Wolves in the Shadows (The Wolf Clan Chronicles) (12 page)

“It’s okay, young one,” Lord Reginald said as he rocked her gently.  He was crouched beside her on the rocky ground. 

Elizabeth buried her head and clung to him. 

“What happened, father?”  Marcus’ voice shook with barely restrained fury mingled with something that sounded oddly like fear.  “What did we do?” 

Lord Reginald shook his head but said nothing. 

Elizabeth looked up at Marcus with her pale tearstained face.  Romulus whined and tried to lick the tears from her cheek.  She pushed him away weakly.  His presence was no
t as comforting right now as it had been before. 

“What does it mean?” She asked.  Her voice quavered as she spoke. 

“Perhaps nothing,” Lord Reginald said so softly that Elizabeth could hardly hear him.  “Perhaps everything.” 

If Marcus had heard his father, he gave no sign.  He knelt beside Elizabeth and cupped his hands tenderly around her face. 

“My mother was killed by a group of hunters who were under the influence of our enemies.” He said.  “They tortured her for information about the Wolf Clan, but she wouldn’t say a word.  They left her for dead staked to a tree in front of her own house and took Mallory away.”  He sighed, his eyes blazing with blue fire.  “Do you remember how I swore to destroy the families of those who killed her and stole Mallory?” 

Elizabeth nodded.  Sir Marcus’ anger was too thick and suffocating for her to speak. 

“There were four of them,” Marcus’ voice was dripping with bitterness.  “They were Anya’s three brothers and her sister’s husband.” 

Elizabeth’s eyes widened as the horror of his words sunk into her heart. 

“That’s why I could not keep my vow,” Marcus said.  “Not completely.” 

Elizabeth shook her head, unable to find any words to express herself. 

“I killed Aldo and his children and all of their families,” Sir Marcus continued.  There was no remorse in his voice.  “I left the youngest child of each of Anya’s siblings alive and fled with Mallory.  I watched after her family for generations until at last I left in search of Augustus and my father.” 

Elizabeth shuddered at the coldness in Sir Marcus’ eyes. 

“And the child?” she asked.  She placed her hand on her belly.  “Was Anya pregnant when she died?” 

“No,” Lord Reginald said, shaking his head.  “What you saw did not come from us,” he said. 
“It was a sign.”

Sir Marcus shot a perplexed look at his father.  Romulus whined. 

“A sign?” Elizabeth asked.  “Of what? And from who?” 

“Yes, father, explain,” Marcus said.  His eyes had narrowed into dangerous slits. 

“I cannot speak of it tonight,” Lord Reginald said.  “There is something in the air that whispers of danger.  You are not safe with us tonight.  You must go home and stay there.” 

Elizabeth swallowed nervously and nodded.  She did not feel safe at all right now.  She allowed herself to be led back to West Hall without another word.  Her mind was churning with questions whose answers she was not sure that she really wanted to know. 

Chapter 10

As Elizabeth stood at the door of her room, she realized that she wasn’t ready
to go home.  She sighed, turned from the dorm and walked back down the hall the way she had come. 

The main lobby was deserted.  She sank into one of the worn armchairs and tried to gather her thoughts
.  She shuddered as she thought back to her vision and the revelation of Sir Marcus’ fierce vengeance.  It was almost too much for her to be able to comprehend. 

Part of her wished that she could just go back to her life of blissful ignorance.  Was she really better off knowing of the existence of the shadowy world of vampires and hunters and werewolves when they were capable of such atrocities?  She could have been out with Michelle tonight, drinking and partying, but instead she was here alone agonizing over horrible things that had happened centuries ago. 

She laughed inwardly; was she actually missing her old life of following her roommate around and holding her hair back when she had too much to drink?  What was happening to her? Maybe she was just afraid.  Yes, maybe that was it.  Her life before meeting Sir Marcus may have been boring, but at least it was safe.  The worst things that had ever happened to her were getting vomited on or failing an exam or maybe tripping down some stairs, but now a whole new world filled with pain and misery had opened up before her.  Could she really go back to the grove now, knowing the terror that awaited her?  Could she face the answers to the terrible questions that she had to ask Sir Marcus and Lord Reginald?  She shook herself out of her thoughts and looked through the glass windows beside the doors. 

