Of Tyrants, Drunkards, and Other Things

*** EST OT ***

DIANA

The house had severe water damage. The upper level was so unstable that she didn't dare to go up there. Their neighbor Mr. Glacier had offered shelter until the damage could be repaired.

Tanner came home after days of insecurity about what to do. He was dirty, hurt, and exhausted - and without Paul. He usually was never without his servant. The question of his whereabouts made Marcus so angry that he had backhanded her across the face so hard that her nose started to bleed. Diana had been silent since that. She was glad that Annabeth had been out with Cole at the time.

After that her husband had talked to Mr. Glacier and took off again. Diana watched the street from the little room she shared with Anna and Cole at their neighbors. While cooling her nose and cheekbone from the slap she watched Marcus coming back with some men on a wagon with ladders and wood.

Three days later they could return to the house. It was not repaired completely. but the upper level was steadied and intact so far. Some of The windows were replaced and others were boarded so that it was possible to stay in the house.

Cole's room was cleaned of the shards and the debris the gale had blown inside. Diana wondered at how normal Cole played here again. Her little son came over and took her hand. He might have sensed her daydreaming and put his little arms around her. "Mommy okay?" he asked with the few words he knew.

She had to think of Mike. He had always been attentive and caring for others. She had bloodied her knee one time in the woods and Mike had been the only one of the boys who stayed back and cared for her misery. He had piggy backed her home. Pushing her nose into Cole's hair she remembered doing this then with Mike's. That had been the moment when she had thought differently about him for the first time. "I'm good honey. I was just in thoughts."

The smash of the door startled her. He was home. Diana swallowed hard. He was angry about something again. She put a brave smile onto her lips, "Stay here and be silent, okay honey, I'll bring your meal upstairs and we can play like we were on a lonely pirate island, okay?"

Cole smiled excitedly and nodded. "Wanna be Capten."

"Sure, Captain Cole, you are the boss." Diana imitated a sailor salute and stepped out of the room.

Outside the door she sighed. She didn't want to go downstairs, but if she didn't show up Marcus would come up and search for her. He always wanted her to be waiting for him to return and listen to his rantings, telltales and worries about his ships.

She hated those ships so much. He told her every day about the business. He talked endlessly of what was loaded and what money it had brought in and that the hands were all useless, that if he had worked that way when he was younger the captain would have let him be keelhauled.

She pushed up from the door and walked downstairs.

WADE

He was shocked how bad the storm had raged across the whole East Side and the farther he got the more worried he was. Would he find Cole and Diana unharmed? He was glad he had been able to reason with Mike, convincing him to stay in Hartford though Mike had given him a letter for Diana. He was not sure if writing to each other would make it better for any of them.

To get to Newport was a challenge in itself. But he had made it and now he stood in front of the once so nice house of Tanner. There was much damage to it. But he saw light inside through the windows that weren't broken. The others were fixed with boards as well as the main door which was boarded too. He rounded the front and found the side entrance for servants. He rang the bell there. It didn't take long and Annabeth opened.

His former nanny looked at him, surprised and happy. "Master Wade! What a surprise! Is everything alright at home? This storm hit us pretty hard."

"Anna, I'm so glad to see you." He quickly pulled her into a short hug. Usually he wouldn't do that anymore but he was so happy to see her since all this had happened with his father and the storm. "Sadly we're not. Father died during the storm."

"Oh, Wade I'm so sorry." Anna stroked calmingly over his back like he was six again. Wade nearly cried by the motherly gesture. With a sigh he retreated from the embrace a bit later and had himself under control again. "I … uhm …I was worried about Diana, Cole. I wanted to make sure you all were alright. Is everyone?"

"Yes Master Wade, they are alright. It was a pretty rough thing that storm and riptide. Thanks to Miss Diana's swimming skills Master Cole and I are still alive. But please, come in. I'm sorry the main door is not intact. You have to come through the kitchen."

"I don't mind, Anna." Wade entered the house. Annabeth hurried ahead announcing his arrival. He heard a chair pushed back in the dining room and soon Marcus Tanner greeted him in the hallway.

"Wade! What a surprise. Be welcome. Diana will be so glad to see you."

Another scratching noise and quick steps. There she was - his little sister. She had an abrasion on her cheek but looked unharmed as Anna had said before. "Diana!"

"Wade!" She ran the last steps and flew in his arms. "I'm so glad you are alright."

