Truth and Honesty

   “Why did you actually come here?” Yolanda patiently waited for Ian’s answer. He was human. Would he feel attracted to her? Could she really trust him?

She just opened a whole kettle of fish. She’d all but told him she wasn’t human. Her parents and teachers had taught her from a young age. She was not supposed to approach this subject. Here she’s admitting to things no human would know. They taught everyone about the witch hunts of the past and those of vampires in history. Some people survived these events. These people could attest to the damage wrought by fear and hysteria. 

Humans in this time were no different. They still lived by gossip and stories. Facts and logic had flown out the proverbial window long ago. Yolanda could see the frustration and anger of the general population from various media platforms. They only needed something they could all accept to attack. It was a perfect storm brewing. If this became common knowledge, then it would be a slaughter on both sides.

“I can’t stress it enough you can’t let this information get out to the general population. Neither population could handle the knowledge. It would be a slaughter as panic and fear set in.”

“Look at the riots, arrests, families being separated, and don’t forget public murders. Imagine a vampire who has never harmed a single person in their existence being attacked by god-fearing community members. The slaughter would be insane. Because they are ignorant of reality. They are following myths and lore that more is not true.”

“I get it and understand your reasoning. You keep to yourselves to maintain yourselves and that of the human population. I understand you don’t want to be medical guinea pigs

or turned into super soldiers or weapons or such. As for why I came here. I don’t know why. I just did. Is that a bad thing?” 

“I’m not sure if it’s just your interest in this case or something else because I don’t know what you’re thinking. I’m not a Psychic or Empath.” Yolanda hopped up onto her feet and started pacing again. She was annoyed, and she didn’t know if it was at her, him or the situation she’d gotten herself in.

“Fine, how about we ensure our mutual insurance in this by you working with us? You come with us as a guide and expert. I’ll pass you off as a local authority about the area, history and lore. Your skills will ensure they accept it. The reports show conclusive proof there is no connection between your people or businesses. Unfortunately, the cooler belonged to the Medical Division of Wolversen. You accept the terms?”

Yolanda was backed into a corner now. If she didn’t follow through, then it would be as if she were giving him consent to advertising all the secrets, she’s just blabbed to him. If she assisted him, then she could ensure that he didn’t do or say anything. She also liked the idea of keeping his ass safe because he was a fool if he thought he could enter these woods and look for whoever left that trail.

“Well then, I have one thing to add to this. You can’t tell your friends. Just you and me. That’s it. I will do my best to keep my actions and resources on the down-low.”  Yolanda glared at Ian through the corner of her eyes. She was sure that he realized that she wasn’t pleased with being cornered like this, and she wouldn’t be the victim here.

“Sigh, it will be hard. Jaxon and Hal both think anyone with the last name is a wolf shifter. I’m not sure how we will keep it from them long enough to get through this. Do you have to shift regularly, or are you forced to shift at the full moon?”

“No, that’s from the idea that a gypsy cursed us. We’re not cursed. We are born this way. Just like a Mallard is a duck.”

“Silver?”

“In your dreams. Look, my ring is silver. So, assume nothing you know is real. Ask in private, and I’ll clear it up. If I run into a problem, then I’ll give you a heads-up as soon as I can. Remember, we have a lot of rules and traditions. Now I can see if I can find a mage to try to figure out those sigils. Once I can get my cellphone to work again. I can contact an expert in this type of thing that should still be mentally stable enough to work out what it all means.”

“Mentally stable?”

“Our ruling council lost their Mage representative because he bungled handling a cursed journal. Now he’s getting the mage version of medical help for it. I know the mage that is taking over his duties until he gets better. He also the leading authority on life/death magic. It’s also called blood magic, and just so you know, its practice in any form or under any name is outlawed. So, if we find that these assholes are still active, we need to back off and call in the mage exterminators.”

“Exterminators?

I’ll see if I can get Hal to copy the photos as soon as you have service.”

“Experts trained on taking down this type of criminal. They are the mage version of an enforcer. I have no protections against any type of magic user. I hate to say I don’t walk around carrying weapons designed to destroy every kind of supernatural I might encounter. You can see how that would look to anyone I might encounter? Also, most of those weapons are expensive as hell and scarce.”

“I guess they are all old, and there’s only a limited amount of them.”

“Yes, there’s a limit, but it’s because a single family makes them, and they pick who they trust with them.”

“That’s why you are the arms master. You have access to them and you have their trust.”

“Oh, they recently went through the entire space to make sure that all the weapons were still functioning as they created. They also brought a few extra toys with them. You must understand that there are only fifty active members of this family in history at any time. I may have the numbers of their active members, but there’s only so many of those that actually create the weapons.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem so bad.” Ian figured fifty people working regularly could make a lot of weapons.

“Not when they are creating for the whole supernatural world at large. These aren’t weapons you hand over to whoever can pay for them. They take their craft seriously and believe it’s their duty to keep the Supernatural World at bay. For centuries they hunted all of us. About a hundred years ago, they discovered we had our own policing system. But about forty to sixty years ago, they actually stopped attacking us on sight and started looking at what was happening.”

“So, they were monster hunters?”

“Yes, the original monster hunters who didn’t even realize that they themselves were supernatural creatures. Once they realized, some shifters just wanted to live their lives without killing and causing havoc in the countryside. That we had enforcers to do what they had been doing. To ensure that we kept it up, they accepted a seat on our council not long after that.”

“What are they called?”

“The Fianna. You can find tales of them in Irish folklore. They think a lot of themselves regarding their weapons’ creation. But they run this quaint hotel in Quebec, and they are very proud of it. You won’t know about it as it’s for supernatural creatures only.”

“Hotel owners and weaponsmiths.”

“Now why there are so few weapons in existence is that it can take years to create their weapons. However, they have branched out into different modern weapons. So, you will see us carry guns and such.”

“Have they got wooden bullet?”

“No, that just splinter. What they make is a bullet that shatters on impact with holly or yew splinters inside. I still would not want to be on the receiving end of that bullet with them as the splinters often ignite.”

Ian made a retching sound of disgust. “What’s that for? Vampires?”

“Among other beings. We still carry enchanted blades, of course. Nothing like a hand full of claws followed by a sword thrust.”

“Bloodthirsty much?”

“I am part beast.”