We had daily meetings at Le Morsel. I learned more in a month about Nikolai from Darren than I've gotten in the past seven years, Nikolai was heavily guarded. After every meeting I would go out on my own and ask some of the underground sources that I used for intel to confirm whether or not Darren was telling the truth, thus far every story was corroborated by one of my sources.
Let's start with his first in command. The Djinn.
The Djinn or shall I say Jinniyah the female version of a Djinn, Maurell is his right hand.
Djinn's power comes from the magical markings on their skin, the more markings they have the more power they possess. Each marking also gives them a different ability; like mind control, souls sucking and many more horrible things. They also grant wishes but in twisted and evil ways. They feed off the pain created by these "wishes". In reality, they weren't wishes but more like your worst nightmares manifesting in a made-up world that you could get trapped in if you're not careful. Many of the Djinn's victims give into the temptation to end the pain.
Next in line we had. The General of his army.
Dominic the blood sucking bastard that killed Jay.
Many eons ago there was a great war, Nikolai killed all the Originals in this war which lasted centuries. The Originals were well exactly that, the first of their kind. Some speculate that Nikolai is the last remaining Original, others speculate that he was a First born that turned against his master.
He killed all of them, wanting to be the most powerful. Killing them also gave him control of their first-born.
They are also exactly what the name says, the first ones that came after the Originals. Dominic is the first-born Vampire and Maurell the first-born Djinn. There was also a rumour that the Originals were too hard to control and that's why he eliminated them from existence.
The rest of the first-born are spread all over the world doing his bidding. As to what Nikolai is and how to stop him, that remains a mystery.
The attacks on me also stopped, Darren started assisting me with hunts and how can I put this lightly, we put the fear of God in anyone who thought they could kill me.
For the first time in years, things were finally looking up. Which could only mean one thing; something big was coming.
"You've become really boring Al." Darren commented.
I looked up from the Bestiary.
A Bestiary is a book of sorts; this specific one? Let's just say it's the encyclopaedia of everything supernatural.
"Oh, really and why is that?" I asked confused
"I don't know you're always working; you were so much more fun in high school."
"You realize I'm a detective and a hunter fighting for the greater good, I wouldn't really call that boring."
He took my hand. "Let's take a break for today, let's go do something fun. We're not getting any more information on Nikolai today."
I pulled my hand away from his "I don't think so."
"Common Al, we've been going nonstop for more than a month, just one day that we think about something other than the great big bad of the world."
I was exhausted, and maybe a change of scenery would jog some new ideas loose.
"Okay, but only if I choose the activity," I said, smiling at him.
"Okay?" a small frown crossed his features
"Can you say paintball?"
He started shaking his head.
"I've seen you shoot, you're a scary good shot, and I don't stand a chance."
I started laughing.
"You're a Lycan, you have heightened senses. Let's see who's better?"
He looked me squarely in the eyes
"You know I love to gamble. What's your price Da Silva?"
I thought about it for a few more seconds.
"Loser has to go streaking in the park tonight."
He bolted up excitedly.
"If you want to see me naked all you have to do is ask Al, I'll do that for free."
"So, you're forfeiting already, thought you'd put up a better fight. I must say I'm a bit disappointed." I replied smiling.
He leaned in closer and softly whispered.
"I never give up without a fight."
We drove over to the paintball arena or whatever you call it, smack talking to each other the entire ride over. The Arena had packed out a maze using old barrels, crates and virtually anything they could find, creating an interesting course and a lot of hiding places, an advantage for me.
All my life people have been underestimating me; firstly, I'm a woman and secondly because I'm small.
I decided to embrace it knowing when to use it. I've also realized that because they completely underestimate me all logic and strategy go out the window.
I had to admit paintballing against a Lycan was quite the challenge; Darren was fast and at first I was losing really badly, I made the Titanic look like it had won an Academy award, the ship, not the movie because the movie actually did win an Academy award.
But one thing he didn't have going for him was the fact that I was trained and a good shot.
He was predictable. In all fairness, I had years and years of training which included a S.W.A.T training course so even with all his jacked-up senses he still didn't stand a chance against me. And a deal was a deal.
