Chapter 16

Russian Winter

The gang spent just a few nights in Paris, resting up before they were back on a plain again and heading for Northern Russia. There, in the vast forests of the fridge north, a Doberman named Johannes D. Eth. A powerful sorcerer who focused his power into necromancing, or the controlling of the dead. It wad different from voodoo magic in the main aspect that voodoo magic created zombies while necromancing just manipulated the bodies like a puppeteer controls his puppets.

Johannes was a German, but had not been born in his home land. He grandfather had been among Hitler's finest generals during WWII, but had been forced to flee for his own life. After much hardship and trials his grandfather established himself in Russia as a loan shark. He soon made his fortune again, and passed the legacy onto Johannes's father. His father had continued the business well, and made enough money Johannes was able to purchase the necessary bodies to practice his nercomancing.

Johannes broke away from the family business, and got a degree as a doctor. This, however, was just a cover up so he could continue his work as a necromancer. He would perform researched through his magic, trying to find a way to give a body new life. To not create a zombie whose flesh was still rotten. No, he strived to create life, to take old bones and flesh back to their prime, and create a real, living, person. Blain and Rachel explained how there really was no such form of magic. That the only way to create a new life was by a woman giving birth to a baby. Still, there were some people who would not believe such a statement. They thought that if a man and woman could come together, and create life then they could do it with magic.

Johannes's manor, a place Dracula would love to call home, was lost in the vast pine forests of Northern Russia. With a little work, Bentley was able to find an abandoned cabin close enough to the manor to serve as a safe-house. Still, there was no running water, no electricity, and a single stove for heating the entire cabin. With three room bedrooms and a single room that served as kitchen, dinning, and living room, it was the definition of cramped conditions.

When the gang first walked into cabin, it was a sad scene. No one had been in the cabin for years. The place was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the roof was leaking in several places due to the light rain outside. Sly frowned a bit, looking around the room as he set down his bag, "Bentley, are you sure this is the best we can do?"

Bentley nodded his head, "It's the only place within walking distance of the manor other then a few caves in the area."

Sly shook his head, "I think I would have preferred a cave."

Blain set down his bag in the corner of the room, rubbing his chin, "I may be able to use some magic to clean this place up, but I have never really been very good at maintenance magic."

Rachel smiled, seeing a golden opportunity to show Blain up. She moved over, pushing to the side as he said, "Step back you black cat. This place needs a woman's touch." Blain growled a bit, but nodded his head as he moved to the side, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. Rachel smiled a bit, her hands moving gently in front of her as she drew symbols in the air. She began to say a series of strange incantations, and as she did things around the cabin began to change. A small tornado formed in the corner, and began to such up all the dust off the floor and the small set of kitchen counters. At the same time the wood in the roof began to grow fresh limbs, using them to seal the leeks that had formed.

In a few minutes, the cabin was as good as new. A gentle fire was roaring in the fireplace, filling the room with light and warmth. In the back corner, in the small kitchen area, the stove also roared with a small fire, the heating plates growing warm. Rachel smiled, turning to the other, "There, that is much better."

Sadie nodded her head, "Great job Rachel. Man, if I could do that it would take me a fraction of the time to clean my hotel."

Blain smiled, admitting defeat, "I have to admit, that was some very skillful spell weaving you just performed." Rachel blinked a few times, turning her head as a small blush formed on her cheeks. With the cabin cleaned the gang began to choose who would have which rooms. Each room had started with a king sized bed and a few other amenities, but Rachel was able to break each of the large bed into two singles. It was then decided Rachel and Sadie would have one room while Bentley and Murray had the second and the third went to Sly and Blain.

After eating a light dinner the gang gathered around the fireplace. There wasn't any furniture in the cabin other then the dinning table and chairs. Still, Murray and Blain would head out the next morning. While Murray chopped the tree's down, Blain would use a bit of magic to make them into some furniture. For that night, however, their only seat was the floor.

