Through the Never: a Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection

by J. A. Culican

  I felt stronger as I left the village, taking the north road. I didn’t know what lay ahead of me, but at least I was prepared.

  I walked for hours in the baking sun, determined not to stop until I found somewhere to hunt. I passed many creatures that would be delicious cooked over an open fire, but all of them were in farmers’ fields and I was many things but I wasn’t a thief. I could have tried out my new crossbow on the birds that flew over head, but they were so quick, I was afraid I‘d lose too many arrows before hitting one. I needed to find somewhere where bigger animals roamed free.

  By the time evening rolled around, I was exhausted. My stomach was complaining of the lack of food and my muscles burned with the effort of walking all day. And yet, in the distance, there was a sight that warmed my heart—a line of dark trees which could only mean the edge of a forest and, even better, the snowy peaks of a mountain range beyond.

  I’d find both food and a place to shelter in the forest, and if I was lucky, maybe a village that I would be able to call home.

  I dragged my protesting legs along for another hour until I reached the edge of the forest. It looked just like the forest near Drionas with tall pine trees, and just for a second I felt a pang as I thought of home. There was something different about this patch of trees, though. It was deadly silent. Nothing moved through the undergrowth and I couldn’t hear the sound of birds overhead. It was so quiet that the sound of my own breathing seemed magnified. Breaking the silence, I pulled my sword from its scabbard with a clatter and held it in front of me, ready to attack. There was a reason that this forest was so quiet and the only explanation I could come up with was that some big creature was eating all the smaller ones. It could even be dragons, which would suit me just fine.

  Slowly, I walked through the forest. It was much bigger and darker than I imagined and after walking for a couple of hours, I realized that my biggest problem was that I still hadn’t found food, not that I’d end up as food. I pulled a handful of leaves from a tree but they tasted bitter, so I spit them out. I knew nothing of edible plants. My stomach had long since given up growling at me and now was tightening with spasms of hunger. I was so exhausted I could barely see through the thick branches and my muscles ached so badly, I had trouble holding myself up. When I tripped over a branch and hit the ground, the resulting blackness was more than welcome.

  Chapter 2

  I heard it before I saw it, and yet I didn’t open my eyes. So much for being a warrior. Before yesterday, I’d have been up and ready for the kill at a moment’s notice, but today, I’d happily let whatever it was that was shuffling around near my face eat me for breakfast. I was so tired that just the thought of opening my eyes felt like a feat of endurance. But when the noise turned into someone or something licking my nose, I thought I should probably see what it was.

  My eyes peeled open to see a hairy snout in my face. I pulled back and saw that the snout was attached to a wolf of some kind, except it was like no wolf I had ever seen before. It was much larger than a common wolf with longer limbs. This one didn’t act like a wolf either. Its teeth were not bared as I expected any wolf to do when facing an enemy. I pulled myself up into a sitting position and stared at the strange creature. He stared back at me as though sizing me up.

  “Are you a shifter?” I asked, feeling foolish. I’d heard stories of animals that could turn their whole being into a human form, but it was nothing more than a myth, a story handed down from generation to generation to scare the young ones.

  He cocked his head and growled. Funnily enough, his growl sounded almost human. He wasn’t scared of me, that’s for sure, and I could tell he meant me no harm. Didn’t normal wolves attack no matter what?

  Another noise startled me although the wolf seemed at ease. Behind him in the undergrowth, other wolves were heading this way. For the first time since waking up, I felt nervous. I searched the ground near me for my sword but it had fallen out of my reach. My breathing became more rapid as I realized that there was no way out of this situation alive. If I couldn’t reach my sword, I may as well lay back down and let them eat me. Then it came to me.

  My crossbow!

  I could feel it still strapped to my back.

  I waited until the first wolf looked back over his shoulder toward the others and carefully pulled the crossbow out. I’d never used it before, but the wolves were close enough and still enough for me to get a good shot. OK, so I’d probably not be able to kill them all before they attacked, but at least I’d go down with a fight.

  I’d just gotten the crossbow into my hands when the first wolf barked something that sounded like an order to the other wolves. I was startled when they all retreated and left just the two of us alone that I forgot what I was doing and dropped the crossbow to the ground in front of me.

  “They listened to you?”

  I felt stupid talking to an animal that was really no more than a wild dog, but he seemed to understand my every word. There was intelligence in his eyes and the way he looked at me. He was like no wild animal I’d ever seen before. He just sat and stared at me. I longed to reach out to him, but something told me that this wouldn’t be the right thing to do, and yet I had to do something. We couldn’t just sit and stare at each other all day.

  I was turning away to retrieve my sword when the wolf moved out of the corner of my eye. Something about the way he moved was odd, but it was only when I looked back at him directly that I saw what it was. I had been right. He was a shifter. His body was folding in on itself in the most grotesque manner. His snout became shorter as his already long limbs lengthened even more. He stood on his back legs and grew until he was over six feet in height. I should have been scared but I was mesmerized by his transformation. When it was complete, he stood before me, a young man with the same greyish-brown hair that fell down his back and the same cool grey eyes that had been staring at me for the last ten minutes. He held out his hand to help me up out of the dirt.

