Prologue Part 5: Celebrating Weredoggy Style
Devon and his friends were dropped off at their homes. Luckily all Teen Ninjas and other villainous youth were excused from school today, giving them the whole day to rest and prepare for tonight.
It was late evening and Devon was in his room making sure his suit was pristine. He thought he looked quite good in suits, just had to find the right fit or else they were the most uncomfortable things in the world. His suit was also decorated with a few of his most important villain medals, much like a war general would receive. He wanted to go all out for this night. After one last look in the mirror, he exited his room and went downstairs, seeing his father in the living room.
William Thompson was a thin and tall white skinned human with short black hair and a petite handlebar mustache. He wore a similar but not decorated suit and a gold crucifix around his neck. "Hey, Devon. Looking good, champ!"
"You too, dad," Devon said. "Mom texted earlier and said that everything is ready for our arrival."
"Ok, give me a minute," William said, turning his head toward the stairs. "Kevin!" he called out.
A few seconds later, Kevin came running and stopped at the top of the stairs. He was still wearing the clothes he wore to school today and he held the plastic griffin with a small knight rider he got from his Prince Meal this morning. "Yes, dad?" he asked.
"Devon and I are leaving now. I'll be back in two hours. Keep the door locked and behave. There are leftovers in the fridge if you get hungry. Please eat some of your mom's green bean casserole on the side, one scoop is all I'm asking," William instructed.
"Devon doesn't have to eat green beans!" Kevin protested. "Can't I order pizza instead?" he asked.
"Devon and your mom have different dietary needs, we've been over this," William said. He held up his index finger, "One scoop, no pizza," he said, sternly.
Kevin pouted but nodded.
"Ok, that's better. Love you, see you soon," William said before walking out the front door. After Devon followed him out, he locked the door. The two began to walk down the sidewalk instead of taking William's car. "I thought that decommissioning would help him behave."
"Decommissioning just prevents him from pulling a mustard gun on you when you try to make him eat his vegetables, it's not a cure-all," Devon told him, putting his hands in his pockets.
William nodded. "So, no more disappearing all night to conduct a raid on a flying candy pirate ship, no more staging a walk-out at school when they do flu shots, no more fleeing the Earth when he has to go to the dentist," he said, sounding relieved.
"Exactly," Devon said, smiling. His life would hopefully get more peaceful from here on out. A few minutes and several blocks later, they arrived at their destination. On a large gated property, a giant several story mansion with brown wooden walls and dark blue roofs sat at the end of a short winding path. The mansion looked like several dog houses stacked on top of each other. The word 'Rover' was written above the entrance in big black letters and there was a weather vane at the top of the mansion which resembled two bones. The front yard was peppered with holes. Devon texted his mother that they had arrived. He walked up the path with his father following, "Remember your cue," he told him.
"Of course, son. I'm not about to mess up your big day," William said, giving him a reassuring smile.
Devon walked up several stairs and stood at the entrance with his father. After a few seconds, the door opened and Riley was standing there, also wearing a nice suit with a handful of medals decorating it.
Riley stepped aside and said in a loud voice, "I hereby announce the arrival of Prince Devon Thompson!"
Devon walked into the mansion and just past the entry hall, twenty-three weredogs sat on either side of a large room, bowing their heads. The weredogs resembled various dog breeds and were different ages, though none were older than sixteen. Devon walked through the middle of the room, basking in the reverence of his subjects. He stopped in front of three armchairs of various sizes and inclined his head to his mother who was sitting in the middle, and largest, armchair.
Gregory, Fifi, and Jose were in human form, standing near the armchairs, and they were also in fine attire with their own medals. They bowed low to Devon.
Lilith was in human form, she wore an elegant green dress and was sitting regally upon her armchair throne. She smiled and nodded at Devon.
Devon took his seat at her right hand side, in the second largest chair.
"I hereby announce the arrival of Queen's Consort William Thompson!" Riley announced.
William entered the house and walked up to the thrones. A few weredogs wagged their tails at his approach, but kept their heads bowed. He bowed to the two regal weredogs and took his seat in the smallest armchair.
Riley shut the front door and walked to his spot near the thrones.
All of the other weredogs turned towards the thrones and listened, some raising their ears to hear better.
Lilith stood, "Prince Devon has returned victorious! No more will the Kids Next Door trouble us!" she said, spreading her arms for emphasis.
The weredogs all cheered, barked, yipped, bayed, and howled their praises. William just settled on clapping, he learned not to try to speak Canidian after he accidentally said nonsense and a few nasty words in front of the entire pack a few years back.
Devon smiled warmly at all present and enjoyed the praise he heard spoken in his native language.
Lilith waited for it to quiet down before turning toward Devon, motioning him to rise. When the prince stood before her she said, "Kneel." When her son did so, she transformed into a large wolfdog, her fur was darker than her son's, and she still wore her amulet in this form. She dropped down to all fours and placed her right paw on her son's shoulder for a few seconds. "I knight you Ser Devon 'Brat Bane', protector of House Rover."
