Sorcerer: Trouble with Werewolves: Power of Air Book 2 (2 page)

Wednesday, May 18
^th
, 2016, 10:45 AM

I caught up on my filing and first quarter taxes.  I
tended to put that stuff off until I was called into the office for another
reason.  Of all the people I may have guessed would show up, the person
that knocked on my office door and walked in was a complete surprise.  My
cousin Amy walked in, she was just sixteen, was in the midst of a rebellious
phase, and thought she knew everything.

“Amy what the hell…” the rest of my admonition died in my
throat when I saw the tears in her eyes.

“What happened?” I asked in a much softer tone as she threw
her arms around me and sobbed.

I was completely out of my element here, so I just held her
until she was cried out.

Amy cleared her throat and her voice was unsteady, “Cindy
disappeared, and no one will listen to me.”

I led her to a chair and grabbed a couple of waters out of
the mini-fridge.  She took hers gratefully and sipped at it.

“What happened?”

Amy sighed, “Cindy went to a party last night here in the
city, some club.  Mom wouldn’t let me go, anyway, Cindy was texting me all
night.  She sent one when she left the club, but then I didn’t get
anymore.  So I started to get nervous, but figured she was fine, until I
woke up this morning and still couldn’t get in touch with her.  I… called
the cops.  They wouldn’t do anything, said they couldn’t for forty-eight
hours, and then when they found out I wasn’t eighteen they got mean about it,
demanded to speak to mom or dad.

“They didn’t listen either.  You know how wild Cindy
is, mom has never been thrilled I was friends with her, they’re sure she’s
fine, but I don’t… she would have told me if she was hooking up… you
know?  She said she was coming home.  So… I jumped on the Metra, can
you help?”

I blew out a breath not sure what to think.  Cindy was
almost eighteen, probably was a bad influence on my younger cousin, and was a
little wild… but that didn’t mean nothing happened to her either.

“Do you have a picture?”

Amy nodded and pulled out her phone and started to flip
through pictures.  She handed me her phone and I studied the image trying
to get a sense of her and where she was.  That it wasn’t coming easily
didn’t reassure me the girl was fine.  Usually I’d get at least something,
if she was alright, a sense of where she was if not the exact location.

Oh, I got information, Cindy Hall, seventeen, lived right
down the block from my Aunt’s house in the suburbs, I could even tell she’d
been alive last night at eleven fourteen PM, but after that nothing.  It
was almost like she fell out of reality, simply didn’t exist.  Even if she
was dead I should have gotten that, something.  It was… frustrating, since
usually I wasn’t blocked unless it was a supernatural thing.  It was odd
to say the least.

I texted the picture to my own phone and handed Amy’s back.

“I’m not sure, I don’t think she’s dead, but I can’t get a
feel for where she is.”

Amy scowled, “But… you,” she trailed off.

I felt guilty, I’d always been there for Amy and hadn’t
failed her yet.  I didn’t plan to this time either, but right now I was
kind of stuck and didn’t want to lie to her either.

“Amy, I’ll figure out what happened, and get her back if
she’s still alive, but it may take some time.  Go home, I’ll keep you
updated.”

She looked up at me suspiciously, as if I was humoring her.

I shook my head and looked at her a little sternly, “I’ve
never lied to you, and I believe something did happen to your friend.  But
I don’t know what yet.  I’ll also get Mike and Aiya in on it, they won’t
be able to do anything official yet, but they can poke around.”

Amy sighed, “No you haven’t.  Call me when you know
something, okay?”

I nodded wordlessly.

As I watched her leave, it occurred to me I may have to lie
to her if this was related to my new world, she could never know about
it.  That thought bothered me a lot.  I gathered what I knew and sent
it to Mike and Aiya, but I knew they wouldn’t really be able to do much about
it.

