Fire

by Cheryl Twaddle

  Chapter 5

  Max and Howling Wolf

  Max tried to close his eyes one more time. He needed sleep, his body begged for it. If he could just lose himself in his mind, become separated from reality, maybe he could recharge his body and continue to endure the torture. His eyes closed and the peaceful blackness began to settle in and then he was jolted back to life. Ice water splashed into his face once again, freezing his hair into tiny icicles and forcing his eyes open in a strange burning pain.

  "Wake up!" called the dark man with no hair who, Max had learned, was named Isaac. "There's no sleeping here!" They had been taking turns keeping him awake and it was Isaac's turn now. Howling Wolf, himself, was nowhere to be seen, probably in his tent sleeping. Keeping Max awake was a menial task that his men could easily perform without him. Max sat up and shook his head, laughing to himself.

  "What's so funny?" asked Isaac, angry that his victim wasn't more fearful of him.

  "You are," said Max and spit out a mouth full of saliva and blood. Isaac backhanded him across the face causing him to fall to the right but he recovered and sat straight again, still laughing. "Look at you! Doing whatever he tells you to do. Kind of pathetic if you ask me."

  "Yeah, well," said Isaac, "I didn't ask you; so, keep your mouth shut."

  "That's right," said Max. "Just keep doing his dirty work while he sleeps and eats and enjoys himself."

  "I said shut your mouth!" He reached out and backhanded Max again. This time the Scot kept straight up and smiled in satisfaction. He was enjoying testing this man's loyalty to Howling Wolf and he could sense a small sense of doubt starting to form.

  "He doesn't care about you, you know," Max whispered. "You're all expendable to him. The hatred he holds inside will not go away no matter how devoted you are. When he tires of you, he'll kill you and you know it."

  "Your words don't scare me," said Isaac with a smile.

  "I'm not trying to scare you," said Max, losing the laughter and looking straight into Isaac's eyes. "I'm trying to warn you. You will die, I can almost guarantee it, and Howling Wolf will be the one who kills you."

  "Howling Wolf speaks with the gods," said Isaac, his voice a little more unsure than five minutes ago. "If the gods decide to kill me, it will be for a good reason and, yes, Howling Wolf will do it but not before he assures my place in heaven; in the kingdom of the gods."

  "Wow," said Max, shaking his head. "It takes a special kind of stupid to believe in all that. I guess you can go ahead, keep torturing me. There's not much I can say to stop you."

  "Isaac." It was Howling Wolf. He had come up from behind Max without being noticed and the pirate wondered how long he had been there. "Take a break and get something to eat. You've done enough for now."

  "Yes, sir," Isaac said and took one last look at Max.

  "Uh oh," smiled Max. "Sounds like someone's being dismissed. Maybe the gods have made their judgement on you." Max could see the fear in Isaac's eyes as he quickly looked away and hurried over to the fire to get something to eat.

  "You think by putting doubt into their minds, they will betray me?" Howling Wolf came over to Max and looked down on him. "You think my power over these people is short-lived; that they secretly hate me and will follow you?"

  "No," smiled Max, "I think you've done a good job at twisting their minds into your path. I believe that, no matter what I say, they will always do what you want even when you hold the knife to their throat. Bravo! You've trained your men well."

  "Humph," Howling Wolf laughed. "I choose who follows me with great thought. It's not easy to find trust in so many men."

  "I think you mean cowardice and naivety," said Max. "Brainless, thoughtless servitude. That's what you get from these men. They have no thoughts of their own. Their only ambition is to follow you blindly; accepting whatever you tell them. It's easier than facing this world alone or trying to figure out why the hell they're here. I congratulate you on your brilliance. You've managed to find the perfect way to create an army; religion. Every great leader has done it."

  "You speak very easily for a man who's been tortured for so many hours," observed Howling Wolf.

  "This?" Max laughed. "I've had worse thrown at me."

  "Have you?"

  "My, uh, previous life was not a glorious one," smiled Max. He had never told the warrior of his days under Captain Kidd. There was no need to let his past life affect any moral decision Howling Wolf would make on him now.

