Chapter Nine

Prelude: A week has passed since ALEXA WOODS’ unfortunate demise. Just as JASON predicted, during that week KIDA, KILLIAN and NEMO undergo their First Change. DOM is gracious enough to offer his family’s estate as refuge. As one of the few estates in San Francisco that actually has surrounding land, it’s privacy ensures their First Changes don’t endanger any of the citizens of San Francisco. They all turn under the new moon. LALEH finds her way safely back to the team. DANI spends her nights at the estate, but takes advantage of their “leave” from the FBI to spend some time with her brother during the day, catching up and doing her best to repair their relationship. As the week comes to a close, the team makes their way to Treasure Island. A moot has been called by the Night Sisters to celebrate the discovery of five new Uratha and the team is officially introduced to the rest of the packs in the San Francisco area. – the Bone Gnawers, the Get of Fenris, the Harbingers of Day and the Lords of the Gate. It is time for the new Uratha to petition for membership into a tribe. After the successful completion of their individual trials, they will be able to officially form a pack and claim territory in San Francisco if they so choose.''

Chapter 9

To be a Blood Talon…

DOM is the first to undergo his trial. The Get of Fenris tell him he needs to prove he has the strength of a Blood Talon by enduring a “beat down” executed by the pack. How long he lasts will determine his worthiness to be a member of the tribe. DOM stands resolutely in the center as the five werewolves surround him. Starting with DESMOND, their Alpha, they each take a shot. DOM endures each blow without wavering, even the blow by the packmate known for his dirty fighting tactics - not necessarily honorable, but effective. As each blow lands, DOM resists the urge to fight back. But why? Is that truly what it means to be a Blood Talon? Blood Talons are known as the most vicious of all the tribes. A Blood Talon would not turn the other cheek if he was being attacked. It didn’t make sense, and it certainly was against DOM’s nature. Wasn’t the point of all of this to be true to yourself? As the first round comes to a close, DESMOND sneers at DOM. “What do you have to say for yourself?” DOM squares his shoulders as he comes to a decision. Instead of answering the Alpha with words, he balls his fist and lands a solid blow square on DESMOND’s chiseled jaw. Blood splatters from the Alpha’s mouth followed by a couple of teeth. DESMOND smiles knowingly as he spits more blood from his mouth and holds up a hand. The rest of his pack backs down. “He’s good.”

''To be a Bone Shadow, Iron Master or Storm Lord…''

NEMO petitions for membership into the Bone Shadows and is tasked by the Night Sisters to discover where the vampire, MASON makes his lair and provide proof of her discovery. KILLIAN feels the call of the Iron Masters, and is tasked by DAMIEN KINGSLEY to discreetly deliver a letter into the hands of EDWIN COLTAIL, the face of American Hawk Security. KIDA, acting on a dream that has been haunting her, decides to petition the Storm Lords. All three of them are told they are allowed to ask for assistance from the more experienced members of their team, namely DOM (since he has already completed his trial), DANI and JASON. NEMO decides to ask DANI for assistance. KILLIAN decides to complete his trial alone. KIDA’s trial has not been decided yet, but she is told if she wishes to assist NEMO with her trial, she will be given her own agenda to complete while assisting. MASON has already proven himself to be a formidable force, and KIDA decides NEMO and DANI may need her help. She agrees to the Storm Lords’ terms and is tasked with discovering MASON’s weakness. The three of them sit down together as NEMO tries to figure out where to start. DANI suggests they start by considering the places they have already encountered MASON - the children’s hospital, WAHNSINNIG’s private office, and Alcatraz. Perhaps they could track him from one of those locations. In typical NEMO fashion, NEMO takes DANI’s advice a step further. “Well, vampires like dark, scary places, right? And Alcatraz is a dark and scary place. I say we start there.”

