Magestorm: The Awakening (10 page)

22

Dhane
pulled his jacket close after zipping it all the way up
and tucked his hands in the armpits
.  Winter was on its way, and it was going to be a bad one.  He hated to be cold.

If only there was a spell to make it spring all year long…

A
fter stopping by the store for Pepsi, he a
rriv
ed
at his apartment building and
wondered if Heather was still asleep.  Probably not,
since
it was after dark and she slept all day.  Up the stairs, down the hallway, and through an unlocked door, he found his apartment mostly as he had left it.  Straight to the bathroom, there was no sleeping vampire to be found, though the donut and OJ had been used.

He smiled and walked back to his living room.  He took off his coat and tossed it on the chair, creating a breeze that sent several papers flying.  Thinking they were nothing but trash,
Dhane
picked up one that had been on his counter.  He started to wad it up, then read it instead.

Damn.

He se
t the paper on the counter and stood silently for several minutes.  Wh
at a weird week this had been.  At least Heather
had
left before he really got to know her, or this might have been painful.  Ok, more painful. 
Sounded good, anyway.

A Pepsi later, he was sitting on the bed, listening to the radio.  Clock check told him he had twenty minutes before it was time to meet with Cassandra by the werewolf territory.  It would be a cold night, so now was the
time to pu
ll out his heaviest winter wear
.

A heavy blue coat was hanging in his closet.  He tossed it onto his bed and grabbed the lighter one.  No need for this one again for several months. 
Be
neath the chair it had been lying on was an old looking piece of paper.  Jacket hung and door shut again, he picked up the paper and his heart sank.

A page from Algernon’s spell book was the absolute last thing he wanted to see.  It must’ve fallen out
of the book
while he had
it
under the jacket.  He would have to turn it over, but not tonight.  Too much was going on as it was.

Dhane
grabbed a
book
off
his shelf
and shoved
the paper inside.
  This could be dealt with later.  He
put the book back and
threw on his
coa
t and walked out the door.
  The cold walk didn’t bother him this time.  Ignoring everything, it seemed only a moment until he arrived at the meeting spot.

“Good, you’re early.”

He froze when Cassandra stepped into the light.  She was wearing more make-up than usual, and he could see beneath her coat was an elegant black dress.  Her hair was pulled back and she wore a shiny necklace and earrings.

“Did I miss something?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re dressed like, well, uh…”

“Never mind that.
  I’m only dressed this way to throw them off.  Glad to see it works
when I’m not dressed as a slob like I usually am.”

“I didn’t mean…”

She grinned and he breathed a sigh of relief. 
Just a joke.

“
Nicole called and said
Sebastian is leaving any minute to go check on their new area. 
Once he’s gone
,
we’ll go in just like normal.”

He nodded and they waited.
  Nearly ten minutes passed
before
they heard the door open.  From their hiding spot they could see Sebastian and a tall, thin blond woman exit and walk down the street.  They disappeared around a corner and
, after waiting a few minutes more,
the
y decided the
coast was clear.

Dhane
followed Cassandra, struggling to keep up with her pace, as they marched straight to the door.  It opened and they stepped inside.  Within a few moments Amber and Amelia appeared.  Amber stepped towards
Cassandra, who raised her hand to stop her.

“Take him.”

Amber and Amelia both froze and looked at each other.  Clearly they were confused, and
Dhane
was as well.  Who was this other woman and why is she now greeting Cassandra?  Maybe Adam was busy elsewhere.

Cassandra stepped up to Amelia and took her hand, then marched down the hallway with her in tow. 
She looked back over her shoulder towards
Dhane
, still confused.  He watched with Amber as they
walk
ed
off and then she turned to address him.

“Sire, may I escort you?”

“Yes, that would be good, I guess.”

She took his hand carefully and led him to the same waiting room as on previous trips.  When they arrived, Cassandra was turning down a
n offer of a
drink
from
Amelia.  Amber made the same offer to
Dhane
and he shook his head.

Again the greeters looked at each other, unclear about their next step.  They nodded and turned back to their respective guests.  Dresses dropped to the floor and two naked women stood in the room. 
Dhane
shifted in his chair.

“Is
Xander
in?”

Cassandra’s question startled them all.  Amelia stumbled for an answer, and the question was repeated.

