Arrival of the Prophecy (23 page)

“Get out,” Anthony growled, ramming his elbow into the bars.

Carter came running down the steps, and threw the goat’s lifeless corpse
down next to Sky, who was now trying her best to make it to the bottom of the
staircase, but was blocked off by the two fighting
wereboars
.
Carter’s transformation was like liquid in mid-air. He
lept
from about fifteen steps up in his human form, and landed covered in fur,
gnashing his teeth in the direction of the creatures trying to kill each other.
He turned his massive head, seeing his king pushing on the barred door that was
inching its way open. His head spun around looking for his queen who was doing
her best to stay out of the way of the swinging arms of the two that were now
pushing her further into the corner. Carter reached down grabbing each of their
legs in his huge claw like hands, and drug them out of Sky’s way, then rushed
to Anthony as Tiffany broke free.

Sky was three steps up when Tiffany knocked her feet out from under
her. She toppled backwards landing hard on her back, as Carter crashed into
Tiffany, taking her into the stone steps. Anthony stormed up to Sky, lifting
her in his arms, slinging his head to the side and then taking her back to the
cage that Tiffany had just escaped from and pushed her inside. He rushed
forward, grabbing both
wereboars
by the back of the
head and pulled them apart. Kevin slammed his elbow into Anthony ribs and then
turned his tusk, hitting him in the upper chest. Anthony howled out in pain as
his body went backwards. Parker rammed his head into Kevin, who was fixing to
stomp down on Anthony’s neck, knocking them both over the round table.

They both came up swinging their arms and squealing wildly as their
heads made contact with the other. Both creatures were covered in blood as they
smashed their foreheads together, instantly wrapping their arms around each
other, falling to the floor. One beast straddled the other and continued
swinging its huge tusk at the others head that flopped lifelessly with every
hit. The
wereboar
raised both hands and slammed them
down on the others chest until everyone in the room heard its breast bone cave
in. Anthony got to his feet, looking back seeing Tiffany engrossed in the goats
carcass, with Carter’s wolf hand on her shoulder. His eyes then found Sky
looking out of the bars at the
wereboar
that was
stumbling back into the table. “My word,” it growled then
spat
down at the form that was changing back into the man once known as Kevin.

Anthony threw his head back and let out a howl the shook the walls,
with Carter following his actions. Parker half walked, half stumbled, over to
Tiffany who was now backing into the curve under the stairs, regaining her
thoughts and watching the two massive werewolves heaving their chest out,
making a sound that she remembered from the night at the ceremonial grounds. Parker
kneeled down on his bent back legs and reached out, making that same purring
sound deep in his chest and she went to him, curling her shoulder into his
chest. Sky came out of the cage and touched Anthony’s soft back, turning him to
look down at her. His jaw lifted on one side, and then he lifted her like a
child running his nose into her hair causing her to laugh.

“Her mother comes!”
Adella
yelled from the
depths of the darkness of the stairs.

“Put me
down and change,” Sky demanded, swatting Anthony’s arm. “Parker, can you help
her change back?”
  
He looked up at Sky and began shifting
back into his human form. Sky watched as the slender nude man began whispering
something in Tiffany’s
wereboar
ear, while running
his hand up and down her back. Tiffany curled in on herself and began to cry
softly as her form retook the shape of its former human self, leaving her nude
and covered in clear slime. She all but dove into Parker’s arms, thanking him
for bringing her back from the hell that she was just trapped in. Parker looked
back at Sky and Anthony, and shrugged his shoulders. Sky looked down at
Anthony’s nude body then darted her eyes over to Carter who was standing naked
and proud, looking up waiting for
Adella
to come
running down.

“Everybody
hide
,” Sky hissed, throwing out
her hands.

“Are you mad?” Anthony asked, smiling down at her.

“You really want my dad, and her mom to come rushing down here
seeing all of you naked?” Sky replied slapping him on his bare backside.

“They heard you…we had to tell them something,”
Adella
said as she rounded the final curve of the steps. “How are we going to explain
this?”

“I told them to hide,” Sky interjected.

“They come to see the girl. Help cover her,”
Adella
said, tossing Sky her shawl.

“The rest of you get in the tunnels, now!” That’s when she noticed
the dead man on the floor.

“Parker saved my life,” Anthony explained stepping over the man’s
feet.

“Leave him, there’s no time, now go,”
Adella
replied shaking her head, as the lights on the staircase up above them came to
life.

Sky laid the shawl over Tiffany’s shoulders, hoping that she wasn’t
going to offer a fight in return.
Immedately
she
leaned into Sky, then started saying how sorry she was for everything, and that
if she could take it all back she would, pleading, “Please don’t ever make me
turn into that thing again.” Sky didn’t know what to do as her father came down
the last of the steps. She stood hugging Tiffany in her arms, and did the only
thing she could think of—she smiled.

“Are you okay?” Henry asked shocked that he wasn’t looking at Sky in
wolf form, after what they had heard up stairs.

“We’re fine, Daddy. Tiffany just needs a good bath.” That’s when
Adella
saw the blood all over the front of Tiffany, and
stepped in using the bottom of her shirt to wipe it off of her face.
           

A loud scream echoed throughout the room as Bonny stood on the
bottom step seeing the dead man, right off the bat.
Adella
rushed to her and turned her head away from the man whose chest and face looked
like it had been scraped away. Henry turned and saw the corpse, immediately
turning back and staring right at Sky.

“What? I didn’t do it,” she claimed, walking Tiffany past him. “He
was trying to hurt us.”

“Tiffany, baby,” Bonny called out, running over to her child. “I
love you, sweetie.”

