Published: 13 Apr 2017

Chapter 5

When Runi was again seated behind the desk, he looked at Deacon, and sighed. “So, I hear that you wish to tell me about another enemy I have made?” Runi sounded almost dismissive of the thought.

“Yes Ancient.” Deacon said from the seat that Runi had directed him to. “I do not know the name, but it is the Ancient that has been controlling the scavengers, and also some of the council members.”

“And what is it that this ancient wants? And why does it involve me, other than the fact that this ancient is working with the Scavengers.” Runi asked bluntly.

Deacon looked decidedly uncomfortable as he spoke. “From what I have been told, this Ancient wants to break away from the Lord of Twilight’s control, and give those of us in the America’s control over ourselves.”

Runi shook his head, but kept his anger under control. “And what is so terrible about the Concords that you wish to not have to abide by them?”

Deacon looked to get angry, for a moment, before it faded. Runi didn’t react, but he did find it amusing. It took a moment before Deacon found the words he wanted, before he began to speak. “As your heir knows, I am a student of history. If things work out, I would love to speak with you about that history, however, as to the point here. In the past, the Scavengers were those that wished to rule humanity, who wished to do as they saw fit. Is that correct?”

“That is fairly accurate.” Runi said, leaning forward, now interested in the conversation.

Deacon nodded, then sighed. “Unfortunately, that is not the case anymore. Now, I would hazard to say that 75% of those that are classified as Scavengers are not like that. They simply want to exist, and the Houses are what stands in the way of that.”

“Explain!” Runi said with so much force in his voice that Hank jumped slightly.

Deacon also jumped, and now looked a little scared, but thought it better to do exactly what Runi had said. “From what I have read about the great war, those who opposed you wanted to rule the humans. They also wanted there to be no controls on how many they could turn. You then declared that all those who would not follow the laws were to be hunted and killed.”

“It was a bit more, detailed, than that.” Runi said, but nodded for Deacon to continue.

“Well here, it’s not like that. When the Houses first came here, and the war was over…”

“What war?” Runi asked, causing Deacon to blink in surprise, but then realized that Runi must have slept through all that.

“It was the war between the Vampires that came here from Europe, and the ones that were already here.” He paused when it looked like Runi was going to ask something, but when Runi shook his head, and waved his hand, Deacon continued. “Well, obviously the Lord of Twilight’s forces won the war, with Sebilla leading the final battles. As a reward for this, she was named Lord Protector of the Americas. She then went about creating the houses as is the custom of the European Vampires, naming those that supported her the most as the Lords. However, what is not commonly known is that, The Lord of Twilight sent many of his people here to help in the war. When the war was over, they went to join the houses, and were turned down.”

“Why?” Hank asked, obviously just as intrigued with this version of history as Runi was.

Deacon shrugged slightly before he spoke. “Mostly because those that were denied entrance into the houses, did not fight for, or alongside that of the house Lord. So they were cast out.”

“That makes no sense.” Runi said simply.

“I agree, but that is what happened. My sire was one of those that was turned away. He said he applied to no less than ten houses, and was turned down each time. He even tried to appeal to the Council, and was not even given a hearing. It seemed like those that had power, wanted to keep it to a select group. But, that’s how you got the Scavengers. Most of us do follow the Conchords, at least those of us that know about them.”

“Wait a minute.” Hank said, while moving around to stand next to the desk Runi was seated at. He locked eyes with Deacon as he spoke. “You make it sound like the Scavengers aren’t so bad. But if that were true, why were you hell bent on Soul Drinking me?”

Not looking apologetically at all, Deacon met the gaze as he answered. “Simple. I want to survive… I want my Children to survive, and I want those I consider family to survive. If that means draining your blood, and drinking your soul, then that’s what it means. We certainly ain’t gonna get any help from the High Council. Hell, most of the council’s work for the Ancient I’m here to warn you about. That doesn’t mean they give a shit about us… we’re the cannon fodder.”

“So you come to me…” Runi said quickly, cutting off anything Hank might have said. “… seeking safety?”

Deacon seemed to all at once deflate. “Hell, I don’t know. I just know that, from what I’ve read, the best chance my family and I have for survival is to NOT be your enemy.”

As the light of the flared fire died down, the wolves all knew something was different. The house, that they could just make out, wasn’t there. The woods smelled different, yet the same, and everything had an almost moon-lit like gleam to it.

A rustling in the leaves behind them, caused all of them, save Takoda to spin around. “Do not be alarmed pups.” An absolutely huge wolf said as it walked out of the woods. This wolf had to stand a good eight feet tall at the shoulders. It’s jet black fur was adorned with what looked like tribal trinkets, and it’s eyes were not the normal yellow of a wolf, but a baleful red blazing, dancing flame.

