Coven of Wolves (11 page)

I'm dumbfounded. After my experience with Malik I'm very hesitant to accept any offers to replace him. I can sense though on every level that Anna offered the invite from a place of complete kindness. To decline the offer would insult the hospitality she and Mika have already shown us. Also, additional knowledge can only help us defeat whatever the old coven has in store for us come October. I mull around the opportunity for a few more moments and agree to the proposal. Smiles abound on everyone's faces.

Mika then says, "I'll do you one better. I saw the way you were looking at that sword before. I'm actually trained to use one. I'll teach you how to use it, if you're interested."

"Sure! That would be awesome!"

Fenrus woofs happily in response.

• • •

The next couple weeks fly by quickly. In the mornings we'd all have breakfast at Mika's apartment, after which we'd go upstairs to Anna's apartment where Tobias and Mika would sit in on my lessons with Anna. It was like starting school all over again. I quickly learned that Malik's way of approaching the Craft was similar to how an overzealous football coach would teach P.E. to a group of junior high kids. Anna's style of teaching was very much opposite. She took the time to walk me through each lesson at my own pace, without judgment or criticism. The lessons tended to lean more toward metaphysical philosophy than Malik's straight forward "this is how you cast this spell" training, but I was loving it. I began learning more about the history of Wicca and where different types of magic come from. During our lesson on Egyptian magic I eventually was able to met Anna's familiar, the very majestic Sekhmet. His beautiful sleek ginger coat almost radiates, and his yellow eyes are mesmerizing. The family magic he possesses reminds me of the strength I feel when near Malik's amulet. As Fenrus wasn't able to visit Anna's apartment too often due to the tribe of cats living there being skittish of his canine form, Sekhmet would often appear in Mika's domain to visit with Fenrus, forming a bond between the two of them.

In a hidden room in Anna's apartment Anna shows me an elaborate shrine to both her goddesses, Isis and Bastet. The room is beautifully decorated and looks to be an exact replica of a room found in an ancient Egyptian temple. She explains that during her meditation period Sekhmet and the other cats would gather with her in the devotional room. Being able to see into other realms, the cats help Anna focus her energies and thus allow her to access her visions with better clarity. During the tour I'm happy to discover that Ms. Whiskers has officially joined Anna's cat pack. When she would see me, she would immediately come over to tell me about some new discovery she'd found in the house, or about how wonderful the sun felt when she would lay out on the roof. Without fail though she would always end her stories with how wonderful Sekhmet is and how lucky he would be to have her as a mate. I don't have the heart to tell her that he's not really a cat.

After my lessons with Anna, we'd break for one of Anna's delicious lunches and then play a round of Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit. Tobias really seemed to enjoy this time as it was something he did with his parents when they were alive. His experience showed as he usually won 2 out of 3 times a game.

After our food would settle, Mika would then take Tobias and I back to her apartment for sword training. At first I was afraid that we'd have to practice with real swords and that one of us would get hurt. Fortunately Mika had Tobias and I train with bamboo rods and not the real thing. I caught on pretty fast to the various stances and blocks. Tobias managed to get a lot down as well but due to his weak moments had to sit out on several classes. Turns out that Mika was trained most of her life in a martial art called Jujutsu. She said that her training was due to her mother's experience at being kidnapped by the Initiators as a girl. Because of it, her parents enrolled her in self-defense classes at a young age. After our sword lessons Mika would sometimes teach Tobias and I a few self-defense positions as well, just to keep us on our toes.

Evenings turned out to be a rotation of movie nights at Mika's apartment, or listening to Anna read from some of her favorite books upstairs. I thought it a nice balance between the past and the present. Mika's DVD collection is pretty extensive. We'd usually watch two or three movies back-to-back. Mika thought she'd break the ice by making our first movie night be werewolf themed in my honor, which consisted of us watching the films "Silver Bullet", "Bad Moon" and "Underworld". Initially I thought the idea was funny but mid-way through the films I began to focus on where some of the storylines were dead on in their werewolf lore and where some were off the mark completely. Tobias, I discovered, is a sucker for romantic comedies whereas Mika can't seem to get enough action films. The two of them made it a contest to see just how many times they could sneak the films "Steel Magnolias" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight" back into rotation over and over again.