  "Do tell me about it," said the warrior.

  "Let's just say that yours is not the first pool of insanity I've dipped my toes in," said Max.

  "You think that I'm insane?" Howling Wolf didn't seem to be bothered by this.

  "I think the way you try to conquer the lands down here is insane," replied Max.

  "How's that?"

  "Because it's dangerous," said Max. "Eventually someone will call your bluff and kill you. Holding the crown of power is a precarious task; a truth revealed to even the greatest kings."

  "Ahh," smiled Howling Wolf, "this is a white man truth. The white man only wants wealth to line his belly; I have no interest in wealth. I am not easily influenced by shiny things that will buy me the Earth's riches."

  "I wasn't speaking of wealth," said Max. "In the other world, wealth would mean something; down here it means nothing. There are no governments to count your gold, no taxes to pay. Down here it is power that will give you everything and you've worked hard at accumulating power. Hell, you've made yourself a god. How can you be more powerful than that? That's a greed that goes way beyond gold and silver. Let me tell you something, though; not everyone believes in gods and religion. Not everyone will appreciate your attempt to open the heavens for the faithful. There are people who will recognize your lies; they'll see you for the fraudster you are. They'll pretend to admire you and then they'll kill you for your crown. That's the wealth that exists down here and it's not limited to the white man. You're proof of that."

  Howling Wolf narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth so that his jaw stuck out. He wanted to kill the Scot right there; put an arrow through his heart and mount his head on a stick over the fire but he restrained himself. Max was the only one who could explain what happened to the rest of his group. There was a secret to this land and he was determined to reveal it.

  "Your thoughts are interesting," Howling Wolf smiled and then pulled down the mask of sadistic evil over his face. "And I promise you that your sacrifice will be the most painful." Max felt a jolt like lightening run through his body. This was the man who led the Blood Demons; this was the man who put fear into the hearts of everyone he met. Max could see why all these men followed Howling Wolf without question. Although he preached of gods and heaven, beneath his mask was a demon soaked in the blood from an ever-increasing number of victims.

  Chapter 6

  I had been pacing up and down the length of the room for over forty minutes now and it was beginning to annoy everyone including myself but I couldn't seem to stop. The room felt like a cage and I could feel the walls closing in; it was not a good feeling. This must be what it feels like to be an animal in the zoo, I thought and quickly made a silent apology to all the tigers, bears and wolves I had gawked at over the years, pleading with them to do something exciting for me.

  Martha waited until we finished our food before leading us out of the dining area, down the stairs to the main floor and halfway down the hall. She pulled out a key from her pocket and opened a door to a room that was to be our home for however long Gregorius wanted to keep us there, probably until Marshal woke up; if he woke up. I shook my head, pushing the thought away. Marshal was going to wake up, I told myself.

  Martha never said a word as she gestured with her hand for us to enter. Gregorius probably ordered her to stay silent, I decided. She didn't explain anything to us and showed no emotion whatsoever towards us. I didn't know if she liked us or hated us, her face gave nothing away. Despite her silence, Robert offered her a 'thank you' with a
smile and a nod of his head before she turned and left us, locking the door behind her.

  I looked around and gave out a big sigh. This was not a big, comfortable room like Gregorius had promised. This room was about the same size as a cheap motel room with the décor to match. There were two beds with about half a foot between them, a small table, two chairs, a long dresser, a bathroom and a cot folded up in the corner. This small room was to be home for the five of us for how long? Not long I hoped; I already wanted to tear my hair out.

  "Nicole, come and sit down," Robert urged me. "You're going to wear a hole in the floor."

  "I can't," I said. "I'm way too wound up to sit down. All I can think about is going back through the portal."

  "You'll have to leave Marshal behind if you go back now," Emma Lee pointed out.

