I want to mix our blood
And put it in the ground
So you can never leave

I want to earn your trust
Your faith your heart
You’ll never be deceived

Liar Liar Liar Liar

Liar – Emilie Autumn

BLACK MOON RISING

By Alexander Ritter

O’Sullivan’s Bar & Grill
Downtown Manhattan

Jack Russell sat down on his favorite barstool while signaling to the bartender that he needed some drinks. Rory was the bartender tonight, and he knew what Jack’s preferences were. It had been a hard day of work for Jack. He just wanted to relax, drink some beer, and unwind.

Jack Russell was cursed with lycanthropy. The “condition” made it impossible to find a normal, steady job. Before the curse, Jack lived in L.A. with his sister, mother, and step-father. They were pretty well off, financially, and Jack had the time of his life as a rich teenager on the southwestern beaches of California.

That was, until his mother died, his curse took over, and he came under a non-stop barrage of weird happenings. He’s crossed paths with almost every monster you could think of, and some you never would, even Dracula himself at one point.

He teamed up with, and fought against, various heroes, including Iron Man, Tigra, Spider-Man, and Captain America. Jack had even joined a horror themed super-team called the Night Shift in the past. Over the years, he has gone back and forth between seeking a cure, and accepting being burdened with the beast. As it stands now, he is just plain tired of fighting the curse.

Jack has full control of being able to transform into a werewolf, with the exception of the three nights of the full moon. On those three nights Jack has to “go away”. That led to Jack having something of an employment problem. What job would let someone disappear for three days each and every month?

At one time Jack had a pretty good set-up working as a sanitation engineer for the city. Working in the sewers, Jack was able to keep to himself and even had a place he could hide away during the three nights of the full moon. Unfortunately, Jack had been laid off a month ago.

Currently, Jack was forced to find the odd job here and there when they would turn up. That usually meant it was something other people didn’t want to do. Jack had spent all day tearing up and disposing of a roof on a condemned and abandoned strip-mall. Getting paid enough to make rent for the month, and having beer money left over was well worth the aggravation.

“Jacob.”

Jack stopped in mid-drink as he heard the voice behind him. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, as he slowly placed his beer back down on the oak countertop of the bar. Nobody called him by his birth name. Nobody.

Jack slowly looked over his shoulder to try and find the source of the voice. Maybe they were talking to someone else. Maybe he misheard. Maybe he imagined it. Maybe..

“Jacob Russoff, I have been looking all over the city for you. You are a hard man to find.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed, and he involuntarily growled upon recognizing the source of the voice. Jack made a fist and his body tensed up, as he was approached by two men.

“What are you doing here?” demanded Jack.

“Please, relax Jacob,” said the man, who had called to Jack in the first place. He was a couple inches taller than Jack, had short black hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing a purple suit with a black tie, somewhat overdressed for the sports bar. Jack hoped it wasn’t drawing to much attention in their direction.

Behind the man, was a second person Jack didn’t recognize. The second man appeared to be of Spanish or Mexican decent. He was taller, and looked to be fairly athletic. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. This man had the aura of a bodyguard or maybe hired muscle.

The man in the purple suit held up his hands and smiled at Jack. “There is no need for violence. I just wish to speak to you for a moment.”

Jack knew the man in purple as Dredmund Druid. They had a brief history together. Like the majority of people Jack had a history with, it wasn’t necessarily a good history. Jack had been forcibly restrained and experimented on a few years ago in Starkesboro, Massachusetts. It had been at the hands of Dredmund and a woman known as Nightshade. Dr. Nightshade, as most people called her, was a brilliant scientific mind. She was an expert with science, genetics, and werewolves.

Jack had remembered hearing Nightshade tell Dredmund that Jack’s DNA contained the “most advanced” strain of Lycanthropy that she had ever encountered. Jack’s blood had been used to create a new strain of “Werewolf Serum” she was famous for. Together, Nightshade and Dredmund had turned the whole town into werewolves.

