by Neo Edmund
“I see.” Red was quite sure she didn’t want to know what creepy crawlies were, so she just assumed her granny meant common household bugs.
Grenda blew handfuls of the powder underneath the furnishings and behind shelves. “There is no shortage of witches who have dabbled around in the dark spellcraft. The problem is that such power is obtained without true discipline. The mystical forces are dangerously seductive, so you have to know how to keep it all in balance. Casting magic for vile purposes can twist a witch’s mind up in a hurry. Once things get too far out of control, it’s nearly impossible to come back. Those witches usually have to be rounded up and done away with.”
“You mean burned at the stake?” Red asked.
Grenda nodded. “Sometimes that’s the way it goes. I personally prefer to use methods that are a little less vicious.”
Red gasped. “So you’ve taken part in those hunts?”
“It’s dirty work, but somebody has got to do it. Don’t go thinking an angry gang of villagers with pitchforks and torches could handle such a dangerous task,” Grenda said.
Just the thought of this made Red shudder in fear. “If it’s so dangerous, why would anybody want to be a witch?”
Grenda giggled. “Don’t go thinking it’s all dark and sinister. There are plenty of us who do a lot of good in this world. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m one of the best healers in all of Wayward. Just last week I stopped a plague that could have taken out half the trees in the Tolkien Shire.”
“I’ve never heard of a plague that attacks trees.”
Grenda grinned proudly. “And thanks to my crafty solution, you never will. Proof positive that witches aren’t so bad to have around.”
Red doubtfully shrugged. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Your friend Luna is my top student. She’s one of the most powerful witches around. Or she will be when she grows out of being so dang clumsy.”
“Luna?” Red asked. “Oh, you mean Dote. Yes, I just met her outside.”
“Dote.” Grenda belted out a laugh. “Fifteen years old and still going by that silly nickname you gave her all those years ago.”
“I did that?”
Grenda scampered toward the kitchen doorway. “Darn right you did. You had nicknames for most of your friends. Even that imaginary boyfriend you were always going on about.”
“Hold on a second. I had an imaginary boyfriend?” Red asked. “You were hardly a toddler, so don’t go making a thing of it.
And don’t just stand there looking like something the cat dragged in. Get in here and tell me where in Wayward you’ve been all night.” Grenda went into the kitchen.
Red again felt nervous as she recounted the events of the night in her mind. She could only hope that Grenda would understand that most of it wasn’t her fault. As she stepped into the kitchen, her head hung low, like a child about to receive a spanking.
“Have a seat.” Grenda placed a plate of wonderful fruits and muffins on the table. “You look half-starved.”
“Thank you, Granny.” Red sat at the table and didn’t hesitate to dig right in. Her stomach had been cramping a bit, though she wasn’t sure if it was from hunger or the fear of punishment.
“Well, out with it. What sort of mischief did you get yourself into this time?” Grenda asked.
It took Red a moment to gather the courage to speak. “Oh, Granny, I didn’t mean to stay out all night. It’s just that I got lost and couldn’t find my way back. A strange voice called to me. It was a goblin that nearly ate me, but I stabbed him in the chest with a stick and then things got even weirder from there.”
“Slow down, Red. You sound like a little tot trying to talk her way out of getting a licking. You’re not a child here. Just tell it to me like a grown-up would.”
Red’s tension drained away. She took a bite of her muffin and savored its wonderful flavor for a moment. “After I slayed the goblin, I blacked out and woke on the steps of a strange temple. I met a woodsman named Ethan who told me I was some kind of alpha hunting werewolf that has to become a high protector and slay some kind of god called Ragnar. Or something like that.”
Grenda sat back in her chair and grumbled to herself. “Is that all of it?”
Red frowned. “Well, I also met a girl called Ice who invited me to a ball. I don’t much want to go, but I accidentally invited Dote to come along. She was so excited that there’s no way out of it, and I don’t have a thing to wear.”
