Dark Moon Brother
Part Eight
The Letter
Connor stood peering out from his hiding spot amongst the trees, watching for the approach of his unexpected allay, Elias. He hadn't spoken to the man since his phone call of the day before and now he was beginning to doubt if the strange fellow would show at all. Connor had found himself hopeful that he would indeed turn up as promised. He fingered his scars and trembled at the thought of the monster so close. It had seen him, that he knew. What he didn't know was why it hadn't attacked him. Not even a threat from the creature. There could be two explanations for the demon's behaviour. Firstly, it could be that the demon feared Connor, feared his single minded devotion to destroying it and all like it. Connor knew that fanatisicm could be a powerful psychological weapon. Perhaps when the demon had looked upon him, it remembered only the pain and fear caused to it by Connor and his mentor, Peter. Secondly, and Connor didn't like to think this, perhaps the demon discounted him as a threat altogether, not worthy of recognition or revenge. Maybe it had been satisfied with the destruction of Brother Peter and would not stoop to bother with Connor at all. The former priest bristled at the thought of his supposed unworthiness. He missed the guidence of his older, wiser Brother. Peter had seen the potential in Connor, had first noticed the gleam of righteousness in the boy's eyes, had nurtured it over the days and weeks before their ultimate confrontation with evil.
"These things walk amongst us everyday, Connor. They blind good men and women to their evilness. No one can long resist their lure. Even those closest to us, the one's we would never suspect. And those are the one's who can hurt us the most, you know. Betrayal is a bitter pill, especially when those you love refuse to see the error of their ways".
A cold fire had burned in Brother Peter's eyes that day, thought Connor. It had made him shiver at the time, but not now. He had wondered at the man's devotion to ridding the world of "shape shifters" as he had called them, in secret whispers alone in the darkened church halls.
"You see, my boy, God made man in his image. It is not for any man to assume, willingly or no, the form of any other creature. This is an abomination, a cursed thing. Such a person becomes less than a man, over time, till he takes on the most vile and depraved traits of his chosen beast. You will see this as the truth, Connor, when the time comes and we have this thing captured. Do not let it's wiles sway you from your task!"
"I will stand firm, Brother. God is on my side"
"Good! You will do well, Connor, very well"
Connor stirred himself slightly as a long black limosuine pulled up to the streetside across the way. A smartly dressed chauffer got out and strode briskly to the passenger door, opening it and allowing the tall figure inside to step out into the morning light. Connor strained his eye to see if it were Elias, cursing his poor vision. The figure stood on the sidewalk as the limo pulled away into the traffic. He was as still as a statue almost, his head tilted slightly back as he looked back and forth over the vista of the Park. Presently he left his spot and darted across the road, walking quickly and smoothly over the grass. Connor could see now that was indeed Elias, as he had almost the exact same way of moving as had his brother Peter. Peter had never mentioned having a brother, recalled Connor, but then personal infomation was not typically the topic of their conversations. Connor watched as Elias stopped briefly at the tree where he had made those unusual carved marks, and his posture seemed almost to slump as he surveyed the bark. Connor had seen the demon also look at the tree with interest, he recalled now. Interesting. He cleared his throat loudly and Elias turned at once, waving his hand cheerfully and he strode to meet him.
"Well met once again, Connor! I can't tell you how happy I was to get your phone call. I am so glad you were here to see this thing, and to call me as swiftly as you did. I appologise for the delay. I live quite distant, as you know. The damned helicopter was grounded and I had to wait until today before I could get airborne. I trust I have not come too late? The demon has not returned here yet?" The man's words came out in a rush of excitement, thought Connor. Well, he himself had been as excited at his first vision of the demon, drugged and helpless in the girl's apartment. He wondered if this man would also lose that same thrill to the dread and loathing that Connor had now.
"No, it has not returned as yet, though I must sleep at times, of course. However, we have no way of knowing when it will return, and in what fashion. And what do you plan to do then, Elias. As I have seen, you are a man of means and resources, but this thing is wary now. I do not think it will be so easy to capture again"
"No, capture by force is not part of my plan. It failed once, to our mutual loss. No, I have a far more civilised way of doing things, unlike my beloved brother, who was ever the one to put on a great and meaningless show of force. No, do not be angry. I loved my brother, but he was hasty, and overconfident, and this led to his demise as much as the malice of the creature we both seek, yes?"
"I suppose so. What then will you do?"
"Connor, will you trust me? I am loath to reveal all at this time. Suffice to say, I will not knowingly put you in a position of danger. If you but point this thing out to me, I will take matters in hand then. Now, I am wondering, what do you know of the girl, the demon's consort? I find her to be an interesting player in this affair. What can you tell me of her?"