Additionally, Dredmund had come into possession of an item called the “Moongem.” The stone transformed Dredmund into a god-like werewolf. Calling himself Starwolf, he claimed to be man, beast, and god all in one. Dredmund was defeated, but it had taken the combined efforts of Captain America, Wolverine, Cable, Wolfsbane, Dr. Druid, and more.*

* (Marvel’s Captain America #402-408.)

“We’ve got nothing to talk about,” said Jack, coldly, as he turned back to his beer. “You’re lucky we are in a public establishment or I might be tempted to rip your throat out.”

Dredmund’s associate looked angry and took a step forward, but Dredmund held out his arm and signaled for the man to stand back.

“It’s fine, Hector. I knew we wouldn’t be received warmly,” Dredmund said, calmly, as he turned back to face Jack. “Do you mind if we sit down? I would really like for you to hear me out.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t,” said Jack, “but it’s not like I can stop you with all these people around.”

Dredmund smirked and took a seat as Hector stood behind him, arms crossed.

“Obviously, you remember the last time we met,” begins Dredmund. “On that day I experienced being one with my animal self. That feeling of power and freedom from the combining of my human mind with my animal senses was… intoxicating. I have tried for years to replicate it. There was a time when I had used Nightshade’s serum for a similar transformation. I had become somewhat…” Dredmund paused, choosing his words carefully. “…dependent on it.”

“Are you saying you got addicted to it?”

“Yes. However, her serum was synthetic and only mimicked the effect, temporarily. I’ve since run out of my supply and have been looking for a more permanent solution. I want you to help me.”

“I don’t think so,” replied Jack. “I can’t just turn people into werewolves. It’s happened in the past, but it seems to be ‘unluck of the draw’ for who does and doesn’t get infected. I could claw you all day long, and you might never get infected. It never turns out good in the end anyway.”

Jack’s mind drifted back to his clashes with a biker gang known as the Braineaters. Most of the membership of that gang was made up of people who had been accidentally transformed by Jack in the past. All of them are now either dead, or de-powered by Ghost Rider. There was no way Jack would ever purposely inflict his curse on anyone.

“You misunderstand me,” explains Dredmund. “I have already devised a method to regain my own merging of beast and man. Recently, I have devoted myself more to mystic studies, hoping to find the answer there, where science had failed me. I already have my own transformation ready to be implemented. I need your help with something else. I’ve found an isolated town in Alaska. Less than 1,000 people live there. This will be perfect for an exodus.”

“An exodus?” asked Jack. “For who?”

“For us, Jack. And those like us. Lycanthropes.”

“You said you weren’t a werewolf.”

“Not yet, but I will be soon. It is my destiny. I want to start a haven, a sacred sanctuary where we can be free. Isolated from humanity, while together with our brothers and sisters. I can set you free, Jacob. Come with us and be as you were meant to be. Don’t hide from the beast inside you, embrace it.

Jack remained silent as he finished the rest of his beer.

“Nope, still not interested. Good luck with your ‘werewolf utopia,’ but I’m not going to have any part of it. What I’m going to do, is stay here and try to pretend I have a normal life. I’m not getting suckered into any more insane bullshit if I can help it. Have you been listening to yourself? “I can set you free.” “It is my destiny.” “I will merge my beast and man”. You can go merge your beast and man out in Alaska far away from me.”

Dredmund looked at Jack with disappointment painted on his face. “I see the potential for great things within you. It was my hope that you would stand by my side as I lead our kind to a golden age. You need to be released from your mundane human existence Jacob, I hope someday you will realize that.”

Dredmund stood up and walked out of the bar. Hector followed him, but turned and looked at Jack before leaving.

“You made the wrong choice, vato.” said Hector, sternly, before leaving with Dredmund.

