Being Human: When will my Death Begin?

By Ldynwaitin

Chapter Five

A Friend in War

As soon as Deanna snapped the bracelet on her wrist, Josh felt the silver bracelet turn ice cold. He was shocked to see a moon appear above the human etched on the bracelet.

"Stay away from me," he shouted at Deanna, as he slowly began to edge towards the cabin door, "I'm not answering anymore questions, I'm leaving."

Josh noticed that Deanna didn't even try to stop him. She wearily smiled as she held the arm up that wore the bracelet, "No, I don't think so. You will stay in this cottage, until I say you can leave."

Josh spun around and ran to the door that led outside. Grabbing the knob, he tried to turn it, but his hand just would not obey. It would not twist the knob. Spinning around he saw her slowly step closer to him.

"You need to know," Deanna said in a deadly voice. "That there were things on this earth that were more powerful than Vampires, werewolf's and ghosts."

She stared straight into Josh's eyes, he felt as if her hand reached into his chest and was clutching his soul. "There are more horrible things on this world than are dreamt of in your worst nightmares."

"What do you want from me?" Josh demanded. "If you are a witch, what can I possibly do for you?"

"Ah," Deanna said. "I will let you in on another great secret. After a witch uses her magic, well, we pay a heavy price. Our magic comes from within, for a time we are drained. We need to rest and regain our power, in that time we are vulnerable. Fidele here has filled the task alone. But now, with this new information that you have given me, I'll be needing you to help him when I finally end this war with Mother."

"What if I don't want to help you?" Josh shouted. He was angry at being pulled into another battle between supernatural beings.

"You dare to shout at me? I tire of your insolence!" Deanna held her arm up and declared, "Wake up and shed your human shell."

Josh felt a pain, a pain that was all too familiar to him, it frightened him because it was to early, it was not time. Feeling the bracelet turn warm, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The moon was moving on the bracelet, moving away from the human and towards the wolf. Josh screamed in agony as he felt the bones on his back begin to crack and shift.

"No," he shouted. "This can't be happening, the moon isn't full yet, its at least a week away."

"You needed a lesson…," Deanna hissed. "…a lesson in obedience. Come my pet, come and meet your new mistress."

Josh shook his head in denial, but it was happening. Turning, he quickly took his clothes off, seconds later the wolf now stood in the cottage. His full chest heaved with each deep breath. His dark eyes searched the cottage. He looked down and growled at the silver bracelet locked around his leg.

"My friend," Deanna sung, as she stepped forward. "Your mistress welcomes you here."

The wolf stood his ground as Deanna approached him. Fidele quickly changed into the small dog. He approached the wolf, it growled and snapped at Fidele.

"NO!" Deanna said in a commanding voice. "You are never to harm him."

Immediately the wolf's head hung low in submission. Fidele happily pranced to the wolf. They touched noses, Fidele rubbed his muzzle on the wolfs. Reaching the wolf, Deanna gently petted his head. "There, there, I don't know why your human hates you so, you are magnificent."

She moved down his body, her boney fingers stroked his back. "I can feel great strength, great power from you. You will serve me well. I shall give you a name, from now on you will be called, Hadwin." She leaned over and hugged his neck, "It is an ancient name, it means, 'Friend in war'." A content rumble vibrated in the wolfs throat. Deanna whispered into the wolf's ear, "I know you can hear me, Josh. Let this serve as a warning, you are mine, body and soul."

Slowly stepping back, Deanna declared, "Leave me Hadwin, I will call you back when I need you." The wolf howled in agony, standing up its body twisted and turned. In minutes Josh was squatting naked on the floor. Glancing at the bracelet he saw the moon once again above the human. Keeping his back to Deanna he grabbed his clothes and quickly dressed.

Once he was dressed he faced Deanna. She saw a look in his eyes, it was shame, astonishment and anger. She did not flush the anger fully out of him, but he now knew the full extent of the power she had over him.

"You needed to know the full power of the bracelet," Deanna told him. "It can control you and Hadwin. But as you just found out, there is more. You are now aware of what happens after you change, but can do nothing but be an observer. No longer will you fight me, or I will turn your world upside down. I will make Hadwin stay, it will be you that appears one night a month. Would you like that?"

Josh slowly shook his head, "Please don't."

"Good," Deanna said. "Give me your word that you will no longer be thinking of escaping to help your Nora or Aidan."

Josh gulped hard, it wasn't long, but he would never forget what it was like to be trapped in the wolfs body. To hear and know what was going on and not be able to do anything, he'd never felt so helpless. Holding his chin up high he stared into Deanna's eyes. "I give you my word."

Deanna accepted his pledge. "I could tell from the moment I met you that you are a man of your word. You will put the world you knew behind, what you are going to do now is guide me through your modern world, help me destroy Mother."

"My friends," Josh softly said, "They'll be looking for me."

"I know," Deanna said. "I felt their compassion for you, but they will never find you. No one can enter this cottage without my spell." Deanna wickedly laughed. "Face it, wolf, you are mine. Or your body is, I control it now, I control both of you."

