Chapter 13

Disclaimer:
~Big thanks to Enemyoffun for making this universe to play in, and to all my beta readers for helping me hammer out some of the details in this chapter. Also, a big thanks to djkauf, who's edits are always awesome.
Author's Note: I apologize for the large gap in between chapters, I ran into a major case of writer's block. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, as Mikaela tries to figure things out. Please comment on this, I enjoy reading your comments and learning from them immensely.

17 October 2011

I felt like banging my head against the wall of my apartment. The web of mysteries that surrounded the various Were families of this town were woven together better than a spider’s web, I thought. I still had the three books that I had pulled out of the archive with me. They were providing me with some good information.

Two of them were helpful in filling in some of the information on the clans, and were useful in providing a brief history of the clans, but there was still information that was missing. They seemed to touch on some of the key points of each of the clan’s histories and current enterprises. Mostly informational in nature, although it was interesting when some of their ventures ended up in a feud. I saw that one clan in particular has been suffering the most.

I figured if I was going to become the Lorekeeper of these clans, then I would need to know about them. Also, it would prove useful if I was going to gain any allies, and how to counter any enemies. I read somewhere that if you know yourself and know your enemy, you will always be victorious. Well, I guess I’d better read up on knowing these families, so I knew where to push their buttons.

Having the leader of the Stiles clan as an ally was a good start, but there was something about him that put me off. I don’t completely trust him; the only thing that made sense to me about him was the well-being of his family. That seemed to be his top priority no matter what from what I could tell.

I flopped down on my bed and grabbed the stuffed wolf that was currently living on my bed. My mom had picked it up for me yesterday, while she was out and about. The little fuzzy wolf was strangely the same color that I was when I was a wolf. I wondered if my mom was trying to be funny. She did say that when she needed to figure some things out, she often reached for her favorite stuffed animal. I decided to name my wolf, Silver. Not very original, I know, but it was all I could think of.

My thoughts turned back to my current dilemma, as I clutched the little guy. The Lockes were being extremely reclusive. It was like they thought other wolves were beneath them, and they wanted to do nothing with other wolves that weren’t related to them. The Cordays and the McCormicks I had yet to meet, but I didn’t even know where to start looking for them in town. I’d thought about asking Alex if she knows of those clans, but I didn’t want to drag her into my mess again.

The only other lead I had at the moment was the Harper clan. It wasn’t much of a lead, since the most contact I had with them was getting run over by one of them and signing up for self-defense classes at their dojo.

“Hmm…,” I mused, thinking out loud. “Maybe that’s how I can get some more information out of them.”

If I was going to see them on a somewhat regular basis, that meant that I could develop a relationship with some of the younger ones on my own, and then I could have them help me talk with the head of their family. I knew it was a longshot at best, but it was the only thing that I had at the moment.

I went over to my desk, still clutching little Silver, and found the business card with the dojo number on it. I called them up on my cell phone and soon heard on the other line, “Master Chang’s, and no, we’re not a Chinese food place.”

I laughed inwardly before saying, “Hi, this is Mikaela Vance. I was calling to see about getting some self-defense lessons.”

“Ah, the new girl that my sister brought in,” replied the voice, whom I was assuming was Carly Harper.

“It’s Carly, right?”

“Yep. You’re a smart one.”

I giggled, and then replied, “So, I’ve been told. I was wondering if I could sign up for self-defense lessons.”

“Sure,” she replied. “What’s your style?”

“Uhh…,” I answered. I didn’t have a style. I was completely new to this.

“Don’t have one, huh?” Carly replied, seeming to know. “It’s all right. We get people like that from time to time.”

I sighed in relief. “So, how do I figure out what’s my style?”

“I can schedule an appointment for you to come in, so Cindy and I can figure it out with you. After that, then we get give you the times for which particular discipline is being taught when.”

“I like that,” I replied.

“Great!” Carly replied. “What day and time works for you?”

“How about tomorrow around four, when I get off of work?”

“That works for us,” Carly replied. “We’ll see you then.”

She hung up the phone as I jotted down the appointment for tomorrow. I didn’t have work at the comics shop tomorrow. I had planned on going back down to the archive, and trying to find something that might help. I just hoped that I wasn’t seen by anyone.