When Diana walked in the restaurant I only felt a twinge of
pain in my chest as I took her in.  She had long light blonde hair, and it
didn’t take more than a second or two for her piercing gray eyes to pick me out
of the crowd.  She sent me a devastatingly brilliant wide smile as she
took off the sunglasses in the dim lighting and headed my way.  She wore a
form fitting red blouse and a gray pencil skirt with two inch red heels.

I returned her smile as she sat down, I knew intellectually
she wasn’t trying to torture me about the fact we couldn’t get together, but
did she always have to look so damn good?

“Ben, I was surprised to hear from you without a case, is
everything okay?”

She didn’t have to specify why we didn’t talk without
business anymore, since it was painfully obvious.  I also squashed the
urge to compliment her, that wouldn’t help.

I nodded, “I needed some advice, and maybe some instruction
about werewolves.  There have been murders that are baffling the human
police, I don’t know if the council…” I trailed off in question.

She held her reply as the waitress came up to the
table.  I ordered a New York strip and baked potato, and Diana asked for
the same.  When the waitress left to get our drinks we continued the
conversation.

Diana looked thoughtful, “No, the council wouldn’t deal with
that, unless it threatened to expose our world.  Ironically, those kinds
of things don’t, not in this day and age.  The vampire council rules the
supernatural world only in that it will crush any supernatural that exposes
us.  We’re also the only race outside of sorcerers that can mesmerize
humans to forget.  But outside of that, the supernatural races are too
different, if the vampires tried to push their views and all their laws on
everyone, it would cause a war.”

I frowned, “So the council doesn’t care if a wolf pack
leaves a trail of dead bodies?”

She sighed, “It’s not that simple.  That is werewolf
pack politics.  The council can’t afford to stick their nose in everything
and take sides all the time.  It’s enough that we stop our own rogues from
killing humans and breaking our own laws, as well as keeping humanity in the
dark about all the supernatural races.”

That sounded reasonable to me on the surface, but I couldn’t
quite equate the deaths in the case folder as simple politics.  We paused
again as the waitress brought over our drinks.

Diana shrugged, easily reading my reactions, “I’m not happy
about it either, but where do we draw the line?  The council can’t control
everyone and everything, and things would only be worse if we tried. 
Personally, I hope the local pack draws and quarters every one of those sick
bastards, but I can’t interfere.  You could offer your help, being an
independent agent, but you still need to be careful what you say and do.”

“What do you mean?”

She gathered her thoughts, “It is the werewolf culture, they
don’t think like humans, and they don’t think like you, or even vampires. 
Don’t judge them on the same scale.  Your motivation to go to them and
offer help is to stop these murders, right?”

When I nodded she continued, “Well don’t push that same
motivation onto the local pack, they will be going after the pack invading
their territory, but not for the same reasons.  Anyway, I would advise you
contact Sierra, since at least you know each other.”

I wasn’t sure what to think about that.  I was barely
used to the idea of killing as a solution, because the supernatural simply
couldn’t be locked up in a jail.  It was a harsh world that was kept
hidden from the humans. 

I asked, “Any other advice?”

The food came out, and we waited again until the waitress
had moved on.  The steak looked delicious and I cut into it.

Diana shrugged, “The truth is I only know the very basics
about werewolves, we generally don’t mix.  I have the council and my work
there, and outside of a few chance encounters with other races of supernatural
I simply live and let live.”

I frowned, “Do you think I should just leave it to them?”

Diana smiled and tilted her head a little, “You are… kind of
unique you know, and different rules apply.  It wouldn’t hurt for you to
have more allies here in Chicago.  Just… be careful Ben.  If things
go south I can’t run in and save you, I’m forbidden from interfering in
internal werewolf matters.”

“No promises, but I’ll do what I can,” I said returning her
smile.

We started to eat then, and eventually the silence even felt
comfortable.  As the meal wound down we chatted a little before I paid the
bill and we went our separate ways.  She had some meetings and I needed to
track down Sierra somehow.  I had a number in my phone, but hadn’t talked
to her in a long time and wasn’t sure if it was still good.  I stared at
it for a moment, strangely reluctant as if my abilities were telling me not to
call, but it felt different, not quite the same as being warned from a known
danger, it was more ethereal.

