WolfHeart

by Konstantina P.

  The capital couldn´t be more than a two-days walk away, Cora estimated, which meant she had lost an entire day being knocked out. “I remember it better,” she said, and indeed she did. Long before she was locked up, the entire kingdom was more prosperous. Larson´s poison hadn´t taken root yet; the memory of her mother -memories Cora herself didn´t have- still fresh.

  “You just wait and see,” Larson said, a big smile plastered on his face. What scared Cora the most was the genuineness of it. Clearly, he found deeply amusing whatever he had in store for her.

  “Let´s keep moving then,” the girl snapped, impatient, not tolerating the fake politeness.

  “Not so fast. There is some business to attend to first.”

  Cora watched in absolute serenity as two soldiers dragged in front of her the kind man from the previous night.

  “Do you recognize him?” Larson asked and grasped the man by his hair, forcing his head up. He looked unharmed, if not paralyzed by fear. “Take a good look.”

  Cora had a feeling she knew what was coming; she had watched that same scene play out before. This time though she was prepared.

  “Look again!” The King urged, still smiling. When his daughter failed to make a sound, he shook his head in disappointment and landed a hard kick on her stomach, making her double over in pain.

  “What do you want from me?” She said, struggling to draw oxygen into her lungs.

  “To understand a few things.” He twirled his fingers in the air and the unfortunate man started screaming in agony. Cora froze in horror, watching the man being cooked inside his own flesh, his skin melting off his bones. The odour of burned flesh in the air made her want to throw up, previous experiences bursting through the carefully constructed wall in her mind. She refused to turn her gaze away from him though and, just before the invisible fire reached his heart and put an end to her father´s sadism, everything stopped, the deafening silence upsetting the mood of the forest. The King snapped his fingers together trying to re-ignite the fire but nothing happened. The man he was trying to torture was again in one piece.

  “Who is doing this?” Larson screamed, all pretences falling away. “Who is helping him? You?” He pointed at a woman sitting quietly at the edge of the clearing who shook her head with terror. “What about you two?” The men in question didn´t even lift their heads up to acknowledge him.

  “You are looking at the wrong people.” Cora´s voice reached her father´s clouded mind like a wave of ice-cold water.

  “That´s not possible,” the man murmured. Cora laughed and stood up on wobbly legs, the ropes binding her hands together falling to the ground.

  “I´m afraid it is,” she said and, just as Larson signalled to his men to attack, she put her fist into the ground. The resulting earthquake had everyone lose their feet under them, the earth extending a helping hand to Cora through its thunderous tremors.

  Larson and those bound to him with misplaced loyalty stood back up swiftly. “You were always an insolent piece of shit,” he said but he couldn´t take a step forward as his feet were rooted in place, ivy curling around them and keeping them tightly closed. Manipulating nature had always been some of Cora´s best work.

  “And you were always a coward,” the witch said and watched the frightened man in front of her looking frantically around him for help. Cora´s magic though had recognized those of foul heart and had immobilized them the same way as their so-called King.

  His powers blocked, Larson resolved to his -always canny- words, addressing those still safe from his daughter´s wrath. “This woman is a traitor. Help your King and you will be rewarded.”

  Cora burst into uncontrollable laughter. “Behold your King!” She took a few menacing steps forward to stand directly in front of her father. “The man who doesn´t hesitate to kill his own people in the name of science.” A gash appeared on Larson´s left cheek, his blood coming out crimson. Cora grasped his chin and wiped it away with her thumb.

  “I did what I had to do,” Larson said with conviction but she was in a daze, too lost in her own thoughts to pay attention.

  “The man who doesn´t hesitate to torture children,” Cora murmured, still staring at the dark-red liquid staining her finger with wonder. Invisible claws cut their way through said man´s chest making him scream in agony. They were not deep enough to kill, but the three parallel blood lines close to the man´s heart were enough to warrant her caution; it wouldn´t do to let her control slip. As in answer, a wolf´s howl rose from the forest around them making even Cora jump out of her skin in surprise.

  “Kill him then!” A man yelled. “Kill him and be our Queen. Let us be free of him.”

  “You don´t need a Queen,” Cora snapped. “Each one of you has the power to live alone in peace. Just like before the war!” Maybe it was wishful thinking from her part but she refused to believe the world would always be in turmoil.

  Larson had enough sense left to try to manipulate the truth in an effort to save his hide. “The war we didn´t start! Instead, I protected you from those monsters.”

  “The Werewolves will never leave us alone,” a woman agreed. “We need someone to guide us.”

  “The Werewolves in charge will not dare touch you. I promise you that.” Cora´s words held a gravity that made even the most distrustful Magics hope. “They do not care for war anymore.”

  “Can´t you see that she´s playing you so that her friends can storm in and take our homes?” Larson screamed.

  “Shut up!” Cora yelled and the man went mute, opening and closing his mouth furiously but no sound coming out.

  “Come back with us,” another Magic pleaded. “Come back and help us. Your father´s men are still out there. We can´t face them alone.”

