Seeing Red Ferret begin to advance on her, she asked, “What do you mean my true form?”
Stopping in mid-stride at her question, a look of confusion crossing his half-human face; it was almost as if he could not believe that she didn’t know what he meant. Red Ferret spoke slowly. “You are the emissary of evil, the one foretold in the legend of the Chosen One.”
Raising her left eyebrow, Tatianna racked her brain for the legend he was referring to. She had never heard of an emissary of evil; not in any of the legends she had ever read or heard. Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion she asked, “What do you mean? What emissary of evil?”
“You mock me! You know the legend!” Taking a step toward, Red Ferret raised his hands threateningly.
Shaking her head from side to side, she unconsciously scooted backwards. Wincing in pain with the movement of her body, Tatianna blurted out through clenched teeth. “I assure you, I don’t know of any legend that talks of an emissary of evil.”
Red Ferret stopped moving but he was only about three feet away, well within his striking range. Squatting down, a slight shiver ran up his body as he returned to his human form. “You really don’t know of any legends referring to the emissary of evil?”
Seeing him change into human form, Tatianna thought to herself, ‘That’s a good sign. But I must keep him talking until I can figure something out.’
Looking into his dark eyes, she shook her head. Using her sweetest and most submissive voice, “No, I don’t. Would you tell me about it?”
Rubbing his chin for a moment, Red Ferret grinned. It was not a comforting grin; it was the smile of a predator taking his time before killing his prey.
‘It’s not the warm smile of Hawkeye or the friendly smile of Bravefoot or even the fatherly smile of Anasazi but it’s a smile and that’s better than nothing.’
Sitting down cross-legged on the snow-covered ground, Red Ferret looked to the heavens as if searching for the right words. A moment later, he began his story. “After Luna brought my ancestors to this land, she left us. Some say there was another battle with the Arachne in which both the gods and the Arachne were imprisoned. I don’t know if I believe that but I do know something took Luna away from us for we have been unable to directly contact her for many years.”
Tatianna knew this was true but chose not to interrupt Red Ferret. She just nodded her head slightly and listened intently.
“Many years passed and the prophecy of the Chosen One grew. All members of the Highland Nation hoped and prayed that their pack or tribe would be the one chosen by Luna to have her son. For he would be the one that would right the wrongs done to this world and would bring Luna back. This would bring great honor to his tribe.”
Picking up a stick, Red Ferret began to draw a circle in the snow.
“But Terreth was not created by Luna or her sisters. Hyperion, Nox and Terra created it; they knew the true secret of the universe.” Pausing, Red Ferret glanced around at the silent snow covered forest. Lowering his voice, he whispered, “And so do I. Would you like to know the true secret of the universe?”
Again he paused, this time he studied Tatianna. She was cradling her left arm close to her body, while her breathing was shallow and ragged from her broken ribs. Pain was written all over her beautiful face. Unmoved by sympathy, Red Ferret moved closer, his voice taking on a harder edge. “Would you like to know the secret?”
The odor of fresh blood and unwashed fur wafted through the small space between them. Forcing herself not to gag at the smell, Tatianna nodded her head. Anything to keep him talking. Just then, a slight sound reached her sharp elven ears. It sounded like a twig snapping.
Red Ferret, seeming not to hear it, rubbed his hands together in excitement as he leaned backwards slightly. “The true secret of the universe is actually very simple. In all things, there must be a balance.”
Proudly and with an air of arrogance, he pointed at the circle he had drawn in the snow.
Glancing down, Tatianna noticed it resembled the ancient symbol of the Dhyana; three teardrops chasing each other inside a circle. It was known throughout Terreth as the sign of the balance.
Red Ferret continued. “You cannot have light without darkness, or good without evil, or right without wrong. Everything must have a balance. So, if we are to have a great warrior known as the Chosen One to fight on the side of good, don’t we have to have one that will fight on the side of evil?”
Tatianna thought about that for a moment. There was a crazy logic to Red Ferret’s story but something was not right in his reasoning. Trying her best to keep him talking, she looked deep into his brown eyes. “Red Ferret, I’m curious. What makes you think I’m the Emissary of Evil?”