I believed my power never steered me wrong, but ever since
becoming part of the supernatural world it behaved in ways I didn’t quite
understand.  I was fairly sure it had something to do with how fast and
hard I’d fallen for Diana as well.  Sierra was an attractive very
confident woman, who never did anything threatening toward me, and the dulcet
tones of her voice were if not always friendly, respectful.  Yet there’d
always been a part of me that felt nervous around her.

Not the nervous I felt when around a beautiful woman I
didn’t know, or at least, not just that.  This was the nervous like how
I’d feel as prey in front of a predator, and I was almost sure my magic, my
power, was responsible for that feeling.  I knew Aitheria knew why that
was, but she wouldn’t explain it, as it would violate some oath she’d given to
her elemental… I didn’t even know.  King?  Boss?

I wasn’t sure if I should trust that feeling at all.  I
could always trust my feelings and my powers urging in the past because I knew
it wouldn’t guide me to do something wrong, it would guide me to help
others.  But these feelings seemed to stem less from my ideals and how I’d
want my power to be used to help others, but instead from my very nature, if
that makes any sense.  But it was just a feeling.  I hadn’t really
examined it too closely since I hadn’t had to deal with Sierra again, until
now.

Aitheria snickered in my mind breaking my thoughts, “
You
have to hit the connect button dear.”

I couldn’t help but quirk a smile, “
Thank you oh great
Aitheria,
” I intoned in my mind sarcastically, “
What would I do without
your endless wisdom and incomparable beauty at my side.
”

I felt her mirth in my mind, “
Find yourself hopelessly
adrift I’d wager,”
she thought back.

She asked a moment later, “
Incomparable beauty?
”

I grinned slyly, even elementals could be vain apparently, “
Of
course you are beautiful.
”

Aitheria sighed softly in his mind, “
I’m sorry, I can’t
explain why you react that way, but I might be able to give you a hint from the
other direction.
”

I started to walk back to my office, intrigued, “
What can
you tell me?
”

Aitheria sighed, “
Nothing about your own nature, but I
can tell you about theirs.  Once you thought vampires may have a
connection to air because of their speed and ability to mesmerize.  You
were right.  Vampire abilities are of air and water, so they feel like
natural allies to you, werewolves however, are of earth and fire.
”

I shook my head at the obvious explanation, “
So I was
right then, my power doesn’t sense anything bad about Sierra, but because she’s
of earth… she feels like a natural enemy?  So it is more about my nature
than any true threat.
”

Aitheria didn’t comment on my conclusions either way, but I
didn’t really expect her too.  There was obviously something about my
nature that wasn’t typical for a sorcerer of air.  I was sure the ball of
elemental power at the center of my being had a lot to do with it, but I had no
way of knowing what it was. 

I believed I’d be able to distinguish the difference between
warning from gathered knowledge and one based on instinct alone though.  I
didn’t think an evil minded vampire could deceive my power to gather knowledge,
even if my nature of air was allied with his nature.  I hoped the reverse
would be true as well, it was something I’d have to manage, even fight if I
wanted to make Sierra and the local pack an ally.

When I got to my office I took my phone out and didn’t
hesitate this time.  She answered on the second ring, her voice was
sweeter than I remembered, probably because she was intimidating.  She
asked me to meet her west of the city when I told her why I was calling. 
She wanted me to meet her alpha, and the pack’s mystic, whatever that
was.  So I closed up my office and headed for the Metra station.

