Tell Me Your Secrets Chapter 1 by: Drakira The last Lore Keeper of the Weres disappeared without a trace, now thirty years later his legacy returns in the form of a young man named Michael Williams.

 
 
Disclaimer:
~Big thanks to Enemyoffun for making this universe to play in.
Author's Note: Zee's story is on hiatus for a little bit. I've been stuck on what exactly to write for chapter 7, but it will be finished. Any input is welcome. In the meantime, I came up with this to add something to the DRU.
A very big thanks to my editor for helping with the edits.
Please comment on this, I enjoy them reading them and learning from them immensely.

Chapter 1

1981

Leo ran as fast as he could through the woodland foliage intent on putting as much distance between him and his pursuer. He didn't know who hired him, but they wouldn't get away with it. He tried to conceal himself behind the nearest thick tree.

‘I should probably have worked out more,’ Leo thought as he was intently aware of his rapidly beating heart.

He poked his head out around the trunk, hoping that his pursuer had decided to give up when he reached the deep forest. The forest thickened considerably as soon as they were about half a mile in. The shrubs grew tall and the animals had free reign. Leo was glad that the area of the forest he was in was considered neutral territory.

After waiting a few minutes, Leo broke out into another run heading for the only safe place he could think of in town. The brush continued to substantially thicken as he pressed on. He quickly scanned the moonlit woods for another place that he could hide and catch his breath again. As he passed a nearby pine tree, he heard a whistling noise fly by his right ear, followed by a resounding thunk. He looked at the pine tree's trunk and saw a shiny, grey crossbow bolt buried in the bark.

‘Crap,’ Leo thought. ‘Two seconds later, and I would've had that through my shoulder.’

Leo ducked to the left and turned what speed he had left in the tank on. He needed to reach the Manor and fast. As he dashed through the brush, he suddenly had the thought to turn into his cougar form. He smiled as he realized that he would be able to outdistance his pursuer in a matter of minutes. True, he was pretty old, having only turned seventy-five three weeks ago.

He cleared his mind and leaped over a log, landing all on fours as an old chestnut furred cougar. Stopping for only a moment, he quickly changed direction and sped off toward the manor. He heard a caw echo through the woods and breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Chiron,’ he thought out into the woods, ‘I thought you would never get here.’

Another caw rang out through the forest, and the cougar couldn't help but smile.

‘Yes, I know that we are both getting old,’ Leo replied.

Leo continued to speed through the forest. His mind was turning around the thoughts of who would want him out of the way. He had already survived two attempts on his life earlier this week when he was at the university.

As the head librarian of the university, it was his job to help the various students look up information that they needed for their projects. He was helping a couple female students with their research project, when a few gunshots rang out, embedding shiny bullets in a wall near where he and the girls were sitting. A piece of the library table was even dislodged by a stray bullet.

When he arrived at his home near the university earlier that evening, those same silvery crossbow bolts that embedded themselves in that pine tree only a short time ago, embedded themselves in his front door. Fearing for his life, Leo made himself a quick sandwich and took off through his backyard into the woods. He hoped that he could reach the manor and seek the protection of its occupants.

As to who was behind this attack, he thought it might be the power hungry mistress at DBZ, but he quickly crossed that off his list. He knew that if they made any move that blantant, all of them were as good as dead. He thought that it might be some rogue element lurking in the town. But then, he recalled an obscure rule within his own group. It dawned on him that it could be someone within the five clans.

Leo thought, ‘What is there to gain in getting rid of me?’

As he began to think of which clan would have the most to gain from his death and the absence of a successor, he saw a few lights from the manor dead ahead. 'Finally,' Leo thought, as he picked up the pace.

Leo took a sharp turn around a huge chunk of granite sticking out of the ground. He felt his paws fall lower than they should have, as the ground gave way under the force of his weight. A split second later, he felt a sharp pain tear through his thigh and shoulder as he resumed his human form, thinking that he had tripped over his feet.
He looked down as he had been gored by wooden stakes that were hidden underneath the ground. Leo howled in pain, hoping that someone from the manor could hear his cries of anguish and agony. A loud caw answered him as he lay skewered in that trap.