“That was all one night? Guess that will teach me to leave you home alone.”
“Granny, I do hope you’re not angry with me.”
“Of course I’m not angry, Red. I was darn near shaken out of my shoes when you didn’t come home. Wayward has dangers greater than you can even begin to imagine. If something had happened to you, it would have been disastrous.”
Red took another bite of her food as she pondered Grenda’s words. “I have questions. I need honest answers.”
Grenda stood up from the table. “Since the cat’s halfway out of the bag, there’s no point in dragging it out. Let’s go.”
Red grabbed another muffin and followed Grenda upstairs. They stopped at a door across from Red’s bedroom. Grenda knocked twice, then three times, then twice again. There was the sound of a lock disengaging, and then the door creaked open on its own.
As they entered, Grenda spun around in a circle and waved a hand in the air. Red gasped in amazement as flames ignited in gas lamps mounted on each of the four walls.
“Remind me to teach you that little trick one of these days,” Grenda said.
“I surely will.” Joy filled Red’s heart as she took in the room. “This was my parents’ bedroom.” She was about to open a finely carved wooden box sitting on top of a dresser, but stopped short.
“Go ahead, dear. It all belongs to you now,” Grenda said.
“All of it?”
“Every last trinket.”
Red smiled in wonder as she opened a box to discover it contained several pieces of jewelry. None of it was particularly fancy or of high value, but in her eyes it was a trove of priceless treasure.
Next, she opened a drawer and pulled out a green silk scarf. As Red rubbed it against her face, she caught a scent that she assumed belonged to her mother.
She finally opened a large chest at the end of the bed. The sight of its contents was so startling that she slammed it shut in a panic.
“Oh dear. I should have warned you about that.” Grenda opened the chest, revealing it held swords, knives, clubs, and battleaxes. “Your parents had many enemies and fought in countless battles.” She took out a sword with a three-foot silver blade and placed it into Red’s trembling hands. “This belonged to your mother. She used it to slay many attackers.”
The hilt fit perfectly into Red’s hand, as if it had been forged just for her. She held it up to the light and gazed into the glimmering blade. In the reflection, she saw her mother thrusting the silver weapon into the heart of a black werewolf with glowing red eyes.
The image was so startling that Red dropped the sword.
Grenda picked up the weapon. “There is no need to fear the sword. It knows who you are. It will proudly serve you as well as it did your mother. Now hold out your thumb.”
“What for?” Red took a nervous step backward.
“You have to trust me, Red. Now do as I say.”
Red held out a trembling hand. “I hope you’re not planning to do what I think you’re going to do.”
“Relax, my dear. This won’t hurt ... too much.” Grenda flicked
Red’s thumb across the edge of the sharp blade, cutting her flesh.
“You call that not too much?” Red pulled her hand away. “I sure hope there was a point to that.”
“Look into the blade again, and you will understand,” Grenda said.
“If you say so.” Red took a nervous breath as she held the sword close to her face. She cringed a bit at
the sight of her own blood dripping down the blade. When she gazed into the silver surface, her reflection transformed into a werewolf. Not the hairy dog-faced kind, but her face with wolf-like features. “Granny, is that me?”
When Red lowered the sword, she found herself standing inside the Moon Temple. She was wearing form-fitting battle armor that came down to her knees like a skirt. Claws poked from her fingertips. Reddish-brown fur covered her from head to foot. Topping it off, she wore a hooded red cloak that made her look like a superhero.
She looked to the pedestal holding the moonstone marked Alpha. It was illuminated by mystical light and humming in an eerie low-pitched tone.
She then saw the clock on the wall. It was counting down from—
5 YEARS / 0 MONTHS / 0 DAYS
0 HOURS / 0 MINUTES / 3 SECONDS
The moon gate began swirling with a vortex of mystical energy. Inside was the silhouetted image of a man Red couldn’t see, but somehow knew he was Ragnarök. His black armored hand reached out through the vortex.
