Hair, Greg - Werewolf 01, page 10
“I know you only just arrived, but do you like it here so far?”
“Yeah, it’s okay, I guess.” He kept listening for the last couple.
“You do know that she’s with Gabriel, don’t you?”
“Who? Serinda? I know that. Why do you say that? Besides, people break up all the time.”
“That may be, but I know my sister.”
“Oh, I get it. Women sticking together, and all that jazz. I’m not going to do anything to her.”
“No, I mean she’s my sister. My actual sister,” said Bianca.
Now she had his attention. He stopped, looking at her intensely. Serinda and Bianca are sisters?
“That’s why I know that your wishful thinking is just that. She’s not going to break up with Gabriel.”
“But you’re a werewolf, and she’s a vampire. How does that happen?”
“About five years ago,” began Bianca, “Serinda, who’s three years older than me, was dating Gabriel. He revealed to her what he was, and she was okay with it. That’s not to say that she was all right with it simply because she was in love with him, but she also liked being with someone so powerful. She’s always liked power. She eventually confided in me what he was. I was scared at first, but I came to trust him.
“She had asked him a couple of times to turn her, but he always refused. Anyway, not long after, I was attacked by a werewolf. Serinda flew into a rage and basically forced him to turn her, threatening to leave him if he didn’t. She wanted revenge on the one who attacked me. So he did, and together, they tracked the beast and killed it. Serinda begged me to allow him to turn me, knowing that his bite would override the werewolf’s, but I said no. So I remained what I became. Eventually, we ended up here.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to be turned?” he asked.
“Some people are okay with living forever; I’m not one of those people.”
Suddenly twigs began breaking nearby as someone approached from within the trees. Serinda stepped out into the moonlight that filtered through the glass ceiling, nude. She walked over to the central fountain, cupping her hand into the cool water. A couple of drops trickled down her beautiful breasts. Serinda turned, seeing her spies. She didn’t shy away at all. She looked at him, and a corner of her mouth rose steadily as she blended again, slowly, into the shadows. God had to be a man, he thought, because there’s no way that a man wouldn’t create something so perfect.
A moment later, Bianca and Jamie heard the sounds of passion coming from the area where Serinda had emerged and reentered.
“Come on,” said Bianca. “I’ll walk you back to your room.”
Turning and without taking his hand, Jamie watched as she began heading out the greenhouse and toward the front of the castle complex. Soon they were standing outside his bedroom door.
“Thanks for going with us,” she said. “I had…fun.”
“Thanks. Me too,” responded Jamie.
He thought about saying, I’m sorry for being such an ass to you and staring at your sister the whole time while you were being so nice to me, but the words never emerged from his lips. Bianca hugged him anyway, said goodnight, and walked away.
Jamie entered his room and stepped out onto the balcony. He leaned against the railing, staring out into the night, across the castle, listening for a while for certain sounds, but unable to hear anymore. Jamie hadn’t yet trained his human ears to be able to hear across certain distances. He gave up and went to bed.
15
Jamie ran through the castle complex of Burghausen, his lungs burning as his muscles strained to keep up with the demand. He couldn’t recall the last time he had to run so quickly, but whenever it was, he wasn’t being chased by three vampires like he was now. He turned the corner of one of the smaller buildings and crouched down, trying to listen for those chasing him, but his own exasperated breathing was all he could hear. Sweat poured out from under his blond hair. Staying in the shadow, he peered out, seeing the vampires standing with their backs to him about twenty yards away. He was sure he’d given them the slip.
“We may not be looking at you, but we know where you are,” said one of the vampires as all three turned in his direction. The two males and one female moved closer, taking strategic positions around him.
“Okay,” said Ryker, standing on the roof of an adjacent building, watching the entire scene unfold. “That’s enough. We know what we need to work on with your evasion tactics,” he said to Jamie.
Ryker jumped from the roof on which he was perched over about fifty yards worth of courtyard to the roof of the building where Jamie had stopped running. He made it look so effortless, like he was flying. In a second, he bounded to the ground, landing in front of Jamie.
“They’re just so fast,” Jamie said, still trying to catch his breath.
“It’s not that they’re faster than you,” responded Ryker. “It’s not your speed; it’s how you’re running. We need to control your breathing, and you’re too predictable in your course. You’re too easy to track. You also haven’t quite learned how to blend in with your surroundings better. I obviously don’t mean that werewolves are like chameleons, but even the best mortal soldiers know how to become part of their environment. Getting back to your speed, though, you could have gone much faster if you had changed. Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know,” said Jamie, looking down. “Maybe I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” Ryker asked.
“Changing when I wasn’t supposed to, possibly hurting someone. I was afraid of doing something wrong.
I’m not sure what you’re looking for,” the teen said.
“Don’t worry about us, Jamie,” said Serinda. “We can take care of ourselves.”
“Thank you, Serinda,” said Ryker. “You three can go.”
“See you later, Jamie,” said Gabriel.
“Yeah, probably in about a week,” Connor said. “You’re gonna be exhausted for a while. You’ll get used to the pacing.”