“You're probably right, Chiron,” Leo said quietly. “We must protect the emerald ring.”

Leo grunted in pain as he reached for the ring on his right hand. He could feel something warm trickle down his shoulder and thighs.

“Dammit,” he muttered as he tried to pull the ring off his finger.

He heard a fluttering of wings, as the raven, Chiron, landed on a tree root sticking out of the ground nearby.

“Take the ring, Chiron,” Leo groaned as he managed to get the ring off of his finger.

The raven cawed again, and Leo replied, “Just do it. Find my successor and give them this. Let the Coven know. They will help you.”

Chiron called again and snatched the ring from Leo's fingers with his beak. He flew off toward the manor. Leo groaned as he tried to free himself again from the spike trap a short time later. It was no use, however, as the pain returned stronger than before, and he could feel his blood run more freely from the wounds.

“I wouldn't try that again, unless you want to give yourself more agony,” a deep voice stated with little emotion.

“What do you want?” Leo asked, coughing and sputtering blood.

He tried shifting to get a look at the man who had killed him. The figure was hooded in a black cloak, with the moonlight barely able to shine on his face.

“I'm just fulfilling a contract,” the figure replied.

Leo could see him crouch down at the edge of the pit, watching him die slowly.

“Who wanted this?” Leo asked, intent on knowing.

“Sorry, the terms of my contract prevent me from telling who is behind this.”

Leo could hear the click of a gun cocking, and took a rattling deep breath. He coughed hard, and said, “Just do it already.”

“As you wish.”

The shadowy figure pulled his handgun out from underneath his cloak and fired two silenced shots into Leo's heart. Leo's breath picked up for a few seconds before the air left his lungs for the last time. His eyes rolled back and he lay limp in the spike trap.

The figure muttered something under his breath, before turning to next part of his task. He jumped down to a safe area of the pit, and began to inspect Leo's hands.

“Now, for the piece of jewelry that my client desired.”

A quick inspection, however, revealed no jewelry. “Damn,” the figure muttered. “My client won't enjoy this piece of news.”

The figure climbed back out of the pit and grabbed a nearby shovel that he had stashed nearby. He began to bury and fill his spike trap so no one would stumble upon it and reveal the body. His client wanted to make sure the authorities and the powers that be not open an investigation. About an hour later, the pit was buried, and the figure turned and headed for the road back the way he came, to avoid leaving signs that he was ever there.

A caw rang out, as Chiron returned to his dead companion's grave. He perched on the granite slab and hung his head in mourning. He took off for his nest, overlooking the university in town, the emerald ring, still clutching in his talon. Sadly, no one but him, would know what happened to the Were Lorekeeper of Ravencrest.

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7 October 2011

It was another slow day at the comic book store in Ravencrest. Perfect for working on homework for one of my many college classes that I was taking at the local university. I wasn’t certain what I exactly wanted to major in. I was torn between both history and mathematics. They were the two areas I excelled at in high school, but I wasn't exactly sure which one to take on for my bachelor’s degree. My parents weren’t too keen on me going to a private university when I had no idea of what I wanted to do with my life, as they also didn’t want me to waste any unnecessary money.

I just wanted to go to Ravencrest. The name appealed to me, as well as its hiring turnaround of its graduates. I wanted to be prepared to go into the workforce quickly after graduation, especially since there was still a deep recession throughout the country. I also thought about applying for the military after I picked up my degree, but my chances of getting in were slim, since my eyesight was very poor. The thick lenses in my glasses forced me to wear them for pretty much everything.

I was lucky that I was able to find a part-time job in the town, to help afford my off campus apartment. Working in the comics and collectibles shop may be geeky, but I didn’t mind. I liked comics a lot. They were a universe unto themselves. They were a universe that I enjoyed getting lost in, and I often imagined myself as one of those heroes, with various powers, trying to fight the good fight. One of the advantages of working at the store was that I could read the latest issues before the locals came in for them. But I had some homework to deal with today, so I might not be able to read the new ones until tomorrow.