“Join me, Red Riding,” roared a voice of pure evil.
Red’s eyes filled with terror as she realized Ragnarök wanted her to pull him through the gate, and even more disturbing, she knew she held the power to do so. “I’ll never help you.”
“Then everyone in Wayward will die, and it will be your doing,” Ragnarök said.
The double doors of the temple exploded open. Red shielded her face as a massive gust of flames blasted in, setting the chamber around her ablaze. A horde of werewolves charged in, growling in rage.
Trembling in fear, Red raised her sword high. A white werewolf with glowing purple eyes lunged at her through a wall of fire. Its mouth was open wide with the intention of crushing her throat. Red wailed out a battle cry and swung her sword with furious intent.
An instant before they collided, Red snapped awake in her parents’ room. She leaped backward and swung her sword. The blade sliced through one of the poles holding up a canopy above the bed. The whole thing came plummeting down with a crash and a bang.
“Red, calm down. You’re safe,” Grenda said.
“Is that what’s to come for me, Granny?” Red asked.
Grenda put a comforting hand on Red’s shoulder. “What the sword showed you is one possible vision of the future. Never forget that nothing is written in stone.”
“How can I face such a terrible ordeal? I’m just an orphan girl that doesn’t know anything about fighting in battles or defeating monsters,” Red said.
“Of course you can. You’re the Alpha Huntress,” Grenda proclaimed.
Red sat on the bed. “I am not. I’m nothing.”
Grenda gave Red a disapproving glare. “It’s a good thing your mother and father aren’t around to hear you talk like that. They sacrificed everything to assure that you would live to see this day.”
“Are you saying they died for me?”
Grenda sat next to Red. “When it became known that you had received the Alpha Power, there were some who believed they could take it away and give it to another. They planned to invoke a dark spellcraft that would rip the power from you. When the first attackers came that night, your mother fought fearlessly to keep you safe. In the end, she was fatally wounded. Your father refused to leave her side, but when push came to shove, he had no choice. Your mother and I stood together and gave him enough time to take you safely away.”
Red struggled to hold back her tears. “So what became of my father?”
Grenda took off her glasses and wiped the lenses clean with her dress. “I am sorry to say that he fell into terrible despair. In one night, he’d lost his beloved wife and had to abandon you to be raised by strangers. He wandered off alone into the woods. I haven’t seen a sign of him since.”
Red sat clutching her stomach. “It’s all so tragic.”
Grenda stood and raised her head high. “No. It’s a heroic tale that should be remembered as such. To think of it as any less would taint the memory of your parents.”
Red considered this and realized it was true. “How can I do this, Granny? How can I stand against such terrible evil?”
“You won’t have to face it alone, Red. I’ll be with you. Others will make themselves known when the time is right.”
Red picked up her mother’s sword and stood tall. “You’re right. I will honor my parents’ sacrifice. I’ll fight tooth and nail to make sure Wayward doesn’t fall to evil.”
“Now that’s the Red Riding I’ve been waiting so long to see.”
Red paced in a whirlwind of excitement. “So how do we begin? Do we raise an army? Maybe storm a castle or two?”
Grenda took the sword from Red and put it back into the chest. “When it comes to that, we certainly will. Right now, you have a ball to prepare for.”
“Granny, how can I think of such a thing when my destiny is calling?”
“Destiny can wait for tomorrow. Tonight you have other matters that need to be tended to.” Grenda opened a wooden wardrobe, revealing it held many dresses.
Red smiled in awe at the wonderful sight. “Did all of these belong to my mother?”
“That they did. She made them with her own hands. It would do her proud for you to wear any one of them.” Grenda left the room and closed the door behind her.
Red’s heart raced with delight as she browsed through the dresses in the wardrobe. She pulled out a magnificent blue ball gown and held it up to herself. As she looked into a full-length mirror, a dazzling smile overtook her face. She saw herself as the shining image of her mother.