As the ladies prepare to depart for Alcatraz, KILLIAN heads back to the mainland to access FBI resources. EDWIN COLTAIL’s official address is listed as the TransAmerican Pyramid. If he has a private address, it is unlisted. KILLIAN decides to do a facial recognition search throughout the city to discover places EDWIN frequents, and perhaps use that to triangulate a private address. He has better success than anticipated, and actually gets a hit on EDWIN around a private estate located on the north side of the Bay. KILLIAN decides stake-out the residence and makes his way to the estate. After he positions himself at an appropriate vantage point, he can’t help but feel there is something off about the mansion the longer he looks at it. KILLIAN can’t quite put his finger on it. He watches as a car drives up the driveway. A stately elderly gentleman gets out of the vehicle and gathers some bags from the trunk. He appears to be some sort of butler or manservant, but the size and number of packages he is able to carry seem far too heavy for a man of his advanced years. KILLIAN watches as the gentleman approaches the front door. As he enters the mansion, KILLIAN notices something else odd. Even though the front of the mansion is decorated with large elegant windows, once the gentleman enters, he does not see him pass in front of any of those windows. It is as if the gentleman walks in and disappears. Intrigued, KILLIAN decides to give Meagan a call to if she might be able to join him and provide some insight from a magical perspective. Unfortunately, she informs him she is in the middle of a deposition and unable to break away. She promises to join KILLIAN as soon as she is able. Disappointed, KILLIAN gives into his curiosity and decides to approach the front door.

NEMO, KIDA and DANI are able to sneak onto Alcatraz unnoticed later that evening. The ferry that takes tourists to the island has closed down for the day, and only the park rangers responsible for its care and upkeep remain. They live on the island, and most have turned in for the night. The three Uratha are able to enter the main prison after NEMO works her magic. KIDA picks up a blood trail once they are inside. They follow it to an abandoned office with a large hole in the wall leading down below. All the furniture in the office has been unceremoniously shoved against the wall save for a single chair that sits in the middle of the room. The smell of blood is strongest on and around the chair. NEMO takes a quick look inside the hole and realizes there is a steep drop-off not too far in. Large claw marks mar the inside of the hole leading up from the drop-off, like something claws its way out regularly. She is about to investigate further, when they hear footsteps coming down the hall. The three of them quickly hide, just in time to avoid the notice of a park ranger that enters the office. He walks over to the chair and stares at it a moment, then removes his shirt and sits down with a heavy sigh. Intrigued, the three Uratha remain hidden and observe. The ranger does not seem to be aware of them. It’s not long before they can hear rustling and scraping coming from the direction of the hole. Something is climbing up from below. In a few minutes, MASON’s large frame fills the hole as he steps into the room. He pauses a moment, then moves toward the ranger, who exposes his neck willingly to the dark knight. “Leave now!” MASON growls at the ranger.

Taken aback, the man stutters. “But…why? I can do better. I promise. Please don’t turn me away!”

“LEAVE!!!” MASON demands. The man cowers and scuttles out of the room quickly, disappearing down the hallway. Once he is out of sight, MASON turns around abruptly and crosses the room, yanking DANI out of her hiding place and pinning her up against the wall by her throat, preventing her from speaking. He snaps his head in the direction of KIDA’s hiding place. “Why are you here?!” KIDA steps out of her hiding place, admirably maintaining her composure as she thinks quickly. NEMO remains hidden close to the entrance of the hole. It doesn’t appear the dark knight knows she is here.

“We…uh wanted to let you know we delivered your message to LEIDECKER.” KIDA explains. Out of the corner of her eye, KIDA sees NEMO’s shadowy figure move closer to the entrance of the hole and realizes her friend intends to take advantage of the fact that MASON is currently distracted and sneak into his lair.

“So, you do work for him…” MASON snarls as NEMO disappears down the hole silently behind him. DANI tries to shake her head in denial, but can’t move. As far as DANI is concerned, she has been using LIEDECKER and the FBI to get closer to the people her vision told her to seek out. She has no true loyalty to the mage himself.

