Secrets of the Starnik
Chapter 11: Explanations
Waking up from the constant talking going on outside, Aria was curious as the why there were so many voices going on outside. She yawned as she flicked off the cover from the bed and swivelled around to put her shoes on. She looked up at the den entrance as she did, seeing nobody out there. They must have been around the corner. And that's where she found the voices; all but two of the family were outside and just to the left of the den. Lupa and Faolan along with their pups seemed to be the only ones absent. But other then that, her father, step-mother, sister and her mate, step brother and his mate was here. But why, what was this gathering all about? Why wasn't she woken up? Scott looked up to see her stepping out of the den and stretching briefly, giving him a opportunity to warn the others who hadn't seen her and ask them to not give anything away before looking back up to her.
"Morning honey." He smiled as she turned and walked towards her. She yawned once again before turning to face him.
"Good morning dad. Why's everyone here?" She asked puzzled. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her a little further away from them and towards the rise in front of the den.
"We're just having a little gathering; we've got some things we need to do this morning."
"Well…can I come?" Was she going to be left behind? He shook his head.
"You won't understand, this is something you can't help with, you haven't been in my life long enough to know yet."
"Ok, but where are you going?" She asked, feeling her own human gut feelings tingling at the presence of a lie in his voice.
"Just to visit some friends, to get some things sorted and we'll be back home."
Rosie saw the look on Aria's face, the look of boredom that she'd be left here on her own. "Poor girl, she keeps getting left behind." She turned to her youngest daughter. "Myka, I want you to stay here with Aria." Myka's eyes widened.
"What? Why, why me?" She nearly yelled. "Get Lupa or Dakota to do it, send her to the Dire Wolves with them or something." She retaliated.
"Myka, I'm warning you." She growled. "You will stay here with your sister and keep her occupied."
"Besides, she's your sister." Dakota added. "She's not mine, there's not a drop of blood that we share." Chance nudged his hard.
"Not helping." She whispered.
"Myka, I'm not asking, I'm telling." Her mother added after giving Dakota a hard glare. "You need to grow up and act like a she-wolf, not a pup." Myka sighed again.
"Fine." She said hotly. Rosie eased up a little and re-composed herself.
"Good, teach her how to use her powers better, that'll keep her occupied." It was then the Lupa faded in beside her mother, a worried expression spread across her face.
"How did it go with the Dires?" Chance asked.
"Good, they won't be going against me ever again that's for sure." She smiled feebly.
"But…?" Jack asked, sensing there was something else. She sighed.
"But I'm still worried something will happen to the all." She lowered her head. "I mean, Faolan was an outcast and my pups are part Starnik. They are everything that pack hates."
"They'll be fine." Her mother said soothingly. "Nothing will happen to them." It was then that Scott approached, leaving Aria by the rise of the den.
"Are we ready to go?" Rosie nodded.
"Myka has kindly offered to stay behind to keep Aria occupied." Myka couldn't help but let out a soft growl. Thankful nobody heard it though.
"Really?" He sounded surprised. "Thanks baby girl." He knelt down and kissed her cheek, this time her heard her growl but laughed it off.
"I'll stay too." Jack added. "I'll keep them both occupied."
"Good idea." Lupa agreed. "Now let's go already, I want to get this over and done with."
So, with Myka and Jack going one way and the others going the other, the plans were set. "Kota, tell us everything you know." Scott said as they started walking. Being the only one to take this further, Dakota knew far more then the others did.
"There's the field with the pentagram, the guy they keep calling Charlie Norton and then…" They were still walking into the forest and away from the den as he thought back to one other thing.
"And?" Lupa asked.
"There's this girl?"
"What girl?" Chance quickly asked and narrowing her eyes at him.
"This human girl…" He answered, she relaxed a little again. "Back when I went to check out that house again, she saw me but didn't say a word." This took them by surprise. What member of the Ditori wouldn't warn the others? "Then there was also the other night when I went to the clearing. She saw me but didn't say a word; she even tried to keep them away from me."