Bentley shook his head. He had been surfing the web with his satellite uplink, a small generator powering the whole thing, when he came across some disturbing information. The weather stations were predicting heavy snows, even blizzard conditions in the area. Winter was beginning to set in, and Bentley was worried the gang might get snowed in. Still, there was no way around it. If they wanted to get Carmelita's diamond of emotion, they would have to steal it from Johannes.

The next morning the gang spent the day making the cabin more livable. While Blain and Murray were out making furniture, the others spent the day around the cabin. Bentley and Sadie worked together up on the roof, setting up some solar panels to get electricity for the cabin. Sly and Rachel worked down in the cabin. It seemed the cabin had an old well that provided water, but it hadn't work in years. In the end, Sly ended up with a face full of sludge when water came spewing up the pipe, but it was working again.

By nightfall, the cabin had gone from dark, damp, and cold to very cozy little place a family might call their summer home. Still, Bentley watched anxiously as the weather channel's website showed a large storm system moving over them. Just as the gang was heading to bed for the night, Bentley saw snowflakes dancing by the window.

That night, a powerful wind began to blow, waking Bentley up several times during the night. Each time he would pull up his laptop, and check on the storm. Each time he checked, it had only gotten worse. By morning, the entire gang saw the light snowstorm had turned into a powerful blizzard. The skies were covered with thick, dark clouds that blocked out most of the sunlight. Even then, the snow was falling so fast you could barely see a foot in front of your nose. The Cooper gang wasn't going anywhere until the storm lifted.

As the day slowly drug on, the gang spent most of their time in the living room. Sly had gone to visit Carmelita inside her book. With the Solar panels covered with snow, Bentley was unable to use his laptop, leaving him to read over a book he had only partially finished on the flight over. During the cleaning of the cabin, Murray had found an old checker board and was now playing a game with Blain. Sadie and Rachel were content to sit in front of the fireplace, watching the fire dancing inside the mantel.

The storm continued until noon. Sly had come out of Carmelita's book, and was now helping Sadie make the rest of the gang lunch. It was just simple sandwiches, but Bentley did not want to use any of their fire wood in the stove. From what he was able to get off the web, the storm looked like it was going to last a while. They needed to save there fire wood for the fireplace, which would keep the place warm far better then the stove.

The storm continued for two more days, and by that time everybody was getting stir crazy. Sadie had gone into her and Rachel's room, using the solitude to practice on her violin. Bentley and Murray were now playing checkers as Sly sat and watched, waiting to play the winner. Rachel and Blain were sitting on the floor, challenging each other with different spells and incantations, all of them on a very small scale. Still, as the gang sat there, the last of their firewood began to slowly burn out. When the last flame disappeared, the room was sent into a deep darkness. Blain snapped his fingers, a magical orb of light appearing near the ceiling as he asked, "Now what?"

Bentley shook his head, "I don't know. We need more fire wood, but no where to get it from."

Sly looked over at the two mystics, "Can't you two use your magic to produce a fire?"

Rachel nodded her head, standing up from the floor, "Yes, we could, but with nothing to burn the fire would have to feed off our magic, and in time we would just wear out. We can both hold a lot of power, but even it has its limits."

Bentley groaned, "Then the only answer is one of use will have to head out into the storm and get some more wood."

Murray raised an eyebrow, "How, the door is blocked with snow."

"Blain or Rachel can blow that away easily, can't you?"

Blain nodded his head, as did Rachel. That only left one question. Who was going to go out into the storm and search for the precious firewood? In the end, the gang had to draw straws. Bentley held out his fist, clenched within was the many set of six straws. Sly picked the first one, holding it up to his face as he examined the length. Next came Sadie, and her straw was the same length as Sly's. Murray picked next, followed by Blain and Rachel. None of them even looked at their straws. Bentley took the last, and then the entire gang held up their straws to see whose was the shortest.

Blain sighed, noticing his was half the length of all the others. Sly lowered his arm, a frown on his face, "Well, it had to be one of us.

