by Greig Beck
Strom had told them he estimated they had about thirty minutes before the fire in the tent died, and it was cool enough for the Panterran to enter… to find that there were no charred Wolfen bodies. The tunnel would also be found, and followed, and then all hell would be on their trail.
It was dark now, and thankfully the moon had risen enough for Arn to see clearly. As before, the rising moon filled him with energy, which he needed after the ordeal of the previous night and day.
Eilif had given him some water and dried beef. But there could be no stopping to enjoy his meal; they all knew that the night belonged to the Panterran, and until they were safe within the castle walls, they would run until they dropped.
In front of him, Eilif glanced over her shoulder, checking for signs of pursuit. Arn caught her eye; she smiled, slowing her pace a fraction so that they were running side by side. She nudged him with her elbow.
‘Someone must be looking out for you, Arnoddr. Rarely does one escape from the Slinkers. But you have managed it twice.’
Arn laughed. ‘You came to rescue me this time. That makes you my guardian angel.’
‘Really, that makes us even,’ she said softly. ‘But a life saved is a life owned. Now I have a claim on yours as well.’ She looked away quickly, and Arn bet that if there was a little more light, he’d see that the inside of her ears had turned pink.
* * *
Sorenson raced through the darkness, trying his best to retrace their path back to the castle. He knew that soon he’d have to carry Grimson, whose panting was growing ever louder. Sorenson knew why — the young Wolfen had to run twice as hard as his long-legged companions.
Just a few moments earlier, Strom had passed word up to him that he could now hear the sounds of pursuit — the Panterran travelled fast in the dark, and their eyes were better suited to night hunting.
Sorenson counted trees and familiar landmarks, trying to ignore the creeping fatigue in his limbs, and was comforted at least to know that they were following the right path. If they could just make it back into the open fields of Valkeryn, they would be safe.
He slowed slightly, and stared into the darkness. There was a strange whirring sound up ahead — not something he had ever heard before, or could identify as a natural noise of the forest. As he rounded a tree into a small moonlit clearing, a horrifying beast reared up in front of him.
Like a giant cobra, with a flattened body and a single, burning red eye, the thing gave off an insect-like hum as it hovered in the centre of their path.
As Sorenson ground to a halt, a blinding light like a thousand candles flared from the beast’s eye. Grimson screamed, and Strom shouldered Arn and Eilif aside as he rushed forward to drag the young Wolfen out of harm’s way. The thing whined again, and rose up as though to strike. Strom snarled and raised his broadsword.
There was another bright flash.
* * *
Sorenson stared down at the broken beast. In one mighty swing, Strom had buried his blade deep into its head, the light of life fading from its eye as it fell heavily to the ground.
Strom stood, rooted to the spot, hands still gripping his sword. The huge Wolfen shuddered and shook, his teeth chattering. The smell of burning fur and flesh filled the night air.
Some type of venom, Sorenson thought, and dived at his elder brother, pushing him away from the beast. Pulled free at the same time, the sword slipped from Strom’s hands and clattered to the ground, and the beast bobbed up and floated away, leaving them once again in the silence and darkness.
* * *
‘What was that?!’ Arn crawled from the bushes where he had been thrown, and looked around warily. Strom lay on the ground, with the other Wolfen kneeling beside him. ‘Was it a jormungandr?’
Sorenson shook his head. ‘They don’t come this far out of the caves. I’ve never seen, or have ever been told of any beast like that one.’ He put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. ‘It attacked Strom, and has poisoned him.’
Arn looked at the giant Wolfen’s burned hands, and sniffed. Weird, he thought. It reminded him of when old Mrs. Heming’s Siamese cat chewed through the television cables.
Sorenson cradled his brother in his arms, and poured some water across his lips. Strom spluttered.
‘Is it dead?’ He spoke weakly, without opening his eyes.
Sorenson nodded. ‘Or soon will be. You split its skull.’