The shop’s door jingled as I saw a few of the regulars trickle in. They were mostly nerds and geeks, people like me, from the local high school and the university. I smiled at the new arrivals, surprised to see a couple of girls walk in. Comic book stores aren’t usually frequented by girls a whole lot. Girls tend to talk about boys, makeup, clothes, and other things like that I guessed. Although, I did know a few girls in high school who would fit into the geek category.

“Hey, Mike,” one of the high school students called out to me. A few of his friends waved politely after he called.

That was me, Michael Williams, your typical geek that grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. I hated living in the country when I was growing up. There just wasn’t anything to really do for a person like me. I was lucky to even spend a few hours on our home computer playing a few games with friends online. I was glad to get away from such a hilly, cattle-dominated area. Although the woodlands surrounding Ravencrest weren’t too much better. That was offset that the town was a lot bigger than my hometown.

“We just got a new shipment of some DC comics,” I replied.

“Oh, which ones?” said another of the high school geeks.

“Green Arrow, Justice League Dark, and Wonder Woman,” I replied. “Although I haven’t had a chance to read them yet. The Justice League Dark is supposed to be good though.”

“Why should any comic about magic users be good?” one of the arrogant high school students started. “I mean, if you take away their magic, they’re no better off than a cop.”

“What about Green Arrow? He doesn’t have any special abilities,” the first student countered.

“Green Arrow is resourceful and can use a bow. The magic users would be lost without their magic.”

The three of them decided to browse the comic shelves and I could not help myself by shaking my head and laughing to myself. Those three always had some argument about the various types of heroes.

The two girls that walked in seemed to be older than those three high school students. If I had to guess, I would say that they were students from the university. But, I didn’t think there were any girls that old who would be interested in reading comics. I gave them a quick onceover and found them to be very pretty. I would definitely count myself lucky if I could get a date with one of them.

“Can I help you?” I asked, trying to keep up the helpful employee routine.

“Ummm…,” said the brown-haired girl. “We’re trying to find something special for a friend of ours.”

“Yes,” replied the blonde. “It has to be something special for her birthday.”

“Does she have any particular interests?” I asked.

“Well, she’s a history major and really into the Greeks,” the brunette added.

That piqued my interest. I might actually know this girl, if she’s a history major.

“Does she like comic books or superheroes?”

“She likes the ancient heroes that she keeps trying to get us interested in, like Atalanta, Hippolyta, Achilles, Hercules…,” the blonde remarked.

“Hmm…,” I thought, tapping my finger on my chin. “I think I know what she would be interested in.”

I left the area behind the counter and walked over to the section of the comics that featured some of the most popular superheroes. The three high school students were still debating some of the finer points of the superheroes and we could catch pieces of their conversation. The girls didn’t seem interested in what those three were saying and were whispering to themselves. While that was going on, I managed to sneak a few more glances at the girls and tried to figure which one I would like to ask out on a date.

“She might be interested in these comics,” I suggested, pointing them out to the two girls.

The two comics I was pointing to were Wonder Woman and Teen Titans.

“What are these about?” the brunette asked.

“Wonder Woman is about an Amazon warrior who fights villains while serving in the best interests of her home, Themyscira. While Teen Titans is about a group of heroes fighting villains hoping to one day join the Justice League. It also features an Amazon hero in the form of Wonder Girl, who has a more rebellious attitude.”

“Hmm…,” thought the blonde. “I think she might go for them.”

“I think you’re right,” the bruntette replied. “Do you have anything along a mystical tangent?”

“Yes,” I replied, “the most popular would have to be Justice League Dark, featuring a wide variety of magical superheroes.”

“Great!” the brunette exclaimed, “we’ll take an issue of each.”

“Very good,” I replied, trying to close the deal. “I’ll go ring you up.”

I picked out the first issue of each of the comics, figuring if their friend enjoyed them, she would be pack for the subsequent issues. With DC Comics relaunching their universe in an event called “The New 52,” there were consequently new first issues of most of their titles.

The three of us headed back to the counter where I proceeded to ring up their purchases. I definitely thought the blonde was the smarter and more attractive of the two of them, and she would be the one I would want to ask out on a date.

“That’ll be nine dollars and sixty-nine cents,” I reported at the cash register.