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18 October 2011

I got out of my one o’clock class early, which helped me in getting to the fountain as quickly as possible. I didn’t want people to see me go down through a secret passage, or coming up through it. Hopefully, people were more obsessed with their own lives and meals than paying attention to the passers by.

The fountain area looked deserted for the most part. There were a few people in the area, but they were pretty far off and had to have had excellent vision in order for them to see me. I quickly triggered the trap door and went down into the staircase, hoping that no one saw me.

With my phone as a flashlight, I made my way to the door and walked into the room. Everything was exactly where I left it, which wasn’t saying too much. The room was still a mess, but hopefully I would have time later on to get it cleaned up some.

I began sifting through the various piles, trying to find anything that can help me out now. The book that I had found on the various clans of Ravencrest was a good start, but it only gave the information in brief. Definitely a Cliff Notes version of everything.

I was hoping that there would be some books on each of the families, like there was a scroll that contained their family trees. But, I was probably hoping for too much. I began looking through the desk, which I found a bunch of empty notebooks, and writing materials. There was even a sketch book and art supplies in there.

“Wow,” I said aloud when I saw them. “I guess the previous Lorekeeper liked to sketch things out.”

I flipped through the first sketchbook and was amazed at what I saw. There were many sketches of various animals that looked like they could be different members of the five clans that lived around here. What really amazed me though, were the sketches of creatures that looked like they were animal-human hybrids.

‘What’s that all about?’ I wondered.

I put the sketchbook back down and continued my search. Most of the notebooks were blank, like they were meant for someone to fill in with time. I went to the bookcase and began scanning the titles. There looked like there were a bunch of books of different kinds of weres. There were even different kinds of animals that looked like they were from the stuff of legend. Japanese temple lion-dogs? I wondered what those were.

I replaced the book and continued my search. That was something I had to look at later on. On another shelf, I found a stack of notebooks. These, however, had a variety of things sticking out of them. I opened one and saw an article from the Ravencrest Gazetteer that had to deal with a real estate deal that the Locke family had made in the seventies. Thumbing through the notebook, there were a variety of articles on the Lockes, along with notes scribbled in the margins. The other notebooks contained information about the other clans, although the one containing information from the McCormicks was surprisingly light. That got my attention. Something was definitely up with that clan.

I picked up the notebooks, intent on taking them home for further study. I then looked at some of the other books that were on the shelves. I passed over some books that looked like they were general information about Weres. However, a few did manage to catch my eye. One book was titled, “Magic and Weres: Believe It or Not.” That book looked very interesting to me. However, I couldn’t pull it off the shelf. It was like it was glued down or something. Another book was titled, “The Curse of the Moon: Lycanthropy, and its Dark Secrets.” That book looked like it could be the basis for the modern day werewolf in fiction. I pulled that one of the shelf, except that it only moved down.

There was a sound of some gears grinding and the wall next to me lifted up and away, revealing another staircase that led upwards.

“This is interesting,” I muttered to myself, as I began to climb the stairs.

I began the climb up the stairs with the stuff I found safely in my backpack. These stairs were lit by some blue fluorescent lights, and had stone walls that reminded me of castles in Europe. The lighting with the stone walls created an eerie scene as I made my way up the staircase. Why were these stairs here? Did they lead someplace specifically?

Eventually, I managed to make it to the top of the landing and saw that the stairs split in two directions, one leading up and the other leading down. The stairs leading down went off in a direction that led away from where the archive was. My curiosity was wondering where that particular passage led, even though the way down seemed to be emanating some dark looking fog. There were no lights set up along that route as well, as if that passageway had been neglected.

After shivering from the look of that passageway, I turned and headed up the stairs, deciding that those other stairs I would save for another day. Hopefully, one where things weren’t so hectic and people were gunning for me. Eventually, I made my way to a doorway.

I turned the brass handle and it clicked. Pushing the door, though, didn’t get me anywhere. Was is stuck or something? I tried pulling the door in, and that worked. The door creaked open, as if it hadn't been used in years. Light peeked through as I slowly opened the door.

I thought to myself, 'Did this door open to the outside or into some building?'

The door stopped at a point where it was wide enough to let two people pass through, even though the door wasn't fully extended from its frame. I slipped out and looked around where I was at. To my surprise, I found that I was inside of the university library.