  Cora didn´t want to follow them. All she ever meant to do was to get free of her father´s tyranny and the terror holding her mind in a tight grip; help her people see that living peacefully didn´t mean they lacked courage or ambition. But looking around her, she understood now that Larson´s deeds were her responsibility; her inheritance. The aftermath of twenty years of war -one for every year she drew breath- was hers to put right.

  “I will come with you,” she said. “Until everything is settled. But then I´m going home.” She might not have found her real place among her own people but she knew where she stood with Steven and his pack; or at least she knew where she wanted to be. She didn´t give the Magics the chance to start arguing. She just started walking towards their capital -taking the long way round to get in without much fanfare- and the freed people followed without hesitation and with an unprecedented feeling of relief.

  Cora left her father and his henchmen as they were. Her spell would wear off soon and they would get free. They would try to follow but she knew that, between her and the pack she felt in her heart approaching, they were already finished.

  A maze of overgrown foliage among the ruins of the suburbs made the rest of the journey more difficult for the remaining of Larson´s Magics who weren´t too eager for the return home. A storm was brewing above their heads, following them ever since they left Anders´ land, and it had neither broken out nor dissipated. Ever since Cora´s spell broke and they started moving back towards the city trying to catch up to the witch, the King was simmering with anger. And yet, everything was standing still, a long wait for the scale to tip in either direction. They were half a day´s walk from the capital -the sun having set and come out one more time- when the first indications of the turning tide came.

  Whispers had started spreading throughout their crowd since early morning. Men had gone missing during the night, quietly and without a trace, leaving the whole group in an uproar. Some were talking about traitors and deserters; others thought Larson himself had taken the missing people out in fear of his daughter´s influence on them.

  The King started getting anxious after the distrustful looks his followers kept sending him. They were forced to stop moving again at the sudden realization that only half of their compan
y had made it out of the thick underbrush. Larson´s eyes had become haunted and distant and he could no longer hide the fact that he was coming apart at the seams, losing his last grip on sanity. He knew he needed to act soon or risk a second rebellion.

  “Did you hear that?” He whispered, searching around him for the source of noise no one else could hear. “Come with me!” He ordered three of his men and scuttled away in search of the invisible enemy.

  Cora had almost reached the city when the same growling her father had heard reverberated through her own mind too. She tried to concentrate and reach out with her mind; see if she could contact the pack. If her father could do it with her it couldn´t be so difficult. Things had gotten complicated with her magic. On the one hand, she had her own powers finally back and on the other -as an accepted member of Steven´s pack- she could feel the links formed between them, a neat magic trick in its own right. Just thinking about it was giving her a headache but she was thankful for her dual connection to the supernatural world.

  As if on cue, a loud explosion sounded and the plants around her and her assembly of witches caught on fire. The growling previously in Cora´s and her father´s minds now became detectable by everyone as it intensified, followed by screams that faded abruptly into the night.

  “Stay here,” she ordered and started moving back towards the thick bushes. They followed her quietly though; there was no way they would ever let her face what was coming alone anymore.

  After a few minutes of walking disoriented, Cora closed her eyes and followed her instincts, cutting her way through the labyrinth of flames and dead, mauled bodies. A bomb from Mark and Lynn had levelled the ground in a hundred feet radius. A crater had formed where the dark trees used to stand and the Magics had gathered at the edge of it, looking down expressionless. More people had come out from the city to watch the show. Cora pushed her way through them, no one daring to touch her, and surveyed the scene in front of her. The pack -and was that Kate?- was standing a few feet ahead, rumpled and exhausted, but what she saw in the middle of it all made her blood run cold.

  “No! Don´t!” She screamed and Steven froze, one hand deep into Larson´s gut and the other ready to strike.

  27. BLOOD TIES

  “What is this place?” Danny murmured. The campsite Peter and his people had been staying at after their uprooting caused by Larson´s invasion, had nothing on the homey place Steven had visited before. A dank, musty smell was in the air, becoming worse with every step they took on the mucky forest floor. The people were worn out; their hungry eyes following the Werewolves around with curiosity but not an ounce of ill will, a fact that made the pack relax their attitude.

  “The only place we can find someone to help us,” the Alpha said and continued walking, mindless of the stares he and his friends were receiving; he knew they weren´t in any danger. Despite the group´s ragtag appearance though, the underlying tones of power were impossible for the Werewolves to miss.

  “Why are these people still here and alive?” Ian asked, trying really hard not to sound suspicious.

  “Because we can make ourselves invisible when we need to.” Peter appeared suddenly in front of them making Erin curse under her breath as the pack startled to a stop. Lynn lifted an eyebrow, impressed, her mind already turning with the ways a power like the old man´s could be used in their favour.

  “Is there somewhere we can talk?” The Alpha asked Peter who led them to his tent. Although nothing extravagant, the covered space was gratefully dry and Steven made himself comfortable on the carpeted ground. “I assume you already know why we are here.”

  “I do,” the man nodded. “But I´m not sure how I can help you this time.”

  “You´ve been to the Magics´ kingdom before. We need you to get us in undetected.” Steven made sure he voiced this as the order it actually was.