"We need to find her." Chance said. "If she's not with them then she might be able to help us." Rosie nodded in agreement.
"We'll split up, Dakota, Scott and I will go to and find this girl, while you two see what you can find about this Charlie person." They all understood.
"Where do we begin?" Lupa asked. "This guy could be anywhere. He could be dangerous."
"I remember seeing an address on that wardrobe, go and check that place out." Dakota answered.
She was taking a risk, it was a protocol now to never go anywhere outside the safe-houses alone. Yet she was no ordinary person. Stephanie wanted to take some time away from the men she was constantly around. She maybe working for these people, but she liked her alone time. She hasn't seen another woman working with this organisation in months. She began to wonder if there was anymore. She was supposed to wait until later, but she couldn't wait, she needed to get some fresh air around the men. She drove in their SUV down the beaten track through the trees, heading back towards that place they needed to keep protected. Their numbers were increasing by the day, more of their destroyed organisation re-grouped in one place each day, their numbers expanding to nearly fifty, all that was left of them now.
It was playing safe to check this place each day, but not checking it alone, that was far more dangerous now that the Starnik knew of this place. Yet it had to be done. The last set of bushes came in sight; she picked up her speed and crashed through them and into the large clearing. She quickly stopped as not to run over and ruin the pentagram, nothing could destroy it. She switched off the engine and stepped out the car, shutting it behind her and sighed as she looked around, run a hand through her short-ish brown hair while she looked around. All clear, nothing alive in sight. But she had to be sure. She walked out a little distance and knelt down, exhaling loudly as she closed her eyes, smacked her lips and waited. But then she saw something, something that had happened hear earlier today. She clenched her eyes as she wondered who it was. But as she fiddled more with what had already occurred here today, brought soon saw that same wolf running up behind her. She opened her eyes, whirled around, but not fast enough to stop Dakota running into her chest and knocking her back. He jumped off her and she tried to stand up. Scott then came running towards her, his arm drawn back with a loaded arrowed in his bow. "Don't move." He ordered as Rosie came to his side.
"I'm un-armed." She flicked open the insides of her thin jacket and showed there was no hidden gun there. "Please, I don't mean any harm." She was genuinely scared, but Scott didn't show mercy, he kept the arrow on her.
"Who are you, what's you're business here?" Rosie asked.
"My name's Stephanie, please, I didn't come here to hurt anyone." She was terrified; she was ready to cry with the fear racking her body. Rosie saw this and budged her mate and shook her head. He nodded, but still slightly reluctant he lowered his bow. He still had plans for her though. She was Ditori, this day ended in one way ad one way only.
"Why didn't you tell anyone about me?" Dakota asked and coming towards her from the side. She still lay in her back, keeping her hands in sight of everyone. Stephanie looked to him, still fearful of her life. "You saw me in the house the other day, you knew I was here. Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"It…It's not what I do." She stuttered. "I just tell them what's happened and that's it."
"How do you do that?" Rosie asked demandingly. "Tell us what you do?" Scott picked her up by her arm and sat her against the hood of the car; she was pathetic looking lying how she was. So submissive. She still had a frantic look in her eyes. She gulped before speaking.
"I can see what has happened here in the last week by touch." She answered.
"That doesn't make any sense." Dakota responded.
"It's like CCTV, a camera. Everything I touch is like a camera in my eyes; I can see what has happened in the area in the last week by touching it." She said simpler. "That's all I do. I come here and see if anyone's been here to disturb anything."
"That's all?" Scott questioned, there had to be more to this girl then she was letting on.
"It still doesn't explain why you didn't say anything when you saw me." Dakota added.
"It's not what we do." She answered. Scott and Rosie looked at each other, what was she talking about?
"Wait, what exactly do you think you're doing?" Rosie asked curiously.