Devon stood up and shifted as well, throwing his head back and letting out a joyous howl. The entire pack, including his mother, echoed his howl.
When the howling quieted down, Lilith addressed the House, "A feast has been prepared in my son's honor. Let us head to the dining hall!" All of the weredogs hurried excitedly to the dining hall and the royal family followed after them.
Every weredog, and William, took their places at a large dining table. The table was low to the ground and had dog bowls instead of plates and bowls. The table was laden with the finest gourmet dog food, dog treats, and raw meat that was sitting in coolers filled with ice. There was a single dinner plate that had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a scoop of green bean casserole. Instead of chairs, there were cushions to sit on. Lilith sat at the head of the table, with her son and husband taking their seats near her.
Devon loaded his bowl with sloppy, meaty wet food with small bits of vegetables in it, two raw chicken legs, a hunk of raw beef, freeze dried meat, and peanut butter doggy biscuits. All the weredogs started to feast, either holding their bowls up to their mouths and eating face first or putting their paws on the table, leaning down, and then eating face first.
Lilith paused in her meal, "Leonard, are you using your slow feeding bowl?"
A weredalmatian looked over at her with his mouth full of food and shook his head.
Lilith sighed, "Put a tennis ball in your bowl so you don't get sick from eating too fast, again."
Leonard nodded, got up, and left the room. He returned with a tennis ball in his mouth which he plopped down in his food bowl and then continued eating around it.
Lilith looked over at a werebulldog that had just growled at a werebeagle, "Rebecca, stop growling at Tiffany! She's not trying to steal your food!"
Rebecca turned away from Tiffany, but gave her side-eye before she started eating again.
William looked at Devon, "You're going to inherit that one day. Do you think you'll be ready?" he asked, chuckling a bit.
Devon finished the chicken that he was chewing before answering, "I'm gonna have to be ready, dad."
"Don't worry, Mr. Thompson, Prince Devon keeps us on our toes. I'm sure he can handle everything," Riley chimed in.
Lilith placed her massive paw on her husband's hand, "Now, now, lambchop. That won't be for a very long time. Let him enjoy his youth while he can."
William patted his wife's paw with his other hand and smiled at her, "You're right, my moonbeam. He deserves not to think about such responsibilities."
The feast continued for another hour and everyone was laughing, telling stories, and joking by the end of it.
"So, Devon practically dives head first into his food and starts eating without using his hands. My boss was shocked to say the least!" William said, slapping his own knee as he burst out laughing. Devon's friends and a few other pack members were glued on every word.
Devon had his ears down and his paw over his face, disliking this conversation, "I was six, for Goddess' sake!"
"Luckily I still got that promotion," William said.
"Otherwise, Devon would have been grounded for two months instead of just one," Lilith added. She then playfully ruffled the fur on Devon's head with a paw.
Suddenly a slobbery ball landed on William's empty plate, he looked over to see a nine-year-old Golden Retriever standing beside him, wagging her tail with a canine grin on her muzzle.
She barked a few times but then switched to English, "Can we play fetch, Mr. Thompson, please?"
Other weredogs soon crowded around the human, barking and bouncing excitedly.
"Yes, yes, of course!" William said, grabbing the ball and standing up. He and the small pack of weredogs who wanted to play all went to the backyard.
"Remember pups, we play GENTLY with this human!" Lilith called after them in Canidian.
"We better go and make sure dad doesn't get mauled," Devon suggested to his mother.
All weredogs eventually made it to the backyard. The space was big and had a small canine obstacle course, a large tree which was home to plenty of squirrels to chase and bark at, and dog toys were strewn about the yard. William threw the ball and watched happily as weredogs chased it. A few weredogs were running the obstacle course, playing with the toys or each other, or just lounging under the tree or on the porch to digest their feast. Devon and Lilith were sprawled out on two outside couches on the porch, content to watch over everything.
Devon happily spent the next half hour gnawing on a chicken bone. After he got bored of that, he looked at his mother, "Mother, the feast was delicious. But, there was something missing."
"Don't worry, son, I know. That's for after your father leaves," Lilith said, "What kind of weredog queen would I be if I denied the pack their dessert," she said, giving him a wolfish grin.
Devon returned the grin, "We have no more homework in storage. Are we going on a hunt?" he asked, sitting up. "Who's our target?" he asked, his tail started to wag and his front paws were starting to do a tap dance in anticipation.
"That's a special surprise, be patient," Lilith said and laughed at his excitement.
Devon slumped back down on his couch, ears flat, and a look of disappointment and impatience on his face. He watched as the sun was just dipping over the horizon, well the Earth was rotating to face away from the sun, human sayings are sometimes annoyingly inaccurate.
William was running around the yard with a rope toy in hand being chased. One large weredog grabbed the toy and easily dragged him to the ground, then other weredogs grabbed on as well and started dragging him across the yard. William yelled and laughed like he was having the time of his life.
Lilith sat up, "Hey! I said be gentle!" she barked.
The weredogs released their hold on the toy, flattened their ears, lowered their heads, and tucked their tails apologetically.
