by Mac Flynn
He returned to the front of the line and we pressed onward, but this time I made sure it was Erik in front of me and Methuselah behind.
CHAPTER 7
We wound our way through stone passages with damp walls and cool air. The slope was minimal for the first few minutes, but then began a steady incline. The dampness grew worse the closer we came to the Den, but the passage grew wider. Soon four of us could walk side-by-side. The rock walls changed to cut stone that I recognized as part of the foundation to the Old Den.
There were several routes along our path, and the king meandered us through a half dozen of them so that I barely knew which way was up and which was down.
I snuck up behind Erik and lowered my voice to whisper. "How far do you think we have until we reach the basement?" I asked him.
He looked over our surroundings. "We will be there in a few minutes should," he told me.
Erik was right. IN a few minutes the hard, sharp rocks are completely replaced by smooth stone, and the floor changed to cobblestones. The cobblestones created a stairway that went up into the bowels of the Old Den. Side passages opened up and led off into the dark depths of the ancestral home of the werewolves.
"Did you know half of these were here?" I asked Erik.
He pursed his lips and shook his head. "No."
I was a little too loud because the king stopped and looked back at us. There was a smile on his wide lips. "You shouldn't. We didn't even tell your ancestors about the secret passages."
"Do any of these passages lead to the front gates?" Erik asked him.
The king gave a nod. "Our ancestors created just such an entrance in case we needed to do precisely what we are doing now, but the foe was meant to be the ruling king," he revealed.
"The enemy is still the same," Erik argued. He pushed to the front and looked the king. "If my cousin has indeed captured my parents then he has set himself up as the new king of the werewolves."
"I'm afraid I can confirm that he has captured them," a voice spoke up.
The guards snapped to attention and pointed their weapon at one of the side passages close to their ranks on the left. King himself jumped to the forefront with Erik by his side partially transformed with length and cause two shadows stepped from the darkness in my eyes widened.
"Lilly!" I yelled.
I pushed through the crowds and raced to my old friend. At her side was her mate, Teagan, the captain of the Guards, or at least the Guards loyal to the Greenwood family. I wrapped my arms around her in a hug that made her squeak.
"I missed you, too," she replied.
I pulled her to arms' length and looked her over. There was no sign of any cannibalism on her. "How did you get away from them?"
"And how did you find this place?" the king questioned them.
"A captain of the guards is of little use if he doesn't know every secret to that which he guards," Teagan pointed out.
Erik walked over to Teagan and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "I'm glad to see you're safe, but what of my parents?"
Lilly's face fell, and Teagan pursed his lips. "Blackwood took the castle more quickly than we could fend him off, and many of my men turned against us and chose his side." He hung his head. "I am sorry, my lord, that I could not foresee such a coup."
"This is none of your doing," Erik insisted. "Everyone chooses their own path. Are many still loyal to my family?"
Teagan closed his eyes and shook his head. "There are none loyal to you any longer save us. Those monsters took them and forced them to eat the flesh of our brethren. They are now monsters and obey Blackwood's every command."
"We may be able to remedy that situation if we can get the front gates open," Erik told him.
Teagan raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue the point. He half turned away from Erik and nodded his head at the passage in which Lilly and he stood. "The gate is this way, but there are two dozen guards at the gate."
"They will be no match for my men and I," the king assured him.
"And we have no other choice," Erik pointed out.
Teagan nodded and led the way down the passage .I wrapped my arms through one of the Lilly's and leaned against her.
"How have you been holding up?" I asked her.
Lilly clasped one of my hands and smiled at me. "I have been very safe with my mate, and it looks like you have, too."
I stifled a grin and shrugged. "He's been okay." Her smile widened and I scowled at her. "What?"
"I can see you are very fond of him now," she told me.
I snorted. "And I can see you're braver than you used to be."
She nodded and her eyes look to the captain. "Yes, and I have him to thank for it. The Choosing put me with the man who would best be my husband."
