A Silverback's Discovery

Eighteen: The Valenteen Clan

"Demons?" Han asked breathlessly. He fell back onto his butt. "Demons?"

"Yes. A demon clan. The Valenteen clan."

Han shook his head, unable to process the information. "The Mage Collective would know about a whole clan of demons if they were present in the states."

Franklin shook his head. "Not the Valenteens. They were different."

"How?" Han asked, leaning forward, desperate for more information.

"The Valenteens have been around a long time. Longer than my people, even. They were a tribe with strong magical abilities, abilities which they honed over centuries to their highest potential. They were powerful. But, they were also peaceful."

Han shook his head, more in amazement than in protest. It seemed that Franklin was telling the truth, he had no reason to lie. But it was a lot to swallow. In all of the Collective's history, a peaceful clan of demons had never once been discovered. Evil was in their nature, in their very definition. "There's no such thing as a peaceful clan of demons."

"Well, they weren't demons, you see. They were humans, blessed with magic. But they became so strong, that others labeled them as demons and monsters out of fear. Forces for good, forces like the Mage Collective, before they were even known by that name, sought to eradicate them."

Han shook his head, still in an attitude of protest. "If they were peaceful, the Collective wouldn't try to kill them."

"Fear makes people act out, my boy," Franklin said, shaking his head. "The Valenteens were powerful, more powerful than any other clan or race or creature. That kind of power... it's dangerous. All it takes is one bad egg, one bad seed, and then suddenly, everyone is an enemy. To be taken out."

"So there was one, who went against the clan? Who made everyone else believe that the Valenteens were evil. The Collective went after them for a reason."

"Maybe one, maybe a few. Who is to say? One could make the argument that every animal mage could be hunted by the same logic."

Orsini. He had been an animal mage. A bad egg, as Franklin had put it. "That's different. We took care of Orsini ourselves." The Collective had detracted his powers, leaving him with no animal magic at all.

"The Valenteens were not given the chance to take care of their own, as your people did. They were hunted. An elite group of humans with access to magical relics were chosen to hunt and kill the Valenteens. They were called the Hunters. They would raise new members from babies to fight the Valenteens.

"But the Valenteens didn't want to fight. They just wanted to live their lives. They split into smaller groups, creating families, and they hid themselves within the human race so they could live a peaceful existence. They met in secret, only once a year, to maintain the legacy and history of the Valenteen clan. They told the stories and shared the lives of every one that had come before them. This was also the only opportunity for them to find a mate and keep the race alive."

Sidney's nightmares. She said that she felt like she was watching a history, as if she was experiencing someone else's life. Han felt his heart plummet into his stomach with the weight of what he was hearing. Could it be true? Sidney, a demon?

"But eventually, one by one, family by family, the Hunters found them. It took centuries and centuries. Until only one member of the clan remained, Ricavani."

"Rick Valenteen," Han said quietly, surprised to find himself speaking.

Franklin gave him a curious look before continuing. "He was killed about a decade ago, the last of his kind. He had no one to mate with. The Valenteen clan is no more, and only a few know the whole story."

"Who else knows?"

"The Hunters, the one's whose job it was to find the Valenteens. Only a few of them remain, probably only one, the one who killed Ricavani."

Han put his hands to his forehead in an attempt to quell his thoughts. His mind was racing with ideas and revelations. It all fit perfectly, but Han still had so many questions, many of which he knew Franklin probably couldn't answer. "What powers did these demons have?" Han figured he could answer that much.

"Many, and it differed in each of the families. But the most common gifts were that of telekinesis and teleportation."

All the air left his body. Telekinesis and teleportation? Like the man who had attacked him that day outside the school. He had moved that rock without touching it, and then he had vanished into thin air. "Are you sure Ricavani's dead?" Han asked, moving forward onto his knees and placing his hands on Franklin's shoulders.

"As much as I know anything else I've told you. I didn't live it, my boy. I'm only relating what I've seen and heard."

But Franklin didn't know about Sidney. He didn't know that Ricavani, or Rick, had mated with a human when there wasn't another of his kind left to be his mate. So maybe he was wrong about Ricavani's death. Maybe, the man Han had met that night was actually Sidney's father. Sidney's demon father.

Han shook his head, too shocked to think straight. He let Franklin go and stood. "This is crazy. She's a... demon."

"Only by name," Franklin said, his voice belaying a sudden caution. "Remember that, my boy. Nomenclature is important. What is a demon but what others have defined it to be? Who gets to choose? Have you ever thought of that?"

Han was embarrassed to admit that he hadn't. It had never crossed his mind to wonder. He had just always known. Demon, or not. Vampire, or not. Human, or not. Animal mage, or not. But where was the line drawn? Why were Los Malos demons but Franklin was a duende, a creature with a specific name?

"It's easy to label evil," Franklin said quietly. "It's much harder to admit that evil can be found anywhere. Even in the ranks of the most honorable of institutions. As I said, remember that. And please understand, I have trusted you with this information. The Valenteen clan is gone. The least we can do is honor their memory."

Han gave a nod. "I promise I won't let this information fall into the wrong hands. Thank you for everything. You've helped probably more than you'll ever realize."

"Glad to hear it, my boy. I'll retreat to my burrow now. I don't much like the fresh air. Goodbye, and good luck."

Han watched Franklin shuffle away. Before he could burrow again, Han called out to him. "What'd you do?" he asked. "Bless me or curse me?"

Even from the distance, Han could see Franklin's smile, wider than what Han thought his face could hold. "I never tell, my boy. You'll just have to wait and see." With that he took a few more steps and disappeared into the ground.

Han took a bus back to a place near his hotel and walked the rest of the way. He fell onto his bed, exhausted, as soon as he reached the room. But he couldn't sleep, and not just because he had slept all afternoon. He was thrown by his discoveries.

Never in a million years had Han expected something of this magnitude. If everything Franklin said was true, and Han believed that most of it was, then that meant that... Sidney did have magic, strong magic. Maybe stronger magic than the Collective had seen in a long time. That would explain the spike in magical detection when she came into town.

Han was sure Sidney didn't know. She couldn't have so innocently shared about her nightmares and her father if she had any clue. But would she ever? Would it be his job to tell her? Maybe ignorance was bliss. Her life didn't seem any worse because of the lack of knowledge. And what good would the information do her anyway? It would take work to get her to believe it in the first place. Han had no idea what to do.

The only thing he did know was that he wanted to protect Sidney. More than anything, Han wanted to make sure she didn't get hurt with all of this. The only problem was, he had no idea how to go about that. He could only hope that he would figure it out as he went along.