"Well, she is, or was, a native New Yorker, just an ordinary waitress as far as we could tell. She lived with her father in an apartment not far from here. He was the janitor. Now, this man has not been sighted at all for more than a year, and the flat is vacant now. At least, no lights shine from the windows at night that I have seen"
"And did they go there when you saw them last?"
"No, they went another way. I could not follow them far. They might have doubled back, but, as I said, there have been no lights on there. I don't think they would be as foolish as to return there for any length of time as they know that we know of their location. But they have gone once to the restaurant across the way where they used to work"
"Hmm. You have done some useful detective work, young Connor!" said Elias, and Connor basked under the praise, hearing his old master's voice once more in the guise of this man. He pushed aside his doubts and stood up straighter. It felt so good to have someone to talk to about these things, someone who seemed able to take control, make decisions.
"I would like to visit this apartment. You needn't go with me, just give me the address, if you will. Maybe some neighbours remember them, can shed some light of their behaviour when they were living there, pretending to be a normal couple". Elias jotted down the directions as Connor recited them, then reached into his pocket and drew out a small mobile phone, handing it to the young man.
"Here, take this. Any sign, any clue, call me straight away. I won't be far. Just walking around". Connor nodded and pocketed the phone, watching as Elias disappeared through the trees on route to the apartment. The man spent a great deal of time looking around him as he walked. Connor thought he saw the man's mouth open as if speaking aloud to no one, but no sounds made their way back to him. Sighing, he rummaged through his meagre belongings for something to eat, and settled down to wait.
A while later, Elias exited the apartment building. He had found the right door easily enough, but he hadn't expected the somewhat imperious reception he had gotten from a strange man called Murray. He had been about to try and force the door when the short little man had spied him.
"Hoy! You there! You can't knock on that door! The Master isn't home. I am his loyal Servant, Murray. It's mine and my family's duty to look after the esteemed assets of our Lord and Master!". Elias, stared at the man, perplexed. Murray's eyes had a glazed look about them, like he was hypnotised or something. It was a look Elias had seen before, but never to such a deep extent. It was like looking into the face of a recording, a mask. He didn't like it much.
"Your Master...?" he enquired innocently.
"Yes, Master Lewis. And his daughter, Mistress Lewis and her Companion, Mr Wolf" said the man, reciting as if by rote. Elias' heart beat a little faster at hearing the names.
"Ah, yes, the fair Miss Lewis. Just the lady I've come to see. I bear a great gift which I have been charged to give into her hands only"
"Well, Miss Lewis isn't here. Not seen her for many a month now, nor our Splendid Master either" The pudgy man looked like he was about to burst into tears. "Of course, my own mother waits upon the Grandmother of Miss Lewis, but it's just not the same. Oh, when will the Master return? Our lives are meaningless without him" he continued to wail. Elias was getting more unnerved by the minute. He managed to gather himself together, put an encouraging smile on his face.
"Perhaps, good man, if you could give me the address of Miss Lewis' Grandmother? Then I could rest assured that the gift would be given directly upon her return?"
"Oh no, I couldn't give out that! What would the Master say?"
"Ah, but it is the Master himself who had charged me to deliver this gift" said Elias smoothly, peering deep into the man's watery eyes. He could entrall people himself from time to time, but he had no wish to have this troubled little man following him all over the city. The man's entire countenence lit up at the mention of 'the Master's' wishes.
"Oh sir, is it true? Oh what a happy day! Here, let me escort you at once to the Fair Virginia's Grandmother! No time to lose, lets go now, sir!" he stammered, tugging at Elias' sleeve.
"No no no my good man! Just the address will be fine. I wouldn't want the Master to return here and find you not at your post. Don't get yourself into trouble on my account!" Elias said, pulling a piece of paper and and expensive gold pen from his coat pocket. Within minutes he had been able to extricate himself from the clingy man and now he was walking briskly uptown. It had been a rare stroke of good luck that another possible residing place for the couple had presented itself. He fought to keep a mixture of excitement and trepidation from showing itself in his movements, his face, his voice. So easy to lose control here, Elias, he cautioned himself. Eventually, he stood outside the stately old building. The temptation to go straight to the door was overwhelming, but he didn't dare show himself unnanounced, not yet. Pulling out his gold pen and writing paper, he sat down on the sidewalk and began to compose the most important letter of his life.
