The Legacy of Coonaa

The Legacy of Coonaa

By Snowsnake

There is a port on the coast of the Black Sea. It is the port of the city of Durmansk, a crossroads for commerce for Eastern Europe. A darker more evil place does not exist. The port is on a peninsula surrounded by the waterfront businesses. If you wish to live, you do not go there at night. The foulest of humanity live there. There are those there, who kill for pleasure, send women into slavery, and kidnap children. A thief will cut your throat simply for the clothes you wear.

"The fetid smell of moral decay washes over you as you enter and will stay with you when you leave," thought Chief Inspector Wilhem Karakoff. "Every day I must bath to wash the stink of depravity from my body, but I have yet to wash it from my soul. In the last six months the odor has increased. The mayor has been bothering me daily about a special set of murders. Murders of horrendous detail. Men of excellent health, but despicable disposition have been murdered in almost a ritual fashion. The wounds are always the same. Three razor cuts from left down to the right across their throats, a similar cut left to right across their midsection disemboweling them, and a hole in their chest as big as a bowling ball where their heart used to be. Forensics believes it to be the work of an animal of great strength, but I believe it to be the work of an avenging angel. I can only wish."

As she gazed at her reflection in the window she thought to herself. "I am young and beautiful. My mantle and dress though worn, is always tidy and clean. Who am I? These are well made goods, I must have had money at one time. Why do I not fear the people around me? They are disgusting and dangerous, but I fear them not. How did I get here? Why am I here and why do I ask men if they are the one? The ones who answered yes are gone. I go into a trance and afterwards they were gone. I wake up some where else and smell of blood, but there is no one there but me!"

Sitting at his desk with his chin on his palms the inspector organized his thoughts, "Lately there has been a rumor on the docks and in the waterfront streets of a girl of outstanding beauty. She walks around in a daze asking men, Are you the one? Amazingly, it is said, no one bothers her. If she asks for food they give it to her. If she asks for water they give it to her. They say she is very tall and slender. She is said to have a radiant beauty far beyond that of mortal women. Her hair is coal black and long down her back. Her eyes are of deepest gray with the far away look of one who's mind has left on a journey but could not find its way back. Her skin is a light dusty brown color that glows with health. She will stop and talk to any one, even the most surly of males. They always treat her with the utmost respect. In this part of town there is no way such a woman could survive. It must be a dream woman. The rancid rot of humanity I police, would have a real such woman dead in an hour. My spies in the underworld will not deny her existence; neither will they find her for me. She is just too dangerous they claim. How can she be dangerous I ask?"

The elderly woman was impatient, "Where is this police station Errock?"

"Just ahead!" he exclaimed.

Entering the station she walked up to the sergeant's desk as if floating on air and asked quietly if she could see the Chief Investigator. Not looking up the sergeant asked, "Whom may I say is calling?"

"Queen Ollta," she replied.

The sergeant snapped his head up and looked into her eyes. A gentle elderly face he saw, but not a demeanor to be trifled with. She looked at him as if waiting for his compliance, knowing she wasn't going to be refused. "With that attitude she must be a real queen. What is she doing in this cesspool?" he thought to himself.

Normally he would call the Inspector and ask if he would like to see someone. This time he called and said, "You have visitors Sir. I am sending them up."

Karakoff was a little annoyed at the call, but he met the woman and her friend at the stairs and led them into his office. He was quite impressed. The woman was quite old, but retained vestiges of the great beauty she must have had when she was young. Her clothes were of fine material simply tailored. She had a broach of magnificent workmanship closing the collar of her blouse. But her eyes, they were the eyes of a hunter, unblinking and unafraid. He met her gaze without a thought. He too was a hunter, a hunter of men.

The man was very tall and very slender, but had the sallow skin of a sickly person. He was extremely handsome and had a force of presence far beyond his slight nature.

"May I help you?" the Inspector asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I am looking for a girl, not a normal girl, but one of exceptional beauty by your standards. You will use every connection you have and every means you have to find her. Here is her description." So saying she gave him a slip of paper.

Galled at her rudeness he stated, "I have much to do, many murders and crimes to investigate. I do not have time to look for a lost girl!"

The young man spoke, "The Prime Minister stated you would do everything in your power to help us."

"And so you know the PM," he stated, disbelieving the young man. "Are you her body guard?" Karakoff asked looking at the Queen.

"No," replied the young man gently. "I am here to keep my grandmother from killing you."

