Cursed

by Brent Miller

  “You know the best combination to deal with vermin such as yourself? Silver and wolfsbane. Their effects clash and just make your death so much more imminent than even thirty stab wounds from the blade alone. Plus, it makes it so much more painful,” Darren mocked as he stood. Casually, he stepped forward, closing the small amount of distance Garrick had made.

  Garrick let out a pathetic attempt at a howl – more of a begging whimper – as he coughed up blood. He pulled the knife out, throwing it at Darren in one last desperate attempt to save himself. Darren stepped to the side to avoid the blade and reached his hand out to grab the handle as it flew past him. He spun the blade in a half circle, taking a step closer to Garrick.

  The doors behind Darren flew open, and Garrick tried to make out the figure that was standing in them. His vision was rapidly deteriorating, and he could barely make out the shapes of the people in front of him. He could only hope that this was someone once again coming to save him. Darren turned around, distracted from torturing Garrick, to face the figure. Garrick tried to use that moment of weakness, but he couldn’t make any kind of move. He could feel the wolfsbane wearing off, and the effects of the silver began to face since it was no longer in contact with his body, but healing was still slow. Worse, it was agonizing, because every time his wound would start to heal, it would tear itself back open – almost as if his body had been tricked into believing the open wound was the natural state of his body. He struggled, but he knew it would be far too long before he could make a move.

  “Darren,” a recognizable voice boomed. Garrick couldn’t place it, but he knew it to be friendly.

  “What are you doing here?” Darren spat.

  “I have to protect my own,” Aldric warned. Garrick couldn’t make out Aldric’s figure, but it looked like he was holding something. He walked toward Garrick, feigning surrender with his hands in the air as he walked past Darren. As Aldric approached, blocking Darren’s path to him, Garrick could see a glass in Aldric’s hand. Garrick noticed a window to his left. If he could just muster the strength to throw himself out of it, he was sure he’d be able to pull himself away and start healing before Darren made it downstairs.

  “This one killed in the city. Your wretched dog killed my dear sister, Aldric. Regardless of my father’s inexplicable fondness of you, that will not be forgiven.”

  “No, I wouldn’t suppose it would. It will be forgotten, though, because your father and I had a deal. I turn in the forest with my pack, and your family doesn’t meddle in our affairs. He made a mistake – one which will not be repeated. Now, Darren, I would suggest you walk away before you make one of your own. Samantha’s death was unfortunate, but Garrick was defending himself. Don’t make this anything other than it has to be.”

  “My father taught me to always hold our honor. His word was law in this family. So I haven’t broken that pact. But this one did. He left the forest, so he dies.” Darren was brandishing the knife, holding it between him and Aldric, but Aldric remained calm, lifting his cup for a drink. “You don’t have to pay this price with him, but if you refuse to walk away, you’ll share in his punishment.”

  “Aldric…” Garrick tried to force out of his mouth the words, but they wouldn’t leave. He couldn’t get the warning out. He knew, though, that Darren was just distracting Aldric. If he could get Aldric to take a drink of that water, then he’d be in the same place as Garrick. Darren would have them both trapped.

  “Elliott, I’ll explain everything later,” Aldric offered. “Now, Darren, leave. Pretend you never saw this.”

  “No, the pact stands only if your pack turns in the woods. If you stand with him, be prepared to fall with him.”

  “Well, then you’ve brought this upon yourself. You want one of mine? You’ll get a war.” Aldric was now standing tall, towering over Darren, but the young man didn’t back down.

  “Aldric… Don’t…”

  “Relax, Elliott,” Aldric dismissed Garrick’s concern as he drank the entire glass.

  “Wolf…”

  “Focus on healing,” Aldric started, but was interrupted. He choked back a fit of pain before continuing. “I can smell it. You see, Elliott, purebreds can use it to their advantage.” His attention turned to Darren, a smirk covering the pain as his claws erupted and his mouth reformed to hold his new teeth. Darren dove toward Aldric, swinging the knife for his throat. Ducking underneath the strike, Aldric drove an elbow into Darren’s gut. He punched the man, lifting him off of his feet as he flew toward the wall behind him. The knife clattered away from Darren as he slid to the floor.

