by Denna Holm
CHAPTER 9
Aeson wasn’t sure if he should be telling these two humans their history, or about the Hunters and their trackers, but he figured there wouldn’t be anything they could do to prove or disprove it. The vampires had gone to great lengths to spread false rumors about not only their own kind but all shapeshifters, including serpents and Djinn.
“It’s been over three thousand years since Djinn ruled over your world. They were said to be cruel masters, and the vampires and shapeshifters from Laizahlia grew tired of it and formed an Alliance with Raiden to fight them for control of Earth.”
“Raiden?” Mark said, his expression excited. “Are they aliens too? What do they look like?”
“They are a warrior species from the planet Raiden. It is supposedly where my kind is from. We were once slaves of Raiden warriors.”
“Oh, wow, I’m sorry to hear that,” Faith said. “We’ve had our own problems with slavery here.”
“It was three millennia ago. No one is alive today who remembers those times, at least not among my kind.”
“Are there really people around who are three thousand years old?” Faith asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Not serpents, but some of the ancient Hunters were a part of this war. It was them who freed not only humans but the serpents who fought beside them. Our ancestors were given a choice. Remain on Earth and be free or return to Raiden with their masters and remain slaves.”
“So I’m guessing everyone must have stayed,” Faith said. “No one would want to be a slave.”
“What about their family and friends who still resided on Raiden?” Aeson said softly. “Only the serpents who actually fought here were given a chance at freedom. The Hunters could not interfere in matters on Raiden. Only about half those brought to fight Djinn chose to remain on Earth.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess I could understand that,” Faith said, glancing over at Mark. Her brother and parents could drive her nuts at times, but she couldn’t imagine life without them.
“Did they bring you guys here because you can turn into a dragon?” Mark asked.
“No. They brought our kind because serpents could see past Djinn illusion. They could also help the vampires and warriors see past it. Some of the stronger among my kind were said to be capable of turning Djinn magic back on them.”
“Magic is real?” Mark said.
“There is magic, which is illusion, and then there is real power. Those who don’t understand the difference will think of magic as power. Djinn were capable of manipulating both, but illusion, or magic, takes less energy.”
“And the vampires, the Hunters, carry real power?” Faith asked.
“Yes, but there were too few of them to fight Djinn alone.”
“They could see past Djinn illusions?” she pressed.
“I’m not sure. Probably the more powerful of them were safe against it. I imagine the younger Hunters would have struggled without the aid of my people. I don’t have any personal experience, but I’ve been told Djinn illusion is extremely difficult to fight. It is said if they can convince the targeted victim the illusion is real, their mind will convince them the damage caused by it is real.”
“So if I believed I was burning, I’d actually burn, right?” Faith asked.
“Yes.”
“What about the three-wish deal?” Mark asked.
“You would never want to request anything from a Djinn,” Aeson said, his tone somber. “Like vampires, Djinn are an immortal species. They have lived for thousands of years and are masters of twisting words. Though it’s doubtful you’ll ever meet one, if it does happen, I suggest you run.”
“Do you know what they look like?” Mark asked.
“No, not really.”
“What they looked like wasn’t passed down in the stories?” Faith asked.
“Um, yes and no. Remember, Djinn are masters of illusion, but it is also said they are true shapeshifters. Not as you would think of me or a wolf shifter, though. Djinn can manipulate their physical body, change it to look like anyone or anything they like. My sire said one of their favorites was to mix human and animal features, such as the face of a human, but the body of a lion or eagle. It instilled fear in those who worshipped and served them.”
“So no one really knows what their true form is?” Faith said.
He shrugged. “I’m sure some of the ancient Hunters do, but not my people.” He hesitated. “Possibly the alpha of our clan, but if he does know, he’s never mentioned it.”
“You never said what the Raiden warriors look like,” Mark said. “Do any of them still live here.”
“No, they all returned to their own world. After the Djinn were run off, the Hunters put Earth off limits to outside worlds, and they’ve been guarding it ever since.”
“But do you know what they look like?” Mark pressed.
Aeson reached up to touch the nubs on his forehead. “They aren’t shapeshifters, but it’s said many of them had horns similar to ours. My sire told me their skin is mainly a bronze color, but they have large patches of what they call beaded armored skin. He compared their armor to that of a Gila monster—a multi-colored lizard of this world—mainly black with a variety of colored patterns within it.”
“Why do they have armored skin?” Faith asked, struggling to picture a lizard man in her mind.
“Mainly to help protect them against serpent fire. Not all serpents were happy being slaves to Raiden.”
“No doubt,” Faith said. “You’d think we’d have some record of this in our history.”
“You do, in a way. You know about dragons, but not their true origin. You know about demons, which is how your people described Raiden warriors. And you know about vampires and shapeshifters. The vampires altered memories, changed the view, so people only recalled what they wanted them to. Reality eventually turned to simple stories.”
“Like fairy tales,” she murmured. “But why?”
“You would need to ask them. I don’t know, though they must have had a good reason. Times were far different three thousand years ago.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Faith said.
“I wish I could meet one of these vampires,” Mark said, sighing. “I think that would be so cool.”