As Red Ferret stared back into her blue eyes, he felt something stir in his soul. His mind began to race with doubt. A little voice deep inside his head spoke to him. ‘What if you are wrong? What if she’s not the Emissary? Or better yet, how can she be the Emissary if she is to be the mother of the Chosen One?’
Red Ferret stood up quickly. His eyes were wide and his movement’s jerky as he quickly glanced around the surrounding forest. Seeing nothing but trees and the white snow he calmed slightly. Turning back to his fallen prey, he studied the beautiful elf. Something the voice had said seemed to make sense. Scratching his chin, he shook his head to clear it of such doubts, he was sure she was the Emissary.
The voice came again. ‘Are you sure she is the Emissary? What if you’re wrong?’
Raising his hands high overhead, he yelled into the forest. “No, she is the Emissary and that means she must die!”
Tatianna’s voice soft and calm cut through the cold evening air. “But how do you know I’m the Emissary?”
Calming quickly, Red Ferret glanced down at her. Furrowing his brow, he answered her question. “You fit the description. The prophecy of the Emissary goes like this: When the Darkness returns from whence it was banished and the Gods are helpless to act, beware of the South. For an Emissary of Evil will come in the guise of a friend, stealing itself into the heart of the Chosen One and his people. Part warrior, part wizard and all rogue, the Emissary will be the true offspring of Darkness; fair of sight and foul of soul. The Emissary will betray the Nine and play a pivotal role in the final battle that will seal the fate of Terreth for all eternity.”
Rubbing his hands together, Red Ferret shifted back into his hybrid form. “Well, my dear, it’s been lovely but I’m afraid that for the betterment of the Highland Nation, I have to kill you.”
Tatianna tried to concentrate. She wanted to call on the magic at her disposal but she just couldn’t concentrate. The pain in her arm and ribs were just too much.
Reaching down with both hands, Red Ferret grabbed her around the neck. His grip felt like a vise as he lifted her off the ground. Tatianna couldn’t breathe, she felt the blackness of eternity hovering on the edge of consciousness but each passing second allowed it to come closer and closer. With her good arm, she repeatedly hit Red Ferret. But in her weakened condition, they could not stop his hands as they squeezed tighter and tighter.
She was just about to black out when she was thrown violently to the side. Landing hard, pain race through her body but the pain jolted her back to consciousness. Looking up, she saw the hybrid form of Red Ferret engaged with a large black raven, Corax the Black Arrow had arrived!
The initial jolt of pain to her body had caused her to regain consciousness but now the pain in her arm and ribs were almost overwhelming. Her mind was beginning to slow down. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and forget about the pain. She was just about to give in to the coolness of unconsciousness when she heard a soothing voice in her head.
‘If you pass out now, you will be helpless. You will become a prize for the victor. Is that what you truly want?’
The thought of being someone’s prize angered her and drove the blackness from her mind. The only thought that she had at all was getting to safety. Gritting her teeth at th
e pain, she crawled further from the fight and cursed herself the whole way. “Damn it, Tatianna! Move your ass! You didn’t survive being chased by Blackfang by giving up! Now, crawl!”
She crawled and scooted for what seemed like hours, which were actually only a few minutes. The distance, which seemed so great to Tatianna, was in reality only about twenty yards. Positioning her back to the truck of an extremely large fir tree, she turned back to watch the fight between the two warlords.
Corax the Black Arrow had shifted into his hybrid form. This gave him the size advantage but Red Ferret had the advantage of speed. Corax’s head was somewhere between that of a man’s and that of a raven’s, with human eyes and a beak of a raven. His beak was large and sharp, which he used to snap and peck at Red Ferret’s head. At first, it seemed as if neither could gain the advantage on the other. For every attack Red Ferret made, Corax was able to block or counter with his own attack. And the same could be said for Red Ferret. Neither warlord could gain a true advantage.