Wednesday, May 18
^th
, 2016, 02:30 PM

I saw her as soon as I got off the train.  She was hard
to miss in the bright yellow sundress, and strappy sandals and she was looking
right at me with a soft smile on her face.  I’d never seen her look that
relaxed before, but the other times we’d been on a hunt of sorts so I supposed
it made sense.  She had beautiful light brown skin, her dark brown hair
framed her lovely face, while the rest of it was up in a ponytail that reached
most of the way down her back.  Her large brown eyes seemed to be glowing
in the light of the afternoon sun.

I felt both attracted to, and skittish about getting any
closer.  It was hard to explain, the feelings were very conflicted, and
then add to that the normal attraction and awkwardness I’d have around a
beautiful woman my age, and I hardly knew how to act.  I’d get over the
latter part of course, once I spent enough time around her, a lot faster than I
used to before my power was released even, but the rest of it?

To make things even more confusing, if she was earth and
fire, perhaps a part of my attraction could be attributed to the latter. 
Just like air made her a natural enemy, wouldn’t my small ability with fire do
the opposite?  It was also the first time meeting her without Diana
around, which meant I didn’t have Diana or the strong feelings she engendered
in me back then as a distraction.

I shook my head, I was over thinking it, and I could feel
Aitheria’s amusement though she kept any comments to herself.

I walked over with a tentative smile, not sure how to greet
her at all, but she took it out of my hands and pulled me into a hug.  Her
athletic but femininely soft body felt good against mine, perhaps a little too
good.  I wasn’t sure what to make of the greeting, I hadn’t thought we
were that close.

She moved her head back and smiled up at me, scrambling my
brain for a moment before she stepped back.

“It was good to hear from you Ben, even under the current
circumstances,” she took my hand and led me off the platform toward a car and
added in a flirty voice, “You could have called me sooner though.”

  I was so confused at this point, that I didn’t know
what to say.  She released my hand when we got to the car and I got into
the passenger seat.

“Umm, I was new back then, and didn’t understand myself,
much less this world yet.  To be honest I’m a little confused right
now.  I’d thought that it was just a temporary connection for the hunt,
you thought I’d call?” I finished in a confused voice.

I winced, that hadn’t been very smooth, not for dealing with
a werewolf, or a woman for that matter.  But if I didn’t ask questions,
I’d never understand.

She laughed lightly which sent a surge of relief through my
mind.

“I think I understand.  I owe you Ben, for what you did
for me.  My pack is already in your debt, and I had other reasons to hope
you’d call?  I felt you tense earlier, so just know that werewolves are
physically demonstrative, touching is an important part of building a bond with
our pack mates and allies,” she looked like she was going to add something
else, but seemed to change her mind as she started to car and drove off.

I had the impression she had also wanted me to call her for
her, or was that just wishful thinking on my part?

I asked curiously, “Why do you owe me anything, you helped
us remember?”

She smiled and shook her head, “Let me tell you what
happened from my perspective.  You found me naked in a cage, and
immediately looked away and found a woman to help me.  You also kept your
distance until I could recover from that, allowing me that dignity despite your
obvious attraction to look upon me.  Then when I demanded revenge, you
talked a reluctant Diana into allowing me to join you.  You took my side
and trusted me to have your back in our hunt without question.”

She looked over at me a second with an intensely grateful
look before returning her eyes to the road.  What she said was true, but I
never quite looked at it that way before, or even expected anything back for
it.  Who sees human decency as a debt?

“Vampires don’t normally work with werewolves either you
know.  In short, I owe you my life, my dignity, and for the opportunity to
redeem myself and gain revenge on an enemy.  That creates a debt between
us, one that my whole pack feels.  We expected you to call in on it, but
instead we heard nothing, until you call us once again and offer to help us
with an invading pack.”

I coughed clearing my throat, “I didn’t realize that, is
there a,” I paused for a moment, not sure how to put it, “a problem if I don’t
call it in?  What about now, if I help you and your pack again?  I’m
not sure I really understand that though, since my intention is to stop the
deaths of humans that the new pack is causing.  Human law enforcement is
baffled, and I know the FBI is about to be called in.  Does that make a
difference?”