"Me too, Di. Where is Cole? Is he already in bed?"

He saw Diana looked uncomfortable before she answered. "No, he is playing in his room." Diana turned to Anna. "Anna, would you please go and get Cole and tell him his uncle is here."

Anna nodded and vanished upstairs. Wade only had time to take a seat at the table before he heard the little one running downstairs in joy. "Unca Wade!" Cole shouted.

"Cole! There you are," Wade put his godson onto his lap and let Annabeth serve him. "Now I can rest assured since I see all of you well after that storm." Wade wondered why Anna served him since usually Paul was at the table to help the family with their wishes. "Where is Paul?"

Tanner cleared his throat and used the napkin before speaking. "Sadly he died saving my life in Providence during the storm. I can not say how much I miss him."

"What luck he saved you. God bless his soul." Wade looked at his plate. "The storm hit us pretty bad too. It uprooted so many trees and drove the tree in front of Father's room though the house. It buried him under it. He was so badly injured, we couldn't save him." He hadn't meant to tell it like that but it just came out.

He glanced up and saw Diana looking shocked. He knew she loved their father even if they had been at odds.

Tanner directed the word to Wade. "My sincere condolences. How is your mother taking it?"

Wade looked uncomfortable. "She is … grieving. I hope she will get better soon."

Cole began yawning widely. It brought him a disappointed stare by Marcus. "Cole, you are not allowed to yawn at the table. Your mother has to teach you better manners. Diana, put him to bed. I'll have a chat with your brother in my office."

Diana hurried and pulled Cole from Wade's lap, reminding the little one to say good night to his father and his uncle.

Wade had no idea what Tanner wanted to discuss with him but followed him into the office after they had finished dinner.

Wade could see clearly the almost dried water mark on the walls in the whole downstairs level; it had been high. He had to ask Diana what happened. Anna's short telltale had given him enough to let his imagination run wild.

Marcus closed the door behind them and offered him a drink. Then he rounded the table and started talking. "Well, I wanted to write to you in this matter but as you are already here. You see the damage the storm did to our home and I lost all but one ship in Providence. I only have my ships in South Carolina left. And no money to spend at the moment for the needed repairs on the house. I am aware that the storm has probably caused damage to your business too. But we are family, right? Can you help me out with a bit of money, brother?" he asked with a pleading gaze. "I want to provide your sister and her son with the things they need. I'm absolutely sure my business will bloom again and I will be able to pay you back within the next year."

How could he turn down such a request by his brother in law? Of course he would help if he was able to do so.

*** EST OT ***

Two weeks later

MIKE

Wade was back savely. He had refused Mike to accompany him to Newport. Of course he did. Wade didn't want him anywhere near Tanner or Diana considering his outburst at the wedding.

So Mike had given in; this was not a hunt where Wade needed his Knight. He would just check on his sister. Mike also desperately wanted to know if Diana was okay. He knew it wasn't his right to do so but he had written her a letter back.

At his return his friend had only said they were fine. Wade was grieving for his father Mike could tell. So he didn't ask more.

George, Mike, and Bastian had a lot to do in Hartford; they worked all day to help the Summers and even their neighbors to clean the streets and backyards of the debris, as well as repair broken windows and replace shingles. Every man was needed after this storm. The citizens were happy for their help and Mike felt good helping them. He suddenly had his hands full of work that left no place for brooding about failing others.

He could concentrate on a task. In the evenings he was so exhausted that he mostly fell into bed, sleeping so deeply he didn't even have power for nightmares.

There was only one tiny problem he became slightly aware of. He drank too much. The first time he had realized it as a problem was yesterday. He had been exhausted and retreated to his room after supper. Out of habit he had grabbed the bottle from his nightstand, to see it was nearly empty. There was barely a quarter of the amount left he usually drank before bed. He remembered thinking about buying a new bottle the evening before. He had forgotten about it. Well, be it. He was no drunkard like his uncle had been. He could sleep without alcohol. And he did sleep well.

But tonight he had refused to replace the bottle by choice. He had politely said no to any offer the people made for a glass of Whiskey or Gin - a thing he never liked drinking. The taste was gross and it reminded him painfully of Diana. She had snatched a bottle of Gin from her father a few times and offered it to the boys as payment to come along.

