Over Our Heads

by Jan Stryvant

  They all trooped out of the office then, Garth in the lead, followed by Daelyn, Sean, and Roxy, with the other three dwarves following behind. As both Sean and Roxy were in hybrid form now, they definitely drew a lot of eyes.

  Garth led them across the factory floor and through a large doorway into the stockroom. A strongly built middle-aged dwarf looked up at them as they came into the room. Sean thought he caught a brief look of fear, but that was it.

  "What do ye want, Garth? I'm busy," Branff said a little gruffly.

  "It seems that someone put something in that sample box that led a number of folks to the place where my cousin and her family were staying," Garth said gruffly while staring at Branff. "A number of folks from one of the caster's councils, specifically one of the caster councils that no dwarf should be doing business with!"

  "Why I'm offended that yea'd even consider me to have done such a thing!" Branff said, rather hotly, "and ye damn well better have some proof before levelin' such accusations against me! My cousins be on the council here, after all."

  "Son?" Garth asked, turning to look at Sean.

  "You put a magical tracking device in the box when you packed it," Sean growled.

  "Yeah? Well where is it? I don't see no device, ya overgrown moggie."

  Reaching into his pocket, Sean grabbed the gold coin, but then remembering a trick Chad had once played on him, he grabbed the brass casino token that was still in his pocket instead, and tossed it on the table before Branff.

  Sean noticed Branff tensing up, but as the brass token hit the table in front of him, the dwarf gave a sigh of relief and almost smiled.

  "I ain't never seen that before, nor did I put that in any box o' yours!" Branff said, loudly, "and I'll swear it before the sooth tellers of the Earth and Stone temple right now!"

  Sean smiled, 'Gotcha' he thought to himself and digging out the gold token that had been used he said, "Then I guess you wouldn't mind swearing the same about this as well?" and he placed the token down on the table before Branff.

  Sean had to admit that he'd never seen a dwarf jump up and run that fast. He got about halfway to the back door when Daelyn's hammer hit him in the back of the head and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

  "That was a devious thing, Son. I thought lions didn't pull those kinds of tricks!" Garth said to Sean.

  "You can't trick an honest man," Sean growled, "or dwarf for that matter."

  Garth nodded "Reckon you got a point there, Son," he said as they all walked over towards Branff who was trying to get to his feet rather slowly, looking a bit dazed when Daelyn's hammer hit him again, getting him in the knee this time and causing him to tumble back down once more.

  From the way he suddenly cried out, Sean suspected that Daelyn had thrown it exceptionally hard this time.

  "Why'd you do it?" Garth asked as they stood around the fallen dwarf who was grabbing his knee and swearing.

  "She ain't nuthin' but a freak! A waste o' our tunnels! Takin' up with a beast no less! She's a blight onna all of us! I ain't dun nuttin' that...."

  Branff's outburst stopped rather suddenly as a loud 'boom!' filled the room and Branff's head exploded.

  Everyone noticed the pistol in Sean's hand at the same moment.

  "Why in the hell did you do that!" Garth yelled.

  "Because I didn't want to get any of that filth on my paws," Sean growled as he put his pistol back into the holster.

  "He was entitled to a trial!"

  "He just had one, and he was found guilty. Sentence was carried out immediately," Sean growled back. "He did it, he admitted it, he paid for it. Anyone who doesn't like it can take it up with me!"

  "Garth," Daelyn warned, "if my man hadn't of killed him, I would have. Traitors aren't entitled to no trials, and he sold you out as well as me and mine."

  "Still," Garth said shaking his head, "there'll be a lot of people upset over this!"

  "Yeah well, too bad for them," Daelyn said hotly. "When my uncle hears what he did and what he said, there'll be a lot more noise than that gun just made!"

  Sean noticed that Garth shut his mouth then, and looked a tad embarrassed, "You're right about that, lass. Those were some pretty ugly words he had there."

  Looking up from the mess on the floor Garth looked around. "Tarl, Wos, Hannigan, clean this mess up!"

  "What? Us?" one of them protested.

  "You're not in the office where you belong, so yeah, you. Now get to work."