  “We’re more in control when we have wolfsbane,” he threatened. He dropped on to all fours, and Garrick watched as his shoulders broke, rising far above his back, one by one. His body changed to accommodate the new bones. Darren stood to his feet, grabbing the knife from the floor near him. His goal was clearly to stop Aldric from finishing the transformation, but he wouldn’t make it in time. Aldric’s transformation was more rapid than Garrick had ever seen before.

  “This is your final chance to flee,” he managed to say before he was entirely a wolf. “And clear this place out. Or this war will have early casualties.”

  Ignoring his warning, Darren rushed at the wolf, who jumped out of the way, easily dodging the swipe from the blade. The wolf circled around Darren, dodging swipe after swipe. He pounced forward, but Darren dropped to the ground and rolled to the side, avoiding the attack. The wolf skidded to a stop and quickly turned around to face Darren.

  Darren raised the blade as he ran at the wolf. The wolf swung his tail at Darren’s wrist, breaking his grip on the knife. The beast jumped on top of him, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground, growling at the hunter. Darren struggled for the knife, but it was a few inches out of his reach. As Aldric lowered his mouth for the killing bite, Darren grabbed the knife with one last reach of his arm. He managed to maneuver the knife so that the tip of the blade pressed into the wolf’s neck. Darren didn’t have the space to gain the momentum to pierce Aldric’s skin, but it was enough to distract Aldric, granting Darren the opportunity to throw him off and roll backward, standing back up.

  The wolf ran and dove at Darren, hitting him with all of its weight and pinning him against the wall. It stepped back and scratched at him, but he drove the knife forward in an attempt to parry the attack. The wolf hit Darren’s hand with its paw, and the knife clattered to the ground again. As if it were planning this, the wolf placed its paw on the handle and pushed the knife back toward Garrick. Weaponless and practically defenseless in the wake of the beast in front of him, Darren backed away toward the door. The wolf swiped at him, and Darren jumped back to avoid it. The wolf didn’t pursue him as he ran; it just stepped back to stand between the door and Garrick. It looked down at Garrick.

  For the first time, when Garrick was looking into the eyes of that wolf, he didn’t see what he always had before. There wasn’t rage, hatred, and death. In those deep blue eyes, all Garrick saw was compassion. The wolf was worried about him.

  Maybe it wasn’t the wolf. Because finally, Garrick understood what Aldric meant. He’d never grasped the idea that they could be one, but now he did. Because he wasn’t staring into the eyes of a cruel monster that happened to suddenly care about his existence. Garrick was staring into the powerful eyes not of the wolf, but of Aldric Phoenix.

  Chapter 16

  Fourteen months ago

  Cailean’s teeth began to grow, and his jaw cracked, then reformed. There was nothing Garrick could do but watch in horror as the boy turned into a beast right before his eyes. Cailean’s face elongated and his arms bulged out, any fat fading and collapsing on the muscle. He dropped to his hands and knees, and his legs began to form into those of an animal. His feet took a completely different shape as the nails became claws. His skin stretched and darkened, and fur grew to cover his legs and back. He looked unreal – unlike anything Garrick had seen in the world before. As a final touch, Cailean bared his teeth and let
out a growl.

  The monster which was once Cailean pounced at Garrick, who quickly stumbled backward, barely fast enough to avoid getting bitten. The beast swung its paw at Garrick, who fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding the swipe. He crawled backward, kicking his feet frantically, hoping to scare the beast off.

  “Cailean!” Hayden yelled, to no avail. “Stop!” Suddenly, she doubled over in pain too. Garrick was distracted for a second, and that gave the wolf time to pounce again. With pure fortune on his side, Garrick was able to kick the beast in the nose with as much force as he could muster.