He ran butt naked through the park as the sun was just setting.
The kaleidoscope of colours danced on the horizon, some of the sun rays flared through the Cityscape giving a moment of warmth, then it was gone leaving behind the cold crisp air. I smiled; at this moment, my life wasn't an actual horror movie. I was just a girl having the time of her life with a boy.
I felt so bad for the wolf boy and decided it'll be harmless to let him dry off and warm up at our apartment.
"The bathroom's through there. There are fresh towels in the cupboard."
I said pointing to my bedroom. He disappeared into the room. If you'd told me a month ago that I would have the ex-love of my life in my shower, I would have told you some elaborate scheme, like I'd rather die ice fishing in Alaska than have Darren anywhere near me. But it was nice after, Darren betrayed me, which is all forgiven now; I couldn't understand how I was so stupid to have fallen in love with him.
But now I understand.
How could I have not fallen prey to all his charms? Not to mention his devil may care attitude. I'm always so busy saving people that I've forgotten what it's like to do something just for the hell of it. Darren reminds me of that part of me. He brought out my inner child.
"Is there a man in your shower?"
April said standing in the doorway. I was caught up in thought I didn't even hear her enter which was bad on my part. I couldn't allow myself to get distracted; not with things that were constantly trying to kill me. Even though I knew our apartment was probably the safest place on earth, I also knew that protection wards can be broken or penetrated.
"I can see you're waging a mental battle, so I'll repeat the question; is there a guy in your shower?"
She said, smiling at me.
"Yes." I simply replied.
Excitement lit up on her face.
"Oh, you naughty girl. I'm so proud of you." Realization hit, April thought that this was a sex thing, which it most definitely was not.
"No, no, it's not like that," I said, shaking my head.
"It's Darren."
She smiled even more broadly, clearly this only made things worse.
"I can see that we're so not on the same page. Hell, we're not even in the same book. Nothing happened." I tried to reassure her.
"Aw, now I feel hurt."
Darren said from behind April, he was standing in a towel, water dripping from his hair. I couldn't help but stare at his perfect athletic physique; he boasted abs chiselled to perfection. April and I both just stared at him.
"I mean literally, don't ever play paintball with her, she's crazy."
He turned around and started walking back into the bedroom. It took us both at least a few minutes to start moving again.
"Paintball huh?" April asked, still clearly in a dream state. I snapped my fingers before her eyes "I think you're drooling."
She smiled at me "I don't remember him being so manly, and sexy."
I just laughed at her. But she was right Darren wasn't a boy anymore he was now an extremely sexy man in all senses of the word.
"You want some cocoa?" I asked the now dressed Darren. He was tying his shoelaces.
"Tempting but I've got to get going; I still have an errand to run."
I felt a pang of disappointment but quickly shook it off. Not because I would miss him or even enjoyed his company, but because this was the most fun that I'd had in a long time.
I walked him to the door.
"Today was actually fun. Thank you!" I said, giving him the world's most awkward hug.
He smiled at me clearly amused by my attempt at being normal but hugged me back.
"Anytime, I'll see you around Woodward."
Woodward was my high school pet name when we started dating. We decided we wanted different nicknames for one another, so we settled on an epic journalistic duo, Woodward, and Bernstein. They are to this day two of the most famous journalists in America. This was back when we both had an interest in journalism.
I smiled at him.
"See you, Bernstein."
A strange sensation swept over, something I hadn't felt in years, but I was not ready to admit it just yet, but for now, I'll ignore those feelings and focus on more important matters at hand. I shut the door behind me and let out a loud sigh.
"You totally like him!" April said from behind me like a deranged teenager.
"Don't. Do that! I nearly had a heart attack!" I replied walking over to the kitchen. We had an open floor plan, with a kitchen and living room area.
At first when we moved in the entire apartment was painted in a horrid yellow, which literally hurt my eyes. But now it was a sort of dark green blue, I'm no interior designer, but I think our place looked great. It doesn't have a fancy marble floor with a fireplace and a great view, but it was ours.