Jack watched the duo leave and then turned back to his drinks. There were already several empty bottles before him. Somehow, he suddenly felt like drinking a hell of a lot more. Every time Jack came close to thinking he could have a normal life, something like this happened and reminded him otherwise.

It was almost as if he not only had lycanthropy, but also two additional curses to contend with. Phenomenally bad luck, and being a weirdness magnet. Never a dull moment..

“Hey,” came another voice. This time it was female. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Jack looked up once more to see a woman with dark raven hair standing next to him. Jack cautiously looked her over and then tilted his head at the barstool next to him. The woman sat down and ordered a beer of her own.

“I’d ask if you wanted me to buy you a beer,” she offered, “but it looks like you’re pretty well covered in that department.”

Jack glanced at the collection of drained beer bottles and smiled. “This is nothing. I’m just getting started.”

“You can handle your liquor, I see.”

“I don’t want to brag, but I’ve won almost every drinking contest that I’ve ever been in.”

Beer didn’t affect Jack as it did most people. Jack’s lycanthropy afforded him rapid healing and resistance to sickness and poisons. Jack’s body considered alcohol as a poison, fighting off its effects as soon as it entered the body. It was hard for Jack to drink enough to get “drunk”. Hard, but not impossible, and it was something he had mastered over the years.

“I’ve seen you in here quite a few times,” said the woman. “I always wanted to talk to you, but I never spotted a good opening. I saw you talking to your friends and when they left I thought it might be a good time to finally make my move.”

Jack grunted. “Those guys weren’t my ‘friends.’ The guy in the suit was just a person I met a long time ago. He tried to sell me on something, but I wasn’t buying. I told him to take a hike. Honestly, I thought maybe they sent you over here to work me over some more. Maybe they thought a pretty face would get me to change my mind.”

“You think I’m pretty, then?” teased the woman.

“You’re more attractive than anyone else I’ve seen in here, to be honest with you. That’s part of the reason I thought “they” sent you. I mean, why would someone like you,waste your time talking to someone like me?”

“There’s just something about you. I don’t know what that something is, but I feel drawn to you. Like it’s an animal attraction or something.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you aren’t with those other guys?”

“No, I’ve never seen them before in my life. My name is Tessa.”

“Well Tessa, my friends call me Jack.”

Really, everyone called him Jack, friend or not. It was still bothering him that Dredmund kept calling him Jacob. Just remembering the sound of being called by that name caused Jack’s hair to stand on end.

“Jack. Yeah, you look like a Jack. I’ve seen you in here a lot, but you always seem to be alone. Honestly, just now is the first time I’ve noticed you talking to anyone besides the bartenders.”

“You could say I’m something of a lone wolf. I tend to keep to myself. If you noticed, those guys were talking to me more than I was talking to them.”

“I’m not bothering you then, am I?” asked Tessa.

“No. They were, but you’re not. Believe it or not, being flirted with is not something that happens to me every day. Then again, I don’t really get out much.

“If you don’t get out much, maybe we should change that. Since you think I’m pretty, maybe I can repay your compliment by taking you out sometime. We’ll do something fun. You look like you could use some fun in your life. No offense.”

“No, I’m not offended,” assured Jack. “You’re absolutely right. I could use some fun in my life. So yeah, we can do something together one night. Just let me know. I’m looking forward to it.”

Tessa smiled. “Me too. You have no idea how happy you just made me.”

Sometime later, Jack was walking down the streets on his way home. Jack zipped up his leather coat as the wind intensified. It had been a nice day when he was done with work, so he walked to the bar instead of driving his motorcycle. Now he was wishing he had paid more attention to the weather report. Jack had a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth as he shuffled down the street with his head down, lost in his own thoughts.