Nights at Anna's apartment however were a whirlwind of passionate literature and music. One night we'd be listening to Anna read from Robert Frost, others it would be Jane Austen or Washington Irving or William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens. The way Anna would give each character their own voice was mesmerizing. In the background she would always play music she had grown up to. She'd place her old 78 speed records on her vintage phonograph player, delicately placing the large needle so as not to damage the disc. Sometimes we'd listen to something soft and sweet like "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" by Tommy Dorsey or "Stardust" by Artie Shaw. Other times it would be something catchy and fun like "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Al Dexter or "Rum and Coca-Cola" by The Andrew Sisters. I never wanted Anna's reading nights to end.

After the movies or book readings, if we weren't yet sleepy, all of us would then go up to the roof top deck to enjoy the city lights. The roof deck is made of a wooden floor and railings. Various cat beds and water dishes are scattered about, reminding us of the roof's usual feline sun worshipping visitors during the daylight hours. I'm told that during the day there's a great view of Alcatraz, but at night all I can see are the lights off in the distance and the beautiful flow of the bay slowly drifting under the San Francisco Bridge. Everything seems so magical as you look out into the city. The serenity and romance of the moment overtake me on each visit. Even Fenrus seems more at ease, as if the horrors of being chased by witches and werewolves were a lifetime behind us. It's only due to a bit of sleepy reluctance that we eventually leave the roof and it's beauty, making our way to a comfortable bed below only to repeat the wondrous cycle all over again the following day.

Every day I could also see Tobias grow more and more stronger. It makes me happy to know that he is getting to be his old self again. At the same time it saddens me to know it also means that our new life with Anna and Mika would probably be ending soon. I have no idea what our next move is gonna be. Do we stay here? Do we keep running? Do we confront the coven? And what about the werewolves? None of us have sensed hide nor hair of them. Was Anna right? Were we able to hide from them after all? I decide I need to bite the bullet and make a decision. When I see Tobias is fully back to his old self again I wait in bed for him to arrive, to better speak in private. When he walks into the room and sees me, I can tell by the expression on his face that he knows what's coming.

"Tobias, I think it's time we plan out what our next step is going to be. I love it here, I really do, but sooner or later we're going to have to leave the building and face our demons. I need to know if you feel the same way."

Tobias takes in a big sigh and sits on the bed. "The truth is Devin, I'm scared. I have no idea what's going to happen to us once we leave. There's a chance we might be able to live our lives in hiding but they'll always be out there looking for us. You said that Malik is planning to attack us on All Hollow's Eve. What if we wait it out here with Anna until then, then make it out on our own after?"

"We can do that", I say, "but what about Anna and Mika? Wouldn't that put them in danger?"

"Both of them have said repeatedly that we can stay with them for as long as we want. They both also know about the All Hollow's Eve attack. If Anna has faith in her protection spells then I do too. 100%."

"Fine.", I submit. "We'll stay here until a few days after All Hollow's Eve. But what then? Where do you think we should go afterwards?"

Tobias looks at me. "Something tells me you already have an answer to that question."

I bite my lower lip. The truth is, after seeing my father and his new family, the desire to confront him has played on my mind quite a bit. Not just over the hurt feelings that he's happily moved on without mom or me, but also for having some sort of tie to a group of monsters who tried to kill me and Tobias. Tobias is only just getting his full health back. I couldn't throw him into another situation where something like that could happen again, or worse. Still, I know that Tobias deserves to know the truth. I tell Tobias about my out of body travel to the werewolf compound again, but this time I include the part about seeing my father among them with his new family. When I'm done I remain silent, waiting to see his reaction.

"I figured you were holding back something about your dad, but I had no idea it was anything like this. It puts a whole new spin on things. Devin, you have to tell Anna what you've learned. If your dad really is running with the wolves, maybe she can use her vision to find out more about why he's with them."