We had a big old leather sofa or as April refers to it as a 'retro' sofa, a coffee table, a flat screen TV which is probably the most expensive thing in our apartment.
Other than that, we had shelves filled with hundreds of books; novels, old spell books, books filled with information on the supernatural. There's an entire section dedicated to ancient languages. We had our very own hunter's library, which came in handy more often than you'd think.
"Nice way of avoiding the question,"
April replied, filling vials with some strange smelling potion she just finished making. "What is that?" I said pointing to the vials. Most days our kitchen looked like something straight out of a 17th century apothecary's workshop.
"Potions." She simply replied.
"Well thank you, captain obvious. For what?" I asked, smiling.
"Stunning."
"Stunning?" I asked, confused.
"I was out on a date and got attacked." She replied like it was nothing serious.
"Attacked? By whom?" I exclaimed.
"You do realize I'm a cop? Give me a description." I demanded.
She looked up and smiled.
"You do realize I'm a powerful Witch. I don't need your protection."
"Like I care, tell me who attacked you, was it mundane? Supernatural?"
"Wow okay relax, I'm not hurt, or anything so please just take a breath." She said holding up her hands in a defensive way.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Just the idea of someone attacking her made my blood boil, it also didn't help that there was always a small part of me that was afraid that April would lose control and possibly kill some innocent bystander.
April was different from your normal Witch and the unknown aspect of her powers and what it could unleash scared me sometimes.
The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
"I was attacked by a Warlock. I think he was trying to steal my power."
A Warlock was the male equivalent of a Witch. Although for some reason they are exceedingly rare.
"And you need potions because?"
"Because he didn't get a chance to steal my power because I used the mace you gave me. He was holding an amulet in his hand. I looked it up and found this." She said pointing to an open book in front of her.
I read the title Amulet of Duilius. April began to talk.
"It belonged to an ancient sorcerer called Duilius; he used it to steal other witches' powers for himself, he was tracked down and killed by a coven of witches eventually, his amulet, however, went missing before they killed him. There's an incantation to activate the amulet. But get this it can only be activated through someone from Duilius's bloodline."
"Oh, so before he died, he handed his amulet off to a relative and they continued the family business. Now they're coming after you. Okay, I'll help you find and stop whoever this person is. . ."
She interrupted "No you won't, Al this is my fight you've got enough on your plate already if I need anything I'll ask, promise." I could see April desperately wanted to prove that she could, in fact, take care of herself.
"Fine, but if you need anything—"
"I'll ask you." She finished my sentence.
"Okay, so why do you need stun potions?" I asked again seeing that she never actually answered my question.
"Right, so the amulet can only steal power if the host uses it, so if I use any of my powers on him to defend myself, he'll steal it and become more powerful than any other witch in the world. I'll have to warn Octavia, she'll want to know if someone was going around stealing witch powers."
Octavia was the leader of the Freya Coven. The ones who almost got April killed.
"Maybe I should go talk to her instead." I insisted.
"No, I've got to face her eventually, show her that I'm strong and that she was wrong."
April was a much better person than I ever was. I would have never helped the people who turned their backs on me, and she was right she was strong, stronger than I would ever be.
"You're right, you're stronger than they'll ever be and one day soon they'll regret letting you go." There was a moment of silence where April just smiled at me; I could see my words had a positive impact on her.
"Wow, as usual, we have no food in here," I commented, opening the fridge door.
"Want to get some food, we can strategize over some burgers & fries?" April asked.
"It's like you read my mind."
We drove over to a local pub called The Green Door Tavern just a few blocks away, we ate there most nights.
The interior of the pub was filled with all sorts of random things, old number plates, posters of Marilyn, Elvis and Johnny, tires hanging from the ceiling and, of course, old Coca Cola signs. The place was filled with hardworking, beer drinking sports fanatics which we also didn't mind, it created a nice atmosphere. We ate our burgers and fries and headed home.
Sometimes in a busy life, you forget to appreciate the small things, this was one of those things. I sometimes think April and I will come here and eat burgers the rest of our life, however long that might be. But I know April wants to get married and have a family one day. And even now sometimes we go days without actually having a conversation or seeing each other. I forget to appreciate my best friend.
