"What'd he say?" Lilith asked Randall who had just texted Jack.
I was anxiously waiting by the window watching as The Order surrounded the building.
"He wants us to protect Maddox." Randall replied, putting his phone away.
"They're circling the house." I informed the group.
There were quite a few of them, all dressed in their navy gowns and their white masks.
"What are they up to?" Hamish asked, joining me by the window. The Order's shadows dancing across the wooden floor.
"Knowing Kepler, something unoriginal." Vera replied glancing around the house as every window that was visible to us had an Order member stood outside it.
"Inflammetur!" A voice shouted from outside making us all turn in the direction it came from.
A bright light burst through the windows filling every corner of the room.
"Like that." Vera nodded, sighing. "Protegatur locus hic." Vera held her hands up as she spoke the incantation. The light from outside died down.
"How long is that gonna protect us?" Hamish asked, moving back into the middle of the room.
"Long enough for us to deal with them." Vera replied. Hamish smirked and started unbutton his waistcoat while walking to the front door.
"You're not ready." Vera glanced at Lilith. "Are you're in no position to tell me what to do." Lilith answered back.
Lilith tried to stand up but stumbled into Randall's arms. I felt a twang of jealousy run through me but I ignored it.
"But I'm choosing to take a second to recover." Lilith sat back down. "Keep an eye on her." Hamish told Randall.
"Two minutes, then I'm tagging in." Randall replied before smiling at Lilith.
I pulled my t-shirt off over my head while kicking my shoes off. "We won't need two minutes." Vera told Randall. "No killing." Vera told me and Hamish as Hamish pulled his shirt off.
"No promises." I smirked back at her, receiving an eye roll in return.
As we walked out the door I stepped out of my skirt. I removed my last remaining items of clothing before transforming, Hamish following my lead.
Instinct took over and everything became a blur. Hamish and I ignored Vera's no killing rule while Vera herself cast spells on the remaining Order members.
Every once in a while Vera would let out a shout of "No killing!" or "Just maim them!" but Hamish and I ignored her.
As I dragged my claws through the last remaining member I felt something change inside me. It was like a sharp pain burning in my veins then it died down, being replaced by a voice.
"You're ready." The voice echoed through my head as I stood over the teenager. Just as quickly as it came the voice disappeared but there was something about it that I couldn't forget - it was my mother's voice.
"Dylan." Hamish's voice broke me from my trance, bringing me back to the present. "Are you okay?" He asked, placing a hand on my bare shoulder.
While I had been so focused on my mother's voice I hadn't realised I had changed back. "Yeah." I nodded, flashing a small smile as I walked back towards the house.
I grabbed my clothes off the floor, putting them back on before walking inside. I picked up my t-shirt from the hall floor and pulled it on.
"So, did we...did we miss the fighting?" Randall asked us. He and Lilith were out of breath which made me suspicious but I didn't have a reason to be jealous so I left it alone.
"Just a little." Hamish nodded, tying his robe.
"And I have a potion to finish." Vera spoke.
"Congratulations." Lilith replied.
"I need werewolf blood." She told the four of us.
"Not it." Randall, Hamish and Lilith all shouted at the same time.
Vera turned to me. "Shit." I sighed.
"Would you be so kind." Vera walked down to the basement.
I glanced at the front door, debating whether I could leg it out the door fast enough.
"Don't even think about it." Hamish placed his hands on my shoulders and guided me to the basement door.
I threw my head back with a groan of annoyance before making my way down the stairs.
I walked into the basement and Vera pointed to the chair opposite her. I plopped down onto the seat and held out my arm.
Vera produced a knife and took my wrist in her hand. She closed her eyes and muttered an enchantment but I wasn't paying enough attention to hear what it was.
Her expression morphed into one of confusion and she opened her eyes. "What?" I asked, also now confused. "Your blood won't work for the potion. It's not pure werewolf." Vera told me, dropping my wrist.
"What do you mean?" I asked, sitting up straight.
