Unknown Touch (11 page)

Wow…head to head combat between two men I really adored. I shouldn't say actual combat. To them, this was just men horsing around, pushing things to the limit. I plunked down in my chair and watched with enthusiasm, sitting on the edge of my seat. Everyone in the room held their breath in anticipation, too.

Dominic was gaining more confidence. He nodded his head in agreement to Daniel to try the experiment. They both respected each other and were definitely considered friends. None of this was meant to be aggressive. But if Dominic could fight with his mind, could move people, shove them away with his thoughts, this was a huge achievement.

Daniel approached Dominic slowly, almost circling him as if going after prey. Their eyes were focused only on each other. Dom concentrated and attempted a push at Daniel. It appeared Daniel did feel some sort of brush at his body but it was not enough to stop him.

"You've got to try harder than that, Dominic. You can't hurt me with what we're doing here. Give me all you've got," Daniel tried to provoke Dominic.

Without warning, Daniel lunged at Dominic, hoping he would take the bait and really push his telekinetic skills to the max. Milliseconds before Daniel's hands made contact on Dom's throat, Daniel was shoved away by some invisible force. He landed ten feet away, hitting the conference room wall with a hard thud.

I think everybody in that room jumped up out of their chairs in astonishment. Under normal circumstances, Daniel was not one to be shoved into a wall. But, he had given Dominic instructions and permission to experiment on him. And it worked.

Thank God the look on Daniel's face was of pure fascination and pride in what Dominic had just done to him. "Dom, my boy, you just went up against a werewolf and knocked me right off my feet. That is not something easily done by anyone."

Then they shook hands. Men will be men, I realized, knowing they joke fiercely with one another and try to one up each other all the time. I thought it was simply adorable how they could roughhouse then turn around and have a good laugh. I had tears in my eyes. I was thrilled with Dom's skills. I was equally enthralled by the camaraderie they shared. We all shared. It felt like a family setting.

We moved on to mind reading and mental manipulation. The best way to demonstrate these abilities was to perform them on some of the willing werewolves. Daniel already was one step ahead of the game since we shared a common mental path. We had done plenty of mind reading over the past weeks and I had soothed his emotional state more than once. Throw Dom into the mix and we had experienced a three-way telepathic conversation a few times. I wasn't sure how much the other wolves knew about the mental bond that Daniel and I shared. He may have told them the basics of how we had communicated but I doubt he would have given out any personal information about our connection. It was very personal for me.

My mind reading gift seemed to work the best when I had either touched or been very near the person whose mind I was trying to read. We also came to the conclusion that if a person or werewolf was emitting strong enough emotions within the immediate area, I was able to pick up on that and usually be able to read their minds then. This had seemed to be the case with Daniel and me as I did not recall having seen him or touched him during my initial vacation trip to his resort.

I took turns reading several of the werewolves' minds, as did Dominic. We felt like we had to prove ourselves to them, but I accepted that. We kept things quick and simple and they got the idea behind it. The highlight for my own little magic show was getting the chance to use mind manipulation on one of them.

"I want to try implanting a thought into someone's mind. You could call it mind manipulation or mind control, although I hate that word control. My team has already had me experiment with them," I turned and eked out a smile at them. "So one of the werewolves would be best for the greatest effect. The catch is, if you know positively I'm going to try something on you, your guard is up and it doesn't work quite as well. Is it all right if I randomly choose someone? It won't hurt and I'm not going to program you to beat someone up, so don't worry about that."

Daniel revealed, "Kara has done this trick on me when my anger was getting the best of me. It works like a charm. Let her try."

And with that I sensed that the wolves were giving me an open invitation. Still, I felt their guards would be up anyway so I struck fast. As I stood there at the table, I casually reached over to pour myself some water. They believed I was preparing to say a little more before the experiment. Instead, I zapped into Isaac's brain, attempting to mentally mask myself so he wouldn't discover my presence. I had only planned this out ten minutes before but there was no hesitation on my part.

