SWNOVELS Chapter 14: What a Family Indeed
Zeus had returned to the compound from Dr. Connors’ lab and had begun training in earnest. If he was going to take on the white Alpha, he would need to be at his best. He was taking a rest break when Oz floated into the gym.
“What are you doing?” asked the ancient little man.
“Preparing for what is to come,” Zeus replied tersely.
He wasn’t in the mood for one of Oz’s lectures or lessons. There was nothing to learn this time, only creatures to destroy, namely the white Alpha.
“And what exactly are you preparing for?” asked Oz.
His questions were never what they appeared. He already knew the answers to most of the questions he asked. He wanted to make Zeus think about what he was really doing and why.
“I am preparing for the end my old friend. I have no problem with this being my last mission, I just want it to count for something,” Zeus answered.
“And if you could do it all over again, what would you change?” asked Oz.
“Oz, if you have a point to make, please make it! I have much work to do and little time to do it in,” answered Zeus, his voice sounding much harsher than he meant it to.
Oz simply stood with his fingers interlocked, looking at the master warlock. Oz had never been provoked and he wouldn’t be now. He was far too old, much too patient, and way to wise to fall into the trap of arguing with his long-time friend. He knew humans often liked to start an argument to avoid saying what needed to be said. He simply stared and waited for Zeus to answer.
Zeus waited, but Oz never responded. He simply stared at him. After several uncomfortable minutes, Zeus knew Oz would wait all day and into the night if he needed too. He had asked a question and he expected a response. The old warlock took a deep breath and answered.
“If you’re asking if I would have been a warlock, if I would have married the love of my life and brought Stazia into this world, knowing what I do now…yes, yes I would still do it all over again. For all the pain and all the heartache it has caused, I have gained much by both experiences. I never knew love; the truth is I never believed in love, not until I met her,” Zeus said quietly.
“You can say her name. It would be good to hear you say it. You need to say it. You haven’t said it since you buried her. You think if you don’t say it, the pain will stop, but you are wrong. The pain may never stop, but it will get better. You have to remember her. You have to celebrate all you had with her. The memories of all she meant to you and gave to you, those are the things that will help heal the pain,” said Oz.
“But that’s exactly what you don’t understand! I don’t want the pain to go away! I deserve the punishment of knowing I failed her. I failed my Isabella…when she needed me most, I wasn’t there! Isabella, Isabella, Isabella…” Zeus yelled, tears streaming down his face.
He dropped to his knees and cried.
Oz came to him and held him like a father holding a child. After a few minutes, the tears began to subside and Zeus could think clearly once more. This is what Oz had waited for, had wished for. Now, for the first time, he might be able to get through to the master warlock.
“I too lost Isabella and Stazia that night, and I too failed them and I too hurt because of it. But now, the two of us must think of more than ourselves. We must think of more than the punishment we deserve. We have to think of your grandson, Gabriel,” Oz began.
It was the first-time Zeus had ever heard Oz talk like that. For the first time, he realized how selfish he had been. His long-time friend had been feeling the same guilt and the same pain he had and he never knew it. Perhaps, deep down he did know it, but had chosen not to acknowledge it. Either way, the mention of Gabriel got his attention.
“Gabriel has found his own Isabella, the one called Breena. The two of them will bring forth the next generation. Those children will need their great-grandfather to help them with so many things,” Oz added.
Zeus was stunned. He knew Gabriel liked this girl, but children? Yes, the more he thought about it the more he agreed with Oz, this was the woman for Gabriel. The master warlock remembered the way she had looked him in the eye and answered his questions about herself and her intentions toward Gabriel. This one was a warrior and she was fit to give birth to an army of warlocks!
Great-grandfather? Zeus had never gotten used to the fact he was a grandfather and now he was thinking about being a great-grandfather. But, how could he be a great-grandfather when he was also a shifter? How could Gabriel and Breena ever trust him around their children?
Oz already knew what the master warlock was thinking.
“You are no longer the wild shifter you once were. Even then, you had more control than any shifter before you. Now, with the healing Breena did on you, there will be nothing more for you to worry about. In fact, I think Dr. Connors has the right idea. The training you are doing now is unnecessary, we should resume the training later tonight,” Oz said.
“Unnecessary? Later tonight?” Zeus asked incredulously.
“Yes, tonight. If you hope to defeat the white Alpha, it will be as a shifter, not as a warlock. The good doctor has given you a tremendous gift, one I plan to enhance even further. I will make some adjustments to the vest he created and we will train together after you have shifted,” declared Oz.
Zeus stood up slowly. So many thoughts rushing through his head at once. Yes, he suddenly wanted to be around to help Gabriel and Breena with their children. He was rarely around to enjoy his daughter when she was growing up, but he wouldn’t make that mistake again. Still, there was the issue of whether they would allow him to be a part of their lives and the lives of their children.
Also, he would need to be certain he was in full control as a shifter. Last night he had known everything he did. He even knew why he did it, and how he did it. It was a good start, but far from a certainty as to how much control he had. Working out with Oz while he was a shifter would be a great way to make sure he was in total control…But what if he hurt his ancient friend?