My eyes fell on Erik and I pursed my lips. "I just wish they really were a bunch of normal men. . ." I murmured.
Lilly wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a small hug. "Sometimes it is not what they are, but who they are that matters," she pointed out.
I couldn't suppress my smile. "Don't get too mushy on me," I scolded her.
"We are close," Teagan spoke up to our little group. "Everyone needs to be silent now."
Lilly and I blushed. We were the only ones who hadn't been silence. We climbed a short flight of stairs and walked down a short hidden hallway. There were a few holes in the walls on either side of the hall. The holes were in pairs and set close enough together that you could look through both of them with your eyes, and I chanced a peek through one pair.
The holes looked out on the dining room. I could see some Guards seated at the table with a great feast in front of them. They gulped and chomped down the food like pigs. Their fee were on the table and they burped loudly. Servants raced back-and-forth between the kitchen and the table, their hands full of either full plates or empty dishes. One of the Guards grabbed a pretty looking servant that I recognized as Heather.
"You're a pretty nice-looking girl," the Guard slurred, too drunk to speak properly. "How about you and I go get a little quiet time together?"
She tore herself from his grasp and bowed her head. "I am needed in the kitchen but, but thank you."
"But I need you," the Guard countered as he tried to snatch at her.
Heather was too fast and stepped out of his reach. He was so drunk that he tumbled forward and fell face-first into the stone floor. His fellow guards laughed and pointed at him, and she took the opportunity to escape to the kitchen.
My hands balled into fists, and I looked up and down the hall for some entrance into the room. I jumped hand fell on my shoulder, and I turned to find it belonged to Greg.
"We mustn't tarry here," he told me. I looked past and saw that the others had moved down the hall without us.
I nodded at the eye holes. "We can't just leave her," I protested.
"Everyone will be better off when we free the Den," he pointed out.
I grudgingly let him pull me away from the eye holes and down the hall to the others. The passageway twisted and turned until I was pretty well lost. I sidled up to Greg and lowered my voice so that even I could barely hear myself.
"Does these halls work like the other ones in that they take you where you need to be?" I asked him.
He gave a nod, but didn't speak. We continued on our way for another half hour until the head of the line stopped. The head of the passage ended at a wall of stone, but I could see the stones were smoothed and flat. There was a metal handle on our side, but I bet my claws that there wasn't one on the other side.
The Diggers unsheathed their swords and I saw Teagan do the same. Greg gathered Lillian and me, and pulled us to the rear.
"You will be safer back here," Greg told us.
"But I can help," I insisted.
"The quarters will be close and our enemies desperate to hold their position," Greg pointed out. "That will be no fight for once as inexperienced as yourselves."
I wanted to argue, but he was right. I needed a running
start the last time I fought in a battle, and I didn't think the guys guarding the gate would give me enough room to charge them. The Diggers, Teagan, Erik and Marge tensed themselves for battle.
The king, Erik, and Teagan looked at one another and nodded. Teagan grabbed the handle and with all three pushing at the same time they shoved the door open and gave a great howl. I could see over them over their heads and glimpsed the inside of the gate through which we left the Old Den so long ago. There were a half-dozen cannibalistic werewolves and twice that many normal Guards who watched over the gate. Then the Diggers guards fill the gap as they rushed through the secret opening. There was a clash of steel and cloth, and werewolves howled and roared. I tried my best to keep an eye on Erik, but he was swallowed in the fighting.
All three of our attentions were so focused on the fighting in front of us that we didn't notice the wall move beside us. Three pairs of hands reached through the opening and grabbed us. Lilly and I yelped, and Greg immediately thrashed in the hold of our unknown assailant. We were dragged through the opening and into a stone chamber room. The wall shut behind us and we were pushed onto the floor. I whipped my head up and my eyes widened.
In front of us stood Blackwood himself. He smirked down at us with his arms folded across his chest.
