by Neo Edmund
“I sure hope that involves clearing a path for Luna and I to get close to that well,” Grenda said.
Red pulled her sword. “I’ll go first and distract them. Once it’s clear, you two get out there and do your thing as quickly as you can.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” Wolfgang said.
Prince raised his rapier. “As will I.”
Ash stepped up. “What about me? What do I do?”
Red put a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “I need you to stay out of this. It’s way too dangerous.”
“But I want to help. There must be something I can do.”
“Not this time, Ash. Please do as I say.”
“Fine, you’re the big, powerful Alpha.” Ash swung a fist in frustration and stomped away sulking.
Red’s shoulders sank as she called after him, “Ash, I’m sorry. Come back.”
Grenda put a hand on Red’s shoulder. “Red, you can deal with that later. It’s now or never.”
Red gripped her sword tightly. “Let’s do this.”
Red and Wolfgang transformed into werewolves and dashed out the front door. Prince wailed out a battle cry and followed.
The trees surrounding Grenda’s house were ablaze. Red choked on the thick black smoke that filled the air as she charged across the clearing. An intense surge of energy began to pulse through her body when she caught a glimpse of a fire orc.
The beast stood eight feet tall and had flaming red eyes. Its thick, blubbery skin hung loose and was dripping with some kind of gooey liquid, which protected it from being burned by its own flames.
“Just keep them distracted,” Red called out to Wolfgang and Prince.
A fire orc opened its mouth wide and blasted a searing white flame at Red. She could feel the intense heat on her face as she jumped high into the air, just clearing the blast. Upon landing, she looked back and saw Wolfgang and Prince drawing the orcs’ fire by dodging and leaping clear of their flames.
“Granny! Dote! Work fast!” Red shouted.
Grenda and Dote already stood near the well with their eyes closed and hands joined. They were chanting in a strange language that Red had never heard before. For several minutes, she and the others struggled to keep the fire orcs distracted. Just about the time Red thought the plan was going to fail, the ground began quaking.
“This might just work out,” Red said.
“Red, behind you!” Wolfgang shouted from the far end of the clearing.
Red spun around to see a fire orc running straight for the well. Dote and Grenda had their eyes closed and were too deep in concentration to know what was coming.
“Granny! Dote! Look out!” With her sword held high, Red charged toward the orc. Her feet were moving so fast that they began to lose traction on the dirt. With ten yards to go, there was no chance she’d make it in time.
The orc opened its mouth wide to unleash its fire at Dote and Grenda. Ash, armed with a pitchfork, lunged out from behind the well. With a mighty heave, he javelined the weapon into the orc’s mouth.
“Suck on that, lava breath,” Ash said.
The orc cried out in agony and retreated toward the forest. “Ash, I’m sorry I ever doubted you,” Red said.
Ash raised his arms in victory. “You should know I’ve always got your back, Red Riding.”
A sound like thunder rumbled out. Red looked over and saw water sloshing up over the sides of the old stone well. Grenda and Dote were already backing away in haste.
“You all might want to take cover,” Grenda warned.
A massive geyser exploded from the well, spraying water hundreds of feet into the sky. The water rained down, soaking the ground and trees, extinguishing the flames. An orc tried to blast a mouthful of fire at Red, but the flame puffed out.
“This is your chance,” Grenda said. “Best make it count.”
Before Red could react, she saw Prince unleash a series of hacks and slashes at a fire orc. The beast seemed more irritated than injured by the assault. It responded by bashing Prince with a fist, knocking him back ten feet. He hit the ground with a thud and a grunt of pain.
Dote dashed over to Prince and took him into her arms. “Are you hurt, my brave and pretty man?”
Prince clutched his head. “Why do you keep calling me pretty?”
Red soared into the air and slashed an orc’s throat. Her blade only cut through its outer skin. It wasn’t nearly enough damage to take the beast down.
