by H B Lyne
They crossed into St. Catherine's and the trail became easier to track. Once she had crossed the bridge, the Witch had taken far less care about her route; it was clear she had followed the same path many times as her scent was so strong. Stalker was able to break into a jog and hardly needed to dip her head to the pavement to keep the trail. It led about a quarter of a mile from the river straight to a block of flats. It was a rough neighbourhood, like most of St. Catherine's, and the building was in need of repair, with crumbling walls in places.
Stalker sniffed around the main entrance while Weaver slipped into the shadows and returned in her human form. There was a small porch area and on the wall next to the door was a smashed panel of buzzers to individual flats, clearly no longer in use. Eyes and Wind Talker caught up and examined the situation.
'So, this is where she's been coming?' Eyes asked. Stalker replied with a low whimper.
Wind Talker reached out and opened the door, he held it open and they all filed in. Stalker slipped ahead of the others and followed the scent to the stairwell. There was a lift, but a sign hung on it declaring it to be out of order. The stairs stank of a hundred humans, of urine and sweat, and the scent of the Witch was hard to follow. At the top of each flight of stairs was a landing with a set of lift doors and a corridor leading to several flats. The walls were thin and Stalker heard televisions chattering, raised voices and crying children.
They climbed five flights without seeing anyone. On the sixth floor Stalker rounded the corner onto the landing and stopped in her tracks. The scent of the Witch was overpowering. She was standing in the corridor just a few metres away, wrapped in the wandering arms of a young man with a familiar balaclava tucked in his back pocket. The young pair were attached at the lips, kissing passionately.
Stalker's breath caught in her throat and at the same moment the Witch broke from the kiss and locked eyes on her.
'Stay back!' the Witch yelled at her boyfriend, giving him a shove and stepping between him and the Lightning Lords. She was so young, Stalker noticed, easily younger than she was herself. Her long blond hair hung over her shoulders and she was dressed in tight jeans and a too-big leather jacket that had to belong to the boy.
'We just want to talk,' Wind Talker called down the corridor.
The Witch shoved her boyfriend backwards.
'Get out of here, now!' she yelled, and reluctantly he turned and fled down the corridor.
The Witch started to shake, and shifted into a huge Agrius beast, filling the narrow corridor. She bounded towards them, snarling.
Quick as a flash, Stalker shifted to match her and was the first to strike the Witch. The others shifted a moment behind her and the concrete building echoed with the snarls and sounds of the mockery of a fight. The Witch was severely outnumbered and outmatched, and Eyes soon had her grappled. She writhed in his massive bestial arms and whimpered in frustration. Stalker sensed her losing control of herself, she saw the girl's limbs shaking violently as she struggled against Eyes and a light went out in her eyes as the beast took over. She roared and lifted her feet off the ground, tipping Eyes back a little. She slammed her feet down and the floor gave way below her. She and Eyes fell through the floor and Stalker ran to the hole to look down after them, through clouds of dust and sparks from torn electrical cables that spat angrily. The Witch had managed to force a hole through every floor below them, all the way down to the ground floor lobby. That shouldn't be possible, a voice inside Stalker whispered.
Wind Talker and Weaver approached the edge carefully and looked down. Stalker glanced at the pair of them before leaping into the hole. She plummeted most of the way, but a few feet from the bottom her talisman kicked in and she floated gently to the ground. Eyes was crouched in the falling dust, shaking his head. The Witch stood right in front of Stalker, breathing hard and trying to regain control. But the rage was too much for her and she launched herself at Stalker to attack.
Stalker easily dodged and landed a counter blow to the Witch's back; she felt and heard ribs crack. Eyes got to his feet and tried to grab the Witch again, but she ran around him and managed to hit him in the back of the head. He reeled in agony from the blow and staggered forwards, almost crashing into Stalker.
Wind Talker and Weaver burst into the lobby from the stairwell and joined the fray. They had the Witch backed up against the wall and Weaver shifted into her human form, holding out her hands.
