Ghost Wolf

by Brandon Chen

  “U-Uh....” Yuri was having trouble coming up with an excuse for stumbling into the library.

  “Well, Yuri was lost and looking for the bathroom originally,” Princess Violet chimed in, smiling at Beo. “But I found him and told him that I would show him the library, since he mentioned to me that he likes to read.”

  Beo raised his eyebrows and he relaxed, exhaling softly. “Ah. Well, the two of you ought to get back to dinner. It was rude of you to leave the king and queen at the table alone! Yuri, I thought you knew better than to do something like that.”

  “A-Ah, yes. Well, I figured that this was my only chance to check out the library, so I tagged along,” Yuri said, taking Violet by the hand and leading her towards the door, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. “We’ll head back to dinner right now!”

  ***

  As soon as Beo saw that Yuri and the princess were out of sight, he went to retrieve The Inception of Horux. Pulling the manuscript from underneath the bookshelf, he sighed with relief. If he could destroy the book, then all proof of Horux’s catacombs’ existence would be gone. No one would be able to discover Faelen after Archerus’s execution, unless someone manually searched the forest outside of Horux for the entrance to the catacombs.

  Beo flipped through the book, frowning. There was a page missing. Heat rose to his face and his hands trembled so much that he almost dropped the book. Swallowing hard, he frantically tore his way through the pages of the book, searching even harder for the detailed map of Horux. It was here just minutes ago!

  “Are you looking for a specific page in that book?” a librarian called, walking over.

  Beo blinked, looking at the man. “Yes, why?”

  “The boy that was with the princess ripped a page out just before he left. I saw him do it. Maybe that is the page that you’re looking for?” the librarian said with a raised eyebrow.

  The noble gawked at the man. The book slipped from his numb hands, thumping on the rug. Beo stumbled backwards as if inebriated, his head spinning. Yuri … has the page? It all made sense. Yuri had made direct contact with Archerus at some bar, and that crazy bastard had been the only one to know about Beo’s secret. “Damn it!” he boomed aloud, storming from the library like an angry giant. With that page, he has the proof that the underground catacombs exist! He could ruin me! But he won’t take the page straight to the authorities, no. Yuri will go to the catacombs first to confirm that Archerus told him the truth. It was starting to seem that Archerus was not the only one that needed to be executed.

  ***

  Yuri turned to the princess as they walked in silence through the hallways of the castle. “I can’t go back to the dinner,” he said suddenly. “I need to go and make sure there really is a werewolf under the city. It won’t be long before Beo figures out that I’m in possession of the book’s map. Who knows what he’ll do to try and cover up the evidence of the beast. I’ll bring Asmund with me and together we’ll be able to prove that there really is a beast under the city.”

  “Can I do anything to help?” Princess Violet asked.

  “Give the king and queen my apologies for leaving the dinner at such short notice. I really did enjoy my time with them,” Yuri said, biting his lower lip as he looked at the princess. “You’re royalty, so I can’t bring you with me. It’s too dangerous. But hopefully … you’ll let me return to this castle and tell you tonight’s story.” He grinned. “I’d love to see you again.”

  “I’ll want to hear every detail,” Violet said, returning his smile. She waved him off. “You’d better hurry and go, before Beo catches up to you.”

  Yuri nodded, and turned down a familiar corridor that he knew led to the exit from the castle. He briskly jogged, eager to make his way to Asmund’s house as quickly as possible. “Yuri!” The young man abruptly halted and glanced over his shoulder at Violet. “I hope that you’ll come back to the castle. I enjoyed your company tonight. I know my parents did too.”

  Yuri grinned from ear to ear, his heart fluttering at Violet’s flattering words. “I promise I will.”

  Chasing Fairy Tales

  “This can’t—” Asmund shook his head in disbelief as he stared at the map. “Wow, you were telling the truth. This map is signed by one of the original architects of Horux! The catacombs really do exist. So, what about this werewolf?” He looked at Yuri. The two boys were standing on the lawn outside of Asmund’s mansion.