One of the girls reached into her purse for the money, while the other was pointing at a sign that we had displayed on the front counter. That sign was just there to say that we also bought collectibles as well as sold them. Very rarely did we have someone who wanted to sell things to us.

The brunette handed me a ten and I proceeded to make change. The blonde looked at the sign and considered saying something.

I handed the brunette her change and her purchases.

“Thanks for your help,” the brunette said.

“You’re welcome,” I replied.

The blonde turned to me and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied.

As the two of them began to leave the shop, I felt my anxiety start to rise. The business part of our conversation was concluded and the two of them were leaving. I didn’t catch a name and I was beginning to worry if I should ask the blonde out on a date. I had only asked a couple of other girls out on dates before in high school, and was shot down hard. Those experiences made me very wary asking another girl out on a date again.

I watched them leave the shop and was about to turn to look at the teenagers in the back of the shop when I heard a clink near the door. I propped myself up on the counter and looked near the door. I saw something glisten off the sunlight and went to investigate.

Crouching near the door, I found a set of keys with a strange few letters, dangling from the keychain. I opened the door and looked for the two girls, figuring that one of them must’ve dropped it. Luckily, I could see them getting into a red Miata across the street.

I rushed across the street and got blared at by the horn of a passing car, and was nearly taken out by it as well. Luckily, that horn was enough to get the attention of the two girls.
The blonde was already in the passenger seat, and she quickly climbed back out. The brunette was already heading towards me, as I slammed into the hood of their car. Luckily, no dent was made on impact.

“Are you alright?” the blonde asked, looking concerned.

I was panting heavily after playing my small game of Frogger with the cars in the street. “You…dropped…this,” I panted, holding up the pair of keys.

“My keys!” the blonde exclaimed, running over and grabbing them from me. “Thank you so much!”

She surprised me by jumping on me in a huge hug. It felt nice to be hugged by a girl that wasn’t a member of the family.

“Say…,” she started, “you wouldn’t happen to have any plans for tonight, would you?”

“Me?” I replied surprised.

“Yeah,” she replied, in a bit of a bubbly tone, “you found my keys and you look like the kind of guy that doesn’t get out much.”

I was taken a little aback by that comment.

“Relax,” she said. “I was wondering if you would like to come to our friend’s birthday party tonight at the house.”

“Excuse me?” I replied, very much skeptical.

“Please, I don’t want to be the only girl to show up without a date. Even though, there are only going to be a few of us there,” she pleaded.

I thought to myself, ‘A girl asking me out? Well, I’m not that picky with girls, I don’t think.’

“Uhm…,” I started, “Sure, I guess. The name’s Mike, by the way.”

“Great!” she exclaimed, heading back for the car. “I’m Jennifer, but most people call me Jen. This is Madison.”

She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled something down quickly. Tearing it off, she handed to me and said, “This is my number. Call me around six and I’ll tell you where to go. You live on campus, right?”

“No, I have an off-campus apartment,” I replied.

“That’s cool,” she replied, smiling.

She and Madison climbed back into the car, while I still held onto her number. As they drove off, “I’ll see you tonight!”

I watched as the car pulled away before dashing back across the street to my job at the comic book store. I had never felt so happy in all my life. When I got back to the store, my mind was definitely on Jen, as the teenage conversation about various types of superheroes didn’t have as much interest as before. I just hoped that I wouldn’t embarrass myself or her tonight.

Time seemed to pass a little more slowly, as the time for the party and when I got off of work drew ever closer. To say that I was excited about actually going out with a woman was something of an understatement. I did my best to contain my emotions, trying to concentrate on my homework and the customers.

Finally, the end of my shift came around. My boss told me that I could head home for the day, and that he looked forward to seeing me next week. I headed out the door, after slinging my backpack over and went to the nearby bike rack to grab my transportation home.

As I shoved off toward my apartment, I heard a loud caw nearby. Looking up into a nearby tree, I saw a raven sitting on a branch, staring at me. Or at least I thought he was staring at me. I looked back at the bird, wondering what it was doing there. I was about to tell it to shoo, but it suddenly took off. I shrugged it off and then set out for my apartment to get ready for my date tonight. I hoped that it wouldn’t be my last.