Chapter 4 A Difficult Errand

The Mayor nodded in understanding and in acknowledgement. He didn't want to get into an argument with Nicholas.

He feared the man with all that he had. But there was nothing that a mere human like him could possibly do about the situation at hand.

And that was the reason why he kept doing business with Nicholas Filden. Could that even be called business? It was just a situation where one party was allowed to play god and the other would remain under judgment. The former would always decide if the men were to die or not.

There was nothing healthy about that. Yet, there wasn't any way out of the shindig.

Mayor Jack Sparrow left the house and headed straight for his office. He sat in his chair for some minutes, then he rang the bell on his table.

A male attendant walked in some moments later. "Mayor, sir?"

"I need you to run an errand for me," Mayor Jack said.

Whenever the Mayor needed someone to run an errand, it was always something shady. The attendant nodded and sat down.

"What will that be, sir?"

"I am pretty sure you might have already heard about the commotion that happened earlier today," said Mayor Jack. "And if you haven't, then you're about to. The man in question is new in town. And I need you to find out everything you can about him."

The attendant nodded once in understanding. "And anything else?"

The mayor relaxed in his chair and thought for some moments. "There is one more thing I'd like you to be aware of before you head out. Nicholas's sister, Selene, helped him escape."

"She did?"

"That's right, she definitely did. Happened right there in public." The Mayor smiled, as if it amused him in some way. "She had a lot of courage to stand up to her brother like that. I wonder what he'd do to her."

The attendant suddenly became uneasy. "Sir, if Nicholas Filden and his sister are involved in the matter, then I think it is best that we let them have at it."

The Mayor peered at his attendant. Everyone was afraid of Nicholas Filden. They knew what he could be capable of. They had all heard the stories.

"No. I think it is best that we get involved in this. I have never seen Nicholas so worked up about a man, and come to think that this very man just walked into Crystal Falls today. Make you think if Nicholas had been waiting for his arrival."

"Is this man important to Nicholas Filden?" the attendant asked.

"Yes, I think he is the sacrifice for the ritual," Mayor Jack said. "Anyway, get to work on this right now. Keep a low profile so Nicholas doesn't sniff you out."

The attendant nodded, rose, and left the office.

If Nicholas wanted to do things his own way, Mayor Jack would play that game too. After all, he had to answer to the people of Crystal Fall. Not Nicholas.

***

David Holt smiled as he placed a drop of blood on the glass slide and fixed it under his scope. He always had that smile every time he was about to discover something new.

There was this feeling of exhilaration that came with being a scientist. It was one of the reasons why he had moved to Crystal Falls. The place had secrets. And with all the stories that came out of people's mouths, they knew that he'd find something extraordinary soon.

And he wasn't wrong at all.

David peered through the ocular lens, tuned the equipment for some time, then looked at the slide, and returned his eye to the lens.

"Now, what is this?" he asked himself.

He'd noticed some mutations in the blood samples he looked at, especially the ones he collected from Old Mikey, and he could confirm they belonged to people who weren't completely human.

But what the hell was he looking at? He had never seen anything like it before? This was totally different. And it mesmerized him.

David took one look at Bill behind him. The man was still lying unconscious on his table. David wondered what wind had blown him into Crystal Falls. Was it a good one or was it a bad one?

He recorded his findings, as little as he could. Got up from the table and went out. Selene and Old Mikey were waiting for him.

"Oh, I thought you both left already," he said.

"We would have told you beforehand," Selene said.

David folded his hands across his chest and looked from one to the other. "I took a look at his blood."

"And? What did you find?"

"I don't know."

Old Mikey raised his brows. "You don't know. Is that a joke?"

"No. This one is different."

"How so?" Selene asked.

"His blood doesn't come up like that of a human being. That's what I mean."

"A werewolf then?" Mikey asked.

David scoffed. "Werewolf? The mutations? Well, no. If it had, I wouldn't be idealess."

"I see."

"Question is, what are you going to do about him when he wakes up?" David asked. "Because there is no way I am letting him stay here. He's gotten in trouble already."

"Maybe it is because of his blood?" Selene asked, thinking about the blood ritual.

"Maybe we should just wait for him to wake up and ask him what the hell he is. How about that?" Mikey asked.

David gave Mikey a stare. "I am not sure if you want to know the answer to that."

"Then I'll take him," Selene offered.

Old Mikey gave her a cautionary look but she ignored him. And to make sure that she knew what she was doing, Selene Filden got to her feet and faced David.

"We don't want to give you any more trouble, doctor. So once he's conscious again, I'll take him elsewhere."

David didn't argue. "But I'll keep his sample and look into it."

"As you wish," Selene said. When David went back in, Old Mikey spoke.

"What you are about to do is only going to get you hurt, girl."

"I'm counting on it," Selene said.