by P. L. Smith
"Behind your back, werewolf," said Tiny.
"His name is Lethan."
Tiny frowned down at Jak, but she glared back.
"All right, Lethan then."
Lethan smiled and nodded while the man tied his wrists behind his back. The rough rope grated at his wrists as the man pulled the knots tight.
"All right, gather everyone for a meeting of the Altar. Then we'll decide what to do about the Firejacks and about you... Lethan."
****
Lethan got to see more of the Altar this time; the last time he hadn't exactly had a chance to look around. He did now. It was lined with row after row of wooden seats. The men brought him to the very back, and he was given his own bench that faced the rest of the seats. Next to him, was a large platform, and then another bench like his on the opposite side where Jak and Tiny, the blacksmith, sat. Two of the men who had prodded him along stood silently behind him, their sharp sticks inches from his neck.
Lethan's brow was covered in sweat, and his hands shook uncontrollably. He had managed to get himself into a situation that, despite his own reassurances, deep down in his gut, felt very, very wrong.
He watched as the Altar slowly began to fill with people. Men, women, and children filed in, each staring at Lethan, the men with disgust, the women with horror, and the children with frightened fascination.
Oh yes. This is going to turn out well for the Lycan in the room.
"Everyone, if you'll take your seats, we can get started," said Tiny.
Tiny spoke with a silver-haired man upon the platform while everyone settled it. Lethan had felt the man's presence the moment he had entered the Altar. His face was aged, but despite that, he stood straight and strong, and his eyes punched through Lethan like a Firejack stinger. Lethan felt an uncontrollable fear as he watched the man.
Lethan tried to calm himself. He needed to be able to think if things went badly. He slowly inhaled through his nostrils and he felt his heart begin to slow. As the pounding in his ears subsided, he took notice of the loud murmur throughout the high roofed building.
Tiny and the silver-haired man finished speaking, and Tiny took his seat. Silver Hair walked to the edge of the platform and looked out over the crowd. Immediately the room fell silent.
"Friends we have received word of strange events taking place as we speak. This could mean a great deal of trouble for us, or it could simply be false information crafted for unknown purposes. However, I am hearing the details third hand. So, I will let you hear it from the source. Please keep silent until she has finished. Then we will open the discussion.
“Jaklyn?”
Silver Hair held out his hand ushering Jak to the platform with a smile. Lethan saw that her brow was sweaty and her hands shook too.
Not a good sign. Although it is ridiculously hot in here.
Jak stepped up onto the platform and the man guided her by the shoulder to the front. He stood directly behind her, with a grim sort of a smile.
"Hel... hello..."
Jak stammered the first word and then stood silently. Everyone in the room shifted impatiently. Jak took a deep breath, and then her words tumbled out, as though she couldn't get off the platform fast enough.
"The Firejacks are starting a war. They've built weapons. Big weapons. Some the size of hay wagons. They killed many of the foresters when they tried to stop them. Then they came down and killed all of the foresters' young. They burned them alive: calves, fawns, foals, lambs, all dead. It's only a matter of time before they come here."
A man burst up, interrupting her.
"Why would the Firejacks want war with us?"
Silver Hair held up his hand and the man, whose face suddenly turned crimson, sat down immediately.
Jak continued.
"The foresters believe the Queen has gone crazy. She wants the land for herself. Her Firejacks are killing without mercy. We must do something. The foresters can't fight this war alone. I think we should fight, and I think we should build armor and weapons for the foresters too, so they at least stand a chance."
Jak scanned the faces of everyone in the room, people she had known all her life. Each face was covered with a mixture of emotion. Many were clearly enraged, but all kept silent. Jak stood quietly, unsure whether she had swayed them and unsure of what else to say.
"And what of the werewolf, this Lethan?" said Silver Hair.
"Oh! This is Lethan. He came here to warn us of all this before, but you attacked him and tortured him. But what he said was true; he showed me the weapons, and he saved me many times. I don't see any reason to punish him. I guess that is all I have to say."