Later that same day, Wolf, Virginia and Cub were saying their farewells to Evelyn and the clan members. Earlier that morning, they had visited the newly covered burial site of the Shaman to pay their respects. Wolf had stood at the grave site uneasily. Despite the depth of the burial, the scent of dead flesh was quite noticeable to him. He had a natural wariness of decaying things, as did most wild creatures. He saw that Cub had also detected the odour, wrinkling his stubby nose, but he had not the awareness to know just what exactly he was scenting. Wolf was glad Virginia had a firm hold on their curious son. He didn't want anything so disgraceful as an eager cub scratching through the soil trying to find the source of the interesting smell. He retrieved Cub from Virginia and walked them a little away, breathing in deep the smells of the forest to clear his own nose and mind. He scanned the trees, half expecting to see the Goddess peering out at them from the leaves. He wondered whether the Goddess would find another person amongst the folk to work through and to walk in the body with. The face and form of the Goddess was burned upon his mind and in his dreams forever, he knew. Lately, he had begun to spend many hours alone in the forests at home, communing silently with Her, laying naked on the mossy floor and staring up at the silver disc that was Her physical manifestation in the world. He did not know why She had singled him out that day, when Virginia had found him hiding in the woods and he had trembled at her feet, fighting the bond of love they had, yet unwilling to escape it. He wondered often what would have become of them had the Goddess not intervened. Would his Virginia really have given up her human ties to live with the wolf pack, like she had told him once, not long after their reunion? Maybe, but she wouldn't have been happy there, he knew that instinctively. He was far better at living in her world than she in his. But that was not her fault. Besides, he was a half-wolf, was he not? It just depended on how full the moon was as to which half of himself gained precendence. It was an uneasy truce at times, though, and always would be. It was a situation unique to the half-wolf community.
He shook himself out of his thoughts, kissing Cub's curly head and lifting him up to eye level.
"My son" he said in wolf tongue. Cub stared at him, alert as always when he heard the ancient lupine language. Wolf could see his tiny throat tensing as he tried to force his untrained vocal chords and palate to form the words.
"Da..da...da" he squeakily growled finally. Wolf's eyes filled with tears suddenly. Cub reached out a hand and brushed at them, his woodland green eyes like two deep pools of love that a parent could happily drown in. Wolf held him close, as a gentle breeze ruffled them and far off, in the distance, he heard the song of his wild friends. He sighed contentedly. One did not have to see the Goddess to know that She was there. He heard a familiar step behind him and turned to gather Virginia into his arms as well. Her eyes were red from tears too.
"Time to go, love" she said softly.
Now, they sped down the highway in the rented car. They had promised Evelyn that they would make an annual event out of the trip, a summer holiday as it were. This had seemed to brighten the old lady considerably, and the younger women of the camp were pleased also, thought Wolf. Even though Evelyn had accepted his explanations for not making any cubs with these women, it did not quite deter the young ladies from making their own desires known. He had stuck close to Virginia, but they still found opportunity to flirt with their eyes, letting him know exactly what they wanted to do with him. He was flattered, of course, he was a dominant male after all and he could understand that attractiveness to women. But it also made him distinctly uncomfortable. Virginia had laughed softly at his attempts to deflect the female attention, but fortunately, she hadn't become jealous or upset, rather, she knew just how to distract him and alleviate his male tension. Wolf half smiled as he dozed against the upolstery in the car, remembering. Abruptly he woke, seeing the lights of the city coming into view once more. Ah, home tomorrow, he thought happily, stretching and reaching over to stroke the back of Virginia's neck.
"We're nearly there, Wolf. You've slept the whole way, almost" she smiled at him.
"You tired me out, naughty she-wolf!". She put a mock innocent expression on her face as she manhandled the heavy car into the dealers yard and went to return the keys. Wolf gathered a sleepy Cub together and Virginia called them a cab. Soon, they were standing outside on the footpath once more in the late afternoon sun. The elevator door pinged as it opened on Virginia's Grandmother's floor, and the heavily made up and overperfumed lady welcomed them once more. She ushered them into the lounge and Wolf began to salivate at the smell of roasting lamb coming from the kitchen. The old lady's taste was improving by the day, he thought wickedly. Virginia went to take Cub for a lie down before dinner in their room, and Wolf was sorely tempted to follow and ravish her there, when Grandmother drew him aside, inadvertently pinching his arm with her maincured nails. Wolf stifled a growl.
"I found this in my mail box today, young man. I cannot but think it is addressed to you? Delivered by hand, no stamp, no return address though. Very strange" she said under her breath, waving a bit of paper under his nose. Wolf attempted to retrieve the envelope, but she waved it away out of his reach. He curbed his first impulse to bite the silly woman.
