Fatal Moon

Luke talks to Badger about the skull

Luke took a moment to consider that other memories were stored in this skull, in case whoever had taken the skull know how to decipher them. Most of the memories were old codings, but what had been on his mind when he engaged with it for his latest journal entry? He had just learned of a newly infected werewolf, in Washington, that had been abandoned by the pack responsible for him. And his contact, Crystal, said he was wasting away, which meant he would need to be executed before the virus turned him from a werewolf to a vampire, no longer able to transform into wolf, and dependent on human blood to feed the failing virus that cannibalized his body. That was it. He considered the possibility that he would be unable to get the skull back.

If the one remaining crystal skull was lost before he could make another good replica, his bright memories of his beautiful Julia would slowly fade, as they did already, and in time he would be completely alone in this world, a place he hadn't belonged in since the death of the Holy Roman Empire. Luke stifled a sudden urge to howl again and wormed, toes first, back upwards toward the forest floor. This direction was even harder than the journey in, and Luke had nothing to show for it. Nothing.

Luke reached into the medicine pouch that hung around his neck and pulled out his cell phone to dial his regional assistant.

"Hey Luke, what do you need?" Badger asked, having answered immediately.

"Badger, the skull is gone. Did you come here since I showed you where it was?"

There was a moment of silence, then a panicked voice, "Oh no, Luke, how could anyone find that? I could barely get in there myself, and there's a latch that's damn near impossible to find! Who—"

"TACIT!" Luke said, sharply. "It is gone. Have you come here since I showed it to you?"

Another brief silence. Luke didn't need to hear the next words, he already knew. "Yes, I went there to test myself and make sure I could access the memories without you. Oh God, you think someone followed me?"

Luke closed his eyes. "DID someone follow you, Badger?"

"Oh God, Luke," the shaky voice answered. "There was a car behind me, but it went and parked at the museum."

"Was it daytime?" Luke asked.

"Yes, museum hours—"

"VAE!" Luke spat, cursing in his native Latin. "Why would you come at a time when people are likely to be about?"

"I wasn't thinking—"

"THINK NOW!" Luke replied, cutting him off. This could be disastrous. "What type of car?"

A short pause, then, "It was... it was black—"

Luke cursed again. "If you do not know the make or model, just describe it."

Badger's voice had crept up at least an octave and was still shaking as he continued, "It had a weird front grill, with a line down the middle of it. It didn't have a bumper. Two headlights each side of the grill, separate, oval, more grill where I expected a bumper, and the license plate hung down, it was really weird..."

Luke clenched his jaws together, then asked, "Do you know what a Bentley looks like?"

"A what?"

Luke felt the cell phone dig into the base of his thumb as his grip grew tight. "Are you at your computer?"

"Yes."

"Google images of a Bentley," Luke prompted him.

Keys clacked, then, "That's it!"

"Faex!" Luke swore. "NEVER allow a Bentley to follow you when you are working for me! It is not a common car, and it is a car one of my enemies, a clan in England, prefers. It is a high-end luxury car. No one would choose to drive a high-end luxury car on the dirt roads of Oak Island. You were being followed! Learn to recognize all models of Bentley, and report to me immediately if you are ever followed by one. That damned witch is on my trail again! And she has resources to rival my own." Luke scrubbed a hand through his hair.

"Can she read the skull?" Badger asked.

"She was unable to last we met, but she has surprised me before. We must assume she can. We must track it down and get it back. If she wanted the skull enough to drive a Bentley all the way out there, she most likely had a very good reason. And if she can read the memories, she will gain far too much knowledge about the location of packs... the Skykomish pack, for one. I need to get out there, anyway. They are due for a reckoning."

"You mean about that guy that got transformed? The one that's dying?"

"Yes, that one. He should never have been infected, but being infected, he should not be on his own. He should not even be alive, at this point. There is no good prognosis, he will waste away soon enough, unless he discovers the blood cure and becomes a vampire. Deos! I will have to take that into my own hands. You are on report, Badger. I am not sure I can work with an assistant who cannot do as he is told. I TOLD you to see that you were not followed!"

"Oh God, Luke, I was sure that car wasn't following me, in the end! Give me a chance to fix this! I'll find them, I'll get it back."

"No, you will find IT, and then I will get it back. The skulls are off limits to you until I can trust you again. I need you to use your hacking skills to get the information I need to track the thief down. The theft most likely occurred immediately after you left the island. You will review all flights from the nearest airport to Seattle. That should be Halifax International. Whoever grabbed the skull would most likely know to move quickly to stay ahead of me. She has always been keen to know the location of any pack she can find. She will want to execute them all. I should let her! And find me a flight to Seattle. Bump a passenger, put me on first standby. By the time I touch down, I expect you to have a list of names and addresses. Anyone who came into Halifax between the time I showed you the location of the skull, and the time you went back. Who then left from Halifax to Seattle shortly after your visit. And God help us if the thief used any other route, this will be difficult to track if that is the case."

"Got it, Luke! I'll have that for you by the time you arrive. Give me fifteen minutes, and I'll have a flight for you out of Halifax to Seattle."

"Good," Luke replied. "Call me when you have my flight plan."

"Yes, sir!" Badger's voice was almost back to normal. Luke hung up the call. He tried not to let his fury get the better of him. His new batch of assistants were less reliable, less aware of danger. It was hard to find good help any more. He had to think about whether he was going to end Badger's service to him. It was problematic; Badger knew too much. If Luke didn't watch over him, his existence would be too tempting for Luke's enemies. If he kept Badger, he would have to find a new identity for him, a new home, and get him relocated. If he decided to find a different assistant, he would have to execute Badger. There were two primary laws that his species was judged by; do not allow humans to discover you, and do not harm humans. Badger was not a human. Like Luke, and all Luke's people throughout the world, Badger was Homo lupanthrus; a werewolf. A remnant of the interspecies gene-splicing experiments the extra-terrestrial Anunnaki had performed to perfect their ability to cross-pollinate their own species. They used what they learned to colonize planets that they would otherwise be unsuited for, biologically. Of course, since Badger wasn't human, the second directive didn't apply. Luke was free to injure or execute any Homo lupanthrus that was a threat to the species, or a threat to either of the two laws. Badger was pushing it, with this transgression. The crystal skulls held enormous amounts of information Luke had used, over the years, to do his job as chief protector and judge of all the werewolves throughout the world. To have that information fall into the wrong hands was disastrous. Luke would have to get the skull back, then eliminate anyone who had learned of its contents. He would suspend judgment on Badger, for now, and wait to see how well the boy handled this crisis.