  "Let's go back to my office," Garth sighed, "I'm not as young as I used to be, I need a drink."

  "Good, we can pay off the balance while we're there," Daelyn said.

  "I don't think I can take your money in good conscience," Garth said, shaking his head.

  "Why? Wasn't your fault he was a traitorous bastard."

  "Maybe not, but he still worked for me."

  "Actually," Sean growled, "he worked for McConnell. He betrayed you just as he betrayed us. No reason for you to suffer any more for it than having to clean up the mess I made on your floor."

  "Well, far be it from me to argue with a lion," Garth agreed.

  "Wise man," Roxy chuckled, "now, how about that drink?"

  In the Wind

  "I've got news," Jolene told them, when they got back to the guild.

  "What?" Roxy asked as Sean just collapsed into a chair and dragged Daelyn into his lap.

  "What's with him?" Jolene asked looking at Sean.

  "He shot that Branff idiot in the head, after he said a bunch of rather nasty stuff."

  "Glad I missed it," Jolene nodded.

  "I'm sorry I had to hear it," Daelyn grumbled and let Sean pull her closer. "I knew there were some who didn't like me, but that," Daelyn shuddered, "that hurt."

  "Hence the bullet to the head," Sean growled. "No one says that about you and walks away!"

  "Better warn Sawyer," Roxy told Jolene.

  "Eh, Sawyer doesn't mean it," Sean said and gave Daelyn a kiss. "It's just his way of keeping folks on their toes. If he doesn't like you, I bet he wouldn't even talk to you."

  "You may have a point there," Jolene agreed, "but we're getting side-tracked here. I stopped by Sawyer's on the way back here. There's trouble in Gradatim."

  "Couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch," Roxy growled.

  "Well, Jamison, one of the council members disappeared."

  "We know that, we found his body," Roxy pointed out.

  "Yes, we did, didn't we?" Jolene smiled, "And I made sure to tell Sawyer that we did, and that he was killed by Wilston and Hoise."

  "How'd you know that?"

  "I overheard Oak telling Sean who was at the attack."

  "Ah! Okay, how'd he react to that?"

  "He rubbed his hands gleefully and laughed for a full minute," Jolene paused, "Sean, are you listening?"

  Sean had unzipped Daelyn's coveralls and pushed them down to her waist, and was carefully exploring her upper body with his lips.

  "I'm listening," he rumbled.

  "Me, too," Daelyn gasped.

  Jolene looked at Roxy who shrugged and grinned.

  "Anyway," Jolene continued, "Hoise died of a heart attack. Suddenly, and unexpectedly. Rumors are flying all over the place. Some think that McConnell did it, and some think that his buddy Wilston did it."

  "Why would Wilston do it?" Sean mumbled, between kisses.

  "Apparently there's some sort of major power play going on between the senior members of the council."

  "They didn't hand over the book," Sean mumbled.

  "Quit talking!" Daelyn grumbled and whacked Sean on the head.

  Jolene paused a moment and thought about that.

  "It would make sense," she agreed. "I didn't want to mention the book to Sawyer, so he had no idea why they were there. He jumped to the conclusion that because the attack was a failure, recriminations are flying around and Wilston's fighting for his survival now."

  "I wonder what would happen if McConnell found out that Wilston has the book?
" Roxy pondered.

  "Given Hoise's death, he probably suspects," Jolene said.

  "Mmm, hmm!" Sean agreed.

  "Oh, that felt nice! Do it again!" Daelyn giggled.

  Roxy winked at Jolene.

  "We need to go see Chad, right Sean?" Roxy asked.

  "Mmm, hmm!" Sean agreed again, and Daelyn sighed happily.

  "Who's a good lion? Hmm? Who?" Roxy teased as Jolene laughed.

  Sean growled and Daelyn sighed even louder, "Good lion! Do that again!" Daelyn laughed.

  "The things I put up with," Sean grumbled.

  "Hey!" Daelyn whacked him on the top of his head again, "Bad lion! Did I say you could stop?"

  Sean tried not to feel too embarrassed as both Jolene and Roxy started to laugh loudly. He'd get them, but he'd be sure to take care of Daelyn first.

