Thorns of the Daffodils

Chapter 7

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Brian / Brandy's POV

After my performance I look around the club, disappointment rushing through me when I see that Justin never arrived to work. I am sick with worry as I think of all the awful possibilities that could have prevented him from being here tonight.

I see Marilyn at the bar and make my way to her. "Where is Justin tonight?" I ask causally, trying to prevent the worry in my voice.

She shakes her head and I see the turmoil in her eyes as she speaks. "I don't know. I'm really worried about him. I tried calling his home and cell numbers, but no answer. I'm trying not to be too worried because I sense that he is okay, but it's odd for him to not call when he's not going to be here."

I gulp. "You mean he does this often? Just calls off work or doesn't show up for no reason?"

"He's always had valid reasons." I can tell Marilyn is hiding something, that she really wants to share. She swallows hard and looks at me pointedly. "Justin is somewhat of a mystery to me, but he has become a dear friend of mine. Most people I can read, but he has secrets, and I haven't found out all of them yet."

I slam my hand on the bar. "Fuck!" I look at her pointedly, then drop my voice so no one else can hear me. "And you told him mine! Who knows, he could be one of them." My voice shakes with fear and anger, and I turn away from my friend.

She gently lays her hand over mine. "He's not one of them. He is a good person; that I know for a fact."

I glare at her. "What about him missing work consistently? That's not normal! I would have fired his ass for pulling such a stunt." I know I am slightly overreacting but I am fucking worried about Justin and I don't want Marilyn to see how concerned I really am. I do feel he is in danger, that something is going to happen to him soon, and there is nothing I can do to prevent it.

"I will admit it seemed strange at first," Marilyn replied. "I liked him too much to fire him, and he knows how to deal with the drunks. We usually sit down together and make out his schedule so he can be wherever he needs to on those days." She shrugs her shoulders helplessly.

I make my way to the door of the club to leave, and hope for a moment that when I step outside, Justin will be following me like last night. But something in my gut tells me that won't happen tonight.

I touch the cool metal of the door and I can hear the rain pouring outside. I push open the door and open my umbrella as I walk out. It's hard to see, but I sense evil lurking around me. In the distance, I see what appears to be a white dog pacing in the rain. He looks up and seems to acknowledge me for a moment, then continues to do whatever he was doing.

I begin to walk in the direction of Marilyn's apartment, when suddenly I feel something nudging me. I look down and the white dog is there, growling at me when I try to step forward.

"Get away from me you mangy mutt!" I growl back, and begin walking again. Once again the dog nudges me trying to get me to move in the opposite direction of the apartment. "God damn it, dog, leave me the fuck alone!"

I brush past it hastily only to have the beast nip me on the hand. I stare at the creature for a moment and feel almost crazy when I begin to speak to like it is human. "What the fuck is your problem? I said get the fuck away from me you mangy mutt. The beast bites the bottom of my dress and literally pulls me to a dry area. There in the orange glow of a nearby light, I am stunned when the dog shakes the water from his fur. I realize this is not an ordinary dog, but a wolf. A white wolf, and I wonder what William is trying to tell me. I can feel him near and know he is looking out for me.

The wolf's ears perk up to a sound I do not hear. He walks forward cautiously, and that's when I see the glittering, black eyes of coal. My breath hitches when I see a demonic creature running directly towards me, and just as I am trying to run away I see the white wolf charging to meet it.

My heart aches when I hear my protector howl in pain as the being bites his right leg. The yelps of the wolf pierce deep into my soul, and I find myself wanting to protect him from harm. Instinctively, I run toward the two creatures, coming to a halt when I see the white wolf take the advantage, biting the dark being hard in the throat.

The creature becomes almost frozen when it falls to the ground, and then suddenly the dark entity begins to take the shape of a man. The white wolf looks at me with sadness and pain in his eyes. He hobbles over to the gray colored man and nudges him with its nose. I am startled when the man breaks into a million pieces as if he was a porcelain doll shattering, and then he turns to ash. I gasp because it is the same thing that happened to the man in the alley the night before.

"What the fuck?!" I am brought out of my thoughts when I look at the white wolf who just saved my life. He whimpers sadly and then licks at his bleeding wounds. I know I can't leave him like this. Carefully, I pick him up and carry him in my arms to Marilyn's apartment.

When we get inside I lay him down on my bed while I go to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. I walk back into my room and feel a lump in my throat as I see two very familiar sapphire blue eyes peering back at me. I gasp, knowing that this can't be possible, that my eyes are just playing tricks on me. As I doctor up the wound the wolf watches me intensely with pain in his eyes and I know I cannot let him go back out in the cold tonight. I speak to him softly. "No worries, Mutt, you can stay here in a warm place tonight."

He growls softly at me, and I can't help but laugh.

"You don't like being called mutt, do you?" I laugh louder when he growls at me again. "Okay, okay, I have a feeling you might be around for awhile because of that wound, so I'll think of a better name to call you."