Well that was sweet and... very short.
Jak started to return to her seat but turned and took the seat next to Lethan. A small gasp echoed throughout the building.
"We will now have open discussion within the Altar. Who would like to speak?"
A man stood up quickly and began speaking angrily.
"I say this isn't our fight! Why would the Queen bother us? I say let the foresters deal with their own problems."
An angry agreement rippled through almost half of the onlookers. Another man stood.
"What happens if we build weapons for the foresters, and they do beat the Firejacks, what then? Do they give the weapons back, or do they attack us with them and steal our crops?"
Agreement again echoed up into the rafters. Jak stood up, her fists clenched and her face red.
"Why would they do that? Have they ever attacked us before? Most of them just eat grass anyway! Don't be stupid!"
"We will not have you throwing around insults, young lady. If you can't conduct yourself in a mature manner, you'll be asked to leave."
Jak's anger surged, but she held her tongue.
Silver Hair watched her for a moment and then continued.
"Friends, I agree that this is not our fight. We have kept peace with the Queen all these years. I see no reason why we would be in danger. As a token of faith, I propose we send a messenger to the Queen, and offer her a gift. We have a surplus of honey and mead, and I believe the Queen would be very appreciative of that, especially with the growing numbers of her legions. What is your say?"
The agreement was unanimous.
"Your messenger will be dead by the time he reaches the Queen's borders," said Jak.
A silence settled once again over the room, and Silver Hair frowned down at her.
"Now, Jaklyn, let's not be spreading negative ignorance’s around like that. There is no reason a messenger bearing the flag of peace, and pulling a wagon full of honey would be harmed. Now who is being stupid?"
Lethan could hear Jak's teeth grind.
"Now that that's settled, let's move on to the next topic. The werewolf."
Lethan's heart jumped to his throat.
"Whether he was delivering a message or not, he did it in a rather unorthodox way. However, if what he said was true, I see no reason to punish him for that."
Jak smiled up at Lethan.
"I propose we set him free... unless there are any other issues that warrant discussing?"
Immediately men were shouting.
"All right, all right. Apparently there is. Let us keep this civil. Now then, one at a time. You start Tommy."
A skinny man with a bald head spoke.
"The village has had two children taken in this year alone! How could we let a blood thirsty killer like this walk away? I say we cut his throat and rid ourselves of this curse while we have him!"
Another man stood.
"How do you know more won't come? I say cut him into pieces and leave a marker at every corner of our land. Let that serve as a warning to any other werewolves that decide to enter our lands."
"Trickle his blood around the perimeter! The scent will keep others out for sure."
Lethan's head felt light, and his stomach was beginning to turn. A woman stood and shouted.
"Burn him! He deserves to suffer!"
The woman collap
sed into a fit of sobs. Lethan could guess why.
Jak stood up on the bench and yelled.
"It's a disease. He can beat it; we helped him make it through the last Luna without feeding. He just needs help. Besides how do you even know it was him? It could have been any Lycan! You can't blame him for..."
Lethan stood slowly and all attention turned to him. The guards spear points immediately touched his back. He tensed, waiting to be run through, but they held.
"Jak. I uh..."
Lethan quivered as he spoke, and his eyes filled with shame.
"I'm the only Lycan left. There hasn't been another in these lands for... years."
Lethan saw his words working in Jak's mind, and he saw the moment she knew what his words meant, that he was the filthy werewolf that took her brother. Lethan turned away. He couldn't look at her anymore.
"I have been the only one feeding from this village and the rest of the villages for five years now."
A gasp went up through the crowd. Jak lowered herself to the bench in silence.
"If you were to kill me, I doubt you'd ever see a Lycan again."
"Then it's settled! Burn him on the stake!"
A note of approval once again rippled through the crowd.
Silver Hair held up his hands.