Strom sat up with his brother’s help. Arn could tell he was in a lot of pain. The giant Wolfen looked at his blistered hands, and shook his head. ‘In a few hours, they’ll be swollen, raw and useless.’ His ears twitched and he sniffed the air. ‘They’re coming. Get me to my feet.’
Sorenson and Arn helped him to stand, while Eilif pulled a small leather pouch from her belt. Inside was a paste, which she rubbed on his cracked and blistered hands. Feninlang, Arn hoped.
Strom flexed the fingers, and nodded his thanks. He then dipped a finger in the paste and rubbed it onto his teeth, closing his mouth to work it around with his tongue. He shut his eyes for a few moments and breathed, seeming to swell with energy.
At last, he disengaged himself from Arn and Sorenson, and then stood swaying slightly in the dark. ‘They’re coming… and you must go now. The feninlang will give me energy for another hour; after that…’
Sorenson grabbed his brother’s arm. ‘Run for that hour, then the Man-kind and I will carry you.’
Strom slowly shook his head. ‘And Grimson? My brother, you must get back and tell them of the Panterran camp, of their war beasts, and of Mogahr being so close to our kingdom. Get your charges to safety. I will only slow you down, and then we will all die.’ He looked across Eilif, Grimson and Arn, and then back into Sorenson’s eyes. ‘And some more quickly than others.’ His meaning was clear — death was not the worst thing that could befall you at the hands of the Panterran.
They all knew the giant warrior was right. Sorenson cursed and banged his fist against Strom’s chest, then buried his face there for a few seconds, until Strom pushed him gently backwards.
‘Go, brother.’
Sorenson gazed sadly up into the large face, and placed his hand on the crest of the wolf on Strom’s chest. ‘My strength to you, my brother.’
Strom nodded. ‘And my speed to you, beloved brother.’
Sorenson turned away, and called to the others to follow him. Eilif looked up at Strom and placed her hand against the mark of the red-eyed silver wolf on her chest — the royal house crest.
‘You were our finest champion, Strom.’
Sorenson called to her again, and she turned on her heels and followed, leaving the giant figure alone in the dark.
Chapter 32
Please Tell Me You Got that?
‘Something coming at us fast — biological — go to strobe, sir?’
The room fell silent as the technicians pressed buttons and shifted joysticks to keep the camera hovering in the darkness.
Harper folded his arms and tried to remain calm, but his heart was racing. ‘Not yet; we might frighten it off, and never actually see what it is.’
‘Could it be Singer?’
Harper ignored the question, but kept his eyes on the screen. ‘Recorders running. Prepare for evasive.’ He turned briefly to another screen showing pulses of radar waves, bending around the approaching object. It was nearly on top of them. ‘Hold at six feet vertical.’
‘It’s too dark; at the speed it’s moving, it’ll run right by us and we won’t see it. We’ve got to light it up.’
‘Negative. Hold…’ Harper got to his feet, his wide eyes flicking from screen to screen. ‘Hold…’
Shapes appeared as the radar blip converged with their position. In night-vision mode, everything was a ghostly green. But the apparition that emerged from the darkness was unmistakable:
‘It’s a freakin’ giant wolf!’
For a moment, a second, human face was exposed by the greenish light, and then there was a ferocious snarl as a giant wol
f creature, even more terrifying than the first, loomed up in front of them.
‘Go to strobe!’ The forest lit up — but for less than a few seconds, as something came down hard on top of the camera. The screen immediately melted into snow.
The entire room was on its feet. No one could speak, and the only sound was the static from the destroyed camera.
Harper turned to the recording engineer. ‘Please tell me you got that.’
The engineer nodded. ‘Yep, all of it.’
The loop was replayed for the first of many times, the technicians staring in wonder at the beasts’ faces. And Arnold Singer was clearly there too; he looked frightened and thin, but otherwise seemed healthy.
Harper leaned back and smiled. ‘Welcome back, son.’ He spun in his seat and eyed the army personnel hovering over him. ‘And now… we go and get him.’
Chapter 33
Know Who You Face This Day
Strom stood in the centre of the path, between two large boulders. This made it hard for his adversaries to creep up on his flanks, but still didn’t mean he couldn’t be overwhelmed by a frontal attack. He doubted the Panterran had the stomach for it.