“What we’re doing,” said Ryker, turning back to Jamie, “is seeing where you are at the beginning of training, seeing where we need to start. Call it getting baseline data. We’re seeing what you know and what you don’t know, what you can and can’t do. Don’t worry about what you may do to someone. There isn’t anyone here who can’t handle an inexperienced candidate such as you. What we want to do, though, is get you to the point where it’s possible for us to not be able to handle you. This was just the first test. Later we’ll see how you do when you’re the one doing the chasing. We’ll see how you track. We’ll see how you fight, offensively and defensively. That’s all for now.”
Ryker, helping Jamie to his feet, led him back to the main building.
On an upper balcony, Landon, LillyAnna, and Nicholas watched as those below crossed the courtyard, and entered their building.
“I guess I’m next,” said LillyAnna in an almost interrogative way.
“You’ll be fine,” said Landon. “It won’t be the same test that Jamie just had, though. Because you were able to watch what happened, they’ll throw something different at you.”
“Can you give me any pointers?”
Landon shook his head. “Can’t give you anything. That would skew the test.”
Ryker emerged from the ground floor doorway, looking up at the three on the balcony.
“LillyAnna,” he called. “It’s time.”
“Well, the last three days have been fun,” she said, shaking nervously as she turned, making her way through the sitting room and down the staircase to the courtyard.
“Let me know how she does,” said Nicholas. “I’m going to check on Jamie.”
LillyAnna walked outside, meeting Ryker in the center of the courtyard.
“So, what happens now?” she asked.
“There may be times,” he said, turning and walking away, “that you’ll have to face someone you care about.”
Suddenly, a thud came from behind her, and she felt the hot breath on her neck. Goosebumps covered her body when she heard the low growl. LillyAnna turned and looked into the eyes of the werewolf that stood before her. She barely released a light gasp when the beast struck her with its large right arm, sending her flying back. As she struggled to sit up, Landon shifted into his human form.
“I’m sorry, LillyAnna,” he said. “But you must get up. You must do what’s necessary. Ryker is right. This will most likely not be the last time you have to face a friend. Most of us have had to do it at some point. I know you’re injured internally. Get up. Heal yourself. Attack.”
LillyAnna stood, wobbling, and changed into a werewolf.
“Good,” said Landon. “Now, fight back.” Suddenly, not to his surprise, she transformed back.
“No,” she said.
“You must,” he responded, becoming the beast once again, lunging at her, knocking the woman into the nearest wall.
LillyAnna got on her feet, her eyes burning red, and sprinted toward Landon, increasing speed as she charged across the courtyard, changing as she ran, finally flying through the air like a missile into the opposing creature, throwing him across the entire length of the grassy arena until he burst through the doors of an adjacent building.
Nicholas heard the ruckus taking place outside as he knocked on Jamie’s door.
“What?” Jamie yelled.
“It’s Nicholas. May I enter?”
“What do you want? Come in if you want to.”
Pushing open the door, Nicholas walked into a darkened room. Jamie had drawn the curtains and was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
“I wanted to see if you were okay,” Nicholas said.
“I’m fine. Can’t you see that?”
“I can see that you’re fine physically, but I’m more concerned about other parts of you,” Nicholas responded.
They heard the loud crash of breaking glass and a subsequent howl. Jamie jerked up into a sitting position. He knew that LillyAnna was taking her first test now, and the worry was showing on his face.
“She’s fine,” he said. “It actually wasn’t her who screamed, but her opponent. That should give you some comfort.”
“She’s fighting a werewolf?” Jamie asked.
“Yes, and it sounds like she’s doing quite well. You care about her, don’t you?”
Jamie knew what Nicholas was getting at, but tried to move around it.
“I don’t know. I’ve only known her less than a week. So what?”
Nicholas crossed the room to a chair next to the bed. “You do care for her. I’ve noticed that you have been spending time with the other youths of Burghausen, but I can see that you hold a special place for LillyAnna.”
Jamie lay back down and rolled over with his back to his interrogator.
“Look, I was doing just fine back in Louisville, until I was forced to come here. Why are you asking me this?” asked Jamie, becoming annoyed.
“Because it’s distracting you,” said Nicholas. “You are meant for greater things, but your teenage lust is getting in the way. I know that you are angry about what happened to your father. Channel that. And you should never have been forced to come. Free will is a wonderful thing. I will always give you a choice.”
“I’m not lusting after anyone. And I’ll find the thing that took my father from me. I would have had a normal life if he had been in it,” Jamie said in a striking tone, jumping out of bed, and walking to the window. He looked out to the town below, watching the people going about their daily lives.
“What are we?” he asked. “I mean, compared to them. Are we monsters? Do the townspeople know about us?”
Nicholas stood quickly, grabbing Jamie by the arm, and spinning him so that they faced each other.
“Yes, they know about us,” said Nicholas, his furrowed eyebrows meaning business. “We have a pact with them. As long as we don’t use the locals as food and we offer protection, we can stay. And no, we are not monsters. They are the true monsters. You see what they do to each other every day on television, in the papers. It is rare when we go after our own kind. It is only when it serves a greater purpose that we do. They do it…well, only God knows why they do the things they do.