“And you just might get your wish granted, little human,” a deeply accented voice said from somewhere in the brush.
Heart pounding, Aeson pushed awkwardly to his feet, trying to balance on one leg. Faith moved quickly over to help him stand. A few seconds later, a tall man with long silver hair with black and brown highlights stepped out of the brush. Dressed all in black, with high black boots, Aeson instantly recognized him as either a tracker or Hunter. His features were sharp, even more so than a serpent in human form, and his intense golden eyes were locked hard on Aeson’s face.
“Aeson, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“Your parents are extremely worried about you. Worried enough to ask a Hunter for help. I would say you are in deep trouble, my young friend.”
No kidding, Aeson thought, feeling sick.
CHAPTER 10
Axel growled when the man in black stepped out of the brush, the hair rising down the ridge of his back. When the stranger growled back, a deep rumbling sound, Axel backed off, his bushy tail tucked beneath his hind legs.
“Wow,” Mark murmured. “A real Man in Black.”
The stranger glanced over at Mark, smirking before he returned his attention to Aeson and Faith. He tilted his head, looking thoughtful, his gaze locked on her hand, which was holding Aeson’s arm, helping him to balance on one foot. “How badly are you injured?” he finally asked, his heavy accent making her work to understand him.
“I broke my ankle and wrist in the fall,” Aeson replied. “They will be fully healed within the next day or so. May I ask your name and who you are working for?”
“Are you a vampire?” Mark blurted out, and Faith had never wanted to smack her brother more.
“Rude much
,” she grumbled under her breath.
The stranger chuckled. “Sit,” he said, nodding toward Aeson. He waited until they had done so, Faith staying by Aeson’s side, before returning his attention to Mark. “No, young human, I am the vampire’s wolf tracker. My name is Leif, by the way. Normally Xavier works alone, but the Council thought he might need assistance with this case. Xavier won’t arrive until a little later.”
“You mean after the sun goes down? The sun will kill him, right?”
“Mark!” Faith hissed.
“Don’t worry, young female,” he replied, amusement entering his golden eyes. “No, the sun won’t kill him, but the UV rays can be uncomfortable. Direct sunlight can be hard on their exposed skin and eyes. It’s normal for a tracker to work ahead of his partner during the daylight hours on this world.”
“Does he really drink blood?” Mark asked.
Faith groaned, putting her forehead to her knees. She wished the ground would just open up and swallow her, thinking she’d die of embarrassment. When Axel moved over to her side and laid down, Faith buried her fingers in his thick coat, feeling the tremors running through his body.
“What?” Mark asked. “It’s a legit question, right?” he said, staring at the stranger.
“Why are you here?” Aeson asked before the stranger could reply.
“I would think that is obvious, young serpent. I was tracking you.” He glanced first at Faith and then shifted his gaze to Mark, shaking his head. “I assume you must have a very good reason for telling these two humans about us. You know it is forbidden.”
Oh, shit, Faith thought, wondering how bad this was going to get. It sounded like they were all three in trouble, Aeson as well as her and Mark.
“I wouldn’t have survived my fall if not for Faith and her brother. There was no way to hide what I am from them.”
“Understood.” He studied them all a moment, as if trying to decide what to do with them.
“Maybe Mark and I should go home since you have someone here to help you,” Faith said.
“Faith?” Mark said, a whine in his tone. “I don’t wanna go yet.”
Didn’t he understand how much danger they were in? She could feel the energy rolling off this intimidating stranger. Axel wasn’t the only one shaking here. Goosebumps had broken out over her entire body, and she kept having to rub the little hairs down on her neck. She’d never been so scared in her life.
The stranger glanced toward the sky. “Xavier will be here shortly. He will want to question you both before you leave.”
Panicked, Faith said, “We can’t stay until dark. Mom will kill us if we’re late again. She’ll send out people to try to find us. I know you guys won’t want to deal with that. Me and Mark won’t say anything.” She turned to Mark, raising her eyebrows as she almost growled through gritted teeth, “Will we?”
He shook his head, his face pale. Maybe he was finally starting to sense the danger they were in. Faith did not want to hang around and wait for a freaking vampire to show up. This guy was scary enough.
“Don’t worry, female. Xavier will take care of your parent problem. You and your brother won’t be in trouble.”
Faith froze, narrowing her eyes as the tall man stretched out on the ground across from them and leaned against a Ponderosa pine. He moved gracefully, like some sort of cat. “What do you mean by he’ll ‘take care of our parent problem?’”
He smiled, not answering, which only pissed her off. Faith started to rise. “Come on, Mark. We’re going home, now!”
“Sit!” the stranger said, all hint of friendliness gone as he locked cold yellow eyes on her.
Faith felt the blood drain from her face as she motioned Mark to come sit by her. Mark didn’t hesitate to obey, licking his lips nervously. “Don’t make him mad, Faith,” he whispered.
The stranger relaxed back, the energy spike fading, making it easier to breathe again. He sighed before he said, “I’m sorry if I frightened you. Xavier is going to want to talk to you. No harm will come to you or your brother. I give you my word.”
“What about my parents?”
“No harm will come to them either.”
