Scott nodded. "The Merrick, though one of the most powerful, were only one of many, the abilities of the various clans differing as widely as their physiology. Some only partially altered when in their primal forms, like the Merrick. Others fully transformed, able to take the shape of an animal, similar to those of us who make up the Watchmen today. Others couldn't venture out into the light, living only from blood. Some had talents that involved telepathy, others the ability to live underwater or to master the skies. The variety was as rich as it was diverse. And for the most part, the clans lived in peace with one another, hidden among the humans, until the Casus came on the scene sometime during the second half of the first millennium."
"Were the Casus also one of these ancient clans?" Molly asked, murmuring a soft thank-you to Quinn as he placed a mug of coffee before her on the gleaming surface of the table.
Taking a heavy sip from his own cup, Scott shook his head, the golden gleam of the recessed lighting glinting off the auburn strands of his hair. "At first, yes. They came from an isolated clan that roamed the European continent. Several of the ruling families, believing their bloodlines were not only the purest but also the most powerful in terms of physical strength and ability, became fanatical about breeding for the purity of their species. They matched brother with sister, parents with offspring. At first, because of their isolation, their actions went unnoticed by the Consortium. But within a few generations, it became apparent that the inbreeding had brought about dangerous, unforeseen consequences. Rather than keeping the purity of the line intact, their biology mutated. They had bred themselves into immortal beings of incredible strength, but their power came with a price. They became slaves to an intense, overwhelming hunger, evolving into what we know today as the Casus, meaning violent death."
"An appropriate name," Molly whispered, wrapping her arms around her middle, as if to ward off a chill, though the room remained pleasantly warm.
"Yes, it was," Scott agreed, his gaze lingering on her face in a way that made Ian want to snarl at him. Biting his tongue, he took another drag on his cigarette, listening as the Watchman went on with his explanation. "The Casus began hunting humans as their main food source, discovering that they grew stronger when they not only fed upon their victim's blood, but their flesh, as well. All they knew was death and destruction, like a black plague that annihilated everything within its path."
Exhaling a short stream of smoke, Ian said, "My mother would often talk about the Casus hunting the Merrick."
"And she was right. They soon learned that the stronger their victim, the greater their rush of pleasure and power when they fed. The Merrick, being one of the strongest of the ancient clans, soon became their favorite food source, though they continued to sustain themselves on human kills, also. Intent on protecting both humanity and their own species, the Merrick went to war against the Casus, with the blessing of the Consortium. The two clans battled for years, until, with the help of the Consortium, a plan was finally devised to imprison the Casus."
"What the hell's the Consortium?" Ian asked, stubbing out his cigarette, then immediately taking another from the pack. "I've never heard of them before tonight."
"The Consortium," Scott explained, "is a body of officials drawn from each of the original ancient clans, like a preternatural United Nations. Their purpose is to settle disputes, to keep peace among the differing species, while working to preserve the secrecy of the remaining clans from the human world. They're a bureaucracy, more than anything, often bogged down in politics and personal agendas--though they do help keep the lines of communication open between groups that would otherwise avoid interaction. The Watchmen were formed from various shape-shifting clans as the Consortium's eyes and ears around the world. Now we monitor the different species and known bloodlines that are still in existence, like the Merrick, and then report back with our findings. If action is required, the members of the Consortium vote on how to proceed."
"So then after years of war, this Consortium finally got off their asses and decided to help the Merrick capture the Casus," Ian rumbled, taking a sip of the coffee Quinn had placed on the table in front of him, wishing like hell it was a beer. "What changed their minds? And how did they do it?"
"And where exactly did they trap them?" Molly added.
"No one knows for sure," Quinn answered, his tone dry as he turned down the lights in the kitchen, leaving only the alcove in a warm glow. Slipping into the far seat on Molly's left, he sat with his back to the bay window. "But it's believed that toward the end of the Dark Ages, the Consortium decided to take action against the Casus when it became obvious that their rampant, violent attacks against humanity threatened the exposure of the other clans. Despite internal bickering and opposing beliefs, they agreed to construct a prison, or holding ground, for the Casus. Realizing that the future of their bloodlines depended on the imprisonment of their mortal enemy, the Merrick leaders offered themselves up as bait in order to set the trap.
