Humans Bite Back

The Great Oak was where the magic community assembled. I supposed it was because of the tree’s lore, which was considered a haven for witches in need. The fact that witches were the only faction that could access the tree by touch seemed to lend some credibility to the legend, but I wasn’t so sure; not only did my fever dream leave me with questions, but each faction had developed its own myths.

The werewolves claimed that the tree fended off their enemies during a great war by sweeping their attackers aside with its branches. The wolves may have regarded the tree with great respect, but this didn’t prevent them from hiking their legs next to its trunk to relieve their bladders.

The vampires referred to The Great Oak as Hell’s Elevator, claiming the tree’s hollow was a direct passage to the underground inferno created by humans.

The ghouls claimed that the species they evolved from once resided in the forest and used the great oak to bake the goods that feed their people, and this is where their kind inherited their cooking skills.

I wasn’t sure which lore was true, I thought perhaps none of them were, or all of them might be. Even though I had never witnessed the tree do anything more stunning than part of its bark to provide entry, the fact that a dull piece of wood managed to strike up so much intrigue was remarkable in itself.

Unlike the vampire congregation I had attended the night before; there was no need for The Supreme Mother to call for order because the order was already established.

There was a pecking order in the magical community; The Grand Supremes were front and center on the stage erected underneath the canopy of The Great Oaks branches. The front rows were reserved for the high covens, where my Aunt Finn and Petra were situated. Each coven’s access to The Supreme Mother was according to their tier in the hierarchy. The warlocks were behind the novice witches in the back corner.

Our position in the magical community had always bothered my father and the other warlocks. Though the elder warlocks would threaten to ignore the summons, they always attended without fail. Bryce had carried on this tradition by informing The Grandmasters that he wouldn’t be in attendance, but none of us were surprised when he appeared beside us only minutes before the assembly was scheduled to commence.

“There’s our rebel without a cause,” Kenny quipped as Bryce took his place beside him. “I don’t know why we have to be here anyway,” Bryce complained, “These meetings are not for us.”

“Usually I would agree,” I told him, “But this time it concerns us too,”

“Did your aunt fill you in on what this is all about?” Jacob inquired. I shook my head, “No, but I tagged along with Edna and Chad to a vampire congregation at Ralphie’s last night.”

The other Grandmasters turned their heads and regarded me with awe. “That was a brave thing to do,” Bryce said, “The food there has been the cause of many stomach upsets.”

“What happened at the congregation? What did you learn?” Kenny pressed me.

“Apparently, the humans biting are not just isolated incidents, the humans have been infected with some type of virus, and it’s spreading fast. The vampire community is worried that we are on the cusp of a pandemic.”

“Do you know what we plan to do to stop them?” Jacob asked, “We can’t do much to fend them off since we are bound to do no harm.”

“I think Dr. Briggs is working on a cure,” I told them, “I think that’s why we are being assembled because he needs the magical community's assistance.”

“So what do we do in the meantime while we wait for the werewolf doctor to devise a cure?” Kenny demanded, “Because this is getting out of hand, our neighbor was chased down by a rabid human because she snagged the last carton of two-percent milk at the grocery store.”

“The vampires were given precautions and rules to abide by to keep them safe, so I assume the magical community will follow suit,”

“That’s ridiculous,” Bryce grumbled, “The humans are the ones acting up; we should be imposing rules upon them, not the other way around.”

“I think that would violate their free will, which is a clause that binds magic,” Kenny explained, then he added, “Don’t worry, buddy, this is not the first human plague, and it will not be the last. This is just the first one our generation has had to endure. It will blow over soon.”

The Mother Supreme waited for the latest stragglers to take their place before addressing the crowd. “As some of you are already aware, some of the humans have been on a savage rampage lately. There have been several reports made from the factions, even the ghouls are not safe, claiming that children are nipping them as they hide beneath their beds.”

