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Chapter 4

I follow Chase out of my room, down a hall with several doors. Some of them are open showing signs of habitation, the rest are closed. At the end of the hall there is a flight of stairs leading down to the ground floor, and a flight leading up. We head down.

As we get close to the bottom I hear voices coming up the stairs. Chase stops us when we reach bottom and turns to me. "Now I'm sure there will be some staring when we introduce you to the rest of the pack Eb, don't take it personal." I just chuckle softly, "I'm used to being the center of attention, though that does tend to involve sharp pointed objects." Chase shakes his head and chuckles softly, "Well there are no sharp objects in there except your sword, and it's stuck in wood."

Hearing that my sword is safe and close by I relax a bit. My sword is a one of a kind blade and is irreplaceable to me. Chase opens the door and the voices I heard all stop at once as we step into a large open room with a dozen or so wolves of all colors. Then the eyes of every one of them turn to us. Chase wave at the room, "Everyone, I would like you to meet Ebony. Eb, this is the rest of the pack." As if that was a signal they had been waiting for the entire group starts talking at once.

I can't help but flatten my ears against my head and take a step back at the sudden noise. Information overload would be an understatement. It seemed like every wolf present was eager to learn about me, but there were too many questions for me to try and keep up. Eventually Chase manages to let loose a very loud whistle, causing more than a few wolves to cover their ears. "All right guys that's enough, leave Eb alone for now. He is still recovering after all. Right now he is going to get a good meal, and then maybe he will feel like talking to some of you."

There is a collective groan of disappointment. Then a feminine voice comes from the back of the room, "Who won the bets?" Chase looks in the direction of the voice. "Well the bet on when Eb would wake up was won by Jake." An excited yelp comes from a young grey and white wolf to my right. "As for the other bet...." Chase looks at me with a twinkle in his eye, "No one won." There is a series of groans and mutterings from around the room. Chase continues over noise, "And before anyone asks, no I am not going to tell you why nobody won. For now that is between Eb and me, and no one is to ask him. If he decides to tell you that's his choice."

There is a shuffling of feet and chairs as several of the wolves get up to leave. I lean close to Chase, "You said my sword was here?" He snaps his fingers. "Of course, I almost forgot." He grabs passing red wolf by the arm, "Brett, would you go bring Eb's sword in here for him." Brett nods and disappears out of the room. A moment later he is dragging what looks like half a tree with the hilt of my sword sticking out of it.

I notice that Bret is keeping his hands well away from the hilt and I can't help but smile. "So how many of you got shocked?" I ask Chase. He looks at me a bit surprised, "How did you know some of us were shocked by it?" I shrug, "Well it is my sword, and I know what it's capable of." I walk over to my sword and grab the hilt with my right hand. Before Chase or Brett can react I easily pull it free of the wood and hold it in front of where I can study the blade for any damage.

Brett stares at me his mouth hanging open in surprise. Chase steps up beside me and looks at the blade. "How were you able to do that? None of us could even grip it." I run a finger along the side checking for any cracks. "Well the simplest way to explain would be to say that it recognized me." At my words the black metal of the blade shimmers as though it's burning. The rest of the wolves still in the room all notice it and stare at the blade in wonder.

Chase however is staring at it in concern. "And just how does it know it's you holding?" I look at him as I carefully sheath my blade into its scabbard. "To explain that properly would mean revealing more about myself than I am comfortable doing right now." He seems to understand my meaning when he replies, "Right, well as long as it's safe. Now I promised you a meal I believe." He leads me across the room, past more than a few curious sets of eyes, towards what assume to be the kitchen based on the smells coming from there.

Upon entering the kitchen I am both impressed and concerned. They have an impressive kitchen set up, course I guess they would need one to feed so many wolves in one pack. What concerns me though is the fact that there is a fine layer of dust on most of it. All the food seems to be prepared in one area around the stove. Though my concern over the less used portions of the kitchen is forgotten as soon as I spot the bubbling pot of stew. My stomach lets out a rather loud rumble causing Chase to laugh as he sets about fixing me a bowl after directing me to a seat at a nearby table.

"Sorry about the mess in here." He says as he sets the bowl of stew and a spoon down in front of me before taking his own seat across from me. "None of us are very good cooks so we take turns in the kitchen. Most days it ends up being a stew or soup for dinner." At the moment I don't much care who cooked it, it was, I was hungry, and it smelled good. I scoop a large spoon full up and put it my mouth.

