Wolf's Soul (8 page)

Callum nodded. “Yes. Atos killed her. Although at the time, he didn"t know who she was. He thought Anna was just another Midnight Howl bitch protecting a wolf.”

“A what?”

“A Midnight Howl. It"s a wolf clan. Enemy of the Blood Robbers that Atos leads.”

“Jesus, resolving the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan is probably easier to understand than what you"re telling me.”

“It"s easy to digest if you let it sink in.”

Marisol"s brows drew downward in a frown while her fingers tapped the table.

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Callum had seen that expression many times before especially when she was trying to come up with a new design. A tell tale sign that she was in deep thought. Finally, it looked like he made progress penetrating her senses.

“You said Atos didn"t know who Mom was at the time, but he recognized her. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“She looked like your ancestor.”

“What do you mean? I don"t even know what my ancestors looked like. We don"t even have pictures of my grandparents. I wondered about that, but I didn"t bother to ask Mom and Dad. Is this Atos related to Mom?”

“No. Anna"s not related to Atos.”
Thank god for that.

Hell, why did he think this would be easy? He wished he could just hand her a book and let her read it. His mind grasped for an easy way to explain what happened to her parents and why they were dead, but his attention kept directing to how good she smelled. It was hard to concentrate when a beautiful woman was sitting across from him. And one whom he"d been lusting for over a month now.

“How would he know what my great great great remote relatives look like?”

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“Mari, even Shape-shifters have libraries full of history books. Shape-shifters study them. So images of your mother"s ancestors had been passed down from generation to generation. To let everyone know who their enemies are. Think of the pharaohs or the leaders of Ming Dynasty. Something like that. When you see their images you know who they are. You recognize them.”

“Midnight Howl. Blood Robbers. Clans. I"ve never heard such groups. Okay, this Atos saw my mom and she looked like my ancient relative. So what? Why kill her?”

“You know your mom was a healer, right?”

Marisol nodded her head. “Dad told me Mom was the best. And so were Dad and other vets in Marrowstone when you think about it. In every little town, big cities, everywhere, you"ll find a first class vet. So I don"t see why she was targeted.”

“It was what she used to heal the animals that caused her death. The poultice.”

Marisol"s brows creased. Obviously surprised at the mention of the word poultice. “What do you know about Mom"s poultice?”

“That it is powerful.”

“No kidding. I used a poultice on my wolf today. Now, he"s gone.”

“Do you know how to make it?”

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Marisol nodded. “I have to be present to make the poultice work although I didn"t think my contribution was necessary. When Mom was alive, she used to make it and I didn"t have to be there. Which, I tell you, was awesome. Imagine me, a tiny tot getting uhm…” Marisol swallowed. “Uhm, anyway when Dad started making it, he asked that I helped. My parents believed that my presence is vital.”

“What do you mean?”

“That I have to help make it. Go on.”

She was hiding something. Perhaps the secret of the poultice. He heard that Atos sent the poultice that he stole from Marisol"s mother to the lab in Swedish Hospital. The lab tech came up with nothing. Until now, they couldn"t figure out the secret ingredients that made it work. “Marisol, everything that I will tell you is going to be impossible to understand. So I ask that you listen first.”

“Alright.”

“The poultice, your sword, the death of your parents, and Atos are all connected.”

Marisol shook her head. “This kind of information is not what I expected to hear when you told me you know how my father died. Now, you"re throwing in added information about my mother"s poultice being the cause of her death that it is powerful, and a Shape-shifter is after it.”

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“Sorry, baby. You"ll get a headache from all of this, but I think it would lessen the blow if you learn about your history.”

“This isn"t a load of shit you"re dumping on my lap, right?”

“I wish. Sadly, every bit of information I tell you is true.”

“Okay, back to Mom. Why would Atos kill her for using the poultice?”

“He didn"t kill her because she used it. It was her refusal to tell him what she knew about the poultice that made him angry.”

“You mean what was in the poultice.”

“Yes. She didn"t tell him what it was made out of.”