Everyone stepped back, and Colt even felt his beast recoil in fright. “Who… what are you?” He heard someone say, then realized it was his voice.

The wolf looked at him and grinned. “I would have thought it would be obvious to someone with your blood. I am Wolf.”

“But…” Christina said, but couldn’t find any other words. The huge wolf walked calmly into the center of the circle, and sat next to the fire. He looked around, taking in all of the people standing there, and sighed.

“Shift!” The wolf roared, causing almost all of them to instantly shift to their war form. The only ones who did not were Gregory, Christina, Colt and Mato. “You have strong wills…” Wolf said with a grin, while looking at them. “Please shift, I would like to gaze upon the children I have not seen in many years.”

Colt nodded his head, and shifted up into his war form, followed closely by Christina, Gregory, and finally Mato. Wolf looked Mato up and down, and nodded his head. “It has been even longer since I have seen one of Bear’s children. I thank you for the aid you are giving my children.”

Not knowing how to respond, Mato simply nodded his large head. “I know that you all have many questions, however, I do not have long, so I will say what is needed, and the rest, you will need to figure out.” Wolf stood up and moved around the small circle of wolves, stopping in front of the youngest of the teens. “Dustin, you have a great amount of sadness inside, and even more fear. Not fear of the unknown, since you are relentless in your pursuit of knowledge. The fear inside of you is of yourself. You must overcome this fear, or it will undo what you are, and what you have yet to do. Let go of the guilt as it does you no good.” Dustin hung his head, and Colt could see tears running down the teens face. He wondered what was going on, but knew not to ask, yet. Especially since the huge wolf was moving again, and coming towards him.

“Young Alpha, for you are truly an Alpha. One of the strongest Alpha’s I have ever seen. However, you have no clue what you can do yet. You have so much power inside you, yet no idea how to use it.” Wolf then looked at Gregory. “You will teach him all you know about being a Wolf, and about the Beast.” Gregory just nodded.

The Wolf than looked at Christina. “Another Alpha, though not as strong as this one. The two of you will make a strong team. Without even knowing how, you have tamed the Beast. Impressive indeed. Trust your instincts, for they will guide you well.”

He than moved to Gregory and spoke. “You have done well so far, leading my children. While it is time to hand the mantle of leadership to another, your skills will still be needed. I have already seen that your pup will turn true. Make sure he is protected till that time.” Gregory looked on the edge of asking a question, but the Wolf turned and was walking back towards the woods. Before entering the woodline, he turned and looked over the assembled group one last time. “A war is coming that you must win. You have allies, but speak of this to them not. They need not know all that you know. Some knowledge is not for those that walk in the night.” He turned, and took a step before turning back. “Oh yes. The Alpha will find the sword to be a great aid. See that he gets it.” Wolf then moved back into the woods. Takoda pulled another hand full of herbs from his satchel, and tossed it on the fire, causing it to flare again. When the fire died down to a normal size, they all realized that everything was back to normal, and the sun had started to rise.

When Runi woke the next evening, his thoughts immediately turned to what he had learned last night. Of course the most alarming was what Deacon had said, but not for the reasons one would have thought. Having another enemy, even an ancient, is not something that truly worried Runi. He’d had many enemies in the past, one more was not a concern. No the part that bothered him the most was the Council, and what was done when the European Vampires arrived here.

Knowing he needed more information, he bathed, dressed, and made his way downstairs. Seeking out the Vampire he was looking for, it did not take long to find Deacon sitting in a chair, reading one of the old books that the former Council Lord had in his study. “A student of history indeed.” Runi said, noticing the book looked to be very old.

Deacon looked up from his book. His eyes went a bit wide as he saw Runi there, and scrambled to his feet. “Yes Ancient, I am.”

Runi nodded and smiled slightly. “I would ask that you go to wherever it is that you call home, and bring me the journals of your sire. I wish to read what he had to say, before I bring this to the Council.”

Deacon looked a bit confused, before he nodded. “I am not sure what good it will do for you, but I will do as you ask.”

“Thank you.” Was all Runi said before he turned and left the room. Walking towards the study, he saw Winston, and motioned for the man to follow. Once he was seated behind the desk, he looked to Winston. “I know that all your training wants you to treat me as a being close to a god. I do understand that. However, when it is just the two of us, you would serve me much better by speaking the truth, and your opinion. You have been around these vampires enough to know them better than I do.”