  I took it, figuring that if he wasn’t going to kill me as a wolf, he wouldn’t do it as a man.

  “What are you doing in our forest?” His voice was strong and commanding, exactly how I expected him to sound. He was a man in charge.

  “I’m lost.”

  He laughed then although I wasn’t sure why.

  “No one gets lost in these woods. No one would dare to enter, and yet here you are with your sword and crossbow. You are armed and yet you chose to lie on the ground for us to find you and kill you.”

  I didn’t like his tone, although he had a point. In all my time of being a dragon slayer, I’d never felt or acted so helplessly. It was embarrassing. It was also making me angry. How dare he talk to me in such a manner?

  I pulled myself up to my full height. I was a tall woman and yet I still fell a few inches shorter than him.

  “I’m a dragon slayer. If you let me get my sword, I’ll prove it to you.”

  “Here,” he said, picking up the sword and throwing it to me. “No need to prove anything.” He was laughing again.

  Now with my sword in my hand, I knew I was invincible. He didn’t have his legion of buddies behind him now. It was just me and him, and I was the one with a weapon.

  I held the point of the sword to his throat and adopted my most menacing expression. “Don’t laugh at me or I’ll kill you where you stand.”

  He held his hands up but there was no fear in his eyes, just the same amusement he’d shown before. “Is that any way to treat a man who helped you up?”

  I lowered my sword slowly, although I kept a tight grip on the handle. One foul move from him and I’d chop him in two.

  “You should leave this forest. There is no space for you here.”

  “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”

  I’d already planned to leave. I’d found no food and if I didn’t eat soon, I was going to be completely useless. I just didn’t want him to think he could tell me what to do.

  “You are a feisty young thing, aren’t you? Are yo
u having fun in my forest? Find enough food?”

  I hesitated. He could tell I’d not eaten.

  “There is no food here. Not for you. Not unless you know where to look and I suspect you don’t. Your cheeks are hollow and you have circles under your eyes. I’d wager that you haven’t eaten in at least twenty-four hours. Well, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

  I calculated how deep in the forest I was. I’d walked for hours before I fell. I didn’t have the strength to walk back without sustenance. I needed water at the very least.

  “You know where I could get food.”

  He’d said there was food here if you knew where to look for it. My guess was that he knew exactly where to find food and water, and I wasn’t leaving until he showed me.

  He laughed again.

  “I’m so glad I’m a source of amusement to you.”

  “Turn around.”

  “Why?” I didn’t want to take my eyes off him. Despite the fact he hadn’t threatened me, I was wary.

  “Just turn around and look up. Just above your head.”

  I turned and looked. There was a bunch of funny-looking green fruit hanging just above me. I’d not seen them before. I plucked one from the tree and took a bite. The sweetest juice I’d ever tasted dribbled down my chin. I ate the whole fruit quickly and turned to pluck more. As I gazed upwards, I saw the fruit higher in the tree was bigger and more abundant. There was one particular piece that was huge compared to the others and I had to have it. I pulled my hunting knife from my belt and threw it at the stalk. It sliced the fruit clean off the tree, dropping it cleanly in my hand. The knife continued spinning until the handle hit the truck and it too fell. I caught it and placed it back in my belt before taking a bite out of the juicy fruit.

  “That was impressive,” said the wolf man. I’d almost forgotten he was still there since I was so absorbed in getting nutrients into my starving body.

  “I told you, I’m a dragon slayer. Killing a dragon is much harder than bringing a bit of fruit down. You should see what I can do with my sword!”

  “I thought you were joking. You don’t look like a dragon slayer.”

  “Because I’m a woman?”

  “Partly, yes.” He didn’t even seem bothered by his sexist attitude although I couldn’t blame him. Female dragon slayers were in short supply. “Partly because I can’t understand why someone with the skills you possess would end up starving and asleep in the undergrowth.”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “You aren’t lost, are you? Are you here looking for us?”

  “No. I didn’t even know that wolf shifters existed. I mean, I’d heard stories but I didn’t believe them. I came in here looking for food, but as you pointed out, I didn’t do a good job finding it.”

  “So, you are lost?”

  “Does it mean I’m lost if I don’t know where I’m going?”

  “It does sound like a long story! Maybe you should come with me and tell me about it.”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “Because there is a stream that runs through my village with the clearest water you’ve ever seen. Plus, your knife throwing skills are exceptional. Maybe I could help you.”

  I didn’t think I wanted his help and yet the thought of drinking from that stream was tempting.

  “The other wolfren will not harm you. I am their leader. My name is Alpha.”

  “Wolfren?” I’d never heard the term before.