The door clicked shut on its own behind me. I turned around and saw a similar bookcase to the one I had found in the archive below. I looked around at the titles, and quickly found two books about the curse of the moon. One of which was loose and could be removed, the other was not.

“Well, that's nice to know,” I said to myself. Having this way in would make sense for the previous lorekeeper to have. From what I was told, he was the librarian of this school. This route would help when I had to get down there quickly, but the drawback was that it was only available to me during the library's hours.

I headed out of the section that I was in, Mythology, and headed for the door. There were some students talking with the librarian. I breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly headed out the door. I looked back to see if I was being watched, but no one appeared to have reacted.

I turned and continued along my way back to my apartment. I still had some time to drop everything off in my apartment before I headed over to the dojo. That thought still irked me a little bit. I guess I was hoping that I didn't humiliate and embarrass myself too much.

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After changing into some simpler clothes, my mother and I walked over to the dojo where my appointment was. My mother insisted on going so that she knew what I would be up against, but I thought that she was being a bit overprotective of me. I just sighed and was grateful she would be around when I needed a ride home after the workout.

We walked right into the dojo and up to the front desk. I could hear the sound of people exercising and a couple of people sharply criticizing a few people as well in the background.
I saw a young woman sitting at the desk. She reminded me of Carly, who Cindy had introduced to me earlier.

“Hello,” I said to her.

“Hi!” she replied. “Welcome to Master Chang’s. Can I help you?”

“Yes, my name’s Mikaela, and I made an appointment earlier.”

“Right!” she exclaimed, “I remember you from the phone.”

She flipped through a book and explained to me, “Looks like I got you down for what we like to call, ‘What Style are You?’ and the first lesson once we’ve figured that out.”
She then stifled a bit of a laugh.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Oh, it’s just an inside joke,” she replied, but couldn’t contain a giggle that popped out.

I sighed and groaned.

“But,” she continued, “you do need something a little more exercise-friendly to wear.”

“What?” I answered, with a look on my face that read, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

“Yep. House rules, I’m afraid. Luckily for you, we also do sell some exercise gear.”

My mom laughed and said, “Let’s go, kiddo. I’ll get you what you need.”

Carly interrupted, “After I ring you up for everything, I’ll lead you to the locker room to change. Then, look for Cindy, she volunteered to help you out.”

“Thanks,” I replied. My mom grabbed my hand and led me to the small clothes shop they had, and started picking things out that she thought that I would look good in, as well as a gym bag to store all this stuff in.

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I emerged from the locker room wearing a new set of sports undergarments, and a pair of sweats on top of them. It was simple and my mom said that it would work for the time being. After purchasing my new gym clothes, she left and told me that she would go pick something up for dinner. I gazed out across the dojo and could see various people getting their workouts in, followed by the usual moans and groans of people getting thrown to the floor. I cringed as I realized that I would soon be joining their ranks.

I looked around for Cindy, but I couldn’t find her. What was she up to? And did her sister tell her about the appointment that I had scheduled?

I felt something tapping on my shoulders and I whirled around to see what it was. I met only with the open air. I turned around and nearly walked straight into Cindy.

“Hi, there!” she smiled and waved.

“Did you just…?”

“Maybe,” she said, with a wink. “Or you could just be seeing things.”

“Oh, great,” I mumbled.

“Relax, it’s not that,” she reassured. “I tend to do that to people all the time.”

She turned and headed for a nearby blue mat. “Are you coming or what?”

I shook my head and followed her. Hopefully, I wouldn’t go home with too many bruises.

As soon as she got most of the way across the circle, she turned around and looked at me. She placed her hand on her chin, and examined me as if she was sizing me up or something. She then began walking around me, making me think that she really was sizing me up.

“So, are you familiar at all with martial arts?” she asked, after she circled me.

“Just what I’ve seen on TV,” I answered.

“Fresh meat,” she replied, with a grin on her face that looked like she was up to no good.

“What?” I replied, shocked at her comment.

“Relax,” she said smiling. “You’re so wound up, aren’t you?”

“I guess,” I replied.

“How come?” she asked, “You’ve got nothing to be afraid of here.”

