Chapter Fifteen

Honor of a Man

Within the Beast

Hope closed her mouth in surprise. The casual way Dàn spoke about knowing things he shouldn't know drove home the truth about his abilities.

"I don't suppose I am what you expected, but nevertheless I am here," Granny said. "You obviously know who I am. I believe you always perceive more than others."

"I see more than I wish to, but never enough to answer my own questions. I'm very glad to finally meet you, Keeper. I have many questions you may be able to help me with."

Hope was distracted from this very puzzling dialog when a wolf suddenly stalked around the corner. She assumed this was Sgrios in his wolf form. He stopped at the edge of the light.

He was a very intimidating, solid black wolf. His large, lean, muscular body marked him as the hunter that he was.

Fear swelled inside her at the familiar sight of him. He looked like the one who had attacked her. She remembered his thick black fur and that glittering green stare.

How cruel to Athair to have this between them. A sob caught in Hope's throat. How cruel to her. She knew he would be loyal to his family before all others. But how could he leave a brother loose to hunt and kill humans? And who were the other three men she'd seen that night? Were they also from his family, possibly his children? Would he be forced into the role of a Shadomàn, forced to kill ones he loved? Or worse yet, would he be killed by Sgrios?

Hope tuned out the conversation going on around her. Maybe she could hide the truth from Athair. Maybe there were good reasons for the woman's murder and her attack. If she said nothing, would Sgrios even recognize her?

She feared that any choice she made would be wrong in some way. She needed to share this burden. She reached out her mind to Athair. "Sgrios is here."

Athair turned to face the newcomer and placed a possessive hand on Hope's hip, pulling her against his warm side.

Sgrios changed to human form with a short surge of bluish light and was no less intimidating as a man. He had long black hair and flashing dark green eyes. He too changed with clothes. He wore black leather pants and boots, but no shirt. There were two deadly looking knives with unusual blades belted at his waist, within easy reach.

He might have been extremely attractive except that his muscular body was covered in vicious scars and one scar ran diagonally across the right side of his face, marring his hard features.

"Sgrios," Athair said in a way that seemed both a cautious welcome and a warning.

"Relax, Brother. I won't eat the humans."

Granny laughed at that, but no one else seemed to find it the least bit humorous.

Hope wondered just how bad he could be. He certainly looked scary enough to be the cold-blooded killer she thought he was. What if he recognized her and became violent? She stepped back, putting Athair between her and the dangerous man, hoping to put off any confrontation for now.

Sgrios matched Athair's glare. "I wanted to see you before I returned to the teaghlach with Reultan and Díon. Dàn and Rath may travel with us if they wish." He seemed to think that Athair would be staying put.

Dàn spoke up. "I would like to stay here too, if possible." He looked questioningly at Granny.

"Of course you may stay, child," she answered quietly with a gentle look to Dàn. She then continued speaking to the whole group. "You may all stay here under my protection for the night. Young Dàn may stay on as long as he wishes."

"Thank you, Keeper," Dàn said.

Hope's was not the only jaw that dropped at the total insanity of the tiny woman offering to protect four grown men, let alone four werewolves. What was going on between Granny and Dàn? He seemed to be the only one unsurprised by her offer. This situation was way beyond strange. Their entire conversation made no sense to Hope.

"What's going on here? What exactly is a keeper?" The questions rushed from Hope, despite her intentions to avoid drawing attention to herself. "Who are Díon and the other one?"

"Díon and Reultan are two of us who were hunting with Sgrios," Athair said. "The rest will have to come from Ella, or perhaps Dàn."

After this statement, Granny took control. She didn't answer Hope's questions, but she started directing everyone, explaining only that she would explain everything as soon as she could.

First, Granny told Sgrios to take Rath to check the area and collect Díon and Reultan.

"What the F—" he started to growl a vicious retort, but after a startled look from Granny to Dàn, motioned for Rath to follow him and the two immediately left. Perhaps Dàn held some control over Sgrios? If so, would they be safe with him? Hope instinctively trusted Athair and Dàn to protect her from any danger. Even crazy, homicidal Uncle Sgrios.

Then Granny directed Athair to set up somewhere for them to eat, either on the spacious porch or out in the yard.

Next, Granny announced that she and Hope would start dinner, so they could all sit and talk while eating. In total confusion, Hope obediently followed her suddenly mysterious grandmother into the kitchen to put together a meal for nine, including six werewolves.

