by Peter Spokes
After several moments of a vice-like embrace she pulled away and looked up deep into his eyes.
She saw the conflict there.
“You still resist her, don’t you?” Juniper whispered with some sadness and frustration. “Do you still get the headaches?”
Ash nodded, “I get some aches and pains and I could certainly do without the headaches, but I can still keep control.”
“But you don’t need to; you’ve never needed to.” She looked up at the moon, “Isis looks over us – why are you so afraid of her?”
“Please, Juniper, let’s not start on that again,” he responded.
After a moment’s pause she smiled. “Then let’s get you up to the farm; everyone’s dying to see you.”
“Just one thing; the man that brought me here indicated that I should fear this area. Has there been some… carelessness?”
“Things have been… difficult,” Juniper said a little defensively. “But you’ll see for yourself soon,” she continued smiling again.
Ash picked up his bags with not a little reluctant enthusiasm and paused before following her along the track to what was once his home.
Scene 3: Juniper Updates Ash
Ash watched Juniper and smiled; it was just like her to create an impression on their first meeting in so many years, he thought. He only hoped the others were as welcoming.
Ash suddenly laughed aloud and it felt good. Juniper looked back at him tilting her head questioningly, but Ash just smiled.
Few people might regard a meeting with a werewolf as ‘welcoming’, he thought.
Ash let his mind wander. He loved Juniper; she was so gentle and thoughtful. Even as a wolf she seemed more like a faithful hound. He thought of his other sister who was certainly more akin to a real wolf. Ash sometimes wondered if she was, in fact, a wolf occasionally taking human form rather than the other way round.
She could be so scary.
“Juniper,” he called, “I don’t like surprises. Is there anything I should know before we go in?”
“No, I don’t think so. Willow is up in her bedroom getting some rest. Since Aunt Magda discovered Uncle Stefan’s body, Willow has been staying up late most evenings to keep her company. Also, her recent injury is still causing her some aggravation but there’s something I don’t understand.”
“And what’s that?”
“Aunt Magda is not as upset as I would have expected.”
“She’s probably still in shock.”
“Maybe that’s it.”
“So how was Uncle Stefan killed?” Ash asked.
“It seems someone bashed him in the back of his head with a hammer,” she answered.
Ash thought for a moment about Uncle Johnne; odd that someone apparently adept with a blade would resort to a hammer.
“You mentioned Uncle Johnne’s not been around?” Ash asked with as much nonchalance as he could manage.
“Well, up until a few weeks ago. I know he was supposed to be friends with Father but he is still part of the clan that threw Father and Mother out.”
“I guess the local constable was informed,” he inquired.
“Not initially; we thought we would track down the murderer ourselves but whoever did it covered their tracks remarkably well. In the barn itself we found the scent of five people: Willow, Uncle Stefan, Aunt Magda and me, and an unknown… And there was another scent that Willow picked up on the hill several yards from the barn’s entrance.”
“And who was that?” Ash asked quickly, his heart skipping a beat.
“I don’t know, but I think Willow does; there were footprints indicating someone came from the woods and returned the same way and whoever was up the hill didn’t enter the barn. Unfortunately, with another snowfall the tracks were barely discernible and tracking a scent, impossible.”
“Of course, we’re always in and out of the barn so there’s no surprise there, and also neither Willow nor I would ever kill a relative – that much we all know,” Juniper said.
“And what did you find when you followed the ‘barely discernible’ tracks?”
“We didn’t find anything… Willow lost the scent.”
“You said that in the letter, but nothing’s ever got away from Willow.”
“Well, I couldn’t believe it either but she got angry when I pressed her about it,” Juniper said quietly, “and when she’s like that… well, you know Willow… you just go with it.”
“Okay, so what were the constable’s thoughts on that?”
“By the time he got there, new snow had covered the tracks but after we spoke to him he said he thought that the person on the hill was probably a lookout for the man who killed Uncle Stefan.”
She paused; “… We didn’t mention the tracks leading away into the forest.”
“Why not? It’s probably important that the constable be told.”
“I know but you know how scary Willow gets if things aren’t done her way. Anyway, the constable thinks it was a thief looking to pinch something.”
“Was anything taken?” asked Ash.
“I don’t think so; maybe he didn’t expect to be interrupted, panicked and fled.”
“And yet still had the mental presence to cover his tracks…”
Juniper looked away. “I wonder if it might have been one of the pagan group?”
“You mentioned that in the letter; are they still around? What did they call themselves?”
“The Athame Brotherhood,” Juniper answered.
Ash thought back; the Athame Brotherhood had been around since before he was born and lived a couple of miles from the farm in a number of wood cabins. Ash’s family had always had a certain amount of respect for them as unlike most other humans who were at best disengaged towards nature or at worst hostile towards it, these seemed actually attuned and aligned to it.
“But they have never given us problems before.”
“Maybe one of their group had never become one of our meals before,” Juniper said quietly, looking away.