  "I know!" I snapped. I was feeling so frustrated. "Not that it matters, there's not much we can do anyway. We're stuck here, locked up in this ridiculously small room for god knows how long. I just can't believe we left them there, in the middle of a goddamned gun fight! Alone, against so many men and Howling Wolf? God, what he must be doing to them! Just thinking about it! I-I just want to go back and help them!" I didn't want to cry but I felt a sob forming in my throat. I felt ashamed, like I was betraying them; leaving them to die alone and no one here seemed bothered by it.

  "Oh, Nicole! I know how hard it is to leave someone you care about behind," Robert said and I knew he was thinking of how we left Madge behind in the out-of-towners' camp and I felt a rush of guilt sweep through me. "But it would be pointless to go back to the portal now. You don't even know how to open it. With all the fighting going on outside, you'd be putting your own life in jeopardy. Max is smart. I'm sure he can look after himself. Ask Cornelius."

  "Oh, yes, of course," said Cornelius and I glared at him for taking Robert's side. He put up his hands in defence and gave a nervous laugh. "Hey, I don't want to be in here any more than you do but I know Max and I know he's escaped from one or two dangerous situations before. If anyone can get out of a sticky situation, it's Max."

  "And don't forget the Private," added Colonel Al. "He's pretty sharp. He'll make sure the young pirate is okay." I rolled my eyes. Colonel Al was still convinced Barker was some kind of magical talking dog. Kind of like this Gregorius guy thinking a thousand year old wolf was bringing redheads through portals from other worlds to come to this war-torn city and fix things. I shook my head at the absurdity of it.

  "Fine, I won't go, but only because I don't know how to use the portal from this side," I conceded. "This is so stupid! I feel helpless in here. Please, if I can't go to the portal, then just let me go and check on Marshal, pleeeze. I promise, I'll come right back."

  "I'm sure he's fine," said Cornelius. "Why interrupt his treatment?"

  "Because I don't trust anybody here," I said. "If you haven't noticed, there's some kind of civil war going on out there and I don't know if an ancient ancestor of the ruling family would be welcomed with open arms. Especially one who supposedly has special powers. How do you think the people are gonna see that? They're gonna think the government, or whatever they call themselves, are bringing in reinforcements to fight against them. They're going to be pissed. I know I would."

  "Well, maybe, the people aren't happy about Marshal being here," said Cornelius, "but the Huxleys are. By what this Gregorius says, I'm quite sure his sister would like nothing more than to have help in this battle. Right now, he seems very much invested in keeping Marshal alive. I'm afraid we're at his mercy whether we like it or not."

  "I know, but..." I could see Cornelius losing his patience with me and I tried to justify my need to escape. "I just want to make sure he's still alive!"

  "I'm pretty sure he's still alive," said Robert. "In fact, I could almost guarantee it. Gregorius would never let anybody hurt the boy without serious consequences."

  "You think so?" I asked.

  "Absolutely," explained Robert. "I saw how Gregorius looked at Marshal? These legends that he spoke of sound like farfetched tales that nobody took seriously. He did; he believed every word from the time he was a child and, I imagine, was made fun of for it. Finding Marshal is like finding a mythical creature. Imagine if you believed in, say, mermaids and everybody told you how crazy you were and then, one day, a mermaid suddenly appears before you. Wouldn't you be happy? Wouldn't you want to go to everyone who made fun of you and say, 'Look, I told you they were real?' He wants to show his sister that he was right, that the legends were right and that, now, in their time of need, the powerful race of beings who brought them out of darkness has returned to restore order. I don't think he'll let anyone he doesn't trust anywhere near Marshal. This is his chance to say 'I told you they were real.'"

  "He's right," said Colonel Al. "It's obvious that Gregorius believes Marshal is some ancient relative. Whether he is or not doesn't matter to me but it does matter to him."

  "Then he should be happy we're here; happy we brought him," I said. "He shouldn't be locking us up like we're prisoners!"

  "Maybe not," said Colonel Al. "But there's a war going on out there; a war where soldiers from the First's own army have joined the other side. Everyone's loyalties are in question right now. Then we show up out of nowhere with a supposed extinct ancestor that's gravely wounded. Gregorius has no idea if we're responsible for Marshal's injury. He'd be stupid to trust our word; he just met us. I'd say this Second has a right to be a little suspicious. I would be."

