Faeries' Grace

Brief Word From Author:

This is a revision of "Faeries' Grace" ... originally "Cursed Are The Blessed" ... again, I felt that the book was progressing a bit slowly. Sorry for any inconvenience and/or confusion to you the readers.

Please though, this time if you would be so kind as to leave your comments and reviews to help me gauge and evaluate my writing so I could improve upon it and make it more of an enjoyable reading experience. I welcome all feedback whether it be positive or negative, as long it's meant to be constructive.

Looking forward to hearing back from all of you. Please enjoy this version.

Copyright 2025 by John Baiori

Around twenty years ago...

Washington state ... Rainier Pack territory...

Unbeknownst to the Rainier Pack, something is amiss about what is soon to become yet another fateful night for them. Their last fateful night occurred some four years ago when Alpha Julian Thurgood, against his better judgment, reluctantly allowed his sister, Teresa, to adopt those three.

A rare blood moon acts as a foreboding 'harbinger' as it ominously hovers low midst a starless night sky; prominently standing out against the pitch-black 'canvas'.

It's nearing midnight, as a seemingly innocuous dark blue cargo van turns off the rural county road onto a narrow dirt road cutting through a dense forest. The vehicle cautiously moves along the dangerously uneven terrain at a speed never exceeding 15 mph on the speedometer for nearly ten minutes before reaching one of the outer-perimeter checkpoints surrounding the Rainier Pack's main compound.

Three hulking sentries ... each armed with subcompact machine guns ... position themselves around the cargo van: with one in front, one behind, and the other beside the driver's side door. The one at the door gestures for the driver to roll down the window. Once it's down, the sentry addresses the driver in an authoritatively professional tone...

"In case you aren't aware, this is private property. I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and leave."

Without turning to face the sentry, keeping his eyes looking forward, the driver aloofly replies...

"I am aware that this is private property."

Inconspicuously maneuvering in a manner as to not alert the vehicle's occupants, the sentry shifts his feet to take a firmer stance and uses his thumb to slowly move the gun's lever off the safety-position. Besides keeping an eye out for any suspicious movements in the van, the other two sentries have also been watching the sentry by the window in case he sends them any signals. They notice his subtle movements and immediately follow suit.

The sentry says, "Then what you're telling me is that you knowingly trespassed upon this property."

A barely noticeable smirk emerges upon the driver's thin, pallid lips. Again, refraining from turning to face the sentry, keeping his eyes looking forward...

"Come now, my anxious, lupine friend..." That smirk expands slightly longer across his lips. "That's right, I noticed that you switched your weapon into its firing position."

Now the driver turns to face the sentry...

"Not very welcoming of you now, is it?"

The sentry momentarily loses his professional demeanor as he curtly snaps...

"Look here, you...!"

The driver quickly interjects...

"But I digress. ... Now, where were we? Ah yes ... you had just accused us of 'knowingly trespassing upon the property'. But tell me now, can you really consider it to be trespassing if one is expected?"

"What are you talking about, we weren't informed about anyone being expected. Who are you? And just who is expecting you?"

The driver turns back around and keeps his eyes looking forward...

"The five of us are emissaries from the Clan of the Old Order. We are here at the bequest of our Matriarch, Countess Esmeralda Ardelean, with orders to pick up and bring her grandniece, Katarina Ardelean, back home to Transylvania."

The driver gestures for the individual sitting in the front passenger seat to hand him 'something'. The passenger leans slightly forward and shows the sentry his empty hands; then slowly moves, first using his left hand to pull back his blazer, and then, moving even more slowly, uses his right hand to reach in and pull out an envelope closed with a wax seal bearing the official royal crest of the Ardelean family. He gives it to the driver, who in turn ... without turning to face him ... hands it over to the sentry...

"This is the letter Countess Ardelean instructed us to give to your Alpha Julian ... who is expecting our arrival this evening."

The sentry incredulously glances over the seemingly official-looking letter, then suspiciously asks...

"If that's the case, then why weren't we notified of this alleged meeting?"

Another smirk emerges upon the driver's lips as he turns slowly turns to face the sentry; and then condescendingly taunts...

"Oh, I don't know ... perhaps it's because wolves of your low-ranking positions in the pack have no need to know of important matters which are clearly above the status of glorified security guards?"

This instantly irks the sentry. He once again momentarily loses that professional demeanor, and out of frustration instinctively tightens his grip around the handle and butt of the subcompact machine gun in his hands. The sentry growls through clenched teeth before snapping...

"Just who the fuck do you think you are!"

The driver turns back around and keeps his eyes looking forward; and with that annoyingly provoking smirk still etched across those thin, pallid lips, he continues condescendingly taunting...

"I already told you; we're emissaries here under orders of the Matriarch of the Clan of the Old Order to bring her grandniece back to Transylvania. I would think that even a lowly watchdog would have a longer retention span. Perhaps that's why they didn't bother telling you about our expected arrival..."

He turns and looks at the sentry, expanding that smirk as he delivers a final dig...