Blain nodded his head, heading back into his room as he began putting on as many warm clothes as he could find. Within a few minutes, he was dressed in snow pants, a jacket, snow boots, and a hat.

Blain opened the door to the cabin, using a quick shock blast to blow it away enough he could get out. He then shut the door behind him, and began heading towards the nearest tree. The others waited in the darkness, waiting for Blain to return. An hour crept by and Blain had yet to return. Everyone was beginning to worry, but the one that seemed to be most worried was Rachel.

Then, two hours after he had left, a knock came at the cabin door. Rachel ran to the door, thinking Blain had returned. She was half right. In the door stood a grey wolf, Blain's arm slung over his shoulder and a pile of wood setting in the snow behind them. Blain was half conscious, his eyes glazed over. Rachel called to Sadie, who rushed up and helped her bring Blain inside while Murray gathered the wood. The wolf followed, shaking his fur a bit and letting Murray back in before he shut the door.

The wolf was stood just under six feet tall. His fur was a solid, metal like grey. Sly looked over the strange wolf, and was amazed to see he was dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans. The shirt was bit torn, and the pants had several holes. The wolf didn't even have shoes, and somehow he had been out in the blizzard. The biggest surprise was the fact that he was wearing chains. Attached to his neck, wrists, and ankles were thick metal collars which were all bound together by a set of chains. The chains looked like they could be bolted to the wall at a moments notice, and looked to be made of a very rare and strong metal.

Bentley walked up to the wolf, his voice a little firm, "What did you do to Blain?"

The wolf looked down at Bentley, his cold, emotionless eyes sending a chill down the turtle's shell, "All I have done is saved his life. I found him out in the snow, collapsed from exhaustion."

Bentley backed up a bit, amazed at the tone of the wolf's voice. Sly stepped forward, offering his hand to the wolf, "I am sorry. Bentley can be a little paranoid sometimes. My name is Sly Cooper, master thief."

The wolf took Sly's hand, shaking it gently, "Cyprus, but just call me Cye."

Sly nodded his head, turning when he heard Rachel and Murray coming back out of Blain's room. Rachel let out a relaxing breath, her worries beginning to subside, "He'll be all right. He had some frost bite, and he won't be able to do much for a few days. Still, I can cure the frost bite with my magic, and in time he'll be as good as new."

Sly smiled, turning back to see Cye was about to leave, "Now where do you think you're going."

Cye turned, a bit of a confused look on his face, "I am leaving. I have no reason to stay here."

Sly moved forward, setting his hand on the door and pushing it shut, "No, you saved Blain's life. Like it or not, you are going to have a hot meal before I'll even let you out of this cabin."

Cye stared at Sly, but then shrugged his shoulders as he turned, and walked away from the door. He took a seat on a chair, and crossed his arms as he shut his eyes. Bentley pulled Sly off to one side, and whispered, "You sure we can trust him. He could be working with Johannes."

Sly nodded his head, "I realized that. Still, we haven't even had a chance to get up to Johannes's manor. Even if he worked for him, he has no reason to report us. Besides, he saved Blain. That has at least earned him a hot meal and some time out of the cold."

Bentley shook his head, "Sly, you are to trusting sometimes. Still, you are right. He has earned at least earned a meal." A few hours past, and the entire time Cye didn't say a single word. He just sat in a single chair, his arms crossed with his eyes closed. When dinner was ready, courtesy of Chef Murray, Cye simple stood up and moved over to the table. Bentley came in from Blain room, saying the panther was still sleeping.

As the group sat at the table, Rachel kept sensing something. It was a latent magic, an ancient spell that had been at work for a very long time, and it was emanating from Cye. Finally, Rachel couldn't stand it any more and asked, "Cye, are you a sorcerer or something. I keep sensing some magic at work, and its coming from you."

Cye looked up from his food, "I am not a speaker of incantations or weaver of spells. My family, however, is the victim of such a person."

Rachel eyes widened, "Of course, a family curse. It is rare to find such powerful spells, but they do exist. Tell me, what does this curse entail?"