I don’t know why I agreed to meet up with Tessa, Jack thought to himself. Why didn’t I just brush her off and pretend I wasn’t interested? I have the worst track record when it comes to relationships. Topaz, Sybil, Martine, Roxanna. If my track record holds up, there is no way I am ever going to have a “normal” or “healthy” relationship. Bad things happen to people who get close to me. But, there was just something about Tessa. I can’t put my finger on what it is…

Jack stopped walking and stood still. His gaze meets with Dredmund, who was standing in his path. Dredmund no longer wore a fancy suit and tie, but rather was dressed in ceremonial purple garb. The costume itself was a purple body suit with black trim and a purple cape. A belt with several egg shaped devices attached to it ran around his waist. A black headdress with long, thin horns completed the ensemble.

“The crazy ones and their costumes,” joked Jack, rolling his eyes. “Even back when I did play hero, you never saw me running around wearing brightly colored pajamas, or having a mask with a large ‘W’ or it, or slinging a shield with a wolf logo on it. I never understood the whole allure of the costumes. I mean, not that I ever complained about Spider-Woman and Tigra’s costumes, or lack thereof.

For several moments Dredmund stood silently, just looking at Jack was an emotionless gaze.

It was impossible for Jack to read Dredmund’s mood. Was he pissed off? Was he trying not to laugh? Did I hurt his feelings? Somebody must have pointed out to him before this moment that he looked like a demonic Grimace from McDonald land.

“I need you,” said Dredmund. There wasn’t any emotion in Dredmund’s voice. He was almost robotic, with a pained look on his face.

“I thought I told you to leave me alone.”

Jack let the cigarette drop from his mouth. It bounced off the sidewalk, bits of orange ash flying in every direction. Jack stepped on the cigarette and crushed it into the sidewalk, never taking his eyes off Dredmund.

Damn it, Jack cursed at himself, I was so lost in thought, I didn’t even notice he was right in front of me! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Dredmund held out his arms. “I can’t do this without you, Jack.”

“Fuck off, Dredmund! I’m not changing my mind. This is the only time I’m going to say this: Walk your purple-people-eater looking ass out of here right now. Don’t ever let me see you again. The next time I see you, I’m going to consider it an aggressive action on your part. You understand where I’m going with this?”

“We could have ruled on high as the bones of our enemies were crushed beneath our feet. But now, I’m going to have to force you to serve me. I didn’t want it to come to this, Jacob.”

“Stop calling me that!” bellowed Jack, as he crouched in a defensive position. Jack hoped Dredmund would just leave so he wouldn’t have to resort to becoming the wolf. Deep down, he knew it was not going to happen that easy.

Jack was trying to decide if he wanted to take the fight off the streets before or after he transformed. He didn’t think anyone else was around, but you could never be too careful in this day and age. Transforming in the wrong spot could end up putting you on an internet video site.

Dredmund reached into his belt and pulled out several egg shaped objects, hurling them at Jack’s feet. Jack easily leapt back as the eggs disintegrated on impact. The acid held within the eggs started to melt the sidewalk. Wisps of smoke rose to the sky as the cement was quickly eaten away. Jack’s eyes started to water and his nostrils burned as the fumes entered his nasal cavity. One of the drawbacks of having enhanced senses.

“You throw like a girl, Dredmund. That didn’t even come close to hitting me.”

“Of course not,” said Dredmund, calmly. “Because striking you was not my intention.”

Suddenly, an abrupt impact to the back of Jack’s skull sent him staggering forward. Jack was already disoriented from the acid fumes. Now, he was seeing flashes of light after his brain had bounced off the back of his skull. Jack fell down to one knee and looked behind him. His vision was blurred, but Jack could see a large werewolf closing in on him.

“I was simply drawing your attention away from the real attack.”

Jack struggled to get back to his feet and fight back. He just needed to let the wolf out and maybe he would have a chance. Jack didn’t get a opportunity to find out. The large werewolf clasped his paws together and brought down a second, more powerful sledgehammer-like blow to the back of Jack’s head. Jack slowly dropped to both knees and then passed out on the sidewalk under the night sky.

Dredmund smiled at the werewolf. “You did admirably, Hector. I chose well with you. It’s sad that the same can’t be said of Jacob here.”