  "He hasn't even given us a chance," I said, knowing that what the colonel was saying made sense. "If this Gregorius dude would just act a little more civil to us, he would see that we pose no threat to him or his sister."

  "Yes, but, he doesn't know that," said Colonel Al. "He doesn't know who we support in this battle. You heard the old man lecture him for leaving the grounds. Whether we like it or not, we pose a threat. It's only natural he take caution with us; for his own safety. If you ask me, he trusts us a helluva lot more than I trust him. The boy, as long as he's alive, is important and, because we're with him, that makes us important as well. That's probably the only reason we haven't been arrested or killed."

  "You're right," I sighed and sat on the edge of one of the beds, feeling defeated. "I just feel so useless in here. I wish I could check on him, see how he's doing, make sure he's okay, you know?"

  "Even if you could, where would you go?" asked Emma Lee. "This place is too big for you to be able to find him before someone finds you."

  "I think I could find it," I said. "Besides, even if I did get caught, what are they going to do? Gregorius probably left the building, so, they couldn't ask him what to do with me. The only other person who seems to have some kind of authority in this hospital is Jeremiah. I'd rather take my chances with him. He doesn't seem to like Gregorius and I'm positive he doesn't respect him."

  "He could still be dangerous," said Robert.

  "Jeremiah?" I asked. I didn't see him as a threat. "He seems okay to me. Do you think he's bad or something? Because if he is, than that's more reason to go check on Marshal."

  "Look," explained Robert, "I don't know the idiosyncrasies that make up this uprising and, therefore, I don't know who to trust. What side is right, what side is wrong?"

  "That's easy," I said. "The side that can get us back through the portal with a healthy Marshal is the right side."

  "If it could only be that easy," sighed Robert.

  "Why can't it be?" I asked. "We're not a part of anything that's going on here. All we have to do is go along with whoever can help us and then leave as soon as we can. We don't have to fight any of these battles, we don't have to choose sides and help that side win. We have no ties here so let's not start lacing anything up."

  "We can try not to get involved," said Robert. "But I don't know if that's possible."

  "I don't care. I just want to get back to Max as soon as possible," I said, still feeling claustrophobic. I sighed and looked back at the door. "And I still want to go see Marsha
l and I do think I could get out of this room, go visit Marshal and be back before anyone, including Greg, even knew I was gone."

  "It would be a risk," said Robert and I began to roll my eyes, "but I think you're right."

  "Really?" I said, surprised he was agreeing with me. "So, you're okay if I sneak out?"

  "If we can find a way out," he said, "I think you should go. I think we would all like to know how Marshal's doing."

  "But what about Gregorius?" asked Emma Lee.

  "What about him?" I asked.

  "What if he comes back?"

  "I don't think he will," said Robert. "At least not until tomorrow."

  "How can you be sure?" asked Emma Lee.

  "I don't think he would have given us such a luxurious room if he planned to come back today," he said.

  "You call this luxurious?" I laughed sarcastically.

  "No, but it does have everything we would need for an overnight stay," he said.

  "I guess so," I said. "You think he's going to make us stay here, locked in this room, until Marshal's awake?"

  "I think that's his plan," Robert answered. "He can't risk Amelia finding out about us before he knows if Marshal will live."

  "You're right," said Colonel Al. "He may act superior but Gregorius knows, very well, that he's not in charge. That role belongs to his sister and anything he can do to keep her happy, he will."

  "Nevertheless," said Robert, "If we can find you a way out, I think you have time to go and look in on Marshal."

  I didn't need any prodding. I walked over to the door and examined the door handle. I knew that Martha had opened the door with a key but I couldn't see a keyhole on this side. How could I get the door to open if there was no lock to pick? There must be some way of locking it on the outside. I tried turning the handle but to no avail. We were locked in all right. I pushed on the door; nothing. I tried running my fingers along the crack between door and frame. It was sealed shut.