“I’m going to make you proud of me. I promise.”
CHAPTER 10
Red paced around on the porch of Granny’s house in nervous anticipation. It should have been the most exciting night of her young life, but she was consumed with dreadful anxiety. Her stomach was twisted in knots and the deep breathing Dote had coached her into trying wasn’t helping one bit.
Her only comfort was that she was wearing the most beautiful blue ball gown she had ever seen. Grenda had spent the better part of an hour braiding her hair with little flowers and ribbons. Red had never dreamed that she could actually look like a princess, though it was impossible to deny the reality of the moment as she stood there in all her glory.
“At least I’ll look good when I faint in front of everybody,” Red said.
“Don’t be silly,” Dote said. “We’re about to have the most fun ever.”
Dote stood by Red’s side wearing the most ridiculous bright orange flower patterned dress anybody had ever seen. Dote’s mother had made it for a harvest dance that Dote was to attend, but she never got a chance to wear it because her date had backed out at the last minute.
Red was fairly certain that showing up in that dress would have brought Dote more ridicule than being dumped by her date. Now poor Dote was going to the premier event of Wayward in the same ridiculous dress.
“We both look so pretty,” Dote said with a gleaming smile. “I bet everybody at the ball will be staring at us all night.”
“Oh, I have no doubt about that.”
Red had offered to loan Dote something from her mother’s wardrobe, but Dote was set on her orange dress. She insisted that it matched her eyes. This made not a bit of sense, considering that her eyes were hazel.
“Do you think they’ll have ice cream?” Dote asked.
“I don’t know how balls work, so I can’t say either way,” Red said.
“I sure hope they’ll have chocolate mint cake. That’s our favorite.”
It felt odd for Red to be with somebody who knew her so well and yet she knew so little about. She hoped that the memories of their time together as children would soon return. Until then, she took comfort in knowing they would have a lifetime to get to know one another again.
“As long as we’re together, I don’t care what happens,” Red said.
“I still can’t believe you invited me. I mean considering tha
t my family and the Seethers aren’t on the best of terms,” Dote said.
“Do I even want to ask why that is?” In Red’s haste to invite Dote, she had not considered the idea that it might be a problem.
“It’s a long, weird story. Most of it happened before we were even born.”
“As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with that boy who fell off a cliff.”
Dote gave a nervous laugh. “What would make you think such a silly thing like that?”
“Dote, I was only joking. Tell me the boy that our mothers were fighting over wasn’t a member of the Seether family.”
“Of course he wasn’t.”
“That’s a relief.”
“I mean not in a way that anybody could ever prove.”
“What exactly does that mean, Dote?”
“It was mostly just rumors, Red, so don’t take this too seriously. There were some people who thought maybe the boy, who I think was named Hamelin, was like an unofficial member of the Seether family.”
“How can somebody be an unofficial member of a family?”
Dote fidgeted, a little nervous. “You know, when somebody who’s married to one person goes off and has a baby with another person, but doesn’t want anybody to know for whatever reason.”
Red nodded in understanding. “Oh, like that kind of unofficial. So he’s the reason the Seethers don’t like your family?”
“Oh, no. My grandmother once tried to destroy the Seether Clan by casting a spellcraft on them that causes people to go crazy with paranoia,” Dote said, quite casually.
Red gasped in disbelief. “Dote, you’re only joking, right?” Dote gave Red a nervous grin.
Just then, in the near distance, the sound of galloping hooves erupted. Red and Dote stood watching in awe as four white horses emerged from the foggy path. They were pulling along a magnificent white carriage with glimmering gold trim. A driver sat atop wearing a formal riding uniform.
“Is that for us, Red?”
“I have no idea, Dote.”
The horses pulled the carriage to a stop near the porch. Red and Dote watched in wonder as the driver stepped down and meticulously straightened his uniform. He approached Red and bowed to her, all the while managing to blatantly ignore Dote.