The lady looked at the boy benignly, "I will behave. So long as I get the information I need, or though the Inspector's death I will enforce my will!" Staring at Karakoff, she started to rise from the chair, her eyes seeming to grow larger and her mouth seeming to sharpening into the beak of a great fearsome bird.

The young man grasped her arm strongly, but she raised it as if he wasn't there. "Koookaaa!" he spoke with great authority in a language accented by an unearthly high-pitched tone. There was no misunderstanding the tone, whatever the message.

Looking at the young man intently, she calmed herself. She spoke to him in a whisper, "Yes my love. I must control myself. Her life is at stake."

Looking at Karakoff she said, "Chief Inspector,we need you to get on this case as soon as possible." As she rearranged her robes, it reminded Karakoff of a bird fusing around until it settled into its nest.

Again annoyed Karakoff spoke, "Madam, death threats are a daily affair with me," as he looked out at the bleak waterfront. "But death would be a welcome change to living and working in this putrid pustule of mankind's worse behavior. If I were dead, you would not get the girl back and death would be as a gift to me."

Eyeing him closely, she decided to take a different tact. "Inspector, I am the Queen of my nation. The girl we are looking for was kidnapped from us. She is the betrothed of my grandson," glancing at the young man with great love. "Our nation is dying out. My grandson is the strongest of the males and the girl we seek is the strongest of our females. It is imperative that we find her. She in the gravest of danger and may not know who she is."

Karakoff sensed he was not being told every thing, however their concern was genuine. These two also seemed to have powerful connections. If he ever wanted out of this despicable place, he would help them for his own needs as well as theirs. Besides though they did not reveal everything, they hadn't lied either. The woman as old and frail as she looked, could have easily killed him. This he knew. He didn't know why he knew, but he knew.

The young man asked, "Have there been any unusual murders lately. Just something particularly odd about a murder that has attracted your attention?"

Wondering about this strange request Karakoff replied, "Yes we have had some truly gruesome murders where the deceased hearts were removed or eaten."

"What day of the month and where was the moon when these murders happened?" he asked.

What a strange connection Karakoff thought as he looked at a calendar. "Well that is funny, all the deaths occurred when the sky was bright from the moon. Most murders occur when it is dark so the murderers can escape."

The young man bent over and whispered to the old lady, "We hunt in the darkness not the light. Maybe she was killing for pleasure. Her mind may be gone."

"No!" answered the old woman to him. "She would only kill if threatened. She knows our traditions well. She would not jeopardize our pact with mankind just for a meal or sport!"

The lady looked at Karakoff and said in a voice as cold as a winter wind, "If you find her by tomorrow you will be a rich man. If not you will be dead and in the same manner as the other men!" So saying, she got up and left the room.

The young man looked at him with great sadness and spoke, "She doesn't boast. She has great power among our people and great influence among yours. I can't control her all the time. I apologize for my Grandmother. She is quite abrupt due to the stress on her." Pausing a second the young man continued, "The girl we look for, Coonaa, was kidnapped a year ago by an unscrupulous man. Inspired by her great beauty, he wished to make Coonaa his own. We believe she has escaped. We fear the stress of her escape damaged her knowledge of herself and what she is. In our culture men and women must pick wisely and well. Once a man and woman bond in their hearts and soul they are bonded till death and beyond. Once one bonds even if their mate dies they will not remarry. Often when one dies the other will follow in grief. Such is the strength of our love. I have bonded with Coonaa. I am betrothed to her to be married. I am weak in body, but Coonaa gives me the strength to continue. If she is lost, I am lost, and my nation is lost. If you would, please send us a message when you get some information. We are lodged at the Grand motel. Here is the number. If you question our authority you may call this number. You won't get in trouble, I promise." Looking out the window of the office the young man spoke as if to himself, "As if they could do you any worse."

The young man stopped on his way out the door and stated simply, "This is a terrible place in which you live. Won't it be nice just to help someone in trouble? It could make your heart soar and cleanse your soul knowing it was done because you can. I plead with you to help me find my beloved. I know she is in trouble and as I said, I love her deeply." He gazed at Karakoff with great pain in his eyes, turned and left.

Karakoff had great plans when he had graduated from the police academy. This had been his first job and so far his last. Fresh to the force he was pleased to land such an important job so soon in his career. Now he knew why. No one else would have it and he couldn't escape. The Queen was terrifying in her mood, but it was no more terrifying than having to stay in this disease infested dump the rest of his life. Her concern about the girl and the obvious love for her grandson was genuine. The young man's appeal was true. It would be a pleasure to do something good and clean for once instead of wading through the sewers of this hole.

