Sacrifices For The Balance Chapter 10: Two Meetings, Two Very Different Groups

The SUV pulled up to the gate just outside the headquarters of the Double L Bar Ranch. The ranch had long stopped ranching, and had become the corporate headquarters of the company. While there were still cows on the land, it was a small herd for show purposes. The land itself was mostly a wildlife sanctuary, with some tourism; the tourism was about one-third bird field researchers, one-fourth actual tourists, and the rest were bird watchers. What little area was left was for the research area, where they were always trying out new farming techniques. Lady Astor parked and walked into the main building.

She walked into the main building. Her footsteps echoed on the wooden floor and through the decorated hallways. There were the usual paintings of former leaders and important people, with the usual certificates and important papers. It was impressive and Lady Astor enjoyed the display of austerity. A thin woman met her halfway through her walk.

She gulped. "Lady Astor, we weren’t expecting you this early.”

Lady Astor smiled. “Sorry, about that. One of my appointments finished early and I decided to come here instead of being bored this afternoon.”

She smiled weakly. “No problem. I’ll just adjust the afternoon schedule. It does mean that certain aspects may not be ready as quickly as they would have been, but we can adapt.” She sighed. “Have you had lunch?”

Lady Astor debated a moment, then curiosity made her answer. “No, not yet.” This should be interesting.

The woman perked up. “Any dietary restrictions?”

She thought for a moment. “Not really. Surprise me.”

The woman nodded. “We shall, ma’am.” She then straightened. “If you would follow me and we shall get you situated.”

The woman led her through a miniature maze. Paintings, no doubt from the naturists who had visited the sanctuary, covered most of the wall space, resulting in birds and fish of myriad species and done in a range of talent covering the walls. Every so often, they would pass a display of some antique with a plaque. At least I’m getting my steps in. Eventually they reached their destination, a room covered in paintings and containing a medium-sized oak table surrounded by chairs. There was a tasteful bouquet as a centerpiece.

The woman smiled at Lady Astor. “Pick a chair. Mr. Harrelson will be with you shortly.” She paused. “Would you prefer a glass of wine, a soft drink, or water?”

She began pulling out a chair. “A nice wine, if you would.”

She nodded and left, quietly closing the door behind her. Meanwhile, Lady Astor sat and looked around. She was impressed by the quality of the paintings here; some were almost lifelike. After studying the paintings for a good fifteen minutes, the door opened. “Lady Astor, how nice to meet you.” A large man entered with two glasses and a bottle of a nice red wine, muscular and bald, yet his clothes, modeled after an old-school rancher but upscale, fit loosely.

She nodded. “Mr. Harrelson. So nice to meet you.”

He put the glasses and bottle down. “Just Yorrick.” He handed the bottle to her while he pulled out the cork.

She looked at the label; it was a Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon, although relatively recent. “Nice choice.” She returned the bottle.

He grasped it and removed the cork, then poured two glasses. “A nice vintage.” He handed a glass to her. “Good for what what’s coming.”

She accepted and tipped the glass to him. “Then I applaud the selection.” She sipped the wine and put the glass down. “Beautiful land, by the way.”

He nodded. “Thank you, but Mother Nature is the gardener. We actually do very little maintenance, just enough to keep the trees a decent distance from the buildings.”

An eyebrow went up. “Then she’s doing a good job.” She sighed. “I presume we have some decent time to discuss some business? I’d prefer to gossip, but I’m new here.”

He sat back. “So you need to make an appearance while figuring out the lay of the land.” He sighed. “Well, at least you’re trying to figure out how things run before making changes.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “Okay, so where do we start?”

She smirked. “I feel like I’m on one of ‘Housewives’ shows.” He smiled. “I guess I should start with Helson.” He frowned. “So he’s that good, huh?”

Yorrick chuckled. “I would have preferred you start with Stephen. Solid, stand-up guy more interested in his business than tribe politics. Or even Jessica, whose businesses are so tightly wrapped into Stephen that the two are practically married.” He frowned. “But Tommy is a different matter. I’ve known the tightwad since he was a boy. Hell, we both went through the purgatory of Oregon Episcopal together.”

She sipped from her wine. “So you have some history?”

