She watched the brown wolf come inside her home. He saw the wolf stare her down. He found her horror strangling her chest. He felt her need to protect the child with everything she had. Inside her mind, he could see that Kalima the black wolf was not with them. He had left them alone. Seeing this, fearing what it meant, he blinked.
“She is alone in the cabin Rochie.” He turned back to his friend. Tears swelled up in his eyes. His heart ached from just the words. “Kalima is out in the fields. She is alone and surrounded by wolves.” He cried for everything he did. I should have tried harder to find him to warn him. He would not have left them alone if he knew that they were coming for him. I should have done anything to help him as Rochie wanted us to do.
Rochie saw the look on his face. He saw the fear in his eyes. He saw the tears. He didn’t need to see anything else, so he took the reins of the horse and turned with it from the creek.
“Where? Where is the cabin?” He climbed the animal, and let his Wanderer’s eyes turn blue.
Kenar turned his thoughts back onto the wolf. He saw everything through the man’s eyes. He saw the creek, the same creek behind them as it ran behind the cabin. He saw three tall and large oak trees standing guard next to three of the corners of the small home. He felt the cool breeze coming at him on his left.
Seeing everything that he could, feeling everything he felt, he opened his eyes. “There.” He pointed to his left. The breeze came from that direction. It came north and thus they had to head south. “We must follow the creek that way.” It was all he had. He only hoped that it was enough.
Rochie turned with the horse. He grabbed Kenar as he reached up to him, and pulled him up behind him. Ready, he kicked the animal hard.
Together, they rode fast.
They followed the creek south.
They could only hope that they were not already too late.
19
Kalima finished the small trench. He turned back to the row and reached into his bag. He took out a handful of seeds and readied himself for the trek back down the row. He took one-step when a soft scent came in on the breeze. It smelled like Jasmine. It smelled soft. He could have sworn that it carried Sima’s scent.
Sima? He followed her scent as it flowed back to his right. It was her beautiful aroma all right. He recognized her instantly, but that wasn’t the only thing he smelled. Behind her, behind her sweet loveliness, a stench flowed in with her and it smelled like death. It smelled rotten and decayed. He recognized that one too.
Nightwalkers. They were coming from his home. They were moving out from the gap. The smell told him their direction with ease. They are moving to the home. They are heading down the creek. Realizing this, terrified by it, he turned. The sounds of her voice came next.
Do not let them take me father. Do not let them take mother away from me too.
Sima? Who is there Sima? It had to be the Nightwalkers. It just had to be them. Something is wrong. Sima? Alana? His ears now alerted him to something else too.
Screams! He heard his daughter’s outer voice. He heard Alana’s calls. She was calling for him.
No!
He dropped the seeds. He looked back into the dark recesses of his mind, found the deep yellow eyes staring back at him and called them forward.
Thankfully, they came fast.
He left the fields, and ran back into the trees. He ran hard. He ran as fast as he could go as his eyes flared yellow, and he changed into the massive black wolf as he ran.
20
The wolf jumped.
Alana swung the sword as hard as she could.
The blade struck the animal to the side of its snout in mid-air. Blood sprouted from the gash as it swiped across its face.
The wolf yelped out with a shrilling and agonizing whelp. It went down hard to its right and to her left.
She turned from it and looked back to the door.
Three other wolves were now there. They were all brown in color. They were all on their four legs. They were now all growling and sneering towards her.
Seeing them, she lifted the sword again. She squeezed Sima tightly to her chest. She knew instantly that this was the end.
“It will be quick my baby.” She knew that she could not fight all of them like this. They didn’t have the chance against so many.
Two of the wolves stepped through the door, but suddenly, and quite thankfully, they stopped. They froze in place. Fear draped their eyes.
The wolf with the gash on its face also stood up. It turned back to the others at the door.
All of the animals turned to her right. Their ears went up, as a loud and blasting roar came out from behind her home.
Obviously hearing it, she turned too.
A huge and massive black wolf crashed into the two wolves at the door and tackled them with such a burst that she could feel the wind of it smash her cheeks. The third brown wolf ran back to obviously help its friends.
Outside, the black wolf knocked both wolves back. One, the one on the left of it, slid along the ground and smacked against the sidewall of the house. The one on the right didn’t get that far. The black wolf lifted it off the ground and held it up by its hind legs. It dangled it in front of it, and without much effort, flung it back towards the trees.
The wolf disappeared into the shadows just as fast.
The third brown wolf, the one from inside the house, then jumped.
It landed on his back. It dug in with its hind legs. It clawed. Four deep gashes flared down the center of his back from between his shoulders and down to his waist.
He yelped from the pain. He winced from the heat. He roared again.
The wolf bit down onto his right shoulder with a full teeth lined bite.
He yelped again as the pain rippled down his arm and into his hands. He buckled some at the knees, and in doing so, not by his choice but it did help him, he managed to grab the wolf’s snout with his left clawed hand. He pulled. He ripped the teeth out of his own fur, and while firmly holding it, he lifted it off his back by the snout.
