longer be here. They would have destroyed us by now.”

  “They are more than you think Devish. They are a lot more than that.”

  Devish looked behind him and then turned back again.

  Catching his breaths, Jimmy watched him carefully. He kept his head fixed on every turn, on every movement, on every action. He stayed calm. “You started this Devish. You made me have to end it.”

  “You truly do not understand, do you brother?” He winced some. “I am truly saddened by that.”

  “I understand enough.” His arms went back to his sides. He raised his voice. He truly felt angry because of this, and thankfully, he did catch himself, and again, he calmed down.

  Devish heard his voice bend and backed up one-step. He also shook his head. “What would you have me do, brother? Think about this. How would humans deal with this if one of their kinds loved a beast? How would their self-pompousness deal with one of their females loving a c
ow for instance? Would they take this? Would they accept it, or would they fight against what they know is wrong?”

  Jimmy scoffed some with this. “Cattle cannot love back. They cannot be with one that they choose. It is different.”

  Devish shook his head violently. “I cannot believe that you think this. How naive you have become.”

  Jimmy forced himself to calm down some again, before he continued. “This is pointless.” He was right. They had this argument before, and like before, they would never convince each other of how they felt about it. It was pointless to continue it. “What do you want Devish? Why did you come here? Why did you want to see me?”

  Devish agreed with him. This was pointless. “I am asking you to come to my home. I want you to come willingly and spare those that have come here with you. There is no point to spill all of the blood that is about to be spilled.”

  Again, Jimmy scoffed with this. “You have never worried about this before. How many have you killed to get to this point? How many have died because of you trying to get what you want?”

  Devish bowed his head. “That is not important brother. All that is, is what I have that you want.” He looked back up.

  Jimmy knew what that was, and it made him angry. It made him feel sad as well. “You will not harm her Devish. You never have and you never will.” Rachel’s beautiful face crossed over him stronger than it had in days. He did not forget about her, he never would, but he knew what he had to do. He knew this, and that was all he needed, but he had limits. This was one of those limits.

  It was Devish’s turn to scoff with hearing this. “You know I will do what I must. I will not only harm her Kalima, but I will destroy her if I have to.”

  Jimmy closed his eyes. He focused his thoughts. Again, he had to calm down. Too much was at stake to let this come apart now. He had to keep it together. He had to stay to his plans. “You know you won’t do it Devish. You can’t. You love her too.” He opened his eyes and stared him down.

  Devish saw the anger in his eyes. He liked seeing it, but for what he heard, he could only scoff again. “I will never love a human, or one of the bastards of the species. You underestimate the truth. You underestimate me. You always have.”

  Jimmy heard his voice crack, and hearing it, he calmed down even more. “Oh I know brother. I know what you felt for her and still feel. You have always loved her.” He moved another step closer to the creek. He was now only a foot from stepping into the water. “That’s why couldn’t bring yourself to kill her before. You love her too much to do it.”

  Devish chuckled some beneath his breaths. He kept his eyes down. “You are a fool Kalima.” He took one-step back. “You will give yourself to me. You will let me take your life.”

  Jimmy noticed his avoidance of what he said, and with it, he let him have it. In the end, it did not matter either way. Besides, he had more important things to say. “Do you truly think that will work Devish? I will only be reborn again, and with it, you will have nothing.”

  Devish did smile. “I know that you gave the wolf up once before. You let another one have it, and with him gone, you died. You passed on without him and did not have all of your strength. I know everything you did.”

  Jimmy nodded. “You sent the Walkers when I was a baby. You tried to kill me then. You failed.”

  Devish laughed. “I had to test you.” The laugh stopped. “You passed the test.”

  He shook his head. “Why didn’t you take me then? Why now? Why after all of this time?”

  Devish kept his smile. “You lived. Without knowing who you are, I could not take your soul. I needed you to remember who you were.”

  Jimmy nodded with this. He did understand it. “I blocked myself. You knew I did.”

  Devish looked up to the sky, and then looked down again. “I did not know you did, but only guessed it. Without the wolf to help you remember, I knew you never would.”

  Again, Jimmy nodded. “That’s why you led me to the labs, why you led me back to Collins.” It all seemed so simple that it even made him laugh some because of it.

  This caught Devish off guard, but it did not last. “Now that you have returned to your full glory, I now need you to come to my home. I want you to give yourself to me.”

  “Why would I do that?” He now completely understood his plan. That was why he was there after all, so he was happy for it. He now knew what he had to do, and how he was going to be able to do it.

