by R. C. Rutter
“It is more than that. Everyone knows about the pack of twelve. Not everyone knows about the lone wolf.” Malcolm had Seth’s full attention now. Seth stopped playing with his sword and listened intently.
“There is a lone wolf, travels by himself, attacked a demon at the riverbank.”
Seth was getting nervous. He had enough of demons. He was not quite himself after his demon attack. “Did he survive the attack? Was the demon killed?”
Malcolm cleared his throat. “They were washed downstream and no one knows what happened. Trees usually don’t pay attention to wolves. They are forest creatures and usually don’t harm trees. The demon’s powers are strong and the trees don’t want to antagonize it so they remain silent when the demon is near and are not watching closely. All I can tell you is that all four survived.”
“Four?” questioned Seth. “What four?”
“The wolf, demon, and the horses. I have asked the trees to let us know if any one of them approaches. They have agreed.”
“Uh, are they going to tell us? Maybe yell out loud?” Seth started laughing and Malcolm got mad.
“No! And you know they can’t. They will shake their leaves as if a strong wind is taking place only there won’t be a wind that we can feel.”
“Very well then, best to tell everyone to be on guard.”
Malcolm walked over to Thorgon, Robald, and Gweneviere. He explained the situation while everyone nodded their heads. At this point, they would take any help they could get.
Malcolm looked back at Seth. Seth was just standing there, frozen in time, lost in thought, or so that is what everyone thought.
“That boy is not right. I should never have let him come” stated Thorgon. “Look at him now. That boy’s mind is lost somewhere. Shame it is, indeed.” The rest murmured in agreement. Even the rocks were buzzing.
It took a moment for Thorgon to realize what was happening. He quickly jumped to his feet and began yelling “The rocks. We are under attack, defend yourselves.”
They formed a circle with everyone facing the outside. Everyone that is, except Seth, who remained motionless, frozen in time.
Seth started yelling and swinging his sword. He was foaming at the mouth and now his whole body was convulsing. He was turning his head and looking back and forth between Robald and Gweneviere. He stopped swinging his sword and held it over his head. He began walking towards Gweneviere. Faster and faster he was walking. In a few seconds he was running at her. Lifting his sword even higher, he was about to strike. The blow came from the side. Seth was now flying through the air with Robald on the ground chasing him. Seth landed with a thud and Robald threw himself on top of Seth. His weight was enough to keep Seth from moving. Seth struggled for a few minutes then became very still. Robald lifted himself off and stood up. Breathing heavy, he walked over to the others.
Gweneviere asked “What do you think that was all about?” She glanced over at Seth who lay unconscious on the ground.
“Demons” was all Robald could manage to say. His voice trailed off “Never should have let him come, never.”
A boom came from the edge of the woods and without a thought Robald loaded an arrow and was targeting the sound. He let the arrow fly as a figure appeared. It was Eric who was now holding an arrow in front of him with the point almost touching his chest. “Am I too late?” he said as he saw the body on the ground. He began walking to join the group. “What happened? Is he alive? I got here as soon as I could. Did you see the demon?” he asked as he handed the arrow back to Robald.
Eric walked over to Seth and stood over him. “I was afraid this might happen, must have been a demon close by.” He looked at Malcolm “What are the trees saying?”
Malcolm walked over to the nearest tree and put his hands on it. He stood there for several minutes then rejoined the group. “Trees are silent.”
“Damn” Eric yelled out loud. “Silence means they are scared. I take it there was no rustling of leaves as a warning?” Eric looked at everyone but did not expect an answer. The trees began shaking their leaves. Thorgon shook his head “Now, they do it. Where was the warning several minutes ago?”
Eric bent down and picked up Seth in his arms. “We must go. The demon has left. He won’t dare to attack while I am here. We must get this boy some help. Come follow me. I must warn you though, DO NOT TALK. Not a word. I will do all of the talking for us. No matter what happens, do not react. Do not fight, do not draw weapons. Only observe. Is that clear?” They all nodded in agreement. “It is settled then, follow me quickly, single file, and make not a sound.” Eric headed for the nearest hill and worked his way to the top with everyone in a single file behind him. He began speaking
“I am Eric,
of Laureate Glen,
I have an urgent need,
Let us in.
This one must live,
Too much to sacrifice,
Your help is demanded,
I will pay your price.”
A sinkhole opened up in front of Eric. Still carrying Seth, he jumped in. The rest followed. It was dark, very dark. Gweneviere lifted her hand in front of her face and could not see it. They traveled like this for what seemed to be ten minutes. She heard a loud thunk in front of her as Eric landed. Several more were heard as she finally felt solid ground beneath her.
Thorgon drew in a breath to speak but Robald quickly put his hand over Thorgon’s mouth. He raised his index finger to his own lips and waited for Thorgon to acknowledge.
