A Yowl in the Dark

The Trophy Men --- II

According to Daniel, women will pay serious money for boyfriends, especially if their other wealthy friends want them.

That explains why they are so wealthy.

As I listen, I get up and carry their immaculately clean plates to the kitchen. “So the money’s not for charity or something?” from the bathroom sink, I make a call.

“It is, we say,” Jacob replies.

“And we do give some of it away, you know.”

"Maybe half,” smiled Daniel. Though I’m still a little confused, I laugh. “We auction off a bouquet of roses, three dates, our phone number, three requests, and the boyfriend for the week; even though Jacob is king, we all sell for a lot of money,” Daniel says with a hint of jealousy.

“Fifty thousand!” even in my most fantastical fantasies, that number was unimaginable. It’s been years since I’ve even seen a fifty dollar bill.

“You don’t understand,” Wes says right away, “the ultimate trophy is to get us for one week.” For as long as they have us, our women are entitled to exalted bragging rights. Our appearances are exceptional, particularly Jacob’s wild hair, and we are well-known among the Moonlight attendees. We resemble “trophy spouses,” only we’re not permanent, and we’re also men, of course.

“The trophy men…” I chuckled softly.

Daniel shook his head regretfully, “I don’t know what we are going to do without Jacob… there will be an outcry among the women. Let’s hope none of us get mated as well.”

I looked around for any sign of Ray, then I gently leaned in. “Why do women place bids on Ray at all? He’s so impolite and almost like a monster.” Before my voice reaches their ears, it lingers on the wind as I whisper. Wes starts laughing uncontrollably, and Jacob soon follows suit. Only Daniel is able to respond to my question with ease and composure.

You haven’t seen him around the ladies, but he almost looks exactly like Jacob, except for his hair and a few other details. He is seen by many women as Jacob’s somewhat less attractive twin.

So he commands a high price.

All right almost. Typically, it goes like this: Yi, I, Ray, Wes, and Jacob have the most money, while Yi has the least. Except that one fifty thousand, we all sell extremely closely together.”

“Wow,” I exclaimed; this is incredible. Do any of you ever grow attached to the women you date?

“Never,” Wes replies, sounding for the first time ever serious and dark. “It’s not allowed.” I smile and cross my arms, “but I’m sure they get attached to you—maybe a few stalkers?” I give Jacob a pointed look as he blushes.

“It’s existing because nobody knows anything about us,” Wes says with a smile. They are only familiar with our first names. For a week, in exchange for being their boyfriend, we require them to sign a strict confidentiality agreement. We don’t let them question us about our history, our family, or even our current residence. They also have to limit their use of our number to the week that we are their boyfriends. They will be fined at least $500 if they use our number after that week. Many people compare it to a dream that ends with a difficult awakening.”

“Harsh,” I trembled a little. They really are the group of athletes. Jacob glances at me, and a question pops into my head. “Are you going to still auction yourself off?” I ask, still going to attempt to be uninterested.

Jacob grinned. “Pari, of course not. You have me all to yourself.

“I turned my head away to cover up my blushing. Why does he always make me red in the face?”

Wes laughs, “Jacob was a bigger player than I am now. You should have met him before he got mated with you.” It’s difficult for me to imagine that. Is Jacob a player? Never, “It’s very sad that twenty thousand dollars are taken away every week,” almost groaned Daniel.

I’ll be your moneymaker from now on, buddy,” Wes pats him on the back. “Don’t worry.” Jacob, please we need to find you another job.

“Why wouldn’t a woman want him?” I cut you off.

A moment of silence was followed by raucous laughter. Wes sputters, “I don’t think you understand, Pari,” but they do want him. However, wouldn’t it be unfair to you if he started dating another girl?”

Daniel grinned and said, “Hey Jacob, you should be partying right now.” Pari just acknowledged inadvertently that she was drawn to you.”

“Shut up!” they eventually stop talking when I say something angry. The room is silent, with none of us knowing what to say. Their glamorous lifestyle seems to fit them well. Nothing less is guaranteed by their appearance.

The person you guys nearly killed is where? I wake up abruptly and remember things from the past.

“Inside the guest bedroom,” Wes remarks curtly. I look at him bewildered, and he chuckles. He notes, “It’s not like we have a dungeon to throw him in.”

“I don’t understand why you didn’t just let us kill him--” Daniel says.

“No!” I shouted, “I think I can force the shifter out of him,” as I got to my feet and r***d on the table. They’re all staring at me, and Jacob is starting to get upset. “No, Pari, please,” he says before cutting off suddenly.” I was able to hear both voices and gain access to his mind. I know I can save him if I can in some ways develop this talent. “Then you will never have to ill another human again,” I firmly say.

Daniel sighs, “You can’t think of them as humans, Pari; once they’re possessed, their soul is pretty much gone.” We didn’t commit murder.”

