2. Werewolves are Guardians

Sybil turned to go down the hall and went several steps before nearly running into a wall. She stopped looking up, and felt the color drain from her face. Good lord up close she felt even smaller. How tall was this man? Like seven foot had to be a good two sixty pounds of muscle.

                “Ms. Temes?” He said and his voice was deep kind of gruff, but pleasant enough. He had dark blonde hair and amber colored eyes. The other was the same height as him close to six six, well that was her guess. Look she was on the taller side for a woman, just short of six foot but they made her feel short.

                “Yes?” She said trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. What did he want with her and who told them her name? They were both rather good looking. The one that hadn’t spoken had a faded scar on the side of his neck that looked like a bite wound.

                “Doctor Greyson told us you made a cure for this sickness. We’ve never seen a cure for this before, all that had it either died or became catatonic.” They were just sharing this now?

                “You mean there were people who survived without anything?” She was amazed by that.

                “Only a couple, but they have passed. It was a long time ago. Humans don’t seem to recover from this sickness. We’d like to know how you are doing it, and how you know you are immune as Greyson says. That is another rare thing.” She kind of felt like she was on trial. Did they have to do this here? Why ambush her in the hall? She had things to do. The one that hadn’t spoken was staring her down, it made her uncomfortable.

                “When I was caring for my father I got his blood on me. Into cuts on my hands and never got sick it would have shown by now. That was before we knew blood could transfer it.” He gave a slight nod and she continued. “How well do you know plants? Or natural remedies.” She asked suppressing a swallow.

                “Some, we don’t get sick like you do. If we do natural remedies work best for us.” Well the mute did have a voice, and it was soft. Not what she pictured coming from him.     

                “Oh well, I use a great many parts of plants, some fungi. Extractions. Holy water and sometimes oil depending on what I have on hand. The main ingredient that seems to change the potion from slowing the sickness to stopping it is the juniper lily.” She told them and the first that spoke frowned.

                “Juniper lily, where do you get this from?” He asked.

                “From Brahi, I need more I’ve run out.” They looked at each other and spoke in another language that she didn’t know. She hoped she didn’t just get in trouble telling the truth here.

                “Holy water was smart, we are sure this is a Xolotl. Which is akin to a demon of sickness. They infect people and the sickness weakens them. Makes them vulnerable and easy to feed from. The closer one is to death, the less energy is tightly bound to the body.” Well no one had said anything about seeing one of these things. So what was a Xolotl anyways?

                “Oh, well I could just feel this…” she twisted a hand around as the thought, “darkness and I know that pure things can help. Holy water is a good one.” He eyed her seeming to think.

                “Are you a witch?”

                “Not exactly. I don’t have the kind of magic some of them do. I deal with herbology  mostly, some fungus and the like. Real boring stuff.” She gave a smile, and the mute actually smiled this time as well.

                “Describe this lily.” The first said and she did. He didn’t seem to know but mute one did. Though she guessed he wasn’t mute anymore, and probably had a name.

                “That’s the frustimora.” He supplied and a light seemed to go on.

                “I’m sorry what does that mean, is that just a name?” She asked interested and pulled out a little steno from her pocket and a pen. She wrote that down. She always wanted to know what the proper name was, and she called it a juniper lily. The flower looked like it grew out of a juniper bush, but had far softer stems. Not quite woody like normal juniper she’d seen.

                “More a name, it means forever bloom. They bloom even in winter, and can give temporary relief to pain speed up healing. No one has seen it in a very long time. How did you get it, when did you come over?”

                “When I was a teenager, just before your winter set in. I know where we found them. I have a very good memory. I need to go to Brahi and get more, or these people are going to die. My mother got permission to harvest some of your plant life. She did similar things like I can do.” They were silent for a moment and then spoke in that other language. She wished they wouldn’t do that, it made her nervous. Like she was saying something wrong to these guardians.

                “I understand you want to help these people, but it’s not safe to go. We could take you in a few days’ time.”

                “Some of these people don’t have a few days.” She said feeling upset. She would go alone if she had to. “I know it’s dangerous for a human there, we are a very good prey item for some of them. I would be fast and remember where to go.” She told them.

                “We aren’t going back right away. Not until others come to relieve us in our search. A horrible storm came through our land dumping more snow. If you came before the snow and it has been years, how do you expect to find it? It’s not safe for multiple reasons. We will take you when we go back, no one is to freely go through the portal without our Alpha Prime’s consent. Besides another storm is threatening to start.” That wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but that wasn’t going to stop her. She just hoped that she could squeak through without being noticed.