“Yes ma’am, he is in. 
He was to be informed when you arrived and should be down shortly
.
  There is time, if you wanted to…
”

“
No, thank you. 
Don’t worry about
it;
I know where to find him. 
Dhane
, keep the greeters company until I get back.”

He took that to mean he was to keep them occupied.  Normally, that request, and the fact they were naked, would mean only one thing. 
An exciting thing at that.
 
He couldn’t do
anything
right now
,
though.  If he got too distracted, one could slip away, and who knows what would happen then.
  Besides, this was feeling even stranger than his first visit, best to keep focus
ed
.

Amelia looked over and watched, waited.  She clearly thought he was going to have sex with
Amber
and ri
ght there in front of her. 
Dhane
thought
of what to do
for a moment,
and
then reached down and
helped pull
up Amber’s dress.

“We won’t be doing that.  Please put this back on. 
Amelia, you also.
  Dress and please show me the
fantastic
garden this place
is rumored to have
.”

They hurried to put back on their dresses and escorted
Dhane
by each arm
through a nearby door, into a special greenhouse located in what used to be a
simple yet large
courtyard. 
H
ere
flowers and plants of all sorts were growing.

Amelia hung on to his arm tightly, but Amber was distracted.  She glanced over her shoulder a few times as they walked. 
Dhane
tried to
take her mind off whatever was happening
.

“What is your name?”

“Amber, sire.”

“Is Adam away, is that why you are greeting?”

“No, Adam is in his room.  It seems Cassandra was not taken by him, so I was asked to take his place from now on.”

Dhane
stopped walking and thought about that for a moment.  Was Cassandra…? 
Then again
, was that any of his business
either way
?

“I see.  Are you disturbed that she dismissed you a minute ago?”

“Yes, I mean no.  Madam may do as she likes.
  I am only a greeter.
”

She looked down, obviously hurt.

“She has a lot on her mind and wants to stay focused
today.  Don’t take it personally.  I’m sure next time she’ll be back to normal.
  Besides, do you really think she’s dressed up like that for
Xander
?
”

Amber
tried to hide her smile
a
s she
nodded.  That seemed to relieve her significantly.  He turned his attention to Amelia, who walked silently with a hand on his elbow, but she seemed distant.

“And what of you, Amelia?
  How are you?”

“I am
well, sire.  Is there anything I may do for you?”

“As a matter of fact there is.”

She nodded and stopped, putting her hands to the straps over her shoulders, she was about to drop her dress.  He quickly grabbed her hands to stop her.

“No, not that.
  Not today, anyway.  I would like to know more about you.”

Dumbfounded, s
he
could only blink, her mouth open.  It took her a moment to find her voice.

“Sire?”

“You heard right.  I want to know about your life, where you come from, how you ended up here, everything.  Take your time, I can wait.”

He smiled and sat down on a large empty flower pot nearby.  After clearing her throat a couple times, she
finally gathered herself and
started.

23

Cassandra walked up the stairs and down the hall
in the
werewolves’
hotel
.  She reached the last room on the left and stopped. 
She took a
moment to check that she was alone in the hallway,
and
then knocked lightly on the door. 
When no one answered she knocked again, louder.  This time
she heard footsteps walking over
towards the door
.

The first surprise was
Xander
answering the door
completely
naked. 
An athlete in his
pre-werewolf
life, he kept his body in excellent shape even
now
.  Short brown hair to
pped his head, and he had
sported the goatee since she had known him. 
His left arm had tattoos from the elbow up and over the shoulder.  Strange symbols she didn’t recognize.

His g
reen eyes sparkle
d
at her and a grin crept across his face. 
He was a little surprised to see her.  Then Cassandra saw his bed in the background, a nearly naked woman lying on it.  The woman rolled over and sudden shock
crept over her
.

“Cassandra!
  Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

Nicole blushed
,
her face a
bright red
,
and jumped off the bed.  She realized she was only weari
ng her panties and bra, and
hurried to find her clothes. 
Xander
laughed as she disappeared into the bathroom to dress.

“I would ask what’s g
oing on here, but I guess the answer’s
obvious.”

“I’m actually surprised
that you didn’t already know
.”