The next morning April and I went to get some pancakes; I was determined to pay more attention to our friendship. Our breakfast was however interrupted by Darren.
"How'd you know we were here?" I asked him, confused.
"I'm not revealing my sources." He said smiling.
He sat down next to me in the booth.
"I will say this; I was shocked not to find you at Le Morsel. I've got a case." He said, handing me newspaper cut-out articles. Some of them were days old.
"Since when do you bring me cases?" I asked. We have been spending a lot of time together, but it usually involves chasing down leads to Nikolai.
"Since now, unless you have something better to do?"
"What do you have for me?" I replied looking down at the articles.
Men killing wives.
"I heard about this; I was working on another case when this started happening. How do you know it's something supernatural?" I asked.
"Because all of them said; a woman asked them to do it, and they complied without thinking twice about it, yet afterward they were devastated and had no recollection of the actual event." He replied.
I didn't even need to do further research to know what we were dealing with; I've dealt with one before and it didn't turn out quite the way I'd planned.
"It's a Siren. I worked on a similar case a few years back, but we've got to be smart with this especially if there's a guy involved." I said, eyeing Darren.
Siren's songs didn't affect women the way it did men.
"A Siren? No way. That's a thing?" He looked like a small boy at Christmas.
"So, let me get this straight you change into a beast but believing in Sirens that's going too far?" April asked Darren.
I just smiled and continued.
"In ancient mythology Sirens were beautiful creatures whose songs lured sailors, the sailors were so mesmerized by the songs that they'd drown or sink their ships to be closer to the women. Now the Sirens have adapted to an easier lifestyle moving from the ocean to cities where it's all too easy to find prey. . ."
"Like the little Mermaid," Darren said. Both April and I just stared at him.
"What?" I asked, baffled at what I just heard.
"Like how she moved from the ocean to the la— oh never mind." I couldn't help but burst out in laughter. April joined me.
"You're never going to let me forget this are you?" Darren said looking flushed.
"Hell no!" It took me a while to gather myself.
"Okay moving on. How do we find her?" Darren asked, desperately trying to change the subject.
"Sirens leave behind a trail. I have a spell that we can use to follow the trail. If it works, it should lead us right to her doorstep." April said standing up.
After that, we headed home immediately. It took April about thirty minutes to prepare the spell. Meanwhile, I tried to find the only weapon that can kill a Siren. Killing them was one of the hardest things on earth; there were only a few stakes on earth that could kill them. I happen to possess such a stake. It was given to me by a fellow hunter who died by my side killing the last Siren I faced.
I took out the strange looking stake.
"What's that?" Darren asked, looking at the stake.
"This? This is the only thing on earth that can kill a Siren, it's over three thousand years old; Achelous is known as the river god he was also the father of the Sirens. Achelous once competed with Heracles in a contest, in that contest Heracles ripped out one of Achelous horns, that horn was used to forge twelve stakes. This is only of the remaining stakes." Darren looked impressed.
"How'd you get it?" I looked down at the stake and sadness filled my heart.
"An old friend gave it to me." He was more than just a friend; after Jay had died, I left and started hunting everything I could find. That led me to two people I owe everything to William and Whyte.
Two brothers who changed my life. Most of the year I was gone was spent with them after they saved me from a pack of Skinwalkers. They trained me and taught me so much I didn't know. Before Jay died, I only faced one supernatural being in my life; a ghost which is honestly one of the least scary things out there.
Me, Will and Whyte became the Three Musketeers and of course, I couldn't help but fall in love with both, which placed the trio in an awkward position.
But the lesson learned never mix romance with work; it always ends badly.
"Okay, it's ready," April said, gathering her things.
We drove over to the address where the last murder had taken place. We looked for a spot where the last victim was killed. It was still blood-stained.
April packed out a few crystals in a circle together with candles and some herbs I didn't recognize, we all had to stand inside the circle.
She held a bottle of water in her hand; she said an incantation in Greek and poured the water in the middle of the circle. April once explained to me that the crystals help concentrate power to a certain spot or object.