William sat up while continuing to laugh, but he was out of breath, "It's ok! It was just a bit of fun," he said. He got up and tried to brush the grass and dirt from his suit, "Luckily I wore my Rover suit." The Rover suit is what he called every suit that he didn't mind getting dirty or ripped up, weredogs could play rough. He walked over to his wife and son, "Phew, that was fun, but I gotta head back home to Kevin," he said, giving each a goodbye kiss on their lupine heads.
Lilith licked him on the cheek, "See you at home dear, I'll stay out a bit later. And make sure Kevin did his homework," she said.
William nodded and headed back inside the house.
Devon looked at his mother, "Now?" he asked, sitting up.
Lilith howled to summon the pack. All weredogs stopped what they were doing and ran to their queen, standing at attention. "Everyone, I hope you all saved room for dessert. We're going on a special hunt tonight!" She announced.
…
It was just after sundown when Lilith led her pack to their hunting grounds, a fancy private school called 'The Fibonacci Institute for the Mathematically Gifted'. According to Lilith, this was where the mathletes were cramming for this year's big competition. Everyone was in their human form, following their queen's lead. She had them pause just outside school property, pulled out a notepad and pen from her small purse, wrote something down, and touched the paper with her hand. Devon was able to see what was written: 'The cameras in the school are off'.
"Come on, it's safe," Lilith said to the pack and led the way to the school. They went around to the back and walked through the faculty parking lot, only one car was parked there. The back door was unlocked and they were able to walk right in. The halls were dimly lit, and there were awards and trophies displayed in major hallways. This was a top-tier school, truly worthy hunting grounds indeed.
The pack stopped near the entrance to a study hall, a few pack members sniffed the air, sensing something delicious beyond that door. Lilith knocked on the door and it only took a few seconds for someone to open it.
A frightened looking man in his forties stood there. He was wearing an over the shoulder tote bag that was stuffed. He stepped outside and looked at Lilith, "You swore no harm would come to them," he said with a slight Eastern European accent, perhaps Serbian or Croatian. "If they can't compete, I don't get my bonus."
"And you have my word, Mr. Bozic. Now," Lilith said, roughly grabbing the man's shoulder and pulling him away from the entrance. "Let's take a walk outside and let the children mingle." She put an arm around his shoulder and led him toward the faculty parking lot. Lilith and her son exchanged a nod as she was leaving with the teacher.
Devon led the pack into the study hall and was immediately hit with the most pleasant scent he had smelled in a while. There were Elementary School students doing practice tests, homework, and tutoring each other, and high quality textbooks were piled high on the tables. "Door," Devon simply said.
Riley and Gregory immediately closed the door and pushed a large bookcase in front of it.
This got the attention of some of the students. One of them, a little boy, approached the newcomers, "Hello, are you here to study too?" he asked. "We welcome everyone, even students who got held back!" he said, referring to the teens in the group.
"Oh, we're not here to study, we're here for… Dessert…" Devon said, showing the sharp teeth in his human mouth. He shifted into his Wolfdog form and towered over the child and his other pack members followed suit, shifting.
The once calm and quiet study hall erupted into chaos in an instant, tables and chairs were knocked over and thrown, students fled in all directions with weredogs giving chase for the fun of it, a few of the herding breeds were making a game out of herding the children into clusters, and weredogs tore into homework, practice tests, and textbooks, gobbling up practically every scrap.
Devon was laying on one of the long tables which hadn't been knocked over and eating mouthful after mouthful of an advanced trigonometry textbook. The pages tasted as if he were eating all of his favorite foods at once and the information flooding his mind with each swallow gave him more dopamine than any drug could. He stopped when he got to the index and credits, filler junk food! He swatted the mostly empty book to the floor with a swipe of his paw.
He saw that the pack was approaching him carrying papers and mostly intact textbooks and laid them before him. Devon smiled at them and nodded in approval. The pack members gave their prince a quick bow before they returned to their acts of terror and feasting. Devon dug into his offerings, savoring every bite, and enjoying the sounds of the chaos. No annoying empathy to sour his fun! He paused as he finished eating a perfect English exam. Yes, that strange feeling he had on the Moonbase, he noticed its absence here. Maybe he should speak to his mother. He stood up and howled, "Finish eating, take some homework and books to go, and meet at the exit!" he said. He hopped off the table and noticed a few kids huddling under the table, he snarled at them and wagged his tail as they screamed in terror and hugged each other. He walked to the door and waited for a few large weredogs to move the bookcase and open the door before exiting the study hall. He walked through the school hallways, the screams of the human children and the barks and growls of the weredogs eventually faded until all he was left with were the sounds of his own pawsteps, his claws clicking on the tile. He exited the school and found his mother and Mr. Bozic in the parking lot.
Lilith was in Wolfdog form, lying down on Mr. Bozic's nice jacket that he so kindly laid out for her. They had a stack of papers in between them, Mr. Bozic was holding a jar of peanut butter and a plastic butter knife. He spread peanut butter on a sheet of paper, folded it, and fed it to the weredog queen.