He stepped aside and waved his hand for her to enter.  She stepped inside and he closed the door before grabbing a pair of sweatpants from a drawer
,
sliding them on.  The two sat down at a small table in the room to talk.

“You know I’ll have to remove her as liaison because of this.”

“
I figured. 
Will she be banned from coming here completely?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, unless I find out she’s done
something to
warrant
that.”

He was satisfied with the answer and nodded.

“I give you my word that she’s done nothing treasonous towards the witches.  She’s been loyal to both of us.”

Cassandra knew she shouldn’t be
surprised. 
Xander
was an attractive man and
had always seemed to be the ‘good guy’ among the werewolves, much more so than Sebastian.  That’s probably why he was second in charge, to keep Sebastian in check.  It was definitely a good thing for the witches that he was around.

Nicole finally exited the bathroom, still looking a mess.  She tried to straighten herself up further but was far too flustered.
  Instead she just looked to Cassandra for orders.

“
Dhane
is with the greeters.  Find him and stay there until
I
’ve finished.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Nicole left the two of them alone and her footsteps down the hall could be heard fading away for several seconds.  Finally all was quiet and Cassandra turner her attention back to
Xander
.

“Something fishy is going on around here, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

“I must regretfully say that you are correct.  There is a rift in the
were
-community, and I doubt it will get resolved any time soon.  Sebastian is part of a group that wants out of here.  There’s another group that just wants to live quietly.  The two are butting heads, so Sebastian is expanding to separate the groups, but also to test your limits on keeping us held here.  He presumes that, if the area becomes large enough, you won’t be able to keep it contained with a single spell.  More spells means possible holes or cracks.  You see where this is going
?
”

“I do.”

Cassandra stood up and paced around the room.  This was the one source she trusted in this house of wolves, but still she was wary to say too much about what was going on.

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

Xander
cocked his head.  He was intrigued and curious what this question might be. A nod for her to continue, he
leaned
back in his chair.

“What was going on here last night?”

“I don’t get what you mean.”

“I’m sure you’re fully aware of a search for Algernon’s spell book.”

He laughed loudly and had to catch himself. 
It wouldn’t be good to accidentally alert the
other wolves about this private conversation.

“I thought you were going to ask something serious, maybe even intimate.  Instead you ask about a mythical book that doesn’t exist.  You should get along better with Sebastian than me.  He would run around and follow fairy tales as well.”

“It’s not
a
tale, we have the book.”

The smile left his face and he stood up slowly.  His mind was
taking in her words and trying to make sense of them.  She couldn’t be for real; at least that’s what he told himself.  She smiled
at the surprise and borderline panic on his face
.

“That’s pretty much the answer I was looking for.
  The book is safe.
”

“The book will never be safe.  Destroy it.”

She wasn’t about to get into a debate about this with him.  He looked at her and rage was in his eyes.  If this conversation had taken place an hour
or so
later, closer to midnight, he would’ve changed before he even knew it.  Timing probably saved Cassandra’s life, and in a roundabout way,
Xander’s
also.
  She decided to fill him in on the other occurrences.

“There’s more going on here than just that.  Pay attention, because I’m only going to say this once.  Someone here is in league with a witch, possibly of my own council.  A spell was placed on one of my people and she was then captured by an unknown werewolf in the sewers beneath these streets.  She was freed, but another of my witches is missing.  She’s either a victim, or a traitor.  If you hear of anything, I expect you would share the information with me.”

Xander
got control of himself as she spoke, but just barely.  He walked over to a small fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.  After a few drinks he turned back to Cassandra.

“I was not aware of a witch in our
midst
.
  At least, other than the one I’m sleeping with.
”

“I was
faint
ly worried it might be you and Nicole working together on something
devious
.”

“You know me better than that
by now, Cassandra
.  I’ll see what I can find out, but you need to lay low until I know more.”

“No can do.  We’re searching the sewers tonight, in full force.  If my witch is captured, I can’t leave her at risk.”

“Damn it.  If
you let me have more time,
we could work this out together.  Otherwise you’re risking full scale war down there
if Sebastian catches you, whether he’s actually involved or not
.”

Cassandra
was done talking, and she
walked over to the door and leaned against the handle.  After a moment she turned back to
Xander
as she opened the door.  She left him with one final statement.

“If it takes
a
war to get her back, then that’s what there will be.”