Patrice nodded. “Of course, milady. What else do you need?” she asked as she helped me on with my leather jacket. I had plundered enough jackets from Seattle that, unless I either gained or lost a lot of weight, I’d have enough to last me through several hundred years, providing they were stored correctly.
I sighed. “I need my sword and dagger. I’m not about to go out there unarmed.”
Truth be told, I was never unarmed. I glanced down at my right leg. I was wearing leather shorts. My usual garb, they allowed me access to the tattoo of a flaming whip that ran down the right side of my leg, from thigh to ankle. Hecate had inked it herself on me, and when I slapped my hand against the handle of the whip, it came off my leg, ready to use. It had been awhile since I’d been called on to wield it, but I still practiced with it three times a week, as well as working out five days a week to keep in shape.
As Patrice fit my scabbard over my back, adjusting it so I could detach it for easy access, I sucked in a long breath as I focused myself into battle mode. It had been awhile since I’d had to wield Xan—my sword—outside of practice. I could feel her waking up, almost hungry for a good shakedown.
Patrice handed me my dagger sheath, and I strapped it around my left thigh and slid my blade into it. I slipped on fingerless gloves. They were lightweight and flexible, and I had discovered how much easier it was to handle my weapons with them.
“Ready?” Patrice asked, standing back, looking at me.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.” And I realized, I was. I missed the hunt…the chase.
She opened the door for me. “I’ll be here if you need me.”
I turned to her as I slipped out the door to where Elan was waiting for me.
“I know, and I’m grateful.” With a smile, I followed Elan into UnderBarrow, to the Blue room, to talk strategy.
TAM WAS THERE, waiting, along with Damh Varias—Tam’s second in command. Hans was there, as well as Zed, and a couple of other guards. Elan and I took our places as one of the serving maids brought me a plate of eggs, bacon, applesauce, a large roll, and cheese. She returned with a cup of tea for me, and then retreated to the corner of the room to await orders.
As soon as Elan and I had settled into our seats, Tam cleared his throat, which was all it took to silence the room. “Zed, did the guards find anything else during the night?”
Zed shrugged. “A few more remains that makes it look like we may have had more casualties than we first thought. Also, one of the guards recognized…one of the heads we found.”
“Heads?” Elan asked, a grim look on her face.
“Yes, it appears that the entire group of victims was savaged. There are bite marks and enough flesh missing that we can reasonably assume that the attackers ate them. The heads were untouched, but their internal organs appear to be missing, as well as big chunks of flesh.” Zed’s words dropped like lead in the room.
“Who was the victim, then?”
“One of our herbalists. The guard was dating her, which made it that much worse. Ericeidae was leading a foraging expedition into the woods for a week, hunting for herbs. There are a few plants that only blossom this time of year. Windsake and throbrob are two of the ones that the healers need most during the winter to fight influenza and lung-rot, and they are difficult to find. Ericeidae was one of the best foragers we had. She’s going to be missed. But this does allow us to identify the missing, given we have the roster of those who were in the party. There were two more adults that we haven’t found heads for.” Zed looked queasy.
“Why were the children along?” Tam asked, his voice tight.
“They were on a field trip. We’ve checked with the school. Five of the students showed a remarkable talent with healing, and so they were allowed to go along. The classroom can’t give you the direct experience that a field expedition can.”
Tam nodded, his lips set in a thin line. “Word’s going to get out and there’s going to be panic. Instruct Lieutenant Aerie and someone else he deems suitable to notify the families. He’s good at delivering bad news. He’s empathetic and has the right sensitivity.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Zed scribbled down a note.
I hung my head, not wanting to think about the children who had been along on that trip. “Could it be zombies? Seattle is filled with them. The plague wasn’t wiped out like we hoped it would be, and in the intervening years, the city has developed a massive colony of them, along with ghosts and spirits and other creepers.”
“Don’t forget about the possibility of vampires,” Tam said. “Kython and his crew have increased their numbers.”
I shuddered. We had met Kython when we were headed out on the Tremble to save Tam. I had discovered that the oh-so-famous vampire had been a Theosian, which meant my kind could be turned. And I also learned that everything I had been taught about vampires had been a myth.
The Conglomerate—the old government—had led us to believe they engineered the vamps, but what they had actually done was capture real vampires and attempt to create a mutant variety under their control. What they had actually ended up doing was creating yet another monster.
Ghouls were deadly, all right, but hadn’t proved submissive to their creators. Born with a blood lust and desire for flesh, ghouls could breed because they were still alive, but they usually kept to the subterranean areas of the cities—the sewers and basements.
Actual vampires were true to their legend. The living undead wasted no love for the government who had used them. It occurred to me that I still owed Kython a favor. I pushed that thought out of my mind, and focused on our immediate concerns.
“I doubt if it was vampires,” I said. “They drink blood, but they don’t tend toward carnage like this. Ghouls, maybe?”
“I suppose a pack of them could have made their way over from the city, around the north side between Horned Owl Inlet and Wild Wave Inlet.” Tam frowned. “But that’s a long way for them to travel, and while sunlight won’t kill them like it does vampires, it does hurt them.”
