Gabriel Elder book II of the Warlock Series

Guided by Breena, Gabriel had driven through the forest and beyond where the old village had been located. He parked the motorcycle behind a large oak tree. In the forest of redwoods and spruces, there weren’t many old growth oaks. It would be easy to find. They were deep into lands owned by the Scythians so Gabriel wasn’t worried about the bike.

There were no roads and few paths leading to the new village so they would travel the rest of the way on foot. Breena led the way. They walked northeast from the original village and after about an hour of brisk walking through the dense forest, they came into sight of a mountain stream. On the other side sat a series of small log cabins.

Gabriel counted twenty-eight of the cabins, but he was sure there were more. Each was built about a hundred feet from the next. It was a close-knit community. At first glance the cabins seemed very rustic and somewhat dilapidated. As they got closer, he could see they were intentionally made to look that way. A closer look at the windows, doors and roofs of the cabins, showed they were well built and weathertight against the elements of the Canadian winters.

Each cabin had a large supply of seasoned firewood stacked against the stone fireplace. It looked like each cabin was ready for the long winter ahead. Gabriel was amazed the clan could assemble a village so quickly.

“They did this in a day?” Gabriel asked incredulously.

“No silly, we have the next village ready at all times. Often, we have two ready, one close to the last, like this one, and one much farther away,” Breena explained.

That made much more sense to the young warlock. The clan was all about being prepared. He would have to get used to living that way. He was used to preparing for a fight or preparing his body for his life as a warlock, but preparing a village was something completely different. Gabriel never said anything to Breena, but he could feel the doubt creeping back into him. He had no experience at leading a village, let alone a Scythian village. How was he ever going to pull this off? What had Grandfather gotten him into?

Apollo went to the steps of the small bridge which led to the other side of the stream and the cabins beyond. As he led the way, he suddenly stopped and refused to go further. He had ascended the steps, but refused to step on the wooden planks of the bridge deck.

“Trap,” Gabriel heard in his mind.

Gabriel looked at Breena and she was already shaking her head up and down. She knew it was a trap too. As Gabriel and Apollo both watched, Breena jumped easily over the first three planks and landed on the fourth one.

“The first three and the last three will not hold the weight of anything larger than a bobcat. It’s a precaution we use to help us slow down any would-be attackers. We must use precautions since we are at our back-up village. We would only be here if we were attacked or in danger of being discovered,” Breena explained.

Apollo leaped over the first of the planks and landed beside Breena. Gabriel followed with a short jump of his own. They repeated the process at the end of the bridge.

“What do we say to the villagers?” Gabriel asked.

“We don’t need to say anything, we belong here. This is our home now,” Breena answered.

Gabriel heard what she was saying, but he didn’t feel like this was his home. He still felt like an outsider. Maybe he would always feel like an outsider. He was beginning to wonder if there was any place in the world where he would fit in? He was the son of a shifter and a Scythian. Not fully human, nor fully Scythian and if he was any part shifter he didn’t know it yet.

He was also a warlock. A secret police force tasked with dealing with rogue shifters and sworn to protect both the human and the shifter population from each other and from disclosure. He was also imbued with the power of the Scythian Elders and sworn to keep their existence a secret from all humans as well. It was beginning to look like his life was getting more complicated by the day.

As they entered the village, Breena saw several of the young women and ran to meet them. They were engaged in a rousing discussion while Gabriel and Apollo stood off at a distance. Neither of them had any friends here, except Breena. They would wait until she was done before going any further.

Gabriel saw movement on his left and watched as a middle-aged man walked from between the cabins and headed toward him and Apollo. He also saw someone was in the shadows between the buildings watching. Gabriel wasn’t sure how he knew, but he had learned to trust his instincts, and they were telling him the watcher was Banchara.

As the man got closer, Apollo began to growl. The man was in mid stride when he turned into a massive unicorn. He was black with a long, deadly looking horn extending from his forehead and he was now running at full gallop toward Gabriel.