She realized that she couldn’t just sit here quietly agonizing over what she had learned tonight.  She had to go now and find Lord Reginald and Sir Marcus and get up the courage to speak her mind to them.  Part of her was suddenly certain that Lord
Reginald’s warning about it not being safe for her to be with them tonight was just an excuse to get her away.  She stood up and squared her shoulders.  Something in her mind screamed at her to just wait until tomorrow night, but she was certain that if she didn’t go now, she wouldn’t have to courage to go back the next night. 

She walked to the door
and threw it open.  The night beckoned to her with its velvety darkness, and she felt compelled to answer its gentle call.  She sighed and stepped out of the dorm hall for the last time. 

Chapter 11

Though her plan just before leaving West Hall was to go back into the grove, Elizabeth found herself wandering aimlessly in the opposite direction.  She felt like she needed time to untangle the jumble of thoughts in her head before going in search of the Wolf Clan.  As she walked along the neatly manicured paths that led through the heart of the campus, the night seemed to become thicker and darker around her.  She remembered how Sir Marcus had said that her night vision was better because she was with him and Romulus.  Surely that was the reason that it was harder for her to see right now.  It was a shame.  She had been enjoying her new improved night vision, but then again, the darkness seemed strangely comforting.  It matched her mood. 

In no time, her feet had carried her through the campus to the Rose Garden.  She breathed in the sweet smell of blooming roses.  What was it about that aroma that was so soothing?  She frowned and wrinkled her nose.  There was some other smell under the scent on roses.  It was oddly familiar. 

She whirled around and crouched down, her fists clenched.  She could not hear or see him, but she could sense his presence.  She recognized the cold smell of death the surrounded him.  The shadows around her seemed to solidify. 

A velvety, musical laugh came from the darkness.  A soothing influence began to creep into Elizabeth’s mind.  A few days ago, she would have succumbed, but she had become much stronger without even realizing it.  She pressed against his power, closing her mind to his will. 

She heard a snarl rip from her own throat in response to her unseen foe.  “I don’t know who the hell you are or what you want, but you would be wise to just walk away,” she said through gritted teeth.  “I know how to defend myself, and I will hurt you.”  It may have been a lie, but it made her sound braver than she actually felt. 

“Little girl,” the voice was like a gentle caress.  “If you knew who I was, you would know better than to make such empty threats.” 

“I know what you are,” Elizabeth replied.  She squinted into the darkness, but could not find where the night ended and the stranger began.  “You are very old and powerful, but I know someone who is much more powerful that you.” 

The strange vampire seemed to materialize before her. 

“You know nothing of power,” he said as he glowered down at her.  His grey eyes had none of the warmth of Lord Reginald’s.  His body seemed to be cloaked in shadows that swirled in bizarre patterns before Elizabeth’s eyes.  His face retained the vestiges of youth, but there was a bitterness in his expression that spoke of centuries of brooding anger.  His power was cold and cruel, like an icy wind whose fingers could find a way into the warmest shelter. 

“
I could show you things that would turn your world inside out,” he whispered.  His voice was so calm, so hypnotic that it took almost all of Elizabeth’s willpower to resist it.  She could feel the coldness beneath the calm.  It sent shivers running through her entire body.  She shook herself, trying to regain control of her thoughts. 

“You are very brave to stand before me,” he continued silkily.  “You do indeed have a
great deal of power within you, but you are no match for me.  Not yet anyways.” 

“No,” Elizabeth heard herself say as if from a distance as she struggled to hang on to her consciousness. 
She could feel his mind pressing inexorably against her own.   She knew that he was far too powerful for her, but she also know that she could not surrender to this creature.  Not without a fight. 

“They’ll find you, Demetrius,” she managed to say with some effort.  “They’ll make you pay.” 

“You’re a perceptive little bitch,” he spat on the ground at her feet.  His face became a twisted mask of fury.  His pale eyes sparkled with malicious intent as Elizabeth could feel the weight of the centuries of seething bitterness.  She could see stretched out before her the long years that he had spent contemplating the vengeance that he would take against his ancient foe and all his family.  And she was a part of that ancient family. 