Granny turned to her. "Why don't you cut the sandwiches you bought, and I can heat up some vegetables to go with them?"

"Why don't you tell me what all that was about?" Hope countered, while she began unwrapping and cutting the sandwiches.

Granny sighed deeply and started the vegetables heating on the stove. Then she filled two mugs with coffee and sat down at the table. "Please sit with me, and I'll tell you a story I should have forced you to hear a long time ago."

Hope set aside her knife and sat down across from her, waiting for her to continue.

"First, you must understand that there are many kinds of people. I know you have accepted Athair and his kind, but there are also many others. Some are like us, and some are very different. Many of the so called myths are actually based on truth, or parts of the truth."

"Near the beginning, when magic was part of life, some of the people were different. They were stronger, with godlike powers. Yet regardless of their strengths or weaknesses, they were still people. Some were good, and some bad. One group, the giants, had enormous physical strength and practiced some magic. Others had beauty and more power in their magic. There were wars and fights between people and between the groups. Eventually, humans became involved. They tended to think of the first group as monsters and the second as gods, but that was not exactly true. To help end the wars, the two main groups agreed to exchange ambassadors."

She cleared her throat, and then continued. "The giant who joined the gods was named Loki, who became blood brother to one of the stronger gods. He had several children by three very different women and eventually his impulsive nature caused him to fall into disfavor. Loki was captured and imprisoned by the other gods. When Loki was caught, two of his sons, Vali and Narvi, tried to protect him. The gods changed Vali into a wolf and forced him to kill his own brother to prevent Loki's escape." She paused.

Hope opened her eyes wide. "Go on."

"Athair's people, the clans of the Valàfrn, are the descendants of Vali. The gods feared Loki's children so much they placed curses on them to prevent them from ever coming to full strength. Vali's curse was for him and his children to constantly struggle against their animal natures. Among other things, Vali could only take human form during the three nights of a full moon. He could not face his own children having the same fate and spent centuries searching for ways to allow them to have relatively normal lives. Vali found that through sorcery and magic, his children could become shape changers. In this way, they would gain control over their physical form. So, you see, they are not really werewolves, but more like shape shifters with the base form of the wolf."

Hope stared at her in awe.

Ella stood up to check the food and asked, "Any questions?"

"Only about a million," she mumbled. It all sounded like a fairy tale to Hope, but now was as good a time as any to get answers from her surprising Granny. "How do you know all this? And why does Dàn call you Keeper?"

Granny continued to stir the vegetables, slowly adding seasoning. Then finally, she answered Hope without turning to face her. "Vali's mother, Sigyn, asked her stepdaughters to help protect the children of Vali. The younger one, Eisa, agreed. Eisa became the first Keeper of records. After she died, her daughter became Keeper. We are descended from Loki's mortal daughter, Eisa." She turned to catch Hope's gaze but didn't stop at her incredulous look. "One woman in each generation of our family is given the responsibility of Keeper."

"So, you really are this Keeper?"

"Yes, and you will take over for me when I die." Granny held her gaze, as if trying to force Hope to accept her far-fetched story as reality.

"I already have a job, remember?"

"Then you will have two. You have to accept this. We are the Keepers of knowledge for the children of Vali. We were given a few gifts to help us, including memory, healing, and protection. They really do need us." She stepped close to Hope and caught her chin in a gentle grip. "Have you never wondered why you are so drawn to animals? Why you can save more hard-luck cases at the clinic than any other vet? Or why you have a perfect memory for all those medical texts? You are strong so that you can fulfill the role for which you were born."

"Why didn't you tell me all this sooner?" She almost choked on the strangeness of what Granny expected her to blithely accept.

"I wanted to, and I should have. At first your mother wanted you to be raised without knowing. That's why she moved away when you were born. She promised to move back and teach you what to expect when you graduated from high school. Then after the accident, you were so fragile. I wanted to wait until you were stronger."

"Is anyone ever strong enough for that kind of knowledge?"

"Perhaps not. Do you remember the healers I asked to come see you?"

"The doctors and shrinks?"

"No, the ones who came here to the house. The healers. They were Valàfrn. You reacted by ignoring them and rejecting their help. You reacted so strongly that I stopped asking them to come. I had no idea how to make you accept their presence long enough to tell you the truth. After a time, I stopped trying. I am sorry for that weakness now."