He lays his head on my hand and I swear I see a glimpse of a canine smile. Gently, I pet his head and scratch his ears as he nuzzles his head against my palm. "Okay, wolf with no name, scoot. Get off my bed so I can get some sleep. I`m fucking tired." When he doesn't move I pick him up and lay him on the floor next to my bed, being careful of his wounded leg.

When I'm almost asleep I feel a weight behind me and turn to see the blue eyes glittering playfully at me as he makes a place next to me on my bed. I just roll my eyes, turn back over and go to sleep.

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Justin's POV

As I sleep, strange dreams invade my mind. A darkness looms around me when I walk down a dark and dreary alley. The stench of the alley floods through my nostrils and I hear a muffled scream. For some reason I keep walking towards the screams when everything inside me is telling me to run. Instead of running away, I run toward the tormented sounds. A blood curdling scream comes from my own lips, when I see Brandy laying in a pool of blood. I fall to my knees, lifting her limp head onto my lap. She draws in a ragged breath and gazes into my eyes.

"You can't save me. I am already one of them; it is in my blood."

I am stunned when suddenly the image of Brandy turns into William. He whispers, "Only you can save him. Only you can tell him the truth of who we are, and why we exist." Weakly he reaches his hand to my face and I feel a tear escape my eyes when I see the gold ring he wears on his right index finger. It is a wolf with silver blue eyes.

I gasp then whisper, "How can this be?"

William fades from my arms and I can hear his voice ringing in my ears. "We are brothers." I try to wake myself from the nightmare, hoping to get a better grip on reality, but images come more rapidly, and are not making any sense. I see blood oozing from the earth, and trees moving past rapidly, with rain pouring and cleansing the ground. Then suddenly the chaos stops and the images become more clear.

I can see a man running. I recognized him as one of the men I saw at the club. He smiles wickedly then grabs Brandy. I notice instantly the gold cobra ring with ruby eyes on his right thumb. The man wraps an arm around Brandy's neck and looks at me, laughing. He rubs his index finger over the ruby eyes and two sharp fang like blades appear.

Erotically he runs his tongue against the side of Brandy's face, and I can see the fear in her eyes. Then he grazes the blades roughly over her cheek and whispers in her ear. "You are one of us, my puppet, you cannot hide, you cannot run. Yes, I know who you are, Brian," he says huskily, a dark whirling wind spirals around us, and then I see the same man on the ground, dead and gray, and there is no sign of Brandy anywhere.

Nervously, I walk towards the man, fearing he may not be dead like I think. I kneel down next to the body, placing my fingers upon his wrist to feel for a pulse. I am startled when I hear a roaring thunder and look to see the man crumbling into a million pieces, his grayish body shatters, and as it hits the ground, it turns to ash.

Everything around me turns red and I can hear the howling of wolves. I find myself walking, searching for the sound. Then I see Brandy. She is in a black lace dress and looks lost and frightened. I walk close to her, but she does not seem to recognize me and tells me to go away. But I can't. I can't leave her. Abruptly, we are surrounded by four black wolves, one of them comes charging at Brian and without a second thought I leap on top of the beast and suddenly there is a sharp pain ripping into the lower part of my leg.

I gasp and wake up, breathing heavily. I sit up straight in my bed and turn on the light, hoping it was all just a dream. Then I remember the ring William wore, and I look at the same ring I wear on my right index finger.

William's words echo in my ears once again. "We are brothers." I shake my head, not understanding or knowing my true bloodline. I was adopted, and at the age of 8 my adoptive mother gave me a large envelope with a letter and this ring. When I stand up to walk to my dresser, I feel a sharp pain in the lower part of my leg and I stumble to the floor in pain. I am about to get the envelope when the phone rings, detouring my plans.

"Hello?"

"Justin?" I can hear Marilyn's voice over the other end and she sounds panicked.

"Of course it's me. Who else would be answering my phone?"

"Oh my God! Where the hell have you been?"

I find her question to be a little odd, since it was not that long ago I left her house. "I don't know, maybe home sleeping. I just woke up. Why, what is all the panic about?"

I can hear her hesitating over the phone. "Justin, do you know what time it is, or what day for that matter?"

"Marilyn, you're actually freaking me out. I don't know what time it is, I just fucking woke up, but I assume it's late morning or afternoon, and since yesterday was Saturday I assume today is Sunday," I reply somewhat sarcastically.

"Try Tuesday. It`s Tuesday, Justin, you have missed several days of work. I tried calling you at home and on your cell, but you never picked up. I have been sick out of my mind. Even Brandy has been freaked out. We both thought the worst."

I am pretty shaken. "Tuesday? You've got to be fucking kidding me. I just left your apartment , I just fucking left your apartment! I had some odd dreams, but it can't possibly be Tuesday, can it?"

Suddenly, the last several days pass through my head and I remember everything.

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