Having decided on a course of action, Karakoff called his sergeant and told him to have the other inspectors in his office in a half an hour. He knew he was going to help the Queen and the young man. It would be nice to save an innocent soul for once instead of prosecuting a tainted one. But, he was also curious about the number he had been given. So he called it.

"Office of the Prime Minister," a woman answered.

"Yes, I am Chief Inspector Karakoff of the Durmansk police. I would like some information about a visiting queen, a Queen Ollta," he replied.

He was shocked when he heard the phone hit the floor. In the background he head voices.

"Sir, Sir come quick. It is about her!" said a woman's voice.

He heard the phone being picked up. The person on the other end was panting and there was a silence as they regained their breath. In a false calm a man's voice spoke, "This is the Prime Minister. How may I help you Chief Inspector?"

"I am inquiring on the legitimacy of one Queen Ollta," Karakoff replied.

After a deep pause, the Prime Minister again spoke almost pleading, "Inspector do anything and everything to satisfy this woman's needs! It is imperative you do so if you want to live, if I want to live, if we want the country itself to survive!" His voice had risen with each word, a man under great duress.

"Sir does she have the power to do all this?" inquired Karakoff.

"Yes, Inspector and much more than you can imagine!" replied the PM.

"Be calm Prime Minister. A full scale manhunt is being initiated and we should have the person in question returned to the Queen in good order," Karakoff replied in a confident tone.

The PM responded, "Please keep me informed by this number. If you need anything, anything at all just call. The resources of the country are at your disposal."

"Thank you Prime Minister," said Karakoff.

Placing the phone back in its cradle Karakoff thought, "The PM is as scared as a rabbit being chased by a hawk or maybe a much larger bird of prey. There were legends about great birds in the Western Mountains who took on the form of men and women. They were of incomparability beauty. They used their beauty to lure people to them and then changed into great birds of prey and devoured the hapless victims. Perhaps the legends were really true. The Queen had appeared to him for a second as if she had the head of a hawk. What if they had calmed their need for human flesh and had been living apart in peace? This girl could expose them. Mankind in its fear would eliminate their race. As if we are superior!" He gazed out the window at the tide washing trash in the water back and fourth and smelling the stench of rotted fish.

Assembling his men he explained, "We are looking for a missing woman. Use all your contacts. Don't let anyone stop you from finding the whereabouts of this woman. Do not try to take her into custody. Only report her location. She is under great distress and your lives may be in danger if you try to apprehend her. If she is damaged in any way all our lives are forfeit. This is straight from the PM himself. We have only one day to find her. I am passing out an artist's drawing and a description. Any questions?"

A young inspector in the rear spoke up, "Sir this is a description of the mystery woman we have been hearing about for the last six months."

"Well she is not a mystery any more," replied Karakoff. "She is betrothed to the prince of a nation very close to ours. If she is not found there will great consequences. Now I can threaten you with a foul fate if she is not found; however, we are already in a foul fate. I would rather inspire you. If it were the lady you love that was missing would you leave any rock unturned? We rarely see the best side of life here. This is our chance for once, maybe only once to make things better!"

Talking among the other inspectors the young man laughed, "For once we can do something right. No man will stand in our way. Sir, what do we do if we find wanted men along the way?"

Grinning at the man Karakoff spoke, "I hope you shall, but the lady has priority. Handcuff them to a pole and radio in a location. Others will collect them." Pleased Karakoff returned to his office. Thinking to his self, "I should be out there, but they are many and I must coordinate the search."

Calls came in continually to the police station. Sir I have found Dokerra.

"Handcuff him to a pole and continue," he replied.

Sir I have found Blenski.

"Do the same as with Dokerra," he said. His men were picking up many of the wanted criminals they had been searching for.

Finally the young inspector called. Speaking in a whisper he said, "Sir I have a woman here. She is quite suspicious. She appears quite tall and thin with long jet-black hair. She is simply sitting on the edge of the dock and singing to herself in a foreign language."

"She is the one; I am sure. Watch her, but leave her alone," ordered Karakoff. When he called the hotel, he told the young man, "Meet me at the north dock as soon as possible. I think we have found her." Then he hung up.

Within 30 minutes he was on the docks waiting for the Queen. A taxi showed up minutes later. The taxi driver appeared to be under great distress due to the time and location. Apparently the Queen had convinced him to bring her either by threat or bribe. Before the door of the taxi was even shut, it was gone into the night.

The queen was brisk, "Is it her?"

