Zora's Dawn (Defender Book 1) (16 page)

Sunny
looked very uneasy as every eye in the room stared at her with great interest.

“Ok ok, so
I’m a witch! I’m not a very good one guys, I gave it all up years ago so I
don’t know why Sabrina has chosen me. She’s picked herself a dud.”

Axel
smiled at her. “You may not have realised it Sunny but you’ve been effectively using
witchcraft all your life. You’ve always been able to commune with animals on a
level beyond most people, although cats are your speciality. You also have been
able to bend people to your will, and make people like you. The geniality spell
is one you were born with. You have abilities you have not yet realised and
Shax is here to help you come into your true powers.” When Sunny looked alarmed
he was quick to add, “Don’t worry though, we do not have you with us to use
witchcraft, you are an important part of our group without that.”

“Actually
Axel, I was more concerned that you know so much about me, how is that?”

“Ah, I
see. Well Sunny your family has been supplying blood to the vampires for
generations, and as such you come under the protection of we the fairies. We
protect all humans who interact with the supernaturals. In your family in
particular the witch gene pops up every couple of generations or so. You are
the most recent, the last witch in your family was your great-grandmother. So
we have watched your development. We were always going to find you a mentor,
but then Sabrina took matters into her paws by reaching out to Shax who
contacted us. While I was not entirely certain you were the person Sabrina was
looking for, it did seem to be destined for you all to come together.”

“I see.”
Zora thought that Sunny didn’t really look as though she saw anything that
clearly, and she sympathised, knowing how that felt.

Shax was
bouncing up and down in her seat. “So I get to be your mentor and we’re going to
have a great time! Sabrina will teach you also, Frenchie taught me a lot when
he first came to me.” The dog, which had been staring fixedly at the leftover food,
flicked his gaze to Shax and grunted.

Axel
smiled at her enthusiasm and then changed the subject. “So, we are waiting for
one other to join us, one of the local werewolf pack. He will be here shortly.
Once I have spoken to him I will decide our next step. Does anyone want more
food? Little Zora?”

Zora shook
her head. With the announcement of the impending arrival of a werewolf she had
lost all appetite. She was supposed to toast rogue werewolves like furry
marshmallows and the thought of meeting one, even a friendly one, had her
nerves on edge.

Powers
came and sat beside her, too close for her ragged nerves. He ignored her
attempt to shift away, taking her hand in his and leaning in close. “Don’t
worry, the one coming today is a good guy. Remember, your pendant knows the
difference between rogue and regular. And I will not let anyone or anything hurt
you.”

“Aren’t I
supposed to be able to take care of myself?”

“What, by
making toasted marshmallow werewolves?” Powers smiled in amusement. “That’s a
pretty funny mental image I have to say.”

Axel
laughed. “Probably best not to mention it to our guest, he may not appreciate
the joke.”

“Who’s
coming Axel, is it Jake?”

Axel
nodded, “Yes I believe so Powers, and he should be here soon.”

“Who’s
Jake?” Sunny was looking bright and interested which earned her a frown from
Marcus that Zora noticed even though Sunny did not.

“Jake is
the leader of the local Brisbane pack. He is also a policeman so he will know
details of the murder that may have been kept out of the media. That is
probably him now,” as one of the guard came in to announce a visitor. “Show him
in thank you Jet.”

Zora felt
her heart rate speed up and tried to control it. Powers held her hand tighter
and she felt the tingles that heralded his strength bolstering her own. This
time she didn’t pull away, she felt it was important that she present a calm
façade even if inside she was panicking. Even so, when not one but two
werewolves entered the room she was hard pressed to just breathe normally. Was
everyone having this reaction or only her? She was sure even if she didn’t know
they were werewolves she would have picked up something. They were both tall,
muscular and tough looking. They looked in fact like they belonged to a bikie
gang or maybe the mob. God she hoped werewolves couldn’t read minds, she was
sure they would be insulted by those thoughts, especially the tallest one who
was wearing a suit. The shorter one was dressed casually in jeans and a black
t-shirt that did wonders for his ice blue eyes. Powers spared a moment to frown
at her, a moment of normality that did more to steady her nerves than anything
else had done so far.

Her
pendant stayed cool, no spikes into freezing or hot and that helped too. Axel
was shaking the hand of the one in the suit and saying in a pleased tone,
“Rusty! I didn’t know you would be here, it’s great to see you.”

The one
called Rusty which she assumed was due to his dark auburn hair pulled Axel into
a hug and slapped his back with masculine enthusiasm, a sight that made Sunny’s
eyes pop wide open. “It’s great to see you Axel, it’s been too long. We should
meet more often, and not just for business.”

“You’re
right, and we will. And Jake, great to see you too.” Axel moved to Jake and
received the same back slapping treatment, as did Marcus and Powers in turn
from each of the newcomers.

Male
bonding done with, Axel beckoned to Shax, Sunny and Zora. They each stood and
approached. Axel smiled and performed introductions. “Rusty, Jake, this is Shax
our driver, Sunny, and Zora. Ladies this is Rusty, the Queensland pack leader
and Jake, the Brisbane pack leader.”

Rusty shook
the hand of each of them in turn, lingering at Zora and staring searchingly
into her eyes. “So you’re the defender? It’s great to meet you Zora, I’ve heard
interesting things about you. I look forward to working with you.”