Apollo was about to attack when one of the massive cougars from Gabriel’s previous encounter with the villagers appeared out of nowhere and leaped at the wolf. As Apollo was being knocked sideways, the unicorn bore down on Gabriel. The young warlock was having trouble trying to figure out what to do. He didn’t want to kill a clan member, but he didn’t want to die either. He was also having trouble concentrating as well. It was as if he wasn’t in control any more.

As the unicorn lowered his horn to run the young warlock through the chest, Gabriel was no longer there. He was there, but he was no longer solid. As the horn slid through the mass of flames which had been Gabriel, it shrieked and shied away as quickly as possible. With its black mane smoldering from the intense heat of the flames, it ran from the village as fast as possible.

Breena saw what was happening just as the cougar attacked Apollo. She was already in wolf form and racing toward the pair of warlocks. She knew she would never get there in time to save Gabriel, but she was going to try. As she ran, she saw Apollo come up from the blow delivered by the cougar.

Where most wolves and dogs would have landed on their back and then had to struggle to get back on their feet, Apollo had been trained better in the ways to handle being knocked off his feet. Instead of fighting the impact from the cougar, Apollo had instantly recognized what was happening and used the power of the impact to help propel him into a complete somersault. He landed on his hind feet and immediately sprang back at the cougar.

The enormous cat had been shocked at how solid the two hundred and fifty-pound wolf was and was still trying to recover from the effects of the collision. He saw Apollo leaping back at him, but there was little he could do about it. Instead of simply striking him, Apollo was going to make the cougar pay for keeping him from saving Gabriel. As he landed on the cougar, Apollo bit down on the cat’s neck and twisted his head quickly to the left. He snapped the cougar’s neck as easy as he would a shifter’s and the animal dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Apollo then turned in time to see the unicorn running from a fire creature standing where Gabriel had been only a second before. The wolf could only stare and try to comprehend what was happening. Why were the villagers attacking them? He looked around for any others who might be bent on harming him or Gabriel.

Breena saw what had happened to Apollo at the same time she witnessed Gabriel assume the form of a fire being. In their elemental forms, a few of the Scythians maintained their almost human-like shape even though they were fire, water or any other element. It was rare and took a lot of energy to maintain, but a few had been known to do it before this.

The Unicorn ran through the flames and quickly ran away trying to stop the burning on its face and mane. Breena was suddenly a female again and sliding to a stop in front of Gabriel. As the unicorn ran away, Gabriel could think clearly once more and returned to his human form. Breena grabbed him and hugged him. Apollo was still wary and refused to relax.

The villagers slowly came out of the cabins. Each one was staring at the fallen cougar. Several of the women began to cry. Banchara came forward and walked to where Apollo was standing.

“You have broken our sacred law, you must be punished,” she declared of Apollo.

“No,” Gabriel’s voice rang out loud and clear, “You are the one responsible for the death of this villager, not Apollo!”

“Is this true?” Breena asked.

Banchara simply stared down at the fallen cougar and refused to answer.

“She sent the unicorn to attack me. She also sent the cougar to keep Apollo busy so he couldn’t interfere,” Gabriel stated. “I saw her between the cabins, giving the man who became the unicorn instructions. He headed straight for me after she spoke with him.”

“Is that true Banchara? Is it?” Breena screamed, “Why, why would you do it?”

“I needed to be sure, I needed to let all of the clan see what Gabriel was capable of. He will destroy us all if we let him stay here,” Banchara mumbled weakly.

“The wolf, Apollo, is not to blame. He was attacked without provocation and he responded according to his training,” Breena said to the clan.

“Come Apollo,” Gabriel said as he turned to leave.

He would not stay in a place where he had to watch his back every second of the day. He and Apollo could have both been killed and just as bad, they had been forced to hurt one villager and kill another.

There was a murmur among the villagers. It seemed as if some wanted them both gone and others wanted them to stay. Some were still in shock over what Banchara had done.

Breena wanted to stop Gabriel and Apollo, but she wasn’t done with the villagers yet.