  “That’s what we’re going to find out,” Yuri said, staring into Asmund’s eyes with a look of resolution. “Come with me. I’m going to the catacombs right now to find out if that beast really is there.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t you find it weird that your father just lied to us like that?” Yuri said, shaking his head. “He told us that the catacombs don’t exist, but it’s right here! Not to mention, I saw him trying to hide the book in the royal library so that no one else would get their hands on this map. It looks like he was trying to destroy the evidence of the catacombs’ existence. There’s no doubt that he’s going to figure out that this map is missing soon, so we don’t have a lot of time before he tries to hide the werewolf somehow. Are you with me or not?”

  Asmund hesitated for a moment, looking at his friend. He let out an exasperated sigh and shrugged. “I have nothing else to do tonight, I suppose. Damn, I really don’t want to go out into those woods. People say the forest is haunted, you know.”

  “We aren’t children anymore, Asmund,” Yuri said with a scoff, raising his forearm to the air.

  Asmund bumped his arm against Yuri’s, smirking. “Yeah, but we’re still chasing fairy tales.”

  ***

  The two young men made their way through Horux, traveling for about an hour through the Upper and Lower Districts to get to the front gate of the city. At first, the guards barraged Yuri with questions, for they wondered why he wanted to leave the city in the middle of the night. But once Asmund spoke up, the soldiers let the two boys leave Horux without any more trouble. They were clearly not willing to argue with a noble.

  This was the first time that Yuri had ever left Horux’s walls. Setting his boots down on the soft dirt, he saw a long stone road before him that supposedly led to mainland Escalon. Surrounding the road was the haunted forest that many people feared. Countless horrors and ominous creatures were said to dwell amongst the dead trees of the woods.

  The blackened trunks and slender branches of each tree looked like giant ebony hands of the undead, prying their way from the earth. There was an abnormal aura that surrounded this forest, one that left Yuri uneasy. It felt as if he were stepping onto a burial ground where thousands had perished. But he knew that he couldn’t let these feelings of discomfort turn him back.

  Yuri sympathetically looked to Asmund, who was already trembling in fear. The noble had never left Horux, either. In fact, he’d never really journeyed deep into the Lower District before, so this was a big step out of the highborn boy’s comfort zone. His eyes darted about at the slightest of movements. As a breeze blew through the forest, gently swaying the branches of the trees, Asmund flinched.

  “Come on, let’s go,” Yuri said, with as much confidence as he could muster.

  The two boys trudged through the forest, swallowed by the painful quiet. The silence dragged on; the only sounds that could be heard were those of the howling winds and the snapping branches. The full moon illuminated the forest, casting its luminous light across the desolate land.

  Asmund was clearly on edge. His eyes shifted left and right, as if he were expecting to be ambushed at any moment. At the slightest of sounds, he would jump like a startled pup. The boy’s teeth were chattering, and he rubbed his index fingers against his thumbs with such force that the outer layer of skin at the tips of his fingers began to peel off.

  Yuri had his eyes glued to the map in his hands, navigating through the hushed woods. The dead silence did not bother him as much as the malevolence that he felt radiating through the forest.


  Asmund felt the disconcerting sensation that they were being watched as they sneaked onward. Occasionally, he would turn around to see if they really were being stalked, but nothing was ever there.

  “There it is,” Yuri said, pointing to a small cave that was lodged in the earth at the bottom of a cliff. The cavern was dark, and currents of cold air drifted from the mysterious grotto. Swallowing hard, he stepped to the mouth of the cave with Asmund close by his side. “Do you have a match?”

  “Y-Yeah,” Asmund murmured, reaching into his pocket. He handed Yuri a box of matches with quivering hands. “Can’t I just stay out here?”

  “Trust me, you don’t want to stand out here alone.”

  “Good point,” Asmund grumbled. “Why did I agree to come here again?”

  “Don’t worry, we’re just going to check it out quickly,” Yuri promised his friend. He lit a match, slightly illuminating the darkness with the tiny flame. He saw that there was a torch conveniently placed on the wall, secured on a sconce. Beo probably uses this every night to get into the catacombs.