'Can we calm this down?' Weaver asked.
But the Witch roared at them, still lost to the beast and beyond reason. She lurched towards Weaver, and Stalker darted in to intercept, plunging her fierce talons into the chest of the Witch. Her face froze for a moment before she shoved Stalker away. Stalker stumbled backwards into Eyes and Wind Talker strode forward to punch the Witch hard in the face in an effort to render her unconscious.
She slammed into the wall and slumped to the floor. Her form shifted back into human and blood trickled from her mouth. Her eyes were glazed, her skin drained of colour.
'Ian,' she croaked. 'Mother.'
Her breath rattled and stopped.
Stalker shifted form, as did the others.
'Oh shit,' Stalker cried. Her heart was pounding and she was covered in debris. She tried to make sense of what had happened. How had they gone from tracking to killing this girl?
'We have to leave, right now!' Wind Talker shouted, and he ran for the door. Weaver and Eyes followed him, but Stalker lingered to look at the dead girl. She was wearing a necklace, an animal's fang-like tooth on a leather lace. Stalker reached out and touched it gently. Some instinct told her to take it, a trophy for the kill. She pulled and the lace snapped and came away from the girl's neck.
'Stalker!' Eyes yelled from the door. She looked up and ran after him.
People were standing in the street, drawn by the terrible sounds of a building being wrecked and the ferocious animals fighting within. Sirens could be heard approaching and the four shifters hid their faces as they fled the scene. As soon as they rounded the corner they all shifted into their animal forms and split up to return home.
Stalker clutched the Witch's necklace in her mouth as she shifted into an owl and took flight. She soared over the city, scared, angry and confused by what had happened. She kept an eye on her pack mates as they made their way back to Grove Street, ensuring they got there safely. She was the last to return to the house. She landed in the little back garden and shifted back into her human form to enter the house through the back door.
The others sat in silence in the living room.
'How did that happen?' she asked, slumping down on a cushion on the floor.
'We did what we had to do,' Wind Talker replied, his face cold and hard. 'She was beyond reason, she attacked us and had to be put down.'
'She wasn't a rabid dog, Wind Talker!' Stalker shouted.
'Yes she was,' he replied, his big eyes unblinking.
There was a charge of static throughout the room and all of them looked around for a sign of their ally. The television flicked on and the screen filled with fireworks and an excited crowd.
'We have a winner!' cried an over-enthusiastic presenter as the final results of some tacky celebrity reality show were broadcast. The channel hopped to footage of a flock of ravens flying across the sky, and then the screen went black.
Everyone looked at Stalker.
'I guess that means you were the first Berserker to fulfil that war oath.' Eyes placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and Stalker felt sick. Revenge and war were not so sweet after all.
Chapter Eighteen
Stalker tossed and turned in her sleep. The look on the face of the Witch girl as Stalker killed her was burned into her mind and surfaced again and again in her dreams. She dreamed of running through the city, chasing Pursuit-of-Midnight-Solitude through the shadows. She woke several times in the night, her pack were sleeping all around her, even Eyes, who normally went home to his family.
Finally, before the sun was up, Stalker g
ot up, sick of sleeping so badly. She stretched and slipped into the kitchen. Even though it was early, she felt restless and needed to act on the events of the previous night, so she picked up her phone and called Last-Breath-Echoes.
'Hello?' Echoes asked sleepily when she answered the call.
'I'm so sorry to trouble you so early,' Stalker said, keeping her voice low. 'There was an incident in St. Catherine's last night. I was hoping you could keep an eye out for the victim coming through your department, a teenage girl.' She chewed her lip while waiting for the reply. Echoes was quiet for a long moment.
'Of course,' she said at last. 'That's what I'm here for.'
Stalker wasn't entirely sure if Echoes was being sarcastic or genuine, her tone was hard to judge over the phone.
'Thank you,' Stalker replied. 'If there is anything I can do for you, do please ask.'
'Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary.' Echoes said sleepily. 'Take care, see you soon.'
'Yeah, see you soon.' Stalker hung up the phone.
She paced the kitchen anxiously for a few minutes, unsure what to do with herself. The sound of Eyes' phone ringing brought her to a halt. She wandered to the front room and found Eyes shifting from wolf to human. He looked at his phone with a frown and then answered.
'Hello? Martin Davison speaking.'
Stalker moved closer to listen, she could hear a woman's voice on the other end of the line.
'This is Warden, from the Watch. Would you please meet with me on the southern edge of St. Mark's by the river?'
'Yes, of course. What time?' Eyes asked.
'As soon as possible.'
Eyes looked at his watch and rubbed his face.
'Okay, I'm working today, so I can pass that way at eight. Is that all right?'
'That's fine,' Warden replied. 'You may wish to bring another of yours.'
Eyes looked anxiously at Stalker. Stalker nodded to let him know that she could hear both sides of the conversation and could come with him.
'Does that mean I get to hitch a ride in your fancy car?' she asked with a grin. He stifled a laugh and nodded.
'Fine,' he said to Warden. 'We'll see you by the river in just under an hour.'
'Thank you.' Warden hung up without waiting for any further reply.
'Well this is odd,' Eyes said, frowning at his phone. Weaver and Wind Talker were waking and shifting form. 'Do you know anyone from the Watch?'
'Yeah,' Stalker replied. 'Ragged Edge is a Berserker, one of the elders. He conducted my initiation. I met a pack mate of his the other night too, Mjolnir. I've never met their Alpha though. I'm guessing that was her?'
'Yes. Can you be ready to go by then?'
'Yes. I just need to eat something.' She had showered off the blood and dust when they got home the previous night. Her clothes had been protected from the worst of it as she had been in her Agrius form. But she had felt they were tainted by association and didn't want to wear them again. She was grateful for the little stash of her things that she had at Grove Street. She went upstairs to freshen up for the day. When she came back down, Wind Talker was cooking sausages and he passed her a plate of them as she entered the kitchen.
When they had finished their hurried breakfast, Eyes and Stalker dashed out of the door and got into his sleek car. It only took a few minutes to drive to the meeting place. Eyes found somewhere to park just south of Red Bridge and they got out of the car.
'I wonder if we'll recognise her when she approaches,' Stalker said, looking around.
'I think we will,' Eyes said, indicating the riverside path. Stalker looked and saw an odd couple approaching. The woman was fairly short, only slightly taller than Stalker, she had her dark hair slicked back in a tight bun and wore a neatly pressed skirt suit and flat, sensible shoes that slapped the pavement as she walked briskly towards them. The man with her had unruly black hair, stubble on his jaw and wore a simple suit that didn't quite fit properly. He looked really awkward, his cheeks were flushed and he kept glancing warily at the woman. She had a sour expression and kept looking at her watch.
They drew close and came to a stop.
'Fights-Eyes-Open?' the woman asked, looking pointedly at Eyes.
'Yes,' he replied and reached a hand out. She took it and they shook hands. 'This is Stalker-of-Night's-Shadow.'
'Warden-of-Stones,' the woman said, shaking Stalker's hand. 'This is James.'
'Hi,' the man said, looking at them all carefully, before extending his hand.
'How can we help?' Eyes asked as he shook James's hand.
Stalker sensed that James was a shifter, but shiny new by the looks of things.
'James needs a pack,' Warden said bluntly. 'I hate to burden you with the responsibility, when you are all so newly changed yourselves, but I thought perhaps you would welcome your numbers being bolstered.'
James looked incredibly embarrassed and Stalker felt for him.
'Okay,' Eyes said slowly. 'Why can't he join The Watch? No offence, James.'
'None taken,' James replied. He had a slightly hoarse voice.
'We hold to an old tradition, I'm afraid, we only take werewolves.'
Stalker looked at her, her jaw dropped in surprise and she quickly closed it.