"I'm helping some people bring their friend back from the dead." She answered.
Meanwhile, Lupa and Chance faded into the town where Dakota suggested looking. The address wasn't great to lock in on for Lupa to go to, but the city was a good place to begin. The plan was they'd go to the city and find the home by asking around and searching. Sure, it may take a while, but it was necessary.
"You know, I've just thought of something." Chance said.
"What's that?" Lupa asked.
"We've never had a chance to talk like this, just me and my sister-in-law." Lupa giggled a little.
"Well, seeing as we've only known each other for a few months, and with everything that's happened, who could blame us." Chance couldn't help but agree and laugh, but slowly let it fade into silence which Lupa notice as well as sensing something else. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Do you think Dakota and I are going to fast?" She asked as they walked among the humans, some staring and wondering what they were doing, but the she-wolves didn't pay them any attention.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…we've known each other only for four months, and here we are, married and wanting to have a family. Sometimes I just think that this is happening to fast. After all, we got married only a day after we met."
"Ok, A. he did that to help you, I don't think he realised it until afterwards." Lupa responded. "And B. there is nothing abnormal with things going fast in this family. Anyway, Dakota and I were born only eight months after mom and dad first met, and Myka was conceived only three months after mom and Scott got together."
"That I never knew." She smiled feebly.
"He never told you? It's no family secret."
"Nope, never. So, you don't think so?"
"Personally, I don't think so. But it's not up to me or anyone else. I know you both want a family. If that's what you want then don't let anyone stop you."
"Thanks, I think that's helped." Chance replied a little happier and lifting her head a littler higher.
"Good, now come on, let's find this…" She never got to finish until a woman walked into them both and knocking herself over. She was carrying several shopping bags, which fell with her. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you." Lupa said and helping her back up. This woman had long black hair, a rather pale face, but seemed friendly enough because she was laughing.
"Don't worry." She laughed. "I'm clumsy, I didn't see you either." She started to gather her things as Lupa and Chance began to make their way onwards down the street. But they needed to find this address, they weren't going to find it by walking around, it would take forever. So Chance turned back to the woman.
"Hi, it's us again." She said friendly. "We were wondering if you could help."
"Help the first wolves that have probably ever been in this city? Of course." She smiled. "How can I help?"
"We're looking for St. Louis Park, have you heard of it?" Lupa asked as she joined Chance's side.
"Of course, I live there." She nodded. "Just followed this road straight down, don't turn off anywhere and it'll lead you straight there."
"Thank you so much, I'm Lupa and this is Chance." The woman picked up her bags and smiled again.
"I'm Charlie; it's good to meet you ladies." She smiled, but the she-wolf's faces only dropped and became confused. What are the chances? And how? A girl called Charlie that lived on the same street as the person they were looking for. But Charlie, it was a male's name, not a girl's. But this couldn't be coincidental. Chance took the chance while she could to use her vision and see what was in the bags. They weren't for shopping that's for sure. It was full of herbs, measure instruments, strange looking weeds and sticks. No clothes what so ever. "Have a good one girls." She smiled once more before walking away. Chance looked to Lupa.
"Do you think…?"
"That's Charlie." Lupa nodded.
"Her bags were full of things I'd expect Myka to have, she's got to be the person the Ditori were talking about."
Back over in South Dakota, pieces of this puzzle were being put together. This girl seemed to be caught up in something she didn't know anything about. She must have been recently recruited to help them, but told her as little as they needed. She even confirmed it, she knew there was more to what they were planning, but she didn't understand. "So, hang on…what do know about the Ditori?" Scott asked as he tried to get his head around all this. This girl was no danger to them, that much was certain. She had relaxed a little more, but she was still tense as she sat on the car hood.
"They're government group that was disbanded by the president; their section was shut down or something." She answered. "Daniel, the really big guy…" She said looking down to Dakota. "…was an ex marine, he was brought in to the organisation a few years back and made a high ranking commander or something. When they were disbanded and their leader was murdered, he started gathering his old team to bring his boss back to life and get the section up and running again."