"The Casus, believing they were about to embark upon what would prove their greatest victory and the end of the Merrick, gathered all their clansmen and women together to witness the momentous event, never suspecting what was coming. Once the trap was sprung, the Consortium was able to create some sort of metaphysical gate to hold the Casus inside, but no one knows where. Some believe they were buried deep within a mountain somewhere in Eastern Europe, others in an underground cavern. There are even claims of the holding ground being beneath the sea. But the one certainty that no one could dispute was that the Casus did disappear and their reign of terror came to an end."
"But how can no one know where or how it happened?" Ian muttered, his tone thick with disbelief.
Scott sighed, locking his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. "You have to remember that these were chaotic, violent times. They weren't called the Dark Ages for nothing," he drawled. "The Consortium's plan was to hold the Casus trapped in this holding ground until weapons could be created that would not only kill their immortal bodies, but their spirits, as well. Once these weapons were fashioned, they'd planned to go back and destroy the Casus once and for all, purging the earth of their existence."
Lowering his arms again, Scott reached for his coffee. After taking a swallow, he continued in a grim tone. "But dark times fell over the clans. The Casus's mindless killing had spread paranoia throughout the human world. A group named the Collective was formed, comprised of mankind's most fearsome warriors, their purpose to hunt those who weren't human and destroy them. Many of the clans were massacred, including the Consortium itself. Their records were believed lost in the gruesome battles that were waged between the clans and the Collective for centuries afterward, until most of the surviving clans finally disbanded, blending completely into human society. Many even bred with humans, generation after generation, until the primitive blood of their ancestors became so diluted, it was all but forgotten. The Merrick, whose numbers had been severely decimated after so many years of war, were one of those clans who eventually took human mates."
"And so the Casus were never killed," Molly murmured, her hands wrapped around her mug, brown eyes shadowed with fear. "They were left trapped in this holding ground?"
"That's exactly what happened," Scott rasped, setting his own mug back on the table.
"Everyone who knew where it was, how to find it, how to open the gate, how to kill the Casus, was slaughtered. And the answers died with them. Even after the new Consortium was formed, they couldn't discover the truth. They searched for the records, or archives, that had been collected by the original Consortium for centuries, as did the Collective, believing they would hold answers to these questions, as well as information about all of the ancient clans--
but as far as anyone knows, neither group has ever managed to find them. The only thing everyone agrees on is that the Casus never died. It's believed that though their flesh-and-blood bodies would have eventually decomposed without a proper food source to sustain them, their shades, or spirits, would continue to be trapped within the Consortium's prison."
Quinn leaned forward, bracing his crossed arms against the table as he picked up where Scott left off. "But that's not the end of the story. There was a gypsy legend that was passed through the European tribes, foretelling of a time when the Casus would escape and once again walk the earth."
"Escape how?" Ian grunted.
Quinn lifted his shoulders. "Again, the details are unclear. But it's said that the day will come when the Casus, eager for revenge, will figure out a way to send a shade back into this realm, in search of its mortal enemy, the Merrick. And in keeping with the balance of nature's order, the gypsies believed a Merrick would rise to battle the Casus. Because of this legend, the Watchmen have been responsible for monitoring the most powerful Merrick bloodlines, waiting for the time of the awakenings to begin. There are compounds scattered over every continent, each of them manned by Watchmen who are running surveillance on the Merrick, monitoring their status. We'd hoped the legend would prove untrue, but as you know, the time has finally come. You're the first."
"Why me?" Ian questioned in a gritty rasp.
"It makes sense you were awakened first," Scott explained. "The Buchanan bloodline has always been believed to be one of the strongest. And you're the eldest son. So we've watched you closely, from the moment you were a boy."
"You're fucking kidding me," he snorted.
Scott's mouth twitched at his tone. "Not at all. We followed after you when you left home.
Watched you during all those unsavory years in Los Angeles. For a long time we wondered if you wouldn't simply self-destruct, but then you finally pulled it together and moved closer to your brother. That decision saved your life," he murmured. "No one could have kept going down the path you were on and survived."