'Really?' Stalker asked, stunned.
'Really,' Warden replied.
'I'm originally from St. Mark's,' James said, breaking the tension. 'I've been living over in Old Town for a few years and my business is there.'
'It really would be best if you found new premises,' Warden said sharply.
James gave a shrug.
'Okay, well thank you,' Eyes said with a heavy sigh. 'Of course you can join the Lightning Lords, James, we'd be happy to have you.'
'Lovely,' Warden said without a trace of warmth. 'Well, I shall leave you to it.' She turned and strode away.
'Charming woman,' James said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
'Well, this is awkward,' Eyes said, looking around.
'It's fine,' James reassured him. 'Look, honestly, I just changed two weeks ago. The Watch were looking after me but they made it clear right away that I couldn't stay with them. I think they were waiting for an opportunity to move me on to another pack.'
'I'm sorry,' Stalker said. 'That's not the smoothest start to this life.'
'I gather you haven't had a smooth transition either,' James said, giving her a sympathetic look.
'I'm sorry about this, James, but I have to get to work,' Eyes said, running his hands through his hair. 'Stalker, can you take him back to Grove Street and get him acquainted with the others, please?'
'Yes of course.'
'And we need to find that boy from last night. Can you get everyone onto that today?'
'Okay. Why?' Stalker felt her face flush. Memories from the traumatic fight filled her mind and she felt suddenly vulnerable.
'The Witches might be after him. It's entirely possible they had no idea what that youngster was up to, and once they find out they will want to know who he is and what he saw. He saw us. As it stands they may not know who was responsible for her death, I would like to keep it that way.'
Stalker nodded in agreement. 'Thank you,' Eyes said. 'Good to meet you, James. I'll be able to get to know you properly tonight.'
'Sure,' James replied.
Eyes got into his car and drove off. Stalker watched him go, struggling with the vivid memories swimming in the forefront of her mind.
'So,' she said abruptly, turning to face her newest pack mate. 'What moon did you change under? Obviously not a full one if The Watch won't have you.' She raised an eyebrow and he half smiled.
'No, a half moon.'
'Cool, so you're an owl then?'
'That's right,' he said. He looked immensely uncomfortable.
'Let's go,' Stalker said, gesturing back the way she and Eyes had come.
They walked quickly, it was raining, though only lightly, and there was a stiff wind. Stalker led them on the most direct route across
St. Mark's, though it wasn't far. 'What's your business?'
'I'm a private investigator.'
'No way?!' she said, looking at him. He grinned. 'That is so handy.'
'Handy?' he replied. 'That's not the response I usually get.'
'Ha, you'll see.' She beamed at him. She was thinking of all of the mysteries they had facing them and how lost without clues they were. A PI was the perfect gift from Artemis. As her thoughts raced over the new situation something else dawned on her. With the arrival of James, the Lightning Lords would be a pack of five, one member born under each phase of the moon.
Stalker and James got to 32 Grove Street and as she opened the door, Stalker called out to announce their presence. Wind Talker appeared at the top of the stairs and stood stock still, looking down at them. Weaver stuck her head out of the living room door, a smile frozen on her face.
'Hi,' Weaver said, uncertainly.
'Guys,' Stalker said. 'Come and meet James.'
Wind Talker walked slowly down the stairs, an unusual expression on his face. Stalker stifled a laugh when she realised that he was trying to look friendly.
She led James through to the living room, Weaver had her sketches spread out on the floor and was tidying them away. 'James, this is Weaver-of-Sky's-Loom.'
Weaver gave him a warm smile and then looked at Stalker expectantly. Wind Talker walked in behind them, a pile of papers in his hand.
'Hello,' Wind Talker said.
'This is Wind Talker,' Stalker said. 'Guys, this is James and he's going to be joining the Lightning Lords. Some little issue with The Watch being stuck in the dark ages.'
'Hi,' James said, shuffling his feet and looking very uncomfortable.