I never did understand all this witchy stuff. But somehow it worked, the spot where the water fell on the carpet started to illuminate.
It was a green-blue illumination. Slowly it started forming a trail we could follow.
"Only those who were in the circle can see the trail," April said, packing up her things.
"You guys go ahead, I'll clean up here."
"You're not coming?" Darren asked, confused.
"April has other things she needs to deal with; besides, we'll be fine without her. And her magic won't work on the Siren, they're immune." I said reassuring April.
She needed to warn Octavia and find the Warlock. And I'd feel better if there was only one person I needed to worry about. Darren, bringing him with me was a risk, but he already made it clear to me that he would not let me do this without him.
Unfortunately, we had to follow the trail by foot, after two hours we finally found the end of the trail which led to a small three-bedroom house in a quiet neighbourhood, a strange place for a Siren to hide out in.
We took another hour surveilling the house.
"Okay, you stay here."
"Yeah, yeah," Darren replied.
"Darren I'm serious you can't follow me; you won't be able to resist her song."
He didn't believe me, but I knew the risk.
I slowly entered the house stake ready, I walked through the house slowly quickly scanning every room I passed.
It was a nice suburban house. I realized that this wasn't the place where she lived, it was her next victim's house.
I walked into the living room; the husband was holding a knife dangerously close to his wife's throat. Her arms were tied behind her back and she looked terrified.
I couldn't risk hitting him which will most definitely result in her death. Tears were pouring down her face as her husband moved the knife closer, for a second, he moved the knife away, that was my window.
I sneaked up from behind him and knocked the husband out as quickly and quietly as possible.
"Ma'am, I'm with the CPD, I'm here to help," I said untying the restraints.
"Thank you! Thank you!" She said embracing me.
"I need you to get into your car and leave, drive to this address and wait for me," I said, handing her my home address.
Her husband was another story, but for now, he was unconscious and not my problem.
She followed my orders, of course, she didn't mind leaving her murderous husband behind. This was going to be a tough one to explain.
As soon as she was out of the house, I took out the stake again.
"I knew you'd come." A voice said from behind me.
I sprung around, stake ready.
Screams filled my head, cries of pain but not enough to cause a migraine. There was a cloud of darkness surrounding her. She was beautiful, she had long red hair and plum lips. The little Mermaid reference from earlier popped into my mind.
"Do I know you?" I asked, ready for a fight.
"I'm Lorelai. You killed my sister Lorel six years ago."
Her sister Lorel was the Siren that I faced years ago. That was one day I'd never forget.
"So, you did all this to get my attention? Ah, I'm flattered."
I lunged forward and cut a piece of her arm with the stake; it was like acid against her skin. She shrieked out in pain. She knocked me back out of rage.
"Where'd you get that?!" She asked, outraged.
I smiled slowly getting up.
"You know, lying around."
Seconds later Darren was by my side; before he could even take one step forward, she started singing. I could see how mesmerized the song made him.
His entire body changed.
"No Darren! Don't Listen to her." I shouted trying to shake him out of this dream-state. She gave out a harsh laugh.
"Didn't think you'd be stupid enough to bring a male werewolf for backup. He's not going to hear a word you say from now on." Why did he have to be so stubborn?
She turned her gaze towards Darren, "Turn into a wolf and kill her!" She said pointing at me.
I cupped his face in my hands.
"No! You fight it, dammit!"
Then she turned towards me.
"You think you can't be seduced by me? I prefer men, but women can also be seduced by my song, men are just my preferred food choice."
She started singing again, this time focused on me, I felt mesmerized by each sound, and it was so beautiful. So enchanting, it felt like my soul was drifting. She moved closer to me.
"You will not do anything to defend yourself; you will stand here and die." I snapped out of my dream state and realized what just happened.
I was always under the impression that Sirens could only seduce men. I could feel myself fighting against her hold.
Darren's breathing changed; it started accelerating, followed by him falling on the ground clutching his head tightly. He started screaming; a scream filled with agony.
I didn't even notice her slipping out of the room.
I could hear the cracking of his bones; they were breaking, bending and forming a new being.