Mike felt restless today in his room even though he should be tired enough to sleep. He eyed his hands. They had little cuts from cleaning the backyard. Often there were shards hidden in the dirt they shoveled away and he already got used to the cuts here and there. While thinking about this he saw his hand start to shake uncontrollably. "What the hell," Mike whispered, balling his hand to a fist and grabbing it with his left to stop it from shaking. He was probably overworked and his muscles were at their limits. This meant nothing, he told himself.

An hour later he was still awake in bed unable to sleep and his mind drifted to Diana again. He played the scenario of their short meeting over and over in his head. He should have found other words for her. He had the opportunity to talk to her and he had said useless shit. And Tanner … how he had stared at him so full of hatred. He didn't understand why Diana had married him. But find a man who understands women. Maybe he didn't know Diana half as well as he had thought?

He sat up in bed massaging his aching temples. This brooding only caused him a mean headache. He should drink something so he could finally find sleep. He had a bit of whiskey in his flask in his jacket. He pulled the jacket from the chair and fumbled for the flask. It was empty too. "Fuck!" Mike swore louder than he meant to, throwing the metal flask across the room.

Like an immediate answer, he heard rumbling in the next room - Bastian's - and cursed silently this time. To draw his brother's attention on him was not what he wanted.

The door opened carefully and Bastian peeked inside. "Mike, are you alright?"

He sighed and got up. "Aye, I just couldn't sleep. Maybe I'll go out and meet with Geroge. We don't have to help tomorrow. I didn't mean to disturb you."

Mike didn't miss the suspicious gaze Bastian gave him. His friend bent and collected the flask from the ground, raising a brow while he shook the bottle to feel it was empty. His friend handed him the flask without a comment. "Do you want me to come along?"

"No, I know you wanted to read in peace tonight. And besides I have George to make sure I don't get into trouble."

"Yeah, that works so well with you two. Please promise me you won't drink yourself unconscious in some lousy brothel. I don't like picking you or George up there. And I don't want to pick you up from the police station either," Bastian warned.

Mike knew his friend would even pick him up there if necessary. But he had to prove it to himself that he was able to handle the amount of alcohol he would drink. "I promise not to waste myself tonight and won't mess with assholes in a brothel, okay?"

"Okay. If you need me. I'm home. I'll probably be up for a while, so don't hesitate if you wanna talk after your tour with George."

Mike knew what Bastian had in mind. His friend had found out that Mike was more talkative if drunk enough and Bastian had used it to question him in that state to get some deeper insight into his state of mind.

Mike only made a grumpy sound to agree before he began dressing again.

*** EST OT***

MIKE

They visited one of the bars near the workers quarter. Mike had ordered a bottle of whiskey and had already drunk half of it with George. His friend never gave him that look Bastian did when he drank. Soon George was occupied in a conversation with a girl and Mike stayed alone at their table, occupying himself with the bottle. Mike was curious how much he needed to get rid of this shaking of his hand.

George came back without the girl, "Let's go home, Mike. I'm tired and way too drunk. What about you? You nearly finished the bottle without me. I bet you're not even able to find home without help," George joked, filling his glass with the rest of the bottle.

Of course he would find home, no matter the amount of whiskey. Even guiding George home was not a problem and he had him safely at home half an hour later. He glanced at his pocket watch. It was already half past four in the morning.

Mike needed to head home too or Bastian would send a rescue team to find him. He was sure he was exhausted enough now to sleep anyway.

So he decided to short cut through a few backyards. He pulled his jacked a bit tighter around him, shivering. It was a cold night. At least the shaking of his hand had stopped. Glancing up to the night sky he saw it was the night before a full moon. The Knight cursed innerly. He should have an eye on these things. The last thing he needed that night was an encounter with a werewolf.

The storm had caused a lot of damage and flooded the town not only with garbage but a lot of homeless people from the area, and other things as well. Bastian and George had followed the hints of a few ghost appearances during the help they offered. People were pretty open to tell them all their worries since the storm hit.

One of those had turned out to be a locked up dog. However, - the others had been real; they even had found a ghoul feasting on a body.

Mike was glad he always had a few blades in his inside pockets. Though he had been sure his flask had been full too, so he checked for them quickly, relieved when he felt the handle of his silver knife. It wasn't far now. The town was silent as a grave tonight.