I sit there frozen as my brain tries to comprehend what I just put in my mouth. I eventually force myself to swallow but it takes effort. Chase must have noticed because he has a look of concern, "Is it too hot?" Not able to talk I just shake my head no. Puzzled he reaches for my bowl, "May I?" I just gesture for him to try it. He takes a sip and then understanding lights his eyes. He slowly swallows. "I guess it was Jakes turn to cook. His cooking is uhm....." "Bad?" I offer.

In truth that was the worst stew I ever tasted. "If you don't mind Chase, could you show me your spice cabinet?" He looks at me like I was speaking another language. "Our what?"

Crap........... I'm in trouble.

"Your spice rack, where you keep your salt, pepper, oregano....." I stop listing spices when the confused look Chase's face gets worse. "I see, uhm.... I think I might have a small supply of spice in my pack still." I start to get up but Chase beats me to it. "Let me get it for you." He is out the door before I can protest. I look around the kitchen. "Well I may as well look around a bit."

I have never been much of a cook, but compared to this group I seem to be a master chef. Most of the cabinets are empty, in a few I find some pots and pans that obviously have not been used for some time. In the last cabinet I open I find a small library of cook books. There are more recipes here than I would have thought and they are all covered in a layer of dust.

I dust one off one and start thumbing through it when Chase returns with my pack. "Find something interesting?" he asks as he sets my pack on the table. "Just some cook books. How come you don't use them?" He looks at me a bit sheepishly, "We really can't cook." "Oh...." I put the book back and go to my pack and start digging around in it. Eventually I pull out a small wooden box. I open it to reveal several small shakers with the names of different spices on them.

I set the box down on the cabinet next to the stove and begin to work on salvaging the stew. After several minutes and considerable seasoning later I taste a spoonful of the seasoned stew. "Well I have done what I can for it." I offer a bite to Chase who has been watching me closely the whole time. He cautiously closes his mouth around the spoon. Almost instantly his eyes widen as he swallows. "That's..... Wow! It doesn't even taste like the same stew!"

I can't help but chuckle. "Well I hope not." I refill my bowl with the improved stew and take my seat at the table to eat. Soon Chase has his own bowl and is digging in like it's the first good meal he has had in a long time. Raising an eye brow I watch him eat. "Looks like I just found a way to repay you for saving my life." Chase looks up from his bowl, "If you can make any meal this good, we will be owing you before long." I can't help but blush a bit under my fur. "I'm really not that good." He says something I can't understand around a mouth full of stew but I think he was disagreeing with me.

After finishing my first meal in days I pull my pack over and set about making sure everything is where it belongs. Chase watches me as I go through my stuff on the table. "It's all there if you wanted to know." I look up at him a bit surprised, "Huh?" He waves at my belongings in front of me, "All your stuff is there, nothing was taken. Though we did go through it looking for a name." I let out a chuckle, "I wasn't checking to see if anything was missing." Not that the thought hadn't crossed my mind. "I just like to keep it packed a certain way. In case I ever have to leave in a hurry."

Chase reaches across the table and puts a hand on top of mine. His touch sends a tingle up my arm. It's strong yet gentle. "You don't have to worry about that here. You are welcome to stay as long as you like. You're safe here." I look down at his hand and release a long sigh. I may be welcome here, but I'm not safe, and the longer I stay the less safe I and anyone near me will be. Looking back up at Chase I force a small smile. "Thanks, but I think for now I will keep my pack ready, if only for my peace of mind. Old habits and all that."

He smiles back and gives my hand a gentle squeeze before pulling it back. "I understand." He leans back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest. "Now how about a little more question and answer between us, huh?" I can't help but smirk a little, "All right, it's only fair considering you saved my life. But you won't like some the answers and some questions I am not ready to answer. Ok?" He nods, "I understand, and I promise I won't tell anyone what we discuss unless I feel it's a threat to my pack."I can't help but admire how protective he is of his pack and even of total strangers like me. It is certainly an attractive quality.

As I finish putting pack back in order I place it on the floor beside me and fold my arms on the table giving Chase my full attention. I ask, "So what would you like to know first?" He studies me for a moment before speaking, "Well I suppose first I would like to know some more about that sword of yours, it's been causing some commotion the last few days. Not as much as you though."

I can't help but chuckle as I pull my blade out its sheath and set it on the table causing Chase to lean back a little. "It's not going to start shocking again is it?" I shake my head, "No, it won't be shocking anyone here now." He settles back to how he was sitting and studies the blade closer. "Ok, why not?" I run a finger along the side of the blade, "Simple, it knows you now."