"I mean, it's...it's not going to work. Go and get one of your friends." Vera looked like she wanted to say more or that she knew something I didn't but she withheld it.
I stood up, walking out of the room and back up the stairs.
"That was quick." Lilith spoke as I joined them in the living room.
"Yeah, she needs one of you guys to do it." I replied, throwing myself onto the sofa.
"Why?" Hamish spoke from behind the bar.
I shrugged in response. "I think it has something to do with me coming from a pack." I lay my legs on Lilith's lap.
"I'll go." Randall stood up, walking out the room.
"I never got to ask, were you a born werewolf because your hide is the same as ours." Lilith asked as Hamish took the seat opposite us.
"I don't know. Normally when your parents are werewolves you are a born shapeshifter but I wasn't, it was weird, I mean I had the correct DNA for it but I wasn't able to transform no matter what. Our pack had an Emissary - which is a type of Druid that watches over the pack and makes sure we are still connected to our humanity and helps with healing - boring stuff like that - anyway by my second birthday our Emissary said I wasn't ageing. So she made a potion that would make me age - at least until I turned 18 - the potion worked as you can tell but I stopped ageing after my 18th birthday. After a few attacks on our pack by The Order who were pissed after they found out about me not ageing, my father felt that it wasn't safe for me as I wasn't able to defend myself so he had our Emissary create my hide for me, but clearly they didn't create my hide if you guys have books on it." I explained.
"Wait so how old are you?" Hamish asked, sipping his drink.
"Physically I'm 18 but I'm around 27." I quickly worked out the maths in my head.
"Jesus. You're older than Hamish? That's creepy." Lilith shivered at the thought.
"I could still deck both of you." I warned them with a smile, causing Lilith to laugh.
Randall came back upstairs, wiping the blood from his wrist. "All done." He sat down next to Lilith while we waited for Vera.
•
"All of you, leave. Now!" We heard Vera order while we waited out of sight. When we didn't hear any movement the four of us joined her, growling as we went.
Our presence caused The Order members to start screaming as they ran in different directions, trying to find a way out.
Vera walked down the steps and stormed over to the large wooden doors that stood proudly in the center of the wall opposite the entrance.
She tried to use magic to open them but they wouldn't budge. She slammed her hands against them, turning back to us.
"Edward's sealed them from the inside!" Vera shouted. I motioned for her to move by jerking my head to the side.
She quickly rushed out the way and I went charging into the doors but they still didn't budge. I moved back and Lilith joined me.
We nodded at each other, doing the same thing again. The doors didn't budge.
The four of us changed back when we realised ramming the doors wouldn't work.
"What do we do?" Hamish asked Vera as we grabbed some spare gowns to wear.
"I don't know." She replied.
"Try it again." My mother's voice rang through my head.
"Trust me. Again." My mother spoke again.
I sighed before running into the door again, this time they flew open, much to my surprise.
"Jack! Glad to see you're not dead." Hamish spoke first.
Alyssa and Jack were stood side by side with Edward a couple paces in front of them, slowly turning a purplish grey before disintegrating but not before letting out one more sentence.
"I'll see you in hell." and with that he was gone.
"You have the potion?" Jack turned to Hamish who nodded.
"That's highly volatile!" Vera shouted as Hamish threw it to Jack who caught it, no problem.
Jack walked over to the Vade Maecum which sat open on the table. He opened the bottle, pouring the potion on the pages.
It took a second but the whole book exploded. We all stood, watching the pages burn.
"Celebration drinks?" Hamish suggested.
"Do you even have to ask?" Lilith replied.
We all started leaving but I hesitated. "You coming?" Hamish asked me.
"Give me a minute?" I asked, receiving a nod.
The others left leaving me with Vera who stood still watching the book burn.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked her, moving to the other side of the table, resting my elbows on it.
"Do I have a choice?" Vera looked at me.
"Nope." I replied making Vera sigh.
"Earlier, when you said you couldn't use my blood. You looked like you knew something I didn't." I spoke.
"That's not a question." Vera told me, as the fire died down.