“That"s why she died? Because she didn"t share what we mix in that poultice.”

“Yes. Although, I doubt he would"ve spared her life if she did.”

Marisol bit her lower lip. “Do you think Dad did the same thing? Denied Atos what he wanted to know? Must be. Oh god. They sacrificed their lives for, for the recipe because sharing it with anyone would mean…I"m going to have a migraine soon.”

“What"s in that poultice?”

“I can"t tell you. Mom and Dad made me promise not to tell anyone.”

“Good. You shouldn"t. Guard the secret.”

“Then why did you ask.”

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“It"s a test.”

“You"re not making this easy.”

“I know.” Callum combed back his hair. He decided he"d stick to the history and the truth about her mother. It would be easier that way. “Marisol, listen.

There were two Celtic immortal Shape-shifter clans. The Crom and Arcus. Older than the Atlantis. They were powerful immortals led by their respective leaders.

Valdo, leader of clan Crom and Youven led the clan Arcus. They were both sons of gods.”

“Not related to Jesus, I hope.”

Callum swatted a lock of hair that hung from her temple. “You"re funny.”

“I"m not trying to be.”

“Which makes you even funnier.”

“And you"re a horrible story teller. You"re off your track. So Youven and Valdo were sons of gods. What kind of gods?”

“War gods.”

“Okie-dokie.”

Callum laughed aloud this time. Marisol, he learned was so easy to like.

“Okay, back on the storytelling track. The war gods created two powerful swords.

One for Youven, married to a human and the other one for Valdo who had married a goddess. The swords were gifts for the leader"s loyalty and for keeping the 84

harmonious relationship between the humans and immortal shifters. But Valdo turned into a greedy, cruel leader when he discovered the extent of the swords power. With the sword in hand, he did whatever he wanted, the unthinkable.”

“Like what?”

“Kill the humans he considered rejects and Arcus" members who disagreed with him. Also those who refused to bow to him suffered the same fate as the rejects.”

“Rejects?”

“Yes. Drunks, whores, addicts, killers, rapists, outlaws, etc.”

“But spared the good citizens.”

“Yes. Unfortunately, the fine line between the good and the bad citizens was too thin. Suspicions were enough grounds for him to kill the human.”

“Oh my god. Why?”

“Simple. He despised humans.”

“So the reject thing was just an excuse.”

“You could say that. To him humans were weak and should be eliminated to prevent the Shape-shifters, like Youven, from getting involved with them.”

“Who the heck he is to kill us?”

“Valdo wanted to rule everyone. No one, not even Youven could stop him.”

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“I understand Valdo could easily kill the humans, but the immortals…”

Marisol stared at him. “The sword. It could kill immortals.”

“Yes. It"s the only weapon the shifters are afraid of. It prevents an immortal wolf from using its power to heal. A nick from the sword could turn fatal.”

“Leabhar Buidhe Lecain.” Marisol whispered.

“You know about The Yellow Book of Lecan? The medieval Irish manuscript?”

Marisol lowered her gaze and focused it on the spot on the table where she tapped her fingers. “I know everything about the book. I remember reading about
a
sword not swords and its power to prevent wounds from healing. It also mentioned the Sacred Spear, Cauldron, and the Lia Fail also known as the Stone of Destiny.”

Callum shook his head. He was surprised to hear her familiarity with the yellow book and amused by Marisol"s cute habit of talking to herself. And right now, he could tell she was doing it again. He waited until she looked up again.

“So Valdo abused the sword?”

“Yes. With the friendship between him, Youven, and the humans broken, he led his clan pillaging the villages, fed on humans, killed those who refused to obey him, and raped women. He believed to have the right to rob anyone of their lives.

Valdo declared that immortals were above humans. To him, he became god. The 86

power of Valdo"s sword poisoned his mind. The war gods didn"t like what they saw, what had become of the sword. So, the war gods summoned Youven to give him the task of retrieving the sword from Valdo.

“They should have done it themselves and hung Valdo upside down.”