Devon went to join his mother and laid down beside her, "Who's your friend?" he asked. The human's fear increased now that there were two giant beasts near him.
"Oh, just someone I convinced to help us out a bit," Lilith said, "He provides for us, he gets to keep living."
"Classic! I like it," Devon said. He looked at Mr. Bozic, "I'd love to be hand fed peanut butter covered homework too."
"You heard him!" Lilith said, snarling at the human.
Mr. Bozic almost dropped the jar as he flinched, but he complied, smearing peanut butter on a sheet of pristine algebra homework, folding it up into a small square, and shakily holding it up to Devon's deadly jaws.
Devon roughly snapped it up, nipping the human's fingers and causing him to yell and pull his hand back. He chewed it and was happy to discover that it was crunchy peanut butter. "You have him well trained," he said to his mother.
Lilith chuckled, "That I do," she said. "And he was extremely rude not to bring another jacket for you to lie on too…" she said, giving the human a look.
"I will bring something for him next time, I'm sorry!" Mr. Bozic said, keeping his head down and plopping down three helpings of peanut butter on the next sheet that he fed to Devon.
After a few minutes of the terrified teacher hand feeding the two weredog royals, the rest of the pack came out of the school. Most of the large weredogs were carrying backpacks stuffed with papers and textbooks.
Fifi stopped in front of Lilith and half bowed. "Brussel sprout smoke explosives were let off in the room, Queen Thompson," she said in Canidian. "Those kids won't be saying a peep to anyone about this."
"Thank you, Fifi," Lilith told her. "I hope you all had fun," Lilith told the pack. "Just hang out in the parking lot for a bit, everyone needs some time to digest."
Every pack member went off to do their own thing, either playing in the parking lot or hanging out in their own mini packs. Devon's friends looked at him expectantly, wishing for him to join them.
"You guys go on ahead," Devon said, waving a paw.
"You're not too regal to go play with your friends, now are you?" Lilith asked.
"No, I just need to talk to you," Devon said. When his friends left, he switched to Canidian and told his mother what had happened on the Moonbase, from the ever increasing violent dreams, to his encounter with the cultists, to these strange feelings of anger. He noticed that his mother kept giving him these shocked and concerned looks as he kept telling his story, but she said nothing. "So, that's about everything I can think of. Mother, what's happening?" Devon asked.
Lilith thought for a moment before replying, "Devon, there is a bit more to our kind than just shifting and consuming correct information," she began. "Werewolves, ancient, magical beings, are at war with vampires. The two sides fought for centuries, each nearly wiping out the other on numerous occasions."
Devon's questions just doubled. Werewolves? A war? What does this have to do with what happened on the Moonbase?
"I've heard of werewolves in old tales and myths, but all the stories I've encountered were wrong," Devon began, "What are they actually like?"
"They're fanatics," Lilith said, almost spitting the words, "Totally consumed by their war. They live to kill and they justify their war by invoking the name of the Goddess. I'm sure the vampires think of this as a holy war too."
"You've met with werewolves before?" Devon asked.
"I've had an audience with a few werewolf packs over the years, constantly hounding me to join their war," Lilith replied.
Devon's ears went back in concern, "But the werewolves, shouldn't we… I mean, don't we have a duty to hel-"
"No!" Lilith cut her son off with a sharp bark. She sighed and spoke more gently, "While my heart goes out to them and their plight, their war is their business. The only thing that matters is our House, our pack. Do you understand?"
"Yes, mother," Devon said and bowed his head. "While I was on the moon, why did I feel such anger? Why did I lose control?" he asked.
"I am unsure," Lilith admitted. She thought for a moment before speaking again, "Maybe the moon is connected to the purpose of the werewolves. They have an instinct to kill vampires and those who serve them, it's kind of similar to how Jose can't help but chase small rodents."
"He did single handedly take care of the small mouse infestation at his house three years ago," Devon said, laughing a little remembering how much fun his friend had. "So, was the anger I felt that instinct you mentioned? Why did I feel it and none of my friends did?" he asked.
"We are wolfdogs, we're more closely related to werewolves. I assume that's why the moon affected you the way it did," Lilith said. "Werewolves have a special connection to the moon. They absorb power from its light and it grants them magic. It also might have something to do with their rage, their drive to kill."
"Can we do that? Absorb light from the moon?" Devon asked.
Lilith shook her head, "No. My amulet gives me some magic and immunities, but aside from that, all we have are our charms and what we get from shifting."
"Why haven't I learned about any of this until now?" Devon asked.
"I didn't want you to get caught up in their war," Lilith said, "Fighting a war with children is one thing, fighting ancient supernatural beings is another, far more dangerous, thing."
"Is that why you have a priestess come to bless our house?" Devon asked.
"Yes, to keep our ancient enemy away. Humans bless their homes for different reasons, so I knew this tactic won't throw suspicion our way. Doing more than that such as hanging cloves of garlic on our door or planting vervain in our front yard will get the vampires' attention," Lilith said. "Devon, I want you to promise me that you won't get caught up in the wolves' war. Vampires aren't a threat to us if we never reveal ourselves."