As Isaac saw me pour the water, he jumped up, and came over to me almost at a full run. He grabbed the pitcher out of my hands and exclaimed, "Kara, let me get you a lemonade instead of this water. And I bet you'd like a mid-morning snack, too. Cookies sound tempting. I am absolutely starving to death. I'll be back in a sec; don't do anything more till I get back." And out the conference room door he ran. I started laughing. I couldn't help myself. The werewolves realized that I had made Isaac behave overly hospitable and put the idea of lemonade and snacks into his head. The whole room was almost rolling on the floor laughing at this point. We waited a few minutes for Isaac to return with the goodies. After all, cookies did sound good. Why not indulge a bit?

Isaac walked in, still acting a bit goofy, and plunked everything down on the table. I said, "Wow, how
thoughtful
of you to do this, Isaac." I withdrew any coercion I had placed in his mind that might be lingering so he would get the immediate effect and understand what I had just done to him.

He sat back down in his chair slowly. "It felt like it was
my
idea. I wanted to get the snacks. No one told me to do it. I just did it," Isaac stared at me in amazement. "If this works on Stephen, we have hope for him then."

Daniel said, "And remember I told you Kara did calm my nerves before. Here, she merely put this idea of food and drinks into your head. Plus, she had you acting like she was a princess, waiting on her hand and foot. That was hilarious."

Eli spoke at this time, "Daniel, you mentioned we should discuss werewolf history this morning. Kara will find this quite intriguing."

"Yes, let's move on to that. As for Dominic and Kara demonstrating their skills, I speak for all of us when I say - outstanding. For those who want or need to leave, go right ahead. You already know your own history," Daniel spoke directly to the werewolves with that last statement.

Daniel was the only wolf that remained with The Liaison. I didn't expect the rest to hang around. I burst out with, "How did you become a werewolf? Were you born that way?"

"No," Daniel began, "I, personally, was not born a werewolf. Let us go back in time…It was the year 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts."

Daniel told the story of how he, Isaac, and Stephen were hunting for witches during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. None of these men were werewolves at that time. All were in their twenties, the prime of their lives. Daniel was married to a young lady named Mary. The other two, single. They had brought in several witches to the jail cells, awaiting trials for their crimes. Most of them were later hanged. But there was a group of very powerful witches that had still not been found yet. The entire area feared them and the spells they could cast. Their dwelling had not been found and they continued to elude capture when spotted.

One night, the three men recognized explicit signs of witchery on the grounds they were hunting. Daniel knew they had to be close to discovering the witches' hideout. Well, the witches were quite aware of how close these hunters were getting to them. They had spies everywhere. They could be in the form of a bird or a cat. The spies must have reported to the witches that the men were approaching fast. There were numerous witches gathered together during this specific night, which was not a good thing for Daniel, Isaac and Stephen. Who knows what type of ritual or sacrifice they were preparing for. The witches joined hands together in a circle, knowing there was power in numbers, chanting an ancient curse, while their sorcery, their power increased tenfold. They were ready to lash out at the men who were hunting them. If they were captured, the witches knew they would most likely be put to death by hanging. They were fighting for their lives. They would not let these men take them in.

As the men stumbled upon the scene, flames burst straight up in the air from the nearby bonfire. The air crackled, electricity zipped through the atmosphere. A lightning bolt screamed through the night and blasted the ground about fifty feet from them. Their skin was tingling from the aftershock, hair was standing on end. The witches, perhaps six of them, all turned simultaneously and glared at the three shocked men. The curse was almost complete. Another few mantras in a strange language and then the men were knocked back off their feet by an unseen force. They immediately felt different. Something was wrong. The witches cackled and clapped their hands in approval of what they accomplished. They had cast the Lycaeonia Curse onto those poor unsuspecting men. Turning them into werewolves.

Things just kept getting worse. The men took off running through the woods. Their fear, their confusion, their emotions were at an ultimate high. As they ran, suddenly their bodies transformed into what we know as werewolves. Clothes were ripped to shreds, fur covered their entire bodies, eyes were pitch black, claws gripped at the dirt, as they found themselves on all fours. They came to an abrupt stop when this transformation occurred. In the background, they could hear the laughter of the witches.

