by Gunhus, Jeff
The wolf let out a huff of air. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like an agreement to me.
I wrapped my fingers around the shaft of the bolt sticking out from the wolf’s shoulder. It was in there solidly, right into the bone. The wolf whined from the pressure on his wound.
“OK, here we go,” I said. “This might hurt a little.” I yanked back as hard as I could and the bolt popped out.
I went reeling backward and landed flat on the ground.
Almost immediately, the wolf was on his feet. In the blink of an eye, he was on top of me, a paw on either side of my shoulders, his massive head directly over my own.
Hot blasts of air blew on my face as the wolf moved closer, inch by inch. His lips pulled back into a snarl, showing a row of sharp teeth that looked like they could chew off my head with one bite. That’s when I considered that taking pity on the wolf might have been the dumbest thing I’d ever done.
Then, as suddenly as he had pinned me to the ground, the wolf jumped off me and ran toward the tree line, still favoring his injured leg but now at least able to put some pressure on it.
I scampered to my feet and grabbed my sword. When I turned back toward him, the wolf was looking over his shoulder at me, almost as if he were amused. He bowed low to the ground, his nose almost in the snow. Awkwardly, I returned his bow and added a little slicing salute with my sword as I had seen Eva do when we sparred.
A burst of howls exploded from the path that the wagon had disappeared down. I looked down the road and saw a faint silhouette of a rider atop a horse galloping down the road. When I turned back, the wolf was gone.
I looked back to the rider and recognized the unmistakable outlines of Eva and Saladin. As they bore down on me my heart sank. Behind them was a black wave of wolves chasing at their heels.
Eva leaned to one side, her arm outstretched.
I slid my sword back into its scabbard and climbed a rock to get a little more height. I knew we would only get one chance at this. If one of us missed, then I was going to be dinner for a pack of hungry wolves.
I tried to stay calm, but the rock had a thin layer of ice on it and my feet kept sliding from one side to the other. When she was only steps away, I nearly lost my balance entirely and had to swing my arms wildly to regain my foothold.
As soon as I did, I felt Eva’s strong grip on my forearm as she lifted me up onto the back of the saddle. Not missing a beat, Saladin cut to the right into the forest, circled back through and charged right at the approaching wolves.
Eva dropped the reins quickly, grabbed the crossbow and immediately shot down the two wolves in the center of the road. The others hesitated just long enough for Saladin to find a weakness in their line. With a giant leap, he was over the two dead bodies, and had given another wolf a sharp kick to the head. Soon we were galloping down the road at a safe distance.
“Where are the others?” I yelled at Eva.
“They’re safe!” she shouted back. “We’re near the Academy.”
I looked back and saw that the wolf pack was back on our trail, howling and snapping at their prey. Further behind them, I saw the wolf I had saved climb up onto a rocky outcropping, the cross of white fur nearly glowing in the night.
“There!” Eva shouted.
I looked ahead and saw a massive stone wall with an open gateway rise up ahead of us. It looked ancient and worn down, as if the forest were trying to reclaim it. Men stood in position along the battlements above the gate, swords and bows at the ready. Two other men on horseback charged at us from the gate, swords swirling in the air, a battle cry bursting like a song from their mouths.
A single howl rose up above all the noise. Strong and clear.
The pack of wolves slid to a standstill in response to the call.
Eva quickly closed the distance to the riders coming from the gate, and as they pulled up to us, she turned Saladin and lined up along with them. Now the three of us faced the wolves together.
“They’re just out of range for the archers,” the rider next to me said. I turned and was surprised to see it was Daniel. “Cheeky devils.”
The wolves clawed at the ground, teeth bared.
The howl came again and this time I followed the sound up to the rock outcropping where the wolf I had saved stood like a general surveying a battlefield. The other wolves reacted to the howl, turned and ran away into the night.
Eva whispered to me, “See that one? The one with the white on its chest? That’s Tiberon. As he commands, the others follow. We’ve been trying for years to track him down. He’s too clever for his own good.”