"I have no reason to want to kill vampires or their cultists," Devon said, "no matter how annoying they are," he said with a growl.
"And, as I've always told you and every member of this pack, never give a vampire a reason to hunt you. The less time you spend in their presence, the better," Lilith said.
Devon's ears perked up, "Wait, hunt as in make a rug out of my pelt or hunt as in spank me?" he asked with concern.
"Both, but I'd prefer the latter," Lilith said.
"What do I do if a vampire is hunting me for the latter?" Devon asked.
Lilith thought for a moment, her ears flattening, "While it's unpleasant, just get it over with."
"And what about the former?" Devon asked.
"Rip their throat out," Lilith said, showing her lupine fangs and letting out a snarl.
Devon nodded, "Understood."
"And I want you to stay away from the base on the moon. Make up excuses as to why you can't go if any high ranking villains ask," Lilith said.
"What?! I helped conquer it and I can't even enjoy it?" Devon asked, outraged.
"Until we figure out a way around your murderous instincts, you'll only be enjoying the moon from Earth. Are we clear?" Lilith said.
"Yes, mother," Devon said, lowering his ears.
Lilith then stood and took on a more calm demeanor, "Right, I think it's time we head back to House Rover," she got off Mr. Bozic's jacket and looked at the human, "See you next week and remember to bring an extra fancy jacket for my son to sit on. How inconsiderate of you to let him lie on the cold hard ground!" she said in English.
"Da, da, I'm sorry for the disrespect, ma'am!" Mr. Bozic said, trembling in fear.
Lilith stood on her hind legs and shifted into her human form. She clapped her hands a few times to get the pack's attention, "Alright, everyone back in your human forms, we're leaving."
Devon stood up and snarled at the human just to see him shriek in fear.
Mr. Bozic dropped the jar of peanut butter on his own jacket and looked at Devon with terror in his eyes. The man stank of fear.
Devon followed his pack and shifted back into his human form as he left the parking lot. He caught up with his friends.
"Look who finally joins us," Gregory said, jokingly.
"Yeah, sorry I've been absent all night, I just needed some alone time," Devon said. "My mother just dumped a lot of information on me. But I got the answers I needed about what happened to me while on the Moonbase."
"Is it Post Traumatic Spanking Stress Disorder?" Gregory asked.
"No, it's not that," Devon replied. "Weredogs aren't the only werecanids that exist. My mother told me about werewolves, these powerful beings who waged war with vampires."
"Werewolves?" Riley asked.
"Yes. They've been fighting vampires for centuries and a few packs have even visited my mother, trying to get House Rover to join the war," Devon said.
"We can finally get rid of Señor Chancla!" Jose said, excitement and glee in his voice. "Where do we sign up?" he asked, giving the air a few jabs.
"Slow down, killer," Devon said, he couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's enthusiasm. "My mother has forbidden me from enlisting in any ancient blood feud and that extends to all of House Rover," he commanded, "Just as long as we don't shift in front of a vampire, they have no reason to hurt us other than spanking the shit out of us."
"Wait, so what do werewolves have to do with what happened to you?" Riley asked.
"My mother and I are wolfdogs. Werewolves have a special connection to the moon and she theorizes that being on the moon triggered an instinct in me. An instinct to kill our ancient enemy," Devon said.
"And the reason it didn't affect any of us is because we're weredogs and not… Werewolves or werewolfdogs?" Fifi asked.
"Hey, I'm practically a wolf too!" Gregory said. "Why didn't I get werewolf instincts?"
"Greg, you don't want this, trust me," Devon said. "Losing even a few seconds and not knowing what happened was… Frightening… I could have killed someone up there."
"We won't go to the Moonbase either, chief," Riley said. "Better safe than sorry." The other three weredogs agreed with their Beta, nodding their heads.
"So, what about the werewolves? Do we get to meet any?" Fifi asked.
"I don't know. My mother's been having private meetings with them, but she doesn't seem to like them very much. She says they only live for war and they keep trying to drag us into it," Devon said.
"Do you think it's worth it? To fight the vampires, I mean?" Riley asked.
Jose took a breath to speak, but thought better of it when Devon gave him a look.
Devon shook his head, "No, if the vampires don't attack us, then we have no reason to fight them. And I don't know about any of you, but I want to enjoy our victory over the Kids Next Door without jumping into another war."
"Here's hoping," Gregory said, "We need a break."
"Yeah, speaking of breaks, do you guys want to go to the dog beach tomorrow?" Fifi asked.
"Yes, that sounds fun!" Gregory said. "I can pack snacks. Does anybody have a flavor preference for Fido Freeze Pops? I bought the variety pack."
"Chicken," Jose said.
"Strawberry yogurt," Riley said.
"Maple bacon," Fifi said.
"I've had my fill of peanut butter for a while, so I'll go with pumpkin chicken," Devon said.
"Ok, and I'll go with blueberry," Gregory said. "You guys are in charge of bringing what you want to eat for lunch. I can only take so much meat out of the freezer before my parents notice. I don't want another Superbowl cookout disaster of 2014 to happen again."