"It is fortunate these hall lead one where they need to be," he commented
The werewolves who held us pulled our hands behind our backs, and I felt metal clamps wrap around my wrists. Greg slammed his head backwards and into his captor. The werewolf yelped in pain and clutched at his face, and I saw blood run down his nose and his chin. Greg climbed to his feet with one hand in manacles. Two other werewolf behind Blackwood rushed forward with their arms outstretched towards Greg. Greg used the short manacle chain as a whip and whacked their faces with the manacle and links. The werewolves were put out of the running, but half a dozen more entered the room and tackled him. They pulled him to the ground and finish the job of shackling his wrists. Once the deed was done Blackwood stepped forward to stand before Greg.
"You are a very loyal and persistent servant," Blackwood complemented him. Greg looked up and snarled at our enemy. Blackwood only smirked. "I would ask you to join my side, but I already know the answer." Blackwood snapped his fingers and one of the Guards stepped forward. The Guard held a small wooden box in his hand. Blackwood lifted the lid and took out a small piece of meat. My nostrils flared at the scent, and I instinctively recoiled from that piece of food.
Blackwood chuckled. "So you know what this is?" he asked me as he knelt in front of Greg. Greg, too, leaned away from the meat, but one of the Guards behind him pushing him forward. Blackwood clasped the back of Greg's head in one hand and held the meat in the other. "Since you cannot be a willing servant than you must be an unwilling servant."
Blackwood pulled Greg's head towards him and at the same time stuffed the piece of meat into Greg's mouth.
"No!" I screamed, but it was too late.
Greg bit down on the meat and I saw him swallow. He choked and coughed, and his clothes tore open as his muscles swelled and stretched. His hands changed into claws, and his face contorted into a long, drool-dripping snout. He tore free from his manacles and let loose a terrifying howl.
Blackwood stood and chuckled. "With that much noise we should leave before I am unprepared to meet my dear cousin." He looked to Greg, our former ally. "Carry them and follow me."
Greg gave a nod and picked up both Lilly and me. He stuffed us underneath each of his arms. Blackwood walked through the room door and we unwillingly followed him with the other Guards behind us. The entrance led out into the hallway, and Blackwood led us through the maze of the Old Den for a few minutes until we reached the Council room. The right wall had the same row of windows. Along the left wall on the ground sat Lord and Lady Greenwood. They also had their arms behind their backs and I saw a glimpse of chains behind them. Both of them were conscious, and Lady Greenwood's eyes widened at our entrance.
Blackwood nodded at his other two prisoners. "Drop them there."
Greg deposited us beside the Lord and Lady, and moved to stand beside us.
"Are you well?" Lady Greenwood asked us.
"As well as we can be considering where we are," I replied.
"And my son?" the Lord asked us.
"Your son should have taken the front gate by now," Blackwood spoke up. Our enemy plopped himself into Lord Greenwood's chair and cupped his chin in one hand as he inspected us with a smirk. "And in a few minutes he should be here."
"To kick your ass," I added.
CHAPTER 8
Blackwood grinned. "He may win the Den, but I will win the war." He stood and walked over to kneel in front of Cassandra. Blackwood clasped her chin between his fingers and looked her over. "I have heard and read a great deal about you, Lady Greenwood. It seems you are not as you appear."
Her eyes narrowed. "How do you know this?"
Blackwood chuckled. "I have many spies in many places, and your old apprentice talks about you incessantly. One day she let slip the description of your beautiful self, and I started putting two and two together. After all, how else could there have been thirteen girls on that trip when there should only have been twelve?"
"Thirteen girls?" I spoke up.
Yes," Blackwood applied. He tilted Sandra's face to one side. "There were thirteen captured humans in the year Lady Greenwood was brought to the islands, or so we thought. When I began to investigate the notes of that fateful night, I found that none of the men could remember her ladyship being one of the women chosen for the Choosing. Of course, when she became the lady of the lake our Lord Greenwood here had the records hidden away." Blackwood looked to Lord Greenwood. "Am I not right, my Lord?"