By the time they arrived close to their homes, they had turned back into the form of men again. They were exhausted and perhaps because of this loss of strength, it allowed them to transform back. Over the next several days, if you can imagine, things continued to get worse. The three cursed men were unfamiliar with how to control themselves, how to prevent from transforming into the werewolf. They had no knowledge of these things. No one to tell them what to do.

As a result, they all did, at some point, revert back to a werewolf and accidentally converted a few others into werewolves through their bite. Daniel bit his wife, Mary. Then, Isaac, fleeing to their sister, Rebecca, for help, bit her. Soon, Rebecca bit her fiancé, Samuel. Stephen, desperately seeking counsel, went to his friend, Simon, and ended up biting him. Poor Simon then bit his wife, Lydia. Lydia was pregnant with their child at that time. When Rachel was born, they knew she, too, was a werewolf. The few others in the pack came later through birth. And two more from a bite.

Obviously, with what had happened early on to these people, they stayed to themselves while continuing to live in Salem, Massachusetts. It became difficult to hide what they had become. Friends and relatives wondered why they had become so aloof. One day, Mary was accused of witchery. Without any warning, men hauled her off and she was hanged. No trial. Nothing. Instantly killed. The pack knew they could not fight an entire town of villagers. Quickly, they packed what little they could on short notice and fled in the middle of the night.

They traveled and moved around many times during those first seventy years. It was hard to settle down any place where too many people already lived. The werewolves were still on a learning curve with how to blend in and not draw attention to themselves. Gradually they gravitated westward more and more and eventually ended up in what became the state of Kentucky.

I took in every detail of what Daniel told us. I sat on the edge of my seat about ready to scream and cry at the same time. I mentally relayed my feelings to Daniel, trying to surround him with comfort,
Oh, Daniel, I feel for you. This was a true horror story you lived through.

Chapter 9

Plan

Daniel had finished the storytelling of their werewolf history with a long sigh. Even Eli and Dominic who were familiar with most of this history had heard a few new pieces to the puzzle of Daniel's life. Out of respect, no one said a word for a few moments. Daniel appeared to be composing himself, ready to launch into the next topic.

Then he looked down at his watch and said, "Maybe we better take a break and eat lunch. I promise I'll resume where I left off."

We ate our lunches fairly fast. Abigail stuck with ham sandwiches, some fruit, chips and the drinks. Hardly anyone talked as we were aching to get back to the conference room and let Daniel tell us more. After only about twenty minutes, we scurried back, plopped down in our designated chairs and waited patiently for Daniel to begin again.

"I would like to clarify a few matters. As I was heavily engrossed in telling this story earlier, I wasn't sure if everyone understood how you could actually become a werewolf. One way, as in my personal situation, is being cursed by witches. Another way, which is very similar, is when someone is given the power of shape shifting through sorcery. A third way to be turned into a werewolf is by being bitten by one. And the fourth way is being born a werewolf. Our blood is basically tainted in all of these cases," Daniel was clearly explaining himself. Everyone kept quiet and let him speak.

Daniel cleared his throat, and continued, "I have been a werewolf for what I consider to be a very long time. There are other werewolves around the world that are much older than me. I'm guessing, Kara, they have informed you of other beings, like vampires, that are also in existence?"

I flat out stated, "Yes."

"That's good for you to be aware of other species. It is possible you may meet vampires someday, hanging out with this group you now associate with," Daniel tried his best at some humor. "Believe it or not, we werewolves have a few vampire allies. Anyway, as I was getting at, I have diligently practiced over these centuries how to maintain my control and keep my aggression in check. But, I'll openly admit, if anyone significantly provoked me or hurt someone I care deeply for, I do not know how much the beast that lies within me could be contained. I would definitely transform into an actual werewolf and in that state, my anger and strength greatly increase. I can be lethal. I'm stressing these points because Stephen has chosen to no longer maintain control of himself. He has let that beast come to the surface far too often. He is violent, restless and left uncontrolled, he will eventually hurt those around him and may even hurt himself," Daniel paused. He had me completely spellbound with his voice and this huge amount of information. I hungrily grasped at and absorbed everything that spilled out of his mouth.