The five friends continued hashing out their plans for their weekend bash until they got back to House Rover. Devon stopped his mother before she went back inside, "Hey, I'm gonna head back home now if that's ok."
"Of course, dear," Lilith said, "Be careful."
"Do you need me to walk you home, chief?" Riley asked.
"No, it's just a few blocks. I'll be fine," Devon assured him. He took his leave of his pack and started to head for home. The night was young and the waxing gibbous moon was partly visible behind the clouds. He was almost home when a strange fog started to roll in. 'Strange, it's not the right weather for fog.' Devon thought. The fog got thicker and thicker and seemed to engulf the entire block. He stopped walking and a shiver ran down his spine, 'Wait… This isn't natural…'
A swirling cloud of dark purple smoke appeared in front of him and an imposing figure materialized from it. It was a pale vampire with slicked back black hair, he wore a black suit complete with coat tails, a white undershirt beneath the fully buttoned up suit jacket, a dark purple tie, a big, round, gray medallion with a dark purple 'S' on it, a long, flowing, indigo cloak that was tailored to resemble bat wings, and his signature white gloves. Count Spankulot looked down at Devon with a stern expression.
Devon stopped himself from taking a step back and composed himself so he, hopefully, didn't show any visible fear. He hoped vampires couldn't sense fear like weredogs could. "Good evening, Count Spankulot. Do you need something?" Devon asked, being cordial with the vampire, which wasn't too out of the ordinary.
"Yes, Devon Thompson," Count Spankulot said, speaking with a strong Romanian accent. "I could not make it to the siege on the moon yesterday and I had to send some of the members of my cult to deliver my justice to the backsides of those Kids Next Door."
'There's only one reason why he's here telling me this. That damn cultist ratted me out!' Devon thought. He kept his composure on the outside as he replied, "And what a pity that you couldn't be there, Count. The victory was almost instantaneous. I took down the Supreme Leader myself. Looking forward to adding yet another medal for that," he bragged, gesturing to the right side of his chest which was covered in medals.
The vampire merely glanced at all the medals before he spoke again, "Yes, well maybe you will get a medal for honesty if you assist me. One of my cultists, Samuel Bruche, was attacked by a teenage delinquent who prevented him from punishing a deserving bottom. He said the one who did it was male, skinny," he said and then held his hand just above Devon's head, "about this tall," the Count said before putting his hand back at his side, "and he wore a cracked metal dog mask."
Devon still somehow had a perfect poker face, however, his palms started to sweat and his heart beat faster.
The Count reached into one of his pockets and took out a notepad, "I have a few suspects here. Maybe you can help me narrow it down. There's you, Jose Ramirez, and Jake Gray," he said, reading off his list.
'He suspects me, but he's not sure. With three witnesses I can't pin this on Jake. And I won't let Jose take the blame for me. Damn my need to have unique armor!' Devon thought. With a deep breath, he took a step forward, still standing tall, and answered the vampire, "It was me."
The Count lowered his notepad and started wagging his finger, "Don't you dare try to lie your way out of this or els-" he started lecturing before he stopped, looking dumbfounded. He put his hand down and asked, "Wait, did you say it was you?"
"Yes," Devon said, nodding his head once.
"Well, that was easier than I thought," the Count said, putting his notepad away. "Wait, you are not just confessing to cover for someone else. If you are and I find out, then you're both not sitting comfortably for a week!" he threatened, pointing a finger at him.
"I swear to Godde-... God I'm not covering for anyone," Devon said. "I saw your cultist had materialized some kind of giant red magical hand that was holding a boy of about ten or eleven years old and he was about to start spanking him with a hairbrush. I ran up to him and grabbed his wrist, stopping him. He shot another magic hand that struck me in the chest and I went down. Then he summoned magic arms from the floor that grabbed me and flipped me onto my stomach. He said a prayer as he prepared to spank me, then Father showed up and stopped him," he recounted in excruciating detail, removing any doubt of his 'guilt'.
Count Spankulot listened intently to him before saying, "You attacked my follower, one of my Hands!" he rose into the air about a foot off the sidewalk and levitated in place, looming over Devon. "Why!? Why would you do this?" Black clouds darkened the sky and thunder rumbled overhead.
"It was hardly an attack. I merely grabbed his wrist," Devon said, losing most of his composure and now openly showing fear. He backed away slowly as the Count started to float toward him.
"I asked you a question, young man," the Count demanded, furrowing his brows. "I do not care if you grabbed him, poked him, slapped him, punched him, or maimed him. You put your hands on a human who was acting on my behalf! Why?!" He reached out his hand to grab Devon by the ear.
Devon instinctively blocked him with his arm, but the vampire grabbed his wrist instead. He was yanked forward and was staring into the Count's furious eyes.
"Are you part of the Rear Guard, hmm? What about the Garlic Brigade or the self-righteous Angel Force? Bulb Battalion, High-Stakers, Clove Crusaders, The Impalers? Or those weak Parents for the Ethical Treatment of Youths?" the Count interrogated.