Way to be a confident smooth talker Ben… I wasn’t sure I
even followed what I’d just said.

She shook her head, “Not really no.  Your actions are
those of a friend and ally to the pack, unless you can say what happens to us
really doesn’t matter to you, which I already know would be a lie.  Your
prime motivation doesn’t negate the rest of it.”

I really didn’t want to argue with her.  I liked her
and actually wanted allies, I just felt uncomfortable that they thought they
owed me anything.  It wasn’t exactly selfless either, both in the past and
now I was thinking they’d be a help, wasn’t I?

“So if I need help in the future, I shouldn’t hesitate to
call?”

She quirked a smile, “You could say that, yes.  I for
one would like to hear from you more often, but I believe my alpha has
something different in mind than merely trading favors back and forth, I’ll let
him explain when we get there.”

Even I caught that one, she was definitely flirting.  I
didn’t want to read into it too much, she seemed to like me, but what if it was
just wolf pack affection since I apparently had some status that way, or
something like that.  Now that I knew what caused the skittish feeling, it
was a little easier to ignore the more time I spent with her.  Honestly,
there was also a bit of excitement in it.  That wary feeling of danger
combined with the attraction I felt for Sierra was a bit exhilarating. 
That probably made me an idiot.

I wasn’t surprised when we reached the outskirts of
civilization and pulled into a winding driveway that led to a house positioned
near the cook county nature preserve.  I imagined werewolves needed a good
place to run, and that would be as good a place as any, though I wondered how
they didn’t get caught at it.

When we got out of the car she didn’t take me into the
house, but around to the back yard instead.  A small part of me was
disappointed she hadn’t taken my hand this time.  When we went through the
gate I took a look around.

There was an in ground pool, a huge fire pit for barbequing,
and I smiled when I caught the very large doggie door on the back fence which
faced the woods.  Sitting on a patio on a nice outside table and chair set
were two people.  They were both studying me intensely when we walked
over, and I felt a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny but shrugged it off
as a werewolf thing, Sierra had done much the same in the past.  Apparently
the seven second rule for staring doesn’t apply here.

The man stood up and held out his hand, “Welcome to my home,
I’m Derik, and this is my mate and the pack’s mystic, Selene.”

After I shook it he waved at an empty seat, Sierra sat in
the one right next to me.  Derik was about six foot three, and built like
a linebacker.  He had tanned skin, brown hair and eyes, and moved with an
elegant economy of motion that didn’t look quite human.  He appeared to be
in his mid-thirties, I wasn’t sure what that translated to werewolf age. 

Selene threw my preconceptions about werewolves out the
window, she didn’t have an athletic body like Sierra’s, she was a few inches
shorter at five foot four, and her body looked soft and voluptuous.  She
looked around thirty, maybe a little less.  Her skin was a little darker
than the alpha’s, and she had lustrous light brown hair, and deep brown eyes.

She nodded at me in greeting, “Something to drink?”

I was a bit thirsty, “Thank you, anything convenient.”

She got up and headed inside, I asked, “Mystic?”

Derik raised an eyebrow, “I’ll let her answer that when she
gets back.  Sierra tells us you’re concerned about this pack coming in and
the deaths?”

“Yes, I’d like them stopped, I was hoping for information so
I don’t misstep?  The supernatural world is still fairly new to me, and
outside of vampires I don’t have a good understanding of the other races yet.”

Selena came back out and handed everyone a beer. 
“Thank you.”  I took a few sips.

Derik nodded, “Alright, much like any race there’s no real
standard of behavior, but I can go over the norms for you.  A pack is a
strict social hierarchy, the alpha at the top.  Loyalty to the pack is
instinct, like breathing.  It’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet you,
we owe you for what you’ve done.  Loyalty outside the pack to friends and
allies is just as important, at least to
this
pack it is.  You
understand, generalizing is a bad idea, for any race.”

