KEEPERS BOOK 2: THE HUNT FOR SONJA

Chapter 27

The color red splashed across the room like congealed blood. Every accessory screamed with a variation of this supposed fiery color from the rich velvet curtains to the throw pillows on the black leather couch.  Even the Persian carpet looked like one messy blob of red despite the intricate patterns woven together, it could not conceal the sinister analogy. The dimness surrounding him plus the coldness within did not help matters.
With his fingers steepled together he waited patiently for the so called king of the night crawlers to emerge from the deep cavern where he dwelled.  He wasn't alone, the blond she wolf was perched close by her silence as she waited with him spoke volumes.  He could sense her discomfort at his arrival but she did not prevent him from his pursuit.
It was the 21st century, witch hunting did not belong in this time, he thought idly but he felt like he was caught in a a sinister situation where the only solution was to confront the inevitable. He managed to keep Hulya in a holding cell  at the station despite protests from his superior.  In truth there was no evidence to keep her except for the confession but how could he get to the bottom of this if he released her.  In the end his superiors, as baffled as he was had no other choice except to cave in besides, she did not object. He only had 24 hours before he had to release her.
"You called" the deep voice rang close by making John swivel around, Engin stood in all his glory wearing a dark suit he stood casually leaning against a wall. He flicked a glance at Iona before turning his full attention to John.
"I have Hulya" John replied casually.
"Tell me something I don't already know" he sighed and shook his head. "You have nothing on her which is why your here am I right?"
John had to play his cards right if he was to get to the bottom of this "She an accessory to a crime, a murder of a young coed. We found some clothes off a site and she mentioned you may know the whereabouts of a body."
Engin laughed moving swiftly to the drinks cabinet, pouring himself some scotch he downed the glass when he turned to look at John his eyes seemed to glow in the dimness "did she? Well your free to have a look. I doubt you'll find anything."
"You may be able to help me locate Tara. Once you turn her over I can let Hulya go." John watched Engin pause as he sipped his second glass of scotch.
"As much as I would like to help you get rid of that viper I cannot seem to locate her myself." Engin gripped the glass of his drink tightly as he took a long swallow of his second glass. He ignored the silence of Iona, perhaps it was best to remain distant if she thought it would help matters but the storm ranging inside him at the proximity of the Lycan boy was like a hurricane building in intensity. The mere mention of Tara's name was enough to create a whirlwind within him that gathered momentum enough to unleash it on the viper if he ever came across her.
Despite the stoic expression on Engin's face John was not convinced of his innocence.  He needed to get Engin to spill his guts if he was to close this case. "Well then Hulya remains under custody until you can help me locate Tara." John said with finality before disentangling himself from the arm chair.
Engin chuckled "On what grounds?"
John turned his full attention to Engin " Here are the facts: first she came to the station and confessed to half my colleagues that she killed someone: second she gave us a location: third we uncovered  bloodied clothing which has gone to the lab for testing: fourth she bare fangs. Quite sharp in fact, enough to convince me of the existence of a weapon. Now if my reading is accurate, she would need blood to survive, we don't have......" before John could finish what he said he felt his neck being squeezed in a vicelike grip. It felt like two hands were choking the life out of him.  Blood rushed to his head as he tried desperate to grab at the invisible hands that gripped his neck. His eyes started to roll as the life was being sucked out of him.
Engin remained where he stood, something else was doing this to John and he was taken by the surprise of it. Stunned he could only struggle against the force that shackled him. " She showed you her fangs did she? Was is anything like this?" Engin moved closed and bared his  incisors  which elongated before John's eyes. "So What do you think wolf boy? Care to show me yours?"
"Engin Stop It!" Iona protested grabbing the night crawlers arm but he shrugged it off.
John was desperately clawing at his neck trying desperately to free himself from the invisible force he could feel the life being drained from him as the shackles continued grew fiercer, the grip around his neck tightened, he started to see black spots as the life force was being eradicated from him.
The door to the office burst open quite suddenly, "Engin let him go.  Hulya is back, "
In a a flash the invisible grip disappeared John fell to his knees gripping his neck while gasping for air.  The room swam before him and his body started to reel from shock. He felt hands grip his arm and hoist him up ushering him out of the room.  He stumbled as he left but not before catching a glimpse of a slight woman with dark hair.  He could not make out her features but she could have been Hulya.