“As you wish.” Winston said with a small bow.

“Next, is there another office in this building. I do not feel right displacing Hank, since he is the High Councilor of this area, this should be his.”

“This was actually the former Lord’s private study. He took most of his meetings in the library. Edward and Elizabeth have already taken over the library, and are moving things around to make that Hank’s proper office.”

“I see. Well I guess that would make sense then.” Runi then paused, took a deep breath, and continued. “There will be someone showing up today. I do not know a name, or even what they look like. They will simply identify themselves as ‘The Librarian’. This person will be treated with the utmost respect, and brought directly to me.”

“As you wish.” Winston said with another bow, causing Runi to sigh slightly. He would not get the man to relax.

“I would like some fruit and wine brought in, I will be breaking my fast while I work. If you could also ask that Hank and Lugh join me as soon as they are available.”

Winston, bowed again, turned and left the room. As the door closed, Runi was left to his own thoughts. Things were certainly moving more quickly than any other time he had woke. But then again, it seemed that every time he woke, he had some problem he, and he alone, had to deal with. Someday soon he would like to sleep without knowing that he would wake again. But he had one final task that must be completed before he could do that. One person he knew, deep down inside was still active. And until she wasn’t, he would not, could not sleep.

The sun was down, and the house was starting to really come to life. For the new wolves, they were also used to keeping a night time schedule, so the two youngest members of the Montana Pack were just coming outside for their evening run. “Were you guys going?”

They both turned and found Christina standing there with a couple of short sticks. Her red hair was slick with sweat, as was her tank top shirt. Since she was just about the same age as they were, and she was very good looking, they both couldn’t help but stammer a bit. “Uhh… just going for our evening run.”

Her eyes went up a bit, and she smiled. She knew the effect she was having on them, and couldn’t help but make it even worse for them. Having a bit of an evil streak in her now, she grinned, placed the Escrima Sticks on the side table, and stripped off her top. “Mind if I come with?”

Both Brad and Dustin blushed, even though they were used to seeing females naked, since there were two in the pack, they were not used to seeing a girl their age naked, and they both agreed that Christina was VERY good looking.

Working hard not to laugh, she dropped her shorts, then shifted into wolf form. “Come on.” She barked over her shoulder as she trotted out to the yard. She couldn’t help but huff as she saw them both turn their backs to undress. “Oh Look! Full Moons!” she howled, while thinking this was something that they didn’t have to do often.

By the time they trotted out to where she was standing, she was at least able to not laugh any longer at them. She even did feel a bit sorry for them, well, maybe not. “COME ON!” She cried as she took off into the woods.

Once they were running, the earlier uncomfortableness was forgotten, as they nipped at each others heels, ran into each other, and generally just played the way young wolves would. The fact that in human form, the two boys were larger than Christina, did not stay true in the wolf form, as she was larger and heavier than either of the two males. Not that it mattered really when it came to play. None of the three of them had any clue how long, or how far they ran, and played. They were all exhausted, but still they wanted to keep playing. Finally they found themselves by a small lake. They made it to the banks before all three of them collapsed, panting, but grinning.

None of them could talk for many minutes, as they all simply relaxed, and caught their breath. After almost twenty minutes of just laying there, basking in the moonlight, Christina stood up, and began to shift. “NO!” Brad said sharply, causing Christina to stop mid shift, and melt back down into her Wolf form.

“Why not?” She asked once she was fully back as a wolf.

“When we run, we don’t shift back till we get home. It.. well it helps us accept our wolf, our beast.” Dustin said softly.

Christina thought about it for a moment, than looked at the two boys and asked. “Last night, when Wolf was there. He said I’d already tamed the Beast. What did he mean?”

“He meant you’ve done something that neither of us have really done yet.” Brad said with a shake of his head. “Taming the Beast… Well you know what the Beast is right?”

Christina started to shake her head, but then stopped. “It seems you guys know a lot more about this than I do, so let’s pretend I don’t know anything.”

Brad thought about it for a moment, while Dustin looked on to see what the older boy would decide. Finally Brad nodded, then stood up, and shifted from his wolf form, to his war form. Dustin quickly followed suit, followed by Chris. “It’s easier to speak in this form.” He said in a deep gravely voice. He began to pace, as he spoke.

“I was a boy scout before I shifted for the first time. I was at summer camp, four years ago, when something called to me in the middle of the night. I woke up in a sweat. I felt, more than heard the wolves calling me. I didn’t know why at the time, but I had no choice, I got up, got dressed, and snuck out of the camp, following the distant howls. It turned out to be Constance and Gregory calling for me. When I got close, I felt something inside of me start to, I don’t know, boil up.” He shook his head as he tried to find the right words.