Her knees buckled in the face of such unadulterated hatred.  His cold power chilled her to her core, as frozen arrows pierced through her soul.  Cruel laughter filled her ears.  She cried out in agony, but there was no one to hear her.  Demetrius’ shadow descended upon her, and she knew no more. 

Sunday

Chapter 1

Michelle groaned and covered her head with her pillow in an effort to hide from the sunlight that was streaming in through the window.  As she had predicted, she had an absolutely horrendous hangover.  Her head was pounding, and her dry mouth tasted like cigarettes and cheap vodka. 

“Never again,” she mumbled even though deep down, she knew that she was lying.  She rolled over abruptly and vomited spectacularly into the
trash can next to her bed. 

She wiped her mouth and shook her head.  What the hell happened last night? 

The phone started to ring.  The sound seemed to rip through her temples. 

“Lizzy
, get the phone!” she winced as she spoke.  Why the hell did her voice have to be so loud? 

The ringing continued.  Who had mistaken her head for a bass drum? 

“Fine, I’ll get it.”  She rolled out of bed and stumbled towards the phone.  “Damn it!” she said as she stubbed her toe on the desk.  She dropped onto the chair and looked at her foot. 

“I’m coming, calm the fuck down!” she yelled and then winced. 

The phone just kept ringing. 

“Who the hell is calling right now?” she muttered angrily to herself.  She was annoyed and in pain. 

“Hello,” she said as she finally answered the phone.  Her voice was inexplicably cheerier than she actually felt.  She rubbed her eyes in an effort to get rid of some of the thick mascara that still clung to her lashes and was making everything look fuzzy.  She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the closet door.  Elizabeth would have said that she looked like a raccoon, and for once, Michelle would have agreed with her. 

“Is Elizabeth there?” a concerned voice came from the phone.  “This is her friend Chase.” 

Any other time and she would have been thrilled to talk to him, but right now her head felt like it was going to explode.  She reached for her trash can and vomited again before glancing at Elizabeth’s bed.  It took a few seconds to realize that her bed hadn’t been slept in.  She frowned and looked at the clock on her desk.  It was almost 3pm. 

“Hello?” Chase said tentatively.  “Is Elizabeth there?” 

“Yeah sorry, Chase,” Michelle said at last, hearing her crankiness seep into her voice.  She felt way too crappy to try to maintain her usually bubbly phone voice.  “Elizabeth’s not here.  I don’t think she came home last night.” 

“Do you have any idea where she might be?  We were supposed to get lunch two hours ago.” 

“Did you call her cell?” Michelle massaged her temples.  She was not in the mood for this right now.  She just wanted to go back to bed and sleep it off. 

“Yeah, she’s not responding to my calls or texts,” Chase said. 

“I’d don’t know where she is, and my head is killing me,” Michelle said.  Who asked her to always play matchmaker?  As much as she loved her roommate, she just couldn’t understand her sometimes.  Lizzy just needed to decide once and for all whether she wanted to go out with this guy.  It wasn’t like her to play these sorts of games, and she had picked a hell of a time to start. 

“I’m sorry, Michelle,” Chase sounded genuinely concerned.  Michelle couldn’t help but soften a bit.  He did seem like a nice guy.  Lizzy had probably just misplaced her phone or something. 

“I hope you feel better,” Chase continued when Michelle didn’t say anything.  “If you think of where she might be or is she comes home anytime soon, could you give me a call, or have her give me a call?  I can’t explain, but I’m worried about her.” 

Michelle nodded before she realized that Chase couldn’t see her. 

“Yeah, I’ll call you,” she said as she rummaged through her desk for a pen.  “What was your number?”

Chapter 2

Chase cursed quietly as he got off the phone with Michelle.  He didn’t know why he was so worried.  He had just met the girl.  If she didn’t feel like talking to her that was fine by him.  Maybe Michelle had just told him that Elizabeth wasn’t there so that he would leave her alone.  Maybe her saying that she hadn’t come home last night was a hint that she had spent the night with someone else.  He didn’t have the best track record with the ladies.  For all he knew Elizabeth was already seeing someone else or just wasn’t interested in him but was too shy to say anything. 

