Dangerous Games: Chapter 11 Revised

While Mattias’s people cleared Clermont’s estate, Ethan took the time to learn more about the werewolves, things like their hierarchy and the roles each played in their pack. He was most surprised to learn that unlike popular movies and films werewolves are born and not made through a bite. Mattias also warned Ethan that some packs are not as forthcoming or friendly to outsiders and that he should take caution should he runs to any other packs in the future. Ethan had debated coming clean to Mattias about his current situation and asking for his help but decided to hold off. He didn’t want to risk losing any of the goodwill he had just accumulated and besides his problems were in Port Iron not here. After clearing out Clermont’s estate, Mattias had one of his people take Ethan back to his hotel.

It was dawn by the time Ethan got back to his room, with the job done and seeing no risk of retaliation from Clermont or his people, given they were all dead, Ethan used his burner to call Joe.

“What’s the situation, are you okay?” Joe asked in a worried tone.

“I’m fine, jobs done.”

“Good to hear.” Joe states with an audible sigh of relief.

“Yeah, if I leave now, I should be back in Port Iron by midday.” Ethan states as he stifles a yawn.

“You sound exhausted, get some rest first.”

“I can’t.”

“Why, did Sera give you a deadline?”

“No, but- ”

“Then get some rest first, hell take a day even.”

Something in Joe’s voice caught Ethan’s attention.

“Joe, what’s going on, talk to me.”

After a moment of hesitation Joe replies.

“Something is happening here, something I just can’t put my finger on.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t really explain it but there’s a tension in the air, like something in the city is shifting changing.”

“Is it gangs, is one of the big three making a move?”

“No, they’re all business as usual.”

“Any strange occurrences?”

“Not really, a few people have turned up dead, but that’s about it.”

“It’s Port Iron, people pop up dead all the time, what’s so strange about that?”

“Well, none of these had any criminal ties, at least none I can see.”

‘That is strange.’ Ethan mused to himself.

Despite the numerous gangs and the daily violence between them, Port Iron had a surprisingly low mortality rate for normal people.

“Huh, any connection between them?”

“Again, none that I can see.”

“Anybody we know?”

“No one big or noteworthy, honestly I had never heard of any of them until today.”

Joe’s instincts had never steered Ethan wrong before, so if he felt that something was up in the city Ethan trusted it.

“Dig deeper if you can but be careful.”

“I will, get some rest, I feel your gonna need it.”

After sleeping for a few hours Ethan calls up Morgan and tells him to start prepping his plane, having finished packing his things Ethan opens his door to leave and finds Silverblood’s beta, Charles, standing there.

Before Ethan could ask why he was there, Charles speaks first.

“My Alpha wanted me to give you this, it pertains to the necklace you got from Clermont.”

Charles hands Ethan a red file and then leaves without another word.

“Uh, thanks?” Ethan calls out after him, but Charles was already gone.

Opening the file, the pages inside contained details about the necklace and its provenance, one interesting note was that originally the necklace didn’t have a purple gemstone. Seems that the purple gemstone wasn’t added until later by a man with the last name Ashford. From Ashford the necklace was then given to a man named Dimitri, who then gave it to Clermont. These facts meant little to Ethan, but they could prove useful down the line, so Ethan tucked the file in his bag and continued off to the airport.

It was late in the day by the time Ethan landed back in Port Iron, once they came to a stop Morgan turned off the engine and turned to Ethan.

“If you ever need to fly feel free to give me a call.” Morgan states and holds out his hand.

“Count on it.” Ethan responds, taking the hand and giving it a firm shake.

Once outside the airport Ethan hails a cab and has the driver take him home, getting to his building Ethan rings Joe to let him in. While waiting for a response Ethan takes a minute to take in his surroundings and couldn’t help but feel that Joe was right. Though nothing had seemed to have physically changed, something in the air had undoubtedly shifted. The door buzzes and Ethan walks in, before seeing Joe, Ethan goes into his own apartment first. Putting away all his gear Ethan leaves out the box with the necklace and the file Charles had given him before he left, Joe would want to see them. Not feeling tired but jetlagged Ethan debated calling his mother and letting her know he wouldn’t be making it over today but decided to hold off. Grabbing box and file, Ethan walks over to Joe’s and opens the door only to find the room empty. Ethan could immediately feel something was off, stepping further into the apartment Ethan goes over to Joe’s computer. Ethan carefully feels for the knife Joe keeps under the desk and feels that it’s there.

‘Not sure if that’s good or bad.’ Ethan thinks to himself.