“But he was there!” I let out a cry, and Jacob snatched my hand fiercely.

He gets to his feet and whispers into my ear, “we need to continue this conversation somewhere else.

“Let’s go!” he pushes me from the room and I struggle. I feel like I’m being carried away by a tornado-like gust of air as super speed takes over.

We find ourselves back in the garden, with Jacob still holding my hands as he stands directly in front of me. Clear as day skies loom over us, flowers below are playing a rainbow of hues. Everything is so lovely, even though the entrance to the path I had previously taken is now marked with a piece of yellow tape that runs between trees. DANGER is written there. Whoa. They must genuinely believe I’m crazy.

He implores Pari to “please, forget about the man; we’ll take care of him. Concern about… I’m not sure, but just try not to worry about anything. You’re not required to engage in this.” However, I do! I know I can save his life, so I can’t just stand by and watch as you guys kill him.”

“How exactly?” with slow steps, Jacob asks, “how can you save his life?”

Time stands still as I check my shoes on the ground. “I don’t know much about being a Spier, but from what I heard, it seems as if could really help you guys-”

“No!” he exclaims angrily, “you’re helping us just fine by being right here.”

But even if I wasn’t able to help you, rescuing that man… wouldn’t that be worth the risk?” it makes perfect sense to me. “I find it unbearable that I had the opportunity to save a life but chose not to.” Why is it that he can’t understand?

“Nothing is worth you,” he says, griping my hands firmly.

“Jacob…” please understand, I sighed.

He speaks in a dangerously low voice, “I understand perfectly,” and I’m not letting you blow your life away for a lost cause.

“You don’t think I’m capable of it?” my voice is shrill and sharp.

He stops and uses his foot to make a small picture in the dirt. “Pari, it’s not like I think you can’t, but it does seem rather-”

“Jacob, I understand. You’d prefer me not to do it. You don’t think I can,” I said in a low, dejected tone. Desperate to hide the resolve that was bursting within, I started towards the door.

“No, that’s not the case! He yells after me, “It’s just that there’s a big chance you will die.” That’s not what I want. Pari, please… when I get to the wooden door, I turn the knob and it swings open. I slipped inside and shut it behind me without even looking over my shoulder.

Strangely, it feels like I’ve cut him off forever.

I pushed that ought away with haste. Jacob will always be there for me, regardless of the circumstances.

I’m hoping.

I was meandering down the corridors when I see the outline of a man leaning against the stone wall. He turns and slumps to the floor, appearing to be waiting for someone. He stands up with a sense of regality after a few moments of total stillness. He flips a switch, and the lights abruptly go out, dying in the engulfing darkness. After pausing, he began to move. I followed him without really understanding why, the sound of his footsteps almost hypnotizing me.

A dim light lingers at the end of the hallways, becoming brighter with every step filled with fear. My steps mimic his, and my heart seems to pound even more wildly as we walk. The man’s outline starts to glow as the light gets stronger, and I recognize him right away. I move inside as he walks in, purposefully leaving the door ajar.

“Ray,” I mumbled to the man as he approached me.

The library is located here. Ray is quick to get right to the point and apologizes for the lights. “By the way, I was afraid one of those idiots would follow us.” He points to the endless rows and rows of books that are stacked from the floor to the ceiling. With lounge chairs, books on both sides and a magnificent fireplace in the center, the room is enormous. A massive TV is positioned right above the fireplace, and a magnificent chandelier with tons of sparkling crystals hangs over our heads. It is turned on, with a computer display appearing in place of TV programming. He clarifies, “That’s our computer; we just use a TV monitor.”

“Whoa,” I exclaimed, stunned, “this is truly incredible!” it’s a dream of mine that I never would have imagined coming true. I have never seen such a large collection of books. Dash to the first aisle, ecstatic to see how many encyclopedias they have gathered, the educational books I have sorely missed.

Dad used to have the most beautiful library in the entire city when I was a kid. It was filled with an amazing amount of books, but it wasn’t nearly as large as this one. I promised my father that I would read every book in this library when I turned five. Of course, though, I was unable to fulfill my pledge.

A lovely voice whispers close to my ear, “we have the prophecy here,” and I straighten a little.

I asked, “Where is it?”

Swiping through each book like a searchlight, he says, “Right this way,” and leads me into the aisles. The rows of books seem to go on forever, and as we continue our journey, my feet get tired. Is there anywhere other than aisles where they could find the prophecy? I’ve heard that they hold it in the highest regard.

Shifter: the whole version. The front features a terrifying werewolf poised to devour a human, and a human using an odd-looking spear to battle a truly horrible-looking Shifter. I hide it behind me and smuggle it past the others.

Without taking his eyes off his work, he says, expressionless, “It’s okay, we don’t mind if you read it.” He appears to be poring over the covers of every book, trying to find a specific title that corresponds to the one he needs. I move to his side and observe that Ray and Jacob actually look quite alike, except for the scar and hair. It’s plus that he hasn’t been acting like a group all this time, and it’s also a pleasant new aspect of him.