“Boil up I guess is the best way to describe it. But from deep inside me I felt a fire start, and not a little one either.”

“The Rage.” Christina said, causing both boys to nod in agreement.

“As soon as I saw Gregory, standing there in his full War Form, I didn’t run, like I should have. Part of me was screaming to get away from the monster, but another part of me, the Beast, wouldn’t let me. It was screaming at me that it had to have blood. It needed to fight, to make that one bleed for daring to stand up to me. To…”

“Yeah.” Christina said with a toothy grin. “I know what you mean. I was in the shower when I started to feel that same thing. The next thing I knew, I was breaking through the wall of the second story bathroom, and launching myself at this kid. Turned out Colt was a bit stronger than I was.”

“More than a bit.” Dustin said with a shake of his head. “I’ve read everything I could find on what a True Alpha can do. They’re scary.”

Christina wrestled with wanting to know more about Colt, but finally forced herself not to. “I’m sure Colt and I will both want to know about all that, but…”

“But that has nothing to do with your Beast, and what it means to Tame it.” Brad answered, to which she nodded.

“When you first felt Colt nearby, your Beast fully emerged. That first time, when you’re not ready for it, there is no way for you to keep control. You probably attacked Colt.” Brad said with a smile.

“Yeah… you could say that.” Christina said dryly, thinking back to the house that she grew up in, and that she and Colt tore apart with their bare… claws.

“Yeah. you really had no chance to control it then, but.. After that point, it sounds like you learned to control it fully, without help.”

“What does that mean, control it?” Christina asked, getting a bit frustrated.

“In me,” Brad said after a moment. “It’s always there, just below the surface. Anytime I get angry, or scared, I have to fight to hold it back. The Beast is there inside me, and it’s different from me, it’s not me, but it is. It’s so hard to really describe, but… well it’s like he’s there, ready to take over at any time, and if I let my guard down at all, he’ll take over.”

Christina looked shocked and confused. When she looked at Dustin he just nodded his head in agreement. “I… I’ve never…”

“That’s because you tamed it!” Brad said emphatically. “The others have too, but we haven’t yet. They say it’s something that takes years to do, and until than, we need to stay back at the house.”

“We’re not even part of the pack really!” Dustin said as he kicked a small log, sending it flying in pieces. “We won’t really be a part of the pack till we can control, tame the Beast.”

“Hell the only reason we’re here, is cause Constance didn’t know if she’d even go back to Montana.” Brad sadly added.

“I’ve read about cubs who’ve tamed the Beast quickly. They were always the fiercest of warriors.” Dustin said in a very quick tone. “They were the ones that learned to trust their Beast, so it didn’t need to take over. Some say they surrendered to their Beast, and now the Beast isn’t there anymore, because they became their Beast.”

“What do you think?” Christina asked.

“I think it’s something in the middle. I think they had a strong enough will to not let the Beast take over, but were also smart enough to listen to what their beast says, so it doesn’t need to ‘shout’. One of the ones I read about said it wasn’t that he tamed the Beast, as much as he realized the Beast was just himself, just another side of the same leaf. He didn’t need to Tame the Beast, he needed to learn to accept the Beast, connect with the Beast, and allow that part of himself that is the Beast, to always be there, not fighting for dominance, working harmoniously together, as if there weren’t two different people.”

“Wow.” Was all Christina could say….

Jared and Devon were sitting on the porch talking when the door opened, and out walked the six kids from the warehouse. “Hey guys!” Jenny said quickly and happily, while the others smiled, and waved, as they all sat down on the porch as well.

“Hey guy.” Jared happily replied, but Devon simply smiled.

Bryan, being the spokesman that night, fought against his shy nature, before he looked at Devon and began. “We… uhh.. .we normally do this after someone’s been with us for a while, but things… Well they’ve been kinda crazy lately.”

“Yeah… you can say that again.” Jared said with a laugh that quickly spread to everyone else.

“Well anyways.” Bryan continued once the laughing dies down. “We just wanted to see how you were doing, if you had any questions, or anything like that.”

“Well… ummm… Gee… you know, Hank and Jared…” He reached out and grabbed Jared’s hand at that point. The other boy tried to pull his hand back, but Devon wouldn’t let him. When Devon looked around, all he saw were the others smiling. Quickly he relaxed, and smiled as well. Continuing as if nothing happened, Jared went on. “… have been great answering anything. But… ummm… well yeah. How often do you guys need to feed, and how do you know when to do it?”