Ash turned to stare at her. “Don’t tell me you’re eating people! The whole point of the farm was to produce livestock to live off. Eating people gets attention.”
“I know but it’s not the same. The thrill of the hunt loses its impact and moves into the realms of absurdity when you try to stalk a cow or a chicken – the cows run around in circles and the chickens just flap about!”
“Nevertheless, it brings unwanted attention to the family,” he said, unsuccessfully trying to keep a straight face.
“But we shouldn’t deny who we are.”
“The only way to survive is to deny who we are!” he said with a familiar frustration.
Ash gently put his hands on her shoulders, “I’m sorry, Juniper; I know I’ve not been around much but I would be devastated if something happened to you or Willow. We are all that’s left of the family.”
“Willow would say ‘we are all that’s left of the pack’,” Juniper said quietly.
After several minutes of silence, Juniper said, “Willow’s been seeing a man from the brotherhood. She doesn’t know but I’ve seen her with him. There was a terrible row when Uncle Stefan found out.”
“How did he find out?” Ash said studying Juniper’s face closely.
Juniper blushed, “… I thought he should know… considering what we are…”
Scene 4: Arrival
They walked on in silence until they reached the farm. Smoke trailed from its chimneys as it had done so many years ago.
Walking through the gate, memories flooded back and Ash stopped. There to the left was the seat at which his mother used to sit and laugh as his father chased Juniper, Willow and himself around the yard. His father would always pretend he didn’t know where they were hiding and then as he was turning away in apparent bafflement, would turn again
quickly and go straight to their hiding place. It was somehow both exciting and extremely terrifying at the same time depending on his aspect at that moment.
With the rebuilding of the barn there was now no evidence of the tragedy that had befallen the family.
About a year before the fire, on the request of his mother, her twin sister, Magda, had moved in with her husband, Stefan. Ash’s mother and aunt had always been extremely fond of each other.
He remembered not being too happy about this apparent intrusion, but his mother had said that the farm was too big for her and his father to look after. Some years later he felt the reason was more likely to help with Juniper, Willow and himself. They were not malicious, they were not dishonest; they were – just werewolves.
Also, he felt his mother missed the Roma clan that she and his father had been banished from. They would get an occasional visit from his father’s old ‘friend’, Uncle Johnne; one of the very few of the old clan that – it had always been believed – was still loyal to his father.
Recent revelations exposed the truth with his Uncle Johnne’s apparent ‘loyalty’ and his betrayal.
Taking a deep breath, he started down the path towards the house. Juniper waited for him to catch up, concern on her face, and then turned to lead the way.
They entered the farmhouse.
Chapter 4: Willow
Scene 1: Willow
Willow left her aunt’s room and quietly closed the door behind her wincing as she did so. The wound in her side was still painful but healing nicely.
She absently started to scratch her arm where the other wound was almost healed but was still so itchy.
She went to her bedroom and walked towards the window. Putting her hands on the sill, she looked up at the full moon and sighed. She so wanted to hunt; take her mind off recent events.
She gazed at the moon, Isis, admiring the soft corona around her edge – so perfectly sublime.
She looked down again and out towards the woods.
As the trees swayed in the gentle night breeze, the trunks and branches were already becoming quicksilver reflecting the moonlight in an ever-moving organic metamorphosis.
What was happening? Who had killed her uncle? There had been two familiar scents at the murder scene that should not have been there.
One of those scents had been that of her boyfriend, but why had he been at the scene of her uncle’s death?
The other, she was sure, had been that of her brother, Ash; but he lived in London. Why would he be here? Did he know what she knew about their uncle? If so, then Ash could be the murderer.
Uncle Stefan’s recent demise had left too many questions.
Also, there was Juniper; Willow loved her like the sister she was but it was so difficult when she wanted some time alone with her boyfriend. Juniper was always close.
Ash should be arriving in the next couple of hours or so; the prodigal son was returning.
Her brother could be so sublime but chose to refute his origin. She knew Juniper seemed happy with his wayward nature but Willow found it difficult. At first, she thought it some kind of attention seeking derived from his killing of a boy on a hunt many years ago but to her utter surprise he really seemed to be unhappy with how he was born.
Ash should be the one shouldering the responsibility. He was stronger than he thought – she had run with him during a hunt and saw the savagery and strength in his attack and subsequent gorge.
A pity he preferred whelp to wolf.
Willow needed to get Ash alone sometime soon; see if he could explain her sensing of his apparent presence on the hill that evening.
Willow couldn’t resist any longer; she was like a coiled spring. She let her clothes fall from her body – transformed into her preferred aspect – and jumped through the window landing lightly on the damp grass.
Her mind no longer registered her anxiety and she was barely conscious of the wounds in her arm and flank although she was going to have to take it easy for a few more weeks.
Willow limped off into the woods.