I thought for a bit and answered, “I guess I’m afraid to get hurt, and I haven’t been exactly been having the best of days over the past month.”

“You need to relax,” Cindy told me gently. “No one here is going to deliberately hurt you. What you have to do here and now is to let go just enough to relax and take in the lessons. There is no contact in this class we just teach you to move gracefully and quickly.”

“Okay, that was my main worry. Graceful and quick though?” I replied, confused at the second part.

“Yep,” she answered. “I’m starting you out with some Tai Chi. It will help later on when you start to learn some of the more advanced styles.”

“Gotcha,” I answered.

“Now,” she said, getting into a ready stance. “I want you to do what I do as best as you can. Follow my lead.”

Cindy started to move in a strange way to me. It looked like she was trying to bend her body in varying ways. She was extending her body in one direction, while doing the opposite in the other. I tried my best to mimic what she was doing. A couple of times I fell flat to the floor, luckily my butt and the pad caught my fall.

Cindy did her best not to giggle at my clumsiness. Although, if she did break out laughing, I would probably join in. As much as I was confused about how we were moving and breathing, she did tell me that I did have to breathe a certain way after I fell on my butt the first time, I found myself relaxing and having a bit of fun.

I didn’t realize how much time had passed until she told me to stop for right now.

“You did good for a first-timer,” she observed. “You just need to work on your breathing more.”

“And your balance,” she added with a giggle.

“Hey!” I retorted.

She giggled, “It’s okay. I think I was worse than you when I first tried.”

That made me feel a little bit better. Although, some of the bruises were still feeling a little sore.

“Hit the showers,” she smiled, “we’re done for the night.”

I hit the locker room and took a quick shower to get some of the sweat off of me. It was then I realized that I didn’t have any shampoo or soap. I would have to throw them into my gym bag for next time.

When I emerged from the locker room, Cindy waved me to the front desk and retrieved an appointment book. With a twinkle in her eyes that did not bode well for the unbruised parts of my backside, she grinned at me and told me when there were classes available and asked which times would be best for me. “The one-on-one things usually only last for a few sessions so we can get you newbies moving right and better balanced. Just understand that falling on your ass a few more times is just part of the process.”

I giggled at that. “Yup, I should’ve realized that.”

She giggled as well before getting back down to business. “Okay, when can you come in again?”

“Uhm,” I replied, thinking of an appropriate day, “I’m not working at the comic book store on Sunday, does that work?”

“Yes, Sunday afternoon would work out just fine. I’ll pencil you in for the same time,” she answered, using a pencil of all things.

As she was writing down the appointment I thought to myself that this would probably be the best time to try to engage the Harper clan in a dialog. We were pretty much alone where we were standing, the nearest person was towards the back of the dojo.

“So,” I started, “been singing to the moon lately?”

I could hear the pencil she was using snap as she turned to me and tried to shrug it off. “Now, why would I want to do a thing like that?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I replied mockingly, “because it’s something that you Coyotes do.”

If she was irked by what I was saying, she was definitely doing her best not to show it. We had run into each other before, and some of the things that I had said then would probably be running through her mind right now. She still looked at me, as if she was sizing me up, and probably trying to figure out if there was anything up my sleeve that I haven’t revealed today.

She finished jotting down the appointment and motioned for me to step into the office. No one was in there at the moment, and she asked me to take a seat on the couch, while she closed the door.

I took a seat on the couch and looked her in the eye. Cindy turned to me and in an aggressive tone, “Alright, Wolf. Enough of this. What do you want?”

“What are you talking about?” I replied, trying to feign ignorance.

“You damn well know what I’m talking about. I don’t think me running into you was a coincidence. Now, what do you want?”

“To talk to your clan,” I answered, shifting my position. “I’m tired of having my strings pulled by others and I want some answers of my own.”

I wasn’t messing around with her. I wanted answers and the direct approach was the route seemed like the most effective way to do it.

“What do you mean?” she answered, looking confused.

‘Was she really confused?’ I thought to myself. Coyotes were tricksters after all.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors?” I asked. “Seems like everyone else has around here.”

Cindy thought about it for a couple of seconds before replying, “Lorekeeper?”

I nodded, and held up the bracelet on my wrist. “We need to talk.”