Chapter 48
As the team and Officer Schewel climbed out of the vehicles, they were joined by twelve other people. The birds had changed into their human forms as soon as they passed the high walls of the estate. Morgan locked eyes with Hotch as the group of people got even closer, and Hotch's look told him to calm down, but Morgan huffed, moved closer to the girls, and rested his hand on top of his holstered pistol.
As Hotch took a deep breath, Rossi moved closer to him with concern filled eyes. "You ok?"
Hotch looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What?"
"Are you alright?" Rossi asked again a little louder as he mentally cringed. Hotch would have been able to hear him before let alone with his new hearing, and he was starting to get worried. When Hotch's head ducked down into his shoulders a little, he looked like he was in pain, so Rossi grabbed his arm. "Aaron?!"
"Sorry, but their hearts are beating in rhythm. It's like I'm standing next to a drum line," Hotch told him and everyone looked at him because he had spoken a lot louder than he had realized.
"That's how you know we're shifters? You can hear our hearts?" a young man asked with wide eyes.
Officer Schewel shoved him aside and moved closer to Hotch. "I'm sorry. We didn't know," he assured him as he shooed his relatives away with a wave of his hands and a stern look. When some of them looked about to ignore him, he stood up tall. "He is my guest and he will be treated as such!" he demanded and they all started away even if they did grumble their disagreement of leaving him alone.
Once they were far enough away, Hotch took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. "I'm sorry about that, but thank you."
Schewel studied him. "So do you hear all things or is it just the heart?"
"My hearing is enhanced," Hotch admitted and when he saw the doubt in the officer's eyes, he turned towards the people who were walking away. "For instance, I can hear that red headed girl arguing with those three boys."
Schewel turned and frowned. "Arguing? What are they arguing about?"
"The boys don't think you should have brought me here, but the girl told them to shut up because you are ali`i and that shut them up," he explained and then frowned. "Ali`i?"
"That's Hawaiian for royal or noble," Reid explained with a grin.
Schewel smirked. "I am third in line after my father and grandfather to rule the family if you would, but we're not real royalty like you're thinking. It's just a shifter thing."
"Well, Your Highness, if you would be so kind as to show us the way," Rossi quipped with a little bow as his arm swept towards the house.
Schewel rolled his eyes and then looked at Hotch. "I'm either starting to like him or I want to kill him."
Morgan chuckled. "Now you know what we go through every day."
"And you all love me and you know it," Rossi insisted with a grin.
"Before you two start hugging, could we get on with why we're here?" Hotch asked as he looked at them.
Schewel laughed. "Right this way."
They followed him to the door, he opened it, and Hotch stopped about a foot away from it and looked at Rossi, Schewel noticed his hesitation though, and then cringed. "I am so sorry. Remember, you are my first vampire." He stood up tall and took a deep breath. "Agent Hotchner, you are invited into my home and any Schewel home throughout the islands from this moment on."
Hotch appraised him for a moment, nodded once, and went through the door without any problems, but once he moved further into the hall, he suddenly turned to the shifter. "I hear screaming."
Schewel looked down the hall and cringed. "That must be Heather. I told you she was having a hard time with it."
"Does traditional medicine or anything help?" JJ asked him. They couldn't hear anyone screaming, but the look on Hotch's face told her it must have been bad.
"Nothing stops the pain. Once it starts, it runs its course until it's over. I was hoping she was getting to the end," the officer told them as he led them through the house.
When they got to a large open room, the officer stopped in his tracks as an old man stood up from his rocking chair. His eyes trailed over the team and then settled on Hotch. After staring him down for a few seconds he turned to the officer. "I cannot believe you have brought a bloodsucker into our homes, James Matthias Schewel!" he yelled and then looked back at Hotch. "Did you compel him to do this?" he demanded to know.
"No, Sir. We are. . ." Hotch started.
"Tutu, Grandfather, please! They are FBI and they are here to help find whoever is killing those innocent people," the younger Schewel insisted.