                “We will come get you, we have your name and scent. It will be easy enough to find you.” She bit her lip.

                “What are your names?” She asked clearing her throat slightly.

                “I am Kal and this is Mecir.” The first to speak was Kal, and the mute was Mecir. She gave a nod.

                “They really don’t have a lot of time for some.” She told them and Kal nodded.

                “If you are the only one able to make what you have, then losing you would be worse would it not? Better to go when it is safe.” Mecir said to her and she moved around them feeling a bit upset at them telling her no. That she had to wait.

                “Not when one of the sick is your father.” She felt them watching her, and heard their odd fluid language again.

                “We will come get you Ms. Temes, rest assured.” She just nodded but that didn’t make her feel good at all. She got in the elevator and sprinted to her car to get home and pack. She wasn’t going to take much. Just a small bag with some essentials. She took the stairs to her apartment two at a time and went in. She had already written down what she did to create the cure and left that out on the table. She had it memorized so she wasn’t worried, but if she didn’t come back then someone else would know. She was coming back.

                She grabbed some boots, put on thermal wear and put pants on. A light sweater and then coat. She needed to be warm but dressed lightly so that she could move fast. She tucked a gun into her bag, and then tools to collect the lily. The box that it needed to be kept in. She packed holy water, and oil along with a torch that could be used as a weapon or heat if she needed a fire. Though she’d prefer not, might draw attention.          

                Sybil left locking her apartment and ran down the stairs again. She got into her car and drove to the cave system. She had a few items that she could use for distraction if need be. She’d been to the caves a great deal collecting things. Knew a good deal about them and where she could or couldn’t go. What lead where and she knew the portal that she needed. This was going to be at least a day’s walk. She had food in her pack along with water and a couple vials of needed energy that would keep her awake. Keep her focused so she didn’t have to sleep and could do this fast.

                She parked the car in a lower lot and jogged up some wooden stairs to the small center that was closed and boarded up at the moment. She went around the back, pulled off a couple boards to the fencing there. Sybil was fast to go down the path and into the mouth of the first cave. She chose this way, because she was less likely to meet someone here at this small closed down center. It was just after ten and no one was around. She also knew that the guardians tended to come out just to the east of here. Which was also where the active portals were. She hoped that this was going to be easy, and she wasn’t doing something stupid. She doubted it, she was doing this to save people, save her father from a fate worse than death.

                Sybil pulled out a small flash light. She grabbed a visitor map that in a small container just in case. Then started to head where she needed to go. It took just over an hour to transverse the cave. She had to do it with minimal light when she got close in case someone was there. As it was she was sure she heard movement. There was light up a head in one of the tunnels that she knew held the portal she wanted to go through. Being as quiet as possible she pulled off her pack and pulled out a medium sized jar with amber liquid. Sybil set it on the floor and then lightly dropped a smaller jar into it with clear liquid and a top. The amber liquid would eat through the metal in about a minute. That was all she really needed to get down the side tunnel and on the other side to go through.

                There definitely was someone up ahead. They weren’t loud but it sounded like a weapon was drawn. She darted down the side tunnel with her pack and this one curved around coming on the other side of where the light was. She check the map of the tunnels and knew she was going the right way. Sybil was closer to where the main exit here would be. There was a loud bang and she dared a peak. She saw two forms move forward toward where purple smoke was coming from and another bang. She was fast and as quiet as she could be. She went down the tunnel that the two large figures had vacated and it sloped down sharply. Torches lined the walls here.

                She saw the silver light bouncing off the walls, and then the hoovering mass that nearly filled the tunnel from floor to ceiling. This was a portal, and it was farther back than she remembered. These things liked to move as well. She just hoped the other side was still closer to where she’d come out last. She assumed so if the guardians seemed to have such easy access to it. She’d been told this one was a constant, shifting up and down the tunnel at will. Though it never disappeared.

                Hoping that she wasn’t going to come out some where horrible or where someone might send her right back. Sybil took a breath and walked right into the portal with a slight smile. This had been easier than she thought and her heart beat faster. She wasn’t typically the adventurous type like this, but she had backbone. Clearly she was going to do it. She was a bit too far to turn back now. She kept her fingers crossed for what she was going to come out and into.