"I think so. My men have been tracking leads all day and they all lead to her," Karakoff said pointing. "That young lady on the docks there."

"I will inquire of her," spoke the Queen striding off towards the woman. Grabbing her mantle Karakoff dragged her back. "You will not!" with a firmness in his voice he had never known before. "I am clearing the area of my men. We do not need witnesses who may reveal your secret. If I die because of your secret so be it. My men know nothing and I will not put their lives in jeopardy!" The young man with her smiled broadly.

"And what secret is that?" she asked sweetly with a flash of fire in her eyes. Her body posed to strike.

"You are not of the human race, but you are of a race close to ours and our fortunes depend on each other," he said staring her in the eye.

"Very good inspector," she said. Visibly relaxing she appeared to be thinking and then began. "I suppose I owe you an explanation as it seems you have come upon some of the truth on your own. For our needs and our defense it is necessary our races coexist peacefully. With our civilized minds we must fight one of our most basic instincts when we are among your race. This is what makes this girl so important. Her civilized mind is damaged and she could revert to her basic instincts. This would reveal our presence to the outside world. Our presence once revealed, there would be war. We have made a pact with mankind. We no longer do what we once did. However mankind still fears us greatly. We would defend ourselves well and there would be great losses among mankind. However, there are few of us. In the end, we would all be gone. This is about the survival of not only our nation, but also our species."

As the night moved on they studied the girl on the dock as she sang to herself. She had an incredibly beautiful voice. Queen Ollta and Errock watched her intently though she was a great distance away and sitting in darkness. There was the light of a small crescent moon illuminating the rest of the dock.

The young girl suddenly stopped singing, stood, turned around, and sat back down. She continued her singing in a foreign tongue, the song eerie in its beauty.

"Is it her?" asked Queen Ollta.

"Yes, my grandmother," the young man visibly strengthening at the pronouncement.

The radio cracked, Chief Inspector come in.

"Here," he replied.

The men are all clear.

Karakoff responded, "It is confirmed. This is the girl we seek. Tell the men good job."

The queen and the young man looked at him. Nodding at them he stated, "It is clear to proceed. I will stay back ready if something goes wrong."

A slight noise and a man stepped out from the darkness of a warehouse into the feeble light of the moon. He was dressed in the clothes of a dockworker and had a club in his hand.

In a swift smooth movement the girl rose and turned. Looking down at him with a smile on her face, she asked, "Are you the one?"

The man growled harsh words at her, "You killed my brother, now I am going to kill you. Yes, I AM THE ONE who is going to kill you!" Raising his club he prepared to strike her. She stood there as if stunned, still with a smile on her face.

Queen Ollta screamed, "Nooo!" and took off at a run. Leaping into the air as she passed Karakoff, she transformed. Her arms billowed out becoming wings stretched to the fullest to gather every breath of wind, her feet grew sharp talons with wicked intent, her mouth and nose became the cruel hooked beak of a bird of prey. The eyes, the eyes were the worst. They became large and red. The prey was in sight. The mind had focused on the man with the club. There would be no pulling back, no mercy.

As the man raised the club to strike, the great wing of the queen caught him in the back and swept him off the dock into the putrid slime below.

The young man screamed, "NO Grandmother!" He started running towards the Queen and the girl. He stumbled, gasping, recovered and ran on.

It was too late. Spreading her arms wide, the girl transformed into an immense black bird. Her feathers gleaming in the dark as if they glowed on their own. With the speed and power of youth, her wing slapped the queen a tremendous blow, sending the Queen into a tumbling ball of feathers. Stunned, the Queen landed lying on her back with her wings to either side. The girl leaped into the air her talons outstretched, striking down on the fallen Queen, sinking them deep into the Queen's flesh. Her head back the girl screamed the unearthly scream of the predator, the scream of victory. There was no humanity left in her eyes, no pity, no hope, only death. Her great beak spread open; she plunged her head towards the heart of the queen.

The young man as he reached them transformed. Even bigger than the girl his great wing snapped forward and up catching the girl hard under her beak. It knocked her up and away from the queen just in time. Her hard talons gouging the stone of the dock, she regained her balance. Her wings spread, she circled him, preparing to defend her prey. The young man spread his wings as wide as they would go and shook them gently as if showing off. His head bobbed back and fourth and up and down as he made soft sounds low in his throat.

It reminded Karakoff of a dance, a dance that would allow her to recognize Errock.