"Tobias, I've already taken so much from Anna. I don't want to mire her down with more of my personal drama. It's not fair."

"Fair? Your dad is in league with a pack of blood-thirsty assassins who tried to kill us and you're debating semantics on what's fair? Devin, look at the big picture here. Once we're out of San Francisco, we're on our own. Forget Malik for a moment and think about this: if the werewolves do end up finding us and they realize one of the persons they're after is the son of one of their allies...what do you think they're going to do to your dad and his new family? Or let's say they already know about the connection with your father and he's in on it, doesn't it bother you to know why he'd let them go through with it and not do anything to stop them?"

And there it was. The thoughts I've been repressing, said allowed. I feel like I'm going to be sick. Part of me is afraid my father could be killed because of my desire to confront him, and the rest is afraid that for whatever reason he wants me as dead as the werewolves do. Either scenario would devastate to me completely.

"I don't know what to do Tobias. This has been eating me up inside. I feel I have to know what's going on but there's a huge part of me that doesn't think I have the strength to face some of that truth. You're probably right. I should go to Anna. I know you'd never leave me to fend for myself but I also can't face those monsters and see you hurt again either."

"You're sweet Devin, but I'm a lot stronger than you're giving me credit for. Yeah, that asshole did peg me good but he also got me when I wasn't expecting it. Next time around, you better bet I'm gonna have my guard up. In case you haven't noticed, I'm one bad ass witch."

I start laughing out loud in response, which makes Tobias grin largely.

"Alright, point taken. Tobias cool, werewolves lame. Got it."

"Good. Now, do you want to go to Anna now or wait until the morning?"

"Morning. There's something else I'd rather do right now, especially since seeing you're back to full strength."

Tobias grins again. "Oh?"

I grin back. "Oh."

The two of us fall into the pillows kissing, each both nervous and excited at what's to come next.

• • •

The next morning Tobias and I wake up an hour earlier than usual to catch Anna and Mika before they head downstairs to begin breakfast. Mika answers our knock and opens the door wide enough for us to walk through. Once inside I spot Sekhmet sitting regally atop one of Anna's couches. Our earlier than usual presence has obviously confused him. His eyes dart down to our legs, most likely hoping to see Fenrus with us. Knowing that Anna's cat pack haven't yet taken to the roof for their daily sunning, I thought it best Fenrus stay behind in Mika's apartment. Staying one floor below, the cats won't be so agitated, but Fenrus will still be mentally close enough to be aware of what is going to be discussed. Anna enters from another room wearing her trademark crisp white blouse and antique cameo affixed to its high collared neck. She clasps her hands in front of her with a blank expression on her face. The silence is palpable and I wonder if she already knows what I'm about to say.

"Good morning Anna. I have something I need to share with you and Mika."

Anna remains silent but motions to one of the living room couches. I feel a bit uneasy but am happy to feel Tobias slip his hand into mine for support. We sit on the couch together while Anna and Mika take the two arm chairs facing our direction.

"Do you already know what I'm about to say?" I ask.

Anna's face breaks into a subtle side grin. "Not fully but I have my suspicions. Please, what do you have to share?"

I gulp down the excess saliva and look toward Tobias. He squeezes my hand and nods his head to go on. I look at Anna and Mika and continue.

"I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you. When I told you my spirit self found the werewolf compound a few weeks ago, there was a little more to the story. The reason why I had so hard of a time returning to my body is because something shocked me. Right before I lost consciousness I saw a car approach the wolves' safe-house. When it stopped, a family stepped out to greet them; a father, mother and a teenage son. I've never seen the woman or boy before but the man...he was my father".

Anna nods and looks at me, as if to continue. I do.

"I wasn't able to sense if he was simply an outside ally or if he had anything to do with our attack. Like I said, he left mine and my mother's lives when I was 6. I tried finding him when I left Arizona but I never was able to track down anything. I'm really sorry for keeping this from you but it was really hard for me to come to terms with it myself. That's really no excuse but I hope you can understand why I did it."