He cocked his head. “That’s one way of putting it.. He leaned back. “The fun part is that the guy is sort of a racist. He thinks that we wolves are a superior being to the mere mortals around us, and that the witches are nifty support species to us.” He gulped down some wine. “Nice façade, and he usually keeps his beliefs to himself, but poke that bear and it gets interesting. He’s just waiting for an excuse to rain pain on the humans around us, seeing them as the cause of his problems.”

She sighed. “Fun.” She put her wine glass down. “And the other two?”

He exhaled. “Maddy is a fine woman; she’s all about the animals. Show yourself petting a dog and you’ve got a friend for life, Wear any fur but your own, however….” He chuckled. “One guy thought his fur coat was so cool until Maddy gave it a streak of red wine.” He became serious. “But Smythe is pure shark, with a lot of remora. You know, those fish that follow sharks?” She nodded. “Yeah, he follows in Tommy’s wake; he’ll go wherever Helson goes. Forget that and you’ll get a glare that could spoil fresh milk.”

She smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The door opened and a boy, barely out of college, came in with a cart. There were two dinners under cloches. The boy served the two, Lady Astor first and then Yorrick. He removed the cloches, revealing a steak and potatoes meal with side, virtually a garnish, of asparagus. He reached under the cart and retrieved another bottle of the same red wine they were drinking. “Would you like anything else?”

Yorrick looked at Lady Astor, who shook her head. “We’re fine, Galan. Tell the cook he did well.”

“Yes, sir.” The boy left after putting the cart out of the way. The two attacked their meals, leaving conversation by the wayside. Lady Astor complemented the steak, and Yorrick of course had to go into how the cow was raised. Yorrick was impressed she finished the meal. After a quick hug, Lady Astor walked out to her car, looking forward to her next appointment.

* * * *

Two ravens flew to a tree outside a small house in the woods, alighting in its branches. The two hopped of the branch, and two leather-clad humans landed on the ground below. They walked up to the house and knocked on its door.

“GO AWAY!’

The two looked at each other, grinning at the voice coming from inside the house. Huninn looked his sister. “He’s home.” Huninn yelled at the door. “But Tomasz, I thought we were such great friends.”

There was clunking. Followed by numerous unlocking noises. Then the door opened. An old man glared at the twins. “I moved to this backwater town from a beautiful town in Polska just to avoid interlopers like yourself.” He frowned. “So, O Hrafn, how may help your immortal butts so I can resume my studying?”

They looked at each other and grinned. Muninn looked at him. “Well, you can start by letting us in.”

Tomasz glared at them, then smiled mockingly. “Would your immortal pains in my butt like to enter my no-doubt to you humble abode?” He entered the home, leaving the door open. Muninn bowed to Huginn, inviting her in. She walked in, followed by her twin brother.

Tomasz motioned to the couch and sat in a recliner. “I’d offer a charcuterie board but I need to shop. Nonetheless, welcome to my lair.”

Huginn smiled. “Thank you, kochchei. We shall brief.”

Tomasz. “Thank you for that small favor.”

Muninn leaned forward. “We are investigating some potential ritual abuse. Someone is casting a big spell that may have some interesting problems going forward.”

The wizard’ eyebrow went up. “Intriguing. There are only a couple of people around here who could even begin to pull off such a spell in this area.”

She smirked. “One of whom is directly in front of us.”

He smiled. “Well, of course. I’m the most powerful czarownik in the area. However, I have no interest in such a ritual. I’m tracking down a cantrip for dying hair. I have a most interesting prank I wish to perform on the local tribe.”

The two smiled. The boy laughed. “We are not the ones to judge, but we wish you luck.”

She went serious. “Nonetheless, we must ask if you have any idea who would be casting such a spell. Lady Frigg is most concerned.”

The wizard frowned. “There are three in the area, including me. Your two options are the witch and the werewolf. I don’t who among the tribe could cast the spell, but they do have a powerful caster mong them; it would explain various issues, such a mysterious amount of rain that punctuated a sunny day a few years ago. But the witch would most likely be Hippolyta Iraklidis. Would you like her address?”

The two smiled. Tomasz wrote the address and handed it to Muninn. “Satisfied? Will you now leave an old man alone?”

Huginn smiled. “Of course, and good luck on finding the spell!” The two quickly departed.

Tomasz exhaled. “Now I have to get rid of their smell. Yay me.” He opened the windows and doors as he summoned a gust of wind to clear out the house. “Better.”

[The last chapter can be found here.]