He pulled out the book we needed, a thin, dusty volume, and grinned. The cover is blank, and the side reads Summer Kitchen: 100 Delicious Recipes. I squint at the small cookbook, wondering if this is meant to be a joke.

“Trying to find some recipes?” with my arms crossed, I asked. This approach isn’t getting us any closer to the prophecy, and while it seems helpful, it’s not nearly what we need.

He rubs his hand down his spine once, twice, and his smile widens.

“What are you doing?” I inquire, unconsciously growing more excited as he repeats himself. He takes my strong hands and rubs it incessantly without responding. I quiet down and just watched the slow, rhythmic movement, hoping for the best, knowing that he wouldn’t respond.

He stops abruptly at the twentieth rub and hands it to me without even looking at it. I take it, hold it up to my eyes, and gasp when I see that the cover has a single green emerald on it and the spine now says The Prophecy.

I flip to the first page of Spellbound, but it’s blank. I find that the remainder of the book is blank as well, and the second page is blank as well. Looking at Ray, I notice his knowing smile.

He gave an order, “Look closely,” with steel in his voice. I comply, taking a close look at the first page. I was surprised to see that if I look at it long enough, words start to appear as though they are writing themselves on the page.

There will come a person equal to a werewolf and a Spier, who also possesses an ability like no other, leading a complete pack, bound together by loyalty and friendship. They will defeat the red-eyed wolf, not without losing one of their own on the journey, and another will come to take his place. Through discord and strife, they will travel, friendships and relationships forgotten, but they will succeed, destroying the red stone and vanquishing the Shifters once and for all. Then the werewolves will vanish into the mist, their purpose served, for one cannot exist without the other.

Is that all there is to it? With a disappointed expression, I asked, “I was hoping it would talk about a Spier being able to heal the people possessed by Shifters.” As I stare at the crazily written paragraph.

Ray says softly, “this is the reason we exist; we have a purpose in life, and once it’s fulfilled, we die. Is that all you’re saying? No, Pari.

“I’m sorry Ray… I’m just a little disappointed that my question wasn’t answered,” I kept looking at the paragraph in the hopes of finding something, but nothing did. I am not involved in any way with this.

“You know...” Ray hovers over my shoulder, and ii catch a hint of his perfume. Very few Spiers have been able to acquire that skill. They claim, however, that it is a very limited power, maybe usable once every hundred years. Since they are immortal, I suppose time means nothing to them,” he quips slyly.

“Immortal!” I shouted.

“If you make it out alive, of course,” he murmurs. We stand still, unable to speak. Would it be beneficial to be immortal? He says softly, “Instead of being turned into a werewolf, you would be able to live with Jacob forever as a human, which means that you can have children. "Naturally, crossbreeds, but even so…”

“Young people? Oh no, we are not going to.”

“That’s what you think,” he says with a menacing smile before sitting on a chair. I sat in the car across from him, carrying the book with me.

“Why can’t two werewolves have children?” I’m curious.

“Obviously, because our population would increase too much. Since we are all immortal, the council must approve every conversion. With an average lifespan of about 200 years, crossbreeds are less closely regulated than other breeds. “He kicks his feet languidly onto the coffee table.”

“What made you show the Prophecy?” at last, I asked, “Why are you telling me all this?” while gazing squarely into his eyes. Jacob would never divulge to me what he was currently saying.

“Because you asked,” he says with a grin, “and even though curiosity kills the cat, it is better to let the cat know instead of keeping it wondering forever.” We sit in silence, with Ray deep in his book and me gazing at the enormous computer screen.

Ray’s head snapped up from the magazine as I finally thought out loud. “I want to become one; a Spier. But Jacob doesn’t want me to.”

He scoffs; glancing up at the chandelier above us, “It’s not exactly Jacob’s choice, don’t you think?” there’s a pause, tension building between us, before he continues. “We can accomplish it tonight.” The full moon is rising today, and Jacob and the others will be at Moonlight.”

“You sure got it planned out, don’t you?” he smiles as I squint my eyes. He shrugs, “I knew as soon as I laid eyes on you that you would want to help, so I made the necessary preparations."

I consider the poor boy who is currently imprisoned in the bedroom, the Shifter having consumed his soul. They may be like my father used to look, right before he killed us. The men with fiery eyes in the mural. I can’t do anything but sit here and act helpless. I have to try, at least.

And it’s okay if I die trying. My voice comes out barely above a whisper, “I will,” because I don’t really have much to live for anyway. Ray smiles and holds out one dapper hand.

Suddenly, I feel as though I’m entering into a covenant with the devil.

As I hold onto his hand, a thunderclap echoes through the atmosphere, and rain drops through windows before collapsing.