“How can you, Mom? You should hate me,” Tiffany replied then broke
down crying again. “Why was I so stupid?”

“We all make mistakes. I forgive you honey. I’m okay and we’re both
back where we belong.”

“No,” Tiffany pushed her mother’s arms away. “I will never be the
same. I let that thing hurt you, Mom and he…” she paused looking over at Sky. “He
turned me into one of them.”

“No gang can make you stay and I know how some girls get into these
gangs, and…”

“No, Mom,” Sky smiled, politely interrupting.

“I can do this,” Tiffany said, touching Sky’s arm. “
Dillan
and his people are shape shifters and turned me into
this horrible ugly thing.”

“We can all be monsters,” Bonny ignorantly replied.

“I’m a
Wereboar
, Mom. I know they had your
head covered, but you had to smell that horrid aroma and hear
they
way they were laughing.”

“You’re a what? I just thought they were dirty drug addicts.”

“She’s a
wereboar
, and I’m a werewolf,”
Sky said, stepping up next to Tiffany.

“And you girls are trying to drive me crazy. Now stop with the games
and explain what’s really going on down here and why is there a dead person laying
on the floor?”

“They speak the truth,”
Adella
added. “My
grandson rules this clan, and your stepdaughter is his bride. Your daughter on
the other hand has found herself becoming one of another pack, but will be
welcomed among our people for as long as she wishes to stay.”

“Oh please,” Bonny replied, waving her hand about.

“It’s all true. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Henry’s forehead
wrinkled as he walked up behind her.

“You’ve seen what, Henry? It’s true, I’m losing my mind,” she said
stepping back and sitting down on the floor.

“Let’s get her back to the lounge where she can absorb all of this
in a much calmer area.”
Adella
leaned down and took
her under the arm. “I have the perfect wine to make you feel better.”

“You wouldn’t have a few
valiums
handy
would you?” Bonny asked as she got back to her feet.

“Come on, you can take a bath in my room,” Sky said, putting her arm
over Tiffany’s shoulders.

“You really mean it, no more hating each other?”

“Hey, I never said we couldn’t be real sisters now did I?” Then she
began laughing.

Tiffany lowered her head, and then looked back up smiling. Right as
Sky and Tiffany were about to follow the others up, they heard a rustling sound
from the far back tunnel. “Hey, can we come out now?” Anthony whispered,
sticking his head out.

Sky waved her hand to him, and he, Carter and Parker came sneaking
out. Sky told them what was going on and left them to find their own way out,
without exposing their nudity that they didn’t want their guest to witness. Sky
looked back to see Parker watching as they moved up the steps until she
couldn’t see them anymore.

“You did a brave thing,” Anthony said, leaning back on the stone
table.

“What… that? I never liked him anyway,” Parker laughed. “You would
have done the same, I think.” He started moving back toward his cell.

“You won’t be staying in there anymore. I have plenty of room for
guests upstairs.”

“Your
father and my father would have been proud, if the stories are true.” Parker
walked over and shook Anthony’s hand.
  
“They are,” Carter added. “I remember
when your two fathers would meet by the broken river and talk for hours on
becoming a peaceful community, where we could all live in unity.”

“Maybe things will be different in our children’s future,” Anthony said
as he stood, stretched his arms, and then headed for the stairs. “I for one
could use a nice hot shower and a good stiff drink. Will you join me?”

Both men looked at each other and smiled, pushing off the table and
rushing up the steps behind him. Parker stopped, ran back in his old cage, and returned
wearing his jeans. “Old habit, when you don’t have many pairs you change before
you shift.” Then blushed pushing past Carter, who was laughing so hard he had
stopped where he stood on the steps, holding his stomach with one hand and the
wall with the other. The men slid around the corner of the long hall, right
into Anthony’s bedroom, and into his walk-in closet. He threw Carter a pair of
sweats, so he could run down to his own room and change without being seen by
the guests. Anthony then began going through his things searching for something
for Parker.

“You may use the shower first. I’m afraid most of my clothes will be
too big for you, but these may do well,” Anthony claimed handing him a pair of
black jeans, and a blue silk long sleeve shirt.

“This is too nice, Anthony. Don’t you have just a regular t-shirt in
here?”

“I do, many, but my second enforcer should dress the part, don’t you
think?”

“A
wereboar
as an
enforcer to the biggest werewolf clan this side of the globe?”

“That’s what I mean. You gave the most
honorable
gift that could be given this day. You put your life on the line to save my queen
and everyone else that your old companion could have harmed. Would you do me
the
honor
of standing beside me?”

“I don’t know what to say,” Parker mumbled running the silk through
his fingers.

“Say
that you will hurry in my shower,
then
use your own
room from now on,” Anthony smiled holding out his hand.
  
Parker took his hand and the deal was
made firm. For the first time since the ancients, the two worlds had finally
become one. The prophecy was laying its mark at their feet and the arrival of
the true legacy had yet to be seen. Parker heard the water running as he
entered the steamy bathroom and thought that it had been prepared for him. He
took off his jeans and laid them over the toilet and stepped into the clouded
shower, bumping his backside into the heated flesh of someone else. A female
screamed out, scaring Parker so bad that he slipped and fell backwards out of
the shower landing flat on his back.

“What the hell are you doing in my shower?!” Tiffany yelled trying
to clear the shampoo out of her eyes.

“I was told to clean up and thought the shower was running for me.”

“Well you shouldn’t take things for granted. God, are all you men so
stupid?”

“Not all,” he said, pushing himself up. “Just those who assume that
no one is in the shower, that they were told to get into.”