Closing his eyes Ethan begins to concentrate, using his ability Ethan scans the apartment and feels someone standing a few feet behind him near the couch, it wasn’t Joe, and it wasn’t Sera. In one fluid motion Ethan turns grabbing the knife under the desk and throwing it at the intruder behind him. As the knife flies through the air, Ethan’s eyes widen in shock at the person standing behind him. The knife passes right by Diane’s head and hits the wall behind her, causing Ethan to let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, that was rude, impressive, but rude.” Diane states in a surprised tone.

“Jesus Christ Diane, I could’ve killed you, what the hell were you thinking sneaking up on me like that!?” Ethan exclaims.

“That was never my intention, but to be honest I was sure I hid my presence perfectly.” Diane calmly defends.

“What are you even doing here, where’s Joe?”

“Joe’s fine, I asked him if he could stay with your mother while I handled a work emergency.”

“This clearly isn’t your work, so why are you here?” Ethan’s asks in a suspicious tone, all his past doubts about Diane now coming out in full force.

“I came looking for you actually, I tried calling but you didn’t answer, I was afraid she might have already gotten her hands on you.” Diane answers.

Ethan didn’t even need to ask to who she was referring to; they both knew who she was talking about.

“Why, what do you want from me?”

Diane calmly sits down on the couch facing Ethan.

“I think it’s about time you and I had a chat.” Diane answers nonchalantly, motioning Ethan to the seat next to her.

“Would this be about your role in the witch’s council or Sera’s?” Ethan remarks, deciding to stay standing.

At his words Diane’s eye widen slightly.

“I see, so you’ve spoken with her, I must say that is unexpected.” Diane states, slightly taken aback.

“Why?”

“I assumed that once she had you, she’d never let you go.”

Those words send a chill down Ethan’s spine.

“No more games, who are you people and what do you want?” Ethan demands.

Letting out a deep sigh Diane begins to speak.

“I guess I’ll start from the beginning, as the name suggest we’re witches, meaning we are able to use magic.”

“That much a figured.” Ethan remarks.

“Yes well, to be clear, you have to be born a witch it’s not something that can be taught or used by normal humans.”

“Like werewolves, you have to be born one.” Ethan added.

Once again Diane’s eyes widen in shock.

“You know about werewolves?” She asks.

Ethan doesn’t answer and just stares at Diane; after a moment her eyes narrow but continues to speak.

“I see, well then yes, just like vampires and werewolves you have to be born a witch.”

Her addition of vampires surprised Ethan but he kept his poker face.

“That being said not all of those born of witches have the potential to be a witch.”

“You mean men?”

“Not necessarily, there are male witches.” Diane clarifies.

“Then wouldn’t they be called warlocks?”

Diane rolls her eyes and lets out a huff.

“That is a debate that has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years within the witch community, trust me, just call them witches.”

“Okay, so then how does this magic work?”

Diane takes a moment to think, after a few seconds she begins to explain.

“Ok, you know how everything emits some form of radiation?”

“Yeah, I believe most of it is thermal.” Ethan answers.

“Exactly, think of magic as a type of radiation, almost everything gives off some form of it. Witches are able to feel and manipulate that radiation.”

Ethan began to think about his own ability and wondered if this was the answer to why he had it.

“How can you tell if someone’s witch?” Ethan asks.

“It’s not something normal people like you can tell, vampires and werewolves can smell magic while witches can usually sense one another once their close enough.”

With her words Ethan realized his ability was unique only to him, he also wondered if that’s how he sensed Diane behind him earlier, despite her claim that she hid her presence, he sensed her magic.

“Now that we got some of the basics out of the way, let’s move on to more complicated matters, and the main reason I am here.” Diane states, her tone becoming more serious.

Ethan is brought out of his thoughts by Diane’s shift in tone.

“The witches council is a group of select witches who enforce and mandate witch law, in essence they protect and oversee all other witches. Now when I say all witches, I mean all witches, they’ve maintained this by- ”

“Diane, I get it, I’ve read enough books and seen enough movies to understand how an organization like this operates. Get to the point, why are they here, and what does that have to do with me and Sera?” Ethan interjects.

“To be clear, the witch’s council has always been here, in fact Port Iron has been their main base of operations for generations.”

“So how come I’ve never heard of them till now?”

“Why would you, we witches don’t really care about the happenings of normal people at least not enough to intervene, you probably would have never heard of us at all if not for Sera.”

Ethan nods to himself, “Fair enough. What about Sera, what is she, I heard someone call her a half-breed, what is that?”

Diane’s shoulders tense up.

“Sera, Sera is something that shouldn’t even exist.”