"You said you're a witch," Josh said. "Then you do black magic?"

Josh immediately knew he asked the wrong question when Deanna suddenly became enraged, Fidele quickly hid under the table. "Black magic? Do you think I am evil? You have no idea what I could do to you if I was truly evil," she angrily snarled. "Listen Wolf, I can see that you are judging me by how the world has portrayed us. They made us out to be ugly old crones that hide in the forest waiting for children to come by so we can eat them."

She angrily spat on the ground. "Stories, fairy tales created by humans jealous of our magic. Something goes wrong in a village, of course you blame the witch, she's evil." In Josh's eyes she seemed to grow larger as her anger grew stronger. "My sisters were prosecuted, tortured and executed because of your ignorance. The blessed goddess that gave us our magic taught us that when using magic for dark purposes it will come back to you, much darker and more powerful. Why in my time, when I was young we could, we could…"

Deanna stared at Josh, his eyes were wide in fright, this was not what she intended to do. Taking in a deep breath, she tried to drive the anger that raged inside of her away. His idea of a witch came from books written by frightened men. She would soon set him straight on what a witch really was. For now, she had much to do. She now had with her someone that Mother wanted, it was a good start.

Deanna shook her head, "No wolf, I am not an evil witch, I don't do black magic. I am a daughter of the Goddess of the moon. There was a time when your kind would feel honored to serve my coven. Unfortunately, that time has died so very long ago, as has my sisters. As you can see I'm alone, and old…older than you could imagine. You are young and strong. I do not like using the bracelets, it pains me to use them just as much as it does you, but…" She felt a weakness flush through her, she had used too much magic. "You fight me at every turn, it had to be done. We are bound now wolf, bound until death. For only death will take this bracelet off."

Fidele ran to Deanna. He anxiously jumped up and down. "Can I play with him Deanna, please may I play with him?"

Deanna gently petted his head, "Calm down Fidele, I need time to rest, and think. This wolf has given me much to think about. It has been many years since I've used that much magic, many years." She wearily pointed to Josh. "Sit on that chair and don't move until I tell you to do so," she ordered him.

Josh was shocked to find he had to obey her. He moved to a large chair and promptly sat down. Deanna wearily moved to the fireplace. She sat down on a large rocking chair close to the fireplace. Pulling her shawl tighter, she began to rock. Staring deep into the flames of the fire, she rolled over in her mind what Josh had told her.

Fidele knew better than to talk to Deanna right now. She needed to rest, he spun around and ran to Josh. He sat on the floor in front of him and stared curiously at him.

Josh struggled to stand up, but it felt as if he was glued to the chair. Giving up, he saw the small boy staring at him. "W…what are you? You're not a werewolf."

Fidele shook his head, he pointed to his chest, "Me, I'm a Pooka."

"Pooka?" Josh muttered, "Wait, I think I've heard that name before. Yes, in an old movie."

"Harvey," Fidele said, as he spat on the floor. "I hate that movie, gave all us Pooka's a bad name. I am not a giant rabbit. We are a noble race."

"Then you change into a dog?" Josh asked him. He saw Deanna sitting by the fire, staring at the flames. She said the bracelet can only be removed by death, he wondered if it his or hers?

Fidele held his knees and rocked back and forth laughing. "A dog? You don't know anything about Pooka's do you."

"Sorry, can you give me the cliff notes version of a Pooka?"

Getting a stunned look he said, "What's a Pooka?"

In an instant Josh saw a wolf standing before him, then a deer and a large raven. A small horse whinnied at him. In all his changes Josh noticed that his eyes were always purple, and the collar he wore changed with him.

Changing back to the boy, Fidele proudly stood before Josh. "See, I'm better than a werewolf. We Pooka's were the first shape shifters, you might say you're a distant cousin."

As Josh listened to the boy chatter on, he wondered, was Deanna's hold on him total? If she ordered him to die, would he do it?

Deanna rocked back and forth, she had never felt this weak before. She closed her eyes, she needed to hold on just a little longer, she was so close. She sneezed, the stench of vampires and ghosts was strong on this wolf. She now knew that Mother thinks he is special, but there had to be more. She just needed to think. She looked up at twelve carved wooden figures on the mantelpiece.

The eyes were closed on six of them, the other's eyes were fully open. "Almost done, my sisters, soon…," she whispered "Soon, I will revenge your deaths, I will be her shadow no more!"

Randal opened his eyes, sitting up he rubbed the back of his head. He saw Nora lying next to him. Cecil was standing over him

"It's about time," Cecil said. "Holy mackerel sapphire, the both of you have been unconscious for nearly half an hour."

"Nora," Randal said, as he nudged her. "Wake up."
"JOSH!" Nora shouted, as she sat up. She had no idea what happened. One moment she was running towards Josh the next she woke up covered in snow. Getting up she ran to where she last saw Josh. Just as he reached the trees she nearly stumbled. She couldn't believe her eyes. She could see Josh's footprints in the snow, but they just stopped at the line of trees that circled a large grove.

"Randal?" Nora gasped in alarm. "What the hell happened?"

