The Delacours

twenty-three.

                There were only a few days left before the wolf attack and we still weren't sure how we were going to take care of it. I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize, but I answered the phone anyway.

"Hello?"

"Lieutenant of Massachusetts, Miss Delacour!" It was the Magister. Shit.

"Yes, Madame Magister?"

"You can call me Anna, now, Miss Delacour."

"Only if you call me Liz. How can I help you?"

"I was wondering why your Sheriff hasn't been returning my calls? I had someone stop by her house, but no one was home. What's going on?" I had to take a deep breath. For a second there, I had forgotten that Odette was gone.

"Uhm... Madame – Anna, Odette didn't survive the fight ... with the fae," I said slowly, trying to hold back tears.

"What? Where is her body?"

"...We gave her a... we gave her the funeral she deserved."

"And what was that, pray tell?"

"We gave her a Norse funeral. You know... what the wolves do."

"And why on Earth would you give her a wolf funeral? She was a vampire!"

"Where else were we going to put her body!? She'd had her heart ripped out and I couldn't leave her body there. Vampires don't even do anything for their dead! She deserved something special!" I heard the Magister take a deep breath.

"You and I need to meet to face to face about what we're going to do about this wolf attack. As Odette is dead, you are now acting Sheriff until I can appoint someone better suited. There will be someone to pick you up in fifteen minutes." I heard a click on the phone and smashed mine down. The screen shattered into a million pieces, some of the glass shards embedding into my hand. I watched as the glass was pushed out by my skin healing itself and grabbed the broom to clean up the glass with.

As she said, in fifteen minutes there was a black car outside. A vampire in a suit and driver's hat knocked on the door. I left a note on the counter in case anyone wondered where I was and told them I didn't have a phone. I got into the car – the Magister was already sitting inside.

"Why was I not informed of Odette's death? Were you planning to tell me at all?" She was angry, almost too angry as if she was using that anger to hide something.

"Of course I was, but I haven't had the time, Anna. When she died, we had... maybe ten hours or so to collect our dead and prepare for the Eminence's arrival. I didn't think to call you."

"You know... She was to be my successor." I could hear the Magister choke up a little. Her anger was hiding pain.

"She told me. She said she was gonna be the Magister and that I was going to take over as Sheriff of Massachusetts."

"Yes, that is true. So right now, we need a game plan. The Sheriffs in our surrounding jurisdictions are already giving up. What are we going to do?"

"You're giving me the lead on this? How am I even qualified to do this? I have no idea!" I suddenly felt Val's frustrations and fear of being a leader.

"Liz, I need to tell you a truth, one that Odette took to her grave. Most of our Sheriffs have zero fucking idea how to combat a wolf, including myself actually. We need your guidance. You and Christopher have survived wolf attacks. You are the closest I have to an expert in the matter!"