  "Better! Eep! No teeth! No... Oh!"

  Sean smiled to himself as Daelyn suddenly ground her body against him; life was good.

  "So, what's your goal here?" Chad asked as they sat around the table. Sean had just finished telling Chad everything that had happened, as well as what they knew. He'd told Chad about his father's book as well, and the need to get it back, or at least keep it out of the wrong hands.

  "To wipe out Gradatim of course!" Roxy growled.

  Chad shook his head, "No, you do that and the other councils will band together, and then you'll have a war. We don't want a war. That's not the goal."

  "Then what is the goal?" Roxy grumbled.

  "Freeing lycans, that's the goal," Sean sighed. "Though I need to get my father's book back as well."

  "Right," Chad nodded, "and obviously this Wilston guy is planning a coup. That other guy's death is either pure dumb luck, or the guy in charge, McConnell was his name, right?"

  They all nodded.

  "McConnell found out and is undercutting Wilston's support."

  "You don't think it could be Wilston eliminating competition?" Roxy asked.

  Chad shook his head, "The time to eliminate any competition from your supporters is after you've won, not before."

  "Then why not kill Wilston?"

  "Because Wilston has the book and McConnell wants it, but perhaps he doesn't know where it is?" Chad said with a smile. "McConnell probably has his spies watching Wilston like a hawk; and even if he does know where Wilston is keeping the book, it probably pays for him to wait."

  "Why would he wait? Why wouldn't he kill him immediately?"

  "Either he's worried about the potential reaction from the other members of the council; they have recently lost two members, right? Or he's waiting for all of Wilston's supporters to reveal themselves, so he can deal with them when the time comes as well."

  "There is a third issue," Jolene said.

  "Oh?" Chad raised an eyebrow, looking at her."

  "The senior council for Gradatim is nine strong. If they need to circle for any important magic, they need seven to circle. With nine people, it makes it easier to get seven together on short notice. Once Wilston is dead, they'll only have six and not be able to circle."

  "You can't circle with six?" Chad asked.

  Jolene shook her head, "A circle has to be a prime number. Otherwise it can collapse into a smaller circle, or two smaller circles. The effects of that are pretty bad for those not in a circle, or in the smaller of the two circles."

  "Why not use five then?"

  "They could, but a circle of five isn't very powerful by comparison. Most major councils have larger senior councils so they can circle eleven, but for all that they may be big in Reno, the Council of Gradatim isn't as strong magically as you might think. Most of their power comes from their fairly ruthless use of their lycans." Jolene looked over at Oak, who had been even more quiet than normal since returning from burying his friends, "Sorry, Oak."

  Oak sighed, "There is no need to apologize for telling the truth, Jolene."

  "So once McConnell removes Wilston, he'll need to replace him and as many of the other missing members as quickly as possible, correct?" Chad asked.

  Jolene nodded.

  "And no doubt Wilston has already lined up who he was going to use, so again, McConnell is waiting for Wilston to play his hand, before adding any traitors to his council."

  Jolene nodded slowly, "That would make sense."

  "Oak," Sean said, looking over at him, "you grew up with them, does that sound right to you?"

  Oak sighed and nodded, "There is always a fair amount of backstabbing and other types of skullduggery that goes on. In the kennels we actually bet on it, though we made sure none of the humans ever heard about it."

  "What exactly do the lycans do for the council?" Chad asked.

  "Well, the males in the kennels make up the strike teams, and provide security to the leader and any that ask for help. We're also the janitors and laborers. Females work as servants, breeders, and companions for those who want them."

  "Companions?"

  "Sexual companions," Oak growled.

  "How many are there? Overall?"

  "Two alpha teams, three beta teams," Oak paused a moment, "two beta teams now. Plus a few extras, some young kids being trained, so about fifty males, twenty females."

  "That few?" Chad looked surprised. "How do they prevent inbreeding?"

  "They trade 'breeding stock,'" Oak said with obvious distaste, "with other Gradatim councils, and with some of the other covens or council members around the world, some of which have more lycans that others."

