Anna's Story
#81 of The Moonrise Chronicles
"It
started back in the nineteen twenties, while I was living in New York City. It
was very tough living there after having been the daughter of the tsar of
Russia. I'm not afraid to admit that I
found adjusting to what you might call a normal life was difficult. I had sworn
to myself that I wouldn't use my abilities to do any harm, but I think you can
guess how that went. When it's you against the world, you do what you need to
survive."
Everyone
in the room nodded.
"A
young girl like me was the constant target for lecherous attacks, and the
population of such disgusting criminals went down faster than you could blink. Bodies
found their way into the Hudson River or into the sewers for the rats to eat."
Maggie
held up her hand, just like she was in school. "Did you eat any of them?"
Her
grandmother didn't take any offense at the question. "I take it dear you got
stuck with that affliction?"
"I did,
but I'm cured of it."
"I did
eat some fresh meat, but you must remember that I had two people with me who
were unaware of my nature. I couldn't simply go about butchering innocent
people to bring back to serve for dinner."
"But
could you eat regular food?"
"Yes
darling, I could."
"Weird."
"May I
continue?"
"Yes,
sorry."
"While
no one ever found out who I was, nor did they ever catch on to what I was, it seemed that I created a
stigma for my human self. It became known that many of the ruffians who had
spoken of wishing to rape me had vanished, so after a while my life settled
down. I did my best to stay out of the limelight, sending my companions out and
about when shopping was necessary. And so it remained for several years."
"One
day, in nineteen twenty nine and just before the crash of the stock market, I
was out walking in Central Park when I was overcome by this strange sensation. I
had never felt anything like it before, so I looked around me. I don't know to
this day what it was, but in searching the grounds I saw an older man sitting
on a bench, looking around just like I was. Whatever had passed our way had
grabbed his attention as well. I had to meet him to see why he had noticed what
everyone else had ignored."
"He was
a rough looking, yet strangely handsome man. He saw me coming and buried his
face in the book he was reading. I stopped in front of him and waited for him
to acknowledge me. He never once looked up. But he did say, what can I do for you miss?"
"Are you from Russia?"
"Who wants to know?"
"I do. I'm from Russia."
"Good for you. When did you come over?"
"In nineteen twenty two."
"I see. I came over in nineteen twenty six."
"So you are from the homeland!"
"Da. So why does a young girl like you have
an interest in an old man like me? There must be boys your age for you to play
with."
"I felt something a moment ago. I think you
did too."
"That
was when he got angry. He stood and looked me in the eye."
"What are trying to say little lady?"
"Well,
let me tell you that I was feeling very uncomfortable. I suddenly realized that
perhaps this man was like me, and he was willing to go to extremes to protect
himself from discovery. I said nothing, but I pulled back my sleeve and caused
the hairs to sprout. His eyes went big before he spoke.
"Ahhh, I see. What are the odds of that?"
"He
smiled at me and exposed his teeth. His canines grew into daggers before they
returned to normal. I was overjoyed! Here I was in a foreign country, a
stranger to all but a few and a freak at that. But now, here was someone I
could relate with. I nearly fell over myself in my desire to introduce who I
was. But then I thought better of it. Gregori had told me to trust no one."
"I'm Anna!"
"William!" he said,
extending his hand.
"William? That is not very Russian."
"This is America. Who keeps their original
name? If you prefer, you may call me Vasili."
"So that was our first
meeting. After that, we met often. We played chess, read books, explored the
city. He was too old for me, and at times, too violent. He seemed to delight in
giving others pain, though he was always careful how he treated me when we were
alone. I understood a little how the feeling was when the transformation took
over, but his need to kill was very strong. I had killed to protect myself; he
killed because it was fun for him. It put us at odds."
"Little Anna, these are just simple stupid
people. No one misses them. I cull out the weak and the decrepit. I make
society stronger!"
"I don't like it. I kill only those who look
to harm me. I leave everyone else alone."
"He
ruffled my hair. You are a good woman,
but in this world, you must be the aggressor to stave off being attacked. And
the weak have no place here. In the wilds, the wolves cull the sick from the
herds, leaving more food for the strong ones to survive."
"This is not the wilds Vasili."
"No? Look around you! These people pack
themselves into tiny apartments, fighting for space and food all in the name of
civilization. To think that I thought Moscow was a magnet for putrefying
humanity. This city absolutely reeks of it. There is nothing civilized here."
"It was
then that we decided to leave New York. The Great Depression had just started
and people were moving all across the country. Under false pretense and
information we got married, and I paid the servants a handsome sum and told
them to find their own lives."
"It was
then that I found out his real last name; Komaroff. It was a common name,
hardly fit for royalty, but seeing as that life was permanently behind me, I
didn't care. We moved around a bit, never settling anywhere for long, because
he refused to stop killing. At least he restricted it to hobos and bums,
leaving their bodies on the tracks to allow the trains to cover his deeds."
"This went
on for ten years. He was good with horses, but as more and more automobiles
came into use, the need for a good groom or furrier grew less. By the time the
second Great War broke out, much of my money was gone. I had hidden away a few
items, such as the egg, because there was no way I could ever sell them. I also
hid away some gold, just to be safe."
"And
then I found out I was pregnant. I should have been overjoyed, but I was not. I
didn't know that much about my enhanced biology or I would have known the signs
leading up to it. It was a good thing our mating happened out in the middle of
nowhere. The howling and roaring would have gotten us noticed before anything
could have occurred."
Maggie
giggled. "Like Edward and Verona!"
"Mags, shush!
That doesn't need to be discussed right now."
Anna
looked at him. "I assume that will be part of your story?"
He felt
the color rise to his cheeks. "Sadly, yes."
"I
see." She resumed where she had left off.
