FSE

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© All characters and storylines involving said characters belong to me: Eben Black.

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Basil watched us all with a serious, almost piercing look. It made me want to demand he speak as the silence stretched thick around the dining room. He took a deep breath and exhaled, his chest rose and feel with the act, as the feline watched us with cautious lavender eyes. He then nodded and began. "From what I remember and from what I know, the beast council is recognise through nine seats all in all, one throne and eight follower seats. The whole system runs much like a heirarchy, the throne being the alpha's spot and the follower seats each having their own rank and command. At the moment the right of throne belongs to Jasper and his followers."

"Hang on, hang on. Jasper and his "followers"? What does that mean?" Aleksander asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Each member of the council is still an alpha deep down and still owns a family, a pack, a pride of their own much like you do yourselves. Although knowledge of their individual lives beyond the council is unknown as are those who follow them. The only ones allowed within the council are the nine members and their second-in-commands. For the throne at the moment we have Jasper heading up the council, with Helena as his second-in-command." A serious flinch fluttered through Sawyer at the she-wolf's name being mentioned.

"Something wrong?" I asked, looking at Sawyer.

"Nothing."

"He's pissed because for the first time in a long time, Sawyer was made mortal," Aleksander explained.

I looked a question at Sawyer.

He sighed and admitted, "She can seal my abilities. That is her unique ability. She can seal others powers."

Basil nodded. "She is nicknamed the Blackout because she can knock out her opponent's abilities with her presence alone. But from what I know, and what I've seen, she can only target one Level Three at a time."

"Is it just abilities she can knock out?" I asked.

Everyone looked confused.

Donovan squeezed my hand and asked, "What are you getting at?"

"Think about it. She blocks abilities. Fair enough. Strategy dictates that if we were to pair off during a confrontation then someone like Kane would take her on because his abilities are talent-based, no power-based. However, if in the heat of battle she can make someone pass out with a simple touch of her hand? Then she becomes even more lethal than we first realised," I explained. Everyone sat in silence looking at me and then seemed to think about what I'd said. Even Basil looked deep in thought.

"I've never considered that before. I've only ever seen here fight other Level Threes, never Level Twos, but its possible," Basil explained.

"Just thinking out loud," I replied with an almost embarrassed smile.

"Keep thinking like that. Now whose next?" Donovan asked looking back to Basil.

"Most of you have seen Jasper's power first hand, but for those who haven't he has the unique capability to conjure and wield naked flames in his hands and all over his body. He's an ex-marine and close combat specialist. Those flames make it like your fighting a flamethrower. You need to be quick and have quicker reactions," Basil added. It was starting to sound like we were deciding who would fight whom on the beast council. "There are two others I'd guarantee are still on the council's board. One is the oldest wereanimal alive, he's almost two thousand years old. Its rumoured he's the first ever wereanimal to be welcomed to the council."

"So what makes him so special?" Kane demanded with a curious expression.

"His abilities make him unique, he's not powerful like Eben or Jasper, but he is powerful and ancient. He's based on the lowest seat and kept only because he has the power to predict the future."

"Predict the future?"

"He's nicknamed as the Seer, and has foreseen all the events prior to my leaving. He predicted Balthazaar's downfall, and my fleeing from the board too. But his predictions are more often than not hazy to understand. He has his visions, but sees them in dreams and can predict events, but not the outcome of said events. It is in rare cases that he sees the death of certain people. Jasper's death was the first he'd seen in five hundred years. No one believed him and thought he'd truly gone senial, but when Jasper died, he was recognised as a true Seer and remained on the council board as an advisor."

"So we have a flamethrower, a female that can block abilities, and an ancient wereanimal? What else?" Maximillian asked.

"The Seer's second-in-command is unique too."

"How unique?" Kane asked.

"If the Seer remains at council, then that group still remains there too?" Sawyer asked. Basil nodded and the two exchanged a knowing look between them.

"What? Who remains there? What group?" Kane demanded.