He moved the animal in front of him, took his now free right hand, and took the beast by the throat.
He squeezed with everything he had.
The sound of a tree breaking came next as he broke the animal’s neck. Still squeezing he twisted the neck, and from his snout to his right hand, he tore off its head with one sure and powerful pull.
The animal flayed. It moaned as it died in his hands.
Instantly, its body lost all of its brown fur and its skin turned to an olive brown. A woman’s body was now within his grip.
He tossed her out to the other wolves that had gathered to his right.
Free, he turned to all of them and roared again, blasting all of his anger and pain to them with a reverberating trumpet’s sound.
The brown wolves just stood there motionless. They seemed to stand in awe. They just stood there in complete fear with what they just saw him do to one of their own.
That is when the horses came. They came from the trees. They came to the back of the wolves. Six riders carried swords, while another two held bows in their hands. Two arrows flew faster than that.
One struck him hard in the chest, just between his nipple and his left shoulder. The pain raced through him even faster than that. He screamed. He yelped with high striking shriek. Another arrow came right at his face, and this time he saw it and ducked down.
The arrow missed him as it whizzed by his snout.
It continued flying until it flew through the open door of the house.
Alana felt the full blow as it struck her in the right side of her throat.
It stunned her at first. The pain came second and then the numbness came last. Both feelings caused her to drop Sima down to the floor as she fell with her and collapsed at her feet.
The black wolf felt her pain. He felt everything, and when he turned he winced. He cowered. He whined.
Another arrow struck him in the back.
Again, he
yelped out. Again, the pain flushed down his spine. It pierced through his right shoulder and sailed to his knees. He fell to them next.
Donte watched it fall. “Grab the chains.” He turned back to an older looking man with deep white hair, and stared him down. “We have it.”
The man with the white hair brought out the silver colored chains, and holding them in his gloved hands, he climbed off the horse.
The remaining brown wolves just simply left to the side of the house and there they watched. There they waited and feared. Seeing everything, they turned from the sight. Bethany had seen enough and she led the others back into the trees. She didn’t know what to think about any of this. All she had was her instincts and they told her to run so she did just that.
With feeling the pain, with feeling the weight, Kalima lost the wolf. He felt the weakened yellow eyes fade and with them gone, his human eyes came back again.
Slowly, his deep black fur vanished back into his now fading charcoal skin. His skin then turned white. His snout disappeared and his ears grew short. His doglike hind legs formed back into feet. His clawed hands lost their claws. He was human again just like before. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t maintain the wolf when he was hurt. He couldn’t even try.
The man with the white hair came behind him and wrapped the chains around his neck. With them secured, he then pulled.
Kalima screamed as he saw himself pulled back from her—from them. He hated seeing this. He feared what it meant. He saw her blood. He saw her move. He saw her still alive. “No!” He pulled back.
The man with the white hair surprisingly at least to him lost his grip.
He stood up as the man fell to his knees.
The man with the white hair couldn’t believe how strong he was. “I need help with him!” he called back to her.
Donte looked back to his group. “Help him.” He looked back to the house. He saw the woman on the floor in the center of the room. He saw the child now crying and laying across her mother’s chest. “And take the child.” He looked back to the house. His bright blue eyes shined.
Three others climbed off their horses. Two rushed to Vincent’s side, and together, the three of them gathered the chains and pulled back with everything they had.
He was difficult. He was strong. It took a lot of their strength but they did manage to get a firm and strong grip.
Kalima felt the weight of the chains as he fell backwards to the ground. He fell on his back. He fell hard with a heavy thud. His mind began to fade within the pain. He felt himself slipping further away, until he saw nothing but darkness overpowering his mind. He passed out from all of it.
The third person, a woman, stepped around him and went inside the house. She looked down to the woman, bent down and grabbed the child.
Sima fought some but she was no match for the woman’s cold hard strength and went with her easily.
Alana watched her and screamed, “No! Please do not take her!”
The woman’s red eyes sparkled. Her ivory colored fangs showed.
Alana saw them and lost all of her strength. She knew what they were. She knew what they had done, but with the pain, with the loss of blood, she couldn’t fight them. She couldn’t do anything but to fall back. Her head smacked the floor. She was dying and she knew it.
The woman left the house and found that Vincent and his two people had already wrapped the black wolf with the chains and had pulled him onto his feet, so she brought the child to Donte.
“Thank you Venessa. Our lord will be pleased.” Donte looked back to Vincent. “Through him to the back of the horse and let us move on. We are expected back shortly.”
Vincent let the others with him do as she wished. “We should go. The wolves would have been heard.” He left the front of the house and went back to his horse. He tossed him over the horse’s back. “The riders are not far from here. They are on this side of the gap and will be close by. We do not have that much time.” He could smell them. He knew how right he was.