“Gods designate jobs, Mari. Anyway, they also gave Youven the secret on how to heal the wounds caused by the sword.”

“Let me guess. Poultice.”

“Yes.”

“Wow. Nice gods. Very generous. How about a hundred magical swords to end Valdo and his cronies" life?”

“And end up having more Valdoses running around with a sword so powerful it can take over your soul? The gods were smart not to make that kind of mistake again.”

“Obviously, they weren"t smart enough. Some gods they are. They should have thought about the consequences first before handing out powerful swords.”

“Marisol, the swords history is what brought your mother and father together. Let"s say the war gods made a mistake, but without it you wouldn"t be here. Everything in the past happened for a reason.”

Marisol didn"t say anything, but her brows slammed down again and drew deeper together. Callum decided to continue with his retelling before Marisol 87

started talking to herself again. “Youven had a soft spot for humans. After all, his wife was one of them. So he took the poultice. He and his wife Kurah and their daughter Kyra made more and distributed it to the villages. Valdo learned about the poultice and tried to put a stop to it. Youven refused. Cunning as he was, Valdo burned Kurah"s village. A trick to make Youven leave his home, his family.

While Youven was gone helping to save the village, he came into Youven"s house, raped, and killed Kurah.”

Marisol"s knuckles where white from gripping her coffee cup and her eyes conveyed the rage inside of her. “Bastard.”

“I can think of other names worse than that.”

“I take it Youven didn"t just sit and mourn his wife.”

“Right. Youven sought Valdo out. He found him and his wife in bed. The two fought. Rage consumed them both. Youven, being stronger and better, defeated Valdo. He meant to kill Valdo that night, not the wife. But he accidentally killed her when she threw herself around Valdo. Youven didn"t have the poultice with him to save Leanne. Both died leaving their son, Elam. That night was the beginning of an all out war between the two clans.

“At his age, Elam was already skilled in fighting. He took Valdo"s sword and challenged Youven in a fight. Stronger and younger, he inflicted a fatal wound on Youven. It was told that Arnulf, Youven"s second hand along with other Arcus 88

came to save Youven. Everyone heard Elam swear that he would kill all of Youven"s family and would not stop until Youven"s blood dried. Youven was found dead on his wife"s grave. Elam looked for the sword but it was gone and so was Kyra and Arnulf.

The war gods were beyond furious. Since both leaders were dead, they punished the following generations of Shape-shifters by ending their immortality that night. Giving them only five lives.”

“Five lives in exchange of immortality. That"s better than having only one life. Once we, humans, die, we stay dead. I didn"t realize this, but it sucks to be us.

Too bad we have only one life. Dad would still be here if we have five lives. And Mom, too.”

Callum wanted to tell Marisol that the war god"s punishment didn"t end by ridding them of immortality, but he held his tongue. When the right time comes, he would tell her what happened after a Shape-shifter died the fifth time. Right now, the information about becoming a Cancer was inconsequential. “I suppose there is good and bad about being human.”

“You suppose? You say that as if you don"t know what it"s like to be one. So Kyra disappeared with the recipe for poultice and the sword. Now the poultice resurfaced.”

“Yes. After hundreds of years.”

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“Let me make a guess here. Kyra took the sword and poultice. Mom was a healer. Am I right to assume that Mom somehow got hold of the secret recipe for poultice and the sword?”

“Baby, she didn"t just got a hold of it. It was passed down to her. Anna is Kyra"s descendant. That"s why Atos recognized her.”

Marisol"s eyes grew openly surprised. “Shut up!”

“I know it"s hard to believe it, huh?”

“You sure about this?”

“Baby, I am.”

“Mom came from an ancient clan that used to be immortals. My god, Hollywood producers would go nuts on this story. But you"re not just telling me a story, are you?”

“No.”

“I want to believe you, but this is too much. Okay, say you"re telling me facts. Did Mom inherit the five lives?”

“No. Baby, Anna wasn"t a shifter. Because Kurah was human her daughter Kyra was half-breed. By the time Anna was born, Youven"s blood became diluted.