Then it happened, Corax used his large wings to flick some snow in Red Ferret’s eyes. As the Fox warlord paused briefly to clear his eyes, Black Arrow attacked with his large beak and razor sharp talons. Latching onto Red Ferret’s shoulder with his beak, he raked Red Ferret’s stomach with his talons causing large gashes to open up. Blood began to pour onto the already stained snow covered ground. Howling in pain and fury, Red Ferret did the one thing Corax didn’t expect. He shifted fully into his fox form. Red Ferret’s shift caught Corax off guard, causing him to loosen his hold on the slippery warlord. Red Ferret didn’t miss his chance and he sprinted off into the nearby brush.
With a loud squawk, Corax gave chase. To Tatianna, who watched from a slight distance, it was almost comical. A six-foot half-man half-bird chasing a small red fox around a snow covered clearing. That’s when the tide of the battle shifted.
Black Arrow was so intent in his rage to catch the slippery fox that he had not shifted to either of his two more mobile forms. His large talons, while great for rending flesh, weren’t the best for traction. As he chased Red Ferret toward a large pine tree, flapping his wings and squawking the whole way, Corax tripped. The disgraced fox chieftain had led him right toward a large root that stuck out of the ground. In his rage, Corax had failed to see it and stumbled over it. Falling face first into the snow, he slid until he ran into the base of the tree. Red Ferret didn’t pass up this opportunity. Leaping from the trunk of the tree, about fifteen feet up, he shifted into his full human form about halfway down. Landing on Corax’s back with all of his weight, a resounding snap echoed through the quiet forest. Corax screamed once and then fell silent forever.
Calmly stepping off of the dead warlord, Red Ferret looked around the quiet battleground. Blood still flowing from his wounds, yet he didn’t seem to notice. He was searching for something. When his eyes spied Tatianna, they froze. A slight grin crossing his face, he began to move toward her.
Drawing out her dagger, she knew it was her only hope. She was too weak to use her sword and in too much pain for the concentration needed for the use of magic.
Mustering as strong a voice as possible, Tatianna shouted, “Stay away! I don’t want to kill you but I will if you force me too!”
Red Ferret just laughed as he slowly closed the ten yards between them. His hands slowly came up into a threatening position. “Give it up witch. You cannot win. I’ll make it as quick and painless as possible. It is my destiny to kill you. I will become a hero for killing the Emissary of Evil. The one foretold those many years ago.”
Five yards away.
Three yards.
One yard.
Tatianna attacked. Throwing her dagger with all of the force she could muster, it flew end over end, racing towards its target with deadly accuracy. Right before it reached Red Ferret’s throat, a mere inch away, he reacted. Moving his head to the side, he batted the deadly projectile to the side with his hand.
Red Ferret laughed. “Very good. I wasn’t expecting that from you. Good, but futile. Now you will die!” Reaching down, he grabbed her once more by the throat and began to squeeze.
Tatianna felt the blackness coming back once again. This time there would be no one to save her. She was about to pass out when that soothing voice came back.
‘It seems that I will have to interfere after all. You are too important for the future of Terreth to let you perish now.’
Tatianna didn’t understand what the voice meant or who it was, all she knew was the crushing grip, the strain of trying to breathe without the use of her throat, the intense pain in her arm, neck and ribs and the fast closing in darkness.
Suddenly she could breathe as the crushing grip relaxed and the strong hands fell away. Looking up, she noticed something odd about Red Ferret. There was a two-foot horn sticking out of the front of his chest. She didn’t remember him having a horn. Shaking her head to clear it, she looked back. Sure enough, there was a large ivory horn sticking out of his chest.
The spiral horn was covered in blood, yet even that couldn’t mar its beauty. Red Ferret’s hands weakly pulled at the protrusion and his mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. Trembling, Tatianna watched in fascination as Red Ferret went flying through the air to land in a heap several yards away. But she never saw where he landed; her eyes were transfixed on the beautiful creature standing in front of her.
Tatianna had heard legends of these creatures, everyone had but no one she had ever known or heard of had ever seen one. Her savior was a beautiful snow white unicorn!
