The system that was always shrouded in mystery, that sometimes gave Gary quests he never wanted to do at the beginning, and at other times appeared to challenge him, had come through.
‘The trip wasn’t wasted though, it looks like the information from Midwak was what allowed the ritual to be unlocked,’ Gary thought.
The others, looking like they had gotten all the answers they could from Midwak, were ready to leave. Knowing full well that they hadn’t gotten what they came for, Midwak was smug in his smile.
“It’s okay,” Gary smiled. “I know how to do the ritual.”
For a second, everyone was surprised, including Midwak, but he soon shook his head in disbelief. It had to be a bluff, after all, it made no sense that Gary would know the ritual. Unfortunately, the others thought the same.
Maybe Gary had just spoken out of annoyance, or maybe he just didn’t want to see Midwak so happy. It was understandable, as none of them did.
Rather than explaining, Gary thought it was a lot better to show. Heading back into the centre of the room, away from the others, he stood there.
[Ritual is being activated]
Gary’s eyes lit up red, a fierce red, and at the same time, everyone else in the room seemed to react as well. The colour of their eyes changed to their blue when using their powers. It had come over all of them; they could feel it, including Midwak as well.
‘Damn it, I’m not sure if this is the ritual or not… but he’s doing something? What is this?’ Midwak said, confused.
A circle started to light up around Gary, and inside, there were multiple shapes starting to appear. They were of different colours, red, blue, and yellow. The patterns spiralled and started to move about. A foreign energy coming from the circle started to flow out and enter Gary’s body, and with it, an image appeared in his mind.
‘What is this… is this the higher being that Midwak talked about? My stomach… it's hurting so much, and the hair on all of my body is standing up!’
The image that was appearing in Gary’s head wasn’t clear. It was almost a sinister black smog, where only eyes could be seen, but the feeling around it, the place it was in, was filled with death. Screams, and pain, images of torment were going through Gary’s head, and he was unsure how much longer he could keep this up.
“A connection… but not a strong one.” The voice spoke.
From the outside, the others could also faintly hear the voice but were unable to hear what Gary could hear.
Not wanting to waste any time, Gary decided to get right to the point.
“I have activated this ritual to speak with you. I want to make a vow, a promise, and in return for not breaking that promise, to stop our bloodlust and forced turning on the day of the full moon.” Gary asked.
When he spoke out like this, Gary realised that a lot of the Werewolf beliefs that held them together were based on rules. Gary could make a promise with others to mark them. There were pact rules as well, and now this.
“It’s as expected… It has been a while. I can do that, so state your promise,” the voice replied.
Gary probably should have thought about this a bit more before he made the ritual, but he wanted to shock Midwak. What came to mind was a promise that he had made before with Kai, to get to the top of the Underworld.
Would this suffice? Probably not because it needed to be something that couldn’t be broken.
“What type of vow do you accept, what have the others promised before you?” Gary asked, thinking maybe they could learn what the other werewolves knew.
“Vows come in all shapes and sizes. I have been promised to always go against the vampires, a sacrificial vow, an entire kingdom within a set time, and so on through the years. However, in return for you having such power from me, you need difficulty in your life.
“This world needs a balance, and there needs to be a balance to your power. Taking the turning away, something equal to it needs to be replaced, and for you, I think it needs to be even more difficult.”
Gary wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not, but the voice seemed to be almost angry with him for some reason. The tone of voice sounded as if he had done something to annoy it.
“I’m sorry if I annoyed you with my questions. What if I promised to become one of the current kings in the country within the next five years?” Gary answered.
The voice seemed to be thinking about it.
“That would certainly be a difficult task, and if you broke the promise, then it would mean you would lose everything, and in attempting to do the task, you would make many enemies. I will accept this vow, but for you, for your family line, you will need to come up with an additional vow.
“Your family has already broken a vow in the past.”
Gary hadn’t been imagining things. It was true. He really was angry with him.
“I don’t understand my family, my current pack?”
“No!” The voice replied. “Did you really think you became a werewolf by chance, when there wasn’t even a bite on you? You, the Dem family, have had werewolf blood running in your veins long before you managed to unlock your powers.
“For breaking the vow, I sealed your family's powers away, and yet here you are, in front of me again. After getting your powers back, you have the guts to ask to make another promise with me!”
There was no reply from Gary because he was too stunned by what he had just learned. What was the Dem family? Who knew about this? And what the hell was in that briefcase then?
*****
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