"Slaughter, devastation, a loss of all control and conscience. In truth, it is too gruesome to speak of what has happened because of the curse, but I can tell you what it does to me."

Cye paused, his mind working through the many memories that had risen. Like terrible phantoms they danced in his mind, but Cye pushed them away and said, "It is a curse of transformation, powered by the moon and the anger within me. If I look to the moon, a blood thirsty creature takes over my body, and I am driven to kill anyone I come in contact with. The other transformation takes place if my anger gets out of control. If the fire of rage burns too strongly in my heart and mind, I transform into a feral wolf. I become an animal, walking on all fours. I still maintain some control in that form, but I can't separate enemies from allies. I become a beast, driven by instinct and nothing more."

The cabin feel deathly silent, the only sound coming from the fire place as the wood inside gentle crackled and burned. Cye let out a slow breath and continued, "That is why I am here. I have seen other mystics, and all of them have told me the same thing. A curse passed by blood, through generations, can only be broken by blood. Only by destroying the spell caster or one of his ancestors can I break the cure. This curse was first placed on my grandfather, and it was by a sorceress. That sorceress would come to marry one of Hitler's generals, who fled here to escape the allied forces. The only surviving relative is a Doberman named Johannes D. Eth. He is the one I search for, the one that can end this curse."

Sly's ears perked up a bit, "So, you're here to Johannes. Though I am not a fan of such violence, we may be able to help each other."

Cye glared at Sly, his gaze cold and deadly, "I don't require anyone's help."

Sly leaned back a bit, forcing a weak smile. The Master Thief had just crossed a line with the wolf, and he quickly realized that the guy was like a tight security system. You had to choose your words carefully when talking to him, or you could set his temper off like an alarm. Then, if Cye had told the truth about his family's cure, you wouldn't live to correct yourself.

The meal was finished in a respectful silence, and soon the gang retired to their rooms. Sly offered Cye a bed, and the wolf accepted his hospitality. Cye was soon sleeping soundly, lying on the couch with his back to the fire. The next morning, the blizzard had ended and Cye had disappeared. Bentley guessed that he had left in the middle of the night, just after the blizzard died down.

As the day wore on, and the sun began to come out, Bentley sent Sly on a recon mission. Bentley needed some more information on Johannes, considering the last information he had on the Doberman was seven years old. Sly agreed, having Murray drive him up closer to the manor so he would not have to walk all that way in knee deep snow.

While Sly and Murray were gone, Sadie and Bentley tended to getting the snow off the solar panels on the roof and do some other light maintenance around the cabin. That left Rachel to keep an eye on Blain. Rachel took her job willingly, but did far more then Bentley asked. The brains of the gang had asked Rachel to check in every half hour or so. Rachel, however, spent most of her time just sitting in the chair next to Blain, watching the panther's chest slowly rise and fall as he slept.

It was just around three when Sly and Murray returned. Sly smiled, handing his binocucom to Bentley as he said, "These pictures should be more then enough, I would think."

Bentley nodded his head, taking the communication device, "Thanks Sly. All right, would you go tell Rachel that there will be a team meeting in one hour? With the solar panels cleared off I have power again, so I can use my laptop to analyze these photos and have our next step planned by then."

Sly nodded his head, walking to the door to his and Blain's bedroom. He gently opened the door, poking his head in to see Rachel was sitting beside Blain's bed, reading a book. Sly smiled a bit, "Rachel."

The lioness looked up from her book, "Yes Sly."

"Bentley wants us for a team meeting in one hour."

Rachel nodded her head, "All right, I'll be there." Sly returned Rachel's nod before closing the door. Rachel eyes dropped back down, and she continued to read her book. In truth, she was barely paying any attention to the story. It was just something for her to do, to get her mind of the fact Blain had yet to wake up. She had already used her cure magic, and healed the frost bit he had gotten. Still, the panther mystic still hadn't waken up.