  “That was a long time ago. Even if I could find my way back there, why would I even want to? That place is hell.” The older man knew the Magic capital like the back of his hand, having lived there for years before Cora´s birth and the unfortunate circumstances that had made him flee from the clutches of the King. He might now seem reluctant to put his life in danger, but Steven called his bluff easily.

  “Because she´s your niece and you have a duty to protect her. You haven´t done a very good job so far, have you?” The Alpha smirked, knowing he had cornered Peter. The anger didn´t fade from his tone though. The witch in front of him was just one more person in the long list of people that had let Cora down.

  Peter accepted the accusation with a smile. “I wondered when you would figure it out. What gave it away?”

  “Your scent. It´s faint, but still there. When you woke her up you were too drained to cover it properly.”

  “We didn´t smell anything,” Jason frowned.

  “You weren´t trying to,” Steven said. “But after the way he spoke about Cora and her mother I was watching for it. It wasn´t hard to put two and two together.”

  “Why didn´t you just say something before?” Ian asked, disapproving of his Alpha´s secretive ways. He was always hiding something from the rest of the pack and, even if he was only trying to protect them, it had started annoying his Betas to no end.

  “It was not my secret to tell.” Nothing regretful was in Steven´s tone as he turned back to Peter. “And I assumed you were hiding for a reason. But now you can´t afford to anymore.”

  Peter already knew that. He had prepared for the day when someone would come to defend his sister´s honour. Cora´s mother was too kind-spirited and joyous for her only legacy to be a mad man murdering in her name and a tortured child. Alas, he was too alone to act before but now he finally had the chance to seek his atonement for failing his own blood so spectacularly. “There´s a path you can take that will lead you right outside their city. No one will see you coming. I spelled it myself years ago.”

  “How long will it take?” Kate asked, straight to business.

  “It will get you right in front of them, a day probably. The jungle will provide you with good cover and they will be left exposed into the open,” Peter said, his audience listening captivated.

  “We don´t need them out in the open,” Erin smirked and let her claws out playfully.

  Steven rolled his eyes. “Let´s get going.” He let Peter take the lead and followed behind him, not liking the old man´s slow pace but unable to do anything about it until he showed them the way.

  The secret pass was, as Peter had promised, deserted. Even though at first they were going at a much lower speed than the Werewolves were used to, the pack still managed to cut their travel time short after they left Peter behind. They reached the end of the path just as Larson and his men exited the forest and covered the few barren miles before disappearing under the thick vegetation of the city´s outer ruins. There was no sight of Cora, but their noses told them she was close and that she was scared. It was a weird kind of fear; mixed with worry and hope at the same time. Encouraged, they realized that their insight into her general state of being got stronger now that they didn´t have to concentrate on keeping their emotions in check while she was being kept from them. Steven was feeling everything tenfold after having come to terms with what Cora was to him. The fact that every single thing his pack felt was being filtered through him, had him on the receiving end of both the girl´s actual concerns and their reflection off his Betas.

  “They are too many,” Jason murmured standing next to his Alpha, a level above the Magics.

  “Bu not as many as they set out.” Steven´s eyes stayed glued to Larson until he vanished inside the dark-green maze. “Are you ready?” He turned to Lynn who nodded and tightened her hold on her satchel´s straps. “You all know what to do.”

  They waited until the last of the Magics were deep under the cover of greenery and then made their way down, coming behind their enemies and picking them apart one by one. They hid the bodies under dead leaves, Mark and Lynn using concealing potions left and right.
The silent death machine they had going worked straight through dawn before they were forced by daylight to fall behind.

  The pack watched with amusement as, at first light, the Magics started arguing amongst themselves after noticing the absence of so many of their friends and no tracks to follow. In the few hours they had at their disposal, they had managed to diminish the enemy numbers significantly but Larson was at the top of the trail so they still hadn´t found Cora. They were certain he was keeping her with him. They needed to speed things up if they wanted to get to her before they reached the city and, for once, luck was on their side. Trying to stop his men´s sense of unease and on the verge of hysteria, Larson walked straight into their arms, not realizing the strange sound he kept hearing into his mind was the pack unwittingly announcing their presence.

  Before they set out on a rescue mission, Steven had made clear -and everyone had agreed- Cora was the priority and whatever grudge they might be holding towards someone else would come after they got her to safety. But when the Alpha saw the King from his hiding spot and smelled Cora´s blood on him, he lost every last thread of logic and attacked before his friends had the chance to pull him back. He didn´t notice that the man was already in bad shape. The large, claw-like scratch marks covering his torso had stopped bleeding out but his shirt was torn and stained red. In his rage, Steven had mistaken Larson´s blood for his daughter´s.

  The Betas rushed after their Alpha but it was too late as Larson had seen him coming and pinned him down with a single hand-gesture and an overjoyed laugh. Steven struggled to get up but he couldn´t move his limbs and the older man, unhindered, loomed above him, putting his heavy heel on the Alpha´s throat.

  “You animals have no brains. I would be moved if you weren´t chasing after some skirt. Where is the rest of the circus?” The man looked around but Jason had ordered the pack to remain hidden while Lynn, caught off guard, tried to put into motion the next part of the plan.