"So, how do you play in all this?" Rosie asked. "How did they find you?"
"They came to me asking for my help to bring back their friend, I soon found out it was their leader. I was working in security for some crappy company; it was a good thing to do at the time." She chuckled lightly. "So anyway, they somehow found out my power and they said they'd offer me a job and pay me more then what I was already earning. So I took it." Scott scoffed.
"What they told you is absolute bullshit." He wanted to laugh. The Ditori were nothing but lie. In fact, they were lies…built on top of lies, and buried under more lies.
"The Ditori are ruthless, sick people." Rosie said and taking a more calm approach of communication. "Their leader was a man called Sam, he was the most twisted one of them all, he did disgusting things. That's the man they want to bring back."
"The Ditori are wolf killers." Dakota added. "They don't work for the president or the human government, they are their own boss. A secret organisation that is devoted to killing every wolf on earth. They want to make us all extinct."
"No…" Stephanie wanted to laugh, this can't be true. "That's not it, they said…"
"What they said isn't true." Scott said. "We killed Sam, we fought them for years, heck, they've even killed us once before."
"Twice in my daughter's case." Rosie added.
"The point being…" Dakota continued after seeing that this was going in circles. "What they told you was a lie, nothing they said was true." Stephanie couldn't believe this. All this time, she's been working with maniacs, with murderers that won't stop at anything to get what they want. She knew she shouldn't have agreed to help them, she was stupid.
"I can't stay there." She said after reeling back out of her thoughts. "I've got to get away." She slid off the hood ad got to her feet.
"You can't." Scott replied. "Once you're in their system, there's no getting out. They will find you and kill you, no matter what you say or not at all."
"Then what do I do? I can't stay with them." She asked and clearly freaking out.
"I say you go back." Dakota answered after a moment of thinking.
"You can't be serious." Rosie responded.
"Deadly, mom. Think about it, she's with us now, she can get us information that we can't get. Like when they're going to do this. She can help us."
Rosie looked up to the human, still sceptical. She could just be a very good liar or actress. "Can you?"
"You want me to go back? After everything you've just told me? No way!" She refused.
"You don't have a choice." Scott added. "If you go back there, carry on like nothing ever happened and go along with everything. We will promise you that you'll be safe, but you'll need to tell us everything you know." She was reluctant. After everything she had just heard from them and about her employer, and they wanted her to go back! They must be out of their minds. But she also remembered what they told her about never getting away from them. She was forever apart of the Ditori, unless she worked with the Starnik. So reluctantly, she nodded.
"Ok, I'll tell you everything."
CRASH, BANG, WOLLOP…SMASH, THUD and once again…SMACK. Aria's attempts to jump to high places weren't going so well, and it all ended like it just did. She fell to the ground, not just with the force of gravity, but with the force of her power. So all in all, it hurt, A LOT. She groaned and cried out a little as she brought her arms underneath her. This wasn't working, each time she jumped, either nothing would happen or she would suddenly be thrown left or right as she lost concentration for a split second. It was like she was on wires; something would just jerk her to the side or straight back down as she tried. Myka set a simple goal, jump to the top of the den, merely six feet which she accomplished with ease. She could just about jump twenty feet if she so wished. So right now, she lay looking down at her half sister with a very amused grin. Her tail even wagged at the hilarious sight. So she wasn't such a fast learner after all. But then again, Myka didn't even master it for three days. But she was trying the quick way of doing it, a different way to how her father taught her.
But why was Aria not getting the hang of it? What was so hard about it? Jack finally lost it and had to step in. "Myka, she's not getting the hang of this." He said while getting up from his lying position inside the mouth of the den in the shade. "There has to be some other way." She added as he helped Aria onto her knees.
"It didn't take me a few hours to learn how to do it, so she won't either." She replied. "It's all about practise."