The werewolf picked up Jack’s unconscious body and slung it over his shoulder.

“I said you made the wrong choice, vato,” Hector told Jack. “You had a chance to be an apostle of a new god for a new world. Now, you are just going to have to serve at his feet.”

Dredmund smiled. “I only hope Jacob, that you will see the light when it is all said and done. Like it or not, I am going to save you. We are hurting you for your own good, but you will thank us for it, in the end.”

Jack slowly opened his eyes, he had no idea how long he’d been out. Rubbing his temples, he tried to bring his mind back to clarity. What happened? Had it been a full moon? Jack quickly sat up as he remembered a confrontation with Dredmund and then.. darkness. Jack attempted to stand up, but found himself trapped inside a cage. And he was naked. Also, his chest itched for some reason..

Jack looked down and saw deep gashes in his chest. Before passing out, Jack remembered seeing a werewolf standing over him. Were these claw marks? No, the gashes were neat and clean, almost surgical. They also ran in a rune-like pattern. Blood was pouring from the gashes at an alarming rate and with surprising quantity. Just what in the hell was going on here?

“I’m glad you are finally awake.”

Jack looked backward, over his shoulder as Dredmund’s voice came from behind him. Jack’s eyes followed Dredmund, as he walked around the cage while talking.

“I was hoping you would be able to see with your own eyes one of the key parts of my grand design. I also hope that this symbolism isn’t lost on you. Just as you are physically trapped inside a cage, so too is your true self trapped in a cage of your own making. If I open this cage, your body will be free. But once you let your inner beast out of its cage, your mind, heart, and soul will be free. I know I can’t make you see it now, but once I become the god of this world, your eyes will be open to the truth of my words.”

Jack noticed the werewolf from earlier was standing on the other side of the room, several feet away, straight in front of Jack’s cage. He was mostly tan, with black and white highlights in his fur. Most of the fur on its muzzle and the lower part of its face was white.

There were three other cages in the room, just like Jack’s cage. The cages were in a circular layout around the room. Two other men, and one woman were imprisoned within these cages. Both men seemed fairly calm, but the woman was pressed as far back in her cage as she could cower. She sat, rocking back and forth, holding her legs to her chest. Blood was running down her legs. Jack noticed each of the other people had different designs carved into their chests.

The large room was wide open, but dank, and the air smelled moldy and stale. Lights were few and far between, hanging down from the ceiling several feet overhead. Jack reasoned that it was one of the abandoned warehouses that were in alarming abundance in New York City.

One last detail caused Jack to become more alarmed. A large pentagram was carved into the floor. It must have been nearly fifteen feet across. Four of the five points to the pentagram were positioned beneath each cage. The fifth and final point of the pentagram was at the feet of Hector, the werewolf.

Dredmund walked across the room to where the werewolf stood tall. Dredmund lifted a ceremonial dagger high into the air and started to chant in words that Jack could not understand, before pressing the tip of the dagger into the werewolf’s chest. Pushing down with extreme pressure, Dredmund broke the skin. The werewolf did not flinch or waver, instead he continued to stand tall with a proud look on his face. Dredmund carved a rune-shaped design into the werewolf’s chest.

“This pain will only be temporary, Hector,” assured Dredmund, as he carved. “Our glory, our destiny, our empire, will live forever!

The blood quickly poured out of the werewolf’s chest. It soaked his fur as it ran down his body. The blood flowed down the trenches of the pentagram. The crossing lines in the middle of a pentagram always forms the shape of a pentagon. The pentagon shape of this pentagram has been dug out and filled with what look to be gemstones. One large gem is in the center, with dozens of smaller ones contained in the chasm.

The blood of Hector, along with the blood of the four caged people, including Jack, flowed into the center of the pentagram. The blood mixed together, bathing the gems in a sanguine cocktail. Dredmond walked over to the bloodpool and removed the largest gem. Blood dipped off the gem as Dredmund walked over to Jack’s cage. He held up the gem for Jack to see.