"Now listen to me, young man. If I find out you've been seeing other women, I'll, I'll..."
"You'll what?" he hissed at her, drawing close and allowing just a touch of luminosity to come into his eyes. Stupid human! He snatched the letter out of her hands and continued to stare at her until she subsided, withdrawing muttering to the kitchen. He sighed. No doubt he'd hear all about this later. He looked finally at the object in his hands. There was a simple written line across the front.
"To the Mate of Virginia Lewis"
Wolf flipped the envelope, seeing that there was indeed no return address. He held it up to his nose. The scent was heavy, as if the writer had deliberately run their hands over every square inch of the paper, a thing typical in half-wolf missives, but there was no distinct wolf scent here. Puzzled, he sniffed at it again. A male, older than he but not by much. Fresh, a little over a few hours old. Strong, confident male scent, but tainted ever so slightly with fear sweat. A most strange thing, but intriguing. The scent was familiar somehow, but he couldn't place it. Not one of the priest-men. Those he knew all too well. Wolf stood in the hallway, pondering, before suddenly making a decision and tearing carefully along the seam at the top of the envelope. Inside was a single page of writing.
"Dear Wolf Friend,
Please forgive my intrusion onto your territory. I do not seek any challenge with you or yours.
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Elias and I bring greetings from your wild
kindred in the far north of this land. Word of your visit, and the stories you told of your home
lands have recently reached my ears and I have felt compelled to seek you out. Please forgive
me that I dare not write more fully of the nature of my interest in you. Know that I have garnered
some knowledge of you and it is as safe with me as my own secrets. Know also that I intend
neither harm nor nor trouble for you and yours. If it pleases you, I await you in the forest close
to this place called Central Park.
Your's Faithfully,
Elias"
Wolf stared at the missive for a long time. He was so intent in it's study that he did not notice Virginia approaching him quietly. Too late, he tried to slip the note into his pocket, but hesitated. She had seen it. She would be upset if he kept it from her, even though she might not say as much.
"What's that you've got, honey?"
"Ah, someone has left this for me. It was in your Grandmother's letterbox" he said, handing over the envelope. Virginia didn't bother with sniffing at it, she just opened the page and read the words there. He watched her expression change from puzzlement, to curiousity, to concern as she read the letter several times. She stared up at him, trying to gauge his response.
"Is this Elias a half-wolf?"
"No. He's a human as far as I can tell. I don't know how he has tracked me here, or why. But he has marked the paper with his scent just like a half-wolf might"
"What do you want to do then?"
"I don't know. I am very curious, of course, but he may be counting on that very thing. I am also wary of being tracked and known to this man, and maybe he fears this also. I don't think he knows how I will react. What do you think I should do?"
"I am afraid it might be a trap, but then, it's a bit too obvious for that. He writes that word had reached him. How exactly, and from whom? Is he in the pay of the priests, a hunter or marksman sent to lure you out and shoot you? I think you should not seek this man. But I know you well enough, Wolf, to know that that's exactly what you'll do, right?"
"Maybe. It's not the wolf way to leave a potential enemy at one's back. He knows where we den. He has intruded on my territory. Those are reasons enough to force a confrontation. He fears this. He knows wolf etiquette, Virginia. I think he is the man who left the wolf marks on the tree. I wonder what he wants? How does he know what he knows? You are right, I will go find this man, but I will go warily. I will see him long before he sees me, and I will not approach if I sense a trap". Wolf spoke softly, soothingly, trying to allay his mate's fears. Virginia trembled under his touch.
"I'll come with you"
"Oh no, beloved. We can't leave Cub here with Grandmother and there's no way I will bring him anywhere near the Park tonight. I can do this better alone anyway. No distractions. But, pack our things anyway, just in case we have to leave this apartment in a hurry!" Wolf tried to make a joke to ease her worries, but she didn't pick up on it. Best to go now and get her fears over with. He kissed her mouth passionately before disentangling himself from her embrace and turning towards the door.
"Don't you go doing something risky or herioc now, you hear? You come back here within the hour, understand, or I'll be coming in there to get you!" Wolf smiled at her looking so fierce. He hadn't seen that side of her for so many months now. He still found himself wanting to obey her automatically when she was like this. He wondered if she knew the full extent of her control over him. She was her mother's daughter in many ways still. He kissed her again before closing the door quietly and bounding down the stairs to the street level. He looked back to see Virginia peering out the window at him. He waved at her before crossing the road and making his way down the block towards the Park.