“Is he a werewolf?” I asked.
“No one knows,” Eva said. “But—”
“But nothing,” spat Daniel. “He’s a werewolf all right, and I’ll wear his skin for a winter coat soon enough. I promise you that, hero.”
I felt Tiberon’s eyes bore into me from his position and I returned the gaze. I decided it would be better if I didn’t reveal my part in helping the wolf that night.
But then Tiberon bowed once again in my direction. The others looked around as if deciding whom the gesture was meant for. I tried to keep my expression blank but I must have done some small thing to acknowledge the wolf because Eva turned to look at me.
“Anything you want to tell me about?” she asked.
I glanced nervously over at Daniel. His eyes were still fixed on Tiberon, hate burning in his eyes. Luckily, it didn’t seem like he had picked up in the connection between the black wolf and myself.
“You said the others are inside?” I asked, eager to change the subject. “Maybe we should go in.”
Eva gave me a hard look, but finally reined Saladin around and trotted back into the fortified wall, followed by Daniel and the other rider.
We crossed through the large gates, revealing the sheer thickness of the outer walls. They must have been nearly twenty feet thick on all ends. Inside was an enormous courtyard lit by small campfires and torches. Wooden structures were pressed against the fort’s massive walls, their roofs serving a platform for the bulwarks above. At the far end of the courtyard, nearly a hundred yards away, was another wall. This one stretched across the mouth of a massive cave that appeared to go deep into the mountain. This looked even older than the outer wall and bore signs of repair work done over time. I wondered if this second wall was the next line of defense, or if was built to keep things from getting out of the cave.
In the center of this second wall was another gate, set between two tall towers on either side. Eva noticed my interest and said, “That’s the Citadel, the original Academy before the outer walls were built.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, pointing to a giant oak tree growing just outside the second wall. Its trunk was as wide as two cars and its gnarled, lower branches were the size of full trees in their own right. Intertwined throughout the tree was a series of balconies, stairways and walls that seemed almost part of the tree itself. Golden lanterns hung throughout its thick branches, giving it an ethereal quality.
“That?” Eva said, “That’s the Templar Tree. Supposedly planted by Jacques de Molay himself.”
“Who’s Jacques de Molay?” I asked. Unfortunately, Daniel was near enough to overhear my question.
“Did you just ask who Jacques de Molay was?” he snickered. “Yeah, he seems like the One to me.” He spurred his horse forward.
I was about to ask Eva about it when Will and T-Rex mobbed me.
“You son-of-a-gun,” Will said. “You scared the crap outta me.”
“We thought they got you,” T-Rex blubbered.
I climbed off the horse and we all hugged each other, laughing.
Bacho rushed up and nearly knocked us over. “I thought you was a goner for sure.”
“What? And let you guys have all the fun?” I asked. “Not a chance.”
Several dozen people crowded around us in the courtyard, everyone talking over one another excitedly. I could only catch pieces of the conversati
on.
“Which one you thinks he is?”
“Canna be the little guy, can it?
“Thems both kinda little. I thought he’d be tall as a minotaur.”
“I heard he was s’pposed to be the best fighter ever.”
“He’s friends with a Ratling?”
“Wolves can almost get him. Then how can he be the One?”
“Maybe he’s not, right? That’s what I heard the instructors sayin’. Maybe he’s not.”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A heavy rapping echoed throughout the fort, immediately silencing the group. I followed everyone’s gaze upward to the source of the noise, to a well-lit balcony perched on the second floor of the Templar Tree. An ancient looking woman stood looking out over the courtyard, a wooden staff clutched in her hands.
She pointed at us and curled her fingers in to tell us to come meet her. Then she went inside.
“Alright. Excitement’s over,” Eva called out. “Instructors, see to your students. Ratlings, finish your preparations for the breakfast meal.” She pointed a finger toward Will, T-Rex and me. “You three, come with me.”