  Yuri used the matches to light the torch, which immediately sent the shadows scattering before its blazing light. He peered into the chilling cave and saw that deeper into the cavern was a stone stairway winding downward into the supposed catacombs. He exchanged glances with Asmund and the two boys nodded, progressing into the darkness.

  The silence in the cave was even worse than out in the forest. Here there was absolutely no sound besides the echoing footsteps of the two young men. Yuri could swear that he could hear his own anxious heartbeat, which was racing. He had no idea what to expect from the mysterious catacombs. No one, besides Beo, had been here for years.

  Yuri and Asmund stepped down onto a stone floor, staring at a narrow tunnel that led into a sheet of blackness. The ceiling was only six feet high, and the passageway was so narrow that Yuri felt claustrophobic just looking at the path ahead. He swallowed back his discomfort, wiping a bead of sweat on his brow with the back of his hand.

  The tunnel before him branched off into various pathways. There were so many alternate routes that Yuri knew that it would be impossible for them to find a werewolf in a place like this — until he heard a sound, one that did not come from the two boys. It sounded like a heavy thump, as if a giant had just bashed its skull against one of the walls. The vibration of the thump rumbled through the floor, pulsating up through the soles of Yuri’s feet.

  “D-Did you hear that?” Asmund whispered, grabbing onto the back of Yuri’s shirt, peeping over the boy’s shoulder. The noble was more terrified than he had ever been in his life. More than anything, he just wanted to turn back and forget this whole venture.

  “Yeah,” Yuri affirmed, slowly walking in the direction of the sound. There was another thump. And another. Soon, it was occurring at intervals of about three seconds. If I just follow the vibrations and the sound, I can find the source. It has to be the werewolf. That’s the only living thing down here that could be making that noise. Right? He bit his lower lip. In reality, he had no idea what was down here in the catacombs. There could be other creatures lurking in these tunnels.

  “I can smell you … children,” a low, rumbling voice growled.

  Yuri heard shuffling behind him and turned to find that Asmund had already broken into a sprint, dashing up the stone stairway of the cavern as he fled the area in terror. “Asmu—” he began but gulped back his words and shook his head. He had to continue onward. At least Asmund had stayed long enough to confirm that there was something down here in the catacombs. Now it was only a matter of finding out what that “something” was.

  He pushed on, following the mysterious thumps that trembled through the catacombs. His breathing was heavy, and his clammy hands gripped the handle of the torch so tightly that he thought his knuckles might pop off. The beastly voice came again.

  “Come closer so that I may see you. It has been a long time since I have seen someone other than Beo. But surely you must be one of his servants. You have his scent clinging to your clothes,” the voice snarled. “Come now, speak your name.”

  Yuri turned around a corner and found himself standing in a long corridor that led to a cell at the end of the tunnel. The ceiling in this particular passage was much higher than the others. Peering down the corridor, Yuri saw that the cell had silver bars. Past the metal, all that he could see was a sheet of impenetrable darkness, until a pair of glowing red eyes suddenly beamed from the shadows. The young man’s eyes widened as he felt curiosity drawing him towards the cell, his heart pounding so rapidly that he thought it would burst through his ribcage. A low chuckle came from the other side of the silver bars. Soon Yuri found himself staring in awe at an enormous hairy beast that towered over him. The ferocious creature would’ve had no problem ripping him into pieces.

  “You seem scared, little boy,” the werewolf spoke, revealing its teeth, which were sharper than honed swords. The beast’s mouth curved into a smirk as it gazed down at the trembling visitor. “What are you doing so far from home?”

  “You’re real…,” Yuri said in trepidation, shaking his head. He wished that this were a mirage, that his eyes were playing tricks on him. But the details of this horrific monstrosity were too realistic to be deemed a mere illusion.

  Seeing the beast in person was completely different from hearing about the creature in stories. This werewolf was terror incarnate in every aspect of its physical being. Its claws could shred a person to pieces while its teeth could gnaw straight through a human skull. The monster’s legs were surely strong enough to propel the beast faster than the swiftest horse, and its bulky arms were proof of its supernatural strength. The werewolf was a killing machine, and every part of its body was perfect for hunting almost any prey. If this monstrosity were ever let loose, the people of Horux wouldn’t stand a chance. “And you can talk?”