He wondered a bit that he didn't feel more intoxicated by over half of a bottle of whiskey. Maybe he should talk to Clara like she had offered. He was ashamed to admit it but he might have a drinking problem. But could he really put his shit on her shoulders? Wade and Clara had other problems. Henry was dead and since then Prescilla was not herself anymore. He feared she could follow her husband soon. His friend needed him. He had to find a way out himself.

He only needed to cross this backyard of the broken smithy and he would be on the main street not far from the newspaper office. Something metallic fell to the ground with a thud. Mike whirled around staring toward the direction of the noise. He spotted a shadow near the shed but in the next second it was gone. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he reached for the hilt of his blade. "Seems I'm damn lucky today," he mumbled to himself.

There was a deep growl behind him. Mike turned slowly, ready to fight. He would not let some random creature kill him. He was The Knight!

The shape of a muscular creature hulked up a few paces in front of him, coming closer with determined steps. Mike retreated carefully, protecting himself with his blade. The pale moonlight made the metal glow like ice. He saw the werewolf's claws, the creature flexed in excitement for his prey. Its nostrils widened as the creature inhaled his scent. Then he revealed his fangs and jumped onto him.

Mike dived to the side, right before the monster could grab at him. The fast movement reminded him with a short dizziness about the bottle of whiskey. "Fuck, Campbell, you need to stop drinking, you don't wanna end like this thing."

The creature had been so close he could smell his ugly breath. He whirled around, not letting the werewolf out of sight. It had turned too and growled again, chasing the hunter into the right spot of the yard for his final attack.

Mike retreated further to the shed. Only one bite was enough and Mike would be infected. He had to be careful. There was no cure from Lycanthropy.

The creature came closer slowly, confident of his snack. Mike bumped into some tools dangling on the log of the shed. Then the werewolf jumped at him again. He fell backwards and rolled behind the forge, the only shelter the shed had to offer. He clutched his knife tighter and pushed the blade forward at the creature. He scratched its paw, which caused the werewolf to retreat with a whine only to growl angrier and resume his attack.

Mike grabbed the next thing in reach - a rack - right before the wolf was over him again. Holding it before him like a shield, he kept his attacker at bay. The werewolf moved constantly, snapping after him. Mike could see every tooth in the monster's mouth as it tried to get a piece of his chest. Only the rack kept the werewolf from biting him. He had to end this - quickly. He sent a prayer to the Lord to guide his hand, pushing the blade into the chest of the creature, aiming at its heart. At the same time the thing threw its claws at him, ripping his vest and pieces of his pants apart. Hot pain spread instantly, reminding him far too much of the burning Hazard had done to him. The werewolf's body went slack and buried him with his deadweight.

Mike pushed against it with the last of his strength, rolling the creature off him. He came to his knees and witnessed how the fangs and claws of the dead creature turned back into normal fingernails and teeth. The guy didn't look any different than other humans now.

The Knight groaned and brought a hand to his side where it hurt. He felt fresh blood spilling from the gash. "Shit!" Mike pressed out. At least it wasn't a bite. To his luck the body lay in the shed with the forge and was easy to cover for now. He would send Bastian or George here to get rid of the body later. First he had to take care of that injury if he didn't want to bleed out right next to the werewolf.

With his hand pressed to his side so as not to spill too much blood on the ground, he grabbed a leather apron from the shed and covered the body. His vision blurred while doing this. He didn't find the strength to get up, maybe even the Knight might find his end on a simple hunt, wasn't that ironic? At least this way he did not have to tell anyone about his drinking. The blood already wetted his hand pressed onto the wound and Mike began to feel lightheaded.

BASTIAN

Exhaustedly he closed the Demonicon he had from the former Scholar. Clara had brought a lot of stuff from her father's library with her. There were two boxes full of books. He still had to get them into some sort of order. This special book came with the instruction to install protection wards before reading it. Of course he had followed that instruction precisely. Bastian knew it would need a lot of concentration to read in the old sumeric it was written in, so he had decided for night to have peace and quiet.

He was too tired to remove the hex bags and recite the verse needed to break the protection before sleeping. It would not hurt anyone if he slept in a warded room. He didn't bother to undress and dropped down in his bed, falling asleep immediately.

Before long The Scholar woke in his room with a strange feeling. Something like a throbbing in his hand. He rubbed it. Maybe he had overdone writing yesterday as he had copied some passages for better translation? He glanced out the window. It was just about to lighten up outside. His mother was probably not even up yet.

