The large man turned his red-cheeked face to his feet to avoid her stare.
“And what about you, Michael? Did you take Raven on a date just a few moons ago? Now, you want to hunt her like an animal? So you go on dates with animals? You like animals romantically since that’s what you are telling me now?”
The young man turned as red as the older man while the people around him chuckled. Even next to me, Sera was giggling. Red might not have fallen for his innocent face after all.
“We are one kingdom of Elder, and we need to remember that,” Red scolded the crowd like they were unruly children. “The moment we forget that makes us the bad guys. Our kingdom will crumble, and it will be our fault. We are stronger than this curse. All of you need to believe that.”
“But what about the guns?” someone near the back yelled. “Why do we have them if we aren’t going to use them?”
Red nodded to the man.
“Yes, I have us stocked well with guns. I worried that the curse could come back, and we need to stay safe. We can’t let the wolves take the children. They are our future. But we also can’t hunt people like animals. The guns are for protecting the city, and that’s it. No one will be leaving with a gun to hunt wolves. If I find anyone has done just that, we will go back to the old punishments.”
Eyes facing Red all bugged out at her words. Elder was a kingdom that was self-sufficient. Most of the time, people traded for what they needed. We didn’t have the latest technology of the other kingdoms, but no one cared. One of the things we really never had was a prison. It was a simple solution. The old punishments were an eye for an eye. If you killed someone, then you forfeited your life. While Red had done away with the laws and allowed people to seek retribution through goods and services, she wasn’t joking when she said she’d reinstate it. I knew it was her last attempt to keep control of the mob, and I hoped it would work.
“I’ve enacted the wards to Azren. Anyone crossing them without first notifying me will be marked and retrieved for everyone’s protection. Stay in the trees and don’t venture into the woods until Micco and I say it is safe. I’m working hard with Micco to find a solution and keep tabs on our wolf population. I will keep you safe as I have been doing my entire life, but to do so, I need you to follow the rules. They are in place for a reason. We’ve survived this before and will again.”
The people stared at her, and a few nodded.
“I have to keep all of Elder safe. It would do you all best to remember that we are all one nation. And remember your friends that have gone home to face the scariest thing in their life. They didn’t ask to be a wolf or to be cursed. All they wanted was to live like everyone else. The wolves you all know are kind and helpful people. I can’t begin to list all the things they’ve done in the past eighteen winters to help the tree people out. Stop acting like they are the enemies. They are our friends, family, and neighbors.”
Red had a presence that commanded everyone to look at her. Not a single face was turned away as she talked. She pulled them all in with her words. Red was serious, and they all knew it.
“Start acting like the people I know you are. Keep track of your children, stay in the trees, and remember that your friends are trying their hardest to keep Elder safe for everyone.”
Red nodded to the crowd, dismissing them. No one said another word as the crowd dispersed back into the trees.
“Did that about sum it all up?” she asked as she turned to Sera and I still standing out of view in the woods.
“I’d say so,” Sera replied as she stepped out of the trees to Red. “But I still wouldn’t trust them.”
Sera shrugged. I didn’t blame her. I didn’t trust them either. Red could scare them and punish them, but that didn’t mean they would do the right thing. I saw their faces. I had seen their anger and their fear. Those two things were enough to make the most decent man change. They would do things they never would normally do if pushed. I just had to hope the wolves stayed in the north, and the tree people stayed in their trees.
Red shrugged back to Sera.
“They have to be given a chance to be good. We both know that. Now how about the two of you come back home and get cleaned up. I have a feeling this isn’t just a friendly visit. You can update me on everything once you get freshened up and fed.”
I nodded to Red as I stepped up beside Sera, who was already walking towards the cottage we grew up in. Things were getting scarier for the wolves. Not only did they have the curse to deal with, but now, also the tree people of Elder who had access to guns. The wolves didn’t stand a chance if the tree people turned on them. We had a lot to discuss and an answer to find, just as soon as we cleaned up and ate like Red ordered us to. It wasn’t quite the welcome home I wanted, but it would have to do.
I wasn’t expecting much, maybe a little awkwardness at being home, but Red went full out. After we cleaned up, she prepared a feast for us. There were carrots, squash, corn, noodles, mash potatoes, fresh bread, lamb, beef in gravy, apple pie, cookies, and a cake. It wasn’t one of our regular supper meals that I grew up on. I felt a little guilty eating so much while the wolves starved, but I wasn’t about to tell Red no. She was more than happy to have both Sera and I home with her; it was a bit strange.
Red was my mother, but she had never been overly motherly. Sera and I were accustomed to helping with meals and doing our share, but Red fussed and made everything herself. I felt like maybe she had been hit on the head and was too crazy to tell us. We’d notice if she went’ crazy, right? I’d hoped so.
We spent the meal making small talk. Mainly our mouths were full, and Sera and I could only get a nod in every now and then to what Red was talking about. As usual, it was nothing personal but just about people around the kingdom she had been talking with for the past couple of days. It seemed the whole of Elder knew the curse was back even though it rarely affected the farmers to the south. It was the gossip of the kingdom.