As we followed Eva into the tree, I noticed faces stealing curious looks at me as they filtered back into doorways around the courtyard. There were a few people in their early twenties, but most of them were around my age, some of them much younger. But it wasn’t hard to notice that even without knowing me at all, there wasn’t a single face that looked happy that I was there. In fact, many of them looked outright hostile.
“Don’t worry about them,” Eva said, also noticing the cold reception. “After being in this place a while, it’s hard to accept outsiders.”
“Where are the adults? The instructors?” Will asked.
“Most instructors are my age. You don’t find a lot of adult hunters,” Eva said.
“Do I want to know why?” T-Rex asked.
“The average life expectancy for an active hunter is only twenty-five years. I told you, this isn’t a game. This is life and death. Come on, Aquinas doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
We followed Eva toward the giant oak tree. I noticed there wasn’t a single electric light anywhere in the compound.
“No electricity?” I asked.
“A few generators for emergencies. But we’re completely off the grid so this place can stay secret,” Eva explained. “Aquinas prefers the old hunting methods anyway. You won’t find guns here. Swords, axes, and crossbows are our weapons of choice.”
“No electricity?” T-Rex moaned. “Does that mean no Xbox?”
“No Xbox. No Wi-Fi. No TV,” Eva said. “Just training on how to hunt and fight the world’s most terrifying monsters.”
“More like how to hide and survive attacks by the world’s most terrifying monsters,” said Daniel, striding up toward us.
“There’s some disagreement about how aggressive we should be,” Eva said, giving Daniel a hard look.
“We’re monster hunters, not monster hiders,” Daniel said.
“But we are the Black Guard,” Eva said. “We watch over the Regs and keep them safe.”
“Regs?” Will asked. “What are they?”
“Non-hunters,” Daniel spat. “Regular people. The ones who sit out there, happy in their ignorance of monsters. I don’t know why we should bother protecting them. What have they ever done for us?”
“Daniel,” an old, creaky voice said from above us. “That will be enough.” It was Aquinas. “You four, come up.”
Doing the quick math, Daniel replied, “Don’t you mean five?”
“I may be old, but I can still count fairly well,” Aquinas muttered as she walked away from the balcony edge. “Monster hiders, indeed.”
Daniel looked to Eva who just shrugged. I couldn’t help but suppress a grin. Daniel spotted it and looked furious as he stomped off.
Eva walked to the stairs, but then turned to us. “Just…just be careful what you say. Aquinas has a bit of a temper.”
“That old bat?” Will whispered. “What’s she going to do, throw her dentures at us?”
I shuddered at the phrase that old bat . The last time I heard that was when my principal had actually transformed into a giant bat creature right before my eyes. A chill passed through me and I tried to put it out of my mind.
“I’m warning you. Don’t underestimate her,” Eva said.
“We’ll be fine. There are some answers I want from her anyway,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. “Let’s get on with it.”
Eva continued up the stairs.
As we got closer, a pit formed in my stomach. The kind I get right before something bad happens. Eva had told me only the smallest details about Aquinas. She was the leader of the Black Guard, head of all monster hunters everywhere. But she was also the one who had made the decision to use me as bait to trap Ren Lucre on my first night as a monster hunter. Most importantly still, she was the person most likely to know the truth about my father’s whereabouts.
I reached the top of the stairs, ready to finally get answers to my questions.
Chapter Four
We walked into a large room that glowed warmly from dozens of candles spread throughout. The trunk of the tree rose through the center of the floor and disappeared through the low-hanging ceiling above. Branches scrolled gracefully throughout the room, serving as dividers for the various areas.
In one section, a long table made of thick, rough-cut wood stretched out with enough room for twelve people. Another area was a clutter of comfortable looking couches and pillows laid out among stacks of old, leather bound books. Back in the far corner, unlit by candles but still visible from the glow of the rest of the room, was what looked like a mad scientist’s laboratory. Glass beakers, weights and scales, test tubes, drafting tables with diagrams, and more rows of books filled the area. The final quarter was empty except for several weapons lining the edge of a straw covered mat. A training room. I spotted a circular staircase in the back of the room that went up a level to what I supposed were the sleeping quarters.