Unfortunately, KIDA nods her head, “We do work for the FBI, and LEIDECKER is the head of the FBI.” She is about to elaborate further, when MASON interrupts her.

“Spies! You are not welcome here! Come here again, and I will kill you!” With that, he throws DANI bodily through the glass window of the office and onto the rocks below. KIDA backs away and turns to leave once she is in the hallway. She can hear MASON taking his anger out on some hapless pieces of furniture behind her. That didn’t go well… Hopefully NEMO will have better luck, if she can stay out of sight. For now, she needed find DANI and make sure she was okay.

NEMO lands harshly on the floor of a large cavern. Thank goodness for werewolf regeneration…otherwise she would be a pancake! She can hear the heated words of MASON and KIDA up above, followed by a loud crash and the sound of glass shattering. Moving quickly, she brushes herself off and looks around. She feels like she has just landed in the middle of a museum. Artifacts that span several centuries are carefully preserved throughout the enormous cavern, not the least of which is a large pipe organ that dominates one side. NEMO starts using her cell phone to snap some pictures. There is no signal down here, but the camera still works. This would be her proof. There is a large pool of water in the middle of the cavern. Eventually the noise above NEMO dies down. MASON could be returning any moment. Unfortunately, NEMO didn’t see any other exits from the cavern. If she climbed back up the hole, chances were good she would be discovered. Taking a deep breath, NEMO secures her phone and dives into the pool of water, swimming down for what seems like forever. Good thing her phone was waterproof…

As KILLIAN lays his hand cautiously on the doorknob of the large mansion, he is pleasantly surprised to find it is unlocked. Steeling his nerves, he opens the door quietly and steps inside. As soon as he closes the door behind him, his world shifts and KILLIAN finds himself on top of a mountain, standing in front of the entrance to a large cave. The butler is nowhere to be seen. KILLIAN shakes his head in wonder. No turning back now… He enters the cave slowly. Shortly beyond the entrance, KILLIAN sees the beginnings of a roughly hewn stone staircase. It spirals down into the darkness below. KILLIAN begins his descent, trusting his newly evolved senses not to lead him astray. About halfway down, he can see a dim light below. As he approaches the bottom, he can hear strange guttural noises echoing from a long stone hallway. It almost sounds like some sort of primitive language. The hallway ends in a large cavern and KILLIAN can see small humanoid shapes moving back and forth amongst flickering lights. Keeping himself hidden, he moves down the hallway, shifting into his wolf form. He holds the letter gingerly in his mouth. The small humanoids become clearer as he approaches. He can only describe them as… well… lizard folk? One of them seems particularly proud that he has a large cave rat as a pet. The flickering lights are coming from…computer screens? The lizard folk seem to be monitoring them, and KILLIAN can see images all around San Francisco flitting across the screens – some kind of weird surveillance system. Fascinating! Maybe he could track down EDWIN on one of those. Time to flex his new wolf muscles. KILLIAN shifts up to his large wolf form and strolls confidently into the room. The lizard folk scatter fearfully when they behold his visage… exactly what he hoped they would do. Only the large cave rat remains. To his surprise, it turns to face him and hisses, then moves to attack. Really?!

KILLIAN drops the letter and moves to intercept the rat. He makes quick work of it and then realizes with chagrin that while he was battling the rat, one of the lizard folk crept forward and is now inspecting the letter. “Don’t you dare!” KILLIAN barks. The lizard man squeals in terror, grabs the letter, and runs. An overwhelming urge to hunt wells up within KILLIAN and he charges after it. “Oh, no you don’t!!” It doesn’t take him long to run down the creature and reclaim his letter. He returns to the strange computers and shifts back up to his human form to take control of one, scanning San Francisco for EDWIN. Was it some sort of magic? KILLIAN manages to find EDWIN in record time. He is feeling very proud of himself…until he realizes EDWIN is standing right behind him. EDWIN clears his throat, amused as KILLIAN turns to face him.

