Slogging through the 900 page document that was the Argent's Bestiary would have been a challenge even if it wasn't written in Archaic Latin. Google translate wasn't equipped to understand syntactic phrases the way humans did, and Latin texts were full of metaphors that turned translation into a hellish job for people, never mind machines.
First, I'd had to find someone who spoke Latin. It took two hours for me to get in touch with some Latin enthusiast in the department of humanities in some University in England, but when I e-mailed him about this 'story book' I'd been given he was more than happy to translate it for me.
I decided to spend the morning in the coffee shop that had free Wi-Fi and decent coffee while I waited for e-mail after e-mail of translations. They came in bits and pieces, some parts taking longer to translate than others, but every bit of information I got was as strange as the one before it.
Like the wolf, its power is greatest at the moon's peak.
Like the wolf, the Kanima is a social creature but where the wolf seeks a pack the Kanima seeks a master.
The Kanima, a weapon of vengeance, is used to carry out the bidding of its master.
The Kanima was once used by a South American priest who took it upon himself to rid his village of all murderers. The bond between master and servant grew stronger until the will of the master became that of the Kanima's and whoever the priest deemed unworthy, the Kanima served its vengeance.
The Kanima is a mutation of the werewolf gene that cannot fully transform until it resolves that in its past which manifests it.
It was riveting, sure, but it was more worrying than anything. A weapon of vengeance used to carry out the bidding of its master... so we weren't just looking for some giant lizard, but also whoever was controlling it, and then what? Resolve that in its past that manifested it? Did we have to give the Kanima therapy?
My phone ringing distracted me from the laptop and I dug it out of my pocket and answered it without seeing who it was. I didn't even get the chance to say hello before the voice on the other end of the line was yelling.
"You can't do this!" Scott's voice exploded from my phone, angry and frantic. I winced and moved the phone away from my ear, holding it at a distance that wouldn't deafen me.
"Do what?" I asked, bewildered, and Scott gave a frustrated groan.
"Whatever it is you guys are going to do to Lydia - you can't! Derek needs to let me handle this!"
I pinched the bridge of my nose against the impending headache. My eyes were aching from staring at my laptop for so long and Scott's nonsensical shouting wasn't helping. "Scott, I seriously have no idea what you're talking about."
"They think Lydia is the Kanima."
"Who does? Derek?"
"Yes!" Scott was yelling again. "They gave her some of the venom and she - well she didn't react but that doesn't mean anything!" There was a pause before he said, rather desperately, "You have to help me. Please!"
Things still weren't making sense; from the tense conversation I had with Derek last night I'd assumed Jackson was Kanima suspect number 1. "What about Jackson? He didn't become a werewolf either."
"Derek already tested him - he said a snake can't be poisoned by its own venom and since Jackson was paralyzed and Lydia wasn't he thinks it's her!" I sighed, ready to tell Scott that that was pretty damning evidence, but then he said, "They're going to kill her! Derek's already here!"
YOU ARE READING
Appetite for Destruction
FanfictionEveryone in Beacon Hills knew about Hale House fire. They knew it had killed all but four members of the entire family, who then disappeared without a trace. They knew that six years later, Laura Hale's body was found in the woods, and Derek and Gin...