  “Yes, all werewolves were human once,” the beast spoke. “Now, tell me your name.”

  “Y-Yuri,” the boy croaked out.

  “I am Faelen. I expect that you have come here of your own accord, for if you came in Beo’s stead, he would surely have sent you with food,” the werewolf grumbled. “Not to mention that I can smell him approaching.”

  “He’s coming?” Yuri exclaimed, turning to glance over his shoulder.

  “Free me and I will make sure that he brings no harm to you.”

  Yuri shook his head, averting his gaze when the werewolf let out a ferocious snarl that shook the floor of the catacombs. He quickly retreated from the corridor, breaking into a sprint as he raced for the exit of the underground tunnels. The once-silent crypts were now filled with the wrathful roars of the irate werewolf. Yuri wanted to escape the catacombs as quickly as possible. More than anything, after this terrifying experience, he just wanted to return to his family.

  Dashing up the winding stairway, Yuri finally staggered back to the shadowy cave. He leaned forward, panting in a desperate attempt to catch his breath. His torch had just blown out and his eyes still hadn’t fully adjusted to the darkness. He glanced up and saw that there was a silhouette of a man standing in the entrance of the cave, one too tall to be Asmund.

  “It looks like you found out about my little secret,” the man said, taking a step backward so that he was in the moonlight. It was Beo. He reached to his side, grasping the bronze hilt of a sheathed sword. He ripped the weapon from its holder and pointed its tip at Yuri, who stood frozen in place. “I’m sorry, but I can’t have you telling anyone about this place.”

  Yuri bit his lower lip, clutching the blown-out torch in his hands and still breathing heavily. Exhaling through his nose, he attempted to calm himself despite the precarious situation. “Why are you keeping a beast like that hidden away underneath a populated city? Are you insane? If he gets loose … all of Horux would collapse!”

  “It is simply my duty,” Beo said, charging at the boy. “I don’t expect a lowlife like you to understand!”

  Yuri grunted and hopped
to the side as the noble jabbed outwards with his sword, tearing through the air with his blade. Beo winced, realizing that his agile opponent had avoided his attack and turned his sword sideways, aiming to decapitate his enemy with a swift stroke. But Yuri reacted perfectly, dropping to the ground to dodge the swiping blow.

  Yuri gripped his torch tightly with both hands and swung his weapon hard, slamming it against Beo’s leg with such force that the man immediately lost his foothold and crumpled to the ground. Slamming hard against the stone floor, the noble tried to recover, but Yuri was already upon him before he could move. The warrior smashed his torch down on Beo’s wrist with tremendous force, forcing him to release his grip on his sword.

  Beo cried out in agony, clutching his broken wrist. He watched in horror as Yuri brought the torch crashing downwards several more times, barraging the defenseless noble with a flurry of heavy strikes. By the time the young man was finished, Beo could hardly move his bruised body. The noble was barely conscious as he watched Yuri toss his torch to the ground and heard it clatter across the stone floor. Yuri reached over and picked up Beo’s sword.

  “Your duty should be to preserve the wellbeing of your family,” Yuri said, moving to Beo. He unstrapped the sheath and took it, sliding the noble’s sword into its holder. The boy gave the man one final look of pity before turning to run away, gripping his new sword. “By preserving a beast like that, you’re doing just the opposite.”

  ***

  Beo groaned and leaned his head back against the floor of the cave, closing his eyes as tears flooded out, tiny droplets streaking down his cheeks. He lay there, unmoving, and unwilling to get back up. “I know,” he whispered sorrowfully to himself. But the responsibility of being Faelen’s warden has been passed down through my clan for generations. I have no choice in the matter.

  After several minutes of silence, Beo heard footsteps echoing at the mouth of the cave. His eyes cracked open, expecting to find Yuri walking back to him. Instead, he was surprised to see a mysterious figure, wearing a black cloak, walking towards him. The man’s identity was concealed in shadow cast by the cowl of his hood.