Chapter 5: Aunt Magda
Scene 1: Aunt Magda
Ash knocked on his aunt’s door and entered. She sat in a chair with her hands in her lap and gazed out of the window. Ash’s heart skipped a beat as he experienced a moment’s déjà vu for his mother had often sat in the same chair looking out towards the forest awaiting their nightly return.
Though twins, his aunt had a severity of countenance that had been absent from his mother’s.
Slowly her face turned towards him and he saw tears start as she reached her arms out to him.
Awkwardly he moved forwards and accepted her embrace.
“Ash, you’ve come home.”
“Aunt Magda, we will find who did this and the law will punish them.”
“The ‘law’ will punish them?” said a light but firm voice from the doorway behind him that Ash hadn’t heard for many years. He turned to see Willow enter the room.
Ash was surprised – as he had been earlier with the change in Juniper. Willow was a foot taller than Juniper and though Ash stood a little over six-foot, he didn’t look down on her. Her platinum blonde hair was wet as it cascaded over one shoulder.
He knew she had been out hunting and had probably returned only moments ago.
“You are still trying to act the human, aren’t you, Ash? When we find who did this to our uncle, I’m going to bite off the top of his head – slowly.”
“And what good will that do? Only bring us to the attention of the authorities. They will hunt us down and kill us,” Ash said quietly.
“You are a coward, Ash, and it is well that Father is dead rather than he hears your words. No creature on Earth should deny itself from being what it is. I will never try to be something I am not and neither should you.”
“It is the only way to survive,” Ash said heatedly.
“Ash; Willow!” Aunt Magda interjected sharply.
Willow closed her mouth but the look she gave Ash spoke volumes. She shook her head and left. Ash noticed Aunt Magda’s eyes remain with her until she was gone.
As Willow left, Ash noticed Juniper just beyond the doorway. She turned and followed after Willow. Poor Juniper, Ash thought, she never took sides, always trying to support both.
Ash took a moment to recover from Willow’s brief verbal onslaught. She had always been the most emotional of them and her power of will made her a far more formidable creature than Ash could ever be.
Aunt Magda looked directly at him, “Willow’s upset but we have been alone a long time and she says what she thinks without the niceties of courtesy.”
Ash was well aware of the delicate moment but he needed to speak: “When will you all understand that lycanthropy is not normal and if we don’t fit in we will be hunted and killed.”
Aunt Magda looked away. “Many things are not normal but that doesn’t make them bad.”
Ash paused and after a deep breath started again. “Juniper thinks the Athame Brotherhood is involved and perhaps responsible for Uncle’s death. Apparently, they’ve been seen near the farm. What do you think?”
“Well, they have never given us problems before and as for seeing them nearby, one of them visits the farm now and again for a few chickens. I also put out a bag of clothes for him – he calls himself ‘Moon’.”
Ash felt certain that if either of his sisters had committed an ‘indiscretion’ involving the digestion of one of their community, he doubted that any of the group would be showing up to pick up some old clothes. On the contrary, they would probably make a visit with lit torches and a battering ram.
“Juniper said that there might be the possibility that she or Willow may have… eaten one of them,” he continued.
Aunt Magda was silent for several minutes and Ash wondered awkwardly how to continue the discourse b
efore she spoke;
“When your uncle and I first moved here we were aware from your mother that your father and his children were… different… but though I admit I was initially quite horrified by what your mother told us, over the years I have come to understand, and love, my nieces and nephew.” Then she looked away again and almost to herself, “I loved my sister more than life itself and would kill anyone who would cause harm to her or her children.”
Ash looked up a little surprised by his aunt’s sudden fire.
Then she looked up. “You need to heal this rift between yourself and your sister. It is difficult for them.”
“Aunt Magda, it is more difficult for me!” Ash said with anger born of frustration. “Each month I fight the urgings in me; forces that I feel may break my body apart. Juniper and Willow give in to it. When Isis is full, my sisters joyously swim in her lunar waters; while I am terrified that I may lose concentration and restraint to become a creature to be hunted down. The only way for us to live is to resist the beast.”
Magda looked closely at him. “Once upon a time, I would have agreed with you but as the years have passed I feel I understand them perhaps better than you do. I have watched them return from a hunt exhilarated and alive. I have heard their howls of happiness to the point that – though I am old – I have envied them… and you. They would argue that resisting the beast is not living at all,” she finished.
Ash felt it best not to pursue this any longer – even his aunt disagreed with him and she was human. She was right though in that he needed to patch things up with Willow.
Ash stood up to leave.
Scene 2: Confession of Guilt 1
Ash was turning towards the door when Aunt Magda spoke again. “Ash, please sit down; there are important matters afoot so listen carefully. Willow has always been the emotional one of my sister’s children; there has always been a fire in her; a kill-first-and-ask-questions-later attitude; while Juniper…” she smiled as she turned to look out of the window, “seems to drift through life without a care in the world and I doubt she knows what day of the week it is.