Ethan’s hands instinctively ball up into fists and he could feel his anger bubbling up inside him. Despite their antagonistic relationship, Ethan couldn’t deny that he and Sera share a connection, so he couldn’t help but get angry at Diane’s hurtful remark. But even if that wasn’t the case, no person should be ever thought of as not having meant to exist.

Diane looks up and notices the anger in Ethan’s face.

“Forgive me, what I meant was that her existence shouldn’t be possible.” Diane corrects herself.

“Why, what do you mean?”

“Like I said in the beginning, you have to be born a witch, your either one or the other, that includes vampires and werewolves.”

“Wait, I don’t understand, are you saying none of the three races have ever…you know, even by accident?”

“Don’t be silly of course we have, granted all three races usually stick to their own kind or humans for…that. But, in the past it was tried, and it was found that no matter the pairing the children born from those unions were either one or the other if not human.”

“But Sera is different, she’s actually…”

“Yes, Sera is the first and only half breed of a witch and a vampire.”

Diane gives Ethan a few minutes to process this new information, but despite the sudden revelation, Ethan wasn’t surprised. In fact, learning Sera was part vampire made a strange kind of sense to him, it explained her fangs and his dream of her biting him.

“Ok, so what does that have to do with me, is she after my blood?” Ethan asks.

“Oh, no, human blood is too weak, vampires need the blood of other vampires to sustain them usually that of the opposite sex.” Diane states. “At least that’s how it is for normal vampires I can’t be too certain about Sera.” Diane muses to herself.

“What!?” Ethan’s eyes go wide.

“Relax, I’m fairly certain she’s not after your blood.” Diane hurriedly states.

Ethan calms down but continues to eye Diane with uncertainty. “Ok, what then?”

“In regard to you, I’m not a hundred percent sure. I have a theory, but to share it would be to overstep my bounds.”

Ethan grits his teeth, he wanted to grab Diane and demand she tell him, but he could tell from the look in her eye that it would be pointless.

“What I do know, is that she is here hunting an apostate.” Diane continues.

“An apostate?”

“Apostates are witches who refuse to acknowledge the council’s authority and live outside the council’s influence.”

“Wait, so there are unregulated witches running around doing whatever they want?”

“No, most apostates are careful not to cause trouble, because they know if they do the council would send wiccans after them.”

Ethan shakes his head in confusion, “Wiccans?”

“Wiccans are the council’s enforcers; they are powerful witches who are dispatched whenever council law has been broken.” Diane answers.

“Are they a military force or a police force?” Ethan questions.

“Both.”

Ethan takes a moment to think on this new information and remembers the three hooded figures who confronted Sera at the warehouse.

“So, is Sera a wiccan?” Ethan asks.

Diane sighs, “No.”

Ethan waits for Diane to explain but she doesn’t, instead moving the topic back to the apostate.

“This apostate Sera is hunting is particularly dangerous, it is responsible for no less than a thousand deaths not only in the human community but the supernatural one as well.”

“Jesus.” Ethan states in a low tone.

“What’s worse is that the apostate may have been receiving help from some witches here in Port Iron.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I need your help and I need you to understand why.”

“Help with what?”

“I need your help getting something.”

“Heh.” Ethan slowly shakes his head in disbelief, “You mean steal.”

“Yes.” Diane responds solemnly.

Ethan sighs and takes a seat on the computer chair behind him, remembering that he was still holding the file and the box with the necklace, he sets them down on the desk behind him. He was exhausted, he’d never worked jobs in such quick succession before. First the warehouse with Erik, then the necklace for Sera, and now this. He was wearing himself out, he knew the smart thing to do would be to say no and take some time to regroup.

“Fine.” Ethan answers. “But I have a few questions I need answers to first.”

Diane gives Ethan a small nod in reply.

“The other night Sera asked me to steal this necklace, any idea why?” Ethan reaches behind him and opens the box, showing the necklace to Diane.

“Interesting, can you bring it closer?” Diane asks.

Ethan gets up and brings the box over to Diane, she slowly raises her hand and looks up at Ethan waiting for his permission to touch the necklace. Ethan nods: having received permission Diane reaches in and grabs the necklace. She carefully looks the necklace over before focusing on the purple centerpiece.

“Hmmm, I can sense magic in this gem, but what kind or for what purpose I can’t say. I would have to take it back to my lab to figure it out.” Diane states, as she places the necklace back in the box.

Ethan’s head slightly cocks to the right at Diane’s response, he was intrigued by her use of the word ‘lab’ and what that meant but decides to sideline that line of questioning for now.