“How could you?” she screamed. “All of you are guilty of having broken the sacred law! You went along with Banchara’s scheme! If Gabriel hadn’t changed, he would have been killed. Grandfather made him a part of this clan, in fact Grandfather made him one of the Elders of this clan and you tried to kill him. Now he is leaving and he’s taking the sacred gift of the clan with him! Grandfather gave both of us the gift, neither of us has it fully, without both of us the clan no longer has any standing.

You are all responsible for the death of this clan member today and for what? Because a crazy old woman told you too? Don’t act like you had no choice. You defied Grandfather when he told you to let Gabriel leave the first time, you could have defied Banchara just as easily! You tried to commit murder on a clan member and caused the death of another and even worse you’ve probably caused the death of the clan!

Once Gabriel leaves, the gift leaves with him and by the law, you will have no standing with the other clans!”

The severity of their actions was just beginning to sink in. The look of shock and utter loss was on the face of every clan member. It was easy to see now just how wrong they had been. Why had they listened to Banchara? Why did she make them do it?

One by one they all looked accusingly at her. The old woman could only stare at the ground. She was trying to save them, didn’t they understand that? Gabriel would unleash the form inside of him and he would cause the death and destruction of all of them! There was no other choice.

“Why Banchara? Why did you do it?” Breena demanded.

Gabriel and Apollo were already across the stream and headed back toward the giant oak where they had left the motorcycle.

“Sorry,” Gabriel heard in his head.

He stopped and looked down at the wolf and dropped to his knees. He hugged Apollo and shook his head.

“No brother, you have nothing to be sorry for. You were attacked and you defended yourself and you defended me. We didn’t want any of this to happen, but there seems to be those everywhere we turn who want to make us their puppets, their warlocks and their leaders. From now on we choose what we want to be!” Gabriel said.

Apollo agreed. He went where Gabriel went and always would, but it was time they started going where they wanted to go, not where others made them. If they were meant to last another day or a century longer, it would be on their terms and their terms only!

The two of them sat there for several minutes. Apollo wondered what was going on at the Scythian village and Gabriel wondered if he would ever see Breena again. Back at the village, Breena was getting her answer.

“When you were in the cave, I saw Gabriel’s true animal form. He will destroy us all,” Banchara declared.

“So, your plan to save the clan from Gabriel was by destroying him? Are you insane?” Breena asked. “What form could possibly make you believe he would ever be capable of destroying the clan?”

Banchara stared at Breena. She was aware the entire clan was looking at her and they were blaming her for the death of the cougar. If only she could get them to understand she had no choice. She had believed Gabriel would take his final animal form if he was faced with death and then everyone could see it for themselves. If he didn’t, and he was killed before he could take his final shape, then that would work as well. All the legends warned the same thing, if Gabriel ever assumed his animal form, it would be the end of them all.

“I’m waiting Banchara, what form do you believe Gabriel is capable of which would endanger us all?” Breena demanded.

Banchara stepped forward and whispered one word in Breena’s ear. It was only one word, but it caused Breena to gasp. It couldn’t be!

Banchara’s gift was from the maternal side of the clan and was much weaker than the one handed down to Gabriel and Breena from Grandfather. She could never hold the clan together, nor protect them with her gift alone. Grandfather had given the gift to the two young Scythians. Rarely did a young clansperson ever receive the gift, it was usually passed on to an older, stronger, more mature member. Never before had it been split and passed on to two members in the way Grandfather had managed.

Without Gabriel, the clan would cease to exist. With Gabriel, the clan would all end up dead. Banchara could see no other way around it. Why had Grandfather made sure the clan would die? Had he secretly blamed them for the loss of his son? There had to be a reason for why he gave the gift to Breena and Gabriel. He had to know what was inside of Gabriel!

Without a word, Breena stormed away from the villagers. She had to find Gabriel and Apollo. Inside she was shaking, how could Banchara be right? How could Gabriel be that creature? They weren’t even real!

One of the young woman came to Breena and tried to stop her. It was one of the ones Breena had been talking to when Gabriel and Apollo were attacked. She was trying to apologize, but Breena wanted none of it. She knew her so-called friends had been part of the set-up to get her away from the two warlocks. As the woman stepped in front of her, Breena became a black mist and glided right through her. She maintained this form until she was over the bridge and well away from the village.