"No, I'm not part of any of those groups… And why do so many people hate you?" Devon responded.
"Vampires have a lot of enemies. Pray that you are not one of them." Count Spankulot raised his free hand, "Answer!" he commanded before delivering a hard slap to Devon's rear.
Devon squeezed his eyes shut and bit down on a yelp. He steadied himself on his feet as the vampire's strike almost knocked him down. He had to think of something that would satisfy the Count, yet not incriminate himself even more. "My family is anti-spanking and I guess I learned it from them."
Count Spankulot lowered his hand and some of his anger left him. "And you call yourself worthy of these?" he asked, pointing to the medals on Devon's suit jacket.
Devon looked down at all the medals of dishonor and villainy he had received over the years. "I try to be," he said, before looking back up at the vampire.
"Your generation will end up weak if they do not experience proper discipline. And that is why vampires exist." A large purple ethereal arm appeared behind the Count, bent its wrist so its palm was facing the sky, and bent its fingers at a right angle. Count Spankulot lowered himself to the ground and walked over to the hand, pulling Devon along with him. "You have lacked my justice almost your entire life," he said, sitting in his improvised chair, before pulling the young man over his lap. "This foolishness ends tonight!" he said, holding him down with his left hand and raising his right hand over his shoulder.
Devon's eyes teared up as the strikes came down upon his rear, fast and hard. He tried not to struggle, remembering his mother's words, 'Just get it over with.'
"You will never lay a hand on my followers again!" Count Spankulot yelled, continuing to spank this delinquent.
"Y-... Yes… Sir!" Devon answered. Tears started to flow down his face and snot started to drip from his nose. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, trying to deal with the pain.
After a minute, the Count slowed down the frequency of the spanks while he spoke again, "I will be paying you regular visits from now on. I will question you to find out any bad deeds you have done. I will find you when you are out of your house or you will come out of your house to receive my hand of justice to your deserving backside, you naughty, ill-behaved hooligan!" he demanded, then paused in the punishment to point a finger sternly at him even if Devon couldn't see it. "You WILL be facing the music for your misdeeds from now on. Preferably music played on a pipe organ in an ominous way."
'There's NO fucking way I'm handing myself over to him!' Devon thought. He fought his urge to take a chunk out of the vampire's leg.
"I will not be needing an answer because what I command is final! Your blessed house and your weak parents will not save you from my justice! If I cannot come to you, you will come to me!" Count Spankulot said, before he resumed the spanking. He delivered spanks to his more sensitive areas, the center of the butt, striking both cheeks at once, the sitspots, and the backs of the thighs. The vampire grinned and chuckled evilly as the young man struggled and started to let out shouts of pain.
Devon couldn't hold in his screams any longer and even began struggling, hoping for a reprieve from the pain.
The vampire put a hand under his stomach and held him closer and more securely as he started to spank even harder. "You will not escape my hand of justice! After this, I'll take you to Samuel Bruche and then-..."
Devon interrupted the Count with a scream of rage as he called upon his weredog strength. He bucked wildly and managed to get a foot on the ground and get himself halfway off the vampire's lap.
Count Spankulot grabbed hold of him and used his vampiric strength to pull him back over his lap. He held him down and made smaller ethereal arms appear from the nearby ground and grab Devon's limbs to keep him from escaping again. "How are you so strong?! No matter, as you will not be trying that again!" he said, raising his right hand high. His glove began to glow with dark purple magic. "Maybe a few minutes of my double stinginess power will get my point acro-..."
"GET AWAY FROM MY SON!" William bellowed as he emerged from the fog holding his crucifix out.
The vampire screamed as if in pain, releasing Devon, and standing up, shielding his face with his arms and cloak.
Devon landed on the ground hard and scrambled to the safety of his lawn on his hands and knees.
William stood his ground and advanced on the monster that attacked his son. "In the name of Jesus, I command you to leave!"
The Count started to back away and breathe through clenched teeth.
"In the name of Jesus Christ, I command angels to surround my son and guard him from all harm. I command the Heavenly host to pierce this unholy undead creature with swords of fire!" William bellowed.
Count Spankulot suddenly fell to his hands and knees before clutching his stomach with one hand as if he'd been stabbed. He looked William in the eyes and let out an enraged, animalistic hiss before vanishing in a puff of smoke. The fog lifted and the sky returned to normal.
William watched the spot where the vampire was, panting heavily with fear, anger, and adrenalin. His hands were shaking as he put his crucifix around his neck. He turned towards Devon and saw his son laying on the grass, sobbing. He ran over to him and knelt beside him, putting a hand on his back. "It's ok, son, he's gone. I'm here. Daddy's here," William said.
Devon rose to his knees and hugged his father, ugly crying on his fresh nightshirt. This was pathetic! He could turn into a creature with claws and teeth and the ability to kill something larger than himself in mere seconds, but his father saved him with a piece of metal and a few incantations.
William held his son close, patting his head, and rubbing his back soothingly for about a minute. He then stood up. "Can you stand for me?"