Only the high orders can address Mother Supreme; several hands shot up after she made this revelation. She gestured to a witch from my aunt’s coven. “Yes, sister Fire Crotch.”

“Are they eating each other?” the witch asked.

“To our knowledge, they have not resorted to cannibalism. Dr. Briggs believes they have an infection that causes them to crave Luna's blessed blood,” The Mother Supreme informed her before continuing. “Dr. Briggs believes that the humans have been subjected to a virus and that the craving is a symptom which seems to be triggered by their aggression. Humans are prone to become annoyed by the slightest inconvenience, so we advise you to avoid human interactions at all costs.”

Another hand shot up, and Mother Supreme took another question. “What about the witches who rely upon humans to provide financing to maintain their independence?”

“Good question,” Mother Supreme praised her, “The Good Harlots are ordered to cease their infatuation spells and set their sugar daddies free; they may have to enter into stable relationships to sustain themselves for the time being. The Dirty Palms are hear-by ordered only to convey good fortune regardless of the results from the readings,” this garnered a few disappointed sighs from the covens. Undeterred, Mother Superior pressed on, “Until a cure is found, I caution witches to travel in packs, even in feline form. We must do everything we can to prevent fatalities during this outbreak.”

Another array of hands was raised; Mother Supreme called upon a coven member from the back this time. A blonde woman who was the leader of The Teachers spoke on their behalf. “School is not in session at the moment, but what if we don’t find a cure by the fall?”

“You have rulers; I suggest you learn how to use them properly,” The Supreme mother quipped before motioning for the remaining witches with questions to lower their hands. “This is a trying time, and I know you are all scared, but I have faith in Dr. Briggs’s ability to manufacture a cure. We as witches must do our part, so I am asking for the leaders of The Fire Crotches and The Mariticides to consult with Dr. Briggs and join his efforts.”

“Our very nature binds our magic from harming humans,” the Supreme Mother continued, “So Dr. Briggs has recommended an associate to teach us some self-defense tactics.”

The Mother Supreme’s cheeks flushed as a giant wolf replaced her on the stage.

A collective sigh erupted as the wolf used his hand to brush a few fallen strands of dark hair from his face. In a thick accent that sounded European, he introduced himself. “I am Emanuel, today I am your master, and you are my subordinates.”

“Can you believe this guy?” I scoffed, turning to my friends for confirmation, but saw that they too were gazing at Emanuel in fascination. I rolled my eyes and returned my gaze to the stage.

Emanuel surveyed the crowd with a dominating gaze; I felt myself blanch and hurried to look away before we could make eye contact, terrified that the wolf on stage would win me over with those piercing eyes.

I focused on the novice witches and searched the small gathering for Erica. My heart thumped in my chest as I spotted her dark bob, but the thumping ceased, and my heart dropped into my stomach when I noticed she was looking straight ahead, fully enthralled, with her hands crossed over her chest as if she was in fear of losing her most vital organ.

I knew it was just a crush, and I had no right to feel so possessive of Erica, but I couldn’t contain the jealousy that sprang from my chest and traveled to my brain. An instantaneous disdain for Emanuel followed, and my vision swam with red as I pretended to watch the following demonstrations. I was so enraptured that I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a tug on my sleeve.

“Hey, you want to partner up?” Kenny asked me. I withdrew my attention from Emanuel and focused on Kenny. “I like you, Kenny,” I told him earnestly, “But I’m not attracted to you.”

“To practice our defense strategies, dummy,” Kenny replied, rolling his eyes. “Obviously, you weren’t paying attention, so it just makes sense that I lead.”

“Yeah, no problem,” I said, attempting to shake off the dark cloud that hung over me. Kenny back-stepped and then took a stance, “Hit me with your best shot,” he commanded.

I supposed that he wanted me to charge him, so I ran at him at a rapid pace, expecting to knock Kenny aside easily, but he surprised me as he dodged my attack by seizing my arm and sweeping my leg in one coordinated effort. “Hey, it works,” he cried in triumph as he offered me a hand as I struggled to get back on my feet.