Wolfgang was nearby, clawing and slashing at a fire orc with the same hopeless result. “Now would be a good time to play that ace, Alpha.”
Red knew Wolfgang was right. There was no way they would be able to win this day without help. She looked toward the forest and shouted, “Woodsman, if you’re out there, I could use your help!”
Ethan charged out of the forest with his battle-axe at the ready. “I was wondering if you were going to call on me.”
“Next time, feel free to just jump right into the action,” Red said.
Ethan dashed toward the nearest fire orc; the beast didn’t look half as menacing next to the woodman’s buffed-out stature. The orc swung its huge fist, but Ethan blocked the attack with his powerful arm. He countered with a mighty swing of his axe. The remains of the fallen orc fell to the ground in two separate pieces.
A pair of fire orcs rushed Ethan. The first tried to grab him, but lost its leg when Ethan spun around with his axe swinging in a wide arc. He followed up with a downward bash that crushed the beast. Without hesitation, he again spun around and executed another downward strike, taking out the other orc with a single blow .
Wolfgang stepped up behind Red. “Do we help him?”
“You want to get in the way of that?” Red said.
Ethan continued his brutal assault, bashing and hacking the other orcs to pieces. When only one remained, he strutted over and stood face-to-face with the blubbery beast.
“Let this be a lesson to your wretched kind. Stay away from my family,” Ethan said.
Red was overcome with a sensation of dizziness as she looked to Wolfgang. “Family? Why did he just say that?”
“Because he’s your old man,” Wolfgang said.
“You mean, like my father?”Red asked.
“What? You didn’t know?” Wolfgang asked.
Red almost stumbled off her feet. “Why didn’t he tell me?” Ethan swung his axe at the orc. The beast blocked the attack and smacked his weapon away. It pulled out a jagged knife and stabbed Ethan in the chest. The strike was so fast it took a moment before Ethan realized it had happened. Red watched petrified with fear as her father dropped to his knees. The orc picked up Ethan’s axe and gripped it tight.
“No!” Without a beat of hesitation, Red took off running and sprang into the air. The blade of her sword ignited with a blazing red glow. Seconds later, it was over. The beast’s head hit the ground long before the rest of its body crashed down.
By the time Red landed, Grenda and Dote were already dashing to Ethan’s side. In a flurry of panic, Red tried to run toward her father, but Ash and Wolfgang stepped in her way.
“Let me go. I have to see him.”
Wolfgang held Red tight. “Not like this. You have to trust me.”
“He’s right,” Ash said. “You gotta let Granny do her thing.”
Red broke into tears and fell into Ash’s arms. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”
Grenda shouted, “We need some muscle over here. Get him inside.”
“You stay with her,” Wolfgang said to Ash and dashed over to help Grenda.
Ash put a comforting arm around Red. “Granny’s gonna take great care of him. She’s the best healer around.”
Red dropped to her knees and broke into a terrible fit of sobbing. She watched through tear-soaked eyes as Wolfgang and Prince picked up Ethan and strained to carry him into the house. The instant before the front door swung shut, she saw Grenda looking back with a dreadfully grim look
in her eyes.
CHAPTER 21
Red was deep below the surface of an icy pond, blissfully at peace and sinking deeper and deeper into the dark abyss, just as she had been after the escape from Ice’s palace. She thought of how easy it would be to drift off into sleep forever, and never again have to concern herself with the duties of being an Alpha Huntress—or having to ask her friends to risk their lives in battle—or face the coming of an evil lunar god plotting to bring eternal night.
The moment of tranquility came to a startling end when an image of Ragnarök invaded her mind. His eyes were blazing with fire as he reached for her through the Moon Temple’s gate.
“Set me free, Alpha Huntress.”
Drifting further into darkness, Red saw herself as a werewolf wearing sleek battle armor. She stood before her friends and family atop a hill in the dark forest. They were waiting in silence for her to command them into action.