“May I ask what you’re doing here?”

KIDA makes her way outside of the prison and back down to the rocky shore. She combs the area looking for DANI and soon stumbles across a freshwater pool slightly inland. She can see a crevice at the bottom of the pool that could lead to an underwater tunnel. It is pointed back toward the prison. Could it be? Maybe this was another way into the vampire’s lair. She still needed to find MASON’s weakness and NEMO might need her help escaping. KIDA dives in to investigate. Indeed, the crevice does cover an underwater tunnel. KIDA starts swimming through the tunnel. She can make out the dim shape of a humanoid figure swimming toward her from the opposite direction. NEMO? As the two draw closer together, KIDA’s hair stands on end. Something feels different about this section of the tunnel. She reaches out toward NEMO and their hands seem to pass through each other. Then, NEMO surges forward. Something shimmers, and NEMO is by KIDA’s side, completely solid again. That was something worth investigating further… later. For now, the two swim back to the surface together and climb sputtering out onto the shore. They find DANI a short while later. She’s pretty beat up, but functional. A piece of glass is lodged deep in her shoulder. The three return to the mainland. DANI heads home briefly to change clothes and tend to her wounds. KIDA and NEMO return to the Night Sisters on Treasure Island. NEMO proudly shares her pictures, but is told they are not sufficient evidence. A witness will need to corroborate her story. KIDA asks to comb through them. Perhaps there was something in the pictures that would reveal a weakness? She notices in one of the pictures there is a sketchbook sitting on top of the pipe organ. There appears to be a humanoid shape sketched on it with care, but it is too small to reveal any details, perhaps a woman? KIDA decides to take the camera to the FBI to get the picture enhanced. She is told it will take at least eight hours. Frustrated, she meets back up with NEMO and DANI. After some discussion, the three head back to Alcatraz. KIDA decides it would be quicker to go down into the lair herself and see the sketchbook firsthand. DANI agrees to go with her and NEMO says she will keep watch at the edge of the inland pool.

KILLIAN returns triumphantly to Treasure Island with an acknowledgment letter from EDWIN COLTAIL. The businessman had seemed rather amused about the whole situation once KILLIAN explained himself. EDWIN had escorted KILLIAN back upstairs and “off the mountain,” but did warn him not to return uninvited. There was obviously a lot more to EDWIN COLTAIL than met the eye. KILLIAN had walked off EDWIN’s lawn buck naked to a perplexed Meagan, who was waiting by his car. He hadn’t quite figured out how to get his clothes to transform with him, and so they were left behind somewhere in the mountain. He would have to ask DANI how she did that. The important thing was that he had passed his trial and was now accepted into the Iron Masters.

DANI and KIDA descend once more into the underwater tunnel while NEMO keeps watch above. The second time they pass through the strange section of the tunnel, KIDA realizes what is happening. They have just entered a verge, “a place that isn’t” – it’s on a different plane of existence, similar to walking through the Shadow and seeing a reflection of the real world. KIDA wonders if MASON realizes what he has as they surface inside the large cavern. The dark knight doesn’t appear to be home. The two exit the pool cautiously and make their way toward the pipe organ. NEMO was right – it was like walking through a museum. A human skeleton sits at the pipe organ with its bony fingers resting upon the keys. DANI is so fascinated by what surrounds them that she stumbles over some loose rocks on the cavern floor just as KIDA reaches for the sketchbook. Not a woman, but a young girl between 6 and 8 years of age is scrawled lovingly on the parchment with amazing detail. Below her picture is a single word, “Ange.” KIDA cringes as the rocks at DANI’s feet scatter loudly. At the same time, the skeleton reaches its hand up and grabs KIDA’s wrist. The bone takes on muscle and sinew, then flesh as MASON now towers over KIDA. He does not look happy.

The Story Continues…

Current Developments - Chapter Eight - Chapter Ten