"Well this "practise" is giving me bruises." Aria seethed as she felt one starting in her lower back.
"Isn't there something you can do?" Jack asked. "A spell or something?" Myka wondered, was there a way she could teach her without actually having to say no more then a few words? Maybe there was. She stood up and walked around the den and back down to them. She placed her paw on Aria's back where the bruise was developing and began to heal it for her. Obviously, Aria seethed over it. It made her wonder why her own self healing wasn't starting, it did last time. Maybe because Myka didn't wait long enough. That had to be it. She finished soon enough and the pain subsided, but Myka wasn't finished.
"The power within is a gift we share…" She rolled her eyes at the mention of this first part of the spell. "Switch this knowledge through the air." She the placed her paw on her sister's head. "Give her what she needs, in hope that she may succeed." Her eyes flashed and her paw transferred the knowledge she wanted through her and into Aria. Before her very eyes, Aria began to see and understand what she had to do.
"Myka…I don't think that…" Jack was silenced when Myka shushed him; she was concentrating and did need him talking right now. After a while, Myka removed her paw and Aria opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times to clear them and understand what just happened. She knew new things, she understood.
"Now try again." Myka and Jack stepped out the way and Aria crawled to her feet. She looked up to the top of the den, feeling far more confident then she was not a few seconds ago. She clenched and relaxed her fists as she went though what Myka taught and gave to her. She bent her legs, readying to jump, she waited, she built the energy, and then she jumped. She went up into the air; she flew up and towards the den roof. Myka was amazed, but annoyed, she was finally getting it. Or so she thought. Soon she screamed as she fell back to the ground, falling a full six feet back in front of the den entrance and beginning to groan in pain.
"Like I was trying to say." Jack said. "She can have the knowledge, but she'll need the practise and experience to be great." Myka scowled at him a little right before Dakota re-appeared with the rest of the family. She approached them before they came within earshot of Aria, quickly being asked by her father as he changed.
"What happened here?"
"She was practising jumping and she fell. She'll get the hang of it soon enough." She responded as Scott went to care for his first daughter. "How did it go with you guys? Did you find anything?" Rosie only shook her head and scoffed loudly.
"Oh where do we begin?"
"First off, we now have someone on the inside, a girl called Stephanie." Dakota answered. "She's a supernatural; they tricked her into working with them. She wants to help us."
"There's also the witch that's going to bring Sam back." Chance added. "It's not a guy, Charlie's a girl, and her bags were full of things I've only seen you and Faolan use."
"And I missed it all." She sighed. "You've had more fun then me." She looked back to Aria and Scott as he examined a small cut on her fore arm from where she landed on a stick from the extinguished fire pit. Surprisingly, once again it didn't heal. Rosie walked around to join them and heal with it while the kids continued.
"You haven't missed a thing." Lupa responded. "Nothing interesting happened."
"What else did you find out?" Jack asked as he joined them.
"The ritual is taking place tomorrow night." Dakota answered. "But we're going to stop it."
"You'll be going this time, so don't worry. I'm staying to watch Aria this time." Chance added.
"At day break tomorrow, we're going to the safe-house they're held up at to deal with them." Lupa added. "While you guys are doing that, I'm going to find Charlie and bring her here to keep her safe, just in case. We can't le them get to her before us, if they do then it's over and they'll be able to bring back Sam."
"I still don't understand how though." Myka said and trying to figure it out herself. "I was only just powerful enough to bring you back with a spell. This girl is a common witch, how will she?"
"We don't know either, but se might have a few tricks you don't know about." Dakota replied. "We can find that out tomorrow."
Big things and big lies. What will happen next? And just so nobody asks, Charlie can be a girl's name, I've got a girl called Charlie. Aria's growing suspicious, will she figure out what her family is hiding from her? Will she discover what her family have done in the past and who they really are? Stick around and you'll find out. Until next time. :)
The FalconWolf