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "It knows me? How can a sword know me?" I grab the hilt and turn it so he can see the blade clearly, especially the moving flame like pattern in the metal of the blade. "Because it's not a normal blade." He reaches out cautiously and touches the flat of the blade. A ripple travels out along the blade from where his finger touched it. "It feels almost like a liquid." He looks at me with awe in his eyes. "What's it made of?" I watch the patterns shift along the blade as I make my reply. "It is forged from common steel. But the forging process is one used only by my father's family. When the blade is made it is mixed with the blood of the person who is to own it. In this case, my blood."

Chase pulls his hand back quickly. "It was made with your blood?" I nod as I pick up the blade. "It is a form crafting that gives the blade a life of sorts. It also connects it to me in such a way that it will last as long as I do." He looks at me confused, "What does that mean?" "It means that as long as I live, this sword will never break or rust."

"I can see how that would be useful." I set my sword back down on the table. "It certainly is. An added feature of the forging process that connects the blade to me, is that it only cuts what I want it to cut." "You can control what it cuts?" he asks in disbelief.

I set my blade so it is edge up, then I grab a cloth that was lying nearby. "Watch." I carefully drape the cloth over the sharpened edge. As it touches the blade it is cleanly cut in two with no resistance. Once the cloth is cut in half I move it to the side. "That's to show how sharp it is. Now watch this. " Now I slam my hand palm down onto the blade.

Chase jumps up to stop me yelling, "EB DON'T" He is too late to stop me however as my hand is already on the blade. He reaches over and grabs my hand tenderly, "I didn't just spend four days putting you back together so you could......" his voice trails off as he looks at my palm. "But there's not a scratch!" He looks from my hand to the blade and back. "But that should have cut your hand in half." I nod, "A normal blade that sharp would have, but I didn't want to cut my hand."

He slowly sits back down staring at my blade then at me. "I have never seen anything like that blade or like you before." I shrug and slip my blade back into its scabbard. "Well my kind doesn't like to draw attention to our selves. We tend to get hunted." Silence grows between us before I speak. "Well I answered your question now you can answer one of mine."

Chase leans back in his chair, "Ok, ask away." Crossing my arms on the table I look him in the eyes and ask, "Where exactly are we? I was kind of unconscious when you brought me here." He smiles slightly, "We are about five miles from where you made camp. You were practically on our front porch." I blink my eyes in surprise. I was this close to a pack when I made camp, yet I saw no signs of them. "I was in your territory? But I didn't see any indications of a pack in the area."

He lets out a chuckle. "Yeah we are real careful to keep our presence here a secret. Most of us don't like to have our presence known by humans or other wolves. We like our privacy." I find myself attracted to the idea of being somewhere like this where people don't know I exist. "Sounds like it." I can't help but wonder though why these wolves would want to be so isolated. As though sensing my thoughts Chase speaks up. "We are not exiles or criminals if that's what you're thinking. We just have differing opinions from most about how we want to live."

When he says those words something about them makes feel that my being a demon isn't the only secret that will be coming out around here. And that maybe, just maybe I will find something I have been missing. If I haven't found it already. As the thoughts travel through my mind I feel Chase watching me. When I look up he shifts his gaze just a little. Was he just.... No I don't think so.

The silence between us begins to grow when Chase asks, "So who or what was that thing that was trying to kill you? We didn't get that good of a look at it." This is a question I had been expecting since I woke up. "That would have been Agerex, and it's a good thing you didn't get a clear view." He looks at me puzzled, "Who is this Agerex, and why is it good we didn't get a good look at him."

"Well it's good you didn't get a good look because he makes my other form look downright handsome." His eyes widen a bit as he remembers what I showed him earlier. "Ok I can see your point there, but who is he?" I look down at my hands and trace a wood grain in the table before answering. "Agerex is my half brother, on my father's side."

He looks at me for several moments in stunned silence. Eventually he finds his voice, "So he's a demon also?" I nod, "Only his mother was a pure blood demon." Chase has a confused look on his face as he leans forward propping his arms on the table. "Ok let me get this straight, your brother has more demon blood than you do, and he wants to kill you?" I rub my eyes and nod, "That about sums it up." He scratches his left ear and asks, "But why? What did you ever do to him?" I shrug and look him in the eyes, "I was born."