  "That sounds horrid!" Daelyn gasped.

  "There are dealers and breeders, mostly in Europe. That profession has not been able to take hold here in the US."

  "What about the other council members," Chad asked, "do they rely on those in the kennels?"

  Oak shook his head, "Each of the houses has their own lycans, and some of the more powerful council members may have five or six. As the local council members enforce the use of the same magical phrase on all of the lycans owned by everyone in the local group, anyone can kill anyone else's lycans. That's the only reason why they're not used in the intra-council fights."

  "And now the big question, just how loyal are the lycans?"

  "How do you mean?" Oak looked at Chad questioningly.

  "If the hold over them was to suddenly end, how many would leave, and how many would stay?"

  "The beta teams would bolt in an instant," Oak snorted, "we're not allowed to have our own women and we get all the crappy jobs. Most of the women would probably run as well. The alpha teams?" Oak shrugged, "I don't know. Some of them seem to be pretty committed, but if it's just an act, or they really are, I can't tell. The lead alpha team is pretty spoiled."

  "What about the household servants?"

  Oak shrugged, "I guess it would depend on how they were treated. Some would stay, some would go. You have to remember, this is all we've ever known. If Sean were to cut me loose tomorrow, I honestly don't know what I would do, it would take me a while to adjust to it, and I was a pack lead. For pack members, they'd be completely lost."

  Chad nodded slowly, "Okay, so first, we need to get Sean's book back. Second we need to free your girlfriend," Chad nodded towards Oak. "Third, we need to free all of the lycans who want to go, without getting into a fight with the ones who want to stay."

  "We can't let any stay," Sean sighed, "not with the council anyway. Maybe with the individual members."

  "Why not?"

  "Because they'll just breed up or buy more, and we'll be right back where we started from. This is about freeing the slaves."

  "I see your point," Chad agreed, "but what about the ones in private homes?"

  "Oh, we'll free them too. But we need to pull the teeth from the councils first, before we can start going door to door."

  "You understand what you're getting yourself into, right?"

  Sean sighed, "Trust me, the only reason I'm not losing sleep over it, is because these three barely let me sleep as it is!"

  Roxy snorted, "Yeah, right!"
/>
  Sean grinned and Chad put up his hands, "TMI, okay? Now, how about someone running out and getting us some food? I need to think about this for a while. But it's all going to hinge on striking when either McConnell or Wilston make their move."

  "I've only got tags enough for two more people," Sean said.

  "I thought you made five more?"

  "Yeah, but I gave one to Roxy and two to Oak, so he'd have one for his girlfriend."

  "Hmm, let me think, and someone go get some food!"

  "Okay," Chad said after they'd finished eating. Chad had been writing stuff down while eating, and hadn't said a word.

  "There are a lot of problems here; the biggest one is not killing anybody."

  "I'm not sure I can agree to that," Sean sighed, "I don't think they're going to just let us waltz in, recover my book, free their lycans, and leave."

  "That's why it's a problem," Chad said. "Especially when removing this McConnell person will cause enough chaos and other problems, that it will help you. Of course if you're lucky Wilston and he might take each other out.

  "But the first thing you need to do is be ready to move at a moment's notice. When those two have their big confrontation, I bet it will be on McConnell's terms, and that he'll have the book right there, to rub it in Wilston's face when he kills him.

  "That'll be the time for you to strike and get your book back. While you're doing that, Oak and Roxy infiltrate the kennels and start freeing the betas and the females.

  "What about the alphas?"

  "If you free their women first, I have no doubt that the males will all fall inline. That sound about right, Oak?" Chad asked, turning towards him.

  "For most of them, yeah," Oak agreed. "But how are we supposed to free them? They're all pilled, and there are wards all around the kennels that will pop your pill if you leave anyway other than the one exit."

  "How long does one of those tags take to neutralize the silver in a pill?" Chad asked Sean, turning back to him.

  "One, maybe two seconds?" Sean said, "But that's not the problem. It messes up the lycan, because it's inside him. They are gonna go down for a minute, maybe longer? I don't know, because I've never actually put one on a lycan with a pill in them."