“So, stealing this wasn’t something the council asked for?”

“No.” Diane responds without a trace of doubt.

“You sure?” Ethan pushes.

“Yes, I’m sure, while I’m not part of the council I due keep track of their activities, that being said if one of them asked for this personally and not as a council member I can’t say for sure.”

Ethan nods in understanding as he closes the box and sets it down on the coffee table next to him, before sitting down on the love seat opposite of Diane.

“Alright, so Sera, what is she?”

“I told you she’s half-”

“No, I mean what is she to the council? Because I maybe an outsider in all this but even I can tell she’s breaking rules of some sort, and she doesn’t seem to be afraid of the council retaliating.”

Diane’s eyebrows furrow as she thinks how to answer, “Hmmm. That is a complicated question.”

“Is she an apostate?”

“No, but she doesn’t exactly respect council law either.”

“What then?”

“From what I’ve heard, she and the council have an understanding. What it is and how it works, I don’t know.”

Diane’s answers about Sera were leaving Ethan with even more questions.

“The night of Eckhart’s party I stole a drive from Sera, it contains a list of patients with the same unknown illness my mother has. Why?”

Once again Diane is unable to hide the surprise on her face, “You have the drive? Sera told us that she was still in possession of it.”

“Nope, I have it.” Ethan calmly corrects.

Diane looks at Ethan with a somewhat impressed expression before continuing, “The information on that drive is evidence. It was being shared by the witches who were helping the apostate here in Port Iron, it proved they were in contact.”

“How, how does a list of patients prove that?”

Diane hesitates before answering, “Because the apostate Sera is chasing is responsible for the illness.”

“What?”

“I wish I knew more, but that information has been marked ‘as need to know’ by the council.”

Ethan was dumbstruck, his whole body seemed to go numb, he tried to talk but his thoughts were a disjointed mess.

“But…how…it’s not…”

Diane gets up and walks into the kitchen, she quickly returns with a glass of water, but before giving it to Ethan she takes what looks like a small pill out of her pocket and drops it into the glass. Diane places her hand above the glass and begins to make a circular motion with her finger. The water in the glass begins to turn in time with her finger and the pill quickly dissolve, changing the color of the water to a soft pink. She then holds out the glass to Ethan, who eyes the glass and then Diane. He had already guessed she was a witch but seeing her use magic so openly in front of him was still nerve wracking.

“Ethan, please trust me.” Diane asks in a sincere voice.

Ethan continues to look into Diane’s eyes and only sees his mom’s kind and loving friend. He lets out a sigh and takes the glass, quickly gulping down its contents. Within a few seconds, a strange warmth spreads through him, calming both his mind and body.

“See, nothing sinister.” Diane says with a smile.

“Thanks.” Ethan replies.

With his mind now clear, Ethan thinks back to his and Sera’s conversation outside his mother’s hospital.

“Sera basically blackmailed me into stealing this necklace, saying that if I got this for her, she would treat mom’s illness. Can she do it, can she actually cure my mom?” Ethan asks.

“Yes, I believe so.”

Ethan sighs, “As happy as I am to hear that, I don’t like her using my mother like this or having this control over me. Is there anything you can do?”

“That’s actually why I’m here, I want to cure not just your mother but everyone who has the illness. The council has only just recently learned about the illness and that an apostate is the cause. They’re terrified of what this news could do if the others found out.”

“By others, you mean the vampires and werewolves, but why would they care about us humans?”

“Believe me when I say they just would. Because of this, the council is refusing to let anyone but Sera investigate. That’s why I brought her to see your mother, I was hoping to glean some information so that I might heal your mother myself but…”

“But then I showed up and ruined things.” Ethan finished.

“Please understand, the council members are good people and I have no doubt they will start curing people in time. And Sera though she may be…”

“Violent, controlling, aggressive, psychotic.” Ethan chimed in.

“Forceful.” Diane interrupted. “I know she would never let anything happen to your mother.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s YOUR mother.”

Once again Ethan is perplexed by the notion of Sera’s obsession of him being a good thing.

“But the longer they take the more people die. The council have given Sera an office to work out of while she’s here in Port Iron, I want you to sneak into Sera’s office and steal her data on the illness, so I can figure out the cure.”

“Sera’s office? As in her office at your council’s HQ?” Ethan questioned in disbelief.

“Yes.”

“…Let me get this straight, you want me to steal files from the office of half vampire half witch whose obsession of me borders on violent, and if catches me will probably lock me up and throw away they key, all while sneaking through a building full of witches?”

“Interested?”

“When do we start?”