by T. J. Hunter
Chapter 22
It wasn’t long before more wolves emerged from the trees. They stared us down with their backs hunched forward, noses curled, and teeth ready to attack. We formed a defensive circle in the center of the clearing readying ourselves for their attack and didn’t have wait long. The wolf leader began walking slowly and stopped ten feet in front of Thyzil.
“Little boss doggy scared to play?” Thyzil asked, taunting the wolf while shifting his claymore from hand to hand, all the while grinning.
The wolf snarled and lunged forward. Thyzil stood still and swung his sword in one quick motion pivoting in a circle. His sword was glowing blue-white and dripped with blood as two halves of the wolf fell to the ground. Thyzil had severed the charging wolf clean through its mid section. The lifeless head of the wolf still had its eyes open and showing its teeth. Each halve then turned into fiery ambers.
The other wolves went silent and looked at their former leader burning into ashes. A few started growling and soon the others joined in. Here it comes. I pointed my staff it at the closest wolves and said, “Raza zitum.” Blue-white saw discs swirled around my staff stone and I pushed it forward and said, “Aktum.” The saws shot into the wolves with deadly force, and like a hot knife cutting through butter, the saws zigzagged in and out of the wolves dismembering their heads and limbs. The wolves howled in agony as they turned into piles of ashes, and after a couple dozen were dusted, the saws flickered and disappeared.
Alura continued firing sliver hollow point bullets in rapid succession until all her clips were empty. She holstered the pistols and pulled both swords out from her back strap while somersaulting in the air, slicing away into the pack. More ambers rose into the sky and the wolves cut by Alura’s glowing swords piled up on one another, all of them burning to ashes. She landed on her feet and started running into more wolves slicing and dicing them without so much as getting a single scratch.
Wolves were howling trying to retreat as Thyzil swung his claymore mercilessly in all directions cutting down anything in its path. He could move almost as quickly as Alura, which surprised me given how large he is. While Thyzil may be a little slower than Alura, and not as agile, he was a wrecking machine that could not be stopped once started. He cut through two and three wolves with single blows throwing their burning body parts into the air as if they were weightless. The remaining wolves still breathing disappeared quickly into the forest and Thyzil raised his glowing claymore above his head in victory.
“Not easy fighting Zeshtune warriors. Come back soon doggies. I bring death to you.”
“Did I ever tell you how much I appreciate you Thyzil?” I asked.
Thyzil laughed. “Yes, always wizard. Well, not in words, but I know how you feel.”
Alura and I laughed so hard our eyes teared up as the three of us came together and placed our hands on each other’s shoulder to form a victory circle.
“Not bad. Not bad at all,” I said, impressed with our team work, and happy to still be alive.
“You have come a long way since Harvard brother.”
Alura was right. Being Azul was much more exciting than Professor Jonathan Willington, albeit considerably more dangerous. Azul was also easier to say and sounds cool.
I smiled and said, “Azul … master wizard of Zeshtune, brother of Alura, and friend of the great warrior Thyzil. Now that’s an introduction no one could refuse.”
At first Alura and Thyzil just looked at each other grinning. A moment later we all burst out laughing again.
“Okay ‘master wizard’, let’s get going before those wolves double back on us.” Alura said, still laughing, but in a more sarcastic tone.
“There are more stars ahead than behind us,” I said. “That means we have a way to go before reaching the center of the forest.”
I looked ahead to the tree line and saw two paths. Divide and conquer came to mind. Moon obviously created the paths to separate his visitors, or more accurately his captives, and make them more vulnerable to being hunted.
“Wizard, you and Alura take right path. I take left path. Simple plan, yes?”
Simple perhaps, but was it smart?
It would have been unlikely Thyzil could have survived the attack we just won if he was alone – none of us would. If separated, we would be doing exactly what Moon wanted us to do. On the other hand, Moon has demonstrated a capacity for making errors in his calculations before, so maybe it’s not as dangerous as it appears. After all, I’m sure Moon never faced off with two Zeshtune warriors and a wizard during his hunting experiences. Even if he did, taking both paths increases the chances of finding the hostages, and this was a priority.
Hmm … Moon did have three headless Zeshtune warriors inside the arena. Maybe I’m being too confident, but there was no real choice, so onward and forward to victory or death.
“Okay Thyzil, we’ll do it your way.”