“I am concerned Oz, what if I manage to hurt you while I’m shifted? Gabriel managed to almost kill you and he is human…I think,” Zeus asked.
“There is no need for concern. I will be on guard when I am working with you and Gabriel did not almost kill me, he simply stunned me. I was unprepared for the suddenness of his attack. Although, to be completely truthful, we must accept the fact, whatever Gabriel is, it isn’t just human.
There is no creature I have ever encountered who could hit me with the force our young warlock managed to muster. I believe our young man is going through a metamorphosis. What he is becoming I do not know, but he is no longer simply a human. I don’t think he ever was, he was just not ready to make the change yet,” Oz explained.
“Make the change to what? What will Breena think if she finds out he is some sort of shifter hybrid?” Zeus asked, he was suddenly worried about the two of them.
“I should tell you our Miss Breena is hardly what she seems either. What I am about to tell you must remain our absolute secret if we are to continue to have a relationship with the young couple,” Oz began.
“I swear, I will speak of it to no one,” Zeus said.
“I have known of the existence of a group of creatures on this planet who call themselves the Scythians. An ancient species, far older than humans. They are the ones responsible for the legends of were-creatures all over the Earth. They can shift from their human form into animals. They can also change to elemental forms such as fire and water,” said Oz.
“I have never heard of such a thing,” Zeus responded.
“Very few people have. The Scythians are a very reclusive and secretive species. They have worked hard to remain hidden from the rest of the world. They are the only creatures I know who can do as Gabriel has described and what I have seen with my own eyes,” Oz added.
“And what of you my old friend, are you a Scythian too,” Zeus asked gently.
“No,” said Oz truthfully. “What I am is of no concern. All that matters, is that I am Oz, and I am a part of this family. As long as I am accepted as I am, then I will be able to remain here.”
Zeus was taken aback. For the first time, Oz was practically admitting he wasn’t a human. He was also stating he couldn’t answer it any better than that and still be able to stay with Zeus at the compound. Who could make this little man, or whatever he was, do anything he didn’t want to do?
The master warlock was also aware for the first time, his friend, his aid and helper, and his mentor, had stated he wanted to be considered as a part of this family. Through it all, that was what stuck in Zeus’s mind. Oz wanted to be a part of his family!
“You have always been something of a father figure and a big-brother rolled into one for me. Isabella felt the same way and Stazia thought of you as a grandfather. We have all trusted you and you have been there when we needed you. I need to know nothing more about you than that old friend. You will be a part of this family as long as you want,” Zeus declared.
Both men thought on it for a moment…
“A shifter,” said Zeus.
“A very large wolf that doesn’t particularly like you,” said Oz.
“A future granddaughter-in-law who might be a Scythian, whatever that is,” said Zeus.
“A grandson who might be a new kind of human or human-hybrid,” said Oz.
“And an Oz!” said Zeus.
Together the two men laughed. Neither knew anything else to say or to feel, so they simply laughed. What a family indeed!
Zeus headed for a shower. Oz retreated to his room to make the adjustments he had planned for the vest Dr. Connor had provided. He was also working on a new weapon that would be just for the shifted Zeus. If he worked hard, he could have both ready for the planned training session later in the evening.
He had taken careful measurements of Zeus’s shifted form during the previous night. If his new weapon was to work, it would need to fit exactly to the shifted warlock’s body. Unfortunately, this meant Zeus would have to make his own supper tonight, Oz was going to be preoccupied. At least now the master warlock might care about eating. He was showing signs of wanting to live for the first time in quite a while.
For years, Zeus had simply been existing, waiting to die. Even when he adopted Gabriel, his fear over the rejection he believed he would eventually get from the young man, had kept him from hoping for any kind of a real relationship with his grandson. How wrong he had been!
It gave Oz hope the master warlock was wrong about other things too. He knew deep down, Zeus believed any attempt to kill the white Alpha was in fact a suicide mission. He only hoped to be able to kill the giant shifter in the process. Oz was hoping Zeus could now see there was a very good chance he was wrong. He had everything to live for and every reason to kill the vile creature who had brought about so much of the pain in his life.
The question was, could Oz help? Would the ‘others’ intervene if he stepped in to save Zeus? He knew if he ended the life of the white Alpha, he would be banned from this dimension for all time. His kind were strictly prohibited from taking a life. Since they really couldn’t be killed by anything in this plane of existence, they couldn’t argue self-defense or self- preservation.
No, he might be able to help save the master warlock when the time came, but he couldn’t kill the white Alpha. Not without being removed from his adopted family forever. Why couldn’t the others of his kind stay here long enough to learn of the worth of the humans. Their uniqueness and their emotions were rare gifts in a universe filled with life. Among all the other creatures of this realm, there were none exactly like the humans.
Oz had much to think about while he worked on the vest and the new weapon…there was much to consider. He was beginning to think they might be able to stop the white Alpha without Gabriel’s help, maybe.