"The werewolf gets burned on the stake. What is your say?"
"Aye!"
CHAPTER VII
Funny. I've thought about dying in a lot of ways. Getting trampled by annoyed Centaurs, getting stung repeatedly by Firejacks for stealing honey scabs, getting one of those pronged sticks thrown into my back by an angry Yuman, or even having a bone get lodged in my throat sideways to cause unending agony until I either starved to death or flung myself from a cliff. But I must say, burning alive was never one I pictured. Maybe that's the way it is. You can plan and prep for every possible event, but the one that's going to get you is the one you didn't think of. Not that I was planning or prepping.
Being dead doesn't scare me; if I'm lucky I'll get to see Lina again. If not, it'll be an eternity of sleep, nothingness, maybe worse. No, what scares me is the dying itself and right now, the chunks of dry pine stacked at my feet are scaring the hell out of me.
"Throw on more wood! That's not enough. Dolan, fetch some lamp oil."
"Go ahead and light the torches Annis."
Well, won't be long now. Mo-Na I hope it happens quick. Think of Lina. Think of Lina. Her eyes. They were wonderful. Mo-Na how often did I stare into those eyes. When we would explore. When we would hunt. We used to lie in the grass at night, stare at the stars, and not get up until the sun peeked over the horizon, and we were covered in dew. I wish I could just feel her hand in mine again.
"All right boys, light it up!"
Three men advanced with torches. The smoke stung at Lethan's eyes, and so he closed them. He didn't see them light the fire, but he heard the rush of air, and he felt the heat.
Oh Mo-Na, no. It's happening. I'm going to die. I'm going to be burned alive. Mo-Na please make it quick. Lina!
The flames licked at his legs, and he pulled tight against the restraints, but they held fast. He smelled the acrid scent of his own burning hair.
Lina! Talk to me! Tell me it's going to be all right. Take me from this place. Mo-Na please!
Lethan's ears were ringing. Then the ringing rose to a whistle.
Lina? Is that you?
The whistle grew louder and louder. It actually started to hurt his ears. He risked it and slowly opened one eye. Just then something smashed into him from behind with a deafening roar, propelling him and his stake through the air.
I'm dead. I'm floating. It's over. No more pain. No more fire. Lina I'm...
Lethan's face landed first, his cheek skidding across the ground, followed by his shoulder, his arm, then his thigh. The blow knocked all the air from his lungs, his body crumpling like an egg shell. His lungs burned like fire.
Breathe. Breathe! Take a breath dammit!
Finally his body responded to his brain's commands, and his chest heaved, bringing in a great gasp of air, but it wasn't enough. His chest heaved again. The ringing was back. Lethan felt sand hit his face, and he opened his eyes.
What he saw didn't make sense. Sand and dirt flew through the air. Yumans ran around like they were mad. A man running near Lethan fell to the ground, an unrecognizable bloody mass where his head had been just a second before.
Lethan couldn't understand what was happening. But it didn't matter; he was pretty sure he was dead. Yet, he was still gasping for breath.
Jak's face suddenly appeared. She was making large movements with her mouth, but he couldn't hear her. She pulled a knife from her belt and reached behind him. His body lurched forward as his restraints were cut. Lethan was free; yet he couldn't move. Didn't want to. Just wanted to see Lina.
Jak was shouting something at him again, but he ignored her. Why couldn't she just leave him alone to die? Jak cocked her arm back and let it fall, slapping Lethan hard across the face. Immediately the world came alive. Lethan could hear screaming and loud roars, like he was standing next to a waterfall.
"I said get up you filthy worthless mutt! The Firejacks are coming!"
Lethan turned over on his stomach and pushed himself up. He got to his knees, but as he tried to go further, he felt the air hit his charred feet and calves. He collapsed and whimpered in pain. Jak grabbed him by the arm, dragging him up.
"If you don't get up, we're going to die!"