“The remains that we found are in the Healer’s Hall. Do you want to see them, or should we head out to the site?” Zed asked.
My stomach lurched at the thought of looking over the remains of anybody, let alone children. I had seen my share of death over the years, and one thing I had learned: while you might get used to it, as long as you retained a shred of your humanity, you never became immune to the sight. I was grateful when Tam shook his head.
“No, there’s no need to see them. At least not right at this moment. Send a page to the Healer’s Hall and tell them to do their best to preserve the remains till we return. I’m certain the medics are going to have their work cut out for them anyway, piecing together what…belongs to whom.” He stood. “We leave in a quarter hour. Meet back here. Take care of any personal needs, and—” he turned to the serving girl. “Will you make up lunches for Her Majesty, myself, Dame Elan, and Lord Hans?” He glanced over at Elan. “I take Jason isn’t coming?”
“He will if you ask. But you know how skittish he still can be.”
Tam nodded. “Then leave him be. If we need him, he will come, but right now, we’re merely on a recon mission.”
As we scurried to get ready, I felt a lump in my throat. It had been several months since I had gone out hunting an Abom, and other than that, life had been focused on what felt like extremely normal activity. I had a feeling that was about to change.
CAPTAIN WAS WAITING for me, pawing the ground nervously. I patted his side and whispered softly to him. “It’s all right, Cap’n. We’ll be fine.”
He stopped fidgeting but as I swung my leg over his back, I got the feeling he really wasn’t happy with what we were doing. It crossed my mind to ask him if he sensed anything, but that would require a trip to the lake and going out on the boat, and we didn’t have the time. But when I got back, I was determined to tap him for anything that he had sensed.
Tam’s horse was a ma
jestic black stallion, a Friesian. The horse’s mane was as wavy as Tam’s hair, and so was his tail. Aethar, the massive horse, was as noble as they came, and he looked as wild and free as Tam did. Tam rode him bareback—no saddle needed, and the horse responded to him as though they were cut from the same cloth. His feathers had been trimmed so that he wouldn’t get them caught in bushes or burrs, and he gleamed under the pale dawn.
We headed out, with Zed in front, followed by two more guards. Tam and Hans rode behind them, then me—riding side by side with Elan. Four more guards brought up the rear.
We had the elite crew with us. Every guard was from the King’s Force division. These were the warriors who guarded over Tam and me, and they were among the most highly skilled in the entire army. They were all Bonny Fae, except for Teragamma, a magus who was a Theosian like me, bound to the Morrígan. Five ravens flew over Teragamma’s head, following the sorceress as we headed out from UnderBarrow, through Willow Wood and along the road that led north.
We had claimed a large territory, large enough to grow into without being too large to keep an eye over, and there were no other villages close enough to argue the point.
The road was mist-shrouded and foggy, and clouds rolled low along the sky, dark and billowing. The tall firs and cedars that forested the area hung heavy with rain from the night before, their scent cleansing the air as it braced me.
During the first World Shift, the forests had come back with a vengeance, and people either lived within the cities and towns or built the odd house here and there through the wooded glens. But in the eight years since the devastating tsunami and quakes that had riddled the land, as far as we knew, most of the bigger cities had fallen. Villages had sprung up, as survivors banded together to figure out a new way of life.
I thought of Tigra, a weretiger whom I had known. Five and a half years ago, she and a group of scouts had set out to cross the country, to find out how much still stood as they journeyed to the capital of Atlantea. But we hadn’t heard from them since. No messages, no sign of them. I hoped that they were still alive—I liked Tigra. But I didn’t hold out much faith that I’d ever see her again.
The ravens flying with Teragamma were loud, cawing as they flew, their calls echoing through the forest. The drip, drip, drip of rain off the trees kept up a constant spatter as we rode along in silence. Elan glanced to the side, watching the trees as we passed by.
“They aren’t happy,” she said after a time.
“What aren’t?”
“The trees. They’re feeling furtive and watchful. I’ve never quite sensed them so…cautious, that would be the word.” She frowned, clucking at her horse. He moved toward the side of the road and Elan stopped him as she stared into the dense thicket of undergrowth. We halted, waiting for her. She cocked her head, as if listening and then, after a brief silence, turned back to us.
“There are creatures that have come through the woods, dark and angry. The trees are whispering amongst one another. I can sense their communication, but not what they are saying. But they’re definitely uneasy. I think it would behoove us to pay attention and follow suit. Be cautious. Keep alert.”
Zed wove through the other horses until he made his way to her side. He stared into the patch she had been watching. “Should we go off road to find out what’s in there?”
She considered his question for a moment, then shook her head. “No, we’d be at a disadvantage if we came up against something. Keep to the road, but don’t drift. Don’t let yourselves get distracted. There is danger in these woods. I can feel it on the tip of my tongue—a sour, bitter taste.”
We went back to our positions, and I clucked to my horse, speeding up the pace a little. Our horses had been trained for battle, but even they seemed restless. I was picking up on Captain’s nervousness, but he held true to the path.