Devon stood with his dad's help and they walked back into the house together.
"Easy does it, bud," William said, leading him over to the living room couch.
Devon gently sat down. While the softness of the couch wasn't too rough on his aching behind, it still hurt to sit. He took a few tissues that his dad offered, blowing his nose, drying his eyes, and even attempting to clean his medals which were now covered with dirt.
William grabbed a sticky note, wrote on it in pen, tore off the part of the note with glue on it, and handed it to his son. "Did I write it correctly?"
Devon looked at the note and saw that the healing incantation was written on it in Canidian. "Yeah, dad. That's right." He quickly ate the note and almost as soon as he swallowed it, all the physical pain he felt was gone. He leaned back on the couch and enjoyed the relief he felt.
William sat next to him. "I can't speak it for the life of me, but at least I can write it," he said, smiling a little.
"Dad, what happened?" Kevin asked as he slowly came downstairs. "I heard noises outside."
"Devon was in some trouble, but don't worry, daddy saved him," William said.
"Wow, really?" Kevin asked, astonished, as he ran up to them.
"Yes, with this," William said, showing his youngest son his cross. "Daddy chased away a scary vampire that was hurting your brother."
"A vampire?" Kevin asked. He then looked at Devon before asking, "What did you do?"
"I committed a federal crime," Devon replied.
"What's that?" Kevin asked.
Devon leaned forward and ruffled his brother's hair, "How are we related?" he asked, amused.
"Go to bed, Kevin. Devon and I need to talk," William said. When Kevin left, William turned to Devon. "Are you ok now?"
"The only thing that hurts now is my pride and dignity. My suit needs to be dry cleaned and my medals need to be cleaned and polished," Devon answered.
"Son, why didn't you, you know?" William asked before he pretended to have claws and bared his human teeth, clawing at the air and growling.
Devon watched him for a few seconds before responding, "One, never do that again, and two, my mother commanded me never to shift in front of a vampire. Some ancient blood feud thing." He crossed his arms and turned slightly away from his dad. "I felt so… Helpless back there… With other attackers, I can just fight back or shift, but with a vampire…"
"I'll call the Reverend tomorrow. I'll have her bless the entire neighborhood, every sidewalk, every street, every tree, bush, blade of grass. That walking corpse isn't coming near us again. I'll even ask for a few bottles of holy water to put in our laundry, no vampire will be able to touch you or Kevin without getting burned," William said. "And while I know we are an interfaith family," he said before removing his cross, "just wearing it will deter him," he placed it around Devon's neck and fastened it.
Devon held the crucifix in his hand for a few seconds, "Do you really think your god will want to protect a boy who can transform into a big, furry creature and worships a Goddess?" he asked.
"God cares about our hearts," William said. "You heard that vampire scream and you saw how he ran. God was protecting us."
"Then apparently he's ok with what's in mine," Devon said, turning to face his dad. "Thank you for saving me, dad."
William pulled him into a hug, "No need to thank me for that. I may not be able to shift but I'll be damned if I let a vampire harm my boys."
Devon broke the hug after a few seconds and stood up, "I'm going to wash up and head to bed," he said, he bent down and kissed his father on the cheek. "Goodnight," he said before heading upstairs. After washing his face in the hallway bathroom, he went into his room, tossed his dirty suit into the hamper, and got dressed in some clean pajamas. He removed the crucifix from his neck and held it up, staring at the tiny crucified man hanging on the golden cross. "So, I guess I'm sorry for eating your holy book when I was two, it nearly killed me, so I guess that means we're even. Keep your end of the deal and I'll throw a dollar into the collection plate every Easter and Christmas. I'll also stop stealing the twenties from the collection plate, but tens are still fair game," he said.
Devon walked over to a large fancy dog bed, it was a red square cushion raised slightly off the carpet by little wooden legs, and it had a canopy with four drawn curtains. He hung the crucifix on one of the pillars before shifting and curling up on the dog bed, closing the curtains.
As he was drifting off to sleep he started thinking about what happened, 'What was that power trip the Count was having? Is he checking in with his prey and interrogating them to see if there are more reasons to punish them? Well, if that's a new thing he's doing, he won't be doing it to me or my pack, my parents will make sure of that! And so will I! In their own way, I guess these werewolves have a point. I wouldn't be mad if all the vampires died off. One less annoyance and threat to worry about. And Count Spankulot would deserve it for what he did to me. Screw him, he's not gonna ruin tonight! Tomorrow's the start of a brand new day, in a world where villains are free to reign. And reign I will!'
(We made it! The prologue is officially complete and chapter one will be started soon!
Devon's father makes his first appearance and unlike in the old version of ACBF he is fully aware of and even participates in his family's supernatural side. I thought that having a human in House Rover made it more interesting, especially how he's accommodated and treated within the pack.
The Count finally makes an appearance in a fanfic that is somewhat about him. I kinda gave him a detective feel with his notepad trying to figure out if he's about to spank the right person. And of course he hates anti-spanking households.
Anyway follow, leave reviews, and stay tuned for more!)