When I nodded he continued, “Wolves are also very
territorial.  That doesn’t count for the witch down the street, or the
vampire couple two blocks over, or even the sea of humans we are surrounded
by.  It does count for other werewolf packs.  The second pack that is
here is planning to take us out, steal our territory.  Most likely they
were kicked out of their own up in Canada, or perhaps this is a pack split if
their original pack got too large, but I can’t rightly say.”

He paused, so I asked, “Then why are they killing people?”

Derik shrugged, “Declaration of war werewolf style. 
Not all packs still do it, even the ones that invade and try to steal
territory.  It’s a base instinct most of us fight, but what it comes down
to is that it’s the equivalent of them thumbing their nose at us.  They
are hunting on our territory, something that for natural wolves that would
immediately cause a fight.  I think they’re evil for doing it, but at the
same time I understand it.  That said, if I was in their place without a
territory, I wouldn’t be doing that.

“So you have a choice, you could let us fight it out, if
they win the murders will stop, and they’ll move into this territory.  If
we win nothing changes, the murders still stop, so almost the same turn out as
far as your concerned.  Are you sure you want to get involved?  After
all, we already owe you a lot.”

Did I want to fight an invading pack, not really, but I did
want to stop a group of murderers.

“I want to help if I can, and I don’t think it would be the
same at all, I’m not sure I want murderers as my supernatural neighbors.”

Derik nodded as if he’d expected me to say that, it also
seemed like I passed a test I didn’t know I was taking.

“Alright, Sierra speaks highly of you.  Debts are a
serious thing for a werewolf; I’d like to propose something a bit different, a
formal alliance of my pack, with you.  It’s not something I do lightly,
but my mate happens to think it’s a good idea as well, and that carries a lot
of weight.  You seem like a good man and I don’t think I’ll regret it.”

I had to be careful since I didn’t know what that would
entail, so I asked him.

He drank some of his beer, “You wouldn’t be pack.  You
can’t be without being a wolf.  There are magical ties involved and
instinctive loyalty, but being a pack ally is the closest you can come to being
a part of us.  It would mean we wouldn’t keep score on favors owed. 
You’d be able to call on us, and we could call on you.  It would make you
family, there are no debts between family.  You’d also be free to visit
anytime; it would be more than just business.”

It sounded good to me, and Diana said I needed more allies,
but it also sounded like I wouldn’t quite be an independent agent
anymore.  I was very specific with the vampire council, I didn’t work for
them directly, and I treated them as if they were just another business
client.  What would it mean if I gave that independence up?  What
would happen if the pack had a disagreement with the vampire council, would
they ask and expect me to fight against vampires at their side?  Would the
council or Diana be mad if I aligned myself with the pack?

On the other hand, if my childhood enemies ever came back, I
would have a pack behind me willing to fight to the death if I asked. 
Independence didn’t sound so good when it was me standing alone against my enemies. 
It wouldn’t be one sided in their favor, even if at first blush it appeared
that way.  Sorcerers were a big deal in our world and to have one as a
solid ally would be a coup for the pack.

I wasn’t sure what to do, but I did know despite my instinctive
fear of the three people I was sitting with, they were good beings measured by
what counted, my power made that clear to me.

“I need to think about that for a moment, my first
inclination is to accept, but it’s a serious commitment on both sides.”

I turned to Selene, “Can you tell me what a mystic is?”

Selene smiled, “Sure, it isn’t a secret.  We’re
werewolves with a little more power, we can use rituals, meditation, or chants
to connect with the earth or fire magic within us.  I suppose we are a
little bit like a witch, except we can’t access the air or water elements like
they can.”

I frowned and took out my phone.  Her explanation had
struck a chord in me.  I surreptitiously texted Diana for advice, sending
a simple four words, ally, yes or no.  I trusted her opinion, though I
knew that her response would be colored toward the council.  Then I pulled
out my folder and removed one of the pictures, with the symbol carved into the
victim and handed it over.