Circling Errock and ignoring his dance and the soothing sounds he made, Coonaa tensed to pounce. She leaped at him, her talons slashing before her. He dodged backwards, wavering from the exertion. There were three lines cut into his chest dripping bright red blood. She screamed her anger at missing the deadly blow.

Karakoff pulled out his pistol. He thought to his self, "I must protect the Queen if the girl kills him."

Throwing his head straight up and opening his beak wide the great male let forth a scream that started low and increased in tone till it could no longer be heard, "Koookaaa!" As the tone increased so did the volume. The very air vibrated with its power. The warehouse and the dock itself shivered in its intensity.

The girl was still circling for the kill. Suddenly the fire started to fade from her eyes and a slow change came over her. She closed her beak and slowly lowered her wings staring at him as he sang. Then as if she recognized him, she dropped her wings, fitting them closely to her sides. Her head dropped and started to bob back and forth. She began to make small cooing noises.

Flapping his great wings, Errock too closed his beak and dropped his head, bobbing it slowly back and forth. His song ended. He watched her closely as she moved towards him. Moving next to him she buried her head in his wing joint. His wings encased her as if in an embrace. Raising her head, they gently rubbed the sides of their beaks together as if it were a kiss. Both of them were making soft sounds together.

In an instance they transformed back into human form. His arms around her holding her tightly. She stated, "You are the one."

"Yes," he replied. "Do you remember me Coona?"

"Yes, Errock my love," she sobbed. They again held each other tight. Streams of tears running down both their faces.

With the rustle of feathers and the snap of a great pair of wings being folded the Queen arose slowly and transformed back into a woman. She gently examined the trickles of blood that ran down her stomach and sides. Suddenly she sat down heavily. Pulling a bottle from her coat she dabbed her wounds.

Karakoff ran up to her with his pistol still drawn, "Are you OK?" he questioned.

"Yes," she replied. "The wounds are severe, but not fatal. We have advanced knowledge of medicine and I will heal."

"I am glad you will be all right," he said. Bending down he patted her hand in comfort.

"Why do you have your pistol out?" she asked.

"I might have had to wound her, if she had gotten the better of the both of you. The fate of our nations would have ended up in my hands otherwise," he sighed.

"I am sorry I was so hard with you," she explained. "The fate of our nation rested on me. I had to take the action necessary. You need to know of the burden that I carried so you might not judge me too harshly. Though you are of mankind you have earned an explanation. We were afraid that Coonaa's mind was too damaged and that we might have to kill her. I would have attacked first for my grandson is not well. I am much stronger than he is. I would have knocked her to the ground and then administered a drug to keep her from hurting herself and us. If I failed, he would follow. If she did not respond to his call, he would have killed her. The man changed our plans. She was much stronger than I thought, and only my experience prevented her talons from giving me a fatal blow."

"What was the sound he made?" Karakoff asked.

The Queen spoke softly, "It was a song, sung to demand her to calm down. When a female is protecting its young or its prey, we go into a blood lust and will attack anything including our mate. In a blood lust, we are all instinct and have no conscience thought. By instinct, the male makes this call when threatened, and by instinct the female responds. It was close. She was unresponsive to his mating dance. If she were also unresponsive to his call, she would have been killed. That would have been a great misfortune as they are a bonded pair. If she died, the strength she gives him would have been gone too. He would have died not soon after and our nation would be without an heir."

Looking up Karakoff saw the Coonaa and Errock embracing each other. She was crying gently and he was stroking her hair and muttering soft words to her. The blood from his chest was staining her dress.

Suddenly smiling widely Karakoff spoke, "By helping you with this great deed, the filth of this place has for once been washed from my soul. For this I thank you!" And he gave the Queen a great bow.

The Queen groaned.

"Are you alright?" he asked, gravely concerned.

"Yes," she replied. "My groan was not of pain. It was a groan of decision."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The Queen smiled, "You now know more about us than any living man. I must enlist you in our service or kill you for the secrets you know. I would not want to kill you for we do know gratitude, but you are dangerous to us unless in our service. May I suggest an alternative? We have crime and man has crime. To search out and make right injustices is what you are trained for. I offer you a job as a liaison between our two worlds, the World of the Veela and the World of Man."

Looking at the scene of devastation and squalor surrounding him, he solemnly looked at her and spoke, "I accept."

The Queen stood slowly, reaching out she grabbed him by the shoulders, and gently rubbed her cheek against his.

When darkness falls in the decadent decay of the port of Durmansk a lone woman walks down the street at night. She is as safe as in her bed at home. Even the roughest of men are polite and helpful. This is the legacy of Coonaa.