  The wolf stumbled back, shaking its head as it quickly recovered. That distraction gave Garrick just enough time to scramble desperately to his feet and lean on a tree for support. The wolf dove at the tree, and Garrick ducked to the other side of it, dodging and placing the tree between himself and the animal. He turned to run, but there were two more of them in the bushes behind him – one about the same size as Cailean and another almost twice as large.

  The smaller one jumped at Garrick, so he ducked down, dropping to the ground as the wolf flew over him. He rolled over quickly, landing on his back as he saw one of the wolves already in the air pouncing toward him. He pushed himself toward the tree and used it for support to stand. Garrick could only attribute his reactions to adrenaline, but even that would only last him so long if he couldn’t find a better solution. A third wolf came from the bushes on his right, leaving him surrounded. Even if he managed to get past those three, the large one was still hiding in the woods watching, so it would surely catch him. Any hope of escape Garrick had started to fade away.

  He still tried. He spun and took cover behind the tree as the wolves ran toward him. He ran as fast as he could, hoping he was headed toward the town. On either side of him, he saw wolves keeping pace. Then he slid to a stop and fumbled backward, barely maintaining his balance. One of them had managed to cut him off and was standing in front of him

  One of the wolves jumped at him, scratching his upper left arm, tearing through the sleeve. Garrick cried out in pain and fell onto his back. He covered the wound with his right hand, but blood was seeping through his fingers. The wolf jumped at him once again, but he pushed his way backward, with his right arm and kicked, as if he would find safety behind him. Nerves in his left arm had been torn, and he had no motor control over it at all.

  He clumsily sat up and leaned back against a tree, trying not to panic as he noticed the trail of blood he was leaving behind. One of the wolves walked around the tree, growling, and Garrick jumped to his feet. The adrenaline rushing through his veins almost countered the agony that had taken over his arm. He ran faster than he ever thought possible, but they were faster. A wolf dashed from behind a tree, positioning itself in front of him. Another was behind him. One dove, knocking him to the ground and pinning him down with its paws.

  He could feel the wolf’s drool drip onto his neck, and he closed his eyes, waiting for death. Suddenly, he didn’t feel the pressure on him anymore. He opened his eyes to see that one wolf had rammed into the other, knocking it off of him. Were they fighting over which one would eat him?

  He tried to crawl away, but he couldn’t move. The adrenaline was fading out, and he could feel himself bleeding out. He just watched one wolf scratch at the other, leaving a gaping wound in its front leg. It limped away, but the other wolf was already running toward Garrick. He turned his head away, only to see a third wolf on that side. He looked up again, finally giving up.

  A wolf jumped over him and time seemed to slow down. Garrick noticed three lines on the beast’s uncovered stomach. It looked like the beast was scarred from one of them. Maybe it had fought the others before.

  That wolf tackled the other which had been near him, and then turned back to face him. Its eyes were a beautiful blue color, shining more brightly than any human iris could possibly have. Still, he could see something familiar about those eyes.

  “Hayden?” he mumbled, the words slurred. Blood still poured from the wound in his arm, and he was starting to feel it taking its toll. The other wolf was back on its feet, and it swiped at Hayden. She turned around to fight the beast. Hayden bit down on the other wolf’s neck, and she threw it back against a tree. She walked back to Garrick, but she didn’t harm him. She licked his arm and nuzzled her head against him.

  The other wolves stood about fifty feet away, on the other side of the clearing, all of them staring at Garrick as he lay on the ground. Hayden walked slowly and gracefully to Garrick’s feet, where she positioned herself between him and the other wolves. When she growled, Garrick could feel the ground beneath him reverberate with the sound.

  Garrick fumbled to his feet, hoping that with her help he could find his way home. He tried applying pressure to the wound in his arm again, hoping that would lessen the bleeding. Hayden continued to stand between him and the other wolves, growling at them, forcing them to keep their distance. Finally, the big one barked, as if issuing an order, as it turned to leave. The others followed, but seemed to be more reluctant to abandon their prey than their leader was. Garrick took deep breaths, and he rested his left hand on Hayden’s head. She nuzzled her head up to his chest, and he just stared into the darkness where the other wolves had been.