“We, on the other hand, can do spectacular things, the likes of which none of them have ever dreamed. You were given this gift for a reason, and be sure you understand that it is a gift. As far as LillyAnna goes, you do need to realize that she is not for you, and you must focus on your training. You are someone special. You have simply lacked the right guidance. Now come with me. She is almost finished, and all of us must talk.”
Leaving the room, they proceeded to the courtyard in time to see the large red werewolf pin the smaller brown one to the ground. Ryker, walking over to join Nicholas and Jamie, clapped his hands twice, and Landon released LillyAnna from the ground. As the two beasts lumbered toward the onlookers, each changed back to their human form.
“How do you think you did?” asked Ryker.
“I don’t know,” answered LillyAnna. “I’m not sure I could beat him, but I think I held my own.”
“Hmm,” said Ryker. “Do you? I think you held back. To be fair, you are, at this point in your new existence, out matched in every way. I was not, however, looking for you to beat him. I was looking to see if you would give all that you could regardless of the identity of your opponent. At this time, you will not.”
“But it’s Landon,” she protested.
“Yes, but who could it be next time? You must be willing to fight when necessary and whoever is necessary. Now I know that both of you still have questions regarding your abilities. It’s time you were given answers.”
The group walked into the main building, down the hall, to a medium-sized sitting room with large windows and a fireplace. The room was commonly called the Blood Room, due to the overwhelming dark red motif. A fire had already been started, and six chairs had been arranged in a semicircle around the warm glow.
“Why are there six chairs when there are only five of us?” asked Jamie.
“Did you expect me to sit on the floor?” Annelise answered, walking over and kissing her husband on the cheek.
“Just in case you have any questions from a female perspective,” said Ryker, looking at LillyAnna. “Please, everyone, be seated.”
“You’re already aware,” Ryker continued, “of some of your abilities. You know that you can change at will, and you know that you have increased speed, both in your werewolf state and your human one. You know you’re incredibly strong in both forms. Now for the things you don’t know. With practice and great concentration, you can perform a partial change,” he said, motioning to Landon, who gave a demonstration with his hand.
“That’s neat, I guess,” said Jamie.
“It gets better,” Nicholas said. “You know that you can heal wounds that are sustained in any state by changing, but the transformation can do other wonders. Like any other mortal, our human bodies will get weak, sick, succumb to disease, either temporary or permanent, and eventually die. Death will get us anyway, no matter what; we’re not like vampires. What the change will do, though, is prolong death, instantly replenish strength, and cure any illness. It’s like the ultimate detox.”
“You mean we can’t get cancer?” asked LillyAnna.
“Oh, we can get it,” said Landon, “but as soon as you are able to shapeshift, it’s gone.”
“My God,” she said, “it’s a cure for cancer. We need to get our blood to the right people.”
“Not so fast,” responded Nicholas, “it doesn’t work that way. You can never donate blood. If a mortal who is not born with the gene or is not bitten, in which case the saliva of the biter helps to transition the new blood, is given our blood, that person will die. The body will try to reject the injected blood, causing the new blood to fight back. I’ve seen it happen. It’s a horrible, painful death.”
“Back to prolonging death,” said Landon. “As long as you change on a regular basis, your body will age slowly, about four months for every year, and stay in incredible shape. Your senses as a human will be heightened. Werewolves become stronger through experience, mastering their powers, and using them in new and heightened ways. For example, LillyAnna, you’ve already seen some of the things I’m able to do in a fight, like a midair change.”
“A what?” asked Jamie.
Landon proceeded to tell him about the first time he met LillyAnna and the ensuing fight.
“It’s something I learned with a lot of practice. That’s what I meant when I said that we become more powerful through mastering our powers.”
“I know you said that old age will eventually catch up to us, but can we be killed?” Jamie asked.
“Yes,” said Nicholas. “But it’s not that easy. If we were to become impaled through a major organ, and the device were left in place, the organ will remain damaged through any shift. Decapitation, drowning, and fire also work. Basically, if we are prevented from changing somehow, or if what is harming us is consistent from change to change, we can be killed.”
“I know that we’re supposed to be like super-powered crime fighters, which is totally cool and all, but do we ever go after our own?” asked Jamie.
Everyone, except for Jamie and LillyAnna, looked at each other, remaining quiet. Annelise finally spoke up.
“Yes. There are two reasons why that would happen. The first is if the person has gone bad. If one our own, and by our own I mean vampire or werewolf, begins murdering, or any other great offense, an order for termination is put out on them by the Senate.”
“What’s the second reason?” asked LillyAnna.
“If the person goes mad, losing themselves and all control upon the first transformation,” answered Landon.
“What do you mean?”
“Some people lose their minds, staying locked in their new form. They’re unable to control their actions. Most stay lucid and are able to gain control. Others are not so fortunate.”
“There’s one more thing,” said Nicholas. “If a werewolf bites a mortal, the former gains control over the latter, but only for a short period of time, which is different for everyone. Like any other creature, though, the new werewolf will soon thereafter come to have free will.”