Eric raised his staff and swung it once. It began to glow and lit the area. They were in a large cavern. It was several hundred feet tall and solid rock. As they looked around, they saw bones scattered about. Eric started walking to the far end of the cavern. There was a shack there with a small door that was closed. As they began walking, they could hear water running in the distance.
Eric walked up to the door and knocked. The door knocker was half of the size of the door. “Go away” came the response. Waiting patiently, he knocked again. “We are closed. Come back tomorrow” was the response. Eric waited again.
He knocked a third time. “This had better be important. You are interrupting my beauty sleep.”
The door opened and a creature stepped out. It was about four feet tall. Not much hair on top of his head but a lot hanging from its ears and chin. Stocky build and an odor that was almost repulsive.
It looked at the group and spoke “Well, what do you have to say for yourself? Why are you here? What do you want? Are you going to try to rob me?” It laughed out loud. “You? Rob me? Maybe I should just kill you all now and be done with it.” The creature locked his jaw and glared at them. Robald put his hand on the hilt of his sword and was grabbed from behind and slammed against the rock wall. He tried but could not move. The creature looked over at him “Just in case you were thinking about being brave.”
The creature flicked its fingers and Robald was released. “I am feeling generous today on account of I have visitors. Try that again, I dare you. My belly will be full and your bones will be scattered on my floor.”
The creature looked at Gweneviere. It walked up to her and sniffed. “I know you. You were supposed to be my snack several days ago. Why are you being so difficult? Why did you not fall into the sinkhole? Most do.”
Gweneviere said nothing.
“Well, cat got your tongue? Forget how to talk?”
“She has a gift” came the response “and is too valuable to waste on you”
The creature sniffed Gweneviere again. “Valuable? Hmmm. She is about the right age, can’t tell by her looks. You humans are so ugly and I can hardly tell you apart. Is she the one? Is she?” The creature glared at Eric.
“Cerberus, we are here because this boy was attacked by a demon” Eric quickly retorted trying to change the subject. “He is acting strangely. Can you help?”
“No” the creature said defiantly. “I shall not help you. Why would I risk the wrath of the demons? They leave me well enough alone. No
, I shall not help you.” The creature walked through his doorway and hesitated. “How do you know my name?”
“Why your powers and knowledge of this cave are legendary. We could not trust anyone else to this task; it takes a powerful wizard to undo this spell.”
Cerberus slammed the door shut.
Eric said loudly “Very well, since it is beyond your powers to help us, we shall leave now. Sorry to have troubled you.”
The door opened a crack. “I will tell you what” he said pointing to Gweneviere. “Leave this one as a snack and I will consider it.”
“Good day to you.” Eric lifted his staff and was about to hit the ground with it.
“Wait. Tell me more” as the door opened.
“Nothing more to tell, will you help us?” asked Eric.
“What is in it for me? You know my price.”
“You can keep whatever you can extract from the boy. He was attacked by a demon. Imagine secrets of the demons in your arsenal. That should suffice.”
Cerberus stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes and began talking to himself “Hmmm, have not done this before, I might not be able to get anything, could be a lot of work. Might be easier just to kill the boy and have a snack. Yes, that is what I shall do.” The creature turned to the boy and started to point a finger. The next sound he heard and felt was that of Eric’s cane crashing into its head.
“ENOUGH!” flew the stern rebuke from Eric as his face turned red. “THE BOY SHALL NOT BE HARMED. I HAVE TAKEN AN OATH AND WILL PROTECT THEM WITH MY LIFE. HEAL THE BOY NOW BEFORE I LOSE MY TEMPER!!!
“Before you lose your temper? I think you already have. Alright, alright, I will see what I can do. You may sit.” With a quick wave of its hand, Eric, Gweneviere, Robald, Thorgon, and Malcolm all forcibly sat down abruptly. Seth had disappeared.
Cerberus turned his back on them, walked through the door and slammed it shut.
* * *
Lydia knew something was wrong. The wolves were acting skittish. They were barking and snapping at one other. Several fights had broken out and were not stopped until the wolf pack leader interceded.
Lydia thought that it might be a good time to escape. She just needed to find the stash of serum, enough to last her until she could find the wizard for a cure. The problem is, she had no idea where it was kept and she only saw it when the wolves shape-shifted. Even then, it was a small vial with only enough for one dose. She decided there was nothing she could do right now. It would be better to wait.
The wolves had stopped and were making a circle around her. Each one of them was facing outwards and sniffing the air.
Lydia spoke.
“Lupus, lupus, what have you done?
From what threats have you run?
Why are you scared of the setting sun?
Are you one for all and all for one?”
With that said, the wolves began howling. They did this for several minutes taking turns. It was beginning to get annoying. Finally they stopped and all was quiet.
It was very faint at first, very faint. All the wolves were standing and scratching at the ground. They were agitated about something. This was very unusual. Lydia watched their behavior as it escalated.