Zora
swallowed and managed a polite reply, her hand still tingling from his firm
grip. Up close he was even more unsettling. She shook the hand of Jake,
responding she hoped intelligently to his murmured greeting. Introductions over
Axel offered the two men refreshments and conversation turned to the issue at
hand. Axel filled them in on Zora’s visions and the two were silent as they
considered what they had heard.

Finally
Jake addressed the room in general. “I wish I could shed some light on the
music and the reason for the increase in brutality. That could be a sign that
the werewolf is becoming more unbalanced which is not good, or it could be
something else. If we knew why she takes the heart, intestines, liver, kidneys,
eyes and blood we would have some explanation for at least part of what is
going on. But there is no precedence for this anywhere in our history. We have
searched and searched, there is just nothing.”

Rusty
nodded sombrely. “We are just as baffled as you. And there seems to be no
pattern for her travel either, it appears completely random. And yet I feel it
can’t be. The murders are for a reason, she has a purpose even if the victims
are completely random. There is a pattern, we just haven’t found it yet.
Perhaps the pattern is in the victims, perhaps she is killing in an order that
makes sense only to her, and that is why she is zigzagging all over the
country.”

Axel,
Marcus and Powers looked thoughtful. “That might explain it, if she has a
reason for killing the victims and some sort of numbering system.” Although his
words gave consideration to the theory Axel didn’t look convinced.

Zora noted
that the werewolf was now being called ‘her’ instead of ‘it’. She guessed that
was in deference to the other werewolves who had clearly never thought of the
creature as an ‘it’. She cleared her throat and raised her hand halfway into
the air in a tentative gesture.

Axel
looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “You wish to say something Defender?”

A little
startled to be called by her title instead of her name, and wondering if that
was to remind the newcomers that she was to be taken seriously Zora put her
hand back in her lap and nodded. “Yes, um, well you know I see the werewolf in
the visions. I can see her thoughts a little bit too, at least on seeing her
victims. She didn’t know either of them and she wasn’t interested in them. She
didn’t kill them for fun, or because of who they were, she killed them because
she needed their body parts. And I think she is becoming more brutal because of
whatever she is doing with those body parts. Remember she told the third victim
that his blood was changed with his pain.”

The others
were silent, nodding in agreement with her assessment. Zora thought through
what she had seen. She was sure she was right but she had no idea what it
meant.

But Shax
seemed to have made a connection. She jumped up and started pacing the room
with all eyes following her. “I think I know what it’s all about!” As she spoke
there was flash of lightning followed almost instantly by a terrific clap of
thunder. Zora realised that the room had been steadily darkening, not only
because of encroaching evening but also by the storm that had been building
un-noticed by anyone.

“Finally,
we might get some rain!” Jake grinned at the prospect.

“Isn’t
summer the wet season even this far south?” Even as she asked the question Zora
remembered the dry grass and sad looking trees she had seen when they were out
in the car earlier.

“It’s
supposed to be but we’re in drought. It’s just been the last few weeks, not
usually enough to dry things out but there’s also been a really dry wind
blowing. It’s quite unseasonal but it looks like things are getting back on
track.”

Shax was
still pacing the room, making a dramatic sight as she strode around, the
lightning casting an eerie glow to her features in the darkened room.
“Unseasonal weather, and it has been unseasonal dry weather in Mackay too and
in Sydney. And I bet it’s drying out in Melbourne right now. It’s an effect of
witchcraft, dark magic. It’s a spell, she’s casting a spell. That’s why she
needs a certain quality to the blood and that’s why she’s still killing. She’s
trying to cast a spell and it hasn’t worked yet so she’s trying different
things to get it right.”

The entire
room stared at her in shock for several long seconds. Then Rusty and Jake shook
their heads firmly.

“Wolves
don’t do witchcraft.” Rusty’s tone of voice was final.

Axel
stared flatly at Shax. “It’s a theory that fits except for one thing. As Rusty
said, wolves don’t do witchcraft. Not any sort of magic. They can’t.”

Shax
stared back, hands on hips, expression defiant. “Maybe they don’t, maybe they can’t,
but this one is trying to. It all fits. It’s some sort of physical spell, she’s
trying something big and it’s dark magic.”

Zora tried
to follow everything that was going on. She could see that Shax was certain
about witchcraft and also that the werewolves and Axel were equally certain she
was wrong.

“Why can’t
wolves perform magic?”

Axel
replied without taking his eyes off Shax who had begun pacing again. “They can’t
because they are wolves. They can’t be werewolves and witches as well. It’s an
elemental law. One type of magic cancels out another. A werewolf can’t do
magic, a witch can’t become a werewolf. If Shax here or Sunny were bitten they
would not become werewolves because they are witches. You can’t because you are
a defender, which is your magic. So while the theory seems to fit it simply
cannot be correct.”

Shax
stopped pacing again. “You’re wrong Axel, there is witchcraft here. There is
dark magic at work here. If not your werewolf then she has an accomplice.” Both
Rusty and Jake blanched at her words and exchanged glances.

Everyone
looked at them and Axel raised an eyebrow at Rusty. “You have something to
say?”

Rusty
sighed, “Not exactly, it’s a theory we have. For the most part we live in
packs, certainly those of us born wolves do. Some of the made wolves prefer to
live their lives separate from the pack, but they still attend gatherings. We
keep track of the made wolves, we have found from experience that they struggle
the most with the change. Where possible we assign a mentor to the made wolves
to assist them in assimilating.”