Aquinas stood with her back to us as we stood on the balcony.
“Well, step in here, boy,” she said. “Let me have a look at you.”
I stepped closer and Aquinas turned to face me. I had been able to tell from below that she was old, but up close the word ‘ancient’ was the only one that came to mind.
Deep wrinkles crisscrossed her face, framed by shock-white hair. She hunched over as if just the act of breathing was a challenge. A dull, red scar wrapped around her throat and up one side of her face to her ear. She leaned heavily on the gnarled walking stick, even though she was standing motionless.
While her body language signaled nothing but a dull frailty, her eyes were an intense blue, almost to a point of being unnatural. They looked me up and down with focus, taking in every minute detail. It was a clear signal that there was more to her than her appearance implied.
Eva had warned me not to underestimate her. One glance at those eyes and I knew she was right.
“May I present Jack Templar and his companions Will Chacon and T-Rex Boyle,” Eva said formally.
Aquinas approached Will and T-Rex first. “So, you are the unexpected additions. An unfortunate lapse of judgment by one of my best hunters.” Eva lowered her head at the reprimand. Aquinas put her face very close to Will’s. “Perhaps I will remedy this error and send you home?”
The threat of being sent away took Will by surprise. He stammered for the right words. “I…but I already…why would…”
“I’m afraid there is nothing but blood and pain here for you, young William Chacon,” Aquinas said. “I do not want your death on my hands.” Aquinas turned to Eva. “Send him home.”
“Now, wait a minute,” I said.
“What?” Will cried out. “No way.”
Aquinas watched Will, waiting.
“I can’t go back,” Will said. “I have nothing to go back to.”
“What of your family?” Aquinas a
sked.
“I have no one. At least no one who matters, anyway,” he said. I thought back to the bruises Will used to come to school with. To the school counselors, he always had a good story, but the bruises didn’t come from falling off a bike, or tumbling down a flight of stairs. They came from his father. Getting away to come to the Academy had been the best possible thing for him. Now, only minutes after arriving, he found himself about to be sent home.
“I won’t go,” he declared firmly.
Aquinas raised an eyebrow and studied him. “What did you just say?”
“I said I won’t go. You’re going to have to drag me out of here and it’s going to take more than a few people to do it. And I don’t care if you take me all the way back to America. The second I’m free, I’ll start my way back here. And when I get here I’ll just climb right over that wall and do it all over again.”
“Just words,” Aquinas hummed. “Easily said, but harder to do.”
“Send me home and you’ll see that I’m telling the truth,” Will said, tears welling in his eyes now. “I swear on my life that I will just keep coming back until you let me stay.”
Aquinas looked at Eva, who couldn’t help but crack a smile. “You were right, Eva,” Aquinas said. “He is a feisty one. And you vouch for him?”
Eva looked Will over and then nodded. “I do. I vouch for him.”
Aquinas lifted her walking stick up and poked Will in the chest with it gently. “If you stay, you will follow every command given to you. You will do exactly as you are told, exactly when you are told to do it. You’re loyalty is to the Black Guard if you stay. Nothing else. Do we have an understanding?”
Will beamed with excitement. “Yes, of course. Thank you. I won’t let you down. I promise.” He acknowledged Eva with a nod of the head.
“Yes, yes, we’ll see about that,” Aquinas said. “And what to do with this one?” she asked herself, sizing up T-Rex, who immediately stuck a finger in his nose. She knocked his hand away with her cane and then poked his belly with it. She shook her head disapprovingly. “What to do, indeed.”
“Begging your pardon, ma’am,” T-Rex said nervously. “But Eva told me there might be a fit for me in the kitchens. A Ratling, she called it.”