"It was around this time too that I
found out just what sort of man he was. I knew nothing of my homeland, outside
of the sparse news reports that appeared in the newspapers. Anything like the incidents which he
perpetrated in Moscow never made it in the American newspapers."
Maggie
was leaning so far forward on the bed that she was in danger of falling off.
"Who was he?"
Anna
sighed. "He was as he claimed to be; Vasili Komaroff, someone that back home
had been given the nickname of The Wolf of Moscow. Had I known, I would have
never allowed our relationship to bloom. Back home he had been convicted of
killing a lot of innocent young men. They put him and his wife to death, but he
survived, just like I did. Bullets don't stop us for long. He hid aboard a
freighter and came to this country to escape any possible chance of being
discovered. So you see, we had something in common; a shared experience.."
Maggie was
vibrating the whole bed. She was in human form, but her butt was wagging like
it had a tail. "So my grandfather was a famous murderer? Cool!"
"My
child, it was the werewolf in him, and he was half feral even in his human
form. He was following his instinct more than he ever was his mind and heart."
"I've
killed before!" She said proudly.
There
was a gasp from Kathryn. "Say it isn't so!"
"But it
is so. And I'd do it again if I found it necessary."
Edward
could see where this was headed. "There will time enough later on for us to
tell our story. Please allow your grandmother the chance to finish telling
hers."
"Thank
you young man. Vasili turned more and more feral as he aged. He was already older
when I first met him, and he seemed to develop some sort of dementia. He could
be lucid and talkative one moment, and then he'd revert to being sullen and
moody the next. I found that I could deal with such extremes until the day came
when he attacked me."
Maggie
let out a low whistle. "No one attacks a pregnant lady."
"No
dear, it's not wise, especially when that lady is a werewolf. I went as feral as he, right down to running
on pure instinct. We battled it out for days, running through fields and woods
until he was worn down. I tore into him with a fury like I have never known
since. I the end, it proved too much for him."
"You
killed him gran?"
"Yes I
did. It wasn't easy."
"But
how do you know you killed him? We can recover from an awful lot."
"Because
my dear, I severed his head from his body."
Edward
nodded. "That would do it."
"It did
do it young man. And to make sure that he didn't come back, I took it with me."
Maggie
was all over this part of the story. "Really? What did you do with it?"
"I
still have it as a reminder that I have to make my decisions much more
carefully than I had in the past. "
"Can I
see it?" was Maggie's question. Edward closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Really?
With everything that's going on, you want to see a severed head?"
"Sure!
It's my grandpa after all, and I've never known a thing about him!"
He
looked down his nose at her. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you were one
sick puppy."
"But I
am one sick puppy!" At that, she reverted to her smallest feral form; not a
puppy in size, but she had the soft features down pat. Her grandmother let out
an exclamation.
"Child,
how are you able to change yourself into so many forms. I have seen you shift
from on to another as though your body was taffy."
"Because
I can. Edward can too. It's something to do with the rings we think, because
before, I couldn't do but one of any consequence. But then..." she turned to
Edward, "...love may have something to do with it too. Never underestimated its
power."
It was
then that he realized that he was still in his feral form. It hardly seemed
necessary now that the family was all on the same page. He shifted down until
he was standing there, naked as Maggie.
Kathryn
appraised him from her spot on the bed. "Maggie, shame on you."
"For
what?"
"For
having the audacity to enjoy a body like that. I was far older before I ever
got myself involved with a man like him."
She
giggled. "There is no man like him anywhere on this planet mother."
The
woman considered her next words carefully."I hope for your sake he is better
than my choice of a man."
"Yes,
you did mention something about that. Are you feeling up to clarify that rather
important detail for me?
"I will
tell you, but for the moment, perhaps I could have something to eat and drink.
This body feels like a skeleton overlaid with the barest of flesh."
Maggie
jumped up. "I'm buying!"
"But
child," her grandmother began, "You don't have any money. I will fix something
here." There were several titters around the room. "What's so funny?"
"Gran,
I have a little money stashed away, and Uncle Alexei gave me an allowance, you
might say. I think I can spring for a few pizzas."
"If you
say so child."
"I do.
I'll order and pay for them, but maybe we had better have Billy pick them up."
Anna
gave her granddaughter a severe look. "Who is this Billy?"
"Only the
man who has been watching over the house since we got here. We figured that it
would be best to have one of our number on the outside in case things went
south."
She
turned to Edward. "Can I have him pick up some more vodka?"
He
kissed her on the lips, making a little show out of it. "You can do whatever
you want...within reason."
She
opened the window and hollered out. "Billy!"
He came
from around the corner. "What is it Maggie? Problems?"
"Nope!
Do you think you'd be willing to pick up some liquor and half a dozen pizzas?"
"Sounds
great. Give me the address of the liquor store and the pizza parlor and I'll be
back before you know it."
Anna
was peeking out the window. "Who is that man?"
"That's
Billy, Verona's cousin. He's cool."
"Is he
wearing silver?"
"Yep.
And he's not afraid to use it. You should be thankful he's on our side."
The
woman shivered. "Just looking at all the metal gives me the creeps. How does he
do it?"
"He's
not a full werewolf. But he's really really nice, isn't he Aunt Maria?"
Anna
looked at her sister. "What?"
Maggie
giggled. "They're having sex you dolt. Maria has good taste in men. I'm not so sure
it's a family trait though."
Edward let
lose a cry of indignation. "What about me?"
Maggie
giggled again."Oh, you have good taste in women, have no doubt of that."
Edward
shut his mouth. His girl was back in rare form, and he didn't need any special
ability to know she was riding on a high point. No sense in knocking her off of
her perch now. There was a still a lot of information that needed to come out,
and who knew what the worst of it was going to prove to be?