After we ate, we told Red of everything we had done with Grace. She was as disappointed as we were, but that was all she said. It was dark by then, and Red asked to go to bed early. It was very unlike Red. I had begun to believe as a child that she never slept, that the Red wasn’t allowed to sleep. I had a feeling Red’s powers were fading more than she’d ever admit. I didn’t want to broach the subject and let her go to bed in peace before finding sleep myself after our exhausting day.
13th March
When I woke the next morning, I found Red already awake and in the kitchen cooking. How in the world she thought we needed more food after the feast the night before was beyond me, but I was reassured to see that the faint lines that had marred her face the night before seemed to be gone even if her gray hairs were still there. I searched to see if there were any more signs of her aging, but nothing stood out. Was she getting old because her powers were leaving or because, in fact, she was old? It had been three winters since I last lived at home. That was enough time for her to start going gray.
“Sera is already running the perimeter to make sure no one had the idea to leave town without permission,” Red told me as she continued to cook.
I made my way over to beside her and took the spatula from her hands to take over making the eggs. She nodded to me and then moved to the cupboard to cut up the fruit she had. You couldn’t have traded me anything as a child to get me to help her cook. It was beyond my least favorite chore. I’d offer to do the most tedious tasks in the village to get out of cooking, but after living on my own, I was more than willing to help, now that I knew how much time making meals took up.
“Is she coming back for breakfast?” I asked, eyeing up the abundance of food. Either Sera was returning with an appetite or Red was having guests. That wasn’t unusual. There was always someone who needed her attention.
Red looked up from the fruit she was cutting up and laughed. I stared in shock at her. Red actually laughed. I could count the times I had heard her laugh when I lived under her roof with one hand. I was ba
ck to my theory that she had a serious head injury. My mother never laughed, at least, not that I could remember.
“I guess this is overkill, isn’t it?” Red shrugged and went back to the fruit, making the most perfect little slices. “It’s just you and me.”
I stared at the back of her head more before the crackling noise of the pan brought me back to cooking the eggs. This was more food than Nikkan, and I ate in days, and he had quite the appetite, all wolves did. We both ate a lot, and this was way more. Something was going on.
Red started to hum as she chopped and somehow knew exactly when the eggs were done as she returned to my side with two plates in her hand to scrape the eggs onto. I followed her to the table as she had already placed more food out. Fruit, eggs, bread, pastries from in town, and even sausage. This was a full breakfast, just like dinner had been.
“Are you dying?” I asked.
That was the only thing I could think of that would make Red act so strangely. But that was a stretch. I was pretty sure Red had faced death more times than I could count, and I bet she wasn’t giggling and making a feast.
Red gave me a raised eyebrow. Okay, that was a no. But what else could it be? A head injury should have healed overnight and this was definitely still strange Red.
“Really, Castiel. Death? Is that what it means when your mother makes you a meal and is happy to see you return from the forest, not mauled to death by wolves? Can’t I just be happy to see you alive?”
No, she couldn’t. I had been living on my own for winters now. This wasn’t my first return home safe and sound, and she wasn’t going to convince me otherwise. I crossed my arms as I stared at her from across the table. What game was she playing now?
“Fine,” she replied as she noticed I didn’t buy her explanation. “I asked Sera to stay out of the house while we talked, and I figured food would keep you busy and not interrupting me as I said what I needed to say.”
There was the woman who raised me, calculated and prepared for anything and everything. I still didn’t know why she’d be laughing or happy, but I was getting closer to a reason. Red was always two steps ahead. She had a plan for after her plan, always.
She offered me a pancake I hadn’t even noticed when I sat down and waited for me to take a bite. With my mouth full, she finally spoke.
“I know why you are here. I figured most of it, but Sera filled in the holes this morning.”
Stupid Sera. Why couldn’t she just stay out of things between Red and me? See, we couldn’t get along for even one day without me wanting to strangle her. We certainly weren’t into each other like Grace wished for us to be.
“You think I’m keeping something from you,” Red added, still not eating herself. Instead, she was watching me intensely, reading my every mood, and making calculations about what to do next.
I chewed the piece of pancake in my mouth slowly, so I didn’t have to reply. I didn’t think— I knew. I had known most of my life that Red kept things from me. She always had and always would. That was just how Red worked. We didn’t need to get into another of our famous arguments. It wasn’t the time for that. We needed to work together, and I needed her help. I wished I had taken a bigger bite. This was going to be one of those conversations.
I tried my best not to let her words get to me. When wasn’t Red keeping something from me? My whole life was her telling me just what she thought I should know — everything else I had to learn on my own. Thankfully, I had Micco and Nikkan to help me, or I’d be wholly dependant on Red. That was probably what she wanted.
“I know I haven’t been the best mother, but you have to understand being a mother wasn’t something I ever expected to be. I was raised to be the Red. When I was chosen, my parents were so glad that they had another child, knowing that my life would be short and full of danger. They needed a child that would give them grandchildren and take care of them in their old age. I wasn’t going to be that. I certainly didn’t have time to find love and start a family. That isn’t part of the job description for being the Red.”