No, she wasn’t like that.  She
just didn’t seem like the type to flake out on a date and then avoid the person.  She seemed to be way too straightforward and honest to do something like that.  And it wasn’t like they were seriously dating or anything.  Just hanging out, right?  Was he just being overly protective for some crazy reason?  He hadn’t really dated for years.  Maybe things were different these days. 

He gnawed his lower lip.  There was something about that girl that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.  She wasn’t normal.  He chuckled to himself.  He wasn’t exactly normal himself, but he couldn’t help feel drawn towards Elizabeth’s uniqueness. 

But she was hiding something.  Or was she?  He couldn’t expect her to tell every little detail of her life to someone she barely knew, but there was something between them that seemed almost sinister.  And it wasn’t like he had been completely honest with her.  He sighed.  Surely he was just being paranoid.  And for good reason, but surely it was just in his imagination.  He wished that he could convince himself of that. 

The phone rang in his hand. 

“Lizzy?” He answered without even looking at the display?  “Er-Elizabeth?”  He remembered that she had seemed a little annoyed when he didn’t call her by her full name. 

“Who’s Elizabeth?” A loud woman’s voice came out of the speaker.  Chase had to hold his phone a few inches away from his ear.  His mother had never really gotten used to speaking normally into a phone.  He was glad that there was no one around to overhear their conversation. 

“When are you coming by?” she asked.  “I have to clean up the house before you come over, and I have plans tonight.” 

“Hi
, mom,” Chase tried to keep his voice cheery.  He was relieved that she couldn’t see the expression on his face.  He hated having to call her mom, but she insisted on it.  As far as he was concerned, the only thing that made her his mother was the fact that she had given birth to him. 

“Are you still there?” Her voice broke into his thoughts. 

“Yeah, sorry.  I’ve just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.  I’ll call you back, okay?” 

His mother sighed into the phone.  He could picture the irritated look on her face. 

“You can’t avoid me forever, Chase.  You need to come over at some point.  We need to talk about your father.” 

“I’m not avoiding you,” Chase tried not to sound as exasperated as he felt.  “I’ve just got lots of things to do.” 

“Things to do?  What things?”  She almost sounded scared.  “I thought you were giving that up.  And you don’t have partner anymore now that your father-” she stopped abruptly. 

“I’m sorry, mom,” Chase said with a sigh.  “I’ve got to
go.  I’ll call to you tomorrow.” 

“Alright then.”  She didn’t sound remotely convinced
that he would actually call.  “I’ll talk to you then.” 

Chase felt a twinge of remorse as he ended the call.  He put his phone in his pocket and rubbed his forehead.  Something about talking to her gave him a headache.  It wasn’t
completely her fault though. 

He barely knew her.  She had left his father when he was only a child and had made no effort to establish any sort of relationship with her son.  His only memories with her were either her fighting with his father or being miserable when his father was away.  I
t had been as if he didn’t even exist to her, but now, out of the blue, she wanted him to visit. 

He had taken her up on her offer because he did need a chance to rest and recover, but the idea of having to face his mother worried him.  If talking on the phone with her made him cringe, how awful would it be to talk to her in person? 

He smiled suddenly at the thought of Elizabeth.  She had been the bright spot in this otherwise bleak trip.  He really did like spending time with her.  There was something about her that made his feel so warm and happy.  He loved the way her eyes sparkled with intelligence and mischief.  He both loved and dreaded the way that she sometimes seemed to be able to look right through him with that piercing gaze. 

His smile quickly turned to a frown as he thought about that strange feeling that he had gotten last night.  That twinge of warning that had been in the air. 

He tried to tell himself not to worry, but he failed miserably.   

Chapter 3

Elizabeth woke up and moaned softly.  Her entire body ached.  She was sitting on cold hard concrete with her hands chained together and suspended above her head.  She blinked as her eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom.  She realized that she must be in someone’s basement.  The only source of light came from a dirty little window at the top of the wall to her right.  The sun must have been setting because the light that filtered through the layer of grime had a reddish hue. 

She looked around, taking in as many details of her prison as she could in the fading light.  She almost smiled at the memory of how good her night vision had been when she had been with the Wolf Clan.  The basement was a small square r
oom with solid concrete walls and floor.  There was a narrow staircase on the wall opposite of the window leading up to a steel door. 