By the time we neared the campground where the foragers had been found massacred, we were all on edge. I could tell from Tam’s stiff shoulders, and his darting gaze told me that he was taking the warnings to heart. I wanted to ride next to him, but it would only make him more concerned for my safety and throw him off his guard.
As we entered the campground, a hush fell over the area. The ravens landed in a nearby tree, but they were silent, and I noticed that there was no birdsong filling the air. A knot formed in my stomach and I drew a long breath. The scent of blood still hung heavy in the air, and the ground was stained with it everywhere I looked.
There were four guards already there examining the area, and four others keeping watch. They straightened as we approached. When they saw Tam and me, they dropped to one knee.
We dismounted, and Tam held out his hand to me. I placed my hand atop his, and we silently walked over to the senior guard, who lowered his head, then rose as Tam gestured for him to stand.
“What have you found?” Tam asked.
The guard—I recognized him as Kroix, a hawk-shifter like Jason, though I wasn’t sure if he was a member of the Cast—let out a long sigh.
“Not much. But what we have discovered sets me uneasy, Your Majesty. If you would come look.” He turned toward the bushes and Tam, accompanied by Zed and Hans, followed him behind a huckleberry bush.
A moment later, Tam called for me and, with Elan escorting me, I joined them. We were in the middle of a patch of waist-high ferns, but beside one of the biggest ferns, there were a couple of footprints. Well, toe prints, along with prints of the balls of someone’s feet. But they weren’t human, that much was obvious.
“Do you recognize what kind of prints these are?” Tam asked.
I squatted, looking at them closely. “It’s difficult. They’re distorted by the muddy ground. But they’re larger than normal and seem…off. As though they’re walking on the balls of their feet.”
“We also found prints about six feet away, but they aren’t of toes.” Kroix motioned to another set of prints in the mud. He was right, they weren’t toe prints. Instead, they looked more like indentations made by a club of some sort, though whatever it was wasn’t smooth on the ends, but ridged. There were two of them and I realized they were just about as far apart as the toe prints were.
“Hands. Fists, rather. If you ball up your fists and press them into the mud…” I made a fist, holding it up for them to see.
Kroix nodded, balling his fist and leaning over to press it into the wet ground. Sure enough, when he pulled it away, the print matched the others, only it was much smaller. Something about it struck a bell and I gazed at the two sets of prints again, trying to figure out what was jogging my memory.
But Elan figured it out first. “Lycanthropes! They run on their hands and feet like that, on the balls of their feet, and on their knuckles. This spread would fit the size of an average one.”
A chill raced up my spine and I remembered the fight we had been through on our way to Reflection Lake, in our haste to get away from Seattle as it drowned. She was right. That’s what I had been thinking of. We had been attacked by a band of lycanthropes and they had been running on their hands and feet.
Lycanthropes were similar to Theosians in that their werewolf mothers had wandered through rogue magical spots during pregnancy, changing the DNA. Unlike Theosians, who ended up with magical gifts and pledged to the gods, lycanthropes were more wolf than they were human, and they were stuck in between, unable to transform. They were a cross between both races, human and wolf, and they could walk on their knuckles and toes. They were a terrifying race, bloody and violent, and they could breed true, which made them that much more dangerous. They also tended to feast on whatever they killed, regardless of who or what the prey had been.
“Crap. If we have a band of lycanthropes running around, we’re in trouble. We better send out a hunting party to track them down so we know what we’re facing.” I turned to Tam. “I know there are nests of them in the woods. Maybe we should contact the Fir Mountain Pack and ask them if they’ve seen any lately.”
Werewolves tended to dislike lycanthropes as much as they disliked vampires. The creatures reminded them of their darker sides, and when a lycanthrope was born into a Pack, they were set out to die. Usually nature took its course, but now and then one would survive.
“Good idea, though I don’t like owing any favors to them, even for something so simple as information,” Tam said. I could see the wheels turning in his head. “Zed, do you concur this could be a lycanthrope attack?”
Zed nodded. “Now that Elan and Her Majesty Kaeleen suggest it, I can see no other possibility. There may be another answer, but this is as good as I can think of for now.”
Tam motioned for us to head back to the horses. “Then we ride for home. When we get there, I want to talk to the unit leaders from the guard, including Lt. Aerie. We need to fortify our defenses and step up watch on our borders.”
As we mounted our horses, I glanced around the area. The campground had a desolate air to it and I wondered if the spirits of the dead were going to end up stuck here. I thought we’d do well to hold a village-wide ceremony for them, and have the priests from the various temples lay them to rest. But we’d have to also figure out damage control to prevent panic. Because like it or not, we couldn’t just build a wall around the village and hope to survive, hiding away from the dangers that were out there.
WE’D BARELY RETURNED to Willow Wood when Hecate sent a page to find me.
“Your Majesty, her Gracious Divinity, the Lady Hecate bade me to petition you to join her as soon as you are able.”
The poor boy looked about ready to wet himself. Between talking to a goddess and then to his queen, he was probably scared shitless that he’d do something wrong. Pages usually managed to handle their fear as they grew into the positions, but I knew that this child had only been at it for a few months. I remembered his mother’s petition for her son to get the job.
“Very good. What’s your name?”
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