"Or maybe they did, and you just forgot."

The highly infuriated sentry is about a millisecond away from squeezing the trigger and riddling the vehicle with bullet holes, when luckily for all those present two jeeps heading from the compound's direction pull up to the checkpoint. Gamma Raymond Silva, head of the pack's Security Defense Unit, steps out of the front jeep; and, upon noticing the rigidly tensed-up sentry's throbbing vein bulging out of his temple, quickly shouts out...

"Stand down, Xavier!"

The driver turns back around and keeps his eyes looking forward as he snidely comments out of the side of his mouth...

"Yes ... stand down, Xavier."

Xavier's blood is boiling as he tenses up even more rigidly. The gamma comes up behind the infuriated sentry and places his hand upon Xavier's shoulder...

"Easy, calm down; I'll take it from here." Gamma Ray steps up to the driver's side window. "And you gentlemen are?"

The driver keeps his eyes looking forward as he exaggeratedly huffs, then says in a smart-alack fashion...

"Oh, for crying out loud; we are emissaries sent here under orders of the Matriarch of the Clan of the Old Order, Countess Esmeralda Ardelean, to bring her grandniece, Katarina Ardelean, back home to Transylvania. Seriously, how many times am I going to have to repeat this?"

The gamma ... who's even more muscularly developed and towers above the other three hulking sentries ... reaches in and tightly grasps hold behind the back of the driver's neck, then forcibly turns the driver's head to face him...

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Gamma Raymond Silva, leader of the Rainier Pack's Security Defense Unit, and in charge of overseeing all of the pack's defensive and offensive procedural protocols. And now that you know who I am, you will face me while I'm addressing you. Have I made myself clear?"

With all the bravado and smug cockiness quickly fading, the driver nervously nods. The gamma releases his grip and pulls his arm out...

"Good. And for the record ... regarding your previous inquiry ... you will repeat it as many times as I ask you to. Understood?"

The driver makes it a point to look the gamma directly in the eyes when answering...

"Understood."

"Good."

Suddenly, that bravado begins to creep its way back into the driver, as he boldly asks...

"Gamma Silva ... you do understand that this is a diplomatic mission that we're on, don't you? Do you always make it a habit of putting your hands on foreign dignitaries visiting your pack?"

And now a smirk emerges upon the gamma's lips, as he steps in closer and rests his massive arms on top of the cargo van; then leans in the window and whispers in the driver's ear...

"Would you rather I let my sentry over there blow you away to pieces with his gun?"

Again, that bravado quickly fades away, and the driver nervously shakes his head.

"Alright then..." The gamma steps back away from the vehicle. "I'll take you to see Alpha Julian. Follow us."

The gamma heads back towards the jeep, but is momentarily stopped by Xavier...

"Pardon me, Gamma Ray..." The sentry hands him the letter. "They brought this letter from Countess Ardelean to give to Alpha Julian."

The gamma takes the letter. "Thanks. I'll see that the Alpha gets it."

As the gamma steps away, the sentry blurts out,

"Pardon me again, Gamma Ray..."

"Yes?"

"With all due respect, sir ... but why weren't we told about their expected arrival?"

The gamma shakes his head and lets out a brief laugh...

"Don't take offense of it, Xavier; I was only just informed about it myself by Delta Colin before being sent down here to escort them."

"I see. My apologies for my impertinence."

The gamma places his hand upon the sentry's shoulder...

"No apologies necessary, my friend; I see no impertinence in your question. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you for your understanding, Gamma Ray ... And I will do my best to serve you and the pack well."

"I'm sure you will."

The gamma begins to walk away, but momentarily stops to jocularly tell the sentry...

"Oh, and Xavier ... asshole or not ... be sure not to shoot any visiting emissaries. At least at not until I give you my okay."

The gamma shoots the sentry a quick wink. The sentry laughs...

"Yes sir, understood."

The gamma heads over and gets into the jeep. Right after that the jeep's headlights flash, signaling for the cargo van to follow it. The tiny entourage sets off to the alpha's mansion, with the gamma's jeep leading the way and the other jeep behind the emissaries' vehicle.

As they secure the fence's gate, one of the other sentries tells Xavier...

"If you ask me, you should have cut down that smart-ass bloodsucker while you had the chance."

Xavier takes a brief moment to reflect upon the situation before responding...

"Actually, Frank; it's a good thing that I didn't."

"Why's that?"

"Think about it; they said that they're here to take Katarina back. ... And I'm pretty sure that means that that servant Irena of hers will be going as well. Which means that we're finally able to get rid of those two damn little bloodsucking dampyrs."

Frank emphatically agrees, "Yeah, you've got that right. ... If you ask me, Alpha Julian should have never allowed his sister to take them in the first place."

"Agreed." Xavier adds with underlying contemptuous disdain, "Now all we have to do is get rid of the good-for-nothing rogue she-wolf his sister also took in."

Copyright January 12, 2025, by John Baiori