I noticed Thyzil was looking strangely at me and he frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Wizard, you look not so good.”
My magical energy was nearly depleted and I suddenly felt weak. I leaned on my staff trying to catch my breath, but to no avail, and the amulet on top of my staff barely emitted any light. I took out a green magic coin from my wizard bag and crushed in on the ground and said, “Relesa.” Green light rose from the ground, swirled around me from head to toe, and replenished my strength.
I felt magical energy surging through my entire body. My necklace and ring amulets glowed brightly for a few moments before dimming as the green light disappeared. My staff amulet was glowing brightly again and the exhaustion I had felt left me.
“Wow, that was interesting, in a very odd way. It was like drinking a gallon of espresso. No … it was better than espresso.”
My eyes popped out as if I had too much caffeine and Alura and Thyzil laughed.
“You look better wizard,” Thyzil said.
“Keep a check on your energy level brother. All this magic is still new to you and your body is adjusting.”
That was the first time I used one of the green magic coins. I needed one when fighting Lupzarro, but was separated from my wizard and couldn’t get to it. Luckily, Thyzil destroyed the fur ball, and after a few hours of rest on Keob, I was as good as new.
“Yea, I’ll keep a check on things. By the way, the light from the coin was green. I thought everything involving magic had a blue-white color.”
“The green coins are a healing power and derived from the Earth,” Alura said. “The magic collects power and delivers it to your organic system, thus restoring your strength. Only pure Zeshtunian magic has a blue-white color since it originates from the entire universe.”
“Will it work on you and Thyzil?”
“Nope, it only works on you Mr. Wizard. Since you are filled with natural magic, there is not much distinction between your organic and magic composition, thus your body strengthens and your magic restores.”
“Nothing is simple, is it?”
Alura smirked. “Get over it brother, you think too much. At least you can restore your energy. Thyzil and I have to check into Sarila’s medical facility if hurt badly enough, so count your blessings.”
Good point. I had instant get up and go magic, so green, blue, or any other color was irrelevant. As an extra bonus, I now have a backup should I ever run out of coffee.
“Alright then, shall we part company and venture forward?” I asked.
We embraced each other and agreed to meet back at the clearing in six hours. If the hostages have been separated, it would be more difficult to find them in this maze of trees and traps. Six hours may not be enough, but we had to stay positive and believe we’d find the hostages.
Destroying Moon and his fur ball partners was a high priority, but it wasn’t as high a priority as saving three humans from death, or worst, from being transformed into wolfs. Once the hostages were safe, we would find and destroy the freakin fur balls, even if it was the last thing w
e ever do.
Thyzil ran down the path he had chosen. The path Alura and I took was covered with less treetops and the moonlight from above produced enough light to see without help from my staff.
“Sure looks like a real moon, don’t you think?”
“Keep quiet Azul. We don’t want to give away our position.”
Like the wolfs don’t already know where we are. I bet Moon was watching us on a monitor right now and placing bets with his partners on who will die first.
The tall trees and thick bushes on each side of the path presented some risk because it would be difficult to get through it if needed. Only forward or backward on the path was possible and that made for an ambush all the more a real possibility.
Alura followed my lead with both swords held at her sides. I guess the narrow path made it difficult to manage her Desert Eagles, but then again, she did like to mix things up to keep her skills sharp. The further along the path, the more she cautiously swept her eyes side to side. We walked quickly, but not carelessly.
Rustling in the brush meant what was left of the wolves were still following us. They would probably have attacked again if not for Thyzil killing their wolf leader so easily, not to mention seeing so many from their pack dusted. Thinking this, however, did not make me any less diligent to remain on guard.
As Alura and I rounded a bend in the path, we saw another small clearing with a cabin, which was different from the first one. This cabin had smoke coming from the chimney and a light shinned from inside, meaning that someone or something was home.
We approached the cabin with the same caution as before and peered into the window. There was someone rocking in a chair facing a fire burning in the fireplace. It looked like an old women with long white hair.
“How in the world is someone still alive down here?” I muttered.
“Probably not human,” Alura said.
We opened the unlocked door and slowly entered. The cabin had only one room with a rocking chair. A long chain bolted into the stone fireplace strung across the floor and was shackled around the old women’s ankle. She was rocking back and forth making what sounded like soft crying sounds.