In the sky above, the moon looked like a flaming ball of fire. A shower of blazing moonrocks was raining down. Red could only watch in paralyzed fear as they slammed into the earth and consumed her loved ones in a blazing inferno.
“It’s not like you could ever have saved them,” Wolfgang said.
Red looked over to see Wolfgang was standing at her side, glaring at her through eyes glowing red with pure evil. The good she had once sensed buried deep in his heart was gone. Only hate and rage remained. He had become an agent of darkness who would bring chaos and destruction in his wake.
“Alpha Huntress, we are now one.” The voice that came from Wolfgang was not his own; it belonged to Ragnarök.
Red tried to speak, but the words didn’t come out. Instead, she snapped back to the realization that she was still submerged in bone-chilling water, out of breath, and seconds from drowning.
“Is this really how it’s going to end for me?”
The voice of the first Red Riding spoke softly in her mind. If you are to survive what is to come you must believe that the power of the Alpha is yours to command.
“I don’t know how. Please, show me.”
In mere seconds, Red’s body temperature spiked to near burning as the Alpha Power began to course through her veins. She started kicking her legs so fast and hard that it took only seconds to reach the surface of the pond.
When her head emerged from the water, Red took in a gasping breath. The air was thick with smoke and blazing soot that burned in her lungs. She looked around to see that the lake was deep in the heart of the forest. Towering flames engulfed the trees and illuminated the midnight sky.
Red swam to the shore and clawed up onto the land. The heat from the flames was so intense that she couldn’t wait around to recover. She was soon dashing aimlessly down a rocky path. It didn’t matter how far she went, it was impossible to escape the inferno. All of Wayward Woods would burn to the ground, and nothing could be done to stop it. The idea that her failure to rise to her calling would lead to such destruction consumed her heart with rage.
“Why me? Why do I have to be the one to do this?”
With the trees ablaze all around, Red had to push through a thick patch of bushes overgrowing the path. The sting of the thorns scratching and cutting into her skin brought back the memory of the dream she had on the first night at Granny’s house.
Just as before, she emerged into a clearing where the Omega Gem sat atop a stone pedestal. A quick glance around the area and a sniff of the air assured her that the wolves that had attacked her last time she was there were not around.
“Come forward, Red Riding,” whispered a woman’s voice.
With each step closer to the Omega Gem, Red felt a growing tingling sensation throughout her body. She could only describe the feeling as godlike. A voice with a sinister tone spoke out in her mind. It told her that with the gem, she could have power without limits. Her thoughts began to swirl with ideas that were both thrilling and disturbing.
Red saw herself as a tyrant queen sitting upon a throne constructed of colorless moonstone. Her iron fortress towered high atop a hill, built on the burned remains of Ice Seether’s palace. Looking out a window, she gazed out onto the charred remains of a once great metropolis. She then looked down to see she clutched a golden scepter, studded with the Omega Gem. She knew that it had given her the power to become the supreme goddess who ruled over everyone and everything in Wayward.
“I won’t allow myself to become that,” Red said.
“That is why you, and none other, must wield the Alpha Power.” A beautiful woman emerged from the forest wearing a red cloak over a flowing green dress. Her braided red hair was adorned with ribbons and white wildflowers.
“I know you.” Red somehow recognized this woman to be the one that had come before her, the first Red Riding.
“You carry much fear in your heart, young Alpha Huntress. You must bury it down deep if you are to face the darkness that is upon us,” the first Red Riding said.
Red looked away in fear. “I’m not ready for this. There has to be somebody better to take up this quest. Someone that knows how to lead people into battle and isn’t afraid to ask them to risk their lives.”
The first Red Riding held a hand near the Omega Gem. “There is another who can command the power, but would use it for great evil.”
“I know all about it. Ice tried to take the power from me,” Red said.
