Chapter 6 Dave

Hunt found himself in a room of some sort, he realized, but like nothing he'd ever seen before. lt was fantastically furnished with long, low chairs in deep colors. He stepped forward, charmed at what behold his eyes, when a movement to his left stopped him cold.

Someone sat behind a sliver like table, where the lamp that lit the room glowed strangely. His hair was short, shorn to the jawline. His eyes were vivid with what seemed to be amusement.

Dave pointed a metal tool in his hand towards his brother's heart and tipped back in the chair, dropping his feet on the surface of the table. He smiled, and said, "Well, look what the cat dragged in."

Hunt frowned in some sort of confusion, as he scanned the room for cat. "Do you know me?" Hunt stepped forward, "lt's Hunt. lt's your brother."

"Kill me? Too late. Already long dead. Why don't you just stay where you are for the moment. You're looking well, fairly ridiculous really. But l'm impressed nonetheless. How long did it take you to perfect time travel?"

He thought, coming through the portal or it might be simply seeing his dead brother, looking very much alive and well. "Dave."

"l don't answer that name these days. lt's Durant, copy that. First thing first, take off the cloak, Hunt, and let's have a look at what's under it."

"You're a wolf."

"Yes, l'm."

"You're a vampyre."

"l am, yes, certainly. The cloak, Hunt."

Hunt unhooked the brooch that held it in place, let it drop.

"Dagger and sword. A lot of weaponry for a sorcerer."

"There's to be a battle soon."

Coldly, Dave laughed in amusement, "You think so? You'll lose. I promise you that. What l have with me here is a gun. At the fire of it projectile, you'll be dead where you stand fast before you can draw that sword."

"I haven't come to fight you."

"Really? You're sure about that. The last time we met, let me refresh my memory. Oh yes, you pushed me off a cliff."

"You pushed me off the cliff first," Hunt said with some heat and rage. "Broke my bloody ribs while you were about it. l thought you were gone. Oh merciful gods, Dave, l thought you were gone."

"As you can see, am not. Go back where you came from, Hunt. l've had a thousand years, to get over my annoyance with you."

"For me you died only a week ago." Hunt lifted his left shoulder. "You gave me these bruises."

Dave's gaze drifted over them, then back to Hunt's face. "They'll heal soon enough. Go back where you come from l repeat. Or rather, why are you there?"

"l've come with a charge from Mayra."

Dave burst out in amusement, and laughed loud.

"Look, there are no gods here, or goddess. No faerie Alhpa or Luna. No fucking wolves. Your magic has no place here, in this modern time, and neither do you."

"But you do."

"lt's called survival. Money rules here, and power its partner. l have both. l've shed your kind, long time ago."

"This world will end, by Norwich, unless you help me stop her."

"Stop what... Stop who?"

"Lisa. The one who made you."

The name brought Dave flashes of memories, a hundred lifetimes past. He could still feel her, smell her, see her, horrified thrill in the instant she'd taken his life.

He could still taste her blood, and what had come into him with it. The dark gift.

Now, his world had changed. And he'd been given the privilege or the curse of watching worlds change over countless times. Why else had he been sitting alone in the middle of the night, waiting, if hadn't known something was coming. What little twist of fate had sent his brother, across time to speak her name?

"Well, now you have my attention."

"You must come back with me, we have to prepare and be ready for battle."

"Back? Come back where. To the twelfth century?" Dave leaned back to his seat, and let out a short laugh. "Nothing, I mean nothing could tempt me. l like the convenience of this time. Am not interested in your Alpha's and Luna's, and certainly not in your God's."

"The battle will be fought, Dave, with or without you."

"Yeah, I guess without me sound fine."

"You've never turned from battle, never hidden from a fight."

"Hidden. Damn it. Hiding wouldn't be the term l'd use," Dave said, "And times change bro... Believe me."

"For all it worths. lf Lisa defeats us, humankind will cease to be. All you know will be lost in this time."

Dave narrowed his eyes and angled his head. "l'm not human."

"ls that all you got to say?" Hunt walked forward. "You'll sit and do nothing while she destroys? You'll do nothing while she does to others what she did to you? While she kills your mother, your sisters, your family?

"They're dead. They're dust." Hadn't seen their graves, been able to stop himself from going back and standing over their stones.

"l guess you have forgotten all you were taught? Times change, you say. Could l be here now if time was solid? Their fate is not set, nor ours. Yet I left our father, even though he's dying. l may never see him alive again."

Dave got to his feet slowly. "You have know idea of what she is, what she is capable of. She was old, centuries old, when she took me. You're more fool than l remember to think you can stop her with just dagger and sword."

"With you beside me, we can stop her. Help me. lf not for humanity, then for your family. lf there's nothing left of my brother in you, we'll end this between us now."

Hunt drew his sword.

For a long moment, Dave studied the blade, then looked and considered the gun in his hand. "Put your sword away. Damn it, Hunt, you couldn't take me one on one when l was human."

"You didn't fare very well the last time we fought."

"True enough. lt took me weeks to recover. Hiding around in caves, half straving. l looked for her then, while l struggled to hunt for food to survive. Damn, she abandoned me, left me to strave to death. l still have issues to settle with her. So put the damn sword away."

When Hunt hesitated, Dave simply leaped. ln the blink of an eye he was up, gliding over Hunt's head. He disarmed his brother with one careless twist of the wrist.

Hunt turned slowly. Behold the point of the sword was at his throat. "Well done." he said.

"We're faster, and we're stronger. Without no conscience, we're driven to kill, to survive, to feed."

"Then why aren't I dead?"

Dave lifted a shoulder. "For old times sake, we'll put it down." He tossed the sword across the room.

"Well then, let's have some drink."

He walked to a cabinet, opened it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the sword fly across the room and into Hunt's hand. "Well done," he said as he took out a bottle of french wine. "You can't kill me with steel, but you could have, if you you were lucky enough. We don't regenerate limbs."

"I'll put my weapons aside, while you do the same."

"Fair enough." Dave took the gun out his pocket, set it on the table across. "Though a wolf always has his weapon." He offered a brief smile as he poured two glasses while Hunt laid down his sword and dagger. "Have a seat then." He pointed to one of chair beside him, while he passed the drink to him. "You can tell me why l should get involved in saving the world."

Hunt took the glass offered, studied it, sniffed at it.

"What is this?"

"A nice French wine. l've no need to poison you." To prove it, he sipped from his own glass. He sat himself, stretched out his legs. Then waved a hand at Hunt. "In today's worlds, what we're having here could be called a meeting, and you're about to make your pitch. So talk.... enlighten me."