Alura and I approached the old women from opposite sides. When we got in front of her, we saw she had physical deformities: pointed ears, nose extended, fingers elongated with black nails, and yellow eyes. There was blood all over her shoulder where deep puncture marks were oozing with a yellowish liquid. She was transforming into a wolf.
“Ma’am, can you hear me?” I asked.
The women didn’t show any sign that she knew we were in the cabin. She kept rocking back and forth as her yellow eyes reflected brightly against the light from the fire.
“Ma’am, we are here to help you?” I said and the old women stopped rocking, then she moved her eyes up to meet mine.
“Help me? No one can help me,” she said with an almost inhuman voice. “No one can help you either. There is only death here … only death … only death.”
The women turned back to the fireplace and began rocking again.
“She does not have much more time before transformation is complete,” Alura said. “There is nothing we can do here Azul. We must go.”
“There must be something we can do. Anything.”
“No Azul, the bite from a lycanthrope is incurable for humans. Once bitten, transformation into a wolf is completed very quickly.”
“Death … there is only death here,” the old women kept repeating.
“Alura, we can’t just leave her here like this.”
“Yes, we can. We can’t kill her because she is still partly human and you know our law and obligation to never harm humans. We have no choice but to leave her here. Stay focused brother, there are hostages to think about and little time remains before we are to meet Thyzil back at the clearing.”
Looking at the women transforming into a wolf was surreal. Who was she and how did she get here? Did she have loved ones, children, and a home? There are no words to fully describe how these poor victims must suffer.
Zeshtune law prohibited harming humans in any way – I knew that. If the old women completed the transformation, we could kill the wolf, but full transformation may be a couple of hours away. Even so, if there was any chance to save the three hostages from a similar fate, we had to leave.
Alura and I stepped out of the cabin and shut the door behind us. She put her hand on my shoulder and told me it’s never easy to see such horrible things.
“Brother, every time I see something like this, I want to end their torture. Laws of our people have survived through the ages and are protected by our high council. Our laws draw a line between good and evil, the light and the dark. If we break any of the laws, the dark wins. It is not easy, but very necessary if humans and Zeshtunians are to survive.”
I frowned. “Yea, it’s not easy at all, but I understand. Let’s get going.”
Alura and I stepped off the cabin porch and a light turned on a few feet ahead of us. It was a small notebook computer and the screen had numbers counting down in hours, minutes, and seconds. I picked the notebook up and the screen flickered showing Moon and the young girl hostage.
“Ah, Mr. Zane. I see you have meet Mrs. Williams who is also one of my honored guests. Forgive her appearance. My partner lost control earlier in the day, and as you can see … well, she is a good example of what might happen to this young child should you not save her in time.”
“Moon, if you harm a single hair on that child’s head …”
“Really Mr. Zane, you have already announced your intentions to destroy me on more than one occasion. You don’t believe another threat will make any difference, do you?”
Moon was holding all the cards. He was a monster and killing a little girl would mean nothing to him. She was only a pawn in his sick game to lure me into a trap.
“Alright, what do you want?”
Moon smirked and his image grew larger on the computer screen.
“You already know Mr. Zane. I want you. Your friends, this girl, and her parents are merely my desert. You are the main course Mr. Zane.”
“Why don’t you just tell me where you are so we can settle this once and for all?”
“I am afraid that would not be very sporting of me, and I do enjoy our little game. After all, I did promise you a chance for survival, as small as it might be. I even left you this computer showing exactly how long you have before this child falls to the same fate as Mrs. Williams.”
Moon’s image disappeared and the timer continued counting down on the computer screen. It showed two hours and 23 minutes. Moon’s voice then sounded from behind the countdown screen.
“Tick tock Mr. Zane, tick tock.”
I synchronized my watch to match the computer countdown and then threw the computer it into a tree, smashing it to pieces.
Only a couple of hours to save the girl and her parents. I don’t know where to begin … she could be anywhere.
Alura walked over to the smashed PC and said, “I have an idea. Moon probably wasn’t the one who handled this PC, but someone near him did.”
“And that is important?” I asked her.
“Maybe, if the handler wasn’t using gloves and touched the computer, there might be DNA residue on it. If there is enough, you may be able to create a tracking spell.”
“Tracking spells were not part of my training back on Keob. Do you know how to make one?”
“No, but Kyiel does. He can show you.”