“Well…” Bryan started, then looked around. When no one jumped in, he sighed and looked back at Devon. Sometimes he really hated how the others tried to force him to get over being shy. “It really depends. I mean if we don’t do anything other than what a normal person can do, we can go for about a month, maybe more. But, if we use any of the vampire abilities, we need to feed sooner. If we use a lot of them, it’s a lot sooner.

As for how do we know.” He chuckled humorlessly. “You’ll know. It’s like a gnawing in the pit of your stomach, that nothing will get rid of.” He glanced around and saw everyone else nodding in agreement.

“Is it usually just one person you need to… feed from?” Devon asked after a few seconds.

“Usually.” Bryan answered. “Unless you let yourself get really hungry, than it can be more.”

“The older you get, the more you can… hold, I guess is the best term, and the longer you can go between feedings.” Connie spoke up for the first time. “I talked with Hank about it a few years ago. Right now, if I’m really hungry, I could drain three or even four people. But than again, I can go almost three full months between feedings, if I don’t exert myself, and I’ve only been in darkness for a little over thirty years. Hank says it pretty much plateaus after that, since he can go about the same as I can.”

“The exception to that.” Jazz piped up. “Is when your first turned. It’s said that the more someone feeds in their first month, the more powerful they’ll be.”

“I think I drained like four so far. Two the first night, and then two the other night.” Devon remarked thoughtfully.

“That’s more than any of us needed.” Decker said with a smile.

“Yeah well… I’m kinda still hungry.”

“You are?” Jared asked, the concern evident in his voice. Devon was about to reply when all their attention was turned to a car pulling up the driveway.

They all got to their feet, with Decker quickly going to the door. However, before he could get there, Winston appeared. “The Ancient is expecting someone…” He said simply.

“Yeah, but that’s no reason to not be on guard.” Lugh said as he stepped out behind Winston. One look inside the house showed Daniel there, shotgun in hand.

They all stayed on the porch and watched as the car pulled slowly up the driveway. Once it got close, they could see two people in it, and the fact that it was a standard midsized rental car. It came to a stop at the top of the circle, right in front of the porch, and two people slowly exited the vehicle. The man, who was driving lifted both hands, and walked around the vehicle, to stand next to the woman. When he got next to her, and stopped, he looked up at Lugh and spoke with a southern accent. “We’re here to see the Master… I’m the Librarian.”

“You were expected.” Winston said as he moved down the steps towards the man and woman standing next to the rental car. “The Ancient, Runihora, is waiting for you.”

“Thank you.” The man said with a slight bow, then moved to the backdoor, opened it, and withdrew a small bag. He nodded to Winston, who turned and led the way back into the house. Not being able to fight their curiosity, everyone else followed behind the couple.

When they entered the main hallway, Runi was standing at the far end, Hank next to, and a step behind him. The group moved up to Runi, where Winston spoke. “Ancient. The humans you were expecting have arrived.”

“Thank you Winston.” Runi said, then turned his attention to the two. As soon as his eyes fell upon them, they both dropped to their knees, head bowed.

The man than spoke up, but very few understood what he was saying, since he was speaking in the Ancient Vampire High Tongue. “Master… You have summoned, and I have come. How may I serve?”

Only Runi wasn’t surprised to hear a human speak that language. At least those that understood what was said. The real shock came when Devon leaned over to Jared and asked, “How come I understood that?”

Runi looked over, this time with an arched eyebrow, “We will discuss that later Devon.” He then turned his attention to the man who was still kneeling, and directed his next comment to him, although he did speak in English. “Your knowledge of the High Tongue is commendable. However, I would ask that you not speak it unless need be. Now, have you brought the Library?”

“I have Master.” The man said as he held up the small bag.

Runi took it, and carefully unzipped it, then reached inside. Withdrawing his hand, he held a large object wrapped in black velvet. Dropping the bag he began to slowly, reverently unwrap the bundle. Everyone heard him gasp slightly as the blood red gemstone came into view. Those looking carefully even saw it pulse slightly. Then much faster when Runi touched the Gem directly.

The room was silent for many moments till Constance broke the silence with a whisper. “Is that… a Bloodstone?”

Runi’s eyes had been transfixed on the pulsing Gem, but when Constance spoke, his eyes slowly came up, and met her’s. “It is, and you will not speak of what you know of them, am I clear?”

“Yes Ancient!” She said quickly, to which he only nodded.

“Good.” He looked down at the two humans and spoke. “You two, follow me.” He than turned and began to walk towards his office. He only went a few steps when he spoke again. “You too Hank.”

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