I could see his skin starting to tear like there was a monster clawing its way out from the inside.
Lycanthrope means wolf and man in Greek, which means the wolf is inside the man trying to break free from its hold. Clawing its way to freedom.
His eyes started to glow, like that of a wolf's eyes reflecting light, his claws started to form, blood gushed from his fingers as his claws grew. He started tearing off his own skin.
It was gruesome.
I turned my head away from the scene.
Darren had told me once that his transformation wasn't as bad as other Lycans; if this was not as bad as the others, I wouldn't ever want to see one of the others transform. Not that I was planning to ever witness another wolf transformation in my life.
Usually, Darren helped me without ever needing to turn, and now I understood why he'd prefer not to turn when I was present. But this time, he was forced, he had no choice but to obey the Siren's song.
The cries of pain turned into a beastly growl, which turned into a wolf howl. I looked at him; the only remembrance of his former self was his eyes, one sky the other semi brown.
The transformation felt like it took a lifetime; time slowed down to furlong every excruciating moment of it, but it only took about a minute.
Lycans don't look exactly like wolves; they are at least three times bigger than an average sized Siberian wolf; they have long muscular back legs which they stand on with claws designed for tearing their prey apart.
But its face was completely wolf-like. He had a beautiful glossy white fur with streaks of grey, he was beautiful but ferocious.
His cold gaze was fixed on me. I retreated until I hit the wall behind me.
"Darren you have to fight her hold over you; I know you're strong enough to fight it."
He snarled, revealing badass looking fangs, and a mouth foaming with saliva. I tried another approach.
"Good boy." I tried to calm him like a person would a dog.
But I've never been good with dogs. I'm more of a cat person.
This approach also made him more upset; he started growling, a fierce monstrous growl.
His eyes glowing with hunger and rage.
Was I about to fight and possibly kill Darren? Or die by the hands of the man I once loved?
"Darren, you have to fight! Fight for me! I know you still love me." I shouted; a lump started to form in my throat.
He didn't listen, instead, he was slowly moving forward towards me, growling.
I couldn't muster up the will power to shoot him. I fought against her seduction all I could, but I wasn't strong enough, I couldn't pull the trigger, I could barely lift my weapon. Her words played through my mind on repeat: You will not do anything to defend yourself; you will stand here and die.
He was now inches away from my face, I shut my eyes and tried not to think about it.
Tears started running down my face.
"Darren please!" I begged.
Jay would have been so ashamed of me right now, begging for my life like a scared little girl.
Kill him, kill him! Just pull the trigger and kill him.
The voices in my head shouted. The siren's voice wasn't the only one in my head. I could slowly feel myself getting my grip back.
I tightened my hold over my gun, but still could not imagine killing him, even after all he's done, I would rather die than kill him. I let go of my gun, letting it fall to the floor.
I closed my eyes waiting for death.
But he didn't kill me, I looked up into his eyes; they were now filled with sorrow, regret, guilt. He stumbled backward and slowly started transforming back into a man.
A few seconds later there was full grown naked Darren standing in front of me.
I exhaled in relief.
I tossed him my jacket because all his clothes were torn apart in the transformation. He immediately ran over and embraced me, I let him.
I was surprised how welcoming I found his embrace.
He pulled away and looked at me, eyes full of tears.
"Al! I'm so sorry!"
"It's not your fault!" I stroked his cheek softly with my hand.
"But I almost. . ." I cut him off.
"But you didn't, all that matters is that we find her and make her pay."
All the signs of earlier fear and sadness were gone, I was back to my usual detective mode.
He nodded in agreement.
"How'd you break her spell?" I asked him, relieved.
"It was you, those eyes –" he paused, lifting my head up to his. "I could never hurt you." He replied, embracing me again. We stood silent just soaking up the fact that neither of us had just killed the other.
Unfortunately, she was long gone by the time we got out.
The ambulance took the husband to the hospital; we made up some elaborate 'he was hypnotized' story which was far-fetched but believable. A squad car was also sent to my apartment to go find the wife.
After that, we slowly made our way back to the apartment, not saying a word on our way back, only deafening silence between us.