Elizabeth wriggled her wrists in a vain hope that she might be able to free herself somehow.  She just might be able to fit through the window if she could reach it.  The soft clinking of the chains sounded almost deafening in the otherwise complete silence.  She craned her neck to look up at the chains.  They looked like tarnished silver with strange words and symbols that she could not quite make out etched into them.  There was
something about them that made her strangely uncomfortable. 

She knew by the light that Demetrius would soon be waking up.  She shuddered at the memory of his cold power.  What would he do to her?  What did he want from her? 

There was no way that she would be able to free herself in time to escape, but she wondered if maybe, just maybe she could reach out to Romulus through that connection that Lord Reginald had spoken of before.  She wished that she had tried to reach him last night before going for that walk.

Hadn’t Lord Reginald warned her that there was something dangerous in the air and that she should stay at home?  Why hadn’t she listened?  Why had she followed that strange urge to walk alone in the middle of the night when she knew that vampires and even worse things existed? 

She took a deep breath.  There was nothing she could do now to change what had happened last night, but at least she was only captured and not dead.  If she got out of this, she promised herself that she would never allow herself to be taken prisoner ever again.  She would learn everything that she could to be able to defend herself against anyone who wanted to hurt her or her family.  The realization that she considered the Wolf Clan her family warmed her heart and gave her courage. 

Of course Lord Reginal
d and Sir Marcus would come looking for her after they had woken up, but who knew how long it would take for them to find her and what Demetrius would be able to do to her before they found her.  Why hadn’t he just killed her yesterday?  It would have been easy for him.  But then again, he could easily kill her tonight if he felt so inclined.  No, she would somehow reach Romulus, and he would find her.  It was her only chance.  She tried to calm down.  She knew that she needed to focus. 

“Romulus,” she whispered.  She closed her eyes and thought back to the time the other night when she had told him to get out of her head.  Maybe she could somehow reverse what she had done in order to call out to him.  “I need your help.” 

She gritted her teeth and concentrated.  A burst of energy suddenly pulsed from her body, sending ripples through the small room.  She gasped as the energy bounced back and hit her like a wave of intense heat.  She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as her skin crawled with the power.  She tried to relax and embrace the sensation.  It was like the walls of the basement were keeping her mind prisoner as well as her body.  She breathed deeply and felt her mind begin to open up. 

She pictured delicate tendrils of her thoughts unfurling in every direction.  This time
the energy did not rebound onto her.  She started to feel the confines of the wall around her thoughts.  It seemed impenetrable at first, but as she focused on her task, she started to feel a chink in the barrier.  Her head began to pound, but still she pushed and prodded at the chink until she could feel her thoughts slip out of the confining prison. 

“Romulus,” she whispered again, willing with every fiber of her being that he would somehow hear her call and come to her aid.  She needed him right now. 

Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.  She was almost certain that she would burst, but she knew that her salvation depended on being able to reach the wolf.  She had to bite her lip to keep from crying out as an explosion ripped through her mind.  She felt as if her entire body had suddenly caught fire with her mind at the center of the blazing inferno.  She felt her consciousness begin to slip; her vision became hazy. 

Somewhere in the distance, she thought she could hear a wolf howling, but before she could be certain, she passed out. 

Chapter 4

Elizabeth was not the only one to hear the wolf howling.  Chase frowned at the sound.  He looked to the west.  The sun had almost finished set
ting, only a brilliant sliver of the sun was still visible in the horizon.  A last golden gleam retreating from a blood red sky. 

“So ends another day in wrath and brooding night has come,” he said out loud.  Something was going to happen tonight, something horrible.  He could feel it in his bones.  There was no shaking the feeling no matter what he did. 

He hugged the shadows as he made his way back to his car.  His dark clothes and stealthy movements made him almost invisible.  He had parked in a secluded spot between the university and the abandoned orange groves.  He opened the trunk and sighed at the sight that greeted him.  He had never hoped more that his instincts were wrong.  That he wouldn’t have to do what he was about to do.  He wasn’t sure if he was ready to start again, especially considering that he didn’t have a partner.