"There is a group of wereanimals who act as personal assassins of the council, under the Seer's command." Sawyer looked haunted as he spoke, "They are the ones who do the shadowy deeds that cannot be done out in public."

"You sound like you've had first hand experience with them?" I asked.

"When the council abandons you, its an automatic death sentence; these are the ones who make sure your death is assured," Basil explained.

"Do they have a name?"

"No. No name. Because no one has ever seen them before, no one knows what they look like except the Seer and those who are sentenced to death."

"You've both fled from the council and lived. You never saw them?" I asked with a curious look.

The two shook their heads. "I always teleported from place to place until I landed here. I don't think they even knew where I was."

"And I shrouded myself the moment I was out of eyesight and maintained that until I moved in with you guys," Sawyer said.

"So they never found you, and you never saw them. That's a fucker for you," Aleksander grinned.

"OK, so we know of an old Seer and his personal assassination guild? What's next?" Maximillian asked again, sounding almost impatient now. I had a feeling he wanted to be with Nirvana more than anything right now.

"There is one other I know who is guaranteed to remain within the council. Its the reason the beast council exists and the reason those insane bastards even possess abilities in the first place," Basil explained, "Its called the Jackal."

"Jackal?" I repeated. I thought long and hard and then remembered why it sounded familiar. Back when Balthazaar had been on death's door, a skeletal form had risen and swallowed Balthazaar. Sawyer had said that was a Jackal. I knew the Jackal was some beast that was granting wereanimals with these unique abilities for whatever reason. There had even been speculation that I'd been given my power from it. Apart from the brief explanation Sawyer had given, I knew nothing of the Jackal and wanted to know nothing about it deep down. It frightened me.

"The Jackal is the ghoul that overlooks the throne and acts like a puppeteer. It bestowed the council with its abilities and planted the ideals in their heads, their insanity went wild and the result was what sits at the council. Jasper and the other eight seats recognised the Jackal as their God. I've never seen the Jackal because it only makes itself noticeable when one of his puppets has died. Or at least, that's what the rumour says."

"The rumours are true. I killed Balthazaar and the Jackal rose and swallowed him as soon as he perished. It claimed back Balthazaar's abilities too," Sawyer explained.

"I have a theory about the method in which the Jackal uses those abilities." Basil sounded so serious now, even more so than earlier.

"What is it?" Donovan asked.

"I believe he implants the abilities, and when the puppet dies, he merely transfers the ability onto the next council member."

"So instead of having an unlimited amount of various abilities to choose from, he merely recycles the nine on the council?" Donovan replied. Basil nodded, and Donovan looked impressed. "Sounds plausible."

"I don't suppose you know how to defeat him?" Kane asked.

Basil shrugged and said, "I've never even seen him before."

I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Something wrong?" Donovan asked.

"This is sounding more and more like a war council meeting as the minutes ride by," I admitted.

"I know it does, but we do need to know what we're up against," he explained, "I'd rather know what the enemy was, instead of running in blind and getting us all killed."

I thought about it like that and then smiled. "Sounds about right. I'm just thinking too hard," I added.

Donovan looked up then and asked, "I'm guessing the Jackal has no second-in-commands?"

Basil shrugged and then added, "I wouldn't have thought so, but I wouldn't wanna chance anything."

"So we now know what you know where the council members are concerned?"

Basil nodded and said, "The only other information I have is about the council's location."

"Their location?" Sawyer replied.

"The council used to regulate from region to region, each member playing host during their meetings. But in the last month they established a base of operations in Northern Russia," Basil explained.

"I believed the council would continue varying their location during their meetings every six months. My, my, how the mighty have grown confident."

"Confident?" I replied.

"Having a singular base of operations makes them a target. Doing that must mean they are confident no one can stand against them," Sawyer explained.

"And can anyone stand against them?" Kane asked.

"I doubt it. Not individually anyhow. It would take an all out army of wereanimals to even take them on. But the council is so feared no one has ever tested the idea," Basil added.