I went to speak again but was cut off.
"But, I get what you're asking and the answer is I can't tell you. It's something you need to find out on your own." Vera told me.
"Great." I stood up straight and started walking towards the door.
"I can give you some help though." Vera told me, making me stop.
I turned to face her.
"The Emissary...your emissary she isn't dead, your father gave his life to protect her's. You find her, you find your answer." Vera spoke.
I felt both relief and pain run through my body.
Relief that she was still alive but pain that my father wasn't, I had always hoped that there was a chance he was alive but, now I know he isn't.
"She ran East." Vera smiled at me.
"Thank you." I ran over to her, hugging her tightly. She hesitated before hugging me back.
"You're father...he would be proud." Vera told me as we broke apart.
"You knew my father?" I asked, the surprises just keep on coming.
She nodded in reply.
"Dylan! Come on or we're leaving you behind!" Lilith's voice filled the room as she shouted from the steps.
"Go have fun, but remember go East." Vera told me.
I hesitated before walking out.
As I left I could've sworn I heard Vera mutter "She's a lot like you, looks a lot like mum too." but I didn't stop.
I joined my friends who all wore smiles on their faces.
"You good?" Lilith asked, throwing her arm over my shoulder.
"Never better." I replied, happily.
-
"Easy on the bitters. We're not farmers." Hamish told Jack who was adding more than he needed to.
Lilith and Randall carried Silverback's crate into the room, placing it on the floor with a loud bang.
"Whoa! You're not getting rid of that are you?" Jack asked.
"Take a look." Randall replied as Lilith lent on the bar.
Jack looked at us and I shrugged, unsure of what was happening.
As Jack approached the crate it started shaking.
"Silverback?" Jack looked at Randall who nodded.
Jack threw the lid back off the crate.
"But I thought the Nephilim's Tears destroyed him." Jack lifted the hide out of it's locker.
"When the potion destroyed the book, it freed Silverback from his bond with the Vade Maecum." Lilith explained.
"He's good as new. All he needs now...is a champion." Randall watched Jack check over his old hide.
"If anything, I think he needs some rest." Jack replied.
"But Midnight-" Randall started.
"Is starting to grow on me." Jack cut him off.
"Besides, I've died enough this week." Jack placed Silverback into his crate.
"So...what should we drink to?" Randall asked, joining us at the bar.
"Victory." Hamish suggested.
"Survival." Lilith corrected him.
"How about to family?" I spoke.
"Lame." Hamish shook his head.
"I don't know you." Lilith told me.
"To family? When did we turn into an episode of This Is Us?" Randall asked.
"Okay, someone pick something else then." I shrugged.
Everyone thought for a while.
"Fuck it. Let's just drink." Hamish spoke. We all clinked glasses.
"Oh hey, I heard you guys kissed." Jack told Lilith and Randall who looked at each other before taking a large drink.
I turned to look at Randall who was already looking at me.
I downed the rest of my drink before turning to Hamish.
"I think...I think we all need something heavier." I patted his back reviving a nod.
"I like the way you think." He laughed, mixing another drink.
•
Everyone was downstairs drinking. At some point music had been turned on turning the whole thing into a party.
I had managed to sneak upstairs.
I sat down on the edge of my bed, resting my elbows on my knees.
I sighed, looking at the picture frame that sat on my beside table.
It held a photo of me and the Knights, we had taken it while we had a break from fighting magic.
A tear ran down my right cheek.
I nodded to myself before standing up, grabbing a backpack that was sat at the end of my bed.
I grabbed a few outfits and the necessities - toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush etc.
I wrote a quick note explaining why I had left and I left it on my bed then I climbed out the window, not wanting to dampen everyone's happy mood.
I walked across the veranda then easily jumped onto the grass. I checked my phone for the direction before running East.
I didn't know if I was going to find anything but I had to have hope. I had to believe.
I felt at home with the Knights but I needed answers, ones I couldn't find with them. I knew I would be back, I just didn't know when.