“Back in Starkesboro, that accursed Cable had caused me to loose possession of the moongem. I have been unable to obtain the moongem again, but instead I found an even better solution. After years of research, I have crafted my own, different and more powerful, gemstones. Powered by my mystic crafting and the combined power of your lycanthropic blood, these will be the keys to unlocking my new kingdom, my perfect world where man and beast are one.”

Dredmond held the gem up in the air and shuddered with anticipation.

“It’s beautiful. Now is the moment of truth. Time to test all my years of hard work.”

Dredmund pressed the gem to his neck. With some effort he was able to embed the gem in his throat. His body convulsed and shuddered. Hector started to walk towards him, but he held up his arm and waved Hector back. Dredmund doubled over in pain as the change overtook him.

It looked as if he was screaming, but no sound came from him. His eyes rolled back in his head as his face contorted and elongated, forming a snout and fangs. Claws burst from his fingers. His arms and legs stretched out and swelled as they became more muscular and covered in fur.

The fur was black.

The darkest black that Jack had ever seen.

Dredmund spent what seemed like an eternity crouched on the floor in silence. He then stood up at full height, towering over Hector. Dredmund held up one of his paws and inspected it in the illumination of the skylight. He looked down at his newly transformed body and began to laugh.

“Magnificent!” yelled Dredmund. “Once more I am man and beast. Soon, I will regain my mantle of a god as well! I’m sure you are familiar with a blue moon, Jacob?”

“Of course I am. When you are inflicted with this condition, you sort of become an expert on the lunar cycle. A blue moon is when two full moons fall in the same month. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen very often. That’s where the term “once in a blue moon” comes from.”

“Very good. Now, do you know what a black moon is?”

Jack sat silent for a moment. “Maybe I shouldn’t have used the term ‘expert.’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term before.”

“It’s two new moons in the same month,” said the man inside the cage to Jack’s left.

Dredmund smiled with pride. “I’m impressed! I didn’t think any of you would know the answer. A black moon is just as rare as a blue moon, but nobody cares about a new moon, do they? Any magic worked during the period of a black moon is deemed to be especially powerful. This is the only time I will be able to perform the ritual that will grant me godly powers that far overshadow those of the Stargod! The black moon happens very soon and you are all going to be my guests when I perform the rite of ascension.”

Dredmund turned towards Hector. “Prepare our friends for transport. Then join me in preparing our other subjects for enlightenment.”

The onyx hued werewolf, Dredmund, walked out of the room as Hector turned towards the collective captives with a fang filled grin.

Next Issue: Jack is in rough shape, and the road isn’t going to get any smoother. Naked, mutilated, and exhausted, Jack has to confront shades of his past reflected back at him in one of his companions. He also finds that, while he likes to think his life is miserable, there is always someone who has it worse. Meanwhile, Dredmund starts to lose control of his schemes as he finds out it’s not going to be as easy as he thought to become a god.

Bark at the Moon

Hello, dear reader. This is the moment when I talk to you directly. I’ve wanted to do something with Werewolf by Night for a long time. I don’t want to take up to much space in this section, but I’ve got something I want to do. First of all, answer the impending “It’s not in first person?” question. All the solo Werewolf by Night comic book series have been done from Jack’s point of view, and two of the three fanfiction authors that I’ve seen do WBN (Mike McGee & Chris Munn) have used first person, very effectively. I’ve gone back and forth with myself over this and ultimately decided on third person as a personal stylistic choice, plus I don’t think I could do a whole series in first person justice. I probably will, however, do a Giant Size or Annual style story from the first person view.

I’ve got a lot of things planned down the line, from a look to past relationships, to a Troll, to a bipolar homeless wererat, to a prepubescent monster-hunting vampire Lolita, to a sadomasochist living dead girl.. something for everyone.