"You said they travelled from region to region, each one hosting at each meeting. Does that mean that each one is based in an individual country?" I asked.

Basil nodded. "The nine are divided over Europe, and it seems Northern Russia is where they meet once every six months."

Sawyer then smirked and said, "Then again, things could have been changed in the follow up to Jasper's failure to kill us."

I considered that and then nodded in agreement. "This is all well and good, but for all we know, Jasper's been removed and the council has been shuffled again."

"But still the Jackal and Seer will remain. Those two and the assassination squad I am sure of. Both are too valuable to simply replace," Basil replied.

"So assuming Jasper is no longer their leader, we could be walking around blind until they make their next move," Maximillian said, he sounded like he was thinking out loud.

"What are you theorising about?" Donovan asked.

"I'm that predictable?" Maximillian replied with a broad smile. Donovan shrugged and grinned back. "I think we need confirmation, and not the kind of confirmation that involves the bad guys crashing through the front door."

"What did you have in mind?" Basil questioned, looking cautious now.

"Send someone to find out if all this is for definite." The words dropped and for the third time no one budged as the information sank in.

"Send someone to Russia and see if the information is true?" Donovan repeated.

"Not just one person. Send a small group. Have them watch the council members we know about from afar and see if the information is good enough to rely upon," Maximillian explained.

"That's too dangerous. One council member alone is bad enough, but to send someone to watch a whole board of them, while their shadowy assassin guild watches too? No. No. Its too much to ask," I said.

"Its not a bad idea," Basil said from his seat at the other end of the table.

"Basil?" I looked stunned at the black tiger as he watched Maximillian with a cautious expression.

"You'd send your family? The ones you watched over into enemy territory?" Leon demanded with a confused look. He was an alpha who was all about his people, this must have confused him big time.

Basil nodded. "The black tiger clan don't seem to like me too much and act like hardened soldiers. It would be an ideal job for them. Besides, out of all of us, I have the numbers to spare."

I looked at Basil then and repeated what he'd said, "You have the numbers to spare? Those are real wereanimals, Basil."

"But they are specialised soldiers, Nico trained them as such, there's not a compassionate one among them. They even hunger for this kind of thing. If we agree on this, then I volunteer the black tiger clan."

"You don't have to do this to prove your a member of the coalition. They will come around eventually," Sawyer assured the other feline from his seat.

Basil shook his head. "Its not about proving loyalties. Maximillian is right. We need confirmation, otherwise we are walking blind into the wilds. The black tigers can do this. No problems."

I looked at Donovan as he sat there, deep in thought.

"And your absolutely sure you'd be fine with sending them?" he asked.

Basil nodded.

"When is the next meeting scheduled?" I asked.

"If they stuck to the six month schedule, then two months from now."

"Two months to prepare?" Maximillian asked.

Basil shook his head again and said, "Two weeks to prepare. They will follow Jasper when he leaves LA."

I considered what he'd said and asked, "What makes you think Jasper will leave anytime soon?"

"The Jackal doesn't accept failures, no matter how small. He'll have moved home personally for the time being," Basil explained, he smirked and added, "Daddies gonna give the baby a spankin'."

"He has been a bad boy, after all," Kane grinned.

"Such a disappointment." Sawyer smirked as he relaxed and closed his eyes.

"OK, that's taken care of. So what's next on the agenda?" Donovan asked looking around.

"Max! Max!" a deep growling shout echoed from beyond the dining room. The doors opened wide and Eddie Harlan stepped inside. He was the same tall, short-haired werelion with the pierced bottom lip I remembered. He had a panicked look on his face as he rushed inside and stopped dead, looking over the dining room and finding Maximillian.

"Eddie, is something wrong?" Maximillian demanded.

"Its Nirvana! She's bleeding!" Eddie explained. Maximillian was up without hesitation and crossed the room in a breath. Eddie looked at me and looked panicked before he followed his alpha. I nodded at Donovan and we rushed to follow the hulking werelion. What in God's name was happening now? The last thing we needed was another dilemma.