They were outside walking down the corridor, the grip on his arm was strong but not strong enough as soon as he gained the strength of his legs he pulled from her and leaned against the wall gasping for much needed air.
"You foolish boy did you need to provoke him?" Iona hissed as he watched him get a grip on himself.
"I don't need admonishment from you.  I know your all guilty of this crime!" He rasped as he rubbed his chest. Fury burned like a raging bull at what he had just experienced. "What he did to me in there, he tried to kill me. How would you have explained my own disappearance?"
She remained silent , the mask she wore which had temporarily disappeared was back in place.  She stared her soulless eyes bore through him.
"You May think you can get away with this but your not above the law." He said acidly.
In a flash, she touched his forehead and watched him fall to the ground."Foolish boy!" She muttered a hint of a smile played on her lips as she knelt before his prone body.  In sleep he looked more like a cub in need of shelter but what she witnessed just before was like a dash of warm water against an icicle.  Feeling herself thaw for just a moment brought back fleeting memories of her kind during the days of old when the Lycans showed their might not through battle but through guile and wit.
For a space of time she remembered a similar voice, the familiar hard stare and the quite but sure bravery the caculated words just enough to incite fury.  Just like a puff of smoke it faded into oblivion hopefully to remain forgotten.  Indulgences such as the one she just allowed herself were almost non existent.  Pushing the stray locks of hair from his cheeks and tracing the strong jaw line that was achingly familiar she closed her eyes, caught herself before she stumbled. Schooling her features once more into a tight mask she stood passing his slumped form she searched for what she needed.
Back in the office Engin offered his mother a drink of scotch which she took. Swirling the amber liquid she took a slow sip and closed her eyes briefly as she savoured the fire burning down her throat.
"You should have left her there" Engin muttered under his breath.
Ali's snorted "Yes you would have but she is the extension of this family, the only one left with enough brains to know what she's supposed to do."
Mother and son eyed each other with a coldness that could only be described as artic. It wasn't like that between them before when they had first arrived to join humanity.  She still carried him in her womb when they were forced to flee aided by the Fae that felt obliged, nay duty bound to her deceased husband.  Ruan her mate had sacrificed himself so Engin might live and the pain of that loss had never been forgotten.
Frozen from within, Ali's had set aside emotion to survive and bring some semblance of order into her life but the early days of struggle was never lost in a tomb of memories.
"Me?" He struggled with his anger "I was not the one that went to the coppers and endangered our line"
"If you had a relationship with her this wouldn't have happened."
"She should have more respect for her father.  What Hulya did is blatant defiance and you expect me to fix it" He spat, saliva sputtering from his mouth as he tried to keep his temper in check. The magnitude of his anger had turned his eyes red as he glared at his mother.
Looking down her nose at him "you may be be her sire but you are not a father to her. She would never have rebelled if you just treated her better. Your treatment of her is worse than your neglect of your pet hounds. You use her when it suits you and when your done you flick her off like a flea. She's is my blood and yours start acting like as if it meant something."Ali's finished coldly but the harsh tone of her voice was enough to send a clear message.
Taking a deep breath, Engin schooled his emotions, he did not want to respond to his mother's accusations while his temper was close to exploding. In truth he would have preferred Hulya to remain in that cell, exposed to what might become of her if denied nourishment, face her demons and come to terms with them. There was no danger of exposure for his kind because he knew people on the inside that he could easily manipulate.
"We need to find Tara" he said quietly
"Why?"
"She's the cause of Hulya's distress. She was the one who killed the coed and brought this down on us with her clumsiness. " he almost spat the last last part.
"How did you let this happen?" She retorted sarcastically.
Rolling his eyes heavenward, he remained as calm as he could "It doesn't matter now we have time to catch up later if finding her would make this disaster disappear. Your dogs are a lot more efficient then mine, put them on the hunt."
"And your dog is not capable" she gave a harsh laugh "that's rich considering she has mastered sniffing around better than any of us."
"Ali's, think of Hulya" he said finally trying desperately to control the urge to hurl the glass at his mother's head.
"Fine, let's search for Tara, better we find her than the spooks."Ali's conceded.
.....................................................................
When John regained consciousness five pairs of eyes surrounded him, blinking a few times he tried to focus on his surroundings, hearing murmurs of voices all chattering at the same time. He felt the cushion of a chair beneath him, gripping the arm rest he pulled himself upright focusing on the first face that came to his direct vision and that was Sonja.