Taking one last look back at the village, Breena saw Banchara standing over the dead cougar and the rest of the villagers walking slowly back to their cabins. She was sure even they didn’t realize the events of the past few minutes had all but doomed the clan to extinction. Even Banchara didn’t fully understand the power of the gift inside of her and Gabriel and how vital it was for the village.

Grandfather had prepared her for accepting the gift when the time came. He had confided in her the true meaning and the power of the gift to the clan. He also explained why each clan was different in its abilities and its strengths, based entirely on the gift contained within each clan’s elders. He also explained to her how special this clan’s gift was. There was no other clan in the world with a gift as powerful as this one, nor as deadly.

Without his son to pass it on to, Grandfather had chosen the strongest member he had ever found, Breena. Even with her seemingly limitless energy, he didn’t think she would be strong enough. The gift of this clan was so strong, it had been killing Grandfather slowly for decades. That much power was impossible to contain within one vessel. He knew that unless Breena found a Scythian somewhere who was strong enough to help her, she would die an early death as well.

When Grandfather met Gabriel, and realized he was his grandson, he knew what to do. He sensed an enormous amount of strength and energy within Gabriel, possibly even more than Breena had, but it was raw, untrained. If he could divide the power, he could make sure they were both going to be able to hold the energy he was going to pass on and they could not only survive, but possibly even thrive with it.

What he didn’t know was the energy came in two parts, a positive and a negative. He had no way of knowing one of the two would receive mostly positive and the other would receive most of the negative energy side of the clan’s gift. Had he known, he probably would have tried to take the gift to his grave with him. If there were no Scythians close enough for the gift to reside in, it might have ceased to exist. The gift could not stay outside its Scythian host for long. That would have also spelled the end for the clan, but worse things could happen to them.

Now, with Gabriel holding so much of the negative energy, it might still happen to the clan anyway. Banchara had been right to be worried, unfortunately, she had also been wrong. By trying to invoke Gabriel’s animal form, she almost unleashed it among the villagers. She was certain no one, not even the young warlock, could control the creature once he assumed that shape, and she might be right.

All the legends about Gabriel’s animal form were from long, long ago. Even by Scythian standards the stories were beyond ancient. According to the scrolls, this creature had only been seen twice before and both times they had almost caused the end of all life on Earth. In one legend, the creature had gone out of control and ravaged the planet, killing almost all life.

Scientist had blamed the extinction event which killed all the dinosaurs on an asteroid strike, but they were wrong. It only looked like it had been caused by a giant space body because science could never accept a single creature with so much power. In destroying most life on Earth, the creature had destroyed itself as well.

The second legend told of another time when such a creature had appeared. This time, it was under some level of control by the Scythian, long considered the most powerful of his kind to have ever existed. With the control he had, once he had assumed the shape of the deadly creature, he had taken himself to end of the world. In the artic, and as far from other living creatures as he could go, he still almost wiped out life on the planet. He caused a world-wide flood which killed two-thirds of all land animals in less than forty days. Finally, in desperation, he left the planet and headed out into the solar system. It was believed he had died there, alone in the vacuum of space.

Now, if Banchara was right, Gabriel would one day be the third and perhaps, final incarnation of the creature known only through legends and myths. Would he be the reason for the end of the world for both humans and shifters alike? Only time would tell, but until then, Breena wasn’t going to give up.

Deep down, she knew Banchara would never have acted so carelessly if she hadn’t fully believed what she told Breena. Still, just because she believed it, didn’t make it real. Even if it did, Breena would never accept that Gabriel would willingly hurt her or Apollo. She had to find him and talk to him.

Where would he go? Back to the compound? She doubted it. He would want somewhere to be alone. The abandoned village? No, that would just be inviting trouble, the mercenaries were sure to return their soon. The cave! Somehow, she knew that’s where she would find him. She had to get there fast. As soon as she thought it, she was in wolf form and running through the forest as fast as she could go.