The old man was to his grandson in a second, and the team all shared looks because the old man had moved way too quickly for what they thought was possible at his age. "Did he drink from you?" the older one asked as he checked out the younger man's neck.
Officer James Schewel pushed the old man's hands away. "No, Grandfather. I only brought them here to prove that Heather is not the shifter doing this. Please trust my judgement on this," he pleaded as he looked the older man in the eyes.
The older man huffed and made his way back to his seat. "Your judgement I trust, Jimmy, you know that," he started as he sat down and then looked at Hotch again. "But your judgement could be manipulated by one such as that," he insisted as he pointed at Hotch.
Hotch sighed as he focused on the floor. Of course he thinks I'm a bad guy, I'm the source of horror for them.
Rossi bristled, though, and took a step closer to the older man. "Look, I don't care what you think of vampires as a whole, and I don't care what kind of experiences you may or may not have had with them, but this man," he started as he gestured to Hotch. "This man is one of the best men I have ever met, and just because you may not like what he is, that does not give you the right to judge him!"
The older man locked eyes with Rossi and he raised his chin. "And yet, you find out a shifter is responsible for these murders and the first place you search for the killer is here? Who is judging whom?"
"Actually Hotch is the only one of us would thought your grandson was innocent," Mack told him. "And it was your grandson who invited us here."
The older Schewel appraised the whole team and then finally nodded. "Very well." He looked at his grandson. "Do what you must. The faster this gets solved the faster we can all relax," he stated and started rocking his chair. "Nathaniel saw three hunters in town today. They are getting a little too close for comfort."
The younger Schewel sighed and then nodded as he gestured to the hallway off the other side of the room. "This way please."
The team moved to follow him but Hotch hesitated a minute and then turned back to the old man. "You aren't human and you all strive to live a peaceful life. Is it so hard to think that other nonhumans want to do the same?"
The man stood up and stared at Hotch. After a few seconds he held out his hand. "My apologies, Agent Hotchner. Jimmy is a very good judge of character and I should have realized he would never trust you if he thought you were a problem. I am Jamison Schewel, the patriarch of this family, and you are welcomed here."
Hotch shook his hand. "Thank you."
The old man grinned. "Can I chalk my bad behavior up to these worrisome times?"
Hotch nodded. "I understand you being worried, and I promise you, that if the answers are out there, my team and I will find them."
"Then I wish you luck," he offered and moved back to his chair.
Hotch moved to the hall and found Rossi waiting for him with a grin on his face. "Shut up, Dave," Hotch muttered and passed him to catch up with the rest of the team.
Rossi grinned even harder as he pat Hotch on the back. "That's my boy."
"Officer Schewel," JJ started as he came to a stop in the kitchen.
"Just call me Jimmy, please. I think you all know enough about me that the formality can be dropped," he offered as he went towards a heavily armored door step into the wall.
"Alright, Jimmy, but exactly why do you need to keep your niece locked up behind such a door?"
Jimmy sighed as he looked at JJ. "One, we don't want anyone outside of the family to hear whoever is going through the change. Two, when one is going through the change, they change shapes randomly."
Reid looked at him with furrowed brows. "Is it uncontrollable?"
The shifter nodded. "Yes. A shifter is born with the ability to change into any living shape other than human, and sometimes when going through the change some rather odd animals have been known to pop up here and there. We have to keep whoever is going through the change locked up to stop something unexpected from getting out because whatever they change into is also feeling the pain of the change. It can lead to some very horrible situations."
"Horrible? You mean like a crazed tiger or something?" Morgan asked as he moved a little further away from the door.
Jimmy ran a hand down his face. "The worst thing was a rhino. It busted through a couple walls, impaled two people, and trampled my Great Grandmother's garden before he shifted into a harmless mouse." He took a deep breath. "After that incident, my Great Grandfather had this room built."
Hotch looked his team over. "Maybe you all should stay up here."
Morgan immediately started nodding but Rossi shook his head. "You're not going downing there alone!"
"Of course he shouldn't," Reid quickly agreed as he stepped closer to Rossi obviously hoping to be able to witness it with Hotch.