He had torn his tunic free, and used the leather to wrap his hands; the blistering was painless due to the feninlang root balm, but was starting to weep. He would need a firm grip on his sword.
He stood staring into the dark, legs spread, holding his blade ready as the approaching horde bore down on him.
The first Panterran runners that broke through the forest onto the path were quickly cut down, and their squeals of surprise alerted the rest to be cautious. In a few more seconds, more of the small warriors had appeared, but stayed back, just out of reach of the large Wolfen’s sword.
Strom held his position — he didn’t really care if they fought him; he just needed to slow them down.
The snarls and hisses of the tangle of Panterran built quickly. Strom bared his teeth.
‘Craven worms of the night, your cowardice is why you will never truly defeat the sáál of the Wolfen.’
The snarling fury of the Panterran quietened, and the boiling mass of flat-faced creatures parted to allow Orcalion to glide through.
‘Ah, of course… mighty Strom. We thank you.’
Strom frowned in confusion, and Orcalion nodded and continued.
‘You broke the agreement, champion of the Wolfen — made in the presence of your king: the Man-kind for the princeling — that was our deal. Now who is the most deceptive?’
Strom kept both hands on his sword, and snorted in contempt as more and more Panterran crowded in around him. ‘You would never have released our prince.’
Orcalion grinned. ‘Now we shall never know. But history will record that the Wolfen provoked this war… and for that, we thank you.’
‘Wolfen don’t fear war, or death, you vile little creature. We will never fall to your steel and claw, or to your deceptions.’
‘You think not, berserker? You will fall, and fall this night, to us…’ He leaked a hissing chuckle. ‘… Or to our large and hungry brothers.’
So saying, he stepped to one side to allow three enormous Lygon to thunder onto the path. They held huge stone mallets in their taloned hands, and dagger-like fangs curved back from faces as ugly and fearsome as monsters from Hellheim itself.
Strom, snarling, backed up a step. Up close, the Lygon were more terrible than the clay model Balthazar had made at the castle. Their orange and black-striped fur rippled over massive columns of muscle. Like giant striped ogres, they roared and raised their weapons, bringing them down onto the ground with so much force, Strom could feel the impact through the soles of his feet.
Strom sucked in a huge breath, then let loose a roar that made the Panterran shrink back behind the Lygon. He pointed his sword at the brutes before him.
‘Know who you face this day. I am Strom, son of Stromgarde, descendant of the very first guardians! If I die this day, so will many of you.’
‘Kill him!’ Orcalion screeched at the three giant creatures, then slunk quickly out of sight behind them.
The Lygon each were twice Strom’s weight, but they hesitated in the face of his ferocity. They were used to warriors fleeing from them in fear, and never had they faced a being who would stand up to three of them.
In the end, it was Strom who charged.
When they came together, there was an explosion of muscle and steel that shook the trees around them. A severed Lygon head flew through the air as the Wolfen’s broadsword flashed in an arc. The Panterran shrunk back further into the brush as blood sprayed in all directions.
As Strom had expected, they were enormously strong, but slow.
Another of the Lygon suffered a deep gash to its arm, causing it to roar its pain to the sky, and pull back temporarily from the fight. Orcalion screamed until his eyes bulged and spittle flew from his black lips. The Panterran pulled his own curved sword, and prodded the giant beast in the back.
The huge Lygon wouldn’t budge. The remaining beast swung its stone mallet, striking the earth thunderously, splintering trees — but never once touching the Wolfen. For the first time, fear gripped the spine of the Panterran.
Orcalion dropped his sword, and snatched a bow from one of his cowering warriors. He nocked an arrow and fired it into the Wolfen’s leg. Strom grunted and sunk to one knee.
With the feninlang stimulant wearing off from his already battered body, Strom knew his fight was done. He lowered his sword and raised his face to the sky, smiling, knowing he had given his brother time to get his charges well away.