"But why wait until now?" Molly asked, a hint of frustration in her words. "If you've known where Ian was, known what was coming, why not contact him earlier and prepare him?"
Scott sent her a slow, arrogant grin. "And would he have believed us?"
"I don't know," she told him, and Ian could tell from the subtle change in her expression that she was upset. "But if you'd tried, it might have saved a woman's life."
Scott's grin bled away, and the rugged line of his jaw locked, one broad shoulder rolling in a hard gesture. He looked as if he wanted to curse, but in a calm voice, he simply said,
"Interference is not our way."
"So you don't care that an innocent woman died?" Molly demanded, all but bristling with fury.
"I didn't say that," Scott countered in a gritty rasp, his mouth grim. "But we're governed by rules. Specific ones. Ones that we're already breaking by bringing you here, risking the safety of this compound, as well as reprimands by the Consortium for acting without their approval.
And even if we could act, we don't even know where the Casus is. Quinn could have followed him last night, but he was more interested in making sure Buchanan made it to safety."
"Rules, huh?" Ian drawled. "Funny, but I never was much for those."
"We noticed," sneered a deep, rasping voice from one of the far, shadowed corners of the kitchen. Looking over his shoulder, Ian could just make out the outline of a giant hulk of a man, his golden eyes glittering in the dim light.
"Allow me to introduce our colleague," Scott murmured. "This is Aiden Shrader. Aiden, this is Ia--"
"I know who they are," the shadow rasped in an angry snarl.
Ian was about to ask what the guy's problem was, when Molly, who'd obviously decided to ignore the intrusion, said, "So then you think it's an actual Casus shade who's hunting Ian, and not just a Casus awakening inside one of their living offspring, the same way the Merrick part of Ian is awakening?"
"Unfortunately--" Quinn sighed "--that's exactly what we believe. It also accounts for why the Casus is so much more powerful than Buchanan." Cutting his dark gaze toward Ian, he said, "The Merrick inside of you is slowly awakening to what it is, realizing its potential. But the Casus, he's one of the originals, the body he's existing in stolen from some unsuspecting bastard who was just unlucky enough to have a drop of Casus blood running through his veins."
"I know how he feels," Ian muttered.
"Is that right?" the man they'd called Shrader growled from the shadows. "Tell me, human.
What's so unlucky about finding out you're not a complete asshole?"
Scott and Quinn both groaned, and the man stalked from the room, his angry strides echoing on what sounded like a distant set of wooden stairs. "You'll have to ignore Aiden," Scott murmured. "He doesn't care much for humanity."
"I never would have noticed," Ian drawled with a heavy dose of sarcasm, wondering how much of a problem the Watchman was going to be.
"Some grudges are easier to let go of than others," Quinn explained.
"I don't care what his issues are. I don't want him coming near her while we're here," Ian told them, tilting his head toward Molly.
"He won't be a problem," Scott assured him. "Aiden agreed that bringing you here was the right thing to do. It's just going to take him some time to...adjust."
"I don't give a damn if he adjusts or not," he snapped. "I don't want him coming near her."
As if sensing that the conversation was taking a turn for the worse, Molly quickly said, "You mentioned before that the legend speaks of one Casus escaping and making its way back to this world, in search of a Merrick. But then you mentioned awakenings, as in more than one.
Do you believe more Casus will escape?"
Quinn leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "To be honest, we aren't sure how it will work. But there are many who believe that once one Casus shade makes his way through, others will follow. If the gypsies' belief that nature will work to keep balance among the species is true, then with each Casus that escapes, a Merrick will awaken. And each time a shade enters our world, they will seek the Merrick, not only for a powerful feeding, but to satisfy their thirst for revenge. Only a few Casus bloodlines are known to exist--the product of human victims who were raped by those monsters, and by simple acts of chance, managed to escape with their lives. Several Watchmen compounds have been watching those bloodlines closely, but so far there's been nothing suspicious to report, which leads us to believe they must be using a line we're not familiar with." Staring at Ian, he said, "And of all the Merrick bloodlines we monitor, you're the only one we believe has awakened so far."