The hour quickly went by, and Rachel met the others in the cabin's living room for their meeting. Bentley had set up his usual projector, this one running off his laptop. He clicked the remote, the image changing to show a snow covered manor. Bentley turned to the others as he said, "All right guys, at a glance it appears this manor has no security. That is far from the truth. This manor's security is magical based. You'll notice that all along the outer wall are several strange lanterns. Those are Johannes's first line of defense. If someone goes over the fence those lanterns alert him. Then, it is just a matter of using his necromancing to summon up a few skeletons to throw out the intruder.'

Murray leaned back in his chair, "Ahhh…those brittle bones are nothing before the might of the Murray."

Bentley shook his head, "I wouldn't be so confident Murray. Johannes's yard is covered with bones. If he do manage to knock down one of his skeletal henchmen, two more will jump up in its place. This operation will take the up most secrecy. We must also keep an eye out for Cye. That wolf could pose a major threat for our operation, considering he is here to kill Johannes."

Bentley then pressed a button on his remote, and the image from the projector changed to that of a finely dressed Doberman. He was standing on a snow covered balcony, his eyes looking down at the land below. He was dressed in a formal black suit, and in his right hand he held a cane with a large, red ruby at the top. Bentley cleared his throat, "This is him, Johannes D. Eth. Necromancer and generally nasty guy. Still, somewhere in his manor we will find Carmelita's Diamond of Emotion."

Sly smiled, "So, what's the plan for getting in there Bent."

Bentley blinked a few times, and then stammered a bit before smiling weakly, "Well, I haven't quite figured that out yet. The only way to get by the outer fence is through the main entrance, and that is guarded around the clock both by normal guards and Johannes's skeletal henchmen. Still, give me till tomorrow morning. I promise to have a plan by then."

Sly shrugged, "Hey Bentley, you just take all the time you need. I don't want you to rush and then make a mistake. In this business, mistakes tend to end with jail time."

Bentley nodded his head, "I know Sly, but you are the last person that should be lecturing me about mistakes, considering you make the constant mistake to flirt with Carmelita every chance you get." Sly smiled sheepishly as the rest of the gang stood up and began to go back to what they were doing. Rachel went back towards Sly and Blain's room, opening the door.

To her surprise, Blain was sitting up in bed. He had her book in his hands, and was mindlessly skimming the pages. Blain looked up when he noticed Rachel standing in the doorway, smiling a bit as he said, "I hope you don't mind, but I decided to take a look at your book. More of a fantasy guy myself. Still, it is hard to resist a good mystery thriller."

Rachel smiled, moving over to the bed as she snatched the book out of Blain's hand, and then thumped him on the head with it. Blain rubbed his head as Rachel said, "Don't ever do that again?"

Blain continued to rub his head, "What, why can't I read a book."

Rachel shook her head, "I meant don't worry me like that again. When you didn't come back in an hour I began to pace, and would have probably worn a hole in the floor if Cye hadn't brought you back to the cabin."

Blain blinked a few times, "Sly was the one that saved me?"

"No, not Sly, Cye. He is a wolf that has a family curse on him. He is the one that saved your butt from freezing to death. Then, I was the one that used my magic to heal the frost bite you had on your hands, feet, and ears. With out me, you would have probably lost all of those so helpful appendages."

Blain smiled, gently reaching out as he took hold of Rachel's hand. He gently lifted the lioness paw up to his mouth as he planted a kiss on the back of the palm. He then look up at her and said, "Well, I thank you for the care you have given me. If there is anything you would like me to do, then please speak it. It would be a way for me to repay the dept I have incurred while in your care."

Rachel blushed a bit, "Since when did you become such a charmer? Still, I think I may know a way you can pay me back."

"How?"

Rachel smiled, "Oh, lets wait till your you have a clean bill of health. You may be awake, but I doubt you are ready for any of the stuff I have planned." Blain gulped a bit, wondering what torture Rachel was planning for him. Still, Blain could not get to worried. Actually, he was happy to be in the dept of such a lovely lioness, even if she was a Leo Blitz.