  Devish noticed this too, but did not care. He had to keep to the plans. He had to keep to what he wanted—no, what he needed—to do. “You will come to my home. You will come alone. You will do what I ask of you or I will kill the woman you love. There is no other need to do anything else. You will do this whether you want to or not.”

  Jimmy scoffed again. “You know that she will just be reborn again. Why would I give you the world for someone that I will just get back again anyway?” He smiled.

  Devish did too. “I know there is more to this than that. I know of her block Kalima. I know what you have hidden from me.” His eyes sparkled.

  Seeing them, Jimmy did swallow hard. Is that true? Does he know the truth? If he does, than all of this might fail. He may already have changed everything like I feared he would. If it was, and he did know everything, he did fear it. He now feared everything all at once.

  Devish saw the instant fear explode through his eyes. He liked what he saw. “Yes. You thought that you could fool me with your games. You thought you could outwit me.” He smiled firmly. He could not help himself. He felt the strength of his game once again overflow him like cold-water spills over a falls. The power flowed with it, and drenched his very heart. It cooled it right along with it too.

  Jimmy bowed his head. If he does know, I may have to do something else, but I can’t do that. He looked up and their eyes met. I can’t risk this. I have to keep to everything and if I have to, I’ll make things up as I go. What other choice do I have? He decided right there to play along. Either way, with everything in motion, he did not have a choice.

  Devish continued to watch his eyes. He could not see his thoughts, so he had to keep to everything else. What he saw only made him smile harder. “What is your answer Kalima?” He knew where this was going to go. He had no other choice but to do what he wanted him to do.

  Jimmy finished thinking, and knew what he had to do. He had to do this, like it or not. “All right.” He turned from the creek and took a few steps away from it, stopped there and turned back around slowly. “I will come. I will come alone.” Their eyes met.

  Devish nodded. “You have decided correctly Kalima. I am proud of you.”

  Jimmy turned back to the trees. “You may say something different later.” He stopped and turned back around.

  Devish nodded. “We will see, my brother. We will see.”

  Jimmy said nothing else. He just turned and headed back in to the trees. He now had to go back and tell the others—something that he felt sure that they would not understand. Again, he did not have the choice, and neither did they. He just hoped that they would try.

  Devish watched him leave. He nodded again to himself as he vanished. “I know you will do what you must but so do I, brother. So do I.” He looked back up to the bright moon quenched sky, let the bat form again, and after he was, he lifted off.

  He flew back home.

  26

  “How long has he been gone?” Robert paced around the front porch. Since Sharlia informed him about Jimmy going out alone he could not help himself. He felt wrong. He felt completely disjointed. He suddenly felt completely alone. He hated all of it.

  Sharlia stayed by the tree line where Kalima had left. She felt the same way that Rochie did. With her, she felt somewhat betrayed. She also felt lost. She had no idea what was going on and she hated that. “About an hour now.” She turned back to the cabin.

  Sasha stood by her side. “He must have had to go. He knows what’s going on. He knows what he’s doing.” She could not beli
eve what she felt coming from them. With everything that Jimmy did for them and is doing, how could they doubt him? How dare they do it? She just did not understand them as much as she thought she did.

  Brandon agreed with her more than he ever truly understood it. In all honesty, he trusted Jimmy completely. “Sasha’s right. We have to have faith in him. He knows what he’s doing.”

  Kenar agreed. “They’re right Rochie. They know him better than we do.” He had to get all of this under control. This was pointless as far as he was concerned about any of this. It was pointless doubting him.

  Robert shook his head. “They’re his friends.” He scoffed with all of this. “They feel obligated to defend him.”

  Kenar laughed. “And so are we.” He stood firm. He had no other choice. “Or have you forgotten that.”

  “I sure as hell hope so.” Jimmy stepped out of the trees just behind Sharlia. He stopped between her and Sasha. As for what he heard from them he completely understood it. He understood more than they would ever truly know, but now, there was more that he had to do, and this, he knew, they would never understand it either. Again, he knew that they did not have the choice, because he sure as hell didn’t.

  They all turned to him at the same time after hearing his voice.

  Kenar saw him and smiled. “See? He’s back.” He shrugged hard for good measure.

  Sharlia turned to him and nodded. “Where have you gone?” She felt pleased seeing him, but she kept to her original thoughts. She just did not understand why he was hiding things from them. She would never understand him, and she knew that she never would.

  Jimmy just shrugged. “I went for a walk.” He passed them and headed to the cabin. “I had to take care of something.”

  Robert heard something within his voice. There was more to it than just going on a walk, and he could feel it. He had to know what it was. “You just didn’t go for a walk Jimmy, did you? What else happened?”