"What am I doing here?" He blurted the question immediately for he was not in the 'Cave' which was his last memory before slipping into a weird state of subconscious ness. The woman with flaxen hair was the last face he saw before everything turned blank but she was not among the crowd. She must have done something to him.  Shaking his head he sat up straighter.
"John can you recognize us?"
Jason master's voice rang clear "Yes presumably I'm in your place"
"Can you remember the last thing you saw?" The voice was worried but gentle as Sonja reached out to flick a stray lock of hair that fell across his forehead.
Rolf whispered to Kibble and walked away before John would notice he was there. It was better for all of them that he departed inconspicuously before John started to ask questions that had no relevance at present. It wasn't the time to reveal his identity.
"I wasn't here" John retorted "she must have......" he left his sentence hanging
"Iona" Jason replied derisively before walking toward the mantel and pouring some brandy into a glass. When he returned with the glass he gave it to John straight away. "I'm sure you can make an exception".
"What did she do?l" Garrick crossed his arms against his chest as he regarded John.
"We were talking about " John frowned "I vaguely recall now but I know it was important"
"What do you remember?" Sonja asked gently
Soothed by her calming voice he fixed his gaze on her "Kibble and I walked into the station.....that's about it."
Sonja sensed his distress, leaning forward she touched his shoulder "if you let me, I can find the lost hours and bring it forward." She coaxed.
"Alrightwhat have I got to loose?"
Sonja reached out and laid a gentle palm on his forehead, her eyes bore down on his as she caught flashes of images finally she was able to find the missing link "the night crawler came Hulya and you took her to some place that was unpopulated, broken things, a building abandoned, Tara. You went back to the cave met with Engin and spoke about Tara. Iona took you away" Sonja paused and removed her hand from his forehead. "Does the name Tara remind you of something?"
"Hulya came to his place of work and said she had killed someone" Kibble added.
"Did she?" Jason was taken aback by this revelation "That was stupid!" He bit out as he turned away from the group and walked to his desk.
"Why stupid? She admitted to taking someone's life "Garrick frowned at Jason. He had been sceptical of Sonja's uncle from the moment they met and his comment validated his reserve.
"That must her being wilful. They Will protect her and them at all cost. Its the reason Iona wiped his memory of the events from his mind. Clearly she wants him to forget anything ever happened at all."Jason explained.  He had been familiar with Iona's methods for some time.  She had a gift for easing short term memory.
Sonja turned back to John "Do you recall the name Tara?"
John shook his head bleakly, leaning his elbows on his knees, he covered is face in frustration "I don't even recall Hulya entering the station."
"Other people were there, they would have remembered her presence." Kibble added hopefully. Now that she knew the name of the female Hulya was protecting it she would find a way of extracting more information, she thought to herself.
When John lifted his face is frustration Sonja's heart went out to him.  She could feel his desolation and this sparked anger within her. "Whatever It is they are trying to hide it will be futile " she said "I know your thoughts John if they are trying to make you forget something this important then they have failed"
"Why would you say that?" He asked.
"You have us, we can help you if you let us but first you have to tell us exactly what to look for?" She continued in an optimistic tone.
"As Kibble mentioned, Hulya confessed to a murder" John stated "not that I remember a word she said but if there was a confession there must be a crime. We are searching for a missing young coed, a girl in her early twenties.  But I don't see how you can help?" He wondered if her was mad for trusting them.
"Your not mad to trust us" Sonja added.
Surprised to find that she had read his thoughts, what did he have to loose if he did seek help from the very people he thought to be weird. "Okay, I can see no other option.  I suppose I could give this a try. " he stood up to leave but Garrick grabbed his arm.
"Stay here to night, if they left you with us then it should be safer." Garrick said almost pleading.
"I can take care of myself." John shrugged from Garrick's hold.
"Garrick's right, it's safer here." Jason added "whoever it was that dumped you here would keep surveillance in your apartment.  One night won't hurt."
John turned to face Sonja and Kibble who looked at him hopefully. John hated being this vulnerable, it had been years since her needed coddling but they had a point.  He was vulnerable to the current situation whatever it was and since his memory had been robbed from him who knows what else they had in mind. Shrugging his shoulders he nodded in agreement.