“Ice Seether’s quest for the Alpha Power is a futile effort. On the night she was born, her parents employed a vile spellcraft to steal the power. The lunar deities rejected Ice because of her impure bloodline. Even she does not know that her ancient ancestors used dark enchantments to gain the power to become werewolves.”
Red considered this, coming to an unexpected revelation. “When the Alpha Power rejected her, she was left with hair and skin as white as ice. How do I know that?”
The first Red Riding smiled at Red. “Because I know it. The strength of all the Alphas that came before you resides in your memory. They will guide you along the way, if you allow yourself to listen.”
Red looked into the eyes of her predecessor and realized that there had not been just one previous Alpha. Six had come before her. As their faces appeared to her, both men and women alike, she was overcome with a troubling thought.
“None of them are from the same bloodline. The Alpha Power chose them. How is it that this time the power came to me, your descendant?” Red asked.
“The reason for this is not mine to reveal.”
Red snarled. “Why not? What are you not telling me?”
“You will soon discover that truth on your own. Do not let it cause you to lose sight of what needs to be done.”
“What needs to be done?” Red shouted. “Tell me. I’ve had all I can take of these half-truths.”
“In three days, the Alpha Stone in the Moon Temple will illuminate. For seven minutes, the moon gate will open. Ragnarök will try to use it to enter this world, but only the Alpha can bring him through.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. I would never do that,” Red said.
“Don’t allow yourself to believe it will be so simple. Ragnarök has vast influence in Wayward. He will stop at nothing to force you to help him. Or find another to do it in your place.”
Red raised a fist. “Then I’ll have to make sure he can’t do that.”
“To put a final end to Ragnarök, you will need the Omega Gem. Finding it will be a long and difficult quest. Be warned that there are many others seeking it. They will commit the darkest of deeds to possess it.”
“But won’t using it turn me into a tyrant?”
The first Red Riding placed a hand on Red’s shoulder and looked her in the eyes. “Not if you stay strong and remain true to what you know is right.”
Red glared at the Omega Gem. “What could happen that would turn me into something so terrible?”
“I cannot answer that for you. Search your heart and you will find the truth.”
Red sighed. “You’re not being helpful here.”
The first Red Riding turned and walked toward the trees. As Red watched her go, she realized something she had not considered. “Wait! You said there is another who can carry the power. If it isn’t Ice Seether, then who is it?”
“Wake up, Red Riding,” another voice said.
Red snapped awake and was looking up at Wolfgang’s face. He was shouting in her face, though his voice was distant and distorted. She was flat on her back in the mud outside Granny’s house. The fire orc that had stabbed Ethan was lying slain only a few feet away. Its eyes were wide-open and looking right at her.
“Red, wake up!” Wolfgang shouted at the top of his lungs. This time his voice came through like a siren blasting in her ears.
Red sat up, holding tight to her aching head. “What did you do to me?”
“What did I do?” Wolfgang grunted. “Grenda asked me to bring you inside. I came out here and found you taking a nap in the mud. Are you okay?”
Red stumbled to her feet and started walking toward the house. “I was trying to find out who else could get the Alpha Power, and you had to go and wake me up.”
Wolfgang dashed after Red. “What did you just say about the Alpha Power?”
Red opened the front door of the house and stepped inside. “Forget it. None of it has anything to do with you anyway.” She slammed the door in Wolfgang’s face, leaving him outside.
In the living room, Ash and Dote were sitting on the couch with tears in their eyes.
“Red, I’m so sorry,” Dote said.
“We didn’t know he was your father,” Ash said. “It feels like we should have.”
“Why are you two crying? Where is he?” Red asked.
Dote whimpered and pointed to the stairs.
Red was so overwhelmed with mixed up emotions that she couldn’t find the words to ask if her father was still alive. With each step up the stairs, her concern for his well-being faded away and turned into anger. It didn’t make a bit of sense that he had hidden the truth from her when they had first met. All the deceptions that she’d been dealing with had about pushed her to the limit.