“How did you learn about me?” Aeson asked, changing the subject.
“Your alpha contacted our Council requesting assistance. Apparently, this is the second time a serpent from this clan has come up missing. He feared humans were closing in on their location, possibly abducting your people.” He shifted his gaze to Faith. “It appears they were at least partially right. You are interacting with humans, though you are not their prisoner.”
“I tried to shift on my own but couldn’t hold my serpent form. Faith helped me when I fell.”
“Did she see you in your serpent form?” he asked, his head cocked in a decidedly animal-like way. The stranger reminded Faith of Axel, weird as that sounded. Or not so weird, considering he could supposedly change into a wolf.
“No, she found me already on the ground. I wasn’t conscious when she first showed up. I have no idea how long I lay there. It was dark when I first fell, and mid-afternoon when she showed up.”
Faith didn’t like it when those yellow eyes focused hard on her. “Interesting. Did seeing a serpent frighten you, young female?”
“My name is Faith. I’d appreciate it if you would use it. And no, I wasn’t scared.” Much. “He needed help. Besides, I didn’t know what he was when I first found him.” She touched her forehead. “I thought the horns might be fake. People here do that to themselves sometimes.”
“What changed your mind?” the man asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“Wings. I don’t think real wings could ever be attached to a person.”
“Ah, yes, that would be a difficult detail to brush away. Well, his parents will likely want to thank you for saving their only son. They have been extremely worried. They must have been to agree to ask for help from a Hunter.”
“Did you let them know I’m safe?” Aeson asked.
“I sent a message to Xavier, who will let them know. There is still a secondary problem, however. Your missing uncle.”
Faith bit her lip, refusing to meet the stranger’s eyes.
“I suspect you know what I’m talking about, right, Faith?”
She nodded, but still refused to look up.
“We’ll wait for Xavier and see if there is anything to be done about it. We don’t wish to cause more problems than there already are, you understand?”
Faith looked up. “You think you can break him out?”
The stranger smiled, though it wasn’t a particularly pleasant picture. It did nothing to help relax her. “It depends on how many humans are involved, how many minds will have to be altered. It won’t be a matter of just the few who are likely guarding him, but everyone who is involved.”
“Oh.” People like her mom and dad, like her and Mark. Not good.
“Your uncle should have taken more care not to be seen. We might not have any choice but to leave him.”
“Wow, that’s kind of cold,” Faith snapped. “What if it was you in there? You’d want someone to come break you out, right?”
The stranger smirked, cocking his head as he studied her. “Tell me, young Faith, what would you be willing to risk in order to free a stranger? Not only a stranger, but one who is a completely different species from you. In my experience, humans are leery of what they don’t understand. When faced with the unknown, it typically does one of two things to them.”
“What’s that?” she asked when it became apparent he wasn’t going to say it himself.
“They either run screaming, trying to pretend it isn’t real, or they attack. Very rarely are they willing to see with an open mind. The serpents have never been a danger to humans, and yet they have been hunted down to almost extinction.”
“Are your kind a danger to us?” she asked, this time meeting his intense gaze.
“No, not typically. I admit there have been rogues in the past who presented a thr
eat, but Hunters and their trackers are sent here to protect human life.”
“Faith and her brother may be able to learn where my uncle is being held,” Aeson said, changing the subject.
“Is that right?” Leif said, leaning back against the tree and closing his eyes. “It’s a start, I suppose.”
“Are you a real werewolf?” Mark asked, and Faith sighed, covering her eyes as her face grew hot.
Leif chuckled, his eyes remaining closed. “I am, indeed, young Mark, though we don’t call ourselves that. Werewolf is a human term.”
“What do you call yourselves then?”
“Our species is Lycaeonian, but we are often recognized simply as shifters.”
“But you change into a wolf, right?”
“Yes.” Leif opened his eyes, exposing his sharp fangs as he grinned. “A very large wolf.”
“Can I see it?”
“Perhaps later.” He closed his eyes again. “Right now, I need to rest. It’s been a long day, and I didn’t get any sleep last night. The three of you should try to rest too. We might be up for most of this upcoming night.”
Faith sighed, wishing she had the guts to try to run, but knew full well she wouldn’t get far. How could a human outrun a werewolf? They couldn’t. She might as well get comfortable, because they weren’t going anywhere right away.
CHAPTER 11
Aeson studied Faith’s expression, aware the Lycaeonian tracker frightened her. Not that the big male didn’t make him nervous too. He hadn’t been aware their alpha could even contact the Laizahlian Council. No one in his clan would be happy when they learned about it. They wouldn’t like vampires or shifters becoming involved in their personal business. He would be in so much trouble by the time this was over.
“Did he really just sit there and go to sleep?” Faith whispered, sounding a little exasperated. “Maybe me and Mark should try to leave. You’ve got help now, and my parents are gonna be worried sick if we don’t get home soon.”
“I wouldn’t advise trying,” Aeson said, glancing toward the relaxed tracker, who he knew was only resting, not sleeping. “They won’t hurt you, Faith. Leif wasn’t lying when he said they were sent here to protect human life. Their kind fought to free you from Djinn control, remember?”