Somehow Lethan managed to get his feet under him, but had to lean heavily on Jak.
When they made it into the trees, they collapsed into a bramble bush. They were both breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Lethan lay on his back, moaning, a thousand small thorns poking him, but he didn't care.
"What... what happened?"
"The Firejacks. They're here... with their weapons. We have to keep moving."
"Jak we'll never make it like this. My legs are shot. You have to go. Leave me here. Find Dagan at Mountainhold. Go on."
"No."
Lethan was about to yell at her, when they heard something coming. They lay still trying to silence their heavy breathing. Whatever it was came close and stopped. Lethan readied himself. He'd use every last drop of strength he had to rush the Firejack and give Jak a chance to run. He clenched his claws into his fist and felt the adrenaline surge through his body. He was about to spring up when they heard a whisper.
"Jak? Jak are ya there?"
Jak leapt up.
"Tiny?"
"Oh thank Mo-Na! I thought I saw you heading for the trees, but I couldn't be sure. Come on, we have to get out of here."
"Wait, we have to get Lethan."
"The werewolf? Jak, we don't have time."
"Go Jak, I'll only slow you down," said Lethan.
"Tiny, I'm not leaving without him. You can either help me carry him, or you can leave me here."
"But Jak he's the one... your brother..."
"I don't care Tiny. I'm not leaving him."
Jak crossed her arms and glared. Tiny looked from her to the burning village and to Lethan. With a heavy sigh, he moved forward and lifted Lethan up, taking his arm over his shoulders. Jak jumped in taking the other arm. Lethan did his best to carry his own weight, but the crispy skin on his calves put him in agony with every step.
There was one thought, shared by all three. It was going to be a long walk.
****
Lethan moaned, rolling over onto his back.
"He doesn't look very good Tiny."
"It's the burns, they're giving him nightmares. Probably got a fever, too."
"Is there anything we can do for him?"
"I don't know nothing about doctoring no werewolf."
Jak frowned.
"We'll just have to wait, Jak. Let the fever run its course. If he's strong he'll come out if it."
Lethan moaned again, rolling on his side, next to the fire.
They had made it to the base of
the mountains just before nightfall. Tiny and Jak, exhausted, deposited Lethan on the ground and then collapsed upon a soft patch of grass themselves. Lethan had drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the day, although his incessant moaning never stopped.
"We have got to warn the other villages, if they haven't been hit yet," said Tiny.
"Do you think they have?"
"I don't know, maybe. Our village was closest to the Queen's hive from the south, but to the east, Stonesweat is only a little further, and from there they can hit Greenleaf and Foxden. Without warning, they don't stand a chance. Nor do the rest of them."
"We can't warn them all ourselves. It would take weeks to make it to every village."
"I know it."
"Maybe Dagan can help us, send out birds or something," said Jak.
"...and you said he's the king of the foresters?"
"The steward."
"Funny, I didn't think they were that organized. Always thought they were just wild beasts that could talk. Nothing more."
"Sebben razess."
They both looked over to Lethan. Jak walked over and felt his brow. It was burning up.
"What was that Lethan?"
"Seven races. Foresters. Seven races."
Tiny's eyes widened.
"Seven? I didn't know there were that many. I thought just the Centaurs, Minotaurs, the goat things..."
"Yali's," said Lethan.
"Right, Yali's. Then just you werewolves."
"Lycans," said Jak.
"Lycans then," said Tiny.
“The Elapi.”
"The what?"
“Stags.” said Jak.
"Stags are foresters?"
Lethan closed his eyes and nodded.
"That's still just five. What are the others?"
"The Vu... Vukodlaks and the Griffins."
"I've never heard of either."
Lethan shivered and wrapped his arms around himself.
"All dead. Long ago. Griffins... were flying lions. Vukodlaks... cousins to the Lycans and the Centaurs. Wolf-horses. That's what... mother told me anyway."
"That would have been sommat to see!"