Hotch looked back and forth between the two and sighed. "I know I can protect one of you without a problem, but two might be pushing it if it gets really bad."
Jimmy smiled. "They can all go and watch from the observation room where they would all be perfectly safe if they want."
"I'll watch the door," Morgan put in as he leaned up against the wall beside the door.
"And I'll watch him," JJ added and then looked at Hotch. "I really don't want to see some poor girl who is in so much pain that you could hear her as soon as we got here."
Hotch nodded as he mentally cringed. Being a father of a little girl he completely understood why JJ, who was also a mother of a little girl, didn't want to witness what he had the feeling was going to be bad. He looked at Mack.
She shrugged. "I'm good either way. It's up to you."
Hotch nodded. "You and Reid can go to the observation room and Rossi can go with me."
"Very well," Jimmy told them and unlocked the door that lead to a spiral staircase.
Once they went down what would have been several flights, the humans of the group could finally hear the screams coming up from below. Rossi cringed as he glanced at Hotch. Hotch was breathing roughly and Rossi knew the screams were getting to him. "All we need to do is see that she definitely can't be our unsub and then get the hell out of here."
Hotch nodded as he took a deep breath. "I'm not su. . ." His words were drowned out by a massive screech and they all froze.
"Not to worry," Jimmy stated with a little grin. "That's just an eagle. Heather loves eagles," he muttered as he continued down the stairs.
Reid and Mack shared a look and then rushed to catch up with the others.
Once they got to the bottom, Jimmy led them through two more doors and then into a massive room. He looked at Reid and Mack. "Stay out here please. You will be perfectly safe on this side of the bars," he instructed as he went towards a door within the wall of bars.
"You keep her locked in a cell?" Rossi asked as disgust worked its way into his tone.
"It may be crude, Agent, but it is safer for everyone," he insisted as he pulled back a curtain to reveal a sparse room. In the corner, there was a bed that looked empty, a woman sitting in a chair next to it, and a massive mountain lion paced at the foot of the bed.
Hotch's hand shot out to stop Rossi from advancing any further as the giant cat turned to see who had come into the room.
Jimmy pulled Rossi in through the door, though, and quickly locked it behind him as the cougar changed into a man who looked at the officer with concern. "What's going on Jimmy?" he asked as the woman got up and went to his side.
"It's alright. Nick, Amanda, I want you to meet part of the team who have come to help us find the shifter who is killing those innocent people."
The man looked at the four newcomers and then frowned. "Then why are they here?"
The woman became mad. "Because they think that Heather is the killer since she just underwent the ritual. Jesus Jimmy, have you brought hunters into our home?" she asked as she backed up obviously prepared to protect her daughter.
"Exactly where is your daughter, Mrs. Keely?" Mack asked from behind the bars as her eyes trailed to the bed.
Hotch shot her a look. "She's there, she's not in human form," he pointed out as he moved closer to the bed.
"And you know that how?" Nick asked him as he pulled his wife away from the newcomer.
"Because I can hear a tiny heart beat," Hotch continued as he looked at the bed and then nodded. "Like that of a rodent or something."
Rossi moved in closer and then cringed at the rat writhing on the middle of the bed. Before anyone else could say anything, the rat turned into a massive dog and whined and then it turned into an armadillo who immediately curled into a ball as whimpers escaped it.
"She can't control it," Amanda explained. "She hasn't even slept for over three days. All she does is just keeps changing. When she is her normal self, she only screams. I haven't even been able to get her to drink anything," she told them as tears fell down her cheeks.
As soon as her husband pulled her to his side and wrapped his arm around her, the girl changed into her human form, let out a blood curdling scream for a few seconds, and then changed into a hedgehog.
Rossi swallowed and grabbed Hotch's arm. "Come on. It's obvious she is not the one doing this."
Hotch stayed where he was, though, as he watched the girl change several more times. Once she changed back into girl form for another couple of seconds before turning again, he looked at the parents. "May I try something with her?"