With all the fighting, I had forgotten all about Kyiel. He could be summoned anywhere, anytime, even down in this hell-hole. I focused my mind and said, “Aptier Kyiel,” and he appeared a few feet in front of me.
“Man, am I glad to see you,” I said and nearly fell on my face after trying to embrace him and spreading his molecules into the air.
“Sorry, I forgot.”
Kyiel always knew what was going on since his conscience was linked to mine, so I skipped over all the detail
s.
“Kyiel, I need you to show me how to cast a tracking spell. All we have is this broken computer and we’re hoping Moon or someone near him left some DNA on it.”
Kyiel told me to gather a handful of dirt and cover the computer with it. After I did this, he told me to place my right hand on the dirt and say trako three times. He said I would have to concentrate hard because DNA from mere touching something was not a strong connection, like a personal item or blood would be.
I placed my hand on top of the dirt and said, “Trako, trako, trako,” and nothing happened.
“Try again Azul, with greater concentration,” Kyiel instructed.
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and again said trako three times. I was startled when an electrical charge made a white flash and then watched as the dirt gathered into a small pile on top of the broken computer. After another flash, the dirt turned white and glowed as bright as my staff amulet.
“It is done,” Kyiel said. “Now, pick up the dirt and put it in your wizard bag except for a small amount to begin tracking.”
“Okay, now what?”
“Raise the dirt in your hand to you mouth and blow it toward the trees.”
I did as Kyiel instructed and the dirt sparkled as it lifted up in a stream and slowly moved toward the trees. There were three paths this time and the dirt moved down the center path vanishing out of sight.
“You can repeat the same procedure as needed until the dirt is gone.”
Wow, pretty cool magic. I use to get in trouble as a kid when playing in dirt, but right now, dirt was my best friend.
I thanked Kyiel and told him he could go. He bowed his head ready to disappear, but then paused and looked at the cabin.
“The old woman is no longer human,” he said. “She is still chained to the chair and has some human features, but her spirit is gone. Only the wolf remains.”
Alura grimaced. “I’ll take care of this brother. Wait here.”
Alura went inside the cabin and closed the door. I heard growls and the chain thrashing on the wooden floor. There was a swoosh sound and then complete silence. Alura exited the cabin and placed her sword in the sheath on her back, then walked toward the center path without saying a word. Her eyes didn’t have any tears because she was filled with anger.
“Thanks again Kyiel,” I said and he bowed his head and disappeared.
I pointed my staff forward and followed Alura to the center path while thinking how she always came through in dire situations – she is amazing. Alura looked back at me with a big smile letting me know my thoughts were understood. There she goes again with her mind reading. She shook her head and let out a little laugh.
We came to a few more paths along the way and I repeated the tracking spell sending sparkling dirt to point the way. My watch showed the counter had only 12 minutes remaining, but I sensed we were getting closer. Moon’s continued ability to miscalculate combined with my tracking spell will give me the advantage. How much of an advantage I may actually have or need was unknown.
More rustling in the woods continued on both sides of the path as wolfs watched and followed. As long as Moon wasn’t being tipped off by his four legged friends, he’ll be surprised when I show up – I was counting on it. The element of surprise could be the difference between being the hunter or the hunted, and there was no doubt which one I wanted to be.
We continued walking for ten minutes before coming to another clearing. As we got closer, I saw a barn next to a cottage and stone well with a crank handle and wooden pale. I have to give credit to Moon for being able to accurately reproduce 16th century English settings, which is nothing compared to the engineering required to create an arena 500 feet below the surface. Who would have thought that lycanthropes were so capable?
We pushed forward. Everything was eerily still, even the crickets were silent. The hairs on my neck warned me certain danger lurked ahead, so I was hopeful the two minutes we had remaining might just be enough to save the day. Alura pointed to me and then the barn. I nodded and headed toward the barn and Alura entered the cottage.
An old kerosene lantern hanging from a post lit up most of the barn’s inside revealing bales of hay and animal stalls. I checked each stall, ready for an ambush, but they were all empty. As I was leaving to join Alura in the house, I thought I heard something and stopped to listen. There, I heard it again. It sounded like rustling, but this time it wasn’t coming from the trees – it was coming from inside the barn. I slowly moved toward the back of the barn and the noise stopped, but I kept moving to where it had originated. Something was definitely here.