Randal just couldn't believe what he saw. One second Josh was there, the next he was gone. "What happened?" Randal asked Cecil.

"I don't know," Cecil honestly answered. "I caught up with them. Josh was carrying a small dog in his arms, there was an old woman next to him. She looked back at me." Cecil shook his head, "I heard her humming, next think I know, I'm flung back into those trees. Josh was gone and I found you guys lying on the ground. I tried shouting, but I just couldn't wake you up."

Randal quickly stared into Cecil's eyes, "The dog, Cecil. You mentioned a dog, tell me, what color were the dog's eyes?"

Cecil scratched his head, "Now that's funny, I didn't notice until you asked. They were purple. The brightest purple I ever saw."

"Nora," Randal said. "Josh is in great danger."

"Then you know what happened to him?" Nora said.

Randal ran towards the trees, passing them he felt a tingling, but everything around him stayed the same. "Yes," Randal said. "I've seen this happen before. Josh is with a very dangerous woman. Her name is Deanna, and she's a witch."

Nora stared laughing, "A witch, are you serious?"

Randal turned around and gave her a look that made Nora choke back her laughter. "You've seen ghosts and vampires," Randal said. "You yourself have been cursed into being a werewolf and you laugh at the idea of the existence of witches?"

"I'm sorry," Nora said. "I'm new at all this. Please forgive me, I only want to help Josh."

Randal could see she was truly sorry. "It's all right, I fear for him too. You see he's become something rare in my life, he's my friend. There are very few, so I guard them with my life."

Randal let out a heavy sigh. "Deanna is not just any witch, she is the last of her kind. Mother has been chasing her for thousands of years." He turned and stared at the frozen pond. He knew somewhere out there, hidden by Deanna's magic was Josh.

"Mother has had a vendetta against Deanna's kind for some time now. She managed to kill them all but Deanna. She was the most powerful of all of them. She's managed to stay hidden for thousands of years. Got Mother so mad she even had me hunting for her. Mother calls her, 'Her Shadow'. She pops up from time to time, to cause trouble for Mother. I've stumbled on some of her rampages, she really hates vampires. The shape she left them in, well I've woken up many nights seeing them in my nightmares. Once she's killed, she's gone again, sometimes for decades before she shows up. But this time, this time it's different." Randal stared out, he tried to focus on the pond. Hoping that he would be able to see a cottage, or shack sitting next to it.

"What's different?" Nora asked him.

"There's been no word from her in almost fifty years. That's to long even for her. And she brought Josh with her, not many have the honor of saying they stood in her cottage and survived."

"How many do you know of have been in her cottage?" Nora asked him.

"Only one, and that would be me."

Nora stared at him, "What happened, why didn't she kill you?"

Randal chuckled, "Nora when we get Josh back, that's a story I think you would love to hear."

"Me too," Cecil said.

"Look, if she wanted to kill Josh she would have done it already. Taking him into her cottage means she wants him for something." His eyes darting to the side, he softly said, "And I think I may know what that something is."

"Why, Randal?" Nora asked. "Why do you think she took Josh?"

Taking in a deep breath, Randal made a decision to tell her. "This is something that we promised not to tell anyone. But I think you should know." Randal then told her everything. How he met Josh, Mother's secret, and what happened in The Carroll.

Nora nervously smiled, "Wow, that's….that's a lot to take in."

"Yes," Randal said. "And you must promise not to tell another soul. We realized that if the other vampires knew Mother's secret, all werewolves would be in danger." Randal began to nervously pace. "If she manages to get Josh to tell her Mother's secret, she's going to want to use it to get back at her. She's going to have to keep him alive. She's a creature of the past, she'd stick out like a sore thumb in the modern world. I'm hoping that she recognizes this, and will use Josh to help her move unnoticed in our world. The one advantage we have over Deanna is that she's never accepted the modern world. She knows nothing of our technology. Wait a minute…" Randal said, with a snap of his fingers. "She doesn't know our technology!"

Both Cecil and Nora gave him a confused look as Randal pulled out his iphone. His fingers swiftly skated on the screen.

"After Mother captured Josh, he didn't want it to happen again. With me busy at The Carroll we both installed an app on our iphone's that allows us to keep track of each other."

Randal stared into his iphone. "Let's hope we're close to a cell tower," he whispered. Getting a local map on his screen he waited for his dot to appear. When it did, he asked the app to find Josh. He didn't know if ancient magic would be able to keep modern technology away, but it was worth a try.

The seconds it took seemed like hours. Cecil and Nora huddled close to Randal, they all stared at the screen. Randal breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a small dot begin to blink on the screen.

"That my friends," Randal said with a sigh of relief. "Is why I LOVE modern technology." He kissed the back of the phone, "Thank the day the two Steve's got together."

Checking the screen, he began to walk towards the pond. His dot now began to move towards the blinking dot. Minutes later he stopped. Nora bumped into him, Cecil just passed through him.

"What's wrong?" Nora asked him.

"Nothing," Randal said. "We just happen to be standing right on top of him."