  Present

  24 days until the full moon

  “You can control the wolf?” Garrick pressed Aldric for answers. After the memorial service, Aldric had just sent Garrick home, clearly annoyed and refusing to give answers. Of course, Garrick had taken a few detours on his way home. He’d stopped by Tyler’s to see if there were any new ideas. When he finally made it home, he had spent the entire night up researching different ways to control the wolf. Aldric had told him – and proven to him – that it was possible. Granted, he was specifically referring to purebreds, but if it were possible for them, it had to be possible for Garrick too. As expected, though, Garrick was completely unable to find any leads, and he’d been too scared of angering Aldric to push too hard the previous night, but that time he wasn’t leaving without answers.

  From Aldric’s statement, Garrick gathered that it was possible for pure wolves to maintain control while under the effects of wolfsbane, which didn’t guarantee anything different. Garrick, who wasn’t a purebred wolf, wanted to gain control during a full moon, which was basically as different of a circumstance as possible.

  Aldric’s comment had convinced him that there was some hope for him, though, and that had given him renewed energy to pursue his research. Earlier that week, he was questioning whether control was ever possible.

  All he’d gained from his search were a few more ideas about meditation, but he wasn’t planning on trying that again. Last time he had, he’d fallen into a nightmare which he would rather not revisit. His only other idea was to repeatedly subjugate himself to the effects of wolfsbane. He could ask Aldric for help to find it, then just take small doses until he learned to maintain control during his transformation.

  “No,” Aldric sighed, crushing Garrick’s new hope with a single word. It wasn’t enough to make Garrick give up – not after what he’d seen. Garrick had recognized Aldric in those eyes – it wasn’t just the wolf. Still, he was discouraged to discover that he wouldn’t get any help from Aldric.

  “You said that purebreds can use wolfsbane to their advantage,” Garrick retorted, trying to pry some information from his alpha.

  “I meant that I can control when I change. That way, I can fight the hunters as a wolf, not human. As a purebred, and with more experience, I can change faster than you, so the window of vulnerability is much shorter.”

  “Oh. But when you’re a wolf, you still…”

  “Can’t control myself, no. And I don’t remember it. Just flashes. It’s like any other transformation.”

  Garrick was crushed. He had finally found a lead, but it vanished within a day. Garrick took solace in the fact that he hadn’t brought the idea to Tyler in too much detail, because his friend would have been devastated as we
ll.

  “Is there some way to control the change?” Garrick desperately clung to his hope.

  “Elliott, you need to give that up. It’s impossible, trust me. I’ve tried, and stronger men have tried as well – yet success has evaded us all.”

  “You tried?” Garrick stuttered, unsure of where to proceed with his question. He had assumed Aldric had always just been accepting of what he was.

  “As a child, I was raised to believe the wolf and I were one, so I assumed that meant I could control it. Throughout my entire life, though, there hasn’t been a single time where that has proven true. Perhaps you and the wolf are just two beings inhabiting the same body.”

  “What did you try?”

  “Everything. Meditating, fighting the change, even spells. For about ten years I became addicted to wolfsbane because I thought that changing when I wanted would eventually make me able to control myself when I was transformed. I tried talking to the wolf as I changed, as if it could understand me.”

  “So, everything I’m doing…”

  “There’s no point. I wish I didn’t have to be so callous, but you’re just causing yourself unnecessary pain by lengthening the change. It’s impressive, Elliott. It’s further than I ever got, but that’s all that it will amount to: a delay.”

  Back to square one, he thought.

  “But I saw you, as a wolf you pushed a knife away from Darren. You thought about it!”

  “Not me. You’ve experienced enhanced senses and wolf-like traits around the full moon, right? Well, when you turn, it has some of your traits – especially if it’s further from a full moon when your body is more human. That’s why the wolf is such a dangerous predator. It’s animalistic, but at times it can almost be rational. Even without rationality, instinct would demand the hunter be disarmed. You’re reading too much into that. Elliott, I know it’s disappointing, and I wish I could give you better news.”