  “It is the term we use for werewolves, or wolf shifters if you will. My people listen to me. You will not be harmed.”

  I had no reason to trust him and yet, I’d no reason not to trust him either. I followed him through the dark undergrowth for about half an hour until we came upon a clearing dotted with small huts. Some of the other wolfren looked astonished to see me but they said nothing as I walked through the village.

  Alpha led me to a stream and he wasn’t lying when he said it was crystal clear. I could see the fish swimming through the water and the pebbles that lined the bottom.

  I took great gulps of the water, feeling more refreshed with every gulp.

  “You were thirsty!” Alpha said behind me.

  “Why are you called Alpha?” I was being rude but I didn’t care. Alpha was a weird name. “I thought the alpha was just a generic term for a leader.

  “For a wolf leader, yes. We take on the name as if it is our own once we become the alpha.”

  “So, what was your name before?”

  “You ask many questions and yet you have not told me how you came to be here.”

  “It’s none of your business,” I answered sharply, feeling a pang of pain in my heart. Xander would know I’ve left Drionas by now.

  Alpha’s eyes crinkled up at the edges as he began to laugh again. It seemed I was an endless source of amusement to him.

  I was just about to say something else when the sky darkened. I looked up to see the underside of a dragon fly overhead. The villagers all ran for cover as the dragon rained fire down on the clearing. One of the small houses began to burn.

  Without thinking, I leapt up and chased the dragon. It was something I’d done a thousand times. I knew how they thought and how they worked. Running through the trees was hard, but with the water and fruit, I had renewed energy. The dragon circled back and I knew he was going to make another pass at the village.

  I turned back to follow him, keeping his pace.

  Once we were out in the open, I’d be able to get a clear shot at him.

  As we both came into the clearing, I pulled out my sword, waiting for the dragon to fly lower. He was not here to play games; he was here for food, and to get food, he would have to fly lower. In the center of the clearing, I stood and waved my hands. Let him think I was on the dinner menu. If he came to me, it would make it easier.

  He swooped, his jaws open to carry me off, and just as he was about to take me into his mouth, I jumped and plunged my sword into his eye. The dragon let out an almighty screech and flew onward, leaving a trail of blood and taking my sword with him, still in his eye socket.

  Alpha ran toward me.

  “You are amazing. You stopped the dragon from taking any more of our people.”

  I was not amazing. I let him get away with my sword.

  “I need to go find him. He has my sword.”

  “You need to rest. You’ve only had a little fruit and you look exhausted.”

  “I need my sword!” I replied forcefully.

  “I’ll do you a deal. Rest here for the night, and tomorrow I’ll show you where the dragons live.”

  It was a good offer.

  A campfire was set up and the other wolfren gathered around. Someone had skinned an animal and was now roasting it on the fire. I couldn’t identify it although it looked like a small deer of some kind.

  “I thought there were no animals in this forest?” I said, breathing in the delicious aroma of the barbecued meat.

  “There are not a lot left. The dragons have eaten almost everything. My people will have to move on unless we can eradicate them. We have been at war with them for decades and it looks like they will win. Although with no food, they will probably have to move on, too.”

  “It sounds familiar. My own people are slayers. We have also spent many years at war with the dragons. That is how I know how to fight them. That one you saw was the first I failed to kill.”

  “You are very tired, do not berate yourself. Without you, we would surely have lost another of our pack. We have lost many already.”

  “You need to learn how to use a sword,” I replied. Someone passed me a chunk of the cooked meat and I tore a piece off with my teeth. It tasted as delicious as it smelled.

  “Perhaps we do. We rely on our strength and brutality but in truth, that does not get us far.

  “I can teach you how to kill dragons. I’ve been doing it all my life. You saw what I can do. If I’d eaten this meal first and been rested enough, that dragon would be dead at o
ur feet right now.”

  I don’t know what made me say it. Here I was, asking a perfect stranger to give me a place to stay, and yet I felt safe with him. He was in the same position as I. The dragons had tormented his village as much as they had done in Drionas, except here, they were wolves and not slayers. As much as I hated to admit it, even to myself, I needed to be here. It was already beginning to feel like somewhere I could call home.

  “I don’t doubt it.”

  I could see he was mulling my proposition over. I could tell that they didn’t let strangers into their pack lightly. Alpha had been kind and patient with me, as had the other wolfren, and yet I could see mistrust in their eyes. Every single one of them was a wolf shifter. Not quite human and yet not fully lupine, either. I waited for Alpha to answer. He stood and conferred with a couple of other wolves. It didn’t take long for him to come back with an answer.

  “You can stay in exchange for helping rid us of the scourge of dragons. As long as you are teaching us, you will be allowed free reign in our village.”

  “Done,” I replied, holding my hand out for him to shake. “I’ll go and retrieve my sword tomorrow, then we shall begin.”

  He shook my hand and nodded his head slowly. I had a feeling that this was going to be a decision that would affect my whole future.