He opened his arms wide, and yelled with all the strength he could muster, ‘For Valkeryn!’
Emboldened at the sight of their stricken enemy, the two Lygon came at him with their weapons raised. With his last vestige of strength, Strom lifted his blade and plunged it deep into the gut of one of the charging giants, its own weight ensuring that it impaled itself to the hilt.
The dead creature fell on top of Strom, pinning him flat, while the other put one large foot on his free arm. Orcalion crept closer and stood cautiously over his prone body.
‘I’m glad you will be dead soon,’ he hissed. ‘You have slain many of my people, champion puppet of an old king. And one cannot be champion forever…’
Strom regarded Orcalion with glazed, staring eyes. ‘Another champion already rises, vile creature from the mire. And thousands more like me wait for you on the plains of Valkeryn.’
Orcalion laughed. ‘Valkeryn? You won’t see it again… but it might see you.’
He turned to the Panterran who had finally gathered enough courage to creep forward.
‘Take his head.’
Chapter 34
I Fear it Has Only Just Begun
They crashed through the last line of brush at the edge of the fields leading to the castle, its spires just visible over the rolling hillsides.
After running through the night and most of the day, they stumbled and shuffled forward. Fatigue weighed heavily on their bones. Sorenson put Grimson down onto the ground, and the young Wolfen woke as his feet touched the grass. ‘Are we home?’
‘Soon. Look.’ Sorenson pointed. ‘Riders already approach.’
Arn was half carrying Eilif, who was breathing raggedly.
‘Thank Odin, it’s over,’ she murmured, as the banner of the king’s riders appeared over the hill.
Arn looked at Sorenson, whose face looked grim. ‘It’s not, is it?’
Sorenson shook his head. ‘I fear it has only just begun. They had gravilents in their forward camp. They are hard to control, but very effective in breaking through an army’s front line. They wouldn’t have them so close to the kingdom, if they didn’t intend to use them… soon.’
Arn and Sorenson stood in silence. The Wolfen warrior’s eyes were glassy — and Arn wondered whether it was fatigue, or regret for leaving his brother behind.
Arn reached out to grasp his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry about Strom.’
Sorenson just grunted.
‘Do you think that he could still be…?’
‘No… they wouldn’t take him alive. Strom wouldn’t let them.’ He gripped Arn’s forearm. ‘You are a brave creature, Man-kind, and you have a good and strong heart. Worry not about Strom. He is crossing the rainbow bridge to sit with Odin and the other champions of Asgaard. When the time is right, his sáál will return to us again.’
Arn turned and tilted his head. ‘You believe in an afterlife then, and ahh, reincarnation?’
Sorenson spoke without turning. ‘I don’t understand that word, but all Wolfen believe that a good spirit will be granted a place in Valhalla, and when Odin calls upon that sáál again, he may be granted another life. Perhaps again as a Wolfen.’
He looked at Arn. ‘Perhaps you were once a Wolfen in a previous life… or maybe will be one in a life yet to come.’
Arn smiled, but could see no humour in Sorenson’s features — the Wolfen believed what he said.
The Wolfen riders were upon them then, and the first few leapt from their horses to run the last steps to embrace Sorenson. Arn saw that one young Wolfen, the dark-furred one he remembered from the king’s banquet, also dismounted and raced up to Eilif.
Arn was left by himself. He watched as Grimson was lifted onto one horse, and the tall dark Wolfen led Eilif to another. A horse was then brought for him, and Arn climbed up into the saddle, at first with difficulty, but finally he managed to sit upright.
Instead of simply lifting Eilif into the saddle, the dark Wolfen leapt up first and reached out his hand to her. Arn didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt awkward and intrusive for watching this moment of intimacy. It felt weird; he didn’t like it, and… what? He didn’t quite know what he was feeling. He turned away, but couldn’t help looking back.
Eilif eyed the offered hand, and then shook her head and waved it away. The dark Wolfen looked taken aback — humiliated, even.
Eilif glanced about, and then spotted Arn staring at her. She marched purposefully towards his horse. In a moment, she was beside him.