“Let’s try this technique,” Kenny said as he retreated then turned his back on me. “Come tackle me from behind,”

I shot Kenny an odd look. He responded by rolling his eyes at me. “You know what I meant,” he muttered as he turned away.

I broke into a strong sprint, determined not to let him get the best of me. As I reached for his midsection, Kenny squatted before grasping me by the elbow and flipping me over his shoulder. He grinned at me as I lay there gazing up at him, reluctant to get up even though I was virtually unharmed if I didn’t count my ego. “Were you asleep the entire presentation?” he scolded me before calling out to Bryce, “Hey, you want to swap partners? Bishop is making this too easy.”

“I’ll be your partner,” a familiar voice piped up from behind Kenny. Kenny turned around and cried, “No way, I’m not wrestling my sister.”

Erica put her hands on her hips, “Why not?” she demanded, “Are you afraid I might beat you?”

“No,” Kenny cried unconvincingly, “It’s because you’re a girl; why aren’t you over there with the rest of your coven?”

Erica frowned, “None of them will partner with me; they claim I have an unfair advantage.”

“Maybe you can teach Bishop the moves,” Kenny suggested, “He was daydreaming while the rest of us were gaining knowledge.”

Though I didn’t like the fact that Kenny was showing me up in front of Erica, I immediately forgave him for making the suggestion. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention,” I admitted.

“How is that possible? My eyes were glued to the stay the entire demonstration,” Erica commented. Though she had forgone the dreamy expression that had remained on her face while she had watched Emanuel, I still had to swallow back the bile of bitter jealousy.

I got to my feet and shrugged, “I guess I’m not a dog person,” I joked, expecting Erica to laugh, but regretted my words when she pressed her lips together in a straight line. “Don’t be species insensitive,” she lectured.

“I guess that was a bit childish,” I agreed, then attempted to recover by saying, “Why don’t you show me that move that Kenny just tried on me?”

She seemed to forget my tasteless joke as she immediately moved into position. “I am going to demonstrate this in slow motion first; then we will put the moves into action.”

I did my best to pay attention as Erica explained the moves to me, not wanting to make a fool of myself. She allowed me to lead, which I failed at miserably because I was afraid of hurting her, so we switched positions, and I learned that Erica didn’t share the same concern for my well-being.

We decided to go a step further and create scenarios in which a human may attack; during one of these enactments, we were interrupted by a rich voice, “Good technique, but bad form.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were critiquing us,” Erica said, hurrying to brush blades of grass from her clothing as she gazed up starry-eyed at Emanuel. “I’m only here to advise,” he corrected her.

Emanuel brushed Bishop aside as he addressed Erica, “Here, let me teach you some additional tricks.”

I side-stepped to avoid being stomped on by Emanuel’s massive feet, and I watched him seize Erica by the shoulders. While I attempted to keep a cool head, I couldn’t keep the nasty feeling at bay. I pushed it away from my mind and my chest, and though I knew it must be my imagination, I felt my emotions sink and then stew in the pads of my feet.

I was hoping the feelings would become absorbed by the ground below me, but instead, the sentiment rebounded and surged through my body and escaped from the crown of my head. I was convinced that this was all in my imagination, but I could hear static in my ears, and suddenly Bryce started pointing at me and laughing. “Look at Bishop’s hair.”

My hands flew up to my scalp, and I realized that the strands of my hair were standing on edge as if they had been electrically charged. Before I had a chance to retort to Bryce, a loud crack of lightning lit up the sky above us, drawing our attention upward.

Dark clouds moved in fast, and before anyone had a chance to seek cover, a big boom sent a flash of lightning across the sky, and it began to pour down rain.

Though I didn’t want to believe it, I thought I may have been the cause of the unexpected storm.