Secrets and Lies

Chapter 9: Preparation

This should be fun.

Will POV

I felt so much different, without a heartbeat.  Without breath.  Without life.  I felt the same, yet I felt so weak.  That, Elyu told me, would change when I had my first blood.

I would not be able to stand the sun, it would become too pure for me.  I would lead a life of darkness.  Only one person controlled the darkness, and it was he that I wished to claim as my own.

He probably wouldn't survive.  Not many people have the strength to survive, and I didn't really mind.

The twins were an issue, though.  Those twins' behavior was a key sign of lycanthropy.  Werewolves could easily take down my kind.  Fortunately, I knew an old method to heal lycanthropy.  I missed campfire that night, plotting exactly how it needed to work.

Alma POV

"I would like to tell a story," I said.  Everyone looked at me in surprise.  I never volunteered anything.  Chiron looked surprised but nodded.

I took and deep breath and started my story.

"Long ago, when Greece and Rome existed together, there were three packs.  One was Lupa's pack, filled with wolves of massive size and pale color.  It was they who created the first shade.  Shades were bloodless monsters.  When they drank blood, they couldn't bear the sun, for it was too pure and joyous for them.  Once they drank their first blood, human blood, that is, they gained immense strength and blinding speed.  Only one creature at the time could resist them, and it was not inclined to be friendly."

I inhaled slightly before continuing.

"Another pack was Lycaon's, the werewolves.  It was they who held the immense strength when shifted to take on a shade.  But, werewolves were more inclined towards shade-like behavior, and did not protect the people."

"The third pack was full of small to medium sized wolves of various colors.  They could not stand up to the larger packs, or their monsters, and hid in the thick woods.  They hunted and hid, and it was a stable existence."

"In this time, there lived a man.  He was a hunter, and always paid his respects to the gods, and his family, and all that goody-two-shoes jazz.  But, at the end of the day, he was always kind to the wolves."

"He left them to parts of the carcass he would not use, because he didn't want it to go to waste.  He made sure to not exhaust their food, and kept men away from their forest.  As such, these wolves were quite fond of him."

"One day, the man came across a shade.  Said shade was in a hideous mood that day, and was wreaking havoc on the animals of the forest.  For whatever reason, he seemed to find it therapeutic.  Little psychopath."

That got a couple chuckles from the audience.

"The man tried to stop him, for the wolves needed to eat those animals, but the shade flipped out, and pretty much shredded him.  He was left in a small stream, bleeding to death."

"The wolves found him pretty quickly, and they were pretty upset.  They didn't want their human to die.  Than, the alpha noticed the stream."

"Water has long been associated with change and transformation.  The wolves decided to use that power to save their friend."

"They gathered around him in a circle, tilted their heads to the sky, and began to sing.  They called on the water and the sky to help them.  Not Zeus and Poseidon, but the ancient remnants of the beings who first inhabited them, long gone they may be.  Sure enough, the dying man became a wolf who was not dying."

"However, though he had become a wolf in form, he remained human in mind.  The transforming power of the water lived within him, in his blood, and he was able to shift at will.  His form was very large and very strong, making him one of the only creatures capable of taking on a shade.  He passed his gift to his children, and they were not werewolves.  They were gods' hounds.  And, at the end of the day, the wolves were there, waiting to heal those that were kind to them"

I finished my story, and looked around.  The whole camp was staring with enraptured focus.  It had obviously been a good story.

Leo and I got up and left.  We went straight to the woods (or should I say pan to the woods).  As we sprinted through the forest, we thought of our grandmother, the first of our line to be shifted.

Suddenly, something sailed through the air and struck my neck.  Dart.  I heard Leo collapse, and the black of unconsciousness spread over me.

Elyu POV

We had taken down the werewolves.  Will had a plan.  In was a very good plan, too.

Me and the others swiftly surrounded the cabins, waiting for our prey to come.  They trickled in slowly from the campfire.  They didn't notice us.

Finally, everyone was asleep.  We moved swiftly and silently, taken our chosen victims, for Will's plan fed us all.

When we had our prey, we left the mutts a note. Then, as quickly as we had come, we were gone, disappeared into the night.

Oooooooooooooooooh, draaamaaaa! Was gon happen?