Lord Greenwood scowled at our captor. "Whatever purpose you have for Cassandra is fruitless. She told me everything years ago, and she also told me she cannot use her magic any longer."
"Cannot, or will not?" Blackwood countered.
Greenwood's eyes widened and he looked to his wife. "You told me you could never use your magic again."
Blackwood chuckled and stood. "She didn't lie, my dear cousin, she merely omitted the fact that she would not use her magic of her own free will. Fortunately, I have a way to persuade her." He snapped his fingers and Greg stepped behind Lilly and me. "Crush their heads, will you?" he asked our former friend.
Greg leaned down and grabbed our hands in his massive claws. He pressed his fingers against the front and back of our skulls, and I felt pain like I'd never known. The pain from the Choosing paled in comparison to the pressure that squeezed my skull and the nerves that surrounded it. Lilly and I let out terrible screams of agony that echoed around the chamber.
"Stop!" Lady Greenwood cried out.
Blackwood snapped his fingers and Greg stopped his torment of us. He looked to the lady. "You will do as I wish?"
She glared back at him. "What do you demand?"
He gestured to the windows and the fog in the sky. "I wish for the fog to be stretched to the very boundaries of the human world, and for none to pass through either end save those whom I would allow."
"You would trap us in here as your slaves or force us to fend for ourselves in a world that would fear and destroy us, is that it?" Greenwood growled.
"Something like that, but if you don't grant my wish then you will all die, and I will find another way to expand the fog," Blackwood warned us.
Lady Greenwood hung her head. "I will do as you ask."
"You can't! He'll kill us anyway!" I protested.
She looked up and smiled at me. "I cannot live knowing I was the cause of your deaths."
"Then blast him away with your magic!" I insisted.
Blackwood clucked his tongue. "All that adventuring and you have learned nothing." He gestured to Cassandra. "A witch in a false body cannot use her powers without killing herself."
My eyes widened and I whipped my head to Cassandra. "Is that why you haven't used magic?"
Cassandra glared at Blackwood. "It is, but magic used for selfish purposes brings nothing but grief."
"Then it is good for us that you use it to save your friends, and your husband," Blackwood countered.
"You cannot do this! Let us die!" Lord Greenwood insisted.
Cassandra turned to him and smiled. "All will be well, my husband. I know fate will be kind to me."
Blackwood turned to Greg. "Drag her to the center of the room. She can perform the spell here as well as anywhere."
Greg stepped past us and grabbed Cassandra's shoulders. He lifted her onto her feet and pushed her forward. She tripped over the stone floor and lost her balance. Cassandra wobbled to and fro before she stumbled back and landed into my lap.
My eyes widened as a jolt of energy swept through me and I felt my manacles loosen from my wrists. Lady Greenwood raised herself and looked up into my eyes.
"Greg was always fond of beans," she whispered to me.
"Get her up!" Blackwood growled.
Greg grabbed Cassandra's manacles and yanked her to her feet. Our former friend marched Lady Greenwood to the center of the room and her manacles were removed.
"Stand back. I need space," she ordered everyone as she raised her arms above her head. Everyone took a few steps back.
While the nightmare theater was performed in front of me I tried to think of what Cassandra had tried to tell me. I knew she meant the beans in my small bag, but I wasn't any witch. They wouldn't work for me. Besides, I'd seen what happened when someone use those things. I didn't want Greg to be everywhere in the room at once.
Still, what did I have to lose? She was the witch, not me. She knew what she was asking. My mind hit upon a wonderfully brilliant and risky ploy. I slipped my hands from my manacles and, with everyone distracted by Cassandra's show, I grabbed the bean bag and took out one of the small beans.
Because of Cassandra's orders to stand back Greg stood just in front of me. I tensed and gripped the bean in my hand. A small wind blew up around Cassandra and spun around the room. Our hair and clothes whipped at our bodies.