"Granny—" Hope halted. She hesitated to bring up the attack, but knew it was time to be honest. "Do Keepers act like a magnet to them?'

"What do you mean?"

"Would any of Athair's kind have reason to hurt you or me because you are Keeper?"

"No. They are forbidden to harm us. The guilty are punished with exile, or worse. And even without punishment, they risk their crime being recorded among the Keeper records for all time. Why do you ask?"

"I believe that when I was attacked a month ago, it was by one of them."

"Impossible." Granny stirred the vegetables hard enough to splatter several pieces onto the stove top. "Is that why you've been acting so strangely? I want you to tell me everything so we can find the one guilty of this atrocity."

"I think it was Sgrios."

"No. It couldn't have been. Although, he does seem…" She froze for a long moment, seemingly lost in thought. "I doubt he would do such a thing. Being without a clan is a fate worse than death, even for one such as him."

"Could he just not know? After all, even Athair didn't remember the Keepers of before. How does Dàn know about you when the others don't seem to?"

"Dàn is not like the others. He is something much more."

"How do you know this?" she asked in frustration.

"The Keeper holds and adds to the records about the Valàfrn. It's our primary duty. I have the written account of the village in Ireland, and the tragedy that happened there, Granny said. "I also have family trees and biographies of most from that time. The official record of his birth was vague and said nothing of his father, but the Keeper of the time had a few rather terrifying suspicions."

"As for why the others of his clan don't remember the Keepers, I don't know for sure. I think it must be because the elders were killed in the massacre. The Keepers of those times didn't live in their village and usually only worked with the elders or through a kind of courier system. The Keepers weren't able to travel far, so they often only met with the different clans at council gatherings. Now it is much easier. I have stayed in touch with most of the other clans."

In silence, they both finished preparing the food. Hope tried not to think about what she learned. As far-fetched as it was, the idea that Athair was not really a werewolf but instead was part of a cursed family was rather appealing. Those thoughts also led to the topic of his magic. She wondered what else he could do or change into. Now, that was something to think about.

But what about Sgrios? What if he really was her attacker? Was he still a danger? What could be done to stop him? She turned. "Granny?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"What is the penalty for one that hunts humans?"

"It depends on the situation. The Council will have to be called to discuss the problem and determine a punishment."

"The council?"

"There are many clans scattered around the world. Each Alpha Pair holds a position on the ruling Council. Together they decide what is best for the clans as a whole. In the past, a gathering was held every ten years or so. Now with modern technology and the ease of travel, the gathering of the Council happens only when needed."

Dàn slid open the door and stepped quietly inside. "Athair has the table set up and the others will be back soon. Can I help you with anything?"

"No, Dàn, but do come in. You should be resting. Let me get you a cup of soothing tea." Ella turned to the corner cupboard and retrieved the makings for an herbal tea which she fixed and set before Dàn on the counter.

"Thank you." Still standing near the door, Dàn slowly sipped the tea.

"You're welcome. It may help you recover some of your balance."

Several minutes went by as he drank. "I would like to learn more about—" he hesitated. "Well, certain things. Will you let me look at the Keeper records?"

"You may look at all but the private journals. And I will tell you what I can from those. Together, we may find some answers about you."

He nodded in response. Whatever was bothering him, he didn't seem very hopeful that the Keeper's records would be of any help.

Soon the light dinner was ready to serve. As Granny and Hope started outside, Granny cautioned Hope. "Hand the second platter to Dàn but be careful to not touch him just yet."

Athair had found and set up a couple of folding tables and had arranged the porch chairs and benches around them. While Hope went to get Steve, the others set the table and filled the plates with food.

Steve promised to keep an open mind, yet not open his mouth during the meal. Regardless of Sgrios' promise to not eat anyone, she figured he was capable of causing Steve a lot of pain.

Sgrios, Rath and the others joined them. Sgrios did not so much as glance at Steve, who sat at Hope's right. Rath quietly spoke to Athair for a moment, and then they all gathered at the table. Granny blessed the meal before they began to eat. Granny talked quietly with Athair and Sgrios. Hope thought that they were discussing what had happened to his people in the last couple of centuries. She was disappointed that she couldn't hear the history lesson clearly.