Tatianna stared in awe at the majestic creature. Letting her eyes roam across his body, she absorbed the raw power and grace of this creature out of legends. He was larger than any horse Tatianna had ever seen. His heavily muscular frame was covered in a brilliant snow white coat with not a single blemish or scar marring its smooth surface. His mane and tail were silvery white and hung long, almost to the ground. Tatianna couldn’t see a single briar or knot in either mane or tail. His eyes were dark, like that of a typical horse but they held the glint of wisdom. On his chin was a silver-white beard that looked neatly combed. Of course, his most striking feature was his horn. Centered in the middle of his forehead, the two-foot long ivory horn was shaped in a perfect spiral ending in a sharp point. Midway down the spiral, it was stained red with the blood of Red Ferret.
Tatianna’s attention was drawn back to its eyes as his soothing voice echoed once more in her mind. *Greetings Tatianna Amarth, I am glad you survived.*
Reminding herself to breathe, she quickly nodded her head and said, “Thank you for your assistance great one. I don’t think I would’ve survived without your timely intervention.”
Backing up a few paces, the mighty Unicorn nodded his head. *I agree.* Pointing with his horn at the corpse of Red Ferret. *I just regret having to kill that one. He was not truly evil, just misguided.*
Tatianna could feel the remorse in his tone. Nodding her head in agreement, she moved slightly to the left to get a better view of the magnificent Unicorn. Wincing in pain at the moment of her body, she groaned slightly.
*You are injured. Let me help you. Just relax, it’ll be okay.*
Taking a step closer, the mighty Unicorn leaned his head down until he touched his long horn to the center of Tatianna’s chest. A brilliant white light slowly flowed out of his horn to encompass her whole body. Tatianna felt a strange warmth flow over her body. There wasn’t any pain but she could feel the broken bones in her arm and ribs realigning themselves. While the cuts, bruises and scrapes she had suffered also began to heal. Even the scar on her face, began to fade. The unicorn held his horn over Tatianna’s chest for several minutes, while the warm glow roamed freely over her body, searching out any injury or disease that she might have suffered. When she was fully healed, the unicorn leaned away and the white light faded, leaving the small clearing to the rapidly darkening skies.
Standing, Tatianna flexed her arm, no pain. She rotated her torso, no pain; she didn’t eve
n feel the fatigue she expected to have after her long flight and fight. Looking incredulously at the beautiful unicorn she said, “Thank you. I don’t know what you did, but thank you!”
The Unicorn bowed his massive head. *You are welcome*
Walking quickly up to the unicorn, she knelt down in front of him. “Oh great horned one, how can I ever repay my debt to you? First, you save me and then heal me. What can one, such as I, do for you?”
She could hear his laughter in her head. *Your thanks is enough. But if you insist, there is something you can do for me.*
Lifting her head up, she stared into his dark eyes. “Anything, name your price.”
Nickering at her remark, the mighty Unicorn turned his head so she was looking into his left eye. *Anything?*
Raising one eyebrow, Tatianna’s tone turned cold. “Anything, within reason.”
She began the early process of casting a spell, reciting the incantation in her mind and readying the spell component in her right hand. She really didn’t want to fight the beautiful unicorn, by all accounts it was a creature on the side of good but if he wanted her son, then he would be in for the fight of his life.
The mighty Unicorn pranced around slightly at her tone.
*I see the gods have chosen well. You would die before letting anyone take your child. I can see that in your eyes.* Moving back a few steps, he shook his head. *Nay, it’s nothing like that. I would just like for you to spend the night with me. There is much we can learn from each other.*
Tatianna visibly relaxed at the unicorn’s request. “I would be honored to accompany you tonight but first, I must take care of the fallen.”
*I understand and agree but you better hurry. These woods are no longer safe. Trolls and worse prowl them at night. The sun will be behind the mountains within the hour and we need to be long gone from here by then. The smell of blood hangs heavy in the air. Every predator within five miles will be here soon.*
Tales of the Wolf: Book 01 - The Coming of the Wolf Page 32