Sleepily he got up rubbing his eyes. He needed some time to wash and really wake up. Opening the window and the shutters, he let some fresh air into the room. He had a good view at the clock tower which showed only ten past six together with a beautiful sunrise painting the sky in wonderful purple hues.

He would make some coffee, his mother would like some too when she got up and often enough Eva did this for them. He closed the window and grabbed his jacket from the chair. His gaze fell onto one of the hex bags he had in the four corners of the room. He should break the spell before leaving the room. Bastian checked once again if the Demonicon was well secured with the buckle and put it back into the box under his bed. Then he collected the hex bags and placed them in the copper bowl, mumbling the words of the unbinding spell before he lightened a match and burned the bags. Satisfied he opened the door and left the room.

Just out in the hallway, the throbbing changed into a fiery itch coming from his hunters ring. "Ah," he grunted out. This itch he knew well enough to know that Wade or Mike was in trouble. Then he made the connection. Probably the ward had shielded the Triad connection and it had already rang since the throbbing had set in. Damn! That had been hours ago. He turned to Mike's room. He hadn't heard him coming home yesterday. Pushing the door open he found the room empty. "No, Damnit! Please let him be okay," he prayed. Losing no time, he unlocked the front door, hurrying over to George's hoping Mike had just crashed there.

He didn't see many people and didn't care if some looked on wondering where he was running to this early.

Taking their usual short route, he crossed the backyard of the old smithy. A noise caused him to turn his head to the shed. It was only a cat but his eyes spotted a booted foot peeking out from the shed. He frowned and came closer to quickly check that.

Coming closer, he was shocked to find it was Mike's boot. His brother lay in a puddle of his own blood unmoving. Next to him was a body messily covered with a leather apron. "Mike!" Bastian checked his pulse. To his relief he found it. Patting his friend's cheeks, he tried to get a reaction from him. "Mike, c'mon, don't do this to me. Wake up, buddy. What shall I tell Wade?"

Mike came to with a painful groan, opening his eyes a crack wide. "Bas…" The Scholar tried to find out how badly he was injured.

"Mike! Thank God! What happened?"

"Werewolf," he pressed out.

Bastian fumbled at Mike's pants and shirt to inspect the damage. "Did he bite you?"

Mike closed his eyes again. "No … Argh!"

The wound was not life threatening but still deep. His friend had lost a lot of blood. Three hand long gashes led from Mike's left lower abdomen over the hipbone. "Where is George? You were together yesterday, right?"

"Argh … brought him home before."

"Okay, I need to rinse it out and stop the bleeding first." The Scholar pulled the holy water from his bag and poured it over the cuts. Mike hissed in agony. But Bastian ignored it. He could smell the alcohol from Mike's breath clearly. How could his friend be so careless? He probably wouldn't bleed to death in that backyard if he hadn't drunk so much. He needed to talk to him or maybe better to Wade. This had to end. He knew turning to Wade over Mike's head would look like a betrayal but in the end it would be in Mike's best interest if they freed him from this demon that possessed him.

WADE

Wade had checked on the bees of the orchard yesterday. They were crazy since the storm and he had gotten several stings in his hands while checking on them. He ended up with quark bandages around both his hands. Thank God he wasn't stung in the face. He had heard about people who reacted badly to bee stings. Though by the amount of stings he had gotten it was no wonder his hands were swollen.

He felt terrible. Every movement he did with his hands hurt. "Damn bees!" he mumbled while trying to close the buttons of his shirt.

The swelling had already lessened but it was still far from normal. His hands felt hot and a constant throbbing pain spread through them. It was already nine o'clock. He had to get up, no matter how bad he felt. His gaze fell on the two rings, resting on his nightstand. His wedding ring and his hunter's ring. Clara had insisted on taking them off when his fingers had started to swell. A little later and he wouldn't have been able to take them off.

He had worn his hunter's ring almost constantly for over four years now. He felt wrong and exposed without it. Wade grabbed the ring and tried to slide it at its place on his ring finger. No way! He tried the pinky like he had tried it yesterday evening. This time it worked. Relief washed over him when he felt the cool metal.

He checked the connection to his brothers. They all were alive. Though it was hard to tell more considering his still hurting hands.

Mike was angry that Wade had refused to let him ride with him to check on Diana. And after his return, all of them had been so busy. He should head over today and check on him.

TBC