Donte agreed. “Let us ride then.”
Vincent had one more thing left on his mind. “What should we do with the female in the house? It seems like such a terrible waste to leave her there.” He bowed his head.
Donte just shook his. “It is of no concern to us. Our master is expecting the wolf, and nothing else matters more than that.”
He agreed. “Very well.”
Donte turned to Michael Gorhan, Vincent’s master who was on her left side. “Set fire to the place and get rid of it from the world.”
So did Michael. “Of course, my lady.” He watched her blue eyes as they looked like gems sparkling from the sun.
He walked over to the front of the small human looking house, picked up a small lifeless branch from the ground and brought it up to his face. He took the end of it and held it into his left hand. With a fast squeeze, he rubbed the wood until it burst into flames.
He then turned back to Vincent. “Please get the lamp oil from my horse when you have that thing secured would you my son?”
Vincent turned to the horse next to him and did what he asked him to do. He took a bottle from the horse’s saddle, and walked over to Michael with it. He passed him and went to the house. He opened the small lid on the bottle and proceeded to empty its contents all over the walls. He sprayed both sides of the doors until it was empty. Finished, he walked back to Michael.
Michael moved to the walls and lit the oil. The walls caught instantly and quickly it began to burn. After this, he turned back, dropped the branch, and retook his horse.
Finished entirely with their task, all of them turned, kicked their horses and headed back into the trees.
Alana was now empty. Her mind was fading fast. The smoke came to her face just as quickly.
“Please Kalima, wake up and free her. Please do it before it is too late.” This was all she had left.
21
“It has happened.” He couldn’t believe it and he had to stop. He squeezed Rochie’s waist with both hands. He felt saddened beyond words. “We are too late.” He could see her on the floor. He could feel pain in his neck. He could feel her world disappearing and disappeared. He watched what the black wolf did. He watched it fight the other wolves. He felt the arrow. He felt everything.
Rochie did stop the horse. “Where is this place? We have been riding for minutes and have found nothing.” He grew worried too. Kenar was better than this. “We should have been there by now.”
Kenar just shook his head. A new voice came roaring inside his head, and seeing it, hearing it, he knew who it was. He heard Donte, Jameson’s friend and the captain of his guards. He heard him coming from their right.
“Donte is here. He is in this forest.” He looked in the direction of the voice, but with the sun still beaming, he still saw nothing but the dark. He hated being blind like this, especially when he needed to see the most.
“Where? Which direction?” Rochie felt rushed. He looked right and then turned left. He saw nothing. Hearing that it was Donte, he did feel relieved. It seemed that they were not alone after all. In all truth, it made his day.
Kenar tried hard to focus, and knew only one answer. “To the right. Ride hard. Ride fast, and for heaven’s sake, do not stop.”
Rochie didn’t need to hear anything else. He kicked the horse and rode off.
They headed right.
22
Donte and his group were heading north. They saw nothing along the way, but when they saw riders through the trees, he felt dumbfounded. He knew that no one else was this far north. Seeing what looked like some of his men, he could tell by their armor, he felt worse. He could see their helmets. It just had to be humans. Walkers never rode horses. It wasn’t in their nature, and so he decided that he had to move to them.
They rode fast and reached the group just as quickly.
His group met them head on and cut them off by a small clearing in the trees.
“Who goes there?” he called out, as h
e watched the horses stop.
They looked like his people. They looked human. He saw one of them was carrying a small child. Another horse had someone hanging over the back of it and he looked dead. That wasn’t everything that he saw either. The lead horse caught his attention and his mind exploded with total confusion all at once when he saw the person on it. He just didn’t know what to think.
“What in the hell is this?” He saw himself. He saw his face. His mind blew up.
The other Donte smiled. “Hello Donte, captain of the guards.” His blue eyes blazed as he turned back to the others with him. “Kill them all!”
Donte froze, but when he heard this, he drew his sword. It took another few moments to realize what he saw and who it was. He knew of only one person that could look like him. He had seen her before. “It is Anna!” It had to be her, Anna the Wanderer, the Changeling.
His men also drew their weapons.
The other riders turned their eyes red. They showed their fangs. They all hissed as they kicked their steeds.
“Walkers!” the real Donte screamed.
His men also kicked their horses, and together the two groups came together in the center of the clearing. Horse went against horse. Man went against Walker. Blood flew from both groups.
Donte swung his sword at the first creature that came at him. He and his men carried special weapons that they forged just for them. The blades were made of silver, and laced with gold along the edges to give them an extra punch. They were just what any human soldier would ever need. With this sword, the blade struck the obvious vampire across his chest.
The armor he wore blocked the blade but it didn’t stop it from sticking his right arm across the bicep and gashed him all the same. Instantly smoke blasted from the gash. Blood flew from the wound. All of it made him hiss with a high-pitched echoing scream of pain as he backed off.
A Werewolf's Saga, The Beginning (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 3) Page 37