The faint sound was getting louder. Barely perceptible to the human ear now, she thought she heard a wolf howling. It was certainly not one of hers. They were all here, all twelve of them. There were no other wolves thought to be in this area. At least if they were, you never saw one nor heard one.
The louder the howling became, the more nervous the wolves became. Again they started barking, groaning, and biting one another. They were definitely on edge.
The howling stopped. The pack of wolves stood motionless, their nostrils flaring as they sniffed the air and their hair was standing up. They waited.
A lone wolf appeared at the edge of the forest. It was bigger than any wolf that Lydia had ever seen. Not that she was seen many. It was certainly bigger than her wolves.
Shabb stood motionless. There was no point in hiding anymore. After his attack on the demon, they all knew he was here. To make matters worse, he knew that Sidius overheard his conversation with King William.
Shabb waited while the pack of wolves grew more restless. He was in no hurry to fight and hoped to avoid it but the alpha male had to respond to his provocation. In fact, he was counting on it.
The wolf pack leader began walking towards Shabb. The fur on his back was raised, fangs exposed and his growl becoming more pronounced the closer he got. Shabb backed up slowly which gave confidence to the pack leader. Shabb kept backing up until he disappeared into the woods. The pack leader eagerly followed.
It was over quick. A few growls, a few yelps, then it became very quiet. A few moments passed before a wolf emerged from the treeline. It was Shabb. He was holding the limp body of the pack leader by the neck with its hind legs scraping the ground. The wolf pack was getting very hostile. Several took a few steps forward but stopped from going any further. They must protect Lydia. Snapping their jaws and barking, the wolves were confused as to what to do.
Shabb dropped the dead wolf and began walking very slowly towards Lydia and the wolves. The closer he approached, the more he seemed to swell up and the bigger he became. The wolf pack started pacing back and forth. Shabb came very close to the first two wolves and glared at them. They bent down in a sign of submission and turned their heads away. This was truly an alpha male that was approaching and they dare not face his wrath.
With a single leap, Shabb jumped over the circle of wolves and was standing next to Lydia. She had drawn both her swords and was ready to fight but she also knew the wolves had to protect her so she hesitated, she was unsure of what to do. Shabb lifted his head making himself very vulnerable and exposing his neck so Lydia could see his scars. She looked closely; it was not scars after all. It was a pattern, one she recognized. It was the same mark that was on her arm. This was no coincidence. Shabb turned his back to Lydia and let out a deep and loud howl. He looked back at her and she had put away her swords. She knew what to do.
Shabb took another leap over the pack of wolves. This time it was with Lydia on his back. The pack was stunned and confused. With no leader, they were unsure of their direction. One wolf started after Shabb. That was all it took for the rest to give chase.
Lydia held on as Shabb flew through bushes and undergrowth, faster than she had ever gone. The howling and barking behind her was becoming faint. Lydia put her head down and rested, being with Shabb felt so safe. The constant rhythm of his paws hitting the ground soon lulled her to sleep.
* * *
Captain Artemus stopped walking and listened. Wolf howls were real close and getting closer.
“Arm yourselves, prepare to fight” he commanded. It seemed as if the wolves were heading straight for them. He wanted to run but knew wolves would give chase. He summoned all the courage he had.
The first wolf was bearing down on them at great speed. Captain Artemus held his sword in the air and prepared to lunge at the throat or belly. When the wolf got close, it did not even slow down, instead leaping completely over them and disappeared into the bushes and leaves. The men looked stunned as they saw the wolf was carrying something on its back. It was too quick to tell what it was.
The sight was quickly forgotten and the massive howls were upon them. This time the sources of the howling slowed down as they approached the soldiers. The wolves stopped and looked, scoping out the perceived threat by sniffing the air.
“Looks to be about ten or so” yelled the patrol scout. Captain Artemus called him back to the platoon as they prepared for battle. They did not give the wolves a chance to think. Captain Artemus charged the pack and began swinging his sword left and right as he cut through the wolf pack. He was immediately followed by his soldiers who knew to focus on the neck and belly. Fighting was fierce and several men sustained injuries but luckily none were bit on the neck. One by one, the wolves fell to the ground until there were none left s
tanding.
“Count them” was the command from the captain.
“I count ten dead, Sir” reported the scout. “None escaped.”
“From the reports we were given, there were twelve wolves. Check again. Also check for footprints, see if any did get away. We might be missing two wolves.
The scout and other soldiers scanned the area and came up empty. The most they could find was ten.
“Alright, gather your weapons. We leave immediately. We shall tend to the wounded on the way. Make haste now. We don’t want to be around when whoever is in charge of these wolves comes looking for them. We will stop after a few miles. We killed ten, one jumped over us and kept going that leaves one missing.”
“Move out.”
* * *
Chapter 8