That explained much. My grandparents weren’t part of our lives. In fact, my mother rarely even spoke to them, and they lived in Azren. I never really gave it much thought as Red was a busy person, but being that they tossed her aside when she was chosen, that would explain why she wasn’t close with them. I didn’t entirely blame her for that.
“I have always done this parenting thing as best as I could. I’m sorry I told you not to see the wolves. I know how much they mean to you. Is Nikkan okay? You didn’t mention him yesterday.”
I grabbed my juice to wash down my food so I could reply. I was so intent on doing my best to eat and keep my mouth shut to keep the conversation going that I wasn’t prepared when I’d needed to respond.
“He’s doing fine, I guess. He’s having one of his fits and ignoring me right now.”
Red nodded. She understood that pretty well. Nikkan had been part of my life as far back as I could remember.
“You know how he gets,” I added as I reached for a piece of fruit that would be quicker to swallow if she needed another answer.
“He’ll get over it, eventually,” she replied, and I nodded.
Nikkan had been moody as long as I had known him. Red understood that well. There had always been visits to the wolf village where I would beg to go home early because Nikkan got into one of his moods. It had been better over the last few seasons since he had decided to spend more time as a wolf. That was probably what made him so moody. He was never good about separation from his animal, and his animal wasn’t happy to be caged in a house or a village.
“Well, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to keep you from them. I shouldn’t have tried to divide you just like our people are doing. I let fear take over and wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Fear?” I choked out my question.
Red refilled my juice glass, and I gulped it down. Red didn’t have fear. That came with the magical powers of being the Red. She was our leader. People feared her, but she never feared anything. She was stronger, quicker, and smarter than anything that might attack her or the village. She was our hero.
“I know you can see that Sera is coming into her Red powers. As hers grow, mine fade.”
I nodded. I had seen that much, even if she had never admitted it before.
“And you are what I’ll have left when my powers are gone. I was afraid to lose you to the wolves. You’ve always preferred them over the village, and I was afraid you’d be bitten and become one of them. That I’d lose you.”
I stared in shock at her. Red never seemed to care where I was one way or another, growing up. She didn’t even stop me from moving out winters ago. I didn’t actually think she cared if I stuck around Azren or not.
“I wasn’t supposed to outlive being the Red,” she continued. “Every other one died before they aged. I’m not prepared to get old. And now, I finally see that I don’t want to lose you. I thought I was fine with you growing up, but I’m not. I miss those winters when it was just you and me. I miss the winters where you thought I was so magical and you looked up to me. They went by so fast. I’m just not ready to let go even though I know you are all grown up.”
Red was staring at her food as she bit her lip. I didn’t know how to respond. Red was a leader outside and inside her home. She never showed fear or weakness. She always had an answer, and she always did what was right. I did look up to her when I was a child and secretly still did. This wasn’t a side I knew how to handle.
I stood up and walked around the table. I bent down and put my arms around the lady that raised me as best she could. Red looked up at me with tears in her eyes before blinking them away while giving me a tentative smile. I sat down next to her now, hoping that she would continue to be honest with me. The bridge she built between the tree people and the wolves might have crumbled, but what we were making now would last. I just knew it.
“I feel like such a hypocrite,” Red continued talking on
ce I was seated. “I’m here trying to get the tree villagers to be good to the wolves, and I haven’t been. I sent them all back and then tried to keep you from helping them. I’ve failed the wolves and you too. But I’m not going to do that now. I know we are stronger as one kingdom together rather than apart. We are one people, even if the people of Azren don’t see that right now.”
I smiled at her. My strong, resilient mother was back.
“Sera explained to me that she thinks I’m holding back, not helping on purpose. What you both need to understand is that while I’ve kept details to myself, I’ve never kept anything back that might help us defeat the curse.”
“Then what are you holding back?” I wasn’t trying to start a fight. I honestly wanted to know what she thought should be kept from me.
Red looked across the room to the open doorway.
“I suppose you want to hear this, too,” she called out to someone.
Sera grinned as she stepped into the view of the doorway. She had been sitting outside, and I wasn’t sure how long. I was listening too hard to Red. Obviously, Red had noticed.
I did my best not to glare at Sera as she entered the cottage. This was the first time in a long time that I had connected with Red. I kind of didn’t want to share right now.
“Eighteen winters ago, I was barely older than you two are both right now.”
Sera joined us at the table and took my previous seat. She reached over to grab a cinnamon bun as Red talked. I did my best to ignore her.
“The curse was in full swing, and almost all the wolves that still spent time as humans were cursed. The curse seemed to hit some time after puberty but wasn’t quite as devastating to their health as this round appears to be. Even though they were healthier last time, they were still the monsters people fear now. Wolves would spend each night roaming the woods and killing anything they could find. Any human or animal wasn’t safe. It was a different time.
Throne of Night Page 3